Queensland Fishing Monthly December 2017 by Fishing Monthly

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The road to catching dorado Getting back into jacks Fishy gift ideas for Christmas Flyfishing Cape York

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December 2017, Vol. 30 No. 2

Contents NORTHERN NEW SOUTH WALES Yamba 20 Ballina 22 SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND The Tweed 24 The Tweed inshore 25 Southern Gold Coast 26 Gold Coast Canals 28 Jumpinpin 30 Gold Coast 32 Southern Bay 34 Brisbane 38 Brisbane Offshore 40 Northern Bay 42 Noosa 44 CENTRAL QUEENSLAND Hervey Bay 54 Fraser Island 56 Rainbow Beach 57 Bundaberg 58 Lake Monduran 58 Gladstone 59 Yeppoon 60 Rockhampton 60 Mackay 62 TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND Whitsundays 64 Ayr 65 Townsville 66 Hinchinbrook 70 Lucinda 70 Port Douglas 71 Cairns 71 Cairns NFZ 72 Cape York 72 Cooktown 73 Weipa 73 TNQ Freshwater 74

From the Editor’s Desk... It’s mid-barra season closure and each year, without fail, you see anglers who are obviously chasing these fish in their spawning season. What’s more, some of these people are dumb enough to post their catches on social media. Well done to the anglers with the resolve to leave these mighty Aussie fish alone during their spawning period. You don’t need to be a gun angler to catch a spawning barra, and the science shows that if you catch them pre-spawn, there’s a fair chance that the fish will reabsorb its eggs and not participate in the event that year. If you ignored common sense and still targeted them anyway, I’m sure that your fellow anglers gave it to you on Social Media. It’s not worth it in the long term.

The face you make when a $50,000 boat package is hanging in the balance! It’s nailbiting stuff at the BASS Pro Grand Final weigh-in.

Speaking of social media, we know that it’s hard to circle a post on Facebook and leave it on the coffee table as a not-so-subtle suggestion regarding a potential Chris tmas gift, so we’ve given you the tools to do this inside. Our tackle arm, www.tacklejunkie.fish, has scoured the new releases and picked out a swag of new gear that needs to have your fingerprints all over it on December 25.

Instructions for use: 1. Pick cool gear. 2. Circle with red Sharpie. 3. Leave on coffee table at home. 4. Give hints with decreasing subtleness as December progresses. 5. Add gear to collection on December 25! And here’s a tip: if you give your partner a good present it’s more likely they’ll buy you something awesome. You can benefit from our experience there. You’re welcome.

WINNING TECHNIQUES You’ll also notice a pile of tournament coverage in this issue. Spring is the season end for plenty of bream, bass and barra events, and Fishing Monthly has always been the first to bring you the gear that got the job done. Even if you are not a tournament angler and don’t like the concept, I can guarantee you that what happens here will influence the gear you’re using in future years. So why not stay a step ahead of the curve and master some of these techniques before they become mainstream. Early adopters in fishing often get a real head start in social fishing, and we all wouldn’t mind that. ABT’s motto is ‘Who Shares Wins’, and we love it when you use these guys’ generosity to your advantage.

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Howard Bidle took this trophy-sized mahimahi trolling skirts near a whale shark. A Kaspar Lenigas image.

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REGULAR FEATURES Back to Basics 16 Tech Tricks 18 Junior Southern 50 Junior Northern 75 Dam Levels 82 Freshwater 82 Camping and 4WD 88 Fun Page 92 Cooking 94 Tournament News 96 Track my fish 108 What’s New Fishing 110 Trades and Services 114 Sheik of the Creek 116 What’s New Boating 120 SPECIAL FEATURES Tips for catching mahimahi Getting back into jacks Fishy gift ideas for Christmas Flyfishing at Cape York DIY lure making: Flat Doc

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MAHIMAHI

The road to catching dorado BRISBANE OFFSHORE

Kaspar Lenigas

The warm blue currents of summer have already begun to grace our coastline and that can only mean one thing – pelagic season has started and there’s no time to waste. The pelagics temporarily visit our coastline on their annual run south along the east coast feeding up before the water temperatures drop and they have to retreat north to warmer waters in winter. By far one of the most acrobatic, stunningly good looking and tastiest of the summer time pelagics has to be the mahimahi. Luckily for us in Queensland, mahimahi can be a year-round capture as long as water temperatures stay above 23°C. Mahimahi are an open water pelagic and can be found from the shoreline at times all the way out to the blue abyss past the continental shelf. As they are an open water pelagic, they rely on the right water temperatures and currents to survive and find their next meal. The rule of thumb I’ve found with mahimahi is if it swims or flies and can fit in

their mouth, they’ll eat it. Since mahimahi have very short life spans and grow incredibly fast, they need to eat as much as they can as quick as they can. By far one of the best times of the year to target mahimahi is late spring and summer as the summer currents force masses of bait and nutrients down the coastline; the pelagics, including large

where they are commonly caught targeting billfish or fishing around floating debris, structure and FADs (Fish Aggregating Devices). Before chasing mahimahi you’ll need the right gear. Mahimahi go aerial during the fight, so they are very good at throwing hooks. Billfish are also a likely capture while chasing mahimahi and they are very

Large mahimahi can be caught close to shore when warm blue currents push in bait and good water from out wide. numbers of mahimahi, are in tow for the free buffet. There are a couple of ways to catch mahimahi: either trolling open water

The author putting some hurt on a big mahimahi using 40lb stickbaiting gear.

good at emptying a reel. GEAR AND LURES There’s no need to go out and buy a full set of gamefishing setups if you are going to target mahimahi on the troll. Reels that can hold 300m of 30-40lb braid and 6-7ft rods rated from 30-50lb with a relatively soft tip action (spin or overhead) are ideal. If you’re running spin, I recommend a size 40004500 Daiwa or 6000-8000 Shimano. Run a full spool of braid to get the line capacity and run a 20-30m length of 15 or 24kg mono top-shot for shock absorption and stretch to improve hook-ups; the line pressure of the mono through the water can keep the fish hooked as they go aerial.

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If you go for an overhead option, a size 15-20 reel is more than adequate. You can get away with using less or no braid backing and running a spool of 15 or 24kg mono, but if you decide you want a full spool of braid so you can use the same setup for bottom fishing, just add a top-shot like you would on a spinning reel. Having 2-3 rods is more than adequate

OPTIMAL USE: • Boating and fishing in deep water • Open reflective water • Harsh sun

if you want to troll, as its common to have all rods go off at the same time – even if you run five – when you find a school of mahimahi. When fishing FADs I recommend using a spin rod, as it’s important to be able to cast if you use baits or artificial lures. When using live baits or dead bait you can use the exact same spin setup as you would for trolling, but instead of the top-shot, run a rod length and a bit of 40-60lb leader and circle hooks. The benefit of a circle hook is that it stops the mahimahi’s small pin-like teeth chafing you off mid-fight, as you’ll hook them in the corner of the jaw; then once it’s in, it’s near impossible for them to shake the hook. Casting artificial lures is by far one of the most visually exciting ways to target mahimahi and you are able to selectively target larger fish with the lures you use and the way you work them. If you want to cast for them, it’s very important to have the right setup to work the lure and fight the fish. I recommend running a 7-8ft PE2-4 (20-40lb) stickbait rod with a 4000 or 6000 reel running 30-40lb braid and 60lb leader. The lures I use when casting for dollies are predominately stickbaits from 110-160mm and generally floating, as I like them to skip across the top with ease. Smaller stickbaits that sink relatively fast are great too, as you can sink them down and work them fast to entice a reaction bite. When rigging stickbaits, it’s single hooks-only –

Young Bryce with his PB mahimahi caught with heavy tackle on the shelf. Fish of this size are common out there, you just have to find them. trebles and dollies are a bad idea. Once a mahimahi hits the deck it can become very dangerous with two sets of trebles, as they can go ballistic. Occasionally I’ll use 5-7” plastics and 60-80g jigs, but I prefer the visual aspect of surface lures. There’s nothing better than watching a big bull mahimahi mow down your lure and proceed to go bananas. When trolling for mahimahi, the best lures you can use are 6-8” skirted lures in a variety of different colours like natural baitfish patterns, oranges, reds, pinks, greens and darker purple and black colours. When rigging skirts, run

safer. To the other end of your 100lb leader crimp a loop and attach a snap swivel to your main line so you can clip your lure on and off with ease. TROLLING As said before, mahimahi can be found almost anywhere but a good starting point is from 20-100m. Zigzagging your way up and down the contour lines working in, say, 20-60m and 60-100m, most of the mahimahi you find in this depth will generally range from 5-15kg with the odd bigger fish. If you work the shelf from 150-500m, the majority of fish will be over 10kg and can get up

If you work the shelf from 150-500m, the majority of fish will be over 10kg and can get up to 30kg+ but there can be a lot of water between fish. two arm-lengths of 100lb mono leader attached to a wire hook rig inside the skirt with either a two-hook rig or single hook rig using light gauge and strong 8/0 or 9/0 J hooks. While a two-hook rig is best for mahimahi hook-ups, a single is much

to 30kg+, but there can be a lot of water between fish and it’s likely you’ll come across blue marlin that can spool you very fast if you run 300m of line. It’s one thing to troll open water aimlessly hoping to come across some fish, but

MAHIMAHI by using visual clues like surface bait and birds, and the aid of a sounder to mark bait higher in the water column, you can locate areas of activity where the fish are likely to be. By working these areas you’ll catch far more fish. Some days you can hook up regularly throughout the day, or spend hours on end

– even most of the day – trolling a barren ocean to finally find some activity and have every rod go off. Running the right drag is very important for securing a good hook-up while trolling lures and running a strike drag of 3-4kg is best. The trolling speed is also important to cover water and entice fish, and to get the

skirts working correctly; a speed between 6-8 knots is best. When setting lures, it’s best to stage them out to prevent tangles and entice fish; run one 10-15m back, the next 20-25m and the last 25-40m. It doesn’t have to be any exact distance out, as long as the lures work well and the spread looks good. When trolling lures

Small black marlin are a common catch when trolling skirts in summer. you’ll come across a lot of other fish. Billfish like black marlin and sailfish are commonly caught in closer and out wider you’ll find striped and blue marlin. You can also catch a variety of tuna and wahoo, which are great eating. It’s best to release the billfish, as you can get plenty of meat out of the other fish. If you wish to keep a billfish, small black and striped marlin are the best to eat. Like all fish they should be bled, iced and cared for properly or they’ll be terrible to eat. Unless you intent to eat a billfish, it’s best to leave it in the water and swim it for the best survival rate, as they can be fragile

The colours on these fish are really stunning.

Mahimahi go aerial during the fight, so they are very good at throwing hooks. and die if removed from the water. When trolling it is likely you’ll come across floating

debris or floating structures like logs. These are homing beacons for mahimahi; they To page 12

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MAHIMAHI From page 11

can use it to shelter or hunt and ambush the baitfish that use it for shelter, which is very

and selectively target bigger fish. When drifting floating structure I like to position myself a good distance away

free spool the line out a bit and leave it, waiting for the fish to find it. When using dead baits, I like to toss them away from the boat and leave the reel in free spool to let the bait waft down without any weight. If there’s no interest, I find giving it a little movement can trigger a strike. I rig dead baits similar to a live bait with a circle, but I pin it through the mouth; the

reason for this is the bait won’t spin as I move it and dollies generally bite the head, so they cop a hook straight in the mouth when they eat the bait. While baits work great, there’s no guarantee that you’ll only catch big mahimahi on them. Surface lures at times can be extremely effective on big fish, as you can pull them away from smaller fish. In some situations you can

Mahimahi can be found almost anywhere but a good starting point is from 20-100m. similar to how a FAD works. Floating debris, structure and FADs are worth trolling around, but fish can become shy quickly and spook from the motor noise in some instances. That’s when drifting the structure works best. This is a good reason to have a lure and live bait rigged while you troll to pick up bonus fish that follow the fish you’re fighting, or for when you find fish on structure. DRIFTING When drifting FADs, floating debris and structure, using baits and casting lures are the most effective ways to catch mahimahi

DECEMBER 2017

from it. The reason for this is I find larger mahimahi patrol the perimeters and smaller fish hold tight to the structure. I find if you sit too close to the structure, you can spook the fish if they are shy. With decent-sized live baits like yakkas and slimies, quality dead baits like pilchards, smaller yakkas and slimies along with surface lures, it’s much easier to entice the larger mahimahi to eat, as they can be cluey. When using live baits, I lob them out and get them away from the boat. If the mahimahi are hungry, the live bait won’t last long before getting smashed. If not, I’ll

A selection of trolling lures and stickbaits rigged and ready to catch.

stir the fish up and trigger reaction bites, but when you cast you can cover a lot of water around the boat and draw in larger mahimahi from open water very easily. Using dead and live baits, you get multiple hook-ups at once. Generally I find if you get bigger mahimahi to follow a surface lure, they’ll smash it. When working a floating stickbait, I’ll cast it as far as I can away from the boat. When it lands, start working it instantly, as mahimahi can track it through the air and smash it as it lands. The action I use is relatively simple – just use a fast-paced walk-the-dog and don’t slow it down. If a mahimahi comes after it, speed it up a little to fire them up to nail it. When working a sinking stickbait, I’ll quickly wind it as it lands. If there

are no strikes or follows, I’ll let it sink then use a fastpaced walk-the-dog or spin it back like a slug to entice a reaction strike. Once hooked, mahimahi give a great account for themselves and the larger fish can put up a great tussle with incredible aerial acrobatics and sizzling runs. They’re a truly awesome sportfish and what they make up for in looks and sport they don’t lack in the taste department. Mahimahi are by far one of the nicest eating fish, as long as they are bled and iced. They are also a great resource to catch and eat, as they grow so fast and the oceans of the world are full of them. I hope this article helps you to catch more mahimahi – maybe even your first. Until next time, good luck and stay safe.

Single hooks are a must when stickbaiting mahimahi, and not just for safety. Once these fish are hooked, they don’t shake single hooks as easily.

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Mangrove Jack

Learn how to get that first jack of the season more, and the Venom range from Wilson rods punch well above their weight with the parabolic action of their Kilwell blank that allows for a positive hookset with power to burn down low. Your line is also extremely important, and a braided main line of 20-30lb is right where you want to be. A lot of anglers prefer the thicker braids, which provide a bit more abrasion resistance, but it is very hard to go past the 8 carrier Japanese braides. Sunline PE 8 is a value for money favourite and performs very well. This coupled with a leader of 20-50lb

THE TWEED INSHORE

Tim Latter

The Northern Rivers region as well as just over the border to the north is home to arguably the most exciting estuarine species to catch on a lure, bait or fly. It goes by many names these days, but I always refer to them as mangrove jack or, simply, jacks. It is no secret that during the summer months these fantastic sportfish really start to fire up, and the anglers who chase them do just the same. Once you crack your first fish for the season, it feels like the only colour you want to see in the net is red and when water temperatures start to cool off in March and April, a sort of 6 month grieving process takes place until early spring. You only have to check out social media pages regarding mangrove jack, or follow

Stickbaiting for jacks is unreal fun, regardless of the size. pulled hooks, missed surface bites and getting your soft plastics pulled down are all worth it when one hits the deck. Regardless of the size, a great sense of achievement

come down to preference. If the reason you don’t use a baitcaster is because you don’t know how – then it might be worth learning. There is certainly a place for spin

Burning a plastic around this bridge resulted in a nice jack. those switched on fishers on Instagram to see how massive it has become. There is a great pride among those that manage to land the trophy fish, and a great respect to the small bunch that have developed the standout techniques and shared that information with the rest of us. The bust offs,

or PR knot are a must these days when running tight or locked drags, as they break just below 100% and their low profile means your can run long leaders without it effecting your cast by bulky knots catching on your guides. The FG and PR knots are very worth learning if you haven’t already. THE LURES Without doubt the lure that catches the most jacks is the lure that spends the most time in the water. What I mean by this is that time on the water equates to more fish boated, full stop. You could bet that most jack fishers have enough lures to

is felt and I feel privileged to pen a few words regarding my favourite saltwater species. THE GEAR When it comes to accurate casting deep into structure where jacks dwell, it is hard to go past a quality baitcaster setup. The spin or baitcast debate will always be around, and to be honest, it will always

setups, like fishing light around the shoulders of the season or throwing light topwaters or vibing deep rockbars. The ability to control a raging 50cm+ jack by a thumbing the spool before you get buried into the sticks is another added bonus of baitcasting reels and more often than not you be will glad you didn’t flick a

lure into that gnarley mess on a spin setup. It is always important to spend as much as your budget will allow on your outfits. You always get what you pay for in fishing gear and with jack fishing the cheap stuff just doesn’t cut the mustard. I love the smooth gearing and tight oscillation of the new Shimano Curado K series, but the cast control magnetics and spool technology in the Daiwa baitcast reel range is a cut above in my opinion. When it comes to rods a lot of manufacturers produce the goods and a choice of one between 5’9”-6’6” is ideal. Something in the 5-9kg line class will have you sorted, as they will cast from around a 1/4-1oz, which most jack lures fall into. This is not a hard and fast rule, of course, and more specific techniques will require further setups.

The first jack for the season is always a special catch and welcomed into the net. fluorocarbon, depending on the situation, is ideal. There is no one leader line class that covers all scenarios, so

decorate a giant Christmas tree, but could hold their favourites in one hand. It is easy to walk into your local

Jetties and marinas can certainly pay off, especially when you’re the only one on the water.

Some fruits to look out for in your local tackle shop. 14

DECEMBER 2017

The Daiwa Tatula range of rods sit in the mid range price bracket and have plenty of options if you are looking to get a full quiver together. Samurai Refraction rods have one of the crispest actions on the market if you were looking to spend a little

be sure to have a range on hand. A solid mangrove jack will always find a weakness in your terminal chain. Hooks of 3X strength and decent split rings of around 50lb are the standard if not the minimum, and well tied leader knots like the FG

tackle store and be dazzled by all the pretty colours, but like the gear it is important the lures you buy are also of quality. For soft plastics you want something durable, like Zman Diesel MinnowZ or Swimmerz. If you want to skip cast then Castaic Jerky

Mangrove Jack Js or Ecogear Balts are killer. Most reputable lure companies each have a massive range of hardbodied lure options within their stable, and with a list way longer than my arm I will name drop a few options of tried and tested favourites. Lucky Craft Pointers are synonymous with jack fishing, and come in a range of sizes and running depths. They have a fantastic finish on them and the terminal tackle is above par. The Jackall Squirrel 79 SP Hank Tune is another heavyweight in this category and would probably be the next best seller in any tackle shop. The new Rapala 3x Shadow Rap and Shadow Rap Shad have an outstanding action when twitched hard, have had a terminal upgrade for this season and the finish on them is outstanding, which is typical of Rapala.

to cast upstream to allow your lure to present more naturally. Soft plastics in the 4-6” range rigged on a 1/2oz jighead or heavier worked with a fast burn retrieve could result in a rod buckling reaction bite. Bridge pylons are usually encrusted with oysters and barnacles, so leaders of 50lb are almost essential if you plan on landing a trophy jack from a major bridge. Rockbars and retaining walls Rockbars and retaining walls are another man made structure that can hold fish. There is a lot going on below the surface and it’s the back eddies and current breaks where the fish will hold to chase unsuspecting bait. Casting surface poppers or stickbaits during low light late in the season is without doubt the most exciting way to target The Tilsan Barra in red baron is a great lure on the troll.

A nice jack pulled from a small creek hits the mat. If you’re looking for more info, I highly suggest checking out the My Lure Box Facebook page, it is full if info from local jack angler John Costello. He does a lot of the leg work when it comes to lure selection and techniques and watching his videos is a great way to get psyched for an upcoming session. WHERE TO FISH? Bridges For any first timers out there who are trying to figure out where to start, the truth is that mangrove jack in the Northern Rivers region are quite prolific. Bridges that have plenty of flow with an abundance of bait are always worth a throw, and when casting it is usually a better option

these areas, although jerkbaits twitched hard and paused to suspend in their face would result in more opportunities. Slow trolling deep diving hardbodies will allow you to cover a lot of ground, but in my opinion, a jack caught on the cast is far more rewarding. Natural structure The natural structure found in the middle to upper reaches as well as the creek systems is where the stealthy angler can really come into their own, and spending the early morning in a tiny backwater is the best way to start the day, especially during the height of summer. A bow mount electric motor to help you sneak around is as important as oxygen in these waters and soft plastics rigged

weedless to allow you to fire them into the thick of it is paramount. You won’t find as many of the bigger fish in these areas, but the rush of trying to extract one a fish from middle of a fallen gumtree is an adrenalin overload, and a worm hook in the corner of the jaw will give you a little more leverage over a standard jighead, and generally once you hook up with weedless presentations, they rarely pull as long as you keep the pressure right on. Canals Canal systems right throughout the region hold good numbers of big jacks and are a literal labyrinth of tidal flow and bait. Jacks hold up on these structures and trying to entice a reaction bite is the way to go in here. The water is usually much clearer in the canals, so you may only have one chance with your cast to not spook the fish, and because of this it’s important to be stealthy and use natural coloured plastics. Colours like pearl and mullet imitations will increase your chances of a bite. If you haven’t seen

The Jack Guide or Monster Jacks DVDs, they are an invaluable tool to give you a great insight and visual medium into this style of fishing, which is growing in popularity as fast as the sport itself. Jetties, marinas, trawlers, boardwalks, cane drains and pretty much anything that looks like it would be impossible to get a jack out of will most likely hold fish,so spend as much time searching and learning and in time you will find your confidence baits and favourite spots.

Remember to be respectful of other peoples’ property when fishing canals, because nobody wants to wake up and find scratches all over their moored boat or worse. THE VARIABLES It can be a very confusing concept when just starting out any new style of fishing, and chasing jacks is no exception. Having fished my local waters for years, it can still be daunting trying to figure out the best area to target at a certain tide or time of the day. Sometimes you might only have 2-3 hours

on the water each week, and I’m sure I am not alone when I say that when you are left fishless and wondering, the second guessing can cause a drop in confidence. This is destroyer of seasons…. Everyone has their favourite period of the tide or moon phase, and for me it happens to be a neap tide running out early morning, preferably blowing from the north. This is not only because I have had success during these periods, but during preparation for the following mornings session, knowing I will be met with this instills me with confidence. It’s casting with confidence that will catch you more fish. Some fishers monitor storm activity and love the sharp drop in pressure to bring them on the bite, or the fresh that comes after to stir them up. Many anglers say fish don’t mind it raining, because they are already wet? Low light periods are an obvious one for topwater enthusiasts too. Basically what I’m trying to get at with this, is that you should get out and chase the mighty mangrove jack whenever time permits. It isn’t always about your count for the season, it’s about getting that next solid hit, that next chance of seeing a monster jack on the mat, and seeing your mate do it too. Hopefully everyone out there chasing them this year bangs a few and is kind and courteous in the process. Isn’t it just lovely being out there?

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Understanding the importance of rod angles NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.starlofishing.com

Understanding the effects of varying rod angles while playing and landing fish can shorten fight times and greatly reduce the incidence of broken lines, pulled hooks and even busted rods! “Keep ya rod up!” Most of us had the instruction rammed home whenever we

hooked a fish by whoever it was that mentored us in the sport – be it a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or friend. Maintaining a reasonably high rod angle while fighting a fish isn’t a bad general rule of thumb, as it takes advantage of the shock-absorbing flex of the rod itself to reduce stress and strain on fish lips, hooks, lines and leaders. But there’s a bit more to it than that…

The author applies a little high stick to help beach a hooked trout. High rod angles can provide a cushioning effect when using fine lines and small hooks.

Don’t be afraid to bury your rod in the water to steer a fish off a snag or clear line from the boat’s hull or motor. Think of your rod as an extension of your arms.

It’s a really enlightening experience to hold the end of a fishing line (or even better, attach it to a set of weighing scales) and have someone pull on the rod using various angles while you monitor the force effectively exerted where the hook would be (probably best if you don’t have a hook or lure attached, as you could end up with it buried in your hand!) What you’ll quickly discover is that the higher the rod tip is held, the less force is applied at the business end of the line. Conversely, lower rod angles allow much more ‘pull’ to be generated out

where the hook would be. These are important things to know when it comes to setting hooks, fighting fish and (hopefully) landing them.

much more force on the fish and can dramatically shorten fight times. Low rod angles can also discourage acrobatic fish like barra, Australian salmon and trout

using ultra-light gear or tiny hooks (as is often the case in some forms of flyfishing, for example). The other time when a high rod angle is almost mandatory is when you need to keep as much line out of the water as possible to avoid it being dragged across rocks or other obstacles, and also when attempting to wash your catch up onto a beach or rock ledge. Where high angles can become extremely counterproductive (even resulting in broken rods) is when the angler “high sticks” a strong fish that’s close to the boat or bank. This can create a really dangerous bend in the rod, potentially resulting in blank failure. Such breakages usually occur in the top third of the rod. Have a good, hard think about rod angles and carefully study the way you and other anglers apply the lever characteristics of the rod when fighting and

The high rod angle demonstrated here, while still reasonably safe, is fast approaching a critical point. If the hooked fish were to suddenly dive under the boat, a rod breakage would be a definite possibility.

Low rod angles can discourage fish from jumping… sometimes!

In protracted fights with big, powerful opponents, lower rod angles and tricks like applying side strain (by angling the rod out to one side of your body or the other) can be really useful. Such angles exert

from jumping, thus reducing the number of thrown hooks. Conversely, high rod angles reduce shocks and jarring impacts on the line, leader, hook and fish’s mouth. This can be critical in staying connected when

landing fish. Even more importantly, get out there in the backyard, wrap the end of the line around your hand and have someone pull on the rod at various angles. You may be very surprised at the results!

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Tech Tricks

Rig a simple split-tail swimming mullet bait BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

With the quality and swimming action of the numerous modern day lures, and the time restraints of many anglers, the acquisition and rigging of swimming baits has become a bit of lost art. Once, any bluewater angler worth their salt could

rig numerous baits in different ways. Although there are heaps of great lures available these days, I believe there is no substitute for a natural swimming bait. While live offerings are extremely effective, they can only be trolled at very slow speeds. As a well-rigged swimming bait can be trolled up to three times quicker than a live bait, anglers can cover a lot more water in their search. An effective and hardy

trolling bait that is quick to rig and looks extremely realistic is the split-tail mullet. I first used these baits when chasing billfish on the Cape Bowling Green grounds off Townsville around 30 years ago. Mullet were easy to get and very hardy baits that would troll for a long time on the quieter days. And it wasn’t just billfish that loved them. This bait has accounted for almost every species of pelagic in

You will need a mullet (this one is around 25cm in length), two VMC 9255 9/0 hooks, some 105lb piano wire, waxed bait thread, a stitching needle, a very sharp thin-bladed knife, #7 ball sinker, snips or poultry shears and a sturdy pair of side cutters.

Your knife needs to be very sharp to complete this next step properly. Angle the knife at around 45° and push down lightly to get the point in the dead centre of the fish. Next, slowly slice backwards to split the tail fin in half, leaving a tail piece on each fillet.

5 18

You should end up with the mullet looking like this with two separate fillets with tail lobes attached and the spine and guts in the middle.

DECEMBER 2017

northern and southern waters including Spanish mackerel, wahoo, cobia, mahimahi, and numerous tuna and mackerel species. The split-tail mullet can be rigged on monofilament or wire, depending on the target species. Sinker weights can be varied depending on the size of the mullet, the line class fished and the desired troll speed. When flat-lined (which has the line fairly parallel to the water) the split-

tail mullet can be trolled at up to around 8 knots. When the boat is slowed or stopped, the bait will sink deeper, which is ideal when fish are sounding deep. The bait is allowed to sink to the required depth before the boat is put into gear and slowly moved forward to get the bait slowly rising back towards the surface. If you want a little more flash from the mullet, you can scale it first, although this can

decrease its longevity. Lightly salting the rigged mullet for a few hours will toughen the bait a degree. You can rig mullet of all sizes; you just need to change the size of the hooks and sinker weight – the basic rigging remains the same. There are several different ways to rig a split-tail mullet and some use a backbone skewer to remove the entire backbone. However, let’s look at the most simple way to rig a split-tail mullet.

Push the blade of the knife into the anal cavity and push right through the fish, keeping the blade flat to the spine, until it protrudes out the other side of the back adjacent to the adipose fin (the small fin between the dorsal and tail fins). Keeping the blade flat to the spine, slice down until you are at the base of the tail fin. Repeat this step on the other side of the spine.

Slice forward along each side of the backbone. Cut along the belly of the fish, slicing to just behind the ventral fin. Along the back, slice right up to the rear of the head.

Using sharp snips (or poultry shears), sever the backbone just behind the head to remove it entirely along with all the guts.

Tech Tricks

Using your side cutters, open up the eye of one of the VMC 9255 9/0 so you can gang it to the other hook. Close the eye with some sturdy pliers. Other suitable hooks include Mustad 7766, Mustad 34007 and any other Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Shaughnessy pattern.

Use your bait needle to penetrate down through the centre of the head. You will see a diamond shaped scale above the eyes, which is the best spot to penetrate. This is the position where the leader will pass and the trolling pressure is asserted to so ensure your hole is dead in the centre.

Thread the bait needle with some wax thread and pierce it down through the head a few millimetres behind the lip.

In one end of your piano wire, make a loop using a haywire twist. You will attach the snap of your leader to this when you want to use the bait.

Put the ball sinker on the wire under the chin of the fish and then haywire twist a reasonable sized loop. This will allow more movement from the bait. Once the haywire is done, rock the tag end back and forward so that the tag end snaps off cleanly.

Tie the thread tightly so that the lips are secured. In larger mullet you may want to do a couple of stitches. Do at least three tight knots in the wax thread to avoid it coming undone.

Place the hooks inside the mullet and push the eye of the hook up through the gills and into the head area. Pass the piano wire down through the hole in the head that you previously made with the needle. Push the hook forward until you feel it hit the wire. Pull the wire out, push the hook a few millimetres forward and then push the wire back through, ensuring that it goes through the eye of the hook. Once you think you have it, double check by pulling on the hook firmly.

The completed split-tail mullet should look like this. I usually keep the wire leader limited to around 20cm so that the snap attached to the leader isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t too far forward of the bait. Fresh mullet can be rigged and frozen until needed. If you want to use a Cryovac machine, ensure you put some protective tube on the hook points to prevent them piercing the bag. For such a simple-torig bait, the split-tail mullet remains a very effective bluewater trolling bait. DECEMBER 2017

Big summer species are now on the move YAMBA

Dave Gaden

Summer is finally here. The wait for a good run of surface fish is over. As with other years (things really don’t change that much

catch them on, as they can be as fussy as any fish you will ever target. Trolling a simple pink squid well behind the boat (I set mine 25 seconds back at 9 knots) at the end of the bubble trail would be a good start. If that isn’t

long and will soon be on the north edge of Angourie Reef through to Shelly Headland in the south. They will bite here all day and a live bait is certain to snare a better fish. I seem to catch more fish if I only have one livie out at a time. Two livies don’t go off as often – bizarre, huh? As I mentioned last month I had been discussing the position of the Yamba FAD with Fisheries for a couple of years and got them to move it to a spot further south. This paid off with us being able to take really good mahimahi within two weeks of it being set. Live baits are best for these fish but later in the month they

will be more aggressive and take anything that swims. This month usually produces consistent northeasterly winds around noon every day. For this reason we fish Black Rock and South Evans Reef a fair bit, using the afternoon breeze to blow us home. These north grounds are very productive in December. Trag are almost a certainty with mulloway mixed in on the same ground. The bonus in the last few years has been the increase in good snapper and pearl perch on these northern reefs. Cobia, mackerel and mahimahi will take your float baits all day up here as well. When fishing to the

Nevil Clark (2yo) with an awesome 485g whiting.

Jarvis Bermingham (13yo) with a great mahimahi. year to year) there will be an early show of spotted and Spanish mackerel on this part of the coast. The first port of call at the start of mackerel season is always Shark Bay and the front of Woody Head. The fish just seem to turn up here first. One day there is absolutely nothing and at sunrise the next day the bay is full of spotties. It’s a bit of a lottery to work out what to

overly productive then anchor up in the middle of the bay and float whole pillies on ganged hooks with a light 20lb single wire about 30cm long under a small piece of styrene or a biodegradable balloon. This method is a favourite of mine. As with all float baits the more berley you put out, the better the bite. The fish won’t be confined to Shark Bay for

Hammish with a decent pearl perch.

south this month you don’t really need to travel far as the reef off One-Man just past Angourie will be as productive as any other. Drift using the prominent north current to push you the length of the reef. Snapper, Venus tuskfish, marble flathead and pearlies can be found on the bottom with all the good bites coming on the floaters. Don’t go anywhere offshore this month without trolling a couple of lures; it may be a slower trip but I had marlin free jumping alongside the boat in October. You’ve got to be in it to win it. In the estuary it should all be happening. We had some nice rain at the end of October – the first for three months and it really stirred the fish up. One of my

favourite fish is the humble sand whiting. I love these guys. They’re great to catch – although they’re a challenge sometimes – and great on the plate. There have been some good catches already and December is the prime month for these fish. For those who like a challenge, popping for them is the go. Don’t wait for a calm day, either. Whiting bite best when its windy and popping in the wind is heaps of fun. For the bait fishers among us, it’s hard to go past a live yabby. Don’t travel too far from the yabby grounds to chase fish; put them on as you pump them and throw them into the dirty water you’re creating with the pump. They will be right at your feet. Flathead should be around in reasonable

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numbers at the entrance to Lake Woolawayah, around Joss Island and also upstream around the Broadwater. For those chasing them on plastics, there seems to be a favourite colour every year. This year it has been the motor oil colour and curly-

tail patterns look like they’re taking more fish. If flicking plastics isn’t for you, try trolling a pink 50mm shad lure on the edge of the dropoffs as slow as you can go – it’s a dead-set certainty you’ll land a fish. The crabs are here, as

sure, the dillies will move along but they aren’t called blue swimmers for nothing. The crab will use the tide to move upstream and will drop at the smell of your bait into the dilly. Strict size and bag limits apply, and you can only eat so

many anyway. If you’re heading our way over the Christmas holidays and need advice or would like to join me on one of my fishing charters, drop into the shop at Yamba Marina. Drive safe. Tight lines and happy holidays all.

Frank with his first mahimahi.

Casey with his PB snapper.

you would expect at this time of the year. We have been lucky over the last four years with the quantity and quality of the crabs in the Clarence. There’s never any shortage of good mud crabs here and to some that’s all they want but I prefer the blue swimmer crab. These

should be all through the lower section of the river this month. We are still allowed to use dillies or witches’ hats in NSW and there is no better way to get a feed. You will find you’ll catch a lot more crabs if you set them where the tide is pushing;

Sue Proctor with her first snapper.

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Wrapping up the year with summer species BALLINA

Joe Allan

It seems as if the end of the year has rolled around very quickly, and it certainly seems we rushed into summer at a great rate of knots. The water temperature has kept climbing steadily and now the warm water has really got things going. Offshore fishing has been in that transition from winter to summer species and only recently have we seen the latter really come through. A few snapper, big mulloway and trag have been haunting the close grounds such as Lennox and Riordans reefs, and they have happily taken soft plastics, micro-jigs and live baits. As the warm current starts rolling down the hill we will see some mahimahi hanging around the FAD and may even get a few early season mackerel showing up around Christmas. From all reports, fishos are having a cracking mackerel run to the north, so it should be another good mackerel season here. And with reports of mahimahi from Tweed Heads to Byron Bay, they can’t be too far away from hitting our

reefs. The odd pearl perch is still hanging around the 42 and 48-fathom lines. Live baits have accounted for several of the larger models but some of the heavier micro-jigs and bright-coloured plastics have also tempted plenty of the smaller fish. Good numbers of small kingfish have been hammering live baits and knife jigs on the wider grounds. Most of the fish are 60-90cm, but the odd larger fish has also shown up. A few snapper and small

amberjack have also been mixed in among the kingfish, so it has been a bit of a lottery at times to see what you are going to pull up next. While the odd gutter is visible on South Ballina and Angels beaches, the number of fish these areas are producing has been fairly low. Some of the better action has come from Boulders and Seven Mile beaches, with quality dart and bream taking pipis and beach worms during the run-up tide. At this time of

A lovely whiting caught on the Bassday Sugapen 70 in colour MB16 retrofitted with Atomic Trick Bitz assist hooks.

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year we usually see a few of the straggling tailor make their way up the coast. Late in the afternoon it will be worth throwing a pilchard, mullet fillet or bonito strip out in a likely-looking gutter. You may not see any large numbers of these razortoothed eating machines, but the ones that do come into the gutters at night are generally quality fish, so be ready and have wire traces handy – these larger fish can do serious damage to your rigs. Some of the better-quality whiting have been coming from the beaches rather than the Richmond River of late. As with the dart, pipis and beach worms have been the gun baits for these tasty little critters. If you can’t get your hands on either of those baits then you could try strips of squid or peeled prawns. Just remember when fishing the beach for whiting they do not need a lot of water, so don’t be obsessed with finding the deepest gutter you can, because quite often they are right at your feet in some of the skinniest water imaginable, particularly at night. We have still seen quality flathead from Pimlico Island to the mouth of the Richmond. Most of the larger fish have taken live herring and the smaller fish have fallen to dark-coloured soft plastics, prawns and white pilchards. The whiting have shown interest in surface lures in recent weeks, especially in some of the shallow areas such as North Creek and Mobbs Bay. Each day has been different, with the level of aggression towards the lures changing constantly and for no apparent reason. Bassday Sugapens, are the lures that have been producing the best and these can be retrofitted with either Atomic Trick Bitz

Chesley Lennon with two beautiful bass from the upper reaches of the Richmond River. assist hooks or Gamakatsu Treble Wide Gap hooks to improve hook-up rates, so check them out next time you are in your local tackle shop. One fish species that has been surprisingly numerous this season is mangrove jack. Some good reports have been coming in of quality fish caught on both hardbody lures and live baits. The Atomic Shiner 75, Lucky Craft Pointer in 100mm or 78mm size and ZMan 4” SwimmerZ have all been good options. Most of the rock walls from Wardell Bridge to the mouth of the river have produced at least a couple of fish in the past month, especially on the run-out tide in the afternoons. I’m not sure if more of these awesome fighting fish are around this year or more people are targeting them. Either way it’s great to see them in our river system. The

best part about most of the jack reports I am getting is that the majority of fish are being released to fight another day. The bass are on the chew and are spread out all over the system. With the balmy evenings the surface bite will really hot up towards Christmas time and all the way through the end of January. If you haven’t tried this style of fishing for our aggressive freshwater natives, get some poppers and have a crack. You might be surprised how much fun and how addictive it can be. Look for any overhanging trees that have cicadas making an awful racket. You don’t even need to be accurate with your casting as when the cicadas fall, they’re generally out from the bank, not right up the back in the shadows like you need to get to with spinnerbaits or crankbaits.

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Ben Rampling with a huge snapper caught using cut pillies off Ballina.

Anglers overwhelmed with options for hot days THE TWEED

Anthony Coughran

Summer is definitely here; hot days and humid nights really have the summer species on the chew. All areas of angling on the Tweed are on fire. It doesn’t matter if it’s offshore pelagic fishing or going head to head with red dogs in the estuary, or even tricking a few surface suckers in the fresh. It’s a great time of the year to be putting mozzy repellent on and sweating your night away watching your rods and the thunderstorms as they roll past. OFFSHORE An early start to summer has seen the ocean temperatures rise and currents pick up, which in turn sees the speedsters and brutes move onto close and shallow reefs. Good numbers of kingfish have started to show up and are bullying anglers on the shallow reef. Stickbaits and poppers are being smashed on the surface, especially on the backside of the drop-off

Mako Dillon with a Brunswick River flatty caught on a live herring. Five-Mile, Fidos, Hastings Point bommie and Black Rock Reef. Trolled baits have been catching more narrowbarred mackerel while anglers drifting wire-ganged pilchards have been catching more spotty and school mackerel. A few marlin and yellowfin out wide are feeding on bait balls

Nick Dillon caught this mahimahi off Brunswick Heads. at Nine-Mile. Down rigged live baits set 10-15ft off bottom seem to be catching the bigger brutes. Micro-jigs are fishing better down at Windarah and off the cape. A few mahimahi and wahoo are tormenting bait balls in current lines between the 24-fathom and out to the 50-fathom reefs. Anglers trolling skirted lures have been catching the bigger and better fish. The FADs off Tweed and Byron are always worth a cast or two with a metal for a smaller mahimahi. The odd mackerel has been seen around Nine-Mile,

and there have been reports of bigger dollies hanging with the tuna. A few bass groper and blue-eyes have been out in 400-500m of water. Electric reels are nearly a must when deep dropping and fishing out wide and deep. There has still been the odd pan-sized summer snapper and spangled emperor on close the reefs; light-weighted plastics fished on light gear will still catch a feed. Lots of mac tuna have been around the close reefs and these are great fun on light gear. Most brands of high-speed metals fish well for tuna. Yakkas

have been at the 10-minute Reef, Point Reef and the sand pumping jetty if you need fresh bait. ESTUARY Jacks are the talk of the town this month. Small live baits are fishing very well at night for monster red dogs this month. Biddies, 15cm poddies, small gar, and large herring all seem to be fishing better then larger live baits and strip baits. Fish traps, mullet rigs, floating dough (for gar) and herring jigs are your best bets for live bait. Please remember it is illegal to use a cast net in NSW. I like to spend the afternoon before a night time jack fish around the weed beds with mullet rigs and traps and around the bridges with herring jigs right on dark to catch my live bait. A live bait tank and pump/aerator are essential to keep your bait healthy.

Your best bet for a jack at night this month will be Boyds Bay Bridge, Cobaki Bridge and rockwall, the Chinderah and Fingal drains, Barnies Point Bridge, Oxley Cove and Condong Sugar Mill. It’s always worth having a cast during the day with artificials around the various pontoons, pylons, bridges and rock walls of the Tweed; this method has produced a few nice small to mid range jacks recently. This style of fishing can be very productive and can produce some real monsters. Most anglers cast around these varied structures using 20lb braid and 30-40lb fluorocarbon leader and still only land maybe one in three. Their brutish tactics and relentless efforts to reach structure to snap you off are what keeps most anglers addicted to the chase and coming back for more. Some very nice flathead have been caught in skinny water and on light gear over the last month. Look for big females sunning themselves on sand banks near weed beds. Casting 2.5-5” plastics, blades, vibes, and shallow diving hardbodied lures at these big girls should trigger a reaction bite. If you don’t trick her, you’ll quite often trick her male friends sitting nearby. Try Cobaki, Terranora, Hastings Point Creek mouth and the Brunswick oyster racks. Some quality whiting can be caught this month drifting the flats on a the run-in tide; try yabbies, beach worms, bloodworms, poppers and walk-the-dog lures and try the various sand banks throughout Cobaki, Terranora,

the golf club and the piggery for a good feed and a bit of light gear action. Mud crabs are starting to move around are full with meat. Try holes and drains in the main river, logs, weed beds and in the mangroves for a big buck. BEACHES There are really good gutters at Fingal, Kingscliff, Back Beach, Hastings Point, Ocean Shores and Black Rock, and these have seen good numbers of small dart, whiting, flathead and bream during the day, especially on the last two hours of the run-out. These gutters have had a few tailor caught at night for those soaking whole pilchards. The odd smaller

Matt Krause with a solid kingfish caught at Nine-Mile on a downrigged live bait. tailor has also been seen around the headlands and rock walls at sunrise and these areas have also been producing dart, mac tuna and bonito. There are patches of pipis and beach worms on the open beaches if you need fresh bait. FRESHWATER Bass are starting to hit surface lures this month.

The author with a couple of whopper Tweed River bucks bound for the table.

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Winged cicadas, frog lures, walk-the-dog lures and bent minnow style lures, are all fishing well around dusk and dawn. Back creeks with drains, overhanging trees and sunken trees are fishing really well. Jig spins and diving lures are better once the sun is established. Quiet secluded corners of the dam are fishing well in the mornings. Jig spins, hardbodied lures and vibes around the lilies and trees are catching a few quality fish. Next month should see more mackerel grace us with their presence. Look for southerly winds – these bring warmer water into close

reefs and really gets them on the chew. Large kings should start feeding more on the surface chasing small tuna and baitfish. Pelagic species such as marlin, wahoo, mahimahi and yellowfin tuna will move onto closer reefs to feed up and sit in the current lines. Jacks will really start to feed up and will smash just about anything from strip baits to artificials and everything in between. Whiting will move up into more skinny water and the flathead with start to chase them. Matching the hatch is the key to any good flatty session and different sand banks and weed beds hold different bait. Bass will start feeding more predominantly on surface lures and with the ever-increasing numbers of insects, frogs, lizards, moths and bugs at this time of year, the bass find it impossible not to strike at a well-placed and well-worked lure.

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Light tackle line burners Tim Latter

It’s hard to believe it’s December already! Hopefully everyone had a fantastic year and were able to spend as much time on the water as possible. With the days lengthening and the water temperature right up there, you can’t go past picking up a light spin stick and a box of poppers and getting out to chase some beautiful summer whiting. Not only are they great fun to target and catch on topwater, they also taste great and when they are on it is not uncommon to land 30-40 fish in a session. The main arm of the tweed, as well as the Terranora arm and its lake systems are riddled with flats that these sand whiting like to hunt yabbies, prawns, worms and small baitfish on. As with most surface fishing, low light periods are best time, but this caper is not limited to these times, as mid morning and early afternoon can also produce a quality bite. The start of a rising spring tide is best, and when the water starts to flood a dry sand flat all the fish will be pushing over this new ground to forage and hunt. In this situation, the wind is your friend as it will ripple the surface and give the ‘ting more confidence to hit a lure and also allow you to punch long wind-assisted casts. The longer the cast the more fish you will boat. As far as gear is concerned, a light spin rod in the 2-6lb range and 7ft or longer will suffice. It doesn’t need to be high end model, as long as it has a fast action with a

softish tip. I prefer a rod 7’6” rod lengths to help with cast distance and the Samaki Zing Extreme 7’6” is a perfect rod for whiting popping, matched with a decent threadline reel in a 1000 or 2000 size and spooled with a quality 8 carrier braid with a breaking strain of around

Bulldog, Berkley 3B Pop Dog, Storm Gomoku 40mm Popper, Luckycraft SAMMY and the 76 Bent Minnow from O.S.P. It is not uncommon to come across other species while chasing whiting on the flats. Reports of monster flathead engulfing surface lures and biting straight

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Joe Allen with a nice Tweed River whiting taken on a Bassday Sugapen. 4lb. Run a rod length of 4-6lb fluorocarbon leader and you are set. Sunline and Unitika are some brands to look out for in your local. Without doubt the best whiting lure on the market for the Tweed region as the Bassday Sugapen. They come in a great range of colours, however MB-16 is a sure standout. All they require is a fast and constant walk the dog retrieve, and watch the whiting shoulder each other out of the way to climb all over it. Some other popular whiting lures are the Atomic K9 Walker and

through light leaders are common each season. Trevally and chopper tailor also frequent the flats, especially in the main arm of the river. If you are extremely lucky you might even hook a mangrove jack, particularly later in the season, and with not much structure around to do you on it would be an epic fight on the light stuff. So get out there and have some fun, have a great Christmas and a happy New Year. Be kind and courteous on the water this month, and remember, it’s just lovely being out there.

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Fantastic fun fishing the Goldy for Christmas SOUTHERN GOLD COAST

Mark Ward

Despite a run of unfavourable weather, which included everything from hailstorms to strong northerlies, the fishing has been fantastic. There are still a lot of the winter species being caught, but the warm weather has seen excellent beach and estuary fishing along the entire length of the Gold Coast. ESTUARY Most anglers report

good numbers of whiting all throughout the southern end of the Gold Coast. The high tides bring these fish up into the shallows where they can become very aggressive. When they are actively feeding, my tip is to keep the bait moving or use small surface lures. Simply cast out a yabby or worm bait and slowly retrieve it; this movement will see a lot more action. Red tubing and beads also work to attract whiting to the bait. The tube doubles to protect the light leader

when a flathead takes the moving bait. Target areas that have ‘dirty’ shallows – weed, yabby holes, deep edges etc. Avoid clean shallows that look like a perfect place for a swim. These areas just don’t hold enough food to keep the whiting there for too long. Flathead are still about, but are now moving around and are spread throughout the waterways. The smaller systems, like Tallebudgera and Currumbin creeks, have a lot of fish around the canal mouths and into the canals themselves while the Tweed will still have some big fish in the mouth of the river. Trevally and mangrove jack are also showing up in good numbers on the northern end of the coast and we should see the action fire up as well. I haven’t

Adam Ramsay with a mahimahi. There should be good patches of these fish over the next few months.

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This month will see the flathead moving up into the creeks and rivers. heard of many being caught around the lakes near Bond Uni and the central Gold Coast region yet, but these are the places to be focusing on as we get closer to Christmas. As soon as these areas get warm enough, the mangrove jack and trevally start gorging on the plentiful supply of bait fish. Live baits work very well, especially at night, but catching them on lures is always a thrill. Surface lures are fantastic at night and during low light but slowly rolling plastics with the odd pause

can really fire them up. Use a slow and steady retrieve with pauses to prevent the lure rising too high in the water column, especially if the fish are deep. The only trick with pausing a plastic is to make sure it has enough weight and is rigged straight so it swims as it pauses. Use paddle-tail plastics, like a ZMan SwimmerZ or Berkley Powerbait Shads, which have a paddle-tail that wobbles vigorously as it drops. BEACHES It is the best time of year to be in a pair of boardies as the sunrises, rod in hand as the receding waves strip the sand from between your toes. Beach fishing this month can be more relaxing than a warm spa and bottle of red. But there is a good chance of being pleasantly surprised. Whiting, dart and the odd bream are the main catch along the beach this month. The surprises are the big flathead that move along the beaches as they travel after their spring spawning. Tailor will still be around in patches and mulloway are

also a good chance. It is this time of year that massive bait schools can appear hard up against the shoreline and that means lots of predators chasing them. I have hooked three (but landed only one) long tail tuna from the beach of North Straddie. The tuna and sharks had forced them into the shallows and were taking metal slugs cast out behind the bait. This was a long time ago and was a case of being in the right place at the right time, but beach fishing this time of year can be extremely rewarding. OFFSHORE Big catches of bottom dwellers on the close reefs have seem many anglers come home with loaded ice boxes. Trag jew have been biting along with plenty of chopper tailor and the odd tusky on the close reefs. The gavel patch of Burleigh always fishes well when the trag are biting. Reports are suggesting that there are still a few small snapper on the close reefs as well. The close reefs may see a few spotted mackerel this month. It may just be worth fishing Mermaid or Palm Beach reefs with some livies and a heavy berley trail. The mackerel may show up but you’re always in with a chance of a big cobia as well this month. Fishing wider has seen kingfish taking deep jigs. Deep jigging for kingfish as well as amberjack and sambos can be hard work but the bone jarring bites and big runs are incredible. Mahimahi and tuna have been showing up around the FAD off Tweed. Mahimahi will be around in good numbers for the next few months, so now is the time to target them! The boys chasing big gamefish are also working the wider grounds for blue marlin and yellowfin. There have been a few landed when the weather has been settled so hopefully we will see flat seas and a lot more fish.

Summer and Cody Ward with a cracking whiting.

Good tides we bring this Christmas season GOLD COAST CANALS

Josh Dunn

As we head closer to the New Year, there’s still plenty on offer for 2017. GTs are really starting to fire all throughout the canals, Broadwater and Seaway. Big bream are hitting surface lures worked close to pontoons and rock walls, along with mangrove jack and a few flathead chasing mullet and whiting on the run-out tide. Lately I’ve found the run-out tide to be the best. In some cases, especially at night, I won’t

fish it unless it’s a run-out, as that’s where I’ve got most of my fish. As the weather starts to warm, some of the pelagic species start to come into the bite. Obviously the mackerel will be on the reefs, but closer inshore there are plenty of trevally. Giant trevally are the most common; they’re found all throughout the estuaries, always on the hunt for a feed. You may see them bust up along rock walls and around pontoons, chasing jelly prawns and small baitfish. It would be best to keep a surface lure combo close by where you

A few bass are getting around lately – this one was 44cm and caught on the author’s new Okuma outfit.

can get a quick cast into the action before sinking a hook into one of these brutes! A few whiting have been getting around lately and can be found lying in shallow water such as sand banks with under 1m of water. Again, the run-out tide seems to work best. The very top of the high also works well around mangrove-lined banks. Fishing with surface walkers and small poppers definitely has been catching them lately. If you’re out for a relaxing day, try fishing with small prawns or bloodworms if you can get your hands on some. The edges of these sand bars/banks seem to hold good fish and don’t be surprised if you catch a few flathead while you’re at it. Flathead have been up and down in the recent weeks; I’m yet to figure out if the storms have an effect on their bite and feeding patterns. Deep water has been a go-to for some anglers, but you can’t beat the sand flats. Casting soft plastics or diving hardbodies up on the flats and bringing them back is a great way to cover ground. Some anglers are

The author put ZMan 3” Slim SwimZ to the test with this decent flathead. also giving poppers a go for flathead in under a metre of water. It’s almost the same as whiting surface fishing; you’d just be upping your gear. Mangrove jack are coming in hot and while a lot of pups are getting caught, there are some monsters in the mix. There are already quite a few 60cm fish being caught in

our canals and a lot of 50cm fish. Most river systems are producing good fish, but the Coomera and Nerang river systems have been go-to options. Within the next month or two we should definitely see temperatures rise, both water and air temps. With this comes a lot of afternoon storms, some of them becoming quite dangerous.

I wouldn’t exactly recommend fishing in it, but I can say that bass and mangrove jack fire up just before an afternoon storm! December is a great month to head out there and target a few different species. With the run-out being the most successful tide lately, you’ll be sure to catch a few! See you out there!

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Wish ’hoo a Merry Xmas and a happy New Year JUMPINPIN

Mick Morris gembait@tpg.com

On those really hot December days, there’s nothing better than beating the heat by being out on the water and chasing a few fish. Early December’s warm water temperatures fire up the toothy critters like mangrove jack and cod inside the ’Pin, and mackerel, wahoo, cobia, tuna and the odd marlin outside the Pin. These brutes and speedsters are all phenomenal fighters and will test even the most seasoned angler. If you ever get the chance to fight and land one of these magnificent fish, you’ll know the adrenalin rush is just awesome. They cruise up and down the coast at this time of year feeding on the bait schools

just beyond the ’Pin Bar. When outside chasing larger predators, look for schools of bait on your sounder and drop your livey to the same depth as the bait school and wait for a strike. Alternatively, you can also troll skirts or diving lures around; this allows you to cover more ground and find where the fish are and at what depth they’re holding. Soft plastics are also a great alternative as they simulate the action of live bait and tempt the fish into a strike. The only problem with soft plastics is that these fish with razor sharp teeth destroy plastics in an instant. In the search for a jack or cod, look for heavilysnagged banks or rocky outcrops – they should hold a few fish. It has been a great start to summer with whiting expected to be on the chew;

There are some big fish just beyond the ’Pin Bar. the Green and Gold banks, Short Island, Slipping Sands and the sand banks near Little Rocky Point are the pick of spots to chase some good-sized fish. If you like chasing whiting in the Logan River, my pick

Nicholas Willett with a Pine River mulloway caught on a soft plastic while flathead fishing.

DECEMBER 2017

spots would be the Junction, Ageston Sands or the river mouth. Bloodworms, beach worms and yabbies are working best. Flathead should still be about in good numbers with lots of fish between the 40-50cm mark taking baits such as prawns, pillies, white bait and yabbies. Once again get out the flick stick and unleash the plastics on them around the edges of the banks that become exposed at low tide like the mud flats north of Cabbage Tree Point, the bottom of Kangaroo Island, the Pandannus Bank and the mouth of Cobby Passage. These are great spots on a dropping tide and there are sure to be some good lizards there. Muddies and sandies have also fired up since the new moon in November, so don’t forget your pots on your next trip out. If you can nudge deeper into the mangroves at the high tide when you drop your pots, this has been producing the best catches of muddies lately. Fish frames, chicken frames and off meat have been the better baits. Sandies

have been taken along the edges of channels such as Jacobs Well Channel, Tiger Muller, north Canaipa and up near the Powerlines. There should be bream and small juvenile snapper about the ‘Pin area with the bigger fish being taken

at night nearing the top of the tide. Stick to the deeper holes and snags where they tend to school or along rock walls. Chopped pillies, big balls of mullet or chook gut, flesh baits and banana prawns on 2/0-4/0 baitholder hooks should work the best when hunting bigger bream. Small vibes and blades have been working well too once you get the bream feeding. Be sure to berley up and get the fish excited and your catch will certainly improve. I’d like to take the opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year with plenty of fishing for all. I’ll catch you next month. • Thanks for all your reports and keep those fish coming in. If you’d like any advice or up to date fishing information drop us a line at Gem Bait & Tackle on (07) 3287 3868 or email gembait@tpg.com.au.

Scott Fleming with a monster cobia caught near the ’Pin.

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GOLD COAST

David Green

December should see small black marlin move into Gold Coast waters. In late spring there were good reports of juvenile black marlin in Hervey Bay and by now these fish should be off the Gold Coast. When the warm waters of the East Australian Current move inshore it will bring marlin, mahimahi, wahoo and mackerel to local waters. At the start of the season lure trolling is a good option. Look for warm blue current over 25°C and troll in areas where there is plenty of bait. In December there are usually big schools of pilchards, slimy mackerel and yellowtail over the inshore reefs. I like to troll a spread of five lures, usually skirted lures about 15-20cm in length. Good areas to try include the Cottons Reef east of Jumpinpin, the artificial reefs just north of the Seaway and the Gravel Patch off Burleigh Heads. The best water depths are usually between 20-60m. Small black marlin are quite happy to move very close inshore as long as the

mackerel and hopefully some early season Spanish and spotted mackerel. If the current is running and the water is nice and clean, it’s worth anchoring and

Aykut Ahmet with a big hen mahimahi. water is warm and baitfish are present. Out on the wider grounds the blue marlin activity should increase this month as the water warms up. This has been a 12 months of the year fishery in recent times, and through October (normally a very quiet month on the marlin front) good numbers of blue marlin have been caught from the edge of the continental shelf out to the wider grounds of Jims Mountain.

Some big fish well over 200kg have also been encountered. In December there is generally good water on these grounds and increased numbers of striped tuna that the big marlin feed on. Trolling large skirted lures is the preferred method, and use 37kg tackle as a minimum. While you can catch blue marlin on 24kg gear, they often comprehensively destroy you and it’s hard to get them back to the surface when

they dive down to the depths. Bottom fishing can be tough this month as the current picks up, but there will still be kings, amberjack and samsonfish on the 36 and 50 fathom reefs that can be caught on live baits and metal jigs. There should also be pearl perch. Pigfish, rosy jobfish and the odd snapper will be on these grounds but for the most part now is the time to put the deep water bottom fishing gear away until the warm summer

Mel Arnott releasing a small black marlin

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berleying with pilchards and fishing floating pilchards and live baits and also casting metal lures. There are a few small marlin in this area, so don’t be too surprised if you hook up on a 10-30kg marlin on a bait. ESTUARIES AND RIVERS December can still be a reasonable month to chase big flathead up on the flats on the top of the tide. Casting big stickbaits, large unweighted soft plastics and big shallow running minnows can all be effective. An early morning high tide is generally the best time to try this method, and cool mornings with a bit of cloud cover seem to help. Most of the fish caught are over 70cm in length. They have just spawned and are looking to put on condition, so they are often quite aggressive. In the rivers December is a great month to chase mangrove jack. Most of the action comes by casting shad tail soft plastics or hardbodied lures around the edges of floating pontoons, or by fishing rock bars and canal mouths. Very early in the morning at dawn is a good time to target mangrove jack on surface lures. A lot of the bigger jacks over 50cm long are caught in December. As well

as mangrove jack, these methods catch big-eyed and giant trevally, estuary cod and tailor. Over the last few years there have been increasing numbers of barramundi in Gold Coast waters, but December is in the closed season and these fish must be released. The mud crabs should start to show in numbers this month, especially if we have a good flush of rain. There were very few crabs in late spring, but hopefully the warmer water will make them more active. Good areas to try for mud crabs are the Pimpama River, Coombabah Creek, the north arm of the Coomera River and any small feeder creeks that drain into the main river. Try fresh fish or chicken frames for consistent results. Out in the main body of the Broadwater the sand crabs should also increase in numbers this month. Work areas of 3-6m in depth close to eel grass beds. Whiting should be active this month and the Nerang River generally fishes well for whiting at night. Yabbies, small shrimp, baby soldier crabs and worms are all very effective whiting baits. It can also be a good time to try for whiting on surface lures. Poppers and small stickbaits can be very effective when the whiting are actively

chasing small prawns, and fish up to 40cm in length are often encountered on surface lures in December. The Seaway and Jumpinpin entrances should produce a few flathead and mulloway this month on deep jigged plastics, live baits and soft vibe lures. There will also be plenty of tailor and a few trevally. As schools of pilchards move

into the area spinning with metal lures can be quite productive on the run-in tide when the water is clean. Overall, December is a great month to fish the Gold Coast with plenty of good options to try. Keep an eye on the weather as the storms can be severe, but from marlin to mangrove jack there are plenty of fish to catch.

Michael Green with an 81cm Jumpinpin flathead.

FISHING NEWS

History and Ecology of Moreton Bay Moreton Bay has been put under the microscope in a new publication from leading marine scientist and angler, Associate Professor Daryl McPhee from Bond University. Environmental History and Ecology of Moreton Bay delves into the geological formation of Moreton Bay, Indigenous and European history of the region, and its flora and fauna. Dr McPhee said Moreton Bay was a unique waterway, rich in fauna and steeped in history. “It is a melting pot of tropical and temperate species, which supports diverse and vibrant commercial and recreational fisheries,” he said. “This unique waterway cradles a region that is experiencing the most rapid urbanisation in Australia.” Dr McPhee said that one of the most significant events in the environmental history of Moreton Bay since European settlement, was the loss of extensive oyster reefs as a result of flooding of the catchments

newly cleared by European agriculture techniques in the 1890s. “Our local sub-tidal oyster reefs are functionally extinct,” he said. “If these habitat losses were occurring now, they would be the number one environmental issue on our radar. However, we suffer from generational amnesia. Unless you unearth the past like I have, it is difficult to understand what was lost.” Environmental History and Ecology of Moreton Bay is priced at SRP $69.95 from www.publish. csiro.au. – CSIRO

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Dodging traffic to find the fish SOUTHERN BAY

Nick Whyte

This month is holiday month! There will be plenty of boat traffic, but hopefully plenty of fish for the anglers who know where to look. Make sure while enjoying the summer weather that you look out for your fellow anglers

and be wary of the extra boat traffic. Warm weather with plenty of storms should see mangrove jack harassing baitfish all over South East Queensland. Small timberlined creeks, canals and rocky headlands will all be producing fish. Mangrove jack fishing requires major patience and persistence, but once you finally crack

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your first jack they will keep rolling. Just be aware that you’ll get addicted to this species! The Nerang River seems to be holding good numbers around the Sundale Bridge, but all rock bars and bridges will be producing fish. Live baits around bridges and submerged timber are probably the easiest way to entice a bite from a hungry jack, but for the anglers chasing them on lures, there’s

an array that can bring these fish undone. ZMan 4” DieZel MinnowZ are a standout soft plastic swimbait, and prawn imitation soft plastics are also a great tool. Zerek Fish Traps fished deep around rock bars or rock walls will see some reels squeal as well. Hardbodies like the Tilsan Barra and Bagley Rumble B are also favourites of mine. Both of these lures have no rattle, and I think the jacks zone into them better in

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clear water and don’t spook off them. Summer whiting have again been dominant, with good reports from Lone Pine in the Logan, Pimpama, Nerang and Jumpinpin. Bigger fish have been coming out to play at night, and the best results have been on fresh worms. For those anglers wanting to throw topwater lures for

them, try the banks around Slipping Sands, the bottom of Russell Island or the banks at Ageston Sands in the Logan. Pelagics should be in full swing this month, with spotted mackerel, school mackerel and longtail tuna around the top half of the bay. Tangalooma and the Four Beacons will be worth the effort, and hopefully we’ll see some push down around the top of Peel Island. Try to match your slug or plastic to the bait size the fish are feeding on; 25-30g is always a great size to start with. Big bream love the bay shallows in the warmer months, and best of all they love to eat big topwater stickbaits. Use lures to 100mm and the big fellas will crash through the pack for them. Areas like South West Rocks, Goat Island and the northern side of Coochie will

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Richie Lucker scored this nice mulloway on a 5” ZMan PaddlerZ.

see 1kg+ fish in 1ft of water. It makes for exciting fishing on the light stuff. There’s been the odd good thready and mulloway caught in the Brissy River, with fish to 112cm reported of late. The best lures have been the Zerek Fish Traps worked slow and close to the bottom. There’s a lot of water between fish, so it definitely pays to have a decent sounder and know how to interpret it to save time fishing dead water. December and January usually mean fewer squiresize snapper, but on the plus side there are more bigger models caught – especially in the deeper water over 10m. Search for isolated structure or try the artificials at West Peel, Harry Atkinson or east of Coochie. You don’t have to fish big lures to catch fish – just remember that elephants eat peanuts. ZMan 3” MinnowZ are a small lure that pack a lot of punch. I always prefer green lures in the bay, so colours like green lantern, lime and baby bass are worth a swim. If you have a great capture from the Southern Bay and you would like to share it, send me an email at techfishing@ hotmail.com. Until next month, tech-it-easy. • If you would like to learn more about targeting fish on lures or want to get the most out of your sounder, please call Nick on 0422 213 669 to customise an on-water session to suit your fishing or sounder needs. Check out the Tech Fishing Facebook page for more information. Your boat – Nick’s knowledge – more fish!

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A great variety of species on offer this month BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

Hot conditions really fire up pelagic species in the waters off the South East Queensland coastline. Mackerel, tuna, mahimahi, wahoo, marlin, sailfish, kingfish and numerous others can be located and caught with the right techniques. Every year is a little different to the last and you never know when the exodus of baitfish and hungry pelagics will show up. Luckily there are also plenty of other species and crustaceans for anglers to occupy themselves with until the speedsters arrive. December fishing can be rather exciting, with loads on offer and plenty of anglers on annual leave to take advantage of the estuarine and oceanic offerings. Let’s look at a few of your options. MACKEREL Everyone’s favourite bay speedster is the mackerel. There have been good numbers of school mackerel to be caught in recent months, however anglers have found plenty that haven’t made the minimum 50cm size limit. By now, a lot more should be making the grade and anglers will be able to slide a couple into the esky for the evening meal. If baitfish concentrations are healthy, both school and spotted mackerel could regularly be found surface feeding at a variety of locations throughout the bay. Hopefully the spotties will arrive nice and early this year, however the best action is often not found until later in the month. At times, immense surface feeding conglomerations of mackerel (and often numerous tuna and bonito species) will be located. This situation allows anglers plenty of time to get into position, fire out a cast and retrieve their highspeed offering (commonly a slug, chromed slice, stickbait or jighead rigged jerk shad) fast enough to elicit a hook-up. When the baitfish are less concentrated or not as prevalent, anglers may need to stalk their prey to get a cast in front of them. On exceptionally calm days, the V-shaped wakes will indicate where the mackerel are as they swim just below the surface in search of baitfish and other morsels. Often it pays to hang around an area where you have seen some previous surface activity – even the slightest splash – that indicates that 38

DECEMBER 2017

mackerel or other pelagics are in the area. Drifting pilchards around the fringes of the Bay Islands, the shipping channel beacons, artificial reefs and the Measured Mile area will generally reward. These baits are commonly rigged on ganged hooks and suspended a few metres beneath a float. Often it also pays to have a bait close to the bottom. Jigging chromed slugs and slices around structures such as the shipping channel beacons can also produce numerous fish on consecutive casts. The slug or slice is cast out, allowed to sink to the bottom and then retrieved back to the boat with an erratic, fast retrieve or a straight highspeed retrieve. Good areas to search for surface feeding mackerel can include the artificial reefs, outer fringes of the Bay Islands, the shipping channels, just north of ‘the Paddock’ green zone and the area between Mud Island and the Measured Mile, just to name a few. Calm days allow you to cover large areas of water and any surface feeding fish can be seen from a considerable distance. Birds will often indicate

Hopefully we will see some quality longtails throughout Moreton Bay in the coming months. These fish don’t come easy and are a tough adversary, even on moderate tackle. called ‘northern blues’ they are the largest tuna species to be caught within the bay and can reach sizes in excess of 30kg. Average specimens are commonly around 9-10kg, however in recent years there have also been a lot of 13-17kg specimens caught. Longtails fight exceptionally hard and any genuine capture above line

casts well and has some serious stopping power to subdue larger specimens in a reasonable time and allow them to be released in a fairly healthy state. Longtails will respond to a fairly broad array of offerings. In the bait department, live offerings are definitely the best, however I have seen the odd one caught on whole

The latter half of December will hopefully see some decent numbers of prawns as we experienced last year. Some tasty crustaceans for the Christmas Day spread would be great. the presence of feeding fish; however, don’t rely solely on them as your only way to find some activity. Often the slightest splash or surface ripple is all there is to indicate their presence. It regularly pays to have a spin rod rigged and ready when travelling throughout Moreton Bay as mackerel, tuna and bonito can turn up anywhere. LONGTAIL TUNA One of the more favoured pelagics regularly found throughout the bay are the longtail tuna. Also

class (the fish weighing more than the breaking strain of the line used) is a good effort. While chasing these sashimi torpedoes on light line can be a lot of fun with a long fight time, attacks from sharks, hooks falling out from a widening of the penetration point and other misfortunes can be common. Often the larger specimens will fight to total exhaustion, therefore many will not survive release. These days I commonly use 15-20kg braided line, which

dead fish baits such as pilchards, gar, slimy mackerel and yakkas. A live yakka or slimy mackerel will rarely go untouched if there is a longtail in the area, however live squid, gar, pike, cowanyoung and others can be used successfully. Live baiting is generally done around areas where baitfish are more common, such as beacons, current lines, wrecks and the edges of prominent channels. Longtails are often found feeding right on the

surface and the splashing or full breach of a fish is often sighted from some distance away. A careful approach will often get you within casting distance. If the longtails have sounded, continued casting in the area will often raise a fish. Chromed slugs and slices, stickbaits, glidebaits, pencil poppers, jerk shad plastics and several others will reward when fished appropriately. Like mackerel, longtails can be found almost anywhere throughout the bay. Starting your search along the major shipping channels, the outer fringes of the Bay Islands, Rainbow Channel, Pearl Channel and along the western side of Moreton Island will put you in good stead. MANGROVE JACK Previous months have produced some decent numbers of quality jacks for anglers fishing the waters throughout South East Queensland. The creek and river systems north and south of Brisbane have fished well for jacks, however the Brisbane River rarely produces them. The canals have plenty of structure and are great places to fish despite being heavily populated. In the rivers, anglers generally probe the deeper mangrove lined banks, around the bridges, rocks walls, rock bars and any other prominent structures. Live baits will produce and are a great way to score a few jacks when you know there are a few in the general area, and lures allow you to cover a large portion of water in your search. Diving minnow lures, jighead rigged plastics, topwater offerings, vibration baits and many others can be used successfully.

A broad array of minnow lures are used successfully by anglers, however high quality offerings such as the Lucky Craft Pointers, Smith Cherry Blood, Jackall Squirrel and Duo Fangbaits are some of the more popular choices. Paddle-tail soft plastics, either jighead rigged or rigged weedless are easy to cast into heavily structured areas and offer a relatively cheap, effective and easy-to-use offering that can be worked through a variety of water depths. In addition to jacks, other species such as estuary cod, trevally, flathead, bream, tarpon, mulloway and others will fall for these lures. Generally these are a welcome by-catch, especially on those quieter periods when the jacks are scarce. Early mornings, late afternoons and night sessions often present some of the best fishing, as these are periods when the jacks are more active and there are fewer vessels on the water. THREADFIN SALMON The warmer months offer anglers some great fishing for threadies. The lower reaches of the Brisbane, Logan and Caboolture rivers and most larger systems will all hold numbers of threadies. Quite a few have been taken in the Jumpinpin area in recent months, many up on the shallow flats by anglers targeting flathead and the like. The Brisbane River offers the healthiest population of threadies with many anglers scoring more than a handful of quality fish for a session on the water. The lower reaches from around the Gateway to the outer leads beacons offer some of the best opportunities during the warmer months, although threadies can be caught right along the length of the Brisbane River. Often they will school in numbers around the submerged ledges and the dredge holes at the mouth, especially on those hot, humid afternoons. Vibration baits and soft plastics are both popular and productive offerings with a broad array that will produce the goods. Falling tides are a good time to be working your offerings along the edges of the prominent banks and submerged decline into the main river basin, especially around the fronts of the jetties. Night sessions casting lures around any lighted areas will often reward anglers with quality threadies taken right up past the city reaches. Quality sounders and

good knowledge of their workings will make it a lot easier to locate threadies and many anglers rely solely on their sounders to find fish before they will even make a cast. Live baits such as herring, mullet, banana prawns, pike and gar will also produce threadies in these same areas, and plenty of less desirable species will also be caught. Catfish, pike eels, sharks and rays will all be on the chew and plentiful during the warmer months. However, live baits will also put you in a good position to score a few threadies and offer a relaxed way to fish during hot conditions. PRAWNS The last couple of prawning seasons have been amazing with plenty on offer and a very long season. Prawns were caught in numbers from late December until mid September over the last year. I got my first limit on 23 December from the Caboolture River to put a few tasty crustaceans on the Christmas Day spread. From here I prawned in the Pine River, Brisbane River and then into the Southern Bay at locations around Lamb Island, Karragarra Island and Macleay Island. Whether the prawns

show up early this year is anyone’s guess, but hopefully the rivers north of Brisbane will produce at some time during December. Regardless, getting ready for when the prawns show up makes good sense. A quality cast net should be your first serious purchase, and you can pay in excess of $400 for a quality handmade net. Obviously you need to be serious about prawning to make that investment, however a quality net (most are locally made) will pay for itself. All locally made nets are high quality and while some prawners are in one camp or another with their choice of net, all nets will do the job admirably. If one of these high quality, handmade products isn’t in your budget, check out the new productionmade prawning nets from SureCatch and Jarvis Walker. These are around the $200 mark and do the job. Proper prawning nets are generally 12ft in diameter and only have a top pocket, no bottom pocket. The prawns will flick to the top of the net and are held there by the pocket. This pocket can then be opened at the top to easily remove the prawns. The lack of a bottom pocket eliminates the need to clean the net of

excess trash such as shell grit, rocks, small fish, jelly balls and other things. There are numerous ways to throw a cast net well. I use a method called the ‘American shrimpers’ method’ which I find requires the least effort for the best cast. Prawns will become more abundant in the coming weeks and months, so get yourself a net and be ready to get amongst them. CRABBING Mud crabs and blue swimmer crabs (sand crabs) can be on the menu for Christmas if you make the effort to set a few pots. The upper reaches of the creeks, rivers and estuaries are the best places to set pots for muddies. Deeper holes, the mouths of creeks, gutters and drains and collapsed mud banks offer great opportunities. Blue swimmer crabs can be found in the lower reaches of the estuaries and rivers and well out into Moreton Bay. Setting pots along ledges, deeper gutters and channels as well as the outer margins of the bay islands (generally in 5-10m of water) will give you a good chance of scoring a few crabs. Safety pots set using baits such as fish heads and frames, chicken carcasses or whole mullet

are the best bet. Smaller baits such as chicken necks and pieces, pilchards and smaller fish offcuts can be put in a mesh envelope that still lets out the flavour yet contains the bait and stops the crabs eating and dispersing it too quickly. Check that your crabbing apparatus is labelled properly and complies with current regulations before heading out and ensure you can tell the difference between the males and females of each

species and are familiar with the current size and bag limits for each. CONCLUSION There’s plenty of variety on offer for anglers during December. The kids and many adults will soon be on holiday so you can expect an increased number of anglers on the water. However, there are plenty of fish, prawns and crabs for all so it should be happy days. While a little extra courtesy will be required at the ramps and on the water,

there’s plenty of quality fishing to be enjoyed. The December heat will require some slip, slop, slap and slurp precautions, however a fun day out on the water (possibly with a cooling swim at one of the many sandy bays or beaches) around Moreton Bay will be enjoyed by all. A tasty seafood feast at the end of the day will be an added bonus. Merry Christmas to all and stay safe while out in the great outdoors.

Hopefully the spotted mackerel will show up en masse throughout December, however that will depend on water temperatures and baitfish conglomerations. High-speed spinning is an exciting and productive way to score a few of these tasty sportfish.

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Using the current and moon to your advantage BRISBANE OFFSHORE

John Gooding

We had a fairly average run of weather recently, only managing the odd charter here and there. Since then we’ve had a couple of extended periods of good weather and we’ve managed to crank out plenty of catches back-toback and get a good handle on the fish.

amberjack, yellowtail kingfish and quality trag when we’ve been live baiting. Areas that have been producing for us include the 33s, 42s, the 90m line and Shallow Tempest. Those lines of reef didn’t produce every time we dropped a line on them; certain moon phases fished well, but once that window of opportunity passed we would move to another area that fished well for me in

There have still been plenty of good juvenile snapper about. Again, quality juvenile snapper and the odd snapper up to around 8kg has kept us busy, along with a few

the past on that particular phase of the moon. Keeping a logbook helps you remember what area fished

well and when. This month with the water temperature getting up a little more, it’s definitely time to sharpen the hooks on the lures and have a troll for some Spanish mackerel, wahoo and tuna. There have been reports of some solid fish caught already, so let’s hope their numbers pick up even more and we are in for a decent season, especially on the wahoo, as we are overdue for a good season. As I mentioned last month, there has been a fair amount of bait around and again this month we’ve seen plenty of bait schools flicking around on the surface while we’ve been travelling between spots, so things are looking positive for a half decent season on pelagics. One thing we have had lately is a couple of knots of current running to the south. The water has been that cobalt blue colour and that excites me because it usually means the fish are going to chew. The old saying of ‘no run, no fun’ to me is so true and once you’ve learned to fish current with the use of a good sea anchor and the correct size of lead to

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The author with an 8kg snapper floatlined on the 33s. drift with the boat, you’ll know it’s a good time to fish as well! Merry Christmas to all and stay safe on the water over the holidays with a lot of extra boat traffic on the water. • Until next month, enjoy your fishing, take care on the coastal bars and if you’d like to join me on charter (max. eight persons), give me a call on (07) 3822 9527 or 0418 738 750 or visit my website outlawcharters.com.au.

Anglers have been getting plenty of good trag lately.

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Activity is ramping up in the northern bay NORTHERN BAY

Grayson Fong graysonfong@bigpond.com

The northern bay has been a hive of activity over the start of the summer season with consistent fishing throughout the many estuaries and creeks. This time of year is a key time for the bread and butter species of bream, flathead and whiting, as they are very active feeders during times of increased water temperature. These conditions are also very favourable for using hardbody lures and soft plastics, as the reaction bite for many of these species is intense around the hotter months. PUMICESTONE PASSAGE Bribie is such a great place around this time of

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is something for everyone to do on this island. Flathead have been the mainstay lately through the passage with the ebb tide being the best time to target these bottom feeders. Lures like the 3” ZMan Slim SwimZ have been great to use when targeting flathead, rigged on a 1/6oz 1/0 jighead for an ideal action and sink rate. On the hardbody front, Daiwa Double Clutch 75s, Atomic Jerk Minnow 65s and Zerek Tango Shads have been favoured lures with 8-10lb leader helping to increase bite rates. Diver whiting are still being caught off the Cockle Banks with the southeasterlies proving to be helpful for keeping them on the bite. Fresh baits like squid and worms have been the choice of locals even when chasing the

bigger sand whiting on the eastern beaches. Red Beach and the beach area around Welsby Lagoon have been the hotspots for sand whiting, with the

outstanding part of the river, but the upper reaches have led the way this summer, as recent rains have done wonders acting like a natural enema for the river. The highway bridge has been fishing well throughout the whole run-out tide and Deepwater Bend is working well, especially for the bait fishers. Juvenile mulloway have also been reported upriver along with the occasional small mangrove jack being pulled during low light hours. In the lower reaches, bream and flathead have been on the bite with the deeper waters under the Houghton and Ted Smout bridges being the pick of the areas. Drop-offs downriver from Bald Hills Creek are definitely worth checking out for flathead, especially at the bottom of the tide as the current slows down. Slow hopping soft plastics has

across the bommies. Shields Street has been the surprise ticket for juvenile snapper this month with Margate Beach also working well for anglers anchored up on the incoming tide. On the bream front, many of the areas are firing on the high tide; slow rolled plastics are working well on 1/12oz jigheads. The Wells area has been a little slow recently and is expected to pick up as southeasterlies force more bait into the Hays Inlet area. Sand whiting are still being pulled from Margate Beach with diver whiting also being caught still in Bramble Bay. Sand crab numbers have been good at the Deception Bay end of the peninsula with some success also happening in the Woody Point/Clontarf area. Just across from the peninsula, a worthy mention goes to Cabbage Tree Creek

It’s a great time for topwater breaming. incoming tide proving advantageous. Small juvenile snapper have also been caught around 112 and at the ripples around the mouth of the canals. Pilchard halves have been very popular with a light presentation being a positive move. PINE RIVER The Pine has been slow through the spring and has been gathering momentum slowly as the water and air temperatures increase. The lower reaches are the usual

worked exceptionally well in this area with the occasional bream being picked up along the way. REDCLIFFE PENINSULA After a really slow winter and spring, it’s good to see the peninsula fishing a little more to its potential like we have seen in the past. Juvenile snapper numbers have been good lately with soft plastics and the larger Cranka Crabs getting good results when worked slowly

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with good flathead coming from the mouth out from Baxters Jetty and good bream around the active prawn trawlers; just watch out for the mozzies! TIP OF THE MONTH Mosquitoes, sandflies and midges are very common in all corners of the northern bay, so be sure to pack some appropriate repellent when fishing this summer. Whether land-based or on a boat, no one is immune to these biters.

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Great catches from Sunshine Coast rivers NOOSA

Peter Wells

December has to be one of the best fishing months of the year, with perfect early mornings and warm nights that are great for chasing those predators in the river. We also see great

offshore conditions, which are perfect for targeting those pelagics. The Noosa River is again producing with a great mix of fish including flathead, bream, whiting, trevally, tailor and of course mangrove jacks. Most of the action has been in the lower parts of the system, with the spring rains

Zane Anderson got his first-ever flathead and it was a beauty at 59cm. His dad was there to help with the capture.

forcing the bait closer to the mouth. Whole fish baits like whitebait, hardiheads and pillies floated along dropoffs and edges have been working well on the run-out tides. When chasing flathead, plastics like the 4” River2Sea Chasebait Paddle Baits fished low in the water column have delivered great results. There have been reports of quality whiting being caught around Weyba Creek and the lower Gympie Terrace areas. Live worms and yabbies have produced some real elbow-slappers. Surface lures like the C’ultiva Zip N Ziggy and the new Jackson Risk Bait are working well on the tailor as they make their way into the river chasing baitfish. Areas like the Sand Bags, Woods Bay and the river mouth have produced some good fish. Trevally have also been in on the action, with big GTs and golden trevally on offer. Night hours and low light periods have seen some good mangrove jack being caught. Paddle-tail plastics and prawn imitation soft plastics have been accounting for some good fish when fished around heavy structure like docks and Tewantin Harbour. Crabs are really coming

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Ben Pirolo got this great jack from the upper reaches of the Maroochy River; these fish have been in good numbers particularly when the stormy weather is around. on with some large bucks potted after the rains last month. Fresh mullet continues to be the prime bait. For the anglers that love to fish the Maroochy River, it also delivered some good catches of crabs. The popular creeks like Eudlo and Petrie have seen some good bucks, with better-than-average catches coming from the lower parts of the main river system. The Twin Waters canals have been a jack hotspot with fish between 50-60cm being taken under the bridges. Suspending lures like the Zerek Tango Shad 69mm have been delivering the goods. Heading up the Maroochy River, you can chase a jack or mulloway by bouncing Fish Candy soft vibes or Samaki Thumper Tails off the bottom. Down river around Chambers Island and the Black Banks the whiting have been in good numbers with worms, peeled prawns and live yabbies being the best baits. Don’t forget, if the whiting are a little timid then drop your hook size and place red tube above the hook, as this will improve your hook-up rate. On the beaches there have been plenty of whiting taken. After the heavy weather we had last month plenty of good gutters have formed and these tasty fish are calling them home. Freshly pulled beach worms or pipis have been the gun baits. Dart have also been in great numbers. The run-in and top of the tide seem to be the most productive. The hot bite has been north of Teewah on the Noosa North Shore, with plenty of tailor on offer. On the new moon we have also seen some goodsize mulloway taken on slide bait rigs. These rigs are great as they give you the chance to punch a big sinker out to the back of the breakers and then you can run a live bait down the line. They’re absolute candy for a big mulloway or even a passing mackerel.

To learn more about the slide bait style of fishing, call in and see our friendly staff at either of our two stores. On the offshore scene this is that time of year when we all get really excited, as December usually means the start to the pelagic season. Most reefs will see good schools of both spotted and school mackerel with the odd bigger Spanish amongst them. Slow trolled dead baits like Hervey Bay garfish, large saury, slimy mackerel and large pilchards rigged with a squid skirt will attract plenty of attention. Tuna will also be plentiful with reports already coming through of good schools of fish just off the coast. When chasing tuna, it’s all about matching the hatch, so make sure you have a great array of slugs available. Lures made of tungsten like the Zerek Chilli Patti get better cast

On the southern reefs Coolum and the Gneerings have been good for a feed of sweetlip and snapper. Anglers at Murphies Reef have had their arms stretched with some great kingies coming over the side. In the freshwater, soft weedless plastics fished close around the edges in Lake Macdonald have been producing bass. Grub-tail and paddle-tail lures have been working well with the new Keitech range getting some standout fish. Trolling smaller 40-70mm diving lures with a wide bib ensures great action at lower speeds such as the new Duo Total Shad, which can be trolled along the weed edges and along the drop-offs. Lake Borumba is producing some quality toga and bigger bass in the 45cm range with spinnerbaits and blades working well.

Tyrone Mangold got this very nice kingfish fishing Murphys Reef; which engulfed a live yakka. weight without getting too big in terms of profile. Cobia have been caught in good numbers over the last couple of months with plenty of fish taken on live baits like yakkas fished as a floater. Those that have made the trip to the outer reefs have been well rewarded with plenty of quality fish from the bottom including amberjack, snapper, sweetlip, cod and pearl perch.

• Log onto www.fishingnoosa. com.au for all the latest up-to-date info on what’s biting and bar crossing reports. Don’t forget to drop into Davo’s Tackle World in Noosa or Davo’s Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola for good local advice and the best range of quality tackle on the coast. Davo’s Boating and Outdoors at Noosa has a massive range of kayaks and boating accessories.

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Perfect

All I want for Christmas FMG

Nicole Penfold nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au

Here it is – our bumper 2017 Christmas Gift Guide! We have hand-picked these products from all the great releases we’ve seen over the past 12 months or so, and have included prices to work with different budgets. There’s something here for everyone, whether you’re buying a present or you want to let your loved ones know what to buy for you. My only regret is that I couldn’t include big ticket items like kayaks, seeing as they don’t fit under the tree and require a lot of wrapping paper. However, every product that didn’t make the Christmas Gift Guide is at www.tacklejunkie.fish, so be sure to head there if you want more inspiration!

ACCESSORIES

First cab off the rank is the ZMan Bait BinderZ wallet (SRP$16.95). I love ZMans, but anyone who uses them knows that their supercharged plastic doesn’t play well with other soft plastics. I found this out the hard way, after one of my Jackall Masks got melted to death. With a ZMan Bait BinderZ case you’ll keep your ZMans safely away from other soft baits, in a way that makes it easy to find the model and colour you’re after in seconds. Bait BinderZ feature nickelplated, corrosion-resistant rings that have been spaced to fit the reinforced, pre-punched holes in the bottom of standard size

Bait BinderZ are constructed from 500-denier nylon for durability, and feature a carry handle for easy transport. They will hold 10-15 packets of ZMan plastics. You can check them out at www.zman.com.au.

BLACK MAGIC LEADER FEEDER

If you know an offshore angler who could do with some organising, here’s the perfect present: the Black Magic Leader Feeder (SRP$35), which is back by popular demand. This quality leader dispenser holds up to five spools of monofilament

DECEMBER 2017

The last cool accessory I want to mention is the waterproof Hard Korr Unilight (SRP$29). This small, versatile light has an inbuilt magnet and a strong, long lasting elastic strap that attaches to grab rails, tackle boxes, wheel wells,

CHASEBAITS ULTIMATE SQUID

Chasebaits Ultimate Squid (SRP$19.99), whose first in-water swimming video went viral within minutes. It’s that lifelike! The best feature is the delicately moulded wings on either side of the mantle, which have a rolling, rippling action, exactly like a real squid. Other features include realistic 3D custom squid eyes, supple tentacles and a potent squid scent for maximum attraction. You can work the Ultimate Squid in a variety of ways – twitching, jigging or just adding it to a dropper rig to waft naturally in the current. In field testing the Ultimate Squid has been smashing snapper and other reef fish, even after its tentacles have been bitten off. If you buy it for someone (or get one of your kids to), be sure to whip out your phone on Christmas Day to show the recipient one of the Chasebaits Squid YouTube videos. If you’d rather buy some plastics with a range of smaller sizes and colours, the brand new Squidgies Bio-Tough range (from

take them off. The series is manufactured in Japan, and has taken the most reliable lure shapes from the original Squidgies range and redeveloped the design to improve their already great fish-catching ability. The range consists of the Bio Tough Wriggler (100mm and 120mm), Fish (80mm and 100mm) and Flick Bait (75mm and 100mm). This provides anglers with a range of baits to suit a variety of estuary and freshwater applications. There are

or fluorocarbon leader. You can use other leader brands in it besides Black Magic, but because the Leader Feeder has been designed

for Black Magic leader, those spools are a perfect fit and the line comes off very smoothly and easily. The Leader Feeder is convenient to use, minimises tangles, features high quality stainless-steel feed holes

tent poles, awnings, camper trailers, and more. It weighs only 85g but pumps out up to 100 lumens of light, and there’s also an orange light option to both reduce bugs and help your night vision. The Unilight is IP66 waterproof and can be powered with either 3 x AAA batteries or Korr’s specially designed rechargeable lithium battery. The battery life is 4-6 hours on the high setting and 80-90 hours on the low setting. Like other Hard Korr lights it’s built tough with high quality materials, and is backed by a 2-year Australian warranty. Keep one in your tackle box, tinny, garage or with your camping gear, and you’ll have instant light wherever you need it.

six UV-enhanced colours, ranging from bloodworm for bream right through to pink glitz for flathead. As you’d expect, the actions are great too, both when twitched through the water column and at rest in

SQUIDGIES BIO-TOUGH

SRP$12.95) is the go. Instead of being made of traditional plastic, they feature a synthetic bioplastic that is highly durable, stretchy and more environmentally friendly. And unlike some other bio baits, they won’t dry out and turn into concrete on your hook if you forget to

GOING SOFT

A couple of packs of plastics is an affordable if not exactly mind-blowing gift – unless it’s something totally new and different. That’s exactly what you get with the

LIVE TARGET SWIMBAITS

award-winning Live Target Swimbaits (from SRP$23). There’s a number of species in the series, including mullet, sardine, perch, and trout. Each one has been fitted with an oscillator that generates a side-to-side tail swing action. The finish is very realistic, and there’s also a hook guard built into the dorsal fin of each swimbait, so you can throw them into some gnarly cover! Sizes range from 4.5” to 7.5”, depending on the model. You can see all the species at www.ejtodd.com.au.

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HARD KORR UNILIGHT

ZMAN BAIT BINDERZ

ZMan packets. This means you can store your ZMans in their original packs, which means no double handling opening sleeves to get packets out, or leaving loose packets where they can blow away.

and a clear pocket so you can label your choice of line weights. It’s strong and durable, and can be clipped onto your tackle bag for maximum convenience. You can find more details at www.blackmagictackle.com.

low current conditions. And when a fish is caught, the bait’s Dura Stretch properties keep it in top condition and ready to be deployed again. These baits are also verified to be 50% biodegradable within the first three years. Other great new soft baits making a splash are the

There’s one more lure I want to mention which isn’t actually a soft plastic, but a hybrid glide bait. It’s called the Strike Pro TrueGlide Guppie (SRP$44), and it’s set to be a hit with anglers chasing mulloway, barra, threadfin salmon and more. This 5.3” (13.5cm) glide bait is manufactured with paint or glitter on the inside shell of the bait, in addition to paint on the outside, to create a 3D effect. This procedure also prolongs the colour of the lure. The Guppie has 3D eyes and a compact shape to maximize hookup rates, and its convex body shaping from the top to the belly exposes the hook points for better hook sets. The body profiling also adds extra flash and belly roll. The most interesting feature though is the interchangeable soft plastic tails. A spring screw at the rear of the lure lets you modify the bait simply by screwing on or off one of the optional tail types. A paddle tail and grub tail are included, and replacement

tails are also available separately. For more info visit www.jurofishing.com.

LIGHT READING

We’ve found a great new book for yakkers: the second edition of the Paddler’s Guide to New South Wales (SRP$44.95), available from the Aquayak online store at www.aquayak.com. The expert advice and guides

Ideas

easier-to-use trip locator maps, fishing information and recommended places to eat, drink and stay the night. There’s also expert equipment advice regarding kayaks, canoes, stand up paddleboards, fishing and transport. If you’re in Victoria or Queensland, there are

maps, historical information and local points of interest, expert equipment advice regarding kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddle boards, preparation advice, and over 150 full-colour photos.

APPAREL

Samaki have made fantastic fishing shirts over the years, featuring a wide SAMAKI SALTY DOG TEE

PADDLER’S GUIDE

contained in the first edition have been revised, updated and enhanced for this new book, and a massive 140 paddling destinations have been included. Other improvements include

Paddler’s Guide books for those states too, and they’re priced at $35 each. Both books include at least 65 paddling trips (with descriptions, maps and GPS coordinates), trip locator

range of species, including barra, mangrove jack, mulloway, snapper, mudcrab and Murray cod. Now they have branched out into T-shirts, and the first design to be released is the Salty

Dog Tee (SRP$39.95), which represents all tough old sea dogs, standing at the helm of a rocking boat, waiting for that bite. The quality cotton fabric used in this shirt is soft to the touch and very comfortable. The highdensity printing enhances the artwork, and the regular fit shape suits all body types. It comes in navy/yellow and black/white, and sizes range from S-3XL. You can see the full range of apparel at www. samaki.com.au. Another great fishing apparel company is Bigfish Gear, and they have released

a new Jack Attack II shirt (SRP$89.95). These shirts are available from a child’s size 2 right through to 5XL for the big boys, so there’s a size to fit everyone in the family. Like all Bigfish UPF50 shirts, they feature BFMaxFlow fabric – a high performance, moisturewicking material that is not only soft to feel, but durable, breathable and cool. For more info head to www. bigfishgear.com. And if you need a new pair of sunnies, you will not find a better range than Costa (SRP$269-$349). These premium fishing

BIGFISH JACK ATTACK II

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sunglasses come in a huge array of styles and lens types, so there’s a shape to fit everyone and a lens to suit every angling situation. Their quality Bio Resin frames are built to last, and their 580 lens technology blocks the harshest light waves in the visible spectrum, and enhances the portions that help you see more clearly into the water. You really

off literal photos of baitfish species, and you can’t get any more realistic than that. Released late last year, these shrinkable and inexpensive covers will help protect the paint on your new lures, or rejuvenate your old favourites after they have lost their paint. And if you have a ton of failed lures that haven’t caught a fish yet (let’s be honest, we all have

COSTA SUNGLASSES

have to try them on to see how great they are, so get yourself to your nearest Costa stockiest and choose the best model for you. To view the full range visit www.costadelmar.com.au.

FOR THE DIY-ER

You don’t have to be an expert tinkerer to use the next two DIY products. They’re a lot of fun, are easy to do, and you get that bonus satisfaction of catching a fish on something you’ve done yourself. The first DIY product is JigSkinz (SRP$20 for a 4-pack). It’s a bit like one of those slick vinyl boat wraps, but downsized so you can pimp your lures with an incredibly realistic finish. Most of the skins are based

a bunch of unloved failures stashed away), this product can revamp them and finally get some runs on the board. To apply the JigSkinz, you just slip the new skin over the lure and place it in hot water. The moment your lure hits the hot water, the skin will shrink tightly over your lure and boom – 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,

JIGSKINZ

Perfect

it to create bathymetric maps. The antenna ensures constant WiFi connectivity for the highest signal range. The Pro model provides a 150ft (45m) depth and 160ft (49m) WiFi range, and the 3D model offers

PRO-TEC POWDER PAINT

jigheads, lipless crankbaits, bibbed minnows and skirted pusher heads. The skins come in a dizzying array of colours and lifelike patterns, plus there’s a clear skin to help protect your new lures. Patterns include: flying fish, mackerel, mullet, sardine, perch, holographic colours, lumo and more. You can check them all out at www. jmgillies.com.au. Anglers who like flicking plastics will have a lot of fun with Pro-Tec Powder Paint (SRP$23.50) from the Atomic Trick Bitz range. This powder coat allows you to customize your jigheads with no mess and no odour. There’s no need for a primer or gloss overcoat – all you need is a lighter or heat gun and you will have a durable, high gloss finish in minutes. To apply, you simply shake the pot of powder paint, and heat up your jighead with a lighter or heat gun for 5-6 seconds. Next, dip the hot end of the jighead into the powder and remove it immediately. Once removed you will see the powder turn to a high gloss, smooth finish. Allow it to cool for a minute or so, then

you’re ready for action! It’s never been easier to match your jigheads to your soft plastics for the ultimate lure. You can also get fancy and coat the grub keeper in one colour and the head in another. When used with a transparent tail, your grub keeper will look like the innards of a baitfish. Too realistic to pass up! There is enough powder in each 2oz (57g) jar to coat hundreds of jigheads. Check it out at www. frogleysoffshore.com.au.

BIG SPENDER

If you have a couple of hundred dollars to spend this Christmas, a great new gadget on the market is the Lowrance FishHunter (SRP$173.90-$218.90) castable fishfinder, designed for anglers fishing from the shore or a kayak. It sends real-time sonar data via WiFi to view on your

DAIWA TD SOL III

a 160ft (49m) depth and a 200ft (61m) WiFi range. The rechargeable battery lasts for 10 hours of active use. For the full list of specs and features head to www. lowrance.com/en-au. If your budget is a bit higher, I strongly recommend you check out the redesigned Daiwa TD Sol III (SRP$399). These are the lightest reels for their size that Daiwa has

smartphone or tablet, and doesn’t require a cellular or internet connection. FishHunter Pro features a tri-frequency transducer, offering four ways to view sonar data including Fish (fish symbols), Raw (arches), Bathymetric and Ice Fishing Flasher views. You can also troll

ever produced and, due to new engineering and manufacturing processes, they’re also one of the toughest. The 3000 size is a featherweight 190g, which you’d expect more from a shallow spool 2000 reel, not this 3000 workhorse with its great spool capacity. The 3000 also pulls a massive

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You get a lot for your money with these reels, and you can check out the full list of specs and features at www. daiwafishing.com.au. And now for the final big spender item: a fishing drone! At Fishing Monthly we love drones, especially for boat tests where they provide a bird’s eye view that you never used to get on boats. However, in our excitement and enthusiasm

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10kg of drag. There are six models in the series, ranging from the 2000D to the 6000D-H, and all feature Daiwa’s Magseal technology for maximum water resistance, performance and longevity.

we have crashed two of them into the sea (drones, not boats) which has cost us over $2000. Ouch. If you don’t want this to happen to you, the smart thing to do is to get a drone that’s waterproof – and preferably one that can drop a bait in for you as well. You’ve probably

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seen videos of shore-based anglers using drones to catch big pelagics, and you can get in on the action with the Swellpro Splash Fisherman drone (SRP$2100). It comes with a fully secure, payloadrelease mechanism so when you see a fish/bait ball on your remote control screen,

Ideas

mackerel or shark. Before long it will bob up on the surface again. Like all good drones it features auto take-off and landing; altitude sensor and lock; and auto return to home function (to stop you losing the drone due to mis-operation or it being

SWELLPRO SPLASH FISHERMAN

you can drop the bait right on top of them. Every component of the rugged Splash Drone 3 Fisherman is waterproof. It can take off and land on the water, and resist both fresh and salt water, with all metal screws and fastenings made from top quality stainless steel. It also floats, so you don’t have to panic if it gets pulled down by a giant tuna,

out of range). Its video transmitter has a range of up to 1km, and you can control it via a smartphone app. You can find out more at www. dogtoothdistribution.com.au.

THE TRAVELLING ANGLER

Shakespeare have brought out some combo kits that are perfect for people who are new to fishing, or

SHAKESPEARE CATCH MORE FISH KIT

for casual anglers spending their holidays somewhere new. Shakespeare Catch More Fish Kits (SRP $59.96 to $89.95) contain an outfit and tackle kit suited to specific target species or fishing situations, and include a tough and sensitive tubular composite rod with solid tip, balanced with a spin reel spooled up and ready to go. The kit also includes an integrated tackle box complete with terminal tackle such as hooks, swivels and sinkers selected to match the outfit. The Catch More Fish range consists of the Bream Battla (a 6’6” outfit spooled with 10lb line), the Flatty Fighta (7’, 10lb), Whiting Whippa (6’, 4lb), Jetty Monsta (8”, 14lb), Beach Patrola (12’, 14lb) and the Ocean Brawla (6’, 14lb). If you’re more serious about your fishing, and like to fly to far-flung

destinations, you’d know that air travel isn’t like the good old days where you could take heaps of luggage. Back then you could fly with a big suitcase and a rod tube the size of a Saturn rocket – and possibly an esky for fillets as well. These days with Qantas economy, you can take two pieces of check-in luggage with no

to 23kg, with no individual piece more than 32kg or 158cm. With Jetstar you pay for each piece of checked baggage. No more big rod tubes! There are plenty of good travel rods to choose from when it comes to freshwater and estuary fishing, but I haven’t seen a massive choice for quality offshore

WILSON BONE VOYAGE

piece exceeding 32kg, and (this is the bad bit) the total dimensions of the two pieces combined can not exceed 270cm, with no single piece exceeding 158cm. With Virgin economy you can take one piece up

travel rods. One great new release I have found though is the Bone Voyage series (SRP$310-$370) distributed by Wilson Fishing. These 4-piece rods come in both spin and baitcast versions, with models ranging from

the 6’5” 8-16lb 8BVC654M, through to the 7’6” 20-40lb BVS764XXH. Wilsons say these fast-actioned rods are equipped with highmodulus carbon fibre layers with cross weaves, which makes the blank much lighter and stiffer without compromising strength. Other features include Fuji K-Alconite guides for maximum sensitivity, and an enhanced butt section with X-Grip wrap for superior power. Each rod comes with its own soft pouch. The new Bone Black River series and Bone Combat Beast series also include one travel model each, both designed for subduing big fish. But before you book your flights, check the airline websites for the latest baggage regulations. I’m pretty sure the check-in staff won’t accept a Fishing Monthly magazine as proof of their regulations – although they might take one as a bribe. Merry Christmas and happy gift hunting! • The prices listed in this article are suggested retail only. They may vary from store to store.

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Tips for fishing at new holiday destinations MORETON BAY

Ryan Smith

December is finally here, which means the Christmas holidays are upon us. During the holiday period many people pack their bags and go spend time around this beautiful country. Recently my family made the trek across the country to spend some time in Western Australia. This got me excited because there are so many different fishing options available. The first thing I did once I heard about the trip was to find out what species you can catch over there that you can’t catch in Queensland. The two species that I wanted to catch were black bream and King George whiting. The next thing I did was do a little research on where they are found and around what structure. After this, I got onto Google Maps to see if I could find some areas that could hold these fish. The maps allowed me to have a look at what kinds of areas I was going to visit and if the target species were going to be prevalent. The next thing I had

A handful of the whiting the author caught. to consider was how I was going to get a rod over. I had to get a small threepiece rod that could fit in my suitcase, but if you’re going up or down the coast these holidays, a two-piece rod that you can fit in the

back of your car is perfect. I also packed a small selection of lures to suit roughly the areas I was going to fish. Local knowledge is a key when coming to a new area you have never fished before. I

managed to get in contact with Chris from Razor Edge Lures and he pointed me in the right direction. Local bait and tackle stores are also great places to find out what is biting and where. During the trip, we met a few family friends and one of them was kind enough to take my dad and I out whiting fishing for the day. This was a new experience for me, because when I chase whiting it’s generally on surface lures. We used paternoster style rigs with small pieces of pilchard for bait. It didn’t take long before we had plenty of whiting on board, and double-headers weren’t uncommon for the trip. I was pleased to tick one of the species off the list, however, I still couldn’t find black bream. With some local knowledge about a floodgate to an estuary – the go-to spot for the area – I was keen to give it a crack. With the first couple of casts I managed to hook one and somehow dropped it at my feet while trying to land it. At the end of the trip, I ended up with no bream, however I did catch one new species to tick off my bucket list.

Remember if you are planning on going on a holiday to another state, check the rules and regulations because they

vary from state to state. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Until next month, tight lines and screaming drags.

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White spot disease movement restrictions still in place White spot disease movement restrictions are still in place in South East Queensland. To help protect Queensland’s beautiful natural waterways for generations to come, fishers must not move raw prawns, yabbies and marine worms out of the white spot disease movement restriction areas in South East Queensland. The movement restrictions are in place from Caloundra to the New South Wales border and west to Ipswich. While we know prawns swim and could spread the disease as they move around, the most likely way the disease will spread long distances is by people moving raw prawns, yabbies or worms and then using them as bait. The movement restrictions in place also apply to uncooked, frozen crustaceans as freezing does not destroy the virus. WHAT IS WHITE SPOT DISEASE? White spot disease is caused by a virus that affects crustaceans such as prawns, crabs, lobsters and yabbies. The disease was first detected in prawn farms along the Logan River south of Brisbane in December 2016. It was then found in

prawn and crab samples collected from the Logan River, Brisbane River, Moreton Bay and Deception Bay. When found in high intensity production areas, such as prawn farms, white spot disease results in the rapid mortality of prawns. While white spot disease does not affect fish, it is not known what impacts the disease could have on the marine food chain and local fish stocks. Prawns infected with white spot disease do not pose a risk to people’s health and are completely safe. WHAT IS BEING DONE TO STOP THE DISEASE? Biosecurity Queensland is focused on eradicating white spot disease from Australia. All infected prawn farms in South East Queensland where the disease was first found have been decontaminated and extensive surveillance is being undertaken across the state looking for the virus that causes the disease. Since the initial detection of white spot disease in the Moreton Bay region in December 2016, more than 50,000 prawn and crab samples have been tested for the virus. During the latest round of testing, competed in

September 2017, all samples collected from the Moreton Bay region and key locations along the Queensland coastline have returned negative results for the virus that causes white spot disease. These results are encouraging and indicate the disease may not be established in Moreton Bay and has not spread into other parts of Queensland. Two years of consecutively negative test results are required in order to prove the disease is no longer in Australian waterways. During this time it is crucial movement restrictions are kept in place to ensure if the virus is present, it isn’t accidently spread. WHAT DOES WHITE SPOT DISEASE LOOK LIKE? Prawns with white spot disease may have a loose shell with numerous white spots on the inside surface of the shell and a pink to red discolouration. However, please note infected prawns and yabbies may not display any symptoms and white spots may appear for a range of reasons including freezer burn and bacterial and fungal infections. For more information on white spot disease visit www.daf.qld.gov.au/ WSD. – DAF

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FISHING NEWS

Fisheries offences nets fine Two commercial fishers were found guilty in the Gladstone Magistrates Court for netting offences in the Port of GladstoneRodd’s Bay Dugong Protection Area (DPA) and were collectively fined close to $10,000. Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol (QBFP) Investigator for Central Queensland,

to relaunch, or go anywhere near the locations identified on the plotter. “Despite this, QBFP officers found evidence that the fishers had defied these instructions by returning to the water, and pulling up or tampering with nets. “Failing to comply with this lawful direction led to charges including obstruction, and attempting

a $6000 fine, with no conviction recorded. The second man received a $3500 fine, with no conviction recorded. Although commercial fishers can use nets within the DPA, there is an increased level of regulatory requirements, including number and lengths of nets and attendance provisions.

Deryk Smith said in April 2016, QBFP officers intercepted the fishers as they were pulling up their commercial fishing boat at the Gladstone Yacht Club boat ramp. “The officers found evidence of nets having been set in the DPA, including information on a chart plotter,” Mr Smith said. “The officers instructed the fishers not

to conceal unlawful behaviour.” QBFP officers found unmarked and unlit nets, including one net that looked as though its anchor rope as just been cut. Officers also observed the defendants’ boat leaving one area at high speed. QBFP officers found a quantity of barramundi, shark, and one turtle, all of which were released alive. One of the men received

The Queensland Recreational Boating and Fishing Guide provides a comprehensive guide of boating and fishing rules and responsibilities, and is available at www.fisheries. qld.gov.au. To report suspected illegal fishing activity, call the Fishwatch hotline on 1800 017 116. Follow Fisheries Queensland on Facebook and Twitter (@ Fisheries Qld). – DAF

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Boatie prosecuted for obstructing fisheries officers A Brisbane boat skipper who refused to stop his vessel and motored off on the Logan River has been fined $1,500 for obstructing fisheries officers. Beenleigh Magistrate’s Court imposed the penalty for a charge of obstruction, a serious offence under fisheries laws which has a maximum penalty of $126,150. Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol field officer James Hohenhaus said officers were on patrol near the Alberton Boat Ramp in the early hours of the morning in August 2016. “A vessel was being put onto a boat trailer and

while fisheries officers were speaking with the vehicle’s driver, the boat was reversed into the Logan River,” Mr Hohenhaus said. “Despite being directed to stop, the vessel’s master continued downstream without navigation lights on and failed to return to the boat ramp. “The boat skipper deliberately obstructed fisheries officers in the course of their investigation. His actions meant we could not inspect the vessel to ensure the fishing catch on board complied with fisheries laws.” Mr Hohenhaus said fisheries officers have powers under the Fisheries Act 1994 to stop and

search a vessel. “This is a reminder that any person who obstructs an officer from doing their duty can be prosecuted,” he said. “It’s important that everyone abides by the rules as fisheries officers carry out the important task of protecting Queensland’s valuable fisheries stocks from exploitation.” If anyone suspects illegal fishing activity, they should report it to the Fishwatch hotline on 1800 017 116 so that it can be investigated. For more information on Queensland fishing rules and regulations, visit www.fisheries.qld.gov.au or call 13 25 23. - DAF DECEMBER 2017

Great action on topwater HERVEY BAY

Dane Radosevic

The year is nearly over, and what a fantastic year it’s been for fishing on the Fraser Coast! In late October we were hit with some severe and

Species like mangrove jack will be more active over the next few months, with the improved water clarity and increasing temperatures. Late afternoon sessions will often produce good catches, especially if they coincide with an afternoon storm brewing. Anglers who stick

a good idea to downsize your presentations to 80-100mm lures like the Tilsan Barra, Lucky Craft 78 pointer and ZMan 4” SwimmerZ. Threadfin salmon will be another prolific species to target during this period, as they school up in the deeper holes and the main river.

Hervey Bay Fly & Sportfishing have been putting their clients onto red-hot pelagic action on the bay. This was one of many big spotty mackerel caught that day. unseasonal rain. The East Coast received hundreds of millimetres, which affected the fishing throughout November. The estuarine systems had a much-needed flush after almost 70 days predicted without any significant rain. Both the Burrum and Mary river systems experienced some minor flooding. Keen anglers took advantage of the early post-flood period, fishing the run-off and high traffic passages around the river mouths and adjacent flats, where large migrations of fish were moving out of the systems. These anglers were rewarded with some quality barra, threadfin, grunter and mulloway. This window of opportunity was brief, however, and those anglers who left it too late would have seen the effect the fresh had on the rivers. These systems are starting to spring back to life now though, with improving water clarity and increasing salinity levels. Baitfish and their predators are once again starting to push back upstream.

around for a few hours after dark will experience the best results. Areas worth targeting are the Burrum River and its three tributary systems, or the creeks on the western side of Fraser Island.

Young Brendan had his work cut out for him when this brute demolished his popper on a recent trip off Fraser. Bait fishing is a very successful method for targeting jacks, with live poddy mullet, river herring and prawns or a good fresh strip of mullet fillet being ideal baits. For lure fishos, it’s

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DECEMBER 2017

The run-out tide in any of our major systems will be worth a try, and prospecting with soft vibes is the most popular approach. Bait fishing is another successful technique, and is best done

It’s worthwhile dropping the crab pots in, because with the recent flush the crabs should be on the move and in good numbers. Areas towards the river mouths and adjacent flats are the preferred locations. You should always carry a cast net on the boat at this time of year, too. Good numbers of prawns can be found up the back of smaller feeder creeks in the Susan River and throughout the Straits, and they will become more prolific over the coming months. Flooding always washes out large amounts of nutrients, and the inshore reefs have responded well to this. Grass sweetlip have been the most prolific species in the shallower waters, and are taking a liking to fresh cut or strip baits lightly weighted and wafted across the reef. Coral trout and cod are becoming increasingly more active, and anglers putting in the time to collect live baits or bouncing soft plastics, finding the better quality fish. Tuskfish are another icon species of Hervey Bay that many anglers target as the water temperature increases, and they are becoming quite prolific over the shallow reefs and wrecks. Moving up the island, the central bay and Platypus

with live baits such as herring and prawns. Mixed in with the salmon you will often find good size grunter and barramundi that will take the same offerings. Just a reminder that it is closed season for barramundi and targeting them is illegal, so take proper care when handling one if caught. Creek mouths and drains will also be worth a look, as the baitfish and large schools of jelly prawns are pushed out. Threadfin especially will be patrolling these areas, gorging themselves on jelly prawns. Successful lures include smaller hardbodies like the Bomber 13A and X-Rap XR8 or soft plastics like the ZMan 3” MinnowZ.

Bay areas have been holding good schools of mac tuna feeding hard on the bait balls, with the odd longtail mixed in. The fish have been a little flighty on some days, so patience is required when stalking a school. The ‘Hervey Bay Special’ – the ZMan 5” StreakZ in bubble gum pink – has been working a treat, as per usual. Smaller 20-45g slugs have also been proving successful. Over recent years we have had relatively sporadic spotted mackerel seasons. However, with pre-seasonal rains this year we should see greater congregations of bait in the Platypus Bay area and in turn, bigger schools of predatory fish

The author with one of many sweetlip that took a liking to a ZMan 5” JerkshadZ in pearl. showing up to feed. Metal slugs in the 30-60g size are ideal. Many anglers choose to swap out the treble for a single hook, and have been achieving more solid hook sets. This year we have experienced an incredible start to the juvenile black marlin season, with good numbers of fish being caught as early as September and continuing through October. The minor flooding did have an impact on this fishery for a few weeks as it dirtied up the water and the surface was far too fresh. However, as it cleared up the fish came back and we saw another good run of fish through November. The best results have come from trolling light tackle Pakula skirts and skipping gars. The Breaksea Spit and beyond is really starting to draw an increased interest in our gamefishing, with incredible catches of stripes, blues and blacks being reported. For the heavy tackle anglers running wide to the shelf, the blues have been averaging around 400lb, with some quality stripes mixed in. Large yellowfin tuna and mahimahi have crashed the party on numerous

occasions, and they are not only great sportfish but are also delicious to eat. The shallow grounds just outside the bar have seen good numbers of little black marlin in depths of around 16-20m, with the odd sailfish thrown in the mix. Again trolling a mix of skirted lures or swimming or skipping baits working best. The shallow grounds and isolated patches of reef have been providing topwater addicts with some great action lately, and some quality GTs have been caught. In similar areas, mixed reef fish can be found. They and are best targeted with soft plastics like the ZMan 5” Jerkshads or Curly Tail StreakZ rigged on a heavier jighead to fish hard on the bottom. Alternatively, bait fishing is a good option using a running ball sinker rig to a fresh cut or slab bait. From the team at Fisho’s Tackle World Hervey Bay, we wish you all a very safe and enjoyable Christmas, consisting of bent rods and fresh seafood to dine on. We are open seven days a week (excluding Christmas Day) to cater to your needs over the festive season. Until next year, tight lines!

Corey Abood with a chunky cod, tempted by teabagging a soft plastic over one of the inshore wrecks.

A hard fishing year in review at Fraser Island FRASER ISLAND

Phil James p_j_james@bigpond.com

As the year winds its way down, most who visit Fraser Island’s beaches would agree that it was one best forgotten. Let’s qualify that claim by looking at what the island dished up throughout the year. There was plenty of unfriendly weather out of the South East for the first couple of months, so much so that beaches were almost devoid of anglers for weeks on end. In the quite rare periods of fishable conditions, the dependable dart were taken from the deeper gutters and holes. Whiting were also taken in the blind ends of the low water gutters right along the ocean beach. With beach conditions continually changing, courtesy of weather and tidal conditions, decent gutters suitable for targeting these species weren’t easy

to come by. That period was the relative calm before the storm. Who could forget Debbie crossing the coast at Airlie Beach in March? The devastation she brought to the coast and hinterland areas has several properties being assessed even today. Although, outside the worst of it, Fraser Island copped plenty of rain and solid south easterlies along the tight pressure gradient generated by Debbie. Needless to say fishing wasn’t even thought about at this time. After crossing the coast, her track resulted in Fraser Island being spared the destructive winds. After crossing the southern Queensland coast as an intense low pressure system, she was responsible for major flooding and gales in the Northern Rivers of NSW. She even went on to cross the Tasman Sea to unleash more of her fury. With April came the Easter weekend and the school holidays. Hundreds of 4WDs loaded with

families, including keen anglers, landed on the island. During the first week of the school holidays, strong southeasterlies in the wake of Debbie continued to make fishing difficult, if not impossible. Just when we thought that the entire holiday period was going to be wiped out, a reprieve arrived for the second week, in mid-April. At least it became possible to see if there really were any fish searching the island’s gutters. Although hardly record-breaking, catches of bream, tarwhine, whiting and dart were most welcome. There were also some permit (snub-nosed dart) taken around Happy Valley and Yidney. Usually a time of the year for clean and clear water conditions, there were some worrying signs as the dreaded floating weed started to appear on retrieved lines. This was the same alga that we had experienced in the spring of 2016. It wasn’t bad enough to prevent fishing,

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The author hooked-up to a tailor right on dusk. but serious enough for us to wonder what was in store in the remainder of the year. Regular readers will know that I don’t like writing about this, but when interesting and credible information comes to hand, I feel bound to share it. Whenever these infestations of algae (Hinksia sordida) have made their presence felt, there have been all sorts of theories – mostly ridiculous – put forward. A recent, quite credible theory is that there might be an upwelling in the ocean off Fraser Island that brings nutrients into the upper levels of the water column; these nutrients promote the rapid reproduction and blooming of Hinksia. Whatever the reason for the algal bloom, it appears to be peculiar to Fraser Island. The ocean beaches of geographicallysimilar Stradbroke Island don’t experience Hinksia infestations. Fortunately, there was very little seen of the dreaded weed for the next few months. During May and June, anglers needed to contend with the usual mix of everything from dead calm seas to strong southeasterlies. Dart dominated catches along the ocean beach while on the western beach the creek mouths were giving up bream and flathead. Whiting had been disappointing with most well undersize. While strong southeasterly conditions are

experienced on the ocean beach, protected western shores are always worth checking out. During these early winter months, anglers were starting to think about the coming tailor season. Without a doubt July and August turned out to be the best months for 2017, at least on Fraser Island’s east coast. Beautiful conditions soon became the norm and anglers lucky enough to be on the island enjoyed some great fishing. The water was clear, the seas were gentle and the fish cooperated. While many were keenly awaiting the arrival of pre-spawning greenback tailor, only small schools turned up initially. However the quality for this early stage of the season was quite exceptional. While tailor numbers were a little disappointing, Fraser’s ever-reliable dart were in abundance. At last, by mid-August tailor catches were starting to show the promise of a great season. Early September followed with what might be expected for this time of the year, but within a few weeks anglers were facing up to the fact that the dreaded Hinksia was making a serious comeback. For a time it was in isolated patches, leaving enough clear water to enable fishing, but by 15 September, right on time for the school holidays, it was back as thick as I have seen it. I was based at Poyungan Rocks during this time and was aware that the

infestation was not the same along other parts of the island. Beaches north of Indian Head appeared to suffer less than those to the south. Late in September the weed was continuous from Indian Head to the barge landing at Hook Point. As much as I was keen to break my fishing duck, I was feeling bad for the hundreds of holidaying families coming onto the island, hoping for the odd feed of fish. At least those who made it to the north of the island may have had some rewards. Recently the infestation of Hinksia at Poyungan Rocks is showing signs of breaking up. A total clearance would be great, but it might be some time before we have our beautiful clear water back again. I want to be optimistic. I am very much over the dreaded weed and I know I have plenty of company. Hopefully by the holidays this month the fishing families can return to enjoy the island, the sand and the surf, as well as a few fish. I would like to wish you all a great holiday season, and to those who have followed my reports, thankyou for your patience. It has been a privilege to help many of you. This is my final monthly column in QFM, but should the opportunity arise, I hope to be able to share more of Fraser Island with you from time to time.

Truly golden fishing RAINBOW BEACH

Ed Falconer

We continue to be blessed with fantastic weather and great fishing. Offshore, with great weather still around and a flat bar, we have done many trips with top results. Quality snapper and pearl perch have been the main fish caught and we found the bigger snapper were caught right on the bottom and preferred a bit of current, light line, lightweight small baits and smaller soft plastics. Using all these things saw us filling eskys and still leaving them on a hot bite. Pearl perch are also on the chew with more quality than quantity. Soft plastics are working best on the pearlies. Good numbers of tuskfish, hussar and spangled emperor are also being caught. The Great Sandy Straits have been producing a lot of mangrove jack. It should be a bumper season on these guys and great fun. Flathead also are an easy

CREATE YOUR ADVENTURES

A couple of cracking pearlies on a recent trip on the Keely Rose. target as they are getting caught off nearly all the sand bank edges. Using soft plastics and trolling small hardbodies will do the trick.

Anglers have had some awesome snapper and spangled emperor fishing lately.

After some good recent rain and a lift in water temperature, the mud crabs have been very active. It’s time to get some pots out for a feed of these delicious crustaceans. December is the first of the pelagic-action months when the Spanish and spotted mackerel return to this area. I can’t wait for those screaming reels again, and in previous years we have good snapper fishing around Christmas. To all QFM readers and all my clients, have an awesome and safe Christmas. • To enjoy a day on the water with Keely Rose Fishing Charters phone Ed Falconer 0407 146 151 or visit www. keelyrosefishingcharters .com.au.

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Cliff Andreassen with a great 5.7kg tailor caught on a recent trip. DECEMBER 2017

Recent rising water levels affect barra fishing LAKE MONDURAN

Rob Howell

Lake Monduran has once again been subject to another significant rain event. This time – so early in our wet season – the heavens opened up and released an amazing 450mm of rain over a period of four days. As a result, the dam flowed over the spillway by

4m reaching the second highest recorded level in the lake’s history. A month on from this significant flood event, the lake has finally settled down and stabilised at 100% and the fishing is now getting back to normal. Now for the big question on everyone’s mind, how many barra did we lose? This is a question that is impossible to answer with any accuracy. There is one

Hopefully not too many big barra were lost over the spillway. Photo courtesy of Simon Goldsmith.

way to look at this scenario; volunteers from the local stocking group MASA and the Sponsor A Barra team work hard to ensure that around a hundred thousand barramundi fingerlings are released into the lake every year. Now, let’s take that figure and weigh it up against the amount of barra possibly lost over the wall. With recent soundings and catches over the last few weeks, it seems the majority of barra remain in the lake. The recent rise in water has created fish lanes and pockets of vacant water above the existing weed beds all over the lake. These areas are perfect to target barra with surface lures, shallow diving minnows and weedless plastics. It’s virtually impossible to use your side imaging sounders for finding these fish, however following the wind will point you in the right direction.

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DECEMBER 2017

• Our team here at Lake Monduran are looking forward to seeing plenty of families and fishers here at Monduran over

the next month, especially for the Christmas school holiday period. We have plenty of activities on for the kids over the holidays,

so check out our website or Facebook page for details www.lakem.com. au or call our office on (07) 4157 3881.

After-effects of early wet BUNDABERG

Call Jamie today to book your next trip Ph: 0407 434 446

This is Jack with a post-flood barra 70cm.

Jason Medcalf topwater@bigpond.com

November was wet, hot, windy and wild, and December promises much of the same. Our region has had an oldfashioned early wet season and some very fierce storms that don’t usually frequent our city. The impact of all this activity on the fishing will be positive, but unfortunately we have to go through a bit pain to get the gain. THE BURNETT After weeks of dirty fresh water coming down the river it has started to clean up nicely and it’s fishing very well. The mouth has been firing up, which is expected as the salt pushes in and the bait schools head upriver. The grunter have been so consistent this year and the flush of fresh has only proved positive with reports of fish up to 60cm being encountered on live yabbies and fresh sprat baits. There have been schools of smaller, good quality fish being encountered in the upper reaches mainly at night or early in the morning. My tip for December would be to get on the water early, as holidays will mean plenty of boat traffic and hot, humid days. The grunter won’t mind the hot days but all the traffic

will drive them out of the shallower water to hold up in the holes where they can be difficult to tempt. The upper reaches have produced some quality mangrove jack even in the dirtier water as the salt is heavier than the fresh and the jacks just love using the element of surprise in their favour when hunting. The flathead that we normally see a lot of in spring struggled with all the fresh and dirty water and are now making a comeback. As the Christmas tides are pretty big with a full moon early in the month, the big low tides will make it easier to target flathead as they sit on the edges of the sand bars waiting for their lunch to arrive. As we get closer to Christmas the new moon is on the 18th, which again means big tidal movement, which will be great for those keen to get up early and get on the water. THE BAFFLE The Baffle has seen a substantial flood and will now have a great run of fresh coming down over the next few months. This will mean the upper reaches will be the domain of the mangrove jack, as they love hunting the mullet that push up the system in the fresh. Again, the early bird will get the jack as the upper reaches will clean up and targeting the jacks in clear water requires a very early morning approach. The upper reaches will not be trafficable by boat at low tide as the sand bars pretty much cut the river into

sections now. Kayaks and small roof toppers will be the go for accessing great jack fishing. The lower reaches will be well worth a fish over December as the many species of fish revisit the system after the flood. I will remind you that it is closed season for barramundi, as reports have surfaced of

spearfishers shooting barramundi in the creek recently despite the closed season. If you see this rather disturbing activity taking place, you can call Fishwatch on 1800 017 116 and give them the details. Enjoy your Christmas break. Stay safe and happy fishing.

Noel Cheshire’s son sent him on a fishing charter in the Whitsundays and at first the weather was terrible with wind and heavy rain. They went out further and on the last stop Noel caught this cracker red emperor in only 28ft of water, blowing the skipper’s mind in the process.

Cleaning up at Callide GLADSTONE

Liam Jones

Barra season has been and gone for 2017, and plenty of people managed to get into some good fish right before the closure and score themselves a nice saltwater barra. With Awoonga Dam once again going over, plenty of people (including myself) assumed that would just about stuff the dam for another year. How wrong

and Rapala X-Walks. Once the sun starts to rise in the morning, or if you’re fishing early in the afternoon before it drops, Jackall Squirrels and Yakamito Hyper Jerks have been enticing the bites. The other option in our region is Callide Dam, only a short hour run over the range to Biloela. I had the pleasure of attending the annual Lake Callide Family Fishing Classic recently. It was a wonderfully run competition with some great prizes to go with it,

Chris Lassig with a Callide Dam barra. This dam is well worth the 1-hour drive over the range to target barra in the closed season. I was! It’s been absolutely firing since the closure. We didn’t lose anywhere near the amount of fish I had expected, and those barra that did go over went at the perfect time: right on closed season. That means they should reach the salt without getting picked up by any nets, which in previous years were waiting for them as soon as the wall went over. This should be a good thing for the entire region. With Awoonga being one of the only places in the region you can legally target barra throughout the closed season, we can expect a lot more anglers to start concentrating their efforts there. Over the past month the stand-out lures have been small surface lures such as River2Sea Tango Props, Yakamito Spectre 85s

has very different structure, with big, shallow bays and minimal weed. To say I was impressed with how it fished and its potential is an understatement. In the days leading into the comp I received photo after photo from a hot session from Chris Lassig and Josh Marxson using the new 90mm Yakamito Hyper Jerk. They boated 15 fish for the session, most of which were 70-80cm, with a few around 90cm. This dam is definitely a good option for keen barra anglers! CREEKS AND ESTUARIES Jacks are firing, which is to be expected with the barra closure. All the likely spots will produce fish over the coming months, providing we don’t get too much fresh flow. Once we do get the flow, check out some of the creeks that won’t be flowing fresh, like Wild Cattle, Colosseum, 7-Mile and, if the weather permits, Yellow Patch and Keppel Creek. The harbour is still fishing well, with black jew still popping up here and there. They haven’t fired in

More and more black jew should start turning up in the coming months. This one took a cuttlefish head. continually on the move we still managed to pull 20-odd fish in a few hours. These fish were all caught on reasonably shallow edges,

OFFSHORE Offshore the weather has been pretty ordinary, with only a few small windows for keen anglers to venture

Greg Livingston from Rapala VMC Australia with a solid grunter taken on a 80g Storm Koika jig. and credit must be given to the Callide Valley Native Fish Stocking Association. The biggest barra came in at 103cm, and there were plenty in the 60-80cm range. This dam is much smaller than Awoonga and

massive numbers yet, but I’d expect that to happen very shortly. Grunter have showed up in numbers. I recently had a session working the harbour with slow pitch jigs, and although the school was

A nice grunter taken by the author during a hot slow-pitch session.

Another barra falls to a well-presented Yakamito Hyper Jerk. so they released well, which allowed us to stay on the school and fish for a little longer. This trip fell on big tides, which weren’t suited to the 30g and 40g jigs I would normally use. We ended up using jigs as big as 80g and 100g, and to my surprise the grunter had no hesitation inhaling them. The stand-out jigs were Storm Koikas and Storm Slow Rockers. Crabs still haven’t turned up in any substantial numbers. Still, with the steady rain we’ve had over the past two months you would expect them to fire sooner or later. Touch wood it’s sooner rather than later to allow everyone to get out and get a feed before Christmas.

outside. Those fishing the deep have done well with solid pearl perch, snapper and comet cod. This is a style of fishing I haven’t done too much of, and I’m going to invest in an electric reel and head out to 100m of water to get in on the action. The sweetlip are thick out there at moment, and the trout should follow suit as we get the warmer water. Now is the perfect time to get up on those reef flats and throw some stickbaits at GTs, trout, emperor and whatever else takes a liking to a well-worked stickbait. The bigger tides allow us to get right up on top and then work the edges as the water runs off the reef. The closer reefs should be fishing well, allowing anglers with smaller boats to catch some of the prized reef fish that otherwise only the big boats could access. The likes of 12-Mile, Rockcod Shoals and Jenny Lind Banks should all be fishing well with the hot days and big tides. • For more information on what’s biting, or to stock up with all the tackle and bait you need, drop into LJ’s Compleat Angler Gladstone at the Gladstone Marina on Bryan Jordan Drive. You can also check out the latest news, photos and specials at Facebook Compleat Angler Gladstone.

Anthony Cobb with healthy little trout caught slow pitch jigging the inshore reefs. DECEMBER 2017

Fishing options around Rocky over Christmas ROCKHAMPTON

Clayton Nicholls clay94_fishing@live.com.au

With the closed season for barramundi upon us, these iconic sportfish are off limits to target in most areas. The humble threadfin salmon and many other estuary dwellers like mangrove jack and flathead are still fair game though, and there has been a great number of them around. The beaches and estuaries are loaded with whiting, dart bream

rock bars around the port and out the front of Curtis have produced great fish also. Many anglers choose to use smaller, heavier lures to entice the jacks and are still able to cast them with their standard barra gear. Some great lures include Lucky Craft Pointer XD78s, Gulp 3” Minnows and ZMan 4” SwimmerZ. If you’re after a bigger lure to entice the bigger fish, the new Savage Gear swimbaits offer some outstanding large lures and the Zerek Flat Shad is also a great choice.

Good quality gear played a key part in extracting these dam barra out west. and flathead making for some very good Christmas holiday fun. FITZROY AND THE NARROWS Over the past month some great fish have been caught in our estuary systems such as huge jew and equally impressive threadfin salmon. The number of prawns getting caught has dropped a fair bit in the river while we still had a lot of fresh, but they were still around the port, narrows and other smaller estuary systems. Targeting the creek entrances and gutters in the creeks that lead into the main river system has yielded good results for most anglers. The

RIVERS CREEKS AND THE BEACHES The local rivers, creeks and beaches will be fished heavily in the holiday period, as they are more accessible to anglers. Take this into consideration when planning your next trip – the beaches will have a higher number of people and the boat ramps will be no different. Through November there have been great amounts of prawns, herring and mullet in the smaller estuary systems like Corio Bay and Coorooman. The prawns are still smaller, but there are many reasonablesized herring in the systems. Knowing what’s in the system at any point in time is essential for bait and lure fishing; ‘match the hatch’ is a key phrase many people use. There are many herring coloured lures and many prawn imitation lures on the market. Using a lure that matches the bait source will increase your odds of hooking up to your next fish. Species like cod, flathead and bream are dominant at the moment, and the estuaries

Matt was able to extract this fish using his ACM handcrafted rod.

A mid-80cm barra that couldn’t resist one of the new 90mm Bassday Sugar Deeps twitched slowly past a submerged snag, caught during the 2017 Barra Bounty. are full of other species to catch as well. The main areas where they have been caught are along the fringing and overhanging mangrove lines along with the deeper gutters and drop-offs. As the water heats up in the middle of the afternoon – now that the afternoons are incredibly hot – most species will move down into the deeper pockets of water, shadows cast down by roots and mangroves or out into the cooler beach waters. FRESHWATER LAGOONS The freshwater lagoons have been going off in the afternoons. Some huge tarpon and unfortunately tilapia have been caught. The best time I have found is when the sun has just hit the horizon through to the last light. The 50-60mm surface lures have been working a treat with my top picks being the Lucky Craft Bevy Pop 50 and the Savage Pop Prey 5cm and 7cm. A few pops with a long pause has been the best method of retrieve for me. Try to find a good bit of tree

line and even some weed beds in some shallower sections; these are good grounds for many different species. CRABBING The crabbing has been

away from the remnants of the fresh. The key locations for placing pots have been along the mangroves edges; we have found that the more tidal mangrove areas have

Dam barra are still a viable option to get your fix until open season. good lately. The top spots are Coorooman and Corio Bay. Good crabs are holding in the river closer to the mouth and narrows to get

been the best. Remember to pick up one of the easy crab measuring gauges to keep your hands well away from their claws!

School holiday fishing fun for this month YEPPOON

Scott Lynch ifishcq2@bigpond.com

School holidays and fishing are made for each other. It’s the perfect chance to spend time with the family outdoors and have fun. There are so many options available for land-based fishing that a boat isn’t really necessary. Along the Fitzroy there are plenty of platforms, pontoons and high banks where you can fish safely with a great chance of scoring a decent fish. King threadfin salmon and grunter are two fish that build in numbers around this time of year in the river and they 60

DECEMBER 2017

stay until the river runs fresh again after big wet events. Threadies are going exceptionally once again and there is every chance of catching a 1m+ model virtually anywhere in the river. They work the banks with the incoming tides and settle back to the deeper channels as the tide drops. Threadies will take lures or small livies. They work the banks sourcing crabs and prawns in remarkably shallow water leaving the tell-tale dints in the mud where they have worked over previous tides. These dints have sharp edges if the salmon have been there in recent tides, while the older areas are all rounded off. The best live baits are crabs and prawns as a rule in the river.

Plastics out-fish hardbodies most of the time when casting the edges and channels. The guys who have threadies wired mostly use vibe styles and medium size paddle-tails. Trolling works very well, especially around low tide while they are still in the channels. We pick a lure that trolls around 4-5m and work that depth along the channel edges from the elbow up to town. The plastic or hardbody lure colour makes a big difference depending on the water clarity. When the river is clean I prefer more natural colours like prawn and mullet. When the river is dirty I prefer fluoro or dark colours. This year I found black seemed to work To page 61

Dean Smith with a big coral trout.

From page 60

very well when the river was running brown. Grunter have moved upstream as the fresh has slowed and are now at many of the deeper holes right up to Devils Elbow. They can be caught from the banks in this part of the river. Be very careful here, as there are a couple of big crocs that often sun themselves on the bank around the Elbow. The river grunter will take prawns, yabbies and flesh baits. My most successful rig is just an Deakin Smithwick with a great grassy sweetlip. upscaled bream rig with a 600mm trace and a 3/0 hook. grunter in the deeper holes the mouths of the local creeks The weight all depends and cockle beds. and the river stalking whiting on the current where you The best grunter in Coory and herring schools. are fishing. Grunter are lazy are normally taken at night Salmon will take prawns, and usually sit in between or very early in the morning, yabbies or whiting over just the ridges of the undulating probably because of the boat about anything else, although bottom waiting for a feed traffic during the day. Corio has when they are in the surf to drop in. They go for a few good spots in Waterpark gutters pillies on gang hooks vibes and are particularly Creek in the holes around the do the job pretty well. There aggressive with gold metal hut area downstream from have been some reports of vibes. I have some old-style Corbetts and the Barge. The pretty good-sized blue salmon hardihead plastics, which Barge and Findlays often along the timbers at the work very well in the river have the biggest grunter in the mouth of Coorooman Creek and even better at places like area. Pilchards, prawns and and the mouth of Deep Creek Corio where there are lots of squid are the best baits for the at Corio. hardiheads around. bigger fish. We have scored a few Grunter are thicker Blue salmon have blue salmon on lures over the around the full and new completed their annual years, but they can be very moons with the best bites in spawning run and have now hard work. The areas that the period 3-4 days before spread out along the coast to blues work are mostly sandy to 3-4 days after. This is my their usual systems ranging bottoms, so use a metal slice go-to for offshore grunter from Corio Bay down to the to work along the bottom with fishing as well. Coorooman Kolan. They work the beach a few twitches and pause style. STA16076 509FM1/2_Layout 27/10/2017 11:32 AMaround Page 1 This works well and you Creek has some large 1 gutters and channels

often pick up a flathead or two as by-catch. If you don’t get fish within a few casts, don’t lose interest and move before trying a few different retrieves and another bundle of casts. Many times it is that one last cast that does the damage. Doggies and spotties can both have runs over the Christmas period, especially if the bay has some consistent decent weather and no fresh flow from the river. Rita Mada is one place that fires very early in the day. The harbour wall and Claytons also have dogs and spots on those really calm early morning glass-outs. They may be affected a bit by the drilling and earthworks on Scenic Highway near the harbour. Spanish mackerel are usually a bit scarce and as we move through December they will come in closer in numbers. We can normally count on a Christmas run if the conditions stay good for long enough. Good-sized largemouth nannygai, red emperor, sweetlip, hussar, tuskfish and coral trout are all in close over the warmer months, allowing the smaller boat anglers to share the bounty. Spots like the rubble patches and the bait grounds are worth a shot just on daylight and just before dark whenever you get the opportunity to get out.

Coral trout seem to be everywhere lately. Nearly everyone who targets them is having some success. Broken ground is the key and any decent country from about 14m and deeper is holding some trout. Bigger baits are the key, because they give the trout a chance to move in before any pickers and vermin clean it up. I always say ‘no run, no fun’, but with trout it’s often the slacker period of the tide when they come out to feed. Trout like an area of the reef that is either on the eddy side or the pressure wave side. Big plastics and metal jigs are producing the goods regularly in the shallow reefs around the islands and shoals. With plastics I have had the most

success with white or hot pink. Green is another colour that trout will grab when all else fails. Mahimahi are in the area again. We found a decent school hanging under a big floating dan bouy last trip out. We tried all sorts of lures and jigs before getting them to bite on the smallest chromie I had. In the end, they took very small tarpon jigs as well. It pays to have a variety of sizes, because the last time we caught them it was the bigger lures that took the prize. The Christmas break should have stacks of fish inside and outside to keep the kids in some sort of order for a while. Be safe and have a good one.

Luke Smith scored this fine red way offshore.

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DECEMBER 2017

Recent rains have stirred up the fishing MACKAY

Keith Day habdays@bigpond.net.au

The rains were just what I wished for last month and we have had some great falls up to 100mm or so, which has had a really positive effect on the fishing and the locals in general. The summer storm rains have put a nice flush through the creeks and river systems, and haven’t disrupted the cane crush too much. The plant cane is loving the rain and everyone’s mowers have been dusted off as the grass gets growing for the summer. There is renewed optimism among the local anglers. One downside to the rain is that it has arrived on the back of strong southeasterly winds, which has seen the large bait schools disperse further offshore and take the school mackerel and other predators with them and out of the reach of small tinnies. I expect that later during the month the more settled north-northeasterly winds will return and draw the bait schools back inshore. Naturally where there are

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large schools of bait, there will always be predators looking to take advantage of the situation. Local anglers will soon be doing the harbour patrol once the winds turn north again and the south wall will see plenty of activity. This is a good spot to check for bait and pelagic fish with good visibility down as far as the islands off the Pioneer River to the south and north to Lamberts Beach Lookout. The lookout is also a top spot to get an elevated view of any fishy action going on. It’s not a bad place for some whale watching either, although by now most of the whales are further south. The strong southeasterly winds have also kept most of the larger trailer boats on their trailers and a weather change will see them with plenty of action. The great deep water fishing will continue this month depending on the wind. Anglers will be looking to get among the reef fishing coming up to Christmas, which is traditionally very hot with little wind. The barra closed season is in full swing, but I still hear

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www.mikat.com.au 62

DECEMBER 2017

Local guide Paul Dolan with a lovely Eungella Dam sooty caught casting a Lively Lures Ziggy along a weed bed out from a point. of anglers targeting barra for catch and release, which is a no-no. The idea of the closed season is to give the barra a break during the breeding cycle and it is a fact that some anglers don’t handle fish well; although they will release fish, that does not guarantee their survival. This is evidenced by the barra anglers see lying dead in the weedbeds at Kinchant Dam in particular. Occasionally barra will be caught in the saltwater when fishing for other species, but with judicious targeting it is possible to largely avoid them. Visitors to our patch of paradise should contact the local tackle shops for advice. With saltwater barra off the menu, there are plenty of other options for the creek anglers. High on the list would be grunter (javelin fish), which have to be one of the sweetest eating fish on the planet. They are a great fish, fun to catch, take a variety of baits and lures, and are attractive and absolutely first-class on the plate. Grunter prefer nice clean water and can be caught from the offshore islands and deep waters right up the mangrove creeks. I like to chase them around the mouths of the creeks and flats wherever there is a bit of gravel bed or smaller rocky rubble patches, where they hunt for small fish, crabs and more. With the NFZ now into its second year, grunter has been one species that has seen a tremendous positive outcome from the declaration of the Seaforth area as a NFZ. This NFZ has numerous different types of habitat that all suit the grunter from close-in islands to sandy muddy channels to mangrove-lined creeks. The grunter have been given the chance to not have to run the gauntlet of nets and the numbers and sizes being caught are always on the

up – no longer are anglers catching 6-8 undersize fish for every one legal grunter. Prawns, yabbies and strip baits will all bag a few grunter with small livies also snaffled; the first sign is a long searing run. Generally they are open water fighters and patience will soon have them in the landing net. Lure anglers score many on soft

Close to the city the mouth of the Bakers and Sandy creeks can be accessed and wading will produce fish; just remember to watch the large tidal range. To the north of the city, McCready Creek will produce, and for those that don’t mind the hike, Reliance Creek can be reached with a long walk from Shoal Point. The

A beautiful golden barra from Kinchant Dam caught using a DK Dancer fly worked in short sharp strips. plastic prawns. They will also occasionally take smaller hardbodies, usually meant for other fish like flathead. Flathead, bream and whiting are all regular summer catches around our area, and while our flathead aren’t the monsters from further south, they still grow to a healthy 800mm or so. All three species are likely to feature in a mixed bag of summer fishing in our creeks and major rivers. They can all be found around sand bars and yabby beds and nearby deeper water as the tides drop out. Freshly pumped yabbies will ensure a feed. For the shore-based angler, there is plenty of fishable water around the Pioneer River system.

beaches around Seaforth on the NFZ are also worth a look. Sarina Inlet is also a spot worth checking out for the shore-based angler. It’s also a great system for small boats, but care is needed as it is easy to get stranded at low tide. The numerous channels, sand flats and rocky areas mean that there are varied species available and it’s possible to catch six or more different species in a one-tide outing. Visitors should talk to the tackle outlet staff for advice on tides, weather and more. On those really hot, humid and still days there will be plenty of locals out chasing the jacks in all the creeks. Live and strip baits are popular and drifting

them into a gnarly snag under a float with the current will likely result in a smash hit. Getting the jack out then becomes the big problem and locked-up drags and rods with plenty of grunt are the go when chasing the jacks. Plastics are also popular for chasing jacks, as they can be rigged weedless (not completely snag-proof) and tossed into some really heavy cover. Hardbodies with big bibs are also popular, not to get down deep but to let the angler walk the lure over and around snags. Accurate casting is needed as the lure has to virtually get in the jack’s face to get a hit. It’s good fun and very addictive. Barra in the dams aren’t subject to the closed season and will be popular over the coming summer months. All our local dams are fishing well with plenty of fish and new areas going under water with recent rains. The recent barra tour featuring Kinchant, Teemburra and Peter Faust dams was a great success and the numbers and sizes of barra caught are a great advertisement for the success of well-managed stocking programs. Large paddle-tail offerings will score plenty of fish, and again, the local tackle shop staff can advise you on what’s hot at the moment. Make sure any plastic is rigged with a very solid and strong hook, as the barra will soon twist or break any suspect hooks. As a general, rule I use around size 7/0 hooks for my dam barra fishing with plastics. The dam barra will also take a range of hardbodies and my preference is to use surface lures, as I just love the adrenalin rush of a barra smashing a lure or fly on the surface. Moonlit nights in Teemburra Dam fishing Tango Dancers for barra would have to be one of my very favourite fishing experiences. It’s so addictive having a barra smash your lure only a rod length from the boat! Sooties are out and about and the recent rain has them thinking of spawning, so look for them up in the shallow rapid areas in the rivers and tops of the dams. MAFSA is looking at doing a grow out barra run this summer rather than spawning sooties, although if the opportunity arises we will get a couple of spawners and give them a run. As always, December in Mackay offers unbounded fishing opportunities in both salt and freshwater, so why not come and join us for Christmas? See you at the ramp and Merry Christmas to all our readers and anglers everywhere.

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The coast of Christmas cast WHITSUNDAYS

Mick Underwood

I love this time of year – stable weather, sunny days and a plethora of fish species coming on the bite. The only real disruption to the fishing over the last month has been the start of the northwesters sneaking in. Being an onshore breeze they are a bit of a curse here, as there are limited locations to shelter

Bay, the bite is improving nicely. Schools of herring and hardihead have moved inshore and right up into the shallows. With them they have brought in good numbers of queenfish, school mackerel, longtail tuna and various species of trevally. These fish have been responding well to all manner of quickly worked lures. The fringing reefs around the islands are firing up nicely as well. The sweetlip bite has been moving along nicely, and

bommies. Coral trout love to reside in structureless weed beds, particularly over the warmer months. The quantity and quality of the fish that I find for clients in these areas astounds a lot of people. Once you’ve hooked and hopefully caught a nice coral trout on a specific part of a weed or reefy patch, you should continue to give that area a peppering as quite often they like to hang out in small colonies. Where you catch one there’s more

reliable locations to find this action are from right out in front of Dingo Beach and Hideaway Bay, back through Gloucester pass and along the southern shores of Edgecumbe Bay right back to Sunset Beach. Often these bait schools will be so far inshore that it allows beach anglers to get in on the action. Once you have located the bait schools, you’ll usually find the predators as well. Amongst them will be big golden and tealeaf trevallies, school mackerel and queenfish. To get a consistent bite out of these fish, lures and flies will out-fish any kind of bait, all day long. Poppers, hardbodies, soft plastics and metal slices are all good lure choices. For fly anglers,

Kris Longman with his very first longtail tuna. These speedsters will be chasing the schools of herring and hardiheads that have moved into the shallower areas, and catching them shouldn’t be too hard.

Rodney Bell with a nice sweetlip nudging the 50cm mark. and get amongst the fish. Luckily we only get these breezes intermittently, and they normally only last for a day or two at a time. The rest of the time it’s game on! No particular species of fish or technique has dominated over the past month; there has been something going on everywhere, from

the bigger trout are coming out of their winter hibernation. The reefies aren’t taking that well to live baits as yet, but fresh cut baits are going off. Big fresh slabs of stripy have been the go recently for big coral trout. The areas around Georges Point and Saddleback Island have been pretty consistent and are a good

often than not a few more. The schools of herring and hardihead around Cape Gloucester should continue to get more congested over the coming weeks, and this will open up doors for lots of light tackle fun on the inshore pelagics. Locating these schools of bait is generally pretty simple: find feeding birds and you’ve found the bait. The most

Reef Underwood did a great job of catching this solid queenfish on 7lb line.

Sam Roe with one of several nice coral trout he caught. offshore waters to right up in the estuaries. Talking about estuaries, the jacks have been on fire, and astute local anglers have a way to get good numbers of these fish without dusting up too much tackle. You just anchor out a little from likely jack-holding structure and berley heavily (fresh pilchards work well). This will entice the fish from their snaggy lairs, and the further you can hook these gutter brawlers up away from their homes, the better the chance you have of landing them. Moving out of the estuaries and into Edgecumbe 64

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starting point for a local reef fishing mission. The ebb tide in these areas has definitely been more favourable than the flood. Over the coming month the same sort of fishing should continue nicely and steadily improve. Targeting big coral trout with lures right up in the shallows will be one of my mainstays. Tussling with these critters in 1-2m of water with hardbodies and light line is adrenalin-pumping fun, and when successful the rewards are pretty damned tasty. Having said that, you shouldn’t limit your options to just the obvious shallow water

Tasmanian angler Dylan Lord was fishing with conventional bottom fishing tackle for trout. This crayfish stood on his hook and got itself hooked 2cm from the end of one of its front legs.

most baitfish patterns will get a bite, but I find it hard to go past flashy profiles to entice the bigger fish. One of the key points to consider when selecting a lure is to keep the size down to 125mm or less, and make sure that you tie on something that can be worked fast. Often it’s not the shape or colour of the lure that will make the fish bite, it’s the commotion you cause that will turn the fish on. Another factor to consider when engaging in this style of fishing is your tackle selection. Keep it light, and I mean light. Bust out your favourite flathead rod and you’re in with a fair chance. These fish are feeding up in shallow, relatively clear water and are very wary of anything that’s thrown in around them. As a general rule, I don’t like to fish anything with a main line heavier than 10lb or leader over 15lb. You might think that chasing down a 10kg rampaging golden trevally on such light tackle is insane but it’s not, it’s just pure fun! The majority of these inshore pelagics are clean fighting fish and won’t try to dust you

up in surrounding structure. Additionally, if you’re fishing from a boat you always have the option to create the right angles to keep your fish away from any sub-surface prickles, and you also have the ability to chase your fish down. I hope that helps you all out a little, and I wish you all plenty of success with your fishing adventures over the upcoming weeks. • Reel Addiction Sport Fishing Charters specialises in light tackle fishing for all tropical sportfishing species on fly, lure and bait. Reel Addiction operates from the beautiful Cape Gloucester Beach Resort, 40 minutes’ drive north of Airlie Beach. Combined fishing charter and accommodation packages are available. For more information contact Mick Underwood on 0413 882 153 or email mick@reeladdiction. com.au. Resort enquiries can be directed to Julie Houston on (07) 4945 7242 or at info@capeg.com.au. To stay in touch with what’s biting, check out the Reel Addiction Sport Fishing Whitsundays page on Facebook.

Predicting the upcoming season’s fishing AYR

Steve Farmer

Forecasting the likely fishing in the Burdekin in December is like forecasting the weather for the same period. Weather events can be significant at this time of the year and are likely to have an equally significant effect on the fishing we can expect.

overnight trip at this time of the year, check the weather report carefully and question whether it is really a good idea to fish the dark hours. December is notorious for storms and westerly winds, making open waters off the Burdekin coast uncomfortable and even downright dangerous. The normally-protected shoreline of Cape Upstart has claimed its share of boats

Please remember that it is illegal to target barramundi between midday on 1 November and midday on 1 February. Don’t be tempted to target barra for catch and release or to keep a fish you have accidentally caught during the closed season. Paul ‘Beefy’ Armstrong is one angler who didn’t end the season barraless. He often catches his share, and enjoyed a particularly

Sue Armstrong flew all the way from South Australia to see her grandson but the Burdekin barra fishing came a close second. district, fishing any easily accessible culverts or road crossings they could find. Beefy and Bruce began the day with an early start,

into the action with two monster tarpon on his first two casts. Beefy’s breakfast was still settling when he was the first to hook a barra while

another three barra. Beefy said that none of the barra taken that day were dark coloured like the typical lagoon barra. Instead they

Beefy Armstrong caught this barra while test swimming his lure just a metre from the rod tip. An early start to the wet will see estuaries across the Delta inundated with floodwaters and the fishing shutdown for weeks, if not months. Having said that, a few early-season storms can really liven up the fishing at this time of the year. With barra now a no-take species, many anglers will be targeting mangrove jack and golden snapper, probably with good success. Small to medium-sized live baits or lures fished around any structure (including dropoffs, holes or rubble, and shoal bottoms both in the estuaries and open waters) will tempt these tasty species. Anglers fishing this sort of country are also likely to pick up the occasional estuary cod. Other species worth targeting in the estuaries if the weather remains fairly dry include grunter, threadfin and even flathead. Offshore sportfishers can expect plenty of thrills from speedsters such as mackerel tuna, longtail tuna, cobia, queenfish and trevally. Cast or trolled lures are often the best ways to target these species and it’s often worthwhile to try a variety of styles and sizes of lures, as these fish can often be finicky. Anything from small metal slugs to huge noisy poppers might do the trick. If you’re planning an

when anchors dragged in the westerly winds of summer. There is a good reason why most hut owners at the Cape have a trailer and tractor, which allows them to get their boats out of the water. BEEFY’S END-OFSEASON BARRA Looking back, the Burdekin barra scene closed on a high note with most estuaries producing fish for anglers who put in the hours. Most of the barra taken were in the 60-80cm range, but there were quite a few reports of 1m+ fish and even a few over the legal size of 120cm.

relaxed, memorable day back in late October when a downpour of rain saw the freshwater lagoons rise and the barra shift briefly into overdrive. Beefy’s parents Sue and Bruce were visiting from South Australia to see Beefy and his partner Karleena’s young son Nate. While little Nate might have been the primary reason for the long plane ride, the North Queensland fishing came a close second and Sue and Bruce grabbed any chance to wet a line. The tactics on the day were to drive around the

Bruce Armstrong from South Australia enjoyed the Burdekin barramundi fishing. flicking small, shallowdiving hardbodies. Success came quickly and with two barra notched up in a short time and they headed home for breakfast. After breakfast, Sue signed on for the continuing tour of Burdekin’s freshwater hotspots. Bruce was straight

test swimming a lure just a metre or so from his rod tip. They spent the next couple of hours casting the small hardbody lures at the milky green lagoon waters, scoring

were all clean with a bronzy sheen colouring their wellconditioned bodies and all proved to be pretty reasonable tucker. The barra taken that day ranged from 69-78cm.

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Wetter-than-average summer with fishy benefits TOWNSVILLE

Dave Hodge

The rains have got things moving on all fronts, and this month the barra season will be closed. Overflowing billabongs and waterholes are loaded with barra and heaps of bait, including ‘barra lollies’ (tarpon) headed for open waters again. Big barra know this and wait at the mouths of these run-off drains and suck them in as they attempt an escape. Wherever you find big barra, you’ll also find big crocs and we’ve heard of people walking into chestdeep water to retrieve a lure. Don’t wade in to retrieve your bloody lure! I’ve seen this a few times over the years and I’m buggered if I can see a lure worth risking your life for. The only exceptions are in some of the stocked waters, but even then, I ain’t going in! If you’re a barra lover and enjoy chasing them in the freshwater reaches of the Ross River, or one of

The young fella’s getting used to catching decent fish nowadays, and is confident in jaw grabbing them. Obviously the lure needs to be removed if you’re not using a lip-grabbing device such as the Bogas to eliminate the risk of getting pinned on a lure when the fish kicks. The deeper feed channels that weave their way through the weed are great spots for divers and sinking paddle-tails. I’m hopeless and take a rod with one of each rigged

Ryan Tully with a nice billabong barra taken during a slight period of run-off. It didn’t take much water movement to really kick the barra into gear, and the same happens in the stocked weirs in the middle of Townsville. the many dams that stock barra these days, then all you need to do is get yourself a SIPS permit and you can fish these locations legally. It’s a common opinion that a freshwater barra isn’t as good on the plate as a salty, and catch and release is regarded as the most responsible option. Being a bit of a surface fishing addict, I’m a big fan of poppers, fizzers, stickbaits and unweighted surface plastics. Plenty of lures work in the weirs and depending on where you’re casting your lure, but weedless can sometimes be the only option to get any real distance in the retrieve before fouling. Frog-style lures are still popular for extracting fish from these thick weed beds and lily pads, and the bow waving chase of a big fish gets your heart in your mouth every time, no matter how many you’ve caught. 66

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and ready to go, so that when the opportunity comes up it’s a simple matter of putting one down and picking up the other. The advantage of this is that you’re ready for whatever arises. Secondly, you’re not continuously

chopping and retying your leaders, and you have a backup outfit if something goes wrong like a reel failure or rod breakage. Another thing that may be worth considering, if you’re as finicky as myself with presentations, is the leader choice. On my plastics and divers I use 40-60lb Unitika fluorocarbon; it sinks, helps achieve the required depth and helps to hold there during the all-important pauses necessary to get the reaction from the fish sometimes. The general rule of thumb here is the bigger the lure, the heavier the leader can be. The latest lure that has been getting a lot of bites has been the 7” Paddle Prawn rigged on a 7/0 or 8/0 worm hook. These can be subtly worked back along weed edges and through the shallows and the depth can be adjusted by adding weight in the form of a sinker incorporated into the loop knot. Frog fishing is always going to be one of those things that will fluctuate in its popularity, and it was only recently that I started to throw them again, due to the thick weed in some

Working weedless frog lures through the thick weed is a rush and, as with all lures, some exciting strikes can happen right at your feet if you’re stealthy.

of the billabongs and also the Ross weirs. The weed itself is a form of cover and provides perfect ambush areas for barra. Frog presentations that have the flapping leg action work well on open weed beds where there is half a metre of water between the weed and the surface, but that really thick weed that gets pushed by the wind onto a bank is a bit different. The hollow bodied, scum-type frogs that have the twin upward riding hooks and spinnerbait skirt material legs can be skipped and worked over weed so thick you can’t even see the water, and amazingly, the barra will find them more by sound than sight. A couple of recent trips with good mate Ryan Tully proved their effectiveness in an area where I thought we would have no chance of getting interest. In an area where I had no chance of working my lure, I had to give it a go and was instantly rewarded. Fast retrieves over thick weed isn’t something I would normally try, but Ryan, being a lifetime fisher of the stocked weirs and freshwater Billabongs in the area, proved to me the necessity of having a scum-type frog on hand at all times. These thick weed strikes really get you by surprise, and barra just barge their way through it to have a go. Needless to say, I’ll be stocking up on these things for the Ross over the next few months. Unsurprisingly, the ones with a very pale or white colouration work best at night, and the Live Target brand seems to be one of the best. With surface lures such as the Rooster Popper 80mm size, the heavier fluoro sits the nose deeper in the water and you tend to lose the surface disturbance that’s required for a good presentation, so for the surface stuff I use mono leader material in the 50-60lb range. On really big lures I can go to 80 if the structure is heavy. One word of warning though, and that is regarding the hook-up ratio with surface lures; it can be a bit ordinary sometimes, even though the Adrenalin rush is worth it. During the closed season you will obviously hook barra on a pretty regular basis while chasing things like jacks, but most people are aware of the laws and the moral obligation of releasing these protected fish. We don’t even bother going near areas that we know hold big barra and little else, but each to their own. The main reason to avoid the big breeders is that recent research suggests that some species will reabsorb their

eggs after being caught and not spawn at all, so just try to avoid it. The latest prediction is for a wetter-than-average summer with an increased risk of cyclones. This could make it interesting for the inshore areas, but we need the rain to flush out the silted areas. If the rains do continue, then it may be worth targeting the deeper rocks and snags towards the river mouths, headlands and flats as freshwater sits up on top and the salt runs deeper, and this will be worth a look if you’re after jacks.

colours. Smaller lures have also accounted for plenty northern bluefin tuna up and down the coast. Local charter operator Ross has been braining the fish lately and has plenty of pics of happy customers holding up tasty reef fish from recent trips. The reefs that have been producing well have been the ones most easily accessed, eliminating the need to head way out to the further offshore locations. Take a bait jig or two as well, as there have been thick schools of bait on the shoals, and just about

The Atomic K9 is a great light line lure when the water’s clear and the fish are feeding on smaller baitfish. In the bays and river mouths, defined colour change lines can be signposts signifying the end of the freshwater and the beginning of the salt; it’s always worth a look around these areas for fish of a different kind. I think the golden snapper head out wider when the fresh run-off is in swing, and those shallower areas often hold them during dry periods (most of the time in Townsville). This observation is based on personal experience, but it seems to be the case almost every time. Offshore fishing has been quite incredible and the shoals have been producing some big nannies and golden snapper. The 25-25m depth has been a good area to target mixed species and 25-35m depth is the best for the largemouth nannies. Plastics have been producing well, and the California squid and live baits have been the best. Snelled or two hook rigs on 30-40kg leader are a good option with the 30kg being the best when the water’s clearer. A common addition to some anglers’ bottom rigs is the rubber squid or Halco Octo Skirts, as they add a bit of life and movement to the presentation. This works exceptionally well with trout. Mackerel are getting caught in pretty close still and some stonkers have been taken on unweighted gar and pillies, as well as trolled lures in redhead and gold

everything will take a livey. A bit of news – I’ve changed my location of employment and have started at the Fishing Warehouse on Duckworth Street opposite Domain Central in Townsville. For the last five years I worked elsewhere in town, but recently decided to move on to the next chapter in my life. Being locally owned and operated, it’s a long established shop with a great reputation. It will be an exciting change and I’m really looking forward the move. As always, if anyone’s wanting the good oil on the where, when and what the fish are biting on then call in and see the staff or myself and we’ll put you on the right track. The staff at the Warehouse are fishing fanatics and are up-to-date with the latest and greatest gear and where the action’s all happening. That’s a good thing with so much happening on the fishing front around town. If you’re heading up this way from south, call in and see us at the Fishing Warehouse and we can fill you in on the most current action, as it can change from one week to the next. Cheers and good luck. QFM would like to acknowledge that in Dave’s last report, we printed infomation suggesting that the barramundi season opens on 1 January, when it actually opens on 1 February. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.

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How you can help protect the reef and why… Being able to load up the boat, grab some mates and head out to your favourite fishing spot on the Great Barrier Reef is something north Queenslanders treasure. But, while the sheer magic of a Reef trip is something we hold dear, there’s no doubt this iconic place is under significant pressure. As you’ll be aware, the Reef is trying to recover from back-to-back mass coral bleaching events, the impacts from more frequent and intense cyclones, and an ongoing outbreak of insatiable coral-eating crown-ofthorns starfish. Given how much you love the Reef, you may be surprised to learn that the most common offence in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area is recreational fishing in no-take green zones. The offenders? Mostly men, aged 25-54 living in the local area, just 50km away from the offence site. While we know recreational fishers mostly understand and follow the zoning rules, there are some who believe occasionally fishing in a green zone is harmless. Nothing could be further from the truth — the effects of green zone poaching are cumulative. Every fisher who fishes in a green zone is damaging the health of the Reef and threatening their favourite pastime. In response to this growing threat, the Great Reef Marine Park Authority is coordinating aerial and vessel patrols day and night to target illegal recreational fishing hot spots. We have a no tolerance approach — if you fish in 68

DECEMBER 2017

What you can do Here are some ways that you can help to protect the Reef and preserve future fish stocks: • Know the marine parks’ zoning rules • Use a GPS and cross-check it with a free zoning map • Know how to use your GPS and the way that the zoning information is displayed • Anonymously report suspected illegal fishing activity: 1800 380 048 (24 hour hotline — all reports are investigated) • Understand how no-take zones work to safeguard the Reef and fish stocks • Where possible, avoid anchoring on coral — try to find sand

a green zone, you will get caught and risk a $2100 fine. The science is in, green zones are working and you can play a part to protect our Reef and make sure the benefits of green zones are understood and received by everyone. How do green zones work? The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park has zoning in place across an area that’s bigger than Italy to support its multiple uses. Zoning defines what activities can occur in each location, which helps to manage and protect what we love about our Reef. No-take green zones — marine national parks — make up about a third of the Marine Park. They are part of a system of interconnected reserves that are designed to help protect ecosystem biodiversity. Research indicates current

zoning arrangements, which came into effect in 2004, are having clear benefits, including helping to sustain fish stocks in areas open to fishing. For example, a DNA study in the Keppel Islands found almost 60 per cent of the juvenile coral trout collected from areas open to fishing were the offspring of parents living in green zones. This highlights how green zones are restocking areas open to fishing. Poachers who remove important breeding fish from no-take zones are impacting the catches of honest fishers who are following the rules — they are threatening your future recreational fishing success. Research also indicates reefs in green zones are more resilient to the impacts

of coral disease, crown-ofthorns starfish outbreaks, and weather events and are able to recover from impacts faster compared to reefs open to fishing.

• Avoid taking herbivorous fish like parrotfish, which remove seaweed and provide space for new corals to grow • Take all rubbish with you and put into bins on the shore.

Fun and games in the heat LUCINDA

Jeff Wilton jeffwilton83@hotmail.com

It always surprises me when I am typing up an article for December – the years fly by quick. I hope everyone got stuck into some great fish and shared the waterways with friends and family.

for; add to this the chance of tangling with some worldclass fish and it’s a match made in fishing heaven. So let’s see what Lucinda and its surrounds will have on offer to finish off 2017. HINCHINBROOK CHANNEL Normally it’s getting hot and the humidity is thick by now. Afternoon thunderstorms build up very quickly and

let me tell you, it was a hectic 40 minutes or so. The fishing should be pretty good and it’s around this time of year that good captures of grunter are normally being recorded. Fishing out from the sugar loader jetty is a great starting point and the night-time hours are when the better fish seem to be getting caught. Keep your gear light when chasing

Teach them young that fishing is a great way to spend spare time. The fishing here should be great, but as always we will be controlled by the weather with heavy rainfalls or strong winds making things difficult at times. Normally December is a pretty good month for lighter winds and this will hopefully mean plenty of opportunities to point the boat east and head out onto the bluewater. An early morning run out to the reef as the sun slowly rises in front of you is one of the best views you can hope

the old bilge pump can get a real workout when the sky opens. While the storms can be short, they can dump a lot of water very quickly. Just a warning for anyone travelling up in the wet season, make sure you have a functional bilge on board. I remember a night where we got hammered with a storm that wouldn’t ease up and the bilge stopped working; we were scrambling to find anything we could bail water with and

these fish. They aren’t dirty fighters, but solid fish will take some line off you. Be patient and play the fish out and you should land them no worries. Bull sharks can be real nuisance and if they’re around then it’s best to move locations, as they will clean up everything you hook. The mighty mangrove jack will be snapping away and if you can match up some tide changes in the late afternoon when a fierce thunderstorm is brewing,

you should have loads of fun. Jacks are not fussy and they will happily smash anything you throw in their faces, including topwater offerings. The most addictive form of chasing jacks is off the surface. Finesse FrogZ from ZMan are perfect for these fish and rigged on the right hooks they are basically snag-proof. You can throw them deep into the back of the snags or skip them under overhangs and draw the fish out. Watching red flashes scream out and swipe at the frog is heart-stopping stuff and the strike can be brutal – classic jack fishing. JETTY, ISLANDS AND REEF The jetty should have loads of mini GTs in amongst the pylons. Early morning sessions when the winds are down are normally the best and using small poppers or plastics thrown under the jetty and worked out should produce results. It’s nasty country out there and you need to be on the ball and using mid-range gear with some stopping power. I have had so many massive wipe-outs there and I’m not the only one. There are plenty of resident big GTs hanging around as well and they are rarely landed. Hooking them anywhere close to those pylons means near instant victory to the fish. The best results I’ve had for actually landing them was trolling with heavy-duty gear and on hook-up using a near locked

Jacks love the heat. Try surface fishing for them. drag and the boat to attempt to pull them out a bit before starting the battle. This is also very difficult with huge fish that know where every pylon is. Island fishing will be a little slow and the best results will come from anglers who find deeper grounds that offer broken reef or shoal bottom. Redthroat emperor are normally the most common capture, but the odd trout is always on the cards. If you can secure some good live baits then you will raise your chance of tangling with solid trout more regularly. The reef should be fishing well; I would recommend getting out there early in the morning or later in the afternoon. The northern end of Bramble should still have the odd big Spanish mackerel about and also plenty of cobia. Cobia are very common in the warmer months and

they should be on any good pinnacle, rubble or wreck. They are also not fussy and will eat anything from cut baits to live baits, and also big plastics in all colours – pink is one of their favourites. Once hooked, cobia will fight hard and normally will give you an early net or gaff shot. If this isn’t successful then prepare yourself for a battle. They never give up and on mid-range gear they will have you circling the boat and will leave you bruised and sore. Good luck to everyone getting out on the water. I hope the fish play the game and some quality time is spent with friends and family. Merry Christmas and I look forward to bringing you all the news from Lucinda in the coming year. I hope Santa brings everyone some new gear to help get into the fish of a lifetime.

Good sessions on the trout HINCHINBROOK

Ryan Moody info@ryanmoodyfishing.com

There have been some unseasonal weather events going on, with the east coast experiencing a deluge of around 200-400mm in many areas. October is usually the last of the dry months before we start experiencing the odd storm, but that all changed this year. Many people have asked me whether a big rain event so early in the wet

would have made the barra spawn early. I don’t think so, because they would not have been developed enough yet. They normally spawn around the full moon in December and January. All the fish we caught two weeks after the event, which was the last two weeks of the season, still had big bellies – a good indication that nothing has happened with their spawn cycle. Recently I went out the reef slow pitch jigging with one of my mates and had a cracker session on nice trout. They were certainly eager to bite and it appears as though

We have had some good trips on the trout again. 70

DECEMBER 2017

their stocks are fairly good. We mostly fished in under 14m of water, so many were released, as we didn’t want to take too many home. Coral trout are a good responder to slow jigs and one of my secrets is to berley upcurrent first then wait for fish to move into the area and away from the bommies. Bites can last for some time, and all sorts of species will show up. The headlands are fishing rather well, with one recent trip yielding bar-cheeked trout, golden snapper and mangrove jack, all from one spot. Another rare capture was a Maori sea perch; they are a stunning looking fish but we always release them when we are lucky enough to catch one. Several queenies and average-sized GTs also made for some fun. The headlands will fish well at night over the next few months, with golden snapper and grunter the two main targets. You can sometimes get a few excess squid from the squid light to take home if you like calamari.

We have noticed the grey mackerel and northern bluefin tuna starting to show, and they are other popular targets for sportfishers using light spin gear. Both species take small metal slices and often caught in amongst each other as they feed on the same small herring schools. Northern bluefin tuna are fairly good eating and are more of a BBQ fish, while grey mackerel are very good eating and can be cooked in a variety of ways, even making good sushi. Spanish mackerel and small billfish are now spreading out on the way south, but some Spanish will hang around and become resident over the reefs. These are mainly larger fish, and may have higher doses ciguatera toxin in them, so it’s best to be on the safe side and release the big models. One thing that does start to happen in December is medium-sized marlin coming in from out wide, feeding on the small tuna schools. Fish in the 200-400lb bracket can be trolled using bigger pushers

This barra, caught in late October, was the last for the season. Now is the time to leave them alone to breed. and medium-sized skip baits such as scad and doggy mackerel, and 30-50lb tackle is recommended. Simply look for the small tuna schools in the shipping lane, and troll around the perimeter of them. You will sometimes see a large splash in the distance, which usually indicates a free jumper. Small boats can access this fishery as it’s halfway to the reef proper. Another pursuit available to small boat owners during the barra closed season are the wonky holes (underwater freshwater springs), where

you have a great chance of catching a big red fish closer inshore. Our online course on them spills all the secrets to finding them, and is a great Christmas present for offshore anglers wanting to find untouched spots. Head to www.ryanmoodyfishing. com for more info. • If you would like to book a charter or join our fishing community for some great fishing competitions etc, head on over to www. ryanmoodyfishing.com. And you could also win a free charter drawn twice a year.

A feed of seafood for your Christmas lunch CAIRNS

Garry Smith garrysmith@fishingmonthly.com.au

Catching a feed of seafood for Christmas will be a good plan this month and there are a few tips that may help make it a reality. The weather will be the biggest influence on your approach and, to a fair extent, your success. If there is plenty of action on the weather front then you can expect action in the water, but if we have a

list, it’s time for estuary and inshore anglers to focus on golden snapper, mangrove jack and grunter, all of which should be on the chew. Golden snapper will be the biggest challenge and the biggest reward; these fish take a bit more effort to nail than most species. Live baits and lures are your only real options in the Cairns area, even though further north they can be fished for with reef rigs. Night is the right time for chasing these mangrove jack on steroids. While

The inshore reefs, wrecks, wonky holes and islands will hold the odd bar-cheek coral trout, like this beauty.

John Van Ryt, from Mareeba, caught and released this magnificent black jewfish on a recent trip to Karumba. hot, dry lead-up to Christmas then it could be tough going. There is nothing like a few storms or heavy rain periods to stir the fish into life, so here’s hoping for plenty of activity weatherwise, so long as it doesn’t involve cyclones! Fishing has been excellent recently with plenty of good catches coming from the reef and the headlands, with the inshore and estuary areas also firing at times. With barramundi off the target

you can pull them off deep water wrecks, bommies and wonky holes during the day, generally speaking they are a dawn, dusk and night feeder. If you are fishing shallow then it is exclusively a night-time activity. Look for any heavy structure with rubble, weed or wire coral close by and you’re on the right country. Wire weed seems to be a particularly popular haunt for golden snapper and it’s easy to spot on your sounder.

They tend to hang tight to heavy cover then move out to feed on surrounding country. Fish tight to the heavy country but not on it. Live baits of sardines, mud herring, mullet and prawns are top baits, with live squid the number one offering. If you can’t get or don’t like fishing live bait then lures are another option; trolling, jigging and casting are all effective on their day. Trolling deep divers that bump the bottom regularly is a great way to locate fish and suitable country. Mark any likely spots and come back to fish them later. Golden snapper tend to feed furiously for short periods, so it pays to be patient if you are on good or known country. It’s common to sit there for 2-6 hours with nothing happening then there is half an hour to an hour of mayhem, so make sure

your gear is up to it and you are prepared for the chaos. Being well prepared can be the difference between no fish and half a dozen. For those not wanting quite that hard a challenge, grunter and mangrove jack are a far less difficult quarry to tangle with, especially at this time of year. The key to both of these fish is the bait. It must be fresh, with the exception of pilchards, which just need to be in top condition. While frozen bait does work, freshly caught bait is by far the best option. Strips of sardines, mullet, mud herring, gar and squid are ideal baits for both species, as are small whole baits of sardines, mud herring, mullet and prawns, dead or alive. The best time to chase grunter is the last couple of hours of the rise and the first hour of the fall, out in front of

Cairns Esplanade or in Trinity Inlet, especially on the big morning high tides around the new and full moons. Any weed or shell grit area will hold fish at times. Mangrove jack on the other hand like the roughest country they can find, so any rock walls, piers, rock bars or heavy snags are the places to chase jacks. The bottom half of the tide is the best for bait fishing, while the falling tide is best for luring. When the water level drops below the green leaf line on mangrove banks it’s a good time to work the edge, as jacks move back out of the mangroves with the falling tide. This is a good tactic in any mangrove area and particularly where there is a large shallow area off the mangroves that usually dries on big outs. Extended periods of calm weather are pretty well the

norm for December, making ideal reef fishing conditions, except for the heat. Fish early, late and overnight, and keep a very close eye on the BOM radar for any fast-building, fast-moving storms. The fish will be scattered, so look for bait schools sitting on good country and birds working. Be prepared to move fairly regularly until you locate feeding fish. Drift fishing is also a good tactic for reds and trout in more open country. Drift fishing over heavy reef, however, is simply a great way to reduce your bank balance. The inshore reefs, wrecks, wonky holes and islands are a good destination this month as you can easily slip out for a few hours’ fishing on dawn and dusk to avoid the worst of the heat – to say nothing of aligning with the best fishing times. There will still be a few school mackerel around, especially if there has been an early spawning of baitfish. There should be a good chance of this happening after the heavy rain we had in mid-October. Cobia, trevally and the odd homer Spaniard will be the main other pelagics, while golden snapper, largemouth nannygai and the odd bar-cheek coral trout will be available on the bottom for anglers bait fishing or jigging. Any flush of freshwater will get the crabs and possibly the prawns moving, so don’t miss a chance to add a muddy or two to Christmas dinner if there is any significant rainfall in the lead-up to the big day.

The gamefishing action is on in December PORT DOUGLAS

Lynton Heffer www.fishingportdouglas.com.au

In recent times a lot of the attention in Far North Queensland has been focused upon the gamefishing action on the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. Heading the list has been the aggregation of the big black marlin that arrive on our doorstep to breed. This year they arrived early in September and have continued on and are expected to remain present in numbers until mid December. There have been a lot of big fish tagged and released with quite a few estimated at over 1100lb. A new Australian record for blue marlin was recently recorded in Cairns by skipper Daniel McCarthy on the Moana game boat.

The main bite as we speak is now occurring south of the Ribbon Reefs down around the Opal Ridge and Linden Bank region. Overall it has been a steady season with anglers from all over the world coming to the Far North to try their luck at the fish of a lifetime. Those who have the privilege of being able to stay on the water overnight have been enjoying the hot bite sessions that occur closer to dusk. Going hand-in-hand with the heavy tackle component has been the light tackle scene with a good mixture of pelagics on the move including yellowfin, wahoo, Spanish mackerel, barracuda, mahimahi and sailfish being caught on the shelf. A lot of vessels choose to light tackle gamefish in the mornings then bring out the big guns in the afternoon for the giant black marlin. On the reef itself locals

The crew aboard a Black Label Charters boat hooked this estimated 1000lb black marlin. have enjoyed a good run of weather and have had ample opportunity to hit

the blue highway. Recently we’ve seen a slight decline in numbers of fish caught,

however the quality has been excellent. Everything seems to be of super size including red emperor and largemouth nannygai to 11kg, gold spot trevally to 8kg and coral and bar-cheek trout up to 6kg. Even the big rogue Spanish mackerel that roam the reefs have been caught in excess of 25kg. There’s nothing better than good weather and good fishing on the Great Barrier Reef. Closer to home we had a decent shake up with some really heavy rainfalls in early October and parts of November which resulted in all the local rivers and creeks receiving a proper flush out. This in turn creates new life and bait and spreads it along the coastline, which brings on the fishing. There has been a lot of activity from grunter, shovelnose ray, sharks and trevally along our beaches

to big queenfish patrolling the headlands and river mouths. As you enter the systems, there have been plenty of mid-sized queenfish, tarpon and trevally working the incoming tides and amongst the snags the mangrove jack are busy and active. Naturally the low light periods are best at this time of year with the middle of the day being too hot, even for the most hardened fishers. Moving forward we probably have another month of stable weather to take advantage of, but it will be very hot. The heavy gamefishing tally is expected to keep ticking over for a little while to come; the light tackle scene will remain very strong and the coastal and reef fishing will continue to turn over some big fish of different varieties. DECEMBER 2017

The jacks are hitting lures hard this month CAIRNS

Dan Kaggelis dkaggelis@gmail.com

With the barramundi closure in full swing, anglers need to be exercising the sensible and sustainable option of trying their best to avoid old bucket mouth along the NFZ. The run of barra and evidence of congregations of barramundi, especially in the Cairns Inlet during the closures is a testament to the success of our NFZ. With some early heavy rain already, here’s hoping

to work with stakeholders to give this recruitment a leg up through stocking of barramundi along the NFZ to plug a few gaps from recent poor wet seasons over the last couple of years; stay tuned for more information on this. With the barramundi off limits, the NFZ is still worth fishing. The warmer months of December are some of the best times to be targeting mangrove jack. There should be some stormy weather this month and there is nothing better to trigger a jack bite than a big afternoon lightning show. Couple this with some

on surface as they are hungry as hell and more aggressive than a pit bull. Casts don’t have to be pinpoint-accurate as jacks are that fired up they will travel to attack anything in their area. This is where surface lures can be a plus – the bloop of a popper or aggressive action of a stickbait will quickly get their attention and be in line for a serious jack attack. When using surface lures, it is best to target structure that is relatively shallow in a couple of metres of water, especially on a rising tide. Working

Surface fishing is always best during times of low light, but if you are fishing the heat of the day it’s best to target shady backwater areas. As water temperatures get up over the 30°C mark fish will seek out cooler, deeper waters so subsurface hardbodies and lures are the way to go. The 3-4” soft plastic minnow style lures are ideal and when the jacks are in an aggressive mood, darker colours are always a good option. A steady roll retrieve is always a good option; try and keep that lure as close to the structure as possible. The other fish that will be worth chasing in the NFZ this month will be the golden snapper. These fish have been thick in the inlet and along the headlands of the NFZ. The best success has been on live or freshly-caught herring

Golden snapper are the prize fish in the NFZ over the closed barra season. while vibe lures have also been effective. The wrecks in the inlet have been popular target areas along with the rubble ground in the main channel

Mangrove jack will be swarming over the warm, balmy days. for a steady monsoon over the next few months to get that recruitment going. I am currently in the preliminary stages of looking at ways

balmy northerly winds and a low tide and you should be in for some cracking red action. This is my favourite time of year to target jacks

around mangrove roots is also a viable option; just be ready to thumb that spool when the attack from below occurs.

The Tiemco Skip Minnow 4” is the author’s pick for surface fishing for jacks in the NFZ.

just off the Navy Wharf. The larger fish will begin to move into these areas over the warmer months with fish up to 70cm to be expected. The open beaches are still worth a shot, especially when the calm offshore weather is on. Calm beaches are ideal for live baiting or vibing for king threadfin salmon, which will move into the area over the summer months. Remember to get out and enjoy your NFZ, as it is a privilege to have in our backyard. If you catch a fish in the NFZ and post it on social media, don’t forget to add #lovemyNFZ to share your success with others.

Cape York fishing inferno CAPE YORK

Tim O’Reilly wildrivercompany@gmail.com

Welcome to the inferno. If ever there was a month where patience is tested and brows get sweaty, December is the month. With enough time up the creeks amongst the mangroves and decaying timber, things like sunstroke, dehydration and heatinduced apparitions all become plausible. So what is left to do in Cape York at this time of year? Luckily, some real nice weather, particularly

along the East Coast, will coincide with the December doldrums. Flat, calm mornings where a mirror surface is only interrupted by the puff of wind from an encroaching squall. This type of weather has the effect of corralling baitfish, and the speedsters will not be too far away. All the tuna species will be on fire as the tide floods into the bays and reef channels. Yellowfin, longtails, mac tuna and bonito will turn up sporadically anywhere from a kilometre offshore all the way out to the shelf. Dogtooth tuna out on the drop-offs and pinnacles are more easily accessed when the weather

drops right out. Spear fishers working the outer reef edges and those vertically jigging metals will be in for the fight of their life as angry dogtooth plunge directly back into their reefy lairs below. Fishing the deeper reef and shoal edges can also be productive for a range of jobfish species out on the wider ground. The more common green jobfish will be taken by sportfishers and divers anywhere from 10m down to 50m+, while rosy jobfish will usually be taken by those fishing deeper grounds with strip baits and squid. A host of other tasty reef dwellers will also be caught

This coral trout took a surface lure over shallow reef. 72

DECEMBER 2017

out wide in deeper water during these periods of warm water temperatures. Besides the better-known red emperor and marge mouth nannygai, which are welcome catch to any deeper reef anglers, a host of other tasty critters may add colour to the esky. Hussar, stripies, Moses perch and a host of smaller lutjanidae species are veracious feeders and are great tasting when baked whole. Moving closer to shore, the majority of creeks, rivers and estuarine systems will be running clear this time of year. A major catalyst for the fishing to fire up will be a rising barometer and the first storms crackling over Cape York. The first discharge of freshwater into the system should be a turbo booster for the food webs to kick into gear, with a little luck, barramundi will have a successful spawning period, with millions of tiny spawn, ready for the wet season to crank up and give the tiny fingerlings a chance to travel upstream. Some of the larger West Coast rivers can be pleasurable to fish right up at the limit of saltwater intrusion, with species such as mangrove jack and golden species inhabiting the structure in numbers

A chunky yellowfin tuna taken on a popper in a reef entrance. not seen when rains and freshwater push water levels up. Big mid-stream snags and deeper rock bars will not be quite settled, providing great fishing on the change of tide especially coming off the low. Fishing deeper divers, vibes and weighted soft plastics can provide arm-stretching fun, although losses can be high. December is a hard month to fish the Cape, but the rewards

are there for clean water enthusiasts. Just remember to stay hydrated, wear the biggest broad-brimmed hat you can find and be wary of box jellies in the shallow bays and beaches. • For information on remote charter operations for tailored fishing adventures, please email Tim on wildrivercompany @gmail.com

Hot fishing during the warm weather season COOKTOWN

Paul Prokopuk

December and January in the tropics mean great fishing on the reefs, in the bays and up the rivers. Wherever you choose to go, make sure you pack plenty of extra water and find shade, because it does get hot. When you pack, keep a close eye on the weather forecasts, because the odd storm can pass over and dump a lot of rain in a short amount of time. If this happens, the roads will become very greasy and slippery and you’ll possibly need a couple of extra days to get out of some locations while you wait for the flooded causeways to recede.

When the waters are still out on the reefs, you might like to fish a little deeper in the water column, as the fish may spook easily from boat noise in shallower waters. Fishing in 20m or more will have more success. Find some fish-holding structure or bommies at this depth – it won’t take long if you’re trolling around for mackerel. There have been some quality fish caught over the last month, with a plethora of red emperor, nannygai and coral trout being caught. It is also definitely worth a try targeting mahimahi this time of year. Look for any floating debris or current lines while trolling small pusher lures or rigged garfish and you’re in with a good chance of hooking one of these vibrantly coloured table fish.

The estuaries in the Cooktown region have some great mangrove jack fishing at the moment, and this

the snags or float strip baits while berleying into a snag or rock bar for the best way to chase jacks in the rivers. With

Lydia Chalk with her first Spanish mackerel caught on the troll.

Joe Carpenter with some decent reds caught on a recent night fishing trip drifting over rubble patches. Kass Stahan had a good battle bringing this beast to the boat.

will only get better through December and January. Throw soft plastics around

barramundi closed season on for three months now is a perfect time to chase another

top quality eating fish like golden snapper. At this time of year you will find them in deep water up the estuaries, and even more so on any rubble patch or headland along the coast. Squid or live bait caught at the spot and promptly returned to the depths is a proven method for catching these hardfighting specimens. There is always by-catch when doing this, so expect anything from jacks to cobia. Mud crab catches are being reported more frequently now. The Annan River seems to produce more frequent catches of full bucks. Big trevally have also been spotted terrorising baitfish around tidal pressure points in the rivers. Using

weightless live baits or trolling shiny metallic lures is best to catch these sportfish. Lakefield National Park (LNP) will be closed very soon if it hasn’t already. Go on Cook Shire’s website for more information. If you manage to get in there then be prepared for either a quick escape or staying an extra few days, because the storms can drop some serious rain in short intervals, which may have you sitting at your camp a little longer than expected while waiting for the road to dry out again. The saltwater stretches in LNP will have the best fishing at the moment for mangrove jack, estuary cod and trevally.

Weipa continues to shine as mercury climbs WEIPA

Mark Bargenquast

The heat is on, literally, with daytime temperatures reaching nearly 40°C and plenty of humidity to go with it. As can be expected, the tourists have all but vanished and the caravan

park is empty, except for the long-term residents that live here. Fishing trips at this time of the year are usually done in the early morning or late afternoon, as during the middle of the day even the boat floor burns the soles of your feet! Inshore, early starts have been producing plenty of good

threadies in the shallows, and mullet and prawns are the food source, so use appropriate lures like rubber prawns and shallow diving minnows. Fishing the shady edges as the sun gets higher is the go, as they often sit tight under mangrove branches in less then 30cm of water. High tide is the time to look for threadies in the

There have been plenty of black jew on the reefs.

Micro jig-eating golden snapper will feature over summer in Weipa.

bays and mangrove edges. Grunter and golden snapper are also in numbers in the estuaries, but unlike the threadies, they prefer the deeper cooler holes and snags. Live baits and patience gets the bites, but I prefer lures, especially 20g vibes. Way upstream in the Embley, Hey and Mission rivers, there is plenty of jacks, but there is also plenty of rocks, so be careful when navigating up there. The top

end of the rivers at this time of the year are very salty, because it’s the end of the dry season and queenfish, trevally and even small mackerel will push right upstream. Offshore some big black jew are starting to show up on some reefs, with big plastics slow hopped along the bottom working best, but livies will also get the bites. Pelagics are going well with some good Spaniards still on the reefs and out wide, and

trolling big lures or spinning heavy metals rigged on wire is working well. Some fish up to 15kg are still about. Tuna are sporadic, but still about, and the good news is that plenty of sailfish and smaller blacks are regular captures for the billfish guys doing their thing. Out on the fads, there are schools of mahimahi, but mostly small fish around 50-60cm, with the odd 7-8kg fish in there. DECEMBER 2017

Sweetwater fishing to cool off in December FRESHWATER

Angus James Instagram: @jimmygusjames

Time really does fly by. Can you believe it’s December already? The fishing up this way has been outstanding lately and will only continue to get better over this festive season. The jungle perch have been going well, with some quality fish being caught! If you want to catch a PB JP for Christmas, then you better be prepared to do some exercise, because the big fish are hiding in the secret honey holes and often these magical spots are deep in the jungle. Effort equals reward with these fish, and

the country you will find yourself in while fighting these gems is breathtaking! The sweetwater mangrove jack are hot and angry this time of year! The humidity really fires these red devils up and some cracker sessions can be had. Aim to get your lure deep into the structure. These fish are super fast and will react straight away when an offering is put in their domain. Have a nice tight drag, because these guys will pull hard and fast. The trick is to win the first part of the fight, because if you don’t, they will get you in the junk just about every time! Weedless presentations are a good choice when casting at snags for mangrove jack.

Sooties are always a fun fish to target when up north, and will hit just about any lure that fits in their greedy mouth! You can catch these tough Aussie natives in just about most freshwater systems in the north, so it’s always handy to have a rod and reel with you whenever you’re exploring the countryside. They can provide hours of fun for everyone! I would like to wish everyone a very safe and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope you and your loved ones get to enjoy some quality time outdoors over this month, and I look forward to catching up with you all in 2018.

The jungle perch have been going well, with some quality fish being caught!

The country you will find yourself in while fighting JPs is breathtaking!

A little JP that got greedy.

FISHING NEWS

Fish-friendly infrastructure Marine infrastructure includes structures such as pontoons, jetties, marinas, boat moorings and seawalls. While usually installed to provide access to and storage for boats, to control erosion and to protect coastal assets, they can have a negative influence on the health and productivity of local fisheries. Many of these structures have created increased shading effects and resulted in widespread loss of key fish habitat, such as seagrass meadows, mangrove forests and saltmarsh. This impact has had a long-term negative influence on marine plants and animals which inhabit the shore, including the health and productivity of local fisheries. New concepts in marine infrastructure design, and alternatives to traditional construction and management techniques, provide opportunities to 74

DECEMBER 2017

Above: Woollahra Seawall is an example of a ‘not fish-friendly’ structure. Below: A more fishfriendly approach. Photo courtesy of NSW DPI. enhance habitat for marine life in and around these structures. Structures that are ‘fish friendly’ help these plants and animals to survive in modified waterfront and near shore environments.

The term ‘fish friendly’ covers not only fin fish, but other marine creatures and plants such as invertebrates (e.g. shellfish, sea squirts, starfish, crustaceans, sponges and corals),

saltmarsh, mangroves, seagrasses and marine algae. This group of plants and animals grow in areas affected by waterfront and marine development – estuaries, rocky shores, beaches and near shore coastal environments. Structures that are ‘fish friendly’ help these plants and animals to survive in modified waterfront and near shore environments. You could also call them ‘biodiversity friendly’, as they are helping to restore some of the lost ecosystem function, and are also helping to preserve the diversity of organisms able to live in those modified environments. Some examples are provided at www. fishhabitatnetwork.com. au/projects/fish-friendlymarine-infrastructure (e.g. erosion protection, and fish-friendly roads and weirs). – Fish Habitat Network

John Austen caught this cracker kingfish less than 50m from shore.

Northern Junior

Reefs fire as temperatures rise WEIPA

Jackson Bargenquast

Finally spring has come to an end and the temperatures up here in the Cape are beginning to skyrocket. While this makes it hard to stay hydrated when fishing all day, it definitely brings the fish on the bite. The run-off has yet to begin, which means although barra are becoming more active, they are not yet fully fired up, and this along with the season closure for their spawning time makes them a no target/no take species for the wamer months. The reefs are going crazy, with usual contenders such as blue bone and golden snapper very active and taking a wide variety of lures and baits. This is the time of the year when large numbers of big black jew simply appear everywhere as if they have fallen from the sky. They are also very hungry, and everyone is beginning to catch them. Most are over the metre mark, and they are exceptional eating, however like the barra they are beginning their spawning season and limiting your kill will help the species. These great silver fish do not release well, so if you

A U S T R A L I A

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The author’s close mate Clay with a cracker land-based black jewfish going 120cm.

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Sabre FTD 2017 Rex (left) looks chuffed with his first sail, as his son Nick helps him cradle the awesome fish. begin to catch a few in a certain spot, moving away is a good idea if the flesh is not desired. The beaches are quiet, with fewer fish showing up then earlier in the year, however the pelagic action has been insane with loads of tuna, mackerel, mahimahi and sailfish being caught regularly by locals. Another fish showing up in force lately is the triple tail. I’m yet to land one of these

fantastic fish, however their numbers will only increase in following months, so my hopes are high. Inshore the river mouths and estuaries are also firing up. Big queenies can be found everywhere in the months to come and mangrove jacks and threadfin are going crazy. Large schools of bait are showing up out wide and some quality eating fish following, such as golden snapper, nannygai

and Spanish mackerel. There is also plenty of sport available with large giant and brassy trevally, huge cobia and of course, sharks, which are hard to get away from sometimes. This time of the year the crocodiles are becoming very aggressive and caution should be taken when fishing or working around water. Because of the temperature being so high, the crocs don’t need to bask in the sun

either, which means that just because there are no slides on the bank, that doesn’t mean the crocodiles aren’t there. The freshwater lagoons are almost all dried up, so for the keen pig hunters or freshwater fishers, this may be your last shot at a pig, sooty or toga, as once the rains arrive the fish and pigs will spread out. Good luck to all anglers this month, and don’t forget to think like a fish!

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Heading to the Cape? Why not take the fly rod BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

One of the more interesting challenges facing the budding fly angler is simply finding fish to catch. It’s easy to buy the tackle and great fun learning to cast a fly

for the fly angler. Access is reasonable via road so long as there’s no tearing hurry to get to a destination; the Development Road varies in its quality from shire to shire and, yes, a boat on a trailer strong enough to handle the trip will be an asset beyond calculation. We don’t all have the sort of vehicle and boat

Diamond trevally are interesting fly rod captures at the Cape. with both delicacy and distance, but that feeling of a fish on the leader is harder to come by. Trout in the high country and bass in some of our dams and waterways – even cod in high country streams – are good value, but when we decide to move up to larger fish in the salt water things become more difficult. A boat suddenly becomes a huge asset. Fortunately, it seems that the further north you go, the better the fishing becomes: boat or no boat. CAPE YORK’S THE PLACE Cape York, the fishing paradise we all aspire to visit some day, has to be among the best of the best

What the flyfisher looks for: surface action close to the shore. 78

DECEMBER 2017

trailer in the backyard to make this trip, but with modern air travel it’s so easy to pack some gear, put the rods into their tubes and arrive at Weipa Airport with a big grin on your face. With a hire car arranged, there are just so many great shore fishing areas at your disposal with Weipa as a base. I’ve seen barra fly-caught from the rocks behind the Weipa Caravan Park on the eastern side at low tide. Fish such as queenies, tarpon, giant herring, golden trevally and others are so prolific in driving distance of Weipa – given the prolific beach areas with shallow flats and gently sloping full tide edges – that the fly angler can be spoiled for choice as to what the next target might be. The much sought-after barra and mangrove jack are there as well. Their capture usually requires the presence of rocks or other cover they can call home. TACKLE TALK Logistically, air travel and hire cars aren’t hard to arrange, nor is it difficult to work out a good time to go. Go any time you can except for the main wet season of January to April! Flyfishing tackle for a trip of this nature might well be worth some serious consideration, though,

Keeping in close and moving along with each cast is smart.

Time for a break at a Cape creek mouth and a bit of croc spotting. are frequently found along the Cape coastline and these fish have a definite penchant for surface feeding and taking in a gulp of air while up top, hence you’ll need a floating line when a school of these hard pulling rockets is on the job. One of the interesting things about tropical fish – when encountered for the first time by a southern angler – is their sheer speed. Everything seems to happen in an instant. They

move swiftly, feed quick, and pull hard when hooked. Naturally, to get a hook-up from a fish that’s moving rapidly, it’s necessary to retrieve the fly as quickly as possible to excite the bite. Big fast strips are required, so have a stripping basket to gather up the fly line to prevent tangles on take off, or just to make it easier for the next cast. Whether it’s queenfish, trevally, GTs, blue salmon or tarpon providing the

Even when fishing in water as clear as this it’s wise to remember there are crocs about. because once you’re on the beach you’ll need to have everything just right or you can reflect at leisure on your bad choice of tackle or lack of preparation. For my beach fishing I favour an 8wt outfit over heavier tackle. For several years I’ve used a TFO Mangrove four-piece rod with matching TFO 375 reel and this has been a brilliant piece of kit. The TFO Mangrove has reserves of power while

being extremely easy to cast and the TFO 375 backs my fly line with 300m of 50lb braid for those times when the reel’s doing 500rpm and I’m hanging onto the rod tightly. Fly line choice comes down to either a floating or intermediate sink rate line, as most fishing will be in quite shallow water. The clue is to have a spare spool with an alternative line handy to make the best of any situation. Large tarpon

What it’s all about – a bent rod and some line coming off the reel.

entertainment, an 8kg breaking strain leader will take care of things with ease. Fish hooked on a beach should be allowed to gallop off, should they desire to. Setting the reel’s drag to a medium

BOATS FOR SALE

higher as well with some input from the rod hand to keep things under control. Barra and jacks aren’t inclined to advertise their presence in the way the surface feeders do, so the

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Flies on the run – these were made while at the Cape. Don’t forget the Solarez kit for the flies. setting will allow a strong fish to run and towing the fly line around in combination with the reel’s drag will soon tire the rascal out. Things are different around rocks and I opt for a 10kg tippet to prevent chafing

surprise attack from one of these hard hitters can see the angler taken aback. A ready reel and a strong rod hand are wise precautions. EXTRAS Additional things that the angler will find handy

BLUEFIN HELLCAT 5.5 Who wouldn’t be happy? That’s a very good light tackle queenie off the beach. spools of tippet material, plenty of flies for the job, ample sun protection, water to drink in the backpack and sturdy footwear, as stonefish are common in areas where there are small outcrops of rocks or reef. There should also be a definite awareness that crocs are always present. This last point is a deadly

minnow patterns. Use smaller hooks as baitfish are usually pinkie fingersized. On my last trip to the Cape I had the chance to tie up some flies with the renowned Partridge range of hooks. I was very impressed with these straight eye hooks, as they were very sharp, very strong, and the Attitude Extra ACSX I

Location: N.T

$39,000 SKEETER ZX190 Location: NSW

$40,000 STRATOS 176XT A decent golden trevally working the shallows. These are a tremendous fish on 8wt fly tackle. Tarpon of this size mean the fly angler is in for some serious rod work.

serious one and not to taken lightly. Keep on the move when fishing from the shore, especially if the water is somewhat dirty. Making a cast then moving along a few metres for the next one will help you avoid becoming the major topic for the news in the next few days. FLY TALK Flies that do the job from the beach are simple

made my flies on had a wide gape, which really assisted hook-ups. FLY TYING’S PART OF THE FUN Making flies is also a major part of a Cape trip and on my last journey there I found a Solarez UV Resin Roadie Kit brilliant for finishing fly heads, as it provided for three different rates of hardness when dried.

Sights like this are common on Cape beaches. A bit closer in and those fish will have a fly among them for sure. on hard stuff, and to reduce bite-offs from mangrove jack teeth and slice-offs from barra gill covers. The reel’s drag should be set somewhat

when enjoying flyfishing from the beach might include pliers to extract hooks from sharp-spined queenies, a couple of spare

Location: NSW

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$22,000 Rocks mean barra and jacks, and upgrading the tippet to 10kg.

Like us on facebook for automatic updates DECEMBER 2017

An easy fly for all-round use north and south BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Fly tying is a big component of flyfishing for many long rodders and it can be done at home with ease. In truth, there is a lot of satisfaction in taking a fish on a homemade fly, so this article outlines the easy tying of a fly that’s just as effective in the fresh

5 80

water as it is in the sea. It will take a host of fish from bass and cod to flathead, tailor, tuna and virtually everything that swims up in the tropics, even the much-revered barra in its larger sizes. WHAT YOU NEED The fly I’ve demonstrated is tied on a no. 2 Partridge Attitude Extra ACSX, as I intend to use this fly on Somerset bass; hook size will naturally vary for other

target fish. For example, you could use a 2/0 for flathead. The main components you’ll need are tying thread (I used clear nylon), a pair of chained black beads, some pearl flash material, and small amounts of Just Add H2O synthetic material – I used Slinky Fibre in white, Flash N Slinky in purple and a smidgen of Slinky in black. THE TYING Attach the bead chain eyes a short distance back

The Solarez Roadie resin kit, Partridge hooks and a couple of Slinky Fibre variants will complete this easy and very useful fly.

A small section of Slinky Fibre under the hooks kicks things off.

With a tiny amount of flash material tied in, some purple Slinky Fibre and a sliver of black, the tying is complete.

DECEMBER 2017

from the hook eye and glue it into place. Once the glue is dry the idea is to reverse the hook in the vice and tie in a small tuft of white Slinky Fibre as the under part of the fly. With that tied in, reverse the hook and tie in another longish section of white Slinky up top to form the main body of the fly. Don’t overdo this, as more needs to be applied. Tie in some flash material, a

little more white Slinky and then an over wing of purple. A very fine line of black completes the fly. Apply a small drop of Solarez resin and a quick flash of the special UV torch that’s supplied with the Solarez resin kit. Now the fly done and dusted. SOLAREZ RESIN ROADIE KIT The kit contains three different UV cured resins, plus a handy torch

that emits the correct wavelength to cure all three resins, which are rated as Thin/Hard, Thick/ Hard and Flex. The tubes in the kit are 5g capacity and have a small easy-use nozzle for application to the smallest flies. In use the resin dries to a clean and totally dry surface in seconds under the UV light. Larger Solarez tubes of resin are available for more heavy-duty use.

Tie on and super glue the bead chain eyes first.

More Slinky on top sees the fly taking shape.

Lastly, a drop of Solarez Thin/Hard and a quick flash of the UV torch finishes things off.

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The barra dams should be on fire this month TOOWOOMBA

Jason Ehrlich fishability1@bigpond.com

Last month’s lake reports may have been a bit off, as I penned my report just before the heavens opened up and this rain may have thrown a spanner in the works. The Bundaberg area was most affected with high rainfall totals and flooding in the rivers and creeks. During such events, social media is quick to bring us information and from this it is easy to make assumptions. Awoonga Dam ran more than 2m over the spillway and the water was well over the bitumen above the main boat ramp at Monduran as it spilled. Seeing this, people started to think the worst – the barra

would be escaping! Luckily, not many fish at any of the barra lakes hightailed it for the water below the dam walls. This is most likely due to it being just before their breeding season. You can guarantee a small number of barramundi would have went for a ride, but based on the catch rates after the event and monitoring during flooding, things are still looking very positive for the future. If a big flood is to occur over the coming months, it won’t be such a happy story. It may be closed barra season in the rivers and creeks but in the stocked lakes we are still allowed to target them. Rules change for keeping fish even in the dams during the closed season, so if you intend to keep fish, make sure you are up to speed with the

SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND CRESSBROOK CLOSEST TOWN: CROWS NEST There have been very few reports from Cressbrook. This isn’t a bad thing, as when the bass are given a rest for a while, they always seem to bite better. The warmer water temperature should bring some change this month. Almost all the action will be taking place in deeper water. Look for schooling fish in 7-11m of water concentrating on the points in the main basin. Other areas worth close investigation will be Bass Bay (between the ramps and the pump tower), Deer Island, the flats on the right after the Eagles Nest rock wall (up Cressbrook Creek) and the eastern bank half way up Beams Creek. The schooling bass in these areas may break

up and head out into the open water where they will suspend. Keep this in mind and spend some time sounding out in the open from the boat ramps and buoy line between the pump tower and Deer Island. These suspended deep water fish are often too scattered to target successfully casting lures. Trolling is the best option; choose lures that suit the depth where the fish are holding. Often this calls for deeper divers like Blitz Baga, JDK Rippas or 50mm Poltergeist Crazy Deeps. Another option is to place lures behind a downrigger bomb and pinpoint the exact depth where the fish are positioned in the water column. Bait fishers can often score some of the suspended fish too. They are worth the effort, as often they are better quality than the ones

DAM LEVELS

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on the points holding closer to the bottom. Find a patch of bass and drift over them with a live shrimp suspended right at the depth they are holding. The boat will draw fish in and they will follow your drift. The critical part is having your bait at the same depth. Wide Gape Hooks are perfect for this presentation as they produce the best hook-up. Fish’n’Bits Toowoomba carries the Hot Bite hooks, which are the perfect size. You will also find similar patterns through other tackle stores. If schools are found closer to the bottom and in good numbers, casting will be an option. Tail spinners and spinnerbaits would be my first choices. Mix it up though as soft plastics, spoons and blade baits can all produce. Try casting well away from the boat for the bigger fish. Working vertically can entice plenty of bites, but they are often

SEP OCT NOV 5 6 18 93 93 100 19 17 18 49 47 45 73 73 99 86 81 83 84 83 89 92 90 100 6 6 5 50 0 50 89 86 83

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Copeton Cressbrook Dyer/Bill Gunn Eungella Fairbairn Glenlyon Hinze Julius Kinchant Koombooloomba Leslie Macdonald

14 31

Weipa

Toowoomba

BRISBANE

IMPOUNDMENT DAM

smaller fish. For all your fishing supplies and the latest reports on Cressbrook and the surrounding dams, call in to see Fish’n’Bits in Alderley Street. They have a great range of lures and fishing gear. The boys can sort you out with the right gear and give you some tips on where to find them. Just remember there is a speed limit of 8 knots and a restricted area at Cressbrook Dam. Check out the signage to ensure you stay out of

52 52 52 62 61 62 7 7 7 98 96 96 37 36 33 74 72 73 97 98 99 83 79 77 86 76 79 22 20 26 15 13 13 81 87 101

Gold Coast

24 1 Tinaroo Falls Dam 2 Peter Faust Dam 3 Burdekin Falls Dam 4 Eungella Dam 5 Teemburra Dam 6 Kinchant Dam 7 Cania Dam 8 Lake Monduran 9 Isis Balancing Storage 10 Wuruma Dam 11 Lenthalls Dam 12 Boondooma Dam 13 Bjelke-Petersen Dam 14 Lake MacDonald 15 Gordonbrook Dam 16 Borumba Dam 17 Somerset Dam 18 Wivenhoe Dam 19 Pindari Dam 20 Copeton Dam 21 Moogerah Dam 22 Maroon Dam 23 Leslie Dam 24 Connolly Dam 25 Coolmunda Dam 26 Clarrie Hall Dam (NSW) 27 Hinze Dam 28 Lake Cressbrook 29 Callide Dam 30 Lake Awoonga 31 Lake Samsonvale 32 Fairbairn Dam 33 Koombooloomba Dam 34 Cooby Dam

23 25

Cairns 1

Townsville 2

3 4

Proserpine 6 Mackay

Rockhampton

Emerald

29 7

Highlighted dams are covered in this issue

Gladstone

30 8

Bundaberg 9

Roma

trouble and abide by the rules. The gate hours for the boat ramps and day use area will be extended this month to 6am until 8pm. SOMERSET CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY After plenty of rain in the catchment, the water flowed into the dam and dirtied the top end. This stained water is still fishable, but it seemed to encourage the bass schools to move further down the lake. The majority of schooling fish vacated the waters from

BRISBANE

Pelican Point north. These fish took up residence in the lower part of the lake. Schools of bass can now be found from the Spit to Beams Creek. The whole western bank as you head north from the Spit is worth investigating once the dam narrows up at Poly Pipe Point. However, there is a good chance that some of these fish will return to the water around Pelican Point. Some excellent bass To page 83

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

Maroon Monduran/Fred Haigh Moogerah North Pine/Samsonvale Peter Faust/Proserpine Pindari Somerset Teemburra Tinaroo Toonumbar Wivenhoe Wuruma

98 97 98 97 96 103 93 92 89 66 66 75 75 73 72 98 100 100 75 77 79 99 96 97 44 41 41 98 97 101 70 66 71 95 95 100

For fortnightly updates on Sunwater dams visit www.sunwater.com.au This symbol indicates that a Stocked Impoundment Permit is required to fish these dams. All figures are % readings Current as of 15/11/17

(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.) 82

DECEMBER 2017

Maryborough

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 

Gympie

brought to you by

Dam............................ % Full DAMS Atkinson Awoonga Bjelke-Petersen Boondooma Borumba Burdekin Falls Callide Cania Clarendon Cooby Coolmunda

latest information available at www.daf.qld.gov.au/ fisheries. Christmas is coming and it’s the time of year when people have free time for fishing and water-based recreation. This means the lakes and rivers will be busy, so if you can fit it in prior to the holiday period, enjoy some of the more peaceful days. There are still a few quieter places to head and the electric-motor-only or kayak lakes may be popular – the lack of boats roaring around makes for a pleasant day. Despite the rain last month, things are still looking great on the freshwater fishing scene. Make sure you look after yourself in the hot summer sun and get out there to enjoy what our beautiful freshwater has to offer. Until next month, buckled rods from the Colonel!

From page 82

sessions were experienced last month. Brett Klaws had a sensational solo session boating around 100 fish for the day on Wasabi spoons. Others have also reported excellent fishing and I had a couple of half days on the lake scoring about 30 fish. I noticed the fish were moving very wide of the 10m depth they usually frequent. Both days I fished plenty of bass suspended 7-10m deep out in 20m of water. These fish were still moving around and travelling back into 10m of water at different times of the day. This could be a sign of the schools breaking up and the fish suspending in deeper water on a more regular basis. It has been a few years since the bulk of bass did this in Somerset but in the past it happened a lot over the hottest months of the year. Lure casters will still be able to catch heaps of bass while they remain schooled up. Even when they’re in tighter concentrations and suspended out in deep water, casting can be effective. Soft plastic paddle-tails rigged on 1/2 and 5/8oz heads will ensure you keep your lure deep enough. When the fish are higher in the water column, try a faster retrieve and when they go deeper or hold close to the bottom in around 10-13m of water, slow the retrieve down. In the deeper water, tailspinners wound through the fish have also accounted for heaps of bites. Both soft plastics and tail spinners can be trolled through the fish. This is often a good way to cover water and locate the best concentrations when the schools are broken and

This Hinze saratoga was caught away from the bank by working a TN60 Jackall through the outside edge of a treed area. scattered. Cast your lure around 50m behind the boat and troll at 1.8-2.2km/h to allow them to track at the correct depth. When the bass have been schooling below the boat, they have been ridiculously tough to tempt. A couple of anglers have been scoring these shut-down fish by winding heavy lipless crankbaits slowly through them. The 20g Shads Vibe has been a standout and performs well in the deeper water. Don’t be tempted to jig the vibe or give it too much action. A slow wind all the way back to the boat after sinking it is all that is needed to get the fish interested. Strikes on these vibes are quite aggressive compared to soft plastics or ice jigs. Golden perch are likely to be very active. Lure anglers should stick to the clearer water with at least 60cm of visibility. The Kirkleigh area may very well be fishable this month,

SUNSHINE COAST REGION MACDONALD CLOSEST TOWNS: TEWANTIN, NOOSA After all the rain the fishing has been tougher. The best action has been in the lower part of the lake in the deeper water. Look for schooling bass on the sounder and golden perch around the Bubble Trail. These fish will prefer spoons, blades and tail spinners. It will still be worth prospecting the weed edge for bass using lures. Deeper diving suspending jerkbaits, spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits are good options around the weedy margins. Find the edges of the weed and allow the lure to sink deeper as you follow the contour of the weed. Davos in Noosaville is just a short drive away and they carry all the

right lures to use on the lake. Check in with them to see if they have heard the latest news on how the lake is fishing. Word is they also have some sweet new surface offerings the bass and toga are going to love. BORUMBA CLOSEST TOWNS: IMBIL, NOOSA Despite all the rain, Borumba continues to fish quite well for bass and saratoga. The toga have been residing in the upper part of the lake. Navigate through the timber of the Kingham and Yabba arms for the best results. Casting lure like lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits and beetle spin rigged plastics to structure is a good way to entice them all day long. Early and late in the day shallow diving hardbodies and surface lures can be fun.

so head to the timber or the humps and creek bed dropoffs. Live shrimp are hard to beat for bait fishers. Choose lures that dive close to the bottom depth and mix up styles and colours until you find what is working. WIVENHOE CLOSEST TOWNS: FERNVALE, ESK Ridiculous numbers of golden perch and catfish will be ready to climb all over lures this month. Bass will be more scattered and seem to school well at times and then disappear. If you’re lucky enough to stumble on good schools, expect to catch plenty. In the lower part of the lake, the flats out from Billies Bay and the submerged island humps down towards the no-boating buoy line are ideal areas to start you search. These features are well marked on C-Map Genesis maps for Lowrance and Simrad sounders. The bass have been holding in deeper water. A lot of fish are still spread out through the main basin on flats and points. More bass have been caught inside the timber though, so spend a bit of time searching through the trees around the junction of the Kingham and Yabba. Bait fishers will do well on live shrimp. Try catching these at the lake or the river below if you are spending a few days at the dam. A baited shrimp trap may need to be left in overnight. The artificial rocky bank right near the boat ramp is prime shrimp habitat. Just remember, no fishing means no bait gathering inside the buoys at the dam wall. Davos at Noosaville has all the gear you’ll need to tackle the fish at Borumba and Lake MacDonald. The store caters well for fresh and saltwater anglers. They can be found in the Homemaker Centre on the corner of Mary and Thomas streets.

Fishers like Barry Oxford have given up a lot of their time to help produce such accurate maps of our lakes and using it really pays off. The fish in these areas will be all over trolled deep divers. My favourite is the JDK Ripper – it’s harder to find and made by a Toowoomba timber lure maker. I manage to get this lure down to over 10m on 6lb braid, so anything that can come close to this would be worth a go. Blitz Bagas

and 50mm Poltergeist Crazy Deeps can be pushed to 10m deep but you can’t beat some of the handcrafted timber offerings out there. Trolling this area will score a mixed bag of big fork-tailed catfish, golden perch and bass. It’s a good way to cover the water and search for fish. When schools are found, the Gang Banger spoons and 20g Halco Twisties have excelled. Various spoons, tail spinners and blades are all good options to probe the deeper water in these parts. Be warned, the golden perch don’t like coming from the deep water if they aren’t returned straight away. They will suffer if you take too long removing hooks and photographing or if you put them in a livewell. It’s best to get them straight back in the water quickly so they have enough strength to swim back down and start reversing the effects of barotrauma. At the top end of the lake, the golden perch should be going nuts. You can access this water with kayaks or when camping at the grounds below Somerset Dam wall. Trolling medium diving hardbodies, casting lipless baits and all manner of other lures can produce excellent numbers when they are on. Work from the no-fishing buoy line below the dam wall

down to the first bridge. The bridge itself can be a fish attractor, as they take rest out of the sun in the shade thrown by the big concrete structure on the hot days. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can tackle two rivers in one day. The water below Somerset is the Stanley River. As you head downstream you will reach the junction of the Brisbane River. If you head up this river you will come to the picnic area at the second bridge. Jump on Google Maps and take a look. It’s a fair paddle, but expect to find a lot of golden perch on the way. HINZE CLOSEST TOWNS: NERANG, GOLD COAST Ben Wilson has been fishing the lake recently, nailing some bass and a sneaky saratoga from his kayak. Ben has ventured into the back arms of the lake fishing the timber with lipless cranks, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and surface lures. He likes to work from around 5m of water punching casts through the timber and up onto the shallower edges. Surface fishing has been good early and late in the day. After rain, Ben’s tip is to move up onto the shallower grassy areas, as the fish will be in there foraging.

Cania Gorge

LAKE CANIA - ONE OF THE TOP

4 STOCKED DAMS IN

QUEENSLAND!

www.caniagorge.com.au

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Bush Walks

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l Events Room l Bird Feeding l Jumping Pillows l Pools & Water Park Complex l Outdoor Movies l Bettongs l Wine Tasting l Tennis Court l Open Fires l Self Drive 4WD Trips tion Major Annual Fishing Competi l Camp Oven Dinner er emb on the 2nd weekend in Nov l Morning Tea l Challenging nine hole golf course l Plenty of Red Claw n Creek 5 kms from our carava Situated on the Three Moon ts. ris attraction to our tou park Lake Cania is a very big dams in Qld, and has been d It is one of the top 4 stocke ga. Bass, Yellow Belly and Sarato stocked with fish including ation holds its... Cania Fish Stocking Associ 07 4167 8188 Cania Dam Rd, Cania Gorge, QLD

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DARLING DOWNS GRANITE BELT REGION COOBY CLOSEST TOWNS: HIGHFIELDS, TOOWOOMBA Cooby continues to fish well for golden perch and smaller Murray cod. Heaps of golden perch have been caught over the last two months. Fish are coming from all over the lake, but you will need to fish the right type of water to be successful. Healthy weed beds are the key. Find these by trolling along in 3-5m of water and watching the sounder for the plumes of weed rising from the bottom. The goldens will be sitting close to these weedy structures. Trollers have had the most success on lures like the lipless cranks and shallow running hardbodies. Late afternoon and early morning are the prime times. It’s still worth jigging some blades around the clear water close to the edges of the weed beds. Lipless crankbaits are also worth a try. Cooby Dam’s proximity to Highfields and Toowoomba make it a very popular fishery. If you’re looking for somewhere close to home to drop the boat or kayak in, Cooby is definitely worth a visit. The dam hours are now 6am to 8pm. Remember, no outboard motors are allowed

to be used on the dam. The concrete boat ramp is on a shallow angle when the dam is full and can be slippery in places; a big electric powered boat can still be launched with care. Outboard motors can be left on the boat and must not be used. LESLIE CLOSEST TOWN: WARWICK A lot of golden perch have been caught at Leslie Dam over the last month and it should fire even more over the next month. Some of the best action is occurring in the deeper water in the main basin. The congregation of boats is a giveaway to the fishiest location. Baits like shrimp and saltwater yabbies or lures like vibes and small blades hopped close to the bottom are the way to go. There have been some very solid golden perch and big eel-tailed catfish caught lately. Murray cod can also turn up from the same areas. Hopping lipless baits is a good way to target these speckled creatures while still having a chance of boating goldens. I believe a hot golden session actually attracts the bigger cod when the fish struggle. The old greenfish comes over to

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Shads Vibes seem to be good at turning the heads of bass when they are shut down. investigate the commotion and see what it’s missing out on and boom. Early mornings will be a good time to cast bigger spinnerbaits to the rocky structure around the lake’s edges. Murray cod to around 1m long can be caught this way and you can expect smaller models on most occasions.

Along with getting a fishing report, stock up on all your gear while at Warwick Outdoor and Sports at 115 Palmerin Street Warwick. For a small store, it carries a great range at a very competitive price. Warwick is only a ten-minute drive from the dam and you can pick up any supplies you might need.

WIDE BAY AND SOUTH BURNETT REGION BOONDOOMA CLOSEST TOWNS: PROSTON, KINGAROY The dam is still fishing great with big bass and golden perch hitting the decks. The bottom end of the lake is holding good numbers of suspended fish in 6-9m of water. Look for these fish on the sounder and also check out the Narrows and The Junction. Keep an eye on the thermocline as if it rises, the fish may also move shallower. If good numbers are found, casting spoons and soft plastics will get the bites. When they are scattered, trolling will be a better option. You can troll hardbodies with the outboard or tail spinners and soft plastics at around 2.2km/h using an electric motor. Boondooma is a great place to camp right near the water and sit by the fire while enjoying the view. You could also stay in more style and comfort by booking into one of the cabins overlooking the dam. The kiosk at the main office does hot food and other basic items including an excellent range of proven fishing tackle. For campsites, cabins and bunkhouse rooms call (07) 4168 9694. BJELKE CLOSEST TOWNS: MURGON, GOOMERI The bass really fired up at the end of last month. Schooling fish in the deeper water between the ramps were climbing all over soft plastics. A lot of these bass were under 40cm and pretty skinny but there were also a few fatties up around 50cm long. Rigging plastics on 1/4 and 3/8oz jigheads will see you in with a good chance. If schools break up, consider other options like trolling spinnerbaits and hardbodies. The edges were

producing bass and golden perch prior to this and should still hold good numbers early and late in the day. Casting plastics, vibes, spinnerbaits, tail spinners and blades is the way to entice these fish. The

COOLMUNDA CLOSEST TOWN: INGLEWOOD This lake continues to impress. The Murray cod bite has continued and now golden perch are also being caught in excellent numbers. The cod are whacking spinnerbaits cast in the trees. Big baits like 1oz Bassman Twinspins with big plastic trailers seem to be drawing plenty of attention. These lures can be cast past the standing tree or hidden laydown and then slowly wound back in. The weight is enough that you don’t need to sink them for too long. Trolling has also fooled quite a few sizeable cod. Chose lures that run 3-5m deep and work them closely to the bottom. Concentrate trolling runs around good patches of sunken timber. The golden perch have been quite active. At times

they will even take the big cod lures with some exceptional specimens caught over the last month. To specifically target them, switch to hopping small blades and lipless crankbaits. The Coolmunda Caravan Park is only around 1km away from the lake. The park is just off the Cunningham Highway and far enough away from the noise of trucks to get a good night’s sleep. It offers camping sites, cabins, caravan facilities, tennis courts, a swimming pool, a BBQ shelter and a camp kitchen. The park now has an extra two new wheelchair-friendly cabins to add to their older ones. Camping is also available near the boat ramp with toilets and hot showers to make your stay more comfortable. To take advantage of this and the great fishing opportunities in the lake and the river below, give the park a call on (07) 4652 4171.

rainfall only leading to water levels rising slightly. This brought a smile to many of the locals’ faces as the barra didn’t make their way over the wall this time. Since the gradual rise in temperature, the barra have started to bite. There have been reports of action-packed sessions of up

lures of choice have been shallow diving hardbodies and 4-6” soft plastics. The annual Lake Callide Family Fishing Classic was a great success this year. The amazing weather switched on and numbers started to roll into the dam-side camping area. It didn’t take long on the first day before the competition was opened with a 1033mm barra followed by nice yellowbelly around 550mm. The fish continued to roll in but the barra gave the competitors a bit of lockjaw on the first day. Over the competition weekend we had a mixed bag of catties, sleepy cod, yellowbelly and barra. The Callide Classic was a huge success with good fish and lucky nomination prizes rolling out. This competition was a great success due to the support from the Biloela community and the long hours put in by stocking association volunteers. The Callide Valley Stocking Association is due to release around 34,000 barra this month and around 37,000 yellowbelly in February. This year the CVSA has put in over a million fingerlings since they started the hard work in stocking Callide. For more info, please find them on Facebook All I can say is watch this space, Callide is going to fire in coming months. – Nigel Krueger

Callum Munro and company landed heaps of Awoonga fish by tossing lures into tight timber around the lake’s main basin. Soft plastics can work in the more open areas, but this water is ideal for suspending hardbodies. smaller blades around 1/4oz will certainly be a standout, as they seem to have a great bite to hook-up conversion rate. For help catching Bjelke and Boondooma fish, call into Bass 2 Barra. The store stocks an awesome range of gear suited to chasing our freshwater fish and the staff have all the knowledge to guide you on how to use it. You’ll find the stores at 119 Youngman Street Kingaroy. Matthew Mott also runs fishing charters on the dams and you can reach him through the store for bookings and enquiries on (07) 4162 7555. The Yallakool kiosk is all set up with a great range of tackle, if you don’t happen to have the right lure or lose one. Be sure to call in and check it out. Give them a call for accommodation and camping bookings on (07) 4168 4746. CALLIDE CLOSEST TOWN: BILOELA Callide dodged a bullet in the past month with the

to 15 fish in two hours. The yellowbelly have also been on the bite from the trees right up the back to the front bays in the main basin. These yellas have been falling victim to small hardbodies worked slowly through the trees. The barra on the other hand have been found right across the dam. Bigger numbers of fish have been found in the windblown bays of an afternoon. It has been awesome to see the size class start to increase up to 700-800mm with the odd metery mixed in. The

Callide Dam is home to some chunky golden perch.

CAPRICORN REGION AWOONGA CLOSEST TOWNS: BENARABY, GLADSTONE Some great barra fishing has been experienced over the last month. The dam went over the spillway,

up in other locations as well. Locals seem to be big fans of throwing surface lures to get the bites. More recently, visitors have reported catching plenty of fish on small hardbodies and soft plastics. It’s a case of

midday on 1 February. It’s a long wait but they will be ready to play and the they won’t be targeted in nets by the pros. Mark from Awoonga Gateway Lodge has a few productive secret spots he’s always willing to share. The Gateway Lodge is on the way to the dam after

With barra this big on offer at Callide and such high stocking rates, it’s looking on track to return to its former glory. but the basin has remained clear and fish are still being caught. Plenty of barra around 70cm long were caught around the timbered points and bays of the main basin. The eastern side of the lake has fished quite well this year, and the fish turn

finding the concentrations of fish; there is a lot of barren water between the honey holes. Remember the closed season puts the barra below the wall out of bounds. We can target these fish again once the season reopens at

turning off at Benaraby. The accommodation is great with plenty of boat parking space right beside the comfortable air-conditioned, selfcontained cabins each with its own veranda. To book in a stay, give Mark or Lyn a call on (07) 4975 0033.

WHITSUNDAY REGION PROSERPINE CLOSEST TOWNS: PROSERPINE, AIRLIE BEACH Barra have been a bit hot and cold due to changes in weather conditions. When they are on the chew though, expect to hook plenty over 1m long. The back of the dam has fished well early in the morning and at night. The points with deep water access nearby are worth tossing plastics and shallow hardbodies into. Surface lures can also work well in still conditions. If there is a wind blowing, use it to your advantage and fish the windblown points. A lot of fish have moved out into the main basin. Trolling deep divers is a great way to hook and search for them. Anglers itching to cast lures can then locate the best shows and switch to tossing big plastics and hopping vibes. The Southern Cross Fishing Club from Toowoomba held a trip on the lake last month. They did it pretty tough and most fish were caught on the troll. Deep divers are the way to go for these fish with Scorpion Crazy Deeps

being a standout. I must praise Rodney Butler for his efforts and thinking outside the box. Rodney chose to troll shallow lures behind a downrigger bomb. He was able to wind the lead weight to just above the depth the fish were sitting and place his offerings right on their noses. It’s a technique that we don’t see used anywhere near as much as we should right across all the lakes. If you’re catching the deep barra, get them back into the water quickly so they aren’t too weak to deal with swollen air bladders and barotrauma. Most times the fish will swim away fine, but keep an eye on the area to make sure they don’t float

back up. It makes me cranky to see floating barra that are still healthy but baking in the sun because they can’t swim back down. If I find these fish, I vent them with a needle to release excess air. Once this is gone, the fish can right itself and swim normally. Who knows, this may not be the best approach but at least it’s giving them a fighting chance. To avoid it, get them back in the water quickly. For all your fishing supplies or a guided trip on the lake, call Lindsay or Dane at Barra World on (07) 4945 4641. The store is right on the highway in Proserpine and specializes in barra fishing tackle. You can also keep up to date by visiting their Barra World Facebook page.

Rodney Butler used his downrigger to place a handcrafted timber lure rig right in the fish’s face.

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Mixing up your colours can make a difference SOMERSET

Matt Taylor

While inflows and outflows have caused the lake to change up to 12ft in depth recently, the lake has continued to reward anglers. With summer

other white and blue spoons. Bass over 2.5kg have been caught on soft plastics like Charlie Brewer Sliders in baby bass, pearl chartreuse, John Deer, blue ice/chartreuse and smoke yellow core colours. With this lure a 1/2-5/8oz jighead will be sufficient, as the

Ben Wilson with a cracking spoon-fed bass.

Jesse Rowe caught this stonking yellowbelly on a gold and black StumpJumper. upon us, we will witness multiple changes and certain fishing methods can be expected to become more and more productive. In recent weeks and months, the bass have consistently fallen for a few key lures like the Halco Twisty. Somerset Fishing Tackle and Pimp My Lure have custom coloured a number of these spoons in smoke yellow core, silver fox, chartreuse, black UV grunter and junebug/ chart tail colours. Each of these colours have been performing exceptionally. While a slow rolling retrieve rarely fails to disappoint, twitching the lure erratically, burning the lure with pauses and slow rolling with long pauses will trigger the bites. Silver Palms Slow Blatt spoons have also accounted for their fair share of fish, along with

majority of fish have been suspending in 30-40ft. Reports suggest that a fast retrieve with pauses is working well. The key to success has been to use dark

coloured lures on darker days and light colours on bright days. Schools of bass have primarily been located in the lower half of the lake. Queen Street, Bay 13, Eagles Nest, the northern side of Pelican Point, Wyangi Creek and the Spit have been the main areas. However, Wyangi Creek hasn’t consistently rewarded anglers and has been quite tough at times. Rumour has it that schooled

A solid fish over 40cm that was brought undone by a slow roll with erratic twitches on the northern side of Pelican Point.

ELECTRIC PROPULSION SYSTEM This Electric motor drive can be used on any SUP, Kayak or Canoe. It’s attached easily by any of the 3 universal mounts. The LAGOON has 300Watts of power control by a convenient wireless Bluetooth. Controller with built in safety features. 1.5hr MAX running time. Less than 4kg

bass have been located at Beams Creek. In addition, looking for fish around The Hump and Bay of Plenty could prove worthwhile, especially at this time of year. Quite often, the trick has been to arrive on the water as early as possible, as the bite will slow down by about 8:30am. As schools of fish will often not want to bite, moving around and finding fresh fish can be successful. With the warm summer weather, trolling will become more and more productive. Trolling hardbodied lures like Smak Golden Childs and Smak Blitz Bagas will see many bass and yellowbelly caught. This month we have witnessed large numbers of fish caught on lures trolled along rock walls. The better quality fish have come from the flats with Pelican Point and the Spit being good starting points. Heavy tailspinners like Smak STS-50s have been go-to lures over the past month. Yellowbelly in particular take a liking to them. Somerset Fishing Tackle is located on the banks of

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Somerset Dam, just 200m from the Kirkleigh day use boat ramp. They stock a wide range of competitively priced fishing tackle, with kayak and boat hire on

offer. During your time at the lake, make sure you drop in and say G’day. If you’re after any fishing tips or information, feel free to ask and they will be more than happy to help you. Alternatively, if you’re unable to make it to the lake, Somerset Fishing Tackle can be found online and on Facebook. • If you’re heading to Lake Somerset and are fishing or boating, there are two main boat ramps to use: one located at the Spit and the other at the Lake Somerset Holiday Park. From September to April, the gates open at 5.30am and close at 6.30pm. From May to August, the opening hours are 6.00am to 5.30pm. To see more from Matt, you can find him on Instagram (@matthew____ taylor) and Facebook (@ matthewtaylorfishing).

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Hyundai’s Tucson hits all the the high notes BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Mid-sized SUVs are the big movers – with sales as well as passengers – on the Australian car scene. Pity the buyer with so many decisions to make; which one suits their needs and is the best value for money? It’s a difficult choice, because there are at least 10 contenders for the dollars lining up against the Hyundai Tucson these days! That said, it’s pretty obvious that for Hyundai to record the number of sales they are achieving with their latest Tucson it must have something pretty special going for it.

in the reviewed Tucson Highlander, this fourcylinder 136kW, 400Nm common rail variable vane turbo diesel has great reserves of seamless power and torque. Can it tow a boat or camper trailer? All versions of the Tucson are rated to tow up to 750kg (unbraked) and up to 1600kg for an unbraked trailer, so that’s one issue seriously laid to rest. POWERFUL DIESEL ENGINE In assessing what the 2018 Tucson Highlander offers the buyer, we could perhaps first look at what makes the Czech-made five-seater with its high driving and seating position such an enjoyable drive. As mentioned, the engine with

Good looks from any angle are a Tucson Highlander standard feature. reach with various buttons and dials in just the right place. Safety features of the Highlander include very smart blind zone warnings and rear cross traffic alert systems. The lane-keeping tech is simply amazing with a very gentle sensation on the steering wheel advising a driver that he or she is diverging from the chosen lane without any indicator signal. When this system detected a marked lane a warning insignia on the

changing lanes with BSD in ‘warning’ mode an alarm signal activated. Again, these are great safety features along with hill start assist, ABD, TCS, EBD, Brake Assist, Vehicle Stability Management, Trailer Stability Assist and a clever reversing camera within the 8” touchscreen that featured a rear guidance display via integrated line plus Park Assist with it’s own integrated display. These are all great assets at a driver’s disposal.

Many of the Tucson’s more important controls are steering wheel mounted for utmost convenience. FOUR MODELS ON SALE The Tucson’s on-themoney styling with its flowing lines, neat hexagonal grille and daylight LED running lights is very hard to fault and is right up there with the best of the marque; buyers are also going to be tempted with

its 6-speed auto unit always seemed to be taking it easy, yet when power was required it was there in high degrees of willingness and capability. This diesel power plant is almost silent, even at start up, and returned fuel economy of around the 7.3-8L/100km on a mix of city and country roads. The

A cavernous rear cargo area is just another desirable Tucson feature.

Up front both the driver and passenger enjoy onetouch electric seat adjustment; also note the leather facings on seats and on the drive selector and wheel. dash changed to a green colour to alert the driver that the LKAS – which can be deactivated – was on the job. Vehicles approaching from behind activated a quite noticeable light in the side mirror (Blind Spot Detection), and while

DECEMBER 2017

interior comfort was of the highest standard with leather facings on seats (front seats electrically adjusted and heated), a leather bound gear selector, and a steering wheel with audio and cruise control systems providing a nice touch of luxury. SAFETY FEATURES The driver has everything to make driving safer and easier virtually at the fingertips, or within easy

from the central 8” screen was both convenient and intuitive. Hyundai certainly don’t do things by halves by the look of things. THE DRIVE There’s pretty obviously an impressive list of features, but after spending

lot to like about this wellappointed vehicle with its good-from-any-angle looks and excellent road manners. Warranty is five years with unlimited kilometres, which is a giant leap forward over some of the opposition. And there’s a full-sized spare

EXTRA FEATURES Other useful technology features abounded such as a hands-free rear cargo door lift or close system, rain sensing wipers, one-touch turn signal (3, 5 or 7 flashes) 2x12V charging ports up front, a panoramic glass sunroof plus and keyless entry.

The Tucson’s dash can best be described as well set-up with all-important features and functions easily found and just as easily used. desirable features abounding through all four versions – the Active, Active X, Elite and top of range Highlander. Both manual and auto gearboxes are on offer with engines ranging from a 2L petrol in the Active 2WD through to a 0.6 turbo petrol in the AWD Elite and Highlander. The latter top of range flagship is also equipped with a 2L turbo diesel. From the time I spent

It also had Apple Car Play and Android auto compatibility plus Bluetooth phone connectivity along with AUX/USB audio and iPod compatibility. Sat Nav

lights in the city or easy overtaking on the highway. A run up Cunninghams Gap saw the nippy diesel punching well above its weight when it came to overtaking slower traffic, all highlighted by an excellent ride and light steering. Ride quality was excellent with sharp corners evoking no excessive lean or body roll whatsoever thanks to MacPherson struts up front and a multi link setup at the rear. SUMMING UP There can be no overlooking the huge boot space in the Tucson Highlander diesel with its high power lift door for easy access. There’s a 60/40 split for the rear seats and with both rear seats down it’s a veritable cavern of load space on hand. In short, there’s a

There’s smart technology here, with the reversing camera’s rear guidance system showing the driver whether rearward movement is on or off course. Lining up all guidance markings ensures the car is moving straight backwards.

Rear seating in the Highlander comes with air conditioning for the passengers as well as plenty of leg and headroom.

time with the Highlander I formed the opinion that the drive experience and overall comfort levels fully complimented the package. The 6-speed auto Tucson was nimble and had a very well-balanced feel about it, with ample torque for either a quick exit from traffic

tyre under the rear cargo area floor! Services are yearly or every 10,000km with pricing at $310 for a regular service and $490 for a major one. Again, it’s very reasonable. The price for the top of the range Highlander is around $47,500 mark without on-roads.

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DIY Lure Making

DIY lure making: Flat Doc BRISBANE

Greg Vinall support@makewoodenlures.com

Having a good selection of crankbaits that run at different depths gives you options under many conditions. Since we’ve already made a shallow running crankbait, we’ll continue our lure making adventure with a deeper running model. Actually, this lure also has a different body shape. As the name suggests, ‘Flat Doc’ is a flat-sided crankbait. This style of body is perfect for imitating many of the deeper bodied bait species like

herring, perch, bony bream, glassfish and so on. To get the lure down a little deeper, we’re going to use a slightly larger diving lip than we did on Doc’s Minnow. Don’t be fooled by the old myth that the angle of the diving lip determines the depth your lure runs. Making the lip close to horizontal won’t increase diving depth unless the size of the lip is also increased. On the subject of diving lips, I made mine from 2mm thick polycarbonate also known as ‘lexan.’ You might have to hunt around a few places to find this, or order some from EBay or Amazon. Don’t be tempted

Template: 1 Square = 1cm

to use ordinary Perspex as it’s too brittle and breaks when your lures hit structure. FISHING WITH THE FLAT DOC Flat-sided crankbaits have a wonderful, tight shimmying action. If you’re used to lures with a wider action, you’ll notice this little guy doesn’t create much drag on the rod tip. In fact, when you first tie one on you might feel as though it’s not doing much. Even with braided line it can be hard to feel the beat of the lure compared with other styles. RELAX AND TRUST IN THE DESIGN! One of the advantages of

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TOOLS AND MATERIALS

the flat sides is that every side-to-side movement of the lure moves a lot of water. That creates a strong vibration for fish to home in on, without creating drag on the rod tip I like to work flat-sided crankbaits in places where I know those aforementioned bait species are prevalent. Often they’re schooled up around some kind of structure, or under lights if you’re fishing at night. Working the lure around the edges of a bait school makes it look like a stray fish that is easy pickings. I’ll generally work the lure fairly slowly with occasional twitches of the rod tip. If the fish are hunting aggressively, it can sometimes be more effective to burn the lure through the water at higher speed. Watch how herring and perch behave when they’re relaxed and

Tools Utility knife, battery drill and bits, hacksaw, pliers. Materials • 12mm x 12.5mm x 75mm balsa plank • 1-1.2mm stainless steel wire • 2mm thick clear polycarbonate (lexan) sheet • 120 and 240 grit sand paper • 240 grit wet sanding paper • Epoxy adhesive (with syringes and mixing sticks) • Ball sinkers (size 000) • Methylated spirits when they’re being pursued. That’s what you’re trying to imitate. MAKING THE FLAT DOC As with all of the lures in this series, we’re sticking to very basic tools and materials. Balsa for the lure body, a little stainless steel wire, some size 000 ball sinkers, a piece of lexan and a good epoxy adhesive like 24-hour Araldite are all you’ll need. PAINTING AND CLEAR COATING You can hand paint

your lures using a brush or some aerosol cans, or you can step up to an airbrush if you want to get a bit fancier. You might even like to take my free lure painting course at crazylureart.com/free-lurepainting-lessons-register/. I use Envirotex Lite epoxy for the clear coat. It’s a bit challenging to use but creates a very attractive, tough and durable lure. Otherwise, use a marine varnish for a durable, waterproof result.

Visit www.MakeWoodenLures. com/Fishing-Monthly/ to download all the templates in this series.

Print and transfer the side profile of the lure onto the piece of balsa wood. Use a utility knife to cut away most of the waste, but stop just short of the lines you marked. 3

Mark a centre line along the edges and use your template to mark the location of the hook hangers, tow point, weight and diving lip. Use a 2mm drill bit to make a small hole for the hook hangers and tow point. Be careful to get these holes centred accurately – and don’t drill into your fingers! Use a 5mm brad point bit to make the hole for the belly weight.

Glue some sandpaper to a wood block. Place the lure blank on a flat surface and use the sanding block to clean up and square the edge. Use a curved sanding block to clean up the concave edge on the underside of the lure. The aim is to get everything nice and square in cross section. 4

Use a thin-bladed saw to make the slot for the diving lip. It’s really important that this slot isn’t crooked. A misaligned diving lip makes a lure difficult or impossible to tune, so it’s better to throw the lure out and start again if you mess up this step. 90

DECEMBER 2017

Now is the time to start shaping your lure body, so mark carving guidelines as in previous projects. You want the sides of your lure to remain flat, so the guidelines should be closer to the edge of the timber and not halfway between the centre line and edge.

DIY Lure Making 6

Slice away the timber between the carving guidelines. Use a sharp knife and take lots of light cuts for accurate results. Then go ahead and refine the shape by removing as many ridges and tool marks as possible. Finally, you can smooth the shape of the lure body using 120 or 240 grit sandpaper. 8

Make some twist eyes from 316 grade stainless steel wire and glue them into the holes you drilled previously. Use 24-hour curing Araldite and be sure to get as much adhesive into the holes and over the shaft of the eyes as possible. Put some glue in the belly weight hole, push in a ball sinker and fill the hole up with extra glue. Wipe away any excess glue and set your lures aside to cure. FINISHED LURE

You could install the diving lip at this stage of the process, but for this lure, install it after the painting is done (and before clear coating). Brush on a little epoxy thinned down with methylated spirit. This will soak into the wood to harden and waterproof it. Let it cure for a few days, then wet sand with 240 grit paper until the gloss has been taken off the epoxy. Then the lure is ready for painting.

• For extra information and video tutorials please go to Greg’s website MakeWoodenLures.com/Fishing-Monthly/ and complete the free registration. To check out Greg’s other work visit crazylureart. com and his Facebook page Wooden Lure Making.

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FINS SCALES & TALES by A. Both

The Rocketeer Slicer from Japanese tackle giant Valley Hill is a real feat of Japanese design and engineering. The Rocketeer Slicer has a unique metal plate at the nose of the jig, which lets you secure line in two places, and ensures a superior swimming action even through debris. In addition, its tail system lets you cast more effectively into the wind. The Rocketeer Slicer is available in two sizes (3.0 and 3.5) and 13 different colour combinations. It has proven to be highly effective on Australian squid. www.dogtoothdistribution.com.au

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FIND-A-WORD

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The subscriber prize winner for October is J Weier of Burrum Heads, who won Okuma Fishing gear of your choice valued up to $300. All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – QFM

Cowley Beach, A Henshall of Seaholme, J Willmann of Windaroo, P Fielder of Everton Hills, J Inwood of Kirwan, B Hale of Maroochydoore, W Robinson of Raceview, J Maden of One Mile, D Dunk of Proserpine, R & D Kelly of Colosseum, J Higgins of Caboolture, N Walters of Veteran, B Dover of Kingaroy, B Barratt of Bucca, W Collis of River Heads, B Tieman of Buxton , B Hardwick of

Kewarra Beach, O Noffke of Kulangoor, R Maynard of Nundah, P Friis of Idalia, J Conte of Tullera, M Goodwin of Cardwell, R Smith of Chinchilla, J White of Aspley, B Stephan of Donnybrook, R Taskis of Ashmore, B Lumley of Proston, G Walker of Warner, B Mason of Koongal, N Humble of Rockhampton. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – QFM

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

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DECEMBER 2017

This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Saratoga

The Find the Coastal Black prize winners for October were: R Kunde of Beerwah, D Deppeler of Burpengary East, M Kras of Goodna, S Lucke of Ormeau, B Frankel of Pottsville, E & V Jackson of Long Flat, J Wogandt of Urangan, N Hogbin of Coominya, P Carrington of Deception Bay, L Burnett of Thornlands, M Roots of

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Cooking

A super yummy yabby mornay jaffle recipe BRISBANE

Lynn Bain

Last edition we cooked a firm toasty inside a single jumbo jaffle iron. However, when you want to seal the ingredients inside a breadbased jaffle, a standardsized jaffle iron is the go. This month I want to highlight that the standardsized jaffle iron is often the

best all-round choice. Let’s look at a couple of facts about jaffle irons and their weights; a double jumbo jaffle iron is just a bit too heavy for easy use and will weigh up to 3.5kg, whereas the single jumbo can weigh around 1.7kg. Weight-wise, I’m happy with a double standard jaffle iron made from cast iron, which can weigh up to 2kg. I’m pretty serious about

Ingredients Yabbies 2 slices of bread 1 tbsp butter 1 green shallot, finely sliced 1/4 tsp garlic paste 1 tsp plain flour 1/2 cup cream 1/2 cup white wine A pinch of dried chilli flakes

6 94

To start the mornay, melt the butter in a pan over a medium-low heat then add the finely sliced green shallots and gently stir until the shallots soften. Add the garlic paste and then stir the flour into the butter mixture to form a thick roux.

Butter the slices of bread on one side. Place them butter-side down in the pre-heated jaffle iron. Scoop a spoonful or two of cray mornay into the middle of the bread on the lower half of the jaffle iron.

DECEMBER 2017

jaffles, so I have a wide selection of jaffle irons for a variety of uses. While I use doubles, a lot of my friends use standard-sized singles. The singles are the lightest in weight and are a single-handed operation even when full. But it’s not about the weight – it’s all about the bread size. Even with large bread slices, the bread sits inside the perimeter of the jumbo jaffle iron, so the jumbo jaffle

doesn’t crimp the bread edges together. Without an adequate seal, the jaffle fillings are likely to ooze out and spill onto your hands or clothing. Most campfire cooks who have tried the jumbo sizes conclude that they either don’t seal properly or are very limited in their application. The smaller jaffle irons allow the broadest selection of cooking options. I prefer the models that have deep

Twist the tails off the yabbies and shell the yabby tails (you’ll need 3-5 small yabby tails per jaffle). You can substitute 1cm cubed pieces of white-fleshed fish such as freshwater barramundi for these. You can also use marron, redclaw or prawns. Crack and pry one side of the tail shell away from the tail meat (you can also use scissors for this).

Pour the cream and the white wine into the roux and stir until smooth. Add the chilli flakes and keep stirring until the mixture thickens to a sauce-like consistency. Stir well to incorporate the chilli flakes into the mornay sauce.

Close the jaffle iron and toast both sides of the jaffle on a medium heat until the bread is golden brown.

pockets on each side. With the small standard sized jaffle iron, even a slice of bread from the small loaf will extend all the way to the edges, so when the two halves come together they successfully seal the two slices of bread with a crimping effect. When choosing your jaffle iron, keep in mind that some models are more like a Panini press – they are flat on each side and some irons are

for very slender options only, such as cheese toasties. All the versions and variations have their place. The ones that are most suited to Aussie semiliquid jaffles are the standardsized models that seal the two outer pieces of bread together. Larger bread slices are unnecessary when cooking jaffles over the campfire, as any overhanging bread gets burnt by the flames and then cut away before serving.

Separate the shell from the meat then cut the tails into pieces. Preheat the jaffle iron now on a hotplate (or campfire, or gas ring).

Add the cray pieces to the mornay and continue to cook over a low heat until the crays are just pink and cooked.

The jaffles are golden brown ready to serve – evidence that the smaller jaffle irons achieve a better seal.

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Gallagher takes the win at Hobie China Open Thanks to Hobie Fishing Australasia and Kayak Fishing Beijing, a team of 10 anglers were recently invited to represent Australia at the prestigious 2017 China Open held on Shengzhong Lake in the Sichuan Province of South West China. The kayak event is just one of several events held on the lake as part of a larger festival of fishing. A

have competed in the event several times in the past and they led the team superbly, providing the less experienced anglers with a wealth of knowledge on everything from lure choice to what to pack. Anglers competed in identical Hobie Pro Angler 14s accessorised with Hobie livewells, Lowrance sounders and aft-mounted video cameras, which were

Corey Gallagher took out first place as well as the big fish prize and $16,500US in prize money. field of 60 anglers from all over the world participated in the tournament. The Australian team was lead by team captain Carl Dubois from NSW and team manager Matthew Petrie from Victoria. Both

used by the referees to ensure all anglers adhered to the tournament rules. The format of the competition was similar to Australian competitions – a pre-fish followed by two tournament days where

anglers fish from 8am-2pm and weigh in their five largest fish with a total combined weight from both days deciding the winner. Three target species (redtail culter, topmouth culter and mandarin perch) were available for anglers to weigh in. PRE-FISH The event kicked off with a spectacular opening ceremony, traditional Chinese performances and several speeches from sponsors and event organisers. The Australian team had decided to try and cover as much water as possible on pre-fish day. In the weeks leading up to the event the team had discussed everything from leader sizes to lure selection. Although the area open to anglers was relatively small, it was full of islands with bays and coves and there were plenty of banks to explore. They moved around throughout the day, exploring different depths, lure choices and retrieves, and it didn’t take them long to land their first redtail culter on a bank close to the start line. Although the

Team Australia from left to right: (back row) Steven Pryke, Jon Clisby, Glenn Allen, Simon Morley, Tony Pettie, Jason Reid, (front row) Carl Dubois, Ben Harrison, Matt Petrie, Corey Gallagher. tournament victory would be awarded to an individual, they worked together to try and get as many teammates into the top ten as possible. DAY ONE Up at 5:30am, anglers readied their gear, and boarded the bus to the event arena. Upon arriving they collected their UHF radios and waited for individual kayak numbers to be called out, allowing them to enter

in the 10-15m range. This proved fruitful and he continued to catch redtail culter with several upgrades. He also managed a small 23cm mandarin perch. At the end of day one, most of the Australian team had managed to fill their bags. Ben Harrision faired the best, sitting in 7th overnight with a full bag of 850g. Gallagher was next best out of the Australian

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The $15,000 fish, a massive 1.4kg redtail culter landed by Corey Gallagher on day two of the competition. the dock and launch their Hobie Pro Angler 14s. At 8am the Australian team set off at pace. Gallagher began by throwing a 40mm Strike Pro Cyber Vibe in JU006, which had been the standout lure during his pre-fish.

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Fishing was slow at first but this didn’t put Gallagher off; other anglers had mentioned that the bite can be slow in the first hour or so. After an hour and only one 26cm redtail culter in the well, he moved out slightly deeper and fished

competitors and 14th overall with 760g. The field was packed tightly together and with only one larger fish weighed in at 930g it was still anyone’s game. DAY TWO Carl Dubois, Stephen Pryke and Corey Gallagher decided to fish the same area as on day one. Gallagher fished a rocky point and within a few casts he had a 32cm redtail in the well. This raised his hopes of putting together a solid bag. Sitting on the point in 4m of water, Gallagher cast out over the drop-off into 15m and allowed his Cyber Vibe to sink to the bottom. Once on the bottom he retrieved the lure using a quick burn retrieve followed by two long rips of the rod. On the second rip his lure was crunched by something that felt significantly bigger. With large carp a common catch, it wasn’t until he saw the distinctive red flash of a massive redtail culter that he began to get excited. He successfully worked the fish back to the kayak and managed to get it in the net. Some very nervous moments followed. The fish was too large. He

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The venue for the 2017 China Open – Shengzhong Lake in the Sichuan Province of South West China. 96

DECEMBER 2017

To page 97

Tableland Hardware Tinaroo Barra Bash The weekend of 3-5 November saw 595 passionate anglers and their families descend on the beautiful Lake Tinaroo on the scenic Atherton Tablelands to try their hand at catching the mighty barramundi along with a host of other species including sooty grunter, tilapia and redclaw crayfish. Numbers were slightly down on the previous year, but family numbers were up by quite a bit. This is the 25th year that the Tableland Fish Stocking Society has been stocking Tinaroo Dam, which has an area of 3,500ha with the society stocking barramundi and sooty grunter since 1972. Fishing began on Friday, 3 November at 6:00pm, and concluded at 8:30am on Sunday 5 November. A total of 98 barramundi were caught, measured on the official Tableland Hardware measuring mat, From page 96

had to bend the culter to fit it in the livewell. Knowing the fish wouldn’t survive long bent up like that, he made a quick radio call to the referees to weigh the fish in early. After a frantic 20 minute paddle to get the fish back to the weigh-in, he carried it across a dodgy wooden plank bridge to the weigh station. He successfully weighed in the redtail, which pulled the scales down to 1.4kg, and celebrated when it swam away upon release. Confident he would now be sitting first on the water, Gallagher tried to settle his nerves and focus on filling his bag. Gallagher struggled for the remainder of the day with nerves getting the better of him. He dropped several legal fish beside the yak and eventually managed to net a fourth legal redtail. Back at weigh-in, his bag went 1.9kg for a combined two-day weight of 2.66kg. On the bus

photographed and then released unharmed. 2016 Barra Bash winner Ben Tunsted from Atherton again took out the champion angler category, releasing 13 barra with an aggregate

length of 11.615m. Ben is one of the most passionate anglers on the dam and has perfected his strategy over many years, with his effort paying dividends in every competition he enters.

The longest individual fish was a very wellproportioned 127cm fish caught by John Wilkinson of Atherton. The Wilkinson family of John, Zack and Chloe also took out the

attracted hundreds of competitors and spectators to the presentation and prize giving and to see if they would win one of the many lucky nomination draws culminating in the $10,000 lucky adult draw, which was won by Adam Bucknell of Yungaburra. Queensland Fishing Monthly contributor and well-known fishing guide Ryan Moody was guest speaker at the presentation and prize giving, and his tips were well received by the assembled crowd. Prior to the presentation there was a release of 150 fingerlings into the dam, which saw plenty of smiles on the children’s faces. Event coordinator Ann Leighton said that the support from anglers, local Tableland and Cairns and national businesses was overwhelming proving once

again that the Tinaroo Barra Bash is one of the most popular family fishing competitions in the country. Ann and her band of dedicated volunteers did a fantastic job in the months and days leading up to the event and are to be congratulated for their efforts. Tableland Hardware once again came on board as naming sponsor with area operations manager Thomas Tiepner and Atherton Store manager Clint Kaicz personally giving a tremendous amount of support for this community event. All sponsors who donated to the Barra Bash are to be thanked and congratulated for their support, without them this hugely popular event could not go ahead. - Tableland Fish Stocking Society

John Wilkinson took the prize for longest individual fish, with this 127cm monster. back to the hotel, Gallagher still didn’t know if he had done enough. When they arrived the referees posted the official results, confirming Gallagher’s victory and the Australian team’s captain Carl Dubois, who had put together a cracking day two bag of 1.01kg including a much sought-after mandarin perch, was propelled from 37th into 8th position. Carl

Dubois took home $2000US and Gallagher was lucky enough to secure $1500US for the biggest fish and the $15,000US first prize. On the final day they were invited by previous China Open champion Ma to fish a private lake filled with largemouth bass. Gallagher called it, “The perfect way to finish up a trip of a lifetime with a great bunch of mates!” – Hobie Australia

Ben Harrison from South Australia with one of the target species, a redtail culter.

family section, which was the aggregate length of all barramundi and sooty grunter caught. Champion female was Deanne Masters, and as well as winning the adult female section, Deanne also weighed a pending IGFA world record barramundi on 10kg test line. The fish measured 119cm and weighed 17.8kg. The Richard Wellham Memorial Trophy for champion junior boy was won by William Cupitt and the champion junior girl was Charlotte Moller. The Hendricks family caught and removed 461 tilapia from the dam over the weekend, indicating that the stocks of this pest fish are very strong. Noah Bradford won the Neil Lee Long trophy for longest sooty grunter. Trent Delai caught the most redclaw, with 30 easily winning the junior prize. This family event

The children loved releasing barramundi fingerlings with fishing guide Ryan Moody.

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR 2017 DECEMBER

1-3 Dec

Lake Macquarie BREAM Grand Final Lake Macquarie

www.abt.org.au

2018 FEBRUARY OCTOBER

10-11 Feb

Boondooma Dam Yellowbelly Fishing Competition Lake Boondooma

www.prostononline.info (07) 4168 9694

6-7 Oct

Bjelke Petersen Public Fishing Competition Bjelke Petersen Dam

Matthew Langford 0408 658 592

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. DECEMBER 2017

Brian Everingham Champion Results don’t get much closer than what separated Brian Everingham and Joseph Urquhart after three sessions of the 2017 ABT BassCat BASS Pro Grand Final, and prizes also don’t come much bigger; a fully rigged BassCat Margay boat/motor/trailer package fitted out with a Mercury ProXS 4-stroke 115hp made up the $55,000 payday for the richest bass tournament in ABT history. Brian Everingham had held off charges from anglers like Kris Hickson and Peter Phelps, and Joseph Urquhart was the last angler to walk up on-stage Sunday afternoon. Presenting his fish to the

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Everingham has been quietly going about his business for the past few seasons of the BassCat BASS Pro Series. For an angler who’s always up at the pointy end of the leaderboard, it’s almost fitting his first breakthrough came in the biggest event of his life, with the biggest prize. Everingham put the work in for this event, travelling up to pre-fish the event a few weeks before. “I spent my time in pre-practice looking downstream from the start at Coraki and I was pretty happy with what I’d found,” explained Everingham. “Once I got on the water for official practice day

WINNING TACKLE Rod: Lews Reel: Lews Line: Lews braid Leader: Sunline FC Rock Lure: Bassman Spinnerbait, 1/4oz Jackall Derabreak chatterbait, unweighted Gulp 3” Fry in pumpkinseed colour, Marz torpedo.

STORM

scales, Urquhart needed exactly 3kg to walk away champion. The next ten seconds would have felt like years to both Everingham and Urquhart, as the scales teetered on the magic number before finally resting at 2.99kg, a 10g deficit. It was a fairy tale finish for the Taree-based river rat.

The 2017 Bass Cat BASS Pro Grand Final Champion Brian Everingham.

and began looking around, I was surprised how many boats were down that way. After I saw that I decided to go way up the Richmond River arm from Coraki, and that’s where I found the winning fish.” Returning to his upstream honey hole during Saturday’s first session,

It doesn’t get any closer, only 10g separated Urquhart and Everingham.

Everingham took the sharedweight format of the ABT BassCat BASS Pro Series into full effect. Fishing a tandem approach with his non-boating partner Simon Johnson, Everingham would throw a loud noisy surface fizzer, while Johnson followed it up behind with a ZMan Finesse Frog. “Simon actually had me three-zip at one stage, but the bigger fish seemed to show more attention to the noisier fizzer,” Everingham commented. Everingham upgraded a few times to push their combined 4/4 limit to 2.98kg. Heading back out straight away and back up the Richmond River arm, Everingham and Johnson went straight back to the surface bite, capitalizing on the abundant shade that the overhanging trees provide in the upper reaches. “We got two quick fish on surface again during session two. Then when that died I turned to a gold and black 1/4oz Jackall Derabreak chatterbait and that produced another couple of fish,” he said.

RESULTS Place Angler

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888. 98

DECEMBER 2017

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fish

Weight (kg)

Payout

Brian Everingham 12/12 9.78 BassCat Margay boat/ motor/trailer package Joseph Urquhart 12/12 9.77 Costa Voucher and Prize Pack Kristoffer Hickson 12/12 9.71 Costa Voucher and Prize Pack Peter Phelps 12/12 8.66 Costa Voucher and Prize Pack Tom Slater 12/12 8.48 Prize Pack Warren Carter 12/12 8.14 Graham Ford 11/12 8.01 Adrian Melchior 12/12 7.78 Grant Clements 11/12 7.14 Jonathan Bale 10/12 7.03 For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

“I knew it would be a grind on Saturday afternoon; those fish up the river aren’t used to having boats zoom past so fast and frequent, so I knew to just knuckle down and grind it out. As it happened, every bite we got was a good one.” Pushing down the scales to 3.43kg, Everingham had one hand on the trophy, sitting in third place overnight. Overnight rain had the anglers guessing on Sunday morning, and Everingham had a plan up his sleeve to tempt the cagey wild bass that call the Richmond River home. “On Sunday I threw an unweighted Gulp 3” Fry in pumpkinseed colour; my thoughts were that all the rain we had would have the bass looking at the bank for run-off, and the Fry perfectly imitated an earthworm that had been washed in with the deluge.” A late session upgrade from Everingham’s non-boater Malcolm Draper had Everingham in the hunt, and it was only once the scales had settled and the emotion wore off that Everingham truly appreciated just how close the result was. “You can’t get any closer than that. Over 12 fish 10g is nothing. I’m so thrilled to come away with the win and truly want to thank everyone that stayed and watched the weigh-in.” Everingham threw his offerings on a combination of Lew’s rods and reels and would like to thank Craig and Jackie Simmons from Lew’s and BassCat for their support all year, he couldn’t be happier to now be part of the BassCat family piloting his brand new Margay!

Home town hero so close You can find Joseph ‘Joey’ Urquhart through the week working at his familyowned Casino Outdoors and Disposals, and this local fishing expert will share his knowledge with anyone who’s curious enough to ask. When the 2017 BassCat BASS Pro calendar was released and the Grand Final slated for his home waterway, Urquhart was thrilled. He was committed to fishing enough of the series to guarantee his qualification – he wasn’t going to miss it for anything. Coming into the event as one of the favourites, Urquhart didn’t disappoint. His family and friends came out to Sunday’s final weigh-in after watching him take the lead with Saturday’s second weigh-in. He dropped the event big bag on the scales, a whopping 4/4 4.17kg. As is the case with tournament fishing, grams can make the difference, and as Urquhart placed his final day’s bag on the scales

and they see-sawed up and down around the magic 3kg mark, you could almost hear the hearts break as they came to rest on 2.99kg. The hometown hero had fallen just 10g short. Piloting the smallest boat in the field was both an advantage and disadvantage for Joey. In previous tournaments on the river he’d used the size of his vessel to fish waters no one else could even dream of getting to. In this tournament, he was making a long run 40km up the Richmond River arm from the start in Coraki, closer to his beloved workplace and closer to the congregations of larger fish he’d located during his pre-fishing. “I actually went out on three separate trips to scout locations for the tournament day and used different marks on my sounders to differentiate between fish I’d caught on each of those trips. Once I’d gotten back home, I looked at my GPS and could instantly see a pattern

emerging from the three days of marks overlapping each other, so that was my plan for the tournament.” It was all about timing for Urquhart; travelling upwards of 50km per session in the smallest boat in the fleet required careful planning. “Tides can be so crucial on this river to how the bass react. Around the turn you’ll get a ten-minute window where the fish will bite and you have to take advantage of that. If you’re travelling or going back to weigh fish in while that tide changes, you’ll miss your opportunity.” After quickly filling a limit in his go-to spot on Saturday morning, Urquhart eased off the fish, not wanting to put too much pressure on what can be a fickle fishery. He slowly worked his way back down the system to be at the weigh-in right as it opened so he could take advantage of the traditionally tougher Saturday afternoon session. And take advantage

he did! What transpired on Saturday afternoon for Urquhart will go down as the best day’s fishing he’s ever had on the river – he nabbed a PB bass with minutes to go on the clock and a whopping 4/4 4.17kg bag which catapulted him into the lead. “Catching that fish on Saturday afternoon was just unreal; that’s the biggest fish I’ve ever caught in the river and to catch it in a tournament, let alone in a grand final is just amazing,” said Urquhart. If you want to watch what it’s like to catch your personal best bass from your home river in a tournament, head over to the ABT Facebook Page and watch the event video. It’s the perfect showpiece for tournament fishing. Urquhart’s plan was so solid, he only needed one lure all weekend. “Every fish I weighed in came on a Valleyhill Whiplash spinnerbait in a white/gold colour. It’s a great big-fish bait as the profile is slightly

Event runner-up Joseph Urqhuart with a pair of Richmond River bass. bigger, and I was actually bending out the wire a smidgen to widen the profile even more and slow the fall.” Urquhart showed all the signs of a true champion after the event, thanking his family, friends and

sponsors for all their help over the course of the 2017 season. A wise head on young shoulders, Urquhart is sure to get his chance at redemption in a future event on the ABT BASS Pro Series.

Konsul conquers Grand Final Tani Konsul, a name you’d be familiar with if you read the Costa BREAM Series results, has won the 2017 BassCat BASS Pro Grand Final. Fishing with Graham Ford on day one, and Grant Manusu on day two, Konsul put together three consistent bags to best a talented field of non-boaters by just shy of 700g. The only non-boater to weigh a limit over 10kg, Konsul showed she’s no slouch when it comes to the other species. Having shown her prowess on the Costa BREAM Series for a number of years, this was the first year that Konsul dipped her toes into the fresh water and jumped in headfirst during the Hawkesbury River BASS Pro, the first event of the year. “The bass series has always interested me, but it has always seemed too hard to make the transition. With

Tani Konsul secured the non-boater title at the Richmond River final.

the series heading to three rivers this year, I thought what better time to try than now? And here I am sitting at the end of it, a Grand Final champion, who would have thought?” Praising the sharedweight format of the BASS Pro Seires, Konsul was quick to point out it’s all about team work. “I think the key to shared-weight is to work together with your boater or non-boater. There’s not much point you both throwing the exact same thing, unless you know for sure that’s the best lure. Brian [Everingham] showed that this weekend when he and Simon

[Johnson] fished a dual topwater approach during the first day’s competition. It’s the small adjustments that can make all the difference, and that’s what it came down

to in the end.” If you want to learn more about the upcoming 2018 BASS Pro Series, you can head to www. abt.org.au.

Brian does his thing under the watchful eye of the camera and viewers on Facebook Live.

Marz torpedo Bassman spinnerbait

Jackall chatterbait

TOP 10 NON BOATERS Place Angler

Fish

Weight (kg)

Payout

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

12/12 12/12 12/12 11/12 12/12 12/12 11/12 10/12 12/12 10/12

10.01 9.33 9.12 8.21 8.16 7.48 7.27 7.13 6.94 6.68

Costa Voucher and Valley Hill rod Costa Voucher and Valley Hill rod Costa Voucher and Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack

Tani Konsul Troy Lowe Warren Howe Simon Johnson Paul Aldous James Browning Orton Marchant James Reid Leaon Walker Aimee Thompson

For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au DECEMBER 2017

Flynn takes maiden bass win In his first season on the ABT ePropulsion BASS Electric Series, Lismorebased angler Matthew Flynn has taken victory at the BASS Electric Convention in a convincing fashion with 4/4 fish for 5.48kg and finished the tournament with over a 1kg lead over the rest of the field. Not to be outdone, BASS Electric regular Dean Thompson showed yet again that he is one of the most consistent anglers on tour finishing in second place with 4/4 fish for 4.18kg. With the lake producing large numbers of smaller fish, anglers anticipated that it would be a process of sorting through numbers of fish to find the bigger tournamentwinning fish amongst them. While this rang true for most of the field, Matthew

THE FUTURE IS HERE Self-contained Electric Outboards

Friday and knew there were fish in the area I wanted to fish, but I didn’t expect to find the size of fish I did,” explained Flynn. His key area for the tournament was a rocky point on the lead into the dam wall. During the pre-fish Flynn found most of the active fish moving through flats in 18-20ft of water. Rather than cast to the bank and work the lure back, Flynn maximised the amount of time his lure was in the strike zone and fished parallel to the bank, watching his sounder to see when the fish were moving through the area. When he could only see a few scattered fish moving through he would cast a 51mm Savage Gear TPE soft vibe in rudd (gold) across the sunken flat before allowing it to sink to the bottom. Once

WINNING TACKLE

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Rod: 6’ 7 NS Hurricane Reel: 1000 Shimano Rarenium Line: 10lb Sunline Siglon PE Leader: 8lb fluorocarbon Lure: Strike Pro Astro Vibe and an Savage Gear TPE soft vibe Flynn’s weekend was in stark contrast. Having never fished Bjelke-Petersen Dam before and with a limited pre-fish on the Friday before the tournament, Flynn headed out with an open mind on day one and few expectations. “I had a short pre-fish on

Mathew Flynn with a pair of Convention-winning bass.

it had come to a rest he would impart short hops off the bottom before allowing it to sink back down. His tackle of choice for this was a NS Hurricane 6’7” rod matched with a 1000 size Shimano Rarenium reel spooled with 10lb Sunline Siglon PE and 8lb fluorocarbon leader.

When a good showing of fish would appear under the boat Flynn would change lure and drop a Strike Pro Astro vibe in gold down into the fish’s face and again used short hops to entice the bites. While his bite window was short, it produced the quality of fish that had Flynn leading after day one. “I found fish in good numbers early in the session but after the first hour or so they began to move deeper and

Anglers fished in perfect conditions.

RESULTS Place Angler

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888. 100

DECEMBER 2017

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fish

Weight (kg)

Payout

Mathew FLYNN 4/4 5.48 ePropulsion Navy 6 Electric Motor (RRP $4995) Dean THOMSON 4/4 4.18 Prize Pack Jay NOTT 4/4 3.98 Prize Pack Jonathan BALE 4/4 3.97 Prize Pack Tom REYNOLDS 4/4 3.93 Prize Pack Michael ROWSWELL 3/4 3.80 Prize Pack Brett KLEINSCHMIDT 4/4 3.74 Prize Pack Matt JOHNSON 4/4 3.64 Prize Pack Adrian WILSON 4/4 3.50 Prize Pack Nigel SKYRING 4/4 3.32 Prize Pack For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

became harder to consistently target,” said Flynn. As the bite slowed Flynn then moved to Bass Point and the surrounding area looking for the magic 18-20ft mark that was holding fish. He failed to find anything that would upgrade his bag. “I have spent most my time fishing for bass in rivers, so for me I tend to stay with something that I have confidence with on the lakes, rather than change it through the session,” said Flynn. At the end of day one Flynn was the only angler to crack the 3kg mark for his two fish and in only his 6th ABT tournament found himself in the unfamiliar position of leading out the field. “I was very restless that night but I thought that if those fish recovered overnight I would be in with a shot at winning,” said Flynn. Day two proved to be another fast start for Flynn, bagging out early and giving him every chance to upgrade his limit. While his day one honey hole produced another good limit early, it also shut down quickly and forced Flynn to go in search of upgrades. He then moved to his secondary area near Bass Point and locked in a late upgrade. “I didn’t get a lot of fish in the boat over the weekend – probably 10-15 each session – but I did manage to get the right ones to bite,” said Flynn, “I am very thankful to ABT and ePropulsion for the great prize and to share the experience with my family who came up with me for the weekend made it even better. I am very excited to get out and try this new motor.”

Thomson rolls into second place

Dean Thomson finished second at the ePropulsion-presented event. Dean Thomson has yet again shown he is one to watch in any bass event with another consistent

finish in a BASS Electric Convention with 4/4 fish for 4.18kg. Thomson focused his attention for

the tournament on the area between the two boat ramps. With lots of small fish in the lake, Thomson laid out a run sheet to maximise his opportunities to land the bigger bites. “I had a feeling that if I was going to get a big bite, it would come off the edge early,” explained Thompson. Dean started targeting these edge fish with a mixture of lipless crankbaits and a D-Style chatterbait slow rolled off the edge. For this presentation he used a JML Power Lift rod matched with a Shimano Curado 51e reel spooled with 11lb Yamatoyo Resin Sheller PE and 10lb Yamatoyo Fluorocarbon leader. While the edges failed to produce the big bites he wanted, Thomson was able to fill his limit quickly before heading deeper in search of upgrades. Thomson moved to a deeper flat in 10-15ft of

Mathew Flynn primed and ready to head off on day two.

water that held scattered schools of fish moving up from deeper water. Changing to a more finesse approach, Thomson switched his lure choice to a 3” Ecogear Ringmax and mixed it up with a 2” Ecogear Rockmax rigged on a 1/4oz jighead. “It was all about covering water and intercepting the active fish that we couldn’t see on the sounder but knew where moving through,” said Thomson. He would make long casts then allow his lure to sink to the bottom. After allowing it to rest, he would twitch his lure up off the bottom to attract the fish before imparting a slow roll back towards the boat and then let it to fall back to the bottom. He repeated this process after every twenty turns of the handle. To cover the water and feel the tentative bites, Thomson used a JML Allrounder matched with a 2000 sized Shimano reel spooled with 9lb Yamatoyo Resin Sheller PE and 10lb Yamatoyo Harris Fighter Fluorocarbon leader. Once the bites began to slow Thomson would then move to a deeper flat in 15-20ft of water in the same area. “Throughout the tournament I was able to use my Insight maps and key into a little gully running through the flat that seemed to hold more fish,” said Thompson. Once in location he would then throw out long casts with his favoured 18g Nories Spoon in wasabi and mix that up with an Ecogear Ringmax on a 1/2oz jighead.

THE F Self-co U ntaineTURE IS H d Elec tric OuERE tboard s

Jay Nott claimed third place at the Bjelke-Petersen Dam final.

Eyes down and focused on the job, Paul Phillips and Graham Dodds work hard on day one of the Convention. “Mixing between the spots, I think between myself and Brady we would have caught up to and probably

Rocks on edge

Slow roll retrieve

over 50 fish each session. It was great fun, we just couldn’t get the bigger ones to bite,” said Thomson. “I think the key to that number of fish was the extra fishing time I had thanks to the ePropulsion Navy 6 motor. Once I got there having the Lowrance Insight maps made it really easy to make sure we were on the spot as quickly as possible.” With his fourth podium finish in as many conventions, Thomson is as keen as ever to get started on the 2018 BASS Electric season and take the top step. “I have had a great season and have to thank JML Anglers Alliance, Tide Apparel, Island Inflatables, Lowrance and Marine Warehouse; their support makes it a lot easier to get out on the water with confidence,” said Thompson. With the 2017 season done and dusted, attention now turns to the 2018 BASS Electric season. Stay tuned to the ABT Facebook page and abt.org.au for all the information and tournament dates that are soon to be released. DECEMBER 2017

101

Booming bass for BASS Megabucks Somerset may have disappointed with the weather but it still produced a host of big bags and fish hitting the scales for the ABT BASS Megabucks held on 18-19 October. While raining conditions made for uncomfortable angling the lake’s famous

THE FUTURE IS HERE Self-contained Electric Outboards

to the old creek bed which we casted to and pulled back onto the flats in about 30ft of water. There wasn’t any bait really coming past, but there were definitely healthy fish sitting there. With the heavy inflow of rain and wind I was worried it may have changed a little, but the dirty water

WINNING TACKLE Craig Simmons Rod: Lews Team Pro Custom Reel: Lews TLP 1000 Line: 12lb Toray Seabass Leader: 8lb Lews fluorocarbon Ross Cannizzaro Rod: 7’ Abu Garcia Salty Stage Krx Reel: 3000 Abu Garcia Revo Alx Line: 6lb Berkley Ultra 8 Leader: 6lb Toray fluorocarbon

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springtime bass bite still put smiles on angler’s faces with 127 bass caught and weighed for the 38-angler field. A skins format event, Megabucks saw the money shared amongst the field with six of the 19 teams banking a cheque. Two teams dominated in the event with Teams Bass Cat Australia (Craig Simmons and Ross Cannizzaro) and Team Nexgen Lures (Matt Johnson and Shaun Falkenhagen) grabbing the lion’s share of the prize money. Team Bass Cat Australia also secured the champion team title. SESSION ONE SMASHED BY SOMERSET BAIT AND TACKLE Robbie Rayner and Mike Connolly drew first blood for the event with the pair fishing the old creek bed in front of Bay 13. With a 4/4 bag for 5.47kg, the team walked away with the $1000 prize money for session one. “There was a rise next

Big bass were on the menu for Craig Simmons and Ross Cannizzaro from Team BassCat Australia.

hadn’t made it that far down the dam at that stage,” explained Rayner. Their technique involved throwing a PML custom painted (shimmer green with a chartreuse tail with some UV) Halco Twisty, letting it fall to the bottom on the cast, then giving it a slight jiggle, followed by six cranks of the reel handle, then

stopping and letting it sink back to the bottom. At the end of the retrieve they would burn it back. The fishing was hot from the get-go with the pair catching their limit in their first ten casts. “We picked up regular upgrades throughout the session and finished with 30+ fish over 40cm for the session,” explained Rayner. Their Halco Twistys were rigged with a BKK Super Slide treble and a #2 BKK single on the top

The limit that delivered Team BassCat Australia the win in session three and overall honours.

split ring, while the everreliable Silver Fox soft plastic rigged on a 1/2 Impact Tackle jighead also accounted for a few fish. NEXGEN FOR SECOND Team Nexgen Lures came 2nd for session one with a 3/4 bag going 4.36kg on the scales. What they may have lacked in numbers they made up for in quality with Matt Johnson and Shaun Falkenhagen catching three solid fish for the session. “We fished the Eagles Nest area and it wasn’t until the middle of the session that we got them to bite, and when they did we caught three fish in ten casts,” explained Johnson. Searching for active fish away from the crowd at Eagles Nest, Johnson and Falkenhagen focused on a drop-off that saw the water drop from 34-45ft and threw John Deere coloured Slider Grubs rigged on 1/2oz jigheads. “The technique was to make long casts and let the lure sink before aggressively twitching and shaking the plastic off the bottom for a few winds. We’d then give the lure a fast burn before

RESULTS

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888. 102

DECEMBER 2017

Place

Team

TW (kg)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

BassCat Australia: Craig Simmons and Ross Cannizzaro Nexgen Lures: Matt Johnson and Shaun Falkenhagen Two Dams One Destination: Corey Goldie and Brett Hyde Lews/Duffrods: Mark Lennox and Michael Thompson Simon And Glen: Glyn Barkhuizen and Simon Barkhuizen Ballina Marineland/Barra Jacks: Adrian Melchior and Steven Otto Somerset Bait And Tackle: Robbie Rayner and Mike Connolly Laguna/Duffrods: Barry Reynolds and Alan Britcliffe Joey Featuring Matt Langford: Joe Allan and Matthew Langford Warwick Outdoors: Cody Haynes and James Bucher Need The Money: Paul Aldous and Graham Ford Atomic: Aaron Sharp and Steve Eldred Mako Eyewear/Sentury Lithium: Greg Mitchell and Mick Johnson Grumpy Old Men: Peter Morgan and Dan Stead Yamba Bait And Tackle: Tony Thorley and Paul Gillespie Queensland Fishing Monthly: Steve Morgan and Peter Leggett Bass Brothers: David Young and Stuart France Valley Hill/Tackle Warehouse: Charles West and Adrian Wilson Tennesse: John Brider and John Trigg

11/12 9/12 10/12 8/12 11/12 7/12 8/12 8/12 9/12 8/12 5/12 6/12 4/12 6/12 5/12 6/12 4/12 1/12 1/12

18.66 15.05 13.42 11.03 10.93 10.92 10.18 9.76 9.14 8.92 7.75 7.31 6.78 6.70 6.44 6.23 4.04 1.14 1.04

The rain didn’t deter the bass from biting and Team Nexgen Lures from securing top prize in session two. nothing so we moved spot letting the lure sink to the and fished a flat near by. bottom and repeating. The Shaun also swapped Slider fish hit the plastics with colour and started throwing gusto – no bites or nibbles. a blue ice coloured version,” We found working as a explained Matt. team and casting to where The change paid the other had just hooked dividends with the pair up would result in another having an hour of madness hook-up from the active catching 20 fish, including fish,” explained Johnson. several upgrades. The Team Nexgen Lures winning retrieve involved walked away with $600 for twitching the plastic their efforts in session one. aggressively and erratically

target suspended fish holding 23-25ft down in 40-45ft of water. “The bigger fish were holding high in the water column and they would follow the lure down as it sunk towards the bottom,” explained Simmons. One of the keys to success for the pair was their eyes on the water, Craig explains, “A quality sounder is essential at Somerset for identifying bottom structure and detail, and the fish and their moods, and my Garmin units show me in ultra clear detail and clarity exactly what I need to know. I’d be lost without them and I certainly wouldn’t have the same level of confidence in what I’m doing”. The lures that did the damaged were customized 20-30g Halco Twistys – one painted purple with a chartreuse-dipped tail and the other a green Twisty with a chartreusedipped tail.

TEAM BASS CAT AUSTRALIA TOPS SESSION THREE Picking up where they left off in session two, Simmons and Cannizzaro returned to the Eagles Nest in the third and final session and it didn’t take long for them to put fish in the well with a 4/4, 7.85kg bag for the $1000 prize money. “We had our limit by 8am and caught our five biggest fish between 7.15am and 7.45am, all of which came on the twitched, quivered

Nest area to catch their 4/4 bag, which weighed in at 6.11kg winning them $600 and the $150 for the session’s Big Bass. Fishing a small creek bed that joined the main arm of the flooded river, the pair focused on the southwestern section of the area casting along the drop-off into deeper water. “The fish would move through in dribs and drabs with some fish hugging the bottom and others positioned underneath the bait as it moved through

that second morning that he’d never caught a fish on a last cast, and that’s exactly what happened with him catching the last fish of our limit on his last of the session,” explained Lennox. Taking it down to the wire the pair finished their tournament $750 richer. OVERALL CHAMPS – TEAM BASS CAT AUSTRALIA Team Bass Cat Australia

Mike Connolly and Robbie Rayner with their session one winning bag of bass.

Corey Goldie with the session one Big Bass for the tournament. Goldie and Hyde take Big Bass Corey Goldie and Brett Hyde from Team Two Dams One Destination secured the Big Bass Prize for session one with the pairing picking up the money-winning bass on a 20g silver coloured Halco Twisty in 30ft of water at Happy Clappers. The retrieve involved sinking the lure to the bottom, giving it a slow roll, pausing then sinking it back to the bottom and repeating. They nabbed $150 for their 2.29kg bass. TEAM NEXGEN LURES TAKES OUT SESSION TWO Returning to Eagles Nest, which delivered them three quality fish in session one, Johnson and Falkenhagen once again picked up their jighead rigged Slider Grubs to catch their fish, but the fish made them wait for the bites. “We didn’t have a fish or a bite until about one and a half hours before the end of the session. We had

off the bottom. “We were in about 45ft of water and the fish were suspended at 20ft and when you threw your plastic in they’d follow it down to the bottom, and when you twitched it off the bottom they’d eat it,” explained Falkenhagen. The team won $1000 for their 7.51kg, 4/4 bag. The tackle the pair used to catch their winning limit included a combination of Edge and Barrabass rods, matched to spinning reels loaded with 8-10lb Sunline and Toray PE. Team Bass Cat’s Big Bass Team Bass Cat Australia came 2nd for session two with their 4/4, 7.02kg bag, earning the $600 prize along with $150 for the session’s Big Bass. Craig Simmons and Ross Cannizzaro from Team Bass Cat Australia started their charge at the Somerset Megabucks in session two breaking the 7kg mark in the rain. Fishing in front of Eagles Nest the paired

The technique with the Twisty involved casting it out, letting it sink to the bottom, then slow rolling it back while adding the occasional twitch and quiver to the rod tip.

and rolled Halco Twisty,” explained Simmons. Landing ten fish for the session, the pair claimed the session win by 1.5kg over second-place team, Team Duffrods/Lews. While the pair weighed their heaviest limit for the tournament and the tournament’s heaviest limit – in this session the number of fish was down. “The fish were feeling the angling pressure and were less inclined to bite as a result,” explained Simmons. Team Duffrods/Lews bags the Big Bass Mark Lennox and Mick Thompson cashed in for the final session in 2nd place. Like many anglers in the field, they fished the Eagles

the area. We caught four fish for the session, two of which came from the bottom and the other two which were suspended,” explained Lennox. Their first fish came one and a half hours into the session and would prove to be the kicker fish in their bag, and the session’s Big Bass. Their technique involved slow rolling 30g Halco Twistys through the fish holding in 30-45ft of water, regularly dropping lure back to the suspended fish to keep the lure in the strike zone. It wasn’t until the last cast where the pair sealed the deal and pencilled their name in on the second-place cheques. “Mick mentioned on

Mark Lennox looks happy with his Big Bass from the third and final session.

came up trumps in the end with 11/12 fish for the event for a total combined weight of 18.66kg. Craig Simmons and Ross Cannizzaro secured the champion team title at the Somerset BASS Megabucks with Simmons finally securing top honours after many attempts. “I’ve been fishing the Megabucks event for well over a decade and it’s nice finally come out on top. Ross has been in outstanding form this year and I was confident that if we could find the right size fish that were willing to bite, we’d be in with a shot, and that’s exactly how it played out,” added Simmons. When quizzed post-victory Simmons attributed one key thing to their success. “I’ve spent many years fishing with and watching Steve Kanowski catch the big fish when others around him struggled and the thing that I always see him do is work his lure all the way back to the boat, and it’s at the very end of the retrieve when the lure is right near the boat that the big fish will often bite. We did this at the Megabucks and it certainly made a difference,” concluded Simmons. The results speak for themselves when it comes to looking for proof for Simmons’ theory. The ABT BASS Megabucks drew the curtain on ABT’s BASS Pro calendar for 2017. Visit www.abt.org. au for details and dates for the 2018 schedule. – ABT DECEMBER 2017

103

Rookies rule at Kinchant THE FUTURE IS HERE Self-contained Electric Outboards

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The rookies drew first blood on the 2017 Zerek BARRA Tour with Brett Turner and Dean Jackson claiming a comprehensive win in the opening round of the series, the Mustad Kinchant Dam Evening Event. Armed with the Zerek lures they received in the Rookie Pack at the event briefing, Team Flattop Fishing caught their limit on a Zerek Fish Trap fishing just wide of a flooded hump. “We fished a little deeper than most of the other teams in the area at the start of the session and as the night wore on we moved in closer to the shallows,” explained Jackson. Late in the session the pair would cast tight up into the shallows landing their lures in about 3ft of water. They would then burn it back fast to keep it above the weed and it was on the burn that the fish would bite – a fast and fun technique that delivered Team Flattop Fishing two fish over a metre, a 78.01kg limit and a 21kg winning margin.

BARRA T Presente our R1 d by M ustad

Team Flattop Fishing hit the ground running in round one claiming the Mustad Kinchant Dam win with a 78kg limit. Their tournamentwinning tackle comprised of baitcaster outfits spooled with 40 and 50lb PE mainline and 50 and 60lb fluorocarbon leader.

ZEREK BIG BARRA R

Team Flattop Fishing (Brett Turner and Dean Jackson) picked up the Zerek Big Barra prize at Kinchant with the pair’s prize winning fish measuring 124cm. Tempted by the black jack coloured Zerek Fish Trap they received in their briefing kit, the fish found sanctuary in the weed before sufficient rod pressure extracted it and into the waiting net. – ABT

Plenty of chunky barra graced the Zerek Measure Mat.

On The Move move to second Team On The Move (Glen Smith and Nicholle Smith) finished second at Kinchant with the pair fishing a weed point on the lake to catch their fish. Unlike most teams who fish out from a weed point and cast towards it, Smith and Smith anchored on a weed point and cast out into the deep.

Using a combination of 4” Yum and Shads paddle-tail soft plastics rigged on 1/4oz jigheads, the pair would cast out, sink their lure down then retrieve it back to the boat with the plastic just touching the top of the weed as it came through the water column. “The 1/4oz jighead was just the right weight so it would just tickle the top of

the weed as we slow rolled the plastic back to the boat. If the lure did foul up on the weed at all, we’d rip it clear; it was often just after the rip that the fish would eat it,” explained Glen Smith. The pair caught their fish at 8pm and a total of 12 fish for session. “The fishing was actionpacked at times; we would

have jumped off over a dozen fish, we got dusted by a few big fish, and there was one stage where we caught three fish in three casts,” explained Glen. The kicker fish in their bag was their last fish for the session – a metre fish that Nicholle caught at 11.45pm, and a fish that welcomed her to the metre barra club.

RESULTS

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888. 104

DECEMBER 2017

Place

Team

Angler 1

Angler 2

Fish

TW (kg)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Flattop Fishing On The Move FishTec/EJ Todd Venom Lowrance Jackall Fishing Monthly Mustad Triton Boats/Edge Rods Mad Keen

Brett Turner Glen Smith Craig Griffiths Troy Dixon Peter Price Ash Sims Steve Morgan Jeremy Cornelius Rick Napier Shane Fahl

Dean Jackson Nicholle Smith Karim DeRidder Robert Payne Greg Thomas Dan Curry James Reid Lochie Reed Dustin Sippel Corey Fahl

5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 4/5 4/5

78.01 57.09 53.41 51.87 50.35 49.29 41.41 38.85 34.57 32.36

For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

Barratrauma bag out for round two win Peter Laine and Zac Hunt showed their hand as a team to watch on the 2017 Zerek BARRA Tour with the pair catching a 5/5, 45.94kg limit to claim top honours at the Lucky Craft Teemburra Evening Event. Fishing a spot they located in the pre-fish, the pair used a two prong approach with Zac throwing small jerkbaits on a lighter outfit and Peter throwing a Stiffy Boney Bream on a heavier outfit. This approach allowed them to pick the small fish as they came through and still have a bigger fish lure in the water when the big fish bit. Zac’s outfit was an Edge Rods Black Widow 705 rod that he paired with a fast retrieve baitcaster. “The rod is ideal for jerkbaiting while the fast reel allows you to gather in line quickly when you need to,” explained Zac. Peter’s big fish setup was a step up with a 20-65lb

BARR

Presente A Tour R2 d by Luc ky Craft

Edge Rod and Megabass Black Jungle reel – the perfect combination for muscling big fish, including the kicker fish in their limit, a barra that ate his Boney Bream in behind a tree that many fish were holding on and moving past. “That thing went stupid when I set the hook and it powered off towards the point. I loaded up on it and I eventually got it back to the boat and into the net,” explained Peter. That fish measured 126cm and was the anchor for their maiden win on the Zerek BARRA Tour. With a win to their name on only their second year on tour Laine and Hunt were now primed for the northern leg of the Zerek BARRA Tour. Peter Faust would host the next two rounds and had the potential to deliver the biggest and best fishing of the tour. Laine and Hunt were to find out very soon just how true that was.

ZEREK BIG BARRA Team Barratrauma value-added their event winnings at Teemburra with the pair securing the Zerek Big Barra prize for their 126cm/32.6kg fish. The first fish in the team’s limit, Laine caught the standout fish on a well-used Stiffy Boney Bream weighted to suspend and presented with an Edge Rods rod and Megabass Black Jungle reel. – ABT

Team Barratrauma secured the win and the Big Barra prize at the second round at Teemburra Dam.

Back on track 2016 Zerek BARRA Tour champions Griffiths and DeRidder returned to the podium in round two at Teemburra with the barra guns fishing the eastern side of the dam, targeting fish on a little point that dropped off into deeper water. While the pair fished one location, they had a variety of lures that they used including Madness silicon vibes, hand poured swimbaits, and Squidgy Slick Rigs. The retrieve for the vibes involved big hops, with fish regularly eating the lure on the drop. Their approach paid off with the pair with ten fishing hitting the deck by 10.30pm. “It was a consistent bite throughout the session and was much better than what we and I’m sure many anglers were expecting from Teemburra”, explained DeRidder. The rod selection Griffiths used included an Edge Rods 666 Black Widow and a 705 Black Widow. DeRidder used a 6’8, 10-25lb Palms Molla rod matched with a Daiwa Zillion Type R for his smaller plastics and hardbodies, and a Dobyns

Champion 795 SB swimbait rod matched to a Shimano 300 Tranx loaded with 80lb braid for his larger plastics. “The Dobyns swimbait rod is perfect for what we do. It’s just under 8 foot long so you can really swing those big baits out there yet it’s light to use so you’re not tiring yourself from throwing lures hour after hour, I can use this all night long and not suffer for doing it. Matched to one of the new Shimano Tranx 300 reels, the outfit is very well balanced and a dream to fish with. When it come to leader I like to run 80lb Sunline FC for my heavier baits, I find it heavy enough for what we do and as long as you don’t go too hard on the fish they’re not going to chew through it”, explained DeRidder. A slow start to the tour by Griffith’s and DeRidders usual ultra high standards the next two events at Peter Faust had the potential to offer much for the barra duo. “We’ve done very well at Faust over the years and we’re always confident that we can catch them there. What we can’t control is what the others teams catch, so we’re just going to go there focused on catching the biggest fish we can”, explained Griffiths.

Griffiths and DeRidder with their rewards for their 2nd place at Teemburra.

RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Team Barratrauma FishTec/EJ Todd Tree Huggers Jackall Mad Keen Lews Toray The Likely Lads Zerek Triton Boats/Edge Rods Lowrance

Angler 1 Peter Laine Craig Griffiths Mick Weick Ash Sims Shane Fahl Mick Thompson Geoff Newby Luke Mulcahy Rick Napier Peter Price

Angler 2 Zac Hunt Karim DeRidder Brendan Barnett Dan Curry Corey Fahl Tony Thorley Phil Lyons Michael Detenon Dustin Sippel Greg Thomas

Fish 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 2/5 4/5 5/5 1/5

TW (kg) 45.94 40.69 27.03 24.84 20.95 19.56 18.52 17.60 17.04 16.38

For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au DECEMBER 2017

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Back on top Griffiths and DeRidder claimed their first win for the tour in the Sunline Peter Faust Evening event with the defending Zerek BARRA Tour Team of the Year (TOY) champions going against the grain of what they normally do at Faust. “This event’s been won at Faust Point for the last three years and we wanted to do something different this year so we looked a little further afield and found a spot up the back of the dam where it came up from 20

THE FUTURE IS HERE Self-contained Electric Outboards

BARRA T Presente our R3 d by Su nline

into about 15 then up to 9ft. “When the wind blows on it the fish sit there in about 9ft of water and that’s where we fished for the tournament. On day one we couldn’t get any during daylight hours then around 8.30pm when the tide changed the fish moved in and we caught our limit pretty quickly,” explained Griffo. The pair weighed in a 70.47kg limit to grab the lead heading into day two. Day two proved a little lighter on the scales with the guys catching a

ZEREK BIG BARRA Wilson’s Troy Dixon picked up the Zerek Big Barra at the Peter Faust two-day event with the barra junky’s 119cm fish caught on a Zerek 110mm Fish Trap in baby barra colour (black and white). The lure was fished on the newly released Bone Voyage spin rod (4-piece BVS704XH) matched to the ATC Vigour 5000 reel spooled with 30lb Zerek HyBraid topped with 40lb Wilson fluorocarbon leader. The lure was attached with a loop knot and the Fish Trap was fished vertically in 20ft of water to treetops on the windward side of the lake. – ABT

STORM

Team Fish Tec Solutions/EJ Todd were pushed to the wire in the Team of the Year (TOY) points race, claiming the title by one point over Team Barratrauma. 62kg limit. It was enough for them to claim another BARRA Tour win. The standout lure for the duo was a custom poured swimbait modelled on the popular Squidgy Slick Rig, featuring a Gamakatsu main hook and a Decoy YS 22 treble. “You can really set the hook with this setup and not worry about them falling off

if you give them plenty of drag,” explained DeRidder. Faust lived up to predictions with the lake producing both quality and quantity. Craig explained, “Both nights the fish we got went hard. We were fishing 30m from the trees and fish were nearly getting you back to the timber. We had to thumb our spools to stop them.

The Faust Jackall juggernaut Ash Sims and Dan Curry continued their successful 2017 Tour finishing 2nd at the two-day Peter Faust event. Fishing the northern side

of the lake, the pair focused on an area that they mapped extensively in the lead up to the event. “It was a long treeline across a flat that was littered

Dan Curry proudly holds a solid Peter Faust barramundi.

with laydowns, and it had a creek that fed into to it as well. The area was also punctuated by two small 6-7ft deep humps,” explained Sims. With their boat anchored in 10ft of water, the pair would cast a variety of different lures, altering the retrieve depending on what the lure was. “I threw a Slick Rig for a lot of the time and fished it with the usual slow roll, while Dan was fishing a Delande Skeleton soft plastic that he worked with more of a lift drop retrieve. Regardless of the lure being used, the key was to keep the lure in contact with the bottom throughout the retrieve,” explained Sims. While other boats around them caught fish during daylight hours, Sims and Curry didn’t boat a fish until well after dark. “Both days we got a little nervous not catching

anything for a while and it wasn’t until 8.30-ish that we caught our first fish. The others soon followed and by 11pm we had our bag,” explained Ash. Day two saw the pair landed 10 fish for the session, while day two proved a lot quieter; Ash suspects this was due to the added boats in the area. “Both days you could see the fish on our Humminbird 360 moving through the area. On day two there were a lot more boats and you could see it affect the fish’s path through the area. They avoid areas they moved through the day before and they seemed more conscious of what was in the area,” explained Ash. Catching a 10/10, 130.14kg limit, the pair claimed their best result so far for the 2017 tour and showed it was a sign of things to come for the next event.

RESULTS

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888. 106

DECEMBER 2017

Place

Team

Angler 1

Angler 2

Fish

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

FishTec/EJ Todd Jackall Lucky Craft/Edge Rods Triton Boats/Edge Rods Barratrauma Venom Cairns Custom Team DTF Tree Huggers Lews/Toray

Craig Griffiths Ash Sims Colin Brett Rick Napier Peter Laine Troy Dixon Wally Wilton Mark Donelly Mick Weick Mick Thompson

Karim DeRidder Dan Curry Steve Lill Dustin Sippel Zac Hunt Robert Payne Jake Mitchell Jack O’Donnell Brendan Barnett Tony Thorley

10/10 10/10 9/10 9/10 6/10 6/10 7/10 10/10 6/10 7/10

For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

TW (kg) 132.47 130.14 111.20 105.43 99.79 93.88 83.96 76.58 69.65 67.78

Big fish beat-down from Barratrauma Round two victors Team Barratrauma made it two wins for the 2017 tour with Laine and Hunt bagging a big bag of barra to claim the Venom Rods Peter Faust Night Championship win. Catching a 5/5, 85.10kg limit to secure the win, the pair returned to the big barra honey hole they found on the second day of the two-day Peter Faust event, and it didn’t take long for the pair to pick up where they left off the day before. “That was a consideration – would they still be there – and Zac catching one on his first cast showed that they were still there,” explained Laine.

Their spot was a 10ft deep location that had a corridor and laneways through it that the barra would travel through. Each travel zone faced different directions, so regardless of which direction the wind blew from the fish would be holding in and travelling through one. When it came to the baits the pair used, it was big swimbait fishing 101. “We caught plenty of fish on 7” Castaics and 9” Zerek Flat Shads, but it was Pete’s 250 Savage Gear Line Thru Trout that did a lot of damage,” explained Zac. The fishing was red-hot

ZEREK BIG BARRA The big barra slayers Team Barratrauma claimed the Zerek Big Barra Prize at the Peter Faust Night Championship with Zac Hunt catching a 113cm fish to finish the tournament with the event win and Zerek Big Barra Prize to their name. The barra was caught in weed corridors on a flat, and was caught at 9.41pm on a 7” Castaic swimbait. – ABT

and the big Trout was effective, so that the pair both caught a hat trick (three big barra in three casts) during the tournament. The retrieve for the trout involved sinking it down to the weed, popping it out, then rolling it back. The retrieve of the Castaics was similar, albeit with a touch more action. “We hopped the Castaics up through the water a fair bit then let it fall back down into the fish’s face,” explained Zac. Laine used a baitcaster for delivering his Savage Gear Trout while Hunt opted for a spin outfit for his soft plastics, his primary outfit being an Edge Rod 708 Black Widow rod and 3000 Daiwa Certate reel. The pair caught 12 fish for the session, dropped another 20. “It was just unreal, your go out social fishing and you wish for stuff like that but to do it in an ABT is so special,” concluded Hunt.

BARRA T Presente our R4 d by Ve nom

Team Barratrauma nailed the big fish at the Peter Faust Venom Rods Night Championship, catching a 5/5, 85.10kg to claim the win.

Bridesmaids again Ash Sims and Dan Curry claimed their second top-two result for the tour at the Fast all-nighter with the Team Jackall pair returning to their laydown-laden flat to catch their fish. Using the same tackle and technique that had served them so well in

the event before, Sims and Curry even tried supersized swimbaits in an attempt to generate the big bite needed to win. “We tried fishing big but we just couldn’t get the fish to respond to our lures like some of the teams did, so we stuck with what was working for us,” explained Ash.

Sims and Curry with the spoils of their second place at Peter Faust.

Once again it wasn’t until after dark that the fish came out to play and by 11pm the pair had filled out their limit. “We moved around and tried some other spots. While we had some success, it was our laydown flat that produced better than anywhere else,” added Ash. “Those guys were just on a better class of the fish than anyone else. They found the big ones and they put them in the boat, and they certainly deserved to win, they just dominated at Faust”, explained Sims. The pair’s tackle included an assortment of Millerods and Shimano products with Ash using a 7’ Millerods Control Freak rod, 2500 Shimano Biomaster reel, 15lb Power Pro PE, 30lb Sunline FC 100 fluorocarbon leader, while Dan used a Millerods Beast Freak rod, Shimano Exsence DC reel, 30lb Power Pro PE, and 60lb Sunline FC 100 fluorocarbon leader.

A smiling Ash Sims with another Faust barra.

RESULTS

Troy Dixon holds the Big Barra Prize winning fish from the two-day Faust event.

Place

Team

Angler 1

Angler 2

Fish

TW (kg)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Barratrauma Jackall Zerek FishTec/EJ Todd Lucky Craft/Edge Rods Triton Boats/Edge Rods Venom Lews/Toray Flattop Fishing Lowrance

Peter Laine Ash Sims Luke Mulcahy Craig Griffiths Colin Brett Rick Napier Troy Dixon Mick Thompson Brett Turner Peter Price

Zac Hunt Dan Curry Michael Detenon Karim DeRidder Steve Lill Dustin Sippel Robert Payne Tony Thorley Dean Jackson Greg Thomas

5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 4/5 5/5 4/5 4/5

85.10 69.81 68.80 68.15 67.76 66.55 57.72 55.59 48.18 43.93

For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au DECEMBER 2017

107

Rockhampton Net Free Zone turns it on I planned on doing part two of my app review this month but time pressures and the fact a much better story came along put that idea to rest. I plan to finish the review next month. Speaking of planning – put a marker in your diary to be in Rockhampton for the opening of the barra season. If you are coming from interstate, make sure to drop in to see Bill Sawynok at Infofish and Stephen Pill and the boys at Barra Jacks – they will set you right on how to hook up with a monster. This month I will talk about the bounty

much and I am inclined to agree with them. This seems to be the crux of the negative argument. This ignores completely what the good folk at Rockhampton Regional Council have been aiming for. First and foremost, the plan for the Rockhampton fishery is to create an iconic location where fishers can come and catch big fish. Barramundi aren’t a species that you can catch consistently without some fishing skills, so if you want to catch them, they are there if you put the work in to learn how. That has been the core of the tourism plan – attract fishers who love that big fish experience. That

Bounty and as a result we downgraded the forecast for the event from 400-600 barra to 200-400 barra. As a worker handling the scores at the event, it was probably a good thing that the dirty water eventuated; even though fishers were forced into a smaller area, they still managed 485 barra for the event. Given that almost all the fish from the Garmin Rockhampton Rumble Barra were caught in the centre of town, the fishing has been hot up that way. Many of the fishers that failed to make inroads on the scoreboard were fishers that have performed well in the town region, so the chances were that without the muddy

ROCKY BARRA BOUNTY LINKS crystal-bowl.com.au/rocky-barra-bounty-live-monitoring/ crystal-bowl.com.au/rockhampton-barramundi-live-monitoring/ crystal-bowl.com.au/rockhampton-king-threadfin-live-monitoring/ *The live scoreboard is up at rockybarrabounty.com/scoreboard. experience and how the results should have you thinking of Rockhampton as a key destination if you’re looking for some great fishing memories. In the interests of transparency all our key data is online in an easierto-understand graphical form, and it’s all accurate to the last 24 hours. You can get the data on the Crystal Bowl website. The Rocky Barra Bounty Facebook page is also up. THE NET FREE ZONE AND BARRA BOUNTY 2017 I want to address the

is the yardstick I am using to assess the Bounty and fishing through the year. With that in mind, Rockhampton Regional Council endorsed a voluntary code of practice for fishing in the area, for fishers to voluntarily limit their take of barra and king threadfin to two of each between 60cm and 1m. Rockhampton collectively has taken a long-term view that maintaining the fishery in as good a condition as possible is vital so that visitors have the maximum opportunity to catch big fish

water we may well have exceeded the 600 prediction. In other words, anglers left more than a few fish for visitors come February. TROPHY FISH In an analysis of Facebook post traffic over the years – it’s trophy fish that have dominated the traffic. Big fish equal social love. With that in mind there was plenty of social love to be had for our fishers in 2017. On the barra side of the ledger there were 14 big fish – twice the number that have been caught in the best bounty before this (2013).

Catch mix for barramundi 2015-2017. negative types head on. I am not an advocate for NFZs but I’m also sick of partisan, stupid politics that conveniently ignores reality. Looking through the comments on the Barra Bounty page there were several comments from commercial fishers and others who seemed to expend a lot of energy finding that one golden stat that proved that the Net Free Zone doesn’t work. On that front Queensland Fisheries reported in September that the fishing experience for the average fisher hadn’t improved 108

DECEMBER 2017

and have a good time on the water. To me – that is a pretty progressive view, one I think other councils will adopt as they realise the value of fishing to their locals. Now with that in mind – how do the bounty figures stack up with that plan? CONDITIONS AT THE BOUNTY IN 2017 For the second year running the conditions were less than ideal with a run of fresh water immediately before the event making the river unfishable in town down well past Nerimbera. That section has always been a prime producer in the

The best of the lot was a 1.33m beast that was pulled out in the first hour. The fisher involved, Lou Moore, said he wasn’t even trying. The story goes he we just swimming the lure in the current while helping his mate out, he put his rod in the rod holder and it went off like a rocket. Maybe I should try that more often. On the king threadfin side of the ledger the news was even better. I was reduced to tears by how many trophy fish there were – having watched the decline in the king threadfin fishery in Brisbane, it showed what can be done. All up there were 48

Gavin Gaw with a 1.32m threadfin. king threadfin over 1m – a whopping 24% of the catch. The battle for the biggest thready was intense with the lead changed every few hours. Evan Thompson nailed it on the last day with a 1.32m snorter. The year-

to-date proportion of trophy fish is around 16%, so no matter how you want to look at it, Rockhampton is as good as it gets right now for trophy fish. CATCH MIX One of the markers

had a good spawning this year but it seems that few of those fish have survived. The reasons are unknown at this stage, but it’s not due to any factors caused by people. The catch mix for the bounty has changed a

Figure 2: barramundi catch across the tide day one and two combined. of how the fishery has improved is the proportion of legal fish. There are two main factors that influence this criterion. The first is the fact that less legal fish are being taken out (no nets) and secondly recruits (new barra) from a few years back are reaching maturity. There is a third factor that influences it as well – recent recruitment has been less than successful. This is one we are still ironing out as to what is going on; we

lot in the last three years and now looks close to ideal for visitors to come and experience that ‘big barra feeling’. When it comes to king threadfin, the news is even better – so long as you know how to catch them. We had a couple of king specialists from Brisbane visit this year and even though they had spent next to no time on the Fitzroy previously, they managed to bag a trophy fish each, with one – Lochie Reed

Catch rates for barramundi in the Fitzroy.

– catching the most fish for the event and taking out the Other Species category on the first attempt. AVERAGE LENGTH If the catch mix isn’t clear enough for you, then the next chart will be. Both barramundi and king threadfin catches were on average the largest they have ever been. This is

the recruitment hasn’t been as strong and that’s the period when the most effective fishers have an impact. Figure 1 shows there was reasonable recruitment from 2013-2015, which would have topped up the stocks. This year and last year have not been successful; Last year it was due to poor spawning and this year, even

fish into the system. Overall, the catch rates are down slightly. On the other hand, the catch rate for legal fish is heading into the best of times territory. The legal catch rate of one fish per fisher per day based on annual monitoring is the highest it has ever been. We end the year with 1,456

Fig.1 Barramundi Recruitment in the Fitzroy. the clearest indicator that the nets being removed has had a positive effect as big fish are exactly what the commercial fishers target. While it could be argued that the removal of some of the fishing area distorted the results, the fact this is also true for the annual catch monitoring puts that one to bed. You can verify that via the Crystal Bowl website. For the record, the annual average length is 659mm – 30mm short of the 689mm registered in the Bounty. CATCH RATES The last-ditch effort in the debate over whether or not taking the nets out has had an effect is in catch rates. The figure being used there is the overall catch rates, which are down. By some twist of logic, the nets have supposedly had no effect on catch rates for recreational fishers. I am somewhat in agreement with that statement. A fishery is a balancing equation – fish-in verses fish-out. Wherever there is conflict it’s almost always on the fish-out side of the equation but the fish-in part is equally important. To a degree the fish-in and fish-out equation has been balanced in Rockhampton after a boom from 2007-2009. There are still fish from that period in the system. In recent times however,

though there was a successful spawning, recruits don’t seem to have survived. For this reason, we can expect that the catch rates would be slightly down due to mortality overriding new

barra reported (with some still to process yet) which makes this the best year in the last three for number of fish reported. This year’s bounty was the third best on record for

Lou Moore with his 1.33m barra. legal fish, only bettered by be some absolute horses on 2012 and 2013. In the case of to Rockhampton. While offer for visitors when the king threadfin, the legal catch I won’t hand out maps of season opens in February. I rate was only bettered by where to catch them – again, wouldn’t leave out the king 2015 and many fishers were check in with Bill on what experience, either – they take running the other direction parts of the river are fishing a bit to work out but there are when they found the king well when you visit – I can some great lures made these because only the top 30 tell you that the tide is pretty days that are custom-made places were guaranteed a spot important. If you follow the for threadies. in the Bounty next year, so Bounty online, you will see a We always do our best barra were in high demand. lot more but here is a taste. not to cherry-pick evidence, ONE MORE THING – The chart (Fig. 2) below which means using multiple HAVE SOME CANDY shows the catch across the pieces of evidence where I have a Christmas gift tide. As you can see the early possible. When you look at for those thinking of heading morning low is pretty sweet the catch mix, catch rates

Catch mix for king threadfin 2015-2017.

The daily catch rates for barramundi and king threadfin.

The average length of barramundi and king threadfin exceeded the average length of fish for the last 10 years.

with the catch declining as the tide rises. Look for those sorts of tides and know you can pack up mid-morning. That leaves plenty of time to take the family to the beach. STOP READING, START PACKING The objectives of the local council to create a fishery that will attract fishers to try their hand for big fish are well and truly on track. If the end of this season is anything to go by, there will

for legal fish and additional trophy fish that came out this year, the fishing was as good as it has ever been for big fish. Just remember when you head to Rockhampton, this is a catch and release fishery that is being carefully managed so that everyone can have the best experience possible. Come, have a great time, catch some big fish and go home with a lifetime of memories. Leave the fillets in the water. DECEMBER 2017

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING ZEREK FLAT SHAD PRO

Taking in the revolutionary design features of the original Flat Shad, the Flat Shad Pro comes with a series of innovations to make these lures even more amazing. The Flat Shad Pro is a softer TPE material. This softer material allows the lure to swim at slower speeds with lighter weight jigheads. The weedless worm hook has been constructed with a little less weight, as the softer material does not need as much weight to get the lure drifting through the water column attractively. There is also a stinger attachment loop moulded into the hook’s lead belly weight, which is prefect for attaching a belly stinger hook or tying a longer assist style hook to. You can also attach a small blade to provide extra flash. Available in the 7, 5, 4.5 and 3.5” versions and 5 colours, the Flat Shad Pro make an already unbelievably successful lure even more successful. www.wilsonfishing.com

VIKING PROFISH 35

The Profish 35 is a compact fishing kayak designed with lure fishing in mind. The shorter 3.5m length offers excellent manoeuvrability while hull shape delivers great load capacity and stability. This is a kayak for juniors and adults alike, and the large central storage well offers ample room for tackle and other essential gear. The removable lid provides security and easy access, and also makes an excellent mounting surface for electronics. The flush rod holders are within comfortable reach for larger and smaller paddlers, and the rear well offers ample storage for both fresh and salt water anglers. Users can expect great stability, even when fully loaded. Large central well storage and lid Perfect rear storage well for easy access 4 x flush mount rod holders Paddle holder 2 x The Viking Profish 35 comes in four colors: Kiwi (green and black), Lava (red and black), Storm (white and black) and Daybreak (blue, white and yellow). www.vikingkayak.com.au

NEMO DAGGER 2-PERSON TENT

Now that spring has finally sprung, we can all rejoice that Australia’s glorious camping season is now open! Introducing the Nemo Dagger, a two-person tent built for ultra-light backpacking, that also offers interior dimensions that rival anything else on the market in this category. Thanks to the higher positioned pole hubs the Dagger has more interior space than any other on the market, thankfully making cabin fever a problem of the past. The Dagger’s trapezoidal fly design creates an additional 2.1 square-metre area on each side for storing gear outside of your sleeping quarters, making for a more comfortable night sleep amongst the stars. Camp in sheer comfort in the season ahead with the freshest and most innovative outdoor equipment on the planet. The Nemo Dagger will be your true camp companion this season and many more to come. Price: RRP $699.95 www.paddypallin.com.au 110

DECEMBER 2017

PRODUCT GUIDE

SAMAKI SALTWATER 4 BARRA SHIRT Samaki’s Saltwater Barra long sleeve shirt brings you one of Australia’s most iconic fish species. Her almighty beauty is so prominent you’ll want to take a moment to admire each and every scale as she launches from the depths to attack the Samaki Vibelicious. With that elusive island in the background, stunning weather, copious amounts of bait and detailed rockery the Saltwater Barra is every angler’s dream come true. The lightweight fabric is perfect for all outdoor elements, protecting you from the harsh sunrays with our UV50+ resistant technology, the soft touch 100% polyester material is comfortable on the body plus has the added feature of being breathable keeping you cool and dry. Saltwater Barra shirts are available in adult, youth and kids sizes from a size 2 through to a 5XL allowing the whole family to get in on the action and out onto the water. Price: RRP $59.95 (adults), $49.95 (kids) www.samaki.com.au

DAIWA TOURNAMENT 5 ISO 6000 Daiwa has created the ultimate compact size surf spin reel with the release of the new Tournament ISO 6000. These little beauties are rugged yet refined, which is what makes an absolutely perfect modern surf or rock fishing reel for the modern surf or rock angler. Daiwa’s technologically advanced hybrid material, Zaion, is the basis for the rocksolid frame. Zaion is light, strong and resists corrosion, and far exceeds the strength of traditional reel body materials such as magnesium and alloy in a strength per unit weight comparison. Because of this, the ISO 6000 will be able to handle the harsh punishment that surf and rock fishing is well known for, meaning that these machines will last you many fishing session and hopefully, trophy fish. If you’re a serious rock or surf angler, you’d be mad not to add this incredibly modern and hardy reel to your kit. www.daiwafishing.com.au

GAMAKATSU SABIKI RIGS

Gamakatsu has introduced three new versions of is popular sabiki rigs, which let you catch a whole school of live bait at once. Each hook is rigged with an extremely durable, high grade latex attractant. This mimics small bait and prawns as the angler twitches and jerks to tempt the most wary baitfish. These sabikis are especially hot for catching slimies and yakkas, and can also be used for herring and mullet. Every component of the rig is top-ofthe-line, and hand assembled for maximum durability so you can use them over and over. The S150 model (size 3-9) has a UV-coated hook which mimics the ‘glow’ of plankton, prawns and squid in the dark depths. The SS203 model (size 3-9) is designed to naturally absorb sunshine and mimic the organic bioluminescent process and glow in deep, dark water. The S523 (size 5-8) is fitted with a UV glow bead as an added bait-luring addition to its lifelike pink shrimp jacket. Price: from SRP $10.95 www.gamakatsu.com.au

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING BALISTA SMOKE 65

RAPALA R-TYPE SPIN

AQUAYAK OUTRIGGER KIT

There is one thing we all have in common; we need to keep food cold. Whether it is the ice in our coolers when camping, fishing or just at a family BBQ, or the freezer in your home. There now exists a product that is the first of its kind to give you the block or volume needed to hold cold longer. Introducing the Kooler Kube. The Kooler Kube was developed to be used in combination with KoolerGel to give you the ultimate cooling source, and it can be used with or without ice. The temperatures can range from 0º to -30º Celsius depending on the freezer, and will freeze down much lower but, average domestic freezers are -16 to -24. It’s also reusable and refreezable and can last for years. Keep your food colder for longer with Kooler Kube! www.koolergel.com.au

The fear of ending up in the water rather than staying on top of the water is a big reason why many people shy away from using a kayak. You can go a long way to avoiding this by adding a Aquayak Outrigger kit to your kayak. It is simple to install and can be used on all types of kayaks, and will put an end to the fear of falling off your kayak while out on the water. Once the kit is attached it will make your kayak much more stable and safer for people of all ages to get out on the water, and see how much fun getting out in a kayak can be. The Outrigger kit will even allow you to stand up in some kayaks, which will make for a much more enjoyable fishing experience. This kit is reasonabley priced, and can be delivered to your door. For more information, specs and photos, visit the Aquayak website or look them up on Facebook. Price: RRP $245 www.aquayak.com

ZEST SHOVELHEAD JIGS

VALLEY HILL JUNGLE RAPPER

There are hundreds of deep diving hardbodied lures on the market, but not one of them is anything like the new Smoke 65. The team at Balista Lures found that the action on other deep diving hardbodied lures was either too wide and slow, or too tight and fast. They spent three years meticulously refining the action to have a specific combination of action and roll. A lure with a rolling action mimics a baitfish more closely and hence makes a huge difference in fish catching ability. The Smoke 65 also features their revolutionary LED technology, which is a water activated flashing red LED. This technology has been proven to be noticeably effective in dirty water, low light conditions and after dark. Other features include an internal rattle, UV paints, proven colour patterns and BKK ultra sharp and tough trebles. They are proven to be highly effective on mangrove jacks, barramundi, bass, golden perch, Murray cod, redfin, flathead and many more. www.balista.com.au

KOOLER KUBE

The superb new Shovelhead Jigs are a magnificent jig for jigging shallower water, when smaller baitfish are being targeted, and when a more finesse approach is needed. The Shovelhead Jig features one side that is scalloped out and an opposite side that is rounded, which makes this jig really move and flutter through the water. The Shovelhead Jig is 160mm long and weighs 125g, and it is rigged with the weight at the tail, which helps the jig get down. It also features a holographic finish on one side and a mirror finish on the opposite. The Shovelhead Jig is available in four natural baitfish colours. It comes pre-rigged with quality Mustad Assist hooks that feature 200lb Kevlar heat shrunk with quality split rings and solid rings. These lures are outstanding on kingfish, amberjack, samsonfish and reef species. www.jurofishing.com

Recently we saw the release of the new concept Rapala R-Type Saltwater Spinning Reel. Rapala engineers have developed the R-Type spinning reel for hard-core saltwater anglers, with large drags, large capacities and quality componentry, guaranteed not to let you down when that trophy fish latches on and goes hell for leather. Rapala R-Type reels feature a full alloy body and rotor, ported ‘braid ready’ alloy spool with shielded drag, high drag output, CNC screw into gear handle arm, infinite anti reverse, six stainless steel bearings, left/right hand wind, and Ti line roller. The R-Type reels have everything to ensure you get the most out of each reel. All models feature a 4.9:1 gear ratio and deep spools and are available in 5500, 6500 and 7500 sizes with drag ratings of 7.7kg, 16.8kg and a whopping 17.75kg respectively. Rapala have an R-Type reel to suit every kind of hard-core saltwater angler. www.rapala.com.au

Japanese Tackle Giant Valley Hill consistently produces some of the world’s best bass lures, and the Jungle Rapper is no exception. With a nice profile and seven enticing colour combinations, the Jungle Rapper has only been available in Australia for a short time, however it has already been the undoing of many big bass. Ideal for casting in any situation, the Jungle Rapper emits a popping sound along the surface which bass simply can’t resist. In addition, the left and right wings ensure a good level of casting and retrieval control in windy and choppy conditions. Even at rest, bass have been known to hit a Jungle Rapper out of curiosity. Measuring 70mm and weighing in at 11g, and with all the quality and durability we have come to expect from Valley Hill, the Jungle Rapper is a must-have for all serious freshwater anglers. For more information on the Valley Hill range, visit the Dogtooth website. www.dogtoothdistribution.com.au

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

111

WHAT’S NEW FISHING OKUMA HELIOS SPIN

TANGO SHAD NEW 13 COLOURS

The new Helios Spin from Okuma boasts an ultralight build with a heavyweight performance, the sort of top end performance perfect for tournament anglers and hardcore fishers alike. The Helios is made from lightweight C-40X carbon frame and side plates, and C-40X Cyclonic Flow Rotor for corrosion resistance. The Torsion Control Armor reduces twisting, and the 8HPB + 1RB corrosion resistant stainless steel bearings will ensure this reel is smooth and comfortable to use for long periods. Precision AlumiLite alloy main gear and oscillating gears, as well as rigid, machined aluminium, anodised handle serve to help this reel last many battles. To finish, it has lightweight, EVA handle knobs for comfort, machined aluminium, 2-tone anodised spool, heavy-duty solid aluminium bail wire, and a computer-balanced Rotor Equalizing System. This fantastic piece of machinery comes in 3 sizes, the HSX-20, HSX-30 and HSX-40, weighing in at 201, 227 and 260g respectively. www.tackletactics.com.au

OBSESSION SPINNERBAITS

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14 15

Gamakatsu are proud to present a hook purpose-built for hard-core game fishing. This handsome forged steel hook is super heavy-duty, and designed to handle big game fish species. The sleek blade tapers into a knife point edge and will penetrate with absolute surgical precision, and will find home for a solid hook up. Gama’s new Tuna Blade Point fits into trolling skirts, can be stitched into baits and is also an excellent stiff rig hook, making this an extremely versatile bit of kit. It’s the ideal tool whether you are fishing for records or are a weekend game angler. This great hook comes in sizes from 7/0 to 10/0, and is razor sharp out of the packet. Make sure you’ve got some packets of these next time you’re planning to hit the big blue in search of big angry game fish! Price: RRP from $43.95 www.frogleysoffshore.com.au

EGINNO PYONPYON 15 HALCO LASER SEARCH 3.5 The Eginno Pyonpyon Search 3.5 is the PRO 140

latest addition to Yamashita’s range of squid jigs. The Pyonpyon (‘pyon pyon’ means ‘jump jump’) has a number of unique features. The first big feature is the Eginno Lip, a unique folding front flap which closes on the cast for improved casting distance, and opens on the retrieve. The flap creates a unique water resistance, very similar to a prawn swimming. Eginno Leg Feathersplaced along the belly create a natural fluttering action, similar to the way a swimming prawn’s legs move. The combination of the water resistance created by the lip and the position of the feathers creates an enticing swimming action. The body is also equipped with a tuned 600hz rattle, designed to replicate the sound of feeding and help attract interest from surrounding squid. Yamashita have used 490 glow beads – designed to emit light at the best wavelength for squid to see – and placed them inside the body of the jig for a unique glow effect. www.ejtodd.com.au

The incredibly popular and successful Zerek Tango Shad has had five new colours added to its 50mm, floating range, a design that has proven itself on many species. These five colours are all UV active – some with a lot of UV and others with smaller UV highlights. Each colour has been chosen for its effectiveness in different water colours and clarities, and thorough testing has ensured these colours are fish producers. The five colours are: A (albino) – a primarily white lure with UV coloured pink and green dots, G (So Much) – a black lure with UV pink tiger stripes and head, HD (Horn Dog) – a bright UV pink lure with UV green dots and white dots, MD (Moon Dog) – A black lure with UV pink and green dots, and SCD (Scum Dog) – A UV Green with UV pink dots and black dots. The colours are available now and they are already producing fish such as flathead, bream, estuary perch, trout and redfin. www.wilsonfishing.com

GAMAKATSU TUNA 14 BLADE POINT

Australian-made Obsession Spinnerbaits are the brainchild of Raymond Parry. He has translated his passion for fishing with spinnerbaits into making them for other anglers. He produces a large range of quality products to target our native species, and his spinnerbaits are no exception. Available in three sizes, 3/8oz, 1/2oz and 3/4oz, Obsession Spinnerbaits come in either a double or triple blade configuration. Couple that with nine head colour options and their hot tip or turbo-flared skirt colours, and there is bound to be a combination to suit your needs or the native fish that you are targeting. To find out more about Obsession Spinnerbaits you can contact Ray on 0428 462 397, or to find your nearest stockist go to the Obsession website. www.obsessionspinnerbaits.com

PRODUCT GUIDE

The Laser Pro family got a new member with the official launch of the Laser Pro 140 being released in late April. While taking considerable time to come to market, the boys at Halco believe the Laser Pro 140 will be well worth the wait. At 140mm long, it is just a perfect baitfish size, allowing anglers to closely match the hatch. The lure is ranged in all of Halco’s most popular bluewater colours, for the best possible chance of taking that fish of a lifetime. Initially, the Laser Pro 140 will only be available with a deep diving bib that runs at around 2.5m and trolls at up to 9 knots. Keep an eye out for the new Laser Pro 140 at your favourite tackle store. You can also find more information on the Halco Tackle website, like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HalcoTackle, or follow them on Instagram @halcotackle. www.halcotackle.com

18 visit www.tacklejunkie.fish for the latest tackle news - AS IT HAPPENS!

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

Find your obsession with Obsession Spinnerbaits I love testing products for the magazines, it gives me an opportunity to play with lots of new things and use products that I would otherwise never get the chance to. Then there are occasions like this. Anybody who knows me will know that one of my favourite ways to target Australian native species is with spinnerbaits. Hence, a chance meeting with Raymond Parry from Obsession Spinnerbaits at this years Melbourne Boat Show and then again at the Australian Lure Expo has led to me testing some of his spinnerbaits. If the truth is to be known, I wasn’t going to let anyone else do this testing booth, I claimed it for myself. I spent a bit of time with Raymond at the Lure Expo going through his range of products and picking out a few to try. I have to say that this was not as easy as it may sound. Ray’s range is quite expansive and I wanted to ensure that I gave the best overview I can. Needless to say, Ray was generous with his time and products and

The Obsession Hot Baits are a lure the author is keen to explore further. It offers anglers many different options. after purchasing a few extras just to make sure I was thorough, I then went about trying them for about six months. I will do my best to explain the outcome. BIGGER IS BETTER There is a huge demand for large-profile heavy spinnerbaits at the moment. Anglers are casting and trolling them for Murray cod and golden perch. There are plenty of suitable lures within the Obsession range, from single spins all the way through to quad spins and depending on the model, they are available in weights up to 3.5oz. The concept behind them is bigger baits catch bigger fish. I put a number of the quad, twin and single spins to the test at Lake Eildon. It is mind-boggling how big a profile these lures present, as well as the options they open up. I comfortably fished steep walls knowing that my lure was following the contour of the bank back to me. Trolling the same areas prospecting for fish was the real eye opener for me. We targeted fish around sunken timber in 20-30 feet of water, and I can guarantee that any fish in the area knew the lure was there. The feedback from the lure through the rod was amazing. I would love to say that we came a away from a few days fishing with tales of huge fish caught or stories about fish that

got away, but poor weather and colder than normal water temperatures meant I was sent back to Queensland with my tail between my legs. However, after casting each of the Obsession spinnerbaits so many times over those days and fishing with a person who also produces spinnerbaits, my conclusion on these larger baits is that they cast amazingly well using the right tackle. They have a strong action and my fishing buddy was impressed by the components used by Ray to make his spinnerbaits, so I have no doubts that if a big fish had jumped on, the spinnerbaits would have been up to the task. I look forward to having further opportunities to use them. SMALLER PROFILE OPTIONS Queensland impoundment bass have a thirst for quality spinnerbaits and the size of the fish demands strength in construction. Smaller and generally lighter options are preferred to cast around any edge structure. Ray explained to me that he was slowly building up his range to suit this. There have always been spinnerbaits to suit, but he was adding single spins and mini baits that would also be ideal for this caper. Maroon Dam is a great little impoundment that holds plenty of fish and is one of my favourite places to throw spinnerbaits. The structure you can fish varies from weed to timber and rock walls, and a spinnerbait is the ideal lure to use around these. I haven’t fished a lot of single spin spinnerbaits, so I decided to tie one of these on first and was instantly rewarded. A number of bass and an over-sized golden perch (for Maroon) hit the deck. You cannot help but be impressed with the simplicity that a single bladed spinnerbait offers. The Colorado blade instantly spins once in the water and puts out plenty of vibration and flash. Match this with the number of skirt options (Hot tip and Turbo flared) and head colours in the Obsession range and I am sure you find a colour to suit your needs. I stuck with natural goldbased colours and was very happy. WAIT, THERE’S MORE The range of options doesn’t end there. You will also find Clackerbaits, Mumblers and Hotbaits on the Obsession Spinnerbait website. The Clackerbaits are an interesting

The author hadn’t used single bladed spinnerbaits much before. He is now a convert after getting this 56cm golden perch the first time he used one. lure and can be fished either on the surface or below, depending on the speed of the retrieve. Although I played with it them at Maroon, I had missed the prime bite period for this style of fishing, but they certainly create plenty of commotion in the water to get the fishes’ attention. The lure I really want to mention here and one that I will need to put more time into are the Hotbaits.

Although designed to target redfin and golden perch, switched on trout anglers have seen potential in this lure and I firmly believe that flathead in the saltwater will climb all over them. I have retrofitted a larger inline single hook to the one I have for flathead,

Large profile spinnerbaits are a must have for any Murray cod angler and Obsession Spinnerbaits has a great range to choose from.

LURE STYLES AVAILABLE • Spinnerbaits • Hot Baits • Single Spin • Quad Spin

TESTED

• Clackerbaits • Mini Baits • Twin Spin • Mumblers

All are available in nine head colours and either Hot Tip or Turbo Flared skirts

There was no question that the Maroon Dam bass wanted to eat the Obsession spinnerbaits. This one absolutely inhaled the single spin.

but I can see trout anglers adding some leader to the hook and trailing worms or a yabby behind it while trolling. I love the concept of this lure; I just need a bit more time to play, so watch this space. TRY THEM YOURSELF Ray attends plenty of events selling spinnerbaits and also supports plenty of fishing tournaments in New South Wales and Victoria. He loves a chat and is always open to ideas and feedback. He even runs a metre club promotion through his website. Send a photo of your fish caught on an Obsession Spinnerbait and he will send you two spinnerbaits as a reward. He also has a strong retailer network through which you can buy one of his spinnerbaits. In a nutshell, Obsession Spinnerbaits are well made. Quality components are used and there has been plenty of thought put into what each product in the range is going to be used for, with the end product meeting those needs in my mind. I have been impressed using them so far, but the testing isn’t over – I will need to hang onto these spinnerbaits for a little bit longer! For more info about their range, visit www. obsessionspinnerbaits.com – Peter Jung

DECEMBER 2017

113

Trades, Services, Charter

FIBREGLASS

BAIT & TACKLE GOLD COAST

BEST LURE RANGE ON THE Fishing GOLD COAST

Repairs

• Modifications • Detailing • Repairs JOE BONNICI

0410 480 203

TOP BRANDS • TOP SERVICE • GREAT PRICES

INSIDE SPORTY’S WAREHOUSE

MAIL ORDERS

WELCOME

Strathaird Rd 07 5526 2786 32BUNDALL 4217 QLD SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND

SALES • REPAIRS • INSTALLATIONS

ONSITE AND MOBILE INSTALLATIONS

• Sounders • GPS • Electric Motors • Marine Radios and accessories • Stereos • Televisions • Radar Units • Autopilots Unit 4/1440 New Cleveland Road Capalaba www.trymax.com.au PHONE: 07 3245 3633

SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND

CUSTOM MARINE WELDING & ELECTRICAL Marine and Auto Electricial n All types of Welding n Stainless Steel n Aluminium n Mild Steel n Boats Repaired n Fuel & Water Tanks n Canopies n Bow and Stern Rails n Custom Vehicle Tool Boxes

Shed 1 281 Jacobs Well Road Behind GEM Service Station, Alberton 4207

BOAT HIRE // HOUSE

MARINE ELECTRONICS

Salt-Away www.salt-away.com.au

Tackle Warehouse Brisbane (07) 3398 6500 BCF www.bcf.com.au Davo’s Tackleworld Noosaville (07) 5449 8099 Davo’s Tackleworld Marcoola (07) 5448 8244

MARINE OUTBOARD WRECKERS TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND North Queensland Outboard Wreckers Townsville 1800 812 748

SAMPLE AD - BUSINESS NAME This is where your copy will appear. You will have approximately 50 words within a 5x2 ad size. $320 + GST for 6 months Email nkelly@fishingmonthly.com.au

Phone 3807 7846

GOLD COAST

Mob 0427 142 201 Fax 3807 2468

Great family and fishing boats!

www.custommarinewelding.com.au Bluewater Windscreens Brisbane (07) 3382 7883 ASM Mobile Welding Brisbane 0409 624 402 Marine Windows and Doors Brisbane (07) 3284 5088 Small Craft Electrics (mobile) 0408 063 064 Boat Collar (07) 5441 3636 CMC Marine Sales 0409 910 808 Iconic Boats Brisbane 0475 311 447

+ 50km of sheltered waterways on the Gold Coast’s Broadwater + No Licence required CALL FOR A + Boats from $995 DEAL + 2-12 berth

+ 07 5502 6200 + www.coomerahouseboats.com.au

Brisbane South and Gold Coas t

MARINE ELECTRONICS

NEW

TINNIE HIRE AVAILABLE

FRASER COAST Rainbow Beach Houseboats (07) 5486 3146 Lake Monduran House Boat www.lakemonduranhouseboathire.com.au

BOAT HIRE // TRAILER GOLD COAST Boab Boat Hire - 1300 002 622

BOAT PAINTING BRISBANE Brisbane Boat Painting 0433 356 620

BOAT MODIFICATIONS & REPAIRS

CUSTOM ALLOY FABRICATION • Boat repairs & fitouts • Bait tanks • Transom rebuilds • Fuel tanks • Consoles

FISH TAXIDERMY

MARINE MECHANICS GOLD COAST

Fish Taxidermist www.fishtaxidermy.net.au or 0428 544 841

Whitewater Marine (07) 5532 4402 T&S Marine (07) 5546 2599

SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND Stones Corner Marine (07) 3397 9766 Brisbane Yamaha (07) 3888 1727 Northside Marine (07) 3265 8029 Coorparoo Marine (07) 3397 4141 Capalaba Boat Centre 04011 728 379 Holt Marine (07) 3353 1928 Cunningham Marine Centre (07) 3284 8805 Caloundra Marine (07) 5491 1944

NORTH QUEENSLAND

Reef Marine Mackay (07) 4957 3521

MARINE MECHANICS // MOBILE WYNUMM MANLY-BAYSIDE Wondall Rd Marine (07) 3396 5633

Gary’s Marine Centre

OVER 20 YEARS FABRICATING AND WELDING ALUMINIUM

FISHING GUIDES SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND Suncoast Barra Fishing Park www.suncoastbarrafishing.com

CENTRAL QUEENSLAND Lake Monduran Barra Charters 0407 434 446

TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND Hooked On Hinchinbrook www.hookedonhinchinbrook.com

MARINE TRIMMERS SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND Rowland Street Boat Trimmers Springwood (07) 3208 9511 Brisbane Yamaha (07) 3888 1727 Rays Canvas & Marine Caboolture (07) 5499 4911 Affordable Boat Covers Gold Coast 0419 424 587

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION BRISBANE

FOR RENT: Holiday House on Karragarra Island

CUSTOM TRANSOMS 20-75hp $750 75-150hp $890 150-225hp $980 Freight can be arranged Australia wide

PROFISH BOATS – Phone Peter 0417 782 114 Email: peter@profishboats.com www.profishboats.com

3201 6232

• Pet friendly and peaceful • Fish n Crab from in front of the house • Complimentary bikes & kayaks for you to use

in beautiful Moreton Bay

217 Pine Mountain Road, BRASSALL MARINE TRAILERS Oceanic Boat Trailers (07) 5597 0577 Spitfire Trailers (07) 0400 866 323 Tinnie Tosser (07) 5498 7339 Sea-Link Special Trailers (07) 3881 3568

Rent for $150 per night minimum 2 nights, sleeps 6 Phone Kevin 0457 778 097 or go to Stayz property No. 182473 for more photos and information

This section in QLD 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. 114

DECEMBER 2017

Boats & Guided Fishing Tours Directory HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND The Islander Retreat, South Stradbroke Island 0420 967 557

FRASER ISLAND Apurla Island Retreat 0437 739 121 Waddy Lodge on Fraser 0414 516 364 Cathedrals on Fraser (07) 4127 9177 Fraser Island Beach Houses 1800 626 230 Yidney Rocks (07) 4127 9167 Eurong Beach Resort 1800 111 808

CENTRAL QUEENSLAND Baffle Creek Holiday House 0419 624 833

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION COOKTOWN

Dave Gaden’s Yamba • Deep Sea

REEL TIME FISHING CHARTERS

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

Phone Dave today: www.fishingyamba.com.au 0428 231 962 OPEN 7 DAYS

EASY PARKING

River of Gold Motel Plenty of room for boats and trailers PH: 4069 5222

NEW 2018 MODEL!

MACKAY BEL AIR MOTEL, MACKAY - PLENTY OF ROOM FOR BOATS AND TRAILERS.............PH: 07 4957 3658 FRESHWATER Yallakool Caravan Park on Bjelke-Petersen Dam (07) 4168 4746 Lake Boondooma Caravan Park (07) 4168 9694 Lake Cressbrook Regional Council 131 872 Yallakool Park and Kiosk on Bjelke-Petersen Dam (07) 4168 4746

CHARTER BOATS GOLD COAST True Blue Fishing Gold Coast (07) 5510 9622 BK’s Gold Coast Fishing Charters 0414 293 034 My Charter Boat Tweed Heads 0407 347 446 RU4 Reel Tweed Heads 0449 903 366 Discovery Fishing Charters Gold Coast 0427 026 519 Fish The Deep Charters 0416 224 412 Paradise Fishing Charters 0403 531 428 Gold Coast Fishing Charters 0411 605 090 Hooker 1 Charters Gold Coast (07) 5528 6469 Sea Probe Fishing Charters 0400 312 330 Coastal Sports Fishing Charters Gold Coast 0412 691 929 Gone Fishing Charters Gold Coast (07) 5529 7833

BRISBANE Frenzy Charters Brisbane (07) 3209 4576 Big Cat Charters and Tom Cat Charters 0433 430 248 Moreton Island Fishing Charters 0413 128 056 Brisbane Fishing Charters 0427 026 510 Bucket List Fishing Charters 0428 368 316 John Gooding Outlaw Charters 0418 738 750

SUNSHINE COAST Keely Rose Deep Sea Fishing Charters 0407 146 151 Odyssey Charters Deep Sea Fishing (07) 5478 1109 Rainbow Beach Fishing Charters 0439 775 070 Smithy’s Fishing Charters Sunshine Coast 0407 574 868 Top Catch Charters Sunshine Coast 0429 013 012 Fish n Crab Charters Mooloolaba 0412 155 814 Offshore Reef and Game Fishing 0413 485 402 Sunshine Coast Fishing Charters (07) 5500 0671 Fishing Offshore Noosa 0418 889 956 Noosa Fishing Charters (07) 5665 8170 Hervey Bay Fishing Charters (07) 4125 3958 Incredible Charters 1300 655 818

NORTHERN NSW

MARINA BOAT & TACKLE, YAMBA MARINA

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

769

echoMAP CHIRP 65cv PLUS ClearVüTM Combo

Now Agents For

HERVEY BAY

Fully Guided Lure & Fly Fishing •

BORN AND BRED LOCAL GUIDE

• 5.5m Custom sportsfishing Vessel • 4.4m Estuary Sportsfishing Vessel • Quality Fishing Gear Supplied

www.herveybaysportfishing.com.au

Andrew Chorley

0407 627 852

CENTRAL QUEENSLAND

LED 149 Series Trailer Lamp Set With Number Plate Lamp

Bite Me Fishing Charters Yeppoon 0419 029 397

Fishermans Fold Down Seat

•Grey/Charcoal •Grey/White •Blue/White •Camouflage

99 PAIR

Ultimate Sportfishing Charters 0450 753 726 MV Capricorn Star 0408 755 201 Mikat Cruises Fishing Charters 0427 125 727 Bundaberg Fishing Charters 0429 017 217 Sport Fish 1770 (07) 4974 9686 Coral Coast Game Fishing 0447 347 437 Norval Reef Charters 1800 771 234 Iluka Fishing Charters Gladstone 0414 940 911 Kanimbla Charters Gladstone1800 677 202

TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND Eclipse FNQ Weipa Charters 0488 058 668 Fish’s Fly & Sportsfishing Weipa (07) 4069 9957 Action Charters Mackay 0417 452 346

Offshore 150N Manual Inflatable PFD

STORES

CELEBRATING

WIDE

YEARS

AUSTRALIA

Fishing Charters Townsville 0403 386 722 JC’s Fishing Charters 0438 753 382 Fairdinkum Fishing Charters Townsville (07) 4751 5324

Wooli Fishing Charter (02) 6649 7100

Cairns Reef Charter Services 1800 119 044

Evans Head Deep Sea Fishing Charters 0428 828 835 Reel Time Fishing Charters Yamba 0428 231 962

Cairns Charter Boat 0427 533 081

www.bargainboatbits.com.au

Cairns Fishing Charters 0427 400 027

Advertisers wanting to be involved in this directory can call (07) 3387 0834 or email nkelly@fishingmonthly.com.au DECEMBER 2017

115

Offshore blunders BRISBANE

The Sheik of the Creek

I have to say that offshore fishing is not for the fainthearted. Not in this part of the world anyway where, ‘going out’ can mean anything from 2-200km of bone-shaking travel. Everyone who dabbles in reefies knows the feeling of watching the weather in the lead up to a planned trip out. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday Friday… five knots. Saturday… 200 knots. But you’ve already taken out the overdraft and rung the bank to clear funds for bait and fuel, the calendar has been cleared of weddings, baptisms or funerals and you’ve managed to convince the Minister for Obstreperous Obstructionism that this wedding anniversary is not an important one. Furthermore, there are no football, cricket or Miss Universe finals to be decided. None of the children, grandchildren or assorted parasites have ballet, sport or debating appointments intrastate to be ferried to on this particular weekend either. It’s open.

Those of us who face this sphincter-clenching balancing act know that this opportunity is about as common as a giant uncommon thing and needs to be acted on whatever the obstacles, and can’t be derailed by a speedbump as paltry as wind or swell. Go out we must. So we put the boat in at the ramp. The availability of parking spots is always the first indication that it’s going to be rougher than the Stanage road on a ride-on. It’s already 3am and there are empty spots within half a mile of the ramp. That’s a worry The first glimpse of the open sea confirms your fears. Even the whitecaps have whitecaps. This is where you decide what spot you’re going to fish. Your decision can be measured orthopedically. The further and better marks are knee and neck reconstructions; the closer ones are mere deep tissue bruising and occasional niggling elbow dislocations and rotator cuffs. So you go with the nearer marks, reasoning that you can always go onto the further marks if there’s no joy closer in. Of course, by the time you get to the first

mark, everyone is grinning like Clint Eastwood after being shot in the groin but no one wants to be the quitter. It’s decided after dropping down on that spot that a single 15cm grassy has everyone satisfied, and the trip’s been a massive success, and it’s now time to head for home. No one says much on the way back probably because there’s a real risk of biting your tongue off when a little nasty wave catches the boat in the guts. Bait is discarded with ferocity to the scavenging seabirds, boat loaded, and everyone goes home. Some subliminal memory alerts your wife to the fact that it would be painful to ask how the trip went, so she gets maximum joy by waiting until there are no distractions before enquiring. As you mutter some reply under your breath, you chug your beer and tell her you’re going to bed, and you’re sleeping in the spare room, ‘so you don’t disturb her.’ You know that she knows that this is code for “I’m so bloody sore I’m not going to be able to do anything more strenuous than brush my teeth for three weeks”.

“Go ahead, make my lunch.” And you wonder about the little smile that plays around her face, and wonder whether she had

masterminded the whole trip just to get that outcome. No. Surely she couldn’t be that devious. As you drop into

unconsciousness, you don’t see her pull out the yearly planner with an evil snigger. You dream of coral trout.

Hard Korr great gift ideas BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Hard Korr always surprise me with the ingenuity of some of their products. Very useful electrical products are the norm and this month – just in time for Christmas – there are a couple of real beauties on offer.

a solar controller, 5m of cable with bullet point connections plus a 1m battery connection cable with alligator clamps. The panel (monocrystalline silicon) has a maximum output of 840 mA and is designed to operate in temperatures from -20 to 80°C, which is going to survive our Queenlsand climate with ease. The highly portable and easy to assemble unit is designed to trickle charge 12V

to boat, car, caravan batteries or virtually any stationary battery that might be in need of continuous charging for best service. Think of the poor old electric motor battery up front of a boat. How often do we give it a charge up after a fishing trip then leave it sit for quite a while hoping of course that it will be in tip top shape for next use. Sadly this is not always the case as a lot of us have found out. Deep cycle batteries need to be kept fully charged for best life and the Hard Korr unit can fill the bill nicely. As an exercise, I set up a test unit on my own boat – it was child’s play to connect the bullet point fittings – and even with the sun obscured by cloud

cover there was sufficient charge output from the unit to set the controller flashing to indicate that charging was taking place. With a very realistic warranty, and a modest price of only $129, this trickle charge unit is the original gift that keeps on giving, in the form of solar powered electricity! HARD KORR UNILIGHT Korr are promoting their little Unilight as the most versatile light ever made, and after seeing one in action I’m inclined to agree. With a weight of only 85g, and well and truly small enough to fit into the palm of the hand, this neat, rounded light about the size of half an orange takes lighting portability to a

The light on the left indicates that the solar controller is doing its job. THE 15W TRICKLE CHARGE SOLAR PANEL KIT Complete with a 5-year warranty, the Trickle Charge Solar Panel kit consists of a 270mm x 450mm ultra thin and extremely light panel, 116

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batteries of AGM, gel, wet or calcium construction, so it’s certainly quite versatile. The kit is designed to keep charged batteries in tip top condition by keeping them topped up when not in use. It’s brilliant for connecting

The Unilight in action set up here on a tackle box with its elastic strap holding it in place.

The entire 15W solar charge kit. The gift that keeps on giving whole new level. The potential seems to be endless; name the job and the Unilight can handle the task, given its high output of 100 lumens of light (at maximum) or a conservative 50 lumens in conservation mode of its three AAA batteries. Default light output is white, but there is also, at the touch of a button, a handy orange to chase away the insects, as both white and orange LEDs are present in the unit.

The Unilight can also be set to a flash setting in Strobe Orange mode as a warning or attraction device. Mounting the light is simple thanks to both an elastic strap, plus an inbuilt magnet on the actual light itself. The Unilight is great value for money at $29.99 each or $99 for a four pack. For more information about these products, or any others in their range, visit www.korrlighting.com.au.

boats & kayaks

In the skipper’s seat

Inside story...

The owner of Sea Adex, Adam, lives and works in the Bayside area of Moreton Bay, Brisbane, Queensland – the gateway to endless fishing sports and water activities. As a family man, Adam has always valued safety and ride with their boats. Having spent the last five years with prototypes, continual development and many hours with their Naval Architect – the 45, 55 and 65 Armour Boat range was born.

Made for...

Sea Adex are committed to offering you the best customised solution to suit your individual needs.

This month...

Gary Brown hires out a Sea Adex 6.5m Armour Hard Top from Finz Boat Hire in Sydney. Check it out on page 126.

118 Storage solutions

Justin WIllmer explains how kayak storage is not an issue to be sniffed at, and provides some ideas.

122 Quintrex’s new Outback Explorer series Wayne Kampe examines the newest boats from the Quintrex stable, both on and off the water.

121 Polycraft 4.1 Challenger - 14 years on Jason Medcalf finally reviews his beloved boat, 14 years after buying it. This thing is invincible!

DECEMBER 2017

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Solutions for storing your kayak at home BRISBANE

Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

Fingers-crossed you have been doing a bit more fishing than me over the last month. With only a couple of short bream and flathead sessions under my belt I am keen to get the yaks on the water more throughout December. Some extreme weather put a dampener on fishing plans, along with the building of a new shed, however I made the most of the downtime and did some kayak and tackle maintenance, while also sorting out both kayak and kayak accessory storage in my new shed. It’s definitely true that the easier it is to access and load your gear, the more likely you are to get out on the water and catch a few. My aim with the new shed was for everything to be easily located, easily accessed and also easily returned to its home when I return from a fishing trip. After more than a year of using a small, crowded shed and bits and pieces in crates everywhere, here’s a rundown on how our kayaks and accessories are now organised. I hope it inspires you to look at storage options for your kit. VERTICAL KAYAK STORAGE My parents, ‘the grey

nomads,’ are in their 70s and still love their kayak fishing. They paddle Malibu Mini-X kayaks that measure about 2.7m long. The 3m high walls on the shed allow for vertical storage against the rear wall. The two kayaks can be stored out of the way easily and the storage system I have used allows me to simply unclip a strap that secures them to the wall and lower them to the floor when I know my parents are visiting and will be heading out for a fish. I took a set of Railblaza StarPort Wall Slings and mounted the StarPort mounts on the shed frame, inserting a small block of timber into the wall frame to ensure the

mounting was both strong and secure. In terms of placement, the crossbeam of the shed frame was about 1.5m from the floor, which worked out perfect, as it meant that the strap would be slightly above the halfway point of the vertical kayak, making this system more secure and stable. As my folks hadn’t dropped their kayaks off, I simply used two other kayaks that I had handy, while noting that their kayaks were around 85cm wide – I had to ensure I had adequate space for both to fit. The two StarPorts were mounted on the shed frame about 90cm apart, to ensure the two kayaks would sit snugly together and assist in supporting each other, with

The kit crate is loaded, ready to grab and go for any kayak adventure.

Top: A block of wood inside the wall frame makes for a solid and strong fixing. Above: The eye of the Railblaza StarPort Wall Sling close up. 118

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Horizontal kayak storage is sorted thanks to the Sea to Summit Aquaracks. Aquaracks support the cockpit section of the kayak, rather than the ends where they can cause the kayak to bend.

at least 45cm clearance on the other side of each mount. I adjusted the Railblaza StarPort Wall Sling slightly so that the StarPort and eye were in the centre of the strap. Then I tied a knot in the strap around the eye so that the strap didn’t slide through the eye that’s locked into the StarPort mounted on the wall frame. This in turn ensured that the kayaks remained centred in position. Then it’s simply a matter of adjusting the strap length so that the strap is tight around the kayak when it is stood on its tail and positioned in place. It’s as easy as sliding the kayak into position, standing it up against the wall, hugging the kayak to grab the two strap ends that are hanging down from the StarPort and eye, and then bringing them around the kayak and clipping them together. To release the kayaks, simply hold a hand on it to keep it sturdy, unclip the StarPort Wall Sling and lower the kayak to the floor. Vertical storage sorted. HORIZONTAL STORAGE Kayak length and available height can often restrict the ability to stand

kayaks vertically and this is where horizontal storage comes into play. With an 11ft paddle kayak (and hoping to add a 12’ paddle kayak to the family) I ensured that one long wall of the new shed had no roller doors, allowing plenty of hanging space. Measuring the wall, I allowed half a foot clearance from the roll of the roller door when rolled up and at its largest, as well as enough height off the floor to park the trailer and boat beneath the hanging kayaks. It’s important to remember to measure twice and cut or drill once, to avoid the additional holes that I have in my shed frame. The Aquaracks from Sea

to Summit have been great and I simply unscrewed them at the old house and moved them across to the new shed. They are excellent quality, inexpensive, simple to install, have a capacity of 80kg and are padded to avoid damage to your chosen vessel. When installing them I ensure I have vertical clearance for both kayaks, install the lower set first and then clamp the second set on the wall above, adjusting them to allow both kayaks to be lifted in and out easily prior to fixing them in place. If you don’t want to park or store anything else below them along the wall then you can comfortably hang

Robo Cup is a storage solution for many hardto-store items like these landing nets.

three kayaks on a wall of this height. As I was fixing into the steel shed frame, I again inserted a piece of timber into the frame, clamped it in place and then drilled and screwed the racks in place to ensure a solid and strong fixing. That done, I had two kayaks wall-mounted, out of the way and easily accessed when required. If you have limited room out from the wall then Railblaza StarPort Wall Slings, used earlier for vertical storage, are designed to hang a kayak flush against the wall and are another quality, affordable and simple-to-install option. OTHER OPTIONS My larger pedal kayak is currently stored on the floor, however I am looking to add either a hoist system or a kayak stand on wheels. There are a variety of hoist systems available, designed for bikes, kayaks and other storage solutions; it’s just a matter of investigating the mounting system for installing the hoist, the attachment system for the kayak and the capacity to ensure that it suits your needs. Don’t hang the kayak by the tip and tail or you could end up with a banana, especially if it’s hot in the shed. Wide cradles under each end of the cockpit of the

These two kayaks are stored vertically with the Railblaza StarPort Wall Sling.

The Rack It Hook Plate and Double Hooks created an excellent paddle storage solution.

kayak that spread the weight and offer better support are the preferred option. A kayak rack on wheels that holds four to six kayaks is a dream for me and I will be looking at DIY options as well as commercially available options, like those found in stores that sell kayaks. This allows the secure storage of multiple vessels and it can be wheeled hard up against a wall out of the way, or wheeled out into the open to easily access any of the vessels. In the meantime, the floor is fine. A section of marine carpet the length of your kayak will make it easy to shift, flip and work on your kayak without scratching it up on the concrete. PADDLE STORAGE I have always found paddles a pain to store and they end up in a corner, falling over, hard to get at and messy. On a recent trip to Bunnings I found that Rack It had added a Hook Plate and Double Hooks to their range. We use the Rack It shelving system in our shed to store all of our camping and fishing gear, using heavy-duty black crates to keep everything sorted. The addition of a couple of Hook Plates and a handful of Double Hooks soon saw the paddles neat and tidy as well as out of harm’s way. If you don’t have Rack It shelving, don’t worry, I’m sure there are a wide range of double hook options available that mount

to various surfaces and will serve the same purpose. ELECTRIC MOTOR MOUNT The grey nomads generally leave their kayak gear at our place and I wanted to ensure that their gear was easy to find and simple to access. I needed a rack for storing Ronny’s little 18lb Watersnake electric motor and, rather than hang it on the wall somewhere, I added a shelf beam to the Rack It shelving and hung the motor on this at a good height for his crook shoulder to handle. I killed two birds with one stone, as this also created a crossbeam to hold in annoying vertical items such as rod tubes, stake out poles, bait pumps and so forth, creating a module of vertical storage within the shelving unit. ROBO CUP A cool storage solution that I have used in multiple applications over the years is Robo Cup. It is a dual cup holder that is joined with a clamp that allows you to clamp it almost anywhere and the bottoms of the cups can be left in for storing smaller items and drinks, or screwed out to store rods and more. I have attached Robo Cup to ladders, 4WD trays, milk crates, bikes, canoes and a stack of other places, to hold everything from drinks and rods to umbrellas, painting gear and lures. I was trying to find a home for another awkwardto-store item – landing nets. The Robo Cup is a storage solution that can be attached to a beam in the shed without the need for a permanent fixing and it can be moved or repurposed in seconds. I generally give the net a hose when I get home from fishing and after a quick shake the net can be stored in the Robo Cup where it will dry and not create a mouldy mess anywhere in my kit. KIT CRATES I have four black storage crates on the bottom shelf of one shelving unit – one for

myself, my wife and both of my parents – where we store the remainder of our kayak kit. If someone wants to go for a fish they put their kayak on their C-Tug trolley, grab their net, paddle and open the crate to load on their kayak kit. Items in the crate may include an anchor, lip grips, Boomerang Tool,

travelling. Just grab and go! Even though the weather and jobs list has kept me off the water lately, I have made the most of some short windows of time with a few bream and flathead, and more importantly I have made the most of the downtime to ready myself for the rest of the year, including the

With a shelf bracket the Watersnake has a home. sunscreen, bug spray, first aid kit, sounder and battery, water shoes, hat, phone case, dry bag, paddle leash, rod holders and other accessories, and a range of other bits and pieces to suit the crate owner. This also makes travelling kayak adventures much simpler, especially with early starts, ensuring that nothing important is left behind. The crates also stack well and protect your kit when

upcoming holiday period. My kit is sorted, everything has a home and is within easy reach and I feel prepared and fired up for a few adventures. I hope this article helps to inspire you to plan your kayak storage, think about different solutions for storing and managing you kit and prepare for those upcoming adventures, hot bites and short windows of time that present themselves.

Timber inserted into the shed frame ensures a strong fixing for the Aquaracks. DECEMBER 2017

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WHAT’S NEW BOATING DUNBIER ACCESSORIES

Dunbier has announced the release of their Accessories and Parts Catalogue for 2017/18. The new catalogue features some of the latest and greatest products from Dunbier Trailers, alongside some of the most reliable products that have been getting boaties to and from the ramp for the last 48 years. Some of the new products that are available are: the original ‘Launch & Retrieve’ system; change of colour for most winches, bumper block, flippers and more; quality LED lighting and loom kits; customised tie-downs; retractable tie downs; stainless steel brake lines; brake line kits and much more. With over 45 pages of parts and accessories to look at, and plenty of new products, this year’s catalogue is well worth a look. You can browse through it on the Dunbier website or visit your local dealer to pick up a copy. www.dunbier.com

MERCURY DIESEL 6.7L COMING

With production to commence shortly, the new Mercury Diesel 6.7L mid-range engines will be available Down Under in early 2018. Unveiled at the 2017 Miami International Boat Show, the exciting new electronic, common-rail engines come in three power levels: 480hp, 500hp and 550hp. For further flexibility, they can be used as inboards or packaged with the Mercury Zeus pod-drive technology. They are, of course, fully compatible with Mercury’s full suite of SmartCraft controls and electronics, including optional joystick piloting for inboards and joystick piloting for pods (Zeus). Designed to deliver substantial improvements in acceleration and top speeds, the engines boast a matched turbocharger design coupled with electronic common-rail fuel injection technology and a state-of-the-art Bosch EDC17 engine control system. Utilising design features and materials specific for marine applications, the new Mercury Diesel 6.7L diesels are extremely durable with low fuel consumption and an extended travel range. www.mercurymarine.com/en/au/

DRIVE WITH YOUR PHONE

MAP MarineTechnologies (MAP-Tech) have partnered with AMI Marine to distribute its products throughout Southeast Asia, and one of the new products to hit our shores is the MAP-Tech Marine Autopilot, or MAP for short. MAP lets you completely control your boat’s movement via an app on your handheld device. The mobile app interfaces with a compact, marine-proofed unit, housing a GPS, Wi-Fi, INS and solid state compass. This unit connects via Wi-Fi to a handheld Android or iOS app device that facilitates rudder control, battery monitor and other steering commands, allowing the vessel to travel along a pre-selected route to its destination, and at any time the skipper can take control with optional remote steering. MAP comes pre-loaded with navigational charts, lets you manage unlimited waypoints and routes, and the GPS horizontal accuracy is within 2.5m. MAP is essentially a digital crewmate, combining a navigator’s expertise with a steady hand at the wheelhouse, leaving users free to fish. www.amisales.com.au 120

DECEMBER 2017

TRUDESIGN FITTINGS

PRODUCT GUIDE

BLA now distributes TruDesign’s extensive range of products including ball valves, skin fittings, load bearing collars (DAME Award Winner), skin fitting tools (DAME Award Winner), strainers, vented loops, non-return valves, connectors and tails. TruDesign’s products are New Zealandmade, comply to the toughest global certification authorities, and conform to rigid ISO and ABYC Marine Standards. Thanks to more than 40 years’ experience designing, tooling and manufacturing complex injectionmoulded engineering plastics, TruDesign have developed a range of sophisticated products to meet the safety demands of the modern boating industry. TruDesign’s composite materials are: developed specifically for harsh marine environments; stronger, lighter, tougher and more chemically resistant than metals; immune to electrochemical and galvanic corrosion; UV safe and won’t discolour or become brittle from the sun like inferior plastic products can; and are designed to last lifetime of vessel. www.bla.com.au

BOAT COLLAR WELDED METHOD

After months and months of testing and trials, Kapten Boat Collar are thrilled to announce a new and different way to fit the Boat Collars, with the new ‘welded’ method. The new method is suitable for most big boats, including plate and fibreglass boats where internal access is limited/non-existent, and/or for customers who don’t want to drill holes in their boats. We can now chemically weld or physically weld the Collars to the boats. To chemically weld the Collars, we use ‘the strongest sealant adhesive on Earth,’ Soudal’s T-Rex Power Turbo (which has a grab/strength rate of 380kg/10cm2), and bonds everything to everything. Due to the extra labour required for shaping and routering each Collar, the welded Collar is a little more in price compared to the standard fitting Collars. Call today to see if your boat is suitable for this welded fitting method. www.boatcollar.com.au

VERADOS FOR FURY 6 DUAL CONSOLE Fitted with twin 225 Mercury Verado outboards, the new Fury 282 Dual Console is better than ever – faster, better-balanced and roomier. “Having experienced the difference, the 225 Verados are now definitely our preferred motors on this boat,” said Fury Custom Boats owner/director, Scott Fury. The Dual Console is a brilliant multi-purpose machine – a bow-rider with a protected helm, a large fishing area and plenty of comfort with a bedroom, toilet, galley and BBQ if you want. The addition of twin 225hp Mercury Verados has made a very attractive package even better. “Testing with the Verados we hit 46 knots (85 km/h) at 6,400 revs which is better than it’s ever done,” Scott said. At 3,000 rpm the twin rig was using 40L an hour, giving the 9.1m Fury a range of 460km. “As I said, ultimately it’s up to the owner which engines are used but I’m going to be recommending the Verados certainly.” www.mercurymarine.com/en/au/

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

SCAN THE QR CODE!

The perfect boats The perfect boats for barra, bass or bream for barra, bass or bream

Fishing with Nitro is a blast! Whether you’re a tournament pro or a weekend warrior, Nitro boats will ignite your passion and pack more fun into your day. Just getting there is half the fun! For more than 20 years, Nitro have continually refined and delivered serious fishing boats for serious anglers.

The world’s #1 aluminium fishing boats! Tracker’s outstanding quality and unique manufacturing process have made them the world’s largest boat builder – producing more than 40,000 aluminium fishing boats per year. Their foam-filled, unsinkable, 3mm plate alloy hulls are robotically welded to deliver superior quality at a lower cost – and are backed by a Limited Lifetime Warranty.

Nitro boats are foam-filled to exceed US Coast Guard survey requirements. This gives you the safety of level floatation, security and comfort – and additional fishing stealth – all backed by a Limited Lifetime Warranty.

Tracker’s Pro Guide series is designed with a deep-vee hull for exceptional performance, even in rough waters. Their Diamond Coat finish is a Tracker exclusive that resists oxidation, providing protection and a shine lasting 70% longer. Standard features include a Minn Kota trolling motor and Lowrance colour sounder, plus tournament-ready live well systems and rod lockers.

www.nitromarine.com.au sales@nitromarine.com.au

34 Smith St Motorway, Southport, QLD 4215 Phone: (07) 5532 5812

Exploring the Outback the Quintrex way BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

The invitation was titled ‘Quintrex Outback Explorer Media Day’, which immediately made me envisage a day perhaps on

replace shore-based fishing. Secondly, one for the traveller, hence the intriguing ‘Outback’ name to distinguish the new design. Lastly, the long time boater moving to down-size because a larger craft – great when it first came home – just does not suit overall requirements

enough to secure an invitation to the Quintrex factory, where we had the production line explained at length right from rolls of aluminium through to finished products. Impressive is the best word to describe the factory, and it was a treat to see alloy sheets cut into various

Few car toppers are as purpose designed as the Outback Explorer range of craft, nor do they offer the security and safety of the high-sided Outback’s hull.

The 350 Outback Explorer was compact, stable and had a good turn of speed (37km/h) powered by the 15hp Evinrude. Lake Moondarra at Mt Isa, or maybe on the Thompson River, Longreach. Expecting to be boarding an early morning aircraft I was quite surprised to see – on a detailed look at the invitation – that the media day was in fact at Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast. So instead of flying, I’d be driving. BRAND NEW MODELS At the Media breakfast, all was revealed. Quintrex being ahead of the game, as always, had released a brand new line of tinnies, which saw three new models introduced into the renowned Explorer range. Lighter yet with more internal room and enhanced freeboard for more peace of mind in less-than-friendly environments, the newbies were aimed squarely at three market positions. Firstly, that of the entry level boater; an affordable rig that will help the angler

DECEMBER 2017

bumps that waterways seem to enjoy throwing at us. The topsides have been raised by 135mm for even more space and security for those aboard, thanks to an overall internal depth of 0.87m. A 1.73m beam also sees four persons able to enjoy the smooth ride with maximum power of 20hp on the transom. At 92kg, it’s a useful car or camper trailer topper, and would be an ideal travelling companion. 390 Outback Explorer The flagship of the Outback range, the 390, is more than just a basic lightweight sports style tinny. Offering room for five persons and powered by up to 30hp, the 390 also sports a cast deck up front, with a decent sized storage hatch under it. At 116kg it’s still a car topper, with a lift assist device, and would cater for the angler moving up from, say, a 350 into a larger rig

that still offers a great ride, has tremendous freeboard at 0.87m (an increase of 100mm) and ample beam of 1.82m. THE OVERVIEW Quintrex have kicked quite a few goals with the new Outback series. The ride was exceptionally good (somehow they seem to have made a good thing even better) and I was particularly impressed with handling. In very hard turns, when the Outbacks seemed to run virtually on rails, there was absolutely no inclination to lean into the turn! That, in itself speaks volumes of the sort of R&D Quintrex have put into the Outback’s hull design to lift them to this level of performance and handling. While available as basic rigs – at a very competitive price – there are glove boxes, factory floors, biminis, electric motor pads and other goodies on the option lists. You want it: they’ve got it!

The 390 Outback Explorer is the flagship of the range, and the sample here comes with a cast deck, decals and a big hatch in the cast deck. any longer. But there was more to the media presentations than just an explanation of market targets and a run down on the new craft. As part of the media program we were fortunate

predetermined sections and welded together to form the various Quintrex models. THE OUTBACKS – NEW FOR 2018 In a nutshell, the Outback Explorers are entirely new

Just part of the stock in the Quintrex yard. 122

designs, and are offered in three sizes, namely 350 (3.58m), 370 (3.75m) and 390 (3.95m), with differing levels of appointments within the range. One of the first things you’ll see when you inspect the Outbacks is the tremendous freeboard and roominess within each craft. For little boats, these were mighty big! In fact, depth within the range has been increased by up to 230mm, with higher side sheets being worked into

each design. 350 Outback Explorer This might be the smallest in the Outback range, but it certainly packs a punch. The craft features the Quinnie F series bow and 80mm higher side sheets with an internal side height of 0.76m. As such, there’s all the freeboard a couple of anglers or crabbers might need. Weighing in at a modest 81kg, the 350 OE is by any standard an ideal car topper for lake, estuary or sheltered bay work. Engine rating is up to 15hp with a maxium of four people aboard. With a 15 Evinrude on the transom, I ran the 350 with three aboard and there were no issues. The ride was impressively smooth and stability of a good order. 370 Outback Explorer The 370 sports an increased deadrise to smooth those annoying lumps and

The new Outbacks on the dock. There are three new craft in the Outback Explorer line up, with small variations to fit out.

more fish.

Let’s face it, if you’ve got more room to cast, you’ve got a better chance to catch fish. Our revolutionary Apex Hull gives you more of everything for a great day on the water. The radical, variable flared bottom sheet extends to the bow gunnel as does the wide chine - it’s a clever design that means more internal

space for storage, new consoles, casting platforms, bunks, upholstery and transoms (depending on the model). We’ve also added thicker and higher topsides and raised the deck, for more freeboard. You get more room to cast and a better chance to catch a bagful. And that’s gotta be a good thing!

*Size and features comparison made with 2016 Quintrex models.

QX10FMAPEXMORE001

more clever,

Jason’s Polycraft 4.1 Challenger – 14 years on BUNDABERG

Jason Medcalf topwater@bigpond.com

This 10-year boat review of my Polycraft 4.1 Challenger is only four years late, but like a good wine it’s worth the wait!

When I was doing my research on a new boat, Polycraft Boats were just about to go to market with their second model, the Challenger 4.1. I took one out for a test drive. The test boat had a tiller steer and a 40hp motor, and it went like a scalded cat and handled

we had returned to the ramp and he’d kissed the ground, I said, “You have no idea how good of a boat you have made.” He just smiled at me and said, “Oh yes I do!” That was over 14 years ago now, and I still own this amazing boat.

Having the ability to get into tight water helps produce the trophies.

You don’t have to be worried about scratches on a Polycraft – they just buff out. The story behind the acquisition of the Polycraft began after I had destroyed yet another tinny with my ‘go hard or go home’ attitude to boating. It was early in my guiding career and I had set up a tinny in survey so I could guide the rivers and creeks. My main target species was the mighty mangrove jack, and that meant I needed a boat with stability, room and the ability to float in very shallow water. The main issue I had with my 4m tinny was powering it and taking two clients, who sometimes would bring enough gear to literally sink a boat.

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THE ORIGINAL BOAT Back in 2003, the hull I got from Polycraft was about the fifth out of the mould. It was fitted locally with a 40hp Mercury EFI 4-stroke. It had the gunwales and hull filled with foam and it was passed for survey. I took it home and fitted to it the then-latest

was ready for action, and action it certainly got. In those days I was thirsty for knowledge, but the internet and YouTube weren’t as useful for anglers as they are now. ABT was starting out though, and their tournaments were where most tackle and techniques

like it was on a track. I asked the then-owner if we could set it up with a rear side console and fit a 50hp to it. His answer was that he didn’t design the boat that way, but that he’d give it a go. Well, after cutting down a console from the 455 model to fit, we had to stick to the 40hp at the time as the hull had only been rated for 40hp. When we took the boat out on its maiden voyage with the console fitted it handled like a race car. I almost threw the owner out of the boat, pushing the turning and handling to its limits. After

This is a 75cm barramundi in the live well that went back.

Unlike aluminium there is very little hull slap noise, making fishing shallow flats far more successful.

Humminbird fishfinder, the latest Minn Kota bow mount electric motor and plumbed in the front left hatch and turned it into a 90L live well. I fitted navigation lights, extra bilge pumps (which have come in very handy at times) and then carpeted all the decks. The boat was fitted with two poly boxes that the seats were fixed to, and these boxes were perfect to house two batteries. One side housed a deep cycle that only runs the Minn Kota, while the other side housed the main CCA battery that started the boat and ran the electronics. AND WE’RE OFF! After I had fitted the navigation lights the boat

DECEMBER 2017

were being fast tracked. My green Polycraft travelled from Batemans Bay in Southern NSW fishing for bream, up to Southern QLD targeting bass. And with my insatiable thirst for mangrove jack and barramundi fishing, it travelled to FNQ countless times. After a couple of years Polycraft had the Challenger rated to 50hp on their side console models, and designed a console specifically for the 4.1. I upgraded to a 50hp Mercury and this certainly made a big difference, especially when competing in tournaments where there were long runs to get to spots. When I fitted the Merc I had a Vengeance

stainless steel prop added, and this gave me a top speed of 55km/h. I pretty much cruised past most of the same-size pimped-up aluminium boats with 70hp on them. LIVE WELL MODIFICATION The front hatch holds 90L of water, and I have it set up with a skin fitting and stand pipe to constantly refresh the water. At Glenbawn many years ago in a comp it held four big bass weighing nearly 9kg, and there was still plenty of room. I have even had two 75cm barramundi live in the well most of the day without a hassle (unfortunately for them it wasn’t a comp and they became dinner). And when my kids were smaller the live well was a thing of wonder, as I would fill it up and put all sorts of fish in there for them to look at while out in the boat. SHALLOW DRIVE The hull at rest draws around 10” (or 25cm in metric for the not so old fashioned boater). This boat can drive in super shallow water – all it needs is enough room for the electric motor prop to turn. Its shallow draft has gotten me out of a lot of sticky situations, and has also put me into a lot of unfished territory. As an avid explorer of new and hard-to-navigate waterways, this boat has been an amazing asset. A few years ago in a tournament in North Queensland in the magnificent Hinchinbrook channel, my fishing partner (also an owner of a Polycraft Challenger) Steve Wilson and I were in the top five after day one. The fishing was tough but our technique was to head right up the Seymour

River on the high tide in the morning, and as the tide dropped we would fish our way out. This worked well on day one, and as we headed down the channel after the

STABILITY Drawing little water can sometimes mean a compromise in stability and room, but not with the Challenger. Probably the

30km from Bundaberg and caught everything from huge Spanish mackerel to coral trout, and in winter some very nice snapper. Although the boat was never designed

The author’s kids have done a lot of fishing from the Polycraft. They reckon this Woodgate trip in 2009 was ‘the best day ever’. obligatory shotgun start we noticed some much higher horsepower boats sitting gently behind us, obviously following us to see where we were fishing. Of course, after cruising over a few sand bars a couple of our followers dropped off, and then as we cleared the next couple of rock bars we were on our own again. You see, the Seymour River nearly runs dry at low tide which means only a boat that draws next

most outstanding feature of this boat is its stability. I have extended my back deck to reach the back of my driver’s seat, which gives me a larger back deck for a small boat, and have had four blokes fishing from my boat. No big deal if we were sitting in a creek soaking yabbies for whiting, but my fishing mates are like me – mad keen anglers who lure fish 99% of the time. These guys also love the competition that always

to be taken out wide, it handles nasty weather very well. I have had to travel back in from the 15-mile gutter when an unexpected 20-knot southerly decided to blow, and although it took some time to get in at no stage did the boat feel unsafe. I do not, however, recommend taking on 20-knot southerlies! Leave it to the big boats. LONGEVITY One of my apprehensions when I first looked at the

Filming in Far North Queensland. one-piece hull. This is the same process and product used to make poly water tanks, which pretty much spend their whole life in the sun dealing with expansion and contraction of different weather elements and varying pressures, both when they’re full of water and when they’re empty. So all in all, this hull is pretty much bulletproof. Having dropped one from a crane, jumped one over a ramp and having been towed by a very big tractor through a rock-covered paddock, I can say with a lot of confidence that these boats are nearly indestructible. SUMMARY As a tradie I found it pretty easy to fit-out and modify the boat hull, as you

can cut it and drill it with standard tools and actually repair it with a heat gun. Over the hull’s 14-year lifespan I have recarpeted the decks three times and replaced the seats twice. I have had four different models of Minn Kota electric motor, six different Humminbird fishfinder models and I have rebuilt the trailer once. At the moment the motor is 10 years old and really needs an upgrade, the trailer is up for another refurb and the electronics could do with some modernisation. When I wash the hull down though, it looks and performs like it was popped out of the mould yesterday. While it’s true that the current Challengers have

had a few tweaks over the years, with more features and benefits than mine, one thing that Polycraft hasn’t messed with is the hull design. And to me this is the best thing about this boat. I get asked a lot about upgrading my boat, but I believe in the old saying ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ This hull has done 14 years of hard service, and if it’s up to me, it will get at least that again. • 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.

Stability is important when doing battle with big fish. to nothing can expect to get out at low tide. When fishing hard to get in and out of waters, low tide can mean awesome fishing as these shallow, fast-running areas rarely get fished. For those interested, as the tide drops in the Seymour the water clears up and the sight and surface fishing for mangrove jack and barramundi is top shelf. I highly recommend it.

seems to happen on my boat. So with keen competitive anglers casting lures with vigour and purpose, a stable boat is essential. I have filmed quite a few fishing shows, DVDs and YouTube clips out of my boat over the years, and in the heat of the action you need that stability to get those quality shots. I also fish offshore when the weather permits, and the Challenger has been out

Poly was that it was made of plastic, and I wondered how long would it last. It is in fact made of roto-moulded polyethylene, where the mould of the hull is filled with thousands of polyethylene beads. Then the mould is heated up and spun slowly so the material melts and is distributed evenly and thoroughly throughout the mould to create a seamless

Even curious whales like the Polycraft. DECEMBER 2017

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Hiring the Sea Adex 6.5m Armour Hard Top

SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

When I was asked whether I was interested in taking out the Sea Adex Armour 6.5m Hard Top powered by a 250hp 4-stroke Suzuki outboard for a boat test, and at the same time go down rigging for kingfish in Sydney Harbour. I couldn’t resist an offer like that? In this boat review I am going to cover two aspects of the Sea Adex Armour 6.5m Hard Top. Firstly, an insight into the design and construction of the rig, and secondly, the advantages of hiring it from Finz Boat Hire. When I first saw the Sea Adex Armour 6.5m Hard Top on their website, I saw a beast of a boat. It looked SPECIFICATIONS Designer: Sea Adex Hull Construction Material: Aluminium Hull Type: Hard Top Construction Material: Aluminium Length: 6.4m Beam/Width: 2.49m Number of Fuel Tanks: 1 x 250L underfloor Passenger capacity: 5 for offshore and 7 for inshore Length maximum on trailer: 7.2m Width: 2.49m Side thickness: 6mm Bottom thickness: 6mm Max Motor hp: 400hp Tested on the day: 250hp Tow Vehicle: Heavy 4WD or 6 sedan 126

DECEMBER 2017

Main: The Sea Adex Armour 6.5m Hard Top Godzilla Finz Boat Hire rig has been built to 2C restricted survey, which will allow you to travel within 15 nautical miles offshore. This will allow you to have five onboard for those offshore trips and seven people when fishing inshore. Above: The Sea Adex Armour 6.5m Hard Top slides up very easily onto the Dunbier trailer and then clips onto the Boat Catch System. as solid as a brick and tough as nails while having at the same time the sleek lines of an extremely well-designed boat that would give you hours of safe, pleasurable boating and fishing time on inshore and offshore waters. The idea of the design of the boat came from a Brisbane-based company called Sea Adex. The owner Adam Mortimer put many hours into designing a boat that would deliver ultimate safety in really bad conditions. To learn more about how the design of the Sea Adex Armour range came about I watch a short video that Steve Morgan from Fishing Monthly put together when reviewing another one of the Sea Adex range. Adam explained that around six years ago he built a 4m prototype in a weekend and then sea trialled it in 30 knots. It didn’t sink even though it was completely full

of water. So, his next step was to show his designs to a naval architect, and together they created the range you see today. On the day that I tested the Sea Adex Armour 6.5m Godzilla that you can hire from Finz Boat Hire, I was only able to meet Chett and Andrew at the Rose Bay ramp at 10:30am. So, getting the preferred kingy bait squid proved to be a bit difficult. Chett did have a couple of slimies and a yellowtail in the plumbed live well. As the 250hp V6 Suzuki 4 stroke outboard pulled us out of the hole and onto the plane within 50m from idle, the rig settled down to a slow cruising speed at 20 knots. Once we rounded the corner at the entrance to Rose Bay, we encountered some very large wake from a passing ferry, which Andrew powered the boat through and over with ease. So much ease that it felt

like we were floating on a cushion of air. While idling at at 1000 RPM, it only took the an increase to 1200 RPM to achieve an increase of 10 knots. Once the boat was pushed to its limit at 44 knots, the RPM was at 4300, giving you great fuel economy for a large boat. This would be due to the design of the 23° constant deadrise of the hull at the transom and the slightly reversed 30cm chines/ sponsons on the side of the boat. What also adds to the stability and safety of the boat is that over 2 cubic metres of surveyed approved foam has been jammed into the hull. At one stage we had three adults on one side and there was very little tipping of the boat and the high sides gave you plenty of reassurance that you weren’t going overboard. Its 6mm aluminium sides and bottom, which have been full-length welded, lock the entire build of this boat together. It also has a selfdraining, scuppered deck that makes it easy to wash out and clean the floor after a hard days fishing. At one stage I lost count at the number of different places that you can store items on the Sea Adex Armour 6.5m Hard Top Godzilla. At last count there was at least 10. Maybe the design of this rig doesn’t suit your needs. Not a problem. Adam will customize the boat to suit your needs. Customisation options include: different configurations with kill tanks, live bait tanks and full tanks; dash layout; side door access; single/dual/triple motor options; placement of hand rails; where and how

FEATURES The Sea Adex Armour 6.5 metre Hard Top comes with a Fusion Sound System, Garmin GPSMAP 7416, a Garmin GPSMAP 7408, a Garmin Autopilot with Shadowdrive, 1kw Chirp TM256LM Transducer, a 600w Chirp GT51M Transducer, Wishbone Outriggers, 250L Fuel Tank, Live Bait Tank, Boat board, Garelick Seat Suspension, Windscreen Wiper, King/Queen Seats, EPIRB, fire extinguisher, 27mhz and UHF Marine Radio’s, Fish Bag/Box, 16 rod holders and all the required safety gear. many rod holders; what type of bait board you would like; the seating arrangement and types or anything else that you may want. Now the question for you is, “Do I buy one or do I hire one?” Let’s face it, if you were interested in this rig you could hire the boat for a day or two and if you were impressed with it, you could contact Adam from Sea Adex and get him to custom design one for you from their great range. If you want to buy one you can contact Adam

at: info@seaadex.com.au or call 0435 453 455. You could also visit their website, at www.seaadex.com.au, or call into the office at Shed 2/82 Redland Bay Road, Capalaba QLD if you’re up that way. If you would like to hire the Sea Adex Armour 6.5m Hard Top Godzilla, you can contact Chett at: fbhsydney@gmail.com, or visit their website at www.finzboathire.com.au. They also have a Facebook page, which is called simply Finz Boat Hire.

Plenty of rod holders, comfortable seats for you and the crew, plus everything you need for a day’s fishing and boating on the water. After you have finished your day’s fishing, all you need to do is ring up Chett from Finz Boat Hire and he will meet you at your prearranged pick-up point and take the boat away for you.

Top: Everything that you need is at your fingertips on the dash in front of the helm. The touch screen Garmin GPS 7408 is showing a number of kingfish arches on the screen, but we weren’t able to tempt them into biting. Above: While in the cabin and you are driving the vessel, you have plenty of clear vision out the front and on the sides. The 27mhz and UHF Marine radios are just at arm’s length making it easy to communicate with other vessels. There is also a light for inside the cabin for those dull days.

Even though I am a bit on the short side, I could easily see over the dashboard while sitting at the helm. It was also very easy to see and use the array of electronics that I had in front of me.

From the area of the cockpit, you are able to access the front bunk area where you could store some of that extra fishing gear or the esky with the food and drinks. It could also be used as a small change room if needed.

Andrew, the skipper for the day, was giving a safety talk and explaining where the life jackets and other safety gear were stored.

The Sea Adex Armour 6.5m Hard Top Godzilla is powered by a 250hp, 4-stroke Suzuki Outboard. When the motor is just in gear and moving forward at about 4 knots the RPM is at around 1000. Even though the 15hp 4-stroke outboard is there as a survey requirement you could also use this for trolling at a much slower speed.

The plumbed live well at the rear of the boat would hold enough squid or other live baits for a fishing session. What the author would do is maybe put some kind of netting over the opening, as on the day he had one small yellowtail jump back into the water.

Top Left and Right: When you hire the boat Chett will include the use of the Scotty Depth Master down rigger if you need it. Bottom Left and Right: At the rear of the boat you will find an extremely sturdy chopping board that has more storage underneath. There is a wash down hose that will come in handy when cleaning up at the end of the day. The four rod holders are spread far enough apart so that the reels won’t bump into each other when you get one out to fight the fish. There is also a number of hatches that will give you access and storage along with a collapsible/removable seat with a non-slip cover, that can be used when you have more onboard.

Left: Anchoring up with the powered winch and the Sarca anchor makes it so easy. It’s just a flip of the switch. The forward hatch will give you access to the front of the boat to tie off the rope to the front bollard. The non-slip covering on the front will save you from slipping. Above: The access ladder on the trailer makes launching and retrieving by yourself so easy. All you need to do is drive the boat onto the trailer and allow the Boat Catch System to attach the boat. Turn off and raise the motor. Climb down the ladder, attach the safety chain and then just drive off. DECEMBER 2017

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