REDEMPTION IN THE RUN-OFF
Features Urban warfare with jacks Lake Monduran not miserable anymore • Bountiful Borumba Dam • Live baiting tips •
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March 2019, Vol. 31 No. 5
Contents NORTHERN NEW SOUTH WALES Yamba 18 Ballina 20
Image courtesy of Yokohamajapan.com
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James Thurley was over the moon to land his first barra on Queensland’s Central Coast. An Andrew Wilson Image.
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you think. Traditionally a tradeonly event, the 2019 AFTA Trade Show is set to be opened to the public for a look-and-see only event on Saturday 17 August this year. It seems like a long way away, but you all probably know by now that life is like a roll of toiler paper – the closer to the end you get the quicker it goes. So it will be here before you know it. The Gold Coast may seem a long way to go to see some fishing tackle (and to not buy any!), but I’m sure that there will be thousands of fishing fans
CI
And then there are the giveaways. There’ll be a hundred people who want a chance to win a lure, and each of them challenges the host to rock-paperscissors – simultaneously! And the cool thing about it is that nobody cheats (I’d often remark that in Australia, there would still be 90 contestants after 10 attempts). Closer to home, developments in the 2019 AFTA Trade Show on the Gold Coast may mean that YOUR opportunity to see the latest gear and to meet your fishing stars may be closer than
who will take the opportunity to travel to this great destination. After all, there’s plenty of accommodation at the right price and there’s not much better weather anywhere than the Gold Coast in winter. The family can go to the theme parks and you can give a rocksolid guarantee that you won’t buy a thing! Actually, that’s not quite correct – there will be limited stickers, caps and catalogues available, but nothing to catch a fish on. I’m old enough to remember the last time the industry opened its doors to the public; it was at a Sydney show and it was well regarded for years afterwards. One thing is for sure, you can bet that any fishing media, pro-staffer, social media legend and content creator will be there – either working the booths or visiting them – so here’s your 6-month heads-up… it’s time to plan a family holiday to the Coast!
AUST
SPECIAL FEATURES Urban warfare with jacks 10 Lake Monduran not miserable anymore 40 The bountiful Borumba Dam 66 Live baiting tips 74 MARCH 2019
It’s become a habit over the last couple of years to head to Japan to see the latest and greatest tackle. Last year it was the Yokohama Fishing Show and this year it was Osaka. These are the two main shows in Japan and they’re held a couple of weeks apart, right in the middle of winter (the Australian summer, and yes, it was a welcome escape from the heat). Japanese companies use the shows to launch new product and to engage with the tens of thousands of fishing fans that come out to see the gear and meet their favourite fishing personalities. And Japan has plenty of both – gear and fishing personas. It’s not uncommon for hundreds of people to attend a stand-side presentation with a TV guy or girl or a winning tournament angler to hear them speak. It comes complete with security guards and ropes to hold the crowd in and to keep the aisles clear.
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REGULAR FEATURES Back to Basics 14 Camping and 4WD 68 Cooking 82 Dam Levels 60 Freshwater 60 Fun Page 90 Sheik of the Creek 69 Suntag 86 Tech Tricks 16 Tournament News 76 Track my fish 80 Trades and Services 88 What’s New Boating 93 What’s New Fishing 70
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From the Editor’s Desk...
N
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BOATING AND KAYAK
31
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TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND Whitsundays 52 Ayr 53 Townsville 54 Hinchinbrook 55 Port Douglas 55 Cairns 56 Cairns NFZ 56 Lucinda 57 Cape York 58
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CENTRAL QUEENSLAND Rainbow Beach 45 Hervey Bay 42 Gladstone 46 Bundaberg 47 Monduran 47 Rockhampton 48 Stanage Bay 48 Yeppoon 49 Mackay 50
20
PRO
SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND The Tweed 22 Southern Gold Coast 24 Gold Coast Canals 26 Jumpinpin 28 Gold Coast 30 Southern Bay 32 Brisbane 34 Brisbane Offshore 36 Northern Bay 37 Noosa 38
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Mangrove Jack
Jacks wage urban warfare CAIRNS
Dan Kaggelis dkaggelis@gmail.com
The impact of urbanisation and development of our waterways is increasing.
new, the steady increase of artificial structures on our waterways has made urbanbased fishing is becoming more and more popular. JACK THEORY To understand why jacks have thrived in these
loss of these mangrove nurseries, which have forced young and juvenile jacks to seek other areas that have the same appeal. Thankfully, many of the artificial structures in canal systems, rock walls
The first and probably the most well known areas are canals. This is because canal developments are the most common form of human development on our waterways up and down the coast. Floating pontoons and boat hulls have become the new ‘mangroves’ for many fish, including jacks. All these man-made structures attract bait, which in turn attracts predatory fish – it’s that simple. While these structures offer plenty for the fish, they also offer plenty for the anglers too. The first being multiple pressure points, which make for great target zones, especially when throwing lures. Pressure points are areas where the current or flow is either pushing hard up against them, or running across them. This flow creates a pressure edge, where baitfish congregate, and more importantly ambush predators like jacks like to sit waiting for the food to come to them.
Setting up for a cast down the edge of a floating pontoon. Notice how the electric motor is pointing outwards, ready for a quick fish extraction.
The author caught this solid jack in an urbanised area. With this increase comes many negative consequences for our natural environment and water quality. However, there are also several positive consequences, especially if you love your mangrove jack fishing. While urban development has seen challenges for several fish species in Australia, it is fair to say the mighty mangrove jack is not one of these. In fact, jack numbers in some of our most urbanised areas across the East Coast have steadily increased, as they have learnt to adapt to their new homes. While urban fishing for jacks is not
urban environments, you first have to understand the life cycle of jacks. As juveniles, jacks take up residence in our mangrovelined creeks and rivers. This is because when mature jacks spawn in open water, the jack larvae is pushed back into inshore waters where they take up residence in creeks and estuaries in both fresh- and saltwater, depending on the system. These areas provide the perfect place for these fish to access food, while at the same time hide from predation. One of the negative impacts of urbanization has been the
and even bridges have become more than suitable replacements. They provide ideal bait holding structures, ambush points and refuge from predation. On top of this, many of these systems are quite large and deep, which means mature fish, especially in the South East, tend to hang around a lot longer, reaching trophy sizes. All these factors combined spells the perfect recipe for some dragbusting, lure-crunching red devil action. FIND YOUR ARENA When choosing to target urban environments, you have a number of different options up your sleeve.
Rock wall edges create pressure points, which are perfect for jacks and barra.
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This jack fell to one of the author’s favourite lures, the Balista Trigger.
Mangrove Jack These pressure points are easily spotted when the tide is running and are mostly found on the edges of pontoons, especially around corner posts and even boat hulls.
for bait looking to get out of the current. FISHING URBAN STRUCTURES Floating structures Being able to spot
well past the target zone and running it past it or through it. This is because you want a reaction bite from a jack, which is usually waiting in ambush.
the zone. This is where medium to shallow running hardbodies or paddletail plastics are ideal. Suspending hardbodies like the Ballista Trigger, Jackall Squirrel and Lucky Craft Pointer are also a favourite, as they allow you to sit in that sweet spot for longer. Poppers and stickbaits, especially at low light or at night, are also ideal, as the jacks are already sitting high in the
water column. This makes for some awesome fishing. The last thing when fishing canal pontoons is to think about setting your boat up for an extraction after hooking up. Have the electric motor facing away from the structure so when the strike comes you can power the boat out and get the fish clear. Rock walls Rock walls are also awesome, mostly because
they offer so much structure and opportunity for anglers. The only problem with rock walls is in some areas they can go for miles, so unless you have the patience to sit and flick the entire length, trolling might be a better option. Trolling will give you some info on where on the wall the jacks are holding. Having free dived many rock walls it is To page 12
Juvenile jacks can be in big numbers in canal estates, as they are the new nurseries. If you have a pressure edge, then you also have the opposite on the other side of the structure called an eddy, which are areas of back water. These are usually found on the opposite edge of the pressure points, and are also highly desirable target zones, as they are also great ambush spots
these areas and targeting with precision casts so you can run your lures right through them is important. Unlike snag bashing, where you have to throw your lure hard up to structure, targeting pontoons and boat hulls is a little different. You want to put your lure
If you plop the lure on its head you can sometimes spook the fish, sending it to cover and away from your lure. Due to the nature of the structure being high in the water column, a medium to fast retrieve or twitch is ideal when going through
This is what every jack angler loves to see – a solid specimen boatside.
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11
Mangrove Jack From page 11
always interesting to note that fish, and in particular jacks, will sit in pockets
these areas. Some are really obvious as actual points where the tide wraps around where as others may
A good example of a fat canal-snared jack. on these walls and the trick is to find these pockets. Shallow running lures are a favourite for this, as they have an awesome body roll and bounce off rocks well. When trolling rock walls, don’t have your lure too far back, as you need to be able to get your fish away from structure. Keeping them on a short leash with lots of drag also helps with so many rocks around. Rock walls are similar to pontoons, in that you want to look for those pressure points and target
be as subtle as little edges jutting out. You should also remember to look for signs of bait schooling, as these will help you find the pockets of fish. Bridges Finally we come to bridges. Bridges are awesome big fish spots and are probably more targeted by bait fishos. When targeting bridges, the water is usually deep and flowing hard, so try and target these spots when the tide allows you to work your lures in the way you want to. Soft vibes are one of the best options around bridges, as they allow you to fish right up the water column and pylons. Bridges usually provide plenty of light at night, so they are
An array of surface, hardbody and soft plastic lure choices that all work in urbanised areas.
perfect nighttime ambush spots for big fish. Casting in and around bridge pylons is obvious, but be sure to take the time to sound around for structure and ledges created by tidal flow. URBAN TIPS When fishing around urban areas, one of the single most important factors is accurate casting. Firstly, you need to have your lures in the right spot and right zone. Secondly, you need to consider that you are fishing around peoples’ boats and property, and you don’t want to be bouncing lures off them and snagging up on these. For this reason, bait caster combos are the ideal choice, as they provide pin-point accurate casting options (unless you are a spin master!) It’s also a good idea to stay quiet and don’t hunt these urban areas with your music pumping. Using a high strength light line will also help with accurate casting. Having a combination of rods armed with a hardbodies, soft plastics, vibes, and surface lure is the way to go, as it allows you to fish an area using a variety of techniques. Urban fishing is an awesome option and well worth the time on the water. I am lucky that my local
Cod are your number one urban jack by-catch. system has a canal estate, rock wall, bridge and creek system, which all hold jacks. Trying to decide where to fish can be a dilemma at times! In saying that, the lure of bigger, fatter jacks, which seem to be more common in these urban areas are a real attraction. Urban fishing is a growing trend as more of our waterways become gobbled up, so get out there and embrace it.
424 PRO
Finally, if you are interested in finding out more about mangrove jack, jump online and search up a scientific journal entitled the Reproductive Biology of Mangrove Jacks in North Eastern Queensland Australia written by D Russell and J MacDougall. It is an amazing and informative read, especially for those anglers that love their jack fishing.
514 PRO
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Halco is a multi-generational family operated lure manufacturer, so it’s hardly surprising that they design and build products along family lines as well. The Max family of bibless minnows share the same award winning DNA to display consistent qualities across the range. Each member is designed to troll perfectly at speeds up to 14-20Kts, alternatively cast and retrieve subsurface or from the depths for instant action. Attributes they share include Halco’s legendary toughness and iconic Fish Rings while the chrome variants share the ingenious “designed to bleed” coatings. Halco’s Max 130 and 110 feature Mustad trebles while the Max 190 and 220 come fully loaded with Mustad in-line singles so you can fight the fish of a lifetime with confidence. The Max family grows larger and more diverse with each generation, so next time you’re browsing in your favourite tackle store, stop by and meet the family.
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One eye on the weather NSW STH COAST
Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com
More than most other sports, hobbies or pastimes, recreational fishing is incredibly weatherdependent. Having a reasonable idea of what’s likely to unfold on the weather front over the coming hours and days can
much has changed. Were the same patterns to be repeated today, that intense tropical low would be accurately tracked from the moment it formed over the Arafura Sea, with clear alerts issued to those in its path well before any significant impact was felt. Combined with modern building standards and today’s communication networks, this level of preparedness would dramatically reduce the threat
localised variations can have far reaching impacts. If you’ve ever done any reading about a baffling branch of science called chaos theory, you’ll likely have heard of something called the ‘butterfly effect’. This is defined as ‘the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic non-linear system can result in large differences in a later state’. That sounds tricky, and it is! What it effectively means is that a tiny variation in initial conditions can create significant outcomes, and that these outcomes can potentially occur far away in
One look at violent storm conditions such as these should be enough to instantly rule out any rock or offshore fishing plans.
The fish are biting, but the sea is rising fast as the wind picks up. Knowing when to pull stumps and run for home can potentially save your life. not only improve your catch rate and keep you dry, warm and happy, it might actually save your life! Weather forecasting has certainly evolved in my half century as an angler. When I was a kid, the best way to get a handle on what was happening in the sky was to open a window and stick your head out! Official forecasts were notoriously untrustworthy, especially over time spans
to both human life and physical infrastructure. While it’s still a popular Aussie sport to bash and even ridicule the much-maligned Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), the truth is they do a reasonably good job these days. Inputs of data from satellites, weather balloons, human observations and remote sensing stations are continuously fed into giant computers running complex
Always watch the skies. These clouds preceded a violent storm on the Tweed River in Far Northern NSW. both space and time from the initial influence. The extreme example cited is that a butterfly flapping its wings on the banks of the Amazon River in South America could (theoretically)
It’s lovely and calm now, but are those clouds telling a story? beyond 24 hours. You need only look back at Darwin’s lack of preparedness for Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Eve in 1974 to get an idea of how
models that the forecasters of my youth could only have fantasised about. The outcomes are impressive, but they aren’t perfect. That’s because tiny,
influence the weather in China! So, it’s not surprising the weather people still get it wrong from time to time. My other observation
about the government-run BOM is that it’s a cautious, conservative and highly riskaverse organisation. In fact, as an angler, if I relied solely on the Bureau’s forecasts I reckon I’d hardly ever venture outside my front door, let alone offshore in a trailer boat! I have a theory that this risk-aversion intensified following the disastrous Sydney to Hobart yacht race of 1998, in which six lives and many vessels were lost, and 55 crew members were saved from mountainous seas in the largest peacetime rescue mission ever witnessed on Australian waters. The Bureau copped a merciless flogging from the media and others over their failure to correctly forecast the severity of that 1998 storm, and they appear to have modified their predictive models and forecasting language as a result. Suffice to say that these days, they seem far more inclined to
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predict ‘fresh to frightening’ conditions (my terminology, not theirs!) than in the past. In my opinion, serious anglers need to consult a number of sources when attempting to assess likely conditions for a planned trip, especially if venturing offshore or out onto large, exposed bodies of open water in small craft. The BOM should still be your first port of call, but it also makes sense to check at least a couple of other weather modelling sites or apps. Popular ones include Seabreeze, WillyWeather and Buoy Weather, along with my own personal favourite: Fish Ranger. Try all of these for yourself and assess which ones are most accurate in your neck of the woods. My biggest tip is not to rely solely on any single source of forecasting. Even more importantly, listen for regular radio updates and maritime warnings while you’re on the water, and keep
High, wispy clouds and so-called ‘mares’ tails’ indicate strong winds in the upper atmosphere and often precede strong winds at ground or sea level, too.
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your wits about you and your eyes open for telltale signs of unexpected weather shifts. In the end, sticking your head out the window (or above the boat’s console) is still the most effective and immediate forecasting tool. I’ll never forget the day, half a century ago, when my old man suddenly craned his neck, sniffed the air and sternly declared that it was time to wind up our handlines and head in from the flathead drifting grounds off Tathra, on the Far South Coast of NSW. As an impressionable 11-year old, I was in awe, and ready to acknowledge his God-like powers… until I turned and looked south myself at the boiling mass of darkly bruised storm clouds quickly blotting out the horizon. Half an hour later, as we winched the little tinnie back onto the trailer, we were lashed by icy horizontal rain driven by the southerly buster from hell. It’s hard to beat a weather eye.
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15
Tech Tricks
Cast net rope replacement BRISBANE
Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com
With the prawning season already in full swing, many will be using their cast nets on a regular basis. Most of the prawns have been in the shallower creek and river systems, however, over the next month or two they will move out into Moreton Bay. A lot of the areas around the bay islands are in rather deep waters, where a 20m cast net lead rope is required to allow you to reach the bottom. With most cast nets, this
will require an extension to the original rope or for a new rope to be added to the net. Additionally, over time the lead rope on a cast net will become frayed and may need replacement. There are a lot of different styles and qualities of cast nets on the market. One thing they all have in common is a lead rope. This keeps the caster connected to the main net and allows the net to be retrieved once it hits bottom. Many cheaper quality nets come with only a couple of metres of thin lead rope. This will suffice when only using the net in shallow water, however are
insufficient for the deeper areas. Additionally these thin ropes can be very hard on your hands over a period. The deep areas around the bay islands where prawns tend to congregate over the coming months will often require around 20m of lead rope to ensure your net reaches the bottom while the lead rope is still slack. If there is any tension on the lead rope as it sinks, the net will begin to close, which limits the efficiency and the catch. The thin lead ropes that come on many of the cheap nets are very hard on your hands during a long session of prawning
and have a tendency to tangle, especially with a bit of twist in them. Replacing them with a longer, slightly thicker rope is a necessity if you want to prawn in the deeper waters with a 12ft top-pocket net. Even with smaller bait nets, a thicker, low tangle lead rope is desirable. There are a lot of good rope types that can be used and some prawners have a preference for a particular type on their net. Today I will show you one of the easiest rope types to work with that I have found to be exceptionally good for cast net lead ropes.
3
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The torpedo swivel on some nets will limit the diameter of the rope that can be used. To replace the rope on this net, I want to add a 8mm diameter rope that will not fit through the eyelet of the swivel. Cut away the old rope first.
5
By adding a stainless steel D-shackle we can now add a much thicker rope to the cast net. This D-shackle has a 4mm pin that will easily fit through the eye of the torpedo swivel and is exceptionally strong. Using a slotted D-shackle (one where the pin is screwed in with a screwdriver) is desirable as the pin is very flush once inserted and therefore the net won’t catch on it.
Ski rope is great as a lead rope as it doesn’t absorb water, is gentle on your hands and is extremely easy to work with. You can get it in 6mm, 7mm, 8mm and 10mm diameters, and I found this 23m hank of 8mm at Bunnings. With a 850kg breaking strain it will almost never break. You could use thinner rope, however I find the 8mm tangles less and is easy on the hands when pulling a 12ft net loaded with prawns up from deep water with current. You will also need a lighter or paint stripper gun and a pair of good cutters for this task. 16
MARCH 2019
6
1
There are numerous reasons why you would need to add a new rope to your cast net. Many of the cheaper nets have the lead rope bound on with thin twine. If this twine breaks or wears out, the lead rope will eventually come free and you will probably lose your net. Likewise, you may want to increase the length of your lead rope to allow you to use your net in deeper water.
4
Pro Throw produce a pre-assembled 20m replacement rope that is extremely easy to add to your net and comes with all the relevant instructions. It is made from 8mm ski-rope and has a neoprene wrist lanyard, which eliminates chafe on your wrist during casting and is easy to slide on and off the wrist. Most specialist tackle stores will have them available. They are the best addition to your cast net and I have one on my main prawning net.
Cut your lead rope to the length you require. For prawning in the southern bay islands you will need around 20m. If you are just adding a rope to a net used for bait around the estuaries then 6-8m will suffice. Cut each end on a slight slant and then use your lighter to begin melting the fibres. Wet your fingers and then shape the end of the rope into a blunt point.
Tech Tricks
8
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If you hold the rope in two places and push together you will notice how the rope bunches. This ski rope is tubular (hollow in the middle) and when spliced back inside itself has exceptional holding power. A basic connection like this can hold a skier or tube rider, so it will easily be strong enough for your cast net.
Pass the rope through the swivel attachment (or in this case the D-shackle) and tie a basic overhand knot leaving around 20cm of tag end.
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While bunching up the rope as shown, insert the tag end of the ski rope through the fibres on one side and into the centre core close to the knot. This will be a lot easier than you first expect.
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You will repeat this process in the other end of the rope to make a loop for your hand. On my bait nets I attach the rope to my wrist, yet on my prawning net (which I throw using the American Shrimpers method) I attach the rope to the rail of the boat and have a large carabiner snap on the end of the lead rope to allow it to easily be changed from side to side.
Insert the tag end all the way up through the centre of the rope. You can do this easily by pushing the main rope forward to make it expand and bunch up, before tightening your grip to secure the tag end and then pulling forward to drag it back through the centre recess. You will probably have to do this a couple of times, however the process is very simple. Once completed the tag end will be inserted fully into the core and it should look like this picture.
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For nets with large swivels already on them, you will be able to attach the rope directly without using a D-shackle. The expansion and gripping properties of the rope make this a very simple yet very strong connection, regardless of the diameter of the ski rope you choose. Due to the simplicity, ropes can quickly and easily be removed or added to a net, even while out on the water. MARCH 2019
17
Reef fish make up for lack of mackerel YAMBA
Dave Gaden
Autumn is here, but don’t expect a quick change in the conditions as far as daily water temperatures are concerned this month. For all those who suffered through the end of December and all of January with the cold water temperature and consistent northeasters, this month should make up for it. Our mackerel run in the early summer was once again almost a non-event. Very few fish were taken on even fewer days. Woody Head and Shark Bay had days of warm water and the best bait shoals you could ever want to find, but the mackerel seemed to stay out wide in the hot current and charge south past us again. Now we wait for the return, and I expect this month they will be thick both north and south of Yamba. While the mackerel didn’t play like they should have, the reef fish have
Chris nailed this cracker of a snapper offshore from Yamba.
Jack took this double header of pearlies.
Young Ellie Highlands from Tamworth enjoying the local snapper fishing.
been pretty good. We were consistently coming home with nice catches of snapper and pearlies on the charter boats, even when the water seemed too cold and dark to get a bite. March will be a lot better, with the warm current right on the coast making for happier and hungrier fish. For those heading offshore this month, you won’t need to travel big distances, as March quite often produces its best fish on the reef closest to the bar. The good old Northeast Corner only 5nm from the bar can hold nice snapper and trag, with a few pearlies on the bottom as well as
mackerel for those fishing floaters. They will be easier to spot this month, as they bunch up a bit tighter on the down current side of the higher parts of the reef. It’s a good playground around the Northeast Corner, with about 5 acres of really good reef running south-southwest. If you want to chance your luck at a big Spanish, then try the Freebun Rock. The best advice is to troll livies a long way behind the boat at dead idle around the bommie. Be very aware that any swell around this reef breaks, so stay a good safe distance and sound it out before getting too close for your own safety. If last March is anything to go on, the FAD approximately 12nm southeast of the bar will be holding plenty of mahimahi, wahoo and Spanish mackerel. It is
Don Causley got stuck into some nice mulloway on a recent charter.
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a bit of a run out to the FAD, and sometimes you arrive only to find a couple of other boats are already hammering it, but don’t get discouraged. Have a fish on the reef south of the FAD until they leave and give it half an hour. You will find good blue spot flathead and plate size snapper all over the broken rock and gravel out there. Mahimahi may be the fastest growing fish around, but not the smartest. They need to eat constantly and will just return after being scared off to have another go, but you will never catch them all. North you will have the good old reliable Woody Head to troll or float bait for a mackerel. From there, head up to Black Rock and South Evans, as there will be nice mulloway this month and some really good snapper. A lot of the ground up there holds pockets of sand in the middle of the reef and quite often you will find you are catching the little red spotted whiting at the same time you are getting trag and snapper. Throw these fish straight back into the water, but make sure there is a 6/0 hook hanging out of their back when you do it! Some of our best snapper and mulloway have been taken on a live red spot whiting, and there is usually no bite, just a smash and run as it hits the bottom. In the estuary the crabs, both blue swimmers and muddies, should be nearly prevalent enough to keep you occupied this month. With Easter not until late April this year, the traffic on the river will be reduced, and that usually means better catches. Oyster Channel will be well worth a look
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good weed beds over the shallows and the flathead seem to lay in ambush
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485 SUNRUNNER Pearlies are plentiful at this time of year, as Tom Munro found out. know their way through the narrow channels. There should be some good flathead around, head upstream to the boat ramp at the Big4 Caravan Park on Palmers Island and fish the shallow water in front of the mangroves from there to the gun club heading west. There are some really
there in big numbers. Romiaka Island would be my second choice. So pack the car and head to Yamba this month to fill the freezer for Easter! Call into the shop at the marina and I’ll draw you a map of where to go or find you a seat on one of my charters offshore!
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Don took this lovely snapper on a nice clear day. MARCH 2019
19
Hot days make for a hot bite BALLINA
Joe Allan
The Richmond River has been fishing exceptionally well over last month. The clarity of the water in the bottom end of the river is ultra clear, resulting in fishing in the middle
of the day very difficult. However, the long, hot days and humid evenings have really got the surface fishing going gangbusters! If you’re wanting to chase some bream, try the Pimlico Island flats with walkers. If you’re after a feed of whiting, be sure to try the
Ben Rampling with a stonker flathead caught from the Porpoise Wall on a live bait.
Father and son Adrian and Anthony Melchior with some beautiful Aussie bass from Bungawalbin Creek.
flats across from the town centre around the RSL club or the weed beds around north creek. Also, make sure you have something geared up for a flathead, as you will come across some good fish and be able to sight cast them in the shallows. The mud crabs have been firing, with good catches reported along the
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mid sections of the river. Try baits such as mullet and black fish frames. The bigger tides seem to have bought the best numbers on. The rock walls along the town stretch and up Emigrant Creek are producing some good numbers of quality bream on light crankbaits. Again, rock crab colour in the Atomic Crank 38 is the stand out. You may well come across a few of our red friends – the mighty mangrove jack – so be prepared to either beef up your gear or revisit the local tackle store. Although, they do say that if you’re not getting hung up on snags, you’re not in the strike zone. A new lure that has been catching some good fish is the popper from Bassday called the Backfire 65. These are full wire through lures and they have already accounted for a few jacks around the place.
Jamie Conway with a nice snapper caught on a pilchard at Riordans Reef. There are some good size flatties still being caught along the Porpoise Wall and in Mobbs Bay. Live baits and heavy plastics on the last half of the run-out are always worth a shot. Small crankbaits and plastics up on the flats in Mobbs are also solid performers, especially when the water is dirty towards the bottom half of the run-out. There are some good numbers of bream getting caught off the beaches. On the other hand, the dart and tailor have been a little quiet. However, you can start to try the gutters around Boundary Creek along South Ballina for some good size flathead. Blades, slugs and heavy soft plastics will do the trick if you can’t come across some fresh bait.
OFFSHORE Offshore there have been some quality snapper on the 32s as well as some good size trag. The mahimahi have still been very consistent off the FAD, with the unexpected low numbers of mackerel, since mid-December. If you are in search of them, know that they can be a diverse feeding species when it comes to locations. One day they’ll be at Black Head and the next at Riordans Reef. FRESHWATER The surface action in the freshwater reaches has been going really well of late. Unweighted soft plastics imitating a prawn or small frog are working well when skipped under trees, and are a really fun way to fish. Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits have also been producing good fish.
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The author with a flathead caught from the shallows of Mobbs Bay. 20
MARCH 2019
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Everybody was mangrove jack fighting THE TWEED
Anthony Coughran
There are good numbers and catches right across the board this month. But as usual, the storms and the weather are dictating where and what to fish for. Close reefs are fishing well due to the bait schools that are holding on them – this keeps all the predators around
anything in the shallows. The surface suckers are boofing lures this month. The rains and storms have most back creek, upper rivers, filling pools, drains and run-offs fishing very well for a few fat bass. OFFSHORE There are still lots of pelagics gracing us with their presence. Good number of billfish, mahimahi and yellowfin are being caught between Tweed and Byron.
reefs is well worth a troll between spots. Mackerel have been in good numbers on close reefs over the last month. A few smaller mahimahi have been caught around the FADs, trappers lines and floats. Small metals have been working best. Stickbaits, poppers, trolled hardbodies, skirts, metals, floating baits, live baits and troll baits around most close reefs has been fishing well for spotties, Spaniards and wahoo. Wahoo mainly out on the 24s, 36s and 50s and mainly on skirts. You can also find the odd one on the eastern side of 9 Mile on hardbodied deep diving lures. Floating baits and a heavy berley trail has been fishing well on small close reefs and catching some good spotted mackerel. Flicking metals around your baits and through your berley trail will catch any loose stragglers too timid to hit your baits. The Fidos bommies, 5 Mile, South and Kingy reefs, and
Hastings Point are also good for a spotties. Troll baits has been working well for Spaniards. Trolling bonito, slimies and pillies has been catching decent fish over the last month. Stickbaits, poppers and live baits have also catching some great fish around the bommies on the close reefs. There is still the odd cobia sitting around the baitfish on close reefs. Try dropping lightly-weighted live bait down once you have sounded the bait with arches. The odd large GT can be found around those bait schools, too. Live baits have also been working well. There are still some pan-sized reefies out there. Just work the close reefs around dusk and dawn and the deeper reefs once the sun is up. Mud holes, 24s, 36s and the 50s are all producing a great feed on jigs, paternoster rigs, and heavy weighted plastics. Lots of baits can be found at all the usual spots. Size 6-8
jigs have been working best. ESTUARY Big reds are out and they mean business. Most anglers fishing live baits of a night are only successfully scoring one or two out of five. They are wreaking that much havoc. It has a lot of
will see your arm getting stretched. Artificials are also fishing well for jacks, mainly during the day and again in that heavy structure. Just work the tides – try and work those slack tides and tide changes for more results. Northerlies and storms will
Andrew Ennever with a 58cm GT that munched his live bait while soaking it for a jack. Mitchel Zygnerski with a decent mahimahi. They have been around in numbers, but their sizes have been fairly average. and feeding up on most close reefs. The estuaries are boiling with fish at the moment. Jacks are still wreaking havoc and some big trevally are busting up and getting caught and even the skinny water has lots of elbow slapper gangs munching
22
MARCH 2019
Try current lines, bait balls, any floating debris, FADs and packs of birds on the 36-fathoms, 50m, 100m, 200m and out around the shelf. Purple and black, pink and white, and lumos are still working the best. Even the odd smaller black sitting in between the close
Lachlan Southgate with a beautiful jack that was caught on a plastic at night. Dark has been the best time to target jacks.
anglers grabbing their game gear just to stop them in that heavy structure. Lots of anglers this season have gone from 50lb-60lb braid to 80lb-100lb wind on to 100lb125lb and 30cm mullet and they are still having trouble stopping them. All heavy structure that holds bait is holding good size and numbers of jacks. Live baits between 10-30cm in any of this heavy structure
also help you in your chase for jacks. There have been a lot of cod and some monster flatty as by-catches this month, on live baits and on lures while in the search for jacks. Some cracker trevally species have been around in the rivers this month. Those bridges with street lights have been fishing best for trevally. Live baits and herring shaped lures
are working well. Plastics, blades, vibes and swimbaits are also working well on these species. There is still heaps of whiting up in the skinny water this month. Yabbies, beach and bloodworms are catching a good feed while drifting the flats. The quicker worked surface lures are catching some better-sized specimens. Sugapens, clear Gillies popper, Halco Roosta Poppers and other walkthe-dog and poppers styles are all working well. The best method has been skipping them across the top. If you think you’re going quick, go faster. There are lots of bull sharks in the river and in the creeks this month and they are easier to fish for than you think. At this time of year you want to fish the drains, irrigation channels in the upper rivers and creeks during or after the rains and storms with large dead baits like whole mullet, whole bonnies, freshwater eel, large fish heads, stingray flaps or large live baits either under floats or on the bottom. I like to run one of each. A live bait float and a dead bait on the bottom. You can fish for them with pretty light spin gear like 30-50lb braid to 50-125lb wire. Either gel coated or multistrand is good. An 8/016/0 hook or multiple hooks of various sizes or even a stinger with a treble has all been working well. Just find the rig that suits you and the baits you’re using. I do like to run heat shrink over my wire and crimps just to break it up from the shark’s electro sensors. In my experience it does help. There are still muddies moving around, especially with the rain and storms and around the full moon. Try upriver and creeks around freshwater drains, lakes and dams run into the saltwater and the holes in the upper river and creeks and in the mangroves where trees are down. BEACHES Beaches have been fishing well with the storms. It pushes all the bait down the rivers and creeks and ends up out in the gutters along the beaches. You have a good chance of some school mulloway, trevally and even the odd jack mixing with your beach locals such
as dart, bream, flathead and tailor. Some really big shovelnose are being caught around the mouth and the sand pumping jetties. Large baits on big long shank hooks are working well, as is live baits if you can get it to stay in the gutter. Pipis at Kirra and Casuarina, beachworms at Fingal, Kingy and Back beaches, and Hastings Point, and small strip baits, white bait, and pilchards (whole and half) have all been working well off the headlands as well as the beach gutters. FRESHWATER The rain has helped heaps with filling of the drying pools and shrinking
Tilapia have been getting eradicated over the month, but more people need to join the fight to eradicate them. Bread, dough, worms and grubs are the go for tilapia. The bite is better in the afternoon as they are very territorial when it comes to their nests. So, a well placed cast into or next to the nest is too irresistible to these pests and they will hit it. NEXT MONTH Mackerel, wahoo, mahimahi, and billfish will feature in every offshore fishing trip over the next month and as they move along the coast. Weather conditions will dictate the success rates. Jacks will continue to feed up over
Leon Mcclymont with a fun mackerel. Close reefs have been holding good numbers of late. ponds. With the rains the bass and natives can move around again as well as have food brought to them. Targeting drains, run-offs, rapids, weirs, waterfalls and below dam walls will be, and has been, the go this month. With reaction bites lure placement is crucial. Surface lures at dusk and dawn have been fishing well. Jig spins, spinnerbaits, plastics, crankbaits and vibes are all working well after sun up. Get up in that dirtier water and get those lures in tight. It’s all about the reaction bites. For something different try a worm or grub under a float. You never know what you will catch. I have caught large catfish, big mullet, big bass, spangled perch and even eels on the humble old garden worm. It’s always a lucky dip when fishing with worms or grubs.
the month and will be quite ravenous. Large baits and heavy gear will only stop the ones that want to be caught, so fishos will have better luck with smaller ones on lures. Whiting will keep dominating the skinny water, but will start to sit more in the channels as the month goes on and the flatties start to push back up into the skinny water. Crabs are normally at their fattest at this time of year. Placing your pots up in the mangroves, up back rivers and creeks and close to the brackish as possible will be the go as they move back upriver after their spawning run. The river and dams will continue to fish well over the next month. But as the month goes on, try fishing more around the brackish and weir walls. They will hold around these places over the next month.
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Kristian Frey caught this 64cm cod as a by-catch while fishing for jacks. MARCH 2019
23
Smash that surface fishing SOUTHERN GOLD COAST
Mark Ward markward222@bigpond.com
The past month has been busy but there have been a lot of quality fish caught. With light winds and plenty of sunshine, the weather has been
perfect for a beach fish. Lure anglers have also had a good month with some excellent catches of mangrove jack and trevally. Best of all, these fish have been smashing surface lures. ESTUARY Whiting are in good numbers around
the Tweed and Nerang rivers. The shallow water of Tallebudgera and Currumbin have also been producing a lot of whiting. For bigger fish the Tweed and Nerang have been the pick of the spots. When night fishing, the Nerang is always productive at this time of year. If you
The calm water of the dams is a good option this month.
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can manage to dig some bloodworms or wrigglers, you are all but guaranteed a few monster whiting. The deep edges around the council chambers are my preferred location, but I have a few mates that have been doing very well further upstream. Find some running water, deeper edges and some weed on the drop-off and you will do well. Bream can still be taken on bait in all the usual haunts, but the past couple of months have seen me relearning the art of bream on lures. I have been teaching my incredibly keen son about bream and he has taken to it like a duck to water. But I will have to retrain him after summer because bream are one of those fish, similar to bass, that act a little different in the heat of summer than they do in winter. Summer bream are very spread out and can often be caught in the Tweed right up in the freshwater. I have actually caught bass and bream from the same bank in the Tweed. Having said that, there are always those fish that are just too lazy to move too far upstream. We also target bream in the canals, as they love
The amazing colours of a diamond trevally. They don’t fight as hard as their cousins but their colours are stunning. artificial structure. Bait fishing is best done with live yabbies or prawns, but any fresh or live bait will work well. There are as many lures that will catch bream as there are anglers to throw them, so it’s all a matter
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MARCH 2019
Blake Caswell caught this 35cm whiting in the Burrum River at Burrum Heads.
of personal preference. I love the Berkley Gulp soft plastics in natural colours. Grubs, prawns and minnows all work well. Adjust the weight of the jighead to the conditions and the size of the plastic and the only thing left to do is get the lure into or as close to structure as possible. Working the shallows or weedy bottoms during summer can be done with small surface lures. I’m very old school so it may pay to research what the latest is in surface lures for bream but for what it is worth, I have been using the Zipping Ziggy for years. It’s also my go to surface lure for bass. On windy days, the bite is often better and I will go to a noisier cup face popper. Nothing flash or expensive here and often just buy what is cheap and replace the trebles. Experiment with the retrieve, but a few short taps of the rod and pause is what usually works. Use lots of pauses though because that’s when the bites come. Bream are fun but mangrove jack are even ‘funner’. You’ll find them in the same artificial structure that the bream love. There have been a lot caught throughout the Tweed and the canals of the mid and southern Gold Coast. Areas with a lot of bait and running water such as the canals of Monaco Street and the bridges of the Tweed are ideal. They have been hitting plastics as well as hardbody lures. The trick
is to get it as close to cover as you possibly can. Trevally, tarpon, giant herring and more have all been hitting lures. Targeting mangrove jack and trevally can turn up just about anything this time of year. Flathead are another fish that can be targeted on lures.
It’s a fantastic time of year for lure anglers in the canals. BEACHES Is there anything better on a summer’s morning that having the waves lapping at your bare feet? Whiting, dart and bream have all been around in good numbers and there
will even be the odd mulloway around. Using beachworms and pipis are my preferred baits or ghost crabs for big bream. Summer fishing from the beach is all about finding gutter close to shore and keeping sinkers as light as possible. A size 2 ball sinker is ideal as
Cody Ward with a big summertime bream landed on a well-presented soft plastic.
Cody Ward snagged this impressive tarpon on a lure intended for a mangrove jack.
this keeps the bait moving, which in turn will attract the fish’s attention. If fishing the gutters close to shore, resist the temptation to walk straight into the shore break to cast, as the whiting love to feed hard up against the shore. FRESHWATER The Hinze and Clarrie Hall have been suffering
from the heat and while there have still been plenty of fish landed, reports are that they have been a little quiet. Early mornings on the surface is the best bet as they have been schooling up during the day and hard to catch. If working the surface in the morning or late afternoon, small walk-
the-dog lures like the Zipping Ziggy and Savage Top Prey work well, as do cicadas and small poppers. When schooled up, just keep throwing everything at them until they bite. I’d love to be more specific than that but I have found that finding the schools and then getting them to bite has been another story.
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Marching forward GOLD COAST CANALS
Josh Dunn Instagram: @josh__dunn__
As we kick off autumn, fishing is set to continue to heat up after a hot summer bite! We saw plenty of species on the bite this summer, which is a great sign to many heading into the cooler months. Trevally and mangrove jack have really left their mark in the canals, and this is looking to continue. Bream, flathead and whiting are also
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still in solid numbers, falling for just about anything that passes their faces. These bread and butter species are always a go-to when the trevally and jacks aren’t playing the game, bringing plenty of fun, especially on the flats! March is without a doubt my favourite month for surface fishing, and I’ve heard the same from many anglers. I believe this is due to the transition in seasons and species. The water temperature starts to slowly drop and the heat of the afternoon hangs around, making it a perfect time to
whip out the surface lures. Anything that makes a lot of sound is a perfect attraction for jacks, trevally or a feisty bream. One lure that works well for me is the Lucky Craft G-Splash. This popper makes an incredible amount of ‘bloop’ and pushes a lot of water. Casting up close to a jetty, bridge pylon, retaining or rock wall on dawn or dusk should get you results. It can be such a thrilling way to fish, as the majority of the time you’ll be hit unexpectedly, and the jacks sure do know how to make a loud boof!
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The broadwater and the ‘Pin, have had a great success rate lately. Surprisingly, mulloway have been one of the few species on the bite. If you’re looking to venture out for one of these fish, be sure to try the dead low tide for the best results. If you can get this tide during a late afternoon, you should be in with a great chance. Using 5” plastics or soft vibes that are constantly touching the bottom is my favourite combination. Keep
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in mind if you’re fishing for mulloway, especially in the broadwater or Jumpinpin, try your best to get them up fast, as lately sharks have been taxing them on the way up. Sometimes it can be difficult, as the larger models tend to sit in the current and don’t want to come up. Within the next month or two, be sure to see temperatures slowly start to drop and fingers crossed for more rain. The canals are well overdue for a
flush out of rain to stir things up. Rain normally tends to get the baitfish moving, which can bring the fish on a red-hot bite the day after great rain. With rain the canals do tend to get discoloured, giving us even more reason to fish surface lures! In conclusion, March is a great month if you are in search of a variety of species. With great weather expected, now is the perfect time to battle with some local canal brutes!
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MARCH 2019
Rock walls with some deeper water are perfect for a variety of predatory species.
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After a very dry start to the year the seasonal rains have done wonders for the fishing around the ‘Pin, flushing out all the creeks and rivers and providing much-needed nutrients for the system. Just like last year, we are looking forward to a bumper autumn fishing season. It has been a great start to the year for flathead, as they seem to be one of the most targeted fish in the ‘Pin. This is because they are a great table fish, and are fun to catch. They could be anywhere from 10cm long to over a metre. I see a lot more fishers out there now working soft plastics and vibes than there was a few years ago. Casting requires a lot of patience and technique, but the results speak for themselves. You can cover a lot more ground and find where the fish are holding at what part of the tide. Fishing at low tide will obviously work in your favour, as there are less places for a hungry flatty to hide, and they can’t resist smashing a lure.
• D E TA I L I N G
For a chance of landing a few lizards try along the top of Crusoe Island, Kalinga Bank, the Stockyards, Pandannus weed banks, from Tabby Tabby to Rocky Point in the sandy shallows and in the Logan River near Alberton Sands. All these spots are good for using soft plastics,
trolling hardbodied lures or using bait. If the weather is good I like to head out to the bar and see if there are any tailor about near the breakers or just inside the ‘Pin. If you can see birds diving, then there should be a few about. But even if you can’t, throwing a few slugs
around or trolling shallow lures will usually score you a few tailor. When they are on it is the best fishing you can do, as you can get a fish a cast and the action is hot. Banana prawns should be running along the Main Channel, which stretches from Jacobs Well all the way to
Tannim and Daly Keith got amongst the tailor at the ‘Pin!
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Macleay Island in the deep water near the Saltworks and Karragarra. In the river from Ageston Sands to the mouth is another good spot, just remember that there is an exclusion zone around the pipes of the prawn farms. The trick is to find them by using your sounder and then throwing cast after cast with your net until you get enough. Remember the bag limit is 10L per person. Mud crabs should be around in good numbers along the mangroves of the Logan right out towards Canaipa Passage and all the way down to Couran Cove. Look for drop offs just off the mangroves, as the crabs will come down
Young Callan Morrow showed his pop how it’s done! He nailed this 73cm monster on his third cast of the day with a plastic. at low tide to feed. Sandies should be on the move as well along the main channel from Cabbage Tree Point right up to Karragarra. The good news for those chasing whiting is that as they will have benefitted from the flush of food into the system. They will be foraging along the bottom in search of a feed facing into the tide, so be sure to berley up and lure them to the back of the boat. They will also take vibes, poppers and other small lures and using a slower retrieval should yield better results. Try the sand flats near Alberton Sands, the top of Tabby Tabby, Fishermans Channel, Slipping Sands and
the top of South Straddie. Outside the bar there should still be some pelagics hanging about as they move along the coast. Marlin, mackerel, wahoo, tuna and mahimahi should be available and you’ll catch most of these near the surface. Be sure to keep an eye out for any activity and on the sounder and check for balls of bait, as more than likely the pelagics won’t be too far away. • Thanks for all your reports and fish weighed in. Feel free to drop us a line at Gem Bait and Tackle on 3287 3868 or email gembait@tpg.com.au for any up to date info and I’ll catch you next month.
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MARCH 2019
A great haul of whiting, all caught on poppers by Mark Dresche.
News
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The National 4x4 Outdoors Show, Fishing & Boating Expo has been Queensland’s biggest and most comprehensive outdoor lifestyle show for almost 30 years. Last year the event had nearly 30,000 likeminded enthusiasts turn up, and this year is looking to be bigger and better. “Fun is definitely the essence of this event; and it’s always so gratifying to see so much enthusiastic participation in all the different
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aspects of the show,” Event Director Paul Mathers said of the show. An annual highlight of the
National 4x4 Outdoors Show, Fishing & Boating Expo has always been the long rollcall of special guests and visiting industry experts ready to share their expertise, experiences and entertaining stories with show visitors. This year, outdoor experts such as Jase Andrews and Simon Anderson (All 4 Adventure), Spida and Sheree Everitt (Great Australian Doorstep), Shaun and Graham (4WD Action), local legend Paul Burt (Channel 7), Pat Callinan (Pat Callinan’s 4x4 Adventures), and Alicia and Jamie (The Offroad Adventure Show) will be entertaining show visitors once again. They will be joined by some fresh faces including David Hodge, the BareFoot Fisherman; eccentric Australian wildlife adventurer, Andrew Ucles; Scott Hillier from Creek to Coast; and Nick the Bush Cook. They will all be onsite across the weekend to share a yarn, a laugh, and pose for a selfie! The Boating Industry Association (BIA) is back for 2019, promoting and supporting all things aquatic, while the Berkley Supertank returns, tutoring show goers on a variety of angling skills and the effectiveness of
different fishing equipment, all in the giant fish-stocked transparent tank. The Action Arena will offer spectators hours of high adrenalin thrills with plenty of four-wheeled tricks and stunts. And for those wishing to get behind the wheel, the 4x4 Proving Ground is perfect for putting the latest 4WDs on the market through their paces on specifically designed tracks mirroring off-road conditions. For those wishing to get their hearts racing in other ways, the Reptile Kingdom will have a selection of scaly, cold blooded ‘friends’ on hand to keep visitors amused along with interactive and educational information
A staple of the event is an arena designed to put some of the latest 4x4 models through their paces. sessions scheduled throughout the day. There are a range of transport options to get
A highlight of the show every year is the assortment of special guests and industry experts there to entertain and educate.
to and from the Brisbane Showgrounds with plenty of accessible public transport options available, plus more parking than ever before onsite. Open from 9am-6pm on Friday and Saturday, and 9am-5pm on Sunday, tickets are available online or at the door. Children 15 or under are free, an adult ticket is $19, and a two-day ticket is $30. Pensioner tickets are $14. Fishing Monthly readers will receive a 15% discount on adult tickets online when they use the promo code TACKLE. For more information go to: www.4x4show.com. au/brisbane.
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MARCH 2019
29
Awesome autumn fishing GOLD COAST
David Green
March is one of the better months to fish around the Gold Coast. Offshore will
have Spanish and spotted mackerel, wahoo, and blue and black marlin.
Warwick Isaacson with a fun wahoo. You always have a good chance for these guys around the Nine Mile Reef.
You can also expect a few sailfish to show up. Although, the strong current can make bottom fishing quite difficult. The estuaries will also be firing, especially for jacks. You really can’t lose this month. OFFSHORE So far this season the mackerel run has been quite erratic and the fish have not yet shown up in numbers. There have been some good catches of spotted mackerel at Palm Beach and Mermaid Reef but they have been inconsistent. March generally sees the Spanish mackerel increase in numbers and become more common out on the 24-fathom line. The best way to target these fish is to slow troll live baits from a downrigger with the bait positioned about 5-10m off the bottom. Live slimy mackerel, yellowtail and small bonito make the best baits. Alternative strategies include spinning with metal lures, trolling dead baits and fishing stickbaits on the surface. Trolling large hardbodied lures is also effective at times, but in general is a far less
Releasing a quality black marlin. Their numbers will start thinning out this month, with blue marlin taking their place.
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productive method. In March the average Spanish mackerel is around 8-10kg with the odd bigger fish. If you specifically want big mackerel use big baits such as whole tuna or tailor. Mackerel are generally at their best around dawn, and if there is a change of tide early in the morning the bite is usually a bit more prolonged.
There should be increasing numbers of wahoo this month and it is definitely worth a visit to the Tweed Nine Mile Reef. Trolling high-speed skirted lures, live tuna, jigging metal lures and casting stickbaits are all effective methods here. Hardbodied minnows also work well at times. The Nine Mile works best when the current
is running hard over the main body of the reef, and if wahoo are about you should see a lot of longtom taking to the air and nervous schools of small tuna in the vicinity. Out on the wider grounds there should be black marlin on the 80m line around Spot X and blue marlin out wider. This season has seen a lot of 50-120kg black
Sami Omeri with a beautiful jack. Their sizes have been bigger than usual, making for some fun sessions.
marlin caught around the bait schools and the area has been very crowded. Most fish are caught on deep drifted live baits dropped down next to the bait schools. Lure trolling and switch baiting are good alternative methods and are a much more exciting way to fish. Personally, I’d rather catch one fish on a lure than three on a live bait. The weather over the last month has been outstanding with virtually no unfishable days, and the crowds on the bait grounds where the marlin are has been like a parking lot. March is generally one of the best months of the year to chase blue marlin. While the black marlin are starting to thin out a bit by March the blue marlin should be increasing in numbers. The last four fish I’ve encountered have been in relatively shallow water between 120-160m. Most anglers don’t put their lures in until they hit 200m, but there are good opportunities well inside this line. Targeting blue marlin is best done on 37kg tackle and trolling large skirted lures is the most successful method used. BROADWATER AND GOLD COAST RIVERS In the estuaries there should be some good
fishing this month. There have been plenty of mangrove jack around this season, with a lot in the 50-60cm range. Most of these fish have been caught casting hardbodied lures or soft plastics around floating pontoons. Local gun jack angler Kane Barclay has caught over 70 jacks this season up to 60cm in length. As well as being in the canals, a lot of big mangrove jack have been caught in the Seaway on live baits. In the life cycle of mangrove jack fish move out of the estuaries to the inshore reefs when they reach a certain age. In more northern areas they are generally around 45cm when they move offshore, but on the Gold Coast they seem to stay in the estuaries for a much longer period. In recent weeks divers have reported large schools of big mangrove jack around the north wall of the Seaway. Whiting are another good target species this month and chasing them on the flats is a fun way to fish. Casting unweighted yabbies to fish moving up on the flats on a rising tide is a fun way to get a feed of whiting. Surface poppers and stickbaits are also effective, particularly
if the whiting are feeding on small prawns. I like the Bassday Sugapen for whiting and this lure has caught me hundreds of fish. If you are chasing whiting on surface lures make sure you wind fast. If you see the tell-tale small ‘V’ of a whiting chasing your lure, keep winding and do not stop. Some big whiting up to around 40cm love to eat surface lures and it is a fun way to fish for them. There will be a few flathead around this month on the top of the flats on early morning high tides, but overall the flathead fishing in March can be a bit slow and most of the fish are quite small. Working big soft plastics will produce the odd crocodile-sized lizard this month and trolling is another good method that lets you cover plenty of water. March is an excellent month to chase mud and sand crabs on the Gold Coast. Coombabah Creek, the Pimpama River and the weed flats in the central part of the Broadwater all produce plenty of crabs. Overall, March has plenty of good options for Gold Coast anglers. It has been an extremely dry summer and if we get good rain in March the fishing should improve.
MARCH 2019
31
Prawns running, fish feeding SOUTHERN BAY
Nick Whyte
The bay islands have been fishing a little tough of late. There have been a lot of undersized juvenile snapper and sweetlip on the edges. This time of year it pays to fish a little deeper around Harries, the deeper edges along the western and southern sides of Peel as well as the Peel and Coochie artificial reefs. The fish won’t be thick but should see you in with a better chance of some quality fish. Summer whiting have been the talk of the town with lots of quality fish coming from the Pin and Nerang River. The edges along the Pig Stye and the old Squire Island area have been the standouts at the Pin, with the council chambers and Bundall stretch being the go down the Nerang. Fresh worms or tiny live soldier crabs have produced the best quality with long slender poppers doing the job for the lure anglers. Prawns have been quite patchy at the start of this season in the Southern Bay. There have been reports of isolated catches from the mouth of the Logan and Jacobs Well areas, but they are a little hit and miss at the moment. This month should see a great improvement and with it only getting better moving forward into April. With the prawns will come the predators: mulloway, flatty, thready and bream all love a good feed of prawns. Prawn
imitation lures like small vibes, long slender topwater lures or prawn plastics are worth a go this month. It’s not uncommon to see schools of mulloway belting prawns up against the surface in reasonably
down into the bay. There have been reports of fish to 20kg, but at the moment there are only small schools that are very hard to target as the increased boat traffic means they are quite flighty. Mangrove jack are
offshore, so places like the Amity rock wall, Port of Brisbane reclamation wall, the Pin Bar ledge out at Swan Bay and the Southport Seaway will all be hotspots. Don’t be scared of using bigger lures or baits in these
Taylor Sutton with a decent Brissy River thready. The prawn run should mean the number of threadies caught will increase this month.
Dale Cummings with a beautiful jack that was caught on a ZMan 4” SwimmerZ. shallow water. Keep an eye out for bird activity as this is a dead giveaway. Spotty mackerel have been prevalent in the top part of Moreton Bay. The Sandhills and all the beacons have been regular producers. Most fish are still average size but there is the occasional bigger fish up to 1m. Longtail should start to heat up this month with bigger schools pushing
areas as the fish will be of a better calibre. With the prawns starting to run, bream will be throughout the southern bay around all the shallow rock points. This is a great time of year to target these fish on small topwater lures. The rocks around the power
lines, the top of Macleay at Pats Point, and Lambs Rocks are all great places to have a look and get into some topwater fun. If you have a great capture from the Southern Bay you would like to share, email them through to techfishing@hotmail.com.
still dominating catches in the estuaries for those committed anglers that put in the time. This month the topwater activity will be the go-to on dawn and dusk because of the prawns through the system. Fish the rock wall edges and concentrate around the entrance corners where most of the current flow is. Fish will be getting ready toward the end of the month to make their run
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Not too cold, not too hot, the weather’s just right BRISBANE
Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com
It has been a rather warm summer so far, with scorching days and plenty of northerly winds. The fishing has been varied, with some doing exceptionally well while others struggled. Mackerel were on the quiet side throughout Moreton Bay, with spotties scarce and only schoolies to be taken in any numbers at times. Surface action was limited with only the occasional bust up to be found. However, there has been plenty of other fish species on offer throughout the region as well as prawns and crabs. It is highly possible that we will have a late run of spotted mackerel in the Bay during March and the longtails, other tunas and bonito will also be on the improve. March generally offers decent weather conditions and a slight cooling of temperatures. Lessened traffic on the water also helps make for a more enjoyable and productive day. Get out and sample some of summer’s finest aquatic offerings during March. PRAWNS Scattered numbers of prawns began to appear during December and these just increased in regularity and number as time went on. By late January, good hauls had been taken in the Pine River, Brisbane River, Kedron Brook Floodway, Logan River and many other areas. The usually productive Caboolture River didn’t really fire, but you could scrape up a feed. In most systems, the period around the low tide generally produced the better prawning, however, the change of the high tide was also worth it, if that’s the only time you could get out. Many hauls of banana prawns from the Brisbane River and Kedron Brook
Drew from Pro Throw Nets with a great double limit of big banana prawns that he and his mate caught early in the year from the northside. Floodway were second year prawns. These prawns are quite large, often in excess of 20cm with the classic rusty red legs of larger bananas. Some managed their full quota of a 10L bucket of these red-leg prawns, which provided a great feed for Australia Day festivities. Hopefully, if we get a little rain we will have an early start to the prawning around the southern bay islands with areas such as the Saltworks, eastern end of Lamb Island Channel, Karragara Island and the Powerlines (southern end of Russell) coming online. You just never really know what is going to happen, as prawns can be fickle and unpredictable creatures.
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During March I would definitely be checking out all the aforementioned areas and a scout of the bay island areas may also pay dividend. Due to the depth in these areas, you will often need a 20m rope on you cast net. Check out my Tech Tricks (p.16) article in this issue for a quick and easy way to do this so you are ready for when the prawns hit the Saltworks and other deeper southern bay areas. BRISBANE RIVER With a bit of dredging happening around the QCL Jetty and other spots up the river during the last few months, the water colour has sometimes resembled coffee. This hasn’t stopped the threadfin from biting, however, many reported an
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increase in vermin species such as catfish, pike eels and rays, especially when live baiting. Snapper generally don’t like the dirty water and their numbers have diminished in the lower reaches. However, as water clarity improves, the quality of the fishing will also. Lure fishing for threadfin has been a little tougher than usual and although anglers with quality sounders and technique have been able to locate numbers of threadfin at times, getting them to bite can be a different story. Often it pays to stick with the school and keep plugging away with an array of vibes, blades and micro jigs until they decide to chew. Popular areas include the fronts of the main shipping wharves (especially around the swing zone), the Oil Pipeline, the numerous jetties between the mouth and Portside, and any prominent declines into the main river basin. During the day threadfin are usually found closer to the bottom, however, at night they will often rise through the water column, especially around well lit areas where prey species are present.
around to the tug terminal, and around the numerous shipping jetties (boats must adhere to signage restrictions as posted on each jetty). Bream, small snapper, flathead and numerous other species can be taken from these spots. There will still be a few mulloway to be caught in the river, however, most will be taken as by-catch. The channel markers leading out from the mouth are worth trying, especially around the top of the tide. Live baits, soft plastics and vibration lures will produce cod (some XOS specimens), threadfin, mulloway, snapper and mackerel. LONGTAILS Hopefully during March we will see an increase in the number of longtail tuna in the Bay. These normally enter through the northern end of the Bay and then spread out, often being found down as far as Coochiemudlo over the next few months. The NE, NW and Kianga Channels are definitely worth checking out during the month. Surface feeding longtails can be taken on an array of lures including stickbaits, jerkshad plastics, chromed slugs and slices, baitfish-profiled flies, pencil
until you give it a try. Live baiting can be great way to tempt longtails, especially those specimens better than 10kg. Yakkas, slimey mackerel, pike, cowanyoung and gar all make great offerings. Soaking these baits around the shipping channel beacons, south from the Four Beacons, will put you in good stead. Fish one bait close to the surface and another one mid-water. Cobia, mac tuna, yellowtail kingfish and even a Spanish mackerel should take a liking to your bait. While soaking livies, you can also fish other baits close to the bottom to tempt school and spotted mackerel, snapper, cod and other demersals. Longtail numbers should improve over the coming months, but we often see some reasonable numbers of larger fish during March. MACKEREL To be honest, it has been a fairly ordinary mackerel season within Moreton Bay. Apart from a few schools of spotties during December, they were virtually non-existent. I got the occasional one here and there, mainly while trolling spoons for schoolies, however, the surface busting mayhem we all love was
James with a solid threadfin taken on a live bait in the Brisbane River. Prawns have been fairly prevalent in the river, with some quality catches taken by prawners along the mud ledges between the sewerage chute and the Koopa Channel, amongst the moored boats downstream from Portside, out from the mouth of Aquarium Passage and numerous other spots along the length of the river. Obviously, where you find prawns you are also likely to find predatory species. March is generally a good month for estuary cod with anglers casting lures and fishing baits along the Sunken Wall, retaining wall at the mouth, the Caltex rock wall, Boat Passage rock wall
poppers and numerous other offerings. Their mood is often dictated by the type and size of the bait on which they are feeding and the prevalence of it. When they are on very small bait, they can generally be hard to tempt. You’ll need exact replicas of this bait, yet these can be hard to cast on the average 10-15kg spinning tackle needed for sashimi torpedoes. Flies of this profile are generally more productive, but this pursuit is limited to those with the skill to cast a fly line a good 100ft or so. Sometimes a large profile may tempt these early season fish, you just never know
rarely seen. Sometimes we get a second run of spotties during March and April, so they are still worth keeping a lookout for during your transit across Moreton Bay. School mackerel have been around for those who make the effort to target them. Drifting pilchards around the Measured Mile, shipping channel beacons and the fringes of the bay islands will produce a few. I have had to resort to trolling spoons behind paravanes and trolling deep diving minnow lures to score the majority of my captures, but have also nailed a few mackerel on micro jigs around the beacons and artificial reefs.
Trolling spoons behind paravanes along the edges of the major bank systems and the larger channels, such as the Rainbow and Rous, has probably been the most productive method to load up on schoolies.
around reef and rubbly areas. The initial thought is to fish a lot heavier rig, however, moderate tackle will allow you to hook a lot more fish. You will also encounter a few tuskfish while targeting sweetlip. These are probably
Longtail numbers should improve throughout March. They can be pedantic at times and sometimes you need to try different offerings to get a result. This one loved the Samaki Thumpertail. SNAPPER AND SWEETLIP There was still some quality snapper to be taken over the last few months from around the artificial reefs and Bay wrecks. I got numerous 50-65cm specimens on Samaki Thumpertails and other anglers scored specimens over 80cm on quality baits. The bay island margins have been good on the higher tidal stages. Anglers fishing at night and early morning seem to be scoring the better quality snapper. Micro jigs have been a good way to target isolated surroundings in the deeper water of the artificial reefs and wrecks. These have mainly produced snapper as well as a few school mackerel and mulloway. The fringes of the bay islands where the hard bottom structure peters out and the sand and mud begins is a great place to target grass sweetlip. Early morning rising tides offer great opportunities, and if you’re out and about pre-dawn then you are in good stead. Quality baits such as mullet fillet, squid, pike fillets, gar strips and banana prawns are all ideal offerings when fished lightly-weighted. Sweetlip are tough fighters and often very hard to stop
the best eating fish in the bay, however, extracting any decent specimen will generally require heavier tackle and a decent degree of luck. Those who specifically target these amazing fish generally use very heavy tackle and crabs for bait. It can take a fair amount of time to score results on tuskfish but the size of the average fish and palatable qualities definitely makes the effort worthwhile. OTHER OPTIONS Mangrove jack and estuary cod will still be around in decent numbers for those who target them. Fishing lures and live baits around prominent structure in the estuaries, canals and rivers will put you in good stead. As the weather begins to cool jacks and cod will slow down a bit in aggressiveness but are still a viable target. Trevally numbers will increase also as water temperatures begin to drop. All crab species will be worth targeting during the coming month or two. A bit of early rain will stir up the muddies in the creeks and rivers and flush them into the main systems. If we don’t get any decent downpour then you are best off setting pots deep into the system in the
little feeder creeks, drains and gutters. Sand and blueswimmer crab numbers have been average this year, however, most have scratched up a few when setting pots around the river mouth, the bay islands and the more prominent gutters and contours. There should be a month or two of good crabbing opportunities left yet, so get amongst them while you can. The warmer weather makes sharks a lot more prevalent and aggressive in the rivers and bay. Most caught are whalers of various species with the occasional tiger and hammerhead as well. In the rivers it will mainly be bull sharks and spinner sharks, however, there is always the occasional other species. Moreton Bay holds a great array of shark species with numerous different whaler species are on offer. Deploying a slow slick of tuna oil while drifting whole fish or large fillet baits aft will generally get the attention of any sharks in the area. The zones wide of the bay islands, foul grounds, between Cleveland Point and Peel, the zone between Green Island and Wellington Point and just out from the mouth of the Brisbane River are all worth a go and can be accessed in moderate craft. In the Brisbane River you are best fishing with live catfish or mullet. When suspended under a float these will struggle and quickly get the attention of any shark around. Ensure you have hook placement in the tail of the catfish as the sharks will commonly bite the rear half off, leaving the head and spikes. Large fillet baits and eel are ideal if you can’t get large live offerings. Due to the strong currents in the river, I would only recommend berleying during tidal changes, otherwise you might draw the sharks away from your position. Personally, I don’t bother with berley in the river, only in the bay. CONCLUSION March can be a strange month on the piscatorial scene and the prominence of many species will depend on the rainfall inshore and the water temperature and currents in the Bay and further offshore. March offers a little respite to the scorching days we have experienced in recent months and more anglers will be encouraged to get out onto the water to make the most of it before the colder months arrive. Hopefully we will get some decent weather to allow anglers to maximise their opportunities. Whether you are a casual or serious angler, there are a lot of options when fishing Moreton Bay and its filtering waterways during March, so get out amongst it.
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What goes up must also come back down As I’ve mentioned in previous reports, there is a snapper and pearl perch fisheries review happening at the moment and there should be a discussion paper surfacing soon. So, make sure you have your say. • Until next month, enjoy your fishing, take care on the coastal bars and if you’d like to join me on charter (max. 8 persons) give me a call on 07 3822 9527 or 0418 738 750 or visit my new website www. outlawcharters.com.au.
BRISBANE OFFSHORE
John Gooding
This month normally sees plenty of pelagic activity east of the south passage bar. Spanish mackerel numbers should increase and trolling baits in the Point Lookout area and Coffee Rock along the front of Moreton Island will be worth the effort. A well-rigged dead or live bait will take its share of fish, along with fast trolled lures, such as Halco Laser Pro or Rapala. Around Point Lookout most of the Spanish mackerel activity will be close to The Group, but along the front of Moreton Island there are several substantial Coffee Rock Reefs in 10-15m that quite often hold numbers of baitfish, and that means mackerel won’t be far away. School mackerel and the odd longtail tuna are also regular catches along Coffee Rock Reefs over the next couple of months. The Sevens off Point Lookout will see plenty of activity from rat yellowfin tuna and mac tuna. There should also be a few wahoo
A couple of Spanish mackerel that took a liking to some Halco Laser Pros.
A quality mahimahi that put on a show for this angler. Catches on this species have been inconsistent of late. in the area, but so far this season they haven’t really showed in any numbers. Other target species this month include mahimahi out around the wave rider buoy and there is often a few wahoo and small marlin in the area. On charter of late it has been a real mixed bag. There have been some reasonable juvenile snapper out on the 90m line. There have been some good sessions trolling up some Spanish mackerel and yellowfin tuna. We’ve also
had a few good sessions on mahimahi, but we’ve had to have backup options, as there hasn’t been much consistency with the fishing on this species. This is fairly standard for this time of year. Fishing normally improves off the South Passage Bar during the next couple of months as the water temperature starts to drop a little. This sees anglers having the best of both worlds, with pelagics and bottom fish worth targeting at this time.
The results of a session on mahimahi. Out around the wave rider buoy is a good place to target them.
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Presence of bait will bring on the big bites NORTHERN BAY
Grayson Fong graysonfong@bigpond.com
With our northern counterparts copping the wrath of Mother Nature’s cruel tears, we in the southern region would appreciate just a little of what she has been dishing out. A combination of little rainfall and less than desirable easterly winds have really stunted the fishing in the northern bay, with the only ray of sunshine being the presence of baitfish that have been ‘wedged’ by the wind into our many estuaries. This has brought about good catches of our bread and butter species as the big tides have forced bait to venture upriver, playing right into the hands of local anglers.
PINE RIVER The Pine has been fishing rather well in the upper reaches, as shrimp and small bait have been present throughout the deeper areas. Mangrove jack have been the prized trophy of late, with persistent anglers being rewarded for their efforts. Repetitive accurate casting has been the key for jack anglers in the Pine, as many catches have been reported after making lots of casts at the same snag. ZMan 4” SwimmerZ have been the standout plastic. Bream and flathead have been the popular catches in the lower reaches, with anglers braving the onshore winds to fish around the two bridges. Early mornings has been the best time to avoid the wind, which makes fishing uncomfortable. Soft plastics have been the pick for flathead,
faring better than drifting ones due to the solid winds hitting the peninsula. Blubberlip Morwong up to 45cm have also been entertaining anglers, with the occasional grass sweetlip being a welcomed catch off the reefs. Bream numbers have been really good, with the easterly winds churning waters around exposed bommies. Reefs around Clontarf boat ramp and Margate Beach have been the noted bream spots at the southern end of the peninsula, with Queens Beach also producing some solid 30cm bream. Newport Waterways has been a good choice for anglers when the wind picks
MARINE
WINDOWS Ewan Bulgar getting amongst the mackerel outside Pumicestone Passage.
There are bream aplenty around Redcliffe Peninsula at the moment.
where fresh baits have been accounting for many bream. Hays Inlet has been a silent assassin, as the sheltered area has been fishing well, especially on the Clontarf side. PUMICESTONE PASSAGE Grass sweetlip have been the rewarding catches in the passage of late, with the mouth of Glasshouse Creek and 112 being the pick of the areas. Mangrove jack are still being landed in Elimbah Creek, with live poddy mullet being the go-to bait. By-catch of estuary cod have suckered jack chasers, with many good legals being landed due to heavier gear associated with jack fishing.
Sand crabs are still being caught in the main channel, with the outgoing tide being the most fruitful. Bream and grunter are showing up around Little Goat Island on the top of the tide, with anglers using shallow diving cranks to great effect. Ningi Creek has been less productive over the last month with it being one creek that would benefit from a rain-induced flush out. REDCLIFFE PENINSULA Small squire have been on show recently off the peninsula, with North Reef and Shields Street showing the most consistency of all the areas. Fresh baits and soft plastics have been the pick, with anchored anglers
up, with the shallow flats outside the mouth producing good flathead and bream on the top of the high tide. Sand whiting are still being caught on the foreshores of Margate and Clontarf, with the weed flats outside Deception Bay also producing good whiting. TIP OF THE MONTH Rinsing your gear with freshwater is a must to increase longevity of your gear over time. Rods, reels (for reels, tighten drags before spraying), lures, nets and buckets all appreciate a good wash after a day on the water, and be sure to dry excess water off with a clean rag after their light spray.
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Pelagic species are still plentiful offshore NOOSA
Peter Wells
Offshore anglers have been having a blast chasing pelagics of late. Laguna Bay has been going off with tuna and mackerel that have been responding well to metal slugs up to 40g. Using light spin gear can make for a fun fight. Sunshine Reef has been producing quality trout with live yakkas and pilchards fished hard on the bottom. Spanish mackerel, spotted mackerel and tuna have been thick on the closer reefs including Jew Shoal and Sunshine Reef. Some quality reef fish like Maori cod, sweetlip and juvenile snapper have been on the chew from the same area. North Reef has been the firing with Spanish mackerel on trolled diving lures and floated live baits. The bottom has also been producing with snapper, cod, pearl perch and grass sweetlip featuring on most catch lists. The Barwon Banks have been producing quality snapper using soft plastics and micro jigs. Early morning and late afternoon have been the most successful periods. For those chasing Spanish mackerel try slow trolled skirted baits and deep diving lures with the Banks, the Hards and the reefs off Double Island all fishing well this way. To the south, the Gneerings and Currimundi have seen some good snapper, grass sweetlip and tuskfish. Try using baits like pillies and local squid to help land you a good feed. Fish hard to the reefs for coral trout, as this puts the
Father and son team, Luke and Andrew, with a couple of nice Spanish mackerel from the Coolum area. baits right in front of the fish. Keep the drag tight and use heavier leaders as this will give you a better chance to get them up. Best baits will be live yakkas or slimeys on a ganged rig of 6/0 or 7/0 hooks. Coolum Reef will be worth a try for pelagics such as quality long tails at first light and large spotted mackerel once the sun rises. Using small baitfish profile slugs or pillies floated down the berley trail should land you a feed. There has been plenty on offer in the Noosa River with anglers that get out early getting the better results. There have
been some whiting on the chew in the river mouth, Dog Beach and Frying Pan areas. Live baits such as worms and yabbies have been the winners. Using a basic running sinker rig with a size 4 bloodworm longshank hook, size 2-3 sinker and a fluorocarbon leader has seen plenty of elbow slappers taken. There have been quite a lot of baitfish in the lower reaches, which has led to quality sized flathead up to the 90cm mark being caught. Now is the time to get the cast net out with plenty of herring and poddy mullet to tempt the big lizards. For those who have not yet
mastered the cast net, try small pillies or whitebait to secure a lengthy lizard. Soft plastics like the Keitech 3 and 4” Easy Shiner and the Chasebaits Flick Prawn are irresistible to the flathead in this area. Woods Bay is fishing very well for trevally and tailor around dusk and dawn. Trolling hardbodies like the Zerek Tango Shad 69mm and Lucky Craft Pointers have done the job perfectly. Live baits are also great on jacks, with plenty of fish taken around the back of Noosa Sound and up around the Tewantin Boat Harbour. If heading upriver, try the deeper holes along the ski runs for some quality school mulloway. Vibes like the Berkley Shimmer Shads and the Samaki Thumper Tails have been perfect for the job. The Maroochy River has improved with decent whiting in good numbers around Black Banks, Picnic Point and Chambers Island. Yabbies and worms have been the best baits, with
Bassday Sugapen the pick of lures. Maroochy Waters is still seeing quality mangrove jack taken at night fishing live baits around the many pontoons in the area. Good-sized trevally, queenfish and the occasional tailor have been chasing bait over the river mouth and into the estuary system on the incoming tide. The best location to access these fish is the beach on the inside of Pincushion rocks. Using mullet fillet and bonito strips on a two-gang rig is securing these fish. Fast moving slugs like the Halco Twisty and the Shimano Raiders have also been firing. Giant trevally have been chasing baitfish in front of the rock wall at Oyster Bank Road on the top of the tide. I have found the best results on smaller stickbaits and poppers. The beaches from Mudjimba to Peregian have shown dart in good numbers, with the bigger fish taken at dusk on pipis. A few tailor are still around and using baits like
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pillies during the last of the run-in should secure you a feed. The beaches up near Double Island on Noosa’s North Shore are fishing well with good size whiting in the shallow gutters on the run in tide. The best baits have been worms and peeled prawns. Mulloway have been cruising the high tide waters at night so fish the last half of the run-in on the new moon for the better results. Fresh mullet squid or live beachworms are the best bait for mulloway at the moment. When using worms for mulloway fishing, make sure the hook is an extra strong 1/0 or 2/0 and make sure they are heavily baited. • Don’t forget to check in to www.fishingnoosa. com.au for all the latest up to date info on fishing and bar crossings. The knowledgeable teams at Davo’s Tackle World Noosa and Davo’s Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola can provide you with the right equipment, bait and advice to ensure success!
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Lake Monduran not so miserable anymore! BRISBANE
FACILITIES
Nicole Kelly
After living in Darwin for some time and being spoilt with an abundance of barramundi fishing options, I thought it was time to try to catch a Queensland barra. The chance to catch an elusive Lake Monduran barramundi was beckoning, and with the nickname Lake Misery I wasn’t sure this was the best choice, but with recent reports of steady catches and the chance to find a promotional tagged barramundi, we made the trip north! Lake Monduran is a stocked impoundment that holds a world record for the largest Barramundi caught back in 2010. With various other species to target such as bass, silver perch and catfish, it’s and anglers
With two easy access boat ramps located within the holiday park, as well as one public ramp outside of the park, getting onto the water is a breeze. If you don’t have your own boat, you can hire one from Big Barra Hire Boats. There is a choice of a 4.1m Polycraft Challenger with either a 6hp (no licence required) or 25hp (licence required). The kiosk stocks everything you could need for your time at Monduran, including fishing tackle, fishing apparel, a good range of basic supplies as well as the ever important ice.
Jess found success trolling, with this 54cm barra coming aboard – her first ever barra! LURES OF CHOICE Like many of the impoundment barramundi fisheries in Queensland, the main food for the barramundi is bony bream and freshwater garfish. One of the keys then is to use a lure that mimics what they are eating. Suspending hardbodies such as the Jackall Squirell with slow rolling or twitch
Timber structure makes up a large portion of the dam. is another good choice. Vibes like Berkley Hollow Bellies can also prove their worth. DON’T BE AFRAID TO TROLL One of the difficulties in any fishery can be finding the fish, especially
Luke’s fish was taken on the second cast of the day. paradise. Monduran is one of the closest of the barramundi stocked lakes to Brisbane. Located near Gin Gin, it’s an easy 5-hour drive up the Bruce highway. The nickname Lake Misery is probably not warranted, and is mainly due to the size of the impoundment. Pre-2011, with water levels of the lake at an all time low, the place was less ‘miserable’. Massive numbers of massive fish were being caught using a variety of techniques, however the 2011 floods filled the lake to well over capacity and the vast majority of fish in the lake went over the wall with the water. The lake has sat around that 100% capacity since then, meaning there is an awful lot of water to be explored. The recovery has been slower than anybody wanted, but due to the efforts of the local fish stocking group, more consistent captures have been reported over the last couple of years. Fish sizes are also getting up there, with a number of fish hitting the magical metre mark. 40
MARCH 2019
past the weed edges, and after again casting the soft plastic paddle-tails and suspending hardbodies a Berkley Hollowbelly produced the goods with a healthy 79cm barramundi. Early the next morning we travelled further north in the dam to a heavily timbered bay known as ‘the rainforest’. Again using the same tackle and technique
Rob and Kelly Howell manage Lake Monduran Holiday Park and gave us a warm welcome and some fishing tips when we arrived. They have been at the Holiday Park for many years and Rob’s knowledge of what’s happening fishing wise is second to none. At Rob’s suggestion our plan was to look for areas of weed and points around the main basin that had had consistent wind blowing onto them over the previous week. A number of fish had been caught at these locations during the peak morning and afternoon bite periods.
the Berkley Hollowbellies, ZMan SwimmerZ and suspending hardbodies such as the Jackall Squirell and Lucky Craft Pointer onto the suggested points. With limited action around these points, we headed to a weed island in Bird Bay, a very popular spot. With a number of boats coming and going it was receiving a lot of angler pressure. We positioned the boat upwind to drift
from the previous day this time focussing on the timber structures. Although it produced a couple of bites’ no fish were landed. Travelling further that afternoon to a section of the original river known as ‘white rock’, the focus was on both weed edges and timber’. We scored only a few hits and a fork-tailed catfish for our troubles. Watching the incredible sunset from the dam, it was
At the suggestion of barra guide Rob, the team started casting around the weedy, wind blown edges like this one. and pause action are an obvious choice. Soft plastics including ZMan SwimmerZ and Diezel MinnowZ slow rolled or bounced along the bottom
Local knowledge and a sounder is recommended when fishing Monduran.
if you don’t have a sounder. Heading out on the trusty Polycraft, with accompanying anglers on their own craft, we took our time trolling the main basin and surrounding bays, using various lures and sticking close to any wind blown points and weed edges. Monduran’s infamous timber structure also provides trolling opportunities. After a couple of hours and only a little bit of interest, trolling produced one barramundi under 60cm. SOME SUCCESS FOR OUR EFFORTS Heading out we decided to try a variety of soft plastic paddle-tails such as
Robbie’s 79cm barra was taken while casting around a weed island. ACCOMMODATION There are many accommodation options available at the holiday park. The options include selfcontained houses that can sleep up to eight, selfcontained lake view cabins sleeping up to five, as well as powered and unpowered camping sites. Within the holiday park there is a well-appointed amenities block, multiple BBQ/picnic areas, fish cleaning tables, camp kitchens and even a 9-hole mini-golf course for the kids. The park is family-focused and friendly with school holidays full and entertainment for the kids – including the big screen movies under the stars! You can even take the four-legged family members, as the park is pet friendly. The houseboat is a must see, fully equipped and deluxe. Tie the boat up to the back and motor out to your destination. Your sunrise and sunset views are determined by where you pull up and are sure to be magical.
time to head back to our perfectly positioned cabin. After talking to some
with a bit more knowledge. With two fish landed in two days, we were lucky
The beautiful view from one of the cabins. TACKLE • 6-7ft baitcaster rods from 8-25lb • 6-7.5ft spin rods from 6-10kg • 30-50lb braid • 50-100lb leader • 2500-4000 sized reels fellow anglers also staying at the Holiday Park, there was mention of barra being caught trolling points and bays close to the boat ramp, so this was to be our plan of attack for the next morning. USE THE LOCAL KNOWLEDGE If you are planning a trip to Monduran for the first time, it is well worth your while to book one of Rob’s charters on your first day and then explore yourself
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enough to be invited out by Rob to fish early morning before our departure. As well as managing the holiday park with his wife, Rob runs Guidelines Fishing Charters and really knows his way around the lake, having been a resident and fishing it for over 12 years. We met Rob at the boat ramp at 4am and within 30 minutes we arrived at the first and later to be final spot for the day, and started casting Jackall Squirrels at the timber structure. After sounding only a few barramundi on his Hummingbird unit, he decided to take us to another one of his productive fishing areas. Again sounding only a few fish, we then tried one more of his recommended locations before returning
The tackle store at the kiosk has everything you’ll need to get into some Monduran barra!
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to the first spot. Knowing the fish would show up eventually, on return we found a particular submerged tree that was showing good numbers of fish on the sounder and produced a fish on the second cast. We then proceeded to catch another five fish between three of us, measuring between 50-60cm. Rob’s knowledge was truly invaluable. WHY NOT VISIT YOURSELF In recent years Monduran has produced fish all year round, but peak times are March/ April and October/ November. During these months it is not unusual to catch fish through out the day and temperatures are much more comfortable for anglers. The winter fishery is something that peaked my interest. Fishing gentlemen’s hours with surface lures has to be worth a try… With 8 barramundi caught in total over the weekend (two by me) it was a great weekend all round and I recommend heading up to try it for yourself! GOLDEN BARRA COMPETITION Monduran is also host to one of the most interesting
fishing competitions in the country, and that’s the Bundaberg Toyota Golden Barra! There’s a chance for you to share in over $40,000! The golden barramundi have been released and anglers have from now until the end of January to lure in the prize. With five tagged fish now lurking in the waters of Lake Monduran, there are opportunities to win big! Ran from 1 November 2018 to 31 Janary 2019, no one caught any of the
tagged fish, and so it will be run again from September this year. The Bundaberg Toyota Golden Barra is just begging to be caught and the bragging rights will last a lifetime if you manage to snag this elusive fish at Lake Monduran. If that’s not enough to lure you in, more than $40,000 in prizes are up for grabs in one of the most exciting and unique fishing competitions Australia has ever seen! Registrations are now open!
Robbie’s second fish in as many minutes! LURES • Topwater – poppers, stickbaits, fizzers and frogs. • Hardbodies – jerk baits, suspending minnows, sinking stickbaits and swimbaits. • Soft plastics – grubs, paddle-tails and jerk shads.
WWW.WILSONFISHING.COM
MARCH 2019
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Fish are out to play at Hervey Bay HERVEY BAY
Dane Radosevic
There was the typical light to moderate east to southeasterly winds throughout February that provided ideal conditions for fishos to venture out and hit the water. The pelagic scene has been drawing a great deal of attention with a good run of spotted mackerel throughout January and early February, although their presence has tapered off as they move on further down the coastline. The annual run of longtail and mac tuna transitioning into the bay is providing anglers with more opportunities for some fun on these great sportfish. With the quality longtail tuna caught early on in the season and the abundance of bait,
we can anticipate another great year of line-burning pelagic action. Fish can be located as far south as Moon Point in smaller pods of often larger models, however, the further you venture up the island towards Platypus Bay the aggregations of fish will become larger. It is not uncommon to come across football field-sized schools of mixed tuna species, although if targeting the longtail specifically and trying to avoid the taxman, targeting the smaller more isolated schools will pay dividends. There are no set GPS coordinates to where these fish will be located, as their movements vary day to day, dictated by the wind direction and bait supply. As per usual, be observant and use the birds to your advantage to locate the feeding tuna.
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Yellowfin tuna will be another viable and prized target species throughout March with areas wide off Roony Point, such as the coral patch, and extending throughout the Central Bay towards the Gutters typically holding school size fish to 10kg, which is an ideal size for medium spin outfits. Drawing a bite this time of year is often quite easy, as they will take a variety of offerings from 20-40g metal slugs, such as the Arma Anchovy, and also slow-sinking stickbaits, with Nashy’s Custom 120mm lures working a treat. Another popular offering and a must have when targeting tuna in the Bay is the ever faithful Hervey Bay special, ZMan 5” StreakZ in bubblegum pink rigged to a 3/4-1oz TT Headlockz jighead, depending on the conditions. Fishing the many isolated patches of coffee rock, rubble, reef and wonky holes throughout Platypus Bay and beyond Roony Point has produced some quality golden trevally and queenfish, which have been in good numbers and double and triple hook ups have been the norm. The key to locating quality sportfish like this is finding a healthy bait supply. Micro jigging and hopping soft plastics have been the most effective methods, with topwater being a great option if the queenfish are thick, as they love coming to the surface to pounce on a quick moving pencil popper. The same grounds should start to see larger aggregations of nannygai stacking up on these structures, and they are a great table fish for any anglers chasing a feed. The majority of these fish will range between 35-55cm
throughout the day period, with the better specimens often being picked up at night, and with the likely by-catch of cod. Moses perch, sweetlip and trout. If targeting trout in particular, the best practise is to anchor as accurately as possible to the structure and feed down live baits like pike or yakka and hold on, as it’s a lock them and stop them style of fishing. Moving further afield, if the weather permits, anglers will be able to cross the Break Sea Spit in search of some topwater action, with GT and Spanish mackerel both on the cards. Try to line your trip up with a building tide in accordance with the moon to increase your chances. Structure, bait and current are key in this scenario and if you can manage to find all three it will only be a matter of casts before your topwater offering gets engulfed. The billfish fishery wide of the shelf has slowed down considerably, however, crews
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MARCH 2019
that have persevered have been averaging two to three bites a day from black and blue marlin, with mahimahi as a by-catch. Reef fishos can expect a mixed bag fishing the 30-80m line, with a variety of tuskfish, coronation trout, sweetlip, red throat, gold spot wrasse, hussar, red emperor, cod and green jobfish on the
cards. The major issue will be avoiding the sharks when you get onto a good patch of fish, so be prepared to move around. If you can source either live pike or yakka on your way out they will make excellent baits for on the reefs, however other fresh options of pencil squid, pilchards, mullet and bonito fillets are a great secondary choice.
Brendan with a pocket rocket yellowfin that ate a fast retrieved ZMan soft plastic cast into a working school.
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The southern and northern gutter systems have unfortunately been plagued with sharks, making it almost impossible to get the fish past. Once things start to cool down the shark numbers will hopefully dissipate, allowing anglers much better odds of getting their prized catch to the boat. All the usual species will be on offer including coral trout, tuskfish, reef jacks, sweetlip, hussar, cod, Maori cod and more. The bays inshore reefs have been teeming with life
this species, as they are a crustacean lover, however if you can’t find the time to catch them, fresh banana prawns aren’t a bad second option. On the larger building tides around the moon good numbers of queenfish have been located and quite readily caught around the many inshore islands, with many focusing their efforts around the current lines and pressure edges holding bait. Many anglers have been opting to fish surface lures to witness that incredible aerial strike
successful method, allowing you to search an area quite fast to locate fish. If times are tough, resorting to the productive method of trolling will often pay dividends and draw a bite. The Urangan Pier has been a massive draw card for many keen anglers wishing to try their luck at stopping one of the many GTs patrolling the end of the pier, providing an intense fight with the maze of pylons they can use to their advantage. You’ll require good quality heavy gear around the
An angler on board a local charter with a solid longtail tuna. with the main target species being grassy sweetlip. Their numbers have almost been in plague proportions around the inshore islands and fringing reefs in 2-3m of water, however better quality fish are coming from the deeper grounds, such as the wrecks across the artificial reef, the Channel Hole and Boges Hole. The current can rip through these areas, so work your tides to maximise your fishing time and if they line up with dawn or dusk your chances will be even greater. Baits such as banana prawns, hardiheads and pencil squid have been producing the majority of the action when rigged to present as naturally as possible and try to eliminate any twisting in the current. The by-catch in these areas has consisted mainly of blackall, cod, tuskfish and nannygai. Coral trout have been around in good numbers over similar areas and taking a well-presented live herring or pike while at anchor, or for lure anglers tea bagging soft plastics on the drift has been accounting for their fair share, with prawn imitations continuing to perform the best. For those wanting to get stretched and test their angling ability, there have been good numbers of blue threadfin. You can find the smaller models (ranging from 1-3kg) coming from the shallower 2-3m of water and some larger models (8-10kg) are being reported from the deeper ledges, artificials and reefs. Fresh live crabs are an essential when targeting
The author with a chunky jack that annihilated a hardbody lure worked parallel to a rock bar. with the Nomad Dartwing 130 and 165 getting a serious workout. There are still some XOS GT haunting similar areas and are suckers for big topwater offerings, persistence and plenty of casts are key. The ledge country that stretches from Moon Point right the way down the Straits and further south of Ungowa will be a worthy option this time of year, especially if we have a big rain event pushing the majority of the bait out of the rivers and creeks, which in turn attracts the predatory fish. For a live bait fisher this is a proven area for barra, jacks, mulloway and especially golden snapper this time of year. Getting past the queenfish and cod can sometimes be a little difficult. Working 30g soft vibes like the Zerek Fish Traps and Samaki Vibelicious has been another
50-80lb range to stop these fish and often not even that is enough. Live baiting with unweighted live herring has been drawing bites, however, using a legal size school mackerel or bonito, if you can get one, will really draw the attention from some of the larger models. Broad-barred mackerel have been another viable target species and are generally caught spinning 35g spoons or flick baiting unweighted herring on a set of gangs. School mackerel and queenfish have readily been taking a live herring fished as a bottom bait. This summer season was a scorcher, with many hot and muggy days providing ideal conditions for species such as barramundi and mangrove jack that have actively been feeding up in our river and To page 45
MARCH 2019
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Good weather continues RAINBOW BEACH
Ed Falconer
The weather has been less than perfect, but the breaks in between have produced some excellent fishing. This is looking to continue throughout this month. OFFSHORE Reef fishing has been great when we have managed to get out in the bursts of good weather. Pearl perch and tuskfish have been making up the majority of our catches, with some decent snapper added in. Pelagic action has really ramped up. Spanish mackerel, yellowfin and bluefin tuna are all on the boil. Halco Laser Pro lures have been working a treat on these fish. GREAT SANDY STRAITS Mangrove jack have been the highlight of late.
All creeks, structures and even at the boat ramps have produced plenty of jacks. Live bait like herring and potty mullet are a must for
Channel 9 coastal reporter Luke Bradnam had a great day bagging out on pearl perch and tuskfish onboard Keely Rose.
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Another beautiful Rainbow Beach pearl perch caught aboard Keely Rose. From page 43
creek systems. The Burrum River has been a standout amongst the rest, with good numbers of quality jacks being caught on baits and lures. Targeting areas close to heavy structure like rock bars or snags and placing your casts in the shady pockets has been producing quality fish. Barramundi have been in great numbers throughout this system, with the majority of the better quality fish being caught down stream around Buxton Hole and out towards the river mouth. Hopping soft vibes like the ones mention above and twitching and stalling hardbodies around the rock bars and snags has been very productive, especially when targeting the back eddies. There were good signs of prawn early on in the season throughout the system with bait size river prawns on offer, so fingers-crossed we get some rain to flush the system and encourage them to congregate in larger numbers. With the opening of the barra season on 1 February, River Heads has been a very busy place, with many anglers hitting the rivers to try their
daylight fishing. BEACH Whiting are on the bite with Double Island Point one of the best
luck. The lower reaches of the Mary River from Main Bank up towards the Brothers Islands seems to be the most productive stretch of water for most anglers, with some quality fish being caught bashing the snags with hardbodies and soft plastics. Alternatively, targeting back eddies around rock bars is another productive method using soft vibes and hardbodies. The Susan River will also be worth a shot, with some great snags and laydowns further up river – targeting these areas on the last of the run-out tide is typically the most productive. Favoured lures in this area include the Jaz Rapide Shad in ghost, X-Rap XR10 in ghost, Luckycraft Pointer 100DD in herring, Jackall Squirrel 79 in hi vis wakasagi, and Samaki Vibelicious in UV mullet and chartreus pink. It pays to upgrade your terminal tackle, switching out the standard split rings and trebles for better quality stronger options, as the shear power of a barra can do serious damage to inferior products. Adjacent to these areas – across the flats, creek mouths
spots. Some quality flathead can also be found in the same area. Small hardbody lures are proving deadly on the flatties. MARCH March can be a bit unstable weather wise, but has proven in the past to provide the best mackerel fishing of the year. So be sure to get amongst it this month. • To enjoy a day on the water with Keely Rose Fishing Charters phone Ed Falconer 0407 146 151 or visit www. keelyrosefishingcharters. com.au. and drains – there have been good numbers of quality size threadfin salmon working the jelly prawns and mullet around River Heads itself and the lower reaches of the Mary and Susan rivers. The last few hours of the dropping tide as everything is forced to drain off the flats and the drains is when some of the best action is had, with threadfin salmon sometimes beaching themselves as they feed. Although this style of fishing can be a little frustrating, with the fish ignoring many presentations, it can also be very rewarding when you work them out. Smaller lure presentations such as the Zerek Fish Trap 15g Vibes, Xrap XR08 shallow running hardbodies and the new Jackson Bottom Magic 55 and 65mm worked in the face of a feeding threadfin has been drawing the bites. Bait fishing has been a very effective technique with anglers drifting live herring, poddy mullet and prawns back into the mouths of drains getting rewarded for their efforts. MARCH 2019
45
Great barramundi catches from Gladstone GLADSTONE
Dylan Christie
What a start to the 2019 saltwater barra season this has been! Over the past month there have been plenty of barramundi caught throughout the Gladstone region. The rivers and creeks are producing good numbers but the standout has definitely been the harbour. Barramundi can be found in most areas throughout the harbour, including rock walls, islands and sand bars along with man-made structures. One of the main reasons I enjoy targeting barra in the harbour is the vast range of by-catch available, including black jewfish, golden snapper (fingermark), coral trout, grunter and plenty more. AWOONGA Even though the barra season is open in the salt, it hasn’t stopped people from heading out to Awoonga,
and they definitely have been rewarded. Awoonga is continuing to fire, with many captures of fish in the mid 80s through into the 90s and even the odd fish coming in over 1m. It won’t be long before Awoonga returns to its former glory of consistent captures of fish in the metre class. Constant wind over the entire summer caused the dam to fish better during the low light parts of the day. This was because there was typically a slight drop in the wind at those times, making more areas accessible to anglers. RIVERS AND ESTUARIES We need some rain to get the prawns and crabs moving. Although this past month has produced many quality mud crabs, the numbers aren’t quite there. Still, as soon as we get some good rain they should really get moving. This summer produced some of the best grunter (barred javelinfish) fishing
we have seen in the region for a very long time, with reports of fish in the 70s on the regular and even the odd fish into the 80s. Grunter are a very versatile species that can be caught on a variety of baits and lures. They tend to hang around gravel and rock bars, however you can find them just about anywhere throughout most river systems here in Central Queensland. If you can find the prawns and herring you can guarantee the grunter won’t be far behind. Good numbers of mangrove jack are continuing to show up in the Calliope and Boyne rivers as well as Turkey Beach and the Narrows around Ramseys Crossing. Your best bet for targeting jacks is to fish early in the morning and late in the afternoon with lures and fresh
The author with a big Gladstone harbour black jewfish!
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David Hermann with a beautiful red emperor caught at Wistari Reef on a flesh bait. or live baits. The Narrows is an exceptional fishery, and even when the wind is blowing it tends to be quite protected. In recent weeks we have seen some large
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blue salmon being caught around Ramseys Crossing and Boat Creek, along with barramundi, golden snapper and grunter. For the kids there are still some really nice bream and whiting getting around the mouth of the Boyne River, Wild Cattle Creek and the Calliope Historical Village,
and the best part is that all these areas are very easily accessible. The best baits for targeting these fish are prawn and sand worms rigged with a size 2 long shank hook. If you’re feeling a little bit fancy you can even use a red bead as an extra attractant for the whiting. OFFSHORE There have been bugger all offshore fishing opportunities over the past few months, but those people who have managed to get out have enjoyed exceptional fishing, with everything from red emperor to coral trout. In the middle of February there was a window of opportunity with 4-5 days of weather under 10 knots, which was a welcome relief. It offered most people a chance to head out. Rock Cod Shoals is one of the closest reefs to Gladstone, and it usually gets fished quite hard. However, with the continuous blow throughout summer, it has had the chance to rest, and in recent sessions it has been producing quality red-throat emperor (sweetlip), tuskfish, nannygai and coral trout. For the larger boats that
have been able to get to the wider reefs such as Sykes, Douglas and Fitzroy, the fish are plentiful. Catches have included large red emperor as well as coral trout, red-throat and all of your typical tasty reef species. FISHING IN MARCH This month I predict that the estuaries will continue to produce, providing we get some sort of rain to get the bait stirred up and mud crabs moving. If we get some good weather then you can expect the reefs to also continue to fish well, and we may even see some inshore pelagics such as longtail tuna, spotty mackerel and queenfish. So fingers crossed we see an end to this blow, and everyone can get out and enjoy some time on the water. • For all the latest info on what’s biting and where, drop into Pat’s Tackle World at 23 Lord Street, Gladstone or give them a call on (07) 4972 3692. You can also find news, catch photos and special deals on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ PatsTackleworldGladstone) or check them out on Instagram (@patstackleworld).
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MARCH 2019
Michael Clarke has been getting stuck into the barra.
‘Pop’ into some good fishing this March BUNDABERG
Jason Medcalf topwater@bigpond.com
It’s been a hot dry start to the year for us in the Wide Bay and we are feeling for our fellow Queenslanders in Townsville. Our fishing hasn’t been too bad, even though we haven’t seen a big fresh lately. Our rivers and creeks are really warm at the moment and I have found that fishing the shallows early and late, and the deeper water during the day has been producing the goods. Our creeks have been producing some nice grunter, mangrove jack and whiting. Whiting on poppers has been popular lately, although I’m yet to invest any serious time to the technique. There are quite a few keen young lads really getting into the fun with the added bonus of getting a pretty good feed. I am told if I am to try this exciting sport I need to use a Sugapen
Young Nic Kenny with a tasty whiting taken on a popper. 70mm surface lure. Wading the sand flats as the tide rises, casting and retrieving these lures at speed is the best way to get into these tasty rockets. Mangrove jack have been pretty active lately with the warm water and the odd storm rolling through. I have been targeting them on surface lures, mainly because I just
love seeing the hit, although I have also been getting them on soft plastics and hardbodied lures. Most systems have been fishing well for them, with the Burnett really turning it on during the last building tides. On 7 March is the new moon and 21 is the full, so make sure you are on the water those 3-4 days leading up to these lunar
events as the fishing will be at its best. The spasmodic winds have allowed for some ventures offshore, although there haven’t been too many calm days in the past couple of months. March should see a bit more of the same, but should still offer the odd weather window. With the wind keeping boats in sheds, most spots have been producing your standard sweetlip, parrot and some decent coral trout. The pelagic activity has been okay with mackerel, tuna and a few big trevally showing up on the wrecks and bommies. Anglers that have been sneaking just offshore around the river mouths have had some really nice grunter to show for their efforts. To locate these tasty, hard fighting javelin fish look for rubble patches that hold bait. If you can, jig the live bait from the area and then drop them down using as light a sinker and leader as you dare and when they bite, hold on.
Unusual bite times this month LAKE MONDURAN
Rob Howell
Lake Monduran is renowned for its early morning and late afternoon bite times, especially through our summer months. But, if there is one thing that I have learnt fishing this impoundment, what happens and works one season doesn’t necessarily work the next. The last couple of months have almost been the opposite to last year. Bite times have been between the mid morning and midday period with awesome catches happening during these hours. The reasoning for this is that we have had a milder summer period than usual. Some mornings have been that mild extra clothing has been needed, which is unusual for Australian summers. Great success stories at Lake Monduran have been getting around and for good reason. Most anglers that frequent the lake have been boating in excess of 5-15 barra per session and over 20-40 for a three day period. I’d like to touch base on a few contributing factors that could help make your trip to Monduran a successful one. THE HUNT METHOD I use the ‘Hunt’ method because I need to find feeding barra for my clients in a relatively small amount of time. This Hunt method allows the angler to be on the move searching most windward points and bays. Once you have found likely looking areas you then
Troy caught this cracking 92cm barra at Lake Monduran recently. They have been around in numbers this month, with catches of 5-15 in a session quite common. spend 5-10 minutes on your electric motor scanning to gain a mental picture on how many barra are moving through the area. If there are no barra in the area, it’s time to move on, you need to keep repeating this process until multiple barra are found. You should also keep in mind that just because barra were not be there at first, doesn’t mean they won’t be there an hour or two later. LOITERING METHOD Loitering is where you sit on a likely looking spot for a long period of time waiting for barra to come to you. This method works especially well if you know, or you have heard through social media, that barra have been caught in that area recently. SIDE IMAGING SOUNDERS There is a wide range of side imaging sounders on the
market these days, a model to suit every angler’s needs and budget. It pays to talk to the people who use them everyday to discuss each models pros and cons. There’s no doubt that these sounders will change the way you fish and boost your
success rate. Your settings on these sounders are also crucial, everything from chart speed to contrast and side imaging range – if you tick all the boxes here you will have success. The next few months here at Monduran usually fire up due to the cooler weather patterns approaching. The bigger barra tend to come out and feed harder to gain much needed body fat to get them through the winter period. March, April and May are my favourite months for targeting barra here and we look forward to seeing you here at Monduran for what should be a cracking few months ahead. • We look forward to seeing you in March, April and May as these are awesome months to target barra at Monduran. For more info you can call the holiday park on (07) 4157 3881 or emails us info@lakem. com.au, or alternatively you can contact me on 0410 599 147 or visit my Facebook page Lake Monduran Guidelines Fishing Charters.
The author’s daughter Amity with a lovely jack caught while kayaking the Baffle.
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The best bite time for barra is between mid-morning and midday, quite different from last season.
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Milking that March madness ROCKHAMPTON
Clayton Nicholls clay94_fishing@live.com.au
The start of barra open season has been very successful so far, with many big barra caught while the barrage gates have remained mostly open. The local estuaries have produced some great fishing in between the showers of rain. The freshwater lagoons to the north of Rockhampton are nicely topped up, while the lagoons to the south still need a big dose of rain to get them back into their prime.
FITZROY AND THE NARROWS The Fitzroy is fishing quite well in town and down the Port and Narrows. In town, while the barrage gates are open many people are taking advantage of the barra trying to get above or below the barrage, targeting the fish in key areas out of the main flow. Some good areas that shelter them from the flow are the rock under the main highway bridge, the rocks on the south side between the two bridges at low tide, behind the Bowls Club in Moores Creek and Gavial Creek. Down towards the mouth
The author pulled this feisty 48cm jack from the Causeway Lake run-through.
of the river is fishing well with the influx of fresh, but is still remaining tidal and salty, and targeting the gutters edges and the underlying gutter that can be seen on the side imaging will yield good results. Slow rolling hardbodies along the rock bars has been also effective on the smaller tides. RIVERS, CREEKS AND THE BEACHES The local rivers, creeks and beaches have been bustling with activity lately. The prawns were starting to become very active mid month over the sand and mud flats. Trying to net them from half tide outgoing proved to be pretty successful. All of these bait sources are very easy to access with the right tools like yabby pumps and cast nets. Some great places for fish lately have been Coorooman Creek and the Causeway Lake. The Causeway has been having some great run throughs producing some great mangrove jack, barra and the common smaller estuary species like flathead and bream. Coorooman has been going great for crabs, threadfin salmon and barra. Coorooman
has been fishing very well from medium outgoing to medium incoming. There have been some huge crabs coming out of that system lately. FRESHWATER LAGOONS The local freshwater lagoons are still fishing well late afternoon. Unfortunately, the southern lagoons have missed a large amount of the rains we have been getting and remain low in level, but the same cannot be said for the lagoons to the north. Headlow, for example, is chock-a-block and can provide a great dose of afternoon fishing and
The author got stuck into some of the barra coming down in the freshwater. exploring along the bank for some awesome freshwater barra action.
Pat Egan with a quality barra caught working 6” Shiners in the Causeway run-through.
Perch have become hard to find with many anglers going to extreme lengths and heading a fair way out of town to get them. CRABBING Crabbing has been fairly slow at the moment in the river, but has been pretty successful in the other estuaries that are not as affected by the influxes of fresh and rain we have been having. Most baits have been working. Mullet heads have been an easy to source go-to bait. It also requires little fuss to simply bait clip them through the eyes into the bottom of the pots.
You can even score a catch in the floodwater STANAGE BAY
Peewee
March is here! At Stanage Bay muddies have not disappointed lately and although the numbers seem to drop then rise, the sizes have been fantastic. The excellent rainfall February gave us has certainly encouraged the mud crabs to come out of their hiding place.
the swells and heading to the Marble Islands for a catch of decent coral trout and nannygai. Estuaries are still going strong. Jewfish keep on coming and are bringing the tourists who want in on the action. Barra are back on the to do list, so it might pay to bring some lures for a troll up and down the creeks or kick back on the bank at Porters Creek and try your hand at soft plastics. Salmon
Further south we are still getting reports of some excellent-sized grunter. Following the recent rain events a few of the creek crossings on the Stanage Bay Road have been flowing and brought with them some freshwater barra, helping motorists that awaited the receding waters stay amused by lure fishing the roadways. Some even successful! Other motorists decided
Tony loses half his jew. Be wary of sharks getting the best of your catch.
A happy grunter fisherman. Some excellent size grunter are an option this month. Our reefs are still well rested due to our windy conditions. Some fishers have been braving 48
MARCH 2019
are being caught in various creeks around the Bay and around the surrounds of the Jew Hole.
to take on the waters, however, this has resulted in cars getting drowned and drivers are now on foot. At
least the road in has held up great, so they’ll have a good walking track. The Shoalwater region has been left untouched and is bound to offer some excellent fishing grounds when the winds and the rains subside. Boaties will have the option to go either north or south for a top fishing trip. The fish should be getting hungry by now, so the first few trips out will not leave you empty handed. Start planning your trips now, get the mates together, get the gear packed and the iceboxes ready. Don’t
forget rules are always changing, so make sure you check sizing, bag limits and green zones before heading out. We aim to keep the fishing sustainable and full on in the area to ensure every trip out is one to remember, so please don’t be greedy with your catch. Take it easy guys and hope to see you up here soon for some big fish weigh-ins. • Don’t miss out on the amazing fishing and crabbing at Stanage Bay! Call us at Stanage Bay Marine & Accommodation on (07) 4937 3145, check out www. stanagebay.com, email stanagebaymarine@ bigpond.com or look us up on Facebook.
Tackling the flooded crossing. Some anglers stranded by the floodwater decided to pass the time by tossing a line in and ended up scoring some barra.
It’s now time to shout, jacks are about! YEPPOON
Scott Lynch ifishcq2@bigpond.com
We have had an atrocious run of weather for the offshore anglers over the last few months. There were only a few opportunities to get out to the wide grounds, but when we did there were lots of quality fish to be caught. Red emperor, large-mouth nannygai, red-throat emperor, sweetlip, parrot and coral trout are in great form anytime the weather comes good. Luckily we have the Keppels only a short run from Yeppoon. The lack of recent pressure has allowed numbers of bigger fish to move back into the shallow waters and the catches have been outstanding. There are some fine coral trout right around all of the island’s headlands and coral or rocky ledges. Everyone has their favourite rigs and baits. The old pilchard is very hard to beat for the majority of the best reefies. We usually rip the head off the pilly, and drop it over the side. The rest of the pilly gets pinned through the side and a couple of half hitches around the tail to hold the bait flat. The best rig in shallow water is the smallest lead that will hold bottom running right down to your chosen hook. I use a 6/0 circle usually, for an easy release of any unwelcome by-catch or undersize specimens. One of the crew has gone back to 7/0 long shank Mustads. He reckons that the pillies lay flatter and attract more fish. Trout are one fish that you need to keep the rod in your hands and not the rod holder, especially in shallow water. They will head for home in the reef the moment they take a bait. When fishing for bar cheek trout I prefer depths from 2-20m. These days I love fishing for trout with Jem vibes in shallow water. I use mostly
the clear or any of the natural looking colours. Paddle-tails and jerkbaits work pretty well, although I get many more hits on the vibes. Spanish and doggies are outside the bay at the moment and should come in when the bay clears a bit more. Over the next month we should see a few spotties start to appear. The floodwaters from the bad weather up north have finally reached Rockhampton. The serious muddy, weed laden water is not much good for barra fishing. The trick is going well downstream out of the dirty flow. Port Alma and the Narrows are in much better condition than the main river. Look for colour changes and eddies where the main stream is pushing past the small creeks and big rock bars. Lures and plastics could be the go with not many baitfish in sight close to the river. The Causeway, Coorooman Creek and Corio Bay areas are also top options because they only receive localised rain events and clean up fairly quickly. The bite periods in the smaller system are more defined. The tide changes are very important and sometimes that is the only time they will chew. March is the time of year I like to work the flats around the mouths of the systems. Over the years we have found they produce some of the nicest barramundi anywhere. You need to work out where the barra are moving up onto the banks, and work your lures through that area in the direction that the baitfish are travelling. In most of our systems the water is reasonably clear and you get to see plenty of the fish that you are casting for. As the tide drops they will move off the banks and into the nearby holes. If you can find any structure from fallen trees and little channels or rock bars in the holes, mark them down for a session over the low tide. Mangrove jack have hit
Brenny Reed with a Capricorn Coast mangrove jack. Plastics allow you to reach areas where jacks are usually hiding.
an all time high in Central Queensland. As the keen young anglers test out the newest gear, lures and known methods, more jacks are turning up. Over the years it was thought that we lacked much of the country they prefer. I think that we were used to fishing for barra and our styles were the primary reason for so few mangrove jack captures. Plastics allow anglers to fish a wide variety of areas that can’t be reached with live baits or hardbody lures. I have noticed that our jacks are smaller than those from the Gold and Sunshine coasts. I believe that our jacks take off for the reef as soon as they are big enough, while the southern fish don’t have a great amount of close offshore structure to go to. They seem to wait until they are big enough to look after themselves amongst the bigger outside company. Just like any other species, mangrove jack will feed at various times,
Charlie Hohn landed this jack in Yeppoon. Only recently have we started to see decent captures of these fish in Central Queensland. boat. Grunter are clean fighters as a rule and you don’t lose many fish using this method. More than once
Clayton Burke with a fine Maori wrasse about to be released. determined by a lot of factors including tides and barometric changes. There can be many hours between actual fish caught. You should use these hours to learn the spots and refine techniques that could make them bite at different times. One of the tastiest species around here is grunter. We have them in the estuaries and offshore much of the time. At the moment they are building in numbers after a slow start to the year. Catches have been improving in all of the systems except the Fitzroy River. Grunter will take various lures, but by far the best choice is vibes. Small gold metal vibes go nearly as well as plastic vibes. I believe berley and bait account for the majority of grunter taken in this region. The few days either side of the full or new moons is prime grunter time. I like to drift the grunter holes and cockle beds just before or after the high, casting vibes while trailing a big peeled prawn out the back of the
the trailing prawn has nailed the fish of the day and you can often get by-catch in the way of flathead, barra or golden snapper. On the note of by-catch, anywhere you get grunter, you will find golden snapper. The estuary and offshore spots hold both species. King salmon have all moved downstream in the river and the bite has really slowed with this current flow. It pays to head downstream and fish the slower moving water and side creeks. There have been some big salmon landed in the Connors Creek area and in from Port Alma. Live baits or vibes are doing the damage and small paddle-tails are a good backup. Black lures are the
go in the dirty water and more natural colours are better in the clearer areas. Blue salmon are fairly spread out at the moment and most catches are one or two fish at a time. The yabby beds and sandy channels are a good place to start looking. Two or three yabbies pinned through the tail is a blue magnet. There are plenty of whiting around this month and when we clean our whiting I cut a strip of flesh from the gills straight down the belly to the tail. Two or three of these on a lightly weighted 2/0 are salmon lollies. Most of the other favourite estuary fish don’t mind a feed of whiting either.
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Rain and winds bringing in great catches MACKAY
Keith Day habdays@bigpond.net.au
What a start to the 2019 barra season – rain of biblical proportions in NQ from Mackay to Port Douglas with creeks and rivers flooded, with Townsville that faced a real flood disaster early last month. All of these weather features have put a dampener on opening day, which in Mackay was shaping up to
be something special with rain during December and January triggering a great run of prawns in the creeks and giving them a good flush out as well. Muddies have been in abundance and once the wet weather settles a bit the barra will be hot to trot. Even the freshwater barra fishing has copped a huge inflow of freshwater run off with Teemburra and Eungella dams just overtopping the walls over the last week or so. Provided we don’t get too much more rain in the short term, fish losses over the walls should
The floods have put a dampener on most of the barra fishing, but Balin Tweddle lured this barra from the Gooseponds on a ZMan plastic.
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be minimal. The Pioneer River is running high and dirty so finding fish is difficult, except for the very top reaches of the river and Cattle creek where there is some cleaner water. One spot that has been yielding a few smaller barra is the Gooseponds in the middle of North Mackay. Unfortunately the three small– interconnected pools also have tilapia everywhere so hopefully the barra will at least provide some control. Although with the recent minor flooding they will undoubtedly have spread further afield. Recent reports suggest they have been found in the upper reaches of Bakers Creek just to the south of Mackay. There is more bad news about the Gooseponds. Two peacock bass around 35-40cm have now been caught in the system in a matter of weeks. Obviously these fish have been deliberately introduced to the Gooseponds and no one knows if they have spawned. DAF are considering their response but funds apparently are limited. MAFSA has called on the state member to immediately get the entire three-pond system electro fished to see if there are anymore there. Typically the State Government is not reacting
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MARCH 2019
The author loves queenfish, and at this size on light spin tackle they are a heap of fun, taking lures, flies and bait. quickly and don’t seem to appreciate the potential these pests have to wipe out our indigenous fish species with the harm they can do to the ecosystem. Rumours are rife that more of them were put in the Gooseponds. On a positive note, MAFSA members have been on the chase for sooties in roe to commence the 2019 breeding season. Last weekend six fish were caught in the upper reaches of Middle Creek in Teemburra Dam and transported to the hatchery. One 50cm female seems to be in roe and has been injected with hormone, so hopefully this month we should have heaps of little sooties in the hatchery. There is a short video on MAFSA Facebook page so check it out. The huge run off of freshwater will impact on the saltwater estuaries and creeks as well as further offshore. As the water clears up though, I expect fish will be on the chew throughout the Mackay area. In the creeks apart from barra there will be plenty of king threadfin and grunter feasting on the prawns and I expect our recent terrific run of flathead will continue with plenty of fish in the 60-80cm range available on baits, lures and fly. The king threadfin can often be seen slurping small prawns along sloping mud banks or at the mouth of small gullies on the run-out tide. Fishing around the small gully junctions is also a top spot for barra, jacks, cod and pikey bream all waiting for a feed to get washed out into the main creek. With what I expect to be an abundance of prawns right through the creeks snaring a feed or baits with a cast net should not prove to be too much of a hassle. Basically any predator in the creeks will snaffle a live prawn, although many baits will get wasted on undersize pickers. Plastic prawn imitations or flies also work very well in our creeks worked either in the snags or
the creek junctions. The NFZ continues to fish really well and is improving all the time. For the first time in many years recreational anglers are reporting catching blue salmon and grunter well above legal size. Given that these two species are schooling fish, they are vulnerable to netting and it is great to see the improvement in the NFZ. Mackay Regional Council has launched a Voluntary Code of Practice for the NFZ, which sets out four values to further enhance the fishing in the NFZ. The initiative is a great positive move by Council and is supported by Mackay Rec Fishers Alliance, Reef Catchments and MAFSA Inc. The Council is asking anglers to ‘take the pledge’ to look after the fishery and to do so anglers should visit www. hookedonmackay.com.au. Coming into March the
fishing in the NFZ will depend on how much rain and run off we got last month. But judging by results just before the flooding started, anglers can look forward to a bonanza of barra, threadies, blue salmon, grunter, queenfish, trevally and reef species around the islands. Be careful though as the B&F Patrol are very active in the area and in some cases the restricted zones are a bit difficult to pinpoint accurately. Perhaps that explains why the NFZ has the most breaches recorded for fishing in restricted zones. The offshore scene will also be weather dependant, but that will mainly be influenced by wind strength and direction rather than run off from local flooding. The islands east of Mackay and those out in the Cumberland and Goldsmith groups will fish well for reefies. These spots are the territory for 6m plus trailer boats, not the average 4–5m tinny. The shipping channel continues to produce quality red fish and many boaties are finding a powerful electric with GPS lock is a huge benefit when fishing these areas of deep water and strong current runs. The closer in spots around and off Hay Point and Sarina can all be affected by flood run-off so it is really a case of wait and see. One advantage Mackay area has is that our systems are all relatively short and once the rain stops they clear quickly. So just like everywhere else in NQ our March outings will centre on weather systems prevailing at the time, but whatever the weather there are always spots to drop a line here in Paradise. See you at the ramp!
This is the second peacock bass caught in North Mackay Gooseponds in a matter of weeks. The young angler killed the fish estimated at about 40cm.
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A truly golden month of fishing ahead WHITSUNDAYS
Mick Underwood
Things have moved from sweltering to well and truly soggy – the wet tropics have certainly lived up to their namesake this year. Us anglers are hoping that the worst of it is over and that we can all get back to doing what we all love, catching a cracking fish or two. You never know with March, it can be a tough time of year to endure, especially in regard to cyclones. When you look back through recent history, if the Whitsundays are going to take a hit from a decent cyclone then this is the time for it. Keep your fingers crossed that we get by unscathed this year. With the inlement weather that we have all had to endure, most anglers’ efforts have been concentrated on our inshore grounds, especially in and around any estuaries. The creeks have been the mainstay for a lot of anglers, not just because of the weather, but because there has been a good mixed bag on offer. There have been piles of mud crabs getting caught with some decent specimens in among them. I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy a few myself; nothing beats kicking back at
The results of a job well done, a quality coral trout. The shallow fringing reefs are a good place to look for these fish this month. Dan Callison threw out a few flies over the flats on a recent outer reef trip. predator that pull like a train, never knows when to give up and when caught they are visually stunning. I shouldn’t forget to mention how good they taste as well; personally they’re in my top three fish to have on a plate. Most local anglers like to target golden snapper at night through this period of the year, as generally that is when the biggest numbers of the best fish
March is a great time to get up on the flats and indulge in some sight fishing. Giant herring will be just one of many species available. the end of the day with a cold beer and a big fat nipper. Also up in the creeks, the prawns are continuing to run and there has been an awesome bite from our local mangrove jack, grunter and tarpon populations. Outside of the creeks things have been a little tougher, with the best activity continuing to be on the shallows close to home country, which is fairly typical for this time of the year. With the exception of some nice queenfish, pelagics have been sparse, but there has still been some solid coral trout and various cod species coming home. This month and next month are the prime months to get out and smash a big golden snapper or two. They are an awesome fish to chase. I’ve yet to meet an angler who doesn’t like tangling with them. Golden snapper are an apex 52
MARCH 2019
good places to start a golden snapper hunt. You don’t have to find the fish before anchoring up, because as previously said, they are foraging and will be continuously moving around. Find yourself a suitable patch of turf, throw the pick in and then go about catching some bait. Live is best and squid reigns supreme, and luckily for us at this time of year they are in abundance. Set your baits down near the bottom and that’s it, kick back, relax and wait for the action to begin. Out in the same areas golden snapper can be successfully targeted during the day as well, but I generally shy away from anchoring up and more often than not prefer to drift fish in order to cover the country and find the fish. During the day I quite often find that jigs of various shapes and sizes will out-fish bait, especially when it comes to micro jigs. Out in the deep isn’t
Local lad Paul Wilcox with a beautiful golden snapper. These fish are going to make a great target species over the next month or two. are caught. Finding these fish isn’t always simple, as a lot of the time they will be foraging out on vast structureless wastelands and they can be hard to find. Patches of rubble out in 20-40m of water out off the end of Saddleback Island, Rattray Island and the outer end of Gloucester Island are
the only place to find a golden snapper, as they are up the creeks at the back of Edgecumbe Bay, as well as out on some of the rock and rubble patches outside the creeks. Up in the estuaries try to look for areas that you would find a mangrove jack
on like rock bars and dead lay down timber. Outside the Gregory River and Billys Creek there are large areas of rubble that seem to go forever and this country can yield some cracker fish. To locate the fish in these areas I like to stick a couple of small to medium-sized hardbodies out the back and cruise around at about 4 knots. Make sure that you select lures that will swim nice and close to the bottom as that is where the fish will be. It’s important to keep the lures right in their faces as in these areas the water is typically dirty and silted up. If you don’t put the lure in their faces, they won’t see it and you won’t get the bites. Now that I’ve rattled on about golden snapper enough (can you tell how much I like them?) we can discuss some other options. March will have plenty of other critters on offer as well. Recently there have been good numbers of decent-sized queenfish getting around, and I’m hoping that they will stay around a little longer. Up on the flats and along the beaches I’ve been finding them on the making tide and on the top of the tide they’ve been putting in a brief appearance around any rocky headlands, ones that have a bit of current flow on them are the best. Various lures and flies are the way to go and matching the hatch with regards to size is important for getting regular bites. If there are small baitfish hanging around try casting a small chrome slug, and if garfish are present feed them a pencil popper. Whatever lure you decide to throw at queenfish, either surface or sub surface, make it move. Quite often it’s a bit of pace and or erratic action that gets the best bites. The shallow fringing reefs that shroud our mainland, headlands and inner islands should continue to produce
This 1.2m queenfish put on a hell of a show on 10lb string in shallow water. Hopefully we’ll see a few more of these over the coming weeks. some nice coral trout and sweetlip this month. I’m hoping that the water will clear up a little so that I can indulge in little light tackle lure action on these guys. Up until now there have been plenty of good fish coming home, but it has been bait that’s getting the job done and the majority of days the lures have been left in their trays. Unless some pelagics move up into the shallows this month, shore-based fishing will be a tough one. There will be plenty of flathead to be found along the beaches, but I find at this time of year they can be a bit timid and hard to get a bite out of. Try arming yourself with a few lightly weighted squid jigs and go in search of a nice feed of cephalopods. Whatever your intended
angling missions are this month, good luck with them and hopefully I’ll see you out there somewhere. • Reel Addiction Sport Fishing Charters specialises in light tackle fishing for all tropical sportfishing species on fly, lures 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.
Get prepared for some hot topics this March AYR
Steve Farmer
Burdekin fishing has been quiet over the past month, with rainfall from ex-Cyclone Penny bringing unseasonably strong southeasterly winds and periods of high temperatures. This is limiting the activities of blue water and estuary anglers. The much-needed rain failed to produce the expected spike in catches of hard working castnetters hoping for a feed of prawns. Most knowledgeable anglers feel that the delta’s creeks and rivers need a good flush out, but Penny produced just a very minor, short-lived fresh in the river. February saw a low heading for the Gulf waters, which produced the rain we needed and a lot more. But apart from that, we could be facing the possibility of another failed wet season and as a result a lean fishery in the year ahead. The good old staples of the estuary fishing scene – mangrove jack, flathead, grunter and salmon – have managed to provide enough action to keep an eager bunch
Grunter are regularly taken in Burdekin estuaries. of creek anglers sweating it out in the humid tropical heat. Discoloured water in many of the creeks mean bait is the best bet when targeting most species. With small live baits, followed by slabs of mullet, being the most effective. Running a few crab pots, especially overnight, was also rewarding for many crabbers, with some good catches of big muddies ending up in the cooking pot. MARCH FORECAST Predicting the fishing for March is always a challenge because of the unstable
weather at this time of year. This month could be the start of a late wet season, in which case much of our estuary fishing will be washed out. Or the dry conditions could persist, ultimately producing some excellent weather and creek conditions to wet a line. Creek anglers can expect a good range of estuarine species to be on the chew if fishing conditions are half decent. Mangrove jack, golden snapper, barra, grunter, salmon and flathead should hang around for a while yet, providing something for
everyone. As well, most creeks can expect a visit from pelagic species such as the smaller mackerel species, trevally and queenfish, especially in the lower reaches and out around the mouths of the creeks. Small live baits trolled and casted minnows, poppers and metal jigs should bag a pelagic or two if they are in residence. Of course, barramundi will be the hot topic this month and into the rest of the year. If you enjoy luring for this sought-after species, be sure to tie on a larger minnow and troll it slowly through any deep holes. Casting at structure, whether along the shoreline or in midstream, can also be rewarding. Live baits are probably the most productive tactic if discoloured floodwaters have inundated creeks in the delta. Larger baits are more likely to tempt quality fish. If we score calm conditions and blue water, anglers can expect a bit of fun on these same pelagics, as well as the larger trevally, tuna and cobia. Larger Spanish mackerel are also a possibility, but more so late in the month. IDENTIFYING GRUNTER Grunter are a likely catch across the Burdekin for
much of the year. While a few locations produce monster fish measuring 70cm or more. Most grunter taken in Burdekin estuarine waters are referred to as ‘school’ grunter and they are often barely legal size. To compound the challenge of identifying fish for the icebox and those that will need to be released, there are actually two species of grunter in East Coast waters and they have different legal sizes. These are the barred grunter with a legal size of 40cm and the silver grunter with a legal size of 30cm. It can be difficult to distinguish between the two. With a 10cm difference in the legal sizes, you could easily land a fine if you don’t know your correct
grunter species. Most websites and identification guides list the grunter by their proper names of silver javelin and barred javelin. Both species have the same shape and a silvery body, although the barred grunter has a golden-green back. Both fish also have spots, but the barred javelin has its spots arranged in vertical bars along its sides, while the silver javelin has its spots scattered across its back in no particular pattern. For help in identifying these two species check the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries website www.daf.qld. gov.au/fish-identificationinformation/fish-speciesguide/fish-species-id-info/ profile?fish-id=barred-javelin.
The barred grunter has its spots arranged in vertical bars along its body and has a legal size of 40cm.
MARCH 2019
53
The grey-suited taxman is visiting Townsville TOWNSVILLE
Dave Hodge
Lots of people are reeling from the flood at the moment, and looking for someone to blame for the water releases. However, this catastrophic event is being called a ‘1 in 500 year’ flood, so I don’t feel that I can judge the people
the afternoon or at night, shallow diving hardbodies are working the best. During the day the fish sit up in the white water, and you can get good results on 6” paddle tail plastics rigged on 1/2oz jigheads with 6/0 hooks. The jighead needs to be heavy-duty because the fish pull super hard in the fast water, and there are some monster barra in the mix. You
Mounted on his favourite Samurai Runoff rod, Tannhym broke in his new Abu Ikes on this decent freshwater barra. managing the dam. I think they did the best they could. The barra fishing has been excellent in recent weeks, as you’d expect, but there are a number of dangers for anglers. The first problem is the deadly melioidosis bacterium, which is soil-borne and can thrive after floods. Sadly, one person has already died after contracting melioidosis, so you must take steps to protect yourself. When you’re landbased fishing you should wear closed footwear, and avoid standing in the water or the mud. If you have any exposed scratches, the risk is even higher. Some anglers are even talking about wearing waders, despite the heat. Another risk is snakes, which are common along the banks now. You should always carry a pressure bandage with you, as you have a window of two minutes for it to be effective. Finally, you must be mindful of crocs, which follow the concentrations of barra. You should never walk out in the water. Either take a long handled landing net or slide your fish onto the grass. And bring strong pliers and side cutters in case you hook yourself. Now to the fishing. The floodwaters have settled down and the barra are going off their heads! Every river that has either a rock bar, a weir wall or a bottleneck upstream is holding schooling barra. Headlands near river mouths are also fishing very well.. Look for the bait and you’ll find the fish. If you’re fishing late in 54
MARCH 2019
should use a minimum 40lb leader. Cast across the current right in the bubbling rapids, holding your rod tip high and steadily retrieve across the current. You want the plastic to swim about a metre under the surface. We have caught fish after fish doing this. If you’re after reef fish,
couldn’t bring a single whole fish to the boat. The influx of rain has helped the jungle perch population, as they were suffering from de-oxygenation and increased water temps. Many of the more permanent creeks stopped flowing and images of fish kills were starting to surface from concerned anglers. BEFORE THE FLOOD Before the flood hit, the salt had begun to creep up the estuaries, and the jacks followed. There was an increase in prawn numbers, so prawn imitations worked well. Drains in the upper reaches that still had a slight colour change were standouts, and these were where a large portion of prawns were clustered. At times like these, if the drains are void of structure then a 4” Halco Paddle Prawn rigged on a standard 1/4oz J-style jighead is a good option. If there are snags or mangrove roots, we like to use Atomic Prongs rigged on 5/0 or 6/0 Weedless EWG Atomic Seekers. The weight should depend on how deep the drains are. At that time they averaged 0.5m deep, and we used 1/4oz jigheads. We switched to 1/3oz for the deeper stuff. Plenty of rat barra got involved with this style of
With prolonged bad weather the Ross upper reaches have been producing well for land-based anglers and boaties. A quick walk along the bank before work landed the author this beautifully coloured 80cm model on a weedless rigged 7” Paddle Prawn. bear in mind that the sharks are stacked up along the dirty water line, so you’ll need to go out further. One angler tried to fish further in, and he hooked stacks of reds but
fishing as well, and the odd bigger specimen gave us heaps in the sticks. A day spent casting the snags and drains always delivered a fair amount of action.
Ryan Tully has been walking some of the local rock and breakwalls in search of the hard pulling jacks. When anglers have been getting the opportunity to get out wider, they have caught some good mackerel, and surprisingly, greys have been featured in many catches. Lesser-known marks are producing some decent reds and trout, but when the sharks move in, you’re going to have to move quite some distance to get away from them. The use of metal jigs is increasing in popularity, and many of our regulars are now just taking minimal bait with them and focusing on lures to catch fish. The bite on a jig or soft plastic is quite brutal in comparison to bait, and this adds to the excitement. Another advantage of the jigs and plastics is that you can often lure the fish out from the structure or reef before it strikes, and that’s a big head start in the right direction. Some really nifty grunter have been getting taken on bait such as big peeled prawns, mullet, squid and gar fillets. Standard running sinker rigs are easy and effective, with 1m of 15kg
3/0-4/0 size. Smaller hooks tend to be taken down deep by undersized fish. As far as tides go, it’s a hard one to pin down as some spots around the river mouths have been producing on the last of the run-in, whereas other deeper spots are best on
Plenty of grunter are getting involved of late, and while this one is only small to medium size, there are some real stonkers poking around of a night. the first of the run-in. It may take a bit of trial and error before nailing it down to be more specific on your spots. Sharks have plagued offshore and bay trips,
The author’s son Tannhym has got quite the obsession now for surface lures, and rightly so. It’s effective and super visual. This nifty one rose 1.5m from the snag to eat a Bills Bug worked across the top. mono between the swivel and hook. Hook choice is based on how you like to fish; if you’re a ‘rod in the holder’ type of fisho, then the circle and kahle styles will suit. If you’re a ‘striker’ (that’s what I prefer), you’ll be leaning towards a suicide styled hook or bait holder pattern, in the
and have been eating everything from worm and prawn baits meant for whiting, to anything that smelt like fish meant for grunter, bream and jacks. THE SHARK ISSUE Plenty of people have decided to try and make the best of the shark situation by catching, killing and preparing it for the table, with some surprised anglers commenting on how good it tastes. I suppose if that’s all you can land then you’re going to give it a go, aren’t you? As far as I’m aware, Queensland State Fisheries regulations say that you can kill one shark per person at a maximum of 1.5m legally (except for the protected grey nurse shark), and I might have to start keeping sharks myself. I’m told there are plenty of ways to prepare and cook shark, and YouTube will no doubt have some recipes.
and even the creeks have become full of them. Everyone has had fish eaten during the fight, and the sharks aren’t small, with 7-8ft being regular for encounters upstream from the river mouths. All around Townsville, juvenile sharks have swarmed the beaches
I can only speak about our local waters, but as far as being a sustainable fishery, the shark population has increased drastically. Many anglers are commenting on this, and how they can’t get many fish past them. I got a weather window for a bay fish last month, and headed out to some of my preferred marks to try to get a feed. Every single fish I hooked got eaten, and a change in location didn’t change the results. Everywhere I went the sharks were prevalent, and much bigger than we normally encounter. They rose to check the boat out as soon as I pulled up and dropped the electric. So why does it seem a good idea to allow the commercial targeting of scaled finfish, but remove the sharks from the menu and let their numbers explode? Someone with Government influence needs to get real eventually, or the billions of dollars generated from recreational fishing annually in this state will start to take a hit. I hope this month brings you plenty of big fish. Stay safe and good luck.
Weather leaving creek fishing on the hit list HINCHINBROOK
Ryan Moody info@ryanmoodyfishing.com
It’s not very often that I’ve been stumped for trip reports in the last few years, but unless you live under a rock, I’m sure you’ll know what we’ve been through
The only fishing that has produced any results of late has been from anglers chasing jacks in the upper reaches of creeks – mainly in the northern end of the channel away from the Herbert River. Missionary Bay on the island itself has also had the same opportunities available. Some barra anglers have been lucky
Look forward to nice barra when things settle down. in regards to violent weather, leaving many anglers high and dry on the fishing front (although high and dry is probably not the best term to use). The excessive run-off from the Herbert River has left the Hinchinbrook Channel in a rather messy state leaving very minimal opportunities on the fishing front.
enough to get a few, but the fish are either way out on exposed headlands or up the top around causeways and lagoon run-off regions. Only anglers in the know, or who have permission to get onto properties, are able to pursue fish in some of these areas. The offshore scene has been quiet as not many have been able to venture out with the constant 20 knot easterly
flow that is feeding the southern end of the monsoon trough, which has been very persistent this season. The Townsville region in particular has felt the brunt of that. The offshore region has had plenty of protection from Mother Nature for a while now, so the fishing should be good when conditions improve. This month, March will bring a guessing game. With such an aggressive year with the monsoon there is a very real possibility that we are in for more of the same, which could keep anglers restricted in what they can do. We can only remain positive and hope that some breaks do allow the region’s anglers to get out amongst it again, but that’s yet to be seen. If things do go back to normal then I would expect to see barra getting active again and starting to show back up in their normal haunts with normal habits, but it will take a little time. Species such as golden snapper may take longer to show up in numbers but for now would still be best targeted around the offshore headlands and islands. Threadfin should start to show again as well, and may see a dramatic improvement this year, as recent years they have been very patchy with the end of the drought cycle finishing. Any people venturing out wide please watch out for the logs and debris because
Big rains mean big fish on the wonky holes. there have been areas flooded that have never seen flood waters before, so the numbers of logs will be crazy. Also be wary when fishing around monsoonal squall periods because it might be okay in the breaks, but some of these squalls can dish up a big change in conditions in a short period. Smaller boats can get into trouble real easy. If there is one good thing to come out of the record floods this year it’s that the fishery will get a long awaited boost. From the barra nurseries to the
wonky holes getting a great flush and already a couple of students that managed to get out recently inshore reported that the wonkies were running well. This is great news for the small boat anglers. • We have just finished our latest online course ‘Sounder Skills 2’ and the reviews have been awesome. It doesn’t matter what brand you use or where you live, this course is all about practical use! What frequency to use, how to know where to position the boat, the difference
between fish and rocks, transducer placement and much more. The best part? There are demo videos of me in the field interpreting what I see. My 30 years of experience will erode the myths out there on YouTube and Facebook. Underwater footage, a vibrant community to connect with, side scan, down scan and 2D traditional. Come over to the dark side and catch more fish in less time. Join me here: https://www.fishsmarter.com. au/products/sounder-skills-2.
Rain making for some exceptional fishing PORT DOUGLAS
Lynton Heffer www.fishingportdouglas.com.au
The last month or two has seen the most prolific wet season we’ve experienced in a very long time. Just to give you an idea; the Daintree River reached new record heights recently and up to 760mm of heavy rain was dumped in a 24 hour period at one point. Livestock caught up in the flash flooding was washed downstream and scattered along the adjacent beaches and some found their way to neighbouring islands after being washed out to sea. Luckily for us our region doesn’t backlog too much water. So being close to the sea, river and creek the levels can return to normal fairly quickly. Thankfully, despite repeated deluges we have escaped any major damage. The biggest benefit of all this rain has occurred within our rivers, creeks, beaches and inshore reefs and wrecks. The amount of bait being distributed around has been phenomenal. In our rivers and creeks the barra,
jacks and golden snapper are now peaking. Jacks are super busy amongst the snaggy mangroves, whereas golden snapper have been active in the deeper holes, and the barra have been more concentrated around the river mouths. Along the beaches the fishing has been nothing short of brilliant during the calm
tide has seen the action go into fever pitch in only a few feet of water. Flyfishers using Clouser and jelly prawn imitations have nailed as many fish as they want. For the rod and reel enthusiasts, small soft plastics, tiny poppers and metal slices have also been successful. Not far from the coastline, the inshore reefs and wrecks
Plenty of reds will be seen this month. Last month saw great captures up to 9kg. periods. With so much bait in the shallows, you have all your predatory fish gorging themselves. Barra, giant herring, tarpon, queenfish, dart, permit and GTs are all having a field day. Early mornings on a rising
are also holding more bait than normal. In turn, fish have turned up in numbers including bar-cheek trout, small and large mouth nannygai, big cod, trevally and mackerel. This has been awesome for the small boat brigade who can shoot
out early for a few hours and return home quickly if need be due to storms. It has been very much a case of forever watching over your shoulder and monitoring the radar for any untoward weather, which can blow up in no time. Out further on the reef it has been pretty much left to the bigger boats with superior stability to give us the local reports. For quite a few charters it has been the best summer fishing in many years. Slightly cooler water temperatures have been suggested as the reason and catch rates have been well above par for this time of year. Big hauls of fish have come back to the docks including nannygai, coral trout, mackerel, cobia, spangled and red emperor, gold spot trevally and a host of others. The beauty has been they have been consistently big fish with red emperor to 9kg, nannygai to 10kg, trout to 6kg and gold spot trevally to 8kg. These fish in big numbers is something you would expect in our cooler months, not the middle of summer. It seems that the wet season will continue for some time yet, but the fishing reports have been quite good
despite the challenges. The coastal and calm water fishing has been extremely productive
and the reef seems like it will continue to punch out healthy numbers of big fish.
MARCH 2019
55
A cracker of a wet season CAIRNS
Garry Smith garrysmith@fishingmonthly.com.au
It has already been a cracker wet season in Cairns, with record rainfall in December followed by close to 800mm in January and continuing into February. If this trend continues into March, the month with the second highest average rainfall, it will be a monster wet season. Hopefully the rain will slow down this month and anglers can get on with some serious fishing. The great thing about a big wet is the fishing is often dynamic once things return to normal. Here’s hoping this occurs this month after months of limited opportunities due to adverse weather. The local barramundi population must have known what was coming, as I dived the headlands along Cairns northern beaches in late November they were everywhere. There were plenty of large breeding females, along with oodles of small males, just waiting for the rain to trigger a spawning run. The challenge this month will be to track these barra down, as the massive wet season has given them every opportunity to
disperse widely. Reef fishing will be quite a lottery this month, with the biggest challenge being dodging the collection of logs and debris, which has been washed out of streams in the area. Absolute care will need to be taken and travelling at night will be particularly hazardous. If the opportunity allows, the fishing should be hotting up after a prolonged weather
induced lay-off. It will be necessary to travel out past the dirty water, which from early reports easily reached Arlington Reef and beyond. The few anglers who have braved the conditions have reported some cracker catches, so it’s certainly looking positive. Trout will be about in reasonable numbers in the clear water, while largemouth nannygai and red
Mackerel like this nice Spaniard, caught by Wes Mansfield, will be around but not in large numbers.
emperor will be in the deeper water. Finding clear water will be the key to finding fish. Once you have located an area of clear water, look for bait schools on the sounder to locate feeding fish. Mackerel will be around but not in large numbers, with clear water and bait schools, once again, the key ingredients to success. Most anglers will be focusing their efforts closer to home with the inshore wrecks, wonky holes, rocks, reefs and islands well worth a look once the water clears. Golden snapper will be around on these locations ahead of the reef species, as they are more freshwater tolerant. The largest golden snapper I have managed to land from shore was caught during last year’s floods, off the Yorkeys Knob breakwall in chocolate brown water. Barramundi will be the most obvious target this month and they can at least handle the dirty water, if it is still around. The best option will be the headlands to the north and south of Cairns. While the numbers won’t be great, there should be a few quality fish on offer. The upper freshwater reaches will also be worth the effort if the floods have cleared. Otherwise, if the rain continues to pour through March, then the run-off
Grunter, like this one caught by Pauline Wedrat, should be feeding on the hospital flats. drains will be the best option. Grunter should be feeding on the hospital flats, especially on the monster high tides between 16-23 March that come with the full moon. Fresh strip baits of mullet, gar, squid, sardines and mud herring, along with peeled prawns will put you in with a big chance of some action. The high tides in the lead up to the new moon on 7 March will also be worth a go, if the flooding has settled. There are a massive number of run-through creeks that have opened up along all the beaches, some are the widest and deepest I have ever seen them in the 25 years I have lived in Cairns. Up in these creeks and around the mouths will be well worth the effort for barra, jacks and salmon.
Prawns and bait should be around in large numbers and there’s nothing like an abundance of bait to attract predators. Speaking of prawns, they should have had enough time to grow to edible size by now, so certainly include prawning on your list of activities this month. The rain has also flushed out the mud crabs from local streams, so go looking for them as they make their return after the rain. Coastal flats and stream mouths will be the starting point in your search for muddies. Be prepared to move your pots around a fair bit as you try and locate them. The good thing about prawning and crabbing is that you are fairly active and a bit of rain isn’t as big a deterrent as it is when fishing.
Expect a return to consistent weather patterns CAIRNS
Dan Kaggelis dkaggelis@gmail.com
The warmer months of the year are always the best time to be fishing the creeks in the Trinity Net Free Zone. March is no exception, however it does bring the added bonus that the monsoonal rain tends to ease up a bit, making the creeks a little easier to fish. Too much rain and rivers and creeks run very dirty and full of fresh, which creates very unstable conditions. Fish, and in particular barramundi, love consistency and stability, so when you get this, they can be hard to find and even harder to get to bite. Jacks can also be harder to find, as the dirty water can make for tough lure fishing. March usually brings more consistency and with it clearer water, which is perfect, especially after plenty of rain. The Trinity Inlet will be the pick of spots for 56
MARCH 2019
Big barramundi will be high on the list in March and the pylons and wharves of the inlet are a good place to start. those chasing barramundi. One of the best ways to target a big barramundi in the inlet is cast big paddletail soft plastics along the concrete wharves and pylons, especially at night. Many of these urbanized areas are brightly lit and draw in plenty of bait, which makes them hots spots for feeding barramundi. Some of the beacon lights around the mouth are also quite bright and can draw in fish. On the larger high tides, the mouth of Hills Creek is always a good spot at night, especially with surface
lures. The Hospital Flats also hold plenty of fish, but you will need a side scan function on your sounder to find them. This area is also holding some solid grunter as well, which respond to both baits and soft plastics on the big tides. If you prefer casting lures at snags, then choose one of the many creeks in the inlet and hit them on the last hour of the run-out and first couple of hours of the run-in. Snags tend to be better fished on the mid-range tides and finding structure that is covered by
water on high is a bonus. The open beaches like the mouth of the Barron, and up along Holloways and Machans beaches, have also been fishing extremely well this year. There’s been reports of plenty of blue salmon, with the odd threadfin as well, and this is a great sign and this will continue in March. While fresh strip baits are the
walls and headlands are also fishing well for golden snapper, barra and jacks. Whether you are landbased or fishing from a boat, these are great spots to hit on the incoming tide. The good news on the NFZ front is that there is now a Cairns Voluntary Code of Conduct from recreational fishers, and is currently being endorsed
On the big tides grunter are good to target on the hospital flats.
Golden snapper are in good numbers around headlands at this time of year.
go, once you find them in numbers, small soft plastics will also land you plenty of fish. Further north the rock
by council. This is all part of the Cairns Recreational Fishing Strategy, which is coming along in leaps and bounds.
Hinchy set to fire post-flood LUCINDA
Jeff Wilton
A U S T R A L I A
jeffwilton83@hotmail.com
What a massive few months of rain and weather we have had here in North Queensland. It feels as though it hasn’t stopped raining for months and the wind has been relentless as well. This has meant fishing has been extremely tough, as all the major rivers have been spewing freshwater constantly for so long, and the entire Hinchinbrook Channel is a running brown mess. Add the near gale force winds into the equation and its safe to say the fish have had a big break from any pressure. Hopefully March brings a little stability, but it is normally our wettest month, so it will be very interesting to see what occurs. All I know for sure is that when everything settles down after the wet season we are going to have some fantastic fishing on offer. With big rain events and swollen rivers, it only means good things for fishing for the next few years. HINCHINBROOK CHANNEL I don’t have much to report at the time of typing this article due to the horrific weather and flooding that is
Margay 2017
$49,990
• 17’7” • Single axle Basscat trailer • 115 hp Mercury 4 stroke • 24v electric motor (Minn Kota or Motor Guide) • 2 x sounders (Humminbird 597cxi HD Di or Lowrance HDS 5)
The huge rains and flooding should result in great barra fishing in the months to come. Fishing the mud flats and the drains that flow out of them is a proven and reliable technique, as it is the perfect scenario for an easy feed for waiting fish. It is also easy fishing, as you only need to make a long cast and normally don’t have to worry about snags and trees. In this situation I prefer a spin reel and a long rod, so I can punch out long casts, as this means I can
SwimmerZ. These replicate a mullet or herring nicely, and you can use a slow wind to get their tails paddling. I like to rig them on a 1\6oz jighead and keep the rod tip high so the plastic slowly swims just below the surface. Keep in mind barra feed looking up, so if your lure is dragging along the bottom you are not fishing in the strike zone. One more thing is to make sure you
The weather needs to improve dramatically if you’re to get out offshore in March. occurring. March is normally very wet, so for those wanting to get out and chase some fish I hope it settles down a lot. The barramundi fishing should be red-hot if the rains ease up and we get a little saltwater back in the channel. These fish have had plenty of perfect conditions to breed up and migrate from the fresh back down into the salt, where they should be active and feeding up. Last year we had some amazing fishing for hard-fighting healthy chrome fish with yellow tails.
stay further off the bank and not scare potential fish with the boat. Most flats or drain areas can get very shallow, so it is very easy to scare fish. It pays to be stealthy and remain quiet if possible, and this will mean more chances and less fish scooting off in front of you. Keep your eyes peeled for baitfish getting harassed, and if you see some looking nervous, make sure you fire a cast or two in their direction. My favourite soft plastic for barra from drains is a lightly-rigged ZMan 4”
time your session so you are fishing when the tide is still running out or running in, as you need water movement to trigger fish into feeding. You will always find that the bite slows down when the tide slows down. Drains do not need to be large to hold fish, and a lot of people make the mistake of fishing them too late. It is good to have water over the drain, especially the smaller ones. As far as other species go, it is very hard to predict. Golden snapper (fingermark) and grunter will have pushed
out to wrecks and headlands in search of saltier water, so if the wind lets up, fishing Hinchinbrook’s many headlands should pay off. JETTY, ISLANDS AND REEF I don’t want to sound like I’m repeating myself, but trips into the blue water have been very far and few between. The wind has been relentless, and I can’t remember the last time it dropped enough to allow anyone to get out there. Hopefully it settles down, as the reef fishing should be insane by now. Freshwater pouring out of the channel and towards the reef for kilometres for a few months normally means the closer rubble grounds and wrecks can fire. Fish like nannygai and the odd emperor will come in closer chasing the food being pushed out, so anyone that is lucky enough to know of some wonky holes or wrecks can experience some great fishing. If it is possible to get out wider, then the reef fishing should be red-hot, and coral trout should be hanging about off the deeper bommies. A well presented bait will not last long on these dirty fighters. Make sure you’re on the ball and don’t give them an inch, or you will be re-tying another rig. If you can turn them then the fish is yours, unless the sharks beat you. Choosing a bait for trout is pretty easy, as any flesh type of bait will work. My personal favourite is mac tuna, as they are tough and oily. I always make sure there are a few of these fish in my deep freeze, and then it’s as simple as taking out a fish for the trip. It will slowly defrost during the day, which keeps the bait fresh.
Pantera II 2017
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Yar-Craft 1785BT 2017
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• 17’5” • Single axle Basscat trailer • 75 hp Mercury 4 stroke • 24v electric motor (Minn Kota or Motor Guide) • 2 x sounders (Humminbird 597cxi HD Di or Lowrance HDS 5)
Sabre FTD 2017
$59,990
• 18’1” • Single axle Basscat trailer • 115 hp Mercury 4 stroke • 24v electric motor (Minn Kota or Motor Guide) • 2 x sounders (Humminbird 698cxi HD Si or Lowrance HDS 7 GEN2)
We Build Dreams... It’s a Family Tradition
A U S T R A L I A
Phone: 0410 173 060 basscataustralia@gmail.com MARCH 2019
57
The fish trio of Cape York imagery will reveal much of the western Cape York us littered with this freshwater oasis of life. With the exception of Lakefield National Park, the inland river systems over most of Cape York remain difficult to access. A long or large wet season further restricts access into these areas for travelling
CAPE YORK
Tim O’Reilly wildrivercompany@gmail.com
March is often the make or break month for the wet season. As we all know, a low-pressure system moving through the Cape has the ability to dump vast quantities of rain.
Crocodiles are a distinct possibility in most of these places and medical attention isn’t close by, so always play safe. Snakes, pigs, rogue bulls and a never-ending army of green ants mean you should probably leave the kids at home. Let’s take a look at the creatures and critters moving between these lagoon and swamp areas and interacting again with the main rivers. The first that comes to mind is our saratoga, with gleaming gold, pink-flecked scales and burning, upturned eyes. These slithery long, lean fish are hardy creatures,
brooding their young in their mouth and able to reach very isolated lagoons during floods. The feeling of hiking into a lagoon unlikely to have seen rod and reel before and casting a large surface lure out past the water lilies is heart-stopping fishing. Saratoga will leave large swirls before returning to inhale the lure or at times charge across the surface with a bow wave signalling their intent. Currently, most togas are lost as an angler’s reflexes kick in and swipe the lure back out of their bony jaws.
A little toga that was pulled from an isolated lagoon. Frogs, lizards and insects might also find their way onto the menu if they dare splash down in front of a gleaming-eyed barra. Sooty grunter completes the trio of predatory fish living in these isolated water holes of the western
or otherwise. They are truly omnivorous and will eat a huge variety of lure presentations, from surface lures to little plastic grubs. Rounding off these backwater locations will be the ever-present catfish, freshwater turtles and eels.
A large expanse of swamps and lagoons that are making up this area at the moment. When already swollen rivers break their banks in predictable locations you get lagoons and swamps punctuating the landscape. A casual glance at satellite
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fishos. Thousands of these land-locked, rarely visited locations are still largely in a pristine state, with the exception of pig and cattle damage.
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A freshwater barra cooked in a traditional earthen oven. Delicious!
E
Supersport
59 HUNDRED
Exclusive Hand Laid 5.9m
Phone: 0438 443 203
5 Allen Street, Moffat Beach, QLD. 4551
An split second is needed to ensure these fish actually have your lure engulfed before striking firmly. Basically, the more time they spend jumping and squirming their way back in, the more chance they have of getting off. So by all means go for longer fights on lighter gear to catch these prehistoric monsters, but expect losses to be high. Barramundi, especially in their juvenile stages, are experts at following floodwaters overland and finding themselves in impossibly skinny water before finding themselves a new home for the dry season. From that point, it just depends on future wet seasons to bring these fish back into the main system. Barra are veracious feeders at times and if things go their way they will be gaining condition this time of year. Anything that remotely resembles a prawn or freshwater crayfish will certainly be attacked by barramundi of any size.
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This swampy barra was taken from tannin stained floodwater. It’s hard to see, but the catches make the challenge worth it. Cape. With a competitive streak to match their diet, sooties will gobble up just about anything that looks remotely edible, fresh
A rogue bull plundering through the swamps.
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Let’s not forget a magnificent variety of bird and wildlife, plus water lilies, shady trees and complete solitude for the adventurous angler.
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It’s either devastating flood or severe drought TOOWOOMBA
Jason Ehrlich fishability1@bigpond.com
What a taste of weather extremes the state has endured over the last month. From the severe flooding up north to the dryness and heat in the south. As humans we feel it, but it doesn’t worry the fish too much. Townsville and the surrounding areas are copping a flogging with monsoonal rain. This flooding, while devastating, will be great for barra recruitment, offering the fish a passageway to breeding grounds and releasing landlocked fish to the salt. The stocked lakes don’t fare as well. The fish, which we would love to see grow out and spend their lives in the impoundments, are given the chance to escape. Tinaroo placed its nets across the dam wall to try to prevent escapee barra but none of the other lakes have this expensive barrier, which is subject to regulations. Townsville and further down at Mackay have a real chance of losing fish due to flooding. In some circumstances, the escaped fish will take up residence in the waters below the dam where they can be caught. In others, it is a death sentence where they are either bashed to death on the wild ride past the dam wall or suddenly inundate the fish market when commercial netters take advantage of them. In the south, things are also a little grim; only the effects are taking place a lot slower. The lake levels on the western dams are falling rapidly due to released water for irrigation. These fish seem to be coping, although there has been a few dead floaters. Whether this is due to poor handling of caught
fish, the heat or just low water levels is debatable. In many instances it is likely to be poor handling and this is the one thing we can influence. Get caught fish back into the water quickly if you plan to let them go. Spear them back to the deeper water as the surface is very hot at this time of year and the low oxygen content and sudden shock from the heat can take its toll on fish destined for release. Some of the river and creek fish are less fortunate. The drying waterways are forcing fish into the deeper holes, but as these dry up
the water becomes less habitable. Smaller pools are more affected by the heat and the heat quickly depletes the oxygen levels. While we can watch the water level drop slowly, when the quality of the water level drops too far, the outcome will be very sudden. We have all seen and heard about the devastation further south. Hopefully the heat eases up as we move into autumn. This will buy the fish more time. All it will take to fix things is a bit of widespread rain and run-off. Fingers crossed. Until next month, buckled rods from The Colonel!
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14 31
Weipa
17
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34
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Toowoomba
BRISBANE
IMPOUNDMENT DAM
monitor water conditions and will re-open the dam when they deem it is safe. You can try to stay informed through the Toowoomba Regional Council website. • With Cressbrook and Cooby closed due to algae, Toowoomba anglers will need to do a few more miles to get into the fishing action. For all your fishing supplies and the latest reports the surrounding dams, call in to see Fish’n’Bits in Alderly Street. They have a great range of lures and fishing gear.
Gold Coast
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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
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algae. The water quality was looking pretty poor, as signs of the algae were present in the upper layers of water. The Toowoomba Council will continue to
Ian Ryan scored this 50cm+ bass on a Gang Banger G2 spoon at Somerset Dam in between trolling up a heap of others.
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15
SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND CRESSBROOK CLOSEST TOWN: CROWS NEST Last month, Cressbrook Dam was closed due to an outbreak of blue green
Gympie
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25
Cairns 1
26
19
33
20
Townsville 2
3 4
Proserpine 6 Mackay
5
32
Rockhampton
Emerald 29 7
10
Highlighted dams are covered in this issue
Gladstone
30 8
Bundaberg 9
11
Maryborough
Roma
SOMERSET CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY Somerset fished quite well through the summer months and we can only imagine autumn will deliver similar results. The schools of bass didn’t break up as much as what they usually do and held around the same areas, making finding and catching fish easier. These bass schools will be found from Pelican Point right up to past Kirkleigh. Pelican Point seems to hold
BRISBANE
the better numbers but check the drop-offs and flats at the regular haunts like Bay 13, Eagles Nest, One Tree, Queen Street Wide, and the southern and northern flats at Kirkleigh. Insight Social Maps makes this task a lot easier. You can simply drive along the contour lines next to the old riverbed and speed up your search. These maps are downloadable to Simrad and Lowrance sounders. Trolling lures has
WATER STORAGE LEVELS Dam............................ % Full
DAMS Atkinson Awoonga Bjelke-Petersen Boondooma Borumba Burdekin Falls Callide Cania Clarendon Cooby Coolmunda
DEC JAN FEB 5 5 5 83 82 79 15 14 10 36 38 35 99 99 97 66 85 170 61 58 56 86 83 79 0 0 0 38 0 0 24 27 19
Dam............................ % Full
Copeton Cressbrook Dyer/Bill Gunn Eungella Fairbairn Glenlyon Hinze Julius Kinchant Koombooloomba Leslie Macdonald
18 14 12 45 42 41 3 6 4 85 88 102 16 14 12 36 25 17 96 93 95 76 73 102 55 86 98 20 47 69 7 7 6 99 100 95
Dam............................ % Full
Maroon Monduran/Fred Haigh Moogerah North Pine/Samsonvale Peter Faust/Proserpine Pindari Somerset Teemburra Tinaroo Toonumbar Wivenhoe Wuruma
91 88 84 91 90 85 70 75 71 77 76 74 59 60 81 37 22 9 76 77 76 78 85 102 67 78 104 96 90 82 67 66 63 98 96 94
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 13/02/19
(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.) 60
MARCH 2019
been a great way to put fish in the boat over summer. The fish should continue to take these, but the action may slow down and they will prefer downsized offerings cast at them. If you are trolling, it is important to run light braid of 8lb or less to get lures down to the fish. The Blitz Baga, Golden Child and Little Ripper have been perfect. Colour can make a huge difference on some days, so make sure you experiment until you find the lures the fish prefer. Casting spoons and will be one of the best ways to bang numbers of fish. It is normal to nail a few in quick succession only to have the bite slow down. This is the time to move on 50-100m and try again. Leave the fish and come back to them and you will keep the bites coming throughout the day. Halco Twisty, Palms Slow Blatt, Gang Banger G2, PML Spoons and Nories Wasabi are good lures to try. Lures of 20g in weight tend to be the most reliable, but there are times when a heavier lure can do more damage. Tail spinners, Mask Vibes, blades, soft plastics, spinnerbaits and chatterbaits are just some of the other options available. Bass dictate what they feel like on the day, so be prepared and have a well-stocked tackle box. Golden perch are still around and will be caught when fishing the deeper water for bass. You can also switch it up and target these fish. There are good numbers above Kirkleigh on the flats and through the timber. Jigging ZX40 blades around timber is one successful method. Trolling medium divers through the timber will also produce. Try working lures around flats near the old creek and riverbeds up in the trees. • Somerset Fishing has their store based at the area above the day use boat ramp. The store is open over holidays and otherwise from Friday to Sunday. Orders can also be made online via the website www.
somersetfishing.com.au. They have an excellent range of gear suited to fishing for bass and golden perch. WIVENHOE CLOSEST TOWNS: FERNVALE, ESK The bass fishing has picked up over the last month. Many fish were still being caught along the banks through summer but it seems good numbers of fish are schooling in deeper water. The area out from Billies Bay is worth a look. The flats and humps in this area can hold good numbers of fish but be prepared to do a lot of searching. Catfish can fool you with their big schools. The bigger models of these pull hard and don’t hesitate in smashing a lure intended for bass or golden perch. Try trolling deep divers to locate the fish and then switch to casting once a school is located. Soft plastics and spoons are both good options. • Call in to see the team at Charlton’s Fishing at Redbank. They head out to the lake quite often, so you might be able to pump them for a few secrets and save some time by heading straight to the fish with the right lures. MAROON CLOSEST TOWNS: BEAUDESERT, BOONAH It is still spinnerbait time at Maroon. Over the warmer months, it is hard to beat spinnerbaits, beetle spin rigged plastics and chatterbaits fished tight around the weed edges. My favourite area has always been around the dam’s middle reaches in the southern bay, just before the timber. This location sees excellent weed growth. I recommend checking this spot out in daylight hours to study the weed formations with your polarised glasses. Understanding how the weed clumps grow will pay off when trying to pluck fish from the pockets and weed edge itself. As darkness falls, you will lose sight of the weed and can switch to topwater presentations. Maroon is one of Queensland’s best surface fisheries and the bass will commit to taking lures and flies on top until well after dark. Early
Somerset Dam’s Pelican Point just seems to keep producing big bass. This one was just under the magic 50cm mark. morning sessions will also produce surface action but the topwater feeding will cease as soon as the sun gets too bright. DYER CLOSEST TOWNS: GATTON, LAIDLEY Lake Dyer is still open to paddle craft and fishing from the shore. The puddle that is left is still producing bass and golden perch. Trolling or casting from kayaks and the shore will fool a few fish. They see quite a few lures in the small sections of deep water that remains. Blades, spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits are good options for this lake. The fish come in all sizes with the bigger bass and golden perch being well over 40cm long. • Gatton Home Brew, Camping and Fishing Supplies have the most accurate information about what is happening at the lake. If you have any questions about the fishing at Dyer (like what, where and when) make sure you call in. The store stocks a great range of tackle suited to fishing the dams around the area. NORTH PINE (LAKE SAMSONVALE) CLOSEST TOWN: BRISBANE, LAWNTON, PETRIE North Pine is still producing heaps of fish for
kayak anglers. There are several schools around in 4-8m of water and these are holding big numbers of smaller bass. The bigger models are harder to find and are only being caught sporadically. Trolling medium diving lures has been very productive while searching for fish. For those without a sounder, it is the only way to locate schools. Running a sounder on your kayak is really the only way to successfully locate and follow the movements of fish and will guarantee much better catches. When good schools are found, you can put the trolling lures away and start casting spoons, blades, spinnerbaits and tail spinners at the fish. For an update on the fishing and all the right advice and gear, call in to Tackle World Lawnton. These boys will be able to sort you out and ensure you stand a good chance of boating a few fish. KURWONGBAH CLOSEST TOWN: BRISBANE, LAWNTON, PETRIE Very few reports have come in from Kurwongbah, with a lot of the angling pressure directed at North Pine just up the road. This gives the fish a chance to have a spell and makes them more willing to eat.
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Try the middle reaches of the lake. Casting spinnerbaits and blades to the edges will work in the mornings and afternoons. During the middle of the day, the fish may be found schooled on flats out in deeper water. Here, they can be caught on spoons, tail spinners and trolled lures. Kayak access is at Mick Hanfling Park off Torrens Road. A wash-down facility is in place to help avoid spreading the cabomba weed present in the lake. • Tackleworld Lawnton is an ideal port of call for all your fishing needs if fishing the lakes on the north side of Brisbane. The team can point you in the right direction and help you experience some awesome fishing close to the heart of Brisbane. SUNSHINE COAST REGION MACDONALD CLOSEST TOWNS: TEWANTIN, NOOSA You can really mix it up at MacDonald this month. The lake will be perfect for experimenting with a range of techniques and honing your skills. On the weed edges, spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits and blades will pluck off the fish throughout the day. In the mornings and afternoons when the light
is low, switch to surface lures and fish them right on the weed edges or inside pockets and over submerged weed. The bass will be on the prowl in the shallows and smash these topwater offerings. Further up the dam, you may also encounter the occasional saratoga doing this. Deeper fish will also be found outside the weed edges and in the main basin on the deeper flats. These open water fish can be tempted with blades, spoons and tail spinners. If you find a good patch of these fish, expect to pull big numbers. BORUMBA CLOSEST TOWNS: IMBIL, NOOSA The action has been insane with heaps of quality bass and saratoga being caught. The best bass fishing has been inside the start of the timber where fish are suspending through the trees and sometimes up on the flats. When the fish are suspended, they can be trickier as you need to fish the lure through them without relying on the bottom as a depth gauge. If you struggle with this, choose a lure that is easier to hold depth like a spinnerbait, jig spin rigged prop bait or tail spinner. Up past the timber, big toga have been on the prowl in both arms. These fish will be encountered around the bankside structure and occasionally the snags in deeper water. Spinnerbaits and jig spin rigged plastics are perfect for exploring the water fast. The toga will also take surface lures and all manner of hardbodies when fished in the upper part of the water column. The trick is to cover heaps of water and cast at everything that looks fishy. An electric motor is ideal as you can power fish your way along a lot of edges in a session. • 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.
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DARLING DOWNS GRANITE BELT REGION COOBY CLOSEST TOWNS: HIGHFIELDS, TOOWOOMBA Cooby Dam remains closed due to the outbreak of blue-green algae. This is likely to take months to clear and we may need a cold snap in winter to help kill it off. Keep up to date on the Toowoomba Regional Council’s website. LESLIE CLOSEST TOWN: WARWICK The dam is low but the fish still seem to be biting. There have been some tougher days, however just when you think the fish are slowing down, they fire up again. Golden perch, silver perch and eel-tailed catfish have been caught from the edges on the steeper banks below the Washpool. Live shrimp and saltwater yabbies are the best baits. These edges can also produce Murray cod at times for those lucky enough. Up closer to the dam wall, the rocky outcrops just before the restricted access buoy line are
perfect for bankside luring for Murray cod. The fish aren’t always present and hungry in this area, so to maximise your chances hit it on first light. Bigger spinnerbaits are ideal for peppering the rocky edges and make sure you have a few as you will get the occasional snag when flicking from the bank. Boaties will have the benefit of exploring the whole dam. Due to the lower level, the best fishing will be in the deeper water or along the drop-offs to the old creek bed. Locating features in this area (like old trees and piles of granite rock) will increase your chances. Hopping vibes and blades around this structure will fool golden perch and occasionally cod. The bigger cod seem to like big spinnerbaits. You can cast these to known hotspots or at significant features. Another option is to troll them at around 2.5km/h. I like Sudsey 1oz spinnerbaits as they track at around 4-5m deep depending on how much line you have out. You can troll the ledges to the old creek bed in the middle reaches of the dam or wander the open water hoping for a cruising fish. Some monster
WIDE BAY AND SOUTH BURNETT REGION BOONDOOMA CLOSEST TOWNS: PROSTON, KINGAROY There have been plenty of fish caught at Boondooma over the last month. Finding the schools has been the tricky part to getting good numbers of fish. Better numbers are still likely to be holding up near the dam wall around the major points. These bass will be suspended and you will work out how deep to fish by studying your sounder. Smako spinnerbaits, Gang Banger G2 and Nories Wasabi spoons were smashing them last month. The key is learning how to count your lure down to the depth the fish are chilling at and then keeping it there during the retrieve. If you have no idea, drive away from the fish noting their holding depth. Find a flat area of similar depth and count your lure’s sink time to the bottom and then between a set number of winds. Practice this and then go back to the fish and repeat it. I have surprised myself at how effective this can be. Sometimes you are getting just enough bites to think you are in the fish when really you are only working the edges of the school occasionally. Keep the lure in them and you’ll have a session to remember. Further up the lake, there seems to be smaller schools of fish with bass and golden 62
MARCH 2019
perch mixed together. Spots like the Junction and the rocks on the first stretch leading into the Stuart Arm are good areas to start your search. Working the edges here or up in the timber with spinnerbaits is a good way to fool both species
cod over a metre long have been caught in very open water away from structure in the last couple of months. • 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. COOLMUNDA CLOSEST TOWN: INGLEWOOD There have been fewer reports from Coolmunda over the last month. The dam was fishing a bit tougher than Leslie so has had a lot less pressure. Even when it is tough, it does throw a few surprises at you. Golden perch fishing is going to be hard work. Trolling the old river and creek bed edges will produce a few fish. If you can locate areas where they are holding over flatter country, jigging ZX40 blades will pull better numbers. Live shrimp and saltwater yabbies fished in the same areas will score best early and late in the day. The Murray cod are the real attraction. When they receive less pressure, they are
often more willing to bite. Cod will be encountered in the main basin of the lake. This big areas looks huge even when the dam is low, but you can eliminate a lot of dead water by targeting the drop-off to the old creek bed. If you spend time sounding over this area, you will learn where all the big root balls and trees are. This structure is home to the cod and you can troll the flats adjacent to it or even try knocking the old timber with your lures. Just keep a rope lure retriever
handy if you plan on fishing hard in the structure. Diving lures and 1oz spinnerbaits will reach the fish when trolling. You can also drop a marker buoy or GPS mark on the prime looking areas and pepper them with casts. Boat positioning in the open water is critical as you need to present the lure to the right spot. There are plenty of smaller cod of 60-80cm on offer, but for those who persist, the metre plus fish eventually make an appearance.
• The Coolmunda Caravan Park is only one kilometre away from the lake. The park is just off the Cunningham Highway but 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, BBQ shelter and a camp kitchen. To take advantage of this and the great fishing opportunities in the lake, give the park a call on (07) 4652 4171.
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
okay at Bjelke but the water level remains low. The fish look like they will make it through this year’s hot water temperature and the cooler times ahead will see them more comfortable and hopefully more willing to bite. It is always a similar pattern in Bjelke. The fish chew like crazy as the water heats up in November and
can be found in about 5m of water, so there in no need for extra deep divers. Trolling medium lures with a smaller profile is more likely to produce the bites. Switching it up and trolling casting lures like small spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits can also pay off. Lure casters can experiment with all the usual offerings, but it is always hard to beat a blade bait. The small tacky hooks and smaller profile of these lures are perfect for fooling the smaller class of fish. Don’t be fooled, while most fish are smaller, there are some crackers in there. Bass to almost 50cm and monster golden perch are not uncommon, you’ll just need to sort through the smaller stuff to find them. Bait anglers will start to pull better numbers of fish on live shrimp when fishing the schools along the old creek bed. Drop baits directly below the boat weighted with a small sinker. This vertical approach keeps the line tighter so you can feel the most timid of bites and work on hooking them when they aren’t committed. • 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 team have all the knowledge to guide you on how to use it. You’ll find the store 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. CANIA CLOSEST TOWNS: MONTO, BILOELA Heaps of bass are being caught at Cania. Trolling has been the standout technique, with deep divers like the Golden Child and Blitz Baga pulling most of the fish. Bass are still likely to be suspended throughout the dam this month but we may see more moving closer to the flats and spending more time in 8-10m of water. The schools have been all the way through the main basin up into Bass Strait. These fish seem to be the larger ones and when good numbers are found you can switch to casting spoons and tail spinners to fool them. Up in the timber, the fish have still been schooling but the size drops. It would still be worth working some structure around the lake’s edges in the mornings with spinnerbaits to try for a saratoga. CALLIDE CLOSEST TOWN: BILOELA The barra fishing at Callide has been kept quiet for the last year or so. The fish are growing bigger and although fewer in
Down the hatch! You can just see the Berkley Shimma Shad soft vibe protruding from this Leslie Dam golden perch. These lures accounted for several fish off deeper structure in this session.
Blake got the ball rolling on a recent trip with this barra. He proved that persistence is rewarded by fishing hard for the first bite through the dead part of night. early in the day. Trolling medium to deep diving hardbodies should produce fish throughout the day. Look for the areas holding fish and turn around to work them harder. • Boondooma is a great place to camp right near the water and sit by the
rooms call (07) 4168 9694. For the latest information jump onto Facebook and check out Matthew Mott Sport Fishing for Motty’s latest fishing reports. BJELKE CLOSEST TOWNS: MURGON, GOOMERI The fishing has been
December, but then it gets a bit too hot and the action slows down. With low water, they have nowhere to go or hide and are easy to find. The flats and drop-offs between the boat ramps and even up towards the dam wall are the fishiest locations. Most of the fish
numbers than Awoonga and Monduran, they are much bigger. Time your trips right and find the key feeding areas and you are in for some fun fishing. Last month I spent three days there with my son Blake. We managed to land 36 fish with the average size
were a 103cm and 110cm fish. I have since seen a whopper fish of 116cm. I say whopper because these things are ridiculously fat and this fish could have been over 30kg. Callide is a little different to the other barra
If you spend time searching for fish you will find them on your sounder. We found several spots where the fish were staging throughout the day. Good numbers were found up in timbered bays in the dam’s middle reaches. Out in the basin of the
At night, the whole game changes and the fish move around to feeding areas. If you stake one of these out, you are in for some excellent fishing. We had the best success on heavier plastics. We parked the boat in 5m of water off a wind-blown main basin point. The fish took a while to arrive but when they did the action was nonstop for several hours. Best lures were the 2oz Molix Swim Shads and 6” PowerBait Mullets. Both of these
offerings are quite heavy and we were able to fish them close to the bottom for the entire retrieve. I believe this was the key to getting the bites. There is a lot of lake to explore and we never even touched the top end of the lake. From the Callide Mine lookout, you have an excellent view over the dam. From this high vantage point I picked several spots to check out on my next visit.
fishing charters on the lake. He caters to the needs of the angler and can do fly or conventional tackle trips to target the lake’s barramundi. Justin reports the size of the fish is increasing with the average fish now around 78cm with plenty of bigger 80-90cm models to boost the average. You can contact him on 0429 223 550 or visit the website gladstoneflyandsportfishing .com.au.
• Mark from Awoonga Gateway Lodge always has a few productive secret spots to share. The Gateway lodge is on the way in to the dam after turning off at Benaraby. The accommodation is great with plenty of boat parking space right beside the comfortable air conditioned, self-contained cabins each with its own veranda. To book in a stay give Mark or Lyn a call on (07) 4975 0033.
lakes. It has little in the way of weed and lilies. Therefore barra have nowhere to hide.
lake there were scattered suspended fish. These resting fish can be hard to tempt but
Pointer are all ideal. Most of these lures will slowly sink in freshwater with fluorocarbon leader. This is perfect as on the longer 10-second pauses they can slowly sink over a metre deeper. Dropping a lure like this onto a barra’s nose and then twitching it to life is like ringing a dinner bell. Soft vibes are another great option, although they are a hard lure to cast and
retrieve. The dam has a black sticky weed all over in various depths. As soon as a lure touches this stuff, it sticks and fouls it up. When using vibes, a vertical presentation will help eliminate this problem. Measure the amount of line to be just above the bottom and vertically jig the lure below the boat when fish are on the sounder. At night, the fish will move around more and look for a feed. The lush weed
beds points and bays are good spots to stake out. Heavier soft plastics are great in the deeper parts outside the weed, while a lightly weighted weedless soft plastic can be tossed right into the broken weed. I let my sounder help me make this decision. If I am seeing deeper fish, the deeper lure gets a run. If the fish aren’t showing, I will work the weed pockets where the sounder can see them. • Justin Nye from Gladstone Fly and Sportfishing runs
CAPRICORN REGION AWOONGA CLOSEST TOWNS: BENARABY, GLADSTONE Barra are still providing some thrills in Awoonga. The fishing is a bit tougher but the fish will bite at key times throughout the day and night. The average size is still just under 80cm, but these feisty fish pull hard and even at this size can cause you some grief in the sticks. The timbered areas in the main basin are prime holding areas for the fish. Start searching the timbered bays and points between Iveragh Creek and Dingo Island. The eastern bank has the majority of these and if you concentrate on 3-5m of water, you should find the fish. Side and down image on sounders is the only way to go these days and they do a great job of locating fish in the structure. Once found, it becomes a game of time. Heaps of casts and persistence should see them bite at some stage. Suspending lures like the Jackall Hank Tune, Duo Realis and Lucky Craft
barra fishery. Anglers able to access the lake during and after the rain event will find the sooties and barra going crazy around pockets of dirty water and run-off. The freshly flooded grass will be definitely worth a look next month as the barra forage through it. KINCHANT CLOSEST TOWNS: MARIAN, MACKAY Kinchant also copped a drenching in the rain event
they will often chew around peak bite times. Persistence will be rewarded if you are fishing around them at the right time. Twitching hardbodies around the snags and through the open areas where the fish are holding is one way to get the bites. The lack of weed also makes this dam easy to hop a soft or hard vibe along the bottom. You will need to find the snag free runs but the effort is worthwhile as the barra are suckers for vibes.
This lean and mean 110cm barra had the author begging for more. With insane leaps and powerful runs, it is no wonder barra are his all time favourite. being around 80cm. There were a few 90cm+ models mixed in and the standouts
TEEMBURRA CLOSEST TOWNS: PINNACLE, MACKAY The dam was well and truly flowing over the spillway last month. With rain still around it is hard to know if there will be any major fish losses. There were no signs of barra escaping when I wrote this article, so fingers crossed they stay put as the dam was really starting to make a name for itself as a big
and this has flooded the old weed beds. Sunwater was closely monitoring levels and releasing water to help prevent a big overflow. The barra should be up on the freshly flooded ground. Stealth and long casts over the flooded ground should see some exciting fishing in the shallows. After similar events, it has been possible to sight cast to the fish and this is where stealth really comes into the equation.
MACKAY REGION
WHITSUNDAY REGION
Barra have nowhere to hide with today’s technology. Here you can clearly see fish holding inside a patch of timber. Spend time searching for fish and don’t waste time fishing barren water.
PROSERPINE CLOSEST TOWNS: PROSERPINE, AIRLIE BEACH The dam was on the rise last month, but still had several metres to go to reach the spillway. The water pouring in livened the barra up around the areas of running water. After the rain settles and water stops running, barra will spread out. More fish will be encountered up on the freshly flooded ground. Shallow hardbodies and lighter soft plastics can be used to cover these areas. • It will be like entering a
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whole new playground – new spots and techniques will produce, so if you need some help and guidance call in to see the team at Barra World. For all your fishing supplies or a guided trip on the lake call Lindsay at Barra World on (07) 4945 4641. Lindsay’s barra tours can be busy in peak times so book ahead. The store is right on the highway in Proserpine and specialises in barra fishing tackle. You can also keep up to date by visiting their Barra World Facebook page.
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A big barramundi lake full of opportunity LAKE TINAROO
Warwick Lyndon
It’s March already and after another good wet season, Tinaroo is full again. A full dam means that fishing expeditions can be full of opportunities.
A good wet usually kicks the baitfish into overdrive and the fish in the lake normally respond well by becoming quite active. This gives anglers excellent opportunities to tempt a trophy barra or sooty with a range of fishing techniques.
Trolling lures is a good way to cover ground and can be quite productive this month, particularly if the fish are moving about and you haven’t quite honed in on their favourite haunts yet. The fish are usually feeding in depths between 3-20ft, so trolling lures
There have been good numbers of small barra around recently, with all of them being fat and healthy like this one.
A full dam means quality fish, which means the fishing action should be fierce this month. Liam Casella is never far from the action.
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that run within this depth range is the best bet. There is an absolute plethora of lures on the market that can do this job, and every second angler will have a different opinion on what the best one is. Trollers just need to keep it simple by picking a lure with a decent low speed action and remember not to tow their offering too fast. Tossing lures is always an extremely productive way to catch barra and sooties, with lures that have been getting results lately including suspending jerkbaits and slow rolled hardbodied lures, vibes, paddle-tailed soft plastics and even spinnerbaits. The difference is that casting is usually done once fish have been located. For visitors to the lake, a combination of both techniques can be a deadly way to achieve success on a mighty Tinaroo beast or two. One of the most common questions people
ask about Tinaroo is when to fish it. The most obvious answer is that the best time to try your luck is when you find active fish. While everyone has their own secret tactics and theories around this, the most consistent times usually coincide with dawn and dusk. An incoming full moon, approaching afternoon storm, tide change or rise in either water temperature or barometer certainly doesn’t harm your chances either. Having said all of this, the most important factor on Tinaroo is to be out there trying. You can’t catch a trophy fish from the couch at home, and Tinaroo is notorious for being a tough place to crack, so time on the water is invaluable. In spite of all of these unwritten rules, there have been some noteable fish caught in daylight hours recently. One local angler slayed four trophy barra in the middle of the
day in front of a group of bemused water skiers recently, which just goes to show you need to be on the water and paying attention when the fish want to play the game. Stocking efforts over the last few seasons and a full dam seem to be paying off nicely for anglers with plenty of small barra being caught recently. These fish have all been in excellent condition and extremely aggressive. When releasing these fish, please care for them as they are the monsters of the future. The Tableland Fish Stocking Society also plan to stock sooty grunter fingerlings into the dam later in the year, which should continue to make Tinaroo an excellent fishery for all to enjoy. As always – if you want to keep up with more of my FNQ adventures, you can like ‘Wazza’s Fishing Page’ on Facebook or ‘Wazza’s Fishing’ on YouTube.
Dylan Brier-Mills conquered the Tinaroo barra recently with this monster. Tinaroo barra can be hard to crack, but once you do you’re in for a good time.
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The bountiful Borumba Dam BRISBANE
Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au
I have been fishing Borumba Dam for over three decades, and I have seen some changes over those years, which I think have been for the better. Launching a boat, for instance, is just so much easier these days!
mountains, and water all add to the picturesque quality of the area. LAYOUT As the boat moves upstream from the wall, the main basin quickly narrows and forms different arms at the first major area of standing timber, called the ‘Eagles Nest’ area. It was called this because there was once a white bellied sea eagle’s nest in one of the
timber in a wide flat area and enticing weed beds to fish. Heading west the boat will travel up Yabba Creek with its numerous winding bends, but be careful as there are a few stumps here and there. Meanwhile, a slow traverse towards the northwest will see the skipper able to travel within the main bed of the Kingham Creek Arm, which is distinguished by the width between the tallest trees.
some kangaroos, gorgeous azure kingfishers, egrets fishing, cormorants drying wings and, naturally, sun baking turtles on logs. Most surprisingly, you can even encounter small mobs of deer watching the boat pass. This is the heart of red deer country and the sound of red stags calling during the first weeks of April has to be heard to be believed. SARATOGA CATCHES I first fished this dam back in the 80s, and I was very excited by the prospect of tagging toga on fly. With a reputation as surface feeders and eyes set right into the tops of their heads, these fish were made for fly anglers like us. With the freshwater scene we’d started with trout, moved to bass and naturally wanted to add a saratoga from this dam (their most southern range in those days) to our capture lists. These ancient
Beds of lilies are abundant through Borumba Dam’s upper creek arms; so much so that anglers are spoiled for choice. were – and still are – found any place in the dam where timber, submerged shrubs and the like can give them cover. Take a look at that first bay on the right after you leave the ramp. I distinctly remember driving down off the launching ramp to make a U turn before backing the
hatchery has wound down the fish are still stocked. All of the three previously mentioned fish species now share the dam’s waters – along with Mary River cod – with the self sustaining population of southern saratoga. Of all five native species, bass seem to have done as well as the
These days a regular kiosk welcomes visitors to the Lake Borumba Caravan and Camp Grounds. Constructed to withhold water from Borumba, Yabba and Kingham creeks, Borumba Dam is pretty small by Queensland standards (Wivenhoe, Fairburn, Tinaroo and others) but what it might lack in surface area it makes up for in beauty. The valleys,
tallest trees. This first major area of standing timber is the ideal area to catch a saratoga or bass, but most anglers move further afield, always looking around the next bend, as anglers tend to do. To the south of this easily distinguished area is the Borumba Creek Arm, a lot of
Each of these three arms do have some similarities. For all three arms the further up you go the more standing spars you’ll encounter, the more dense the rainforest is and the more exotic the wildlife. While navigating around here you can expect to see
These days, a saratoga of this size is considered a little fish.
Well set up cabins are available at Borumba Deer Park camping grounds.
fish were the trophy in those days, simply because they were very novel captures with considerable strength and a love for air time when hooked. Adding to the excitement was the fact that toga were abundant and very willing to take a dry fly. There was no need to go to extreme distances to catch these fish as they
boat into the water, so there was obviously a dry time then as well. THE FISH HATCHERY In the 80s, bass and silver and golden perch were initially being introduced and there was a fish hatchery with grow out ponds right next to the western end of the Borumba Dam campgrounds. While the
saratoga and there are some fabulous catches of bass made these days. As the weather heads into winter, these feisty fellows do the standard bass thing and school up in the main basin where anglers with the latest and greatest bass lures do their thing, trying to catch them while flyfishers with their sinking lines and Vampires or bony
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There are many angling options in this dam, with standing timber competing with shoreline features for anglers’ attention.
bream patterns are also enjoying the fun. BIGGER IS BETTER Saratoga have gone from strength to strength! A big toga was once an 80cm fish, these days it’s around or over the metre. A fly line tippet was once adequate at 6kg, today it’s 10kg and there might still be a break off! Be advised, saratoga are great sportfish. Initially, a big saratoga will pull like a barra and just like a barra it will take to the air with some lively head shakes to throw the hook as well. As a flyfisher I’ve noted that the main difference between hook ups between these two species of fish will be the take. While barra hit like
trains, toga can be a lot more subtle, sneaky even, in their approach to a fly, until they realize they’ve been pinned and then it’s on. A steady diet of bony bream, which were introduced a few years ago, has seen their size upgrade all round. This is great, but it does make me miss the spectacular surface fishing around the trees. That said, those big toga can startle the angler with the never to be forgotten sight of a massive fish working like a longtail tuna on fleeing bony bream of an evening or early morning. Now, that’s surface action! It’s just a pity it’s not more frequent, but anglers who toss their
This might look a little harsh, but these fish have teeth and will certainly bite, so the Bogagrip is the way to handle them. soft plastic, spinnerbait or other favoured lure (or fly) with consistency around
In Africa it might be hippos, but in Borumba Dam it’s cows out feeding on the water lilies.
the timber and other cover usually won’t have long to wait before a hook up on these fish. All five species of fish are available for bait anglers, of course, and shrimp are abundant in Borumba Dam, along with red claw crays. Again – as is the case in most fisheries where there’s a fair amount of pressure on the inhabitants – a quiet, subtle, approach will succeed over other tactics. Borumba Dam is fishing better than ever for the smart angler. WHERE TO STAY The dam features dual camping areas within close proximity, with the Deer Park camping ground only around a seven minute drive east of the dam. Here there’s a very
large well set out area for tents, camper trailers and caravans with many ideal camp sites on the banks of Yabba Creek for guests to enjoy. If camping isn’t your style, there are cabins available. From what I’ve seen, though, a lot of anglers opt to set up camp much closer to the boat ramp in the Lake Borumba Caravan and Camping Grounds. These long established camping facilities are now under new management, which has resulted in some serious transformation with more facilities, the addition of a cricket pitch, beach volleyball court and a camp kitchen. Kayaks are
on hand for youngsters to enjoy as well. In contrast to many of today’s camping areas, there is still the sound of a curlew or owl at night, the sight of a slow moving goanna lumbering around the camps in search of food after breakfast and a few tame kangaroos grazing on the grass, totally oblivious to human presence. In all, the fishing is still fabulous, and camping at either of these venues works for the whole family. To contact Lake Borumba Caravan and Camping Grounds call (07) 5488 6662 and Borumba Deer Park can be reached on (07) 5484 5196.
Denise with a fly caught toga. Catches of toga here have been common since the ‘80s.
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MARCH 2019
67
Suzuki’s fourth gen Jimny a tough customer BRISBANE
Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au
Suzuki’s Jimny 4WDs have been on our roads since 1974. Back then, I was lucky enough to attend an off road knock-em-down event to see which of the current range of 4WD cars were the most
stopped many larger vehicles in their tracks. This was thanks to impressive ground clearance, engine power mated to smart gearing plus being a light weight vehicle of around 700kg. PROGRESS THROUGH THE YEARS Since those early days there have been several iterations of the little wagon,
torque, a 15% improvement over the previous model. They are still still very good value for money, with several models coming home for under the $30,000 mark. The over all design has changed somewhat with softer lines, although it’s still immediately recognisable as that wheels-under-a-box overall design that makes it so
Washouts and loose gravel on serious slopes won’t stop the Jimny. dash area and providing controls for navigation, smart phone connectivity, a very good reversing camera plus entertainment. The air con system provides a dial-temperature feature
Ample ground clearance is merely one facet of the Jimny’s tremendous off road capability. capable. This was held in a very rough area where washouts, mud slides, potholes, and a steep climb with plenty of loose stones set the bar very high for contenders. At the end of the wheel spinning, scrabbling and scrambling session, two 4WDs stood ahead of the field, and there was a large price difference between the two vehicles. One was the then new Range Rover, valued at $14,000+ plus and the other was the Suzuki Jimny, coming home for $3485. Despite the disparity in pricing there was remarkably close off road performance, thanks to the Jimny’s off road ability to overcome obstacles that
with the Jimny’s relevant Sierra series continuing the ‘go anywhere’ and ‘unstoppable’ traits of the brand. In 1998 this vehicle had a 1.3L engine turning the wheels. Coil spring suspension front and rear, plus an ability to engage four-wheel-drive on the fly were standard fare. The cost for this vehicle was now at around $17,000. The years 2005 and 2014 saw further upgrades with Electronic Stability Control being added to that year’s model, along with revised instruments and seating. This year’s fourth generation Jimny has taken the marque even further forward with a four cylinder 1.5L fuel injected engine, upgrading power to 75kW and 130Nm of
The Jimny’s new dash is highlighted by a 7” information screen. successful off road. The 2019’s dash layout has changed completely with a 7” touch screen – somewhat similar to that of the Suzuki Vitara – dominating the
We see here the difference between the Jimny and a soft roader. One wheel off the ground won’t be stopping the Jimny. 68
MARCH 2019
with display. SAFETY FEATURES On the safety side of things, the Jimny offers dual sensor brake support, auto brake assist, hill hold
and hill descent systems, potential collision and lane departure warnings plus six air bags. Not mentioned on brochures but immediately noticeable when driving this vehicle is the amount of all round visibility. From my experience, very few modern cars offer this degree of road awareness. Suzuki have always focussed on the Jimny’s unstoppable off road capability combined with ample comfort, but the 2019 model has leapt forward considerably with levels of sophistication making the Jimny more suitable for suburban work and – dare I suggest it – even more fun to drive. Yet, for off road work there’s a separate transfer case set-up with high and low range on tap via a lever, so high range 4WD is immediately available. The Jimny’s All Grip Pro system incorporates a limited slip drive traction system for the really tough going,
which ensures that if a wheel loses grip the system brakes that wheel and immediately applies extra traction to an opposite wheel. This ensures that even if one wheel is gaining airtime and another is slipping, the driving force immediately goes to a wheel (or wheels) that are still gaining traction to ensure a forward or rearward motion continues. On the test track I saw this feature of the Jimny working admirably, with sometimes opposing wheels maintaining traction on the loose steep gradients. The huge degree of flexibility in wheel travel compliments the All Grip Pro system admirably. FOURTH GENERATION JIMNY Today’s fourth generation Jimny carries the flag forward and into the ‘20s. The basic off road capability has not changed one bit, but today there is a lot more than just off
The new 2019 Jimny’s lines are somewhat softened, but the shape is still characteristic of this little wagon.
road cred. Now the vehicle features a strong ladder chassis and coil suspension. As a four seater, the rear seats were comfortable, but with passengers on them there won’t be much room in the back, other than for some
groceries and the like. With these seats folded, rear cargo capacity increases to 377L. The rear seats are plastic backed for easy wipe down after the waders are placed in there. There is also plenty of plastic around the doors
A reversing camera is standard in the ’19 Jimny.
Switches for important functions are arranged where they can easily be found in the little Suzuki.
as well, which also assists in clean up after use. New Jimnys can feature either 5-speed manual or 4-speed auto gear boxes and I was fortunate enough to review a 4-speed auto (GLX) during a decent test run to the New England cod streams. FUN TO DRIVE On the way out of the city the Jimny proved its worth with its easy driving. The engine had all the power necessary to keep up with (and sometimes overtake) when driving along highways. The Jimny’s fuel consumption is 7.1L per 100km was displayed as the best recorded fuel consumption, while 7.8L/ph was the overall figure. On that long highway run I found the seats were amazingly comfortable for such a compact car and I was continually impressed with the Jimny’s ride and overall ambience. Along the river, nothing stopped the wagon from gaining access to a few cod holes. Unfortunately, having an awesome ride doesn’t mean the fish are going to bite for you. SUMMING UP That’s an overview of the latest Jimny, so where does this vehicle sit in today’s line up of super smart, ultra sophisticated SUVs and powerfully large 4WDs? In my view, this is one car that punches well above its weight, with its small size not a deterrent. This is one of
The author in action on cod water. Access to the river was never in doubt, but the cod were not playing.
There is some room to store things behind the two rear seats. Also note the easy-to-clean surfaces.
the easiest cars to drive and park around town, and yet it can handle anything thrown at it with comfort and ease. The power to weight ratio is a big plus. The incredible visibility is great for commuting and other suburban driving needs, and paired with handling that feels sturdy at all times sees the Jimny in a class of its own. In addition to this, there’s still the potential to run up any beach or travel well into the rough going in the bush! A couple of really stand out things were the lack of dust intrusion and great headlights with selflevelling capability.
THE SHEIK OF THE CREEK
What’s fun got to do, got to do with it? BRISBANE
The Sheik of the Creek
It seems to be difficult for significant others to understand the rigours in a day’s fishing, and to understand that this isn’t something that’s done for the pure joy of it. Even after decades of exposure to offshore, inshore and river trips, there seems to be a disconnect when it comes to understanding that fishing is not something that’s done for enjoyment. I’m not sure whether the alarm woke me; I can’t remember. It’s pretty much all a blur until I pulled up in the driveway of Chateau la Manboobs at 0400hrs. Boobies turns on the driveway lights and we stumble around in the shadows, trying not to kick the cat while we unpack cars and packs boats, store rods and tackle boxes, remember sunnies and hats and forget other things. That forgetfulness becomes apparent on the way out of the river when the boat starts to feel a little heavy, so I have to go over the back in my jocks, screw the bung in under
the leg and climb back on board. Then it’s out of the bar, and into the swell. We’ve never yet hit an oily day, but hey, it’s only been fifteen or twenty years we’ve been doing this. So then it’s getting bashed for 60-90 minutes as we head straight into the swell. It’s not even the big ones that are the problem; you can see
them coming. It’s the sneaky little buggers that catch you going down when you should be going up, or the other way around and leave your skull just a few millimetres closer to your shoulders. On and on and on… Then you get out there and if you’re not pulling up a kilo of lead from 90m, you’re getting anchor elbow because
you’re 5m off that magic mark. Luckily, there’s usually not much in the way of fish to wear out your arms, wrists and shoulders. It’s hotter than a great big hot thing out on the water, and drinking is all you can do to keep the fluid intake up with the sweat you’re losing. Boobies seems to cope though. My fluid is cold
water, while his is golden coloured with bubbles. Then it’s home again. Thank goodness we’re with the swell, and apart from being thrown into the console and sides five or six times when we hit the back of a wave, it’s plain motoring. Get the boat up, drive back to La Chateau, fillet the fish, clean the boat, collapse into a chair
for a rest. At this stage it’s usually peak hour and I’d rather put a treble through my upper lip than drive in traffic, so I snooze on the cat lounge. I wake up with a tuft of ginger hair in my mouth and drive home, propping my eyes open with a straightened number 4 long shank. I get home as her onshore is having a beer on the veranda, the drops of frosty water running down the outside of a chilled glass. “Have fun,” she asks? I think of all the things I could say. A verse runs over and over in my fogging brain as I stumble past bearing the two fillets of mother in law I’ve been allocated as my share of the bounty. What’s fun got to do, got to do with it? What’s fun when you’re smashed out on the ocean? What’s fun got to do, got to do with it? Who can have fun when you’re sick of constant motion? (Apologies to Tina Turner.) “Yeah great fun,” I call back, trying not to twinge my ironbark neck ligaments. What else makes sense? MARCH 2019
69
WHAT’S NEW FISHING POWERDOLPHIN WATER DRONE
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ATOMIC HARDZ SLAPPA
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PowerVision is launching the world’s first multi-functional water drone. Equipped with a 220° dual-joint rotation camera, the PowerDolphin can capture 4K UltraHigh-Definition footage. The camera can rotate 70° above water and 150° below the water, sending real-time 1080 pixel footage wirelessly to your phone through the Vision+ app, with a maximum transmission distance of 1000m. The drone includes adjustable front lights to capture stunning illuminated photography in various water conditions. The integrated PowerSeeker detects fish within a range of 40m and travels by waypoint to the perfect fishing spot, utilising the built-in sonar GPS to plot the ocean floor. It will tow hooks, lure fish, release bait and capture fish at a distance of up to 1000m. Once the fish takes the bait, the PowerDolphin will automatically drag itself back to the controller. The PowerDolphin can travel at a speed of 5m per second. A helpful technology for Australia’s lifesavers, PowerDolphin’s robust design and 3 speed gears enables it to tow and remotely release lifejackets, lifebuoys and other rescue equipment. Price: SRP $1299 www.powervision.me
The Atomic Hardz is one of the most popular lure brands in Australia, and the new Slappa has just arrived and has quickly proven itself on Murray cod up to 70cm and larger bass. The Atomic Slappa is a classic surface crawler designed to make maximum disturbance on the water. It is 90mm long and has large aluminium wings that fold against the body, enabling anglers to deliver a long accurate cast time and time again. The wide body displaces water and provides the point upon which it waddles across the surface. The small cupped face also spits water as it moves across the surface. Cast them for bass and cod, wind slowly and hold on! The Slappa is available in 14 colours, including both natural and brightly visible patterns, and also some glow colours for anglers casting at night. For more information on this and other new releases, visit the Atomic website or check them out on Facebook at facebook.com/ atomiclures. www.atomiclures.com.au
DAIWA FUEGO NATIVE CUSTOM
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Bold in looks and impressive in design, the Fuego Native Custom is a baitcaster that definitely stands out from the crowd. The Fuego’s striking low profile aluminium frame sits effortlessly in the hand and combines with its advanced technologies and designs to ultimately impress in style and engage in performance. Weighing in at 215g, the Fuego Native Custom is lean and mean where it counts, yet refined and precision designed where it’s needed. It’s a combination that many reels aspire to have but few budget priced reels fully achieve. Featuring many of Daiwa’s best baitcaster design features including Magforce Z, UTD, Swept Handle, and a spec sheet that includes a 6.3:1 and 7.3:1 retrieve ratios, six ball bearings, the Fuego Native Custom is pimped and ready for baitcaster excellence. www.daiwafishing.com.au
NIKWAX SOLARWASH
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In just two weeks of summer exposure, synthetic materials can lose up to half their strength, making them much more vulnerable to tearing and puncture. To save your expensive gear, and double its lifespan, simply apply both Nikwax SolarWash and SolarProof. Their combined presence forms a protective coating which helps to maintain the product’s exterior. Both sprays also individually increase UV resistance by 50% and form a waterproof shield against unwanted leakage. With the ability to remove dirt and other barriers that decrease water repellency, SolarWash is the perfect high-performance tool for protecting outdoor equipment. It increases the durable water repellency of a product to the highest testable standard after just one spray and rub-in. Both water-based sprays can be applied to wet or dry equipment that has been cleaned. For the best results, apply Nikwax SolarWash and SolarProof to brand new equipment. All Nikwax products are palm oil free, nonhazardous, water-based, biodegradable and contains zero fluorocarbons. Price: SRP $25.95 (SolarWash), $34.95 (SolarProof) www.nikwax.com
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PRODUCT GUIDE 1
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Maxima, a company that has produced quality monofilament fishing lines for decades, has now upped its game once again, with the introduction of Maxima Clear! The new Maxima Clear fishing line is incredibly strong and easy to handle, yet retains the tough, high-durability finish that maxima has always been known for. It has outstanding knot strength, exceptional abrasion resistance and low memory to improve casting distance. On top of that, its clear finish makes it difficult for fish to detect under water. Maxima Clear meets a wide range of freshwater and saltwater fishing situations, from casting and jigging to trolling and bottom fishing. It is available in Leader Wheels, with poundages between 1-30lb, Guide Spools, with poundages between 6-50lb, and Service Spools, with poundages between 2-130lb. There really is a Clear spool to meet just about any fishing situation. www.jmgillies.com.au
ZEREK GADGET Z TRAYS
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Zerek has released an airtight range of storage trays to keep your tackle in the best shape possible. Worm proof and TPE plastic safe, the Gadget Z range from Zerek makes use of a large rubber seal to keep these boxes airtight, and this serves to prevent water from getting in to destroy the lures inside. Made from polypropylene material, the Gadget Z trays comes with removable compartment separators to allow the angler to design their own internal layout how they want, while maintaining the airtight seal to protect expensive lures. Additionally, three extra strong locking clasps are fitted to ensure the tight seal remains locked tight, regardless of how the boxes are stored or transported. Initially two models are available, the large size coming in at 360x230x50mm and the small at a compact 275x185x50mm. www.wilsonfishing.com
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PRODUCT GUIDE
WHAT’S NEW FISHING SHIMANO REVOLUTION SERIES 7
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The newly revamped Revolution series brings 20 different rods to choose from in spin, jig, troll and surf, they’ve got you covered, whatever the target species. This is a wide-ranging series, consisting of light, medium and heavy spin, baitcast, jig, bluewater troll rods at value for money prices – in effect, almost every fishing style available in Australia. The new Revolution models have been updated with all-new fittings. Using Fuji O Ring guides, which have increased protection for the insert, Soft Touch reel seats for greater comfort during long fishing sessions, which complement the hard-wearing customshaped EVA fore and butt grips. The twopiece rods also have subtle ferruling system that you’d be hard pressed to pick. Utilising Shimano’s 24-30 Ton Toray graphite, the blanks the new Revolutions are built on combine casting performance – where applicable – with incredible lifting and fish fighting power. www.shimanofish.com.au
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ZMAN TRD CRAWZ
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Joining the already incredible line-up of various soft baits ZMan offers, the new TRD CrawZ is sure to fill a gap for those chasing crustacean-eating critters in fresh and saltwater. One thing that makes the TRD CrawZ so unbelievably effective is the fact that when it’s rigged on a NedLockZ jighead, it stands on its head, waving its claws like a real yabby defending itself. The buoyancy of the 10X ElaZTech material serves to make this feature even more life-like. The fins on the tail of the yabby resembles a tucked in tail, but also aids in helping this great bait glide naturally to the bottom on a slack line. Additionally, if rigged backwards, it can also glide in under structure! With 8 colours to choose from, this 2.5” bait will be perfect for the likes of bass, bream, yellowbelly and many, many more. www.tackletactics.com.au
SAMAKI WINDCHIME
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The new Samaki Windchime shirt is saturated in colour; with a scale base for depth, they’ve added some key species to make your fishing senses come alive. Sailfish, barramundi, jewfish and mangrove jacks feature on the front and back, all erupting out of their hiding places to inhale lures. The lightweight fabric is perfect for all outdoor elements, protecting from the harsh sunrays with UV50+ resistant technology. The soft touch 100% polyester material is comfortable on the body, plus has the added feature of being breathable, keeping the angler cool and dry. Samaki designs are brought to you by Australian anglers who love to design Australian species. Windchime shirts are available in adult, youth and kids sizes from a size 2 through to a 2XL, allowing the whole family to get in on the action and out onto the water. Price: RRP from $49.95 www.samaki.com.au
DUO ROUGH TRAIL HYDRA
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Long and lean and designed as the ultimate sinking stickbait for large predators, the new Duo Rough Trail Hydra 220 is the lure to pack for your next offshore adventure. Slim-profiled and with a fixed weight in the tail to maximise casting performance and enhance its action, the Hydra 220 features a dynamic skipping action when worked across the surface, while a twitch and jerk retrieve will see it move from side to side to enhance strikes. A hyper realistic garfish imitation when worked across the surface, the Hydra is ultra long (220mm) in length to reduce fishing swallowing and biting off the lure, while its tail-heavy, 58.2g body weight allows for long, tangle free casting on the water. If you’re looking to call up the predators to the surface the new Duo Rough Trail Hydra 220 is the lure to reach for. www.duo-australia.com.au
Just in time for big cod season, the Warlock Cod Lolly is here and ready to make an impact on the Murray cod fishing community. The Warlock Cod Lolly is suitable for the deeper dwelling fish that are a challenge to reach with other lures, and it has the ability to dive quickly to the required depth. This lure will get in the faces of big predators in their hidey-holes and put you I with more chances at landing that dream fish. The Cod Lolly has an incredibly enticing sideways swaying action that is irresistible to most predatory fish, especially big Murray cod in rivers and dams. The Cod Lolly is available in a range of striking colours and is very well built, with quality materials to handle the toughest predatory fish, and will see you through many memorable cod captures. www.jmgillies.com.au
SHIMANO TRANX 200
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Shimano’s Tranx baitcaster series has been expanded, with the addition of a 200 size in two retrieve ratio options. Whether you’re chasing barra and threadies upstream or even big Murray cod, GTs and the like out the front, these are perfect for the job. These reals feature the CoreProtect system, which offers superior saltwater resistance through an internal water repellent and water resistant seal system. A large 48mm throw handle with double paddle assists cranking power and complements the 7.2:1 gear ratio (the 200A has a 6.2:1 retrieve speed). Featuring Shimano’s Hagane Body, the Tranx holds 170m+ of 30lb braid, and boasts a 5.5kg Cross Carbon drag. The new SVS Infinity casting controls make these reels a precision caster’s dream by adjusting the external brake adjustment dial. A longer handle and three SA-RB bearings plus one roller bearing provide almost effortless winding. Shimano recommends pairing the Tranx 200 with a JDM Dialuna or revamped Revolution series rod. www.shimanofish.com.au
Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au MARCH 2019
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WHAT’S NEW FISHING SAMAKI SKITCH X
OKUMA KOMODO 13 SS 273
Samaki Skitch X offers you a new range taking Skitch into the future. With an extended history of Skitch and Skitch Nano, Skitch X has combined all of its predecessors fantastic features and rolled them into the one. The X factor in the Skitch X is obvious in its ultra slick cosmetics with a sleek black blank encased in X weave wrap, a powerful performance feature, ultra hard EVA grips for comfort and support as well as striking blue details and carbon fibre locking rings. The Samaki Skitch X has been created for every angler across the nation, from Barra fishing enthusiasts with a 6’0ft cast and spin model , to the estuary fisherman taking advantage of light and medium spin 7’ models, offering the ever so popular slug spinning 9’ model plus the famous 6’6” and 7’ heave models which are designed to give you the grunt you require when fishing heavier slugs. Price: from SRP $99.95 www.samaki.com.au
ZEREK AFFINITY
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The Zerek Affinity is a 220mm long, 3-jointed floating swimbait originally designed for large bass and pike, but built to accommodate the brutal fisheries that are Murray cod and barramundi. Constructed with a tough ABS plastic body that is supported by through wire construction to ensure durability, the Affinity features a unique joint section that creates a smooth sliding action during retrieve. With its large profile, the Affinity is the prefect size for massive predators that are feeding on larger baitfish in the fresh or the salt, and with the addition of the two provided removable weights (10g and 20g), the Affinity can target them at any depth. The removable weight concept keeps the extra weight perfectly hidden, and balances the lure’s action whether you’re using the lure unweighted or with the chin weights. Unweighted, the Affinity weighs in at 96g and comes in 10 very lifelike colours. www.wilsonfishing.com
RAPALA BC400
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The Okuma Komodo SS Series of baitcast reels has made a name for itself in big fish circles, taking on species such as barramundi, Murray cod, PNG black bass and offshore jigging targets, thanks to its stainless steel main gear, pinion gear, drive and spool shafts, offering the ultimate power, combined with impressive drag outputs. The compact and much anticipated 200 Series models are now available, including the KDS-273 and KDS-273LX (left hand). Both models fit neatly in the palm, boast 9kg of drag, a gear ratio of 7.3:1 and a line capacity of 0.29mm/205m. They boast a heavy-duty build, heavy drag capabilities and plenty of line capacity in a compact size. This feature-packed reel also includes precision Japanese ABEC-5 spool bearings, 6-pin Velocity Control casting system, Spool Access Port, rigid diecast aluminium frame and side plates with CRC: Corrosion Resistant Coating process, A6061-T6 machined aluminium, anodized spool, multi-disc high output Carbonite drag system, dual antireverse for maximum reliability, Zirconium line guide, synchronized level wind optimized for braid, and more. Price: SRP $389.90 www.okuma.com.au
SKY RIGGER
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A new drone fishing device invented by NSW anglers Jaiden Maclean and Byron Leal has launched after more than two years’ research and development. The pair created the patented Sky Rigger following the viral success of their Drone Fishing for Tuna video, which achieved hundreds of millions of views across the world. At the time, they used a makeshift device to attach their rig to a drone and deliver the bait from the beach out beyond the breakers, and within 24 hours they landed a 20kg tuna. The success of the video inspired them to develop a new drone accessory to make the sport safe and accessible for everyone. The Sky Rigger, distributed by Sea Ulcer, attaches to DJI Phantom drones. Its unique, foolproof design ensures the safety of the drone while allowing unimpeded use of its camera so anglers can capture unique unseen fishing action. Price: SRP $199 www.seaulcer.com
BLACK MAGIC 15 FLEA
The new Rapala BC400 is the ultimate all-round oversized baitcast reel. Whether you are casting large swimbaits for Murray cod and barramundi, or slow pitch jigging reefs for demersal species, the BC400 is the ultimate crossover reel. It also features six ball bearings and a large over-sized handle, and the 6.3:1 gear ratio allows the angler to wind fast when needed, making this reel a very versatile fish catching weapon. The CNC machined alloy spool has a line capacity of 200m/0.33mm of 50lb braid, and is easily accessible with a quick switch side plate, allowing for quick and easy maintenance on or off the water. Carbon fibre drag washers with a drag output of 10kg/22lb, centrifugal brake system, precision machined brass gear and a one-way clutch system will see you stopping and landing that fish of a lifetime. Check it out at your favourite tackle store. www.rapala.com.au
PRODUCT GUIDE
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Like the Maggot lure before it, the wellknown Black Magic Flea has had a refresh with some great looking new skirt colours added to the range Coupled with some of the old favourites, anglers can now select from 10 colour options to suit their preferences. For those who aren’t familiar with the Flea, it’s a 200mm lure ideally suited for tuna, but it’s got a great record with other pelagic species like mahi mahi, sailfish and marlin. The head itself is 30mm in length and is a cup face pusher with a small reverse taper. That gives it a nice wriggly trolling action with a good bubble trail. Black Magic recommends using up to 200lb leader with this lure and a 7/0 game hook. The last point worth noting is that all the heads have good UV content which you’ll see if you place them under a UV light. You’ll notice UV content in some of the skirts and there are glowing lumo versions too – all extra attraction for your target species. www.blackmagictackle.com
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PRODUCT GUIDE
WHAT’S NEW FISHING
Unique Yamashita Eginno Pyonpyon new on the squid scene
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Anybody who enjoys squid fishing, whether it is an obsession or an occasional flirtation, would or should know the Yamashita brand of squid jigs. Yamashita’s innovation is second to none, and the jigs in their various iterations are available at an affordable price. I have accumulated a significant collection of Yamashita jigs over the years. It has been difficult to walk past them in a tackle store and not at least grab one or two. Eginno Pyonpyon It can be interesting to find out the translations of Japanese product names. In this case, ‘Eginno’ is the combination of egi (squid) with innovation, and Pyonpyon means ‘jump jump’, like the flicking of a prawn. Like all Yamashita jigs, these new jigs have some unique and interesting features to attract cephalopods to them. All of these features are based around mimicking a prawn in the water. The first thing you’ll notice is the folding front flap. It is designed to fold back on the cast to assist with casting distance, and will then fold out during your retrieve to create a unique water resistance. The goal is to create an effect that’s similar to
The author with a handful of South Australian cephalopod. that of a prawn swimming. I assumed that the design would give the jig a bit of a sideto-side action like it does with a lure, but this was not the case. There was no visible action created by the bib, but it does slow the decent of the lure. This is ideal when you’re fishing shallow water for the likes of tiger squid in Queensland, as you can fish far more slowly, keeping the jig in the zone for longer. The next feature that’s a bit different is the addition the leg feathers. Video of the jig underwater show that these feathers need minimal movement of the jig for them to move and sway, similar to that of a prawn swimming. I suspect that for squid, with their high sense of vision, this additional movement would further spark interest in the jig. The Search Rattle in Yamashita jigs is a feature I have always liked, and I am glad it is in the Eginno Pyonpyon. I was lucky enough to speak to one of the members of the Yamashita research and development team a number of years ago about this. He explained to me that they had put a huge amount of hours into creating the correct pitch in the Search Rattle – 600hz to be exact. At 600hz the Search Rattle mimics a feeding sound that hungry squid
The Yamashita Eginno Pyonpyon looks a little different from conventional squid jigs. Different in this case is full of Yamashita innovation. are attracted to. How’s that for attention to detail? My experience with the Yamashita rattling jigs is that you will have occasions where if you are not using a rattling jig, you may as well not be fishing. It really can make all the difference. Last but not least are the 490 Glow Beads. These have been inserted into the body of the jig to create the unique glow a prawn emits in the water. This is not a feature of all the colours in the range, however, as some are UV enhanced instead. From the packet to the water It is one thing to be different, but that difference also needs to work. I was given a couple of jigs in the 3.5, 18g size, and my plan was to use them in the squidrich waters around Port Vincent in South Australia. From a squid fishing perspective, this is a magnificent place as you have plenty of options, whether you’re landbased or fishing from a boat.
Even the smallest squid enveloped the jig. There was no questioning they wanted it! The marina wall was my first port of call, and I realised pretty quickly that I had to fish the Eginno jig a little differently from other jigs. With traditional jigs I generally use quite a strong whipping action, with a short to medium pause in between. I found that although this retrieve did work with the Eginno, the 3.2 second per metre drop rate of the jig meant that my pause needed to be longer. I also found that the Eginno didn’t whip from side to side like a standard jig, but instead hopped up and up, moving out of the strike zone. More subtle hops were better, and I didn’t have to worry about the jig plummeting into the structure below. Looking back at it now, it was a more finesse presentation, which was ideal during the Christmas holiday break. There was certainly plenty of fishing pressure on the local squid, and we had more success than most. This also proved to be the case out of the boat. The slower presentation had the jig in the zone for longer, and the squid couldn’t resist them.
I think part of the reason for our success was the hook-up location of the Eginno jigs. In 10 days of fishing them I had zero just tentacle hook-ups. Even the smallest squid enveloped the jig. The majority of the hook-ups were in the
The author was impressed with the hook-up points when using the Eginno jig. Most squid were hooked in the prime location between the eyes, with no tentacle hook-ups.
The result of a couple of hours testing the Yamashita Eginno Pyonpyon.
sweet spot between the eyes. You get maximum result for effort when you are hooking them there. Final thoughts I didn’t think I needed more squid jigs, but I have now changed my mind. There are enough differences in the Eginno jigs, and situations where they would be the best option, that I’ve decided to get a few more. Bring on the squid season here in Southeast Queensland, because I can’t wait to use the Yamashita Eginno jigs on the tiger squid around the Moreton Bay islands. I think the Eginnos will be perfect for the shallow water presentation required to target these squid. The Eginno jigs are available in two sizes (3.0/15g and 3.5/18g). Both sink at the same rate and are available in eight colours. To find out more about the Yamashita Eginno range, and the other Yamashita jigs available, go to www.ejtodd.com.au or check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ Yamashita.Australia. - Peter Jung
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BLACK MAGIC
MASTER CLASS
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W I T H PA U L L E N N O N
No more waiting, get into some live baiting On the Mid North Coast of NSW live baiting the inshore reefs, islands and headlands is an extremely good way to get connected to some serious fish, but this great technique will also work in waters all around Australia. Kings, black marlin, longtail tuna, Spanish mackerel,
longtail tuna will also move right up into shallow rocky bays and coves looking to feast on schools of garfish. Often these kinds of areas are accessible by land, which dedicated hardcore land-based anglers take full advantage of, landing some spectacular catches from the rocks every year. If you’re boat-based
For larger reef systems and around islands it’s best to cover as much territory as you can, which is why slow trolling these parts will work best. On the flip side, if you’re fishing for kings in a small bay full of garfish, or for a cobia on an isolated bommie, or a particular point that juts out then anchoring up and sending live baits out under floats will be the better option. TROLLING When it comes to trolling there are a range of baits that will work. When baits tough to find a yellowtail or even a pike will do the job, however slimy mackerel are probably the best all round bait. Big kingfish and cobia also love a slow trolled calamari squid or small bonito.
Even small boats like this can get amongst the action, with this small crew pulling in a solid cobia onboard. big hoodlum kings you will need around 3m of 80-100lb leader coupled with 60-80lb braided or 24kg mono outfits. Black Magic fluorocarbon leader is the best leader for this type of work, as it’s super abrasion resistant making it ideal for brutal kingfish
something like Black Magic IGFA 10-15kg, and use BM KLT 7/0 circle hooks. All baits when trolling should be bridle rigged
other one around 5m. The rig is simple with the length of your leader giving you your depth and a torpedo float running up the leader between your joining knot and hook. For the deeper bait a small pea size sinker can also be added on top of the hook. A good hook for this is the Black Magic DX 6/0. They are deadly sharp and since switching to them last year, I don’t think I’ve missed one tuna. Live baits under a float are best pinned gently behind the shoulder just above the lateral line, with the exception being garfish that last longer when
Longtail tuna are a prime candidate for a live bait suspended under a float. mac tuna, bonito, cobia and even the odd stonker snapper are all live baiting possibilities. While you can potentially catch any of the above species with a range of live baiting methods your success rate improves dramatically when know what and where works best for each fish. This is why it’s important to know what fish your targeting and how to identify potential
the live baiting options are greatly increased for the above species, as shallow reefs and islands close to the coast become accessible. Here you are less likely to catch longtail tuna as they prefer to hug the coastline, but have a great chance of hooking into a black marlin. This is especially the case on those inshore reefs holding baitfish in 20-40m of water. The two most popular
Black Magic DX 6/0 are a lethal live bait hook.
Black Magic’s very own Chris Firkin in the closing stages of a tuna fight. It’s best to run two rods when trolling, with one up high in the water column and one deeper. This is where a downrigger really comes into its own, allowing you to set the ideal depth you want your bait at. If you don’t have a downrigger an elastic band with snapper style sinker attached to the leader will be a good substitute. Leader size and main line will depend on what you’re targeting. If it’s
fight in rugged terrain. Hook choice you’ll find it hard to go past the Black Magic DX 6/0 or KS 7/0-8/0, depending on bait size. For black marlin the same leader size will also be perfect for handling the scuffing caused by bills even in a long fight on 100kg inshore fish – I’ve never had it wear through. For marlin stick with mono line, preferably IGFA class,
This Spanish took a slowly trolled garfish. areas for them. The first thing you should be looking for are environments holding common food sources. For species like longtail tuna, Spanish mackerel, kingfish and cobia prime areas are ocean headlands with deep reefy bottom, where schools of slimy mackerel and yellowtail concentrate. Kingfish and 74
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ways to fish live baits are to either drift them out suspended under a float or to slow troll them through high-potential areas. While the preferred method for tuna is live baiting under a float, the best way to target marlin is slow trolling. For the other species the most productive style will largely depend on the areas you’re fishing.
using either elastic bands or a loop of mono. Trolled baits should be fished in free spool to give the fish a chance to get the bait down before hooks are set. This is why overhead reels are the preferred reel for this type of work, however, baitrunner style spinning
hooked just behind the anal fin on the underside of the fish. For the leader try Black Magic flourocarbon around 60lb, unless you’re targeting big kings, then up it to 80-100lb. Outfits can be either overhead or spin with 15kg mono or 50lb braid
The author putting the breaks on a longtail tuna.
This solid king took a liking to a slow trolled slimy mackerel.
reels are gaining popularity for 10-15kg mono line classes and up to 50lb braid. USING FLOATS The best bait to run under a float is again a slimy mackerel, with garfish pike and yellowtail as good back ups. I like to fish with two rods out at different depths, one at around 2m and the
ideal for this type of fishing. If you do opt for the spin option, baitrunner reels are the way to go as you want your reel to be in freespool when the fish takes the bait then easily engaged into gear when it’s time to strike. That’s live baiting in a nutshell, now you’ve just got to get out and do it.
News
Gold Coast Boating Centre wins National Stessco Dealer Gold Coast Boating Centre at Burleigh Heads has just been awarded the 2018 National Stessco Dealer of the Year. Since changing the name of the business from Marine Tune last year, the business has been growing
at a rapid rate, and now boasts a huge range of boats, including more than 20 Stessco models. With three show rooms and two yards packed with boats, Gold Coast Boating Centre also does chandlery and servicing of boats and
The Team at Gold Coast Boating Centre are always happy to help customers with any of their boating needs.
Co-owner Scott Mahon is proud of the recognition as Australia’s best Stessco dealer, and plans to use it as motivation for the team moving forward.
outboards. Co-owner Scott Mahon believes having a huge range of Stessco boats gives them an advantage when it comes to selling boats. “I think it gives us the chance to really showcase the boats, and it makes people realise that we are serious about what we do and what we can provide,” he said. “Having a range of
colours available for viewing also gives us an advantage, as once upon a time this dealership only had white or unpainted boats.” Since buying the business, new owners Scott and David have been striving to improve, with a strong emphasis on customer service, and given the positive feedback they have received from
customers, Scott says this is a key motivator to keep going. “Our biggest focus is to continue providing good customer service, and providing an experience for our customers so that when they buy a boat, they feel comfortable coming back to us for services and even buying from us again,” he said. “We are not the type of dealership that sells someone a tinny, and just sends them on their way.” “The award recognises that we’re doing something right, and while it’s not something we set out to achieve, it’s a great pat on the back for the hard work that the whole team put in last year.” - FMG
With a strong emphasis on customer service, the knowledgable team at Gold Coast Boating Centre want to create an experience for their customers that makes them comfortable to come back.
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Pirtek Fishing Challenge
Ready to enter the world’s biggest fishing comp? Australians across all states and territories are being encouraged to prepare their fishing gear for the 2019
Pirtek Fishing Challenge. The Challenge is a major fundraising initiative that helps to raise funds for Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) and awareness of the disease. More than 17,000 men are
major fundraising partner for the Peter Duncan Neurosciences Research Unit. The challenge is an online
national fishing competition open to all ages and experience levels. All competitors receive a limited-edition cap, brag mat and sticker, along with a redemption voucher for a bottle of Pirtek Protect, which is lanolin grease that has been
on the brag mat with their angler number and upload the photo to the website for judging.
BCF spending spree; eight Snap-On Tools 100-piece tool kit valued at $600 and a Valvoline $500 oils and lube pack. Spotter sunglasses are also supplying their awesome polarized eyewear. One of the big attractions of the challenge is the $90,000 in cash supplied by Pirtek Fluid Systems and divided across the 25-target fish nationally. This is awarded via a ‘mystery length’ a secret measurement determined by the event organizers. Michael Guest, Event Director, says the challenge is designed to allow people of all ages and experiences to get involved and enjoy a day outdoors. “It doesn’t matter whether you are an experienced angler or picking up a rod for the first time, the Pirtek Fishing Challenge is all about getting
together with your friends and family, having fun and supporting our charity partners,” he said. “Prostate cancer continues to affect thousands of families each year, and sadly almost every Australian knows someone who is affected by the disease.” “The Pirtek team and I
will continue to do all we can to give PCFA and The Peter Duncan Neurosciences Research Unit the support they need.” For more information and to register visit www. pirtekfishingchallenge.com. au. Registrations cost $25.00, plus postage and handling. – Pirtek Fishing Team
The list of 25 target species will be released to competitors on Sunday, 24 February to allow all anglers time to plan their fishing trips. This year, the Challenge is offering a record $213,000 in cash and prizes. Just by entering, all registered participants will be in the running to win a boat, outboard and trailer package valued at over $29,000 courtesy of Stacer/Evinrude. Along with two $2600 Snap On Tool chests, $2000 worth of Berkley/ABU Garcia fishing tackle, a $2000 Lowrance Hook2 12 Sonar/GPS, $1700 YOUR CHALLENGE • Enter the challenge via the website and be sure to read the terms and conditions. • After you have registered, a limited edition Fishing Challenge cap and Fishing Challenge brag mat will be posted to you.
diagnosed with prostate cancer in Australia every year. Pirtek has been partners with Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia since 2009 to help raise vital funds for prostate cancer research, awareness initiatives and support programs by hosting Australia’s biggest single day fishing competition. The challenge is also a
• The list of target species will be available via the website www.pirtekfishingchallenge.com.au at 1200 hours AEDST on Sunday, 24 February 2019. designed specifically for the marine and fishing industry. It can be redeemed at any one of the 98 Pirtek outlets around Australia. You can find these locations at www. pirtek.com.au. This year’s challenge will take place on Sunday 17 March 2019 between the hours of 6.00am-6.00pm. Competitors need to fish for their chosen species, photograph their catch
• On Saturday, 16 March 2019 (after 6:00pm) you will be sent via email a repeat list of the target species plus your angler number. You can also log on to the website to download this information. • Fishing will commence at 6:00am and finish at 6:00pm on Sunday, 17 March 2019. • All lines must be out of the water at 6:00pm on Sunday, 17 March 2019. • When you catch your target species simply lay the live fish with the nose in line with the ‘0’ (zero) measurement on the Pirtek bragmat. • Photograph the fish so the entire length can be seen in the photograph along with your angler number. • Check out the Photographing Your Fish page for information on how to correctly photograph your catch.
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• If you do not receive your brag mat before Sunday 17 March, you may measure and photograph your fish using last year’s brag mat, a fisheries measuring sticker, another competitors mat (with your Angler Number), or a generic brag mat (BCF sell them). • If you are not happy with the photograph, simply take another one. • Quickly release the fish and try to catch a bigger one. • Only a fish caught by the registered angler can be entered. • Any photograph that shows a fish not alive or damaged will not be accepted. • Any photograph which has undergone digital manipulation, i.e., photoshop, will be disqualified. • You can only upload one photograph per angler to the website. This needs to be your biggest fish. • Follow the directions on the website to upload your photograph. • The upload needs to be complete by 7:00am AEDT, Monday, 18 March 2019. • Any photographs uploaded after this time will not be accepted.
• Remember to write your angler number clearly in the white box provided on the brag mat.
• If your photograph is damaged, blurry or the overall measurement of your fish is not clearly seen with your angler number the photograph will be disallowed.
• Check your photograph to ensure the whole fish is in the photograph and the nose end of the fish is in line with the ‘0’ (zero) measurement and the overall length along with the angler number is clearly visible.
• Check the website on Saturday, 23 March, 2019 to see if you’re a winner. The National Fishing Challenge committee’s decision will be final and no correspondence entered into.
Pirtek Fishing Challenge
WHITING
BASS
Lures: Bass take a variety of lures from surface lures, diving lures, lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits, soft plastics, jigs and even flies. Match your lures to suit where and how the bass are feeding.
BARRAMUNDI Tactics: Barramundi are veracious predators of the estuary, and love eating the baitfish and prawns that abound in these waterways. It’s for this reason that live baits, lures and flies work so well for this iconic species.
COASTAL
Size Range: Up to 1.1m, commonly caught 30-65cm.
Lures: Most lures work well on flathead, the trick is to have it in their face. Lures such as soft plastics, vibes, lipless crankbaits and hardbodied lure all take flathead, and they’ve been known to chase down swimbaits and surface lures as well.
Bait: Baits as varied as scrubworms, corn, bread, dough, shrimp and grubs are all attractive to carp and the use of berley will increase your success rate dramatically. Lures: Carp will take lures, usually as by-catch. Fly anglers can target carp in shallow water by sight fishing with small nymphs.
GOLDEN PERCH Size Range: Up to 75cm, commonly caught at 25-50cm. Tactics: Lures and live baits are popular, and they also love to hunt down worms and grubs set on the bottom. Lures cast around fallen timber in rivers and standing timber in lakes are all successful, especially around first and last light, and the warmer periods of the year are generally preferred. Rigs: Running sinker rig and a paternoster rig are both good options with 20lb braided main line to 20lb leader. The same line weights can be used for lure fishing. Bait: Baits of yabby, live shrimp, worms and even smelly dead baits are successful. Lures: Lures like Australian-made hardbodied lures, spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits all do damage on yellowbelly.
Tactics: Trevally generally prefer fast-moving prey, and will happily chase down lures and flies wound as fast as an angler can wind or strip. There are times when a slow approach will outshine a fast one, particularly for species like golden trevally in shallow water. Rigs: An unweighted live bait rig is a great way to tangle with a large trevally on bait, however simple weighted rigs may be needed if concentrations are found deep. Heavy monofilament or fluorocarbon up to 100lb or more may be necessary.
COASTAL
Rigs: A medium running sinker rig, paternoster rig or float rig with 6-20lb braided line onto a 10-20lb leader. Anglers can obviously go lighter in clear water free of snags.
Size Range: Many trevally species can exceed 1m, however are common in the 40-70cm range.
MURRAY DARLING BASIN
Tactics: Smelly baits are very effective for carp. Carp will also get up into shallow water and mooch along the bottom looking for aquatic insects, and this is where fly anglers can have some fun, sometimes landing some huge specimens.
TREVALLY (ALL SPECIES)
MURRAY DARLING BASIN
Size Range: Up to 1m, but more commonly encountered at 30-60cm.
Bait: Live baits of mullet, herring, whiting and prawn are excellent for barramundi.
Lures: There are so many purpose-built barramundi lures on the market, ranging from soft plastics, hardbodies (shallow and deep), topwater baits and flies. The tricky part is finding out which will work on that particular day.
Bait: Flathead will eat anything they can fit in their mouth, whether it’s live, dead, big or small.
CARP
Rigs: An unweighted live bait rig is perfect for barramundi fishing, and a running sinker rig should be employed if you want to get the bait down a bit.
COASTAL
Size Range: Up to 1.8m, common around 50-70cm.
FLATHEAD
Rigs: A running sinker rig with 6lb braid with a 15lb leader is sufficient for bait fishing. The same goes for lure fishing, but try to attach your lures with a loop knot where possible to maximize the action of the lure.
Bait: Worms and yabbies (nippers) are two baits that are rarely met with failure. Lures: Small hardbodies, plastics, and more recently, surface lures have all taken plenty of whiting in the last decade. Often, the bigger whiting will be the ones that take lures.
Bait: Grasshopper, cricket, worms, yabbies, and particularly live shrimp are successful.
Tactics: Flathead are classic ambush predators that use camouflage to their advantage, often burying themselves in sand or mud when awaiting their prey. Drop offs, weed edges, hard rock and mud edges are all great spots for flathead. Flathead have a preference for tidal movement, either running in or running out, and don’t feed as much when the water is slack.
Rigs: A running sinker rig with a long leader, tiny long shank hook is enough to fool a whiting, even in shallow water. Light braided line around 4lb with a 2-4lb leader is an excellent balance for the anglers throwing lures at wily whiting.
Bait: Live fish, squid prawns and even crabs will bring the bigger and more predatory trevally unstuck. Lures: A huge range of lures will work, but particularly those that can be worked quickly. Hardbodies, soft plastics, surface lures, flies and metal lures will all catch trevally.
MURRAY COD Size Range: Up to 1.8m, common from 40-80cm. Tactics: Murray cod are a structure-loving and territorial species. Therefore, lures or baits fished or cast around big snag complexes repetitively usually get a response eventually. During periods of low light, they will often leave their lairs in search of food. Rigs: 20-30lb should be your minimum line weights for both your mainline and leader. Lures: Murray cod will eat a variety of surface lures, hardbodies, lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits. As with bait, lures should be big and annoying to achieve the best results.
MURRAY DARLING BASIN
Rigs: Light braided line around 4-6lb with a fluorocarbon or monofilament leader around 8-14lb is preferred for lure fishing. The same applies for bait fishing, with unweighted, weighted and floated rigs working, depending on how deep and where the fish are holding.
Tactics: Whiting love clear and shallow water where they grub around for yabbies, worms and other tasty tidbits. By targeting these areas with your baits or lures, you’ll encounter plenty of whiting, as well as other interesting by-catch.
COASTAL
Tactics: Bass in rivers love structure, but when they spawn in winter, they will school up in open water around the tidal reaches. Bass can be a little different in the dams. If there are bony bream or other schooling baitfish present, the bass will usually school up in deep water, chasing the smaller bony bream. If there is a lot of structure around the edges and the food source in predominately insects, small fish and shrimps, the bass will feed in shallow water. Fishing where the bass are with lures or bait that mimics what food source is available is the preferred approach.
COASTAL
Size Range: Up to 50cm, more common from 20-40cm.
Size Range: Up to 65cm, common from 30-40cm.
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New era for Lion’s Greenback Since 1981 the Greenback Tailor Fishing Competition has been a community focused event, helping to raise funds for local beneficiaries. The event was not held in 2015 and 2017, which has set us up for a 2018-2019 back-to back competition.
Team has partnered with the Pottsville Beach Sports Club (and Fishing Club) as the major sponsor of the event, supported by platinum sponsors Tweed Coast Marine and Mad Keen. Our 2019 gold sponsors are Alvey Reels, Gary Howard performance fishing rods,
Included in online registration is entry into two monthly prize draws for $100 BCF vouchers. The 2018 competition made some changes with an increase in prizes, moving the northern boundary to the NSW and QLD border and the introduction of the inaugural 2018 Fowler Building Services Greenback NSW vs QLD Shield competition. Competitor’s points were allocated to the state they nominated. NSW won the challenge in 2018. With the first State of Origin game on the Wednesday before the Greenback Competition weekend, the Greenback NSW and QLD fishing polo shirts were a big success. This year the fishing polo and a new T-shirt back2back design will be available. For 2019 (our 32nd year), the Greenback Management
BCF Ballina and ON-SITE Fastening Solutions. The fishing event has been held on the NSW Queen’s Birthday weekend
for many years at Cabarita Beach, and this year we are planning for 800+ competitors from NSW and QLD to attend the new event location at Pottsville Beach Sports Club. The Greenback Management Team have made changes to maximise the entrants’ fishing time. This year there is no geographical limit to the area in which fish may be caught, other than you must be in NSW or QLD beach, rock, river and estuary tidal waters. This change has an impact on the size limits, as they are a combination of NSW and QLD regulations, and the bag limit has been reduced to 15 fish per entrant in the interest of sustainability. The competition will have three sign-on locations. Ballina and Gold Coast (online entries only from 8am) and Pottsville Beach (online entries from 8am and cash sales from 9am). As the boundaries have significantly changed, together with two
There are no geographical limitations for this year’s competition.
additional sign-on stations at either end of the competition, you can fish up and down the coast at your favourite QLD or NSW secret locations. Be sure to bring that prize fish back on Sunday at the Pottsville Beach Sports Club by 9am sharp. Our registration and ticketing system has been upgraded. You can now register multiple
This year there is even more NSW and QLD merchandise available for purchase.
There are three sign-on locations to help cater for those fishing further along the coast. Just make sure you’re back at Pottsville Beach Sports Club by 9am Sunday 9 June. entries, order competition merchandise and purchase a Tweed coast 4WD permit all on the one page. Payment options online include PayPal, VISA, Mastercard, AMEX, money order, cheque and bank transfer. Once payment is approved, you will receive an entry ticket with a QR code/barcode. On 8 June at your chosen sign-on location, you’ll get your QR code scanned, pick-up your fishing bag and competition rules and away you go. The Greenback event will close at 2pm, so the Queensland entrants do have
TOURNAMENT CALENDAR
some time to travel home. The prize goods are from fishing and camping product lines. All entrants will have a complimentary ticket in the Lions Charity Raffle, a breakfast (scan QR code on ticket) and the chance to win lucky prize draws on Sunday morning. The Lions Charity Raffle has the following prizes: 1st Prize is your choice between a $6000 Tweed Coast Marine boat package, or $5,000 cash from Pottsville Beach Sports Club; 2nd Prize is a $6000 Tweed Coast Marine boat package, or $5,000 cash
from Pottsville Beach Sports Club, dependent on 1st prize winner’s choice; 3rd Prize is a North Star Holiday Resort $1500 voucher; 4th Prize is a Mad Keen $250 voucher (fishing apparel); and 5th Prize is a Pottsville Bait & Tackle $150 voucher. You can also purchase raffle tickets online at lionsgreenback.com. An early bird rate saving of $10 is offered up until 1 May, 2019. In addition to the early bird savings, entrants who register online will be entered into two monthly prize draws for $100 BCF (Ballina) vouchers and fishing magazine subscriptions. The standard entry rate for adults has been set at $50, seniors (55yo+) at $45 and Juniors (16yo and younger) $35. For those who cannot use the online system, there will be a paper-based form to download, complete and return to Stephen, for entry into the event system. For more information visit their website lionsgreenback.com, send them an email at greenback_ chair@lionsgreenback. com or contact Stephen on 0421 052 135. – Greenback Fishing Competition
Brought to you by
2019
MARCH
APRIL
2-3 Mar
ABT BASS Round 1 Clarence River
abt.org.au
2-3 Mar
Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 2 Mallacoota
hobiefishing.com.au
9 Mar
ABT BASS Electric Round 1 Richmond River
abt.org.au
19-21 Mar
ABT BREAM Australian Open Sydney
abt.org.au
23 Mar
LAFMA Carp and Tilapia Eradication Competition Wyaralong Dam
lafma.org or Lloyd Willmann 0429 614 892
23-24 Mar
ABT BREAM Round 3 Botany Bay
abt.org.au
30-31 Mar
Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 3 Sydney
hobiefishing.com.au
6-7 Apr
Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 4 Blackwood River
hobiefishing.com.au
Add your tournament or competition to this list by emailing jthomas@fishingmonthly.com.au or calling 07 3387 0800 in office hours. Just supply a date, venue, tournament name and a telephone number and contact name. 78
MARCH 2019
Boondooma Dam Yellowbelly Comp a success Boondooma Dam Yellowbelly Fishing Competition spokesman Terry Allwood says that the lake fished extremely well for the 2019 event, with 157 fish going through the catch and release section and another 145 in the gilled and gutted section. The biggest yellowbelly of the event was weighed in at 2.085kg. The competition for 2019 saw a huge attendance of 945 entrants, including 236 juniors. Cash and other prizes were presented at the end of each of the three sessions, as well as overall competition winners at the conclusion of the event. The water level in the lake was at 39%, which together with the clear blue skies set the scene for a great weekend of camping, fishing and family activities. Profits from the event are used to supplement fishing permit funds from the Queensland Government and to date approximately 5.3 million fingerlings have been stocked into Lake Boondooma. The Catch and Release categories were increased this year to include yellowbelly, bass, eel-tailed catfish, silver perch and spangled perch. Anglers were using the Track My Fish app to photograph and release the fish, which proved to be successful, with Michael Jarvis of Coolum Beach, winning the Longest Yellowbelly category with a fish of 550mm. Wendal Maroski of Murgon won the Longest Bass with a 505mm fish. The Heaviest Yellowbelly
Wendal Maroski of Murgon won the Catch and Release Bass category.
Heaviest Bass winner, Jeffery Kinsella, is presented with his trophy. title was claimed by Mick Turner of Boonah with a Yellowbelly of 2.085kg. Mick took home over $400 cash and prizes with a trophy, sponsored by Stanwell Power. The winner of the Heaviest Bass section sponsored by Wondai Accounting and Tax Services was Jeffery Kinsella of Moffetdale, with a bass of 1.525kg to secure a pay cheque of $350 plus prizes and trophy. Hanwood Fish Hatchery Champion Junior Anglers for Yellowbelly were Blake Manthey of Kingaroy, with a Yellowbelly of 1.470kg. The Bass was claimed by Jake Johnson of Chinchilla with a bass weighing in at 1.355kg. The 3.6m Quintrex Boat 9.9hp Motor and Trailer package was won by Anthea White of Bellbird Park, and proudly sponsored by South
at $20 for adults and $5 for juniors aged 16 years and under. 2020 will be the 30th year and there will be even bigger and better and will be one you don’t want to miss. The ongoing support of our many generous sponsors ensured that a wide range of prizes and lucky draws were available for all competitors giving away over $50,000 worth of cash and prizes. Food and drinks stalls were
provided by local community groups over the weekend and the great camping facilities provided by the South Burnett Regional Council was put to great use for campers staying at the lake. Additional information on the local area and past fishing competitions can be found on the Proston Online website, www.prostononline.info. Boondooma Dam Yellowbelly Fishing Competition
Mick Turner took out the Heaviest Yellowbelly category with a 2.085kg specimen. Burnett Regional Council. The Dragon Kayak was won by Callam Craig of Alexandra Hills. Congratulations to all the winners and thankyou to everyone who attended and made the event such a success. All profit made from
the weekend goes back into purchasing more fingerlings, so the future for Lake Boondooma fishery is looking very healthy. The annual competition for 2020 will be held on 8-9 February. Entry costs for the February event will remain
Anthea White was presented with a new tinny, by Larry Bud from Cunninghams Marine.
Inaugural Jollip Lures Topwater Fishing tournaments are designed to bring like-minded individuals together to share knowledge and enjoy the camaraderie, but also challenge good
Invitational did on the weekend of 19-20 January. Coming out victorious in this challenging saga at Toonumbar Dam in Northern NSW was Team Lews Arse.
Joey Urquhart of Team Jollip Lures was first to score a legal fish, with the healthy specimen taking one of his own Arancini Fizzers. anglers in sometimes less than ideal conditions. That’s exactly what the Jollip Lures Topwater
Saturday afternoon saw 18 teams from Queensland and NSW show up to the Bells Bay campsite at Toonumbar
Dam. Over a few drinks and lunch provided by the event organisers, the anglers speculated how the dam would be fishing. The relatively small dam had received little rainfall in the previous month, and with daytime conditions well into the 30s on most days, the surface water was almost suitable to bathe in! This didn’t bode well for a topwater only competition, but the anglers new that when the sun fell behind the horizon, these fish might just be looking up for their next meal. This competition was very unique, in that each angler in a team of two was only allowed to have in their possession, five identical Australian made topwater lures. Once decided upon, an angler could only throw these lures. With the rules fairly restrictive on what anglers could use, many anglers found themselves using the same lures as those in other teams.
With the briefing done and boats in the water, the shotgun start at 5:30pm had the teams spreading out along the dam’s length to find their patch of fishy looking water. The first session, between 5:30-9:30pm, was a tough one for all teams, with only one legal fish caught. The team that ended up winning didn’t even come close to catching a fish in the first session. With the first session over, most anglers knew that the morning session would provide better conditions, with the water having all night to cool off before the 4:30-8:30am session. Session two got underway the next morning with many tired eyes racing out from the boat ramp (at 6 knots) to their own patch of bank for the morning. As predicted, the second session was more fruitful, with several teams catching legal fish, and many others
Michale Thompson and Steve ‘Killa’ Kanowski plugged away for a well-deserved win. missing opportunities on good-sized fish. Michale Thomson and Steve ‘Killa’ Kanowski of team Lews Arse were one of only a few teams to fill a team limit of two fish on day two, which earned them $600. They caught their fish casting hard to the edges and into weedy pockets at the back of them dam with Jollip Arancini Fizzers and Taylor Made surface lures. Amazingly, three of the top five teams had Jollip Lures in their arsenal.
Team Bass Hunters were sneaky enough to come in second, earning $300, and Team All Whittled Out managed to slide into third, earning $150. Competition organisers would like to thank Sponsors Casino Outdoors and Disposal, Whiptail Lures, Keg’s Lures and Chilton Tackle Co. The competition is set to return next year at a different venue, and promises to be bigger and better! MARCH 2019
79
Recruiting for the future fishery SUNTAG
Stefan Sawynok
The Fitzroy River is an excellent case study of a system that has been through the good times and bad and come out the other side.
who for nearly 20 years have recorded and reported their catches. In this case the efforts were coordinated by Bill Sawynok, who pulled together the data and fed it back to the community. The missing link in this dataset was how many new fish were coming into the system – also known as recruits. Looking at recruits requires a very different approach, fish
thin when it comes to the Fitzroy. The first question was how to detect recruits. Electrofishing is a common method for finding recruits in freshwater, although the equipment is expensive and doesn’t work in brackish or salty water. Baby barra will head for off river sites that are only connected on large tides or flooding as this provides a safer environment to grow up
A typical small off river site.
Figure 1 – Barramundi catch rates from 2009-2011. In 2007 a long drought period had reduced barramundi stocks to the point where the locals were thinking that a ban on all fishing was in order. The breaking of the drought led to three really good years of successful spawning and by 2011 the river was as close
10-15cm long don’t respond to line fishing and are found in different environments to adults, and can even move through several habitats as they grow. There is every chance that fishers all over the country have detected recruits in their normal fishing life – especially
in. Barramundi have no issue eating juveniles, so getting away from the adults is a survival impetrative. This combination of challenges led to the use of the simplest of technologies, one most fishers would be familiar with – the cast net. With the knowledge gaps
Bill Sawynok has refined his technique with over 10,000 casts. to full fish wise as it had ever been. Figure 1 provides a picture of catch rates in the past 10 years – from the peak around 2010/11 to today. In late 2015, local fishers were rewarded for their efforts in monitoring the Fitzroy with the declaration of a Net Free Zone. In 2017, this was strengthened when a voluntary code of practice was put in place to limit take home to maximum two barra, or two threadfin. The only reason we have a good understanding of catch rates is because of the efforts of local fishers, 80
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when using cast nets. That information is rarely recorded, but is vital to understanding where nursery areas are and if they need to be protected. This article highlights the case for monitoring recruitment and how it can play into long term planning of the fishery. LOOKING FOR RECRUITS IN THE EARLY DAYS The search for barramundi recruits started in earnest in 1999. At that time while there were some things known about barramundi recruitment, the details were
on when barramundi would be best found, surveys were conducted every month. A small number of Barramundi recruits were found in that first year, but that was only a fraction of the fish and other species detected. LESSONS ON THE DRIVERS FOR RECRUITMENT One of the first lessons from the all year-round surveys – they aren’t needed. The original reason for doing all round surveys is that nobody was sure when recruits would appear, it turned out that no recruits
were detected past April in cast nets, though from that point they were caught on line. This is down to baby barra entering the off river areas between December and February, then growing fast and moving to new areas in the site. Once they were bigger than 200mm, they were able to be targeted successfully with small lures. The most important recruitment site around Rockhampton is 12 Mile Creek. In good years where recruitment is strong, it’s not uncommon for the boys that tag to go down there with light gear and catch 50 fish in a session. This first lesson was critical. As well as reducing the timeframes for surveys, the short window provided the first clues as to the environmental factors. Over the early 2000s a pattern of recruitment appeared, at the same time thanks to the internet, environmental data became more freely available. For the first time, it was possible to nail down the major environmental drivers Here is a summary of the complex interactions in the environment that need to line up River flows are critical, particularly low flows from September on. If there are significant fresh flows before November that drops the salinity in the estuary and can completely disrupt spawning. Rainfall in January/ February is crucial to provide a signal to new recruits where the off river sites are, following the flush of freshwater. At the best site (12 Mile Creek) recruits make it into the system on the king tides. Higher river flows or flooding in January and February help recruits make it into other offsite locations. Freshwater is the major driver of the system, but quantity alone doesn’t get you there – timing is critical. Overall there are more ways
things can go wrong than right and barramundi have adapted by being super productive during the bad times. That’s why the Fitzroy went from its worst point in living memory in 2007 to the best point in 2010/11. We have compiled those rules into a ‘traffic lights’ system. Lots of green lights means better conditions for recruitment. PREDATION, FISH KILLS AND OBSTRUCTIONS Net free zones are a good thing right? There is no doubt that the declaration of a Net Free Zone in late 2015 has been a positive for
larger fish, the recruits have had a harder time. In 2017 recruitment surveys detected recruits in key locations within the Fitzroy River, but unlike prior years those recruits were not caught on line later on. 2018 followed a similar pattern. As the population of larger fish has stabilised and is now free to move throughout the system, recruits are now subject to predation. In turn, this makes off river sites even more important. In 2018 conditions in the 12 Mile worsened when much-needed rain failed to eventuate. Despite a huge effort to remove fish from
SPECIES SURVEYED IN 1999 The table below provides a summary of all the species present in surveys in 1999 SAND CRAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 MANGROVE JACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 BARRAMUNDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 SAND WHITING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 FRESHWATER SHRIMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 FLATTAIL MULLET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536 BONY BREAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 THREADFIN SILVERBIDDY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 SOUTHERN ANCHOVY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 WHITING SPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 SPOTTED SCAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 CRESCENT GRUNTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 RAINBOWFISH SPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 YELLOWFIN BREAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 GUDGEON SPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 BARTAIL FLATHEAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 COMMON TOADFISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 TROUT GUDGEON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 LARGETOOTH FLOUNDER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 SNUBNOSE GARFISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 SUNFISH SPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 DIAMONDFISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 SILVER MOONFISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SEA MULLET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 TARPON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SOUTHERN HERRING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 GOLDSPOT MULLET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 COMMON SILVERBIDDY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 MOUTH ALMIGHTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 GOLDLINED RABBITFISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 GIANT HERRING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 STRIPED SCAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 FLYSPECKLED HARDYHEAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 COMMON PONYFISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 PIKEY BREAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SPANGLED PERCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 MILKFISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 BANANA PRAWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 ESTUARY GLASSFISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Tim Mulhall with a metre long example of what is waiting for recruits! the system, which removed around 300 barramundi, there was a near total fish kill. Unlike the recent kills in NSW, this was not down to man-made factors, this was simply the natural cycle of droughts taking hold. In a cruel twist of fate, an act intended to improve the fishery has made life more difficult for recruits. The lower survival rate makes them more susceptible to major events like fish kills. The other factor to consider is the number of barriers that obstruct the movement of smaller fish. In the Rockhampton region there are no less than 1200 such barriers, from roads to agricultural structures and while there has been some work done to improve fish passage, the task of mediating even just the key sites is near impossible. None the less this makes life more difficult for recruits seeking safety.
reasonably accurate but have wide bounds of error. Over the past 18 months, month attempts have been made to create a computer based predictive model and after many failures there is finally a solid model. Figure 2 shows the accuracy of three separate models verses the actual result. These models allow for the input of the likely weather conditions, river flows and information on spawning stocks and predators at the beginning of the year to predict where recruitment will end up. Forewarned is forearmed. The combination of prediction and monitoring enables local agencies to know in advance if there is something going on that need’s urgent attention. One of the immediate befits has been in predicting fish kills. Through the models the potential for a fish kill is
Above: Juvenile barramundi taken during a recruitment monitoring session. Below: Juvenile mangrove jacks are also found when monitoring barramundi stocks.
So, what do we do? At this stage it’s too early for interventions, we need a couple years more monitoring to see if things settle out and come to a new balance. GOING HIGH TECH IN PREDICTING RECRUITMENT As the understanding of recruitment improved, new tools were developed to predict recruitment. These hand-crafted models were
known months in advance and thus preparations can be made to move fish before things become critical. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE The amazing part of this process is that all the progress has been completed with recreational fishers doing the legwork both in the field and behind the computer. In recent years this work has been extended to new species including
yellowfin and pikey bream, barred javelin and king threadfin. The combination of predictive models and low-cost monitoring are helping to identify the challenges for the next generation of recruits and more than once in twenty years has informed actions to improve habitats and fish passage. The future fishery needs new recruits. Recreational fishers can play a serious role, especially in the estuary, helping to understand the things that matter most to ensuring long-term stable fish populations.
Figure 2 – Comparing the computer models verses the actual recruitment.
Left: Juvenile barred javelin recruitment, as with many other species, is affected by rainfall. Right: Juvenile flathead regularly turn up in recruitment monitoring hauls.
YEAR
FITZROY RIVER
Monthly flow jan >0.5GL
Monthly flow feb >1.0GL
Wet season flow DecMar >2.0GL
1999
1.15
0.68
2000
0.06
2001
12 MILE
Max flow month
Low flow previous Sep-Oct <0.5GL
12 mile rain jan >100mm
12 mile rain feb >100mm
3.32
Jan
3.39
101
125
0.4
0.75
Feb
0
51
75
0.36
0.54
1.32
Feb
0
141
64
2002
0.34
0.1
0.47
Jan
0
61
68
2003
0
1.73
2.59
Feb
0
0
244
2004
0.53
0.51
0.62
Jan
0
165
92
2005
0.34
0.27
0.62
Jan
0
143
78
2006
0.04
0.01
0.23
Apr
0
61
55
2007
0.03
0.76
0.85
Feb
0
46
20
2008
4.00
7.59
12.16
Feb
0.04
80
227
2009
0.25
1.20
1.92
Feb
0.03
163
180
2010
0.12
4.46
10.50
Mar
0
64
313
2011
15.5
1.74
32.84
Mar
2.08
83
73
2012
0.08
2.12
5.73
Mar
0.09
84
63
2013
3.25
2.80
8.08
Jan
0.04
750
291
2014
0.02
0.79
0.96
Feb
0
52
199
2015
0.58
1.26
2.64
Feb
0.01
227
314
2016
0
1.88
2.24
Feb
0
41
133
2017
0.34
0.06
1.09
Apr
0.13
142
38
2018
0.02
0.13
0.65
Mar
0.19
36
151
2019
0 Conditions outside range Conditions close to range Conditions within range MARCH 2019
81
Cooking with lynn bain
Simple potted prawns is also similar to French pâté, rillettes and terrines. Potting is a technique for preserving meat ‘Potted’ is a variation or seafood by storing it on the classic confit, and under a layer of clarified BRISBANE
Lynn Bain
butter. This rendered butter is also known as ghee. Some recipes use olive oil, others lard or duck fat, however my preference is for ghee.
Ingredients • 180g unsalted butter • 400g green prawns, peeled, deveined and roughly chopped • A good pinch of mixed spice • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper • 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, finely chopped • Salt flakes to taste • Toast quarters for serving • These ingredients will fill a 300mL jar
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a moderate heat until the foaming subsides. The butter will foam for a minute or so when it is heated in a pan.
2
3
4
5
Add the chopped green prawns to the butter in the pan. Instead of prawns you could substitute the meat of crab, lobster, bug, spanner crab or any other freshwater crayfish.
Now add the freshly ground black pepper to the pan. Taste the mixture to see if it needs any salt added. If you are going to substitute cooked prawns for the green prawns in this recipe, you can add the spices and herbs to the butter, then cook this mixture to combine the flavours, before then adding the already cooked prawns to warm them through.
6
If required, press the prawns down into the liquid – I use a coffee tamper for this – then refrigerate the sealed jars for at least a few hours, preferably overnight. Remove the jars from the fridge 15-20 minutes before serving so the butter softens a little. 82
1
MARCH 2019
Once the prawns have turned slightly pink, add the mixed spice and finely chopped fresh tarragon. Stir gently to combine.
Pack the prawns into a screw top 300mL preserving jar. Pour the butter from the pot in which you cooked the prawns into the jar. Press the prawns down in the jar and smooth the top. Spoon or pour the prawn-flavoured butter over the prawns to cover them.
7
Serve the potted prawns spread generously on toast triangles.
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News
Six month update shows us lots about anglers SUNTAG
Stefan Sawynok
Suntag has been busy over the past six months, with members actively
tagging across the state. An interesting note has been that bass have exceeded barramundi in the past six months, which is a first, although
barramundi are expected to overtake bass in the annual total. In all, 9128 fish have been tagged, which is down a small amount on the same
period in the prior year when 9243 fish were tagged. This year so far has ushered in some positive changes. The species mix has changed, with species
Locations where fishers have come from to fish the Fitzroy in 2018. DRIVERS OF FISHING EFFORT IN THE FITZROY RIVER There are a number of drivers that influence fishing effort and in turn the number of recaptures of tagged fish. These factors influence the number of visiting fishers that come to the Fitzroy. • The barramundi season (Feb-Oct). • River flows and flooding. • Winter water temperatures. • Catch rates for barramundi and king threadfin and the number of trophy fish over 1m.
Percentage of visiting fishers (2013-2018). 86
MARCH 2019
TOP 10 SPECIES TAGGED FROM 1 JULY TO 31 DECEMBER 2018 MAP AUSTRALIAN BASS BARRAMUNDI DUSKY FLATHEAD MANGROVE JACK PIKEY BREAM BARRED JAVELIN YELLOWFIN BREAM KING THREADFIN GOLDSPOTTED ROCKCOD BLACKSPOTTED ROCKCOD like dart, maori rockcod, tailor and queenfish being tagged more frequently, showing fishers are being more adventurous. The balance of regions has changed as well. Brisbane and Central Queensland still dominate, but there is a greater balance across the state. The top three locations for example span the state from Townsville to Brisbane. Overall, Suntag is in healthy shape and fishers are making a significant contribution to monitoring the recreational fishery in Queensland. HOW HAS THE FITZROY NET FREE ZONE CHANGED VISITOR PATTERNS? Suntag data has been used for a lot of projects over the years, with the one thing they have had in common being tracking fish. It takes some imagination, but what if tags could instead be used to track people? That has in fact been done and the results help to answer questions on how visitor traffic has changed in the Rockhampton Net Free Zone. So how does this work? For some time, whenever a fish is recaptured in Central Queensland,
NUMBER 2123 1608 1083 683 466 433 360 336 242 208
the fisher postcode is recorded. Reporting of recaptures is close to a random sampling process, though there are some potential biases on the data. As an example, local fishers may be more likely to report than visitors (or vice versa), which there are tests on the data that can be applied, but that is work yet to be done. That said, the figures are similar to those provided from Queensland Fisheries based on boat ramp survey data and reporting of recaptures and as the data dates back to 2013, this is the only true before and after datasets available. What the data shows is there are strong indicators that visitor traffic has improved consistently since the implementation of the Net Free Zone. The data certainly reflects business activity in Rockhampton, with multiple charter operators now operating in the region. Stimulation of business was one of the goals of the original announcement of a Net Free Zone and so far both business and visitor data are showing that is what has happened. Will a net free zone stimulate traffic? Not necessarily. One of the
Number of recaptures with postcodes and percentage of visiting fishers (2013-2018).
News TOP 10 SPECIES TAGGED FROM 1 JULY TO 31 DECEMBER 2018 MAP LAKE SAMSONVALE FITZROY RIVER HALIFAX BAY MORETON BAY BUNDABERG CURTIS ISLAND GLADSTONE IMBIL RODDS BAY HINCHINBROOK CHANNEL
NUMBER 1148 969 736 655 303 287 242 235 201 197
reasons why Rockhampton has benefited the most so far from visitor traffic and business development has been the actions of Rockhampton Regional Council. The Rockhampton Council was very fast out of the blocks in seeing the potential of a Net Free Zone and developing business development and management plans. That is a critical ingredient, community groups don’t have the resources to lead that sort of effort, on the other hand the rewards for councils investing in such
Percentage of visiting fishers in Rocky Barra Bounty (2013-2018).
SUMMARY OF VISITING FISHERS • There has been a significant increase in visitors fishing the Fitzroy River. • The percentage of recaptures by visiting fishers was a low of 9.3% in 2013 and a high of 23.0% in 2018. • For the Barra Bounty, participation by visiting fishers was a low of 22.5% in 2015 and a high of 40.1% in 2018. • Recaptures in 2018 were highest in the first month (Feb) and the last month (Oct) of the barramundi season. • There were no recaptures by visiting fishers in Dec. • Recaptures by locals and visitors were low in Mar-Apr following a minor flow in the river producing turbid conditions. • Recaptures were low in Jul due to low winter water temperatures affecting catches. • In 2018 the highest percentage of recaptures by visitors was in Nov at 34.8%. • In 2018 most visiting fishers were from Gladstone, Central Qld and SE Qld. • From 2013-2015 percentage recaptures by visitors in Gladstone was higher while from 2016-2018 recaptures by visitors in the Fitzroy were higher than in Gladstone. • Gladstone recaptures by visitors is closely linked to barramundi spilling from Lake Awoonga into the Boyne. • River with a spill in 2017 increasing the percentage of visitors. plans are new opportunities for the local economy. A net free zone isn’t always essential to development of a fishery, but a leadership, planning and co-ordination of key players is critical. REVIEW OF VISITOR PATTERNS 2013-2018 One of the objectives of the Net Free Zone introduced
in 2015 was to improve fishing tourism. There are no direct measures of changes in visiting fishers, however there are some useful indirect measures. Postcodes of fishers recapturing tagged fish in the Fitzroy River, postcodes of participants in the Rocky Barra Bounty fishing competition, and postcodes
of fishers recapturing tagged fish in Gladstone area for comparison are some examples. Visiting fishers are defined by those traveling over 100km to fish in the river and Port Alma and the review is from 20132018 to provide some level of before and after comparison.
Monthly recaptures and river flow during the 2018 barramundi season (Feb-Oct).
Monthly recaptures and percentage by visitors in 2018.
Summary of postcodes of visitors in 2018.
Comparing visitor fisher recaptures postcodes from Fitzroy and Gladstone. MARCH 2019
87
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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. 88
MARCH 2019
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FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS CRACKER WHOPPER DECENT IMPRESSIVE THUMPING NICE BEAUT DELICIOUS MONSTER PANSIZED MAMMOTH FIGHTER FLIGHTY
WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOUR CATCH
NIFTY DELIGHTFUL BEAUTIFUL CHUNKY AVERAGE ARMFUL HUMBLE ADMIRABLE SOLID QUALITY FEISTY ARM STRETCHING
DTD - REAL FISH OITA
Name: Address:
P/Code:
The first correct entry at the end of each month will win the prize pack. SEND ENTRIES TO: QLD Find-a-word Competition, PO box 3172, Loganholme Qld 4129
QLD MARCH 2019
Phone (day):
BARRA COUNTRY by Brett Currie
The ‘Real Fish Oita’ is an incredible, award winning squid jig manufactured in Europe by leading Croatian company - DTD. Taking out the coveted ‘best new product’ in its class at the EFTTEX 2015 Expo in Warsaw, this wonderful range is now available in Australia through Dogtooth Distribution. The product imitates real fish species. This coupled with DTD’s use of only the highest grade materials available, ensures great balance and results in superior catching ability. With the unique ‘fish parasite’ feature, aimed at luring predators in for an ‘easy kill’, these truly unique jigs are set to explode into the Australian market. FEATURES - Double weight system with inner weight designed to produce sound while squid jig is in action. COLOURS - 7 different designs representing popular fish species. ADDITIONAL - Luminous body, fish parasite, great balance, sound effect, quality stainless steel hooks SIZES - 5 Sizes available www.dogtoothdistribution.com.au
SPOT THE
10 DIFFERENCES
GEORGE & NEV by Michael Hardy
ORIGINAL
FIND-A-WORD
Congratulations to, Giancarlo Bruschi who was last month’s winner of the Find-aWord Competition! Monthly winners receive a Fishing Monthly prize pack. Prize delivery can take 8 weeks. – QFM
SUBSCRIBER PRIZE
The subscriber prize winner for January is J Emmi of Narangba, who won a pair of Mako polarised eyewear. All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – QFM
New Auckland, G Voss of Mundubbera, K Aldridge of Rockville, M Gillett of Boonah, C Hendry of Imbil, J Boneham of Eight Mile Plains, G Cull of Burrum Heads, L Dewar of Roma, W Clark of Riverview, J Wogandt of Urangan, H Ingham of Upper Mt Gravatt, A Hewlett of Mothar Mountain, L Betts of Kendall, K Martin of Dalby, L Pirlo of Modanville, D Fergusen of Trinity Beach, E Boettcher
of Tivoli, G Sprott of Glenlee, P Swallow of Yeppoon, C Daniel of Brightview, R Davis of Sarina, R Maher of Woombye, M Chadwick of Burrum Heads, W Farlow of Angourie, D Davidson of Guyra, C Donald of Branyan, P Topatig of Birkdale, W Sommerfeld of Toowoomba, and W Robinson of Raceview. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – QFM
LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS
FIND THE GAMAKATSU LOGO
© A Cordelia Adams original artwork. Instagram: clausdoesart
The answers to Find the Gamakatsu Logo for January were: 10, 14, 21, 22, 30, 36, 39, 44, 48, 58, 60, 62, 71, 77, 96. – QFM
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This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Tilapia
The Find the Gamakatsu Logo prize winners for January were: L Randles of Capella, A Svaikauskas of Alligator Creek, D McClurg of Boondall, R Howell of Sippy Downs, A Stoffels of Yarrabilba, R Brown of Edmonton, T Ryan of Wagga Wagga, P Carrington of Deception Bay, L Mellor of Petrie, M Baker of Gorokan, M Schaumburg of Tewantin, C Layt of
GUESS THE FISH?
Answer:
boats & kayaks
In the skipperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seat
Inside story...
Stacer have been making boats for over 40 years, and in that time have gained a reputation for building tough boats to suit Australian conditions. With over 70 models in the range, whether you are after a serious fishing rig, a family fun machine or a budget friendly tinny, Stacer has you covered.
Made for...
Stacer boats are designed to dominate all sorts of waterways. There are boats to suit offshore, in the bay and in freshwater fishing locations.
This month...
Gary Brown tests out the 589 Wild Rider with 115hp Yamaha. Check it out on page 98!
92 More on Samsonvale
Following on from last month, Troy Brown goes into more depth on how to attack the newly opened Samsonvale by kayak!
94 The answer my friend, is yakking in the wind Justin Willmer discusses a few ways of coping with and even using the wind to your advatage in the kayak!
96 Bar crossing basics
Crossing a bar is something many will have to learn, so why not start right here with experienced boatie Wayne Kampe?
JANUARY 2019
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A stack more tips to fishing Lake Samsonvale BRISBANE
Troy Brown
Last month I scratched the surface about what an amazing kayak fishery we have on offer at Lake Samsonvale, also known as North Pine. This month I will delve deeper, discussing the proven methods for targeting the amazing fish on offer. Methods for finding and catching fish in this area will vary not just day to day, but can literally alter within minutes. Bass can be an elusive target species, with fish scattered loosely around the shallow weed beds suddenly moving to congregate in deeper sections of the dam. Early morning and late
Quality bass in the 40-50cm range are a common catch on Lake Samsonvale. outer section of the zone. Surface activity is available much closer to the launch point in the permit area, with mighty saratoga normally
This 47cm bass was captured by the author on an RMG Poltergeist XDD deep diving lure. Trolling hardbodies is an effective means of targeting active schools. evening are certainly the best times to experience an exciting surface strike. The midday sun forces the fish into large schools, which may be difficult to find but can be incredibly fruitful if you make the effort. The size of the schools are typically smaller and more scattered than they are in the cooler months, but they are still within easy reach of the launch points. If fishing the northern section of the dam, I have found the larger schools are currently congregating at the extremities away from the ramp, so it is worth throwing a trolled lure from the kayak and paddling towards the
Khean-mara Mak with a Lake Samsonvale saratoga caught on Daiwa Double Clutch.
Flying fish! This saratoga performed some impressive aerobatics, before Kheanmara Mak enticed it into his kayak. 92
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spotted within easy reach of the car park. Michael Randall is a regular on Lake Samsonvale and, like most PRFMA permit holders, is willing to share his knowledge with fellow kayakers. When he is fishing for deep schooled fish he prefers deep trolled hardbodies, 10-30g spoons, tail spinners, vibes and blades. When fishing the shallow edges he has great success with spinnerbaits in the 1/4-5/8oz range, plastics with jig spins, chatterbaits, 50-80mm jerkbaits and 30-50mm crankbaits. Randall says that you could go through your whole tackle box without success until you finally crack the code of the day. Schooled
fish are hot and cold with some quite sensitive and wary, making it hard to entice a bite, while other schools will take multiple bites before they shut down. Due to the ready supply of boney bream, they have brutes to rival Somerset here at Lake Samsonvale. My personal favourite lure for trolling is the humble RMG Poltergeist, although any deep diving lure with a tight action and heavy vibration will be effective. When chasing schooled fish or working along the edge of deep drop-offs, holding a steady trolling speed of around two knots will result in
Queensland Hobie crew member Lee Major captured this 50cm bass while trolling a deep diving lure in 12m of open water. a large number of bass strikes. My recent visit resulted in twenty good bass in just under two hours, with the largest at 47cm. The school I was targeting in 10m of water relocated numerous times, but only moved a small distance before they succumbed to my next lure. While some schools rapidly disperse or simply stop striking, altering your position, speed, technique or lure will often result in a resumption of activities. When dropping blades into a school, select a size that suits the conditions and depth you are targeting. Typically, you want the blade to flutter fast enough to feel the vibration coming back up the line, but slow enough to avoid it plunging to the bottom. When you reach the bottom, try a couple of gentle lifts and drops (maintain a connection with the blade during the drop), followed by a long pause. If you don’t get a strike, wind the lure closer to the surface, drop and repeat. Jig-spins will also be effective with a similar process, often being struck on the drop. When surface fishing, you need to be aware of what is happening above the waterline. Can you hear cicadas in the trees? Are small baitfish jumping? The old concept of ‘match the hatch’ is not just hype. The fish are conditioned to eat the food sources that are available, so if there are cicadas falling from the trees,
you need to be casting cicada imitations. Surface fishing is tougher than trolling a lure behind the kayak, but it is far more rewarding and exciting as well. While the larger schools will often lie in random deep holes, there is a consistent theme to surface and edge fishing. The areas surrounding the points, lily pads and weed edges, plus any standing timber, are all likely fishholding areas. Cicada baits,
occasionally, you are most likely not casting close enough to structure. If you are struggling to catch fish, there may be many factors at play. Early morning and late afternoon seem to be the most productive, with the fish becoming dormant during the middle of the day. Saratoga seem to be active on the water all day, but bass can be frustrating to target when the sun is at full force.
Michael Randall is a regular at Lake Samsonvale. Michael prefers to hunt the fish around structure, rather than take the less active approach of trolling deep schools. small poppers, finesse frogs, spinnerbaits and lightly weighted soft plastics can all be effective. When fishing floating lures, be aware that it is often the pause that will excite a strike. Also, if you are not getting snagged on a tree branch or lily pad
Ron Hess had never caught a bass prior to this visit. In less than two hours, he had a higher score than most of the Aussie cricket team openers. This fish fell to a Kato 70mm Shadow Gold Spot Soft Vibe.
Also, it pays to take the time to strike up conversations at the boat ramp. Friendly kayak fishers will often provide valuable advice to fellow anglers about their methods for success. If your technique or lures are not working, change both! This may seem like common sense, but we often get emotionally invested in techniques or equipment that have worked in the past, without accounting for the fact that the habits of fish can alter dramatically. Fish adapt to subtle changes in their environment and so must we. Lake Samsonvale is a paradise for the kayak fisher. With no speed boats, simple access, healthy fish populations and a stocking association who care for the future of the fishery, there is a lot to like about this incredible body of water. Get onto Lake Samsonvale as soon as you can!
WHAT’S NEW BOATING FULTON XLT WINCH RANGE
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The new Fulton XLT Winch range provides premium performance at an affordable price. It comes in four sizes, from single speed through to two-speed, and rated from 680-1450kg. With a stamped carbon steel frame, the range is built for strength and durability. The internals have a Z-Max 600 zinc coating for superior corrosion resistance and a 600-hour salt spray rating. The polypropylene cover protects the internal hardware from the harsh marine environment, and provides safety from moving parts. The carbon steel frame is built tough, providing all-important rigidity necessary for accurate gear alignment resulting in a longer life. The single-speed winch features an efficient gear ratio, full-length drum bearings, oil-impregnated shaft bushings, and an 8” comfort-grip handle for ease of cranking. The two-speed winch also has a shift lock design. All models are backed by a 5-year limited warranty. Price: from $149 www.fultonperformance.com
FUSION EL SHALLOW-MOUNT
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Mercury is kicking off 2019 in the best way, with savings of up to $800 on its outstanding 40-60hp FourStroke outboards. These are the most popular outboards on the water – for good reason. Ideal for a huge range of activities, these engines will revitalise your boat with the power, efficiency and reliability of Mercury’s advanced FourStroke technology. Weighing in from just 93kgs, these engines have everything you need and nothing you don’t. And to make a good decision even easier, Mercury Finance is available with deals at 3.99% allowing for easy, weekly repayments. This offer is subject to engine availability so if you want to take advantage to repower, refresh, and rejuvenate your boat, then you’d better act fast. This offer lasts until 22 March 2019 and is only available at participating Mercury dealers. Terms and conditions apply. www.mercurymarine.com.au
FNAVICO DISTRIBUTE 5 2 CLARION
Fusion’s EL Series of shallow-mount marine speakers feature a modern design in two styles with LED lighting options, durable construction and accessory grille options. The shallow basket design makes the EL Series ideal where mounting depth is limited. The two grille styles, Classic and Sports, provide the ultimate in cone protection while complementing the vessel look, with the choice of seven LED lighting colours. Designed for functionality that lasts in harsh outdoor and marine environments, the EL Series is rated IP65 for water and dust ingress protection from the front face when correctly mounted. It also meets industry standards for UV and salt fog protection. Offered in 80W, 6.5” speakers, the powerful EL Series is engineered with a compact basket assembly for simple and versatile installation. Extra grilles are available in Sports White, Sports Grey, Classic White or Classic Black. www.fusionentertainment.com
LOWRANCE HDS LIVE
MERCURY SALE NOW ON
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Lowrance HDS LIVE, available in 7”, 9”, 12” and 16” display sizes, delivers powerful real-time sonar, charting and connectivity features including Active Imaging, LiveSight, Genesis Live and LiveCast smartphone integration. Active Imaging lets you see structure and cover with a new level of refined detail, and at a range unmatched by any other structure imaging technology. Active Imaging 3-in-1 sonar combines Lowrance CHIRP with SideScan and DownScan Imaging, and Livesight sonar delivers the most detailed views of fish as they swim in and around cover. When using LiveSight forward in conjunction with the Lowrance Point-1 GPS antenna, an on-chart indicator shows the direction the transducer is pointed, letting you line up on a waypoint or pinpoint structure. Delivering real-time, custom-mapping capabilities, HDS LIVE harnesses the power of Genesis Live charting, which uses digital depth to create depth-contour overlays on charts. HDS LIVE also allows anglers to display fishing info and entertainment from their smartphones on their 12” and 16” sunlight viewable displays. Price: from SRP $1549 (7”) www.lowrance.com
PRODUCT GUIDE
Navico, parent company to leading marine electronics brands Lowrance®, Simrad®, B&G® and C-MAP®, has announced its distribution agreement with Clarion Marine Systems, via JL Audio. Navico Australia and New Zealand will be able to offer a range of Clarion Marine audio products to its existing dealer network. Under an exclusive long-term Licensing Agreement made in Q3 of 2018, JL Audio assumed responsibility for Clarion’s Marine Audio Electronics and Accessories business in North America, South America, Australia and New Zealand. Navico APAC has been the distributor of JL Audio products since 2016 hence was the logical choice to distribute Clarion Marine products moving forward. Mathew Hooper, Navico Australia and New Zealand Sales Director, commented on the recent partnership. “The well-established and quality proven Clarion Marine products complement Navico’s extensive product portfolio,” he said. “We can now offer a complete and premium range of marine electronics to our customer base and look forward to developing our partnership with JL Audio with the distribution of Clarion Marine Systems.” www.clarion.com/au/en/top.html
MERCURY’S 80TH ANNIVERSARY
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Mercury Marine will celebrate its 80th anniversary throughout 2019 with events around the world, reflecting on its strong heritage of innovation and leadership in the marine industry. On January 22, 1939, E. Carl Kiekhaefer purchased a bankrupt engine manufacturing plant in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Now, 80 years later, the business that emerged from those modest beginnings – Mercury Marine – is a company with 7,000 employees across the globe and is heralded as the world’s leading manufacturer of marine propulsion systems, as well as marine parts and accessories. “Eighty years ago, Carl Kiekhaefer had a vision for Mercury and that was based around product innovation and technology – and it’s that vision that built the foundation for us to continue to innovate today,” said John Pfeifer, Mercury Marine president. Mercury will celebrate its 80th anniversary throughout the year and showcase some of its strong heritage during the 2019 boat shows. www.mercurymarine.com.au
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Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au
SCAN THE QR CODE!
MARCH 2019
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10 top tips for tackling yakking in the wind BRISBANE
Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On
I had a few things in mind for this month’s article: setting myself the challenge of targeting a big fish from the kayak, catching a number of species in a session, hitting the freshwater or a
things that I consider when fishing in windy conditions. ANCHORING Anchoring can allow you to fish an area more effectively, even when there is no wind, however when you are at the mercy of the wind and especially when in a paddle kayak, an anchor of one form or another can make it possible to fish, instead of
driven into the bottom and attached to an anchor line. If you are fishing around timber you can create a simple ‘grab anchor’ by attaching a spring style builder’s clamp to the end of your anchor line and attaching it to the structure. On my recent adventures I have used a Cooper anchor with a suitable length of anchor
A simple anchor set-up: Cooper anchor, length of rope and locking carabiner. while a full anchor running rig is connected on my larger kayak. One important note that I would make is be careful when deploying an anchor, especially in wind and current, as the anchor
goes tight it can make your kayak unstable and even roll it. I prefer to paddle slightly further than where I wish to anchor, allow the momentum of the kayak to cease, the drift begin and then deploy the anchor
any sudden stops or spins. PADDLE BLADE ANGLE One trick that I have learnt over the years is to use the blades on your kayak paddle as a sail to adjust your drift angle in
A handful of windy weather bream that was feeding aggressively on the flats. kayak bait fishing article. After a few sessions of facing 15-20 knot winds I decided it might be a good idea to share some tips for kayak fishing in the wind. The fish don’t mind the wind, in fact sometimes it even fires them up, however it can make for a tough day on the water if you don’t take the wind into account. Over the past 30 years of fishing from a kayak
sailing along at speed with your lure skipping along on the surface. An anchor can be set-up to slow your drift or fix you in position. A sea anchor (drift chute) is designed to slow your drift in the wind and is basically a funnel made of a synthetic material that opens, fills with water and creates drag in the water to slow your drift. Another drift option is weight attached to the
line for the depth I am fishing for the day, simply attached to my kayak grab rope with a locking carabiner that allows me to shorten the rope and lock it in if required. This anchor line is run through the front handle of the kayak so that when the anchor is deployed the nose of the kayak is pulled into the wind or tide, whichever is stronger. When I want to retrieve the anchor I simply paddle
A weedless rig can save you time, frustration and distraction when fishing in the wind. line may drift under or behind the kayak and then when the anchor locks into the bottom and everything
line carefully and so that the nose of the kayak is already pointing into the wind or current, to avoid
the wind. The wind can force your kayak to drift at an angle that makes fishing difficult, however, by
A sea anchor or drift chute is ideal for slowing your drift in windy conditions. I have had some great success with numbers and size of fish in windy conditions, however I go into the session with the mindset that I may need to approach the area I’m fishing systematically and grind out the bite to a degree. Here are a few 94
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anchor line that is allowed to drag across the bottom. When it comes to holding you in position I have had great success with a 1kg Cooper Poly anchor, however another option includes a stake out pole, driven into the bottom through a scupper hole or
back toward the anchor, the slack anchor line floats and can be grabbed and the anchor retrieved. If there is any issue the anchor line can be accessed at the carabiner and the anchor retrieved to the front handle. This is a quick and simple option I use on my smaller kayak,
Creeks and rivers are good places to seek sheltered banks in windy conditions.
laying your kayak paddle across or along the yak so that the blade catches the wind, you can adjust the position of the paddle blade
important as it may impact your decision when it comes to where to launch, where to fish and how long to fish for. You can use
aren’t finding fish on the sheltered banks that often have better water clarity, then don’t discount the windy banks, as you may
Grunter are a regular occurrence in the author’s local waterway along the wind blown murky banks. to in turn adjust the drift angle of your kayak. Catch the wind toward the nose of the kayak to turn the nose or catch the wind toward the tail to turn the tail. Get the angle of the kayak right and it can make casting, controlling your lure and catching fish a lot easier. You may also find that iceboxes, landing nets in rod holders and other objects that catch wind may also influence your drift angle and on windy days you may have to decide whether to include them and how to carry them so as to not negatively impact your drift angle. WIND DIRECTION It’s worth taking some time to research the winds that are expected for the session and the direction that they are blowing from. This information can be
the wind to assist you to your spot, assist you home when it increases or blows up with a tide change or afternoon change, use it to slow your drift against the tide or to make note of banks that will have wind blowing onto them, which can oxygenate the water and also blow bait into the area. Wind direction and speed is also important as you can make note of sheltered launch points, sheltered areas to fish and also alternative points to exit the water should the wind make fishing dangerous or too uncomfortable. Remember safety first – you don’t have to go out, but you do have to come home. WATER CLARITY Wind direction can also create another variable: water clarity. If you
find increased bait activity and more oxygenated water and in turn more fish activity. I often have better success on flathead where the water is clearer, while bream and grunter seem to love feeding on a wind blown bank or flat. Wind also creates dirty water lines that can be extremely productive. These dirty water lines are where the stirred up, murkier water meets cleaner water. It can be an area where bait concentrates and also the perfect ambush point for predatory species. TIDES When considering wind direction it’s also important to consider the direction of the tidal flow and how wind with tide and wind against tide impacts the area that you area fishing. When the wind is blowing in the same direction as
Keep it simple in the wind. The author’s basic anchor set-up with minimal clutter.
the tide it can mean a drift speed that is impossible to fish, so you may need to look at sheltered banks or anchoring options. I have used the wind against the tide to create an extremely slow drift, allowing me to effectively fish an edge or flat. It’s important to remember though that in some areas this can create rough and even dangerous conditions as the wind and tide collide. CASTING When casting, it is much easier to cast with the wind, especially if it’s blowing hard and it also makes it much easier to retrieve your lures without the wind blowing your line around too much. Remember, if you’re drifting fast you may be retrieving quite quickly, however this is counteracted by the drift speed and the long casts; so you should still be able to monitor contact with the bottom, cover plenty of water and keep your lure working. You can also cast across the wind and allow the wind to drag your line and cover water, however, it
difficult to control the line, keep the jighead out of the weed and drive the lure effectively over the weed. One technique that has worked well when fishing the weedy flats in the wind is to drop the jighead weight down from a 1/4oz to a 1/6oz, 1/8oz or even lighter. The wind allows a long cast with the light jighead, so your lure is a long way from the kayak and the fish are often feeding aggressively and up in the water column as the water is a little murkier and the surface disturbed. WEEDLESS RIGGING The wind is blowing, the fish are biting and weedless rigging allows me to effectively and systematically work a bank, flat or structure with much less chance of fouling or snagging. This can take away a bit of the frustration of fishing in the wind as you will spend less time rigging and clearing weed off your soft plastic and more time fishing. Accurate casts can be trickier in the wind and the weedless jighead means that if you cast a little too
that fish to hold on for a millisecond more, gives me more chance of feeling the bite and setting the hook in time. PLAN AND PATIENCE It’s often not going to be as easy or productive kayak fishing in windy conditions, but it can be. I never head out in 15-20+ knot winds and think I’m going to smash it. I do however give myself the best chance by considering the aforementioned variables, making a plan around them and knowing that I am going to have to apply myself, have patience and maybe even grind it out. Many of the same general rules of fishing often apply in the wind, including find the bait, find the structure, match the hatch and look for eddies, pockets, points and so forth. Don’t let the wind distract you or drag you away from what has worked in the past. If an area looks good, anchor and grind it out. The main thing to consider first is always safety. My latest session in the wind only resulted in a
If the call wasn’t made to fish in the wind then this would never have happened. An 80cm flathead in 20 knot winds. takes a bit more experience to get a feel for where in the water column your lure is tracking and how fast it is moving. JIGHEAD WEIGHT The bulk of my lure fishing involves casting soft plastics and I generally use two different strategies when it comes to selecting jighead weights in windy conditions. If I am fishing deeper water and sandy/muddy bottoms without weed I will go a little heavier with the jighead, cast long, get it down quick and cover ground. On the other hand, I fish over the weed a lot and it can be a nightmare in the wind. It becomes
far onto the bank, miss the pocket in the weed or your lure gets blown into a tree by a gust of wind, then a slow wind should see you out of trouble and in the strike zone. SCENT UP I apply scent on my lures at all times, with the theory of applying a little scent more often, about every thirty or so casts. It masks foreign scents, attracts fish and triggers strikes. In windy conditions when I may not have as much contact with and control of my plastics, I believe that scent is even more important. Anything that I can do to attract the fish, trigger a more aggressive strike or get
handful of bream, however, it was great to get out, catch a few and it was rewarding to make a plan and catch some fish, despite the conditions. I still managed to scratch the fishing itch. If the wind kept me off the water I wouldn’t have landed the 80cm flathead pictured in last month’s article ‘Kayak fishing with Ned’, a fish that was landed after persisting in 20 knot winds, anchoring in and pick pocketing sandy patches on the weed flats. If it’s blowing and you feel the need to catch a fish, consider the variables outlined here, make a plan, stay safe and hook in! See you on the water. MARCH 2019
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The crossing to greater fishing opportunities BRISBANE
Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au
Crossing our coastal bars seems to be almost a rite of passage for boaters that love fishing. Owners of most larger trailer craft sooner or later seem to find a reason to leave the somewhat gentle confines of the estuaries and bays, opting to head offshore in pursuit of bigger and better fish. Marlin are one of the pinnacle sportfish in the ocean, and enjoying the spectacle and sheer strength of these stallions of the sea will most definitely require deeper water.
A SENSE OF POWER These are just some of the incentives for heading well away from the launching ramp into an environment where wave height and timing between swells can dominate the day. It is not just the impressive captures that keeps people heading offshore, it is very satisfying work. It combines assessing your environment, your ability as a skipper and your confidence in your craft. There is a great sense of accomplishment at the end of a trip. There’s no shame in being a little nervous on the way out – but there’s always a big smile on the return. Been there and
action. The channel or river is usually easy going on initial approach to the main bar area, but as the craft gets closer you should expect the conditions to change as waves and current come together in water that’s often significantly shallower – a feature of many of our bars. POTHOLES IN THE ROAD Suddenly it’s the equivalent of a potholed or badly corrugated road. You’ll need to slow down, look carefully at what’s ahead and proceed with caution. Bar crossings can be hazardous and not something to be taken lightly. Yet, bar crossings will
Little wave means little strength? Try to hold a tinny side on against a little wave and you might change your mind.
The Southport Seaway is a great place to gain experience at bar crossing work. This image gives an insight into some of the confused conditions that can be encountered. In that same environment we might also stretch a line with some tasty wahoo, mahimahi or yellowfin tuna. Offshore reef fishing is made more accessible by modern sounders that allow anglers to navigate the deep water’s rough ground.
done that! However, to enjoy the blue water and all it offers usually involves crossing a coastal bar; the place where a channel, river, or other major place of outflow or entry is in direct contact with the oceanic wave
SEASON
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vary. Several factors are at play here: waves always run ashore, that’s a given, with their strength varying according to height and frequency. However, waves are only part of the problem. Bar crossings, all so different in topography and
IS HERE!
Every Saturday 4.30pm on 96
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characteristics, are always influenced by the state of the tide and the amount of current making its way in or out of the main waterway. In many smaller coastal bars – think Tallebudgera or Currumbin Creek, both gateways to Palm Beach Reef – low tide means the lowest water with waves breaking merrily and shallow water sometimes preventing travel. Low water on the Southport Seaway is no issue; there is plenty of water under the hull, but that same bar area can be a nightmare of white water and confused surface for reasons discussed later. MAKING A START Now that we’ve covered some of the variables and issues associated with bar crossings we can get into the thick of things, start the motor and see what’s ahead! In fairness, nothing can take the place of hands on experience in regards to bar crossing but we all have to make a start somewhere, so let’s consider some sensible starting points. You should always start by getting a good look at
the bar from land prior to approaching it in the boat. Things can vary from day to day, so an idea of what lies ahead from a safe vantage point is a huge bonus. Tide status is vital. There must be enough water to allow the propeller to do its job – once the boat’s aground you have lost control of the situation. Next consideration should be the sea conditions and studying the coastal observations on the Internet. Taking a look at a bar crossing’s real time camera (several have them) will give an insight into what’s happening in the wave/swell department. A 1-1.5m swell does not sound like much to contend with, but even little waves have a lot of power. If there has been an onshore breeze blowing all night there might be wind chop on top of the swell, say half a metre. It may not sound like much, but if that carefully planned daylight departure coincides with a tide that has been ebbing for around a couple of hours and that outflow
is the result of a higher than normal tide then the larger the mass of water being moved the stronger the tide. If there is a swell coming in and big current heading out then there is going to be some pressure waves ahead and the boat must have sufficient power to counter the force of incoming waves. NEWBIES WISE TO WAIT FOR BEST CONDITIONS The smart boater should consider all aspects of the proposed crossing well in advance: the prevailing weather, the swell and wave action plus tidal state. For an absolute beginner, it’s common sense to take on a bar crossing when the conditions are as close to ideal as possible. Very light winds, small waves or swell and a flood tide are all ideal for a first go at a bar. THE SEAWAY In considering bar crossings I could nominate at least a half dozen bars of varying degrees of difficulty. Instead I’ll suggest one that is relatively user friendly
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of an ebb tide will involve pressure waves ahead, but taking on differing conditions is the only way to build confidence. You’ll want to plan to return at the top of the tide or very shortly after before it gets too much of a gallop on
during the ebb, especially if the high tide was a larger one. Overall, a just making tide is the right choice especially if there is some wave action as waves and tidal flow are going in the same direction and are more easily assessed and managed. As mentioned,
it’s the ebb tide, pushing against wave action, that’s the main troublemaker on a coastal bar. In the next issue we’ll have discussions on important tactics and suitable boat designs for bar work.
The bar, what bar! The Seaway on a great afternoon with an incoming tide, with waves around the half metre mark. on a good day and makes it ideal for beginners: the Southport Seaway. There’s plenty of great blue water fishing within sight of the high rise ashore and the Palm Beach Reef is just a short run south. Marlin and other gamefish are well worth a try and there is plenty of reef scattered about as well, so with a flood tide and no
more than a metre of swell heading towards shore it should be a breeze. There might well be some swells during the last couple of hundred metres, but that’s standard for the course, so the idea is to move close to the action and watch the swell for a short time to ensure there are no big ones coming. As soon as the wave set has gone it is
good by the rock walls and then say hello to the blue water. Don’t forget, the life jacket must be on if the craft is less than 4.8m in length. GAINING CONFIDENCE Experience in any bar in varying conditions is very useful in building confidence and sometimes heading outside on the last
Life jackets are essential for bar crossings in the author’s opinion. The law requires they are to be worn when crossing a bar in a craft less than 4.8m in length.
STACER OCEAN RANGER CENTRE CAB
The best of both worlds with protection from the elements and 360 degrees of fishability. The Ocean Ranger Centre Cab is a sturdy plate boat that gives fishos unobstructed fishing off all angles, dry storage and shelter from the sun or rain. 360 Degrees of Plate Boat Fishing. GOLD COAST
BRISBANE
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www.phoenixpowersports.com.au MARCH 2019
97
Stacer 539 Wild Rider with 115hp Yamaha
STANDARD FEATURES
SYDNEY SOUTH
Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au
Stacer 539 Wild Rider powered by the VF115LA VMAX SHO 4-Stroke Yamaha outboard is a true all-round family boat where you could take the family out for a fish in the morning and then go skiing as the sun gets higher in the sky. From its roomy rear cockpit, you can go through the walk-through windscreen where you will be able to sit on comfortable factory infill cushions while watching for pods of dolphins or keeping an eye on the skier. If water skiing is not your scene, you can always take the cushions out and drop in the centre section of the carpeted floor and start casting for those pelagics that you may see busting up out the front. Stacer have kept the angler in mind when it comes to fishing up front; they have covered the anchor well so that you can operate the electric motor and not have it get in the way, and
Main: The 539 Wild Rider was up on the plane in less than 30m, giving you plenty more power to open it up to around 40 knots if needed. Above: The concave Revolution hull with its reverse chines pushes the excess water down, deliverying a very comfortable and dry ride when cutting through and over the wash. TEST BOAT PACKAGE For the drive-away price of $57,611 you also get the VF115LA VMAX SHO 4-Stroke Yamaha outboard, the 703 control box 6YC digital Lan screen gauge, Yamaha control cables, polished stainless SDS K-Series 18-k 13” propeller, Garmin echoMAP 75sv Plus sounder/GPS, Stacer T alloy trailer with mechanical brakes, Century NS70M marine battery, 12-month NSW trailer and vessel rego, trailer tiedown straps, a safety kit, a sand anchor with rope and chain, a factory carpeted casting platform infill board, factory infill cushions for the casting deck, factory hydraulic steering upgrade, a factory vinyl boat wrap, a thruster bow mount bracket and a sealed timber floor.
SPECIFICATIONS Beam: .......................................................... 2.36m Bottom sides: ............................................... 4mm Depth: ......................................................... 1.29m Height on trailer: .........................................2.10m Length maximum: ...................................... 5.42m Length on trailer: ....................................... 6.80m Main motor weight: ....................................206kg Max hp: ........................................................135hp Number of people (basic): ................................ 7 Topsides: ...................................................... 3mm Transom material: ........................................ 4mm Transom shaft length: .................................... L/S Weight (boat only): ......................................645kg 98
MARCH 2019
the two side compartments have plenty of storage room. I reckon you could get yourself a low-profile icebox and fit it into the port side front compartment and either store your food and drinks or those fish you are going to catch. With the carpeted cover, fill-in cushions and some ice it would keep your food, drinks and fish cool. The inclusion of the collapsible bimini and envelope will help keep the elements at bay while you are sitting on the swivel
deluxe bow seats. As short as I am, I found that while at the helm of the boat I could easily see over the low-profile sports deck and dash when I folded up the booster seat. At 700rpm, I once again found that the VF115LA VMAX SHO 4-Stroke Yamaha outboard was so quiet that I had to remember to turn the motor off. On the test day it ran at 2400rpm while doing 8 knots, and once it got up on the plane
The Stacer 539 Wild Rider comes with a 5-year warranty, accessory kit, alloy bow roller, anchor storage, bow storage, cleat on front deck, cockpit lights, convertible front casting platform, bimini and envelope, carpeted floor, folding cleat midship, Fusion RA70N sound system plus EL602 speakers 6” 150W, gunwale bump rubber, low profile sports deck and dash, Maxi Bracket 2-piece, painted with stripes, pole mount insert, port and starboard storage consoles, GX750BVHF radio, 18” whip, aft short side rails, transom handrail, rear ladder, recessed ski locker, revolution hull, 2 x rod holders, scupper drainage system, deluxe bow backrest seat & cushions, 2 x maritime seats, folding rear lounge seat and backrest, side decks rolled, 2 x side pockets, nonreturn mechanical steering, Totalscan skimmer med/ high/455/800, 2 x transducer brackets, 95L underfloor fuel tank and a walk-through windscreen. it was only pulling 3000rpm while doing 18 knots. This is definitely a very economical rig to run. Rather than go full speed at 4100 knots/6100rpm, I preferred to cruise at 30 knots while pulling 5000rpm. Prospective buyers can take the Stacer 539 Wild Rider as it comes, or option up with a re-designed transom door and ski pole to allow for a range of activities such as skiing and tube riding. The package tested
on the day came with a VF115LA VMAX SHO 4-Stroke Yamaha outboard, and was priced at $57,611. Alternatively, you may prefer to put on a F115LB 4-Stroke Yamaha outboard for a drive-away price of $45,638. For further information on this or other boats in the Stacer range, drop in to see the staff at Northside Marine, 2294 Sandgate Road, Boondall, 07 3265 8000 or visit www. northsidemarine.com.au.
Even though the bimini on the Wild Rider provides cover while sitting down, it does make it hard to stand if you are tall. Talk to the staff at Marina Bayside about getting a higher one installed.
The Stacer 539 Wild Rider has no pressings, giving the boat a smooth, sleek, modern look and the factory vinyl wrap is very impressive.
Keeping your gear out of the elements is important, and on the port and starboard sides there is more storage. Items like your safety gear, first-aid kit, and stern light could be stored safety in these side pockets.
If you had a small child you could fold up the booster cushion so that they too could see over the low-profile Sports Deck and Dash.
The adjustable deluxe swivel seats allowed you to easily see over the wrap around walk-through aluminium window.
Left: The self-draining anchor well is covered when the floor is in position. There is a small slot in the front to allow for the rope to easily come out when deploying the anchor. Right: Up front under the seats you have plenty of storage where you can fit your safety gear, icebox and much more.
From the stern to the bow there is plenty of room in the 539 Wild Rider. The deluxe cushion swivel seats can be turned to face any direction.
When Dom powered the Stacer 539 Wild Rider up onto the plane, the VF115LA VMAX SHO Yamaha did it with ease. Marina Bayside also provide the option of putting on a F115LB 4-stroke Yamaha outboard instead.
While seated at the helm the GARMIN echoMAP 75sv Plus sounder/ GPS and the 703-control box 6YC digital Lan screen gauge were very easy to see and use. There is also a small storage area near the throttle for those items that you need to keep out of the weather.
If you have more guests onboard you can always fold up the padded cushioned seat at the rear. When not in use itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very easy to fold it back up. MARCH 2019
99
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