Queensland Fishing Monthly - May 2015 by Fishing Monthly

PREPARING FOR WINTER TIPS • FLY FISHING BASICS

How-To

Get into fly fishing • Tying the Haywire Twist • Pimp my boat • Processing squid • Rig a soft plastic weedless • Kayak sounder solutions •

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Taking the top whiting • Top 5 northern bucket list • Trailers: Australian made or imported?

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A Black Magic KL 7/0 hook and Black Magic 80lb Tough Trace were used by Kent Walker to catch this 9.5kg maori cod while fishing off Fraser Island.

Brett Johnstone used a NEW Black Magic Squid Snatcher® ‘brown/red’ to take this nice squid while fishing from George Town, Tasmania.

Terry Sheppard of Regal Marine in Vermont, Victoria landed this excellent kingfish on a Black Magic KL 7/0 hook using a whole squid for bait. Terry was fishing in Coffin Bay, South Australia.

Bow Higgs caught this red throat emperor fishing off Fraser Island using Black Magic 80lb Tough Trace Trace.

Black Magic 30lb Tough Fluorocarbon leader was used by Bernie Zraika to catch this exceptional snapper weighing just under 5kg while fishing off Stanwell Park, NSW.

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May 2015, Vol. 27 No. 7

Contents NORTHERN NEW SOUTH WALES

Ballina 22 Iluka 24 SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND Tweed Heads 26 Southern Gold Coast 28 Gold Coast Canals 30 Gold Coast 32 Jumpinpin 34 Southern Bay 36 Brisbane 38 Brisbane Offshore 40 Northern Bay 42 Caloundra 44 Noosa 46 CENTRAL QUEENSLAND Rainbow Beach 48 Hervey Bay 48 Fraser Coast 50 Bundaberg 51 Lake Monduran 52 Yeppoon 54 Rockhampton 55 Mackay 56 Stanage Bay 57 TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND Whitsundays 60 Ayr 61 Townsville 62 Lucinda 63 Hinchinbrook 64 Cairns 65 Port Douglas 66 Karumba 67 Cape York 66 TNQ Freshwater 68

From the Editor’s Desk... It’s not often that the Australian angling community comes together. Usually it takes a super-trawler or the threat of an all encompassing no-fishing zone to rally Aussie anglers and stir them to action. But in April, one Aussie angler managed to mobilise a huge number of Australian recreational anglers. And he did it with a rod and reel, fishing a lake approximately 14,400km from his hometown in Toowoomba, Queensland. Alumni of the ABT/ AFC tournament pathway here in Australia, Carl won a trip to a bass tournament called the US Open in 2010 to fish for largemouth bass. Finishing 2nd as a co-angler in that event, he gained the confidence he needed to sell up in Australia and devote himself to chasing a dream of becoming a top-level pro angler on the rigorous tournament circuit in the USA. Although a naturally gifted and determined angler,

Carl’s pathway to the top wasn’t easy. In fact, I reckon 99% of people in his situation would have given up. Being perennially broke and alone on the other side of the planet is daunting. But last year, Carl did the impossible and qualified for the Bassmaster Elite Series – the highest profile bass series on the planet. And after a heartbreaking mechanical failure on the first event of the Tour, he launched himself into the limelight in the second Tour stop – Lake Guntersville in Alabama. Fishing with a maturity beyond his 30 years, day after day, Carl ascended the leaderboard until he sat in 5th place (from a 113 boat field) going into the last two days of competition. The circuit organiser (www.bassmaster.com) runs an incredibly comprehensive live coverage of these final two days, enabling Carl’s thousands of Aussie fans to sit up – some

all night – watching Carl fishing, live on camera. I was one of them. Carl not only did himself proud, he did his country proud. A skilled and determined performance against the most hardened pros on the planet was matched only by his humility and etiquette. “It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down, it’s what you do when you get back up that counts,” Carl said in front of a crowd of thousands of fans, “and if I can achieve my dream of doing this, then anyone can achieve their goals.” I’m sure that there were hundreds of sleep-deprived Aussies with a tear in the eye as he gained fans worldwide by the minute with his performance. I was also one of them. Carl left the event, already being a part of the Bassmaster Elite Series, but now there’s nobody who doubts that he belongs there. Especially Carl.

Social Media went nuts over the weekend. BASS MC, Dave Mercer, said that Carl “broke the internet” with the number of comments and support he received on-line. I love the fact that Aussie anglers and fans united to give our export an unprecedented level of support. If you want to follow Carl’s progress and join the party, you can do it in many ways – go to www. carljocumsen.com to find the details of his Instagram, Facebook and Twitter acounts. Or you can listen to his voice interviews on SoundCloud (# Carl Jocumsen). Check out www. bassmaster.com on the 30th May-3rd April (California Delta) and May 7-10 (Lake Havasu) for the latest live coverage. Secretly, I think he loves his new nickname – coined by Mercer after a day-leading bag weight. Go the Walla-beast!

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Making the switch: learning to fly Taking the top whiting How to tie a Haywire Twist The top 5 northern bucket list Pimp my boat feature Is your trailer Aussie or imported? Suzuki lightweight 4-cylinder DF200A

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Making the switch: Learning to fly necessary gear to start off fishing for light tackle sportfish, but most of us like to tailor our rig to our needs. This means buying the individual parts to make up your first fly set up, and this doesn’t have to burn a hole in your wallet. If you’re interested in saving money, second-hand gear may be worth a look – some of my best fly rod memories came from second hand fly gear. But, there exists fly equipment that retails for a similar price to most affordable conventional gear ($100-150 range), you just need to have a good look around until you find what you’re after.

BRISBANE

Bob Thornton

As lure anglers, we naturally challenge ourselves when it comes to catching fish, and in some ways we’re deliberately handicapping ourselves to better the challenge. It’s like choosing a pocketknife for a dual. So it makes sense that for lure anglers wanting a challenge, there is nothing better than fly fishing. In Australia, there isn’t a whole lot of fly fishers and the reasons are various, but very often I hear things like, “It’s too expensive,” or, “It’s too much trouble to learn,” or even, “It’s just not as effective as conventional fishing”. Over time, fly fishers have systematically proven these conceptions wrong, and if you just invest some effort, there’s no reason why you can’t either. Granted, making the switch over to fly tackle isn’t always going to be easy, but there’s no reason why you should wind up with an empty pocket and a long wand you never use. Fly fishing unlocks many fishing opportunities and has over the years opened the jaws of species we previously thought were uncatchable! For a lot of anglers, it refreshes their interest in what they may have found boring with GETTING STARTED: THINGS YOU NEED • Rod • Reel • Backing braid • Fly Line • Leader material (fluorocarbon or monofilament) • Assortment of flies conventional tackle. But for most, they just enjoy the challenge of presenting the fly to the fish and fighting them on a big silly stick. You don’t have to make a complete ‘switch’ either. My friends and colleagues who fish fly still love fishing with conventional gear in conjunction with fly – I don’t mind it either. Making the switch has

Optional items • Fly box with foam slots • Line grease • Leader connectors (loops can also be tied with fly line) • Forceps

only a few cons, but the main one is you may become insatiably addicted. FINDING FLY GEAR Okay, maybe fly fishing equipment is on average a tad more expensive… but if you’re going to make the switch, my recommendation is to start small, in both price and tackle weight. There are plenty of ‘starter packs’ with all the

Tarpon are a great light-tackle fly target – especially for those who live up north. The gear you buy should be dictated by the species you plan to target once you get off the mark. As a result of the gear being slightly more expensive, most fly

Top: For those who aren’t familiar with sooty grunter, they will eat anything… and that includes flies! Above Left: Starting small is the key to gaining an understanding of fly fishing, even if they are absolute tiddlers like this mini GT! Above Right: Flathead are the perfect introduction to saltwater fly fishing. Half a dozen Clouser Minnows and a nice light rig is all you need for hours flats fishing fun! Left: Fly fishing from a kayak is very productive, especially on river bass. This Northern NSW beast took Tom’s Bass Vampire fished under the snag behind him.

fishers have rods they use for multiple applications, so versatility is something to keep in mind. GEAR SPECIFICS For most bread and butter fish, a 5-8wt rod is perfect. If, for example, you live down south where you may find trout, bass, bream and flathead, a 5wt is a great all-rounder. However, if you live up in the tropics where everything pulls a bit harder, an 8wt is fantastic for species such as small trevally, barramundi, sooty grunter, mangrove jack, tarpon and queenfish. As smaller fish are generally fought by hand (with the exception of some pelagics), your reel will serve the purpose of just holding the fly line – no large arbors or waterproof drags needed. Anything that can hold 50-100m of 20-30lb braid as backing and a fly line will be perfect. Small reels like this can be found for under $100 retail, and when paired with a rod of around the same price, you’ve got yourself a pretty deadly little combo. As far as lines go, these depend very much on what you intend on targeting. As a guide, any surface work should be carried out with floating line, anything just under the surface or in the top 2-4m of the water column will be easily handled with an intermediate line. For any deeper applications, such as schooled fish in deep water or fast flowing situations, a fast-sinking should be used. When you’re setting the gear up, there’s many different methods you can use. When I was getting started, I did a lot of research. I watched lots of videos, talked to a lot of people and read a lot of fly fishing

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magazines just to gain some perspective. If you want to get into tying your own flies, the internet is a fantastic place to start (and stay once you’ve learned the basics!) If you think you’ll be a ‘buyer’ not a ‘tier’, there are plenty of professional tiers for your benefit. USING YOUR WAND Once you’ve got yourself a rig and started treating it like a newborn, you’ll be wanting to know how to use the thing! Learning to cast a fly is like learning anything – you need to practise. To start with, you should just grip the rod (without any line out) and make some air casts by swinging your dominant arm and shoulder forwards to about 10 o’clock, and back to about 1 o’clock (making sure there is a snap

Then, practise lifting that line with a cast and laying it back down again. As you gradually increase the amount of line out the end of the guides, you can tie some cotton wool to the end to act as a mock fly, or even a fly itself, and get used to the added weight of the fly. When you feel you’re ready, it’s time to hit the water! PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER What you chase with the long wand will depend on where your favourite haunts are, but it’s logical to target species you’d usually target on conventional gear. Almost everything you can target on conventional gear can be targeted on fly tackle, that’s the beauty of fly fishing. For some species, you need to get a bit creative,

already sussed out. You’ll be surprised how similar the tactics can be. The differences are that you mightn’t be able to make a cast as far as you would with your spin rod or baitcaster, you also might be restricted in your back cast. There are advantages though. A fly is often much more natural looking and in many instances is a better representation of the aquatic food source you’re trying to imitate. There have been many occasions where I’ve witnessed fly out fish conventional tackle 10 to 1, and it’s no accident. You may be surprised how many fish you start fooling on wellpresented flies. Obviously, to begin with you should try and match your fly to the lures or soft plastics you’ve been having

Learning a simple cast is as easy as finding an empty space and making a few casts onto the grass. Note the flick of the wrist in the third frame. with the wrist on the forward stroke, like you would with a conventional rod.) Online tutorials are a great way to see what it should look like, but most anglers reading this will have seen at least someone doing it – you probably wouldn’t be reading it otherwise. Once you feel comfortable, find an empty space such as a park, street or the back yard (if it’s big enough) and put the rod and reel down. Pull some line out the end of the guides, about 4-5m should be enough.

but countless pioneers of the sport have broken barriers and opened up fisheries for us fluff chuckers. As mentioned before, starting small is a good idea, and this goes for target species as well. Fighting bigger fish on fly tackle takes a bit of practise and can result in broken equipment if done carelessly, but will be covered in upcoming issues. A great way to get started is to try fly fishing for a species you’re confident in fishing for with conventional tackle in a place you’ve

success on, but the real fun starts with experimentation. You may even find a technique that works better than your standard means of fishing. TARGET SPECIES The list of light tackle sportfish catchable on fly is constantly is very long and constantly growing. With that in mind, there’s a few tried and true species that are great for learning to swing flies. In southern estuaries, bream, whiting, silver trevally, Australian salmon and flathead are very suitable MAY 2015

targets if that’s what you’re already used to, and the beauty of fish like this is they are easily accessed on foot or by boat. Up north, aggressive species such as sooty grunter, various trevallies, tarpon, queenfish, small mackerel, steelback salmon, barramundi and pikey bream will all take flies. With so many species up this way though, there’s always going to be other obscure and wonderful targets to tangle with – you just have to think outside the box. Where there’s a chance

Top: If the author was to do a trip up and down the coast with a small outfit, these are the flies he would take. Clockwise from top left: Bendback Fly, Grabham’s Gurgler (with eyes), Dahlberg Diver, Gold Bomber Fly, Olive Woolly Bugger, Deer Hair Bread Pattern, Clouser Minnow, Surf Candy, Bass Vampire. Above: Chaos ensues as Tom battles a North Queensland sooty grunter in the fast water!

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of encountering larger by-catch, a heavier rig might be a sensible investment. As mentioned, if I was fly fishing for the common species up north, I’d opt for a sturdy 8wt with 100-150m of back just to be safe. Down in our southern

Clouser Minnow

Excellent all-rounder; synonymous with flathead.

Gurgler:

Perfect for imitating bugs; great for bass,sooty grunter, jungle perch and more.

Dahlberg Diver:

A famous surface fly and a great fish catcher.

Bass Vampire:

Great for deeper work for bass and other smaller predators.

Bendback Style Fly: Excellent natural sub-surface pattern ideally worked just below the surface. Bread Pattern:

Can be made from different white materials; made to imitate bread in berley trails for bream, mullet, milkfish and more.

Surf Candy:

One of the best generic baitfish imitations; great for trevally, queenfish, tarpon, mackerel, tuna, kingfish and more in smaller sizes.

Crease Fly:

One of the simplest saltwater popper patterns; great for same species.

Gold Bomber Fly:

Made to imitate the famous Gold Bomber lure; hugely successful on barramundi and other larger northern predators.

Red Tag:

Famous dry fly for trout; perfect for exploratory trips for stream trout.

Woolly Bugger:

Large nymph-style fly; great for trout in streams and lakes, and for other predatory freshwater species like bass, sooty grunter, jungle perch and more.

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Taking the top whiting SUNSHINE COAST

Mitchell Fredericks

Over the last few years, chasing whiting on surface lures has gained great popularity throughout certain anglers’ eyes. It is a high adrenalin style of fishing that appeals to the sports fisher in all of us!

Whiting are pelagiclike in behaviour and love nothing better than chasing a fast-moving lure; if the lure isn’t moving fast enough at a constant pace they will shy away from it. The way in which whiting smack a surface lure and the first screaming run as they try to spit a lure is truly addictive; the added opportunity to

tangle with many fish in a session makes it a great way to spend time on the water. Whiting are a great bread and butter species to target on surface lures in super shallow water because you don’t need to be an experienced angler to fish for these speedsters. Using the right gear, right technique and fishing the right areas will have you

Few lures can match the Bassday Sugar Pen for whiting pulling power.

The Ecogear PX45 is a gun topwater for surface lure eating whiting and will also attract decent by-catch like this bream.

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catching whiting in no time, even the kids can give it a go. Another great feature about whiting is they are an exceptionally good eating fish and when you see a rise on your lure and set the hook they give you a good run if you’re using light enough gear, which makes for a great day on the water. Lastly, when a whiting is about to be slid into the net, 8/10 times he or she will have mates following right behind. If you or the person you’re fishing

with is quiet and quick, there is a good chance for a second hook up. BACKGROUND Whiting are known for their distinctive colour and their long-thin body shape, which is why they can swim and chase prey in shallow water as low as 20cm. They are found around the South and East Coast of Australia, from King George whiting in the deeper water down south to your summer and winter whiting in Queensland,

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Shallow flats are the prime areas to throw a surface lure for whiting.

which will be found in your local estuarine systems and beaches cruising the sand flats, gutters and channels. WHERE TO FIND THEM Finding shallow sand flats on a run-out tide is the easy part, finding those elusive whiting is another! A few key points are vital to find the fish. Fishing when there is a little bit of wind around is key as it creates chop on the water. Likewise, only a little sunlight helps the whiting to trail the lure without direct sunlight shining in their eyes. Another hot tip is to keep an eye out for shovelnose sharks. The sharks sift the bottom for food and the whiting will often follow them in schools and eat the scrapes. Flats with a steady current flow will work great because it gives the whiting a chance to snatch the bait from the flowing water, like yabbies, worms and prawns. Lastly look out for small gutters and deeper channels on the sand flats as the bigger elbow-slapper whiting can be sitting in and around that typically deeper water waiting and feeding on bigger prey, like prawns and yabbies. PEAK BITE TIME Picking a peak bite time isn’t easy: you want an overcast day, so shadows stay at a minimal; bottom of the run-out tide, which will bring the whiting up into shallower water; high barometer; and an area with minimal boat traffic that is holding bait, which is where the bigger fish will be sitting to ambush the baitfish. The moon is another factor for a peak bite time.

On a full moon is when the river prawns run and whiting love prawns. Fishing 3 days before and a couple days after the moon are the best time to throw surface lures for them as they think it’s a fleeing prawn. This should have you landing a nice feed of beautiful summer and winter whiting. WHAT TACKLE When talking tackle there are two key terms to always keep in mind – ‘fish light to get the bite’ and ‘match the hatch’. For the last 12 months I have found using a light and comfortable rod and reel combo is key as some days you can be twitching and popping a lure for quite a while. This can make your wrist sore. For whiting, choose a small reel like a 1000 sized Shimano reel and a 1-3lb rod, which has a soft tip to impede the most action into the lure. Line wise you are wanting to use a thin diameter PE braid around 0.6mm which is roughly 4-6lb as this will increase your casting distance. I find PE Resin Sheller made by Yamatoyo is the best stuff as it is super thin and smooth through your guides. Lastly using a non-fluorocarbon leader like Yamatoyo Fighter (Pro Line) is more effective. A traditional fluorocarbon leader line will make the lure sink and create drag, and hampers its swimming action; but using a non-fluorocarbon leader allows the leader to float, which will give your surface lure maximum action and won’t create drag and resistance like fluorocarbon does as it is a sinking line. Again, the leader must remain light and around 7’ long. The 4lb and 6lb is my ideal leader to use and 3lb if necessary, but the lighter the leader the less control you will have over your lure, especially in windy conditions. HOW TO Whiting, being a pelagiclike fish, means if you’re working your lure too slow they will tend to shy away, so keeping a consistent winding speed is always the key; just act like you are fishing for trevally. One of the best techniques to use when whiting fishing is to keep your rod tip low to the water, when you get a hit and the fish grabs the hooks try not to strike up in the air like normal, as you can pull the hooks. Alternatively, striking downwards will have you setting hooks better, which means landing more fish. Fishing surface lures for whiting include poppers and walkers, which means the retrieves will vary. So if I use a popper, I will constantly wind while twitching my rod tip with no pausing. Using a

Throwing a surface lure is like ringing the dinner bell for XOS whiting. surface walker, I will use a constant wind with a rapidly fast twitching action of the rod tip with no pauses. If these two techniques doesn’t produce, then let your lure sit on the surface as it hits the water until the disturbance from the lure disappears and then rapidly twitch or pop your lure for around 10m and pause again for around 5 seconds. This typical technique can work if the whiting fishing is slow. If you are doing the pausing technique and a whiting is following do not pause the lure, as the fish will shy away. LURE SELECTION To be successful catching whiting on surface lures you need to be able to choose the right size, right shape, and lastly right colour. I try and keep my surface lures to a minimum when I set off as it can get too confusing what to use when and where. The selection I like to take with me is: Ecogear PX45, Bassday 70F Sugarpens, River2Sea 65mm SkinnyDogs, Zipbait Skinnypops and Ecogear PP60 Poppers. I like to replace the split rings and hooks with size 1 split rings and size 12 trebles using decoy hardware as I find I get a better hook up running a size 12 treble. All these lures have provided good success. Colour selections can vary depending on the watercolour, type of bottom, type of bait in a particular area, sunny or overcast day and lastly personal choice. So asking your local tackle store is a great start. Overall use what works for you, because at the end of the day, everyone likes fishing different lures and have their favourites. CONCLUSION Hope this article will help you in catching a feed of beautiful Queensland whiting on surface lures and remember persistence is the key. Any questions feel free to drop in or even call me or any of the boys at Davo’s Tackle World Noosa and we will be more than happy to help with your needs. MAY 2015

Tech Tricks

Processing squid BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

As the waters cool over the coming months and westerly winds promote clean, clear conditions inshore, anglers will notice an increase in the number of squid. This will be especially noticeable within Moreton Bay’s channels, around the shallows of the bay islands and the foreshore areas, including Wynnum, Manly, Wellington and Victoria points, Scarborough and numerous other locations. Squid prefer clean, clear water that flows over structure such as reef, rubble, weed beds, rocks and the like. At night they are attracted to areas with lights and the baitfish and prawns, which are drawn in by the illumination. They are highly accessible for landbased anglers and boaties alike and best of all they are delicious. Squid can be caught on both egi (a prawn shaped lure with rows of barbs at the rear) and baited skewers suspended beneath a float.

The areas around the harbours, canals and foreshores are worth prospecting with many anglers plying their trade at night. Highpowered head torches can be used to locate squid prowling close to the surface. From here it is a simple matter of casting your egi and retrieving it with a slow wind or a series of hops and pauses. However, don’t expect instant results as squid can get quite cagey in more heavily fished waters. Often, you will need to keep changing jigs and retrieves until you get a take, or the squid departs. Baited skewers are generally suspended under a just neutral buoyancy float and cast out from the rock wall or jetty or drifted behind the boat. Once the float is pulled down, it is a simple task of slowly winding in your prize. Once you have some tasty squid for the table, the next stage is to process and cook it. Squid are relatively easy to clean and will taste delicious when cooked on a high heat for a short period. The more you cook it, the tougher it will become but it is even very tasty when consumed raw. There are four main ways that I will cook my squid and all are delicious.

The first method is to coat small pieces in a mix of rice flour with cracked pepper and ground salt and then deep fry for 30-45 seconds and consume with an aioli or sweet chilli dipping sauce. The second method is the conventional crumbed calamari: Roll the squid in flour, dip in beaten egg with a splash of milk and then coat with panko crumbs and deep fry for around a minute or so until the panko crisps up. The third method is to split the tube lengthways into four or so strips and then throw these straight on a piping hot BBQ grill for 30-45 seconds. Remove, dip in a mix of olive oil, splash of soy sauce, garlic and limejuice and consume. The final method is to get the wok smoking hot, add some butter and crushed garlic and stir fry small squid pieces for around a minute, flipping them regularly. I am sure you will all have your favourite methods and there are plenty of great squid recipes to be found online but just make sure you don’t spoil the squid by overcooking it. Here is how I process my squid.

Grab the head, slide your forefinger inside the tube (main squid body) and move it around to break away the guts from the tube. Pull the head to remove the head and guts from the tube. Avoid breaking the black ink sack if possible as this will create quite a mess and will require more washing and drying. Also remove the clear backbone that is attached to the inside wall of the tube by pulling it firmly.

Cut the tentacles away from the main head, a little below the eyes. You may need to remove the centre section out of the cut away tentacles if you still have the beak section in it.

Grab the tube in one hand and one of the wings in the other and pull firmly until the two begin to separate.

7 6

Next we have to extract the meat in the two wings away from the skin. To do this, you will need to grip the wing firmly and then peel the skin off. It may take a couple of attempts to get all the skin off, leaving two clean white wings.

The tube should come away clean like this and you will be left with two pieces: the tube as one piece and the skin with the two wings still attached as the other.

You should now have one entire tube, a cluster of tentacles and two wings. The other pieces can be discarded or kept for addition to the berley trail.

With the tube inverted, clean the last of the thin, skin-like remnants away from the inside if the tube (now on the outside). You will just have to pick these bits away with your fingers. Wash and dry the tube and then invert again so it is back to normal.

Next cut the tentacles into smaller pieces, the wings into 2-4 bits (depending on size) and cut across the tube to create calamari rings (if that is what you want). This is how I would prepare it for crumbing with panko. 16

MAY 2015

Wash your whole squid to remove any ink or slime off it. Dry with some kitchen paper. It is best to have chilled down your squid for a while before processing as this will make removal of the skin a lot easier.

On small squid you will be able to get your fingers in to clean the last of the remnants away from the walls. If cutting into strips, you can split the tube to clean it, however if you want calamari rings, you will need to invert larger squid tubes to clean them properly. Use your finger tip, or a long, blunt object pushed on the tip of the tube to turn it inside out.

If stir frying or doing salt and pepper squid, I would pineapple (score or cut) the inside of the entire tube with light pressure applied to a sharp knife. Lay the split tube flat, with the outside in contact with the cutting board and cut less than half way through the flesh on the inside of the tube in a criss-cross pattern. This allows the squid to cook more evenly, absorb the flavours, makes the coating adhere better and also looks appealing.

However you like to cook your squid, cleaning it properly will make a big difference to the final result on the plate. Even if I am going to freeze freshly caught squid, I will clean it first before I cryovac it because this will guarantee a clean, untainted flavour when you defrost and cook it.

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Working with wire: How to tie a Haywire Twist BRISBANE

Kim Bain

This article on a Haywire Twist is the first in a three part series that focuses on working with single strand wire. Part one is the Haywire; part two is the barrel roll and part three will cover the modern single strand wire leader system. The Haywire is the simplest connection for making a loop in the end of a wire trace\leader and\ or for joining wire to a hook, lure, ring or swivel\ snap-swivel. A Haywire is so simple because it does not require any tools, nor any extras (like crimps). WHY USE SINGLE STRAND WIRE? The biggest advantage with single strand wire, is that because of the greater thickness of the single individual strand of single strand wire (compared to the thinner strands of cable type multi-strand wire), is less likely to be bitten through when it slides in between the scissorlike teeth of a wahoo or Spanish mackerel.

Either form a loop in the end of the wire, or alternatively thread the wire through the eye of the hook (or swivel or snap-swivel). Make sure not to kink the wire at the bend. Hold the wire loop end between the index finger and thumb of your left (or right) hand, or if you must, you can hold the loop in between the jaws of a pair of parallel-jawed pliers. Cross the free end of the wire under the main wire in order to make an ‘X’ and form the loop.

This is the critical part of tying the Haywire. Grip the two strands (the free end as well as the main wire) between finger and thumb of the right hand; thumb on one strand, index finger on the other strand, and twist. It is very important to make sure that the tag end and standing wire are nearly the same angle to each other and evenly spread apart. Next, firmly hold the point where the two strands initially intersect. With stiff wire, one way to ensure a good Haywire is, during the first twist, to make sure that the standing part of the wire and the tag end cross each other at an angle in excess of 90º.

Simultaneously twist the wire tag and standing wire with one hand while holding the crossing point between the thumb and forefinger of the other hand. As the twists progress, slide\push your fingers closer to the wraps and continue the pressure. A tight grip close to the twists makes it easier to twist the wire, helps keep it straight and prevents kinking. Again you can ensure that the two wire strands cross each other at an angle in excess of 90 degrees. You can achieve this by pushing towards the loop with the thumb and forefinger(s) as well as pushing the wires apart with the thumb and forefingers. You also must twist both strands at the same time so that they are both crossing each other at similar angles. These large angles cause the strands to interlock with each other as they are twisted. If there is not sufficient angle, one wire could remain straight and the tag end then only wraps around the main wire. Make at least 5 Haywire wraps. IT AIN’T ALL BEER AND SKITTLES The downside of

single strand wire is that its breaking strength is seriously lowered if the wire

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is kinked. Accordingly, users of single strand wire have evolved to using short and easily changed wire ‘connections’. The most common uses for single strand wire are as a leader in front of dead baits and lures that are used for targeting razor gang species like mackerel and wahoo. Single strand wire used to be the go-to option for billfish and shark fishing as well; however, higher tech mono-nylontype leaders are often the go-to for marlin these days, and where targeting sharks is still legal, cabletype wire leaders (often of the nylon-coated variety) are arguably the more common option. DOING THE HAYWIRE TWIST The secret to nice looking Haywire twists is to get the angles the same and to establish repeatability of these angles for each twist. With a bit of practice you’ll get the twist looking 90% okay just by working the wire with your thumb and one or two fingers. It may only take a little help with your pliers to neaten things up a little. With a bit more practice you won’t even need the pliers anymore. Like all of the headdown work that we have to do when out fishing on the blue water, tying wire in a rocking boat isn’t for everybody. Fortunately anglers have evolved a system where wires can now be tied at home in the

tackle cave. This system will be covered in part three of this mini-series on single strand wire. HAYWIRE HINTS Done properly, the connection is at least as strong as the wire itself, due to the double-wraps. The Haywire Twist is widely used in bluewater angling when fabricating wire leaders for wahoo and Spanish mackerel and securing snap swivels at one end and solid rings at the other end of wire leaders. It is also just as important as a connection when using light wire for smaller coastal and inshore species of mackerel. The Haywire gains its strength through a series of tightly executed twists. These twists fortify the section where the wire joins the hook or swivel, making this otherwise major stress point stronger and less prone to kinking under heavy pressure. There are certain guidelines that guarantee a perfect smoothly finished Haywire. For example, if the twists are not even or if they are loosely wrapped, the connection could spin off or kink and\or possibly break. Another tip is to use a big hook to connect to when first practising the Haywire Twist. Such a hook can be used as a handle that you can use to twist the wire while you focus on getting the thumb and forefinger angles sorted on your other hand. For most applications,

5-10 Haywire twists are adequate. The size (diameter) of the loop at the end of the leader (or that containing the hook or swivel) can be determined by shortening or expanding the point where the wires initially crossover. Keep this in mind when making the first wrap of your Haywire Twist. A handy hint is to practise tying the Haywire with both hands. Tie in both directions; with the loop held in the fingers of the left hand, then tie a few with the loop held in the right hand. If you practise only one way you’ll get muscle memory and only be able to tie it when facing your tackle in the one direction. Next month we will illustrate how-to finish off the connection with a barrel roll. QR CODE

There are lots of examples of tying the Haywire Twist on the internet. The best one we found was on YouTube from BlacktipH. Scan the QR Code above to see the demonstration.

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Rigging plastics weedless PART TWO NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.starlofishing.com

In part two of his three-part series on the basics of soft plastics, I will detail a deadly rig for fishing these lures in snaggy or weedy waters. While the basic method for rigging a plastic on a jighead described last month will serve you extremely well in the majority of scenarios, it’s worth knowing a few alternate strategies for more demanding or unusual situations. One of the most valuable of these advanced presentation methods is the rigging of a soft plastic on a wide-gaped worm hook so that it resists snagging and fouling with weed. This is fairly easy to do, as shown in the accompanying images. Begin by pushing the hook point through the front of the plastic for a short distance (usually about 3-10mm, depending upon the size of the plastic and the hook) before bringing the hook point out the lure’s ‘chin’. Pull the hook

almost all the way through the plastic until the little kink or twist in the shank enters the nose of the lure and the hook eye sits snugly at the front of the plastic (if your hook is already tied to your leader, you can actually pull the hook eye and knot into the plastic). Next, rotate the hook and measure it up across the lure body to ascertain the entry and exit points before pushing the point up into the belly of the lure and bringing it out the back. You need to be a

bit careful with this part to avoid bending or deforming the finished rig. Study the accompanying photos closely, practice on a few old, chewed-up tails, and you’ll soon get the idea. Rigged in this way, a plastic is extremely resistant to snagging or picking up weed but, hopefully, the hook point will push clear of the plastic and stick into the fish’s mouth on the strike… That’s the theory, anyway! One additional trick,

especially when working in really thick structure or dense weed, is to push the hook point almost all the way through the lure, but leave it partially buried inside the back of the plastic. In slightly less snaggy country, you can bring the point out and lay it flush along the back of the plastic. Rigged this way, the point will not easily catch on the branches or rocks, nor readily pick up weed. When a fish eats your offering, you should give it a second or two to

Targeting bass in the weeds is another prime scenario for choosing to go weedless or snag-proof. Note the beads and small sinkers rigged in the loop knot.

Lots of switched-on northern anglers nowadays target barra on ‘weedless rigged’ plastics. The plastic has partially torn away from the hook during a torrid struggle with this nice barra. really swallow or inhale the lure, then strike extra hard, with a somewhat exaggerated upward sweep of the rod, combined with a few fast cranks of the reel’s handle. Theoretically, the hook point will punch clear of the plastic and stick into the fish. However, any method that snag-proofs a lure also tends to fish-proof it to some extent and, in my experience, you will miss hooking up on quite a few strikes. But if you’re able to cast your lures into places where you otherwise couldn’t (or wouldn’t), it may well be worth sacrificing a few hook-ups in return for

Begin by inserting the hook point dead centre into the nose of the plastic and bringing it out the lure’s ‘chin’.

Carefully pull the hook right through until the kinked section of the shank enters the plastic’s nose.

Turn the hook and lay it across the plastic to accurately establish entry and exit points.

Push the hook up through the plastic, emerging as close to the centreline of its back as possible.

many extra opportunities. This weedless rig can be left un-weighted for shallow work, or weighted with a suitable sinker run on the leader or in the loop knot. It is absolutely deadly on barra and saratoga up north, bass and bream in the snags down south, snapper in reefy country, flathead in dense weed beds, or Murray cod and yellowbelly in our timberstudded outback waters… In fact, anywhere you’d like to cast a plastic while minimising snags and weed. Give it a try! Next month I’ll look at how to choose the right plastics on the day.

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Big wild bass still on the target list for anglers BALLINA

John Goodwin

Hello readers, my name is John Goodwin and I’m the new Ballina and environs correspondent. My passion for fishing runs high like any fishing junkie — if it swims and has fins I’ll have a crack at trying to catch it on lure, fly or bait. I enjoy all forms of fishing,

from offshore, estuary, land based game fishing, fly fishing and freshwater, so my columns may be on a broad subject matter, but that’s because of my love of fishing. The new law regarding being able to target wild bass, but not to take any from May 1 to August 31 has come into force. They’ve done this as some bass leave the upper reaches of rivers early to

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spawn in the brackish water. To me, it’s a little bit of a grey area, but the law states you can target them. I’ll soon be back at dams like Toonumbar and Clarrie Hall to fish the edges with surface lures such as OSP Bent Minnows, Jackall Pompadors and Duo Shumushie Cicadas. Bassman Spinnerbaits, Imakatsu Alive Chatters, and plastics rigged on Beetle Spins will also get some good fish once the sun has risen and before they head to deep water off points and start schooling near

dam walls. Clarrie Hall received a stocking of 3,710 mangrove jack back in March. The NSW mangrove jack breeding and stocking project think they’ll reach 500-700g in the next 2 years. Some people are frowning upon what has been done, while some are rubbing their hands together at what the next few years will bring. The Richmond River around Wardell Bridge to Burns Point Ferry has had a lot of school size flathead, but trying to get anything of

Wilson River bass are often victims of the locally made Bassman Spinnerbaits. Some of the better jacks have been taken on surface lures. Lucky Craft G-Splash and

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Top: May will see the jacks school up before heading to the offshore reefs. Above: Jigging off Evans Head for kings is always fun, but back-breaking work once hooked.

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size has been a little hard. The area has plenty of bait about after the flush of water early last month, so if you do some searching I’m sure the bigger fish will show up, with the odd school mulloway thrown in for some fun on light line. Plastics around the 3’’ size with a paddle tail seem to get more attention, as well as blades around 1/4oz in weight. Whiting should still be found from the ferry to North Creek, but this just depends on what weather we get this month. Popping for these fish can be real heart-in-mouth stuff, but water temperature can play a massive part and a change in weather will play games with them as well. Mangrove jacks have been in great numbers in the lower reaches of the river along the retaining walls, with some fish getting up around the 60cm mark.

walk-the-dog surface lures have been a hit with them. Also try the Atomic 75mm Shiners, Maria MJ Twitch in the 90mm version, as well has Jackall 79 Hank Tunes if fishing deeper water. The breakwalls and headlands have seen some great mulloway and tailor last month along the dirty water line, so let’s hope this continues. Some of the better fish have come from the guys casting hardbodies and big soft plastics, but those using bait have been getting the quality fish more often. Some anglers have even hooked the odd Spanish mackerel while targeting the mulloway on the headlands, just to throw a spanner in the works. Offshore, Evans Head, Ballina, Lennox and Byron has had mackerel playing the game on the closer reefs, with slow trolled live slimy mackerel, yakkas and pike

getting some great fish. High speed trolling Hex Heads and 190DD Laser Pros has pulled fish as well. May can see some XL models turn up, so don’t put the mackerel gear away just yet. Water around the 35-50m mark can see better fish on the bottom using live baits. Jigging for kingfish has been ‘up and down’, with the current having a major influence on how easy it’s going to be. On some days we’ve been using 400g jigs, then move to the next spot and only need 210g, so take a mix of weights with you. Snapper and pearl perch should start to pick up around the end of the month, with the arrival of the cooler water and the current letting up a little. I went for a ride in a mate’s light aircraft from Evans Head to Tyagarah and was amazed at how many good looking gutters we saw on the flight, but still spotted a little dirty water trapped between Evans and Ballina. Whiting, dart, flathead, tailor and school mulloway have been caught, but still not in any kind of numbers. The whiting and dart have been favouring beachworms, as have the school mulloway, but if you want a schoolie or a tailor, try flesh baits like bonito. • If you’re after any additional information about the area, give us a call at Suffolks Outdoor Sports in Lismore, as we fish regularly and can point you in the right direction.

Live baiting for these speedsters is still a viable option in May.

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LBG getting all the attention in the cooler months ILUKA

Ben Pilch bjpcdh@gmail.com

It’s May already and nearly half the year is gone! Fishing wise, May is a lot like April in that there aren’t any drastic changes happening. The LBG fishing is still going strong and in May we generally see a

better size fish come off the rocks, so if you only have onemonth of the year to focus all your attention on, May is your best bet. Here’s hoping that rain doesn’t mess with the season too much this year. As stated last month, watching the weather and sea surface temperatures is your best friend in regards to timing trips and being on the stones at the right time

with the highest chance of pulling one of those pelagic speedsters up onto the bricks. The boat fishos will be catching the same species around the usual spots like Shark Bay, Black Rock, One Man and Angourie. The boats should be seeing a better quality fish like their rock fishing brothers. Longtail tuna on light gear is an indescribable amount

Steve Patti, maker of Croaker Lures, out doing some product testing with a nice 20kg mulloway on one of his own creations.

Mark Pirie with a nice Croaker Lures’ crunching Clarence River mulloway.

of fun, so in our travels on the boat we always have a casting outfit rigged up and ready to go. If we see a bit of bird action, we’re ready to fire, as the action can occur quite quickly. This is the month that those Spanish mackerel fishos get out there trolling live baits around in search of trophy size fish. You can use any of the usual suspects like yakkas, mullet and gar, but by far the best is a slimy mackerel. Slow trolling them around any of

the inshore reefs should see you in with a good chance of connecting to something big, bad and barred. In the river, on the rocks, and off the beaches, everyone will be keeping an eye on the mullet run and what will be following them around — the mighty Clarence Valley mulloway. Find the mullet and you can guarantee a few big silver slabs won’t be too far behind. Spinning these mullet schools with big hardbody lures is a great

way to connect to a XL Clarence Valley mulloway. Some of the local lure favourites are the Jewie Jewels by Croaker Lures, and the 80g diver by Get Bent Lures. Generally, most use a rod from 10-12’ with 50lb main line in mono or braid, and for leader 50-80lb of whatever your favourite brand is. And with the weather cooling, the boat fishos’ minds will soon be turning to those big, bump headed snapper!

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Post flood, the fishing picks up THE TWEED

David Solano

There has been a bit of a turn around on the Tweed at the moment. The water has finally cleared and the weather’s been great. I’ve been fishing all over the river in the past month, hitting Cobaki Lakes for flathead with shallow divers, successfully I might add, but couldn’t get a legal one that day. Popping for whiting, well that was a different story. I was using a Berkley Pop Dog and really working it hard across the surface. It was one of those days where it seemed 10 or so fish were chasing the lure, and I had a sore face from smiling! Next I ventured to Terranora Flats to see what was happening around the leases, the Crab Boat and the Jew Hole. Here I caught a variety of fish on the popper, the bream especially loved it, and the colour I used was clear. I had a problem though; I noticed them on my peddle through the river system and that’s the marauding long toms busting up all over the place. Unfortunately for me they

Dylan with a tidy yellowfin bream caught at the author’s launch site.

took a liking to my popper. They are hard to hook with their miniature, croc-like mouths, but when you do pin one you had better hang on as they go nuts, screaming all over the shop. One thing I learnt was to be very careful when getting them close to a kayak, as one did the marlin thing and shot straight out of the water and hit me on the shoulder. I have also been fishing the Fingal Lighthouse rocks using big metal slugs, ripping them back as fast as I could. Seeing the explosive strike of a tailor smashing your lure makes for some exciting fishing. Interestingly, I managed an Australian salmon — the first I’ve ever caught. One area where I did find some legal flathead was the spot where the golf course starts. I just floated with the incoming tide, sight casting at any interesting looking spots. I made it all the way to the Chinderah Bridge where my plastic got nailed by something I couldn’t stop. I think it was either a jack or a trev — it headed straight for a pylon and zip! Gone. So the fishing’s pretty good. The boys tell me the rock walls out at the seaway

Craig Costigan with a good flathead caught in some ordinary weather. have been working well, with tailor, bream and little kings mostly caught on diced pilchards. Flathead are all

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that’s where the bigger ones are. The sand bank next to Pickets Wall where the sunken barge is has been producing some nice whiting, likewise the beach on the Fingal side near the seaway. Jacks are still around. I caught 2 in 15 minutes under Boyds Bay Bridge, but they were just on the 30cm mark — not quite what I was after, but a jacks a jack. Every week I go fishing I leave from my backyard. Check the size of Dylan’s bream he caught right where I launch from. Maybe I should’ve stayed at home!

Ben Capper had quite an adventure fishing with his boys off the jetty near the Gold Coast Council Chambers. He was flicking a Squidgy Wriggler in bloodworm when it got smashed at the base of a pylon. The little 2.2kg GT had taken his braid and went for a blistering run, luckily the fish stayed high in the water column. Ben passed his rod around the rear pylon to his mate and bolted up the gangplank, jumped off the rocks, waded into the river thigh-deep and charged upstream. He managed to get the braid off the pylon but by this time the GT was three-quarters the way across the canal! Despite nearly being ‘prop chop’ by two powerboats, Ben got the GT to turn its head and crank it back to shore.

Top: A nice little soapy that came from the drop-off showing on the sounder. Above: Dave with a couple of nice flathead for tea.

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Winter comes out to play on the Gold Coast followed by two sets of trebles, one positioned in the belly and the other located two-thirds back along the bait. I find setting a medium strike setting on your reel is the best way to go as wahoo will usually hook themselves when they hit you rbait at speed. If you want some heart pumping action and experience the visual excitement of a leaping wahoo, try casting stickbaits such as Maria Loaded and the Shimano Orca Pencil baits for your fish. This technique is equally effective and exciting, and is a worthy option in the areas you troll your baits for wahoo and Spanish. The current should slow down this month and the first blow of westerly winds will flatten out the seas, making conditions excellent for targeting snapper on the close inshore reefs. Using soft plastics such as Berkley Gulp Jerk Shads, in sizes 4-7”, on the close inshore reefs will

GOLD COAST

Danny Sands

The transition stage between summer and winter species is starting to kick in, making May an exceptional month to go fishing and be out on the water. The wahoo have finally turned up in numbers on the Tweed, with well known locations such as the Tweed Nine Mile, Fidos and the Mud Hole all holding good numbers of both Spanish mackerel along with the afore mentioned wahoo. Trolling big live baits, such as mac tuna, bonito and legal sized tailor are definitely the go-to technique for catching trophy-sized fish. When rigging my live baits l like to use single strand wire, usually around 80lb breaking strain. I rig the bait by placing a single Mustard Hoodlum hook in the upper jaw of the bait,

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Left: Marlin have been on the chew and should continue to be as we head into May. Above: Spanish mackerel are taking baits and lures along the Goldy making for some red-hot action. Below: If you’re ever wanted to catch a giant herring now is the time to do it on the Gold Coast. produce plenty of pan-sized snapper this month. Try and match the weight of the jig head to the conditions that you are fishing. Choose a jighead weight that won’t make your jighead sink too fast, instead choose a weight that delivers a nice steady sink. This will give your soft plastics are more natural presentation, and in turn will catch more fish. The offshore 36 fathom and 50 fathom line will start to produce good numbers of snapper, tuskfish, pearlies, along with the odd kingfish or amberjack. The humble two hook paternoster rig will be the way to go if the current is still running out wide but float lining will produce the better fish. The blue marlin action has been red hot on the Gold Coast with some boats tagging up to 10 blue marlin a day. This should continue

through May. Trolling 8-16” skirts between the 70 and 400 fathom line is the place to be, with some blue marlin and the odd big yellowfin tuna there

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for the taking. When trolling always keep a keen eye out for working birds, current lines and bait. INSHORE The westerly winds will bring on the first run of winter species such as luderick, mullet, bream and tailor. And as the water temperature begins to drop the bream will start their spawning run around the full moon. The hot spots like the mouth of Biggera Creek and the Gold Coast Seaway are great starting points. Bream feed up and put on a lot of condition before the long spawning run and are not to fussy in what they eat. I find any flesh bait, like herring and mullet will catch a kilo, and kiloplus bream. Another great option is using 2” Berkley Gulp Shrimps and Cranka Crabs around the many channel markers from the Gold Coast Seaway to Marina Mirage. Big eye trevally, giant trevally, giant herring, and tarpon have moved into Lake Intrepid and can be found and caught all the way up to the floodgates at Bond University. They have been feeding on small herring and jelly prawns. If you want to catch a tailing giant herring on a surface lure, getting up early

is the key. Lures such as the Lucky Craft Sammy and the Bassday Sugar Pen have been working well on these high-powered speedsters. Flyfishing is probably the best way to catch a giant herring. My go-to fly outfit is an 8wt rod, and a selection of Clouser flies in, white, white and yellow, and white and purple. BEACH FISHING May will see the first run of tailor along our beaches, with early mornings and late afternoon high tides the peak times to be fishing for them. The best conditions to have when chasing them is an offshore wind behind your back, and a flat calm sea. I like a surf rod around 10’6” in length, matched with an Alvey, and a selection of WA pilchards and garfish. Spinning 40-65g slugs is another great tactic when tailor are feeding on the surface. The sand bags at Narrow Neck and 19th Avenue at Palm Beach fished extremely well last season with quiet a few greenbacks mixed in with the chopper tailor. Overall, May is very much a transition month on the Gold Coastcold nights, less traffic on the waterways, and large numbers of spawning winter fish make for fun times indeed.

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A cool change is here GOLD COAST CANALS

Josh Dunn

This year is just flying by, I can’t believe it’s May already, and that we’re only a month away from winter. May is an excellent month for fishing, and as we head into the last month of autumn the canals are onefire. Flathead, bream, whiting, decent trevally, and the odd jack are roaming around at the moment harassing bait and eating lures. Over the last few years May has been one of the better months for fishing the canals, and I’m expecting the trend to continue this year. AFTERNOON DELIGHT The best action traditionally comes late afternoon (4-6pm) with the canal entrances, corners, and retaining walls holding the best fish. GT and jacks will be in residence in these spots, with poppers such as the Strada Chaos 45 and Halco Rooster Popper two gun lures to use Try looking for spots where the current comes together from different angles. The corners in the canals are prime places where this happens, with bait regularly holding up here. Keep your eyes open for signs of bait and action and don’t be put off by

dirty water. Plenty of big bream will start to appear with the spawning season not far away. Try fishing the pontoons and deep holes, and sound fish up with your sounder to help locate the better concentrations of fish. Small walking stickbaits have been producing fish at the end of the canals, while small plastics and hardbodies flicked up against rock walls and pontoons have been catching plenty of fish. COOL RUNNINGS Within the next month the cooler weather will start kicking in and the water temperature will begin to drop. As this happens tailor will begin to become more prominent, and will start being caught throughout the Broadwater and at the mouth of canals. Trolling hardbodies is a great way to catch tailor in these locations with Rapala X-Raps, especially the blue pilchard, and the white colours, one of my favourite lures to use. When it comes to soft plastics the 3” Z-Man MinnowZ in opening night colour is hard to go past for matching the hatch when it comes to a baitfish imitation. The flathead have been on the quiet side of late, my suggestion for those keen

to catch a few is to fish the areas that have plenty of flow and bait such as bridges, rock walls, sandflat drop-offs, and the the mouth of canals. TT Lures Switchblades have been working on flathead in these areas and are hard to go past. Pilchards and prawns have been great baits for bream, especially at night, while live mullet and herring have been catching their fair share of flathead, jacks and trevally. Live baiting is most successful when done in the deep holes and around the bridges. GETTING SHARKED Professional shark

A nice mangrove jack caught by the author on a pearl coloured Z-Man 4” SwimmerZ V2.

The Gold Coast canals are prime places to catch a variety of species in May. The stealth of a kayak is one of the better ways to get amongst them.

fisherman Max Muggeridge from TBD Shark Fishing has been kind enough to give us his insight into the shark fishing on offer in the canals during May. “As the water temperature drops, pup bull sharks will be harder to catch, as they chase the warmer water. One way to keep your catch rate up is to reduce your bait size. Try to catch live bait for your fishing, if not, collect the freshest bait you can find and drop down your hook size. It also pays to drop down in trace size, as low as 20lb (nylon-coated trace) if need be. Sharks will be found around river mouths

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until the warm water fires them up once again. The best baits are live mullet, catfish fillets or an eel fillet, fished along the bottom. After rain it is always a sure bet the larger sharks will be congregating around river mouths waiting for bait to get flushed to them” If you want to find out more on shark fishing check out TBDsharkfishing on Facebook. May is set to be a terrific month for fishing the canals, regardless of what species you’re targeting, so get out there and enjoy the excellent angling the Gold Coast canals has to offer.

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May mackerel a must on the Gold Coast GOLD COAST

David Green

The Gold Coast comes into its own in May with sensational weather, cooler temperatures and calmer seas combining to deliver anglers excellent fishing conditions and opportunities. OFFSHORE GROUNDS This month should see some great fishing on the reefs off the Gold Coast and Tweed. The mackerel made a bit of a slow start this season, but came on well in late March. In May the Spanish mackerel are generally good solid fish between 8-12kg, with the odd bigger fish up to 20kg on offer. The 18 and 24 fathom reefs east of Southport should fish well for mackerel this month. Spinning metal lures, trolling hardbodies and deep trolling live and dead baits should all be effective. Mackerel are generally pretty easy to spot on a good sounder, as they tend to stack up in vertical schools over the top of reef pinnacles. When the fish are deep it pays to take the bait or lure down to them, and investing in a downrigger can help you

catch a lot of fish. Spotted mackerel should be in numbers on Palm Beach Reef and Mermaid

fishing pilchards in a berley trail is an excellent method for spotted mackerel and produces Spaniards as well.

speed trolling metal lures such as Hex Heads works well, and a small live tuna trolled around the Nine Mile

Out on the wide grounds the blue marlin fishing should be pretty good this month. These fish have

Quality mackerel should be around in numbers in May. Reef this month. As the water cools down a bit, a lot of bigger spotties in the 6-8kg bracket start to show up on the inshore reefs, returning north from their southern migration into NSW waters. Berleying and

This season has been a slow one for wahoo, with only a few fish showing on the Tweed Nine Mile, and virtually none on the wider grounds. Hopefully we will see them increase in numbers this month. High

Reef off Tweed is probably the best most reliable method when the fish are feeding. Wahoo need a bit of current to fire up, and if the water is ripping south over the reef, the fishing is generally pretty good.

been very erratic this year, with some days producing upwards of 10 strikes and a few days later not a fish shows. Fishing out of my 6m tinny we recently had a double hook-up on blues with only two of us on board.

That was pretty interesting, but after a long fight we landed both fish. They were about 140kg each, and at one stage they were jumping about 1km apart. We also caught a bigger 170-180kg fish a few hours later. The bottom fishing should improve this month as the current slows down. The 36 and 50 fathom lines should produce some good catches of, snapper, pearl perch, few pig fish and kingies. Jigging is another good option in this area. In closer, fishing live baits at night should see a few mulloway caught on the 18 and 20 fathom lines, while berleying and fishing light line and floating baits should produce a feed of snapper at dawn and dusk. RIVERS AND ESTUARIES May is a month of transition in the estuaries, and as the first cooler westerlies start to blow the water temperature drops a bit, and a lot of spawning species will start to migrate towards the entrances of the Seaway and Jumpinpin. Drifting live baits or fishing deep soft plastics will produce mulloway, tailor and a few flathead in the

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deeper water. There are often quite a few big mangrove jack in the Seaway in May. Small live baits fished in the wash at the end of the north wall of the Seaway can produce some great fish at times. As soon as you get a bite, strike hard and keep the fish coming towards you as they will get back into the rocks in a flash if you don’t control the fight. Whiting should be in good numbers in the Nerang and Pimpama rivers this month. Small shrimp, worms and yabbies all produce some good fish and there should be a few big ones over 38cm on offer as well. When small prawns are around catching whiting on surface lures is another good option. Work water about 50cm-1m deep on the top of the yabby flats, and make sure you work your lures fast. The Bassday Sugar Pen is my favourite whiting surface lure. It is amazing how aggressive these fish can be when chasing a lure. While we don’t tend to get the numbers of whiting on lures that are caught on bait, it is an exciting and challenging way to fish. May is the first month of the year where I start to target flathead. In general the fish are small, between 40 and 55cm in the main, but they become a lot more active

Marlin have been hit and miss of late. Patience, hard work, and a hint of luck are the key to catching fish like this.

as the water temperature start to cool. Soft plastics, soft vibes, metal vibes, and trolling small hardbodies are all effective methods. The central part of the Broadwater, from Crab Island North to Tipplers Passage, is generally a pretty reliable spot in May. There are also quite a lot of big bream as by-catch at this time of year. Flathead fishing is highly dependent on water quality. If the water is clean and clear the fishing is generally good. When it is dirty, particularly in northerly winds, the fishing tends to be quite poor. There can be some very good spinning in May for species such as tailor, small queenfish and trevally, around the Seaway. The key is to have an early morning high tide and a clean run-in tide. There are generally some big schools of white pilchards in the Seaway in May and these bring in the predators. 20-30g Lazers are deadly when cast from light high-speed threadline outfits. Overall, May is good to fish the Gold Coast and is a transitional month between more tropical species and the traditional winter fish. With the big bait schools in the estuaries and inshore reefs it should offer some reliable fishing when the weather is favourable.

Drifting live baits or fishing deep soft plastics will produce mulloway this month.

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Cool weather catches JUMPINPIN

Mick Morris gembait@tpg.com

May signals the start of cooler weather and the start of the bream season in South East Queensland. Fishing conditions are usually perfect with cool clear days and plenty of fish on offer. This is definitely one of my favourite times of the year to fish, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this thinking. BREAM TIME Bream will be the main species that make up most catches throughout this time of year, and whilst they are able to be caught all year round, there will be an improvement in the size and quality of fish as they gear up for their breeding season. This time of year big bream to over 1kg can be caught along Kalinga Bank, the deep hole on the north east of Crusoe Island, Short Island, Tipplers Island, the beach off South Straddie, the Powerlines,

and the Seaway. Best baits to try are prawns, yabbies, herring, whitebait, chook and mullet gut, and flesh baits. Soft vibes, small plastics and suspending lures work well around pylons, jetties, rock walls or any structure where bream congregate. They hit lures hard and fight even harder so be prepared to muscle them out or you could lose plenty of gear. WINTER WHITING Good catches of whiting can be expected too with some big elbowslappers on offer during the cooler months. Best spots to try for a feed of whiting are Slipping Sands, Long island, Tipplers Island, the Gold Bank, Couran Cove and Alberton Sands in the Logan River. Bloodworms work the best but they will take a variety of baits such as squid, prawns, chook gut, and even small soft plastics retrieved slowly along the bottom will work. Another good tactic is using surface poppers in shallow water on a calm

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day, or late in the arvo when conditions class out. Whiting will rise and hit poppers and at the same time you’ll be in with a chance of catching other species such as flathead and bream. Winter whiting should be around in good numbers, and are great fun for the kids as they are easy to catch and handle. Identifiable by the dark spots along their flanks they have no size limit but do have a bag limit of 50. Fish as light as possible using a no. 8 or 6 long shank hook with yabbies, worms, squid or peeled prawns. Try around the Green and Gold Banks, Tiger Mullet Channel, The Bedroom, or Never Fail Island. FLATTY FUN Flathead are still around in good numbers and quite a few larger ones are still being caught and released because they were too large (over 75cm). They can’t resist a live mullet or herring but it is becoming increasingly more popular to use lures that mimic the action of a baitfish. Whether you try soft plastics, holographic swim baits, trolling hardbodied lures, using vibes or even poppers in shallow water you’ll find that flathead are very aggressive fish and will strike violently at pretty much anything that is presented to them. try around the sand flats at the top of South Straddie, the broadwater around Wavebreak Island, Kalinga Bank, eastern point of Short Island, the mud flats just north of Cabbage Tree Point and Cobby Passage. TAILOR MADE Tailor should be schooling and moving up the coast feeding on the schools of whitebait

The onset of the colder weather signals the arrival of big bream in the estuaries and on the beaches. pilchards and hardiheads. Tailor ball up these bait schools inside the bars and around the river mouths, smashing the bait on the surface, in-turn making them fairly easy to spot. There’s nothing like being in a tailor feeding frenzy with the water literally boiling around your boat. If you head out on the water mid week when there is less traffic on the water you’ll have a better chance of this happening. Use lures the same size as the bait they are feeding. An offering in the 10-40g size range is usually the right size. MULLOWAY TIME There are plenty of mulloway around at

the moment, but most of themare 60-70cm in length, which means they are undersized and need to be released. The legal size is 75cm and the bag limit is two so keep this in mind and stick to the rules ifyou’re out chasing a feed. Live baits are working the best as usual, but large banana prawns, pilchards or bonito fillets work well too. Try the deep water off Swan Bay, Kalinga Bank, Short Island, Giants Grave and in the Logan River near Marks or Pitts Rocks. Don’t forget the King Of The Pin fishing comp is on again this month starting Friday May 29 and running until to Sunday May 31. Entry fee is only

$30 for adults and $15 for juniors (15 years old and under), with a major prize of $2000 cash one offer for the heaviest random species. Entry is available here at Gem Bait & Tackle, with the weigh-in taking place at the Gem Hotel (Sun May 31). Food and entertainment will be available, and you could even win yourself, a boat package valued at over $8,000, or one of a host of lucky door prizes on offer. • Thanks for all your reports and keep those fish coming in. If you’d like any advice or up to date fishing information drop us a line at Gem Bait & Tackle on 3287 3868 or email gembait@ tpg.com.au.

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Changing seasons SOUTHERN BAY

Nabeel Issa

The seasons are changing with the chill of the cooler months definitely in the air in the mornings. I love this time of year to fish as we get some absolute awesome conditions, with some great fishing to match. It’s a great time to be alive, and a great time to be an angler in the South East. The southern bay has finally come alive with pelagic action. It doesn’t matter how many you have caught, everyone loves the sight of big fish breaking the surface, birds diving, and the carnage and sound of a screaming reel that comes with this style of fishing. I never tire of it, and I never tire of the adrenaline rush that comes from a trip chasing pelagics. Reports are slowing starting to filter through of fish moving down the coast and into the southern bay. Some of the bigger tuna each year are often caught early in the season so now is the time to get out there if

a barrel sized longtail is on your hit list. DOWN DEEPER Snapper have eased up in the last month. While there have been plenty of snapper to be caught, finding fish of size has proved far more challenging. If you’re chasing a feed of snapper there’s plenty of keepers to be caught with Harry Atkinson and Peel Artificial reefs the pick of the spots. Early morning is important, as is beating the boat traffic. It’s definitely a case of the early bird gets the worm. April proved to be an awesome time for anglers targeting mulloway with big schools moving through the artificial reefs and plenty of fish being caught. The trick to catch them has been to drive around and look for them on the sounder. They usually hang around in numbers, so if there are jew in an area they’re usually easy to find with your fish finder. You will find that the mulloway will move around a bit when in their schools, as a result it pays to drift fish and

be mobile, rather than anchor up and wait for the action to come to you. Lures are by far the best technique to target them, with soft plastics and small metal jigs fished on the bottom a trusted and reliable way to catch them. Just make sure you keep your lure near the bottom, because this is where they will be sitting and waiting. My favourite lure for them is the 4” Z-Man Curly TailZ. It’s a lure that rarely fails and that mulloway absolutely love. TUNA The tuna have been popping up all over place so it can be tricky predicting where they will be next. On a recent trip we found the tuna around the Rous Channel and just north of Harry Atkinson Artificial Reef. But I have

Simon Vaughan with a nice sized mulloway caught on a soft plastic. also been hearing reports of fish coming from the eastern side of Peel Island and the Rainbow Channel up to

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Amity. Some days you have to do a lot of scouting around before finding the fish. Mac tuna have been feeding on very small bait so throwing smaller lures is a must. Soft plastics 3” or small metals are the best lures to use, while for longtail tuna the every reliable 5” Z-Man Streakz in bubblegum colour is a must have. BREAM If bream are your thing, now is a great time to get out there and chase them. There has been some good numbers around, as well as plenty of big ones. Anglers using lures around the shallow weed beds of Macleay Island and reefy sections of Peel Island have been doing well. The best part about it is that surface lures have been the most effective technique, a preference that makes for fun fishing, and exciting visual surface strikes. Raby Bay canals have also been producing some great results. The trick at Raby is to get your lures as close as possible to the jetties and pontoons. The fish like to sit tight to cover so getting your lure deep in cover will greatly increase your chances of catching fish. Deep diving

crankbaits and Cranka Crabs have been working well in the canals. SQUID If all the usual target species are quiet, chasing squid is always an option in the southern bay. High tides are preferable, as are shallow reef and weed areas. Squid are suckers for a well-presented squid jig and you’ll often spot squid cruising around, primed to latch onto a jig cast in their direction. If you can’t spot them cruising to sight cast at then casting and retrieving your jigs with an erratic retrieve can produce the goods. Be sure to mix up the retrieve, and cover as much ground as possible. When selecting squid jigs I like to use natural colours and lightweight models in the shallow water. May is shaping up to be a great month of fishing, hopefully the fish will think likewise. Hopefully we’ll see some pics of monster longtails being caught in next month’s magazine. If you have a picture or a story you would like to share, send it through to me at nabs12@gmail.com, and I’ll do my best to get it in magazine for you.

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Early angler catches fish BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

With the cold weather well and truly upon us, anglers will be slipping on a jumper and slopping on the beanie for those early morning starts. If you can launch the boat without getting your toes wet then you are lucky. Although there are many negatives to getting out of a warm bed and braving the chill, especially if you hate the cold weather like I do, there are also plenty of piscatorial positives. May offers some exciting targets for those who want to probe the waters of Moreton Bay and surrounds. Species such as snapper, mulloway, squid, tailor, bream and numerous others will come to the fore but there are also a lot of other options for thinking anglers. MULLOWAY Since the 2011 floods ravaged Brisbane, the numbers of mulloway in the rivers and bay have been astounding, compared to

the decade previous. Whilst there are numerous large specimens taken, anglers can predominately expect good numbers of fish up to a little over a metre. These provide awesome sport and additionally great table fare with a good yield of flesh per fish. Anglers sometimes specifically target the larger ‘jewies’ but it is these average sub metre specimens that make up the majority of the catch. Most are subdued on lures such as soft plastics, vibration baits, micro jigs and a variety of dead and live offerings. The rivers generally provide the better numbers, although the various wrecks and artificial reefs in the bay also provide good opportunity. Ledges, jetties, rock walls and other structure in the Brisbane River will commonly hold decent numbers of mulloway. Anglers with quality sounders and a decent knowledge of their operation, generally have little trouble finding them. The bait brigade commonly soak their

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offerings, both dead and live, in the deeper areas out from the jetties and within the dredge holes along the retaining wall at the mouth. Anywhere you can locate baitfish is worth a try because mulloway are likely to be prospecting nearby. Lighted areas commonly attract baitfish at night, so these areas can be well worthwhile trying for mulloway as well as others such as tailor and threadfin. The Harry Atkinson Artificial commonly produces mulloway at this time of the year with quality specimens to over a metre being taken on lures and baits, often by anglers targeting snapper. Peel Island, Coochiemudlo, Russel Island, and many other locations throughout the Jumpinpin area are also worth trying. The Bribie Island Bridge is another promising location and regularly produces quality fish, including mulloway, however due to the boat traffic, night and early morning sessions are generally the best. Landbased anglers can try their luck with live and dead baits at numerous locations including beneath the Gateway Bridge, the Colmslie and Newstead Jetties in the Brisbane River, the Woody Point Jetty, Deepwater Bend on the Pine River and numerous other locations where you can access reasonably deep water from a shore-based perspective. Some of these areas lend themselves to some decent fishing with lures with best results coming during the darkened hours when lights attract baitfish to the vicinity. TAILOR Although the best of the tailor fishing will probably be a month or two away yet, there will be a few found on the shallow inshore reefs and the mouths of the estuaries. These respond well to whole fish baits, such as pilchards, whitebait, small gar and frogmouths as well as an array of lures. These voracious predators will attack a broad array of offerings including minnow lures, blades, vibration baits, soft plastics and a host of topwater offerings. The shallows around the bay islands can often provide some exciting fishing when applying walk-the-dog techniques with small stick baits such as Lucky Craft Sammy 65, Sebile Stick Shads, River2Sea Rover, Zipbait Fakie Dog and numerous others. Mud, Peel, Green and Goat Islands all have some good shallow water areas to try this technique, and apart from tailor, you are also likely to encounter bream, sweetlip, squid, trevally, estuary cod

Quality bream, like this one caught by Luke Baker, will increase in prevalence as the water temperatures drop. and numerous other species. Towards the end of the month a few schools of tailor may be located along the front of Bribie Island from Red Beach to Caloundra. These are generally targeted with the conventional pilchard on a ganged hook rig by anglers casting from the beach. Early morning and late afternoon high tides offer the best opportunity. An occasional longtail tuna is also hooked from the Bribie Beach as they will come extremely close to shore as they harass the baitfish schools that are generally prominent at this time of the year. SNAPPER A favourite target species for many who fish Moreton Bay is the snapper. These are a great sportfish and even better table fair and can be found well up the rivers and estuaries at times. Within the bay they are commonly targeted around the fringes of the bay islands, adjacent submerged wrecks, the artificial reefs (Harry Atkinson, Curtin and Peel) and along prominent contours and ledges. Here they can be tempted with quality baits and a variety of artificials, the most popular being plastics. When worked well, paddle-tail shads, jerk shads, crustacean profiles, curl-tail grubs and several others can produce awesome results. The biggest mistake most anglers make when fishing plastics is that they work them too fast. Slow, gentle hops and retrieves are enough to solicit strikes. Even a plastic left out into the current and deadsticked (just put the rod in the holder and let the rocking of the boat do the work) will produce some quality fish. I have a preference for paddletail shads at present but have used a broad array of styles and brands to land quality snapper. I believe it is more important how you work the plastic than which style or brand it is. Other successful offerings, especially for the deeper waters are vibration

lures such as Jackall Trans Am and Mask, Samaki Vibelicious and Thumper, Fish Candy and Threadie Busters. Trolling with deep diving minnow lures has become popular in recent years with a broad array of offerings working. I like the Yo-Zuri Hardcore 90SP, Rapala Max-Rap and Halco Poltergeist, but there are a lot that will produce. These are trolled slowly over likely grounds like the outer fringes of the bay islands, edges of channels and ledges or anywhere that prominent baitfish activity is located. There is no denying that early mornings, evening and night sojourns are more likely to produce good numbers of snapper, however I find that quietness is the key to those trophy specimens, regardless of time of day. In fact, I have caught some of my best quality snapper in the middle of the day close to the surface, due to the snapper’s tendency to roam and prey on garfish, hardiheads and other baitfish species. Often, it is more important to find a quiet spot than a good spot because if you are quiet enough the snapper will eventually find you. In the Brisbane River, snapper are often taken from adjacent the numerous jetties near the mouth and from along the rock walls and submerged ledges. Scouting the declines and fronts of wharves with you side imaging sounder will allow you to locate both baitfish and the snapper. However, if you do not have this latest technology, then you can still present your offerings to likely spots with a good chance of prying a legal snapper away from the structure. Blades, vibration baits and an array of plastics can all be put to good use on Brissie River snaps. BREAM As the waters cool in the coming weeks, larger bream will begin to enter the estuaries in preparation to breed. These clean, silverwhite specimens (sometimes

called snowies by the older brigade) are ravenous and aggressive and will respond to a broad array of lures and quality baits. In the channels adjacent the sand and mud banks, bream can be taken on baits including pilchard pieces, raw chicken fillet, squid strips, gar fillet, green prawns, mullet fillets, fowl gut and mullet gut, just to name a few. Whilst they can be very aggressive and will attack a well-presented lure, bream are also scavengers and will eat almost anything they come across. This is one of the reasons they have become such a popular target for sport fishers and the casual angler alike. Whilst any baited line in the water can catch a quality bream, there is no denying that the anglers who hone their skills and knowledge of the bream habits and habitat will achieve more consistent results. Lure fishing has become a fine art for many chasing bream with many lures designed specifically for targeting them in certain situations. Blades, small soft plastics and minnow lures to around 60mm in length are commonly used to pry bream from structure such as mangroves, bridge pylons, pontoons, jetties, moored boat, rock walls, rock bars and other structure. The bay island shallows and Scarborough Reef are definitely worth a look for quality bream during May. In the coming months bream numbers will increase dramatically with the periods around the full moons generally providing good opportunity for larger specimens coming in from offshore. Remember however that these are the breeders so limit your catch if you decide to keep a few for a feed. SQUID As the water cools, anglers will notice an increase in the number of squid entering the bay. These are commonly located around the shallow reefs and rubble grounds of the bay islands and the foreshore areas of

Wynnum, Scarborough, Redcliffe, Victoria Point and Wellington Point. Water quality is paramount in finding squid. Clean water is a must, as is structure to provide ambush potential. This structure can be in the form of weed beds, shallow reef and rubble grounds or even areas with a discoloured bottom. Squid possess chameleon like ability and will change

their colour to blend in with this environment to aid in ambushing prawns and small baitfish. The general method of catching them is to cast and retrieve an egi (a prawn profiled squid jig) over likely looking areas. This can be slowly wound or hopped and paused to imitate a real prawn. Another method is to offer a whole fish such as a pilchard on a squid skewer, which is a metal rod with

rows of barbs that is impaled through the baitfish. When the squid grabs the bait the tentacles will slide down onto the barbs and the squid becomes hooked. A slow constant wind of your reel handle will keep the pressure on, and maximise your chances of landing him. Pump and wind in the conventional method that you would for a fish and it is likely that he will expel the

Scott Abell had a trip of a lifetime to 1770 with amazing results. He scored 3 reds, including his PB 13kg fish caught on a mullet. He credits his success from reading articles in Queensland Fishing Monthly!

Mulloway have been available in good numbers within SEQ estuaries and rivers over the last few years. Aaron Winch secured thisÂ nice specimen recently.

hooks and depart in a cloud of ink. These skewers are often suspended beneath a float by anglers fishing from jetties, in the channels (such as the Rous) and around the bay islands. Around foreshore areas squid can be caught at night with many anglers using powerful head torches to locate the squid before they even cast towards them. Squid are a succulent treat and are

easier to clean and process than you would think. Check out my techniques column in this issue to see how easy it is. CONCLUSION Mentioned are just a few of the prime species on offer. There will be plenty of the usual targets on offer during May, including flathead, estuary cod, threadfin, longtail tuna, mackerel, sweetlip and

whiting. The cool weather may deter you a little until you consider the angling possibilities, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll soon find yourself bounding out of bed, donning the jumper, trackie-daks and beanie and making a flask of hot coffee to warm you up. I hope you enjoy May in the bay and the surrounding waters as there are plenty of great angling opportunities for the keen angler.

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Get ready for reef rampage Wahoo have been very quiet this year but they will slowly start

BRISBANE OFFSHORE

Kaspar Lenigas

With the weather conditions starting to get better and the temperature starting to steadily drop, it’s clear that winter is just around the corner. May is defiantly one of my favourite months to fish offshore as there’s still some awesome pelagic action around but the reef fishing becomes more consistent for good results and quality catches with the current slowing. PELAGIC ACTION The Spanish mackerel fishing this season has been very hot and cold with the bigger schools not hanging around for very long. There has been consistent captures on the reefs in close around Point Lookout and Cape Moreton as well as the coffee rock reef in 10-15m of water along Moreton, with most fish being taken on slow-trolled baits and live baits. There may not be huge numbers of Spanish mackerel around this month, but what they lack in numbers they make up for in size.

as The Group, Sevens and Hutchinsons and are commonly caught using

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MAY 2015

mac and yellow fin tuna trolling high-speed lures for wahoo and if

small enough, tuna make awesome live baits for wahoo. There should also be a few mahimahi starting to show up out wider as they migrate north to warmer waters for winter. They can be taken trolling skirts or using cubed pilchards and live baits. REEF FISHING Recently the reefs in close to Point Lookout have been producing good numbers of reef fish such as tusk fish, cod, squire, spangled emperor and the odd big snapper and mulloway. I’ve been using small 45-60g jigs and soft plastics lately with a lot of success, but fishing live and dead baits would be just as successful. During this month we should see the reef fishing in close improve with a few more quality snapper starting to show up. As the current slows, the fishing out wider around Deep Tempest, 35 and 42-Fathom Feef and The Cathedrals should see good numbers of pearl perch, rosy jobfish and snapper showing up. The reefs out wide of The South Passage Bar and Cape Moreton in 70-90m will start to hold good numbers of yellowtail kingfish, amberjack and Samson fish. These fish respond really well to live baits and will put up a good fight as they try to make their way back to the bottom. May is a great month to get out on the water

Mahimahi are still being taken out wide before they migrate north for winter. These highflyers acrobats really put on a show when hooked – they look awesome, too! with better conditions and a lot of fishing options available. Just keep your

wits about you and take care crossing the costal bars and have fun.

Wahoo should start to come on the chew in the coming months. This chunky ‘hoo nailed a trolled lure on a close-in reef.

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MAY 2015

Pleasant weather, great fishing NORTHERN BAY

Grayson Fong graysonfong@bigpond.com

Well this is a welcome change. The cooling westerly winds have been a pleasant break from the barrage of humid weather we have encountered over the first quarter of the year. Although anglers have had quite a fruitful summer with consistent catches being recorded in all corners of the Northern Bay area, this may have been assisted by the higher than average water temperatures we had been experiencing. As another chapter of summer fishing closes, we look forward to the cooler months, with many winter species already ramping up the action and anglers keen to get amongst it. Easter weekend turned out to be quite the turning point weather wise in the south east, with heavy rains and wind signalling the end of summer and clearing the way for a beautiful opening to a cooler autumn. Now let’s see what has been going on in the Northern Bay.

SQUIRE Yes, everyone’s favourite this time of the year, and it turns out they have already been on the bite. Scarborough showed early signs, with many juvenile squire being nabbed around the bommies surrounding North Reef and outside Queens Beach. Early mornings have been the pick of the times, with another small bite period occurring during the middle of the day. With these areas resembling a carpark on calm days, many of the boats and kayaks have braved less favourable weather and been rewarded for their efforts. Soft plastics have been choice of many, with Shads Lures 4” Flick Tails, Z-Man 4” Curly Tail StreakZ, and Atomic Jerk Minnows being the standout models. On the bait front, a lightly weighted squid or mullet strip cut thin and rigged on a 1/0-2/0 hook has been keeping up with any artificial baits on the market. Mud Island and the Brisbane River have also started to produce the goods this month, with the outer reefs of Mud producing the bigger models than its river counterpart. Again, larger

soft plastics have been the popular choice with anglers. BREAM Bream numbers have been nice and steady over the last month and are set to continue as they put on condition for their annual spawn run. This pilgrimage takes place over the much cooler months of June and July, but May seems to find them very aggressive before they start to move. Ningi Flats, Cooks Rocks and the mouth of the Caboolture River have been the noted hot spots around Bribie, with Tiger Rocks at the mouth of the Pumicestone Passage also firing well on the rising tides. Redcliffe Peninsula has its good and bad days, with bream averaging around the 27-28cm fork length on a regular basis. Woody Point and the fishing platform at

Clontarf have been the place for land-based anglers, with some night anglers being rewarded for their efforts along the Brighton/Eventide rock walls at the top of the tide. Deep diving hardbody lures have dominated on bream over this autumn, with the popular ones being OSP Dunks, Pontoon 21 Crack Jacks, Jackall Chubbies and Atomic Shiners. FLATHEAD Flathead catches have been as common as sleeve tattoos in the NRL, with numbers increasing as the cooler weather begins. The Pine River is leading the charge, with the mouth under the Ted Smout Bridge being the place to be for a good haul. Hays Inlet, The Wells and the mouth of Cabbage Tree Creek have

Jess Dixon had a fun day out chasing some good bream. also been fishing well for flatties, with the runout tide being most fruitful. In the Pumicestone Passage

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precinct, try the dropoffs and creek mouths around Toorbul, Elimbah Creek and Donnybrook on the ebbing tide, with recent showers pushing enough bait out of the feeder creeks to keep the lizards active. WHITING Good sand whiting are still being caught, even though the weather has cooled, with anglers still reporting catches along the southern beaches of Bribie. The mouth of the Caboolture and Deception Bay and have also been productive, along with the mouth of Bald Hills Creek in the Pine River. Worms are the best bait, but small hardbody lures have also shown good form. MONTHLY TIP Terminal tackle like hooks, swivels, sinkers and jigheads are easily left lying around on the boat floor (or stuck on carpet) after a good day out on the water. Be sure to clean these up after each trip, as it can accelerate corrosion in the bottom of your tinnie, or leave rust marks on the carpet, which can turn out to be a major chore when left for ages. For some short term pain, you can get a long term gain.

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An exciting winter ahead CALOUNDRA

Brad McKendrick fishingcaloundra@yahoo.com.au

Finally, after a long summer we are starting to enjoy a run of winter species. Snapper are always one of the most sought after species across the Sunshine Coast and once they come on, the fun really begins. Leading up to the depths of winter, some snapper can still be caught in the deeper water haunts, but as the cooler weather lowers the water temperature, bigger fish are found across the closer reef systems.

who have pushed to get offshore have found the fishing a little slower than they would like, but that will definitely change. One of the key factors to catching a lot of quality snapper is the type of bait you are using. I am sure you have heard it many times, but when it comes to bait, fresh is always best. Of course, the humble pilchard will always catch a fish or two and the packet squid from the local bait and tackle shop may win a few bragging rights, but it is worth understanding that taking the time to get fresh bait will increase your chances greatly. Squid can

so the first thing to do is get to know what is going on in your area. You will need to know when bait is likely to be around and how best to target it. Do you know when the prawns run in the local estuary? The best way to find out is to talk to tackle shop owners or friends that fish often and know what is going on. Live yakkas or slimy mackerel are also the best baits for bigger snapper. No doubt you have heard the saying, the bigger the bait, the bigger the fish. This is true in some cases, but particularly so with snapper. Some of the best times

Longtail tuna have been moving into our sheltered waters around Caloundra.

Right up until the first bit of winter, jack are a viable target. The weather has not been friendly lately and it has made it difficult to enjoy a good run of fishing for reef species. Anglers

be caught in all areas at certain times of the year. This will normally correspond with a change of seasons or fish species,

to fish for winter species are when the tide change corresponds with either sunrise or sunset. This is a period that really sets

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fish off and has them in a fierce biting mode. If you are going to target the winter species around the Sunshine Coast, then plan your trip and allow plenty of extra time to get a berley trail up and running. Pearl perch, morwong, snapper and a stack of other species will be on the chew over the coming months. Fortunately, there are also plenty of pelagic species that you can target, including kingfish on the wrecks and known pinnacles around the area. So whether you are happy to get a feed of reef species or target arm-pulling pelagics, there are plenty of options across the Sunshine Coast through the winter period. The estuaries have quality bream around in big numbers at the moment. The best place to find them is within the canal systems from Pelican Waters right through to Noosa. Kawana Waters is another great spot to target bream or mullet, and once you find where they are you will be in for

an entertaining day. Lots of people who live on the canals feed the bream and other fish species every day. During the feeding there can be hundreds of fish trying to get a meal, so imagine what happens if you pop a soft plastic or pull a hardbody through them! Chopper tailor are normally caught around the jetties or pontoons as they target the herring or mullet that hang in the areas. Military Jetty and around under the Pelican Waters Bridge are good spots to try around the tide changes and most effective at night-time. The boardwalk in Caloundra is always a terrific spot to fish from, but the tidal flow is very strong, so it has a limited prime time for fishing in between the tides. There are a lot of shallow sandy banks within the Pumicestone Passage that hold flathead and winter whiting, so look around the waterways at both low and high tide before planning your next trip.

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Always examine the jetties and bridge pylons and find out what bait is present. These schools are food for a number of species, so think about getting a cast net and catching some live bait. Yabbies and prawns are also available at the moment in the estuaries, and live prawns make amazing bream baits. The beaches have dart, flathead, bream and whiting around the holes and within the gutters. Worms or peeled prawns are excellent bait and very versatile, covering a number of species. As the cooler months of winter kick in, tailor and mulloway will start to cruise the gutters, so winter has its advantages. It will be an interesting month across the estuaries, rivers system and offshore reefs. Remember, the key to targeting quality fish is to first get fresh or live bait to take with you. Spend time trying to get live bait every trip and it wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be long before you master it and improve your results.

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May sees the change of seasons offshore NOOSA

Peter Wells

The great thing about May is we usually enjoy the best of both worlds, as the warmer currents hopefully stick around and keep the pelagic bite hot for the rest of the month. The further north you go, the more likely this is to happen, so areas off Double Island would be where I’d be heading in the hope of bagging some big pelagics. This is also the start of the snapper season, with the bigger fish on the deeper reefs. Head for the Barwon Banks on a good day, with North Reef also a great feeding ground for them. Soft plastics like the Fuse 110mm paddle-tail are a great way to hook snapper, and with the motion of the boat doing most of the work, you can simply leave the rod in the holder. If you are fishing a paternoster rig, put a soft plastic on the top dropper with a lighter jighead, so if you do get baited you are still in the game. With snapper fishing, deeper water usually means larger fish, so that 60m mark is a great depth to

target them. Large mulloway and cobia are also on the cards at this time of the year. In fact, it is said that as the whales start their northern migration the cobia become more prolific. For the small craft that don’t feel comfortable making the trip to the Banks or North Reef, then Sunshine Reef is a great option, with sweetlip, Maori cod, squire and the odd trout hanging around. Sunshine Reef is also a great place to give micro jigging a go, as with the shallower reefs you can use some of the lighter jigs. The Shore Trickers from Maria are sensational and have been working a treat for our resident micro jigger Chris, who has got the action down pat. Call into Davo’s Tackle World in Noosa and hit him up to find out what it is all about. On the beach, the cooler months mean the start of the tailor and winter bream run. As the water starts to cool we will see those beautiful silver winter bream appear. Fish of 40cm are not uncommon, and with a diet of prawns and small fish, are an easy mark for the beach angler. Small pillies, whitebait and hardiheads

Tom Hobelt from Tinbeerwah won the $50 Davo’s Fish of the Week prize with this thumper 15.5kg red emperor from the Barwon Banks. are all on the menu, with prawns also a favourite. The southern beaches around Marcoola and Yaroomba are a great spot to chase winter bream, as well as Noosa’s North Shore. You are also likely to come across tailor while fishing the beach, as they make their northern migration up towards Fraser Island. We are starting to see great improvement in the quality of the fish, as well as the size of the schools. It was reported last year that

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Wild Thing II cleaned up on the Spanish and spotted mackerel at the top of North Reef. the water up at Fraser was black with fish and I haven’t heard that for quite some time. When you do come across a school of tailor, give the good old Halco Twisty a go. They come in chrome and gold and work a treat with a fast retrieve.

ganged hooks, or a snelled rig of 5/0 hooks. Mulloway are a challenge off the beach, with the best I saw last year tipping the scales at over 25kg and 143cm in length. Now that’s not easy to land, especially on the beach with a decent swell.

way to go. The Skinny Dog from River2Sea is a real favourite, and the cooler mornings should see some great surface action with these predators following schools of bait in on the high tide. Areas like Woods Bay in the Noosa River and Black Banks in the Maroochy are the go, and if you can time this with an early morning high tide, you will have everything in your favour. Also give the river mouths a go; the run-in tide with slugs fished with a fast retrieve should also see some good results. A little further upstream, good structure is the ideal place to start. Pontoon, jetty and bridge pylons are all places that bream and other predators love to call home. A run-out tide is good here, as the fish will tend to sit in the lee of the structure and ambush passing morsels of food. This is a great time for plastics fishing, with the new Squidgy Prawn proving to be a real cracker. Laced with a nice smear of S Factor, these new plastics have been the business. With a great range of colours, styles and sizes, they are perfect for flicking around structure. Fishing the upper stretches of the Maroochy and Noosa rivers has also paid dividends, and drifting down with the tide flicking prawn profile and paddle tail soft plastics should see you pick up some nice flathead. The deeper holes upriver should also be holding some nice school mulloway. • So for all the best advice, the gear you need, and where the fish are biting,

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Tewantin angler Richard Stonehouse tempted this 4kg coral trout with a live yakka at Sunshine Reef.   Another great fish improving in numbers are the mulloway. These have a varied diet, with squid, worms and baitfish of all kinds, but probably the most successful has to be a fresh mullet fillet on a set of

The cooler months are also great in the rivers, with the Noosa and Maroochy producing great fish. Tailor and trevally will be coming into the systems in abundance, so surface poppers and walkers are the

call into Davo’s Tackle World Noosa or our store down at Marcoola — Davo’s Northshore Bait and Tackle. Also check out the latest catches, fishing reports and bar crossing info at www. fishingnoosa.com.au.

Business Profile

Tide Apparel makes the move to new premises Tide Apparel is no longer a small, start-up clothing brand, feeding a constant stream of awesome fishing images into your social media feeds. Founder, Nick Richardson, has moved the operation from his overcrowded home to a flash new shed at Yatala. As well as allowing Tide to operate more efficiently, the new facility has a retail store component where Tide fans can come in, see, feel and try-on the entire Tide range. One day, Nick had some mates over and they pointed out that he wasn’t sitting on a chair, but a chair shaped pile of Tide Apparel boxes. That’s when he decided that

meaning to him, as well as the broader fishing and waterwayusing community. “Tide has a meaning behind it, and that meaning

Top: Tide Apparel founder, Nick Richardson, enjoying the fruits of a well respected waterway. Far Left: Andy Mackinstray would wear Tide undies if they made them. Left: Tide advocate Chris “Fez” Henry doing what he loves best. The nickname is from That 70s Show. Below: Prolific social media socialite, Mick Horn, got on board the Tide-wagon straight away.

They’ve been there since the start. They wore the clothes, they love the clothes and they helped develop the brand. There’s only so much social media content that I can create and those guys just took it to another level and I’m forever in their debt.” “I think that anybody who is at work, a little bit of themselves is out on the water fishing every single day,” says Henry, who’s a Tide fan and ardent angler. If you want to follow the Tide brand and it’s anglers, the best way to do so is with social media – especially Instagram and Facebook. Nick’s team specialise in great pics of great fish – like the ones you can see published here. Subscribing to these feeds also alerts you of any impending sales and stock run-outs, which always spur a real peak in activity. Being focussed totally on every part of his business from design and manufacture to shipping and marketing, you can rest assured that when you place an order for Tide Apparel, it’ll be dispatched same day a majority of the time. Most likely by Nick himself. So if the Tide concept and designs resonate with

Tide Apparel for their support. Without them, the brand would be nothing.” “I can’t thank people like Chris Henry enough, and Josh Maclean, Andrew Mackinstray and Mick Horn.

your angling and outdoor ethos, make sure you check out the website or the newly opened store. By the time this story hits the newsstands, it will be well and truly open for business.

INFORMATION 12/8 Riverland Drive, Loganholme. Phone: (07) 3209 7661 Shop hours: Monday - Friday: 8:30am 4pm (Saturday by appointment). Website: www. tideapparel.com.au Social Media Links Instagram: @ tideapparel F: Tide Apparel

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Scan this QR code with your smartphone to see the full interview with Tide’s Nick Richardson. the business had to move out of home. “With the move comes higher overheads and responsibilities, but that’s all a part of growing the brand,” says 26 year old Richardson, who seems right at home in the new digs. Tide Apparel’s genesis was in the back of Nick’s design lectures, where he was always turning over ideas for a clothing brand. And the Tide idea is both succinct and has a

is to respect our waterways. I love the ocean, I love our waterways and everything that surrounds it. Lately I’ve noticed that people aren’t respecting it. With tide Apparel, I want to create awareness and I want people to understand that if we keep abusing the waterways like we do, we’ll have nothing left,” Nick said. Coming from a background of professional BMX riding, Nick had

experience with clothing, fashion and the younger generation and he combined the message and the experience to birth the brand in 2013. “I wanted to create a range that you could go fishing in and also wear out to the pub afterwards,” Nick continued. If you check out the range on www.tideapparel.com.au, then you’ll see that you can do just that. “It’s crazy to think that

something I’ve created has turned into what it is today,” Richardson proudly exclaimed, “and I really want to thank everyone who has bought the clothing, shared a post or liked an image of

MAY 2015

All systems go for winter fishing RAINBOW BEACH

Ed Falconer

We have had a nice break in the weather lately, allowing for a few offshore trips and great fishing. OFFSHORE The offshore fishing has been very consistent. All of the bottom species have been biting well and we have had some outstanding catches of snapper, sweetlip, pearl perch, red and spangled emperor, and loads of hussar and parrot. This is a really good start to the cooler months. On the pelagic side, we have had a couple of good hits on the mackerel, but it has been very hot and cold. There are still quite a few mahimahi around and we are picking up a few cobia as well.

We should see more pearlies like this during May. ON THE BEACH Whiting are biting well, but when too much traffic

frequents the beach (such as the Easter break) they tend to slow down.

The odd tailor has shown up already and could signal a good year for them. GREAT SANDY STRAITS Flathead are in good numbers around Bullock Point and at the mouth of Kauri Creek, and soft plastics are working well. Winter whiting are also schooling up and there have been some quality catches of them taken around Inskip Point and Big Mick Beacon. Squid are another species that have made an early appearance, with good hauls for a few of the locals around Carlo Point. May signals the beginning of some great fishing to be had in our waters. Pearl perch and coral trout seem to love this month, and in the past we have enjoyed a good run of snapper.

Brad with a pair of thumping spangled emperor and another one on in the background. • To enjoy a day on the water with Keely Rose Fishing Charters phone Ed Falconer

0407 146 151 or visit www. keelyrosefishingcharters .com.au.

The bay of plenty HERVEY BAY

Scott Bradley marlin81@bigpond.com

Finally the long hot summer has broken bringing some welcome relief from the heat. These

transitional months leading in to winter are a great time of year to be on the water with cooler conditions and a blend of summer and winter species on offer. IN THE BAY The channel markers and beacons are worth trying for

Tony Doggen proudly holds his first barra over a meter.

a wide range of pelagic and estuarine species. Fishing live baits and lures sub surface will tempt any mackerel and tuna in the area, while probing the depths a bit deeper will produce cobia, trevally, grunter and school jew. Our local reefs continue to produce good fishing with sweetlip, squire, blackall and cod being a regular catch at Bagimba, McKenzies, Moon Ledge and the Arty. ON THE FLATS You can expect the fishing to improve as the temperature drops and our bread and butter species prepare to spawn. Soft plastics in the 3-5” size range fit the bill nicely in what ever pattern works for you. 35-50mm hardbodies will improve bream catches and appeal to most species on the flats. Try contrasting colours, both natural and the

Tony Doggen caught this 110cm barra in the Mary River on his birthday. What a great way to celebrate. brighter oranges and pinks for best results. REWARD FOR EFFORT Living in Hervey Bay we have an amazing variety of fishing and fish species on offer. Sometimes in pursuit of a Holy Grail fish we jet off

to more exotic locations north instead of putting in the time locally. Tony Doggen a local angler had a bee in his bonnet to catch a meter long barra, and spent his birthday of all days casting lures in the Mary River when he came up tight

on something big. When the big fish burst out of the water he knew it would be close, and after a nervous fight he finally landed his Holy Grail. Congratulations Tony by the size of your grin I don’t think it won’t be your last!

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Earning our fish at present FRASER COAST

Phil James p_j_james@bigpond.com

These last months have seen the Fraser Coast experience a variety of weather conditions that haven’t always been kind to recreational fishing. On Fraser Island, almost wall-to-wall sou’ easters have made venturing out onto the ocean beaches something of an endurance test. There have been some short periods of relative calm where anglers have been able to get into a few good fish though. This is a period of the year where we don’t see a lot of seasonal variation, with the usual surf dwellers of dart, whiting, bream, and tarwhine featuring in most catches. This month we can expect more of the same except that bream and tarwhine should become more active. Still a few months short of the tailor season, it is reasonable to expect the odd patches of small chopper tailor. Many will be line-touchers barely making the 35cm limit. I don’t have much to report on the western beach. In the sou’easterly conditions that have dominated, this section often resembles a millpond, but during strong winds it can become difficult. The few anglers who have made the trip across the island

have reported catches of small whiting from the beach, and bream and flathead from the creek mouths. In Hervey Bay, the most significant influence has been the introduction of fresh water from the rivers and creeks — particularly the Mary River that was responsible for flooding of Gympie and minor flooding in Maryborough. There is nothing new about these flood events, with some years more significant than others. They are necessary for the continuing health of the neighbouring marine

to come as a result. Their main effect is to temporarily translocate populations of some species. In the northern parts of the bay where flood run-off is minimal, mac tuna, longtails, spotty and school mackerel are being taken, but not to the extent that they were over the New Year period. The hectic run of small marlin has subsided, but those who experienced the excitement are already gearing up for next season. In the last few columns we have been looking at species that are likely to

argued with some justification that rising sea temperatures might be making local waters more attractive to this favourite fish. Certainly there are many other examples of where traditionally northern species are becoming more established in southern waters. Coral trout are also likely captures using conventional methods and baits, but both trout and cod are responding well to a variety of artificials. My preference is for trolling along the reef ledges with suitable depth rated hardbodies. Just about all the

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be taken onHervey Bay’s shallow reefs. So far we have dealt with grass sweetlip (coral bream) and its relatives, blackall, the sea perches (Moses perch, stripey) and the tusk fishes (blueys, greasies). This month I will try to wrap the series up by looking at the cods and trouts, as well as few others, some of which might be unwelcome. Both estuary cod and coral trout are quite common over Hervey Bay reefs. The larger cod are more frequently taken along the deeper ledges and reef structures, including those between North and South Head at the mouth of the Mary River, the Channel Hole, Bogimbah and Moon ledges, and the Rufus Artificial. Over the shallows, a smaller class of fish is the norm and many are taken on conventional gear when targeting other species. There is general consensus that coral trout are becoming more common in Hervey Bay waters. This could be due to the activities of extra anglers with more productive methods and equipment. It can also be

reefs hold cod and trout. My preference for cod is working the eastern Woody Island ledges as far south as Jeffries Beach. For trout, the reefs north of Round Island and those fringing Point Vernon and Gatakers Bay seem to be most productive. Snapper can be quite plentiful over Hervey Bay’s shallow reefs, although the larger specimens are more likely to be taken on

Happy moments. Get stung by one of these and you’ll fail to see the happy side of the experience. November through to May, whereas snapper appear in better numbers between April and September. Locally known as reef rainbow, the barred-face spine cheek (Scolopsis monograma) often finds its way into reef catches. It does have a superficial resemblance to the bluefaced whiptail or rainbow. These make prize table fare. Although closely related to barramundi, the sand bass (Psammoperca waigiensis) does not achieve the same degree of greatness. Also known as reef barramundi, the sand bass is taken occasionally over Hervey Bay’s reefs and measures up to about 30cm. This is another worthy candidate for the pan. I need to mention a few species that do not necessarily find favour with anglers. A variety of sharks, some with big teeth, others without, can turn a good fishing trip into a not so good one. As well as captured fish being taken or damaged, the smaller sharks demand time in careful handling before returning them to the water. Of course, ex- Victorians don’t mind taking a school shark home for the cook. On the reefs of Hervey

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known as happy moments, they can be in plague proportions over most of the reefs. Every spine of their abundant fins are capable of inflicting a particularly nasty sting. It is often said that you only get stung once, as you never allow the possibility of it happening a second time. It is quite common to anchor up at a favourite spot and take 1 or 2 good fish before hordes of happy moments turn up to destroy just about any offering, even plastics. The only option then is to move. They seem to be particularly active in the late afternoon and early mornings. Fortunately, they usually become inactive after dusk. I once tried eating some cooked fillets and found them acceptable, although quite bland. I recall a trip to Hong Kong where a huge basket of live happy moments was emptied onto a street market floor, to be snapped up by eager buyers almost diving into the writhing mass to secure their purchases. I never did find out how they did it. Finally, the last on my own personal nasty list is the giant salmon catfish

Like a barramundi project that ran out of funding — the sand bass. the deeper bay reefs. For most reef species, the top months are those with higher water temperatures, from

Bay, the winner of the most unpopular award, by a huge margin, goes to the black spinefoot (Siganus

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(Arius thalassinus), which can take over a potentially enjoyable reef outing. They are exceptionally hard fighters and cause havoc with the usual reef fishing equipment. Once defeated, they are difficult to handle because of the dangerous serrated dorsal and pectoral spines, as well as the slime that is often left clinging to the terminal gear. The good news is that they have not appeared this year after the plague season of 2014.

Bundy bonanza on the Burnett BUNDABERG

Jason Medcalf topwater@bigpond.com

What a great time of the year May is it’s one of my favourite months. May produces cool mornings and warm days and the fish start moving around getting ready for the cooler months of the year. The Burnett River has still been producing some great fishing with just about everyone I have talked to that has been fishing the Burnett catching a feed. Tim from Tackleworld Bundaberg reports that there has been some excellent whiting and flathead being caught across the sand flats and some big bream and grunter being caught around the rocks. If you want to get a weekly update on the fishing locally just like the Tackleworld Facebook page and you can read their report on what’s happening around Bundaberg. BARRA AND JACKS For those guys into barra and jacks it’s time to get into them before the cooler water starts to slow them down. The deeper holes in the Burnett River

Young Nick Kenny with a cracking bream from the Burnett River. are still producing barra and jacks, with baitfish styled soft plastics doing the job. As the water cools you will find some of these fish moving into the shallows to hunt and by keeping an eye out for the warmest water you will put yourself in contention to catch one of these warm shallow water roaming fish. The Elliott River has also been producing some nice whiting and crabs,

which really does make for an excellent Sunday afternoon barbecue. The whiting have been falling for lightly weighted fresh yabbies drifted around the sand bars around the mouth of the river on the incoming tide. This should continue throughout May so get out there and give them a go. Lure anglers have been getting into some nice mangrove jack right up the tops of the creek,

and the Elliott River will keep producing these fish in May, but you will need to be right up the creek and fishing the last of the tide. While up there make sure you drop the pots in as the crabs have been really on the move of late. HEADING OFFSHORE The weather in May can really turn it on which should give the offshore anglers an excellent chance to get into some early season mackerel. There have been a few shows of mackerel lately, but the big guys have been few and far between. This should change as we move through this month, and by the time we get to the full moon in June they should be in full swing. The many small inshore rubble grounds have been producing big grunter and even a few nice sweetlip. Fishing light gear like a 3-4 kg spin outfit, with 10lb braid, and a 15-20lb leader will help you pick up these finicky eaters. You may lose the odd really big one but you will get way more bites on the lighter gear. If you want to try fishing plastics on these little rubble grounds I have found the new Gulp

The smile says it all. A very chuffed angler with a fine looking trevally. Nemesis pretty good. With a long fish attracting tail and that enticing Gulp taste they’re a plastic that really catch the fish. BOOMER BASS The big bass of Lake Gregory will really start hunting hard on the surface this month as they start to put on some weight prior

to winter. I love the walk the dog style of surface lure on these bass, but I have also some great sessions on small cup faced poppers as well. You will have to be out there on the water before the sun rises to get the bigger bass to bite though. Enjoy May, it’s a great month for being on the water.

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Monduran’s big barra are coming out to play! LAKE MONDURAN

Rob Howell

Typically April and May are cracking months to catch Monduran barra, the water temperature cools by a few degrees and the barra get active. Last month’s results are testimony to this fact, anglers’ reports, and my own first-hand experiences, have seen fish of around 90cm to that magic metre mark being caught, with a few good bust-ups in between. The water temperatures over the next couple of

months will fluctuate between tops around 26-28ºC and bottoms of 22-23ºC. With winter on the approach, the barra will feed more aggressively. They do this to build up much needed fat stores to last them through the colder months. They will also haunt the shallows for a longer time period through the day. This makes it more comfortable for anglers as we can spend more time doing what we love most without putting up with the heat. Lures that have been working well are the Jackall Squirrel, Jackall

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Troy Watson with a 98cm barra. So close to the magic metre mark! Smash Minnow in the pink-eye suji, and boney colours, Maria MJ Twitch jerk bait and Lucky Craft Pointers. Soft plastics that have also worked well are the Zerek 5” Flat Shad and Squidgy Slick Rig 110. It’s also a good idea to have a range of surface lures at hand for early morning sunrise and late evening opportunities. Equally important is line class. I encourage anglers that visit us to use nothing less than 30-40lb mainline braid and nothing less than 60-80lb leader. This conclusion comes from having fished this dam constantly, over the last decade. The barra are getting bigger, more feisty and when hooked we don’t always have the luxury of fighting those fish in open country. More often than

Dale Smith with a 1m barra. They will start feeding more aggressively in May to store up for winter.

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Brad from the Gold Coast with a 94cm barra. Anglers should use nothing less than 30-40lb mainline braid and 60-80lb leader. The barra are getting bigger and feistier, you don’t want to bust up in those snags. not, this is on the contrary. There is nothing worse than losing fish to bust-ups

because your line is too light. Having heavier line will not deter barra from

striking your lure, but will only increase your chances of boating that fish.

CYCLONE MARCIA SCRAPES BY! It seems there has been some speculation on whether we have or haven’t lost barra over the spillway in the wake of Cyclone Marcia. I’m relieved to say that few barramundi have passed over the wall at Monduran, if any at all. Traditionally when the dam spills, the carnage down below is clearly visable. The lake’s height rose a couple of metres from 90% during the rain event and then stopped rising at about 6-8” over the spillway. Even though there where fish sitting in front of the water flow, there was barely enough height, to allow them to leave. In conclusion, there are still plenty of barra, only growing bigger in Monduran. For first-hand information please contact us at Lake Monduran Holiday Park on 1800 228 754 or 07 4157 3881. Or find us on Facebook Lake Monduran Guidelines Fishing Charters.

Fishing Fill-its

Prawn farming research project A Queensland Department of A g r i c u l t u re and Fisheries research project is demonstrating how prawns and worms can be grown in the same integrated system, leading to increased productivity and better waste management. The two-year Polybridge research project, co-funded by the National Government’s Landcare Programme and DAF, is testing the concept of fully recirculating pond water from intensive prawn culture ponds through polychaete-assisted sand filters (PASF) to create sustainable supplies of prawns and marine worms. Agri-Science Qld Senior Biologist Dr Paul Palmer announced the successful production of a second crop of black tiger prawns and marine worms using the PASF system. “The project has recently successfully produced its second crop of black tiger prawns and marine worms on a semicommercial scale, without water discharge from the system,” Dr Palmer said.

“This provides some very encouraging results for consideration by industry. “The integrated system uses constructed sand beds stocked with marine worms to filter and recirculate treated-prawnpond wastewater. “This treatment removes nutrients and

provides a range of operationally desirable effects. It helps to stabilise water qualities within the prawn ponds and allows the farm to operate without regular contact with adjacent natural waters. “This improves on-farm biosecurity and can help to avoid problems during

floods when rivers carry unacceptable levels of silt and freshwater. “The system also provides a valuable by-product in the form of marine worms that can later be harvested from the sand filters. “Prawn hatcheries use the cleansed worms

as feed to improve the quality of their broodstock and they are also finding particular favour in the live bait industry. “Presently, the prawn farming industry uses settlement ponds to treat its wastewater and this latest development offers improvements to

this process. “It also offers sustainable methods for the widespread industrial production of valuable marine worms into the future.” For more information on the Polybridge Project, visit www.daff.qld. gov.au – DAF

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Expect the mack attack to improve YEPPOON

Scott Lynch ifishcq2@bigpond.com

Whiting are now on anglers’ hit list for the next few months. They start schooling around the delta of The Fitzroy, all the creek mouths and the bays. Rundles and Long Beach at Joskeleigh are very good spots and in recent times there have been some quality catches here, where guys have walked away with a bag full leaving them on the chew. The main beach at Keppel Sands is well worth a shot on the incoming tide. The Coorooman Creek delta is filled with sand banks with lots of channels between them where the large schools of whiting patrol picking off yabbies and small crabs carried out with the tide. Some of the best whiting fishing in the area is around these banks. One of the time-proven method to locate them is to drift over the banks and keep changing lines until you get bites. Whiting will come to fresh berley so there is always the option of drawing them to you. Kinka, Mulambin, Lammermoor, Farnborough, Nine Mile and Five Rocks beaches are all decent whiting beaches. If you really want to get the big fellas, Three Rivers Beach is the go (providing it is open). From Farnborough Beach north we get beach worms and, of course, they are the pick of the baits up the beach. Although, yabbies work anywhere and small prawn pieces are a fine back up. The other tip is to fish close to the beach particularly on the incoming tide. Whiting are always at the leading edge of the tide and the majority of fishers who miss out are usually fishing past the area where the fish are working.

BARRA Barramundi in cold weather is something that many guys think is just too hard, it isn’t. Barra still need to eat in the cold and at times, the chase can be very rewarding, particularly on those days that are a little warmer. Usually as the water cools down, the bigger barra move from the estuaries in to a more even temperature zone around the headlands and bays. Any of our local headlands and the harbour walls can hold barramundi over winter. In previous years we have caught fish around the rocks at Connors Creek while dressed like Eskimos in jackets and beanies. The blokes right up north just shake their heads in disbelief. The barra aren’t always very active and sometimes it takes a few casts to get them

to hit a lure. Quite often the strike is more like a push as they try to get rid of an annoying pest. BREAM This is the time of year that all the big bream school

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Corio Heads, Double Heads, Ironpot, Rita Mada, Quartz Rock, The Pinnacles, Cape Manifold, Double Rocks and Cape Capricorn are the most popular of the spots. Some of the deeper holes in the Stanage Bay inlet or the mouth of the river can produce black jew whenever the current slows down enough to fish them, but still has some movement. The window of opportunity is quite small as a rule. These big guys gather for spawning around the moon phases. Four days before to four days after the moon are the pick times. They move into a spot like The Corio Heads jew hole and as soon as the moon peeks over the horizon they come on the chew like a switch was set. The guys who fish for black jew will often

Jake Robertson with his first ever Spanish mackerel.

BAIT-ICE-TACKLE

MAY 2015

up in the estuaries and the river delta region. The start of May is about when they head down to the river mouth for spawning. We have healthy populations of yellowfin, silver and pikey bream. The larger pikey bream are mainly a solitary fish for much of the year staking out their territory, which can be a single mangrove stand. They are very aggressive when a small lure passes in close to them but will spook easily if you plonk the lure in with too much noise. Oyster rocks, mangroves and structures will hold the bigger bream while the schools of mid-sized fish are patrolling the leading edge of the tides up into small bays looking for soldier crabs and yabbies. All the headlands from the river north will have solid populations of

snodger bream. Rosslyn Bay Harbour, Coorooman Creek, The Causeway Lake, Corio Bay, Water Park Creek, Ross Creek, Port Alma are all very popular for the bream crew. All these spots are easily accessible with boat ramps nearby or plenty of land-based options. Berley is a sure way of attracting bream, particularly if you are bait fishing. Some of the local bream guns will place an onion bag with fish scraps at their chosen location and head away to set the crab pots before coming back to crack a few bream. Yabbies, beachworms, pipis, oysters, fresh flesh bait and mullet gut are all very good bream baits. From now on, anytime the wind drops enough to let us get out, there is a chance of landing a huge black jew. We have so many great spots that all can produce large black jew over the cooler months.

Bill Weder with a cool water barra. They are harder to catch in the cooler months, but are still a viable option. launch their little tinnies from the beach closest to the hole. When the jew are thick there can be stacks of boats jockeying for the best positions along the northern wall or against the southern bommies. We have a practice of only taking a few black jew before leaving. As a sports fish they go very hard in the shallow water and they do taste okay if treated correctly. My preference is to stop fishing after we catch a feed instead of further catch and release because they don’t seem to recover well. Squid, pilchards and fresh flesh baits such as mullet, bonito or ribbonfish are the best. You can use either a snapper type rig or a number ten ball running

Quin Warren caught this fine creek flathead.

down to 6/0 plus sized hooks. I have tried using big plastics this year and my success rate is well down compared to bait fishing. However, some of the other fishers have been doing well on the larger Thready Buster style vibes. MACKEREL Grey mackerel have come back again in some quantity. These days they have on and off years and it is hard to know what they are doing until they arrive. The guys fishing the spots out from Emu Park have had a couple of early runs when the weather played its part. The greys should come on as the bay conditions ease and the fresh flows have slowed giving it a chance to clear up between blows. Greys or broad-barred look like a deeper bodied doggy mackerel (school mackerel) with a similar black front dorsal and faint bars instead of the telltale doggy splotches that also help separate them. Rosslyn Bay Harbour outside wall, Farnborough Reef, Bangalee, Ironpot, Rita Mada, Corio Heads, Quartz Rock, The Barge and Findlays Reef are the prime mackerel spots inside the bay. As we move towards winter we can expect doggies and Spanish with the odd run of spotties around the local area. The past few weeks has shown an early run of unexpected snapper. They have passed through some of the rubble patches at the back of the islands and there have been a couple taken inside the bay at Forty Acre and Ross Reef. Usually they show about mid June when the water temps are moving down a little. That could mean we are in for a bumper season by our standards.

Getting back on track ROCKHAMPTON

Clayton Nicholls clay94_fishing@live.com.au

The rain and cooler nights have worked wonders for many species in the region, with bait in abundance and plenty of predators in pursuit. It’s good to see plenty of people getting out and having a fish, and the region as a whole getting over the affects of cyclone Marcia. This month’s report will cover the fantastic crabbing the river is offering, along with the bread and butter species around the creeks and some inshore pelagic species just out of the mouth of the port The recent rain has created a massive run off in the freshwater areas and has produced some great fishing as a result. People have been catching some very large barramundi and tarpon in the lagoons and creeks on the flood plains, but the most common size has been around the 60cm mark. The influx of water has produced a spike in food courtesy of all the small aquatic animals and bugs coming off the flood plain making the lagoons and creeks full of healthy baitfish, and happy hunting ground for hungry fish.. The port and river mouth has been fishing well with many of the bigger fish moving to this location from the recent flooding. The islands just out from the mouth have been fishing extremely well with lots of bait in the area. Trolling for

mackerel with baits can be made easy with a chin guard fitted to the bait. The weight keeps the bait straight and sinks it down into the water, and a slow speed will allow the bait to swim. Positioning the ganged bait on the back of the hooks also allows for optimum hook-up. As far as baiting for the region’s most iconic fish, the barramundi, a cast net is an easy tool to productively gather the baits required, in this case the prawns and mullets that reside on the flats and along banks of the river. A simple running rig for both baits is an easy way to set up; sinker, swivel, leader, and 6/0 circle hook. The optimum

sinker size is one that’s just large enough that the current flow will move it very slowly, letting the bait cover ground. Whenhooking the baits, pin the mullet through the shoulders, and the prawn through the back section of the tail. This will give both baits the most amount of movement. On the lure side of things for barra there have been many caught by anglers trolling vibrant coloured lures (yellow and chartreuse) in 6-8’ of water. The best lures have been those that dive between two and five feet. Lures are best positioned 20-30 metres behind the boat, and trolled at around 2 knots. In the next few months

Connor from CQ Fishing and Boating nailed this cracker bream on an Atomic Bream Shad. once the river calms down and the freshwater influx subsides the river will be fishing well with standard techniques fished around the rocks and drop offs go-tos to catch fish. For anglers in the fresh the key areas to target will be the shadows and overhangs, instead of the pressure

points and back eddies that have dominated for the last few months. The mud crabs have certainly been kicked into gear with all the stuff coming down in the freshwater run-off. Many pots have been coming up winners with little to no females and some of the

big bucks. Reef fish frames have been doing the trick, while pots dropped adjacent to creeks and areas of inflow have produced the better hauls. Generally the pots are best put in a straight run with 20-30 metres between them. Remember fish light to get the bite.

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MAY 2015

Change for the better MACKAY

Keith Day habdays@bigpond.net.au

Well as the song goes, it is certainly time for a cool, cool change. After a very hot but surprisingly dry summer (for Mackay), the autumn weather has finally arrived. Unfortunately, we haven’t had our traditional wet season, but there has been enough rain to put a number of flushes through the creek systems and this has kept the fishing at a high standard. As I compile this report, the nights are cooling off and in a sure sign that the change is here, on the last full moon there were quite a number of large black jew caught. These will be a popular target for the big fish enthusiasts over the next couple of months. Best close areas to seek them out include the harbour rock walls, and just inside the harbour itself adjacent to the north wall. Target these fish around the full moon using fresh whole squid, big fish fillets of mullet or similar, and of course small live baits will always attract attention. As there is usually quite a few boats in a small

area, use fairly heavy gear as this is not the place for ultra light stuff. There is nothing worse than having a number of lines tangled when a big fish makes that first powerhouse run. They can also be found further offshore around the overfall rocks near Prudhoe Island, and the same general techniques are used there. That is, big baits on the bottom and fairly heavy gear, although being so far offshore, the number of boats is usually limited, so heavyduty spin or overhead gear can be used. Closer inshore, a favourite spot is at Newry Island off Seaforth at Pine Point. Again, this is not as popular as the harbour, as it involves a boat trip back into Seaforth in the dark and if you miss the channel markers it would be no fun sitting on the mud for hours waiting for the tide. Use the same baits as previously mentioned, and large green prawns are also effective. There is still enough barra activity around to keep those anglers happy, although as we move further into winter they will be harder to find and entice to hit a lure. There has been a surprising

run of smaller barra right up the top ends of the saltwater creeks, with plenty of small jacks also. One area that the barra anglers should not ignore is the freshwater reaches of the Pioneer River above the weirs. This little-fished barra spot can really fire in winter, as the shallow water heats up pretty quickly. On a recent weekend home from Brisbane, our son Lachlan received a great surprise while chasing sooties on a #6wt fly rod, when a 60cm barra smacked the fly in shallow water and gave him a good workout. The fish was revived and swam off strongly, leaving us both with a great memory of a great fish in a top spot. They don’t have to be huge to be memorable! The barra will start to go quiet in the dams, so it’s time to reflect on how the impoundments have produced over the summer. Kinchant has been the most reliable destination and the number and size of big barra that continue to be caught here is amazing. I recommend that anyone looking to land a mega size fish make their way to Kinchant around the full moon and hang on, as

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Big queenies are an impressive fish and specimens like this that Andre Weeks caught on a soft plastic stickbait jigged in deep water are great fun. these fish sure have some pulling power. During the cooler months from here on in, look for barra right up in the shallows. If you can score a few days of northerly winds, then use them, as they heat the water only a few degrees, but it is often enough to get the barra mobile. My favourite, Teemburra Dam, has been really hit and miss over the summer. It is still at almost 100 per cent capacity and the fish are definitely there, but they don’t always want to co-operate. I guess this is 1 of the things that keeps us coming back, as we try to nut out the right approach! This year MAFSA has stocked mainly larger barra, and 1,400 around the 400-450mm mark were released in late in March. These were being hooked on lures within a fortnight, which is good news. Further stockings will occur early this coming summer to take better advantage of growth rates during the hotter weather. Eungella Dam, as always, is primarily a sooty fishery and it has been fishing well around the old quarry and the weed beds in the timber further up. The barra caught here are usually an incidental catch, but there are some 140cm plus fish in the dam, as it has been stocked by MAFSA for around 20 years. By the time this edition hits the stands, the sooty stocks for all the dams will have been boosted by the fingerlings spawned and raised in MAFSA’s hatchery. The hatchery improvements and monitoring equipment have already paid off, with at last count approximately 70,000 fingerlings in the tanks. A great effort. In the saltwater, there is a change in the commonly caught species as the weather cools off. Barra and other summer targets are obviously still around, but they take a fair bit of effort to hook and land. Queenfish will be moving into the creeks and estuaries. Small queenies are great fun to catch and

although they are a bit on the dry side, they make a nice curry. Some huge queenies well over 1m long will be in and around the creeks and a real hotspot on the making tide in the Pioneer River is up around the old hospital bridge site. There is a fishing platform there for shorebased anglers and many a good fish gets landed. Queenies are a great sportfish, as they will respond to live and cut baits, lures, including poppers, and flies. Poppers or surface flies are my favourite way of catching them. Queenies

the close inshore islands. Provided goldens are well bled and iced down, they provide good white fleshed fillets that are just ace on a barbecue. Best baits for these species include whole small squid, fish fillets and large green prawns. Soft plastics and metal jigs also account for plenty. For the bred and butter species chaser, the whiting are in and around the creeks, but on bigger tides look for them along the beaches. Yabbies remain the most popular bait for these tasty little fighters. Don’t

Fly rod fun for Lachlan Day, with a neat 50cm trevally caught working a yellow and white Clouser around the rugged rocks at Rabbit Island. don’t only work the surface either, as they can be taken on jigs or heavy plastics in deeper water around the islands. Pine Point at Newry Island is a good spot to chase queenfish, as the deep water and the tidal currents flowing around the island bring schools of herring and small gar into the area and the predators follow. Other species worth chasing during the cooler months include the trevally family, and the migrating snapper that usually start to arrive during May. Often, snapper and goldens are found together around

be surprised when chasing whiting along the beaches to hook other species like swallowtail dart and trevally. Bream will be on the move to spawn later in the winter and pikies are great fun to chase as they like to hang in cover. They can be sight cast to with lures or flies, as they are seen patrolling in and around the bases of the mangroves. Lure anglers will often catch archerfish when chasing bream in under the mangrove canopy, as these little fellas like to smack insects that fall out of the canopy and will readily hit a small lure or fly.

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Over the past month we have seen Stanage produce some of the biggest muddies and fingermark that is has for a very long time. Long Island is renowned for its monster muddies and barramundi at this time of year and isn’t disappointing. We sell and recommend good quality pro pots for those looking to crabbing, and when it comes to the bait to put in them fresh is definitely the best. With the weather beginning to cool the type of fish that you’re likely to catch in the estuaries, around the islands and on the reefs will vary immensely. As this change takes hold be prepared to make changes in your tackle selection, particularly in your rigs and where you fish. Grunter, bream and cod are still popular with anglers fishing from the shore at Porters Creek or up the creeks. The reef and islands have been kind to anglers with some fishermen catching their limits. A big thankyou to

Dan for the beautiful grass sweetlip that he gave me, it was very much appreciated. The sharks are still happy being lazy and feasting on the hooked red emperor, coral trout, nannygai and grassy sweetlip. Some fishermen have been so disappointed with the huge number of sharks taking their catches

that they have pulled up their lines and simply come back to port. The road into Stanage Bay has not improved for the better, and is still littered with pot holes and corrugation, particularly the run up to The Grids. So be careful, don’t be in a hurry, and simply, take your time. A hint for all travellers

The reefs are still producing with many anglers catching their limits. Keeping hooked fish away from the sharks however, is proving a challenge for many anglers.

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Top: Barra are still on the menu as we head into the cooler months. Above: Big golden snapper have come out to play in recent months.

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Beyond barra: the top five northern bucket list CAIRNS

Dan Kaggelis dkaggelis@gmail.com

When anglers think of North Queensland, iconic species such as barramundi and mangrove jacks immediately spring to mind and rightly so as both fish are deserving of their ‘bucket list’ species status. However, there is far more to fishing in the great north of our state than barra and jacks as there are many just as worthy target species which deserve just as much angling attention. The following are five fish species that would have to be right up there in terms of a true North Queensland angler’s bucket list, and each are without a doubt worth your attention if you ever get the chance to wet a line in this amazing part of our state. GOLDEN SNAPPER This fish probably has the worst identify crisis due to varying names that it is given, the most common names given are, chopper, fingermark and big scale red. The golden snapper is such an awesome fish to target for the very reason they are like a monster truck version of a mangrove jack. They know how to pull plenty of string and will bury you in structure just like their red cousins, And when you have a big one on you will certainly have a bend in your back. These fish are suckers for soft plastics and can be caught using the same techniques and plastics employed for snapper down south. The biggest difference is that golden’s prefer to feed

MAY 2015

on the bottom, so make sure your plastic is being fished in the bottom third of the water column. Golden snapper love isolated rubble structure often not far away from land, and they are certainly an inshore species that can be targeted out of small boats with relative ease. They can also be targeted on live baits such as squid or herring, but you will be lucky to get one on frozen bait, so stick with the fresh stuff. When targeting golden snapper a 4000 size spin reel matched with a 6-10kg rod loaded with 20lb braid and 30lb fluorocarbon is a good start. This will have you in the game for most fish however if you hook a big one you will need a bit of luck as well. Having a top notch leader is a must for these fish as they are very finicky yet

best looking and best tasting fish in the sea. The bag limit on golden snapper is 5 per person, with a minimum size of 35cm.

BLACK JEW Whilst the reputation of their southern cousin the mulloway is well known, the black jew is one fish which commonly flies under the radar. I’m not sure why as in my opinion they fight harder than their southern cousin and taste just as good, if not better. The black jew looks very similar to the mulloway except that when they die they tend to go a darker black colour. They can be caught in deep holes in big river systems right through to semi offshore grounds, and are commonly snared when chasing golden snapper. Black jew can grow to mammoth sizes and fish over 120cm are not uncommon, however they are more commonly caught around 80cm. When you hook one this size it is like being attached to a freight train, and

Top Left: GT love the reef so make sure you have some heavy gear to get them away from it. Top Right: If you are after some serious heavy tackle top water action in the north then the GT is the fish to be chasing. Middle: Golden snapper are one of the north’s best fish to eat and catch, and deserve their spot right next to barra and jacks as a bucket list fish. Above: JPs love surface lures and for that reason they are fun to target.

they pull all the way to the boat. Unlike golden snapper, black jew are not dirty fighters and tend to not bury you in the bottom, so you don’t need to go too big on the gear. A similar outfit as the one described above with a little heavier line and leader will suffice. Once again a good quality leader is a must as black jew have small fine teeth which can wear through a soft leader, so the FC100 is once again your best choice. Black jew also love big soft plastics, especially big fish paddle tail patterns or grubs, and they also prefer them to be fished close to the bottom. One important note about black jew, they do not release well in water deeper than 8m, so they are best kept when caught if over legal size of 75cm. If you get onto a patch of black jew and they are undersize it is best to leave

Jungle perch are a top fish and a must catch when visiting the north. as it is high quality, stealthy and most importantly can take a tonne of punishment. The final word on golden snapper is they are one of the

equally demanding on tackle, especially your leader, so you’ll need a leader that is super strong and can take the pressure of big lunging runs and being torn through the reef. When chasing Golden Snapper, Sunline FC100 fluorocarbon is my choice

them be as you will probably end up killing everything you catch. Black jew taste fantastic, but can get tough once they go over the metre mark. Once again legal size is 75cm, while the bag limit is two fish per person. BLUE SPOT CORAL TROUT Coral trout are becoming quite a common capture from north to south these days, but the blue spot coral trout is a little different to the common and bar cheek models that most people are familiar with. The blue spot is the bad-ass brother of the coral trout family due to their sheer aggressiveness and violent behaviour. To put this in perspective there is nothing better a blue spot likes to eat then another coral trout, and their cannibalistic behaviour has earned it a hated reputation amongst pro trout fishermen in the north. Growing to well over a metre in length the blue spot trout can be identified mostly by its large round blue spots and its non-transparent pectoral fins. They can sometimes be yellow in colour (known as a footballer) or have distinct bands across their body. Blue spots are mostly outer reef dwellers and love to cruise the edges or big isolated bombies. What makes them such an awesome bucket list fish is the fact they love a big blooping popper and will rise from the deepest depths to inhale anything that makes plenty of noise. This is because they are seriously territorial and will maul anything that disturbs their home. When targeting blue spots you will need plenty of grunt in both reel and rod so a reel around the 5500 mark with a strong drag is a must. Your rod also needs plenty of lowdown torque as like all trout they love to head straight back to the reef. Braided lines 50lb and heavier and 80lb leaders are a must as you need that stopping power. Due to their cannibalistic behaviour blue spot trout are heavily susceptible to ciguatera so they are best released. You can legally take fish between 50 and 80cm, but at your own risk GIANT TREVALLY If you are after a truly backbreaking experience then the GT is a must. Found around inshore headlands, islands and outer reef, the north of Queensland is littered with big GT, and they love a big surface lure or jig. There is little that pulls as hard as the GT and they are truly magnificent sportfish. It is not hard to find GT structure in the north as there are so many islands and reef edges, often no further than a couple of kilometres offshore. When looking for the best GT grounds look for edges of headlands, islands and reef that have deep water drop offs (the

The corners of islands which include sweeping current and baitfish on the surface are perfect GT spots. deeper the water the bigger the GT usually) and plenty of current. GT love current as this attracts the baitfish and the presence of baitfish on the surface or sounder is a big plus. GT love to hunt during low light times as well, and when the tidal run is at its greatest. The bigger the popper or stick bait the bigger the GT, but always try and match the hatch if you can see the bait. GT really do require heavy gear to stop them, and upgrading your line strength and leader in just like the blue spot coral trout mentioned above will get the job done. GT are a pure sportfish and are not good on the plate and should be released at all times. JUNGLE PERCH The jungle perch or JP is more commonly found from Innisfail north, and whilst they have an almost mystical reputation they are more

common than most people realise. In fact most clear running streams north of the areas discussed above have big numbers of JP. It can be as easy as keeping an eye out for suitable water as you’re driving along the Bruce Highway. JPs are commonly caught between 25 and 35cm, with a fish over

40cm considered quality, and anything over 50cm is a trophy. JPs love surface lures and will rise in packs to inhale anything floating. My favourite all time JP lure would have to be the Lucky Craft Sammy as its tight walking action never fails to entice a fish. JP will live in

Above Left: Blue spot coral trout grow to massive proportions and are a top sportfish and fish to target if visiting the northern outer reefs. Above Right: When travelling to the north a good selection of rods and reels is ideal to target these North Queensland bucket list fish. Top: The business end of a big GT. These fish grow to over 50kg and fish this size are not uncommon in northern Queensland waters.

water less than a foot deep, so you don’t need to find big deep pools all the time. JPs are best targeted on foot and light spinning gear (preferably shorter rods as it can be tight casting) with the 4lb braid and 6lb leader is a good option. There is no need for expensive rods or reels in this scenario, and you really want something that is tough as your gear will cop plenty of punishment walking up streams and through the rainforest. The water you will be fishing is extremely clear so a strong, yet invisible fluorocarbon is a must. I prefer to use Sunline Rock Bite or Sniper as it can take the punishment over the rocks, but is incredibly thin and invisible. JP will live in packs but once you hook one fish from the pool they shut down quickly. Therefore it is best to move onto the next pool. JP can be taken to eat and a legal limit of 1 fish below 35cm is allowed, however they are best released. HEAD NORTH Next time you are heading north and planning on doing a spot of fishing, why not try something different from the usual barramundi or mangrove jack. There’s plenty of alternatives to choose from, and once your give them a go you’ll understand why anglers look further afield and target more than just the big two, barra and jack.

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Cool weather catches WHITSUNDAYS

Luke Griffiths

The Easter break was a busy period for many, both on and off the water. We saw a lot of people out on the blue enjoying the beautiful weather, and with all the extra boats out fishing it did make for some busy traffic on a lot of the popular fishing locations. Courtesy is a word that comes to mind during these busy periods. Always be courteous of fellow boaties already fishing a mark. It won’t kill you to jump on

the VHF and ask before you anchor up right on their back doorstep. Courtesy goes a long way, and most people will appreciate your thoughtful gesture. THE SPANISH ARE COMING As mentioned last month we have been seeing great numbers of Spanish mackerel about and this should continue in the coming months. The standard techniques work on these guys, including trolling lures, swim baits, floating livebaits, and jigging artificials. Artificial fishing is proving more and more popular these

days and we have been great believers of this technique, and we have been challenging ourselves and our guests with this approach with great result. Plastics, metals slugs and a variety of lures have been used. GETTING JIGGY A popular choice for our reef species has been the Shimano Lucanus jig. This is an excellent small squid-like jig that the fish absolute love and can be used by tying it directing onto your leader, or rigged drop shot style in deep water or fast current locations where more

Skipper Luke with a tasty coral trout, which fell to a soft plastic.

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weight is required. Not too much action is needed with this jig, as we have found gentle lifts provide the best hook ups. Even the lift and drop of the boat on the water’s surface can be enough movement to make this lure work. Blue colour has been working well, although various other colours are also very productive. Don’t be discouraged by the small

Renegade crewman Tom with a black jew caught on a Shimano Lucanus jig. hooks on it, as they are very strong and very capable of handling big fish. A variety of species have been caught on artificials including Spanish mackerel, cobia, coral trout, long nose emperor, golden snapper, nannygai, red emperor, cod, and black jew. Next time you plan a fishing trip, pick up a couple and give this technique a crack and see how you go. It may not produce massive numbers of fish the first time you try them, however practise makes perfect and you will be landing great fish with out getting your hands, or boat dirty from messing with bait. ISLAND TIME The islands have been fishing insanely well of late and will continue to do so this month. Coral trout have been biting well with good numbers being pulled from the fringing reefs around the islands. Sweetlip and nannygai have also been biting well in these same areas. The wider reefs and

shoals have also been producing fantastic numbers of red throat emperor and coral trout. So if the weather permits, taking the time to travel a little further afield will often pay off. Look for the building moon phases when heading out for a fish as this will generally produce better fishing. Of course always make sure all your safety equipment is up to date and your boat is in good working order if you intend on travelling out

that far as you are a long way from help. Things can turn ugly very fast out there so always be prepared, and make sure you’re a member of your local VMR. Good luck if you are heading out on the water this month, and remember catching a fish is a bonus! • If you’re interested in a game, sport or reef fishing charters around the Whitsundays, give Luke a call on 0429 724 822 or email info@ renegadecharters.com.au.

Deckie Tom with a welcomed long nose emperor fooled by a Lucanus jig.

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Renegade deckie Kye holding an impressive goldspot cod lured by a lumo coloured Lucanus jig.

Visitors score well AYR

Steve Farmer

Stocks of green Flatz Rat lures took a hammering throughout the Burdekin recently when a bunch of Gympie fishers hit town on their annual fishing getaway. NORTHERN EXPOSURE Local host, Steve McAuliffe, said the southerners fished almost exclusively with the deepdivers, adding that the most popular model was the one which dived to 10ft. The visiting trio consisted of Russell McAuliffe and father and son team Phil and Brad Morsch. This is the fifth year they’ve headed north to spend a week fishing the Burdekin region. While they are usually based at Mac’s Hut at Plantation Creek, they’re happy to range across the district’s estuaries, as well as offshore waters. They started their most recent visit with a trip to Morinda Shoals aboard Steve’s reef boat where they started their trip with a modest catch of cobia, coral trout and sweetlip.

Their next trip saw them visit creeks of Bowling Green Bay. They split into two teams (Phil had towed his 4.1m tinnie and 30hp Yamaha from Gympie) and it was here that they gave the green Flatz Rats a fair flogging. The final score was a number of mangrove jack in the 45-48cm range, as well as two barra around 65cm. GOING BOWLING With a rising wind limiting their fishing options in Bowling Green Bay it was back to Plantation Creek where they continued flicking Flatz Rats at the mangroves. Despite the brisk breeze they still accounted for their share of jacks and also managed to find the time to round up a feed of prawns and crabs to complete their seafood smorgasbord. Sure sounds like they were doing it tough. Next on the agenda was a day flicking lures in Hell Hole Creek and the Burdekin River. Steve showed the visitors how it was done here, taking the first seven strikes before they could get their act together. Fortunately they all ended the day with a

few jacks to their credit and Brad even scored his first barra. A 63cm fish taken, of course, on a green Flatz Rat. Despite providing five years of exciting fishing, Steve said the Burdekin might get the flick as their fishing destination next year, with the southerners full of talk about a Gulf trip instead. I hope there is a good stock of green Flatz Rats wherever they’re heading. JACK ATTACK Actually you don’t have to be a visiting southerner to score well on the mangrove jack at the moment, with plenty of locals catching the red thugs on both lures and baits. A making tide is generally the preferred time to be chasing jacks, with the experts suggesting you start fishing as soon as there is water in the snags and you can move about in the creek. Once the tide floods over the lower mangrove banks and through the roots it’s almost impossible to tempt a jack in the main creek. Golden Snapper, the other sought-after red fish in the estuaries, is also still on the bite. Usually by now flood waters have generally flushed them out of the

Gympie visitor Brad Morsch used a green Flatz Rat to lure up this jack. creeks and into inshore waters, but the lack of a wet season seems to have been a bonus for creek fishers. BREAD AND BUTTER Whiting have also moved into local estuaries and beaches and by the time you read this the cooling weather temperatures should have them well on the bite. Flathead have been a bit patchy over the last month with mainly smaller

fish attacking lures worked across the flats. Larger specimens should move into the estuaries as the temperatures drop. The last month has seen pelagic species such as cobia, queenfish and trevally providing a little sport for anglers fishing the inshore waters. Baits under floats, cast poppers and trolled minnows have all produced results.

Dean & Carla Grieve 

MAY MAYHEM Burdekin bluewater fishers will be hoping May produces the first run of Spanish mackerel for the season. The early schools are often made up of smaller than average Spaniards, but they’re still well worth catching. Hotspots will be the Alva Shoals, Cape Upstart and Camp Island waters. If you tow your boat To page 62

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Northern delights TOWNSVILLE

Dave Hodge

With the threats of cyclones and the one again off again likelihood of rain, it’s been a bit up and down weather wise, but for some of those who have been out lately there have been some good fish in the rivers on the high tides. Both lures and livebaits are being taken by barra and jacks, although the bigger tides and murkier water has seen livebaits shine as the standout option. With heaps of tiny prawns on offer in the upper reaches of the rivers and creeks in recent weeks it shouldn’t be too long before we get another run of big grunter. If lures are your thing try the small Atomic Prongs around the sandy and muddy entrances to the rivers and creeks. It’s a lure and area that is a reliable producer of quality grunter. The 3 1/4” Atomic Plaso Paddle Tails are producing the bigger specimens at the time of writing, and the motor oil, radioactive rooster and new penny seem to be the most consistent colours, as long as they are worked along the bottom.

The by-catch can be substantial also, including golden snapper, flathead, jacks and barra. However if there are snags close by some hook-ups may end in tears because the secret to this deep water micro lure thing is to use ultra light line and leaders. Around 6lb braid and 2m of 12-15lb fluorocarbon leader are just about right for these smaller lures. When using these lures in deeper water a 1/4oz jighead featuring a 1-1/0 size hook is ideal. Grunter have a relatively small mouth, and too heavy a handed approach will often pull the hook from the soft mouth. As a result a soft tipped rod and light line is the way to go. BARRA TIME The shallower locations have had big barra cruising at the turn of low tide, more than likely looking for an easy feed in the warmer water. What they may be lacking in numbers they are certainly makingup for in size. I hooked what I believe was my biggest barra ever the other day, and after a quick 30 second hook-up it threw the lure back at me. I say hook-up not battle, because I honestly don’t think it even knew it was hooked.

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Tides early in the month should be good for both the lure casters chasing jacks in the upper reaches of the rivers, and also for barra towards the river mouths and headlands. But if we get a bit of rain, or any rain at all for that matter, it should fire things up for the river barra. Later in the month the tides are more suited to the fishing the headlands, and early starts should be rewarding for those who hit the water early. A general rule of thumb for me is, the bigger tides with medium run means big fish near the river mouths, while on the smaller tides they tend to push upstream. This is only my opinion though, and not a hard and fast rule. GT POWER Some big GT are hanging around the shallower reefs, and Dan Watts that works in our Akwa Marine store in South Townsville caught a heap of 25kg fish recently not far from Maggie Island. Apparently they had most of their hook-ups on slugs and slices worked up from the bottom. In the river mouths there have been small mackerel and a few wolf herring (wolfies) smacking lures, a possible indicator that an early Spanish season may just be around the corner. Luckily we have a heap of wolf herring in store, both at the Proserpine Akwa Marine and also the South Townsville Akwa Marine, stores. Sizes range from the small 35cm models to the 700mm big mackerel lollies. There has been a swing towards anglers buying the smaller wolfies, this could be due to the fact that there’s been quite a few cases recently of ciguatera. Ciguatera is more common in large mackerel, and large mackerel are more inclined to be caught on larger size wolfies. If a mack is over about 12kg, there is no way I’ll be taking it home with

When the water is a bit murky the Radioactive Rooster is a great colour for getting the required attention. me. There have been some decent mackeral caught on the deeper reefs, but consistency has been hard to come by, with fish there one day and not the next. CHOPPERS ON THE CHEW If the water keeps on clearing there should be some nice choppers (aka golden snapper) on offer for anglers that hit the water early. A hugely structure and feature orientated species, new technologies such as Minn Kota Spot lock have made it easier than ever to stay on golden snapper hold locations. If you stay on the spot you’ll stay on the fish, and as a result catch more fish. Presenting a lure to a fish that is not in the slightest bit nervous is the best way to get smashed, and on the shallower marks, clunking your petrol motor From page 61

to Bowen you can take your pick of a range of exciting country, including Abbot Point and the renowned Mackerel Patches. Dead or live bait fished under a float is probably the easiest way to tempt a Spaniard, while a range of minnows, poppers and

in and out of gear has a tendency to spook to fish. Spooked fish tend to be shy on the strike, and they seem to swipe at lures, often missing the hooks or hooking up on outside the mouth, which can pull free during the fight. Casting and retrieving 2oz Mumbler styled lures should work well this month as the water cools a little, and the strong action of the Mumblers has a tendency to wake them up and get them biting. MAC ATTACK If you are heading out to the reef it will be worth keeping an eye open for feeding schools of mack tuna, so make sure you have a spin rod with a small Halco Twisty or Outcast at the ready. Mack tuna make great bait, so if you catch one don’t bleed it as you want all that blood in the bait. Potent, blood-filled metal slugs are the best choice for lure fishers. Try to match the size of your lure to the baitfish the mackerel might be feeding on. In the estuaries flathead, whiting and salmon will be strong contenders and I reckon there’s a chance grunter and golden snapper

baits can be the secret to kicking a bite into gear sometimes. When rigging baits like mack tuna I like to cut them into a 6” long triangular shaped, and rig them on a 8/0-10/0 Gamakatsu circle or Octopus hook pinned through the narrow end. This ensures no choking of the hook point on the take. If you just want to bend a rod then throwing small Tilsans or plastics around the breakwalls and rocky points should see you catch plenty of trevally. Another way to catch a few fish that is both peaceful and productive is fishing baits of the beach. And if you pick your trip to coincide with a high tide around 7 or 8pm there’s a good chance of catching a decent fish. Anyway, go your hardest and good luck for the next few weeks. might still be about. Barra and mangrove jack numbers should be waning as the cooler months approach. May can be a great time to be on the water with cool, comfortable temperatures and the chance of glassy, winter sea conditions on the cards. You really wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

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Steve McAuliffe showed the visitors how it was done by taking the first 7 strikes when they fished Hell Hole Creek.

Good news, it’s all changing! LUCINDA

Jeff Wilton jeffwilton83@hotmail.com

We have yet to have any substantial rainfall and plenty of people are hoping for a last big surprise, but it doesn’t look like it at the moment. It’s a shame as the more run-off we get the better the fishing in Lucinda, like most places. May will definitely see the transition into the cooler months as water temps start dropping dramatically and the fish will change their habits. HINCHINBROOK CHANNEL A good example of the transition that May will bring, is the species that will show up in better numbers in the channel and creeks. I had been fishing a particular creek for the last few months and had been doing well on barra and jacks, but on the last few occasions it has had mini GT taking up residence on nearly every snag. Not that I’m complaining, as these GT are aggressive and hang in packs so it’s normally action stations once they’re located. The water is a lot clearer and plenty of tiny jelly prawns are about, which can make chasing barra difficult. I had a morning session where there were barra working in teams to herd up and smash the jelly prawns right in front of my eyes but after throwing everything in my tackle box at them I couldn’t get anything except a few half-hearted nudges which

plan your sessions for the optimal times. For example a tide change an hour or two before sunset (run-in best) so the water is at its warmest and most fish get active around dusk. Mangrove jack The last few months must have been the best mangrove jack fishing I

unweighted half pilchards into the snags is a deadly technique. Grunter Grunter have also showed up in great numbers and fishing the creek holes and channel, especially over areas of rubble has seen spectacular numbers being caught. Fresh herring

Catching 52cm of red terror on the silly string – it is amazing this fish was even caught. have experienced. Plenty of sessions boating over 10 or so jacks, and losing plenty, was the norm and the first few hours of the run-in tide offered plenty of action. Stealthily making your way up the creeks you could watch the bait getting smashed and actually see the jacks getting airborne as they snapped their jaws. It really was adrenalin-fuelled fishing and I was feeling sorry for those baitfish. Standout plastics were the 3” MinnowZ from Z-Man and the Berkley Ripple

or prawns is the best bait and fishing the night hours will see better numbers and size fish hit the decks. Grunter fight well and taste great so they are well worth the effort in chasing, they normally move around in packs so a few hours of boredom can quickly change to chaos if they move past you, with all rods going off. I’m sure I have written the same thing about grunter hundreds of times but it is very important to give them a little line

JETTY, ISLANDS AND REEF With cooler waters, the pelagic fish will be lining up to attack the numerous bait schools that will come in closer to the mainland. The jetty will have big GT taking up residence and for the sports fishing nuts slowly drifting along lobbing big poppers in between and under the jetty will see you get your arms ripped out of their sockets. Sometimes (rarely) they make a mistake and run the wrong way, which with good quick manoeuvring of the boat and some solid drag and fancy rod work you can steer them into open water and settle into a slugging fest. But I must say, odds are not in your favour no matter what gear you’re using. The queenfish will also be gathering in good numbers as they have already started to show up. The queenies will stick around for about 3 months before slowly dwindling in numbers so get into them while they’re about. Z-Man 5” StreakZ and JerkshadZ are deadly, as are vibes and smaller metal slugs. Side imaging sounders

Trout will be active throughout May and they can be targeted so many ways. make locating the better schools easier and it’s almost cheating when you just drive along until you find them. The reef will be fishing well if conditions allow boats to get out there. The southerlies can be quite persistent at this time of year, keep an eye on the weather and be ready to go as soon as the chance arises. Trout will move up into the shallower water and can be very aggressive, pilchards are probably the best bait for them or if you can catch fusilier and use them as fresh strip baits

you are giving yourself a great shot. Spanish mackerel have already shown up on some reefs in numbers and these fish will disperse onto the rubble grounds, wrecks and around the islands while they feed and get ready to breed. There are plenty of ways to catch mackerel but for me it’s all about high speed jigging. Find mackerel and bait on the sounder, position the boat, drop your jig through the school, then crank it up at speed. There is no such thing as too fast for mackerel.

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6 MODELS IN THE RANGE OF BOWRIDERS AND CABINS Spanish mackerel mean business, check out those teeth! was extremely frustrating. Plenty of live bait fishers have gone home emptyhanded for the same reason and the ‘match the hatch’ plan doesn’t work with these tiny prawns as they are so small and impossible to imitate. The best bet at this time of the year is to

Shad; both these plastics rigged on 1/4oz jigheads and cast tight to structure got smacked; most of the time you got to see a flash of red before your rod gets near ripped out of your hands. Plenty of bait anglers were getting their fair share as well. Lobbing

before striking. Grunter always mouth the bait and using smaller (3/0) and very sharp hooks will help get a good solid hook up. They are not dirty fighters and will give a great tussle, especially on lighter lines which is what you should be using anyway as you will get more bites.

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Ups and downs for May HINCHINBROOK

Ryan Moody www.hookedonhinchinbrook.com

This past month has been very hot and cold angling wise, plenty of ups and downs in the fishing patterns and action. One week produces sensational fishing; while the next week is a complete write off. Some of this has had to do with the weather. A 30-knot wind plus rain never does the fishing any good, nor does it make for comfortable conditions on the water. April is generally a pretty good month, but we had more than our fair share of ordinary conditions this year. Aside

conditions too. And as many of you know those conditions are never good for inshore fishing. The fishing on the lead up to Easter was excellent but soon turned to still and hot weather over the Easter weekend, and as a result the fishing suffered. There would have been some disappointed anglers fishing the inshore areas with the Easter break being well below par. Luckily for me I had a sportfishing charter and we headed out to the islands and had a ball on big GT and other pelagics. CHANGE IS HERE The water temperature seems to be dropping a little earlier this year and some early season Spaniards

produced a few smaller fish around the 7-10kg mark. The end of March produced some Spaniards, which rarely happens. The cooling of the water might have also been a factor in the pelagics going crazy as well. Bottom fishers at the reef have also seen some good results. Red throat emperor in reasonable sizes are showing up and could very well be an indicator of things to come this winter. Trout have been firing on occasions, but if you’re there at the wrong moon phase the fishing is quiet to say the least. Bar-cheeked inshore trout have been good of late too. When it comes to chasing trout you can always maximise your efforts by fishing

Brad Jackson with a nice bar-cheeked trout.

Brad again with his biggest GT caught during his April charter. from the strong winds we have also had some deadstill and hot north westerly

might be just the proof of that. Many of the inshore Spaniard haunts have

the making tides leading up to the moons. If you do this you’ll definitely

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increase your chances of a successful trip. BARRA STILL ON THE CHEW Barra have been fairly good, other than when the weather is bad of course. Providing there is no dramatic drop in water temperature they should continue to bite if we get some good fishing conditions over the following month. As the cooler months approach you should look for a low tide toward the middle of the day if when you’re fishing the flats and drains. This will give you the chance to fish the tide down to the bottom, which is the better period for fishing flats and drains. Threadfin salmon have been sporadic, showing up when they feel like it

rather than to a schedule or any distinct pattern. Hopefully if May delivers some better weather we may see them about with greater abundance and predictability. My favourite lures for threadfin are undoubtedly soft vibes and plastics, and also the Ballista LED Juggernaut hard vibe. The Juggernauts proved a real winner last year. Blue salmon have been rather active again this month, and have been mixed in with the threadfin around most of the deep holes in The Channel and Missionary Bay. OFFSHORE I expect May to deliver some good Spaniard fishing inshore, while the offshore reefs should come alive with demersal species. Golden snapper around the

2kg mark should invade the rubble areas of the Hinchinbrook Channel, and are a welcome catch in the winter when barra become get patchy. School sized grunter will also be prevalent inshore. If you want to chase the larger grunter then look to the deeper island and headland areas. Large grunter will also readily take soft vibes. • If you’re keen to learn all my secrets on how to target threadfin salmon keep an eye out for our upcoming e-course ‘Thready Tactics’. For free fishing tips, notifications about our courses and the chance to win a barra charter, head to www. ryanmoodyfishing.com and enter your name and email to join our free fishing community.

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Kind weather, electric fishing and mixed bags CAIRNS

Garry Smith garrysmith@fishingmonthly.com.au

May can be a real mixed bag when it comes to the weather and subsequent fishing options. The winds can vary from flat calm, to cyclonic, with a good dose of southeast trade winds thrown in for good measure. However, the great thing about May is when the weather is kind, the fishing can be electric. Warm, calm, weather will see the last run of summer species, while the cooling water temperature will have the reef fish, especially red species, going into overdrive. There have been some great patches of perfect fishing weather lately and large numbers of Cairns’ anglers have taken advantage and headed east. There were long queues at boat ramps over the Easter long weekend, when huge numbers took advantage of superb fishing and boating conditions. The angling varied from average to awesome, with many boaties returning to port full of smiles. Trout and large mouth nannygai continued to bite well out wide, although there was a real mixed bag coming aboard most boats. Golden snapper have been

years, on an Easter Monday overnighter. Coral trout will be the main shallow water target species this month, while out deeper, largemouth nannygai will be schooling up, with bag limit catches not uncommon. As an added bonus the largemouth are often in the trophy, 7-9kg size, with a good sprinkling of red emperor to fill out the esky. In other words, May is a great time to be heading out wide. While red fish are taken quite regularly during the day, it will be the overnighters who will claim the lion’s share of the spoils. A combo trip that carries overnight but starts or finishes with a few hours of daylight can be a real winner, with the chance to nail a Spaniard and a haul of coral trout to go with the reds. Spend daylight hours in 30-40m of water, then head out wide to the 50m+ grounds on dark, is a solid plan of attack. Reef mangrove jack is another red species whose numbers increase in May, although seldom in the sort of double figures that nannygai and red emperor can be. Add to the mix, a few Moses perch, spangled emperor, cod, stripeys, trevally and mackerel and the esky can look very colourful. Spanish mackerel numbers should be on the

trolling lures, dead and live baits, jigging or fishing live baits fed out under a float or free swimming, to drifting with live and dead baits. All techniques will have their day, so it pays to go out with at least two or three approaches in mind, as it can make a real difference to some trips. Focus your mackerel chasing efforts around the bigger tides that coincide with the full and, especially, the new moon for better results. May has seen the early arrival of baby black marlin off Cairns, at the Wide Grounds, around Pixie Reef and off Fitzroy Island, in recent years and light tackle enthusiasts will be hoping for a repeat set this year. In the interim, scaly mackerel, Spaniards, yellowfin tuna, wahoo, giant trevally and cobia will have to keep them engaged. As the weather heads towards the dry season, with a coinciding increase in salinity, large queenfish will become more prevalent. Snapper Island and the mouth of the Russell/Mulgrave are favourite locations, provided the nets don’t get there first. Barra continue to be caught in odds and sods and this will continue while the water temperature remains over the magic 26ºC. They can still be caught in lower water temperatures but they are a bit harder to induce

Coral trout, like this one caught by Bill Page, who was down from PNG, will be the main shallow water target species this month. conditions, so always have the red devils on your target list, especially when fishing heavy country. Bream will start to increase in numbers with the reducing water temperatures, as will mid-sized trevally, while grunter catches will continue to tick along. The arrival of the dry season will see many Cairns’ anglers looking to get in an early trip to the Gulf, as it’s often the first vehicles and boats into an area that get the main spoils. Many stations and National Parks have set opening times, designed to protect roads and river crossings from excessive damage from over-enthusiastic anglers, so make sure you check with appropriate authorities about access. The other species traditionally on the increase

in May, is the mighty mud crab. There have been excellent catches of muddies in recent years, so here’s

hoping for more of these succulent crustaceans gracing the dinner table this month.

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Golden snapper can be caught all year round, so always have this challenging species on your bucket list. on the chew around inshore reefs, islands and wrecks, with some trophy specimens caught. The odd mackerel was still being caught but I heard no reports of big numbers off Cairns. Sharks continued to be a problem for most reef fishos but I was fortunate enough to experience my first sharkfree reef trip in many

rise, from the inshore wrecks and islands, to the outer reef and many anglers will make these silver freight trains their main target species through the cooler months. At the very least, every reef boat should have a floating pilchard out the back. The more serious Spaniard chasers will use a variety of techniques, from

to bite. Focus your barra chasing efforts around the still, warm patches of weather for best results. Golden snapper can be caught all year round, so always have this challenging species on your bucket list. Mangrove jack have been consistent throughout the wet season and they are more tolerant of cooler

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Get into May madness for freshwater species CAPE YORK

Tim O’Reilly wildrivercompany@gmail.com

May is a great time of year to roll out the medium spin and offshore tackle and begin chasing tropical

pelagic species invade these areas earlier than others, smashing and slashing their way through tight balls of baitfish. It’s a smorgasbord of options for anglers when these tropical speedsters are around, providing some of the

of the run-out, baitfish gather over sand spits and shallow gutters. Hordes of brassy-trevally, giant herring, blue salmon and smaller queenfish will gather in veracious packs, proving great sport on small plastics, flies and metal slices.

A chunky barra caught in the fresh above the tidal influence.

Large giant trevally will be holding around bait. speedsters up in Cape York. Some encouraging reports are coming in from charter operators of longtail tuna, queenfish, mackerel and trevally working bait schools in near shore waters. Cape York has a huge assortment of shallow bays on the east coast and sheltered stretches on the west coast. Some years the

most consistent light-tackle sport fishing anywhere along the Australian coastline. While the larger estuaries of the west coast are still spewing out the last of their nutrient filled waters following the wet season, smaller pelagic species will be gathering around the mouths at this time of year. Around the top of the tide and the first few hours

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2015 TEAM JERSEYS at www.carljocumsen.com 66

MAY 2015

times these fish are hard to track down simply by casting poppers at fish working the surface. During these times, anglers can concentrate their efforts on a

late afternoon incoming tide to troll hookless poppers behind the boat, stopping to cast at these fish once the water erupts behind the boat.

Season change ignites hot bites PORT DOUGLAS

Lynton Heffer

There’s a lot to look forward to over the next month in the tropics as we say goodbye to the wet season and welcome the dry. You don’t need to be a meteorologist to know that we had one of the driest wet seasons in many a year. This was reflected during April as we enjoyed one of the most delightful Easter periods in recent memory. The fishing was absolutely red hot as well with inshore and offshore fisheries providing a plethora of action. Normally May is when we see a genuine shift in momentum on the reef but this occurred a month early.

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Coral trout were up and about in really good numbers and the red emperor and large mouth nannygai species showed some red hot form at times. They normally hit their straps in the coming month but you can assume they are already there. Spanish mackerel were about in better numbers than previous years and other roaming fish, including the trevally families, churned out in solid numbers. There was also a real mixed bag of fish coming back from the reef as well, including spangled emperor, Moses perch, reef mangrove jack, cobia, golden trevally, tusk fish, cattle dog cod, various other cod species and sweetlip. There was plenty of opportunity to head to the reef with a lot of glorious weather on offer and is likely a contributing factor as to why the reports were so healthy. As mentioned, May is always a month to highlight on the calendar as it is a time when currents shift and run north bringing cooler water along the coast and offshore reef systems. This in turn ignites a lot of reef species into gear, and if you have a preference for ‘reds’ then this is prime time. Along the coast, our pristine local beaches have experienced recent good times with quite a few barra landed along the Four Mile and Wonga beaches by landbased anglers casting lures. Also for the sport and fly

fishers there’s been jelly prawn hatches, which attract all types of predatory fish such as tarpon, trevally, queenfish, dart and blue salmon. Our rivers fished reasonably well in the past month with good reports of barra being caught up on the Daintree system in the lower reaches. It also produced a steady flow of golden trevally across the

temperatures take a dive and your barra and jacks will be harder to come by. However, winter species such as bream, grunter, trevally and queenfish will make it a worthwhile proposition. The southeasterly trade winds are due to arrive in the coming month and will have a bearing across the board if, and when, they do rear up. In

May is a prime time if you have a preference for reds. lower flats and plenty of quality golden snapper out in the deeper sections of the channel. The Port Douglas Dickson Inlet has been quite industrious in producing good numbers of mangrove jack and estuary cod. At some point in the coming month we will see water

saying this, it has been an abnormal beginning to 2015 and it might be one of those years where the sun dons brightly on a consistent basis and the seas remain predominantly calm. This would then put the advantage in favour of the angler and it will be happy days.

There is nothing quite like seeing a marauding pack of giant queenfish zeroing in on a popper or stick bait wound at breakneck speed across the surface. Sometimes they can get really carried away, smashing the surface presentations in a shower of bubbles and commotion only meters from the boat. Try and crimp your barbs and use either a single treble of stinger hook as these larger queenfish really fight hard and damage themselves in the process. Some surprisingly large giant and golden trevally can make their way upstream this time of year. Chasing baitfish, prawns and other crustaceans up with larger tides, providing great tussles for those lucky enough to run into them. Joining them are queenfish, giant herring and mangrove jack found alongside saratoga and tarpon in some of the west coast rivers. May is perhaps the nicest time of year to fish those upstream reaches above the rock and shallow sand bars which sometimes block the rivers from boat travel later in the year. Without any massive wet season flushes, some of the east and west coast rivers begin to get sand

and mud build up in the midstream reaches. During neap tides and the bottom of spring tides, navigation can be hazardous and at times impossible. This presents two opportunities for fishers. Firstly, to those who take smaller, flat bottomed punts to those challenging upstream reaches. Secondly for those coming overland to reach those brilliant freshwater fishing holes just up from the saltwater influence. These areas are amongst my favourite spots to target larger barramundi, black bream and saratoga amongst snags and rock bar areas. Walking to reach those vegetation-shrouded head and tail areas of large freshwater pools is my idea of exhilarating fishing. Scanning the shadows of a large melaleuca tree and finding a big barra finning gently in the current is a sight not quickly forgotten. Make the most of your opportunities in May and get your fix of lure fishing for barramundi before the first serious drops in water temperature take hold. â&#x20AC;˘ For information on remote charter operations for tailored fishing adventures, please email Tim on wildrivercompany @gmail.com

Wind dies down for big barra KARUMBA

Alan Gurney awes0me@bigpond.net.au

We have had some awesome weather up here and the lack of wind has allowed everyone to get out the front and fish without the associated dramas that go with wind. NEW FACILITIES The new pontoons should now be in and this will make unloading and loading boats in town a lot easier. The point boat ramp is hard to use when the northwesterly winds blow

in the afternoon, so please think about using the town ramps. You are not allowed to stand on the ramp holding a boat while your offsider is parking the car, so please be kind and move your boat to the side to make room for other anglers to launch and retrieve their boats. This can become difficult, as the sides of the point boat ramp are quite steep. So remember you have the option of loading and unloading in town where there are 5 ramps and a pontoon. The portable trailers that people bring up north are capable of

towing boats to town if you drive slowly, so please help other people by not blocking the ramps. BARRA ON THE MENU Barramundi are about for those willing to work for them. Many of the reliable barramundi spots in the river are not holding fish, but some single snags in out of the way places have produced big barramundi to over a metre. The secret is to have a quality sounder with side scan that will allow you to see where the fish are holding. This approach will save you thousands of casts and

A metre barra caught on a Carpentaria sportfishing charter.

kilometres of trolling. We have some good guides up here and if you want to know how to catch a barramundi then speak to Groover (0408 796 705) and he will help you out. Going on a charter is not cheap, but the information and techniques you learn will help you for years to come. The new Prawnstar Gold lure in natural colour will catch you fish once you locate them but you need to know where to go and how to work the lure and Groover is the man to show you how. Blue salmon should now be out the front along the mangroves and while livebaits will catch you plenty of fish, a strip of mullet or squid will do the job just as well. I recently went to Sweers Island and the fishing there was awesome. We caught all sorts of reef fish, including golden snapper and the food cooked by our hosts was magnificent. Our lack of a wet season has seen the winter grunter turn up already, with many people catching fish over the 50cm mark. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s it for now. Enjoy your May, happy fishing, and see you next month.

DROP IN TO YOUR LOCAL QUINTREX DEALER! BALLINA MARINELAND 67 Endeavour Close Ballina 2478 PHONE 02 6686 2669

TWEED TWEED COAST MARINE 47 Pacific Highway, Tweed Heads South PHONE 07 5524 8877

GOLD COAST BROADWATER BOATING CENTRE 46 Brisbane Road, Labrador PHONE 07 5529 1777

GOLD COAST SURF COAST MARINE 50-54 Brisbane Rd, Labrador PHONE 07 5563 7733

BRISBANE SOUTH SPRINGWOOD MARINE 3475 Pacific Highway, Springwood PHONE 07 3297 8200

BRISBANE NORTH BRISBANE YAMAHA 174 Eastern Service Rd, Burpengary PHONE 07 3888 1727

TOOWOOMBA WATER SKIERS WAREHOUSE 91-93 Neil St, Toowoomba PHONE 07 4637 9511

SUNSHINE COAST CALOUNDRA MARINE 8 Baldwin St, Caloundra PHONE 07 5491 1944

SUNSHINE COAST RAY SCHOLES MARINE 146 Eumundi Rd, Noosaville PHONE 07 5449 7633

HERVEY BAY BAY CITY MARINE 82 Dayman St, Urangan PHONE 07 4128 9944

BUNDABERG BOATS GALORE 142 Enterprise St, Bundaberg PHONE 07 4152 6744

WHITSUNDAYS CANNONVALE MARINE 14 Mcintosh Drive, Cannonvale PHONE 07 4946 6136

MAY 2015

Jungle perch blossom under fair weather FRESHWATER

Angus James

Fishing this time of year is always going to be fun with lots of great opportunities about. The cooler changes in temperature can be perfect for reaching those untouched areas on foot without overheating from the hot Tropical North weather. Jungle perch can be targeted all year round but I find the next few months to be the best time of year to hunt down a few. There have been a few scattered showers of rain passing through, but not enough to give the smaller systems a good flush out and keep them flowing. I recommend concentrating around the higher ground areas such as the Tully region. The systems in the jungle are always flowing and offer

some magical scenery along the way. Lately I have been asked about which size lures for JP. My answer is: if it fits in their mouth, then it’s the right size! JPs are opportunistic feeders and will eat just about anything they can, when they can. On many occasions when pulling my lure out to release them, I have found the JP’s mouth full of interesting things such as live green tree frogs, lizards and even a small dead bat. My fiancé laughed when I once told her they were like the Kinder Surprise of fish! Junglies are so switched onto what’s happening outside the water. I once witnessed a solid JP track my lure in the air to launch out and intercept it before it even hit the water! Such an amazing species, it’s no wonder they are on the bucket list of many anglers. Mangrove jack will start to taper off a bit as the cool

weather starts to take place. But this doesn’t mean you won’t catch them, you just have to work a little harder. The smaller grubs and paddle-tail plastics are the perfect presentation for the smaller sweet water models. Cast your presentations tight into their snag and hold on tight! They will crunch hard and try to wrap you around their front porch. My favourite size is the Z-Man 2.5’’ GrubZ. These fish are stunning to look at, when juvenile their white stripes and vibrant blue markings under their eyes truly standout against there deep red colours. A unique species. I always think to myself when releasing them, how cool it is that one day this fish will make the journey out to the reef. Amazing stuff! Plenty of sooty grunter action to be had this time of year. Sooties are a great

Sooties are a great tough Aussie fish to target.

Even though jungle perch can be targeted all year round, the next few months are their prime time. tough Aussie fish to target. It’s not uncommon to rack up double figures when out targeting this tough customer. They provide hours of entertainment and really test your finesse fishing skills. I really enjoy using spinnerbaits for sooties. A great way to rig up is attach a grub to your stinger hook. Not only does this help keep your stinger hook on the spinnerbait, the grub tail makes this presentation absolutely deadly, and not to mention basically snagresistant so gives you plenty more opportunities to be right in the strike zone. Big soots are a sucker for surface lures, especially in low light conditions. Cast your surface offering out as far as you can and work it slowly. The surface strikes

from a big aggressive sooty sure is something special! Stay safe out there and

enjoy what this beautiful country has to offer. See you out there!

Junglies are switched onto what’s happening outside the water.

JP are a fish version of a Kinder Surprise – you never know what you’ll find inside! Like a live green tree frog! 68

MAY 2015

THE RECREATIONAL ANGLER’S LINK May saw some nice recreational catches of banana prawns in greater Moreton Bay. Boat ramps all along the coast and up the creeks saw a steady procession of trailers over Easter and every weekend that Mother Nature held her breath. The season is quite short but keenly anticipated. Average size was a little bit down this year but the flavour and quality was great. The election is finally put to bed and policies are commencing to unfold. We are in the middle of a long series of meetings with Ministers, BackBenchers and newly elected Members from both sides of

Then there may have been be more promises, but we need to have long memories and rate them on what they may achieve in the coming three years. However, the ALP have moved into government, and as a sector we may have a lot more to do. Purely, because they have indicated in their election promises that they are open to the promotion of recreational fishing. It will be important to provide both good advice on what we think a great recreational fishery is and positive feedback if they follow through with some positive improvements. Everyone will need to do both of these, whether

With one-on-one consultation under way with commercial fishers in the three new net-free fishing zones proposed by the Palaszczuk Government, the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries says it is time for scare tactics to cease. “For a number of months now there has been an orchestrated campaign of misinformation from some of those who are opposed to the establishment of the net-free zones,” Minister Byrne said. “There are some wild accusations out there, but the reality is that between 2012 and 2014 the average annual catch from the net-free zones proposed

of locally caught fish and seafood, will be limited. “In Mackay, the average take of all species in the proposed zone is a

is done from the locations where commercial fishing occurs. That’s why we are focused on consultation first, and action based on

“I have no doubt that the proposed zone will be a boon to our tourism industry and now consultation with commercial fishers

The total expenditure in 2000 by all Queensland resident rec fishers was estimated as $320 million. The estimate of current expenditure by the Queensland rec fishing sector is now $600 million annually. mere 0.64% of the total east coast catch. “On that basis there will not be a shortage of fish at the local shops. “The net-free zones were an election commitment and recognition that

that consultation. “I believe that once the zones are established in these three strategic areas, there will be significant benefits to local economies through tourism linked to recreational fishing and

is under way I hope the scaremongering will stop,” she said. “It is clear to me from the statistics that once net fishing has been banned from the zone, the impact on fish supplies will be negligible.”

The tourist values are now quite significant and are a major part of many marketing campaigns. government. With so many new faces it is important to meet them and also to have them meet you so that they can then put a face to the name and make some memory links regarding your areas of concern. NET FREE AREAS What was a surprise is that everyone except the LNP put out recreational fishing policies that were very supportive and demonstrated recognition of the value to the Queensland economy of recreational fishing. The one disappointment though is that around 30% of Queenslanders had already voted before the policies were made public. If the LNP had retained power, I expect there would have been little change from the last 3 years until we got closer to the next election.

you are an avid club fisher or just like to wet a line at your convenience. Talk to your elected Member of Parliament whenever you get the opportunity. Let them know you love to fish and you and your family live in their electorate. You don’t need to make an appointment to do this. Most of them will regularly be out and about in the community at forums and local sporting and community group functions. Just have a friendly chat and talk about your family fishing adventures. STATEMENT FROM THE MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES Impact of net-free zone on availability of fish will be limited.

for Cairns, Mackay and the Capricorn Coast/Fitzroy River was 7.5% of the 4,325 tonnes total east coast net catch in Queensland. “Log book returns suggest that only 60 licence holders spent at least one day net fishing in the proposed zones between 2012 and 2015 out of 412 net licence holders eligible to fish there. “It is important that everyone involved in this process has a sense of perspective and an understanding of the facts. “There is no proposal to exclude commercial trawling, crabbing or line fishing from the zones. “So while we expect that some commercial fishers will be affected, the impact on commercial fishing, and the availability

www.sunfishqld.com.au

Community meetings have commenced along the coast in areas of interest for the three identified Net Free Areas in Keppel, Mackay and Cairns. there is an opportunity to boost recreational fishing which is already worth $400 million to the Queensland economy. “Of course, removing certain types of net fishing

charter fishing.” Member for Mackay Julieanne Gilbert said she hoped the release of facts would ease public fears about the availability of local fish.

Email: judylynne@sunfishqld.com.au

May the fish be with you TOOWOOMBA

Jason Ehrlich fishability1@bigpond.com

The fish will start to change habits this month and anglers who spend plenty of time on the water will really notice these differences. The water of the lakes will hold their core temperatures, but they will already be starting to cool due to cooler days and nights. The fish pick up on this. They know the season is changing and therefore change to suit themselves. The cooler water can start to slow species like golden perch and barramundi down. They won’t feel like

chasing a lure as it rips past them. This doesn’t mean they can’t be caught though. A simple change of approach is all that is needed. A more in-your-face presentation that sees the lure enticingly dancing around their nose will get a response. Bass can bite well right through winter and are a lot more tolerant of the cold temperatures. I’ve spent countless icy cold mornings watching the sun come up and then peeling off layers of clothes as it rises. On a lake is a great place to be on a calm and sunny winter day. A lot of anglers give the barra fishing away over the cooler months, expecting

SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND CRESSBROOK CLOSEST TOWNS: TOOWOOMBA, CROWS NEST The fishing has still been tough. Smaller bass are willing to bite, but the bigger fish are scattered

out in the deeper water where they are more elusive. Hopping blades and tailspinners around the first point out from the campground has been a reliable way to score the smaller bass. These fish can be found on the sounder

to catch them only when the water is at its warmest. The lakes further north can fish quite well right through winter and further south can be awesome this month and even next. Big fish still need to eat when it is cold; they just do it less often. Some of my best sessions were in May years ago when Awoonga was in its prime. With reports of Awoonga barra being caught, it would certainly be worth considering a trip this month. I know if I was a barra and I could feel the cold coming on, I’d be gorging myself on all manner of critters. Until next month, buckled rods from the Colonel! and are nearly all undersized. They are a bit of fun and can be used as a fallback plan if all else fails. The deep water out from the boat ramps has held reasonable numbers of big bass. These fish cruise around in the deep and can move a lot from day to day. It’s always worth a look along

Snub nose gars are plentiful around the weed beds in the upper part of Somerset Dam. This catch is destined to be frozen and used later as mackerel baits in the salt.

            

MAY 2015

14 31

Weipa

Toowoomba

BRISBANE 27

23 Impoundment Dams 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

the buoy line across to the island and then back to the west where the dam narrows at the campground point. These bass will suspend and can be targeted with trolled lures. Deep divers like the Blitz Baga, Golden Child, Kezza Freak and Little Rippa all perform quite well. The fish can be fussy and will prefer a certain lure style or colour on the day, so vary your selection and place a mix out to see what they like. Even when running a few lures, the bass can favour just one colour and all the strikes will come on it while others are ignored. There have been a few stories of guys casting deep diving lures for the fish suspending in the middle of the lake. I’m not sure what

Gold Coast

24 25 Cairns 1

19 20

Townsville 2

3 4

Proserpine 6 Mackay

Rockhampton

Emerald 29

Gladstone

Bundaberg 9 11

Highlighted dams are covered in this issue

Maryborough

Roma

BRISBANE

lures they are throwing to get them to the correct depth, but if you find a patch of fish, it might be worth a go. There is no longer an entry fee at the boom gate, but the 8kt speed limit is still in place. Hours for boating and day use of the recreation area have now changed and will remain at 7.00am-6.00pm until September. For all your supplies, expert advice and to check on the boating restrictions, call in at Fish ’n’ Bits in Alderley Street, Toowoomba, or give them a ring on (07) 4636 6850. The boys at the store are experts on the freshwater scene and really know their stuff. SOMERSET CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY The water in Somerset

DAM LEVEL Report DAMS DEC JAN FEB MAR APR Atkinson 36 33 30 29 26 Awoonga 96 96 96 96 98 Bjelke-Petersen 52 51 48 49 48 Boondooma 69 69 72 71 70 Borumba 94 96 100 99 101 Burdekin Falls 72 73 95 93 88 Callide 74 73 84 93 92 Cania 88 88 97 101 101 Clarendon 41 38 37 35 32 Clarrie Hall 92 n/a 100 100 100 Cooby 76 73 71 71 68 Coolmunda 36 39 65 61 60 Copeton 25 19 17 17 18 Cressbrook 92 89 89 89 88 Dyer/Bill Gunn 47 52 74 77 83 Eungella 90 88 90 90 90 Fairbairn 39 42 59 57 55 Glenlyon 26 26 27 27 28 Hinze 83 83 87 96 101

Gympie

had started to clear well at the back of the dam in March, but the early April rain may have added a bit more colour. The basin of the lake has cleared up heaps and is very fishable. The bass and golden perch were taking lures well last month, so hopefully the action continues. Golden perch numbers will probably drop off noticeably for lure fishers. Baits of live shrimp and saltwater yabbies will still produce good numbers if you can keep them away from the pickers. Try fishing the timbered area to the north of Kirkleigh and work areas 6-8m deep. The bass schools have been holding around

For fortnightly updates Julius 60 102 99 98 96  Kinchant 73 76 88 85 77 Koombooloomba 21 16 33 46 35  Leslie 25 28 26 26 27  Macdonald 61 57 68 100 102  Maroon 90 93 99 100 100  Monduran/Fred Haigh 80 81 91 102 100  Moogerah 80 81 91 91 97  North Pine/Samsonval 62 61 60 80 84  Peter Faust/Proserpine 86 84 86 85 83 Pindari 12 12 13 13 25  Somerset 97 98 100 100 100  Storm King n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a  Teemburra 91 91 93 93 92  Tinaroo 66 61 77 88 92 Toonumbar 88 88 97 100 101  Wivenhoe 80 78 77 95 99  Wuruma 81 81 81 101 99

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 22/4/15

the middle reaches of the basin between The Spit and Kirkleigh. Try sounding over the usual spots like Pelican Point, Bay 13 and Queen Street. These fish have been responding quite well to a mix of lures, but you may have to experiment to see what will fool them on the day. Blades, tail spinners and Mask vibes can produce good numbers when they want to chew,

pressured bass. Even when casting, I like to keep the boat moving slowly and fish in front or out to the sides where I’ve not yet passed over fish. If fish show on the sounder, I’ll increase the speed to leave them behind and then flick back once they are away from the boat. I checked out the boat ramp up in the timber above Kirkleigh for the first time about a month ago. The

speed limit in place from the start of the trees north of Kirkleigh, this is a good time saver, which places you well up the timber only a short run from the Neurum Road Bridge. While I was at the ramp, I noticed the number of big snub-nosed garfish cruising over it. It’s no wonder there are so many of these fish about, as there are stacks of quality weed beds for them to cruise around in. Some

There have been plenty of quality bass mixed in with the average sized ones at Somerset Dam. Try plastics like the 70mm PowerBait Ripple Shad in cappuccino colour rigged on a 1/2oz Nitro Dam Deep jighead. but if they are stubborn, use extra-long casts and soft plastics rigged on 1/2oz jigheads. Trolling hardbodies or soft plastics can score heaps of fish. Keeping the boat moving is often the key to the bites coming from Somerset’s heavily

single lane ramp is on Westvale Road (off Neurum Road) and is a great option if you are planning on chasing a few bass, goldens or redclaw up in the timber. This section of water can fish well over the colder months, so it’s certainly worth a look. With the 6kt

DARLING DOWNS GRANITE BELT REGION COOBY CLOSET TOWNS: HIGHFIELDS, TOOWOOMBA The golden perch action was pretty slow last month and things are set to die down even more as the Darling Downs cold sets in. Keen boaters and kayakers may need to resort to using bait to get the bites. Try fishing live shrimp or saltwater yabbies around any good shows on the sounder. The fish can turn up anywhere out in the middle of the lake and can be found in deep water at this time of year. Trolling or casting closer to the edges may tempt one of the lake’s monster Murray cod. These fish are few and far between, so expect to put in a lot of time to get results. The dam hours are now 7.00am-6.00pm right up to September. Cooby is an electric motor-only dam and is well suited to kayaks and canoes. Make sure you wear a life jacket if you are fishing

from one of these vessels. In the water is the last place you want to be at this time of year, as the cold shock can be quite dangerous. It pays to practice and know how to get back into your kayak if you are unlucky enough to tip out. The concrete boat ramp is on a shallow angle when the dam is full and can be slippery in places, but a big electric powered boat can still be launched with care. Outboard motors can be left on the boat, but must not be used. Live shrimp and saltwater yabbies can be purchased from Highfields Bait and Tackle on the New England Highway in Highfields. Call in and see Doug and check out the great range of fishing gear, kayaks and accessories he has on display. LESLIE CLOSEST TOWN: WARWICK The action at Leslie had already started to slow down last month. The fish

berley to stir them up and then a small hook with a bit of flesh bait had a few in the esky to use as mackerel baits. It would be a fun way to fish with the kids. Even big kids like me enjoy it. Just don’t wear a good shirt, garfish poo shoots out and gets over everything. will be tough to tempt with lures and better results will come on bait. Hopping blade baits and soft lipless vibes around any of the deeper rocky structure should see a few golden perch and even the occasional Murray cod boated. This hopping approach keeps the lure in the face of the fish and you can work it at the speed and aggression they desire. Trolling may pick up the odd fish, but you’ll have to drag the lure past their nose to get the bite. Bait fishers can catch golden perch right through the winter months. Live shrimp will be one of the best baits. Dropped straight over the side of the boat and fished vertically, a shrimp flicking away is too much to resist. Fishing from the banks with worms and shrimp will also pick up a few fish. Eel-tailed catfish and golden perch can be quite common in the Washpool area. For any tips and gear for fishing Leslie Dam or the To page 72

MAROON CLOSEST TOWNS: BOONAH, RATHDOWNEY The weed edges will continue to fish well at Maroon. Spinnerbaits and reaction lures like Beetle Spins, lipless crankbaits and blades have been fooling the fish. The quality bass are likely to be close to the weed beds, while smaller fish can be found outside the edge in schools.

become a better option. The fish will be the judge of what works best, so be prepared to try everything until they show you what they want to eat. MOOGERAH CLOSEST TOWNS: ARATULA, BOONAH Moogerah has fished quite well over the last few months. Bait fishers have been getting a mixed bag of bass, golden perch and eel-tailed catfish. The 6-10m deep flats in the timber have been

areas. They have been suspending high in the water column, so lipless crankbaits are again a good option. Try casting to the tops of the trees in the deep water and sinking lures into them, before slowly winding them back out. Keeping an eye on the sounder for any signs of fish will give you an indication of how deep to work those lures. As the water cools down more, keep an eye on bass

Kerry Ehrlich from Kezza Lures displays the quality of Murray cod that are regularly caught at Coolmunda Dam. This brute fell victim to one of his now famous Mud Mouse lures. As the water cools off, the bass may change a little and better quality fish could venture out wider from the weed edge and into the schools with the smaller models. Reaction baits can also lose their appeal in the colder water, as soft plastics and deep diving suspending jerkbaits

producing well. Lure fishers have found good numbers of bass in the timber. These fish have been caught all over the place. Casting TN60 Jackalls to the edges in the timber is a good way to spend the morning. During the day, the bass tend to favour the deeper water

school movements. They may venture out of the timber and hold in the basin of the lake. Check the flats in front of The Palms and also the 7-9m contour line between the boat ramps. If the fish school up in these spots, try working soft plastics through them.

Two Dams

H Bo

One Destination H

m Da doo n e s m a Da m H Bjelke Peter

The BEST place in SEQ to catch

Australian Bass and Yellowbelly www.lakeboondooma.com.au wwww.yallakoolpark.com.au MAY 2015

From page 71

Warwick area, call in and see the guys at Warwick Outdoor and Sports in Palmerin Street, Warwick. The store stocks a great range of bait and freshwater gear, which is well suited to catching our Australian natives. COOLMUNDA CLOSEST TOWN: INGLEWOOD There were good numbers of cod and golden perch caught from Coolmunda last

month. Both lure trollers and bait soakers were able to get into the action. Based on the good results, I believe it will be the place to head if you intend on luring up some wintertime golden perch. The back of the timbered MacIntyre Brook arm, the hole to the left of the boat ramp, and out in the middle along the dropoff to the old river will be the places to explore. Trolling may still score a few golden perch

WIDE BAY AND BURNETT REGION BOONDOOMA CLOSEST TOWNS: PROSTON, KINGAROY There should be some great action at Boondooma this month. The timbered arms of the Boyne and Stuart rivers will hold bass and golden perch. Spinnerbaits in the deeper water performed well last month, but the fish are likely to move closer to the edges as the water cools down. There have been a few saratoga caught in the Boyne timber. These fish have taken spinnerbaits intended for bass and it is great to see there are a few about. If you do manage to land a ’toga, take good care of it and release it back into the water in good health to ensure they will be able to establish an even stronger population. In the basin of the lake, schooling bass should start to show up around Leisegangs Ledge, Pelican Point and the Barbers Pole. If you can locate these bass, try casting blades, tail-

spinners and soft plastics to them. They can also be quick to snatch a jigged ice jig as well. Try looking in 5-7m of water and venture deeper as the water cools down even more. Live bait will produce golden perch and bass. The timbered arms seem to be reliable. Try fishing in 5-8m of water and move around if the action isn’t happening. Boondooma is a great place to camp right near the water and sit by the fire while enjoying the view. You could also stay in more style and comfort by booking into one of the cabins overlooking the dam. The kiosk at the main office does hot food and other basic items. For campsites, cabins and bunkhouse rooms call Corey and Niki on (07) 4168 9694. BJELKE CLOSEST TOWNS: MURGON, GOOMERI The dam level has fallen since last year. There may still be a few fish in the timber, but due to the lower

and Murray cod. The Kezza Weirdo in the brighter colours was a standout lure last month. Orange and purple lures seemed to get most of the bites. If you are able to locate a patch of fish, try hopping small blades like the EcoGear ZX40 or Berkley Powerblade 40 in the darker colours. This hopping technique will keep the lure right in the face of the fish and get bites when

they refuse to chase down a trolled hardbody. You can also try hopping blades while bait fishing and hedge your bets. Live shrimp numbers at the dam may drop off due to the cooler water, so bring some frozen saltwater yabbies or purchase live shrimp. The bait fishing action should be okay right through winter. There will be tough days where it is hard to get a bite and other

days when you almost bag out. This is just the nature of the fish and their reluctance to move around at this time of year. The Coolmunda Caravan Park is only around a 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

level, it will be better to try your luck in the main basin. Casting spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits and blades around the edges will produce both bass and golden perch. Target the steeper banks and work lures down the contour. If fish show up on the sounder, try hopping blade baits or working soft plastics through them. Bait fishers will also score better in the lower part of the dam. Live shrimp are the best all-round bait, as they will tempt plenty of bass and golden perch. For help catching Bjelke and Boondooma fish, call into your local Bass 2 Barra store. You can see Matthew at Kingaroy or Dylan in Dalby, and the boys will have you all geared up and ready for action in no time. Bass 2 Barra stores stock 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. 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. ISIS BALANCING STORAGE CLOSEST TOWN: BUNDABERG Once again, water level fluctuation in the Isis has caused the weed beds to die off. This has significantly lowered the quality of the water around the edges of the lake. This forces the majority of fish out into deeper parts. These deep schooling bass will be easy to find on the sounder. Try looking where the 3 arms meet right in the middle of the lake. Zig-zag around in this section while keeping an eye on the sounder for signs of life. The depth the fish hold can vary, so pinpoint the schools before you start casting. Once found, start peppering the area with lures. Hopping 1/4 and 3/8oz blade baits through the schooling bass is sure to get a response. Soft vibes like the Jackall Mask Vibe can also be hopped

and the bigger profile of this lure will often reward you with better quality fish. Tail-spinners can be worked through the schooling bass with good results. Isis fish aren’t usually as fussy about lure choice as bass in other impoundments. This is a great thing to take advantage of, as you can enjoy catching fish on a range of lures and working on different techniques. The boys at Saltys Tackleworld in Bundaberg are bass experts. They love to fish the dam on their days off, so will be able to steer you in the right direction. Saltys have an excellent layout and an awesome range of tackle suited to freshwater fishing, as well as catering for the endless fishing opportunities in the surrounding area. CANIA CLOSEST TOWNS: MONTO, BILOELA Even with all the rain around in the area, the fishing has still been okay. Bass and saratoga will be the two species most anglers focus their attention on. Bass can be caught

A sounder is the best way to find them. If the fish are showing on the side image,

be confident and thoroughly work the area over. When the barra are holding close to the bottom, hopping a soft vibe through them can be the secret. There are now

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www.warwickoutdoor.com.au 72

MAY 2015

AWOONGA CLOSEST TOWNS: BENARABY, GLADSTONE Some good reports of barra from the dam have started to flow in. Mark from Awoonga Gateway Lodge has been harassing the fish whenever he has an afternoon free and is scoring 1-2, as well as missing others each session. His favourite area is somewhere up in New Zealand Gully and this spot seems to fish well with shallow running hardbodies and soft plastics right on dark. In the basin of the lake, it is worthwhile checking for barra around trees on the eastern bank on the way down to Dingo Island, as well as the mouth of Iveragh Creek. These fish can be caught through the day and will often favour water around 5m deep. Casting deeper suspending lures like the Jackall Hank Tune Squirrel or 3m Halco Hamma will put you in with a good chance. At times, the fish are tight to the trees, while at others they will be roaming out in the open.

courts, a swimming pool, barbecue shelter and a camp kitchen. The park now has an extra two wheelchair friendly cabins to add to their older ones. Camping is also available near the boat ramp, with toilets and hot showers to make your stay more comfortable. To take advantage of this and the great fishing opportunities in the lake and the river below, give the park a call on (07) 4652 4171. all over the lake. Usually the upper part of the lake inside the timber fishes well for them. In this area, try casting lipless crankbaits and blades to schooling fish on the flats in 5-7m of water. There have also been reports of suspended bass in the main basin. Trolling deep diving lures is a great way to locate them. Once found, you can pull up and cast lures to the area. Suspended bass will respond well to lipless crankbaits, blade baits and tail-spinners. Since the inflow of water, saratoga captures have been on the rise. These fish are doing well and can be caught all over the lake around the edges. The upper half of the dam seems to hold reasonable numbers in the bays that feed into the main river. Cast to structure around the edges, or work right up into the backs of the bays and you should be in with a good shot. Saratoga love spinnerbaits and beetle spin-rigged soft plastics, but will also take surface lures, soft plastics and hardbodies. stacks of soft vibes available. Stick with the smaller ones around 80-100mm long like the Transam 95 and you’ll be in with a good shot. To page 73

The Humminbird is lit up with barra on the left of the side image (pic from Awoonga Dam courtesy of the Schwerin family). If you’ve never seen barra on a side-imaging unit before, rotate this picture a quarter turn clockwise and see if you can pick the darker fish shapes against the yellow background. These are shadows cast by fish moving through the beam.

From page 72

The quality of most fish has been great. Barra of 80-90cm in length are common, and they’ll give you a run for your money if they are hooked near the timber.

If you are keen to try to tackle some fish in the river or dam, give Lyn and Mark from Awoonga Gateway a call on (07) 4975 0033. At Awoonga Gateway you’ll find clean, modern

cabins and your hosts will be full of useful advice to help you try to land that barra of a lifetime. Make sure you tell Mark I sent you and pump him for the secret spot.

fish, but these days we can put our sounders to use to see how many fish are in the area. Side imaging units can throw their beams way out to the side of the boat and spot fish as they cruise past in casting range. The shadows of barra moving through are unmistakable on the sounder display, as they actually look like barra shapes. While staking out a fishy looking spot, try casting soft plastics and shallow and medium diving hardbody lures. The new PowerBait 4.5” Rib Shad is a top plastic to use on barramundi. It can be rigged on different weight jigheads to suit the depth being fished. It pays to have a selection of big hooked 1/4-1/2oz heavy duty heads that can handle the abuse dished out by a big barramundi. In the hardbody department, try using the Rapala X-Rap or the Halco Hamma. The Hamma comes in 3 sizes and has interchangeable bibs. The different bibs

allow the lure to run at different depths with a slightly different action. The latest model, the Hamma 105, is a slow riser straight out of the packet and is my favourite for twitching, ripping and slow rolling. Being so versatile makes it a good all-rounder. Barra can often be found in schools in the deeper water in the cooler months. Look in the creeks and main river channel up in the trees. Often they will hold in 7-12m of water and you’ll need a sinking lure to reach them. Hopping soft vibes around 100mm long seems to get a good response. Pre-rigged 5” heavy soft plastics like the PowerBait Mullet can also work well when the fish are feeding on bigger bait. With the plastics, the trick is to fish them slowly and allow plenty of pause time, with the lure just sitting on the bottom. Try both vibes and plastics to see what mood the fish are in if you find them schooled down deep. Fishing guide Lindsay Dobe likes to wrestle big barra from the deeper trees.

WHITSUNDAY REGION PROSERPINE CLOSEST TOWNS: PROSERPINE, AIRLIE BEACH The barra have been unusually tough for the time of year and weather conditions. All that was lacking this year was a serious wet and it has anglers scratching their heads as to why the barra are being so hard to catch. Fishing is full of mysteries and I guess that is one of the reasons we love it so much. As the lake cools, the barra in the main basin of the lake tend to retreat into the timbered areas. Here they can be targeted on weed edges, points, bays, and in deeper water. One of the best ways to get bites is to anchor or spot lock onto a chosen spot and fish it hard for a good hour or two. The more confident you are in the spot, the more time you should put in. What brings this confidence, you ask? Some spots just scream

Jake Schwerin with a nice Awoonga barra. After fishing the salt and struggling, Jake headed back to the dam and scored this barra on a hopped vibe. Lindsay fishes the tops of these trees where the barra seem more active. When you look at the number of trees in Faust, you’d be excused for wondering where you would even start with such an approach. Faust has several submerged creeks, which wind their way through the trees and into the main basin. These creeks therefore form distinct passages. Try targeting barra with medium and

shallow diving hardbodies either side of them. Fish the lures slowly and give them time to float up when they are in the tree. It can also pay to actually knock them into some dead wood before allowing them to float up. This stop-start retrieve accounts for plenty of monster barra. If you are heading out to the dam, make sure you call in at Proserpine Bait and Tackle. The store is on the highway through

Proserpine and stocks all the barra gear you could possibly need. The guys will be able to send you in the right direction and help with nailing the lake’s big fish. Store owner Lindsay Dobe runs charters on the lake and bookings can be made on (07) 4945 4641. Proserpine has a maze of trees to negotiate and explore. A guided fishing charter will certainly help you learn how to fish this tricky lake.

fishers should be aware that it is illegal to possess or use commercial fishing apparatus without an appropriate licence. “When fishing in tidal waters, recreational fishers are permitted to use seine or bait nets and cast nets,” he said. “A recreational seine or bait net must be no longer than 16 m in length and have a mesh size no greater than 28 mm. The drop in the net must be no more than 3 m, and it must not have a pocket or be fixed when used.

“A recreational cast net must be no more than 3.7 m in length and have a mesh size no greater than 28 mm. Mr Ibell said the restrictions on fishing gear were important to protect fish stocks from overfishing and ensure the sustainability of Queensland’s waterways. If you suspect illegal fishing, whether seen in person or online, report it to the Fishwatch hotline on 1800 017 116. Don’t engage the person, as this can compromise an investigation. All information provided

to the hotline will be prioritised based on potential fishery risks, accuracy and reliability with an appropriate response formulated. For more information on Queensland fishing closures, visit www. fisheries.qld.gov.au, call 13 25 23 or download the free ‘Qld Fishing’ app from Apple and Google app stores. Follow Fisheries Queensland on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@ FisheriesQld). – Fisheries

FISHING FILL-ITS

Abusive fisher fined $9,700 A Cardwell fisher has been fined $9,700 this week for abusing officers and using commercial fishing gear without a licence. Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol (QBFP) district officer Rob Ibell said the heavy penalty should serve as a reminder to other fishers that abusive behaviour towards officers would not be tolerated. “QBFP officers responded to a complaint from a member of the public concerning illegal fishing at the mouth of the Murray River, north of Cardwell,” Mr Ibell said. “The suspect was identified as having a history of volatile behaviour and Queensland Police Service (QPS) accompanied QBFP officers to the Murray River campsite. “Police subsequently detained the defendant after he became aggressive and abusive and seized a quantity of drugs and related paraphernalia and a firearm. “Three commercial (monofilament) mesh nets were found and while the defendant had

previously been licenced as a commercial fisher, his licence had been revoked and as such, he was not authorised to be in possession of the nets.” The defendant was

charged for five offences under the Fisheries Act - $6,000 for obstructing officers and $3,700 for possession of illegal nets and an unmarked vessel. Mr Ibell said recreational

MAY 2015

GOLD COAST (SOUTH)

HERVEY BAY

64 Kortum Drive Labrador, QLD, 4215 Phone: (07) 5576 7388 Fax: (07) 5576 2278 www.marinetune.com

Unit 1-19 Islander Road, Pialba, Hervey Bay, QLD, 4655 Phone: (07) 4124 6988 Fax: (07) 4194 2364 www.buccaneers.com.au

MARINE TUNE

BUCCANEERS

Go for native gold BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

GOLD COAST (NORTH)

BROADWATER BOATING CENTRE 46 Brisbane Road Labrador, QLD, 4215 Phone: (07) 5529 1777 Fax: (07) 5529 1888 www.broadwaterboating.com.au

GOLD COAST (NORTH) STEFAN BOATING WORLD

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BRISBANE (SOUTH)

STONES CORNER MARINE 117 Old Cleveland Road Stones Corner, QLD, 4120 Phone: (07) 3397 9766 Fax: (07) 3397 2456 www.stonescornermarine.com.au

BRISBANE (BAYSIDE) WYNNUM MARINE

31 Fox Street Wynnum, QLD, 4178 Phone: (07) 3396 9777 Fax: (07) 3893 2046 www.wynnummarineyamaha.com.au

BRISBANE (NORTH) NORTHSIDE MARINE

2294 Sandgate Road Boondall, QLD, 4034 Phone: (07) 3265 8000 Fax: (07) 3265 8099 www.northsidemarineyamaha.com.au

BRISBANE (NORTH) BRISBANE YAMAHA

174 Eastern Service Road Burpengary, QLD 4505 Phone: (07) 3888 1727 Fax: (07) 3888 9513 www.brisbaneyamaha.com.au

SUNSHINE COAST

RAY SCHOLES MARINE 146 Eumundi Road Noosaville, QLD, 4566 Phone: (07) 5449 7633 Fax: (07) 5449 9830 www.rayscholesmarinenoosa.com.au

GLADSTONE

CURTIS COAST MARINE 40 Chapple St, Gladstone QLD, 4802 Phone: (07) 4972 0135 Fax: (07) 4972 0136 www.curtiscoastmarine.com.au

MACKAY

REEF MARINE 26 Prospect Street Mackay, QLD, 4740 Phone: (07) 4957 3521 Fax: (07) 4957 2447 www.reefmarine.net

WHITSUNDAYS

WHITSUNDAY MARINE 4/11 Shute Harbour Road Cannonvale,QLD, 4802 Phone: (07) 4948 3298 Fax: (07) 4948 3298

www.whitsundaymarine.com.au

BOWEN

REIBEL MARINE 34 Don Street Bowen, QLD, 4805 Phone: (07) 4786 2944 Fax: (07) 4786 6606 www.reibelmarineyamaha.com.au

TULLY

HUNTS OUTBOARD SERVICES 13 Watkins Street Tully, QLD, 4854 Phone: (07) 4068 2222 Fax: (07) 4068 0396 www.huntsoutboards.com.au

CAIRNS

BILLS MARINE 136 Lyons St, Cairns, 4870 Phone: (07) 4051 6733 Fax: (07) 4031 3080 www.billsmarine.com.au

KARUMBA

JONES MARINE 30 Yappar Street Karumba, QLD, 4891 Phone: (07) 4745 9159 Fax: (07) 4745 9366 www.jonesmarine.com.au

When anglers look closely at the fishing in most of southern Queensland’s impoundments, all the attention seems to centre on bass, saratoga and barra. Let’s face it, bass are undeniably the most popular as they are great fun on any tackle, but there’s another fish stocked in almost every dam between Gladstone and the Queensland border that also figure in catches. It is not often targeted by lure anglers, let alone fly anglers. I’m referring to the good old golden perch, or yellowbelly, one of the native fish that always finds its way onto capture sheets whenever inland fishing competitions are held but which are now, thanks to the efforts of dedicated stocking groups, pretty well established in all of the sweetwater impoundments from Gin Gin’s Monduran Dam to Hinze Dam on the Gold Coast. Before putting that fly rod together and heading straight out to have a crack at a golden on fly, let’s look at the reasons to why these fish are not so prominent in catches in our popular impoundments. After all, there are always plenty of anglers on the water all year round with tantalising lures, plastics, vibes, and of course flies all trying for bass or another chosen native fish, but, usually with not many goldens coming to the net. CASE STUDY: SOMERSET DAM There are a couple of factors involved and we’ll take Somerset Dam as a case study. In Somerset, where boats are virtually mandatory for fishing, most bass anglers either rely on their sounders to locate a school of bass prior to casting that first offering into the depths or troll slowly over the deeper water around the points and Stanley River’s submerged bed waiting for a rod to kick into life. Those are great tactics for bass angling but are not going to be very productive for golden perch. While there’s always a chance of taking one feeding with bass, most goldens seem to have a preference for sitting in ambush mode close to cover or hard structure in shallower sections of the impoundment, which is a lot closer to the edges. Put simply, if goldens are the fly rod target, the boat needs to move away from the deeper water sections so the fly angler can work the fly in quite close to the bank. The most productive method being to cast in towards the bank from a short distance out, allow the fly to sink

nearly to the bottom and then retrieve it in a lively manner likely to interest a golden perch. BEST TIMES TO FISH Goldens can be shy critters at times so the use of an electric motor is needed in order to get close enough to a selected area for the fly to be successful. Remember, this will be shallow water fishing, likely less than 5m depth most times. Stealth is paramount and timing the attack is important too. My experience has been that goldens are far more active at times of indirect sunlight, so getting on the water as early as possible is important. Likewise, shaded areas of an early morning are excellent places to make a start on these great fish. Naturally, a late afternoon fishing session with the sun behind a hill or deep cloud cover will also be a lot more productive for goldens than working the fly in the middle of the day when the sun is at its brightest. FLY CHOICE: LESS IS MORE There is another factor to consider as well. Goldens have small mouths when compared to the likes of bass or saratoga so it follows that a smaller fly will be more successful with size 1 or 2 ideal. Purple and black Bass Vampires, Red Vamps and Clousers in chartreuse over white will

keep the steady ‘strip-pausestrip-pause’ retrieve going while the fish is giving the fly some attention. Sooner or later the hook will take a hold and the fun will begin. On fly tackle, golden perch give a good account of themselves. They can grow quite large in impoundments and fish up to 60cm or more common than you think. TACKLE TALK Anything you’d feel comfortable using for bass would be fine for goldens, with a 6-8wt fly outfit being ideal. But instead of a very fast sink fly line, I’d suggest an intermediate sink rate line or maybe even a sink tip in lieu. Get the fly in close, near some chosen cover, a bit of sheer bank or a small inlet then allow it to sink somewhat on a tight line, which is important, before commencing the strip back to the boat. Goldens will often hit the fly on the drop. The best part is that these exact same tactics will also work for the other inhabitants of the impoundment taking it easy in the same area, so there’s likely to be action all round. Mixed bags of native fish on the fly rod? I can’t see anything wrong with that! LAST THOUGHTS If you plan to eat that big golden taken on the fly, give the fillet a night in the fridge so the fat section atop the fillet shows up prominently and can

A couple of the author’s favourite golden perch flies: small Leftys Deceivers. attract yellowbelly but my favourite fly is a small size 1 or 2 Deceiver, in plenty of white bucktail with a small section of brown or pale green along the top. Don’t forget the small splash of red under the gill area if you make your own flies. These fish often tend to pick at an offering before a hook up is achieved. On quite a few occasions I’ve had goldens pick two, three or even more times at a fly prior to some solid weight being transmitted down to the rod butt. The smart tactic is to just

be easily removed with a knife. Goldens are good tucker, ask any old timer from west of the ranges. Can they be caught in our western rivers? Absolutely, if there’s around 40cm of stream visibility and there’s room to get a fly rod into action, goldens are a lot of fun. The by-catch is often cod. As we approach the cooler months, bass fishing will crank up in the impoundments so if the bass are a bit elusive go for gold instead. You might be surprised to see how easy it is. MAY 2015

Kayak sounder solutions BRISBANE

Justin Wilmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

It was the mid 1990s when I first installed a depth sounder on my fishing kayak. It was an old Eagle grey scale and you could probably count the pixels on your fingers and toes, so it looked like a game of Tetris. It certainly didn’t have any sort of down, side or 360º scanning or imaging. What it did do though, was allow me to see how deep the water was, so that I could focus my casts along the edges of dropoffs and banks. In those early years of kayak fishing, I was fishing from a 9’ sit inside kayak, and after some research and discussion with boaties that had sounders, I decided to Sikaflex the transducer inside the hull so that there was no air between the transducer, the hull and the water. This allowed the sounder to shoot and receive the signal through the hull. This served me well for many years and when it finally separated a little and was reading off and on, I just threw a handful of water in around the transducer and

sounder is your eyes beneath the surface, allowing you to locate structure, bait and even fish. This is spot on. When you look out over an impoundment, across a river, or over an expanse of ocean, especially at a new location, it can be quite overwhelming in terms of where to start. For many years it took time on the water to work areas out. If you snagged a few lures, you’d found some structure. If you kept catching weed, you knew the area was weedy. A clean lure generally signalled a sand or mud bottom. Low tide explorations added to your bank of knowledge and understanding of the system, and over time you cracked a pattern in terms of tides, moons, water clarity and other variables. With the aid of a sounder you now launched onto this new waterway with your eyes scanning the horizon for obvious structure, while they also referred to the sounder in search of snag piles, holes, banks, dropoffs, bait, fish and other keys to the puzzle. This ability to see below the water can be even more important when fishing from a kayak, as we tend to focus our attention in a smaller area, rather than travelling the distances

with Lowrance now offering a colour sounder for under $150 specifically designed with kayak anglers in mind. For those heading offshore, fishing tournaments, or who have the budget, a more powerful unit with more features and a larger screen provides additional information, detail, and is easier to read, but you do need to consider the available cockpit space and mounting options. After my early ‘Tetris’ days, there are now a couple of features that I always opt for when purchasing a sounder. Colour A colour sounder allows you to better separate fish from structure and bait, identify bottom types, and also to separate fish from thermoclines. I remember well the first time I used a colour sounder; I located a ball of bait that on my grey scale sounder would have appeared as a dark coloured ball. Low and behold, with my colour sounder it was a green ball, with 2 red arches in amongst it. After catching a few yellowtail pike, I would normally have moved on, but I persisted and soon hooked up to one of the red arches,

sounder/GPS unit, then there are many benefits available. Once you locate fish-holding structure, a GPS allows you to mark this point (waypoint) and easily return to it in the future. It also allows you to mark bait or fish, a point where you had a bite or hooked a fish, or anything else of interest. If you are drifting or trolling, you can also record tracks that show where you have been to ensure you are covering new water on your next run. A GPS is also handy when you are on an adventure from Point A to Point B, allowing you to assess the distance covered and ensure you are on track. This becomes even handier when on multi-day adventures where you need to reach your designated campsite before nightfall. When it comes to selecting a sounder, do your research, make note of what features are important to you, and talk to the experts at the local dealership. INSTALLATION OPTIONS A few years ago I decided at short notice to fish an ABT bass comp at Clarrie Hall Dam. I uninstalled my sounder from my offshore kayak, threw it in a bag and we set off. When we arrived to fish the comp, I filled a plastic Ziploc bag with water, dropped the transducer in, taped the bag closed around the transducer cord and sat it on the floor of the sit-in Top: A Railblaza mount for the head unit, and a plastic bag of water for the transducer. Above Left: This compact unit offers the kayak angler both sounder and GPS at a reasonable price. Above Right: A Railblaza StarPort and adjustable platform make for a quick install and easy adjustment.

The colour sounder clearly showed bass hiding in the weed. away we went again. So let’s have a look at why you might add a sounder to your kayak, some things to keep in mind when selecting a sounder, and a few options when it comes to installation. WHY INSTALL A SOUNDER? I remember Tim ‘The Bream’ Morgan saying a 76

MAY 2015

covered by the boaties in search of fish. A sounder fast tracks your knowledge and allows you to get the most out what you are able to cover. WHICH SOUNDER? Select a reputable brand and buy the best you can afford. That’s a good starting point. You don’t need to blow the budget though,

which turned out to be a nice snapper. Returning to the bait ball, it wasn’t long before the rod buckled over again and I was into another red. When I returned to the mark once more, I found a green ball on the sounder with no red arches. I was sold! GPS If you can afford a combo

Top and above left: The Ziploc bag transducer housing. Not pretty, but it’s served the author well. Above Right: A Ziploc bag of water and a roll of tape can get you out of trouble. Right: A small sealed battery is all that’s required to run the most basic sounder.

kayak. It read perfectly well through the hull of the kayak! Thanks to the sounder, I located bass holding within the weed and extracted them using soft plastics, weighing in my 2 fish bag, but unfortunately not big enough to trouble the winners. What this shows though, is that it is simple science that ensures your sounder will work. As long as there is no air between the transducer and the water, then there is a good chance your sounder should read okay. Many Hobie Kayaks now feature the Lowrance Ready System, including a built-in transducer mount and pre-installed through-hull cable plugs, so installation is a breeze. Other brands, such as Ocean Kayak offer models

that feature a transducer scupper to make installation easier, while Viking have introduced a removable Tackle Pod that makes for simpler installation and the ability to remove the pod, including tackle, sounder, battery and other accessories at the end of the session. The days of using Sikaflex or silicone to attach your transducer inside the hull of the kayak are probably gone, unless you plan to only use the sounder in that kayak and not switch between kayaks or other vessels. Another option is a kit available from your local kayak or marine dealer that includes a foam block to fit your transducer to. This is glued inside the kayak hull and the transducer simply pushes into this

block, allowing it to be easily removed as required. Some kits include oil that is poured into the block prior to the transducer being inserted, while others simply utilise a handful of water to remove the air between the transducer and hull. Another common installation option is an arm on which the transducer is mounted, that in turn mounts to the kayak. This enables the transducer to be lifted or lowered as required and easily removed when not in use or when transferring the unit to another vessel. Ram and Railblaza would have to be the 2 most popular mount and accessory companies for paddlers, and they offer a multitude of installation solutions.

A Clarrie Hall bass on the measure thanks to the colour sounder. Fitting out your kayak is part of the fun of kayak fishing and although you don’t necessarily need a sounder to catch fish, you will be surprised just how handy it is, how often you refer to it, how quickly

you learn about the area you’re fishing, and how often in the past you have most likely paddled over structure, bait, and fish. A sounder will open your eyes… beneath the surface.

Above Left: A Railblaza camera boom allows the transducer to be folded up when not in use. Above Right: Unlock 2 Railblaza StarPort mounts and the whole assembly is removed in seconds.

A Railblaza boom folded down so the transducer is in the water and reading.

Profish “Load & Go” Pods Our Removable Pod system will see you having more time on the water. Rig up the night before and simply load your pods on location and go...

Profish Tackle Pod™ • Integrated Sounder, Transducer and Battery pod. • Completely removable in one easy action. • Large internal tackle storage facility. Profish Chill Pod™ • Insulated to keep your catch in perfect condition. Just add ice. • Quick release for ease of loading into your vehicle. • Contains the mess, making clean down a breeze.

FISHING KAYAK SPECIALISTS

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30 Year Warranty Quality assurance MAY 2015

Spoil yourself at Kurrimine Beach Holiday Park BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Call me Mr Lucky, I get to spend time in some fabulous caravan parks and camping grounds, and Kurrimine Beach Holiday Park is one of the really good ones I’ve seen in the last year. But where is Kurramine Beach? It’s one of those northern gems that I like to visit in the cooler months. Situated just a little north of Mission Beach and just 90 minutes south from Cairns. The easiest way to spend time in this fabulous area is to head east at the town of Silkwood, which is around 20 minutes south from Innisfail. From there it’s a comfortable drive east – watch out for cassowaries – to the small township of Kurrimine Beach. A right turn once in town will see the Holiday Park at the end of Jacobs Road, at 9 Coyle Street. As you head down Jacobs Road the Caravan Park is easily noted ahead. The entire area is very pretty and visitors will find the coastal strip is blessed with attractive sandy beaches, great views out to sea of Dunk and other islands not far offshore. Unfortunately, my stay at the Park coincided with some fairly rainy weather so while we managed to sneak in some fishing in between showers, my digital images cannot really do the area justice. A PET FRIENDLY PARK The Kurrimine Beach Caravan Park caters for all comers and it’s a pet friendly place, even with a dog bath and free dog washing machine. Overall, it is a family-orientated park with plenty of powered and unpowered campsites, sites with concrete pads for caravans, well appointed cabins for hire as well. So

it’s really a laid back and very enjoyable sort of place for everyone. Visitors can enjoy a dip in the 25m pool within the water park area, which suited a lot of youngsters

The park’s cabins are neat, well appointed and very comfortable.

and young at heart. Park amenities are clean, modern, and the onsite kiosk has small goods, ice, bait, gas and other items. A large camp kitchen, wireless internet, weekly morning tea and a weekly BBQ are also attractions that are absolutely free. I

Want to take your tinny on holidays and catch the big one but can’t because you are towing a caravan?

Well here is the answer!!

Features include: Single person operation, electric and manual models, custom made to suit vehicle and boat, built for off-road conditions, aluminium and stainless steel construction. For further information contact Bowline on

Ph: (07) 5498 7339 Fx: (07) 5498 7351 Mobile: 0419 674 343

www.tinnietosser.com.au MAY 2015

It would be difficult to overlook the park’s attractive entrance.

A particularly well-appointed camp kitchen is on hand at Kurrimine Beach Caravan Park.

“Tinnie Tosser”

liked the presence of some shade, too, as the tropics can be a bit warm at times and it’s a blessing to set up camp in the shade. The park is quite progressive in outlook,

with friendly management and staff. Nothing seems to be too much trouble and, while management encourage seniors to stay and enjoy themselves, there are no permanents on site. Which means that there’s plenty of room for all-comers. FISHING HIGH ON TO DO LIST Local attractions, include restaurants and hotels in town, a visit to Murdering Point Winery not far away, perhaps a look at the local rainforest trails and waterfalls. Or simply having a crack at the fishing. Local beaches are usually fished at high tide for bream, flathead, grunter or jacks. Nearby Maria Creek – home of many big fat mud crabs and lots of tasty mangrove jack and hard hitting barra as well – is just on the outskirts of Kurrimine Beach where there’s an excellent small boat ramp. Access eastwards is

mainly a high tide affair but, as always with small craft, if there’s no big hurry things seem to work out well. Snags are great for jacks and barra, so it pays to have plenty of casts. MISSION BEACH FISHING HANDY If there’s time on your hands it’s also well worth a drive south to Mission Beach via the Bruce Highway and turning off

A fun water park is a main attraction. just prior to Tully to have a look (with rod, lures, bait, etc in hand) at the excellent jetty at Alexander Drive, Mission Beach, as well as the nearby Clump Point Boat Harbour. In late winter this jetty is a proven mackerel spot.

Concrete pads are on hand for caravan owners.

The Clump Point Harbour has an excellent ramp and provides easy small craft access out to the local islands. Just south of Mission Beach are the Murray and Hull rivers both of which offer jacks, trevally, and barra. For the small boat owner these two rivers are definitely worth spending some time exploring. In summing up this review I’d mention that Kurrimine Beach is one of those very laid back, even lazy, sorts of places that seem almost too good to be true. It’s just so casual, so pleasant and not too far off the so-called beaten track. It is well worth a visit in the coming months or, for that matter, right now. Contact details are 1300 725 525 or www. kurrimine.com.au.

Versatile Mitsubishi Challenger value adds BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Refined over several models, the current Mitsubishi Challenger wagon sits somewhere between the Japanese manufacturer’s Triton and Pajero, with the Outlander also nudging into the picture. Yet the Challenger is different from all of these offerings. While built on the Triton’s 4x4 chassis, there’s refinement and touches of luxury — plus a much enhanced ride — that should theoretically see the Challenger having great family appeal. EASY ENGINE CHOICE In many ways an interesting vehicle, the Australian version of the Challenger comes with 5 seats, albeit large, very comfortable ones and ample head room all round. Choice of engine could not be easier; it’s either the 2.5L common rail turbo diesel or the 2.5L common rail turbo diesel! Developing 131kW of power, the 4-cylinder power plant offers 400Nm of torque in the manual version, with some 350Nm in the auto. Mitsubishi have wisely offered their Challenger wagon in 2 versions; the ‘standard’ 4WD (which is a long way from a so-called standard vehicle) and the more upmarket LS 4WD with all the fruit. The first offers the choice of either 5 speed manual or a 5 speed auto shifter, while the LS comes in auto guise only, which, to my mind is no issue at all. Auto 4x4s have been many car manufacturers’ flavour of the month for quite a while now. A WELL APPOINTED RANGE The standard Challenger offers — to name just some of the many features — 16” alloy wheels, side steps,

Functional good looks are one of the attractions of the modern Challenger.

That stubby second lever denotes the Challenger as a 4x4 of some purpose.

All major functions are accessible via the Challenger’s steering wheel. entry, steering wheel audio and phone controls, USB input and iPod control, Bluetooth 2.0 phone and audio streaming, and 60/40 split fold rear seating for extra cargo area when needed. Auto models have paddle shifters the same as the LS autos. Note that both models

A high lift rear door makes loading the Challenger for a weekend away very easy. halogen headlamps, virtually power assisted functions all round including mirrors), a colour display audio system with touch screen that doubles as a multi information display and reversing camera, climate control air with pollen filter, cruise control, keyless door

feature aux ports as well, for us with a chosen sound system. Moving across to the LS model as reviewed, additional items include even more chrome on the exterior, rain sensing wipers and auto headlights, fog lamps, privacy glass, and 17” alloy wheels.

There’s also a fair amount of leather trim on the interior, power operated seats for driver and passenger, cargo blind, and 6 speakers for the sound system. The LS model also has an extra SD card slot for both music and videos to be played through the vehicle’s media interface system. As can be seen, the LS has more goodies, but the standard model is certainly not short of features. AN ENJOYABLE DRIVE Challenger owners will find their wagons are very pleasant vehicles to drive, thanks to a high seating position all round, which along with large side mirrors sees no necessity for side or blind spot warning systems, plus overall dynamics that deliver a smooth and very controlled ride rather than one that is okay on bitumen and not so great off the hard black stuff. The 2.5L common rail turbo diesel (with variable geometry turbo for optimum turbo boost) has ample power to easily move the solid 2t wagon off the mark and keep it moving smoothly in traffic, around the suburbs or on country roads. On a long country run (10l/100km

fuel consumption) I found the Challenger auto to be a very practical and easy vehicle to enjoy, whether on or off-road. Comfort levels were very high, road handling was spot on thanks to coil suspension up front, plus a live axle 3 link coil spring setup at the rear. As such, the ride is a long way removed from the Challenger’s Triton roots, although like the Triton, the Challenger is a fairly narrow beast. As an aside, I towed our Tabs Bullshark with the wagon and it really did it easy. Owners with boats

will appreciate the wagon’s 3000kg braked trailer, 750kg unbraked capability. One really good feature of driving the Triton in all situations is the Super Select 4x4 system that offers the driver a choice of rear-wheel or all-wheel drive, both on-and off-road. Coupled to high and low range, plus a diff lock, the Challenger is a 4WD with go-anywhere attitude. Ground clearance at 220mm fortunately matches the mechanics, so owners can be confident when push turns to shove. A noted strong point is the Challenger’s deep cargo area, which is significantly larger and taller than some rivals and sure to be appreciated by people needing room for their camping equipment and fishing gear. And with loading made easy by a high lifting rear tail gate and rear seats down, there’s

a massive 1813L of cargo area on hand for holidays or weekends away from home. IN A NUTSHELL In summing up the Challenger, there’s no denying the car’s substantial off-road cred; nor the fact that the vehicle is pleasant to drive, will transport 5 people with ease, and swallow up a lot of cargo. On the debit side of the ledger is a fairly small fuel tank at just 70L, plus the Challenger — around for so long these days — is lacking in some of the refinement we expect to find in the latest generation of 4WDs. Yet it’s a tough machine, with great engine and gear box flexibility and capability. It has a 4 star ANCAP rating, 6 airbags and a whole slew of electronics to keep it steady and safe both on and off the road. List price of the LS is around the 50km mark, but I’m sure that potential owners can do a lot better than that.

The Challenger made very easy work of towing our Bullshark. MAY 2015

Taking the track home BRISBANE

The Sheik of the Creek

There’s a lot to be said in support of living in the bush, and a lot to be said for fishing there too. I realised how different fishing out west was after a recent trip. I grew up out there, and spent the first half of my life fishing for catties, yellowbelly and cod. I even caught a few of those, and also managed to hook tortoises, rats, snakes, and even a platypus, many, many years ago. For the conservationists amongst you, the platypus went back. Not real good eating apparently, and also it was undersized. The creeks, rivers, billabongs, dams and lakes I fished ranged from the sandy bottomed creeks at the head of the Mary River near Conondale, through the water-stained mud of the Dogwood out to the majesty of Coopers Creek and tributaries of the channel country. Bait ranged from worms dug out of the septic overflow to frogs, bobbies, yabbies, roo meat and even the tag

off an old singlet during one desperate and baitless trip. It was also unsuccessful. There won’t be a range of Jackie Howe lures coming out anytime soon. Nearly all trips have been from the bank. Only very occasionally do you get to take a watercraft of any sort off terra firma and onto the water. It was always a dream to paddle or motor around pulling or chucking lures, but it never seemed to pan out. Probably a good thing given my record with boats. One thing that has been a constant companion in the entire time I’ve been fishing freshwater, has been patience, and I reckon learning to fish away from the coast gives you an edge because you learn the waiting game from an early age. And it sort of goes with the lifestyle too. Living on the coast is all rush and bustle, and parallel to that, fishing along the coast is all about scoring a fish and moving on. There’s no time to sit and wait in most situations. If you haven’t got a fish in a few minutes, it’s off to the next spot. That ASD type of

fishing doesn’t work on the freshwater scene. On the inland waterways, it’s always about sitting back and watching. The little tickle on the float gets the heart pumping but it’s usually just a wiggling yabby or a breath of wind. And on the coast, it’s all about wind. Very rarely does wind come into it in the bush. There are other environmental factors that tend to impact more on your fishing trip. Like heat. Or flies. Or mossie plagues. Or sandfly plagues. Or fires. Or floods. Or drought. In which case you’re casting into a waterhole the size of a tablespoon, except not quite that deep. And more often than not, you catch nothing. Which is okay, because I’ve always fished for the company. Not the company I work for; I mean I fish inland because of the people I get to mix with. Which is usually the same Dudds I fish with on the coast. But they’re calmer Dudds in the bush. And more patient. And my ADHD keeps me calmer when I’m…hey what’s that shiny thing over there…

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Mitch Overs caught this great 1.12m queenfish approximately 800m off Red Beach on a lazy Saturday morning on a Gold RMG.

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Boyne Tannum Hook Up The Boyne Tannum Hook Up Association conducts a massive annual family fishing event that aims to bring together friends and family from all parts of Australia. The event will see participants vying for over $300,000 worth of prizes and giveaways. The event attracts around 3,000 entrants and 30,000 visitors to Bray Park, Boyne Island where fishing weigh-ins and family

flocking to the event, and the Boyne Tannum area, with entertainment for adults and children provided for the majority of the weekend. The Boyne Tannum Hook Up Association is run by a Management Committee as well as hundreds of volunteers. As a whole, the organisation works entertainment is provided over the three days of competition. The fishing competition caters for both adults and children with extensive competition prizes for the winners of each of these sections.

MAY 2015

Entries for competitors close on Monday 1 June or when sold out. Fees for senior competitors are $85, while junior competitors (16 years or under) will pay $40 to register. The competition runs from 5-7 June 2015

and daily weigh-ins will be conducted on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with the last weigh-in conducted at 4pm Sunday afternoon. The event sees a plethora of families and competitors from all over Australia

incredibly hard to make the Boyne Tannum Hook Up one of Gladstone Region’s most professional and prestigious events, aiming to have an international presence in the future. The Boyne Tannum Hook Up, run annually for the past 20 years, hopes to continue as an event for

families to enjoy all that the Gladstone Region has to offer as a premier fishing location. To find out more information about the event, competition rules and prizes, head to our website www.boynetannumhookup. com.au. – Boyne Tannum Hook Up

Pottsville Fishing Classic The Lions Club of Tweed Coast South is based in Pottsville NSW, servicing the Pottsville community. This year they are running a Fishing Classic, which will be held at the Pottsville Sports Club, along with the Fishing Club, Volunteer Rescue Service & Rural Fire Brigade on the long weekend 6th – 7th June 2015 (Queen’s Birthday weekend). “This is our first year in putting this event together but next year (2016) we will be running the competition in, so hopefully this will come an annual event for the community of Pottsville,” said Bevan Wise. “The funds raised will go to helping our Volunteer Rescue Service, Westpac Helicopter Service, Rural Fire Brigade and our Pottsville Community Project. Sign on will be help at 9am to 2pm Saturday 6th June 2015 at Pottsville Sports Club, weigh-in by 9am sharp Sunday 7th June 2015, with all fish going to auction. You’ll be fishing for a secret weight fish, with winners drawn from one of six species. There will be 1st place prize $1500, 2nd place prize $1000, Major prize boat, motor and trailer valued at $7000. Entry fee for adults is $25 and Juniors $15 (under 16) also prizes for Vets, Mens, Ladies and Juniors. On Sunday catch a party on the lawn at Pottsville Sports Club; there will be BBQ breakfast available, then later on head inside the Club for a beautiful lunch in Coolamon Restaurant plus live Jazz band. You have got to be there to win! – Lions Club.

2015 Pirtek Competition winners The Pirtek Fishing Challenge nationwide fishing tournament continues to go from strength to strength, with 8,401 competitors registered for the 2015 event. And although the final amount raised for prostate cancer research was still not finalised at the time of printing, the recipient charities – The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and the Peter Duncan Neurosciences Research Unit – are sure to

Left: 1st flathead Trent Tapscott (85cm). Right: 2nd whiting Raith Anderson (42cm).

RESULTS Place MDB 1st 2nd 3rd Jr 1st Jr 2nd Mystery Length

Species

Length(cm) Angler

Area

State

European Carp.............. 82.0.................Kirsty Pinal.. Menindee.............NSW European Carp.............. 80.0.................Jason Williams..........................Salisbury East............... SA European Carp.............. 75.1.................Lois Hatch................................Bungendore.................. NSW European Carp.............. 79.0.................Connor Graham.......................Chisholm....................... ACT European Carp.............. 76.5.................Brandon Dickerson..................Cowra............................ NSW European Carp (56cm).. 55.7.................Lee Whitmore...........................Beechworth.................. VIC

MDB 1st 2nd 3rd Jr 1st Jr 2nd Mystery Length

Golden Perch................ 61.0.................Todd Hughes............................Inverell........................... NSW Golden Perch................ 59.6.................Chris Howell.............................Adelong......................... NSW Golden Perch................ 59.3.................Steven Watts............................Guyra............................. NSW Golden Perch................ 64.3.................Ruby Thornely...........................Borambola.................... NSW Golden Perch................ 57.1.................Lachlan Grob............................Glen Innes..................... NSW Golden Perch (47cm).... 46.9.................Jason Varcoe............................Girgarre......................... VIC

MDB 1st 2nd 3rd Jr 1st Jr 2nd Mystery Length

Redfin............................ 48.8.................Peter Willott.Glen Innes............NSW Redfin............................ 47.0.................Stephen Mather.......................Glen Innes..................... NSW Redfin............................ 46.8.................Damian Doust..........................Glen Innes..................... NSW Redfin............................ 34.6.................Isabel Schumacher..................Perthville....................... NSW Redfin............................ 32.0.................Jake Thornton...........................Wandin North................ VIC Redfin (33cm)................ 33.0.................Phil Taaffe..................................Broadford...................... VIC

QLD 1st 2nd 3rd Jr 1st Jr 2nd Mystery Length

Barramundi.................... 118.5...............Rob Schmidt............................Cordelia......................... QLD Barramundi.................... 115.2...............Jeff Harris.................................Gracemere.................... QLD Barramundi.................... 112.3...............Mark Harris...............................Frenchville..................... QLD Barramundi.................... 108.8...............Drayer Smith.............................Cannon Valley................ QLD Barramundi.................... 107.8................Keyra Smith..............................Cannon Valley................ QLD Barramundi (78cm)....... 76.50...............Mick Yeomans...........................Mackay.......................... QLD

QLD 1st 2nd 3rd Jr 1st Jr 2nd Mystery Length

Flathead......................... 85.0.................Trent Tapscott...........................Pacific Pines................. QLD Flathead......................... 82.5.................Luke Bellette.............................Aroona........................... QLD Flathead......................... 78.3.................Wolfgang Kager........................Curra............................. QLD Flathead......................... 67.5.................Michael Joos............................Curra............................. QLD Flathead......................... 62.2.................Jack Hofmann..........................Boyne Island................. QLD Flathead (61cm)............ 61.0.................Brian Mah.................................Crestmead.................... QLD

QLD 1st 2nd 3rd Jr 1st Jr 2nd Mystery Length

Whiting.......................... 43.3.................Brett Van Lathum......................Elanora.......................... QLD Whiting.......................... 42.7.................Connie Sawka..........................Jacobs Well................... QLD Whiting.......................... 42.0.................Raith Anderson........................Nerang.......................... QLD Whiting.......................... 40.0.................Mark Drescher..........................Coombabah.................. QLD Whiting.......................... 39.2.................Oska Polla Mounter.................Mooloolaba................... QLD Whiting (36cm).............. 36.0.................David Kajewski.........................Maroochydore............... QLD

Top: 2nd barramundi Junior Keyra Smith (107.8cm) Middle Left: 1st golden perch Junior Ruby Thornely (64.3cm). Middle Right: 1st whiting Junior Mark Drescher (40cm). Above: 2nd barramundi Jeff Harris (115.2cm). get a much needed injection of finds from over 8,000 anglers having a great day on the water! Here’s the final results for Queensland, plus the mystery length winners and a great selection of winners’ pics from what

must be the biggest fishing competition in Australia! The Pirtek comp is an annual event that you can fish wherever you are in Australia. This year, $169,000 in cash and prizes were distributed to winners. – Pirtek Team.

3rd barramundi Mark Harris (112.3cm).

$169,000

in cash and prizes MAY 2015

Rollison turns back clock Andrew Rollison (2/2, 2.19kg) took out the first BASS Electric event for 2015, the Haswing BASS Electric Major at Hinze Dam, March 29. Rollison, a 47 year old Technology Manager at News Corp, returned from an eight year hiatus to take the win at his local dam. Capping off the victory, Rollison also secured the Flow-rite Big Bass for the event (1.22kg). Rollison decided not to prefish the tournament, relying on his previous experience and knowledge of the waterway. However, as Rollison discovered on competition day, the water levels had risen significantly (15 feet) since his last trip. The decision was made to stick to his original plan and return to where he had located fish at the lower water level. Rollision discusses his choice of location and technique used, “I had made a decision to fish one section of bank and not travel too much. I also fished a bay that was still partly in the shade on

Andrew Rollison with his brace of Hinze winning bass. (Double Willow) with a combination of skirts #26 (purple, red and white/ cream), #001 (purple and white fleck) and #31 (cream, olive, silver fleck)”. Rollison’s first fish came at 7.30am, and then nothing until 9.45am when he lost two fish in two casts into the sunken timber. This

rattled Rollison who took a break for 10-15 minutes to regroup and refocus and then concentrated on catching the second fish. A few bumps came over the next hour but no bites connected. Giving the bank a rest he headed out to fish points for approximately one hour. Rollison identified

suspended fish at 20-25’ in the trees, but could not get a reaction from them. “At 11.45am I headed back to where I had lost the two fish earlier, as I figured that there must be other active fish in the area, and on my first cast I connected to, and landed the fish that filled my bag.”

WINNING NOTES

Winning Tackle

Lure: ............... 3/8oz Bassman spinnerbait Rod:.............G. Loomis Crankbait CBR843 Reel: ..................... Daiwa Zillion PE special Line: ...............14lb Berkley Crystal Fireline Leader:..... 20lb Sunline flurocarbon leader

Winning Ways

“I think the fact that I took the time to recompose after losing two fish in succession was a real contributor to the overall outcome. Also focusing on the things that I could control, such as boat position, technique and presentation, helped overcome the tough bite.”

Flow-Rite Big Bass

The event winner Andrew Rollison also secured the Flow-Rite Big Bass for the event (1.22kg).

STORM VENTAFISH®

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888. 84

MAY 2015

the western side of the dam that had held fish earlier in the year. I targeted structure that was in 15-20’ of water and positioned the boat around the 35-40’ contour to cast and retrieve across the target area which contained multiple sunken bush and tree skeletons. “The technique was to let the lure drop to the bottom in approximately 20’, then a dead slow roll and pause, 3 slow winds then letting it sink again, effectively keeping it connected to the bottom and slowly dragging it through the sunken tree frames in the target area. The strikes that I did receive came during the slow roll. The spinnerbait used was a 3/8oz Bassman Carl’s Compact spinnerbait

Above left: Andrew Rollison also picked up the Flow-Rite Big Bass Prize at Hinze. Above: The top three from the first Haswing BASS Electric Major of the year cleaned up in the prize department.

RESULTS #

Angler

Fish Weight (kg)

1 2 3

Andrew ROLLISON Adrian WILSON Stephen MCLEAN

2/2 2/2 2/2

2.19 2.12 1.74

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Paul MCHUGH Jonathan BALE Shaun FALKENHAGEN Les SMITH Tom REYNOLDS Luke CLARK Rebecca SMITH QLD

2/2 2/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2

1.51 1.44 1.11 0.91 0.90 0.88 0.79

Payout

Haswing Electric motor Engel Esky, $300 Haswing voucher, 13 Fishing Omen Black rod, $200 Haswing voucher Spotters sunglasses & lure pack Spotters sunglasses & lure pack Tonic sunglasses Austackle rod Austackle rod Lure Pack Lure Pack

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

Adrian Wilson claimed another podium finish to now be the number one ranked BASS Electric angler. Rollison notes in relation to his tackle that he increased his leader strength given the terrain that he was fishing and noted that the water was still partly cloudy from recent rain. “It is pretty easy to loose the mental edge and become negative when you don’t catch or lose fish, but I didn’t want that to impact on the remaining time that I had left. Thanks to ABT for the event and the major sponsor Haswing. I am looking forward to the remaining comps and the Electric Convention at Cressbrook”. TREETOP TREASURE DELIVERS FOR WILSON Adrian Wilson (2/2, 2.12) produced a strong result to finish in second place and kickstart his 2015 BASS Electric campaign. Wilson, a 50 year old self-employed concreter from Heritage Park, found his tournament limit but fell just grams short of taking the win. Wilson had the opportunity to prefish Hinze Dam five weeks earlier and found the bite tough, only managing to land one fish. On a positive note Wilson did locate a promising school of fish off an edge in about 8m of water and decided to return to this location on the day of the tournament. However things don’t always go to plan, “On competition day I headed to my starting point, but unfortunately another angler looked like they were heading in that direction in front of me so I had to change my game plan. I ended up heading down near the dam wall, where I fished edges for about 25 minutes until I finally came across some fish in 7m of water. I dropped down a 1/4oz

Impact Tackle Bladez in fire tail colour and vertically hopped it and scored my first fish followed by my second fish 15- 20 minutes later using the same lure. I was pretty happy to have bagged out within the first hour on a 33cm and 36cm respectively, especially knowing how challenging the bite was”. Wilson proceeded to fish the surrounding flats with a variety of plastics and blades searching for

upgrades. Knowing this area held good fish kept Wilson plugged away, but no fish were forthcoming. With no upgrades a move was made to his next location, a submerged tree that laid in roughly 10m of water. “When I reached this spot I started to get a good showing of fish on my Lowrance in 5-7m of water around the submerged tree. I put my spot lock on and dropped down some blades and ice jigs but could not entice a response. After 1.5 hours with no bites but plenty of fish still showing I decided to drop a marker buoy on the tree and move

3/8oz Bassman Carl’s Compact spinnerbait (Double Willow) with a combination of skirts #26 (purple, red and white/cream), #001 (purple and white fleck) and #31 (cream, olive, silver fleck)

out about 20m so I could cast cut down plastics back over the tree. As it was a breezy day, the wind would continually shift the boat around hence why I put down the buoy, so I knew where to cast every time. “I would count the lure

bites, therefore sparking up my enthusiasm again. Looking back, I believe the change of angle from a vertical to a more horizontal angle obliviously presented the lure differently to the fish, and possibly triggered a new found interest from

BASS EL ECT MAJOR RIC

Head in smoke yellow core colour. The lure was continually coated in Procure Super Gel in garlic scent. “In hindsight, it was a good choice to stay where the fish were schooled and not waste valuable time trying to search for more active fish that I possibly may never had found. As the saying goes, never leave fish to find fish. “I would like to thank Bill, Adam and the rest of the boys from Tackle Warehouse for their support over the years and Brad Clark from Barrabass

Luke Clark’s boat is rigged and ready to go for the 7am start in the first Haswing BASS Electric Major of the year. down for about 15-20 seconds and then start a dead slow retrieve back to the boat which got me instant, but subtle

them. I stayed in this spot for the remainder of the day, upgrading twice with a 40cm and a 39cm fish”. Wilson used a cut down 2.8” Keitech Swing Impact Fat in silver flash minnow colour rigged on a 1/4oz Impact Tackle Headz Jig

rods for making my rods”. Wi l son’s t ackl e included a Revs 72 Barrabass Rod teamed with a 2500 size Daiwa Certate Reel spooled with 10lb Sunline Super 5 Braid and 6lb FC Rock Fluorocarbon leader.

Spinnerbait retrieve

2.8” Keitech Swing Impact Fat in silver flash minnow rigged on a 1/4oz Impact Tackle Headz Jighead in smoke yellow core colour MAY 2015

Carter breams to BASS win TER 1ST BOA Victoria’s Warren Carter showed he’s a bass rookie to watch on the BASS Pro tour with the multiple event winning BREAM tour veteran compiling a 6/6, 4.87kg to claim victory in the first round of the Toray BASS Pro Series. Showing experienced bass pros a clean pair of heels Carter fished to his strength, throwing his beloved bream jerkbait, a Smith Panish, to claim first blood at the Imakatsu presented opening round of the 2015 series. Equally forging a path on the bass tour for the bream guys was event runner-up Anthony Thorpe, followed by multiple BASS Electric event winner, Haswing Bass Pro Dave Mann. For event winner Carter it was a bream influenced affair with the Victorian tournament veteran fishing to his strengths

and throwing a lure that he’s claimed many podium finishes on the BREAM tour, a jerkbait. “The Smith Panish jerkbait is one of my go-to lures when chasing black bream, so I tied one on during the Friday prefish and caught a fish on my 4th cast,” explained Carter. With his lure and technique locked in courtesy of a 25 fish prefish Carter kicked off session one fishing the weed edges in the main basin and soon found the fish still on the bite, picking up his limit in the first hour and catching four fish for the session. Sitting in the top five heading into session two Carter once again threw a jerkbait, and just like in session one had his limit in the first hour fishing shallow weed edges. Focusing on the distinct weed edges rather than the broken and more scattered weed lines Carter’s retrieve was textbook black bream jerkbaiting, three to four twitches followed by a pause. The pauses were sometimes up to four seconds long, but were

Weed fringed bays and points were prime spots to fish in the Imakatsu presented opening round of the Toray BASS Pro Series.

Warren Carter became one of only a few anglers to have won a BASS Pro and BREAM Qualifier event with victory at Lake St Clair. more commonly 1-2 seconds long. “It was important to fish freshwater and not just revisit the same banks all the same,” explained Carter. This approach paid off big time on day one, on day two things however got a lot tougher. “Sunday was really hard. I fished both new and old ground and it was hard going. It wasn’t until the change came through and the wind picked up at 11.15am that the fish started to bite,” explained Carter. Keying in on the wind blown banks as the hot

Pause

STORM Twitch

VENTAFISH®

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888. 86

MAY 2015

spots Carter made up for lost time, quickly catching his limit, and catching four fish in the last 20 minutes of the session. Weighing in the second heaviest limit for the session Carter in the end claimed a comfortable win. In doing so becoming one of few anglers who have won both a BASS Pro and BREAM event. With a 4th and 1st in his last two BASS Pro events Carter is one of the inform anglers on tour at the moment, and is emerging as an angler to watch for the 2015 Power-Pole Angler of the Year title.

Thorpe mixes deep and shallow CE 2ND PLA

For event runner-up Anthony Thorpe is was a tournament of varying techniques with the NSW tournament gun fishing both shallow and deep to catch his fish. Starting off on the eastern side of the lake early on day one Thorpe filled his limit in five minutes catching his fish on a soft plastic in the shallows. “There was this small bay where the bass were breaking the surface as they herded up baitfish,” explained Thorpe. To catch them Thorpe threw a Bait Breath Fish Tail Shad rigged on a 1/16oz Nitro jighead and worked it back with a slow roll and twitch retrieve. “It was just like a surface bite and once the sun got up and hit the water the bite shut down,” explained Thorpe. With his shallow plastic bite gone Thorpe moved

Anthony Thorpe fished both shallow and deep to catch his St Clair bass.

deeper and began throwing an Evergreen Little Max in 25-30’ of water out from the weed edge. Sitting in equal 1st place at the end of the session Thorpe knew that his shallow, low light, pattern wouldn’t fire until late in session, if at all. “I went deep from the start of the session and vertical fished a 2.5” Bait Breath Fish Curly in 30’ of water, fishing it with a slow roll and drop through the water column,” explained Thorpe. The approach paid off with Thorpe catching his limit in the first ten minutes. As the session progressed and the amount of sunlight waned Thorpe once again hit the shallower edges, throwing a Little Max to the edges and slow rolling it back out. Delivering another consistent bag to the scales Thorpe sat in 3rd place heading into the 2nd and final day. Returning back to his shallow bay Thorpe picked up where he left off, catching a string of fish on his rolled and twitched paddle tail plastic.

Draper rips to Victory -BOATER 1ST NON Fishing his first BASS Pro after many years on the sideline 16 year old New South Wales angler Luke Draper confirmed long held suspicions and showed that he’s a tournament angler on the rise and an angler to watch for the future. Fishing with David Diggins on day one Draper started his day throwing a Jackall Squirrel to the weed edge, and he didn’t have to wait long to find out if he was on the money. “David had me three fish down so I decided to tie on a jerkbait, and it was on my first cast that I caught my first fish,” explained Draper. Working the jerkbait with a three-rip pause retrieve, Draper’s 2nd fish followed on his very next cast. “They were very active early, feeding along the weed

line and slamming our lures”, explained Draper. Weighing in a 2.20kg limit for the session, Draper’s opening limit not only saw him head into the session with a comfortable lead, but his XOS bag also delivered him the Duffrods Big Bag for the tournament. With the early morning cloud gone and the sun now high in the sky Diggins and Draper went deep for the start of the afternoon session, fishing blades over the flats and Berkley Gulps down deep to catch their fish. Weighing in a 1.49kg limit for the session Draper’s bag would have been heavier had it not been for a big fish that he had to let go due to ill health. Fishing with Brian Everingham on day two Draper once again threw a jerkbait, this time fishing a little wider and deeper than the day before. The approach paid dividends with Draper picking up two fish in the first hour.

BASS PR Presente O SERIES d by Ima

“They were active and breaking the surface just like the day before, and in five minutes I had my limit. I stayed for another 1 ½ hours so I could get everything I could out of the area, and in doing so picked up another five upgrades,” explained Thorpe. Knowing that the bigger fish would be on the edges Thorpe stayed shallow and

katsu

final weigh-in Thorpe’s bag was enough to secure him 2nd place and book him a ticket to the Lake Glenbawn Grand Final in October. “St Clair played into my hands for the tournament, with the bite suiting by

Boats cued up to weigh-in each session. fished his way through a number of locations, rotating between a Little Max and a suspending jerkbait as he went. Delivering a 1.55kg limit to the scales for the

preferred techniques and style. This year I’m focusing more on the bass events than the bream so to finish 2nd in my first event is great,” explained Thorpe.

WINNING NOTES

Winning Ways

Carter fished the edges knowing that the bigger fish would be there. He also fished to his strength throwing the lure in his boat that he had most experience and confidence with, a jerkbait.

Winning Tackle

Rod: 7’ spin Reel: 2500 spin Line: 11lb Varivas Avani Sea Bass Max Power PE Leader: 6lb Varivas Ganoa Absolute fluorocarbon Lure: Smith Panish DD65, colour 21 and 39

Austackle Big Bream

Champion nonboater Luke Draper valued added his winnings at Lake St Clair picking up the Austackle Big Bream prize courtesy of his session one kicker fish. Weighing in at 1.19kg, Draper caught it on his first cast of the day on a twitched and pause Jackall Squirrel. Luke Draper claimed victory in the non-boater division. An outstanding result in his first ever ABT BASS Pro event. Hitting the stage to weigh-in a 1.49kg limit Draper blew away the field

to claim his maiden BASS Pro win in his maiden BASS Pro event.

TOP 10 BOATERS

TOP 10 NON-BOATERS

Place Angler

Fish

Weight

Payout

Place

Angler

Fish

Weight

Payout

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 5/6 5/6 5/6

4.87 4.50 4.22 4.00 3.94 3.92 3.80 3.37 3.33 3.30

$2,100 $1,100 $800 $700 $550 $400

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Luke DRAPER Cameron LEY James REID Ryan JONES Brett HYDE Adam SHARPE Peter MORGAN Owen MCPAUL Dayne TAYLOR Rodney THORPE

6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 4/6 4/6 4/6 3/6 3/6 3/6

5.12 3.89 3.86 3.82 2.87 2.44 2.18 2.00 1.87 1.66

Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack

Warren CARTER Anthony THORPE David MANN Malcolm STEWART Peter JENKINS Peter LEGGETT Mark FERGUSON Stephen DUFF Robert BALDOCK Michael THOMPSON

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

For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au MAY 2015

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR MAY

JUNE

May 2-3

World Sooty Championships Eungella Dam

May 3

BASS Electric #3 (7am-1pm) Isis Balancing Storage

Tim Steenhuin 0432 770 894

May 9-10

BASS Pro Qualifier #2 Lake Somerset

ABT abt.org.au

May 15-17

Mulloway Marathon Moreton Bay Marine Park

Stefan Sawynok 1800 077 001 www.mullowaymarathon.com.au

May 23-24

ABBT Basstasstic Bass Fishing Qualifier Boondooma

Russel Nowlands www.barrabasstasstic.com

May 29-31

King of the Pin Jumpinpin

Don Vogel 0411 958 076

May 31

Daiwa-Hobie Kayak Bass R4 Mary River

Hobiecat Australasia www.hobiefishing.com.au

Jun 5-8

Wilson Moreton Bay & Offshore Family Fishing Moreton Bay

Matt 0410 665 933 John 0402 740 163

Jun 5-7

Boyne Tannum Hook Up Fishing Boyne Tannum

www.boynetannumhookup.com.au

Jun 6-7

Pottsville Fishing Classic Pottsville/Cabarita

Beven Wise 0412 810 720

Jun 14

BASS Electric #6 Wivenhoe Dam

Trevor Stead 0429 967 451

Jun 26-28

VMR Bundaberg Family Fishing Classic Bundaberg

Graeme Morley 0418 734 825 www.vmrbundabergfishingclassic.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.

MORETON BAY & OFFSHORE FAMILY FISHING CHALLENGE 2015 5-8th June – Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend 247 The Esplanade, Redland Bay

ENTRY FORM Name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Email: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Address: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phone: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boat Name/Call Sign: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boat Type: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One Entry Form Per Person

Lucky draws, daily draws, raffles, business card draw and lots more Big Knobby Club – Kilo Bream – 40cm Whiting Club – Snapper – Pearl Perch – Jew – Pelagic – Sweet Lip – Tusk Fish – Tailor – Cobia

Junior Major Prize – 2 kayaks, paddles, trolley & PFD’s & $500 BCF Voucher Senior Major Prize – Sea Jay 4 .25m Magnum 2 with Yamaha 30hp 2 stroke including boat wrap

You don’t even need to fish to be in with a chance for lots of prizes . Get yourself an entry form from our website and come along for a fun family weekend . Rides and activities for the kids too .

3 Major Categories

Senior $120 Junior $30

- Secret Weight Seniors (snapper) $450 cash & $500 prizes Juniors (bream) $200 cash & $500 prizes - Grand Slam (combined weight of 4 species) Inshore $500 cash & $1000 prizes Offshore $500 cash & $1000 prizes – Catch & Release largest flathead First 200 entrants receive a free Seniors - $300 cash & $300 prizes gift bag valued over $80 so Ladies - $200 cash & $200 prizes DON’T delay!!!! Juniors - $400 prizes Download entry forms from our website from mid April at www .rbafc .org .au Email – mattfishingchallenge@gmail .com

MAY 2015

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I have read and accepted the rules and conditions* as indicated by my signature below, laid down by the Moreton Bay and Offshore Family Fishing Challenge . A contract in the terms set out below between Redland Bay Amateur Fishing Club Inc, and the intending competitor/entrants application to complete . In consideration of and as a condition of acceptance of my entry in the Moreton Bay Challenge (of whatever is the correct name of the event: hereinafter referred to as the competition . I, myself, and heirs, my executors and administrators hereby waive and release all and claim, right or cause for action which I or they might otherwise have for arising out of loss of life or injury, loss or damage of any description whatsoever which I may suffer or sustain in the course of, or consequent upon, my entry or participation in the competition . I hereby acknowledge that I have sole responsibility of my personal possessions and equipment during the competition and it’s relevant activities and functions . I hereby consent to receive such medical treatment that may be deemed advisable in the event of injury, accident and/or illness during the competition . I agree to comply with the rules and directions of the competition officials and their servants and/or agents . I hereby allow the free use of my name and picture in broadcasts telecasts and press of the competition as they pertain to the competition, pre and post event . I hereby acknowledge this waiver, release and discharge shall operate separately in favour of all persons, corporations, associations and bodies involved or otherwise engaged in promoting or staging the competition and their servants, agents, representatives and officers and includes but is not limited to the various committees and members of the Redland Bay Amateur Fishing Club and all sponsors, and shall operate whether or not the loss, injury or damage is attributed to the act or neglect of one of any more of them . My payment of $120 for seniors in favour of the Redland Bay Amateur Fishing Club Inc . is enclosed . ($30 for junior under the age of 16 years as at 5/6/15) .

Signed: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Please tick appropriate box:

q Senior q Junior q Ladies Amount Enclosed $ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Send entry form & cheque or money order to RBAFC Inc ., PO Box 7098, Redland Bay, Qld 4165 . OFFICE USE ONLY ENTRANT REGO No .: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

O T W A R D E H T O T N I O G & E B I R C S B SU 1 OF 18 BACKBONE

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he BACKBONE Tide Watch is perfect for the casual fisherman, boatie, beach goer or indeed anyone who enjoys aquatic pursuits. The watch is equipped with a stack of features, including the ability to calculate past, present or future tidal movements of your chosen location once set. Built tough the watch comes as standard with a rubber case and strap – in 6 colour combinations – with stainless steel fittings. The watch also features a 12 * Assorted Tackle digit display, dual time, a stopwatch with 1/100 sec. resolution, a countdown timer and a tide calculator with easy to follow set instructions. An EL backlight allows easy viewing of the display at low light periods

and darkness, and with 10ATM/100 metres water resistancy, the watch can withstand the harshest of wet conditions and is backed by a 12 month warranty on movement. For more detailed information on the Tide Watch visit BACKBONE’s website on www.backbonetime.com.au

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Online - ANYTIME MAY 2015

Cooking

Reef fish filleting Lynn shows how to fillet a typical reef fish using a long fillet knife.

BRISBANE

Lynn Bain

1 4 7

When you get to the tail, cut straight across.

Start with a gutted fish: insert the knife into the vent and run the knifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cutting edge back towards the tail. Make sure your knife is cutting just above the anal fin.

Cut the fillet away from the fishâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head and gill plate. This cut should go all the way from top (nape) to chin on the fish and be deep enough to go all the way through to the backbone.

Turn the fish over and repeat the process on the other side.

6 Run the knife along the dorsal again, this time cutting deeper, cut all the way to (but not into) the rib cage.

To skin the fillet, place the fillet skin side down and push the knife edge down into the flesh and along, but do not cut into the skin.

Reef fish in spicy sauce Ingredients 500g o f reef fish fillets; skinned and bones removed 1 cup plain flour 1 cup cornflour 2 egg whites 120mls water Canola oil, for frying To cook the fish (a basic shallow fry): Cut the fish fillets into Sauce Ingredients 1 tablespoon canola oil 2cm fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated 4 cloves garlic, finely grated 60mls tomato puree or passata (use tomato sauce in a pinch) 60mls chilli jam or 100ml chilli sauce 90

MAY 2015

Then proceed to run the knifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cutting edge up along the dorsal (above the fin) all the way to the head of the fish. This cut separates the flesh (fillet) from the backbone.

palm-sized pieces. Sift the plain flour and cornflour together into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the egg whites and water. Beat until a smooth batter. Heat the canola oil in a heavy-based frying pan until just smoking. Dip each piece of fish into the batter, draining off any excess batter. Place the fish into

the hot oil. Fry until the fish is golden brown on one side (the downward side). Turn and cook on the other side. The frying time will depend on the thickness of the fish. When cooked, remove the fish from the pan and drain on paper towel. To serve, place the golden fish onto a platter of lightly steamed Asian greens and spoon over the spicy sauce.

1 teaspoon sugar (optional) 2 tablespoons Lee Kum Kee soy sauce 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (or dry white wine) 1-2 tablespoons water

and chilli jam in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for only one minute. Add the sugar (if using), soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine (or alternative) and water. The amount of water that you use is dependent on how thick you like your sauce.

To make the sauce: Put the canola oil, grated ginger, garlic, tomato puree

Cut from the tail, parallel to the backbone (frame) all the way to the rib cage. Then carefully run the blade of the knife over the top of the rib cage in order to separate the fillet from the bones of the rib cage.

To remove the pin bones cut one stroke on each side of the pin bones and remove the triangular wedge of flesh.

News The bass bag limit Australian bass are regulated by strict bag limits, but does this impact the fishing? From 2009-2013, 4.5 million golden perch, 2.5 million bass and 600,000 barramundi were stocked, mostly in impoundments. Barramundi has the highest level of natural spawning of the three species and is readily accessible in estuaries so it’s not surprising they are the least stocked of the three. All three species have strong fishing pressure. Of the three species, the greatest fishing pressure is definitely on barramundi and the fact they are commercially fished has a significant impact. In order to compare the three, we looked at the overall raw experience of the fishers, that being catch rates and how long do tagged fish stay in the system. The following table looks at the overall catch rates over 25 years for bass, barramundi and golden perch in all environments. The takeaway is that in terms of long-term catch rates and length of time in the system, bass have the edge. Combined, they indicate that the fishing pressure in terms of number taken out of the system relative to number going in is lower. The lower bag limit for bass is doing its job and keeping more fish in the system. The bass catch rates have been above the long-term average for the past 9 years and better than barra catch rate for over 10 years. It’s a great time to be a bass angler. RECORDED BASS TAGGED IN SIP IMPOUNDMENTS Bjelke Peterson Dam Boondooma Dam Borumba Dam Wuruma Dam Lake Cressbrook Moogerah Dam North Pine Dam Somerset Dam Wivenhoe Dam

Barker Creek, Barumbah Creek Burnett River Mary River, Tinana Creek, Maroochy River Burnett River Cressbrook Creek, Brisbane River Reynolds Creek, Warril Creek, Bremmer River North Pine River, South Pine River, Brisbane River Kilcoy Creek, Wivenhoe Dam, Lake Boondooma, Brisbane River, Sheepstation Creek, Bremer River Brisbane River

Average daily catch rate per person per day SPECIES Aust Bass Barramundi Golden Perch

CURRENT 2014 4.2 5.7 3.2 4.0 2.6 2.0

HIGH 6.2 (2009) 6.0 (2004) 5.5 (2010)

LOW 2.5 (1990) 1.8 (1995) 1.5 (2012)

Related catch rates Length of time fish stay in the system after tagging SPECIES TAG 1990-2015 Australian Bass 66,672 Barramundi 244,661 Golden Perch 16,111

% RECAPTURED <5YRS >5YRS 6.6% 1.1% 8.2% 0.2% 7.4% 0.6%

The ever expanding territory of bass

Bass have been stocked in impoundments since the late 1980s. But how have they been tracking since then? The bass story is one of remarkable turnarounds. Throughout the 20th century the building of structures such as weirs and impoundments cut off bass from the estuaries they spawn in. Even without fishing pressure their future was bleak. Ironically, it’s humans that have enabled bass to expand

their territory via stocking programs. Looking at the last 25 years the bass map has expanded by an average of 38 grids per year. A grid is a 1km2 area, and most of the time covers a large amount of fishing territory. To illustrate, we add an area just shy of Somerset Dam every year in which we have detected them. Far from slowing down, over the last five years, Suntag has recorded bass for the first time in more

than 208 grids. That doesn’t even include a number of areas that haven’t as yet been added to the Suntag maps. The long-term rate of expansion has two main causes: Firstly, the bass territory is expanding through stocking and escapees during flooding; Secondly, the range of the fisher has also expanded with better technology to locate the

fish and expanded use of kayaks. No other freshwater species has expanded territory to the same degree in the past 25 years as bass, based on Suntag records.

inevitable happened with many of them reaching capacity, releasing water and fish along the way. Tagging data is one of the few ways we have to track fish that have escaped but when we combine that data with data from streams just after flooding we see impoundment fish breaking out into the natural river systems in numbers since the late 2000s. Depending on your

point of view, this can be a good or bad thing. These releases mean there are a lot more areas to fish for bass. On the other hand, escapees raise the question of how sustainable the environment will be for the bass in the longer cycle. Bass can live up to 20 years and the dry times will come again. The impoundments have played an important part in reviving bass numbers in a number of river systems. That means the fishing options for bass are as good as they have been at any time on record.

Tagged Australian bass in 2015.

The bass are escaping Bass are stocked in more impoundments than any other species, so does that impact the natural river systems? Dams and lakes in South East Queensland have both positive and negative effects on fish populations. Somerset and Wivenhoe play an important role in trapping water for humans and providing flood mitigation for the Brisbane River. On the flip side, that ability to absorb water reduces river flows. Many species need summer river flows, such as mulloway.

Back in the late 1990s through to mid 2000s things were dry, so during

Tagged recaptured Australian bass rate.

the period stocking really got into gear there was no real risk of fish escaping. In the late 2000s however the dam levels were on the rise and eventually the

The Genesis of new Insights Every so often a new piece of technology comes along that makes a big change in how we see the world. Insight Genesis is one such technology. Suntag tagging maps use grids of 1km2, partly because in smaller estuaries it is not very meaningful, but also to ensure that specific fishing spots are not published. In impoundments however that big brush masks how the fish use the space available to them. Enter Insight Genesis from Navico, makers of Lowrance.

Insight Genesis is a technology that combines the individual sounding data of fishers and boating enthusiasts into an underwater topographical map. Having spent time on the water using those maps during fishing, I can only say they are fantastic. Using data from Somerset Dam combined with even a crude cut and paste of the Insight Genesis community map the tagging data makes a lot more sense. What it shows is the way in which the fish stick to the old riverbed. Regular fishers at Somerset were not

The difference between tagging maps and Insight Genesis information.

surprised but getting a very visual confirmation that the environment and tagging data line up is a big first. Now the real work begins. There are a lot of impoundments to look at and the data from the Insight

Genesis maps is still of variable quality. Where there is good data the fishing patterns are becoming clearer. Insight Genesis will be a very valuable tool for years to come. As with any new set of data it will take a little while to properly work out how to best use the information uncovered. In the meantime, fishers will benefit and not just in terms of better fishing but also saving fuel finding the right territory to cover.

MAY 2015

FIND-A-WORD COMPETITION

Preparing for Winter

ALVEY

EARLY STARTS

Name

ROCK HOPPING

AUSSIE SALMON FOG

SCARF

BEACH FISHING

FROST

SHORT DAYS

BEANIE

GLOVES

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HEATER

TAILOR

CLARK

HOODIE

TROUT SYSTEM

COLD

ICE

TUNA

DRY

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WIND

Address

P/Code Phone (day):

The first correct entry at the end of each month will win a Fishing Monthly selected prize pack. SEND ENTRIES TO:

QLD Find-a-word Competition PO box 3172, Loganholme Qld 4129 QLD MAY 2015

FINS SCALES & TALES by A. Both

SUBSCRIBER PRIZE The subscriber prize winner for March was A May of Weipa, who won a Halco Ultimate Prize Pack valued at $350. All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – QFM

FIND THE VMC LOGO WINNERS

BARRA COUNTRY by Brett Currie

BITE ME by Trisha Mason

The Find the VMC logo prize winners for March were: G Phillips of Cotswold Hills, G Stewart of Palmwoods, S Arnall of Currimundi, A James of Burpengary, W Wood of Keppel Sands, F Heiniger of Woombye, H Finney of Dingo, A Svaikauskas of Alligator Creek, G Edwards of Home Hill, R Ramsay of Taylors Beach, R Elworthy of Point Vernon, R Chapman of Gladstone, J Boneham of Eight Mile Plains, R Davis of Sarina, R Kennedy of Caboolture, K Edwards of Innisfail, J White of Aspley, J Willmann of Windaroo, G Green of Currumbin Waters, B Rider of Brigalow, R Hilton of Goondiwindi, C Hendry of Imbil, P Jansen of Caboolture, B Ferrington of Palm Beach, D Newton of Toowoomba, P Batchelor of Clinton, O Noffke of Kulangoor, R Dowden of Goondiwindi, A Jewlett of Mothar Mountain, S Keating of Chinchilla, R Wright of Urangan, G McGrath of Avoca, B Evans of Riverheads, J Grace of Mount Keira, D Fitzgibbon of Machans Beach, G Illman of Mt Gambier , M Allegri of Ayr, E & V Jackson of Long Flat Via Gympie, B Daley of North Gosford, W Robinson of Raceview. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – QFM

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FIND THE VMC LOGO MARCH LOCATIONS GEORGE & NEV by Michael Hardy

The answers to Find the VMC Logo for March were: 16, 34, 41, 52, 57, 59, 60, 66, 77, 88, 91, 94, 100, 104, 106. – QFM

FIND-A-WORD WINNER Congratulations to Keith Aldridge of Rockville, who was last month’s winner of the Hawk Tournament Find-a-Word Competition! Unfortunately, Gus Veness Fishing, the sponsors of the Hawk Competition, are no longer operating. Fishing Monthly has put together a prize pack in lieu of the normal pack. Sorry for any inconvenience. – QFM 3 92

• DECEMBER 2010 MAY 2015

FIND THE

VMC LOGO

COMPETITION There are 15 VMC Logos hidden throughout the pages of Fishing Monthly. Find the VMC logo and page number, fill in the entry form and go in the draw to win! The first 40 correct entries drawn at the end of the month will win a packet of VMC hooks. All entries will go into the major prize draw. (Drawn May 31st 2015)

MONTHLY PRIZE VMC Wide Gape Worm Hook Pack Made in France Value $7.95

MAJOR PRIZES PAGE NO: 1

600 2

$ ST PLACE

VALUE OF RAPALA VMC PRODUCTS

400 3 200

$ ND PLACE

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VALUE OF RAPALA VMC PRODUCTS

NAME .......................................................................................... ADDRESS .....................................................................................

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What’s New FISHING

STREAM LOGIC WADERS

Adrenalin Flies stocks Stream Logic breathable waders, which are a very comfortable fit without losing any durability. These waders have 3-layer technology construction and 5 layers below the knee making them very tough. They are suitable for use throughout the season, even through winter as another feature is a pocket for your hands that is fleece lined for those cold days out on the water. These waders have been put through rigorous tests, walking through blackberries and thick bush as well as an 18km round trip to Lake Fergus in the heart of Tasmania’s Highlands, and these waders stood up well! They feature built-in gravel guards, adjustable elastic suspenders, external pocket protected with additional tape, internal pocket with zip fastener, external pocket with waterproof zip fastener, two D-rings for attaching accessories, profiled socks made of 4mm resistant neoprene and a waist belt. Each pair is also tested. Price: RRP $240 www.adrenalinflies.com.au

SPIDERWIRE DURA-SILK

The new SpiderWire Dura-Silk is trustworthy and reliable with Spiderwire performance. Dura-Silk is made from 100% Dyneema fibres, the world’s strongest fibres, which are often used to make helmets, riot shields and even bulletproof vests! Dura-Silk is a super strong, super thin non-coated braid with incredible knot strength. Being non coated, Dura-Silk is a soft and flexible braid and features a round, full bodied construction that resists wind knots and casts even the lightest presentations like a bullet. As the name implies, Dura-Silk is both extremely durable and extremely strong, making it ideal for fishing heavy structure where durability and strength are key to extracting the strong fish we often encounter. Dura-Silk is available in High Vis yellow and Low Vis moss green, comes in 8, 10, 15, 20, 30, 50 and 80lb test and is available in 150 and 300m lengths. www.purefishing.com.au

GERBER STRONGARM

Gerber has been producing militarygrade knives since 1968 and in doing so, has solidified its position as one of the premier knife and utility-tool makers in the world. Their latest fixed-blade knife, the StrongArm, carries on the Gerber legacy in true fashion – with a toughas-hell design for use in outdoor and survival situations. The StrongArm is applicable for many uses, whether you’re on duty or off. It features a fine edge, full tang 420 high carbon steel blade that’s easy to sharpen, super tough and resistant to corrosion. Originally designed around the fundamentals of military survival training, the StrongArm will be a welcome addition to 4WD, camping, fishing trips or any other outdoor expeditions. Gerber’s attention to detail is easily noticed in the StrongArm, thanks to the diamond-textured rubberized handle that provides a solid grip in all conditions. With uses spanning across civilian, hunting and combat scenarios, it’s a blade that’ll see you through the toughest of conditions. Price: RRP $109 www.gerbergear.com

SAMAKI VIBELICIOUS 70MM

The new Samaki Vibelicious 70mm Fork Tail perfectly mimics the tight shimmer of a baitfish, luring in a variety of predator species to date. Samaki Vibelicious is constructed of 10X strong super stretch material, ultra strong hooks, premium Japanese wire and it’s available in 14 amazing colours to cater for any angling situation. At 10g, it’s a great weight to cast and achieve distance whilst not being too heavy that it spooks fish. 70mm is a perfect snack size for many estuary and freshwater fish and the strong Sticky Point hooks will keep you attached to that fish of a lifetime. Designed to create the perfect action, it rolls on the drop and shimmers on the vibe all whilst being the ultimate attractant. This great new vibe is perfect for coastal estuary fishing, freshwater impoundments and inland waterways. The all new Samaki Vibelicious will be your go to lure for bass, bream, flathead, mangrove jack and more. Price: from RRP $17.95 www.bluefishimports.com.au

A mirage is an optical phenomenon in which light rays are bent to produce a displaced image of distant objects in the sky. Ugly Fish’s latest pair of sports sunglasses, the Mirage, were designed specifically to combat this phenomenon. They offer crystal clear vision and ensure the only objects you see are real and tangible. The Mirage feature polycarbonate lenses, the lightest and most impact resistant of all plastic lenses, and come fully polarised to take the grunt out of sun’s rays. Although they are ideal for any activity, the Mirage sunglasses have been designed specifically with triathletes, anglers, cyclists and other sportspeople. They also feature a max category three UV protection to ensure complete protection from the sun’s harmful rays, which is an essential safety measure when out in the Australian outdoors. Available in two lens colours: smoke or brown, the Mirage is the ultimate pair of sport sunglasses that will offer the highest quality protection and supreme functionality to match. Price: RRP $149.95 www.uglyfish.com.au

MAY 2015

UGLY FISH MIRAGE

OWNER SINGLE PLUGGING HOOK

Using Taff-Wire, the S-125 is perfect for retro-fitting hardbodied trolling and casting lures. The range of available sizes means that you’ll be able to replace and retro-fit in just about any angling situation. The lightweight but incredibly strong TaffWire ensures that your lures retain maximum action. Taff-Wire helps create hooks that are smaller in diameter, yet stronger and harder than ever before. The single most important characteristic for hook penetration is the wire diameter – if it’s too thick and the wire won’t penetrate easily. Taff-Wire hooks are stronger per wire diameter than any hook on the market, meaning that you’ll be able to set the hook into even some of the boniest of jaws in the sea and know that they won’t straighten. The new Owner S-215 Single Plugging Hook is available in sizes 1/0 all the way to 9/0. Price: RRP $12.95 www.purefishing.com.au

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BLACK MAGIC SQUID COLOURS

REELRACK STORAGE

Pacific Fishing Supplies unveiled the new ReelRack, the fishing reel storage bracket has been constructed from 100% anodised aluminium ensuring it meets the tough demands to provide ample prevention against rust and corrosion. Pacific Fishing Supplies ReelRack fishing reel storage system will allow you to securely and effectively secure your favourite and valuable fishing reels to almost every possible application possible. The following mounting examples are unique in the marketplace for storing fishing reels whether it be a second/spare reel or if you need to break your gear down when transporting. They fit almost any surface in your boat. They fit in your vehicle or even the storage boot of you caravan or motorhome They fit inside if you have a man-cave/ bar and just want to show case your favourites fishing reels, and they have an amazing resistance to saltwater corrosion by using 100% Anodized Aluminium. Price: RRP $49.50 www.pacificfishingsupplies.com.au

Daiwa has continued their long tradition of innovation with the introduction of “Magsealed bearings” into the new Saltiga range. Given the popularity of saltwater fishing, sealing a reel is a major goal. No leakage means no corrosion, longer life and better performance. If saltwater penetrates a reel and dries, it crystallizes, and then erodes gears and bearings. Daiwa found the solution – a membrane of magnetic oil, which shuts out saltwater. By using magnetized oil in conjunction with magnets, the oil attaches itself to the metal surfaces to form a seal. Magseal technology was originally used in the rotor/anti-reverse system, to make water and dust intrusion a thing of the past. However, not content with just Magsealing the rotor/anti-reverse system, the new 2015 series introduces an all-new revolution in ultra smooth rotation and water sealing. The Saltiga has a near bulletproof gearbox and line roller system to complement the other design innovations making the best heavy-duty reel even better! www.daiwafishing.com.au

POWERBAIT RIB SHAD

Squid fishing has taken off all around Australia and with growing popularity; Black Magic has brought out 2 new exciting colours to their range of squid jigs. Orange has always been a favourite amongst squid fishers, while a red under foil is an excellent choice when fishing at the change of light. Black Magic has combined a ‘hi-viz’ UV orange top with a red foil under to create a jig that is ideal for fishing the change of light, but also perfect if the water is a bit murky. For a more natural approach, a brown top fabric over a red foil is a great choice anytime, anywhere, for any squid. Natural colours work particularly well when the water is clean and a stealthier approach is required. This is a top colour when squid are spawning and can be hard to catch. www.blackmagictackle.com

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The Berkley PowerBait Rib Shad is 4.5” of pure swimming action that is designed for shallow or deep applications all around the world. Ribs line the 4.5” bait from nose to tail that rocks through the water perfectly on a small 1/8oz jighead or a weighted-belly hook if you decide to fish weedless. Simply cast around vegetation or in and around heavy cover; vary the retrieve, and let the fish and your skill as an angler dictate how the Rib Shad is presented. The Rib Shad imitates an easy meal for predatory fish, it demonstrates a whole body has motion that attracts fish in shallow and deep water. To add to its attraction, it comes with the exclusive PowerBait scent and flavour, a scent known to turn touches into takes, making this new soft plastic a brilliant all-round presentation for novice and experienced anglers alike. Price: RRP $8.95 www.purefishing.com.au

MUSTAD THOR BRAID

Made from super high strength Spectra fibres, Mustad’s Thor braid uses an exclusive 4-strand NR braiding process that gives Mustad Thor a thin, round and smooth profile for trouble free casting. The advantages of Mustad Thor braid include a quietness through the guides unlike other braids, allowing for longer casts, better presentations and easier handling on any type of reel to avoid wind knots and tangles that can ruin a day’s fishing. The thin profile also makes it easier to pack it tightly onto the spool without loops forming. A proprietary DuPont coating provides excellent abrasion resistance while maintaining an ability to tie knots that will stand up to the punishment of fishing day in and day out. Mustad Thor braid is available in 110 yard spools for 6lb-30lb lines, and 250 yard spools for 6lb-100lb lines. Mustad Thor Braid comes in an easy to see ‘hot orange’ colour. Price: Too new www.wilsonfishing.com

DAIWA SALTIGA 2015

CUDA SHARPENER

Cuda brand’s range of knives and tools are brand new to the Australian market, but already packing a punch with a great range of angling accessories. They have just released a brand new sharpening tool into the range for 2015, which features 7 different sharpening tools on the one device. The Cuda Sharpener can sharpen any knife, hook or scissor that needs sharpening, but also has you covered in a bunch of other areas. This handy little instrument is fantastic for doing field repairs and also features a flat head screwdriver bit, and 4 different sizes torque bits to maximise this tool’s handiness! Featuring both ceramic and carbide sharpening instruments along with the other handy features, this is a sure hit with angling and camping enthusiasts alike. For more information on the Cuda range in Australia, you can contact Nomad Tackle on Facebook. Price: RRP $39.95 www.nomadtackle.com

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What’s New FISHING

BKK GTREX TREBLES

For giant Trevally, you need a giant treble hook. BKK have released a new treble designed specifically for the rigours of giant trevally popping, which often take a toll on inferior hooks. The GTrex Treble features BKK’s patented ‘hand ground’ hook point, which gives a piercing strength unrivalled by competitors. A wide gape and turned in point means you can expect a solid hook up in the corner of the jaw to stay planted for lengthy battles. BKK developed a patented ultra anti rust technology for these new trebles. Meaning the days of rusty eyelets and belly swivels on your favourite GT lures are over. These trebles are big and nasty, just as GTs are, but manufactured to the highest standards. Available in 5/0, 6/0 and 7/0 the trebles come as both barbed and barbless options. Visit Nomad Tackle on Facebook for more information on BKK hooks. Price: RRP $39.95 www.nomadtackle.com

NEW EVAIR SHOES

Whether you’re a keen fisher or you just love to get stuck into the outdoors, the need for adequate footwear is always of the utmost importance. Realising this, Shimano have created the Evair, a range of all-purpose outdoor shoes designed for wet surfaces. The Evair shoe range is slip resistant, giving piece of mind to boating, fishing and camping enthusiasts. Made with an ergonomic arch support, the Evair’s are great for those who are on their feet for long periods of time. They are also perfect for slippery boat decks, strolling through streams and when you’re stuck out in the rain. Made with ultra lightweight material, Shimano’s Evair range features a Velcro locking strap, meaning once they’re on, they’re on for good. Ranging from sizes 7-13, these shoes are made for the Australian outdoorsman that needs protection, comfort and convenience on each foot. 100% submersible, the Evair shoes are designed for the outdoors enthusiast that won’t let Mother Nature ruin their day. Price: n/a www.shimanofish.com.ua

SNOWBEE RANGER

Looking for a quality breathable wader that will keep you cool and dry without spending a fortune? The Snowbee Ranger is the wader for you. Featuring neoprene socks, built in gravel guards, adjustable wading belt, internal waterproof pocket and adjustable braces which all pack down to about the size of a pair of jeans, making this new wader comfortable, compact, convenient and, of course, breathable. Ranger’s Breathable Waders are sure to keep water out and warmth in, so you’ll be able to wade in chilly waters while feeling warm and comfortable with the freedom to breathe. This fantastic wader is available in full body options and is made in sizes medium, large, extra-large and extra-extra-large, meaning there will be a size for anyone out there. For those looking to stay warm in cool waders this winter, or even to invest in their first pair of waders, the new Ranger Breathable Waders are a fantastic option. Price: RRP $200 www.ejtodd.com.au

GERBER DIME

Taking the standard key-chain multi-tool and ramping it up a notch, the Gerber Dime is designed to be taken with you where ever you go, so you’ll never be left in the lurch again. The Dime features a sturdy bottle-opener that remains exposed even when the tool is closed. Two drivers, a flat-head and Phillipshead, are there for any emergency DIY quick fixes that need your immediate attention. Personal hygiene on the go is also easy thanks to the file and tweezers, which can also come in handy should you find yourself dealing with an annoyingly painful splinter. The pliers are spring loaded for easy operation and also feature wire cutters for precision cutting. Gerber has fitted the Dime with a fine-edge blade, spring loaded scissors and a retail package opener to cover all your bases.Available in a discreet matte black, or vibrant green, red and purple colour options, the Gerber Dime is the most valuable change you’re likely to find. Price: RRP $34.95 www.gerbergear.com

Distance, strength and action are all features that are key to any good stick bait, especially when you are targeting big tuna, kingfish or any other large predatory pelagic species. The GIG 115 features a natural horizontal sinking posture, a wire through the body construction, an anti hook out belly hook swivel and strong Owner trebles, which will ensure you don’t suffer terminal tackle failures. Weighing in at 45g these sinking stick baits cast long and can be retrieved with a number of techniques including, slow wind, twitch and pause and fast wind. Being 115mm long means they are a great prey size for big kingfish and tuna and their slim profile mimics a fleeing baitfish and aids casting distance. The new Palms Gig 115 comes in 6 exciting colours and comes rigged and ready to go straight out of the packet. Price: RRP $35 www.ejtodd.com.au

MAY 2015

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PALMS GIG 115

AUSTRALIAN FISHING GUIDE

The fully revised and updated version of Steve Cooper’s Australian Fishing Guide is out now! This is a must-have stateby-state guide to Australia’s top fishing spots, for the expert angler and amateur enthusiast alike. Steve Cooper knows the best fishing locations in Australia – including many secret spots – and his book now shares information on over 1000 of his favourite destinations. Because each region has its own special features, the book details the most effective fishing techniques for each location. Cooper also covers important topics like knots, rigs, lures and flies, bait gathering, fishing licenses, fishing festivals and ways of cooking your catch. And never mind the one that got away… check out the ones that didn’t, in a series of photographs o fishing taken of fish caught around this county. Think you know everything about fishing? Steve Cooper’s Australian Fishing Guide (2nd Ed) has something for even the most accomplished angler. Price: RRP $36.95 www.exploreaustralia.net.au

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FISHING PRODUCT GUIDE WESTIN MEGATEEZ

Just like a mermaid, the seductive look and extra-large tail of Westin MegaTeez is irresistible. Even the tiniest twitch of the rod tip will make the tailfin wave and swim through the water and even the most cold-hearted predators will fall in love at first sight. The irregular and action-packed diving action is simply in a league of its own! The Westin MegaTeez is perfected for use on a drop shot rig but will be extremely seductive no matter how it’s rigged. The features on this new plastic include an extra large tail design, a double-layer lifelike scale pattern, optimized flexibility and strength and realistic 3D ghost eyes. The MegaTeez comes in two sizes, 3.5 and 5”, and comes in packs of 6 and 5 respectively. The Westin MegaTeez really is different to any other soft plastic on the market and is sure to make an impact on Australian soil! Price: RRP $10.99 www.jml.net.au

MAJOR CRAFT GIANT KILLING

Majorcraft burst onto the fishing tackle scene in 2013 with a range of affordable spin and baitcasting models all featuring quality Fuji components and the new Light Jigging series runs true to the brand ethos. Due to the growing popularity of light jigging in Australia, we’ve introduced another rod to the range – the Giant Killing, a lightweight jigging rod. Each rod in the series combines high-end Fuji K guides and EVA grips on a high quality blank assembled in a way to reduce fatigue stress and increase power through the rod. The power comes from the blank and Majorcraft’s unique cross force wrapping. Perfectly suited to 1.0 PE lines but capable of more, these rods excel at light jigging and slow pitch work and will pull some powerful fish out of their deep, dark lairs. The Giant Killing comes in 3 sizes to cover a range of light jigging situations and species Price: Too new www.frogleysoffshore.com.au

ZBPH

ZSLGH GLOW ZSLGH GLOW

ZPMIH

ZMIH ZGFRH

ZINGH GLOW ZINGH GLOW ZAPH ZAPH

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WRAPPING MINNOW SW

The new Wrapping Minnow SW is the updated version of the original Wrapping Minnow designed for inshore saltwater use. The Wrapping Minnow SW is approximately 6g heavier than the original bass version. It combines a heavy lead head and buoyant foam body in a compact and balanced package. The ultra thin tail blade that can be adjusted according to how much commotion the angler wishes to get out of the lure as it is retrieved. It can be used with a subtle touch or for that reaction bite. At 14g, it casts like a bullet and covers a lot of distance for searching. At 57mm it’s a great snack-size for any inshore predator, and as a sinking minnow, it can be worked all throughout the water column. The Nories Wrapping Minnow SW is the latest from the Wrapping Minnow range and this new model will let you tangle with bigger fish! Price: RRP $33.95 www.jml.net.au

POP UP HAMMOCK

BALT 3.5 AND 6”

MARIA MUCHO LUCIR AH

The competitive nature of Australians means that we strive to have the best gear. When visiting our favourite camping site, envy can kick in when we see extravagant setups that often rival living conditions at home. Relax in style and impress your neighbours with the versatile, lightweight, and portable Diamantina Pop Up Hammock. This transportable hammock comes with a super strong frame, which means you’ll never fall out or be tangled in ropes, which can be an issue with traditional models. Arrive on site and quickly pop up this poly mesh hammock and kick back with a cold drink whilst taking in the beautiful surrounds the Australian outdoors has to offer. While you are enjoying this experience, you can watch as your fellow campers struggle to find trees to support their equipment. The Diamantina Pop Up Hammock will ensure that not only will you enjoy your camping experience with the maximum of comfort, you will be the envy of your fellow campers. Price: RRP $169.99 www.kangarootentcity.com.au

The Balt is a brand new big fish lure from EcoGear that combines a big tail and flat-sided body to give a very natural and high pitch rolling action. This great new soft plastic is suitable for both saltwater and freshwater fishing, and will cover a wide range of angling situations. The plastics can be rigged in a variety of ways to suit different conditions and the two sizes are perfect for a wide range of species both in and offshore, and also in dams. The tough plastic will stand up against savage attacks to give you more time fishing and less time re-rigging. The new EcoGear Balt comes in 2 sizes, 3.5 and 6”, and comes in packets with 6 and 4 tails respectively. The Ecogear Balt is sure to take off and will appeal to angler wanting to tangle with big fish anglers across Australia. Price: RRP $13.95 (3.5”), $15.95 (6”) www.jml.net.au

The new Mucho Lucir AH is now fitted with a front assist hook and a rear treble to increase hook up potential an stay connected once you are hooked up. The new Mucho Lucir AH is available in 18g to 60g and these proven metals feature a centre balanced design with most of their weight at the bottom of the metal, which helps keep the lure in the water on high speed retrieves. The rear weight also assists with casting distance, meaning you can search further when looking for feeding fish. The addition of the front assist hook make these metals ideal for both casting and jigging, so you can scan the distance explore the deep with these new metals. The new Mucho Lucir AH is available in 8 attractive and life-like colours and is perfect for anyone who’s into their highspeed retrieval fishing. Price: from RRP $12 www.ejtodd.com.au

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What’s New FISHING

TONIC NEON IN 3 STYLES!

Tonic Polarised Eyewear, is proud to announce the remarkable Neon ‘Low Light’ lens is now available in 3 popular styles: Rush, Shimmer and the new YouRanium. The Neon is truly the ‘Master of Low Light’. Specially developed by Tonic founder Doug Phillips for sight fishing in shadows, fog, cloud and for dawn and dusk fishing of all types. The fishing public can now buy a pair of Neons in the YouRanium, featuring Tonic Eyewear’s custom designed adjustable nose bridge that is fully integrated into the frame, the Shimmer for a sweeping big, wide and comfortable fit and the Rush featuring Tonic Eyewear’s unique ‘Clikstrap’ and slick conventional styling. Tonic’s scratch resistant glass lenses are just 1.8 mm thick, making them 30% lighter than regular glass and feature boutique polarising filter systems and antireflective coatings. Tonic Polarised Eyewear comes in eight wraparound styles and a variety of lens types to suit different situations. Price: various www.toniceyewear.com.au

ZMAN KHAKI CAPS

The growing popularity of ZMan’s 10X Tough ElaZtech soft plastics has also seen an increase in the range of ZMan apparel available to Australian anglers who are keen to share their passion for both the sport of fishing and the ZMan brand. ZMan headwear was originally available in a variety of Realtree camo designs and a black flatty, however, after numerous requests from anglers wanting a cap “that isn’t camo”, a good selection of Khaki models are now available both online and in tackle outlets. New additions include a 100% cotton twill khaki cap, khaki trucker cap and a stylish khaki visor and all these products come with an adjustable Velcro straps for a snug fit to sit comfortably on any fishing head! Want to show your support for the ZMan brand? Grab a cap or visor from our new range of khaki apparel! Price: RRP $19.95 www.ttlures.com.au

DRAGON MICRO

Dragon Micro jighead are light to medium jigheads made on unique hooks, featuring two opposite located barbs on the shank. This double barb system helps keep your soft plastic, no mater how hard or soft, firmly planted on the jighead. These compact jigheads are best for small shads or any other lure with a round back, due to the bigger distance between shank and edge of the hook. This jighead is ideal for Marukyu Crab and other smaller plastic lures, such as the Dragon Maggot, which is a proven bream catcher, but is also used for bass, bream, estuary perch, trevally, flathead, salmon and other light tackle sportfish. The jigheads come in a variety of weights, 0.8, 1.5, 2.5 and 4g and they come in 3 hook sizes, 1, 2 and 4, so you’ll be covered for just about any situation you might encounter when pursuing some light tackle fun! Price: RRP $4.79 www.jml.net.au

HOWELLER DREAM

This is lure that won the Bassmaster Classic USA 2014 in a dramatic fashion! The Howeller Dream Master Class is ideal for targeting medium-depth structures and finding strike zones a shallow diver can’t reach. This crankbait features a compact shape with a wide wobble. This rounded bill medium diving crankbait can be used for a wide range of applications, and the buoyancy will be useful for covering snaggy water. At a weight of 18g, this crankbait will be great for distance casting and searching style fishing and at 63mm makes a great snack for some of our inshore predators. Like all Livingston lures, it features an internal circuit board and sound chamber, which emits the sound of a dying baitfish and the small battery inside allows for up to 200 hours of use! Livingston are the first brand to use this technology. Price: RRP $29.99 www.jml.net.au

MAY 2015

MIMIX JUMP BUX

Mimix is proud to introduce another great ‘jumper’/‘jump frog’ lure – The Jump Bux! Unlike any small ‘jumper’ lure that you have ever seen before, the Mimix Jump Bux is beautifully designed with great detailing and is beautifully painted to be as life-like as possible, making it the perfect little snack for small, aggressive species. This lure is equipped with an extra strong and sharp double hook, which will help to avoid snagging or getting caught up. The Jump Bux will be perfect for a huge range of light tackle sportfish, including bream, bass, sooty grunter, jungle perch and even trout. The best retrieval technique for the Jump Bux is a straight retrieve, either slow or fast. At a weight of 9g and length of 45mm, the Jump Bux is truly a breakthrough and the ultimate small jumper for all light tackle situations. Price: RRP $17.99 www.jml.net.au

MAD KEEN CLOTHING

Since 1997 the Mad Keen brand has been proudly associated with the Aussie fishing scene. Our cheeky catch phrases have adorned shirts, polos, caps, wheel covers and more showing off our great Aussie sense of humour and giving blokes and the girls the chance to go one up on their mates! Our gear has been covered in fish scales, bait, dust, beer, BBQ smoke and smashed by waves and salt spray. Yet it keeps on going just like the mad keen fisher who promises their mates “just one last cast...” Under new management since 2014, we are bringing back the great slogans you all know and love plus moving into new slogans, smart new designs and a refreshed look. Why not grab a Mad Keen Limited Edition Tee, fleeces and beanies, wheel covers, BBQ aprons, cards, stickers, stubby coolers, stubby stackers, coasters and even gift wrapping! Price: various www.madkeen.com.au

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FISHING PRODUCT GUIDE

TESTED: DAIWA BREAM LURES TESTED The new range of Daiwa lures have stormed the market and who better to catch up with than Daiwa fanatic and well known bream angler, Kris Hickson. Kris’ career tournament results on the bream scene are testament to his knowledge and understanding of bream and the lures he uses. What better way to tap into the vast knowledge of this renowned and successful tournament angler than to jump on board during a teams tournament and experience first hand Kris’ ability to read the water and make the right lure selection to get the job done. Like any situation, the calm, windless and sunny morning followed by a change to a strong breeze had Kris picking up three of the new Daiwa lures and putting them to work. Kris caught a five fish limit of bream on the bite sized Presso Rolling Crank, the TD Minnow Silent for skinny water and the suspending deep Yogiri to keep the lure in the zone. CS: Being a well respected and successful

angler, your bait selection must be a huge part of that success. What excited you about the latest Daiwa range of small lures? KH: The new range of Daiwa lures not only had a great variety of body shapes but every lure had a range of true fish catching colours. From crankbaits to topwaters there is something to suit nearly every situation. CS: The Rolling Crank is a favourite of yours. What are the features that set it apart from other small crank baits? KH: The castability of the Rolling Crank combined with the perfect action and ability to fish a variety of depths. Depending on retrieve, it makes it one of the more versatile lures I have used. CS: Watching you work the TD Minnow on the flats where there was the occasional prawn skipping around, why do you think it was successful in fooling the fish and why did you choose the TD Minnow? KH: The TD Minnow is basically the Presso Minnow in a silent version. On

Above Left: The Daiwa Presso Rolling Crank is available in both a deep and shallow version. Above Right: Daiwa’s Gekkabijin Yogiri is less buoyant than the Rolling Crank and more of a baitfish profile.

Once the wind picked up, rocky foreshores fired with the small cranks.

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Above: Welcome to current ABT BREAM Champ, Kris Hickson’s office. Left: The Rolling Crank is perfect where accurate casts are needed.

shallow weed flats where the water is clear and the fish are easily spooked, the lack of rattle and great casting distance make it super finesse. The fact that you can skim it over weed in less than a foot of water if needed, makes it all the more appealing. CS: You were obviously excited about the colour range of the new Daiwa lures, why do you think the latest range of colours have been so successful for you? What is your go to colour, regardless of lure? KH: The range of colours in the new Daiwa lures are a mixture of variations of tried and tested colours that have been proven to work on not just bream but other species like trout and bass all over the country. I don’t have a specific favourite but being a lover of natural colours, there are plenty of options to choose from that I can be confident that will work. CS: Fishing the flats, you were conscious of the weed and its depth. When selecting your lure of choice, what do you consider? KH: Generally fishing the weed flats I try and choose a lure that will skim just over the weed as much as possible and have the ability to be worked to different depths depending on rod angle. CS: You spent some time around the jetties, wharves and boats casting small crank baits. What are the benefits of using the Rolling crank in these situations? KH: The Rolling Crank is a perfect choice around structure as it casts good distances and due to its profile stays true and lands where you want it most times. With a deep and shallow model covering from the surface to around 7ft of water you can keep this lure exactly where the fish are holding CS: The Yogiri is a suspending crank

bait but was fished side by side with the Rolling crank, what is the reasoning behind trying both lures? What difference does each provide over the other? KH: The Yogiri is a different profile to the Rolling crank with more of a baitfish shape. Being less buoyant it is great for keeping the lure right in the fish’s face and working a lot slower. Having both lures in the kit gives you the option to cover more bases and fish to the conditions. One thing is clear, Kris is switched on, when it comes to bream fishing. He was able to identify areas that would hold fish but most importantly select the lures that would be the most successful. Kris was also able to adjust his lure choice from the still morning conditions to the windy afternoon conditions perfectly to keep himself in the game. – Chris Seeto.

The TD Minnow is basically the Presso Minnow in a silent version.

visit www.tacklejunkie.fish for the latest tackle news - AS IT HAPPENS! MAY 2015

Boating Feature

Special Feature: Products that will enhance your There’s a concept that we have around here about ‘fun money’, and this is how it works…. You can complain as much as you like about your rent, Telstra bill or stingy little tax return, but when it comes to money you spend on fishing and boating, than that’s the fun money. You don’t complain about it, you enjoy spending it and the pleasure it brings you. This feature is about some things that you can spend the fun money on when it comes to your boat, because we all know that there’s no such thing as wasted money when it comes to accessorising your pride and joy. Of course, there’s probably a whole swag of products that you don’t even know that you need yet. That’s where we come in and maybe give you some ideas about what’s available. So consider this…

•••••••••••••••••

SOUNDERS AND GPS

••••••••••••••••• It’s not a long shot to convince you that you need a depth sounder (or fish finder) on your boat. Today’s units seem to get better by the month. Not only can they pinpoint your location to within a few feet, they can show you what’s around, under and beside your boat in incredible detail. It seems like the new standard size is a 10 inch screen and if you’re not running a side scan module, then the guy next to you is seeing more than you are. Community datacollection like the Insight Genesis program by Lowrance means that you can benefit from others’ hard work and see the bottom contours in your area like never before. All-in-all, this should be on the top of your list when

One of the easiest ways to get your boat performing better

it comes to accessories that’ll catch you more fish. •••••••••••••••••

GAUGES

••••••••••••••••• There’s both proprietary and after market gauge upgrades available for your outboard. If you run a compatible motor from any of the big brands, there’s most likely a colour LCD screen option that’ll give you a mountain of motor data at your fingertips. One of the best reasons for upgrading is fuel management. These units are super accurate at measuring how much gas you’ve used and how far you’ll get on the amount you have left. Mercury’s Vessel View and Yamaha’s Command Link are examples of these. •••••••••••••••••

STEERING

ELECTRIC MOTORS

••••••••••••••••• A decade ago, you’d be flat out seeing a transommounted electric motor on a tinnie you’d drive by at your local river. Nowadays, they’re more the norm than the exception. Driven by a cohort of tournament anglers and now considered an essential tool for the lure casting angler, a 12V or 24V trolling motor can sit on the bow of your boat and make manoeuvring a quiet piece of cake. Increasingly, there’s integration between your electric motor and your fish finder/GPS. You can record routes, head to sounder created waypoints and spot-lock to a position that’ll keep you in a location hands-free, letting you concentrate on the fishing.

BOAT LIGHT KIT • Run for 12 hours and still start your motor • Hook up bait and tie knots with ease • Never replace a bulb - Virtually indestructible • Fully waterproof (they will run under water) IP68 • No stumbling around the boat

BAIT BOARDS

• Rig up quickly and safely • Lights up all your wells • 12v easy to fit DIY, • Commercial quality product • 50,000 hour life span

L SPECIAR OFFE E 8 METR k t it h

Boat lig

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SOUND SYSTEMS PROPELLERS MinnKota works with Humminbird units and MotorGuide’s superlative Xi5 talks to Lowrance. •••••••••••••••••

BIMINI TOPS

••••••••••••••••• When we’re young and crazy, bimini tops seem like a hindrance rather than a help. When we transition from that state to ‘old and sensible’, you realise that they offer shade and make your boat a lot more family friendly. Best of all, they can be custom built for your boat to fold away very neatly or can be removed with the removal of a couple of pins. Or, you can fit a pre-made, off the shelf model to your tinnie. The latter option can be quite affordable. •••••••••••••••••

DECKING

•••••••••••••••••

NOW BLUE AND WHITE - DUEL COLOUR LEDS

The easiest way to turn a shiny, slippery, reflective tinnie into a safe, cool fishing platform is with the various stick-on decking products available. With super strong glue backing the non-skid surface and the ability to cut the decking to shape, even the least confident boat pimper can get their tinnie bench seats and gunwales looking fantastic. •••••••••••••••••

your sounder/GPS network, by far the most popular sound upgrade involves fitting a dedicated marine radio/MP3 player. And often the hardest part of the install are finding places to mount the speakers. Anecdotally, some heavy metal music blaring will often bring the predators on the bite. How true is this? There’s only one way to find out, although I can’t imagine Justin Bieber leaving anything with an appetite…. •••••••••••••••••

ROD RACKS

••••••••••••••••• Often the first home made upgrade that a boat gets it to locate some rod holders. There’s two types – those that hold your rods in a position for fishing and holders that are designed to store your rods out of the way. There’s plenty of off-theshelf solutions to both of these situations – just ensure

that if you’re trolling for big fish, that you get ones that can handle the pressure. The first fast running predator on a heavy outfit that makes the rod holder the weakest link won’t be the first. And losing your favourite trolling outfit to the deep blue stings. A lot. •••••••••••••••••

PROPELLERS

••••••••••••••••• One of the easiest ways to get your boat performing better is to make sure that your propeller is suitable for your rig and tuned properly. Having one blade dinged and out of whack does more than cost you speed and fuel, it can also create vibrations that literally rattle you motor apart. The good news is that there’s a network of propeller repairers and specialists, nationally, that can come to the rescue. And it’s usually

SOUND SYSTEMS

www.korrlighting.com.au For further product information and purchase details

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••••••••••••••••• Although some sound systems are integrated with

Vinyl boat wraps not only look great, they add protection and value to your prized possession.

Boating Feature

boating experience for the whole family SOUNDERS AND GPS

can be totally out of your control – you’ll love yourself forever when you can lay your hands on one of these. Standing for Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, it’s the one thing you grab after a PFD when things get nasty. •••••••••••••••••

LIGHTING

GAUGES

DECKING

THAT’S A WRAP

••••••••••••••••• And the most impressive thing that you can do to

your boat, is to vinyl wrap it. And stay with us here – it’s more than bling factor. Vinyl wraps protect the finish on your boat and are usually cheaper than a paint job. Infinitely customisable and as in-your-face or subtle as you like, wraps are becoming more popular every year. Who knows – they might even be a claimable advertising expense for your business!

MARINE GRADE ADHESIVE FOAM DECKING

WINCHES

TRANSFORM CHECKER PLATE INTO COMFORT

VINYL WRAPS Features and Benefits _ _______________ _______ ____________

ROD RACKS cheaper to tune your current propeller than replace it. Access these guys through your local boat dealer. Sometimes swapping from an aluminium propeller to a stainless steel one will give you a jump in performance. Stainless props are thinner and more efficient, although more expensive to purchase. •••••••••••••••••

LIGHTING

••••••••••••••••• If you’re after a pimping idea that looks good as well as performs a practical function, then get ready to look at some LED lighting for your craft. Drawing bugger-all power, an undergunwale LED light kit not only looks ace, but also

serves a function. You can work on your gear and ensure that none of that light leaks over the water. If you need underwater light to attract bait and fish, they you can do that, too. The best way we’ve seen is the LED Bung Light that retro-fits into your boat’s bung hole. Indeed, light will be shining out of your boat’s ass. And that can’t be a bad thing. •••••••••••••••••

WINCHES

••••••••••••••••• Let’s face it - nobody that owns a boat likes pulling up the anchor. The deeper it is, the more laborious the job. That’s where an anchor winch comes in.

With the flick of a switch, you can deploy or retrieve your anchor from the comfort of your cabin. Of course, this gives your mate you take fishing less to do. It means that you can allocate his efforts towards making sandwiches, bringing the drinks or filleting the fish. Anchor winch systems are becoming more accessible and affordable for regular boaties. •••••••••••••••••

BAIT BOARDS

••••••••••••••••• This accessory can be pimped and practical at the same time. Usually fitted via a couple of in-transom mounts on boats where they

are removable, a bait board can include knife holders, tackle drawers, rod holders and can even be plumbed. Becoming the workstation focus of your cockpit, it’s great to localise the mess in a place where it’s easy to clean up. After all, the floor of the boat is for fish blood and slime only. Keep the bait mess separate! •••••••••••••••••

H EASY TO HOSE DOWN AND CLEAN H H NO MORE SCRATCHES AND DENTS H H JUST MEASURE, CUT, PEEL AND STICK H H REDUCES HEAT BY 75% AND UV STABLE H H PERFECT FOR DECKING, FLOORING, GUNWALES, TRANSOMS, STEPS AND CHECKER PLATE H H DIMINISH SHOCK, FATIGUE, NOISE AND GLARE H H NON SLIP SURFACE FOR SAFETY AND COMFORT H JUST PEEL & STICK FOR ALL MARINE APPLICATIO NS

EPIRBS

••••••••••••••••• Although these are usually a fancy colour, they’re more a safety necessity than on your Christmas pimping list. When stuff goes wrong on the water – and it

H AVAILABLE IN UNIVERSAL LIGHT GREY H 1500MM X 340MM X 5MM H 1500MM X 500MM X 5MM

To find your local stockist visit www.diamonddeck.com.au Trade enquiries welcome 0437 864 077 Enquiries@diamonddeck.com.au

AUSTRALIA WIDE

Anchoring System SPECIALISTS

H Wiring Looms H Hawse Pipes H Chain Guard H Bowsprits H Drum Anchor Winches H Mud Magnet Anchors H Rope and Chain Kits Industry Leading Customer Service and Support

5 + LIFE WARRANTY

Australian Owned Australian Designed 5 Year Unconditional Warranty

CAR & BOAT WRAPS

AND ALL YOUR SIGNAGE NEEDS

www.lonestarmarine.com.au 0413 113 828

xfactorsigns@bigpond.com MAY 2015

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Boating Feature 1

Diamond Decking

Korr Lighting

The Diamond Deck is the perfect solution to enhance your boating experience by making your boat or tinnie aesthetically appealing to the eye with the importance of superior comfort and safety in mind. Checker plate has become very common in boating, but as we all know it is very hard on the feet after only a short period of time and it can be dangerous if you take a fall on it. This is where Diamond Deck is the perfect solution to turn your checker plate into the ultimate comfort zone without the loss of any safety or grip. So when you need to pimp your seats, decking, flooring, gunwales, transoms, bow, hatch covers, anchor well, steps and other endless possibilities – diamond deck is right here and right now. Visit the new Diamond Deck website to find your local stockist and check out the full gallery of pictures and how to apply videos at www.diamonddeck.com.au or call 0437 864 077 for any trade enquiries or further information. – Diamond Deck

Lone Star Marine Winches 3

Diamond Deck Decking

New Korr Lighting Boat Light Kit

We invented Korr Boat Light Kit in 2009 and have upgraded the lighting system several times. We have found through the feedback and sales of this lighting system that night fishers tend to move from spot to spot throughout the night, and the biggest problem with the white light when moving around at night is

that your eyes dilate. This means for a few seconds after looking into the white lights you suffer night blindness until your eyes get used to the dark The new range of Korr Boat Light Kits will come with white and blue coloured lights, so when traveling at night your eyes adapt to the darkness a lot faster when you have the blue lights on. So now we have a lighting kit that will work well for different environments. Use white when stopped and blue great for traveling at night to avoid night blindness. – Korr Lighting

Lone Star Marine

Lone Star was created in 2009 with the sole purpose of offering excellent anchoring systems at a better price without sacrificing quality or customer service. Lone Star Marine went back to the beginning with drum anchor winch design; custom drives and twin bearing shaft support on all models. They are the only company to use a twin bearing system, which greatly increases longevity. They are the only anchor winch company in the world that has replaced highly stressed aluminium components, such as gearbox flanges, with more durable stainless steel. With roots in solid engineering, LSM have created custom accessories such as the world’s first cast hawse pipes and worlds first wide hawse pipe, The Original Chain Guard, worlds first stainless encased winch motors, and are the only winch company to offer a 5+ Life Warranty on all 6 winch models. Based in Melbourne, LSM assemble all winches from their facility in Carrum Downs. Visit www.lonestarmarine.com.au for more information. – Lone Star Marine

SHOP 24/7

Check out our 17 mega showroom locations for full range of products

CRUISE IN

FOR YOUR BOATING NEEDS

NEW 2015

CATALOGUE 4,700+ PRODUCTS

Subscribe now to get your FREE copy NAME: ADDRESS: EMAIL: Send to: Road Tech Marine Catalogue PO Box 7172, Silverwater DC, NSW 1811 Email: catalogue@roadtechmarine.com.au Fax: (02) 8832 3333

1300 964 264 www.roadtechmarine.com.au 102

MAY 2015

ONLINE!

Boating Feature 4

LED Lights

Vehicle lights are often a necessity for the serious 4WD owner and are especially helpful when towing a boat or for any other rugged pursuit. LEDs are almost completely resistant to shock and vibration and are very compact, unlike halogen or HID. They use far less power for the amount of light they produce, turn on instantly with no ‘warm up’, and last for over 50,000 hours. Outputting over 3,400 lumens of brilliant white light, they are equivalent to a 300W halogen lamp. The flood beam will light up a road to a distance of 183m, while the spot beam will light up a distance of 378m. Assembled with marine grade 316 stainless steel fasteners, they are rust proof and waterproof (IP68). They can also handle pretty extreme temperatures. Suitable for 12V and 24V systems. Choose from a solid LED spotlight (MLC134) or floodlight (MLC136). Available from Road Tech Marine stores nationwide or from their website at www. roadtechmarine.com.au. - Road Tech Marine

X-Factor Boat 5 Wraps

5 Personal Locator Beacon 6

Raymarine Wi-Fish™

Bait Station

X-Factor Signs Get Wrapped

When you’re shopping around to get your boat vinyl-wrapped, you have two choices. You can get the guys who have been taught to apply the printed stickers around the curves of your boat, or you can get the guy that teaches the sign writers how to do it. Richard Potter from X-Factor signs is an Avery specialist installer who trains a lot of Avery installers. He’s also an angler who has been wrapping boats since the early Australian Fishing Championships TV show days. With the ability to create and customise the wrap designs or by using a standard, pre-made artwork, Richard can turn your boring tinnie into a work of art. A bonus is that the wrap will help preserve the condition of your paintwork or gelcoat underneath the install. X-Factor Signs uses Avery Supercast vinyl with a UV stabilised, clear, over-laminate to ensure that your wrap lasts for years. Get in touch for a quote www.xfactorsigns. com or call 0413 113 828. - FMG

Kingfisher Canopy

5” 3,400 lumen LED Lights

Personal Locator Beacon

Best used by sailors, lone trekkers and bushwalkers who take their adventure seriously, it is one of the smallest PLBs currently available. It has a guaranteed 10-year battery life, a 10-year warranty and an estimated lifetime of 20 years. There are six different means of rescue including 406MHz transmission (SAR standard), 121.5 homing beacon signal (Aircraft Band Emergency Frequency), GPS location readout, visual strobe, signal mirror and whistle on a lanyard. It is self-buoyant, salt water and corrosion resistant to 3m, and contained within a highvisibility impact resistant case. The PLB automatically communicates to search and rescue on standard frequencies anywhere in the world and can also be taken on aircraft as it has a non-hazmat battery. This means it can be used anywhere in Australia and overseas. Available from Road Tech Marine stores nationwide or from their website. For more info visit www.roadtechmarine. com.au. - Road Tech Marine

Raymarine Wi-Fish™

“The first Dragonfly launched in 2013 was a breakthrough that let fisherman see the underwater world with incredible fidelity” said Grégoire Outters, Vice President and General Manager of FLIR Maritime. “Now with the expanded and more attractively priced Dragonfly range, we are making our high performance CHIRP DownVision™ sonar technology within reach of every fisherman and boater.” In addition to the Dragonfly 4 and 5 models, the new Wi-Fish™ sonar for mobile devices joins the Dragonfly range. Built on the Dragonfly sonar platform, Wi-Fish™ is a black box wireless sonar designed to work exclusively with smartphones and tablets, letting fisherman access CHIRP DownVision™ from anywhere on board. Using Raymarine’s Wi-Fish™ mobile app, fishermen can view, pause, and rewind sonar imagery, making it easy to record their favorite fishing spots and share with friends online. - Raymarine

Ultimate Bait StationThe

This one of a kind bait station is the ultimate for the serious angler. Featuring four angled rod holders with black plastic inserts to protect your expensive reels, two conveniently placed drink holders, an ergonomically designed channel at the back of the nylon cutting board for ease of draining PLUS the bonus ‘fisherman feature’ including two knife, pliers, hook & lure storage brackets. There really is no reason to leave the bait station during a hot bite other than to throw your catch in the icebox. The bait station includes two adjustable legs that simply fit into standard 40mm ID vertical rod holders making the bait station a breeze to remove while cleaning or transporting your boat. Check out this deluxe bait station at www. samallen.com.au. - Sam Allen Wholesale

Kingfisher Canopy

“Our customers were frustrated with the traditionally designed bimini tops - and so were we. We both fish so we know how annoying a maze of straps and struts can be. Finding an alternative was our aim and as it turns out the Kingfisher exceeds even our original expectations. It gives great cover and heaps of room to move, we can spend more time fishing - and even the missus is happy with it.” Each Kingfisher Canopy is manufactured individually in Australia by an experienced craftsman using the finest quality materials, fixtures and fittings to maximise the canopy strength and durability. The Kingfisher Canopy has been tested to 60km/h (2.8M model) in its fully extended position, with customer feedback indicating that this is a major feature. For more info visit www.kingfishercanopy.com.au. - Kingfisher Canopy. MAY 2015

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Grady White Seafarer 226 BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

I don’t know what it is about Grady White boats but every time I set out to review one from Game and Leisure Boats at Runaway Bay the weather takes a vicious turn to the windy side of the scale. Luckily, these boats are made for the rough stuff so as I boarded the Grady White Seafarer 226 recently I just grinned at the white caps out on the Broadwater

to have a snooze over night after spending a day aboard cruising, or alternatively to make use of the angling appointments and generous cockpit layout to get stuck into some fish. With their fishing and other equipment stored within the cuddy cab, an icebox aboard for tucker, a team of dedicated fishos would enjoy heading offshore for the day. CUDDY WELL SET UP The Seafarer’s cuddy cab came equipped with a fresh water sink to port of a folding door, while inside well formed V berth

cabin hatch up front plus opening side windows and an interior light combined to ensure that the cabin was well ventilated, very bright and airy. With it’s two part door (upper section acrylic plus bi-fold lower section) able to be locked it also offered useful security if the craft was to be docked over night and some gear left aboard. HARD TOP HANDY One option on the Grady White that really appealed to me was the very strong hard top – with it’s ultra strong stainless steel frame work

INSTRUMENTS WELL SET UP The Grady White Seafarer 226 featured a very strong 4-piece windscreen with plenty of dash space behind it. The craft also had a very neat instrument layout, which made driving and monitoring progress a pleasure. Uppermost on the three section instrument area was Yamaha’s new multi function LCD gauge with it’s 5” screen, linked to the 300 four-stroke’s digital gear/ throttle control system. Set into a very slick binnacle, with the Grady

Above left: Family anglers will enjoy the fresh water sink within the Grady White’s cuddy cab. Above right: The Grady White’s attractions include soft bunks, a toilet plus shelves and ample lighting within the cuddy cab. Left: Standing to drive is assisted by the bolster section of the skipper’s high backed seat.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION Length..............................................................6.76m Beam................................................................2.44m Length on trailer...............................................8.2m Height on trailer................................................3.1m Deadrise.............................................................. 20° Hull weight.................................................... 1592kg Fuel....................................................................431L Engine ratings.........................................200-300hp Engine fitted.................... 300hp Yamaha four-stroke Persons....................................................... Up to 10 Towing............................ Large family wagon or 4x4 and said to Chris Jones of Game and Leisure, “Bring it on!” For the record, although it sports an impeccable finish there’s nothing soft about the big Seafarer 226. It’s a solid fibreglass craft with a length of 6.76m, beam of 2.44m and with almost one half of the craft devoted to a cuddy cab. There’s room for a family 104

MAY 2015

cushioning (including an infill) offered options of stretching out or with the infill removed, sitting to enjoy time out of the weather. Useful storage was under each side berth, while full lining, cushioned back rests courtesy of the plush side shelving, a marine toilet also under the forward cushion, large

– featured on the reviewed Seafarer 226. The moulded hard top also came with a radio box, front and side curtains, a drop curtain, clears, aft rocket launcher rod holder plus another rod holders on the rear vertical frame work. Along with shelter for up to 4 people it also offered useful hand holds for anyone going forward to tend ground tackle, via the big walkaround area beside the cuddy. I tried the walk-around out myself in somewhat choppy conditions and had no issues going forward to photograph various items thanks to the convenience of the large hard top and its framework. Note that a strong bow rail is also part of the Grady White package along with a very prominent bow sprit to ensure that the pick does not contact the lovely gel coat.

White emblem adjacent, the gauge was a great source of information and very easy to refer to. On the next level down was a compass plus engine controls, below the compass the craft’s tilt adjustable three-spoke wheel,

The day was a misty one but it did not take the shine off the Grady White’s well-made hull at work. ignition key, with a quite neat but fairly large array of switches to starboard, along with the trim tab controls. Helm area seating consisted of high backed buckets mounted on moulded boxes set up with side accessed compartments under each pedestal bucket seat. I found these seats to be very comfortable as both passenger and driver. The skipper’s seat was slide adjustable, afforded great visibility and offered the option of also standing braced against the lower bolster section if necessary. Note that storage shelving was also set into each side of the craft adjacent skipper and mate’s seats. Lids on the aft sections of the seat box extensions provided seating for two more people, conveniently handy to both skipper and mate. Further storage was again provided under these seat squabs with the 180L capacity box to starboard set aside for general storage, with the port side being suited to a live well or ice chest, as it was insulated. Note that both of these storage compartments had lids equipped with gas struts and decent rubber sealing for utmost convenience. AMPLE COCKPIT WORK AREA With almost one half of the craft devote to the cockpit I saw ample room

in this area for 4-5 anglers to enjoy their fishing. A self draining non skid floor was but one of the useful attributes here along with 1.8m long side pockets (off floor with a toe rail under them) large enough to hold plenty of tackle, gaffs, tag poles and the like. A fresh water wash was located in the port pocket. Three horizontal rod racks per side were set up within cockpit sides with provision for rods to be fully rigged for use and their rod tips inserted within the hull liner out of harm’s way. Other cockpit items of note were the side coaming up top to provide comfort while working on a fish, paired seats in each aft quarter (which could be lifted to allow access to compartments under them) plus a drop down section at transom centre, providing extra space for the engine to tilt upwards. Two gunwale rod holders per side were fitted with paired cup holders aft. Aft of the transom a boarding platform plus ladder was located to port. 300 YAMAHA HAD REAL PUNCH Engine ratings for the Grady White were 200-300hp, which saw the top power 4.2L Yamaha V6 strutting its stuff with

There are a lot of useful hand holds associated with the Grady White’s big hard top; check out those rod holders.

ease. The big Yamaha was near silent at idle but could be provoked into a throaty growl with movement of the small throttle lever to the right of the wheel. The Seafarer 226 planed at an amazingly gentle 13.8km/h at

2400rpm with two aboard in the nasty Broadwater chop. Cranked to 3000rpm saw 33.6km/h on the GPS, 4000 a speed of 47.8km/h, 5000 a feisty 63.4km/h from the brand new engine. Run in properly, I’d see top speeds

Top: Engine data made easy: Yamaha’s multi function LCD gauge. Bottom: Well formed walkaround facility makes tending ground tackle both easy and safe up front of the Grady White.

in excess of the 70km/h mark from the well designed hull, which featured a 20° aft ‘V’ section plus quite large reversed strakes each outer edge for best stability. The V6 Yamaha impressed me with its smooth, seamless power band and even at the 45005000rpm mark the engine was still super responsive. As I mentioned earlier, the review day was not pleasant thanks to a stiff southerly whipping up chop, with lots of misty spray about too, but Grady White have been building hulls for offshore work for decades and the Seafarer 226 took everything in its stride with ease. Running out through the Seaway was fun with the hull ironing out incoming swells with ease. Thanks to a decent lift in the forward sheer line, plenty of above water flare right from the bow’s entry the big Grady White kept us entirely dry with it’s smooth ride. Stability is important in fishing craft and I was impressed with the inherent steadiness of the Seafarer 226’s 1600kg hull, which, even with two on one side, hardly showed any inclination to lean. In short, I gave the hull full marks for easy performance, excellent balance and handling plus ample stability both under way and at rest. FISHABILITY AND SUMMING UP The Grady White 226 Seafarer is certainly a top quality fishing rig with a lot going for it as on offshore craft yet family boater’s would certainly enjoy the rig as well. As such, I see it as a top shelf all rounder. Fresh water’s aboard, there’s a toilet and the cabin would be ideal for overnighting, yet the 660mm high cockpit offered plenty of fishing room plus the convenience of those large capacity fish boxes under the aft facing seating squabs. Attention to detail also sees every wet area draining outside the hull not under the floor. Finish was deluxe

trailer packages may differ due to variations in engine installations, propellers,

hull configurations, options, hull loading and trailer specifications.

Ample cockpit room makes for comfortable fishing in the Grady White Seafarer 226.

Bring it on! The Grady White was entirely at home in the Seaway swell.

BuILT GRADy- WhITE TOuGh!

FreedoM 275 seAFArer 226

IN STOCK NOW, TRADES WELCOME! Visit your exclusiVe AustrAliAn GrAdy-White deAler

Game & leisure Boats Pty ltd Factory 1 Runaway Bay Marina, Queensland tel. (07) 5577 5811 eMAil sales@gandlb.com.au

www.gandlb.com.au

MAY 2015

GLB275FMG001

A locking cabin door is a big plus in a family fishing or cruising style craft, check out those big seats on boxes as well.

from stem to stern. With tandem wheel Magic Tilt alloy trailer, the Grady White (with safety gear and registration) would come home for $139,900, which, given the high end finish, specs list, performance and offshore capability of the craft would be value for money. Note that Grady White craft have an excellent resale value, if you can find one! Game and Leisure Boats can be contacted on (07) 5577 5811 or www. sales@gandlb.com.au. • Quoted performance figures have been supplied by the writer in good faith. Performance of individual boat/motor/

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Haines Signature 543SF with Suzuki 150hp BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Queensland made Haines Signature boats seem to have a boat for every purpose these days, and

their new 543SF (the SF stands for Sport Fishing) model follows that trend to a T, delivering anglers

a specialised, high quality, sportfishing rig. With a length of 5.41m and a 2.13m beam this deep

TECHNICAL INFORMATION Length..............................................................5.41m Beam................................................................2.13m Hull weight.................................................... 1100kg Hull deadrise.........33/21 degrees standard variable Fuel.................................................................... 170L Engine ratings......................................130 to 150hp Engine fitted............................50 Suzuki four-stroke Persons ..................................................................5 Towing........................... family six or big four sedan

Above Left: The Signature’s standard variable deadrise hull is one of the standout features of the hulls impressive design and performance. Above Right: The 543SF ate up the chop during the onwater test. Right: The 150hp Suzuki delivers the Haines a top speed of 37.7 knots (70km/h).

but can be ordered with a centre console options if that’s more to your liking. Haines Signature offers some latitude in the layout of the deck and are more than happy to discuss the available options. Standard on all models and layouts though is Haines Signature’s attention to detail and high-level build quality and finish. Reviewed on Moreton Bay on a typical choppy morning the Signature’s variable deadrise hull provided an extremely dry and comfortable ride. Being a sports style hull design of course necessitated the need for sufficient power to push the hull out of the hole and onto the plane, and likewise sufficient grunt was needed to keep the boat on top of the chop and push it through the waves with ease. This was a task the 2.8L four-cylinder Suzuki 150hp four-stroke engine seemed to thrive on. More on performance later, in the meantime let’s take a look at the Haines’ layout and features. SPORTS ORIENTATED LAYOUT Up front there are several storage compartments under the 40cm high front casting deck, conveniently equipped with lighting for night fishing. Complimenting the lockable dry storage compartments up front is a fully plumbed, full width livewell, plus another pair of storage compartments

for the discerning angler. Upright rod holders are located on each side of the cockpit, while under gunnel horizontal rod holders located on the port side of the vessel provide room to safety and securely store five outfits. The 543FS has seating that could only be described as plush. Classic in design, these stylish blue and white pedestal seats feature a high backrest, and a fully moulded bucket seat base. Equipped with a front bolster, height adjustability, and full swivel functionality these are seats that definitely look as good as they feel. When seated at the helm I found there to be ample legroom between the seat and the console, while the console’s windscreen provides some shelter from the elements. Engine controls are comfortably located next to the skipper’s right arm, providing ultimate comfort and control. The 543SF’s wellconsidered and designed dash saw not one, but two, in-dash Garmin 751xs sounders positioned sideby-side. Also set into the console’s upright section is, four banks of rocker switches controlling various functions, trim tab controls, and drink holder. Located lower on the dash along with the ignition key is a microphone for the vessel’s marine radio. In all the Haines’ dash was well set out, ergonomically

Stylish in looks and stunning in performance the 543SF is an impressive vessel all-round.

Top Left: Ample underfloor storage provides plenty of room for drinks, ice, and an angler’s catch. Top Right: The rear compartments on the front cast deck are reserved for storage, the starboard hatch in particular is used for battery storage. Above Left: A dash with a difference. Not one, but two, great Garmin units on hand. Above Right: Haines Signature’s attention to detail is evident throughout the boat. The struts located on the front hatch makes hatch access easy and trouble free. 106

MAY 2015

V fibreglass hull is large enough for offshore work on calmer days (due to the limited freeboard of the sports style hull), and is tailor made for bay, estuary and impoundment angling. The reviewed vessel came equipped with a side console and tandem seating,

located at the rear of the deck. A stainless steel grab rail located on the top of the gunnel further adds to the front deck’s features, providing angler comfort and security in rough conditions. The cockpit also boasts a host of fishing features

friendly to use, both when at rest and when travelling at speed, and like all elements on the boat a testament to Haines’ attention to design and construction quality. An on-board sound system was also part of the package and sat unobtrusively on the console.

FUN TIMES UNDER POWER Driving the 543SF was effortless and pleasurable with the craft’s tilt adjustable steering wheel linking with the vessel’s hydraulic steering to deliver a steering set-up that is fluid and assured at all speeds. Trim tab controls are also right at the skipper’s reach providing further hull control when on the move. The 543SF’s deep V 33/21º variable deadrise hull didn’t seem to need a lot of power to get it up and planning. With three aboard the Haines only needed 2,600rpm of power from the motor, and 7.6 knots (14.1km/h) of speed to get it out of the hole and on the plane. The 150 Suzuki worked effortlessly during the onwater test recording a speed of 8.9 knots (16.6km/h) at 3000rpm, 22.6 knots (41.9km/h) at 4000 rpm, 30.5 knots (56.6km/h)

Thoughtful rod storage is a major feature of this sporty craft.

SUMMING UP As a dedicated sports fishing rig the Signature 543SF will be suited to a lot of different anglers. From the tournament angler to enthusiast bay and inshore anglers it’s a vessel that offers a lot and delivers plenty. For a fly angler like myself the expansive front casting deck is tailor made for casting a fly line from and offers a tonne of room to fight fish Stunning in looks, refined in design and construction, and ultimately impressive in performance this is a craft that is built to excite. Including all extras (including three Garmin sounders) the reviewed Haines Signature 543SF would come home on a Dunbier dual axle trailer for around $62,990. Haines Signature can be contacted via email on info@ thehainesgroup.com, or by phone or fax on 32714000 to locate a dealer near you. • Quoted performance figures have been supplied by the writer in good faith. Performance of individual boat/motor/ trailer packages may differ due to variations in engine installations, propellers, hull configurations, options, hull loading and trailer specifications.

Top: The 543SF’s helm offers plenty of room and ensures everything the skipper needs is in easy reach. Middle: An uncluttered console and cockpit is a big plus for anglers on the Haines Signature. Above: Plush seating reflects the overall high standard of the 543SF.

Top: The well performing 150 Suzuki was an excellent choice of engine for the Haines Signature 543 SF. Above Left: A look at the general layout of the 543SF: I loved those high backed seats. Above Right: A plumbed livewell is just one of many features that make fishing a breeze on the sporty Haines Signature 43SF. at 5000rpm, 36.8 knots (68.3km/h) at 6000rpm, and 38.4 knots (71.3km/h) at 6200rpm. These were impressive speeds but are of course entirely governed by water conditions. What additionally impressed me was the very smooth and seemingly noise-free cruise speed of 22.6 knots (41.9km/h) at 4000rpm, and the fuel consumption of 18.5L/h. With 170L fuel capacity this is a vessel that has some serious range. The performance from the Suzuki was virtually seamless. Whisper quiet at idle the engine purred into life once over 1000rpm, and when driven harder never

seemed to be working that hard at all. Given the ease in which the 150 Suzuki pushed the hull along, opting for a smaller 140 would be a viable money saving option. FISHABILITY The 543SF is true to Haines Signature’s fishing pedigree with a multitude of features combining to make it a sports fishing boat with a few peers. Cockpit features to please the angler are a deep underfloor compartment for stowing fish, soft coaming on the sides to assist when fighting fish, a recirculating livewell located at the transom, rear twin stainless steel rod holders, transom

lights, rear boarding steps, and a rear portside ladder. A small casting deck is also located at the rear and extends the full width of the boat. A large forward deck further enhances the vessel’s large work area, proving sufficient room for up to four anglers. With a hull weight of 1100kg this is a mighty substantial craft and while the deep V hull was slightly inclined to lean when sitting at rest in chop, I noted no excessive leaning or tipping even with three moving about onboard. For those wishing to run an electric motor an electric motor bracket is available as an optional extra.

CONTACT YOUR NEAREST DEALER For more boats visit: www.polycraft.com.au

MACKAY - Shane Morrison Marine Phone: 07 4951 1991 Email: sales@shanemorrisonmarine.com.au

CAIRNS - Aussie Marine Phone: 07 4033 8800 Email: sales@aussiemarine.com.au

BUNDABERG - Adrians Marine Centre Phone: 07 4153 1819 Email: adriansmarinecentre@bigpond.com

SUNSHINE COAST - Port O’ Call Boating Phone: 07 5493 2255 Email: lancesouthwell@hotmail.com MAY 2015

107

Is your trailer Australian made or imported? SYDNEY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christian Bold

There are plenty of trailer manufactures and retailers across Australia. Some have been around for a very long time and some are very recent to the market. But how do you know which ones are selling Australian made trailers and which ones are importing trailers and selling them as Australian made? Some consumers have a strong preference to buy Australian made and owned, while others are perhaps price driven, or open to the idea of buying an imported trailer. When it comes to making a decision on which way to go I strongly believe that everyone deserves to be informed and educated on their choices, and know the important questions to ask when it comes to deciding which choice to make. There are key differences between the two, and vital factors to consider when it comes to deciding which way to go. LOCAL AND/ OR IMPORTED The first question that should be asked is, is the trailer being imported ready made and ready to go, or is the trailer frame and components being imported unassembled, then assembled here? This is a dual question and one where you need to be very specific. There are many trailer companies selling trailers as ‘Australian Made’, but the reality is that they’re actually imported frames and components that they are then assembling here. This can be misleading because consumers can easily

Made in Australia, overseas, or a combination of the two? There are many options available when it comes to buying a boat. think that the entire trailer is being manufactured in Australian, where the reality is that they’re simply being assembled in Australia. The difference between the two can be huge, and the trailer frame is the first place to look for the differences between the two. TOTALLY FRAMED Most Australian made trailer frames are constructed of 3mm thick Australian steel that is then Australian galvanised. In contrast most imported trailer frames use either 2 or 2.5mm thick steel, usually Chinese steel, with Chinese galvanising. You may not think there is much difference in the thickness of the steel, but an extra half or full millimeter in thickness can greatly impact on the lifespan of the trailer, particular when rust enters the equation. The next question is, is the trailer bolted together or welded together? Most imported trailers are bolted together once they arrive on Australian shores. This allows for easy importation

from their country of origin. Most Australian made trailers (excluding aluminium trailers) in contrast are fully welded before they are sent to

the galvaniser. While a bolted trailer is far more convenient to construct, bolts do come loose over time, and require regular maintenance to keep them

Australian trailers can be a combination of locally and imported parts, or can be completely 100% Australian-made.

Deciding whether to buy a local or overseas made trailer can come down to many things. Price, personal preference and availability are just a few of the things that come into the equation. 108

MAY 2015

on the road and roadworthy. The next item on the hit list is galvanization. The galvanisation on an imported trailer delivers a different finish than

Christian Bold, also known as ‘The Trailer Guy’, is one of Australia’s leading trailer and caravan repair specialists. As the director of Bold Trailers he is a licensed motor mechanic, auto electrician and automotive body builder. Christian is also an AUVIS and e-safety examiner for the RMS. You can contact Christian at Bold Trailers on 02 8544 8114, or for more information visit www.boldtrailers. com.au.

the galvanisation on an Australian trailer. Galvanising in Australia, of Australian steel, produces a smoother finish that is more consistent in colour, and is considered superior in quality and protection. FULLY INFORMED As you can see there are distinct differences between going Australian made, Australian assembled, or fully imported. So next time you are in the market for a new trailer ask the manufacturer or retailer if their trailers are Australian made or Australian built. By finding this out you’ll have the information you need to make an informed decision and fully considered purchase. Christian Bold, also known as ‘The Trailer

Guy’, is one of Australia’s leading trailer and caravan repair specialists. As the founder of Bold Trailers he is a licensed motor mechanic, auto electrician and automotive body builder. Christian is also an AUVIS and e-safety examiner for the RMS. You can contact Christian and the team at Bold Trailers for any information regarding trailer and caravan repairs, maintenance, modifications, legal requirements, imported trailers, parts and accessories and new and used trailers for sale. Their friendly technicians are always willing to help you to make your towing experience safe and enjoyable. For more great tips go to www. boldtrailers.com.au or Phone: (02) 8544-8114.

Suzuki lightweight four cylinder DF200A FMG

Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

In late 2014, Suzuki unveiled its latest lightweight and fuelefficient model – the new four cylinder DF200A. The new DF200A delivers the kind of impressive performance you would expect only from a V6 engine – but from just four cylinders, which means it is the lightest in its class. In addition to this the new DF200A benefits from a whole host of high specification features, which deliver real customer benefits, including: • Direct air intake and Variable Valve Timing for higher thermal efficiency and exceptional performance. • 2,867 cm³ “Big Block” displacement and a higher compression ratio for impressive acceleration and low end torque. • Lean Burn Control Technology for improved fuel economy. • Knock, O² and water detection sensors and systems to monitor and control internal engine operating parameters and improve reliability. Importantly, the new DF200A weighs in at just 225kg, over 12% less than Suzuki’s current V6 DF200 model. STYLING AND PERFORMANCE Just one look at the newly designed cowling of the DF200A indicates that this

outboard is something special. However, the shape of the cowling represents more than just contemporary styling. Its design and the special baffling underneath work together to provide a semidirect air intake system that provides cooler air directly to the engine’s long track tuned intake manifold. The engine breathes even more efficiently thanks to Suzuki’s proven Variable Valve Timing system and twin intake and exhaust valves for each cylinder. By allowing the engine to breathe cooler air, both acceleration and top end speed are improved. In fact, Suzuki factory testing reports a 1.5% improvement in top end speed and an impressive 12% improvement in 0 to 30 mph

acceleration when compared to competitive models. Another contributing factor to these improved performance numbers is the 10.3:1 compression ratio. By increasing compression of the fuel/air mixture by 9.7%, Suzuki engineers have dramatically improved the power output from its impressive 2,867cm³ displacement DOHC powerhead. POWER-TO-WEIGHT When it comes to speed and performance, boaters must balance power and weight. Until now, many boaters have had to deal with the weight of a V6 engine in order to achieve the level of performance they desired. Now, with the introduction

in terms of size, weight and fuel economy, not to mention cost of purchase. RELIABILITY The addition of Knock and O² sensors helps keep the engine running smoothly. The Knock sensor ‘listens’ to combustion, providing information to the ECM to precisely manage engine timing. The O² sensor monitors engine operating conditions and provides input to the ECM to manage the fuel/air mixture for maximum efficiency and optimum performance. In addition, the DF200A features a water detection sensor to warn of moisture in the fuel system, a common concern given today’s use of ethanol-blended fuel.

Suzuki’s design and the special baffling underneath work together to provide a semi-direct air intake system that provides cooler air directly to the engine’s long track tuned intake manifold.

Shedding weight is one way to make a 200HP perform. With a 12% weight reduction over its V6 brother, the DF 200 does just that.

rpm range. By utilising Lean Burn Control Technology, the DF200A enjoys a significant improvement in fuel economy over Suzuki’s V6 200 horsepower outboard. In fact, Suzuki Factory

With the DF200A weighing just 225kg, boaters can choose a lighter, inline four cylinder engine without sacrificing power or performance.

The engine breathes even more efficiently thanks to Suzuki’s proven Variable Valve Timing system and twin intake and exhaust valves for each cylinder.

of Suzuki’s new DF200A, there’s a real alternative to Suzuki’s V6. With the DF200A weighing just 225kg, boaters can choose a lighter, inline four cylinder engine without sacrificing power or performance. For those boaters in the market for a new boat and motor, or considering repowering from heavier V6 four stroke outboards (or even older two strokes), the new DF200A provides an attractive choice

LEAN-BURN With the introduction of its Lean Burn Control Technology, Suzuki’s engineers have made fuelefficient four stroke outboards even more economical. By taking full advantage of the computer control afforded by the 32-bit onboard ECM, and through the use of engine sensors monitoring everything from engine timing to ambient temperature, the system is able to provide the precise amount of fuel needed throughout the

Testing indicates a 32.6% improvement at top cruising speeds (5000rpm). ADDITIONAL FEATURES In addition to the DF200A, Suzuki is also introducing the DF200AP, which benefits from even more technology. The DF200AP will be the first 200HP outboard on the market available with Suzuki Precision Control drive-bywire controls and Suzuki Selective Rotation. With Suzuki Selective Rotation,

dealers can set up engines in either standard or counter rotation, thanks to speciallydesigned gearing in the lower unit and the engine’s electronic shift controls. Ryan Lloyd, General Manager for The Haines Group, said, “Once again the engineers have delivered a ground-breaking new outboard motor. It delivers outstanding power and has a very satisfying engine note. We are confident that this new model will be hugely popular right across Australia and New Zealand and it will cement Suzuki’s reputation for producing outstanding large horsepower outboards.” ON THE WATER Fishing Monthly caught up with Ty Hawkins from Suzuki at a recent catalogue shoot on the Gold Coast and took the DF200A for a spin on a neat Tournament centre console. You can listen to the interview and see the test footage by scanning the QR code hereby. QR CODE

Scan the QR code to watch the interview with Ty Hawkins outlining the features of the DF200A Suzuki. MAY 2015

109

What’s New BOATING

BAR CRUSHER’S SUB-5M MISSILES

Australian plate aluminium boat manufacturer Bar Crusher has added two more vessels to its arsenal, the 490C and 490WR. Aimed squarely at entry-level boat buyers and those looking to step-up from pressed-aluminium tinnies, the 490 hull series brings Bar Crusher’s renowned quality and performance within reach of more people with its mid-$30k price tag. Measuring 4.9m LOA, with a 2m beam, the 490C and 490WR are built on Bar Crusher’s industry-leading Gen2 hull design with Delta Flare. The hightech Waveslicer non-pounding, deep-V hull delivers an ultra-smooth ride, the expertly-engineered Rigideck sub-floor system creates maximum hull strength and Bar Crusher’s exclusive Quickflow water ballast technology ensures the 490C and 490WR are extremely stable at rest. They are each packaged on a customdesigned trailer, which ensures towing, launching and retrieving is a breeze. Bar Crusher’s innovative Bar Catch system also allows for single-handed launch and retrieve. – Bar Crusher

NEW DRAGONFLY RANGE

The new Dragonfly range offers anglers advanced CHIRP sonar vision, superior color displays, and wireless mobile device integration. The new Dragonfly range begins with the 4.3” Dragonfly 4 DV and the entire Dragonfly range use wide-spectrum CHIRP DownVision sonar technology to give anglers photo-like images of fish and underwater objects. Dragonfly’s CHIRP sonar pulses across a wide spectrum of sonar frequencies simultaneously, which produces much higher resolution and life-like sonar images. Anglers looking to step up to enhanced fish identification can choose the 4.3” Dragonfly 4 DVS or the 5” Dragonfly 5 DVS. The ‘DVS’ models feature CHIRP DownVision plus a second conventional CHIRP sonar channel, optimized for locating fish targets. Dragonfly PRO models combine CHIRP DownVision and conventional CHIRP sonar with a fast 10Hz GPS and internal Wi-Fi for streaming to mobile devices. – Raymarine

‘TINNIE GREY’ BOAT COLLARS

Due to popular demand, the new stock of Kapten Boat Collars is ‘tinnie grey,’ to blend in with the bare grey colour of aluminium boats. You can attach the Collars to your small roof-topper right up to cuddy cab sizes. Enjoy the benefits of a stabilizer that works while at rest and underway, only now you can have it the colour of your tinnie. Enjoy a softer and drier ride, and a boat that tracks straight no matter what, all while retaining the good old ‘tinnie’ look. A Facebook comment from Shaun about his 4.93m Clark Abalone with a Collar says it all: “Mate, it smashes through chop, no spray at all, driest centre console I’ve been in. Stability is unbelievable. Three men on one side, no dramas. My tinnie lives off shore, lol, and I can tell you the Collars saved me more than once!” – Kapten Boat Collar

FISHING PRODUCT GUIDE

COOL WATER STINGRAY

In response to the growing popularity of kayak fishing, Cool Water has launched their Stingray Kayak specifically for budding yak fishers. The Stingray’s design is built for professional fishers, including comfortable seating and extra-large hinged storage containers. To keep you on track, the large rear rudder with foot pedals offer amazing steering and directional control. This is especially handy in strong currents, they can however be lifted out of the water when not required. The Stingray offers two fishing rod holders and a large middle hatch for mounting additional rods, offering anglers more opportunity to catch that elusive fish. The extra-long base storage hatch fits a dry bag, luggage, and nets; all of which make a fishing expedition a breeze. It weighs in at 26kg, is 3.7m, has a load capacity 170kg, and comes in ‘cool blue’, ‘thunder’ and ‘brown camo’. – Kangaroo Tent City

SIMRAD GO7

Simrad Yachting has announced the release of the GO7 standalone multitouch chartplotter and echosounder. This will offer boaters an affordable option for electronic navigation. The feature-packed GO7 is an ideal fit for RIBs, runabouts and cruisers, providing quick and easy access to the vital information boaters require to safely maximise their time on the water. The customisable user interface allows boaters to easily navigate through displays even in the toughest offshore conditions. With multi-touch; pinch-to-zoom chart and sonar range adjustment, as well as drag-and-drop functionality for excellent route planning and charting functions, the GO7 is intuitive. With its accurate internal 10Hz GPS antenna, the GO7 provides reliable situational awareness at any boat speed. Through its NMEA 2000 networking, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth compatibility, the device also gives boaters immediate access to full engine integration, Sonic Hub entertainment functions and complete autopilot control. – Navico

GARMIN’S BLACK BOX SONAR

Garmin’s powerful new GSD 25 premium sonar module is the ultimate all-in-one black box solution for serious anglers fishing from high-end trailer boats and larger game boats. Integrating true, dual-channel 1kW CHIRP, CHIRP DownVü and CHIRP SideVü scanning sonar, this remote networking solution delivers images so clear it’s possible to distinguish between target fish, small and closely-spaced fish at key fishing depths all the way down to over 1500m. The level of clarity is so high, in fact, several professional game boat skippers have already dubbed it “the clearest sonar on the planet”. As all experienced anglers will attest, the ability to dial into specific frequencies is hugely advantageous, especially when targeting fish like marlin, snapper and various others species. Fully-networkable with Garmin’s GPSMAP 8000 series and paired with Garmin’s new line of all-in-one CHIRP and scanning transducers, or compatible Airmar transducers, the GSD 25 is the ultimate search and confirmation tool. – Garmin

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CUSTOM MARINE WELDING & ELECTRICAL Marine and Auto Electricial n All types of Welding n Stainless Steel n Aluminium n Mild Steel n Boats Repaired n Fuel & Water Tanks n Canopies n Bow and Stern Rails n Custom Vehicle Tool Boxes

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Bluewater Windscreens Brisbane (07) 3382 7883

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Boats & Guided Fishing Tours Directory HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION CENTRAL QUEENSLAND

My Charter Boat Tweed Heads 0407 347 446

TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND

RU4 Reel Tweed Heads 0449 903 366 Discovery Fishing Charters G old Coast 0427 026 519 Fish The Deep Charters 0416 224 412

t Stanag Looking to stay a

e Bay?

Fully setup fishing accommodation

Call Von 07 4937 3145 Stanage Bay Marine and Accommodation w w w.stan a g eb ay. co m

Paradise Fishing Charters 0403 531 428

BURDEKIN

Gold Coast Fishing Charters 0411 605 090 Hooker 1 Charters Gold Coast (07) 5528 6469 Sea Probe Fishing Charters 0400 312 330 Coastal Sports Fishing Charters Gold Coast 0412 691 929 Gone Fishing Charters Gold Coast (07) 5529 7833

HINCHINBROOK

JC’s Fishing Charters 0438 753 382 Fairdinkum Fishing Charters Townsville (07) 4751 5324 Cairns Reef Charter Services 1800 119 044 Cairns Charter Boat 0427 533 081 Cairns Fishing Charters 0427 400 027

FISHING GUIDES

Advertise here - $195 + GST for 6 months Email: ads@fishingmonthly.com.au

COOKTOWN River of Gold Motel Plenty of room for boats and trailers PH: 4069 5222

Eclipse FNQ Weipa Charters 0488 058 668 Fish’s Fly & Sportsfishing Weipa (07) 4069 9957 Action Charters Mackay 0417 452 346 Fishing Charters Townsville 0403 386 722

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BRISBANE Frenzy Charters Brisbane (07) 3209 4576 Tom Cat Charters (07) 3820 8794

Cardwell Beachfront Motel - www.cardwellbeachmotel.net (07) 4066 8776 or info.cbmotel@bigpond.com

Moreton Island Fishing Charters 0413 128 056 Brisbane Fishing Charters 0427 026 510 Bucket List Fishing Charters 0428 368 316

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John Gooding Outlaw Charters 0418 738 750

SUNSHINE COAST Keely Rose Deep Sea Fishing Charters 0407 146 151 Odyssey Charters Deep Sea Fishing (07) 5478 1109 Smithy’s Fishing Charters Sunshine Coast 0407 574 868 Top Catch Charters Sunshine Coast 0429 013 012 Fish n Crab Charters Mooloolaba 0412 155 814

SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND

Offshore Reef and Game Fishing 0413 485 402

Suncoast Barra Fishing Park www.suncoastbarrafishing.com

Sunshine Coast Fishing Charters (07) 5500 0671

CENTRAL QUEENSLAND

Fishing Offshore Noosa 0418 889 956

Lake Monduran Barra Charters 0407 434 446

Noosa Fishing Charters (07) 5665 8170

TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND

Hervey Bay Fishing Charters (07) 4125 3958

ads@fishingmonthly.com.au FRESHWATER

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Hooked On Hinchinbrook www.hookedonhinchinbrook.com

Incredible Charters 1300 655 818

FISH TAXIDERMY

HERVEY BAY

Fully Guided Lure & Fly Fishing •

Yallakool Caravan Park on Bjelke-Petersen Dam (07) 4168 4746

BORN AND BRED LOCAL GUIDE

Fish Taxiderist www.fishtaxidery.net.au or 0428 544 841

FISHING ON TV

• 5.5m Custom sportsfishing Vessel • 4.4m Estuary Sportsfishing Vessel • Quality Fishing Gear Supplied

Lake Boondooma Caravan Park (07) 4168 9694 Lake Cressbrook Regional Council 131 872 Yallakool Park and Kiosk on Bjelke-Petersen Dam (07) 4168 4746

CHARTER BOATS NORTHERN NSW Evans Head Deep Sea Fishing Charters 0428 828 835 Reel Time Fishing Charters 0428 231 962

GOLD COAST

www.herveybaysportfishing.com.au

Andrew Chorley

0407 627 852

IDEAL GIFT!

CENTRAL QUEENSLAND

KAYAK FISHING TOURS Southern Bay • Gold Coast

HALF AND FULL DAY TOURS • Hobie kayak and fishing gear supplied www.kayakfishingtours.com.au Phone for bookings

0439 714 345

Bite Me Fishing Charters Yeppoon 0419 029 397 Ultimate Sportfishing Charters 0450 753 726 MV Capricorn Star 0408 755 201 Mikat Cruises Fishing Charters 0427 125 727 Bundaberg Fishing Charters 0429 017 217 Sport Fish 1770 (07) 4974 9686 Coral Coast Game Fishing 0447 347 437 MV James Cook (1770) (07) 4974 9422 Norval Reef Charters 1800 771 234

True Blue Fishing Gold Coast (07) 5510 9622

Iluka Fishing Charters Gladstone 0414 940 911

BK’s Gold Coast Fishing Charters 0414 293 034

Kanimbla Charters Gladstone1800 677 202

DVD’S -

Series 2 through 8

$19.95 each GST INC. - with FREE P&H

1800 228 244

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

the power to get you there

the reliability to get you back

See your authorised Mercury Marine Dealer today. NORTHERN NSW / GOLD COAST TWEED COAST MARINE

147 Pacific Hwy Tweed Heads South Phone: (07) 5524 8877 | Fax: (07) 5524 3324 Email: dan@tweedcoastmarine.com.au Website: www.tweedcoastmarine.com.au

BRISBANE WEST KAREE MARINE

1851 Ipswich Rd Rocklea Phone: (07) 3875 1600 | Fax: (07) 3875 1622 Email: sales@kareemarine.com.au Website: www.kareemarine.com.au

BRIBIE ISLAND BRIBIE BOAT SALES

ROCKHAMPTON RIFEN BOATS

MERIDIAN MARINA HORIZON SHORES ONSHORE MARINE

BRISBANE HOLT MARINE

SUNSHINE COAST NORTHCOAST BOATING CENTRE

YEPPOON SEABREEZE MARINE

264 Nicklin Way Warana Phone: (07) 5493 9376 | Fax: (07) 5437 6144 Email: mail@northcoastboatingcentre.com.au Website: www.northcoastboating.com.au

150 Scenic Hwy Yeppoon Phone: (07) 4933 6366 | Fax: (07) 4933 7590 Email: info@seabreezemarine.com.au Website: www.seabreezemarine.com.au

WIDE BAY THE BOAT PLACE

WHITSUNDAY CANNONVALE WHITSUNDAY OUTBOARD CENTRE

Cabbage Tree Point Rd,Woongoolba Phone: (07) 5546 2480 | Fax: (07) 5546 1362 Email: onshoremarine@ozemail.com.au Website: www.onshoremarine.com.au

25 Queens Rd Everton Park Phone: (07) 3353 1928 | Fax: (07) 3353 4548 Email: info@holtmarine.com.au Website: www.holtmarine.com.au

BRISBANE SOUTH SPRINGWOOD MARINE

BRISBANE NORTH CUNNINGHAMS MARINE

3475 Pacific Hwy Springwood Phone: (07) 3297 8200 | Fax: (07) 3297 8290 Email: gyulav@springwoodmarine.com.au Website: www.springwoodmarine.com.au

23-25 Snook St Clontarf Phone: (07) 3284 8805 | Fax: (07) 3284 8813 Email: sales@cunninghammarinecentre.com.au Website: www.cunninghammarinecentre.com.au

BRISBANE SOUTH COORPAROO MARINE

BRISBANE NORTH BRISBANE MARINE

57 Cavendish Rd Coorparoo Phone: (07) 3397 4141 | Fax: (07) 3397 6339 Email: info@coorparoomarine.com.au Website: www.coorparoomarine.com.au

BRISBANE SOUTH MANLY HARBOUR MARINE

570 Royal Esplanade Manly Phone: (07) 3893 2199 | Fax: (07) 3893 2188 Email: info@manlyharbourmarine.com.au Website: www.manlyharbourmarine.com.au

306 Duffield Road Clontarf, Q. 4019 Phone: (07) 3889 3033 | Fax: (07) 3889 5390 Email: info@brismarine.com.au Website: www.brismarine.com.au

TOOWOOMBA WATERSKIERS WAREHOUSE

91-93 Neil St Toowoomba Phone: (07) 4637 9511 | Fax: (07) 4637 9513 Email: rod@waterskierswarehouse.com.au Website: www.waterskierswarehouse.com.au

217 First Ave Bribie Island Phone: (07) 3408 0055 | Fax: (07) 3408 0805 Email: danny@bribieboatsales.com.au Website: www.bribieboatsales.com.au

1872 Tin Can Bat Rd Goomboorian Phone: (07) 5486 5865 Email: yaltacraft@live.com.au Website: www.theboatplace.com.au

Unit 11-12, 10 Dooley St, North Rockhampton Phone: (07) 4927 9150 | Fax: (07) 4921 3502 Email: rifen.boats@bigpond.com Website: www.rifenboats.com.au

1 William Murray Dr Cannonvale Phone: (07) 4946 7286 | Fax: (07) 4946 7848 Email: woc@whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au

HERVEY BAY CITY MARINE

INNISFAIL COASTAL MARINE & OUTDOORS

BUNDABERG ADRIANS MARINE CENTRE

BOWEN REIBEL MARINE

82 Dayman Street Urangan Hervey Bay Phone: (07) 4128 9944 | Fax: (07) 4125 2350 Email: sales@baycitymarine.com.au Website: www.baycitymarine.com.au

28 Ritchie St Bundaberg Phone: (07) 4153 1819 | Fax: (07) 4153 1819 Email: adriansmarinecentre@bigpond.com Website: www.adriansmarinecentre.com.au

178 Edith Street Innisfail Phone: (07) 4061 8272 | Fax: (07) 4061 7718 Email: joel@coastalmarine.com.au Website: www.coastalmarine.com.au

34 Don St Bowen Phone: (07) 4786 2944 Fax: (07) 4786 6606 Email: remarine@bigpond.net.au

Fishing Fill-its

Rayner selects Mercury After running two stroke outboards for eight years, high-profile fishing expert Lee Rayner decided to change up to more modern technology – and he’s selected Mercury. Lee, who’s currently presenting the hit national show Fishing Edge on CHANNEL 10 and ONE HD, said he did his homework before deciding

with the new engines.” Lee will run Mercury FourStrokes on both the boats he uses. The 5.52-metre Evolution Axis centre console will be powered by the legendary Mercury 150 FourStroke and have a MotorGuide electric motor on the bow, while his 6m Evolution Extreme will have a pair of Mercury 150s.

catch some really good fish. Many, many viewers will want to do that with a four stroke instead of a two.” Lee is certainly a man in the know. Before launching Fishing Edge in 2013, he’d been a longtime presenter on Rex Hunt Fishing Adventures and IFish. An author of several fishing books and a regular contributor to top

We’re proud to welcome the new generation of outboards – the mighty FourStroke Verado 350hp. Along with the power, performance and extreme reliability, Verado includes: - Awesome acceleration, superior torque and better fuel economy - The latest in Electro-Hydraulic steering providing car-like precision and feel - Exclusive ‘Fly-by-Wire’ Digital Throttle and Shift as standard for smooth, quiet, instantaneous shifting and throttle response - Compact engine that’s 56kg lighter than its nearest competitor - Maintenance Free Valve train for life, lowering cost of ownership - 3+2=5 Year Recreational Warranty

INGHAM J&B MARINE

Lee Rayner is a man in the know and he believes now is the time to switch from two strokes to Mercury FourStroke. that Mercury was the way to go. “This is my profession so I certainly looked into it, and Mercury FourStrokes have a great reputation for delivering plenty of power while keeping the weight down,” he said. “Of course I have several mates who are true believers having run Mercury Verado or OptiMax outboards for years, and their experience helped convince me as well. “I’m really looking forward to getting out there

Lee decided to change from two strokes to four for a number of reasons. “Four stroke technology is just so great these days. These Mercury engines have unbelievable acceleration and are really robust. They obviously burn much cleaner and have lower emissions as well,” Lee said. “It was also about the show. Fishing Edge is all about showing people they can get out there and do it on their own, go places and

fishing magazines, Lee also regularly co-hosts a number of radio fishing shows. “I’ve always thought of Mercury as a really forward thinking group, they offer so much for recreational fishers - with the world’s best technology and the world’s largest range of motors. “Like I said, I just can’t wait to get these new FourStrokes out on the water so they can show me what they can do!” - Mercury

79 Herbert St, Ingham Phone: (07) 4776 1188 Fax: (07) 4776 1288 Email: jbmarine@bigpond.com Website: www.jandbmarine.com

CAIRNS AUSSIE MARINE

5 Hannam Street Bungalow Phone: (07) 4033 8800 Fax: (07) 4033 8810 Email: sales@aussiemarine.com.au Web: www.aussiemarine.com.au

KARUMBA JONES MARINE

38 Yappar Street, Karumba Phone: (07) 4745 9159 Fax: (07) 4745 9366 Email: jonglo@bigpond.com Web: www.jonesmarine.com.au

Koen Anderson, 6, with his first 31cm bream caught at Runaway Bay from the shore using prawns on a run-in tide. A total of 8 fish were caught with two over 30cm, but he only kept one for dinner. Great job Koen! MAY 2015

115

UNREAL

SAVINGS

$1000

on 75-150hp FourStroke Outboards UNReal Power to Weight UNReal Performance and Reliability UNReal Fuel Efficiency UNthink everything you know about FourStrokes

HURRY OFFER ENDS 29 MAY 2015

www.mercurymarine.com.au

*Terms and conditions apply. Participating dealers only.