Queensland Fishing Monthly October 2019 by Fishing Monthly

BEST OF THE AFTA TACKLE SHOW

NEW FIND THE LOGO COMPETITION SEE INSIDE

Tried & Tested

Features

Googarra Beach Caravan Park • Bar Crusher 535C with 90hp Suzuki •

Explore freshwater fisheries • Fish, 4WD and Fraser Island • AFTA Tackle Show winners

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

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$1,630/ $1,752/ $2,802! $3,379! $1,095 $1,505/ $2,630 $1,532 $1,657 $1,780 SALE PRICE SALE PRICE ! ICE PR SALE LE PRICE! PRICE! PRICE! PRICE! SALE

SALE

$3,912! $4,163!

SALE PRICE

$7,388!

SAL

SALE PRICE

$800 $20 OFF PER HP

Save up up to to Save

QLD’S LARGEST SELLING FIBREGLASS BOAT BRAND

YEARS IN A ROW! MADE LOCALLY IN NOOSA!

$20 OFF PER HP BAYSPORT 565 FISHERMAN

(A) INDICATIVE

P/W*: $258

$51,990!

F4SMHA/ F4LMHA F2.5SMHB F4SMHA/ F4LMHA $1,505/ F2.5SMHB $1,095

MBER!

E595 VE OV NO H BAYSPORT TH 0 3 BER! S D MWEEKENDER N595 BAYSPORT 565 WEEKENDER BAYSPORT FISHERMAN EN -- E N T 0 3 HURRY DS HURRY

(B) INDICATIVE

P/W*:

$55,990!

$59,990!

INDICATIVE F9.9SMHB/ (C) F15SMHA/ F8SMHB/ F9.9SMHB/ F15SMHA/ F9.9LMHB F15LMHA F8SMHB/ $277F8LMHB F9.9LMHB P/W*: $297 F15LMHA $2,747/ $3,315/ F8LMHB $2,576/

F5SMHA/ F6SMHA/ F5SMHA/ F5LMHA F6SMHA/ F6LMHA F5LMHA $1,752/ F6LMHA $1,630/

$63,990!

(D) INDICATIVE F20SMHB/ F25SMHC/ F20SMHB/ F25SMHC/ F20LMHB F25LMHC F30LA(T) P/W*: $316 F20LMHB F25LMHC F30LA(T) $3,848/ $4,100/ $6,985

F40SA(T)/ F40SA(T)/ F40LA(T) F40LA(T) $7,206/

$2,747/ $3,315/ $3,848/ $6,985 $7,206/ E! SALE •PRIC HYDRAULIC STEERING • HYDRAULIC STEERING • YAMAHA F90HP WINCH $4,100/ • GARMIN COLOUR • YAMAHA • YAMAHA F115HP • YAMAHA F90HP$1,505/ F115HP • ANCHOR $2,802 $3,379 $3,912 $4,163 $7,388 $2,576/ $1,630/ $1,752/ $2,630 SALE PRICE! E! E! E! E! PRIC PRIC PRIC PRIC $1,532 $1,657 $1,780 E E E E E PRICE! $2,802 $3,379 $3,912 $4,163 $7,388 SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL E! PRIC $1,095 SALE COMBO • BILGE VHF,PRICNAV GPS/SOUNDER FULLE!CAMPER, • GARMIN COLSAL • GARMIN COLOUR COLOUR • FULL COVER E! E! E PRICE! $2,630 PRICE! PUMP, PRICCAMPER SAL SALE SALE SALE E! • BILGE PRICE!VHF, NAVSALE •PRIC $1,532 $1,657 $1,780 E PRICE! • GARMIN E PRIC EPUMP, E PRICE! SAL SAL SAL SALE PRICE! E! PRICE!WASH, PRICE!PRIV/SCREEN SALE PRIC•E! SALE SALE 100LPRICFUEL MARINE STEREO GPS/SOUNDER SALE• DECK GPS/SOUNDER • DECK WASH, 140L FUEL CABIN PRIV & • MARINE STEREO • CABIN • ROCK RACK & HOLDERS • TABLE & BUNK INFIL • BIMINI & CLEARS • BIMINI & CLEARS • ROCK RACK & HOLDERS FLY SCREEN • TABLE & BUNK INFIL • HYDRAULIC STEERING

BAYSPORT 600 OFFSHORE

BAYSPORT 565 FISHERMAN BAYSPORT 565 FISHERMAN (E) INDICATIVE

$71,990!

BAYSPORT 640 WEEKENDER 640 DELUXE QLD’SBAYSPORT LARGEST SELLING

BAYSPORT 565 WEEKENDER BAYSPORT 565 WEEKENDER (F) INDICATIVE

BAYSPORT 595 WEEKENDER BAYSPORT 595 WEEKENDER (H) INDICATIVE

BAYSPORT 595 FISHERMAN BAYSPORT 595 FISHERMAN (G) INDICATIVE

$76,990!

$79,990!

P/W*: $356 P/W*: $380 P/W*: $395 F130HP • GARMIN COL COMBO • YAMAHA F150HP • 8” GARMIN COL GPS/ •YAMAHA F150HP •BILGE PUMP, VHF, NAV •YAMAHA (A) INDICATIVE (B) INDICATIVE (C) INDICATIVE (A) INDICATIVE (B) INDICATIVE (C) INDICATIVE $ $ $ SOUNDER COMBO P/W*: $258 P/W*: $277 P/W*: $297 • DECK WASH, 160L FUEL • MARINE STEREO • FULL CAMPER, CABIN • S/S FOLDING TARGA •HYDRAULIC STEER $ $ $ P/W*: $258 P/W*: $277 P/W*: $297 • HYDRAULIC STEERING ANCHOR WINCH • GARMIN COLOUR • YAMAHA F90HP • YAMAHA F115HP • YAMAHA F90HP •BILGE S/S TARGA TOP, ROD • TABLE & BUNK INFIL •TOP CUSTOMWINCH BAITBOARD PRIV & FLYF90HP SCREEN W/ F&SF115HP CLEARS•• •ANCHOR ••GARMIN COLOUR COLOUR YAMAHA F90HP • HYDRAULIC YAMAHA • YAMAHA PUMP,STEERING VHF, NAV BILGE PUMP, VHF, NAV GPS/SOUNDER GARMIN COLOUR GARMIN COLOUR FULL CAMPER COVER • GARMIN RACK,WASH, F/S CLEARS QUALITY ELECTRONICS STEERING PUMP, VHF, NAV PUMP, VHF, NAV GPS/SOUNDER ••HYDRAULIC STEER • •BILGE •GPS/SOUNDER GARMIN COLOUR • BILGE GARMIN COLOUR FULL COVER••FRESH/W DECK 100L FUEL ••HYDRAULIC DECK WASH, 140L FUEL MARINE SHOWER STEREO GPS/SOUNDER GPS/SOUNDER CABINCAMPER PRIV/SCREEN

51,,990! 990! 51

BAYSPORT 705

YEARS IN IN QLD’S LARGEST SELLING YEARS FIBREGLASS BOAT BOAT BRAND BRAND A ROW! ROW! FIBREGLASS A MADE LOCALLY LOCALLY IN IN NOOSA! NOOSA! MADE

55,,990! 990! 55

59,,990! 990! 59

$105,490!

P/W*: $521 • YAMAHA F225HP • FLUSHING TOILET (D) INDICATIVE (D) FOLDING INDICATIVE $ •CUSTOM BAITBOARD P/W*: $316TARGA • S/S $ P/W*: $316 • HYDRAULIC STEERING •TOP YAMAHA F115HP • 12” GPS/COMBO W/ F&SF115HP CLEARS • HYDRAULIC • YAMAHA GARMIN COLSTEERING COMBO FULL CAMPER, • QUALITY COLELECTRONICS COMBO ••HYDRAULIC FULL MARINE STEREO CABINCAMPER, PRIV STEER & • GARMIN

63,,990! 990! 63

FUEL CABIN PRIV & • MARINE TABLE & STEREO BUNK INFIL ROCK WASH, RACK &140L HOLDERS FLY SCREEN • GPS/SOUNDER BIMINI & CLEARS • DECK • TABLE & BUNK INFIL FLY SCREEN • BIMINI & CLEARS • ROCK RACK & HOLDERS 10.15% PA INDICATIVE INTEREST RATE* / BAYSPORT 11.58% PA INDICATIVE INTEREST RATE* DISCLAIMER: *REPAYMENT AMOUNT SHOWN IS THE WEEKLY EQUIVALENT OF A MONTHLY INSTALMENT BAYSPORT 600 OFFSHORE 640 WEEKENDER BAYSPORT 640 DELUXE BAYSPORT 705 OF (A)$258 (B)$277 (C)$297 (E)$356 (F)$380 (G)$395 (H)$521 AT A DRIVE PRICE OF (A)$51,990 (B)$55,990 (C)$59,990 (D)$63,990 (E)$71,990 (F)$76,990 (G)$79,990 (H)$105,490. IT IS INDICATIVE BAYSPORT 600(D)$316 OFFSHORE BAYSPORT 640 AWAY WEEKENDER BAYSPORT 640 DELUXE BAYSPORT 705 ONLY AND IS CALCULATED BASED ON AN INTEREST RATE OF 10.15% P.A. (COMPARISON RATE 11.58% P.A.), AND 60 MONTHLY INSTALMENTS AND AN APPLICATION FEE OF $395. INTEREST RATE USED IS BASED ON AN AVERAGE INDIVIDUAL CREDIT RATING AND MEETING MANDATORY CREDIT CRITERIA. REPAYMENTS AND INTEREST RATE MAY VARY DEPENDING ON YOUR INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES, FINANCIAL POSITION, CREDIT RATING, INFORMATION PROVIDED, LOAN AMOUNT AND LOAN TERM. OFFER AVAILABLE TO PRIVATE BUYERS ONLY WHILE STOCKS LAST. COMPARISON RATE IS BASED ON A 5 YEAR SECURED FIXED RATE CONSUMER LOAN OF $30,000. WARNING: THIS COMPARISON RATE IS TRUE ONLY FOR THE EXAMPLES GIVEN AND MAY NOT INCLUDE ALL FEES AND CHARGES. DIFFERENT TERMS, FEES OR OTHER LOAN AMOUNTS MIGHT RESULT IN A FUEL ROCK WASH, RACK &100L HOLDERS • GPS/SOUNDER BIMINI & CLEARS • DECK • BIMINI & CLEARS • ROCK RACK & HOLDERS

$71 71,,990! 990! $

• CABIN PRIV/SCREEN TABLE & STEREO BUNK INFIL HYDRAULIC STEERING• MARINE • HYDRAULIC STEERING• TABLE & BUNK INFIL

$76 76,,990! 990! $

$79 79,,990! 990! $

DIFFERENT COMPARISON RATE. CREDIT CRITERIA, FEES, (F) CHARGES, TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY. YAMAHA(G)MOTOR FINANCE AUSTRALIA PTY. LTD. ABN 29 (E) INDICATIVE INDICATIVE INDICATIVE (E) INDICATIVE (F) INDICATIVE (G) INDICATIVE P/W*: $356 P/W*: $380 P/W*: $395 P/W*: $356 P/W*: $380 P/W*: $395 • GARMIN COL COMBO • YAMAHA F150HP • 8” GARMIN COL GPS/ •YAMAHA F150HP • BILGE PUMP, VHF, NAV • YAMAHA F130HP PUMP, 160L VHF, NAV COL COMBO • YAMAHA GARMINCOMBO COL GPS/ F130HP F150HP DECK WASH, FUEL • YAMAHA MARINE STEREO SOUNDER •YAMAHA F150HP FULL CAMPER, CABIN • GARMIN S/S FOLDING TARGA• 8” HYDRAULIC STEER• BILGE WASH, 160L FUEL • FULL COMBO CAMPER, CABIN • MARINE TARGA• SOUNDER S/S TARGA TOP, ROD TABLE & STEREO BUNK INFIL • S/S CUSTOM BAITBOARD •GARMIN HYDRAULIC STEER• DECK PRIV & FLY SCREEN TOPFOLDING W/ F&S CLEARS COLOUR

$105 105,,490! 490! $

101 928 670. AUSTRALIAN CREDIT LICENCE 394553. (H) INDICATIVE (H) INDICATIVE P/W*: $521 P/W*: $521 • YAMAHA F225HP • FLUSHING TOILET

Repower CASH FOR LATE for Lwesesr! MODEL BOATS! ower CASH FOR LATE Reppo

TOILET • YAMAHA F225HP CUSTOM BAITBOARD S/S FOLDING TARGA• FLUSHING BAITBOARD • S/S TARGA• CUSTOM 12” GPS/COMBO TOPFOLDING W/ F&S CLEARS TARGA TOP, ROD & BUNK INFIL • TOP GPS/COMBO & FLY SCREEN W/ F&S CLEARS W/ F&S CLEARS RACK, F/S CLEARS FRESH/W SHOWER QUALITY BAITBOARD ELECTRONICS • TOP QUALITY ELECTRONICS • GARMIN COLOUR • S/S • PRIV HYDRAULIC STEERING• TABLE HYDRAULIC STEER • CUSTOM HYDRAULIC STEER • 12” GPS/SOUNDER RACK, F/S CLEARS • HYDRAULIC STEERING• FRESH/W SHOWER • HYDRAULIC STEER • QUALITY ELECTRONICS • HYDRAULIC STEER • QUALITY ELECTRONICS GPS/SOUNDER 10.15% PA INDICATIVE INTEREST RATE* / 11.58% PA INDICATIVE INTEREST RATE* DISCLAIMER: *REPAYMENT AMOUNT SHOWN IS THE WEEKLY EQUIVALENT OF A MONTHLY INSTALMENT OF (A)$258PA (B)$277 (C)$297 (D)$316 (E)$356 (F)$380 (H)$521 PA AT AINDICATIVE DRIVE AWAY PRICE OF (A)$51,990 (C)$59,990 (D)$63,990 (E)$71,990 (F)$76,990 (H)$105,490. OF IT A IS MONTHLY INDICATIVEINSTALMENT ONLY AND 10.15% INDICATIVE INTEREST RATE*(G)$395 / 11.58% INTEREST RATE*(B)$55,990 DISCLAIMER: *REPAYMENT AMOUNT SHOWN IS THE (G)$79,990 WEEKLY EQUIVALENT IS CALCULATED BASED ON AN INTEREST RATE OF 10.15% P.A. (COMPARISON RATE 11.58% P.A.), AND 60 MONTHLY INSTALMENTS AND AN APPLICATION FEE OF $395. INTEREST RATE USED IS BASED ON AN AVERAGE OF (A)$258 (B)$277 (C)$297 (D)$316 (E)$356 (F)$380 (G)$395 (H)$521 AT A DRIVE AWAY PRICE OF (A)$51,990 (B)$55,990 (C)$59,990 (D)$63,990 (E)$71,990 (F)$76,990 (G)$79,990 (H)$105,490. IT IS INDICATIVE ONLY AND INDIVIDUAL CREDIT RATING AND MEETING MANDATORY CRITERIA. REPAYMENTS RATE MAYINSTALMENTS VARY DEPENDING ONAPPLICATION YOUR INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL CREDIT RATING, IS CALCULATED BASED ON AN INTEREST RATE OF 10.15% CREDIT P.A. (COMPARISON RATE 11.58% AND P.A.), INTEREST AND 60 MONTHLY AND AN FEE OF CIRCUMSTANCES, $395. INTEREST RATE USED ISPOSITION, BASED ON AN AVERAGE INFORMATIONCREDIT PROVIDED, LOAN LOAN TERM. OFFER AVAILABLE TO PRIVATE BUYERS ONLY WHILE COMPARISON RATEINDIVIDUAL IS BASED ON A 5 YEAR SECURED FIXED RATE CONSUMER LOAN INDIVIDUAL RATING ANDAMOUNT MEETINGAND MANDATORY CREDIT CRITERIA. REPAYMENTS AND INTEREST RATE MAYSTOCKS VARY LAST. DEPENDING ON YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES, FINANCIAL POSITION, CREDIT RATING, OF $30,000. WARNING: THIS COMPARISON IS TRUE ONLYOFFER FOR THE EXAMPLES AND MAY ONLY NOT INCLUDE ALL FEES ANDCOMPARISON CHARGES. DIFFERENT TERMS, ON FEESA OR OTHERSECURED LOAN AMOUNTS MIGHT RESULT LOAN IN A INFORMATION PROVIDED, LOAN AMOUNT RATE AND LOAN TERM. AVAILABLE TO GIVEN PRIVATE BUYERS WHILE STOCKS LAST. RATE IS BASED 5 YEAR FIXED RATE CONSUMER DIFFERENT COMPARISON RATE. CREDIT CRITERIA, FEES, CHARGES, TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY. YAMAHA MOTOR FINANCE AUSTRALIA PTY. LTD. ABN 29 101 928 670. AUSTRALIAN CREDIT LICENCE 394553. OF $30,000. WARNING: THIS COMPARISON RATE IS TRUE ONLY FOR THE EXAMPLES GIVEN AND MAY NOT INCLUDE ALL FEES AND CHARGES. DIFFERENT TERMS, FEES OR OTHER LOAN AMOUNTS MIGHT RESULT IN A DIFFERENT COMPARISON RATE. CREDIT CRITERIA, FEES, CHARGES, TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY. YAMAHA MOTOR FINANCE AUSTRALIA PTY. LTD. ABN 29 101 928 670. AUSTRALIAN CREDIT LICENCE 394553.

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October 2019, Vol. 31 No.12

Contents NORTHERN NEW SOUTH WALES

Yamba 20

Ballina 22 SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND The Tweed

Southern Gold Coast

Gold Coast Canals

Jumpinpin 28 Gold Coast

Southern Bay

Brisbane 34 Brisbane Offshore

Noosa 37 CENTRAL QUEENSLAND Hervey Bay

Rainbow Beach

Gladstone 46 Bundaberg 48 Rockhampton 48 Stanage Bay

Yeppoon 50 Mackay 51 TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND Whitsundays 52 Ayr 53 Townsville 54

From the Editor’s Desk... NEW GEAR FROM AFTA READY FOR SUMMER With the timing this year, the AFTA Trade Show was held just after we went to print with the September issues, which meant we weren’t able to bring you the latest and award winning products until this issue. The awards are voted on by retailers. Each store gets to cast a single vote in each division and these are tallied to find a winner. Some categories are closely fought while others have a winner by a country mile – it just depends on how innovative the product is and if it stands out amongst its competitors. Some categories have only a handful of entries while others have plenty. There were over 40 hardbodied lures in the Hard Body category alone! We have published winners and runners up and

these products are worth a look. We’re sure you’ll see them in your local tackle store in the coming months.

The response was overwhelmingly positive. For $10, you got to come and see the vast array of

PUBLIC DAY A GREAT SUCCESS It’s taken us a long time to get the public a day to access the AFTA Trade Show, but on the last Saturday of the show, you guys got to do just that – see all of the gear that tackle stores see before it comes out in the stores.

tackle on display from over 60 companies that service the Australian fishing retail industry. Fishing Monthly conducted some exit surveys, and we want to thank everyone who took a minute or two to answer some questions. Your responses will help mould

what the public day will be in future. It was encouraging that 98% of visitors thought it was great value for money, even though retail selling wasn’t allowed, and a similar percentage of visitors were off to their local tackle store to order product they had seen. Naturally, the most common answers to ‘the best thing about the show’ were the interactive displays: the barra filled Supertank, the lure swimming tank and the stands of the major brands. Nothing surprising there – we know that it’s fun to see a lure swim and a fish eat it, as well as have a go on a fishing simulator. So if you came, thank you for doing so. For those who missed it, whack it in the diary for next year. I’m pretty sure the tackle industry actually likes your company even if they were a little scared to go on that first date!

Cairns 55 Port Douglas

Hinchinbrook 56 Cairns NFZ

Lucinda 57 Cooktown 58

Camping and 4WD

Cooking 82 Dam Levels

Freshwater 72

Business Office: Unit 1, 11 Knobel Court, Shailer Park, Qld, 4128 Phone: (07) 3387 0800 Fax: (07) 3387 0801

SINCE 1987

Advertising Enquiries: Ph: (07) 3387 0800 Nicole Kelly nkelly@fishingmonthly.com.au Printing: APN – News Corp Australia

Fun Page

Sheik of the Creek

Tech Tricks

Tournament News

Editorial Manager: Jacqui Thomas

Track my fish

Trades and Services

Sub-Editors: Nicole Penfold Bob Thornton Lucette Eggleton

Website: www.wp.fishingmonthly.com.au

Field Editors: Jason Ehrlich Wayne Kampe

Subscriptions: Kym Rowbotham

SPECIAL FEATURES Explore freshwater fisheries

Fish, 4WD and Fraser Island

AFTA Tackle Show winners

Googarra Beach Caravan Park

PARTNER CONTENT

Qld Fishing Monthly Pty Ltd ABN 72-010-542-195 All material is © copyright, and cannot be reproduced in part or in full, by any means, without written permission of the Managing Editor. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher.

FISH

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Published by:

OCTOBER 2019

Annual Subscriptions: $65 for twelve issues (GST inc.) Make cheques payable to Queensland Fishing Monthly PO Box 3172 LOGANHOLME QLD 4129

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Distribution: Gordon & Gotch Pty Ltd

Nicholas Willett with his first ever saratoga caught on a Bassman spinnerbait while fishing the upper reaches of Somerset Dam. A Peter Jung image.

Publishers: Steve Morgan Matthew Drinkall

Production: Karen Millward Keith Hawley

OUR COVER

Black Magic Masterclass

Managing Editor: Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

Come and visit Fishing Monthly Group’s official Facebook page for all your monthly fishing information. Download QR Reader to access.

AUST

QUEENSLAND FISHING MONTHLY

ION

Back to Basics

103

REGULAR FEATURES

BOATING AND KAYAK

PRO

Cape York

ING TRADE

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not the

size of the

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. . . t h fig SLIDOG IN 150 & 125

AVAILABLE

www.halcotackle.com

#slidog @halcotackle

There is no better time to hit the freshwater FMG

Peter Jung pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

September has seen the days slowly get longer and night has lost a bit

or has died off, reduced to a layer in the shallow margins or in some cases, no weed at all. The colder temperatures have taken their toll. The transition period sees the margins come to life again as water temperatures

Don’t overlook smaller impoundments for fishing opportunities. Chris Jordan got this nice bass at Lake Kurwongbah casting spinnerbaits to the edges. of its chill. This transition out of winter/dry season patterns is the spark that lights the fire under our SE Queensland freshwater fisheries. Not only does it offer the ability to catch more fish using a multitude of techniques, but the species options also increase. October is the month to cash in on these changes as a freshwater angler. Although it was not the coldest winter, it did get cold enough that weed around the edges of our impoundments has either become dormant

slowly increase. Weed begins to re-establish itself and with that comes increased insect and baitfish activity. With comfortable water temperatures, plenty of cover to hide in and a buffet of food to eat, freshwater species are going to relish this opportunity to flourish. WHAT SPECIES DO YOU WANT TO TARGET? When I was planning this article, my first thought was to focus on the big three species: bass, golden perch and barramundi. However, it occurred to me that as freshwater anglers in the area of Mackay down to the NSW border, we are blessed with opportunity and species. Add saratoga, sooty grunter and Murray cod to the equation and there is something for every fisher. Australian bass Many of our SE Queensland impoundments are heavily stocked with Australian bass. The winter pattern to target them is heavily based on the fact that the fish go into spawning mode and school up in large numbers in deeper water. As this spawning urge subsides and the dinner bell calls, they

As the days get longer and the impoundment margins come to life, bass will snap out of spawning mode and make their way to the edges. can be caught in all manner of lures like crankbaits, spinnerbaits, surface lures,

Maroon Dam is a great little fishery with an excellent surface bite. It is

There are plenty of quality golden perch to be caught in the impoundments. The author caught this solid model on an Obsession Spinnerbait rolled through some standing timber.

Hinze Dam is full of structure and fish. A great way to target them is by using a kayak.

soft plastics, stickbaits and spoons, just to name a few. Jason Ehrlich provides a comprehensive rundown in this magazine every month on what might be best and where, but these are some of the best.

a great place to experiment with techniques, as most will work. In Hinze Dam, there is an abundance of timbered arms and this structure is very attractive to fish. Like Maroon, your technique

options are only limited by your imagination. Somerset Dam is not really recognised as an edge bite fishery. It can have a small window of opportunity in October, especially if an increase in water levels occurs. There are some seriously big fish in Somerset and tangling with them around the edges is a challenge in itself. As picturesque as it is fishy, Borumba Dam has plenty of structure, both timber and weed beds, to get fish to the edges and on the chew. Boondooma and BjelkePetersen dams have low water levels at the moment but still hold plenty of fish. Visiting these areas will support the local community and areas in need. Golden perch There isn’t as much hype about golden perch fisheries as there was when I first came to Queensland. Somerset Dam in particular had a dedicated group of anglers who focused on them back then, but this doesn’t

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OCTOBER 2019

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Janelle Willett demonstrates the quality of golden perch fishing in Glenlyon Dam.

seem to be the case now. Although they have been stocked in most waterways, the key fisheries are the more southern impoundments. Glenlyon, Leslie, Cooby and Coolmunda are all excellent golden perch dams, with Wivenhoe, Somerset and Borumba holding some trophy-sized fish. Goldens love structure in the form of timber and rock. If this coincides with a change of depth or deep water nearby you have every chance of tangling with one. They are very partial to lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits, but a method that has proven to be highly effective is to roll plastics (black curl tails) up and down the trunks of standing timber. It is not uncommon to catch multiple fish from one piece of timber. Barramundi From the Mackay region down, there are a number of decent impoundment barramundi fisheries. Kinchant and Teemburra near Mackay have had quality fishing for many years. The exciting thing for SE Queensland anglers is that most southern dams in Lake Monduran and Lake

Hopping soft plastic vibes like the Zerek Fish Trap around timber and weed edges has been a very effective technique in recent years. This barra smashed Troy Dixonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fish Trap as he ripped it out of a deep weed edge. Photo courtesy of Troy Dixon.

the lakes are that the fishing during the cooler months was better than ever and the average size of the fish caught is increasing. The transition period is a great time for barramundi. They tend to slow down a bit through the cooler period, so they are extra hungry when the water starts warming and consistent wind patterns push the food and predators to the shorelines facing the

paddle-tail plastics slow rolled along weed edges. Ripping larger soft plastics vibes out of the weed is another technique that has proven deadly recently. This may be one of the best years in the SE Queensland barra impoundments in a long time. Saratoga This is one of my favourite fish to catch. They

Nicholas Willett has every reason to smile. This was his second saratoga of the day. Awonga are showing signs that their recovery is almost complete after both lakes overflowed and many of the stocked fish departed over the dam walls. Reports from

wind direction. Points and weed edges can be targeted using hardbodied lures worked in a rhythmic action back to an anchored boat or larger

are seriously aggressive, using lilypads, timber and weed to hide in before ambushing their prey. In many cases, hooking a toga To page 12

Chris Jordan prospects a timbered edge at Lake Borumba. OCTOBER 2019

From page 11

is no guarantee that you will get them to the net. They have a hard mouth and a knack of spitting your lure even when they look well hooked. Spinnerbaits are the most consistent option to catch a saratoga, but lipless crankbaits, fly and surface lures are pretty deadly as well. Lake Borumba has the most well known saratoga fishery, however there are plenty of other options amongst the impoundments. Hinze Dam, like Borumba, has provided regular captures for a number of years now. Some other dams holding good numbers of saratoga are Lake Kurwongbah, North Pine Dam, Lake Somerset, Lake Wivenhoe,

lure past them to get the bite. Extracting them from said timber becomes the next challenge. This fishery should be on every angler’s bucket list. Murray cod I questioned whether I was going to include Murray cod in this article. However, there are a great

Borumba Dam is regarded as SE Queensland’s premier saratoga fishery, as the author demonstrates with this prime Borumba toga. Lake MacDonald and Ewen Maddock Dam. If you haven’t tackled

Glenlyon Dam is a legendary Murray cod fishery and is well worth visiting to get your cod fix.

OCTOBER 2019

group of fisheries in the very southeastern corner of the state and each area is struggling with the drought. Visiting these areas not only gives you the opportunity to catch a fish of a lifetime, but any money spent supports the locals. There are a number of dams that hold good numbers

one of these fish before, October and November are the prime months to find them terrorizing baitfish in the shallow margins. Sooty grunter As the least available fish but one of the most satisfying to catch, sooty grunter are big balls of muscle and a brute to catch. Like Australian bass, they can be caught on many types of lures but the best fun is had on surface lures and hardbodies. Eungella Dam near Mackay is a world-class sooty fishery. The timber in the arms of the dam is home to these fish so it is just a matter of swimming the

It is not always about the fishing. Sometimes it is about enjoying where you are, like stopping to watch a beautiful sunset over Glenlyon Dam.

of cod. Cooby Dam, Lake Coolmunda and Leslie Dam are smaller waterways that have been affected by the drought. Care should be taken launching and navigating these waterways with low water levels, but the reward is that there are some quality cod residing there. Spinnerbaits and hardbodied lures produce the best results. Look for depth changes and structure (timber, rocks etc.) to cast around. The pick of the dams is Glenlyon. It is also heavily affected by low water levels, but access is better and there are some big cod to be caught. There is plenty of obvious structure to fish around and don’t be afraid to take your swimbaits and surface lures, because these will come into their own when fished during the low light periods. TIME FOR A TRIP The impoundments in Central and SE Queensland are fantastic fisheries all year round and there are many more out there than just the ones mentioned. They may be year round fisheries but the prime time to catch them at their best is in October and November, so plan your visit today! Don’t forget these are not just amazing fishing places, but also support the local communities as well.

Become a citizen scientist NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

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

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

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

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

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

OCTOBER 2019

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

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

Save the date for the NRFC! 14

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

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

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

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

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Tech Tricks

Garfish wog rig for big toothy speedsters BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

Spanish mackerel can be rather cagey and hard to tempt at times, especially on trolled lures. Years ago,

anglers began exploring ways to present natural baits in a manner where they could be trolled, therefore allowing large areas of water to be covered with natural presentations. While there are a lot

of rigs around, the garfish wog rig is one of the early offerings that anglers realised would swim well and catch Spanish mackerel. They were so successful that many commercial mackerel fishers would use these rigs, especially in the north.

When choosing a hook you need to consider a couple of things: firstly, the hook cannot be offset, the point must be in line with the shank; secondly, the hook needs to be very strong as you will be hooking some big fish on this rig; thirdly, you will need to match the size of your hook to the size of the garfish you are going to troll. Some good hook patterns include the VMC 9255, Mustad 7766 and Mustad 3407AD.

For this rig you will need some single strand piano wire (86lb or 105lb), your ganged hook rig, a bait spring (or a rubber band) and a wog. There aren’t many companies who make wogs, however you can make your own with a heavy sinker and some skirting material. This particular wog is a TT McWhog.

The garfish wog rig still works well nowadays and is a great option when you know mackerel are in a general area. It is still used by a lot of commercial mackerel fishers to this day. If you are trolling and sound out a fish down deeper,

Pass the leader through the wog head and then put a loop in the end, again using a haywire twist. We will attach the snap swivel on the wind-on leader when we are ready to use the rigged garfish. 16

OCTOBER 2019

realistic swimming action of the garfish, the extra pulsing movement provided by the wog’s skirting material and the simplicity of the rigging technique makes this one rig that you need to have in your techniques arsenal. Let’s see how easy it is.

Hook eyes can be prised open with a pair of sidecutters and then closed again with a sturdy set of pliers to create a three or four hook ganged rig as shown. I like to have sets of various sized hooks ganged together ready as the size of garfish available can vary a bit. If you have large garfish (often called 3x2 garfish) then 3x8/0 hooks ganged together will be ideal. If using shorter shanked hooks, such as 7766 Mustads, then you will possibly need four hooks ganged for a bait this size.

Cut a length of piano wire around 80-100cm long. Attach this to the hooks using a haywire twist (see QFM September 2019). Do not trim or break away the tag end. Instead, leave it about 2cm long and position pointing straight up and in line with hooks as shown. Pass the leader through a suitably sized bait spring.

pull the motor out of gear and let the rig sink until you think it is close to the depth the fish is holding. Begin trolling again and there’s a good chance your rod will load and the reel will scream under the efforts of a solid, silver slab. The

Completed rigs will look something like this. The wog does not necessarily need to be pink – any colour is fine to try. I like to have rigs of numerous sizes pre-made so that I have a rig ready, regardless of the size of the garfish. The bigger the gar, the better! However you will often get a few smaller gar in a bag too. The second wog used here is a home-made one using an old lead lure head and some firetail.

Tech Tricks

Rigging up the garfish with this rig is so easy that you will probably think you are missing something. Trim the bill off the gar approximately level with the upper jaw. Position the wire tag end just in front of the jaw hinge. Use your thumb to mark the position that now coincides with the bend of the front hook.

Wind the bait spring on fully until it is firm and holding the mouth of the gar closed. Pinch firmly along the backbone until you feel a small pop which will be the flesh breaking away from the backbone. Twist the garfish in a snake-like manner so that it is now supple. This will allow it to swim freely.

With the rig completed it will look similar to this. I only penetrate the middle hook lightly into the flesh if preparing rigs with fresh gar and then cryovaccing for later use as it prevents the hook point penetrating the plastic. Do not have the rear two hook points in the bait as they can restrict the action a little. If the hook rig is the correct size, the rear hook should coincide with the tail, which is ideal because mackerel will immobilise prey by snipping off the tail.

At the position marked with your thumb, insert the point of the front hook up into the gut cavity. The rear two hooks are generally just left hanging. These two hooks are left proud of the bait. The hook points face upwards and will offer great hook-up potential. Some anglers use swivels between their hooks, however, the hook points will then often ride downwards which greatly increases the chance of them picking up some weed or tangling when the wog is allowed to sink. Push the wire tag centrally through the head at this position and start to put the bait spring on as shown.

If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a bait spring then you can always just use a rubber band to keep the mouth of the gar closed. Once the bait is rigged with either the bait spring or rubber band, slide the wog down to rest against the nose of the bait.

I like to flatten the tow loop in the leader until it can pass through the wog. This allows the wog to be removed for storage. Therefore I can prepare numerous baits and just put the wog on before I put it in the water. With the leader coiled and baits individually wrapped, it only takes a few seconds to get a bait into the water. OCTOBER 2019

BLACK MAGIC

MASTER CLASS

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

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

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

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

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

Hooked up and in the closing stages of a battle with a big snapper. from 5-30m would be the first thing I would be looking for. Theses reefs can be the size of a house, or in some cases cover several square kilometres. Smaller isolated reefs are always high potential areas and a good place to start looking, as they take much of the guesswork out of the equation. Baitfish love to congregate around these areas and snapper generally aren’t too far away. On larger reef systems it takes a bit more experience to find where is going to fish best. Before you fish these places, have a sound around and look for features on the larger reef that will attract and concentrate baitfish. Things like bommies, gutters or drop offs are prime examples of what to look for before picking 18

OCTOBER 2019

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

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

Larger baits like this whole squid are better snelled.

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

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

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The reef fishing is ramping up in October YAMBA

Dave Gaden

Spring is the time of year to head wide if the weather lets you. In our part of the world, the 50-fathom line is around 15-19nm east. This can be a bit daunting to some but the rewards can make it well worth the trip. For the past three years, the 50-fathom line has fired well during October and I can’t see a reason why it won’t do the same this year. Even in this depth, fish are relatively easy to find on a basic sounder. Snapper will show up in small patches over any higher ground. Pearl perch will be scattered over the flatter ground where there is wire weed present and mixed in amongst these will be my favourite, the trophy pigfish. Samsonfish, yellowtail kings, blue morwong and huge trag will all be possible by-catch.

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

Russell Baxter scored a quality mulloway in 40m+ of water north of the Yamba bar.

I like to drift this wide ground using a three hook paternoster rig with 6/0 circle hooks and up to 16oz sinker. You won’t need much heavier than 50lb braid and 60-80lb leader. There is always a current pushing down from the north out here. Depending on how strong it is and how fast you are drifting, I quite often fish with the bail arm of the reel open so I can let the line run through my fingers and leave the bait to sit still on the bottom. When you get good at this, you can actually feel the first fish hook up and hold him tight until the second and third fish hook up! It’s a long way to wind up so the more productive each drop is, the better. Bait out here isn’t as important as in other places

but I like to use three different baits on each drop: pillies on top, squid in the middle and mullet fillet on the bottom. I’m sure you could fish only mullet and catch just as many. On the inshore reef, south around Brooms Head will hold good snapper in around the 30m mark. Floaters will be the main attack method for larger fish. Adjust the sinker weight to the speed of the drift; I find it’s about right when I have 100m of line out as the bait hits the bottom. My rig is very simple with two 6/0 Mustad Demon hooks snooded about 5cm apart, two glow beads sitting hard on the top hook and a glow bean sinker on top. I rarely use heavier than 30lb fluoro leader (approx. 1.2m long) as I find I don’t

Go wide this month for a feed of quality reef fish. get as many takes with the heavier leader. You will need to have a few bottom rigs down while you are float baiting. The last couple of years have had some amazing pearl perch, Maori cod, Moses perch and Venus tuskfish taken on the bottom while we were targeting snapper on floaters. The northern reef from Black Rock to Evans Head

will be alive with trag and plate size snapper this month. If you fish the 30m mark from the east side of South Evans bommie to 3km north in line with Kaos bommie, you will be in the hot zone. You may lose some gear at this reef but you will catch quality table fish. It’s not as productive as the southern reef around Brooms Head but you can

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still get the odd 10kg fish if you keep the floaters out. As the sun gets high, move due east to around 42m of water and look for the shoals of baitfish over the high bits of reef. Bait is supplied on these mulloway grounds – just jig up some yakkas or slimies and drop them down. Russell Baxter from Armidale landed an impressive 112cm mulloway that had been tagged. Clay from NSW Fisheries provided me with the tag details, which are in the factbox below.

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TAGGED MULLOWAY Tagged Date 27/06/2018 Location Bellinger River Length 101cm Weight 9.5kg Captured Date 18/08/2019 Location north of Yamba bar Length 112cm Weight 12.5kg Time 417 days Distance 80nm In the estuary, I like to chase sand whiting. These tasty little guys really start to build up in numbers this month and are as good to catch as they are to eat. Spend the low tide pumping as many yabbies as you can and then fish from one hour before high tide to the first two of run-out. I find the fish hold in the deeper part of the channel on these tides and will feed aggressively. A simple rig is best – a number 4 long shank hook with a 00 ball sinker right on the hook and 10lb fluoro leader and you’re good to go. If you’re heading into this part of the world and want advice or would like to join me on charter, call into Yamba marina and say hi. It’s going to be a great crab season so get out your crab pots!

John caught this vibrant Venus tuskfish. There will be plenty around this month.

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This is what a good whiting session can look like in October. OCTOBER 2019

Bag a Ballina bass BALLINA

Joe Allan

With the Aussie bass season now open and in full swing, this is my favourite time to get out and chase these feisty fish. They will be on the move to the upper reaches

of the creeks and river arms, but don’t overlook the main river stretches. Fish are always hungry at this time of year so try big spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits. As the weather warms up and bugs start to get out, the surface action will heat up. However, this probably won’t

Grant Clements with some estuary perch caught upriver from Wardell.

happen for a little while yet. When the cicadas start to sing, any surface crawlers should work well. The lower reaches of the Richmond River should see some mud crabs fire up as the warmer weather entices them in. Emigrant and North creeks are the spots to start looking for these tasty specimens. Use your blackfish frames and any mullet frames left over from bait fishing trips. If you’re after a feed of flathead, now is a great time to get amongst them. The deep water right in front of the Porpoise Wall, the channel in front of the RSL Club and the deep hole upriver from the Burns Point Ferry are some good places to start looking. Big, bright soft plastics with tails that disperse a good amount of water are key to catching these fish. Whiting should start to come on the bite over the flats around the town stretch of the river this month. Try targeting the shallow flats as the water moves up with the incoming tide with surface lures. This time of year is perfect for a good feed of whiting! OFFSHORE If you’re heading offshore, try getting far out to the edge of the shelf to chase some

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Damon Andrews landed a pair of bass around Coraki.

This flathead took a liking to an Atomic Hardz Crank 38mm in ghost brown shad. blue-eye trevalla and bar cod. Use big strong circle hooks to bait cuttlefish with the backbone cut out. Remember that an electric reel is a must. The close-in reefs will still produce good snapper, although towards the end of the month they will start to move out to the 32-fathoms. This is where to look when the tide allows you to fish it.

The northeast winds starting over the next few months will make it harder to fish the deeper reefs. As the water warms, cobia and mahimahi should start to move in on the close reefs. Getting some live baits such as yakkas and slimy mackerel and throwing these around the FADs is always a good start.

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

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

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Anglers blessed with options THE TWEED

Anthony Coughran

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

The bass are starting to wake up and come on the bite. The Tweed hinterland and back creeks are also starting to fish well again. The local dams are still yielding solid bass around the lilies and trees.

the sounder as solitary fish, so find those single arches next to bait to find the bigger snapper and mixed reefies in close. There’s still a few cobia and mulloway sitting next to bait on close reefs of a night. Live baits are the go for a big black or a grey ghost. A few Spaniard are hanging around Nine Mile, Five Mile and South reefs, and there’s the odd one at the Mud Hole too. Find the slimies or yakkas and you will find the Spaniards. Trolled gar, slimies and yakkas are working well, however floating out a pilchard, unweighted live bait, or bait under a float is also good. The pelagics are slowly starting to show up, but be prepared to cover some ground to find the fish. The 36s and further out the shelf

are fishing well, with blacks, mahimahi and yellowfin all being caught. There are still some good packs of tuna coming through, and metals, trolled hardbodies and skirts will prove best. Find the birds working to find the tuna. If you’re after livies, there’s plenty of activity at Kirra, Point Danger, Snapper Rocks, Snapper Bait Grounds, 10-Minute Reef, Yellow Marker, Kingy Reef and Hastings Bommie. ESTUARY Estuary anglers are having a field day with the blending of the species. Mulloway are still in most holes in the system and around the rock walls, still feeding up on bait and fry as the jacks start to wake from their slumber and join the mulloway feeding fest. Mulloway are still fishing

Lee Jordon took this keg of a yellowfin in 100m of water. Offshore anglers can chase snapper until the sun’s up before trolling for a mackerel, or heading out wide for pelagics like mahimahi and billfish. In the estuaries, the flathead and mulloway are overlapping with jacks and whiting, and everything is feeding up on all the bait and fry in the system. The beaches are still fishing well, with a lot of tailor and mulloway still working the gutters and headlands.

OFFSHORE With the water warming and the currents starting to pick up on most reefs, the bigger snapper are schooling up on the very close reefs at night to spawn. The key bite times for snapper and other reefies are around dusk and dawn. Drift baits are still fishing best, but 20-40g micro and octo jigs, and 5-7” plastics are working really well, producing models in the high 80cm range. Most 80cm+ snaps in close are being marked on

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

This mulloway was taken from the kayak using 8lb line. best around the change of tide at dusk, dawn and of a night, taking blades, 15-40g micro jigs, 20-30g soft vibes and 3-5” soft plastic paddle-tails, jerk shads and grub profiles. What you use should depend on the day and what bait is in that hole. Jacks are only just waking up, so smaller profile lures and smaller live baits are working in the middle of the day or when the water is at its warmest. Try to time the last of the run-out in the middle of the day, as this is usually when the water temperatures are highest. Rocks, trees, bridges, drains, pontoons in canals and mangroves in back creeks are places to target with 45-110mm hardbodies. Bleeding mullet and gold/ black are great colours. You can also get results on 3-5” plastic grubs and paddle-tails, jointed swimbaits, stickbaits, poppers and vibes. Soaking a small strip bait such as bullock heart, steak,

chicken, tuna, mullet, pike or yakka, or a live bait such as a herring, mullet, biddy or gar while casting your lures around will double your chances. Fishing with bait will often result in a better class of fish. The bite windows are very small with jacks at this time of year. Try to line as many things up as possible to improve your chances. Tide, wind, depth, structure, bait, the right profile lures, moon, warm weather and a high barometric pressure are all things to consider. They say ‘1020 fish aplenty’, but anything around 1016hpa and above is good. Flathead are dominating the skinny water and adjacent holes. Working the flats and drop-offs on the last three hours of the run-out is producing some monster flatties. They are really hungry this month. Casting 2-5” plastics is still the most efficient way to catch the bigger models. The colour,

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

Nick Dillon with a barrel of a bar cod from the deep grounds off Tweed. hardbodies, plastics and some surface lures are working very well. The crabs are moving again this month, but a lot are empty from their hibernation. You may have to search for the fuller ones. The back creeks and brackish waters are producing the best crabs this month. Find a tree in the water, a steep bank or a rocky hole upriver and you’re in with a chance. ROCKS AND BEACHES There have been some solid tailor, mulloway,

flathead, bream and trevally working the gutters, rock walls and headlands. The odd reefy is getting around some headlands and rock walls like Snapper, Fingal, Kingy, Hastings and Brunswick. Strip baits and half pillies are working best around dusk and dawn, and even at night. Good tailor have been spun off the rocks at first light. Look to the rock walls for the best spin action. Good quality 30-80g metals have been fishing the best.

SWEETWATER Bass are waking up, and the creeks at dusk and dawn are producing the best surface action. Find the concentrations of insects and you will score the better fish. Surface lures such as cicada imitations will be the go with all the insects around. Fishing around the lilies and trees with hardbodies, vibes, jigspins, spinnerbaits, spoons and jigs will score many fish in Clarrie Hall Dam. NEXT MONTH With the warmer ocean temperatures pushing in, the current will pick up offshore even more, which should kickstart the pelagics to come in closer to feed up on bait. With good schools of slimies and flying fish this year, we should get good numbers of mackerel, billfish, mahimahi and wahoo. Only time will tell, but the early signs are good. The reefies will start moving out to deeper water as the currents pick up. The jacks will start their domination of the estuary as they start to wake up and feed up on bait. Flathead will continue to work the flats until the water gets too warm for them, so get in now while they’re available. Blackfish will continue to work the rock walls, and tailor and trevally will continue to work along rock walls, current lines and in some holes.

Shane Hill managed this 63cm flathead fishing in the Tweed River. Bream will still be thick around the structure, and fishing with baits will be the go. Spinning metals at dusk and dawn will still be your best bet for a tailor on the

rocks and beaches. And finally, bass will really start to wake from their wintery slumber, so start looking to your surface lures for a bit of topwater fun!

Kayne Blenkinsop caught this nice beach mulloway from the Byron Bay area.

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Beach fishing is at its best SOUTHERN GOLD COAST

Mark Ward markward222@bigpond.com

The southern Gold Coast fires up in October with some amazing beach fishing and plenty of action for lure anglers in the estuary. Bass also wake up and can be found on the flats and points as

tournaments, so I quickly learnt that the summer bite in Queensland is very different to the winter bite. These fish are a lot more aggressive and active over the shallows in summer, so I tend to use hardbody lures and target them on the surface. Soft plastics still work very well but I like to move away from schooled fish and fish found in deep water, in favour of

fish would spend most of their time under a particular pontoon but you’d have to be a better angler than I am to catch them! Flathead this month are still on fire but they will be moving around the systems now they have finished spawning. My son and I have been targeting them on massive 195mm lures. Bent minnow style lures work on the surface – seeing massive flathead come out of the water to hit these lures is a lot of fun. However, the hook-up ratio is terrible, so don’t do it if you are after numbers. It’s the first time that I have ever seen a flathead launch clean out of the water while chasing a lure. For targeting flathead, I would start with the creeks and shallow islands in the Tweed, as well as

particularly good spot to try in Tallebudgera. It’s been a warm start to spring, which will bring the jacks on early. The Tweed, Nerang and Coomera rivers will all be firing. The Tweed has a lot of rock bars that are over 2m deep and they are my preferred spot this early in the season. It is where all the bigger fish come from as well, so go hard and troll or jig the deep rock bars for the best chance. There are so many lures that can be trolled down to 4m or more these days, I like the deep diving Bombers. They are cheap and need a hook up-grade but do the job. I also love Lucky Craft Pointers but cry after losing a few of them. I’ll also be experimenting with some of the Zerek lures this season as I have heard a lot of good things about

Fishing on the beach at sunrise is hard to beat. they actively hunt for prey. October is also the official start to the mangrove jack season, which is why I love October! ESTUARY Fishing the estuaries this month is a real mixed bag. Flathead and bream are still on the bite, and we will also start to see a lot more action from trevally and mangrove jack. Bream are now starting to slow a little for bait anglers but can still be found around the rock walls, bridges and deep edges of weed and yabby banks. The numbers may go up but those big winter spawning fish are a lot harder to find. Anglers chasing bream on lures will have to change their approach. I fished for bream on lures for many years and even competed in

fish hunting the shallows and the resident fish. Resident fish are often the big ones; I call them resident fish as these are the fish that move back into the estuaries after their winter spawn and hold up in a particular area over summer. Usually areas like marinas, creeks, bridges and the like are good – anywhere that offers food and protection. These fish are harder to catch than the fish found hunting the shallows but it is worth the effort. I used to work in a marina and spent a lot of time watching the big resident bream. Bream would disappear for a little while as they move out to spawn during winter, but the big fish would stay over summer and not move too far at all. Some big, old skittish

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Cody Ward with a typical spring flathead.

the edges of the yabby banks in Currumbin and Tallebudgera. They also move up into the shallows of Terranora Creek and around Ukerebagh Passage this month. The shallows near Fleays Wildlife Park is a • Centre console • 5 metres • Large front casting deck • Folding rear casting deck • Huge storage lockers • Livewell under seat

them and they have recently released some new colours that look amazing. Jigging soft plastics will account for a lot of fish. They certainly prefer big paddle-tails, like a ZMan SwimmerZ. I made a trip up to Cape York a couple of months back and worked Zerek Fish Trap vibes for jacks and golden snapper, and the mangrove jack were

The author with a small jack pulled off a snag. The bigger fish will be on the deeper rock bars this month. all over them. As we move into the warmer months there will be a lot of surface action from trevally and other speedsters, like giant herring and tarpon. The canals and lakes have more of these fish than most anglers realise, my only suggestion is to find the bait and the fish will be close by. I do a lot of fishing for these fish on the northern Gold Coast and don’t even bother casting until I find bait. Most of the time you will see it on the sounder but when the fish are active, the bait will be seen up on the surface. BEACHES Whiting have been biting on the beaches all winter and should be at their best this month. Shallow gutters that are hard up against the shoreline are the go. They bite all throughout the tide and the day, so are a great species to target. Fresh or live bait is vital. Take the time to learn how to catch beach worms if you enjoy this style of fishing. Tailor will still be around in good numbers this month as well as the usual suspects

of whiting, bream and dart. Mulloway are always an option and have been caught around the Tweed and southern beaches at night. FRESHWATER Hinze has been fishing very well with a lot of fish caught in the deep edges of the timber over winter. These fish will start to move onto the flats and points now that it is warming up. Both Hinze and Clarrie Hall have a great surface bite and, with the bugs enjoying the warm spring air, the surface is a great option as well. Blades worked quickly on the points and flats will account for good number of fish but a small surface lure worked with long pauses will get those big surface strikes. Back in 2015 Clarrie Hall was stocked with mangrove jack. The jury is still out on whether it was a good idea or not. If anyone has been catching jacks in Clarrie Hall, let me or the fish stocking group know about it. If the jacks do take hold and have enough bait in the dam to sustain them, it might just work.

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October all-sorts for anglers JUMPINPIN

Mick Morris gembait@tpg.com

It has been a great start to the spring season with fantastic conditions for fishing. At this wonderful time of year, the warmer weather moves in and the fishing is always good. Flathead have been caught in good numbers on plastics around Tipplers Island, Millionaires Row, Whalleys Gutter, across from Slipping Sands and the Pandanus weed banks at the bottom of the tide. Try to target weedy patches where you can see the water draining off a bank and more often than not, there will be a flatty lying in wait. If you prefer trolling, the flats across from Rocky Point, Cabbage Tree and along Eden Island have been

Mitch Eley caught a great kingy chasing bait schools beyond the bar.

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producing some good fish near the turn of the tide in 2-4ft of water. Outside, there should be a few cobia and yellowtail kingies on the close reefs. Alfs, Cotton and Sullies reefs are all full of baitfish and perfect for attracting large predators. There should also be snapper, tuskies, trag and the odd pearly available as well. Tailor have shown up with some big hauls coming from the surf beaches of North and South Stradbroke. Most have been caught on pillies and bonito or 40-65g metal slugs on the run-in tide. A few small schools have come inside chasing whitebait and can be seen chopping on the surface. The bait they are chasing is quite small, so for better results use small pillies or whitebait when bait fishing or 10-20g slugs when flicking for

October is the peak time for quality flathead around Jumpinpin. them. The best time to try is early in the morning when the weather is at its calmest. If you love catching bream, concentrate your efforts towards the last two hours of the incoming tide and the first of the run-out tide around Kalinga Bank, Cobby Passage, Rocky Point and the mouths of the Coomera River and the Seaway. Larger baits like banana prawns, half pillies, strip baits and big balls of mullet gut tend to entice

larger fish. Jacks and cod will be highly sought after now the water temperature has started to rise. Targeting these fish can sometimes prove difficult, as they live in heavy snags and fight extremely hard, usually resulting in loss of gear. A good way to start is by using heavier line to prevent getting blown away and by using large live baits and flesh baits to take away the To page 29

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Biting into spring GOLD COAST CANALS

Josh Dunn Instagram: @josh__dunn__

With the heat well and truly set in, we should expect pristine weather over the next couple of months. Apart from the odd shower and possible storm, we should be in for a treat this spring. Despite how early in the season it seems, the mangrove jack bite is normally quite hot in October. Bream, trevally, flathead will be present this time of year, along with the odd tailor that’s still lurking. Mangrove jack will be firing this month and will be spotted smashing mullet in the mangroves and baitfish in the canals. As always, early morning and late afternoon is a prime time to fish for these canal brutes. I prefer the afternoon, as the water temperature and the pylons are warm after being heated up all day. Baitfish are normally active at this time, especially around rock walls and jetties. A fun way to hunt for these jacks is surface lures. Although it may be a little too early for the surface bite (March is normally prime), don’t be afraid to give it a go. My favourite plastic over the past couple of years has been the ZMan MinnowZ 3” in calico candy. Keeping in mind jacks are a territorial species, my reasoning is that it represents a juvenile mangrove jack and they definitely aren’t afraid to eat

Lachie Gava caught this 80cm lizard from the ’Pin on a ZMan 2.5” GrubZ. There will be a few cracking models like this one getting around this October! one if it’s under their jetty! Flathead are out and about this month and will be red-hot for the Flathead Classic. Most of my captures have been coming from rock walls and bridge pylons. The fish around bridge pylons haven’t been small either, ranging up to 60-70cm. It’s possible they’re coming into the canals to get away from the boat traffic in the Broadwater, but I’m not too sure. If you’re game enough, try using bladed metal lures around the bridge pylons and rock walls. Long and slow lifts are the most rewarding

in these circumstances, especially if the fish have been quiet. If these areas aren’t producing, hit the deeper water in the Broadwater and around the ’Pin. Within the next month or two, the weather should be great with some perfect days in store. With the heat also comes rain, so I’m hopeful we get some but not a lot. That’s not too much to ask for, right? October is a prime month to get out and get amongst the action. The fish have been biting so make the most of the weather while it’s perfect!

From page 28

pickers and allow your bait to stay in the strike zone longer. The Coomera and Pimpama Rivers have lots of rock walls and sunken trees to fish on or you can give trolling lures a go, which allows you to cover more territory and find where the fish are. Any mangrove-lined banks with plenty of snags and coverage will most likely house a resident jack or cod; the trick is to get them to bite. Muddies and sandies have fired up recently, so don’t forget your pots and dillies on your next trip out. Nudging deeper into the mangroves at high tide to drop the pots has been producing the best catches of muddies. Fish frames or off meat have been the better baits. Sandies have been taken along the edges of channels such as Jacobs Well, Tiger Mullet and north of Canaipa. Up near the Power Lines, Redland Bay Channel and the mouth of the Logan are also very popular this

Hilly landed a couple of decent snapper from the reefs off the ’Pin Bar. time of year. • Thanks for all your reports and please keep those fish coming in! If you’d like any advice or up-to-date info on

what’s happening at the ’Pin, drop us a line at Gem Bait & Tackle on 3287 3868 or email gembait@ tpg.com.au. OCTOBER 2019

Fantastic flathead fishing GOLD COAST

David Green

October is prime time for flathead on the Gold Coast, but there are plenty of other good options to

try on the offshore grounds and in the estuaries. OFFSHORE On the wider grounds,

Mark Jenkinson scored this 4kg tailor.

there was an excellent run of yellowfin tuna throughout late winter and these great fish should still be around this month. Fish up to 70kg have turned up in large numbers around the 500-1000m lines about 80km off the Seaway. While this is a long trip, the rewards have been worth it. These fish have been caught on skirted lures, trolled minnows and by casting stickbaits into the schools when they are on the surface. Surprisingly, despite the cool 19Â°C water tuna have had plenty of big mahimahi mixed in, as well as a few albacore. In October, the water generally remains cool and hopefully the tuna action continues this month. You can expect a few striped and blue marlin if the water warms up a bit. The 50-Fathom Reef has been fishing well for snapper and pearl perch. This month, snapper will drop off in numbers as most of the fish have spawned. There should be lots of amberjack, samsonfish and yellowtail kingfish on the northeast 50-fathom grounds on the higher pinnacles. There have been

The author with a monster 85cm flathead.

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quite a few black marlin on the snapper grounds with big fish over 80kg being caught on drifted live baits, or eating hooked fish as they are brought up from the bottom. The grounds in 120-150m have been producing big pearl perch and bar cod. In closer to shore, there should still be a few snapper on the 36-fathom line and it has been a very good season for Venus tuskfish. These are excellent eating and respond well to a simple paternoster rig with fresh squid as bait. Later in the month, the current usually starts to run from the north and fishing gets more difficult with the increased flow. The 24-Fathom Reef and the close reefs from Palm Beach out to the 18-fathom line should produce quality cobia on live baits this month. Plenty of berley is the key to attracting cobia to your boat. On light tackle, a big cobia can take over an hour to land and they are one of the toughest fighting fish around. During the fight, they often come up close to the surface and are easily mistaken for sharks due to their brown colouration. If the westerly winds continue, tailor will be a good option. Big fish over 4kg have turned up around

Cooper Buckland was ecstatic to catch a nice flathead. the top of South Stradbroke Island and can be caught spinning with metal lures or stickbaits just out the back of the surf line. The Zerek Zappelin has been a great lure for large tailor and casts like a rocket. However, you need to be careful to keep your boat in

deep water and watch out for increasing swell. At night, there should still be a few mulloway on the close reefs and around the artificial reefs found in 23m of water to the northeast of the Seaway. Live baits fished just after dark have been

effective and if you can catch a few pike, you are in with an excellent chance of catching a decent mulloway. ESTUARIES AND RIVERS The Gold Coast Sport Fishing Club’s Flathead Classic takes place on 1-4

October and there have been plenty of boats out practicing in preparation for this huge competition. So far, the flathead fishing has been extremely erratic. A prolonged dry spell and a distinct lack of bait have made the fishing tough most of the time. It is hard to explain the poor fishing, as the water quality in general has been excellent. When you find a decent patch of fish, they are often quite shy so ultraslow retrieves are required. Small soft plastics worked ever so slowly through weedy patches have often been the best technique. Trolling has been quite poor. At high tide, there have been some bigger fish in the shallows and working shallow hardbodies and large plastics has produced great fish over 80cm long at times. As soon as the tide turns, the fish seem to leave these spots returning to deeper water. If the flathead fishing continues in its present form, it is going to be a pretty tough flathead competition. In October, the deep water often comes into its own and working large soft plastics, soft vibes and curly tailed grubs can be very effective. I’m not a big fan of fishing the deep

water for oversized breeding fish but if you specifically want to target huge flatties, this method works well on the run-in tide. Whiting should start to show up in numbers as the water warms up. Casting unweighted yabbies on the first push of a rising tide can be very productive, and if there are small prawns around, poppers and small stickbaits are excellent options. The flats around the back of Wave Break Island are a good spot to try and this area also holds a lot of very large flathead. The ideal water depth is around 30cm and as the tide pushes up, whiting schools are generally quite easy to spot. Ultra-light line is the key to catching these sharp-eyed fish. Drifting live baits through the main channel in the Seaway on the run-in tide will produce trevally, mulloway and big flathead. Small baits such as herring are also very effective for big bream and smaller flathead. Spinning with small metal lures and soft plastics can produce tailor, tarpon and queenfish when the water is clear. This fishing is at its best when there are white pilchards moving into the Broadwater and hopefully we’ll see them move in this month.

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Flatties and jacks are back on! SOUTHERN BAY

Nick Whyte

October is the month of big flatties and mangrove jack! It is also a bit of a crossover month with the summer

paddle-tails, which give off a good vibration in the deeper water, and large hardbodies or swim baits up on the flats. You’re not going to catch heaps of fish using large lures, but their size will definitely make up for it. Look for areas

grips and always support the body weight of the fish. MANGROVE JACK Jacks will be active enough again to annoy lure fishers. They can be such a frustrating fish – big hits and big bust offs! It can be long hours with no action, so look for areas with good current flow and keep your lure or bait as close as possible to the structure. The 4-5” paddletails are a great lure to swim around floating structure or rig weedless on a jighead and fish in tight around natural structure, like rock bars and sunken timber. Try and work your lures reasonably fast as you are trying to trigger that reaction strike. These fish will hit a reasonably big bait for their size so don’t be scared to run big lures up to 7-8” plastics and swimbaits. WHITING Summer whiting are

in good numbers at the moment. The best places to look have been the Logan River around Ageston Sands, the mouth of the Pimpama River, Coombabah Creek and up the Nerang River on the inside bends throughout. Good fresh worms or large stick bait poppers around 70-90mm are the go-to for these guys. Look for the shallow banks that have a little bit of run over them and some reasonably clean water and keep the poppers moving fast across the top. THREADFIN SALMON There’s been better numbers of threadies being caught around the port of late. There haven’t been massive schools but for those doing the hard yards and spending the time to sound out fish, there have been a few gold nuggets as reward. The ever-faithful

This big swimbait-munching flathead was caught on a Zerek Affinity.

Brenden Whyte with a beautiful 81cm Jumpinpin flatty caught on a 140mm hardbody. whiting in full swing and the threadfin salmon beginning to move towards the mouth of the rivers. FLATHEAD October is the best time to catch large flathead. The large fish will be in big numbers towards all the bar entrances and river mouths. Within sight of the South Passage, Pin Bar or Seaway will see you in with a good chance to catch a flatty. Use large soft plastic

with clean water and lots of bait and the big flatties won’t be too far away for the best results. If you catch a large flathead remember they are a no-take species over 75cm size. Take care of all fish that are to be released by using a fish-friendly net. Make sure you have cameras ready to grab that great pic and not keep the fish out of the water too long. Use gloves or boga

Danny Johns with a cracker 121cm thready. There are still a few decent specimens around for those who put in the hard yards.

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Soft vibe has been the most consistent for lure fishers, and the live baiters have been having good success as well. There’s also the odd mulloway getting around in there at the moment. If you are planning to release these fish please release them as quickly as possible as they tend to suffer from lactic build up after the big fight. They will usually have the strength to get themselves back to depth and not need to be vented for barotrauma if you work fast. • If you have a great capture from the southern bay you would like to share, email them through to nick@ techfishing.com.au. ‘Til next month, Tech-it-easy!

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October offers opportunities for bay anglers BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

The last few months have offered anglers some great fishing options. Snapper fishing has been the best for many years and species such as tailor, mulloway, bream, flathead and squid have been plentiful and of a great average size. With the cold of the winter months now forgotten, and days and nights warming rapidly, anglers will be keen to enjoy some of the awesome angling opportunities that October offers. Get out amongst a few of these quality piscatorial targets! THREADFIN With air and water temperatures warming quickly, anglers will notice

an increase in the numbers of threadfin, especially in the lower reaches of the Brisbane River, Logan River and several other systems. Decent numbers can still be found further up in the system, however closer to the mouth will see better numbers, with occasional larger schools found lurking in the port area of the Brisbane River. Sounding out these fish can be an easy task if you have a quality sounder and good knowledge of its workings. Threadfin show prominently and can be easy to distinguish, as they lurk along the front of the docks, along the decline into the main riverbed, in deeper holes and adjacent ledges. These fish can be targeted with an array of lures and quality baits. Live offerings can be caught in the general vicinity with

Andrew Tennant with a solid bay snapper. Even though it is getting warmer, quality specimens like this will still be a serious option.

a cast net. Live mullet, herring, banana prawns, gar and pike are all favourable offerings when presented lightly-weighted and close to the bottom. Periods around the tide change will often produce the better action, however any time during the making or falling tide it can be worthwhile soaking a live bait. Dead offerings will sometimes still produce, and I have witnessed numerous threadfin taken on frozen offerings such pilchards and large prawns. Lures worked close to the bottom, especially those that are hopped down the declines, are highly likely to produce. Vibration baits (both soft and hard) are ideal for this application. Jighead rigged plastics (especially paddle-tails, curl-tails and prawn/shrimp profiles) are easy to use and will produce good results. All these offerings will tempt a broad array of the river’s other inhabitants including snapper, mulloway, cod and large bream. MANGROVE JACK It has been a good start to the jack fishing season, with numbers of quality fish taken by anglers in recent weeks. Many of these have been by-catch for anglers targeting bream and other species up in the canals. Jacks will hit a wide array of offerings and although light line anglers struggle to land better quality jacks, good angling skills and a little luck often coincide to allow them to take sizeable jacks on ‘silly string’. To have a good chance of landing these estuarine assassins, line classes in the 7-15kg range are recommended. Anglers soaking live baits in the deeper holes, along collapsed mangrove banks and in the canals and harbours will often fish even heavier in an attempt to pry large fish from the

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Longtail tuna will begin increasing in numbers as warm water increases baitfish activity. Chris Deeks caught this one recently near Mud Island. rugged structures. Live mullet, herring and large prawns pinned on an octopus or kahle style hook and presented into the zone with the minimum required weight, will put you in good stead. Nighttime sessions are often more rewarding than the daylight hours, as jacks have a tendency to roam more in their search for food during low light periods. During daylight hours, the jacks will often hold tighter to structure, generally hiding in shadowed areas, behind current altering structure and in gaps and recesses in the rock walls. Getting your lure close to these structures is generally paramount to success, as the jacks will sometimes not move too far from their ambush position to hunt. Minnow lures, soft plastics (often rigged weedless), blades, soft vibration baits and flies can all be used successfully to tempt jacks, cod, trevally and other species that can be found in the same areas. As the water temperatures increase, jack activity will heighten, therefore you still have several months of quality jack fishing ahead to get one or two under your belt. MULLOWAY The prevalence of mulloway was good over the colder months, although probably a little less compared to recent years. However, the average size of fish definitely made targeting this species worthwhile. Mulloway are not just a cold weather target and are fairly commonly caught to over the magical metre mark. They are also readily taken during the warmer months, especially in the larger river systems and throughout Moreton Bay.

The artificial reefs (Peel, Harry Atkinson, Bill Turner and Coochie) will often hold schools of decent mulloway. However, with shark numbers also increasing during these months, it can often be difficult to get a quality specimen to the boat. Mulloway in these areas can be taken as by-catch by those targeting snapper, however many will use their sounders to search out these quality fish before presenting an offering to them. Mulloway will eat the same offerings as snapper, with an array of dead and live baits as well as numerous lures getting the job done. In the deeper areas they will hold near structure a lot of the time. Once located using your electronics, a micro-jig can be dropped straight down in front of them. Drifting through likely areas and casting lures such as plastic shads and soft vibration baits is also a proven technique. Hopping or slow rolling these close to the bottom will soon tempt any hungry mulloway in the area. Live baits work exceptionally well and a struggling mullet, yakka, slimy mackerel or pike will tempt any mulloway in the vicinity. Soaking these baits in the deeper holes and along the declines towards the mouth of the Brisbane River is likely to reward, especially around the tidal changes. Obviously these baits will also tempt threadfin, cod and larger snapper, which are all respectable by-catch. The next few months can still offer some great mulloway fishing and they will provide some great sport and quality table fare. CRABS Setting pots throughout Moreton Bay and in the

Brisbane River will likely reward anglers with a decent feed of mud and sand or blue swimmer crabs. Safety pots are the most commonly used, however pick-up dillies can also be used. Witches hat styles dillies have been outlawed for more than a decade now due to turtles and other marine life becoming entangled in them. Pick-up pots sit flat on the seabed and you need to rely on the crabs still being on the pot eating the bait when you retrieve it. For this reason, pickup pots need to be checked regularly. Safety pots can be set for much longer periods and once the crab enters the pot it is difficult for them to escape. Enclosing your bait in a mesh envelope will slow down the feeding of the crab and lengthen the time before the crab has its fill and tries to escape. The bait or bait envelope needs to be secured to the middle of the pot on the bottom to prevent the crab simple feeding on the bait from outside the pot. Chunky baits such as fish frames, chicken carcasses, whole mullet and fish heads work well. Smaller offerings such as chicken necks, fish offcuts or a handful of pilchards will definitely need to be contained in a bait envelope. Around the mouths of the estuaries you can expect to encounter numerous crab species, especially after rain when the mud crabs get flushed from the mangrove expanses. Further out into the bay it will mainly be sand crabs, with decent numbers being taken in a single pot at times. Pots set along the ledges out from the bay islands, in the deeper channels and along the edges of the sand banks will likely reward.

Sometimes the populace will be in the deeper water yet at other times the shallows will be best. Setting pots at a variety of depths will hedge your bets. If you get success mainly in one depth then setting all your pots at a similar depth will pay dividends. Up in the river systems, mud crabs can be found well back into the mangrove areas at times. Setting pots in the harder to reach places will often increase results. The mouths of any gutters leading from mangrove areas that are virtually dry at low tide, are a good spot to set a pot towards the top of the tide. Muddies will enter these areas to feed on the higher stages yet they will be forced back out into the main system as the water recedes from these areas. Deep holes in smaller creeks, along collapsed mangrove banks and the mouths of creeks are all prime spots where you are likely to score a few muddies. BAY PELAGICS Warmer weather increases baitfish activity throughout Moreton Bay. Many pelagic species will be in hot pursuit with longtail tuna, mackerel, mac tuna, bonito and bullet tuna being a serious possibility. Longtails are a prized capture for many and can

be taken on live baits and a host of cast and retrieved offerings. Their highly predatory nature means that a fast-moving offering will be chased down with gusto, if it is to their liking. However at this time of the year, a majority of the baitfish are relatively small, often less than a couple of centimetres long. Longtails will often become tunnel-visioned and only focussed on prey of identical size to the baitffish. For the angler, presenting a suitably profiled offering

is virtually impossible as it is too small and light to be cast the required distance to reach the feeding tuna. In this situation, fly fishing comes into its own. With this angling pursuit, the fly line provides the casting weight to load the rod. The fly on the end has virtually no significance in the castability. Good fly casters can reach distances well in excess of 35m, which is often enough to present a fly to feeding tunas. Additionally, a fly can be allowed to slowly fall

through the water column, as an injured baitfish would. In this situation the fly is often slurped up by the cruising longtails, even after the main surface busting mayhem has ceased. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, however fly fishing can open up new horizons when targeting early season longtails. Another approach when longtails are feeding on miniscule bait is to venture towards the far end of the presentation spectrum and cast a large offering such as a stickbait, large jerkshad

The artificial reefs often produce decent numbers of mulloway during October. The author recently caught this metre-plus fish while targeting snapper.

plastic or pencil popper. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t, but is definitely worth a try. Deploying live baits such as slimy mackerel, yakkas and pike along the edges of prominent current lines or adjacent areas where baitfish congregate, (such as shipping channels, beacons and artificial reefs) is also likely to reward. Present these in the upper third of the water column for best results. School mackerel numbers have been great over recent months, with the major channels like Rainbow, Rous and Small Ships all producing numbers of school mackerel, mostly to around 65cm in length. These have occasionally been busting up on the surface, however, more commonly anglers have been securing these by trolling spoons behind paravanes. Drifting in these channels with a pilchard rigged on ganged hooks and deployed mid-water will also yield results. Jigging chromed slugs and slices around the beacons (Measured Mile and the shipping channel markers in the northern bay) is also productive and a lot of fun. Cast the chrome slug or slice close to the beacon and allow it to descend to the bottom.

Retrieve it back to the boat as fast as possible and you will get a strike if a hungry mackerel or two is about. If one beacon is unproductive, move on to the next. Bonito (both Watson’s leaping and Australian) are also common captures using these same techniques. CONCLUSION October is a great month to encounter a broad array of species throughout the Moreton Bay region. The diversity of those on offer will often result in it being hard to decide what to target on any given day. I like to carry a broad array of tackle so that I can try numerous techniques and fish different areas for an array of species, depending on what I consider to be the best option on the day. In addition to those mentioned, anglers will also be able to get amongst species such as snapper, tuskfish, whiting, flathead, bream, squid, cod, cobia, sweetlip and numerous others. Shark activity will increase as waters warm and baitfish and pelagic activity increase. For many, these also are a viable target for both sport and table fare. With so much on offer, it is clear that October offers opportunity, however getting out there amongst it is up to you.

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John Gooding

The good weather throughout last month fired up the fish on charter. Good numbers of snapper kept anglers busy when targeting them, but

the 4-6kg range, but some hefty specimens were boated around the 10-12kg mark. Even at this size, amberjack give a good account of themselves, especially in the first part of the fight after they nail a live bait. Like many species, amberjack school up in similar sizes.

the bait tanks with decent slimy mackerel. It makes up for the days you have to work hard to secure 20 livies. Having quality live bait makes all the difference to species like amberjack, as they are jellybeans to them! When live baiting, make sure hook size is appropriate for the size of the bait you’re using, as too big a hook can hinder bait movement or even kill the bait too quickly, whereas too small a hook will cost you hook-ups. Octopus circle style hooks are very effective in either 6/0 for small baits or 7-8/0 for larger baits. As the water warms over the next few months, amberjack, samsonfish and

yellowtail kingfish should be plentiful east of the South Passage Bar. Likewise, there should be good numbers of snapper hanging around but this time of year some reef structures definitely hold better numbers than others. Shallow Tempest as well as the wider grounds such as the 90m line will fish well. When the weather is good, sneak offshore for a snapper, amberjack or pearl perch! NEW REGULATIONS If you aren’t aware, new fishing regulations have come into effect from 1 September. I agree with bringing pearl perch in line with snapper with 4 at 38cm the new limits. What I don’t agree with is the

A mad session on amberjack resulted in this bagged-out catch. the majority of charters have chased amberjack as more clients wanted to live bait. Ambos along with a few solid yellowtail kingfish played the game and it only took several drifts to catch the bag limit most days. Most amberjack were in

If you move along the reef you may find some larger fish, but they will be with other large fish as they tend to school together in their respective sizes. One pleasing thing of late is the amount of live bait around and on most charters it hasn’t taken long to fill

Decent snapper and pearl perch have been caught on the closer reefs.

These quality freespooled snapper were the only two landed from five hookups, as three were lost to sharks. closure every year from 15 July to 15 August and the boat limit of eight snapper, which means if you have 2-5 anglers out for a fish in a 6-7m boat, they can only keep a maximum of eight snapper. It unfairly penalises anglers who have made a big investment in a larger, safer offshore boat. Fisheries have publicly said the regulations are to stop the black market trade, but in meetings they said it was about less fish being caught. The thing that bewilders me is, why are so many snapper getting caught if there are supposedly none out there? If my catches

were down I’d support change, but they’re not. Last election the LNP chased the fishing vote, but didn’t follow through on promises to review some important issues such as Moreton Bay Marine Park zonings. If Labor loses the next election, the LNP needs to be held to account on issues like this. • Until next month, enjoy your fishing, take care on the coastal bars and if you’d like to join me on charter (max. 8 persons) give me a call on 07 3822 9527 or 0418 738 750 or visit my new website www. outlawcharters.com.au.

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River or offshore, fish galore NOOSA

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The Noosa River has to be one of the best places to go river fishing. With a great food source from the Everglades upriver, this system is pristine and the perfect environment for fish and anglers alike. With warmer days and nights rapidly approaching, the mangrove jack action is already starting to heat up. Plenty of river anglers judge their whole year by how many jacks they subdue over the warmer months. Red devils, as they are known, are pound for pound one of the toughest fighting fish in the river. Trolled hardbodied lures work well for covering a lot of ground. If you use suspending lures, you can cast from a boat and work them down so they spend more time in the strike zone. Working areas

Indy and Khy Lawrence with a couple of trevally from the river. passing morsel of food. Where there is one, you will normally find plenty more. They tend to nest up at this time of year and you will usually find a large female accompanied by a group of younger males. Soft plastics like the ZMan StreakZ, Curly TailZ or Shimano Squidgy Prawn Wriggler rigged on a 1/6

Jack Dekort caught this 60cm sweetlip off Sunshine Reef. like pontoons, rock ledges and even moored boats are great places to be hunting jacks. Flathead numbers have been outstanding with some good catches being taken from the shallower areas of the river. Fishing the banks on the run-out tide is prime time, as flatties will lay in wait for a

or 1/4oz jighead will make sure that you are right in the strike zone. For the bait anglers, smaller fish baits like frogmouth pilchards and hardiheads are ideal rigged on smaller ganged hooks. Whiting numbers in the river have started to improve. These delicious table fish will

become more plentiful as we move into the warmer months. The Frying Pan is one of the hotspots along with Dog Beach and the area between Edward St and James St along Gympie Terrace. Worms, pipis and yabbies are all great bait options. Down towards the river mouth, the Woods Bay and Noosa Sound areas have been alive with quality fish. Giant, golden and diamond trevally have all been landed. Some of the best fun has to be working surface lures early morning and late afternoon around the moored boats in the area. These fish will shoot out from the protection of the boats and hammer these topwater lures. As the sun gets a little higher in the sky, fishing lighter micro jigs and soft plastics a little deeper has been very successful. Fishing the deeper holes upriver has been productive for numbers of school mulloway. These fish tend to hold in the deeper holes and pick off bait as it passes by. Lures like the Chasebait Poddy Mullet are perfect for the job. Live baits are also excellent for mulloway with herring and poddy mullet both favourites. October is a great time to make the run offshore if

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conditions are favourable. Larger craft including the charter boats have been going up to the reefs off Double Island. This area has been very productive over the past couple of months with some big fish making the trip worthwhile. Large snapper, Venus tuskfish, pearl perch, Moses perch, mulloway, cobia and some arm-stretching amberjack have all hit the decks. The pelagic run this year has already started with reports of good spotted and school mackerel chasing the smaller bait schools. As the waters warm and the schools of bait get bigger, we will see more of this activity. North Reef has been fishing well for reef species such as pearl perch, snapper, grass sweetlip, cod and cobia. Floater baits of pilchards have been the successful way to pick up quality fish when fished through a good berley trail. North has also seen some great schools of mackerel tuna busting up the surface, with a few longtails amongst them. Sunshine Reef has to be one of the best coral trout fisheries on the coast and it will only improve over the coming weeks. Fish your lures, baits or soft plastics hard to the bottom here and you will be rewarded. Sunshine is also the

Jack Kettleworth landed this gorgeous queenfish from the Maroochy River. home of some large sweetlip, with some big fish up to 70cm reported already. On the Noosa North Shore, the 4WDs have been nose-to-tail with reports of tailor from the beaches north of Teewah. Tailor have been a bit scarce on the southern beaches but seem to come in around this area as they make their way north to Fraser Island to spawn. School sizes have been good, with most anglers opting for pilchards or cut

Dave Omeara with a solid 88cm snapper.

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baits. Metal lures have been effective when there are plenty of fish around. Quality mulloway have been seen with tailor in the gutters. This may be due to mulloway loving a fresh fillet of tailor as strip bait. Other options for baits are fresh mullet, pilchards, local squid and worms clumped onto a larger baitholder hook. It is best to fish the bigger new moon tides that we get at night this time of year. The most successful mulloway anglers are the ones that leave the rod in the rod holder and wait for the run. Mulloway tend to play with their food and an exuberant angler will pull the hook free if you strike too soon. • Don’t forget to check in to www.fishingnoosa.com.au for all the latest up-to-date info on fishing and bar crossings. The knowledgeable teams at Davo’s Tackle World Noosa and Davo’s Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola can provide you with the right equipment, bait and advice to ensure success!

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Covering approximately 5,340 hectares and with an average depth of 11m when full, Lake Monduran is the perfect environment for barramundi. The lake is the home of the 2010 world record holding barra, which tipped the scales at 44.6kg when it was caught on rod and reel by kayaker Denis Harrold. Now, anglers will get an opportunity to snag the biggest prized barra in Queensland when the Bundaberg Toyota Golden Barra competition kicks off again in October this year! The unique competition, which targets coloured barramundi, is the first of its kind in Australia. To secure the major prize of a Bundaberg Toyota Landcruiser Dual Cab ute with all the extras and a Bundaberg Marineland/Seajay Boat, motor and trailer package with all the extras, budding barra hunters will need to land the rare golden coloured barra. This prize package is worth a total of $150,000, which is tenfold on last year’s major prize. If that’s not enough to lure you in, sponsors have also put up some great prizes for any angler that catches one of ten tagged barra.

OCTOBER 2019

The competition will commence on Saturday 19 October 2019 and finish on 19 February 2020 at midnight. Anglers can fish anytime through this period over the four months. For terms and conditions of entry and to be eligible to claim prizes, participants must register at www.goldenbarra.com.au.

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$190,000 TOTAL PRIZE POOL For terms and conditions or to register for the competition visit lakem.com.au/goldenbarra.

Fish, 4WD and Fraser – fun for everyone FRASER ISLAND

Kurt Ensbey

After a patchy couple of years, Fraser Island fishing is back! Season after season of small catches, bad weather and weed have

months of good catches, it might have turned a corner. GETTING THERE Strong southeasterly winds through May and June brought continuous big swell that chopped the beach up. These winds have really chewed out some nice

However, every silver lining has a cloud and in this case it’s the lumpy beach caused by constant large seas. The headlands at Poyungan, Yidney and Ngkala (as well as Indian Head and Waddy Point) are not drivable on the beach even at low tide, leaving

Golfers are allowed 14 clubs so seven rods seems perfectly reasonable! A 4WD will get you where you need to go. turned anglers off visiting the world’s biggest sand island, but after a couple of

deep gutters and easy-to-find structure around the exposed coffee rock in the water.

the bypass tracks as the only option. Most of these bypass tracks are relatively easy drives

target bigger fish but I still believe freshly caught or live beachworms are your best bet. The real trick to targeting bigger fish is to find large schools of feeding dart in close-in high tide gutters, and then throw a long cast past them and slowly retrieve. Larger fish hunt along the edges of sand banks for the chance at a better feed rather than move with the smaller school-sized fish. Whiting have been a bit inconsistent this year, but when they have been on, they’ve been red-hot! While you definitely have a chance at whiting as by-catch while dart fishing, the best strategy to target them directly is almost the opposite. When fishing for dart, you want deeper, moving water to allow big schools to come in and feed confidently, which usually lends itself to high tide fishing. While you can often fish the very same gutters when chasing whiting, I find the shallow gutters left at low tide to be far more productive. You still want most of the same characteristics as a dart or tailor gutter like a distinct rear sandbar and a pronounced

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Big whiting are worth the early start. in standard 4WD vehicles but the southern entrance to the Poyungan and Ngkala tracks are worth taking with a bit of extra caution if towing or driving in a low slung vehicle. It is also worth noting that the beach is the narrowest I’ve seen it at Hook Point, so take the inland road unless you are travelling within three hours of low tide or have a propeller fitted. The inland tracks are bumpy but relatively firm because of their graded base so tyre pressures between 16 and 20psi should see you do the whole island with relative ease. BREAD AND BUTTER As always, the humble swallowtail dart has been making up the bulk of light tackle catches on the island. While the average size this year has been small, there have been some solid specimens amongst the schools with fish over 40cm not uncommon. Plenty of people argue the virtues of using pipis to

open and closed end to the deeper water, but shallower. As a general rule of thumb, if the deepest part of the gutter is beyond chest height, keep looking for better water. For chasing bigger dart and whiting on worms, my preferred outfit is a Gary Howard Club Special 11’4” 4 wrap rod, which I find perfect for casting small sinkers a good distance. I pair this with a 55-sized Alvey reel because I like the durability of the sidecast reels and being able to retrieve slowly with your finger on the line is a massive help in feeling the bite. For hooks, I primarily use the red Gamakatsu Long Shank in a size 4, which is the perfect size for fishing a 40-50mm piece of worm as it can cover the whole shank and just overhang the point by a fraction. I prefer to run a nice short leader (not longer than 30cm) of 8-10lb fluorocarbon. As for sinkers,

The author with a solid swallowtail dart from a back gutter. they are determined entirely by conditions. In flat, calm weather I will regularly fish as light as a size 2 ball sinker because of the sensitivity and feel it allows and in really rough, windy conditions I have used as heavy as a 5 ball. As a tip, running a small glowbead between the sinker and the front swivel in the rig can be really helpful when fishing light tackle. The reason for this is it stops the sinker resting on the knot while casting, preventing wear, tear and premature knot failure. TAILOR After a couple of slow years marred by lousy conditions, it looks like it’s going to be a red-hot year for tailor fishing – provided I haven’t jinxed it! As usual, they seem to be migrating up the coast to spawn and at the end of October they should travel back down south. Their consistency in

travelling up the coast has made them quite easy to find, with good catches between Hook Point and Eurong during May and June; Yidney Rocks and Happy Valley up to the Maheno during July and most of August; and through September we’ve seen the bulk of the schools sit between Indian Head and Ngkala Rocks. Fishing is banned from 400m south of Indian head to 400m north of Waddy Point between 1 August and 30 September, so most anglers travel between the two headlands and further north to score big in the closed season. A foolproof method to locate big schools of tailor is to find good water – usually deep gutters full of fast moving water. A gutter with an obvious exit or drain is preferable but not necessary, as these fish will happily travel over sand

With good gear, lure casting can be a lot of fun.

bars to find food. Finding bait is sometimes more difficult than finding gutters but it can be just as effective in pinpointing tailor. In the same way that a flat spot between waves or a darker patch of blue can indicate a gutter, there are plenty of signs that can indicate a bait school is getting balled up by tailor. Sometimes on days with high swell, the waves will actually be tall enough to

spot baitfish in, and if you’re lucky you can even see them jumping! If you can spot gulls and terns diving into the back break or disturbed bits of water where there isn’t current, there’s a fair chance some little baitfish aren’t having a good time. The easiest way to catch tailor is to use a pilchard rigged on a set of gang hooks. In the past 4/0 has worked well, but the pillies have been bigger than usual This decent size whaler was caught slide baiting.

The Hannah Brothers bagged a couple of school-sized tailor from Ngkala Rocks.

this year so don’t hesitate to size up. I like to use a set of 4x4/0 hooks joined by rolling swivels and 40lb fluorocarbon leader. Using 4 hook gangs allows you to run a smaller hook than you would usually need to reach the tail end of the pilchard (where you get all the bites.) Eagle Claw Kendal Kirbys are my favourite hooks for this kind of fishing, as they’re strong, non-brittle, sharp and made in the USA as opposed to a lot of the competing brands that are manufactured in China. Shogun number 5 rolling swivels suit these nicely. To throw this kind of rig, an ideal outfit would be a sturdy 13’6” rod with an Alvey reel 650 size. I personally use a SnyderGlas Mag Surf but other

manufacturers like Gary Howard and Live Fibre make some great rods too. As much as lobbing in a bait is a pretty safe bet, it’s not the only way to skin this cat. Tailor are one of the most responsive fish to lures that

you’ll ever come across and spinning is a more than viable way of chasing them. Casting and retrieving a lure often lets you cover a lot more ground than bait fishing and can be a great way of searching for schooled fish. A lot of fishers are hesitant to try spinning in the surf, often because of the presumed effort involved. To be fair, if you plan on spinning with an Alvey reel and a fiberglass rod, it is a lot of effort for a poor result. However, with appropriate tackle lure casting can actually be less strenuous than bait fishing. As discussed earlier, a bait fishing outfit for tailor is a long, hefty outfit, made for throwing a good-sized sinker a long way. Because a lure rod isn’t made for throwing weights nearly as big, it looks very

Some of the exposed coffee rock at Poyungan reaches all the way to the water at low tide.

different. Rods around 11’ are the ideal blend of lightweight with decent casting distance. So far the best combo I have found is an Assassin Amia Zero 11’ PE 1-2 paired with a Shimano Stradic 5000XG and 20lb braid. A compact reel with a high gear ratio is a real asset here and durability and lightweight is key. Braided line is an absolute game changer when it comes to casting distance, and those gains in distance translate directly less effort behind every cast. TROPHIES From social media, anglers are clueing in to the fact that there are lot bigger things than tailor cruising the gutters off the eastern beach. Mulloway, sharks, giant trevally and Spanish mackerel are just some of the many species that are well and truly targetable with your toes in the sand. The primary way of targeting these impressive fish is slide baiting. While mulloway have been relatively slow this year, chasing other fish interested in tailor has been very productive, with some great Spanish and GTs landed consistently. The easiest way to find your dinner is by finding your dinners’ dinner, which in this case usually means fishing the deeper channels behind big schools of tailor or dart with a live one. Get out there and go fishing!

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Reap Rainbow reefies RAINBOW BEACH

Ed Falconer

A great stretch of good weather saw plenty of quality fishing last month. OFFSHORE There’s been a lot happening offshore with the pelagics and reef fish. Big schools of cobia along with large amberjack have provided action-packed fishing. Live bait has taken it to the next level with a lot of arm-stretching mayhem. Some of the AJs caught have reached the 40kg mark.

‘Turtle’ scored this radiant Rainbow Beach red emperor.

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Brett with a stunning bi-colour parrotfish caught on the Keely Rose. Pearl perch haven’t been in huge numbers but the quality is great. We have had a good run of snapper in close, with those fishing before sun up scoring big. Other reefies have been on the bite like Venus tuskfish, hussar and lots of Moses perch.

GREAT SANDY STRAITS It’s shaping up to a great jack season with plenty of mangrove jack already caught. Live herring has been an effective bait. Quality mud crabs have been potted, but you have to

keep an eye on them, as there have been reports of stealing going on. Some people must not realise that it’s a criminal offence to tamper with other people’s pots and harsh penalties do apply. Unfortunately, I was one of the recent victims. If you or anyone you know has had this happen to them, please report it to Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol on 1800 017 116 as they have ways to catch the offenders. OCTOBER Weather wise, it’s usually a great month in October. In previous years, the first half of the month has boasted some of the best snapper fishing for the year. You can also expect decent red emperor to be about. • To enjoy a day on the water with Keely Rose Fishing Charters, phone Ed Falconer 0407 146 151 or visit www. keelyrosefishingcharter.com.au.

FISHERIES NEWS

New Queensland fishing rules Future Queenslanders will continue to get access to fresh local seafood and thousands of jobs will be protected under changes to fisheries regulations that came into effect at the beginning of September. Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said the changes were part of the Palaszczuk Government’s plan to protect fish for the future. “Our state’s fisheries belong to all Queenslanders and it is our job to protect fish for the future. Some of our fish stocks like scallops, snapper and pearl perch are at risk, with stock levels under the nationally recommended 20% biomass level. “Introducing catch limits for at risk species and continuing to crack down on illegal fishing will help us rebuild numbers.” Changes for commercial fishers include: • Establishing new total allowable commercial catch limits of 42 tonnes for snapper and 15 tonnes for pearl perch. There is currently no catch limit on these species. • Expanding vessel tracking for remaining commercial fishing

boats from 1 January 2020. • Small area closures to protect juvenile prawns in South East Queensland to improve profitability for trawl operators. Mr Furner said almost 1 million Queenslanders went recreational fishing in the state last year. “To ensure recreational fishers can continue to catch fish, we need to have sensible limits to protect fish for the future,” he said. Changes for recreational fishers include: • Introducing new annual seasonal closures for snapper and pearl perch from 15 July – 15 August. • New boat limits, which hold the operator of the boat responsible for ensuring no more than two times the possession limit for nine priority black market species – mud crab, prawns, snapper, black jewfish, barramundi, Spanish mackerel, shark, tropical rock lobster, sea cucumber – is on board at any time. For example, the personal in-possession limit of mud crab will be 7 and the boat limit will be 14. The boat limit does not apply to charter boats.

• General possession limit of 20 fish, excluding bait. • Reducing mud crab limit from 10 to 7. Queensland Seafood Marketers Association President Marshall Betzel said the changes were just part of the overall strategic reforms that industry has been waiting for. “The QSMA is hopeful these regulation changes will play an important part in providing not just a sustainable supply of seafood products to the consumer, but also create a long-term vision for growth in the Queensland seafood industry,” Mr Betzel said. Minister Furner said introducing the changes now meant we would continue to have Queensland fish on the table, protect thousands of jobs in both the commercial and recreational sectors and protect our marine ecosystem and the Great Barrier Reef. “The Palaszczuk Government has comprehensively consulted over the past two years on these reforms,” Mr Furner said. For more information visit fisheries.qld.gov.au. – Fisheries Queensland OCTOBER 2019

From barra to billfish, it’s all on HERVEY BAY

Dane Radosevic

From barra to billfish, this month should provide anglers with plenty of opportunity and options to get out and explore the fantastic Fraser Coast waters. The iconic Great Sandy Straits, which stretches about 70km of coastline, leaves no shortage of options for anglers willing to get out and explore. From vast sand flats to a maze of creek systems, you can fill in a day’s fishing very easily. Flathead is a prime example of a species that will be in abundance at this

Bait is another important variable that should always be observed, often given away by nervous ripples on the surface, showering schools of baitfish or in some cases a feeding egret hanging around a particular area. Targeting flathead is rather easy and is a good introduction to lure fishing, with various lure options and techniques available, from surface walkers to deep vibing or rolling shallow running hardbodies, but probably the most effective method is hopping a soft plastic. While in these areas, summer whiting will be another prolific species in good numbers as they

into your local tackle store and grab some fresh worms. Fish a standard running ball sinker rig on appropriate 2-4kg tackle and you will have a ball. Alternatively, experiment with small topwater lures or crustacean patterned soft plastics in no more then knee deep water for a bit of fun. Threadfin salmon and grunter will be another welcome species to grace the deck in increasing numbers over the next couple of months and are both fantastic sportfish. They are both readily caught hopping soft plastics and soft vibes, or soaking a yabby, herring, prawn or squid bait. With clear water in the lower

Ashley Blackburn with a pocket rocket juvenile black marlin caught while trolling the waters off Fraser Island. time of year and a great target species for both lure and bait anglers. As with most species, there are a few principles you can apply to better your results and for flathead it’s fishing the tides. By this I mean the correct stages of the tide, in particular the last of an ebb tide and the first of the flood, which will funnel larger concentrations of fish into key areas such as channels, drains and creek mouths.

congregate to spawn at this time of year, making them an easy target on the build up to the moon. Their numbers will spread throughout the Straits, making them a viable target from Moon Point Flats and along our town beaches, which is ideal for the family and a great option to get the kids outdoors and into fishing. Keep it simple when whiting fishing, head out on the low tide and pump some fresh yabbies or drop

reaches due to the lack of rain, expect to find the better quality fish coming from upstream in one of the many creeks or rivers throughout the Straits. Alternatively, you can search for dirty water lines, which are a good fish congregating area. Spring time sees the aggressive and highly sought-after mangrove jack as a viable target, especially from the creeks on the western side of Fraser or

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OCTOBER 2019

the Burrum system and its three tributary creeks. Jacks are a very wary and cunning species, and they have large eyes. You will notice that they seem to watch your every move when you land one in the boat, and it’s a bit freaky! They love to hang tight to and in snag piles, rock bars and any form of undercut banks or caves and they don’t like to stray too far from this cover in the day time hours. Making accurate casts as a lure angler or strategic bait placement is important for success. While fishing these areas, you’ll often come across by-catch, including tarpon, river GTs, queenfish and cod. Although not the desired species, these fish can provide great sport on appropriate gear. Be sure to get your barra fix in before the annual closure, which starts midday 1 November! With increased water temperature and great water clarity the local barramundi population has increased in activity, with good reports coming from many of our local rivers. Focusing your efforts on our major river systems, such as the Mary, Susan and Burrum rivers should pay off, as they all hold a large biomass of fish. Fallen trees form a perfect lay-down structure and during the right stages of the tide creates back eddies, a classic recipe for holding a barra or potential school of fish. Rock bars are another prime fish holding structure and are a personal favourite, often holding good congregations of fish that are quite easy to locate and target. Barra can be a very temperamental and finicky fish and can take some work to ‘crack the code’ however once you do the rewards are worth it. Having good electronics really does help, especially with the likes of side and down scan imaging, literally giving away the exact location and identity of the barra as the returns are so clear. I choose to run Simrad gear in my boats and always pay close attention to the screen while looking for the obvious detailed markings of a barra. I also pay close attention to variables such as water temperature changes, as this can be the difference between inactive and active fish. Being observant of your surroundings is also very important, and taking note of factors such as types of structure, bait source, water clarity, stage of the tide and moon phase will help to increase your probability of catching fish. As often said, ‘time on the water’ is key and will help you develop this knowledge based on the factors mentioned above and

Brett Bartlett found this snodger flathead while fishing the flats of Hervey Bay. assist you to target and catch barra more consistently! Keeping it simple and brief, on quarter moon periods with very little tidal variation search further up river whereas on the larger building tides around the moon period stick closer to the main river mouths. Barra move quite large distances on any one given tide change and can be there one day and gone the next, the trick is trying to anticipate where they are going to move to next. Lures of choice for targeting barramundi will vary depending on the location and type of structure. Soft vibes are a very effective prospecting lure, covering a lot of water quickly, and they have the ability to get down deep in areas with greater current flow. Suspending hardbodies are another very effective option and my personal favourite technique for targeting barra. Jerkbaiting has proven very successful, and applying a ‘twitchtwitch-pause’ retrieve once wound down into the strike zone, thus keeping the lure in the fishes’ face for a longer to trigger a bite. If targeting a drain mouth, shallow timber or rock bar structure then shallow diving floating hardbodies such as the old faithful Bomber and Reidy’s B52 are proven fish catchers. They can be slow rolled and twitched, and will also float up and over the. If you can locate the fish but they are proving quite hard to draw a bite from, try using a prawn imitation lure such as the Ecooda Live Shrimp, Chasebaits Flick Prawn and Gulp Shrimp. These variations can be rigged either weedless to be fished tight to structure or on a

conventional jighead to fish more open water, rolling the offering along the bottom with the occasional hop. For those fishing the inshore reefs it has been a hard slog, with varying reports. Clear water, lack of bait and continual pressure has all contributed to the low returns, hence those choosing to fish under the cover of darkness are reaping better results. Snapper numbers have started to taper off, however there will often be a few larger models caught later in the season on the flood tides. Many will turn their focus to targeting sweetlip, as their numbers will only multiply over our shallow reefs, wrecks and ledges as things heat up. Cod, coral trout and blueys will all become more active once again, and as usual they are best targeted around the gnarly hard reef and ledge country and wrecks on a variety of lures and baits. Mackerel have been prolific over the past month throughout our inshore waters, as they typically are this time of year, assembling to gorge themselves on the masses of herring that congregate around structure such as the wrecks, beacons and Urangan Pier. When in such good numbers they can be targeted using various different techniques, such as trolling diving hardbodies from a boat, floating out pilchards or live baits under a balloon, and a favoured local technique, spinning metal spoons. Spanish mackerel never let an opportunity go by and have been hunting the smaller mackerel and baitfish schools locally, with anglers trying their luck to score a prized 25-30kg model by ballooning large legal school mackerel or bonito live baits.

Spanish mackerel will also be high on the list for those heading over to Fraser Island fishing the eastern beaches. The past few years have seen the popularity of slide bait and drone fishing grow immensely, and for good reason, with some exceptional catches of mackerel, GTs and sharks coming off the beach. This season has been excellent so far due to the lack of weed on the beach compared to previous seasons. Tailor numbers have been good and we generally see the bigger greenbacks hanging around later in the season, with good numbers of

continued to grow, gaining plenty of recognition over recent years and sparking huge interest from locals, travelling anglers and even international clients, with October being the start of what should be some ‘redhot’ action. The run of juvenile black marlin on the flats at Rooney Point and throughout Platypus Bay is a world-renowned phenomenon and it could potentially be the only area known for sight casting to free swimming fish in less than a metre of water, which I can tell you is very exciting fishing. The typical run of

spin tackle such as a 50006000 size spin reel spooled with 30lb braid matched to a 7ft graphite spin rod, which is quite adequate and ideal for sight casting a bridle rigged garfish, sinking stickbait or soft plastic to free swimming fish. This type of fishing is also very appealing to fly anglers and a 9-10wt outfit will suffice. When switching try running a belly flap teaser on a rod so you can really work the fish and tease it into aggressively eating your fly for a better chance of a hook up. This juvenile run of black marlin also sees many

The author with a healthy saltwater barra from a trip up the Mary River. whiting also coming from the prominent gutters. With increasing water temperatures we should start to see a spike in the surface activity throughout Platypus Bay, with high anticipation of the annual run of spotted mackerel just around the corner and both mac and longtail tuna schools set to appear, provided the bait turns up. The ZMan 5” StreakZ in bubblegum pink is regarded as one of the must have tuna lures here in the bay, however a swag of other lures will work, including metal slugs, (typically 20-40g sizes) and sinking stickbaits such as the very popular Nashy’s Custom Lures in 100-120mm options. The billfish scene off Fraser Island has

fish vary mostly between 6-20kg, therefore these fish can be targeted fishing IGFA line class as light as 4kg for the more experienced crews choosing to either switch bait behind a teaser using a bridle rigged, skipping or swimming gar depending on the mood of the fish. alternatively you can choose to troll small skirted lures in a spread of four or five behind a teaser. A few of the more popular variations are the Pakula Micro Sprockets, Cockroaches and Tornado Pro Fish series that were trialled in our waters and with pinks, purples and lumo patterns working best. Many anglers only choose to target these juvenile fish once or twice a year, and they can be targeted on conventional

Kekoa skippered by Luke Fallon getting the runs on the board with another solid heavy tackle capture!

crews venture outside and trolling the 15-20m line just south of Sandy Cape, and although they may not be sight fished, the numbers of fish caught out here often makes up for it. After last season the heavy tackle scene is bound to go nuts once again, with incredible numbers of billfish being hooked and tagged last year. With boats getting up to 20 bites per day and crews tagging double digit figures on blues, with black and striped marlin amongst the mix, making that prized slam of landing all three species of billfish in the one day very achievable. Heavy tackle isn’t just for the larger vessels, it is also able to be done from a well set out trailer boat and is fantastic sport. Setting up with the correct gear is the most important part and schooling up your crew on what and how to work the gear and boat is very important. A few larger boats like Kekoa have been out for a look and raised and caught fish on most occasions, which is a very promising sign. If in doubt about lures, teasers and rigging options for the upcoming season whether it be for light or heavy tackle fishing, drop in and see the team at Fisho’s Tackle World Hervey Bay, they will have you sorted.

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OCTOBER 2019

Clear skies with a chance of barramundi GLADSTONE

Dylan Christie

Calm seas and clear water has been the norm lately, and with winter now behind us we can look forward to the weather warming and a change in species to target. With the recent weather there have been plenty of people getting offshore, reaping the rewards and enjoying this beautiful weather we have had. While there is still some quality Spanish being caught, a lot of the focus has been around the bottom fish. As the weather warms, you will find the fish will start to move out of the deeper areas and up to the shallow reefs and shoals. Coral trout and red throat emperor would be up there as far as quality reef fish go, and through winter they were a common capture in the 30-40m depths, however if we get some better weather as it warms up then you will

A healthy Awoonga barra taken early in the morning on a surface lure. find them up around the reef edges and even up on top of shoals. Shoals such as Rock Cod and Douglas, Innamincka and Habberfield are worth a look. The latest trend in the Gladstone region that is proving very effective is dropping soft vibes and prawn imitations around the 10-30m depth range, varying

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your weight to suit the tidal flow. It seems that more and more people are getting into deep dropping off the shelf on the eastern side of the reefs. The closest area in 100m off Gladstone is east of Sykes Reef where pearl perch, goldbands, snapper and comet groper are common captures. While most people head out there to target the bottom fish, there is also some excellent jigging opportunities for species like amberjack and yellowtail kingfish, it’s also not uncommon to see large mahimahi in this area. Around the reefs it’s also definitely worth packing your GT gear, as there are some quality trevally being caught on both stickbaits and poppers, with my tip on those glassy calm days being floating stickbaits worked with a slow sweeping action. Don’t be surprised if a big old Spanish shows up as you do this. The harbour has produced some spectacular fishing over the past month and is expected to continue with the warming weather. The harbour would have to be the most consistent area to chase barramundi in the Gladstone region, where fish over a metre are

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common captures. It’s not only barra on the chew, there is seemingly more and more golden snapper (fingermark) showing up around the rocky outcrops, gravel bars and artificial structures, with many quality fish over the 500mm mark. With golden snapper, its often the case that they like clean water with plenty of tidal flow, where they can ambush baits from the safety of some sort of structure, and they can be found all throughout the harbour in depths ranging from 1m all the way down to 18m and sometimes beyond. There are also a few salmon getting around the flats on the bigger tides, and as the bait starts to push up over the shallows the salmon won’t be far behind. Fresh gar fillets and herring have been dominating, however topwater lures like stickbaits and poppers along with shallow diving hard bodies have produced results. Just a little tip for the upcoming months: head over around Rat Island and South End, as the coral trout will be in good numbers in these areas. Coral trout can be quite easily targeted in amongst the structure with soft plastics and vibes, as well as by trolling up over the reefy structure with shallow diving lures. When trolling you can get a head start on the fish to get it away from its home. In the estuaries bread

and butter species are a great option at the moment, with good numbers of flatties coming in from South Trees and Wild Cattle. Whiting are often an overlooked species in our area because of all the other species to target, however its very hard to beat pumping some fresh yabbies and going to sit on your favourite sand bar with a nibble tip rod and some 6lb line. Areas like Lillies Beach and the mouth of South Trees Inlet are producing good fish, and the best part is its even accessible by 4x4. These areas have some big gutters running along the front beach, and it’s not hard to find the fish, especially on the making tide. Warming waters have seen an increase in mangrove jack captures around the

Blake managed this nice golden snapper in the Harbour. Boyne River, Turkey Beach and the upper reaches of the Calliope. Surface lures would have to be the most exhilarating way to target these fish, and I suggest if you haven’t got your hands on some fizzers, than they’re well worth adding to the tackle box. I have personally found that the hook up rate on fizzers is up there with the best of the surface lures, as they get the jack extremely fired up, especially around

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OCTOBER 2019

sunrise and sunset. Barra are well worth putting on the target list, with some great catches coming in from the local river systems on both lures and live baits. The technology in recent years has made it a lot easier to pinpoint these fish, therefore more often than not you are fishing schools that have already been targeted by another angler. This is where matching the hatch and dropping lure size can often result in barramundi hitting the deck of your boat. Lake Awoonga is already firing right up, with many predictions saying that this will be the best season Awoonga has ever seen. Typical size class of fish is in the 800-950mm range, and these fish are running riot out there at the moment.

This mangrove jack absolutely smashed a Rapala X-Rap Prop.

Barra this size are said to the best fighting fish, spending equal time in the air as in the water, with powerful bursts of energy. The build up to the moon has been the best time to target these fish, with many anglers spending nights fishing the moonlit dam where large schools of fish have been found moving into the bays. Early morning fishing with surface lures is so much fun, and watching a bow wave moving toward your lure while you are anticipating the explosion is hard to beat. • For all the latest info on what’s biting and where, drop into Pat’s Tackle World at 23 Lord Street, Gladstone or give them a call on (07) 4972 3692. The team have their finger to the pulse to what is happening in the area, and are sure to point you in the right direction. You can also find news, catch photos and special deals on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ PatsTackleworldGladstone) or check them out on Instagram (@ patstackleworld).

Wet a line, score fish sublime GLADSTONE

Liam Jones

October would have to be up there as one of my favourite months in Central Queensland. With so many great camping spots nearby, you would be mad not to take advantage of the patches of good weather we have had. I recently ventured up to Yellow Patch for a

stickbait and pop, including young Sean Ibbs and his father Craig. On their new Haines Signature 543SF they scored GTs, reefies, cobia, mackerel and everything in between all on stickbaits and poppers! Craig himself landed a PB GT, weighing in the 50kg bracket. Inshore things have been very hit-and-miss. Saltwater barra have been hard going, with a few anglers putting in the hard yards and getting

to Fisheries Queensland is that the new bag limits are in place immediately, however the ban on fishing for jew will not come into effect until the next ‘total allowable catch limit’ is reached by commercial fishers. The current TAC has already been reached for commercial fishers, with the new one opening up on 1 January 2020. I think commercial fishers will reach the limit in a matter of days,

The author caught this fat Awoonga barra on a weedless 6” plastic. night of camping. Arriving mid-afternoon, we quickly set up camp and headed back out in the boat for a quick flick for a flathead or grunter. It didn’t take long for a flatty to jump on the end of a Lunker City paddle-tail. As the sun began to sink over the horizon and seven or eight flatties were caught and released, we headed back to camp to light a campfire and cook up a feed. The next morning saw a few more flatties caught walking the bank out from camp. We then packed up and decided to fish a few of the close in marks I had just out from Cape Capricorn. A few table-sized nannygai and grass sweetlip were enough for a feed and we were back at the ramp before lunchtime the following day. For those who haven’t had the opportunity to get up to Yellow Patch, it’s something that must be done if you have a boat that allows it. It’s only an hour’s run up the coast in good conditions or you can head around the bottom of Curtis Island and up when it’s blowing anything above 15 knots. LAST MONTH September brought some small windows of opportunity for keen anglers to get offshore. Sweetlip were plentiful with some in decent sizes. Red emperor were patchy, but once again the average size seemed to be up there. Some cracking sessions were had for those who managed to get out for a

the goods. The harbour has been holding decent schools, however with the technology in sounders these days, most schools are heavily pressured. Those that think outside the box and try something different have been getting the bite. Jewfish have been under the microscope recently. There is a lot of talk about the new regulations and how they work, when they come into effect and so on. The impression I get from talking

if not a few weeks at most. Once this has been reached, that is it – a total ban for all fishers whether recreational or commercial. How this is going to be policed and more importantly passed on to the average angler who may not have Facebook and all the technology we all rely upon now, I don’t know. I guess that’s up to the powers that be. I just hope we don’t see old fishos going out to get their one jew getting slapped

Sean Ibbs enticed this GT with a Yakamito Big-G timber stickbait.

with a fine because the TAC is reached. In the rivers and creeks, Calliope has been producing good numbers of blue salmon and some big grunter. Working small vibes and soft plastics around any of the rock bars has been producing the most fish. The odd mangrove jack started to turn up, mainly to those fishing livies. The Boyne River has been full big tarpon lately. Although not a fish that is often targeted, anglers have been having an absolute ball fishing for these acrobatic fish on light gear. Everywhere from the mouth right up to the top of Benaraby has been holding fish at different stages of the tides. Throwing small 10g metals and vibes seems to be producing the most fish, but staying connected to these hard-mouthed fish has proved challenging. I have found running an assist hook off the back end seems to stick the most. Lake Awoonga has been the talk of the town. The ABT Barra Australian Open has just finished up and congratulations must go to team Venom for taking out first place. It was a hard slog, with 20-30 knots of wind coming from just about every direction at some point throughout the three days. Successful teams seemed to find a few fish and wait for the bite rather than moving around looking for fish that might bite. The sad part was the fact that the week prior to the event it fished so well! Fish have been loving timber bays with weed edges. Although windblown bays will generally hold more fish, I love a bay that also has a slightly protected pocket. You will still get that warm dirty water on bank but having a glassy section can give fish the ideal conditions to feed. With the fish sitting in the shallow weeded up pockets, running weedless plastic and shallow running hardbodies has been accounting for most of the fish. Happy Rock Softies grubs and Castaic Jerky J 5” paddle-tails have been the standouts. As the water begins to warm, expect these fish to start moving out into the deeper timber and even on the windblown points. OCTOBER If last year’s fishing throughout October is anything to go by, we are in for an awesome month! The fish should be extremely active and happy to engulf lures. As they move into the deeper sections of the dam, you can fish a number of ways. Suspending hardbodies is always going to be a standout in my opinion. Being able to leave the lure in the fish’s face for a period of time will generally encourage more bites. The tip is making sure you’re fishing the correct

Craig Ibbs with an absolute brute of a GT landed on a recent trip. depth to maximise your pause. Vibes and heavilyweighted soft plastics become options when fish are holding deep. Once again, making sure your lure is worked at the right depth to where fish are sitting is the key. I am certainly excited about Lake Awoonga’s potential this summer and I am sure it’s not going to let us down! As October progresses, the fishing front offshore and inshore should really begin to fire up. Water temperatures will rise and jacks will be smashing anything thrown in the face. Barramundi in all systems will be looking for a big feed with their increased metabolism. With the barra closure kicking off in November, there’s no

better time to go out and have a crack! The offshore sportfishing should be improving with the higher water temperatures. Coral trout will be up in the reef flats with the sweetlip and will happily take a wellpresented stickbait. If the weather allows, I expect to see a lot of this style of fishing happening locally. Stay tuned for next month on that front! • For more information on what’s biting, or to stock up with all the tackle and bait you need, drop into LJ’s Compleat Angler Gladstone at the Gladstone Marina on Bryan Jordan Drive. You can also check out the latest news, photos and specials at Facebook Compleat Angler Gladstone.

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Dry ‘sprummer’ days produce BUNDABERG

Jason Medcalf topwater@bigpond.com

Once again the start of spring felt like summer, so we in Bundaberg tend to call it sprummer. The hot dry conditions, which at the moment are really playing havoc with our primary industries, are set to continue during October. The low rainfall will mean the rivers and estuaries will heat up quickly and, in some cases, make fishing a lot harder. Most systems rely on that spring flush out to fire up the prawns, crabs and baitfish and get them moving further into these rivers and creeks. This in turn gets the predators on the move as they look for the warmer water feeding options. THE BURNETT RIVER The Burnett has been fishing well during September, with schools of small mackerel and tuna hunting around the

mouth. They should be there through October, and should by joined by a few other pelagic species with the water temperature rising. The flathead have been pretty much everywhere as you would expect during spring, you just have to look around and once you get a couple, concentrate in that area. Trolling small hardbodied lures has been a gun method, as you can cover ground quickly. There has been some nice mangrove jack in the river and they have been responsible for some lost lures meant for flathead. The jacks will hunt where the bait is, so find the bait and you will find the jacks. Soft vibes and suspending hardbodied lures worked around bait schools near structure will do the trick. This month is your last chance to take target saltwater barramundi, with the season closing on 1 November. The new moon is on 14 October and the full is on 28 October, so

the tides leading up to these dates are going to be well worth a try. KOLAN RIVER The Kolan has been firing up lately, with some very nice flathead being caught near the mouth on both lures and bait. This should continue this month, and again once you find them don’t wander too far, as they will be schooled in that area. Some big queenfish have been caught in the river mouth area as they chase the bait schools, and casting poppers and metal slices certainly gets them fired up. Further upstream the mangrove jack have been on the chew, with early morning and late evenings getting the better fish. This is because during the low light periods the fish will move further to hunt as they feel safer, not throwing shadows that predators will see. Again, it’s the last month of barra season so hit the Kolan, as there are a few still getting about despite the efforts of the local net

fishers. Just remember, these fish move around a lot, so a good sounder is a must and a small tip, don’t even start fishing until you have located a few. BAFFLE CREEK I had a few trips up Baffle Creek lately chasing flathead and even though there is a lot of seagrass and ribbon weed floating around, I have managed to get a feed each time. This time of the year we are usually dealing with snot weed, but at the moment there is a lot of other weed in the water as well. In the upper reaches of the river there is ribbon weed, which is a freshwater plant that is very beneficial to the ecosystem and provides cover for smaller fish and crustaceans. The ribbon weed is holding on the bottom of the river, preventing siltation and sand movement. What seems to be happening is because of this extended dry, the saltwater is pushing further up the system killing off this beneficial plant. Hopefully

Mangrove jack are only going to get more active as the water temperature rises. sooner rather than later we will get some fresh to restore some of these weed beds again. The middle reaches are where I would start looking for mangrove jack

this month, as the upper reaches are extremely clear. You should also look for some barra, as I have heard there are a few getting about around the ferry crossing.

Estuaries turn it on ROCKHAMPTON

Clayton Nicholls clay94_fishing@live.com.au

Fishing over the last month has been pretty solid. With mostly good weather, the Fitzroy has been holding a great number of kings and barras, and all the estuaries have been holding heaps of bait,

still pockets of water in walking distance that have been holding good fish for a late afternoon surface fishing fix. During the day, big plastics or large deep divers are still the go for many areas. There are plenty of fresh water creeks and lagoons just south of Rockhampton that are worth exploring and hold good fish, such as Blacks Hole

bottom of drop-offs and pockets of water. There have been plenty of grunter, Moses perch and mangrove jack around rocky points and mangrove edges. Soft vibes around 60-70mm and 10cm shallow divers have been doing the trick. The smaller pelagic species and salmon have been caught closer to the mouth of these areas. Queenfish have been pretty dominant and are always fun on light gear. There is a huge amount of bait in the estuaries at the moment, with plenty of herrings and mullet in the Causeway, Coorooman and Corio Bay. There has also been large numbers of prawns in the Causeway and

The Corio Bay sand flats are a great place to escape the wind. Matt got this nice creek barra on a Holt Productions Swim Prawn. the Fitzroy River. FITZROY The river has been

Matt Hildebrandt caught a hefty threadfin from up in town. especially prawns. With the days getting longer and warmer, it won’t be long until we see freshwater firing up. LAGOONS The freshwater lagoons and creeks around the region are pretty empty at the moment. There are 48

OCTOBER 2019

near Raglan. Barra have been taking a slower action with long pauses, whereas tarpon have been hitting the lure when it’s moved over them with a bit of pace. ESTUARIES Flathead have been a very easy capture recently and have been sitting at the

Holt Productions Swim Prawns did the damage on this solid barra in Ross Creek.

fishing very well for a while now. Plenty of big fish have been caught including a fish of a lifetime, a 138cm barramundi! Kings are still grouped small but have been easier to target than the previous month. The trick is to mix up lures and try what others aren’t using, as the fish have seen every size, shape, brand and colour of vibe at this point. The bait supply in the river has been excellent, with plenty of prawns being caught. Key spots include the old wharf, the run-off from the mud flats across from Gavial Creek, the water pipe up from the new northside ramp and the Nerimbera boat ramp. If you are lucky enough to be in a boat, you can also find prawns on the sounder.

INSHORE REGIONS The inshore regions have been fishing great over the past month. Many anglers have been getting great results throwing metal lures off the rocky headlands. Other anglers with the chance to take the boat out have been doing well on heavier metal lures, soft plastics and jigs. Some great pelagic species have been captured recently by burning plastics or jigs up quickly off the bottom 4-7m and letting them sink back down before burning them up quickly again, all while drifting a section of reef. If you have any fishing photos of the Rockhampton/ Capricorn region, feel free to send them through with a brief description to clay94_ fishing@live.com.au.

It’s time to take it easy STANAGE BAY

Pee Wee

Welcome to October! At this stage things on the water have been fairly quiet, so I’d be half leaning towards parking the boat up and partaking in some Oktoberfest Festivities, but if you do that you just might miss your lucky shot. Heading in to the Bay

dusted off ready to chase mackerel. Sail Rock is an excellent place to start. If you are over near Hexam Island, Otterbourne is not a bad place to be looking. Some nice nannygai, stripies, cod and coral trout are being caught around the Marbles. The Percy Isles has had some top weather, but the fishing is a bit slow. The odd good catch can be found here, but not

Another happy crabber displays his catch. will be a little less strenuous on the vehicles, as the road is currently being maintained and brought back to a decent standard. Campgrounds are quiet for this time of year so it’s not a bad time to come and get a spot before the rush and the heat returns. Jewfish are still quiet at the Jew Hole, but usually they are coming on the bite around this time of year. It’s worth anchoring up and having a try, keeping in mind the new take home quotas. Spoon lures and any of your larger gold and silver trolling lures can be

every boat is coming home a winner. Sharks have been a bit of a pest, with increased numbers due to all the whales hanging around. The whales now have their young with them and are heading north, sticking close to land, often putting on a brilliant display as they go. Nighttime fishing usually provides some great entertainment, with good sweetlip and squid in the quiet anchorages around the Marbles, but even they’re a bit scarce. The old saying ‘drought on land, drought at sea’ is living true to its word. The mud crabs are in hiding, making every holidaymakers trip challenging. In these quieter times, it doesn’t hurt to explore some different territory. There are some great little fishing spots straight off the rocks in some hidden away locations. Just ask a local! Oysters are filling out nicely, so make sure you bring an oyster pick so you can have a feed of one of life’s little luxuries. If you’re out of luck on the fishing front, why not spend the day exploring the multitudes of islands out there and try some

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beach combing? Some of the most unique finds have turned up out. If all else fails make the most of some relaxation time. Set up camp or book a room and head across to the Crab Pot Bar for a refreshing cold beer! Enjoy your month, wherever it may lead you, and fingers crossed for some great catches to come! • Don’t miss out on the amazing fishing and crabbing at Stanage Bay! Call us at Stanage Bay Marine & Accommodation on (07) 4937 3145, check out www.stanagebay.com, email stanagebaymarine@ bigpond.com or look us up on Facebook.

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OCTOBER 2019

King threadfin salmon are ruling the river YEPPOON

Scott Lynch ifishcq2@bigpond.com

We are having an unprecedented year on the king threadfin salmon in the NFZ (net free zone). Since Christmas, almost every week there has been a report of a big thready over 1.2m, which is now almost becoming the norm. Lately every week there is a report or two of 1.3m and 1.4m threadies, and there was a recent unconfirmed capture of a 1.8m specimen in The Fitzroy Delta. These big fish hang in large schools of similar sized fish and can be in a number of areas up and down the length of the river’s salty section. When the net free zones were discussed it the prospects of large barramundi had everyone salivating in anticipation. At this stage, despite the number of metreplus barra getting caught, I would have to say they are getting overshadowed by king threadfin salmon. Finding the schools of these colossuses is the easy part. The best places to start looking are the deeper holes and trenches over the low tides and along the banks on the incoming tide. Threadies will seek

Michelle Jorgensen with a typical NFZ king threadfin salmon. Large specimens are becoming the norm. out eddies and other water diversions where they don’t have to work so hard to maintain ground. They have all lived a long life and have probably seen just about every lure and style of retrieve possible. So it pays to think out of the box and definitely try to match what they are eating at the time. Due to the lack of fresh flow in the river there has been areas that have massive plumes of jelly prawn. Kings just open their mouths and suck them in like a big whale sucking in krill. However, some days, even with the best looking live prawns, it can still

be very hard to get a bite. Other times you can land on a school that are ready for a feed and there is a chance of landing a number of these big buggers. Tides and the moon phases all play a part in landing the fish of a lifetime and different parts of the system will work at different stages of both. The most popular lure is still soft vibes. The second most productive lure is any of the better prawn imitations. There is an unlimited amount of styles and methods that can attract a bite, but finding the one that will work on any given day can be the hard one.

A lot of guys say the colour is not as important as the retrieve and the lure’s action. I can assure you that the colour of the lure can make the difference between strikes and no strikes. In the clearer, cleaner water, the

electric off before you drift over the schools can make a difference. BLUE SALMON It is about this time that the blue salmon will start their migration to the region’s spawning central. Each year about this time all blue salmon from around Stanage Bay down to south of Gladstone travel to the one location for breeding. This takes them along the beaches and local creek mouths where you may see some serious size schools. Many people have even mistaken them for mackerel when they are chopping at the bait schools of herring or northern pillies as they travel. Blues will take pilchards on gangs, live yabbies or metal lures when they are in feeding mode. Before all the new styles of lures came in, we would flatten 50mm of chrome copper tube, put a little bend in it, a split ring on one end and a set of trebles the other end. A slow erratic

so it pays to remember they are on a breeding mission and we should release all but a decent feed. COBIA Cobia can be ‘pest or best’, depending on what you are targeting. This year they have come in thick at nearly all the local reef patches right out to the shoals. The majority of them are smaller fish around 6-7kg, but there are some serious trophy fish about when you don’t expect them. The bigger fish seem to be loners or pairs and the smaller fish will be in reasonable sized schools. There is no secret in catching them at the moment, except for trying not to catch one. Just about any reef or mackerel bait or lure stands a chance of being nabbed. MACK ATTACK Mackerel chasers in the area have had a bumper year on Spanish mackerel all year so far. The only thing that changes is the average size of the fish. We have had runs

NFZ threadies are easy to find but not so easy to tempt at the moment. Nevertheless, Amanda Sweet Johnson managed to capture a decent specimen.

Matt Bampton and Terrin Sharpe scored a nice feed of largemouth nannies with Reel Fishing Charters.

SEASON

IS HERE!

Every Saturday 5.00pm on 50

OCTOBER 2019

more natural colours seem to stand out. While fishing the dirty water, dark and fluoro colours come in to their own. Due to the pressure these fish are under, it pays to use stealth mode where possible. Things like stopping the outboard well before reaching the school and even switching the

retrieve would account for plenty of salmon. Sometimes as the yorkies flood Rosslyn Bay Harbour, the entrance will be chockas with blues smashing the baits. As the run of salmon passes we will get a few sessions over the week where it is like tailor fishing at Fraser. It is easy to get greedy when they are thick,

where the big fish, regularly over 10-15kg, are the norm. At present we are in form with school size fish in the 6-8kg range. There has been a lot of bonito, ribbonfish and yellowtail scad/yakkas in the bay in recent times and this certainly dictates the sizes of the best baits. Nearly all local To page 51

OUTDOOR & FISHING SHOW

Listen on 5am-6am Every Saturday

Spring fishing bliss awaits MACKAY

Keith Day habdays@bigpond.net.au

Don’t you just love spring in paradise? Clear skies, light northerly winds and temperatures ranging from high teens to low 30s are all signs that the fishing is heating up along with the weather. MACKEREL On the pelagic scene, small mackerel and tuna should have arrived in numbers and will provide a bonanza for the small boat angler. The early signs from late August to early September were promising, with lots of bait around off the harbour and to the north. By October, these bait schools should extend well south of Mackay and wherever the bait shows up spotties, doggies and greys will not be far away. On good days, plenty of small macs have been landed from the South Wall of the harbour on baits like pilchards or herring as well as lures. Strips of ribbonfish or similar shiny fish will also tempt mackerel, although the ease of rigging pilchards on ganged hooks is the simplest way to go for bait fishos. The variety of lures available is endless, from barra hardbodies, metals, hard and soft vibes, paddle-tails and plastic prawn imitations. All will work but the plastics and soft vibes take a hammering from mackerel with their razor teeth. From the wall, use shinies or large hardbodies to get reasonable casting distance and work the water column. Shinies are magic for this fishing as they can sink safely to the bottom (sandy) and worked with varying speeds right up to the surface. A short length of 20kg wire will guard against bite-offs. The same tactics work for the small boat angler who has the added advantage of being able to troll, covering much more water to locate fish. Small boat anglers also From page 50

spots from the islands to the shoals and up to Manifold are producing quality Spaniards. The stickbaiters and popper chuckers have almost landed as many fish as the bait guys, although they both claim bragging rights. There should be spotted mackerel around this month in Capricornia waters. Providing the conditions stay the same in Keppel Bay. In previous years we have had issues with bad weather and harbour dredging that makes the schools detour around The Keppels. This year we might strike it lucky and the bay should fire on the better days.

have the benefit of following the ‘eyes in the sky’, as birds pinpoint bait and predators alike. A 4-6 kg spin stick, a good eggbeater and a shiny rigged and ready will let you respond speedily to a bust-up and a quick cast to the edges will usually mean a hook-up. Small mackerel need to be well looked after to enhance their eating qualities so immediate brain spiking or bleeding is the way to go, before packing the fish flat in ice after wiping off any surface slime or blood. If treated appropriately after capture, they are excellent quality fish. OCEAN BARRA October is the last chance to tangle with a barra or two in the salt before the November closure. During September, the bite started to heat up with good reports coming in from the Seaforth NFZ, which is fishing the best it has been for maybe 20+ years. All the creeks in the Zone, the rocky headlands and around the close islands will all see good numbers of quality barra. Watch out for the green No Fishing zones and get yourself a chart from any of the local tackle outlets. Most anglers these days seem to use lures for barra. On some days barra will respond to almost any lure and at other times they can be damn frustrating with short strikes and follows. Vibes like the Fuze Pulse 115mm, Threadybuster, and Reidy’s Fish Snakz will all work on barra and many other species as well. Big paddle-tails are popular barra lures as well along with plastic prawn imitations. Hardbodies seem to be out of favour at the moment but still score plenty of fish. They can be worked shallow and deep and can be deadly when used with the barra ‘twitch’. Slow troll along mangrove banks while another angler casts to likely snags or bait flicking hard up against the mangroves.

FLATHEAD While barra will receive a lot of attention, October sees plenty of flathead around. Really nice lizards have been caught in the Pioneer River, Sarina Inlet and through the NFZ over the last couple of weeks and that trend should continue right through the summer. Flathead in the 60-80cm range are good fun and quality table fish, even if they are a bit of a pain to fillet. Flathead are a great fish for any angler, as they can be caught on all sorts of baits like yabbies, prawns, strip baits, pilchards and small livies, and can be found in most of our estuaries and creeks. They also take a huge variety of lures like vibes, plastics, hardbodies and various flies like Clousers, Deceivers and prawn style imitations. OTHER SPECIES Apart from barra and flatties, the creeks and estuaries should have lots of other important angling species on the bite. King threadfin, blue salmon, grunter, bream, cod, jacks, golden snapper and whiting are the smorgasbord of species available to anglers. Many catch these species while targeting barra and all are a welcome by-catch. Whiting are now tapering off, as our best run of whiting usually happens late winter and into September. They are still around but not in big numbers and the fish size will also start to reduce during October and November. A delicious feed of whiting fillets can still be caught with a bit of persistence and the Pioneer River flats are a prime spot right in the city. FRESHWATER On the freshwater scene, barra are on the move and reports have come in of good fish in Kinchant and Teemburra dams, with plenty of smaller fish smacking lures around the lilies and weed beds. These fish will be from MAFSA stocking over the last couple of years. Both dams are on the SIPS scheme so a permit is required, and for

Spotties like current edges where they sit and grab baits as they pass. Chromies or pilchards can both do the trick when the spotties are on. Last year our best catches were big fish sitting under the ribbonfish schools. The only trouble was trying to get a chromie or pilly through the ribbons to the spotties. Places like Quartz and Rock out from Keppel Sands, Cave and Wedge isles just off Emu Park are hot spots early in the season. The northern spots from Ritamada, Ironpot, Forty Acre, Findlays and Farnborough come into play as the season progresses. ESTUARY At present and heading into next month, the estuaries look pretty good with

barramundi, golden snapper, mangrove jack, flathead, bream, king threadfin salmon, blue salmon and large whiting. In this transitional month we get winter and summer species in most of the local systems. This is your last chance to chase barra in the wild until February next year. The closed season starts at midday 1 November. OFFSHORE For all the guys who prefer offshore fishing, this is usually a prime month. The reefies will have moved back in close now that the bombing in Shoalwater has stopped. Red emperor, nannies, red throat, coral trout, grassies, parrot and cod should fire.

those who don’t see the value in contributing be warned that the Patrol Officers regularly check permits at the dams. Avoid a fine and pay your way by getting a permit. I expect as the weather continues to heat up, plenty of anglers will be checking out their favourite haunts in both dams, and full moon nights on Kinchant will see plenty of activity. The fish will be moving out of deeper water up into the shallow warmer water looking for bony bream and the like. Using side scan sounders should show surprising numbers of big barra. Unfortunately, this can make it a bit frustrating when the fish won’t hit lures but it is still better than fishing dead water where there is no fish! Sooties have been chewing plenty of lures in Eungella Dam and along the river as summer gets closer. Tossing small lures or flies to them is a great relaxing way to spend a few hours. No early storm activity means that MAFSA will get on with the barra stocking again this year and have most of it done by Christmas, depending on supplies of fingerlings. That strategy should leave us free to have a run of sooties in the new year and clock up the one

Quality flathead will be available this month and should be easy to catch on bait and lures. millionth sooty bred and raised in our hatchery. SIPS funds will be used to stock the dams and MAFSA’s own generated funds will stock the three weirs on the Pioneer River with barra fingerlings. The MAFSA and Tackle World Mackay sponsored tilapia competition has continued and last month’s biggest tilapia caught in the Gooseponds was a 39.5cm fish

caught by Bridget Sleeman. There is a $20 open order at Tackle World Mackay on offer each month for keen fishos. October is a great month for anglers without even getting to the great offshore fishing for reefies. Lighter winds should see plenty of big trailer boats out on the water. There are options for everyone this month so I’ll see you at the ramp!

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Say goodbye to the winds WHITSUNDAYS

Mick Underwood

It’s been a bit of a mixed affair the last few weeks with some species biting really well and others clamming up or noticeable in their absence. The weather hasn’t helped the cause for most

this action should only get better. The recent inshore reef fishing has been bland with mostly undersized or undesirable species being caught. Thankfully the inshore pelagic bite has been brilliant and they have been the star performers. The queenfish bite in particular has been the best that I

Steven Hall with a nice little barrel of a mac tuna. It’s been good to see these guys put in an appearance and provide some light tackle fun. anglers either, as we’ve had to endure a lot more blustery days than calm ones. Thankfully we are now firmly in spring and that normally means the end of the trade breezes for the year. Up in the estuaries there hasn’t been a huge amount of activity. Not too many people have bragged about their mud crab catches with even the pros having a little break. Barramundi have been enjoying their slumber much to the disappointment of some keen local barra anglers. Some of the more astute anglers have told me that finding the fish hasn’t been a problem but getting them to eat is another story. On a positive note, the local mangrove jack population has sprung to life and there have been some rippers caught. As the water continues to warm,

have seen for a few years. On Reel Addiction we have caught close to a hundred of queenies in recent weeks

OCTOBER 2019

Hydeaway Bay and Dingo Beach, targeting coral trout and sweetlip on our local reefs is the mainstay. Hopefully when I get the chance to venture over to the Dingo Pub for a coldy this month, I’ll start to hear some more positive stories from the locals. Out around the outer islands there will be a plethora of different angling options on offer. Just yesterday when I was out in these areas I was driving the boat through massive schools of juvenile

Hamish Umbers with another good queenfish. Small hardbodies have brought these fish unstuck one after another recently.

Keen young angler Ben Munro was the star of his family’s fishing trip by catching this solid golden trevally right at the end of a cold tough blustery day. high 20s later in the month. Never mind though, as the jewfish quieten down the lutjanids and coral trout will spring to life. Species such as largemouth nannygai and golden snapper will begin to feature more in anglers’ catches. The ‘shoals’ should continue to fire, with red emperor and large-mouth nannygai the main target fish out there. As an added bonus there is quite often a

October is prime time to hit the flats and indulge in a bit of sight fishing. All the glamour species will be out and about mooching on the flats just begging for a fly to be put in front of them. This is one of my personal favourite forms of sport fishing and even though it can be bloody frustrating, when you’re successful the sense of self satisfaction is through the roof. Bring it on, I can’t wait. In conclusion, October is one of the best months of the year to get out on the water and enjoy a fish so make sure that you don’t miss your chance, get out there, lap it up and have a go. • Reel Addiction Sport Fishing Charters specialises in light tackle fishing for all tropical sportfishing species on fly, lures and bait. Reel Addiction operates from the beautiful Cape Gloucester Beach Resort, 40 minutes’ drive north of Airlie Beach. Combined fishing charter and accommodation

Nick Myerton went home with sore arms after catching several of these beauties.

Kyle Worley came out to enjoy the hot pelagic bite that’s been going on and it didn’t take him long to complain of sore arms. 52

with only two or three of these fish just shy of the magic metre mark. Out around the outer islands, the bite has been inconsistent and we’ve had to endure some frustrating days. There have been a few mulloway, golden snapper and nannygai caught but nowhere near the numbers that I would expect for this time of year. In the same areas that we chase the bigger bottom fish Spanish mackerel normally aggregate as well, but to date, not this year. Out in the shipping channel they have been like blow flies on a fish frame, but the area around the islands has dipped out this season. Spring, and October in particular, is one of my favourite times of year for a couple of reasons. During October we typically get to enjoy extended periods of calm and balmy days, which allows everyone to get to all corners of our backyard and be able to fish for whatever we want. Also, being the change of seasons we still have the tail end of the winter bite to enjoy while at the same time experiencing the full

onset of the summer bite. Overall, there is a fishing options for everyone. Up in the creeks, barramundi anglers will begin to smile a little more as these fish will be waking up and looking to feed hard. I haven’t done a lot of barramundi fishing in the last couple of seasons but I intend to amend that this year and will be out there chasing my fair share of the booty on offer. The fringing reefs that wrap around the inner islands and mainland headlands will begin to fire up and that will put smiles on the dials of our local trout fishing community. For a high percentage of the local angling population at

flying fish. To me that means one thing, billfish. Last season was a shocker, the bait didn’t show up, we copped a long run of rotten northerlies and the water was filthy. As a result, I never bothered to target them at all. Currently the water is clean, the bait is around and the northerlies are staying at bay, so the stage is set nicely to be able to catch some little blacks and sailfish this season. Out in the same areas, the deeper reef and rubble patches should provide some good fish. We normally get to catch some ripper jewfish in October, but this bite will typically start to wane as the water temps climb towards the

Steve Lucas proudly showing off one of his queenfish. few reef jack getting caught in October as well. For those who have the ability to get out there, the outer Great Barrier Reef will be providing some good angling options as well. As always, coral trout and red throat emperor are the main target species at the reef and I expect that we’ll see some good catches coming home from out there.

packages are available. For more information, contact Mick Underwood on 0413 882 153 or email mick@reeladdiction.com. au. Resort enquiries can be directed to Julie Houston on (07) 4945 7242 or at info@capeg.com.au. To stay in touch with what’s biting, check out the Reel Addiction Sport Fishing Whitsundays

Bring on the bluewater sport AYR

Steve Farmer

For many keen anglers, the fish of the month has got to be barramundi – closely followed by mangrove jack and golden snapper. The barra closed season is just weeks away and the pressure is on. If you haven’t notched up one of the north’s iconic sport and table fish by midday on November 1, then it’s all over for the next three months and you’ll have to

hang up your barra tackle until midday on 1 February next year. Barra catches in the estuaries have been quieter than last year, possibly because we’ve had a longer and cooler winter. Hopefully the warmer October days ahead will produce more action in the saltwater. Hotspots for saltwater barra as the temperatures climb would include the estuarine reaches of the Burdekin and Haughton rivers and Morrisseys and Barratta creeks. Having said that, most estuaries are worth a

Tuna always liven up a day’s fishing.

try at this time of year. Live prawns have been the best bait, but this will change to large live baits as it gets warmer. Surprisingly, barramundi catches in the freshwater reaches of the Burdekin River have been just the opposite, with regular, modest-sized fish being taken and skilled anglers landing occasional barra up to a metre in length over the past two or three months. Some anglers are of the opinion that the better catches were due to an above average flow in the river for much of the year. Mangrove jack and golden snapper are the other two species that should fire up as the weather warms. Jacks have been fishing fairly well already, with most estuaries producing at least average catches of fish in the 47-50cm range. Small live baits or soft plastic and hardbodied minnows around 10cm will appeal to jacks and goldens. Baits and lures fished as close as possible to structure should score the most strikes. Grunter are the other highlight on the estuary fishing scene over the next

couple of months. In fact, they’ve been fishing well already, with occasional catches of fish up to 70cm not unusual. As usual, the grunter grounds in Bowling Green Bay have been productive, with good numbers and sizes of fish. Other waterways across the district have fished well but most specimens haven’t been as impressive as those from Bowling Green Bay. The best baits to tempt quality fish are the usual fresh squid, large prawns or live herring, while the smaller school grunter will respond well to a variety of baits such as slabbed mullet, prawns and yabbies. Bream are usually regarded as a winter species in northern estuaries, but with the longer, colder winter we’ve had this year it might be worth checking the snags for any that are late to leave. ‘Light’ is the key word when chasing bream – light rod, light line and light terminal tackle. Try probing any structure with baits of prawn, yabbies or slabbed baitfish. The prominent species in inshore waters are changing at this time of year and during October

Bluewater sportfishers can expect to tangle with trevally over the next few months. bluewater sportfishers can expect to have their arms stretched by the likes of cobia, trevally, tuna and even the occasional Spanish mackerel that hasn’t yet found its way offshore. The Alva Shoals, Cape Upstart, Camp Island and Abbott Point are all likely to produce these exciting sportfish and are a doable daytrip from Burdekin. Weather wise, October can be kind or it can be nasty for boat fishers. Winds should generally

be lighter than what was endured for much of winter. The warmer months can see calm winds and flat seas in the morning but a nasty chop rising in the afternoon. The secret for bluewater boaties is to fish early and head for home around lunchtime. Even nastier hazards that build during the later part of the year are the evening storms. Check the weather forecast and stay off the water if thunder-bumpers are likely.

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OCTOBER 2019

Wading into the swamp TOWNSVILLE

Dave Hodge

As the water warmed quite quickly, barra and jacks have been on the move in most rivers and creeks. It’s been almost two months since the solar eclipse and it wasn’t until the last week of August that tides started to come back to a normal sort of run cycle. Tides have been consistently small since the eclipse, and this had a strange effect on the fish. It seems the systems south of Townsville have been producing the best, and north of town has had less of a run than usual. In the systems south of town, sinking prawn imitations have been a great lure to use on schools of barra. With plenty of 90cm+ fish being caught, it’s important to do the right thing and keep only what’s needed for a feed. Probing deeper stretches has undeniably been the best way to target the bigger fish, and the snags in the shallows have been holding the smaller specimens. Thankfully, this should change as the tides come back into line. Beaches and flats areas have been worth a look, but if you’re going to go for a wade it’s important to keep in mind the potential dangers of this environment. Most people think that crocs and the odd shark are the only real threat that may be intercepted as you enter the shallow waters around here, but stingrays and stonefish are often forgotten. Recently while dragging the boat across a sandy flat

sigh of relief as I found none. The best way to avoid stonefish interactions is to slide your feet along the bottom instead of high stepping, and this should minimise your risk considerably. With waters warming, box jellyfish including the tiny irukandji will become prolific and make it too risky to wade unless you’re wearing the correct stinger suit attire.

OCTOBER 2019

so a weedless soft plastic rigged on a solid weedless hook is imperative. Every fish that lives in these drains eats prawns, so an imitation will be most appealing. Considering that the drains have mostly dirty water, the addition of contrast such as a brightly coloured jighead makes a huge difference in subtly making your lure stand out from much further away. Approach the water stealthily, as the fish are quite on edge and nervous and any detected movement from above will send them bolting for sanctuary. Even moving branches as you try to approach the water will startle them, so slow and calculated movements are the best bet. Oh yeah, and if you need to have a wee in this swampy environment there’s only one way to do it – quickly!

Ryan Tully’s nice jack smacked his curly tailed grub tight in cover. Natural colours work best in the clearer waters at present, but on bigger tides and more stirred water the brighter colours are preferable.

Some solid lumps of barra have been showing up lately. Tannhym Hodge skipped a 5” Halco Paddle Prawn in lumo into the tea trees, landing this barra on his baitcast outfit. HEADING BUSH Over recent months, there has been quite a bit of interest in bush walking and lure casting, and there’s heaps of spots up and down the coast where you can do it. Looking at Google Earth is the best way to find spots to check out and access points

During the day the water is lifting about 2.5°C, which is when the fish are chewing. with a mate, I stepped on a stingray that instantly hit defence mode and flicked its tail spike around as it fled. I could feel the hard spike touch the inside of my foot, and thoughts of those photos I’ve seen of rotten infected limbs shot into my mind. Launching onto the deck of the boat, I checked my foot for broken skin and breathed a

to negotiate a fence of any description, you’re probably trespassing so just don’t do it. You should also pack more water than you think, as it’s quite steamy in these bush environments and you’ll sweat lots. Long thick pants will serve as a much-needed barrier against the swarms of mosquitos that live in these swampy areas. Consider a travel rod that breaks down into three or

in the form of 4WD tracks, which stand out like a sore thumb. The fishing can be spectacular but here are a few hints that may help you land fish more easily. Firstly, never trespass or ‘sneak’ onto private property without permission from the property owner. If you find yourself driving through a cane paddock or having

four pieces to strap to your backpack. It saves on walking time and will reduce your frustrations from untangling or even breaking your rod as it inevitably tangles in the undergrowth. My favourite for this kind of fishing is the Samurai Cruiser Travel Baitcast rod. It’s a soft tipped rod that packs down in a small hard tube and allows me to cast with minimal rod movement. Finally, accidents can and do happen. Ensure you pack a pressure bandage in case of snake bite and always let somewhere know where you’re going. Just last month I ruptured my Achilles tendon climbing around mangrove roots about 1.5km from the car in some of the most inhospitable country you could imagine. Don’t think for one second that small waters don’t hold big crocs, and no fish is worth dying for. I use leaders up to 2.4m of 30-40lb fluorocarbon connected with a FG onto my braid to assist in lifting fish up, instead of having to go down the slippery, steep banks to land them. Don’t wrap your hand in the braid to lift a fish, as this will end in tears for sure. Hardbodied divers and lighter sinking vibes will catch fish in these drains, but lure losses and regular re-rigging will just make the whole thing expensive and frustrating. Most of these drains have lots of fallen timber and air roots that hold decent jacks,

Young Tannhym scored the biggest fish of the day! The author would like to note that he caught more fish overall. Mozzies find soft exposed skin appealing, so be warned. OFFSHORE Now that the weather has become a bit more user friendly for boat owners, reports are coming thick and fast of reef and pelagic species. Trolling wolf herring has long been accepted as the best option for chasing big Spanish, but the large models aren’t the best or safest eating fish to target due to the potential of ciguatera poisoning. Another regular occurrence these days is the number of sharks that are smashing wolf herring baits, so have a few pre-rigged wolfies ready to go in the icebox. The best trolling speed is to simply knock the motor into gear and idle around a likely spot. If fish are detected down deeper on the sounder, simply shift to neutral and allow the wolfie to swim its way into the depths. When you think

you’re down deep enough, knock the motor back into gear and swim it back towards the surface again. Lures are a very successful

way to target Spanish and the most inexpensive and well-reputed lure is the faithful old Halco Laser Pro 190. The Deep Diver 2m bib can be trolled effectively at the standard 6 knots, while the Crazy Deep XDD bib is usually maxed out at around 5-6 knots. Always have a smaller slug or slice on hand, as deep fast retrieves are often key to making the best of an opportunity. If you prefer casting, the Halco Slidog 150 is excellent offshore for mackerel, tuna, and painful GT fishing. It works great when used for the faster retrieves, but also for casting the reefs and bommies for more reef species like trout, red bass and the like. It has been gaining popularity with GT fishers due to its toughness and castability. Opportunities for an offshore stint should become more regular for the next couple of months, so it’s worth getting the gear ready after months of rough conditions.

Hiking through mosquito-infested swamps does have its benefits eventually. With all its convenience, the three-piece Samurai Cruiser Travel Baitcast rod still does the job, as the author landed a solid jack.

The heat is now on CAIRNS

Garry Smith garrysmith@fishingmonthly.com.au

October usually heralds the start of the serious heat in the build up to the wet season. The longer the air temperature stays in the low 30s the longer the good fishing will last. Once it gets into the mid 30s the fish feel like we do and struggle to adjust to the increasing heat. Dawn, dusk and night fishing are the way to go for the next six months, but that’s not to say that

this doesn’t work all yearround, it’s just a bit more imperative at this time of year. The horrendous wet and windy start to the year finally came to a close in late August, so here’s hoping the remainder of the year is the exact opposite! The upside of the heat is the seas are usually pretty flat, so there should be ample opportunities to head out wide. While the reef fishing can be electric at times, generally October fishing is charactered by quality rather than quantity. Expect to latch onto some quality trout up shallow

Paul Messina with an excellent red emperor also taken in some very deep water.

and some horse largemouth nannygai and red emperor in the deep. More anglers are heading out to very deep water in the 60-120m range to try and get amongst the reds. Overnighters are a definite option this month, unless there are some early storms lighting up the Tablelands. Generally it’s a bit early for storms, but always keep an eye on the horizon and the BOM radar. Trevally are often around in big numbers this month and can make it hard to nail a red at times. If you find a drop overrun with trevally, about the only solution is to move on. There are likely reds below them, but it can be near impossible to get down to the bottom to find out. Don’t forget about the first of the two annual Coral Reef Fin Fish Closures, from 25-29 October. Pelagic fishing can be sensational this month, with tuna, wahoo, mahimahi, cobia, Spanish mackerel and sailfish on offer for the light tackle brigade and the mighty black marlin on the agenda for the heaving tackle anglers. Inshore fishing can be good this month, with largemouth nannygai, golden snapper, Spanish mackerel, cobia and trevally the main players. Mackerel will be thinning out, but there will still be the odd quality Spaniard in the 10-20kg range still about. Golden snapper will depend on the bait schools.

Amanda Messina with a trout taken from very deep water. The eyes are a giveaway. The more bait, the more likely they are to be around the headlands, and inner reefs, wrecks, bommies and islands. There can even be a few doggy mackerel schools still about this month. Barra will be the main focus for many anglers as it’s the last month before the three month spawning closure on the East Coast. There should be plenty around, especially inside the Net Free Zone. Anywhere from the upper reaches to the headlands will hold fish, with the bigger barra starting to congregate on the headlands and around stream mouths ready for the rain to trigger spawning. Keep in mind that it is also crocodile breeding season and they become more active and aggressive,

especially if there have been a few storms about. Always be cautious around the water in Far North Queensland, but be particularly vigilant at this time of year! Luring and live baiting will give you the best chance of nailing a barra, with live baiting generally more successful. A dropper rig, running sinker rig or livey under a float are all successful techniques and will depend on terrain and personal preferences. A dropper rig is ideal for fishing heavy country like rock bars and deep snags. Fish with the reel engaged and give line by leaning your rod towards the fish as they take it. If you find you are continually striking too soon then put the rod in a holder and wait for it to

double over before picking it up. A livey under a float is ideal for shallow water or surface snags and shallow rock bars. Wait for the float to completely disappear and strike. A running sinker rig with the reel in free spool is ideal for open country, where you can let the barra take line and swallow the bait before striking. Don’t strike on the initial short run. Wait until the line is flying off the reel and then strike. The arrival of the northerlies should see the salmon become more plentiful, especially around Cairns Northern Beaches. Grunter and mangrove jack should also be on the bite this month, so there are plenty of options on the menu!

October options are opening up on the reef PORT DOUGLAS

Lynton Heffer www.fishingportdouglas.com.au

The days are getting longer, the weather is rapidly warming up and the persistent wind is now a distant memory. With the onset of spring, the fresh southeast winds have abated leaving the tropics with wonderful days to be experienced on the water. With favourable conditions on offer, there has been a lot of focus fishing offshore on the Great Barrier Reef. The most productive days have been leading into the full and new moons. Also, the days with an afternoon rising tide have paid dividends. These days have seen all manners of species on the bite, and size and numbers have been better. Red emperor are really up and about, coral trout have been easily accessible and the large and small

mouth nannygai have been appearing in good numbers. The days on the moons themselves have proven considerably quieter. Some sections of the reef, where the fish have been in early preparation to spawn, have been slower as well. As the water warms up, we’ve seen a big shift in shark activity in some areas, and they have ruined some great fishing when the fish have been biting. These aren’t small sharks either, but schools of 300kg bronze whalers running amok nailing anything that is hooked up. Their activity will increase over the next few months, making these areas off limits for most anglers. Closer to home, the smaller boat brigade continues to enjoy a run on the spotted and school mackerel, particularly early in the morning. The latest craze is micro jigging for them using 30-50g metal slices worked up and down in the water column on top

The reef is at its best this month. Expect bigger size and numbers of most species.

of baits schools. On light spin gear they provide a lot of fun, pulling a lot of line off the spool. Other bonus catches have included largemouth nannygai, bar cheek trout and good-sized grassy sweetlip. We are now seeing some big manta ray along the coast and they have been harbouring some decent sized cobia surfing from off their coat tails. A popper flicked in the general area will see cobia divert from the ray and nail it without hesitation. Once again, they are a whole heap of fun on light gear and it’s worth keeping a keen eye for anything big and dark swimming across the surface. In the rivers and creeks there still remains a healthy supply of sardines and mullet, which are just perfect for enticing the likes of mangrove jack and golden snapper. Mid-sized trevally have been cruising in and out on the cleaner tides and will devour a live bait in their path. Barra

have now awoken from their winter slumber and the coming month is one of the best to target them while conditions remain consistent. Night fishing with big mullet down around the main harbour is your best bet to target these trophy fish. In October, the game boats in the area prepare the heavy tackle as the big black marlin are due to arrive along the shelf in numbers for their annual aggregation. The small black marlin season closer to home this year was well below par, however this does not equate to the heavy tackle scene where the bigger fish are almost obligated to turn up to complete the breeding cycle. October is probably the pick of the calendar to fish in the tropics – you’re almost guaranteed to get results no matter where you decide to fish whether inshore, offshore or out wide. OCTOBER 2019

A favourite time in the north for big catches CAIRNS NFZ

Dan Kaggelis dkaggelis@gmail.com

October is by far the best month to be fishing the Trinity Net Free Zone. With warm water and air temperatures and stormy weather dominating weather patterns, the

days and nights of the year to be on the water and flicking a few lures. In the inlet it will be best to target the bigger schools of barra that tend to converge around Hills Creek and out the front on the Hospital Flats on bigger tides. Vibes will be the best way to target these fish, as they tend to be spread out at times. Vibes

in big numbers and high on quality. The smaller fish will be sitting on the snags and the run out-tide will be a good option as the water begins to pour away from structure. Large paddle-tail plastics like those from Molix and Biwaa, as well as the usual ZMan SwimmerZ, will be good options for enticing a

Big jacks will be smashing lures in October, especially around the neap tides.

The lead up to the full moon in October will be an awesome time to snare a big surface barramundi. barra and mangrove jack will be chewing their heads off. The lead up to the full moon (on 13 October this year) are my favourite

can also bring by-catch like big grunter and salmon. Reports from anglers fishing land-based from the Marlin Marina, both fish have been

snag-lurking barra. If you are more of a hardbody angler, then anything that will suspend on the dive will be an excellent option.

Usually the weather will be pretty calm at this time of year, which makes for some glassy nights where you can get your topwater on. Around the full moon the barra will be feeding hard at night and it’s not hard to find them. All you have to do is follow the chorus of barra ‘boofs. I love fishing prop style surface lures for these occasions, as the fish are fired up and love as much noise as possible. The other species that fire up in a big way at this time of year are the lurecrunching mangrove jack. These fish will be feeding hard in October, especially around the neap tides when

the water levels don’t allow the jacks to get in behind the mangroves for an easy feed. Casting hardbody lures that have a good side-to-side rolling action and prawn and paddle-tail plastics will get these fish jumping on your line. October is also known as spawning time for big jacks and some of the inshore headlands and rock walls can see trophy fish take up residence. These fish can be over the 60cm in size, so it can be prudent to upgrade your line leader and terminal tackle. Some of the more prominent spots in the NFZ include the Yorkies Knob

rockwall and the headlands of Trinity Beach. Some of the bays and headlands on the southern end of the inlet mouth heading out towards Gape Grafton can also hold some very big fish. Towards the end of October, the Cairns Recreational Fishing Team will be holding our first ever Net Fee Zone Forum over two days. I will have the honour of presenting our journey so far in regards to the Cairns Recreational Fishing Strategy and very big plans for the future. This will be held on 9 November, stayed tuned for registration details in next month’s write up.

The heat is on at Hinchy HINCHINBROOK

Ian Moody info@ianmoodyfishing.com

I love fishing at this time of year. Generally the weather is good, the sunrises are spectacular and the fishing is

nothing short of stunning. Sometimes the weather can be too good when it comes to barra fishing at Hinchinbrook, as we have experienced lately. We had quite a few days of glassed out conditions on bigger tides so I decided to do a bit of luring on the headlands.

Instead, I was greeted with crystal clear water due to the lack of wave action to stir up the silt lines. Often barra and baitfish will leave those areas and head deeper during this time, or simply just shutdown entirely, which is not fun at all. On a charter recently

Tony took this lovely 86cm barra casting at a headland.

This 90cm barra was the best of the session for Phil. 56

OCTOBER 2019

we were waiting for a good afternoon sea breeze while we were at a favourite rocky spit in Missionary Bay. Clients Phil and Tony Johnson landed some solid barra between 86-90cm after a hard morning fishing the clear water. Some days are like that, the first half can be quiet while the last few hours of the afternoon can be chaos! Water temperatures are now starting to rise and should now continue towards the closure of

the barramundi season on midday 1 November. How quick it rises before then will govern how much more active the barra will get. Out the front near Gould Island and Cape Richards, we have seen some big schools of trevally (both GTs and goldens) hanging wide of the deeper drop offs near the headlands. It has been quite hard to get them to the boat due to the ever-present large bull sharks hovering around them. The sharks are not

only taxing them off our lines, they’re also putting the trevally off the chew due to their presence. As soon as it heats up, a lot of anglers will start to target golden snapper during the night to escape the daytime heat. This is a good thing, as they forage at night and find live squid and big greenback herring irresistible. Popular places to target are usually around the deeper rocky headlands or To page 57

Time flies when the fish are biting hard LUCINDA

Jeff Wilton jeffwilton83@hotmail.com

Where does the time go? It seems like only a week ago we were all rugged up in jumpers (well light jumpers anyway) and now heading into October we’re all changing the batteries in our air conditioner remotes. Last month was a cracker around Lucinda. We finally had some settled weather and this meant the fishing was pretty good. It was a strange feeling lining up at the ramp in the early morning hours getting ready to head out to the reef. The weather has been that bad for as long as we can remember. There will be plenty more fish meals for most anglers, which is to be

expected at this time of year. It feels good to have some quality reef fish in the freezer. Anyway, let’s see what October has in store for us. HINCHINBROOK CHANNEL It’s a fantastic month to be hitting the channel for a range of species, but the major target will be barramundi. October is the last month before closed season to target them. It’s crazy to think barra closed season is upon us already, but the last wet season was great and, from what I can see, there has been plenty of school size fish hanging around. We have been having some great sessions on schooling fish in the 50-70cm bracket the last few months and this should continue through October. Best results have come from targeting

shallower creeks with good structure and, as usual, the first few hours of the run-in tide has seen the best action. Shallow diving hardbodied lures and lightlyweighted soft plastics are the go. The key is to make sure your lure is not running along the bottom, as you will be fishing under the fish. Barra feed looking up, so this is a really important factor, they will rarely swim down to eat. I get to talk to plenty of travelling fishos and the one thing I tend to hear a lot is that they hooked a barra but lost it as it wore through the leader. Barramundi have extremely rough mouths that resemble a course sandpaper, it is perfect for wearing through leaders, especially if the fight is extended and the bait/lure is completely in its mouth. I use a tough 40lb

A plate sized grunter that was fooled by a soft plastic. From page 56

deeper bumps and ledges up the channel itself. King threadfin salmon should start to arrive and when they hold up in big numbers they are suckers for soft vibes and plastics. They fight a lot harder than a barra and taste even better on a plate too. During October the wonky holes offshore should still be firing well for largemouth nannygai, gold spot cod and pelagics. Periods leading up to the moons will also see some good queenfish action out the Lucinda sugar jetty and, as of late, there have been some nice ones landed over the metre mark. Northern bluefin tuna have shown up closer

to Hinchinbrook Island and are making the most of the bait schools in the area. Casting metal slices with a small wire trace and retrieving at a fast pace into the feeding tuna can bring heaps of fun. There have also been quite a few whales in close around Hinchinbrook, Pelorus and Orpheus islands, so be on the lookout for them for the safety factor and a spectacular view when they breach and put on a show. • There’s only a few months left for the barramundi season, so now is the time to get in and secure your spot or get in early for next year’s season. To book a charter, you can email us at info@ ianmoodysportfishing.com with your enquiry.

This is the last chance to target barra before the closed season. leader on my lighter outfits and 60-80lb leader on my bigger stuff. This will help push odds in your favour when you hook up, using fishing gear that gets the fish in the boat quickly will mean less time for them to rub through that leader. The grunter fishing has been great overthe last few months and should continue for another month or so before the warm water pushes them into deeper waters. We have had some great sessions catching them on soft plastics up the creeks – finding deeper channels in amongst the sand banks up the creeks has produced great catches. The standout soft plastic has been the ZMan 3” MinnowZ rigged on a 1/8oz HeadlockZ jighead. We have been making long casts, letting the plastic reach the bottom and simply hopping it back to the boat. Using slow long sweeps of the rod to impart action on the plastic. The fish have been almost always hitting it on the drop, so watch your

slack line after you have lifted it off the bottom. JETTY, ISLANDS AND REEF So much fun has been had around that iconic jetty over the last month with the usual run of big queenfish causing carnage. My arms are sore just thinking about the last few sessions, with double-figure catches the norm. Early morning and afternoons are the pick of the times to target these sports fish. It’s at these lower periods of light that these fish move closer to the surface and actively feed. During the middle of the day they will tend to move deep and hang under the jetty tight to the pylons and they will be much more difficult. Fast-moving soft plastics are the easiest and most effective way to catch these fish. Make sure your plastic gets to the bottom and rip it back to the boat with speed. Be ready, as most hits will happen close to the surface

as these fish race each other to your lure. After hook up, get ready for a lot of fun as they rip lots of drag and love to jump whilechanging direction. The mackerel catches have been great again this year, with plenty of Spanish and spotted mackerel turning up in the usual spots. Any areas that hold baitfish and are subject to strong currents will hold mackerel, so points on islands or reef edges are perfect feeding areas for them. Slow trolling garfish or floating out a pilchard on ganged hooks are proven techniques for these fish. Mackerel are known for there impressive teeth and will slice through even the thickest mono leader with ease. I would suggest rigging with a short strand of fine wire leader if mackerel are your main target species. You will get a few less bites this way but the bites you do get should see fish landed not re-tying a new rig.

Rodney cradles a solid gold spot cod from a recent offshore trip. OCTOBER 2019

Finally some weather windows open up to engulf anything that comes their way and are not as fussy or inactive as they have been in the winter months. It almost sounds too easy, but you still have to locate the fish holding areas and be there at the right times. Fishing isn’t always easy, and if it was it would be called catching, not fishing. However, the prospects are good and, with some effort, there will be fishing but also lots of catching. There have been some nice reports of mackerel caught off the wharf and some very large specimens in the mix. Large mackerel do come into the wharf area, but are

COOKTOWN

Justin Coventry

There was a small window as the winds dropped enough to head out to the reef. Everyone was keen and the boat ramp was packed. It had been such a long time and finally the opportunity came, so everybody that could do so hit the water. The fishing reports, were mixed and, unfortunately, we didn’t do too well. There were reports of good numbers of largemonth nannygai. We did get some big specimens, but not many. The resident gold spots showed up again and put up a fight on the spots visited. It’s always an effort to try to get them to the boat, and then you have the ordeal of trying to deflate them so they can go back home. A large needle is good, but even a small bladed knife can do the job. Remember to insert horizontal with the pectoral fin and in line with the fourth top fin spike. You know you have the spot when air starts escaping, just be patient to make sure you release as much as possible as the hole seals up as you remove the needle or knife. If you leave any air inside the

Dallas Holmes took this lovely nannygai on a recent trip offshore. fish, it will float belly up and be unable to swim back down to the deep. Massaging the belly of big fish helps to release more of the build up air inside the swim bladder. I don’t know how many people know the procedure, but it should be promoted more so we can make sure fish, especially large fish that aren’t taken, are given the best chance to survive after release. Nevertheless, I remember a reef trip years ago when the conditions were dead calm I

noticed fins flapping on the surface and on inspection found a good sized barramundi cod with a bloated belly. I don’t know if it was from something it ate or if some angler not knowing what he had caught let it go and didn’t vent it. Anyway, it was in a time that you could take these great eating fish (they are protected now), but it did make for a good start to the day as we had a quality fish in the esky before we had even wet a line. I have however also seen a massive cod floating

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very hard to stop when you are land-based. However, with the right gear you can have a fighting chance. Having large capacity reels helps, and combine that with strong drags and you might just be able to land that big one. Remember not to go too hard on them at the start, as you can pull the hooks. It’s best to play them for a while and be quick to get them in, as they tire and can become a nice meal for our resident groper. All that hard work to get the fish in can be undone in seconds when the monster below rises to feed. Be prepared to get your

along in the current, and we managed to help this one swim back down, but it isn’t always easy. Hopefully more education and research goes into techniques and tools to enable recreational anglers to be able to give released fish the best opportunity to survive and continue breeding and replenishing fish stocks. The weather window was short, but there is more to come. I love this time of year as the weather improves and the reef trips can occur more often. The wharf starts seeing schools of bait and the mackerel start to run and the wharf becomes a hive of activity. The water temperature in the creeks also starts to rise and the barramundi become more active. The receding water levels and the reduced amount of available food in river systems start to make lure fishing fire. Fish are looking

Nannygai like this make getting out offshore worth it.

David managed to land this massive cod while fishing the reef at night.

catch in quickly and get all the help from fellow fishers around you. Poppers and stickbaits are easily cast off the rock wall area and can often produce large queenfish and giant trevally. The barramundi have also been active along the wall, so using some soft plastics can produce results. My preferred lure is the soft plastic prawns. Prawn plastics are hard for hungry fish to refuse and are great when fished slowly all the way to land. They mimic the natural prawns that hold close to the rocks and having one siting there for a while can produce results. There is so much opportunity to get amongst some quality fish in the next month and the conditions will only improve. Make sure your gear and boat are ready to go. You don’t want to be doing any preparation or fixing anything in the next few months. Maximising the time fishing at this time of the year is key and having the boat and gear ready will help you make the most out of the favourable conditions.

Making a move on the Spanish mackerel CAPE YORK

Tim O’Reilly wildrivercompany@gmail.com

As the first calm settles in following the northern winter trade winds, October provides great opportunities to capitalise on consistently nice conditions. On the Cape, that means getting out wide and at times staying out wide. After water temperatures have increased, spring can bring about some of the best fishing of the year. All manner of species will be invading the inshore grounds of Cape York, gorging on baitfish and multiplying in the pristine waters. From Cooktown east out to Ribbon Reef, October is the start of big billfish season. It’s something that Cairns has been synonymous with for many years, but the bulk of big fish are caught in this southern extreme of Cape York’s outer reef. Towing large baits around for 1000lb black marlin is not everyone’s skill set, so this fishery remains the domain of the wealthy teamed up with highly skilled crews ready to tackle such beasts.

Peter was ecstatic to land this excellent Spanish.

Inverting the mackerel after bleeding will help the blood drain.

Sailfish have been about in the Gulf of Carpentaria in great numbers down around the Weipa region. These fish can be expected along the west coast of the Cape. Catching them is a matter of heading out wide when there’s good weather and concentrating on bait, birds and contour lines. Find one fish and you will find more so sharing information is invaluable to discovering this brilliant fishery. A few gun fishos have accounted for double-digit sailfish out of small boats in a single day, which compares well to some

of the world’s best fisheries. Spanish mackerel are making their seasonal sojourn northwards and both coasts of Cape York will see fantastic fishing around shoals and inshore grounds. Those positioned offshore in the Torres Strait and Gulf of Carpentaria will have their hands full with Spanish at this time of year, especially around the new and full moon bite periods. Although these fish can be caught on drifted, floated and trolled baits, you have to be prepared to counter against sharks. When reef fishing, it nearly always

pays to have a floated or drifted bait out the back in the current. Generally, the offshore reef fishing should be excellent but please keep in mind from 25-29 October there will be a closure for all coral reef species of the Great Barrier Reef. This closure is symbolic of the tendency for reef species to concentrate in shallow water at this time of year prior to spawning. Before water temperatures rise substantially, fishing these shallow grounds with plastics, jigs and baits is an annual highlight.

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

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

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

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

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Gorilla Grip Rhinoflex A5 Cut Gloves

Atomic Casting Gloves

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

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

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Daiwa Tatula 150/702MHB

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

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

Abu Garcia Salty Stage Light Jigging Low Profile / KRX

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Abu Garcia Salty Stage Light Jigging Low Profile / KRX

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Snobee XS-Plus Thistledown 5-7

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Rio DC Flats Line

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

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

BEST FLY LINE RUNNER UP

Snobee XS-Plus Thistledown 5-7

Rio DC Flats Line

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Sage Trout 4/5/6

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Alvey Saltwater Fly Reel

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Alvey Saltwater Fly Reel

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

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

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TryCD AllFly

BEST FLY ROD RUNNER UP

Sage Trout LL Series

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Sage Trout LL Series

TryCD AllFly

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

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

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Chasebaits Ultimate Squid 300mm

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Bluewater Speed Skirt

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

Bluewater Speed Skirt

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

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

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Mustad 6.5” Pliers

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

Black Magic Equalizer Twin Pin Pro

Mustad 6.5” Pliers

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

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Venom Ocean Gladiator

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Venom Ocean Gladiator

Daiwa Spartan S74-4/5

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

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

Daiwa Spartan S74-4/5

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BEST HARD LURE WINNER

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Chasebaits Smuggler

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Barambah Lures Bony Shad

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

RUNNER UP Barambah Lures Bony Shad

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

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

FINS Fighter PRT Braid RA

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

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

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Daiwa Saltiga 12 EX UVF PE+Si,

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

FINS Fighter PRT Braid

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Daiwa Saltiga 12 BEX UVF PE+Si

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Barambah Lure Fastening System

JOHN DUNPHY AWARD FOR INNOVATION RUNNER UP

Mustad InkVader

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

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Barambah Lure Fastening System

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

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Skypoint Link-Micro Camera

Yeti Tundra Haul

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

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

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Yeti Tundra Haul

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Daiwa 19 Certate LT 5000 ARK

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Daiwa 19 Certate LT 5000 ARK

Shimano Stradic FL 2500 HG

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

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

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Shimano Terez Spin 69MH

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

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

Daiwa TD Commander 742 LXS

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

Lunkerhunt Phantom Spider

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

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

Zerek Weedless Fish Trap

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Spotters Zane Carbon

Costa Del Mar Rinconcito

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

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

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

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

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

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Halco Single Strand Wire Traces

Many anglers consider the eye of the baitfish to be a strike trigger to predators, and the eyes on TT Lures’ Big EyeZ make for a big trigger! These premium hand-painted jigheads were created in response to customer requests, and feature a realistic sculptured fish head profile and bulging 3D eyes, as well as the proven ‘head lock’ grub keeper system to make rigging easy, and lock your soft plastic in place. These jigheads are built on brutally strong Mustad black nickel chemically-sharpened hooks for solid hook sets and holding power. These new jigheads are available in a variety of colours, including versions with glow eyes, to complement your favourite soft plastics and match the hatch. Big EyeZ jigheads are available in the following models: 1/4oz 3/0, 3/8oz 3/0, 3/8oz 5/0, 1/2oz 5/0, 3/4oz 7/0, 1oz 7/0. www.tackletactics.com.au

TTs Big EyeZ Jigheads

Halco’s new Single Strand Wire Traces are based around American Fishing Wires premium American-made stainless steel, pre-straightened wire. These new traces come in two lengths and three different breaking strains, giving you plenty of options for a quick, easy trace that you can count on at short notice. There are short 25cm traces for all your shore and boat-based casting needs and longer 50cm traces that should get the trolling crew in the water quickly and with a minimum of fuss, should the toothy brigade turn up. Available in breaking strains of 58lb, 86lb and 105lb, these packs of five individual traces also feature a premium rolling swivel at one end, and Halco’s popular cross lock snaps at the other. They are all beautifully finished with tight and precise haywire twist connections. For more information check out the new Single Strand Wire video on Halco’s YouTube channel. www.halcotackle.com

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New rules for fresh TOOWOOMBA

Jason Ehrlich fishability1@bigpond.com

Some new fishing regulations came in last month. For freshwater anglers, there will be rules impacting our different freshwater fisheries. Rather than writing them all here, I urge everyone to jump online and check them out to see what influence they will have on your fishing styles. A quick search of ‘Changes to Queensland fishing rules’ will bring up the link to the rules implemented on the 1 September 2019. The main ones to catch my eye were the new bass bag limit in stocked impoundments – five fish

can now be kept instead of two. There was also the dropping of the maximum size for Murray cod and introduction of a new closed season period. Closed waters (to all fishing) have also been added to protect Mary River cod. It is definitely worth a read to check and see you are following the rules. If you fish for any of these species make sure you check it out. The new list of rules is very brief so we are likely to hear a lot more about them in the fishing media. I m p o u n d m e n t barramundi will really be on fire this month with the southern lakes again starting to draw plenty of attention. The northern lakes around Mackay have been the top destinations for some years now with

Gympie

anglers also heading to some of the more inland waters and further north to Tinaroo to get their barra fix. These lakes will continue to perform, with bigger and better numbers of barra now being found closer to the South East the fishing pressure will be shared across a lot more waterways. With more dry times ahead and no foreseeable big rain events forecast, the fish are safely locked in the impoundments and we can expect this impoundment barra fishery to thrive. I can see a return to the old days when stocked lake barra fishing pulled in anglers from all over the country. Until next month, buckled rods from The Colonel!

14 31

Weipa

Toowoomba

BRISBANE

IMPOUNDMENT DAM

CRESSBROOK CLOSEST TOWN: CROWS NEST Cressbrook has still been producing some quality bass. The fishing has changed a bit over the last month and the spoon bite has slowed a little. More fish are now being caught on soft plastics and smaller blade baits. As the water warms, the thermocline will become stronger and rise in the water column. Over the past month, fish have been caught out in 17m of water from the bottom. These fish will lift with the

Gold Coast

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

23 25

Cairns 1

Townsville 2

3 4

Proserpine 6 Mackay

Rockhampton

Emerald 29 7

Highlighted dams are covered in this issue

Gladstone

Bundaberg 9

Maryborough

Roma

SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND

Jason Medcalf hopped one of his favourite bass lures, the Jets Tail Spinner, for this Somerset bass. There have been plenty of fish coming from deep water just north of The Spit.

thermocline so keep an eye on it. It will display on the sounder as a line of clutter when sounding the deeper water areas. If you are not seeing it, chances are you have your sensitivity set a little low or it isn’t very strong yet. The lake is pretty low so concentrate on the deeper sections of the dam. The schooling bass are most likely to be in the straight run to the west of the boat ramp and the main part of the arm up past the pump tower. Look out from all the major points for signs of fish. Sometimes they are

BRISBANE

easy to spot when they are up on the flats. If they are holding tight to the bottom on the drop offs, they can be a bit harder to find. They are also harder to get to bite. I like to sit deeper and work my lure over the drop-off. Often the fish will leave the bottom and suspend under the boat. If you can time your cast right, you will catch them as they are making this move and are most active. Spoons will still produce plenty of fish just as they have dominated catches over the winter months. Be prepared to change things up though To page 73

QLD AND NORTHERN NSW DAM LEVELS Dam............................ % Full

        

DAMS Atkinson Awoonga Bjelke-Petersen Boondooma Borumba Burdekin Falls Callide Cania Clarendon Cooby Coolmunda

JUN AUG SEP 5 5 5 71 70 68 5 5 5 27 26 25 96 95 92 99 97 92 45 43 41 71 69 66 0 0 0 33 33 33 8 6 4

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

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

9 9 9 38 38 38 3 3 3 102 100 100 18 17 16 9 9 8 93 92 90 90 87 85 99 99 93 76 69 55 5 4 4 104 101 97

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

Maroon 75 73 70 Monduran/Fred Haigh 77 76 73 Moogerah 55 52 47 North Pine/Samsonvale 69 68 65 Peter Faust/Proserpine 80 79 77 Pindari 5 5 5 Somerset 77 76 71 Teemburra 101 100 99 Tinaroo 94 92 87 Toonumbar 67 63 55 Wivenhoe 55 54 52 Wuruma 85 83 78

For fortnightly updates on Sunwater dams visit www.sunwater.com.au This symbol indicates that a Stocked Impoundment Permit is required to fish these dams. All figures are % readings Current as of 18/09/19

(All levels correct at time of going to press. Dam levels can change at any time, so please check with local authorities to ensure safe boating and fishing.) 72

OCTOBER 2019

From page 72

and experiment with 3” grubs or similar plastics rigged on 1/2oz and 5/8oz jigheads. The plastics can make all the difference when the fish are reluctant to bite a flashy spoon offering. Keep a blade bait rigged as well and experiment with hopping and slow rolling. The important thing is to keep the lure in the fish zone. They have been holding

uncommon to spend a couple of hours searching on Somerset if you haven’t paid it a recent visit. Locating schools can be difficult considering they are often moving and when they are hugging the bottom and scattered, they are even harder to find. The northern side of Pelican Point, wide on the eastern side of Pelican (opposite Happy Clappers), Bay 13, One Tree, Bay of

As the thermocline lifts in the clear water, these fish will be forced to shallower areas where the oxygen levels are higher. This is a change we should start to see more this month. Suspending fish are likely to be a common occurrence and sometimes they will chew while others will be very hard to fool. Tail spinners and soft plastics are great for casting to these suspended fish.

au . They have an excellent range of gear suited to fishing for bass and golden perch. WIVENHOE CLOSEST TOWNS: FERNVALE, ESK It is a bit hard to forecast the fishing at Wivenhoe. There was some excellent action at the end of winter and it is likely the schooling bass will return. Last year was quiet for schooling bass but the previous two years were excellent right up until December. Good numbers of fish were caught on the flats straight out from Hays Landing, which stretch across the middle of the lake towards Platypus Cliffs. There were also good fish caught well to the north on the creek that runs across the main lake flat. With this in mind, I think there is still some good fishing to come. The bulk of the fish tend to migrate their way towards the no boating buoy line before they disappear each year. Searching the main flats out from Billies bay and Hays Landing will be your best chance of locating the big schools. Once found, these bass schools will take spoons and blade baits. These lures tend to dodge the catfish a little more. The more you hop the lure and work it

result in unbelievable action. Not all the action takes place in the deep water. You can start off a session by working some edges with lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits. This is a good way to encounter both bass and golden perch. There are a lot of barren banks that don’t hold many fish. Try working either end of Platypus Cliffs and across the bays and points either side as a starting point then find similar water. With a lot of the action in the lower part of the lake, the Billies Bay boat ramp will be popular. If launching from Logans Inlet, consider having a troll on some of the steeper rocky banks outside the inlet. These shorelines are good for big golden perch and the occasional bass. Medium to deep diving lures can be used here and if you find a good patch of fish, expect big numbers at this time of year. • The guys at Charltons Bait and Tackle at Redbank are the boys to see about Wivenhoe, Moogerah and Maroon. Their impressive wall of lures is enough to make any freshwater angler drool. Call in, stock up and get a few tips on where to head before your next trip to the lakes.

followed by a slow wind seems to get the desired response. Drew from Charltons told me about this technique so be sure to quiz him more and find out his favourite lures for the technique. As it warms, we may see the fish in the timber fire up a little more and chase down lipless presentations. This bite tends to happen more in the summer months but the fish are already there, so play with it. Trolling and casting lipless crankbaits in rattling and silent is definitely worth a shot. MAROON CLOSEST TOWNS: BEAUDESERT, BOONAH The weed beds seem to be holding the better and most active fish. The back end of the dam, around the start of the timber, and the bay to the right of the boat ramp have been two of the better areas. Working soft plastics off the weed edges has been getting the bites. If the plastic fouls up, just twitch it back out of the weed and continue winding. Rigging soft plastics on 1/4oz jigheads or even lighter will help to keep your lure weed free.

When the bass chew they are more willing to take a range of offerings. Early morning and late afternoon seem to be the prime times for hot action. at very specific depths so ensure you are keeping the lure in that area. • For all your fishing supplies and the latest reports on the surrounding dams, call in to see Fish’n’Bits in Alderley Street. They have a great range of lures and fishing gear. The boys can sort you out with the right gear and give you some tips on where to find them. The gates to the boat ramp are now open from 6am to 8pm. SOMERSET CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY There have been a lot of changes at Somerset over the last few weeks. Fish that were schooling in the same areas started to make a move. Reliable spots in the upper part of the lake around Kirkleigh were almost barren last month as the fish started to move closer to the main basin. With this move, we can expect to see fish turning up in the usual places they frequent over the warmer months but until then they will be a little scattered. It will be a case of having to cover lots of ground to sound up the schools. It is not

Plenty and The Spit will all be worth searching this month. The remaining fish on the flats out from the cabins at Kirkleigh are mostly big but are getting fewer in numbers. Finding the bigger 50cm+ fish has been hard since they made their move. I have a feeling they will turn up in good numbers across the north side of Pelican Point. Inside the ‘S’ bend at Bay 13 or the two humps on the ridge in the Bay of Plenty are also likely big bass spots. The bigger fish seem to prefer holding near the bottom while the smaller models are happy to suspend and roam the more open water. Big numbers of fish have been holding wide on the eastern side of Pelican Point. These fish are behaving in a similar way to those inside the Bay of Plenty. This is a relatively new name given to the bay to the north of The Spit which is below the roadway and before the shallow point where the dam narrows a bit more. I have always referred to that point as Poly Pipe Point. These deeper fish will be found in 9-20m of water. Last month, quite a few were caught off the bottom.

Keep retrieves slow and constant to get the bites. It won’t be until summer that they will fall for the faster burning retrieves on a more regular basis. Trolling diving hardbodies that are capable of reaching these suspending fish should also produce. At times they will be quite scattered and trolling is one of the best ways to cover heaps of water. Schools found closer to the bottom will be keen for a range of offerings. Spoons can nail the numbers when the fish are on but if they are playing tough be prepared to mix it up. I have witnessed soft plastics, blade baits and tail spinners all cleaning up when the spoon bite is tough. If you have several rods, rig them up with the different options and rotate through them to find what the fish prefer. Some days they will eat all of them and other days they will prefer one over the other. • Somerset Fishing has their store based at the area above the day use boat ramp. The store is open over holidays and otherwise from Friday to Sunday. Orders can also be made online via the website www.somersetfishing.com.

Hot Bite’s Spectre Vibration Jig has been exceptional so far this season. Normally a gun summer lure, this year it’s producing well in spring. on the bottom, the more likely you are to have forktailed catfish encounters. The mood of the bass will dictate retrieve styles, so some days you have no choice but to deal with the catties. Trolling the big open flats is a great way to find the better numbers of fish. When trolling deep divers, you tend to pick up the scattered ones and twos, which can be found all over the place. Keep your eyes glued to the screen as a big school is likely to appear and a switch to casting can

MOOGERAH CLOSEST TOWNS: BOONAH, RATHDOWNEY The schooling fish have been hard to find in numbers this year. There have been some fish holding on the point on the right as you come into the gorge. These fish should be willing to eat blades, soft plastics and spoons. Up in the timber, fish have been holding in the trees. Working hardbodies through the laneways in the tops of the trees with a twitch to get them down

As the water warms, the topwater action should improve in the early morning and late afternoon. Small surface lures worked over the top of the weed beds in the protected bays are sure to get a response. There are so many surface lure styles that can all catch fish. Maroon fish will eat fizzers, walkers, poppers and bent minnow styles. The key is to fish in the key times when the light is low. Use plenty of pauses between moving the lure and use a profile to suit the size of the fish being targeted. To page 74

OCTOBER 2019

DARLING DOWNS GRANITE BELT REGION COOBY CLOSEST TOWNS: HIGHFIELDS, TOOWOOMBA Cooby Dam remains closed due to the outbreak

of blue-green algae. Unfortunately the great fishing isn’t likely to come back online until mid-spring when things warm up again. Keep up-to-

Nick Tonscheck caught this ripper bass at Boondooma Dam. He’s been loving his fishing lately and when he’s out-fishing his dad with bass like this, it’s no wonder. WIDE BAY AND SOUTH BURNETT REGION BOONDOOMA CLOSEST TOWNS: PROSTON, KINGAROY Fishing was excellent last month at Boondooma. There were plenty of deep schooling bass around the wall end of the lake. These fish were being caught in up to 15m of water but they may start to shallow up now as things warm up. Soft plastics, blade baits and spoons will be perfect for luring these fish. Continue to check the points around the dam wall and any points and significant flats on the

way down to The Junction. Around 10m of water will be a good starting point, but work in and out from this depth, as sometimes the fish are fussy about where they want to hold and feel comfortable. More fish will start to turn up on the edges of the dam. This bite will be best early in the morning before the sun is belting down. Casting blades and plastics can be a good alternative to the more accepted way of enticing them with lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Let the fish make the call on this as you try a range of lures to see what they want most. The

date on the Toowoomba Regional Council’s website or the Fish’n’Bits Facebook page for updates. LESLIE CLOSEST TOWN: WARWICK The fishing at Leslie Dam was out of control last month. The very low lake produced a lot of Murray cod on the rocky structures. Casting spinnerbaits to the rocks in the mornings and afternoons was the way to go. It is interesting that all this action coincided with the start of breeding time. Were these cod making a move to find breeding ground up in shallower water and feeding up before they got down to business? The Queensland stocked lakes are exempt from the cod closed season. Golden perch numbers will be on the rise now the water begins to warm again. Slow trolling lipless crankbaits and hopping blades are still the best ways to catch them. They will be a bit lethargic for at least another month. Some will be taken on the standard trolled hardbody but they won’t be as willing to chase these as slower presentations. • Along with getting a fishing report, stock up on all your gear while at Warwick Outdoor and Stuart timber is starting to get a bit shallow. It has always been a good spot to chase bass on the edges early in the morning. Bass numbers will be fewer but there is still the chance of a saratoga. Edges in the main basin are likely to fish well. Rather than the steeper banks, try working the medium sloping ones. If fish are showing on the sounder as you move along your chosen edge, you will put more runs on the board. • 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

MACDONALD CLOSEST TOWNS: TEWANTIN, NOOSA There will still be a few schooling bass in the deeper parts of the lake and on the flats outside the main river. These fish will eat spoons and blade baits. Expect to see more action in the shallows around the weed beds. More fish will move to this area where they can be fooled with topwater presentations early in the day. Once the sun brightens, you will need to make a switch to suspending jerkbaits and then probe even deeper with lipless crankbaits, soft

plastics and blade baits. By following the fish deeper, you can experiment with different techniques and keep the bites coming. BORUMBA CLOSEST TOWNS: IMBIL, NOOSA The bass have been schooling through the basin of the lake on most of the major points. The schools aren’t big and active so you will need to move about and try each location for a few casts before moving on if things are quiet. Spoons, blades and soft plastics have all accounted for fish. Slow rolling and keeping the lure

close to the bottom by pausing every 5-10 winds will see you in with a better chance of landing a big one. The Junction will also be worth a look. Schools tend to find their way up onto the flats outside the riverbed in this area. Soft plastics are a good option if the fish are tight to timber as they are more affordable to lose. • Davos at Noosaville has all the gear you’ll need to tackle the fish at Borumba and Lake MacDonald. The store caters well for fresh and saltwater anglers. They can be found in the Homemaker Centre on the corner of Mary and Thomas Streets.

Sports at 115 Palmerin Street Warwick. For a small store, it carries a great range at a very competitive price. Warwick is only a ten minute drive from the dam and you can pick up any supplies you might need. COOLMUNDA CLOSEST TOWN: INGLEWOOD The water at Coolmunda Dam is still very dirty, making lure fishing too hard. Nevertheless, bait fishers were absolutely smashing the fish last month. Anglers fishing from boats and the bank below the high and dry boat

ramp reported heaps of golden perch and Murray cod. These fish were caught on crays, shrimp and worms. With low levels and little change, the action should continue. If you are looking for a place to fish from the shore and catch a good haul, Coolmunda is one of the best options around. While the golden perch can be handled on most light setups, the cod have been winning their freedom by breaking lines and straightening hooks. A lot of cod were on the move last month, so keep

this in mind. Some of the better ones landed were around 20kg. • The Coolmunda Caravan Park is only around 1km away from the lake. The park is just off the Cunningham Highway but far enough away from the noise of trucks to get a good night’s sleep. It offers camping sites, cabins, caravan facilities, tennis courts, a swimming pool, BBQ shelter and a camp kitchen. To take advantage of this and the great fishing opportunities in the lake, give the park a call on (07) 4652 4171.

dam. The kiosk at the main office does hot food and other basic items including an excellent range of proven fishing tackle. For campsites, cabins and bunkhouse rooms call (07) 4168 9694. For the latest information jump onto Facebook and check out Matthew Mott Sport Fishing for Motty’s latest fishing reports. BJELKE CLOSEST TOWNS: MURGON, GOOMERI The dam is low but the fish have turned it on over the past few weeks. Numbers of fish have left the deeper water of the old creek bed and moved up on to the deeper flats around the boat ramps and Quarry area. Here, they

are more willing to bite and have been taking cast lures well. Hopefully they stay up and active for a few months now as the water warms up. Soft plastics and blade baits are good options for tempting the fish on the flats. Blades are great because their sticky hooks tend to convert a lot of the less committed bites into hook ups. Golden perch also love blades, so when using them you are really hedging your bets and stand the chance of nailing a mixed bag. The Smak Fireblade has been killing it all over the lakes this season so if you need to top up on blades to suited to our lakes, check them out.

• For help catching Bjelke and Boondooma fish, call into Bass 2 Barra. The store stocks an awesome range of gear suited to chasing our freshwater fish. You’ll find the stores at 119 Youngman Street Kingaroy. Matthew Mott also runs fishing charters on the dams and you can reach him through the store for bookings and enquiries on (07) 41627555. • 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.

SUNSHINE COAST REGION

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CAPRICORN REGION AWOONGA CLOSEST TOWNS: BENARABY, GLADSTONE The stage is set for a sensational end to the year at Awoonga. The barra have been restocked in huge numbers and the fish are all over the place. Getting them to bite can be the tricky part but this is the ideal time of year to try your luck. The winter fishing was good and the start of spring has been great, so the action should continue. Plenty of fish can be found around the dam. The trees in the main basin see a lot of pressure but they continue to hold and produce fish. Points and bays are prime fish holding areas and the many tree-lined areas along the eastern shoreline on the way down to Dingo Island can be worth closer investigation. As you fish your way through these spots, keep a close eye on the sounder for any signs of barra. Side image on sounders is almost a must these days and such a useful tool most wouldn’t consider fishing without. It can pick the barra out, even in the tress, and greatly improve your chances by placing lures continuously in front of the fish. Making them bite is then the hard part! Lures like the Jackall Squirrel Hank Tune and Duo Realis 100DR have earned themselves a great reputation as being consistent fish takers. While these Japanese works of art produce, I have seen a lot of the

more humbly built and reasonably-priced Aussie lures do the damage when fished alongside them. A lure capable of diving a couple of metres deep and around 100mm long will put you in with a good chance of scoring barra of every size on offer. In the trees, the barra spend quite a bit of time staging and not feeding. Establishing zones where they move to feed will help you score more bites. Often, the same submerged bushy tree top will be a feeding area. The barra tend to do the rounds of their spot and check the same trees for food. When they are loaded with bony bream, they feed. Placing a lure in the right spot makes all the difference. You can catch the fish from open water when they are really on the job, but when they are playing hard to tempt, you need to pull out every trick in the book. The hardest part is getting the first bites. After that, you can start working on repeating everything to work out their patterns and feeding behaviour. Not every fish will be in the trees. The lush weed beds are also home to barramundi. They are a rich source of food, cover and pump out some oxygen during the day. Early and late in the day, barra can be found up in shallow water. Here weedless rigged soft plastics are ideal. Flick them right up into the weed ensuring you work them over deeper pockets. The weed can also be found down deeper in some

areas. As the dam drops more, this should really be the case as a lot of the old areas from years past come into play. When you see weed below the boat on the sounder, you know you are in prime country. The slightly deeper water provides better cover for the fish during the day and they can then ambush baitfish as they cruise past. This type of area will produce fish of all sizes but I am tipping that as water temperature warms up, more big fish will be taken from this type of deep weed country. The beauty of Awoonga is you can catch fish day and night. Fish will have bite windows during the day and fire up in the wee hours of the morning and right on dark as the sunlight fades. We saw just how well they can chew after dark last year and had some insane action fishing lures over an old tree stump, which was in an otherwise bare hole in the weed. Finding these honey holes can be the secret to catching big numbers of fish in the dark. • Justin Nye from Gladstone Fly and Sportfishing runs fishing charters on the lake. He caters to the needs of the angler and can do fly or conventional tackle trips to target the lake’s barramundi. You can contact him on 0429 223 550 or visit the website gladstoneflyandsportfishing. com.au. • Mark from Awoonga Gateway Lodge always has a few productive secret spots to share. The Gateway lodge is on the way into the dam after turning off at Benaraby. The accommodation

As the sun sets, the barra come out to play. Awoonga fish will feed around the weed edges as darkness falls.

Barra fishing will be red-hot this month. Out of the southern dams, Callide will produce some of the better quality fish. This one was smack bang on 110cm. is great with plenty of boat parking space right beside the comfortable air conditioned, self-contained cabins each with its own veranda. To book in a stay give Mark or Lyn a call on (07) 49750033. CALLIDE CLOSEST TOWN: BILOELA Still flying a little under the radar, Callide is the place to head in the southern part of the state for big barramundi. The fish are very well conditioned and there are quite a few over a metre long. In two trips earlier this year, I managed to land three of these giants and lost just as many. The average sized fish was around 80cm with quite a few over 90cm mixed in. At this size, they pull hard, strip line and play up all the way to the boat. The water level has been dropping at the lake. As this has happened, some of the creeks that feed into the gullies have dried up and old spots are now too shallow. With less water, the fish should be easier to find. Callide has little in the way of weed so the fish have nowhere to hide apart from the timbered

bays and deep trees in the basin. We stumbled on the deep trees last trip and found big numbers of fish sitting in the tops of them hundreds of metres away from the closest shoreline. This type of area is the ideal staging point where fish can occasionally feed but usually just rest up until they move off to feed during the low light hours. This is the time to intercept them. Staking out a windblown point is one of the best ways to target impoundment barra. Position the boat a cast away from your chosen spot and keep casting and watching the sounder for signs of fish moving through the area. If you strike a point where they move to feed, you will be in for a good session. We had an almost 30 fish session earlier this year when everything fell into place and the fish turned up in our spot. Callide is a smallish lake but you will still need to put in the time to locate and then work out the barra feeding patterns. Soft plastics are a good option at Callide. Heavier plastics capable of being worked a few metres deep

are ideal as the fish often hold a bit deeper due to the lack of weed and cover to hunt in. I have a soft spot for Berkley prerigged Ripple Shads and Molix Shads. Soft vibes like the Transam and Zerek Fish Trap are also good options for hopping the bottom and working fish found in deeper treetops. The camping area at the dam has undergone some big improvements recently. With a new lease holder in place, an amenities block has been added to the park. It is situated in the powered camping area and has toilets and showers and will soon have a laundry as well. A camp kitchen right next to the fire pit should also be fully functional as you read this. With these additions, the camping experience will be much more enjoyable and it will draw in more guests to the lake. If camping or caravanning isn’t your thing, there are 5 fully self-contained cabins. • You can contact the Callide Retreat on (07) 4993 9010 for bookings and more information. OCTOBER 2019

Spring loaded Tinaroo action LAKE TINAROO

A U S T R A L I A

Margay 2017

$49,990

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

Pantera II 2017

Warwick Lyndon

Wow – how time flies! It’s October already and that is great news for anglers on Tinaroo. Awesome fishing can be expected this month as the air and water temperatures have been increasing steadily and there have been large schools of baitfish and barramundi hanging around most of the usual spring haunts. These schools are readily located with a quality side scanning sounder and while not always located in the same areas, once you understand the basic needs and habits of the impoundment barra, fishing success shouldn’t be far away. When fishing on Tinaroo, the basic patterns to look for are a shallow point or bay with some form of structure or cover, with easily accessible deep water nearby. Barra like to move onto these shallower areas to feed, but often retreat to the safety of slightly deeper water after the peak bite times,

Jakub Wone, Daniel Walker and John Seawright were pumped to land this barra recently.

$74,990

• 19’1” • Single axle Basscat trailer • 200 hp Mercury Optimax • 24v electric motor (Minn Kota or Motor Guide) • 2 x sounders (Humminbird 698cxi HD Si or Lowrance HDS 7 GEN2)

Yar-Craft 1785BT 2017 Liam Casella is never far from the spring barra action.

$59,990

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

Sabre FTD 2017

$59,990

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

We Build Dreams... It’s a Family Tradition

A U S T R A L I A

OCTOBER 2019

Phone: 0410 173 060 basscataustralia@gmail.com

which usually occur around a tide change and/or dawn and dusk. Often at this time of year, you can actually see and hear the barra hunting in these areas as they gorge on bony bream. A wide variety of baits and lures will see you in the game, but be prepared to cover the whole water column. Often barra will feed on or near the surface, and this is when really exciting fishing can be had for those using surface or shallow running lures like wakebaits, swimbaits, poppers and shallow diving hardbodies. A bait suspended under a float can also be deadly in this situation. At other times, it will pay to fish deeper with deep diving minnows, jighead rigged soft plastics and vibration baits. Now is the time to start getting excited about the best event to happen here all year – the Tableland Hardware Tinaroo Barra Bash. This event is run by the Tableland Fish Stocking Society, and helps to raise funds to stock the lake with more fish.

This year’s Tinaroo Barra Bash is happening over the weekend of 8-10 November. The Barra Bash is a familyoriented event and entry is only $40 for adults, $10 for children (15 years and under), and $5 for a small fry (0-6 years old). Nominations are open now and you can enter by following the links on the Barra Bash website. There are some amazing prizes on offer, including a boat for the person lucky enough to claim the champion angler crown. This title goes to the angler who catches the longest overall length of barramundi throughout the competition. Barra are not the only target however and those fishing the bash can compete across a range of categories and other species, including barra, sooty grunter, red claw, catfish and tilapia. There is even a prize awaiting any angler lucky enough to capture one of the lake’s most elusive creatures – the mighty mangrove jack. A full list of competition rules and categories can be found on

their website. The major prize of $10,000 cash (which is randomly drawn from all adult entrants) is a huge incentive, and you’ve got to be in it to win it! There is even a colouring competition for the kids, and all sorts of stalls will be set up at the presentation on the Sunday to make this family event even more enjoyable. The Barra Bash is a catch and release competition, and anglers must enter their catch by uploading photographs of fish caught within competition hours via the Track My Fish Barra Bash app. The app can be downloaded now in preparation for the competition – see the Barra

token, which must be included in all photo submissions. Competitors will also have an opportunity to buy event merchandise and be briefed on rules before the competition starts. The major presentation will occur here, with several local vendors offering their services and many activities on offer with something for everyone. Presentations will occur on Sunday 10 October with festivities starting from 8am. For any further information on this fantastic event, go to tinaroobarrabash. com.au or search ‘Tinaroo Barra Bash’ on Facebook. Next month I’ll update you on all you need to know about where the fish are

Chantel Woodgate loves targeting Tinaroo barra. Bash website for instructions. The Barra Bash is based at Tinaroo Foreshore Park (at the northern end of the lake opposite the Lake Tinaroo Holiday Park). Here you can sign on from 3pm on Friday 8 November and you will receive your brag mat and

biting in the lead up to the competition, and how best to target them. If you want to keep up with more of my FNQ adventures, you can like ‘Wazza’s Fishing Page’ on Facebook or ‘Wazza’s Fishing’ on Youtube.

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Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Nissan’s Pathfinder competes with some very strong rivals for market share, but it holds its own thanks to several unique features. I recently tested the top-of-the-range Ti, and found out exactly why Pathfinder owners regard them so highly, even though the likes of the Holden Acadia, Mazda CX9, Toyota Kluger and Kia Sorento are right up there with the Pathfinder in many respects. The answer comes in the form of sheer practicality, huge amounts of room everywhere and, in the case of the Ti 4x4, off-road cred thanks to 4x4 capability and ground clearance assisted by 20” wheels! THE VERSIONS Nissan have provided diversity with their Ti Pathfinder, which has

get this combination so successful. On the freeway the Pathfinder cruised at around 1500-2000rpm, and the fuel consumption on a combined city/country run was 11.3L per 100km. This is quite good given the size and weight of the big Pathfinder, which was also doing some towing for me during a run out west and back (the tow rating for a braked trailer is 2700kg). A GREAT DRIVE On a long drive I found the Pathfinder’s front seats to be very comfortable. The electrically adjusted seats can be quickly and easily configured to virtually any setting. The one-touch cruise control was definitely one of the best I’ve used. It’s on the wheel, right at your fingertips, and the speed can be adjusted up or down in 1km/h increments. The steering was quite light, the acceleration responsive, and with the drive mode set in Auto

The driver and passenger are treated to leather-covered, heated and cooled, large and electronically-adjusted seats in the Ti model. a front 2WD, 4WD and a hybrid. The base ST Pathfinder 2WD will come home for about $25K less than the Ti 4x4 (around $65,000) but the Ti comes with a lot more kit, all of it quite useful and designed to greatly enhance the driving and ride experience. POWER TO SPARE Nissan no longer makes diesel Pathfinders, and the reviewed Ti was powered by a fuel injected 3.5L petrol V6 turning out 202kW of power and 340Nm of torque. This potent engine runs as smooth as silk at normal driving speeds, and is very responsive. To my surprise the V6 was mated to a CVT unit, which was so well calibrated and so smooth that I first thought it was a conventional gearbox. Nissan have done well to 78

OCTOBER 2019

Large and sleek, the Pathfinder commands considerable road presence.

The reversing camera has a complete surround view system.

With the third row of seats down there is a lot of cargo space available.

the Pathfinder was able to select either 2WD or 4WD as circumstances dictated off-road. When I was moving along some seriously challenging bush trails it snicked into 4x4 when it sensed a wheel was slipping, and I appreciated the ample ground clearance as well. ROOM TO SPARE As good as the Pathfinder’s performance was, I believe that the main selling points are going to be practicality plus that outstanding room. Both of these factors combine very well with the top-shelf level of features. First, let’s look at all that room! The Pathfinder has an enormous interior, and there’s a huge amount of leg room in the second row, even with the front seats right back.

The same can be said of the third row seating, which is very generous as well. And while on the topic of third row seating, few cars offer such ease of entry. The second row seat base simply folds up then slides forward so there’s enough room for even an adult to enter freely. Hand grips inside the door make things even easier. LUXURY FEATURES The Pathfinder is a good-looking beast with impressive road presence. At around 5m+ in length and over 2m wide it’s one of the largest cars in its class, yet not overly tall at around 1.7m high, which sees it sneaking into underground car parks easily. While the overall design has been around for a couple of years, it’s still very easy on the eye. The exterior sports twin

sun roofs, LED headlights, daytime running lights, roof rails, tinted glass in the second and third windows, and mirrors that tilt down when reversing. What’s more, the Ti’s many luxury features are enhanced by the practical use of interior space. Cabin storage is impressive thanks

passengers also have USB charging ports plus a media USB port. Other features include a massive dash touch screen, Bose stereo, DVD player, plus the multi-zone entertainment system linked to the screens on the back of the front seats along with a pair of wireless headphones.

view camera will also aid the driver. A proximity key allows you to easily lock and unlock the doors, while a push button closure controls the top-opening rear door. If the key fob is close to the vehicle, you have the option to move your leg under the bumper’s motion sensor to open the rear door.

The Pathfinder’s dash layout is based on practicality and user friendliness, combining a host of functions for the driver and passenger.

The Pathfinder’s third row seating is roomy, plush, and surprisingly comfortable. to a massive central storage bin under the arm rest, which also houses two USB ports plus a 12V outlet. There are also two slots on the console sides for books, tablets or phones. The second row

Leather upholstery is standard throughout, as is front seat heating and cooling, along with a 3-zone climate control system for maximum comfort. A user-friendly sat nav system and surround

REAR STORAGE IS THE STORY This vehicle is meant to make travel easy, and you can really pack in the equipment, as shown in one of my photos. With the third

row of seats down there’s 1354L of cargo space on hand, and with the next row also folded down there’s a van-like cargo area to make use of. There’s even storage under the boot floor, although a sub woofer takes some space. A space-saver spare is under the floor. IN A NUTSHELL I believe that Nissan’s sleekly-styled Pathfinder is still highly relevant in today’s motoring world

thanks to the tremendously comfortable ride, the very flexible and willing engine, the ‘lope along’ style gearing of the CVT unit, and the all-important room and practicality linked to all that luxury. The Ti 4x4 was also quite capable off-road, and it would do a great job as a tow unit for boats under 2.7 tonnes, thanks to that full-time 4x4 capability at the flick of a rotary dial, which would be very handy

around slippery boat ramps. It would also be a good tow vehicle for a caravan or camper trailer. Put simply, the Pathfinder has a very solid, unfussed and competent feel about it. The warranty is 3 years or 100,000km, and services are every 12 months or 10,000km with capped price servicing available. The Pathfinder enjoys a 5-star ANCAP classification.

SHEIK OF THE CREEK

Practice makes perfect but who needs perfection? BRISBANE

The Sheik of the Creek

As you gain age (I’d rather say that than ‘get older’, which tends to bring about negative thoughts to someone of my years) you gain experience. In other words, you stuff things up and learn how to do things that help you avoid stuffing things up in the future. Some people even succeed in doing this! I’m not one of them. If I was one of those people who learnt from their past mistakes and didn’t repeat them, I’d be one of the wisest people in the southern hemisphere. But then, I’d never do anything either. I’d be so tied up in avoiding what didn’t work last time that I’d never get up off my chair. It’s like that annoying saying people like to quote as if it means something: ‘stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result’. Or as some footy coach eejit might have said, ‘do what you always do and you’ll get what you always got’. Or

something like that. This sounds fine until you think about it. What it is saying is to avoid persistence. Don’t keep doing the same thing over and over again if it’s not working. Because, they

are saying, it’s not going to work in the future if it hasn’t worked yet. Well sorry internet geniuses and footy coaches and possibly Albert Einstein; if I or 90% of all fishos took that advice,

nobody would ever go fishing again. So I just tend to do things and see if they work. If they don’t work, but don’t injure me, I’ll try them again. And again. For a long time. Persistence is the

cornerstone of my fishing rationale. I’ve thrown this lure at that snag for ninety minutes, but there just has to be a jack under it. I’ll throw another fifty casts just to be sure. We haven’t had a bite on this

reef for four days, but I reckon if I drop this pillie down, it’ll get smashed. The outcome is always the same, except for that one time in 2003. I think the issue is that people who fish are optimists. Not in everything in life, but in this particular avenue. There has to be a fish on that bommie. There has to be a muddy in that gutter. Surely there’s prawn in that drain. That optimism lends itself to persistence but I’ve learned persistence is not always your friend when it comes to chasing fish. Sometimes the best lesson you can learn is to decide there probably isn’t a fish on the bommie. I think persistence can be a lazy way of fishing in some respects. It means I don’t have to think through why what I’m doing is not working and more importantly, what I could be doing that would change the outcome. Mind you, sometimes all you want to do is go and chuck a line in, and the worst thing you could do is catch something. As Pommers likes to put it, it’s much better to sit in the tinny and smash cans. OCTOBER 2019

Good times at Googarra Beach Caravan Park BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

As an angler who likes to tow the boat up north from time to time, I’m always on the lookout for a new place to sit a spell, enjoy some fishing, and generally check out what an area offers. Although fishing is obviously important, so is the infrastructure – there’s not much value in being handy to the water but a long way from groceries and fuel! Luck was with me when on a recent trip north, in the Cassowary Coast area, I found an excellent caravan park within five minutes of the Hull River east of Tully. I had heard some very good reports about the Googarra Beach Caravan Park at Hull Heads, and

Happy ‘Kampers’! Mr and Mrs with a pair of small Zerek-caught barra from the Hull.

The author with the ‘snag that pulled’ – a diamond trevally foul hooked in the tail. after seeing what the park offered we arranged a stay in a cabin for a week. The word ‘Googarra’ is probably derived from a similar word in the Dyirbal language of

Far North Queensland, and means ‘place of the goanna’. We launched in the Hull River and fished offshore around the islands, hooking everything from Spanish

mackerel to coral trout and some whopper trevally, but more on this later. Between launches we spent our time in air-conditioned comfort thanks to our spacious selfcontained cabin with its full-sized refrigerator and cooking facilities. Home away from home? You bet. AS GOOD AS IT GETS Googarra Beach Caravan Park is up there with the best of the many fishing-orientated places I’ve reviewed for this magazine. During my 30-odd years as Field Editor I’ve reviewed virtually every caravan park or camping ground between Bundaberg and Coffs Harbour. So I’ve got the cred, in spades! Googarra’s grassy and amply shaded layout is sensibly accessible, with easy access throughout the entire park. There are 76 sites in all, 31 of which

The ramp on the Hull River is a bonus for boat owners, and there are plenty of fish to be caught at either pontoon as well. 80

OCTOBER 2019

outlook of tropical trees and shrubs. Adjoining the reception and kitchen there’s a general store with good supplies of various groceries with some tackle and hardware items also available. I was impressed with the very large bait freezers in the store, which held pillies, gar, prawns, you name it – and all were very presentable looking. Ice, both huge and standard bags (and blocks) was also available, along with both diesel and unleaded petrol. Nina and Ron, the friendly proprietors, pride themselves in maintaining prices on par with those at other outlets. EXCELLENT INFRASTRUCTURE Visitors enjoying a tent site on the lush grass, shaded by one of the many trees in the park,

most was the quietness and peacefulness throughout our stay. Traffic in the area was very light, and about the only sounds came from birds although it was possible to faintly hear the sound of waves on the beach around 600m away, at times. Peace and quiet is what I really enjoy on any holiday. FISHING OFFSHORE Ah yes, the fishing; how good was it! The Tully River is only a couple of kays to the south, and the Hull River is even closer and has better launching facilities. We launched there and fished either in the river or offshore, depending on the state of the access from the Hull. Note that if you’re heading offshore on very low tides there can be scant depth to enter or leave the river. We were there for a series of minimal depth

There’s no shortage of sites in this park. These ones are ideal for caravan owners. are powered, and there are ample concrete pads for caravans to set up on. There are 13 cabins available, and these are clean, tidy, and well set up with noiseless air-conditioners – a world away from those old death rattle air-cons at some places I’ve stayed. The bathroom facilities were also immaculate, which was another big plus. At the rear of the cabin were outdoor power points which were perfect for recharging the electric’s battery, and there was a hose nearby to wash the old girl free of salt spray (the boat, not the wife). But there’s a lot more to Googarra Beach Caravan Park. At the office/reception area there’s takeaway food cooked to order, while a very spacious and stylishly laid out restaurant with bar facilities is around the corner from the office and store. It would be a good place for functions and parties, given the ambience of the area with its peaceful

have good infrastructure at their disposal. There’s a swimming pool, very clean and well kept bathroom facilities, and a massive camp kitchen with ample power points and barbecues. There are also handy laundry facilities where big washing machines and dryers will take care of salty clothing. Having said all that, the thing that attracted me the

lows so we timed our trips to launch at near full tide, and return after a couple of hours of flood to avoid any issues. Also, be advised that the channel leading to and from the Hull River can change regularly, so a first-time visitor would be wise to follow a local out, as we did. Once out of the river there are some excellent

A tastefully set up dining area next to the main office and store is a drawcard at Googarra Beach Caravan Park.

reefs and rubble grounds within a short boat ride, with the possibility of some truly remarkable fishing to be had. There are a couple of green zones to observe, but these are easily noted. We trolled rigged wolf herring for Spanish and scored some good fish, along with some torpedosized barracuda. Fishing with plastics was fun, with massive diamond and golden trevally testing my strength to the limit – particularly one big diamond that was foul hooked in the tail. That fish was the snag that took off! Coral trout were much appreciated, along with golden snapper (fingermark) and lots of cod.

fish at an unused boat ramp very close to the VMR building at the river mouth (there’s a deep hole out from at the rocks). I reckon a live bait would score a jack there for sure! LOCATION, LOCATION The Googarra Beach Caravan Park is on the corner of Tully Heads Road and Hull Heads Road. There’s an eye-catching sign sporting a giant marlin motif, so you can’t miss it.

When you’re travelling on the M1, you can access the Hull Heads area is Lentini Road, a few kilometres south of Tully. From there, it’s a 10-minute drive to the caravan park at no. 7, Tully Heads Road. If you continue down Tully Heads Road you’ll come to the beachside area of Tully Heads, situated between the Tully and Hull rivers, which are only a few kilometres apart. The beach

between these rivers – the Tully running fresh into the ocean, and the Hull totally tidal with mangroves lining it – is beautifully fringed with an array of palm trees and golden sand, and it’s lulled by the gentle sound of waves caressing that sand. There are picnic areas available along the foreshore road and the children’s playground is recognized as the best in the area. In all, a great place for family relaxation.

Googarra’s cabins were well set up with everything an angler might want. The outside power points are a thoughtful touch. THE HULL RIVER Fishing the Hull River was also a treat, with barra

Ample kitchen facilities include plenty of power points plus barbecues.

and jacks showing a liking for our Zerek Live Shrimps and Flat Shads. There were sufficient snags, creeks and flats to make a variety of fishing styles a lot of fun. Yabbies can be pumped on the sand flats at ebb tide, and these are a top bait for whiting, flathead and the local black bream. Mud crabs are also a big plus in the river, but it’s wise to check your pots regularly so that crocs don’t mangle them. NO BOAT, NO PROBLEM Shore-based fishing in the Hull is also worthwhile. I saw people fishing from the ramp-side pontoon catching grunter, and you can also

The pool is sure to be appreciated by both young and old.

Googarra Beach

CARAVAN

PARK

” ! ld r o w e h t in g in h is f “Arguably the best

Googarra Beach Caravan Park is the perfect place for your North Queensland Holiday.

The Hull River and Tully River boat ramps are right on your doorstep, and the Great Barrier Reef only 40 minutes away. Only a stones throw from Mission Beach but without the crowds. ON-SITE FACILITIES

PET FRIENDLY

GENERAL STORE

You can enjoy Tropical Paradise with spectacular views from Dunk to Hinchinbrook Islands. With arguably the best fishing in the world, Googarra Beach Van Park offers both long and short term visitors the North Queensland holiday of a lifetime.

MINI-MARKET

PETROL/FUEL

TAKEAWAY

7 Tully Heads Road, Tully Heads QLD 4854 • Phone: (07) 4066 9325 • Email: googarra@bigpond.com • Web:www.googarrabeach.com.au

BAR AND RESTAURANT Googarra Beach Caravan Park OCTOBER 2019

Cooking

Land ahoy for Louisiana seafood po’boys! BRISBANE

Lynn Bain

A po’boy is a traditional Louisiana sandwich served on a baguette style bread roll. The baguette is associated with French cuisine and the French heavily influenced the foods of Louisiana. The po’boy is filled with seafood of your choice; typically whatever is most abundant. The seafood is normally crumbed and fried, before being served on a bread roll along with lettuce, tomato and a remoulade sauce. In the following recipe, I have used a mixture of fried and steamed scallops. I have used bay (small) scallops but you could substitute

nuggets of fish, peeled prawns or pipis. The seafood should be moist or ‘sticky’ enough to simply coat it in the breadcrumbs without the need for the usual flour, egg, and breadcrumb coating process. You could

Ingredients

substitute cornmeal for the panko breadcrumbs. You can make the remoulade sauce ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to use. If you don’t have horseradish cream, try substituting a small pinch of dried chilli flakes instead.

• 500g bay (small) scallops •2 cups panko breadcrumbs • Cooking oil, such as canola • Lettuce • Sliced tomato • 4 long bread rolls (hot dog style) • 1 cup mayonnaise • 1 clove garlic, finely grated • 2 tbsp tomato ketchup • 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard • 1/2 tsp horseradish cream • 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning

Divide the scallops into two portions. Coat one portion of the scallops thoroughly in the breadcrumbs and place these coated scallops into the fridge. This will firm up the breadcrumb coating.

Use a bamboo steamer to steam the second portion of scallops. Place the scallops in the upper level of the steamer and pop the lid on the steamer.

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Place the whole steamer into a wok with shallow boiling water. Ensure that the water is below the top level of the steamer. Steam the scallops for no more than three minutes and remove them from the steamer.

Mix the ingredients for the remoulade well and refrigerate until ready to use.

OCTOBER 2019

Slice the bread roll horizontally through the middle. Generously slather both cut sides of the bread roll with the remoulade. Add lettuce and tomato on one of the cut sides and top with a combination of fried and steamed scallops.

When you are ready to deep fry the scallops, heat about 3cm of cooking oil in a wok. Quickly deep fry the scallops until golden brown all over and remove them from the wok. Drain the scallops on a paper towel.

Combine the mayonnaise, garlic, ketchup, mustard, horseradish cream, Cajun seasoning, Tabasco sauce and pickle liquid in a bowl.

Your seafood po’boy is ready to enjoy.

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

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

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

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

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

Australia and cover areas where bream are not as common or widely targeted. All three are relatively hardy and with good handling have excellent survival rates on release. EVENING THE PLAYING FIELD There are some things that definitely need to be clearly defined, such as tackle and technology standards. Bass boats with big motors have a huge advantage, especially in barra comps where mobility is key. Similarly, expensive sidescan units can reduce the time taken to locate fish by a significant measure and provide an edge over other competitors. This has to be addressed, but I don’t think that banning technology will work. Ultimately, a handicap system will probably be required with some objective data collected on how much of a real difference these technologies make. In this case I don’t think that a weight-based handicap is appropriate so much as a time penalty. Most of these innovations provide time/ efficiency benefits and thus a time penalty in the form of a later start or earlier finish would compensate for that. In other words you want the fast motor and best electronics, you get less time to fish and then if you can make up the time – good on you. BRINGING IT TOGETHER This is the trickiest but most necessary step. The transition to a sport doesn’t require the creation of new events, so much as the myriad of existing events to aggregate under a national platform, rules set and regulations, much as cricket, soccer and other sports have. This aggregation would need to provide a national register of competitors and a national tracking process so that competitors can easily carry their results with them. This is a big challenge when egos are involved. One of the key elements of that aggregation would be a national body with five key responsibilities – tracking and managing competitors, establishing formal recognition for fishing as a sport, providing state and national championships, coaching and athlete recognition, developing a sponsorship funding base and of course promoting the new sports option. Of course, this is a lot of work, but I think it’s about time fishing takes itself seriously enough to go through the growing pains that come with offering a true sport option. It won’t come without compromise, but most sports that have made that leap have never looked back. OCTOBER 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

OCTOBER 2019

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

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

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

Scan the QR code to see the Tristan Taylor interview.

Scan the QR code to see the Stuart Walker interview.

BREAM Series presented by

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BREAM SERIES

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

DAIWA J BRAID BIG BREAM

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

Scan the QR code to see the Day 1 highlights.

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

Scan the QR code to see the Day 2 highlights.

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

NON-BOATER RESULTS Place Name

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

10 9 7 10 5 7 10 9 7 9

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

5.11 3.32 3.01 2.84 2.74 2.62 2.57 2.21 2.12 1.86

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

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

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

WINNING TACKLE Rod Reels Lure Line

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

OCTOBER 2019

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

Bass Pro Series presented by

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

12.01 11.84 11.71 11.14 10.71 10.34 9.77 9.72 9.59 9.33

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

VENOM BARRA AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULTS Place Team 1 VENOM 2 SUNCOAST MARINE ELECTRICAL 3 BRETTS WORLD 4 DOBYNS/SUNLINE 5 HAPPY ROCK SOFTIES 6 JOINT EFFORT 7 EXTREME SECRET SPOT 8 GET-A-GRIP 9 LOWRANCE LIKELY LADS 10 SILVER ROLL HOLE 88

OCTOBER 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BIG BREAM WINNERS Day Angler Country Weight Day 1........... Felix Frey.............................. Sweden............................. 1.06 kg Day 2........... Lars Lundberg...................... Sweden............................. 0.91 kg Day 3........... Richard Benson.................... Australia............................ 1.01 kg 90

OCTOBER 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

where two fish were caught by Nate Gloria (USA) and Eric Seddiqi (USA), once again within 20 minutes of the start. The rest of the anglers had little luck, most leaving within 15-20 minutes. By mid-morning a large slice of competitors had fish. Anglers who had struggled the day before, such as France’s Patrice Gotti, had more luck on day two, while four others in the same area still had no fish, including 2015 world champion Xiaohong Ma from China. At the end of the day, it was another impressive performance by the Australians. However, the Americans showed a great ability to adapt to the new species, making up a quarter of the top twenty. Nate Gloria flew the highest flag for the USA, sitting in 6th place, equal with 2013 world champion Richard Somerton (AUS). Gloria bagged 1.78kg on

close to the bottom. Tim Percy (CAN) received the Lowrance Donut Dough Award to rousing cheers and hugs of jubilation, at the Power-Pole dinner that evening. To the delight of all in the room, the idea of a police officer winning a donut award set off the USA team into raptures. It was a great moment. Once again, the class acts were by the Australians, with eight in the top ten. Jack Gammie increased his lead from the previous day with another 2.02kg, giving him a leading bag total of 4.18kg. Andrew Death maintained his second place, with 1.86kg for 3.94kg overall, 249g behind Gammie. Simon Morley (AUS) moved up into third place, knocking Austrian Edi Brader back a position. Morley added 1.97kg for a total of 3.79kg, 150g behind Death, and 399g short of Gammie. 90 fish were caught on the day, weighing in

to head on the same reef to the north of the event site. Their reels were screaming and each bagged out around the same time. On the turn of the tide, they both began to upgrade fish after fish after fish. In the meantime, Edi Brader was one short of a bag and fishing well

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

bag went on the scales, and boom! It weighed 1.43kg and was 150g short! Andrew Death fistpumped the air and turned away in disbelief of his unforeseen fortune – the new 2019 Hobie Fishing World Champion was shocked! A disappointed Jack Gammie dropped to

Kris Hickson shares some wisdom on camera at day three of the event.

Winner Andrew Death explains how he secured his winning bag. (3rd in China in 2015) in 10th place. Overall, 37 anglers brought a total of 84 fish back to the scales on day one of the world championship. Their accumulated weight was 44.35kg at an average of 530g, which is an impressive average for the species in any waterway. DAY TWO As the sun rose on Thursday, competitors once again took off in superb conditions for the second day of the world championship. With late threatening winds predicted to blow from the south, the majority of anglers headed in a southerly direction, while only a small group of nine or ten pedalled to the north. Fortunately, the wind didn’t blow up as forecasted. Like each day prior, a group of ten plus anglers headed for the trawlers

day one and 1.77kg on day two, giving him a two-day total weight of 3.55kg. Edi Brader from Austria, who sat in third position at the close of day one, dropped back a place but remained the best-placed European. Brader had a day two bag of 1.59kg, giving him a total of 3.58kg. Finn Sloth (DEN), the next best European, was in 11th place followed by Felix Frey (SWE) back in 19th. Lars Lundberg became the second Swede to catch the Power-Pole Big Bream, which weighed 910g. The Chinese were having a difficult time adapting to the new species. Lai Wang, their highest placed competitor, was in 16th, while the remainder of the team sat among the bottom ten anglers. Rafael Renzetti led the Brazilians in 23rd, with the rest of the team languishing

at 44.02kg at an average of 489g, slightly down from day one. The field was tight at the top and anyone in the top ten could take out the championship if luck went their way. The final day of the Worlds was set to be intense and full of excitement. DAY THREE When the action started on day three, reports kept coming in that Death and Morley were going head

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

the lead, but what a brilliant performance by Gloria. Up stepped Death with his bag, needing 1.81kg to take out Morley. The scales rolled over, settled and stopped. At 1.85kg, he was just 40g more than Simon Morley. Death became the new leader. Morley stepped off the stage and Death stayed, hoping his 5.79kg was enough. He nervously waited while a tense Jack Gammie was interviewed in front of the live audience and those watching the broadcast. Gammie walked up the steps with a nervous smile and handed his bag to tournament director Steve Fields. Fields played with Death and Gammie’s emotions for a few seconds, building the intensity of the moment before Death called out, “Just put it on!” and the audience laughed. Gammie only needed 1.62kg to win the championship. Andrew Death (AUS), who had sat in second on both previous days, was now the current leader and waited in anticipation. Gammie’s

a commendable third after a brilliant performance, and Simon Morley took a well-deserved second. Australia had its third 1st-2nd-3rd from three world championships held in the country. Richard Benson (AUS) caught the Power-Pole Big Bream for the day, Marco Pasquini (ITA) won the Donut Dough Award, and Felix Frey won a PowerPole Micro Anchor for the biggest fish of the championship. An incredible 265 bream were brought to the scales during the three days of the championship. They weighed a total of 133.32kg, at an average weight of 500g, and every single one of them got to swim away to live another day. Andrew Death (The Reaper) became the new Hobie Fishing World Champion. It was a great performance by a humble winner. With another fantastic Hobie Worlds done, anglers are now super excited for HFW9. We can’t wait! – Hobie Cat Australasia

RESULTS Place Angler Country Total Fish Total Weight (kg) 1..................Andrew Death......................Australia............................ 9/9....................................5.79 2..................Simon Morley......................Australia............................ 9/9....................................5.75 3..................Jack Gammie......................Australia............................ 9/9....................................5.61 4..................Nate Gloria..........................USA................................... 9/9....................................5.32 5..................Richard Somerton...............Australia............................ 9/9....................................5.30 6..................Tyson Hayes........................Australia............................ 9/9....................................5.28 7..................David Shanahan..................Australia............................ 9/9....................................5.03 8..................Tyson Peterson....................USA................................... 9/9....................................4.87 9..................Kris Hickson........................Australia............................ 9/9....................................4.87 10.................Richard Benson...................Australia............................ 9/9....................................4.78 OCTOBER 2019

Hobie Kayak Bream Tackle Tactics Round 7 On June 22-23, a Queensland record of 82 anglers competed in Tackle Tactics Round 7 of Hobie Kayak Bream Series 11 on the Gold Coast. Anglers from all over the country competed for cash and prizes, chasing a three fish bag of yellowfin bream on both competition days. On the first day of the tournament, 140 legal bream were brought back to the Broadwater event site in anglers’ Hobie Livewells. The total fish weight for the

day was 65.10kg, with the average fish weighing 465g. Leading the field at the close of the session was Tyson Hayes (QLD) on 2.09kg, in second place was Stephen Maas (QLD) on 1.87kg, and in third position was Steven Crawley (Qld) on 1.67kg. Competition was tight with the spread between 1st and 30th place just 860g. There was a solid breeze throughout much of day one, with it dropping off a few knots on day two, and sunny conditions made it an

Kane Terry came from behind to score second place thanks to his persistence on day two.

excellent weekend on the water in most locations. Day two saw 135 legal fish brought back to the scales, weighing 65.65kg at an average of

WINNER’S GEAR Rod: Okuma Helios Reel: Okuma Inspira Line: 4lb straight through Lure: Cranka Crab heavy in olive 479g. Over the two days, 275 fish were weighed with a total weight of 129.75kg at an average of 470g. SUNSHINE THROUGH THE HAYES Day one leader Tyson Hayes backed up his day one bag of 2.09kg with another 1.62kg on day two to take the tournament win, bagging $2330. Hayes had the same strategy over the two days of competition, pedalling until he couldn’t see anyone else and fishing different spots accordingly. On day one he headed right up Nerang River and stayed in the main channel. For day two, he went about a kilometre past the casino

BIG BREAM WINNERS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Angler Tyson Hayes Kane Terry Stephen Maas Simon Morley Rhett Gill Mark Young Michael Halliday Aaron Williams Sean Hill Guy Struthers

Total Fish 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6

and stayed around that area. He found a lot of the big fish in deeper water, but filled his bag in quite shallow water. In the deeper water,

Total Weight (kg) 3.71 3.66 3.59 3.44 3.37 3.29 3.18 3.09 3.09 3.04

Prize $2330.00 $1210.00 $790.00 $360.00 $300.00 $270.00 $240.00 $210.00 $180.00 $150.00

he used a heavy Cranka Crab in olive, which he also used on the edges as the current was moving fast. He landed his day two bag in the last two hours of the day, which was a couple of hours later than day one. SUGAR FOR KANE Kane Terry (NSW) was sitting way down the leader board in seventeenth place at close of day one. However, he came good early on day two and made a massive move up the standings to finish the tournament in second place. His lucrative leap netted him a sweet $1210 for his day one bag of 1.44kg, which he followed up with the biggest single day bag of the tournament with 2.22kg on day two. His two-day total of 3.66kg was just 50g behind the winner. Terry’s persistence to fish the same reef, located to the north of the event site, for the whole weekend paid off handsomely. Terry stuck with the same lure, using an olive heavy Cranka Crab for the whole tournament. On day one, he was pulling a fish in about every hour, and they

Tyson Hayes with his winning day two bag, weighing 1.62kg. were all small fish. Once he got to the reef on day two, he found his lure was hit within seconds of the crab touching the bottom and it was on! The fishing was particularly productive early in the session. Luckily, they were all much larger fish than day one and this

26th position. The $100 Atomic Big Bream prize for the biggest fish of the open division went to second place getter Kane Terry, with his big yellowfin bream weighed in at 900g. Justine Tominey (NSW) took out the Women’s Division with 430g, the

SECOND PLACE’S GEAR Rod: Daiwa Black Label Reel: Daiwa Certate 2500 Line: 8lb Daiwa J Braid Leader: 6lb Sunline FC Rock Lure: Cranka Crab heavy in olive improvement brought him all the way up to second place. DIVISIONS The Mortgage Corp Monster Mover prize went to Alex Whitehead (SA), who had a 0.68kg bag on day one and jumped to 1.89kg on day two, finishing in

Masters went to Lex Forbes (VIC) with 460g, and Tom McLean (NSW) won the Grand Masters with 2.46kg. The best of the First Time Competitors was Gareth Rendell-Goodhew, who fished magnificently for a 3.35kg bag total. – Hobie

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR 2019

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER DECEMBER

5-6 Oct

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 10 St Georges Basin

hobiefishing.com.au

12-13 Oct

ABT BASS Electric Australian Open Wyaralong Dam

abt.org.au

18-20 Oct

Variety Bass on Fly Lake Borumba

Jeremy Wakelin 0447 741 709 or redlaughter@optusnet.com.au

19-20 Oct

ABT BREAM Round 8 Port Stephens

abt.org.au

23-24 Oct

ABT BASS Grand Final Lake St Clair

abt.org.au

26-27 Oct

ABT BASS Australian Open Glenbawn Dam

abt.org.au

2-3 Nov

Lions Mary Valley Family Fishing Classic Lake Borumba

Glenn 0427 276 933 or gympielions@gmail.com

8-10 Nov

Tinaroo Barra Bash Lake Tinaroo

tinaroobarrabash.com.au

29 Nov-1 Dec

ABT BREAM Grand Final Gold Coast

abt.org.au

7-8 Dec

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 11 Marlo

hobiefishing.com.au

Add your tournament or competition to this list by emailing jthomas@fishingmonthly.com.au or calling 07 3387 0800 in office hours. Just supply a date, venue, tournament name and a telephone number and contact name. 92

OCTOBER 2019

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OCTOBER 2019

Trades, Services, Charter BOAT MODIFICATION & REPAIRS

BAIT & TACKLE

MARINE ELECTRONICS

Boat Collar (07) 5441 3636 CMC Marine Sales 0409 910 808 Iconic Boats Brisbane 0475 311 447 Marine Windows and Doors Brisbane (07) 3284 5088 Small Craft Electrics (mobile) 0408 063 064

Allfly Outfitters – 0428 615 885 Alvey - www.alvey.com.au Bait Tackle Store - www.baittacklestore.com Barambah Lures - www.barambahlures.com Bayside Bait & Tackle – 07 3820 9757

MARINE ELECTRONICS SALES • REPAIRS • INSTALLATIONS

MARINE MECHANICS

C & Horsey Lures - 07 3275 1881 Chilton Tackle Co - http://www.chiltontackleco.com.au/ Coomera Bait & Tackle - www.coomerahouseboats.com.au Crab’n Gear - www.crabngear.com.au

ONSITE AND MOBILE INSTALLATIONS

GOLD COAST T&S Marine (07) 5546 2599 Whitewater Marine (07) 5532 4402

Fisho’s Tackle World - www.fishostackleworld.com.au

SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND

Gem Bait & Tackle - 07 3287 3868 Halco - www.halcotackle.com

Brisbane Yamaha (07) 3888 1727 Caloundra Marine (07) 5491 1944 Capalaba Boat Centre 04011 728 379 Coorparoo Marine (07) 3397 4141 Cunningham Marine Centre (07) 3284 8805 Holt Marine (07) 3353 1928 Northside Marine (07) 3265 8029 Stones Corner Marine (07) 3397 9766

Hillies Lures – www.hilliesspinnersandlures.com Hot Bite Fishing – 0427335343 JML - www.jmlaa.com Lazer Lures – www.lazerlures.com.au Nomad Design Tackle – www.nomaddesigntackle.com Tackle Club - www.tackleclub.com.au Southern Cross Lures – 0428 667 550

NORTH QUEENSLAND

Sportys Fishing - www.sportyswarehouse.com.au Wilson Fishing - www.wilsonfishing.com

Reef Marine Mackay (07) 4957 3521

• Sounders • GPS • Electric Motors • Marine Radios and accessories • Stereos • Televisions • Radar Units • Autopilots

www.trymax.com.au PHONE: 07 3245 3633

Unit 4/1440 New Cleveland Road Capalaba

MARINE OUTBOARD WRECKERS

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This is where your copy will appear. You will have approximately 50 words within a 5x2 ad size. $320 + GST for 6 months Email nkelly@fishingmonthly.com.au

North Queensland Outboard Wreckers Townsville 1800 812 748

FISH TAXIDERMY Fish Taxidermist www.fishtaxidermy.net.au or 0428 544 841

FISHING GUIDES CENTRAL QUEENSLAND

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MARINE MECHANICS // MOBILE WYNUMM MANLY-BAYSIDE

Lake Monduran Houseboat – www.lakem.com.au Moreton Bay Holidays Afloat - www.moretonbayholidaysafloat.com

BOAT MODIFICATION & REPAIRS

FIBREGLASS Repairs

Brisbane South an Gold Coasd t

• Modifications • Detailing • Repairs JOE BONNICI

0410 480 203

Salt-Away www.salt-away.com.au ASM Mobile Welding Brisbane 0409 624 402 Bluewater Windscreens Brisbane (07) 3382 7883

Wondall Rd Marine (07) 3396 5633

SAMPLE AD - BUSINESS NAME This is where your copy will appear. You will have approximately 50 words within a 5x2 ad size. $320 + GST for 6 months Email nkelly@fishingmonthly.com.au

Lake Monduran Barra Charters 0407 434 446

TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND Hooked On Hinchinbrook www.hookedonhinchinbrook.com

MARINE TRIMMERS SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND Affordable Boat Covers Gold Coast 0419 424 587 Brisbane Yamaha (07) 3888 1727 Rays Canvas & Marine Caboolture (07) 5499 4911 Rowland Street Boat Trimmers Springwood (07) 3208 9511

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND The Islander Retreat, South Stradbroke Island 0420 967 557

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION FRASER ISLAND Apurla Island Retreat 0437 739 121 Cathedrals on Fraser (07) 4127 9177 Eurong Beach Resort 1800 111 808 Fraser Island Beach Houses 1800 626 230 Waddy Lodge on Fraser 0414 516 364 Yidney Rocks (07) 4127 9167

CENTRAL QUEENSLAND Baffle Creek Holiday House 0419 624 833

COOKTOWN River of Gold Motel 4069 5222

MACKAY

MARINE TRAILERS Oceanic Boat Trailers (07) 5597 0577 Sea-Link Special Trailers (07) 3881 3568 Spitfire Trailers (07) 0400 866 323T Tinnie Tosser (07) 5498 7339

BEL AIR MOTEL, MACKAY - PLENTY OF ROOM FOR BOATS AND TRAILERS.............PH: 07 4957 3658 FRESHWATER Lake Boondooma Caravan Park (07) 4168 9694 Lake Cressbrook Regional Council 131 872 Yallakool Caravan Park on Bjelke-Petersen Dam (07) 4168 4746 Yallakool Park and Kiosk on Bjelke-Petersen Dam (07) 4168 4746

This section in QLD Fishing Monthly consolidates the trades and services in your area that are relevant to your fishing and boating. Whether you’re a local looking for more options or a travelling angler fishing around the state, this guide will direct you to reputable businesses in the area you’re searching. 94

OCTOBER 2019

Boats & Guided Fishing Tours Directory ONLINE TACKLE PRODUCTS

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N O W AVA IL A B L E

Evans Head Deep Sea Fishing Charters 0428 828 835 Reel Time Fishing Charters Yamba 0428 231 962

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CHARTER BOATS GOLD COAST BK’s Gold Coast Fishing Charters 0414 293 034 Coastal Sports Fishing Charters Gold Coast 0412 691 929 Discovery Fishing Charters Gold Coast 0427 026 519 Fish The Deep Charters 0416 224 412 Hooker 1 Charters Gold Coast (07) 5528 6469 Paradise Fishing Charters 0403 531 428 RU4 Reel Tweed Heads 0449 903 366 Sea Probe Fishing Charters 0400 312 330 True Blue Fishing Gold Coast (07) 5510 9622

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BRISBANE Big Cat Charters and Tom Cat Charters 0433 430 248 Frenzy Charters Brisbane (07) 3209 4576 John Gooding Outlaw Charters 0418 738 750 Moreton Island Fishing Charters 0413 128 056

SUNSHINE COAST Fish n Crab Charters Mooloolaba 0412 155 814 Fishing Offshore Noosa 0418 889 956 Hervey Bay Fishing Charters (07) 4125 3958 Incredible Charters 1300 655 818 Keely Rose Deep Sea Fishing Charters 0407 146 151 Noosa Fishing Charters (07) 5665 8170 Odyssey Charters Deep Sea Fishing (07) 5478 1109 Offshore Reef and Game Fishing 0413 485 402 Rainbow Beach Fishing Charters 0439 775 070 Smithy’s Fishing Charters Sunshine Coast 0407 574 868 Sunshine Coast Fishing Charters (07) 5500 0671 Top Catch Charters Sunshine Coast 0429 013 012

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MARINA BOAT & TACKLE, YAMBA MARINA

YAMBA’S LARGEST TACKLE STORE • Chandlery • Boat Sales • Ice & Gas • Bait & Tackle • Trailers Sales & Parts • Charter Bookings Ph: 6646 1994 or 0428 231 962 Email: dave@gaden.com.au Now Agents For

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CENTRAL QUEENSLAND (Cont.) Bundaberg Fishing Charters 0429 017 217

MANY DESIGNS TO CHOOSE FROM ON A WIDE VARIETY OF PRODUCTS ALL MADE TO ORDER

Sport Fish 1770 (07) 4974 9686 Coral Coast Game Fishing 0447 347 437 Norval Reef Charters 1800 771 234 Iluka Fishing Charters Gladstone 0414 940 911 Kanimbla Charters Gladstone1800 677 202

TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND Action Charters Mackay 0417 452 346 Cairns Charter Boat 0427 533 081 Cairns Fishing Charters 0427 400 027 Cairns Reef Charter Services 1800 119 044 Eclipse FNQ Weipa Charters 0488 058 668 Fairdinkum Fishing Charters Townsville (07) 4751 5324 Fish’s Fly & Sportsfishing Weipa (07) 4069 9957

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Fishing Charters Townsville 0403 386 722 JC’s Fishing Charters 0438 753 382 Roko Island Fishing Charters 0488 074 593

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Advertisers wanting to be involved in this directory can call (07) 3387 0834 or email nkelly@fishingmonthly.com.au OCTOBER 2019

FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS COOK YOUR CATCH

PAN FRY BATTER CRUMB SMOKE FILLET WHOLE STEAM BROIL TRAY BAKE CURE

DTD - REAL FISH OITA

SEAR SKEWER POACH ROAST SOUS VIDE MARINATE CHARGRILL DEEPFRY PICKLE BARBEQUE

Name: Address:

P/Code:

The first correct entry at the end of each month will win the prize pack. SEND ENTRIES TO: QLD Find-a-word Competition, PO box 3172, Loganholme Qld 4129

QLD OCTOBER 2019

Phone (day):

GEORGE & NEV by Michael Hardy

The ‘Real Fish Oita’ is an incredible, award winning squid jig manufactured in Europe by leading Croatian company - DTD. Taking out the coveted ‘best new product’ in its class at the EFTTEX 2015 Expo in Warsaw, this wonderful range is now available in Australia through Dogtooth Distribution. The product imitates real fish species. This coupled with DTD’s use of only the highest grade materials available, ensures great balance and results in superior catching ability. With the unique ‘fish parasite’ feature, aimed at luring predators in for an ‘easy kill’, these truly unique jigs are set to explode into the Australian market. FEATURES - Double weight system with inner weight designed to produce sound while squid jig is in action. COLOURS - 7 different designs representing popular fish species. ADDITIONAL - Luminous body, fish parasite, great balance, sound effect, quality stainless steel hooks SIZES - 5 Sizes available www.dogtoothdistribution.com.au

SPOT THE

10 DIFFERENCES

BARRA COUNTRY by Brett Currie

ORIGINAL

FIND-A-WORD

Congratulations to Adam Kross, who was last month’s winner of the Find-a-Word Competition! Monthly winners receive a Fishing Monthly prize pack. Prize delivery can take 8 weeks. – QFM

SUBSCRIBER PRIZE

The subscriber prize winner for August is I Walker of Tatong, who won an E.J. Todd prize pack valued at $300. All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – QFM

Blackbutt, D Mayers of Northfield, R Kunde of Beerwah, B Newton of Trinity Beach, D McClurg of Boondall, R Thompson of Taigum, R Poor of Godwin Beach, J Hermann of Pacific Heights, B Rossetti of Proserpine, J Goody of Mount Berryman, A Stoffels of Yarrabilba, G Cull of Burrum Heads, A Scott of Proserpine, R Skase of Chiltern, G Walker of Warner, M Roots of

Cowley Beach, B Stephan of Donnybrook, D Leciej of Hervey Bay, B Nicholson of Bundamba, J Paul of Inverell, R Brown of Edmonton, M Baker of Gorokan, R Quill of Tin Can Bay, P Fels of Cushnie, T Geaney of Beecher, I Hamson of Conondale, T Gyte of Aspley, D Sclippa of Mourilyan, M Chadwick of Burrum Heads. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – QFM

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

FIND THE DAIWA LOGO

OCTOBER 2019

GUESS THE FISH?

This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Australian Herring

The answers to Find the Daiwa Logo for August were: 11, 18, 22, 24, 26, 28, 36, 40, 44, 52, 54, 64, 69, 70, 84. – QFM The Find the Daiwa Logo prize winners for August were: D Moros of Edmonton, M Hever of Childers, D Hutchins of Bundaberg, J Higgins of Caboolture, G Watter of Ripley, M Gillett of Boonah, J Steinhardt of Tivoli, K Oakley of Robina, B Tieman of Buxton, J Fourro of Bundaberg, L Dent of Millmerran, A Needham of

Answer:

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Bar Crusher’s philosophy is all about ensuring that the buyer ends up with a boat that’s ideal for their offshore boating needs. Bar Crushers deliver a super-smooth ride – a far cry from the uncomfortable, pounding ride of traditional aluminium boats – and superior stability at rest.

This month...

Editor Steve Morgan climbs into the Bar Crusher 535C, powered by a 90hp Suzuki 4-stroke. Check it out on page 106!

Troy Brown takes an exploratory kayak trip up this very accessible and fish-rich river to the south of Brisbane!

102 Preparing for an SUP camping trip Justin Willmer looks at the preparations and considerations for a SUP-based camping adventure!

104 Take a look inside a pre-loved boat Wayne Kampe takes you through what to look for on the inside of a used boat before you make a decision to buy it.

OCTOBER 2019

Plenty to persevere for at Pimpama River BRISBANE

Troy Brown

With warmer weather approaching, it is an exciting time for kayak anglers to be exploring new territory. While the transition between winter and summer is responsible for sporadic catches, it also heralds the arrival of species that were absent during the cooler months.

the main reason I love this sport so much. This month, I explored new ground at the Pimpama River. As I had only three spare fishing days for the month, I knew that exploring the area properly might be difficult, so I reached out to the kayak fishing community to fast track my education. To aid me in my quest, fellow kayakers Nirmal Sumy, Khean Mak and Lee Major joined me on the water.

snags chasing bream, I was thrilled when a mangrove jack tore from the timber to grab my offering, only to be disheartened as I realised I had no chance of stopping it on light line. Still, that lost fish was the highlight of my day, as it bodes well for the warmer weather to follow. The upstream area is a known jack hotspot. Unlike

Lee believes the key to catching jacks in any location is finding the right phase of the tide for the particular spot. “If the water is too high the surface lure is too far from the jacks hole, too low and I find that a jack can be reluctant to break from cover,” he said. “Couple these phases of the tide with low light periods or shaded cover, and you’re in

Khean Mak with a lizard caught working the drop-offs around the sand flats.

Creek mouths and run-offs are always worth targeting for flathead. The mangrove roots near this creek were also the location of a near miss with a solid mangrove jack. This time of year is particularly challenging for me, as I typically only have a few weeks to explore a new area while also balancing a busy work and family life. Despite the difficulty of researching an area with minimal time available, I relished the opportunity to test my fishing skills and enjoy the company of like-minded kayak fishers. With only a month available to learn the secrets of a location, which is often somewhere I have not fished before, I immerse myself into fishing the location and seek the assistance of fellow enthusiasts. Kayakers are

Bream are most often caught around structure, but they can appear in the channels and flats. With four of us, I was in a position to get four times more feedback on the area, as we all tried different techniques

Khean working the drop-offs along the shallow sand flats near the oyster racks. unique; ask a boatie for advice on their favourite locations and you will be greeted with silence or nervous looks while they try to steer the conversation in another direction. Kayakers are generally a more sociable bunch, possibly because multiple kayaks in the same location are less likely to spook fish than even just one boat pulling into a hotspot. As a result, most kayak fishers are more than willing to help out another yakker, which is 98

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hauling heavy hulls such as my Hobie Pro Angler back up the hill can be a physical challenge. Most owners of larger kayaks will be better off launching from their trailer, but lighter hulls can be

and worked separate sections of the waterway. Apart from the extra fishing knowledge on offer, these guys are also great company and made even a tough day of fishing a pleasure. Our first trip to the area was from the boat ramp at Colman Road Reserve. This launch point has plenty of parking for trailers and offers convenient access to some exceptional areas of the river. The ramp is very steep, and

easily pulled into the higher parking area. The ramp is a little isolated, so care should be taken to not leave valuables in your vehicle. Traveling downstream from the ramp, you will immediately discover the Pimpama is not a deep river. Shallow flats vastly overshadow the narrow deeper channels, providing opportunities to target a variety of species. Bream, whiting, flounder and trevally are all in attendance, but the real fun in this section can be found chasing monster flathead in the shallows. While spooking these fish

can be an issue, kayakers can easily negotiate the flats and cast into areas inaccessible to boats. If you are fishing the bottom near the abundant weed beds, you can expect to spend plenty of time removing greenery from your lures, but the reward certainly outweighs the inconvenience. Many flathead are lying in areas with a depth of less than half a metre, so you should also consider surface lures over the flats. Moving further downstream, you will also encounter one of the most outstanding opportunities for the kayak fisher; a series of oyster racks. Oyster racks are a magnet for big bream, so targeting the edges of these structures is a must. There will be inevitable heartbreak with lures lost around the racks, but the excitement of fighting fish away from the structure is worth the occasional loss of tackle. The flats on either side of the racks are also productive, with bream, flathead and whiting reliable targets. Moving inland from the boat ramp, the same flats structure is available but you will also find many opportunities to target the mighty mangrove jack. These dirty fighters are starting to reappear in our systems after a cold weather hiatus and can surprise anglers who are using light gear for other species. While casting a crankbait at

The author with a modest flathead. In his first session most of the fish were in the 40-60cm range, with his companions boating larger examples. some areas with deep rock walls and artificial structure, most of the jacks caught in this area will be around shallow snags on the river edge. Lee Major runs The Lure Project page on Facebook and is a confessed surface jack fanatic. “The visual nature of surface fishing, along with the sheer explosive power of a mangrove jack would have to make this style of fishing one of the most exciting experiences available,” Lee said. He suggests that structure is a great place to start. Once you find gnarly structure, whether it’s a rock bar, fallen mangroves, bridge, undercut bank or pontoon,

with a chance. It takes time to understand how each spot and system works, so persistence is the only solution.” In terms of surface lures, Lee prefers a combination of poppers, ‘walk-the-dog’ style stickbaits and fizzers. In order to replicate what the jacks might be feeding on at that time of year, some of his go-to lures are the Lucky Craft G-Splash, River2Sea Bubble Pop 65mm and Bassday Sugapen. He works a spot by casting past the structure if possible, working the lure towards the strike zone, and then once the lure is very close to the structure, working the lure erratically without moving

The boat ramp at Colman Road Reserve is well maintained, but it can still be challenging to haul a kayak up the steep incline.

Nirmal Sumy found this fish in deeper water on the upstream section. While many large flathead are pulled from the shallows, don’t ignore the deep drop-offs.

chances are there is a jack hiding somewhere within. Getting a lure through said structure can be extremely challenging when using subsurface lures, particularly if you aren’t familiar with the underwater structure. This is why he recommends using surface lures, as they can be worked millimetres above or beside structure relatively easily without snagging.

it too far. Having seen Lee’s results, I know his techniques are extremely effective. Khean Mak is another kayaker who has enjoyed testing new ground in the Pimpama River. Over a couple of trips, Khean has managed to catch more monster flathead than most catch in a good year. While I managed a number of good fish, these paled in comparison to the abundant

fish Khean caught in the 70cm range. Targeting the shallow flats, drop-offs and creek mouths, Khean proved that virtually

kayak while fishing the flats, as any visible movement from the angler will spook the fish. Larger flathead seem to have a more healthy level of caution

Khean prefers a subtle approach with swimbaits. By slow rolling over the flats with occasional pauses, he consistently catches large flathead. any lure could attract these large fish. Using a combination of Little Jack Gorgons on the shallows, Squidgy flickbaits on the drop-offs and Eastfield Wingman Curly Perch plastics, Khean continuously pulled quality fish from the Pimpama. To prove that his techniques would work on any lure, he then switched to Duo Spearhead Ryuki and Atomic Cranks with equal success. On the shallows, Khean fishes swimbaits with a simple slow roll and pause. While there are distinct advantages to sight fishing from a kayak, Khean recommends you discard the temptation to stand in your

than the younger models, so finesse fishing becomes more important. When fishing plastics, adjust the jig weight to the water depth and flow, as it is important the lure sinks slowly to the bottom, rather than plunging quickly. Slowly hop the lure towards you and wait for the strike, as fish will often strike on the drop. Due to his extraordinary success in chasing flathead, Khean is often asked which time and tide to fish to replicate his success. “Don’t wait for peak times to go fishing,” he said. “Simply being on the water will catch you fish. If you

don’t put in the time, you cannot expect to get the results, as fish don’t always bite to a specific formula. Learning to adapt to different conditions is the key to catching fish every time you hit the water.” Like Khean, I believe we learn more from when fishing is tough, rather than when the fish will take any lure or bait. This is when we learn to be anglers, rather than passive fishers. While the majority of kayakers are now fishing artificial lures, bait and live bait are still popular choices. Since I started kayaking, I have eschewed bait for lures and have found my

As an interesting experiment, I attempted a ‘bait versus lures’ comparison on my most recent visit to this system. Fishing over those few days was tough, with many telling me catches everywhere were patchy at best. These were ideal conditions for this test, as I figured that if conditions were perfect, the fish would take anything presented to them. My expectation was the bait would perform better, but I was shocked by the reality of what followed. Having taken the time to obtain some quality baits, I put these to the test against some of my current favourite lures. Using a combination

Small paddle-tail plastics such as the Keitech 2” Easy Shiners are deadly on bream and flathead. fishing success has reached a new level. I believe this is primarily because you need to have a better understanding of how fish think to catch with artificials.

of strip baits, prawns, squid and small frozen baits such as whitebait, my entire catch for the day on bait was one catfish. Meanwhile, using a combination of Keitech Easy

Use quieter periods as an opportunity to troll a lure. Watch your sounder for fish shows, as you never know when you can turn a slow bite into a feeding frenzy. Shiner 2” soft plastics, ZMan GrubZ and various hardbody lures, I had a decent mixed bag of flathead, bream, flounder, whiting and a lost mangrove jack. Conditions were indeed tough, but I believe my improved technique on lures has made these more effective than any dead bait I can offer. Catching the catfish was enough reason for me to forever disregard natural baits, as this is one fish I have managed to avoid since my lure conversion. Like all systems, the Pimpama is capable of effectively ‘shutting down’ for a few days and fishing becomes tough. On those days, swallow your pride and troll a lure. While benefitting from a good cardio workout, you will cover

more ground and have time to visually inspect more areas of the river, plus increase your chances of a random catch. If using a sounder, keep your eye on the screen while moving, as often you can stumble across a school of fish and have an opportunity to revert to your normal luring technique. While trolling is certainly an unglamorous method, it can often break a cycle and restore some confidence while you are waiting for the fish to become more active. Researching these location reports may be a challenge, but finding new locations such as the Pimpama River make the work very rewarding. Try the Pimpama River for yourself and you will agree it is a fishing location tailor-made for the keen kayak fisher!

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www.wp.fishingmonthly.com.au OCTOBER 2019

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Gearing up for SUP camping BRISBANE

Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

First attempt at standing up, and still dry.

Sheri is kayak confident and the SUP is the next challenge. wildlife from the elevated position, and sneaking into shallow pockets of water and flats that are not accessible for boats. My wife Sheri showed some interest in getting a SUP for herself and before we knew it we were planning not only to fish from the SUPs but to load our ultralight camping gear and actually go on an overnight or multi-day camping and fishing adventure from them. First though, we had to find a suitable SUP, get Sheri onto 102

OCTOBER 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

103

The inside of a used boat BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

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

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

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

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

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

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

There are quite a few under floor compartments set up in this rig. It’s a good idea to inspect them to see if they’re free of debris. the all-important trailer, but now it’s time to have a look around inside the rig. When you cast a critical eye over the interior, you will glean some information as to what sort of life the boat has had. Remember first off that used boats are not like used cars, as a boat’s working life involves a far more hostile 104

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

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

Half cabin boats have seating up front and storage below them, so it’s a good idea to lift up a seat top to have a look at the storage compartment beneath. This might provide some clues regarding how the boat has been treated. There’s no doubt that a clean, mildew free, storage area is a good sign. Dash instruments, if fitted, should have clear, uncrazed and uncracked faces and must work as intended, and an engine start up might reveal some information in this regard. If the boat has a steering wheel, it should turn freely without any binding. Hydraulic steering systems are common on larger boats, and if one is fitted you

With small open boats, what you see is exactly what you get. should look for any signs of hydraulic oil residue on either the hydraulic arm at the engine or up near the steering wheel. It’s not a bad idea to lift any flooring, if possible, to have a glance at what’s happening under it. Sinkers, swivels or other tackle in the bottom of a tinny are sure warning signs that the owner hasn’t looked after the boat as well as they could have, and these items are also an invitation for electrolysis to occur. Bilge areas in any boat are also places where things can accumulate or gather to cause mischief at a later time. Giving consideration to bilge areas in a boat might also involve assessing how accessible that bilge is as regards to cleaning and maintenance of a pump. THE BIG PICTURE Open, tiller-steer boats, especially tinnies or dingies, are very much an open book: what you see is what you get. In an entirely open boat there’s not much to hide apart from what’s under any flooring or areas which have a cover over them. Most of the potential issues I’ve already discussed will be easily assessed in an open boat.

In different styles of craft, such as half cabins, runabouts or centre consoles, you need to go a step further and suss out the available storage, particularly storage compartments. You should be looking for ease of access and overall convenience, and also think about what items you’ll want to store, how well they will fit and whether they will get wet. TEST DRIVE Putting a boat in the water for a test run is something that a dealer would hardly hesitate to do: a private seller perhaps not so readily so the usual thing is to pay a deposit to show bona fides interest and good faith. Distance from a ramp is the key and my view is that if a ramp is handy an owner should at least offer to put the rig in the water for a test run. As a buyer it pays to be reasonable here but the more money changing hands the more essential it is to be sure that all is well with the boat. And naturally, once aboard it’s very easy to assess ride and handling and have the opportunity to sit in the skipper’s seat and review the driving position. All going well, that used boat might just be the one for you.

It’s OK for seats to have a bit of wear, as they usually do it pretty tough in boats, but these seats are in pretty poor shape. This can indicate that the boat had a hard life.

WHAT’S NEW BOATING HIRE OUT YOUR BOAT

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

KOMS ELECTRIC MOTOR LOCK

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

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

YELLOWFIN FHT 5800

PRODUCT GUIDE

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

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

NAVIONICS SONARCHART

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

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

SCAN THE QR CODE!

Bar Crusher 535C with Suzuki 90hp 4-stroke

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more of a task than a chore. Featuring a large cockpit and available fishing space for the size of the boat, the gunwales are high enough to feel comfortable and the folding transom bench seat stows in seconds to create the

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Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

As Bar Crusher’s Matt Urzia explained, their 535C Cuddy Cabin boat is aimed squarely at the angler who wants to take their fishing to the next level of range and comfort. We’ve all done days in the small tinny and although you can sometimes get to where you want to fish, there are often only small windows when this is comfortable and safe. “It’s all about better comfort, ride, stability and range,” Matt said at the Patterson River boat ramp on a picture perfect day on Port Phillip Bay. And although the 535C is on the smaller side of the Bar Crusher range, it lacks none of the features of its bigger brothers and sisters.

PERFORMANCE

Main: Bar Crusher’s Gen2 hull design features for’ard reverse chines. You can see them here diverting water down and away from the hull. Above: Powered by a Suzuki 90hp 4-stroke, the 535C Cuddy Cabin is a very efficient rig on the water. At optimum cruising efficiency it delivers over 3km/L, giving a theoretical range of over 300km. the hull lower in the water, which increases stability for the given beam. When the boat moves, the water dumps out of the transom holes virtually

SPECIFICATIONS Hull Length...............................................5.35m Beam......................................................... 2.15m Bottom sheet.............................................4mm Side sheet...................................................3mm Fuel............................................................. 100L Dry tow weight........................................1150kg Min hp.........................................................60hp Max hp......................................................100hp Trailer height............................................ 2.15m Capacity............................................. 5 persons Starting with the Gen2 hull, the 535C features the reverse chines to turn away spray and their water ballast system. If you’re unfamiliar with Bar Crushers, it’s a chamber with several hundred litres volume that floods as the boat sits at rest. It drags 106

OCTOBER 2019

get 3.5km/L at 37km/h. With a 100L underfloor fuel tank, that gives a theoretical range of well over 300km for this rig – plenty for even the most ambitious angler. The test boat was supplied by Bar Crusher and as tested,

instantly. It’s a way that Bar Crusher deals with boating’s constant compromise of ride quality versus stability at rest. Another point of interest with this rig for ex-tinny owners is the fact that these boats are designed to fold down to fit into standard garages. The

windscreen folds over and the targa top has hinges at the gunwale line (with the removal of a single pin) so this model can fit into a garage 2m high. All Bar Crushers that I’ve tested from the factory have been supplied on Victorian made Easytow trailers. This 535C is cradled on a single axle trailer with skids and central rollers. The Easytow not only looks good, but because it’s designed exactly for that model of boat, you know that it’ll be fit for purpose. In my experience, these Easytows coupled with the Bar Catch deployment system makes it really easy to spend minimal time on the ramp itself. And it’s always nice to be the fast guy at the ramp rather than the muppet undoing his tie down strap after reversing down the slope. At 1,300kg dry towing weight, nearly all cars with a towbar can tow it. From a practical point of

view this Crusher, like most of its ilk, are built for durability and ease of maintenance. The abundance of chequer plate flooring with minimal carpet and vinyl means that cleaning the rig at the end of the day is

RPM......Speed (km/h) Economy (km/L) 1000.......................... 7........................ 6.7 2000........................ 11........................ 3.7 3000........................ 21........................ 3.0 4000........................ 37........................ 3.5 5000........................ 49........................ 2.7 6000........................ 60........................ 6.0 ideal area to seriously fish. Performance wise, the test boat seemed to be propped for rough water handling rather than top end speed. Still, at 60km/h at wide open throttle, 6,000rpm was achieved at 1.8km/L economy. Drop the revs down to 4000 and you can

attracted a price tag of the mid-$50,000s. Packages start from mid-$40,000s. For more information, visit Australian Marine Centre at 3491 Pacific Highway Slacks Creek (07) 3808 7333, or go to www.amcboats.com.au and sales@amcboats.com.au.

The test rig was propped for hole shot and rough water rather than speed. As a result, it rocketed out of the hole.

The cabin in this Bar Crusher is definitely more spartan than luxurious. That said, it’s super easy to maintain and does offer a place out of the weather to take a breather. It’s very open to the cockpit.

An underfloor kill tank is a near necessity in a fishing boat these days. This Bar Crusher’s sits in the rear middle of the cockpit floor.

The dashboard is small to facilitate easy access to the cuddy cabin and there’s still space to flush mount your sounder and see it from the cockpit.

The transom shelf keeps your batteries and switching off the floor and relatively dry.

Bar Crusher features a unique pod and duckboard design that sets the outboard back from the main hull while still maintaining flotation.

Once you’ve had a Bar Catch trailer, you’ll never want to own a rig without an autolatching and deployment system.

Every factory Bar Crusher I’ve tested has been supplied on a custom designed Easytow trailer. This single axle model, foldable windscreen and targa top means that this rig will fit into a 2m high garage if required.

The 535C features 16 degrees of transom deadrise. The water ballast system pulls the chines into the water at rest and makes the beam seem a lot wider when it comes to stability.

Top: We like Bar Crusher’s simplicity in design – the fewer moving parts and pumps the better. This transom livewell gravity drains onto the duckboard via a series of overflow holes. Above: Remove a single pin and the targa top can be folded over to get the boat into a garage.

Top: There’s a removable cutting board in the transom bait station and a few rod holders. Bar Crusher’s rigging stations are rarely complicated. Above: The test boat was also fitted with a Stressfree anchor winch – a virtual necessity in Victoria!

Clever in-base tackle storage will tick a few boxes for organised anglers. OCTOBER 2019

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