Queensland Fishing Monthly - September 2016 by Fishing Monthly

AFTA SHOW WINNERS • SEPTEMBER SNAPPER

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Tried and Tested

Korr HKC 6000 camper trailer • Nissan Navara RX • Horizon 515 Sea Breeze • Nitro Z18 •

Boating and Kayaking

Kayaking O’Sheas Crossing • Yakking about tides and times • Buying a boat: new or used? • Crossing a bar safely • Boat basics: hull types

Features

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Brisbane River snapper • Crack out the crabs for bream • Flathead Classic • Is it time for a rec licence? • AFTA Show winners •

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September 2016, Vol. 28 No. 11

Contents NORTHERN NEW SOUTH WALES

Ballina 22 Iluka 24 SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND Tweed Heads 25 Southern Gold Coast 26 Gold Coast Canals 28 Gold Coast 30 Jumpinpin 32 Southern Bay 34 Brisbane 36 Brisbane Offshore 39 Northern Bay 40 Caloundra 41 Noosa 42 CENTRAL QUEENSLAND Hervey Bay 46 Rainbow Beach 46 Fraser Coast 48 Bundaberg 48 Lake Monduran 49 Rockhampton 49 1770 50 Stanage Bay 51 Gladstone 52 Yeppoon 52 Mackay 53

From the Editor’s Desk... GREEN PAPERS With the announcement of the Fisheries Management Reform Green Paper, which was launched right after we went to print with the August issue, it’s time, Queensland anglers, to give the government your feedback. The broad goal is to take fish stocks from their current 30-40% of original biomass back to 60% of their original levels. If you want it simplified more, then imagine they’re double the number of fish in the waters you fish! And, in an unprecedented move, there’s a page inside this magazine, the September Bush and Beach and the September Fish and Boat, outlining our collective opinions on this. Make your own mind up, but have your say by the end of the month!

THE AFTAMATH Wow. What a big week it was for Fishing Monthly Magazines at the annual Australian Fishing Trades Association (AFTA) Trade Show at the Gold Coast at the end of July. We had 11 staff covering the event and delivered our readers information in a multitude of ways. For the first time, through our new tackle engine www. tacklejunkie.fish, we covered the show with five LIVE broadcasts from inside the show – Simon Goldsmith and I lived up the best tackle and the biggest personalities we could find to bring you the newest and the best the quickest. The feedback from the coverage was awesome – so thank you to the thousands who tuned in – either live or in the subsequent days with the shows archived on the tacklejunkie.fish Facebook

page and indexed in the website tacklejunkie.fish. And that website was the next place the information ended up. Ever since the show, there’s been a stream of write-ups on the new tackle we found, and you’ll find them there before this magazine hit the shelves. Did you want more video content? Yep, we’ve got that. Over 50 videos featuring the new products released are available to watch on the Fishing Monthly YouTube channel (search “Fishing Monthly” on YouTube and remember to subscribe). Finally, of course, there’s nine pages in this issue dedicated to the best-of-show. Literally, with the Best of Show award winners getting some space inside, but also the tackle that we thought was the coolest and most innovative. The Best of Show awards were voted on by the retailers

themselves and there’s a fair assumption that if your local store thinks it’s cool, then you may just very well think it’s cool, too. Too much tackle? Maybe, but we’re all Tackle Junkies in here and there was no way we could sit still and shut up with that much going on. You can rest assured that as long as the public aren’t allowed a glimpse of what’s being released, then we’ll be doing our best to show you what’s coming to a tackle store near you!

Check out all the AFTA new products at Tacklejunkie.fish

TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND

Field Editors: Jason Ehrlich Wayne Kampe Publishers: Steve Morgan Matthew Drinkall

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Liam Fitzpatrick with a snapper from the Brisbane River.

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QUEENSLAND FISHING MONTHLY

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Brisbane River snapper Crack out the crab for bream Learning the Weipa way Is it time for a rec licence? AFTA Show winners Fisheries Green Paper

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Whitsundays 66 Ayr 68 Townsville 69 Hinchinbrook 70 Cairns 71 Port Douglas 71 Cooktown 70 Cape York 72 TNQ Freshwater 73

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Snapper

Seeing red in the Brisbane River BRISBANE

Liam Fitzpatrick liamsfx@hotmail.com

These days, most anglers associate the Brisbane River with a healthy population of snapper that can be targeted all year round, but back in the day when City Cats were non-existent and there was only one Gateway Bridge, consistently catching snapper in the Brisbane River was not a common occurrence. This brief historical journey is based upon personal experience mixed up with some statistical evidence to back up what I have seen come and go over the past decade or so. In this article, I’m going to talk sportfishing with artificial lures and the different techniques that have evolved around this fishery, and how they have shaped the way we target all the sportfish species that inhabit this historic southern Queensland waterway. SHAPING THE RIVER The Brisbane River is the longest river in the South East region of Queensland, and before European settlement, the river was spiritually important and a vital source of food for the Aboriginal people of the Turrbal nation, primarily fishing in the tidal sections of water towards the mouth. Historically, the Brisbane River contained upstream rock bars and shallows that had a natural tidal limit of only 16km, and today the current tidal limit now extends 85km upstream due to extensive channel dredging. Throughout much of the 20th century, large quantities of sand and gravel were extracted from the river for navigational purposes, and also used in many of the extensive reclamation projects from Pinkenba across to Fishermans Island. The constant extraction of river bed material by dredges has had a considerable effect on the river. These impacts

include increased turbidity, bed and bank erosion and changes in tidal hydraulics. Over the years, water quality in the river has significantly deteriorated. Environmentally, the river is in a poor condition and has been so for many years. At times, the Brisbane River estuary did not meet the national guidelines for environmental standards and the lower reaches received very poor ratings in Healthy Waterways reports. The major causes of pollution are excess nutrients, hydrocarbons, pesticides and bacteria, which become concentrated in the river and its sediment after flowing off the surrounding lands. Thankfully, the dredging stopped, and

Times of plenty came due to extreme flooding events that aided breeding cycles and natural recruitment. It is these extreme flooding events that have always benefited the fish populations of the river, and either dispersed populations for a period or drawn them back and concentrated them depending on the river’s cycle. Well-known movers are species like mulloway, and we have seen populations boom since the floods that started in the late 1990s and continuing up to the big floods in 2010 and 2011. Snapper movements are not as black and white as this, and most movement appears to be governed by size and prime locations that suit the size and

Micro-jigging, while a fairly new technique for Brisbane River snapper, is an effective way to work schools.

Early on in the author’s Brisbane snapper obsession, plastics were his go-to. although the river is still a shadow of its former pristine days, the fishing is as good as most anglers have seen it in their lifetime. BOOM AND BUST Over the years, you hear stories and rumours of how good the fishing was, and my understanding is that even back in the day before overfishing and the endless netting of the river, it still experienced times of boom and bust.

age of the fish. Snapper may appear as a boom and bust species, but in reality, it’s not as drastic as other species in the river. Long-lived snapper may show up in numbers for periods of time, but this is due to their movements rather than quick influxes in numbers due to booms rather than busts. In the Brisbane River, tagging data shows that juvenile snapper have been detected moving out of the

Snapper aren’t the only predators you’re likely to encounter in the river, with mulloway generally being more than just an incidental by-catch. 10

SEPTEMBER 2016

region rather than in, though the data shows that these movements are still likely to have juveniles coming into the system. In terms of larger snapper, the movement is mostly inbound, suggesting that the Brisbane River environment is suited to larger snapper. Larger snapper are found in similar locations to juvenile snapper, but they have less larger movements recorded, which are likely to be between habitats, indicating that as they age they tend to stabilise in their selection of habitat. When they do move, it tends to be more localised. The majority of recaptures in the Brisbane River are local, indicating a relatively static

and stable population, relative to other parts of the bay, where there is less movement detected in and out of the system. Data movements are wide ranging, depending on the year and conditions, though there is a lot of movement between neighbouring reefs and bay islands and there is also movement between the reefs off the Gold Coast and Moreton Bay. In terms of larger movements, they range across the bay, both north and south, using specific corridors for movement in a northerly and southerly direction between the different habitats. TARGETING SNAPPER The early days There was a steep learning curve I encountered when I first ventured into the domain of rive-dwelling snapper. One of the earliest reports I read was of anglers fishing the tug boat docks and getting consistent numbers of snapper. At the time, the stories of big snapper being caught on bream gear were enough to entice any angler in the region to target snapper in what appeared to be a new fishery just waiting to be exposed. My first experience took place under the original

Gateway Bridge whilst fishing out of my canoe. I only owned bream gear at the time, and after being smoked by something that left me scratching my head, I really gained a love for fishing the Brisbane River. That same trip, I landed my first snapper of around 40cm, and decided that the thing that smoked me was a massive mulloway. In the years that followed, I would come to learn the true power and speed that snapper have, experiencing snapper shred my leaders and destroy my terminal tackle in the blink of an eye. Once I had half of an idea of how to successfully target river snapper, I still

week with greater success after each trip. As my understanding of the species and their environment evolved, my methods moved away from what I classed as heavy bream gear to dedicated snapper gear that after time, still proved to be light snapper gear at best. Soft plastics Those initial encounters stemmed from accidentally letting light 1/20-1/16oz jigheads sink a little too far beyond the realm of the bream and into the domain of the snapper. Like most bream anglers back then, 2-3” single tail grubs were the lure of choice, and I’m reminded of the first time I found what

Vibration baits are a fantastic option for the Brisbane River’s resident snapper. hooked way more of the bigger specimens than I would land. My first go-to spot was the dredged ledges of Claras Rocks, which is a industrially sculpted structure carved out of an old coffee rock formation spanning the river. Here, my growing group of keen mates and I would fish before and after work multiple times a

would become one of the most productive snapper spots for so many years to come. I was fishing the silos for bream and as the little grub descended between the upper and lower zones of the water column, these seemingly unstoppable fish would eat the plastic. It wasn’t until I stepped up from 2-4kg rods running 4-6lb

Snapper braided mainline with 4-8lb fluorocarbon leaders to the 3-5kg range of rods running 10-12lb braided mainline with 12-16lb fluorocarbon leaders that I started turning and steering a few clear of the structure that they always try and get back to. The years to follow saw the introduction of dedicated snapper outfits and a more common presentation of bigger soft plastics like 4-5” models. Vibration baits Soon to follow was the domination of vibration baits, which made us re-think the way we fished once more. Fishing lipless cranks and soft vibes with spin gear presents a few new obstacles that can only be overcome by using baitcast gear. Trying to punch

out long casts with vibration baits on spin gear results in fouled baits long before they even break the waters surface. Cast underhand on baitcast gear and these baits have a more controlled flight path and trajectory, which results in more time fishing and less time cranking a fouled bait in. Once I started fishing with what was basically heavy bass gear at the time, I had to overhaul the system once again to 20lb braided mainline and 20-30lb fluorocarbon leaders, but with this came a new set of obstacles. Stock vibration baits straight out of the pack came with hooks suitable for their intended quarry, but were no match for the crushing power of a snapper’s jaws. Initially,

Snapper are often beautifully coloured in the river.

we straightened trebles like nothing, then we upgraded the trebles and started opening split rings with ease. Next we went to 25-30lb set ups, but then we just got smoked hard core as the terminal tackle held up but the brute power of these fish became more apparent and when close to structure, these encounters were brief. Once we had heavy duty split rings and 6X trebles, we needed the stopping power that came with using barra gear, like 40-50lb overhead casting set ups with 40-50lb leaders, and then it was like having a big dog on a short leash. They were on, but without taking drag they still had enough line to carve sideways and reach anything close enough to sever the connection. This eventually became un-sportsman like and inappropriate to effectively fish certain baits. So, a happy medium was reached and we started to take the good with the bad and accepted that sometimes you win some, and sometimes you lose. As other river dwellers started to populate the system, these vibration baits proved irresistible to our whiskered adversaries, the king threadfin, but we soon realised the HD trebles tore large holes in soft mouths and would suit certain applications revolving around species specific situations. With the vibration baits really taking off, companies

Snapper of this size when hooked away from structure usually aren’t an issue. However, when they get bigger, it can be like walking a big dog on a leash. start bringing miniature versions, bream size baits, like the VX range by Ecogear. These little vibes, packed full of fish calling vibration, soon proved irresistible to everything including snapper. With a similar process to the early plastics days, we started off chasing bream with blades and continually had trebles destroyed or just got smoked altogether. We had found a new bait destined to become a proven snapper catcher.

CUSTOM EYES

We quickly moved away from VX35 to the larger VX50 model, which soon showed us just how important vibration is to predators like snapper and the like, and the correlation with their lateral line and feeding behaviour. The jellybean theory comes into its own when fishing these baits, as big snapper love engulfing a small vibe in every situation. In low light or deep water situations, the

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vibration put out by these baits drew bites when the the more visual aspect of plastics failed to. Back then and still to this day, there is no easy fix to beef up small vibes other than running small singles, but the problem with this is that to effectively fish small vibes, a relatively light set up is required and that just gives snapper a clear advantage when fishing this technique. To page 12

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Jigging The next snapper targeting option came along with the massive micro-jigging and light jigging craze. This technique suits the Brisbane River so well, with deep water and strong tidal movement. The ability to present a jig straight down to schools of baitfish and feeding predators has never been so easy. Typically, jig weights are determined by a simple equation, 1g per foot of water, so there is no real need for

a jig over 60g in the river, and you can easily fish jigs as light as 10g’s depending on location. The most effective way to fish the micro stuff is with a dedicated micro-jig combo spooled with light braid from 8-15lb and leaders up to about 20lb that suits jigs up to 20g, but this is best used on fish schooling well away from structure. Light jigging with jigs 30-60g again is best done with a dedicated combo spooled with 20-40lb braid and leaders from 30-40lb. One of the

major advances in our arsenal is the sounder technology that is above and beyond the tech of my old grey scale 2D Lowrance. Nowadays, we have basically a 360° view of the depths below us with 2D, Structure and Down Scan and forward facing Sonar, that offer an undeniable advantage when it comes to finding structure, bait and fish. These tech options fall right into place with not only the jigging aspect, but all these snapper techniques. When fishing the river these days,

These maps show snapper movements throughout the bay.

SEPTEMBER 2016

quite often I’ll just sound out the depths and my usual spots and have at least one of each of the aforementioned lures and techniques ready to go at all times, ready for when the bait and fish are located. THE HIGHS AND LOWS Since I initially started fishing the Brisbane River, I have seen the booms and busts and experienced the highs and lows of success and failure that go hand in hand with sportfishing. I have seen changes in the environment from reclaimed areas and the continual expansion of the man-made Port of Brisbane venture to the aftermath of natural disasters like the ‘100 year floods’ that seem to happen more frequently than the name suggests. I’ve had rules and

regulations implemented and changed and been forced further and further afield. I have watched the Tangalooma Flyer go past more times than

I could count and seen ships come and go that dwarf the ever-present container ships. I have seen plagues of blue jellyfish choke the river and

King threadfin are another common by-catch when chasing snapper in the river.

Modern vibes have proven very effective on Brisbane snapper.

had an ongoing relationship with a dolphin and her calf for many years. I watched species that seem to appear from nowhere explode onto the scene, making the river their own stomping ground, meanwhile others bide their time, waiting for favoured conditions to roll round again before they produce the next generation of river dwellers. All I can hope for is the chance to see it all happen again, and to be there when my kids experience what the river has to offer just like I have.

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10.55%

Feeling a bit nippy? Time to crack out the crabs VFM

Richard Somerton

Let’s face it, crustaceans play a large part in the diet of many fish species, with prawns, shrimp, yabbies and of course crabs. So it makes sense to use lures that imitate these common food sources. For this article I will be focusing on crabs and the lures and techniques I use to catch fish. The main species I target are bream but these techniques can be applied to any fish species that eat crabs. The following are some basic techniques I use for fishing crab style lures. Over the past few years I’ve had great success in fishing this lure type both socially and in tournaments and can contribute a few wins and even a Kayak World Championship to these lures. MATCH THE HATCH Firstly, it is very important to ‘match the hatch’. As a keen flyfisher I always look at what the fish are eating and closely try to match that. So have a look around and maybe

roll over some rocks to try and find the size and most importantly colour of the local population. I use crab lures that have a number of colours available, and can also refine and mix and match things with their interchangeable legs, and claws. I also carry a few permanent marker pens to add dots, stripes and such. Of course ‘colouring in’ can be applied to soft plastic crabs as well. This approach tends to work 9/10 times! If the more matched natural is not working, try throwing something with a colour that ‘pops out,’ as this can also draw fish in. I fished a tournament last year and after throwing the more standard, darker colours I tried a sand colour that turned out to be the key to tempt those shutdown fish. NATURAL MOVEMENT I think a major key to unlock fish is to imitate how crabs move and act in the water. Most of us see crabs running around the sand and rocks in the ‘dry’ that look like they are going flat out. Through my job as a diver I get a unique look into the behaviour of how crabs move and feed

Shallow fishing can be one of the most visual types of ‘crabbing’. It feels great to watch a big bream crunch your crab! underwater. Most sit still unless purposely agitated and then they will flee or even defend themselves (claws up). Some just burrow down trying not to move too much and hoping not to be seen, but mostly they move pretty

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slow. I work on the theory that too much movement attracts attention in the animal world! We have all seen videos of various brands of crab lures being worked enticingly in fish tanks with the line running directly up to surface and of the lure hopping from rock to rock, this sure catches anglers! But conditions are never this artificial when angling, so if water clarity allows,

angle when fishing a crab lure and the substrate of where I am fishing and hold my rod tip accordingly. The key is to keep the lure in touch with the bottom, and moving the lure slowly. With the substrate you may have to consider applying enough line angle to either move it up and over debris, rocks and such, other times consider lowering your rod tip to bury the lure a little bit such as in soft

me with as much feel as possible to work that crab. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION Another great place to fish ‘crab style’ are structure like jetties, channel piles, boat hulls, bridges, rock walls and pontoons. These are fish holding magnets and fish and critters of various types choose to live and feed in these areas. Going back to the line angle method again, this is where my approach can differ. Usually you end up being much closer and the water tends to be deeper. You can cast along and under the various structures in the style explained above, which again can be very effective. But in these areas I like to cast to individual pieces of structure with the crab sinking hard against it. This represents a crab that’s been dislodged and is free falling towards the bottom. The take can happen anywhere from the second it hits the water until well after it has been sitting on the bottom. So the idea is to watch the line carefully and a handy way is to know the depth and estimate the line you have out. If it is 4m deep and you only see about 3m disappear I’d probably lift up to see what’s going on! The ‘takes’ can be as simple as the line just stopping.

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cast your lure a couple of metres away so you can see it and work the lure using different line angles and at differing rod tip height. This can give you a better insight into how to move the crab and give it that natural look. ANGLE AND RETRIEVE I always consider line

mud and sand. This can look like a crab trying to bury itself or escape and leaves a nice little plume of sand and silt. I always change my rod tip height through the retrieve so by the time I have worked it back to the boat I have kept a constant line angle. I also prefer braid for this style of fishing as it provides

When it’s on the bottom I like to leave it for a while, but this depends on how much patience you have! I have actually watched fish in clear water follow the lure all the way to the bottom and just sit there staring at it. So I always give it a light jiggle or drag then stop again, and wait. If you don’t feel a ‘take’,

which can be explosive just give it a firm lift and you’d be surprised how many times they are sitting there with it in their mouths. FLATS/SHALLOW WATER FISHING Shallow fishing can be one of the most visual types of ‘crabbing’. Whether casting to cruising fish or fish that are actively grubbing or mudding I take great care so as not to ‘spook’ them and landing the lure too close to the fish can easily do this. This is when I put away the braid line and pick up the straight through fluorocarbon to give myself every extra chance of hooking and not spooking them. I like to ambush cruising fish, by casting well ahead and waiting them out. You need to keep track of where your crab is and where the fish is and hopefully they don’t change course! When the fish is 1-2m away I give the crab the slightest of drags or jiggles. This can be very exciting fishing and great to watch the reaction of the fish. When fish are actively feeding you can often see tailing and clouding or mudding of the water. Again to avoid spooking, I try to cast well beyond them and do one of two

Crabbing is one of the best ways to connect with the larger models of bream. The technique is tricky though, so practice makes perfect. things. You can then drag the crab along the bottom to the area the fish is feeding, but you need to keep track of exactly where the lure is, which can be difficult and takes a lot of trial and error to perfect! My preferred method is to cast beyond and the second it hits the water I wake it across the surface with as little disturbance as possible. When it’s about

1m from the feeding fish or area I just let it sink to the bottom. I find it easier to keep track of the lure this way and then very slowly work it into the mudding/ feeding area or past the fish. When fish are feeding like this they are right onto anything moving but even a static presentation will work, so make sure you spend as much time as possible in that area –

slowly does it. HEAVY COVER/ SNAG FISHING Another technique I’d like to cover (and my favourite) is heavy cover or snag fishing. I find this to be real ‘heart in your mouth’ fishing and I apply the ‘stop them or pop them’ theory. Most of the cover I fish when breaming is horrible barnacle encrusted, leader shredding snags of

disappointment and full of the one that got away stories. I hear many people say you can turn most bream on 6lb and if you can’t well you probably were never going to? I go heavier and start at 8lb and mostly finish at 12lb. These fish only have to move a couple of hundred millimetres and it’s all over. Heavy leader and a locked drag greatly increase your chances and usually they are not too leader shy. But the other problem you will run into is the lures themselves. The smaller jigheads for plastics used for this fishing just weren’t designed for this abuse with 12lb leader! But a plus for some imitation crabs is the load can be usually shared between two sets of hooks sometimes due to the design and the way fish eat them. I snap, straighten and tear off hooks while fishing this way, but the rewards can be great. A few other points to make with this style of fishing is to slow down when approaching the snag/ cover. Position yourself to maximise your chance of getting the fish out and think of the different casts you can make and what the structure looks like underwater. I cast hard against the cover and often the takes are instantaneous and crushing, so be ready!

If you don’t get hit straight away, engage a little bit of patience and wait it out with the just the smallest of jiggles but try not to drag or move the crab too much. Cover all the main points of the cover and if it’s a large laydown then cover both sides, but keep in mind the shaded side will be the prime area. So that about sums up a brief explanation of how I like to fish crab lures in common scenarios but there a few others such as edge fishing and deep fishing that the above can be applied to. One of biggest complaints I hear about fishing crab lures is how slow the fishing techniques are and I admit doing it correctly can be a bit time consuming, however, do it right and you will be rewarded with some very impressive and usually larger fish. • I do have a sponsorship with Cranka so I will freely admit a strong bias towards this brand. However, there are a number of soft plastic lures out there like Ecogear, Baitbreath, Crusty, Smash Crab, Enticer and Strikepro to name a few. So it’s just a matter of using a lure type you are comfortable with and that suits the environment and situation you are fishing.

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The ways of Weipa HERVEY BAY

Mark Bargenquast

Winter time in South East Queensland can be quite tough at times, with plenty of long days out on the water resulting in just a couple of fish or even less. Up here in on the western cape however, the fishing couldn’t be better.

fish and garfish hanging around this area lately. Down deep on the reef, vibes and micro-jigs have proven their worth on species like golden snapper, trevally, mackerel and even black jewfish. On days when the reefies are being a little reluctant, dropping a bait down onto the reef can prove very effective, and

produce many species like barra, mangrove jacks, big cod, giant trevally and even queenfish, which can be found many kilometres up stream in dirty waters. There is also the freshwater options, where clear lily pad choked creeks can produce some impressive sessions on species like barra, sooty grunter, archer fish and

The tuna action has been fantastic in Weipa lately. now me and my family have decided to move up here permanently. While the wife Denise and daughter Georgie are still settling in, my son Jackson and myself are enjoying the outdoor lifestyle as fullest as we can.

I really enjoy watching my son gob smacked by the excellent fishing up here, and one of the best moments has been watching him land some big, hard-fighting tuskies on a hand line, something he has never done before.

As always, the guiding has been going well and the clients are enjoying themselves, catching species such as coral trout, tuna and everyone’s dream fish, big barra. Good luck to all anglers heading north this month.

Queenfish have consistently been providing surface action. A large amount of swell has been rolling in lately, dirtying up the beaches, making fly fishing for species such as blue bastards and permit more difficult. Offshore the action on species such as tuna and queenfish has been spectacular, with an impressive show of surface action on poppers and stickbaits. This is mainly due to the fact that there have been lots of flying

a live mullet, whiting or prawn works well with most species. If targeting golden snapper or hardfighting black-spot tuskies, a crab (live or dead) almost always results in a solid fish with no pesky pickers tearing up your bait, as opposed to when we use softer baits like prawn and squid. If the wind really gets up and it’s not possible to head out into the ocean, the estuaries up here can

saratoga. These can be caught on a light fly rod with surface flies such as Dahlbergs and gurglers, or on regular tackle using small minnows, poppers and vibes. When targeting these fish, try to target the deep holes and thick snaggy areas along weed beds. As with anywhere up north, be sure to watch out for crocs, as they can turn up anywhere. My life in Hervey Bay has come to an end, and

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Tech Tricks

How to rig paravanes and trolling boards BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

Anglers fishing in Moreton Bay waters will begin to see an increase in the number of school mackerel during September. Often found in the main channels, around structure such as beacons and on the outer margins

of the bay islands, school mackerel offer anglers some tasty table fare. One of the historically productive ways of targeting these silver streaks – a method which is still used nowadays by commercial line fishermen – is trolling spoons. Because spoons are not a diving lure and the mackerel are often fairly deep in the water column, a paravane or

trolling board is required to get them into the depths. Let’s look a little closer at these two diving apparatus and ways to rig them for targeting school mackerel. My first introduction to spoon lures was for securing some mackerel in the Bowen area. As a boy, with my father in our Quintrex Fish Nipper, we would troll from Grays Bay up to Innamincka Rocks

and back if the mackerel were running during our holidays. These school and small Spanish mackerel were close to the surface, so all that was required to get the lure down a bit was a large barrel sinker a few metres in front of the lure. However, because you need to get down in excess of 5m when targeting mackerel in Moreton Bay, a paravane or

diving board is needed when trolling spoons. Paravanes and trolling boards are an economical way of getting spoons and low resistance lures down deep. Spoons, such as the No.3 Halco Barra Drone are ideal for targeting Moreton Bay school mackerel, which can be common in the main channels during the warmer months. Whilst not really a

sporting method of fishing, trolling spoons is an easy way to harvest a few mackerel for a feed and will often work when many other methods fail to produce. Additionally, the paravane/trolling board and spoon combo allows you to cover a broad area of water in your search for a feed of tasty school mackerel. Get set up for some schoolie success soon.

Shallower

Deeper

The yellow apparatus on the left has a keel so is therefore a paravane. The blue one is a hybrid and the white one is a trolling board. All do a similar job however the yellow one (called a Blueline paravane) and the white one (Yamashita N0.6 trolling board) are the more common styles. The trolling board is favoured by most of the commercial anglers as it is extremely tough and won’t snap if it digs abruptly into the bottom during trolling.

Spoons are the most popular lure type for this application. Brands include Luhr Jensen Ripple Spoons, Macka Spoons and Halco Barra Drones. The Halcos are the easiest to find, with the No.3 my pick. Other thin metal lures such as Toby Spoons and Flashas are also good. Shallow diving minnows can be used as well. Because diving boards and paravanes flip over and plane to the surface when a good degree of pressure is applied, deep diving minnows and other lures with a lot of resistance won’t work.

Your paravane will have several towing eyelets at the front. The front eyelet will give the shallowest depth out of the paravane, with the diving depth progressively increasing as you move the attachment point further back. If you keep hitting the bottom, move the attachment point a little further forward. If you want to get deeper, move it a little further back. It’s that easy. Additionally, how far back you have the paravane behind the boat and the troll speed will also determine its depth, so there is plenty of variance available to allow you to put the trolled lure exactly where you want it.

Run right To rod

Centre

Deeper Shallower

Run left

Run right Centre Run left

Trolling boards have less variation in their trolling depth, but generally troll deeper than paravanes due to having a larger surface area and therefore more resistance in the water. You can alter the depth a bit by sliding the attachment point back to get it deeper or forward to make it shallower – or you can just set it to the deepest setting and then shorten the distance behind the boat if you want it to dive shallower.

Paravanes can be made to swim out to the side behind the boat, which is handy if you want to troll a couple of spoons and want some spread between them. When the paravane is sitting with the keel facing upwards, attaching the line to the left side hole will have it swimming to port. Attaching to the right side hole will have it arcing to starboard. There are several attachment points, but be aware that the widest settings will produce a shallower trolling depth.

The trolling board only has three towing points: left, right and centre. Again, the left tow hole will have the board tracking to the port side etc. Personally, I have found these a little pedantic when trying to troll a lure to either side of the boat in turbulent current. I prefer to rig them with the central towing hole.

Because the attachment holes are well in from the rear edge of the trolling board you will not be able to attach a snap to it. If you do want to be able to use all three rear eyelets and change the one in use readily, a simple method to rig it is as follows. Form a long loop (a little longer than the board) in the end of some 50lb fluorocarbon (your lure leader) using a perfection loop, Cairns quickie or spider hitch. Insert this through the desired hole and simply loop it over the front metal towing eyelet. Once the main line is attached to this metal eyelet, the loop can’t come adrift. 18

SEPTEMBER 2016

Alternatively, you can simply tie a loop knot through the desired hole. If you want to change the towing position, cut the loop and re-tie in the new position. Regardless, you are wise to re-tie the loop every so often in either system to avoid the leader chafing on the edges of the hole or metal eyelet to a point where it could break.

Using a snap swivel to attach your main line to the front metal eyelet of the trolling board may seem like a good idea, but it’s not. Most snaps are offset to one side and will therefore affect the equal flow of water onto the front of the trolling board. In stronger currents or faster trolling speeds this can make the board begin to track off course and eventually come to the surface.

Tech Tricks

I generally attach my trolling board with a simple loop knot. Do not use a tight knot as this can affect the boardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to tow true. Again, this loop should be re-tied periodically in case the mainline becomes chafed at this connection. Due to the resistance of trolling boards you will need to use at least 15kg (30lb) main line. If you use lighter line and the trolling board hits the bottom, especially if it ploughs into sand or mud, you are likely to pop the main line and lose the entire rig.

Spoon style lures spin constantly so you need a ball bearing swivel to avoid massive twist in the leader and also to allow the spoon to spin freely. I generally use a small 40lb ball-bearing snap swivel to conveniently attach my lures to the leader. My leader is generally 50lb fluorocarbon and I commonly have 4-5m between the trolling board/paravane and the lure.

Many anglers (including the commercial sector) run their paravanes on a handline as these are easy to use and the hooked fish is retrieved simply with a hand-over-hand motion and swung into the boat. If using a rod and reel outfit, the rod would need to be put down and the last few metres of leader retrieved by hand once the paravane/trolling board is at the rod tip. This pause can result in slack line and a lost fish. Additionally, a handcaster can be left rigged and stored easily for when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s required. A glove of some kind can be useful to avoid line burns and cuts when using a handline. SEPTEMBER 2016

Beating the baitcaster blues NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.starlofishing.com

Mastering modern overhead reels isn’t so difficult, if you follow a few basic steps. Last century, when I was much younger, casting overhead reels was a challenge and proficiency with baitcasters and overheads was seen as a

badge of honour: something most of us keener anglers ultimately aspired to try. Modern baitcasters are much easier to tame than their predecessors. However, while reduced, the risk of muffed casts remains. That’s because an overhead’s spool must spin (at considerable speed) during every cast. Problems arise when a significant difference occurs between the rate of that spool rotation

and the progress of the lure or sinker through the air and into the water. The most commonly encountered problem in this regard takes the form of loose loops of line rising suddenly from the rapidly spinning spool as the passage of the casting weight slows. That’s called an over-run. In more extreme cases, these loops can tangle together, catch back on themselves and suddenly

Baitcaster reels are particularly popular amongst anglers chasing Murray cod and other heavyweight targets in both fresh and saltwater.

Keep your casting stroke smooth when using a baitcaster. 20

SEPTEMBER 2016

snarl into something known as a backlash (a phenomenon that also goes by several much less polite names!) Particularly bad backlashes can result in broken or damaged lines, not to mention ugly tangles that take time to carefully tease undone. In days of old, the only reliable safeguard against the dreaded backlash was something widely known as an ‘educated thumb’. The very same thumb that pinned and held the spool after the reel’s gears were disengaged, and then released it at the optimum moment in the casting stroke to send the lure flying on its way, would also hover gently over the whirring line load as it spun. That educated thumb felt for the first tell-tale brush of a rising loop, gently feathering the spool as the flight of the weight slowed, before clamping down to stop it completely as the sinker or lure hit the water. Over the years, baitcaster and overhead reel manufacturers have tried all manner of built-in braking devices to tame that wildly spinning demon. These have included mechanical, magnetic, centrifugal, friction and even digital

controls. All these clever systems work to varying extents, although none have completely removed the need for a little ‘smart thumb’ input from the nut that holds the rod. If you’re a new chum to casting with overheads, I strongly suggest hitting the park or beach and having a few practice sessions before your first serious fishing foray. It might also pay not to spool up with the most expensive line on the market to begin with! Make sure your sinker, lure or practice plug is heavy enough for easy casting, and that it falls into the suggested weight range of the rod (usually printed on the blank). As a rule of thumb, weights below 7g (1/4oz) are much harder to throw with an overhead reel, as are highly wind-resistant lures or complex rigs that tumble in flight. Begin by winding the weight up to rod tip before free-spooling the reel and allowing the weight to simply drop to the ground. Practise stopping the spool with your thumb as the lure or sinker hits the dirt. After doing this exercise a few times, tighten the bearing cap on the handle side of the reel until it’s just firm enough to stop the weight from descending. Free spool the reel and gently back the bearing cap off until the weight slowly begins to drop. As it falls, ease the bearing cap pressure up again until it stops. Play around with this setting until you develop a feel for

Golden perch are another popular target when using baitcaster reels, but their use is certainly not confined to freshwater. just short of it (nine or ten on many reels). On some baitcasters, you’ll need to open the end plate using a quick release mechanism and manually engage a series of sliding brake blocks or magnets. Refer to the reel’s manual or on-line videos for information on

described, but they’ll also limit your casting distance. You’re effectively riding a bike fitted with training wheels! As you begin to feel more comfortable, you can slowly back off the mechanical cast controls described to free the spool up and increase your casting

The bearing cap on the handle end of the baitcaster reel is clearly visible in this shot and should be your first point of adjustment when setting up for casting. that precise point of release (where the weight begins to slowly descend). Leave it set there for now. Next, move your attention to the opposite end of the reel, where there’ll be some sort of built-in cast control. If this mechanism has an external dial, crank the setting up to its maximum point, or

how to do this, but start out by engaging all of these spool brakes to their maximum settings before closing the end plate. You can now begin making gentle, smooth casts to get a feel for the reel. It should be quite difficult to suffer overruns or backlashes using the maximum settings I’ve

distance. Take it easy and be ready to re-apply controls if you change casting weights or face a headwind. Baitcasters and overheads are wonderful tools for many applications, but unless you follow the steps described here when you start out, the problems described can turn the process into a nightmare… Happy casting!

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Richmond glows red BALLINA

Joe Allan

Snapper have been in good numbers in the close reefs off south Ballina. Most of the fish are in the 35-50cm range with the odd bigger fish of around 70-80cm thrown in there. If you’re after a feed, then there is plenty around. Cut bonito or squid are the best baits for snapper, however, bigger ones will come on soft plastics, like the Atomic Jerk Minnow 6” in ghost pearl, white or radioactive rooster. Don’t be caught up in chasing snapper in close on good days. If the weather allows, get out to the 100 fathoms and try for blue-eye trevalla and bar cod. Use fresh squid and cuttlefish. Fishing this deep can be hard work on traditional tackle so electric reels are essential. On the 32s, there are plenty of pearl perch and teraglin, but if you want your arms pulled off, try jigging for amberjack in the 48s. Off the beaches and headlands, there are quality tailor showing up. Get out your spinning gear and throw metal slugs for these fish. This can be a great way to spend a morning and catch some fresh fish for brekkie. At night, try some cut bonito and blue pilchards on gang hooks. There are lots of dart and whiting along the gutters of South Ballina and you’ll come across some pretty nice

westerlies start to blow the swell flat, throw soft plastics into the gutters. You’ll get everything from flathead to

Michael Starkey’s morning catch of snapper, caught on an Atomic Semi Hardz Vibe. pressure on the fishery, drop your line size to 6lb and 4lb leader, 6-7ft. This should bring on a few more bites. Keep crankbaits handy as

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well – fish should start to hold on the rock walls rather than deeper holes. Towards the end of September, we should see

the mud crabs show up. Leftover luderick skeletons are the best baits for these. Until next month, tight lines.

Brody Moore with a snapper from the close reefs off Ballina.

EVANS HEAD DEEP SEA FISHING ED O *BAS N

whiting, tailor, bream and dart. It can be great fun with young kids. The luderick numbers will start to dwindle

around the end of August, and the start of September. There will still be good fish around. Bream will be around a lot, through the middle reaches of the river, around Broadwater and Wardell. Fresh prawns and yabbies are always the best baits this time of year. Fresher is better. If you’re a lure thrower, 1/4oz blades are best at the moment. Aim deep and work your way shallow up the rock walls until you find the active fish. If there’s been some

Grant Clement with a cracking mulloway from the town stretch of the Richmond River caught on a live mullet.

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Drew Jackson, Stacer National Account Manager, caught his first decent mulloway from the Gold Coast seaway. He caught the 86cm specimen from his Stacer 469 Outlaw.

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Cracking catches as the Clarence clears up ILUKA

Ross Deakin

The Iluka region has seen fantastic fishing and weather conditions. Recent rain has given the Clarence a

good flush of fresh water, which has been much needed. Bream numbers and size have been excellent with many fish over a kilogram. Michael George caught a 780g bream at Browns Rocks in mid July with mullet.

The fish this season are huge and the locals love it. Find some great spots to fish around the river this spring.

Flathead have steadily improved in numbers, and there’s some awesome catches happening. Fish are caught around Harwood and Browns Rocks. A delightful flathead caught at Woodyhead, by Graham Ost earlier in July, weighed in at nearly 2kg. Earlier this month, we saw excellent tailor taken on the headlands and beaches, with pillies and lures. Barry Simpkins caught a huge 3kg fish off the Bluff. Trevally as big as 8kg are being taken off the headlands. Snapper and teraglin have been in good numbers. Greg Phillips took a 6.8kg snapper off the break wall, and Baily Ford caught a 3.2kg knobby off Woodyhead. Blackfish numbers and size are impressive and have been taken at the Bluff on cabbage. Currently, good catches happen in the river at usual spots. Mulloway have been quiet, but we still heard of some great fish caught near Yamba, and a massive 16.5kg fish weighed in by Iluka local Jeff Head. Weather and great fishing are set to continue through

Some cracker knobbies can be landed in Iluka. the last days of winter, into spring. Happy fishing everyone. • For all your fishing needs and up-to-date information

and tips for spots and fish drop into the shop for a chat. Iluka Bait and Tackle is located at 3 Owen Street, Iluka NSW 2466.

Give us a call on (02) 6646 5217 or 0402 997 572. We are available online at www.ilukabait.com.au or visit our Facebook page.

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Bream brawlers blessed in the Tweed River THE TWEED

David Solano

The tailor are on the bite big time and I’ve been doing a bit of exploring, walking the rocks of the Tweed chasing these classic fighters. Work’s been pretty

the north wall fishing for bream with a 1/4oz jighead loaded with fresh chicken thighs. Generally speaking, bream bites are usually pretty light, a little ‘taptap’ – it might be a big fish, but normally not a big hitter. On this day, I was feeling the taps, then whack! The rod almost got

The author with a nice size bream for lunch. slow, so I’ve had a few extra days off to explore. I was about halfway out

pulled out of my hand, and I got totally zipped, my 20lb leader bitten cleanly

off! I retied and tried again, only for same result. It took me half an hour before I landed a tailor on chicken. That’s right… chicken. You know they’re around in numbers if they’re going to eat chicken. The first spot I looked at was the rocks at D-Bah at the bottom of the cliff where the Maritime Rescue is situated. It’s not easy but you can walk the shore all the way to Snapper Rocks, which I found to be an awesome fishing platform. Care must be taken as the swell can be dangerous, so it’s a good idea to check out what the surf is doing before you start fishing. It’s too dangerous to fish there at night, but just around the corner is a real hot spot for night time lure fishing and that is the entrance to Jack Evans Boat Harbour. Both entrances fish well, but the wall closer to the sea entrance is the easiest to cast from. With so many tailor in the river, I’d be betting some nice school mulloway would be lurking around the Condong sugar mill in the middle of the night, so this area may be worth

The entrance to Jack Evans Boat Harbour is a great fishing spot. a try by boat. Some weird stuff goes down at this spot when the mill is in operation, sucking in water from one outlet and running it through the whole factory, before it comes out steaming hot from a second outlet, and this is where the fish hang out. Both walls are good spots as well, just remember to take a gaff, because you might just hook one and not be able to lift it up! On the whiting front, a little known spot, and boy

is it beautiful, is a little beach right at the end of the Fingal dirt road. You can pick up some live worms on the way, and it’s very family friendly. After you catch your feed, you can even go for a dip – well worth a squiz! It’s been a special winter on the Tweed, with some fantastic weather and a clean river system. Bream are just starting to spawn and should only grow in numbers, so whether you’re bait fishing or

tossing lures, the Tweed is the place to be. The beaches from the sand pumping jetty down to the headlands are worth a fish as well, just look for the gutters where the water is dirty. Some decent mulloway are also being landed off the beaches and the headland at Devils Island. As for me, I’ll be chasing whiting on surface lures, as this is the best time of year to get amongst the big ones.

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Flathead fishing is flat out on the Gold Coast shallow canal systems that heat up during the day. Try slow rolling a 4” ZMan DieZel under local jetties, in the Tallebudgera and Currimbin creeks. I glue my plastic on my jighead, as this will stop a

SOUTHERN GOLD COAST

Danny Sands

The northwesterlies play a big part for fishing on the Gold Coast in September. If the northerly winds stay away, fishing will be excellent in estuaries and outside. If not, fishing can be tough. With so much interest in the Great Northern Flathead Classic, if previous months are to go by, we might be in for bumper records. Flathead numbers have been excellent towards the Northern Broadwater, but more flathead are starting to filter towards Crab Island,

Nerang River and the Seaway rock walls. It has been an awesome season to chase flathead on the flats and drains, casting soft plastic in inches

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coast. Plenty of greenback are mixed in with choppers. Cast 65g slugs and pencil poppers around dusk near the many headlands and river mouths like the Tweed, Burleigh, Tallebudgera and Currumbin.

Flathead fishing will be the main drawcard this month, as we lead up to the Flathead Classic.

? y n in t a y d e k c a r C

The bite times have been short for snapper on the local grounds. The afternoon bite has lasted longer than the morning bite and the snapper have been better quality so far. Soft plastics ranging from

of water. I like Berkley Gulp Minnows and Swimming Mullets in chartreuse colour, which have been the go to lure for many years. They’re hard to beat in shallow water. The Aldershots, Neverfails and middle banks of Crab Island have had plenty of flathead. A lot of big girls are over the 80cm mark. If the northerly wind blows, these areas turn into lifeless brown water. The brown water usually flows along South Stradbroke Island. If this happens, look for water trapped by sand banks. A good example is the Ghost Hole at Crab Island. Swimming enclosures at Paradise Point and the Southport hold good numbers of bait and flathead. Numbers of big flathead start to filter towards the entrances for their breeding season this month. Tea bagging 5” Scented PaddlerZ on TT HeadlockZ is perfect for catching big flathead in the deep. The hole in the wall on the southwest corner of Stradbroke, rock walls and bridge pilons in the Currumbin Creek will hold good numbers of big flathead leading up to the full moon. The deeper channels around Sovereign and Ephraim islands have had plenty of line burners like giant herring, tarpon and medium size trevally. Look for deep bait schools on your sounder and these predatory fish won’t be far behind. Drop 15g micro-jigs, soft plastics and 3” minnows in pearl white – these have been the pick of lures, even when the fish shut down. Mangrove jacks will be back this month, so look for

Sally had her hands full with this solid spangled emperor. jack pulling plastics over the point of the hook. Water temperature in Hinze Dam has stayed relatively high, so bass have been biting well through winter. Slow rolling minnows and spinnerbaits, in the timbers on the western arm, has done the damage. Quality fish have been well over the 50cm mark. OUTSIDE It’s been a real mixed bag of fish on the local reefs, this season. Snapper, teraglin, Maori cod, tuskfish, mulloway and cobia all play their part on certain days.

4-7” in the jerk shad pattern are great with the correct weight jighead. The current has been sporadic this season. One day we have no current, and the next day it’s running hot at two knots. Have plenty of jig eads to match the current. Places like Kingscliff Reef, the 36-fathom line, Fidos and Tweed Nine-Mile are worth a look this month on the Southern Grounds. The 18-, 20-, 24-, 26-fathom reefs off Surfers and Southport are going well. Tailor fishing has been red-hot on the south end of the

If you’re using baits, soak a pilly, gar and strip bonito on a set of gang hooks, this has caught plenty of tailor so far. The sand pumping jetty is worth a look this month. Tailor, dart and big mulloway are coming in quite consistently. Overall, we hope the northerly winds stay away, but there are still plenty of options to get a feed. It’s flathead fever in September, and I wish all competitors the best and tight lines during the Gold Coast Sports Fishing Great Northern Flathead Classic.

Con with a thumper snapper caught in the Simrad Snapper Classic.

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SEPTEMBER 2016

Jack is back! Warm water brings on the reds GOLD COAST CANALS

Josh Dunn

Fishing has been difficult lately, but some anglers are still finding quality fish. On the upside, jacks flathead, and trevally will be found with the warmer weather starting to sweep through. Structure, is the main key. Find it and sound around. Both natural and

man-made structure has been producing, more so natural structure, if you’re after an early season mangrove jack! Creeks and rivers like Coomera, Logan, Nerang and Tallebudgera are the main ones to understand. Just about any creek that holds thick structure, such as logs and broken trees is good. This could be found on your sounder or seen on low tide, depending where

Bream are fired up this time of year.

structure is located. I like to cast snagless jigheads in sizes 1/4oz or 3/8oz, with a 4” plastic. You’ll be able to keep the lure in the strike zone for as long as possible! On a recent trip to Lucinda, fishing for jacks in the creeks, I learned that using a ChinlockZ Weedless jighead rigged with a ZMan 3” MinnowZ, I could cast and skip the plastic right through the heavy over hanging mangroves to the bank. The best thing was I didn’t get snagged at all. With a slight flick of the rod, the weedless jighead avoided hook-ups with the trees. Mix the retrieves up. A medium to fast paced wind worked best, as the plastic was working around the surface. This is the time of year where bream are fired up more than anything. Over winter, it was their spawning season – next comes September and they’re hungry fish! Jetties, bridges, deep water and rock walls all produce. Blades are great to work the lure at your desired depth, giving you a greater chance of hook-up in the strike zone. For the bait

As tough as they come

Jacks, flathead and trevally will be found in the warmer weather. fishos, anything oily like pilchards, squid and whitebait are all top hits! Keep your eyes and ears out for trevally busting up throughout the canals. They fire up with bait becoming more active and timid. You’ll find most of the action along rock and retaining walls. If you find

Now with

a few fish, stay in the area, as they seem to hang in that area a while. Make the most of them at the time. Giant trevally and big-eye trevally are the two main species that will swarm the canals. By far, early morning fishes better than throughout the day. Find a

day where you have a high tide around 6-7am and fish your heart out! September is the best month of the year, and not just because it’s my birthday. You still need to work for your fish, but they’re out there. Put the effort in and you’ll find the results. See you on the water.

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SEPTEMBER 2016

Looking good for the Classic GOLD COAST

David Green

September is a great month to fish the Gold Coast. To all anglers fishing the

upcoming 2016 Flathead Classic, I wish you good luck and hope plenty of fish come your way. OFFSHORE The winter species should continue to bite off

Mark Frendin with a nice flathead caught on a Tango Shad.

the Gold Coast. Snapper are still be in good numbers on the 36-fathom line and a lot of the biggest fish of the year can be caught this month. The areas off the northern end of South Stradbroke Island usually fish better than the southern grounds in September. Soft plastics, micro-jigs and lightly-weighted pilchards tend to fish the best. Current is usually quite minimal this month, and the best fishing is between dawn and about 8am. There have also been plenty of reasonably sized pearl perch on the 50-fathom line this season, and quite a few teraglin and tuskfish. Out on the 50-fathom line, September is a good month to chase kingfish, amberjack and samsonfish. Metal jigs and deeply fished live baits are usually the best methods. There are also some good pearl perch and a few snapper on the 50-fathom reef this month. It’s worth floating a live bait out the back while fishing this area, as there is always the chance of a striped or black marlin this time of year. These fish tend to feed down deep in the winter months. Quite

a few of the local charter boats have caught good marlin in the past month on live baits. If you see gannets diving and sauries jumping, it is worth a troll. Out past the continental shelf, the fishing will be patchy. There is always the chance of a few yellowfin this month and blue marlin can also turn up if the water temperature holds around 22°C. Most yellowfin tend to be out wide around the thousand fathom line. Lure trolling allows you to cover the water but there can be a lot of water between the fish. There has been a lot of local interest in chasing broadbill swordfish on the wider grounds, setting baits at 300-400, using breakaway rigs. September could be a good month to try this exciting new daylight fishery. I’m sure that once a few boats are successful, we will see a lot more effort in this potential area. Closer to shore, this month is sweet to chase mackerel tuna, tailor and bonito on metal lures. There are often big schools of white and frog mouthed pilchards just off the shoreline, and most of

Breanna Malon caught a great 60cm flathead on a Micro Mullet. the tailor are just at the back of the surf line. There have been some great tailor caught this season, and quite a few over 3kg are turning up at the back of the surf at the northern end of South Stradbroke Island. When casting metal

lures, work upwind of the fish. When the fish are on small bait, you may have to downsize your metal lures. Poppers are effective. While it can be tempting to get in close to the surf break, make sure your boat is pointing towards the

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SEPTEMBER 2016

oncoming waves, in case a bigger set rolls in. I have had a few scary moments over the years! RIVERS AND ESTUARIES September is the best month of the year to chase flathead and with the upcoming Flathead Classic, there will be a lot of boats out practicing. As the fish get ready to spawn, they feed aggressively. The big females are generally very active this month, as they put on condition prior to the spawning run. Throughout the Broadwater and in all the draining rivers, there should be good flathead fishing, and it pays to have a plan. As a general rule, I like to fish the flats on the top of the tide, and in the draining channels as the tide falls back. The most productive time is usually around the bottom of the tide and the first two hours of the run-in. The toughest part of the tide is often from the second to the fourth hour of the run-out tide, but all spots will vary as the fish move around. Trolling small hardbodied lures is extremely effective this month. My favourites are the Lively Lures Micro Mullet and the Zerek Tango Shad for lure depths of less than 2m. Troll it while looking at the side imaging

around the front edges of floating pontoons and snags, for the most effective method in recent years.

I’ve noticed in September that the jacks are less crazy and easier to extract in the cooler water.

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Shelley Christie with her first mulloway after many trips, an awesome 120cm mulloway caught on a live pike in the Seaway. on the sounder. Areas of soft mud are usually the most productive, but avoid areas with hard sand and sand ridges. Once I find a spot where we catch a few fish, I usually drop the electric motor and have a cast. This has been a very effective method to work out new areas, as trolling is a good searching technique. There should be some

good mulloway fishing this month around the entrances of the Seaway and Jumpinpin. The mullet run starts to fade this month, and the fish start to feed at a deeper level. Live pike are one of the best baits to try and can be caught casting small minnows, metal lures and soft plastics around the weed beds on the run-in tide. Mulloway

can also be caught on soft plastics and soft vibes in daylight hours this month. Most fish in September are above the minimum legal length, which is 75cm. U p in the canals and around the floating pontoons, the mangrove jacks will start to bite this month, as conditions warm up a bit. Cast soft plastics and small hardbodies

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Spring brings on the lizards Anglers love this time of year. Flathead season is in full swing and they’ll be everywhere, all month long. The pick spots to try

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for flatties in September are the dead trees at the bottom of North Straddie in the deep water, all the way along Kalinga Bank and the main channels towards the bar. That’s where most of the fish will congregate, looking to spawn and will be hungry for a feed. They can be caught on any part of the tide but they feed more on the last of the run-in, and the first of the run-out tide. Being an ambush predator, flathead sit camouflaged facing the tide, waiting for a meal to swim past. Bounce your baits or soft plastics along the bottom and the flatties will do the rest. Present your baits well, so they look as natural as possible, not spinning in the

current. You’ll improve your catch rate. If you’re handy with the cast net, using live baits is very effective for lizards. Livies can be found in creek mouths, run-off drains and shallow water close to the bank or mangroves. Poddy mullet, banana prawns, herring and diver whiting are top baits for landing a decent flathead. They also love fresh baits like whitebait, pillies, prawns and mullet. Soft plastics produce great fish too, any size from 3-5” will entice a flathead. A variety of colours work well. Just chop and change until you get some success. I’ve had good results on 4-5” white and silver flecked shads, with a slow lift and retrieve action. Use jigheads

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Richie out-fished the author with some quality flatties. They caught 15 in total that day.

after dark. There’s always a chance of scoring a mulloway off the beach as well. Bream are available throughout the year, and during September they hit the mangrove-lined banks, deep holes and rock walls. Hot spots to try are Little Rocky Point, Cobby Passage, the Five Ways, Kalinga Bank and the north wall of the Seaway. Flesh baits like bonito and mullet fillets are great, because they hold the hook better than yabbies or prawns, which are easily picked off. Some fantastic whiting should be show up from the Logan River near Ageston Sands, the Junction and Marks Rocks. Out of the river, the Never Fail Islands, Tipplers Island, Tiger Mullet

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Channel, the Gold Bank and Flatrock should all be firing through September. Grab some bloodworms or yabbies and chase a feed of sweet tasty whiting. Mulloway up to 15kg have been caught in the river near Marks Rocks and the Gazebo, but most have only been schoolies. A few larger ones come from the bar, the point of Short Island and Kalinga Bank. Livies are the best baits. Try large slabs of mullet fillets, tailor fillets or bonito. • Thanks for all your reports and keep those fish coming in. If you’d like any advice or up to date fishing information drop us a line at Gem Bait & Tackle on (07) 3287 3868 or email gembait@tpg.com.au.

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that suit conditions and allow you to get to the bottom. The current runs quickly most days at the ‘Pin – you need to be on the bottom where the fish are the most popular sizes that should get you in the strike zone are 1/4 or 1/2oz. Persistence pays, so stick with it and your results will improve. Tailor have been moving along the coast to feed on schools of bait. Keep an eye out for them chopping up the surface. Poppers, metal lures and soft plastics are all working well with a fast retrieve. These toothy critters are murder on the plastics and will quite often take the plastic clean off the jighead. This can prove an expensive way to fish. Hit the gutters off the beach of South Straddie in the late afternoon for tailor, dart or sea bream. Bigger fish will move in

The author picked up this 40cm tailor trolling for flatties near Slipping Sands.

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More fun around Moreton Bay SOUTHERN BAY

Nabeel Issa

Spring is on us, my favourite time for fishing the southern bay. We get epic weather – not too cold,

absolute monster of a mulloway. One of the biggest I’ve seen in the Southern Bay, going to 136cm, just under 25kg. Jamal caught this beast on a 2.5” ZMan plastic, on only 14lb line. Clearly, he wasn’t expecting

run of areas they travel around – sometimes it’s like clockwork when they show. The next few months are a prime time to target these silver slabs, so if you haven’t caught one, start putting the time in. They will

venture too far up. SNAPPER As with the mulloway, we’ll start seeing more snapper in the southern bay as the weather warms. Fishing has been relatively quiet, even my usual shallow reef areas have slowed down. Winter can often be tough fishing! There has been good fish on offer, and we have hooked our share of fish, but most times end up getting busted off. That’s what happens when you fish light leaders around reef structure! Harry Atkinson Artificial Reef is the pick of the spots at the moment. It seems to be the most consistently producing spot for the snapper. Early mornings and late afternoons are the best times as usual. Boat traffic can really shut the fish down, and it’s hard work to get them biting once they’ve heard a few boats,

Nick Whyte with a great mulloway, caught on a ZMan soft plastic and TT Revhead combo. The added flash seems to help when the bite is timid. driving around and anchors dropping. Find somewhere away from crowds, it can make all the difference. IN THE SHALLOWS There have been plenty of bream and squid still on offer in the shallows around the islands. These are a great option to target, as often you can head out chasing snapper early, and then move to the shallows to target squid and. Run in tides are the best. Look

for cleaner water, and a bit of water flow will always help. Squid love the cleaner water, and will push up into shallows chasing food. I’m looking forward to the next few months fishing in the Bay. If the mulloway turn on, you will no doubt read about it next month. If you get out and have a photo or report to show off, send it through to nabs12@gmail. com and I’ll do my best to share it in my reports.

Another cracking fish from Jamal. This time a stonker Moreton Bay snapper. Check out how calm the conditions are! or too hot, and mild wind. It’s just perfect and there’s plenty of fish starting to show! After what seemed like a slow winter, here’s hoping that the next few months things pick up and we see more fish caught. Throughout August, good reports have been coming through of the usual suspects – snapper, mulloway and squid. Overall, it’s been quite slow. We had some unusually warm weather for a while too, so this could be partially to blame! However, I received a picture from a friend who caught an

to hook a fish of that calibre! They say elephants eat peanuts, so it definitely pays to throw something ‘snack’ size for these fish. MULLOWAY This month we should see more schools of mulloway pushing through. As the weather warms, schools of fish will show up around the deeper reefs. Peel Island Artificial and Harry Atkinson reefs are the most commonly fished. These fish come and go with the tides, and will usually hang around for a few hours. I’m sure they have a ‘milk’

be on offer shortly. When it comes to selecting the right tackle, stick with soft plastics for mulloway. They make it easy to cover a lot of ground, and if you put a well presented plastic in front of a mulloway, nine times out of ten, they’ll eat it. I like to stick with lures in the 4-6” size and vary my jighead weight to suit. Keeping a few weights between 1/4 and 1/2oz will cover most situations in Moreton Bay. Fish the lures to the bottom, with slow lifts and hops. Keep your lure at the bottom, as these fish don’t often

Jamal’s cracking fish, he did a great job landing this fish on his own!

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Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

With air and water temperatures on the rise, the prominence of certain fish species will be changing. However, cool weather targets such as tailor, mulloway, luderick, squid and snapper will still be around for anglers to have a crack at. Throughout September, flathead, mangrove jack, school mackerel, threadfin and numerous other species will be readily available to anglers who target them. With warmer conditions, more anglers will be inclined to venture into the great outdoors. School holidays always provide good opportunity for families to spend quality time together on the water. Now is a good time to target a few of these fish. FLATHEAD A staple species for those working the estuaries, flathead offer anglers plenty of sport and quality table fare. September presents a special opportunity for flathead fishing. Substantial numbers of large breeding females enter the estuaries

and rivers, followed by an entourage of smaller males. Flatties to over 90cm can be caught on occasion. Those chasing a feed will prefer a specimen between 40cm to 75cm, as they’re legally allowed up to five.

Big female flathead are fun to catch, but should be released quickly to avoid stress, which can limit their breeding potential. Matt scored this one casting a shallow diving hardbody in just a few feet of water.

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Large breeding females should be handled carefully and returned to the water quickly after capture. Studies have shown that when stressed, females often re-absorb their eggs and not breed at all that

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season. This is not in the best interests of the fishery and will affect future fish stocks. It pays to quickly release the larger specimens. While flathead can opportunistically be caught anywhere within the estuaries and rivers, specific targeting will greatly increase your chances of scoring a few. Learn their habits and movements throughout the tidal phase. Although some areas will fish different to others, the basic movements of flathead are as follows. When the tide is high, flathead can be dispersed across the flats, in shallow gutters, drainage channels

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and almost anywhere with a few inches of water. As the tide begins to fall, they commonly take up ambush spots where baitfish and crustacean species will pass, especially along the edges of banks. The falling waters force these prey species from the flats and shallows and back into deeper water. Flathead take this opportunity for an easy feed and adopt ambush spots where their opportunities are heightened. Smaller channels and gutters where water drains from the flats are one of the key areas. The edges of any prominent banks are well worth trying. Larger specimens generally take up the best ambush spots, so locating these areas is worthwhile. A visit to an area on a dead low tide will generally allow you to find good flathead spots, to fish when the tide is more suitable. The more intimately you know your waterway, the better your results become. Trolling small, brightly coloured minnow lures along the edges of major banks on a falling tide will offer some of the easiest fishing. Alternatively, these areas can be worked over with offerings like jighead rigged plastics, vibration baits, minnow lures and flies. Drifting baits in these zones, whole pilchards, whitebait, hardiheads or herring will also work a treat. Once the flats have drained, the only water remaining will be in the channels and creek basins. Flathead are limited to these areas, but they can often be more lethargic and harder to tempt. Drifting the baits in these zones is a reliable way to score. This is also an easy way for kids, inexperienced anglers or those new to an area to get in on the action. Additionally, it can produce species such as bream, whiting, mulloway, trevally, sole and numerous others. As the tide turns and begins to run-in, flathead gradually proceed up out of the channels and onto the flats again. Smaller specimens will generally go first, and then the larger lizards go, as the water deepens and they feel less conspicuous. Here they hunt the shallows and take up ambush position in the small drains or contours on the flats. The tide begins to fall and the whole daily tidal ritual begins again. Flatties will respond to a wide array of baits and lures. They can be found in very shallow water, so they’re easy targets for

Josie scored this nice Brisbane River luderick on her first attempt at this unusual form of fishing. those fishing from the shore or in small craft such as kayaks. Good places to try for land-based anglers includes the mouths of Lota Creek, Kedron Brook Floodway, Hornibrook Bridge area, Pine River, shallows around King Island, Manly Foreshore and Scarborough Foreshore. SQUID Numbers of these tasty cephalopods will be decreasing slightly during September. If water clarity remains clear and reasonably cool, there should still be plenty of opportunity. Cast egi (squid jigs) around likely locations, like rock walls, harbours, canals, jetties and other locations, where clean water flows. While tiger and arrow squid can be caught in these areas, the tigers are generally more common. Many anglers use spotlights at night to locate squid in these shallow areas, however, this can spook them in the heavily worked areas. The periods around high tide are more rewarding, but providing the water is clean, squid can be located at any time. During daylight hours, a good pair of polarised sunglasses is a must for spotting squid. They’re generally deeper in the water column, further from shore. Blind casting to likely looking areas will reward at any time. Drift a squid skewer baited with a pilchard, large prawn, herring or other baitfish, to tempt a few squid. This is good for fishing around the shallows of the bay islands, the sand hills area or in prominent channels, like the Rous. This is

commonly presented unweighted around 15-30m behind the boat. When the tidal flow is slow, you may need to control the depth at which it can suspend by using a float. In addition to squid, you may score a few cuttlefish in deeper areas. LUDERICK I’ve done quite a few trips chasing luderick over the last few months, catching a few every trip. Some sessions produced more than twenty quality luderick. Most of my effort has been limited to the Boat Passage area, which is one of the old stomping grounds for land-based luderick anglers. This location can be hard to fish when there’s a few people around. The canal walls, rock walls at the mouths of rivers and harbours and a host of other locations can all produce luderick. The Sunken Wall in the Brisbane River is another historically popular spot, which hardly gets fished these days. Anglers used to access this from the northern side of the river, could walk onto the wall and fish a short while after high tide. I’m not sure whether anglers can still reach this via Shanks Pony, as I know the passage to the sewerage chute has now been blocked. Although they mainly eat weed, luderick are very tasty. Fillet soon after death and remove the skin and black gut lining. I’ve been gathering weed from around the edges of submerged or floating objects such as pontoon, jetty pylons, navigation buoys and rocks. The green, flat weed has been the best,

but the green stringy type has also worked. Once gathered, weed can be kept in the fridge in seawater for a week or more. JACKS Estuarine anglers will have mangrove jack high on their wish list during warmer months. Throughout September, keen jack anglers will begin to probe favoured areas with minnow lures, soft plastics, topwater offerings and live baits. Often larger jacks are caught early in the season, although the better fishing will be in a month or two when the waters really warm up and the jacks become more aggressive. Popular locations for chasing jacks include the canals and most major river and creek systems, both north and south of the city. Jacks like structure in the form of mangroves, bridge pylons, pontoons, jetties, rock walls and submerged structures. They lurk and hunt in ambush mode, preying on any hapless prawn, herring, or mullet that meanders too close. They’ll exit their sanctuary, engulf the morsel and be headed back to their snag in the blink of an eye. This makes jacks a real challenge for anglers. You have to put your offering

close enough to the snag to get their interest, but curtail their passage back to the structure before they can bust you off. Quick reactions, stern drag settings and degrees of skill and luck go into every capture. SCHOOL’S IN September heralds the start of the mackerel season in SEQ. While the spotted mackerel are probably a few months away yet, school mackerel begin to show up around this time. I find deeper channels between the major banks systems to be especially good on the lower stages of the tide. School mackerel often patrol the edges of these channels, preying on baitfish, which are forced from the banks due to lowering water. On the higher stages of the tide, mackerel often get right up on top the banks. Tangalooma Banks and Middle Bank are two areas where I’ve caught school mackerel during September by trolling minnow lures on the banks. Lures that dive 3-5m and can be trolled in excess of five knots are great. This troll speed is often aided by using lighter line – 10-15lb braid is good – and also by getting the angle of the line flat to the water. Hand hold the rod

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offerings, favoured by the commercial sector when trolled behind paravanes. A paravane trolling rig is ideal tackle for targeting school mackerel. Drift pilchards on ganged hooks in these channels for another

Even as the waters warm, quality snapper, such as the one Naomi scored, will still be on the cards for anglers fishing Moreton Bay.

successful approach. The beacons in the northern bay and the Measured Mile are also worth probing with pilchard baits, especially around the top and bottom of the tide. Early mornings are prime times and numerous fish can be taken quickly when schoolies move in. Jig the beacons with metal slugs and slices to produce a few succulent silver streaks. THREADFIN Although these are now a year round proposition in Southern Queensland, threadfin definitely become more active in the lower reaches of the river systems, during warmer months. The Brisbane River is a happy hunting ground for many, and the reaches below the Gateway Bridge are heavily worked. They continue to produce good numbers of threadfin salmon as well as snapper, mulloway, cod, flathead and numerous other species. Lures and live bait will both produce consistent results and dead offerings will even work at times. In the lure department, anglers achieve success on vibration baits, jighead rigged plastics, micro-jigs and even trolled minnow lures. Live offerings such as herring, large banana prawns, mullet, gar and

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with the tip pointed almost to the water’s surface as you troll. In the deeper channels, anglers use paravanes to get their lures down deep. Metal spoons, such as the Halco Barra Drone No.3 are really popular

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pike will all produce the goods. Threadfin will often be found along the edges of the main channel, underwater contours and ledges, in the deeper dredge holes at the mouth, and anywhere prawn and baitfish concentrations are found. In the coming months, anglers can expect threadfin captures to increase. If you’re not intending to keep a fish, handle it with care and release it quickly. Preferably don’t remove it from the water, to increase its chances of survival. CONCLUSION September offers anglers plenty of opportunities for a broad array of species. Much of the winter fare will still be available in varied numbers, but many of the classic warm weather species are already abundant. In addition to the various fish, crabs will also become a serious target for those setting pots in the bay, rivers and estuaries. Warmer days and school holidays offer some awesome chances for family outings. For anglers young and old, September has excellent conditions to be in the great outdoors. Swap the XBox for a tackle box, get out chasing piscators instead of Pokémon.

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Searching for snapper BRISBANE OFFSHORE

John Gooding

As I mentioned last month, it was the July moon in 2015 that was the turning point in our snapper season east of the South Passage Bar, and the good news is that the switch has again been flicked. Good numbers of quality fish have anglers reaching their bag limit without too much trouble. The snapper seem to be widespread with the 29-, 33- and 35-fathom reefs all producing, along with Deep Tempest and the 90m line. On charters laterly, we’ve been pulling good numbers of fish from both the shallower reefs and the wider grounds, only moving around when the fish shut down in one area. We are fortunate off Moreton and Stradbroke Islands to have a number of reef lines in close proximately to each other,

A quality snapper that fell to a flutter style jig in deep water. aboard regularly and putting smiles on clients’ faces. A mistake anglers make regularly when snapper fishing is they look for big

edges where the fish will often hang. Most days, dawn and dusk are peak bit times, but on different moon phases

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The results of a double hook up. so it’s only a few kilometres to run to the next spot in that hunt for a feed of fish. Deep Tempest and the 90m line to the south are a far run from the bar, but there’s plenty of bumps and ledges in those areas to move between. Floatlining, or freespool fishing with pilles and fresh flesh baits has accounted for the majority of the fish we’ve landed on charters and with the bag limit being four fish, it’s the best way of targeting the better quality fish. Don’t go overboard on hook size. I like to use two ganged 5/0 or 6/0 hooks, and find this is plenty big enough. Make sure you keep to the finer gauge, chemically sharpened hooks; that way you’ll see your hook up rate and connection will improve. The next couple of months are peak snapper time off the South Passage Bar, but good numbers should hang around until Christmas. We’ve had some red-hot sessions of late, with fish of 4-6kg coming

shows on the sounder before they drop a line in the water. In most depths out to around 90m, I’ll run my sounder on either a 15 or 20m window and look for small shows of fish up off the bottom and quite often that’s all you need to get a bite happening. Another tip is to not always work the high structure on the reefs, rather work the drop offs and reef

they will have solid bite periods throughout the day, so do your homework, keep records and be on your spot at the right time. • 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.

A bag out of quality snapper from 75m of water. Bag outs like this are common at this time of year. SEPTEMBER 2016

Work with the weather for fantastic flathead NORTHERN BAY

Grayson Fong graysonfong@bigpond.com

A refreshing change is just around the corner… Well, this is a statement that we are all too familiar with when listening to the weather forecast while planning the next fishing trip. But is this necessarily a good thing? What if the weather has been good for fishing and we don’t want it to change? Don’t stress, as anglers we can evolve with these ongoing

changes and use them to our advantage. If the weather prediction is not looking good, rather than being annoyed why not fish according to the forecast? We have a gaggle of options throughout the ample river systems in the northern bay that fish really well when the weather prevents you getting out into the open waters of the bay. We really have no excuse, if the wind is too strong or your usual spots are blown out, why not use this time to find new areas and try new techniques – embrace the change!

FLATHEAD Numbers have been steady over the last month with anglers finding tides and moon phases a big influence on catch rates.

bottom feeders ambushing bait. Be careful of the weed traveling through these areas when the tide runs, as this can be quite an annoying factor when picking your spots.

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Smaller run-out tides have been holding bait closer to creek mouths and run-offs, therefore keeping the lizards in the strike zone for longer periods. This has given anglers great opportunities, as opposed to the bigger tides around the full and new moon. The mouth of Cabbage Tree Creek, the lower reaches of the Pine River and Hays Inlet, have been great areas over the last few weeks with run-out tides playing a big part when searching for nice legal size flatties. Up in the Pumicestone, Toorbul has been a good hotspot of late with the top of the tide and fresh baits like pilchards and mullet reaping the rewards. As usual the stretch along Sylvan Beach has been good with drop-offs around White Patch and Gallaghers Gutter also working well. Upriver of Little Goat Island has been a good incoming tide spot with anglers finding its rubble bottom good for chasing these

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SEPTEMBER 2016

BREAM Bream numbers have been good over the last few weeks. Many bream are roaming throughout the northern bay as

they conclude their spawning period. Chopper tailor schools have been rounding up bait in our estuaries and creeks giving the bream ample leftovers to feed on after tailor frenzies have occurred. The peninsula has been a little hit and miss. The better days have been when the wind is up and the bream are less skittish due to the high visibility of the water in the area. Occasional rains have made waters a little dirty for short periods over the past month but this soon clears with the tidal changes bringing the cleaner waters back in no time. ZMan GrubZ, Ecogear Bream Prawns, Pro Lure Grubs and ZMan Slim SwimZ have been the pick of the soft plastics at the moment with colour choice dependent on the water clarity. As for hardbody lures Ecogear SX40s, Jackall Chubbies, Atomic Crank 38s and Cranka Crabs has been effective with light leaders around 3-5lb helping increase the catch rate. Cooks Rocks, Tiger Rocks, Avon Wreck and the mouth of Ningi Creek on the last of the run-in tide have been quite active areas with drifts with the wind being imperative. Around the moored boats in the lower reaches of the Caboolture River are also worth a try with lightly weighted soft plastics;

your chance of encountering a flathead also high in this area. JUVENILE SNAPPER This year’s winter juvenile snapper bite has been quite a fruitful one for most anglers in the northern bay. The peninsula is a great location over the cooler months, and locations around Bribie have had a late seasonal bite, making many of the locals very happy anglers. White Patch, The Ripples and the main bridge have been good areas over the last few weeks and should hold until waters start to warm up. Fresh baits have been the best choice in the Pumicestone areas with soft plastics and vibration baits being the pick of the bunch for the reef dwelling snapper of Redcliffe. The wider fringes of North Reef, Shields Street and Queens Beach have been the most active on the peninsula with Woody Point being popular in the lower lit times. TIP OF THE MONTH Be sure to refresh your knowledge of bag and size limits of your catch over the coming weeks, as zerotolerance to infringements are taken by Department of Agriculture and Fisheries while patrolling our waters. If in doubt, use your smartphone or tablet on water to check on their website, or if in further doubt return your unharmed catch back into the ocean to fight another day.

Alex Willmer caught this decent flathead on ZMan Slim SwimZ.

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Snapper run of fun CALOUNDRA

Damian Parker dpfishingmonthly@hotmail.com

We have recently and are continuing to witness one of the best snapper seasons – they’re everywhere. Throughout July, I managed a personal record of nine offshore sessions. Our weather was almost

of baits while snapper fishing. My top three are pilchard, squid and mullet strips. Work the entire water column from bottom to top and keep checking that your baits are well-presented. One of my closest fishing mates won’t try bait. He insists on using plastics and lures, with success. I generally out-fish him with my stinky baits, but it’s

to other anglers by giving each other space. There is nothing worse when you are connected to a decent fish and you have another boat sitting on top of you. Cobia will drag you half way across the ocean most of the time before they unwillingly come to your boat. Kingfish will take most dead or strip baits, but you can’t go past offering them

Phil with his first snapper.

The author with an amberjack caught wide off Caloundra. perfect with most of my trips in the late afternoon. The ocean was like a lake. Winter’s so good! Snapper have been my main target and they have not disappointed. Caloundra 12, Caloundra wide, Murphys and the banks are all fired up and producing quality fish. A mixed variety including tuskfish, sweetlip, trout and pearl perch are filling our eskies right across the coast. Most of my snapper have been caught in late afternoon and into sunset. I can’t stress enough – anchor over your favourite spot, berley up and present your offering. Magic will happen. Use a mixture

often a contest to see who’ll win. Please remember your bag limits when fishing for snapper in Queensland – four fish per person with one fish over 70cm and a minimum size of 35cm. The ideal size snapper is around 45cm. If we let the bigger ones go, we’ll sustain a stronger snapper future. Now onto the wreckreational fishing, there are a number of wrecks across the coast fishing extremely well for cobia, yellowtail kingfish and pearl perch. Although some of these are better known than others, please remember to show courtesy

a live bait. I have live baited for years and caught some cracking specimens. If I can’t find live bait, I don’t fish for kings. Fishing in close, around the inner and outer Gneerings Shoals, Coolum Reef, Currimundi Reef or around Brays Rock is best very early in the morning, or later in the evenings. If you can time a tide and moon combination, then all the better, as this will more than improve your chances. Estuaries across the coast have seen some whopper bream, especially throughout the Pumicestone Passage and Pelican Waters canal systems.

The Caloundra boardwalk, Happy Valley and the good old military jetty are good spots for a variety of species this time of year, including mulloway, tailor and whiting. Moving further up north of Caloundra, you’ll find the Maroochy River, which has some great fishing around the famous Cod Hole and Chambers Island. Good reports of quality bream and flathead have been recorded over the last month and should continue throughout September. Fresh bait is best and can be the

difference between fish or no fish. Throw that cast net and haul a few fresh mullet and herring, hook them up and you’ll thank me. Small plastics, wriggers or hardbody lures often produce results throughout our estuaries, but can take time to master the technique. Once mastered, this method of fishing can be dynamite. Work and move your lures around rock walls, pylons, jetties and any deep holes you can locate to improve your chances. You can always cast a 10-20g metal

slug around a bait school, or moving water, because you never know what lurks below. Over the next month is a great time to target tailor and mulloway across our many beaches from Caloundra through to Noosa. There are plenty of other species including dart, bream, flathead and whiting. Remember, fresh bait, tide changes and moon phases. Get yourself a bait pump and work the sand for fresh yabbies or pipis to improve your chances.

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Ross with a tuskfish caught off the banks.

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Revel in the reefy reds NOOSA

Peter Wells

The Noosa River is a great place to while away a couple of hours at this time of the year. Flathead are again high on the score board with some good catches being taken from the shallower areas of the river. Working those banks on the run-out tide is a great location, as the flatties will lay in wait for a passing morsel of food. When you get onto a patch of flatties, make sure you keep casting, as the flathead are very social at this time of the year, and where there is one you will usually find a large female keeping company with a group of younger males. Soft plastics like the Boom Baits from Samaki or the Squidgy

Prawns rigged with a heavy jighead will make sure that you are right in the strike zone for these delicious table fish. Another great table fish is the whiting; and there has been no shortage of these in the river lately. The Frying Pan is one of the hot spots in this river, as well as the area between Edward St and James St along Gympie Terrace. Worms, pipis and yabbies are all great baits to tempt a hungry whiting, with the last couple of hours of the run-out tide the perfect time for a fish. With the warmer days and nights rapidly approaching for another year, mangrove jack action will start hotting up. A lot of people look forward to targeting these aggressive red fish and try to beat their personal best from the previous year! Trolled hardbodied

lures like the ever popular Lucky Craft Pointers and the River2sea Live Minnows are perfect for the job. Both these lures are suspending, so as you pull them down and they will spend more time in the fish’s face. Keeping nice and close to rocky structure is also a surefire way to snag a jack. Paddle vibes are a favourite, with the latest from Samaki being the Thumper Tail. These vibes have a wider tail that sends out a great vibration that works a treat. Working those deeper holes upriver will also see a good number of school mulloway, and these fish tend to hold in the deeper hole and pick off bait as it passes by. Down towards the river mouth, Woods Bays continues to astound anglers with the amount of quality fish that it

Young Owen Tweed from Melbourne boated this 58cm flathead from the Noosa River.

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Jarred Taig from New Zealand got this cracker knobby snapper while fishing Coffees Reef on Trekka2. produces. Trevally of all kinds, tailor, queenies, tarpon and large bream are all residents of this area. Some of the best fun is to work surface lures early morning and late afternoon around the boats that are anchored up in the area. These predators love to shoot out from under the boats and smash a surface lure as it passes close by. On the offshore scene, North Reef has been fishing well for Moses perch, pearl perch, juvenile snapper, grassy sweetlip, coral cod, sea bream and gold-spot cod. North Reef has also seen some great schools of tuna, and floater baits have been the most popular way of targeting these speedsters of the sea. Sunshine Reef has to be one of the best coral trout fisheries on the coast; fish your lure, soft plastic or bait hard to the bottom here and you will be rewarded. Also at Sunshine, the sweetlip are on the chew, as well as tuskies and snapper. Chardons Reef has also come up with the goods, with larger snapper, pearl perch, sweetlip, cobia and mulloway. September is that great time of the year where we get some fantastic weather perfect for a run up to the reefs off Double Island or out to the Barwon Banks. Large snapper, Venus tuskfish, pearl perch, Moses perch, mulloway, cobia and lots of amberjack should all be hitting the decks. The pelagics run this season just hasn’t ended so we have been seeing mackerel all year, and this will only improve as the waters warm. Good Spanish and spotted mackerel continue to be caught around most of the closer reef with Coffees one of the best.

Trolling lures is a great way to cover a lot of ground, and working the edges of the reefs is where you want to be. The Samaki Pacemakers hit the shelves a year or two ago and have been outstanding, they have just released some great new colours that look great in the water. On the Noosa North Shore there has been an endless stream of 4WDs heading north. Whiting, bream, tailor and some quality mulloway have all come from the gutter on North Shore. It is best to head up on the low tide checking out the water and looking for those deeper gutters and fishing the incoming tide. Make sure you top up on pilchards, salted bonito fillet, worms and prawns before you head up, you can also collect pipis and worms from the beaches.

Rheagan Myers got this large bream from the Twin Waters canals, the big bream went 39cm and was released after the photo.

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Having a good selection of slugs is a great idea as you can switch once you get onto a school. Good tailor have been at the northern end between Teewah and Double Island. On the rocks and headlands, tailor are still on the chew. Some of the school are a little small but fish quality is good with tailor to 50cm not uncommon. Bream and juvenile snapper are also inhabiting the same areas. Fresh mullet, pilchards, and squid have all claimed their fair share of fish. • Now for all the latest information log onto www. fishingnoosa.com.au for up to date bar and fishing reports, don’t forget to drop into Davo’s Tackle World in Noosa or Davo’s Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola to find out where the fish are biting.

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The 20-80 rule of fishing SUNTAG

Stefan Sawynok

There is a rule in fishing that almost everyone I have talked to believes: 20% of fishers catch 80% of fish. In this issue, I am going to have a look if that rule is true, as well as look at the conditions that might change that rule. The 20-80 rule is interesting to me, because it is a vital part of the core issue that is driving our business plan. There is no future in which harvesting more wild fish is acceptable or achievable in Australia or Globally. Track My Fish plans to play a pivotal role in assisting communities to

take advantage of lower harvest, more ecologically sustainable fisheries that produce better catch rates and allow fishers to get what they need while taking less. While this article is not specifically about Queensland, I am using data from Queensland to provide an understanding of the effect on the 20-80 rule. Answering these sorts of questions is a big part of the reason why it’s important for recreational fishers to collect data independent of researchers and government. It would be interesting to see how other data sets that exist out there stack up. A POINT OF REFERENCE First, a baseline. I had a look at the Suntag database

covering 25 years of data. To ensure a consistent sample, I am only looking at tagged fish caught as a part of typical fishing, so excluding fish tagged for stocking or surveys. That comes up to a sample of 308,433 fish captured by 4782 fishers. That is in all fishing conditions. If anything, this set looks as though the 20-80 rule may not be enough, but when I looked closer at individual river systems the data evened out a lot more, with a few locations showing the top 20% taking less than 80%, but most hovering around the 85% mark. In general, the worse the condition of the fishery, the higher the ratio that the top 20% takes. If that is the case, what happens when

GENERAL SUMMARY 25 YEAR OF SUNTAG DATA All fishers Top 20% of fishers Top 1% of fishers Bottom 20% of fishers

Catch rate (fish/fisher/day) 5.52 6.14 8.97 1

% of total catch 100% 94.3% 44.6% 0.3%

SUMMARY FROM TWO SAMSONVALE TAGGING SURVEYS (OUT OF BOUNDS AREA) All fishers Top 20% of fishers Top 1% of fishers Bottom 20% of fishers

Catch rate (fish/fisher/day) 27.19 49.41 124.5 6.8

% of total catch 100% 49% 8% 3.6%

SUMMARY OF SAMSONVALE OVER EIGHT YEARS (AVAILABLE WATER) All fishers Top 20% of fishers Top 1% of fishers Bottom 20% of fishers

Catch rate (fish/fisher/day) 11.36 11.93 10 1.91

% of total catch 100% 85% 31% 0.54%

SUMMARY OF FITZROY BARRAMUNDI OVER 25 YEARS All fishers Top 20% of fishers Top 1% of fishers Bottom 20% of fishers

Catch rate (fish/fisher/day) 4.0 4.61 5.74 1

% of total catch 100% 88.4% 41.8% 0.6%

SUMMARY OF FITZROY BARRAMUNDI DURING 2011 All fishers Top 20% of fishers Top 1% of fishers Bottom 20% of fishers

Catch rate (fish/fisher/day) 5.53 6.40 7.97 1.20

% of total catch 100% 77.4% 26.5% 0.9%

Awoonga barra making a bolt for freedom! the fishery is in excellent condition? LAKE SAMSONVALE 2015/2016 How great does the fishing have to be to be considered mind-blowing? Lake Samsonvale, just 40 mins out of Brisbane, has some mind-blowing fishing. In the course of the last two years of monitoring events, 23 boats have raked in 3718 fish. That is 161 fish per boat. Unfortunately, the monitoring area is only accessible once a year. On the other hand, that restriction is part of the reason why the fishing is so good. It’s the perfect example of what happens when fishing effort is restricted, in this case, down to near 0. The mind-blowing fishing has the effect of spreading out the catch more. Fish that don’t know what a lure looks like allow less capable fishers into the game. So much so that the 20-80 rule no longer applies. So is this just a fluke? Time is a factor here, in that there was focused fishing but having surveyed all fishers, none deviated from their regular fishing plan. All reported greater success just doing what they would normally do. As a comparison, here are the monitoring results at the impoundment in the part of the impoundment where fishing is allowed. As you can see, while the results

are slightly better than the baseline, all in all, the results line up pretty well with the baseline, just with better catch rates. So, even though this is a better fishery than the average, the same dynamics apply. For the record, this is a sample of 8521 fish and 114 fishers over eight years. FITZROY RIVER 2011 In 2011, the Rockhampton wild barramundi fishery entered a zone not seen for over 25 years. With three years of high recruitment and little harvest by commercial fishers, it left the river as to full of barramundi as has occurred in living memory. During 2011, catch rates improved considerably and there was a corresponding bounce in improvement for the middle tier of fishers. The improvement was not of the same quantum as in Lake Samsonvale, but that is understandable. The event at Samsonvale had no tidal influence, was in a small area and required no additional knowledge of the fishery, whereas the wild barramundi fishery does. The Rocky Barra Bounty is an event held each year to monitor the river and promote the local fishing. In 2011, the Bounty lasted two days with a broad array of community fishers of varying skills. As it happened, the Bounty experienced near perfect fishing conditions for the two days making for the

SUMMARY OF THE TWO-DAY ROCKY BARRA BOUNTY IN 2011 All fishers Top 20% of fishers Top 1% of fishers Bottom 20% of fishers

Catch rate (fish/fisher/day) 6.80 14.65 26 1.72

% of total catch 100% 49.5% 4.4% 3.6%

SUMMARY OF LONG-TERM DATA FROM AWOONGA AND BOYNE RIVER All fishers Top 20% of fishers Top 1% of fishers Bottom 20% of fishers

Catch rate (fish/fisher/day) 2.85 3.14 3.95 1

% of total catch 100% 85.8% 28.4% 0.7%

SUMMARY OF AWOONGA AND BOYNE RIVER AFTER 2011 FLOODS All fishers Top 20% of fishers Top 1% of fishers Bottom 20% of fishers

Catch rate (fish/fisher/day) 3.67 4.21 7.07 1

% of total catch 100% 62.6% 9.8% 0.9%

Stephen Pill from Barra Jacks with a beast of a Fitzroy barra from the Barra Bounty.

most successful bounty ever by quite some margin. In fact, it was a factor of six improvements on the previous best. In these perfect conditions, again it was the middle tier of fishers that benefitted the most. AWOONGA ESCAPEES 2011 Also in 2011 there was a large-scale escape of barramundi from Lake Awoonga. An estimated 30,000 big hungry barramundi charged into the wild fishery in the space of a few days. If that isn’t the definition of ‘improvement’, I don’t know what is. Needless to say, the commercial fishers had a field day, their take growing a massive 1600% before fish health issues intervened. After the mass escape, the fishing in the river improved considerably with the top fishers nearly doubling their catch rates. Once again though, it was the middle tier of fishers that benefited, with many experiencing the thrill of a big barra for the first time. CONCLUSION The 20-80 rule of fishing is an interesting concept. Looking at the data, in general, it holds true where there is a traditional fishery. When there is less harvesting or another means of improving fish stocks, the 80-20 rule starts to break down, giving less-skilled fishers a bigger slice of the expanding pie. The most interesting thing I discovered though is the top 1%, in general, make up the largest part of the 20%. So maybe there should be a rule for the top 1% of fishers. The takeaway lesson is that more fish improve the fishing for the middle tier of anglers both in numbers and catch rates. It’s in this middle tier of fishers that the ‘more fishing’ occurs as they fish less under normal circumstances. In other words, less take benefits all fishers, not just the elites. The other big winner from a better fishery is the top 1% who see their catch rates skyrocket. If you aren’t catching fish as often as you like, then you might be in the 80%. The simple answer to that, from my observations, is to know a range of techniques on the day. In almost all the monitoring events I have worked at in the past six years, it’s been the most flexible fishers that fit in the 20%. The top 1%? Well, they are just obsessive. SEPTEMBER 2016

About time for a recreational fishing licence BRISBANE

Sean Thompson

Queenslanders are lucky in many ways. Our beautiful climate, beautiful beaches, three of the world’s largest sand islands and a fantastic variety of fishing. Unfortunately though, there are a couple of areas where we are still behind the eight ball compared to the rest of Australia. One such area is the lack of net-free zones across the state. This has been compounded by the lack of an all waters recreational fishing licence and all the benefits it brings. For around the cost of a packet of cigarettes or less than a carton of beer a year, Queenslanders could have net-free fishing areas across the state. Trust funds from the licence could be distributed according to the choices of a board of recreational anglers and their representatives. The improvements to catch rates in net-free areas, and use of the trust funds for local projects such as fish restocking and improvements to fishing and boating infrastructure, would boost local tourism and job growth in the designated areas. The alternative to a licence is more of the same ad-hoc decision-making by governments on net-free areas, continued pressure from the anti-fishing lobby to lock up more areas from fishing, and the loss of interstate and international tourists. A lack of tourism dollars forces governments to find more revenue from other taxes and charges. Overall, the benefits to individual anglers easily outweighs the low cost of buying a licence. This article outlines a range of the recreational fishing licences (RFL) in place across Australia and the benefits they have brought. It also includes the views of Sunfish and two of Australia’s biggest fishing industry names on this topic. It also discusses the best ways the licence might work. HOW MIGHT IT WORK? While the current Queensland government has taken some steps in the right direction with a couple of net-free zones, the actions and areas are too small and scattered to be of wider benefit. The benefits of a recreational fishing licence (RFL), demonstrated in other states and outlined below, are reaped not only by anglers, but also by the local tackle 44

SEPTEMBER 2016

industry, fishing guides and charter operators, the accommodation industry and a range of other retail outlets in the net-free areas, or areas benefitting from the trust funds. Just this year, fishing tourism has been highlighted as a target area for growth in international visitors by one of Australia’s peak tourism organisations, Tourism Australia. Imagine the selling point to these potential visitors if we set aside large, recreationalonly fishing areas in Queensland! For those anglers who think that more people fishing is a bad thing, think about it this way. With more numbers comes a greater voice. With more people buying licences comes more money in the RFL kitty to introduce more net-free areas, and with more tourism for the Queensland economy comes greater revenue to our government, more jobs and growth for the Australian tackle industry and other small local tourism businesses. SUPPORT FOR AN RFL Bruce Alvey is to Queensland fishing, like Wally Lewis is to Queensland rugby league: the King! So when Bruce talks about fishing, it’s worth listening to. At a recent tour of the Alvey Reels Australia factory at Carole Park, Brisbane, I asked Bruce his views on a RFL. Bruce is strongly in favour of a RFL due to the benefits it brings not only in terms of the fishing, but the value of the fish in the water to the industries mentioned above. However, Bruce did say that a RFL should be subject to a number of conditions, including: • The funds are held in trust for use by recreational fishing sector only (not consolidated revenue); • The existing stocked impoundment levy is rolled in; and • The Queensland Department of Transport remove the Private Pleasure Vehicle (PPV) levy currently charged to boat owners. David Bateman, the Secretary and Deputy Chairman of Sunfish, agrees. He said that the conditions Bruce mentioned were included in Sunfish’s submission to Fisheries Queensland. The Sunfish submission also included recommendations on fees being $5 for three days, $10 for a month and $30 for a year. Sunfish are cautious on providing an option for a long-term licence (in NSW you get a discount over three years) until the

scheme is bedded down. However, I personally was happy to fork out for a three-year licence in NSW to save money and to not worry about it for a few years. Sunfish also propose that the RFL be free of charge for people under 18 years of age, pensioners to receive a discount and for no charge for people over 70 years of age. David also indicated that the payouts of commercial fishers in designated net-free zones be similar to the compensation provided in NSW and Victoria, adjusted for inflation, and should be for active commercial licences only. If the payouts were for latent commercial licences (i.e. ones that aren’t being used), it would make no difference to the fishing pressure. Based on some research by the University of Queensland, Sunfish estimate that RFLs in Queensland could generate

a board of recreational angler representatives who decide on the use of the funds, and these decisions should not be subject to ministerial approval. LICENCES IN OTHER STATES RFLs are nothing new. In fact, Queensland anglers who have previously lived in other states would wonder what all the fuss and delays are about. NSW introduced an ‘All waters’ RFL in 2003 and Victoria in 2001. West Australia has a freshwater licence system and in 2010 introduced a Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence (RFBL). Tasmania also has an inland fishing licence. All have been extremely successful in not only improving the fishing by removing nets in a number of areas, but the trust funds set aside from the fees have been used for fish stocking, fishing infrastructure and compensating commercial fishers impacted by the net-free areas.

funds were used to buy out heavily netted areas, the fishing in those areas improved dramatically, almost immediately. My mates and I always fished Tuross Lake regularly, and we went from struggling to catch a feed to catching and releasing up to 30-40 fish in a session under the right conditions. In fact, the fishing is so good that since I have moved back to Queensland, I have happily pulled my own boat down there with my family in recent years. A trip of over 1300km one way! And I’m not the only one. At the caravan park I spoke to other anglers from Victoria and NSW who do the same thing. Imagine the benefits to local businesses, and extrapolate that out to all of the RFLs in the whole of the state! Furthermore, not long after the introduction of the RFL, NSW anglers started to see the flow-on benefits of the funds from

In NSW, all the money raised by the Recreational Fishing Fee is spent on improving recreational fishing. $15-$20m a year. That is a lot of money which can be reinvested into recreational fishing but, as David points out, the key is “If you pay you have a say”. That is, it should be managed by

LESSONS FROM NSW I lived in the ACT when the NSW RFL was introduced, so I was well aware of the initial hesitation of some anglers. However, when the

the trusts being used for other recreational fishing purposes. Suddenly, the attitudes of anglers changed. These attitudes and the benefit of RFLs are best summed up by one of

Australia’s best known and loved fishing advocates and media personalities, Steve ‘Starlo’ Starling. Starlo was kind enough to give me his thoughts on the topic for inclusion in this article. “While a lot of New South Welshmen were unsure or cynical about the introduction of an all-waters fishing licence, you’d be hard pressed to find many keen anglers in this state today who don’t think it has been a good thing overall, and who wouldn’t happily pay a bit more if they could be sure the funds generated were being well spent,” he said. “Licences are a wonderful tool for empowering anglers, not to mention a useful mechanism for generating statistics about participation in the sport. For better or worse, we live in an age of ‘user pays’ and until we dig in our own pockets and put our money where our mouth is, it’s hard for decision makers to take us seriously, or perceive us as a valid lobby group.” Starlo makes a number of very good points. Apart from all the fishing and trust fund benefits, governments need good data for good decision making. Successive Queensland governments have run recreational fishing surveys over the last decade, but the sample sizes haven’t been very small and the selected areas weren’t representative of the whole state. When you look at the data over time, some of the results are inconsistent and make no sense. The RFL will provide much better information on angler numbers and presence across the state, and thus be a valuable tool for trust fund decision making – provided it is managed properly by anglers and their industry representatives, not bureaucrats. Use of NSW Recreational Trust Funds By introducing a RFL, Queensland Fisheries would not need to re-invent the wheel – they can just look at how things are done in other states like NSW. Like everything, there are areas of the RFLs which require fine tuning. However, ask most anglers if they’d prefer to go back to the days of netting, or relying on consolidated revenue for stocking or infrastructure improvements, and the answer would be a resounding no. In NSW, all money raised by the Recreational Fishing Fee is placed into the Recreational

Fishing Trusts and spent on improving recreational fishing in NSW. These trusts are regulated by law and overseen by two committees made up of recreational fishers – one for saltwater and one for freshwater. NSW DPI says that money accumulated in the recreational fishing trusts from the licence fees goes towards a number of different activities and projects. These include: • Recreational fishing enhancement programs; • Recreational fishing education; • Fishing access and facilities; • Aquatic habitat protection and rehabilitation; • Enforcement of fishing rules; • Small Grants Program; • Fishing fee coordination and payment network; and • Research on fish and recreational fishing. USE OF RFL FUNDS IN VICTORIA Each year the Victorian Government, through the Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Account, distributes revenue from the sale of RFLs to projects that will improve recreational fishing in Victoria. This initiative is called the Recreational Fishing Grants Program.

According to their website (www.agriculture. vic.gov.au), since 2001 the Recreational Fishing Grants Program (RFGP) has funded over 600 projects, worth more than $21 million throughout Victoria. The RFGP comprises three separate programs including: • A Small Grants Program that is continually open to fund small projects (up to $5,000); • A Large Grants Program (for projects from $5,001 to $100,000); and • A Commissioning Program for large priority projects (generally in excess of $100,000). RFL revenue continues to be provided for fish stocking. USE OF RFL FUNDS IN WEST AUSTRALIA Since they were introduced in 2010, licence funds from the Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence (RFBL) in WA have been spent on a number of initiatives of direct benefit to recreational fishers in Western Australia. Some of the more recent initiatives include: • Additional Fisheries mobile patrol units; • Artificial reef pilot study; • Barramundi restocking project to establish a worldclass trophy barramundi

fishery in the Kimberley; • Fishing survey collecting data about who is fishing where and what they are catching; and • Recreational fishing initiatives where $1m-$1.5m, is set aside each year for local grants. Examples have included Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) deployed off the WA coast; funding for about 250 tackle stores to provide recreational fishing brochures, stickers and other information to recreational fishers; and educational fishing trips for underprivileged children in the East Kimberley (source: www.fish.wa.gov.au). WHY NOW? The Queensland government has just released a ‘green paper’ on fisheries management reform in Queensland. Unfortunately, a RFL is not highlighted as an item high on the agenda. Instead, we’re looking at more of the same slow processes for introducing net-free zones in limited areas. We can make a difference though – and here is your opportunity to have your say. Public consultation is open until Friday, 30 September. Get online at www.daf.qld.gov.au and tell them it’s time QLD caught up with the other states and put fisheries management in the hands of recreational

fisheries representatives using trust funds from a RFL. Without a RFL, we

more pressure on those areas for recreational fishers. With the above in mind,

Money raised by a recreational fishing licence could be used to buy out commercial licences and set aside more net-free zones, creating better opportunities for recreational fishers. can expect proliferation of marine parks pushing commercial netters into smaller areas, thus putting

here is my simple eight point plan: 1. Introduce a RFL in Queensland to cover fresh

and saltwater fishing. 2. Set up a recreational fishing industry taskforce to identify areas of best potential for net-free areas across the state (freshwater and saltwater). 3. Consult with affected commercial netters on the areas and provide fair compensation for any buy-outs, considering other state buy-back models. Ensure any licences bought out aren’t simply redistributed to other parts of the state. 4. Government discussion and consultation on the fees, with discounts and exemptions applying as per other states. 5. Establish trust funds and boards to oversee use of the funds, made up of recreational anglers and industry associations for freshwater and saltwater. Ensure there are funds for not only major initiatives but local grants also. 6. Remove the Private Pleasure Vehicle (PPV) levy from boat registration fees so the government is not double dipping. 7. Fees to be fixed based on recommendations of Sunfish. 8. Exclusions on fee payments for the young, elderly and disadvantaged. So log on and have your say. It is time QLD had a Recreational Fishing Licence!

SEPTEMBER 2016

Real pearler of a run offshore RAINBOW BEACH

Ed Falconer

We’re having a dream run with the weather and once again the fishing is on fire. It’s been a fantastic winter this year. OFFSHORE Pearl perch and snapper have thick with numerous bag-outs on both species. We just seem to be having a golden run. Soft plastics, particularly the ZMan shads, are a sure fire weapon on both species, especially when you’re targeting larger fish. Mulloway have been in big numbers as well and live yakkas are proving irresistible to them. They have all been a consistent size around 90cm, as if they were all hatched the same day.

Another species that have been thick are Moses perch. They’ve been on our bag-out list and a lot of these fish have been around 45cm, which is large for a Moses perch. We’re still picking up some beautiful coral trout. Other fish that have filled our basket include Maori cod, tuskfish, cobia, amberjack and a few nice red emperor. GREAT SANDY STRAITS There’s been a fair bit of pelagic action in the Straits. longtail tuna have been hitting small silver slugs on the inside of Fishermans Gutter at Inskip Point. There are awesome tailor mixed up with them, which are also hitting the slugs and unweighted pilchards.

Winter whiting are in huge numbers, especially around the Tinnanbar

is a very handy piece of equipment to have aboard. The bottom end of Fraser

Check this out for a cracker pearly! Josh caught this 68cm weapon.

Mulloway have been suckers for live yakkas. area. The calmer the water and the slower the drift, the better. A sea anchor

Island has been producing excellent summer whiting and flathead.

Everyone loves September. It’s one of those months when reef fishing is in its prime and the weather is stable, as it begins to lose the winter chill. We’ve had some fantastic sessions on snapper in past Septembers – it’s one of their spawning

months. They usually get super hungry after they do their thing. • To enjoy a day on the water with Keely Rose Fishing Charters phone Ed Falconer 0407 146 151 or visit www. keelyrosefishingcharters .com.au.

Temp shift prompts reefies HERVEY BAY

Scott Bradley marlin81@bigpond.com

Plenty of grins lately with snapper pouring in.

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With the shift in weather, we can expect the fishing options to open up here in Hervey Bay. IN THE BAY Snapper are still the main focus for many anglers trying for a few fish before they disappear for another year. The Arty fished well last month for fish in the 3-6 kg range, and should hold a few fish this month, depending on the water temperature. Other places worth trying are Moon Ledge, The Outer Banks, the Burrum 8-mile and 25-fathom hole for late season snapper. The local reefs are still fishing well for a mixture of coral bream, cod, trout, blackall, small snapper and tuskies along Big Woody, Bagimba, the Picnics and Mckenzies Ledge. There are a few big local squid still kicking around and even if they aren’t your preference to eat, they make great bait for almost everything that swims. In the estuaries, winter whiting are still on the move off Big Woody, Point Vernon and Gatakers Bay. Flathead are abundant and should only fire up more as the

water warms, and bream have continued to average 35-40cm at most local known hot spots. GO THE PELAGICS As we lead into the warmer weather, the pelagic action will only increase as the water temperature rises.

jigs around beacons, reefs and wrecks. Even when you’re bait fishing, it’s worth a few drops with a jig or floating a pilly back on a gang to value add your fishing. With a blend of winter and summer fish

Red emperor have been a common catch out wide lately. Everything from big cobia, mackerel, tuna and billfish will come back on the radar. Tactics to target pelagics vary from casting and trolling to vertically fishing plastics and

around, you never know what you will catch at the moment. OUT WIDE The southern gutters has been producing plenty of red fish. Mixed bags of

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red emperor, coral trout, nannygai and snapper over 8kg have occupied the ice boxes of many boats lately. Just remember with the bigger snapper that you are only allowed one fish over 75cm.

The sharks seem to have backed off lately too, which is a bonus when you’re catching quality fish like that, no one likes losing them to the taxman!

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Island escape for their holidays FRASER COAST

Phil James p_j_james@bigpond.com

September sees us heading into one of the year’s busiest periods on Fraser Island, only rivalled by short periods of the Easter long weekend and the Christmas to New Year period. Why? This is the time of the year when we experience three powerful influences aligning. GREAT WEATHER Firstly, there is the weather – usually beautiful cool spring conditions with lots of sunshine and light offshore breezes. Of course, we can always expect the rogue southeasterly coming in to spoil the party. The way the weather has been this year, we need to be able to expect anything. Having said that, we should be optimistic about enjoying a beautiful month on the island. SCHOOL HOLIDAYS The latter half of the month is taken up by the Queensland school holidays – a great opportunity to pack the tents or camper trailers then head for beautiful Fraser Island. Sure, there will be plenty of like-minded souls there too, but plenty of great times to go around. It might not be easy to secure holiday units, particularly during the school holidays, as bookings have been very heavy. There are plenty of great sites on the beach and in areas that aren’t closed for restoration. There are also a few private grounds that can be booked. Don’t forget the camping and vehicle permits. These can be obtained at a number of outlets but for convenience, on-line is the way to go. Go to http://www. nprsr.qld.gov.au/experiences/ camping/camping_bookings. html for more information. GETTING THERE At this busy time of the year, transport services are stretched. For barges running

between River Heads and either Kingfisher Bay Resort or Woongoolbver Creek, bookings are essential. They need to be made well in advance for the busy times. You don’t need to book for the Manta Ray barge from Inskip Point to the island but at busy times you might need to join a queue. For this barge, it’s best to choose an earlier time, so you can take advantage of a low tide on the island. GREAT FISHING I am often asked, what is the best time to fish on Fraser’s ocean beaches? Without question, my response is September. The annual run of spawning tailor is well underway and started in July and August. Combined with usually favourable conditions, the fish are easily targeted by conventional bait fishing, or by using high-speed metals and other artificials. Tailor can be located anywhere along the eastern beach, with the more reliable areas north of Dilli Village. Gutters, holes and spits, particularly those associated with white-water washing into deeper water are all you need to find them. During September, and particularly during the school vacation, tent cities spring up along the beach, particularly north of the Cathedrals. Fortunately some great tailor features are usually close by, so it’s standard to see long lines of anglers, almost shoulder to shoulder, working a school of feeding fish. These can be challenging sessions with frequent interference of gear, and a few unkindly words. If this is not your scene, then make a move and locate your own fish. You might not score as heavily, but you will have much more fun. You don’t have to catch tailor to enjoy the fishing that this month can offer. Dart are almost always available and can be taken amongst the tailor or quieter sections of gutters.

I am always thrilled to see whole families participating in fishing for dart as well as whiting, bream, tarwhine and the odd flathead. Often we see a young boy or girl excitedly catching their first ever fish, possibly a big dart that makes the drag of their tiny reel scream. Great stuff! This month also sees the peak of the mulloway season along the eastern beach. These are best targeted after dark for an hour or two. Last September fish of up to 25kg were taken between Eurong and Happy Valley. On the western beach, the catch of a tailor during September would be greeted with surprise. This month we can expect good catches of whiting along the open beaches with flathead and bream around the creek mouths and coffee rocks. BESIDES FISHING, WHAT ELSE? There is the social life, and the walks along the beach, but many visitors like to take the opportunity to see more of the island. The beach drives to Indian Head and Middle Rocks are almost mandatory. The views from the top of Indian Head should not be missed. There is no view of anglers fishing from the rocks, as the headlands and beaches between Indian Head and Waddy Point are totally closed to fishing during August and September. Taking the 4WD tracks north of Middle Rocks, you can reach Orchid Beach and Waddy Point within another half hour. SANDY CAPE I am often asked whether a day trip to Sandy Cape is feasible. The further south you begin, the more difficult it would become. You need to be travelling on the beach when water level is half tide down. Even so, prevailing beach conditions may complicate things. Based at Happy Valley for example, I would look for

a midday low tide, and leave as early as practical on the ebb tide. Even at this tidal stage, there might still be creeks to cross and coffee rocks to negotiate. All going well, you could be at Orchid Beach while the tide was still ebbing. The beach drive from here to Sandy Cape is interrupted by the notorious Ngkala Rocks bypass track. Its approach from the north can be very demanding, particularly on vehicles that are not meant for this kind of work. Return departure from Sandy Cape should be no later than low water, to ensure a fairly easy return to home base. Depending on tidal and beach conditions, it may even be possible to use the reverse tides, visiting Sandy Cape over high water. INLAND AND TO THE WESTERN COAST Many of the island’s attractions can be reached taking the 4WD tracks that leave the beach at a number of locations north of Dilli Village. Those that lead to Lake Birrabeen, Central Station, Lake McKenzie and Kingfisher Bay Resort are likely to be used heavily during the school holidays. With the exception of the Eurong to Central station road (mostly two one-way tracks), these are single lane with limited passing places. Unless you are prepared for hold-ups due to the excessive number of vehicles, and vehicles being bogged, I don’t recommend using these tracks during this time. The road to Woralie Creek and western beach, from north of the Maheno wreck, is used by campers heading for Woralie, Bowarady and Awinya creeks. With day trippers, this road can be crowded. This is an interesting drive that isn’t usually overused, and leaves the beach at Govi Creek near Dilli Village. This enables visits to

This Spaniard, taken in the rip between the Picnic Islands, was a welcome present for one of Hervey Bay’s newest residents. South White Cliffs, Buff and Deep creeks and to the old wharf and camping ground at Ungowa. From Ungowa, the circuit can be completed by following a track to Central Station, then to Eurong on the eastern beach. HERVEY BAY The visitors to Hervey Bay during the school holidays will include lots of keen anglers. Some will bring their capable offshore craft, others their 5m alloys and tinnies. Many will be content to fish from the pier or the beach and all should be rewarded, provided they put the effort into preparation and planning. Based on recent reports, you can expect snapper and a variety of reef species coming in from the northern area. Further south in the bay, school mackerel should be active, and scattered schools of tuna should be following baitfish. In the inner bay, deeper reefs like the Rufus artificial,

the Channel Hole, Bogimbah Ledge and Boges Hole are producing snapper, grass sweetlip and cod. The rips and eddies around the ends of the bay’s islands have provided some excitement for both lure and bait anglers. Golden and giant trevally, as well as Spanish and school mackerel have been taken in recent weeks. The shallow reefs have been quiet apart from a few small snapper. Diver whiting have been scattered and unreliable so far this season, but they should be back in force for the holiday period. Land-based anglers would be advised to check out the pier. There has been a very good run of bream around the pylons of both inner and outer gutters. Out near the end of the pier, expect to see specialists targeting mackerel, trevally and tuna. Fishing the cool inshore waters from the beach may not be too rewarding.

Bundaberg basics for flathead season ahead BUNDABERG

Jason Medcalf topwater@bigpond.com

The warmer weather is just around the corner, not that winter was really cold in our parts. Spring is here and, of course, that means it’s flathead time. Flathead and spring is like snags and sauce, Warne and McGrath and Saturday afternoons and cold beers – it’s just meant to be. Lure fishers everywhere just love spring for the opportunity to target these mostly abundant and willing Aussie iconic fish. 48

SEPTEMBER 2016

Flathead has probably been most lure angler’s first fish they caught on a lure or plastic, which puts them in a special place for those anglers. Of course the other place we like to put them is in a pan. Even though I don’t eat a lot of fish, flathead taste great, they are relatively easy to clean and there’s not much wasted so they really are a great fish to take home. FLATHEAD BASICS FOR BUNDY I do get to meet a lot of people that love their fishing at work (Coopers Hardware Bundaberg) and most have either tried or would like to try lure fishing. Well this month is

absolutely the best month to get out and target flathead on both soft plastic and hardbodied lures. The first tip I give to those wanting to target flathead is to fish where the fish are. This sounds very obvious doesn’t it? But when you put some finer points to that you do have to do some thinking. Flathead live on the bottom and try to blend in with their surroundings and then dart out and grab their prey. So the biggest lesson there for those learning is to make sure your lure or plastic is on the bottom where the flathead can see it. Flathead will pretty much eat anything that swims in

front of them in spring, as they are very active doing their bit making more flathead which of course gives them an appetite. Sand bar drop-offs and ledges is a great place to find flathead as they face into the tide waiting for small fish and prawns to wash down with the tide. If you wander around sand flats at low tide, sometimes you can spot where the flathead was lying in wait for their prey, you will see a flathead shaped indentation in the sand. This of course would be a great place to fish when the water is on it because it’s obviously an area flathead are actively feeding.

Trolling for flathead is the least physically active way to put you right in with a great chance of catching them. It can be as easy as grabbing a couple of small lures and tying them onto your rods and dragging them behind the boat until a flathead eats it, which does work. Or if you want to improve your catch rate, select lures that dive the depth you are trolling that ensure they are on the bottom the whole time you are trolling them. You can also watch the water and your fish finder carefully making sure those lures are being trolled over drop-offs and ledges because having your lure in the strike zone

for longer will increase your chances. When I catch a flathead I go through a bit of a checklist in my head. I check water depth, location, lure colour, tide direction, boat direction and how far back that lure was. The reasons is so I can do it again to see if this is a pattern that will catch me more fish. My favourite trolling lures for flathead are the Berkley Frenzy 7cm Deep Diver in the orange colour and the Tilsan Bass in the green and gold and the pink one. Enjoy your spring and look forward when the red boys start to fire up again.

Barra season now upon us LAKE MONDURAN

Rob Howell

With winter now behind us, we can only anticipate what will be on offer for the next couple of months. September is without a doubt one of the best months to target Mondy barra, the reason being typical that the trade winds from the north bring stable weather patterns and constant wind from the one direction. These warm northerlies also boost the water temperature up by a few degrees, igniting the barra into feeding mode. FINDING FEEDING BARRA Depending on wind

direction, you will find barra schooled up in windward bays and on wind affected points and banks. For example, if the wind is blowing from the north you would fish areas in Bird Bay, Cow Bay and points and bays in the south arm of ‘B’, which is Tararan creek. If the wind is blowing from a southerly direction, you would want to fish areas like Jacks Bay, Insane Bay, Heart Bay and Two Mile Creek just to name a few. Another great way to find other likely spots is to purchase yourself a detailed Lake Monduran map. The next step is to visit an online weather website to look at the forth coming week of predicted wind directions.

I like to use the BOM and Seabreeze sites for this info. Then by using the north/south compass on the map, apply your predicted wind directions to give you a handful of likely fishing spots. LURES The new Happy Rock 8” Big Willies soft plastics had made an impact on the barra scene last season and will most definitely be a ‘must have’ lure here again at Mondy this season. These soft plastics have been developed and are handmade by local Gladstone angler Trevor Burgess. Trevor has years of experience under his belt throughout Queensland’s Barra impoundments. His swimbaits are best rigged with

8/0 Tackle tactics jigheads and are great for casting long distances and work best on a dead slow retrieval. For further info you can visit my Facebook page Lake Monduran Guidelines fishing charters, or alternatively contact any of our helpful staff on 41573881. • Our team here at Lake Monduran look forward to seeing you in the near future for some barra action. For Charter, houseboat and accommodation bookings please contact us email info@ lakem.com.au or call us on (07) 4157 3881 or my mobile 0410 599 147. Check out my facebook page for up to date barra info, Lake Monduran Guidelines Fishing Charters.

Rocky’s insane fishing to stay ROCKHAMPTON

Clayton Nicholls clay94_fishing@live.com.au

The fishing inshore and coastal estuaries have been insane and should stay like this while the weather looks to stay calm. The mid-winter downpour

for a great afternoon session on the way home from work. We have been using the Ecogear SX40, Lucky Craft Pointer 48 and Bevy Pop. Using poppers has been somewhat productive but the barra have really been more stuck into sub-surface lures worked along the tree lines.

Rhett Thorne with a decent light gear threadfin salmon caught on a River2Sea Fish Candy. that sent the river into a small flood period should prove beneficial coming into summer and really help with putting some good numbers into the river. Over the first couple of days of the rain some great barra had been caught, and even better ones pulled once the river had settled. LAGOONS The freshwater lagoons and creeks around the region are beginning to fire up. So far there has been mainly tarpon for me, but others have been getting barra in areas like Woolwash and Twelve Mile. With the coming months getting warmer the barra are going to get more onto the bite, which makes

ESTUARIES Grunter, golden snapper and Moses perch have really been fired up lately with many decent fish caught up Corio Bay and Coorooman. These fish have been sitting off the rock bars in the areas and the most common method of targeting them is using prawns, live ones or lures, either are working great. Around beach headlands and pressure points there have been lots of queenfish, salmon, dart and trevally. A recent four-day camping trip gave me a chance to give my Palms Molla 732 a run for its money, I was able to use this rod for most of the fishing I did from the decent queenfish through to bream and whiting.

Halco Twisty lures made for a great lure off the beach for all these species mentioned. I spiced up the standard Twisty with a single assist hook up top and a single hook on the bottom. This worked great and in my opinion saw my hook land more fish than others using a treble at the rear. Whiting have been found just along the drop off line around the estuaries coming off the flats, fresh yabbies and worms will see you catch a great number of these fish in no time. Flathead have been a great species this year showing up in good numbers. These prehistoric estuary dwellers have been regularly caught on live prawn and herring along with deep diving lures and, as usual, soft vibes also making some quick work of them. FITZROY The port area of Fitzy has produced some great threadfin recently. Many of them are being taken on live baits at night, and with lures during the day. Target them around gravel type coffee rock areas in amongst the flats.

One of the best live baits in the area at the moment is the adequate supply of poddy mullet, these can be targeted with either a cast net or fish trap. A single 6/0 circle hook pinned through the shoulders of the bait will be easily capable of capturing any of the snooping salmon. INSHORE REGIONS The Keppel Group has been fishing great lately. Lots of people have been catching fish from coral trout to sweetlip and cod. The mackerel disappeared for a while after all the rain and the vast amount of freshwater the Fitzroy pumped out after the downpour. Micro-jigging continues to be a very successful technique with large coral trout, cobia and the usual trevally and queenfish caught on this luring technique. The typical baits used lately have been pike, garfish, mullet and squid. • If you have any fishing photos of the Rockhampton/ Gladstone region feel free to send them through with a brief description of where you caught the fish and how you caught them clay94_ fishing@live.com.au.

Connor was pretty stoked to land this slab of Mondy goodness.

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Darryl ended up with a nice blue salmon when he took a crack spinning a metal in the surf.

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1770 fishing in spring is magic 1770

Des Carnell

Safety and reef anchorages are important. There’s not a great deal of fishing to write about this month, but I know the questions people ask when they visit the caravan park are some answered in this report. It’s Flathead time at 1770. Local estuaries are producing quality flathead, with several local anglers reporting specimens in excess of 70cm. These fish are excellent fun on light spin gear. Use small to medium hardbody minnows or plastic grubs for the best results. Remember to cover lots of ground while chasing flathead. They’re ambush predators, lying in wait around drains and rocky outcrops for bait to come to them. The more area you cover, the better your odds of a hook-up. With the onset of spring, it won’t be long before the jacks start making their presence known. It’s a good time to check your gear.

Get your reels serviced and prepare for the season ahead! Fishing beaches throughout the area has been producing the goods. Large swallowtail dart up to 60cm, tarwhine, bream, and schools of tailor are coming through. Even the odd mulloway is mixed among them. Tuna

schools have made an early appearance. Nice fish are taken from passing schools off the southern headlands. Expect pelagic numbers to steadily increase as winter ends, and spring patterns fall into place. Offshore has produced big Spanish mackerel, from deeper

Glen Jenkins scored this lovely flathead.

Chris Carnell showing off his awesome snapper, caught from the shelf off 1770.

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reefs, and black kingfish in excess of 20kg. – Josh Lunn, Agnes 1770 Bait and Tackle It’s warming up and 1770 is showing its true colours as a magic fishing destination, where most anglers still bring home a feed. Catch and release is the bible when

you have a good feed of fish on board. Late July and August had anglers calling, “Bring on the snapper!” Unless you’re a dedicated Fitzroy or Boult reef coral trout enthusiast, a big part of the winter catch was snapper from the gravel grounds and Banana Gutter area. Southeast of 1770, snapper, pearlies and big tuskfish have been taken from the deep grounds between the Bunker group of islands, reefs and the continental shelf. I had a few trips to the 100m line east of the islands and caught large snapper, pearl perch and tuskfish. The sharks caned us on the first drops and cleanly took the best part of two estimated 4-5kg fish, right behind the gills. How are they so precise when they grab a fish, when we wind up so fast? We moved to another show and caught smaller fish, but we all know where there’s good fish, there are gentlemen in grey suits – fact of life. Remember if you’re fishing this area, your boat, motor, batteries, VHF and safety gear need to be well maintained. Help is a long way away. It’s 46 nautical miles to the shelf, from 1770. Plenty of good grounds are close out of 1770 if you don’t want to travel far, such as South Bustard, the Wides, Banana Gutter, and 8 fathom patch. Call Tony at Agnes 1770 Bait and Tackle for some GPS marks. When leaving Round Hill Creek, call VMR Round Hill on VHF channel 81 or 82, and our happy volunteers will help you as best they

can. Channel 82 is best for Fitzroy area to the north and 81 for Lady Musgrave and south of 1770. Carry way more fuel than you need, a good rule being to arrive back in port with at least a third of your total fuel capacity still on board. If the weather turns bad, you’ll get home safely. Rough weather consumes a lot more fuel than normal running. Our beautiful 1770 fishing areas, and the Bunker group of islands and reefs, have a couple safe anchorages when you’re out wide and the weather goes to crap. Both Fitzroy Reef and Lady Musgrave Island have night lit, well marked entrances to safe rough weather anchorages. Both lagoons have large coral bommies, so enter in daylight, if you don’t have a GPS track and waypoint entered for anchoring inside the lagoons. Tide flow affects the lagoon interior, so allow a safe 360-degree swing. I love September, the pelagics are smashing the bait schools, the humpbacks are on the whale highway,

heading home to Antarctica, and algae create oily patches on the surface. That spells red fish. What more could you want? Some say the oily algae patches from September to December offshore are coral spawn. It’s a harmless surface floating algae bloom that occurs from spring to summer and is muddy in appearance. I relate its timing to great red fish catches. Smallmouth nannygai and red emperor are on the chew during the next few months, more than any other time of the year. Maybe that’s why our finfish closures occur now until December. Head back into the lagoon in time for drinks and ‘the one that got away’ stories. Enjoy the magic of a glowing sky from Fitzroy lagoon, the lights of Bundaberg, Gladstone and even Rockhampton sparkling in the distance. See you at 1770. • Stay at 1770 Camping Ground right on the beach at 1770, and for your local fishing advice call Tony or Josh Lunn at Agnes Water 1770 Bait & Tackle, phone (07) 4974 9304.

Trent Jenkins with a massive trout from 1770.

Road to Stanage is looking good STANAGE BAY

Von Ireland

Stanage Bay has wonderful month. rain stirred the beef and reef. The

had a Winter creeks, council

graded the road – our driveway. They carted thousands of square meters of gravel road base, and for a while things were looking up. The potholes and corrugation on the last

15km were gone. Then the rain started. It was fantastic. The council moved out and the hardy fishing tourists moved in, without one complaint. The creeks receded

Muddies are in good condition, just look at this beast!

s i s t a o B x e d A Sea e c n u o n n a o t D EXCITE ew n e h t f o h c n u the la

nicely to the salt waterways. Our estuary, Thirsty Sound, has five exit mouths into the coral sea. All the waterways benefited. The freshwater barra washed through, and some were hooked on keen anglers’ lures at the roadside. Muddies were flushed from their holes into deeper saltwater, and then into the freshly baited crab pots. Thirsty Sound saw the best winter muddies in years. Blue and king threadfin salmon showed their scales, and so did the cod, bream and grunter. With the road being open and in good condition, bigger boats came into town. When the weather dropped out, the boats were out, and fish were in the boats. There have been humble showings of quality fish, including coral trout, red emperor, red spangled emperor and usual grassy sweetlip. Get to Stanage for a good time. All the accommodation is inexpensive, so everyone can enjoy an affordable stay. • Remember the latest fishing reports are on www. fishingmonthly.com.au and for queries on Stanage Bay fishing, call me on (07) 4937 3145.

Emperors like this beauty are on the bite.

Nice coral trout have been showing up, along with red emperor and grassy sweetlip.

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Go hit the hot spots GLADSTONE

Eve Malone eve.dave42@gmail.com

Winter definitely made its show throughout August, as is the tradition through Central Queensland. The cold air catches have been fairly consistent with blue and threadfin salmon heavily on the bite in continuation from last month’s report. Calliope, up the narrows and Port Alma are the hot spots. Fresh and live baits have successfully been catching some great specimens. Salmon fight strong and will take to the air to try and ditch the hook – both the fight and spectacle are worth targeting. They school up and love the run, so find one you’ll find more. With plenty of prawns running in the rivers, all of the usual winter species are hitting good fresh baits, in particular peeled prawns. Concentrate your efforts for flathead around the river drains and the mouths of the Boyne or Wild Cattle Creek for flathead. Bream have had a nice run so far this season; both the very upper and the lower reaches of the Boyne have showed some nice catches. Live bait, such as herring or the ever-successful poddy mullet, are working very well and, as always, night on the making of the full moon and a few days after is the best time for targeting. Barra are continually being caught in the salt systems, in and around the Mariner, the hotwater outlet and the mouth of the Calliope. All fishers I

have seen with a good catch have been using soft plastics, but there has been the odd one caught on live bait. In clear water I would stick with the pearl and white paddle-tail varieties, and in murkier water and at nights I would go with darker colours such as purple in the paddle-tail.

than the shallower areas, bigger baits as in whole fillets of fresh fish and whole cuttlefish rigged on running sinkers with 7/0-8/0 hooks. I haven’t seen many of the larger Spaniards picked up around the inner reefs and coastal areas as I would have expected. We’re hoping

Paul Raissis on a nice patch of reds around Sykes landed this one while fishing an Elkat Glow Stick Jig.

Nudge Trezise with a bumper Awoonga sooty grunter caught on Barra Classic lure. The reefs are getting some great activity with the blessing of good weather throughout winter, some nice red emperor showing up around Douglas and Northwest. The deeper waters are still fishing better

September may pick up with some great catches landed out at the reefs, such as Wistari, Erskine and Masthead. There has been some major bait runs through these reefs so it’s definitely not surprising.

Trolled gar are a brilliant option but floating and trolling coming up trumps as well. Big red-throat, coral trout and tuskies are being caught through all the reef areas. These are the dominant species being caught and are amazing table fish. Sizes are well up and no angler would be unhappy with a bag of these for the freezer. Freshwater fishing at Pikes Crossing and Awoonga Dam have been slow as it always is at this time of the year. The still water remains colder than the tidal areas so catching barra and jack take some work. Focus your time in the afternoon in shallower waters will be your best bet. Sooty grunter are hitting some hardbodied lures as a by-catch for barra, they are not necessarily targeted but they are definitely around and great fun on light gear.

Gladstone Area Water Board will be restocking the dam with more mangrove jack in the near future,

hire boats for the dam and for any smooth waters in the area from Lake Awoonga Boating & Leisure you can

Ryan Fennell caught this beauty on 6” Reaper Rip Tails. the dam will be back to its former glory in no time. And don’t forget you can

find them on Facebook and shoot them a message with enquiries.

New tricks for old dogs YEPPOON

Scott Lynch ifishcq2@bigpond.com

The winter that never came has allowed the summer species to remain in the systems for so long that there has hardly been any changeover to the winter fish, and most of the favourites were all around at the same time. My predictions from last month were cut short with an unusual weather event that saw the local area and most of the catchment of the Fitzroy River receive unprecedented amounts of winter rain. Some parts copped up to 500mm in less than 48 hours. THE RIVER This has changed the whole complexion of the river and all of Keppel Bay. The river is still running thick chocolate brown, and only barramundi and king threadfin have been taken 52

SEPTEMBER 2016

in the upper salt reaches below the barrage. There has been lots of rat barra around the drains and small creek mouths, particularly around the high tide. The bigger fish seem to have moved down towards the delta where there area lots more baitfish for them to eat. The large schools of threadfin have also moved downstream with the odd resident fish staying in town. The majority of baitfish and all of the small prawns were washed down the front, with predators following closely. Port Alma and Connors Creek are the pick spots for the bigger barramundi and threadfin at the moment. Big black jew are another fish that has skirted the floodwaters and featured in a number of recent captures. The town reaches will improve as the month goes on and the salt levels increase right back up the river. The bait and the bigger

fish will move up and things should be in good shape once more. The best result from the floods has been the return of the mid-sized fish to the patches skirting the dirty water. They have moved back into the zone where they can remain in the saltier water and still take advantage of all the food flushed out of the river. Spots like Barren, Outer and The Pinnacles are showing plenty of large mouth nannies that have increased in quantity since the storms. OUT THE FRONT The fresh flow into the bay has disrupted the migration of many of the mackerel and bait schools, which usually pass through at this time of year. They have started out past the plume, but they may move in again as the inshore waters clear up. The expected spotted mackerel run has stalled for the moment, and should with any luck be back on track within weeks if conditions

Connor Duffy proves that skipping small plastics up the back of mangrove roots is highly effective, especially on species like barra, jacks and bream. allow the bay to clean up a bit more. September is usually prime spotty time for the small tinny anglers. They start in the southern end of the bay and work north through the multitude of mackerel patches in the area. Lures and pillies are both very good options when

the fish are on the chew. Spotties respond well to berley, and will often follow the stream right to the boat. In previous years, they have hit spots like Quartz at the same time as the ribbonfish. This presents another issue of trying to get a chrome down though the wolfies and ribbonies to the macks.

Red emperor, red-throat, sweeties, tuskies and coral trout are going well at most of the offshore reef patches and this mid-season period normally produces the bigger fish. The wide grounds and shoals are the best option when the conditions are right. To page 53

Warm weather sparks up the barramundi bite MACKAY

Keith Day habdays@bigpond.net.au

Hopefully we have seen the last of the cooler weather, and those nagging southeast winds will swing more to the east and northeast and bring schools of bait in close to the shore. PELAGICS September is usually the first real opportunity for fine boating weather, with light winds early in the morning and blowing up around lunchtime before dying off near dark. These conditions spell a small mackerel bonanza for the small boat angler, and the shore-based fishos will also score well off the harbour break wall. School, spotted and the odd grey mackerel will be chasing the bait in close, and on the good days the harbour break wall bristles with rods, and pandemonium often reigns supreme. This is the time of year that sees anglers going for a ‘patrol’ out to the harbour to check out the scene. Ganged hook rigs of pilchards, live and fresh herring, and strips of ribbonfish will all attract the small macks. With light weight these rigs can be fished down in the water column as more fish will be caught there than right at the surface. Small garfish are also a top bait but they can be hard to come by, and are not easy to get in a cast net. For the lure angler, there is an infinite variety of suitable lures available, from traditional spoons trolled on venetian cord right through to the latest high tech ‘must-have’ lures. For trolling I generally set a spread with both barra type minnows and metal vibes and ‘shinies’. Getting them to run at varying depths will cover

more ground and hopefully more fish. The same lures can be used casting to sighted fish or known areas where they concentrate. The shinies and vibes are best worked with spin gear, as the extra casting distance can often come in very handy, as does the faster retrieve rates of these reels. Plastics, including those incredible fish catchers the soft vibes, will also work well on macks, but the attrition rate is pretty savage. When you’re using soft vibes you should definitely stick to the cheaper brands rather than the $30 ones. These lures can be worked vertically, slow and fast or cast and retrieved flat stick. Colours should either match the bait (e.g. herringlike colours) or you can use the almost clear ones which also appeal to longtail and mac tuna. They are very versatile lures.

berley. Lure casting is best done casting well upcurrent and retrieving downcurrent as well, although often when fish are busting up bait balls, it is a case of just getting the lure in there! It’s great fun and on 4kg gear these small pelagics sure put up a good fight. Further to the south, Flat and Round Top islands fish well, as do Taroba Rock and Reichlemans Reef, but schools can be found anywhere down to Hay Point. The birds are your best friend when bait is at or near the surface, and bait schools deeper in the water show up well on even very basic sounders, so keep an eye on it at all times. As always, bait equals fish. The guys working in the local tackle shops know when the macks are running and the best/most likely spots, and will happily put anglers on the right track.

Soft vibes will catch just about anything that swims, but threadies seem to have a particular fondness for natural colours. Apart from the break walls, the small macks school up around Slade Island, Slade Rock and Danger Reef, all of which are in easy reach of the harbour. If baitfishing, try drifting the bait back downcurrent with a little

We don’t just enjoy the small macks though as there is usually plenty of tuna, trevally and the odd cobia and Spanish mackerel to be found under the surface working fish. There are some huge queenfish around at the moment as well, and they

From page 52

Wahoo are arriving again in numbers at the shoals and anywhere there is fast water around a reef is good a spot to try. The faster trolled lures and skirts are best for wahoo. NEW TRICKS I live by the rule that if someone can do something better than you, then ask them for advice. Up here we have an abundance of young anglers who have mastered the latest styles and fishing trends. Whether it be jigging vibes on the reef, skip casting into mangrove root bases or stickbaiting for species us old hands never dreamed of, they are opening up a whole new game. One of the top youngies has been giving me some great tips that enhance what I already do. Last weekend we checked out as many shallow reef spots as possible to test

Working the ground just wide of the fresh line pays dividends, with results like this nanny that Jake Robertson caught while offshore.

will hang about when ever there is plenty of bait. REEFS Early September should still see a few snapper about but they will taper right off during the month, to be replaced with grunter, golden snapper and nannygai. At times all of these species will be found under the feeding macks as they scoop up the leftovers from the feeding frenzy above them. Further offshore, the reef fishing can be expected to pick up as the weather drops out into typical spring conditions. The calm weather allows relatively light gear fishing up in the shallows for trout using bait or lures. Blueys will also be found feeding right up in the shallows, but like the trout they are super spooky. Long casts and quiet electric power are the order of the day for any success. Hurling the anchor over, having the chain rattle against the boat or dropping things inside the boat will all send fish scurrying away in shallow water, so keep it quiet! ESTUARY AND FRESHWATER Warming weather in September also kicks off the barra season well, and these fish will be a popular target along with king threadfin over the next couple of months. Those stinking hot, still days are also good conditions to chase jacks, and persistence will pay off. Murray, Constant and Reliance creeks will all fish well for barra, as will the creeks to the south like Bakers, Sandy and Rocky Dam creeks. Most of our creeks have a ramp of sorts, but the best launch times are around half tide. Coincidentally, best lure fishing for these species I find is from half tide down to half tide in, and then right up on the flats at the top of the tide.

The NFZ centred on Seaforth is continuing to fish better, with plenty of grunter around. These will increase in size during spring, when they no longer have to try to dodge the nets. It will be interesting

to see whether the fishing for barra and other species also improves, although this may take a season or two. Trolling with an electric is a good way to suss out the areas. Once you have found the fish, go looking for similar places as fish tend to be creatures of habit. Other species you’re likely to encounter on the troll include cod, trevally, small queenies, steelbacks and flathead. Not a bad B team! Once again, talk to the local tackle staff for the latest news. Dam barra fishing will really take off again with the change for warmer weather. All of the dams are in good shape, with plenty of capacity, and the tournament anglers will be out in force preparing for the ABT series and other comps. Kinchant is great to fish on calm days, but unfortunately

ski boats start up, and this is also a prime time to be fishing. Poppers, stickbaits, frogs and the like are great fun just as the sun comes up, and the explosive surface strikes are really something else. Teemburra will fish well around the points, especially those with established weed beds. Fish the windward shores and use a selection of plastics and hardbodies. Squidgies remain the most popular plastics, and black/gold is a firm favourite colour. Some anglers like to rig a small treble stinger near the tail, connected to the main hook via a short length of 20kg leader. So that’s the lowdown on what to expect, with the change in season bringing plenty of options in both salt and freshwater. Come and join us in paradise. See you at the ramp!

some of the new bream shads and paddle-tails. We wanted to find spots that had a current pushing into them while still being fishable from a small boat. Luckily, between the Keppels, Curtis and Facing Islands, there are a stack of those sorts of spots. The first thing to get right is how much weight you need for the purpose. I found that weights up to 1/2oz got the plastics to the bottom in the moving water we fished, and went down to 3/8oz in the slower stuff. There were a lot of hardiheads and other baitfish present on all the headlands and reefy shelves, so we matched lure size to them. Over the course of a day, we had landed hundreds of fish from hussar, Moses perch, stripeys, wire-netting and gold spot cod. At times we scored a fish per cast for fifteen minutes at a time, and lost count of

double hook ups when it reached two hundred. The advantage of finding so many fish allowed us to try lots of techniques and tune our methods. In the end, the natural colours easily beat everything else and both vibes and paddle-tails caught the same amount of fish. The retrieves varied for each different lure, and experimentation is the key. Don’t be afraid to stop your lure mid retrieve and let it settle, because the moment it moves again it can get hammered. I also learned that there are so many more fish in our heavily fished areas than I ever thought. Skip casting is something the majority have never tried. After watching Connor Duffy putting lures into spots that us hardbody lure anglers can’t reach, I have begun to practise. There are so many fish that stay out of reach behind the mangrove curtain, and skip

casting is a way you can get your lure to those fish and increase your catch rate substantially. Mangrove jack and big bream will latch onto near anything if it falls in front of them, and often you don’t need to do anything fancy, just let the lure sink for a second and if it doesn’t get nailed, start a slow retrieve. It won’t take long for a strike if there are fish there. All those mangrove banks lining the majority of saltwater estuary systems have fair populations of these iconic fish. This is a skill worth learning, and if you need guidance, there’s many tutorials online. After fishing with Connor and another friend Glenn Davis, I look at the mangroves completely differently to how I used to. One of the by-catches of chasing jacks is barramundi, and that is the sort of by-catch I like!

that same calm weather is what the jet ski and ski boat crowds look for as well. For anglers, it’s almost impossible to enjoy a quiet session unless it’s dark. Daylight usually sees a couple of hours before the

Spring brings barra on the chew, and anglers will be out in all the creeks chasing the silver beauties like this one caught at Constant Creek.

SEPTEMBER 2016

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Shimano Ocea Fishing Gloves Shimano’s new Ocea Gloves are designed for the offshore anglers wanting to

protect their hands from the harmful elements that offshore angling can dish up. Ocea fishing gloves provide extra grip in wet conditions, while also protecting the wearer from abrasive materials like braid and sharp scales and spikes from fish. Anyone throwing big poppers for big ooglies out on the blue will appreciate the protection they offer. These Ocea Gloves have an ultra-thin titanium alloy, which provides insulation and warmth to the wearer on cold days while letting your hands breathe on the hotter days. They also create the perfect cover from the suns harsh rays to hands that are always exposed while on the water. With a reinforced non-slip material on the index finger and palm increasing casting and jigging grip in wet conditions. They come in sizes ranging from large to extra large. www.shimanofish.com.au

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Rapala Floating Aerator

The new Floating Aerator from Rapala gently mixes air into the water, combining effective aeration with the advantages of a compact size. Features of this award-winning product include automatic activation when submersed in water; air release stone at the base; durable construction with stainless fittings for saltwater use; 18-hour continuous run time; and 36-hour runtime with 15 minute intervals. The Floating Aerator aerates 1.5L of water per minute. This handy product measures approximately 10cm wide by 18cm long, operates on 3 x C batteries (not included); and is ideal for most bait storage containers. Price: approx. SRP $60 www.rapala.com.au IN

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new moulded Utili-Tackle Rail System. The innovative top securely holds one StowAway, while the perimeter features anchoring points for attaching and organising other fishing necessities. The new redesigned Guide series has 17 attachment points for accessories and other bits of gear. So you can keep pliers, knives, clippers and other potentially dangerous pieces of equipment stowed away from trouble. This unique moulded component is duplicated on the base of the bag, for attaching longer items like rod holders, and it features overmoulded rubber feet to prevent your gear from sitting in puddles or sliding off decks. So whether on foot or fishing from a boat, the Guide series with its Utili-tackle Rail System will make your tackle management much easier and convenient, and keep everything organised. The more organised you can be on the water, the more time you can spend fishing! www.jmgillies.com.au

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Shimano Zodias spinning rods Using Shimano’s exclusive Hi-Power X Construction graphite blanks, Shimano’s

Zodias rods deliver incredible distance and accuracy. The lightweight blanks are complemented by custom shaped EVA grips, Fuji ‘K’ series Alconite guides — with a Fuji SiC tip to reduce heat buildup at a key point — and a CI 4+ reel seat for an additional weight saving. Hi-Power X blanks are really something else. Their acute sensitivity crisply transmits every tap from a snag, weed, or a cautious short-striking fish, especially when used in conjunction with reels spooled with zero stretch braided line like Power Pro. There are four light to medium spin rods of 6’ 8” and 7’ lengths, the latter in two piece, and a pair of 6’ 6” baitcasters to choose from. So whether it’s black bream in the Gippsland Lakes, or barramundi in a muddy tropical creek, you’ll be impressed with the performance characteristics of the new Zodias series. www.shimanofish.com.au

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Shimano combo kit Shimano have devised the perfect combo for anglers all around the country,

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and whether you’re land-based or fishing from a boat, you’ll agree that this is a real winner. Imagine taking all the best features of Shimano’s legendary Symetre, Aernos and Technium spin reels, combining them into one super spin reel series with some high tech accoutrements —that’s what you get with the new Nasci spin. There are five reels in the lineup, from the 1000 size for fine line finesse work in freshwater and the estuaries, right up to the saltwater standard 5000 with its generous braided line capacity and powerful gearing. The ever-popular Raider rod line-up has been given an exciting freshen-up for the 2016 season, with new cosmetics, custom Shimano reel seats, ergonomically-shaped EVA split grips where applicable, and Fuji aluminium oxide guides. These two have been combined to make for a fantastic rod and reel combo, and there’s a combo to cover almost every fishing situation. www.shimanofish.com.au

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Kairiki PE Braid Smooth, supple and sensitive — these keywords sum up Shimano’s new Kairiki

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Shimano Stradic Ci4+ Shimano have taken a favourite reel in the fishing community and made it even better.

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The newest member of Shimano’s Stradic range, the Stradic Ci4+ is made from lightweight carbon material. With reels, it’s hard to find a balance between being light in weight, but also staying tough. Shimano have achieved this with the ingenuity of this reel's design. This new Stradic comes with an asymmetrical rotor shape because the line roller and the bail trip mechanism are now on different sides of the reel. This now balances it out and means the overall weight of the reel can be reduced. Along with being lighter, this technology also allows the angler to enjoy a lighter-feeling retrieve. The Stradic Ci4+ is 30% more rigid than the previous model, meaning there’s less rotor play under higher drag pressures. Finally, the CoreProtect technology applied to this reel will help to keep the water out, meaning you’ll get a much longer life with this reel. www.shimanofish.com.au

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XDS offers the same saltwater reliability and brute strength of its predecessor in a new lightweight design. There are many features that make this latest model the latest and greatest in fly reel technology, and a very tough customer for tackling saltwater sportfish. A reduced weight design will aid casting for long periods, and will prevent angler fatigue when the fish are few and the casts are many. Setting up the drag is convenient, with the easy to use 340° colour coded drag control, which in the largest model can be cranked up to 30lb of pressure! The Fortuna XDS comes in 4 sizes, an 6/7/8, 8/9/10, 10,11,12 and an absolutely monstrous 12/13/14. So whether you’re on the flats chasing tailing bonefish, or out on the ocean chasing blue marlin, these reels will shine above the rest when it comes to saltwater fly reels. www.purefishing.com.au

Hardy Fortuna XDS fly reel With all the legendary strength of the original Fortuna series, the new Fortuna

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off huge swells to a beer and a BBQ with your mates. Rebel is the only eyewear that fuses ultimate visual clarity with comfort and classic style. The design for Rebel took its inspiration form the iconic movie star styling of the 50s – James Dean, Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe. Classic retro styling incorporates an embracing lens shape to comfortably wrap your face and deliver ultimate glare protection. The lines of the frame have been selectively moulded to incorporate classic fluid elements – eliminating flat and boring. Spotters have developed a slim temple design with a sweeping curve to keep your eyewear secure and removed any barrier to sliding these sunglasses on quickly and effortlessly. Rebel’s finishing touch is the bold temple branding. Frame finishes are available in gloss black, matte black or crystal brown. www.spotters.com.au

Spotters Rebel Rebel will take you seamlessly from fighting big marlin and penetrating the glare

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SX 8 braid. Being an eight-carrier Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) PE braid, its smooth finish means it creates less friction over rod guides when cast, and it slips through the water with reduced resistance and thrumming on the retrieve or when trolled. Kairiki SX8 is well behaved on the reel spool, with even lay and less propensity to throw off annoying wind knots. Sensitivity is brought into the manufacturing process by reducing overall stretch and having less elongation than competitors’ brands. An exclusive process that the raw material undergoes before braiding enhances abrasion resistance. It’s available in 11 breaking strains from 6-80lb on 150m spools at the lighter end and 300m from 20lb upwards. Its neutral Mantis Green colour means it is every bit at home in an impoundment as it is on a trout stream, or down in the estuaries and offshore. www.shimanofish.com.au

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Lowrance Elite-7 Ti series New touchscreen displays deliver incredible performance at an affordable price,

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Rio Big Nasty fly lines The Rio Big Nasty is a fly line specifically designed for casting big flies. Originally

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used the US to throw big streamers at big river brown trout, word got out and now Australia is bringing them in to cast big flies for our natives! As the name suggests, the Big Nasty allows an angler to throw big nasty flies at big nasty fish. They come with a very short and heavy head, and a diagram of the taper profile can be seen on the back of each of the boxes they come in. The line is actually heavier than the industry standard, and this is to load modern rods up faster. Anyone looking to throw flies at Murray cod or impoundment barramundi will find that the Big Nasty will make light work of what used to be an incredibly arduous task. For ease of use, it comes with pre-welded loops at both ends of the line, so setting up is a piece of cake. www.jmgillies.com.au

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Sage X fly rods

Sage have just unveiled the newest in the line of Flagship fly rod models, with their 10th update, the Sage X. The X is the Roman numeral for 10, which is where this rod’s name comes from. Using Konnetic HD (high density) technology, Sage has removed the resin between carbon fibres to create a slower action in the rod blank. Because if this, there’s more feel in the blank, and the bend is deeper and longer, bending all the way to the butt. The rod butt is made from the highest quality cork, meaning that water and other nasties like fish slime won’t get in as easily, and can quickly be washed off. In the X range there are 22 models, ranging from a 7’6” 3# to a 9’ #10, so whether it’s stream trout or offshore pelagic species, this rod is up for the challenge. www.jmgillies.com.au

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and has been designed and tested by one of the best in the business: Simon Rinaldi from Red Hot Fishing Charters. Mark Richter, owner of Richter Lures, said Simon is one of the best tuna anglers in Australia. “He tested the Splash Medium for over a year before the launch, and has reported exceptional results on southern bluefin tuna,” Mark said. The design of the head gives it a unique action, creating a great bubble trail, and it holds well in rough water. Simon reports that it works very well on the short rigger, but you can run it anywhere in the spread. As well as SBT it has accounted for big blue marlin at Port Stevens and is set to smash wide range of pelagics. “The Smash Medium’s bigger brother has proven to be a well-balanced lure for all pelagics,” Mark said. “It’s caught every popular pelagic species, and we expect the Medium to perform just as well.” The Splash Medium measures 240mm and comes in 11 colours, including UV and lumo. Every part of the lure is handmade in Richter’s factory in South Africa. Price: SRP $54.95 www.richterlures.com CT

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Richter Splash Medium The new Splash Medium from Richter is based on the successful Splash Large,

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and Lowrance has launched the new, premium Elite-7 Ti standalone fishfinder/ chartplotter. The Lowrance Elite-7 Ti touchscreen fishfinder/chartplotter offers anglers highperformance at an incredible value. With an easy-to-use touchscreen interface, Bluetooth and wireless connectivity, proven Lowrance navigation technology and high-performance sonar – including CHIRP sonar, StructureScan HD and DownScan ImagingTM – the Elite-7 Ti Series is a robust, feature-rich, yet compact solution. The Lowrance Elite-7 Ti is designed for anglers who want a complete view of the area beneath their boat. CHIRP Sonar offers improved fish-target separation and screen clarity, while the StructureScan HD sonar imaging system with exclusive Lowrance DownScan Imaging delivers photo-like images of fish-holding structure on both sides and directly beneath the boat. The Elite-7 Ti is available now, so make sure you give them a look if you’re currently hunting for a sounder. www.navico.com

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Deeper Pro+ Fish Finder Following on from the original Deeper Fish Finder released last year is the new

Deeper Pro+ Fish Finder. This newest version from the Deeper range can be synced to your smart phone like the old one, only this one talks to your smart phone via WIFI signal, and works even when you don’t have mobile reception. It can be cast on most standard PE lines, and in the process will automatically start mapping out the terrain of your chosen waterway, even if you’re land-based. The Deeper is water activated, so it automatically turns on when it hits the water. All you need to do is to download the Deeper App, which is free. The moment you have connection, the app will look like a fish finder, giving you depth, structure, fish, water temperature etc. You can also use the GPS on your phone to mark waypoints, and save spots and map for future reference. www.rapala.com.au

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STORM R.I.P MULTI DEPTH SCREW SYSTEM

New from Storm is their multi-use, multi-depth, R.I.P. Screw System. Designed to cater for the boom in oversize soft plastics, the R.I.P Multi-Depth Screw System allows anglers more rigging options for truly giant baits than ever before. The heart of the system is the long, wide pitch rigging screw, which can be inserted into the nose of any suitable soft plastic. The next step is sliding over the twin VMC treble hook rig, crimped on strong, stainless steel multi-strand wire. Finally, anglers select their desired weight and slide it on in front of the hook rig. This simple yet ingenious modular design allows anglers to adjust weights and rigging position to get the optimal performance for their chosen species. Perfectly suited to ferocious feeders like barramundi, the Storm R.I.P Multi-Depth Screw System is ideal for baits 6-8” long, and is shipped with 3 different weights in each package. www.rapala.com.au

PELICAN 2780R LED HEADLAMP

Meet the Pelican 2780R LED Headlamp – the most powerful Pelican headlamp available. With this new light you can own the night with main, downcast, flashing and main/downcast combo LED modes. With 558 lumens of bright LED light, you’ll have the perfect companion for your fishing adventure. Whether it’s an early launch, night fishing or walking along dark terrain to get to your favourite fishing spot, the 2780R Headlamp will lead you safely through the dark. A USB lithium ion rechargeable battery is just one of many great features. The 2780R is one of the most versatile headlamps on the market, with three brightness modes, 11-hour battery life, downcast LED technology, pivoting head for directional beam and three interchangeable covers. It is also water-resistant and comes with a lifetime guarantee. Price: SRP $149.95 www.afn.com.au

KUTTAFURRA JOE THE RAT

BASSDAY SUGAR SLIM 55

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One of the award-winning lures taking pride of place in the AFTA Show foyer was Joe the Rat from Kuttafurra. Designer Aaron Young was recently awarded the Best Commercial Lure at the Australian Lure and Fly Outdoors Expo for this lifelike rodent imitation. The paintwork and attention to detail on Aaron’s lures has always been second to none, and Joe the Rat is no different. Although simple in design, the addition of leather ears and a leather tail brings Joe the Rat to life. This 110mm surface lure effectively mimics a rat or a mouse swimming in the water, with a paddling motion that’s enhanced by the tail seductively wiggling along behind. This creates a larger profile for the lure and also makes it very realistic in the water. It’s a must have for any Murray cod surface lure enthusiast. For more information on this and other Kuttafurra lures, give Aaron a call on 0418 349 782, look up Kuttafurra Lures on Facebook or check them out on the web. Price: SRP $39.95 australianlureshop.com.au/kuttafurra/

Designed to imitate a dying minnow, the Bassday Sugar Slim 55 is equal parts precision, performance and refinement. A lure that casts like a bullet, courtesy of its internal weight transfer casting system, the Sugar Slim 55 has a distinct and enticing action, with a slow wobble and wide action, replicating perfectly a baitfish in distress. A perfect imitation of an estuary baitfish this is the go-to lure to reach for when fishing shallow sand flats. The Sugar Slim 55 isn’t just the domain of saltwater anglers though, and will prove equally as effective on the rivers and streams for trout. Trout in the south and the highlands, and jungle perch and sooties in the north will all line up to eat this slim-lined snack. This suspending style lure is 55mm and weighs 2.3g. It swims to a 1m depth with a wide slow wobble action. Price: SRP $26.95 www.frogleysoffshore.com.au

MAKO APEX SUNGLASSES

Designed for top end work, the new Apex sunglasses from Mako lead the way in eye protection. What separates these sunnies from the pack is their innovative new gradient colour lenses. Providing darker shading on top where you need it most, the lighter shades below give clarity for close-up work. Available in light polycarbonate or tough crown glass distortion-free lenses in grey or rose tint, Apex shows Mako’s top notch technology at its best. Made from tough warp-resistant nylon composite, the Mako’s sleek, matte black frames look fashionable and are designed for all outdoor situations. The Mako Apex will be available from November 2016. Price: SRP $299 (glass lenses) www.makoeyewear.com.au

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The new 240mm Jack Slammer is one of the latest additions to the Black Magic range. This slim lure has a long head, which means it runs very well in rough seas. It’s also light enough to swim well in calm conditions. In field testing, the Jack Slammer has already accounted for yellowfin and skipjack tuna, as well as small black marlin. It’s an excellent result for a lure that has been available for only a short time, and testers predict it will be dynamite on striped marlin as well. The skirts have a high element of UV for maximum attraction, and the five colour patterns are unique to Black Magic. No matter your skill level, you can put the Jack Slammer anywhere in the spread and it will run well. These lures are great value for money with no sacrifice in quality, and they are available both rigged (8/0 closed gape hook, 200lb ToughTrace) and unrigged. Price: SRP from $49.95 unrigged, $59.95 rigged www.blackmagictackle.com

For a great quality spinning reel that comes at a more than reasonable price, you should look no further than the new 13 Fishing Creed GT range of spinning reels. With power to match the finish of these great pieces of machinery, there’s plenty of reasons to pair these with your most used spin rods. Boasting an incredible 11lb of drag for the 1000 and 2000 size models, and 13lb for the 3000 an 4000 sized models, they will stop most inshore predators with ease, and are exceptionally smooth under that much load as well. This is due to the carbon washers, which help the reel last longer and reduce the weight. Starting at 8.7oz in weight, they are very light and comfortable to use, and all come with EVA handle grips. With four models, from 1000 to 4000 sizes, they cover most inshore light tackle applications. Price: SRP $159 www.nomadtackle.com

PULSATOR FLAPPER TEASER

GRUNDY RUN SINKERS

The Pulsator Lures Flapper Teaser is a chain of five tuna cut from black rubber, creating a tuna silhouette that attracts billfish. The black rubber cut-outs are designed to be trolled at speeds upwards of 6 knots, and will draw fish right to the back of your boat. This impressive teaser was on display at the Pulsator Lures stand at the AFTA Trade Show, and Australian Pulsator agent Luke Tompsett was on hand to talk about how effective it is. “This is a fantastic teaser,” he said. “No billfish will resist looking up at the tuna silhouette and not be drawn to the back of your spread. It’s a fully crimped teaser that’s attached to a leader line with a breaking strength of 300lb, and it’s suitable for tuna, marlin and sailfish.” The Flapper Teaser (#PFT1) is 170” (432cm) long, weighs 47oz (1.33kg) and comes with its own bag for neat storage. Price: SRP $142 www.pulsatorlures.co.za

Grundy Run Sinkers have a patented one-way nylon insert that runs through the middle of the sinker. When a fish strikes, the sinker slides away from the bait, allowing the fish to run without being hindered by swivels, seaweed or braid-to-nylon knots. As well as giving fish more time to get hooked, the nylon insert won’t damage the leader or mainline, so you get fewer snap casts and bust-offs. These sinkers are particularly good for rock fishing, as they allow you to sit further away and retrieve closer to the rocks without snagging. You just remove the nylon insert, exposing the wide hole through the middle of the sinker. When you get baited, the sinker slides over the eye of the hook and comes to rest in the gape, flush with the hook point, thus reducing snagging. Each sinker is individually marked with its weight, and available weights are 45g, 55g, 75g, 115g, 145g and 165g. Price: SRP $6.50-$9 www.grundyrun.com

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REIDY’S RENEGADE

The Reidy’s Renegade is a bigger version of the popular Judge, and in field testing it has been deadly on big mackerel, tuna, and even big barra. “We wanted something to go a little bit deeper,” said Colin from Reidy’s. “This lure can also be trolled at high speed – around 7-8 knots comfortably. And like all Reidy’s lures it has had to pass strength tests to make sure it can stand up to XOS fish.” The Renegade has a rolling, very tight action with a loud sonic rattle, and in the right conditions will dive to around 4m. Its bib is spear shaped rather than rounded. “This bib really holds in, so you can troll at high speed,” Colin explained. “We’ve also made it part of the body to give it extra strength.” In the initial release there are five bluewater colours, plus one for barra. The barra pattern is kryptonite, a colour that has proven itself on barra in other lure models. Price: SRP $22.95 www.reidyslures.com

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RAPALA URBAN CLASSIC SLING BAG Rapala are known for holding more world record captures than any other lure

brand, but the company has also been producing exceptional quality accessories for some time. The new Urban Classic Sling Bag is one of the newest additions to their luggage line up. Honoured with the Best New Tackle Box/Luggage award at the 2016 EFFTEX show, the Urban Classic Sling Bag has a revolutionary design and has been designed for the mobile fisherman. Comfortable to carry out of the way on the back, the sling design allows freedom of movement through the cast and retrieve, yet the bag swings to the front when you need to access its contents. Both of the main compartments hold 3600-sized tackle boxes and open to form a work tray when changing lures. The bag also features a secondary compartment for large accessories and additional pockets for smaller items. A Quick Draw plier holster and retracting tool holder offer fast and easy access to the most used tools. The adjustable across the shoulder strap and 3D mesh back panel offer maximum comfort so you can comfortably wear the bag all day. www.rapala.com.au

KERSHAW 8700 SHUFFLE The Shuffle is a compact knife and multi-function tool for everyday adventurers.

When you first look at this little knife you might wonder just how useful it can be at that size. However, when you hold it you realise how incredibly secure your grip is, thanks to the finger contours and textured handle, and how useful that compact blade is. On top of that, this knife also has a flat head screwdriver at end of the handle that doubles as a lanyard attachment. There’s also a bottle opener built into the back. The Shuffle has a nested steel liner lock, securing the blade open when you’re using it, and then allowing you to close the knife easily. It also features a reversible, deep carry pocket clip. The Shuffle's blade is made of 8Cr13MoV stainless steel, chosen for its hardness and its ability to hold an edge. The blade is 6cm, and the knife measures 8.3cm closed and 4.3cm open. www.frogleysoffshore.com.au

NEW SEMI HARDZ VIB SIZES The popular Semi Hardz Vib is back bigger and better. Featuring the same attention

to detail and innovation in design and action as the Semi Hardz range that preceded it, the 70mm and 110mm models answer the calls from anglers for a large lure to catch large fish. From bottom bashing down deep, to casting long and far for pelagic species and even trolling out wide and in close for fasting moving target species, these lures will grab the attention of anglers and fish alike. Soft and subtle in feel yet powerful and robust in action, these are lures that every offshore and estuary will need to have in their tackle box. Available in a range of eye catching, fish loving colours, this multi-purpose lipless vibration lure comes in smaller sizes, starting from 40mm. www.frogleysoffshore.com.au

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ABU GARCIA PERFORMANCE JERSEY Now you can look like a pro out on the water with Abu Garcia’s Performance Jersey,

designed to be comfortable, quick-drying, and extremely sun protective. Made from 100% UVTect Microfibre, this smooth, soft fabric is made for total comfort, all day long. Smooth chafe-free seam construction allows for freedome of movement without discomfort. The breathable material keeps moisture away from your skin and the material used allows it to dry quickly, meaning you won’t be stuck out there sopping wet all day. Of course, sun protection is at the forefront of most anglers’ minds, which is why the Performance Jersey is UPF 30+. You don’t have to worry about burning though the shirt as you would with a shirt that doesn't have a UPF rating. Comfort and sun safety are two of the key factors when choosing fishing apparel, but if you can get these two things guaranteed, as well as have it look good on you, you’ve really found a winner! www.purefishing.com.au

ZEREK SPEED DONKEY The Zerek Speed Donkey is so named because it holds in extremely well at speed

and attracts large ‘donkey’ fish. At 140mm long, the Speed Donkey is the perfect baitfish profile for offshore waters, estuarine waters and big rivers where mullet and gar are found. This new lure has through-wire construction, 6x Mustad trebles and forged split rings so speedsters like mackerel, trevally and tuna can be tamed and brutes like mulloway and barra won’t tear the lure apart. The Zerek Speed Donkey has exceptional casting abilities, and sonics that include high and low pitch rattles. Its underwater sonic profile attracts predators of all types. This makes the lure perfect for trolling in the wide open blue water and also in dirty barra and mulloway waters. Trolling to 15 knots, the Speed Donkey is a true hybrid, taking on offshore and river fish with equal ease. It’s available in 15 colours developed by Wilson Fishing to represent all the major baitfish species, and allow the lures to be located in dirty water. www.wilsonfishing.com

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RAPALA HUSKY MAGNUM 25 There’s something about trolling out in the deep blue for speedsters like mackerel,

tuna and wahoo. There’s also few lure companies more versed in the technique than legendary Rapala. Their attention to detail and ability to make lures that swim straight at high speeds has made them relied upon for more trophy captures than any other hard bait. Now the company is extending its line of Husky Magnum trolling lures by introducing the Husky Magnum 25. A larger version of the Husky Magnum 15, the new 25 size dives to 7.5m and can be trolled at speeds exceeding 12 knots. The Husky Magnum from Rapala shares a lot of DNA with the company’s premium line of trolling baits, the X-Rap Magnum, and delivers the same fish catching action at a more affordable price tag for the average angler. Available in eight great trademark Rapala holographic finishes, and armed with needle sharp and extra strong VMC trebles, the new Husky Magnum 25 will sure to feel right at home straight out in the prop wash, or riding shotgun out back waiting for its time to shine. www.rapala.com.au

WFT STRONG BRAID Now WFT have a braid specifically made for heavy-duty fishing, with their new

Strong Braid. WFT Strong Braid is made from pre-stretched PE fibres for an incredible strength to diameter ratio, so it’s much stronger than it looks! Amazingly, 15 years went into the development of this braid to achieve the maximum pitch per inch without the unwanted diameter or stretch. The result is a braid that’s very thin for its poundage. To cope with abrasion, Strong Braid has a slick coating to give you that extra insurance when fighting trophy fish. Strong Braid comes in weights from 10kg all the way through to 67kg in a very easy to see chartreuse colour. What’s also great is that you can pick them up in either 300 or 600m spools, so you can fill up even the deepest of spools with this fantastic braid. www.jarviswalker.com.au

PENN OCEAN ASSASSIN For general-purpose offshore work, Penn’s got a rod that has you covered.

17 19

Penn’s Ocean Assassin is a real winner with its high modulus SLS carbon blank, and its inner and outer layer graphite spiral wrap. It’s also fitted with high quality machined aluminium and graphite fittings, making it fairly light and easy to use all day. Like all of Penn’s products, it’s built super tough and will see you though many epic battles with big angry fish. These rods are quality, down to the finest detail, so a Fuji DPS graphite reel seat for increased blank contact and sensitivity, and the latest machined aluminium and carbon lock nut for improved reel fit comes standard. Angler comfort is not forgotten either, so contoured EVA grips for better ergonomics finish off a fantastic rod that will shine above the rest of the pack for versatility and toughness. www.purefishing.com.au

DAIWA BLACK GOLD After nearly half a century of reliability, the original Daiwa Black Gold (BG) reel series

has undergone a major overhaul. Daiwa’s newest heavy-duty super reel series is available in sizes 2000 all the way through to 8000. Its aluminium body and side plate are precision machined and highly corrosion resistant, making the BG perfect for the offshore environment. Rigid, strong and highly durable, the body supports seamless gear function and prevents twisting when the reel is under load, resulting in greater cranking force. The Digigear drive system achieves perfect gear meshing and ultra-smooth performance, and the ATD drag system reduces spool twist under load, promoting even wear of the drag washers and reducing ‘pulsing’ of the drag when fighting the fish. ATD also reduces initial drag startup inertia and results in a smoother drag from the initial hook up. BG also uses Daiwa’s latest version of Air Rotor, which dramatically decreases weight, stress and flexing while significantly increasing strength. www.daiwafishing.com.au

LURED 3D PRINTED PUSHERS When you’re making resin heads for skirted pushers, there’s not a whole lot you can

do to the internal design. With 3D printing, however, the sky is the limit! Lured 3D is taking full advantage of this creative freedom in their new range of skirted lures. The heads feature curved internal tubes – something that’s not possible in a resin head – which puts the air under pressure to create a bigger, explosive smoke trail. These lures float, which makes them excellent for switch baiting. Unlike a traditional skirted lure, they will swim when you’re feeding them back, making them look a lot more appealing to the fish. The lures’ design and buoyancy also means they can be trolled at a vast range of speeds, from around 3.5 knots to 15 knots. The heads are very durable, UV resistant and have been over-engineered to ensure maximum strength. The two models launched at the AFTA 2016 show were the Maximus and Razorback, in sizes ranging from 6.5” to 12.5”. The Maximus excels in rough conditions, and in close in the prop wash, and the Razorback creates a very high water wall like a popper. Both have a cup face and create a phenomenal smoke trail. Price: from SRP $23.95 www.facebook.com/lured3d/

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DANNY THE DUCK The new Danny the Duck from Westin is set to be a hit with anglers chasing Murray

cod and impoundment barramundi. A lot of research and development went into this new lure, which has been designed to look like a real duckling that’s swimming and diving. Danny the Duck is 14cm long and weighs 44g so it casts a mile. It features a sturdy through-wire design, soft webbed feet and a bib that extends naturally from the beak. With a slow retrieve, Danny the Duck has a wobbling, side to side action on the surface like a real duckling. If you crank it a bit more, the diving lip integrated into the beak makes it dive up to 1.5m. The duck’s floating body means that it slowly rises to the surface when you pause the retrieve. You couldn’t imagine a more lifelike duck imitation, or one more likely to get eaten by a big cod. Price: SRP $25 www.jml.net.au

PULSATOR TUBE The Pulsator Tube is one of Pulsator’s most popular lures, and it’s dynamite when

pulled in flat sea conditions from outriggers. The Pulsator tube has an enticing, erratic surface action, and is available in four sizes. The larger two sizes are ideal for targeting big blue marlin, and the two smaller sizes for smaller marlin. The are three models: PT1A (16”, 14oz, 12/0 suggested hook size, no. 22 skirt size), PT2A (15”, 10oz, 11/0 suggested hook size, no. 21V skirt size), and the PT3A (13”, 6oz, 10/0 suggested hook size, no. 17 skirt size), and there’s a multitude of colour combinations available. For more information check out Pulsator Lures Australia on Facebook, or visit the Pulsator Lures website. Price: SRP $72.50 www.pulsatorlures.co.za

SCOTTY 282 ROD HOLDER The Scotty no. 282 Baitcaster/Spinning Rod Holder is a versatile rod holder for any

angler. This rod holder accommodates a baitcaster reel sits in a cushioned cradle while a front slot allows for a spinning reel. The open bottom allows for the rod holder to accommodate trigger grips as well. Rods can be secured with a soft latching strap which snaps over the top for baitcaster or under the bottom for spinning reels. The 438 Gear-Head Track Adapter quickly slides into place and locks down Scotty Rod Holders and Accessories. This allows you to quickly change rod holder positions with a simple twist. The Scotty 440-4 Low Profile Track is made from high strength composite material, so you know it will last. The track can be quickly and easily installed on a kayak, canoe or any other watercraft. The kit includes the 282 Baitcaster/Spinning Rod Holder, 438 Gear-Head and 440-4 Low Profile Track. Price: SRP $85 www.jmgillies.com.au

HARDY DEMON SMUGGLER Hardy’s new Demon Smuggler is a six-section travel rod for those who like to search

the globe for a fly fishing challenge and keep the rod compact. SINTRAX 330 technology has been applied to the rod’s design to deliver unprecedented durability for the adventurous angler. The Hardy Demon Smuggler is available in a range of sizes, covering many applications in a convenient travel size package, from tiny mountain streams chasing stream trout, all the way to the bluewater chasing pelagics. Features include American Tackle titanium stripper guides, medium fast action with high recovery and a built-in reel seat hook keeper. In the current range, there are five single-handed rods and one double-handed models to choose from, meaning there’s a Demon Smuggler in the range for just about sort of fly angler in the world. If you’re a keen traveller, or just like keeping your rig compact, have a look into the range and see which one suits you. www.purefishing.com.au

WILSON TACKLE STORAGE UNIT Wilson Fishing has developed a complete tackle storage unit that is transportable

and allows you to keep all of your fishing gear organised, whether you’re at home or on the road. Built around a lightweight and super strong aluminium frame, the Wilson Tackle Storage Unit is packed with storage options and features. Able to store eight rods either rigged or unrigged, the unit also has three internal storage shelves and a top shelf/work bench. Two handy removable bags that can fit up to four standard tackle trays are also included with the Storage Unit. A zippered front flap allows the unit to be closed up, preventing annoying pests from getting inside. A mesh vent in the rear allows water vapour to escape, as we all know water leads to mould and rust. Coming in a flat pack that makes this unit ideal for transportation in a car or boat, the Wilson Tackle Storage Unit can be easily assembled in just a few minutes. It measures 105cm x 57cm x 47cm when set up, and folds down to 52cm x 42cm x 20cm. www.wilsonfishing.com

Wild Western Cape HERVEY BAY

Jackson Bargenquast

The western cape of Queensland is an amazing wilderness, and much of it is untouched by man. Now it is my new playground! Due to Dad having a job as a fishing guide up here, we as a family have decided to move here permanently. Already I am finding the fishing here to be

endless, with big queenies, tuna, mackerel and trevally busting up on nervous bait balls all day long, sun, rain or hail, and unlike Hervey Bay, the fish don’t seem to be very picky about what lure or fly you throw at them. I never used to be a fan of bait fishing, but the reef here is full of big predators like golden snapper, coral trout and black-spot tuskies, which I have found are quite fun to

them, as they head straight to the bottom for cover and easily cut the line on the brutally jagged structure. The only downside to this style of fishing is that we lose a lot of good-sized fish due to the extraordinarily high population of vicious bull sharks that patrol these waters. Other species that can be caught on the reef patches around Weipa include fish like black jew, nannygai, sweetlip, cod,

Black-spot tuskies on handline gear is no easy feat! on fly no matter what size it is, and I have already caught several tuna and cobia in a couple of trips. A friend of mine, Scotty Gorman, recently came on a trip with us out in the boat and caught his first longtail tuna on fly, as well as a 14kg cobia, all on his 10 weight in just

sandy shallows. One thing about living somewhere like Weipa is that everyone wants to come and visit you for a holiday, which is not a bad thing, just as long as you’re alright with having someone different in your boat every weekend. So far my Dad’s cousin Brett

Even land-based fishing is in a class of its own up here, and I have some great success on species such as threadfin salmon and barra on a range of Storm soft plastics and Rapala stickbaits and minnows, simply flicking around snags and in drains. If you try this, however, be

The queenfish action is pretty red-hot on most outings. exceptionally better than Hervey Bay, and this is the quiet time of the year up here, so I’m pumped for summer to arrive! The pelagic action up here is

tackle on a 100lb hand line with a crab or live mullet as bait. These fish, the tuskies especially, can really pull their weight in a fight and it takes a lot of skill to land

tripletail, cobia and giant trevally, the list just goes on and on. Fly fishing is a real challenge and it is very rewarding to catch a fish

Cobia are tough opponents on fly, and this one came from a bait ball.

Golden snapper make regular appearances over the shallow reefs in winter.

15 minutes! Another mate, Evan Ikin, also caught a nice cobia around the same size and nearly got spooled by a big Spaniard on his spin rod in the background casting at the same bait ball. On the flats is really where this place shines for fly fishers, with trophies like tuskies, blue bastards, big trevally and the legendary permit to be caught in the

Marsh has come for a visit, where he had an excellent week catching big queenfish and walking some swamps in search of big boars while camping up the Pennefather River. One day we headed out from Evans Landing (the main boat ramp up here) and only five minutes away from where we launched, we were already hooked up to some stonker queenfish in a mixed school of queenies and tuna.

very cautious and stay at least a few meters away from the waters edge, as there are some big angry crocs in this part of the world. Even If you’re not exactly a great angler, there is great camping, four wheel driving, sightseeing and pig hunting to be enjoyed in this spectacular place. Good luck to all anglers over the coming spring and, as always, think like a fish!

21 KELVIN GROVE STREET, MARYBOROUGH QLD 4650 galeforceboats@galeforceboats.com.au – (07) 4123 2833 SEPTEMBER 2016

FISHERIES GREEN PAPER HAVE YOUR SAY Ever complained about there being ‘not as many fish as there used to be’? Currently, Queensland fish stocks are estimated at 30-40% of their original levels. Fisheries wants to bring the stock levels back to 60% of original biomass and wants YOUR opinion on how to get it done.

If you’re only going to respond to one Fisheries document, this is the one! It’s your chance to give the thumbs up to TWICE as many fish in the water.

Steve Morgan - Fishing Monthly Magazines

Ben Collins - Bush-n-Beach Fishing Magazine

Ben Keen - Fish & Boat Magazine

“ This seems like a oncein-a-generation opportunity to radically shift priorities in Fisheries management. Twice the number of fish in the water? I’d be prepared to take tighter bag and size limits for that – how about you? ”

“I am all for making this magnificent resource we have here in Queensland one of the best fisheries in the world. To do this our fish stocks must be sustainable both now and into the future. Therefore, I strongly encourage people to have their say on the fisheries management reform. I think tightening the belt a little in the short term in regards to catch numbers will pay big dividends in the long run.”

“It is vitally important that the QLD recreational fishing community realise that providing feedback in this consultative process will have a great effect on the fisheries future of this state. I would encourage all rec fishos to be involved and have a say.”

Submissions close on the 30th September. Have your say on the DAF website. Google: Fisheries Green Paper. www.getinvolved.qld.gov.au

Can we really learn from the Mexican experts? BRISBANE

The Sheik of the Creek

Occasionally, when I get tired of putting red-hot pokers into my eyes, or twisting parts of my anatomy around a barbed wire splint, I turn on the television, specifically to watch a fishing programme or two. This is generally when I haven’t managed to get out on the boat for a decade or more, and I’m feeling the feeling that all fishos know. No, not that feeling. Eat more fibre! I mean that horrible compulsion to watch someone else catch a fish because you can’t catch one yourself. To be honest, I get that feeling of not catching fish whether I’ve been fishing or not. So the fishing shows get more exposure in my house than they might in other more normal households. Watching someone else catch a fish can be therapeutic. I don’t know of any other reason a person would sit down to watch one of these shows, except if they were trying to get a not guilty by reason of insanity judgement. In reality, you would never watch one of these shows if you were looking for some ways you might improve

your catch rate. Old mate gets access to the best fishing spots in Australia, with the best gear, and the best bait or lures, with the best fishing guides, and what do you know… they catch fish! I mean, even the Dudds would be a slight chance of catching something under these conditions. So old mate tries to look like he has some magic ability as he casts knowingly towards an ‘obvious’ snag. I mean, let’s face it; the last angler who had this much assistance fishing got help by asking some bearded bloke walking on the water where to throw his net on the Sea of Galilee 2000 years ago. So our television fishing guide throws out there and nails a barra. A barra for goodness sake! You’d swear there’s not another fish in the waters of Queensland the way they go on about barramundi. They’re a good fish for sure, but give me a nanny, a red, a trout or a jack any day of the week over a barra. The other thing that gets me is where these people come from. It must be some sort of television law that the only people who are allowed catch fish on TV are New South Welshmen. I mean, where are all the Maroon presenters?

Most of these shows need to have a long hard think about things and push these AFL supporters out of the way and grab someone from north of the Tweed to have a chat. I can think of heaps of people who would make really good television if you put a camera in front of them.

Perhaps for most of these new presenters the swearing bleep would be an issue. In fact, the conversation would have more beeps than C3PO in a late night session on a private browser on LEDtube. You see what I did there? And most of the people I know wouldn’t need big coin

to do the job either. Just a few samples of the sponsor’s product. Shimano could probably get me, Boobies and Stuffer for a year. Pommers would record an entire season for a couple of cartons of horse worming paste, and Skipper would sell his soul for a litre of glyphosate so he could

stop mowing before and after work. And Doughers would only need one product to keep him talking: Jack. And I’m not talking about the one that lives under snags in tropical and semi-tropical estuaries and reefs. There’s only one Jack that Doughers would allow in his esky.

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SEPTEMBER 2016

Mack attack is back WHITSUNDAYS

Luke Griffiths

We are now climbing out of the deep, dark, frozen depths of our North Queensland winter, and thawing out into beautiful springtime conditions, with birds chirping, Pokemon running wild and pollen starting to wreak havoc with those requiring a few hits of Zyrtec. It’s a fantastic time of year as far as weather and fishing goes, and looking back on the winter period, we saw the usual suspects of Spanish mackerel and yellowfin tuna turn up. There was a hint of spring fishing greeting us during August, putting a spring back into many anglers’ steps. I am talking about the presence of our bigger red fish, nannygai and red emperor in the deeper waters and less frequency of those menacing sharks! The fish have been turning up in their usual haunts in the deeper waters in more solid numbers, and we should see this increase as we get deeper into the season. Along with these staple fish we have been seeing solid gold band snapper amongst the sea of red. They are a fantastic table fish and certainly have an aggressive

fight to match. Fishing the deeper, wider 60m+ marks should see you find a couple of nannies and reds. So stack up on the leads and the good squid (if we ever see it again) as this would be a wise option if you are heading out in the coming month. The outer reefs have still been fishing quite well and shouldn’t be discounted this

month. Plenty of coral trout, red throat and the rest have been biting hard and should see you take home some reward for your efforts and look for the smaller tides. Whole pilchards have been the succulent selection for the reefies, triggering more aggressive bites resulting in better hook up rates, whether rigged on running balls or

Jake Humphries with one of the many Spanish mackerel caught on a full day charter with Renegade.

Brian Householder with a large mouth nannygai caught on a recent trip.

These two lads were happy with their pigeon pair of large mouth nannygai.

paternoster style. There are still heaps of Spanish mackerel about out wide, so floating a well presented live or dead bait while fishing for those tasty reef dwellers is another good option, along with a quick troll around the reef edges. The reef edges around the Islands have been fishing quite well. So if you aren’t keen on the long haul to the outer reefs, the islands are still a good option. Good reports of coral trout, nannygai and good size grassy sweetlip have been flooding in and they can soon fill your icebox and stomach in no time. That is a tasty bag in anyone’s book! All without the hours of travel time and is a fantastic option if you have the rugrats on board. Another fantastic option to get on board during spring is fishing the local impoundment, Lake Proserpine. As those water temps start to heat back up we should see natives,

Renegade skipper Luke with a quality red emperor, which should become more prevalent in the coming month. more specifically barramundi, become less lethargic and more inclined to take an

offering. There is nothing like a monster barra trying to destroy your confidence

A little black marlin caught on Renegade – keep your eye out for a few loitering around the bait schools.

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SEPTEMBER 2016

amongst the timber. So if you intend on doing this, make sure your gear is up to scratch, or they’ll leave you scratching your head. It’s a great way to spend the day (or very early morning) and definitely less salty. Don’t forget to take your skis and tubes though, so if you get sick of the fishing you can also have a little fun to break up the day. If you aren’t too sure about how to go about landing yourself a fish up there, the best bet is to talk to the local guide who frequents the place. Alternatively you could go one better and book a trip with the local guide, where you have a much better chance to catch a fish, and will most likely learn a thing or two. Speaking of learning a thing or two, I’m off to tend to my newborn son, who I think has left me a little present. Enjoy the coming month and hopefully you get to wet a line. • If you’re interested in a game, sport or reef fishing charters around the Whitsundays, give Luke a call on 0429 724 822 or email info@ renegadecharters.com.au.

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Great weather, but ramp closed AYR

Steve Farmer

Burdekin bluewater boaties were frustrated recently, when some of the best weather we’ve had in years and glassed-out seas came days after the Ocean Creek ramp was closed for a major upgrade. For readers outside the district, access to the shoals and reefs off the Burdekin coast is mainly via the mangrove creeks that form the Burdekin Delta. These creeks are shallow and impossible to navigate at less than half tide. Ocean Creek is the best of an average lot. It’s going to hurt to have it closed until November. Hopefully, the inconvenience is worth it. Improved launching facilities include realigned, wider and raised ramps, which will help even the largest of trailer boats to be launched. Unfortunately, skippers still have to negotiate a network of shallows throughout the creek, and at the mouth, to gain access to the open sea. When conditions glassed-out recently, determined boaties made the most of other nearby launching facilities, with Phillips Camp and Plantation Creek as

the most popular. The rare, ideal conditions lasted for just a couple days, but the fishing seems to have varied. Some anglers reported very disappointing catches, while successful shoal fishers had reasonable catches of coral trout and large-mouth nannygai from the bottom. The Spanish mackerel have finally arrived, but not in the numbers we would usually expect. However, anglers reported catching their bag limit of 5-7kg Spaniards, a

compensation in the form of perfect weather and whales everywhere. Plenty of boats spotted pods of half a dozen whales through the day, with some whales coming right up to the boats. Remember not to motor within 100m of whales. Estuary fishing has centred on the bread and butter species. Phillips Camp, Hell Hole and the Burdekin River all producing good catches of whiting and bream. Flathead have been quieter than expected. A luring

Kids are never too young to learn to fish. Ellie Sutcliffe tries her hand with a little spinning outfit. typical size among the schools of migratory fish. For those who didn’t catch the fish they hoped for, there’s

session at Phillips Camp last weekend failed to produce any keepers for us. Other inshore catches

of note include queenfish at Wunjunga and good grunter off Alva Beach. THE MONTH AHEAD September is the month when we must once again kiss the perfect winter weather goodbye. The opportunities to hit the bluewater haven’t been that numerous this year and the weather windows haven’t lasted more than a few days, but North Queensland is still a great place to live and fish. The good news, is that as temperatures climb, our favourite summer species should make a gradual comeback. Mangrove jack will be the first cab off the rank, and there’s been really hot jack fishing in the past. A crafty jack angler, known to lure up more than his share, reckons they come on the bite a week or two after an algal bloom, or red tide event. That certainly ties in with September being a productive month for jacks, as red tides usually occur between August and December. Luckily, whiting, flathead and bream will hang around, so don’t hang up the yabby pump and the light spinning outfits yet. Flathead and bream should frequent our estuaries and beaches, so fish light with fresh bait and expect to score

Russell Sutcliffe recently made the most of cracking weather, catching this trout on one of Burdekin’s inshore shoals. quality fish. As well as being a tasty and fun to catch, whiting are an ideal species to start kids on their angling pastime. They’re plentiful enough and bite readily on yabbies or small pieces of prawn, so youngsters don’t lose interest. You don’t need a boat to get amongst these tasty little fish. A basic

tackle cast from the beach or creek bank is all you need. Out on the bluewater, many anglers will be sweating on a few more late season Spaniards. The annual migration has so far been disappointing, but there have been good catches made in previous Septembers. Here’s hoping!

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Pulling together a cracker trip to Townsville TOWNSVILLE

Dave Hodge

While the weather has been shocking with gale force warnings and cool nights, there were opportunities to have a go offshore. Mackerel have been thick in most places. Out past the island, pelagics have been playing very nicely. Radio host, Gary Powis hit a school of Billfish out from Townsville the other day and couldn’t get a bait past without it being smacked. Problem was, the big gar he’d taken for the Spanish were a little on the large side. Fish couldn’t get them down the hatch. It’s encouraging to see the numbers are very high this year. The average size is almost double the usual wrigglers that are hooked this time of year. Mick Meirs was saying the fish they’ve been hitting have been 30-40kg, which is much larger than the average inshore billfish. They’ll have you tied up for longer than a normal Townsville billy. There are always plenty of marlin and sails caught, or hooked accidentally by anglers trolling Laser Pros for mackerel. These regular incidental interceptions have more anglers swinging big single hooks off the back of the Lasers this year. It helps the hook stay in place. This hasn’t seemed to

worry the Spanish mackerel. Floating unweighted bait while you’re at rest, a trolled wolfie or skirted gar, a jigged slice or hardbody – they’re accepting anything they can get. While they’re being hooked throughout the day, there’s no doubt that a bait or lure in the water as early as possible has been producing the best. With a perfect plan, the mackerel hunt should be successful in the first couple of hours and allow you to chase something red for the table. Large-mouth, trout,

clients onto lovely big slab sided fish, out wide. The shallower reefs are holding awesome trout, and in the last couple of weeks, there’s been an increase in fishers throwing lures in the shallow reefs. It’s spectacular to throw a plastic or barra lure into a metre of shallow water and watch it get monstered by trout. It can get costly if you’re not on the ball. Keep that fish pointing towards your boat from the second they eat your lure, but know it’s a good way to lose old lures if you hit the

Bennett and Darren fished for two days with diddly to show for their efforts. I gave them heaps, but then I started my holiday and have to say it was the hardest fishing I have seen here yet. Even up in the rovers and creeks, there wasn’t an active fish. We hit some of my favourite spots for a few raised jacks and one nice barra that never connected. I resorted to the cast net, loaded up on livies, and fed them back into some likely holes, but to no avail. Little cod, and tarpon were all that could be raised. As true mates do, they never forgot to give me heaps about the texts and pics that I send them regularly. They said, “Must be years old, because there isn’t a fish in the bloody water.” The standout lure or slug, was the 20g Halco Outcast, with 100mm of 22lb stainless wire connected to beat the

You never know what’s going to grab your lure out there, but Bennet managed to wrangle this nice trout from the structure on a jig. Rivers and creeks had to be our playground. With one last ditch effort to bend a rod, we headed to our great mate, Paul Hetherington’s grounds at Bowen, to go out wide for some reef fish.

Even though the fishing is quiet in the unstable weather, you can still tempt the odd jack and barra. Hardbodies are working as this Tilsan-caught model proves. Fish them slow with lots of twitching to get the bite. and red emperor are being found in good numbers. Ross from Ultimate Sport Fishing Charters has been putting his

In the reef, soft plastics are catching on. Fish of this quality are common. Don’t go lighter than 30lb braid and 40lb leader.

bigger models. Hooks need to be sharp and strong for this style of fishing. As a minimum, 30lb braid and 40lb leader will land you enough trout to keep you happy. Sometimes 50lb braid and 60lb leader isn’t enough to stop these powerful reef dwellers. CREEKS AND RIVERS I had a couple mates up from down south. The week before they arrived was great fishing. Barra and jacks in the creeks were just getting into the swing again. As many as 50 school mackerel were landed in one session, 30 on the fly rod. GoPro footage showed how bad the sharks were, eating everything. Casting the channel markers near the river mouth, we saw hammerheads, whalers, spinner sharks and a lone tiger. Tony Bennett, organiser of the Mulwala Cod Classic, had a big bucket list to fill on his six-week travels. Catching up with him for the first time in several years was great fun.

The young fella has worked out the macks pretty well. While they’re not big fish, they’re still great fun on 6-8lb braid and light spin rods. teeth. The best fly was anything white, or with a tiny bit of flash in it. I used a 10# weight forward floating line to try and beat the sharks after hookup. Heavy weighted Clousers reached the bottom in 30 seconds, but it was eaten fast, and worth the weight. If you have a sink tip or intermediate line, it’s a better match. A 30lb Unitika Fluorocarbon tippet and 4” of Staybrite 22lb wire finished the rig. Every night we tried to figure out what was wrong. Anything outside the river mouth was out of the question for our small boats.

Paul’s work commitments cut those plans down to a quick half-day session at Abbot Point. Paul and I have been trying to get a fish together for a couple of years. I’d have been happy just to catch up, but when he said we’d do the Abbot Point jetty, my eyes lit up. I’ve heard so much about, but never fished this amazing piece of structure. My youngest was looking forward to it too. The trip along the coast was a highlight for him, as a pod of whales surfaced for him to look at. On arriving at the structure itself, Tannhym dropped a 60g

Outcast to the bottom and jigged it a couple of times, before getting smashed and dragged around the boat. After a torrid battle, the hooks pulled and the fish neared the boat. After that, monster queenies chased the lure on almost every cast. We were dragged around the boat for a couple of hours. Bennett even managed a nice trout to top things off. The standout lure was the Madeye Paddle Prawn from Halco, rigged on an Atomic 1oz head with the additional skirt. Fish climbed all over them. In 60ft of water, the Outcast, Halco Twisty Jigs and 60g Whiptails produced well. Plenty went missing in action, as 50lb braid and 60-80lb leader is sporting around the pylons. If you take your kids there, and they’re only small like the young fella, then 30lb is going to be as much as they can pull anyway. The gentle approach coaxes some fish out without panicking them. Tannhym used my Samurai 25-40 Elevate, Penn Slammer 460 spooled with 30lb braid and a 60lb leader to grab a few from the snags. It was no use giving him a 50lb outfit. He wouldn’t be able to fish its capacity, as he only weighs about 35kg. Tannhym was frequently bitten off by Spanish mackerel, while we didn’t hit many. He was quicker to wind out and recast once he was away from the snags. He got snipped off plenty of times, that’s for sure. The trip home was smooth and fast in Paul’s big boat. We cruised home to end an awesome session in a new spot.

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Fish move as season changes COOKTOWN

Ben Stack

In southern parts of Australia, the flora bursts out in beautiful colours during the spring season. Up here in the far northern parts of Australia, the flora remains dry with a tinge of red dust coating it, or it’s brown and dead, unless you’re in a tropical rainforest. For some, this may not sound that appealing, but knowledgeable hunters and anglers understand what these changes mean. Across the plains, the waterholes will be drying up and the fish will be concentrating on the deeper sections. In Lakefield, try fishing the shadow lines of deeper waterholes late in the afternoon. The barramundi will gradually become more active late in the afternoon, as the water has had more chance of warming all day in the spring sun. The shadow lines provide cover for barramundi when there aren’t many snags. The Endeavour, Annan, Bloomfield, McIvor and Starke rivers will all be very clear on the incoming and top of the tides. Move up the rivers with the tides and fish the dirty water lines for best results, where the outgoing tide meets the clean incoming

tide. Barramundi, grunter, trevally and queenfish will be the main catches around these areas, as they chase the disorientated baitfish. Lures and plastics are the best offerings for fishing with the tidal change, because you can keep moving with the tide as it makes its way up the river. However, soaking live baits

livies or troll lures around the mouth of the Endeavour River near the top of the tide for mackerel, queenies and trevally. Don’t forget to soak a few crab pots while you’re out fishing for the day, because the muddies will move around a bit as the spring water warms! The reefs have been

The spearos have been doing really well over the reefs, and Justin speared this 73cm jack. is very effective around the deep holes and snags too. For some pelagic action, you can drift with

hard to get to over the last month due to the strong prevailing southeasterly winds. This is not unusual

at this time of year, with consistent reports of 25-30 knot winds relentlessly blowing day and night. However, the forecasts are not always right. For example, last month the predictions were an usual 25knot southeasterly wind, but the ocean was a glass-out. So always make sure your boat is on the ready to leave at an instant, just in case the forecasts are wrong. On the other hand, don’t travel too far out, because the winds can spring up in an instant and you could be in for the worst ride of life trying to get back into sheltered waters. Those who did get out to the reefs over the last month have been bagging out on coral trout. largemouth nannygai is another popular catch at this time if you can manage to hang the anchor perfectly over a deep rubble patch with the tide and winds working against your boat. Spearfishers have been having a field day with the coral trout and crayfish each day too. Spanish mackerel are terrorising their usual haunts at this time of the year, but they are still not in the huge numbers like previous years. Look for tidal pressure points on the front faces of pinnacles or reef walls for mackerel. Also, if you’re keen to catch a marlin, then

The author with a solid Spanish mackerel taken on the troll. Cooktown is where it can be done, even in a small boat. Dust off the heavy trolling gear, because the marlin will be moving into the region over the next few months! • If you’d like any current information while

you’re visiting Cooktown’s region or more information about a particular place in the neighbourhood to fish, then simply like my Facebook page, Stacky’s Fishing Adventures or send me a message.

Offshore fires, inshore struggles HINCHINBROOK

Ryan Moody info@ryanmoodyfishing.com

I certainly picked a good couple of months to have a break, with the barra fishing being at an all time low. With nearly five failed wet seasons under our belt, northern Australia is certainly feeling the effects of the lack of barramundi recruitment versus the catch effort of both commercial and recreational fishing. This always happens at the end of every dry cycle, and take another two years of good rain to get back to normal before we see the boom period, which can last a few good years before entering another dry cycle, and things will slowly back off again. Hopefully as the weather warms, we should see the barra come back on the chew and start to see some reasonable results again. The problem with fishing in the winter 70

SEPTEMBER 2016

for barra is that they need to be in numbers before you get them to bite, as it all comes down to competition in numbers. If there are 100 fish in a school, it is much easier to get the bites, whereas if there are only five fish in the school, it becomes very hard to even get a sniff. With the La Nina weather pattern breathing down our neck again, I think the boom years are not too far away. Fishing offshore has seen some outstanding

results, especially on the making tides up to the new moon. Good-sized trout have been the pick of the catches, although red-throat emperor are still lacking in any numbers. Some big tuskfish have also been coming over the side for a couple of groups of anglers I spoke to. Tuskies are without a doubt one of the nicest eating fish on the reef and will take a variety of baits, but if I had a preference, whole prawns and small crabs

Hopefully the barra will become more responsive by the end of the month.

are definitely the most attractive options. Other reports out there is that some of the Wonky Holes are starting to open up again after the slightly better rains this year, although not a full blown wet season. Good-sized scarlet sea perch and cobia are some of the species I have heard coming off them. Wonky Holes are a bit hard to find for most anglers, but for the few in the know, these little underwater gems can hold some impressive fish. Spaniards are quite often found hanging around them during the winter and spring months too. September will still see some great offshore fishing available, as it’s one of the best months out. Coinciding with the Spanish mackerel run is the run of small marlin and sailfish. It’s also a great month for the lesser pelagics, such as golden and diamond trevally further inshore around the islands. The holes around the headlands are the best place to look for these guys If you’re a keen sport fisher, the schools of

Golden snapper (fingermark) have been a bit touchy this winter. northern bluefin or longtails can pop up anywhere around the inshore areas, just watch for the flocks of terns diving into the water. Small slices and vibes cast into the feeding school is the best way to go about getting a bite from them. For those of you wanting to learn more about Wonky Holes, we have some free training over at our new website www.fishsmarter. com.au. We have all our free training and premium online masterclasses on

there as well as our new forum. The list of free and premium courses will keep on growing over the coming years for those anglers that want to fish smarter or take the short cut to fishing success. • If you would like to book a charter or join our fishing community for some great fishing competitions etc, head on over to www. ryanmoodyfishing.com. And you could also win a free charter drawn twice a year.

Hoping for sublime weather CAIRNS

Garry Smith garrysmith@fishingmonthly.com.au

As so often is the case in the north, the weather has been the main influence on fishing in the Cairns area lately. When the winds were down and the sun shining, the fishing has been bright. Unfortunately, these periods have been at a premium. The good news is that for the past three years, September has seen a significant shift in the weather patterns, giving us long periods of sublime weather. Here’s hoping for a four-peat. When conditions have allowed, the fishing overall has been great, although patchy. The warmer water has allowed barra, jacks and golden snapper to continue biting well into winter, and it will be interesting to see if they continue unabated into spring. As a consequence, as of late August the mackerel season hasn’t lived up to expectations. Unless there is a serious late drop in water temperature, we’re looking at a dud mackerel year. The estuary fishing should light up this month, as the temperature rises. Mangrove jack are usually the first of the ‘Tropical Trophy Trio’ (jacks, barra and golden snapper) to become more active as the water temperature starts

its climb into summer. Jacks should be particularly active in the lower tidal reaches, as low water levels force them out of their freshwater and brackish habitat. Barra should become more aggressive and start to be more mobile, most likely around the larger full moon tides in mid-September. The partial eclipse on Saturday 17 September may put a wobble in the fishing though;

around the sandbars towards the mouth of major streams, provided the salinity remains high. OFFSHORE Offshore is where most anglers turn their gaze this month. Don’t be too hasty to head for the horizon though, as the close inshore reefs, islands and wrecks often turn it on around now. Golden snapper, late season doggie and Spanish mackerel and just-

Dominic Macri from Trinity Beach caught this yellow-spotted emperor, or buffalo emperor, drifting in deep water off Cairns. I have noticed that unusual astronomical events seem to disrupt fishing. Golden snapper will be prowling the bottom of the deep sections of estuaries and inlets – anywhere there is cover. There should also be a few monster queenfish

legal largemouth nannygai, along with the odd island or bar-cheek coral trout have put in a solid appearance in inshore waters over the past few years. They are an ideal option for a quick pre-dawn/early morning or late afternoon/early evening raid when time is a bit tight.

Those anglers looking for some serious action, however, will be heading east when the weather allows, and September is one of the premier months for reef fishing. A big attraction this month is the weather itself – calm seas, clear skies and comfortable temperatures. The fish are usually as keen as the anglers, with coral trout leading the charge, followed closely by large-mouth nannygai and red emperor. These three species make up my ‘Reef Trophy Trio’, and I think most northern reef fishos would feel the same way. There are few fish in the ocean that are better eating, and boy – do they light up the esky with their red colouring! Trout in the 3-5kg range are commonplace and will be biting from the deeper water right up into less than 10m, depending on the water temperature. A rapid rise in water temperature seems to be the main spawning trigger for trout, and when this occurs they will move onto shallow spawning bommies. Usually this won’t happen until October/November but it has been a weird year water temperature-wise, so who knows? Along with the Reef Trophy Trio will be a smorgasbord of common and less common species, like spangled emperor, trevally, endless variety of cod, Moses perch, numerous variations

Mangrove jack, like this beauty caught by 7-yearold Nate West from Townsville, are usually the first species to become more active as the water temperature starts to climb in summer. of the lesser sweetlip and emperor, and a few serious mangrove jack. One species that few will encounter is the relatively rare yellow-spotted emperor, or buffalo emperor, like the beauty pictured. I have only seen a handful in the 20 years I have fished off Cairns. Mackerel will still be around but their numbers will greatly depend on the water temperature. Everything seems to be late this year, so don’t be surprised if the water

temperature stays low, late into spring. This should mean that anglers will be able to make the most of calmer conditions to chase doggies, greys, spotties and Spaniards in all the usual mackerel haunts. The billfish season will be starting to light up as well. Most of the attention will be focused on light gamefishing for small blacks and sails, but many skippers will be gearing up in the hope of an early start to the heavy tackle season.

Glamour days for stable catches PORT DOUGLAS

Lynton Heffer

It was late coming, but we saw a traditional winter pattern come through in August, with the trademark southeasterly winds. In between persistent gusts, we experienced glamour days on the water. This is when the fishing reports went gangbusters. This was evident on the reef, particularly the days around the new moon, when the weather was superb. Fish clambered all over any bait or presentation. There hasn’t been one dominant species on the go, but an even spread of species – a colourful rainbow of fish at the end of the day. Nevertheless, if you had one species at the top of the table, it would have to be coral trout, which have proven to be the most consistent fish this year. They’re the staple catch, their numbers and sizes have been great. Recently, we’ve had an increase in the emperor

family coming over the side, including red, spangled and long-nosed species. They featured consistently on most trips for many anglers. Nannygai, smalland large-mouth, have taken a back seat and have been patchy. There are heaps of trevally around, and some big golden trevally, which put a decent buckle in the rod. They’ve been found feeding among the emperor species, searching the reef floor for crustaceans and the like. In deeper waters, they’ve been hordes of gold spot and bludger trevally. They always create chaos on any deck. As mentioned, there’s an array of other species on the chew. Some of the low-profile species include Venus tuskfish, sweetlip, stripies, cod species, Maori bream, barramundi cod and grassy sweetlip. It’s been a brilliant period for catching cobia or black kingfish. They’ve been found right through the water column, where they feed off the bottom and readily eat floating rigs at the back of the boat. These roaming nomads of the sea have done better

than Spanish mackerel, which remained relatively consistent without being sourced in huge numbers. Overall, reef fishing has been really positive. We can expect similar results this month. The inshore scene has been quieter, but has had great angling moments during its toughest months. Javelin fish or grunter have been at the forefront along most coastal systems. Some monsters around the 70cm mark come from the Daintree River system, just a bit further north. There’s been a supply of mid-sized queenfish and smaller trevally coming through with incoming tides, in the rivers, creeks and estuaries. The odd big ‘queenie’ can be found in the bigger river systems. Mangrove jack have offered some excitement, deep in the heavy snags. Flathead and bream feed on the slopes of banks. The barra have been around despite the cooler time of year, but a bit of effort has been required for their attention. The warmer sections of water with structure, and direct

sunlight, have been the better locations. Barra numbers are improving, as temperatures rise. Water temperatures are above average this year so their optimum time is not far away. With a bit of rain around in the tropics, we have a steady bait supply. Barra won’t be far behind, particularly in the lower sections of any waterway. On the game scene, we’ve had a slow start to the small black marlin season. As we speak, they’re starting to turn up on certain grounds south of Fitzroy Island, and south of Port Douglas on the wide grounds. Finding a good supply of bait on the sounder has been the key to success. Small black marlin will keep on following and feeding on them to fill their healthy appetite, as they mature. Expect this style of fishing to flourish in the coming month. T h e r e ’s plenty to look forward to during September, and traditionally it’s considered to be the pick of the calendar months. The bulk of the fish inshore and offshore are actively feeding.

Golden trevally featured heavily on the outer reef systems, as Mitch from Dragon Lady displays.

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SEPTEMBER 2016

Look to the shrinking water CAPE YORK

Tim O’Reilly wildrivercompany@gmail.com

With any luck, the barra will be on the chew in September, from Cooktown in the east to Pormpuraaw in the west. Every angler keen on a trip to the tropics has

with light winds. Offshore the fishing for mackerel, trevally and a host of reef species will be kicking into gear. Many of the creeks and rivers of the west coast will have land-locked pools, lagoons and shrinking wetlands at this time of year. The fish remaining will be stacked up over a smaller

isolated reservoirs is that early morning and late afternoon will be the most productive times. Fishing in the middle of the day and when the temperature gets unbearably hot in the summer months can be a waste of time in these spots. September is a great month to access remote spots that are cut off earlier

Lakefield National Park, the Jardine, Wenlock and Archer rivers plus the entire West Coast below Aurukun are all brilliant late dry-season fisheries. Barramundi have a chance to swim vast distances upstream during periods of flood and become landlocked when things dry out. These fish get hungry during the spring build-up months and during certain bite times, can produce champagne fishing with surface lures and shallow divers. Look for snags, fresh green trees that have fallen in and rocky spots that lie in strategic parts of the pool are my pick. Concentrate mainly on

Land-locked pools off the main river should hold good numbers of barra. and walk-the-dog styles fished slowly. Keep your eyes glued tight to your surface lure, so that adjustments can be made when a boil or swirl is registered underneath. Barramundi will often

Besides the barra, there are some other iconic species waiting in these spots and ready to pounce on a huge range of lures. Sooty grunter, archerfish, mangrove jack, tarpon and saratoga are

Big barramundi on surface lures is a major drawcard for anglers during this period. dreamt of a long treelined pool full of snags and hungry barra. Spring will bring plenty of fish on the bite and with a little luck, some warm and consistent weather

area, making them easier to catch. But as all anglers know, fish in stagnant water don’t always feed the way we’d like them to. One consistent factor in fishing these

in the year. Wetlands and black-soil plains can make travel treacherous following the wet season, however everything should be dry and on the verge of dusty by now.

Fish will head a long way upstream, well into the freshwater reaches. the head and tail and any spots where shallows drop away quickly. Barra will move around a certain range within these captive pockets of water and settle in shadowy, structure-laden spots during the middle of the day and in the dead of night. Patrols will begin in periods of low light and make them susceptible to surface lures such as poppers, fizzers

have a quick flurry at a lure before returning from underneath, eyes glued on their quarry. A little ‘twitch, twitch’ followed by a lengthy pause will be the undoing of many fish. The final ‘boof’ on the surface is a sight to behold and keeps lure anglers coming back to their favourite lagoons year after year, chasing the thrill of chrome off the surface.

great competitors that love lures. Be crocodile weary when walking or boating in these places, and remember that freshwater a long way upstream can hold these dangerous critters throughout the Cape. • For information on remote charter operations for tailored fishing adventures, please email Tim on wildrivercompany @gmail.com

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Wrestling little red devils on the light gear FRESHWATER

Angus James Instagram: @jimmygusjames

It’s a beautiful time of the year up here in the tropical north. The weather is perfect for being outdoors and fishing has been red-hot, with plenty of line-peeling action. And it will only get better! Sooty grunter (also known as black bream)

have certainly been playing the game in the freshwater rivers and streams up here in the far north. They always put up a great fight and get the adrenalin pumping as they try make their way back to cover. They are a cool species that like to fight dirty, and will make the angler often spend some time under a snag trying to extract them. But that’s half the fun! The sooties will have a go at most artificial

Now is a great time to head into the jungle to chase JPs, before the hot weather sets in.

presentations. Throwing surface lures is a fun and visual way to get a bend in the rod. A well-presented soft plastic will also work a treat. Remember to have that drag set nice and tight! If you’re after some fishing tranquillity, a jungle perch session is in order. The cooler weather is a great time to head deep into the jungle to experience some of the best landbased fishing available. Remember when targeting this amazing species that all your hunting skills come into play. Using as much stealth as you can will increase your catch rate. Try to walk upstream when possible and get behind structure when making that sneaky cast into a honey hole. These fish are switched onto everything that’s happening around their environment, so one wrong move can shut down the hole. Make the most of your opportunities and you will get rewarded. Jungle perch fishing really puts your angling skills to the test. It’s a great way to enjoy some beautiful country while targeting a truly unique fish. Juvenile mangrove

Juvenile mangrove jack are a lot of fun on light gear! jack are so much fun on the light gear! If you can get your lure as deep into their snag as possible, you’re in with a good shot of hooking onto a few of these little red devils! Tiny grub tail plastics are always going to get the attention of a sweetwater pup. TT Lures now have a lighter weedless option for the

smaller presentations. They are called the SnakelockZ, and they are absolute dynamite to get you right into the strike zone! That territorial aggression bite is the one you are after during the cooler times of the year. Keep peppering that nice looking snag from every angle, and you will eventually get their

attention. Give it a crack. These fish are awesome fun to catch in the crystal clear sweetwater. They have amazing markings and produce some of the most exciting light gear fun you can have! They are such an amazing species. That’s it from me! Catch you next month. Until then, fish on!

REPELS INSECTS

SEPTEMBER 2016

FIND-A-WORD COMPETITION HARRY POTTER FISHING SPELLS

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QLD SEPTEMBER 2016

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SEPTEMBER 2016

The answers to Find the ZMan Logo for July were: 15, 16, 22, 24, 30, 32, 36, 39, 44, 46, 51, 64, 66, 77, 100. – QFM The Find the ZMan logo prize winners for July were: D Smith of Sunnybank, J Tatnell of Wamuran, R Harrison of Cooktown, M Harrison of Helensvale, S Meehan of Yeppoon, A Stevens of Torquay, T Stirrat of Emerald, C Renz of Crestmead, B O’Connor of South Bingera, A Bragg of Mount Isa, T Hunter of Woodford, M Roots of Innisfail, J Cervenjak of Greenbank, C Dalton of Belmont, D Stewart of Bundaberg, G Neville of New Auckland, K O’Brien of Burrum Heads, R Poor of Godwin Beach, J Davis of Austinville, D Richter of Toogoolawah, B Bain of Ferny Hills, R Cheetham of North Mackay, R Lynem of Gladstone, O Noffke of Kulanboor, S Della Sante of Agnes Water, J Nock of Kallangur, A Kittel of Logan Village, L Nipperess of Waterford, M Boyle of Slacks Creek, E Senior of Buderim, A Adams of Newport, S Russell of Morayfield, M Gillett of Boonah, L Betts of Kendall, W Newall of Cumnock, B Botting of Nanango, B Martin of Upper Coomera, G Phillips of Cotswold Hills, D Benson of Belgian Gardens, S Davies of Emerald. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – QFM

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QLD SEPTEMBER 2016

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School’s in for big bass TOOWOOMBA

Jason Ehrlich fishability1@bigpond.com

This is the time of year all freshwater anglers love. Winter can be tough and depressing, but as spring rolls around, the days get longer and warmer. With these seasonal changes, freshwater fish tend to fire up and make up for being so lazy over the winter months. Sometime throughout the month, it will be like someone has flicked a switch and the fish will start chewing their heads off. Expect bass to be tightly schooled in most lakes. Their breeding instincts bring the fish together and make it more important to find their location.

other times of the year. In the big bass lakes like Somerset and Wivenhoe, there’s a good chance of nailing a bass over 3kg. On the golden perch front, fish will be a bit slower to respond to the changes. It can take another month or two for them to really rev their engines and turn on the action. Still, there will be a noticeable increase in their activity. The lakes below the range and further north will generally fire first as they tend to warm up that little bit faster. Murray cod closed season will be in place from the September 1 until November 30. This applies to the rivers but the stocked lakes are exempt. For more information on closed cod waters, visit the

Gympie

months and gave anglers a chance to hone their cod catching skills. It will be interesting to see how well Queensland’s cod respond to similar techniques. Barramundi also fire up in the dams this month. The fish are lazy over winter and as the water hits the right temperature, they are less lethargic and make up for the slow cooler months. Expect the barra to fire up sometime in September or early October in most of the lakes. The full moon period seems to be the most popular time to chase these big impoundment fish. Casting lures well into the night will see some great catches and happy anglers. Dust off your rods, lures and boat. There are plenty

Once these schools are found, it’s just a matter of working out what they want to eat. If they’re cooperative they’ll take all manner of lures, but when they are tougher, stick to a slowly wound soft plastic. Bass are very well conditioned in spring. Females carry roe (which will never be spawned in the freshwater environment) and are much heavier than

Department of Agriculture and Fisheries website. Lakes like Coolmunda, Leslie and Glenlyon will see an increase in cod activity. There were fish caught over the winter months, but these lakes perform better throughout spring. Copeton Dam in Northern New South Wales produced countless big cod encounters over the winter

DAM LEVELS

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of options this month if you are wanting to catch a few freshwater battlers. All species will be more willing to play the game and it won’t be a case of wondering where to go to get the results like it has been over the last few months. Just about every lake in Queensland will be turning it on so get to it. Until next month, buckled rods from The Colonel!

CRESSBROOK CLOSEST TOWN: CROWS NEST Cressbrook Dam was one of the best places to chase bass over the winter months. That was for everyone apart from me. I tried on a couple of occasions to tempt fish, but only managed a pair of smallish bass for my efforts. Word on the street was the fish were shutting down after anglers caught some from their schools. This is not uncommon and some days they are quicker to shut down than others. When you strike a good day, they can

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

JUN JUL AUG 16 18 22 78 97 78 7 9 8 98 101 100 39 44 50 26 26 26 98 100 99 93 90 88 89 102 99 53 63 48 12 12 12 99 95 90

Gold Coast

IMPOUNDMENT DAM 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

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

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BRISBANE

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

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Toowoomba

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

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brought to you by

JUN JUL AUG 6 5 6 91 87 87 41 41 40 60 48 46 88 90 91 93 91 100 83 81 80 88 88 86 17 17 16 n/a n/a n/a 61 61 62 31 30 29

14 31

Weipa

Cairns 1

Townsville 2

3 4

Proserpine 6 Mackay

Rockhampton

Emerald

29 7

Highlighted dams are covered in this issue

Gladstone

Bundaberg 9

bite all day long from the same school, but these days are few and far between. Spring is the time to strike the fish in a more cooperative mood so we should see prolonged bite times before the inevitable happens. Most of the bigger bass action has been coming from the points and bays up Cressbrook Creek, just past the Eagles Nest rock wall. These fish have been heavily pressured, but have stayed in the area for the last month. Ice jigs work well when the fish are willing to bite and sitting below the boat, but

BRISBANE

tail-spinners have been the standout offering. Firing casts ahead of the boat and working them along the points, or out from the edge to deeper water, has been very successful. The 18g Jets tail-spinner was doing a lot of the damage. It didn’t seem to matter the colour when the fish were on. Adam Krautz from Toowoomba had a lot of success on the swamp monster colour. He kept catching fish by moving along the bank to find new schools and then moving the boat out wider to fish deeper as fish moved out towards the boat. Hopping tailspinners rather than winding is the best method.

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

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JUN JUL AUG Maroon 94 98 98 Monduran/Fred Haigh 94 94 94 Moogerah 82 92 88 North Pine/Samsonvale 64 68 66 Peter Faust/Proserpine 62 63 63 Pindari 35 45 47 Somerset 78 80 80 Teemburra 88 92 95 Tinaroo 56 53 51 Toonumbar 100 100 99 Wivenhoe 83 82 81 Wuruma 93 92 92

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 18/08/16

(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.) 76

SEPTEMBER 2016

Maryborough

Roma

SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND

It is the start of Murray cod closed season in the rivers but fish can still be caught in the dams. James Barker caught this 76cm Murray cod at Copeton Dam slow rolling a Bassman Double Colorado spinnerbait. Expect similar action in the Queensland Dams this month.

With spring here, we may see some changes. It’s likely the bass will form bigger schools. While this takes place, the fish may have to move from their current locations. Look around the same areas, but also in the main basin of the lake, and even straight out from the boat ramp. Focus on any of the prominent points, which extend out into the dam. Once you’ve found the bass, try catching them with soft plastics and tail-spinners. There is a good chance the fish will be in over 10m of water and they will often suspend in the deeper parts. Bring your lure up to the depth they are suspending when fishing deeper water. For all your fishing supplies and the latest reports on Cressbrook and surrounding dams, call in to see the specialist tackle stores in Toowoomba. Tackle World Toowoomba in Ruthven Street on the north side and Fish’n’Bits in Alderly Street closer to the south side have a great range of lures and fishing gear. Support these tackle stores, because they’ll be able to direct you to where the fish are biting and offer invaluable advice. Just remember, there is a speed limit of 8 knots and a restricted area at Cressbrook Dam. Check out the signage to ensure you stay out of trouble and abide by the rules. The gate hours for the boat ramps and day use area will be extended this month from 6am-8pm. SOMERSET CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY Somerset has been very slow for the last month, but with spring this should

change. Bass fishing should pick up and some years the bass respond best to very slowly wound soft plastics. Rig these lures on 1/2 or 5/8oz jigheads, cast far, let them sink and then wind steady to keep them close to the bottom. The Squidgy fish is a good performer as it has a strong tail-thumping action at slow speed. Another big tailed bass plastic comes from the Reflexion brand. Look for similar shad style lures with bigger tails as they can make a lot of difference. Just remember at the start of spring, the slower the fishing is, the slower you wind the lure. Once the fish fire up, this won’t be a problem and there will be better options than rolling plastics. The bass will become more responsive to reaction lures like tail-spinners, blades and soft vibes and when using these lures, you are more likely to nail better numbers. Often these lure munching fish will be smaller unless you are able to source a patch of better quality fish, which often hold together. Look for schooling fish in the lake’s middle reaches. There have been good numbers out from Queen Street on the flats for a few months but this is still only a small percentage of the lake’s bass. This month should see them group together in huge numbers, it will just be a matter of finding them. Other areas worth looking are The Spit, Pelican Point and Bay 13. The humps, flats and creek bed drop offs in these areas can all hold bass. Start your search in around 10m of

DARLING DOWNS GRANITE BELT REGION COOBY CLOSET TOWNS: HIGHFIELDS, TOOWOOMBA Fishing at Cooby has been really tough for the last month. Lure anglers have had a hard time trying to entice a bite, with bait being the better option. When it is like this, even live shrimp can be out-fished by using frozen saltwater yabbies. The soft, succulent build of the yabby is a little too much to resist for even the laziest yellowbelly. Try bait fishing in 6-8m of water and move out into the deeper parts and try in over 13m closer to the roped off area near the dam wall if you can see fish on the sounder. Keep the lines almost tight and hanging vertically below the boat. This will allow you to feel the timid bites of the fish and give you a better chance of setting a hook in their mouth. Plenty of local anglers have stocked up on big

cod lures over the winter months to use in lakes and rivers further afield. I’m tipping we will hear of a few big cod captures from Cooby when they get bored and start tossing their big topwaters and swimbaits closer to home. The cod are nowhere near as plentiful as the lakes further south but Cooby does hold some monster fish. Cooby Dam’s proximity to Highfields and Toowoomba makes it a very popular fishery. If you are looking for somewhere close to home to drop the boat or kayak, then Cooby is definitely worth a visit. The dam hours are now 6am until 8pm, which is perfect to fish into the dark for a late arvo cod. Just remember no outboard motors are allowed to be used on the dam. The concrete boat ramp is on a shallow angle when the dam is full and can be slippery in places but a big electric powered boat can still be launched with care.

water, but be prepared to look a few metres deeper and shallower. Once some fish are pinpointed, use their holding depth as a gauge to find more. Don’t dismiss the tiny bumps you see on the bottom as these are usually fish sitting tight to the bottom. These bottom huggers can be the big girls, so make sure you try your luck on them. The golden perch were responsive over winter, so the action should only increase. Goldens will be encountered while bass fishing but those who specifically target them will have better results. A few of these yellow demons will fall for trolled lures but the better options are live shrimp and hopping small blade baits. Golden will be found around structure, so try any of those snag piles you have found by sounding on the drop-offs in the dams middle reaches. Other places worth a try are the sunken trees around Queen Street and the timber north of Kirkleigh. There were a few fish taken casting lures to the edges last month. Spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits enticed the bites when working the edges in the timber and also in the main basin. The action was slow using this technique but while the fishing was tough, it was sometimes the only way to cast up a fish. With increased activity imminent in the schools out wider in the deep water, the edge fishing will remain a last resort. For the latest reports, check out Somerset Fishing Tackle online and on

Facebook. The store is in Kilcoy but they mail order fishing gear all over the place. For some of the most competitive prices around visit the website www.

somersetfishing.com.au. MOOGERAH CLOSEST TOWNS: BOONAH, ARATULA Moogerah action picked up last month with an increase in bass captures. Soft plastics and tail-spinners were the best performers with fish sitting in 7-10m of water in the dam’s main basin. The action should only improve, provided the fish don’t receive too much pressure. Stick with soft plastics and tail-spinners as the lures of choice but also consider hopping a 1/4oz blade close to the boat when the fish are schooling below you. Small sharp hops at about a 45º angle around your boat will

outside the timber are always worth a look. From here take a quick look all the way to the boat ramp below the main camp ground. Follow the 7-10m contour line as the fish are most likely to hold here. Explore the spit point that extends from the ramp out towards the dam wall and also the flats and points which protrude from the eastern shoreline nearby. MAROON CLOSET TOWNS: BOONAH, BEAUDESERT We should see a transition take place at Maroon. The fish living in and around the weed beds are often the bigger specimens but I’m tipping a big percentage of them will join the schooling

Outboard motors can be left on the boat but must not be used. Tackle, lures and saltwater yabbies can be purchased from Highfields Bait and Tackle on the New England Highway in Highfields. Call in and see Doug and check out the great range of fishing gear, kayaks and accessories he has on display. LESLIE CLOSEST TOWN: WARWICK Bait fishing has been the way to go for most anglers at Leslie. Saltwater yabbies were the best bait last month with golden perch landed from boats and off the bank. As the water warms a little more, live shrimp will also be a good option. Last month, a lucky angler managed to land a cod over a metre long on a live shrimp fished from the shore. Lure anglers gave mixed stories with some catching good numbers and others missing out altogether. This should change a little more this month with a slight increase in fish activity. Trolling medium

diving lures will start to pick up more fish and you can always rely on hopped blades and soft vibes. When hopping lures, you need to locate fish or structure. Sunken rock piles or even the drop-off to deeper water can be enough to congregate the fish. The new Kamikaze 80S was scoring goldens through winter so will excel once the water warms even more. Along with getting a fishing report, stock up on all your gear while at Warwick Outdoor and Sports at 115 Palmerin Street Warwick. For a small store, it carries a great range at a very competitive price. Warwick is only a 10-minute drive from the dam and you can pick up any supplies you might need. COOLMUNDA CLOSEST TOWN: INGLEWOOD There has been very little to report from Coolmunda on the golden perch scene. Apart from a few fish taken on baits, the fishing is slow. Murray cod on the other hand have been becoming

a more frequent capture. With the closed season in the rivers, Coolmunda gives a great playground to target some oversized greenfish. Cod can be caught casting bigger spinnerbaits around any structure. With the timbered arms hard to access due to the water level, you’ll need to use your sounder to locate fishable structure. The sunken trees and stumps around the drop-offs to the main river will show up easily on normal sonar if you are right over them but you can scan well out to the sides of the boat if you use a side imaging unit. The side scan feature is invaluable for finding fishable structure. If possible, try and locate fishy areas in under 5m of water. The cod can be found in only 1-2m at this time of year, so use stealth and cast well ahead of the boat. Lure trollers are also in with a good chance of whacking the cod. Last year was an outstanding year for cod fishing. The best method was to troll bigger deep lures on a short line. On occasions only a few

pick up the more active fish cruising the edge of the school. Look for bass in the usual haunts. The flats out from the palm trees just

fish outside the weed this month. With this in mind, look for schools just outside the weed edges. These fish may be located along the straight weed formations

Ben Wilson shows off a quality fish from Moogerah Dam. Fish like this will be smashing tail-spinners through this month. but are more likely to reside around any points that jut out into the main basin. Once schooling fish are located, try working soft plastics and small blades through them. The same lure styles can also be used to work the weedy edges nearest the schooling fish. The more active big fish may still be lurking a little shallower inside the weed clumps in close proximity to the rest of their mates. Surface luring may be worth a go at the end of the month but won’t peak for at least another month. If you are on the water early enough, it is always worth a quick try to see if they are tuned in to topwater offerings. metres are needed to keep the lure off the bottom but alter the amount of line out to suit the area you are fishing and keep the lure near but just off the bottom. Trolling will cover heaps of water, so keep an eye on the sounder as it is a great way to learn where all the best fish holding structure is. 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. The park now has an extra two new wheelchair friendly cabins to add to their older ones. Camping is also available near the boat ramp with toilets and hot showers to make your stay more comfortable. To take advantage of this and the great fishing opportunities in the lake and the river below, give the park a call on (07) 4652 4171. SEPTEMBER 2016

WIDE BAY AND BURNETT REGION BOONDOOMA CLOSEST TOWNS: PROSTON, KINGAROY The action has fired early at Boondooma. Bass have been going nuts on tailspinners around the Junction area. Locate the fish in just over 10m of water and start hopping lures through them and you’ll score plenty. This action should continue into this month with plenty of fish to be caught. You can also try your luck with blades like the Little Max or 75mm soft plastics rigged on 1/2oz jigheads. The bass may move around a bit but if you put in the

time to find them, the results should be awesome this month. With more attention focused on this deeper bite, the reports on golden perch have been fewer. You can still expect to land plenty of golden son bait or fishing the edges with spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits. Good numbers of red claw have been reported throughout the dam. Try tossing your traps out in under 7m of water and check them every few hours. If you’re not catching, move the pots to different locations. Boondooma is a great place to camp right near the

water and sit by the fire while enjoying the view. You could also stay in more style and comfort by booking into one of the cabins overlooking the dam. The kiosk at the main office does hot food and other basic items including fishing tackle. For campsites, cabins and bunkhouse rooms call Corey and Niki on (07) 4168 9694. BJELKE CLOSEST TOWNS: MURGON, GOOMERI The bait brigade have been smashing plenty of golden perch. Live shrimp and saltwater yabbies are the best baits. Goldens have been taken closer to camp at The Quarry and near Bass Point,

Not all the action will be on lures this month. Sabrina Hobson caught this cracker 50cm yellowbelly on a live shrimp in Cania Dam.

GREAT FO R A D AY EV E N B E T T E R W H E N Y O U S TAY

• Great fishing, bass, yellowbelly, cod, saratoga, garfish… • Windsurfing, boating, beach volleyball, playground, BBQ’s. • Level tent sites, showers, toilets, hot and cold water. Only 50 kms from Toowoomba For more information on camping or fees: Call Toowoomba Regional Council on 131 872 during office hours or visit www.toowoombaRC.qld.gov.au

but if you head up to the timber at the back of the dam, the action is much better. It seems if you are fishing near trees, you are almost guaranteed to catch them. Shrimp numbers are scarce in the dam and fishers have been trying to find them in the local creeks. Some tackle stores sell live shrimp and although expensive, $20 spent on these tasty morsels is a worthwhile investment. The luring scene has been a lot slower. Last month there

were a few fish being caught by trolling spinnerbaits around the edges of the dam. September will be the month this bite fires even more. The bass tend to gorge themselves and will usually move up closer to the edges. Here they can be caught by casting blades, spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits. For help catching Bjelke and Boondooma fish, call into Bass 2 Barra. The store stocks an awesome range of gear suited to chasing our freshwater fish and the boys have all the knowledge to guide you on how to use it. You’ll find the stores at 119 Youngman Street Kingaroy. Matthew Mott also runs fishing charters on the dams and you can reach him through the store for bookings and enquiries on (07) 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. ISIS BALANCING STORAGE CLOSEST TOWNS: BUNDABERG, CHILDERS There was a big drop in water level last month with some locals reporting the dam the lowest they have seen it. This has made launching boats quite difficult. The hard gravelly surface at the ramp is out of the water and trailers and cars have churned up the mud beyond that. You need to travel a long way out into the water to reach the deeper stuff so please take care if the level is still low. It might be better suited to kayaks and car-toppers until the water level rises again. The level is controlled by pumping in from the Burnett River, so hopefully it will be close to full again soon. On the fishing scene, the dam has gone through some hot and cold phases. At times the bass have been suckers for spinnerbaits and soft plastics. When they are tougher, smaller plastics seem to be the

Andrew Shultz with a 49cm fork length bass caught hopping a blade through bait schools in Cania Dam. better option. While the level is low, the fishing is likely to remain tough but with the arrival of spring, the action may pick up a notch. The boys at Tackle World in Bundaberg are bass experts. They love to fish the dam on their days off so will be able to steer you in the right direction. The store has an excellent layout and an awesome range of tackle suited to freshwater fishing as well as catering for the endless fishing opportunities in the surrounding area. CANIA CLOSEST TOWNS: MONTO, BILOELA Of all the bass lakes, Cania has been the standout destination for the last month. There were plenty of stories of 50+ fish sessions during that time with some anglers reporting the lake was fishing the best it ever has. The bass seem to be all over the place with some coming from the edges and heaps of fish in deeper schools. Pack every lure you own as the fish have been eating a bit of everything with

plenty of techniques working. This is a great time to try new things out. It’s always easier to gauge a new technique’s effectiveness when you know the fish are in the right mood. Jordan Stoddard had a cracker 60 fish session managing to score fish hopping a Kamikaze 80S stick bait. It’s a new offering the bass have never seen before and with a little experimenting will catch plenty of fish. The stock standard presentations are also working well. Tail-spinners, soft vibes and blades are ideal in the deeper areas over 7m. Closer to the edges, lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits are excellent performers. You can also expect a few other species to get in on the action if the bass back off for long enough. Cania is home to golden perch and a surprising number of lure crunching silver perch. In around the edges or closer to structure, you may also encounter the lake’s saratoga. There are some big toga in the lake so good luck staying connected to these bonymouthed brutes.

Jack Day with some better quality Bjelke-Petersen bass. Jack had success fishing blades and Molix Ra Shad paddle-tail plastics to the edges and drop-offs. 78

SEPTEMBER 2016

with Gulp Jerkbaits and Squidgy Slick Rigs. Try taking the time to rig these lures with treble belly stinger hooks as this, can make all the difference to staying connected. Barra have the ability to throw lures during their jumps and violent head shakes. If you don’t want to bother with making your own stinger rigs, check out the ones in stores, which cater to the impoundment barra market. Barra will be catchable for most of this month, but you can bet your last dollar, the full moon

period will see them fire up a little more. Night sessions around the moon are always worth a shot. If you don’t have this advantage, then look for the warmer water areas. Windblown banks, later in the afternoon, can turn on the action. I also like to fish the more protected shallow bays, which receive a good dose of sun throughout the day. Weedless rigged plastics are perfect in these shallower (often weed filled) areas. The Owner Beast hook in a 6/0 is my go to hook for plastic swimbait rigging as it has a massive gape. Provided you don’t put too much

run through the back of the dam are prime areas to target. The warm sunny days with little wind are perfect for this approach. The sun heats up the surface drawing the barra closer to the top and they can be lured from very shallow water even out in deeper parts of the dam. Lindsay prefers to fish wider in the creeks when the weather is favourable. If the wind blows up, he then moves in closer to the shore. Hardbody lures like Scorpions and Barra Baits

are ideal for fishing the tree tops. Cast the lure past the target tree and crank it down so it is 2-3m deep by the time it reaches the structure. Pause and allow the lure to slowly float up and give a few small twitches as it floats to attract the fish. Slow is the key. It can often take half a dozen casts at the same spot to persuade the fish to strike. Closer in, the points in the timber can also perform well. The gradual tapering, sandy points that are close to the deeper water of creeks are perfect for surface luring. September

MACKAY REGION KINCHANT CLOSEST TOWNS: MACKAY, MIRANI With the warmer weather on the way, expect the barra population to wake up a little more. There were quite a few big barra landed last month along with plenty of sooty grunter, so get ready to hear your drag scream. Casting 6” plastics will be the way to go. Use long casts along the weed edges and wind them slowly back. The Reflexion Swimbaits have been accounting for plenty of fish along WHITSUNDAY REGION PROSERPINE CLOSEST TOWNS: PROSERPINE, AIRLIE BEACH It’s the time of year when the barra fire up. After talking to local fishing guide Lindsay Dobe, it sounds like it will be an awesome time to try your luck. September is his favourite month to fish because once you locate the fish, they are usually holding in the area in good numbers. The tops of the trees lining the creeks, which

pressure on the fish, they are up to the task. If you are planning on fishing Kinchant, Teemburra or Eungella, be sure to call in and see Bruce and Ash at Nashy Compleat Angler on Harbour Road, North Mackay. Ash works in the store but also as a fishing guide on the lakes. Some first-hand information as to where they are biting always goes a long way. Nashy’s has a great range of tackle suited to the dams as well as all the other fishing options the Mackay area is blessed with. You can call the store for more information or to put some gear on hold on (07) 49572272. is a great month for using surface lures like Cultiva Tango Dancers and Rapala Skitterpops. It would also be interesting to play with some of the trendy cod wakebaits, which have had success further south. If there is any weakness in them, barra will be the fish to expose it. For all your fishing supplies or a guided trip on the lake call Lindsay or Dane at Barra World (formerly Proserpine Bait and Tackle) on (07) 4945 4641. The store is right on the highway in Proserpine and specialises in barra fishing tackle.

FISHING FILL-ITS

Seqwater to phase out boating permits In a bonus for boaties, the Palaszczuk Government today announced that Seqwater would phase out boating permits for Wivenhoe and Somerset dams by 1 July 2017. Energy and Water Supply Minister Mark Bailey said he was pleased to announce the phasing out of the permits as a measure to cut red tape, lower costs to the community and provide an additional incentive for the community to enjoy both lakes. “Over the next year, the annual boating permit fee of $100 will be reduced on a pro rata basis, calculated on the number of months remaining until the scheme concludes,” Mr Bailey said. “Until that date, boaties with vessels registered by the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads or that would normally be transported on a trailer due to size, will still need a Seqwater boating permit to access either lake. “By removing this financial barrier, we hope

2 Dams

FISHING FILL-ITS

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fees. Pricing is competitive with other leading kayak manufacturers from the USA. The new Solo Skiff has landed in Australia. Redcliffe Marine are the Australian dealers – they welcome test drives, and have

custom trailers to suit if your vehicle isn’t set up for kayaks. These boats are well made, insulated and designed to last a lifetime. If you wish to learn more about this awesome new concept, contact us at redcliffemarine.com.au. – Redcliffe Marine

it encourages more people to visit and enjoy lakes Somerset and Wivenhoe.” Seqwater Chief Executive Officer Peter Dennis said this was just another example of Seqwater simplifying its systems and making recreation accessible to more people. “Discontinuing boating permits which only operated at two of our many boating lakes will provide a more consistent approach to boating access across all of our lakes where boating is permitted,’’ Mr Dennis said. Current permits will remain applicable until they expire. Pro rata yearly and weekly permits will remain on sale until 30 June 2017. Boating permits can be purchased at a number of locations. For more information visit the Boating page at www. seqwater.com.au. Boating permits are not required for kayaks, canoes and similar paddlecraft. – Queensland Government

1de stination H

South Burnett

· Boondooma Dam · Bjelke-Petersen Dam ·

The BEST place in QLD to catch Australian Bass and Yellowbelly

STAY

NIGHTS AND

SAVE CATCH of the month

The new Solo Skiff looks good on the water!

BJELKE-PETERSEN

BOONDOOMA DAM

Big Golden from BP.

Tom Deer with 2 very nice Bass from Boondooma.

www.lakeboondooma.com.au www.yallakoolpark.com.au SEPTEMBER 2016

Korr HKC 6000 camper trailer BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

The HKC-6000 camper trailer, like many great ideas, came about as the result of adversity. The team at Korr Lighting, after travelling around Australia promoting their LED lights for home and camping, decided to go on a holiday to Cape York. Their itinerary included

a lot of sightseeing and plenty of stops to take in the Cape’s unique heritage. After a while, however, the frequent setting up and dismantling of their mobile camp, often in the rain, dampened both their spirits and their gear. Around the campfire they discussed how they could do things better. If a specialised camper could make their own trip more enjoyable next time, surely it would do the same for others?

Along some of the worst sections of the notorious Peninsula Developmental Road (the main ‘highway’ north), you can see pieces of vehicles and trailers that weren’t up to the task. It was a given, therefore, that the new Korr camper had to be strong enough to handle the Cape’s rough gravel roads. The team also wanted to see what modern technology they could incorporate to make life easier for travellers.

The Korr HKC-6000 ready for set up.

DESIGN AND REDESIGN CAME FIRST Tony Taylor from Austyle Campers was impressed with the concept of a camper trailer which could really cut the mustard, so he came on board. Then came the hard yards! Six months of design and research finally culminated in the Hard Korr 6m camper trailer. Right from the outset, the design parameters were purposely tough. The specialised unit had to be able to be take whatever the pot holed and corrugated PDR could dish out. What’s more, it had to come back in the same condition as when it first left the bitumen. Meeting this challenge required a serious re-think of the design and construction methodology currently used the camper trailer and caravan industry. Another goal was to make setting up and dismantling as quick as easy as possible. Most camper trailers on the market take precious time (sometimes in bad weather) to assemble and pull down, and the team decided that wasn’t good enough. They wanted a camper that could be set up and pulled down by one person in around five minutes, no more. Moreover, it was to be totally

The HKC-6000’s interior breakfast unit looks pretty inviting. made in Australia, and have strong enough under-body components – especially suspension – and sufficient ground clearance to handle any road conditions. TECHNOLOGY TO THE RESCUE Strength throughout was paramount, so Korr did away

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The kitchen package includes a plumbed sink, stove and a pull-out table.

with the panelling-uponframework commonly seen in larger camper trailers and throughout caravans. Instead, the HKC-6000’s construction saw an engineered rigid body folded and welded onto a steel chassis. Its strength reserves mean it can take the weight of a 4m boat, and/or any other equipment, on dedicated roof racks. To assist rapid set-up, there’s a power-operated roof. It uses rams to lift to its full extension, even with a boat or other equipment on top, and it can be operated remotely by one person. The interior has a queensized bed as standard – not the usual double bed seen in so many other units – with sets of storage drawers under the bed. The interior kitchen area was designed to accommodate people enjoying time out of the weather, with plenty of fly screening within the unit’s 10oz canvas sections. They are purpose designed to automatically fold down and into the body of the camper as the roof is lowered by the inbuilt rams.

$119 RRP 1.2m O/W LED Strip

Bush tracks and offroad work are easy for a unit designed specifically for the task. 80

SEPTEMBER 2016

The body and interior are powder-coated aluminium, which not only ensures durability but looks ruggedly good as well. A massive 2.6-tonne rated package saw four shock absorbers linked to coil springs set up under the camper to ensure total insulation from jolts and bumps off road. The large storage compartments up front on both sides, and even in the rear slide-out kitchen area at the rear, are designed to swallow up massive amounts of gear. All storage compartments are rubber sealed to exclude dust, and have decent locks to prevent accidental opening. The rear kitchen featured a 60L refrigerator on a slide, a plumbed sink, gas stove and

A U S T R A L I A

Margay 2016

A 2.6-tonne rated suspension package sorts out the rough going for this serious camper trailer.

Korr pulled out all stops here: that’s a queen-size bed for the weary traveller to enjoy. extendable table, also on a slide. Overhead storage here was designed to complement the kitchen. In all, compact yet very efficient. Awnings are always a great feature of a decent camper, and the HKC-6000 featured a large Fox Wing style awning which covered the entire left side of the unit, plus the kitchen area at the rear. Designed as a standalone unit without poles, a field test saw the awning removed from its robust cover, extended and connected to its inbuilt braces, then the roof lifted remotely to full extension, all in 3.5 minutes. Without unfolding the awning, the roof would extend over the side and kitchen in around 30 seconds. Other great features include storage up front

on a draw bar platform for firewood, plus paired, lid-equipped metal mesh compartments for wet items. In a larger compartment on the left side of the unit was a dedicated electronic management system, which displayed everything from an instant readout of house batteries’ capacity, water supply remaining (capacity is 175L), an Anderson plug for external power requirements and circuit breakers for various functions. A Fusion sound system was installed and, naturally, there were LED light units placed strategically all around and inside the HKC-6000. This was to be expected, seeing as Korr are LED specialists.

On the right-hand side of the unit there was a gas hot water system with shower. There was also provision for a standard style of awning, which could connect to a spare room, which is also part of the package. Entry

doors on each side of the unit are standard. Offroad trials with the big camper were highly encouraging. Traversing serious washouts and very rough tracks proved no issue during bush work. And for the really dedicated offroad travellers, side and rear rock sliders are optional so those who really want to explore the boundaries of offroad travel will find this camper is up to it. SUMMING UP Overall, the HKC-6000 is ruggedly good-looking unit with a finish that really is outstanding. A powder coating throughout really sets it apart from its contemporaries, as does an almost over-build standard of manufacture throughout, which includes the brilliant awning and power operation of the upper sections of the unit. This big Korr custom unit will have no difficulty in traversing the PDR to the Cape and back, or anywhere else. At 5.8m

$49,990

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

Pantera II 2016

$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 2016

$59,990

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

Sabre FTD 2016 Firewood and wet items are easily stored up the front.

Technology at work: lifting the roof at the push of a button.

long and 1.8m wide, it isn’t compact. However, for the serious offroad traveller with a decent 4WD up front, the HKC-6000 will fulfil a lot of offroad travelling needs. The unit I tested had all the bells and whistles, but there are more basic models available. These campers are totally custom units, with fit-outs that suit different buyers’ requirements. Prices start from $59,900. For more info check out www.hardkorrcampers. com.au or call Korr on (07) 3801 8332.

$59,990

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

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

A U S T R A L I A

Phone: 0410 173 060 basscataustralia@gmail.com SEPTEMBER 2016

BOATS FOR SALE on

Nissan Navara King Cab RX BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

STRATOS 176XT Location: NSW

$28,990 NITRO X5 Location: NSW

$30,000

It’s been said before, but I’ll say it again: the Australian ute buyer has never had it so good! We are definitely spoilt for choice at the moment. Take the Nissan Navara for instance. Released last year with great fanfare, the new model NP300 actually lived up to the hype. It comes in a choice of petrol or twin turbo diesel engines, with options for coil springs at the rear or a leaf spring set up. The Navara is a very good ute, suited just as well to work on weekdays and play time on weekends. And with 27 variants on offer – thanks to many drive lines, body styles, engine and transmission choices – there’s one for every need. The King Cab, for instance, is available in the RX, ST and STX configurations, each adding feature upon feature. MANUAL UTE REVIEWED Autos are very popular in diesels these days, but

The Navara King Cab RX is a great asset for the boat owner who needs a work vehicle that doubles as a sturdy tow unit for weekends. The front seats were very comfortable and well formed, and the paired rear seats were large enough to accommodate two adults for a short time. Alternatively, they can be folded up to accommodate a heap of gear for a weekend away. The rear seating set-up

was better than some others on today’s market, given that there were adjustable head rests and even air vents. Finding a handle to open a rear door was a bit tricky at first, but it doesn’t take long to get the hang of it. RX FEATURES The RX sits second from

STRATOS 285 PRO XL Location: NSW

$32,000 RANGER COMMANCHE 188 Location: TAS

There is ample leg and head room and decent storage compartments as well.

$42,000 TRITON 18 PRO Location: QLD

$38,000 Like us on facebook for automatic updates 82

SEPTEMBER 2016

for those of us who don’t mind a bit of leg movement when driving there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with changing gears manually – and that’s exactly what the Navara 4x4 RX King Cab was all about. With its 6-speed manual gear box, this ute was very enjoyable to drive thanks to a wellspaced set of gear ratios, a very smooth clutch and a 2.3L turbo diesel engine that seemed to have no end of pulling power compared to its modest size. It was also quite responsive. The King Cab designation refers to seating arrangements that see the front seats complemented by a short-term use rear seat set-up accessed via a rearward opening door.

the bottom in the Navara NP300 features and trim stable, but it doesn’t seem much like a base vehicle. There were power windows (including the sliding one between rear of cabin and tray); carpeted flooring; well-shaped, cloth-covered seats; and cruise control. There were even a couple of 12V outlets in the cabin, one between the front seats and another up on the dash for the GPS, plus an extra one other in the rear cargo area. Air conditioning was also standard and there was a defrost option for the rear glass section of the cabin, something not all utes in this class have. Other handy features were a radio that offered Bluetooth streaming and a USB socket and line-in jack. Coupled with a very high standard of fit and finish, the front seating and dash area were almost sedanlike. Hardly a poverty pack! Storage was also pretty well catered for, with plenty of cubby holes and dedicated areas such as a tray on the dash, another between seats and a mobile phone storage

The fit and finish of the dash and interior were almost sedan-like.

SUSPENSION MODIFICATIONS Overall, the Navara’s ride was better than I expected from a leafsprung ute. I have never regarded Navaras as rough riding by any stretch of the imagination, but Nissan have now modified the rear spring assembly to shorten springs

area for the front passenger. On the exterior, the grille was dressed up with plenty of chrome, as were the large external door mirrors with the elongated cabin reflecting the King Cab’s unique styling. Wheels sported modest 205 R16 steel rims, but with the Nissan’s retail price well below quite a few of its competitors, who’s complaining? TEST DRIVE On the city roads and country highways, the Nissan was a very easy drive. The 4x4’s overall height offered excellent visibility all round, and the transmission very capably mated with the 4-cylinder diesel engine’s 120kW of power, 403Nm of torque to see it quite quick off the mark. It easily answered power requirements to move

With an 80L tank under the rear tub (1800mm long and 1120mm wide between wheel arches) the King Cab certainly has an excellent cruising range. SUMMING UP My impression of the Navara RX King Cab is that it’s going to make choosing the right ute for

A large cargo tub makes the Navara a great work vehicle, and its road manners make it a good recreational vehicle as well. up to a highway cruising speed, which it maintained effortlessly. Towing our

4.3m Bullshark with its 40 Evinrude was a non-event, and with a braked trailer

The King Cab’s bold styling make it a good-looking work horse.

tow rating of 3500kg and an unbraked rating of 750kg, the Navara would satisfy a lot of boat owners’ requirements. I had the opportunity to try out the 4WD capability of the King Cab when I had to back the unit a fair way down on a muddy boat ramp on the Logan River. The Navara easily removed the Bullshark from the low tide mess of slimy mud. A quick flick of the dash dial to 4x4 high, and gently easing out the clutch on first gear, saw the car and boat up the ramp like a cork out of a bottle. It’s one of those times when the money spent on 4WD instead of 2WD is well worth it.

The King Cab’s rear seating is actually reasonably comfortable, with some padding and air vents. With seats folded it’s a great place to store valuable items out of the harm’s way. (when compared to previous Navaras) as well as mounting them in a rubber assembly to reduce perceived rebound. Fuel consumption is always a talking point, and while Nissan claim a little more modest consumption than the 7.5L per 100km I achieved, there is certainly not much wrong with consumption of that order.

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The design allows more storage and more forward casting space. Simply put...more room for mates and gear!

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But the Pickle Fork also adds tremendous lateral stability which is important when there’s more people up-front. Add all this to the fact it’s a Quintrex and you might just have the perfect tool to take fishing. (Besides your mate Wally, of course!)

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PHONE 07 5524 8877 SEPTEMBER 2016

EW001

s hard to argue with the benefits of a Pickle Fork bow when you’re going fishing. pecially with a few mates. The design allows more storage and more It’s hard to argue with the benefits of a forward Pickle Fork bow when you’re going fishing. sting space. Simply put...more room for mates gear! The But the Pickleallows Fork also Especially with a fewand mates. design more storage and more forward ds tremendous lateral stability which is important when there’s more people

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work and play just that bit harder. There’s a multitude of similar 1-tonne capacity vehicles on offer, but the overall fit and finish, decent levels of standard features plus ride quality make the RX King Cab an attractive choice. The warranty is three years/100,000km, and a 5-star ANCAP safety rating is assured.

Cooking

Crab cakes served with beery remoulade Following on from last month, I’ll be creating a delicious afternoon snack – crab cakes with beery

BRISBANE

Lynn Bain

remoulade. The remoulade has been infused with the flavour of beer for the perfect entrée to an afternoon BBQ.

Pick through the crab meat to ensure you remove any cartilage/shell that may have slipped through the first time.

Ingredients Ingredients for the Crab Cakes 500g crab meat 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves 1/2 tsp dry mustard 1 tbsp mayonnaise 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce Pinch of salt 1 tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped 1 egg 1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs Canola oil, for sautéing Lemon cheeks, for serving

4 84

Shape the crab cakes. Take 1-2 tbsp of the crab cake mixture and shape it into a patty. Pat the crab cake mixture firmly so they won’t fall apart during cooking. For best results, refrigerate the moulded cakes for about half an hour before cooking.

Sauté the garlic and shallot in a saucepan on low heat until soften. Pour in the beer and bring the saucepan to a gentle simmer. Continue to cook until the mixture has reduced to approximately a quarter of a cup. Then allow the mixture to cool.

SEPTEMBER 2016

Combining the ingredients for the crab cakes. Avoid breaking up the crab meat too much. Lumps of crab meat in the crab cakes tastes delicious.

Ingredients Heat a little of the canola oil over a medium heat in a frypan. Place a few of the crab cakes gently into the pan and sauté on one side until golden brown and then carefully turn the crab cake over. Cook until golden brown. Once cooked, remove from the pan and place on a paper towel to drain excess oil.

When the garlic/shallot/beer mixture has cooled, add the Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, mayonnaise and chopped pickles. Stir together thoroughly and place into a serving bowl.

Ingredients for the Beery Remoulade 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic, grated 2 tbsp chopped shallot 250ml (1 cup) beer Dash of Worcestershire sauce Pinch (or two) of cayenne pepper 1 cup mayonnaise 1-2 tablespoons chopped pickles/gherkins (amount depending on your taste)

Serve the crab cakes with a few hefty lemon wedges and the delicious beery remoulade. It’s just perfect for a mid afternoon snack or to kick off a BBQ.

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Tips for the 2016 Gold Coast Flathead Classic The Great Northern Brewing Co Flathead Classic, now in its 23rd consecutive year, is Australia’s premier estuary catch and release tournament. This popular social tournament notably features an excellent random prize pool, giveaways, entertainment and much more. The 2016 event is about more than just the fishing, with a great new precinct at the Broadwater Parklands and lots of giveaways on a random basis. Anyone can walk away with a swag of prizes, including a great estuary fishing package. This popular tournament is targeted at anglers of all skill levels. To get on board, all you have to do is press the big red ‘Register’ button

The Wilson boys regularly make an appearance at The Classic. and the 40th year for the Gold Coast Sport Fishing Club. Some lucky angler

great tournament. Leading up to a competition like the Flathead Classic, some teams will be thinking about where they should fish. It’s all up to the individual angler and what they’re confident with. Confidence is probably the biggest asset that you’ll need, because there are so many talented anglers and teams that could win this competition. Look at the Whyte boys – they won in 2014 and 2015, and a big reason they do so well is because they have the confidence in themselves that they can catch small numbers of big fish in the deep at certain parts of the tide. Other successful teams have the confidence to fish in shallow water and catch big numbers of small flathead,

Having belief in a spot goes a long way, too. Some anglers possess a fishlike instinct which comes very naturally to them. They know when, where and what particular tide will give them the chance to catch a lot of flathead. Whether you have that instinct or not, time on the water will help you to gain this knowledge. There is, of course, a bit of luck involved as well. I have fished a few Flathead Classics and I’m still amazed at how on some days how your results can be so different from your teammate’s. You could be standing next to them, fishing the same lure – almost have the same flick or trolling twitch – and your mate will catch fish after fish, and you are left with hardly anything.

Competitors will be looked after both on and off the water. on our home page (www. goldcoastsportfishingclub. com.au), which will take you through to a secure online payment form. The dates are set for 28 September to 1 October, so don’t miss out on $250,000 of random prizes for this year’s event! This year marks a new venue, new boat sponsor

will drive away a new 460 Quintrex Renegade powered with a 75hp Evinrude E-Tec, sitting on an aluminium trailer worth $31,000. A big thank you goes to Broadwater Boating Centre and Surf Coast Marine for this boating package, and to all the other generous sponsors that support this

Anglers will be starting early to get in amongst the flatties. 86

SEPTEMBER 2016

Even if you have a shocker on the water, you can always unwind and enjoy yourself in the evening. and might get lucky to snare a big girl. Having confidence in the lure that you are using is another important point. I have a stack of lures in my bag that I use while pre-fishing, but when push comes to shove and we have a slow period, I always go back to the go-to lure that I have confidence in. Using these proven lures puts me in a good frame of mind, because I know how to work them to their full potential.

And later on the reverse can happen! Still, the best thing about the Flathead Classis is that, even if you have a shocker fishing-wise, you’ve always got a chance of winning an awesome boat, motor and trailer package worth $31,000, and the beers are always cold. Be sure to mark the 2016 Flathead Classic on your calendar. I wish everyone tight lines and good luck in this year’s event. – Danny Sands

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR 2016 SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

Sept 10-11

Rnd 13 Hobie Kayak BREAM series Nelson

www.hobiefishing.com.au

Sept 10-11

ABT BassCat BASS Pro Grand Final Bjekle-Petersen

www.abt.org.au

Sept 17-18

Bowen Family Fishing Classic Bowen

Russ McCabbin 4786 3899 www.bowenfamilyfishingclassic.com

Sept 23-24

WTF Women That Fish Barra Classic Fitzroy River

Shara 0429923243

Sept 25

BASS Electric #5 Lake St Clair

Daniel Clancy 0419 690 418

Sept 28 - Oct 1

2016 Flathead Classic Gold Coast

www.flatheadclassic.com.au

Oct 8-9

BASS Electric #6 Borumba Dam

Steve Noble 0409 239 065

Oct 8-9

Rnd 14 Hobie Kayak BREAM series Bribie Island

www.hobiefishing.com.au

Oct 22-23

BASS Electric Convention Maroon Dam

www.abt.org.au

Oct 28-30

Hobie Kayak BREAM Aus Championship Queensland

www.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.

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Enter online at

SEPTEMBER 2016

McPaul overcomes fickle bite CE 1ST PLA Taree’s Owen McPaul claimed his spot in the ABT record books after winning the Austackle presented Lake Boondooma BASS Pro, the fourth and final round of the BassCat BASS Pro Series. McPaul’s 9/12 limit of 7kg wouldn’t have gotten a look in at last year’s event, but thanks to a dropping lake level, a fickle bite saw the majority of the field struggle to identify any pattern that rivaled McPaul’s for consistency. For his efforts, McPaul took home $2500 cash, as well as the OSP Rookie Reward for being the highest placed angler competing in their first season of ABT BASS Pro competition. He weighed fish in all three sessions, a feat only five boater competitors managed. It was this consistency that secured victory for McPaul, in a tournament where he was by far and away the best on the water. McPaul had travelled to nearby Bjelke-Petersen Dam before arriving at Boondooma to sample the waterway for this year’s Grand Final, and it was there he began formulating a strategy for the Friday prefish. “BP fished differently to Boondooma and it really threw me a curveball for prefish day,” explained McPaul. “At BP, they ate jerkbaits and spinnerbaits really well, which is what I was expecting for Boondooma, but I think the dropping water level really put the fish off, and I struggled to replicate that pattern all morning on Friday. It wasn’t until I abandoned that idea and ventured into the timbered area of both arms that I landed my first fish.”

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SEPTEMBER 2016

McPaul had a one-two punch that triggered almost all his bites, targeting fish staging between 15-30ft among the labyrinth of standing timber. “I really had two go-to baits for this weekend, one was the ever faithful ZMan SlimSwimZ rigged on a matching TT DemonZ jighead and jig spin. The other was a Keitech Easy Shiner, which I also rigged on the DemonZ head.” His technique was pretty straightforward – locate the fish in the suitable depth range between 15-30ft, and cast the offering out as far as possible, allow the bait to reach the bottom and then commence a slow retrieve back to the boat. “Some bites would come away from the structure but the vast majority of the fish I was catching came from really close to sunken timber,” explained McPaul. He wound his baits so slowly he could feel as the lure began to ride over a sunken limb of a submerged tree. This also ensured that he was able to gently ease his bait over to avoid snagging, and this was the time to anticipate the bite. “You really had to be in the thick of it to draw a bite, the fish were shutdown with the weather and the dropping water, so I think anything short of force feeding them your bait wasn’t going to get you very far.”

Owen McPaul with a pair of his tournament bass. His choice of tackle consisted of two main rods of choice, the first a Daiwa Generation Black Albino, the second a prototype Dusk rod that he is helping to develop. He paired both rods to Daiwa Caldia 2508 reels and spooled them with 8lb Daiwa TD Sensor braid, topped off with 4lb or 6lb Gamma fluorocarbon leaders. McPaul noted the light line was delivering more

McPaul’s winning baits were a combination of TT, ZMan, and Keitech products.

bites, which is more typical of our southern impoundments, a theory that’s hard to argue with if you look at the stats. “I am really lucky I didn’t hook any fish that Boondooma is famous for, there’s no chance I would have landed them in the country I was in with the gear I had. I fished the conditions of the weekend, the bite was tough and as it turned out, 9/12 small fish was enough to fend off a really great bunch of anglers.” McPaul thanked his longtime sponsors Tackle Tactics, and also heaped praise onto Switchbait, Manning River Marine, and the soon to be available Dusk rods. McPaul now turns his attention to the 2016 BassCat BASS Pro Grand Final, where he will be vying for the trip of a lifetime, travelling and competing alongside Australian Bassmaster Elite Series Pro Carl Jocumsen for almost two weeks in the United States next year.

Hickson takes AOY with second place CE 2ND PLA Perennial podium occupier Kris Hickson stamped his name as a certified dual species specialist, securing a runner-up finish to end his season as the Bassman BASS Pro AOY points champion. Needing to improve on two 9th place finishes at the Hunter Valley double header, Hickson almost achieved perfection, securing 199/200 points at the last two events of the season to overtake previous leader Mitchell Cone. It was a tough slog for Hickson over the weekend, with his second session 4/4 2.49kg bag anchoring his 7/12 6.11kg limit to beat 3rd place Simon Marchant by almost 500g. Hickson’s tournament didn’t revolve around one specific spot, he relied on areas that stretched from right near the boat ramp, to Pelican Point and up into the Stuart Arm timber. He identified schools and areas during the Friday prefish that were paramount to his success over

the tournament. “I fished a lot of places during the event. I spent a lot of the prefish just looking, watching my Humminbirds for anything that looked like a good group of fish. I managed to find a few places I thought I could count on, but, bass being bass, a lot of those fish moved throughout the tournament weekend and I either couldn’t relocate them or didn’t relocate them quickly enough.” Session one saw Hickson start on a ledge in the Stuart Arm just before the timber. He chose to target the area with plastics and tail-spinners, occasionally dropping an ice-jig to fish that had grouped under the boat. It was the vertical approach that scored his first keeper, a solid 1.2kg Boondooma bass. Persisting with the technique, Hickson was unable to trigger another bite. With the area now dormant, Hickson moved up back towards the boat ramp to a rockwall where he’d located fish the day before. His school was still there, albeit unwilling to cooperate for the most part. Opting to again lean on the vertical presentation of an ice-jig, Hickson was able to scrounge up two undersize bass and one small legal to leave himself with 2/4 for Saturday morning.

After weighing his catch towards the end of the weigh-in window, Hickson chose to target a fresh patch of fish he’d located inside the timbered area of the Stuart Arm. “I’d found a good patch of fish inside the timber in

the Stuart, but for the life of me couldn’t find them again in the tournament. I wasted an hour of the afternoon session looking for those fish to no avail.” Then began a procession of fruitless stops, as Hickson cycled back through

his successful locations from the morning. With twenty minutes to go before the 4pm weigh-in, Hickson travelled down towards Pelican Point, to a mark he’d placed in prefish and found a group of small but willing bass. The first drop produced a double hook-up for himself and non-boating partner Joshua Evans. The pair quickly turned their session around landing five legal bass in a red-hot flurry, which pushed him into 3rd place entering the final session on Sunday. Sunday saw Hickson cycle through all of Saturday’s locations with nothing to show for it. He ended back at the rock wall near the boat ramp where he’d managed to re-locate the giant school he’d found in prefish. “I couldn’t get those deep fish to eat straight away, so I thought I’d leave them for a bit and come back. I quickly

-BOATER 1ST NON Local favourite Josh Evans came back to the sport of tournament fishing with a bang, winning the non-boater title at the Austackle Boondooma BASS Pro. Fishing with Kris Hickson on day one, and Warren Carter on day two, Evans’ weekend was a testament to the benefits of the shared weight format. “I learnt so much this weekend from those two guys, I did some techniques I don’t often use personally, and came away a better fisher

grabbed my jerkbait rod and started working some shallow areas nearby. On probably my tenth cast I connected with the 1.86kg kicker and I decided to throw away the deep bite and stay shallow the rest of the day, as it ended up, that was the last bite I got.” It was the only bite he needed to secure the runner-up finish and the Bassman BASS Pro AOY award that went with it. Hickson now finds himself in the same situation as Warren Carter did in 2015, having successfully transitioned to an accredited multi species ABT champion. Hickson’s ice-jig outfit consisted of a Daiwa Harrier baitcast rod, Daiwa Alphas SV reel spooled with 15lb J-Braid and a long 8lb fluorocarbon leader. His Sunday kicker fish fell to a Jackall Squirrel 79 jerkbait in boney colour.

WINNING NOTES

Winning Tackle

Rod: Daiwa Generation Black Albino, Dusk Prototype Rod Reel: Daiwa Caldia 2508 Line: 8lb Daiwa TD Sensor Leader: 4lb or 6lb Gamma fluorocarbon Lure: ZMan Slim SwimZ on TT DemonZ jighead and jig spin, and Keitech Easy Shiner on DemonZ head

Kris Hickson finished 2nd at Boondooma to claim the Bassman BASS Pro AOY Boater title.

Evans back with a vengeance for it,” explained Evans. Saturday’s mega session saw Evans on the boat with eventual runner-up Kris Hickson. Evans is no slouch when it comes to the technique of ice-jigging, so when the ice-jigs came out Evans went to work. A double hook-up to kick start the afternoon charge was the best way to get on the board. “I’ve always loved fishing deep in South Burnett impoundments,” explained Evans. “Ice-jigging is something I’m really comfortable with, and it’s a great technique to get shutdown fish to bite when they’re holding tight to the bottom. Often I don’t even think they are really biting it out of a feeding reaction, more so that I’d just annoyed

BASS

Presente SERIES d by Aus tackle

them into biting by whizzing my ice-jig in front of their face repeatedly.” Going into Sunday, still shy of overnight leader Robbie Rayner’s and boating partner Simon Marchant’s whopping 5.65kg Saturday morning limit, Evans needed a solid day on the water. Paired with 2015 BASS Pro AOY champion Warren Carter, Evans stayed shallow the whole day. “I think we stayed in under 8ft of water all day,” said Evans. “Warren is a master at the jerkbait, and it was awesome to be on the boat with him working together to maximise our chances.” The pair caught a 1.81kg Boondooma giant, which was enough to propel Evans over the line, and

Winning Edge

McPaul located fish that were willing to bite, even though they weren’t the 2kg+ Boondooma bass that draw anglers from all over Australia. Light line, slow retrieves and methodical presentation were the cornerstones of McPaul’s successful technique.

relegate Robbie Rayner to second. “Weighing fish like that 1.81kg bass really makes you appreciate the work that the South Burnett put into these dams. Boondooma has got to be one of the best places to come and catch truly giant bass. It has it all, from deep bites to shallow edge bites and gnarly fishing in the timber. I’m really lucky to call this my local dam and really thankful to take the win.” Evans walked away with a prize bag bulging with products from ABT’s list of generous sponsors. He has secured himself a spot in the ABT BASS Pro Grand Final, which is at the other South Burnett fish hotspot, BjelkePeterson Dam, in September.

TOP 10 BOATERS

Austackle Big Bass

Tom Slater caught a gigantic 2.26kg bass on the first cast of the tournament. The fish fell to an OSP Asura jerkbait. “At 92.5mm, it’s very much a large bait for bass, but even small bass hit the lure with gusto,” Tom said. Tom pocketed $500 and an Austackle prize pack.

OSP Rookie Reward

Owen McPaul claimed the OSP Rookie Reward along with his win. Eligible anglers battle it out at every BassCat BASS Pro event for a chance to win a pack of OSP lures. At every tournament, eligible rookies accumulate points from the AOY tally towards the Edge Rods Rookie of the Year (ROY) award.

TOP 10 NON-BOATERS

Place

Angler

Fish

Weight (kg)

Payout

Place Angler

Fish

Weight (kg)

Payout

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Owen MCPAUL Kristoffer HICKSON Simon MARCHANT Shaun FALKENHAGEN Brian EVERINGHAM Joseph URQUHART Tom SLATER David YOUNG Matt JOHNSON Paul GILLESPIE

9/10 7/10 4/10 5/10 5/10 5/10 2/10 2/10 3/10 3/10

7.00 6.11 5.65 4.59 3.73 3.51 2.96 2.93 2.84 2.51

$2500 $1,400 $1000 $900 $700 $450 Big Bass $500

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

7/10 4/10 6/10 5/10 5/10 5/10 5/10 3/10 2/10 1/10

6.06 5.65 5.21 4.66 4.36 3.73 3.17 2.59 2.33 2.26

Bassman Prize Pack Samurai Prize Pack Spotters Prize Pack Spotters Prize Pack Berkley Prize Pack 13 Fishing Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack

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

Joshua EVANS Robbie RAYNER Paul ALDOUS Grayson FONG Shaun EGAN Brett HYDE Aimee THOMPSON James HOWARTH James REID Mark KING

For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au SEPTEMBER 2016

Crompton’s crab comeback CE 1ST PLA Mark Crompton is making a habit of winning on the Costa BREAM Series. The Wilton based BREAMer has claimed victory at the Atomic-presented Forster BREAM Qualifier. The victory marked his third in the space of 18 months, and has dominantly stamped his name into the ABT record books. Crompton is known on the BREAM Series as being one of the most prepared anglers, often going over and above the rest of the field. Crompton began his pre-fish driving through the system, looking at the racks he knew from previous trips to the arena. He used the lower tide to look around, and identify areas that had each type of oyster lease: trays, baskets and racks. Initially, Crompton retrieved hardbodies parallel to the leases but found that approach didn’t convert any of the fish he found. Confident he could figure out a way to get the fish in the racks to commit, Crompton elected to leave the leases, and head to the lake. Spending a few hours fishing the expansive flats of Wallis Lake, Crompton quickly worked out that the slightly deeper 8ft areas were more productive. Once the tide changed in the afternoon, Crompton committed to the oyster leases, with a plan to try and visually see fish in the cleaner water of the run-in tide, relying on his ability to get them to bite if he knew where they were. Crompton opted to start on a set of floating

THE FUTURE IS HERE Self-contained Electric Outboards

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888. 90

SEPTEMBER 2016

baskets early on the first tournament day, but was unsuccessful in converting any bites. Choosing to head to the flats of Wallis Lake, Crompton targeted the deeper areas he’d identified during pre-fish. This again proved unsuccessful, with only one undersize bream hitting the deck. With nothing in the well at 11am on Day 1, it wasn’t

trays and the fish would grab it as it drifted underneath.” The period from 11am until the session ended at 2pm continued to get better and better for Crompton, as he amassed a 5/5, 3.38kg limit. With the slow start to Day 1 firmly on his mind, Crompton opted to change tactics on Day 2 and start his day on the flats in Wallis Lake. This time, the lake was kind.

Mark Crompton was all smiles with his win at Forster. the start that Crompton was hoping for, but he wasn’t overly surprised. “You really only had two opportunities to get a lot of bites at Forster,” explained Crompton. “The first hour of the morning when all the spots were rested, and the last hour or so when the tide changed.” With this in mind, Crompton went to his confidence spot, a set of trays on the edge of a deeper 11ft channel, with washboards on the outside. It was here where Crompton began putting his winning tournament together. Pitching Cranka Crabs over the washboard and onto the tray, before quickly dragging the lure to the edge before it snagged. “I had to be on my game. As I stopped the crab it would almost drift backwards underneath the

Crompton caught two quality keepers and one smaller legal by the time he looked to head to the fruitful oyster trays. His technique on the flats was one he’d used many times before, alternating between a ZMan GrubZ, Juro Firebait and a Jackall Chubby. “I was so eager to get to the racks I actually left the lake a little early, my racks hadn’t gotten the change of tide yet so I ended up back in the lake.” The change yielded another quality keeper for Crompton and now the time and tide were right for him to launch his charge for the victory in the oyster leases of Forster. The last few hours saw Crompton fill his bag, and upgrade three times. His non-boating partner and event runner-up Shaun Egan also caught a few good keepers

using the same technique with the Cranka Crab. Crompton believed he had enough to ensure a quality finish, but never thought he had enough to take victory. “My fish on Day 2 were actually shorter than on Day 1, so I thought I might have had maybe 3.2kg, I was blown away when the scales tipped 3.5.” Crompton put this extra weight down to the inclusion of a number of fish from Wallis Lake in his day 2 bag, believing the fish from the lake weighed heavier than the fish from the oyster leases. “The fish in the lake were heavier, but were hard to come by. I could catch numbers in the racks on the change of tide.” Crompton sought advice from Forster and rack-fishing expert Kris Hickson before the event on what equipment to use, and it was his newly purchased outfits that did the damage over the weekend. A Daiwa Generation Black Swamp Donkey, paired with a Daiwa Freams 2500 was Crompton’s outfit of choice, spooled with 8lb Daiwa J-Braid and a 10lb Sunline FC Rock fluorocarbon leader. “It was really white knuckle fishing, with no time for nets. Just pull them out from the tray and swing them over the washboard,” said Crompton. “At one stage I had one coming in so fast I had to move like a slips fielder to catch it in mid-air before it flew over the boat.” Crompton took home $2500 for the event victory, and has cemented his position as one of Australia’s best BREAM anglers. The 2016 Costa BREAM Grand Final is on his home waterway of St Georges Basin, and he’s definitely one to watch when the big show hits the water in early December.

Babekuhl runs and guns for second spot CE 2ND PLA Russell Babekuhl is always a favourite going into any event at Forster, and he again proved why he is one of the best when it comes to extracting fish from oyster leases. His 10/10, 6.81kg limit looked to be safe for the victory until Crompton’s bag exceeded expectations. Babekuhl went into the event knowing the majority of the session would be a struggle. “I knew I’d get the majority of my bites in the last two hours of the session.” Babekuhl chose to

start both tournament days fishing the washboards of the paddock, and managed to get an early keeper before the heavy fishing pressure shut down the bite at the front of the system. His game plan from here was running and gunning, as he targeted the outside poles of oyster leases everywhere from the paddock, to the top of Wallis Island and across to the Wallamba River. “I found most of the fish this weekend holding on the outside poles of the racks, rather than the racks themselves, so I focused on these all weekend and didn’t waste too much time fishing the actual racks.” The key to Babekuhl’s pattern was his intricate knowledge of the waterway, identifying areas that were too shallow for most competitors to bother

looking at. Babekuhl knew these areas would get neglected, and that they would offer him a well rested area once the tide had risen enough to be able to access the area. “I purposefully saved 2-3 shallow weedy areas that had scattered poles. These poles were only deep enough in the last hour of each session and I knew that no one else would bother looking at them,” said Babekuhl. On Saturday, these areas produced three fish over the magic 30cm mark, and a 33cm along with a 37cm kicker on Sunday. On Sunday, Babekuhl added another piece of knowledge to his pattern. He identified where the shags or other birds gathered on top of the poles as being where the fishing heated up.

Russell Babekuhl was as consistent as ever at Forster, claiming another podium finish. Babekuhl keeps it fairly simple when fishing the racks of Forster, opting for

Walker repeats outstanding win -BOATER 1ST NON Stuart Walker is making a habit of winning ABT events from the back of the boat. With 2 victories already in 2016, Stuart Walker is making a charge at the Power-Pole AOY, attempting to run down Grayson Fong who currently leads the race. Walker’s 9/10, 5.69kg limit was more than enough to edge out last year’s Grand Final champion Shaun Egan. Walker started his weekend pre-fishing with Grant Kime, where he quickly found his go-to bait for the weekend, the ever faithful ZMan GrubZ 2.5” in motor oil. “I tried probably eight or so different lures out on the flats of Wallis Lake, but the ZMan GrubZ definitely got the most attention of anything I tied on,” said Walker. Day 1 saw Walker paired with Mark Brown,

and again he targeted the flats of the lake. “We’d start a drift in around 15ft of water, and drift up the gradual rise until the boat was in 4ft,” explained Walker. The bottom composition was one of mixed weed and sand, with fish sporadically moving through the area. “I’d cast out the ZMan GrubZ and allow it to hit the bottom, then it was a matter of slowly hopping the bait off the bottom, working the lure through the weed patches waiting for the bite.” His Day 1 bag of 3.27kg was one of only two 3kg bags in the non-boater division, and put him in the hot seat heading into Day 2. Sunday had Walker paired with Tim Vickers, and the plan was for much of the same from Day 1. Although they had a brief stop in the paddock to start the session, the bulk of their day was spent on Wallis Lake. “I actually had the four fish I weighed in on Sunday by 10:30, it was a real grind after that and I think the fishing pressure had gotten

to the fish in the lake. We pushed it to the last minute and Tim was rewarded with a nice fish off a rack pole with only a couple of

this position, including his workplace, Construction Control, Otto’s TW, Kris Hickson from Manning River Marine, his lovely

bait on a 3-6kg Abu Salty Stage rod, paired with an Abu MGX spin reel in a 30 size. Babekuhl’s line choices altered throughout the weekend, though his mainline always remained as 8lb Berkley Nanofil. “I started each day with 10lb leader, but ended each day using 6lb and even 4lb leaders to get fish to bite. It was uncharacteristically tough for Forster, and the lighter leaders helped me get more bites.” Although Babekuhl doesn’t fish as many tournaments as he has in previous years, he’s still one of Australia’s best and he’s got the fire in the belly to hold a winner’s cheque above his ahead again soon.

WINNING NOTES

Winning Tackle

Rod: Daiwa Generation Black Swamp Donkey Line: Daiwa J-Braid 8lb Leader: Sunline FC Rock 10lb Reel: Daiwa Freams 2500 Lure: Cranka Crab (Heavy) any colour Crompton put his victory down to having faith that the incoming tide would bring with it more obliging bream. “It was the last hour of both sessions that made this tournament for me, I was lucky to get a few key fish in the lake early on Day 2, so I wasn’t under pressure to catch five giants from the trays.”

OSP Rookie Award

ABT newcomer Isaac Golby claimed the OSP Rookie Award, courtesy of FishTec Solutions. Anglers are eligible for the award when they fish their first season of ABT competition, and are rewarded with a generous prize pack worth $160 of top quality OSP product. Golby’s 8/10, 3.99kg limit was enough to also garner him 4th place in the event, banking a pack full of valuable prizes.

Stuart Walker with a pair of bream from his non-boater winning bag. minutes to go.” Walker favoured a newly purchased Daiwa Silverwolf outfit, spooled with Daiwa Evo8 braid and 4lb Sunline Bream Special fluorocarbon leader. Full of praise, Walker was quick to thank everyone that had helped him get to

Austackle Big Bream

partner Mel and the generous sponsorship of Atomic and Frogley’s Offshore as the event naming sponsor. With two wins to his name in this year’s Costa BREAM Series, Walker is a red-hot favourite for the Power-Pole AOY and the Grand Final come December.

The Austackle Big Bream was actually shared during the Atomic Forster BREAM Qualifier. Paul Mazarolli and Jason Harlock both caught 1.24kg kicker fish. They shared the $500 Austackle cheque and both took home an assortment of sponsor product. Forster is known for big bream, and there were numerous specimens over a kilo weighed throughout the two-day event.

TOP 10 NON-BOATERS

Place Angler

Total Fish Weight (Kg)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 9/10 8/10 10/10

6.88 6.81 6.49 6.36 6.03 5.45 5.19 4.99 4.91 4.85

Atomic

Winning Edge

TOP 10 BOATERS

Mark CROMPTON Russell BABEKUHL Mark HEALEY Kristoffer HICKSON Grant MANUSU Shayne GILLETT Brian EVERINGHAM Tim VICKERS Ross CANNIZZARO Daniel BROWN

a 2” Gulp Crabby in camo rigged on a 1/40oz #4 Nitro jighead. He delivered the

BREAM Presente SERIES d by

Payout

2500 1150 + 1st MB (250) 1000 800 + 2nd MB (150) 650 + YB (300) 550 500 + 3rd MB (100) 450 400

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

Place Angler

Total Fish

Weight (Kg)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

9/10 8/10 6/10 8/10 7/10 6/10 6/10 6/10 4/10 5/10

5.69 4.98 4.24 3.99 3.82 3.69 3.19 3.01 2.90 2.75

Stuart WALKER Shaun EGAN Paul MAZAROLI Isaac GOLBY Simon JOHNSON Shaun CHAPMAN Rebecca FAZIO Russell WINTERS Andrew HARTCHER Jonathan THOMPSON

Payout Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack

For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au SEPTEMBER 2016

West hits the wall to take win Gold Coast plumber Trent West has claimed victory in the Hinze round of the 2016 Bluefin/ePropulsion BASS Electric Series. Fishing within sight of the lake’s dam wall, and adjacent to the dam quarry, West called on his extensive prefish experience on the lake to pinpoint where the fish would be holding. “I fished the place hard for the two months leading into the event, so I was confident I knew where the fish would be positioned,” explained West. West’s thinking was spot on, and after a short 15-minute run thanks to his ePropulsion, he was at his first spot, a flooded grass bank, and soon casting. He didn’t have to wait long to get in on the action and he soon had two fish in the well.

THE FUTURE IS HERE Self-contained Electric Outboards

to Hinze. He started his day fishing the flooded timber and lilies at Ians Island with a combination of a spinnerbait, and a Molik Supernato, a weedless crankbait. “We got bites at Ians, but we just couldn’t make them stick,” explained Graham. With nothing to show for spot one, Dodds moved, this time heading to two points close to Bass Bay. Leaving the Molik on the deck of the boat, and solely throwing his spinnerbait, a 3/8oz Kingston Fry in a natural green colour, Dodds soon found the bites he was looking for, where he and his fishing partner quickly put four fish in the boat. “Fishing the edges might not produce as many fish as fishing out deep, but they’re generally better quality. I

Trent West dominated at Hinze to claim his maiden BASS Electric win. St Clair beckons for the next round of the 2016 Bluefin/ePropulsion BASS Electric Series. For all the

event and series information visit www.abt.org.au, or ABT’s Facebook page www. facebook.com/ABTFishing.

WINNING NOTES Cool, calm, and still conditions awaited anglers at round five of the 2016 BASS Electric Series.

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888. 92

SEPTEMBER 2016

“The fish were sitting in the flooded grass and a 3” Keitech Easy Shiner worked tight to the grass was enough to tempt them,” explained West. With the sun getting higher in the sky and the light intensity increasing, West’s shallow grass fish moved deep and West followed suit. “I moved around and fished a couple of other spots, such as the old car park, then eventually moved to a collection of trees that the grass fish tend to move to throughout the day,” explained West. West’s thinking was on the money, and later in the session he picked up an all-important upgrade, replacing a 38cm model for a 43. West’s technique on the trees was textbook, vertical grubbing for bass. He would drop a ZMan GrubZ to the bottom, then slow roll it straight back up to the surface. “It can be slow and tedious, but it works, and the upgrade that I got doing it ultimately was the fish that gave me the weight to win,” explained West. DODDS DINES OUT BASS Electric stalwart Graham Dodds once again showed he’s always an angler to watch when the tour travels

like to cover plenty of water and when I find a couple of fish, I like to slow down and work that area thoroughly,” explained Dodds. Dodd’s technique with the spinnerbait involved throwing it super tight to the edge in all the cover, then slowly rolling it back through the flooded vegetation and hopefully into the path of a waiting fish. A quiet period dominated throughout the day after Dodds’ initial early flurry, and it wasn’t until late in the session that he caught a vital upgrade. Caught once again on a Kingston spinnerbait, it brought him the additional weight needed to move him onto the winner’s dais.

Winning Tackle

Rod: 7’ N.S Ones Reel: 2004 Daiwa Certate Line: 8lb Daiwa JBraid Leader: 8lb Sunline FC Rock fluorocarbon Lure: 3” Keitech Easy Shiner in violet colour rigged on a 1/4 jighead, 2.5” ZMan GrubZ in gudgeon colour

Winning Edge

West’s extensive prefish on the waterway was the key to his victory. Knowing exactly where the fish were located, where they would move to throughout the day, and what they were best caught on was essential to his win.

Big Bass

Graham Dodds secured the Big Bass Prize at Hinze with the event runner-up, catching the prize winning fish at 8:30am on a Kingston Small Fry spinnerbait in natural green colour.

RESULTS

Place

Name

TW (kg)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Trent West Graham Dodds David Young Paul Philips Dean Thompson Nick Gooding Jeremy McConnell Callum Tewes Les Smith Jesper Noiesen

2/2 2/2 2/2 2/2 2/2 2/2 2/2 2/2 2/2 2/2

2.06 2.02 2.02 2 1.92 1.86 1.84 1.8 1.73 1.71

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

Big Bass (kg) 1.19

S TRIC SERIE C E L E S S BA Charles ‘Westy’ West has made back-to-back wins on Lake Moogerah after a wet and windy weekend in Southeast Queensland. The Ipswich angler caught only one fish, however it was big enough to relegate Dean Thomson to 2nd place. The event was reduced to a single session on Sunday, after torrential rain washed out the banks of Moogerah on Saturday. Come Sunday morning the clouds were blown away, with blue sky overhead but almost gale-force winds ripping across the dam. Sixteen keen anglers braved the conditions, yet only four managed to catch legalsized bass. Traditionally, the boats used in BASS Electric competitions are small, which makes them more suitable to being propelled by small thrust electric motors. These small boats were tested at Moogerah, with swells on the dam making travelling difficult and occasionally very wet, with numerous tales of swells breaking over the bow of smaller vessels.

West goes back-to-back the day-use boat ramp. “I went absolutely crazy after I got the fish in the boat,” said West. “We’d struggled through the entire session, after having some good success on Friday. When I hooked that fish I initially thought it was a yellowbelly due to some

on the front of a 3” Berkley Gulp Grub in pumpkinseed colour. He employed a slow roll retreive to get the big bass to bite. “I’d make a long, wind assisted cast, then count the lure down 10 seconds before commencing the slow roll,” said West.

Charles West made it back-to-back wins at Moogerah.

Dean Thomson worked hard in the tough conditions to stay on the fish and claim 2nd place.

Chris Osley braved the conditions to take out 3rd place. West waited until the last minutes to capture the fish that would seal him back-toback victories on Moogerah, and he did it in style, hooking the winning fish with only 10 minutes to go in front of the rest of the field just out from

to hold him through two tournament sessions. “Friday was pretty successful for me, I found fish in three different areas. I then tried to eliminate the areas I thought were getting too much pressure.” After settling on one area, West and fishing partner Adrian

Wilson decided to check out the area on Saturday afternoon. “We couldn’t avoid the fish on Friday or Saturday afternoon,” said West. However, those fish were nowhere to be found come tournament Sunday, and the pair fished almost the whole session on the flat that had been full of fish the previous two days for no result. With half an hour of the session to go, the pair drifted from the area they’d focused on, down to the day-use boat ramp area. “We still weren’t marking any fish coming through on the sounder, but you’re not going to catch fish without a lure in the water,” said West. Turning to one of his favourite shutdown bite bass lures, West tied on a 1/2oz jighead, and stuck it

West fished the Grub on 5lb Gamma Touch fluorocarbon straight through, spooled on a Daiwa Luvias 2004. His rod of choice was a 13 Fishing MUSE Gold 72ML. West has now won back-to-back BASS Electric events at Moogerah Dam, and will be one to watch at the Bluefin Boats/ ePropulsion BASS Electric Convention, which will be held at Maroon Dam later in 2016. THOMSON SPOON FEEDS BASS FOR SECOND PLACE Dean Thomson found himself in second place after West’s last minute heroics. Fittingly, Thomson caught his bass on a Nories Wasaby Spoon, after ABT published an article with insights from Thomson

on how to effectively use these newly found baits for Australian bass. Thomson wasn’t immune from the inclement weather, suffering a few litres of Moogerah Dam over the bow of his new boat on numerous occasions. “At some stages I had more water coming into the boat than going out of the boat through my bilge pump,” said Thomson. Sticking it out in the windy conditions of the popular Ski Club Point, Thomson had no lack of fish activity on his sounder. Getting them to bite however was very tricky. Normally preferring the 12g Nories Wasaby spoon, Thomson downsized

to the 8g version, hoping the slightly slower fall and smaller profile might trigger a few extra bites. With two undersize bass hitting the deck, a few missed bites and one 1.5kg keeper, Thomson was just shy of notching his first BASS Electric victory. Thomson threw the Wasaby Spoon on a matching Nories Structure spin rod, paired with 10lb Yamatoyo Resin Sheller PE and 8lb Yamatoyo fluorocarbon leader. The top four anglers that caught fish have qualified for the season ending Bluefin Boats/ePropulsion BASS Electric Convention to be held at Maroon Dam in October.

massive headshakes. When we saw it surface Adrian had to calm me down.” With the tournament originally scheduled to be a two-day event, West prefished the lake on Friday hoping to find something

RESULTS Place Angler

Fish Weight

1 2 3 4

1 1 1 1

Charles West Dean Thomson Chris Osley Les Smith

1.93kg 1.19kg 1.04kg 0.96kg

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

Les Smith finished in 4th place, qualifying for the BASS Electric Convention. SEPTEMBER 2016

yak Hobie Ka ries Se BREAteMd by Daiwa Presen

Round 10 of the National Hobie Kayak Series kicked off from the River Resort in Mandurah, with cold but near perfect conditions. Many options were available – the option to head upriver and fish the vast assortment of snags and odd flat, or to make the trek downstream to target pontoons, jetties and the various canals. For the keen yakker, there was the 6km+ pedal to access the Serpentine River if the Murray was not to their liking.

Hobie Series Round 10 in Mandurah He added another 1.555kg to take the win and earn a spot in the 2016 Hobie Australian Kayak Grand Final, to be held in Queensland. When asked about the weekend Joseph replied, “Day one was pretty good, as per normal I like to try and get away from the crowds a little, so I was planning on heading downstream and making my way to the Serpentine River. On the way, I was hitting as many of the boats, sheds and pontoons as I could. I picked up some good bites, which gave me a pretty nice bag. I changed plans, and

Jesse Choy and Massimo Salomone fished together to keep on top of the bream. With three stitches and a sliced thumb, 2015 Kayak Angler of the Year, Joseph Gardner continued his outstanding form by weighing in two full bags of three bream for the total weight of 3.835kg. Joseph weighed in 2.280kg on day one and carried an overnight lead of 400g into day two.

decided to keep working the jetties and pontoons as much as I could. “Day two was thrown into chaos, with my sliced thumb and stitches from the day one pack up, but apart from the inconvenience and a bit of pain, I was right to go. I was the only one to head down river and straight

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888. 94

SEPTEMBER 2016

back to the pontoons and jetties that served me so well on day one. I was throwing unweighted Ecogear Bream Prawns deep and as tight to cover as I could. I would let them sink a little, and if I didn’t get a bite in the first metre, I would crank it back and go again. “Yesterday I didn’t lose any fish, but today I lost three good ones, including one on the first cast that would’ve taken my big bream from yesterday, but the next three casts resulted in my bag and I slowly upgraded throughout the day. To still weigh in a full bag, I am pretty happy, especially considering the thumb.” A lot of ears pricked up when Joseph was asked what his technique and favourite colours were, and he replied, “The colours that I like to use are the salt and pepper, and also the mustard, with the inclusion of a lathering of the Ecogear UV liquid”. Joseph also took out the Big Bream with a nice 900g fish that played the game nice and clean. It took the Bream Prawn on the drop, charged straight out into the middle of the river and pretty much straight into the net. Joseph presented his Bream Prawns on his Daiwa Air Edge rods, matched with Daiwa Luvias 2500 reels. These were loaded with Yamatoyo PE 0.6 8X Jigging braid. At the business end was Yamatoyo Harris Fighter in 4lb. Joseph also thanked all of the tournament sponsors as well as his sponsor JML Anglers Alliance, for their support over the last two seasons. They provide him with some quality lures that obviously work a treat in our local waters. In second place, and also earning a berth in the 2016 Australian Hobie Kayak Grand final, was Jesse Choy, weighing in five bream for 3.145kg. When asked about his weekend, Jesse replied, “I fish a lot with Massimo. We decided to head upstream and try different lures from each other, and share what was working or what pattern we could see forming. It was a good idea as we both picked a couple up early before venturing further up. When Massimo pinned his anchor fish, I pushed on and filled my bag with a nice bunch of mid 30s. “On day two we just ventured straight back to where we left off, and fished the same ground. We pushed further upriver than on day one. I picked up two keepers early, but going 32 and 36. I was pretty happy with the start but after that it was a real grind and I found the bite very timid. I dropped a few nice fish and just couldn’t get the hooks to stick. We

also took a bit of time out to help retrieve some gear for one of the guys who went overboard while fighting a fish. It was freezing in the wind, so to see him get back ok was a relief. “A big congrats to Joseph as well, he’s been going from strength to strength for a couple of years now, and is a very deserved winner. I’m definitely looking forward to hooking up with Joseph, Greg Cooper, Barry Brownrigg and Robert Sgambelluri for the trek to the Grand Final. A big thanks to the WAFM guys for putting on the event, as well as all the sponsors of the series, and then last but certainly not least, Rob

Joseph took out the Big Bream as well as first place in the Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 10. looked pretty healthy and swam away nicely, after a few hours in the livewell. So

Massimo stayed at third place, and made sure his anchor fish was live and healthy. from Searing Tackle for all the support throughout the season. “All of my fish came on the 2.25” Pontoon 21 Pillo Grub or the 4.5” Flash J Grub by Fish Arrow, in the Yuriage chartreuse or silver colour. I was casting deep and tight, doing a slow retrieve with a few hops thrown in, using a 1/40oz jighead.” Jesse used Shimano Zodias and NS Blackhole Avenger rods, both matched to Shimano Sustain 1000 reels. Each reel was loaded with Famell PE 0.6, with Nitlon 4lb and 5lb leaders. In third place, Massimo Salomone weighed in six bream for 2.725kg. Jesse and Massimo’s plan obviously worked, picking up second and third for the weekend. When asked how the weekend had gone, Massimo replied, “It was good fun. Day one was a bit better than today though, and we caught some good fish with a few upgrades. I had the drama of my anchor fish looking a bit unhealthy, so I stopped and swam him for a while on the side of the river and seriously considered releasing him. All of my fish came on the same plastics as Jesse, except my anchor fish. He took a Duo Spearhead Ryuki 65 on the first of about four casts and swallowed it down deep. In the end, he

I was glad I didn’t have to try and find a replacement for him or that could have spelt disaster. “Day two was a fair bit harder like Jesse mentioned. I picked up my three keepers and that was it for the day, no upgrades or anything. So to move up one spot yesterday and take third was a pretty good result in the end”. Massimo fished Daiwa Black Label Gen 1 rods, matched to Shimano Stradic FK reels. One reel was loaded with Sunline Super PE, while the other was 4lb FC Sniper Hard Flourocarbon fished straight through. His leader of choice was Yamatoyo Harris Fighter in 4lb. Massimo also thanked the organisers for putting on a fantastic event, the chef for the bacon and egg sandwiches and all the sponsors that make the series what it is.

In fourth place was Tim Stylianou, weighing in five bream for 2.520kg. He said, “Day one was certainly better than day two. On the first day I would have caught ten legals, but day two I struggled. My first stop had two baitfishers who said they’d caught about eight bream over 30, so I pushed on and picked up one, first cast. I got another not long after, but that was it for the day – one half take and nothing else. I was using 2.5” ZMan GrubZ in various colours, but found bloodworm to work the best. Thanks to all the sponsors for supporting the series, and of course all the other anglers for making the effort. Also a shout out to Nordy from Hurricane lures, for all his support”. In fifth place and in his first ever tournament was Dayne Ferry, catching four bream for 2.400kg. Not only was Dayne fishing his first bream competition, but he also took possession of his yak at 5pm the night before. Being up until midnight, fitting the new yak out before he has to rise and face his first bream competition, with four hours’ sleep, is a pretty spectacular effort. Dayne said, “Day one was a lot of fun. I tried to find an early pattern and bagged out fishing pretty deep with ZMan 2.5” GrubZ in motor oil colour, rigged on Razoredge 1/24oz jigheads. Day two was a lot harder. I got dusted a couple of times, which was disappointing, but then I picked up one nice fish on a random bank in the last hour. His 850g certainly helped my cause.” – Hobie Fishing

RESULTS Place..... Angler.......................... TF............ TW.(kg) 1............ Joseph Gardener ........ 3/3 .......... 3.835 2............ Jesse Choy ................. 3/3 .......... 3.145 3............ Massimo Salomone .... 3/3 .......... 2.725 4............ Tim Stylinou ................ 3/3 .......... 2.520 5............ Dayne Ferry ................. 3/3 .......... 2.400 6............ Shane Owens .............. 3/3 .......... 2.055 7............ Andy Mitchell .............. 3/3 .......... 1.975 8............ Shaun Moran............... 1/3 .......... 1.740 9............ Alex Greisdorf ............. 2/3 .......... 1.640 10.......... Robert Sgambelleuri ... 3/3 .......... 1.615

yak Hobie Ka ries Se BREAteMd by Daiwa Presen

On July 23-24, 53 anglers from New South Wales, ACT, Queensland and Victoria, gathered to take part in Round 11 of the 2016 Hobie Kayak Bream Series, presented by Daiwa. They descended on the Yamatoyo Event Arena, at Rafferty’s Resort in Lake Macquarie. After forecasts of winds over 50km/h, the competition was reduced to a one day event, in the interest of safety and the wellbeing of competing anglers. It was a difficult call, but the right decision. Winds howled across the lake from the northwest early in the morning, peaking at 52km/h by midday. With the winds mostly

Cliff hooks the big prize at Macquarie place on the podium, with 4/4 for 2.23kg. Tournament winner Nathan Cliff gave a brief outline of how his day on Lake Macquarie won him the

year. I only caught one fish then, so to get a full bag and take out second place is an amazing improvement on that. It was worth the long drive up”.

These anglers made an impressive run after tough weather. These events are a load of fun. Anglers travelled a long way for a good time.

The ‘round of the year’ was held at Wallis Lake in NSW, 27-28 August.

Nathan Cliff snared the major prize, and a hefty sponsor prize pack. His four bream bag weighed in at 2.72kg. blown out on Saturday, day two brought considerably better conditions – early morning clear blue skies, a frosty temperature ranging from 8-12°C and a relatively light breeze blowing at 16-20km/h. The hopeful anglers pedalled off from the Power-Pole starting line, on Sunday morning, charged and ready to make up for the missed day of competition. After a solid day’s work fishing on Lake Macquarie, bags were removed from the Berkley Bump Tub and taken to the scales for weigh-in. On a day when anglers needed to muster every ounce of skill in their kit, Nathan Cliff from New South Wales snared the major prize of $1490, and a hefty sponsor prize pack. His 4/4 bream bag weighed in at 2.72kg. Second place went to Tony Pettie with 4/4 bream at 2.52kg, and Michael Halliday from Queensland took the final

top prize in the tournament. “I just started out shallow cranking along a shore line of Crangan Bay, south of Cams Wharf. I was focusing on the windblown shores and found a patch of fish, so I just stayed there. I lost my go to lure on a flathead, so I switched out to another lure with purple in it, and then later to a black Pro Lure. This was my second Hobie event – I fished one about a year ago at St Georges Basin and didn’t do too well, so it was really good to do well here”. The winning tackle was a 13 Fishing Omen Black 7’1” rod and a 6’10”, Yamatoyo 3lb Spinning Fluruo line and a Diztek FB 35 lure. Pettie was asked how he felt after taking out second position in the tournament. “The last time I was up here and fished Lake Mac, was the Australian Championship late last

The Mortgage Corp Monster Mover, picnic hamper and backpack, went to Chesney Fung from Victoria. Usually

awarded to the angler who moves the most places up the leaderboard, on the second day of a two-day competition, the prize was handed to Fung for moving himself the furthest distance to fish the event. BIGGEST FISH Luke Kay bagged the tournament’s biggest

fish, which weighed in at 1.03kg. He took home the Hog’s Breath Cafe Boss Hog Big Bream cheque. He used a G Loomis GL2 2-6lb rod with a Shimano Sustain 1000 reel, Berkley Exceed 4lb line, FC Rock 3lb leader and a Pro Lure Oil Grub rigged with a 1/12oz jighead.

The Rhino-Rack round was held at the Gold Coast on Sunday August 7.

OTHER EVENTS The re-scheduled RhinoRack round was held at the Gold Coast on Sunday August 7, followed by the ‘round of the year’ at Wallis Lake in NSW, 27-28 August. The Hogs Breath Cafe Round 12 is the final qualifying event for the selection of the Australian team. The team will compete in the Hobie Fishing World Championship, in Louisiana USA this December. If you hope to upgrade your current point score, or lock in your necessary third qualifying round, you’ve got to be there. It’s going to be massive. SPECIAL THANKS Like all of the events in the Hobie Kayak Fishing Series, this round could not have gone ahead without the great support of our generous sponsors: Daiwa, Berkley, Atomic, Lowance, RhinoRack, Strike Pro, TT Lures, Yamatoyo, Ecogear, PowerPole, Mortgage Corp, Hog’s Breath Café and ABT. Thanks also to the team from Hunter Water Sports for providing Hobie dealer support. SEPTEMBER 2016

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boats & kayaks

In the skipper’s seat 102 Time and tides Inside story...

As part of the Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Marine family, Nitro takes decades of innovations, quality and performance and weaves them into every model to produce a lineup of performance fishing boats that are loaded with value. From the time you select which Nitro is right for you, you have the backing of a solid, stable industry leader.

Made for...

Nitro boats are a huge hit with tournament anglers, but they’re also a great choice for regular anglers thanks to the fact that they’re purpose-built for fishing, easy to launch, comfortable and look awesome!

This month...

We’re sussing out a Nitro Z18 that’s been tricked up for the ultimate fishing experience.

Justin Willmer reveals how to crack the yakking code of fishing the flats, drains and channel edges.

104 Buying a new or used boat

There are some great bargains out there – if you know what to look for.

106 Bar crossing

Crossing a bar is something you really don’t want to stuff up! Here’s how to do it safely.

110 Nitro Z18

Steve Morgan has a blast testing a Nitro Z18 that’s been tricked up by a keen angler.

112 Horizon 515 Sea Breeze

Horizon say their 515 bowrider is the best of both worlds. Steve Morgan put this claim to the test.

Feelin’ okay at O’Sheas DALBY

Olivia McKenna

O’Sheas Crossing is located about 80km from Brisbane on Cooeeimbardi Road along the Brisbane River, and is a crossing over the upper Brisbane River above Lake Wivenhoe. This great little spot is ideal for families and keen kayak anglers alike, with many species and a huge area

The majority of the catch caught while kayak fishing is Australian bass and golden perch or yellowbelly. The crossing is located between Wivenhoe and Somerset Dams, which are both predominately stocked with bass and yellowbelly to keep the population thriving. Many other species can be caught also such as the lungfish, catfish and tilapia. Tilapia are a noxious species and need to be disposed of

O’Sheas has a nice shaded area for picnics and parking vehicles, and the land leading up to the water’s edge is easily accessible and great for launching kayaks. Fishing from the bank can be very productive and ideal for the kids. There are a number of places to camp close by, including Somerset Park, which is located about 4km from the crossing. Accommodation can also be found at the township

Shane caught this nice yella in a deep hole out from O’Sheas Crossing.

O’Sheas can dish up some chunky yellowbelly on the right day. of easily accessible water. O’Sheas has a large variety of native and introduced fish species.

immediately and correctly if caught. Tilapia disposal information can be found online.

of Esk, approximately 20km away. This stretch of river is fairly deep for the most part and can be fished for kilometres in both directions. However, you do not have to paddle far to have fun, as the bridge pylons hold high numbers

of fish. Jigging blades and casting deep diving lures around the pylons is a sure fire way to hook up onto some big natives. Once you find the fish holding tight to the bridge, hang on, because they will keep biting and these resident fish are big. There’s more to the crossing than just the bridge, and deep water and steep banks with rocky sections, sunken and standing timber can be found all the way along the Brisbane River stretch and also the adjoining Stanley River. A sounder can be very helpful to find schools holding in the deeper water. These deep water fish can be enticed by trolling, casting or jigging lures through the schools. Trying all techniques until you find what the fish are biting on is the key

to success. Early mornings seem to be when the fish are most active, but big bite sessions often go on throughout the day. If you do not have a sounder, don’t worry, trolling lures is an efficient

on your ship, you can venture a long way and find some great spots with big numbers of fat hungry bass and yellowbelly. Lungfish are a common by-catch in the area and will surprise you with a big

Trolling lures is a great way to find fish if you don’t have a sounder on your kayak.

Chris recently got in on the action with this nice yellowbelly. 100

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Plenty of timbered areas make for some fantastic fishing.

way to find fish. Trolling a shallow lure and a deep lure will help find where in the water column the fish are sitting. The golden perch around O’Sheas are huge and very territorial; the sunken and standing timber is a good place to cast spinnerbaits and hardbodies looking for these brutes. Be ready, because they love a good fight. If you are up for a seriously good paddle, or you have an electric motor

blow of water and air when they rise to the surface, so be sure to put these big guys back quickly without doing too much harm. Tilapia will readily take lures too, and pull hard, but remember to dispose of them correctly. This is a wonderful part of the country not only for fishing, but also to take in the scenery. The farmland and beautiful water clarity will make for a great atmosphere to kick back and enjoy the day on the water.

The perfect boats The perfect boats for barra, bass or bream for barra, bass or bream

Fishing with Nitro is a blast! Whether you’re a tournament pro or a weekend warrior, Nitro boats will ignite your passion and pack more fun into your day. Just getting there is half the fun! For more than 20 years, Nitro have continually refined and delivered serious fishing boats for serious anglers.

The world’s #1 aluminium fishing boats! Tracker’s outstanding quality and unique manufacturing process have made them the world’s largest boat builder – producing more than 40,000 aluminium fishing boats per year. Their foam-filled, unsinkable, 3mm plate alloy hulls are robotically welded to deliver superior quality at a lower cost – and are backed by a Limited Lifetime Warranty.

Nitro boats are foam-filled to exceed US Coast Guard survey requirements. This gives you the safety of level floatation, security and comfort – and additional fishing stealth – all backed by a Limited Lifetime Warranty.

Tracker’s Pro Guide series is designed with a deep-vee hull for exceptional performance, even in rough waters. Their Diamond Coat finish is a Tracker exclusive that resists oxidation, providing protection and a shine lasting 70% longer. Standard features include a Minn Kota trolling motor and Lowrance colour sounder, plus tournament-ready live well systems and rod lockers.

Call Tim Stessl now on 0429 680 504 to arrange a test drive or em:tim@flboats.com.au Hopefully it will be rough, as you’ll be stunned by the performance of these boats when the weather gets challenging! Fishing and Leisure Boats, 167 Currumburra Road, Ashmore, QLD 4214

www.fishingandleisureboats.com.au

see NITRO boat test on page 110

Teaming up with time and tides BRISBANE

Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

Over the years I have had the pleasure of introducing many a keen angler to the sport of kayak fishing, helping them to get their head around handling the kayak, working with the wind and tides, anchoring techniques, using lures and most importantly, having a plan for the session. Recently, my cousin Alex has been getting out in the kayak a bit and he has started to crack the flathead code, so we planned a session chasing flathead on the second half of the run-out tide. More importantly, we planned to explore the higher stages of the tide where fish

I made a point of talking to Alex about what I look for when I’m fishing the flats. Many rivers, creeks, estuaries and other systems are loaded with banks and flats that are completely dry at low tide, and flood during the incoming tide. The rising water allows fish to access the crabs, yabbies, pipis, cockles and other food items that call these areas home, along with prawns and baitfish seeking safety in the shallower water. The feeding frenzy can be spectacular at times! The water was crystal clear thanks to the westerly winds, and this assisted with breaking down the flat. On the up current end of the flat, we had a small patch of rock and a sand bank, both of which created visible

the water dropped a few feet, and I even noticed a school of undersized bream holding in one depression. From here, the flat was a mix of sand, rubble and broken weed beds. I opted to drift the flat and investigate further, while Alex deployed his anchor, positioning the kayak within casting distance of the eddies and on the edge of one of the depressions. Both of these techniques are effective. I was covering ground and looking for fish, structure and bait movement, while Alex was positioned near the prime structure on the flat waiting for schools of fish travelling through with the tide. My initial thoughts were that bream would be the target species, however

bream and flathead and a bite off occurs, try speeding up your retrieve a little, with a continual wind and plenty of twitches. This will often see fish hooked in the jaw hinge and front of the mouth, rather than taking the plastic deeper and biting you off. Fish on! I was soon unhooking a tailor, followed by another, and then three in three casts! Although they weren’t big fish, they were still great fun from the yak, especially on light spin gear. Over the next couple of hours we landed 23 tailor, two flathead and a bream. The lure of choice was a 2.5”paddle-tail rigged on a 1/4oz 1/0 finesse jighead. When the fishing slowed we simply moved to a different section of the flat in search of bait and actively feeding fish. As the water level changes on the flats, the bait and fish will move, so if it slows down, try a series of short moves until you find more active water.

Don’t forget your fish measure and an understanding of local rules and regulations. THE DRAIN As the water level dropped on the flat, we knew that bait

Often there is minimal current running out of these drains and you can start at

Sometimes it’s not even about the fishing. Alex at anchor enjoying the glassy conditions. can be harder to come by. The plan was to launch on the last hour of run-in and hitch a ride with the incoming tide to our first spot, where we would target a section of flats on the first couple of hours of run-out. From there we would travel across the tide and down current to work an awesome looking flathead drain that I had made note of the day before. We would then wrap things up by drifting with the last two hours of the run-out, positioning the kayak a cast distance from the bank and hopping plastics down the drop off. We had made our plan based around the tide and involving three different types of environments and structure, all of which would potentially hold fish and in turn maximise our chances of catching fish as at least one area should fire. THE FLATS I speak to plenty of anglers who struggle to catch fish when the tides are high and the fish spread out through the system, so 102

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eddies and we could see bait flicking and the occasional fish feeding. Slightly down current, we located some depressions in the flat where

after two hops of the plastic and a bite-off, I suspected that tailor were on the flat harassing schools of bait. If you are hopping plastics for

Rigged and ready for a kayak luring session.

The 10X Tough ZMan 2.5” Slim SwimZ are the go-to for toothies like this tailor.

would be funnelling off the flats via the drains that run into deeper water. It was time to paddle over to the large drain or blind gutter that I had made note of the previous day. This drain was perfect, with a sandy bottom and weed edges on each side. The weed edges ensure that there will be baitfish, prawns and other food around, while the sandy bottom makes it easy for flathead to move into the drain and bury themselves ready for ambush! If the bottom was weedier, I would have switched to a SnakelockZ weedless jighead and 3” paddl-tail, however I stuck with the rig I had used on the flats. A sounder makes finding the drains simple, however even without a sounder you can use quality polarised sunnies to separate the dark water covering weed with the lighter coloured water covering sand.

the mouth, cast up the drain and hop your plastic back to the yak, slowly working up the entire length of the drain, with a few paddle or pedal strokes followed by a few casts. If there is more current, it’s worth anchoring and working a section thoroughly before moving further into the drain and anchoring again. Often these blind gutters are wide enough that you and your kayak fishing mate can fish side by side and each work one side of the gutter. One point that Alex made is that he is understanding that the plastic doesn’t always need to be moving, and this is probably the main mistake that anglers make when fishing plastics, retrieving them too quickly. Don’t be afraid to mix up your retrieve and slow things down, or pause the lure on the bottom for a few seconds

until you find what the fish want. It’s amazing how often a few quick winds, a long pause, an aggressive hop or series of subtle shakes of the rod tip will switch on the bite and it can often encourage

I keep a few flathead for a feed, however anything over 60cm is handled with care and released to make more flathead. This one measured in at 71cm, and I soon had it back in the water attached to

edge and back to our launch point. THE CHANNEL EDGE When fishing the channel edge, it’s all about covering ground, throwing plenty of casts and keeping an eye out

This was one of several flathead from a low tide channel edge, which the author made a plan to fish before the session.

A falling tide, a blind gutter and a planned approach resulted in this quality flathead. the bite of a different species to the main target. I hopped my little paddle-tail a couple of times, paused, went to

my lip grips while I readied the camera for a photo. A few photos and we decided to commence our drift along the main channel

Yellowtail pike are great as bait or cooked in the smoker. Ruby enjoyed learning to fillet fish. hop the plastic again and crunch! The headshakes and initial run signalled to me that this was a quality flathead and I let the rod and drag do the work, taking it easy on the big girl, as I knew I was only connected with a 1/0 finesse jighead and 10lb leader. After a few good runs and one sighting that confirmed it was a nice flatty, I slid the net under the fish, fired off an uncontrolled fist pump and called Alex over to grab a couple of photos. Part of me wished that Alex had hooked this one, but at the same time, flathead over mid-sixties aren’t commonly encountered in my local waters and I was over the moon to lift this one into the kayak.

for key structure that might hold fish, such as points, drains, logs, rubble, crab pots, eddies and patches of sand amongst broken weed. Fish will often school, so if you land one, it can be worth retracing your steps. We cast to the edge of the weed beds, or into the shallows, across or slightly ahead of the drift if the current is stronger and hop the plastic down the drop off and into the channel. It didn’t take long before we came across a school of yellowtail pike, and it was visual fishing, watching them chase down and eat a plastic in the clear water, even coming out of the water on several occasions as we lifted the lure from the water. They’re not as large as the southern snook, but these oily fish are still excellent bait, and great tasting when cooked in a smoker, and we kept about twenty to hopefully turn into a mud crab or two.

Alex with one of a couple of dozen tailor for the session.

Alex gave me a touch up on the drift home, landing five flathead to my three and I was stoked to see him nailing a few. This bank often produces much higher numbers, but we went into this session knowing that the tides weren’t quite right, so we were still happy for the action we had encountered. It’s worth making note of the date, tide, moon phase, wind and temperature when

you do have successful sessions in particular areas or on particular species, as it’s amazing how often these same conditions will produce similar results – even years later! So overall, we had a pretty successful day, and weused the tides to carry us to our spots and home again. We fished some different structure, landed a few different species and solved the problems of

the world on a glassy day, while drifting around with an awesome backdrop. Alex took a flathead and five tailor home to his family, and I had a flathead for dinner, yellowtail pike for the crab pots and the photos and memories of a cracker flathead. So it might be time for you to grab a mate, check the tides and conditions and plan your own adventure.

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99 . $ 79

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103

New or used: the perks, problems and pitfalls BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

A conundrum that usually confronts someone buying a boat is whether to buy new or used. Let’s face it, new is lovely – clean and polished, everything spick and span, but cost is the major factor with the very slight chance of some component or feature of the new rig not quite working as it should. On the latter point, boats are not like motor cars, which are mass produced by the millions to a rigid schedule of robotic assembly, which ensures that things rarely differ thanks to rigid quality control. With boats there are few variables in the actual construction of a hull, but once into the fit out and finish, the fun commences. Engine

background on display. Even a rig that has had a couple of owners and still looks to be in really good condition is worth some consideration, even if all precautionary checks come through with flying colours. WITH THE DEALER A suitable craft from a well-known manufacturer is spotted in a well-known dealer’s yard and it’s within the proposed price range. It’s important that the boat is on a trailer that, while there might be some discoloration of the springs and axle or perhaps even some dulling of the galvanizing here and there, is otherwise in good nick. Remember that the trailer must have brakes if the total weight of hull, trailer, engine and full fuel load is over 750kg. Trailer considerations aside, the boat should be exactly the type you had in mind in that it will fulfil

Launching most small craft will see the springs in the water, hence the minor discolouration, but if the rest of the trailer looks OK, you shouldn’t write it off. ratings vary for a start, so a hull can be under-powered, adequately powered or over powered, the latter being a real cause for concern. Selected fittings, equipment and other items are all manually fitted by fellow humans, so it naturally follows that sometimes there’s a mistake or mismatch in components. I was once reviewing a brand new craft – a massive plate alloy rig – where the trim tab controls were reversed causing a very bad situation once we started to move quickly, and was only solved by a very slow return to the ramp in total silence. While that’s a very extreme example, there’s no denying that teething troubles can occur with brand new rigs. In contrast, the situation with a used craft is different, all bugs are generally ironed out and it’s a going concern. With those matters in mind, a second hand boat might make a lot of sense, especially if it’s with an original owner, or in a reputable dealer’s yard with full history and mechanical 104

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requirements in regard to anticipated use, crew capacity, interior storage and comfort levels, and the engine’s within manufacturer’s limits, as set out on the builder’s plate which will outline year of manufacture along with passenger ratings. If a near maximum crew capacity is likely most of the time, it’s probably best if the engine is towards the upper limits of power rather than lower, or the rig might struggle to perform well. Taking interest further, the dealer will explain the craft’s history and draw your attention to the extra components or features that have upgraded the rig from standard. A mechanic’s inspection report of the engine will show the engine computer’s hours, list any components they replaced such as oil within a four stroke engine, a water pump impeller or spark plugs along with the fuel filter. An engine compression check can be provided and it’s important that the compression readings of all cylinders are

New boats are great! Everything’s shiny and brand spankers like everything on this TABS I reviewed, but some serious dollars can be saved if you can find the right used craft. within 10% of each other. If a factory warranty still covers the hull and/or engine, such warranty is transferable and

REV check – via the craft’s Hull Identification Number – which can reveal if it’s free and unencumbered.

When the trailer shows this sort of neglect, it’s likely the rest of the craft won’t have been given too much TLC either. the dealer can explain how to facilitate this procedure. Next will be a test run and the dealer will easily arrange this very important part of the procedure. If all goes well, the transaction is finalised, and with the registration transferred the rig’s on its way home. THE PRIVATE PURCHASE A dealer needs to cover staff wages, maintenance of financial transactions, insurance and a host of other things, all of which must unavoidably add cost to any craft in the yard. A private sale avoids this kind of overhead and, as we are all dollar driven, it follows that a lot of purchases are directly from a private owner rather than a dealer. In truth, many boats are sold this way and if the buyer goes about things correctly, everyone wins. Remember though, it’s buyer beware! Due diligence does apply to boats – the same as other major purchases. Peace of mind comes from a standard

Again, first impressions are very important. The boat for sale should look clean, tidy, and well-presented and if it does, it’s well worth considering. Understand

though, that many of the things I mentioned previously in regard to purchase from a dealer still make perfect sense, although some of the more involved checks and investigations, that of the engine specifically, will require arrangement by the buyer and should be sorted beforehand. ASSESSING FIBREGLASS HULLS When surveying the hull’s condition, a well maintained fibreglass hull should still look quite shiny with metal fittings, clean and corrosion free, thanks to being kept washed and polished. Likewise, any bimini or other frame work should be corrosion free while fabric, clears, and the like are free of mildew or marks, which are both a sure sign of some neglect. A walk around inside the hull should not reveal any saggy or soft areas on the floor. There’s something wrong there if it is! A good look under the hull might reveal some minor scuff marks or longitudinal scratches, which are very hard to avoid on glass rigs,

and tell only of use rather than outright neglect or abuse. Deep indentations or dings are another matter and cause for second thoughts, especially if the gel coat is deeply scarred, which can lead to water absorption and deterioration of the fibreglass. Fibreglass, however, is highly repairable, so if there is any sign of repairs, full disclosure should set a buyer’s mind at rest. A glance inside storage compartments such as those under the floor or under bunks or seats will be reassuring if such areas are totally clean, dry, and without any odour. The main advantage with fibreglass hulls pertains to the ride, which is usually superior, due to the enhanced shape, particularly in regard to larger off shore style rigs, than that of alloy. At the same time, glass hulls always require more care around the ramp and fixed obstacles to avoid damage. And, of course, they are not available in the small sizes that alloy rigs are. ALLOY HULLS Alloy hulls are a different proposition again. Alloy craft have come ahead in leaps and bounds in the last decade and many are fast approaching the ride quality of their glass rivals. In truth, most smaller trailerable alloy craft have a ride that is more than satisfactory for general fishing and boating pursuits. They are offered in both painted and unpainted styles, so there are pros and cons. Unpainted alloy is designed to take on a dull appearance over time, and this minor oxidisation actually protects the hull. Painted hulls look great but can quickly show up areas of accidental contact. Remember that scratches, scuff marks and the like are all signs of use, rather than outright neglect. Neglect will involve large areas of salt build up, corrosion under

Rod racks, rod holders and other useful equipment installed in a used rig will always add both interest and perhaps value to an intended sale.

things that can be lifted up, damp or smelly areas within the anchor well or within any storage hatches. Big dings or dents under the hull along with gouges along the keel proper also are indicative of a very hard working life. Electrolysis is a factor with alloy hulls and shows up as powdery residue around add-on fittings, which, if made of disimilar material to the alloy hull, can cause electrolysis. Note there might be corrosion or severe bubbling of paint work in a painted craft, or some powdery residue near fittings in an unpainted craft. Consider this though. Alloy hulls, even if only a few years old, might well display tiny areas of random bubbling of paint here and there, the size of a five cent piece perhaps. When of a minor nature, these should be no real cause of concern. On the other hand, large areas of such corrosion are indicative of neglect and are a red flag to a buyer. Something to remember is if you do buy a

or sound systems are only a possibility and really not to be expected as part of a sale. If provided, they can be fairly regarded as a bonus and whether sounders and nav aids are working perfectly or otherwise will be debatable, perhaps, until the craft is

One area where a bit of grease should put in an appearance is the engine’s pivot point at the transom. environment and demand some TLC to maintain top performance. So with the chosen hull looking good and the trailer up to scratch, it’s time to assess the engine. Few buyers have the nous to really assess an engine other than

The builder’s plate reveals all. It’s well worth checking if the engine and hull match in age, and that the proposed capacity is correct. used alloy craft and the floor is removable, lift it up once home and look for any loose or foreign metallic objects down there, as these will certainly cause electrolysis down the track. THE ENGINE Boat engines work very hard in an extremely hostile

off its trailer. That aside, additional electronics are still worthy of consideration in any deal. LAST THOUGHTS A boat is a major purchase in many instances, so choosing correctly and wisely is very important from

look under the cowl, check on how easy it starts, give the nod to a steady stream of water from the tell tale and to ensure the year of manufacture matches the hull’s. To provide more involved engine assessment and general condition, there are plenty of properly certified mobile

marine mechanics able to do just that and provide a written report for consideration. It’s a wise move to arrange a mechanic’s inspection prior to finalizing a purchase, and if the mechanic specialises in the brand of motor involved, so much the better. An experienced mechanic can also run an eye over the whole rig and make a generalized report on its overall condition. Also, if an hour meter is fitted, it’s always interesting to have the mechanic compare actual hours (via a dedicated computer) with those of the meter. However, if the seller seems uncooperative for a mobile mechanic to be involved, the upshot is obvious, and it’s time to look at another boat. There are a few small things about the engine worth considering as well. The overall cleanliness under the cowl is indicative of regular servicing and ample TLC from the owner. Tell tale indications of salt residue (powder showing) are pointing to a leaking gasket. One area where it certainly is good to see a bit of grease is around the engine’s pivot point, near where it’s bolted or clamped onto the transom. There are grease nipples there and if the owner has kept the engine in good nick, it’s nice

to see a bit of grease showing. Unpainted areas on the bottom of the skeg and removal of paint from the prop reveal plenty of sand contact. Note that the engine should start within 6-10 revolutions when the key is turned, run smoothly, and should snick in and out of gear with only a small jar. ELECTRONICS All wiring, switches and links to important accessories or functions such as lights, bilge pumps, bait tank plumbing and marine radios where fitted are expected to be fully functional in any boat, new or used. It’s fair to say that items such as nav aids, sounders, in-built battery chargers

Big sounders are a bonus in any second-hand craft, but should not be regarded as standard equipment. The same goes with sound systems.

What an engine should look like: no leaks in sight and no excessive oil or grease.

the outset to ensure money is not ill spent. Whether from a boat yard or a private sale, a test run is mandatory to finally assess performance and the craft’s suitability for intended use. Ease of removal from, and entry back onto, the trailer is quite worth noting as well. Overall, it’s very important to make the right choice, as passengers in the boat are going to remember with great detail exactly what happened if things go pearshaped later. If this happens, it may be hard to coerce them into another fun time on the water.

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Crossing a bar safely BRISBANE OFFSHORE

Kaspar Lenigas

Coastal bars are extremely scary to a lot of boaties and they have every right to be worried about crossing them, particularly in big seas. But with a good understanding and knowledge of how a bar works, bar crossings can be very safe and easy. WHAT IS A COASTAL BAR? A coastal bar is where the sheltered waters of rivers or bays meet the swells of the ocean. Bars are inherently dangerous and at times, very unpredictable. Even on a good day, conditions on a bar can change quickly and without warning. There are many coastal bars located around the Australian coastline, and they are a fact of life for most offshore anglers who intend to fish for large ocean going pelagic and reef fish. HOW A COASTAL BAR WORKS There are many different bars located around the Australian coastline and none

are exactly alike. And anglers often have their own different ways of crossing them, but there are a few key things that bars have in common. Most bars will have some form of channel, where the water is at its deepest. Channels are the safest and only way to cross a bar, but can be hard to spot and it is always best observing at a distance before crossing a bar to see where the waves do and do not break to locate a channel. Some boaties watch where other more experienced boat drivers cross and follow them. There are also shallow banks on most bars. These areas are where the waves break, but sometimes these banks aren’t often clear depending on the stage of the tide and the amount of water on the bar. Usually, with a decent set of swell they will reveal themselves, and it is best to avoid these shallow banks, as this is where people can become stuck. It’s also worth remembering that coastal bars are ever-changing places; they hardly ever stay the same for very long. There

is a lot of sand movement under the surface of the water where you can’t see, and a channel that was there one week will be gone the next. Every time before you cross the bar, make sure you have a good look and assess what’s happening. Bars will usually have swell on them, and the height of the swell, direction, periods between swells as well as the tide will drastically affect how bad the bar will be. Both incoming and outgoing tides can cause pressure waves on a bar as there’s large volumes of water coming in and out of the bar. Usually, the safest time to cross a bar is around the top and bottom of the tide, where tidal flow is at its slowest. As most know, the moon drives the tides, so around the full and new moons the tides are bigger with a lot more current flow, which can make bars extremely dangerous. So be careful crossing a bar when there are bigger tides. PRESSURE WAVES Pressure waves can be dangerous and make a bar very unpredictable. These mainly occurs on outgoing

Looking out through a channel at a bar with shallow banks either side of the image. With larger swell, the banks would be easier to see. tides around full and new moons, or after heavy rain and flooding. Swell size and direction isn’t the only thing that governs the wave height on a bar, the swells can almost double in size and become very unpredictable when they meet the pressure created from the large volumes of water pushed out

by an outgoing tide. More often than not, it’s best to avoid crossing a bar on an outgoing tide and waiting until either the top or bottom of the tide to cross. Usually the top of the tide is the safest time to cross. The incoming tide on some bars can also create deadly pressure waves as it can push swell up and

over shallow banks, or the fast tidal flow can become undertoed going over a drop off, creating pressure waves which push back into a bar and into the oncoming swell. You can still cross a bar if there are pressure waves, but be extremely cautious when coming in or going out and always travel at a safe speed.

Safest route

Large River or Bay

Shallow unsafe channels River

Shallow unsafe channels

Shallow unsafe channels Safest routes

KEY

Waves breaking KEY

Waves breaking Beach

Beach Bank/sand bars Land

Bank/sand bars Land

Deeper safe channels Rock wall

Deeper safe channels

This diagram shows an example of the safest channels to cross a bar around the mouth of a large river or bay. You may see small channels where it may look safe to cross, but it is best to stick to the deeper more open channel, as there’s less chance they will seal up and have breaking waves go through them. 106

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This diagram shows an example of the safest route to cross a bar around a river mouth. This example of a bar crossing is one of the most common and safest types of bars to cross, as the water is generally much deeper in them. Just be aware of where the sand bars or banks are, and try to avoid them, sticking to the deeper channel or channels.

WHAT TO DO BEFORE CROSSING A COASTAL BAR Before even crossing a bar, it’s crucial to have the right kind of boat that is sea worthy enough. Usually anything over 4m can do it safely on a good day. I personally use a 4.8m SmartWave centre console. Even though it’s a smaller boat, it can handle a bar extremely well as its very sea worthy, incredibly manoeuvrable and is virtually unsinkable. There has been many times where I have been able to cross a bar in my boat but much larger boats are unable to. This mainly comes down to knowledge, experience and knowing how to handle your boat. It is also crucial to make sure your boat has a good bilge pump, in case you cop a wave over the bow and need to remove the water fast. I highly recommend taking a good bucket as a last resort to bail out water. In my opinion, most boats should have a good bucket on board, as they are an extremely useful bit of kit to have. On the day or days prior to planning a trip offshore , check the conditions, as you can usually tell how bad a bar will be by checking tides, swell size and direction and winds. All the info you need to check the conditions is available on numerous

websites such as Bureau of Meteorology, Coast Watch, Seabreeze and Willy Weather. The general rule of thumb I find is when swell is under 1.5m and coming in on a slight angle to a bar with an incoming tide, and winds are under 15 knots, a bar is generally pretty safe to cross and go offshore. If the swell is coming straight in on a bar, it can make it very dangerous as there’s no shelter or refraction to minimize the swell, so the swell will come head on into a bar. If can time your trip with a high tide when you leave and come in, it makes crossing very safe. It is possible to cross a bar in worse conditions, but it will take more experience and knowledge over time before attempting. HOW TO CROSS A COASTAL BAR When crossing a bar you must keep a level-headed approach. Never freak-out or rush your approach. As per the law, always wear a life jacket when crossing a bar in any boat at any time. A boat can capsize quickly and it is almost impossible to put on a life jacket when the water is choppy. When I approach a bar, I will make sure any loose items in the boat are secure or stowed away. Then I will

assess the condition and look for a deep channel to cross. If I can’t really see what’s going on, I will approach with great care to take a better look. Remember, waves will generally break in one spot and lose most of their energy, so keep a safe distance between you and where waves are breaking when getting a closer look. Once I have found a safe channel, where waves aren’t breaking, I will radio the VMR and advise them of my intentions to cross. I will then approach the channel at a safe and reasonable speed. When going through a channel, you may come up against breaking and cresting waves, and if you’re not comfortable, you should abort. If you do, do so decisively and between sets, so you don’t get caught side on. If you can’t abort and turn away, its best to take a slow front on approach when hitting a breaking or cresting wave – getting airborne can get you into a lot of trouble. Most of the time when crossing a channel though, you’ll come up against unbroken swell. I find it best to angle your approach when going over unbroken swell, as you get a smoother ride and won’t become airborne or loose speed. Once through the bar,

On this typical river bar, you can see waves breaking over a sand bar in front. radio back to VMR letting them know you have crossed safely. With a GPS, it is wise to mark your track, so you have a safe route to follow when you head back in, and also make a land mark of where you came out of the bar. Coming back in through the bar is much safer than going out in my opinion. Once you’ve had your day’s fishing and decide to head in, make sure you radio into VMR again letting them know your intention to cross. Before committing to head in, it is best to wait for a decent set of swell so you can ride in on the back of the biggest wave, this is so that there’s as much

water as possible under the boat so you don’t run aground. When heading back in through the bar, make sure you follow your track and look for the clear channel. When sitting behind a wave, it’s a good idea to have your engine trimmed down a little more than usual, and never run over a breaking wave, as it can be disastrous. When the wave you have followed has broken never go over it too fast. The aerated water from the wave can cause the engine to cavitate and stall. If you can hear the motor slightly cavitate, trim the engine down and reduce the

speed a little. Once you are in the safety of sheltered waters, radio back into VMR letting them know you are safe. STAY SAFE I hope you find all this information very useful and it gives you that bit of confidence to cross a costal bar. Always remember to keep a level head, stay cautious and aware at all times and if you’re not sure or aren’t confident, don’t do it. Wait for another day or get an experience boatie to show you. It’s never worth risking your life and the lives of others. Stay safe and good luck out on the water.

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107

Boat basics: different hull types FMG

Nicole Penfold nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au

If you’re a land-based angler who’s never owned a boat, this article has some fundamentals to get you started. And if you have bought a boat but know nothing about it except that it eats money, you might learn an interesting fact or two here as well. “Wait a minute,” some of you are saying. “I’ve got a boat and I know all

immensely popular fishing boats. Because air resistance is so much lower than water resistance, pushing a boat through air rather than water allows it to go faster and use less fuel. The downside to a planing hull is that the ride isn’t as smooth and stable as a displacement hull, because the planing hull tends to bounce over the waves rather than move through them. Planing hulls are what we’re most interested in as trailer boat fishers, so here are the main types available.

styles have better handling, but you don’t really need that when you only fish smooth waters. Catamaran These boats, which fall under the category of multihull boats, have two hulls with an air pocket between them. One of the advantages of a multi-hull boat is their wide beam – they are wide almost all the way to the front of the boat, so you get more fishing room than you do with a single hull boat. This wide beam also lends itself to greater stability.

the boat, although most cashed-up people wouldn’t let that put them off buying such a roomy and stable fishing boat. Cats are the most common multi-hull fishing boats, although pontoon boats are increasing in popularity. A less common multi-hull trailerboat is the tri-hull. It’s similar to a cat but it has three hulls positioned close together, with smaller gaps between its hulls than a cat has. Fans of tri-hulls like these boats for their good handling abilities in choppy conditions. Vee hull (mono hull) As the name indicates, the front of these boats forms a ‘V’ shape when viewed from above. Vee hull boats are by far the most popular fishing boats, and there are models to suit all waterways. These boats can accelerate to planing speed quickly, reach good speeds and are comparatively fuel efficient. The boat’s vee continues all the way along the boat’s underside, and it’s called a deadrise. This flattened

Plate aluminium boats are a favourite with offshore anglers. vee-shape is very noticeable when you stand behind a boat on a trailer. The angle of a boat’s deadrise determines how well it handles rough conditions, and how stable it is. If your boat has a shallower vee it will have a bouncier ride but be more stable at rest. If your boat has a deep vee it won’t be quite as stable, but it

boat depends on both your budget and the kind of fishing you want to do. There are two types of aluminium boat: pressed and plate. Most tinnies are pressed, which means the manufacturer takes a sheet of aluminium and uses a mould to press the metal into the desired shape. The aluminium in a pressed boat is thin, which means

Pressed aluminium boats are the best when it comes to affordability. this stuff!” OK smartypants. You can skip ahead to the boat tests. The rest of us are going to settle in and learn about hulls. DISPLACEMENT HULLS These rounded hulls are found on the very largest and smallest fishing vessels: large cruisers and kayaks. A displacement hull is designed to cut through the water efficiently. Instead of skimming over the surface of the water, these hulls push through waves and swell, providing a smooth and stable ride. The downside is that they’re slow. PLANING HULLS Most trailer fishing boats have planing hulls – typically a flattened, v-shaped underside which tapers to a point at the front. At slow speeds, a planing hull acts just like a displacement hull, pushing its way through the water. At speed though, it’s very different. As the boat gains momentum its bow begins to rise. If you apply enough power (and the boat isn’t overloaded), the hull will lift higher and skim along the top of the water. Getting onto the plane, also called getting ‘out of the hole’ or ‘hole shot’, is faster or slower depending on the amount of power applied and the design of the boat. Planing hulls are 108

SEPTEMBER 2016

Flat bottom (punt) This kind of hull isn’t very common these days, although you do find it on some small, open boats used to fish smooth waters (lakes and calm rivers). It has a shallow draft, i.e. the hull doesn’t extend very far under the water’s surface. That makes it a great choice for fishing skinny water. And because the hull’s flat base sits squarely on the water, it’s very stable. The main downside of this style of boat is that it has a rougher ride, bouncing over waves. Other hull

Cats can also ride smoother in choppy conditions, as the air pocket cushions the impact of the boat hitting the water. A downside is that cats are generally more expensive than a mono hull of the same length. This is partly because it takes more materials and labour to build two hulls, and also because these boats have two engines – which means more ongoing costs as well. And if you’re trying to get a good night’s sleep you may have to contend with noisier ‘hull slap’ as the water laps

Pontoon boats, like this Harris model, are becoming more popular.

Plate aluminium boats have a better ride than pressed boats, but they cost more.

will perform well in rough conditions. This is because the sharp angle lets the boat slice through the top of the water, rather than bouncing along it as a flatter boat would. The downside of boats with a deep vee hull is that they are generally not as stable at rest as cats, nor boats with a shallower vee. All vee hull boats lack the roominess of a cat, because the front of a vee hull boat isn’t as wide. On the upside, they’re more affordable when it comes to both the initial outlay and ongoing engine maintenance. You only have to buy and service one motor rather than two. ALUMINIUM VS FIBREGLASS Whether you buy an aluminium or fibreglass

the resulting boat is light. This lightness makes pressed boats fuel efficient and easy to launch and retrieve, but it also means they tend to bounce over the water at speed. Manufacturers do their best with pressed hull designs to improve the ride, but even the best pressed boat will never ride as smoothly as a fibreglass or plate aluminium boat. Still, pressed boats are very affordable, and if you’re not taking them into rough water it doesn’t matter if the ride isn’t as good as a glass or plate boat. Some examples of pressed boats include Quintrex, Stacer, Stessl, Sea Jay and Clark. Plate aluminium boats, by contrast, are made from taking sheets of aluminium and welding them together.

The aluminium in these boats is comparatively thick, which makes plate boats a lot heavier than pressed ones. This makes plate boats ride better in unfavourable conditions. Another benefit is that some manufacturers let you fully customise the layout, so you can choose the amount of deck space you want, the cabin size, helm location, fuel tank… the list is endless. Heavier plate boats also lack the noisy ‘hull slap’ that you get with pressed boats. As you’d expect, the weight of a plate boat means they chew up more fuel, require a more powerful tow vehicle, and they cost a fair bit more than a pressed boat. There’s not much point in buying plate if you only want a little boat, but if you want the option to fish

Catamaran hulls sit on a cushion of air.

Cats provide acres of fishing and cabin space because the boat doesn’t taper to a point in front. the reefs or bluewater it can be a good investment. Some examples of plate boats include Bar Crusher, AMM, Rip Tide and Sea Jay’s Plate Xtreme range. Fibreglass boats are as heavy or heavier than plate boats. Because a boat’s weight contributes to the quality of its ride, lots of anglers love glass boats. When it comes to ride and handling, the general feeling is that if you take an aluminium boat and a glass

Few boats nowadays have a completely flat bottom.

Most trailerboats have a vee-hull like this one.

A traditional punt is the ultimate stable platform if your fishing is restricted to smooth water. These days vee-nose punts have largely replaced traditional punts.

When it comes to good looks and a soft ride, it’s hard to top a fibreglass boat.

The vee-shape of a hull, called the deadrise, gradually flattens as you move back from the bow. A shallow vee aids stability, and a deeper vee is better in rough conditions.

boat with the same hull shape, the glass boat will ride better – although plate boat devotees may dispute this. There’s no arguing though that fibreglass craft look gorgeous, with attractive, flowing lines. The fluid design of glass hulls, unhampered by the restrictions of aluminium construction, also aids performance. Like plate boats, fibreglass craft are expensive and use more fuel than a pressed aluminium boat. Another downside

of glass is that you can’t knock it around like you can with aluminium boats. If you collide with something hard, the impact point can crack or splinter, and you really don’t want water seeping into the fibreglass. You just have to be a bit more careful with a glass boat. Still, overall they’re easy to maintain; you don’t have to worry about problems with rivets, welds or electrolysis. Additionally, you won’t get the noisy ‘hull slap’ with a

glass boat. Some examples of glass trailerboats include Haines Signature, Gale Force, Evolution and Tournament. There are lots of other differences between plate and glass, and you could really go down the rabbit hole with this topic. We haven’t even touched on heavy-duty poly boats, which have their own set of pros and cons! Still, I’ve given you the basics, so you have a few more things to consider when looking for your first boat. SEPTEMBER 2016

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Nitro’s Z18 gives plenty of bang for your buck

FMG

Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

Although I test a range of boats for Fishing Monthly, I always get the most excited when I get to go and drive high-powered, low to the water fishing boats. Some call them bass boats or various other iterations, but for me they are fun to drive and even better to fish from in the areas they were designed to be used. Best of all, is when we get to drive a boat that’s been already set-up, dialled in and debugged by a keen user. And that’s what we got at a

cold, windy Moogerah Dam day, when Tim Stessl from Fishing and Leisure Boats introduced us to Brisbane’s Lee Parkhouse. Well, it was more of a re-introduction, as I’d actually fished with Lee years ago as a non-boater in a BREAM event on Lake Macquarie and he’s a permanent fixture on any boat show Navico stand in the area. Lee’s hull is the Nitro Z18, built in the USA and imported by Australian distributor, Fishing and Leisure Boats in Queensland. It’s a fully composite hull with no wood (Nitro stopped using wood in their hulls in 2012) and it’s supplied on a locally made Dunbier twin-axled trailer.

Plenty of deck and storage space makes this craft a force to be reckoned with to the fishing-minded. 110

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SPECIFICATIONS Length...............5.63m Beam.................2.38m Max HP................. 175 Fuel..................... 151L Capacity..... 4 persons Deadrise................16° PERFORMANCE RPM Speed (km/h) Idle (600)................. 4 1000........................ 7 2000...................... 11 3000...................... 31 4000...................... 63 5000...................... 90 5600.................... 105 “By buying your Nitro through Fishing and Leisure Boats, you get a full warranty on the hull, motor and trailer, so you have 100% support and peace of mind,” said Tim Stessl. Lee confirmed this and was also an advocate of the ease of ordering. “I talked to Tim, picked the options and colours and a couple of months later I get the call to come and pick it up – it was that easy,” he said. Six months after delivery, Lee is as happy as the day he picked it up. “I looked at all of the brands and the Nitro just gave me the best bang for buck I could find,” he continued. Since, he’s added three Simrad units, a Hydrowave, a boatload of tackle and he’s got the setup just right. Stomping on the HotFoot, the Nitro lifts onto the plane,

Top and Above: Thanks, Lee, for letting me drive your Nitro like I stole it. The rig sat on 105km/h with a little driver input. but it’s in the mid-range that the Mercury 175 ProXS really pushes you back into the seat. At 5000RPM, it pulled a very respectable and economical 90km/h and at wide-open it sat on 105 with a little bit of driver input required to avoid chine walking and optimum trim. In my books, that’s perfect. Touch the helm mounted trim up to drive it ‘on the edge’ and tap it down a touch to drop a couple of km/h but drive ‘hands free’. As always, a feature of bass boats is the ability to dry-store a mountain of tackle, underfloor, in a manner that lets you access it easily. Of course, with decades of bass boat building under the belt, the Nitro does it easily. On the trolling motor and with a rod in the hand, the Nitro is as well behaved as any bass boat. Stable, stealthy and quiet underfoot, a bass boat if minimally affected by

wind and remains the ultimate platform for calm water lure casting. There’s not much more to say – the Nitro does indeed look great, perform admirably and offers excellent value for money with local dealer support. With just one of the 12” Simrads (instead of the three that Lee has mounted), this package would come in at $76,000, but basic packages start from around $60,000. VIDEO

Scan to watch Tim Stessl walk through the Nitro Z18’s features.

For more information, call Tim Stessl at Fishing and Leisure Boats on 0429 680 504 or visit www.fishingandl eisureboats.com.au • Quoted performance figures have been supplied by the writer in good faith. Performance of individual boat/motor/trailer packages may differ due to variations in engine installations, propellers, hull configurations, options, hull loading and trailer specifications. VIDEO

Scan the QR code to watch the boat test on the Nitro Z18.

There’s no doubt that the Z18 will turn heads at the local boat ramp. Lee’s kept a simple black gelcoat with flake that matches the Mercury OptiMax perfectly.

Check out the dual-Simrad installation up the front. There’s some serious tech there. We could see just how many bass were ignoring our lures.

A cooler in the step of a bass boat isn’t a new idea, but Nitros come with a removable rubbish bin that’s super practical. Otherwise, you’re fishing for all of your offcuts at the end of the day.

The Nitro’s helm – like all of the boat – has evolved over the years to house all of the switches and gauges at fingertip reach. You can also flush-mount sounders, although if you’re a Simrad pro-staff, you may still have problems!

Here’s a screen shot showing the sensitivity of the sounders. They’re mounted on a pair of Marine Dynamic’s stands. The Hydrowave between them emits sounds of baitfish schooling and being eaten.

This is a boarding ladder. Getting back in a bass boat isn’t as easy as it seems, unless you have one of these.

The fact that you need only one rod, reel and lure to catch a bass means nothing to serious cast and retrieve anglers. This is the bare minimum you need to take. Tournament-ready, the dual livewell has timed switches and the ability to pump the water out. It’s a standard feature in any serious tournament boats.

The Moogerah Gorge provided some shelter from the icy wind. Two up, anglers can fish wherever they can stand with maximum stability. SEPTEMBER 2016

111

Horizon’s 515 Sea Breeze with 80hp Yamaha 4-stroke

FMG

Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

Chelsea Yamaha brought the big guns into town for out latest Horizon/Yamaha boat test – Horizon General Manager, Scott James was waiting for us at the ramp on a miserable Melbourne morning, bursting to tell us all about their latest version of the Sea Breeze bow rider – the 515 Sea Breeze Elite. “This boat is the best of both worlds,” Scott said (you can watch the full interview by scanning the QR code below on your smartphone), “and we often call this ‘the boat that the missus will let you own,” he quipped. By that, we’re sure that he meant that ‘it was the boat that would most impress your lovely wife with its appointments and versatility.’

Of course, the bow rider genre features a couch up front, a helm area amidships and a cockpit aft to give shelter, relaxing areas and fishing areas in the same hull. With a 2.4m beam, this is a 5m hull with plenty of room. Underneath, it features a variable deadrise – Scott says 15° at the transom and sharpening to 21° at the bow to help cut through chop. It also features reverse chines, which help to keep spray down and increases stability simultaneously. Naturally, these combine PERFORMANCE RPM 700 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 5900

SPEED L/h 3 0.9 6 2.7 11 4.4 16 10 35 16.5 43 21 56 32

to make this a very stable boat, and there’s nothing that the family could really do to upset the balance of the craft while at rest. This is one of the smaller boats we’ve seen on the market with a walk-through transom with door. Originally featured in game fishing or dive boats, this feature makes it easy for the family to both board from a beach and re-enter the craft on the water after swimming. Combine this with the duckboards either side of the outboard, and there’s no way you’ll keep the kids out of this boat. Another versatile addition is the rear lounge seat. Usually, you’ll find a rear lounge as a simple fold-down bench – the Horizon however, has a full storage box with a padded lid that’ll chew up a mountain of gear. Tilt this box forward and it gives access to

the transom behind and extra storage. It’s a great idea. When the weather finally cleared and calmed, we fired up the Yammy – an 80HP 4-stroke version – and headed out into Port Phillip Bay to see how this rig performed.

Dunbier trailer. Apart from a cheaper purchase cost, the single axle allows for easy manoeuvring in tight garage spaces. With the canopy folded down, it’ll fit in plenty of suburban garages. At the helm, the position

faith. Performance of individual boat/motor/ trailer packages may differ due to variations in engine installations, propellers, hull configurations, options, hull loading and trailer specifications.

There’s heaps of room up the front to work on your tan!

The best part of working in the rain is being out of it. 112

SEPTEMBER 2016

From a standing start, the combo got up on the plane in just over 4.5 seconds with two on-board. Through the economical part of the rev range, the Yamaha delivered just over 2km/L of fuel burned, which is good, but not spectacular. Like all Yamaha 4-strokes, it was quiet and clean. You’ll definitely try to start a motor that’s already running! That’s a given and a hazard of modern motors! Chelsea Yamaha set this boat up on a single axled

was comfortable and there was somewhere to rest your forearm when adjusting the throttle. Passengers are treated to the biggest waterproof glovebox I’ve seen yet – room for everyone’s mobile phones, wallets and car keys. Boat/motor/trailer packages start price is around the mid $30k, ask your local dealer for an exact quote. Visit www.horizonboats.com. au for more details. • Quoted performance figures have been supplied by the writer in good

QR CODE

Scan this QR code to watch the full interview with Steve Morgan and Scott James.

The transom door is located on the starboard side and is both good looking and functional. With the ladder and transom step, it’s easy for the kids to get back in the boat after they’ve bomb-dived from the bow.

The Horizon 515 Seabreeze is a bow rider configuration, giving the family angler the best of both worlds. The moulded dash insert has room for engine gauges and although this boat had a narrow, stand-alone sounder mounted to the side, there’s room for a flush mounted unit above the wheel.

The storage box/lounge hinges up to give access to everything under and behind it.

There’s a massive amount of room (as far as glove boxes go) in here, and the insert is removable. If your phone is getting wet in here, I’ve got bad news for you – it means the boat has sunk!

The rear lounge incorporates a huge amount of storage.

This angle shows you the real layout of the Seabreeze. Remove the cushions from the bow section and there’s a pretty good fishing area up there.

Fitted on a Dunbier trailer by Chelsea Yamaha, the single axle configuration makes it manoeuvrable in the garage.

There’s three parts to the partitioning of the bow from the helm. Swing shut the carpeted door, shut the middle part of the windscreen and zip up the clears.

Yamaha’s 80hp 4-stroke is a real workhorse and powers this boat silently and frugally. SEPTEMBER 2016

113

See your authorised Mercury Marine Dealer today. BRISBANE SOUTH See your authorised Mercury Dealer today. MANLYMarine HARBOUR MARINE

NORTHERN NSW / GOLD COAST TWEED COAST MARINE 32 Machinery Drive, Tweed Heads South Phone: (07) 5524 8877 | Fax: (07) 5524 3324 Email: dan@tweedcoastmarine.com.au Website: www.tweedcoastmarine.com.au

570 Royal Esplanade Manly Phone: (07) 3893 2199 | Fax: (07) 3893 2188 Email: info@manlyharbourmarine.com.au Website: www.manlyharbourmarine.com.au

BRISBANE NORTH CUNNINGHAMS MARINE 23-25 Snook St Clontarf Phone: (07) 3284 8805 | Fax: (07) 3284 8813 Email: sales@cunninghammarinecentre.com.au Website: www.cunninghammarinecentre.com.au

MERIDIAN MARINA HORIZON SHORES ONSHORE MARINE Cabbage Tree Point Rd,Woongoolba Phone: (07) 5546 2480 | Fax: (07) 5546 1362 Email: onshoremarine@ozemail.com.au Website: www.onshoremarine.com.au

BRISBANE BAYSIDE MIKES MARINE 9 Smith Street Capalaba Phone: (07) 3390 3418 | Fax: (07) 3823 5856 Email: sales@mikesmarine.com.au Website: www.mikesmarine.com.au

BRISBANE NORTH BRISBANE MARINE 306 Duffield Road Clontarf Phone: (07) 3889 3033 | Fax: (07) 3889 5390 Email: info@brismarine.com.au Website: www.brismarine.com.au

BRISBANE SOUTH SPRINGWOOD MARINE 3475 Pacific Hwy Springwood Phone: (07) 3297 8200 | Fax: (07) 3297 8290 Email: sales@springwoodmarine.com.au Website: www.springwoodmarine.com.au

BRISBANE WEST KAREE MARINE 1776 Ipswich Rd Rocklea Phone: (07) 3875 1600 | Fax: (07) 3875 1622 Email: sales@kareemarine.com.au Website: www.kareemarine.com.au

IPSWICH IPSWICH MARINE 45 Huxham St Raceview Phone: (07) 3294 3944 | Fax: (07) 3294 5320 Email: enquiries@ipswichmarine.com.au Website: www.ipswichmarine.com.au

BRISBANE SOUTH COORPAROO MARINE 57 Cavendish Rd Coorparoo Phone: (07) 3397 4141 | Fax: (07) 3397 6339 Email: info@coorparoomarine.com.au Website: www.coorparoomarine.com.au

BRISBANE HOLT MARINE 25 Queens Rd Everton Park Phone: (07) 3353 1928 | Fax: (07) 3353 4548 Email: info@holtmarine.com.au Website: www.holtmarine.com.au

TOOWOOMBA WATERSKIERS WAREHOUSE 91-93 Neil St Toowoomba Phone: (07) 4637 9511 | Fax: (07) 4637 9513 Email: rod@waterskierswarehouse.com.au Website: www.waterskierswarehouse.com.au

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See your authorised Mercury Marine Dealer today.

SUNSHINE COAST NORTHCOAST BOATING CENTRE 264 Nicklin Way Warana Phone: (07) 5493 9376 | Fax: (07) 5437 6144 Email: mail@northcoastboatingcentre.com.au Website: www.northcoastboating.com.au

INNISFAIL COASTAL MARINE & OUTDOORS 178 Edith Street Innisfail Phone: (07) 4061 8272 | Fax: (07) 4061 7718 Email: joel@coastalmarine.com.au Website: www.coastalmarine.com.au

CAIRNS AUSSIE MARINE 5 Hannam St, Bungalow Phone: (07) 4033 8800 Email: sales@aussiemarine.com.au Web: www. aussiemarine.com.au

HERVEY BAY BAY CITY MARINE 82 Dayman Street Urangan Hervey Bay Phone: (07) 4128 9944 | Fax: (07) 4125 2350 Email: sales@baycitymarine.com.au Website: www.baycitymarine.com.au

BOWEN REIBEL MARINE 34 Don St Bowen Phone: (07) 4786 2944 Fax: (07) 4786 6606 Email: remarine@bigpond.net.au

MARYBOROUGH FRASER COAST BOATING 120 Richmond Street Phone: (07) 4122 1770 Email: sales@frasercoastboating.com.au Web: www.frasercoastboating.com.au

BUNDABERG ADRIANS MARINE CENTRE 28 Ritchie St Norville Phone: (07) 4153 1819 | Fax: (07) 4154 4808 Email: adriansmarinecentre@bigpond.com Website: www.adriansmarinecentre.com.au

INGHAM J&B MARINE 79 Herbert St, Ingham Phone: (07) 4776 1188 | Fax: (07) 4776 1288 Email: jbmarine@bigpond.com Website: www.jandbmarine.com

ROCKHAMPTON RIFEN BOATS 6 Dooley St, North Rockhampton Phone: (07) 4927 9150 | Fax: (07) 4921 3502 Email: rifen.boats@bigpond.com Website: www.rifenboats.com.au

KARUMBA JONES MARINE 38 Yappar Street, Karumba Phone: (07) 4745 9159 Email: jonglo@bigpond.com Web: www.jonesmarine.com.au

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for superior hole shot, top end speed and durability. Mercury’s new 115HP 115hp produces up to 23% morE TorquE and quicker acceleration Pro XS FourStroke redefines outboard than the previous 1.7L FourStroke. performance.

Unbridled power, unexpectedly compact, uncompromising reliability, unbelievably fuel efficient. Mercury’s all new 75-115hp FourStroke Range. Unlike anything the world has ever seen.

6000

Built on75-115hp the legendary everything you know about FourStrokes. Pro XS reputation

PROTECT YOUR BOATING LIFESTYLE WITH MERCURY INSURANCE

Genuine Replacement Parts* 3 Year New for Old Replacement 5 Year Agreed Value* Monthly Payment Option 24 Hour Emergency Assistance

Visit www.mercuryinsurance.com.au to locate your nearest authorised representative.

*Terms and conditions apply, see the PDS for full details or go to www.mercuryinsurance.com.au. Mercury Insurance is administered by Club Marine Limited ABN 12 007 588 347, AFS Licence No. 236916 and underwritten by Allianz Insurance Limited ABN 15 000 122 850, AFS Licence No 234708.