Queensland Fishing Monthly January 2019

HOLIDAY KNOW-HOW • SCORING SOME SOOTIES

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A leisurely paddle through the Tweed • How to beat the holiday crowds this summer • Tips for towing your boat •

Tried & Tested Hobie Mirage Outback 2019 • Stabicraft 1550 Side Console with Suzuki 70hp • Black Magic Snapper Snacks and KLT Hooks •

Features Conquering those dam sooties • The magical fishing of Shute Harbour • Making a Brush Dragon fly •

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Contents

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Business Office: Unit 1, 11 Knobel Court, Shailer Park, Qld, 4128 Phone: (07) 3387 0800 Fax: (07) 3387 0801 Managing Editor: Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au Editorial Manager: Jacqui Thomas Sub-Editors: Bob Thornton Nicole Penfold Annie March Field Editors: Jason Ehrlich Wayne Kampe Publishers: Steve Morgan Matthew Drinkall

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OUR COVER Elliot Fooks was stoked with this big Eungella Dam sooty he nailed on a crankbait.

A Bob Thornton Image.

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ION

QUEENSLAND FISHING MONTHLY

There’s coverage of the event in this issue – make sure that you scan the QR codes embedded in the story with your smartphone to get a more detailed video!

We do this in the What’s New section and in the boat tests, too. No longer do you just do print if you’re a magazine!

Make sure you Subscribe to the Fishing Monthly Magazines YouTube channel to see all of this video content as it’s created.

While we’re at it, do you know that you can read back issues for free on issuu. com? Or get advance copies of the latest magazines on the same platform?

It’s an ever-changing world in the media nowadays, but you can rest assured that Fishing Monthly is out there bringing you the best fishing news on whatever platform you choose.

At the end of the day, the fishing hasn’t changed – just the way we go about researching, reading and sharing it.

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advertisers in your magazines.

Without them, we’d have to sell the FMs for $20 each.

And finally, get ready for another big year Nicholle, James and the ABT team.

There’s plenty of excitement to come in that department in 2019.

QUEENSLANDERS FISH BREAM GRAND FINAL Early December saw the biggest show in bream fishing – nationally – visit Victoria with three iconic East Gippsland venues hosting 45 of Australia’s best breamers for three days of competition to win a $60,000+ boat package.

And although the trophy and rig eventually went back into NSW thanks to a stunning win by Jason Mayberry from the state’s South Coast, there were several Queenslanders who held their own in southern waters – Jamie McKeown and Michael Thompson holding their own in their respective divisions.

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JANUARY 2019

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each Christmas break for a couple of weeks, so as you read this, the team will be ready to roll again for the New Year and as usual, we expect to work harder each year to bring you the best coverage of what’s going on in fishing and boating in your state.

A big shout out to the team that get out of the office a lot less than I do. Jacqui Thomas and the editorial team make sure that the magazine content is assembled each month and Matt Drinkall and the production team still have never missed a print deadline.

Thanks for keeping the show rolling while I’m out collecting Frequent Flyer points and racking up the miles on the Fishing Monthly vehicles.

Thanks also to Kym and Marie out the front who deal with the hundreds of advertisers and thousands of subscribers.

Of course, Rupe, Pete and Nicole in the Sales team have a hard job and work to maintain

AUST

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Can 2019 be busier than 2018? I know that last year my work took me to many places - from Miami, USA for the launch of the Mercury V8 outboards to Tasmania for the ABT events. We launched a magazine in Western Australia and I was lucky enough to help MC the Barra Nationals in the Northern Territory. Add to that some events in Gippsland, Victoria and everything from the Australian Open on Sydney Harbour to Glenbawn dam in the Hunter Valley and it was a ridiculously busy year.

Did I add in the Lure Show and boat shows? We brought you coverage from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth events and got to meet lots of new and renewing readers there.

Finish off with about 50 boat tests, some trade magazines and some duties with the ARFF and AFTA boards and even I am feeling tired now.

Luckily we shut the office

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REGULAR FEATURES Back to Basics 16 Camping and 4WD 72 Cooking 74 Dam Levels 66 Freshwater 66 Fun Page 90 Junior 45 Sheik of the Creek 71 Suntag 92 Tech Tricks 18 Tournament News 75 Track my fish 86 Trades and Services 88 What’s New Boating 94 What’s New Fishing 52 SPECIAL FEATURES Those dam sooties Magic of Shute Harbour Conquering inshore marlin run

From the Editor’s Desk...

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BOATING AND KAYAK

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TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND Whitsundays 58 Ayr 59 Hinchinbrook 60 Cairns 60 Townsville 61 Cairns NFZ 61 Port Douglas 62 Lucinda 62 Cooktown 63 Cape York 64

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CENTRAL QUEENSLAND Hervey Bay 44 Rainbow Beach 46 Bundaberg 46 Gladstone 47 Rockhampton 48 Stanage Bay 49 Yeppoon 50 Mackay 51

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SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND The Tweed 24 Southern Gold Coast 26 Gold Coast Canals 28 Jumpinpin 30 Gold Coast 32 Southern Bay 34 Brisbane 36 Brisbane Offshore 38 Northern Bay 39 Noosa 40

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NORTHERN NEW SOUTH WALES Yamba 20 Ballina 22

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QUALITY TACKLE, QUALITY FISH!

GET READY FOR BARRA SEASON! Jeff Taylor, 80lb Tough Trace, 136cm barra off Gladstone Central, “since landing this big girl on 80lb Black Magic Tough Trace, I haven’t bought anything else”.

Zac Deppeler, snelled KS 6/0 and KL 7/0 hooks with 100lb Tough Trace. Red emperor from Hervey Bay. Zac said he was surprised how hard this fish fought.

Leigh Holtsbaum, 20lb Tough Fluorocarbon & KS 5/0 hooks, 122cm kingfish caught off the Gold Coast.

Damian Paranihi, 80lb Supple Trace, 140cm Spanish mackerel caught off Urangan Pier.

Jackson Landon, 50lb Tough Trace, GT caught and released near Hervey Bay.

Peter Flor, Snatcher® Rig ‘XXL (8/0) Original’, both mulloway over 18kg, caught off Gold Coast.

Follow @blackmagictackle on Facebook and Instagram to see the latest catches and enter in our competitions.

the best by test...

www.blackmagictackle.com JANUARY 2019

9

SOOTY GRUNTER

Those dam sooties BRISBANE

Bob Thornton

If you’ve ever travelled north into the tropics of Australia, or you’re lucky enough to live in this amazing part of the country, you will have at least heard of sooty grunter. Often overlooked as a sportfish, even by the travelling anglers, these hardfighting balls of pent-up aggression are a fantastic target, and deserve to be treated as such.

are dismissed is that in their natural habitat they are fairly small, rarely exceeding about 40cm. However, what they lack in size they more the make up for with their fighting ability, employing the gutter tactics akin to other dirty fighters like mangrove jack.

The final characteristic that I believe does sooties a disservice is the fact that when you find good numbers of wild specimens, they can be near suicidal!

Quite often anglers can have multiple quarrelsome ‘soots’

Sooties usually hang out in common areas, so double hook-ups and plenty of giggles are a feature of a dam sooty trip!

THE UNDERDOGS There are many reasons that sooties, at least in my opinion, don’t receive the admiration they deserve.

One of the main reasons is that they are relatively common, inhabiting the freshwater reaches of many tropical rivers, and a quick look at a map of the north coast will show you just how abundant flowing freshwater is in this area.

Another reason sooties

shouldering each other for a lure or fly, and catching two fish on one presentation is not uncommon at all. This is fantastic fun, and I will always enjoy catching wild sooties, but many anglers tire of the lack of challenge involved.

A DAM GOOD SOLUTION A solution to these so-called ‘problems’, which addresses the three areas I’ve highlighted, is to fish for them

in stocked impoundments!

Impoundments with sooty grunter as the dominant species are few, but the fish in them can grow to be 60cm and upwards of 4kg, and the tactics involved to catch them are different to those in creeks. It’s almost like fishing for a different species! I’ve learnt just about everything I know about dam sooties from Daiwa’s Simon Goldsmith, and before my first trip up to Eungella Dam a few years ago, he eagerly drew me up a mud map of places to try and gave me plenty of advice on what lures to use. I could tell I was in for a treat!

Sooties are stocked as the primary predator in only a few dams, and the most well known are Eungella Dam near Mackay, Koombooloomba Dam near Tully, and Lake Julius near Mt Isa. Many dams better known for their barra fishing also have sooties stocked, such as Peter Faust Dam near Proserpine, Tinaroo and Copperlode dams near Cairns, and Lake Moondarra near Mt Isa. These latter waterways can provide excellent sooty fishing opportunities, however anglers will need to forget the barra, downsize their gear and specifically target the soots – I’ll admit, this isn’t always easy!

Sooties are also known to turn up in smaller, private landlocked waterways, such as farm dams and mining storages. They end up in these places either by stocking, or if they are endemic to the system prior to its being dammed, and will breed if granted access to flowing water. Getting into and fishing these locations is hard, particularly if you don’t know any farmers up this way and don’t work in

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Fishing the top few feet of the timber in deep water is an extremely effective method in the cooler months. It’s also a hell of a lot of fun! the mining industry, but it always pays to ask the locals and keep your ear to the ground; you might just find your own pond full of 4kg sootballs!

As a quiet aside, I believe that if the controversial Urannah Dam project west of Mackay goes ahead, this waterway will most likely become a sooty Mecca! It will be very interesting to see what happens.

angling may be the only way to fish it.

Artillery The gear for dam soots is an interesting one. While a sooty is about on par with a bass of the same size in terms of power and stamina, dam sooties can regularly reach weights of 3.5kg and more!

This means that if you’re a southern angler, your regular bass gear may have to be scaled up a bit.

It doesn’t take much for people to get hooked on these fish, as Russel Png from Singapore found out with his first Eungella sooty.

PREPPING FOR DITCH PIGS Access Before you get after these fantastic sportfish, it’s important to get yourself set up.

In major impoundments, access for vehicles and vessels isn’t usually a problem, with Eungella, Julius, Koombooloomba, Peter Faust, Tinaroo and Copperlode dams providing adequate facilities. A 4WD, while not necessary, is preferred, with Eungella and Koomboolomba both only accessible via a long stretch of intermittently graded dirt road.

Of course, boats and kayaks aren’t the only way to get into these waterways, and bank access, if possible, can provide some good angling opportunities. In the smaller, private landlocked waterways, bank

This really is the realm of baitcast tackle, and unless you’re throwing anything lighter than 7g, I wouldn’t bother using spin tackle.

Nothing beats the accuracy and control an angler can achieve with a sturdy baitcast rig. There is a time and a place for spin tackle in

sooty dams, but most of them time the fish are aggressive enough that it’s just not necessary. However, if you’re more comfortable with a spin rod, there’s no reason you can’t experience some good fishing; just keep 12lb leader as your minimum!

While 2-5kg rods and 2000-3000 size reels will get the job done on most dam sooties, the 4-6lb braided lines we use for bass won’t stand up to the structure-orientated handto-hand combat you run into with sooties. I would recommend using 10lb braid as a minimum, if using braid. As for leader material, 12lb fluorocarbon or mono is fairly standard, however an upgrade to 15lb may be in order if you’re chasing the bigger models around heavy cover.

If you’re a fly angler, an 8wt is perfectly suited to this caper. Lighter outfits will still subdue big sooties, however in this give-no-line territory, the 8wt will give you the perfect balance between comfort and pulling power.

Lures Most lures between 40-100mm will work on sooties, however there are a few specific lure types that you shouldn’t venture to a sooty dam without.

Without a doubt, one of the most effective weapons for soots is a spinnerbait. I like to carry a range of spinnerbaits between 1/8-1/2oz, in a

In that Environet is about 6kg of aggression.

SOOTY GRUNTER variety of colours and blade configurations.

Crankbaits, being so good around timber and rocks, are another incredibly effective lure. Different diving depths, colours and sizes will maximise your options.

Lipless crankbaits, just as in bass impoundments, are fantastic searching lures, as they can be cast far, worked quickly, and sunk to the desired depth.

Jerkbaits become useful when the reaction bite slows down, and the sooties aren’t quite so charged up.

In a similar way, lightlyweighted soft plastics are handy for slowing down and

employing a bit of finesse.

Sinking stick minnows are very enticing to a more weary sooty, however being a sinking lure (and usually expensive) the user must be careful when fishing them around structure.

A variety of topwater lures will come into their own when the light gets lows and the sooties venture out of the junk. A mix of topwaters that can be fished slow and fast will again maximise your options, and models that can be worked through timber, brush and weed, such as buzzbaits and hollowbody frogs will round out the collection and ensure that no sooty is safe!

When you find the right areas, they just can’t help themselves, and a lipless crankbait was too much for this Koombooloomba chunk.

Something to consider is that sooties have really tough and munchy jaws, and like to roll and twist during the fight, and this can be damaging on light-gauge hooks or spinnerbait wire. Upgrading sub-standard hooks and sticking to good quality spinnerbaits will see less fish lost due to tackle failure.

A sooty will eat just about anything, particularly a big sooty, but finding the right lure for the situations

The difference in colour of each sooty is interesting, with some sporting a brown or pale pink colouration, and others coming in jet black, like this one.

presented will make sure you get the most out of your fishing.

YEAR ROUND SOOTIES You can target sooties in dams all year round, and travellers need not worry about waiting for the ‘right’ time of year to take on the challenge. The only constant through the year is that your casting needs to be accurate, as these are very structureorientated fish. These two reasons, and the fact that they

are really chunky fish, are why impoundment soots are such a great sporting proposition!

Summer Summer usually sees the sooties feeding hard during the lowlight periods, while taking shelter in structure or deeper water during the day.

Summer in the tropics can often see big rain events, and a sharp rise in the water level can often prompt sooties to feed in amongst flooded vegetation, just like trout and

bass down south.

Topwater fishing is a bonus of warm summer mornings and afternoons, making this time of year a fun time to hit the dams in search of sooties.

A variety of reaction lures, with some finesse presentations for when the bite slows down during the day, will be enough to see you through a summer sooty session on the dams.

If sooties have access to flowing water above the dam, they will venture upstream during summer to breed.

During this time, anglers can go into the headwaters on foot and experience some excellent fishing. Before the first big wet weather event, the sooties will often stage higher up in the dam, waiting for the first opportunity to push up into the flowing water. It’s for this reason that summer offers the toughest fishing (if you could call it that) of the year.

When the fish are clustered like this, is pays to search around a bit, and when you find fish, work the area over thoroughly and you’ll likely score big!

Autumn Autumn is a great time to be fishing for sooties anywhere. The dams are usually still benefitting from wet season run-off, which usually gets the fish active, To page 12

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SOOTY GRUNTER From page 11

and the temperatures are fairly comfortable, meaning you can fish all day.

Lowlight periods will be the best times to fish, however with the sweltering heat of summer gone, the fish will feel comfortable feeding higher in the water column.

One quirk that sooties have in impoundments is their strange habit of feeding around deep, drowned timber, particularly in the cooler months. Some of the trees can be in as much as 80ft of water! What makes it so interesting is that the sooties will often only be in the first 10ft of the water column. An effective way to fish for these fish is to cruise through the forests of good timber with reaction style baits, such as

crankbaits and spinnerbaits, throwing quick, but accurate casts into the forks of the trees, and not wasting too much time allowing the lure to sink or sit in the strike zone. If a sooty is home and hungry, it will dash out and claim your offering. When the technique was described to me by someone far more experienced than I, they said “pick a group of trees, cruise through them – any tree is a good tree – and only throw 1-2 casts at each tree before moving to the next one.”

If this isn’t working, it’s probably best to move to shallower bankside structure and work the areas over with a variety of lures, making sure that you keep moving, and don’t spend to long working an area over.

Early mornings in deep flooded forests can offer an exciting yet slightly eerie fishing experience.

Winter Winter can be a truly magical time to be in the hinterland chasing ditch sooties. Amazingly, some of our more upland sooty dams such as Eungella, Koombooloomba and Tinaroo can have some near 0°C mornings during winter!

Winter, unlike for many other species, is not the time to be packing away the gear.

The warmth of the sun during the day seems to bring them on the bite, and the deep timber technique mentioned above really shines in winter.

The timber near the surface will hold onto the heat of the sun, meaning the sooties don’t only get shelter, but also precious warmth. In these conditions they need not dive down deep for sanctuary.

Toward the afternoon they will often move up onto really shallow areas, such as flats or shallow weedbeds, all the while sticking close to any nearby structure. The fish can quite easily be coaxed out to attack a lure by casting accurately and a working your lure a little slower.

Winter may demand the need for slower presentations, as the fish might not be as active as in the warmer months, but they still have the need to feed.

On top of that, with so many other sooties feeling the same

Sturdy baitcast tackle is preferred when chasing soots in dams. need, it’s eat or starve in this world. In short, they are less active, but just as hungry, much like bass at this same time of year.

Where fast presentations work better in the warmer months, slower presentations such as jerkbaits, soft plastics and reaction baits retrieved slowly will often yield better results in the cooler winter conditions, but this, like everything else, is not a hard-and-fast rule.

Camping up in these more upland dams during winter is wonderfully comfortable in comparison to the warmer months, as there’s no violent storms or

intolerable heat to contend with. Winter is certainly the pick for many seasoned dam sooty tragics!

Spring Spring can be quite a dry time in the north of Australia, but generally offers comfortable temperatures and stable weather. While the sooty fishing is not at its peak in the dams, spring certainly makes for some great camping weather.

This time of year can see the fish in a transitional stage, where they’re looking to move away from the deeper structure and start heading up the tributaries.

If the summer storms

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arrive early and dump in late spring, you can expect the fish to be up higher in the dam, but if it remains dry, the fish should be concentrated in the lower part of the dam.

A good mixture of reaction baits should be enough to fool any sooties you find, and later in the day you can expect some explosive topwater action as well.

WHO’S LOVIN’ SOOTS? Hopefully I’ve highlighted why people should be celebrating these incredible fish. The only way you can fully appreciate this great resource is by packing up the gear and making a trip to your nearest ditch full of pigs!

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Experiencing the magic of Shute Harbour BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Home waters in Southern Queensland leave few opportunities to launch my boat into tropical blue water. But on a recent trip to the Proserpine area in search of some elusive

renowned section of the Whitsundays offered.

As we saw it, this was a welcome diversion to fishing in the dam where casts were plentiful but bites less so. For some reason the Faust barra were unimpressed with our flies, especially compared to previous trips.

This area could be summed up with a simple

The author’s wife Denise working hard on a tuna.

Peter Faust barra I had the chance to slip the rig off the trailer at Shute Harbour and see what this

‘unbelievable area with extraordinary fishing’.

Shute Harbour is easy to find; it’s just a matter of

heading east of Proserpine and following the signs.

En route you’ll pass Airlie Beach, which to my mind is a big, bold and busy sort of tourist Mecca.

BLUE WATER AND GREEN HILLS Shute Harbour is only a short 15 minute drive from Airlie Beach but seems like a whole new world. Gone are the high rises and condo developments. In their place is a vista of green mountains and hillsides contrasting with the harbour’s blue water, with an inviting view of even more blue water stretching out towards Whitsunday Island to the east. This area is a deep-water fishery all year round with over 10m depth in the harbour and 70m+ out a little wider off the harbour.

Offshore you’ll find even more depth in various other areas as well.

Launching at Shute Harbour was a breeze. The ramp is wide and with ample parking nearby. We had family accompanying us on the day, with my nephew Steve launching his boat as

The author’s nephew Steve Kampe and his son Darcy having some fun with a northern bluefin tuna.

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Not a high rise in sight at the Shute Harbour ramp, just beautiful blue water and green hills framing the picture. well. As we launched, Steve laughingly pointed out the tuna that were hammering baitfish in the harbour within 100m of the ramp. These fish demanded attention, but soon showed how smart they were. They were quite aware that boats meant lures (or the Kampe’s flies) so after a few fruitless attempts at these fellows we gave up and headed wide.

A mix of mac tuna and long-tailed tuna (northern blues) were on the job and between Steve with his spin rod and Denise and I with our fly rods, we had some pretty good fun. I really enjoyed stalking tuna and delivering that neat little fly in their midst, but sometimes all does not go according to plan.

When we were within sight of the harbour I positioned the boat upwind of a patch of tuna and had the satisfaction of seeing a large northern blue inhale my fly as I cast it in his path. He scorched off in fine style, ran off around 150m of backing then dived deep – very deep.

There was nothing new in this tactic and I had just commenced giving the tuna the pump and wind treatment to coax it up when I suddenly became aware that the strain on the 10WT TFO Mangrove

fly rod had largely gone. I thought the tuna had been sharked and all I would be bringing up would be a head.

Instead, I retrieved a small speckled cod around 30cm in length, somewhat cranky at being exposed to bright sunlight! How that exchange of fish from supper sashimi to cantankerous cod took place is beyond me. but it happened. It’s certainly one for the books!

SO MANY GREAT FEATURES Following this interesting debacle I was keen to do some exploring so we headed east to Whitsunday Island, which is the dominant feature to the east of Shute Harbour and provides handy protection from easterly winds. I was greatly impressed with the numerous bays, sandy beaches, rocks, and other

The author scores a fat tuskfish.

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Hook up! That tuna has just hit Steve’s plastic.

tantalising features that just begged to have a line cast at them, so naturally we had to try out a couple of likely locations.

We saw some fish on the Carbon 12 over a small patch of sunken reef, so we sent a plastic down on Denise’s spin rod. A couple of small lifts later the braid came up tight and it was game on. We were rewarded for out effort with a coral trout. I could not believe how great this place was.

But there was more: shortly after I scored a

Northern bluefin tuna like the one Steve and Darcy Kampe are holding were plentiful out from Shute Harbour.

Denise looks pretty chuffed with this stonker mac tuna she scored on her fly rod.

parrotfish on a similar plastic, but only after two others had dusted the gear off on the coral. Can’t win them all, but it sure was fun trying!

The interesting thing was the sheer possibility of things. Everything looked so fishy! There were markers leading into the harbour proper with rocks nearby.

Splashes around one of the markers being attributed to trevally as we could see the rascals working the bait into a frenzy. Denise thought she saw a bigger fish working the bait as well, so her fly went into the melee. Allowing it to sink down, her rod came up tight, and the retrieve commenced. But, this fish was not a trevally, in fact it was one of the largest (if not the largest) mac tuna I’ve seen.

Doubtlessly topping the day on the water off was the sight of massive Spanish mack towering into the sky, as they do, while we were running out to fish off the corner of Hook Island to the north. We also scored on some goldens that were working a sandy beach corner alongside some queenies.

SUMMING UP So how good is this place? On the basis of just one day on the water, we found tuna in the harbour, quality eating fish around

Golden trevally were just one of many interesting fish species resident on Whitsunday Island’s sand flats. some shallow reef and pelagics out in the deeper water areas. The great scenery all around was another fantastic aspect of being there. To be truthful, when the boat was moving along Whitsunday Island it all looked so good it was hard to know where to make a start with the tackle, but the sight of fleeing baitfish usually decided our next move.

All this, of course, is common to locals and folk who fish the north regularly, but as a visitor from the south the Whitsundays out of Shute Harbour is one area that really impressed me.

On a last note, be aware that there are some green zones in that area, so it pays to study the GBRMPA (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Association) maps before heading too far out.

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15

New Year fishing resolutions NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

It’s that time of year when many of us make worthy resolutions aimed at improving our lives: we pledge to lose weight, get fit, drink less, give up smoking, clean out the garage or whatever else. But let’s not leave our fishing lives out of this important process!

The end of one year and the start of another is a great time for taking stock of things and re-evaluating one’s priorities. We shouldn’t ignore our fishing life when we’re undertaking this process, either. Most of us can easily do things that will make us happier and more successful anglers, as well as taking actions that benefit the fish stocks we chase and the environments they live in.

This year I’ve chosen 10 resolutions that I’ll do my very best to stick to. Hopefully, they might give you some ideas, too. The first five are intended to improve my personal fishing results (and my enjoyment of the sport). The second five aim to benefit the fishery itself.

Here they are:

hopeless at it myself. This year I plan to change that, thanks to the introduction of an online log book function by my favourite weather platform, Fish Ranger.

PERSONAL RESOLUTION 2 Organise my gear better:

keep: Instead of almost always filleting and skinning my catch and discarding the frames and offcuts, I pledge to more often keep the ‘wings’ and fry them up, to make soups and stocks from fish heads and frames, and to occasionally cook fish whole to reduce wastage.

FISHERY RESOLUTION 2 Practice restraint, in addition to sensible catchand-release: In other words, to actually stop fishing for a certain species, in a specific spot, or using a particular technique once I’ve caught and kept or released a couple of the target fish. This might involve packing up and

We have a responsibility to honour our catch and make the most of it by reducing wastage at the cleaning and preparation stage. This starts with a sharp knife and the right attitude. with smaller ‘micro’ barbs and partially or even completely flattening my barbs (particularly on treble hooks) by using a pair of long-

Hooks, leaders and line are amongst the cheapest elements in the whole fishing process, but also the most important. Changing them often definitely pays dividends.

Despite my best intentions, my tackle room and shed constantly turn into a confused nightmare of tangled gear. I can hardly ever put my hand straight onto what I need for a particular trip, especially

Keeping a diary can help to identify productive patterns, but when you strike pay-dirt on fish, like this snapper pulled from 50m of water, stopping when you have enough can be much kinder to fish stocks (and therefore more sustainable) than switching to catch-and-release.

PERSONAL RESOLUTION 1 Maintain an accurate fishing diary: For years I’ve been telling people to keep a diary or logbook in order to identify successful patterns and repeat them. But I’ve been

tackle in good working order, but I know I can lift the bar.

As well as a wash down and dry off after every trip, I’m going to add a light spray of my favourite aerosol lubricant (Mako Oil) for each rod and reel after every trip.

if it’s something a little out of the ordinary. This year, all that changes.

PERSONAL RESOLUTION 3 Improve my gear maintenance routine: I’m not too bad at keeping my fishing

PERSONAL RESOLUTION 4 Turn consumables over more regularly: Line, leader and hooks are amongst the cheapest components in the entire fishing process, but their performance is also critical to our success. So, no more scrimping on line, re-using leaders of getting by with slightly dulled or rusty hooks for me. I pledge to change each one of those key components more regularly.

PERSONAL RESOLUTION 5 Finally, I’m going to slow down and do more looking: Instead of rushing in to any new situation and firing a bait, lure or fly straight into the water, I’m going to hang back and observe, even if only for a minute or two. One thing I’ve learnt over the years is that careful observation is a major key to success. Now it’s time to really implement that lesson!

I reckon the five steps just listed will lead to a noticeable improvement in my catch rates this year. However, as mentioned earlier, I’m also going to pledge to do five important things to help protect fish stocks and the habitats they rely on. Here they are: FISHERY RESOLUTION 1 Utilise more of every fish I

Most modern hooks have tiny barbs that do much less damage to fish than the ‘ski jump’ barbs of the past. Single hooks are also a great option when catch-and-release is on the cards.

Thinking about this stuff is important. heading home early or (more likely) switching to different targets and locations.

FISHERY RESOLUTION 3 Go barbless or partially barbless more often: By choosing hook patterns

Slowing down and spending a little more time observing before wading straight in and wetting a line can make a huge difference to your fishing results.

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nosed pliers in more fishing scenarios. Better for the fish and me.

FISHERY RESOLUTION 4 Continue experimenting with retro-fitting single hooks to lures: I’ve been dabbling

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with using singles to replace trebles on some lures for a while now, but this year, I resolve to take it to the next level and apply it to a lot more of my lure fishing. As with reducing barb sizes, it’s kinder to the fish, and safer for me.

FISHERY RESOLUTION 5 Finally, always carry a garbage bag with me when I’m fishing: And make it a habit to bring home at least half a dozen or so items of rubbish I encounter in and around our waterways every time I go fishing. Can you imagine the difference it would make if we all did this?

So, there you have it.

Those are my 10 fishingrelated New Year’s resolutions for 2019. What are yours?

If you interested in pursuing these ideas further (or monitoring the progress of my resolutions), my website portal www. fishotopia.com offers access to lots more content like this.

Jump on, have a look around and consider signing up for the free monthly newsletter.

Meanwhile, happy New Year!

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17

Tech Tricks

Learn how to tie your own Brush Dragon fly BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

As the Murray cod season has been open for over a month and with the barramundi season due

to re-open on 1 February at midday, I thought I would tie a pattern ideal for both species using some relatively new materials on the market.

There are a lot of variations in this pattern and it has numerous names

depending on the variation of materials from which it can be tied with. I simply call this one the Brush Dragon after the two most prominent materials it is tied with. This pattern has heaps of action in the water and actually appears to be swimming due

to the snake-like tail action the dragon tail produces during the retrieve.

David Mangum’s Dragon Tails are distributed by Orvis (Mayfly Tackle) in Australia and available in 11 straight colours in the 9” size and ten colours in the 6” size (including five variegated colours). When tied into a fly where the head is larger than the tail, a natural vortex is created that helps the tail swim in a snake-like manner. Obviously more action is imparted with the stripping technique, yet even on the sink the pattern has an enticing action.

The whistler style head obviously pushes a degree of water and this fly has real presence in the aquatic environment. It will catch an array of larger predators including barramundi, Murray cod, trevally, tuna, threadfin

salmon, mulloway, mackerel and numerous others.

The other exciting material in this pattern is the Just Add H2O Polar Fibre Streamer Brush (distributed

by EJ Todds). This material is a brush version of the original Polar Fibre with added flash.

There is a great array of flat and variegated colours in the 3” brush that can be matched with the various Dragon Tails. Additionally there are numerous other brush types that could be used in this pattern including Streamer Brush, Lively Legs Brush and Baitfish Brush.

I have gone old school with the collar and used saddle hackles, however, zonker strips, palmer chenille, marabou and CCT Body Fur could all be used to create slightly different effects.

Obviously there are a lot of

variations in colours for this pattern, however, the basic tying principle remains. This fly can even be tied as a variation of the Pink Thing, with white body and pink collar, which is one of the most popular barramundi flies in Australia. However, the variations are endless and up to your imagination.

VIDEO

Check out the short clip of this fly swimming on the Fishing Monthly website or Gordon’s Instagram gcmac1970.

For tying the Brush Dragon, you will only need a small list of materials. I am using the variegated black/white 6” dragon tail, Polar Fibre Streamer Brush 3” in black/grey, large purple saddle hackles, black flat-waxed nylon thread, Gamakatsu SL12S 6/0 hook, head-cement and large white painted eyes. In addition to your vice, bobbin and scissors, a hairbrush can be a handy addition, although not essential.

Materials

3

Directly in front of the thicker part of the tail, attach the butt of the streamer brush (with the fibres facing away from the fly) with several tight wraps, whip finish and advance the thread forward to just in front of the eye.

Add a little head cement to the whip finish to increase durability.

1

Attach the thread with a jamb knot and then lay down a bed of thread around 6-8mm behind the hook eye. Attach your painted eyes a few millimetres behind the hook eye using a series of figure-of-eight wraps until secure. Continue wrapping your thread along the shank until you are roughly opposite the hook point. To make the fly extremely durable, cover the thread attaching the eyes with some head cement.

2

Roughly opposite the hook point, attach the Dragon Tail using a series of thread wraps so the taper of the tail is going away from the hook. Once you have tied down the small tag end of the tail, whip finish and add some head cement. Wait a few minutes for this to dry before moving on.

18

JANUARY 2019

4

Begin to palmer (wrap) the streamer brush around the hook shank.

It is important here that you continually preen the fibres backwards with your fingertips as you make each wrap. Failure to do this will result in many of the fibres becoming trapped underneath the next wrap. Each wrap should be placed just in front of the last.

5

Once you have advanced forward to within 5mm of the painted eye, separate the fibres of the streamer brush with your thread so you can tie off the fine wire backbone against the hook shank.

Tech Tricks

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6

Once secured, cut the remainder of the streamer brush away, whip finish and add a little head cement. Lay down another bed of thread between this point and the painted eye.

7

Cut three large purple saddle hackles where the soft webby rear part finishes and the main barb section starts. Directly in front of the streamer brush tie-down point, attach the rear quill of all three hackles. Whip finish and advance the thread forward up to the painted eyes.

8

Palmer the feathers individually around the hook. Preen the barbs backwards as you do and keep each wrap very close to the last. Separating the barbs from each other by running your finger from the tip to the butt of the hackle before tying will create a greater effect.

Once you have done one, secure the tip of it with your thread and do the next one just in front of it. Continue until all three hackles have been palmered, filling in the small gap between streamer brush and painted eye.

Secure and whip finish the ends of the hackles before adding a little head cement to the thread.

10

Use a brush to preen the barbs of the hackle and the fibres of the streamer brush towards the rear of the fly. This will release any errant fibre tips that have become trapped. Use a heat gun on a low setting or a hairdryer to blow the fly from the front to add a nice fluffy look to the fly collar, although it will eventually end up this way with repeated casting.

11

When completed, the Brush Dragon is a great looking fly. This can be made in an array of great colours, either matching or contrasting to suit a wide variety of larger native and predatory species.

JANUARY 2019

19

Warmer water is finally here YAMBA

Dave Gaden

Welcome to 2019. At this time of year, my part of the world is absolutely overrun with visitors,

a lot of them trying to catch a feed of fish. Even though the town and surrounds are busy we are blessed with such a big estuary that there is enough room for everyone to find a quiet spot to

themselves. Summer is a great time to be out on the water chasing fish or a feed of crabs.

Flathead are always good in January, and as I’ve mentioned before, at this time of year the water can be very clear. Try and find some colour or fish

Trolling at dead idle on the edge of the channel with a good diving lure (Zerek 50mm Tango Shad is my favourite) will produce a lot of fish at this time of year. Try the Broadwater upstream between Maclean and Lawrence, the entrance to Lake Woolawayah,

Eddie Kell from Ulmarra with a pearl perch. These fish are especially prolific in the wider grounds.

Pete with a 50cm Maori cod. You can find these guys off the south reef.

Jack Mackintosh from Yamba with a mulloway. There are some nice trophies to be found this month.

deeper holes for the bigger fish. There will be plenty of small fish on the edge of the sand banks at high tide, but the bigger fish will look for a bit of cover.

North Arm on Iluka side and Romiaka Channel.

Whiting have had the best year I can remember for some time. Pump some yabbies at low tide and fish

for them on the last two hours of the flood tide.

A simple rig of a 00 ball sinker running right down onto a #6 longshank bait keeper hook with a metre of 6lb leader will be enough to bring them unstuck. I like to fish in 4-5m of water on the edge of the deeper channels, but you will get a feed from the bank the same way. Try the entrance to Ready Creek just west of the Tavern, Romiaka Channel, the south edge of Sleeper Island and just inside Collises Wall.

Blue swimmer crabs have been in good numbers here since early October.

Funny enough we usually use the dillies or witches hat nets to chase the swimmers, but this year most of the crabs I have caught have been in the crab traps set

for the muddies overnight.

Not that I’m complaining because you can quite often get half a dozen at a time this way. Oyster Channel all the way from the Tavern to Lake Woolawayah will hold crab.

Offshore, the warmer water will finally be here.

Mahimahi will be around in plague proportions. The first and most obvious spot to try is the Fisheries FAD, and you will find the co-ordinates for this on DPI website. We have set it back in the same spot as last year, approx. 12nm southeast of the river mouth in around 70m of water.

I have mentioned this before, but for those who have never been out there, I suggested this spot not just because of the good current and water quality but because

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of a really good piece of rubble reef underneath. So, if you don’t get the mahimahi drop a line to the bottom and there will be snapper, blue spot flathead and trag holding in the reef.

Mackerel will finally be here this month, with spotted mackerel as the most prominent. You won’t have to travel very far for these fish, but you may have to get out of bed a bit earlier. Trolling the very simple pink squid skirts way back behind the boat at around 9 knots just on daylight through to about 7:30am will get a fish. On the charter boats we actually set the lures as soon as we cross the bar. We have caught numerous spotted and spanish mackerel over the bait balls at Lovers Point and Angourie Point on our way to the grounds at One-Man when heading south, and the same as we head north to Woody Head and into Shark Bay (a real hotspot for spotties).

Quality reef fish like Venus tuskfish, pearl perch, Moses perch and Maori cod will be mixed in with the snapper and trag on the south reef this month. If you haven’t fished there before, the grounds are simple to find. Look to land as you head towards Brooms Head and Red Cliff will be very obvious, behind it will be what looks like an old volcano called Clarence Peak. Once Red Cliff lines up under the peak you are on the grounds and have 4km of good reef from there south. Simple.

The north ground we fish a lot this month, not because it’s better than the south but because we finish our charters at 2pm and at this time of year there is usually a good northeast wind up by

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438 STRYKER John with a beautiful Venus tuskfish.

This month really fires them up. noon. So for pure comfort we go north to let the breeze blow us home. Fortunately, there are some great fish from Black Rock, Italian Grounds and South Evans Reef. There are days when this area is trag city, and we have bagged out (five trag per person) before 9am. Still good snapper, pearlies and of course those big mulloway

up there are always a trophy.

The wider grounds east of Black Rock in 50-fathoms will have nice pearl perch in big numbers this month. The only downside is that you can travel the 20nm east to find the current is too strong to fish. If that happens don’t just head home, turn the boat towards Evans Head and fish in there.

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21

If you want success, mix it up to hook up BALLINA

Joe Allan

The lower reaches of the Richmond have produced some great catches of bream.

Try casting noisy crankbaits at the walls early in the mornings while the tide is running. Fluorocarbon line straight through is best suited for this.

Lures to try are the

Atomic Crank 38 Deep and water clarity will change what colour I pick. Dark colours for low light, solid and bright colours for dirty water and more translucent and natural finishes for bright sun and clearer water.

The whiting fishing has been going well of late. The shallow sand flats in North Creek and out the front of the RSL are producing some solid fish on Bassday Sugapens.

are deafening, remember to tie on your surface lures to imitate these tasty snacks for bass. The trick with these is not to do too much. Just shake your rod tip slightly every now and again exactly like a cicada that’s fallen out of a tree. The new Atomic Cicadas, are producing some great catches, and the

the fish’s tail. This has helped a few local boys turn those bites into fish. There have been some juvenile kingfish off the FADs as well and these guys can be pretty fun on light tackle.

Mackerel came in towards the end of December and should be really thick through January. There were

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Keith Sheppard with a beautiful flathead caught upriver.

The new 58mm version is proving deadly.

Crabs have turned up in patches around the middle reaches from Pimlico to Broadwater. Hopefully we

blackfish frames if you can get your hands on some.

Bass have been quiet around Coraki and Woodburn as the fish have well and truly moved upstream. You may

A quality bream. These fish are quite prominent in the Richmond at the moment.

Bassday Yaminama Sniper 65 is also accounting for some good fish. These things make some really cool noises when being retrieved.

Offshore has been patchy with the best results on mahimahi coming from around the FADs. Make sure you get a long drift on these, and live yakka have been best with almost no weight.

If you’re getting bites but not hooking up try putting a treble hook as a stinger hooked into

good reports around the Gold and Sunshine Coast early in December, so as the water warms up these beauties will come along with it.

Beaches have been producing good catches of whiting and flathead. Look for the main gutters around South Ballina, along Patches Beach and Boundary Creek.

Fresh bait is always better. Try digging a few pipis or getting a few beachworms, that’s a skill I have not yet mastered.

The bass bite has been quiet lately, but hopefully it picks up this month and we can get more catches like this. get a bit of rain to stir them up a bit more. Give the pots plenty of time to settle and let the crabs find the bait.

The best baits are definitely

find them in patches, but for good numbers try the upper reaches around Lismore and Casino. If you are out early or late and the cicadas

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An example of a flathead lie. There are some monsters around this month.

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JANUARY 2019

What a start to the New Year THE TWEED

Anthony Coughran

I hope everyone had a safe and merry Christmas and an amazing New Year.

Wow, what a way to start

estuary cod and black spot cod are making short work of most live baits, dead or strip baits and various lures.

Whiting are all over the skinny water with some great hauls taken this month on the surface and with bait.

Ian James with a solid king. Be sure to bring your heaviest gear if targeting kings, as they fight hard. the year. Tweed has been fishing really well over the last month with all areas of fishing going off; kingfish, mahimahi, wahoo, billfish and mackerel are all starting to show their faces off Tweed.

The red dogs are barking hard in the Tweed this month and dominating anglers.

These toothy crimson brutes,

Bass have been slurping insect lures at first light and various lures in the upper rivers and creeks of the Tweed this month.

Some solid specimen have been taken from out of the main river around the weir this month.

OFFSHORE Good schools of various bait off Tweed has kept

the kingies around and has brought in the mahimahi, wahoo, mackerel and odd billfish. Live baits are catching the bigger kings, but many anglers are barely able to stop them, even on their heaviest gear. A few smaller ones have been caught on poppers/stickbaits, jigs and plastics. But live baits are the go for the big ones, either heavily weighted or down rigged and trolled at idle once a fish is marked on your sounder. Go to neutral for a minute or so and allow your bait to sink to the bottom again, then just slowly idle away and cross your fingers.

You don’t need to do this if your baits are down rigged.

The odd mackerel is hanging around the kings.

Troll baits or float baits are your best bet for a toothy beast. You’ll also find the odd wahoo around those same packs of bait on close reefs. Trolling hard bodies is catching a few smaller ones in between reefs.

There is the odd billfish, mahimahi, yellowfin and wahoo on the 24s out to the shelf. Trolling skirts and working current lines, reefs and any floating debris will be the go. The FAD is holding small packs of

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mahimahi, which are eating high speed metals. There are Bass groper and big bar cod out wide. Look in that 300-500m of water for best results.

You’ll find some mixed reefies on close reefs.

Plastics, drift baits and jigs are still catching a good feed of snapper, finger mark, spangled emperor, pearlies and pigfish. Yakka, pilchards and slimies are in packs on most close reefs if you need fresh live baits.

ESTUARY Jacks are here. They are dominating the rivers this month. Lots of anglers are

Jamie French and the boys with a nice 200lb marlin.

These fish are firing offshore at the moment. struggling to keep them out of their snaggy homes and many are just unstoppable.

Live bait, dead baits and

James Walker with a big 58cm mangrove jack.

They are dominating the rivers this month.

large strip baits have been the go for a big red. But bring your big gear because most anglers are only stopping one out of three.

There are plenty eating artificials.

The 3” minnows, 30g vibes, jointed suspenders, 100mm hardbodies, stickbaits and poppers have all been catching fish over the last month. You want to target heavy structures like Cobaki Bridge and rock wall, Fingal rock wall, Barneys Bridge and rocks, Chinderah rock wall, Oxley Cove rock wall, Broadwater Bend, Cudgen Creek Bridge and any holes with mangroves or rocks in them for best results.

Good packs of whiting have moved up into the

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skinny water and are hungry. Yabbies, blood and beachworms are still the best way to get a feed. However, Sugapens, Splash Prawns, small pencils and poppers are catching the bigger ones.

There is nothing like a pack of blue noses chasing your

heavy gear and multistring wire for the big ones.

Plenty of crabs are around and still doing what they do: move around, feed up, moult and get caught by hungry fishos. There are lots being caught up in the mangroves, around the bridges, around

Keisha McClymont with a solid whiting. They are moving into skinny water and eating nearly anything. lure and zipping across the top. Most anglers are changing the hooks on their surface lures to smaller sized hooks or stingers for a better hook up rate. A soft rod helps, and a few lures, a quick retrieve and a sand bank is all you need to have some topwater fun.

Some solid trevally are working the different packs of bait in most systems this month and are hanging around most rock walls, canals, mangrove lines, submerged rock and around bridges with light.

Targeting them with plastics, small metals, hardbodies, stickbaits/poppers, blades and vibes should produce.

Just match the hatch. Fishing live herring around the bridges of a night is also catching a few.

There are still some good flathead around. Most of the bigger girls have moved out to deeper, cooler water. So vertically jigging plastics and working vibes and blades off the bottom of the Blue Hole, Jack Evans and Fingal rock walls, Barneys Point, the Piggery, the Golf Club, Boyds Bay and Terranora Creek will be your best bets for a big girl. Please respect the big breeders and release them as quickly as possible, but keep peppering the area where you got her. She will have males sitting around her. Usually anywhere up to about 10. She keeps them close to reproduce with and to eat.

The bull sharks are here!

There are a lot of bull sharks up around Condong through to Murbah. Find the mullet showering out of the water of a night and you will find them. Freshwater eel, large dead bait, stingray, whole fish, cows heart and large live baits are the go if you want to battle one of these toothy brutes. But remember to stay away from the pointy end.

Handle them with respect and you should be okay. Use medium spin gear and light wire for the smaller ones and

the weed beds, near drains and up back the river and creeks this month. But watch how shallow you go, as your bait won’t last long with the higher water temps.

BEACHES Dart are in full swing now, but finding those windows before the wind gets too gnarly is a little tricky. Southern beaches have been fishing well in the northerlies. You can find dart, bream, tailor, small queenies, GT, big-eye, tuna and bonito around the headlands, rocks and groynes of a night and at dusk and dawn. Whitebait strip bait, pillies, and beachworms are the best baits this month.

There is also the odd dart and tailor coming on metals and plastics.

There are some good gutters along the Tweed Coast beaches. Again, the northerlies will be better.

These gutters are holding some good fish. Dart, whiting, flathead and bream are being caught on the run-out and on the bottom of the tide. Fishing these gutters

at night with bait will catch you a good feed. Otherwise, casting plastics into these gutters of a low tide during the day can be very fun. You just have to work out jighead size according to the wind and waves. A 1/4-1/2oz, 3-5� with a wriggle-tail, paddletail, or even jerkshad should see you connected to a fun little gutter battle.

FRESHWATER The surface feeders are smashing down the surface lures this month. The back creeks and river are fishing well. The further the better at the moment, and some of the smaller pools right up the rivers and creeks are producing the goods. Time to pull out Google Maps and start searching for those pools.

Insect surface lures are working well at dusk and dawn. Jig spins, spinnerbaits, hardbodies, plastics and baits such as garden worms, grubs, termites, maggots, bread and dough are all working well once the sun is up.

Dams are fishing well with the same techniques.

NEXT MONTH Most reefs should hold packs of mackerel at times.

Float baiting stickbaits around the bommies and trolling will be your best bet for a big Spaniard. For spotties try smaller float baits and metals. Pelagics should thicken and start to wreak havoc. Trolling skirts will be the go.

Jacks will feed up over the next month. Get those big baits in on that heavy gear.

Whiting will keep dominating the skinny water as the flathead stick to the deep water and holes. The bridges will keep those packs of trevally of a night as long as there is light and herring.

Crabs will keep fattening up and moving around full moons. Bass will keep slurping at dusk and dawn.

Get up into the back country, but watch for snakes.

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Malee McAndrew with a fiesty flathead. Watch out for the bigger females this season.

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Holiday fishing on the busy Gold Coast SOUTHERN GOLD COAST

Mark Ward markward222@bigpond.com

January is a great time of year to be on the water, but it’s also a very busy time of year for us anglers. We normally like things nice and quiet, but that can be a little tricky at this time of year. With that in mind, this month’s report will include a few tips for fishing at night and beating the crowds.

OFFSHORE The current hits us very hard during summer, so it is best to work for mackerel, mahimahi, cobia and marlin.

There have been good catches of mahimahi off Tweed Heads and patches of fish showing up off Burleigh and Palm Beach.

Floating pillies or livies on the reefs and gravel patches works well, as does working bait schools and slow trolling rigged baits.

Anglers in the know have been telling me that it should be a good season for black marlin off the Tweed and Gold Coast.

Trolling skirted lures with teasers to bring the fish up to the boat works well and covers a lot of ground. Out on the wider grounds off the shelf, blue marlin have been caught

on skirted lures as well as switch baiting.

The Nine Mile, Gravel Patch and Palm Beach will all start to get regular visits from spotted mackerel. The fishing will continue to get better as we move out of summer and into autumn, so it’s a little early for them but a few have started to be caught.

School mackerel will still be about and there will also be plenty of small tuna schools in close. Find some bait and the tuna won’t be too far away.

Bottom bashing the wider grounds can produce good catches of pearl perch and the odd snapper. The current can run hard during

Bass fishing is a great option this month. Sam Swanson landed this one by rolling plastics along the weedy edges.

Cody Ward with a shy summer bream that fell to a slowly worked Cranka Crab.

26

JANUARY 2019

January, so working from a drifting boat with the appropriate amount of lead is a must.

ESTUARY Whiting have been biting well in Tallebudgera and Currumbin creeks.

The warm shallow water produces good numbers of fish, which is ideal for the kids during the holidays.

Yabbies and worm baits work best. Keep lines light and if the bait can be kept moving slowly, either by the current or by slowly retrieving, it will produce a lot more fish. Whiting can also be targeted at night but they tend to hold up in the

deeper channels after dark.

The Nerang River around the Council Chambers is the best location for whiting fishing at night but the Tweed River near the Gold Club and the start of Terranora Lakes also fishes well.

My son and I have been using Cranka Crab lures along the edges of the rock walls and the sand flats for bream. These lures need to be fished very slowly and work particularly well on shy bream. Expect a few estuary cod when fishing near the rocks as well.

Trevally have been hitting surface lures

around the mouths of the canals in Currumbin Creek.

First light is a great time to target them and they will continue to hit surface lures until the boat traffic begins to disturb the peace.

Night is a very productive time to chase trevally. They can be found around the canals and bridges where they will be busting up baitfish. Using surface lures is not only productive but a lot of fun.

Cupped-faced poppers and walk-the-dog style lures are very productive. In the quiet night, a trevally can slam a lure on the surface To page 27

From page 26

and even if the hook up is missed, the action is still a lot of fun.

Mangrove jack are another fish that can be caught at night on lures and live baits. These fish hate boat traffic and jet skis and they actively hunt a lot more at night. I like to fish the bottom of the tide in well-known jack haunts and surface lures and diving lures will work.

Gold lures seem to work well at night, but any colour can be effective at times. If the jacks are biting they will chase anything that comes close to them.

The centre canals and lakes around Robina and Broadbeach have fished very well for all sorts

of species, including mangrove jack and trevally.

Additionally, there have been several bass in the freshwater sections and tarpon around Bond Uni. The bridges of these canals have been fishing well at night and I often drive past and see bait anglers fishing off the bridges.

If looking for a quiet fish this month, bass fishing is a good option.

The canals around Clear Island and Robina can be accessed with a kayak and boaties can fish the upper freshwater and brackish areas of the Tweed.

Anywhere upstream of Tumbulgum is worth a try and fish the long reeds on the shore. For kayaks and boats fitted with

electric motors, Hinze and Clarrie Hall dams are great spots for a quiet fish during summer.

BEACHES The beaches of the Gold Coast can be very busy at this time of year, but for anglers, beaches south of Tweed Heads are always a good option for a fish.

Whiting and dart are the target during summer and when the weather is kind to us the fishing can be incredible. Great to get the kids into it as well. Long casts and long rods are not needed as most of the fish will be feeding close to the shore. Fishing with standard rods works well and the kids can fish all day with them instead of having to lug around a big surf rod.

Hiding in places like the quiet ends of canals and upper reaches of rivers is a great option during January.

Visitors urged to ‘Play it safe’ during storm season

Visitors to South East Queensland’s lakes and dams should be aware of the risks of changing weather patterns, in particular sudden storms, during summer.

changing weather conditions to stay safe.

“Even though the stillness of lakes can create a tranquil and safe feeling, incidents and injury can still happen if visitors get complacent.”

and other agencies such as Maritime Safety Queensland to enforce safe and responsible behaviour on and off the water “Despite an increased presence at lakes during the busy summer period,

Seqwater’s Play it safe campaign has returned for its fifth year, aiming to raise awareness about the safety risks associated with lakes and other inland waterways.

Seqwater Chief Executive Officer Neil Brennan said more than 2.7 million people visited Seqwater’s dams, lakes and parks each year, with thousands of them taking part in on-water activities.

“One of the safety messages we are emphasising this year is how changing weather patterns, particularly sudden storms during summer, were a risk for paddlers, swimmers and boaties.

“Kayak fishing is also increasing in popularity on our lakes and we need everyone to take care.

“Severe weather events are an unavoidable part of the summer storm season, so it’s important that visitors to our lakes are aware of and quickly respond to

Mr Brennan said summer was the busiest time for Seqwater’s lakes across the regions, with particularly large crowds during the Christmas and New Year break.

“Visitor safety is a high

Seqwater rangers and police can’t be everywhere, which means people have to take responsibility for their own safety and be mindful of others.

“The importance of safe aquatic behaviours including

“

“Even if you have visited our lakes before, conditions may have changed.”

Visitors to Seqwater’s lakes and parks are advised to check the latest recreation and safety notices on the Seqwater website and the Bureau of Meteorology weather forecast before heading out.

The Play it safe campaign runs until the end of April.

For more information visit Seqwater.com.au/playitsafe.

– Seqwater

The importance of safe aquatic behaviours including checking weather forecasts, obeying speed and distance rules when operating vessels and lifejacket use cannot be overstated.

“

priority for Seqwater,” Mr Brennan said. “Seqwater rangers and compliance officers work with the Queensland Police Service

checking weather forecasts, obeying speed and distance rules when operating vessels and lifejacket use cannot be overstated.

JANUARY 2019

27

Storms are not your enemy GOLD COAST CANALS

Josh Dunn Instagram: @josh__dunn__

Happy New Year all! I hope everyone has had a great holiday so far and is getting amongst some quality fish! At the moment, fishing has been very efficient in the local Gold Coast canals and broadwater.

As the weather has been extremely hot over the last month or two, there has been some phenomenal afternoon fishing!

One species that has been flooding my feed on Facebook is the elusive mangrove jack. These fish have been really coming on the bite, especially as the hot weather sets in.

Some day temperatures are rising above 40°C, bringing afternoon thunderstorms and red dogs on the bite.

My favourite time to head out for these fish (if there is a forecasted storm) is around 3-4pm, most storms are generally brewing around 5pm. Usually, at this time, the barometer is high, making this the perfect time for fishing for jacks. The best way to

A great bream taken recently out of a local GC canal. find the current barometer reading is on WillyWeather.

Two of the main species barometer readings affect are Australian bass and mangrove jack.

For bass, a perfect reading is

around 1016 and for jacks generally the higher the better. Although jacks can be a tricky species to get your head around.

Big flathead have been getting around lately, with

anglers hunting them in the deeper water, making this style of fishing the most successful. If you find yourself fishing the run-out tide, try and set up a good drift while vertically hopping big plastics off the bottom. Don’t be afraid to fish with heavy jigheads with this style, keeping the plastics close to the bottom, right in their faces. Also, remember to persist in the area with the drift you have going, you’ll be surprised how many fish lay in the same area, especially the larger models. Even drift the same wall or bank several times.

The heat doesn’t only bring red dogs and the lizards on the bite, but also quality bream. This time of year is perfect for surface fishing as a lot of baitfish love to push up under a jetty for protection or lay toward the surface for the heat. Bream definitely won’t pass up an easy feed like that. So if you can represent a small prawn or throw surface walkers at the bank and retrieve it with plenty of pauses, you should be in with a great chance.

Within the next month

A quality flathead taken from dirty water while flicking the mangrove-lined banks. or two we will definitely see temperatures rise, along with more showers and superb fishing. This time last year we saw a lot of storms, some severe, so don’t be surprised to see plenty of rain this month.

Although, with rain comes benefits, like giving the canals a good flush out from dirty water. This results in a

hot surface bite and fish also feel more confident to come out further from structure to eat.

In conclusion, this month we will see plenty of species on the bite and some really hot days. If you continue to persist through the heat during the day you should be seeing fish in no time.

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Whiting are fisher’s friends JUMPINPIN

Mick Morris gembait@tpg.com

Happy new fishing year to everyone, it’s now time to get stuck into some whiting. Whiting fishing is great for all ages as they are a great table fish and relatively easy to catch, but if you get onto some big 40cm+ fish they can put up a decent fight as well.

Whiting catches finished off last year strongly and should be firing off again this year around the sand flats at the top of South Straddie, the Pig Styes, Slipping Sands

Baylee Griffith shows us that big whiting can be caught by all ages.

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and Fishermans Channel.

You could also try around the Never Fail Islands and Tipplers and Tiger Mullet channels, as they all seem to fire at this time of year.

When the current runs hard through those spots it is a great time to chase whiting, so look for larger tide movements and stick with live blood or beachworms as bait for best results.

Yabbies are a great bait too, but you will find they come off the hook quite easily and you will be forever rebaiting.

Bream should be firing too as they feed on the influx of nutrients that have come from the rivers after the summer storms.

All the baitfish, prawns and such like, that they feed on should be in abundant supply and that should send them into a feeding frenzy.

When they feed like this it is a great opportunity to try luring for them with small plastics, hardbodied divers or small vibes, as they will be more aggressive and likely to hit a lure. Some good luring spots are the bottom of Kangaroo Island up against the mangroves, on the Pandannus weed banks, Tipplers Passage, Steglietz and the Stockyards. However, the Stockyards is very snaggy and known for claiming many lures, but bream love structure so that’s where you’ll find them. If the water is clean enough you will have more success with lures, but if it is still too murky then bait is the best way to go. Prawns, squid, whitebait, pillies and mullet gut are great bream baits.

There have been great catches of flathead as well, with the best catches coming from the cleaner water. The water doesn’t have to be crystal clear, and as long as is doesn’t look like a chocolate milkshake, you should have more success. Behind Tabby Tabby Island, Eden

Rhiley loves outfishing his dad, especially on the whiting.

Island and right up through Tiger Mullet Channel is great lizard country and is usually protected from the wind, so it can be fished on most outings. Those channels are lined with mangroves and the edges are all 2-6ft. Flathead lie in wait as the tide drops and all those baitfish that are hiding there have to come out, this is an easy feed for the cunning lizards. So chucking a lure or wellpresented bait off those edges should score you a few good fish.

January is always a good time for tailor and there should be some decent greenbacks off the beaches of North and South Straddie. They like chasing the schools of whitebait that come through the Pin, so using any small metal slugs or plastics that look

like whitebait is a great way to fish for tailor. Early morning and late arvo are the peak times when tailor are more active and when you’ll catch the majority of them.

There should still be a few pelagic fish hanging just beyond the Bar around the dirty water line, so if the weather comes good then trolling small skirted lures on the surface or big diving hardbodied lures should produce some mackerel, tuna, bonito or even a small marlin.

•Thank you for all your reports and if you have any questions on conditions or what’s biting drop us a line at Gem Bait & Tackle on 07 3287 3868 or email gembait@tpg.com.au.

I hope your new year starts off with a bang and the fish are biting for you.

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Game on for marlin season GOLD COAST

David Green

This month can be very exciting when it comes to fishing. A number of species start heating

up, meaning there is something for every angler.

Boat traffic also increases this time of year with the holiday season. But, with so much out there everyone is guaranteed a good catch.

OFFSHORE January is one of the best months for gamefishing off the Gold Coast. The East Australian Current moves in close to the coast and brings large numbers of pelagic fish inshore. Target species

Mark Frendin with a solid pair of mahimahi. They are the most

gamefishing species around the1moment.

STA16112 Revocommon 499 FM_Layout 1 19/06/2018 11:32 AM at Page

this month include black marlin, mahimahi, wahoo and mackerel on the inshore grounds and there should be plenty of blue marlin wide of the continental shelf. Bait schools should move in close to the coast.

These aggregations of slimy mackerel and pilchards are the key to finding bigger fish.

Trolling skirted lures is a good option for January on the grounds inside of the 80m line. Skirted lures between 15-30cm are a great way to catch a mix of fish.

Mahimahi are probably the most common species encountered this month and generally average around 6-10kg on the close grounds. They love pink and purple lures. Black marlin should turn up this month, but I don’t think they will be in big numbers as the reports from more northern grounds have been below average. Hopefully this year we will see an increase in wahoo numbers, as they have been fairly scarce in recent seasons.

Good areas to troll include Sullies and the Cotton Reef east of Jumpinpin, the Gravel Patch east of Burleigh Heads, the Tweed Nine Mile Reef and the 40m line east

Releasing a black marlin. Gamefishing off the Gold Coast really fires up in January.

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JANUARY 2019

of South Stradbroke. Always keep an eye out for bait and if you find it stay in the area.

A lot of the marlin strikes occur in the hour around a tide change. If the water is blue and warm and you have bait in the vicinity it shouldn’t take too long to get a strike. Current lines are another good place to troll and these brown lines of coral spawn often hold bait and are a great area to try for mahimahi.

Out wide beyond the continental shelf there should be blue marlin around the 200-400m line. These fish are one of the most exciting things to chase. Their spectacular take off and grey hounding leaps make them one of the hardest fish in the ocean to control. A spread of large skirted lures on 37kg tackle is the best way to get hooked up. There can be a lot of fishless hours, but when you get a hook up it makes all the effort worthwhile.

These fish average around 140kg in Gold Coast waters.

On the inshore grounds there should be good numbers of spotted mackerel at Palm Beach Reef with a few Spanish mackerel as well. Mermaid Reef generally fishes better later in the month. This area also holds schools of bonito and mackerel tuna. Anchoring, berleying and fishing with

The author with a pretty mulloway. During summer this species is generally a bit smaller than the rest of the year. pilchards or spinning is a good way to fish these areas.

Spotted mackerel are always a major fishing attraction in the school holidays.

Bottom fishing can be difficult in January due to the strong current. There are still a few pearl perch, snapper,

rosy jobfish and parrotfish to be caught when the current is slow. In closer to shore the 18 and 24 fathom reefs off Southport can produce the odd snapper, mulloway and cobia on live baits. There are still a few mulloway to be caught at night in this area.

RIVERS AND ESTUARIES January is a good month to chase whiting, mangrove jack, trevally, mulloway and sand and mud crabs. The estuary is very busy at this time and it pays to get up early before the boat traffic

increases. There will still be a few good flathead around on the early morning high tides. These respond well to cast plastic stickbaits and hardbodied lures.

Mangrove jack will be active this month and it is a good time to chase them on surface lures. Work around canal mouths and floating pontoons early in the morning. If you see bait flicking the jacks won’t be too far away. G Splash poppers and Storm Chug Bugs work well on jacks, but it also pays to have a shallow running minnow rigged on another rod in case the jacks are following the other popper but not striking. There have been plenty of really big mangrove jack around 60cm long this season and these big monsters should be increasingly active this month.

Whiting are active on the flats throughout January and are also in good numbers in the Nerang River at night. Casting unweighted yabbies to schooling fish is a great way to target them.

They also respond well to small stickbaits such as the Bassday Sugarpen.

Lures work best when the whiting are chasing shrimp and prawns. A fast non-stop retrieve is generally the best method. A few big whiting

over 40cm often turn up on surface lures. In the Nerang River yabbies, worms and small soldier crabs are all effective and most of the best fishing takes place at night when it cools down.

There should be a few mulloway in the entrances around Jumpinpin and the Seaway this month. Live pike are generally the most effective bait, although soft plastics also catch their share of fish. A lot of the mulloway in summer are smaller fish around 70-80cm long, with the odd bigger specimen.

The last hour of the run-in tide is generally the most productive time to chase mulloway, especially when it occurs around dawn and dusk. As well as mulloway, the entrances will also produce a few big flathead, giant trevally and tailor.

Mud crabs should be active in the Pimpama River, Coombabah Creek and the north arm of the Coomera River. Chicken frames are an excellent bait to use in mud crab pots. There should also be quite a few sand crabs in the central Broadwater. Use fish bait in your pots and set them close to weed beds in a water depth of 4-6m.

Overall, January is a great month to fish the Gold Coast with plenty of good options. Stay safe and be careful on the water.

JANUARY 2019

33

Let’s get ‘thready’ to start the New Year SOUTHERN BAY

Nick Whyte

January is a hot month, and mackerel, mangrove jack, threadfin salmon and longtail tuna are all warming up with it.

Mackerel will be in good numbers this month.

The northern bay should be alive with them. Find the bait, find the fish. The bird activity will be a big give away so keep an eye out. The paddock between Peel and

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the Navel banks is an usual haunt, as well as Rainbow Channel, 4 Beacons, the banks opposite Tangalooma and the stretch of red buoys in the Rous Channel. Small stickbaits like the Fish Inc Flanker are absolutely deadly on these fish. Make sure you run a short length of wire or it could become an expensive day. Metal slugs and soft plastics are a great alternative and you can change the size to match the hatch. ZMan 5” StreakZ are my favourite and because of

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Mangrove jack are being caught everywhere at the moment. Plenty of fish have been caught on lures and live bait on pretty much every bridge from Sunshine Coast to the Tweed. The smaller creeks like Tingalpa, Moogerupton, Beams and Eprapah have been holding a few fish. Logan River, Nerang, Coomera and Tweed have been producing a lot of fish from the rock walls.

There has also been plenty of good cod and trevally holding in the same areas.

Longtail tuna will start making a stronger appearance this month. The average bay fish are around that 8-10kg. There will be some barrels around as well, up towards the 20kg mark.

Richie Lucker with a solid thready. You can find these fish in decent numbers around the Brisbane River.

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These fish run and fight extremely hard so make sure you are using sufficient gear.

Sharks tend to stick with the tuna schools, so prolonged fights have a high chance of being bitten off. A lot of people think you have to fish fast for tuna, but using slowly swept stickbaits and 5-7” jerkshads can be an awesome way to get the bite. Areas to look for these speedsters are north of Mud Island around the Shipping Channel, south of Harries, along the Navel Banks and the Four Beacons.

The shallow reef edges are firing at the moment.

Plenty of pan size snapper, grass sweetlip and big bream are being caught around the shallow edges. Small plastics or small hardbodies have been doing all the damage. Larger topwater lures have been accounting for fish as well. Topwater fishing the reef edges is so much fun as you will see a lot of the fish bow wave your lure before hitting it.

Early mornings on dawn or late afternoons will see the

most action.

Threadfin salmon will be in numbers throughout the Brisbane River. The better quality coming from around the mouth with lots of fish

coming from the middle reaches of the system.

Fishing at night around the lights and fishing shallow diving hardbodies or even topwaters lures are a great way to target these fish. If you are going to target them during the daylight hours you’re more likely to find them closer to the bottom and using vibes like the TT Switchblade 1/2oz or the 95mm Zerek Fish Trap should see you in with a good chance of tangling with one.

If thinking about targeting these magnificent sportfish and looking to release them, you should always have a release weight with you.

Threadies will suffer from barotrauma when pulled from deep water and if you want to release them in good condition this is a must for all anglers.

• If you have a great capture from the southern bay you would like to share email them through to nick@ techfishing.com.au.

The author with a mulloway. This guy was almost bitten off by a shark during the fight.

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New year, new ideas BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

With plenty of hot, humid days and regularly fluctuating barometric pressure, anglers will often find aggressive feeding action during January. This isn’t just limited to the pelagics within Moreton Bay, many

the river around the leads beacons and the flats either side of the river mouth.

Threadies can often be found in sizeable schools and more than a handful of quality specimens can be landed in that short time when they are on the chew.

Most anglers who catch numbers of threadfin will release the majority, offering the fish the best chance of survival by de-hooking them

Side imaging sounders are awesome for detecting threadfin in these zones and can make the task so much easier as you aren’t casting to dead water.

Sometimes at this time of year threadfin schools can be located out along the retaining wall at the mouth of the river and even on the flats either side of the river mouth. Often multiple threadies can be plucked

Eddie Akari with a horse Brisbane River threadfin taken on live bait around the tidal change.

Quality SEQ banana prawns are often taken in the Pine, Caboolture, Brisbane and Logan river systems during January. estuarine species will also be on the chew. Jacks, cod, threadfin, trevally, bream, flathead, sharks and other estuarine dwellers will all be serious targets with peak fishing periods during the extremities of daylight hours.

Bay pelagics can regularly be found feeding up on the surface in large aggressive aggregations.

These can include mackerel and tuna plus other opportunistic feeders such as sharks, cobia and occasionally yellowtail kingfish. Although a little slip, slop, slap and sip will be required to withstand the effects of the summer heat, the fishing will be worth it. Add to the list banana prawns, mud crabs and sand crabs and you have the makings of a seafood extravaganza.

KING THREADFIN For anglers probing the Brisbane, Logan, Caboolture and other major creek and river systems, threadfin salmon are a serious option during the warmer months.

These can be caught along the length of these systems and will follow the prawn schools up and down with the tidal influence. In the Brisbane River, greater numbers of threadfin are found in the lower reaches during the warmer months and captures are even recorded well outside 36

JANUARY 2019

while still in the water before sending them on their way.

Schooled fish like these are usually targeted with lures,

from these schools before they spook. Numerous lures will take threadfin and it is more the case of putting the

3/0-6/0 hooks (dependent on bait size) and just enough lead to keep contact with the bottom.

The aforementioned spots are all worth fishing with live baits with the periods either side of tidal changes being prime. Most will anchor when employing this method, however, drifting can also work well.

Live baits can be secured using a cast net around areas such as the boat ramps, Boggy Creek, the sewerage chute, Aquarium Passage and many other areas. Keep these alive in an insulated container with regular water changes, an aerator or bilge pump. Remove any dead baits immediately and scoop

If we get a few decent storms during January, quality muddies can be expected in numbers throughout the main river and creek systems. however, they can at times be pedantic. Most aggressive feeding times will often coincide with a tide change – you may need to bide your time and simply hang around until they decide to bite.

In the lower reaches of the Brisbane River: the area adjacent the Oil Pipeline, the Swing Zone at the front of the shipping wharves, along the fronts of QCL jetty, the sunken wall just before the sewerage chute and along the mud ledge leading away from the sewerage chute are all good places to try.

lure in front of them and working it well than it is type, style and brand most of the time. I commonly use Samaki Thumpertails and paddle-tail plastics, however, many other offerings will produce. When you have sounded fish directly beneath the boat, micro jigs (usually 20-40g) can be deployed.

A more relaxed approach can be achieved by fishing with live baits such as herring, mullet, gar, banana prawns and pike. These are usually deployed on a 30-50lb fluorocarbon leader,

off any foam that forms on the top of the water.

MANGROVE JACK AND COD With warm and humid temperatures, January is prime time for mangrove jack. The Brisbane River rarely produces these crimson assailants, however, the residential canals, most creeks and rivers and estuarine areas throughout the Moreton Bay region will all hold jacks as well as cod. Fish structured areas such as bridge pylons, rock bars, mangrove snags,

jetties, pontoons and rock walls and you are in with a great chance.

These locales can be probed with lures such as soft plastics, diving minnow lures, vibration baits, Cranka Crabs, numerous prawn profiles, Westin Swim and a variety of swimbaits. Jacks will take most offerings you put before them, however, their preferences may be pedantic at times. Estuary cod will respond to pretty much the same lures and approach that will take jacks, therefore are often taken as by-catch by jack fishers.

However, specifically targeting them by rolling and rattling lures over rock bars and rock walls will increase strike rates.

Cod loves crabs so it is obvious that working areas where these are common will likely produce cod. These ambush predators will lurk amongst the rocks and other structures and dart out to engulf a passing morsel.

Crab lures such as Cranka Crabs and Smash Crabs are well worth using, as well as prawn profiles that can be hopped across the rocks. Cod can fight exceptionally well on appropriate tackle and the clean white fillets are rather tasty to boot, however, to pry them away from structure you will need good tackle and a degree of thumbing of the spool.

MORETON BAY MACKEREL Probably the most desirable species for Moreton Bay anglers during January is mackerel, especially spotties.

During this period we usually see large numbers of surface feeding fish at various locations. The Shipping Channel, Middle Bank area, around the Measured Mile, northern side of the Paddock green zone, Four Beacons, Banana Banks, Naval Reserve Banks, Small Ships Channel and out from Wellington Point and across to Green Island are some reliable places to look.

Often the presence of these fish is initially signalled by the birds overhead, however, do not totally rely on this indicator.

Small V-shaped wakes can often be seen on the surface as schools of mackerel cruise about looking for a feed. These fish are often fairly easy to tempt and a well-placed cast to the general area, combined with a flat stick retrieve using a small chromed slug or slice is all that’s needed to get connected. Mackerel will also respond to jerkshad plastics, small stickbaits, flies and many other offerings.

Usually high-speed retrieves are essential and you will commonly require a reel that retrieves in excess of a metre per turn of the handle to be in with a serious chance of success.

Mackerel are not dirty fighters and will stay close to the surface away from structure most of the time.

This allows you to target them on relatively light line, providing the sharks are not in residence. Anglers commonly use 10-20lb monofilament or braid lines on high-speed reels and a 2.1-2.4m rod to target mackerel.

Fluorocarbon leaders are ideal. While adding a little wire might seem like a great idea for such a toothy assailant, this rigging addition will often shut down the bite.

Spotted mackerel are the most desirable target, yet many are happy with a few schoolies. These can be found surface feeding along with the spotties, but are also a serious possibility when jigging chromed slugs and slices around the Shipping Channel beacons. Trolling spoons is a good option when the mackerel are feeding a little deeper, which sometimes occurs around the fringes of the bay islands, in the deeper channels and along the edges of the sand banks.

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out underneath a float when anchored around the bay islands, within the Measured Mile precinct or over the artificial reefs, is likely to reward. How you catch your mackerel is up to you, however, ensure you know the proper way to identify each species and are aware of the bag and size limits pertaining to them. Bleeding your mackerel immediately after capture and icing down soon after in an ice slurry will guarantee the quality of the flavoursome white fillets.

SHARKS Moreton Bay and the waterways feeding into it hold large numbers of various shark species. Whalers of several varieties are most common.

While most simply label these as bronze whalers, very few actually are. Spot-tail whalers, inky-tail whalers, nervous whalers, silky whalers and pig-eye whalers are some of the most commonly caught species. Large bull sharks (whalers) are also very common and are almost impossible to tell apart from the pig-eye whalers in the water as both have the same head shape (very short, blunt snout). These are the ones commonly following the commercial crabbers to dine on the discards of their pots. Various whalers and tiger sharks will often be lurking around mackerel and tuna schools and they usually engulf any hooked fish before it can be landed.

While sharks can be exceptionally annoying to keen anglers, they can be quite a lot of fun to target, especially on light line.

The areas out from the bay islands and the relevant foul grounds (areas designated for trawlers to dump their trawl trash) throughout the bay are prime places to begin your search. Drifting through

these areas while employing a tuna oil slick will soon have a few hungry sharks in your sights. I commonly fish my baits in two ways.

The furthest one from the boat is usually suspended a couple of metres below a float (often a balloon) while the closer bait is just drifted unimpeded by either float or sinker.

Sizable garfish or pike, mullet fillets, fish frames (or portions of), slimy mackerel and similar baits are ideal.

These are often pinned on a rig consisting of two 8/0 circle hooks snelled onto 90-135lb nylon-coated wire around 15cm apart. The top hook is pinned through the head of the bait and the lower hook towards the tail area. Above this rig I commonly have a 3-4m wind-on-leader of around 80-100lb. Main line does not have to be heavy and 4-10kg monofilament is sufficient for the average whaler to around 130cm. If you specifically want to tangle with a big shark then upgrade you tackle, but remember it is illegal to keep a shark over 1.5m in length. If you decide to eat one of these small whalers then fillet and skin it immediately upon death to maximise eating potential.

If you want to catch a shark in the Brisbane River then the rig stays pretty much the same, however, I would opt for a live bait such as a catfish, which is a regular food source for river whalers (most commonly for bull sharks and spinner sharks).

Tangling with a large shark will require a tackle upgrade and possibly a bait such as eel to increase chances.

However, any live bait is likely to attract sharks of any size. The stretches upriver from the Gateway Bridge have less boat traffic and seem to hold more sharks

with whalers (and sometimes other species) being taken right along the rivers length up to Mount Crosby.

CRABS January offers good crabbing opportunities for mud crabs as well as sand and blue swimmers. Setting a few safety pots can produce a welcome addition to the bag.

After rain is a prime time for the mud crabs in the estuaries and rivers as the freshwater flushes the crabs out from deep in the system due to the lowered salinity. January also offers great opportunity for sand and blue swimmer crabs within Moreton Bay. They seem to move around a bit more during the heat of summer and setting pots along contour lines and in channels is likely to reward.

Remember to adhere to size and bag limits and don’t stray too far from pots as they have a habit of disappearing if you do.

PRAWNS There were a few prawns around late in December with the Caboolture and Pine rivers being two of the better spots. The Brisbane River also held good numbers, however, you generally needed to sound around a little more to find them. The area up around Colmslie and the mud ledge leading away from the sewerage chute were two of the better spots.

The Caboolture River has a decent hole on almost every corner to check out. A trip up either the Caboolture or Pine will soon allow you to see where prawns are common because numerous boats will be working the area. Although you often have several cast-netters in a small area, I find that most are courteous and the social atmosphere is very good most of the time. A quality 12ft top-pocket cast net is a must if you are serious about prawning and you can get one from around $250 or so.

I will talk a bit more about prawning next month when they should be in full swing.

CONCLUSION Plenty of options exist for anglers during January with a good mix of serious bay and estuarine targets.

Whether you are venturing out looking to score a scrumptious seafood fiesta or desiring the sporting aspect, there are lots of piscatorial possibilities to consider. Many will still be on annual leave early in the month and with school holidays still on who can blame them for getting the rug rats out on the water away from the games and other media. Warm conditions may dictate a CRUSADER swim for the kids during the middle of the day. A little extra sun protection and constant rehydrating will also be required, but getting out to experience the real world, the great outdoors, is where it’s at. Enjoy!

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Big catches to start the year BRISBANE OFFSHORE

John Gooding

I hope everyone had a happy and safe Christmas and New Year period and you all managed to get out and wet a line amidst all the craziness.

been increasing in numbers.

As the water continues to warm and the bait schools push south, spots like the Sevens, the Group and out around the wave rider buoy off Point Lookout should all see some activity.

The Coffee Rock Reefs in 10-15m of water along

hold mackerel and spinning the bait schools can be productive.

This time of year solid mahimahi can often turn up around the boat, so have an outfit rigged to toss half a pilly or a livie in their direction.

As far as bottom fishing goes, there will still be a few snapper about and the wider grounds in 85-90m will see more consistent numbers and if you’re after that bigger fish there is normally some bigger critters on the 50 and 60m lines south of Point

Lookout, feeding up on the baitfish holding in the area.

With plenty of current around this time of year on the wider grounds species like yellowtail kingfish, amberjack, samson and trag jew are active and respond to live baits and jigs.

On charter recently we’ve had some great sessions on solid trag and amberjack, with a few pearl perch also keen to eat a live bait. Trag have been coming in at good sizes with most in the 60-80cm range, and the ambos have been up to around 10kg.

A quality 3kg pearl perch. All catches are larger than usual at the moment.

Some quality amberjack from out wide.

As I mentioned in previous reports, this time of year anglers have got the best of both worlds with pelagics and bottom fish worth targeting.

Spanish mackerel, wahoo, mahimahi and yellowfin tuna have all

Moreton Island should also start holding numbers of school and Spanish mackerel. Spotted mackerel also frequent the area but they seldom hold there, you just need to try and be there as they are passing through.

Shallow Tempest can also

A great mixed catch of trag, amberjack, mahimahi and snapper. These species are going to be around in numbers this month.

On a couple of recent trips we’ve scored some decent snapper to around 3kg on the 29 and 33 fathom lines. We did put the hooks into a few bigger fish, but the tax man wanted them more.

Floatlined pillies and fresh strip baits have been the most productive. We also managed to boat a few bull mahimahi that turned up around the boat and we tossed them a livie.

The next couple of months should see more of the same for us on charter, but if the mackerel and wahoo turn up in any numbers we might mix it up with a bit of trolling.

• Until next month, enjoy your fishing, take care on the coastal bars and if you’d like to join me on charter (max. 8 persons) give me a call on 07 3822 9527 or 0418 738 750 or visit my new website www. outlawcharters.com.au.

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Wild about whiting NORTHERN BAY

Grayson Fong graysonfong@bigpond.com

If you aren’t outside enjoying our beautiful summer then you are not really living life.

With beautiful hot days and the occasional cooling storms in the afternoon, anglers have been rewarded for their early morning starts and late night jaunts maximizing their exposure to the best bite periods in the day.

With the current weather patterns, it has been all guns blazing in the northern bay on the fishing front. Many anglers have been enjoying the good days over the last month giving them ample opportunities to christen their newly acquired Christmas presents. Not that fishers ever need an excuse to hit the water, but heading out with new artillery in your possession always puts a spring in your cast!

Constant easterly winds from the north and south, have wrecked a little havoc for smaller boated anglers wanting to hit the wider areas of the northern bay, but this hasn’t deterred them from hitting

their favourite Plan B spots in many of our estuaries. With the afternoon storm activity we have had of late, many estuarine anglers have found this advantageous with the flushing ebb tides increasing catches of some good mud crabs, especially in the upper reaches of the Pine River and the Pumicestone Passage.

Along with the muddies, nice sand crabs have also been picked up in Bramble Bay and

the southern end of Deception Bay, making the day out on the water a complete success.

REDCLIFFE PENINSULA The Peninsula has started fishing better of late with a good mix of bream, snapper, flathead and summer whiting hitting the decks. Bream have been in their normal summer bite patterns roaming in small packs hunting for their next feed, giving anglers multiple

A great little juvenile Pine River mangrove jack.

There are plenty of whiting around Bribie this January.

There are decent sized whiting around at the moment.

catches in quick succession.

For the lure assassins, topwater lures have been working well and deeper cranks along the edges have been fruitful during the flooding tides. Also during these tides good flathead have been picked up in the shallows and outside creek mouths, like Newport Waterways and Burpengary Creek, with soft plastics and lightly weighted fresh baits.

Lately we have had a reasonable summer bite of juvenile snapper, giving many anglers a run for their money amongst the gaggle of bommies that occupy the peninsula. Fresh mullet, lightly weighted hardiheads

and squid strips have been amongst the preferred baits with soft plastics like ZMan 4” Jerk ShadZ, Atomic Plazos Jerk Minnows and ZMan 3.5” GrubZ counting for some good catches.

PINE RIVER The Pine has had its ups and downs of late, but the estuary has always been influenced by rainfall activity that has been known to give it a good cleaning. As per usual, the bulk of the activity has been down the lower reaches with fish seeking more saline waters during times of rainfall.

Dohles Rocks, mouth of Bald Hills Creek and the fishing platform on the Ted Smout Bridge have been productive after a run of warmer days, with bream and flathead being the menu favourites. Hays Inlet has also been good on the full tides with ‘The Wells’ keeping pretty quiet. On the southern side of Bramble

Bay keen land-based anglers have been pulling nice legal bream and whiting off the walls of Eventide and Shorncliffe Jetty, with some nice bream coming off the trawlers in Cabbage Tree Creek. Mangrove jack have been abundant up the Pine with only a few bust offs to report.

PUMICESTONE PASSAGE Bream have been the flavour of the month up there with the usual hotspots like Cooks Rocks, Tiger Rocks, Bongaree Jetty, Ningi Flats and the Pacific Harbour Canals on the rising tide producing well. Mid-diving cranks like Jackall Chubbies, Atomic Crank 38s and Ecogear SX40 have been on the success list with Pontoon 21 Greedy Guts 55SP also working a treat when ripped and paused.

Northeasterly winds

have assisted in pushing bait straight into the passage, making it a great area to fish for bream during extended periods of wind from that direction. Flathead have also been littered throughout the passage with Elimbah and Hussey creeks firing well on the receding tides. That has been the opposite for the sand whiting, which have also been firing well in the Passage. Coochin Creek has had plenty of whiting with the usual southern beaches, especially around Skirmish Point, firing in the days of slight onshore winds.

TIP OF THE MONTH Be sure to protect your newly acquired Christmas presents from the exposure of saltwater. A light freshwater rinse on rods, reels, pliers and lures after each session can bring about some longevity to your gear.

JANUARY 2019

39

A long hot summer brings on the fish bite NOOSA

Peter Wells

Holidaymakers have been making the best of all the Sunshine Coast has to offer when it comes to fishing with plenty of great captures from the beach, rivers and offshore being reported. The key to getting amongst the fish is to get your nose out from under the doona and get on the water before sun-up.

When targeting fish in the Noosa and Maroochy rivers preparation is the key – having those rigs tied,

reaches of the river casting at snags is always good fun as well as trolling deep divers around the rock bars at Johns Landing. Jacks can also be taken at night out in the open as they will come out and feed on the many baitfish brought into the river on the tide. Woods Bay has seen plenty of marauding jacks about at night on the ebbing tide. For those land-based, the rock wall around the mouth of the river is also a great place to drop out a live bait.

Big whiting are increasing in numbers and if it’s anything like last year we will be in for a cracker season. The best

Kris Lyndsey with a beauty of a snapper from the Barwon Banks. lures prepped or baits ready is paramount to making sure you are amongst the action when it happens. The Noosa River has to be one of the best rivers on the Sunshine Coast when it comes to chasing jacks. Fishing the upper

spots to find quality whiting are along Gympie Terrace if you are land-based, or if you have a boat head to the river mouth around the Frying Pan In Weyba Creek you can expect good whiting as well as flathead. Most of the sand

Dan Hazell got this 54cm jack casting hardbody lures at the rock bars in Petrie Creek. bars around the Noosa River are showing good slides from where flathead have been lying in wait. Flathead are a great fish to target if you are just getting into plastics and lure fishing. A personal favourite for me has to be the Keitech Easy Shiner in the 3” and 4” sizes. These lure are made of a softer vinyl material and swim amazingly well.

Crabbing in Noosa is at its best in January and a trip up river with the pots could prove worthwhile. For the best results leave the pots in for a full tide cycle. Fresh or frozen mullet is one of the most successful baits. A word of warning, Fisheries are vigilant at making sure you are compliant when soaking a few pots.

For the anglers that are down around the Maroochy Area, the Cod Hole was fishing well just before Christmas for big flathead and trevally and should continue throughout the next month.

Fishing live baits here is a favourite and a well-presented soft plastic around the rough ground just at the start of the hole has also raised some

good jew. This is also a great place for a night fish as the light attracts a lot of baitfish.

Plenty of trevally, mulloway, jacks and even tailor have been taken here, especially when the weather is a little unsettled. The tributaries

Steve Cook was on the beach fishing for dart in a low tide gutter with a bit of squid, 10lb line and a light surf rod when this metre long mulloway decided to have a chew.

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that run into the Maroochy have also been fishing well with decent mulloway, jacks and trevally caught in Petrie, Eudlo and Coolum creeks.

At this time of year it can be very worthwhile setting your crab pots.

Offshore fishing as always is dependent on the weather, but with a little luck we should get plenty of good days in to get out on the reefs.

Sunshine Reef is a favourite in summer, as not only is it a shorter journey but the list of species you can catch here is very impressive. Coral trout of course are the first on the list when you get to Sunshine Reef in the early morning. As the sun get a little higher the Spanish mackerel and tuna should come out to play. They arrived early this season, so we are hoping for a cracker!

Little Halls Reef is another spot that isn’t a huge journey and when the spotty mackerel are on, it can be

hard getting a bait down to get into anything else. North Reef has been great for big cobia so be prepared!

The Sunshine Coast is becoming famous for its small black marlin fishery.

Chardons Reef is the spot to find these juvenile marlin and finding the bait schools on the sounder is the key. A wellpresented live slimy mackerel fished deep next to the bait school may see you hook up one of these speedsters. Trips up to Double Island Point or to the Barwon Banks are worthwhile depending on the weather. Big red emperor are the fish that everyone tries to target here. Getting those hard fighting reds up quickly is very important as the sharks are plentiful and love a red fish.

The Noosa North Shore is a haven for 4WD vehicles over the Christmas holiday period with plenty of punters filling the camping ground up and down the beach. It’s best to head down to the water before sun-up and if you can time it with the tide, there are some great fish to be had. For the kids there are plenty of whiting and dart in the close gutters and for the serious angler that is prepared to fish at night there are some nice tailor, tarwhine, mulloway and trevally on offer. Fishing the run-out can also see you hook some nice flathead in the closer gutters.

The teams as Davo’s wish you all the very best for a productive 2019!

• Don’t forget to check in to www.fishingnoosa.com.au for all the latest up to date info on fishing and bar crossings.

The knowledgeable teams at Davo’s Tackle World Noosa and Davo’s Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola can provide you with the right equipment, bait and advice to ensure success!

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News

Quintrex’s biggest fan goes toMAKE kindy book week YOUR DREA Meet Hugh, he is Quintrex’s biggest fan and is only 4-years-old. Born with a passion for boats and trailers, Hugh proudly dressed up for kindy book week as a Quintrex 420 Explorer Trophy, his

Anytime Amanda (Hugh’s mother) takes him out for a drive, she needs to leave early because Hugh will ask to stop by the local boat ramp. Completely mesmerised by all the boats, he points out every

was reading a bedtime story and Hugh asked his mom for a book about boats.

So Amanda set out down to Barclay Marine and found the perfect book, a Quintrex Brochure.

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Hugh’s favourite book is a Quintrex Boat Brochure (inset), and was the inspiration for his bookweek costume.

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favourite boat from the Quintrex Brochure.

While other kids are dressed up as superheros and TV characters, Hugh stood out of the crowd and was the teacher’s favourite in his Quintrex 420 Explorer Trophy costume.

Growing up, Hugh took every chance he could to play with boats. Full of creativity, he built a fleet of Lego trucks, boats and trailers. He would take his creations outside and set sail in the big puddles around his home.

If he was lucky, Grandma and Grandpa would leave their Quintrex Renegade in the drive way, his favourite playground. This was Hugh’s chance to open every hatch, turn every knob, flick every switch and climb over every inch of the boat.

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Bedtime stories include Hugh and Amanda telling stories to each other about the pictures, catch phrases and descriptions. Hugh’s imagination never stops, making up fascinating stories about exciting boating adventures on every page of the Quintrex Brochure.

When the lights go out, he slips his favourite book under his pillow and falls asleep dreaming about the Quintrex 420 Explorer Trophy.

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Yamaha DealerJANUARY 2019

43

Some standout by-catch HERVEY BAY

Dane Radosevic

A new year brings new goals and hopes of ticking off more bucket list species and exploring some new and incredible destinations.

Let’s hope for bent rods and screaming drags in 2019 – bring it on!

through the schools, using a high-geared spin reel will aid in getting that slug moving quick to draw their attention. When on small baits they can be extremely fussy and hard to tempt, this is when flyfishers excel, fishing super tiny Surf Candies and Eye flies.

The majority of the fish this season have been

as they feed on the bait, whereas the mac tuna will often just smash the surface making them easy to identify. The flats this time of year from Wathumba Creek north to Roonies Point on the first of the run-out tide will be worth a look with big goldens, queenfish and longtail tuna pods often making

Threadfin are a great target species this time of year and make for great sport on light gear.

I’d hate to be a baitfish this time of year.

With increasing water temperatures we should continue to see the pelagic scene fire up throughout Platypus Bay and around Roonies Point. We can expect to see good numbers of spotted mackerel harassing the bait balls throughout the bay and they are easily tracked by locating the flocks of birds. The most effective technique is to cast and retrieve 20-40g metal slugs

of school size standards, however, those anglers that have been targeting the smaller patches of fish have been picking off some better quality specimens.

Schools of mac tuna have been prolific throughout the same vicinity and should continue to congregate in numbers terrorising the bait balls. Observing the working schools and their feeding patterns can help identify the fish’s species.

Spotties feed just below the surface or slash the surface

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their way down the flats with the receding tide and will regularly eat a wellpresented fly, soft plastic or stickbait that intercepts their path.

Late January we should start to see our first run of the annual longtail tuna starting to school up in Platypus Bay. If it is anything like last season the fish should hopefully be in good numbers, however, be wary of sharks as they were hot on their tail all season. In the bay at the moment a ZMan 5” StreakZ in bubblegum pink rigged to a TT 3/4oz 5/0 jighead, or a Nashy’s Custom stickbait 120mm have been the most productive lures.

This amazing billfish fishery continues to amaze local and travelling anglers each season, which has once again proven that it is world-class with some incredible catches of blue, black and striped marlin and let’s not forget the by-catch of yellowfin tuna, wahoo and mahimahi.

Mahimahi have been around in exceptionally large numbers, annoying crews targeting billfish on both light and heavy tackle. We can expect numbers of fish to slow down leading into January and the new year, however, it is still worth a troll if the conditions and currents align as it is proving to be a year round fishery, even producing fish in the middle of winter.

The inshore reefs this time of year typically fish extremely well, however, will require a short window after the Christmas break undoubtedly for fish stocks to move back onto the inshore reefs. Boat traffic and fishing pressure often cause the fish to shut down in these areas, hence the early morning, late afternoon and night sessions proving favourable for the keener anglers chasing a feed. Sweetlip will be the main target species and can be located in quite large numbers over the shallower reefs, wrecks and deeper channels and are suckers for a well-presented bait such as banana prawns, local hardiheads or pencil squid.

The ideal rig is a standard running ball sinker rig with sinker size chosen according to the depth of water and tidal influence, less is best as it gives the bait a more natural presentation. For those opting to work a lure, soft plastic presentations such as 3-4” curly-tail or paddletail shapes are ideal. Give the ZMan 4” StreakZ curlytail in baby bass a try and you won’t be disappointed.

Cod, Moses perch, blackall and coral trout will also be on the cards and are a regular catch while fishing the inshore waters, with live baits accounting

The author with a bar-cheek trout he caught while fishing a patch of reef. It really doesn’t take a lot of structure to hold quality fish inshore and often the smaller the structure the better the quality of fish. plastics over these wrecks and ledges is another very effective technique, especially fishing prawn imitations hard to the bottom as this will account for plenty of coral trout.

Another option that is very effective this time of year is trolling hardbodies that dive to depths of 2-3m, allowing you to cover ground and draw a reaction bite. By-catch is common using this method either with sweetlip and mixed pelagic species like trevally and mackerel

larger tides with some great fish being caught. It’s no secret to locals that live or fresh crabs are the ideal bait of choice. There is no such thing as finesse or light tackle options when targeting this species, as they are known for busting off an unprepared angler very quickly and as such most anglers gear up with heavy hand lines.

Pack some jigs for pencil squid this time of year, especially if fishing the inshore waters as they typically filter through

Tuna can be one of the fussiest feeding fish in the ocean on certain days, however, a well-presented natural baitfish imitation fly can often turn their stubborn feeding mode into a bite. for the better quality fish, especially if you can find pike. Positioning of the boat and presentation of the live bait is crucial and it pays to get it right, especially if fishing one of the wrecks or ledges, as you want that bait to present right in front of them. Tea-bagging soft

often intercepting the lures somewhere along the way.

One species that Hervey Bay is renowned for is the blue tuskfish. The shallower inshore reefs, ledges and patches of coffee rock have seen good numbers of these fish congregating and feeding hard around the

the bay in large numbers at this time. If targeting them during the day the best method is to rig a little Yamashita 1.5 jig on a paternoster rig and fish hard to the bottom drifting over the sandy patches through the Urangan Channel, over the local Arti and down

towards the Shipping Channel. When you find a patch it can often pay to move back onto it and anchor up, as there could be quite large numbers.

Night can often be easier to target them for the first time with the aid of a light as it attracts the squid right to the back of the boat and they are very easy to catch.

Fingers-crossed we get a good run of prawns this New Year, typically after the seasonal rain as it gives the river systems a good flush moving around all the nutrients and will instigate a significant spawn of banana prawn. If so, expect to catch good numbers throughout the upper reaches of our main systems, down the Straits and in the Urangan Harbour. Just a reminder there is a possession limit of 10L bucket per person.

Crabs should also be on the move this time of year, especially around the larger tides, with the creeks on the western side of Fraser and down the Straits as worthy areas to target, as the main systems will undoubtedly cop a flogging over the Christmas period.

The hot muggy days and late afternoon storms should continue to stir up the local jack population with most anglers in pursuit of one finding them very

aggressive and willing to destroy a well-presented lure or bait. The Burrum River system and its three tributaries are a standout producer of quality fish throughout summer and typically continues to fish exceptionally well unless

we have a massive influx of fresh. The neap tides often produce better results with quality fish expected to come from targeting the rock bars and outcrops and well-presented baits fished tight to these structures will often tempt a hungry

jack. Working deep diving hardbodies such as the Lucky Craft Pointer 78XD or Jackson Divitis around these areas and focusing on the back eddies formed by the structure and the current has been working well. Hopping and/or

The author with a chunk of a sweetlip that took a liking to a well-presented white ZMan 5” jerkshad.

rolling soft plastics is another fantastic option, especially when rigged to a weedless jighead, allowing the lure to be fished tight to cover and in the strike zone. I recommend using the ZMan 4” SwimmerZ in pearl or the 4” Diezel Minnow in calico candy.

Another major draw card to our river systems this time of year is threadfin salmon. The larger building tides around the moons will see threadfin terrorising the small feeder creeks and drains on the last of the run-out. They can often be sight cast to when roaming the shallows as they look to gorge themselves on the abundance of jelly prawns and baitfish being flushed out. When in this feeding pattern they can often be quite difficult to tempt, as it is hard to match the hatch if they are feeding on small jelly prawn. Small shallow diving hardbodies such as the Bomber 13A and Rapala X10s are proven performers as too are 2-4” soft plastics with favoured colours being gold or white. These lures by no means match the hatch, however, they draw more of a reaction strike from them.

On the smaller neap tides where there is less tidal influence we should

see good numbers of fish congregating upstream throughout the main river course and in the deeper holes. Anchoring up and fishing live baits is a very successful method for drifting over the schools of fish hopping soft vibes like the Samaki Vibelicious or Zerek Fish traps has been the go-to technique of choice recently.

Grunter will also be a great target species if targeting the estuaries, especially the smaller creeks down the Sandy Straits on the larger building tides. Bait fishos will often come across good numbers of fish while targeting the deeper holes coinciding with a bend in the creeks, however, they are a great target species for lure fishos as well. Curly-tail and prawn imitation soft plastics work a treat fished hard to the bottom, with my favourite being the 2.5” Grub in bloodworm. I don’t go anywhere without one tied on when exploring the estuaries. Grunter would have to be one of the most underrated fish, especially on light gear as they put up a great fight.

Here’s hoping this year brings us some better weather than the year just gone, with plenty of bent rods and tight lines.

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Catch all the fish of the rainbow this season RAINBOW BEACH

Ed Falconer

Wow, what a great past year of fishing and I can’t wait to go into the New Year.

OFFSHORE Some more exciting fishing lately with great action on quality amberjack. Live baits and 100g knife jigs have been causing a frenzy. Large estuary cod have also been

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in big hungry numbers still, and any live bait working a treat.

Pearl perch have been great quality lately, yet not in big numbers, but that will change. Live yakkas and soft plastics are getting the best results.

Snapper have been similar to the pearlies, quality more than quantity and plastics shining again.

Out wide tuskfish and hussar have been thick with a bonus red emperor or two thrown in at the same time. Mackerel have made their first appearance this month. Only small Spanish are being caught, but we can expect an eruption of spotted mackerel towards the end of the month.

BEACH There have been some good whiting being caught in the shallow gutters near Inskip Point and also at the Lagoon at Double Island Point.

SANDY STRAITS Mangrove jack have been providing plenty

This crew managed to get into an amberjack frenzy while offshore. of action for the estuary fishos. Live potty mullet has been a huge advantage when targeting this fighting fish.

Some other fish being caught in the Straits at the moment are flathead,

whiting and bream. January is a great action month.

Mackerel usually dominate the scene, but plenty of reef fish options are also available.

Wishing you all a happy New Year, with plenty

of catches.

• To enjoy a day on the water with Keely Rose Fishing Charters phone Ed Falconer 0407 146 151 or visit www. keelyrosefishingcharters .com.au.

January jacks are jumping BUNDABERG

Jason Medcalf topwater@bigpond.com

As holidays are upon us I’m sure every fisher will be making the most of the time off to get out and wet a line. If you manage to avoid the hottest part of the day, the fishing can be quite superb during January.

THE BURNETT RIVER The ever-reliable Burnett River has been still producing some great fishing with grunter and flathead being the standout.

Flathead have been in good numbers in the middle reaches of the river with soft plastics and trolling small lures working well on them.

Grunter have been sitting in holes on the edge of rock walls, but they do move so you need to look for them. They have really been liking fresh live yabbies and, with the new moon early in the month, the big low tides will expose a few more yabby beds so you can pump them.

The guys using live baits and those casting sinking vibes around the rock walls have been getting some big estuary cod and some nice mangrove jack. Just a reminder if you do happen to hook a barramundi while it’s closed season, the fish needs to stay in the water if possible while unhooking and release it quickly.

The Elliott and

Theodolite have been producing some great whiting fishing with again fresh live nippers the best bait. Across the vast sand flats at the mouths of both systems have been producing some big fish at night. The lead up to the full moon will be good. There will be afternoon high tides and plenty of moon to see with. The tide is pretty big at 3.63m, so be aware if you’re planning a trip.

THE BAFFLE Over the holidays the Baffle does get some boat traffic, so if you want to catch a few get on the water early. The bigger tides around the new moon on 6 January will be good for mangrove jack fishing, with late afternoon run-out tides.

Be careful as the Baffle has a special ability to put rock bars where you never though they were.

The late run-out tide also lends itself to a few good flathead sessions with the sand flat opposite of flat rock producing some nice fish lately. Trolling small hardbodied lures like the Scorpion 52 and the Berkley Frenzy will certainly put you in with a chance.

Mangrove jack will love a good surface lure on a hot late afternoon run-out tide and if there is a storm about look out as they will fire up. My tip would be to head up Baffle on the tide and work your way out with the tide if your boat

allows. The main rock bars out the front of some of the little side creeks as they empty will hold some big red boys as well.

MONDURAN DAM I haven’t had a chance myself to get up to the dam lately, but I’m reliably told the fishing is red hot.

Fishing windy points and working hardbodies and soft plastics has had a few of the locals having some awesome sessions. Some of

the fish have nudged the 90cm mark, which is in my opinion the size that they pull the hardest and fight the longest. The full moon build up will be well worth a trip and if you do plan a trip don’t forget about the Golden Barra competition, it’s worth $15,000 and it’s free to enter. Just jump on www.goldenbarra.com.au to enter. Good luck and enjoy your break.

Pay attention to the tides and moon this month, as it will tell you when the jacks are firing.

Weather fluctuations haven’t bothered the fish GLADSTONE

Liam Jones

December has thrown just about everything at us – wind, rain, fires and storms!

Despite the inconsistent weather there has been some incredible fishing in the region. The inshore reefs are firing, the pelagics are on the chew only a few miles offshore, the dam is producing consistently and the summer estuary species have begun to really fire up.

Seeing as it seems to be the talk of the entire East Coast of Queensland, we will start with the dam.

Although catches have slowed a little since last issue, it’s still consistently producing fish for those that put the time and effort in.

The fish seem to have spread out a little and are being caught in plenty of different location and habitats. This is probably more to do with the inconsistent weather than anything else. The weed beds and standing timber are holding fish at different points in the day.

My last trip out, the fish were holding tight on weed edges. I threw 5” Castaics and 6” Happy Rocks rigged weedless directly along side the weed edges with as slow a retrieve as possible

keeping the fish active and feeding. The Calliope River has been a standout with fish coming from the top reaches all the way to the mouth.

The rocks around Devils Elbow and further up to Sawyers Rocks have been

Brandon Gillett with a healthy jack from Turkey Beach. producing some cracking fish with a few coming in over the magic 50cm mark.

The bigger jacks have been coming on hardbodied lures, such as Lucky Craft Pointer 78XD and Rapala SXR10.

King threadfin salmon are still about in numbers

Brendan Huth with a double hook up in a hot session. without the plastic sinking to the bottom. The beauty of these plastics is they will still get a massive tail action and body roll at even the slowest retrieve. The hard part is finding a weedless jighead strong enough, with light enough weight, to keep them at the right depth. I used a weightless Owner Beast hook and tied a 00 ball sinker into the loop knot on the jighead. This was enough weight to keep the plastic down a metre or so on the retrieve.

Playing with these lures and plastics to get them to swim how you like is half the fun and can increase catch rates dramatically.

Inshore, the creeks are producing quality mangrove jack from Turkey Beach all the way through to the narrows. The lack of freshwater in all systems is

Big grunter have mostly gone offshore to spawn but there are still some quality fish turning up in Toolooa Bends, Devils Elbow in the Calliope and around the rock bars in Grahams Creek. Fresh prawns for bait and small

throughout the narrows.

Some quality fish have been falling to the trusty Gulp Shrimp over the past few weeks. The creeks further towards the northern end seem to be holding the most numbers.

Gulp Shrimp when throwing plastics have been doing the damage.

The inshore reefs have been firing when the weather allows us to get to them. Jenny Lind Banks, Mannings Reef and Sable Chief Rocks have all been producing quality coral trout and sweetlip. Trolling deep diving hardbodies around these reefs has some XOS trout come over the side of the boat over the past few weeks. This time of year is the best time to spend exploring these close in reefs for reef species and pelagics, like tuna, mackerel.

The hard-hitting GT will also be terrorising summer bait from now until late April.

They are exciting, visual and hard-hitting. January is the perfect time to get out around any structure with plenty of run and have a crack. Sable Chief Rocks, Seal Rocks, any of the shipping channel markers all hold big GTs and are easily accessible in small trailer boats. You must have good gear when chasing these brutes as they

will quickly melt the drag or mesh the gears on a cheaper reel. It’s the same case with the lures.

Lures that have been doing the damage locally are Nomads Madscad stickbait, Chug Norris Poppers and Yakamitos Big Gee stickbaits and Slalom Poppers. These are handcarved timber stickbaits and poppers and not only have some incredible colours but the wire through construction and timber body stand up to the test.

Grunter are still schooled over all the usual haunts and plenty of boats have been getting stuck into some big fish. Jigs and grubs have been dominating the catches.

Offshore is fishing great on the rare opportunity the weather allows anglers to get out. Sweetlip are big, hungry and in large numbers. Plastics over the shallows, jigs in the deep and stickbaits over the flats are all producing big fish.

Target the big trout that are grouped in the shallows feeding on summer bait and you can expect some insane

Sean Ibbs is pretty stoked with this PB GT. sessions will be on the cards.

In the deeper water, the reds have been hit-andmiss, which is not unusual for this time of the year.

The fish are there but a bit more spread out, however fish that have been landed have been of quality size with plenty coming in over the 10kg mark.

Nannygai are still schooling up in the gutters and on the gravel patches – find the bait and you will find the nannies. Searching for a little longer rather than just going to your trusty old

Reefe Andrew landed this GT, which is nearly the same size as him, at Swains Reef.

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mark will generally help improve catches. The new River2Sea 200mm Ultimate Squid has been working wonders on these guys, along with Storm Koika jigs in the 60g and 80g.

Live herring, if you can keep them, will help entice the fish when they’re not in feeding mode.

Crabs have just started firing up and hopefully they will continue into the New Year. Grahams Creek has been the standout in town, while Turkey Beach and Boyne River have been the pick to the south.

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year and got out for a fish over the break.

Until next time. Tight lines!

• For more information on what’s biting, or to stock up with all the tackle and bait you need, drop into LJ’s Compleat Angler Gladstone at the Gladstone Marina on Bryan Jordan Drive. You can also check out the latest news, photos and specials at Facebook Compleat Angler Gladstone.

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Starting the New Year off right prawns. Trying to see what’s around when you go on your next trip is going to put you in a good place, matching what’s in the system to the bait or lures you are using greatly increases your chances.

Fishing the gutters, drains and creek mouths in Coorooman has proved to be an excellent way to get a feed of grunter, whiting, salmon and bream. The mouth of Corio Bay, as the high comes off the front yabby flats,whiting, bream and flathead.

R2S Chase Baits make

ROCKHAMPTON

Clayton Nicholls clay94_fishing@live.com.au

The river has been fishing very well over summer with plenty of big king threadfin being caught with other species mixed in. The December rains have helped all the systems kick up a notch.

The estuaries are loaded with good quality fish and plenty of bait making angling easy over this very hot summer.

FITZROY AND THE NARROWS December saw a great amount of big king threadfin salmon in town and some even larger models closer to the mouth. Along with the salmon, many anglers have been catching solid amounts of grunter and some good mangrove jack.

The rain has kicked a lot of the feeder creeks into gear and plenty of the little fish nurseries like 12 Mile really needed it. The vibes have really played a come back in the last month with a lot of fish being taken on them, the prawn profiles like Gulp Shrimp and Squidgy Wild

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JANUARY 2019

Matt with an awesome midday toga he caught while sight casting.

A decent Maraboon barra. It’s great to see the place picking up. prawns have slowed down a bit. Working the vibes is a great way of covering ground and searching out for actively feeding fish.

Live bait has been very easy to get with either cast nets or set traps, leaving those out with as light of a sinker as possible will yield good results at most points of the tide, but coming off

the high tide has certainly been a key time lately.

RIVERS CREEKS AND THE BEACHES The fishing over summer has been great and the amount of bait in the systems has played a huge role in this. There has been everything from gar, mullet and herring through to frogmouth pillies and

James with an absolute beast of a dam barra. He caught it from working the pressure points of Lake Maraboon.

a great whiting imitation to use, with a typical slow roll out the front of drains or take over drop-offs on sand banks. Gulp in the shrimp and minnow patterns have been killer in pretty much all scenarios and the Rapala X-Rap 8 has been a fantastic shallow diver to work the shallow rubble or mangrove overhangs, all these lures are a great choice for this time of year.

FRESHWATER LAGOONS The freshwater has been on fire lately; the odd afternoon shower has been To page 49

Happy ‘chew’ year to you all STANAGE BAY

Pee Wee

Happy New Year everyone!

Welcome to what will hopefully be a healthy, happy, fulfilling and positive New Year!

Hopefully with all of the fire ordeals your boats are safe and are now ready to put it all behind and head for the seas.

out wide and fill up on an array of our beautiful reefies.

The Percy Isles has had some nice red emperor, red jew, parrotfish, sweetlip and cod, all in good size and numbers.

Around Marble Islands we have had some happy campers come through with reports of coral trout, sweetlip and stripeys.

Hexham Island has been giving out good numbers or stripeys, cod and parrotfish.

well. Nevertheless, be mindful of school holidays and be considerate to other road users and drive to the conditions.

excellent fishing tides, so get in quick to secure your trip.

One more month until

The Cross family making the most of this holiday season with some quality catches.

You always have an expectation of one of these guys around the Jew Hole.

Although the heat has been so crazy, the seas have been kind to us gifting good weather and good feeds.

The Jew Hole has been producting for sometime now, giving holiday-makers a positive Stanage Bay experience. The local creeks are also giving fishers the opportunity to get their fill of bream and salmon.

Mother Nature has given us a few windows of awesome weather to head

So if you’re not already out there, best make some plans for your next trip.

The muddies are coming out of hiding now with the warmer weather, so it’s definitely worth throwing a few pots around the local creeks, like Porters Creek or around the back of Quail Island. Sizes are good as well as quantities.

The road into Stanage Bay has had heavy holiday traffic but is still holding up

Oysters can be found in areas around Flat Rock and if you’ve not tried periwinkle they are plentiful amongst the rocks at low tide. Be a bit cautious, as there are two main types of snails. One is right to eat, the other is not, so aim for the ones that have the big cat’s eye when removed from the rocks. These can be boiled or even better put straight onto the coals.

If you’re keen for camping in this heat, there are still spots around the campground that can be filled, or if you’re after something a bit fancier there may still be accommodation spots available. Check with Stanage Bay Marine and Accommodation for further dates and info.

The year ahead is shaping up to be pretty busy, with many dates already accounted for around the

barra season reopens, so get your gear ready and head to Stanage to get the first catch of the season.

Enjoy the rest of your holidays and hope to see

Jason and a whopping black jewfish. These fish can be caught nearly all year round. you in Stanage soon!

• Book into your Stanage Bay rental – all the rentals are set up for fishers and are budget priced. Call Pee Wee on (07) 4937 3145 or email stanagebaymarine@

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From page 48

working wonders to keep these areas active. The key lures lately have all been surface and the 6-8cm range. Walk-the-dog style lures slowly retrieved has been good to cover all the freshly filled areas looking for the reaction strike. Finding areas of long grass that is only just under the water is golden.

This area is where many of the species are hunting around for bugs and the like, this means they are already active and really don’t need stirring up from poppers, in reality it may hinder the fishing.

CRABBING The December rains really kicked the crabs into gear. While the December crabbing was

bigpond.com for any further queries on Stanage Bay. Until next time, enjoy the photos. For more pics, find them on the Stanage Bay Marine & Accommodation Facebook or anywhere on the web.

Safe swimming with our own white sandy beach Excellent small boat mooring in front of the Campground Catch Coral Trout, Red Emperor, Sweetlip etc within an hours boat trip from the Campground Troy with a cracker salmon from the town reaches during a recent morning session. good, there were a lot of empties mixed in with them. The hit of fresh flow in the systems has definitely helped. Mullet

heads are still the go and an easy and cheap bait source to use, with many fishos pulling some big crabs from them.

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Fish the structure to score YEPPOON

Scott Lynch ifishcq2@bigpond.com

We have had extraordinary temperatures over the last month, with claims of record highs across the region. High temps tend to shutdown most estuary species, however, mangrove jack, golden snapper and mudcrabs all came on the chew. Golden snapper catches have increased right along our coastal areas from the Narrows right through the Army country and Stanage Bay. Trolling deep divers on a rising tide around the many rocky outcrops can be amazing at times. Vibes and paddle-tails add another dimension with the ability to work hard against rock faces, ledges, crevasses and wrecks. We have a general rule of only taking one or two golden snapper from the deeper spots before we move away from the schools. Golden snapper are susceptible to barotrauma and nearly every fish released in more than 10m of water will die. We have a few fish in very shallow water that can be released with little harm.

Jacks have continued the

form from recent weeks and are turning up everywhere.

With jacks it is structure, structure and deeper structure.

Jacks will take virtually any lure that is well presented inside the sticks, against the rocks, under ledges, bridge pylons, platforms and jetties.

They also seem to prefer country where there is water around their chosen home at

even drills a hole in his lures and puts a drop of vegetable oil inside before sealing it with a dot or araldite. He believes the oil slows down the bearing and dulls the rattle to a tone that will bring the fish close in dirty water and not scare them when conditions are quiet or the water is very clear. Jacks are a great catch and release species because of their toughness

Chayse and Deakin Smithwick with a beautiful pair of school Spaniards. all stages of the tide.

In recent weeks, better jack chasers have proved that the rattle type lure can either attract or chase away jacks.

I tried several different tones before I found one that would work consistently. One guy

and they are usually landed in shallow water without too much stress or the chance of barotrauma.

On the slightly cooler cloudy days there are a few whiting, flathead, bream, salmon, black jew, grunter and

NORTH SIDE’S

LARGEST

cod to be had. In summer, more than other times of the year, most species are more active around last and first light. Of course big jewies definitely feed more at night. Tides and moon phases make the difference with jew catches.

In the summer months they spread back out to the deeper holes in the rivers and bigger estuaries before schooling over winter to breed. There are some good spots including the Jew Holes at Stanage Bay and Connors Creek. The deeper holes can produce the odd jewie during the day, but are usually better at night.

We use fresh mullet, bonito or mackerel fillets mostly and pillies with squid as a back up.

Black jew catches on plastics and lures are improving all the time. In the cleaner systems big paddletails work well and in the dirty water bigger vibes do the trick. Like other lures, vibes need to be worked the right way before they get the fish’s attention. Some species like a slow prolonged vibration while others like short sharp vibrations depending on what is happening in their zone.

If you don’t get a reaction from fish you can see on the sounder, keep trying different techniques until you get the right one. Don’t just try one retrieve and then swap; give a few of each.

Grunter have been taken

Darren Bayzand scored yet another big red.

This one was caught out from Yeppoon. best lure manufacturers and freshwater barramundi anglers, Trevor Burgess from Happy Rock Soft Plastics. We talked about the dam, how to find impoundment fish, how to rig lures and about changing things up when fishing is difficult. Although his chosen field is Awoonga’s big barramundi, his methods are just as important in any situation. One of the important things I took away from listening to him was to give all the options a chance before calling it quits. Learn where the fish are coming from, where they are heading and work your lures as if they were baits moving in or away from

then there has been even more caught and pockets of very large fish have been located deep in horrible timber. Some of these big guys are impossible to coax from the structure with even the heaviest barra gear.

Nannies, reds, trout, parrot and all the mixed reefies are in good form at the wider spots and there are some good sweeties around the islands at the moment. The offshore mackerel fishers aren’t going to miss out either as the schools of Christmas fish are starting to turn up in quantity again.

We have had a pretty good run for the last couple of months and now it has jumped a notch.

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Mark Simpkins with a tidy trout taken out wide. right up into the middle of Rocky lately. There has been a number of quality grunter up to 700mm. The clarity of the river prior to Owen has meant that they have moved further upstream than normal.

The schools of king salmon have moved back also. They really do become gun shy for a period on the different lures.

One type will go well for a week or two and then not raise a scale. Another type then has a good run before they lose interest. Finally it comes full circle and the original lures works again.

I recently had the opportunity to hear from one of Central Queensland’s

the predators. This might mean casting in various directions and angles before finding the right one. I will definitely be using these things to improve how I fish estuaries and the river too.

Awoonga Dam has been going from strength to strength and seems to have recovered from the serious flush and barramundi escapees when the dam has flooded in previous years. Our impoundments need a lot of rain, but too much rain sets them back for extended periods of time.

I mentioned in November that there were hundreds of fish around the 800mm mark caught around then. Since

like Liza Jane should fire first, especially over the bigger high tides. Barren, Conical, Man and Wife and Outer are all a show in January. The usual big fish spots like Hummocky and Manifold are worth a shot anytime. This time of year the average fish in the bait schools tend to be a reasonable size and I’m sure this plays a part in the better baits for the big mackerels. I like to bring out the ribbonfish and bonito we kept from earlier in the year.

I like the bigger lures at the moment and even large skirts or spoons.

I hope you all catch a fish and all the best for the New Year.

Scoring some sooties this season MACKAY

Keith Day habdays@bigpond.net.au

I cannot believe the New Year is here already and it brings plenty of opportunities for us to use all that beaut gear the big man in the red outfit brought us for Christmas.

January can be a month of fantastic fishing or partly wiped out depending on the weather (read wet season). So, what can we expect given reasonable conditions?

On the saltwater there will be plenty of options.

Meanwhile, in the fresh the barra stocked in our three dams will be looking to smash some lures and dash anglers’ hopes.

With the closed season for barra still to run another month, the barra chasers will be honing their skills on the monsters in the dams and all three now have barra over 1.5m, so use of fairly heavy gear is definitely recommended. In the open a big barra can be worn down with relatively light gear, but the emphasis is on worn, so if you intend on releasing barra then I suggest minimum 12kg gear to reduce the fight time. In the timber heavy gear is a must and I often upscale to 15-20kg mainline and still get blown away at times.

Water is being pumped from all three dams, with Teemburra levels dropping dramatically, but hopefully there is some rain on the way, which will help the fire fighters and run some top up water into the storages.

My pick of the dams in January for a barra would be Teemburra as it has been fishing well and very consistently over the last couple of months. Fish the more open areas and bays around the points and use surface lures early or at dusk, then during the day switch to large plastics, and don’t be scared to go as large as 200mm paddle-tails.

If chasing numbers of barra rather than huge fish, the side bays and the timber areas are alive with fish ranging from mid 50s to mid 70s and if you intend on keeping a barra for the table, then I suggest one in the 70-80cm range. Looking after the fish well at capture, then refrigerating the fillets overnight and they are quite acceptable as a table fish.

My preference is to cut the fillets thinly on an angle and BBQ the fish, serve with a crisp salad, some sweet chilli and a white wine or beer and enjoy!

Kinchant Dam has been hit and miss and the new structure in the dam will not

make much difference yet as some algal growth etc will have to establish first, then the baitfish, then the big barra. These structures will have all GPS marks published by Fisheries and will also be available on Mackay Regional Council’s website. For the moment, stick to working the weeds either up in the little inlets or around the weed islands that form out from the main beds. Look for water around 5m deep and use big plastics or hardbodies. Check with the tackle shops for the latest updates and hot lures.

If water is being harvested from the Pioneer River, then the barra will be happily sitting in the main dam body just where the Inlet Channel runs in and will smack anything that resembles food. With the force of the current generated by the pumps, the barra have a split second to decide something is food, so they usually don’t muck about.

very busy late November and early December with about 14,800 barra released into the Pioneer River, the Gooseponds and Teemburra Dam. These barra were grown out in the hatchery to average 100mm from 20mm fish purchased by the Association and will boost barra numbers in Mackay. MAFSA has also stocked the three dams with barra purchased with SIP allocations, so the area will continue to maintain its reputation as one of the best fishing destinations on the east coast.

The saltwater creeks and estuaries are fishing well and this should continue into January. Flathead will be one of the most prominent catches and there have been some beauties caught of late.

They can be found in all our creeks and estuaries and like flathead everywhere they give their haunts away by leaving lie marks in the soft sands and these are easily

and rock bar in the creeks.

The rocks around the highway bridge at North Mackay are a favoured haunt for jacks and live baits are usually the best bet. Lures will work, but losses can mount up quickly from snagging and getting smashed up. Smaller trevally, tarpon and queenfish are also often hooked here during the summer months as they work upstream chasing bait.

Occasionally real oddballs turn up here, such as giant herring and barracudas.

Ventures offshore will as always be weather dependant, but the bigger boats should continue to find good numbers of reef fish on the chew with plenty of red throats in the deeper water and trout right up in the shallows. Of late there have been reports of pinkies in the Shipping Channel and the odd one has been found closer inshore down around Hay Point.

Pelagics will be around while the water is clear, but if we get big rains and run-off they will scatter to the outer reef areas, which are out of range of most trailer boats. Spanish mackerel are still around the islands, but in fewer numbers and their run close inshore is

Sooties love weeds and lilies. Alan Tweddle enticed this 50cm beauty out with a 3” ZMan plastic worked along the edges. just about done. If the bait schools stay inshore with calm weather and northerly winds the bigger pelagic will stay close in.

Big queenfish have been working the harbour walls and the mouth of the river harassing bait schools. If we get January rains and run-off, then the mouth of the river will be a good show for a

snub nose (oyster cracker/ permit) using a bunch of yabbies drifted with the outgoing tide.

Mackay is blessed with fabulous fishing opportunities and no matter what the weather (cyclone excepted) there will always be options available, so why not come and join us in paradise? See you at the ramp.

Geoff Newby worked the point in the background with a black and gold Squidgy and scored this great 105cm Teemburra Dam barra.

Eungella Dam and surrounds have been drought stricken for months and the bushfires have devastated the areas, but hopefully with some decent rain the area and the dam will recover. January is the time for chasing big sooties up in Broken River where it flows into the dam proper as they are waiting to spawn with any rise in the river. Spinnerbaits in red, gold, and black colours are still the most reliable lures for sooties, but they will smash anything that is close enough. Don’t you just love them?

The Pioneer River will fish well for sooties during January and if there is a flush and levels rise enough, MAFSA members will be out chasing brood stock for the hatchery. The rocky shallows around Melba House near Marian and the old bridge ruins near Mirani are top spots to tangle with sooties. MAFSA also stocks the river with barra, but any caught during January must be returned immediately, but check if there is a tag attached and if so note the number and phone it through.

MAFSA members were

seen at low tide. Return to the area at high tide with lures, flies or baits and a flattie or two is almost assured. Small live baits, bunches of yabbies or strip baits will all tempt them. If the creeks have a flush out there will be plenty of prawns and no flathead ever spawned will refuse a live prawn.

Grunter should continue to bite well and the NFZ has proven to be a godsend for them. There have been plenty caught in the 70-90cm range from Murray and Victor creeks areas right in the middle of the NFZ. Seaforth, Smallies, and Hillsborough beaches all have runs of grunter that can be caught from the beach using yabbies or strip baits. Frozen prawns will work, but for best results use freshly caught baits. Light line with a standard running sinker rig and a 1/0 hook will get you plenty of fun and grunter are one of the best eating fish in the sea.

Jacks were all over the district during November and December in the high 30s low 40s weather with northerly winds. If these conditions persist then expect to find them on almost every snag

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING OKUMA PRESSURE POINT RODS

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their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ blackmagictackle. www.blackmagictackle.com

Okuma brings affordability to high end heavy plastics, popping and stickbait rods, without sacrificing quality, with the release of the Pressure Point rod range. Features includeToray graphite blanks, Fuji K-Series Tangle Free Guides, Fuji reel seats and most importantly actions and builds designed in conjunction with guides from Australia’s premier sportfishing charters.

The range consists of five rods, a one-piece general purpose 701M 7’ PE 2.0-4.0, 20-80g Heavy Plastics rod and four two-piece, butt joint rods, for easier transport and storage. The two Popping rods are a 792MH 7’9” PE 4.0-6.0, 50-150g and a 792H 7’9” PE 6.0-8.0, 80-200g, while the Stickbait models consist of a 762M 7’6” PE 2.0-4.0, 20-80g and a 832M 8’3” PE 4.0-6.0, 40-120g.

These five models will have you covered for light jigging and heavy plastics applications, through to the bulk of anglers’ stickbait and popping requirements, without breaking the bank. Team them up with an Okuma Azores Blue spinning reel and you have a genuine big fish stopping combo for around $500, or put the money you have saved on the rod toward arguably the strongest reel in the world, the Okuma Makaira, including the soon to be released 10000 size.

Price: SRP $279.90-$299.00 www.okuma.com.au

Long-sleeved collared shirts make ideal fishing wear, as they shield the neck and forearms from sun exposure. The new Sublimated Fishing Shirts from Shimano go one step further though, as the fabric has a UPF 50+ rating for maximum protection.

The 100% poly microfibre material used is also moisture wicking, so it draws moisture away from the body. Consequently, the shirts keep the wearer cool, and dry fast should they get wet. Additionally, they contain an antimicrobial treatment, meaning bacteria can’t get a foothold in the fabric.

The fish designs of Bream, Tuna and Kingfish represent a collaboration between Shimano Australia and noted fishing writer/ underwater photographer, Al McGlashan.

There is also a Squid design in the range for those anglers who love their egi fishing. The sublimated printing process means they will retain their vibrant colours for many years to come.

Shimano Sublimated Fishing Shirts are available in sizes S-XXXL. www.shimanofish.com.au

SAMAKI VIBELICIOUS 2 YAKKA

MAPSO VLASON SPINNER

Samaki Vibelicious brings a new colour to the lure market: yakka.

Yakka is all about the detail, with its patterned back featuring yakka stripes, and hits of yellow on the tail and fins adding to the lifelike appearance of the lure. The colour has proven itself time and time again as it is fished in multiple locations around the country, attracting barra, jew, bream and flathead to name a few. The traditional features of the Vibelicious Fork tail and Thumper tail are only enhanced by such an attractant as the yakka colour.

The Vibelicious Fork Tail and Thumper tail come in three sizes – 70mm, 100mm and 125mm. The 100mm and 125mm sizes have now been upgraded with the new YS81 Decoy Hooks and the all new Decoy EX Strong Split Rings. Hardware like this encourages longevity in your fishing experiences and better hookups, as the hook penetration is on point.

As always, the Vibelicious contains premium Japanese stainless wire and is made of the toughest 10X super stretch material. www.samaki.com.au

BLACK MAGIC MEASURES UP

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With the growing emphasis on measuring fish rather than weighing them, particularly in tournaments, Black Magic has introduced a ‘brag’ mat into its range of quality fishing accessories.

The Black Magic brag mat is manufactured from a durable UV-resistant PVC material, so it won’t warp and deteriorate in the sun like cheap mats will. It also has a sturdy acrylic header board to butt the fish up against.

This brag mat is designed to measure fish up to 1300mm, so it’s better equipped to measure big specimens than some smaller truth mats are. It has well-defined numbers and centimetre markings that show up clearly in photos.

This mat is 250mm in width and rolls up tightly for easy stowage, and comes complete with a handy mesh bag. For more information on this and other Black Magic releases, visit the Black Magic Tackle website. You can also see all the latest news and catch photos on

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JANUARY 2019

SHIMANO FISHING SHIRTS

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The new Mapso Vlason spinners are sure to be a hit with Australian anglers chasing freshwater species.

The Vlason is a bell-shaped spinner that features an internal cog which creates a vibration as it spins through the water. This vibration helps to attract fish from longer distances, as they pick up the lures vibration on their lateral line. As you can imagine, this lure is particularly effective in murky water.

The Vlason, like the rest of the Mapso range, is made to the highest quality standards, and has a 100% perfect spinning action every time. The Vlason weighs 4g and is 50mm long. It is available in six proven colours and has two pieces per packet.

The Vlason will also be very effective on redfin, bass, sooty grunter and jungle perch.

To find out more visit the Juro website. www.jurofishing.com

DAIWA TD BLACK LT

PRODUCT GUIDE

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It’s time to get back in black with the release of the new TD Black LT spin reel range. Bearing the famous Black name that has been featuring so strongly in the Daiwa line-up over the last few years, the TD Black LT features the LT’s Light Tough Concept to deliver anglers a reel that impresses in looks and wows in performance.

Lighter, stronger, tougher and more advanced in design and performance than its predecessor, Generation Black, the new TD Black features Daiwa’s new Tough Digigear gears for enhanced gear smoothness, strength and power.

New gears is just the tip of the iceberg, with an ultra-light Long Cast ABS aluminium spool, Zaion body, ATD drag, Air Bail, MagSeal, Perfect Line Stopper, aluminium Air Handle, and Air Rotor combining to make the TD Black LT one of the standout reels in the Daiwa range.

Available in six different sizes, ranging from the 2000D through to the 6000D, the TD Black LT heralds a new age for the famous name, and makes the perfect partner for the equally restyled and relaunched TD Black rod series. www.daiwafishing.com.au

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING B&S Q6500 QUIETPOWER

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The new Q6500 QuietPower Series Inverter Generator from Briggs & Stratton is designed to deliver consistent power for essential appliances and sensitive electronics. The all-steel frame, encased in a protective shell, increases the lifespan and reduces repair costs. Inverter technology produces power that is 60% quieter than standard generators.

The Q6500 features an efficient integrated engine/alternator to provide up to 14 hours of run time and 6500 starting watts of reliable back-up power. With its telescopic handle, integrated wheels and a design that’s 45% more compact and 30% lighter than standard generators, moving and storing the Q6500 is easy.

Another feature is the Bluetooth functionality available through the InfoHub app. The app monitors total power being used, run time (hours until empty), total unit hours and maintenance reminders.

With the added option of the new Manual Transfer Switch, the Q6500 can also be easily connected to provide power at home in the event of a power outage.

Price: SRP $2999 www.briggsandstratton.com

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RHINO-RACK WIND FAIRING

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Engineered with an innovative sawtooth pattern to disrupt and redirect airflow of oncoming wind, the Rhino-Rack Pioneer Wind Fairing reduces wind noise and resonance for a quieter drive. Not only will it effectively deflect the air surrounding your load, the Pioneer Wind Fairing doesn’t take up any of the usable space.

The Wind Fairing has a stylish black design to give your vehicle and roof racks a sleeker look. Offering both adjustable angular and longitudinal movements, it will conform to most vehicles’ roof lines and allow a more desirable fit for your car.

With 4mm thick ABS construction and glass-filled nylon, the new Pioneer Wind Fairing is solidly built. The UV resistance will prevent any colour fading, so that sleek black won’t be turning grey. The addition of soft Santoprene rubber feet and 3M clear plastic patches protect your vehicle’s paintwork to keep your roof scratch free.

Compatible with existing Pioneer Systems for easy installation and removal, the Pioneer Wind Fairing is backed by a 5-year warranty.

Price: SRP $179 www.rhinorack.com.au

UGLY STIK GOLD SERIES

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The Ugly Stik Gold series incorporates new technology that further improves dependability and performance.

The new Ugly Stik Howald process features Triple Built construction around an internal fiberglass core. Parallel fibers infused with pigmented polyester resin creates a strong yet sensitive rod with better balance that is virtually indestructible.

The latest inter-core laminate is an innovative design process that surrounds the graphite shaft fibers in the outer walls with a rigid-wrap structure.

The new process provides greater stiffness and superior strength through the blank shaft.

This creates a better taper from the backbone of the blank to the tip providing extra sensitivity and casting performance.

Ugly Stik Gold series are equipped with a full Fuji New Concept Guide for tangle free fishing. Fuji reel DPS graphite and Fuji TCS trigger reel seats are incorporated throughout

the Gold range.

Finished with comfortable tapered grips with Ugly Stik etched into the EVA and a slick new matt finish. www.uglystik.com.au

NEW DAIWA RELEASES

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SAMAKI SUNGLASSES

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GILLIES SHRIMP AND VIBE

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First you became a fighter, now you must become a leader. Backing up from the success of J-Braid, J-Thread FC is a brand-new 100% fluorocarbon leader material that boasts increased abrasion resistance and super-low memory.

Made in Japan from the finest raw materials, J-Thread FC features a low-memory core, improving handling characteristics and improving knot performance. The outer layer is treated to increase hardness and resilience to abrasion. It’s available in 4-80lb breaking strains in 100 or 50m spools.

Another new release from Daiwa is the updated Double Clutch colour range. A jerkbait with few peers, the Double Clutch continues to set the standard as the ultimate suspending twitchbait. Available in three sizes (60mm, 75mm, and 95mm), the colour range has been enhanced and standardised across the range, with the 20 available colours now available in every size.

The 75mm and 95mm Double Clutches have also been upgraded with Owner ST36BC trebles, which are razor sharp and ultra strong. www.daiwafishing.com.au

Meet Slick, Dodge and Duke – the front rowers of the new Samaki Sunglass range.

These three frames have been tried and tested by the team to ensure there’s a model to suit everyone, from the square-shaped Slick to the wrap-around Duke and Dodge.

Each one designed to hug the face, give great coverage from the elements and provide you with the polarised lenses you need when you’re out on the water. The Samaki team say these sunnies are so comfortable you won’t want to take them off.

All the lenses are a polarised grey tint with the option of a reflective external in either green or blue mirror. With matt black or gloss frames, the superior frame material is comfortable for the extended wear. Additionally, the Dodge is a floating model, so if you drop it into the drink you can just grab the net and get it back.

Price: RRP $49.95 www.samaki.com.au

JM Gillies has released two new realistic lures: the Gillies Shrimp and the Gillies Vibe.

The new Shrimp have a natural shape with realistic legs, antennae and also feature bright three-dimensional eyes. The body is ultra soft for a natural feel and look. The 68mm and 100mm version come rigged with premium extra sharp hooks.

The new Gillies Vibe combines the realistic soft X-Flex body and the vibration of a hard vibe bait into one. It features meticulous attention to detail, and its uniquely designed forked tail allows additional vibrations upon retrieval with a seductive, tight wiggling action that mimics a live fish. Gillies Vibes are the perfect bait for barramundi, snapper and many other species, and are fitted with extra strong VMC Spark Point hooks that allow you to target your favourite species with ease.

Gillies Vibes are definitely a great all-round lure for both freshwater and saltwater predators. www.jmgillies.com.au

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au JANUARY 2019

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING MUSTAD FLASHER RIGS

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Mustad has released two new Flasher Rigs onto the market – the UltraPoint Octopus Flasher Rig and the UltraPoint Circle Flasher Rig. These 2-hook rigs rigs are user friendly, and can be used to target snapper or any other reef species. Suitable for jigging while drifting and also for bottom fishing, UltraPoint Octopus and UltraPoint Circle Flasher rigs are built using high quality Mustad UltraPoint hooks and 60lb leaders to maximise the flasher’s action while still being suitable for serious fish.

These rigs are also suitable for tipping with bait to enhance their appeal to a wider variety of fish, which includes the likes of pearl perch, flathead, kingfish and more.

The Octopus Flasher Rig uses the famous Mustad Octopus hook and has blue and red flashing with a generous pearlescent Fish Skin across the back of the hook.

The Circle Flasher Rig uses the Mustad 39953 circle hook and is finished with chartreuse/green flashing.

Fishing deep or shallow, with or without bait, the new Mustad Flasher Rigs will provide great options for anglers across the country. www.wilsonfishing.com

BLACKWOLF SKYRUNNER PACK

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The BlackWolf Skyrunner Transit Rolling Travel Pack is tough, durable and versatile.

It has a multitude of compartments to keep you organised, including the easily accessible main zippered compartment.

Coupled with lockable No.10 zips to prevent theft and a state-of-the-art side compression system to help keep your gear in place, it anticipates travel needs at every turn.

Choosing what to leave behind when travelling is time-consuming. Pack more gear and make use of the Skyrunner’s dynamic expansion gusset, which allows you to increase the capacity of your pack—for more room and fewer hassles. There’s an ergoharness that can be packed away when not in use and a two-stage handle for total command over the unit.

Unlike many rolling travel packs, the Skyrunner isn’t just made for airports. With durable, all-terrain 4WD wheels, BlackWolf’s Skyrunner can successfully tackle rocky, rough and uneven surfaces alike.

With a limited lifetime warranty, the Skyrunner is a testament to thoughtful travel design.

Price: SRP $299.99 (60L), $319.99 (80L) www.blackwolf.com.au

PRODUCT GUIDE

happens, the Swiss Champ Wood is the essential fix-it solution that should always be with you.

Price: $239 www.victorinox.com

WILSON PLATINUM 16 BACKPACK Designed specifically for fishing, the Wilson Platinum Series Backpack allows anglers to carry just about everything they need on their backs.

At the heart of the new system is the side access to the internal cargo area. The lets you easily keep the backpack over one shoulder while accessing the internal cargo area, so you don’t have to remove the backpack while you’re fishing.

Other features include three tackle trays inside the main cargo area that are sealed to provide waterproof boxes that will let you bring a mountain of tackle. An external sunglass holder and a retractable tool lanyard are also included. There are also four external zippered pockets for accessories such as leader, fishing gloves and more, as well as two Velcro secured tool holders and a massive front flap with even more storage for items such as plastics, spare hooks and more.

The top pocket also features an elastic webbing for securing jumpers or rain jackets, and the adjustable shoulder straps are padded for comfort and feature a chest strap for a more secure and ergonomic carry of the load.

Heavy cord with sturdy plastic sleeves are used on all zippers to ensure that even cold hands can easily open the zippers. www.wilsonfishing.com

RAPALA SPLIT RING PLIERS

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The new Rapala RCD 4” Mag Spring Split Ring Pliers offer easy to use, singlehanded operation.

Unlike conventional split ring pliers, the new Rapala RCD series are built with two internally opposing magnets to hold the pliers open.

The patent pending Mag Spring mechanism cannot fail, even in the harshest of conditions.

The split ring nose opens rings up to size 0, while the built-in cutter cuts all lines or tag ends with ease. Other features include stainless steel jaws with a gun metal finish, and ergonomic co-moulded Soft Grip handles for a comfortable hold.

In a nutshell, the RCD Split Ring Pliers are one of the easiest, quickest and toughest built split rings pliers on the market. Keep an eye out for them at your local tackle store. www.rapala.com.au

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STORM COASTAL SWISS CHAMP WOOD 18 15 TRICK TAIL KNIFE Anglers will love how the new Storm 360

Victorinox is now giving some of its most iconic knife models a revamp with walnut wood sourced sustainably from European forests. Each knife boasts a unique casing due to the natural wood grain.

One of the new models is the Swiss Champ Wood pocket knife, which is a modern day upgrade of the original Swiss Army Knife – the legendary Officer’s Knife.

With more than 29 functions and countless possibilities within it, including a ruler, pliers and a screwdriver, it is the perfect tool for almost any situation. There is a bottle opener and a corkscrew to kick off any celebration, a fish scaler and a wood saw for camping, a nail file, sewing awl, as well as some classic features such as a blade, screwdrivers and scissors. So wherever you are and whatever 54

JANUARY 2019

GT Coastal Trick Tail works the water.

This soft jerkbait has a fleeing baitfish action, and its ability to change direction is extraordinary.

If you stop the retrieve, and rather than slacking off, the Trick Tail will rock back and forth like a stressed baitfish. Its webbed tail continues to pump on the fall, or alternatively you can simply pinch out the webbing to switch to a more traditional wiggle effect.

The Storm 360 GT Coastal Trick Tail has a slotted back and belly for easy and balanced rigging. It is 5” long and is currently available in eight fish-catching colours, and we’re sure to see many species fall victim to its enticing action. Keep an eye out for it at your favourite tackle store. www.stormfishing.com.au

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

Black Magic Snapper Snacks and KLT hooks Recently we received a package from Black Magic, and in it were a handful of the premade Snapper Snacks flasher rigs, and some of their new rust resistant KLT circle hooks. We sent them out to some of our valued contributors, and this is what they came back with.

TESTED

coated KLT circle hook. This KLT circle hook is designed so that fish will hook themselves. They are most effective on fish if the angler resists the temptation to strike at the bite. The PTFE coating also makes the hook super slick, to assist penetration.

I gave them a run on the Murray River cod opening weekend. We spent some

Hungry snapper just can’t resist the Black Magic Snapper Snack flasher rigs.

NEIL SLATER Black Magic have released Snapper Snacks, which incorporate a variety of tantalising, UV fish-attracting material and a glow skirt. The glow skirt works best in deeper water, where light does not penetrate as well, or after dark. If you want to use the glow skirt after dark, use a torch, phone light or camera flash and check it after an hour or so and reapply if necessary.

These are designed to be used on a paternoster rig so the Snack sits as a visual attractant above the sea floor.

They incorporate a rust resistant, PTFE

time in banana lounges and nobody was getting up to attempt to set any hooks.

The KLT hooks did an excellent job where the rods were left alone to allow the hook to do its work, as any good circle hook should do.

ALLAN BEVAN I had the very good fortune to have Black Magic send me two of the new offerings: the Black Magic Snapper Snack flasher rig and the KLT chemically sharpened hooks. The KLT chemically sharpened hooks are the bomb – they are strong yet fine gauge, and are like a cross between a wide gape and circle hook with the recurve ‘self hooking’ design, pinning fish in the corner of the mouth.

With sizes through the range up to a 7/0, these hooks are for all styles of fishing from sweetwater to offshore bait

fishing. My own favourite has been the 1/0 for King George whiting, and it has done wonders for the hook up rate and they are easy to unhook, with all the fish hooked in the corner of the mouth.

The Snapper Snack flasher rig is a two hook paternoster rig with the KLT hooks, lumo bead and flasher material that normally catches the fish in the

corner of their mouth. They are great to use in deep water or at night. By adding a small amount of bait you end up with the benefits of both lure and bait. The very first one that I dropped down in 50m was monstered as soon as it hit the bottom, with a double header of breaksea cod and snapper!

Neil Slater found the KLT hooks to be great for bait fishing on the Murray for cod and carp.

JANUARY 2019

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Whitsundays winds are blowing WHITSUNDAYS

Mick Underwood

The last few weeks have been particularly frustrating with regards to the weather, it has been the longest and the

affect the reef fishing that much, but it does hinder sight fishing up on the flats and this is the time of year to be indulging in such activities.

When we have been able to get out there and enjoy a fish the results

Coral trout will be on fire up in the shallows this month. Dave Cunningham with a beautiful fish that he scored on a hardbody. most consistent run of northwesters that I have seen for years.

We get spoilt here at Hydeaway Bay enjoying offshores breezes the vast

have been pretty good.

Lots of baitfish have been congregating on the inshore grounds. The best concentrations of bait have been in Gloucester Passage

trevally, tuna and a few big queenfish.

With the northwesters keeping people from venturing offshore too far there has been a lot of creek fishing going on and I’ve heard some pretty good stories of anglers slaying mangrove jack. They are such a cool little fish, heaps of fun to catch and not too bad on the chew either.

What has been a little disappointing to see is the amount of anglers that have been posting online photos of out of season barramundi. It is important to honour the closed season and give them a break, we need them to spawn and have plenty of little babies so that we can all have fun in the future.

January is prime time to get out and enjoy a fish, there’s something going on just about everywhere. It is an unstable time of the year with regards to the weather, so we should all be praying to the weather gods for some nice calm conditions so that we all can enjoy the holiday season.

population should snap their heads off and the best action will be right up in the shallows. Just yesterday I had a client catch a nice one on fly in less than 2m of water. If you’re into anchoring up and soaking a bait to catch these guys in the shallows be sure to put some fresh berley in the water and fish your baits unweighted or at least as light as you can get away with. It’s no secret with anyone that knows me that I love to target coral trout on lures and in particular hardbodies. Drifting over areas of shallow reef and casting lures over any likely looking country is truckloads of fun and highly productive. If repetitive casting isn’t to your liking, just stick a couple of lures out the back and drag them around, which should work

A behemoth of a diamond trevally held up by Glen.

This beast measured 1.15m and was jigged on a soft plastic from underneath an anchored prawn trawler. than bait for targeting these guys and the same tactics already mentioned for catching coral trout will

Some big grey mackerel have been biting right in close to the mainland. Some days they’ve been able to cast at them straight off the beaches. Let’s hope this activity continues through January as well.

It’s been nice to see the tuna hanging around close to the mainland.

Here’s Phil with a nice little torpedo that fell to a chrome slug. majority of the time. These pesky northwesters blow onshore making it unsafe to launch a boat a lot of the time. They don’t do the water clarity any favours either with everything becoming all stirred up and dirty. This doesn’t really

and straight out in front of Hydeaway Bay. In gorging on all the bait supplies has been the inshore pelagics.

There have been scores of grey and school mackerel enjoying a good feast and in with them there have also been multiple species of

Kiah was happy to nail his first tuna on light spin gear.

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JANUARY 2019

On any calm days I expect that there will be plenty of anglers making their way out to the Shoals to indulge in some drift fishing. Out there the main targets will be large mouth nannygai, red emperor and golden snapper.

Fresh cut baits on twin hook paternoster rigs are preferred tactics for most anglers and this works just fine. When I get a chance to get out there my personal choice is to get in on some micro jigging action, the amount of time that they out fish bait is astounding and it surprises a lot of people just how effective and simple this technique is.

Back inshore around the islands I expect that there will be something on offer for most anglers. Coral trout

just fine as well.

As long as the bait hangs around, and I hope it does, then the inshore pelagic scene should keep poking along nicely and provide us with some nice light tackle opportunities. Mac and longtail tuna should be in abundance and along with them multiple species of trevally and a few school mackerel. I find that lures are way more successful

work just fine.

If we get any decent rain during January then this will stir the prawns up and bring them to life. Not only are they great bait, they’re pretty damned tasty as well.

I don’t know very many people who don’t enjoy a fresh prawn sandwich and a cold beer at the end of the day. Sinclair Bay, Miralda Creek, Billys Creek and the Gregory River are all well-

known haunts to catch a feed of these tasty morsels.

I prefer to hunt prawns on the lower portions of the tide, otherwise too many of the little critters are still hiding in the mangroves.

Whatever your angling endeavours are over the next few weeks, good luck with them and I hope that you all enjoy your holidays if you’re lucky enough to have one.

• Reel Addiction Sport Fishing Charters specialises in light tackle fishing for all tropical sportfishing species on fly, lures and bait. Reel Addiction operates from the beautiful Cape Gloucester Beach Resort, 40 minutes’ drive north of Airlie Beach.

Combined fishing charter and accommodation packages are available.

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

Leonard Chandrarajan, a visiting angler from Canada, normally only ever flyfishes for freshwater trout. He had a ball on Reel Addiction chasing some chunky pelagics on light spin gear.

Sweltering summer conditions beat local fishers AYR

Steve Farmer

The lead-up to Christmas saw the north (and most of the state) sweltering under hot, dry conditions that challenged the keenest of anglers, with the result that many prudently chose to stay out of the sun and not to wet a line. As well as the hot, sapping conditions, the threat of storms also meant that it was potentially dangerous to be on the water late afternoon and after dark, whether out on the bluewater or even in the confines of a relativelysheltered estuary.

Burdekin fishers were relieved when so-called ‘normal’ summer conditions returned and they were able to again raise a sweat and chase a few fish.

Mangrove jack and golden snapper (aka fingermark) must be looking forward to the end of the barra closed season.

These two species have taken the brunt of frustrated barramundi hunters since 1 November. Most creeks

have been fishing fairly well, especially when anglers deliberately target either of these species.

Both these fish respond well to a number of techniques.

Cast and trolled lures are very effective ways to target these species, especially when a lack of rain means most estuaries are still running fairly clean.

You also can’t go wrong with baits (live and dead) of prawn, whole or slabbed mullet and herring.

Baits can be offered on a running sinker rig on the bottom or drifted into a snag under a float.

You can also use the current to drift an unweighted bait down into a promising-looking snag jutting from the bank.

Yep, just about any approach can score you one of these tasty species.

Of course, golden snapper can also be taken from inshore waters, such as the shoals and around Cape Upstart. They frequent structure or holes (or especially a combination of the two) and are very partial to fresh squid baits caught on the spot.

Minimum legal size for

This photo clearly shows why the golden snapper are also known as fingermark. Simone Sutcliffe took this one on a bait in one of our local creeks.

jacks and golden snapper is 35cm, with a possession limit of five.

Grunter is the other species that has been fishing well for much of the year and shows no sign of slowing down during the warmer months.

As usual Bowling Green Bay is the Burdekin Delta hotspot for this popular species, with skilled anglers scoring quality fish of 60-70cm.

Upstart Bay produces similar catches while fish taken in estuaries across the region are usually a little smaller.

Squid as well as herring and small mullet are popular baits for grunter and should be fished on relatively light line, with minimal lead and sharp hooks.

THE MONTH AHEAD Forecasting the future fishing prospects at this time of year is always a bit of a guess – everything depends on when (or whether) we get a wet season.

If the wet season is a ‘no show’ or late, anglers can expect a continuation of mangrove jack, golden snapper and grunter fishing throughout January, or at

least until the rains do come.

Salmon should also be moving in and out of the creeks and the cleaner estuaries should be producing a few trevally.

For a little sporting fun estuary anglers could try trolling or casting lures or drifting pilchard baits in the mouths of local creeks.

Schools of doggy mackerel and trevally often cruise the waters outside creek mouths and will provide plenty of fun and a feed of reasonable quality fillets.

If we do get a fresh that wipes out the estuary and inshore fishing then estuary anglers can either hang up their tackle until the water clears or head further afield in search of more fishable areas. Cape Upstart and Bowen Waters are often alternatives, depending on the size of the fresh that muddies Burdekin Waters.

With the opening of the barra season just weeks away, this could also be a good time to overhaul your barramundi gear in preparation for opening day. It’ll be hectic so make sure your fishing tackle and boating gear is ready for a smooth, hassle-free start to the season..

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www.jurofishing.com JANUARY 2019

18/06/2018 12:04:01 PM

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Beat the heat and fish the peak HINCHINBROOK

Ryan Moody info@ryanmoodyfishing.com

I Hope you all had a great start to the New Year and have been successfully hiding from the heat. I don’t think I have to go too much into it, but I’m sure we are all aware of the heatwaves up and down the East Coast in recent times.

With it also comes the fires and much of our region

has been charred including Hinchinbrook Island.

With the annoying heat and smoke around I have heard only a handful of reports from inshore, but have managed to get out at night a little myself and into some spectacular golden snapper sessions on plastics.

We’ve had a few sessions like this now and the best was 40 bites in a half hour with all over 70cm.

We have also managed a couple of days out wide

You can’t target these guys at the moment, but get yourselves ready for 1 February.

before the heat, jigging the deeper shoal country and wonky holes with slow pitch jigs. This is a fun way to catch fish like scarlet sea perch and bar-cheek trout.

Best thing is it’s so clean, with no bait stains all over the boat and the bite is felt so well on the drop when using graphite jig sticks. Get into it – I haven’t met a fisho yet that says they hate it.

Fishing the daytime has been too punishing in the sun for me and the sharks have been awful, destroying many of the offshore reports as well. Some say they can’t get a fish up at all. My best advice to everyone is try fishing the evening, as the sharks are not as bad and it’s so much more enjoyable, but watch the storms when they are due as some have been violent. My wife and I sat one out at the Palm Islands just south of Hinchinbrook in our gameboat and gusts were recorded at 67 knots (Cat 1 intensity). Not a lot of fun for the smaller boats, so always review the weather and watch the BOM radars.

Barra season is still closed for a little while yet and if you are not interested

in fishing in this weather then take the time to prepare. Anglers should be dusting off their gear and stocking up on lures. The only thing that could spoil the opening of the season would be floodwaters and that could see them go quiet for a couple of weeks, but only time will tell. But at the moment it’s looking like another poor wet season.

However, this month they are expecting a cyclone to spin up in the Coral Sea, so who knows what may come of that. Maybe some good run-off fishing for the season open, that would be nice.

For those who are intent on fishing the daytime I would suggest shorter sessions and to mostly concentrate on the best bite hours. That time for many of our species, including jacks, is about three hours before the bottom and the first two hours incoming.

This is a great time of year for them with some of our local lads having great sessions. Smaller deep diving hardbodies and deeper plastics work best around the gaps in the red mangrove roots and shallow

A beautiful large-mouth nannygai. Fish this size are quite common this time of year. hardbodies and plastics over shallow timbered areas. A good baitcast outfit with 30lb braid can be a must for the larger fish.

We do get a lot of bigger jacks on the seaward headlands and those fish are usually averaging 2kg. Gould Island is another place for good jacks this time of year so it’s not just the inshore regions where these fish flourish. These regions also have species such as the green tuskfish and Maori sea perch.

If you catch a Maori please release them as they are not a common capture and the more left in the water the better. They are a stunning fish to look at, slightly

resembling the red emperor just different colours. Until next month enjoy your fishing wherever you are.

•If you would like the trade secret shortcuts to mastering golden snapper, or maybe you’re a barra fanatic that heads north every season, then our masterclass ‘Barra Basics’ could be for you.

Enrolment will be ready from 1-10 February. Check out these premium online courses here at our fish smarter website, www. fishsmarter.com.au. And keep an eye out on our website for December Christmas specials. Hope you all have a safe and fishy Christmas.

Rain will be the swinger CAIRNS

Garry Smith garrysmith@fishingmonthly.com.au

The rain will be the big swinger this month in the Cairns area. A few big downpours in late December/early January can completely change the fishing landscape. It will drop the water temperature, as well as put a fresh in the streams and close inshore.

If the rain holds off, which is the more likely scenario, the water temperature will continue to climb and fishing will become more difficult.

The reef has been patchy for some time, with the only constant being sharks. It’s a rare trip indeed that has gone shark free of late. There may be a decline in shark numbers worldwide but it certainly doesn’t apply to the Great Barrier Reef where anglers and divers are consistently reporting ever increasing numbers, with increased aggression to boot.

Water temperature will be the key factor to consider when fishing the reef this month. If the southeasters have been consistent or there has been plenty of rain, the water temperature will be around 27-28°C and fish will remain active up shallow. If the temperature get close to or above 30°C then the fishing will be better in deeper water.

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JANUARY 2019

If this happens, then chase trout in the 30m+ depth and reds in the 50m+ range. Trout may even fish better in the 50m range. Last January, when the water temperature was high, trout were still up shallow, according to divers, but they were not actively feeding.

Largemouth nannygai will be around in good quality but not necessarily quantity.

Work the rubble patches out wide and isolated rocks, wrecks and bommies closer to shore, in search of that trophy largemouth. The biggest fish

serious anglers.

The turn of the tide will be a key stimulant for fish and moving around will be the secret for anglers. Keep relocating every half hour or so, if the fish haven’t come on the bite in that time. Gradually move out deeper until you locate feeding fish. Before heading out use your charts to identify areas where there is a significant change of depth over a relatively short distance.

There are plenty of areas on the reef where you have to travel kilometres to get a 5m

in good numbers. The two top baits on my list are live sardines and live squid. Sardines are a lot easier to catch than squid, so I always start by filling the live bait tank with preferably sardines, mud herring, mullet, small trevally or prawns, then try and catch squid on location, while fishing. A bright light is necessary to attract the squid at Work the rubble patches out wide, and isolated night and a fine meshed scoop rocks, wrecks and bommies closer to shore, to catch them. More often than in search of that trophy large-mouth. not I dip out on catching squid but get my golden snapper on the live sardines.

Concentrate your efforts and especially the full moon, Soft plastics are a great close to, but not on top of, which has massive tides. Fish way to target golden snapper structure like bommies, rocks the last half of the rise and in shallow water (under 20ft). and wrecks. Working open the first hour of the fall, on Paddle-tails work a treat up rubble and wire weed areas the morning high tide, for to this depth, then after that can also be very productive at best results. The lead up to jerkshads and soft vibes are a times. Using lures instead of both moons will be better better alternative, as they are live baits will usually reduce comfort wise and hopefully easier to work in deeper water. the problem from small sharks. more productive, as the top Work the paddle-tails along This time of year it can be near of the tide is closer to dawn. the bottom with a slow roll, impossible to fish with live After the new and full moons, preferably using a weedless baits because of small sharks the high tides are later in the hook setup, for reduced lure taking your baits, especially morning and it will be getting Soft plastics are a great way to target losses from snagging on around the wrecks. pretty hot on the water. The golden snapper in shallow water. structure. With jerkshads and Grunter will be worth night high tides are pretty soft vibes a more active retrieve chasing on the hospital flats in small and while better on a bommie will usually depth change, so avoid these is often the key to success. the lead up to the new moon comfort-wise, usually don’t be the most aggressive and areas this month, unless it is fish as well as the bigger nail the first bait to reach the already really deep country, morning high tides. Salmon, bottom, so be ready as soon as say over 50m. blue and threadfin, will also you get down there.

Golden snapper will be worth chasing around Whatever the water be another fish frequenting Machans and Holloways temperature, the air the inshore rocks, bommies, beaches if the northerlies temperature is the one anglers wrecks and headlands. Last are blowing. need to be most mindful of. January saw some excellent All up there are plenty of Avoid fishing through the heat catches of golden snapper fishing options this month. of the day. Morning trips with coming from these locations.

It is just a matter of being a pre-dawn start and home If there are lots of bait schools flexible in your approach by lunch time are the go for about or plenty of squid, there and taking into consideration A fine mesh scoop is needed to catch families and day trippers or is a high probability that golden the prevailing weather squid for golden snapper bait. overnighting for the more snapper will also be around conditions.

Trying to predict the year ahead TOWNSVILLE

Dave Hodge

What us fishers wouldn’t do for a crystal ball sometimes.

A brief look into the months ahead would have us geared up and ready to go without even needing to look at the

than previous observations.

Old timers will tell you that when the savage storms that have wreaked havoc in the states are done with their menacing work in that area, they fuel the monsoonal trough later in the year. I hope they’re all correct and fly in the face of what the predictions are.

When conditions allow, smaller boats can get out to some pretty cool fishing. Just before the author landed this reasonable chopper he got monumentally ‘owned’ by a much bigger model. weather forecast, tides, and all the other little things that we need to know to make an informed decision on where to focus our efforts.

The truth is though, the whole game is a gamble and no matter how much time you spend on the water and how many fish you’ve caught, you’re going to cop a swerve ball from time to time.

Observing natural indicators is often the more effective way of estimating what seasonal developments may eventuate in the near future, and there have been a few of late. Professional forecasters say that we are in for less of a chance of a wet this year because of El Nino.

In recent weeks though, we’ve noticed a few crocs coming hurtling out of the bushes way back in the scrub, well above the high water mark and well upstream, and it seems that they’re building nests quite high, not to mention earlier

JACKIN’ AROUND As I am writing this I’m sitting here in 38°C at 6:15pm, and yesterday would have been the hottest day I’ve ever spent on the water, and it’s supposed to be here for a few days yet. This will obviously rise the inshore water temps considerably, and given that some creeks are over 32°C already, you may be looking for deeper water if the heat continues. I’m not even going to mention the wild barra, but the jacks can tolerate some substantial temperatures.

The hottest temperature that I’ve caught jacks in was sitting at 34°C a few years ago up the back of a stinking hot drain. It was a shallow drain that had smaller pockets of deeper snags, and smaller hardbodied divers did the damage, and once they reached a metre or so under the surface they were paused and clobbered. It must have been that little bit cooler down

there, and the water clarity wasn’t real good, but the pause was the secret to success.

The lure was a Tilsan Bass, a small timber that I had upgraded the hooks on, and was best cast off a short spin rod. The Samurai Runoff 10-17lb was the rod and it loads exceptionally well with lighter lures to fire flat accurate casts. In water temps around the 30-32°C, I like the surface stuff, just because I get a buzz out of the bite on top. Obviously hardbodies and soft plastics work well at these temps also, but the surface takes the cake for adrenalin and anticipation. The 60mm Rooster Poppers cast straight and true, and give a unique sound with a flick of the wrist, and the barra will undoubtedly get amongst the action too.

The Sugapen 90mm is a walk-the-dog style surface lure that also gets plenty of action and casts well on the lighter lines. The Bills Bugs in the smaller sizes are another stand out in a crowd of surface presentations.

Chasing jacks on the fly is one particular pursuit that’s going through a bit of a resurgence in interest, and the rewards of the chase are brief in real time, but are the stuff that long lasting memories are made of. It’s really not that complicated, and a 6WT to 7WT rod should fit the bill nicely, as once you’re hooked up it just turns into an expensive hand line where you point the rod and pull the line straight to keep your fish from burying you. For leaders, 20-30lb should be fine. Depending on if you’re using a surface fly or sinking fly, your leader can be either fluorocarbon or mono, with mono being best for surface stuff as FC sinks.

Dahlbergs, gurglers and poppers make a great surface presentation, and Clousers, Deceivers and small Pink

Things work great for the sub-surface stuff. For all my jack stuff I prefer a weight forward floating line, but that’s just a personal thing, as I like to be able to stop a fly up and over structure if necessary.

Around here there is always a bunch of other species to keep you busy, especially if you own a boat. Queenfish, GT, golden snapper, grunter, trout and many more fish are available to those with the inclination to break out of the routine if it’s the creeks you’re used to. Pretty much the same 4-5” plastics that you would be using for the creek jacks and barra work for chopper and trout, but the head weight of your jig will often need to be increased to compensate for the deeper water.

We swear by contrasting colours to get more action, and that’s usually in the form of Protec powder coated heads, or Quick Worm dipped bodies on lures. Over more recent times, we have been utilising the Halco MadEye Octo Skirt more and more to add a bit of extra life and movement, not to mention contrast to a variety of soft plastic presentations.

Of course queenfish and GTs will also smash these mixed type presentations, and each to their own as far as what’s a favourite, but there’s no such thing as a foolish experiment when it comes to fishing.

For some reason, there are still plenty of Spanish getting caught at the moment, so who knows how long they’re going to be hanging around, but smaller fish in the 7-9kg class are hitting fast trolled lures in fairly close at present.

Now, I’m not into big gamefishing stuff, and I have my own reasons for that, but I do get the addiction. I’ve caught a few smaller fish up to about 80-90kg and that’s about it. Anglers that pursue the grander or monster fish over

Mick Rennie had to do a bit of casting deck boot scootin’ to land this big queenie. Fish of this calibre are on tap on bigger tides.

1000lb, are a breed of their own, but the obsession and passion that they inadvertently display when they start to relay their infatuation is contagious.

The thing with it is that it’s not cheap to do.

No stranger to big fish, Dale Weldon has caught a few granders over his long billfish career, and when he speaks of them it’s almost a reverent reference. Just a week or two earlier Dale and some close friends went to a well known big fish spot and connected to what those on board estimate to be that magical 1000lb.

Always airing on the side of understating Dale placed it at a minimum 950lb, but having known him for a while, I’d say that it would have been well above his conservative estimate.

As is often the story now days, sharks zeroed in on the mammoth fish a mere 25m from the boat, and just like that the chance to release the thing was gone. The salvaged tail in the freezer at the Fishing

Warehouse in Townsville has much more experienced anglers than I putting it over that grand.

Dale says it was the first that he had heard of being eaten at that particular location, so the loss was quite unexpected.

Every local here is praying for rain, and the fishers are just about talking in tongues to try anything to get the rain on our side and take some pity on us dry Townsvillians. The headlines are always about the pipeline that’s under construction from the Burdekin Dam to Brownsville, but fishers know that there’s a lot more important stuff riding on a decent wet than just the barra’s potential spawn.

Prawns, crabs, baitfish and just about every thing that lives in an estuary or Bay needs a decent wet. Even the reef itself needs every scrap of water it can get to maintain a healthy eco system.

Good luck and polish that crystal ball!

Bumper jacks and golden snapper on the NFZ CAIRNS

Dan Kaggelis dkaggelis@gmail.com

The Trinity Net Free Zone continues to fire through the warm summer months with plenty of species on offer for anglers. The Trinity Inlet continues to be the standout system with plenty of catches of mangrove jack, grunter, flathead, salmon and golden snapper finding lures.

With the big spring tides, the hospital flats and areas just out the leads have been producing plenty of big grunter on the run-out tide.

Any tide over 2.8m is seeing these fish move onto the sand in big numbers and feeding

on small crabs and mullet.

Anchoring up on the top of the flats and slowly moving the boat back off the shallows as the tide recedes has been working well.

Bait fishers will be best to use light running ball sinkers fished with fresh strip baits of mullet or herring and, if you can get it, squid baits as well. With the shallow water light line is a must and the use of a high quality fluorocarbon leader like Sunline FC Rock will hide your gear perfectly.

By-catch in these areas includes blue salmon and queenfish. You will know when the tide becomes unfavourable when the small sharks begin to move in and start taking baits.

Inside the inlet golden

snapper have been chewing fresh baits, especially on the wrecks and deeper holes on the bends of the creek. Neap tides are always a better option when chasing these fish as they tend to hole up in the deeper holes, which makes them easier to target on line and lures. I prefer to chase these fish on vibe style lures, however, bait fishers tend to have better success using fresh herring or squid.

It pays to sound around for a while to find the best congregation of golden snapper and then start targeting them. Along with the golden snapper have been some great jack captures. Being a larger system the jacks tend to be a little bit larger, so that trophy 50cm jack is always

a possibility. Standout lures have been the ZMan Diesel MinnowZ and paddle-tail soft plastics fished deep into snags on a slow roll.

Other systems north of the inlet have also been fishing well with the mouth of the Barron River and Thomatis Creek providing plenty of queenfish on the run-out tides for land-based and boaties.

When the rains begin to come and the prawns hatch, this will be a top spot for threadfin salmon, especially along the open beaches. Next month we will see the barra season open and with sounders showing big numbers of fish in the NFZ it’s looking like it’s going to be a bumper year. Let’s hope we get a good run of rain to get them breeding up well.

Jacks are really firing this month with some larger models about.

JANUARY 2019

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Wondering what the wet season will bring PORT DOUGLAS

Lynton Heffer www.fishingportdouglas.com.au

As we delve into a new year the first stages are generally held with a bit of trepidation as we approach the main part of the wet season. It is hard to gauge what will unfold as recent times have seen some precipitation, but overall it’s been mainly dry and extremely hot and this could easily continue for the best part of another month.

Anglers have enjoyed a solid run of calm weather over the last month or two and there’s been plenty of opportunity to venture wherever.

For those with the capability, the shelf outside

of the reef has provided an array of species including mahimahi, wahoo, yellowfin, sailfish and even marlin right into the December period.

Marlin are expected to tail off, but the light tackle species will remain for several weeks to come. The tuna aggregation will also be closely watched by some and will be a hot zone once the word is out.

On the reef itself there has been some surprisingly awesome fishing despite the searing weather that has been handed down. Often the reef fishing can slow right down, but later stages of last year were an exception. It was all about quality as well with super sized fish coming back to the docks including largemouth nannygai, coral trout, cobia, reef mangrove

The reef fishing has been above par despite the hot summer conditions. jack, gold spot trevally and Spanish mackerel. Numbers of fish were above par also and we anticipate similar

results moving forward for a little while to come.

Closer inshore wonky holes have been a focus for

many and some monster largemouth nannygai have been claimed on these natural underwater springs. To date they have remained dry, but with a bit of rain they’ll start flowing and will in turn attract a few more fish. They generally hold only a few good fish at the one time, but when they are around 10kg all you need is a couple to for it to be a success.

Inshore reefs also continue to produce quite well with mid-sized nannygai, bar-cheek trout, trevally species and doggie mackerel all playing their role.

Along the beaches and inside our calm waterways have been itching for a good rain to rejuvenate the area.

High water temperatures have made it difficult, especially during the middle

parts of the day. By far the best results have occurred on dusk and into the night with golden snapper, jack, tarpon and accidental barra being far more active. Being patient with a live mullet or sardine has been the most productive tactic and probably the best option moving forward in the immediate future. A good dose of rain can transform things pretty quickly, spreading the fish around and offers the chance to try different techniques.

In our tourist town itself we’ll remain quite busy until the middle of the month, before we tail off into our quiet season for a couple of months. For the locals it means we get the whole place to ourselves and there’s a big playground out there to wet a line in total peace.

New year means new goals for TNQ anglers LUCINDA

Jeff Wilton jeffwilton83@hotmail.com

Just like that its 2019.

I hope everyone enjoyed the festivities over Christmas and spent lots of time on or around water with fishing gear in hand. Here in Lucinda NQ we sweltered through some extremely hot weeks with searing heat and thick crippling humidity.

It was very tough and it’s not often you will hear me say that I actually didn’t mind being at work in the air con all day.

The fishing has been pretty good, but most people have been fishing the early morning session or the afternoon and evening bite, due to the heat. So I’m pretty excited about what 2019 will bring, as every year I like to look back over the fishing logs I keep and try to work out

patterns. After a few years keeping logs it’s amazing how much stuff reoccurs around the same time. This year I hope to get out on the bluewater a lot more, as last year was easily the worst year in terms of trips outside. Read on to see what should be happening around Lucinda in January 2019.

HINCHINBROOK CHANNEL If past years are anything to go by, then this month won’t bring us much rain.

After the hot dry last few months everyone will be begging for it, but I presume we will get the bulk of it in February and March.

Mangrove jack will be on the prowl, and fishing baits or lures will provide plenty of action. The best time by far is the first few hours of the run-in tide. Look for snags that sit directly in the current flow, jacks will face into the current waiting for food to wash in with the tide.

I have only used lures for jacks the last few years, but I have a neighbour that cleans up using the humble pilchard.

He anchors up across a creek section and floats pilchards in unweighed with the tide, the sound the bait makes hitting the water gets their attention and it’s then as simple as letting the bait get close to the snag to get a bite. If no bite after a few minutes, he will cast again into another area or a new snag. He gets great results, trust me, I see the pictures and the icebox regularly.

No matter how you chase these fish it is essential to use strong gear that can help stop them from destroying you back into their snags.

Fast action rods and tight drag settings matched with quick reflexes and rod work will help push the odds in your favour, but sometimes it won’t matter and they will make it back and you will be rigging up again.

Chasing golden snapper

Team Sun2Sea had double the fun with these trevally.

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JANUARY 2019

Golden trevally are hard fighting fish, so in summer you’re best to start early morning to avoid the heat. is a favourite pastime of many locals here. They are a hard fighting and delicious eating fish. Pick tides that correspond with sunset or sunrise and anchor up over some good ground. You don’t need amazing bottom structure just some rubble with bait and life spread over it, there is plenty of this in the channel, check out the Bluff area as a good starting point.

It is critical to gather good bait and fresh or live bait will mean more action for certain.

JETTY, ISLANDS AND REEF Once again, the last month has been pretty average in terms of weather. Strong northerlies have dominated and even worse were the consistent westerlies that swung north and shut down the fish very quickly. Hoping this weather blows itself out and we get more settled and predictable weather patterns so we can get out and into some fish.

Anglers chasing golden snapper are giving the jetty a flogging over the neap tides.

The best time is overnight and if you have not got a

squid light overboard, then you are not giving yourself the best chance. There is no doubt that live squid is the best bait for golden snapper and it can be the difference between getting bites or hours of nothing.

Island fishing in summer can be very tough and slow, the best idea is to pick a tide change early morning or afternoon and fish some deeper waters that have good structure and plenty of bait.

Fishing, once again, with good fresh bait will push odds in your favour and catching decent fish around the islands can be a tough ask, so it pays to put the effort in. Be careful when heading out to fish around the Palm Islands as there are several green zones that surround a few of the islands. There are various maps and good fish finders should show them clearly there are also a few apps you can get on your phone that are fool proof.

The reef fishing has been great on the few occasions people have gotten out. There have been lots of good trout from the deeper water mixed

in with nannygai. Finding those spots that have some good structure in around 50-60m of water will hold all kinds of reef dwellers and are my favourite marks. It is always exciting dropping some baits or big plastics and jigs down and holding on for dear life when that rod registers a bump. Closer wrecks and rubble have had stacks of big cobia on them and these brawlers will stick around for a few more months.

On the last few sessions I have had great success using sinking stickbaits on these fish. Long casts over the wrecks or bait you have marked up and allowing the stickbait to sink to the bottom before working it back slowly with rips and pauses makes for some great strikes.

Happy New Year to everybody, I hope 2019 brings heaps of bent rods and quality time spent with family and friends doing what we love. This year I want to catch a marlin from the tinny and the hunt for a 60cm mangrove jack!

I see red, I see red, I see red COOKTOWN

Paul Prokopuk

Happy New Year QFM readers, I hope you all have had success on the water over the holiday period. The festive season has come to a close and the true summer period of Cooktown is in full swing.

Battling the hot humid days, sudden down pours and the occasional storms has made getting those fish in the icebox worth it.

The lucky anglers who decide to stay in Cooktown traditionally get blessed with perfect weather over the holiday period.

The great weather around Cooktown over the last month has seen plenty of reef anglers getting a good feed of quality fish. This time of year the offshore fishing can be in full swing. Fishing soft plastics when targeting reef fish and pelagics can be just as rewarding as trolling lures all day or bottom bashing with baits. With such a vast range of plastics matched to a surplus of jigheads on the market, the sky is the limit out on the reef.

It is advantageous having your boat setup for easy working of plastics and quick and efficient manoeuvring of GPS marks is essential. Rarely do you throw an anchor out with this kind of fishing. Using

they often make up for in quality with fish in the 3-5kg range relatively common.

When the weather conditions are so calm and

zone for as long as possible.

Our live bait fishers start the day by catching livies around the wharfs, boat ramps or long term moored

Trent with a largemouth nannygai caught on flesh bait. depending on the current and structure. The key is to get the bait right into the structure and ensure the bait looks natural while it’s swimming. Strip baits are another good way to catch jacks when they’re firing like

they are at the moment. Use fresh strips of flesh and use the same techniques as live baiting. Other by-catches while fishing for jacks may include grunter, estuary cod, juvenile GT, golden trevally, big bream and queenfish.

Damien Lingard with his first Spanish mackerel caught on a late afternoon troll. the water is so warm, I tend to search in deeper water for nannygai. For example, I usually fish around 20m, but now that the water is warmer, I’ll search for rubble patches in 30m+ of water.

A single hook paternoster rig is also commonly used for bottom fishing in deeper water. If the forecast over summer is a storm free

Trent Kirk with a mackerel that fell victim to a red and white Halco. your sounder and GPS to drift over bait and structure is a proven method to land good fish. Knowing where the fish are sitting in the water column and putting your plastic there can make the difference between a solid target species and pesky by-catch. Over the past month Spanish mackerel are still about if you’re willing to put some time in trolling.

Most reef trips have resulted in a solid mack being caught, with more often than not a big mack hitting an unweighted live bait balloon floated while bottom bashing.

Coral trout and largemouth nannygai are the most targeted catches at the moment. Working bommie to bommie has been most productive for trout, usually pulling a couple off on each hang. What trout lack in numbers this time of year

afternoon I’d recommend you start fishing for trout and Spaniards, followed by a move to the 40m+ on dark to chase the reds and

largemouth nannygai.

Conditions in the estuaries can become a touch lethargic at times with hot weather and spring tides making everything but the mozzies difficult to catch.

Those estuary anglers lining up their tides with the few hours around sunrise and the hour of sunset have still been getting some good catches.

Our estuary anglers have been landing and losing some quality mangrove jack in all the rivers around the area.

If you’re into sportfishing then fire some lures deep into the snag zones while you work along the banks of the river. If it’s a good cast, then a hook up will be instant when jacks are this active.

Sometimes you may need to get the lure down a bit deeper but keep it in the snag

boats. They then sink their livies in the same locations or on some deep structure further along the river. A running sinker straight to the hook or a dropper rig is used

James Mann with a decent jack caught floating a strip bait into the snags.

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www.bonitoboats.com.au JANUARY 2019

63

Deluge or drought on the Cape this wet season CAPE YORK

Tim O’Reilly wildrivercompany@gmail.com

Most people will be checking the weather charts from afar, wondering what type of wet season Cape York will be having. Low pressure

closed barra season will see creek and river anglers at a minimum.

The offshore brigade are the most likely to capitalize on January’s offerings.

Super slick, calm mornings and at times glass-out days.

This is the month wellpracticed trailer boats launch and head to some truly

of tidal flow are key factors for deciding where bait and predators will be congregating. Fishing the current-facing side of a reef will usually be more productive. This can be true in close and out wide from structure.

Small indentations on the reef with current

A standard jobfish lured from a northern reef edge. systems and a meandering monsoon trough line will be scattered across the far north. Talk of cyclones and some decent rain should be around if there is any chance of a decent wet.

For the most part, anglers are quite content to let January ride itself out.

High humidity, the chance of a sudden squall and a

remote locations offshore from the Cape.

By no means is the fishing always easy and the shallow reef systems might be low on diversity under high water temperatures.

This is a time of year spear fishers need to learn to hold their breath and dive deeper!

Current and direction

pushing past are hotspots for congregating reef fish.

GT fishos who fling huge poppers across reefs in the hope of getting them back will target these pressure points and convergences of current.

All this is on a much grander scale when you are out on the outer barrier. Out there huge chunks of ocean

are moving in and out of the gaps between reefs. Large predators such as dogtooth tuna and wahoo will be hanging high above deeper structure, ready to pounce.

Yellowfin tuna will be out wider in the reef gaps, terrorizing baitfish schools, re-fuelling for their highoctane existence.

Fishing deeper reefs in over 35m of water can be productive in January.

Dropping big baits down with just enough weight to reach the bottom is sure to see rods bent when there are good shows on the depth sounder. Free-spooling soft plastics on jigheads up to 2oz and hopping them close to the bottom is another surefire way to get connected.

Metal jigs come in a huge variety of shapes, sizes and colours these days and rigged with assist hooks hanging off the eyelet is a deadly way to fish deeper reef. Weight and size can be adjusted to suit the water depth and species being sought. There are endless retrieves with this type of fishing, however, a sudden darting movement upwards, followed by the jig fluttering back to the bottom is too much for most predators to refuse. Most anglers use high-speed spin outfits for

Catching little GTs on top of the reef is white knuckle stuff. suspending lures and sinking stickbaits has become more popular recently. Great numbers of reef and shoal dwellers are being caught by a dedicated group of fishos

possibilities will be endless in January on both sides of Cape York. Not too many anglers will be around to see it but those who are should have a ball. The sunsets are

Cape York creeks should be swollen in January.

A hot windless morning with mullet milling on the surface.

SEASON

5

IS HERE!

Every Saturday 4.30pm on 64

JANUARY 2019

this type of fishing and a rod sturdy enough to pull fish out of heavy structure is a must.

Fishing mid-water with

over the top of the reef.

Getting personally attached to a lure is not an option with this type of fishing.

The blue water

amazing this time of year and the distant lightning storms are something else.

Just try not to be in the middle of too many.

OUTDOOR & FISHING SHOW

Listen on 5am-6am Every Saturday

BLACK MAGIC

MASTER CLASS

/

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

Conquering inshore marlin run Australia is lucky enough to have the best black marlin fishery anywhere in the world, both for quality and quantity. The legendary giant black marlin fishery off Cairns produces more granders (fish over a 1000lbs) than anywhere else in world.

It is mainly experienced

How many fish show up varies considerably each year, depending on the previous years recruitment.

In 1997 the NSW interclub tournament tagged 852 black marlin in just four days and while this was an exceptional year there have been plenty of good ones since. When they’re really

The two fundamental things to look for are good water and food sources.

This is where sea surface sites and apps really pay off.

Some like the one on BOM website are free and will give some idea, but if you want up to date accurate detailed maps then you need to open your wallet and invest in

You know the blacks are on when even the big boats opt for the inshore option. though through larger live-aboard style charter boats set up for heavy tackle fishing, which puts it out of reach for most anglers.

On the flipside the annual inshore run of juvenile black marlin is something that even small

hot, switched on crews can rack up double figures. Only a couple of years back Scotty Thorrington, who operates Freedom Fishing Charters, caught 20 in one day out of Port Stephens.

The fact that this kind of action is accessible to small boats makes it very

Pre-rigging your leaders will save you time spent out of the water resulting in more fish caught. inshore boats can get in on the action for, and in areas like Jervis Bay blacks can even be caught from the rocks.

These fish start showing up in Townsville around winter then move down when the East Australian Current starts to run south. Progressively from November to March concentrations of small blacks will show up from Fraser Island through to the Gold Coast down to South West Rocks, Port Stephens, Sydney and Jervis Bay.

special and just about the most fun you can have out of a trailer boat.

As red hot as these fish can be, everyday is completely different and they can go off the boil very quickly, so waiting until there’s a hot bite and everyone else is catching them won’t often pay off. There are also a lot of things you can do wrong and common mistakes that virtually write off any chances of success, so it’s important to weed these out of your game before you start.

something like Rip Charts or Fish Track. These will allow you to really hone in on those high potential areas or to stay at home because the waters turned over and gone cold.

The ideal water is a nice blue colour and 21-25°C. Once you find a patch of good water the next thing to look for is the food source.

For inshore black marlin the most common of these are schools of slimy mackerel, yellowtail and pilchards.

Check your Navionics charts for any reefs or pinnacles in 30-80m of water, as these create upwelling and there is plenty of food for slimy and yellowtail schools to hold on and in-turn attract predators such as black marlin. They will also be feeding on pilchard schools, holding on to the edges of temperature breaks and current lines.

Good quality electronics play a big role in modern day marlin fishing. Not just for finding bait, but also marking marlin. With the right sounder it’s possible to mark multiple marlin feeding on a bait school, which you can then spend the time on to try and get a bite out of.

While trolling skirted lures for marlin is a proven technique, live baiting for inshore fish is far more productive. The biggest advantage is the conversion rate of strikes as small blacks, especially the toothpicksized models, can be woeful on trolled lures. An effective technique is slow trolling a bridled live slimy mackerel

through bait schools with one up high and the other with a sinker attached via elastic band to the leader so as to get down deeper. This way you can really focus on balled up bait or marked fish and work all depths of the water column to give yourself the maximum chance of a bite.

Done right and using circle hooks and the right angle the success rate is very high for hooking and landing that fish. Reels need to be fished in freespool to a release clip and when the line pops out and drag screams it is just a matter of pointing the rod at the fish and slowly engaging the drag and lifting up on the rod.

The other benefit of circles is they are almost always hooked in the corner of the jaw, virtually eliminating gut hooked fish and ensuring a far better survival rate for released fish.

While there is a big range of circle hooks available out there, Black Magic Tackle has released their new KLT circles, which are highly productive. They are an inline hook and this makes them tournament legal with a Teflon coating that greatly improves hook penetration. The Teflon coating also aids in rust and corrosion resistance.

This a big benefit as one of the biggest problems with some other high end popular circle hooks is the point of the hooks corrodes away after one use.

They are available in size 6/0, 7/0 and 8,0 and while all will be adequate I think the 7/0 will hit the sweet spot for all sized inshore blacks, from 10kg to those 100kg inshore granders that sometimes pop up.

In marlin fishing it’s nice to have everything rigged up and prepared, especially your leaders. I always use fluorocarbon for leaders

The author hooked up and fighting a marlin only 1km from shore. and I would recommend Black Magic Tough FC. For inshore fish 80lb is perfect and should hang in there if a 100kg model does come along, but if fishing is tough try dropping down to a 60lb leader. It could help you get that bite.

I run about 12ft of leader with hook crimped on one end and a loop crimped on the other that clips to a small ball bearing snap swivel tied to a short double on the end of my mainline.

Light mono is by far the best for marlin, as braided line has no stretch for a brutal fight, often resulting in pulled hooks and busted leaders.

For inshore fish 10kg is ideal and Black Magic IGFA line is what I use and it has never let me down. The hi-viz yellow is the way to go as it makes it much easier for the skipper to see where the

line is in relation to the fish when fighting.

Smaller leaver drag overheads in a 16-20 size are most popular for this type of fishing, however, spin set ups with baitrunner style reels such as Shimano Thunnus 8000 are gaining popularity. The one big advantage the overhead still has over the spin gear is if you get that 80kg stubborn fish on, you can clip yourself into a Black Magic Equalizer gimbal and harness. These are high performing and for long hard fights they can be a lifesaver, even on inshore fish. They can be set up and fitted prior to using and then you slip off the gimbal but keep the belt on and when the time comes, it’s a quick simple procedure to slip the gimbal back onto the belt.

A beautiful black boatside in the closing stages of a fight.

JANUARY 2019

65

All about that fresh TOOWOOMBA

Jason Ehrlich fishability1@bigpond.com

Hopefully everyone had the chance to unwrap at least one new piece of fishing gear at Christmas. If not, there are sure to be some sales happening, so go and treat yourself. The new year has started off well on the freshwater fishing scene. Despite the hot conditions, the fishing has been better than normal across most locations.

The hot weather last month was enough to scare off most anglers in the

middle of the day. The fish too can drop back to the deeper parts when it is a scorcher of a day. If you plan to beat the heat, get out early or fish later in the afternoon. To spend a whole day in the sun, you will need to dress appropriately. Cover up with a cool sun shirt, hat or buff and cap. Any skin still exposed needs to be protected with sunscreen and drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. The hot sun soon takes its toll and if you don’t look after yourself your body will let you know about it later on.

While some species love the heat and will bite all day,

SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND CRESSBROOK CLOSEST TOWN: CROWS NEST The Cressbrook fish are much harder to locate now.

There are still some schools of big bass around the main basin points but you will

need to spend plenty of time searching to locate them. Look in around 7-11m of water and don’t rule out shows of only a few fish. If you can locate these bass, they are likely to respond well to spoons and spinnerbaits. Spoons tend to

Trolling deep diving hardbodies will fool heaps of Somerset bass and golden perch over the next month. Find the fish and choose a lure to suit their depth.

DAM LEVELS

        

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

OCT NOV DEC 5 5 5 87 86 83 16 17 15 34 38 36 100 100 99 77 72 66 65 63 61 89 87 86 0 0 0 0 39 38 29 28 24

others will be harder to tempt when it is hot and focus on feeding early and late in the day. The location can also dictate the feeding patterns.

Clear water with little in the way of shade is hard to fish during the day. On the other hand, a green, algae stained lake can fish quite well when the fish hold deep enough so as not to be affected by the bright, hot sun. Try to read the water you are fishing and get an understanding of how the fish will react to the conditions and then time your attack to suit.

Until next month, buckled rods from The Colonel! be a better option for covering heaps of water, while the spinnerbaits perform well if the fish are there in numbers over a smaller area. The trick to fishing spinnerbaits to deep holding fish is to use light line and a weight to suit the depth of the fish. I like to use 4-8lb braid on a spin rod and usually run a 5/8oz spinnerbait to ensure I can present it deep enough and keep it there longer.

Bass tend to scatter over the warmer months and will often be found out in the deeper areas. Here, trolling is a great way to locate them.

Trolled lures cover heaps of water and you can study your sounder to see where the best concentrations of fish are. Deep diving lures that run to 10m are a must.

The comfortable level for the fish through summer is often around this depth in Cressbrook, but as the water temperature increases the fish may also lift higher in the water column. Change the depth of your lure to suit the story your sounder tells you.

When reasonable numbers of bass are found out in the deeper water, you can switch to trolling spinnerbaits

         

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

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14 31

Weipa

17

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34

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Toowoomba

BRISBANE

IMPOUNDMENT DAM

or tailspinners. A slower approach is necessary to allow the lures to achieve the desired depth. Using the electric motor to troll at 2-2.5km/h will see you fishing pretty close to the right depth. Make sure you pay attention to all the variables like speed, line thickness and the distance behind the boat.

When you get a bite, you want to be able to set all the lures at that depth.

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

21 20 18 48 47 45 3 3 3 93 88 85 19 18 16 44 42 36 92 97 96 81 79 76 74 68 55 30 26 20 8 7 7 114 101 99

Gold Coast

22

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

27

21

23 25

Cairns 1

26

19

33

20

Townsville 2

3 4

Proserpine 6 Mackay

5

Rockhampton

Emerald

32

29 7

10

Highlighted dams are covered in this issue

Gladstone

30 8

Bundaberg 9

11

Roma

be extended this month to 6am until 8pm.

• For all your fishing supplies and the latest reports on Cressbrook and the surrounding dams, call in to see Fish’n’Bits in Alderly Street.

SOMERSET CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY Bass and golden perch have settled into their summer pattern. The fish have scattered more throughout the lake and move around more than during the cooler months. Rather than resting up on a point or particular drop-off, the fish are more willing to cruise the open water and find comfort in

BRISBANE

the thermocline. This means they can be found up on the flats, or even out in the old riverbed. With a much bigger area in which to find them, trolling lurers becomes a great option. Trolling deep divers covers heaps of water and a spread of three or more lures is sure to lead to success.

The depth the fish hold in will change throughout the day. Early, they may be above the thermocline but during the middle of the day, they will be closer to it.

This means you will need to choose a lure to suit. Deep divers that can dive 7-11m are To page 67

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

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

92 93 91 94 93 91 74 74 70 80 80 77 63 61 59 47 45 37 78 77 76 89 85 78 76 71 67 98 100 96 69 70 67 99 99 98

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 12/12/18

(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.)

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JANUARY 2019

Maryborough

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

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

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brought to you by

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

Gympie

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From page 66

ideal, so make sure you have an assortment of styles and colours. Lures like the Blitz Baga, Golden Child, Kezza Weirdoh, RMG Poltergeist Crazy Deep and Little Rippa are perfect. Some of these are locally made and harder to source, but there is sure to be an Aussie made timber lure similar to those mentioned in your local store.

Spots worth trolling will be the Kirkleigh Flats, Bay 13 and Pelican Point. Explore different depths on each spot until you find where the fish are holding on the day. I often throw a smaller profile lure into the spread.

The 3m Poltergeist or size 3 Stump Jumper fished way back on light braid will push down to around 7m deep.

This smaller profile sure is often the trick to scoring bites from fish on the tougher days or when patches of fish are suspending higher in the water column.

While most of the action comes from bass, golden perch are very active at this time of year and good numbers will also be encountered. The number of goldens tends to increase from Bay 13 north and they do prefer the drop-off to the old riverbed.

On the good days when the fish are found and chewing, trolling will produce double figure tallies.

If you manage to find good numbers in a particular area, there are other options if you prefer to cast or troll other lure styles. Tailspinners and spinnerbaits are top performers at this time of year. The fish can be very

fussy so mix it up and try different lure styles. Trolling these lures at the same depth as the fish is sure to get the bites. Casting on still, windless days can be tough, but throw some wind in and you have a much better chance. Long wind drifts over the fish are the ideal way to present the lure.

Cast the lure into the wind and let the drifting boat do some of the work for you. As the boat

Bass will scatter more this month, so be prepared to look for suspended fish in deep water. This Cressbrook fish ate a G2 Gang Banger spoon. helps to drag the lure along, you will need to use less casts to keep the lure down where the fish are. The other benefit of the wind drift is the moving boat draws the following bass in, but as it continues to drift along they fall off the drift in a concentrated line where the lures will be coming through.

Redclaw crayfish have been around in good numbers.

You will need to work out the best depth by staggering pots but start in 6-10m of water.

Bait like part boiled potato

SUNSHINE COAST REGION MACDONALD CLOSEST TOWNS: TEWANTIN, NOOSA The early bird catches the fish (or something like that).

If you are keen to hit the water early, casting surface lures around the weed and lilies will produce bass and you may even be lucky enough to score a saratoga. These fish will quickly retreat to deeper water once the sun is up.

Popping blades and weedless plastics out of the steeper weed edges will keep the bites coming. Some fishers find weedless rigging their plastics the best way to combat the weed. I prefer to run mine on jigheads with the point exposed. It is a lot harder to deal with the weed, but I like the fact that you need to rip them free from the weed bed.

It is this weed ripping action that triggers a lot of bites. The same can be said for blades and lipless crankbaits when fished on steep weed edges.

A lot of bite will come right after the lure has been ripped free of weed.

If the schooling bass are out the front of the hatchery, trolling lures will work well.

will do the trick, but it is hard to beat the strong scent of paw paw. When you bait your pots, make sure the redclaw need to enter to get at the fleshy part of the bait. It’s no good to have them chewing it from the outside of the trap.

• Somerset fishing has their store based at the area above the day use boat ramp. The store is open over holidays and otherwise from Friday to

Lucky Craft Pointers were doing the trick last month but don’t dismiss other Aussie favourites like the Poltergeist 3m diver. If these fish are schooled enough for casting try using spoons. Sometimes in the hotter months, tailspinners can be a better option on the schooled fish. If they don’t like the standard hopping retrieve switch to a slow roll and then drop back to the bottom.

For land-based anglers, you can try your luck near the Jabiru Bird Watching Hut. Davos in Noosaville is just a short drive away and they carry all the right lures to use on the toga and bass.

BORUMBA CLOSEST TOWNS: IMBIL, NOOSA Borumba Dam is fishing quite well for bass with saratoga also being caught further up the lake. Trolling the steeper rock wall in the main basin with deep divers will produce numbers of bass and the occasional golden perch. If it is windy, I would head for those discoloured edges where the wave action is stirring things up. In the past we have even caught saratoga

Sunday. Orders can also be made online via the website www.somersetfishing.com.au.

They have an excellent range of gear suited to fishing for bass and golden perch.

WIVENHOE CLOSEST TOWNS: FERNVALE, ESK The fishing at Wivenhoe will be a bit tougher in the lower part of the lake. The weed beds that fished well last year will be harder to get bites from. The fish will push a bit deeper on them and trolling on the troll on the edge of the dirtier water.

Better schools of bass are being found around halfway up from the Junction in both arms. These fish can be caught around the edges on spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits, soft plastics and blades. This action will be early before the fish scatter out in deeper water where they will suspend in 5-7m of water. The suspended fish will still feed, but they can be fussy. You will need to work out what they want to eat. Apart from the lures mentioned, also try lipless crankbaits and spoons. We normally consider spoons as an open water option, but if you pick your casting lines and fish slightly heavier braid and leader, you will be able to pop them off of most snags. The long casts you can make with them, keeps the boat away from the fish once you find them and covers ridiculous amounts of water.

• Davos at Noosaville has all the gear you’ll need to tackle the fish at Borumba and Lake MacDonald. The store caters well for fresh and saltwater anglers. They can be found in the Homemaker Centre on the corner of Mary and Thomas Streets.

the edges will be one of the best ways to entice the fish.

The flats out from Billies Bay and the humps down towards the buoy line will be worth investigating. These spots will also be ideal for trolling deep diving hardbodies. If good numbers of fish are bunched up then casting a spoon into them should get the bites.

Golden perch, bass and forktailed catfish will all fall for these two approaches.

Up at the top end of the dam, golden perch and the occasional bass will be found from Somerset Dam wall down to the first bridge.

This fish are best accessed by kayaks. These can be launched from near the tennis courts in Somerset town or from the Somerset campground.

Trolling medium diving lures like the 3m Poltergeist is usually a good way to get the bites. TN60 Jackalls are also a good option for lure trollers, just make sure you carry a lure retriever.

MOOGERAH CLOSEST TOWNS: RATHDOWNEY, BOONAH Bass and golden perch should be chewing well in the afternoons and mornings. The timbered area tends to fish well through summer with fish suspending around the trees. Trolling TN60 Jackalls is one of the best ways to get into the action. Use an electric motor to pull your lures around and watch the sounder to see where the fish are holding. If they are over 4m deep, you may need to change your approach and either do a stop/start troll to give the lures some sink time or choose a deeper diving offering.

Lure casters will also be able to pull fish from the trees.

Once you work out the depth of the suspended fish, count the lure down to them before commencing the retrieve.

Lures like lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits are perfect.

DYER CLOSEST TOWNS: GATTON, LAIDLEY Lake Dyer is still open to paddle craft and fishing from the shore. The deeper water to the left of the boat ramp is the place to try your luck. The water here is quite shallow so the best times to fish will be morning and

afternoon. Trolling shallow diving lures or TN60 Jackalls will fool bass and golden perch. The TN60 Jackalls are also great for casting from the bank. Spinnerbaits will be a good all-round option as well.

Small profile spinnerbaits like Bassman Carl’s Compacts or the Smak Mini Coop or Smako should perform better than bigger profiled lures.

• Gatton Home Brew, Camping and Fishing Supplies has several keen customers who regularly fish the lake and so they have a good idea of what is going on. If you have any questions about the fishing at Dyer (like what, where and when) make sure you call in.

NORTH PINE (LAKE SAMSONVALE) CLOSEST TOWN: BRISBANE, LAWNTON, PETRIE Awesome news! The kayak area at Forgan Cove is now open. Kayakers can launch from here and enjoy the newly opened area of the dam.

There is a designated paddle craft zone (no petrol or electric engines). This (Zone 2) area is closer to the dam wall than the Pine Rivers Fish Management members’ Zone 3. It is quite an open area to explore with plenty of bays and points.

In the first month of opening, there were some great reports of fish being caught. The strong wind dictated where anglers could fish, but good reports were coming from all over the lake. Running a fish finder is certainly helpful and will ensure ridiculous catches, but even those without this luxury can expect awesome fishing.

Schooling bass can be found out from some of the points and even inside the mouths of the bigger bays.

These fish will take trolled lures and cast spinnerbaits. The better schools can be smashed with tailspinners and spoons.

Fish to 50cm in length are not uncommon when you start catching numbers and sorting through the smaller ones.

The wind that forced anglers into the bays was actually a blessing for some last month. Bass and saratoga were caught by casting spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits to the edges of the dam. This is likely to be an early morning and late afternoon approach as the fish

will move deeper during the heat of the day.

If you plan on fishing the lake, take care as it is a very open area in a kayak. Having a life jacket on or close by would be a wise move. In windy or stormy conditions, the middle of the lake is a place I wouldn’t want to be.

Keep an eye on the weather and you will have a lot of fun.

• For an update on the fishing and all the right advice and gear, call in to Tackle World Lawnton. This team will be able to sort you out and ensure you stand a good chance of boating a few fish.

KURWONGBAH CLOSEST TOWN: BRISBANE, LAWNTON, PETRIE If you are keen to test out your paddling arms, Kurwongbah will have plenty to offer. Kayak fishing at this lake will be best in the mornings and afternoons.

The fish will probably be tougher to tempt in the middle of the day. Bass can be caught around the weedy edges early in the day.

Casting spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits and blade baits into the weed and fishing them back is sure to get a few bites. As the day gets hotter and brighter, try working deeper on the outside edges of the weed. Trolling hardbodies or casting spinnerbaits, tail spinners and spoons should fool these fish.

If you are keen to tangle with a saratoga, power up to the back of the dam early and work surface lures and smaller spinnerbaits or a beetle spin rigged plastic around the weedy edges. The toga should be tuned in to the surface with all the summer beetle activity. You also stand a good chance of boating a few bass in the same area.

Kayak access is at Mick Hanfling Park off Torrens Road. A wash-down facility is in place to help avoid spreading the cabomba weed present in the lake.

• Tackleworld Lawnton is an ideal port of call for all your fishing needs if fishing the lakes on the north side of Brisbane. They can point you in the right direction and help you experience some awesome fishing close to the heart of Brisbane.

Gary’s Marine Centre

3201 6232

217 Pine Mountain Road, BRASSALL JANUARY 2019

67

DARLING DOWNS GRANITE BELT REGION COOBY CLOSEST TOWNS: HIGHFIELDS, TOOWOOMBA Cooby fired up last month, with lure anglers really getting into the action. Smaller electric powered boats and kayaks were having plenty of fun on the golden perch. The Murray cod were tougher, but we did a few sessions and had a cod encounter on most of them.

In past years, when the dam fired up before Christmas, the action continued into the first months of the year. Lure fishing may get tougher, but if

worked back in front of the sailing club scoring my first few fish. I then made the move to the northern arm where I found some healthy weed in 4m of water. The fishing over the next hour or so was insane.

I sent my brother to the same spot two days later and he scored three fish straight up before they went quiet. He then finished the day off with a pile of goldens from in front of the boat ramp.

It seems like the fish are moving around quite a bit.

With this happening, you will need to do the same to catch

Ian Ryan with a bit of Cooby Dam by-catch. This cod was a welcome surprise between the golden perch. this occurs baits fished late in the afternoon should keep the action happening. With fish coming from all over the lake, it looks like we are in for some more fun.

Despite the fishing being good, you may still need to work a little to find where the fish want to bite. My last two sessions are the prime example. We had a great morning fishing the dam wall buoy line and the drop-offs to the old creek bed. These fish were caught high in the water column early, then over 10m deep during the day. I returned to the dam two mornings later to draw a blank in the same area. I gave up on them and

them. A good sounder is definitely beneficial. Golden perch can be hard to see on the sonar of a sounder. I have been having better success locating them on the down image. The down image also gives better separation when the fish are holding tight around the weed.

Trolling and casting TN60 Jackalls is one of the best ways to catch Cooby golden perch. Locate some weed on the bottom and work the lures just above it and you should score a few.

I like to troll at 2-2.5km/h, as this has the lures running just above the weed, tickling the tips occasionally. When the

WIDE BAY AND SOUTH BURNETT REGION BOONDOOMA CLOSEST TOWNS: PROSTON, KINGAROY Only a month ago, the water was dirty in Boondooma, but it has cleared up nicely and the fish are chewing again. Trolling and casting spinnerbaits around the main basin points is producing bass and golden perch of all sizes.

It is also a good time of year to cover water and troll hardbodied lures as well.

Work out the depth the fish are sitting and choose a lure to suit. Plenty of fish will scatter through the deeper water and they can be picked off while they are holding in the thermocline.

The Junction and Barbers pole areas are holding some good schools 68

JANUARY 2019

that can be caught on spoons, tailspinners and blades.

These fish will be mobile so sound around these areas to find them. Just because you caught them there in the morning doesn’t mean they will still be there in the afternoon and vice versa.

• 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.

For campsites, cabins and bunkhouse rooms call (07) 4168 9694.

BJELKE CLOSEST TOWNS: MURGON, GOOMERI Bjelke really fires up this month. Trolling is a great way

action of the lure stops due to weed fouling the hooks give it a sharp rip to free it up.

Most of the fish are now biting at the red cord and flashy assist hook and the hook up rate is at least twice as good.

If you find a good patch of fish, try jigging a ZX40 blade over them. You will often score fish in the first minute of jigging if the action is going to happen.

Keep the boat stationary by anchoring or spot locking with the electric motor. Spot lock is a better option as the anchor can spook the fish you intend to catch. The other benefit of the spot lock is you can move a few metres and try again very easily.

LESLIE CLOSEST TOWN: WARWICK Leslie Dam continues to fish well. Golden perch catch rates have been a bit more hit and miss when trolling. Some days they will fire up and others they refuse to eat. Jigging lures in the deeper water seems to be the most productive method.

Blades like the ZX40 or vibes like the Transam and Berkley Shimma Shad are ideal for bouncing across the bottom over structure and on creek bed drop-offs. The beauty of these soft vibes is they are a more tempting size for the Murray cod.

Cod have still been taking trolled lures. There has been an increase in the number of fish caught trolling hardbodies.

Those targeting cod seem to do better on trolled spinnerbaits.

Work these around the structure and creek bed drop-offs. The lure needs to be close to the bottom so adjust the amount of line out and boat speed to suit the depth of water. I like to run 1oz spinnerbaits with soft plastic trailers for this style of fishing. Always add a stinger hook to the lure.

Along with getting a fishing report, stock up on all your gear while at Warwick Outdoor and Sports at 115 Palmerin Street Warwick.

COOLMUNDA CLOSEST TOWN: INGLEWOOD With a lot of the fishing interest focused on Leslie, less anglers have been enjoying the fish on offer at Coolmunda. Golden perch

was the way to entice these fish. The lower lake level has forced the fish back into the main basin of the lake. Try to find flats that are around 4m deep before they drop into the old river and creek beds.

Along these edges, you will

spot old tree stumps on the sounder that are the perfect fish attractors for species like golden perch and Murray cod.

Spinnerbaits are often a great lure to tempt the Murray cod. Trolling or casting these over some of the better structure piles should result in a cod bite. Be prepared to snag up a lot if you try this style of fishing and have a lure retriever on hand. There was a monster of a cod caught last month that measured 111cm. The fish was fooled with a deep diving lure worked through a snag that was located on the sounder.

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

to catch heaps of fish. Working lures like the 3m Poltergiest, Smak 12 and Smak 16 through the main basin around the boat ramps will produce bass and golden perch.

Casting spinnerbaits and blades to the edges can also be productive, but you will need to follow the fish out to deeper water as the day heats up. If you are casting edges, you should be able to spot fish on the sounder below the boat as well, so position yourself for the best angle and work the lures through them. Up shallower, there may be some tricky black weed to deal with but keep your lures just off the bottom here and it won’t be a problem.

There are lots of smaller fish but there are some quality ones mixed in. Almost all the action

will be in the lower half of the lake and the scattered schools out in deeper water will show up on the sounder. Often they will be holding along the old creek bed between the two boat ramps.

• For help catching Bjelke and Boondooma fish, call into Bass 2 Barra. The store stocks an awesome range of gear suited to chasing our freshwater fish. You’ll find the stores at 119 Youngman Street Kingaroy. Matthew Mott also runs fishing charters on the dams and you can reach him through the store for bookings and enquiries on (07) 4162 7555.

• The Yallakool kiosk is all set up with a great range of tackle if you don’t happen to have the right lure or lose one. Be sure to call in

and check it out. Give them a call for accommodation and camping bookings on (07) 4168 4746.

CANIA CLOSEST TOWNS: MONTO, BILOELA Cania is still producing bass. The shallower water will fish well early in the day and then you will need to concentrate efforts on the deeper water to keep the bites happening. The timbered area will fish well early with spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits. The edges can produce bass, golden perch and saratoga, but as soon as the sun starts to blaze down they will be hard to tempt.

The deeper areas will fish well with soft plastics and spoons. Bass can be found in the deeper water of the main basin. The middle

section of the lake will hold plenty and you will need to cover heaps of water to locate them. They can be found out in the deepest areas but suspended 5-7m down. These suspended fish love soft plastics, tailspinners and spoons.

You can also troll them up with hardbodied lures and this is a great way to search for them before switching to casting.

If the suspended fish rise higher in the water column, trolling and casting lipless crankbaits will be another option.

The fish need to be between 3-5m deep for this to work well. If they do make this move as the water warms even more and the thermocline gets shallower, the action could be insane.

Trolling big spinnerbaits at Leslie and Coolmunda will fool plenty of cod this month.

Warwick is only a 10 minute drive from the dam and you can pick up any supplies you might need.

fired last month and were taking smaller trolled lures along the creek bed drop-off.

Working tight to the ledge

Trolling TN60 Jackalls for golden perch has to be one of the most proven summer techniques. Add a Hot Bite Assist Hook to help convert their sometimes-timid bites.

CAPRICORN REGION AWOONGA CLOSEST TOWNS; BENARABY, GLADSTONE The hotter weather will change the fishing a little at Awoonga. The edge bites around the weed beds will only occur early and late in the day or even at night. The fish will spend more time out in deeper water where they are more comfortable.

In this deeper water, they are easily spotted on the sounder. Thick

trees seem to be holding the bulk of the fish and they will continue to take suspending and slow sinking hardbodies.

Between twitching the lure back to the boat, long pauses are a must. Lures like the Duo Realis 100DR, Jackall Squirrel Hank Tune and Pointer DD are perfect for this style of fishing. The fishing can be frustrating as the fish will be on the sounder but only feed early and late in the day or around peak bite times.

Another way to fool these deeper fish is to hop hard and soft vibes. There was a lot of black weed on the bottom and if this poses a problem, the best way to work vibes will be vertically below the boat.

Try to position the lure just above the bottom to stay out of the weed and vibe away.

While the fish may not spend as much time up in the shallower weedy areas, the times they do will be spent feeding more aggressively. Soft plastics on weedless hooks like the Owner Beast series are

Adam Krautz soon had a favourite colour Squirrel when fishing Awoonga Dam. This lure accounted for all of his fish and even made it safely back home.

Awoonga barra might be found a bit deeper in the trees due to the warmer water temperatures. This one ate a suspended Jackall Squirrel.

MACKAY REGION PROSERPINE CLOSEST TOWNS: PROSERPINE, AIRLIE BEACH The dam started to fish well last month with heaps of barra being caught.

It can be a trickier time of year to fish for lure casters, but it is the best time to troll lures.

The barra action out in the basin of the lake will be excellent. These fish are nomadic and may visit some favourite haunts, but can be found anywhere from the dam wall to the tree line. This is why trolling is so effective.

Dragging a selection of lures that dive 3-8m deep will cover heaps of water in a session. My favourite offering on this lake is an 8m Crazy Deep Scorpion in the 125 size. I fish these a long way behind the boat and up the trolling speed to around 6km/h.

While it may seem like pulling a needle from a haystack, the fish do tend to follow the edges of the old riverbed as they migrate around the dam. Watch the sounder closely and inspect any areas where you find bulk baitfish or actual barra returns.

The suspending fish in the basin will be 5-10m deep regardless of the water depth and when you find a patch the action should be great.

The 10m plateau out from the dam wall buoy line is a favourite spot for many anglers. The fish come and go from here but are quite often there during the tide changes in the salt or just before dark. The section just below the picnic huts is also worth a look. Both of these area are good to hide from the wind when it whips up in the afternoons.

When numbers of fish are found in the deeper water, casting is definitely the way

to score more fish. It pays to try different lure sizes as some days they will prefer big baits and others small ones.

Vibes and smaller plastics like 120mm Slick Rigs are one option. For a bigger presentation try a Big Willy plastic or the big Pre-rigged PowerBait Ripple Shads. The Giant Ripple Shad is also heavy enough for trolling.

perfect. You can also try working surface lures and weedless frogs through the lilies and out of the weedy bays.

It really is a matter of being in the right spot at the right time when the feeding windows are shorter. If you are a travelling angler to the lake, don’t expect big numbers of fish on your first couple of sessions. We usually rule these out and take any fish caught on these as a bonus. It takes time to work out the changing

patterns of the barra and where they are most likely to be and what they will eat.

When you find some fish, you then need to make a plan and if that fails have a backup. By trial and error, you eventually work it out.

Sometimes you get lucky early and on other trips, the pieces of the puzzle never fall into place.

• Justin Nye from Gladstone Fly and Sportfishing runs fishing charters on the lake. Justin reports the size of the fish is increasing

Trolling plastics is something you don’t see a lot of. It is a much slower presentation than working a hardbody, so provided you know the fish are there, you are in with a good shot.

When the wind is blowing onto Faust Point, the night sessions there should be good.

Barra will start to move just on dark and can be caught

throughout the night. If the action is slow, it can pay to get up a few hours before daylight and try the morning session.

Casting small and big soft plastics in towards the weed edges and working them back is the best way to fish this area. Having the boat scanning towards the weed edges will reveal if the barra are present.

For all your fishing

supplies or a guided trip on the lake call Lindsay at Barra World on (07) 4945 4641. Lindsay’s barra tours can be busy in peak times so book ahead. The store is right on the highway in Proserpine and specializes in barra fishing tackle. You can also keep up to date by visiting their Barra World Facebook page.

The points will be worth staking out late in the afternoon and through the night. This is when the fish move around the most. If you watch your sounder side image as darkness falls, the fish should start to move through. You can either stake out a spot and hope for the best or choose a few locations and rotate between them hoping to encounter more fish.

Casting soft plastics like

the PowerBait Ripple Shads and Molix Swimbaits is definitely a proven way to get the bites. You can also try hopping vibes across the points once you establish the best paths through the trees to avoid snagging.

Early in the morning, a few fish will still be on the prowl and topwater action is at its best. Walk-the-dog surface lures like the Cultiva Tango Dancer are ideal.

Some anglers also like to try their luck with surface and subsurface flies. As always if there are two or

more anglers in the boat, one should throw surface just to create interest and get the fish looking up for their next meal.

The flats up the back of Teemburra Creek will be worth a look. Weedless presentations during the day around the weed and what is left of the lilies will get the bites if the fish are present. If the water isn’t suitable, these fish may be found deeper on the outside of the weed. Spot them on the sounder and try hopping vibes through them.

WHITSUNDAY REGION TEEMBURRA CLOSEST TOWNS: PINNACLE, MACKAY After having a dirty appearance due to a roll over of dead algae last month, the dam has started to clear up again. The fishing went from being great a few months ago to being quite tough, but is now starting to show signs of improving. I wouldn’t expect great numbers of barra, but there are some exceptional fish on offer.

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with the average fish now around 78cm with plenty of bigger 80-90cm models to boost the average. You can contact him on 0429 223 550 or visit the website gladstoneflyand sportfishing.com.au.

•Mark from Awoonga Gateway Lodge always has a few productive secret spots to share. The Gateway lodge is on the way in to the dam after turning off at Benaraby. To book in a stay give Mark or Lyn a call on (07) 49750033.

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69

New Year’s resolution: catch more barra LAKE TINAROO

Warwick Lyndon

Happy New Year! I can’t believe it’s already 2019 – how time flies when you’re having fun. Speaking of fun, Tinaroo has been fishing well over the past month and there are plenty of healthy barra to be caught.

work of the Tableland Fish Stocking Society.

The best time to fish the lake recently has been very early in the morning, which is often when barra herd and hunt bait in the shallows. Whenever you find nervous bony bream in shallow water, make sure you hang around the area and match the size of your lure to the size of the bait.

you are on the water early if you want to fish this way.

Barra can also be found in deeper water and hanging around lakes with many prominent structures: timbered regions, edges of the old riverbed, points, boulders and bays. A simple tip for newcomers is to try and fish where the wind has been blowing onto an area for several consecutive days. This usually congregates the baitfish and provides highly oxygenated water of a stable temperature for the barra to happily feed in.

As the wet season sets in, barra will move around the lake and many of the larger fish follow their urge to head downstream and spawn. This will mean that at times they will congregate towards the dam wall area. Therefore,

It is great to see good numbers of smaller fish showing up, which proves that the stocking over the last few years is working. it is often a good idea to begin your search for a trophy fish around the northern end of the dam

David Mayes with a healthy barra from Tinaroo.

Most fish caught recently have been around the metre mark, with some smaller ones also bracing the decks of anglers’ boats.

It is great to see good numbers of these juvenile fish coming through, which validates the hard

There are many lures that can successfully imitate a bony and these include soft vibes, hardbodied lures, soft plastics and various topwater presentations.

Shallow water bony bites are often all over by just after sunrise, so make sure

Most of the barra caught recently have been around this size.

THE SHEIK OF THE CREEK

Feast or famine fishing BRISBANE

The Sheik of the Creek

So there’s an old saying: fool me once, shame on you but fool me twice, shame on me. And that’s what I’d like to say to those people blithering on about Awoonga Dam. You see, like an ex-partner I’ve been there done that as far as that place is concerned and no amount of sweet talk and back rubs is going to get me back. Just talk amongst yourselves while I get the special effects department to put those wavy lines in that tell us we’re going back in time.

Okay, I’m not sure whether the budget has allowed that to happen but we’re now back in 1999, with Ken and Andrew who run the hatchery and are responsible for putting barra into this dam. Because of my media position I’ve been able to publish ‘special’ stories about this new Gladstone tourist attraction (meaning I’ve been able to 70

JANUARY 2019

do stories on fishing when I’m supposed to be doing something on bull semen or sap sucking aphids or ducks nuts) and so the three of us are out in what even then was known as New Zealand gully throwing lures around.

After about 28 hours of absolutely no interest my hunting instincts kicked in, and I decide a lure change is in order. I find a single rusted 9/0 wide gape hook in a tray and right down the bottom under some dried poddy mullet, I found a black 3” grub. I stuck it on, chucked it out, and bango, the first ever barra on soft plastics in Awoonga, on 12lb mono, 65cm. Feeling clever, I persevered with the plastic for another 30 or 40 hours for, you guessed it, bugral.

And that’s the pattern that’s repeated ever since; a wide, wide window of famine followed by a tiny window of feast designed to keep me coming back again and again. And when I say a tiny window, it’s like one of those ones in the old state school dunnies, with redbacks and dead

moths all over it. And for many years it worked. That two hour burst of smashing barra monstering every lure within a cricket pitch length of the boat suckered me and the Dudds into believing we’d cracked some pattern or other, and it would open up next visit like an exotic windswept flower, if not this time, then certainly boys, the next.

So, off we would go, on a tedious driving trip up full of high spirits and chat only to return beaten and with sore wrists. If the trips there were like Anthony Mundine reading Horton Hatches the Egg with a helium balloon, the trips back were Jeff Horn reading Parkers History of Chicken Farming in Uzbekistan while chewing valium.

So if you think that a few excited reports of a few dozen metres of barra coming out of that duddhole is going to have me planning a trip back, you’d have to be crazier than someone who’s very, very, very crazy. And if you see me dusting off some faded, bent and rusty B52s, then slap me. Hard.

at this time of year. Bear in mind that some well known spots in this area can become quite crowded at times. This is not a problem if everyone shows a bit of courtesy and allows each other enough room to fish. I always try to ask or observe where anglers on other boats are casting before moving into position when fishing popular spots.

It is also a good idea to keep noise to a minimum around other anglers and avoid trolling or motoring too close to other boats, particularly if they are casting. If everyone follows these simple steps it makes

it possible for everyone to catch a few and enjoy their time on the water.

I hope everyone has made a resolution to catch more Tinaroo barra in 2019. If you want to plan ahead and lock in a great family event – the annual Tinaroo Barra Bash dates have been announced. This competition will occur over the weekend of 8-10 November in 2019 and is always a fantastic event.

If you want to keep up with more of my FNQ adventures, you can Like ‘Wazza’s Fishing Page’ on Facebook or ‘Wazza’s Fishing’ on YouTube.

Predicting what’s in store SOMERSET DAM

Matthew Taylor

I’d like to begin by wishing a happy New Year to all our readers. Over the festive season I hope you had a chance to wet a line. If not, it isn’t too late to plan a trip to Lake Somerset. Summer is typically renowned as a tough time to target impoundment fish species.

I’d like to offer a few predictions that may give you a new insight on fishing at this time of year.

With the school holidays currently in full swing, it’s no surprise that many anglers opt to avoid a trip to Lake Somerset during this period. Particularly for casting anglers, excessive boating traffic can present many difficulties to fishing, such as that schools will often shut down or scatter altogether. This opens a door of opportunity for trolling anglers. This is usually the best technique to catch bass and yellowbelly at this time of year.

For many, trolling is as simple as throwing a lure behind the boat, clicking the motor into gear and hoping that eventually a fish will

Trolling hardbodied lures will be one of the best options to catch yellowbelly this month.

Lee Rogers caught this one recently. decide to bite. While this is one approach to trolling, to maximise effectiveness of this technique I want to give you three pieces of advice.

Firstly, don’t be afraid to mix up your speed. When the fish aren’t biting, there is a common misconception that you need to provide a more finesse approach, often through the form of slowing the speed at which you troll.

For the most part, this isn’t the case, rather the opposite.

The same as casting anglers try to entice a reaction bite during summer through winding their lures quickly, increasing your speed while

trolling will often be enough to ignite a bite.

My second key tip is to ensure your lure is in the zone. While this often means to have your lure swimming at the same depth that the fish are located on your sounder, typically 20-35ft during summer. Often the fish will eat lures swimming a little above or below them.

So by in the zone, I mean the area where the fish are most actively feeding. To find where this zone is, you need to mix up the depth. One way to do this is to have a variety of lures tied on that dive to different depths. By doing

this you will soon discover which is the most effective.

Then, it is just a matter of replicating that approach to continue catching fish.

Lastly, I cannot stress enough the importance of using braid while trolling.

This is an essential factor in ensuring that your lure stays in the strike zone and allows you to land more fish than using fluorocarbon or monofilament lines. Both of these line-types have a great amount of stretch, meaning that when a fish strikes, often there won’t be enough tension to drive the hooks into their mouth. Due to its lesser diameter, braid cuts through the water more efficiently, meaning that you don’t have to let as much line out to ensure your lure is in the strike zone. Again, this will aid in your hook-set and allow the action of your lure to be maximised.

Together, these tips will help in turning a slow day of fishing into a red-hot one.

Always keep in mind that if the fish aren’t biting, you’ll most likely need to change your approach.

If you’re after a few lures to give a go while trolling, I recommend hardbodied lures like the Kezza Lures

David Oliver with a quality pair of bass caught from Bay 13.

Weirdoh, RMG Poltergeist and Hot Bite Deep Penetrator.

Also worth a go are 5/8oz spinnerbaits like the Smak Smako and tailspinners such as the Hot Bite Jets.

For casting anglers, try to maximise the key bite times, which are the early morning and late afternoon. Through the day the fishing will be much tougher. During this time, many anglers choose to use deep-fly, big baits or burn lures quickly to tempt a bite.

Alternatively, try fishing in the timber. Every year many quality bass in excess of 50cm are caught in this area over summer. For best results, continually move from one piece of timber to the next.

Remember that there is also the possibility that you could hook up to a yellowbelly or

saratoga at any moment, so make sure you have your wits about you.

When searching for schools, focus your efforts between Pelican Point and Kirkleigh. The primary areas I’d be looking would be Brads Bank, Pelican Point and the Happy Clappers, along with the Bay 13 and Kirkleigh flats.

To finish, I’d like to wish you well for 2019 and I hope that it’s a productive year of fishing filled with screaming drags.

Until next time, tight lines.

• To stay up to date with the fishing at Lake Somerset, make sure to check me out on Instagram, @matthew____ taylor, and Facebook, Matthew Taylor Fishing.

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Volkswagen’s Caddy Beach is ready for summer I was recently asked what I thought of the Caddy in general. I replied that, along with other

BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Volkswagen’s Caddy Beach is a fair departure from the usual range of 4WDs and SUVs we review. However, these vans are very comfortable and enjoyable vehicles to drive and are the ideal solution for weekend travellers as well as longterm tourers.

The Caddy Beach is based on Volkswagen’s Caddy Trendline 7-seat van (a 5-seater in the review) powered by a 1.4L turbo petrol engine. As a people mover, it excels. With a 5-7 person capacity, the caddy

Volkswagens I’d driven, it was the ‘Land of Plenty’ – plenty of comfort, plenty of room, plenty of power,

Neatly styled, the VW Trendline Caddy Beach is a van with attitude. provides a lot of room and is very user friendly. It has a very well thought out camping body, complete with large bed, camping equipment and a well-fitted tent extension.

Whether touring coastal fishing centres or heading to an inland dam, the innovative Caddy is a great touring camper with home-away-from-home comfort. While enjoying the fabulous scenery on the move, everything can be tucked away safe and sound.

A top quality folding table and chairs are part of the Beach’s attraction.

The full camping set up. The bottom of the tent can be pegged down if needed.

It takes about two minutes to set up the Caddy Beach’s bed.

The Caddy has very useful side storage bags as well.

There is nothing intimidating about the caddy’s dash layout. All controls and dials are right where they could be easily identified and used.

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A PLEASANT SURPRISE The Trendline Caddy is quite a surprise, a very pleasant surprise.

Behind the wheel, the high driving position gives good visibility right up with the best of the SUVs and their command seating arrangements. The mating of the four-cylinder 1.4L engine and 7-speed DSG auto gearbox was seamless. Ample power was produced from the turbo charged engine that punched well above its expected capacity.

The engine output figures for the Beach are 92kW of power and 220Nm of torque. Some might

their easily identified data displays, including a digital speedometer. The multifunction display monitor showed everything from trip time to vehicle status, along with audio, telephone and navigation menus.

Central and lower, under the air-conditioning controls, was a large colour audio screen providing links to many useful entertainment and communication systems.

Radio and MP3/WMA compatible CD player linked to 4 speakers were there, along with Aux and SD slot, external USB input plus Bluetooth audio streaming. There is also a display for park distance control.

Steering wheel controls conveniently governed

The camper van packed up and ready to set off again.

Very wide doors provide easy access to the interior. With the rear seats lowered, the bed can slide forward. consider them modest but there was certainly no shortage of response from the engine.

The Caddy’s dash layout was uncomplicated and very well set out. It allowed precise monitoring of the main dials with

everything from audio and telephone controls to cruise control, plus easy access to the dash’s multifunction display.

S afety featu res included ESP, ABS, multi collision brake, diff lock with extension provision,

plus traction and hill hold control and adaptive cruise control.

ON THE ROAD The Caddy’s high and very plush seating certainly added to the drive experience. It was also easy to access

The tent is attached to the body of the vehicle with heavy-duty press-studs.

the second row of seats through the sliding doors on each side when we took a couple of passengers for a run. I’d have loved to have given the Galeforce 4.5 centre console a tow test but circumstances vetoed this trial, however with trailer tow ratings at 630kg unbraked and 1300kg braked, I’m certain there would have been no issues.

Fuel consumption during test drives was 7.6L per 100km and, with a tank capacity of 55L, a decent cruising range would be on hand.

Overall, the Caddy seemed to have ticked all the boxes regarding features, safety equipment, ease of driving and provision of those extra features that can make a car so enjoyable.

EASILY SET UP CAMPING ARRANGEMENT As a camper van, the Beach is certainly a different style of VW Caddy. While the owner will certainly enjoy time behind the wheel, one of the great attractions is the interior layout that makes it easy and quick to set up.

A lot of thought, serious thought, has gone into ensuring the conversion from people mover to camping unit would be as user friendly as possible, and in the European style nothing has been overlooked or stinted on.

As mentioned, a bed is provided and a fast set up tent attaches to the rear door when it’s fully raised in an upright position. The bed is set up by lowering the rear bench seat and then extending the bed forward, then back with the supports under it sliding in a track. With the double bed in place, the Beach’s table, two chairs plus picnic basket and rug are within reach and the tailgate tent (stored in its own separate bag)

can be set up. The batterypowered lantern is also part of the standard camping kit.

I set the tent up in around three minutes by clipping the top of the tent onto the upper section of the extended rear tailgate door, then clipping the sides into place on the doorframe where pressstuds hold it in place. When extended fully out and to the rear, the base of the tent can be either pegged down or sand bagged (two bags being provided).

A fabric section is fitted under the rear of the van to keep the breeze out if required. Access to the tent

is through zip opening side doors. The 2.3x2m tailgate tent also has a window for extra ventilation.

PRIVACY IS IMPORTANT Privacy is ensured thanks to well fitting opaque curtains all round, plus the handy removable storage bags (two per window) for the rear windows.

The camping arrangement is practical and user-friendly. Fittings are heavy-duty, designed to last with sufficient space for two people, perhaps three including a child, to be comfortable in the tent.

With the sides of the tent rolled up and out of the way it would also be great to just sit in the shade and enjoy your surrounds.

Best of all, when it came time to pack it all away, the job was done in just a little over the time spent to set it up.

OVERVIEW The VW Caddy Trendline was a very pleasant vehicle to drive. In the usual Volkswagen style, it has a lot going for it with high levels of comfort, plenty of room plus a peppy engine and ultra smooth auto gearbox. There are sufficient convenience and safety features to see it up with most contenders in its market niche. As a stand alone vehicle, the Trendline can be an alternative to the more common SUVs on our roads.

The high tail gate makes loading easy and is perfect for attaching the camping tent.

JANUARY 2019

73

Cooking with lynn bain

Creating an Australian classic: prawn omelette

Ingredients • 250g cooked prawns, peeled and deveined • A small bunch of coriander (leaves only) • 3 green shallots • 1 tsp sesame oil • A good pinch of chilli powder • 1 tsp soy sauce • 6 eggs • 1 pkt two minute noodles

3

6 74

JANUARY 2019

Finely slice the green shallots and coriander leaves.

1

Cook the two-minute noodles according to the packet instructions. Ensure they are cooked past the al dente stage. Once cooked, drain the noodles and place them to one side.

4

7

Next, pour the soy sauce into the egg mixture and stir well.

Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk vigorously, then add the sesame oil.

Set the heat to medium and spray a little oil or butter in the frypan. Spoon the mixture into the centre of the pan and allow it to spread out. When the base of the egg has cooked, flip the omelette in half and allow to sit in the pan (off the heat) for several minutes before serving.

2

Dice the shelled and deveined prawns into small pieces.

5

Add the chopped prawns, sliced green shallots, chopped coriander and cooked noodles to the beaten eggs and combine together.

Sprinkle chilli powder into the egg mixture and stir.

8

The perfect prawn omelette served with sliced shallots. Ideal for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR

Brought to you by

2019

JANUARY FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST SEPTEMBER

12-13 Jan

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 1 Bemm River

hobiefishing.com.au

9-10 Feb

Boondooma Dam Yellowbelly Fishing Comp Boondooma Dam

Terry Alwood 0400 860 122

20-21 Feb

ABT BREAM Round 1 Marlo/Bemm River

abt.org.au

23-24 Feb

ABT BREAM Round 2 Gippsland Lakes

abt.org.au

2-3 Mar

ABT BASS Round 1 Clarence River

abt.org.au

2-3 Mar

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 2 Mallacoota

hobiefishing.com.au

9 Mar

ABT BASS Electric Round 1 Richmond River

abt.org.au

19-21 Mar

ABT BREAM Australian Open Sydney

abt.org.au

23-24 Mar

ABT BREAM Round 3 Botany Bay

abt.org.au

23 Mar

LAFMA Carp and Tilapia Eradication Competition

lafma.org or

Wyaralong Dam

Lloyd Willmann 0429 614 892

30-31 Mar

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 3 Sydney

hobiefishing.com.au

6-7 Apr

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 4 Blackwood River

hobiefishing.com.au

13-14 Apr

ABT BASS Electric Round 2 Toonumbar Dam

abt.org.au

26-28 Apr

Variety Bass on Fly Lake Maroon

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

27-28 Apr

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 5 Nelson

hobiefishing.com.au

30 April-1 May

ABT BREAM Round 4 Albany

abt.org.au

4-5 May

ABT BREAM Round 5 Blackwood

abt.org.au

18-19 May

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 6 Woy Woy

hobiefishing.com.au

25-26 May

ABT BASS Round 2 Glenbawn Dam

abt.org.au

22-23 June

ABT BASS Round 3 Lake St Clair

abt.org.au

22-23 June

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 7 Gold Coast

hobiefishing.com.au

30 Jun

ABT BASS Electric Round 3 Maroon Dam

abt.org.au

6-7 July

ABT BREAM Round 6 Bribie Island

abt.org.au

13-14 July

ABT BASS Round 4 Cania Dam

abt.org.au

28 July

ABT BASS Electric Round 4 Lake Gregory

abt.org.au

10-11 Aug

ABT BASS Round 5 Somerset Dam

abt.org.au

7-8 Sep

ABT BREAM Round 7 Gladstone

abt.org.au

8 Sep

ABT BASS Electric Round 5 Wivenhoe Dam

abt.org.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.

JANUARY 2019

75

Hobie polarized Kinchant thriller The Zerek BARRA Tour seems to be going from strength to strength. With 10 more teams competing on 2018 compared with 2017 and the ability for the tour to be run on the Track My Fish-powered app, the coverage and friendly mood in which the Tour events are contested are second to none.

The 2018 Tour featured events in Kinchant, Teemburra and Peter Faust dams and events run consecutively to compress the Tour into a timeframe that’s just over a week in length. It makes the travel and expense of the Tour manageable to most.

event that let fans, friends and family at home follow catches and official scores - live. With event times running from 4pm until midnight, there were plenty of people with one eye on Netflix and the other on the Hobie Polarized scoreboard!

And as if designed to add drama, there were plenty of lead changes and it came down to final upgrades to decide the winner - Team Triton/Edge Rods (Rick Napier and Dustin Sippel) by less than 500g over Team Wilsons (Troy Dixon and Shane Compain).

At the presentation the team, long supporters of the

STORM

Dustin Sippel shows off their first barra landed in the Kinchant round of the Zerek BARRA Tour.

But the real star for the team was a Madness vibration bait in white, fished off a 705 Edge rod.

Rick Napier explained the technique.

“Anchoring away from the weed bank, we would cast in to the weeds and rip the bait out. Each time, the bait would fall back into the weed or fall to the bottom. We’d pop the bait after that and that’s when the bites would come,” Rick said.

feeling for bites. The gun bait was the 110mm in Fat Betty colour and a more subtle lift and drop along the weed edge would trigger the bites.

When asked about how the impoundment Barra compared to the wild fish Shane targets back in the Territory, Shane said, “these fish are mad, they jump high and have these crazy direction changes. They’re awesome.”

Full results on www. abt.org.au

Dustin’s partner, Rick Napier was on the board soon afterwards and perfected the Madness vibe technique that they rode to success.

With the southern dams coming back on line, expect the BARRA events to expand again in 2019.

The first event of the 2018 tour was held on the popular Kinchant Dam, west of Mackay. A small lake with plenty of Barra and, importantly, mobile phone coverage for all of the teams.

This allowed ABT to run live scoreboards from the

BARRA Tour, cherished their first event win. And most competitors agreed that it’s the first of many.

“The first fish of the event came before dark and it ate a 7” Castaic paddle tailed plastic in baby bass colour,” Said Dustin. He threw that bait on an Edge BCR 666 rod spooled with Toray P4 braided line and a Toray Jigging Leader.

Matthew Mott: “Go barra fishing in the rain they said.

It’d be fun, they said.” $700 says that they still had fun.

Winners are grinners. Here’s Team Triton/Edge Rods’ first win. And popular winners they were.

The guys would also bend their vibes slightly (tail downwards) to accentuate their action.

For the win, the team took home $1,400 and a lead in the Team of the Year points table.

Second placed Team Wilson features Brisbane gun Troy Dixon and Territory import Shane Compain.

Anchoring on a weed edge, the pair worked out that by popping their Zerek Fish Traps off the bottom and

Scan the QR code to see Kinchant winners.

RESULTS

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

76

JANUARY 2019

Place Team

Anglers

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Napier/Sippel 5/5 Dixon/Compain 5/5 Mott/Mott 5/5 Griffiths/DeRidder 5/5 Edmonds/Maddick 4/5 Newby/Lyons 5/5 Price/Thomas 3/5 Sims/Curry 5/5 Lennox/Wratten 5/5 Maclean/Brett 4/5 Big Barra: Tree Huggers, 101cm

Triton Boats/Edge Rods Wilson Garmin Edge Rods/EJ Todd Fish With Me Likely Lads Lowrance Jackall Barambah Lures/Duffrods Dobyns Rods/Lethal Lures

Fish Weight Payout 53.50kg 53.02kg 39.00kg 37.76kg 37.45kg 36.16kg 36.02kg 35.95kg 34.53kg 33.12kg

$1,400 $800 $700 $600 $500 Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack

Wilsons Teemburra Round 2 very tough While missing a cheque by a single place in the first event, Team Likely Lads were about to start a run of wins that will be hard to match in the future. AT this point, we’ll pass over to Geoff Newby, who’s diligently recorded their trials and tribulation for here on in.

Take it away, Geoff!

“Phil and I went into the Barra tour not very confident, we had a tough ABT tour in 2017 and the pre-fish experience in 2018 had been terrible. We had spent over 90 hours of fishing for 3 fish, over 40 hours on Peter Faust for one barra, around 30 hours on Teemburra for 2 Barra and 20 hours on Kinchant for a donut a couple of weeks before the ABT tour started. During that period,

we consoled ourselves with the fact we were fishing at night on the wrong moon and it was very cold.

“We were more confident at Teemburra than Kinchant as it is what we call our home ground and the Tuesday before we had boated five barra and lost a couple. On the October full moon Phill and I, along with another mate had boated 35 barra off our first-choice spot.

“We decided not to fish the dam any more before the comp but we were hearing that it was very tough from the visitors during pre-fish. The water level was dropping fast around 3cm/day. The water temp was around 28 degrees but on arrival the colour had changed to a green algae colour and this was

BARRA T our 201 8

suspected to be putting the fish off eating.

“There was a good easterly wind blowing that was perfect for our spot choice. We had decided on 3 spots in priority, #1 being Pinnacle Point and #2 being the spot below it on the little bushes. We had again studied our spots in pre-fish utilising the Teemburra Dam social map from the Lowrance C-Map Genesis web site.

“We had drawn a decent start position off at #7 so as we went through the start gate, three boats in front of us headed in the direction of Pinnacle Point but then went to the left down Middle Creek, so in we went straight on to our #1 choice mark and dropped the 15kg lead plonker.

“It was a slow start but These unlikely lads, the Likely Lads (Phill Lyons and Geoff Newby) were amazed when they won the Wilsons Teemburra event with just two fish. we did expect that as we consider it a better night spot than in daylight. Phill got a follow at the boat after

7.50pm I was onto a small 60cm barra that consumed a Berkley 160mm Fire Tiger Giant Ripple Shad that got

but the 83cm barra was the biggest landed.”

Newby used an ACM custom built Revelation

Go on Mick Weick, make fun of this little guy - he helped you to an $800 payout. about an hour but it did not eat the lure, but it made us feel better that there was barra around.

“We were seeing the odd fish but no numbers, then at

This barra from Team Venom may not have been huge, but it took them into 3rd place and a $700 payday.

RESULTS Place Team

Anglers

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Newby/Lyons 2/5 Weick/Barnett 2/5 Detenon/Eves 1/5 Griffiths/DeRidder 2/5 Slade/McIntyre 1/5 Napier/Sippel 2/5 Maclean/Brett 1/5 Sims/Curry 2/10 Mott/Mott 1/5 Edmonds/Maddick 1/5 Big Barra: 83cm, Likely Lads.

Likely Lads Tree Huggers Venom Edge Rods/EJ Todd Slimy Decks Triton Boats/Edge Rods Dobyns Rods/Lethal Lures Jackall Garmin Fish With Me

Fish Weight Payout 9.03kg 6.37kg 6.14kg 5.57kg 5.47kg 5.10kg 5.07kg 3.85kg 3.60kg 1.89kg

$1,400 $800 $700 $600 $500 Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack

us off the donut - our first objective complete.

“Another one followed at 8.20pm and Phill was on with an 83cm barra that had consumed the 13cm Molix swimbait. It had it in its mouth like a dog with a bone and all three hooks were set.

“Phil had one more hit that hit the Molix as it hit the water. The barra jumped out of the water but did not hook up and that was the end of the comp as far as bites were concerned. I had said to Phill with around an hour to go if we could get one more fish, I think it will get us a top ten place.

“We never expected to find the result. We heard back at the boat ramp that we had not only won it

swim bait rod 15 to 30lb with a Daiwa Certate HD 4000, 30lb Sufix 832, and 70lb Schneider leader.

Phill used a Millerods Toad rod with a Shimano Stella FE 4000 reel and Suffix 832 30lb braid and 28kg wire leader.

Scan the QR code to see Teemburra winners.

JANUARY 2019

77

Westin Faust All Nighter

STORM

With the Likely Lads on a roll - winning the Westin Night Championships at Peter Faust, we thought we should let them loose with the report again.

“Here we are at the premier barra dam on the east coast of Australia to fish the all-night Barra Championship - 4pm to 8am - best 5 barra.

“We had had a tough pre-fish - over 40 hours between us at Peter Faust for 1 solitary fish. We pre-fished 4 or 5 days after the full moon and when the sun went it was very cold and windy so we knew it would be hard fishing, but we moved around looking for the barra and we found them on numerous spots but could not get them to bite.

“Our last stop was a point in the basin as we had caught fish many times there in the past and there was enough to see on the side scan to get us interested. We boated our only barra and jumped one off. There was also plenty of fish in the basin after we saw

Their win in the Westin Peter Faust Night Championships with 5/5 for 80.83kg made it two-in-a-row for the Likely Lads.

“It’s a very shallow point with a weed edge coming out from the bank about 2 to 3 metres then another 2 metre of weed towers under the surface then 4 feet deep out to 11 foot where we were anchored. We have fished the all-night comps before and for and it is very tiring so we made a plan that if or when we had caught five, one metre barra we would pack up for the night and go to bed.

The Night Championships is the only BARRA Tour opportunity to enjoy a morning bite window. a guy on the boat ramp land two fish over a metre as we were pulling the boat in.

“So, we had our three spots with the spot in the Basin being our #1 and two other spots towards the river.

We had a good draw off at #3 and with not far to go we thought we would get on our #1 choice and we did.

“The Lowrance C-Map Genesis social map again proved an invaluable tool during pre-fish enabling us to find the best spots in the prevailing conditions and the best anchor points.

The Peter Faust Social map is over 90% complete and can be set up with customised colours for

more accurate viewing. The social map of all the dams is available to anyone with a Lowrance sounder.

“We started as usual both with different lures swapping every 15 mins or so casting to the solid weed edge and burning it off before slowing the retrieve in the clear water.

After 90mins at 5.30pm Phill was on to a good fish on a Squidgy Mongrel that measured 109cm and was a great start.

“After that we got quite busy, boating four barra, roughly every 20mins or so, biggest being 88cm.

That gave us a small 5-fish bag, but a bag all the same, with the lure doing the damage being the Berkley Giant Ripple Shad in Fire Tiger colour.

“Then at 8pm we boated our biggest barra of the night - a cracking 112cm. So we were then starting to get the upgrades we needed. We had also had a lure swap and started to get the better fish on the 13cm Molix in Black and Gold colour.

“The next 30mins saw two more fish - a 69cm and an 81cm that gave us a small upgrade. It went quiet for the next hour until we boated a 110cm fish at 9.30pm and then a 102cm at 10.45pm.

The small barra seemed to disappear but we never had them going off any way just picking them up steadily as the bigger barra moved in.

Another upgrade of 90cm followed at 11.10pm then the one we were looking for the 5th metre fish was in the boat at 11.30 at 103cm.

“It seemed a bit early to leave before midnight so we stayed boating an 98cm and a 72cm before 1am. It went very quiet from 1am with no barra showing on the sounder so at 2am we decided to call it a night. A couple of beers when we got back to Camp Kanga in bed at 3am and up at 7.30am as the other anglers started to arrive back at camp Kanga.

We obviously did not know how the night had gone for the other teams but the feed back from the teams coming in was very positive we had 5.36m that converted to a weight of 80.83kg and was enough for the No1 spot 5kg in front of 2nd place.

“The wind had been very strong in our face so there were issues with backlash on baitcaster reels so the main gear was spin rods.

Geoff again used the ACM custom built Revelation swim bait rod 15 to 30lb with a Daiwa Certate HD 4000 30lb Suffix 832, and 70lb Schneider leader with the Mustad quick change clip. A custom built Geoff Busbridge spin rod on a Rain Shadow blank 12 to 20lb with 20lb suffix 832 braid and 55lb Schneider leader with the Mustad quick change clip with Transam vibes that picked some of the early barra.

Phill used an Millerods Toad rod with a Shimano Stella FE 4000 reel with suffix 832 30lb Braid and 28kg wire leader.

The guys added another $1,500 to their winnings from the event and took a narrow lead into the Team of the Year standings with an event to go.

Scan the QR code to see Faust all nighter interviews.

RESULTS

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

78

JANUARY 2019

Place Team

Anglers

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Newby/Lyons 5/5 Mott/Mott 5/5 Griffiths/DeRidder 5/5 Weick/Barnett 5/5 Lennox/Wratten 5/5 Brier-Mills/Tunstead 5/5 Detenon/Eves 5/5 Laine/Hassett 5/5 Dixon/Compain 5/5 Morgan/Smith 4/5 Big Barra: Garmin, 118cm

Likely Lads Garmin Edge Rods/EJ Todd Tree Huggers Barambah Lures/Duffrods EJ Todd/Tinaroo Venom LuckyCraft/Sunline Wilson Fishing Monthly

Fish Weight Payout 80.83kg 75.36kg 69.79kg 64.95kg 64.82kg 63.67kg 55.01kg 55.29kg 55.21kg 51.93kg

$1,500 $800 $700 $600 $500 Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack

BARRA T our 201 8

Lucky Craft Faust 2-Day Why not stop when you’re on a roll. The Likely Lads emphatically won the Team of the Year title after a third win in a row at the Lucky Craft Faust 2-Day Championship. Here’s the story … continued.

“The start of two massive sessions for Phil and I, the 4th and final round had the nerves jangling the stomach turning summer salts. What a position to be in leading the Team of the Year table by 3 points from what has been the best barra team anglers in the last 4 years, Craig Griffiths and Karim De Ridder.

Championship.

“With 1st fish donut gone and on the board. The next 2 hours were a nightmare jump offs and pulled hooks - fish after fish. Finally, we got one to the boat then disaster strikes - it winds the braid around the anchor rope but all was not lost we untangled it and boated a small 76cm barra - what a relief.

“After we had processed it, we sat and talked for a few minutes and that we needed to settle down and get back in to the groove and that we did. The bite changed from the night comp. We had been concentrating

Ash Sims didn’t take long to boat this 106cm fish at the start of the 2-day event.

“The talk between Phil and I was if we can get the spot we fished on the Night Championship as our start is down the field at No16.

If we do, will the fish still be there can we get our bag? the spot in the past as been tough on the 2nd session but we had the benefit of a rest day Thursday night that we thought may rest and refresh the spot. We got reassured by a few of our mates before the start - just do your thing and don’t panic.

“Away we went and no one took the spot we had fished on the Night Championship, so we settled in dropped the anchor and started to thrash the water to foam.

“We had a great start as Phill smacked a 100cm fish at 4.30pm on the Squidgy Mongrel, just like the Night

hitting the weed edge, a short burn, drop and then a steady retrieve, this wasn’t working.

We changed to a 45 degree angle cast towards the bank but falling short of the weed fringe concentrating on a longer cast keeping the lure in the deeper water.

“Our favourite lure, the Squidgy Slick Rig had not worked all tournament and at this stage nothing was working. We lined up 5 different colour slick rigs and on the 3rd change to the 130mm Lorikeet colour, two quick Barra followed.

A 97cm came at 8.30pm and they came at a steady pace every 20 to 30mins until our last two Barra - a 106cm at 10.50pm and a 104cm at 11.10pm fell to a Slick rig in the Green Grunter colour after a tip off from our neighbour Steve Morgan.

“This gave us 10 barra for the session, our best five being 106, 104, 100, 98, and 97cm for a total length of 5.05m and a weight of 63.7kg. We decided to head to the boat ramp at 11.30pm to try and avoid the rush from the 12pm finish.

SESSION 2 “The first session was a good result, we were in third place just behind the Tree Huggers - Michael and Brendan and in second place Team Lowrance (Peter Price and Greg Thomas). Our biggest threat for the Team of the Year Team - Edge Rods/ EJ Todd, Craig and Karim had had a tough session and were down the field in 12th place, 27kg behind us. If there was a team who could pull a rabbit out of the hat and make up the deficit it was Craig and Karim.

“The thought of winning Round 4 had gone. All we could think about was catching a bag that would keep us in front for the Team of The Year, we could only lose it.

“We thought this session would be a bit harder for all the teams due to the pressure from the night before our goals stayed the same - get off the donut ASAP and catch a 5 fish bag regardless of size then look for upgrades.

“We had a good start position off at No 3 and back to the same spot this time all set up correctly, no panic we are going to bore them to death into the boat. We concentrated on the angle cast with the main lure being the Green Grunter slick rig and at 5.30 our first barra hit the deck - a modest 70cm fish but the donut gone. We picked up another couple of small barra before our first metre fish 102cm was on the deck.

“We went another 90mins before the next fish at 9pm was on board at only 67cm but it made up our 5 fish bag and time for a little celebration. Three more barra came to the net but they were of a smaller stamp than the previous two sessions.

We had anticipated a very late bite of bigger fish due to what happened the night

Team Likely Lads milked a string of Barra off a small point in the main basin, with Barra like this coming over the side regularly. before and at 11.30 we were into a good fish. Before we boated this fish we thought we would be safe with the team of the Year title but it would be tight for a 4th round victory.

“So here’s what happened at 11.30pm as Phill started to pack up - a massive 113cm. You beauty!

“After we stopped shaking and processing the fish a high five and Phill finishes off packing up. I had a few more casts and Phill says, “Its 12 minutes to midnight you need to pack up.”

“It’s OK - I will pack up while you are getting the car,” and called last cast. Two turns of the reel and bang, I’m on again and out of the water comes another big metre barra, but unfortunately the hooks pulled and it was time to go.

“We boated 9 barra and put two back that we did not process as they were 2 small and we did not want to waste time during a hot bite. The best 5 were 113, 102, 98, 94 and 80 cm for 4.87m and 59.69kg. I talked to Craig at the boat ramp and yes, they had given it a good go with 72 kg of Barra but thankfully not enough to deny us the accolade of “ABT Barra Team of The Year 2018”.

“We did not know what had transpired with the rest of the teams until we got back to camp Kanga and were not sure until the official result was released

by Stefan Sawynok as the results had been configured all the way through on the Track My Fish app which

RESULTS Place Team

Anglers

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Newby/Lyons 10/10 Price/Thomas 10/10 Griffiths/DeRidder 10/10 Detenon/Eves 10/10 Slade/McIntyre 10/10 Weick/Barnett 8/10 Brier-Mills/Tunstead 10/10 Sims/Curry 8/10 Maclean/Brett 8/10 Laine/Hassett 6/10 Big Barra: JWC, 114cm

Likely Lads Lowrance Edge Rods/EJ Todd Venom Slimy Decks Tree Huggers EJ Todd/Tinaroo Jackall Dobyns Rods/Lethal Lures LuckyCraft/Sunline

Fish Weight Payout 123.38kg 114.98kg 106.39kg 103.84kg 101.53kg 98.58kg 94.45kg 78.01kg 63.08kg 55.28kg

$1,500 $800 $700 $600 $500 Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack Prize Pack

is a great innovation and it will change the face of tournament angling.

“We had almost completed a clean sweep - 3 wins in the rounds and team of the year. $4,400 better off with two beautiful Ian Miller rods and a pile of trophies.

“We never really got to thank anyone as

for some great rods - we can’t do it without you.

“To Camp Kanga the days there make it extra special and to all the anglers thinking about joining the Tour get in there, it’s a great experience.

“Personally a big thank you to my team mate Phill Lyons we have had our

Faust Point is definitely louder once Matthew Mott and Team Garmin turns up. The father/son team alternate between harmony and anarchy, depending on how many fish have been boated. non-sponsored anglers but they say behind a good man is a very good woman and we both have great wives and thank you to them for putting up with everything that goes with Tournament angling.

“To ABT, Steve Morgan, James Reid, Nicholle and Stefan Sawynok and Tracy from Infofish for a well organised tour as usual and it has been improving each year. Who Shares Wins.

“Most of all to all the other teams without them there is no tour and the numbers are growing each year it’s a a great week catching up with some great characters and meeting new people. To the sponsors: Zerek, Hobie Polarized, Wilson Fishing, Westin, Lucky Craft and Millerods

moments but we keep turning up for each other. Here’s to next year see you all then.

And that’s it. The BARRA Tour will roll into 2019 with some new champs and plenty wanting to take the title in the future.

Keep an eye out on www. abt.org.au for future dates.

Scan the QR code to see Faust 2-Day interviews.

JANUARY 2019

79

Mayberry Wins BREAM Grand Final

STORM

Long time ABT angler, Jason Mayberry from the South Coast of NSW, thought he was only making up numbers when it came to the biggest event of the year in the Australian bream fishing calendar.

His predictions could not have been further from reality, as he dropped a 5.33kg bag on the scales from Gippsland Lakes on day one and never looked back. For his efforts, he took home a Bass Cat Margay boat powered by a 150HP Mercury 4-stroke engine and fitted with Garmin sounders and a MotorGuide electric motor – the package valued at over $60,000.

Amazingly, Mayberry had only fished one of the three venues used for the event, which visited Gippsland Lakes (out of Metung), Bemm River and Marlo over the three tournament days. He scored bags of 5.33kg, 4.44kg and 3.92kg on days 1, 2 and 3 repectively.

of fish. The only 5kg+ bag presented for the day.

Day two moved to the Bemm River, with the compact location yielding plenty of great bags for anglers, despite increasingly windy conditions in the afternoon. Mayberry got to work early, securing his limit in the first hour of fishing. His 5/5, 4.44kg may not have been the biggest limit of the day (the honour went to Declan Betts’ 4.87kg bag), but it was enough to give him a kilo-plus margin over the ACT’s Alan Lister going into the final day of competition.

As can happen in Victoria, the weather turned on the final day, with Marlo smashed by rain and strong winds an hour after the start.

With the winds making the popular Lake Corringle turbid and difficult and Marlo’s potential of spitting out 6kg+ bags, there was every chance that Mayberry’s lead could evaporate.

Adding to the joy of the win was a $60,000+ Bass Cat Boat, powered by a 150hp Mercury outboard and fitted with Garmin and MotorGuide electronics.

As always, the BREAM Grand Final was a sharedweight event, with boaters and non-boaters fishing together for a combined best-five bag of bream. In this event, it pays to work together as a team.

Mayberry couldn’t have hoped for a better draw landing non-boater Angler of the Year, Canberra’s Stuart Walker, on day one. With Stuart’s prowess with a ZMan GrubZ and Jason armed with the latest Squidgy Bio Tough baits, the pair fished the Tambo River to accumulate and upgrade to a 5.33kg limit

Jason, however, had other ideas. Paired again with Stuart Walker (final day pairings are allocated on place), the couple went to work and ground out 5/5 for 3.92kg, giving Jason a 1.83kg margin of victory over a fastfinishing Brad Hodges.

A popular and humble winner, Jason explained his winning tackle and technique.

“Fishing 2lb straight through fluorocarbon is just what I do,” explained Jason, “it gives me better feel and is

80

JANUARY 2019

Scan the QR code to see Jason Mayberry’s interview.

JASON’S TOP LURE

Squidgy Bio Tough Fish on a TT 1/20oz jighead. more forgiving when I hook a big bream.”

Jason used an unspecified 2lb fluorocarbon line on a Millerods Crank Freak rod paired with a Shimano TwinPower reel. His baits of choice included the Squidgy Bio Tough Fish in pumpkinseed and bloodworm colours in addition to the ubiquitous ZMan GrubZ in motor-oil colour. He fished both on 1/20oz TT jighead.

Amazingly, Mayberry had only ever fished Gippsland Lakes before – he was new to both the Bemm River and Marlo.

“It was after I boxed a decent limit in the first 30 minutes on day 2 that I thought that I had a chance to win the Grand Final,” Mayberry explained, “and after that it was just a matter of hanging on at Marlo in those trying conditions.”

Jason had the foundations of a good day 3 limit before the change came through at Marlo – he was only one fish short of a limit – and managed to drop nearly 4kg on the scales at the conclusion of the day to emphatically take the title.

There’s obviously something in the water on

the South Coast of NSW, with three of the past four Grand Final champions coming from the area. The NSW South Coast will have a chance to make it 4/5 when the BREAM Grand Final visits the Gold Coast in Queensland in late 2019.

Scan the QR code to see the day 1 highlights.

Scan the QR code to see the day 2 highlights.

TOP 10 BOATERS Place Angler

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

Jason Mayberry and Stuart Walker were paired together on the first day of the Grand Final. The pair put together a 5/5, 5.33 bag to take a lead that neither of them lost throughout the event.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fish

Weight(kg) Payout

Jason Mayberry 15 13.69kg Bass Cat Boat package Brad Hodges 15 11.86kg Miller Rods pack Cameron Whittam 15 11.68kg Rod + Costa sunnies Daniel Mackrell 15 11.28kg Costa sunnies Kristoffer Hickson 15 11.09kg Costa sunnies Braddley Young 14 10.73kg Scott Wilson 14 10.71kg Wally Fahey 15 10.61kg Mario Vukic 13 10.13kg Andrew Moore 14 9.66kg For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

Hodges lifts game too late

Coming in to the event, Victorian Brad Hodges would have been at the top of the ‘hot tips’ list of anyone in the know, however a slow start at Gippsland Lakes left the Melbourne breamer with too much to do on the last day.

“I checked my spots in the North Arm and the tides were wrong and the fish absent,” Hodges said, “so I fell back to my backup

spots and only managed a below average bag.”

At Bemm, he fared a little better, boxing 3.47kg of bream to hold down a mid-field position.

It wasn’t until his final day of fishing that he upped his game, dropping a day-best 5.24kg onto the scales and remaining in the hot seat until Mayberry kicked him out with the last bag of the day.

“I’ve come second

BREAM SERIES

twice now and it’s a disappointing feeling,” Hodges said, “but it was great to be paired with my dad on the final day of competition and to catch such a good limit from that skinny water.”

All of his fish came on a Berkley hardbodied jerkbait and he did take home a pair of Millerods production bream rods and some Costa sunglasses to ease the pain.

Although he weighed the biggest bag of the final day, Victorian Brad Hodges had to settle for second place, a long way behind the winner. Some Millerods and Costas helped ease the pain.

There’s no bigger prize in Australian breaming than the BREAM Grand Final.

Walker wins it all Just three days after collecting his 2018 Non-Boater BREAM Angler of the Year title, Canberra’s Stuart Walker added the 2018 BREAM Grand Final Non-Boater Champion trophy to his mantelpiece, completing a clean sweep of titles this tournament year.

The unassuming backof-the-boat gun revelled in the early-summer conditions and fished his trademark ZMan GrubZ to great effect, helping his and his boaters’ chances immensely.

He fished with Jason Mayberry on day one, Steve Duff on day 2 and Mayberry again on the final day.

When interviewed after the win, Stuart was typically quietly spoken, but ran through some of the keys to his success.

Powering over 70% of the Grand Final field, Mercury is the outboard of choice for bream tournament anglers.

In addition to the Grand Final trophy, Stuart Walker won an ‘Ultimate Costa Pack’ with five pairs of glasses and a pile of accessories.

“I like to keep it simple.

I don’t know why the bream eat it – it doesn’t look like a fish – but they do. I also like to experiment with colours. I sometimes mix colours in the packets and they bleed into each other,” Stuart said.

Walker fishes his grubs on top end Daiwa gear – a Silverwolf rod and reel spooled with 8-carrier braid and 4lb leader.

“Better quality braid definitely lets me untangle wind knots better,” says

TOP 10 NON BOATERS Place Angler 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fish

Weight(kg) Payout

Stuart Walker 15 13.29kg Costa Mega Pack Wayne Hamilton 15 11.79kg Costa Mega Pack Mick Hodges 14 11.69kg Rod/Reel combo + Prize Pack Ben Shuey 15 11.36kg Rod/Reel combo + Prize Pack Neil Kelly 15 11.01kg Rod + Prize Pack Brendan Pieschel 15 10.95kg Rod + Prize Pack Michael Thompson 15 10.75kg Prize Pack Colin Wilson 15 10.61kg Prize Pack Dallas Blatchford 14 10.06kg Prize Pack Daniel McNeice 14 9.4kg Prize Pack For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

Stewie, “and I’ve found that better quality gear lasts better and helps me catch more fish.”

But it’s more than gear that Walker uses to achieve his success. It’s the experience of travelling all around the country to fish.

“I’ve fished with great anglers all over the place and you never stop learning. My advice to anyone wanting to try this sport is to stop thinking about it and start doing it. You’ll have a great time and will never look back. I haven’t,” he concluded.

Rewards for his efforts included an Ultimate Costa Pack with five pairs of the quality eyewear and a mountain of accessories.

Scan the QR code to see Stuart Walker’s interview.

Mercury Cup Taree’s Kris Hickson’s top-10 performance vaulted him ahead of Queenslander, Steve Morgan to clinch the 2018 Mercury Cup, with the perennial Cup and $1000 cash going to his base at

Manning River Marine for the next year.

The Mercury Cup is awarded to Mercury owners with the highest rankings points total for the year. This includes the Grand Final.

Taree’s Kris Hickson took home the Mercury Cup and the $1000 payday that comes with it. It’s awarded to the highest ranked Mercury Owner at the end of the tournament year.

JANUARY 2019

81

News

When we become part of the fish ecosystem SUNTAG

Stefan Sawynok

I know this is a profound philosophical question, but here goes anyway. Is there such a thing as a ‘natural’ ecosystem?

There are going to be many thoughts on this but in this era of climate change, microplastics and human activity making its way to every nook and cranny can we say there is such a thing? Is there any way we can separate ourselves from changes in the environment, and thus is anything natural?

Until we invent force fields, even Marine and National Parks are not immune to human interactions.

Full disclosure, I don’t think we can, and I believe we need to own that fact.

What to do about it? Now, there is the question.

While I think that is a question that requires more consideration than there is space to dedicate in this article, Gladstone

[Figure 1] Catches in the Boyne River 1985-2015. it’s on the other end of the spectrum to National Parks; thus I think the right place to have a examine outcomes where the interventions of humans are not subtle.

Partnership.

Gladstone also has good corporate citizens like Gladstone Ports Corporation who support the Gladstone Sportfishing Club with fish tagging and

the Boyne Tannum Hookup, and you wind up with one of the most data-rich environments in the state.

The citizen-collected data through Suntag and other

[Figure 4] Barramundi commercial catch 2009-2018. happens to be an excellent place to have a look at an environment we have modified and an ecosystem we are influencing. For me

Gladstone is an industrial city with a lot of environmental monitoring provided through the Gladstone Healthy Harbours

Gladstone Area Water Board who provide an app for monitoring Lake Awoonga.

Add in events that offer further data collection like

JANUARY 2019

is another system nearby – the Calliope River that Barramundi from Awoonga can make their way into and provides a good point of comparison. Figure 2 has the

[Figure 7] Catch rates in the “Wild” Fishery. programs have allowed Infofish to build a picture of the fishery over time, in particular, the crucial role the Lake Awoonga plays

[Figure 2] Catches in the Calliope River 1985-2015.

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when it comes to barramundi in Gladstone.

Figure 1 is from a 2015 report that highlighted the effect of the overspill in 2011 on the wild fishery in

the Boyne River, showing the individual fish reported before and after the spillover.

The Boyne connects directly to Lake Awoonga. There

catches in the Calliope over the same period. As anyone who fished in Gladstone before 2011 knows, the spillover of Awoonga had a very positive effect on the fishing.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE 2011?

Figure 3 shows barramundi recruits detected in Gladstone through fishers and cast net surveys. Recruits are small fish that have survived post-spawning.

Gladstone doesn’t have the longer rivers or off river sites for barramundi recruits to get into and so survival rates post spawning are low.

Even so, the best barramundi recruitment conditions in a couple of decades from 2009-2015 saw some natural topping up of stocks. At the same time harvest has continued with a consistent commercial catch. Figure 4 shows the commercial catch over the same period.

Barramundi are stocked annually in Lake Awoonga

News by the Gladstone Area Water Board. Figure 5 shows the stocking undertaken from 2009-2018. Over the same period, Awoonga has overtopped more than once.

Figure 6 shows the dam levels over recent years, the red line shows the point where overtopping occurs.

From these two diagrams, we see that fish from Awoonga fish have made it into the ‘wild’ fishery topping up stocks and adding to natural recruitment.

How does this work out regarding Catch Rates?

Figure 7 shows catch rates 2009-2018. Catches peaked 2012 post-2011 overtopping then declined down to 2016 as harvest overtook recruitment.

Natural

get pretty ballistic at times.

Truth be told, it already is. This is the amazing influence that Lake Awoonga exerts. When Awoonga overtops, the ‘wild’ fishery improves, powering the commercial fishing and improving catch rates for recreational fishers. If Awoonga doesn’t overtop for an extended period, however, the fishery will return to its pre-2011 state as natural recruitment is insufficient to deliver more than a short-term boost.

Can we consider that a ‘wild’ fishery exists? Does it matter?

In part that is an argument for the geneticists, but can we say

[Figure 3] Barramundi recruitment 2009-2018.

I think that our role as a hunter is helping keep that in check. The one tricky question in my mind is what would happen if we remove commercial fishing as the most efficient hunter. That is a little trickier to answer, but certainly, recreational catch rates in the ‘wild’ fishery would likely stay higher for longer. The effect on other species is uncertain, but given that we are well higher than historical levels, other species must already be feeling some influence if barramundi does impact.

Biological systems find a new balance in time.

So what does the future hold? Here is a summary

[Figure 6] Lake Awoonga Dam levels 2015-2018. mortality would also play a part in that equation.

With further overtopping in 2015 catch rates went up with new fish in the system and remain well above historical pre-2011 catch rates. As overtopping has stopped and high stocking levels in Lake Awoonga continues catch rates in the Lake have finally caught up to and now overtaken catch rates in the ‘wild’ fishery.

For the first time since the 2011 overtopping of Awoonga the fishing is better in the lake than in the ‘wild’ fishery, and while the sizes of catches are smaller in the 600-800mm range if there are no overtopping conditions then fishing will

that supplementing natural stocks is a bad thing given the environment has been heavily modified over time?

As can be seen from the data, even a ‘catastrophic’ release of fish in 2011 that radically affected stocks was bought to heel within five years. Let’s face it – a human is the most efficient predator on the planet, give us the motivation to take fish and we will.

History tells us that hasn’t ended well when we rely solely on natural lifecycles, a point that goes to the heart of Queensland Fisheries Sustainable Fishing Strategy.

As we move forward, the discussion on the role

[Figure 8] Catch rates in the past year.

to exceed recruitment. Fish not expected to spill from Lake Awoonga so will not top up stocks.”

T20 FISHERS Legal size fish will make up the greatest proportion of the catch (60-80%) with trophy fish to remain steady at 10% (0-20%) Catch rate overall to decrease slightly overall (1.3-1.7 fish/fisher/day) and also decrease slightly for legal fish (1.0-1.4 fish/ fisher/day) Stock level to decline with natural and fishing mortality exceeding recruitment RECRUITMENT Forecast for

[Figure 5] Barramundi stocking 2009-2018. we play in the ecosystem both as hunter and helper will evolve, and hopefully, that will be a mature discussion.

In Gladstone at least, evidence shows that stocking is playing an essential role in keeping not just Lake Awoonga in good shape, it’s the dominant player in the barramundi fishery overall. While there is no room to go through other fish stocks here, there is no significant evidence that the barramundi are significantly impacting other species, and again,

of the year ahead in th e Gladstone Barra Fishery.

My tip – expect more competitions and fishers to return to Awoonga as catch rates will continue to improve and the fish not too hard to find. From the latest forecast: “Catch rates are forecast to decline slightly however the catch rate for legal-sized fish will remain steady.

Based on climate projections recruitment is forecast to be poor following three years of poor recruitment. Stock levels to decline as fishing and natural mortality continues

recruitment is poor with El Niño conditions during the recruitment period (Jan-Apr) making it the 4th year in a row of poor recruitment ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS El Niño conditions are forecast for the recruitment period (Jan-Apr) with below average rainfall and wet season river flows.

Rainfall and river flows in late Dec-early Feb will be critical to recruitment success however the outlook is negative.

It is not expected that Lake Awoonga will spill in 2019 JANUARY 2019

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“

“

We all agreed that time out for yourself doesn’t have to be a 3-day trip to North Queensland; you just need to switch off for a moment and enjoy life.

Fishing for sanity

Main: Casting off the Cay with Bommi Adventures and Ed from Trademutt. Inset left: Bill Ovenden, Ed Ovenden, Ed Ross and Mitch Macrae - lads on the Job. Inset right: Ed Ross with a nice jobfish.

Top: Ed and Bill Ovenden with crayfish and coral trout.

Above: Bommi Adventures bagging out: coral trout, sweetlip and crayfish.

Below: Mates on an adventure with Bloomfield Escape. Bottom: A Daintree Rainforest crossing with the lads.

“You’re on Rossy, you’re on!”

Those were the words I heard right before my 10-minute battle with one of the biggest fish I’d ever caught. There’s nothing like that feeling you get when you see the line tweak and hear the excitement from everyone around you.

That was exactly the feeling I experienced on a trip with Bommi Adventures. On that trip there was plenty of banter and laughs between the boys, mixed with the excitement of catching fish. And it was awesome just being out on a boat, so far away from home, with not a care in the world.

Well, not a care other than my battle to boat this slippery bugger. I spotted a glimmer of colour, like a piece of gold appearing from the depths.

“Don’t lose it now,” I thought.

Luckily, Mitch knew what to do. He grabbed the fish’s tail and pulled it onto the deck – an 8kg green jobfish. Awesome!

So how was it that TradeMutt, a workwear company, came to be on the same boat as Ed, Bill and Mitch from Bommi Adventures? Let’s rewind a few months.

Dan and I started TradeMutt after working together as carpenters for three years. We were always talking about ideas that we had for our lives, and one of our ideas was to create our own workwear label. We didn’t know why nobody had made workwear fun.

Could it be done? We didn’t know.

Should we give it a crack? Definitely.

Then in late 2016, Dan got one of the worst phone calls of his life: one of his best mates had taken his life. I’ll never forget arriving at Dan’s place to see him and his friends crying and trying to console each other.

The months that followed were hard for Dan, and I knew it was my job to support him in any way I could. Mostly it was just being there for him, going for a beer or a feed and talking about things.

This experience opened our eyes as to just how big an issue poor mental health is in this country. Six Australian men die from suicide every day.

Then, in the middle of 2017, someone introduced us to the idea of social enterprise – using a profitable business to tackle social issues, or in other words,

using profit for purpose.

We immediately knew that our mission was to create a bold line of workwear that would be so eye-catching, it would be a conversation starter. The conversation would be about mental health. If we could create a product that blokes needed, but make it interesting and fun, perhaps we could allow guys to be able to talk about mental health issues.

Not long after launching TradeMutt, Dan and I were contacted by two early 20-something lads who wanted to have a meeting to discuss an idea. Brothers Ed and Bill Ovenden have spent their lives exploring North Queensland. While the lads are currently based in Brisbane and have regular 9-5 jobs, their passion is driven by one thing – catching fish. They wanted to share their experiences with others, so they started their own fishing and outdoor adventure company, Bommi Adventures.

So what did Bommi Adventures want with TradeMutt?

First of all, we shared a passion for addressing the issues surrounding mental health. The boys wanted to take people away from their daily grind and struggles, and give them an awesome experience in North Queensland. Bommi Adventures provides all-inclusive fishing and outdoor expeditions – everything from flights and accommodation to transport, boats, food and drinks.

Ed and Bill Ovenden invited TradeMutt to join them on an expedition to Bloomfields Escape – a coming together of two entities wanting to lead a generation of Australian men who are comfortable with mental health. It’s about guys being able to talk about their feelings and emotions, whilst participating in classic blokey activities.

We arrived in Cairns on the Friday and headed to the stunning Daintree Rainforest.

After a creek swim, croc-free, we made it to Bloomfield Escape where we were greeted by owners John and Debbie and their deckhand, Shane. I was shown to my accommodation and put my feet up while the Bommi boys got everything ready for the next day. Their professionalism is impressive. The transport was easy, plenty of good food, rods always rigged up ready to go, GPS coordinates set, and straight

IMAGES COURTESY OF: Myles Bennell onto the fish. We couldn’t help but be on cloud nine on that trip, and the only thing we had to worry about was which beer belonged to who. All the while, everyone on the trip was looking fantastic in their TradeMutt shirts.

We donned stinger suits and dived for crayfish, and also caught coral trout, nannygai and sweetlip – plus my whopper green jobfish. We took in the sights at Sand Cay, and then spent time snorkelling and free diving around Pickersgill Reef.

At one point we were in the eye of a fish vortex, consisting of large spangled emperor, trevally and even a school of bonefish.

Dinner at Bloomfield Escape was fit for a king – jobfish, coral trout, crayfish and sweetlip.

After dinner we headed down the river to wet a line, get a fire going, and kick back and chill. We talked about how easy it is to forget what is truly important, because we get swept up in work and financial obligations. Do material possessions really bring happiness? We discussed how much better people’s lives could be if they took a moment to re-evaluate what’s truly important to them.

Just consider: are you the priority in your own life? Do you give yourself the opportunity to be the best version of yourself? Could you do a bit of de-cluttering and focus more on the simpler things that bring happiness?

We all agreed that time out for yourself doesn’t have to be a trip to North Queensland; you just need to switch off for a moment and enjoy life. Having said that, we did have a great time catching jacks that night!

But all good things come to an end, and before we knew it, it was Sunday. It was time to head back down the coast to Cairns, after a stop at Cooktown to check out the sights.

The experiences on that trip were some of the best I’ve had in my life. And it was great that a group of lads could come together and appreciate the importance of good mental health practices. Bommi Adventures did an phenomenal job, and we’ll definitely be doing it again.

If you like the sound of our trip, give these blokes a shout. It’s an experience you’ll never forget.

JANUARY 2019

85

Lessons from the ABT Barra Tour SUNTAG

Stefan Sawynok

I was blessed to be on ABT Barra tour for the second year in a row.

The nights were long, the fishers were elite, all had

technical side of fishing, as that tends to bias my thinking when it comes to comparing different groups of fishers. I am happy with anyone taking me fishing in any style, and will enjoy the experience whether I catch fish or not.

2018 proved to be even better than 2017,

Figure 1 – Tracy with Phil (left) and Geoff (right) from Likely Lads. skills, and with five days of competition, there were so many stats to collect. As someone who is obsessive about understanding human performance, fishing the Barra Tour was the perfect place to be. What attracts me most is the mix of exhaustion, skill and decision making under pressure.

This year I had help in the form of Tracy Chelepy who has joined the TMF team. She has fished her share of barra comps for years, including the Rocky Barra Bounty, and is an organiser for the Women That Fish Barra event.

When it came to the ABT Barra tour, she was in her element. I think the competitors appreciated having someone around who was as into the technical side of fishing as them, as Tracy would regularly go missing only to be found talking fishing with one of the teams.

I am not as into the

as I witnessed that oft-whispered about phenomenon of ‘The Smokey’. To be fair to the winners on tour, they have some serious skills, but I don’t think anyone would have pencilled them in

rank outsiders and, despite anything they might say, they knew it.

This tour won’t be repeated ever again because the stars needed to line up.

The creation of a legend demands that the universe plays its part.

Geoff and Phil (Likely Lads) are the oldest pairing on tour, and it’s fair to say that by the end they were held together by determination, the knowledge this was probably their only shot and sticky tape. Lots of sticky tape. Phil, in particular, overcame arthritis, a fall, and a dodgy shoulder on the way to victory.

It has to be said that they are a pair of old poms, bought up on the carp events of middle England.

Chasing barra in the impoundments of Mackay is a world away both in distance and experience.

These guys have been around the tour for a long time, but I seriously doubt that 10-year-old Geoff had dreams of holding up a meter-long slab of barramundi glory. Geoff and Phil had never won a round before, although they had come close. They knew their game in and out and kept it simple, sticking to the one or two things that worked. To make things extra challenging, they were up against the most professional team in the country: Craig Griffiths and Karim De Ridder.

Even as they crossed the finish line, Phil was

Figure 2 – Score Worm for the Top Teams at Round 1 - Lake Kinchant. to do what they did. The odds would be so long as to attract only the punters that had a few too many, or too much cash to care.

Bottom line, they were

disconsolate, certain that they hadn’t done enough to hold them off.

ROUND 1 – LAKE KINCHANT Round one at Kinchant

ROUND 1 TOP 10 Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 86

Fisher Triton Boats / Edge Rods Wilson Team Garmin Edge Rods / EJ Todd Fish With Me Likely Lads Lowrance Jackall Barambah Lures/Duffrods Dobyns Rods / Lethal Lures

JANUARY 2019

Figure 3 – All catches by hour Round 1 – Lake Kinchant. went pretty much to script, with some solid bags of 90cm+, and a couple of teams exceeding the 1m mark. Triton Boats/Edge Rods and Wilson duked it out, going fish for fish all night. They ended up with only a 480g difference – 53.5kg to 53.02. I wish that Telstra would get its act together because that live event – going fish for fish throughout the night – is so much more entertaining.

It was even better at Kinchant. Shane Compain was providing a hilariously enthusiastic blow for blow via his Instagram, which in some ways is even better than live streaming. There is no way most of the audience spread throughout Queensland or beyond can make it to a weigh-in, so this is the perfect event to go entirely online. Griffo and Karim (Edge Rods/ EJ Todd) came in fourth, ensuring they were well in the mix for a team of the year, and with Matt Mott and his son Dylan in third, there were a good half dozen teams in the mix after round 1.

The results table, however, doesn’t tell the real story of the night. Final scores flatten out the action, and this is one of the things that happens with weigh-ins too. Sure, you get a sense of who won but you never really see how they got there. Over the past year, I have become good friends with the stats language ‘R’, which provided me with much better tools to assess fishing performances, which I will cover in parts throughout this year. For this article though, I had put together a score worm for each round for the top 6 places as well as a time

sequence of when catches occurred to provide a greater context of the action.

Figure 2 shows just how close the night was

importance of cashing in when the bite period is on in competitions. This chart also shows how one fish out of the bite period can swing things, with team Fish With Me well out of the top five until one late fish turned things their way.

Figure 3 shows that the field collectively experienced a clear bite period with less fish either side.

ROUND 2 – LAKE TEEMBURRA The real story of the tour happened in round 2 at the heartbreaking Lake Teemburra. Just weeks before the Barra Tour the talk was of a change in format with the traditional opening event at Lake

Figure 4 – Score Worm for the top teams at Round 2 - Lake Teemburra. between Wilson and Triton Boats/Edge Rods. Wilson got off to a great start but as the night wore on, Triton pegged them back, and in the last three hours

Kinchant to be dropped in favour of two rounds at Teemburra. A number of the teams spent time at Teemburra, winding up with some big sessions,

Figure 5 – All catches by hour Round 2 – Lake Teemburra. the fish dried up leaving Wilson just short of victory.

Both teams were fishing in close proximity, so this was a genuine race. The second cohort of teams in 3rd to 6th had their run with the fish coming in later.

This chart highlights the

leading to pressure to take advantage. That, however, would mean dropping the only event that had full internet and thus live scoreboards and in the end, practicality won out over desire. Just as well too, because the gods had

ROUND 2 TOP 10 Fish/5 5 5 5 5 4 5 3 5 5 4

Total Bag (kg) 53.50 53.02 39.00 37.76 37.45 36.16 36.02 35.95 34.53 33.12

Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fisher Likely Lads Tree Huggers Venom Edge Rods / EJ Todd Slimy Decks Triton Boats / Edge Rods Dobyns Rods / Lethal Lures Jackall Team Garmin Fish With Me

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

Total Bag (kg) 9.03 6.37 6.14 5.57 5.47 5.10 5.07 3.85 3.60 1.89

other plans, and chances are if we did end up doing two days at Teemburra, you would have seen grown men driven to tears.

In the week before the Teemburra event, there was a large drawdown of water, dropping the levels by around a metre over a week. At the same time, there were algal blooms in the shallows reducing the dissolved oxygen levels – this had two effects. First, the barra headed away from

next day briefing it was clear the boys were starting to think about more than one victory.

ROUND 3 – ALL NIGHTER AT LAKE PROSERPINE The third round was the endurance tester. Hot on the heels of two late nights, a double or nothing 16-hour marathon that would sort the good from the great.

As figure 6 shows, for a marathon, it was something of a sprint once the sun

Figure 6 – Score Worm for the top teams at Round 3 - Lake Proserpine. the edges in search of good water and in their more stressed state they weren’t interested in feeding at all.

Fantastic catches turned to donuts in an instant as the total catch for the round was a measly 18 fish, none bigger than 830mm. It’s not often a 600 and 830mm combination will take out an event by a solid 3kg.

Only 11 teams caught a fish, and only five teams managed two fish.

Figure 4 pretty much tells the story of the night.

Three of the top 6 only squeaked in during the last 90 mins, and Edge Rods/EJ Todd came within a whisker of bombing out altogether.

Of the teams in the round, probably only Edge Rods/EJ Todd and Likely Lads were equipped to deal with the conditions, given they had collectively spent the most time on the water during the good and bad times.

For Likely Lads, all that time on the water paid off with two fish enough to lift them to their first victory on tour. A win in these circumstances may not seem like a game changer – but it was. I talked to Geoff just shy of 2am confirming their victory, and it was clear that they were on cloud nine. Possibility is a strange thing that can get the mind moving. The next conversation we had at the

went down with the lead changing many times before midnight. Post midnight, only one team benefitted from the extra hours, and it’s no surprise that the men who don’t need sleep, Griffo and Karim, took advantage to catch up another two places for their third top four finish.

Round 3 was where we learned just how serious

fortune favours the brave, and the Likely Lads managed the second win of their career – two in a row, this time by the healthier margin of 5kg.

REST DAY With three long nights under the belt, the next day was a rest day to allow the competitors to recover, the rest day being as instructive as competition days. During rest day the competitors split out into three groups.

The first group – those in contention, rested, well Griffo didn’t, but that is just because he doesn’t sleep.

The second group – those that were there for the experience took time out for beers and tall stories. This group had the best time.

The third group – those frustrated by not achieving what they hoped in rounds 1, 2 and 3, headed back out to fish.

There is nothing wrong with any of those options, but it does provide some useful insights into mindsets. In many ways the third group gives me the most hope, those that can still go fishing even when things haven’t gone right are showing the kind of mindset that leads to future success.

It has to be said that as the event went on the leaders tended to cluster together at times, and it was fascinating to watch the body language. Barra fishing is a community you have to earn your way into,

Figure 7 – All catches by hour Round 3 – Lake Proserpine. the Likely Lads were about winning. Having managed a full bag of metre+ fish, they got off the water sacrificing 6-7 hours fishing time for sleep. The reduced fishing time would also reduce pressure on their chosen fishing location, and this decision would prove crucial in the days ahead.

Even though the sacrifice was a gamble,

and there are no shortcuts.

ROUND 4 – TWO NIGHTS AT LAKE PROSERPINE With two wins under their belt, it was clear the Likely Lads had thoughts of winning the tour, but all that depended on repeating the previous night twice. They had a three-point lead over Edge Rods/EJ Todd and the only other team still in the

ROUND 3 TOP 10 Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fisher Likely Lads Team Garmin Edge Rods / EJ Todd Tree Huggers Barambah Lures / Duff Rods EJTODD / Tinaroo Venom Luckycraft/Sunline Wilson Fishing Monthly

Fish/5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4

Total Bag (kg) 80.83 75.36 69.79 64.95 64.82 63.67 55.01 52.29 52.21 51.93

hunt at this point was Team Garmin. At this point Likely Lads had a 3-point lead going into the final round, so a win was not going to be enough for Edge Rods/ EJ Todd, they needed Likely Lads to fall over as well.

Then the unthinkable happened.

An off night by Griffo and Karim left them 25kg

into camp, the boys were holding court like ancient kings, a band of fishers crowding around, paying their dues and lapping up the tales in equal measure.

COMPETITION FISHING IS NOT FISHING The thing I most enjoy about my involvement with competition fishing is

Figure 8 – Score Worm for the top teams at Round 4 - Lake Proserpine. and ten odd places adrift.

Lucky Lads completed a five bag and ended the night in 3rd, and with Team Garmin having a shocker.

This year’s tour was Likely Lads event to lose. All the same, pressure does funny things, and leading can make people do strange things. Edge Rods/EJ Todd went off script for once, changing tactics knowing that nothing less than their best was enough, going all out for a big bag and coming in with five metre plus fish. If there is a quality I admire most about Craig Griffiths, it’s that he will never die wondering if he gave it his best shot. He gives his all to preparation, execution and in competing.

I respect and appreciate the single-minded dedication to excellence that he has.

Nobody earns his wins more than Griffo.

Every now and again through, the fishing gods decide to get the script right, and as the official scorer, I left the very last fish from Likely Lads until last. Until that fish was processed, Likely Lads were 3rd just behind Edge Rods/EJ Todd, so they had the Tour Championship in the bag. Just to put things beyond any dispute, that last fish, a 113cm beast caught in the dying minutes of the tournament rocketed them into their third first place in a row. I texted ahead the results, and by the time we made it FINAL Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

getting to see the sports craft. I sat down with Lochie Reed on the last day. Lochie is an excellent fisher in his own right, he was one of the fastest to tag 1000 fish in Suntag. Lochie was feeling the strain of not catching fish, something he was not used to, especially

matters, and the ability to fish ugly matters.

In normal fishing conditions, the fisher controls all the variables, like choice of location, time, technique, length of fishing, when you have had enough. Competition offers none of these luxuries.

Pre-fishing to find fish is only partially useful as on the day everything can change – Teemburra was the perfect lesson.

Sure, the fishing was nearly impossible, but the fact is if you are in that circumstance, only you can affect the outcome.

Practicing only for the best of circumstances is to set yourself up for disappointment and once negative thoughts set in, turning things around is really hard.

Geoff and Phil, Griffo and Karim have three key attributes in common that make the difference.

• They have fished enough variations that no matter what happens, they will get in front of fish.

• They know how to convert – that is, technically they know what works most often and they know how to make sure fish end up in the net.

Figure 9 – All catches by hour Round 4 – Lake Proserpine. when there were big bags to be had. Lochie had done some serious pre-fishing, which had come to naught in the results. There is a big lesson to be learned: fishing skill and pre-fishing are not enough.

Geoff and Phil won ugly when they needed to, took risks to conserve energy when they needed to, and just went for it when the chance arrived. Griffo and Karim set themselves for the win and went off script when under pressure, but not in a crazy way – in a calculated move that on another day would have seen them home. Strategy

TOP 10 Fisher Likely Lads Lowrance Edge Rods / EJ Todd Venom Slimy Decks Tree Huggers EJTODD / Tinaroo Jackall Dobyns Rods / Lethal Lures Luckycraft/Sunline

Fish/10 10 10 10 10 10 8 10 8 8 6

• They have fished enough competitions now that everything is a process.

No matter how much time is left on the clock, they repeat what they know, trusting that their method will deliver.

Developing those skills is an investment. Geoff and Phil have been fishing a ridiculous number of competitions in Mackay to crack it for three rounds in a row – an achievement that only happens once a decade or so.

All power to them, they have worked hard to earn once in a lifetime bragging rights.

Total Bag (kg) 123.38 114.98 106.39 103.84 101.53 98.58 94.45 78.01 63.08 55.28 JANUARY 2019

87

Trades, Services, Charter BOAT MODIFICATIONS & REPAIRS

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MARINE OUTBOARD WRECKERS TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND North Queensland Outboard Wreckers Townsville 1800 812 748

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

FISHING GUIDES CENTRAL QUEENSLAND Lake Monduran Barra Charters 0407 434 446

TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND Hooked On Hinchinbrook www.hookedonhinchinbrook.com

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

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

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

CENTRAL QUEENSLAND Baffle Creek Holiday House 0419 624 833

COOKTOWN River of Gold Motel 4069 5222

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

• 6am to 2pm $150pp • 3 boats – holds up to 30+ people • All fishing gear and bait is supplied • No fishing licence req.

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

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39

SUPERIOR COMFORT & FIT!

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

89

FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS PLACES TO FISH AROUND THE WORLD

UMBA RIVER EGUUR RIVER AMAZON BASIN CONGO RIVER BRAINERD HALONG BAY PIAS BAY ABACO ISLAND BELIZE CAPE COD

DTD - REAL FISH OITA

BOULDER CREEK RIO GRANDE LOUGH CURRANE CHALK STREAMS CAPLES LAKE FLORIDA KEYS RIO COLORADO CHOLLAS LAKE ARAMIA RIVER

Name: Address:

P/Code:

The first correct entry at the end of each month will win the prize pack.

SEND ENTRIES TO: QLD Find-a-word Competition, PO box 3172, Loganholme Qld 4129

QLD JANUARY 2019

Phone (day):

BARRA COUNTRY by Brett Currie

The ‘Real Fish Oita’ is an incredible, award winning squid jig manufactured in Europe by leading Croatian company - DTD. Taking out the coveted ‘best new product’ in its class at the EFTTEX 2015 Expo in Warsaw, this wonderful range is now available in Australia through Dogtooth Distribution.

The product imitates real fish species. This coupled with DTD’s use of only the highest grade materials available, ensures great balance and results in superior catching ability. With the unique ‘fish parasite’ feature, aimed at luring predators in for an ‘easy kill’, these truly unique jigs are set to explode into the Australian market.

FEATURES - Double weight system with inner weight designed to produce sound while squid jig is in action.

COLOURS - 7 different designs representing popular fish species.

ADDITIONAL - Luminous body, fish parasite, great balance, sound effect, quality stainless steel hooks SIZES - 5 Sizes available www.dogtoothdistribution.com.au

SPOT THE

10 DIFFERENCES

GEORGE & NEV by Michael Hardy

ORIGINAL

FIND-A-WORD

Congratulations to M Couchman from Roma, who was last month’s winner of the Find-a-Word Competition!

Monthly winners receive a sponsor prize. Prize delivery can take 8 weeks. – QFM

SUBSCRIBER PRIZE

The subscriber prize winner for November is J Logue of Clifton Beach, who won a Korr Lighting Pack valued at $398.

All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – QFM

of Kirwan, S Williams of Aspley, C Rowe of Loganholme, J Boneham of Eight Mile Plains, B Johnson of Woodgate, K Edwards of East Innisfail, B Mumbray of Yorkeys Knob, A Scott of Proserpine, V Ilka of Lockrose, J McQuaigue of Currumbin Waters, S Tidmarsh of Sandstone Point, G Anderson of Emu Park, J Goody of Mt Berryman, B Nicholson of Bundamba, G Sprott of Glenlee , E Boettcher of

Tivoli, M Goodwin of Cardwell, V Bunn of Frenchville, J Handley of Pacific Haven, A Bragg of Mount Isa, G Green of Currumbin Waters, D McClurg of Boondall, W Sommerfield of Toowoomba, P Fielder of Everton Hills, J Lestor of Beachmere, S Goddard of Raceview, G Walker of Warner.

Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks.

– QFM

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

FIND THE GAMAKATSU LOGO

© A Cordelia Adams original artwork.

The answers to Find the Gamakatsu Logo for November were: 10, 20, 27, 32, 38, 40, 46, 52, 58, 60, 68, 71, 78, 84, 102, 103. – QFM

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JANUARY 2019

This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Trumpeter

The Find the Gamakatsu Logo prize winners for November were: B Barratt of Bucca, R Gilbert of River Heads, D Hall of Glenwood, R Taskis of Ashmore, R Schefe of Point Vernon, B Wingert of Acacia Ridge, B Mackey of Parkwood, F Heiniger of Woombye, L Dyke of St Leonards, K Bennett of Doonan, R Kunde of Beerwah, D Skewes of Bli Bli, G Tonkin of Woodgate, J Inwood

GUESS THE FISH?

Answer:

boats & kayaks

In the skipper’s seat 92 Yakking Tweed Inside story...

In a backstreet workshop in Invercargill, New Zealand, 1987, Paul Adams and Bruce Dickens built the first rigid hulled aluminium chambered boat – a Stabicraft 3.5m dinghy called the ‘Ally Duck’. Later that year the operation moved to leased premises at 245 Bluff Highway, invercargill, and has remained there ever since.

Made for...

Stabicraft’s chambered design allows occupants to move freely about the deck, even all on one side. Few other boats on the market can match Stabicraft’s positive buoyancy and design safety.

This month...

Editor Steve Morgan checks out the 1550 Side Console, powered by a 70hp Suzuki.

Check it out on page 102!

Troy Brown treks into cockroach country to check out the kayaking opportunities.

96 Beating the holiday crowds

Justin Willmer provides some tips to getting away from the masses during this busy time!

98 Tow, tow, tow your boat

Wayne Kampe looks at the ins and outs of towing – a very important skill for a new boat owner!

100 Hobie Mirage Outback 2019

Paddle and pedal junkie Corey Gallagher climbs into this new fishing machine from Hobie.

JANUARY 2019

91

Kayaking Tweed: over to cockroach country BRISBANE

Troy Brown

The clarity of the Tweed River is a welcoming sight to tourists, but for fishing addicts, the beauty of the waterway is overshadowed by the health of its abundant marine life. Fishing the Tweed area by kayak is a superb experience for many reasons. The most obvious attraction is the quantity and quality of local fish species, but additional benefits include amazing views, simple launch access, plus a variety of accommodation choices for those wishing to stay and play.

The Tweed region will satisfy those looking for a day trip, but to fully appreciate the area a longer stay is recommended.

Whether fishing for a day or a week, remember that you will be require to pay the NSW recreational fishing fee. For the kayakers willing to cross into cockroach territory, the effort will reap rewards.

The Tweed River is part of a complex system of waterways in the border area and offers a diverse experience for the kayak fisher. The walls around the mouth can be targets for mangrove jack, bream and mulloway. Moving away from the mouth towards Jack Evans Harbour and Terranora Creek, flathead and whiting are also likely catches.

Jack Evans Harbour is worth examination, particularly as it is protected from strong tidal movements and can offer a sheltered experience when conditions aren’t ideal.

When wind and wave action is strong, the mouth itself is best avoided, as the area can become dangerous for small

watercraft. All of the rock walls are potential mangrove jack territory, with deep water along much of the edge in this section of the river. Live mullet, large strip baits and deep diving lures will tempt hungry predators.

Moving into the mouth

Local fisho David Solano with a big Tweed flathead caught on light gear. of Terranora Creek, you will experience a broad array of fish habitats. The shallow sand banks at the mouth of the creek are ideal for bread and butter species, with solid flathead and elbow-slapping whiting.

Drifting over these flats is a must, with light gear providing a high level of entertainment.

The marked passage on the left side is designated as a ‘no drift’ zone, so ensure you are under way with pedal or paddle, if trolling beside the rock wall.

The first bend of Terranora Creek features a shallow central bank, which is easily circled on any tide in a kayak.

As you navigate around the sand bank, you will often encounter different species

Top: Luderick are around in large numbers at the moment. Despite having a heavy diet of weed, this school ravenously attacked soft plastics at night.

Above: This solid whiting engulfed a 4” SwimmerZ soft plastic from the surface, which was meant for a nearby flathead.

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JANUARY 2019

as you progress through the depth changes. The mobility and shallow-running hull of a kayak excels in these conditions. Boaters and shore-bound anglers watch enviously as you loop around the area, catching a flathead in the shallows, then enticing

a trevally by the jetty, only to snare a bream after floating by the weed beds. I have often wondered how many people are prompted into the kayaking lifestyle after watching the flexibility of the average kayak fisher.

Prior to moving further inland, take a right turn before the bridge at Boyds Point and explore the boat moorings in this sheltered harbour. Large bream and mangrove jack lurk beneath the boats and pontoons, ready to pounce on unsuspecting prey. Some anglers swear the red dogs are more active at the start of the run-out tide, while others insist the jacks love the start of the incoming tidal flow.

The most constant theme with most successful mangrove jack anglers seems to be the impact of the barometer. Major changes in barometric pressure, typically present during our brief but brutal summer storms, seem to dramatically increase the aggressive feeding of the mangrove jack. In addition, low light and cloudy water conditions will also tempt bigger fish.

While targeting these predators around structure, by-catch such as large cod will keep you entertained. Every rock wall, fallen tree, jetty and pylon is a potential home for a powerful jack.

Moving under the bridge into the Boyds Bay area, you will find one of the most productive fisheries in the region. Before crossing under the bridge, be aware there can be strong currents during peak tidal flow. Inefficient hulls may struggle to defeat the tide, so choose your crossing time carefully and target the safest water. Wear your PFD (this is

compulsory in NSW), paddle with a friend if possible and try to cross under the bridge when there is no boat traffic.

The islands near Boyds Point offer significant contrasts for the kayak fisher, depending on which side you choose to fish and the choice of tide.

The main section of the creek offers a multitude of fishing opportunities, with rock walls, fallen timber, deep drop-offs, mangrove-like tree roots and sandy flats. However, the real fun can be found in the shallow waterways behind the island. Mostly inaccessible by boat, this area is perfect for kayakers. Navigation on low tide can be tricky, but your effort in this section of Terranora Creek will be rewarded. The narrow creek, opening up into a small bay behind the islands, is a treasure trove for any dedicated kayaker. This small section of the river has it all, with varying water depths, weed beds and plenty of quality structure.

Only a kayak can deliver the flexibility and stealth to fully exploit the unique nature of this locale.

Regardless of the season, flathead seem to be in abundance, bream everpresent, luderick are currently in plague proportion and you may be lucky enough to find a small mangrove jack. More than once, I have been caught napping while tossing plastics to a small school of bream, only to have a small jack dart from the tree roots or weeds.

On every occasion, I have been caught unawares and watched my lure disappear into the structure. The lesson is always be ready and lock that drag up tight! With mangrove jack, you don’t have the luxury of taking your time to stop the fish, so vigilance is the key.

Queensland Hobie Crew stalwart Lee Major holidays at Tweed, fishing mainly around the Boyds Bay area.

As a visitor to the area the biggest challenge he finds is the sheer clarity of the water.

While it makes the fishing more difficult, it can make for some exciting sight fishing.

There is nothing better than watching a flathead explode out of the sand in pursuit of your lure.

Weed beds, and the sand patches between them, are excellent areas to target in these conditions. Fish are more confident when hidden in

Michael Pitkin landed this solid jack while targeting flathead on 4lb main line. cover. The dirtier water from the run-out tide also assists in encouraging a spooky fish to commit to a well-placed lure. Fine profile lures, such as the Daiwa Double Clutch and Bassday Sugapen, are excellent for mixed species in this area. Fishing these shallow flats at night will dramatically increase your catch rate, as fish that are easily spooked during the day become bold under cover of darkness.

Moving further into Terranora Creek, you will pass under the Pacific Motorway bridge into another productive fishing area. The stretch of water from the bridge to Cobaki Creek has flats to the right and rock walls with deep drop-offs to the left.

Drifting along the rock walls is productive, with potential for cod, bream, trevally, flathead and mangrove jack. Baitfish bust-ups are a good indication of brutish trevally hunting below the surface. The flats can be tough to fish when the water is clear, but after rain will fire up solid flathead.

The junction of Terranora Creek and Cobaki Creek is another prolific fishery.

Either following the flow of the creek, or moving into the Cobaki section, will provide some exciting fishing. Rock walls, deep holes, flats and structure abound in both directions. Try running surface lures along the edges of the rock walls, slow rolling 4” SwimmerZ on weedless Snake Head jigheads, or simulating a dying baitfish with hardbodies such as the Rapala Shadow Rap Jack Deep. Live bait or large slabs of strip bait will attract big jacks and cod.

Skip casting your lures under trees will reduce annoying longtom hook ups, plus

has the advantage of not spooking the fish.

Launch sites are plentiful, with numerous boat ramps situated around the Tweed area. Also consider riverside launches from sites such as the Tweed Regional Museum, placing you within easy reach of Cobaki and Terranora creeks. If you wish to launch directly from your accommodation, kayakers will find it difficult to ignore the convenience of the Tweed Coast Holiday Park at Boyds Bay. Within metres of your tent, caravan or cabin, you will have direct access to Terranora Creek via a dedicated boat ramp.

Wherever you choose to fish, or what you choose to target, enlist the assistance of local experts before you hit the water. Asking for advice will potentially save a fruitless trip, plus help you target the dominant species at the time you visit. Rodney Kahil from Mark Berg’s Addict Tackle is always willing to provide advice. At the moment he says the river systems are on fire with mangrove jack, with rock walls, bridge pylons and heavy snags as the areas to target.

Working well is casting 5-7” plastics or hardbodies in the 75-120mm range. GT and big eye trevally are firing up in the Tweed River section, with flathead and mulloway being caught on the break walls with plastics and slab baits.

For the more adventurous kayaker, larger GTs, kingfish, cobia and spotted mackerel are active offshore. For more information on how to fish the Tweed area by kayak, there are numerous kayak fishing groups on Facebook, with most locals willing to assist a friendly fellow angler.

The narrow creeks around Boyds Bay are best fished from a kayak.

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JANUARY 2019

93

WHAT’S NEW BOATING MERCURY FINANCE 1 OFFER EXTENDED

RAYMARINE NEXT-GEN VHF

Great news for boat owners considering a repower this summer – Mercury Finance has extended its 3.99%* finance offer until 31 January 2019.

That means a brand new 40-150hp Mercury FourStroke can be yours for the very competitive loan rate of just 3.99% (comparison rate) through Mercury Finance*.

Mercury has been perfecting its FourStroke technology for decades, making its outboards lighter, stronger, fuel-efficient and more reliable, yet still able to produce the power and performance Mercury is famous for.

For additional information, visit the Mercury Marine website. *Fees, terms, conditions and credit criteria apply. Offer is available from participating Mercury Finance Dealers. www.mercurymarine.com.au

The compact Raymarine Ray53, full-sized Ray63 and the multifunction Ray73 with AIS are all full-function VHF marine radios with Class D Digital Selective Calling (DSC).

Each model is equipped with a built-in GPS receiver and connection point for an optional GPS/GNSS antenna, which improves the GPS reception when the radio is mounted below deck or in an enclosed pilothouse.

Additionally, Ray63 and Ray73 can connect to Raymarine’s new wireless VHF hub and can support up to two wireless handset stations for wireless communication anywhere onboard.

For more information on the features of each model, visit the Raymarine website.

Price: SRP $699-$1199 www.raymarine.com.au

SIMRAD ACTIVE IMAGING

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Simrad Active Imaging Sonar features advanced new scanning-sonar technology that provides incredibly detailed, highresolution imaging without sacrificing range. It replaces TotalScan transducers.

Active Imaging Sonar (AI) provides incredibly clear views of structure and cover with refined detail at a range unmatched by any other structure imaging technology.

It’s available in two models — 3-in-1 and standalone. AI 3-in-1 combines scanning sonar with a traditional medium/high CHIRP sonar element for easy single-transducer installation, while the standalone transducer is designed for install alongside a separate CHIRP sonar transducer.

Operating at 800kHz or 455kHz, AI provides clear and precise views of structure, fish and bottom composition up to 300ft from either side of a boat. There’s no need to change frequencies while fishing; you can see where you should be fishing instead of just the immediate area at a set frequency.

The Simrad Active Imaging 3-in-1 transducer will be bundled with Simrad GO series displays.

Price: SRP $275-$350 www.simrad-yachting.com

NAVICO NEW DISPLAY CATEGORY 3 Navico has announced the 2019 launch of a new category of marine technology — the information display (ID). Marking the first significant evolution of the multifunctional display (MFD), IDs have a configurable interface that simplifies monitoring and control of onboard systems, and is customised to each vessel.

The experience-based software features pre-defined modes that display all relevant data for the current situation. Pre-defined modes include System Checks, Cruising, Anchoring and Water Sports. Custom modes can also be easily configured to builder specifications to best accentuate the utility of an individual vessel or to complement any boater’s passions (e.g. offshore sportfishing).

Consisting of a bonded-glass display and a powerful integration hub, IDs will be available in Lowrance, Simrad or B&G electronics. Each solution consists of one or multiple displays bridged together to function as one integrated system. The centralized hub uses ethernet, WiFi and Bluetooth along with sonar, USB, CAN and NMEA 2000 ports to connect to all onboard systems. An easy-to-upgrade hub installation simplifies the change-out process for upgrades. www.navico.com 94

JANUARY 2019

YANMAR 4LV STERNDRIVES

PRODUCT GUIDE

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Yanmar is launching a full line-up of 4LV sterndrives to complete its 4LV series of common rail (CR) engines. The new 150250 mhp five-engine range combines with the Yanmar ZT370 sterndrive to offer exceptional acceleration, fuel efficiency, remarkably quiet operation, and low vibration to suit a wide variety of vessels.

The corresponding 150Z/170Z/195Z/230Z/250Z mhp sterndrives feature the latest in electronically-managed CR fuel injection systems. The system delivers more complete combustion, adding efficiency in fuel consumption, torque and lowered emissions (all models are virtually smoke free).

Features include smooth and quiet gear engagement, exceptional corrosion protection, precision-forged gears with extralong service life, the choice of electrical or mechanical shift models, and an integrated exhaust system. The ZT370 sterndrive is available in various gear ratios, All Yanmar 4LV engines with ZT370 sterndrive offer a selection of control systems, and are also available with the JC10 joystick system. An NMEA connection ensures engine data is available for all NMEA 2000 compatible MFDs. www.yanmar.com

FUSION APOLLO SERIES

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The Fusion Apollo RA770 is the world’s first purpose-built marine entertainment system. It features a one-piece glass touchscreen display, built-in Wi-Fi streaming, Digital Signal Processing Technology (DSP) and PartyBus capabilities.

The touchscreen makes trying to locate the correct button a thing of the past. To pause and play you just tap the screen, or swipe through a playlist to find your favourite song.

The Apollo Series harnesses the power of Fusion DSP, providing premium audio delivery to all speakers in any environment. Every step of the audio chain is optimized to deliver a technically superior listening experience – without the need for boaters to have a technical understanding.

The RA770 lets you play music via Bluetooth, Optical Audio, DAB+ ready, AM/FM radio, AUX and USB. Users can also stream music from a mobile device via Universal Plug and Play (UPnP). The Apollo series can also connect multiple Apollo stereos with Wi-Fi. www.fusionentertainment.com

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Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au

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JANUARY 2019

95

Beating the holiday crowds BRISBANE

Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

Here’s hoping you had a cracker Christmas and scored something kayak or fishing related!

For many of us this time of year means a forced break

almost to yourself.

The other great thing about this time of the morning is that the low light often means a better bite, especially if you are fishing shallower flats, mangrove edges or other shallow water structure. Late afternoon and night time can also be a great time to be on the water, with

A handful of grunter on a ZMan 2.5” Slim SwimZ. as workplaces close and the school kids take their longest holiday for the school year.

This can be both a positive and a negative for anglers, especially kayak anglers.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to have a break and score some extra fishing hours, but the holidays can mean busier waterways and tougher bites. Here are a few tips that have put fish in the net for me in these busier periods, along with a quick wrap up of a recent session where I put these strategies to work.

THE EARLY BIRD There’s an old saying that the early bird gets the worm, and the same often applies to the bite. I find that even though there’s more people on holidays, it doesn’t always translate to busy waterways early in the morning. I’m not sure why; maybe it’s because the sun rises so early, or there’s too much partying going on, or people are in a holiday mindset and don’t feel the need to get up with the sparrows. Whatever the reason, you can often have those first few hours of light

boat ramps, carparks and launch points, but we kayak anglers have the advantage of being able to launch almost anywhere. Go for a drive and check out some alternate launch points to access good water, or jump on the computer and check out Google Earth for some alternate access options.

Roads, bridges, parks, 4WD tracks and more can lead you to less crowded and less pressured waters.

Living near the water I often load my kayak onto the C-Tug trolley and will walk a kilometre one way or the other to launch where it best suits the tides and wind conditions that I am fishing. Once you get your kayak balanced well on the trolley it rolls relatively easy and you’re not having to lift any weight, just walk along holding the front

be fishing. For example, there are many lakes and impoundments that are kayak and electric motor only, or that have speed restrictions. No PWCs and boats zipping around or towing skiers – just paddle, pedal and electric craft… and often fewer crowds.

You are likely to meet other kayak anglers and exchange stories, tips and info, as well as the possibility of targeting a new fish species, all while enjoying the serenity of these environments.

SLOW AND STEADY Many of the systems that I fish have go slow zones, such as 6 knot speed restricted zones, and there are a few positives for the kayak angler when it comes to these areas. First of all there is the safety element that comes from fewer craft buzzing around at speed.

The first grunter in the net. the crowds thinning and the bite firing up.

When fishing low light conditions, it is essential to ensure that you are highly visible. Lighting, a flag, hi-vis clothing and bright coloured kayaks are all good options.

GO YOUR OWN WAY Holidays can mean busy

A nice table-size flathead destined for the author’s parent’s place for dinner. though it often says ‘6 knots, no wash’. The larger and longer these go-slow areas are, the more likely it seems that boats will avoid them, so keep an eye out for lengthy go-slow areas in the systems you fish as they may keep the boat traffic down.

Another reason that these go-slow zones are worth investigation for the kayak angler is the reason behind them being there in the first place, which is often structure. Speed restrictions could be in place because of man-made structure such as jetties, pontoons and rock walls, or natural structure such as rock bars and reef.

All of this structure is worth fishing and has produced plenty of different species from the kayak.

SKINNY AND SHALLOW These are two words that boat operators aren’t often

anglers fishing from boats include ‘watch out, it gets pretty skinny up that creek’ or ‘I normally steer clear of that area because it gets pretty shallow’. You have just found some new water to investigate in the kayak, and if the boat traffic isn’t there, the fish will often be less pressured and keener to bite.

We have pulled some cracker bass, bream, cod, jacks and a variety of other species from sections of creeks that you can’t even turn around in. Likewise, some quality bream, flathead, trevally, grunter and more have come from a foot or two of water. In the creeks it can often be all about stealth, and it’s a similar story on the flats, along with long casts, long light leaders and at times downsizing your lures. As was reinforced to me again recently by Nick

handle of the kayak. One important thing to remember is comfortable footwear, especially in summer when the roads and paths can get pretty hot.

LIKE-MINDED LOCATIONS Another option is to seek out locations where like-minded anglers will

The same lures and techniques will land you bream, flathead, trevally and more.

Lip grips make handling flathead simpler and safer.

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JANUARY 2019

However, remember that you may have to deal with larger washes at times from slow moving craft, even

keen on, and ones which kayak anglers can embrace.

Phrases that often prick my ears up when chatting to

Whyte from Tech Fishing, ‘big lures catch big fish and small lures catch all fish’.

Those are a few

strategies that I employ during the busy holiday periods to get the most out of my time on the water kayak and SUP fishing.

Hopefully this will inspire you to try something new or investigate a new location over the break and fingers

only 2ft of water, the 1/6oz jighead would allow long casts away from the kayak so as not to spook the fish in the shallow water. With the rod tip up and a fairly quick retrieve, I could swim the plastic just above the bottom to mid-water. With

new travel rod I was testing to take overseas in a few months. If you do purchase travel rods for an adventure, it’s a good idea to fish them and get a feel for them before you go. This will allow you to ensure that they suit the adventure and target species, while also allowing you to get a feel for the lure weights they cast effectively, and how they handle a few different species.

After a couple of small taps that didn’t find the hook, another grunter found the lure and it was game on before making the call to catch the last of the run-in tide and hitch a ride up the creek. The fishing up the creek was a little quiet at the start as I waited for the tide to turn and

No need for a ramp when it comes to kayak fishing. two before being returned to the water.

It was time to call it a day, and by day, I mean a few hours. I was back at home about three hours after I had left, having utilised the last of the run-in and first of the run-out to land three grunter, a flathead and a bream, along with a few missed opportunities. I had dodged the boat ramp and made the most of an early morning

Bream are just one of the species that can be encountered in shallow and skinny water. crossed bend a few rods.

What follows is a quick wrap-up of a session where I applied a few of these strategies and in the process found a few fish.

ON THE WATER Avoiding the local ramp, I rolled my kayak down to a nice sandy section of beach, slid it off the trolley and geared up for a short

the low light and flooding flats I assumed that the fish were actively hunting, so I fished fast and covered plenty of water.

The smaller paddle tail meant I was likely to encounter the flathead that I often target with a 3” plastic, while also opening up the bream and grunter that often feed in this area. On the

start, fished the shallows and a go-slow area, and kept the plastic small to open up more species. Although I hadn’t broken any records I had scratched the itch, given one of the new rods a test drive and caught enough to make me happy, including one keeper for my folks. A great start to the day and home in plenty of time to earn a few more brownie points.

See you on the water.

Fish on! outgoing tide back out of the creek and head for home.

About halfway through my 10 casts, I noticed a disturbance in the shallows as something was harassing bait. My first thought was bream, so I made a quick cast to the area, lifted the rod tip and rolled the plastic through the shallows where the disturbance had been. As is often the case the bream were all over the plastic, the rod loaded and the battle was on. It wasn’t a record breaker, but it was great fun on light gear and a stocky bream posed for a photo or

A sandy pocket in the weed produced this flathead.

Grunter number three in quick time fishing 2ft of water on the flats. session on the water. My plan was to fish a section of shallow flats on the last of the early morning run-in, before catching the last of the tide up a creek to fish an area that had 6 knot speed restrictions. Once in this section of creek I planned to target sand edges and drop-offs, mangrove edges, jetties and pontoons and weed beds.

I had two rods rigged, and I picked up the one with a 1/6oz jighead and 2.5” paddle-tail plastic.

Even though I was fishing

second cast the rod loaded up as a fish raced across the flat toward deeper water. At first I called it for a trevally as it had some go, however as I gained line and readied the net, a nice grunter surfaced beside the kayak. Grunter often school on the flats, so it was a couple of quick photos and a release, then on with the drift.

Half a dozen casts later another grunter rattled the lure and then it was fish on again. Another solid fight and another grunter in the net. I was impressed with the

create some water movement and eddies, focussing the bait and in turn the fish.

A cast to a sandy pocket in the weed resulted in a solid take and some good head shakes, before the hook pulled on what I was sure was a solid flathead. Shake it off and work the area targeting similar structure was the plan, and it wasn’t long until I was rewarded with a nice eating-size flathead that I kept for my folks. With a few things on the job list at home I decided to give myself 10 more casts and then catch the

Flathead will eat larger plastics but the smaller plastic also appealed to the grunter and bream.

JANUARY 2019

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Tow, tow, tow your boat A U S T R A L I A

PART I BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Margay 2017

$52,990 • 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 or Garmin 6”)

Pantera II 2017

$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 or Garmin 6”)

Pantera Classic 2018

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• 19’6” • Single Axel Bass Cat Trailer • 150 hp Mercury Pro-XS • 24v electric motor (Minn Kota or Motor Guide) • 2 x sounders (Humminbird 597cxi HD Di or Lowrance HDS 5 or Garmin 6”)

Sabre FTD 2017

Buying a boat? Before you take the plunge, one of the things to consider is the business of actually towing the boat from point A to point B. Will the family car be up to the job, or do you need to invest in a more suitable tow vehicle as well?

Towing is a very physical business, in that laws of physics apply! When a tow vehicle and trailer are impacted by external forces, it’s usually the heavier of the two vehicles that will dictate what will happen next, so the tow vehicle should be at least as heavy as the towed object. If the tow vehicle heavier, that’s even better, as it will allow for some margin for safety.

Trailers come with rigid specifications regarding weights to be carried, to remove guesswork. It’s the same story with vehicles; manufacturers stipulate rear axle load, and the capacity of tyres (after consideration of the affect a laden trailer will have on the vehicle’s stability and attitude).

The vehicle’s overall ability to withstand wear and tear from towing is also thoroughly assessed in conjunction with these specifications.

Looking at the tow vehicle first, the handbook (as well as a compliance plate or sticker) sets out the maximum weight of an unbraked and braked trailer that may be towed. It also states a maximum tow ball load plus any additional conditions regarding speed when towing – which, surprise, surprise, some makers do stipulate.

REDUCED SPEED WHEN TOWING? You should check the car’s handbook or compliance plate if you are planning to tow with a front wheel drive SUV, because speed limits for some popular cars (when towing) can be stipulated as 80km/h

on the open road (instead of 100km/h). Alternatively, they will need to be modified in accordance with the weight of the item being towed as per those specs.

A boat trailer’s loaded weight might well be under the car’s tow ratings, but having to travel at a maximum of 80km/h is worth thinking about, especially if you’ll be travelling long distances.

And of course, if you have an accident, any proof that you have exceeded the manufacturer’s tow speed will

The information on the Dunbier’s drawbar could not be more clear.

This image conveys a lot of information. Firstly, the park brake is in use.

Secondly, the tow hitch has a 2000kg rating. Thirdly, the small collar between the main body of the brake system and the tow ball hitch is down, deactivating the brakes to reverse the trailer. This collar should be lifted out of the way when towing so that the interior shaft within the brake activation assembly can slide forward under inertia to bring the brakes into play during deceleration. void your insurance claim.

Each state has slightly different regulations regarding towing, but they all have the same goal – road safety. The Qld MVSA of 1989 states that data for maximum loads and weights should be set out on fire walls of cars as well as on the tow bars of trailers. On a boat trailer these figures are set out as kilograms, and will show things such as Tare Mass (or simply ‘Tare’), which is the weight of the trailer ex factory.

Next on the list might

be GTM, which is the total weight of the load that can be imposed on the axle of that trailer when coupled to a tow vehicle. And then there’s ATM, which is the total weight of the trailer plus maximum load when not coupled to a tow vehicle.

Naturally, GTM will always be less than the ATM, as some of the weight is transferred to the tow vehicle upon connection, which is where tow ball ratings come to the fore. Tow ball ratings are something to consider if the boat is a very large

$61,990

• 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 or Garmin 6”)

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It’s a Family Tradition

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JANUARY 2019

Phone: 0410 173 060 www.basscataustralia.com

Even an old stager like this trailer will need brakes fitted if it has a GTM in excess of 750kg.

one. If towing involves flags, paperwork, lights and other restrictions, tow ball ratings are going to be worth consideration.

The Motor Vehicle Standards Act calls for rigid guidance with regards to these specified loadings of car and cargo (including passengers), plus the overall tow rating, which sets out a manufacturer’s capacity for that vehicle to tow anything from horse floats to boat trailers or caravans. This information is not a rough guide, it’s the law. If you exceed it, your insurance will be voided. It’s the driver’s job to be aware of these ratings and abide by them.

TRAILERS: BRAKED AND UNBRAKED There’s a standard rule in Australia when it comes to brake systems for trailers.

Trailers with a GTM of less than 750kg do not require brakes to be fitted, but if the combined weight of trailer and load is over 750kg, brakes must be fitted to the trailer.

This rule can cause some angst. Transport enforcement officers are often seen near boat ramps these days, using portable scales to weigh trailers, and all too often an unbraked trailer carrying a

trip. These things can tip the scales, and that’s not including items that you might want to add later, such as an electric motor, which might be installed along with a big deep cycle battery up front to feed it.

Or maybe you’ll replace the outboard engine with a more powerful, heavier one. Suddenly, although the boat is probably still towing as well as ever behind the

turbo 4x4, you’re over the legal weight limit.

BRAKED TRAILERS MAKE SENSE My advice is to tread carefully when assessing trailer requirements. If your rig is within 50kg or so of that 750kg limit (and even if that electric motor is on the boat already), just bite the bullet and purchase a braked trailer.

Trying to avoid an accident by slamming on the brakes

can put you on the wrong side of the laws of physics, so the outlay for the braked set-up is well spent to avoid a nasty incident.

As a last caution, if your boat and trailer are found to be overweight in respect to ATM or GTM, the authorities might ban movement of the rig from where it’s assessed, in the interest of public safety. Not a great situation to find yourself in.

Here we see that the tow hitch has a capacity of 2000kg but the trailer and boat being carried is limited to no more than 750kg, because there is no braking system. boat will tip the scales at over 750kg. Paying a fine would not be a good way to start a day on the water, although it would still be better than having an accident and not being covered by insurance.

So you do you end up with an overweight unbraked trailer? Well, some buyers fudge a little and do some dodgy maths when assessing a trailer for a new boat, hoping to avoid buying a braked

trailer. Unbraked trailers are cheaper, and are also far easier to look after because there are no discs, cables, callipers, and other bits and pieces requiring a really thorough wash-down after a dunk in saltwater. Also, when it’s time to replace wheel bearings, unbraked trailers are far easier to work on.

ADD-ONS ADD WEIGHT So you’re doing the maths to see how heavy

your rig will be. You add up the hull, motor, cranking battery, full fuel tank and find that the rig is a bit under 750kg. Beauty!

Don’t get too excited though. You still have to consider safety equipment, water for the trip, maybe a fire extinguisher, a big sounder, tackle boxes and fishing gear, an ice box with ice, the fish well and other bits and pieces for any fishing

A good selection of trailer boats. The trailer requirements will likely vary with each of these vessels.

DROP IN TO YOUR LOCAL QUINTREX DEALER! BRISBANE NORTH

BRISBANE YAMAHA

174 Bruce HWY, Burpengary

PHONE 07 3888 1727 BRISBANE SOUTH

BRISBANE QUINTREX

3775 Pacific HWY, Loganholme

PHONE 07 3133 3468 BUNDABERG

142 Enterprise St, Bundaberg

BOATS GALORE

PHONE 07 4152 6744

SUNSHINE COAST SUNSHINE COAST MARINE 122 Eumundi Noosa Rd, Noosaville

PHONE 07 5449 7633 SUNSHINE COAST

8 Baldwin St, Caloundra

CALOUNDRA MARINE

PHONE 07 5491 1944 TOOWOOMBA WATER SKIERS WAREHOUSE 91-93 Neil St, Toowoomba

PHONE 07 4637 9511 GOLD COAST

SURF COAST MARINE

50-54 Brisbane Rd, Labrador

PHONE 07 5563 7733 TWEED COAST

TWEED COAST MARINE

32 Machinery Drive, Tweed Heads

PHONE 07 5524 8877

JANUARY 2019

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Hobie Mirage Outback 2019 designed for fishers

MELBOURNE

Corey Gallagher

Hobie have a long tradition of quality and innovation.

Their products have dominated kayak angling markets worldwide since the introduction of the first purpose designed, pedal propelled fishing kayak, the Mirage Outback in 2001.

In the 18 years since its introduction, the Outback has undergone several key upgrades, transforming it into one of the best kayak angling platforms available. The 2019 model sees the biggest upgrade in the model’s history with a complete redesign of the hull, ensuring the Outback continues to sit atop of an ever-growing list of purpose built fishing kayaks.

Like its bigger brother, the Mirage Pro Angler, the Mirage Outback was designed purely as a fishing kayak. Its new hull design and deck layout have been carefully considered and the result is an exceptional kayak that appeals to both tournament and social anglers alike.

As a regular participant in the Hobie Kayak Bream Series, I have witnessed the growing popularity of the Mirage Outback amongst kayak tournament anglers in recent years. The Outback offers many advantages over rival kayaks and its lightweight hull design is a major contributor to its success. The Mirage Outback can be easily

Main: The 2019 Hobie Mirage Outback kayak is a favourite in the kayak angling community.

Above: The 2019 Hobie Outback has undergone the biggest redesign in the model’s 18 year history. transported to and from your favourite fishing spot on roof racks – its manageable size and weight makes launching that much easier when fishing solo and very little room is required when storing the kayak at home.

A major upgrade to the 2019 Mirage Outback is its redesigned hull, featuring a sharper bow that cuts effortlessly through the water,

SPECIFICATIONS Length Overall..........................................3.86m Beam.........................................................0.86m Crew..............................................1 (single seat) Capacity.............................................. 192.78kg Fitted Hull Weight................................. 38.56kg Fully Rigged Weight.............................. 46.72kg Hull Construction.....Rotomolded Polyethylene RRP..................................................From $4190 100

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wind, wake and chop while also greatly reducing any hull slap. The kayak is very fast off the line and gets up to speed within just a few kicks of the mirage drive 180, thanks largely to this redesigned bow. The 2019 Outback also features a completely redesigned rear deck and stern.

The old twist and stow style rudder has been replaced with Hobie’s kick up rudder, the rudder is spring loaded and will bump up out of the way when it hits rocks or snags underwater.

The new Outback features dual steering controls, meaning that left and right handed anglers will find manoeuvring the kayak a breeze, capable of turning in a tight circle with full rudder lock. The rear end

also features a large H-Rail carry handle that not only assists while transporting, but also allows kayak anglers a convenient place to mount Hobie H-Rail accessories, such as a Go-Pro mount.

Another new addition to the stern of the 2019 Outback is it comes power pole ready with pre-drilled inserts. The large rear deck is massive in comparison to the old model and allows plenty of room for a livewell, icebox, rod holders or storage crates.

The rear deck also features two recessed areas.

It has a H-Track deluxe with bungee tackle retainer that allow anglers to store two 3700 size tackle trays and secure it in place using built in bungee straps. The cockpit area also features two similar recessed areas, only these come equipped with a H-Rail, giving the angler even more storage and accessory mounting options.

The four H-Track Deluxe recessed storage areas not only greatly increases the tackle storage capacity of the 2019 Outback, but also includes handy storage for your fishing pliers, braid scissors, lip grips and other fishing related tools, with bungee tie downs to keep everything secure and safe from an accidental swim overboard.

Together, these features combine to make the 2019 Outback an incredibly organised kayak, everything has its place and for a tournament angler who needs quick access to their equipment, the Outback ticks all the boxes. Hobie have introduced a rectangular centre hatch into the new model as standard, an upgrade many owners of the old Outbacks retro fitted. The larger centre hatch comes standard with a tackle bucket, the perfect place to store smaller tackle trays,

leader and other frequently used items. The hatch also has a built in bottle opener for those who are keen to partake in a cold beverage while on the water. The mesh pocket on the inside of the hatch is a great place to store keys or a mobile phone.

Another key upgrade to the 2019 model is the seat has been widened by 1.5”. The Vantage CTW Seat features 4-way, adjustment making it comfortable for any angler no matter your size or shape.

Hobie have also introduced the Guardian retractable transducer shield to the 2019 Outback. The system protects the transducer on impact and retracts into the hull for transport.

The 2019 Outback is powered by the V2 Mirage Drive 180, Hobie’s reverse capable pedal drive system featuring ARC shafts, which allow kayakers to adjust the cranks at the push of a button.

The 2019 Outback is available in a large range of colours: slate blue, papaya orange, red hibiscus, ivory dune, seagrass green and camo package, which also features camo deck pads and pedal pads.

I recently competed in a Hobie Kayak Series

Event out of a 2019 Outback in Mallacoota, where we experienced strong breezes for the duration of the tournament.

To say I was impressed with the performance of the new hull under these testing conditions would be a huge understatement. True to Hobie’s claims, the hull slices effortlessly through the water, wind and chop and does it without losing forward momentum. Hull slap has been greatly reduced, even in the choppy conditions.

Please note that the kayak featured in this article featured several aftermarket accessories including the Hobie V2 Livewell, Hobie Vantage Seat Bag and Lowrance Elite 9 Ti Sounder.

The Hobie Mirage Outback is an extremely versatile kayak that appeals to a broad range of anglers. It is feature packed in a lightweight package, adding further to its appeal. The Outback has long been a favourite among the kayak angling community and the 2019 model, with its upgraded storage options and improved hull design, will ensure that this kayak continues as one of the best options for kayak anglers looking to purchase a new yak.

The lightweight hull makes the 2019 Outback perfect for those looking for a feature packed kayak that is still easily transported on a roof rack.

Pre-drilled inserts allow a Power Pole Micro to be mounted directly onto the hull.

The rear cargo area has been significantly increased and features two H-Track Deluxe with bungee tackle retainer systems.

New for 2019, the Vantage Seat CTW features an extra 1.5” width.

Hobie’s innovative H-Track Deluxe with H-Rail integrated track is a multipurpose addition to the 2019 Outback, excellent for mounting all manner of accessories and storing tackle trays up to 3700 size.

The new Outback is powered by the reverse capable V2 Hobie Mirage Drive 180.

A vertically mounted rectangular hatch now comes as standard.

A ‘reclined’ seating position in the new Outback.

The Hobie Guardian retractable transducer shield has been introduced into the new model.

The twist and stow rudder has been replaced by a kick up rudder mounted under the stern of the kayak.

The cockpit of the 2019 Outback has been carefully designed and now features plenty of storage and accessory mounting options.

The new design features a sharper bow that effortlessly cuts through water, wind, wake and chop and allows the kayak to get up to speed quickly.

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Stabicraft 1550 Side Console with 70hp Suzuki - SC

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Main: Ross Tizard’s Stabicraft 1550 is set up ideally for his Mandurah lifestyle, which includes bream fishing, crabbing and sneaking offshore for snapper.

Above: The Stabicraft’s excellent stability comes from welded external tubes that add flotation to each gunwale.

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buoyancy of the rig, with the compromise being reduced internal beam. There are a few things that Ross has done to counter the reduction of room, including the addition of a fold-away helm seat for the driver and high internal gunwales in the cockpit.

The console is broad and provides protection from a little wind spray. It easily holds all of the gauges and switches Ross needs for his daily boat operation.

Also unique to the Stabicraft as a long sub-gunwale shelf that can easily accommodate a couple of fishing rods and all of Ross’ accessories that he needs ready-to-hand.

“The wide gunwales also provide an excellent place to sit,” Ross added.

On the port side of the transom, a large, windowed live bait tank allows you to keep an eye on your catch or livies and ensure that they’re in prime condition.

The raised front deck gives you a place to cast lures from while under Minn Kota power, however Ross’ Stabicraft also comes with raised rails so you can get up there when it’s a little rough. Ross admits that he’s not the world’s smallest man, and appreciates the extra support up front.

Important to Ross is that the rig is easily launchable and manoeuvrable singlehanded, as he often ventures out on his own to hunt and gather. The single-axled Dunbier trailer facilitates this, and he has a system

DE FOR EX

It’s not that often that we get to head out with a dealer’s customer to do a boat test, but Scott De Mouncey of Mandurah Motor Marine was 100% confident that his repeat customer, Ross Tizard, was the perfect advocate for his New Zealand built Stabicraft boat range. Ross is now on his second Stabicraft, with the 1550 being an upgrade from a smaller Stabi that he

Let’s have a look at how he’s done it.

The 1550 hull is fitted with a 70HP Suzuki 4-stroke outboard which gives Ross wonderful economy – up to 4.25km/L at 3700rpm and 35km/h – giving a theoretical range of over 300km in ideal conditions. In Ross’ case, this means that it’s often a long time between service station visits to fuel up.

Stabicraft hulls are unique in the way that they incorporate welded aluminium airtight tubes into the hull design. These increase the stability and

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s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

owned previously. He was happy to take us out on the Mandurah estuary on a windy afternoon to show us just what it could do.

Ross is retired, and he’s pretty particular about what he needs his boat to do. Whether it is crabbing, chasing black bream up the Murray River or sneaking offshore to chase a few snapper, Ross’ boat needs to be able to handle all of these activities and be able to do it by himself. That includes single-handed launch and retrieve and boat positioning on the water.

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Steve Morgan

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SPECIFICATIONS Length.......................................................4.72m Capacity............................................. 5 persons Max HP...........................................................75 Fuel...............................................................85L External beam..........................................2.02m Internal beam...........................................1.46m Transom deadrise.........................................15° Tube thickness........................................2.5mm Hull thickness............................................4mm Hull weight............................................... 415kg worked out with a couple of ropes that makes it all look too easy.

“I really love the build quality of the Stabicraft boats, and maybe it also has a little to do with the fact that I’m an expatriate New Zealander,” says Ross, “but you really do feel safe in this hull. It’s a great little

hull that I can use for all my types of fishing.”

Both of Ross’ Stabicraft boats have been supplied and delivered by Mandurah Motor Marine in Mandurah, WA. You can find out more at Stabicraft website www. stabicraft.com and at www. suzuki.com.au.

Ross has perfected the single handed launch and retrieve method. Since he often fishes by himself, this is an important feature of the boat.

Fifteen degrees of transom deadrise helps the hull negotiate the often choppy waters of Peel Inlet and the Indian Ocean.

A broad console holds Ross’ fishfinder, engine gauges, radio, music and accessory switches.

It’s rare to see a transom build like this in an Aussie boat; there are cranking and trolling motor batteries in the hatch and a bait station on the top.

The windowed live bait tank on the port side is particularly useful.

Supplied on a single axle Dunbier trailer, the whole rig is easily manoeuvrable in a garage and capable of being launched one-handed.

The cockpit has plenty of depth to remain fishable in rougher conditions and suits Ross’ style of fishing perfectly.

There’s a lot of Mandurah’s waterways that are speed limited. The 1550 is quiet and stable at non-planing speeds.

Boat builders often try to keep the batteries and the centre of gravity of their boats as low as possible.

Sometimes this makes the batteries harder to access. The Stabicraft’s stability isn’t compromised by this setup and batteries are very easily checked.

Another day in the office for Ross. Retirement at Mandurah is awesome. Happy fishing, Mr Tizard!

Top and above: We loved the fold-down seat. It’s held up by two removable pins, and it stows away to give the extra room in the cockpit that Ross needs.

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World Class Engines, World Class Support.

All recreational Mercury Outboard models from the 2.5 to 350hp range now come with 6 years of warranty coverage.

A comprehensive warranty that’s supported by the strength and service expertise of one of the largest dealer networks in the country. Simply have your engine serviced at an Authorised Service Centre at the recommended servicing intervals and you’re covered by an additional 3-year factory backed warranty on top of the first 3 years.

That’s a full 6 years of non-declining warranty coverage. *Terms and conditions apply for full warranty information visit mercurymarine.com.au.

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mercurymarine.com.au JANUARY 2019