Victoria and Tasmania Fishing Monthly - April 2014 by Fishing Monthly

TOP TIPS FOR YOUR EASTER FISHING

Tried and Tested

Features F ish the Scamander River • Pimp your trailer

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Extreme 700 Game King • 6400 Yellowfin Synergy • Cruising in a Bar Crusher • Rosco Solo Scamper •

Techniques

NEW!

atch cod C from the bank • How-to: Flexible ganged hook rigs •

Find the

hook competition

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April 2014, Vol. 11, No. 5

Contents WEST COAST

Western Districts 54 Robinvale 54 Mildura 55 Bendigo 55 Ballarat 56 Crater Lakes 56 Shepparton 57 Yarra Valley 58 Melbourne Metro 58 Eildon 60 Wangaratta 62 Yarrawonga 62 Kiewa Valley 63 Moama 63 Central Gippsland 61 West/South Gippsland 64 Jindabyne 65

TASMANIA WRAP

Back to Basics 59 Boating 76 Chappy’s Hotspot 17 Cooking 49 Dam Levels 58 Fun Page 29 Inland Fisheries Service 67 Kayak 74 Tasmanian Lake Levels 67 Tournament News 69 Trade and Services Guide 80 Victorian Tide Times 86 VRFish 37 What’s New Boating 79 What’s New Fishing 50

SPECIAL FEATURES

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OUR COVER James Dainton with a stream caught redfin on a Balista Juggernaut.

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given the rescue of hundreds of fish, led to a stinking mess that had anglers, environmentalists and locals all seething. Will this happen again? I reckon the fish aint gonna win, sadly. Recreational fishing is way down the list of priorities, even though hard working locals are providing sensible and easy to achieve resolutions. Groups such as Toolondo Reservoir (found here: http://goo.gl/1K6n9M), FutureFish Foundation and others are gathering funds, having meetings, trying to buy water, doing the work of the water managers to find solutions and they keep hitting brick walls. It’s sad, especially the expectation that says money wins, fish lose. Hopefully there is an answer either way on this issue by the time this goes to print. Join up to the Toolondo Reservoir group, sign the petition and keep an eye on the issue.

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are much loved, but if trout cod, Murray cod, catfish or silver perch were in these lakes then the environmental authorities would be obliged to organise rescue plans. Not so for trout and redfin. On the other side there is absolutely no doubt trout being available in these waters is vital to small town economies. People being out on the water is good for their mental health and there is undeniable community benefit. Fisheries Victoria stocked those fish with licence money we all paid and they should be explaining clearly to us why they are not defending their user group’s investment, after all, it’s our money. Their recent good form in looking after anglers would suggest that hopefully they are pushing our barrow in the corridors of power. From an environmental side of things, what will it be like with tonnes of dead and rotting fish littering the shoreline? I know the draining of Mokoan, even

AUST

Flicking for Murray cod How-to: Flexible ganged hook rigs Pimp your trailer Scamander River: Tassie’s bream secret

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They will sell the last drop of water to cover their costs, make profit and ensure the business machinations continue and, seeing how they own the dam and the water behind it, they probably should. That does not mean I am not seething to think an iconic trout fishery is likely to be gone in the very near future, I am very sad, mad and dismayed about it. So let’s look at some of the talk going on and see if we can come to some answer in our own heads based on a fuller picture. Firstly the water is owned by the water authority and usually the lake’s facilities are owned by them. Usually it is by their grace that we can even access some of these dying waterways. Secondly, trout are not a longlived species and even if the lake was to dry up and the fish die off, when the rains come, fish can be stocked and within 6 months there is a viable fishery. Thirdly, trout (and redfin) are an introduced species. Sure they

ION

VICTORIAN FRESHWATER

Waterways management and water storage management always interest me and the latest example of recreational fishing being last priority is clearly exposed in the Toolondo issue. I don’t hold much hope of a water authority or water minister worrying about a few ‘introduced’ trout dying in Toolondo when the all mighty dollar is being preserved. All the rhetoric about ensuring water supplies and the like is just that, a convenient and rational sounding way to say, bugger you trout, the water you swim in is worth heaps more to me than you are. It’s sad but true and in almost every state where irrigation and water supply lakes are stocked for recreational fishing (and even some crazed examples where environmental stockings have taken place) the water authority has had no intention of ensuring the survival of fish.

NSW SOUTH COAST Mallacoota 39 Eden 38 Bermagui 40 Merimbula 40 Narooma 41

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Inverloch 30 Welshpool 31 McLoughlins Beach 32 Ninety-Mile Beach 32 Lakes Entrance 33 Marlo 33 Gippsland Lakes 36 Bemm River 36

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Flicking for Murray cod from the bank KEIWA VALLEY

Robbie Alexander

For years I looked at photos of people catching Murray cod from the banks of rivers on lures and often wondered how they did it. Every time I went out to give it a go I would come home with my head held low. No fish and a few less lures was usually the result. After a while I realised that most of the photos were taken in the far lower reaches of the waterways where the streamside vegetation is made up of

open clay banks, a few red gums and not much else. Down in the arid regions of southwest NSW and northwest Victoria, riparian vegetation is usually quite thin allowing for easy access to the water in most places. However, up here in northeast Victoria the riparian vegetation is usually very dense with native shrubs, blackberry bushes, red gum trees, willow trees and all other kinds of bushes that seem to conspire against us to make it almost impossible to access the water’s edge in most locations. A few years ago I

MUSTAD .NO

Brenton Richardson with a beautiful clear water Murray cod caught while wading a northeast Victorian river casting spinnerbaits.

started figuring it out, and now during the Murray cod season I catch fish off the bank on most outings, and lose few lures. Let me explain how. WALKING THE BANK Walking the bank is not always what it seems. Usually the best option is to find an access point and get into the water and wade upstream, in a similar fashion that you would if you were fishing for trout. The rivers in northeast Victoria all have some very deep holes, which are often the best places to find Murray cod, and most of these holes are broken up by sections of shallow water running between them. A lot of the deep holes, particularly in the upland rivers, are only deep on one side and can be waded through on the shallow side. Often I find myself in water well over my waist as I try to make my way through the shallow side of the deep holes. In some instances I need to get completely out and walk around if it is too deep. I try to avoid doing this as it means I need to walk past good water. In the lower reaches of the waterways where

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Lauretta Alexander with a magnificent cod caught on a Koolabung surface lure cast from the bank after sunset. This cod is possibly a Murray cod-trout cod hybrid. The two species have been known to cross breed, but it is not common and the hybrids are sterile. it is deeper and the water murkier, it can be much harder to cross. So walking the banks simply means taking advantage of any opportunity you get to access the water and fish it really heavily, crossing the river wherever possible, if possible. In these lower reaches, it is usually possible to fish every second bend in the river as you can often access it from the inside of the bend, which is usually a sand bar, or gravel bar depending on which river you are fishing. Casting from the shallow sand/gravel bar across to the deeper outside of the bend is a dynamite way to catch a Murray cod while flicking from the bank. So to sum it up, walking the banks does not always mean walking the banks, it usually includes getting in and wading for a lot of the time. If you are not willing to get wet, then you are quite simply wasting your time flicking lures from the bank in a northeast Victorian stream. AVOIDING SNAKES Snakes have a terrible stigma in this area. Absolutely everybody is petrified of them, possibly because there are so many and we see them on so many occasions. If you are really scared of snakes, then hang up your fishing rod and grab your golf sticks! Having said that, black snakes are a common occurrence on our local golf course too. Seriously, when we head out fishing, we are entering the snake’s back yard. We are voluntarily entering their domain and need to treat them with respect. Most people who are bitten by snakes are usually trying to either catch or kill the snake. If people would just walk past them there would be far fewer snake bites each year. I have been walking the banks of these Victorian

waterways for over 30 years, and have seen thousands of black, brown, tiger and copperhead snakes, and have never once had one try to bite me. I have had brown snakes lunge towards me, and appear to be trying to bite me. This is called a false strike and brown snakes are notorious for it. They do it for a reason, and that is to scare you, and it works so well! The false strike is the first and final warning, if you don’t move on, the brown snake will bite you. Snakes don’t try and bite people, they either bite or they don’t. Their reflexes are much faster than ours and we could never dodge a striking snake. Snakes are reluctant to strike, one of the reasons being that they risk breaking a fang, and if they do that it can take some time for it to grow back, and they need that fang to inject venom into their prey. If you see a snake, just walk around it and you will not have a problem. If you step on a snake (more common with tiger snakes) it won’t matter what I say because you will jump very high! Chances are the

snake will jump equally as high but in the opposite direction. FOOTWEAR Gumboots, gumboots and gumboots. Seriously, a good quality set of gumboots is the perfect footwear for this type of fishing. They offer the best protection from the snakes, which is their most important role. Gumboots keep the grass seeds out of your socks and very importantly they do not shrink as they dry and cause blistering next time you wear them like leather work boots or runners will. I swear by Blundstone gumboots. They are great quality, nice and thick, last for years and usually around $70. All I do when I get home is sit them in the sun, and the next day they are right to wear again time and time over. Just be careful in deep water with your gumboots on as they can get a bit heavy once full of water. LURE CHOICE I use all three main types of lures when bank fishing for Murray cod: spinnerbaits, hardbody lures and surface poppers. Spinnerbaits tend to run

Shane Orr with his first Murray cod caught on a lure while walking the banks. The cod is not big, but it was enough to give Shane the ‘cod bug’ and he now finds himself catching cod from the bank regularly. I found the spinnerbait that Shane caught this cod on about half an hour earlier on a submerged log.

through the snags without hooking up, as the hook faces upwards, meaning the back of the hook runs over the snag. This is not always the case though, and occasionally they will snag up. Usually when a spinnerbait snags, it snags

with you and there is not too much current. Hardbody lures can be very successfully fished from the bank. The trick is to use floating hardbody lures, and fish them very slowly through the snags. When the line runs over a

Lauretta Alexander works a surface lure across the top of a deep hole in a small waterway. Note Lauretta is standing on the shallow, sandbar side of the hole. This is the best way to fish these tight bends. properly and can be difficult to get off. Depending on where the spinnerbait is on the retrieve, you may even be able to wade out and get it off, or if it is a hot day you may want to swim for your lure. Swimming for lures is something that I have done a lot of, although I recommend you only do this when it is safe to do so, such as when you have a mate

snag you can usually feel it, and know that the lure is about to hit the snag. When this happens, slow your retrieve right down and allow the lure to float back up a bit. Start retrieving again and if you can still feel the line running over the snag, pause again and allow it to float a bit more. This is called walking your lure through the snags. This is not possible with

spinnerbaits as they sink. When using hardbody lures, choose your lure carefully. When bank fishing, losing lures to snags is a real possibility so try and use your most expendable lures. I often use lures, which I have found that are faded and dirty. Another option is to use lures that are the cheapest to replace, such as StumpJumpers, which can be picked up quite cheaply these days and are a tried and proven Murray cod lure. Surface poppers are just plain awesome! There is no other word that best describes them. You can cast into the snaggiest looking holes, and bring your lure directly over the top of all of the snags. The ‘boof’ you get when a Murray cod hits your surface

Walking the banks isn’t always as you would think. Here I am in the middle of an upland waterway. The water was approximately 50cm deep on the shallow side, and 1.5m deep on the deep side, which is where I hooked this magnificent Murray cod on a Mudguts spinnerbait.

Paul Love releases a beautiful 68cm Murray cod that was caught on a small black Jitterbug surface lure right on sunset by his daughter Brittany.

lure is quite spectacular. Losing surface lures is quite uncommon. Occasionally they will hook up on a snag that is sitting 2-3mm under the surface, however it is usually the opposite bank, or an over-hanging tree that sees the end of most of my surface lures. I usually do not tie on a surface lure until sunset. Murray cod will hit a surface lure during the day, but nowhere near as often as they will hit one on dark. BET ON THE BANK That pretty much sums

up fishing for Murray cod from the bank in northeast Victoria. There are plenty of waterways to choose from up here with the Broken, Ovens, King and Kiewa rivers being the most popular with the lower reaches of the Mitta Mitta River also starting to rise in popularity following several years of Murray cod stocking. It’s a great way to experience nature, slow down and catch some amazing fish at times. Give it a go and have some great fun.

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APRIL 2014

Enough quality for effort ROBE

Daniel Peart

While the big mulloway action was short lived this season, there has still been enough quality fish in the 20-30lb range, which should continue over the next month. Undersize mulloway, otherwise known as soapies, have been in large numbers making it hard to keep a bait out at times especially between 42 Mile and Ti Tree Crossing. Large numbers of small fish are a great sign for the future; maybe keep this in mind for future trips as extra

bait is needed to see out a weekend’s fishing. Autumn is a pleasant time to be fishing Salt Creek with usually moderate winds and plenty of opportunities fish wise. Snapper, gummy sharks, school sharks and big flathead should be considered targeting over the next month or so and the salmon shouldn’t be far away either. ROBE Whiting catches have been excellent lately and those fishing from the shore have been getting into more than their fair share of kidney slapping whiting up to 50cm. Nene Valley right the way through to Robe provides

plenty of shallow sheltered bays, which will be the most likely spot’s to target these fish from shore. Mullet and salmon trout should also be in the mix when fishing from shore. Berley is an important factor to consider when fishing land-based. Concentrate your efforts around high tides on both dawn and dusk. It may pay to take a light salmon spinning stick and a handful of lures if visiting this stretch of coast as small numbers of salmon in the 1-2kg range are starting to arrive in the usual haunts, such as Lighthouse bay, Wrights Bay and right the way through Canunda.

Quality table-sized flathead will be available for anglers fishing shallow water with structure in the late hours of the evenings.

Expect to bring home mixed bags of fish when targeting the south west at this time of year. PORT MACDONELL Solid albacore up to 25kg have been in good numbers early in the season and should stick around for a while yet. Albacore prepared for the table gives bluefin a run for its money in my book and well worth the effort going to catch. While tuna reports have been patchy early, I am still hearing plenty of tuna coming past the Eyre Peninsula; the action should fire up in no time if it hasn’t already. The annual tuna comp is held in May for a good reason, so we can expect these fish to hang around through to July if previous seasons are anything to go by.

Reports of anglers being spooled just over the Victorian border are a good sign that the ‘barrels’, sometimes in excess of 100kg, should turn up and give anglers a run for their money. These fish tend to school up tight and can quite often see crazy amounts of boat traffic wanting in on the action. Being patient and keeping your wits about you not to cut off other vessels lines and such, will see everyone return home happy and safely. Well, some happier than others. If you plan to target these pelagics that pull like freight trains, quality tackle and wellprepared rigs are a must to get these monsters to the boat.

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The autumn months should see plenty of snapper available for small boats fishing inshore. Land-based anglers around Browns Beach have been getting excellent hauls from the surf on lighter tackle.

Anything less than 1000m of 24kg on an overhead of no less quality than a Shimano TLD 50 could be asking for trouble, especially for the inexperienced. The other option being much more expensive is a spinning combo, such as a Saltiga 6500 or Stella 20000 loaded with 50-80lb braid. These reels usually take less line than the large overheads but are able to serve up a much more heavy drag setting and make for a much more comfortable fight when the clock ticks past the first hour mark. GLENELG RIVER Estuary perch and bream have been fishing exceptionally well, and should continue to do so before the weather cools down and water temperatures drop. Fishing live crabs has been a successful technique, especially for bream and don’t be surprised if a mulloway comes along for a sniff. Fishing these live baits unweighted is a consistent way of fooling big bream even on the trickiest of days. There have been plenty of reports of undersize mulloway throughout the system, making it harder to find the big ones. A recent report of a 30lb mulloway caught near Sandy Waterhole shows if you persist through the smaller fish you may be well rewarded.

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Mathew Cockington landed this impressive 13kg snapper while fishing at Adelaide Metropolitan Waters. Mathew’s fish took a Black Magic KS 8/0 hook.

A Black Magic Spinsect ‘golden grub’ was used to catch this 2.2kg hen brown trout while fishing on Lake Elingamite. Rod Shepherd also used Black Magic 8lb Fluorocarbon tippet.

CATCHING THE

DREAM!

George Dean landed this bream while fishing on Gorges River, NSW. George used a Black Magic C Point 2/0 hook and Black Magic 8lb Fluorocarbon tippet.

A Black Magic KL 1/0 hook was used by Nigel Saville to take this 49cm King George whiting. Nigel was fishing in Western Port, Melbourne.

Ramon Dellaca was fishing using a Black Magic KL 3/0 hook and Black Magic 60lb Tough Trace when a salmon took the bait. As Ramon pulled the salmon in this 25kg mulloway ate the salmon.

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YOUR PHOTO COULD APPEAR IN OUR ADS! If we use your photo in our advertising you will receive a FREE BLACK MAGIC CAP AND STICKER! Include your name, address, fish weight, where you caught it and which Black Magic or Wasabi products were used. Send a high resolution image to: photos@blackmagic.co.nz APRIL 2014

SBT on everyone’s mind WARRNAMBOOL

Mark Gercovich mgercovich@hotmail.com

On the saltwater scene, anglers have been hampered recently with plenty of southeasterly winds, which make offshore fishing very difficult in this area. King George whiting around the inshore reefs

have been a popular target, particularly with other options that require better weather conditions, hard to access. Good size whiting from 38-45cm have been taken from the Killarney/ Port fairy region with fresh squid and SA cockles being the most productive baits. There have been a few silver trevally, some good squid and plenty of pinkies also in this area.

A purely freshwater existence doesn’t seem to have negatively effected the Merri bream by the looks of this one’s belly.

Come April, whiting and pinkies will still be a worthwhile target species, however most saltwater anglers will have a bigger target on their mind – the southern bluefin tuna. The questions on every SBT angler’s mind will be: Which port they will be most prolific off? Will they be in close or out wide? Big barrels or school fish? Fussy, flighty and hard to catch or devouring anything they see? Whatever the answers are, you can be sure that plenty of boats will be heading down the highway to find out. A number of good mako sharks have been taken recently and these should continue to be a viable target as they are still encountered during tuna season. Makos have even been known to take a tuna lure and there is always plenty of berley around at this time of year in the form of tuna frames if you wish to change your offshore target from tuna to sharks. The popularity of deep water bottom bouncing for blue-eye trevalla, gemfish,

April is all about tuna and hopefully another good season ensues. hapuka and associated ooglies has taken off recently and is another option for anglers equipped to fish at the depths required to target these tasty table fish. The Hopkins River mouth is currently closed and fishing has quietened off as it does when the mouth remains closed for an

extended time. The Easter tides in April often produce some good fishing so hopefully the mouth opens and things fire up again in this location. If we ever get even a trickle of rain, April should see the local trout population begin to show themselves once more. Incredibly there

are still plenty of bream cruising around in the freshwater section of the Merri River. I have been polarising some good-sized specimens that have been very spooky in the clear water. Fishing ultra light 2lb fluoro has been working but has also resulted in some decent dust-ups.

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I love Easter time but not for the chocolate eggs. For me it marks the start of a new fishing season, which conjures up memories of previous epic sessions and brings high hopes of another bumper season ahead. The anticipation is running high and all the signs are there that this year could be one of the best yet. On my last few trips out in the boat, large schools of Australian salmon have been sighted right along the coast busting up on the surface as they crash into the even larger schools of baitfish. The birds have been diving in from above while hoards of hungry seals are attacking from below; the ocean has just been alive with activity. Considering that April is the start of our salmon run I predict that the next few months should provide plenty of action for boat and beach anglers. I had no problems catching a few salmon by casting metal lures into the feeding schools, and other boats trolling in the area were also in on the action with multiple hook ups being common place. The beaches have already been fishing very well for salmon too, with Wild Dog,

Aire River, Johanna and Station Beach being the places to be when the sea is flat. In fact, from what I hear the salmon fishing right along the coast from Lorne to Port Campbell has been sensational with schools of fish being visible from the land on most flat afternoons. Casting metal lures from the beach or rock platforms will provide some great sport and is a fun active way of targeting salmon when you know they are in the area. If the fishing is a little quiet, then soaking a bait is a more relaxing and less tiresome way to target these fish. All the baitfish activity in close to shore has me excited and ready to undertake my first trip out wide in search of bluefin tuna. The bluefin tuna schools usually arrive before the end of April each year and will hang around right up until August if the conditions are right. Last season was a bit of a flop compared to the years previous but, as I said, everything from water temperatures to the bait schools has me confident that we are in for a better season this time round. Gummy sharks are still biting off Cape Otway with numerous reports of fish around the 10kg mark being reported of late. I was lucky enough to get in on the action recently and had no trouble catching two healthy specimens from 40m

Gummy sharks are a year round option off Apollo Bay and respond best to fresh baits, such as salmon fillets or freshly caught squid. of water directly south of the Cape Otway Lighthouse. The key to my success was using fresh salmon fillets for bait that I had caught on my way to the location. These fresh fillets give off a smell that gummy sharks find irresistible and will lure the sharks from great distances to come and eat your bait. Gummies are a year round option off Cape Otway and always worth chasing if you are in that area. Other options for April

include targeting King George whiting from the inshore reef edges, chasing mako sharks out in 70m of water, luring a bream or estuary perch from the local rivers or flicking lures in the freshwater reaches in search of brown trout. April never seems to disappoint and with so many options it’s hard to find enough time to do them all. In my books that’s a good problem to have! Hope the Easter Bunny comes.

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Tipping the tuna to turn it on PORTLAND

Nigel Fisher

The fishing in Portland has been going well in most areas. The breakwater and harbour have had a few hits on kingfish with fresh squid under balloons being the most effective. Pinkies, squid, salmon, travelly and the odd shark keeps this wall being one of the most popular fishing spots around. Popular baits are squid and pilchards and fresh salmon and couta. The north shore has been in good form from boats and the beaches. The big key is to berley from the boat and let the pinkies come. There have also been good catches of sharks, schoolies, bronzies and carpet shark, in good

numbers along with squid, salmon, yakkas and whiting. A few locals have done very well with sharks and mulloway off the beaches recently. There has been the odd kingfish caught around the north but not as good as the numbers further up the coast. There have been a few surprises in the shallow waters lately with schools of tuna up to 30kg being caught. The fishing in the deeper waters around Lawrence Rock to Bridgewater has been okay with good catches of flathead, gummies, schoolies, pinkies, sweep and the odd good size mako. The boats heading further out towards the shelf are catching good feeds of blue-eye, ling and blue grenadier and the tuna are starting to grow in numbers.

April should certainly see the tuna in good numbers and there will be plenty of people coming into town chasing these mighty fish. There are also lots of charter boats available for people to have a chance to catch tuna if they don’t have a boat or just visiting our town. Generally you have to book in advance, as they are very busy. You can google the charter boats in Portland or call us at Compleat Angler. April can also see other species of fish around our area. You can catch the odd big snapper off the breakwater before they disappear for a while, and whiting, salmon, sharks and squid can also be in good numbers. Salmon and snook are good fun trolling around the bay to north shore, plus

whiting and pinkies should still be about. Salmon and shark fishing are generally good from now on from the beaches from north shore to Bridgewater Bay and Discovery Bay. The Fitzroy and Surrey rivers fish well this time of year for bream and mullet. Hardbody lures, plastics and baits such as pipis, prawns and worms are great for these fish. We should also start seeing larger mulloway, bream and perch in the Glenelg River system. • For all your fishing needs while fishing in Portland call into Compleat Angler and check out the whole range on offer. We also supply fishing licences and regulation books. You will find us at 61 bentinck street Portland and call us on 03 5521 1844.

A nice haul of bluefin from last season. Let’s hope this season is just as good!

Time to bang on the bream bag COBDEN

Rod Shepherd

Those very uncomfortable days when the mercury hovers close to 40ºC are thankfully over for another year. All we need now is some solid rain to freshen up our estuaries.

Autumn is the prime time of the year to get out on the water and chase bream. The holiday crowds (barring Easter) have well and truly gone back to work/ school leaving our waters less crowded for those who consider themselves dedicated angling enthusiasts. But after a hot summer

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and distinct lack of rain, all of our estuaries’ mouths have closed to the sea scattering the bream throughout the various systems so they can be a little harder to locate on a given day. In saying that, the sheer size of the bream on offer is, as a general rule, on the larger side of things. Presently the Curdies River is no exception to this rule. The bream being taken are bigger than the norm however the fishing can best be described as hot one day and quite chilly the next. A considerable amount of time is being invested by anglers simply trying to track down a school of feeding fish. Those who crack the code are well rewarded with some fish approaching 40cm in length while other anglers simply go without. The big news is what’s happening on the saltwater scene. Where do I begin? Well, we have had some windy weather of late that kept many boaters close inshore but as it turned

out this was a good thing. Snapper to 55cm have been taken in depths as low as 3m. The fish have apparently come right in close to feed in the turbulent water. This has been good news for the landbased angler. Those setting cray pots on inshore reefs have been well rewarded with plenty of those succulent red beasts being caught. This season would have to be considered an absolute cracker for crays! Further offshore in depths approaching 55m, sand flathead to 900g have been a common catch, especially on the drift. Gummy sharks to 17kg and yellowtail kingfish to 11kg are about, but many boaters that specifically target them are really putting in the hours in which to attract a take. The current kingy season in the southwest can be best described as below average. Here’s a bit of southern bluefin tuna news to whet appetites: Apparently spotter planes have been tracking

A Curdies’ bream taken casting a Crap-Pea hard up against the bank. schools out wide off South Australia and the news appears to be all good. Schools of smaller tuna the size of football fields are on their way eastwards to southwestern Victorian waters. So too are smaller schools numbering up to 50 individuals of much larger SBTs that have been estimated in excess of 100kg.

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This aerial surveying of SBT is all thanks to the fact that commercial long liners are now allowed to work the tuna schools off our coastline. Let’s hope that the quota system is fair and many fish are left for amateur anglers to chase as we all know which group of fishos benefit our local economies more!

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APRIL 2014

Too quiet on the western bay GEELONG

Neil Slater njbamslater@bigpond.com

The Barwon River in Geelong hasn’t had a great deal of water into it, via rain, so it has remained quite clear. Anglers had enjoyed fair to reasonable fishing for redfin from the Shannon Avenue Bridge to Fyansford. Best bite seemed to occur around dusk but you could catch a couple from around mid-afternoon onwards if

they were keen. For bait fishers, the best by far is locally caught gudgeon and minnow. These can be caught in a collapsible bait trap baited with bread and placed near weed. Lure fishing enthusiasts have done well casting 50mm single-tailed soft plastics parallel to the bankside weed. Diving minnows have also done well as have minnow profiled soft plastics twitched close to the bottom. The carp are always well represented in the Barwon River but will slow down

from now until things warm up again around October. They can still be caught right throughout winter but it just gets a little harder. CORIO BAY King George whiting have been available but not in big numbers. Both sides of Point Henry and either side of the shipping channel have seen a few caught. Most fish have been from legal length to 35cm but there are always larger fish caught at dawn and dusk. The Geelong waterfront has seen a few silver trevally

Calm weather doesn’t always equate to great fishing!

kicking about Cunningham Pier. A high tide on first light is by far the best. Australian salmon have been working the inner harbour over near Grammar School Lagoon and near the Royal Geelong Yacht Club. Flathead from 30-45cm have been caught by anglers flicking soft plastic lures in 2-4m of water from Limeburners boat ramp to the promenade. There has been plenty of pinkie snapper stealing baits meant for whiting in the shallows. Most of these pesky nibblers have been undersized, which pretty much means moving is the only answer. Thankfully, there has been some larger fish around the 30-40cm mark biting right on dusk. CLIFTON SPRINGS AND PORTARLINGTON I had a day out off Clifton Springs recently with Matt Giles. We enjoyed glassed-out conditions and, unfortunately, reasonably calm fishing. We drifted for squid first up just off the breakwall over the weed beds. Matt lost a ripper within the first few drifts, but that was it. Pity as this calamari was easily 1.5kg but it failed to stay connected to Matt’s green jig.

Paul took out Champion Fish with this flatty at the Bellarine Flathead Challenge. We fished just south of the mussel farms next and caught nothing. We moved several times and were plagued by undersized pinkie snapper. We moved to the waters just off Hermsley and drifted while casting soft plastics as the southerly came up. We ended up with a couple of flathead from 30-45cm using Gulp

Turtleback Worms in camo colour and Gulp Jerk Shads in nuclear chicken. We caught up with a few other anglers at the ramp who had also found it tough including a chap that had spent most of the day at St Leonards for no fish at all. Plenty of quality flathead to 45cm have been caught by anglers drifting and casting

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soft plastics in shallow water from 1-3m from Clifton Springs to Portarlington. Look for patchy weed and a bit of a breeze to keep your drift going and give the fish a bit of confidence. Small minnow pattern soft plastics have done best twitched just above the weed and gravel beds. ST LEONARDS TO QUEENSCLIFF The 2014 Bellarine Flathead Challenge held over the Australia Day weekend saw 51 keen anglers sign up. The competition headquarters had to be moved from St Leonards Boat Ramp to Clifton Springs boat ramp because of 20-knot southwesterlies –

they couldn’t even put the competition HQ tent up! Trying conditions saw only 13 flathead weighed in, but some quality fish were still caught by competitors using bait and soft plastics. Paul Egan of Enfield caught the Champion Fish, at 1.43kg. Paul caught the big flatty fishing off the Portarlington Caravan Park on the drift with a half pilchard as bait. Paul took home the $200 cash prize plus perpetual trophy. During the week leading up to the competition, Paul and the Johnson boys, Daniel and Tim, were all catching bigger fish, but it was Paul who bagged the important one on the day. Last year’s winner, Sam

Keep your eyes peeled for salmon in the Rip and Corio Bay this May.

Holwell, fished hard with dad Paul in Swan Bay and off the harbour wall at Clifton Springs, but couldn’t raise a strike. The ‘Scaffidi Gang’ also fished hard without much to brag about but made a strong comeback by scooping the mystery weights. The $125 rod and reel combo raffle on entry tag was won by Graham Dorey of Belmont and the mystery weight winners were Haris Vrbovac with a 560g flathead, Shane Barrett with a 310g flathead, Grace Scaffidi with her 230g flathead, Tony Scaffidi with a 220g fish and Anthony Scaffidi with a 200g flatty. Rod Ludlow from Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head had a couple of clients do well on whiting over the last month but he stresses that they worked hard for them. The whiting were caught from the St Leonards pier down to the entrance of Swan Bay. They weren’t large fish and those that caught them worked hard, with a fish here and there. The run-out tide seemed best down along the Bellarine Peninsula. Around the Portarlington mussel farms and Grassy Point was another area where anglers enjoyed King George whiting. Most fish were taken early in the morning or late in the evening with

at least some tide movement providing the most action. Pipis and fresh squid were best. Those using cockles did not fare as well as those with pipis. Work colleague Andrew Bowers has enjoyed some great fishing inside Swan Bay. Andrew has fished there a fair bit with his brother and reckons he has it wired. Using soft plastic lures, the Bowers boys caught over 10 snook around 60cm in 20 minutes and had a blast. Andrew also caught a

ripper trevally, which put a fair bend in his rod, but his ‘bunny species’ has been flathead. Andrew has done very well casting soft plastics and catching good numbers of flathead up to 45cm. Australian salmon have continued their good form in the rip; they have been around the 3kg mark on occasions. Most of the time they are not busting up so you need to troll lures blindly for them until a school is located. Please remember that if the salmon do happen

to go nuts on the surface, driving right through the school will frighten them off. • Catch a few around Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula or Surf Coast to Lorne recently? Send in a report to slaterbunch@optusnet.com. au with ‘VFM’ in the subject field or give me a call on 0408 997 348. Please include where (without giving away your secret spot!), when, what on and who caught the fish. Pictures are always great, but please make sure they are at least 1mb (file size).

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A wonderful time to fish PORT PHILLIP WEST

Brenton Hodges blhodgey@hotmail.com

Mid-autumn is always a pleasant time of year to fish the western flank of Port Phillip Bay.

It’s been yet another solid month for Magnet Fishing Charters with some hot action on the whiting grounds at Werribee South, Kirks Point and Wilson Spit.

Sheltered by light offshore westerly winds for the most part, the fishing can fire at times with a range of species still feeding with vigour across the shallow inner reefs. In addition, Melbourne’s metropolitan rivers also offer plenty of variety as pinkie snapper, juvenile salmon and yellow-eye mullet begin to move in amongst the resident bream and school mulloway. WILLIAMSTOWN TO ALTONA Pinkie snapper are gradually starting to assemble in greater numbers on the inshore reefs around the top end of Port Phillip. As is often the case, first and last light present the best opportunity to tangle with these feisty critters. While most fish encountered recently have been averaging just 25-35cm, there’s a good chance you’ll pick up a larger red during low light periods. Worm pattern soft plastics, such as Gulp Turtle Back Worms, rigged on 1/12-1/8oz jigheads generally provide the most consistent action and when the fish are on, don’t be surprised if they’re intercepted just a few metres below the surface. Looking back to this time

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Local mulloway maestro, Abz Azman recently secured this beauty, estimated at 8kg+, after it slammed a live mullet rigged on a 7/0 hook attached to 60lb leader material. last year, King George whiting were active beyond the reef at the back of Williamstown Cricket Ground right through to the main beach, particularly in 6-8m of water. A few respectable flathead to 40cm or thereabouts can be expected in this area when chasing whiting with baits of pipi, mussel and squid. Flathead are also a common by-catch for those targeting pinkie snapper with soft plastics. POINT COOK TO POINT WILSON Whiting and squid have been the mainstay around at Point Cook and the action is expected to continue over the coming month. The squid in this area are generally smaller than their Bellarine brothers and sisters and seem to prefer 2.5-3 size jigs. It’s been another solid month for Jason Farrugia of Magnet Fishing Charters with some hot action on the whiting grounds at Werribee South, Kirks Point and Wilson Spit. Jason says there been some ripping fish to 40cm+ amongst plenty of smaller models. Over the past few weeks, a terrific run of pinkie snapper has also arrived in the shallows. While most are quite small, averaging just a few centimetres either side of the legal size limit, there have been a few up around the 40cm mark taken alongside whiting and some heft blue spot flathead. Across at Corio Bay, pinkie snapper and flathead can be expected to remain a viable target for anglers casting soft plastics on the drift across the local spoil grounds. Keen lure angler, Phillip Jordan, has been doing well from Stingaree Bay right through to Clifton Springs. Casting ahead of the boat in 3-5m of water has resulted in several pinkies to 35cm and some good eating size flatties to 45cm on most occasions. METROPOLITAN RIVERS Yarra/Maribyrnong rivers The unofficial start of the Melbourne mulloway season generally gets underway

in late March with most encounters experienced from either side of Easter through to mid-winter. I say ‘encounters’ rather than ‘captures’ because many of these beasts are hooked by anglers chasing bream on lightweight spin tackle, which inevitably leads to disappointment! Those who specifically target metropolitan mulloway with more appropriate tackle stand a much greater chance, but a fair percentage are still lost amongst the structure laden shores of both the Maribyrnong and Yarra rivers. Local mulloway maestro, Abz Azman recently secured his first of the season with a beauty estimated at 8kg+ succumbing to a live mullet rigged on a 7/0 hook attached to 60lb leader material. Serious tackle when compared to finesse bream gear, yet one he hooked earlier still managed to get away. Abz says this fish slammed a live mullet just 30 seconds after it hit the water and proved too much to handle, despite the heavy equipment. Werribee River As the water temperature gradually cools over the coming months, expect the resident bream to start schooling in the deeper sections of the river. Traditional live baits, including live sand or

tube worm and Bass yabbies, provide consistent results year round. Casting small diving minnows in tight to the reed banks and snags is also still well worth a shot, before the fish bunker down over the cooler months. During the latter stages of summer, Melbourne Water, in conjunction with Southern Rural Water, released approximately 200ML of water from Merrimu Reservoir into the Werribee River for environmental purposes. According to Environmental Water Planner, Bill Moulden, the main purpose of the release was to provide nursery habitat for juvenile black bream in the estuary. Monitoring by the DPI earlier in the year found many juvenile fish in the upper reaches of the estuary near Werribee Golf Club. It was hoped the release would push these fish downstream towards the sea grass beds at the river mouth, which provide food and protection from predators. • Been fishing? If you would like to see your name and/or photograph published, please forward reports and images to blhodgey@hotmail.com. You’re certainly not obliged to give away your secret spot, but a please include a general description of when, where, the technique and bait used, and who caught the fish.

Expect good numbers of King George whiting to continue feeding heavily across the shallow western shores this month.

Hot Spot

Latrobe River runs smooth CRANBOURNE

Mitch Chapman

The Latrobe River is one of those special rivers that offers some top shelf fishing for all ages and experience, using a wide variety of techniques including bait, lure and fly. Generally the main target is trout, brown and rainbow.

A 1kg fish in this river is considered a big one with the average fish around 500g or so. But don’t be surprised if you hook that one ‘river monster’ as fish to 3.5kg+ have been recorded in recent years. PRIME TIME The Latrobe River can be fished all year round except during the closed season. February and March

is prime time, when the local population of grasshoppers are about in full force. With daylight savings in full swing, with the days lasting longer, getting on the water late afternoon can see some incredible dry fly fishing. THE GEAR For lure fishers a light graphite 1-3kg spin rod matched up with a quality 1000-2000 spin reel is

The best way to fish this river is to work your way up river and cast up stream, working your fly or lure back towards you.

W L E N DE O M

ideal for tackling these small stream trout. Light fluorocarbon leader is a must as the water can be crystal clear and will avoid spooking fish and entice them into eating your luring with more aggression. For fly fishers, anything up to a 5wt outfit is best suited with light 4lb tippet. If you want to have some fun then use a 3wt outfit fishing dries. It’s hard to find anything more enjoyable than this. THE RIG When fly fishing, it always pays to run a dry fly with a nymph trailing about 6-8” behind. The dry fly (generally something buoyant) like an elk hair caddis moth or a royal humpy acts as a strike indicator but also catches its fair share of fish, so keep your eye on the fly. If you see it disappear and get pulled under most of the time a fish has eaten the nymph that is trailing behind it. BAIT AND LURES Go-to lures for casting are small streamline floating lures. Ecogear MX48s and Yo Zuri pins minnows are ideal as they can be worked in fast flowing pools, and when paused in the deeper

A 1kg fish in the Latrobe River is considered a big one, the average size is around 500g. water will slowly float up and avoid snagging. Fly anglers find it hard to go past favourite patterns such as Royal Wulff, Elk Hair Caddis and Hoppers patterns. BEST METHOD The best way to fish this river, and any Victorian trout stream, is to always work your way up river and cast up stream, working your fly or lure back towards you. Your presentation looks at its most natural and trout at the best of times can be picky. If they sense something is wrong with your lure, chances are you will not catch that fish. MOTHER NATURE In the peak of summer always keep your eyes open for snakes. They can be seen

basking in the sun close to the riverbank or hiding in the long grass. It doesn’t hurt to make a bit of noise when walking, but once your down on the water be as quiet as possible. HOT TIP Don’t forget to pack your waders. Waders are crucial in your success as you can really get down in the water and work areas a whole lot better than what you could do standing on the riverbank. You are also lower making it harder for the fish in crystal clear waters to spot you. Lastly you may be required to cross the river or get lures out of snags. Without waders this would be very hard and very, very cold.

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APRIL 2014

Changing tempo revives anglers PORT PHILLIP EAST

Wayne Friebe wfriebe@bigpond.net.au

After a long, hot and dry summer, a change in the tempo of the weather and general conditions has come with welcome relief for many of the bay’s anglers. So far, we have received the first decent rain in recent times, which is also great news for the bay in the coming months as the food chain is re-charged. The warmer days will still be around for a while yet, but expect them to be few and far between as we move deeper into the autumn months. While many anglers have lamented the snapper season so far this year,

Jade Daley with a lovely 5.2kg snapper that took a liking to a King George whiting head 11m out from Mornington. Pic courtesy of Russ Horner.

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there has been plenty of variety and new horizons to keep the fishos on the bay. To be fair, its hard to compare the crazy seasons in recent years to this one, where the snapper simply didn’t seem to show up in huge numbers off Mount Martha and Mornington, as they have done over the past few years. Anyone who fished our great bay even 10 or 12 years ago will tell you what a different and more challenging snapper fishery it was then, and how sensational it is now. On a positive note, I have received several snapper reports of late, especially over the last week or so and all have seemed to come from fairly shallow water. A few of these fish Continued page 19

Mark Bolger holds up a nice Balcombe bream taken on a surface plastic.

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their catch and confirm size and bag limits, and access information on permitted equipment and closed seasons. There is also a marine park boundary locator, which uses a smart phone’s internal GPS to determine whether the user is in, or approaching, a marine park or sanctuary. The application allows anglers to buy a recreational fishing licence online. For those who would prefer to visit a shop, the GPS locator will find the closest outlets that sell licenses, bait and tackle. Anglers can use the application to connect to Fisheries Victoria’s illegal fishing reporting line (13FISH), DEPI’s Customer Service Centre and the Water Police too. Please email your suggestions for the further development of the application to: fishingapp. feedback@dpi.vic.gov. au. – DEPI

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have been around and above the 5kg mark, here’s hoping they are the first of many over the next couple of months. The huge numbers of juvenile snapper about at the moment tends to suggest that solid breeding has taken place over recent seasons and is another great sign for the future. Many of the bay’s anglers look forward to the late season run of snapper, as they look to put on condition, and tend to graze over wide areas in search for food. This is great time to fish larger baits, and look to target larger, more solitary fish. This can be great fun on light gear, and is especially effective at times on the shallower areas near reefy ground where many of the larger fish are taken late in the season. Second, only to some anglers on the to-do list is the bay’s King George whiting, which has grown greatly in popularity this season. Unfortunately, we do not have the numbers and quality of fish available in Western Port, but PPB whiting are a very viable target for those willing to put in the time. They are also very accessible, and catchable from popular and accessible beach and landbased locations. Key to your

A friend of mine has a commercial fishing family heritage, and he has shown me photos of the kingfish that used to be taken from the beaches at Seaford and Frankston as little as 50-60 years ago. We can only hope that this great resource returns to our bay in the years to come. For a slight change of pace, the bread and butter species have all been very

consistent, even though some slow periods have ensued during the very still, warmer days. Garfish, salmon, pinkie snapper and some nice flatties have been making up anglers bags, especially fishing close to shore and landbased. I have found the squid a little patchy of late, but there are plenty of smaller models about, especially at Mornington

Pier. A couple of nice 3kg snapper have been taken there recently as well. My little mate Mark Bolger has been keeping me abreast of the local breaming scene too, with some solid reports from Patterson River and other local systems. I have also received reports of some nice bream, and the odd mulloway being taken on baits in the Patto at night.

3SER FISHING SHOW Alby Villani with a nice pair of rip kings. One was taken on a knife jig, and the other on live squid. Pic courtesy of Russ Horner. success, both in the boat and from the land, is quality bait, and fishing during time of low light and premium tide cycles. In my opinion, the two hours before twilight close to the top of the tide is best, and fresh squid strips are prime bait. Excitement and hype is an amazing thing, and the buzz surrounding the bay’s growing kingfish fishery is very exciting indeed. While most anglers have been targeting the rip, enough

kings have been taken across other locations in the bay to keep anglers trying further afield as well. The kingfish that have been landed from our local areas all seem to be hanging around with mobs of feeding salmon, and have also responded very well to live baits. Yakkas and squid have been effective, but I reckon garfish are the business if you really want to catch a kingie, which can be frustratingly difficult at times.

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Start of the winter cycle PORT PHILLIP EAST

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With the days cooling off and the water starting to do the same, this month really sees the start of the winter cycle in the bay. However don’t be fooled as the coming month or

two can produce some of the best fishing of the year. Snapper can come back on the bite, pinkies and calamari invade the shallow reefs and even some surface feeders like salmon and even kingfish are still around. MORDIALLOC TO BLACK ROCK The pier has been a little

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quiet on the garfish front but April usually always produces good numbers of these wrigglers, so it should only be a matter of time until they are around for everyone to enjoy. While a bottom set up such as a paternoster rig with two droppers, then baiting one with pilchard tail and one with squid has seen plenty of smaller sized pinkies on offer of an evening and this should only get better as this month rolls by. Up between Mentone and Beaumaris Motor Yacht Squadron now is also big flathead time with local anglers getting some lovely fish to 60cm on plastics and whitebait fished along the bottom in the 8-12m areas. In the boats anglers are getting good numbers of pinkies along the reef edges, with lots of fish in the 30-35cm size, which are mostly being taken by anglers fishing for whiting. Speaking of which, the old Chinese fish has been a bit hot and cold to say the least. Some days good numbers of fish have been taken off locations such as the Horse Paddock Reef, Parkdale Pinnacles and Brickies Reef, and then the next not a fish to be seen. As a bonus however, with the water getting really clear as it does at this time of the year, the squid are really starting to turn up in numbers. Land-based anglers are getting them off the Mordialloc and Beaumaris piers, while boat anglers are finding them on all the broken reefs. Up Between Ricketts Point and Black Rock there are plenty of options on offer, with good numbers

The days have been producing some good bream for anglers flicking lures and unweighted baits. of pinkies to 40cm, the odd whiting and some decent salmon kicking around. With this in mind it may pay to take a few different outfits along when you head out. This month will also see the bigger snapper turn up again among the rubble reefs. The 15-16m areas off Ricketts Point and towards Black Rock are the key areas to generally look. While it can be a numbers game as you work your way through the pinkies, it can be well worth it with more than the occasional red of 3-5kg lurking around. I have always found that the bigger harder baits, such as Californian squid or silver whiting will help to get the bigger fish, while for the lure guys try a 7” plastic.

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This month will also see the bigger snapper turn up again among the rubble reefs.

SANDRINGHAM TO ST KILDA The Anonyma Shoal has fished well all through March for a variety of species with anglers reporting everything from whiting and pinkies to squid, salmon and even some kingfish. By the looks of it, the kingies should hopefully stay around for another couple of weeks. The reef that extends out under the cliffs at the Red Bluff Hotel, known as Yorkies, has produced the occasional whiting catch at dawn and dusk over the past weeks, along with a few squid and some decent numbers of pinkies, which should continue and even get better over the coming weeks. Off the Sandringham breakwall and the Rock Groynes at Hampton, anglers have been having success on pinkies and flathead while fishing with small paternoster rigs baited with pipi and squid. For the lure fishers we have started to hear of plenty of squid moving onto the nearby reefs. Along the shoreline at Green Point, it’s garfish time. This big shallow rock and reef area is a prime area to target garfish at this time of the year. If you’re in a boat, then just anchor on the reef edge, and if land-based just wade out to knee deep water then berley up – have shoulder bag with a few spare bits of tackle and you can have a ball catching a sack of big garfish. At Brighton there have been good numbers of pinkies for the boat anglers who are prepared to move around to locate the schools of fish. It is

also proving beneficial to keep moving until you find better-sized fish rather than just settling on the schools that are usually in the 30-35cm size. Up Between North Road and St Kilda breakwall I haven’t heard a lot of reports over the past weeks. But one thing that I do know, is that the shallow reefs produce some huge garfish for the anglers who berley up in the slightly warmer water during April. The deeper areas in 4-8m are also ideal for red mullet as they get very active in the cooling water. ST KILDA TO PORT MELBOURNE Now is the time to spend a few hours chasing some late season big snapper at night behind the breakwall at St Kilda. While the numbers many not be big, the fish certainly can be. Even though this is considered a night affair, the daylight hours can and have been producing some good bream for anglers flicking lures and unweighted baits around the moored boats. As April rolls by, it also means time to put some effort in on the local mulloway population with some very big fish being a possibility for land-based and boat anglers, especially off locations such as Lagoon and Kerford Road piers, with best baits being either small live mullet or fresh squid. For the kayak guys now is also a great time to get out along the foreshore between St Kilda and Station piers and troll small diving minnows in 4-10m of water in search of pinkies, salmon and some solid late season flathead.

APRIL 2014

Kings inside and out ROSEBUD

Dan Lee info@peninsulatotaltackle.com.au

While the start of the season was pretty unkind, in recent weeks we have had pretty good weather patterns seeing plenty of fishable days. As we have moved through autumn it has probably been one of the better periods for the year for offshore fishing with calm winds coinciding with low swells. This month we have again seen plenty of focus on the local kingfish populations, which is exciting! KINGFISH The hot topic of the minute is still the kingies, where there have been fish

taken throughout the month. The fish have been caught using a range of methods including jigging, live baiting and trolling lures. There have been plenty of schools of rats offshore of Barwon Heads, Ocean Grove and Point Lonsdale while the fish have also ventured inside the bay in and around the heads area. For the bigger fish it is fair to say that there has been a fair bit of activity off Phillip Island this year with both Seal Rocks and Pyramid Rock getting plenty of attention. Mark ‘Sully’ Sullivan and Mick Bittain are two such lucky blokes who managed 12kg king in this area. Slow trolling live baits worked on the day for these boys. However, other anglers

Paul Anca Barton caught this ripping kingfish toward Cape Schank.

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such as Sam Sierakowski, nailed plenty of smaller models trolling smaller skirts and even jigging them when they came across schools on the sounder. There is no doubt that Victorian kingfish are getting more and more attention and it is pleasing to see that the populations seem to be increasing. The best advice for those wanting to catch a local kingfish is to go prepared. And by that I mean, ensure you are equipped with a jigging outfit, a surface lure outfit and live bait outfit and that they are all rigged and ready to go. You just never know how kings will present on the day and what method you will use to catch them! SNAPPER Inside Port Phillip Bay, over the last few weeks we have also had reports of the snapper firing off Mt Martha. True to form at this time of year the fish caught have been of a pretty good standard with most between 4-6kg. The 22m line seems to be the place to go with good schools being sounded up by those out their searching. SALMON Salmon fishing in and around the heads on the ebb tide has been absolutely sensational. Almost every day big schools have been popping up on the run-out

The author with a decent salmon taken while trolling the vast schools inside the heads. tide and providing heaps of entertainment for guys trolling or casting lures. I had a couple of great sessions just south of Popes Eye, where big schools were moving around and taking almost anything you put in front of them – fantastic fun on the light tackle. These fish will likely hang around the rip for a month or so yet but the moment they disappear get ready to dust off your surf gear this will pretty much herald the beginning of the cool weather surf season! LOCAL CHARTER FLEET The local charter boys have all been pretty busy in the last month but I have to make a special mention of Joe Far Fishing Charters. Aside from the usual bags of silver

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trevally, whiting and flathead Joe was pretty lucky to have a few days where he caught a number of southern bluefin tuna just outside the heads in shallow water. This was an incredibly rare event – I’m not sure I’ve seen evidence of bluefin caught in our local waterways for many years. What’s more the fact that he nailed a number over a five day period was pretty amazing! All we need now are a couple of marlin to show up and I’m a happy camper! • For more information feel free to drop in and see the boys at Peninsula Total Tackle, 11 Boneo Road in Rosebud or phone: 03 5981 1994.

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Western Port, the angler’s bay of preference PHILLIP ISLAND

John Dalla-Rosa

In the last few months I have noticed that Western Port has had a lot more fishing pressure than it has had in previous years.

To my way of thinking Port Phillip Bay has not been producing the fish that it did in the last couple of seasons. The snapper have all but gone and whiting on the eastern side of the bay have been few and far between. So a lot of fishos who usually fish Port Phillip

have now switched to fishing Western Port, which in turn is copping a bit of a caning and while there are still whiting to be had, you have to work very hard to get a feed. The main boat ramps are now chockas during the week and on weekends; don’t even go there unless you want to wait an hour to get your boat in and an hour to retrieve it. I don’t know how to fix the current situation but a few more boat ramps would certainly help. SURF BEACHES The surf beaches

continue to produce salmon with early mornings and late evenings being the best times to wet a line. There’s also been reports of a few pinkies and some good flathead mixed in. SAN REMO AREA Below the bridge The 40-60m line has been working well with some nice makos caught and reasonable flathead taken while drifting. Cleelands Bight is still going okay for calamari as well as some better quality whiting. The last of the run-out tide seems

to be the most productive. Above the bridge Whiting are still about in reasonable numbers all over Western Port, Dickies Bay, Boys Home Channel, Tortoise Head, Tankerton, Middle Spit and the Quail Bank are some good areas to try. There are a few pinkies off Lysaghts and The Corals. Early morning with a tide change will give best results. Gummies are few and far between and the best areas are in the deep water off Cowes and Ventnor.

FLINDERS/ SHOREHAM AREA Whiting are still not about in any quantity. You have to be prepared to move about to find them. A couple of good reports have come from Cat Bay. Kingfish, for those prepared to put the time in, are a great target and Seal Rocks has seen a couple of good fish taken. All in all, Western Port has been going really well and if you can find a way to avoid the ramp crowds, you’ll be sure to reap the rewards in April.

FISHING FILL-ITS

Abalone thief caught out in murky midnight waters

Frankie Natoli with a whiting taken at Quail Bank.

An abalone poacher has received a $2000 fine and narrowly escaped jail after facing court last week for illegally taking abalone from the Ricketts Point Marine Protected Area. The 43-year-old Noble Park North man was arrested while emerging from the water with 401 abalone (of which 205 were undersized) on August 11 last year. The Moorabbin Magistrate Court heard Fisheries Victoria officers observed the man diving at

11pm before he turned his torch off and made his way to shore. The court heard that as officers approached him, he ran back into the water, throwing some of his diving equipment away as he ran. Magistrate Luisa Bazzani sentenced the accused to six months’ jail suspended for two years and placed a five year order prohibiting him from taking or possessing abalone. All of his diving equipment was forfeited. She said without

the guilty plea she would have jailed the man for nine months. The daily bag limit per person for abalone is five, of which no more than two can be greenlip. Fisheries Victoria Executive Director Ross McGowan said abalone poaching threatened the sustainability of the fishery and opportunities for future generations of fishers. “Restrictions are in place to help protect these resources and ensure that

they are appropriately shared amongst users,” Mr McGowan said. Fishers are also reminded that restrictions on the harvest of abalone and other shellfish from the intertidal zone apply. Shellfish can only be taken in more than two metres of water to protect these vulnerable areas. Anyone who sees of suspects illegal fishing activity is urged to call the 24-hour reporting line 13FISH. – DEPI Fisheries

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APRIL 2014

Kings still reigning supreme WESTERN PORT STH

Jarrod Day jarrodday@iprimus.com.au

It is a great feeling to know that our local fishery now supports a healthy population of kingfish during the summer months. Despite many anglers saying they have been late this season, in the past the majority of fish were caught throughout March and April. Therefore, the season is still well and truly alive and the past few weeks have reflected this. Local anglers Milena and Jamie headed out off Seal Rocks one afternoon and set themselves to troll live baits along the inshore reefs. They had a hook-up any angler would dream of and after an epic battle, landed a monster kingfish. Dean Giakoumakis and Theo Rozakis also had a yellowtail encounter when

they set a spread of small skirted lures and set off trolling in the same area. The boys hooked up to a solid fish, which they released boat side shortly after. When conditions have been fair, those with boats large enough to head offshore, have been doing well. Most of the fish have been caught between the Nobbies and Pyramid Rock by anglers trolling skirts or live baits. This fishery will continue on for a few weeks yet, providing the offshore conditions allow anglers to get out. There was also a spattering of striped tuna spotted wide of Seal Rocks, but no reports have come back of anglers actually catching them. Traditionally, the March and April period has been when they have been caught and it will be only the weather that dictates when anglers can get out to catch them. Inside the Port, the fishing has continued on strong and

with autumn now upon us, the Port will really ramp up a notch or two. CLEELAND BIGHT Fishing around Cleeland Bight at this time of year is very productive. Land-based anglers can still catch calamari and whiting from the beach for the next few months providing they fish on a rising tide. This area produces some big whiting throughout the year due to its proximity to Bass Strait. Mussel and pipi baits work exceptionally well and if you’re targeting calamari, stick to using a baited jig with silver and a whiting suspended under a float. Make sure you fish this area in a south or southwesterly wind as the calmer conditions will make it easier to cast out into the deeper water. CORINELLA Corinella supports a good population of gummy sharks at this time of year and, while small in size compared to that of other locations around the Port, they are in large numbers. The lead up to the full moon, when the tides tend to be slower, will allow you to fish in the deeper areas with minimal sinker weight. Barge Hole next to French Island, which is around 15m deep, is a popular location to catch gummies. A few snapper can also be caught here throughout autumn, and have been in

recent weeks. Cranbourne Tackle World staff member Paul De Lisle has been regularly catching pinkie snapper, calamari and pike around Corinella. TANKERTON Tankerton is an all time favourite whiting haunt of mine and of late has been producing some very nice fish. Shaun Furtiere from Think Big Charters has fished the area with good success and has managed some very nice bags of whiting for his customers. Anglers searching for whiting should concentrate in front of the Tankerton jetty in depths ranging 5-9m. Berley has been a definite advantage in keeping the action going. TORTOISE HEAD Another very popular location to find whiting is on the Tortoise Head Bank. This shallow sand flat fishes best on first of the run-out tide. Anglers fishing amongst the weed beds have been catching whiting to 45cm and these fish will stay in this area right up until the elephant fish move in, which is usually around the April full moon. BALNARRING The Balnarring/Somers area has always been known to harbour some of the biggest whiting the Port has to offer. Holding onto its title, Balnarring has once again produced the goods. Tackle World Mornington staff member Ivon and his

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The author with the fruits of working the deep edges for whiting. son Mark had a day out on the big whiting in Western Port. Their first fish was a tad short of 51cm with another six over 48cm. In total, the boys managed 31 big whiting and mentioned that getting away from the other boats was the trick. Pipis were the top bait. This area usually doesn’t produce big numbers of whiting but what they lack in number, make up for in size. I guess this season is different and if it’s big things you want, this is the location. WESTERN ENTRANCE If you could have only one location to fish in Western Port for the rest of your life, the Western Entrance would have to be seriously considered due to its diversity of species, which can be caught throughout the year. Throughout April, whiting are still on the hit list amongst the shallow sand holes in the Ventnor and McHaffies Reef areas. Salmon will also enter the Port in vast numbers and begin to loiter in the entrance before making their way back out to the surf beaches by the beginning of May. Salmon are a lot of fun when caught on light tackle and if you’re into flicking soft plastics, a hoard of busting salmon can be a lot of fun on a nice sunny day. There have already been reports of salmon terrorising baitfish throughout the entrance, which is a good sign that everything is coming together. During the lead up to the full moon in February, Shaun Furtiere from Think Big Charters had a few trips out

in search of gummy sharks and did well finding some respectable models for his clients. They caught gummy sharks to 16.5kg and have seen plenty of 6-7kg size fish as well. Fishing during an evening and using fresh baits has been the key to success. This is one of the best things about this time of year as you can easily gather fresh baits on your way to your favourite gummy spot simply by finding the salmon schools and catching a few. Larger sharks are a big possibility throughout the Western Entrance and this time of year is a great time to catch them as they start to leave the Port. Recently, Anthony Buckingham and his son Sean fished at Buoy 6 and had a monstrous hook up. After Sean battled it out for 45 minutes he landed a cracking bronze whaler shark. On the scales it went 117kg cleaned. The brute took a live slimy during the low slack tide change. Bronzies, schoolies, seven-gill sharks and threshers are common in April and if you want to tangle with one, set yourself up near the entrance with fresh baits, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what comes along. With the water temperature beginning to cool, this is the last attempt at catching the Port’s most prized species before winter set in. Next month, many anglers will garage their boats and hit the sand in search of salmon so before the arctic temperatures cover the state, best you get out and get your last fix.

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Sweet, sweet consistency WST PORT NTH

Adam Ring

For this month’s report I am going to open with one word that is music to any anglers ears, consistency. This is one of the more consistent stretches of fishing that we have witnessed in a long time. There are plenty of whiting, gummies and calamari and there has also been a welcome return of some nice plate-sized snapper, which should all continue to run into this month.

TOP END I will open with a little bit of land-based action for this month. It is time to dust off the surf rods and head on down to Stockyard Point. Time it with the low tide and a fresh slab of salmon or calamari hood and you are in for a show. Some really nice gummies have been, and this will most definitely continue as we approach some cooler weather. Local fisho, Glen Jackson and his 9 year old son beached a nice 5kg specimen to keep the smiles rolling! The Bouchier Channel has witnessed a nice little run of just-legal sized gummies and

should continue to be quite reliable for anyone who craves a fresh feed of flake to take home. Most gummies in the area are around the 5kg mark with the odd better fish to 8kg being taken with fresh salmon fillets being one of the more reliable baits. Anchor in the deeper water on the run-out tide and catch the fish as they come off the banks with the tide.

have increased a little bit. The high tide is once again the better of the tides so it would be wise to plan your trip around that. Fish over 40cm have been a frequent capture with the biggest nudging the 44cm mark. Don’t be afraid to hang a nice sized bait for these bigger whiting, a nice big juicy pipi with a 1” strip of squid over the top makes it

A great bag of whiting from the deep water.

These are the perfect eating size gummies, and there are heaps around.

Adrian Walsh with a solid 90cm cod caught at Barmah casting a 120mm Custom Crafted Lure.

The Tooradin Channel has been the hot spot for taking home a mixed bag. There are still whiting up on the banks of a high tide with some really nice sized fish amongst them. Pipi has dominated the reports on the bait side with the better fish pulling the tape out to 42cm. It is here in the Tooradin Channel that has seen a considerable influx of snapper. The run-in tide has seen a lot of fish to 2kg schooling up in the channel. Some fish have been taking pipi and squid intended for the whiting but half a pilly will make it hard for the little snapper to resist. Moving along now to the Gentle Annie Channel and it’s the whiting that reign supreme. The most exciting news here is that the average size of the whiting seems to

pretty hard for the bigger whiting to pass up. NORTH ARM The Tyabb Bank is another area of the port that just continues to produce some really serious fish. The calamari have well and truly moved back in and these majestic pillow cases have been eating jigs like they are going out of fashion! Bump up the size of the jigs to a 3.5 and really capitalise on the influx of big calamari. The whiting have also continued to be a consistent capture on the plentiful sand holes with some really healthy fish to 45cm still coming in quite frequently. The Middle Spit, they should really change its name to ‘The Consistency’ Spit. Whiting and calamari are just flat out dominating reports

lately. There are whiting everywhere but amongst all of the reports there has been an interesting trend starting to form. A lot of really nice fish have been caught in the deeper water just off of the Spit’s banks. A few of the local charter boats have been working the 7-9m marks and getting a healthy bag on most occasions, so up size those little sinkers and enjoy the deeper water’s bounty. The calamari have been harassing the whiting up in the shallows so it’s no wonder the deep fishing has been so good! In very similar fashion to what’s happening on the Tyabb Bank, the bigger 3.5 jigs have been doing the most damage. The red foiled jigs have produced the most solid report as well so make sure you have a few of them in your kit. Continuing on with the deep water whiting theme the 12 and 13m marks out from Hastings have also produced some really nice bags of

whiting. The same baits of pipi and mussel that work so well in the shallow water are also the baits of choice in the deep and work on the tides just as they begin to change. This allows you to still use the lighter gear before having to go too heavy in the weight department. If you want to add a few snapper to the bag then head on over to the Esso Jetty. Don Newman and Neil Drummond, a couple of the older boys from the Cranbourne store got amongst some nice 2.5kg snapper while fishing for whiting just off of the Esso Jetty. Plenty of berley kept the fish around and most fish came on pipi intended for the whiting. So as you can hopefully see we are smack bang in the middle of some of the most consistent fishing that we have seen in a long time, so make the most of this beautiful warm weather and keep the reports flooding in! Good luck.

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A sample of the better sized gummies getting around at the moment.

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• DECEMBER 2010

APRIL 2014

Good fishing set to continue INVERLOCH

Alan McFayden amcsayte@bigpond.net.au

Traditionally we are now into the most settled time of the year weather wise and with any sort of luck the good fishing will continue. The jetty at Inverloch has undergone a facelift and as a result the fishing is much more comfortable. Locals and visitors have been doing fairly well. The main catch seems to be mullet and James Borselow bagged around 20 of these under-rated fish that were all around the 35cm mark in just a few minutes. He was very happy with himself and with high hopes returned the following day but failed to

trouble the weigh master. This is consistent with reports as the mullet and salmon will turn up in very good numbers and then disappear for reasons that will never be understood. The fish have been taken on a variety of presentations with pipis, Bass yabbies and worms the best, with salmon also taking a variety of small surface lures. I received a visit from a local fisherman and builder who is well known as Rags Allan. Rags is one of those nice blokes who is known to everyone around Wonthaggi and loves his fishing. He went out one day and somehow managed to catch a few very large freshwater yabbies. He didn’t know what to do with them and asked me around to have a look. Sure enough he

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had them in the bath, which I am not real sure how this was received by his better half. He asked me what he could do with them and I suggested that he puts them to sleep. He looked at me in amazement and in fairly short time the yabby was upside down completely unharmed but sound asleep. Shortly afterwards the crustation was awoken from its slumber and continued on with life and was then returned to the water as Rags thought that it had enough for one day. I received a report from Rory Boyd and his stepfather Brian. They fished Anderson Inlet on the Venus Bay side around the mud flats from shore at high tide. His mother Mary and stepfather were fishing for mullet, salmon and estuary perch, or whatever else might come along. Rory tried a fresh mullet fillet looking for a gummy as he had caught many here before. In the meantime his mother had bagged a very nice 40cm estuary perch. This was when his rod buckled over and after a fair sort of a battle he landed a big gummy in the shallows. He said that he thought this was a female and she was in pup so he took a few quick pics and released her. After a little rest she swam off strong to swim and fight

another day. Well done Rory and we wish you all the best. Amanda Kellar is a very keen fishing lady and just before compiling this report I received an email from her saying that she is still catching plenty of fish around the Inverloch area. She really likes Screw Creek and says that she likes to try her luck in this area at least once a week and very rarely comes home without a good bag of fish. She says that she loves the area, especially as this is where she can also pump Bass yabbies at her feet. She says that there are still plenty of quality whiting, mullet, trevally, flathead and the occasional pinkies. Her best whiting for the season was a very impressive 44cm followed by another 42cm fish. You do need to have your wits about you if you wade into the water to cast as there are quite a few rays about in the shallows enjoying the warm water. The area known as Screw Creek is also very productive. Bass yabbies and sand worms have been very good as far as perch and whiting are concerned. The run-out tide is the best time to try your luck and this is when landbased anglers have been doing very well from the south side. There have also been quite

The freshwater yabby the author put to sleep for Rags Allen. good numbers of mullet and the occasional flathead being caught when conditions have allowed. Mahers Landing has been very good. Boaters have been heading upstream as far as the Double islands where there has been a good variety of fish, which includes couta, flathead, silvers and pinkies. The low water at both sides of the tide is most productive but be careful at very low tide as the soft mud can be a bit of a trap and there can be a fair wait until the incoming tide comes to the rescue. Still in the same area, for those who know where to look, are very good numbers of perch nearby Pound Creek. Bass yabbies and soft plastic

lures have been among the successful presentations. Land-based anglers have also been going along very well where mullet are in very good numbers with best results being on the run-in tide. Silvers, flathead and the occasional gummy shark have been making a trip to this part of the world worth the effort. The Tarwin River has been reasonable where perch have been the main catch along with mullet and a few silvers. The run-out tide seems to be the most productive with Bass yabbies, sand worms being the best of the baits. Soft plastic lures have also been accounting for some good size perch.

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Cliffy Island gives up a top tuna for Bucky WELSHPOOL

Alan McFayden amcsayte@bigpond.net.au

Outside the entrance there have been very good reports of salmon being caught mainly on surface lures. Gummies have also been bagged in pleasing numbers and quite a few kingfish have been caught out wide near Cliffy Island. Well known Sandy Point fisherman, Greg ‘Bucky’ Buckland, won bragging rights for at least the week when he hooked into and landed a very nice tuna out from Cliffy Island on a fresh bait temptation. The fish dragged the scales down to the 12kg mark and, although not setting any records, certainly put up a great fight before being brought on board. Greg has been fishing this part of the world for many years and says that this is not the first tuna he has heard of being caught in this area. There have been a few other reports and the last he heard of was that a crew from Traralgon recently bagged a similar size tuna. He says that there

has also been quite good numbers of kingfish being caught in the same area, which is further good news. Inside the entrance there have been quite a few bronze whalers caught, with plenty of sightings in the shallow waters. The local jetties have been going along reasonable well but persistent winds have been a bit of a nuisance. Having said that, there have been quite a few silvers, flathead and mullet making up reasonable bags and a trip to the structures would be worth the effort. Whiting continue to be caught in the Lewis Channel. This is where visiting boater Vic Graham and a mate decided to tie up at the long jetty to wet a line. They had some fresh Bass yabbies and in a short time they bagged out on the royals, which were all around the 35cm mark. They also managed a sprinkling of silvers and mullet. There have been other similar reports in this area for boaters and the fish should stick around for a while yet. There have been good size snapper caught in the Franklin Channel where

pilchards, fresh fish fillets and squid seem to be the best presentations. The fish have been to the 5kg mark. There have also been quite a few gummies also making up impressive numbers. On the other side of the inlet at Yanakie there have been very good numbers of flathead taken on both sides of the tide. I received a report from Stewart Graning who decided to try his luck in the Bennison Channel on the run-off tide and bagged a very impressive bag of whiting, silvers and flathead. Landbased anglers have also been doing well off the beach where flathead and gummies have been caught with the best results at evening into nightfall, when the fish move in closer to look for prey under the cover of darkness. The other nearby port is Port Albert where shortly before this report their pub burnt down. The wonderful building was one of the oldest hotels in the state and had already survived being badly burnt in around 1893. Unfortunately there was so much damage that very little could be saved this time and one of the most historic

Greg ‘Bucky’ Buckland with a 12kg tuna he caught off Wilsons Prom.

towns in Victoria is without a watering hole and, for that matter, a nerve centre. There is good news however from the local general store, which is run by Ulla and Rob Killury. They say that the fishing is going along very well with whiting everywhere. Fish to the 40cm mark are not uncommon and have been caught inside the entrance. They are taking a variety of baits with Bass yabbies, pipis, strips of pilchards and small pieces of squid doing the job very well. Good size flathead have also been caught by boaters, along with silvers and big mullet. Rob says that this should continue while the weather conditions permit. Rob has also installed a gantry for the larger fish, such as sharks, and has scales for the smaller species. He has been weighing in plenty of fish and will also take photos, or you can do that yourself for bragging rights. A local angler, Jack decided to make use of this service and weighed in a very nice mako shark, although not huge it dragged the gantry down to the 20kg mark.

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APRIL 2014

Offshore is the place to be MCLOUGHLINS

Will Thompson allwaysangling@bigpond.com

I love my soft plastics and inside fishing, but even I haven’t been able the resist the allure of offshore fishing in south Gippsland over the past month. There has been nearly anything available! OFFSHORE Offshore Mcloughlins Beach has been the main place to catch descent size snapper. As they have slowed down inside Port Albert and Welshpool, Mcloughlins reefs have proved to be the place to catch 5-6kg specimens. The have been found mainly around the 17-18m depth, and early mornings have been the best time; the middle of the day has still been producing good-sized pinkies. Offshore has really been all about the gummy sharks though, and I have never seen so many monster sized 1.5-2m gummy sharks caught in such a short period of time. They are wide spread and anglers are catching them offshore Port Albert, Manns Beach and down past Mcloughlins. All depth ranges from 15-21m and as deep as 40m around the seal islands are all producing big

gummy sharks. The key has been fresh bait. There have been plenty of bait schools out wide, which has in turn attracted plenty of pelagic fish, including salmon and tailor. There is more often than not an invaluable source of fresh gummy baits on location. If you catch some salmon or tailor, do not hesitate one bit in ditching the pilchard and squid and using this instead. This is the

difference between catching a 2m gummy or not. We have also had massive schools of striped tuna, kingfish and, wait for it, even blue fin tuna seen busting up around the Seal islands and even further east. These fish have been seen for the most part, almost uncaught, with plenty of anglers telling stories of having schools of tuna under the boat but they were unable to catch them.

Jay Langstaff caught this 2m gummy shark offshore.

The kingies have been very interesting with lots a rat kings hanging around the islands and plenty of schools out in front of Mcloughlins Beach and further down towards Golden Beach as well. Here we have seen bigger kingfish caught up to 75cm and mostly by anglers just fishing dead baits on paternoster rigs. The mako sharks finally turned up this month and there were 2 very big makos caught measuring over 2.4m in length and also a couple of smaller ones as well. These fish have all been caught out fairly wide in over 50m of water past the islands and a lot of anglers chasing these fish out wide have been catching good sized gummies out here as well. INSIDE It’s been a little slow at Mcloughlins Beach itself, with mainly small pinkies a lot of trevally and small flathead caught by bait anglers chasing whiting. Every now and again there has been a school of salmon come inside the entrance. The good news is, it’s just about time to see the huge run of big salmon move into the system and we should see plenty of fish in excess of 55cm over the next few weeks. Manns Beach has been

Jamie Steric caught a mixed bag of big gummies and big snapper offshore. producing better numbers of whiting, measuring up to 45cm and plenty around 35cm. The flathead have been hit and miss but we have seen 70cm southern blue spot caught recently as well as plenty of smaller sandies. Port Albert has slowed down on the whiting front a little with still good numbers caught but the size has dropped a little. This will be

the last month we have of the whiting for a while, so get out there quick before the water temperature drops too much. • For more information, contact Will at Allways Angling in Traralgon on 51748544. You will get expert advice and great deals on fishing bait and tackle. Tune into Rex Hunt and Lee Rayner’s Off the Hook on 1242 to hear Will’s report on what’s going on in Gippsland!

A good start to autumn NINETY MILE BEACH

Will Thompson allwaysangling@bigpond.com

Autumn is the time of year when you can catch anything at the NinetyMile Beach and this year has been no exception. The weather has been hot and the winds intermittent, but for the most part the beach has been fishable with another good run of pinkie snapper. McGaurans Beach and Woodside and the western end of Golden Beach are definitely the places to try. I didn’t hear any reports of monster snapper, but there were plenty of pinkie snapper to 45cm getting caught and some anglers even managed up to half a dozen fish per session just casting off the surf. The gummy sharks have also been good and we will see good numbers caught well into April and the start of May. There are heaps of those little schools sharks and baby gummy sharks plaguing everyone, but if you persist, most nights you will catch 1-2m long gummies during an evening session. Just recently, the tailor have started moving into 32

APRIL 2014

Tony Dare with a rare long nosed grey shark caught at Golden Beach on a piece of salmon fillet.

Damien had a great night catching a few snapper off the surf at McGaurans Beach. the beaches and I have been hearing reports all along the Ninety Mile from Loch Sport to Reeves Beach. This is good news as they are dynamite bait when chasing sharks, so if you happen to catch one, don’t hesitate filleting it and using it for bait. The big gummy sharks love it, not to mention every

other shark out there. There are plenty of salmon mixed in as well, and they are ranging in sizes from half a kilo to the odd 2kg model. Next month we will see the really big salmon turn up and it will be worth chasing them with metal lures. In the past week, the

elephant sharks have turned up and Woodside is normally a good place to find these fish. You can also catch one or two at Golden Beach as well. These guys have turned up right on cue and they will remain until the end of April. We have had some really hot currents and the kingfish have been off Golden Beach; some have come in really close so it wasn’t surprising to hear of a couple caught by surf anglers. It’s very rare but we usually hear of at least one king getting caught per year off the surf. This isn’t the most interesting catch though, that award goes to Tony Dare who caught a shark that we had to get the ID books out to identify! It looked like a

bronze whaler yet every fin had a black tip on it. It looked exactly like a northern black tipped reef shark and I would have called it for that until we found a shark called a long nosed grey shark that looked exactly like Tony’s rare shark. These sharks are very rare in our waters and all the info I read said they do not venture south of Sydney, but this certainly had. A great looking fish and I don’t think I will ever get to see one of these things again, so a great effort to Tony, a catch of a lifetime. The flathead have still hung around in good numbers and are much more wide spread than earlier in the year. There are big flatties being caught down the western

end around Mcloughlins Beach and Woodside yet more big flatties have been caught around McGaurans Beach and Seaspray than previously. Blue bait has been working very well, but it still always pays to use white Mister Twister style grubs and surf poppers. • Don’t forget to keep sending in your photos guys and I will try to get them all in. For more information, contact Will at Allways Angling in Traralgon on 51748544. You will get expert advice and great deals on fishing bait and tackle. Tune into Rex Hunt and Lee Rayner’s Off the Hook on 1242 to hear Will’s report on what’s going on in Gippsland!

Prawns galore for a time more LAKES ENTRANCE

Lucas Smith squidgy_man1@hotmail.com

As summer ends most people are packing away the prawning gear until next year, but things are just starting to get going! Cunningham Arm and the main channel around Bullock Island and Kalimna Jetty are firing on a run-out tide after dark, with majority of the prawns being kings between 5-9”. Walking the banks is the easiest way to catch them with a dip net and light, but anchoring outside the main channel on the shallow sand banks and dipping them as they swim past is also effective. Just be aware of other boat users and commercial operators who will be working in the area too. With prawns comes the predators, and the lakes system seems to be alive! Reeves Channel has been fishing extremely well for big luderick on green weed.

The weed has been a little hard to find but some of the locals have been collecting theirs from Lake Bunga or as far away as Marlo, but the results are well worth it with some huge blackfish to 55cm. The majority have been around 32-37cm but there’s plenty of bigger fish mixed in amongst them. Further up the channel along the deeper weed beds the whiting have been patchy so you have to move around a few times to locate them but, once found, stick with them. Peeled prawn, live shrimp or mussel is the best bait on a simple running sinker rig. As always a couple of hours either side of the tide change is best for the whiting. Plenty of small salmon, yellow-eye mullet and the occasional big yank flathead have found their way into anglers bags too. The Cunningham Arm has been fishing well around the jetties for big silver trevally and flathead on pilchard fillets and large prawn-style soft plastics like

the Zerek Live Shrimp in the natural colours. Walking the sand banks has been excellent lately for flathead and some thumping yellowfin bream. Again soft plastics are fairing well but of late I’ve become a bit of a crankbait fanatic and have been doing well on the Atomic Deep Crank 38 and the new Savage range of crankbaits in the yellow prawn colour. Slow rolling these hardbodies along the drop-offs and reefy structure is a really addictive and it is a great way of covering more water. The north arm has been fairly quiet but some nice luderick and bream have been caught under the highway bridge on live shrimp and sandworm fished on slack line. A few fatties have been caught behind the footy oval on whole pilchards and live garfish, which have also been caught on sand worm under a float. Lake Tyers has been patchy due to large amounts

of floating weed in the bottom lake. Some good bags of flathead and large bream have been taken from Trident Arm on live prawn, which have been in huge numbers. The upper reaches of the Nowa Nowa Arm have been fishing well for garfish and the occasional estuary perch on sandworm. Bream have been taken from the snags on live prawn fished under a small bubble float. The surf beaches have been fishing well with some thumping big salmon and tailor being caught on the roughest of days, as they love the white wash caused by heavy surf. Whole pilchards on a paternoster rig is best, and spinning with metal lures is always a winner. Some beautiful gummies have been caught during the day too in the deeper gutters and even the odd elephant shark and big flathead are coming in as well. The LBG crews have struggled lately with the surf conditions and reports

Chloe Jones with a flathead caught at the Lake Tyers boat ramp. of big bronzies have been minimal, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.

Whole tuna and salmon fished under balloons are the chosen technique.

Let us all pray for rain MARLO

Jim McClymont mcclymont@net-tech.com.au

The weather sure warmed up last month. Not only did we have several days over 40ºC, we have had our worst bush fire season for several years. The whole of our estuary system has been surrounded by fires, which have burnt out over 200,000ha. The winds that fanned the fire also caused rough seas preventing anglers from fishing offshore, making it a frustrating month for all concerned. When the wind abates for a few days the huge volumes of smoke that the fires pump out have mixed with fog and sea mist

making visibility offshore almost nil. The good news is that rain is predicted and hopefully it will distinguish the fires. Early in the month before the fires started, the fishing offshore was excellent. Anglers reported getting plenty of flathead, gurnard, squid, barracouta, pinkie snapper, morwong, salmon, elephant fish and gummy shark. Anglers have reported fish being taken on most bait. For game fishing enthusiasts I mentioned last issue some of the local Orbost Sports & Game Fishing Club Inc. members were planing a trip out to the shelf to try and capture a marlin, well the weather didn’t permit the trip to eventuate. The group although disappointed

on not being able to venture well offshore, the weather was good enough to fish in closer, and as all anglers know fishing has its surprises. The first boats that left the ramp at Cape Conran and rounded the point were amazed to see a marlin surface right in front of their boats causing mass hysteria and mayhem with anglers fumbling to find a lure. The marlin was last seen casually sliding down under the bow of one of their boats. With make shift lures they trolled the area for some time with no result, wondering why they weren’t prepared. With plenty of baitfish and salmon around, the kingfish and mako sharks are still in good numbers. The surf beaches are also

The estuaries have been firing over the last couple of months with great captures of bream, mullet, luderick, trevally and estuary perch. fishing well during the day; anglers have reported getting good bags of salmon and tailor using bait and lures fishing a rising tide. Gummy shark are still being taken in the evening with the best

results using squid legs, eel and fresh fillets. The Snowy River and Brodribb River estuary has been firing for the last couple of months with bream, mullet, luderick, trevally and estuary

perch being caught from the entrance at Marlo all the way up to both Lake Corringle and Lake Curlip. For anglers who prefer plenty of action salmon and tailor are smashing lures at the entrance on a run-in tide.

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Will Thompson’s Allways Angling If you could change one thing with the fishing industry, what would that be? From a local perspective, my area is quite heavily commercially fished. Maybe not from a world standard but for Victorian standards south Gippsland produces a high percentage of fish to the commercial sector. This is estuarine netting, not offshore commercial fishing. So waterways as shallow as 60cm can be commercial netted here. I am completely aware that fish need to go to When was your business established and what is the core message your business is built on? Allways Angling in Traralgon was established in February 2000. We pride ourselves in expert service, with expert advice and top quality tackle at great prices. Where are you located? 8/68 Hotham Traralgon VIC 3844.

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market for consumers to buy. There have already been locations made commercial-free, such as Shallow Inlet, Andersons Inlet, Lake Tyers and Mallacoota, but I would love to see areas of south Gippsland made net-free, especially the shallow waters of the Corner Inlet and Shoal Inlet basin, Mcloughlins Beach. There still needs to be a few adjustments to the size limits of certain fish species as well and most certainly harsher penalties for anglers keeping either too many fish or undersized fish. Another problem Victoria has is infrastructure for fishing and boating, especially in rural areas. Local governments really need to take notice on how much money is brought to the economy due to fishing; things like fishing location

What services and products do you offer? Bait and tackle, rod repairs, reel repairs, fishing licences, fishing and weather reports, and flyfishing lessons. What keeps your business ahead? Our customers receive expert advice on every style of fishing from fly to game and every other form of fishing in between. We excel in local knowledge of our particular area and all the best methods and techniques to catch a fish in the area. This kind of service or local knowledge is what sets us apart from corporate style stores. Where is the fishing industry headed? Due to the massive amount of competition on pricing in the industry and the availability of tackle over the internet, as a fishing shop you need to offer something the angler can’t get anywhere else. This is service and good quality product and competitive pricing. What is the biggest problem facing anglers in Victoria? The lack of government assistance towards the industry is a huge problem. The Fisheries is undermanned and underfunded and seems to have a low priority on the list of issues facing Australia. This means there is a lack of research being carried out to help us gather better data that can be used in making better regulations to help maintain fish populations. There also seems to be an ever-increasing anti34

APRIL 2014

fishing push and a ‘lock up’ mentality amongst certain groups in Australia, which is a huge problem for anglers who want to keep having access to fishing locations around Victoria. I think a lot of anglers love the environment and, more so, care for the environment than ever before, yet there is a negative stereotype being unfairly attached to anglers. This has given fodder to certain groups that have a personal agenda to stop fishing or greater hindrance to anglers’ access to fishing. All anglers should be aware of this, and show support where they can. Otherwise their human right to be able to catch a fish might slip away without them even knowing it.

access, parking and boat ramp quality really need to be put at a high importance. What is the future for your business? We hope to keep providing great service and local knowledge for our customers for many years to come. We always strive to keep modern and up with the times with new products and new fishing styles so I’m looking forward to seeing what the future brings for fishing in Victoria. Any other important information readers would like/need to know about your business? Anglers can feel free to contact Will anytime at the shop or via email for any questions on products, prices, fishing reports or just general questions on fishing. Phone: (03) 5174 8544.

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APRIL 2014

Hot hook ups in the cold GIPPSLAND LAKES

Brett Geddes b.geddes@bigpond.com

The news is better than good. There is so much to report on I can’t decide where to start! To begin with, there are still no algae outbreaks within the lakes with populations at very low levels. It’s a healthy system with massive schools of mullet, baitfish and tailor spread from Kalimna right through to Hollands Landing. The bream fishing has been outstanding and will continue to please bait and lure anglers for the next few months. Exciting times ahead. MONSTER DUSKY Doug Jarvis has a holiday unit in Metung and invited me onto his boat recently to show me where good numbers of flathead were living from Chinamans Creek right down to Nyerimlang. We quickly raised some nice flathead and a number of pinky snapper on soft plastics and blades. Doug caught a whopping 92cm flathead and told me he has waited decades to land such a trophy fish; he was one very happy angler. Flathead have been a little sparse this year and I put that

down to the boom and bust or cyclical theory. Every 3 or 4 years we see their numbers explode followed by a few slower seasons. At the moment tiny flathead 15-20cm are turning up everywhere I look so maybe we can expect 2016 to be one of the boom years. To find good numbers of duskies during the next few months try the Mitchell Flats and the lower sections of the Tambo River. BREAM TIME AGAIN To sum up the bream fishing in a word: wow! The next three months will be even better and bream anglers are in for a real treat; floods pending of course. My favourite story comes from Bob Smith of Warragul who asked me where to take his two grandsons fishing for bream. Being land-based was of no concern and I suggested the jetties of Metung as their first stop. The two boys Mason and Kaden Famuina were delighted to pull in pinky snapper with just about every cast. Despite not being the target species, they still had great fun. Their next try was the Upper Tambo and from the very first cast the boys were into bream for hours. More super fun but every bream was

just a whisker shy of legal size. Their last stop was the Hollands Landing wharf and Bob armed the boys with a box of sandworms for even more success. This time some better fish over 30cm kept the boys busy and left Bob very happy and proud. His mission was to introduce the kids to catching bream and even showed them how to prepare and cook the catch. Mission completed with three very happy campers and what a joy to hear young boys getting out for a fishing experience. SIGHT FISHING Lure fishing for bream is really starting to hot up and I need pages to tell you just half of it. The highlight is that the bream will continue to work the shallows and hold up high on structure for months to come. This means plenty of sight casting to big fish and with gin clear water in all the rivers and most of the lakes. The sport has been extraordinary and it doesn’t matter where you go. Over five trips with different mates recently, we have all enjoyed some champagne fishing in the shallow edges of Lake Victoria and all the three rivers. To watch dozens of bream cruise up to a surface lure and slurp

A Gippsland Lakes bream rises to a surface fished Bent Minnow. it down, leaves a grin a mile wide stamped on my face. The only down part about that method is the hook up rate; to land 2 bream out of 20 hits would be a new world record! It may be frustrating but you have to give this top water luring a go. Bent Minnow lures are an amazing weapon and I still can’t quite work out why they are so deadly, but you can have success with any sort of surface popper. We have also been throwing unweighted plastics while sight casting

to bream, especially under moored boats or high up on jetty pylons and the rewards have been up to 43cm. It’s nothing to see 30 or 40 bream crowding around one jetty or under a moored boat, but it’s another thing to hook them! HOMEMADE CRABS Mark Ramsay from Traralgon has been making crab lures for about a year now and recently stacked an impressive 34 bream on them during an afternoon at Loch Sport with his good mate Scott Findlay. Of huge interest was

their 10 yellowfin bream and it further confirms their numbers are on a steep rise. Mark took me out for a day of and all I can say is I’m hooked! We landed 20 bream and 22 flathead for the day and I can’t wait to do it again. We launched at Paynesville and worked the huge expanse of the northern Lake Victoria edge right up to Storm Point. Yet again the sight fishing was a standout. Discovering new lures and methods of catching bream is what keeps all of us so addicted.

A great family fun pastime is trolling or spinning with lures in the channel and picking up some rather large trevally, which on light gear will give you a great workout. The die-hard anglers who still enjoy bait fishing are still being well rewarded. Bruce Amor, from Hoppers Crossing visited recently. Bruce has been fishing Bemm River for the past 45 years, but this year he caught four of the biggest bream he has experienced in Bemm River.

Another Hobie fishing competition was held recently. All entrants caught and released quality bream during this time. • Bemm River Holiday Accommodation and Boat Hire, clean quality accommodation overlooking Sydenham Inlet 41 Sydenham Parade, Bemm River. Ph: (03) 5158 4233, 0427 584 233, bemmaccomm@ bigpond.com, www. bemmaccommodation. com.au.

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BEMM RIVER

Robyn Sturgess

The lake level is rising and the fishing continues to astound us with some of the best starts to the season that we have experienced in our time in Bemm River. While the water remains warm the flatties are still on the bite. The surf is also producing and will only get better as the warm water continues to pass through. We have seen a major shift to lure fishing in the last 12 months. This is probably due to an abundance of fish and anglers have altered their thoughts on live bait and taught themselves how to fish with vibes and soft plastics. The lead up to this year’s winter bream fishing is showing signs of probably some of the best winter fishing we will see. The river continues to fish well with quality perch, bream and the odd flathead. Bank fishing from Dollys Garden has been great for anglers without a boat. Early mornings and late afternoons has seen the fishing platform at the main jetty producing quality bream and flathead.

Peter Bodey of Carrum Downs with a bream he caught at the Mahogoneys on a frozen prawn.

VR Fish Update

VR FISH

Dallas D’Silva dallas@vrfish.com.au

The last few months have been a great time to wet a line, with good catches of Murray cod and yellowbelly, King George whiting, mako sharks and gummy sharks. We are now eagerly awaiting the seasonal migration of southern blue fin tuna in the South West. Here is a short update from VRFish, your representative peak body. WATER LEVELS AT LAKE TOOLONDO We will continue to explore all options to offset the impact of falling water levels on Lake Toolondo trout populations. Trout numbers in the lake are significant and DEPI has stocked almost 100,000 brown and rainbow trout over the last 2 years. The high productivity has resulted in excellent survival and growth rates evidenced by the abundance of wellconditioned trout above 1.5kg. If a fish kill occurs, the scale of this event could be significant. Since late last year,

VRFish has been working closely with local anglers, Fisheries Victoria, GWM Water and water holders to see if we can negotiate an allocation of water to summer-proof the lake. Unfortunately, it looks like these efforts will not achieve the outcome we were hoping at this stage. However, there are operational triggers in place for Rocklands Reservoir and should they be reached options for transfer of water will be re-considered by the authorities. Support from the angling community for this issue has been nothing short of sensational, with a Facebook page growing at a rapid rate and over 1000 members. CORIO BAY We believe new measures are needed to help to reduce ‘on water’ conflict and improve angler access to Corio Bay. Port Phillip Bay is the most popular location for recreational fishing in Victoria and VRFish has a longstanding policy on commercial netting in Victorian bays and inlets. We have met with a group of commercial fishers and discussed our proposal to reduce conflict.

The industry said they could not support it in its current form as any further reductions in their access would require compensation. In other words, they would consider additional controls if there was some form of offset to prevent crowding of commercial fishers in smaller areas and it included financial compensation. There was some interest amongst the industry for a voluntary buyback of licenses, however we advised this is not going to reduce conflict and could not be supported as a standalone measure. A joint SIV/VRFish and FOCBAG working group will be established to promote sustainable fishing. The group will also discuss further proposals from recreational fishers and this will include consideration of potential compensation, adjustment and offset schemes. PORT OF HASTINGS The Victorian Government has earmarked the Port of Hastings (PoH) for further expansion as the Port of Melbourne reaches its full capacity by the mid-2020s. Western Port and Bass Strait support significant recreational fisheries and environmental values.

SA022

Waiting with baited hooks for seasonal species VRFish met with the PoH CEO Mike Lean on 4 December 2013 and we are pleased to learn he is a local resident and a keen recreational fisher. We are also pleased to learn that VRFish has been given the green light to become a member of the Stakeholder Engagement Group called ‘Porticipate’. Our involvement on this forum provides a great voice for recreational fishing issues to be heard by Port decision makers and Government. Although this is a long term project, any loss of access to fishing grounds must be offset by greater access elsewhere in Western Port or nearby areas. Offsets can include access to no take areas such as marine parks, new and improved boat ramp facilities and recreational fishing areas in Port Phillip Bay or the Gippsland Lakes. MELBOURNE ZOO EDUCATION AND AWARENESS PROGRAMS We support education programs such as ‘Seal the Loop’ and welcome the role the Melbourne Zoo can play in promoting responsible fishing practices. We also feel it is important

that the general public be informed of the investment recreational fishers make in protecting our valuable fisheries resources. This story has not been well told to date and it is something we need to address. For example, the general public may not be aware: • Key fish stocks such as snapper, King George whiting, gummy sharks, kingfish, calamari and black bream are sustainable and catch limits are adjusted if, and when required. • Through the collection of our license fees and with the support of the Government, we contribute over $2 million towards fisheries enforcement and education every year. • We also contributed close to $2 million for research and monitoring into mako sharks, flathead, snapper, King George whiting, calamari and black bream in 2011/13. • We fund vital community based education and awareness programs such as Fishcare. For further details on Fishcare please go to www.fishcare.org.au • We invest over $800,000 annually to the restoration of fish populations in areas impacted by non-fishing land use factors.

• We fund vital citizen science monitoring programs such as the DEPI angler diary program, which has been recognised internationally as world’s best practice. • We advocate strongly for the protection and restoration of in stream fish habitats and work closely with catchment management authorities to achieve this goal. We have written to the Zoo to inform them of the above and develop a closer working relationship with them in the future. EXPANDING OUR MEMBERSHIP BASE We are thrilled that the Torquay Angling Club has joined VRFish. The club has close to 800 members and will help expand our networks into the recreational fishing community. They have common goals around getting angler access back into the Point Addis marine park. Local South West fishing identity Marty Ellul has also joined VRFish as an unaffiliated member. Marty is a wealth of knowledge and passionate about fishing, having played an important role in the super trawler debate and actions to reverse the mako shark listing. Welcome Marty!

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Twofold Bay turns on the magic mulloway EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

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hasn’t let them down. There has been great fishing reported both offshore and in the estuaries. The one exception has been the kingfish. In past years we’ve seen some excellent fishing for this species but this year the season is yet to eventuate. Out along the shelf there has been some great fishing for striped marlin, with one boat tagging 9 marlin. The yellowfin tuna are yet to turn up but the coming months should see the tuna on the go. The water temperature is good out along the shelf but along the coast there has been a cold current running for the past few

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weeks (16-17ºC). It’s a bit of a shock when you jump in for a swim but the water should warm up again before it goes cold for winter. The inshore fishing has been good with both sand flathead and tiger flathead caught off the pinnacles and down in Disaster Bay. The usual reef species like snapper and morwong are being caught all along the reefs down to Green Cape. Inside Twofold Bay there are plenty of mulloway. A netter caught

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are using surface lures and suspending hardbodies with reasonable success. Further upstream, black bream are being caught around the rock edges and timber snags. Some days they have been on the go while on other days it has been hard. The past month has seen very little rain so the rivers are only just flowing. We need rain over the next month just to stir things up, so here’s hoping there’s some on the way. Until next month, good fishin’.

FISHING FILL-ITS

Illegal equipment seized Fisheries Victoria has expressed concern over the increased use of illegal snares, hooks and spears to take Southern Rock Lobster. Fisheries Victoria Officer Ian Westhorpe said over the summer Fisheries Officers had seen a number of Southern Rock Lobster (crayfish) taken through illegal methods. “With the great summer weather we have been experiencing we have

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a school of fish which were spotted from the air and mistaken for a different species. All the fish were released and they were all 15kg and above. There has been some great fishing reported in the estuaries with sand whiting around the entrance of the rivers. Nippers, beachworms and prawns have been the pick of the baits. Good yellowfin bream are being caught in the same area. Lure fishers

also noticed an increase in people taking more than their daily catch limits by diving or drop netting several times over the course of a long, hot day,” Mr Westhorpe said. “Spears and snares seem to be the weapons of choice and unfortunately this means they can target rock lobster that would normally be uncatchable and we have had several offenders found with undersize rock lobster, as

well as having more than their allowed daily catch limit. “Rock lobsters show obvious signs when taken illegal and spears leave puncture wounds and snares can also partially crush the animal. “We are also aware of the use of hooks, which will often kill or damage the rock lobster regardless of the size. Continued page 39

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NSW South Coast

Honing in on big bream MALLACOOTA

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

The town is still busy with plenty of visitors in the camping areas, and it seems like they all have brought a boat judging by the amount of trailers at the boat ramp. With the break wall under construction, Bastion Point is a no-go construction zone with no public access until its completion (around October). This means that any boats heading offshore need to launch in the lake and head out across the bar, and with the water temperature at 16ºC not too many boats are heading out fishing so there is little to report. The cold water has meant the beach fishing has slowed down. The only fish still on the go are the salmon, which are available on all the local beaches with the best gutters fishing well on the top of the tide. The entrance area to the lake has been fishing well, with sand whiting and yellowfin bream and the odd flathead being caught. The most success has come from anglers using fresh bait, with beachworms working best. The amount of mulloway caught this year

From page 38

“When taking part in any form of diving for rock lobster, only hands are to be used to take them. “By taking only by hand or drop net this acts as a control measure to conserve our valuable stocks. “Divers need to respect the rules around catch limits to ensure

has been amazing with the smallest fish weighing in at around 10kg and the biggest up around 25kg. On my last 2 charters we landed a jew each time, 1 around 10kg and the other just over 15kg – both a great effort on 3kg leader. Mulloway are being caught from a few different areas at the moment but the successful anglers are keeping quiet; you can’t blame them though as you

again perch fishermen are a secretive bunch which is understandable. You are only as good as your fishing spot, so putting in the time to find your own spots is the key to success. The bream are about in good numbers, both black and yellowfin, but catching them in any numbers has been a challenge. Hardbody lures fished across the shallows has worked well

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there are healthy levels of rock lobster into the future for everyone to enjoy along this part of the coast.” Mr Westhorpe said snares were classed as commercial fishing equipment and there were severe penalties for their possession and use. “Rock Lobster is a priority species under the Fisheries Act of 1995 and

when there has been a bit of a breeze to ruffle up the surface. Black bream and flathead are still being caught well upstream from Gypsy Point, with the bream around the 30cm mark.

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APRIL 2014

Mixing of the seasons BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsestuaryfishing@bigpond.com

It is that time of year when warm weather species start to mix with cool water ones and for anglers in our part of the world this becomes an interesting time.

drum up some business out over the Continental Shelf and beyond through to the Canyons or further afield. Mixing with them are the smaller stripes or blacks of varying sizes, mahi mahi, yellowfin tuna and the odd spearfish. You never know just what will present itself out there at present.

are starting to show along the coast and should keep increasing in numbers as the weather cools. Mixing with them are the other usual reef dwellers like morwong, nannygai, perch, pigfish or even that tasty curse of the ocean: leatherjackets. Most of these fish can be acquired along the southern reefs with the better ones being down towards Goalen Head. Not to be out done, flathead are also in reasonable numbers with sandies being more predominant. To find these fish try in and around 30-40m water depths, or if you are looking for some big tigers get out to the Twelve Mile Reef. When weather conditions will allow or if you have some electronic reels, go out over the shelf into the abyss looking for those deep water critters like hapuka, jemfish, ling, blue-eye trevalla and

All sorts of game fish will mix in at this time of year, like this big-eye tuna. many more. Beaches in the area are also primed. Even though it is starting to get cooler, it is still pleasant enough to fish into the night. Anglers are encountering plenty

of tailor and salmon, with a few gummy or small whaler sharks and the odd mulloway. During the day, whiting, mullet or bream will also grace the sands. Into the estuaries, it

With prawns still around it makes sense to use lures that imitate them. If you like offshore game fishing, then you won’t get a better opportunity than now. The excellent weather conditions allow anglers to venture further afield with ambitions of a variety of species. Big blue marlin are a top target species with some of the largest of them captured in April. A spread of large pusher style lures is often the preferred manner to

Closer to shore around Montague Island or the closer inshore reefs, kingfish and bonito are on the short list. These lighter sportfish are providing plenty of entertainment on light gear with lures or bait. The inshore reefs are also providing plenty of bottom fish for those who wish to put some tasty species on the table. Fish like snapper

There has been a good run of blue swimmer crabs in Wallaga Lake this season.

has been a brilliant season and it is not over yet. Most estuarine fish will look to migrate out into the ocean where they will move to another warmer system over the winter months. However before they do so, they will feed in earnest building up body condition. This is when anglers can really cash in making the most before the waters cool. This is also a good time of year to concentrate on the lower parts of the estuaries towards the entrances, especially on a rising tide where bait is likely to be a better option. Bream, flathead, luderick or whiting along with most other species will move over the flats in search of worms, prawns, nippers and small crustaceans, like crabs, providing some excellent shallow water and often very visible angling. There is also a run of blue swimmers in Wallaga Lake so get out and get them before it is too cold.

Merimbula mega marlin MERIMBULA

Stuart Hindson stuart@ausfishing.com.au

It’s arguably been the best marlin season we have seen off Merimbula for a very long time. I’ve talked to many locals and visiting anglers and 90% of them think the same, which is awesome to hear. There’s been black, striped and blue marlin, although the majority being landed and released are striped marlin. Some of these models have been big; 130kg is an everyday occurrence. There’s been reports of 150kg fish released plus a handful of stories about mega blue marlin that have been lost. Some fish have been estimated at 300kg – now that’s a big fish to tangle with in a trailer-boat! 40

APRIL 2014

These larger models are winning their freedom due to the fishos being under-gunned in the tackle department. It’s a 50/50 situation – have fun on the lighter gear with the stripes or fish 80-130lb and concentrate on the blues only. I’d be picking the lighter stuff as well. The beaks have been in close too, with the 40-fathom line a good place to start. There’s been a stack of bait holding there for weeks now with slimy mackerel the most prominent bait species. And with the warmer water north of us, I can’t see this action cooling off just yet. Most fish are falling to trolled skirted pushers with a few on skip baits, as well as switch baiting. All methods will work at times, just be prepared to mix it around for consistent results. We should also see a smattering of yellowfin tuna.

There’s been a few school fish around 30kg caught but I suspect over coming weeks that a few jumbos will turn up. Hopefully, they do, as that has been the case in past seasons. In the estuaries, it’s business as usual. The fishing has been nothing short of awesome and has been for months now. Sure you get the odd day when it’s a little tougher, especially when windy, but overall is has been awesome. Pambula and Merimbula are the places to fish, some very big flathead are coming from both systems. Over recent weeks guiding at Pambula we’ve managed three fish over the 80cm mark, an 84, 88 and a monster 95cm model. All these fish were captured on small soft plastic presentations, which is interesting. We have been throwing bigger softies with some success on fish to 60cm

Now that’s a huge Dusky flathead, at 95cm long and released, you don’t seee these type every day that’s for sure. but the big girls won’t eat them. I suspect they are feeding on smaller prawns and shrimp, hence the smaller lures working. Other species like bream, blackfish, whiting, flounder, snapper and tailor have made both these places home. It’s not uncommon at present to get 6-7 different legal species in a session. This great fishing will continue as long as the water holds above 20ºC.

The ocean rocks has been mixed, some days the bonito and kings play the game then on other days it’s a desert. The only thing you can do here is keep going and hope you strike a good day. Anglers casting whole pilchards on ganged hooks have fared best, although live-baiting and casting shiners will get results. Look towards Tura Head if live baiting, if spinning North Head or the Wharf in Merimbula Bay is worth a

try. If the pelagics aren’t for you, you should be able to pick up a few blackfish and drummer on cabbage, especially after heavy seas. On the beaches it’s a bit like the rock fishing, sporadic to say the least. Salmon numbers are almost non-existent at the minute, not too sure why but maybe the dense schools we used to see are not getting this far up the coast, only time will tell. Continued page 49

NSW South Coast

Top species on the doorstep NAROOMA

Stuart Hindson stuart@ausfishing.com.au

Offshore anglers around the Narooma region are in for a good time over the coming weeks with 22-24ºC water straight out the front of Narooma. You can expect all marlin species, yellowfin tuna, mahi mahi and a host of shark species to be chewing. The bait is in plague proportions along the 70 fathom line; slimy mackerel the most prominent. This is a great place to start trolling for the beaks. The gun methods are slow trolled live slimies and switch baiting, after teasing them up with hook-less skirted pushers or skipped striped tuna. There will still be fish hooked with skirted pushers but, with the bait so concentrated, live bait will be a better option. There’s been reports of black and striped marlin upwards of 150kg, which are solid fish for this neck of the woods. I’ve heard of some very big blues hooked but all have won their freedom. These beasts are hard to stay connected to as they usually win the battle as anglers go in undergunned with too light tackle. On the tuna front yellowfin have been consistent with the average size fish 25-30kg – not monsters but still fun in between marlin bites. This month will see bigger yellowfin caught, every April is the same it’s the start of the jumbo season. There will be fish 80kg+ possible, and the From page 48

The whiting and bream numbers are good. They have been excellent all summer and with a few of the

shelf is the place to fish. Trolled bibbed minnows will work but drifting using a berley cube combination would be the best method. At Montague Island the kings play the game one day, then have the next two off. If you’re there on the good day the fishing is excellent with kings to 10kg possible. They have responded well to live bait and jigs, where their feeding depends on what the current is doing. The north end is the go when the current is pushing south, if the current is pushing north then the shallows about 2km south of the island is your best bet. The smaller kings are in huge schools at present

excellent and easily caught on most reefs. I know a few of the offshore charter operators have bagged out at times, which is awesome fishing in my books. You can expect morwong and the odd king when fishing for the reds. Look in 25m on the southwest corner of Montague, it’s been fishing pretty good. In the estuaries it’s a bit hit and miss, depending on what system you’re fishing. The smaller lakes, like Corunna, Mumugga and Tilba, have been the best, especially for eating-sized flathead. Getting your 10 legal fish out of these systems isn’t hard at all: cast smaller softies around 3-4m for best results.

Dawso and Obe out of O’Briens Hotel. There were around 200 anglers and 62 boats, with about 400 fish caught and all released. It’s a great event that raises plenty of money for the town and various charities. What was interesting during the comp was some of the unusual species caught: 2 amberjack, grinners and a flathead species I have never seen caught before. A noticeable absent from the species list was mulloway. They are tough going at the moment, as they are in low numbers, along with the whiting. Hopefully things should change this month. Up at Tuross the fishing has picked up considerably with some mega flathead being captured. I’ve heard of several fish over the magic 90cm mark with a heap of edibles around 40cm – that’s good fishing. The lower sections of the system are fishing better for the bigger fish. Most of the big girls are falling to live bait, those fishing larger soft plastics are finding it a whole lot harder to nail the crocs.

Tom Williams from Melbourne landed these two 60cm soapies at Tuross within minutes of each other. He also got another and dropped two more so there are a few there, all fish released in super condition. There’s quite a few smaller mulloway throughout the system, with the majority being caught undersized. Anglers need to remember that the minimum size is now 70cm, let these smaller fish go and watch over the next few seasons how much bigger they will grow. Those fishing the stones have done ok with bonito, rat kings and a few salmon hitting the hard stuff, although a lot of casting is required to get results. Anglers fishing smaller metal lures up to 30g have fared best with whole pilchards rigged on ganged hooks a close second. The

action should pick up, all we need is some warmer water to come in closer to make the fishing more consistent. Look at Mystery Bay to the south of Narooma for your best chance at connecting to a speedster. Off the beaches the pelagic action is tough. There’s certainly a lack of salmon around at present with tailor almost non-existent. What is keeping the beachgoers happy are solid sand whiting and a few bream. The northern beaches, like Coila and Blackfellows, are the best places to wet a line with live beach worms the preferred baits. Good luck.

FISHING FILL-ITS Mike Harrington from Canberra releasing his best flattie to date a solid 88cm model, this fish was caught in Tuross on a soft plastic. and have been for months now. Those days when the bigger fish don’t play, you can at least still have some fun on them. Anglers after the bottom species, especially snapper are going great guns. These fine eating fish have been

There’s been a few bream with the flatties, most of these have been caught by bait fishos and anglers using blades. In Wagonga the flatties have been okay, but you have to work for them. The 5th Flathead Classic was recently run by myself,

yellowfin bream leaving the estuaries this month to do their thing more numbers should be available. Better beaches to try include North Tura

(northern end), Tura Main and the mouth at Pambula Lake. Best baits include live beach worms, pipi and tuna cubes for the bream.

Launching at Patterson River The Boating Industry of Victoria (BIAV) applauds and thanks the Minister for Ports David Hodgett, the Napthine Government and local MP for Carrum Donna Bauer for being awarded through its Boating Safety and Facilities Program (BSFP) the funding of a master plan for better car and trailer parking facilities for anglers and boating enthusiasts at Patterson River Launching Way. The Boating Industry through the BSFP $60,000 funding grant will engage with agency stakeholders Kingston City Council and Parks Victoria to develop a precinct plan for the Patterson River launching facility, to synergies existing facilities with other unused land areas to create efficiencies, increase capacity and to deal with parking overflow during peak

demand for the launching facilities. This project and master plan is the first step in the development of more efficient boat launching facilities in the State to assist in dealing with the constants that recreational boating enthusiasts endure when launching and retrieving there boats. The BIAV welcome the recognition and importance that Minister Hodgett and the Napthine Government places on recreational boating in the State along with its commitment to improving Victoria’s boating infrastructure. “The Patterson River facility is one of the most popular destinations for getting out on the water and is in high demand during peak times, we are delighted to be able to work with the

local agencies to develop a master plan for this precinct that can be a spring board for other important launching facilities throughout the state,” Mr Paul Benjamin, President of the BIAV stated. The Paterson River facility is one of the largest launching facilities in the southern hemisphere and is a very important part of the local Community at Carrum servicing the needs of the local of fishing and boating enthusiasts. The Victorian boating community and industry, significantly contributes to the Victorian economy in terms of recreational boat operator licensing fees and vessel registration fees, the local boat manufacturing industry creating jobs for Victorians and servicing the Australian and export markets. – BIAV

Black bream numbers will only increase as we head further into autumn. This was one of 16 caught for the session and all released. APRIL 2014

Tech Tricks

Flexible ganged hook rigs for fishing pilchards BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

One of the most commonly used hook rigs for beach fishers, especially in Southern Qld and Northern NSWs, is the ganged hook rig. Whether you’re fishing with pilchards or other long, thin baits such as fillet strips, whole squid and other whole fish, the ganged hook rig is a great way to present your bait. It also has a greater hook-up rate than many other rigs. The traditional way of joining hooks has always

been eye to shank. Many hook patterns, such as Mustad 4202D and VMC 8755, are made with opened, turned in eyes to make the ganging process easier. The downside of joining the hooks eye-to-shank is that the rig is fairly rigid. This rigidity makes it more difficult to put the bait on the hook and also means that the hook eye can distort or even break due to the torque created when the hooks are bent in opposing directions. Many years ago, anglers began experimenting with different hook styles and methods of joining the hooks, and came up with the swivel-linked ganged rig. This modification solved the

shortcomings of the rigid eye-to-shank rig, replacing it with a more flexible and durable hook rig that make it easier to put the bait on. Additionally, as a result of each hook being able to move independently, this rig has a higher hook-up rate and is less likely to fall out during the fight. For whole fish baits, I put the hooks down through the back of the bait. This decreases the hooks’ visibility and places the hook points in the soft gut cavity which is easily punctured when a fish bites down on the bait. Another advantage of this placement is that it creates a

central pull to the bait, which makes it appear more natural in the water. The leading hook is in the hard head which decreases the chance of it tearing out during an aggressive cast. Rigged in this way, pilchards make great cast-and-retrieve offerings when slowly rolled through the water, especially in the surf for tailor. While many of the original ganging hook patterns can be used for this rig, you will get a more compact and neat rig by using inline hooks (not offset) with straight eyes (not turned in or out). The main patterns I use are the VMC 9255 and Tru-Turn 711, which are both readily available. In fact, I use

a combination of these two patterns for my preferred rig. The Tru-Turn hook pattern has a kink in the shank which helps roll the hook point upright as a fish bites down on the hook. This increases the hook-up rate with the hook commonly piercing the roof of the mouth. For this reason I use this hook pattern for the two rear hooks in the rig as they can both swivel independently which offers awesome hooking potential. For the leading hook in the rig I use the straight shanked VMC 9255. It makes the bait more stable in the water and decreases the chance of a pilchard or other

whole fish bait spinning. In a moderate current the bait should just waft slowly side to side, which makes it look more lifelike and enticing to predating species. For this to work however, the leading hook (VMC 9255) needs to be placed centrally in the head, approximately halfway between the eye and the nose of the bait. Additionally, the bait needs to be straight and a little flexible. This hook placement keeps the mouth of the bait closed and keeps the whole rig streamlined. Now let’s look at the steps in making a good, flexible ganged hook swivel rig and putting on your pilchard.

To finish the rig, put on the trailing hook (Tru Turn 711) by passing the lower swivel of the second hook over the eye and then closing. Your rig should now look like this.

Both the VMC 9255 and Tru Turn 711 have closed eyes so we need to begin by opening these so we can put the swivels on. Although some multi-purpose pliers have hook eye openers, I prefer to use a pair of side-cutters as it is less likely to weaken the hook eye. Put the side cutter’s two blades against the gap where the end of the eye meets the shank and squeeze down on the handles.

Depending on the type of side-cutters used, you may need to open the eye a little more. If so, slightly pry the tool outwards against the hook to open the gap enough to put the swivel on. It will only need to be opened a little bit however as the swivel eyes are not very thick.

Let’s start with the middle hook of the rig, a Tru Turn 711. Put the first swivel on and let it slide down and around to the hook bend. Put the second hook on and leave this one on the hook eye.

Lay the hook rig along the side of the pilchard to work out where the rear hook will need to be inserted. Keep in mind that your leading hook will be inserted approximately halfway between the eye and nose of the pilchard.

Use a pair of pliers to close the hook eye. I like to use my crimping pliers as the dual action and grooves in the blade make this task easier. Be careful not to crush or damage the swivel while closing the hook eye.

When closed, there should be a flush meeting of the metal with no gap left where the eye meets the shank.

Now you need to choose a suitable swivel. I use Shogun rolling swivels [see inset for the correct sizes for VMC and Tru-Turn hooks between 3/0 and 6/0]. For other swivels and hook patterns you will need to ensure that the swivel moves freely over the hook shank and that it cannot slip over the barb of the hook. 42

APRIL 2014

Put your top hook (VMC 9255) on next by passing the swivel on the eye of the middle hook over the eye and down the shank. You can put an additional swivel on the eye of this leading hook or just close it.

Insert the hooks down through the middle of the back of the pilchard as shown with the leading hook placed centrally through the head. Your pilchard is now ready to be deployed. If you need a little more weight you can add a sinker directly in front of the hook. CONCLUSION Rigging baits well will definitely increase your chances of initially hooking and staying connected to a fish. Good bait presentation can often mean the difference in acceptance or refusal of a bait, which makes a dramatic difference to your end result. For pilchards, gar and pike, this rig is the best I have used, especially when targeting tailor, mackerel and other toothy critters which can easily bite through hook rigs snelled on monofilament or fluorocarbon.

The ganged hook swivel rig is flexible, easy to insert, durable and has low visibility when inserted in the bait. You’ll need different sizes depending on the baits you’re using, however a 4/0 or 5/0 will suit most pilchards. These rigs are also easier to store than normal gangs and you can fold them up and wrap them in alfoil. You can prepare a heap of different sizes in twin hook, three hook or four hook gangs ready to suit a variety of bait sizes and types. I’m sure you will love using them.

Fishing Fill-its

Illegal fishing lands large fines

Macquarie perch boosting stocks

A man has learnt an expensive lesson after being caught in possession of a threatened fish species in the NSW Riverina. The man was caught by DPI fisheries officers during a routine patrol of the Murrumbidgee River at Berembed Weir near Grong Grong in April last year. “During the patrol, fisheries officers inspected a camp with six rods set from the bank into the Murrumbidgee River,” DPI Director Fisheries

Three northern Victorian waters have shared in 71,500 Macquarie perch fingerlings this year in an effort to create a new fishery and improve wild stocks of the threatened native species. Minister for Agriculture and Food Security Peter Walsh said Macquarie perch had been stocked by Fisheries Victoria into the Expedition Pass Reservoir near Castlemaine, the Ovens River and the Goulburn River. “Expedition Pass Reservoir is being developed as a new recreational Macquarie perch fishery. It has been stocked with nearly 15,000 Macquarie perch fingerlings since 2010 to build up the population before fisheries managers consider an opening,” Mr Walsh said. “The stockings into the Ovens and Goulburn rivers have a different aim. We want to help boost Macquarie perch populations in their natural riverine habitats, which has been a successful approach for another native fish under threat – the trout cod.” Mr Walsh said so far this year Fisheries had stocked 5,000 Macquarie perch into Expedition Pass Reservoir near Castlemaine; 40,500 into the Ovens River between Myrtleford and Gapstead and

Compliance, Glenn Tritton said. “Three men were in the camp and a check of the keeper net revealed a trout cod which is a threatened species, and a prohibited size Murray cod, along with two carp. “Trout cod are a threatened species and should be returned to the water immediately if caught. The Murray cod measured 41.5cm in length [the minimum legal length for Murray cod is 60cm]. “One of the men, a 51 year old from Griffith, admitted to catching the

two fish and putting them into the keeper net. The fish were seized and returned to the water alive. “The man was issued with two penalty notices totalling $1000 but elected to have the matter heard in court. He faced Narrandera Local Court last month where he pleaded guilty and was convicted and fined $1,320 plus instructed to pay $660 in professional costs, a total of $1980. “The DPI takes illegal fishing very seriously and offenders will be prosecuted.” - DPI

The contents of the offender’s keeper net. Fisheries officers seized the trout cod and undersize Murray cod.

26,000 into the Goulburn River between Molesworth and Trawool. Including this season’s stockings, nearly 50,000 Macquarie perch have been released into the Ovens River since 2011 and more than 30,000 into the Goulburn River since 2012. “The fish were grown at the Department of Environment and Primary Industries’ Snobs Creek hatchery, where other native fish such as Murray cod and trout cod are bred for a statewide stocking program. The program is funded through the Victorian Coalition Government’s $16 million Recreational Fishing Initiative

and revenue from fishing licenses,” Mr Walsh said. Mr Walsh said help from community group Native Fish Australia and the Arthur Rylah Institute had been critical in collecting broodfish Macquarie perch for the breeding program. Macquarie perch can only be taken by anglers from three waters in Victoria: Lake Dartmouth the Yarra River and Upper Coliban Reservoir. Take is permitted in accordance with strict bag and size limits and a three-month closed season each year, although many anglers choose to release Macquarie perch given its conservation status. – DEPI

n o e b o t t n Wa f o r e v o C the ? y l h t n o M Fishing

INSER T YOUR FACE HERE!

Do you love your monthly issue of Fishing Monthly? Do you think it’s about time you were on the cover of it? Well, we think that too and are offering readers the chance to do just that. The June, July and August issues of Queensland, NSW and Victoria/Tasmania FMs will all feature readers’ pics on the front covers. And there’s no reason why it can’t be you... Entry is simple. Email us your cover-worthy pic. Remember, though, that it needs to be the right composition and resolution to work. After that, it just needs to get through the Grumpy Old Men committee (of Steve Booth and Steve Morgan) and then BOOM, you’re the latest cover model.

Be creative - we like images that aren’t just ‘person holding fish’. • • • • • •

Other parameters of which you need to take note: Portrait format (turn camera on its side). Leave enough room for a magazine masthead at the top of the image. Shoot in the highest resolution your camera can take. Use fill-in flash to help remove any shadows under caps or biminis. Live fish look way better than dead ones. Any fish must be legally captured (within season/size limits).

Head not too high in the shot to allow for Masthead Portrait format showing focus area

And then email your image to: frontcovercomp@fishingmonthly.com.au with a description of the what/when/where/how of the capture. Be sure to include your details, too, because we’ll post out a framed copy of the winning covers to the entrant.

THAT will be going straight to the Pool Room, we bet.

For full terms and conditions, please refer to www.fishingmonthly.com.au/frontcovercomp APRIL 2014

Trailer Feature

Pimp your trailer with accessories you can’t We all know that there is nothing unhealthy at all about polishing your pride and joy for hours on end. In fact, we’re sure that there’s something written, somewhere, about the time

spent in your boat not being deducted from the number of days one is allocated on this planet. And if there isn’t, there certainly should be. Sitting in and around

boats talking fishing, or engines, or the weather, is one of Man’s joys and the boat certainly steals the show when it comes to being the centre of attention. We think, however, that

it’s time your trailer got the attention that it deserved. After all, it’s the cradle that gets your boat to the water and back. And it’s the bit that invariably leaves you stuck on the side of the road

when it’s not given enough attention. Just as a properly set up trailer can be a pleasure to use, a poorly set up trailer or one the wrong type, can actually damage your boat

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There’s more to like than a standard, 50mm tow ball and cast hitch. Even though that’ll do the job in a majority of cases, you can get specialised hitches that allow a greater range of movement. Just what you need when you decide to take your tinnie to places where only serious 4WD owners dare to drive. After all, there are always more fish in places that threaten to destroy all that you own just by attempting to get there.

No matter how good a captain you are, there’ll be the time when you’re the poor bloke busting your chops winching up the boat. Immediately, you’ll think, ’there’s gotta be a better way’. There is. Upgrading to a winch with the correct gear ratio can make the chore a lot easier. Or you can go the whole hog and set yourself up with an electric winch system that gets your boat loaded with a push of a button.

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Let’s face it, there’s nothing like a little trailer envy to get the strut going after a day on the water. In this feature, we will have a look at some of the improvements that can be made to turn your tub-toter into the sweetest ride your boat will ever have.

Of course, none of these enhancements are a substitute for a good maintenance regime. A little bit of TLC goes a long way with a piece of machinery that’s repeatedly immersed in salt water and then left to bake in the sun. - FMG.

Trailer Wraps What the heck is a trailer wrap? Printed vinyl that’s so popular with tournament and sponsored anglers can be applied to the trailer - usually on the main frame on the outside - both forward and behind the guards.

Trailer Feature Springs

Galv Spray

Brakes

Are you a galvanised spring user or is raw steel more your thing? Ever seen the torsion blocks without springs? They work a treat and they don’t sound like a flock of budgies following you along the highway.

Need to touch up a few places where the galvanising is wearing a bit thin? Never mind that it’s because you cut the corner next to that concrete post. There’s products that’ll restore your trailer’s original level of awesome-ness.

Stopping in a hurry is awesome when you find out traffic is stopped in front of you and you’re pushing the limits. Trailer brakes make this dream a reality! Adding brake kits to a trailer isn’t as hard as it sounds. You need a little technical nous, but my no means need to be McGyver. Remember that the legal limit for unbraked boat trailers is 750kg. If your loaded and fuelled rig weighs more then this, you need ‘em.

Rollers Bearing Systems The old standard of greased wheel bearings in your hubs is under threat. There are several varieties of oil filled hubs that let you see the status of lubrication at a glance.

Does your boat have enough rollers? If they’re not set up properly or there are too few, you risk damaging your precious boat. Too many rollers is just enough. Just.

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Oceanic Trailers

BMS Marine

Oceanic Trailers is a company whose motto is to strive for excellence in both design and durability. This Australian company is based on the Gold Coast and employs Aussie workers with the same goals as their customers: to live the Australian way and use Australian product. In keeping with this philosophy, the Oceanic team only use Australian tube to manufacture their trailer frames, and they’re so confident in the build quality that they offer a 3-year structural warranty on all Oceanic branded trailer frames. Options abound – these guys are happy to accommodate customer requests, no matter how small. Paint or powder-coated finishes over hot dip galvanising gives the finished product a look that is as individual as the colour you choose. Oceanic also offers (at a fraction of the cost of the other coatings) vinyl wraps. Mud guards are available in either plastic moulded, steel round, checker plate or plain 4-bend design. The injection moulded plastic guards are made in Sydney by a company battling the imported competition. To fight back against cheap imports they have been innovative and have tooled up to be very competitive, and Oceanic has passed on the savings to its customers. Choosing wheels is another way of personalising your trailer. Dress alloy or galvanised – there is a choice of wheel for everyone’s requirements. So when you’re deciding to purchase your next rig, think about wide variety of options available to you offered by Oceanic Trailers and ask your dealer for a price. For more information visit www.oceanictrailers. com.au. - OT

Oceanic Trailers 2

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www.seatrailvic.com.au 10 Concorde Cres, WERRIBEE VIC 3030 46

APRIL 2014

TRAILERS

03·9731 7269 *Dealer delivery charges apply outside metro areas

Trailer Feature 3

Bargain White Vision LED’s

When LED trailer lights first came out, you needed a second mortgage to get a set. As time passed though, the cost of these low maintenance necessities dropped – dramatically. These ‘White Vision’ branded boat trailer lights are fully waterproof and come in 12 and 24 volt versions. With a 12 month warranty and slimline design, you’d be expecting these to cost $100 a set. Try $45 a pair – and if you mention Fishing Monthly, you’ll pick up a set for $25 (for April 2014 only). Why wouldn’t you bone the old set of wonky, globe-models of your sled and upgrade to these. They even come with the stainless steel bolts to mount it and the mandatory number-plate lighting. Did we mention that they are only $25 a set this month? Yes, we did, but we thought it was worth repeating. Call Active Fabrications on (07) 3807 6666 to order. - FMG

Mount me

Active Fabrications sells spare wheel holders that bolt to your trailer frame and keep your spare where you need it – on your trailer and not sitting in the garage at home in the moment of need. The Spare Tyre Bracket kit comes with studs and U-Bolts to mount it to your frame and $24 is a small price to pay for the convenience. Tyre and rim options Are your trailer tyres and rims looking a little sad? There’s a broad variety of sizes and stud patterns for your boat trailer tyres. Active Fabrications have 8, 9, 10, 13 and 14” models available at fantastic pricing. For example, a 10” wheel and tyre will set you back $95.60 and a 13” model $119.45. Call Active Fabrications to order on (07) 3807 6666 or visit www.activefabrications. com.au for more information or to order. FMG

White Vision LEDs

Active Fabrications 4

Treat your trailer right Keeping your trailer in good shape isn’t that hard, and it’s a very worthwhile exercise. You don’t want to find yourself in that nightmare scenario of being stuck on the side of the road, smoke coming from your trailer wheel, and telling yourself life just isn’t fair. Take it from me – life is a whole lot more fair if you do take a few easy steps to avoid nasty surprises! BEARINGS Bearings are one of the more vital items on your boat trailer, but they’re something we often forget about – until they fail. Wheel bearing failure is the most common problem people have with their trailers. If you keep your bearings well greased they will last longer, but eventually they will need to be replaced. To check your bearings, jack the wheel off the ground and spin the wheel. If there’s a grinding sound, that’s bad; your bearings should be smooth and silent. If you grab the wheel at the top and bottom, there shouldn’t be much play in it. If there is

excessive movement you’re on borrowed time. Lots of boaters replace their bearings at home. If you haven’t done it before there are plenty of YouTube

videos showing how it’s done. Or, if you want to avoid the mess and hassle, just take it to your local tyre shop or mechanic. There are several bearing

Replace rusty U bolts as these are what keeps your axle attached to your trailer; a very simple and easy job.

Large pneumatic jockey wheels make for easy maneuverability. Keep it well lubricated and ensure the lugs are locked before moving your trailer.

LED trailer lights are a great addition to your trailer; they’re bright yet draw very little power.

lube systems available that will allow you to keep your bearings well greased and oiled. These include brands like Dura Hub and Bearing Buddies, and you’ll find they are easy to fit and come with helpful instructions. And finally, if you have an extended road trip planned I would suggest taking 2 pairs of bearings plus a tub of waterproof grease and a general tool kit… just in case. SPARE TYRE In an ideal world, your spare tyre would happily spend its life perched on your trailer and never have to touch the road. But just in case your luck runs out, you need to make sure your tyre is ready to roll. The next time you’re at the

servo, top up your tyres to the recommended PSI rating (this is displayed on the wall of the tyre). You also need to carry a tyre wrench that fits the nuts on the wheels. Another option is to get a quality X-bar wrench. With 4 wheel nut sizes they’re compatible with nearly all trailers. Lastly, remember that wheel nuts have a habit of coming loose, so give every nut a tighten on a regular basis. RUST Got some light rust on your trailer? Attack it with a wire brush to remove any surface corrosion, and then give it a good coating of antirust agent such as Cold Gal. Major rust is obviously a much bigger problem. If you have significant rusting of the trailer frame or parts you should get them replaced immediately or get a licensed trailer repairer to fix the damage. Because springs aren’t galvanized they’re one of the areas that are particularly susceptible to rust, and so they need some attention to minimize this problem. I recommend spraying your

springs several times a year with a rust-inhibiting silicone spray. It’s also a good idea to clean them thoroughly after each trip. If you’re planning

an extended trip you should bring a spare set; it’s difficult to find exactly the right spring when you’re off the beaten track. Continued page 48

Keep all moving parts greased or oiled regularly. APRIL 2014

Trailer Feature From page 47

WIRING AND LIGHTS The trailer’s electrical wiring system is prone to failure after repeated dunkings in saltwater, as well as wear and tear on the road. For this reason it’s wise to make a visual inspection of the wiring to check for corroded or damaged wires or loose connections. Before each trip you also need to

JOCKEY WHEEL To keep your jockey wheel in good nick it’s a good idea to keep grease inside the winding mechanism and on the internal shaft. If you have a swing-away jockey wheel, check that the handle (or other parts of the assembly) doesn’t scrape on sloped surfaces when retracted. If this is an issue it may be possible to secure

overload your rig with ice, tackle, camping gear plus a big load of fuel. Have a look at your VIN plate to see the manufacturer’s guidelines regarding the net maximum capacity. TRAILER ROLLERS If you own an aluminium boat and the trailer is over three years old, your rollers probably aren’t doing their job as well as they used to. It doesn’t help if your keel gets knocked about, because the uneven surface damages trailer rollers. You can see the bits of blue or red poly stuck to the keel when you’re tying the boat down. When your rollers don’t roll it’s time to buy new ones. Measure the length of the roller itself and the pin it sits on so you know exactly which ones to get. If your trailer is designed for driving

To ensure top efficiency from the brakes and suspension they need to be cleaned and serviced regularly.

There are several bearing lube systems on the market to ensure you keep bearings greased or oiled at optimum levels. check your indicator and brake lights. If you have a large trailer, check that your clearance lights are working. Every so often, take a look at the electrical tow plug connectors on your tow vehicle and trailer. You want to avoid surface rust on the plug, and you can help

the handle to the drawbar of your trailer. BRAKES Boat-trailer packages with a specified gross capacity of 750kg or higher are required by law to have trailer brakes. If this is you, you should test your brakes and brake lights before each

The seatbelt type winch straps have very high load ratings and are easy on the hands. Notice the safety chain attached securely.

Surface rust must be treated once it becomes visible. Hit this area with a wire brush and treat with a Cold Gal spray, available from most chandlery outlets. to prevent this with a good quality silicon spray. If there’s a small amount of corrosion you can clean the contacts with a small wire brush and a light spray of CRC. If there’s heavy corrosion you’ll need to replace the plug. When it comes to the lights themselves, many boaters have made the switch to sealed LEDs because they last longer and usually have fewer problems. They also have a low power draw and are very bright. If you’re not familiar with the wire colour codes, here they are: the yellow wire is for the left indicator; green is the right indicator; brown is for the tail, side and clearance lights; red is for the stop lights and the white wire is the ground/earth wire. If you have power brakes they’ll most likely have a blue wire. 48

APRIL 2014

trip to make sure they’re operating properly. Also remember that if you’re going on an extended trip it’s all too easy to

on, it’s good to replace the first keel roller with a selfcentering roller. It’s a bit more expensive than a plain roller, but it’s easier and quicker to drive on. So that your new rollers don’t quickly end up shredded like the old ones, you’ll need to smooth the keel. You can do this with a file or grinder, and it only requires a light touch. All you want to do is take out the nicks and dents to leave a smooth surface.

It is important to grease and spray your coupling frequently, otherwise it will end up looking like this neglected item.

Once the keel is smooth, it’s time to get the old rollers off and put the new ones on. To do this you’ll need long-nose pliers, side cutters and a hammer. It’s also good to bring marine grease to increase the pins’ lifespan, plus a decent sized rag to clean up with. Pick a quiet time or a blustery day when nobody wants to be on the water, and head down to your local ramp. Once the boat is off the trailer and you’ve parked out of the way of other users, you can get cracking. Get your hammer and whack the split pins to get them through the holder so the roller can come off (just remember to hit only one end or the dented metal may prevent the pin from coming off). The next step is to put grease on the new pin. Be generous with the grease, because the saltwater environment is pretty unforgiving. Then position the new roller between the posts, push the pin through and then secure everything with the split pins (if the split pins are too long you can trim them with side cutters).

It’s also good to periodically spray the working parts with a good quality silicone spray. Finally, make sure that the safety chain from your winch post is in good order and hooked up to your boat before you hit the road. CLEANING It’s important to give your trailer a thorough hosing down after each trip to prevent the saltwater from attacking the metal. When you’re washing the boat, wash down the trailer as well with warm, soapy water. The biggest problem areas are the springs, axle, wheels and rollers, so give them some extra attention. When you’re finished, give your springs, axle and any moving parts a spray with good quality silicone spray or Inox. It’s also advisable to have two safety chains from your

This bearing cap is well overdue for a service. When the pin and split pin are in place, put grease all over them to ward off rust. Going through this procedure with all the rollers should take you around 20 minutes in total. Getting the boat on and off the trailer should now be a lot easier. WINCH Check your winch cable regularly for signs of wear. It can be good to change your winch straps to the seatbelt or Spectra rope type as they have very high load ratings and are easy on the hands.

trailer to your tow hitch, crossed and secured with a quality D shackle. A shackle is something you don’t want to skimp on unless you want your boat to overtake you on the highway. Every once in a while use a shifter to make sure all the nuts and bolts are tight on your trailer, as they tend to gradually loosen. Remember, you can’t get to and from the water without your trailer, so look after it and you’ll get many years of faithful service. - FMG

Cooking with Lynn

Asian spring rolls BRISBANE

Lynn Bain

This is a step-by-step guide to making Asian spring rolls. Because of the generic Asian ingredients in these spring rolls, you could serve them with a dipping sauce from any of the cultures – either soy and mirin (Japanese), sweet chilli sauce

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(Thai), chilli jam (Thai) or hoisin sauce (Chinese). Alternatively, you could have bowls of all four of these dipping sauces and give your diners a choice. INGREDIENTS 1 tablespoon peanut oil 2 cloves garlic, finely grated 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger 2 green shallots, finely chopped 500gms green prawns,

Heat the cooking oil in a frypan. Then fry garlic, ginger, green shallots and chopped green prawns until the prawns change colour. sure it’s not too sweet.

peeled and chopped 6 or so dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in water until soft, drained and then chopped 1 teaspoon Squid fish sauce A good pinch of sugar 1 tablespoon ABC Kecap Manis 1 tablespoon lime juice 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves Spring roll wrappers Oil, for deep frying

Add the mushrooms, fish sauce, Kecap Manis, lime juice, sugar and chopped coriander to the prawn mixture and continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the filling to cool.

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The ingredients for the prawn filling.

All ready to roll. A spring roll wrapper, the cooled filling and some water for sealing the edges of the spring rolls.

9 Roll the bottom edge of the wrapper up and over the filling (wet each of the edges with a little water each time that you roll or fold the spring rolls – this ensures that the edges seal)

The completed spring roll. Rolled and ready for deep frying.

Completely cover the filling with the wrapper.

I find that the easiest (and gentlest) way of carefully lowering the spring roll into the hot oil is to use a slotted ladle.

Fold over the left-hand side of the wrapper.

A spoonful of the prawn filling is placed towards the centre-bottom of the wrapper.

Folding the right hand side of the wrapper over the left hand side. Make sure that you seal each edge as you roll and fold (use water in which to dip your fingers, then let the water drip from your fingers and onto the spring roll paper at the seal’s edge). Doing this step ensures that the spring roll doesn’t unwrap when being deep-fried.

Cook the spring rolls until golden brown and then drain them on paper towel. Spring rolls and dipping sauce presented ready for eating.

APRIL 2014

What’s new fishing Powered by

BREAK BRAID TOOL

Snagging up is part of fishing. Breaking the braid when you have a snag is the difficult part. Breaking the braid puts unnecessary pressure on your reel but it is also difficult on you, and can be very frustrating. The Break Braid tool is designed as a safe and easy way to save your braided line when snagged. This tool makes breaking braid a breeze and allows you to get back into the fishing sooner. Simply wrap the tool around the line several times, and with one sharp pull the braid is broken and you’re free to rig up again and start fishing. And often when you go to break the braid with this special tool you’ll pull the lure off the snag, or just plain snap the snag off and bring it in with your lure. The Break Braid tool is mighty cheap and a must-have item for all anglers who use braided line. Price: RRP $7.95 www.breakbraidtool.com.au

BEE’S KNEES SPOOLER

The Aussie invented Bee’s Knees Reel Spooler is of the highest quality, and is CNC machined from solid aluminium and stainless steel. Incorporated are 2 ball bearings and a 40mm Carbontex drag washer which is coated with Cal’s drag grease, producing upwards of 15kg of drag on a 100mm spool. The unit can either be fixed permanently or used as a portable spooler. Simply drive the car or boat trailer tyre onto the plate, bolt it on your work bench or clamp it. The Bee’s Knees accommodates small spools of line right up to the large bulk spools of game fishing line. It’s great for spooling any reels with tension, and best of all you can do it on your own. Price: RRP $129 + postage www.bluebottlefishing.com

BIGFISH SKELEFISH

Skelefish is the latest edition to the popular Bigfish Graphics range. It features stunning 3D detail of chrome skeleton fish assembled together chasing skeleton baitfish. The depth of detail is incredible and depicts mahi mahi, sailfish, mangrove jack, barra and cod – all the favourite species in the one shirt. Every shirt in the entire Bigfish range is printed, cut and sewn in Australia. They are incredibly soft, cool, lightweight, UPF 50 and made from the highest quality Australian knitted polyester. Bigfish shirts are not only stunning to look at but you’ll want to wear them for their comfort style and sun protection. To view this and other shirts in the range visit the Bigfish website or check them out at your nearest stockist. Price: RRP $89.95 www.bigfishgraphics.com.au

SAMAKI SKITCH NANO

Samaki Skitch Nano takes Nano technology to the next level. These rods sport a flashy chameleon finish, super

APRIL 2014

hard EVA grips and split butt designs on multiple models. The Samaki Skitch Nano has been created for every angler across the nation, from the barra fishing enthusiast with a 6’0” cast and spin model, to the estuary fisherman taking advantage of the light and medium spin 7’0” models – not to mention the ever popular heavy slug spinning 9’0” model. Look for them at your favourite tackle store or check out the Samaki website to find out more. Price: from RRP$89.95 www.samaki.com.au

2P THERMO SHIELD TOPS

One of the best thermal garments is now even better, thanks to the release of the new 2P Thermo Shield Tops. Perfect for fishing, these long-sleeved and short-sleeved tops are now available in high visibility colours for safety. As outer wear or as a thermal underlayer of insulation, the innovative, Super Stretch 2P Thermal Shield Rash range is perfect for any activity, wet or dry, wherever you need protection without restriction. These tops act like a second skin, giving you complete freedom of movement. Features include: rapid drying, fleece for comfort, protection against wind chill, UV50+ sun protection and no-rash flatlock stitching. The Thermo Shield Short Sleeve top (#662911122-8) is priced at RRP $45.95; the Long Sleeve version (#662911220–8) is $49.95; and the Zip Long Sleeve top is $59.95. All come in a wide range of sizes. Check out the Home Grown Brands Australia website to view the complete catalogue of watersports apparel. Price: from $45.95 www.landandsea.com.au

FUJI ‘O’ CONCEPT GUIDES

Traditionally only available on more expensive components, Fuji has now introduced ‘O’ Concept Guides by combining deep pressed guides with their largest selling ring, the ‘O’ ring, making this high end technology available to everyone at any price point. Conventional frame construction supports the ring at one point on the frame, so the ring is dependent on the frame thickness for strength. The new Concept deep-pressed frame secures a ring on a thinner frame by use of a redesigned construction resulting in more than one contact point around the frame. This design reduces draw, twist and bend and saves weight through its lightness, resulting in a more responsive rod. Fuji developed this process as part of the new Guide Concept as an improvement over the traditional technique for securing rings to frames as they researched ways to protect the ring and provide a more secure hold. Deep-pressing answered their needs. It protects the entire outside edge of the ring, but also enables a full epoxy seal around the ring resulting in more surface area contact and a more secure hold. Many companies may offer ‘locked’ rings, but Fuji invented, refined and perfected this technique to become the strongest possible. Price: Varies www.fujitackle.com.au

Please send contributions to: The Editor, Fishing Monthly Group PO BOX 3172 LOGANHOLME, QLD. 4129

What’s new fishing Powered by

OKUMA TRIO REX SALT

The Okuma Trio Rex Salt is a specialist surfcasting reel that features the revolutionary Crossover Construction platform, leveraging the superior strength offered by aluminium and the featherweight characteristics of graphite. Internally, 6 + 1 stainless steel ball bearings, a worm shaft transmission system and machine cut brass pinion gears feature in the reel. Such quality components operate in perfect mechanical unison to deliver an effortless wind at a gear ratio of 4.5:1. The multi disc, Japanese oiled felt drag system generates approximately 9kg of drag pressure which is reinforced by Okuma’s Hydro Block drag seal to provide protection against sand and saltwater intrusion. As with all Okuma reels, the Trio Rex Salt comes complete with a Lifetime Guarantee. Price: RRP $329.95 www.okuma.com.au

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ABU SALTY STAGE JIGGING ROD

Featuring a super lightweight design and quality components, Abu Garcia Salty Stage Shore Jigger rods have been designed in Japan for the ultimate in shore jigging. The series includes regular and extra fast actions for maximum casting distance and fish fighting performance. Powerful composite blanks incorporate a carbon X wrap to reduce rod twist and increase power. Premium Fuji K guides are used for casting performance, and the sophisticated grip design delivers a lightweight and ergonomic grip system for superior comfort and control. There are 4 models in the range, all 2-piece spin, packaged with a zip-up rod case for storage and travel. The line-up is as follows: 9’8’’ PE 1-2.5, lure weight 10-45g; 9’6’’ PE 1-3, 20-60g; 10’6’’ PE 1-3, 28-70g and the heaviest model, a 10’3’’ PE 2-4 with a lure weight of 35-100g. Perfectly matched to Penn Conflict and Abu Garcia Revo SX reels, Pure Fishing recommends using the Shore Jiggers with C’ultiva Gekito jigs. Price: approx. $350-$400 abugarcia-fishing.com.au

ULTRA STRONG KVD PLIERS

KVD Aluminium Pliers are your answer to affordable, lightweight and reliable fishing pliers. Made from aircraft grade ultra-light aluminium that has been heavily anodized for greater corrosion resistance, they are light and comfortable enough to use all day and tough and durable enough to last a lifetime. The KVD pliers feature titanium coated stainless steel jaws and replaceable tungstencarbide cutters, and have custom rubberized grip and coiled tether with a clasp to keep the tool handy. Everything packs neatly in the supplied protective nylon holster. Look for KVD 6.5” Ultra Strong Aluminium Pliers (#KVDAP65) at your favourite tackle store or visit the Wilson Fishing website for more information on the KVD range. RRP: from $59 www.wilsonfishing.com

MAKE YOUR OWN SOFT VIBES

With the popularity of soft vibes over the past few years it was only a matter of time before U-Make-Em-Soft Plastics brought out a mould so anglers could start making their own lures. They have produced 2 shapes: a 110mm model designed for larger species, as well as a neat little 85mm model for the small guys. The larger model comes in 25g and 27g versions and the smaller model comes in 19g and 22g versions. The kit includes a lead mould for the internals as well as the external soft plastic mould for the body. Price: Too new www.u-make-emsoftplastics.com.au

C’ULTIVA GEKITO JIGS

NEW SIGLETT COLOURS

Two of the latest jigs from C’ultiva are the Gekito Level and Gekito Jig Aero. The Gekito Level is a mid weighted jig designed for slow falling on the drop. The slow flutter action has proven effective in shallow to mid water reef jigging. These premium quality jigs have a tough ‘centre bone’ chassis making them nearly unbreakable and unbendable, delivering the perfect swimming action fish after fish. The 6 colour range features a highly reflective holographic finish to trigger strikes from predatory fish. It’s available in 30, 40, 60 and 80g sizes. The Gekito Jig Aero is rear weighted for increased casting distance and rapid descent in deep water/high current conditions. It’s a versatile jig ideal for bluewater pelagic and shore casting applications. They feature the super-tough ‘centre bone’ chassis. The 6 colour range features a highly reflective holographic finish, and available sizes are 30, 40 and 60g. Price: from RRP $17.95 owner-fishing.com.au

The Megabass Siglett is the ultimate surface lure for bass and EPs. These iconic cicada imitations have landed countless fish, and they’re now available in some new colours. Bass and bream, which will readily take a Siglett, can be most active at dusk and at night. Fishing with lures very close to snags can be difficult if you can’t see your presentation, but the Glow Night Walker fixes this problem. It has a lumo body and plastic wings, making it perfect for anglers fishing well after dusk. Also available is the Siglett in FF (Fur Finish) Smoke. This lure looks extremely realistic in the water due to the fur on its belly. The FF Smoke colour has a brown/green finish. Both lures feature a tungsten rattle. The Siglett is 36.5mm and weighs 3/16oz, and the Grand Siglet is 45.5mm and weighs 1/4oz. The Siglett’s tow point is located at the rear of the lure, so when you begin a retrieve the wings will fold out creating a realistic appearance of a struggling cicada. With subtle slow movements, the rattle chamber and wings combine to create sound and little ripples to alert nearby fish. Price: SRP $35.95 www.megabass.com.au

Please send contributions to: The Editor, Fishing Monthly Group PO BOX 3172 LOGANHOLME, QLD. 4129

APRIL 2014

What’s new fishing Powered by

MARUKYU CRAB

Marukyu, the company behind Ecogear, has developed an impressive new soft lure: the award-winning Marukyu Crab. This soft bait has a potent scent and a very lifelike action, with legs that pulse enticingly. The Crab uses Marukyu’s Isome fish attractant material, which emits a stronger scent than regular bait. It comes in 3 natural crab colours (olive, dark brown and purple) and is available in large and medium sizes (20mm shell width and 15mm shell width respectively). The large size comes in a pack of 8, and the medium size comes in a pack of 10). To see a video, go to youtube.com and type in ‘Marukyu Crab’, or use your smart phone to scan the QR code hereabouts. Price: Too new www.jml.net.au

ZMAN GRUBZ NOW IN WATERMELON

Following requests from their Pro Anglers, Tackle Tactics has now added watermelon to their range of colours in both the 2” and 2.5” GrubZ. Watermelon has long been a popular colour when targeting bream, bass and a range of other species, and ZMan have stuck with the traditional watermelon colour, with a subtle black fleck. The GrubZ also provide anglers with all of the benefits associated with ZMan’s buoyant, super-soft and realistic, 10X Tough ElaZtech soft plastics. Through the testing stages the 2” and 2.5” watermelon GrubZ have already contributed to podium finishes in both bream and bass tournaments. The 2” GrubZ comes in 14 colours and the 2.5” version is available in 17 colours. Both come in packs of 10. Price: SRP $8.95. www.z-man.com.au

TUFF TIP RODS

The latest Jarvis Walker Tuff Tip range sees all 19 classic rod designs take on an attractive grey-black-red cosmetic design, plus a modern feel. Each Tuff Tip rod starts with the construction of a quality blank that features an extra-tough solid integrated tip design, with graphite and fibreglass used in all baitcast, spin and estuary models, for extra sensitivity and casting performance. These rods are designed to provide that perfect mix of long-lasting strength, fishfighting power, plus the sensitivity and casting distance you need for your favourite bait fishing tactics. The comprehensive range includes most popular styles of fishing rods, from the 7’0” 3-5kg light estuary, to the robust 6’6” 10-15kg overhead, to the big 15’0”, 6-12kg 3-piece surf rod, with all sorts and styles in between. There’s a good mix of 1- and 2-piece models to suit all needs. Price: from approx. $40-$90 www.jarviswalker.com.au 52

APRIL 2014

ARCHBACK DEEP

The Strike Pro Archback Deep is a fantastic deep diving baitfish with an irresistible action. The Archback Deep features an internal weight balanced system which helps with casting distance and eliminates tumbling. It has a superb rolling action that fish find irresistible and a loud rattle that helps to attract fish, in particular in dirty water or low light conditions. This suspending lure is 12cm in length, weighs 37.6g and dives to approx. 12ft. It comes fitted with heavy-duty hardware including VMC Permasteel trebles. It is available in 8 fish-catching colours and is deadly on the likes of mackerel, tuna and queenfish, and has also proven to be effective on barramundi and mulloway. Anglers trolling for snapper, particularly kayak anglers, are also getting good results on the Archback. Price: RRP $14.99 www.jurofishing.com

OCEA FLUORO LEADER

Fluorocarbon leader material like Shimano’s new EX Fluoro Ocea Leader provides a number of advantages to discerning anglers dealing with wary fish under difficult fishing conditions. It’s thinner than equivalent breaking strain nylon, highly abrasion resistant, doesn’t absorb water so it sinks faster, is clear in colour and, with its refractive index being pretty close to that of water, is therefore less visible to fish. The structure of Ocea leader is quite different too, in that it has a soft fluoro core for knot strength, a hard outer shell for abrasion resistance, and then a fluorine coating over this to provide a smooth surface finish. It comes in 50m dispenser spools with a line retainer in 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80 and 100lb breaking strains — perfect for everything from estuary bream up to live baiting for small black marlin and cubing for yellowfin tuna. Price: from RRP $12.99 www.shimanofish.com.au

MICRO BREAM RODS

N.S. ONE’S Micro rods feature superb, crisp blanks and the latest rod builds. This series of rods offers anglers affordable high performance with the portability of a 2 piece blank. The latest, top-of-the-line Fuji components are used, such as the KDPS + VSS (spinning) and ACS (casting) reel seats, Fuji KR guides. They have an excellent feel, offering top casting ability and control. A premium, hard rod tube is included which can hold up to four of these 2-piece rods. The range has recently been expanded with the addition of 2 Australian-designed Beam Special rods. There’s a 2-piece, 7’, 2-6lb model, and a 2-piece, 7’, 4-8lb model, and both tick all the boxes for the discerning bream angler. Price: RRP $240 www.ejtodd.com.au

Please send contributions to: The Editor, Fishing Monthly Group PO BOX 3172 LOGANHOLME, QLD. 4129

What’s new fishing Powered by

FEATURE PRODUCT Beardy’s Bandit

Beardy’s Lures are the brainchild of Daniel Beard. Daniel has only been making lures for a few years, but he has fallen in love with the process of producing timber lures. He makes the lures from his home in Beaconsfield, Melbourne Victoria. He makes a number of different models, however the Bandit is the one that sits closest to his heart. The Bandit is 65mm long, dives to 3m+ and is available in 6 colours. The colours are based around feedback from the anglers who use his lures. I know when I last spoke to him he had just received a call from a customer who was fishing Lake Eildon. This guy had been trolling the pink coloured Bandit and caught a number of yellowbelly, with the biggest being 3kg. The joy was obvious in Daniel’s voice as he went through it with me.

He went on to explain that although people do have a lot of success trolling the lures, it is when they are cast and retrieved that the Bandits come into their own. Being made of solid timber they cast very well and can be worked back or slow rolled, working any structure or weed edges to great effect. They have a great action and have proven themselves again and again on our Australian native species such as cod, yellowbelly and bass as well as being deadly on redfin. Daniel has number of other styles available, from smaller trout offerings to a very lifelike shrimp. It was a pleasure to have a chat with Daniel and I look forward to getting out and using his lures myself. The Bandit is available now and retails for $15. For more information on Daniel’s lures or to place an order, you can contact him on 0448 907 091 or look up Beardy’s Lures on Facebook. – Peter Jung

FEATURE PRODUCT Daiwa TD Sol II The TD Sol II, based on the game changing Tatula, rivals the performance of many current high-end reels. The superior casting performance and ultimate casting ease of the Sol II all stem from Daiwa’s revolutionary T-Wing System (TWS). A leap forward over traditional line guide systems, TWS delivers unparalleled casting performance and line control, a reduction in line noise and friction, and improved reel stability and balance. It allows for efficient, easy casting every time. The Digigear II gear design and the new Air Rotation system create a reel that is silky smooth on the crank and flawless when under load. There are 5 CRBB and a series of corrosion resistant treated internal components, and the ultimate casting control system is now at your fingertips with Daiwa’s legendary Magforce Z magnetic cast control system. It offers anglers of any skill-level a cast control system to maximize casting ease, distance and performance. The new Duraluminium spool is lighter, faster and stronger than traditional baitcaster spools. It’s also wider, a feature that delivers improved castability due to line being able to more freely unwind from the spool. This

attribute is further enhanced by the T-Wing System. The Zaion star drag is made from light, strong corrosion resistant material, and the micro click adjustment delivers precise control. Daiwa’s Ultimate Tournament Drag (UTD) can stop the hardest pulling fish. With 6kg of drag on offer you’ll have the ability to stop just about any fish, and do so with silky smooth stopping power. The 90mm handle delivers maximum cranking power, while the swept handle results in increased balance, power and comfort. Large EVA ball-shaped handle knobs offer added comfort and ultimate handle control. The TD Sol II has a 6.3:1 retrieve ratio, 9 ball bearings, left and right hand models and weighs 225g. Price: Too new www.daiwafishing.com.au

TESTED:

Mr Funnel Fuel Filters Mr Funnel Australia brings in a range of fuel filters that have to be seen to be believed – and in fact you can do just that by viewing a short video we made in the office of a 19L/minute funnel filtering out 500mL of water from a 1L fuel and water mix. But the Mr Funnel Australia fuel filters are much more than just a goof fuel filter. They incorporate a range of features that make them technologically advanced, easy to use and efficient. Let’s start at the top and work our way down. The filter/s in these units are constructed with the end result in mind. The fuel filter funnel by Mr Funnel is heavy duty, portable, light-weight, and self cleaning with fast flowing built-in filter technology that requires no replacement parts. When fuel is poured through the fuel filter funnel, water and debris will not pass through

the filter’s fluoropolymer-coated stainless steel mesh that is Teflon coated. Only filtered fuel flows through to your engine, improving its efficiency and durability and ensuring its proper operation. The funnel itself is carbon injected when it’s made so it does not require an earth mechanism when in use. That basically means there will be no sparking when in use and static electricity will not be created and an explosion risked. The sump area in the bottom of each funnel product collects the deflected water and debris to positively reassure you that you are not receiving contaminated fuels causing damage. The fuel filter funnel will filter all kinds of hydrocarbons such as petrol, diesel, heating oil, kerosene and 2-stroke mixed fuels. The Mr Funnel Fuel Filter comes in 4 different fast-flow models. Models differ mainly on flow rate. If your need is to transfer

20L or less of fuel then the F1 and F3 are for you. If you are transferring more then 20L, the F8 and F15 are right for you. The F15 is the fastest flow model at up to 45L per minute! This model can also be used at a fuel pump as it has 2 filters and a large funnel. Of course there are a range of considerations outside of simply flow rate that need thought. Keep in mind if you are using a petrol pump direct that the units work most efficiently when only half filled (there is a marked line to indicate the optimum fill), so keep this in mind. You can also add on a flexible hose or construct a petrol fill nozzle from PVC to make use easier for your car or boat, but this will reduce the effectiveness of the carbon

injection in the plastic and an earthing device of some sort should be considered. Apart from that though, if you’re going on a long drive through outback Australia, if you’re filling up your boat or you just want to make sure your old fuel is still good and not contaminated with water, then these units are for you. I can’t really do justice to how good this product is in words. Check out the video at this link, http://goo.gl/QlhRgF or use your smart phone or tablet to link through the attached QR Code. Get your Mr Funnel Fuel Filter today, and keep your engine running smooth by logging onto www.mrfunnelaustralia.com. au. Prices start at $30 and move up to $110 for the 45L/minute unit. – Stephen Booth

Please send contributions to: The Editor, Fishing Monthly Group PO BOX 3172 LOGANHOLME, QLD. 4129

APRIL 2014

Aerial action aplenty HORSHAM

Trevor Holmes

With above average temperatures and some massive hatches of all varieties the aerial action of the trout has been nothing short of breathtaking especially in the early mornings and late afternoons throughout most of the Grampians lakes. Sad to say this area has not only taken a major slap in the face from Mother Nature again with a 55,000ha bushfire but low water levels are starting to see excessive surface temperatures and the odd algae bloom. Let’s all hope the much awaited rainfall over autumn/ winter arrives sooner rather than later and saves some of these lakes from the brink of devastation. LAKE TOOLONDO After seeing the transition from the trout freely taking mudeye under bubble floats and switching to lures and plastics it has been a very challenging, rewarding but sometimes frustrating month on the lake. The switch in mood of the fish from one offering to another has been a very interesting learning curve and dominated pretty much by the barometer. To see browns and rainbows virtually turn their nose up at mudeye and

chase selected offerings was a sight to behold. Still some great fish coming out here and as usual the rewards are there if the work is put in, pre dawn starts will take fish feeding as will last light scenarios. Browns to 3.2kg and a few rainbows to 1.8kg are on offer but the larger rainbows have gone very quiet. Trolling has been very slow and un productive so my tip is tree lines and weed beds with plastics such as Fish Arrows and lately the Strike Pro Bob N Spoon has done very well. Last couple of days I tried out the Fishooka Dragonfly vibe and was amazed at this little fella’s ability to drag reluctant fish out of weed beds and instantly put them in attack mode. I landed 3 fish from 5 casts and to see a 2.3kg brown wake from a daytime slumber and turn like a guided missile from 15m away shall stick with me forever. Toolondo has finally started to produce a few redfin as well although not in big numbers or sizes. The intrepid angler will secure a good feed of these tasty morsels. ROCKLANDS RESERVOIR With reports of some great redfin catches in the Fergusons, Glendenning and Brodies areas I ventured there in late February with Toolondo local Tash Allen trolling lures. Redfin eluded us but

A fat hen brown taken on the Fishooka Dragonfly vibe at Toolondo.

Tash managed a nice brown of 1.7kg on a rapala minnow. Yabbies and scrubworms have accounted for a lot of good specimens here lately but also become the target of pesky carp. Locating a school of redfin and keeping on them is the key and a sounder of good quality will put you on the spot. Casting soft plastics to the school also reaps rewards. This method is also working well on both banks beside the wall. LAKE BELLFIELD Bellfield once again throws up a wildcard every now and then and this came to a Geelong fly fisherman in the form of a nice brown taken on a Craigs Nightime just south of the wall on the western edge. A magnificent buck brown of 3.9kg released to fight another day after a quick weigh in and some happy snaps. Chinook salmon continue to grow out in here and I have heard of some around the kilo mark already. Worms and hardbody lures will see you hooked up to them but you will have to contend with many small redfin as well. LAKE WARTOOK Once again Wartook has been hit hard by rampant bushfires and it was sad to hear of many structures being lost in and around this fantastic area. As a result I have nothing to report here apart from it still being closed off as rejuvenation work continues as well as clearing of trees to eradicate dangers to the public. Not sure when it will open or what effect it has had on the fish but I’m hoping in time we will be able to bring you some good news here. TAYLORS/GREEN LAKES These two lakes still haven’t reached their full potential fish wise but raised water levels have seen turbid water and make them increasingly hard to fish. Taylors is still giving up some nice yellowbelly and the odd redfin on trolled/cast lures around the trees but not any great numbers. Green Lake has a resident redfin population

Tash Allen nailed this 1.7kg brown at Rocklands on a Rapala minnow. and while they are growing out there have been only a couple of reports of table fish being landed. Yabbies on the bottom are the pick of methods here. WIMMERA RIVER Some golden perch are being taken on yabbies and scrubworms in the river as well as any amount of carp. Early morning and late afternoons seem the best times and lately some school redfin have also been taken between the caravan park and the bridge

around the snags and tree lines. Any amount of carp are in here and they become rather annoying to the serious angler but they are always great for kids, so if you want a good starting point in fishing that won’t see kids bored, get some worms or corn, even some bread and drag some of these vermin out of the river to give the natives a fair chance. MAJOR BATTLE In early March we were (and probably still are)

fighting a major battle with local water authority GWM and water minister Mr Peter Walsh to get water into Lake Toolondo. We have started a Facebook page called Toolondo Reservoir and we have a petition through change.org.au that we need as many signatures and support on to ensure this icon is preserved and protected now and into the future. Please get on board and help us if possible.

Cool change hot bites ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

As the heat of summer makes way for crisp cool mornings and more

February fishing the coast for anything that might put a bend in the rod and enjoyed the seaside relief of the cool salt breeze. Inland along the Murray River, anglers struggled in the heat and, other than a few cod around

flushes have had the river up and down, which has made the fishing a little unpredictable over the past few weeks. Those anglers lucky enough to be in front of the rise have managed a few cod on lures and bait.

Tyson Smythe with a small silver perch he caught bait fishing near Wemen. These fish are a constant annoyance to bait anglers.

FIND US ON FACEBOOK! Bassman Spinnerbaits Official

(02) 6628 4374

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APRIL 2014

favourable fishing weather, it’s a sure sign that the start of the real cod season is about to begin. Murray cod are in tune to the change in weather and the influences it plays on a rapid decline of their easy prey, such as shrimp and yabbies. If you were not excited before now, then you should be as March is the start of the big fish season along the Murray River. I spent the heat of

the 70cm mark caught on lures near Wemen, there was very little joy for cod fishos. Some good-sized perch were landed at several locations on bait at first and last light but the bite was slow and the summer heat intense. Robinvale, Wemen and Hattah were the most productive locations. While the weather is still quite warm the morning chill is a great time to be on the water. Several

After the rise had passed through, good numbers of perch have been caught on bait with scrub worms, yabbies and shrimp the best. Silver perch still remain a constant annoyance to bait anglers as they rattle every bait known to man clean off the hook. Every now and then you manage to pin one of these fish and the Continued page 55

Flows slow and fishing will fire MILDURA

John Menhennett goobyfish@hotmail.com

Mildura anglers are enjoying ‘normal’ river levels this month with decreased flows which usually coincides with the end of grape harvest. This has given even better opportunities to catch a nice big Murray cod. Air and water temperatures have been above average with little to no rain in most parts, in what has been an extremely uncomfortable summer. Extreme heat will turn the cod off the bite at times and lowers their survival rates when pulled out of the water.

Barometric pressures have been high for the most part of the past month, which has been great. However, fishing has been fairly slow lately on lures, particularly for Murray cod. A few reports of cod caught on bait upstream of Mildura are keeping anglers hopes up. Having said that, there have been a few reports of Murray cod of sizes 70-80cm caught on trolled lures upstream. A few frustrated anglers have even reported cod hitting lures but not ‘sticking’. This could be an indication that cod aren’t fully in the mood for feeding nor have they gone into breeding mode, which can provoke aggressive lure strikes. A few nice yellowbelly

have been caught both on the cast and large trolled lures in most parts around Mildura, the biggest going 51cm, caught on a large lure. Bait fishos are reporting good-sized yellowbelly on shrimp at the moment and catfish and silver perch on worms around the Red Cliffs area. Catfish and silver perch must be returned to the water if caught in the Murray River. This time last year there were thousands of shrimp caught in the Murray. Their presence of late has been minimal in comparison. There are still plenty of European carp being caught on bait and even a couple reported on lures. Even though carp are an unwanted species, they can still

provide some fishing fun when the natives are hiding, particularly with the kids. Spinnerbaits have provided another bait option for anglers, particularly on yellowbelly, in parts where clear water is present. The water has cleared up a bit to what it has been, but still needs to improve for good catches. This time of month usually provides the angler some relief from the intense sun and temperatures experienced so far. It is also nearly the time when Murray cod start to move around and move in to the shallows. But the air and water temperatures need to be much lower for this to happen. Casting hardbodies and spinnerbaits into the

Tim Page from Mildura with a great autumn Murray cod caught near Mildura on a 120mm hard-body lure. timber will be the technique for success in this situation. Anglers have certainly been doing it tough lately, and will wait for the coming months to arrive before the fish come back on the chew. It is anticipated that there will be some very good Murray cod fishing to

be done once the weather cools down. Even though the fish have been few and far between, it is pleasing to see the odd one or two being caught. It still pays to be on the water because you can’t catch fish with your rod in the shed!

Golden hue around Bendigo BENDIGO

Roger Miles codhuntertours@bigpond.com

There have been some exceptional fish caught in the Bendigo region over the past month. The largest was a 108cm Murray cod, which was caught on the Loddon River on a surface lure. The trend of quality fish should continue with plenty of productive locations to explore. LAKE EPPALOCK The redfin fishing has remained tough at Lake Eppalock. The majority of redfin have now moved into shallower water and the best concentrations can be found in 3-5m. Trolling hardbody lures has been productive but the redfin are proving difficult to locate and anglers must From page 54

average size of silver perch along the Murray locally has improved since the close. The water clarity still needs to improve a little before we see good numbers of fish on lures and this will happen as soon as the irrigation season slows to a halt. While all looks great on the cod front for the coming month it seems old habits die-hard and unfortunately one in particular is robbing many anglers the chance to land that dream fish. It’s a sad but true fact that ‘springer’ fishing continues to run rife, especially along the Hattah Kulkyne section of the Murray River. It just goes to show that while it’s possible for Fisheries to implement ethical and sustainable fishing laws they are unable to take the

be prepared to work many different areas in order to locate a good school. Small numbers of quality redfin are being caught by those anglers who are bait fishing with worms and small yabbies around the edges of standing timber. This method has also been productive by anglers chasing golden perch. Casting lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits along the shoreline have also been productive on these fish. Reports of Murray cod being caught at this location have reduced over the last month. We should see water temperatures start to reduce shortly. This should produce an increase in the productivity in the fishing. CAMPASPE RIVER Water clarity remains average at most locations along the Campaspe River. Water clarity can change quickly depending on the moron out of the morons that still believe they have the right to set springers. The mere fact they tie their lines off underwater is testament in itself they understand that what they are doing is illegal. If you break this practise down into simple layman’s terms they are simply stealing from all those that buy a fishing license and pay the right to fish. Each time a giant cod is caught killed and removed from the river on a springer it robs a genuine fisher person the chance to catch that fish of a lifetime. A thief is a thief no matter how you justify the act. With that off my chest I look forward to the real start off the Murray cod season and I can’t wait to spend the next few months getting teeth marks on all my favourite lures.

volumes of water being released from Lake Eppalock. There have been some good captures of golden perch in the Axedale section of the Campaspe River lately. Anglers who have been walking the banks casting medium-sized hardbody lures and spinnerbaits have landed some quality fish. Small numbers of redfin have also been caught in this area. The most productive Murray cod fishing has been in the shallow water between Elmore and Axedale. There has been some quality specimens caught measuring up to 90cm. The fishing has been good in the Elmore section again with golden perch making up the majority of captures. Casting lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits have been the most productive methods.

CAIRN CURRAN The fishing remains good at this location. At the present time trolling with hardbody lures and bait fishing with worms or small yabbies have been the most productive methods. Reasonable numbers of redfin are currently being caught at this location. Trolling deep diving hardbody lures in the depth range between 8-10m has been the most productive. If a good school of redfin is located then change tactics by casting blades or soft plastics. The best concentrations of golden perch are currently being caught in 4-6m of water. Again, like the redfin, trolling hardbody lures is currently the most productive method. Small numbers of golden perch and redfin are also being caught by anglers bait fishing around standing timber. LODDON RIVER Water clarity is currently

Good numbers of golden perch are being caught in the Bendigo region. good at most locations along the Loddon River. Golden perch are making up the majority of anglers’ catch rates in the deeper sections of the river by casting hardbody lures and lipless crankbaits. In the shallower sections of the Loddon River, catch rates have been similar between Murray cod and golden perch. Over the last month there have been some exceptional Murray cod being caught. Reports I have received were of a 108cm and

an 85cm Murray cod caught by different anglers but both on surface lures. I also received a report from Ray McCormack from Ballarat who landed his PB Murray cod casting a Bassman Spinnerbait and the fish measured 90cm. We should continue to see some more quality Murray cod being caught over the next couple of months. We should also see some larger golden perch being caught as well.

TARGET

Australia’s largest freshwater fish “The Mighty Murray Cod”

Join Roger on a guided fishing tour and learn how to catch our premier freshwater fish.

FISHING LOCATIONS: • The Loddon River System • Lake Eildon • Campaspe River System • Murray River (Lake Mulwala) • Many More!

As the temperature begins to cool we can expect the better sized cod to come on the chew, like this one trolled on a 120 Godzilla lure.

P:Roger: 0427 483 286

E:codhuntertours@bigpond.com

www.codhunter.com.au APRIL 2014

Waiting for the rains CRATER LAKES

Rod Shepherd

The short hot summer inflicted upon south eastern Australia has well and truly left and now we are just waiting for the rains to arrive. This could take some time. In the meantime our lakes’ water levels are steadily dropping and as most are

generally shallow, this is putting more pressure on the local inhabitants, particularly trout. Deep Lake at Derrinallum is suffering from a blue-green algal outbreak and has been shut down by the local council. Any rainbow trout still surviving in these very shallow waters are off limits for the time being. Nearby Lake Tooliorook

Shane Stevens with a 1.5lb brown trout caught on a mudeye suspended under a bubble float from one of Lake Wendouree’s many jetties. Photo courtesy Barry Whelan.

at Lismore is also suffering from low water levels, plus an overabundance of weed. The only fish being caught here are last year’s release of rainbows and these fish are struggling to reach a kilogram in weight. The fish are skinny and many are infected with worms. The water levels at Lake Elingamite are now too low for boats to launch however those who fish out of kayaks can still access the lake and are being rewarded with brown and rainbows to over 2kg. These fish are responding well to a wide variety of minnow lures either cast or trolled. Jigging plastics and lures out in the lake’s centre where it is at its deepest is also working. The new release rainbows and chinook salmon are now certainly more than pan-sized, but again I ask anglers to release the chooks as these fish have the potential to grow to enormous sizes. Wouldn’t it be a scream to be connected up to a rampaging chinook topping 10lb in a couple of years? Lake Bullen Merri’s water quality is marginal but still fishable. The main

Lake Elingamite’s redfin population remains elusive but this specimen fell to a Pontoon 21 lure cast close to weed structure. catch of the day is coming from bank anglers soaking either Powerbait in red or chartreuse. Likewise, use locally caught gudgeon and minnow or mudeye fished either suspended under a float or unweighted and allowed to slowly sink towards the bottom. The ‘catch’ is coming in the form of rainbow trout to 1kg and chinook salmon to 700g. Lake Purrumbete’s deep, clear waters are still

holding the odd brown trout topping 4kg. Down rigging minnow lures to depths between 20-30m is required to tempt one of these not-so-common trophy captures. However, this lake is renowned for longevity when it comes to brown trout and fish topping the 5kg mark, while rare, are not beyond the realms of possibility. Rainbow trout averaging around 1kg are a more

common capture and so too are redfin. Fishing the shallows up close to the many weed beds that surround the lake still sees your boat anchored in depths averaging 8m. This provides a deeper and cooler passageway for trout to explore the shallows looking for sustenance but, when threatened, it also offers an escape to much deeper waters with only a tail’s flick away.

Ballarat’s shining crown jewel BALLARAT

Shane Stevens

It’s been called the jewel in Ballarat’s crown and it certainly is to the anglers in the region and surrounding district. Lake Wendouree is a great fishery to anglers and a very versatile waterway for all watersports. Due to the lake being a Mecca for watersports in Ballarat our City Council has gone to great efforts investing large sums of money and time to make sure our lake has plenty of water to host some prestigious events. Anglers gain the rewards from all the events held on the lake while some of the other waters in and around the district are drying up. Lake Wendouree is still the focus of the district, and I expect the angler numbers will increase as we move into the autumn months, normally a very good fishing period for Lake Wendouree. The water temperatures have cooled down with the nights and average day temps dropping. The trout will once again start to be very active not just throughout the evenings but also during the overcast 56

APRIL 2014

days. Mudeyes will be the best baits to use for the bait anglers, and trolling shallow diving lures trolled along the main weed beds should produce some excellent sized trout and redfin and for fly fishers. The second chance for the fishing season is that we may be seeing our once prized mayfly hatches that the lake was renowned for pre-drought. I wait in anticipation. Lake Wendouree over the last month has seen excellent catches of brown trout caught on either couta or spider mudeye fished under bubble floats from either boats or the shore and jetties. Gordon Thompson, an excellent mudeye fisherman, has been catching some lovely brown trout up to 4lb. His best haul was four browns in one trip. Gordon was on the water at first light but didn’t get his first fish until 11am and the other three up until 1pm on a slightly over cast day. It might be just a matter of putting the time in and you will be rewarded. I spent a couple of hours fishing the lake from one of the jetties on the lake early in the morning catching and releasing a small brown trout of 1.5lb on mudeye under

a bubble float and missed a couple of others. The pleasing thing to my capture was the trout that were released in the spring have grown very well and we have a very good population of trout in our lake ranging in size from 500g up to 3kg. The signs look all positive for lake Wendouree. In Newlyn Reservoir, the redfin are on the chew. Anglers have been catching these tasty table fish on a variety of methods on bait using good old garden worms, yabbies and mudeyes. They have been fished on running sinker rigs or suspended under bubble floats. Soft plastics cast off the main wall have also resulted in excellent catches for the trout angler. As we move into the autumn months, we once again wait for the midday mayfly hatches; brown nymphs, emergers and dunn patterns are on the menu for the best results and the main ingredients are overcast days. Hepburn Lagoon is going to be very hard water to fish with low water levels and lots of weed. It’s continuing to fall due to irrigation with only small pockets of water available to be fished. Hepburn holds a very healthy population of trout with some trophies

lurking around. The mayfly hatches could bring them to the surface chasing the dunns during midday. I am excited at what this water could produce. At Moorabool Reservoir the action has been thick and fast according to Shane Jeffrey. He has been out there casting soft plastics catching bags of school redfin. Shane mentioned there are lots of small ones in the water but you can catch some excellent sized ones as well. Moorabool is not just a redfin fishery, the lake has a very healthy population of trout and mayfly hatches. The same rules apply as the other waters in the district, overcast weather is the best and nymphs, emergers and dunns work the best. Moorabool has flown under the radar for quite a few years so it’s about time the water showed its true potential. Lake Fyan’s trout and redfin have really started to fire up, with the cooler conditions really suiting the trout. Craig Hon and his son Daniel recently spent the weekend up at the lake fishing mudeyes under bubble floats out of the boat catching some lovely brown trout to 3lb and redfin around the 1lb mark. The

Two lovely Lake Fyans redfin caught on mudeyes under a bubble float by Daniel Hon. Photo courtesy Craig Hon. secret is just keep moving around the trees until you come onto the right spot, and it can be game on in the coming months. I will certainly be giving the lake a few visits as it is a great time of the year to fish as it holds a very healthy population of trout and redfin and the water level is very good. Brian Hughes, an excellent fisherman from Maryborough, has heard on the angling grapevine that there have been some excellent golden perch catches at Cairn Curran Reservoir. There have also been catches of Murray cod up 20lb trolling StumpJumpers and spinnerbaits, mainly in the open water of the lake near the main dam wall.

Cairn Curran also has plenty of school redfin on bait with the odd larger one thrown into the mix as well. However, the thing that excites me the most is that Brian mentioned the water clarity has improved to about 1m since the reservoir filled. After the drought, the clarity has only been around 6” and our once excellent trout fishery was gone but now the water is clearing and Fisheries have continued to stock the water with trout. We may again see the reservoir become an excellent trout fishery around the shorelines. I will certainly be visiting during the winter months looking for the trout chasing smelt around the shores.

Back to basics is a good tactic SHEPPARTON

Nick Brown teamriverrats@hotmail.com

Getting back to basics is something I think we all forget to do sometimes. You hear it all the time in regards to footy, cricket or any sport. If you’re doing the basics right, you become more successful. In the past month I tried to do the basics right – putting in good casts using the right bait and having quality hooks and line. I have also stripped it right back to where it all started for me, which was off the bank in the Goulburn River. It’s a far cry from the boat with all the modern luxuries. I didn’t land many big fish but I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the bank out at Moira Park. In the past month the Goulburn system around our area has been producing good numbers of small fish on bait and it’s quite common to get fish in double figures in a session. The fishing upstream of Shepparton has been going great. There are plenty of reports coming from the Murchison/Toolamba area with numbers of cod, golden perch and the annoying silver

perch being caught, mostly on bait with some bigger fish being landed on lures. I have been doing a bit of bait fishing out at Moira Park but the fish have only been in the 40-45cm range. With the days getting shorter and the water temperature falling, we should start to see fish numbers drop but the average size fish increase. I now start to focus on big lures, heavier rods and stronger line in April and May. Using larger hardbodies can be tough in our area but there are some really good trolling runs. They may not be long runs but if you hummer these areas I am sure you will stir something up. I have known people to use lures up to 150mm long in Shepparton, but they troll them very close to the back of the boat to limit the depth they dive. You may not catch a lot of fish using monster lures but the fish you do get will be well worth it. Local anglers Simon Tait and Reece Conti have had a few trips lately, one to Blowering and one to Eildon, where by using big lures at night they both managed to land metreplus fish. I know that’s not the same waters as Shepparton but it’s well worth a mention and it’s something we can try and

adapt to our local fishery. TOOLAMBA FISHING CLUB EASTER CLASSIC It’s pretty exciting that the fishing has been so good out Toolamba way and it should be still fishing well for the upcoming Easter Classic. Time flies, I still remember when the first fishing competition was run by their fishing club and now it’s in its 8th year and going from strength to strength. This year there is over $6,000 of prizes up for grabs, with plenty of meals and even a band it’s surely going to be a great weekend for all. For more info visit www.toolambafishingclub. websyte.com.au. BROKEN RIVER The river has seen its fair share of fishing traffic lately with the walking tracks getting more noticeable as each week goes by. The catch rates of fish have been down on past years, hopefully just due to fish seeing so many lures and getting familiar to what’s food and what’s not. I just hope it’s not from people taking too many fish. The system to me is very fragile and not too many fish are stocked in the Broken. The only trend that is still very similar to past seasons is the amazing surface action. If

you talk to anyone who uses surface lures out of the Broken you can see the excitement on their face with every word that comes out of their mouths. Most conversations usually finish with a, “BOOF BOOF, I’m on!” SHEPPARTON LAKE There has been a huge boost for the lake with over 200 golden perch being released in late February. By now the fish should be adjusted to living in their new environment and feeding up before the winter. It’s great to see so many fish being stocked in the lake but the main issue some will find is access to fishable water. I would not fish the lake off the bank due to the thick weed. Kayaks or a boat would be my first choice. Trolling smaller, shallow diving hardbodies or spinnerbaits will work as well as lipless crankbaits cast or trolled in likely areas. I will hopefully be putting in some hours on the lake in coming months testing a few new lures, so if you see my River Rats boat with the huge Macs Lure on the front wave me down as I’m always happy to have a chat. KIALLA LAKES I may have jumped the gun on Kialla last report. It was all looking good and yet again

Denise Henan with a monster golden perch caught in a local channel slow rolling a spilt tailed soft plastic. it has let me down. The lakes over the past month have not been good at all. Bait or lure fishing has not produced many catches and the fish that are getting caught are carp. This is an issue that will need to be addressed. I don’t understand how the lakes went from the best spot in town to a waste of time in just 2 short years. If any readers have any feedback or info on your experiences at Kialla please send them through. WARANGA BASIN/ LOCAL CHANNELS Think deep and pink when fishing the basin in April. All reports are that the fish are in 20-30ft of water and being trolled up on small deep diving pink lures. Most are keeping the lure of choice close to their chest, but I would suggest Halco Crazy Deeps, Macs Maulers or 15ft plus

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Codgers would be the best lures to have behind the boat. The channels have picked up after months of being dormant. Facebook has been full of photos from locals targeting redfin, but mostly catching golden perch with some reaching over 50cm. The girls from Pirate Spinnerbaits have had recent success catching good-sized golden perch and redfin casting small soft plastics and using a slow retrieve. On a different note away from fishing, on February 7, my wife gave birth to our first child, a very little boy named Ayden James Brown. The little fella was 11 weeks premature so he measured in at 39.5cm and only 1,648g. Hopefully by the time you are reading this we are home from the hospital in Melbourne and he’s doing fine.

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APRIL 2014

Autumn brings good fishing MELBOURNE METRO

Ian Debar iand@gottabite.com.au

Rowville Lakes has begun to fish a bit better for trout recently. With the water temperature cooling down, the rainbow trout will begin to feed more actively for longer periods of the day. This means that you can head down to the lake on a cool autumn day with the hope of finding a trout or two at any stage of the day. The school holidays are this month, so the lakes should also see a boost stocking of rainbows to kick the fishing along. With two rods in your arsenal, you can fish one rod with a dough bait on a suspended rig around the lake floor, and maggots under a fine coarse float on the second rod. Having different bait and rig setups will help determine which technique will be more effective on the day; and by fishing maggots you also have a good chance of by-catch, such as roach, carp and redfin. Auravale Lake is situated roughly halfway between Narre Warren and Emerald and is actually part of a drainage system connected to Cardinia

Reservoir. While the main reservoir itself is out of bounds for fishing, Auravale Lake can be fished from the southern shoreline. The main targets here are redfin, and while most are small there are some large specimens in the lake. A good way to catch the reddies is to pack a small bag with some lures and walk around the shoreline of the lake casting to any timber, lily pads and dropoffs. Small soft plastics and hardbodied lures up to 60mm are the best options, as the lake is full of small mosquitofish and the redfin love them. Autumn can produce some larger redfin as they start to school up before winter. Sugarloaf Reservoir has had a late run of actively feeding fish just as the weather has cooled off a bit. This is really the last window of high feeding activity for the lake, as the fish will shut off through the winter months. They can still be caught with more persistence, but less consistency. As the lake is an artificial bait water only, lure fishing the banks is the way to go. The best tactics to pin a golden perch or two before the colder months is to target the standing timber just out

from the shoreline. The fish will school up around the flooded branches and this is where you want to target. Sinking lures fitted with weedless hooks are the way to go when targeting the vertical timber. The weedless hook arrangement lets you get your lure further into the structure with less fear of it snagging up. Lipless crankbaits in the 45-60mm size range are excellent for this, and silent models seem to fare better at this time of the year. Sébile Flatt Shads and silent Jackall TN50s are the pick of the bunch. Both

lures can be worked with subtle twitches or hopped aggressively and they will still swim perfectly. • If you have had some success in these areas lately send me a photo and go into the draw for your chance to win a HD Sports Camera valued at $129.99. Email it to admin@fishingcamping. com.au and include the angler’s name, species, and the area you were fishing. For up to date fishing information, contact the guys at Compleat Angler in Dandenong on 9794 9397 or drop in and see us at 241 – 243 Princes Hwy,

Auravale Lake can produce some great redfin like this one taken on fly. Dandenong, we are open 7 days a week. For our other latest fishing reports and

to download information sheets, go to www fishingcamping.com.au

Rain, wind and fish keep biting YARRA VALLEY

Ian Loft ringwood@compleatangler.com.au

Some rain fell, the wind blew and the fish keep biting. A little article in The Age (back in February) certainly revved a few more of you up to go and attempt to catch the ‘iconic’ Murray cod. This

is all well and good, but if I pull another homemade fish trap from the river I swear I’m going to go vigilante. Yes, all good, go and catch the fish, that’s what your licence allows you to do. But get a clue moron and read the book – no set traps or nets! Aside from all that excitement, the river has been in pretty evil shape

on a hook, drifting them down the river is the way to go! Middle section has its water quality issues (probably don’t swim in it either) but the fishing is excellent with the water starting to come off the super summer clear and into a little bit of colour. Bait fishing with cheese or a hard boiled egg has been a real winner

to the car! I suggest anyone that sees anything remotely dodgy in the Yarra River catchment, as far as sneaky little people doing dumb ass things, to contact the Fisheries straight away on 13FISH. The last thing we need is for people to start netting the fish out willy-nilly while we just stand around. A link to the article

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The middle section of the Yarra River has water quality issues but the fishing is excellent.

DAM LEVELS Lake/Dam % Full

Dam % Full

LAKE/DAM Jan Feb Mar Cairn Curran 77 73 67 Dartmouth 94 91 91 Eildon 85 78 73 Eppalock 84 81 75 Fyans 73 68 68 Greens 59 56 52 Hepburn 85 75 59 Hume 66 53 50 Lauriston 91 89 86 Malmsbury 66 47 38 Mulwala (Yarrawonga) 96 93 93

Newlyn 89 80 65 Nillahcootie 91 84 73 Rocklands 39 38 38 Taylors 75 72 72 Tullaroop 63 61 59 Upper Coliban 98 97 89 Waranga 52 44 48 Wartook 73 73 70 William Hovell 97 85 70

APRIL 2014

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

of late. The few blasts of rain we’ve had have only made things worse simply because it’s never enough to wash the river out properly. The water quality is not good and if you intend on eating anything out of the river (I have no idea why you would want to do that) I would think twice at this point in time. The water is nasty! And when I say nasty, I mean microbacterially nasty. So catch, photograph and release. That’s the best way to keep yourself off the toilet and out of the hospital. Upper Yarra is a gold mine of little trout at the moment as it has been for quite some time. The grasshoppers and crickets are in full force at the moment and catching them and putting them

over the last month or two. The thing I like about these two baits is if you don’t catch anything, you’ve got something to feed your face with on the walk back

in the Age: http:// www.theage.com.au/ victoria/yarras-monstercod-lure-anglersup-for-a-challenge20140220-333mu.html

A recent article certainly revved a few anglers to go and attempt to catch the ‘iconic’ Murray cod.

Time to spare the rod NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.starlofishing.me

Last month in this column we looked at the maintenance and care needed to keep your fishing reels in tip-top condition. This time around, the focus shifts to rods. The old saying, “Spare the rod and spoil the child” has become rather politically incorrect in this modern age, when dishing out physical punishment to kids is widely frowned upon. Perhaps we could alter it these days to apply to our fishing tackle instead… Something along the lines of, “Spare the care and spoil the rod!”

your favourite rods. One good habit to get into involves simply removing reels from rods when the outfit is not in use and storing all your rods in soft bags or socks, on racks or pegs, or in speciallymade rod tubes. Taking multi-piece rods apart for storage is also an excellent idea and can help prevent the various bits from gumming up and sticking together, effectively creating one-piece rods! A quick hose down after each outing (especially when fishing in saltwater) and an occasional wipe over with a wet, soapy cloth is also worthwhile. I’ve been known to take my rods into the shower with me after

again, especially if they’re going into rod bags or tubes. Once or twice each year (at least) I like to spray some aerosol lubricant onto a soft, clean rag and wipe the whole rod down, paying particular attention to the reel seat or winch mount, guide frames and ferrules or joins. Between trips, rods are best stored horizontally or vertically on pegs or in racks, but you can also stand your rods in a corner, so long as they’re completely straight. Storing rods bent or under load can cause them to take on a ‘set’ and stay that way…forever. Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight degrades rod finishes and can ultimately weaken the blank material

Hmmm. Cobwebs in the guides and broken varnish coats could be an indication of a lack of maintenance! Thankfully, most modern fishing rods don’t demand an enormous amount of maintenance. However, a little bit of TLC (tender loving care) can certainly extend the life of

a hard day’s fishing, but I’ve also been told this is a tad extreme! Whichever method you choose, make sure the rod and all its fittings are completely dry before packing them away

itself, so avoid leaving your rods on the roof of the car or out in the backyard for lengthy periods. Oh, and while you’re at it, don’t do what a mate of mine did and leave your gear lying

Count the rods! Tournament and competition anglers typically own (and use) dozens of rods. A little preventive maintenance will help keep them all in top working order. on the front lawn. He thought he’d lost his favourite surfcasting rod, until he mowed the long grass. Crunch, bang, sproing… Ouch! That’s certainly one way of turning a one-piece rod into a multi-piece. Cracked, grooved or chipped guides (runners) or guide inserts can be a major issue with some rods, and will play havoc with your line, often causing mysterious break-offs whenever you hook a good fish. If you suspect a guide insert may be damaged, draw a section of lady’s stocking or pantyhose leg through it. Damaged guides will snag and pull at the fine material. If this happens, replace the guide immediately. If you’re not up to completing this job yourself, have it done by a reputable tackle shop or custom rod builder. Rod care is mostly basic common sense, but you might be surprised at just how uncommon that valuable commodity is!

Roller-runnered game rods demand extra attention. It’s important to keep those rollers clean and lightly lubricated to ensure that they work as they were intended to.

FISHING FILL-ITS

Rustling fish gives game away The noise from a plastic bag containing live fish hidden in bushes has led to a Lakes Entrance couple facing charges of exceeding bag limits and taking undersized fish from the Tambo River. In February a member of the public rang Fisheries Victoria’s 24-hour fisheries offence reporting line 13FISH line to report what the caller suspected to be fish in a plastic bag hidden in bushes near where a couple was fishing. The caller provided details of a vehicle at the location and subsequent checks revealed it belonged to a Lakes Entrance man in his sixties.

Two days later before sunrise Fisheries Officers observed the same vehicle parked by the Tambo River and soon after intercepted a 60-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman as they drove away from the water’s edge. When the Fisheries Officers attempted to inspect the couple, the woman allegedly attempted to hide a plastic bag containing 28 undersized bream in the front wheel arch. A search of the vehicle allegedly found a total of 35 bream, 31 of them under the minimum size of 28cm. A further search of the couple’s premises in Lakes Entrance allegedly revealed another 19 undersize bream

and three undersize King George whiting. Ten fishing rods and a large quantity of assorted fishing equipment and tackle were seized from the couple, who will be charged on summons with taking undersized fish and exceeding the bag limit. Each charge carries a maximum fine of $2880. Senior Fisheries Officer Bill McCarthy said those who concealed fish in such circumstances showed both an awareness of and disregard for fisheries regulations. “Fisheries Officers will continue to rigorously pursue people who disregard fisheries regulations through surveillance, inspections and then the courts,” Mr

McCarthysaid. Anglers are reminded that the minimum size for bream is 28cm and that

a daily catch limit of 10 bream per angler applies. Anyone who sees or suspects illegal fishing

activity is urged to call the 24-hour reporting line, 13FISH (13 3474). – DEPI Fisheries APRIL 2014

Natives second to trout EILDON NORTH

James Dainton

April is almost a last gasp month for having a crack at the natives before the water temps drop below that 16-17ºC mark that seems to turn Murray cod and golden perch on and off like a switch. Using lures on natives becomes a little bit easier as fish can be located trolling the banks again. First thing in the morning it’s worth casting the usual haunts in rocky points, drop-offs and any structure close to the bank. As the morning wears on, moving out into 3-5m and trolling with a small diver (60mm) on the side closest to the bank and a medium diver on the deep side will keep you in the hunt for cod, goldens, redfin and trout. Nevertheless, April in Eildon is all about the trout fishing, the natives can be caught but you do have to work for them. The trout

thrive on this cooler spike and are possibly more deserving of your time. It’s about quality, the chances are you will connect with a decent fish if you put in the time. Trolling at the top end of the lake up towards Jerusalem Creek and Big River inlet is a great place to start. In the first and last hour or so of light, you can pick up fish off a flat line. During the day, lead lining and down rigging will keep your bases covered. If you are trolling for trout it pays to have at least a lead line, and if possible a downrigger will be your best friend if you are spending time out on the water. Keeping a close eye on your sounder to locate what depth the fish are holding and adjusting your downrigger accordingly is a simple yet highly effective system. A popular method is to run a winged lure on your flat line and then have a larger style minnow on the lead line or downrigger. There are plenty of big

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trout in the lake, so it’s not out of the realms of possibility to tow a lure up to 13cm in length for these larger fish. The Balista Triggers have the flashing LED in the tail and have been used to great success on the deeper lines; in the extra depth the LED is brighter and hence gives you a better chance of a strike. The trusty old Rapala in the larger sizes are always hard to pass up as well. If you’ve been thinking about giving Eildon a try, April is a great time for it. As it kicks into May, it gets mighty cold out there on the lake. • Our Balista range of lures feature LED technology and are designed specifically for natives. View the range at www.balista.com.au or join us at facebook.com/ balistalures FISHING FILL-ITS

Fish ‘motels’ soon open for bookings Scientists and river health teams are using reclaimed timber from a tornado in the Yarrawonga area to create a series of fish ‘motels’ along the Ovens River. The North East Catchment Management Authority (NECMA), Arthur Ryler Institute, and Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) are utilising funding from Recreational Fishing Grants Victoria to develop new habitat for native fish in the Ovens River. The multi-agency team is using innovative approaches along the Ovens and will next week start building timber structures, or fish ‘motels’ in a reach between Tarrawingee and Everton. “Native fish look for snags and complex structures in a river when they are seeking shelter or it’s time to spawn (breed),” explained Anthony Wilson, Catchment Coordinator with NECMA. “Previous mapping of in-stream woody habitat in the Ovens River identified a lack of in-stream logs

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APRIL 2014

An average size fish for April, taken off a down-rigged Balista Trigger.

and timber for native fish species. That’s why we are creating these ‘motels’ for native fish.” The fish motels are constructed by layering logs in a crisscross formation to form a tower like structure that provides bulk and complexity for the fish species through differing water heights of the river. The structures are then held in place within the river by large poles that are pinned into the riverbed. Mr Wilson said it was initially difficult to source native timber for the innovative fish habitat project. Continued page 61

Change up from natives EILDON

Andy McCarthy

After one of the hottest and driest summers in a while it should be a very interesting April. As the water temp drops significantly, it will bring some decent troutskies up to the surface, which will be a change from focusing solely on natives. With a bit of luck, we might get some badly needed rain. It could slow down the irrigation release and give some much-needed consistency to the water level so the fish can settle and start to feed in more regular patterns. It’s been a very challenging few months in more ways than one, so as soon as the water starts to maintain height and slowly starts to fill, this should really fire the lake up. One thing that has really stood out lately is the massive amount of baitfish that are around for whatever reason – I have never seen as many as this before. They look very much like the old favourite pearl olive minnows, which have been the beater on many a fish over the years. I was lucky enough to find

a few bags lying around and will be letting them loose very soon. The reddies have continued to chew but seem to be taking bigger baits than normal, particularly big yabbies. From all reports they are as fat as pigs and not really in need of a feed,

but we aren’t complaining as there’s nothing like a feed of reddies. The yellas seem to have just gone deep down the south of the lake and are few and far between. Let’s hope when the level stabilises we might get a crack at a few before the real cold sets in. There’s nothing like a great feed of reddies!

The reddies have continued to chew but seem to be taking bigger baits than normal.

I’m tipping a very productive lead in to winter on the cod; don’t know why, just a hunch really. I’m sure some of the bigger bangers will come out to play before too long and my patience and time on the water will pay off. It’s been a tough season for me so far, so if you’ve got onto a few lately I’m very envious. Thinking outside the square is a positive thing for the next period, as you just never know what will happen. PONDAGE Lately a few lads have been fishing the rise of the water level with great success on the ever-popular pink Tassie with the standout fish a lovely 9lb rainbow. There was another big banger busting off in the same area, so they are still in there just got to be there at the right time!

FISHING FILL-ITS From page 60

“Streamline Environmental Project Management based in Yarrawonga helped us source the hardwood we needed to build these structures from tornado damaged areas.” “We’re delighted to

make use of this reclaimed timber. In doing so, we are helping to clean up stormdamaged vegetation in the Yarrawonga community and offering environmental benefits for the Ovens River and its native fish populations. It’s a real win-win!” – NECMA

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Keen native hunters head to Lake Mulwala YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

With a bag full of 40ºC+ days behind us, Lake Mulwala is settling in to the place to be for cod hunters at this time of year. A more consistent water temperature, minus the hot blasts, should see a reliable pattern emerge where the fish are biting on a regular basis. Your cod fishing ‘purists’ tend to cast a vast array of shiny painted trinkets, generally being rewarded for their efforts, but of late, those happy to troll bouncing a lure off a bit of timber are surpassing them for returns. Whether it’s a hardbody, spinnerbait or crankbait, trolling at slow speed in the 1-5m depth range could be your answer. It may be a tad boring at times as you doze off, dreaming about other pastimes, but when

your rod loads up and the angry green beast on the other end of your line goes berserk, all is forgotten. If we could only bottle that initial hit! My lure of choice for trolling would be in the 85-110mm range with a shallow bib that would get down around the 4m mark. A 5/8–1oz spinnerbait is another great option, but remember, these have to be trolled slower than a hardbody to eliminate riding too high in the water column. Looking back, the past few weeks have produced some great cod, especially for a couple of local anglers. Storyteller, elite sportsman and raconteur, Winston ‘Whinger’ Rhodes deserves first mention after his recent outing landed him a mighty cod that measured in at a healthy 103cm. Whingers was casting spinnerbaits along the north side of the lake around the Kyffin’s area.

Winston ‘Whinger’ Rhodes with his mighty 103cm cod caught casting a spinnerbait.

Numerous others have reported quality captures with the average fish size being in the 50-70cm bracket. Surface fishing is always popular this time of year and it was none other than local ‘surface’ specialist CJ Wilson who was at it again – CJ boated a beauty that clocked 93cm. To make the capture more meritorious, it was caught on one of his own home-made lures. CJ does have a YouTube video of a 112cm he got last year off the surface. If interested check out 112cm Mulwala Monster. The recent Lowrance Da$h 4 Ca$h Super Series again proved a massive hit with 99 teams competing. The 20mm of rain and strong winds made things fairly difficult over the weekend but nevertheless, over the three 4-hour fishing sessions, 31 quality cod were returned to scale for measuring and release. Below the weir, fishing

has been good with healthy cod and cracking yellas being landed. If you are in the area and looking for some quick action, the general rule says you will catch more, but smaller, cod in the river and vice versa in the lake. Late April, early May sees the running of the 4th Cod Nationals, five days of serious tournament fishing for the dedicated green fish angler. Anybody who is interested in getting involved should give me a call ASAP. If you are visiting town I invite you to call into Lake Mulwala Fish Camp & Ski, the shop with the big green cod out the front (Opposite the Post Office) in Mulwala and say G’day. We are your largest Murray cod specific shop in Yarrawonga/ Mulwala and specialize in all things ‘Green’! For any information on the upcoming events or fishing reports give us a hoy on 03 5744 3133.

Conquer the cod in the change WANGARATTA

Robbie Alexander

The stinking hot summer paved the way for some fantastic Murray cod fishing through the Ovens and King rivers. The downside to this was that the trout fishing really struggled as it has all season in most of the catchments, rivers and creeks. MURRAY COD April can be a red-hot month for Murray cod fishing in the Ovens River catchment. At the same time, it can also be very quiet. The cod fishing usually becomes quite spontaneous at this time of the year, and the better bites are usually preceded by lengthy periods of stable autumn weather. April in North East Victoria is known for its prolonged periods of fine sunny days and cool clear nights. These lengthy fine periods are usually broken up by unsettled weather, often an autumn deluge. During these lengthy periods of stable weather is the best time to target the region’s Murray cod, with the latter half of the stable weather leading up to a change usually being the best time to head out. This is just my observation and no doubt others will differ, however many seasoned cod anglers will support my theory that stable 62

APRIL 2014

weather tends to lend itself to better Murray cod fishing, and the weather is never more stable than the autumn ‘Indian summer’ type weather systems. As the water is cooling off quite nicely during April, the Murray cod may become a little slower

one spot. In summer, many of us, myself included, tend to make 2 or 3 casts into a snag pile or log jam. In April, particularly the latter half of the month when the water is cooler, try making more casts, even as many as 8 or 10 into the one snag pile as a way of tempting

monthly fishing reports since September, the trout fishing has been quite poor in the rivers and creeks all season. This can be attributed to a number of reasons, including the excessive heat records each summer. Some call it global warming, some Adam Bosley with a rainbow trout caught in the Buffalo River on a number 1 Super Vibrax bladed spinner.

Ready to set sail on a recent trip to Lake Buffalo. The bigger fish should be schooling up in April, which makes the redfin fishing more hit and miss, but a better hit if you do locate a school! than what they were in the warmer months. One of the best ways to combat this is to slow your lure right down. Whether it’s a spinnerbait, surface popper or hardbodied diver, a lure that is retrieved more slowly will stay in the cod’s face for longer. More time in the strike zone equals a greater chance of the fish striking your lure. Another way to combat the fish, which may be a bit slower, is to make continuous casts into the

the cod to strike. April is a great time of the year to target the larger Murray cod. They seem to show up more often during the cooler months, and also seem to show up more often in the far lower reaches of the Ovens River from Peechelba downstream. The area around Bundalong is known for producing some truly epic sized Murray cod from time to time. TROUT As mentioned in just about every one of my

call it a natural cycle, but for whatever reason this warming climate is taking its toll on the trout fishing in this area. By April the weather will be much cooler, and so too will the water. It is always hard to predict exactly what will happen with the trout in April as it is very dependent upon the weather. What is supposed to happen is that the trout are supposed to swim upstream in April in preparation for their annual spawning

run. In the bigger rivers like the Ovens and upper King rivers this should happen without a worry. In the smaller streams it is largely dependent on how much rain we get between now and then. During this time, the trout can be a bit hit and miss as well, just like the Murray cod. I always prefer fluorescent coloured lures for trout in the autumn with the fluorescent orange Super Vibrax with a gold blade being my all time favourite trout lure in autumn. The trout fishing has been tough, but there are still a few fish around so head out to a stream with a reasonably decent flow, such as the Buckland River, or the upper King River and try casting a fluorescent bladed spinner around. Bait fishers love April as this is the best time of the year to use live crickets. Fishing with crickets can be great fun, and very productive. The best method is to fish a totally

unweighted hook with a live cricket, and maybe even grease the last metre or so of your line to slow down the sink rate and prevent snagging, as well as making the cricket appear more natural. REDFIN I won’t go too much into redfin here other than to say Lake Buffalo and Lake William Hovell are the two places to head during April. It can be a great time to fish either of these two lakes with beautiful weather, magnificent mountain scenery and an increased chance of catching a decent sized redfin. I usually use a soft plastic, such as a 3” curl-tail grub or small minnow at a depth of around 20ft with a jighead of around 5-7g. If bait fishing for redfin in either of these two lakes, it is hard to go past tiny yabbies of about 1” long rigged with a paternoster rig and fished directly beneath the boat or kayak.

Kiewa produces consistent trout KIEWA VALLEY

Robbie Alexander

April can be a magnificent time of the year to fish the far north east part of the state. The cooling water and reliable flows in many of the region’s waterways can often lead to good trout fishing. Throughout summer the Kiewa River has fished quite well for trout. When I say well, it has fished about as well as it has in recent years. The Kiewa has for a long time been one of the best and most consistent trout fisheries in the area as it has a very well balanced number of self sustaining trout. It is not one of those waterways where you can catch 30 or more pan-sized trout a day; catches of 10 or more a day are quite rare. The upside to this is that the average size is usually a bit bigger, and there are some very large fish in the Kiewa River, which will be starting to push upstream in April ready for their annual spawning run that usually starts around late May.

can fish at the popular picnic spots and access points that see a lot of fishing pressure and still be in with a good chance of catching a decent fish. Just like in the more remote areas at any other time of the year. Try using brightly coloured bladed spinners in April if you are targeting

time is to persevere. Once you find a decent school of redfin you may just be in for the fishing action of a lifetime. Try using small soft plastics, especially vibrantly coloured ones rigged with a 5-7g jighead. These can be bobbed up and down directly under the boat. Baits of small yabbies

A small rainbow trout caught on a Strike Tiger nymph soft plastic in a Kiewa River tributary in autumn last year.

Brett Corker loves his fishing, and he is good at it too! Here he is with a Lake Hume carp caught on a 40mm Metalhead soft plastic while targeting redfin recently. The redfin and carp should both be quite active in Lake Hume during April.

Brown trout can become quite underweight during autumn, particularly in the smaller streams where they may have struggled for food for lengthy periods of time during the summer months. Over the hill to the Mitta Mitta River it is a similar story with fewer, but larger trout, which will be starting to move upstream in April. One of the best things about April, as the trout are moving upstream, is that you

reason, I do not know, but for years it has been my favourite autumn trout spinner. Some of the region’s smaller tributary creeks will also be worth fishing in April provided we have had enough rainfall to keep them flowing well. The small creeks that run into the larger rivers are

trout. I have a preference for the fluorescent orange Super Vibrax with the gold blade by Blue Fox. I am unsure why this colour works so well for me in autumn. Whether it is because the bright orange resembles a trout egg or for some other

the places to head as the larger resident trout from the deep holes in the bigger rivers make their way up into these smaller tributaries to spawn. Even creeks that have fished poorly all summer may be worth a try as the entire dynamics of stream trout fishing change at this time of the year. Lake Hume will be well worth a visit if you are chasing a feed of redfin. In autumn as the nights get colder and the water cools right down, it is common for the redfin to push down deeper where the water temperature is usually a bit warmer. I like to fish around 25-30ft in autumn as I have had a lot of luck at that depth. Redfin tend to school up in autumn as well, so you may need to move around regularly and be prepared to fish at many fishless locations. The key to redfin fishing at any

Brown trout can become a little bit hit and miss during autumn as they build up to their spawning run, whereas rainbow trout, such as this one, tend to remain quite consistent at feeding as they spawn later in the year.

and worms will also catch plenty of April redfin, as well as the odd yellowbelly and, of course, a carp! Murray cod anglers should head to the lower reaches of the Kiewa and Mitta Mitta rivers. Both waterways are regularly stocked with decent numbers of Murray cod and both now have great populations of this species. For a long time the Mitta Mitta River was stocked at Pigs Point, so this area is well worth a trip in April. In recent times the DEPI have begun

scattering their stockings to multiple parts of the river so that the Murray cod fishery covers a wider area. The Kiewa River from Tangambalanga downstream to its junction with the Murray River near Albury is always worth fishing for cod. April can see the cod fishing slow down in both of these rivers, however a few cod will still be on the chew, and surface popping after sunset is a great way to entice a strike from a hungry autumn Murray cod.

Cod and release fishing MOAMA

Ian Page

As we get deeper into autumn we encounter some of our region’s best conditions. The results from local fishing competitions over the past weeks indicate our system is in great shape with some outstanding catches being recorded. A lot of juvenile cod have been landed and returned, which makes for a very bright future. It is very encouraging to see most anglers observing size and bag limits.

Around this time of year lures come into their own and for those willing to troll large lures bouncing across the bottom and snags, the big cod will come. My favourite lures are Oargee, Custom Crafted, Predators or age old StumpJumpers. These are just a few that give great action and just simply work. The river system from the Narrows to Torrumbarry at this time of year provides deep holes and snags – the perfect habitat for cod and yellowbelly. The Goulburn is also a good option for casting lures and spinnerbaits. For those that prefer bait fishing try scrubworms,

Cod caught by Dieter Page on a Balista Hunchback surface crawler.

yabbies, bardigrubs or catch your own shrimp, which are excellent bait, but be prepared to put a few on the hook for best results. We often see many new products come through the shop and I have been very impressed with the Ballista LED Hunchback: a new surface crawler with great action. The LED technology is producing some top angling at dusk and dawn. While cod seem to be our main focus at the moment we have many anglers who chase redfin and yellowbelly. Reports from the Gunbower area are that the yellows have slowed but are still taking lures and angled scrubworms. The Campaspe is seeing some nice redfin on small yabbies and I have heard of some cod being taken on lures in the deeper holes while trying for reddies. Despite it starting to cool off a little, April presents great opportunities for everyone with school holidays, Easter and Anzac Day all in the same month. None of us have an excuse for not finding time to fish! • For the latest fishing and boating information, or just to check on the river levels in teh Echuca and Moama regions, drop into Boats and More’s Echuca store at 76 Northern Highway, or give them a call on (03) 5482 1992. APRIL 2014

Go west for school holiday fun WST/STH GIPPSLAND

Steve Haughton steve.haughton@hotmail.com

There are numerous West and South Gippsland fishing destinations to take the kids over these school holidays. Stream trout are very active this time of the year and will take basic baits like garden worms presented on a small size 4 or 6 hook, either fished under a float or off the bottom of the stream bed in the slower flowing pools. Drifting baits in moving water or flicking lures amongst structure and moving water also works a treat! All rivers are flowing well at the moment and the water is nice and clean as we wait for some decent rainfall to flush out the system. Blue Rock Lake, 30 minutes north of Warragul, is also a great place to take the kids if river fishing is not your thing. With daylight savings

over, the fishing pressure of these streams is lifted, so more and more trout feel comfortable cruising around for a feed. For the weekend angler and families looking at wetting a line, the streams around the Drouin West, Neerim and Noojee districts will play host to a lot of nice sized brown trout with the odd rainbow trout making an appearance. Please remember these rivers are not stocked by any Fisheries programs so this region relies heavily on natural spawning stocks. The bigger the fish the more eggs it can lay come spawning season so keep this in mind when deciding what fish to take home for the plate. Releasing a healthy stream trout is often just as rewarding as catching it. Some great family friendly fishing spots worth trying over the school holidays are: Picnic Point is off the Old Princes Hwy in Drouin West with the Tarago River flowing through the reserve.

Some great fishing can be had here with the odd brown trout reaching up to 1.5kg, but most around 300g. There is a deep hole perfect for bottom or float fishing and upstream from the hole are a number of good runs ideal for casting a lure, drifting bait or practicing your fly casting. Picnic Point has a large rotunda and free BBQ facility, toilets and a playground, which is good backup if the fish are not biting on the day. Fisher Road Reserve is upstream from Picnic Point, also on the Tarago River. This reserve features a constructed fish ladder between two deep pools. The pools suit bottom or float fishing. Downstream of the fish ladder is a section of river that can either be fished from the bank or waded. Popular with beginner anglers, this stretch of river once again suits the lure, bait or fly angler and holds a lot of good fish, especially this time of the year. There are

no toilets or BBQs here but there are picnic tables and a small rotunda. Rokeby Reserve is a small reserve located just outside the township of Rokeby on Brandy Creek Road. Park the car up the top and it is a short walk down to the river where there are some picnic tables and a nice grassed area. This section of stream suits drifting baits, casting lures or flicking nymphs with a short fly rod. The lack of fishing pressure means there are some very nice fish swimming about. Latrobe River Reserve is in Noojee and spreads itself for quite some distance along the Latrobe River offering great fishing and picnic access. The main picnic ground is off Loch Valley Road just up from the shops in town. There is a large rotunda with free BBQs, toilets and a playground. Upstream from here, there is another stretch of picnic tables off McCarthy Spur Road and there’s

The author with a Blue Rock brown trout caught off the bottom in 11m of water. When casting for bass and redfin, having a line dropped below the boat can produce some non-target fish like this. great access to pull the car up alongside the river. The fishing here is always good with plenty of trout moving about feeding. Baits, lures and fly are all successful techniques and this stretch of

river suits both bank anglers and those who want to slip on a pair of waders. Feel free to send me a report or photo and I’m happy to answer any questions too. Happy fishing!

Gippsland the new bass destination this season Obviously there are certain small streams not fished quite as hard that still have small trout in them, but most would agree nothing like pre 2011. Likewise, the main streams we all fish in the area have been terrible compared with pre 2011. Water levels can’t be the answer as streams such as the Tyers and Upper Tanjil and tributaries have maintained a good water flow and trout are getting caught in these streams, but not to the quantities as usual. The Strzelecki streams are where the decrease in trout numbers can be seen the most. Pre 2011, water levels over summer were no different to the past couple of years, yet you could still find plenty of trout schooled up in

CTL GIPPSLAND

Will Thompson allwaysangling@bigpond.com

This summer has shown us that despite the trout issues Victoria is facing at the moment, the bass seem to be doing very well and are giving anglers an alternative during these hot months. The Glenmaggie catchment has been fishing great and the bass have proven very resilient considering the issues this catchment has had in the past five years. The bass are ranging anywhere from 15-38cm and considering 2014 will be the fifth year of consecutive stocking, the 35cm+ specimens are most likely from the original 2001/2002 stocking. This means these bass are very hardy and strong fish and have survived some atrocious conditions! The hot afternoons have been the best times to chase the bass and surface lures, such as stick baits or poppers have been very good in this catchment, both upstream in the Macalister, the dam itself and the lower Macalister. During the day, spinnerbaits, deep divers and soft plastics fished deeper have been the best lures to use. The local streams have also been producing bass, especially the tributaries of the Latrobe River and early mornings and evenings have been the times to fish. Hardbodied bibbed 64

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the deep holes, but now there are barely any in these holes either. So there are definitely some other factors. We have some good discussions in the shop and I hear lots of different opinions and one that keeps coming up are the cormorants. I wonder if a study has been done or needs to be done comparing the cormorant and shag population with trout numbers per catchment. Wouldn’t this settle the argument? Why are the bass doing so well? Is it because they are native or is it because they have been regularly stocked into our rivers for the past 4 years? But the Strzelecki streams are not stocked. In the past year, 80,000 bass have been stocked in Gippsland

versus approximately 20,000 browns and 20,000 rainbows in our Gippy rivers over the past year. Would there be as many trout being caught as there are bass in the other streams if equal numbers of trout were stocked? These are important questions that need answers if we want to see out local trout fishery back to what it was a few years ago. I realise this is easier said than done as funding for these type of projects and manpower are at an all-time low according to the Fisheries people I have spoken to. Despite the different opinions, I am glad that Fisheries have conceded there is some sort Continued page 65

Mark Ramsey with some great Gippsland bass. They’re being caught on a wide range of lures including soft plastics and hardbodies. lures have been the best in 3-5cm models. Basically any hardbody you would use for trout, will smash the bass in the creeks and rivers. Ideally over the next few years we will get even more bass stocked into our small streams, not only in greater numbers but hopefully in many more access points. I would love to see all our common Gippsland fishing locations that have good bank access for anglers to be

teeming with bass. The keen Gippy trout guys would have to agree that most of our rivers have been going downhill since 2011 when it comes to trout fishing. Fisheries also agree with this and say that this isn’t just a local occurrence but in fact it is statewide and there is some unknown environmental factor that has occurred in the last 2 years that has drastically reduced trout numbers in Victoria.

Mitch has been catching plenty of bass on surface lures during the hot evenings.

Trout feeding up well JINDABYNE

Steve Williamson swtrout@airlan.com.au

Welcome to April and cooler weather in the Snowy Mountains. It’s a busy month for the Snowies, with school holidays, Easter and of course Anzac weekend, which brings me to the reminder that the Rapala/ Discovery Holiday Parks Family Fishing Competition will be held over the Anzac Weekend this year. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and more information is available at www. swtroutfishing.com.au. I will always remember April and Easter as a possible start to the trout spawning season in the bigger rivers like the Thredbo and Eucumbene but this always depends on

has continued to be very good and now that the lake water temperature is cooling into the trout’s comfort zone they are happier to move in close to the edges of the lake. This makes the fishing a little better for those anglers who don’t have a boat. Autumn is a great time to go trout fishing. The trout are feeding up in readiness for winter and so are often easier to catch. The great shore based angling should continue right through the winter months like it did last year. Spinning on the lake will also improve this month as the water edges cool down, but you may find the best spinning will be early and late in the day, and steep drop-offs with plenty of rocks will be the best areas. Bays like Rushes, Hatchery and Creel Bay all fish well. The best areas have

on them as well. In shallow bays I like to use the glow Vibrax spinners and also some of the small soft plastics like the Strike Tiger spotted brew colour using a small lightweight jighead. Boat trolling will improve again this month now that the water temperatures are starting to reach a comfort zone for the trout, and early morning surface fishing can be quite productive. It’s also the month that the lake trout start to feed up before heading into the rivers to spawn. The best way to attack the fish is to start off the morning by surface trolling lures and maybe a lead line at 2 colours out so the lure is about 3m deep. Later in the morning you can still target some of the browns by fishing close to the bottom in deeper water with the aid of downriggers.

Regular Jindabyne angler Amanda Walshaw with a nice rainbow caught trolling a Rapala Brown Trout Scatter Rap. just how much rain we get. Last year we had a very early start but this year will depend on that rain once again. Substantial rainfall will mean a spawn, and no rain will mean that the trout will stay back in the lake. April is also the last month that you can legally take 2 trout over 25cm from the spawning rivers like the Thredbo. After 1 May the rule changes to only 1 fish over 50cm per angler per day. On the lake, the fishing From page 64

of environmental issue happening affecting trout populations at the moment! Anyway back to what’s being caught! There are some streams that haven’t been stocked with bass that are producing good numbers indicating that there are some escapees. I think it is almost certain that bass are escaping out of Blue Rock Lake and Lake Narracan. Pretty soon we may have bass in nearly all our Gippy

been down at the South Arm or near Banjo Patterson Park but as the month progresses Waste Point and the Snowy Arm will start to fire. We will start to use pink and orange Tassies this month as the fish also move into spawning and aggression mode, but for now green and gold Tassies like the number 111 Willy’s Special and maybe the Canberra Killer Tassie will be good. Most of the Rapalas I use at this time of year have a little orange

I find about 20ft of water is a good place to start. The Tasmanian Devil number Y48, the yellow wing Brown Bomber, and the holographic Tasmanian Devil have been the best overall lures to use on the lakes over the past month, however this is the time of the year that we sometimes start to move into pink or orange colours. It’s also well worth running the brown trout or spotted dog Rapalas, and the pinkie Rapala will also be worth a

streams and, I tell you what, I have no problem with that at all. Blue Rock Lake is fishing really well at the moment, and the upcoming Hobie Bass Tournament should go really well, and I can’t wait to hear the results. Spinnerbaits have still been producing bass to 26cm consistently in the snags and also a few bigger specimens to 39cm. Small hardbodied lures and floating lures are producing plenty of bass during the

evenings around the bank edges. Sorry once again, that I haven’t discussed the trout that much, but there’s too much going on with the bass to let it pass. • For more information, contact Will at Allways Angling in Traralgon on 5174 8544. You will get expert advice and great deals on fishing bait and tackle. Tune into Rex Hunt and Lee Rayner’s Off the Hook on 1242 to hear Will’s report on what’s going on in Gippsland.

Nick Elliott and David Hogan managed a good few hours trolling on the lake with all fish taken on the Tasmanian Devil 111 Willy’s Special. try as the trout become more aggressive. Of course, if you are targeting the really big brown trout then you are best using really big lures like 9cm to 13cm Rapalas. I find the Jointer Rapalas best as you can troll them a bit slower and still have good action on the lure. Some of the better trolling areas this month will be Sid’s Bay through to Rushes Bay but this is a tricky area to fish with the lower lake levels. You need to be vigilant as there are trees and shallow spots that can pop up out of nowhere. Also try Waste Point or Creel bay for downrigging as there may be a few early spawning brown trout about, but they will mostly be deeper at 20 or so feet. On the rivers and streams last summer was a very hot one and at present there is not a lot of flow (but that can change). I have found that the best flyfishing has been higher up in the mountains, with the mountain streams still producing lots of small trout on dry fly. This is heaps of fun, especially if you are

just getting into the art of flyfishing. Try a small Hopper pattern, Royal Wulff or Royal Humpy. A caddis moth fly is also not a bad option. The Thredbo River still has a little dry flyfishing to offer on some days but we will be swinging into the nymphing season very soon. As the month goes on and more early spawning brown trout move into the Thredbo River you might start trying a black nymph, and if we get that heavy rain and a rise in the river we might see a start to glowbugs and nymphs. On the lake, the best flyfishing is at night. Try any of the streamer patterns such as Craig’s Night Time or a black Woolly Bugger. Olive green nymphs and shrimp patterns are also worth a try. The South Arm, Creel Bay and Hayshed Bay are all great. For the lure anglers, the Thredbo River will only improve as the month goes by and the best lures will be jointed minnows as the brown trout start to become really aggressive and territorial. Other lures like the Gillies Spinas, Vibrax spinners or

Celtas are certainly a must in your lure box. It is also well worth a try in the smaller alpine streams using these same lures, as once again these little fish can be a lot of fun. I always crimp the barbs for easy release. APRIL ROUNDUP – THE BEST OF THE BEST! Best method – Surface trolling early and then using lead core lines at 30m out. Best depth - Trolling at 25ft deep. 35ft middle of the day using downriggers. Best lake lure – Tasmanian Devil number 111 or Y82. Best lake area – Hayshed Bay and it’s worth a look at Waste Point. Best fly method – Dry fly: Parachute Adams or black cricket. Wet fly: black weighted nymph. Best river – Thredbo River above The Diggings. If you want to know more about the latest in fishing conditions just give me a call on 02 6456 1551 or check out our Facebook page at Steve Williamson’s Lake Jindabyne Trout Fishing Adventures. Until next month, hope you catch the big one.

On Marty Garratt’s first attempt at cod fishing he caught this 68cm fish at Burrinjuck Dam on an AC Invader. APRIL 2014

Fishing far from fading TASMANIA

Neil Grose

While the days are becoming shorter and daylight savings has finished, the fishing in the Apple Isle is far from fading. The brown trout season is in its final month, and

always be keenly explored by the dry fly fisher. When the weather gets dirty then it’s time to pull out the soft plastics and hammer the rocky shores from the boat. Brown trout at this time of year are very toey as their hormones prepare for spawning, so lures with a flash of yellow or orange are

Calamari on the east coast are very reliable in April – bright green jigs are the go and look for the patches of weed amongst reef or sand. while this will often mean cold conditions, it also spells some of the most wonderful cool autumn days you will ever experience. TROUT The highlands is now pretty much all about pre-spawn brown trout and fit and bright rainbow trout. I’ve never subscribed to the theory that trout feed up in the lead in to the spawning season – trout eat as much as they can at any stage of the season! At this end of the season most trout are focussed on scud and shrimp, especially in Arthurs Lake. Warm and calm days will see beetles and jassids take to the wing and plop on the water, but the main game is beneath the surface. GREAT LAKE Great Lake’s trout do love a surface feed as autumn draws the curtain on another warm season. Midges and beetles are the prime aim, but the much-loved jassids will always get trout looking to the surface. Warm (relatively speaking) north winds will push terrestrial insects off the trees along the northern edges of the lake between Breona and Cramps Bay, and slicks and foam lines should 66

APRIL 2014

the best bet. The new Strike Tiger T Tails in black and gold have the track record so far fished on a 1/8oz jig. ARTHURS LAKE When the weather gets dirty then fishing deep wet flies and cast lures around Tumble Down and Cow Paddock are as reliable as you will find. Even though Arthurs has been tarred with a small fish reputation this year, April will see the bigger fish step up to the plate. If the weather turns easterly and bright then head to Flemings Bay and look for gum beetles and jassids – this is a very reliable spot for them. NINETEEN LAGOONS Now that the mainland influx has pretty much passed, this area is well worth visiting again. While many anglers abandon this area after March, some of the best fishing of the season awaits. The window of opportunity is smaller, but often bears a heavier fruit. Look for lakes that cope with the lower levels better, like Lake Ada, Augusta and Double Lagoon. LITTLE PINE LAGOON The Pine has had a busy year – I drove past in February and counted over 30 boats – not my idea of

fun! On most days in April you will have the lake to yourself (pretty much) and tailing fish are back on the agenda as the season glides to an end. Failing that, pulling yellow and black wet flies is great and some solid fish will result. SALT WATER April is awesome in the salt – the estuary scene is fantastic with pretty much every species on the chew and the offshore sport is really hitting its straps. OFFSHORE Big bluefin tuna are the talk of the town since the first jumbo was caught in late February. Albacore really hadn’t made their presence felt in early March, but fingers are well and truly crossed for an April resurgence. Striped tuna have been everywhere from the 50m line out, with most boats having their fun before trying to find something more substantial. Yellowfin haven’t been thick, but with the warm current throwing up all sorts of fish including mahi mahi on a semi regular basis anything is possible. April is widely regarded as the best month for game fishing off St Helens for albacore, yellowfin and striped marlin, so we can only look forward and ignore the recent dearth of big fish. Eagle Hawk Neck is quite different, with most boats regularly finding SBT on any given day from early March. Given that the prime season extends all the way through to August we could be in for something special indeed. INSHORE Inshore bays like Great Oyster Bay have been fishing extremely well for the bread and butter species, such as flathead and calamari. Yellowtail kingfish have been much sought after, and are as

Anchoring up and waiting for a bite – snapper have been the focus of many east coast anglers this season. elusive as ever. Across the north coast the schools of bigger salmon seem to have been pursued by some bigger kingfish, with some persistent anglers doing well on a regular basis. Big schools of jack mackerel are all along the coast, which is inviting all sorts of predators along, and as April progresses we hopefully will see some more captures of kingfish. Bridport is always worth a look at this time of year as the barracouta move along the coast – snapper and yellowtail kingfish are always on the agenda. ESTUARIES DERWENT If you had to pick a month for bream on the Derwent, April would be one of the top ones. This year has been pretty dry, so bream are well entrenched in all the shallow stretches of the river. Shallow running minnow hardbodied lures are the pick of the bunch, but don’t neglect soft plastics around the structure, especially the jetties and piers along the

Trout may be a tad smaller this year in Arthurs, but they are in awesome condition.

Chase those game fish – the Hazards makes a nice backdrop while chasing something big. river. Some of the bigger fish will hang around here, and slow fished plastics are sure to bend a rod or two. SWAN RIVER The Swan has been reliable all year for bream, but try to avoid big tides, as this seems to suspend huge amounts of annoying weed with the increased flow. Bream on the flats have been much sought after, but the bigger fish always are close to the oyster racks. Around the mouth is extraordinarily reliable for salmon to 1kg, although most are 500g. As the tide runs out salmon congregate at the mouth, and hardbodied lures like the Zerek Tango Shad in 50mm do very well indeed. SCAMANDER RIVER The Scamander River is bream central at any time of

year, but April is great as the level rises with the mouth closed over. The bigger bream will start to move to the front of the snags and if the sun is right they can be spotted before they are cast to. The channel adjacent to the highway bridge is always a chance for a big luderick or two for those who are keen. The surf beach from Scamander to Beaumaris is prime at this time of year for some good salmon in the surf with the odd gummy shark at night. GEORGES BAY Georges Bay is the bay that simply gets better and better. Many anglers catch 10 species in a day, and with April being a great crossover month that species tally can grow.

King George whiting are still the flavour of the month, but they seem to be getting

smaller as their population grows. The same can’t be said for silver trevally as these

Bream are looking for hardbodied lures as the tide drops. This Zerek Shrimp was hammered by this keen little fellow.

monsters are getting bigger and bigger. Deep fishing around the red channel markers with soft plastics is well worth the time. Bigger Australian salmon are always a chance in Moulting Bay, and keep an eye out for some kingfish around the schools of smaller salmon. Bream on the flats are as thick as ever, but weed can be annoying for those casting hardbodied lures. If the weed gets bad just change tack and go hunt something different. TAMAR RIVER The Tamar seems to be normal – good one day and inexplicably difficult the next. Snapper have been making

Trout are prime this year in Arthurs Lake, John Clark snitched with fat little fellow from a shallow bay.

their mark in some anglers’ bags, but trying to pin down some exact locations is as difficult as ever. The channel from Shag Rock down past the Maritime College Boat seems to be a good spot to start, and the areas around the Batman Bridge are very productive for those in the know. Most successful anglers I’ve spoken to simply sound around looking for arches on drop-offs – with the change of tide being the best time. Apart from that – good luck! As always, for the most up to date information, head to your local tackle store, they will have their finger on the pulse.

INLAND FISHERIES SERVICE

New spillway screens installed at Lake Kara IFS

Tim Farrell

After the positive response to initial trial stockings of Lake Kara with adult rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon during 2013, IFS committed to replacing the screens at the spillway to prevent fish from migrating downstream when the lake is overflowing.

The installation of new galvanised steel screens was completed on 13 February 2014. This will be a considerable boost to the future management of Lake Kara as a family fishery for the North West coast. Further stocking will be undertaken as fish become available. LAKE FERGUS WALKING ROUTE INSPECTION IFS staff recently inspected the Little Pine Lagoon to Lake Fergus walking route Lake Fergus brochure and map. Staff completed the return walk in 5.5 hours including checking a number of anglers at both Little Pine and Lake Fergus en-route. The route is in good condition with evidence of regular foot traffic taking advantage of this excellent walk-in angling experience. Water levels at Lake Fergus are ideal for late season polaroiding with dun and ant

hatches always possible at this time of year. LITTLE LAKE TRACK MAINTENANCE Following the rerouting of the Gunns Lake to Little Lake 4wd track in 2013, the IFS, with the assistance of volunteers, has continued to monitor the condition of the track. When conditions permitted in February 2014, due to a record wet spring in 2013, IFS staff

and volunteers inspected the track and undertook maintenance as required. Inspection revealed that the track is receiving regular traffic and is improving with use. Some fallen timber was removed from the track, additional signage installed and a large amount of stone placed in the areas most vulnerable to erosion and inundation. Finally a large amount of rubbish was removed from the vicinity of

the Little Lake hut. IFS would like to thank Jan and Bill Spencer and Hydro Tasmania for their assistance with this project. Anglers are reminded that this track is suitable for high clearance 4WD vehicles only and should not be attempted in wet conditions. Alternatively Little Lake can be accessed on foot from Gunns Lake, an easy 20-30 minute walk. SUMMER CARP CATCHES HEATING UP IFS staff on the Carp Management Program have been making the most of the warm, still conditions presented at Lake Sorell. They have been using a variety of techniques in a bid to remove the remaining population of carp from the lake. The slowly maturing carp have proved difficult to target and catch, as they did not aggregate in the shallows during optimum weather

conditions, and have shown no interest in spawning. Many kilometres of gill nets have been set each day in locations where ‘Judas’ transmitter fish were observed. The gill nets have allowed the team to maintain catch rates through a difficult period of carp maturity and activity. The numbers of carp caught throughout summer are as follows: December – 287, January – 893, and February – 675.

HYDRO TASMANIA WATER STORAGE INFORMATION Water Storage Information as at 12th March 2014 Lake/Lagoon

Metres from full

Comment

Lake Augusta ...................................2.96 .......................................................Steady Arthurs Lake ....................................0.93 .......................................................Steady Great Lake .......................................15.05 .....................................................Steady Trevallyn Pond .................................1.18 ....................................................... Falling Shannon Lagoon ..............................0.06 .......................................................Steady Penstock Lagoon .............................0.25 .......................................................Steady Lake Echo ........................................7.60........................................................Steady Dee Lagoon .....................................0.07 .......................................................Steady Bradys/Binneys/Tungatinah .............2.09 .......................................................Steady Bronte Lagoon .................................1.66 .......................................................Steady Pine Tier Lagoon ..............................2.63 .......................................................Steady Little Pine Lagoon ............................0.91 .......................................................Steady Laughing Jack Lagoon ....................4.53 .......................................................Steady Lake St Clair ....................................1.93 .......................................................Steady Lake King William ............................3.35 ....................................................... Falling Lake Liapootah ................................0.59 ....................................................... Falling Wayatinah Lagoon ...........................-.............................................................Spilling Lake Catagunya ...............................0.63 ....................................................... Falling

Lake Repulse ...................................1.67 ........................................................Rising Cluny Lagoon ...................................0.86 ....................................................... Falling Meadowbank Lake ..........................0.64 .......................................................Steady Lake Pedder ....................................1.39 .......................................................Steady Lake Gordon ....................................26.39 .....................................................Steady Lake Burbury ...................................5.71 .......................................................Steady Lake Plimsoll ...................................2.11 .......................................................Steady Lake Murchison ...............................17.61 .....................................................Steady Lake Mackintosh .............................6.13 .......................................................Steady Lake Rosebery .................................2.69 .......................................................Steady Lake Pieman ....................................0.79 .......................................................Steady Lake Mackenzie ...............................9.37 .......................................................Steady Lake Rowallan .................................6.05 .......................................................Steady Lake Parangana ...............................1.48 ....................................................... Falling Lake Cethana ...................................2.21 ........................................................Rising Lake Barrington ...............................2.06 .......................................................Steady Lake Gairdner ..................................1.11 ........................................................Rising Lake Paloona ...................................-.............................................................Spilling Woods Lake .....................................0.76 .......................................................Steady Whitespur Pond ...............................8.1 .........................................................Steady Lake Newton ...................................4.39 .......................................................Steady Lake Margaret .................................0.3 ......................................................... Falling

These levels are provided for an indication of lake level only and can vary from day to day. For more up-to-date lake level information please visit www.hydro.com.au/home/Tourism+and+Recreation/Lake+Levels.htm APRIL 2014

Tassie Business Profiles Gotya Bait and Tackle The Gotya specialist tackle shop can be found at 146 Hobart Road, Kings Meadows. Perfectly placed for that quick visit while in town or the more planned approach as you roll out of town for that big weekend away. Easy and accessible off street parking combines with swift traffic flow when departing make getting in and out of Gotya tackle a breeze. I call Gotya Tackle a specialist shop for a number of reasons: Not only are they a fishing tackle and bait specialist

they take special attention and care when assisting customers. They value their clientele and often go above and beyond for a loyal customer. Gotya often has access to specialist information hot off the press and quite happy to share. If you find you cannot see what you are after in store, Nick will also make special effort to get that specific item in. Nick and his familyowned store have a huge range of tackle for the Tamar area and Tasmanian fisheries. Nick is a super keen fisherman himself and takes great pride in having an ear to the ground about what

Spot On The fishing Connection is happening and where the hot might be at any given time around the state. Nick uses his extensive fishing background to design and make a lot of his own drop lines and specialist bottom rigs. You are spoilt for choice in store at Gotya Bait and Tackle and Nick never locks himself to any particular brand or supplier. If it is a good product that has proven itself in the harsh fishing environment you will find it at Gotya Bait and Tackle. Nick, his wife and young sons spend as much time as business will allow fishing Tasmania’s awesome North East Coast. Tomahawk is their destination of choice. Big flathead, yellowtail kings and squid are just a few of the species they are well credentialed to get you hooked up tight on. Head in and chat to Nick if you are after information or tackle. He will put you on the right track and if it is bait you need, Nick stocks a huge range. So don’t delay, get in or ring on 03 6344 7466.

Spot On The Fishing Connection is a Tasmanian fishing icon. The Fishing Connection is one of Tasmania’s most respected fishing retailers for their excellent service, fantastic knowledge and massive range of tackle covering all aspects of recreational fishing. Based in the same Harrington Street address in Hobart for as long as anyone can remember, it is the first port of call for specialist anglers and beginners alike. The staff at The Fishing Connection all have established themselves as anglers of note, whether it is fly fishing for trout, chasing bream on lures or tackling up for jumbo 100kg southern bluefin tuna. As arguably Tasmania’s biggest retailer of fishing tackle, The Fishing Connection can boast the largest range of pretty much everything, from all the hooks needed to catch everything from mullet to marlin, specialist trout fly fishing gear to the latest in Japanese bream lures. Good advice is the key aspect of any successful

tackle business and staff members like Andrew Large and Isaac Harris can explain different techniques and locations and then match customers with the most suitable tackle. This is the heart and soul of The Fishing Connection, customers can walk in and simply browse the massive range or seek out one of the knowledgeable staff and pick their brains. As the biggest tackle store in Hobart, the amount of up to date fishing information that comes in here is simply unbelievable. From what is happening out on the continental shelf with southern bluefin tuna to what hatched today in the highlands, these guys will know it all. As they are on the

St Helens Bait and Tackle

Zulu Charters

Located right in the heart of St Helens only a decent cast from the waters of Georges Bay, St Helens Bait and Tackle boats an impressive array of tackle and accessories from all the major brands. Being located in the heart of Tasmania’s best inshore fishing as well as the centre of some super impressive game fishing means that storeowner Jamie Henderson has accumulated some wide-ranging knowledge of his local waters. Jamie is just at home talking about flats-feeding bream, pipi sipping King George whiting and thumping Australian salmon as he is about 70kg+ yellowfin tuna. St Helens is also very close to some great trout fishing in the Georges River, and Jamie has an excellent range of tackle to trick even the wariest of trout. On the walls of St Helens Bait and Tackle you can find the latest in lures for every species found in Tasmania and the tackle to use it, but importantly, the bread and butter tackle for mums and dads chasing a fish off the local jetty is also prominent.

Zulu Charters is based on the Sunshine Coast of Tasmania in the game fishing capital of St Helens. Greg Tubby Quinn and Ange Matthews are the owner/operators. Tubby is currently the skipper of the magnificent charter vessel Papa Zulu and, his partner in life and business, Ange has a couple of records to her name, so his Captain’s chair may not be safe. Papa Zulu is a 9.8 custom built Lyndcraft. The Lyndcraft company is a local business specialising in making rock solid and safe vessels for the local area and conditions. Licenced to take 6 passengers in comfort, Papu Zulu is a super dry boat and the massive cab is well appointed and delivers an enjoyable trip for everyone. An electric flush toilet and diesel heater really make this a 5 star experience. Tubby uses twin 300 Mercury outboards to get to the grounds in short time and find that hot bit. The fully intergraded NMEA2000 compliant electronics from SIMRAD gets driven hard by Tubby to put clients on good fish. St Helens has a great game fishing history. The season

APRIL 2014

In many ways this is the key to a great tackle store – having a good range of well-priced quality tackle that get’s people into fishing easily. Not every one wants to buy a $1000 game reel and a swag full of lures, in fact most people want some hooks, sinkers, bait and a good, solid moderate cost combo to snag a feed of flathead and whiting. The jewel in the crown of any tackle store is the quality of the information provided – you always get more than just tackle and bait

at a local fishing store. Jamie has been based in St Helens for over a decade and has fished there for much longer, and together with his contacts with local anglers and charter operators, he knows where the fish are biting and how to catch them. St Helens Bait and Tackle, as to be expected, has a massive range of bait to suit the local area and is a must-visit store when next in St Helens. For more information call (03) 6376 2244.

Jamie Henderson from St Helens Bait and Tackle doing some research for his customers on where the King George whiting are.

doorstep of one of Australia’s best big-bream fisheries, they also have their finger on the pulse here too. Andrew Large was one of the ‘bream on lure’ pioneers on the Derwent, and Isaac Harris is now at the forefront of new and exciting developments with Japanese hardbodied lures and surface presentations. Not only on the Derwent, but on all the east coast estuaries. No trip to Hobart is complete without a visit to Spot On the Fishing Connection, a true icon of Tasmanian fishing. Spot On Fishing Tackle Hobart, 87-91 Harrington Street, Hobart 7000, Ph: (03) 6234 4880, fax: (03) 6234 8024.

delivers a nice run of albacore and striped marlin. Yellowfin tuna come through a little later and Tubby has a real knack of heading them off at the pass and putting them on deck at a client’s feet. The double and triple hook ups on tuna are no issue as the rear of the vessel is massive and well appointed. Tubby uses a number of deckies from the region, all of them whom are fine anglers in their own right, holding

Zulu Charters specialise in mako shark fishing trips and support sustainable fishing by tagging many big sharks over a season. They also spend time in the southern and south eastern part of Tasmania and service the world class southern bluefin fishery each season. This generally fires up around April each year. Papu Zulu is also trailerable and available for any corporate work. The

Tasmanian and Australian game fishing records. Game fishing is Zulu charters expertise, but by no means are they a one trick horse. The bottom fishing off St Helens is sensational and the fine table fish are abundant. Finding blue-eye trevalla and striped trumpeter and hooking up clients is second nature to Tubby Quinn. You will not find better eating fish.

vessel is a fantastic and stable platform for any filming of documentary work. Tubby and Zulu charters were featured recently on Robson Greens Extreme Fishin.” So if you are in Tasmania and find yourself in the beautiful coastal town of St Helens contact Zulu Charters Greg Tubby Quinn 0487 351 408 and Angela Matthews 0407 046 571. – Kelly Hunt

Tasmania competes in Interclub championship The New South Wales Game Fishing Associations Interclub Championship is 1540km from Tasmania, yet the history and prestige of this tournament travels that distance with ease. It is a bucket list item of most Game Fishers in Tasmania and this year Team PENN decided to make that journey. The first part of the journey was via the TT lines Spirit of Tasmania. This allowed team members Hooch and Mozza to refresh themselves for the 1100km drive that remained once they dis-embarked. The tow vehicle for this trip was a VW Touareg that had the pace set less like Too Fast Too Furious and

much more like ‘Too Plush Too Luxurious’. The travel distance was eaten up without so much as a yawn and within 30 minutes of arriving at Port Stephens they found themselves at the Presidents Welcome. The atmosphere was incredibly friendly and the lads spent the evening taking in all the helpful tips that came their way. Final team members Clinton Howe and John Farrell were flying in to Sydney as they partook in light refreshment. One o’clock had Mozz and Hooch home to PENN central before they turned into pumpkins and the other two arrived a short time later.

Next morning the crew were up bright and early to head round to lure maker Mario Zac. Mario is a huge supporter of Team PENN and was keen to share his local knowledge. The Team PENN Surtees boats 6.7 Game Fisher had some duties at the Bluewater Expo held at the local RSL. Friday night was the team’s first chance to really ready the gear for battle. The crew gave some of their kit a bit of a tweak on the basis of information they had garnered off the locals, but basically it was business as usual. The sail past was a big eye opener for the crew from Tasmania , but nothing compared to hooking their first marlin after less than two hours. The great luck continued for Team PENN and after the first weekend of competition led the tournament with 4 marlin and 3 yellowfin tagged. The buzz at the weigh in was amazing and all Team PENN could do was marvel at the tag flags as they hadn’t used anything like that in Tas before. The five days that split the second weekend of competition had Port Stephens talking of the visiting team from Tasmania showing them how it was done. Team PENN were adamant the weather and a bit of luck played a good part in the first weekends result, but were still keen to prove themselves as no flash in the pan. The Deegan Marine prepared Surtees 6.7 had them on the grounds in great form for both days of competition. Frustratingly and quite common while lure fishing marlin the lads managed to

raise several marlin only to drop them after very short battles. The pressure mounted and the high fives told the story after they managed to tag and release a nice sized black marlin in the last 2 hours of competition. This fish was enough to have Team PENN – Reel GOLD hold onto third outright in tag and release points for the event. – Kelly Hunt

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TOURNAMENT CALENDAR 2014 DATE DETAILS

CONTACT

MAY

May 3-4

Club Marine East Gippsland Classic Rnd 3 Metung

Bill Hartshorne 0409 823 070 www.vicbreamclassics.com.au

May 17-18

ABT BREAM Series Mallacoota

ABT 07 3387 0888

May 24-25

Daiwa-Hobie Kayak BREAM Series Lake Tyers

ABT 07 3387 0888

JUNE

Jun 14-15

Hobie Glenelg River Bream Classic Rnd 4 Nelson

Bill Hartshorne www.vicbreamclassics.com.au 0409 823 070

OCTOBER

Oct 11-12

BCF Hopkins River Bream Classic Rnd 5 Warrnambool

Bill Hartshorne www.vicbreamclassics.com.au 0409 823 070

Oct 11-12

Daiwa-Hobie Kayak BREAM Series Paynesville

ABT 07 3387 0888

For listings please email sbooth@fishingmonthly.com.au APRIL 2014

S M SERIE A E R B K a KAYA d by Daiw Presente Chris Burbidge has taken another win on the Glenelg River at the opening round of the 2014 Daiwa-Hobie Kayak BREAM Series. Catching a 6/6, 3.6kg limit to claim the event win, Burbidge dominated once again, in the process relegating young gun Daniel Brady to second place with his 6/6, 3.39kg bag. On both days of the tournament Burbidge took the long run up to Taylors Strait in search of fish actively feeding on the edge. “I stopped to fish on the way up but I failed to find any active fish holding on the edges, so I quickly moved on,” said Burbidge. Once in Taylors Strait, Burbidge was able to locate active schools of fish holding

Burbidge back breamin’ on top tight to the edge and high in the water column. For this Burbidge relied on his Tonic polarised sunglasses to spot fish actively moving in the shallows. Early in the session Burbidge used a top water approach, rotating between a Jackall Chubby Pencil in suji shrimp and an OSP Bent Minnow in p74 colour. Burbidge would cast his lure tight to the edge before starting a rapid rolling and twitching retrieve. Rotating between the two lures allowed Burbidge to present two different options to each school of fish, in turn maximising his returns. Once the fish began to move off the edge Burbidge would then change tact, opting to go deeper and fish a Cranka Vibe in black. He cast his lure tight to the edge before slowly rolling it back

CE 1ST PLA

Rocky Bank

Moving Fish

Cast tight to edge

Current

1 2 1. Black Cranka Vibe 2. Jackall Chubby Pencil 3. OSP Bent Minnow 76 to the boat, allowing it to stay in touch with the bottom as it came down the drop-off. “I knew the fish would still be holding in the area it was just a process of

keeping the lure in their face for as long as possible,” said Burbidge. With increased boat traffic and strong winds

on day two Burbidge was unable to repeat his early topwater pattern from day one. “My surface plan was not paying off, I was confident that the fish where still in the area and in the end it was my small black vibe that did the damage,” said Burbidge. Burbidge’s tackle

included a Mossops Ultra Cast 1-3kg rod delivered to him on short notice by Peter Stanley, matched with a 2004 Daiwa Steez reel spooled with 8lb Sunline PE and 3 and 4lb FC Rock. “I have to thank fishin. com.au and Tonic eyewear for all the support they have given me over the past couple of years,” said Burbidge.

Brady catches a flats bunch CE 2ND PLA

Chris Burbidge fished areas he was confident in to take the win at the Glenelg River event.

ABT, PO Box 7196, LOGANHOLME, QLD 4129 Alternatively you can download an entry form from www.abt.org.au At any time you can call ABT on (07) 3387 0888 for help with your entry during business hours. 70

APRIL 2014

Young gun Daniel Brady kicked off his season with a bang, taking out second place. On day one Brady headed to the flats near the mouth of the river, and with light winds and clear skies he targeted fish holding in the deeper holes near adjacent to the flats. Brady would cast his crankbait past the deep holes before cranking it down into the deeper water. Once in the strike zone he would then twitch the lure in the fish’s face for as long as possible. “It was just a process of holding the lure in the fish’s face and waiting for them to react,” said Brady. His lure of choice for this work was a Cranka Shallow Crank in bling prawn colour. With 30 fish hitting the deck on day one Brady knew he was on a good pattern. With the wind howling on day two Brady believed the fish would be more active, but it would take a change of tack to catch fish in the testing conditions. Rather than blindly cast, Brady opted for a less is more approach and only targeted fish that he could see digging in the shallows. Once he spotted

a fish he would then cast up past the fish, crank his lure into the area where the fish were digging, then park the lure in the fish’s face. His lure of choice for this work was again the

Cranka Shallow Crank in bling prawn colour. Brady’s tackle included a Megabass Kirisame rod

matched with a Daiwa Certate 2506 reel spooled with 2lb Yamatoyo spinning fluorocarbon. – ABT

WINNING NOTES Rod: Reel: Line: Leader:

Winning Tackle

Mossops Ultra Cast 1-3kg Daiwa Steez 2004 8lb Sunline PE 3 and 4lb FC Rock

Winning Edge

“I always fish areas that I have confidence in, confident anglers catch fish. For me that is fishing upriver in tight cover,” said Burbidge. TOP 10 NON-BOATERS

HOG’S BREATH BOSS HOG BASS ELECTRIC SERIES

The Hogs Breath Boss Hog for the event went to Chesney Fung with the prize winning fish (1.07kg) caught late on day two. HOGS BREATH BOSS HOG PAY TO:

Hogs Breath Boss Hog

FOR THE SUM OF:

The flats near the mouth of the Glenelg River were the hunting grounds of Daniel Brady.

One Hundred Dollars

DATE:

$ 100

Fishing Tournaments bass • bream • barra

TOP 10 KAYAKERS Place Angler 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fish Weight (kg)

Payout

Chris BURBIDGE 6/6 3.60 $900+Lowrance Elite x5 + Prize Pack Daniel BRADY 6/6 3.39 $470 + Prize Pack Joel CROSBIE 6/6 3.35 $350 + Prize Pack Philip KNIGHT 6/6 3.26 $290 + Prize Pack Nick MACE 6/6 3.23 $250 + Prize Pack Ben PHAYER 5/6 3.13 $210 Rick MASSIE 6/6 3.05 $180 Jon CLISBY 6/6 2.92 $140 Justin DINGWALL 6/6 2.91 Clark WILSON 5/6 2.87 For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

S AM SERIE E R B K A a KAY d by Daiw Presente Jordan Trusty (6/6, 6.05kg) has again showcased his angling versatility, taking out the Bemm River State Title event at the Hobie Kayak Bream Series 2014 – Presented by Daiwa. Trusty backed himself and his fitness to fish away from the crowd and find the bream to take the win. In all, over 40km of water was covered across two days, making for a grateful yet weary victor come Sunday afternoon. Trusty earmarked the Bemm River Bridge prior to the tournament as his key area. A strong wind warning threatened to derail this plan but conditions changed overnight, granting him the full seven hours necessary to execute his plan. Without the luxury of a prefish all anglers were on a level playing field come Saturday morning. Tension was high as all reports indicated the fish were there and willing to play. Peddling upriver, Trusty noted that there was solid flow and began to question how far he should travel if freshwater was going to become a factor.

Bemm River bends for Trusty “Stopping a couple of kilometres from the bridge to stretch my legs I pulled up next to a snaggy bank and started fishing. I found the fish to be fairly high up in the water column. I was using a 6’7” Millerods Brawler teamed with a 1000 size Shimano Sustain reel, 6lb leader and an unweighted 100mm Squidgy Bloodworm Wriggler. I was casting under overhanging trees, big snags and undercut banks and allowing the lure to hang in the strike zone. I ended up catching a bag within 20 minutes but they weren’t the size fish I was after!” Trusty moved upriver hitting banks in the hope of finding larger fish. Eventually he located a school of larger fish feeding on a tree. “I skipped my Bloodworm Wriggler right in front of them and the biggest one peeled off and instantly ate it! Finally I had scored a solid fish, which turned out to be the equal tournament Big Bream at 1.24kg. With time against me I started making my way back down the river knowing I still needed two good upgrades. “Stopping just shy of the river mouth I began fishing a similar snaggy bank to the

Squidgy Wriggler in bloodworm colour

one I had been fishing up river. Within 15 minutes I had caught 3 fish, 2 of them being the upgrades I was looking for! Leading after day one with 3 fish for 3.11kg I knew I would need a similar bag on Sunday if not bigger to hold my position.” Come day two Trusty set off for his day one locations knowing what he needed to do. As often is the case, things don’t necessarily come together, and a slow morning with few bites did little for the confidence.

WINNING NOTES

Winning Tackle Winning Edge

“I think fitness is definitely important, it opens a lot more areas to get away from the crowds and find fish which aren’t pressured by other anglers. Also local knowledge and persistence played a pivotal role,” said Trusty. TOP 10 NON-BOATERS

HOG’S BREATH BOSS HOG

BASS ELECTRIC The Hogs Breath Boss HogSERIES (1.24kg) for the tournament was split with Jordan Trusty (day one) and Patrick McQuarrie (day two) both sharing the honours.

DATE:

HOGS BREATH BOSS HOG PAY TO:

Hogs Breath Boss Hog

FOR THE SUM OF:

$ 100

One Hundred Dollars Fishing Tournaments bass • bream • barra

Patrick McQuarrie (6/6, 6.03kg) almost stole Trusty’s thunder, with his day two limit of 3.39kg seeing him fall agonisingly short of the victory. The tournament big bag was anchored by a 1.24kg kicker fish that ultimately shared the event’s Hogs Breath Boss Hog. McQuarrie started the tournament like a rocket, securing a fish with his first cast and he quickly worked out the presentation that they were looking for. “My very first cast was a fish and it was a legal. It took me totally by surprise, as I had cast out and was adjusting my Lowrance sounder when I proceeded to start my retrieve and it came up tight and I was already on. This would be the trend for the whole weekend with almost all of my fish taking the lure on the drop.” McQuarrie rotated between hardbody lures and plastics, with the plastics consistently accounting for larger bream.

TOP 10 KAYAKERS Place Angler

Fish Weight (kg)

Payout

Jordan TRUSTY

6/6

$1400 + $50 Boss Hog (1.24kg)

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Patrick MCQUARRIE 6/6 6.03 $700 + $50 Boss Hog (1.24kg) Chris BURBIDGE 6/6 5.21 $550 Peter GARDIAKOS 6/6 5.18 $500 Scott CARMODY 6/6 5.18 $400 Simon MORLEY 6/6 5.11 $200 Clark WILSON 6/6 4.98 $200 Jason DEENEN 6/6 4.96 $200 Kyle PETTIE 6/6 4.82 $200 Daniel BRADY 6/6 4.80 $200 For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

6.05

paid dividends when at 11.30am he came across a snag that harboured several large bream. Taking his opportunity Trusty cast at the snag. “I flicked in and my lure landed next to the log. I saw a big tick in my line and I was onto a kilo fish. Seconds after putting it into the well I turned around and cast back into the same snag and was straight on again! After a few tense moments, with me battling one of the hardest fighting bream I’ve caught nearly wrapping me around every snag in its

sight, I had my bag. I decided I was happy with the fish I had in the live well and with a long way to pedal back I didn’t want to risk what I had worked hard to achieve so made haste to the weigh-in.” With nearly 80 anglers weighing in it was a waiting game for Trusty. Bemm River had well and truly fired up on the second day with the majority of anglers presenting bigger bags to the weighmaster. Despite challenges from all quarters, Trusty was able to hold off all comers, and held on to take the win by a mere 20g. In the end the victory was well deserved and testament to Trusty’s versatility and never say die attitude. “Bemm River is one of my favourite places to fish and this weekend my local knowledge and persistence has paid off!”

McQuarrie Pipped At The Post CE 2ND PLA

Rod: 6’7” Millerods Brawler Reel: 1000 size Shimano Sustain Leader: 6lb

“I was committed to change my plan, but by 9.30am I had my first fish of around 1kg! I continued to plug away for the next 2 hours without a fish, then began to pedal back down to the lake. The day’s fishing didn’t play out the way I had planned. I was disappointed but I knew I couldn’t give up. Using all the knowledge and past experience I’ve had on the river I reminded myself that it only takes two casts to turn the day around.” Trusty’s positive attitude

CE 1ST PLA

+ 1st PRO

“I persisted with the DOA Curltail Grub in bloodworm and the fish kept coming on the drop. If I didn’t feel the tick on the way down then when I went to lift there would be a fish on,” said McQuarrie. After the fishing went quiet on the flats McQuarrie moved and worked the water that was slightly deeper (90-130cm). With the wind starting to be a factor he focused on this deeper area and found the fish continued to bite. In all 12 upgrades were caught during the remainder of the session. Day two saw McQuarrie go directly to his chosen location, and despite added pressure he immediately found success, and quickly filled his three fish limit. “Day two was slightly different in regards to the wind. I was able to catch multiple fish in a small area whereas the day before they were spread out more and I had to keep moving to catch fish.” Knowing he required another good upgrade McQuarrie persisted throughout the remainder of the session, but with time running out, the pressure started to build. “Time was running out and I was out of ideas. I just kept casting and casting, working my way through the smaller fish until about 45 minutes from the end it happened on an area I had already fished throughout the day.” The 40cm length fish gave McQuarrie every chance of victory heading back to the weigh-in. “After doing the usual thing and checking everyone’s bag and swapping a few fishy tales with others I took my spot in the line and began the long wait. To my surprise my bag of fish was the heaviest of

the comp and it would shoot me from third to second, only missing first place by 20g. My biggest bream equalling Trusty’s biggest of 1.24kg was also another element that showed just how close it was.” “Congratulations to Jordan Trusty, if you’re going to get beat by someone better make sure it’s someone great and in this case it was no exception. I was just happy to have done so well against such an experienced and large field of anglers.”

McQuarrie’s choice of tackle was Strike Pro Nanoedge rods in X-light and light teamed with Tica Scrambler ST 2000 reels spooled with 6lb Strike Pro Armour braid and 4lb Strike Pro SFC fluorocarbon leader and 2lb Carbotex sensitive mono fished straight through. “The key ingredient to my success (I believe) was the DOA Curltail grub in bloodworm,” said a gracious McQuarrie to the crowd.

Scamander River – Tasmania’s bream secret ST HELENS

Jamie Henderson

Have you ever been travelling down a coastal highway, boat in tow, family in the back, kayaks on the roof, you whiz through a quint little seaside village and often say to yourself, “I wonder if it’s worth stopping here?” Well Scamander is one of those small seaside towns that is definitely worth throwing out the anchors for. Scamander is situated 15 minutes drive south of St Helens on the northeast coast of Tasmania and has always been a popular Tasmanian holiday destination because of its wide, white sandy beaches and fantastic views of the ocean. In 1825 a European surveyor named John Helder Wedge was the first person to visit the area. He originally named the river Borthwick and the area in which the township would later be built Yarmouth, after the English port Great Yarmouth.

In the years that followed both the river and town were renamed Scamander. As travel up and down the coast increased, so did the complexities of the many river crossings. The Scamander River mouth is wide and shallow, which posed many problems. It had been a challenge to bridge builders for many years to come up with a reliable solution, until 1865 when Richard Terry constructed a timber bridge; however it later collapsed when a large mob of cattle was driven across it. A second and third bridge was successively washed away in floods in 1889 and 1911 and many of the following bridges also succumbed to flooding and shipworms with the last timber bridge collapsing in 1929. A steel truss bridge was built in 1936 and still stands today more as a popular diving platform for the kids to jump off in summer, a great fish attracting structure and a handy place to cast a line from.

A typical bank and bream holding tree snag on the Scamander River. The newer concrete bridge that currently carries the Tasman Highway was built alongside this bridge and serves as a great haven for fish around its large concrete pylon bases. Scamander has another attraction that up until a few years ago was kept as a bit of a local known secret: the town

SUGGESTED TACKLE The Scamander River is typical of any east Australian coastal river system and suits light tackle bait and lure anglers. Soft plastics and lure outfits: a fast action graphite 6’6” 1-3kg for hardbodies and light weighted plastics, and a 7’ 2-4kg for heavier weighted plastics and vibes. Matched to a 1000 sized spinning reel spooled with 3-4lb braid should see all scenarios accounted for. Bait fishing outfit: soft action bream rods in the 7’6”-9’ 2-4kg are ideal matched to a 2500 sized spin reel spooled with some quality 6lb mono or 4lb braid. A variety of small ball sinkers as well as some split shot, long shank and octopus style hooks in sizes #6-1/0 will cover most situations and spools of fluorocarbon leader in 4, 6 and 8lb. Popular soft plastic lures: 80mm and 100mm Squidgy Wrigglers in wasabi and bloodorm, 6” Gulp Sandworms, 3” Gulp Fry and any 2-3” grub tail style lure. Popular hardbodied lures: Bushy’s Stiffy Minnow in tassie tiger and prowler, Shimano Lure Project Minnows and Cranks, Atomic Bream Shad 40 and Lucky Craft Tango. Popular vibe lures: 40mm Cranka Vibes and Bassday Kangoku Vibes.

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What the Scamander River is famous for – bream. is located at the mouth of one of Tasmania’s premier bream fisheries, the Scamander River. SCAMANDER RIVER The Scamander River starts its life high in the hill country around 15km (in a straight line) north west of the township of Scamander. Here it is a small mountain stream alive with wild brown trout slowly winding its way down through the hills and valley slowly building in size until it hits a series of small weirs; the first being a freshwater collection point for the local reservoir supply and a great spot to cast for a trout or two. The second weir is just above the Upper Scamander Bridge on the way to the Trout Creek Reserve and has been known to be a hot spot for whitebait to congregate and the odd large trout to be seen smashing the schools. The last one is approximately 6km

from town amongst private farmland and has long been destroyed by floods. From here down, it’s prime bream country and, although as the crow flies this point is only 5.8km from the coast, it offers over 12km of winding tidal river in which to fish. As the river flows down towards the coast it grows larger, deeper and wider all the time offering a wide variety of locations for anglers. The upper half of the river is generally shallow with numerous small rock bars that flow into deeper holes and sheer rock walls. There are also plenty of fallen tree snags to play in, some even stretching almost right across the width of the river and change from year to year depending on winter water flows and flooding. As you head further down river it gets progressively wider, the corners get deeper and the rock walls become larger with plenty of lure-swallowing tree snags. From about mid river down the topography changes slightly and overgrown shrubbery and rock faces give way to muddy shallow banks where the bream feed on small crabs and baitfish. These areas can put on some fantastic fishing at times.

Sean Gower with a 41cm big blue nosed Scamander bream. Fish like this put Scamander on bream anglers’ must-visit list.

WHERE TO STAY: Scamander Tourist Park is situated in the heart of the township of Scamander right on the main road and offers both onsite caravan and cabin accommodation with a fully stocked mini market and fuel. Scamander Tourist Park 70-88 Scamander Avenue Scamander TAS 7215 Phone: (03) 6372 5121, For campers the Trout Creek Reserve camping area is a perfect place to pitch a tent or camper trailer and camp sites are available right on the water’s edge. Just follow the signs on the Upper Scamander road just south of the township or check out the Forestry Tasmania website for detailed directions at: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/visiting/visitorsites/north-east/scamander-forest-reserve.

The lower reaches of the river, from the Upper Scamander boat ramp down, are where more of the shorebased fishing is done as it’s easily accessed by road and you can virtually pull up in your car and fish from your back seat. Here the river is quite wide with good rocky and muddy shoreline as well as deeper mid river sections and tends to favour the bait fisher. In this lower region there are also a number of shallow mudflats that are covered with only a couple of feet of water at high tide and, at times, can be covered in hard fighting

CHARTERS If a fishing charter is on the cards they don’t come much better than Michael Haley’s Gone Fishing Charters. Michaels offers both estuary and coastal charters as well as being the big bream specialist. Gone Fishing Charters Phone / Fax: (03) 6376 1553, Mobile: 0419 353 041, www.breamfishing.com.au. bream; these are only accessed by boat or kayak at high tide. The river slowly flows down to the mouth and bar way where it flows over the sand and out to sea. Depending on the time of year and the amount of rainfall the bar way can be open or closed up. At the bottom it offers good sand flat and bridge pylon fishing for bream as well as some of the better ocean beach fishing in the region. The lower reaches of the river can be accessed right in the township of Scamander near the road bridges. There is a large amount of shoreline for the land-based angler to access on both sides of the river as well as the main boat ramp and jetty. SOUTH SCAMANDER Just south of Scamander is the turnoff to the Upper Scamander Road, a short drive brings the road alongside the river and up to a small boat ramp and jetty. There is around 2km of easily accessed shoreline for land-based anglers and families to fish. About mid way up the river is a small off shoot called the Trout Creek Arm, this is a very small freshwater creek that opens up into a decent piece of river full of bank side shrubbery. It is also the location of the Forestry Tasmania Trout Creek Reserve camping area; this is a fantastic place to head to if you are planning on camping in a tent or with a camper trailer. There are basic facilities like picnic tables, fireplaces, a bush toilet, car park, small jetty and even a rough boat ramp suited to small dinghies or kayaks. It has a great safe swimming area for kids, camp sites that are available right at the water’s edge and makes the perfect family camping destination if you are after some tranquil fishing and light water activities. FISHING The Scamander River is a typical east Australian river system and plays host to quite a number of different fish species. Small to medium-

sized Australian, or ‘cocky’ salmon, are present in the lower half of the river all year round and at times schools of larger salmon will chase the migrating baitfish into the river for some exciting sport. Silver trevally are another species that are often encountered and will school up into large groups offering great sport, especially for kids fishing from the jetty and rocky shoreline at the mouth of the river. Nevertheless, by far the most predominant species, and the one this river is famous for, is Acanthopagrus butcheri, or the southern black bream. The Scamander River traditionally has always been a great bream fishery but up until the late 1990s was really only well known to the East Coast locals. Lure fishing for bream was almost unheard of at

A tranquil setting on the river’s upper reaches. radar in Tasmania and has since grown into a huge sport and turned the river into one of the most popular playgrounds. It was just after the Squidgy range of soft plastics had hit the market, at the time

year given there are no major flood events. Autumn will see a migration of larger fish back into the river from other systems to start a winter run into the lower half of the river. As spring approaches, male and female fish congregate up and down the river slowly moving their way to the headwaters. As October and November arrive the bream will be in large schools waiting for the water temperature, salinity, algal growth and moon phase to all align and then they spawn en masse.

the mudflats are all perfect baits for bream. If there has been some rain and there is a little bit of runoff from the banks and drains, some garden worms can do the trick as the bream will swim about mopping these up as they are washed in from the paddocks. Soft plastics If targeting bream with soft plastics it is almost a necessity to fish from a boat or kayak, unless working the flats at the mouth of the river, as it makes finding areas of the river where schools of fish are congregated much easier. For the most part, a lot of the Scamander River has an abundance of fallen tree snags along its banks and sheer rock walls in between, which hold fish. The bream will sit around the snags and structure and along the face and the base of the rock walls. In these areas a soft plastic lure such as an 80-100mm Squidgy Wriggler rigged on a light 2g #4 head is ideal. Cast into the structure or at the face of the wall and let drop down. The action of the Wriggler’s tail is irresistible to the bream. Let the lure sit on the bottom for a short while then a slow lift and drop retrieve back to the boat is all that is needed. The fish will either hit the plastic while it is on the drop or will grab it while it’s paused on the bottom. If the bream are seen to be close to the water’s surface, which they will often be if the tide is moving and there is a bit of current moving through

FISHING NEEDS For all your bait, tackle and boating requirements there is a well stocked tackle store in the township of St Helens (15 minutes north of Scamander). St Helens Bait & Tackle Phone: (03) 6376 2244, www. sthelensbaitntackle.com.au.

Simon Hedditch lifts a small lurecaught bream from the water. the time with bait fishing the popular technique. You would often hear of huge cricket score catches, unfortunately as was the culture back then catch and release was not high on the agenda. But in the early 2000s something happened that put the Scamander River and lure fishing for bream on the main

The old disused Scamander River bridge and lower boat ramp area.

I was managing a tackle store in Launceston, Steve Starling and Kaj Bush had begun their Squidgy Tour travelling the country and promoting the new product. During their travel around Tasmania they had a small window of opportunity to do some fishing and headed to the East Coast to hook up with a local guide and sample the bream fishing of the Scamander River. Starlo and Bushy certainly gave the locals an education on that day, catching and releasing up to 80 fish in only a few short hours and all on Squidgy soft plastic lures. This was a turning point in bream lure fishing in Tasmania and has since created a flourishing fishery – turning a ‘catch and kill’ culture into one of accepting catch and release. Seasons Activity on the Scamander River is reasonably predictable throughout the

This takes place until early December where some of the fish leave the river and spread to other systems up and down the coast, but left behind are a large number of smaller fish that spend the summer months milling about in the protective shade of bank side bushes and tree snags. Bait For the bait fisher, the Scamander River offers a great variety of fishing situations. Anglers can choose to fish from either a boat or bank side. Simple running sinker rigs are the norm with a size #6-1/0 hooks and a small pea-sized ball sinker let run down to the hook the most successful method for bank fishers. Those targeting bream from a boat with bait should try and fish unweighted where possible and only use the smallest amount of lead for a casting weight. Baits can vary and it always pays to have a few different baits at hand. Prawns, mussels, pipis, oysters, whitebait, pretty fish (small baitfish), crabs and freshly pumped nippers from

in amongst the snags and twitching it, letting it float over the twigs and branches and cranking back into the strike zone. If a bream shows interest, a pause is an absolute must; try and resist the urge to move the lure at all. Hardbodied lures If fishing the rock bars, mud flats and shallow bank sides, the plastic lures will still work quite effectively however I favour the hardbody minnow lures for this type of fishing. A 40-60mm long suspending bibbed hardbody lure is ideal for fishing the shallow water. It can be cast into the shallows and as most will only dive to a depth of around 1m and suspend they can be manipulated with the rod tip to keep them in the fishing zone for longer. A variety of retrieves can work and it’s a matter of experimenting on the day to find out which one will draw a strike from the bream. Sometimes just a straight retrieve, slow roll back to the boat works, other times a sweep with the rod tip to cause the lure to swim and then a long pause while it suspends will drive the bream wild. Depending on the time of year, the bream could be holding up in the snags, on the rock walls or even down on the bottom in the deep corners. When targeting bream in deeper water and suspended schools of fish the vibe style of lure is also very effective and should never be overlooked. They can be fished slowly or quickly, in mid water or on the bottom and can also be rolled slowly across shallow mudflats. They are a very versatile lure that can often trigger a strike when it’s otherwise slow. FOR ALL The Scamander River has a lot to offer all types

Jamie Henderson fishing Pitts Corner. It is one of the many deep bends on the upper reaches of the Scamander River. the structure, then change to a lighter head weight to keep the lure up in the strike zone for longer. Two of my most successful colours in the Squidgy Wrigglers for the Scamander River are the wasabi and bloodworm patterns in the Pro Range series. When bream are holding in the snags I also like to use the smaller crank style hardbody lures. A floating model is perfect for casting

of anglers. It’s great for the family with easy access and a huge population of bream, as well as some other species. It suits bait fishers, lure fishers and is a great river for launching a kayak and paddling your way up or down just taking in the lovely surroundings. So the next time you are on the East Coast of Tasmania take some time out and stop off at the Scamander River, you might just be surprised. APRIL 2014

Rosco’s one-person Scamper FMG

Stephen Booth sbooth@fishingmonthly.com.au

Canoes have faded into the background somewhat in fishing circles as the rise and rise of sit-on-top fishing kayaks continues. However there is still plenty of room in the market for quality and Rosco has been producing quality for years, especially in their canoe range for anglers. The latest additions to the Rosco range of fishing canoes includes the Scamper series. This series has two versions, a one-person Solo Scamper and a two-person Duo Scamper. In this review we’ll be looking at the Solo Scamper and all that it offers anglers. COMPANY THOUGHTS Rosco says of their Scamper that being, “Lightweight, stable, and versatile is the key to the success of the Rosco Scamper canoe. This canoe can be enjoyed by entry level or experienced paddlers alike and is ideal for day tripping on flat water. This craft is perfect for one and plenty of gear can be carried.” So just how realistic are these thoughts on the Scamper when you actually get one on the water? Well we had that chance recently and here is what we thought of the Rosco Scamper. LIGHTWEIGHT First impressions are always a good indication and when you first see the Scamper you know it’s built with great sense. There are no frills, whistles or fireworks here, the Scamper has been designed to be simple, lightweight and able to be customised for your needs. With a single seat placed amidships, the Scamper is super light at 20kg and one

person can manage this craft easily. Its light weight also allows the Scamper to be transported almost anywhere. On our test day we easily manoeuvred the Scamper on and off the 4WD’s roof racks with one or two people and carrying the craft to and from the water up and down a steep access track that was overgrown was a delight. By simply placing the Scamper on your shoulder and wrapping your arm around the seat you could carry the Scamper plus the electric to the water easily. If you didn’t want the electric motor option, then carrying your rod and having a tackle vest or backpack would mean you could go almost anywhere with this craft in one trip.

STABILITY AND RIDE Canoes are not made to skate through the water at speed, rather they are there for the user to enjoy their surroundings in a safe and stable way. So how do you test a single canoe with a 180kg payload? Simple, you load a 145kg bloke into one and set him free. When our intrepid tester first got into the Scamper there was a little wiggle and wobble, but this quickly settled down and he got on with the job of paddling and powering around with the electric. I have to say we were more than disappointed that he stayed upright, but not everything works out as planned and it goes to show that one of the Scamper’s neat design features works. This feature is the large

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The Solo Scamper is so simple in design that it’s brilliant. You can add accessories like an electric motor and bracket, sail kit, anchor kit and rod holders, but really this is as difficult as it needs to be.

Like most things associated with the Scamper range, the rod holders are so simple you’ll kick yourself for not thinking about it for yourself! bulkheads are designed to encourage the craft to be self-righting. This is a good safety design because you will go in at some stage,

or is that just me? The bulkheads are sealed as well, meaning that the floatation material will not be affected by outside factors such as

The portability of the lightweight Solo Scamper makes it an amazing asset to access water, even through overgrown goat tracks.

With the Scamper resting on a shoulder and the arm wrapped around the single seat, you can almost carry this thing anywhere. 74

tumblehome design. What’s a tumblehome design you ask? I know you did, because I did. Tumblehome design is a clever bellying out of the sidewall of the canoe to provide a little extra stability. Basically the more you roll over to one side, the more the tumblehome design kicks in to provide extra buoyancy. Until it’s pointed out to you, you really don’t notice the design feature, but on the water it works really well. No it won’t stop you going over if you push a boundary or two, but it does give just that bit of extra security to users. And if you do happen to go over the side and the craft becomes swamped, the

After the trip we thought it only fair that Livo would solo carry the Solo Scamper back up the hill. He did it easy.

petrol, weather or damage from being knocked around. We paddled and electric powered the craft around and both propulsion options worked really well. If I was to set the Scamper up for electric power only I would place the electric as far towards the stern as possible to ensure I had the best steering. A handle extension for the electric would be great. We used an 18lb thrust model and with the Solo Scamper fully loaded, this little electric pushed the craft around quite well. Paddling was great. You can use a single, traditional canoe paddle or a kayakstyle paddle, but for ease of use the canoe paddle wins hands down. With the canoe paddle there is very little water that enters the cockpit and the control you have is first rate. The bigger face of the paddle pushes a lot of water and directional changes, picking up speed and simply cruising were easy. The seating is simple and effective. A simple bench made from metal tubing covered with double ripstop fabric is all there is. You can add a kayak seat if you’d like, but that’s not necessary at all in my opinion.

BUILD The Scamper’s build is a straight composite lay up, which is all fibreglass. Other options include Kevlar or carbon at an increased cost. Using this material provides the ability to form very fine lines, literally down to a knife-sharp entry if desired and the Scamper makes good use of this material. Some of the advantages

of fibreglass include that it is extremely light weight. With the Solo Scamper coming in at 20kg, it has a high strength-to-weight ratio, it can be formed to very fine design lines and it has a moderate cost. All these factors are displayed very well in the Scamper. And being that the Scamper is fibreglass, what about damage and repair? Transporting the 20kg Solo Scamper is simple for one person, even filled up with tackle, electric and battery. The carry handles make it very simple to manoeuvre this craft around to the water. With Shayne in the Solo Scamper, the stability and fishability of the craft was well tested. The Scamper came through in spades whether Shayne was paddling or under electric power.

On the water with the Solo Scamper is a fish catcher. Shayne McKee with a Brissie River golden perch.

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Damage, of course, is a problem and these craft are not designed for going down classed rapids. If you want to do that, grab a proper whitewater kayak or a Rosco Chief, a 15’ canoe manufactured of Royalex, a material designed for whitewater use. Damage will occur from sharp rocks hit with force so avoid these situations. But the good news is that they can be repaired fairly easily and cheaply. Just remember that this is a canoe, not a rock hopper. BASIC BRILLIANCE The Scamper is

deliberately designed to be easy to use, easy to transport and to be simple overall. It’s a no frills unit that allows the end purchaser to add-on where and how they want. You can have an electric set up if you want and there is also a great sail option if you want to minimise your paddle workload. You can add on some neat little rod holders that are so simple you’ll kick yourself for not thinking about it and you can add on drop anchors, paddle holders and more. The open plan allows for unrivalled customisation and I really like that.

But most of all I like that it is simple. Grab a rod, grab some lures, grab a paddle and go catch a fish. How easy is that? Single person everything and a whole lot of fun waiting for you in the Solo Scamper. Lightweight and stable, this canoe will have you rethinking a lot of your ideas for a small watercraft.

I was more than impressed by these little wonders. To find out more about the Solo Scamper log onto www.roscocanoes.com.au or drop into the Rosco Canoes and Kayaks display rooms at 295 Gympie Rd in Kedron. You could also give them a call on (07) 3359 9330 for more information.

DIMENSIONS Length:............................................................4.02m Width:...............................................................88cm Weight:.............................................................. 20kg Payload:........................................................... 180kg Passengers:....................................................1 adult Accessories:....................................... Motor bracket ....................................................................... Sail kit .............................................................. Rod holders Warranty:....................................................... 5 years Price:............................................................... $1029

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Sensational 6400 Yellowfin Synergy BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Telwater’s Yellowfin plate boats have a very interesting history. They gained a popular following in the 1980s, were discontinued for a spell, then resurrected in late 2009 as value for money, well finished and strongly constructed plate craft with a ‘modern as tomorrow’ design. Features within the new range of Yellowfin cabin and centre console craft were designed to make fishing as easy and successful as possible. At the initial release of these new Yellowfin boats, I liked the concept of scupper drainage of tread plate floors, live bait wells, kill tanks for the catch, berley buckets, welded rod holders, big transom doors, wide side decks, useful large side pockets and bait stations. Complementing these attributes were vee hull designs that emphasised ride quality and easy handling. Heading far offshore in search of serious fish would never be a chore in these

Left: The new 6400 Yellowfin Synergy is a very trim looking craft. Above: A dedicated roll-off/drive-on trailer made ramp work with the solid Yellowfin very easy indeed. well-designed craft. 6400 SYNERGY CONSOLE EXTENDS THE RANGE Complementing the existing Yellowfin range are newly released 6400 and 6900 Synergy console craft, which offer all of the traditional centre console work room, as well as ready access to the hull’s storage areas. My initial impression on surveying the big 6400

centre console rig, on its dedicated Quintrex drive-on trailer, was that the design parameters would see the craft ideally set up for keen anglers, yet still quite suited for blue water fishing as well. Offshore at Mooloolaba, Damien Duncan of Telwater explained that both the 6400 and 6900 Synergy Consoles were designed with northern anglers in mind: two 150L underfloor

fuel tanks, three pedestal seats, six seating positions, a 65L live bait tank, four welded rod holders, up front storage compartments, and a 130L compartment that could double as an ice box. SOLID CONSTRUCTION A BIG PLUS Putting the solid list of features aside for a moment, the Yellowfin success story starts at the Coomera Telwater factory.

Construction is rigid thanks to a robust underfloor frame work of solid longitudinal and cross bearers linking the extruded keel to the craft’s 4mm plate sides and 5mm plate bottom. A solid tread plate floor adds to the overall rigidity, as do full welds. Yet there’s more to the craft than an almost over-build construction. Finish is up with the best, welds visible but smoothed, hatches were neatly recessed

This image gives an easy insight into the amount of fishing room available in the big 6400 Yellowfin.

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Top: The Yellowfin’s large forward storage compartment could serve many purposes, even storing an icebox for the catch. Above: The elevated cast deck could see three anglers working with ease. Take note of the generous size of the storage compartments.

with strong hinges, the paint job designed to look good while lasting for years. As the craft is well kitted out in standard form there are not many options on the factory’s list. A radio, bimini and envelope, deck wash and berley bucket are listed along with anchor winch plate, winch and two-tone paint. The 6400 Yellowfin Synergy Console is a lot of boat; bare hull weight is 860kg, beam is 2.4m and overall length is 6.44m. A freeboard of 1.3m ensures a high degree of sea keeping ability and matched by deep interior depth inspires great confidence when working in wild conditions. The craft had three seat positions at the console, another two near the cast deck, plus another on the deck. The set up allows for easy weight distribution during those tropical runs where two hour’s travelling to a favourite bit of rubble or barra water is nothing out of the ordinary whatsoever. The 380mm high front deck was set up with two hatched storage bins suited to either tackle, tucker, or in the case of the larger compartment, a convenient place for the catch. A WELLPLANNED LAYOUT The Yellowfin’s trim centre console was well thought out. Handholds on top and both sides were standard, there was an EPIRB mounting point to port, plus a storage shelf inside for personal items. On the test craft paired Evinrude I-Command gauges and a switch panel were set into the vertical upper section of the console but the gauges could easily be relocated and a couple of 12” screens installed in lieu. Helm seating consisted of well-padded and very comfortable bucket style seats on pedestals. Continued page 78

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From page 76

The 6400 was a sweet craft to helm: hydraulic steering offered fingertip control while the 175hp E-Tec engine controls set into the starboard side of the console were slick, instantly responsive, and without jarring or glitching. Aft of the helm area the cockpit side pockets were long and wide enough to offer good storage space and, moreover, offered toe-holds under them to brace against. The cockpit door, to starboard, was quite large and had an accompanying boarding ladder for a swimmer’s use. Solid bow and stern rails complemented the Yellowfin’s design without being intrusive. The craft’s clear lidded live well was set into the port quarter of the wide transom that housed, on its lower area, compartments for a pair of batteries complete with an isolator switch. SUPER RESPONSIVE 175 E-TEC Power ratings were 115-175hp. The maximum rated 175 Evinrude E-Tec offered instant, almost fierce, response offshore from Mooloolaba and made the solid Yellowfin hull, with three aboard, perform like a small Stacer or Quinnie. It burst the craft onto the plane and, most importantly for offshore work, offered a rolled gold guarantee of instant power response when required. And if you don’t think that’s an important power

The twin Evinrude I-Command dials offered a wealth of information for the skipper. consideration, you’ve never had a big green one breathing down your transom! The fuel injected V6 175 two-stroke could be throttled back to 3000rpm to offer a gentle ocean cruising speed of around 38.2km/h with a fuel consumption of just 18.9L per hour. Ocean cruising saw the Yellowfin in its chosen element. Swells pressing from astern caused not the slightest deviation from a chosen course and incoming rollers were crested in a surprisingly gentle manner without any fuss or nasty impact whatsoever. The other recorded speeds were: planing occurred at 2300rpm at 18.9km/h, 4000rpm saw 52.9km/h, 5000rpm a feisty 61.5km/h and WOT of 5400rpm saw 66.7km/h

on the I-Command gauge. Not every owner will require maximum power of course and I’d see a 130 E-Tec still making easy work of powering the solid Yellowfin with larger payloads, a 115 when two up would be the norm. SUMMING UP The ability to travel far in comfort then fish with ease is foremost in these top end orientated rigs, as it should be. Stability of the solid plate rig with its 20º outer spray chine equipped vee hull was impressive

TECHNICAL INFORMATION Length hull:......................................................6.44m Length on trailer:.............................................6.80m Height on trailer:..............................................2.75m Beam:..............................................................2.40m Construction: . Plate alloy bottom 5mm, sides 4mm Weight of hull:.................................................. 860kg Deadrise hull:....................................................... 20º Fuel:...................................................................300L Engine ratings:.......................................... 115-175hp Engine fitted:......................... 175 E-Tec Oeda 3 star Persons:...................................................................5 Towing:................................... 6 wagon or larger 4x4

The 175 Evinrude E-tec provided rolled gold assurance that plenty of power was on hand. 78

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with even three on one side hardly causing any leaning whatsoever. Like other centre console craft, virtually all of the interior offers fishing room. A couple of anglers could work aft with ease, another three up front on the big fore deck would do it just as easy. The flexibility in seating offers just that bit extra comfort when undertaking a long trip while the storage space caters for individual gear requirements, tucker and tackle.

Flexible seating was a huge bonus in the 6400 Synergy. In summing up the Yellowfin 6400 Synergy I’ve given it full marks as a well set up, great performing fishing craft. Rated for five people it has a lot to offer in

Offshore at Mooloolaba, the new 6400 Synergy cuts an impressive figure in the blue water.

terms of value for money and comfort levels for those aboard. Ramp work was easy going thanks to the rig’s dedicated trailer; also at day’s end that self-draining floor would be very easy to clean after hard use. The well-finished and impressive looking Yellowfin comes with a 3 year Telwater backed structural warranty. Price of the rig as reviewed from JV Marine would be $65,999 with 175hp E-Tec. Contact JV Marine on 03 9798 8883 or visit www. jvmarine.com.au. • Quoted performance figures have been supplied by the writer in good faith. Performance of individual boat/motor/ trailer packages may differ due to variations in engine installations, propellers, hull configurations, options, hull loading and trailer specifications.

The side pockets offered a large storage area plus a toe-hold under them for extra stability when working on a fish.

What’s new boating

Honda’s new BF80 and BF100

Honda has unveiled its much-anticipated BF80 and BF100 4-stroke outboard engines. Lightweight and compact, they provide optimum levels of performance and excellent fuel economy. The BF80/BF100’s 1.5L, SOHC, 16-valve, inline 4-cylinder engine is inspired by the hugely popular Honda Jazz. Both models have an advanced ignition timing control system to improve hole-shot performance; ECOmo, which contributes to fuel economy; and VTEC (BF100), which provides more top end power while maintaining optimum fuel economy. An optional Trolling Control function allows precise control of engine speed, with adjustments in 50rpm increments from 650rpm to 1000rpm. These engines are NMEA2000 compliant, allowing engine-to-electronics data communication to deliver management and performance data to compatible displays. The engines can also be networked with Honda’s VeeThree multi-function digital gauges. The gauges include Honda’s Eco light, which indicates when ECOmo mode is on. To locate your nearest dealer, visit http:// dl.hondampe.com.au or call (03) 9270 1111. For more info visit marine.honda.com.au. Honda

New from Humminbird

Humminbird has released the all new 600 series, and the next generation 800, 900 and 1100 series will also arrive soon. With upgraded processors they are faster to use and boast increased functionality, leading to better returns. The 600 series (RRP $619 to $1549) packs a stack of features in a conveniently sized unit. Replacing the current 500 and 700 line-up, the new Humminbird 600 series condenses the range from 15 to just 5 units. Simply choose the style of unit you’d like plus your preferred sonar technology. The 698cxi HD SI is the stand out, combining SideImaging, DownImaging and SwitchFire Sonar with precision internal GPS. Humminbird’s 7, 8 and 10.4” GPS/Sonar units have also been upgraded, delivering faster navigation through the system and better returns. A full complement of accessories to be added to the units and perform at lightning speed. Prices range from $1199 to $4099. See bla.com.au for more info. - BLA

Mercury wins Good Design award

Mercury Marine’s new Digital Throttle and Shift (DTS) control boxes have cemented themselves as one of the industry’s most innovative new products, taking out a 2013 Good Design award. Good Design is the oldest and most prestigious design award program to recognise new consumer products. Mercury Marine’s new DTS control boxes, which were released in Australia late last year, were selected from thousands of entries from 38 countries. Made to suit FourStroke Verado outboards and selected MerCruiser and Mercury Diesel engines, the control boxes are available in single and dual handle versions. The DTS control boxes eliminate the need for mechanical cables used for throttle and shifting, and deliver smooth changing, immediate throttle response and driver control. The control boxes are the final addition to Mercury’s new look Helm Suite, joining the redesigned SmartCraft dash gauges and the new touch screen VesselView information display units. - Mercury

New Quintrex 530 Cruisabout

Quintrex’s new bowrider release, the 530 Cruiseabout, is a boat to be enjoyed by the whole family. Featuring fresh and modern plate look sides, it’s built with tough 4mm bottom sheets and the new Quintrex Blade Hull for a stable and soft ride. It has room for up to 7 people and is rated up to 115hp. Features include a large front lounge and a new rear folding lounge, which can be folded flush against the transom. It also features a new look dash and raised top deck constructed from a UV stable material. The new dash provides room for larger electronics and provides better visibility of the gauges, and the raised top deck is complemented with a new low profile windscreen. The 530 Cruiseabout is available as an Instant Boating Package including boat, BRP motor and Quintrex trailer with a 3-year limited factory warranty. For more info visit www.quintrex.com.au. - Telwater

Raymarine’s Hydro-Balance

Raymarine has announced the addition of new Hydro-Balance technology to its Evolution autopilot line. Designed for hydraulic steering systems which have no rudder reference fitted, it’s particularly effective on boats with outboard engines. It compensates for hydraulic system elasticity caused by air bubbles trapped in the steering system, flex in hose and piping, and variable valve performance. Until now, conventional marine autopilots without rudder angle sensors were unable to detect this condition. Another common issue with highpowered outboard vessels is asymmetrical torque steer (prop walk). At low autopilot speeds, asymmetry can impact the natural motion of baits and lures while trolling. During rapid acceleration, it can cause the boat to pull to one side even though the helm is straight. Hydro-Balance detects asymmetry and teaches the autopilot to eliminate it. From spring this year you can easily add the technology to any existing Evolution autopilot via a software upgrade. Check out www.raymarine.com.au/evolution for more info. - Raymarine

Sea Jay hits 25 year milestone

National boat manufacturer Sea Jay Aluminium Boats is set to celebrate their 25th anniversary. Sea Jay is the archetypal family business. Husband and wife, Col and Janelle Glass, continue to work in their business on a daily basis. Their son Troy joined them as an employee in 1999. He has since completed his apprenticeship and taken on the R&D role in 2010, while also becoming a part owner. Sea Jay boats are manufactured in Bundaberg in Central Qld on an expanded site that now occupies 7000m². Here they manufacture a complete line of pressed aluminium boats plus a big range of Xtreme plate alloy boats. To celebrate 25 years of manufacturing, the company has released several new models (Sea Jay 4.25m, 4.85m Avenger and the 6.8 Glass Screen Hardtop Model) and applying a special Sea Jay 25 Year decal to each boat. To view the range visit www.seajayboats. com.au. – Sea Jay

APRIL 2014

This new section in VIC/TAS 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 Victoria and Tasmania, this guide will direct you to reputable businesses in the area you’re searching. Advertisers wanting to be involved in this directory can call (07) 3387 0835 or email pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

Bait and Tackle West Coast Portland Bait & Tackle (03) 5523 5213

Central Hooked On Bait and Tackle Hoppers Crossing (03) 9748 3811 Fishing Fever Mordialloc (03) 9590 9899

Online Tackle Products Continued

Central

Adrenalin Flies www.adrenalinflies.com.au

TRADES AND SERVICES ADVERTISING Line listing from $15 + gst per mth* 2cm x 2 from $35 + gst per mth* 5cm x 2 from $50 + gst per mth* 7cm x 2 from $74 + gst per mth* 9cm x 2 from $89 + gst per mth* 10cm x 2 from $99 + gst per mth* 11cm x 2 from $105 + gst per mth* 12cm x 2 from $110 + gst per mth* * Conditions apply Call (07) 3387 0835 or email pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

“For all your fly fishing needs” ORDER ONLINE www.adrenalinflies.com.au Korr Lighting www.korrlighting.com.au She Left www.hdvcs.com.au

Peninsula Total Tackle (03) 5981 1994

SAMPLE AD - BUSINESS NAME

JV Marine World Braeside 03) 9798 8883

This is where your copy will appear. You will have approximately 40 words within a 8 x2 ad size.

Flatwater Covers 0438 367 689

Complete Angler Ringwood (03) 9870 7792

Naaj Marine 0421 955 371

New World Marine (03) 9709 8444 The Flyfisher Melbourne (03) 9621 1246

Unique Marine Accessories (03) 5427 1802

East Coast

CMC Marine Sales www.cmcsales.com.au Always Angling Traralgon (03) 5174 8544

Hunter Marine Boat Builders (03) 5032 2320

Freshwater

Marine Mechanics

Complete Angler Echuca (03) 5482 1992

Central

Complete Angler Shepperton (03) 5822 2180 J T’s Fishing and Camping Moama (03) 5480 3868

Kris Oakley Marine Services (03) 9794 5524

pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

Flatwater Marine (03) 9401 2298

Boat Modifications & Repairs

JV Marine World Braeside (03) 9798 8883 Salt-Away 1800 091 172

Fish Taxidermy

JV Marine World Laverton (03) 9368 7100

FLUSH YOUR ENGINE WITH

The Outboard Workshop (03) 9783 0840

Fish Taxidermist 0428 544 841 Neptune’s Treasures 0419 643 654

Nautical Marine (03) 5984 1666

Screen Printing

New World Marine (03) 9709 8444 Regal Marine (03) 9874 4624

CORROSION CONTROL SALT REMOVING TREATMENT

WARNING!

9 out 10 engines fail from salt corrosion

SALT-AWAY IS A MUST FOR:

ENGINE FLUSHING JETSKIS TRAILERS

FREECALL For more info

WASHING BOATS FISHING & DIVE GEAR

1800 091 172

VISIT www.salt-away.com.au SAMPLE AD - BUSINESS NAME This is where your copy will appear. You will have approximately 30 words within a 2x2 ad size. Contact Peter Jung: pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

Streaker Boats (03) 9729 8288

Boat Imports

Triple M Marine (03) 9465 8787 Warragul Marine (03) 5623 6250

Boat Import USA 0435 476 177

Wes Frost Marine (03) 5976 4622

East Coast

ACT NOW AND PROTECT YOUR VALUABLE BOAT, ENGINE, TRAILER, FISHING AND DIVE GEAR.

Logan Specialised Screen Printing (07) 5546 4107

Inverloch Marine (03) 5674 1502

Freshwater

Boat Hire Lake Eildon Cruises 0422 166 986

BOAT HIRE Lake Eildon

WE HIRE: • Fishing boats • Kayaks • Pedal boats

Boats and More Shepparton (03) 5822 2108 Boats and More Echuca (03) 5482 1992

Online Tackle Products

Specialty Fishing Products www.specialtyfishing.com.au U-Make-Em Soft plastics ww.u-make-emsoftplastics.com.au

LAKE EILDON CRUISES Kennedys Point Boat Ramp, Maintongoon Rd, Bonnie Doon 3720 0422 166 986 • eildoncruises@optusnet.com.au • lakeeildoncruises.com.au

Boab Boat Hire Shepparton (03) 5822 2108 Boab Boat Hire Echuca (03) 5482 1992

WANT IN? EMAIL : pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

Holiday Rental

Freshwater

Charter Boats

West Coast

Angling Expeditions Victoria, Tawonga (03) 5754 1466

West Coast

Warrnambool Holiday Park (03) 5562 5031

Highland Trout Lakes, Ballarat (03) 5368 9574 Millbrook Lakes Lodge, Ballarat (03) 5334 0404

Sharkmen Fishing Charters 0418 107 071 Portland Fishing Charters, Portland (03) 5523 3020

East Coast

Shipwreck Coast Diving & Charters, Warrnambool (03) 5561 6108

SAMPLE AD - BUSINESS NAME This is where your copy will appear. You will have approximately 30 words within a 2x2 ad size. Contact Peter Jung: pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

South-West Fishing Charters, Portland 0418 306 714 Shallow Inlet Caravan Park (03) 5687 1385

SHALLOW INLET CARAVAN PARK On the Waters Edge

Central Gone Fishing Charters 0409 007 068

Tasmania & Flinders Island

FRESH BAIT | HIRE BOATS | ICE

• Easy access for boats • 10 cabins (3 with ensuites) • LPG gas refills • Kiosk

7 DAYS

Ausprey Tours, Launceston (03) 6630 2612 Gone Fishing Charters, St Helens (03) 6376 1553 Fish Wild Tasmania, Hobart 0418 348 223

FREE ADVICE ON WHERE THEY’RE BITING

OPEN

from dawn to dusk

• Plenty of powered and unpowered camping sites • BBQs • Playground

Lester Rd Yanakie WILSONS PROM E sicp@sicp.com.au

Flinders Island Adventures, Flinders Island (03) 6359 4507

03 5687 1385

Professional Charters, St Helens (03) 6376 3083 Trout Adventure Tasmania, Bronte Park 0418 139 048 Trout Territory, Northern Midlands (03) 6397 5001

Accommodation NSW South Coast

Reel Time Fishing Charters 0438 302 093

East Gippsland

Off The Hook Fishing Charters 0419 554 916

Marlo Ocean Views Caravan and Camping Park (03)5154 8268

MARLO

Reel Affair, Merimbula freecall 1800 233 247

Able Fishing & Charters, Williamstown (03) 9502 3777

Espirit Charters, Bermagui (02) 6493 4104 or 0407 260 110

ACE Fishing Charters, Bonbeach (03) 9773 4183

21 Marine Parade MARLO VIC

OCEAN VIEWS

Adamas Fishing Charters, Barwon Heads (03) 5254 3320 Big Red Fishing Charters, Queenscliff 1800 805 587

Freedom Charters, Eden (02) 6496 1209 or 0415 602 446 Headland Fishing Adventures, Merimbula (02) 6495 1134

03 5154 8268

Blue Magic Fishing Charters, Rowville (03) 9759 5301

Island Charters, Narooma (02) 4476 1047 or 0408 428 857

• Deluxe cabins HOSTS: Les & Kathy HEYNE • Cabins with ensuite • Budget cabins • Premium ensuite vans • Powered & Unpowered sites • Pet friendly • Undercover BBQ areas in Marlo • Large oval • Kitchen Largest park • Camp fires • Kiosk the beach Short walk to • Coffee shops

Calypso Fishing Charters, Tootgarook (03) 5985 8463

K9 Fishing Charters, Merimbula (02) 6495 1681

Geelong Charters & Fishing Trips, Geelong (03) 5275 7107

Merimbula Marina, Merimbula (02) 6495 1686 or 0427 951 080

Impulse Charters, Queenscliff (03) 5258 3739

Narooma Charters, Narooma 0407 909 111

Jillian Fishing Trips, Blairgowrie 0418 148 426

O’Brien Charter Service, Bermagui 0407 214 124

CARAVAN & CAMPING PARK

Katrina Louise Charters, Cheltenham 0402 828 140 Kestrel Charters, Queenscliff (03) 5258 1783

www.marlocamping.com.au

Fishing Guides

Queenscliff Fishing Charters, Queenscliff 0458 504 058 Pro Red Fishing Charters 0421 442 775

Victorian Alps

NSW South Coast

Reel Adventure Charters, Yaringa 0409 932 077 Rip Charters Fishing Trips, Sorrento (03) 5984 3664

Dartmouth Motor Inn (02) 6072 4233

DARTMOUTH MOTOR INN

“Pristine Lakes & Wilderness” • Motel style units

Saltwater Charters, Queenscliff (03) 5258 4888

Wilderness Fishing Tours, Mallacoota VIC 0424 625 160

St Kilda Fishing Charters, St Kilda (03) 9770 2200

Aussie Fish Estuary Adventures, (02) 6495 9902 or 0400 062 504

Western Port Fishing Charters, Hastings (03) 9769 5544

BOOK NOW FOR

• Self contained apartments & lodges - ideal for groups, fishing clubs etc

PORTLAND

• Nightly, weekly & corporate rates 1 Eustace St, Dartmouth VIC 370 P 02·6072 4233 E dartmouthmotorinn@bigpond.com

PORT PHILLIP | WESTERN PORT | PORTLAND

TUNA

Individuals, Small or Large Groups Welcome Private Plumbed Toilet | Rods, Bait & Tackle Supplied IDEAL GIFT!

www.dartmouthmotorinn.com.au

Queensland Cairns Bed and Boat 0418 772 751

Chandlery & Accessories Anchor Right (03) 5968 5014 Techni Ice (03) 9783 1922

Boat Trailers

Scan the QR code with your smartphone for more info!

Cini SKIPPERS: Matt Matt Boulton

0438 302 093 www.reeltimefishing.com.au

BMS Marine (03) 9731 7269

Series 2 through 8

Capella III Fishing Adventures, Port Welshpool (03) 5688 1585 Far Out Charters, McLoughlins Beach 0428 401 819

Central

DVD’S -

East Coast

Prom Adventurer, Port Welshpool (03) 5682 2633 or 0428 594 767 Prom Coastal Charters, Yanakie (03) 5687 1248 or 0429 935 583

$19.95 each GST INC. - with FREE P&H

1800 228 244

Razorback Bluewater Charters, Port Albert (03) 5183 2691

WANT IN? EMAIL : pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

Extreme 700 Game King: A royal fishing boat WARRAGAL

Martin Auldist martinauldist@gmail.com

If there’s one thing I know about the Kiwis it’s that they take their outdoor recreation very seriously. They are a nation of devoted fishers and hunters and they demand only the very highest quality and performance from their outdoor equipment – and that includes their boats. And if they can’t find what they need amongst the many offshore imports, they’ll damn well build it themselves! The range of Extreme aluminium boats are a shining example of good old Kiwi ingenuity. Recently, thanks to the boys from Inverloch Marine, I got the chance to take a squizz at three of the Extreme boats, including the very impressive 700 Game King. These made-to-last aluminium alloy fishing machines are manufactured to survey standards in Whakatane, on the east coast of the North Island – only a good cast from the fishrich waters of the Bay of Plenty. They currently have the largest market share of any aluminium boat in New Zealand and are the most awarded alloy boat in the last 7 years.

In Australia, Inverloch Marine are the sole distributor of these boats throughout Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, while in the northern states there are three other dealers nation-wide. For a pleasant change we had a fine and sunny test day and Shane Hemming and Tim Edney launched the 700 Game King at the main boat ramp in Inverloch (which is only a few hundred metres from the Inverloch Marine yard, making test drives a breeze). She looked a picture, with her deep blue hull and gleaming hard top cabin – but other colours are also available. She slipped easily from the custom-made galvanised tandem trailer (alloy trailers are available as an option), and with little fuss we were off to put her through her paces in the deeper water near the entrance to Anderson Inlet. The first thing I noticed when I climbed aboard the 700 was a level of luxury and utility not common in boats of this kind. The entire layout has been designed with great vision and has a definite air of refinement about it. The hard top cabin – which is self-standing with its own internal framing – is like a veritable Tardis.

SPECIFICATIONS Length: Beam: Transom: Hull bottom: Side and deck: Recommended hp: Deadrise: Towing weight: Marine grade aluminium alloy

APRIL 2014

Behind the driver’s seat you will find a fridge, with a sink and a tap on top (the tap sources water from a freshwater storage tank). The padded driver’s seat is within easy reach of the steering wheel, dashboard and controls, while there is an equally comfortable seat for a passenger alongside.

The control panel had been fitted out with all the gear you would need to fish safely from the vessel offshore, including all the Yamaha fly-by-wire controls, VHF radio, AM/ FM radio (iPod compatible through Bluetooth) and Garmin touch-screen depth sounder/GPS combo. The

7.2m 2.4m 5mm 5mm 4mm 130-250hp 20º 2370kg

On the back deck behind the wheelhouse wall is a padded seat that doubles as a stove – perfect for cooking your freshly caught fish dinner. 82

The 700 Game King handled like a dream thanks to a 20º deadrise, aggressively downturned reverse chines, a wide, proud nose and a broad waterline beam.

Top: Underneath the mattresses downstairs there is a flushable, direct discharge toilet. Middle: Above the hardtop roof there is room for aerials and rod holders. Above: Inside the cabin there is a sink and refrigerator.

cabin also has sliding windows if you’re looking for a little fresh air. Meanwhile, downstairs, there is a substantial sleeping area, complete with mattresses that lift up to reveal a flushable, direct discharge underbunk toilet. In the wheelhouse wall that separates inside from out there is a bi-fold door and drop down window that opens the whole area right up when the weather is good. Right at the back there is a removable lounge that flips up to allow access to a series of rod holders for when it’s time to stop lounging and get serious. Similarly there is a cushioned seat up against the bulkhead that opens up to reveal a concealed stove – perfect for cooking your freshly caught dinner. There are plenty of side pockets

for stowing gear and the walk-through transom also cleverly incorporates a live bait tank. At the other end of the boat, of course, is where you’ll find the anchor, which is lifted into a self-draining well in the bow by a fully concealed drum winch (also available as a capstan). For the record, a feature of Extreme boats is that 90% of the accessories – including the rod holders – are welded in place (as opposed to bolted or screwed), to reduce corrosion. The features don’t stop above decks either. Beneath the tread plate floor there are three large buoyancy tanks, a 250L fuel tank, kill tanks plumbed into the flooding keel, and 450L of storage space. Amazing! Then, on the roof right up out of the way, are the aerials and

The 700 Game King was powered by a 225hp 4-stroke Yamaha outboard complete with an SDS (shift dampening system) 17 pitch propeller.

yet more ‘rocket launcher’ style rod holders. Finally, all Extreme boats have external, transom-mounted fuel filling ports, which saves getting fuel spilt in the interior. Yes, yes, that’s all very well, I hear you say, but how did it perform? Well, when the throttle went forward the 225hp 4-stroke Yamaha outboard popped the 700 out of the hole at less than 21 knots (40km/h); this was undoubtedly aided by a waterline keel that was well forward with a nice slope to help the transition from standing to planing. Then, at the top end, the Yamaha SDS (shift dampening system) 17-pitch propeller helped push the big boat along at around 43 knots (80km/h). At that speed, it’s not going to take you long to reach the fish! And the ride? The ride was as exceptional as you’d expect from a hull design that has had so much thought put into it. Like all Extreme boats the 700 Game King hull has a 20º deadrise, a proud nose, broad waterline beam and aggressively down-turned reverse chines. Conclusion?

Left: A bi-fold door allows easy access from inside to outside. Right: All the controls are within easy reach of the driver’s seat. These boats are perfectly balanced. On the test day the 700 felt very stable and cut through the short chop in the inlet with minimal pounding. Shane assures me they are equally surefooted in the much rougher

seas offshore and don’t suffer from broaching in a side-on sea. The 700 has a lot of boat in the water and so is very stable at rest as well – a quality that is further enhanced by the flooding keel.

Sleek, stylish and functional: the 700 Game King from Extreme.

In summary, the 700 Game King would be an eminently suitable trailer boat for chasing game fish all around Australia, including the mako sharks and blue fin tuna of the deep south. With its well thought out hull design and facilities it is capable of long range and overnight trips, plus it would be a great party boat for entertaining your family and friends. Of course, you could also use it for targeting bread and butter species like snapper and whiting in either of our two magnificent bays. If you’d like to know more about pricing, or organise a test drive, you’d better get hold of Shane and Tim at Inverloch Marine. You’ll be extremely pleased you did. • Quoted performance figures have been supplied by the writer in good faith. Performance of individual boat/motor/ trailer packages may differ due to variations in engine installations, propellers, hull configurations, options, hull loading and trailer specifications.

Top: There are side pockets out the back for storing all the bits and pieces you will need for a day on the water. Above: There is room for a radio to be mounted in the roof above the dashboard.

A bait board and rod holder complex is available as an option, complete with steel ski tow point. FURTHER INFORMATION For further information, pricing, or to arrange a test drive, contact Inverloch Marine on 03 5674 1502, or send them an email at sales@inverlochmarine. com.au. These guys are the sole dealers for Victoria, South Australian and West Australia. You could also have a look at www.extremeboats.co.nz.

Extreme Boats, the most awarded plate alloy boat in New Zealand is available here in Victoria at Inverloch Marine.

EXTREME 610 GAME KING

03 5674 1502

2 The Esplanade, Inverloch 3996 Vic sales@inverlochmarine.com.au www.inverlochmarine.com.au

EXTREME 700 GAME KING

EXTREME 750 GAME KING

inverloch marine .com.au

With models ranging in size from 5.4M through to a whopping 11.5M Extreme Boats have everyone covered. For an individual package tailored to suit you or to book your on water demonstration call Tim or Shane at Inverloch Marine today. APRIL 2014

Cruise the bay in a Bar Crusher TASMANIA

Neil Grose

A charter operator can only be as good as his boat. This is the shop front, the work place, the heart and soul of any good day out on the water. That is why it is fundamental to any charter to have a boat that delivers a great experience to clients in all fishing conditions in comfort and safety. One of Tasmania’s best and busiest charter operators is Michael Haley, of Gone Fishing Charters. Michael primarily operates in Georges Bay at St Helens, on the north east coast of Tasmania. Not only based in Tasmania, Michael has also hitched his boat up to the ‘cruiser and headed north to Darwin to charter in the dry season up there. Michael has been chartering for well over 15 years, and in that time has had several boats, but none like his current Bar Crusher. Georges Bay is like a miniature Port Phillip in Victoria; it has a tight opening to the sea with a broad expanse of water inshore. The marine environment of Georges

is a complex waterway surrounded by shallow flats and intersected by a channel with a brisk current. Combined with a strong seaside wind influence there is plenty of scope for very choppy conditions, and in summer you can count on the sea breeze popping up 1m waves in quick time. While early mornings can be quite idyllic, come lunchtime and the

whiting, sizeable flathead, whopping salmon and tailor and huge garfish within 4km? Add to that tuna, marlin and abundant reef species just outside the bar way and anyone can quickly recognise the potential of this place given the boat to exploit it. Three years ago Michael moved into a Bar Crusher, specifically the 670 XS. This side console boat has transformed the way Michael operates

and whiting. In fact, so good is this boat that Michael has landed a marlin in it while in the Northern Territory, a 90kg+ southern bluefin tuna off Eaglehawk Neck in Tasmania and plenty of yellowtail kingfish and striped trumpeter offshore from St Helens. Such is the versatility that offshore and bay species can be successfully targeted in the one charter. So what does Michael

Client comfort is paramount for a charter business, and the Bar Crusher 670 XS is an extremely comfortable and efficient fishing platform. Stability and rough water performance is extremely important to a charter operator, which is why Tasmania’s busiest charter business has chosen a Bar Crusher. have to say about this boat? “I do around 230 days a year in this boat – that is nearly 700 days on the water since I got it. These boats are tough and will never break, even with the sea miles I do in rough water and the distances covered on rough roads.” “The deep V at the front means that choppy water and bar ways are negotiated without that old slam-bang of other boats I’ve had.

Michael Haley’s Bar Crusher 670XS ready for another busy day chartering on Georges Bay. The Bar Catch makes launching and retrieving very simple and straightforward. “The real testimonial is the comfort of my clients. They get in my boat to catch fish, and this boat has plenty of room for four anglers and gear. That way they concentrate only on the fishing and not anything else – this boat delivers an awesome experience. “Some of my clients are advanced in years, and the high coaming height means that they are confident in this boat – they aren’t always holding on to something as the height of the sides is such that they feel at ease all the time. The smooth ride, even in quite rough conditions, is fantastic” “It is very stable at rest, which is fundamental to client comfort but is extremely capable in rough water, which adds to the comfort factor on the water. “In this boat I can do a half day bay charter in the morning, and if conditions are right we can slip out to the reef offshore and get some striped trumpeter and king flathead. Then we can come back into the bay and drift the shallow flats for bream or anchor up for a King George whiting. I’ve never had a boat that can cross over into so many different applications.”

It is also the small, yet important features of the Bar Crusher that Michael finds invaluable. As a charter operator he is launching and retrieving more times in a week than most do in a year, and the Bar Catch and specifically designed and built trailer makes this necessary task much easier and quicker, especially when the ramp is busy. The Quickflow water Ballast system is also great for ensuring a stable experience at rest. This innovation allows for water to flood a purpose built compartment under the boat and give additional stability in choppy conditions. It simply empties when the boat moves onto the plane. But the biggest question for Michael is what his next boat will be. “Without doubt it will be another Bar Crusher – I’m not sure which model yet, it might be the next size up, or I might get a Hard Top or a Walk Around, but with this sort of versatility I simply can’t go past a Bar Crusher”. Michael Haley guides year round on Georges Bay and can be contacted on 0419 353 041, or through his web site www. breamfishing.com.au.

That Bar Crusher deep V is the secret to good rough water performance in combination with a strong hull design and perfectly designed stern. The Bar Crusher is stable at rest and dynamite in the rough stuff. Bay is exceptional; a total ban on netting and the exclusion of all commercial scale-fishing has transformed this water into one of the best recreational fishing systems in Australia. At around 10km from the township of St Helens to the bar way and about 4km at the widest point and up to 20m deep, it 84

APRIL 2014

sea breeze can turn things around pretty quickly. This doesn’t change the fishing at all of course, but it does require the use of a boat with enough rough water capacity to maximise the fishing opportunities. Where else in Australia can you tangle with big bream, thumping trevally, yellowtail kingfish, pinkie snapper, large King George

his charter business. In previous boats work has been restricted to the bays and estuaries along the east coast, from Ansons Bay down to the Swan River at Swansea. With the 670 XS he can easily cross the bar at St Helens and fish for reef species and game fish and then fish the shallow flats in Georges Bay for bream

Clean planning lines and a dry ride are important for a charter boat on the water everyday – Michael can head out to sea or fish the shallow flats, such is the cross over performance of the Bar Crusher 670 XS.

NO DEALER SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE FOR

3YRS OR 300HRS

ONLY WITH EVINRUDE • No scheduled dealer servicing for

• Fewer parts. Fewer problems.

the first 3 years or 300 hours.**

• No break-in period. Go flat-out from

• No oil changes. Ever.

the box.

• Easy starts: First time, every time.

• Superior low-end power & torque.

• 3-stars from the toughest emission

• Exceptional power-to-weight, so you're on plane faster.

standard in the world^ - the California Air Resources Board.

• Greater fuel-efficiency at high & low speeds from computer-based engine management.

• First to receive the EPA's Clean Air Technology Excellence Award. • Up to 50% quieter than older technology engines.

South West Melbourne

Western Districts

Alberton

Geelong

JV Marine World

WebbCon Marine

Alberton Marine

Moolap Marine

9-11 Fitzgerald Road Laverton North

72 Hamilton Road Horsham

Johnson Street Alberton

250 Portarlington Road Moolap

03 5381 0600

03 5183 2344

03 5248 3772

www.webbconmarine.com.au

www.albertonmarine.com.au

info@moolapmarine.com.au www.moolapmarine.com.au

03 9368 7100

Lismore info@jvmarine.com.au

Sydney info@webbconmarine.com.au North Coffs Harbouralbertonmarine@wideband.net.au Nowra

Lismore Outboard Echuca Sales & Service

Huett Marine Centre

Coffs Harbour Marine

Dave Hill Marine

59 Union St, Lismore, 2480

Boats & More 02 6621 2657

1131 Pacific Hwy, Cowan, 2082

1 Berry Street, Nowra, 2540

www.lismoreoutboards.com.au 76 Northern Highway lismoreoutboards@bigpond.com Echuca

Marine World 02 9456 JV 1444

311B Pacific Hwy Coffs Harbour Sth, 2450

www.huettmarine.com.au 878 Springvale Road info@huettmarine.com.au Braeside

02 6652 4722

www.jvmarine.com.au

South East Melbourne

03 5482 1992

03 9798 8883

b.altham@boatsandmore.com.au www.boatsandmore.com.au

info@jvmarine.com.au www.jvmarine.com.au

Sydney South Port Stephens Traralgon Melbourne Central & SE

Mornington Peninsula

Barrow Marine 02 4423 6137

Triple M Marine

03 9783 8991

03 9465 8787

barrowmarine@tpg.com.au

triplemmarine@dodo.com.au www.triplemmarine.com.au

davehillmarine@onestream.com.au 28 Overton Road www.coffsharbourmarine.com.au Frankston info@coffsharbourmarine.com.au

Sydney West

Forster North West Tasmania

Hunts Marine

Bay Boat Sales

Blakes Marine

62 Princes 236 SouthHighway, Gippsland Highway Blakehurst, 2221 Cranbourne

Princess 332 Soldiers Point Rd, Highway Traralgon Salamander Bay, 2317

29 Bass Highway Cnr Windsor & Mulgrave Rd, 129 The Lakes Way, Burnie Forster, 2428 McGraths Hill, 2756

Cranbourne Boating Centre

02 039546 59961324 2206

www.huntsmarine.com.au crannyboating@bigpond.com info@huntsmarine.com.au

Gippsland Boat Supplies

02 4982 03 7899 5174 1223 02 4577 6699

Graham Barclay Marine

Burnie Marine Services

6554 5866 03 6431 02 3082

www.barclaymarine.com.au www.bayboatsales.com.au www.blakesmarine.com.au ray@gippslandboatsupplies.com.au burniemarineservices@bigpond.com info@barclaymarine.com.au bayboatsales@hotmail.com sales@blakesmarine.com.au

www.cranbourneboatingcentre.com.au

www.gippslandboatsupplies.com.au

Northern Suburbs 117 Northgate Drive Thomastown

Cowra Southern Tasmania All Service Motors

Maynes Marine

61 Effingham Redfern St, Street Cowra, 2794 Moonah

02 6342 2590

www.allservicemotorscowra.com.au 03 6214 9999 allservicemotors@bigpond.com

sales@maynesmarine.com.au www.maynesmarine.com.au

© 2014 Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP). ®, ™ and the BRP logo are trademarks of BRP or its affiliates. Terms and conditions apply, excludes commercial purchases. # Extended warranty covers MY11, MY12,

© 2013 Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP). ®, ™ and the BRP logo are trademarks of BRP or its affiliates. Terms and conditions apply, excludes commercial purchases. * 'Spring Cashback Promotion' offer valid on MY11, MY13 MY13 & MY14 Evinrude E-TECE-TEC engines 40HP40 and newlynewly purchased andand registered from participating authorized full terms and conditions please contact local participating dealership. BRP January 31styour 2014. Cashback will beEvinrude in the form of a Prepaid MY12, & MY14 evinrude engines HPabove, and above purchased registered from participating authorizeddealers. dealersFor between December 1st 2013 and Visa Card. the ** For normal recreational use. # Extended warranty covers MY11, MY12, MY13 features, & MY14 Evinrude E-TEC engines without 40HP and above, newly purchased and registered from participating dealers between reserves right at any time to discontinue or change specifications, prices, designs, models or equipment incurring obligation. Products are distributed in Australia authorized and New Zealand by BRP October Australia 1st and December 31st 2013. ^ 25hp-250hp consumer models. For full terms and conditions please contact your local participating Evinrude dealership. BRP reserves the right at any time to discontinue or change specifications, prices, PTY Ltd. Card Issued by Heritage Bank Limited ABN 32 087 652 024 AFSL 240984. designs, features, models or equipment without incurring obligation. Products are distributed in Australia and New Zealand by BRP Australia PTy Ltd. Card Issued by Heritage Bank Limited ABN 32 087 652 024 AFSL 240984. Visa Card Terms and Conditions apply. APRIL 2014

Victorian Tide Times

AUSTRALIA, SOUTH COAST – PORT PHILLIP HEADS (PT.LONSDALE) LAT 38° 18’

LONG 144° 37’

TIMES AND HEIGHTS OF HIGH AND LOW WATERS FEBRUARY – 2014

JANUARY – 2014 Time m 0403 0.81 1027 1.30 WE 1628 0.23



0000 0517 TH 1139 1736

1.52 0.75 1.34 0.17

Time 0011 0533 TH 1137 1751



0057 0630 FR 1230 1840

m 1.39 0.77 1.22 0.34

Time 0034 0600 SA 1230 1824

1.44 0.70 1.25 0.32

0128 0702 SU 1331 1922

1.61 0136 1.48 3 0058 0621 0.65 18 0717 0.62 1244 1.41 1316 1.29

1837 0.13

1922 0.31

1.67 0210 1.52 4 0149 0718 0.54 19 0759 0.55 1342 1.47 1400 1.33

1932 0.13

2000 0.31

1.71 0242 1.55 5 0238 0812 0.43 20 0836 0.49 1436 1.52 1440 1.36

2025 0.15

2035 0.33

1.71 0313 1.56 6 0324 0904 0.34 21 0911 0.43 1530 1.53 1519 1.39

2115 0.21

2108 0.36

1.69 0345 1.56 7 0407 0954 0.28 22 0944 0.39 1623 1.52 1558 1.40

2202 0.29

2141 0.40

1.65 0416 1.54 8 0449 1043 0.24 23 1016 0.35 1720 1.48 1637 1.40

2248 0.38



2215 0.44

0449 1.51 1.58 9 0530 1130 0.23 24 1048 0.32 1719 1.39 1820 1.43

2332 0.48

2252 0.50



1 2

m 1.52 0.60 1.40 0.20 1.59 0.47 1.49 0.20

Time 0102 0654 SU 1259 1903

16 17

0139 0735 MO 1344 1942

2015 0.21

m 1.39 0.60 1.28 0.39 1.44 0.51 1.35 0.38

2016 0.38

1.67 0245 1.52 4 0302 0850 0.25 19 0845 0.36 1523 1.58 1504 1.46

2102 0.26

2050 0.39

1.66 0318 1.53 5 0345 0938 0.18 20 0918 0.31 1615 1.58 1543 1.48

2147 0.32

2125 0.42

1.63 0351 1.52 6 0424 1023 0.16 21 0951 0.27 1706 1.54 1621 1.49

2230 0.39

2200 0.45

0425 1.50 1.57 7 0503 1106 0.17 22 1024 0.24 1701 1.47 1758 1.48



2310 0.47

2237 0.49

0500 1.47 1.50 8 0542 1147 0.21 23 1059 0.22 1745 1.44 1848 1.41

2350 0.55

2315 0.55



1.41 0538 1.42 9 0622 1228 0.27 24 1136 0.22 1941 1.34 1835 1.40

APRIL – 2014

MARCH – 2014

1.65 0213 1.49 3 0217 0759 0.35 18 0812 0.43 1429 1.55 1425 1.41

TIME ZONE –1000

2357 0.61

Time m 0424 0.64 1109 1.33 SA 1700 0.35



Time m 0528 0.66 1144 1.22 SU 1748 0.55

1.45 0018 1.33 2 0007 0541 0.52 17 0620 0.57 1221 1.43 1238 1.31

1812 0.33



1838 0.52

1.52 0059 1.39 3 0101 0645 0.38 18 0701 0.47 1324 1.53 1326 1.41

1910 0.32

1918 0.50

1.58 0137 1.44 4 0150 0740 0.27 19 0737 0.38 1420 1.61 1407 1.49

2000 0.33

1954 0.48

1.61 0214 1.48 5 0235 0829 0.19 20 0813 0.31 1512 1.64 1447 1.56

2045 0.35

2030 0.48

1.61 0250 1.50 6 0316 0914 0.15 21 0847 0.26 1600 1.64 1526 1.59

2128 0.39

2106 0.48

1.58 0326 1.50 7 0356 0957 0.14 22 0923 0.22 1645 1.59 1605 1.59

2207 0.43

2143 0.49

1.53 0401 1.49 8 0433 1036 0.17 23 1000 0.21 1729 1.53 1645 1.57



2245 0.48

2221 0.52

0439 1.46 1.46 9 0510 1115 0.23 24 1037 0.21 1729 1.52 1812 1.45

2324 0.55



2300 0.56

Time 0030 0623 TU 1314 1853

m 1.48 0.33 1.59 0.49

Time 0013 0616 WE 1301 1846

m 1.36 0.45 1.50 0.65

1.53 0058 1.42 2 0120 0715 0.24 17 0657 0.36 1407 1.67 1345 1.59

1942 0.48

1926 0.62

1.55 0140 1.46 3 0205 0801 0.19 18 0735 0.29 1455 1.70 1428 1.66

2026 0.48

2005 0.59

1.55 0220 1.49 4 0246 0845 0.18 19 0815 0.24 1539 1.69 1509 1.69

2105 0.49

2045 0.57

1.53 0300 1.50 5 0325 0926 0.20 20 0855 0.22 1619 1.65 1550 1.69

2144 0.51

2125 0.57

1.49 0341 1.50 6 0401 1004 0.24 21 0936 0.23 1657 1.58 1631 1.66

2221 0.54

2205 0.57

1.44 0422 1.48 7 0439 1042 0.29 22 1018 0.26 1733 1.51 1715 1.61

2259 0.58





2248 0.57

1.38 0508 1.44 8 0516 1118 0.36 23 1102 0.31 1811 1.44 1800 1.55

2337 0.62

2332 0.58

1.31 0559 1.40 9 0557 1155 0.43 24 1149 0.39 1852 1.37 1852 1.49

1.51 0524 1.47 10 0613 1215 0.25 25 1122 0.29 1920 1.38 1806 1.37

0.64 0621 1.38 10 0033 0705 1.33 25 1219 0.24 1312 0.33 1932 1.35

1.39 0519 1.42 10 0548 1153 0.29 25 1117 0.24 1856 1.37 1815 1.47

0.67 0023 0.59 10 0018 0644 1.25 25 0701 1.36 1235 0.51 1242 0.49

0.59 0601 1.42 11 0017 0657 1.42 26 1159 0.27 1302 0.29 1900 1.34

0.72 0045 0.66 11 0121 0755 1.25 26 0714 1.33 1402 0.39 1312 0.27

0.61 0606 1.38 11 0003 0629 1.31 26 1201 0.28 1232 0.36 1910 1.41

0.70 0123 0.59 11 0104 0740 1.20 26 0821 1.34 1321 0.59 1345 0.58

0.68 0015 0.64 12 0105 0745 1.34 27 0645 1.37 1353 0.33 1243 0.26

0.78 0144 0.70 12 0219 0853 1.19 27 0820 1.29 1505 0.44 1416 0.32

0.68 0030 0.63 12 0046 0715 1.23 27 0702 1.33 1315 0.44 1254 0.36

0.72 0236 0.56 12 0200 0849 1.18 27 0944 1.38 1418 0.67 1500 0.66

0.76 0106 0.72 13 0200 0839 1.27 28 0736 1.33 1451 0.37 1336 0.26

0.80 0259 0.70 13 0335 1000 1.15 28 0944 1.28 1616 0.45 1537 0.35

0.73 0129 0.64 13 0138 0813 1.17 28 0815 1.29 1410 0.51 1359 0.44

0.70 0352 0.49 13 0314 1005 1.21 28 1057 1.46 1533 0.71 1620 0.69

0.81 0209 0.77 14 0309 0938 1.22 29 0840 1.29 1554 0.38 1442 0.26

0.77 14 0457 1107 1.17 1723 0.44

0.76 0244 0.63 14 0245 0923 1.14 29 0943 1.31 1520 0.56 1518 0.50

0.64 0500 0.41 14 0434 1115 1.28 29 1201 1.56 1700 0.72 1732 0.69

2019 1.35

2118 1.32

2217 1.33

2316 1.35

2331 0.57

2002 1.33

2113 1.33

2226 1.37

0.81 0325 0.77 15 0425 1039 1.20 30 0957 1.28 1656 0.37 1600 0.26 WE



2334 1.44

2035 1.29

2133 1.25

2233 1.25

2330 1.28

2041 1.33

2156 1.33

2305 1.38



1.33 15 0021 0603 0.69 1207 1.21 SA



1944 1.30

2038 1.25

2136 1.22

2236 1.23

2343 0.59

2015 1.36

2126 1.35

2233 1.37

0.74 0408 0.55 15 0412 1037 1.16 30 1104 1.38 1642 0.57 1643 0.52



2331 1.27

2335 1.42

0.44 31 0522 1213 1.49 1755 0.51



1939 1.31

2032 1.28

2131 1.26

2230 1.27

2324 1.31



1952 1.44

2057 1.41

2200 1.41

2301 1.43

2358 1.46

0557 0.33 0.54 15 0532 1212 1.39 30 1259 1.64 1831 0.66 1800 0.69 TU

 





1817 0.41

0.71 31 0445 1119 1.32 1716 0.23

 New Moon

Bureau of Meteorology

National Tidal Centre

When daylight saving time is in force, add one hour to times

 First Quarter

 Full Moon

 Last Quarter

Tide predictions for Port Phillip Heads have been formatted by the National Tidal Centre, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Copyright reserved. All material is supplied in good faith and is believed to be correct. It is supplied on the condition that no warranty is given in relation thereto, that no responsibility or liability for errors or omissions is, or will be, accepted and that the recipient will hold MHL and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Australia free from all such responsibility or liability and from all loss or damage incurred as a consequence of any error or omission. Predictions should not be used for navigational purposes. Use of these tide predictions will be deemed to include acceptance of the above conditions. 86

APRIL 2014

South Gippsland

Alberton Marine 39 Johnson Street, Alberton Phone: (03) 5183 2344 | Fax: (03) 5183 2219 Email: albertonmarine@wideband.net.au

Melbourne Avante Marine 345 Dorset Road, Boronia Phone: (03) 9760 2222 | Fax: (03) 9762 8565 Email: info@avantemarine.com.au Cheltenham Bell Marine Services 120 Talinga Road, Cheltenham Phone: (03) 9583 3881 | Fax: (03) 9583 0117 Email: admin.sales@bellmarineservices.com Bendigo

Bendigo Marine World 49 Midland Highway, Epsom Phone: (03) 5448 3988 | Fax: (03) 5448 3940 Email: sales@bendigomarine.com.au

Mercury Portables. Lightweight and built to last. Mercuryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Portables range provide the power that you can carry, run and depend on. With eleven horsepower options ranging from 2.5hp to 30hp, these compact units punch well above their weight.

Melbourne BL Marine 612- 614 Plenty Road, Preston Phone: (03) 9478 1420 | Fax: (03) 9470 4638 Email: info@blmarine.com.au Shepparton

Boats and More 207 Numurkah Road, Shepparton Phone: (03) 5822 2108 | Fax: (03) 5821 2908 Email: sales@boatsandmore.com.au

Gippsland Crawford Marine 71-77 Chickerell Street, Morwell Phone: (03) 5134 6522 | Fax: (03) 5134 6455 Email: info@crawfordmarine.com.au Echuca

Eades Xtreme Marine 24 Sturt Street, Echuca Phone: (03) 5482 2333 | Fax: (03) 5482 2133 Email: info@xtrememarine.net.au

East Gippsland Mallacoota Outboards 3 Commercial Road, Mallacoota Phone: (03) 5158 0459 | Fax: (03) 5158 0719 Email: smo02688@bigpond.net.au Corowa Maverick Boats Hammersley & Theiss Roads, Corowa Phone: (02) 6033 3222 | Fax: (02) 6033 4488 Email: sales@maverickboats.com.au Geelong

Moolap Marine 250 Portarlington Road, Moolap Phone: (03) 5248 3772 | Fax: (03) 5248 4633 Email: info@moolapmarine.com.au

Sorrento

Nautical Marine 139 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 141 Hotham Road, Sorrento Phone: (03) 5984 1666 | Fax: (03) 5984 1680 Email: nautical@surf.net.au

Melbourne Regal Marine 514 Canterbury Road, Vermont Phone: (03) 9874 4624 | Fax: (03) 9874 6586 Email: sales@regalmarine.com.au West Gippsland P&J Marine Service Centre P/L 101 Tooradin Station Road, Tooradin Phone: (03) 5998 3107 | Fax: (03) 5998 3108 Email: pjmarine_services@bigpond.com Melbourne The Marine Shop 6 Holland Drive, Melton Phone: (03) 9747 0588 | Fax: (03) 9747 3999 Email: admin@themarineshop.com.au Melbourne Triple M Marine 117 Northgate Drive, Thomastown Phone: (03) 9465 8787 | Fax: (03) 9466 1418 Email: triplemmarine@dodo.com.au West Gippsland Warragul Marine South Road, Warragul Phone: (03) 5623 6250 | Fax: (03) 5622 0623 Email: info@warragulmarine.com.au Mornington

Wes Frost Marine 3 Satu Way, Mornington Phone: (03) 5976 4622 | Fax: (03) 5976 4633 Email: sales@wesfrostmarine.com

APRIL 2014

Celebrating

75 YEARS

OF MARINE INNOVATION

OFFER ENDS 31 MAY 2014 visit mercurymarine.com.au for details

*Terms & conditions apply.**To approved purchasers. Terms & conditions apply. Participating dealers only.