Victoria and Tasmania Fishing Monthly - July 2015 by Fishing Monthly

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Port Phillip Bay land-based options • PPB sand flathead science • Gippy Lakes: Corringle and Curlip • The Australian Lure Fly and Outdoors Expo •

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A Black Magic BMax ‘bully’ and Black Magic 10lb Fluorocarbon tippet were used by Rod Shepherd to catch this flathead while fishing the Snowy River, Marlo.

A Wasabi Recurve Circle 3/0 hook was used by Julian Murphy to take this 57cm flathead while fishing in Western Port Bay.

Chris Theodorou landed this 16kg kingfish using Black Magic 60lb Tough Fluorocarbon leader while fishing near Phillip Island.

Rory Bluett-Boyd landed this estimated 30kg gummy shark on a Black Magic KL 6/0 hook while fishing in Anderson Inlet.

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Black Magic 30lb Tough Fluorocarbo n leader was used by Bernie Zraika to catch these snapper weighing 10.5lb and 11lb. Bernie was fishing off Stanwell Park.

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July 2015, Vol. 11 No. 9

Contents WEST COAST West Coast 12 Warrnambool 14 Portland 14 Apollo Bay 16 Cobden 16

CENTRAL Geelong 18 Port Phillip West 20 Port Phillip East 22 Port Phillip North East 24 Mornington Peninsula 26 Western Port North 28 Western Port South 30 Phillip Island 32

EAST COAST Ninety Mile Beach 32 Welshpool 34 Inverloch 34 Lakes Entrance 36 Bemm River 36 Gippsland Lakes 37 McLoughlins Beach 38 Marlo 38

NSW SOUTH COAST Mallacoota 42 Bermagui 42 Narooma 44 Merimbula 45

From the Editor’s Desk... Although we’re in the dead of winter, it seems to be one of the busiest times of year. At the time of writing, we’ve just come back from a sensational Melbourne Boat Show and are gearing up for more of the year-defining events: The Australian Lure and Fly Expo in Queensland, the Sydney International Boat Show in Sydney and the National Recreational Fishing Conference and AFTA Trade Show on the Gold Coast amongst other tournaments and events. We love it. We love giving out free samples and finding out what improvements that you’d like in the magazine. We also love bringing you nearly-live updates of the cool new tackle that’s about to hit the shelves. At all levels, it gives the staff at Fishing Monthly

the chance to interact with our readers. Sure, we get to engage with readers all of the time through the pages of the magazines, the competitions we run and through social media networks, but there’s still nothing like putting faces to names in an environment where we are immersed with people sharing a passion. So don’t be shy. Like all of the people we met at the Melbourne Show, engage with us at these events. Patting backs or kicking our butts, it’s all good, because it contributes to a better product. WANT TO GO TO THE AFTA TRADE SHOW? Last year, on the opening day of the trade-only AFTA Show on the Gold Coast, we broke the news that there would be a Public Day in 2015 – given that the AFTA Board would reach a consensus about how it was

incorporated. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, but we did find a way that you can get in through the back door. Well… not literally, but stay with me here. The National Recreational Fishing Conference happens the day before the AFTA Show in the same venue. Although you may not think that the Conference is for you, I can assure you it is. It’s not for scientists and bureaucrats, it’s for everyday anglers who want to have a say in the future direction of their sport. The Conference is a one day event at the Broadbeach Convention Centre on the Gold Coast, it costs only $30 to register AND it gets you access to the AFTA Trade Show on the Sunday (the day after the conference). But you didn’t hear it from us… I’d hate the AFTA Board to think that

Fishing Monthly was in any way displeased with their decision. TRADE SHOW RELEASES Of course, if you don’t make it to the AFTA Show, you’ll still most likely be interested in all of the new product releases and in 2015, Fishing Monthly will be releasing more on-the-day videos than ever before in the Trade Show that’s the biggest one yet. These will be uploaded on the Fishing Monthly YouTube channel and shared through the Fishing Monthly Magazines social media platform as well as the www.tacklejunkie.fish platforms. Make sure you’re signed up before the 26th of July to be a part of the action. Until then, tight lines and we hope you enjoy the July issue.

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Port Phillip Bay land-based options WESTERN PORT STH

Jarrod Day jarrodday@iprimus.com.au

On any given day, rain, hail or shine you only have take a glimpse at any pier or jetty around the coastline of the bay and one, two maybe more anglers will be standing with rod in hand trying their luck at catching something. Port Phillip Bay is a Mecca for land-based anglers, whether it is flicking for bream along a wharf in the CBD, casting for squid at Portsea Pier or flathead on the sand bars at Altona, The bay has thousands of land-based options on any given day. Some say fishing is about luck but this is farther from the truth. If fishing was easy, we’d call it catching and we’d quickly get bored of it. Although to some, fishing might be a challenge, it is best to change your tactic’s and find ways that will bring on success rather than just sitting down, bored, waiting for a bite.

Regardless of where you’re fishing in the bay, rather than just hoping to catch a fish, pick a particular species and target it. When I write, ‘target it’, I mean learn about, work out where it lives, where it feeds, what it feeds on, how big its mouth is, how big they get, in what water column do they feed etc. All these questions can be answered indirectly by looking at your local fish ID guide and even by looking at pictures of fish. Take an Australian salmon for example; they have a big mouth (use a 1/0-3/0 hook), they are constantly on the move but like to chase baits into the shallows or around reef (fish off Mordialloc pier, Sorrento pier, Queenscliff pier), they eat baitfish (use blue bait or white bait), they are a schooling fish (use berley to attract them) and they feed throughout all water columns (use a paternoster rig). 8

JULY 2015

With a little research, you can really enhance your fishing rather than going home empty-handed. With so many landbased options in the bay, you’re best to pick a targeted species and do the research on where is going to be the best location to catch it and when. SNAPPER Snapper are the most

them. That is unless they are in tune with the goings on of where and when they will be at particular locations. Land-based snapper fishing is as popular as it was back in the 1970s and 80s when genuine 20lb reds would be plucked from the rocks at Limeburners and Grammar School Lagoon on Port Phillip Bay’s western coast. Although these

Beaumaris Bay jetty are today’s standout land-based locations. From September until the end of November are the peak months but if it is snapper you’re after, don’t even consider fishing in calm weather. In fact, choose the total opposite, a howling westerly or southwesterly wind is when the fish will push in close to the eastern

The Mornington Pier has a reputation of producing snapper in the warmer months but don’t underestimate a strong westerly blow in winter either. around the areas with baitfish and other potential foods getting forced in close. Those fishing from the land have a very good chance at catching quality fish. All of the above locations have the potential of producing 20lb snapper with Mt Martha Rocks producing fish almost that size in 2014. Fishing for snapper land-based isn’t the easiest of tasks, especially when attempting to cast into a 20-knot head wind. In this situation, opting for an ICON Long Cast Rig is a good option, or alternatively, an elevated running sinker rig. Bait selection is also critical, as you will usually only get one chance as hooking a solid fish. Pilchards and fresh calamari rings about the best, so if you’re going to pursue a land-based red, use the best baits you can.

Top: When winter sets in, salmon infiltrate the bay. During a strong southwest, northwest or westerly wind, salmon will be in plague proportions along the eastern side of the bay. A little berley will bring them to your fishing location. Middle Left: Garfish are also a popular catch during the early morning or late evening. High tide is always prime time with the Frankston jetty the hub of activity. Middle Right: Mornington Pier is undoubtedly one of the best piers to fish from throughout winter. Above: When the weather is good, garfish will never disappoint. highly sought-after landbased fish around Port Phillip Bay, but few anglers actually get to hook and land

two locations where a hot topic back in the day, Mt Martha Rocks, Mornington Pier, Mordialloc Pier and

destroying them. The mainstay for landbased anglers throughout the year, salmon can be caught both from a pier, beach and from one of the many surf beaches along the coast. More frequently caught in the surf during the winter months, salmon can be a lot of fun for any age group targeting them. Piers such as Queenscliff, Altona, Sandringham, Mordialloc, Patterson River mouth, Frankston, Mornington, Rye, Blairgowrie, Sorrento and Portsea are the main piers in which to catch salmon regularly. Casting out lone bait might conjure up the odd fish, establishing a berley trail will bring in an entire school. The ideal rig for salmon is a paternoster rig that can be used either from a pier, beach or in the surf. Bait selection doesn’t have too be too critical, but pipi, blue

Throughout the winter months, the Mount Martha Rocks are known for producing snapper during a strong westerly blow. Dave with a cracking snapper only dreams are made of. side of the bay. Locations such as Mt Martha rocks and Mornington have good reef structure that abound

SALMON Salmon are notorious for rounding up baitfish into the shallows before absolutely

bait and white bait seem to be the top choices. Simply place berley pellets into an onion bag and

hang over the side of the pier and cast your baits into the trail about 5m out. The salmon will pick up on the smell quickly and hone in, devouring your baits. Locations such as the Patterson River mouth are a little different than fishing from a pier. Spinning with small 15g metal slugs is the preferred method, but you will have to wait and fish from the rocks in the rough weather. During winter with a 20-knot westerly wind blowing, cast towards the city bringing the lure across the river mouth. Any salmon hiding amongst the wash will set up on the lure very quickly. GARFISH Garfish are evidently quite a popular species for land-based anglers. From the piers, particularly Queenscliff, Portsea, Sorrento, Mornington, Seaford, Frankston and Mordialloc they are abundant for most of the year and in greater numbers around August, September and October. There might not me any sport attached to garfish fishing but on the plate, they are a delectable species. Garfish really aren’t that difficult to catch, but often anglers use too heavy

Dave’s snapper in all its glory from Mt Martha Rocks. hook for gars. Garfish are easily attracted with berley but it must be fine particles otherwise you’ll overfeed them and find it more difficult to catch them. Providing you do get the right trail going, small baits such as silverfish, dough and peeled prawn segments make top baits. Just keep them small enough that they can be inhaled rather than picked at. WHITING Land-based whiting are also a highly targeted species in Port Phillip Bay, but rarely targeted from the land. Finding reliable grounds can be difficult but not impossible. While many

to carry the berley vast distances. Instead, casting good baits such as fresh calamari strips, mussel or pipi baits will do the job. When fishing for landbased whiting you will only get one chance at hooking them and if you miss, you could spook the school. Ideally, use a paternoster rig with two size 1/0 KL circle hooks. That way, the fish hook themselves without your interference and the risk of losing a fish is reduced, rather than if having to set a hook when using a long shank. Land-based whiting fishing is certainly a patience game and while a half dozen fish for a session might not

When the sun is out and the tide is high, fishing for garfish from the rocks at Mount Martha is profitable. tackle and miss a substantial amount of fish. A mid to top water feeder, garfish are primarily caught when using a float setup. Not any old float will do though, most tend to use a cheap bobby cork float but with most garfish weighing berley 150g, pilling a bobby cork float beneath the surface won’t happen and you’ll more than likely miss the bite. A pencil or quill float is best offered in this situation. Garfish also have very small mouths so keep hooks small. In all cases, I have found Mustad’s 4540 1/2 long shank to be the best

of the beaches in Port Phillip Bay will find a decent cast rest in around 1m of water, you have to look at locations where deeper water exists. Some of the better locations tend to be from Safety Beach, Mt Martha Rocks and the Mornington Pier where anglers can easily be fishing in 3-4m of water with a simple cast from the sand, rocks or wood. Whiting are quite easily spooked, so fishing early morning, late evening or into the night are the prime times when there is less boat traffic on the water. Berleying for whiting is a non-event, mainly due to limited tidal flow required

seem a lot, it is a very worthy catch when fishing from the shore. GIVE IT A GO Land-based fishing, regardless of where you’re fishing in the state, can be a challenge on any given day but it is the research of a species and knowledge of a location that can bring on regular success. The next time you’re heading out in search of a fish to put on the table, do the research, find out all there is to know and expect to catch it. You’ll be surprised at how your fishing tactics can change and how easy success will become. JULY 2015

Science meets fishing

The Port Phillip sand flathead roller coaster GEELONG

Ross Winstanley

In July 2013, Fisheries Victoria researchers conducted a workshop to review the state of the sand flathead stock in Port Phillip Bay. This was more than just an update on the previous assessment in 2007 – it was an interim report on the results of

and the adequacy of the current management settings for sand flathead in PPB as part of ongoing efforts to assist the recovery of this stock. BACKGROUND Sand flathead once supported both a significant commercial fishery and the largest recreational fishery in Port Phillip Bay. From when records began in 1914 until 1950, commercial catches of flathead averaged more

Commercial flathead catch in Port Phillip Bay 1914–2012. a study that anglers virtually commissioned, funded from their Recreational Fishing License fees, based on concerns arising from the earlier assessment. Responding to these concerns, a DEPI Queenscliff research team, led by Dr Alastair Hirst, has conducted a 3-year study – with RFL funding of $100,000 per year – focusing on the state of the flathead stock and causes of the continuing declines in numbers and angler catch rates. A key question was whether fishing pressure was responsible and if there were any management responses that might help to reverse the downward trends. The final report of that study, titled ‘The decline of sand flathead stocks in Port Phillip Bay: magnitude, causes and future prospects’ has now been completed and can be seen on the DEPI website under ‘Your licence fees at work research reports’. The 63-page report combines narrative descriptions of the research findings, interpretation and fishery implications with more technical details of the data collections and analyses. The narrative sections that address matters of particular interest to anglers are so clearly written that this article draws on many extracts of text lifted straight out of the report and shown, below, in italics. The study drew on commercial and recreational fisheries, trawl survey and annual recruitment monitoring data to summarize what is known about the current status of the fishery in PPB, the probable causes of the decline and the prospects for recovery 10

JULY 2015

than 150 tonnes annually. As post-war landings of quality fresh fish increased from the developing coastal trawl fishery, commercial catches of Bay flathead decreased to a low byproduct level. The most reliable estimate of the annual recreational catch – 322 tonnes in 2000/01 – exceeded commercial catches in all but one year since 1914. Today, annual commercial catches total around 2 tonnes, taken mainly as a by-catch on snapper longlines. SAND FLATHEAD BIOLOGY IN THE BAY Sand flathead live for up to 23 years, with females growing to larger sizes than males. Males reach sexual maturity at 2-4 years, at lengths averaging 22cm; females mature at 3-5 years and around 25cm. Larvae occur in the water column between October and April, peaking in November, before settling on the bottom, mainly from December till February. Eggs are released and fertilised in the water column where larvae occur for periods estimated at 30-40 days. Faced with the possibility of widescale predation and starvation, the larval stage is critical in determining successful recruitment to the stock. Examination of sand flathead diets between 1996 and 2007 showed that, overall, they were dominated by pelagic fish (notably anchovies), bottom fish and crabs. In the early years of the drought, crabs, other small crustaceans and sea worms were more abundant in the diet. From 2000 to 2007 as the drought progressed, pelagic fish and bottom fish were more important.

TRENDS IN THE BAY STOCK It was not until DEPI’s annual trawl surveys, from 1990 till 2011, that stock assessments became consistent and regular enough to reveal trends in stock size and to link these with annual recruitment (i.e. spawning success) and related environmental factors. Within this recent period, sand flathead stocks first began to decline following the arrival of the introduced northern Pacific seastar (Asterias amurensis) in the late 1990s and there is a popular perception that the two events are linked. The Baywide Fish Stock and Recruitment Monitoring Program undertaken as part of the Channel Deepening Monitoring Program detected a significant decline in the biomass and abundance of sand flathead between 2004–2007 and 2008–2011. A management review concluded that the decrease in flathead biomass was the continuation of a decline that could be traced to 2000 and unrelated to channel dredging activities from 2008–2010. Concerned about the future for this popular Bay species, anglers agreed to RFL funding of an investigation of the real cause of the decline. At the start of the annual trawl surveys in 1990, the Bay sand flathead stock was estimated at around 3000 tonnes. Over the following years, survey results showed that after a period of relative stability from 1990 to 2000, the biomass declined by 87% between 2000 and 2010, reducing at an estimated rate of 250 tonnes per year. Commercial and recreational catch rates indicate that stock biomass increased slightly from 400 to 464 tonnes between 2010 and 2011. This, like other biomass peaks during the period 1990– 2000, corresponded with the emergence of strong year classes entering the population at the larval stage. Available

Sand flathead once supported both a significant commercial fishery and the largest recreational fishery in Port Phillip Bay. in sand flathead catches and catch rates in both the commercial and recreational fisheries. While they do not distinguish between different species of flathead, creel surveys showed that catch rates for the recreational flathead fishery declined by 82% between 1995 and 2011. The angler diary survey data show that approximately 80% of the recreational flathead catch is sand flathead. All three data sources – PPB annual trawl, commercial and recreational catch rates – corroborate the magnitude of the decline in the range of 80–90% for sand flathead in PPB. Notably, all three survey methods detected increases in sand flathead catch rates following 2010. As reported in DEPI’s 2007 stock assessment workshop, in the 1970’s female sand flathead reached the present legal minimum size (27cm) in 3 years and males in 7 years, but growth rates have slowed, particularly in the first four years of life. Today, females take 4 years

Combined measures of annual recruitment of sand flathead in the Bay from annual trawl and pre-recruit surveys over the period 1988–2013. evidence suggests that most, if not all, recruitment originates within the Bay. The decline in the Bay stock was matched by declines

and males up to 12 years to reach legal size. In fact, many males never reach 27cm and as a result, retained catches, especially of flathead above

30cm, are dominated by females. Female sand flathead grow faster than males in their early years and grow to larger sizes so it’s not surprising that twice as many females exceed the legal size. Growth curves calculated for sand flathead in the Bay between 1990 and 2010 show no change, indicating that lower growth rates experienced by sand flathead are not associated with the decline in the population that has occurred since 2000. During the years of trawl surveys, the largest sand flathead taken was 41cm long and the oldest were 23 years, although few survive beyond 16 years. The importance of strong year classes in maintaining the stock is illustrated by the fact that the strong 1989-year class was still discernible in catches 16 years later. SAND FLATHEAD STOCKS ELSEWHERE Sand flathead occur in coastal waters and embayments from southern Western Australia to the mid-NSW coast. It’s regarded pretty much as a by-catch species in most places outside the Bay except for Tasmania where it is the most popular saltwater fish taken by anglers. The latest state-wide recreational fishing survey estimated that 925,000 or 236 tonnes of flathead - 90% sand flathead - were caught and kept by anglers in 2012/13. Across their range in southern Australia, female sand flathead grow to 50cm and males grow to 40cm, both living for up to 23 years as they do in the Bay. Comparing the growth of sand flathead from the Bay and Bass Strait indicates that the larger sizes reached outside the Bay result mainly from faster growth in the early

years up to age 6. In fact the growth patterns of flathead in Bass Strait, Western Port and Corner Inlet are similar to each other, growing faster and reaching larger maximum lengths than those in the Bay. On average sand flathead in PPB were 30% shorter than fish collected from Bass Strait and 20% shorter than fish collected from SE Tasmania. It seems that the decline in sand flathead numbers and the smaller sizes found in the Bay are localised phenomena. The most likely possible causes are over-fishing – which can be managed or environmental factors affecting annual recruitment and/or growth rates. The study went on to examine both of these possibilities. THE 27CM LEGAL SIZE DILEMMA Because sand flathead grow slower and to smaller maximum sizes in the Bay than elsewhere in Victoria and Bass Strait, a smaller proportion of the Bay stock reach the State-wide legal size of 27cm. During the extended drought-induced years of poor recruitment, the proportion of the stock larger than 27cm actually increased due to the absence of large numbers of new year classes being recruited. Larger, faster growing females outnumbered legal sized males by 2:1, exposing the most reproductively “valuable” females to removal by fishing at twice the rate as males. The impact of this effect on declining recruitment trends in PPB is unknown, but requires further investigation. CAUSES OF THE STOCK DECLINE Comparisons of fishing mortality in 2000/01 and 2006/07 showed that the recreational fishery accounted for more than 95% in both

Science meets fishing years. The combined commercial and recreational catches totalled 328 and 112 tonnes, respectively, in these years. The overall drop was the result of a fall of 216 tonnes in the recreational catch as the stock declined. The annual trawl surveys operated from 1990 till 2011 and a small-mesh trawl survey, designed mainly to monitor snapper and flathead recruitment, has run each year since 2000. By adjusting the results from the larger trawl which caught 2+ year and older fish, researchers were able to use one or both of these independent methods to estimate yearly sand flathead recruitment since 1988. The year-to-year recruitment trends showed close agreement for the 11-year period when they overlapped. The combined measures of annual recruitment are shown in Figure 3. The two key features are the yearto-year variability and the clear downward trend until 2000. As a positive sign, the recruitment pulse recorded by the pre-recruit survey in 2013 may be the highest recruitment event since 1997. The last two decades have been a period of dramatic climatic variability in Victoria and more broadly in southern Australia. Victoria has just emerged from the most pronounced drought on record (from 1997-2009). River flows from the Yarra River (which accounts for 70% of all catchment flows into PPB) and the contribution of nitrogen into PPB from the Western Treatment Plant [Werribee] and catchments declined throughout this period. Nutrients inputs (in particular nitrogen) are critical to productivity in PPB. These nutrients stimulate phytoplankton productivity that provides food for zooplankton, which in turn feed fish larvae. This extraordinary period of climatic impacts on the Bay made it an obvious area to look for an explanation of the unprecedented decline in sand flathead numbers. As the timing of hatching and larval duration suggested that conditions in November

and December are likely to be critical to survival, this period was studied in detail for possible environmentrecruitment relationships in the Bay. Researchers examined relationships between annual recruitment and daily November-December averages of four variables - stock size, temperature, wind speed and Yarra River flows. The one variable that accounted for a significant degree of recruitment variation was river flow during the critical NovemberDecember spawning season. There is a clear positive relationship between Yarra River flows and sand flathead recruitment at flow rates up to 3000 ML per day. GROWTH TRENDS Sand flathead collected from sites at 22 m off Beaumaris were studied in detail to reveal variations in the growth of year classes spawned between 1953 and 2009. The most notable feature of the growth chronology was the pronounced period of very low growth from 1992 to 1996 - lower than

1997–2009 appeared to have had little impact on growth during this period. Also, there was little evidence that the growth of sand flathead in PPB was affected by the Northern Pacific starfish following its introduction in 1995. By 2000, the seastar population biomass was estimated to have reached 2800 tonnes and its biomass was estimated to be equivalent to 56% of the total fish biomass in depths over 22 m. Shortly afterwards, the sand flathead stock declined and, in these deeper waters, their diet shifted away from crustaceans to fish. However, while the seastars may have been implicated through their impact on bottom communities, there was no evidence of reduced growth of sand flathead. FISHERY IMPLICATIONS This study found that there is little evidence that fishing pressure was the initial cause of the sand flathead decline over the period 2000–2010 or that the population was overfished during this period. However, continued fishing may impede the natural

Trends in sand flathead biomass (tonnes) 1990–2011 for minimum, median and maximum trawl survey efficiency scenarios any other period in the 56 years. This followed a period of very high recruitment from 1988 till 1993 and coincided with a ‘spike’ in commercial flathead catch rates, indicative of higher sand flathead abundance from 1993, when the population was dominated by the strong 1988, 1989 and 1993 year classes. Examination of the growth trends over the 56-year period also shed light on the impact of specific events on growth. In particular, the severe and prolonged drought from

recovery of this stock and should be reviewed as part of a management response. The researchers put the resilience of sand flathead when under fishing pressure down to two factors. First, sand flathead is principally a recreational, non-targeted fishery where catches are often incidental to other targeted species. Unlike species like snapper and whiting there is no tendency for anglers to adapt their fishing approach to try to maintain catches of sand flathead. Second, anglers have

- and take up - the option to switch their flatheadfishing focus to the alternative species, yank flathead. PROSPECTS FOR STOCK RECOVERY Despite their depleted state, following the end of the drought in 2009, sand flathead stocks stabilised in 2010–2011, and catch rates increased from 2010 to 2012 for both the recreational and commercial fisheries. Moreover in 2013, sand flathead recorded the highest recruitment pulse in 16 years. While starting from a low base, these indicators look like the early signs of a stock recovery. The key questions are: What does ‘recovery’ mean – a return to the 3000 tonnes level of the early 1990s or stabilisation around current 400-500 tonne level or…? What’s needed to achieve ‘recovery’? How do we manage the fishery to get there? How long might that take? How do we measure recovery? Fisheries managers’ objective and anglers’ motive for investing in this study are to re-build the sand flathead stock to improve recreational fishing opportunities in the Bay. The selection of a baseline to indicate what we will see as ‘the norm’ for the sand flathead stock in future depends very much on what we can measure and compare with existing long term data sets. This study had three such measures available: the 1990-2011 Bay trawl survey detailed commercial longline catch and effort records from 1978, and - recreational flathead catch rate data from

5.9 kg/1000 hooklifts - as a baseline reference point for the stock. An angling catch rate of 0.95 fish/angler hour will provide a future reference point for the recreational fishery. In 2012/13, the longline catch rate was 3.2 kg/1000 hooklifts and the recreational catch rate was 0.52 fish/angler hour - both well below the target rates.

available for further regulating sand flathead catches in PPB. However, the extent to which reductions in bag limits may work will depend on how effectively bag limits are currently utilised by anglers. In fact, while the daily bag limit is 20 per person, 85-90% of angler trips surveyed from 2009 to 2013 retained bags of five or fewer flathead.

YANK FLATHEAD The importance of the yank flathead fishery has increased over time as the differences in the relative abundance of the major recreational flathead stocks in PPB has diminished. Whilst sand flathead stocks declined by 87% in the last decade, yank flathead stocks remained steady over this period. In the final year of the trawl, in 2011, there was an estimated 180 tonnes of yank flathead in PPB compared to 460 tonnes of sand flathead. Adding to their importance, yank or blue-spotted flathead caught by anglers and commercial fishers are consistently larger - by an average 7cm - than sand flathead. WHAT’S NEEDED FOR A STOCK RECOVERY? From the clear relationships shown in this study, stock recovery prospects depend on substantial improvements in annual recruitment and that depends on a couple of obvious factors - a rejuvenated parent stock and favourable conditions, particularly around the critical November period. CAN WE ‘MANAGE’ OUR WAY TO A RECOVERY? The study results suggest that, in the immediate future, the current low parent stock may be a critical factor limiting recruitment potential. Hence, overall stock recovery is likely to be a slow, gradual process at best until the numbers of adults improve

Lowering the bag limit to 15, 10 and 5 fish is projected to reduce the total catch by 0.7%, 4.2% and 16.3%, respectively. Assuming natural population increase, growth and mortality remain constant, a 16% reduction in recreational catch, achieved by implementing a bag-limit of 5 fish, would achieve an increase in stock biomass, relative to no change, of between 2.1–4.4% annually Over the course of a decade such changes may be quite effective in assisting the recovery of this stock. The researchers have laid it out - now it’s up to anglers and DEPI fisheries managers to “take stock” of the sand flathead catch limits.

RESULT SUMMARY • The recreational catch rate for sand flathead in Port Phillip Bay declined by 82% between 1995 and 2010. • All three data sources – PPB annual trawl, commercial and recreational catch rates – corroborate the magnitude of the decline in the range of 80–90% for sand flathead in PPB. Notably, all three survey methods detected increases in sand flathead catch rates following 2010. SAND FLATHEAD IN TASMANIA • The saltwater catch was dominated by flathead and Australian salmon, the freshwater catch by trout. • Flathead was the most popular recreationally caught fish in Tasmania, accounting for 62% of all scalefish taken. • Around 1.6 million flathead were caught, with 43% released. This equates to 925,000 flathead (or 236 tonnes) being kept and 686,000 released. • The recreational catch was around six times the commercial catch taken from Tasmanian waters over a similar period. • Almost 90% of the flathead caught were sand flathead. • 90% of fishing trips involving flathead retained 15 or less flathead per person. Source: “What’s the Catch - the third survey of recreational fishing in Tasmania”

Across their range in southern Australia, female sand flathead grow to 50cm and males grow to 40cm, both living for up to 23 years as they do in the Bay. 1995 to 2012. The Bay trawl survey was discontinued after 2011 so the researchers turned to the commercial longline catch rate as an indicator, based on the continuous time series dating back to 1978. They rejected the period of exceptionally high stock levels of the early 1990s as an aberration resulting from unusually high recruitment levels in the late 1980s. Instead, they chose the average longline catch rate over the 1978-1993 period -

substantially. On the bright side, a conservative fisheries management strategy can directly aid the rate of recovery in adult numbers. Increasing the legal size would only place further pressure on mature females and increase the imbalance in the numbers of females compared to males taken. The impact of current fishing on the numbers of mature females is already cause for some concern. With this in mind, changes to bag limits for flathead are likely to be the only tool

LOOKING FURTHER AHEAD Looking at the second critical factor - favourable larval recruitment conditions - the medium and longer term prospects are not encouraging. The drought is over and the future outlook for Victoria’s climate in the short-term is for average rainfall. This should lead to enhanced [Yarra] river flows, particularly in spring, and if the relationship between river flows and recruitment holds, To page 12

JULY 2015

Glenelg is all go for July WEST COAST

Shane Lowery

July means very cold early starts on the Glenelg River for anglers that are keen

enough to be out and about but the rewards are well worth it. Late May and early June saw fish in their usual season patterns and this should continue throughout the

winter months. Bream are well spread through the river, from the estuary mouth right up into the upper reaches. With the mouth open and rain creating some limited inflow at this stage, fish are

There are still plenty of undersized mulloway in the Glenelg River.

Estuary perch from the upper regions of the river are now on the prowl in the lower reaches. reacting in different ways through the system. In the estuary the bream are very much being influenced by the tides with the flood tide being the most productive. Bait fishers are taking some nice fish on pilchard and prawn as well as the number one bait, crab. Local crab can be hard to come across but hunting around the rocks near the boat ramp or some of the accessible areas in the estuary is sure to turn up a few. Moving to the mid and upper reaches of the river bream are schooling up out off the edges in around 2-4m of water. These fish are often more focused on breeding and waiting on the right conditions to spawn than they are on chasing baits and lures, but timing your trips around peak fishing times is sure to lead to some success. Soft plastics and deep diving hardbodies

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fished extremely slowly will work for the lure fishers, and again baits like pilchard and crab will produce results for bait fishers. Estuary perch continue their migration to the lower sections of the river in preparation for the right conditions to spawn, and early signs show this isn’t far off. As with the bream these fish can become quite finicky with early mornings proving to be the most productive. It’s quite unusual to catch estuary perch on bait as they

tend to hunt live baitfish predominantly. Using your sounder to mark schooled fish in specific areas is the way to go. Once you’ve found them then use lures such as vibes, soft plastics and deep diving hardbodies. Mulloway are still prolific in the river with the middle reaches holding huge numbers of undersized fish. This is a great sign for the future years as most of these fish are just undersize at 50-55cm. As we start to see more rain, and in turn more

inflow into the river, the likelihood of large mulloway entering the system increases greatly. When the water flow is stronger and the river gets dirtier the large mulloway enter the estuary and hunt baitfish in this lower reaches. The slack water period at the top of the tide is the best time to target them and again vibes, large soft plastics, trolled hardbodies, and live baits such as mullet are the prime lures and bait to target the big fish.

Bream enthusiast Dave Standing with another solid bream from the Glenelg River. From page 11

overall better recruitment. For the first time in a decade the signs are positive for this fishery, but it is unclear how long it might take for stocks to fully recover. Whilst the short-tomedium term outlook may be reasonably positive, the longer-term outlook for this fishery is not. This is because southeastern Australia’s future climate is expected to become drier on average as consequence of anthropogenic global warming. Projected decreases in rainfall coupled with increased temperature and evaporation rates are expected to reduce run-off across southeastern Australia by between 20–36% by 2060. If the relationship between river flows and recruitment

holds for sand flathead in PPB, then a drier climate is likely to herald less optimal conditions for sand flathead recruitment over the longer-term. In other words, the chances of flathead eggs and larvae encountering favourable conditions are likely to decrease in the medium to long term. A FINAL MESSAGE Regardless of the future management settings adopted, sustainable recreational fishing practices should be promoted within this fishery. This should include encouraging the use of circle hooks over conventional hooks. This can greatly reduce the incidence of the deep hooking that is the main cause of the high mortality of released sand flathead. Experimental fishing studies on sand flathead in Tasmania have shown that

100% of fish hooked in the lip or mouth survived, compared to only 64% of fish that were ‘deep’ hooked in the throat or gut. Over 99% of fish caught using circle hooks survived compared to 94–97% of fish caught with conventional hooks. Led by Alastair Hirst, the DEPI research team, has delivered a thorough report that squarely addresses anglers’ concerns about the Port Phillip Bay sand flathead fishery and gives the clearest possible pointers on management actions and continued monitoring. It looks like an excellent investment of Recreational Fishing License funds and warrants an equally thorough evaluation by anglers and fisheries managers.

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From trout to tuna, it’s on WARRNAMBOOL

Mark Gercovich mgercovich@hotmail.com

July may be the depths of winter but there are plenty of good weather and poor weather options in the South West to keep anglers enthused. May is usually a great time to get offshore, however this year a protracted period of strong winds frustrated anglers eager to get out amongst the tuna, gummy shark and other offshore species. Thankfully one of the great things about this area is the wide variety of fishing options. The best time to walk banks of the local streams is when the wind and rain has put paid to other plans. Trout and good-sized freshwater EP and even the odd bream can make for an entertaining session for those prepared to pick up a light spin rod, a few lures and do some walking. As we move further into July the waters can dirty up so targeting the runs as opposed to the deeper areas you target when the water is clearer usually works best. Come July these larger EP should have moved from the fresh down to the estuary

Stickbait-eating bluefin are about as exciting as fishing gets! section of the Hopkins River as part of their spawning routine. The Hopkins estuary

has been full, cold and pretty quiet fishing wise recently although the mouth was

opened in late May, which often gets things moving on the fishing front as well. When windows of decent weather popped up later in May there were still plenty of tuna around. As per usual these fish were quite flighty and difficult some days, particularly if you were trying to get a trolling spread anywhere near them. However, by thinking about the wind direction and the way the fish appear to be moving and watching the birds and the direction they were heading or looking, it was possible to be successful by good boat positioning and casting into the fish. Stickbaits, like the Daiwa Overthere Skipping and Zipbait Monsoon Breaker, continue to be successful weapons of choice in this situation amongst many anglers. Watching a tuna demolish your stickbait in front of you and then take off at a million miles an hour is as good as fishing gets. Offshore wasn’t all about tuna with plenty of gummy shark and the odd decent snapper coming in. Nathan

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McSween took a 45kg mako in only 25m of water from a small tinnie. July often throws up similar scenarios; days and even weeks at time when offshore fishing is not possible but also chances of clear, cool and calm weather where

tuna and bottom fish can be targeted in ideal conditions. Keen surf anglers also love this time of year to target the salmon and some big yellow eye mullet that can show up in good numbers along beaches such as Levis and East beaches.

School tuna still out PORTLAND

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Freshwater EP are a great option when the wind blows.

Nigel Fisher

The year is certainly travelling along with the tuna fishing starting to draw to a close for another year. We have had another reasonable season with the tuna despite weather that has made it harder this year with early rain and winds that have caused some very big swells. The tuna season has been good, however, with an early start, then a run of barrels that got everyone excited and then back to school tuna and the odd good-sized one. We have had a few caught on bottom drops this year, which is very exciting as you don’t expect that to happen too often, and they have been big fish too. A few other interesting fish have also come up, such as Samson fish, amberjack and some smaller hapuka. The odd large turtle has been seen cruising around and the odd sunfish, which get very large in the deeper water. The guys have also been getting blue eye, knife jaw, large flathead and grenadier in the deep water and closer in towards Cape Nelson and Bridgewater the fishing has been fine with flathead, gummy sharks, school sharks, snapper and the odd mako towards the lighthouse. The bay and north shore is still fishing OK with flathead on the drift and the odd big whiting still around. We should

start seeing more salmon schools around now and these are great to catch on light gear. The Breakwater has been a bit quiet but the odd shark at night and the odd pinky and salmon keep everyone happy. The Breakwater should start fishing a bit better from now onwards. The beaches have been hard with the weather and weed build up, especially around the north, but we should start seeing salmon and some good winter sharks. The river systems had been fishing OK for bream and the odd perch and mulloway in the Fitzroy. We generally see some

good shark fishing from now on and the makos are always a prize target. Trumpeter fish and snapper in the deeper water should also keep anglers on their toes. Then, it’s not long before the snapper start showing up on the Breakwater again. Let’s hope the winter months are kind to us and let the fishing continue. • For all your weather and fishing reports, call the team at Portland Compleat Angler on (03) 5521 1844 or call in at 61 Bentinck Street next to the Gordon Hotel. We also have fishing licences, regulation books and stickers available in store.

The tuna are thinning out, but a few stragglers are still out there to be caught.

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Bream recover after flush and SBT go crazy earliest a manual opening of the mouth can go ahead. Meanwhile, the bream are responding to baits such as local shrimp and greyback minnow. Other baits such as pipi meat, frozen packet prawn and river whitebait are working on a given day. May and June saw the Gellibrand River at Princetown in flood mode with the Great Ocean Road blocked to traffic at one stage. As the ‘Gelli’ flows out of the Otway Ranges, this coastal band of forested hills attracts a lot of moisture from the Southern

COBDEN

Rod Shepherd

May has seen schooling southern bluefin tuna move right along our coastline heading eastwards and hugging the shore. Smaller ocean going vessels have been able to easily access depths around 30m, which only lies several kilometres offshore at the most. From Warrnambool right through to Apollo Bay some serious tuna action has taken place with fish to 12km falling to a wide variety of lures including the popular octopus style plastics. It’s a shame that hardly any adequate boat launching facilities for use by the general public lie between Warrnambool (which needs work) and Apollo Bay. Boat Bay at Peterborough requires 4WD vehicles and launching is dependent on the tide. If you want to launch at Port Campbell, a crane licence, winch strapping and brackets welded to your boat is just about what you need for access to an incredible amount of fishable coastline… The Curdies estuary has been a tad up and down of late with most bream being caught

have been taken throughout daylights hours and fishing at dawn, dusk and after dark has not been necessary. Good sea mullet to 40cm and small juvenile salmon to 33cm have greedily taken lures and bait aimed mainly at bream. It’s good to see this special estuary recover so well after the massive fish kill that occurred only two or so years ago. It’s very important to practice catch and release when it comes to bream and perch just so hopefully a half decent spawning can take place in the near future.

Tuna are having a ball APOLLO BAY

Daniel Kent apollobaysurfshop@bigpond.com

Although small at the moment, it’s pleasing to catch and release a Gellibrand bream. from the lower reaches of the river to just out in the lake along the channel markers. The cooler weather is killing off some of the colossal weed

growth thus opening up more fishable ground out in the lake. Plus, thanks to recent heavy rainfall the system is filling and hopefully by July at the

All you need to worry about are the fish GOLD SERVICE DEALER

Ocean and as the locals say, ‘If it doesn’t rain for a week, we’re having a drought.’ The ‘drought’ has been well and truly broken and the estuary has received a good flush out or two with seawater slowly pushing back up into the system. Bream to 33cm have taken baits such as earthworm and small yabby mainly in the lower reaches. When floodwaters have settled, estuary perch to 38cm have responded well to minnow lures cast close to the bank in the upper reaches of the estuary. The perch

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What a mixed up month of fishing it has been around Apollo Bay! Just when the tuna got into full swing, a big two week blow stirred the sea and since then the tuna have been very scarce. This month my tip is that everything will be back to normal and the fish will have returned as there has been lots of bait schools sighted again in recent days. It was this time last year when the big fish turned up again so make sure you are prepared for everything when out on the water. The lack of tuna has meant more people stopping for a bottom bash and the results have been surprising. Excellent captures of snapper have been coming from the Cape Otway area along with the usual gummy shark reports. A few mates have been catching large flathead out from Blanket Bay in 40m but I don’t expect them to hang around. During the winter is when they’re in their lowest numbers but if

The Aire River has been the place to be when chasing black bream in recent weeks. home to some big calamari squid recently. Casting a 2.5 sized squid jig around should see you get into some action but don’t expect lots of numbers, just better then average sizes. The Aire River has been firing for black bream with bait and lure fishers catching good numbers of fish from around the camp grounds. Try fishing at low tide when the river is at its lowest level as this has been when the bream have been

Road bridge as the closed season does not encompass this part of the river. Try trolling small hardbodied lures from the junction with the Ford River up to the Ocean Road bridge. Another option for trout is the West Barwon Dam at Forrest. Here both brown and rainbow trout have been caught from the dam wall. Casting winged lures or small hardbodied lures works, as does bait fishing.

The tuna fishing was slow last month but with the bait balls returning I’m tipping that this July is going to be excellent. you do happen to drift over a patch then make sure you get yourself a nice feed. The harbour has been 16

JULY 2015

feeding most vigorously. This river is also still available to fish for brown trout below the Great Ocean

Some of the rainbow trout have been up around 5lb in weight and in excellent condition.

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Adjust and conquer in the cold GEELONG

Neil Slater slaterbunch@optusnet.com.au

Winter fishing in the region can be tough and anglers need to adjust to the change in seasons to consistently catch fish. Australian salmon have been hunting in packs inside Corio Bay. They have been seen busting up within casting distance of the Geelong waterfront and anglers trolling surface lures have encountered them aswell, with most fish around a 1kg in weight. The Geelong waterfront has been fishing well recently, with anglers fishing soft plastics from dusk into the night catching plenty of fish. Flathead from legal length to 40cm, plus the odd small pinkie snapper have been caught but expect these to taper off as things get colder. I fished the Geelong waterfront with Andreas Rohringer around dusk recently, and despite fishing hard we didn’t raise a scale. Andreas fished Rippleside before our effort and caught a King George whiting of around 35cm on pipis, which made for some fine Sunday dining.

CORIO BAY Rock and sand flathead are also available to those anglers fishing inside Corio Bay. Drifting cut pilchards in 5-10m of water has proven productive off St Helens, Curlewis and Portarlington. Ross Winstanley had a go inside Stingaree Bay recently

there was a brown slimy weed covering everything he pulled up. I fished with my six year old son Max, Adam Foord and his nine year old son Byron in excellent conditions out off Portarlington recently. The dads’ primary goal was to get a few flathead for the

the hook at the edge of the boat, but Adam offered his bluebait to it again and it hooked up for a second time. Other anglers fishing one the same day had some success on squid casting and drifting in the shallows near Grassy Point. Rod Ludlow from

Flatties have been out a little deeper lately.

Byron and Max paraded their Portarlington flatties around the house. where he found going a little tough, catching only two whiting, but what they lacked in numbers they made up for in size. Ross says that he was pestered by undersized snapper, banjo sharks, and

kids, and although the kids’ primary goal was to rid the boat of chips and soft drink, we did manage a couple of fish. The best flathead, 43cm, of the trip was caught by Adam. The flathead spat

Beachsea Boat Hire at Indented Head says things have been a little slow due to the wind over the last month but he did have some clients catch their bag limit of squid near the Prince George light.

Rod says the flathead have been hard to find but a few anglers have caught them drifting off Indented Head. The squid have also been a little light on but what has been caught has been of good size. Governors Reef and the Prince George Bank off St Leonards and Indented Head should be the first

place to try. Rod notes that the month’s highlight has been some ripper whiting to 45cm that have been caught by anglers fishing out off St Leonards. Rod says the ebb tide has been best, with the shallows at St Leonards Pier and Swan Bay the pick. Work colleague Adam Jordan had

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a crack here recently, and despite catching a loan 40cm whiting early, had a quiet session. QUEENSCLIFF I had a crack out off Queenscliff with Stewie Turner and Dave Reynolds last month. We met Ben McLean and his son Gus out there and headed around to the Lonsdale Bight hoping for a squid. Gus caught two small calamari in quick succession, while Dave boated a fat calamari with a hood length over 35cm after swapping his squid jig to the same colour Gus had on, orange. We headed around near the pilot jetty to try for some whiting. Ben and Gus caught eight between them using Gus’ fresh squid plus some pippies, then headed home around 5pm satisfied with an enjoyable day on the water. We stuck it out until dusk and caught eight whiting between us, on a combination of squid and pipis. Speaking to a few anglers at the ramp, Swan Bay entrance was fishing well for squid with one angler boating ten in quick succession. He also left them biting as he headed home. Another angler I spoke to had good catches of flathead caught drifting in 8m of water on pilchards and blue bait. Tony Mackenzie took

his boys out recently and fished in clear and calm conditions off Queenscliff for good result. They fished in around 2m of water near the entrance to Swan Bay and were harassed by undersized whiting. Seeking something a bit longer, they headed to deeper water off St Leonards where they bagged half a dozen reasonable flathead. PORTARLINGTON Whiting have been caught from near the mussel farms to Portarlington in 5-8m of water, while calamari have been caught by anglers drifting over the shallow weed beds not far from the Clifton Springs boat ramp. Wurdee Buloc reservoir continues to produce big redfin in excess of 45cm for those putting in the hours. The most productive technique has been bouncing soft plastic minnow imitations slowly along the bottom. Michael saw a few trout mouching around on the surface and managed to get a 3” Fish Arrow Flash J lure within range. He hooked and landed a nice brown that measured 56cm and weighed a hefty 2kg. Bradley Cox fished with Michael Evans casting and retrieving soft plastics from the bank. It turned out to be

a good session as the lads caught ten redfin 44-51cm in length. Brad’s 51cm fish weighed 1.91kg. Mick Allardyce from

tailor. Mick notes that tailor show up around this time of year and you need a bit of luck to stay connected if you’re not prepared as they

Anglesea are still being kept busy with large numbers of small bait stealing snapper keeping anglers on their toes. Mick says that fishing

Wurdee Buloc Reservoir continues to produce quality redfin and trout as Michael can attest. Allyweld Group says Brendan Morgan dusted off the spin rod and hit the local beaches landing salmon and

have some razor sharp teeth that can easily cut through light line. Anglers fishing from boats for whiting off

in general off Anglesea has been tough with not much other than gurnards on offer for those drifting for flathead.

ANGLESEA RIVER Matt Wakefield took his sons Trae and Riley down to the Anglesea River hoping to nab a bream or two. Using raw chicken for bait, they caught and released plenty of undersized bream. Matt says the kids were more excited about the fishing than the chocolate frog he offered them later on. Mick notes that the Anglesea River mouth has been opened up to the sea, as a result, a deep gutter has formed just out front of the river mouth. Mick went down to flick a lure for salmon and had instant success hooking a ripper of 2kg first cast. Mick hooked one fish that took him further up the beach and he could not gain any line on it. The fish eventually gained its freedom by throwing the hook. 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 997348. 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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Sneaking out on the water between cold fronts, and those incessantly strong northwesterlies we’ve received so far this winter, continues to surprise with a good range of species still on offer across Port Phillip West, including the local tributaries. AVALON TO POINT COOK Australian salmon have arrived in big numbers inside Corio Bay, occasionally busting up bait within range of land-based anglers throwing lures from the Geelong waterfront. Metal slugs and soft plastics have been getting the job done on these speedsters, especially at first and last light, which is when they seem to be venturing closer to shore. Those casting from a small boat have also been

doing exceptionally well, with small to medium size pinkie snapper and flathead making up a good mixed bag alongside the salmon. Garfish are also expected to show up at Corio Bay this month providing land-based anglers with another viable option through winter. The combination of light line, small hooks and a pencil style float, coupled with baits of silverfish or maggots and a little berley to attract fish into the immediate area, is the key to consistently catching gars. Once again, Dan Mizzi enjoyed some success along the 10-12m line off Werribee South with both gummy sharks and the odd winter red showing up on the rising tides. Dan says fresh salmon fillet has been by far the bait of choice in recent weeks. Michael Felsovary from Hooked on Bait and Tackle says squid have again been

relatively active between Wyndham Harbour and Campbells Cove. When the water is clear, squid have been pushing in quite close along the 3m line, but they have also been taken out wider in up to 6m of water. According to Mick, it’s just a matter of covering some ground and working out where they are on any given day. ALTONA TO WILLIAMSTOWN Closer to Melbourne, Apex Park at Altona has been the pick for those in search of squid. Further around at Williamstown Beach, good size flathead to 45cm continue to provide some surprising winter action and a tasty meal for those throwing soft plastics just beyond the reef. Pinkie snapper have also been prevalent just out from Williamstown Football Ground, especially when a high tide change coincides with sun up and sun down.

Kayak enthusiast Joel Bramble snared a few pinkie snapper on soft plastics amongst the jetty pylons at Port Melbourne.

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Dan Mizzi displays a somewhat unexpected, but very welcome, winter red taken on a salmon fillet intended for a gummy shark in 12m of water off Werribee South.

Over at Port Melbourne, kayak enthusiast Joel Bramble snared a few pinkies on soft plastics amongst the jetty pylons. Due to the clear conditions, Joel was forced to scale back the diameter and of his fluorocarbon to leader to just 4lb breaking strain. While this did the trick in terms of encouraging the fish to bite, extracting them from the ruined remains of the old Princess Pier proved a real challenge. Although many of the larger reds easily won their freedom, Joel did manage to subdue a few to 40cm or thereabouts, which he says was good fun on light tackle. Z-Man GrubZ did the trick for Joel on this occasion. METROPOLITAN RIVERS Nathan Wright has been doing the rounds of the local land-based structures in search of bream over the past month

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Cashing in on an exceptional run of mulloway in Melbourne, both land-based bait anglers and the local lure brigade have been equally successful so far this season. This school-sized mulloway of approximately 70cm clobbered a Berkley Powerbait 4” Nemesis as it dropped back down to the bottom during a pause in the retrieve.

for some encouraging results. Prospecting the entrance to the Yarra River at Williamstown, Nathan managed eight bream early one morning on live crab during the incoming tide. Fishing with just 3lb line for a stealthy presentation made for some anxious moments amongst the barnacle-encrusted pylons, but good angling skills ensured more battles were won than lost.

Further upriver, those in the know have been cashing in on an exceptional Melbourne mulloway season to date. Both land-based bait anglers fishing under the cover of darkness and the local lure brigade bouncing blades and paddle-tail soft plastics amongst the bridge pylons have been equally successful on the resident mulloway, some of which encountered of late have

been well in excess of the magic metre mark! On the bream scene, Werribee River has been producing reasonable numbers averaging 30-35cm up above the island and through to the cliffs where small freshwater yabbies have been a winner. As was the case at this time last year, big schools of rather large yellow-eye mullet have entered the system. At this stage, most have been

holding nearer the entrance where those fishing with baits of raw chicken and dough from the jetty at Werribee South have been doing well. FAMILY FISHING LAKES If you’re looking for an alternative venue to occupy the kids during the upcoming school holidays, the local Family Fishing Lakes are primed and ready for action. Courtesy

of Fisheries Victoria, more than 50 small waters dotted throughout the state have received a top up of advanced yearling rainbow trout. Once the trout settle in they generally respond well to particle baits such as corn, maggots or Powerbait nuggets presented on a small hook under a float. A lightly weighted running sinker rig also does the job nicely.

West of Melbourne, Family Fishing Lakes exist at Melton, Keilor, Sunbury, Lethbridge, Bannockburn and Geelong. These waters (normally less than 5ha in surface area) provide safe access for juniors and anglers with limited mobility. BEEN FISHING? Reports and images are most welcome and may be submitted via email to blhodgey@hotmail.com.

Left: If you’re looking for an alternative venue to occupy the kids during the upcoming school holidays, the local Family Fishing lakes are primed and ready for action. Right: Picking gaps between cold fronts, and some incessantly strong northwesterly winds, continues to surprise with a good range of species, including some fine bream, which are on offer throughout the winter months.

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Keep warm and don’t miss out this winter PORT PHILLIP EAST

Lee Rayner info@fishingfever.com.au

The calendar said it was the first day of winter in June and didn’t it make its presence felt? An icy blast and cold miserable weather to let us know what we are in for over the coming months. On the upside, the fishing just seems to be getting better – either the fish are loving the cold water, or perhaps anglers are getting better at catching numbers of fish at this time of the year. Either way, I think anyone who has been fishing over the past weeks would agree it’s well worth getting the warm clothing on and getting a line in the water. If there is one constant at this time of the year, then it’s the squid fishing, which just seems to get better each year and this one it seems is no different with good number sof calamari on offer all along this part of the bay. Then, just to mix it up a bit, there are plenty of other species on offer with some crazy snapper action taking place for both land-based and boat anglers. Anglers have been finding numbers of snapper

over the 5kg mark, which is making everyone question when snapper season starts and finishes. MORDIALLOC TO BLACK ROCK Mordialloc Pier has been fishing well for squid of an evening, especially if it coincides with a tide change, while during the day there have been the continued raids from schools of Australian salmon, which race in from time to time to harass the local baitfish before disappearing as quickly as they came. For the most part, however, the pier has fished consistently well for standard sized garfish during the day, and some really big ones at night, with best baits definitely being maggots and silverfish. Some anglers have also reported that they have been getting some of the bigger garfish by using a paternoster rig on the bottom rather than the standard float rig. In the creek itself, now is mullet time as the local angers get stuck into the big yellow eye mullet, which are in good numbers at present. In Beaumaris Bay, boat anglers have still been getting into the salmon action with good numbers of these high flyers to be found in the 1-1.5kg

size. Either keep an eye out for the birds or try trolling some diving minnow pattern lures to find the schools. It’s also worth keeping an eye on the shallows around Parkdale and Mentone as the salmon have also been pushing the bait into the shallow gutters only a few metres from shore. As an added bonus the big blue spot flathead don’t seem to be slowing down with a lot of anglers getting numbers of fish on plastics and baits slowly hopped across the bottom. I don’t want to get on my soap box but it seems that the flathead fishing is getting better in this part of the bay, and with some good management will definitely get even better. And while the bag limit might be 20 per person, it probably doesn’t mean you need to take that many per angler – just remember, that’s 40 fillets, and a lot of these fish are well over 30cm in size. Beaumaris Pier is fishing well for squid and if this July fires like last year then the coming weeks will see the pier turn black with ink. A few anglers are again finding better sized squid by fishing larger jigs in the 3.5 size. There have also been some big snapper in the area, so it’s

also worth getting a larger bait out – no matter what time of the day it is. From Ricketts Point to Black Rock the pinkie snapper have been fishing well along the shallow reef areas with fish to 40cm among the hordes of smaller fish. In saying that, there has been some fish up and over the 3kg mark also taken by anglers fishing larger baits or plastics in the rougher conditions. SANDRINGHAM TO ST KILDA It’s that time of year again where there are some big bream on offer around the public jetty at Sandringham Yacht club, with some anglers finding success on these very cagey fish. The trick to getting these fish is light line, small hooks and good bait such as Bass yabbies, then cast them towards deeper water and hold on. There have also been some nice mullet in the area, so a fine berley mix and small baits suspended under floats should see you having some good fun. The rock groynes off Hampton have been producing some pinkies late in the evening with some very nice fish up to 45cm begin taken on a variety of baits, with

several anglers reporting that their better fish are coming on pieces of striped tuna fillet. Towards Green Point, the shallow reef area has good numbers of squid along with some quality garfish, which can be found throughout the whole area. Moving down towards Brighton, all the reef areas are producing squid and pinkies with the occasional report of some whiting being found. Brighton Breakwall has been a bit of a stand out over recent weeks with not only good numbers of squid but some really good sized ones as well, with more than the occasional squid over 1kg. Again, many anglers who are finding success on the bigger squid are saying that the bigger 3.0-3.5 sizes are generally producing the bigger ones, while colour choice has seen jigs with red, green and brown colours being popular. Up at North Road ramp, the area around the boat ramp has been producing plenty of squid for land-based anglers, as the squid have really been holding in close to shore, while straight out the front of the ramp in 6-8m of water there have been reports of pinkies up to 40cm.

ST KLDA TO PORT MELBOURNE Up at the very top end of the bay, areas like St Kilda to Port Melbourne can be like a hidden gem through this time of the year, and for those anglers prepared to put in the time and effort to work it out this part of the bay, there’s some great fishing to be had. Some excellent numbers of squid and red mullet have been found on the shallow reefs, there is also still the odd good whiting on the reefs near St Kilda marina. Out in the slightly deeper water its also a top time to be working the cungevoi beds that are found in the 5-8m of water, as these hold good pinkies and the odd much bigger snapper, however for many the prize at this time if year is the ling, which also live in the same areas. Down at Station Pier there have been some nice bream and trevally hanging around the pylons and in the shadows under the pier, so next time you’re there, rather than cast out as far from the pier as you can, try flicking a small bait back under the pier. You will probably get a shock at the quality of the fish living under your feet!

FISHING FILL-ITS

Melbourne Marine Centre – The new kid on the block Regular readers of the magazine will have noticed a new supporter of the magazine in Melbourne Marine Centre. Situated at 92 Hallam South Road, Hallam, Melbourne Marine Centre has a dedicated service department and will be selling fibreglass boats from Northbank Boats from South Australia, and aluminium boats from leading brand Stacer. These quality boats are matched with Mercury outboard motors, and the

There is plenty of customer parking and easy access to the workshop. Garmin range of electronics. I visited the team at Melbourne Marine Centre

and caught up with dealer principal Andrew Stephen and got a bit of a tour. They may

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be the new kids on the block as far as the dealership goes, however Andrew has worked in the industry for many years both in the motor and boat building side of things and has a great understanding of what people are looking for in a boat and what is best suited to a customer’s needs. I enjoyed having a chat with Andrew and going through his plans. He was a little embarrassed with the lack of boats in his showroom (his Stacer range hadn’t arrived yet), but there was no need to be embarrassed as the size of the showroom was impressive and I can imagine how good it will look with boats and motors set up for customers to look at. He did have three Northbank boats in the showroom including the 550C, which we recently tested for the magazine (see V&TFM June 2015). Northbank boats are well put together and finished and will

Top: Northbank fibreglass boats are ideally suited for everything that Victoria’s various bays and offshore options can throw at you. Above: Melbourne Marine Centre is all about service and the right advice. meet the needs of Victoria’s bay and offshore anglers incredibly well. If you are in the area and are looking to upgrade your boat, looking for a new boat, have a service or repairs done

or simply need some friendly advice stop in and see Andrew and his team. You can also look them up on the web www.melbournemarine. com.au or contact them on 03 9703 2003.

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Red hot fishing in icy conditions PORT PHILLIP EAST

Wayne Friebe wfriebe@bigpond.net.au

Just to keep us honest once again, the winter weather has well and truly set in over the bay. The coldest start to a Melbourne winter since 1946 has a rather icy ring to it, and anyone who has been out on the water over the last month or so will be sure to attest to the drop in temperature. While we have unfortunately had to ride our way through some very strong and persistent westerly and northwesterly

winds over the past month on the bay, the cool and calm winter days that many anglers look forward to have been a fairly regular occurrence in between. Hopefully the predicted calmer days in the next couple of months will prevail and more prolonged fishing opportunities will be the result for everyone on the bay. Although the persistent onshore winds and wild weather are not every anglers’ idea of a fun day on the bay, a quick scroll through social media and local tackle store reports will be sure to get you more motivated. Some real ripper snapper

have been landed over the past month during adverse weather from many of the better, and lesser-known rock and pier land-based locations. Mount Martha has been the real hotspot, but further north and south of these areas has also produced some lovely reds as well. It’s worth noting that the anglers that prevail in these condition are normally well prepared, and equipped. Take care fishing from the rocks or pier during rough weather, and my advice is to fish with a mate. Not only for safety reasons, but also to help land your prize when it all comes together. Bait selection is not

through winter, but still the majority pack up the boat when the footy starts! Take my advice, you’re missing out on lots of fun, less traffic at the ramp, and a quality feed of fish as well. During the right conditions, there has been some ripper calamari fishing on offer, both from the boat and from the bank. When the rainwater influences are not as strong, expect the larger breeding squid to move right into the shallows on the flood tides, especially if this is just after dark. Further south on the bay, this will happen right through the day, but the peak time in our part of

Mornington Pier has produced some bigger calamari at night on the right tides, and also when other land-based locations are not fishable. is the prime time to target the pinkies and other fish on offer on the inshore

mooching schools of fish. When feeding, the sambos will eat almost anything, but when they are lying doggo on the bottom in a bay beach gutter, they can be a little harder to tempt. Try to imitate the local bait as closely as possible, and fish as light as you can. A soft plastic of about 3” in a white or ghost pearl colour seems to be best. And if you’re looking for some tasty treats for the fry pan, or some baits for later in the year, there’s plenty of gars about as well. While they seem to be most prolific further north in the bay at the moment, I have had several reports from Frankston and Seaford Piers, Canadian Bay and Daveys Bay as well. Keep the berley flowing for best results. Maggots, silverfish and small pieces of fresh peeled prawn are prime baits. Sadly, I have not spent much time bream fishing in my beloved Patto of late, but a string of messages over recent times from my mate Dale Baxter assures me it’s fishing well. Dale has been landing some real crackers from his Hobie kayak fishing Cranka Crabs around the piers and pontoons throughout the canals.

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super crucial, bear in mind that the snapper coming in close during a big blow are looking for food so they will take most baits, including fresh squid, pilchards and fish fillet baits that stay on the hook. The spinoff from all the land-based reports has been a real spike in the numbers of anglers putting their boats on the water and trying their luck for a red or two. Many of the bays anglers fish

the world is around dark. The squid will tend to be grouped in tight numbers, too, at this time of year so a walk down the bank or a drift along a reef will often be hit and miss, depending on the location and size of the reef. I like using bigger jigs at this time of year, and I reckon you get a more aggressive response from the squid as a result. The bonus of fishing at this time of day is that this

reefs. Early morning starts will also be productive, but the afternoons seem to be best. Also expect to catch red mullet, flatties and pike, especially when fishing soft and hardbodied lures from a drifting boat. Salmon numbers continue to be very solid with some nice sized fish being reported, especially by the kayak boys who can use the stealth of their craft to sneak right up on feeding and

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Piscatorial gold in the cold MORNINGTON PENINSULA

Dan Lee info@peninsulatotaltackle.com.au

Although we might have returned to El Nino conditions this year, I am not sure anyone told the Mornington Peninsula as we certainly kicked into winter with some terribly wet and blowy weather! Fishing can certainly be a challenge at this time of year – motivation’s often the hardest part. But for those thinking about their fishing, there are often opportunities that present in these conditions, which can still see you come home with some remarkable fish. SNAPPER On that note I will start with a report from one of our good customers Ben Calamatta, who did just that in one of the horrible northwesterly blows we were having. Situating himself on the rocks at Mornington he used the windy, onshore conditions, knowing that this is the time that snapper come into the shallows to feed. It was the middle of the day and low and behold he has two runs, one of which results in an

absolute thumping snapper that weighed 8.56kg and measured 91cm. The beauty of this catch is that it shows what you can do without getting the boat out and going through the rigmarole of packing, cleaning, getting up early etc. Well done Ben, a terrific catch! In another snapper story, we have had a few extremely high barometers

push through, which again can be typical of this time of year. Good mates Gawaine Blake and John Cahill saw one of these events with the barometer pushing well into the 1030s and decided that if snapper were going to chew in winter, it would be on that day! Sure enough, the boys pulled a lovely winter red weighing in at 7.8kg. A genuine ripper

caught off Mt Martha. AUSTRALIA SALMON On the beach fishing front, we have had consistent if not hot fishing over the last four weeks. More and more anglers are spinning lures for salmon and enjoying the results but the humble old blue baits has also been catching salmon often between 1-1.8kg at Gunnamatta. For the bait

Ben Calamatta with a remarkable winter, land-based snapper taken on the Mornington rocks that went 8.56kg!

John Cahill with a magnificent 7.8kg Mt Martha red. Photo courtesy of EBB Tide.

fishos, we have been selling quite a lot of chartreuse coloured poppers, which seem to be the flavour of the month. If you want to spread your wings a little and try some different local back beaches, I would recommend a drive down to Portsea. Sometimes it is worth going at low tide just to scope out where the reefy sections are and where you might find a good sand hole at high tide. The same goes for Rye and St Andrews back beach – which have

more reef again but do have some fishable holes. Inside the bay, we have seen schools of salmon appearing at some of the local piers such as Rye and Blairgowrie. Despite this, we haven’t seen that big hold-up of fish, grouping in one area like we have the last couple of years. Last year a massive school stopped at Tootgarook and literally hung around in the shallows for a number of weeks. It will be interesting to see if this phenomenon occurs again.

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WHITING I, commented in last months report that the whiting fishing through autumn was some of the best we have had for the year. Well, it’s pleasing to report that this has continued for another month with good captures still being regularly taken by local anglers getting out on the occasional calm days. While I am a big advocate for fishing the ebb tide for whiting, don’t let this stop

you having a crack during the flood as I have had a couple of customers swear that the best bites they have had in recent weeks have been at the start of the rising tide. The whiting reports have come from far and wide these last few weeks with fish taken at the Pinnace Channel, off The Sisters, at The White Lady and down Portsea. It will be interesting to see if they continue through July or we

have to start making the trek over to St Leonards where a lot of fish generally hold during winter. SQUID To cut a long story short, on the whole, squid have been good. This has probably been with the exception of weeks where we had considerable wind and rain, which muddied the inshore grounds making them a bit hard to find. However, most weeks the water has cleared reasonably

Gawaine Blake proving there is still plenty of flathead by-catch for the whiting angler.

Doug Kaegi with a very healthy salmon taken while spinning lures down at Gunnamatta.

quickly and anglers have again been able to find a bag. Sizes have been pretty good this year with hoods in the 20-30cm range pretty common. Squid fishing is still a pretty good option for a couple of hours of fun. LOOKING AHEAD As we roll into August I always feel that we are

through the worst of winter. Sure, it can still be cool and windy but September and spring are only a moment away. No doubt there will be early snapper anglers out in the next month and many will focus on doing a bit of bait collecting for the upcoming spring season. For my money we

often see good numbers of silver trevally around the pier structures at this time of year and that can be great fun for a bit of light tackle action! • For more information drop in and see the boys at Compleat Angler Rosebud, 11 Boneo Rd, Rosebud, or call (03) 5981 1994.

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Snapper time is here! WST PORT NTH

Adam Ring

We are well and truly into winter now and boy does it feel like it! It’s cold and wet but there are still some good fish being caught. Believe it or not snapper would have to be one of the more consistent species getting caught at the moment! There is a lovely little late season run happening at the moment and most fish have been rather large too. LAND-BASED Before we get to the snapper reports I will start off with a little bit of landbased action from Lang Lang. There have been quite a few locals fishing off the beach on the high tide and picking up a nice feed of gummy shark. It can sometimes be a case of wading through a few

Matt Jackson’s beast from Joes Island.

Tyabb calamari at their best

Ian D’Argaville with his Bouchier Channel snapper. small, undersized fish, but persistence will see you leave with a nice legal fish for a feed. Most of the reports are of fish being taken on pilchards and squid, but a lot of the kayak

fishers in the area get a little bag of fresh tiger prawns from the supermarket, and do quite well on them, so it may be worth a shot. There are also a few late season elephants still around in

the shallow water too, and they’re good fun for those who haven’t caught them before. I also received a report from a young fella by the name of Josh who has been

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fishing with his old man off the bank at Blind Bight and getting stuck into some very chunky mullet. Mullet are great fun for the kids, and are a good excuse to get them out of the house on a nice winter day. SNAPPER AND GUMMIES Now onto these beautiful winter reds. It has been a crazy little run of winter fish, and it’s always exciting to see numbers of these fish caught, particularly for this time of year. Ian D’Argaville put in a few hours up the Bouchier Channel recently and bagged a nice solid snapper on fresh calamari. Bouchier is a great place to start for a winter red too as there are loads of gummies up there at the moment, so even if the snapper fishing is a little slow you can still go home to the family with a nice fresh feed of flake. If you really want to get stuck into these snapper then I would most definitely be heading to Joes Island. Matt Jackson, Trent Dickinson and Scott McNabb have all spent various days up there, and all come home with at least one big snapper. Matt fished in 9m of water and got his on the run-out tide on a fresh calamari ring, Trent also got his fish on fresh squid, and it weighed in at 7.5kg. Scott has also been finding fish to 6kg in the same area. CALAMARI You will notice that the common denominator in all of these snapper captures is fresh calamari, it is 100% crucial for these cagey reds and lucky for us catching this tasty little critter is quite easy to catch. The Quail and Tyabb Banks have loads of calamari on them at the moment and the only issue we are having is that a lot of them are too big to use as bait. Black artificial jigs in sizes 3 and 3.5 are responsible for most of the reports at this stage,

which makes sense as black stands out well in murkier coloured water that we get after a good dump of rain. 3-5m is the magic dept range, and make sure you stay on the move. Setting up a nice drift is a huge benefit, as you will find that a lot of the squid will be confined to small areas so the action can often be thick and fast. KING GEORGE WHITING I’m not going to lie here, the whiting fishing has been far from red hot. We have been getting a few reports of some good fish still schooling up on the

edges of the Middle Spit, but it is hard work. You can target them differently to try and maximise your chances though. Combine a whiting trip with a session on the squid. Rather than sit through two tides and hope the whiting fire up, time your trips around the tide. Get up on the shallow banks on slack water and get a bag of calamari and then move off to your whiting marks as the water starts to really move. Short and sharp sessions at the right time are the way to play it at this time of the year. As always, good luck, stay warm and keep those reports coming.

Pipah Gordon with a delicious flathead caught with a yabby.

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Rug up and head out! WESTERN PORT STH

Jarrod Day jarrodday@iprimus.com.au

Before I get into everything that’s been happening of late and what we have to look forward to this month, I do want to attempt to lift everyone’s spirits a little by saying that spring is only a few weeks away and yes, that means

snapper, warm weather and a lot less clothing when out fishing! I have never been one to ‘sugar coat’ a situation, and let me tell you, this winter weather has been nothing but utterly crap. One afternoon amongst the wind, rain and hail, I was just waiting for an iceberg to float into the Western Entrance with the tide. Thank goodness that didn’t happen, but despite

the blistering cold, you still couldn’t fault the fishing. It’s interesting to write about the success of anglers fishing the Port throughout the winter period and the main reason why is because if you do the math on the amount of boats that do head out to the quality of fish that are caught and reported, it is an amazing time to be out on the water. There is certainly one thing I have learnt over

Alan and Shirley managed to sneak out with Shaun Furtiere from Think Big Charters while the weather was calm and picked up a cracking 24kg gummy from the Port’s murky waters. the years and that is that a large majority of us seem to only like fishing when the weather is calm, warm and the fish are almost on tap so to speak, rather than fishing when it is cold, wet and fish are harder to find. Winter is certainly the bottom end of the fishing year, but you don’t have to think of it that way. Pick the weather window, rug up and get out amongst the cool water action. The water temperature might be at its all-time annual low at present but

Shaun Furtiere from Think Big Charters guided his client ‘Patto’ onto this nice gummy fit for king.

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over the next few weeks, Western Port will do the 360° flip and begin to get warmer, but in the mean time there are plenty of fish being caught. The winter snapper run certainly wasn’t as productive as last year but still some quality reds have and are being caught. Stories of good snapper have been reported with Jason Monk landing a 7.8kg snapper from near Buoy 15 in the Western Entrance as well as two other fish around the 4kg mark.

Peter Appleseed managed also managed some nice snapper when fishing for elephants in Gardeners Channel. Peter was fishing right in the mouth and managed two snapper both around the 5kg mark. Both fish took fresh calamari baits. Dan Lee from Rosebud Compleat Angler received a report from his customer Mason Shultze. Mason fished the Stony Point area one Friday night in 12m of water. Mason reports that just before the top of the

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high tide at around 9:30pm his rod buckled over and was hooked up to a cracking snapper. This fish weighed in at 9kg. Snapper aside, the gummy shark scene has also been very rewarding for those braving the cold conditions. Shaun Furtiere from Think Big Charters has consistently been working the Western Entrance and southern end of the North Arm with great success. Shaun has been putting his clients onto some

impressive fish of late while fishing the run-out tides. Clients Alan and Shirley managed to sneak out with Shaun while the weather was calm and picked up a cracking 24kg gummy from the Port’s murky waters. During another evening charter, Shaun guided his client ‘Patto’ onto a nice gummy fit for a king. In fact, at this size they are about the best for their eating quality. Other gummy sharks were also reported, such as Alison May’s 18kg

beast caught while fishing near Bouy 14 and Graham Bettle’s 8kg gummy which came from the Cowes Pier one cold evening. Further afield, the Lang Lang area has also been fishing well with the odd elephant continuing to be caught on the high tide. Gummy sharks are also an option for land-based anglers but it is imperative that a high tide is fished from this area. The freshest baits used will offer the best success such as calamari and small strips

Whiting have also been about but a little more challenging to catch.

Fishing during winter can be tough at times so increase your chances by using the best tackle you can.

of mullet or silver trevally which can be caught from the Corinella Pier. If you’re up for a little evening adventure, there has been quite a substantial amount of garfish being caught in Coronet Bay. The only difference though has been that anglers haven’t been catching them on rod and reel, rather they’ve using a dip net and flounder light. This has been the best technique during the high tides. There have also been

some very good reports of calamari being caught from the Flinders Pier. Fishing both during the day and night on the high tides has lead to some very impressive models being caught. Both baited and artificial jigs in a range of colours have been doing the damage. As we head closer towards September and the beginning of spring there will be a lot for changes in the Port. The wattle will begin to flower, the water temperature will rise and

snapper will flourish. If you are going to get all ‘snapper serious’, try to refrain until at least the end of the this month and then begin the hunt. In my experience, give Corinella and Spit Point the first lot of attention as this is where the fish are more likely to show up before spreading out throughout the Port by mid September. If you are going to head to these locations, don’t just dabble. Fish the entire tide, use fresh baits and you’ll be rewarded.

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Wayward winds of the west PHILLIP ISLAND

John Dalla-Rosa

Wind, wind and more wind. The last few months have been some of the windiest that I can ever recall. Nearly two successive weeks of gale force winds turned the waters in Western Port to dirty brown making catching a fish or two much more difficult. Usually, once the cold weather sets in this time of year most fishos tend to store their boats away for the winter months as the prime

fish species such as whiting and snapper have pretty much disappeared for the year. So I was quite surprised on a drive down to Hastings boat ramp the other Sunday to find the car park and the paddock full of cars and empty trailers. It seems that fishing has become more popular than ever as more and more boats hit the water. Who would ever have imagined having boat ramp rage in the middle of winter? I can see lots of problems arising this coming summer at our boat ramps. With all the money councils and

government are raking in, we desperately need new and larger boat ramps. SURF BEACHES Weather conditions have made it difficult to fish the beaches. Woolamai, Williamsons and Kilcunda beaches have been producing salmon to 1kg on the run-in tide. Whitebait has been the most consistent bait but finding places to fish to get away from all the floating seaweed has been difficult. SAN REMO AREA Below the Bridge The one area that you

could get some protection from the winds was just below the bridge in Cleeland’s Bight, which has been producing some good catches of calamari and a few whiting. Above the Bridge Land-based fishos have been doing okay on the calamari off the San Remo Jetty and there have been a few whiting reported at Dickie’s Bay, The Boy’s Home Channel and the mouth of the Bass River. Further up the Bay around Corinella the odd big snapper and small gummies have been caught.

John with a 2.5kg flathead caught recently off the beach at Balnarring.

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Abalone thieves dodge jail with a guilty plea A Korumburra magistrate has told two abalone thieves they only dodged jail because of their guilty pleas, before fining them a total of $12,500. The men, one aged 60 from Foster and the other aged 36 from Doncaster East, were seen taking abalone from a place known as Chicken Rock, in Waratah Bay, in December last year. The court heard plainclothes Fisheries Officers

watched them as they rode bikes to Chicken Rock. They dived for some time and took approximately 17 abalone altogether, before removing the meats from the shells on the reef beside the water. They began riding back towards Waratah Bay and were approached by the officers but did a U- turn and rode off at speed when asked to stop. They hid one bag of abalone, the bikes and two wetsuits in the bush, a second

bag of abalone was thrown into the water. After several hours hiding in the bush the men returned on foot to their car but were later intercepted by police before the Fisheries Officers arrived and arrested them. The case was heard by Magistrate Dunn in Korumburra where both pleaded guilty to obstruction of Fisheries Officers, failing to obey a direction to stop a vehicle, taking more than twice

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the catch limit for abalone and shucking abalone. The Magistrate said they were serious offences that struck at the heart of the abalone fishery and that fishing must be done in accordance with expensive licences that protect fish stocks and the people who invest in the fishery, as well as the public. The Foster man, who had prior fisheries convictions, was

convicted and fined $8,000, he was also ordered to pay costs. The other man was fined $4,500 with costs. All property was ordered forfeited and to be disposed of. Yarram Fisheries Officer Joel Sedgwick, said the catch limit for abalone is five per person per day and abalone must be not be taken from the inter-tidal zone (i.e., water that is less than 2m deep).

“They also need a recreational fishing licence, to use an abalone tool to take them, carry a measuring device and keep the abalone in the shell until the place of consumption,” Mr Sedgwick said. Anyone who sees or suspects illegal fishing activity is urged to call the 24 hour reporting line 13 FISH (13 3474). - DEDJTR

Time to spin the surf NINETY MILE BEACH

Will Thompson allwaysangling@bigpond.com

Winter is that time of year we all wait for those big salmon to head down our way along the Ninety-Mile Beach, and it’s finally here! There’s no better time to break out that spin rod and cast a few lures off the surf. From May until August you have a real chance of catching a monster salmon on the surf and with the amount of bait around at the moment, there will be an even better chance than usual of catching one in excess of 3kg. So far, the bait anglers

seem to be doing a bit better with anglers using blue bait, whitebait and surf poppers catching good salmon up to 2.5kg. The spin fishers are getting a few, however you need to try a few different beaches until you find them. Anglers walking towards Mcloughlins Entrance casting 30g and 40g slugs are doing well on fish between 30cm and 45cm and there has already been the odd fish to 3kg caught as well. A month ago we had massive bait schools wash up on shore and there was plenty of bird activity in the surf. Anglers fishing with bait ended up catching small

barracouta, which must have followed the bait schools in close to shore. Over the next month we will see large amounts of those smaller salmon move in and hang around in close to shore. In the meantime, those really big salmon should be here for a few more weeks, so get them while you can. • 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!

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This 106cm barra was caught by Julian Hall from Boats & More, Shepparton at Marsh Creek on the Mary River system on a Reidy’s B52.

Your fishing licence fees at work New fishing platform on the Tarwin River Fishing licence fees have helped the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority install a new fishing platform on the Tarwin River, between Venus Bay and Tarwin Lower. The platform improves bank access for anglers, including family groups, and joins seven other fishing platforms along the banks of the Tarwin River that have been built over the last decade or more. The new fishing platform complements other recent infrastructure nearby, including picnic facilities and a rotunda, installed by the South Gippsland Shire Council.

Learning more about mulloway The Nature Glenelg Trust used a $5,000 Small Grant to learn more about mulloway populations in several Victorian estuaries. The project relied heavily on anglers and the donation of mulloway frames for dissection. Twenty three volunteers who fished the Glenelg, Barwon, Fitzroy and Hopkins rivers, along with marine waters near Portland and off South Australia, donated 77 mulloway frames to the study, which began in August last year. Otoliths were analysed to reveal the age of each mulloway. All of the 77 mulloway were between three and eight years of age, but the majority were between three and four, highlighting the likely importance of estuarine habitats to early life stages of mulloway populations. These results were then compared to a previous Fisheries study that estimated the age of 133 mulloway collected from the Glenelg River between 2008 and 2011. Mulloway caught from this more recent study were generally longer at any given age. Fluctuations in age-at-length are not uncommon in estuarine species and have been observed in black bream populations elsewhere in Victoria.

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Winter wonders delight WELSHPOOL

Alan McFayden amcsayte@bigpond.net.au

Many boaters and landbased anglers are wondering what happened to summer, as we seem destined for a long and very cold winter. Having said that there are some bright spots with good numbers of kingfish turning up seemingly all over the place in this part of the world. Both close in and out wider as far as the Prom there have been reports of whiting near the surface being chased by the kingies, but there is no way they will take a hook, the kingfish that is. Out wide there have been reports of bronze whalers being bagged and one happy angler hooked into and landed a ripper that dragged the scales down to 200kg. FLATHEAD FUN Even though the fishing has been a bit slow there have been reasonable numbers of good size flathead and gummies and the occasional snapper taking squid baits on the run-out tide. The flathead seem to be the main catch at the moment, with many anglers bagging out both inside and outside the entrance on fish to 1.5kg. For some reason there hasn’t been a great deal of whiting caught, maybe because the flathead are too easy to catch. It’s amazing that flathead are seen by many boaters and landbased anglers to be little better than toadfish. It is hard to understand why people think this because

flathead are a sensational eating fish. Maybe it’s because they are considered too hard to clean and fillet. Once you get past this inconvenience though they’re generally smiles all around. Filleting and cleaning flathead is made easier when you use a sharp knife and a fork to hold the fish. There is no doubt that there are plenty of whiting to be caught, it’s just that there haven’t been any reported. This is hard to understand because to reach the flathead out wide boaters have to travel through quality whiting grounds. GARFISH For those who know where to wet a line there are very good numbers of garfish being caught on a variety of baits such as small pieces of pipis, worm and gents. There have been other species such as mullet of quite reasonable sizes being caught but these are largely considered a nuisance when the garfish are on the chew. I have received quite a few calls from anglers who say that the garfish are very tasty but the bones are a big problem. This can be easily over come with the use of a sharp knife to remove the fillet on either side of the fish, and then use a fork as previously described. The fork takes the place of fingers and after a bit of practice you will be amazed how easy it is. You will have garfish without any bones and will marvel just how good garfish taste. Just before this report I received a call from a Fisheries Officer who said

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that there have been many yellowfin whiting being caught at Corner Inlet. He was surprised, as these species are usually found further up the east coast. These fish are in the same family as the King George whiting but nowhere as big. The officer also said that although most anglers do the right thing there is always some who try to beat the system. There was one case where two offenders were caught with undersize flathead as small as 15cm. They were each issued with a $433 penalty notice, and if they don’t pay it will go to open court where they are faced with penalties up to $300, as well as loss of equipment, which includes vehicles. It sure makes for expensive fish.

Greg and Jan Beaumont look happy with their bream caught in local estuaries.

Fish are few and far between INVERLOCH

Alan McFayden amcsayte@bigpond.net.au

There have been plenty of land-based anglers and boaters trying their luck inside the entrance at Anderson Inlet but there’s been a lot of water between the fish making for trying days on the water. Whiting to 35cm have been on the chew for anglers fishing with Bass yabbies, sand worms, and pipis. Mullet and small silver trevally have also been in reasonable numbers, but again the numbers have not been all that impressive. Mahers Landing has been not much better and anglers are battling to put something on the plate. In the vicinity of the bathing boxes near the entrance a large lagoon has formed, and within this lagoon there have been many dead crabs and a variety of other fish washing up. The EPA was notified and

Amanda Kellar with an enormous pike! apparently there was no sign of any pollution or foul play. The birds had a feast on the dead and dying wildlife, but it would be recommended they are not suitable for human consumption. Hopefully there will be further explanation in the next edition of this magazine. SALMON Even though the big schools of salmon haven’t turned up at the time of this report they are not too far off. Experienced anglers know that when they make

an appearance fish to 4kg will take a variety of lures and baits. They will be accompanied by very good size silver trevally, but at the time of this report they have not yet bent a rod. Stevies Gutter is one of those places that can be hit and miss, but just before this report I received news that the area was firing. Eugene Davidson and a couple of mates decided to try their luck on a day that was flat calm. They rigged for whiting mainly, and it wasn’t

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Frank Seaton with a healthy 1.2kg bream caught in a local estuary.

long before they were into royals to 36cm, all caught on Bass yabbies. They arrived at high tide and fished the run-out for a few hours, and also managed some very nice perch, and a good size flathead. Just as I was compiling this report I received a report from Amanda Kellar who can be found out on the water at every opportunity. She will travel far and wide, and is not at all fussy what she catches in the process. Amanda sent me an email of a huge pike she caught that went just under a metre. TARWIN Tarwin have had many land-based anglers and a few boaters trying their luck, but it would be fair to say there has been plenty of water between these fish. Of course this can be explained away that the conditions have been awful and even though the water looks all right, the temperature is way down as it usually is at this time of year. Having said that there have been a few perch, silver trevally, mullet and eels being caught, and of course we all know that we can’t catch them at home.

VR Fish Update

Halting commercial netting a boost for the Bay VRFish, the recreational fishing peak body in Victoria has responded to recent stories in The Weekly Times about the Government plan to phase out netting in Port Phillip Bay. The Andrews Government has pledged $20 million towards a buyback of commercial licences and is setting a sliding cap on catches that will reduce commercial access as licences are removed from the fishery. VRFish Chairman Russell

Conway said, “This is a marked improvement on previous buyback programs that have tended to remove latent or less active licences, whilst commercial catch levels remain unchanged.” Geelong and District Anglers Association S e c r e t a r y, John Hotchin said, “The practice of setting hundreds of metres of nets across areas such as the inner and outer harbour of Corio Bay has been a

longstanding problem and our 7,000 members from the Bellarine Peninsula have overwhelming support for the plan.” VRFish has welcomed a $20 million injection of new funds, separate from revenue raised by our licence fees in the State Budget to commence the buyback program. This means vital services such as funding fisheries officers to patrol our waterways, restoring fish populations and habitat, plus funding fisheries

research and monitoring will continue to ensure our recreational fisheries are well managed.” Mr Conway added, “In response to longstanding concerns, both major parties committed to halting netting in the Bay prior to the Election. This is not a sustainability debate, it’s about planning for the future growth of recreational fishing in our biggest fishery Port Phillip Bay, and recognising recreational fishing is a higher value

use of our fish stocks in bays and inlets. “ The recreational fishery in Victoria is valued at $2.3 billion to the State economy and provides hundreds of jobs. The direct expenditure from recreational fishing in the Bay alone is worth more than $230 million annually. Over the last 15 years, commercial netting across Victorian bays and inlets has been phased out in places such as Mallacoota, Lake Tyers, Tamboon inlet, Shallow inlet, Anderson

Inlet, Sydenham inlet and Western Port. The $72 million Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery in offshore Commonwealth waters will continue to supply Victorian markets with the bulk of its fresh fish. We appreciate this is a challenging time for the Port Phillip Bay commercial industry and we support the need for close consultation with the fishers and fair and reasonable compensation by the Government.

VRFish are dismayed with SPFIA’s response VRFish, the peak body representing recreational fishers in Victoria, today echoed the disappointment of recreational fishing bodies around Australia over the industry response to a proposal to minimise the impacts of the Commonwealth Small Pelagic Fishery (SPF) on Australia’s recreational fisheries and marine life. Under the plan outlined by ARFF, the proposal would have affected less

than 10% of the 3 million square kilometres that the Geelong Star can fish as part of the Commonwealth SPF. The rejection of the ARFF proposal by SPFIA means that the Geelong Star is largely unrestricted in where and when it can fish. VRFish Chairman, Russell Conway said, “We are disappointed by the response from the SPFIA. We are left with no option but to firmly reject their offer on the basis that

it falls well short of our expectations to minimise the impacts of the SPF on our iconic recreational fisheries.” Dallas D’Silva, VRFish General Manager, added “High priority areas for Victoria at present include Apollo Bay, Warrnambool, Port Fairy and Portland. It is most disappointing that the SPFIA has not agreed to stay away from these high value recreational areas.” The recreational fishery

for Southern Bluefin tuna in Portland alone has been conservatively valued at $10 million annually and relies heavily on the aggregations of bait fish targeted by the SPF. Recreational fishing in Victoria is a $2.3 billion industry and is vital to the economic health of regional communities. South-west game fisher and VRFish State Council member, Marty Ellul said, “Regional towns

would suffer if the SPF industry did not listen to the legitimate concerns of recreational fishers.” The proposed principles for future engagement from the industry are concerning, especially their unwillingness to have any spatial management agreement legislated by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority. The failure of the talks to make real progress on key issues means that

Victoria’s 721,000 fishers recreational fishers will now have to pursue other avenues to ensure their concerns are addressed and will ramp up opposition to the controversial trawler’s plans to operate in Australian waters. VRFish will continue to work closely with ARFF on this important issue in future. For more information about VRFish, follow us on Twitter, Facebook or visit www.vrfish.com.au.

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JULY 2015

Time to surf the beaches for Aussie salmon LAKES ENTRANCE

Frank Milito

Right on cue for May and June there has been some great Australian salmon fishing on the beaches in and around Lakes Entrance. BEACHES Lots of local and visiting anglers really enjoy walking the beaches early or late in the day casting a range of metal pilchard style lures on medium 3-5kg surf spinning outfits with great success and some excellent sport. Lake Tyers, Lake Bunga and Eastern Beach have produced good bags of salmon on a rising tide with some weighing in at just over 2kg with most beaches right through to Cape Conran fishing well. Salmon are a very aggressive feeder and respond well to a range of lures and presentations with my favourite colours being electric blue, metallic pink or silver glow with lure weight ranging from 15-40g, depending on the beach conditions and the choice of casting outfit. If you’re looking to start

chasing salmon on the local beaches, a 9-10ft 2-piece fast action Nano carbon surf rod with a 3000 size spinning reel loaded with 15lb braid connected to a 12lb fluorocarbon leader should be fine. A size 10 snap swivel and a 25g metal pilchard should do the trick on our salmon. This rig and lure will allow for maximum casting distance and be a perfect offering for different size salmon and tailor that have been getting about. You may have to down size to a smaller metal if you are finding you’re getting lots of hits with few hook-ups. If you’re struggling to cast efficiently and need some help with your timing, you’re welcome to come in and see me (Frank Milito) at Lakes (Caltex) Fishing and Fuel and we can take you across the road as we have water frontage and give you free expert casting tuition. Its nothing to do with me getting out of work to go play with fishing gear! Just as a side note, if you’re planning on eating surf-caught salmon they must be bled and put straight on ice.

ESTUARY For a second consecutive season, there’s been a lot of discussion about the effect of deepening the entrance at Lakes Entrance via a hopper dredger in terms of increased salinity in the system. Anecdotally, lots of locals are saying that fishing for marine species such as trevally, whiting, tailor, salmon and pinkies has improved considerably in the main channel from Kalimna right through to Metung. There’s been lots of reports this year about big schools of silver whiting mixed with King George whiting and the odd yellowfin whiting with most anglers I’ve spoken to bagging out on several occasions using pipis, fresh mussel, peeled local prawn or squid strips. Things will start to slow down as the winter weather prevails but for the keener few that brave the odds there’s a good day’s fishing to be had all year round in Lakes Entrance, you just need to tune into the different species that are on offer in each different season.

Now we are all ready seeing signs of decent schools of fish starting to appear in our 3 local rivers being the Tambo, Mitchell and the Nicholson. The best tip I have for the rivers is to head to the Mitchell River at Bairnsdale as I had 4 cracking charters in this area right at the highway bridge. This area has some massive schools of yellow eye mullet that extend up to the Lind Bridge in Wyung. These mullet are easily caught on a range of bait and lures and are terrific fun for the kids. Winter mullet are very nice eating and if bled and put on ice straight after capture you can’t go wrong with deep fried mullet fillets in egg and bread crumb. There’s also a decent school of big bream that seem to be hanging just underneath the mullet near Bairnsdale and they are biting well on vibes and plastic on the right day with a rising barometer and a making tide. Once the mullet become active on the surface, the bream move in underneath and it’s fun for all.

OFFSHORE Aside from some patches of bad weather, the ocean fishing at Lakes Entrance this season has been nothing short of awesome. I say season, but I’m not sure there is one anymore as the good fishing just keeps going! The 6 and 8-Mile Reef are consistently producing good bags of pinkies, morwong and other assorted reef species with some nice gummy and flatties still available around 16-24m with pilchards and fresh squid really hard to beat. Tony Kemna from Far Out Charters has been a very busy boy helping visitors to the area bag out on snapper almost every trip this year! Great job Tony. LAKE TYERS ESTUARY After recent rain Lake Tyers has refilled. The entrance is closed and the lake has been high and turbid for some time. Through this period, the fishing has been fairly slow, however recent reports indicate the lake has started to clear and the fishing has improved with regular catches of flathead and bream starting to flow through.

The main lake at Lake Tyers close to the township has been the best with a large school of bream hanging around. Brightly coloured soft plastics for the flatty and dark colour vibes for the bream seem to be the choice of lures. An interesting fact about Lake Tyers is that during the flood events a large percentage of the flow comes down the Nowa Nowa arm of the system, which has a far bigger catchment area than the Toorloo. This causes a back flood of salt water into the Toorloo arm pushing the fish right up to the highway and even higher to the old limekilns. This event may last for several weeks until the water starts to settle and the fish begin to move back into the lower reaches of the system, but this phenomenon changes rapidly and reverses if the entrance opens. • If you would like more info on lure fishing east Gippsland or a general and very up to date fishing report on all things fishing in East Gippy, you can follow us on Facebook at East Gippsland Charters or East Gippsland Fishing Reports!

Frosty mornings, great fishing BEMM RIVER

Robyn Sturgess

For the first time in a long time the Bemm River is fishing a little on the slow side. And while some of the autumn days have been beautiful and sunny the angling has been extremely quiet. This decline is due to inclement weather during early autumn combining with plenty of rain and consecutive windy days hampering the angling. Heading into winter we should see the water level settle and hopefully the

weather and angling improve. The river mouth remains open at the time of writing, which should give us some sensational fishing through the winter months. There is plenty of fish activity throughout the channel with salmon, trevally and tailor chasing well and truly on the bite chasing baitfish. Bream anglers have been venturing out on frosty mornings with many coming back with some quality fish. These fish are not in abundance but four or five fish in a morning session is good fishing in anyone’s books. The odd flathead is still about, but of course these

fish do go quiet in the cooler months. Sandworm remains popular this time of the year and some big luderick have been found through out the system. Before coming to Bemm River check with your local bait supplier to see if sandworms and spider crabs are available. Having your bait secured before you leave is a good thing to do. The river has been quiet due to the consistent flows of water coming out of the mountains. As the rains have now eased, this should also change. We anticipate seeing the fish moving into the upper streams towards August and

September. The surf beaches have proved once again to be a lot of fun. There are some great gutters, and on the run in tide there are plenty of salmon about. Our suggestion for a great winter trip is to fish a run-in tide, be on the water around 9am, fish until 3.30pm, then retire to the Bemm River Hotel to get out of the winter chill and enjoy a cold refreshment. You couldn’t wish for better atmosphere, or kinder hosts after a productive days fishing. • For on the spot and up to date fishing reports check out Robyn’s website: www. bemmaccommodation.com.

There’s plenty of bream on offer in July for anglers who brave the winter chill. au or ‘like’ us on Facebook – Bemm River Holiday Accommodation Phone: (03)

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Rivers are go in July GIPPSLAND LAKES

Brett Geddes b.geddes@bigpond.com

Bream have been in plentiful supply of late, and if you haven’t caught one it’s because you haven’t been fishing. Bream in the 32-36cm size range have been in good supply, and flathead to 50cm have been plentiful. As the early winter run of bream starts to slowly wind down, I would call the 2015 season just a little below average. Only because we have yet to see a consistent run of bigger bream into the early to mid-40cm size range. With a few cold months still ahead of us let’s hope the bream action peaks a later than normal. METUNG The jetties in Bancroft Bay, along the Metung township, and the pylons of the new marina have been outstanding for 28-32cm bream. The schools have been enormous and the fish have taken a liking to light weighted Z-Man Grubs or small blades jigged near or on the bottom. Good old frozen prawns have also scored well. The majority of fish are sitting about 2m off the bottom in 7- 9m water, and

you can see them plucking at your lure as it sinks down. You can see and feel the ticks of your line on the sink, and if the lure stops on the way down, well you know what that means. Keen lure anglers like Leigh Moorehouse, Lucas Smith and Justin Dingwall have been catching some big numbers of fish, with 100 fish days not uncommon. With an occasional 40cm fish thrown in for good measure it’s great fishing to say the least. I put in three hours there one afternoon and landed 44 bream between 25 and 36cm. I used a mixture of slow sink soft plastic grubs and 30mm blades bounced along the bottom. Metung is the sort of place where bream turn up and disappear overnight and for that reason it can be highly rewarding or absolutely disappointing. Regardless, it’s always well worth a look. There are still a few big trevally being caught in those same areas and at 45cm they will test your light bream gear for sure. You will always find a few flathead lurking in 1-3m of water, so cover as much water as you can with small blades, and when you find a couple of fish in an area stay there and work it over thoroughly because flathead will school up during winter.

MITCHELL RIVER The jewel in the Gippsland Lakes crown, the Mitchell River, is firing as always. The Silt jetties down near the lake end is where some of the biggest bream have been landed of late. Deep diving or suspending hardbodies are the go and a bit of choppy and coloured water will enhance the bite. The first light of morning may be very frosty but you get the best bite window on the bream at this time. Over the last few months I have found that all the bream are internally passing black shell, and you can even feel their fat tummies full of the stuff. I love it when they feed up big on shell because they attack blades when they’re feeding on this shell. The Mitchell River flats are always a magnet to lure anglers at this time of year with a few anglers working blades in the shallows for good result. Their gun technique involves ripping their lure fast and aggressive to get the bream turned on to eat. Robert Braz was the first to show me this technique last year and it breaks all the rules on bream luring. I twitched and paused my blades along the bottom for a couple of small bream while Brazzy ripped his lures in like trying to catch

A nice snag-dwelling bream caught on a new fast sinking bibbed lure prototype. Stay tuned and hopefully this exciting new product will hit the shelves soon. tailor or salmon. He caught 12 bream in about 40 minutes and dropped a heap of others. The key is as soon as the blade hits the bottom wind it in fast with small lifts, and vary the speed until the bream pounce on it. Keep this method tucked away in the back of your mind if all of your usual techniques fail to create interest. NICHOLSON RIVER Probably the most underrated stream in the Gippsland Lakes but can hold some of the biggest bream. Quite often the fish will be concentrated in a few select areas so it pays to search far and wide when prospecting the

Nicho. Try the river mouth at first light and move out into the lake if needed. Suspending hardbodies will sort out the locals with a few flathead also likely to be on the prowl. It’s upstream where I like to go casting 2 1/2” Z-Man grubs, and I’m getting regular reports from keen anglers who are using mainly chartreuse or violet sparkle colours. It’s been a slow and disappointing time for bream on surface lures, and I’ve all but given up throwing Bent Minnows around for now. I’ve been road testing a new fast sinking bibbed lure in the area and the early results are better than good. It’s too

early to spruik the new lures just yet but I’m going to be busy in the field over the next month or so. Already I’ve pinned a few bream to 40cm deep in the snags. SUMMING UP Just a quick mention on the Tambo River which has cleaned up nicely, and I’m hearing a few bream are lurking right up in the fresh where it shallows up, about 1km above the Blue Hole. Hollands Landing has been very hit and miss once again, but Toms Creek has just started to produce modest bags for bait anglers using prawn and worm.

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JULY 2015

Marlo fires for July MARLO

Jim McClymont mcclymont@net-tech.com.au

Winter at Marlo sees the weather and conditions change with the season, the warm weather has gone and won’t appear again until the warm weather arrives again. Nonetheless Marlo offers a lot for anglers during the cooler months. With the deep entrance the winter run of black bream have arrived and moved throughout the whole system giving anglers plenty of opportunities to get a few for the table. Anglers have also reported getting plenty of luderick, mullet and estuary perch fishing around the islands and up the Brodribb River using sandworms. Anglers are also getting good size dusky flathead in the shallows from the Marlo jetty all the way down to

You only need a small boat to enjoy what Marlo and the Snowy River have to offer.

Frenches Narrow is a popular land based fishing area. There are plenty of bream, flathead and other bread and butter species on offer.

Frenches Narrows using soft plastic lures. Salmon and tailor are giving anglers plenty of action using hard bodied and metal lures down towards the entrance on a run-in tide. With the professional fishing boats not targeting the salmon schools as they once did, the size of the schools and the number of fish has increased. As a result our surf beaches offer exceptional beach fishing all year round for salmon and tailor. In

addition the channels close to shore are holding plenty of bream, flathead and mullet, making for great fun on light tackle. Local anglers have been fishing the surf beaches in the late afternoon and early evening for gummy shark, and have caught quality fish on squid legs, pilchards, and fresh salmon fillets. The weather for offshore fishing has been excellent, with plenty of flathead, gurnard, barracouta, pinkie snapper, morwong, salmon,

trevally and gummy shark on the chew. Reports have also come in of kingfish still being taken at Marlo Reef and hopefully they will be there for some time to come. While on the subject of kingfish I’m just about to head to New Zealand to fish a light game kingfish tournament at Russell. The annual Bay of Islands Swordfish Club tournament is a fantastic event, and I can’t wait to head over the ditch and get into a few.

The salmon are in! MCLOUGHLINS

Will Thompson allwaysangling@bigpond.com

Winter is here and you know what that means, big McLoughlins’ salmon. I love this time of year,

Stanas had a cracker session smashing the trevally on plastics while we were chasing the salmon at McLoughlins, we landed 23 trevs up to 36cm on this particular day.

it’s when sport fishing really gets interesting as south Gippsland gets its annual run of big black backed salmon that travel along the Ninety-Mile Beach and enter our small estuaries. I have had a few trips over of late searching for these big fish and there seems to be lots of mixed sizes and some nice trevally and perch mixed in as well. We have noticed at McLoughlins Beach itself that it seems to be fishing better on the run-in tide, especially for the bigger fish. I haven’t seen any surface activity of late so we have been using metal lures ranging from 25-50g and have been trying to keep them on the bottom as much as we can to find the fish. If you are using soft plastics, opt for a heavier jighead as the tide flows really hard and you will need 3/8oz and up to get the plastic down. I’ve

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Some good salmon to 1.5kg are around in decent numbers and there are some whoppers to 3kg about as well. also been using larger soft 4” and 5” soft plastics to target the larger salmon. In McLoughlins entrance, we are seeing fish up to 50cm pretty commonly on the run-in tide and slack high and smaller fish and large numbers of tailor in the entrance during the run-out tide. The really big salmon have been more often than not down at the Manns Beach entrance on both the run-out and run-in tide. Trolling until you find them has been a good method or drifting with the tide and casting has been productive as well. Just remember to fish all depths. Let your lures sink on a few casts before you wind them in and other times just retrieve straight away to fish the lures close

to the surface, this way you will find what depth that fish are at. Don’t be afraid to jig your metal lures either, that way you can really work that bottom column of the water which is where the salmon are most likely to be. There are heaps of bait inside the channels and there is plenty of bird life as well, this is where we have been finding the schools of trevally and perch as they have been schooled up on these baitfish. Small 2.5-3” soft plastics have been working the best. OFFHSHORE There are plenty of flatties out wide at the moment and anglers have been bagging out on flathead to 55cm while drifting the 30m line. There’s loads of

bait out here and plenty of barracouta stealing everyone’s sinkers and hooks so take plenty of tackle along. There’s also been some really nice gummy sharks to 15kg being caught both on the drift and anchoring up. The key has been to fish close to the tide changes and use fresh bait such as squid, salmon and barracouta fillets. • 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!

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JULY 2015

Not your ordinary, everyday lakes COBDEN

Rod Shepherd

Just about every seasoned estuary fisher has heard of the angling Mecca known as Marlo. It’s here that the mighty Snowy River conjoins with the Brodribb and enters the sea. The fishing can be of ‘par excellence’ at times with trophy sized black and yellowfin bream, huge crocodiles that take the shape of dusky flathead, estuary perch, luderick, trevally, salmon, tailor, flounder, mulloway and the list just goes on. Oh, let’s not forget that way upstream some superb bass fishing awaits those who have the time and inclination. But most anglers concentrate their efforts downstream as the fishing is great, so why move? Or, if time allows venture upstream into the rivers to try your luck, but very few venture further than that. All local ‘mud maps’ available in town, show two distinctive lakes that are very fishy indeed - Lakes Curlip and Corringle. They hold warnings of being very shallow, especially at low tide and caution must be given when venturing out. With modern bass boats having a rather flat hull (so therefore a shallow draught) this should not be a problem. Just don’t go hooning around at high speeds and, more importantly, listen to local

advice and keep an eye on tidal movement. The correct definition of Lakes Curlip and Corringle should be lagoons and yes, shallow bodies of water at that. They are both considered backwaters of the Snowy and Brodribb rivers but this is not entirely true. First and foremost (without being too convoluted) the Snowy River catchment is considered prime grazing land; mostly dairy cattle, but this catchment suffers from frequent flooding when heavy rainfall occurs in the high country. So our forefathers dug many diversion channels to

quickly drain this land so cattle can once again begin grazing. In doing so, they created more waterways that fish have moved into and created habitats. For example, The Brodribb River flows into then out of Lake Curlip before entering the Snowy, but a diversion channel was dug entering the lake so now two waterways feed into the lake and these can hold good populations of black bream, luderick and estuary perch at times, especially late in the year for bream when these fish move upstream to spawn. Lake Corringle has two feeder creeks located on the eastern shore that can

smaller Lake Wat Wat (not navigable by boat). Many species of fish regularly feed in these shallow lagoons on a variety of food substances including burrowing crustaceans such as Bass yabbies, sand worm and crab. Along with shrimp, prawn and white bait, a literal smorgasbord is on offer for hungry fish. This is basically sand and mud flat fishing on a huge scale and unnecessary movement in a boat will most definitely spook schooling fish on the lookout for food. Depth sounders/fish finders are next to useless in this environment. In times of flood, the

There’s plenty of silver trevally about ready and waiting to pounce on soft plastics. EXTRA TIPS • Basic mud maps of Marlo including the lakes and rivers are available free from most local businesses and give an angler new to the area a basic outline on what’s out there as far as the water goes. More detailed maps can be found by surfing the internet and some sites may charge a fee to download. • Snowy River Tackle is owned and operated by David and Naomi Ballinger and can be found at 4 Marlo Road, Marlo. Phone 03-51548487. An extensive range of fishing tackle is stocked here including a huge variety of lures and soft plastics. There’s always plenty of frozen bait but make sure you ring ahead to find out exactly what they have in stock and whether or not there is fresh bait on hand. There is a fair range of accommodation available in Marlo from campsites to cabins, motel units and holiday homes. • When I venture over to Marlo I choose to stay as a paying guest at the Marlo Ocean Views caravan and camping park. Proprietors Les and Kathy Heyne will certainly look after you during your stay. Over 250 campsites are available including onsite vans and cabins available at a very reasonable price. Ocean Views can be found on Marine Parade overlooking the mouth of the Snowy River as well as Bass Strait. Phone (03) 5154 8268 for more details. • Marlo also has a well-stocked general store that sells petrol and a pub that has river views and serves meals. Nearby, the township of Orbost has all the basic amenities needed when away from home including a supermarket, chemist, medical and banking facilities.

Top: The sunsets in this part of the world are something special. Middle Left: A brace of blue nose bream caught on Damiki Saemi minnow lures in Lake Curlip. Middle Right: Jim Murfitt with a sizeable luderick that fell to a local prawn fished unweighted and allowed to drift. Left: Live shrimp nearly always attract a bite or three. be very fishy at times for several species including bream, flathead and luderick. And there’s another small connecting channel on the western shoreline that joins Corringle to the 40

JULY 2015

rivers become affected with high, murky flows, and so too do these lakes and plenty of snags have been deposited here over time. This is like an oasis in the middle of a sandy desert and they should

not be ignored regardless of how big or small the snag may be. A small twig protruding from a desert of featureless water can hold schooling fish. So too are the mouths of creeks and

other waterways that flow into and out of these lakes. These are literally highways for travelling fish and should be thoroughly explored before venturing into the main body of water. Larger, predatory fish such as dusky flathead will lie in wait for unsuspecting prey in the shallows of these lakes, especially Corringle. Schooling bream, mostly blacks come and go with the tides in their never-ending search for food. But some fish take up residence, especially around the mouths of feeder creeks and will not budge (if food is abundant) until a fresh pushes downstream and compels them to do so. Schools of luderick can be found in both lakes; so too can mullet, tailor, small salmon and be prepared for the odd cruising mulloway. A tell-tale sign that a feeding frenzy is occurring is when bait schools suddenly leap out of the water and scatter. The size of the baitfish can be interpreted as to the size of whatever is attempting to predate on them. For example, schools of small whitebait can and will spook easily regardless of the prey but

larger schooling fish such as mullet and juvenile salmon tend only to react to species such as mulloway and large duskies. A wide variety of bait and lures can and will work in these shallow waterways on a given day. It’s just a simple but sometimes time consuming matter of experimentation. For bait anglers it comes down to using fresh, locally sourced and preferably live bait. For those who do not have the time or inclination to gather their own, for the majority of the year, frozen local prawn and live sandworm and sometimes shrimp, crab and Bass yabbies can be purchased not only locally but from tackle stores and selected service stations from Lakes Entrance right through to Mallacoota. So if variety is what an angler wants to have at hand to tempt fish into biting either pre purchase bait prior to arriving in Marlo but only after giving the local tackle store in town a ring as to what they

Sandworm and Bass yabbies can be pumped on the sand flats exposed at low tide down near the mouth of the Snowy with Mots Beach and Frenches Narrows being the prime areas to search. Live prawn can only be netted in the warmer months from November through to April and only on the dark of the moon so be prepared to shell out some dough and stock up on a few packets. Shrimp can be gathered wherever shallow growing weed beds are present either by using a dip net or by baiting and setting a collapsible minnow trap and leaving it to soak overnight. A wide variety of minnow lures work well here but make sure they are of the suspending type. Shallow diving or even bibless lures are popular due to the lack of depth. Even tiny surface poppers can stir up some action. On my last trip, fishing partner Jim Murfitt and I had a fun session one afternoon using Umpa 40s by Damiki on small sand

so maybe that had something to do with it. Who can tell? Metal blades should also be given serious consideration as they can be cast a mile so there’s less chance of the boat’s hull and wake spooking any fish that happen to be close by. Of course, soft plastics are a must and I tend to use a slightly heavier than normal jighead, again, to get greater casting distance from the boat. I found that slow rolling minnow patterns such as Fish Arrow Flash-J 3’’ Huddles in natural colours attracted a fair bit if fishy interest. Slow rolling in the shallows keeps the plastic off the bottom and above most weed growth. The plastic is also more visible to more fish when worked up high in this very shallow water column. Of course, twitching shrimp and crab patterns across the bottom works just as well, especially for flathead and the like. As the distinct possibility of landing a ‘mixed grill’ of species is great, diversity and versatility in gear is a

Top: Although small, whiting were fun to catch on surface poppers. Above Left: A nice bag of bream taken from Lake Curlip on plastics. Above Right: This 68cm dusky was taken first cast in Lake Curlip on a Fish Arrow Flash J minnow. have on hand. While you’re at it, ask what the fish are currently responding to. For those who prefer to save a few bucks and have the time to do some gathering, here are some options.

whiting and the lures soon whipped the whiting into a feeding frenzy. Pontoon 21 CrackJack 58-SPs also worked a treat, especially in the darker patterns. In fact, any lure with a deep

natural colour or pattern was more favoured by fish such as bream and perch over lighter, more natural bait fish colours. There was slight discolouration in the water left over from the last fresh

The author’s boat at the town jetty and boat ramp.

good idea. Different rods will have different strengths of leader. All my rods are all of the same make; 2.1m in length and hold a rating of 2-4kg. The reels are all of a similar size and spooled with braid with either a 3 or 4kg breaking strain. Leader material is fluorocarbon and at least 1.5m in length. One rod will have 2kg leader, another 3kg and another 5-6kg. If flathead are about, the rod with the heavier leader will come into play. If bream and perch are finicky or the water is clear, the rod with the lightest leader will be the one I begin fishing with. It’s not uncommon for me to have up to six rods, all rigged slightly different, in the boat. These backwater lakes are no big secret among the greater fishing fraternity and Corringle, being closer to the town boat ramp tends to be more favoured amongst boaters than Curlip, but by no means should one lake be preferable over the other as they both fish well on a given day.

Live prawn can be a gun bait for a wide variety of species.

AUTHOR’S OPINION

A Gippy decline, buy out a must I have just received a copy of the 2013/14 Gippsland Lakes Commercial Catch and they would seem to confirm continuing decline in the fish stocks of key commercial species in the Gippsland Lakes. In the case of black bream the catch in 2012/13 was 83 tonnes. The catch dropped in 2013/14 to 40 tonnes, a drop of 50%, which is about the average recent commercial catch. The 2012/13 catch was possibly influenced by fresh water flushes in the rivers that forced black bream from the rivers and into commercial nets at the mouth of rivers. It needs to be remembered the commercial catch between 2002 and 2009, apart from the flood year of 2007, averaged 35 tonnes per annum so the

2013/14 catch returns to the low average. In context this average should be compared with the average catch in the late 1980s of 200-270 tonnes per annum. What I find particularly disturbing is the continuing decline in the commercial catch of dusky flathead. The decline is only small from 9 tonnes to 8 tonnes in 2013/14 however the tonnage in 2005/6 was 48 tonnes and has been in consistent decline since that date. As you would be aware the large female breeding flathead (i.e. over 55cm) are not protected from commercial netting and this must have a long term effect on the stock level. It also makes the recreational angler support for this protection somewhat undermined by the non application of this regulation

to commercial netters. It’s fair to say the decline in key species in the Gippsland Lakes is in continuing decline and this fact is supported by the commercial statistics of the catch for 2013/14. Another key figure from these statistics is the total catch, excluding carp is now at an all time low and from 2010/11 the total catch has been around 200 tonnes. Up until 2006/7 the total annual catch of all species in commercial nets was around 400 tonnes of fish per annum. This is a situation that urgently requires the 10 commercial fishermen to be bought out before the decline in the Gippsland Lakes fish stocks becomes a total disaster. – Frank Milito JULY 2015

Jigging still popular BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

It has been some years now since the jigging craze became popular, whether it be offshore or inshore, and whether it be soft plastics, metal lures or vibes. So, is it still popular? Well you betcha! And it doesn’t seem like stopping any time soon. Out over the Continental Shelf, big heavy metal jigs come into their own. Along the deep canyon walls, anglers can expect a variety of species from hapuka, ling, gemfish, trevalla, plus some that will

interesting! Understand though, that all this sounds very good, but you need the conditions to fish this method successfully. Calm seas and very little current are the main ingredients. Once you have this, 300-500g jigs fished on braided lines are free-spooled down. Now you have your lure down there, short, jerky retrieves are required and once you have retrieved the jig say 10m, drop it back down and repeat the process until a hook-up is achieved. You may also need to move around a bit to locate concentrations of fish. If the deep water isn’t your scene, try soft plastics close in

of other species. Snapper are most sought after because of their hard fighting and eating qualities, however, lots of other species provide plenty of entertainment and are just as good if not better in the pan. The humble red rock cod will be a species that is regularly encountered. Its thick white flesh is very tasty, but watch the spikes. So you don’t have a boat; all is not lost. More and more anglers are discovering plastics cast from the stones is just as much fun and very challenging. Long casts with a variety of retrieves is all that’s required to produce strikes. You can work lures deep near

The author’s wife left, her brother on the right, celebrating dad’s (in the centre) 91st birthday the best way possible.

Left: Salmon are always a winter hit and can often be found at the entrance to an estuary. Right: Clear winter water allows you to polaroid just about anything in the shallows. take a bit of identifying. Pelagics may get into the act too, so don’t be surprised while you’re dropping down your jig it comes to an abrupt halt to either a yellowfin, albacore or southern bluefin tuna. That’s when things start getting very

along the coast or off the rocks. Again, conditions dictate how deep and effectively you can fish them. A few of the local fishos are targeting shallow water down south at Goalen Head with some very good success on snapper and a host

the bottom for reef fish, or mid to surface depths for predatory species like salmon, trevally and tailor. Expect lure losses, they can be high when shore based, so I suggest using some of the cheaper plastics as they are just as effective as the

dearer ones. For the game fishers, there may be some bluefin tuna out over the shelf to be targeted. To do so, a spread of skirted and bibless lures trolled out the back is the way to go. If encountered, don’t be

surprised to have every lure in the pattern smashed, with fish varying in size from rats to unstoppables. Makos and blue sharks may be an option in berley trails, and consider having a live bait out for the various tunas while shark fishing, although water temps will have an influence. July is excellent for reef fishing with the simple old way of just drifting over them with a paternoster rig and fresh bait. The Twelve Mile Reef has some very nice ocean perch, snapper, Tassie trumpeter and large tiger flathead on the fringes. Closer to shore the Four Mile, Six Mile, Brothers Reef and Goalen Head are producing plenty of morwong, snapper, flathead and the everpresent leatherjackets. If the jackets are giving you grief, try moving into shallower water, around 16m, lighten up with

your gear, and have some fun with a mixture of reef fish. Anchoring up to berley will also prove effective, bringing fish closer to the surface. Nice schools of average size sand flathead are out from most of the beaches in around 30m of water. Best areas are The Step up north off Tilba, Cuttagee, Wallaga and Camel Rock beaches. The estuary scene is very quiet, with only a few bream on the incoming tide. People fishing for luderick (blackfish) with green and cabbage weed are doing ok around the rock walls and bridge, with the rocks adjacent to the harbour entrance being the best. These rocks are producing tailor of an evening on pilchards or cast lures, while in around the harbour wharves, schools of trevally are keeping kids and adults alike amused for hours.

Fewer visitors to annoy MALLACOOTA

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

Winter is well and truly here and the town is quiet, with very few visitors to the area expected over the coming months. Things won’t pick up until it starts warming up once again as we head towards summer. As usual though, the fishing has been excellent, with clients here on my fishing accommodation packages amazed at the amount of fish they are R E V A L LY . S N A P P E R . E S G.T TU A PE R RY

. WH AD

catching over their 2 1/2 day visit. The fishing offshore has been very slow. Few boats have been able to head out under the consistently bad conditions — big seas and wind have been the norm over the past month. On the odd day when a boat does head out, there have been a few sand flathead caught along with the odd gummy shark and pinky snapper. With the water temperature around the 15° mark, the fishing won’t pick up until the water warms up once again. The local beaches have all

got some great gutters after the recent big seas though. Plenty of salmon are being caught and they will be around in numbers right through until Christmas. Some salmon have come from the new breakwall at Bastion Point, with good catches of blackfish from inside the harbour for anglers using weed under a float. As mentioned before, the lake has been fishing really well. The water temperature is around 12°, and the bream have been going crazy. The water is still dirty after the recent rains, with clear water pushing in on the rising tides.

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Plenty of yellowfin bream have been caught from Top and Bottom Lake recently. Plenty of yellowfin bream are been caught around the margins of both the Top and Bottom Lake, with a variety of lures catching fish — plastics, vibes blades and hardbodies are all working. The increased numbers of yellowfin bream in the system is helping to keep fishing at a good standard. Those who have fished the system for

long enough can remember when black bream made up 95% of the catch, with plenty of fish caught around the 1.2kg mark. It would be interesting to know precisely, but I would guess they only make up about 60% of the catch nowadays. The black bream are being caught in both lakes, with some good fish also in the rivers. The schools of

blacks can be found by using the sounder at this time of year. Some good size silver trevally are also being caught from the channels near the entrance. Salmon are starting to move in and out of the lake, and it won’t be long before they will spread right through the system, terrorising the bait schools.

Hot Spot

Patterson River system CRANBOURNE

Mitch Chapman

The Patterson River system, or Carrum as it is better known as by every snapper fisher in Melbourne, is the gateway to Port Phillip Bay snapper fishing. Its estuary system and lakes system out the back is also one of the most reliable but very challenging bream fishery the state has to offer.

going. Fishing the warmer months when the fish are active and can be seen flashing and mooching on the abundant boat hulls and pylons is when the fishing is at its best, but also at its most challenging. The fish you can normally see are the ones that are the hardest to catch, but knowing there are fish active and feeding, will keep you casting into the shadows hoping to hook the big one.

Paul Malov with a nice fish taken on a surface lure fishing in the canals. PRIME TIME Chasing bream on lures in the lakes’ system is what really gets lure casters

THE GEAR Standard bream fishing gear or estuary tackle is more than suitable while bream

fishing the structure. A light graphite rod matched with a 2000 sized reel will do the job. Just remember to tighten up the drag and don’t go easy on the fish around structure or you will lose the fish and lure if you give them an inch. THE RIG Long light leaders for spooky finicky bream is the key when lure fishing for bream in the lakes system. Bait fishing the main river with a light running sinker rig and a size 4 baitholder hook is as good as any rig when targeting them on bait. BAIT AND LURES Bait fishers love to use sandworms, freshwater yabbies and fresh mussel. Lucky Craft Bevy Vibes are a killer lure choice when fishing around the structure such as boat hulls and jetty pylons. Something that dives a little deep like a Lucky Craft Bevy Shad in a shrimp or natural colour on clean days, or if the water is dirty, something dark that gives a good silhouette, or something with some flash always gets the bream chewing. BEST METHOD Casting parallel to rockwalls and working hardbodies along the bank is a very effective way to catch

A quality bream ready for release from inside the first floodgate. bream. For fish that you can see actively feeding on pylons and boats hulls then a small light sinking hardbody or vibe are deadly. Cast the lure to the feeding fish, watch your lure sink down into the depths and normally the fish will follow the lure down out of sight. Then wait for the line to take off and come tight, then strike. If only it was as easy as that. MOTHER NATURE As you are fishing in

people’s backyards just remember to have a bit of respect for their property and don’t go damaging any boats/pontoons etc. The more damaged that is caused by anglers means cranky home owners who will try to put a stop to fishing this wonderful system. So make sure your casting is up to scratch before venturing in and casting lures at peoples belongings. HOT TIP This system is better

fished on a weekday than a weekend. Due to the fact that there are plenty of boats that patrol up and down the river and in through the system just for a casual cruise. Plenty of boat traffic means spooky shutdown fish a lot of the time and can make things really tough. But when fished on a quiet midweek morning, it isn’t uncommon to catch 20 fish in a session and have a really hot bite for most of the day.

JULY 2015

Tuning in for tuna NAROOMA

Stuart Hindson stuart@ausfishing.com.au

Offshore anglers are getting a tad excited as the tuna season is well and truly here, with reports just coming to hand of multiple hookups on yellowfin tuna. The fish are averaging 25-30kg, so not huge, but still a stack of fun on the right tackle. It seems the fish are quite widespread, with patches anywhere from the shelf to the 1000 fathom line, though I have heard of a few bigger models coming from the Kink region. There’s no numbers to these bigger fish as yet, but time will tell and hopefully the numbers pick up. What we will see over coming weeks though, are southern bluefin tuna. These turbocharged bruisers have been spotted but not caught yet, but that will all change soon. I know they’re getting fish down south of us, so it’s only a matter of time before they hit our doorstep. When they do arrive, trolling big skirted pushers and bibbed minnows is the go, as you cover more ground to find the tuna. If you do get a multiple strike and get the fish up with others, then reverting to cubes can be deadly. We have done this in the past with great success and you can hold the fish at the back of the boat for hours at a time. To say it becomes mayhem is an understatement, but trust me it will all be worth it, with bent rods and grins from ear to ear. At Montague Island the kings have been very good of late, with jigs, live bait and squid rigged on flasher rigs all producing at times. The fish are solid too, with the majority all legal size and the average around 80cm — a good king. There are a few greenbacks on the surface as well, with these bigger brutes pushing 20kg, though they have been very hard to entice. Your best way here is to cast

or slow troll a large slimy mackerel around the surface bustups. If you have the patience to play out the game you should be rewarded with a solid fish. I’d be concentrating around Fowl House Reef, with the north east corner worth a look too, though the seals there can be a handful to say the least. Those after the bottom eaters are licking their chops, with snapper in good numbers. The size over the last few weeks has dropped, but the numbers have certainly picked up. It seems that every winter the snapper fishing just gets better and better around our local reefs. The close-in gravel beds have slowed, but the deeper water in 55-60m has really picked up. As usual, the grounds off Potato Point and Tuross are the go-to spots, with fresh squid, pilchards and soft plastics still accounting for a few reds, though the conditions need to be near perfect to get your plastic offering to the bottom. In the estuaries, even with the very cold 14° water it’s still fishing extremely well. Wagonga is going great guns; the key is to find the bait, and if you do that you will catch fish. We’ve had some great guiding sessions there over recent weeks, with 7-8 different species for a day the norm. You can expect trevally, bream, flathead, whiting, salmon, tailor plus others, with mulloway still on the cards. We had a memorable afternoon session the other day, with Claude landing a solid mulloway. We let the fish swim free with a Fisheries tag in its shoulder, but the best thing was that Claude is 82 years young and after 60 years of trying to catch a mulloway, he finally did. To catch it on a plastic and then to let it go was definitely 1 of the best things l’ve seen in 20 years of guiding. We were both pretty pumped! Up at Tuross, the main basin has seen good flatties caught on the draining tide, with smaller softies being the

go-to method. There’s a few bream and whiting around the racks and deep dropoffs, with blades working well when fished slow with a small hop. The river is still okay for a few flatties, but the water is getting pretty cold, so l’d suggest the afternoons are a better proposition. Further upstream, black bream are possible from the Commerang Bridge downstream to the pump station. I know of a few locals that are doing well with hard-bodies fished amongst the timber. On the beaches, salmon are in great numbers, with most gutters holding fish. All the usual methods are working, with anglers casting metal Shiners up to 40g doing extremely well. This is active fishing, as you’re trying to locate the fish, not the fish trying to locate you. In saying that, the bait fishos are doing okay, with bait/popper combinations on a paternoster rig using fresh pilchards or bluebait producing results. Mixed in with the salmon are jumbo sized tailor, with

‘Young Claude’ with his first mulloway, tagged, and about to be sent on its way. a few of the razor gang pushing 3kg. They are solid green-backs in anyone’s books and a stack of fun. A few anglers are still getting bream, though it seems the numbers are thinning out a little. The better beaches to fish include Tura, North Tura

and Haycock, especially if bream are the target species. Off the stones, we are certainly in winter mode, with drummer and blackfish the 2 most popular species that anglers are targeting. Catching these great eating fish isn’t as hard as some

FISHING FILL-ITS

Warragul Marine - new premises FMG

Peter Jung pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

Earlier this year the team at Warragul Marine made the decision to move to new premises. Never an easy decision to make, but the new digs are almost complete and the team is going about providing a positive experience for each and every customer that walks through the door.

Top: It’s not hard to find Warragul Marine on Queen Street in Warragul. Above Left: A couple of the very popular Savage aluminium boats available. Above Right: Warragul Marine has your electronic and boating accessories needs covered. The new premises are at 172 Queen Street in Warragul provides a bigger space to show off their range of boats and accessories, and a much larger area for their dedicated boat servicing department. Kirsten Wakefield took me for a tour while I was down recently to do some boat tests for them and you could see 44

JULY 2015

people think; you just need to put a little time in getting quality bait and, most of all, braving the wintery elements. Anglers using cunjevoi and cabbage will fare best. Use a little berley for best results, with both Long and Short Point the better ledges to try.

how proud she was of what they had already achieved and the available space for their plans for the future. It was also good to see that the hardest worker got the biggest office (the team there will understand that). Simon Wakefield, the dealer principal, leads the service team and is enjoying

the space he now has to work. Simon is one of those people who just doesn’t stop. The whole time I was there he was making sure that I felt welcome and that all the jobs and customers that were around were looked after properly. The final cog in the Warragul Marine team is

David Garcia. Up until this visit I had always enjoyed a chat on the phone with David, but had never met him. His general knowledge and enthusiasm always impressed me and meeting him for the first time didn’t disappoint. He made me feel very welcome and did the same for everybody who came through the door. Warragul Marine stocks a range of boats from your everyday punt through to serious offshore boats, as well as a comprehensive range of electronics and accessories. Their new boat brands are Northbank fibreglass boats and the very popular Savage aluminium range of boats, which they match up with Mercury outboards. I had a day on water with Simon and David and you couldn’t help but notice the enthusiasm and enjoyment they got from being on the water, whether it was in the small Savage 385 Big Boy or the offshore Savage 575 Bluewater. They were just smiling and enjoying what the boats had to offer. It was great to see that the people selling you a boat not only knew about them, but also loved using them. If you are around Warragul and need anything boating go and see the team at Warragul Marine. You can contact them on 03 5623 6250 or see their range of products and services at www. warragulmarine.com.au.

NSW South Coast

It’s worth braving the cold Stuart Hindson stuart@ausfishing.com.au

With cool westerly winds gracing our doorsteps in the mornings, winter fishing isn’t for everyone, but for those willing to get up and have a crack, some excellent estuary fishing is available. Anglers around here are blessed with a number of productive systems, with at least 6 within an hour’s drive of Merimbula township. It’s great to have a choice and fish what’s producing best, but generally speaking a few only really fire up through winter.

These include the 2 closest systems, the Merimbula and Pambula lakes. Both still amaze me as to how well they fish in 12-15° water. Yes, you have to change your tactics a little, like fishing lighter gel spun, lighter leaders and smaller presentations to get consistent results, but you will catch fish. At Pambula it’s not uncommon to get 6-8 different species within a session in the middle of winter. You can expect bream, flathead, trevally, salmon, tailor, blackfish and whiting to just name a few. The last few weeks have seen all species chewing and this will continue right

Cam with a couple of solid blacks he caught on plastics.

through the cooler months. Anglers fishing lightly weighted plastics around the margins are doing well, with blades fished slow working a treat on whiting and blackfish. I know that sounds silly, but l’ve said it before that both species can be actively targeted in the cold months with impressive results. Time on the water will determine when the best time to fish is, but the draining tide seems best for blackfish and the rising tide best for whiting. Just remember to fish that blade slow; it’s important. The river section towards the entrance has seen ample salmon, tailor and trevally, with stickbait style softies working best. It doesn’t matter what the tide is doing, so long as it’s running you will get results. No run no fun certainly applies here. Offshore sportfishers targeting the tuna species have fared fairly well, with southern bluefin tuna (SBT), yellowfin and albacore making sporadic appearances. It hasn’t been a dynamite start to the season, but in saying that, if you come across a patch, then you’re in for some serious fun. It’s just coming across that patch which is the hard part!

Crews have been trolling with bibbed minnows and pushers to cover the ground trying to find the fish, which have been very wide this season. It’s common for boats to travel 60km offshore, so you need to make sure the weather is good and your boat is capable of making that journey out and back safely. I would expect the tuna fishing to really pick up, especially for SBT, with right now being the prime time to target them. There have been some jumbos landed south of us, so surely our time is nigh. Closer to shore, bottom feeders like snapper and morwong have been excellent, with most reefs holding fish. I know of several switched-on locals who are getting their bags quickly, using light tackle with lightly weighted fresh baits while anchored on the edge of the hard ground and fishing back over the gravel. This takes a little skill to work out with wind, current and where to drop the pick, but get it right and you will reap the rewards. The beaches have picked up of late, with salmon, tailor, and good reports of gummy sharks from the deeper gutters just past the shore SABFOPT001

MERIMBULA

Young Jed, 8 years old, with a cracking black bream he caught fishing soft plastics for the first time. He released the fish in great condition too. dump. Tura Main, North Tura and Haycock have been good, with pilchards, fresh mullet and squid all working on the gummies. These guys are awesome eating and are averaging 5-7kg, so solid models. The pelagic species have been great on 30-50g Shiners, with bait fishos also doing well. For those after a feed, the bream and whiting have slowed to a crawl, but if you fish the right times with the freshest of bait, you will still

get a feed. Use the lightest outfit as you dare for these species; you may lose a couple, but you will certainly catch a lot more also. The rocks continue to produce blackfish, drummer and groper. The big seas we had last month really helped these species fire up, and you should be able to get 8-10 fish a session if fishing the right areas with cunjevoi, prawns and cabbage baits. Both Short and Long Point are the pick of the areas to fish.

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JULY 2015

It’s bitterly cold, but don’t despair TASMANIA

Kelly Hunt

Winter is indeed upon us and we have seen some conditions that leave us under no illusion. July is the month we all try to wear out our headlights as we have them on when we head to work and when we return home. Don’t despair; as the shortest day of the year was on June 18th and so we can almost say summer is on its way… There were days in June that were still and calm, which well suited to finding a good feed of fish. The days the wind bristled were an awesome opportunity to find a solid southern bluefin tuna. July will be much of the same. If you have your tackle ready and your warm wet weather gear in good condition you will enjoy crowd-free fishing in most areas. The colder weather slows all but the hard-core anglers, so get out and enjoy what winter in Tasmania has to offer. TROUT The season remains closed in July and will not open again until the first Saturday of August. There are, however, many areas that are open all year – Check the inland fisheries website details. One such body of water that remains open for the keen trout fisher is the Great Lake. The Great Lake at this time of year is as much about the adventure and beauty of the place as it is about the fishing, and for good reason! It’s bloody cold… However, if you let this small fact put you off you will be missing out on one of Australia’s most iconic waterways in its full beauty. Growing up in Tasmania on the North West coast as a keen angler, any trip to The Great Lake was a significant highlight. These trips would be looked forward to for weeks and come hell or high water we would go. There was no fancy computer app available to try and dissuade the journey. Sure, you would have a look in the paper and see what the forecast was, but you would still load up the car and make the trip up to the mountains. A good lake trip is not just about the fishing so the weather in this case is purely a secondary item. Getting set up and sorted at the shack was the prime concern and getting a good fire going was the first thing on the list just in front of chilling the poison of choice. Once the fire was roaring it would be time to look out and make a plan of attack. With a little bit of wind, the dinghy would come out 46

JULY 2015

to play. Back in the day, it was trolling the old flatfish around at walking pace while you were rugged up in a big jacket. It is very relaxing on the lake, rugged up and reading a book waiting for the drag to go off. Today it is more about drift spinning and puppeting soft plastics. If gazing out across the lake and there are too many white horses galloping across the surface, a walk around the edge would be in order. It’s best to pick a shore that the wind has been blowing onto for a while and cast spinners or soft plastics in a fan shape. You should stand on the edge and cast up along the shore about 2m out and retrieve, if you get

out the Highlands area takes on a whole new wonderful aspect that demands you get out and take it all in. Only this time you can have a rod in hand! DEEP DROPS On the still days you can often happen across in July are perfect for targeting those deep, tasty bottom dwellers. Stripy trumpeter are the easiest fish to target as they are not found as deep as some of the other favoured species. Good reef and rubble ground from 70-150m is a good place to start. If you can get a nice weather window the West Coast of Tasmania is quickly becoming known as the horse stripy capital. St

Warm fire and hot food: what’s not to like about that? no hits, cast roughly 2m to the water side of the last cast. Repeat this until you have cast directly out in front of you and then walk up to where you made the first cast, and do it all again. Covering water like this is a great way to find fish feeding on whatever the wind has whipped into the water. You may find if there has been enough wind to put up some small waves, the fish will be in behind these waves. If so, then you can start concentrating your time and casts in this area. Sometimes when looking out the shack window, the weather will be just too rough to fish and this is when the magic of the highlands can really take place. Rug up and get out in it. Take the kids for a walk and experience some of the wind swept beauty the area has to offer. If there is some snow around, then there is a great deal of fun to be had playing in it and enjoying that contrast of season winter in the highlands can bring. Head to the Great Lake hotel and sit in front of the fire enjoying an ale or two or a giant t-bone. You could even just put another log on the shack fire and get stuck into a whole lot of nothing. Have a snooze, read a book or ready some tackle. When the wind drops out and a bit of winter sun breaks

Helens is a great place to try and find a few as is the area in and around Bicheno. When looking to target deeper water species like blue eye and gem fish, the calmer the conditions the better. Not just for comfort, but it is technically easier to maintain the baits on the bottom and locate fish in flat windless seas. Sounders work significantly better in flat conditions. The picture they can generate from within their box of trickery is far better with minimal swell. Deciphering what the unit is picking up is also far, far easier in calm conditions. This is where a good sounder is of great use. There has always been great reliance on ‘marks’ when targeting these treasures of the deep. When people talk of marks and waypoints they are electronically generated points on the ocean floor where the fish being targeted has been encountered before. These marks are either old commercial waypoints that have been passed on over the years or areas people have seen commercial long lines laid out. These are then transferred into sounder and GPS units on recreational boats and treated like the Holy Grail. These spots over time tend to cop some heavy fishing pressure and while they still produce,

can slow up. The modern sounder units of today are a fantastic tool and with a bit of forethought and patience can help you find a great spot of your own. If you get a set of conditions that allow you to do a bit of foraging, take the opportunity. With blue eye fishing for example; instead of roaring out to your usual grounds or old mark, find a point 2-3 nautical miles off. Come off the plane and sound the area carefully and with some consideration. Blue eye will be on the shelf or there abouts, so use the contour lines as a guide and traverse to the deeper water and back into the shallower transition. Taking the time to sound some likely looking areas may result in you finding some new and productive grounds. If you mark a biomass on the sounder, quickly enter a new waypoint. If the sounding is a large or long sonar return enter a couple of waypoints. Have the crew ready the gear while you slowly and methodically come back around to your waypoint. Don’t be in too much of a hurry to get a heap of rods over. Have the crew work as a team and use one outfit ready to deploy on your say so. Take some time to get back where you want to drop and don’t worry if it

There is keen and then there is KEEN! elements will have your boat leaving the drop point and if need be you can manoeuvre and back up to the line carefully, keeping it straight up and down. If you don’t do any good, persist in around 5 drops before moving on. It will take a little time and practice to be able to put the baits into a biomass of fish some 400m from the surface. All things going well, you will load up and have some enquiries in no time. If you find you are doing well on this spot, name the way point and come and have a go on it on another occasion. Should you rock up next time and bag out in no time, you can confirm the waypoint as a point of interest and make some notes about it. Taking into account tide, time of year and sea condition. What you have

Striped trumpeter are a solid adversary and make for a great feed at the end of the day. takes you a couple of goes from a number of angles. Once you are happy with your position, give the word to drop and keep an eye on the line angle. The line angle will give you good indication on wind and current and what affect it will have on your vessel. More often than not the

now done is found your own ‘mark’ and no longer need to rely on old ‘commercial marks’ and keep away from the weekend crowds that can gather. The beauty and fun in deep dropping means you never really know what may come up from the depths. This style of fishing

generally yields some very tasty and high-valued fish and it is very satisfying to be able to have found your own ‘hot-spot’. The electronics available today are an invaluable tool, yet we are all in such a rush to get to old ground. Take some time to learn how to use and how to read your sounder and you will be richly rewarded. WINTER BREAM Now here is a species that continues to fire throughout the winter months. The pre-spawning bream that are roaming the upper reaches of Tasmania’s bream rivers still hold good numbers of fish right through the winter months and July is no exception. These fish are opportunistic feeders consuming a wide range of prey. As such, they can be taken with a wide range of techniques. Finicky fish with a reputation to be a hard nut to crack, it pays to try a number of retrieves and styles in your quest to conquer them. My experience with bream is as a young lad fishing with bait. I can still hear my dad and uncle’s voices echoing in my head… “You didn’t let him run long enough.” Lure fishing for bream is all the rage. Some of the more astute of you may have noticed its caught on a bit. The number of lure-captured bream I can lay claim to is in direct correlation with the number of fingers on my right hand. Recently, I managed to get out for a late arvo bream fish with a chap that has his back yard particularly well sussed. Ashley has fished the east coast for most of his life and on this particular day we were to give the upper reaches of the Swan River near Swansea a crack. Vibes the order of the day Vibes are a sub-surface lure designed principally to work the deeper water. They sink, and like all lures come in a huge range of designs and specific weights. This allows you to pick a model or brand that works different parts of the water column. Even though they are all going to sink, you can still work the shallows by reeling them in as soon as the hit the water and varying your

rod tip heights. This will be useless information on this session as if we had used them in this manner Ashley may well have thrown up in his mouth. I was under strict instruction that we would be using them at depth and that we will be casting them long and letting them sink. I just whimsically asked, are they any good to troll, and given the look I received was lucky not to have missed a week due to the AFL’s Responsible Approach to

rocky bottom varied in depth and we would pick a drift that allowed the stiff wind to push us down a deep pool. No sooner did we pull up and my companion fired off a cast, long and hard into the low afternoon sun. He worked the vibe over with aplomb and after his second pause – Boom – fish on! This excited me, so I fired off a cast, then another and another. Meanwhile Ashley had unhooked his fine bream, took a pic and

Ashley Hallam proving that you can teach this old dog new tricks. Concussion rule. We put the dinghy in and made our way swiftly up the Swan River to some likely looking holes. The

released the fish. Out went another cast from Ash and he quite selfishly waited till his third pause before hooking up again. I was very polite

and remarked how splendid it was that he had hooked a second. I wasn’t counting, but I had fired my 7th cast and was working it back to the boat. I even managed a smile after Ashley had hooked his third fish with exclamation, “Wow, 3 from 3! POW! It’s a fish a cast!” In the meantime, I had slowed my retrieve and increased my pause to what I thought was sufficient. I had even managed to watch like a hawk what was going on at the other end of the boat from my peripheral vision. I didn’t think I was doing too much different. How wrong I was There must have been a look on my face between me tearing up and getting crabby enough to snap my rod across my knee that Ashley spotted. It was probably just after he had cast and answered a phone call. I was still bombing away with no result and – BANG – phone in one hand, rod in other and he was on again! The look must have been fairly pitiful as it prompted a lesson from the master, and I was all ears. He gave me some instruction and while he was running me through the subtle technique, fair dinkum, he is on again. So here I go. I cast out long and into the sun (I had that bit nailed), I let the vibe sink right to the

bottom, when it is on the bottom give it a couple of rips and let the bream know we are in town. I maintained a good connect, but left it still for a bit. Another few little rips. PAUSE, and then P-A-U-S-E some more… and… BANG! I was on. It was my first bream on a vibe and first bream from the Swan River. I was stoked! We proceeded to catch fish after fish and Ashley even tried to butter me up and named me ‘Monsters Inc’, as I was lucky enough to pull some crackers out of the deeper pools. It was an absolute eye-opener for me as occasionally I would drift back from what I was told and there was no way in hell that I was going to hook one. Then I would concentrate and get back on board with it and like magic the fish would respond. The light started to fade and the cold southern breeze was really starting to talk to us and we decided to get some nice pictures and head home. I’m a keen angler and was having a ball and I didn’t actually need much convincing… We had been catching so many bream that I was actually sick of reeling them in, which is amazing. The area is magic, the fishing was magical and I was lucky to be schooled by a magician.

LOCAL TACKLE KNOWLEDGE Striped trumpeter This week I have asked local tackle shop owner Jamie Henderson to supply some info on striped trumpeter. His reply reinforces my sentiment of supporting local tackle stores. Jamie shows in this article his extensive local knowledge and willingness to share information that helps all anglers. This information can have anyone shortcutting the process, having them find

say hello. Quite often classed as the best eating fish in the sea, the striped trumpeter, sometimes known as the Tasmanian trumpeter, are mainly caught in Tasmania, but can be caught in South Australia, Victoria and are also found in New Zealand and South American waters. They are reported to grow up to 1.2m in length and about 25kg, and live for up to 30 years. Around Tasmania, spawning occurs

Quality sounders can make a great day’s fishing awesome! fish and making what may have been another search mission into a success. Jamie has a great fishing tackle store in St Helens – go and

between July and October and typically a single fish of about 3kg can produce 100,000 eggs. Females reach maturity at around 45cm or 5

Contact your local dealer for more information. VICTORIAN DEALERS

OUTLAW

MELBOURNE BL MARINE

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Ph 03 9478 1420

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MELBOURNE MELBOURNE MARINE CENTRE 92 Hallam South Road, Hallam

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GEELONG

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TASMANIAN DEALERS

TASMANIA

MAYNES MARINE 6 Effingham St, MOONAH

Ph 03 6214 9999

sales@maynesmarine.com.au www.maynesmarine.com.au JULY 2015

years old, while males reach maturity at around 53cm or 8 years old. Larvae go through an extended larval phase of around 9 months before settling on inshore reefs. The inshore reefs are where most recreational angler targets the smaller fish but often venture wider to the outer reefs in search of the larger specimens. Locations and techniques During the late winter and early spring months the fish come into the inshore reefs to spawn and can be caught in water as shallow as 30-50m. This means you don’t necessarily need to venture too far from shore to catch a feed of fish. The larger fish and good numbers on the outer reefs are definitely a better choice, looking for bottom in the 100-300m depth range will have you on some prime territory and usually away from the pressure of weekend danglers. Also, don’t become too wrapped up in sourcing secret spots and GPS marks of mystical fish producing reefs that other angler keep hidden away. A lot of good stripey bottom has been found by accident so don’t discount any good-looking reef you see on your sounder. Every bit of reef is worth a look and some key points to look for are nice high pinnacles that jut straight up from reef or on the edge of the reef, good holes and sheer drop offs and reef structure that runs along the edge of a contour line. Quite often we have fished a patch of reef that produced good fish last trip only to be seemingly devoid of fish this time, a quick move to more reef nearby has found fish and a move again found even more, the general rule of thumb is if the reef looks good give it a try, if no fish are on the chew within 15-20 minutes, pull

Jeremy Cashion loves his blue terry towel hat and blue eye trevalla. up and try another section or patch of reef. The underwater currents and tides play a very important role in where the fish will be situated in relation to the reef. Obviously it is hard to gauge what the underwater currents are doing 100m down or more but as you drift with the tide you will get an idea of the direction. While the tide is running hard, try drifting onto the face and off the back edge of the reef, the fish hold in these areas using the currents much like a trout in a stream to maintain a position whilst using the least amount of energy and have food items carried to them by the current. Also try the deeper holes and crevices during this time as the fish will also hide in them to keep out of the strong current. As the tide slows, drift across

the reef proper as many fish will take this opportunity to move about on the reef hunting out other food items. In order to do this effectively you need to be on the water when there is minimal wind. Being Tasmania, this is not always be easy but study the weather forecasts and try and aim for days where wind of 5-15 knots is predicted. Up to 10 knots is fine, but once it becomes higher the drift rate increases to a point where contact with the bottom is almost impossible. At this point sea anchors can work well but having someone on the controls of the boat and driving the boat in reverse to hold station will be the best method. Apart from a seaworthy ocean-going boat, there are a couple of key pieces of equipment that are needed

to help locate areas where striped trumpeter will be. These are a powerful high resolution depth sounder and a GPS or chart plotter, the sounder to locate reefs, structure and fish and the GPS to mark any likely spots to come back to. Being able to use your depth sounder effectively is paramount to finding good stripey bottom. When using the sounder turn all the automatic controls off and run the unit on full manual, this will allow you to constantly adjust the settings such as gain or sensitivity to suit the depth and conditions. Try using gain and sensitivity on its maximum limit, only tapping it back a fraction until screen clutter starts to disappear and then the unit will be reading at its best. Once a patch of reef has been found, a useful feature that some sounders have is the ability to set an upper and lower depth limit. If, for example, you are fishing in 100m of water, looking at the top 70-80m is a waste of time as the striped trumpeter schools will hold within 20m of the bottom. If the unit has this feature, set the upper limit to 80m and the lower limit to 105m and this will allow the sounder to display only the information in the bottom 25m of water and give you a much better picture with more detail of what is on the reef. At this stage, it is quite common to see elongated arches and constant lines across the screen and these will be individual fish feeding, also look for masses of bait schools on or near the bottom as where there is bait there will be stripey. Quite often you will see a bait school sitting just off the tip or the edge of a sharp drop or pinnacle and this is a prime feature to drop a bait onto. Some popular East Coast

locations to try are Merrick Reef, Middle Ground, Pulfers Reef, Binalong Patch, The Cliff and the Eddystone Patch. These are all good reef areas to try your hand at catching a few stripey, but are also good base points to prospect around and see what other reef structures come up. Like I said before, there are really no secret magic spots that produce fish all the time, you just need to search around and find good reef and drop a bait down to really get an idea of whats going on. If no fish come aboard within a short time, move on and find another reef. Tackle This is one area where skimping on quality gear is not an option, rod and line fishing for striped trumpeter is hard on tackle and hauling large hard-fighting fish from 100m or more of water tests reel gears, line rollers, bail arms and rod guides to the limit. Many cheaper reels just don’t have the quality internal gearing and bearings to be able to cope with the torture of continuous winding under extreme load and when stripey fishing, and this is what outfits will spend the majority of their time doing. Dropping between 500-1000g of lead to the bottom and systematically winding up 5-7kg fish, quite often 3-4 fish on one rig, is enough to strip the gear teeth and warp shafts of sub standard reels. One of the most simple outfits capable of taking the punishment is an Alvey 825BCV combo, this is the Alvey 825BCV deep sea reel, a 1:1 ratio direct wind reel with an anti reverse, strong star drag and is as tough as nails coupled with a stout Alvey heavy boat rod. Whilst it is not cutting edge technology, nor does it look overly flash hanging

out of the rocket launcher of a Gucci offshore fishing boat, it does a superb job of hauling fish aboard with a minimum of fuss other than some grunting from the angler. Large spinning reels are another good option and are easy to use but once again, choosing a quality model capable of handling the job can be difficult. Large spool capacity is vitally important to hold enough braid to be able to fish in depths up to 300m and will rule out many spinning reels, most of which are cheaper surf style reels with inadequate quality components for the job. Some models tough enough and suitable for the job are Shimano Spheros series and the Penn Spinfisher SSV or SSM series; both of these have a pedigree in heavy saltwater fishing, have proven themselves through the test of time, are robust and can take some serious punishment in a harsh saltwater environment without letting you down. As far as line is concerned there is only one choice and that is to use a quality braid, usually between 30-60lb depending on the rod and reel being used. Braid, which has less stretch than monofilament, will allow greater line capacity on the reel, feel the bites better, feel when your sinker hits the bottom, allow you to stay in contact with it and most important of all being a finer diameter for its breaking strain than the equivalent mono will have less drag in the water and be less effected by underwater currents and tides. Brands such as Power Pro, Platypus, Cortland Master Braid and Whiplash are all quality products at affordable prices and will do a fine job. Baits and rigs Being a reef dwelling

HYDRO TASMANIA WATER STORAGE INFORMATION Water Storage Information as at 10th June 2015 Lake/Lagoon

Metres from full

Comment

Lake Augusta ...................................3.16 .......................................................Steady Arthurs Lake ....................................2.42 .......................................................Steady Great Lake .......................................15.57 .....................................................Steady Trevallyn Pond .................................0.46 .......................................................Steady Shannon Lagoon ..............................0.31 .......................................................Steady Penstock Lagoon .............................0.12 .......................................................Steady Lake Echo ........................................8.09 .......................................................Steady Dee Lagoon .....................................0.24 .......................................................Steady Bradys/Binneys/Tungatinah .............2.29 ........................................................Rising Bronte Lagoon .................................0.81 .......................................................Steady Pine Tier Lagoon ............................................................................................Spilling Little Pine Lagoon ............................0.43 .......................................................Steady Laughing Jack Lagoon ....................4.44 .......................................................Steady Lake St Clair ....................................0.96 .......................................................Steady Lake King William ............................6.16 .......................................................Steady Lake Liapootah ................................0.28 ........................................................Rising Wayatinah Lagoon ...........................0.25 .......................................................Steady Lake Catagunya .............................................................................................Spilling

Lake Repulse ...................................0.22 ........................................................Rising Cluny Lagoon .................................................................................................Spilling Meadowbank Lake ..........................0.09 .......................................................Steady Lake Pedder ....................................0.63 .......................................................Steady Lake Gordon ....................................33.29 .....................................................Steady Lake Burbury ...................................3.87 .......................................................Steady Lake Plimsoll ...................................3.63 ........................................................Rising Lake Murchison .............................................................................................Spilling Lake Mackintosh .............................2.45 .......................................................Steady Lake Rosebery .................................0.33 ........................................................Rising Lake Pieman ....................................2.41 .......................................................Steady Lake Mackenzie ...............................1.83 .......................................................Steady Lake Rowallan .................................5.36 .......................................................Steady Lake Parangana ...............................0.86 ....................................................... Falling Lake Cethana .................................................................................................Spilling Lake Barrington ...............................0.47 .......................................................Steady Lake Gairdner ..................................3.3 .........................................................Steady Lake Paloona ...................................0.95 ....................................................... Falling Woods Lake .....................................2 ............................................................Steady Whitespur Pond ...............................8.21 ........................................................Rising Lake Newton ...................................3.46 ....................................................... Falling Lake Margaret .................................1.96 .......................................................Steady

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

JULY 2015

fish striped trumpeters’ diet mostly consists of octopus, squid, crustaceans and small fish so using baits found naturally in their environment will produce the best results. Try and use baits that are as fresh as possible and not just some scrap you have had laying around in the freezer for a while, trumpeter can be fussy eaters. I have found that fresh squid tentacles and the Tasmanian octopus bait that is caught and processed at Eagle Hawk Neck produces excellent results, some commercial anglers even swear by garfish. Don’t be shy with the amount you put on the hook either, give them plenty to chew on. One of my regular fishing partners even swears by using fillets of fresh gurnard that are an unwelcome by-catch when stripey fishing. Being fresh from the water they are a high quality bait and do seem to work well. In conjunction to the bait I like to use something that glows in the dark, usually this is a Candy Squid from Luhr Jensen slipped onto the hook shank before the bait is placed on, these not only act as an attractant in the dark water but if the bait is picked off by smaller fish there is still a lure on the hook that the fish may go for. Other alternatives to this are plastic glow beads or glow tubing placed on the trace above the hook. Whatever the item, I have found that something that glows increases the activity especially when the fish are thin on the ground.

As far as bottom rigs go, keeping things simple is the best idea and I use a standard paternoster rig, albeit a heavy duty version is the basis for this. Mainline breaking strains are always a subject of much conjecture and I have tried anything from 80lb through to 450lb, some people will argue that a lighter leader will catch more fish; personally I don’t think that in the dark murky depths it will make a whole lot of difference. A lighter mainline will certainly be thinner and will give less drag in the currents but will also be easier to cut through on some reef. It can also be difficult to handle when you are trying to lift fish aboard the boat and can result in cut hands if you do not wear gloves. A loop in one end should be crimped with some armour spring or tubing as a chaff guard where the swivel from the braid clips to and then 3-4 Branch Line Swivels should be slid on and crimped into place. The Branch Line swivels work much better than normal cross line swivels because you don’t have to cut the mainline to put them on, just simply slide them onto the line position them where you want your spacing, one metre apart is good, and crimp them into place. From each of these swivels crimp on your trace material, anything from 50lb through to 200lb can be used, but once again is up to the individual. I have tried fluorocarbon line for traces

with great results and it is much harder and abrasive resistant for its relative breaking strain than normal mono trace. Keep the trace length relatively short, I find 20cm is more than adequate and I crimp a hook on the other end. I also like to put a lumo bead or piece of lumo tube on the trace before I crimp the hook on just as an added attractant. I get asked all the time what type of hooks are best

are ideal, depending on the brand and style. One of my favourite styles is a commercial grade Ezibaiter style hook, which is a type of circle hook but with a longer shank, they are a longline hook used by commercial angler are heavy gauge, commercial grade, quite inexpensive and very effective. Sizes 11/0-14/0 can be used depending on the size of the fish in the area. At the sinker end of the

Golden nuggets like this bring the smiles. for stripey fishing and the simple answer is any good quality heavy gauge hook designed for live baiting or set line fishing. Circle or circle style hooks are a good choice as it allows the fish to practically self-hook when it takes the bait with no need for the angler to strike. Also, being that they hook the fish in the corner of the mouth makes it easier to remove from the fish. Sizes 4/0-8/0

rig, simply crimp in a loop leaving about 2m between the last hook and the sinker loop, very few striped trumpeter are caught in this area just above the reef and is where you will mostly be annoyed by Gurnard. From this loop tie a short length of lighter mono, around 50lb, and attach the sinker or lead weight to this, in the event you snag the sinker on the bottom, this lighter line

will break and you get your whole rig back minus only the sinker, and that’s cheaper and better than losing the whole rig every time. Basic large snapper style sinkers are the best as they sink nice and straight without twisting. I use 16-32oz should be kept on board to cover all scenarios of tide, drift and current. THE CATCH When your rig hits the bottom, striped trumpeter are not the only fish that inhabit the reef, and you will most certainly feel a bunch of small taps. About 90% of the time this is the gurnard, a ugly looking red googly-eyed fish with lots of terrible spikes that if jab you will have you in pain for hours. Be very careful handling these fish as a simple mistake can ruin a whole day on the water. One way of trying to avoid the gurnard is to wind your rig up a few winds on the reel as soon as the sinker touches bottom. Other fish that you may come across are banded morwong or perch and big deep sea cod, but when a big stripey hits you will know all about it. They are not shy about how they strike and they just grab the bait and head for the reef. This is when you need to have your drag locked up and hold on as quite often if the school is thick there will be more than one fish on the rig and it’s not uncommon to have a 3-4 hook rig loaded with fish all heading down. Once you have pulled the fish aboard it is important

to bleed them straight away and put them on ice as soon as possible, they are after all one of the finest eating fish in the sea and should be paid the respect they deserve. Leaving top table fish lying around on a deck in the sun for hours will spoil it very quickly and considering its worth up to $28-30/kg, taking the extra care at sea will be evident when it hits the table. A few bags of ice placed in a decent ice box with a couple of buckets of sea water will lower the temperature nicely, enough that I challenge you to keep your hand in it for any length of time, and have the fish flesh firm by the time you are back at the ramp. Being at sea fishing for striped trumpeter can be one of the more relaxing moments of fishing you are ever likely to experience especially when you are with a few mates, conditions that are suitable for drifting the reefs are usually are very comfortable for the angler as well. They’re not something we get to have all that often. However, relaxation can quickly turn into intense excitement when a couple of freight train trumpeter hit your rig with the intent on pulling you over the side of the boat. If you manage to win the fight and haul the fish on board, not only have you had some serious fun without too much danger, but you end up with some fantastic table fare that will keep everyone at home very happy. What more could you ask for?

between turbidity and wind speed and a weak correlation between water level and turbidity. “What we found is that it is not feasible to achieve a year round clear water fishery in Shannon Lagoon,” said John Diggle, Director of the Inland Fisheries Service. “What we can achieve is better water quality on a more regular basis particularly in late summer, which is the peak period for trout fishing activity.” The management target is to keep turbidity levels below 20 NTU* for 75 per cent of the time during March and April and to reduce turbidity as far as possible at other

times of the year. This will be done by investigating the feasibility of automating the pumps at Miena Dam, which will allow more accurate management of water levels during late summer, as well as using irrigation water releases to provide lagoon flushing. Further detail is available in the Shannon Lagoon Summary Report on Hydro Tasmania’s website at www. hydro.com.au/environment/ shannon-lagoon *NTU is the unit used to measure water turbidity. It stands for Nephelometric Turbidity Units Released by Ian Colvin for Hydro Tasmania

INLAND FISHERIES SERVICE

Annual carp workshop 2015 IFS

Tim Farrell

The Carp Management Program (CMP) held its annual two-day workshop on 4–5 May to review the past year’s work and undertake planning for the coming year. Alex Schaap, formerly the director of the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) was present to provide an independent review of the workshop and assisted in the development of a 2015/16 operational plan. The first day involved presentations from staff on key aspects of the program to the stakeholder group. This group consisted of representatives from the Inland Fisheries Advisory Council, the Tasmanian Land Conservancy, and the River Clyde Trust. The presentations were aimed to give the stakeholders an understanding of how the CMP was progressing, while providing a catalyst for the team to build an operational

plan on day two. The Deputy Premier, Jeremy Rockliff also attended the workshop. He was supportive of the progress being made and his words of encouragement were appreciated by the team and stakeholder group. The second day allowed the team (with the valuable assistance of Alex Schaap), to workshop, interrogate and analyse the data to investigate opportunities to assist in the eradication of carp from Lake Sorell. The key outcomes of the workshop were: • Carp have been contained to Lake Sorell, and that Lake Crescent and the Clyde River remain carp free. • A further 1 204 carp predominately from the 2009-10 cohort, were removed from Lake Sorell this financial year. A total of 41 200 carp have now been taken from this lake since 1995. • Intensive fishing pressure during 2014-15 returned a dramatic decrease in catch per unit of effort compared to the previous year. It is estimated that at least 50

percent of the population was removed during this period. • Four small carp captured during the summer were determined to have come from a spawning in 2013-14. Analysis of catch per unit effort data indicates that this cohort is very small and it is anticipated that it can be fished out along with the 2009-10 cohort. • Intensive and targeted gill netting was identified as the primary method to eradicate carp by 2017‑18. ENHANCING THE FISHING EXPERIENCE AT SHANNON LAGOON Collaboration between Hydro Tasmania and the Inland Fisheries Service (IFS) aims to improve the fishing experience at one of Tasmania’s most iconic trout fishing lakes. Shannon Lagoon is located on the Shannon River south of Great Lake. It provides habitat for threatened native aquatic plant and animal species, irrigation water releases for downstream use, and a recreational trout fishery. “Hydro Tasmania manages Shannon Lagoon

to supply water for riparian use, irrigation and energy generation. We also manage water levels to support recreational fishing,” said Marie Egerrup, Specialist Environmental Scientist with Hydro Tasmania. “Turbidity, or lack of water clarity, has long been a concern for the angling community and because of it the lagoon is perceived as not meeting its full potential as a trout fishery.” A joint project between IFS and Hydro Tasmania systematically assessed the social benefit, and the environmental and economic feasibility, of options to minimise turbidity. Hydro Tasmania and the IFS worked with stakeholders to identify a range of options to enhance the fishing opportunity, while at the same time protecting the environmental values of the lagoon. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Shannon Lagoon has become more turbid since the commissioning of Poatina Power Station. The project found a strong relationship

JULY 2015

The Australian

Lure Fly & Outdoors Expo 18 -19 JULY 2015 | IPSWICH SHOW GROUND - EXHIBITION CENTRE QLD | 9AM - 4PM

100+ exhibitors at 2015 Lure Fly and Outdoors Expo FMG

Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

Only a handful of years since its inception a the Fernvale Town Hall, Garry Fitzgerald’s Lure and Fly Expo continues to grow. Moving last year to the Ipswich Exhibition Hall and expanding in 2015 to a second level in the Ipswich show hall, the 2015 Expo will host more than 100 exhibitors and carry more tackle for sale than any other event of its kind in the country. Originally created as a showcase for Australian lure designers and manufacturers, the Expo was designed to promote the art of lure making to the next generation of anglers, however, it’s grown to become much more than that. “We needed a way to recognise and celebrate the talent and creations of Australian lure makers. There’s a whole generation of guys out there who weren’t able to pass their skills and experience on, which was a real shame,” Garry said. “But in the process, there’s been interest from more than just the lure makers in the industry. This year, boating,

outdoors, tackle and even archery companies all want to attend.” At FM, we’re sure that this is because the unpretentious nature of the organiser, venue and visitors that the show tends to attract. From an exhibitor’s standpoint, the costs are kept to a bare minimum and the same can be said at the gate. With free parking, $10 entry and no charge to bring your kids, the focus becomes the show itself and not the costs of attending. Because of this structure, attendees will see makers at the show that they won’t see at any other. With some of the cream of Australia’s talent being cottage-industry, there’s no room in their marketing budgets for glitzy shows in city centres. That’s because there’s no

Entry

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18-19, 2015 9am – 4pm

marketing budgets. With all of the expansion within the venue, you may think that the original aim of the show will have been diluted, but Garry’s feet are firmly grounded. “We’re still about showing you how to turn a lump of wood into something that can catch you a fish. There’s demonstrations and displays for all parts of the process on site,” Garry continued. “Jamie Judd from Gobsmacked Lures will be giving live demonstrations on cutting lure blanks out of wood and turning them on a lathe in one demonstration area. Southern Cross Lures will be showing attendees how to carve and sand the shapes, while Bryan Power from Powers Lures will

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JULY 2015

be conducting painting demonstrations outside the main hall in a second demo area. On the main stage – sponsored by Humminbird and MC’d by the timeless Barry Bergum - there’s also a real collection of local fishing talent. You can hear guys like Justin Welsh (sonar), Jason Ehrlich, Tri Ton (Hervey Bay), Wade Turner (Darling Downs), Tim Morgan (bream), Reece Thomas (Moreton Bay snapper) and Greg Livingstone (gorge fishing for cod) sharing their fishing secrets. Even the legendary Harro will be there demonstrating knots and rigs. Expansion of the Expo includes a greater presence from fishing boat dealers. There’ll be nearly a whole level dedicated to fishing boats, and these will be located on the lower floor of the hall area. Stalwarts like Brisbane Yamaha, Stones Corner Marine and Karee Marine will be showing off their fishing craft and cutting deals in an environment that’s a lot lower pressure than your standard boat show. Also, you’ll see an increased presence from bigger brands in the Australian industry – the likes of Jackall, Ecogear and Atomic are all touted to be there with their wares. The people who make sure that our waterways are stocked with plenty for us to catch will be displaying. The timeless FFSAQ trailer will be complemented by the first live display of baby jungle perch. With a successful breeding program up and running, it’ll be any year now that the first impoundment stockings will take place. You can meet the man behind the research at the show. Last, but not least is the flyfishing component of the show.

Well known fly tyers Peter Cherret and Gavin Dunne will be tying on-site, as well as members of the SEQ Flyfishers and Brisbane Flyfishing Clubs. But you’ve probably tired of us banging on about the show. We’ll be there, of course, with a limited edition lure offer (this year with Kuttafurra Lures) and some great deals for subscribing to the Fishing Monthly titles. Let’s take a closer look at what some of the exhibitors will be doing on their stands. BASSMAN SPINNERBAITS Possibly one of Australia’s best known spinnerbait

and unique folding camping fire pits among other great products at the expo. DARRLY REEKS ARCHERY To satisfy those who are into hunting, Darryl Reeks Archery will have a range of hunting, competition archery, beginner sets and 3D targets on display. ELECTRONICS Electronics is a new feature at the expo with Humminbird and Garmin having working units on display and for sale. EXHIBITORS KUTTAFURRA LURES Aaron Young and his Kuttafurra Lures are a

SHOW DETAILS AT A GLANCE Dates................. July.18/19,.2015 Hours................ 9am.to.4pm Location............ .Ipswich.Showgrounds,. Warwick.Rd,.Ipswich. Parking............. Free.on-site. Entry................. .$10.adult,.children.under.16.free. with.paying.adult.. 2-day.pass.is.$15. Web................... www.lureshow.com.au Facebook.......... .Australian.Lure.Fly.&. Outdoors.Expo

manufacturers, Bassman will be launching some new concepts in spinnerbaits and mumblers to add to their long established range. RPM PRODUCTS Major sponsor of the expo, RPM Products will have a range of LED camping lights, car driving bar lights

household name amongst the new generation of Australian lure makers and he’s recognised as one of the most skilled lure carvers and painters in the modern game. Aaron won the Most Artistic Lure Award at last year’s show, with an amazing crayfish imitation. He will be attending the show again this year and looking forward to catching up with the other lure makers and all the people that bought lures from him last year. Aaron loves a chat about lures and lure making and will have plenty of his lures available for sale at the show. So stop in and say g’day - just make sure you have a few dollars with you, because you wont be able to resist buying a few of his lures. To find out more about more about Kuttafurra lures, find them on Facebook under Kuttafurra Swagman Lures. LIVELY LURES Lively Lures are an Aussie icon lure that has stood the test of time and keeps coming back for more. At the Expo, Lively Lures will be displaying the full range of their lures to show off just how diverse their products are. Best of all though, with

The Australian

Lure Fly & Outdoors Expo 18 -19 JULY 2015 | IPSWICH SHOW GROUND - EXHIBITION CENTRE QLD | 9AM - 4PM

ACCOMMODATION In the theme of keeping costs down, there’s camping available right on site at the Ipswich Showgrounds for out of town visitors, as well as plenty of accommodation options for all budgets in Ipswich – including several within walking distance of the Ipswich Showgrounds. Lively Lures recently opening a direct online store (www. livelyluresonline.com.au) visitors to the Expo can go home, log into the site and purchase whichever lures took their fancy, safe in the knowledge that they have handled the lures and know what they are getting. The late news was that Lively Lures will be selling their range of Micro Mullets at only $10 a pop – that’s a saving from their already incredibly cheap online price and something all trollers will need to budget for – especially if flathead, bass, bream and trout are on your target list. Released at this year’s Expo, will be a brand new 9” Mack Bait which will target mackerel, tuna, wahoo and most blue water species. It’s a must-visit stand.

STONES CORNER MARINE This year’s Lure, Fly and Outdoor Expo will be a first for Stones Corner Marine. They will be showcasing a range of Sea Jay boats from light car toppers to sports fishing side consoles. Models shown include the new 448 Avenger Sports (ideal for the QR CODE

Scan the QR code to listen to an interview with show founder, Garry Fitzgerald.

all-round anglers), the Creek Masta (which is specifically setup for the impoundment/ estuary anglers) or the Nomad (which is Sea Jay’s number one car topper model). So whether it is impoundment, saltwater/ estuary fishing or you are the travelling angler, then they have the boat for you. Stones Corner will also match your new boat with a Yamaha four-stroke or two-stroke outboard to suit. U-MAKE-EM This year the guys with the solution to making your own soft plastic baits will be offering the largest range of DIY soft plastic and spinnerbait components, with start up kits in both spinnerbaits and soft plastics at very reasonable prices. As well this year they will be offering a range of

hardbodied lures at super cheap prices. They will be demonstrating live, how to make your own soft plastics during both days in conjunction with their how-to DVD which will include soft plastics, spinnerbaits, jig heads and more. A must-see for those who want to do more than carve. KAREE MARINE Karee Marine will be at the show with a Nitro Z6 bass boat - the USA number 1 torunament boat powered by a Mercury 115 ProXs. Also on display will be the Clark 435 Dominator, designed with the angler in mind - a very capable bream or bass boat also powered by a Mercury 60hp 4-stroke. A proud Mercury dealer from the south side of Brisbane, having an imported boat on-hand to inspect makes your purchasing decision much easier. BRISBANE YAMAHA Brisbane Yamaha has

the peak periods! If you haven’t tried Balista yet be sure to give the LED

a range of new model Quintrex boat packages on display at the upcoming Lure Expo. Brisbane Yamaha is Australia’s largest selling Quintrex dealer matched to the high performance Yamaha outboard range. One of the best-selling ranges from Quintrex is the Explorer range of V-nosed hulls, ideal for lake and estuary conditions. Upgraded this year to the Fighter Series, it features the picklefork nose

as standard in models 3.9m and above. This hull now offers even greater stability at rest, a fuller bow and a finer entry to give you a better ride underway. Check out the F390 and F420 Trophy models at the Brisbane Yamaha stand. The Quintrex Hornet range is a stand-alone boat in the Australia boat market. Unique in design and with now legendary status amongst Australian anglers, they were first used in the inaugural ABT series. They are still recognised as the ultimate hull for lure and fly anglers. “We are proud to be part of Australia’s largest lure event. It is an opportunity for manufacturers to showcase the best Aussie-designed lures.” Brisbane Yamaha dealer Principal Aaron Goodchild says. “This year’s show is set to be bigger than ever, so come and see us and take a look at our range on display.” he adds. LASERWORX THE MOST PRECISE Laserworx, who cut all types of bibs with remarkable

accuracy, has been supplying lure bibs to manufacturers for the last 14 years, offering a competitive, consistent and quick service to Aussie lur makers country-wide. The benefit of having your bibs laser cut is consistency in shape (every bib will be identical) and reduced labour in the whole manufacturing process, allowing lure designers to concentrate solely on making the best designs around. Although Laserworx does a lot of business with established lure-makers, like Alan Dolan’s Lively Lures, they do also cater for the hobbyist via a standard range of bibs that can be ordered in smaller, non-commercial quantities. In fact, drop in and see the Laserworx staff and you’ll find that they may well have some small, mixed bags of bibs that you can use to get your hobby up and off the ground. BALISTA’S LED LURES Balista Lures have been around for a few years now. They are proudly Australianowned and designed for many of our species, including Murray cod and barramundi. By the end of 2015, the list will now also include bass with three super small models being released, all featuring Balista’s renowned LED technology. Their LED technology is a water activated flashing red LED in the tail of every one of their lures. This technology is fantastic for generating strikes on those super tough days. The technology works best in dirty water, overcast conditions plus dawn and dusk. The technology was extensively tested in the research labs of James Cook University in Cairns. They tried lots of different combinations and found the red LED to be by far the most effective. Since then, thousands of hours have been spent extensively testing and refining the technology. Every year more and more anglers are catching onto the technology, it is well worth having at least a couple in your tackle box for

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The Australian

Lure Fly & Outdoors Expo 18 -19 JULY 2015 | IPSWICH SHOW GROUND - EXHIBITION CENTRE QLD | 9AM - 4PM

EXHIBITOR MAP UPPER FLOOR

EXHIBITOR

EXHIBITOR MAP LOWER FLOOR

** The floor plan above is a draft only. The final floor plan is in progress and may change depending on the number and type of sites booked. From page 51

HAND CRAFTED Timber Fishing Lures

See full range at the Show

0418 349 782 52

JULY 2015

kuttafurralures@outlook.com

AC LURES Anthony Curtis is again joining the exhibitors at the Lure and Fly Expo and is excited to showcase his great range of lures that are right now taking massive cod in the cold winter waters of the Murray. With a range of lures that extend from a tiny 50mm right up to 150mm, AC Lures will have a lure that is just right for where and how you fish. The range of colours is impressive and, like a lot of lure makers, the colour range is always being developed to meet the needs of regional anglers. So drop by AC Lures stand, have a chat to the maker and get the lure that is right for you or your collection.

• AC Lures ...................................................... 42 & 43 • AK Lures ...................................................... 26 & 27 • Atomic .......................................................... 94 - 99 • Balista Lures .........................................................80 • Barambah Lures ...................................................35 • Barz Optics Sunglasses .......................................57 • Bassday ........................................................ 94 - 99 • Bassman Spinnerbaits..................................16 & 17 • Beardy’s Lures ......................................................45 • Bills Boxes ............................................................87 • Bionic Braid ..........................................................68 • Bringing Back Jungle Perch - DAF .......................81 • Brisbane Fly Fishing Club .....................................85 • Brisbane Yamaha ..................................................L3 • Bush N Beach Fishing ................................. 56 & 57 • Caino Lures...........................................................37 • Charltons Fishing...........................................10 - 14 • C&S Horsey Lures ................................................48 • Cod Hound Kayak Tours .......................................78 • Cod X Lures ............................................................6 • Compact Fishing Australia ...................................82 • Cooby Cobba Lures ...............................................5 • Darryl Reeks Archery ....................................74 & 76 • D & S Lures .............................................................7 • Deep River Lures ..................................................20 • Dizzy Scent .................................................. 47 & 49 • Diztek ........................................................... 47 & 49 • Duffrods ....................................................... 47 & 49 • Dynamite Lures .....................................................23 • FFSAQ ..................................................................83 • Fishaholic Lures ....................................................28 • Fishing Monthly Magazine ........................... 63 & 65 • Fishing Unlimited ..................................................36 • Flapper Lures ..........................................................3 • Gavin Dunne Custom Flies ...................................92 • Goanna Lures .........................................................3 • Gobsmacked Lures .............................Demo Area 2 • Keep IT Taxidermy & Fish Mounts................ 62 & 64 • Hillie’s Spinners & Lures .......................................22 • Honey Hole Lures .................................................54 • Humminbird ..........................................................59 • Hunter Lure Makers ................................................3 • Ipswich Screenprinting .........................................91 • Jackall Lures .........................................................55 • Jackpot Lures .......................................................46 • Jellyfish Lures .......................................................86 • JH Lures ...............................................................25 • John Hardt Marquetry.................................. 26 & 27 • Jungle Lures .........................................................44 • Bringing Back Jungle Perch - DAF .......................81 • Karee Marine ........................................................L2 • Kneebone Lures ...................................................21 • Kuttafurra Lures ......................................................1 • Laserworx .............................................................L5 • Last Cast Spinnerbaits ...........................................2 • Lively Lures ...........................................................69 • Loola Lures ...........................................................40 • Mac Lures ...............................................................4 • Master Baits Lures................................................18 • Megabass ..................................................... 94 - 99 • Mencho’s Lures ....................................................38 • Mudeye Lures .......................................................53 • Minn Kota .............................................................61 • Native Lures ............................................................8 • Ninja Lures ............................................................19 • Powell Lures ...........................................................3 • Power Lures .........................................Demo Area 1 • Predator Lures ......................................................24 • Rays Ozzy Lures ...................................................93 • Revenge Lures ......................................................41 • Ripp-N Lures ........................................................45 • RPM Products ............................................. 66 & 67 • Rod Harrison / Bionic Braid..................................68 • Running Creek Lures ..............................................1 • RV Lures ...............................................................54 • Samurai Fishing Rods .................................. 94 - 99 • Shads Lures ..........................................................60 • Smak Lures ...........................................................50 • Somerset Fishing Tackle .......................................52 • Sooks Lures ..........................................................39 • South East Qld Fly Fishers ...................................79 • Southern Cross Lures ..........................Demo Area 1 • Stingray Lures .............................................. 26 & 27 • Stones Corner Marine ..........................................L1 • Sun To Sea Outdoor Clothing ...............................90 • Twin River Lures ....................................................51 • U Make Em Soft Plastics ........................Demo Area • Unitika........................................................... 94 - 99 • Waspy Flies ...........................................................70 • Wildboar Leisure .......................................... 72 & 73

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IPSWICH SHOWGROUND • 18TH-19TH JULY JULY 2015

Straw Prawn challenge BRISBANE

David Mayes

What do you do when a massive low is bearing down over the coast of Far North Queensland over the weekend? There are only so many DVD’s you can watch and the localised flooding that keeps you house bound for 48 hours is enough to drive you berkley! I must admit, I stumbled across this little gem while searching the Internet on how to create soft plastics. I was surprised at the amount of tutorials I found, however one just about leapt out of the screen at me! It is a form of straw art; similar to the ancient Japanese tradition of

Origami, however utilising a simple flexi straw and scissors. Thinking of the run off action in days to come, I immediately thought of turning this straw prawn into a lure so I could test this interesting technique on the tarpon. So down to the shops I walked and bought a pack of 200 hundred straws and away I went! Firstly, this took me about one hour to perfect while I followed an online guide that broke down the process where I could stop, pause, rewind and play the tutorial. About 15 straws later, I started grasping the intricate art form and began turning a simple straw into a prawn imitation with lifelike features such as

WHAT YOU NEED • Small sharp scissors • Strand 20lb or 30lb Mono Leader, approximately 10cm • 1 lighter or matches • 1 safety pin • 1 small split shot sinker • 1 worm hook OPTIONAL EXTRAS • Nail polish/glitter, • Spray paint • Pen legs and feelers. Before you go down to the golden arches and grab a fist full of straws I’d suggest you buy a bulk pack of flexi straws for the small price of a newspaper.

Holding the straw, stretch the straw out so it reveals the flexi segments. Flatten the long length of the straw so it creates two creases.

Again, there are many online tutorials out there so have a go and be creative and take up the challenge! I have had success on a few species already including snake headed gudgeon, tarpon and jungle perch. My goal is to catch a barramundi on one before the season ends. Good luck and never give up!

With your scissors cut down the middle of the straw until you reach the flexi bend. Take one side and cut down the crease line until you reach the flexi bend. You should have three segments.

4 3

With the largest segment at the top, wrap the nearest strip around the top segment on the inside, passing it back through the loop you created, pull down firmly. Repeat on the other side.

JULY 2015

Take both sides and crease backwards on itself pointing up, these will be the legs. Whilst pinching the straw legs up, perform the same loop pattern on the original side. Change sides and repeat, make sure you pinch the leg segment up while you loop, pull down firmly. Repeat this whole step again as this creates the head of the prawn.

Once again bend back the legs and then bend them in to two segments. Take your scissors and divide each side in to four legs. Trim legs to 2.5cm in length. On the front leg create a small nipper.

Flatten the short end of the straw and trim to 1.5cm; this is the tail. On the underside, cut out a triangle, finish by cutting down both crease lines.

On the remaining length segment, divide into five strips, cutting all the way down to the head. The middle section will be the head spike, trim to 2cm in length and cut at angle to create small wedges. The two outer strips on each side will be the long feelers. The two remaining strips will be the smaller inner feelers.

9 8

For the eyes take your safety pin and pierce a hole through the head of the prawn. Pass a 2cm length of the mono leader through the hole.

Using the lighter, burn both ends of the leader to create the eyes. This keeps them in place and looks very realistic. You are finished! It is up to you how you rig your creation; it can be used unweighted as a fly imitation or rigged with a small split shot and jigged.

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Guide to land-based berleying NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.starlofishing.com

The use of berley can dramatically improve your catch rates, no matter where you fish or what species you chase. This month, Starlo examines the basics of berleying from land-based locations. The philosophy behind creating an effective berley trail is simple enough. By introducing food particles and the smell of food into the water, anglers attempt to attract, concentrate and excite fish, hopefully making them easier to catch. A good berley trail is akin to the mouth-watering smells wafting from the kitchen as a great meal is being prepared. It serves to sharpen appetites and draw potential diners towards its source without actually satisfying their hunger. Berley can be especially useful for shore-bound anglers, who aren’t as mobile and able to follow the fish they’re chasing as their boat-based and kayaking brethren. But it’s also important to note that berleying can sometimes prove to be counter-productive for shore fishers. If your berley is carried away too quickly by the tide, current or wave action, it can actually take hungry fish with it, out of your casting range. For this reason, you need to be strategic in your approach. That means either choosing a location where the berley trail isn’t dispersed or taken away too rapidly, or maintaining a steady, unbroken trail rather than a sporadic and intermittent one. In a perfect world, you should aim to achieve both of those positive outcomes whenever you berley. The content and make-up of your berley for sale on

Luderick or blackfish respond especially well to berley. trail will depend on the species you’re targeting and what materials are readily available. The ideal base for any multi-species berley mix is a cereal product of some sort. Bread is perfect in this role. So are various animal feeds such as chicken feed pellets, bran, pollard, boiled wheat, dog biscuits and so on. The ideal attributes of any berley base are affordability, bulk without excessive weight (especially important when carrying your gear any distance), a propensity to soak up water, and the ability to appeal to a broad range of fish species. My favourite berley base in most environments is stale bread. I save all our household bread scraps in a large freezer and also keep my eyes peeled for specials on bread at the supermarket, or for cafes and other outlets willing to selling day old (and older) bread at reduced prices. Stale bread, while bulky, is light and easy to carry. When soaked in water at

Simply soaking and mulching up some stale bread in a rock pool then distributing it by hand gets the job done beautifully! your destination, it swells, softens and slowly sinks, creating the perfect berley trail base. To this starchy, cerealrich base I’ll add bait scraps, fish off-cuts and a splash of tuna oil. These ingredients greatly increase the appeal of the berley mix. I’ll also be sure to include some small pieces of whatever it is I’m using on my hook as bait, be it prawns, pilchards, cunjevoi, squid, worms or whatever else. If I’m chasing herbivores such as luderick or drummer, I’ll add some scraps of marine weed and algae, too. This mixture can be stirred up by hand or with a stick in a large bucket and then dispersed into the

water regularly using an old cup, ladle or scoop. Remember: a little bit often is much better than a lot occasionally. It can also pay to place some of your stale bread in a mesh bag and hang this at the water’s surface on a length of rope, so that wave and water action gradually disperses the contents. In future Back To Basics columns we’ll look at some more specific styles and strategies of berleying, but for now the concept of a steady, unbroken, cerealbased berley trail makes a wonderful starting point and will almost certainly improve your catch rates, wherever you fish and whatever you chase… Give it a try!

“Got ’im on!” Another solid hook up in the berley trail.

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Trophy trout time HORSHAM

Trevor Holmes

With the onset of winter now is the time for the serious trout anglers to capitalise on the great angling that’s on offer in the Wimmera area. Trophy trout are by far the most sought-after species and with several lakes in the area holding plenty of water and large numbers of fish it’s not hard to get excited. For that reason I will cover the top trout lakes as the native fish become semi dormant and the redfin go into their winter slumber as we head into the coming months. LAKE TOOLONDO Within half an hour of Horsham, Lake Toolondo has a reputation to behold. Increasing in notoriety, both here and abroad, Toolondo has a unique ecosystem, and is producing brown and rainbow trout with staggering growth rates. Productive techniques at Toolondo vary, and trolling lures is the norm during winter, with fish more than happy to attack surface and mid running hardbodies. Tassie Devils produce very well here and can be trolled or cast. Shallow running lures like the Strike Pro Flatz Minnow, Rapalas, Ecogears and Daiwas in natural colours matching the minnow and gudgeon are best. Soft plastics such as Fish Arrow J Huddles, J Shads and Nories Spoontail Shads have worked well too. Small jigheads are the key here and are best fished sub surface. Fly anglers may find it a little

tough during winter but the smelt, minnow and mudeye patterns should produce, as should traditional flies like Wooly Buggers and Craig’s Nighttime. Another local favourite is the Shrek, but bead head nymphs in black go well too. Bait anglers using mudeye, gudgeon, minnow or even Berkley Powerbait have had great success here in the past, and as the food sources become even more scarce over winter these will come to the fore. LAKE TOOLONDO Current level: 20% Camping: Wash Tomorrow Caravan Park. Phone: (03) 5388 2231. n.b. Camping is not allowed at the lake Species: brown and rainbow trout, redfin. ROCKLANDS RESERVOIR Situated on the Glenelg River near the pretty little

town of Balmoral, Rocklands has in the warmer months produced some great redfin fishing, but is usually very quiet over winter. Trout come out to play when the water temperature gets down 10-12ºC and although not known for its monster trout it is a regular producer of a feed for most anglers prepared to brave the cold early morning and late afternoon. Flat lining lures such as Tassie Devils, Cobras and shallow running hardbodies will see you land both browns and rainbows if conditions are right. Size two StumpJumpers have also done well this autumn on both trout and redfin. As this water is usually slightly discoloured brighter lures will get the best results. Bait fishing in amongst trees or on the edge of the old river bed is a proposition, as is fishing with mudeye, minnow and gudgeon, or even a live yabbies. Plastics cast to rising fish or early morning in shallows and backwaters

Dane Petkovic was very happy with his first ever Toolondo trout.

The thrill of catching your first trout was experienced by 10 year old Will Skene with his first Toolondo brown. LAKE FYANS Breathtaking scenery is an apt description of the view on the lake and the trout fishing likewise can be equally breathtaking. Set amongst bush and cleared areas Fyans is located 10 minutes from Halls Gap and 20 minutes from Stawell, and is renowned for its abundant brown and rainbow trout and redfin populations. Many anglers opt to fish mudeye here from a boat or the wall area if the right winds prevail. Gudgeons and minnows fished under a bubble float as well as the ever-reliable mudeye shouldn’t fail you at Fyans. Casting Tassie Devils in orange, pink and white

Left: Mark Sloane with a ripping 3.5kg buck brown from Lake Toolondo taken on a Strike Pro Flatz Minnow cast to the weed beds. Right: Vince Baj returned for more Toolondo action and landed this quality brown on a wakasaki silver coloured 4” Fish Arrow J Huddle. will produce fish, as will bladed lures such as Celtas. ROCKLANDS RES.

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Current level:...... 19% Camping:.some areas of free camping as well as a caravan park and local lodge. Species:............brown and rainbow trout, cod, bass, redfin and carp.

throughout early winter should tempt the spawning fish. Yellow winged Tassie Devils have also done very well here on trout but I prefer them in the warmer months. Fly anglers frequently wade the shallows and weed beds presenting mudeye and smelt pattern fly to rising or sighted fish. Trolling small Ecogear lures has been my favourite method, but most shallow running

hardbodies will do well. As with most trout lakes the early morning and late afternoon produce best, while trolling treelines and weedbeds will put you in the zone to catch fish. LAKE FYANS Current level:......67% Camping:................... There is no camping on the lake foreshore, the nearby campgrounds at Stawell and Halls Gap provide a variety of camping options for visitors. Lake Fyans Holiday Park is on the Stawell side and is my preferred place to stay, and offers safe and secure family focused accommodation options. Species:.... brown and rainbow trout, redfin. LAKE WARTOOK Set in the Grampians between mountains, Lake Wartook is a very picturesque and productive lake that is accessible by boat and from the bank. The wall area adjacent to the carpark can at times produces some great trout by most methods. Casting lures is very popular with most bank anglers here and their catches mainly consist of rainbow trout and redfin. Pink Tassie Devils have long been the most popular lure for rainbows and it doesn’t differ here with many falling to the deadly Devil. During winter Berkley Powerbait in pink and orange rigged on a running sinker rig is also well worth trying when casting lures. Mudeyes fished under a bubble float or minnows and gudgeons can also produce some great results. Some local

anglers also fish yabby tails on the bottom to good effect. Trolling lures along treelines and around the island to the right of the boat ramp is a sure fire way to snag a fish here, but be prepared to lose a lure or two in the snags. Fly anglers working the shallows early and late in the day have had mixed success. Fly is hard work here as the water clarity is amazing most of the year, hence the early and late starts. LAKE WARTOOK Current level:..... 55% Camping:........nearby are various camping areas that have to booked in advance with Parks Victoria. Halls Gap is 20 minutes away and is a good option. Alternatively accommodation can be booked online for the Wartook area. Species:........ rainbow and brown trout, redfin. LAKE BELLFIELD Located south of Halls Gap, Bellfield doesn’t produce a lot of trout but on occasions some surprise catches come in. Stocked with both rainbow and brown trout, as well as chinook salmon, and the naturally occurring redfin, Bellfield is a family friendly lake that’s best fished with bait. Best options are Berkley Powerbait, scrub worms, mudeye, minnow and gudgeon. This water storage is a non-powerboat lake with only electric powered vessels permitted. Casting lures and plastics off the wall area can often produce a fish or two, especially if left to sink a little before retrieving. To page 59

Fishing pressure prompts lockjaw ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

In the lead up to the cool blast of winter’s chill, the cod fishing along the Murray River has dropped away this past month, with many anglers finding it hard to put a bend in a rod. Maybe the increased influx of angling traffic at many locations has prompted the lockjaw attitude of the local cod population. At some social media hotspots, the river is almost pounded on a daily basis as anglers work specific rock bars and cod-related structure to the point where the fish are not getting a rest. With a daily bombardment of lures, it’s a sure bet the larger, more astute cod are savvy to the continuance of angling related intrusions. These large fish do not attain their size through stupidity, and most would no doubt have attained a degree in lure recognition these past few months. Most hot cod bites are now aligned with an oncoming rise in water levels or a sharp spike in barometric pressure — be it either up or down. There are consistent weekly reports of a big cod caught here or there, but when you break down the angler numbers and hours spent on the water, it’s easy to see the bite has tapered off considerably to that of last season.

In saying that though, there are still some very large cod for those prepared to think outside the square and break away from the flock that are content to troll the deep. Casting has been most productive the few times I have ventured up the river, and I find it quite refreshing

Larger profiled lures like the Bassman 4x4 and either 120mm Codzilla or large StumpJumpers are working well. A range of different colours have been productive, but fluoro orange has been the pick. Some honking big perch have also crashed in on the action, with several

a little more productive in big cod terms, as the shallow nature of the water is less inclined to draw the larger boat brigade. There’s not too much deep water trolling at this location, but some very big cod are there for those prepared to try different lure styles, whether cast or trolled.

Josh Volf with a ripper Murray cod caught deep trolling the pool water.

Chris Jorgensen with a solid golden perch that scoffed a number 1 StumpJumper. to see other anglers using this method. A few cod to 90cm have been landed in the pool water above Robinvale on cast hardbodies and spinnerbaits.

Bait anglers have also done well along this section of the Murray this past month, with good numbers of large perch and the occasional cod landed on a wide range of edibles that include small yabbies, scrubworms, grubs and cheese.

While the fishing has slowed at many locations, other spots have opened up. It’s just a matter of getting out on the water and matching a little grey matter with our scale-clad quarry. After all, they are only fish.

over 55cm scoffing the larger lures as though they were jelly beans. Below Euston Weir downstream to Wemen and beyond, the fishing has been

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Dozer Collins with a typical sized Murray cod caught on the cast.

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From page 58

LAKE BELLFIELD Current level:...... 64% Camping:............Halls Gap is only a couple of kilometres away and has many accommodation options. Species:.........rainbow and brown trout, chinook salmon, redfin, blackfish.

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Big Murray cod are about to get on the prowl MILDURA

John Menhennett goobyfish@hotmail.com

There are many things to offer native fish anglers around Mildura during the month of July. The cold winter starts to take its toll and begins to slow everything down, including some fish species, but monster Murray cod will be lurking and definitely worth casting the snags for. There are not too many things better than braving the cold frosty mornings on the banks of the Murray around a warm fire during July. Crawling your way out of the swag to sit around the fire and boiling the billy while thinking about the day’s fishing ahead is one of life’s great experiences. Cod fishing over the past month has been a bit hit-andmiss, with barometric pressure

either steady or on the low side of good. A fair few cod in the 75-80cm range were being caught around the end of June. Quite a number have been hooked in every place but the mouth, signifying that these fish are not feeding properly just yet. There have been some metre-long fish caught on large trolled hardbodies and cast spinnerbaits; the bigger the lure the better it seems. Colours haven’t too much of a concern, as cod have been caught on a large variety of colours lately. There have still been some nice yellowbelly about on large lures, despite the colder weather, with quite a few going around the 50cm+ mark, which is a very good size for the main river. Similarly, bait has been producing great results around root balls and weed beds, with shrimp being the go-to bait. With a bit of flow in the river

at the moment, light bait rigs are a must. Water clarity has been very good over the past month, which can bring lure colour into play, especially when fishing shallow. When the water is this clear, it pays to aim for long casts into snags, as getting too close may spook the bigger fish. Spinnerbaits will also take on a world of their own in this clearer water, with nickel and black blades working best. Natural colours are worth trying also. A lot of anglers have been enjoying success on dark coloured lures in the clear water. Towards the end of May and the start of June, water levels dropped significantly above Mildura, which has greatly affected the quality of the fishing. Weir maintenance is always a fascinating time, as people flock from everywhere to view the riverbed, and maybe even find that long lost lure!

Taneesha Pentony from Bacchus Marsh with her 109cm ‘PB’ Murray cod caught trolling a 150mm Purple AC Invader lure on a trip to the Mildura area. Cod of this size are synonymous with Mildura pool waters during winter. The next month is due to be a hot month for Murray cod fishing, particularly below Lock 11. The first couple of frosts are always

good to kick things off and to slow everything down even more. Once the cod start feeding properly and aggressively scoffing most

things that come their way, we should see some great fish being caught. They may be few and far between but the wait will be worth it!

So quietly does it SHEPPARTON

Nick Brown teamriverrats@hotmail.com

We are now smack bang in the middle of winter and the fishing has been very average leading up to this report. The water levels have been very steady, probably the most constant I have seen in May and June for the past few years. Unfortunately the great looking conditions are not resulting in great fishing. I have spoken to many locals who have spent hours upon hours fishing the Goulburn and Broken rivers without getting a touch. I would expect to see the same pattern continue in July with this month being one of the slowest months for fishing. There is only one positive report that is

consistently coming in from fishers and that’s crayfish taking anglers baits. There have been reports of crayfish being caught off the bank on rod and reel, and even more reports of people catching plenty of crayfish in drop pots. Cray fishing around the Murchison area has still been very productive with fresh liver soaked in tuna oil being the best bait. When I wrote this article the Broken River looked a million dollars but looks can be deceiving, just like the Goulburn River, it has been fishing very slow. There have been one or two reports from Benalla residents catching fish out near Caseys Weir on worms, but nothing to get too excited about. If we see steady river flows I think when we come into spring we will see some quality yellowbelly fishing, but that’s along way off.

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KIALLA LAKES The lakes are still very dirty and that’s making fishing conditions very tough. There has been a few reports of carp being caught using worms and corn, but other than that it’s been quiet times at a location that use to be one of my favourites. SHEPPARTON LAKE The rainbows are starting to move in the lake with a few being caught on Powerbaits. Given the time they have been in there they are still fairly quiet so within the next few weeks there should be better returns for those targeting them. There has been some nice sized rainbow trout released into the lake in the past month so about now they should be well and truly acclimatised to the lake and on the bite. The recent trend in using Powerbait has continued and it is seeing anglers having great results in the lake on

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Local Fisho Steve Hios with a 102cm cod caught on a recent Murray River trip. all species such as redfin, yellowbelly and rainbow trout. If you’re still old school a big heap of worms has a similar affect and I have been hearing reports of more locals using scents on there baits to maximise the chances of landing a fish, I use Dizzy Scent as it is easily available in almost all local tackle shops. If you’re putting a boat or kayak on the lake and targeting the trout I would troll around the trusty Tassie Devil. The white, pink and traffic light colours work best for me. If you are searching for yellowbelly or redfin small diving lures or lipless crankbaits slow trolled work well this time of the year. LOCAL CHANNELS The local channels are still a no-go with the Water Board spraying chemicals to control the weed in the waterway. It’s a massive shame as the channels were always a good spot to fish for a few hours after work or on the weekend.

CRAIGMUIR LAKE The lake has been very quiet over the autumn period but there has been a small group of anglers still fishing there and having success. There are plenty of redfin in there and they are now coming back on the bit. Similar techniques to the Shepparton Lake work in Craigmuir, with floating worms or Powerbait the two standouts. If you’d rather use lures, small spinnerbaits or lipless crankbaits work well. WARANGA BASIN As I write this article Waranga Basin is still on the drop and it is sitting around the 35% mark. This can make boat launching a bit tricky as it’s mostly a dirt road access to a few older concrete ramps that are normally well under water. But don’t let the water level deter you from fishing the Basin, with plenty of reports still coming in of good sized redfin around the

40cm mark being caught. These fish have mostly been caught in about 6-8’ of water when the sun is right above your boat. The best methods have been vibes or small spinners and that explains why it’s best to fish when the sun is above you. There has been a big influx of crayfish pots in the Basin lately, so make sure you keep clear of other people’s cray pots. There is nothing worse than watching people try and troll in and around other people’s pots. Sometimes we need to have some respect for others on the water and, trust me, just because you can’t see someone near the pots they will be able to see you. I have had alarming reports of pots being checked and even stolen in the past from the Basin so be aware the world is a different place and remember someone may not respect your gear.

Rains turn trout on CTL GIPPSLAND

Will Thompson allwaysangling@bigpond.com

It’s been a tough few years for Central Gippsland trout fishing, but as winter approached and rains came,

Bailey Reid caught this nice brown trout on a Vibrax Spinner in one of the small Strezlecki streams that have made a bit of a comeback recently after some well needed rain.

there was some promising signs that the fishery is improving. Close to home, Traralgon Creek actually produced a few trout. The first of the rains that we had raised the water level and produced some nice looking sections and anglers fishing high up in the creek above Leroy found up to half a dozen nice sized brown trout to 30cm using bead-headed nymphs on the fly outfit and the spin anglers had luck using small Celta style lures and 2” soft plastics on light jigheads. If we get more fish moving up to spawn, we may have a better season to come and hopefully more fish keep moving back into the river. Down lower, the young anglers bait fishing with worms have managed to pull out a few more bass, which is very interesting as fisheries have only stocked it once this year and the bass that have been caught have been between 24cm and 30cm which means they are migrating from other rivers which is a very good sign. Further afield, the Macalister River upstream of Glenmaggie has been very poor on the trout front with plenty of anglers coming home empty-handed, but

A nice healthy brown trout of 43cm from the Thomson River caught during the closing weekend by Brandon Morley on a Rapala. anglers opting to bait fish the lake near the wall are being rewarded with some cracking good bass to 38cm fished on the bottom. There’s also still been a few bass caught below the wall as well so it may be worth hotting this area over winter, especially with garden worms. There were some cracking good fish caught in the Tanjil River before the season closed and we saw big brown trout to 2.5kg landed by anglers using large hardbodied lures

in brown trout patterns. Most of these fish were spawning fish and are hitting these big lures out of aggression; it’s good to see these large trout on offer locally. Over the next month, it’s worth hitting the lakes hard as the rivers are closed now for trout fishing, but Blue Rock is definitely a good option over winter and trolling the upper reaches is worth a shot for the bigger fish making their way upstream. We also get the post spawning trout returning back

to the lake to feed up again. The bass anglers are still catching bass but pretty much only on worms fished on the bottom early morning and late in the evening. • 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!

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Early spawning carnage EILDON

Andy McCarthy

As we now know the trout spawned very early this year. The early seasonal rain brought things forward, so it seem that the spawning was complete prior to the

season being closed! I will talk to our good friends at fisheries in the near future to see if they may bring the closed season forward to counter the issues we could face in the future as a result. The Big River arm fired in a massive way and loads and loads of early spawning

browns and rainbows were an easy target for punters absolutely slaying them, with some reports mentioning upwards of 50 fish in a day! Let’s hope common sense prevailed and bag limits were treated with respect. This went on for almost two weeks and boats came

A lovely spawning winter brown caught during the ‘pre-spawn’ rampage. from everywhere with one Sunday bringing over 150 boats. Thankfully, the fish had gone off the bite in the river and seemed to have moved back out into the lake, so not too much damage was done on that busy Sunday. It was also very interesting that 30-40% of the boats were big bay boats between 5.5-7m long, which is very odd. Out of the carnage there were some cracking browns up to 9-10lb a few nice bows around the 7-8lb mark with the everreliable clown pattern Tassie Devil Smackin’ ‘Em up nicely. The good old Rapalas

The author displays a beautiful winter cod.

are still producing great numbers of fish as well. Still, the reddies have eluded us. Let’s hope like hell they turn back on soon. I miss my Sunday lunch of fillets a lot… There have been some nice cod caught lately, with green fish between 55-90cm being caught all over the place with no real standout areas as such. So stick to your usual haunts and you should see some success. Blacks and purples seem to be the popular choice and who can argue? This colour scheme always does well on Eildon.

PONDAGE It’s this time of the year when the pondage really comes in to its own with very consistent water levels. The fish become more active for longer periods of time, creating more opportunity for anglers to come and have a crack at some of the monsters that are in the ponds. Keep in mind that it’s very cold this time of year, but well worth rigging up and giving a whirl, as the rewards can be big. So I hope to see you up here soon. Drop into Eildon Bait and Tackle for all the latest info and tell Gaz I sent you.

Have a ball with bait BONNIE DOON

Andy McCarthy

With winter really settling and freezing cold mornings becoming the norm, it’s all about trout this time of year. As the water level rises and food becomes more insect and bug based, it once again is all about matching the hatch. It’s the premium time for bait

fishos to use their craft in the shallow grassy edges with an abundance of land-based options available. It’s back to basics with the tried and true methods to give the trout hell, they always produce good numbers of fish. I would be searching in depths of around 1-2m around recently covered grass beds, which is where the trout will be foraging for all their favourite little snacks like worms, grubs

and little snails. You should use a berley cage with your favourite scents in it, coupled with your favourite bait – I use scrub worms – and you shouldn’t go wrong! It’s the best method this time of year in my opinion and while your rod is in its holder, don’t be scared to berley up with a few pellets. While this is going on, I would be throwing a Tassie Devil or a shallow running minnow (Cranka or Rapala) style around. Remember, activity creates activity, so if you persist, I’m sure results will come your way. It’s all about patience at Bonnie Doon, and this massive waterway tests peoples’ resilience like no other place I have fished, but wow, sometimes it can be rewarding too.

Troy Falzon running one of the deadliest Tassie patterns. As most of us are aware, all evidence points to the trout having well and truly

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JULY 2015

The rewards of a nice little session at Lake Bonnie Doon.

finished their spawn, so I would be moving just out to the mouths of the rivers. The Delatite seems to be very good this time of year, and finding where the dirty water meets the clear should find you the fish, this is harder for land-based anglers, but very simple for boat operators to locate. Another brilliant spot I would suggest is Goughs Bay, as it doesn’t get as much fishing pressure simply because of the distance that needs to be travelled by land or water, it also has the Howqua River just a little further up. This area has a great population of both rainbows and browns.

A dynamite method up this neck of the woods is locating the underwater treeline where the trees are roughly 3m under the boat and flatlining Tassies or shallow hardbodies across the top. You should up your leader to about 8lb for this method, because they will drag you into the trees if you’re not on your game. There have been steady reports of quality fish being taken so all things are pointing to a great winter trout fest. Just remember your safety gear rug up and stay safe out on the water this winter.

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Blackfish and eels fill in the gap WST/STH GIPPSLAND

Steve Haughton steve@habitatcreations.com.au

The stream trout season is closed for another year until the first weekend of September, leaving local anglers with few stream options. There are however two great alternatives that are often over looked and well worth checking out during the cooler months. THE ALTERNATIVES Blackfish and eel can be a lot of fun on light gear and are a good alternative when the stream trout season has closed. River blackfish and eel for that matter typically grow only to suit the size of the body of water they are in and the food availability. In small tributaries, small blackfish and eel can be spotted with an LED torch at night slowly moving along the stream bottom feeding. With a larger body of water such as a deep pool that

can be found across many of the rivers in West and South Gippsland, these two species can grow much larger and are a good target for keen anglers. The key spots to look out for along any stream or river are dark pools, deep holes and open slow flowing water which provide blackfish and eel the perfect habitat. These two species have strong senses and prefer to ambush predators rather than hunting or actively feeding. When fishing, they are cautious and can take their time to seize a well-presented garden or scrub worm so patience is required. By far worms are the best and simplest bait to consider when fishing for these species and the tackle needed is just as basic. The two basic methods are either fishing a worm under a float or fishing a worm off the bottom. Blackfish and eel very rarely come up to the surface to feed so the target

feeding zone is going to be at the stream bed in slow flowing, stagnant water or backwash. Fishing off the bottom is an obvious technique but it can provide some difficulty in seeing a bite if the line is difficult to keep taut. Both blackfish and eel are sensitive biters unlike trout that aggressively strike baits or lures. FLOATING AWAY Float fishing certainly provides an advantage as you can very easily see a bite when the float bobs and you don’t have to keep the line tight. Float fishing can only be considered though if the water is still or swirling so that it doesn’t end up in the stream current and out of the feeding zone. Fishing for these species is successful in the late afternoon when the sun sets below the hills and those brave enough to spend a few chilly hours out in the dark are often rewarded for their patience. You can also catch numerous blackfish

and eel in one hole unlike trout that tend to hunt solo in the stream flow. Key rivers holding blackfish and eel include the Lang Lang River from Hallora right down to Lang Lang, Bunyip River up at Labertouche flowing down to Koo Wee Rup, the Tarago River, and Latrobe River and its tributaries. The season for blackfish closes on the 1 September for four months, yet eels can be targeted all year round. BLUE ROCK For those anglers still itching to catch a local trout over July, then Blue Rock Lake provides that option. Blue Rock presents anglers with both landbased, boating or kayaking options. A new walking track from the Tanjil Arm boat ramp to Blue Rock Road provides anglers with a large area to easily access the south-west banks of the lake, and are ideal for fly casting, lure casting and bait fishing. The other boat ramp near the dam

Brave Rods sponsored local angler Paul Landmeter with a thumping brown trout from the West Gippsland region. wall also has access to the lake, and depending on what the wind is doing on the day, you can escape it from either boat ramp. We should start to see an influx of hungry trout re-entering the lake so we’ll start to see plenty of action in late July.

Feel free to send me a report or photo particularly if you have any success stories out on Blue Rock Lake or if you have been targeting eel and blackfish. Please email me any questions too. Happy fishing!

Melbourne’s winter options will surprise MELBOURNE METRO

Ian Debar iand@gottabite.com.au

With the trout season for the rivers now closed keen trout anglers still have a few good local options for stillwater fishing. Now is normally the quietest time to be out on the water as many people have resorted to winter inside or at the footy. That said, if you’re a keen trout fisher now is the time to be out there.

If you’re towards the northern point of the suburbs then Lilydale Lake is a good option for you. Lilydale Lake can be found at 435 Swansea Road, Lilydale, and here you will find a large 28ha lake with abundant walking trails and parkland. The lake is generally fairly shallow and discoloured, with lots of aquatic weed growth. Bait, lure and fly methods all work on the lake so there are fish to be caught by anglers of all levels. One of the more productive methods

is to fish a suspended berley cage rig and use a small nugget of Berkley Powerbait. Rainbow, sherbet and chunky cheese are all good scent/colour options. Recently there have been a few nice rainbow trout caught using this method and there is also the odd fish taking lures. Tassie Devils 7g in bright colours are a good place to start once retrofitted with single hooks to catch less weed. If the Mornington Peninsula is a closer drive for you then consider

DAM LEVELS Lake/Dam % Full

Dam % Full

LAKE/DAM Apr May Jun Cairn Curran 42 42 36 Dartmouth 77 77 73 Eildon 57 57 56 Eppalock 47 47 45 Fyans 74 74 74 Greens 52 52 64 Hepburn 46 47 49 Hume 21 21 25 Lauriston 75 76 88 Malmsbury 24 21 25 Mulwala (Yarrawonga) 96 96 19

Newlyn 46 46 41 Nillahcootie 59 59 53 Rocklands 17 17 17 Taylors 19 19 19 Tullaroop 36 36 32 Upper Coliban 66 66 55 Waranga 17 17 9 Wartook 60 60 60 William Hovell 57 57 99

JULY 2015

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.

A quality Devilsbend brown trout caught on lure. Photo courtesy Jordan Cervenjak. Devilsbend Reservoir for your winter trout fishing. Devilsbend is a large body of water and contains all the right elements to support the trout that have been stocked into the lake. While the entire lake is not accessible for land-based fishing, there are still enough locations to get you out there. Popular methods for the lake include fishing a small nugget of Berkley Powerbait under a weighted sliding float, set out over the edge of the weedbeds. This method is excellent for children as well as it can be a very visual form of fishing, seeing the float dive under as the trout take the bait.

For a more active approach, lure fishing the edges and pockets around the weed can also be very successful. Sinking and floating lure options are both good here. A floating lure can be paused around the weed to minimise fouling and induce a strike, while a slow sinking lure can be used around clear patches of water to get down to where larger trout are lurking. Small sinking lures such as the Bullet Minnow have been effective on some nice sized trout recently, with keen angler Jordan catching some quality brown trout on these lures. • 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 store voucher valued at $100. Email it to admin@ fishingcamping.com.au, and include, 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, 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.

Embrace the chill and get out BENDIGO

Roger Miles

SKEETER TZX 180

codhuntertours@bigpond.com

The cold weather has certainly hit the Bendigo region, but anglers should not be too discouraged by the cold weather. It is true the overall catch rates are lower during the coldest months of the year but on the upside if anglers are prepared to put the time in there are some quality fish to be caught. If you do have a day or two on the water and don’t manage to catch anything don’t be too discouraged because on your next trip you may catch your PB. Anglers need to prepare for the conditions, wearing thermal clothing as well as a few extra layers of clothing, and make sure you pack a thermos to keep you going during the day. LAKE EPPALOCK The fishing has been slow for the majority of anglers who have been fishing Eppalock. There have been a limited number of anglers catching fish, and the anglers that have been skilful enough to located redfin have been catching some good fish. The majority of redfin have been caught in deep water. The best concentrations of redfin are being found in water deeper than 10m. The most productive method has been casting soft plastics. The most productive of these has been the Jackall Mask Vibe. Small numbers of redfin are also being caught by anglers jigging ice jigs and dropshotting soft plastics. Those anglers who are trolling hardbody lures are still catching the occasional golden perch. There are still small numbers of golden perch being caught by anglers casting and retrieving lipless crankbaits. The secret for this method is to make sure you allow your lure to sink when the initial cast is made, and

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This 60cm golden perch was caught casting a deeply retrieved TN65 Jackall. maintain an extremely slow retrieve all the way back to the boat. Unfortunately the golden perch fishing will only get tougher over the next few months. CAMPASPE RIVER At the present time water clarity is still good at most locations along this system. How long the good water clarity will last will depend on rainfall. If we only receive below average rainfall the water clarity will remain good. On the other hand if we receive a couple of significant rainfall events water clarity will deteriorate quickly. At the present time the productivity in the fishing in the Campaspe River is very low. There are only a small numbers of golden perch being caught. The numbers of Murray cod being caught has also been low. When targeting Murray cod and golden perch at this time of the year anglers should target the deepest sections of the river because this is where the best concentrations of fish will be located. As a result fish slow and deep, and be prepared to persist. This time of the year often

produces small numbers of quality redfin. Casting small hardbody lures and soft plastics along the edges of weed beds and cumbungilined banks are excellent areas to catch redfin. CAIRN CURRAN The redfin fishing has been going okay at this location. Small numbers of quality redfin measuring above 40cm have been landed. Reasonable numbers of smaller redfin have also been landed. The majority of redfin have been caught in 10-15m of water. Casting blades and allowing them to sink to the bottom and slowly retrieving them has been working well. Casting soft plastics has also worked well on some days. Trolling deep diving hardbody lures and down rigging has also produced some good results. Jigging ice jigs is also another technique that can be productive on some days. At this stage the reports of trout captures have been low. Trolling winged lures and small hardbody lures are good options for targeting trout. LODDON RIVER The fishing in the

Loddon River has been slow. Donuts (no fish) has been the norm. This should not discourage anglers from still trying. Just be mindful catch rates are low and anglers should be prepared to put in the hard yards. For those anglers who are crazy enough there has still been the occasional Murray cod caught on surface lures. This technique is generally not very productive at this time of the year. However, if you persist and you don’t freeze in the process you can be rewarded with the occasional quality Murray cod. Trolling deep diving hardbody lures has produced small numbers of Murray cod and golden perch in the deeper sections of the river. Trolling heavy spinnerbaits has also produced small captures of golden perch. The productivity in the redfin fishing is usually low in the Loddon River. If you do target the redfin at this location over the winter months you will not be rewarded with large numbers of redfin but the occasional quality redfin measuring up to 40cm.

FISHING FILL-ITS

Plastic fishing licence for keen anglers Anglers who buy a 1 or 3-year recreational fishing licence online will receive a plastic licence in the mail under new arrangements to be introduced later this year. Fisheries Victoria Executive Director, Travis Dowling, said keen anglers who wanted something more durable for longer-term licences would welcome the new plastic licence. “Some bait and tackle shops laminate paper licences for customers to prolong their lifespan given they are often kept in moisture prone

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environments such as tackle boxes or aboard vessels,” Mr Dowling said. “Anglers who buy plastic licences online will not spend time and effort replacing water damaged, or worn, paper licences. “Tackle shops and other retailers will still sell 1 and 3-year fishing licences, along with the shorter 2-day and 28-day options, but all four formats will remain paperbased when bought over the counter. “This new online option provides anglers with a choice about their preferred licence format and should reduce the

burden on retailers. “We have commenced a tender process to engage a supplier for the plastic cards and will announce a commencement date for the new arrangements in the months ahead. “Once implemented, anglers can expect their plastic licence to arrive in the mail within seven days of purchase, with an emailed equivalent to provide short term licence coverage for anglers wetting a line immediately. “The cost of producing and posting the new 1 and 3-year plastic licences to anglers will be included in

the current online purchase price, which is $24.50 and $66 respectively.” Mr Dowling said online sales of recreational fishing licences had been growing each year and around 40% were now bought this way, which included purchases via smartphones. “All revenue from the sale of recreational fishing licences will continue to be placed in a Trust Account, from which it is disbursed to fund projects that improve fishing opportunities such as stocking, fish habitat improvement and better access and facilities,” Mr Dowling said. - DEDJTR

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Fantastic plastic BALLARAT

Shane Stevens

As a passionate fly fisherman it pains me to say there are times when I need to put the fly rod down and pick another rod up to get the best results on the water. When it comes to fishing methods you have to be adaptable to get the best results and often this involves using a plastic, hardbody, bait, or even fly. Anglers around the Ballarat district are certainly lucky when it comes down to being able to make a choice on which method they will fish, as the area’s many fisheries provide the opportunity to catch some magnificent trout and redfin. Lake Wendouree has ticked all the boxes over the last month and has been fishing sensationally well for both trout and redfin. The fish have keyed on the lake’s local baitfish, that live in the lake as their main food source over the cooler months as the surface food and insects are now non-existent. As a result it’s now up to the angler to once again match the hatch and start using flies, lures or plastics that represent the fish’s main diet. Ben Young and Andrew Xanthoulakis have been

Darren Weda’s Lake Wendouree brown trout caught on a hardbodied lure. Photo’s Courtesy Andrew Dellaca.

A beautiful 4.5lb Hepburn rainbow trout prior to release caught by Tom Kulzcynski on a small brown and bronze Tassie Devil lure. Photo courtesy Tom Kulzcynski.

Darryll Lutell took this Newlyn Reservior redfin casting an Ecogear Paddle Tail. Photo courtesy Darryll Lutell . doing this to perfection with their best session on Lake Wendouree seeing then land 11 brown trout, including three fish over 5lb on a variety of soft plastics including 4” Nories Spoon Tail Shads and 3” Ecogear Power Shads. Ben mentioned that everything was in their favour that day with intermittent cloud cover and a good breeze. Fishing mainly the rowing channel and deeper water, the boys found that the key was to move around until they found fish, then stay there and work them over until they stopped biting. Once they stopped biting they then move on to find some more fish. Andrew Dellaca and Darren Weda heard about 66

JULY 2015

how good the fishing was and made a trip up and were blown away by the quality of the brown trout being caught. They cast plastics and hardbody lures for excellent results, nailing five fish for the afternoon. Brian Hughes has also been nailing some cracking fish flyfishing Lake Wendouree. Brian has been fishing the main rowing channel stripping large bright pink and orange coloured Woolly Bugger fly patterns with a type three fast sinking fly line. Brian found the fish sitting on the bottom and he tried a floating fly line but with no success, so he swapped to a sinking line and

Shane Stevens tempted this Tullaroop brown trout caught with a mudeye.

caught and released 12 trout ranging in size from 30-53cm. He also had to strip the fly as fast as he could otherwise the fly would get weed on it. I have had a few sessions on the lake recently myself casting soft plastics out of the boat in the main rowing channel. I’ve been selecting overcast days and have been rewarded with stonking redfin. My best session was landing two big redfin, one at 43cm, and the other 50cm and weighing 2.5kg. The best method has been drifting across the rowing channel with a drogue to slow the boat, and casting plastics as far as I can, then using a

Another fine looking Wendouree trout. Photo’s Courtesy Andrew Dellaca.

in on the smelt and baitfish this time of the year and the result for many anglers has

Andrew Xanthoulakis’ Lake Wendouree brown trout caught casting a Nories Spoon Tail Shad soft plastic. Photo Courtesy Ben Young. medium to slow roll retrieve. Lake Wendouree has also been fishing well from the shoreline and jetties around the lake. The weed cutter has being working close to shore and has now given shorebased anglers plenty of clear water to fish. Tullaroop Reservoir, only about a 40 minute drive from Ballarat, has been on my radar and I have mentioned it over the past few months as a waterway well worth a look. During autumn and winter Tullaroop is a very versatile shore-based fishery with endless bays, arms, and nooks and crannies on offer for anglers. The lake’s redfin and brown and rainbow trout key

been quality fish, with brown trout to 2lb being caught. Tom Shaw recently spent a day on the water there and even with blue sky and windless conditions managed to catch a couple of nice rainbow trout casting a rainbow coloured Daiwa Double Clutch. Tullaroop as I mentioned will fish extremely well over the winter months, and is well worth the short drive to have a chance at catching some of the clunkers that are lurking in its waters. Newlyn Reservoir and Hepburn Lagoon are still producing for those putting in the hard yards, but you’ll need to be there at first light, and be prepared to cast lures, wade

through the lake’s extensive ribbon weed, and put in the hours to get the results. Darryl Luttrell from Geelong and Tom Kulzcynski from Melbourne hit the lake most weekends and are on the water just as daylight is breaking through the darkness. Darryll has been bagging some lovely brown trout around the 4lb, mainly casting Tassie Devil, but he also has nailed some cracking redfin on mud gudgeon coloured Ecogear Paddle Tail soft plastics. His best results have come at Newlyn Reservoir. Tom on the other hand has been nailing them at both Newlyn and Hepburn. Tom mentioned that at Hepburn there is a lot of ribbon weed so you have to wade out as far as you can and cast your lures out into the clear water and high stick your rod on the retrieve to get maximum clearance above the weed. Tom mentioned that the brown and rainbow trout at Hepburn have been nailing small, brown and bronze coloured Tassie Devil lures right on the edge of the clear water and weed. Tom’s best session at Hepburn consisted of three brown trout to 6.5lb, and a lovely 4.5lb rainbow trout, all released to fight another day. The Ballarat area is blessed with some other waters that generally fish well over the cooler months Bostock Reservoir, Moorabool Reservoir and Dean Reservoir are just a few to keep in mind when venturing out for a fish in the coming months.

A bait-soaker’s dream JINDABYNE

Steve Williamson swtrout@airlan.com.au

As we move into the second month of winter the brown trout spawning is well underway and the rainbow trout are also starting to run. The rivers and streams in the Snowy Mountains are closed to fishing but despite the weather being cold the lake and impoundment fishing is hot! Winter is my favourite time to trout fish for a couple of reasons. One there are not too many anglers about, and especially no water skiers on the lake to annoy us, but the main reason I like winter is that there is no need to get out of bed early. Yes you get to sleep in. The trout have less food available during the winter months and with the colder water they are quite happy to patrol the edges of the lake fossicking all day long. This makes for perfect shore-based fishing for those anglers that do not have a boat. On the cold windy and even snowy days you often see anglers sitting by the campfire or even sitting in their cars waiting for a trout to bite. The ‘bite’ can happen any time of the day so a little patience may be necessary but the rewards will be there. Winter is big brown trout and Atlantic salmon time and we have seen fish so far this season in excess of 14lb. Worms and artificial baits have always been a favourite way of winter fishing and it always brings results. When worm fishing, use plenty of tiger worms or a single scrub worm, and fish them off the bottom using a running sinker. There is a lot of

weed about at the moment so it is best to put muslin on your line to keep it floating above the bottom. You can also suspended a bait under a float and if you want to use artificial bait (most float) try a little split shot on the hook to keep the bait down. As the fish move about the lake so much over winter there is no particular spot better than another but a hint is to go shallow water early and late, and slightly deeper water during the bright sunny parts of the days, but not too deep! Brook trout are almost an impossible species to catch over summer but in winter they come out of the depths to play and can often be found around the quite little bays at the mouths of creeks and inlets. Brookies are aggressive fish and take to lures very easily, in fact, I think you catch many more brookies on lures than bait or fly. I have managed to catch brook trout on all sorts of

of the day can be productive for all species of fish in Lake Jindabyne. I like to use mainly minnow lures like Rapalas in natural patterns, the Spotted Dog and even just plain black and gold. Tasmanian Devil lures are perfect on windy days and it is always best to cast into the wind rather than have the wind at your back. You catch more trout on the windward shore and the best colours are aggression colours like pink number 55, or yellow wing number 36 to represent gold fish and brown number 48 or holographic as these colours look like yabbies to brown trout. A variety of soft plastics also are worth trying and this time possibly due to the smell that is impregnated into these products. It’s best if they are also natural or cold colours for the inlets and orange or pink for open water. The Strike Tiger range of plastics have been great in Lake Jindabyne, especially the 3” curl-tail princess pink

This chunk of an Atlantic salmon was caught by Ellis Murphy and went 14lb. presented shrimp pattern will get good results during the winter months. The best areas for winter polaroiding in Jindabyne are Creel Bay, Hatchery Bay, Sids Bay and the Kalkite end of the lake. If you’re out in a boat on the lake over winter, trolling

JULY ROUNDUP – THE BEST OF THE BEST! Best method........... Bait fishing Best depth.............. Scrubworms teamed with artificial bait fished off the bottom Best lake lure......... Tasmanian Devil in pink 55 or Holographic, or Rapala ‘pinkie’ trout 7cm Best lake area........ Claypits and Banjo Patterson Park Best fly method...... Williamson’s Gold Fish or a similar fly to represent the food the fish are feeding on Best river................ Rivers Closed - reopen on Saturday October 3rd 2015 lures! Spinners, spoons, minnows and even blades and soft plastics. It doesn’t seem to matter, it’s just a case of locating the fish and then when you get one you often will get more from the same location, as they tend to school more that the browns and rainbows. Spinning from the shore of the lake, even in the middle

and vodka n orange. Fly fishing will only get better as we get further towards spring, but there is no reason why you can’t fly fish in July. Polaroiding trout is best done on the sunnier days. A wellpresented fly, something like a brown nymph, a Mrs Simpson, Williamson’s Snowy Mountains Goldfish or a well

lures a lot slower than you would during summer is also the way to increase the number of trout you catch. Remember, there are still a lot of very big Atlantic salmon to be caught at this time of the year and the best brown trout so far was 13.5lb, so bigger nets might just be very important.

The best lures to use when trolling the lake for big trout in winter are the jointed Rapalas in various colours, as it seems that the action is what the trout like most. Tasmanian Devil lures in pink 55, orange 57 and brown number Y48 are the best on the rainbow trout. The Y82 and holographic are another couple of colours worth a try. Trolling flies off fly lines (harling) is also very productive in winter and trolling flies on lead core lines during the middle of the day produces some big browns if you stay just over the weed beds. We have some flies in my shop that are designed for trolling and can be dynamite over the weed beds on the lake. Good areas for trolling this month are the South Arm, the Snowy Arm, East Jindabyne Islands and Hayshed Bay. Best of luck with your winter fishing and if coming down to Jindabyne over the next few months, why not call in and get the latest fishing information at Steve

Williamson’s Trout Fishing, at shop 1, Snowline Centre, Kosciuszko Road (next to the Shell Servo). I run fishing tours right through winter so why not come and catch a monster trout or Atlantic salmon on Lake Jindabyne. My shop is also open 7 days a week during winter with extended hours over July and August. Please note: July and August are the months when the township of Jindabyne is flat out with snow skiers and most accommodation is either booked out or very expensive, however since you don’t need to get out of bed early to catch a trout in winter, you can always stay in towns close by where there is accommodation at a reasonable rate. Cooma, Berridale and Dalgety are towns that come to mind that have great accommodation at reasonable rates. • If you want the very latest reports almost on a daily basis please check out my Facebook page at https://www.facebook. com/LJTFA.

Aggression sessions on the trout CRATER LAKES

Rod Shepherd

May saw winter arrive early (once again!) with rain and wind accompanied by cooler temperatures well and truly affecting an angler’s chance of getting out to wet a line. However, the rain is welcome as it is beginning to top up many of our shallow lakes and the cooler weather is placing more aggression in our salmonoids and the bite, especially in shallower water, is on the increase. The downriggers or lead core line can now be packed up and put away for another season. Even in our deeper Crater Lakes, browns and rainbows are becoming more available in the shallows as this water is the first to cool off plus browns are forever

looking for an outflow (that doesn’t exist) as they have spawning on their minds. In Bullen Merri and to a lesser extent Purrumbete, bank anglers have been doing well at night as the shallow water around the lake’s fringes rapidly cools down in the dark and big trout move in not only for comfort’s sake but in the never ending search for food. This behaviour is now extending into daylight hours, but the action is hotter at first light and late afternoon. Mudeye and gudgeon presented under a bubble float or fished on the bottom either lightly weighted or not at all has seen a few solid fish landed. Flat line trolling a wide variety of lures including the ever-popular Loftys Cobras has now come back into play over downrigging and beginning to show positive results. In

Bullen Merri, boaters are still bottom bouncing for Chinook salmon in depths of 20m or so with mixed results. As winter progresses, this method of anchored boat and static bait fishing for ‘chooks’ should improve as fish in excess of 3kg have been caught earlier on this year. Fisheries have recently released their future plan for stocking these two impoundments thanks to angler feedback. Brown trout releases will now feature more prominently in Lake Purrumbete while Chinook salmon releases will increase in Bullen Merri. Both lakes will still receive their allocated quota of rainbows. The odd Bullen Merri bass to over 1.5kg has been caught on the troll around steep dropoffs in depths from 10-20m. Lightly coloured minnow lures from 70-90mm in length have

been favoured. New release fish are currently being a nuisance regarding lure usage in the shallower water. Plenty are taking lures meant for larger fish, but remember, these will soon grow into something more viable and care should be taken when releasing these fish. Using a soft, wet cloth is vital when handling a fish prior to release as their scales are small and delicate and can easily be removed by human hands, which are sometimes fatal for the fish. Lake Elingamite still requires more solid rainfall to bring the water level up to a point where small watercraft can once again access the trophy trout and redfin that reside here. In saying that, a certain angler launched a small duck punt and eventually got out on the lake and caught browns to over 2kg. A risky

One of many new release trout ready to grab whatever is on offer. undertaking as the exposed mud here is akin to quicksand, so I advise anglers to have

some patience and wait for the water level to rise once again. JULY 2015

What’s New FISHING

POWERBAIT 3” TWITCHTAIL

A new minnow design in Berkley’s winning Powerbait line-up, the Berkley Powerbait Twitchtail Minnow, features a unique thin tail that delivers continuous, lifelike action. Perfect for finesse situations, it comes to life with the slightest twitch of the rod. Each Twitchtail Minnow is also loaded with Berkley’s exclusive Powerbait scent and flavour formula, which causes fish to hold on 18x longer, so you can feel more bites and set more hooks. Excellent for bream, bass, flathead and other predatory species, the Powerbait Twitchtail will provoke strikes from aggressive fish but also tempt those more finicky fish into eating. Available in a range of Berkley’s proven colours, the Berkley Powerbait Twitchtail Minnow drives fish crazy. The Berkley Powerbait Twitchtail comes in a range of lifelike colours and will facilitate weedless and non-weedless hooks for different presentation, so you’ll be able to throw them almost anywhere! Price: RRP $8.95 www.purefishing.com.au

LUCKY CRAFT SKT

The Lucky Craft SKT Spinnerbaits are a result of years of fine-tuning from Professional USA bass angler, Skeet Reese. Built with a compact, yet hefty profile, the Lucky Craft SKT Spinnerbait Double Willow offers excellent casting distance and the ability to reach greater depths with ease. Complete with two super-bright willow blades, the Lucky Craft SKT Spinnerbait Double Willow delivers an abundance of flash that will attract fish in a wide range of water conditions, from gin clear, where a subtle approach is needed, to dense and muddy, where the spinnerbait needs to make a lot of noise. Adding to its attraction, the Lucky Craft SKT Spinnerbait Double Willow is fitted with a banded skirt that perfectly accents its lifelike colour scheme and a soft plastic hook keeper. This revolutionary spinnerbait is available in 4 colours and is made and tested in Japan. Price: RRP $15 www.ejtodd.com.au

DAIWA J-BRAID

Whether you’re an ‘Urban Warrior’, or your battleground is the big blue, when it’s just you against the fish – with bragging rights on the line – there’s no margin for compromise. Daiwa is proud to introduce the all-new J-Braid. Like all Daiwa products, it is made in Japan, so you can trust that hours of testing has gone into its production. J-Braid is soft and supple, to allow you long, effortless casting, but is strong with a thin diameter, to provide the stealth you need when stalking big fish. J-Braid is an 8-strand weave, so it has a round profile small diameter, maximum abrasion resistance and is low stretch. J-Braid is available in chartreuse or multicoloured options, and metered in 10, 5 and 1m increments. Delivering strength and quality in perfect harmony, Daiwa’s new J-Braid let’s you be a strong fighter. www.daiwafishing.com.au

SHIMANO 2015 CITICA

With their low-slung profile and racecar good looks, Shimano’s previous Citica G series of baitcasters were pretty classy examples of Japanese design, technology and performance, but the 2015 models take it another step further. There are three Citicas to choose from — the CI200I with a gear ratio of 6.3:1, and then the choice of high gear left or right-handed versions with warp speed ratios of 7.2:1. The SVS Infinity Casting System delivers a more precise braking range, which in turn provides greater control regardless of the conditions. What’s more, the S3D Stable Spool Design features uniform thin wall construction that reduces spool vibration on the cast and retrieve. The 2015 Citicas can dish out 5.5kg of drag power, which means they are ideally matched to the 190m of Power Pro braid they hold, making them perfect for impoundment, creek, tropical estuary and inshore saltwater work. www.shimanofish.com.au

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

JULY 2015

1 2

OWNER S-215 SINGLE HOOK

INSANITY TACKLE ANGEL BAIT

Insanity Tackle is the brainchild of Wayne ‘Mr Freshwater’ Dubois. Angel Baits are the most exciting thing to hit Aussie lure shelves since the chatter bait all those years ago. Angel Baits ride hook up and can be worked over and through timber just like any spinner bait style lure. But what sets Angel Baits apart from the rest is their smaller, more lifelike profile. Also, the unique spinning device and blades will attract fish with its natural pulse and realistic flash. But unlike so many other spinnerbaits styles, they won’t scare them in the process. Angel Baits can be cast and retrieved, trolled or jigged and won’t replace the spinnerbait entirely, but they make a great alternative and are hard to beat on highly pressured waters where the fish have seen thousands of spinnerbaits. Chuck an Angel Bait on and fool those finicky fish. Price: RRP $15 Facebook ‘Insanity Tackle’

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MAGNUM SW REELS

ZEREK MARSH SLIDER HOOK

Wilson Fishing has developed its own reel, the Magnum SW, to perfectly match the Magnum series of rods. Built with uncompromising ideals, the Magnum SW reels make use of an aluminium body and rotor to ensure the components are able to operate in the harshest of conditions. The aluminium spool is fitted out with a high-density woven carbon drag system that creates a tournament grade carbon drag. With 8+1 stainless steel bearing, you can be ensured of smooth operation for years and the anti-reverse bearing is instantaneous with no play whatsoever! The handle is finished off with an ergonomic EVA knob design that is comfortable to use all day, finishing off this brilliant value for money reel. With four sizes ranging from 2000 through to 5000, the Wilson Magnum SW reel is an ideal companion to your Wilson Magnum rod. Price: RRP from $165 www.wilsonfishing.com.au

8 8

Since the release of the Flat Shad, anglers have been asking for different weights and finally they have arrived – the Marsh Slider Hook Packs. There are three sizes in the Marsh Slider Hook Packs to suit the popular 5’, 7’ and 9’ Zerek Flat Shad lures. But the Mustad worm hooks used in these packs are built tough and are more than capable of slotting into any plastic you want to rig weedless. Each Marsh Slider Hook Pack has two Mustad worm hooks included. The 5/0 hook pack contains a 14g and 22g weighted worm hook, with the original hook on the 5” Flat Shad weighing 17g. The 8/0 hook pack contains a 20g and 28g weighted worm hook, with the original hook on the 7” Flat Shad weighing 35g. The 12/0 hook pack contains a 35g and 45g weighted worm hook. With the original hook on the 9” Flat Shad weighing 57g. These hooks exhibit all the traits of Mustad hooks being tough, durable and ultra-sharp. Price: RRP from $10.95 www.wilsonsfishing.com.au

12 Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au

RAPALA SHADOW RAP

The ‘dying minnow action’ of the new Shadow Rap series compliments Rapala’s already extensive offering of hard baits that have the legendary, original ‘wounded minnow action’ and the ‘escaping minnow action’. Unlike other hard baits, the incredibly unique dying minnow action of the Shadow Rap kicks almost 180° during the twitch on a semi-slack line, darting off to the side and turning back to look at its adversary with a dying quiver. Featuring internal metallic plating, a natural scale pattern and a flat sided 11cm minnow profile that is finished in a range of colours designed to mimic bony bream, mullet and herring - the Shadow Rap is the perfect snack. Available in both a shallow and deep model that weighs 13g and dives to a maximum depth of 1.2m and 2.4m respectively; the Shadow Rap gives anglers the ability to confidentially cover structure at differing depths. Price: RRP from $24.95 www.rapala.com.au

SHIMANO GAME TYPE J

These fantastic JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) designed jigging rods are going to be a massive hit with jig fishing fans right around the country — whether they’re part of the new micro jigging scene, taking the more traditional approach of banging heavy metal on the heads of Seriola species in cooler waters, or winkling reef dwellers away from coral bommies in the tropics. There are five powerful spin rods and one baitcaster in this impressive line-up. All are of single-piece construction, rated for use with 1-3 through to 2-5 PE braid, depending on the model, so they’re also extremely versatile. Befitting their high performance status, they come fitted with Fuji K series SiC guides with stainless frames for better resistance to the unforgiving saltwater environment, Shimano high-grade reel seats, and customshaped hard split EVA grips for greater comfort while working a jig and then when hooked up. www.shimanofish.com.au

DAIWA LURE WALLET

NEW DRAGON MAGGOT

Daiwa is the world’s premier fishing tackle manufacturer, with a strong culture of quality and innovation. Introducing the Daiwa Lure Wallet: the perfect ‘small’ lure organiser. Its compact size is ideal for small bream and trout sized lures. Made from woven PVC, Denier, EVA and tough clear vinyl it features a corrosion resistant zipper and ridged EVA inside to ‘attach’ small lures too. The EVA holds small lures in place avoiding them tangling or getting damaged like a traditional tackle box. The Lure Wallet is perfect for the angler on foot and is compact (only 23x17x5cm), light and unlike normal lure boxes it does not rattle all day long as the lures are fastened securely in place. Perfect for any land-based angler who is addicted to light tackle angling in small creeks, estuaries and other inshore waters, but will also prevent rattling and tangles for those who fish in a boat or small watercraft. www.daiwafishing.com.au

The popular Dragon Maggot is back in stock with some exciting new colours throughout the range. Dragon Maggot 2, 2.5, 3 and 4” were introduced early in 2014 by JML Anglers Alliance (JML Trading) and soon became the secret weapon in all keen anglers tackle boxes. The new wave of Dragon Maggot is available in 12 great colours in 2”, 8 colours in 2.5”, 9 colours in 3”, and 4 colours in 4”. The Dragon Maggot’s unique fin-tail comes alive once it hits the water. It dances with any small lift of the rod tip. Being so easy to use it is prefect for first time soft plastic users and to the proven tournament anglers. The Dragon Maggot rigged on heavy jigheads can be deadly when targeting bottom dwellers using high speed lift and drop action. Equally successful is retrieving the lure quite slowly, along the bottom. Whichever way you fish it the Dragon Maggot will increase your bag! Price: $7.95 (3”), $9.95 (2, 2.5 and 4”) www.jml.net.au

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What’s New FISHING

ZEREK FINESSE FLAT SHAD

The incredibly successful Flat Shad from Zerek Innovations has shrunk in the wash and is now available in 3 1/2” and 4 1/2” versions. The smaller Flat Shads were re-engineered with a softer plastic to maintain the same swimming action as their larger brothers. This softer material is still every bit as strong as the original Flat Shads (5”, 7’ and 9”) and can be stretched to its limits time and time again without the lure succumbing to the pressure. Coming rigged on a weedless hook, the smaller Flat Shads have the same belly design that allows the lure to foldaway under the slightest pressure to expose the hook. This means the smaller Flat Shads can be fished anywhere with minimal risk of hanging up, yet still provide exceptional hook-up rates. The Flat Shad can also be rigged on a jighead and fished in more open waters. Price: RRP from $11.95 www.wilsonfishing.com.au

WIND CHEATER BOMBER

The Bomber lure is an Aussie icon, particularly for those up north chasing mangrove jack, barramundi, threadfin salmon and more. Now, Bomber is expanding their range so you can catch more fish on these great lures. The New Wind Cheater in the Bomber range is made for saltwater applications. The Wind Cheater throws like a bullet and will hit the spot better than any bait on the market. Its realistic wounded action provokes violent attacks, and its ultra-high-tensile-strength, virtually indestructible body is always up to the test, because this lure will receive some punishment! Perfect for working feeding schools of pelagic fish and casting from the surf, the Wind Cheater bomber is fitted with saltwater grade hooks, so it’s ready to go straight out of the packet! The Wind Cheater comes in 2 sizes, 4.5” and 6”, and comes with 1/0 and 3/0 hook sizes respectively. www.jmgillies.com.au

SPIDERWIRE EZ BRAID

Spiderwire EZ braid is an unmatched value in a high-tech Superline. EZ braid is super smooth for easy, long, tangle free and effortless casts. As with all Spiderwire braids, EZ braid is a super thin, super strong, and super sensitive braided fishing line, without being super expensive. EZ Braid Features Dyneema microfibers, which are 3 times stronger than mono, and is 2-3 times smaller than mono of the same breaking strain. Use Palomar knot for best performance Spiderwire EZ Braid comes in many different breaking strains to suit different angling situation. EZ Braid comes in 6, 8, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 50lb. All strengths are available in 150m spools, with 10-50lb also being available in 300m spools. All EZ Braid comes in a hi-vis but stealthy Moss Green colour. If you’re looking to for a super smooth, stealthy braid to make long casts without the price tag, make sure you spool up your reel with Spiderwire EZ Braid. www.purefishing.com.au

JETSETTERS NEW COLOURS

Black Magic has recently released two new colours to their ever-popular range of Jetsetter lures – fruit salad and saury. Jetsetter lures feature solid brass and chrome-plated heads, for shine and toughness. The Jetsetter has 4 little holes or ‘jets’ that create a bubble trail and ‘sonic vibration’, which is designed to attract predators from a distance and into your spread. They come with double vinyl skirts, so they won’t get damaged easily, and the range of other enticing and lifelike colours will cover any situation the conditions present. These lures are ideal for a wide range of pelagic fish, including skippies, albacore, kingfish, mahimahi, kahawai, mackerel, marlin, wahoo, yellowfin tuna and many more. You can buy your Jetsetters unrigged or rigged up and ready to troll on Black Magic 130lb tough trace with either a 4/0 double hook or a 5/0 single hook. Price: Various www.blackmagictackle.com

JULY 2015

SHIMANO TORIUM 2015

The Torium overhead series is back — and they’re better than ever. The three all-new reels in the 2015 lineup — the 16HGA, the 20HGA and the 30HGA — come equipped with Shimano’s legendary Cross Carbon star drag system, which has been designed to provide 10kg of brute-stopping power. With a high gear ratio of 6.2:1 and a staggering 117cm of line recovered with every crank of the handle, those high-speed metals and jigs are simply going to fly through the water. Hopefully their target species can keep up! At a tad over 500g in weight, the three reels feature a compact design with a lowslung gear housing, so they’re sufficiently light and ergonomically efficient for long casting sessions without fatigue. Additionally, three SA-RB bearings and one roller bearing make every cast accurate and as smooth as silk. The inclusion of EI surface treatment on the aluminium frame and spool will ensure these Toriums continue to look the goods and perform for years to come. www.shimanofish.com.au

SO-RUN SINKING PENCIL

The Storm So-Run Sinking Pencil is a lipless stickbait that is designed to dart and glide through the water when twitched on a semi-aggressive retrieve. This irregular darting and gliding action is ideal for fish that have somewhat been accustomed to the straight swimming action of regular minnow lures. Like all hard baits in the So-Run category, the Sinking Pencil is optimally weighted to cast long distances. The sinking aspect of the Sinking Pencil enables you to cover the water column extensively, giving you the ability to trigger a reaction bite from a lurking predator. The Sinking Pencil can be fished shallow with a running depth of approximately 0.4m, making it ideal for casting at schools of busting pelagics. Measuring 8cm in length and weighing 18g, the So-Run Sinking Pencil is perfect for imitating small baitfish and tricking fussy fish. Available in a range of baitfish patterns that utilise premium transparent, painted, glitter and UV enhanced finishes. Price: $15.95 www.rapala.com.au

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Samaki Vibelicious Thumper Tail - thumping good

From the success of one lure, comes another. Last year the team at Blue Fish Imports (The company that bring you the Samaki and Ecooda range) produced a soft vibe lure which became very popular, and it didn’t take them long to introduce another lure, albeit a hybrid version, introduced to the Vibelicious range that’s very unique. The Thumper Tail brings with it the same design as the Vibelicous, but the difference is in the back half of the lure, which incorporates a supported rear treble, as well as an oval shaped vertical paddle-tail. The idea behind the supported rear treble is to make the lure more snag resistant and also eliminate foul hooking on the paddle-tail. To say we were excited to give this innovative lure a run would be an understatement! Not only does the range come in some great colours but it also comes in three sizes to help target different species. We decided to do a two part review of the Thumper Tail. One on the 70mm Thumper Tail and the other on the standard sized 100mm version.

70mm Version

The 70mm model of the Vibelicious Thumper Tail was the version I had my eye on as soon as the lures arrived at Fishing Monthly Magazines. These hybrid soft vibes had bass written all over them and I was sure they would produce the goods. As soon as I had the chance I shot out to my local impoundment to temp some natives into a lure they had never seen before. Before I starting fishing I thought I’d throw a couple casts to the middle of the lake just to see how the lure felt casting and on the retrieve. First up the lure cast like a bullet – perfect! As soon as the lure hit the water I wound up the slack and straight away I could feel the lure thumping on the drop. Once on the bottom, I did the standard slow lift and drop retrieving the lure back to the boat. You could feel the lure functioning on the lift and drop, so I had the confidence that the lure was constantly working. Giving it a demo swim next to the boat the action looked awesome. All these things Vibelicious Thumper Tails look incredibly lifelike when they catch the light. being ticks in my book – now it was time to go catch some fish! I like fishing the deeper weed edges in It’s not that I don’t like using them, it’s just this impoundment and I thought it would be that I’ve never felt the need to use one and as a good way to use this lure. After a while a a result, I probably don’t know exactly how found a nice long edge that looked perfect. to get the most out of them. For this reason, After a few casts parallel to the weed edge, I’m very glad I opted for the 100mm Thumper I was able to tempt a nice 38cm model to Tail when Ryan Limpus slammed it down on have a taste. The fish hit the Thumper Tail my desk, because it’s shown me how deadly as it was dropping on the retrieve, which this type of lure can be, and more specifically, goes to show it’s a hard working lure with a how very versatile the Vibelicious Thumper tempting action. Tail truly is as a soft plastic. With a couple more fish being tempted My testing field was my local stomping by the time to head to the boat ramp, I was ground on the Brisbane River, after hours, convinced this lure would have a permanent and I’ll admit, I felt sceptical tying it on. spot in my tackle box – next challenge is to ‘How was having the rear treble fixed to find the room. the tail suppose to help? Will that massive I also see this lure as an excellent way paddle-tail affect the action of the lure? What to fish for the deeper schooled fish. I if they don’t like it?’ Little was I to know that didn’t have the time to search for them on this very lure would stay on my rod for the this day, but will be bring it our later in the next two weeks! month on a planned trip to Somerset Dam. In the middle of the conversation with the – Ryan Limpus little devil on my shoulder demanding I tie another lure on, I saw a big shape materialise beneath the kicking vibe, and then the lure disappeared! When my brain had finally registered that the threadfin salmon had engulfed the lure and was just sitting there, I struck like a mad man! Ryan smashed a few weed bed bass in his local impoundment on the 70mm model and I played her out, got her in, whacked a tag was impressed with the action of the lure. The fish didn’t mind it either. in her back and sent her home. Nice! I used that same lure for two straight weeks and (stupidly) didn’t bother changing my leader, which eventually resulted in the inevitable bite off – another one to hang on the wall for the threadies… My tagging booklet tells me I caught double figures of threadies and mulloway with a few 60cm + flathead thrown in on that one lure. I was sad, but it didn’t deter me from buying another one from the tackle store! Walking into the Tackle Warehouse to buy another, I had a chat to Gordon Macdonald who said he’d been nailing some chunky snapper on the Thumpers, mainly the 100mm version. What I love about these lures is how versatile they are. They can be used like a normal vibe and be hopped off the bottom, swum like a paddle-tail soft plastic, and even That 100mm red-head Thumper Tail was twitched across the surface, which I what I Bob’s confidence lure for two weeks, until a ended up doing! larger specimen thought it’d wear it as a bit The thick gauge hooks are fantastic for staying connected to fish with soft mouths, of jewellery instead. such as threadfin salmon, and I had absolutely 100mm version no failures with terminal tackle what so ever. Having never used the original Samaki I highly rate these lures as a versatile Vibelicious (or any soft vibe, for that matter!), soft plastic and vibe. Samaki have certainly Gordon Macdonald from The Tackle Warehouse has reported some great catches of I had no idea what to expect from the new brought something new to the table. snapper on the 100mm model in deeper water. Samaki Vibelicous Thumper Tail. – Bob Thornton

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Zerek Live Flash Minnows – they simply work

About three months ago I was shown some 130mm Zerek Live Flash minnows. I was promptly told that they are like candy is to a child for all things fishy. I have to admit that I was questioning that in my mind, but if you don’t try things, you don’t know what you may be missing out on. I would like to explain my initial in trepidation. Having come out of the retail sector, packaging appeal unfortunately influences customer purchases and also dictates retailer mindset. At first look the retailer in me kicked in and the packaging didn’t show off the plastics in their best light and also provided a question. One of the plastics in the packet is pre-rigged on a worm style hook in a weedless fashion, is this the only way they can be rigged? This is the less conventional way to rig this style of plastic and could provide some confusion, however these were only minor details and I looked forward to getting on the water and giving them a try.

One of my favourite forms of fishing is targeting flathead on soft plastics and although the 130mm size was a bit larger than I would normally throw at flathead, they did seem the obvious fish to use them on. My first choice colour was number 05 and out of the packet it looked an absolute treat. The internal foil and the large eyes really give the plastic a lifelike look and natural flash in the water. I replaced the worm style jig head with a standard 3/8 jighead with a 4/0 hook. Due to the Live Flash Minnows being made of Elastatech (an extremely durable and flexible plastic) a little bit of care is required to rig them. The internal chamber in them does make it a little easier, but it is imperative to measure and ensure the hook point comes out of the plastic dead centre and is straight. Once this is done, other than mishaps, there is every chance you will be fishing with the same plastic all day.

Fishing First Impressions

It almost feels wrong to write that on

Will Lee was impressed by the Live Flash Minnow from the first time he used them. Colour #05 is one of my favorites. On this occasion it has been pimped with a painted jighead for even more appeal. my first cast, second hop, a reasonable fish smashed my plastic, but that’s what happened. I did proceed to lose that fish, but then hooked and landed another fish next cast. It was a great session on the flathead, with a few bream and other species mixed in. For my mate Nicholas and I it was a real eye-opener and an amazing first impression of the Zerek Live Flash Minnow, we both fished the entire day with the same plastic we started the day with.

Pimping your Live Flash Minnow

When I say pimping, I am not talking about removing bits or for that matter changing or adding colours. It is more about using the flash minnows existing features to your advantage. I like to match a painted jighead to the colour of the plastic. This provides the elusion that the plastic is longer and includes a second set of eyes into the equation. I was looking at pictures of schools of baitfish recently. The thing that I noticed was that although the bodies of the fish blended into a mass of confusion, it was the eyes that really stood out, which provides any The internal chamber in the Zerek Flash predator with a target, so maybe two sets Minnow allows you the option to put scent of eyes are better than one (the Live Flash in the body of the lure. This fish couldn’t Minnow also has a set of eyes). Even the addition of stick on eyes to unpainted resist the addition of red scent.

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au JULY 2015

jigheads can make a difference and in my case provides my daughters with a couple of hours of fun sticking them on for me. The Zerek Live Flash Minnow has a chamber from just behind the nose of the plastic to just beyond the belly. It is there to facilitate the easy rigging of a weedless jighead. What it also provides is a cavity, for those of us that like to use scents, to inject the scent inside the plastic. The application of scent can be less frequent and as an added bonus if you are using a coloured scent (in my case red) it can also provide the additional look of a baitfish that has been smashed by a predator.

Take care when storing

Like all of the soft plastic lures made with this very durable and stretchy plastic, they are not good when mixed with others. In fact, when mixed with other plastics you will very quickly be left with a container of multicolored sludge. Worm proof containers are also advised. My solution has been to store them in their packets in a container and only removed them from their packaging as required.

The Elastatech material they are made of is not only highly durable, but also incredibly flexible and pliable. I have had a number of flathead grab the tail of the plastic, hang on all the way to the boat, before letting go as the net is under them. Frustrating for the angler, but the positive has been that the plastic has been no worse for wear and the flathead thought it was real enough to hang on for that long. A little birdy has told me a Live Flash Minnow Wriggly is about to be released. I have put my hand up for some of these. An enticing curly tail has its place in your soft plastic fishing arsenal and the inherent features of the current Flash Minnow would make a Wriggly a must have for me. Zerek Live Flash Minnows are available in all good tackle outlets and retail from $14.95. For more information go to www.wilsonfishing.com.au - Peter Jung

Final thoughts

Zerek Live Flash Minnows have quickly become my soft plastic lure of choice. Available in 7 colours (01 through to 07) and in 4 sizes (70mm, 90mm, 110mm The Zerek Live Flash Minnow is available in and 130mm), they are very realistic 7 colours and 4 sizes. I have found that all of the colours work. baitfish imitation.

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JULY 2015

Lowrance HDS storm home to Victory at Metung VIC BREAM CLASSIC

Bill Hartshorne

The weekend 21-22 March saw 52 teams make the trip to ‘million-dollar’ Metung for the Club Marine East Gippsland Bream Classic. Conditions were absolutely picture-perfect for the event and some were saying that the conditions may have been just too perfect to get the bream to bite eagerly. For Team Lowrance HDS’s Paul Malov and Alex Franchuk their fine form from 2014 was going to continue and set a benchmark for the rest of the teams to try and emulate for the remainder of the year.

structure they were looking for to tempt the large bream needed to secure victory. Once Paul and Alex were in a likely looking spot they used a combination of Millerods Bream Buster Brawler 2-5kg rods matched with Daiwa Steez 2508 and Daiwa Sol 2500 sized reels filled with 10lb braid and 8-14lb leaders. “We fished heavy structure both days. We found the fish sitting deep in amongst snags and pylons. Casting deep into the structure, we let the plastics sink deep down and found most of the bites came close to the bottom. Given this fact, it was crucial to fish with relatively heavy rods, heavy leaders and totally locked

Paul Malov and Alex Franchuk display their Club Marine East Gippsland Bream Classic Champion trophies.

The boats line up on the sand at the Metung Hotel ready to weigh in on day two. On Saturday morning anglers awoke to clear skies no wind just the perfect conditions for a full throttle start from Shaving Point. Teams blasted off in all directions and with a healthy majority heading toward the three rivers the Tambo, Mitchell and Nicholson. For Team Lowrance HDS, it wasn’t any one location that was the plan but to find the necessary

JULY 2015

drags. Once we got a bite, we’d strike quickly and wind as fast as we could, to try and turn the fish towards the boat and keep them coming – if we gave them a second or two, they’d find their way back into their timber homes,” Paul said. As they approached the weigh in on day one there were a number of other teams that had found some quality fish on and with 5/5 bream for 4.3kg they found themselves sitting in 6th position. With 5 quality teams above them they would have to produce an amazing second day to take victory.

RESULTS PLACE TEAM NAME TOTAL FISH TOTAL WEIGHT 1 ...............Lowrance HDS............................... 10/10................. 9.460 2 ...............Berkley........................................... 10/10................. 8.770 3 ...............Chemically Sharp........................... 10/10................. 8.522 4 ...............Colac Tackle - Major Craft............. 10/10................. 8.340 5 ...............Team Doma.................................... 10/10................. 8.040 6 ...............Fill’n The Well................................. 10/10................. 7.613 7 ...............Warm & Safe Australia................... 10/10................. 7.470 8 ...............Minn Kota....................................... 10/10................. 7.451 9 ...............Barflies........................................... 10/10................. 7.411 10 ...............Millerods/Shimano......................... 9/10................... 6.240

Day 2 had anglers spirits running high with clear conditions but with a little more breeze than Saturday, hopefully meaning more bream eager to eat a lure. For Team Lowrance HDS it was back to find some more of those deepwater bream they found holding to structure the day earlier. Using a variety of lures, including Z-Man 2.5” Grubs, Damiki 2.5” Monster Miki, Cranka Crabs and Tiemco Stick Minnows. The boys knew that to get the quality fish out of the tight structure was going to take some quality angling and the necessary leaders and so they decided to up the strength of their leaders to

weighing a thumping 5.16kg bag, which handed them the Maria Lures Best Bag and the Club Marine East Gippsland Bream Classic victory. Narrowing winning the JML Anglers Alliance Big Bream with a 1.27kg cracking bream from Team Lowrance HDS who weighed in a 1.26kg beast was Team Colac Tackle Major Craft’s Steve Parker and Dan Mackrell. With a victory under their belt and a 3rd place in round 1, Paul and Alex from Team Lowrance HDS are already charging ahead in the Club Marine Team of the Year and break all records and win their 4th Team of the Year crown.

Dan Mackrell from Team Colac Tackle Major Craft displays the 1.27kg cracking bream that won his team the JML Anglers Alliance Big Bream. 14lb, which proved to be a tournament winning move. “Even with 14lb leaders, we managed to get busted off by numerous fish each day, but we had still caught enough quality fish and upgraded several times to put together 2 quality bags,” Paul Said. A quality bag on day 2 was an understatement as Paul and Alex came in with a cracking 5/5 bream

With only one round of the 2015 Atomic Bream Classic Series remaining at Mallacoota for the Engel East Gippsland Bream Classic it’s your last chance to grab a mate and get amongst the fun and action of fishing a Vic Bream Classic. For more information visit www. vicbreamclassics.com.au or call Tournament Director Bill Hartshorne 0409 823 070.

Team Rod Battlers’ first win on home waters VIC BREAM CLASSIC

Bill Hartshorne

The Shimano BCF Bream Classic, the 3rd Round in the Atomic Vic Bream Classic, hits the Hopkins River, Warrnambool. Graeme Taylor’s home waters, 72 skilled anglers slogged it out over a gruelling 2-day tournament, with many teams hoping the rain would hold off. Those teams lucky enough to get out for a pre-fish had the rumours flying, this weekend was going to be a hard one to win. Warrnambool welcomed all 36 teams in style with the wind and rain rarely letting up all weekend. With some of the anglers deciding to don their thermals and beards to keep themselves warm. Many people might think that with the horrible weather forecast for the weekend that it may dampen the spirits of the anglers, but that was clearly not the case.

Lewis were already under the pump to give away the secrets and local knowledge of hot spots in the river. They gave away little knowledge about where to fish, as they went into Saturday with no plan on how to attack the day. Rowans Lane Flat was not the Rod Battlers first choice of places to fish, however leaving down the field meant that many of the spots they wanted to fish already had anglers casting. They could do nothing more than watch cast after cast fall into the waters they wanted. This may have proven a gift in the long run, Corey picking up his Gloomis Gl2 already rigged with a 2.5’ Z-Man Grub, he was able to tempt bream after bream that were hiding in the reeds. Soon they had their bag and had fished Rowans Lane dry, moving up to the Hen and Chicken. This proved to be the best decision with 2 amazing upgrades – a nice 38cm and 35cm.

The top three teams: 3rd Team Barely Legal, 2nd Team Bubba Shrimp and in 1st Corey McLaren and Lewis Holland from Team Rod Battlers display their trophies to the crowd. scales pushing them into 1st place, leaving Mark Hayes and Steven Sikovski from Team Barflies in second place only 0.28kg off the lead. Declan Betts from Team Bubba Shrimp shot themselves into 5th position with his 1.17kg

RESULTS PLACE TEAM NAME TOTAL FISH TOTAL WEIGHT 1 Rod Battlers.................................................. 10/10................. 7.59 2 Bubba Shrimp............................................... 10/10................. 7.28 3 Barely Legal.................................................. 10/10................. 6.02 4 Master and Apprentice................................. 9/10................... 5.78 5 Barflies...8/10................................................ 5.59 6 Colac Tackle - Major Craft............................ 10/10................. 5.46 7 Bruhn Limestone........................................... 10/10................. 5.39 8 Lowrance HDS.............................................. 8/10................... 5.29 9 Breamaholics................................................ 8/10................... 4.99 10 Western District Helicopters......................... 7/10................... 4.69 With locals Corey McLaren and Lewis Holland from team Rod Battlers being the team to beat. Would they be able to hold off the rest of the field and not buckle under pressure? Already leading into the tournament, Corey and

With the day one weigh in seeing bag after bag being weighed in, the pressure mounted on Team Rod Battlers knowing they have a nice 5 bag of fish with a few upgrades. However they were not expecting the 4.17kg to appear on the

bream; this puts them in a great position to take the lead from the boys. Now all the teams need to do is back it up again on Sunday. All smiles as Team Rod Battlers arrived for the start of the most important day; usually this is when the

pressure proves too much for teams. Nevertheless they were up for the challenge, this time with a game plan. Starting at Rowans Lane again, although this only produced 2 legals leaving them with only 3 hours to find 3 legal fish. This is where Corey and Lewis had the upper hand and local knowledge. Three weeks prior to the tournament they were lucky enough to find a school of bream higher in the river. On their way up many other teams wanted to know how they were going, slowing down they stopped two teams along the way, suddenly that 1st place trophy was slowly slipping away with the thought they may not be able to bag out today. What else could they do? They desperately needed 3 more so they dropped the electric and began fishing the shallows. Again Corey resorting to one of his favourites, the Z-Man Grub although this

time not fishing it how he usually would. Deciding on the painfully slow retrieve with only small lifts resulted in the 2 more legal fish they were hoping for. Only one more was needed and the decision was made to stay where they were and stick at it. This really paid off as they landed a smashing 40cm bream ultimately adding that much needed weight to their bag. Lewis stayed continuous throughout the Saturday and Sunday always resorting back to his favourite Lox 7’6” rod matched with his Daiwa Freams 2000. Lewis smashed the bream with the Cranka Crab, when the fish were biting 3 weeks before and the colour did not matter, however during the tournament the cockle colour did all the damage. The afternoon rolled in rather fast for the anglers, with bag after bag of 5 fish being weighed in, the pressure was mounting for the boys to see if they could hold onto the lead. This

seemed to be the case when Team Barflies sitting in second and Team Lowrance HDS Paul Malov and Alex Franchuk in 3rd position with both teams only have 3/5 fish in the well. This left room for Bubba Shrimp to jump from 5th position and a chance to snatch the lead from the Rod Battlers, however they fell 0.31kg short of taking the lead leaving them sitting in second place. With no other teams in a position to challenge Team Rod Battlers it was official that the locals had taken out the Shimano BCF Bream Classic Champions Trophy with 10/10 bream for 7.59kg. Team Loft Paul Holmes and Greg Rooke stepped up to the scales and with a smashing bag with 5/5 bream for 4.60kg including a massive 1.35kg bream they snatched the JML Anglers Alliance Big Bream away from Declan Betts along with handing the boys the Maria Lures Best Bag for the weekend. In a truly special and memorable moment for Team Loft their cracking day 2 bag handed them the first annual Graeme Taylor Perpetual Trophy. This Trophy was in honour of the late Graeme Taylor who sadly passed away earlier in the year. Being a fantastic angler who was known for coming home with a wet sail on Day 2 of tournaments, it’s fitting that his memorial trophy is awarded to the team that completes that exact same feet he did many times, in weighing in the heaviest day 2 bag. The Graeme Taylor Memorial Trophy with go down as a must win trophy for teams at the Hopkins River round every year.

JULY 2015

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Braving the cold pays off WEST COAST

Shane Lowery

July is the coldest month of the year for Spearfishers with temps in Port Phillp Bay and surrounds as well as on the far South West coast collectively dropping to 12 (or less) degrees. For those that are keen and willing to brave the cold though there is some exceptional diving on offer. Through the preceding months there seems to have been one thing on the minds of the avid bluewater diver and that has been tuna. Most of the hunting has been based out of Port Fairy with school sized fish bin close since early February and showing no signs of moving out wide. Anglers have found these fish to be quite finicky due to the fact that they are feeding on very small bait fish making it difficult to “match the hatch” with traditional skirts and divers. Conversely this has worked in the favour of spearfishers because the bait balls have been close to shore in around the 30-40m

Brett Illinworth from Esclapez with some winter crayfish. albacore tuna. There are also many opportunities to target inshore species in July and winter offers some of the most stable weather patterns and best seas. Shallower reef areas are the prime hunting grounds for sea sweep, long and short fin pike, silver trevally,

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Bree Fox and some nice sweep and winter lobster. of water. When bird activity gives the tell tale sign and fish are found busting on bait it’s been a simple matter of introducing burley such as cubed pilchards to hold the fish in one spot. Finding the fish is one thing but spearing them is a whole other skill set. As stated in previous reports focusing on a single bait cube and leading the shot as a fish enters peripheral vision is the key, but the timing required to land a shot is something that comes with practice and experience. Shipwreck Coast Skindivers inc (Port Fairy based club) have had several very successful trips on the tuna this season and more trips are certainly in the planning throughout July, including trips to the shelf to target

trumpeter, southern rock lobster, King George whiting and abalone just to name a few. It’s important to be aware that female rock lobster are in their closed season starting from June 1, but males are still open through July. This is also the peak period for Australian salmon and you never know what you might bump into even in the colder weather. On a recent dive Nathan “Watto” Watson speared a rat kingfish and sighted a large school of kings in the 12+ kg size range at the back of Julia Percy Island. Certainly a rare occurrence this late in the season. At this time of year a minimum 5mm two-piece wetsuit is a must, and it’s also a good idea to limit dives to 2-4 hours. Always dive with a buddy and look out for each other’s safety. When diving offshore it’s particularly important to be aware of your surroundings and as always make sure you are flying a diver below flag or a clearly visible float towed by each diver. Enjoy your diving in July as it’s a terrific month to be in the water and remember to stay safe.

Nathan Watson with a rat kingfish speared on the southwest coast. JULY 2015

News

Getting to know Travis Dowling We’re always keen to know who’s making the big decisions, so Fishing Monthly thought we’d quiz the new Executive Director of Fisheries Victoria Q1. Where did you grow up fishing? I grew up in Euroa in North East Victoria and spent my summers fishing and my winters hunting. I chased redfin in the Sevens Creek in town and trout and blackfish up at Strathbogie. All my school holidays were spent fishing for Murray cod in the Edward River at Moulamein and there were many trips to the Murray River. I built my own shrimp nets from Milo tins, chipped bardi grubs and caught yabbies. We dug for scrub worms up in Strathbogie too. I didn’t do very much saltwater fishing as a youngster, but got into it more when I moved to Melbourne and went to University. Q2. What’s your most memorable catch? Fishing makes for great memories. I caught a 17kg black jew from the rocks in Fannie Bay, Darwin, on a live mullet. A 30kg Murray cod from a beach at Wentworth and a 6kg yellowbelly trolling in Lake Eildon. But my most memorable catch ever is a 2lb

redfin I caught on worms in the Seven Creeks as a 10 year old. I still have the photo. I was very proud of that fish! Q3. If you could invite three people from anywhere in the world to dinner, who would they be and why? My son Atticus because he makes me smile every day. Marc Ainsworth, because I want his secret spots for a crack at those fish I see in photos he circulates at work on Mondays! And Julian Assange. I’m pretty sure he has a few interesting stories to tell. And he might encourage Marc to reveal classified fishing information! Q4. What’s your favourite way to cook fish you have caught? Having three amazing children I learnt early they would only eat fish I caught if they looked nothing like fish! So I fillet them, skin them and remove the bones. I cook them in a hot pan or on a hot plate as a fillet with butter, cracked pepper and lemon. Very basic, but hard to beat as a beautiful fresh meal. Q5. If you had a spare weekend to go fishing in Victoria, where would it be and with whom? It would most likely be to the Goulburn River at

Murchison, with my children. We have a great little spot amongst the redgums and we’ve been lucky with yellowbelly and cod. The children help catch yabbies for bait and manage the shrimp nets. And they just love exploring the river in our little boat, which is a 3.9m tinnie with a 25hp 2-stroke. We have a great time! Q6. What’s the most important issue facing the recreational fishing community in Victoria currently? I am pretty biased, but I’ll say it anyway. I think Fisheries is in really good hands in Victoria. The Fisheries staff are some of the most professional, motivated and inspiring people you could hope to work with. So to think of an ‘issue’ that confronts fishing in Victoria, I’d say it’s avoiding being constrained by thinking about what we ‘can’t’ do rather than what we ‘can’. Change the paradigm and lots of things become possible! In the early 1980s, catching a Murray cod made the newspapers. Now, thanks to some great work with re-snagging, fish stocking, great compliance work and better rules, Murray cod are back. We have thriving snapper

and whiting fisheries in Port Phillip Bay and a world class southern bluefin tuna fishery along the southwest coast. Fishing has an amazing future in Victoria and working with anglers we can make it every bit as good as it was many years ago. Q7. What’s been your most significant career achievement? Without a doubt it is taking on my current role as Executive Director of Fisheries. I have held a range of other roles at senior level across Victoria and in the Northern Territory, but this is the role I’ve always dreamed about. I am incredibly inspired and motivated to make sure that fishing in Victoria becomes the envy of the country. Q8. What’s your biggest professional regret? I really don’t have any regrets. Every position I have taken has given me a better insight into different parts of government and allowed me to meet new and interesting people. I appreciate how lucky I’ve been to get the opportunities that have come my way. Q9. What do you want your time as Fisheries boss to be remembered for most? Ensuring that fishing

opportunities and experiences in Victoria keep growing. That our commercial fisheries are managed sustainably and that our recreational fisheries continue to boom. On a more personal level, I’d like to be remembered for being friendly, engaging and motivated to make a difference to fishing

in Victoria. Q10. What fishing destinations are on your ‘bucket list’? For me it’s getting back to the places I love: Lake Tyers, Eildon, the Murray and Goulburn rivers. Oh, and finally catching a trophy brown trout from Lake Toolondo!

FISHING FILL-IT

Cruise Craft selects Streaker Boats

JULY 2015

Cruise Craft has announced the appointment of respected Melbourne boat dealer Streaker Boats, as the sole and exclusive dealer for the complete range of Cruise Craft boats. The appointment is effective immediately and will see a solid range of Cruise Craft models on the Streaker Boats stand at the 2015 Melbourne Boat Show.

possessing the same values as those at Cruise Craft. It’s a good fit for both businesses and in turn for our Victorian customers.” In Melbourne and greater Victoria, the Queensland built Cruise Craft boats have always been well accepted amongst family boaters who appreciate the superior design and quality attributes embodied in the Cruise

“We’re delighted to welcome the Savage brothers, Leon and Paul together with their entire team, back to represent the Cruise Craft brand in Melbourne,” said Peter Benston, the National Sales and Marketing Manager for Cruise Craft. “We rate the Streaker Boats retail marine business as the very best in Melbourne

Craft brand. As an authorised Yamaha outboard dealer, Streaker will be able to supply customers their new Cruise Craft with a factory installed Yamaha engine. “We’re looking to build on the strength of the Cruise Craft brand and develop it further in Victoria,” said Leon Savage, co-dealership principal at Streaker Boats.

“Cruise Craft is a highly regarded brand within the industry and amongst discerning boaters. The brand compliments the range of Streaker fibreglass boats, which we manufacture ourselves in Melbourne.” Whether boating inside the bays or off the coast of Queensland or Victoria the sea conditions are very similar. A long run offshore to the reef for game fishing action demands a comfortable, dry hull which has the design and construction pedigree to provide the ultimate fishing experience in absolute safety. “Were all very excited to have Cruise Craft back in our showroom, this appointment is good for our customers, good for Cruise Craft and also good for everyone at Streaker Boats” said Leon Savage. Cruise Craft is a wholly family owned, third generation Australian boat manufacturing business, operating from their Brisbane manufacturing facility. Cruise Craft boats are distributed exclusively through a network of Authorised Dealers throughout Australia and selected international markets. – Cruise Craft

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• DECEMBER 2010 JULY 2015

Testing Booth

ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 FMG

Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

I’ll admit it. I’ve always been a fan of Lithium-ion battery technology. Lead-acid batteries are great, cheap and reliable, but there’s something special about getting the job done from a battery that’s a fraction of the weight. We use Lithium batteries in lots of our everyday gear – my phone, power drill and line trimmer at home have them. I also went out on a limb and got a set for my last bass boat. Aside from the near-$5K price tag, their performance was remarkable and they way it changed the ride of the boat for the better was also amazing. However, people had an incredibly negative attitude towards them. They were telling me that I’d spontaneously explode. Or they

for an 80lb, 24v MinnKota on the same craft weighed in at nearly 80kg. Add the weight of the motor and there’s nearly 100kg sitting within a foot of the transom. So, we headed off to Hinze Dam to put the Spirit to the test. The only preparation I did was to make sure the ‘head’ of the motor that contained the battery was charged and that we took a paddle. Just in case. We might have been the first magazine in the world to get to test this motor, but I didn’t really want to be the first that walked home because of a software bug. Install is easy. Take the battery off the 240v charger. Slip battery onto the head of the unit. It clips in automatically. Screw outboard to transom and plug in power cable to join the battery to the motor. Takes about 5 minutes if you dawdle.

springs to life. Twist the tiller and you accelerate in either forward or reverse. On the Fishing Monthly 3.7m JonBoat, at WOT, we sat on around 10km/h (on the iPhone GPS) and used 1000w of power. Real-time power consumption and a graph on remaining battery life are displayed on the tiller-display. With a 1000 watt-hour battery, full throttle usage theoretically would give us 10km and exhaust the battery in one hour. And I calculated that we wanted to travel more than 10km on the day, so I backed off the throttle after a couple of kilometres. Knocking the throttle back to 500 watt draw, the speed only dropped to 7km/h – giving us a theoretical range of 14 km. In theory, dropping the speed to 3.5km/h would give us 17 hours of run time and a

Left: A 28cm diameter plastic propeller delivers the thrust to the water. Right: The Spirit’s convenience stems from the fact that you just strap it on and go. were explaining to me that they were too expensive. I thought that spending around 7% of the value of the boat on awesome batteries wasn’t that bad at all. You see, in my bass boat, Lithium batteries were literally quarter of the weight of the standard batteries I’d fitted in the past. The change was like evicting a near-100kg passenger from the back corner of the boat. The attitude of the boat in the water levelled out and no longer did I have to half stand up to see over the bow in a 6-knot zone. Let’s fast forward to 2015, and when a new ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 landed at Fishing Monthly for review, I admit to being excited. Why? Because for a 16kg imposition on the transom of our electric powered boat, we were going to get an all-in-one unit that had a range of at least 10km at WOT. This would easily extend to around 15km at a pinch over half throttle. On paper, that was impressive. My battery bank

FM sales rep, Ryan Limpus and I boarded and headed into the great unknown. Starting the unit is easy. Hold down the START button for a few seconds and the mono LCD display in the tiller

60km range, but we were way too impatient to test out the endurance end of the spectrum. As it was, we cruised and fished for over 10 km – from the Western ramp at Hinze to some banks near the

The ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 drives like a standard outboard – combustion or electric – except that it’s an all-in-one unit. dam wall and back again. We alternately ran at full speed and 50% throttle. Getting back to the ramp a couple of hours later, the fish count was zero, but we still had quarter of the charge left, according to the control pad – plenty enough for Ryan to do some running shots in the bay next to the launch. OUR IMPRESSIONS Most BASS Eletcric tournament speed freaks know that the more of the transom you can lift out of the water while running, the less turbulence and the more speed you’ll achieve. With the weight of the batteries removed from the hull and the light weight of the engine, the JonBoat definitely ran ‘fast’ and nose down with Ryan in the front. Typical of Lithium technology, there seemed to be no noticeable speed drop-off as the battery discharged, as opposed to the gradual slowing on by lead-acid setup. With a hydrodynamic outboard leg, the unit ran just as quietly as the JonBoat’s standard setup. I loved the fact that this

Here’s the track of our run on Hinze – just over 10km on three-quarters of the battery. unit also has a safety-lanyard strap. It’s sealed and magnetic. You’d definitely be a finalist of the Darwin Awards if you drowned after being run over by your own, electric powered boat. I wasn’t a fan of the lack of a definite stop setting between forward and reverse. Sometimes I found myself in a slow reverse after thinking I was stopped. My only other complaint may be unique to me, but I find that I like to stand at the stern and have my

SPECIFICATIONS Comparable HP..................................................3hp Rated voltage.................................................. 40.7 V Rated current................................................. 24.6 A Static thrust.......................................................66lb Propeller diameter........................................280mm Weight........................................... 16kg (63cm shaft) ............................................ 16.2kg (75.5cm shaft) Battery................................................Li-po 1000Wh Battery weight..................................................7.5kg Price................................................................$2,695

electric motor in slow reverse. I stand and fish, controlling the electric with my foot. The tiller didn’t have a setting that would allow me to put any more than a kilo or two of weight on it before folding over. Picky, I know, but these are only small things and rumour has it that the full blown production models will have these changes made. Overall, we were mightily impressed with this little unit. If you want one for a tender, the weight and range are very ample. If you’re a BASS Electric star, you’ll probably want a spare battery, which will cost you in the vicinity of two-thrids of the motor’s price. Also, rumour has it that there’s 10hp model coming out in the near future. Now THAT’S a motor we’d like to put through its paces! We’re definitely fans of this concept. This motor is available from www.epropulsion.com.au for $2,695. For trade enquiries, call Island Inflatables on (02) 9532 0002. QR CODE

Left: The tiller fitted LCD display gives you instantaneous usage data. Right: Ryan found the use of the Spirit much easier than his PFD.

See the test day video by scanning this QR Code JULY 2015

Rosco Canoes and Kayaks’ Scamper Duo BRISBANE

Justin Wilmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

Rosco Canoes, based at Kedron to the north of Brisbane, is steeped in paddling history, with owner Ross Cook building

the canoe, at which point I picked it up myself and loaded it onto the roof racks of our little Rav 4. He was surprised and went on to tell me about his cousin’s canoe that takes 6 blokes to carry and how impressed he was that this vessel weighed in at just over 20kg, while being

SPECIFICATIONS Length:.............................................................4.02m Width:................................................................88cm Weight:...............................................................22kg Payload:........................................................... 180kg Passengers:............................................................2 Warranty:....................................................... 5 years SRP:................................................................. $1179 his first timber and canvas canoe in 1955 when he was just 10. He designed his now famous 16’ canoe from home in 1968, and when the orders started flowing in, started Rosco Canoes in 1970. Of course this is just scratching the surface, with multiple design awards, experiences paddling around Australia and in other parts of the world, developing a wide range of vessels for applications including recreation, touring, expedition and fishing, and now boasting the largest and most diverse range of canoes and kayaks in Australia. My wife Sheri and I were planning an adventure in the Scamper Duo, a 4m 2-seater fibreglass canoe, and with a gentle breeze forecast for the following day, a decision was made to fish our local estuary. I loaded the canoe on the car the afternoon before, ready for an early start. Aside from the quality finish, the first thing you notice about the Scamper Duo is how light and easy to handle it is. I smiled when my neighbour said “G’day” over the fence and offered to help me load 82

JULY 2015

configured for 2 paddlers and a payload of 180kg. I can literally lift the Scamper Duo above my head with ease. Sticking to the payload, we could carry about 35kg of gear on top of our own weight, so we loaded in our 20l Evakool icebox containing a couple of ice bricks and our lunch, along with my waterproof camera case, backpack of fishing gear, landing net, BogaGrip, paddles and a few other bits and pieces. With both moulded handles and carry toggles, transporting the loaded Scamper Duo to the water was a breeze and Sheri was amazed that we didn’t require the usual 2 or 3 trips back to the car for gear. On the water, the Scamper Duo tracks well due to its integrated bow and stern keel, and offers good stability thanks to its large Tumblehome design, whereby the sides of the canoe have a slight belly to create additional stability and buoyancy. This was Sheri’s first time in a canoe and within minutes she had found her sea legs and was quite comfortable swinging

around to face the rear of the canoe and access the icebox from the front seat. The aluminium gunwales on the Scamper Duo are designed to provide maximum protection and durability, and they also made the canoe feel rock solid, rigid and secure from the paddlers’ perspective.

The fibreglass construction of the Scamper Duo means it is light weight, with great strength to weight ratio, and this material can be formed to very fine lines, creating a canoe that tracks and handles well. Fibreglass is also very affordable, with the Scamper Duo getting

2 people on the water for well under the cost of many single person kayaks. It is ideal for flat water such as lakes, rivers and estuaries, so if you’re thinking about running rapids, then you should look to a model like the Rosco Chief, constructed from Royalex. With this in mind, we picked a good day to explore our local estuary system and stayed out of the main channel to avoid boat wakes from larger vessels. There are sealed, foam-filled bulkheads at the front and rear to

ensure positive flotation and encourage self-righting should something go wrong, however, at no point did we feel uneasy when negotiating wakes from smaller vessels and moving around the canoe to paddle, land fish or access the icebox. The design is simple; hull, front and rear bulkheads and 2 thwart seats, consisting of heavy duty alloy tubing for strength and rigidity, and a sling of Herculite double rip-stop vinyl that provides maintenance-free durability, strength, quick-

Above Left: Ready to launch. Above: At 4m and 22kg, the Scamper Duo is at home on smaller vehicles. Below Left: Sheri was comfortable in the front seat and the Scamper tracked well. Below: One of the many flatties caught drifting a weed edge.

The Scamper Duo is light-weight and easy to handle.

drying, cool and comfortable seating. It also keeps the weight down to create a lightweight, manoeuvrable and versatile craft. We positioned the Scamper Duo a cast distance from the bank, on the last 2 hours of the dropping tide, and I made minor adjustments as required with the paddle, while we both worked small paddle tail soft plastics rigged on 1/4oz jigheads. This was comfortable fishing and Sheri commented on the amount of room available to spread out our limited gear, stretch the legs, and cast lures without being on top of each other. We fished about a kilometre and a half of bank and Sheri was first to hookup, just a few paddle strokes from where we launched. After a lively tussle she

swung her rod tip toward the rear of the canoe and I netted a nice bream. She followed this up in quick time with a couple of legal flathead and we also landed a few yellowtail pike that were kept for the smoker. We were loving our morning session in the Scamper Duo and I enjoyed watching her cast and fight fish with confidence from the front of the canoe. Upon reaching a section of weed that dropped into deeper water, we paddled into the edge and drove 1 of the paddles blade-first into the mud and tied it off to the side of the canoe. This held us in position, much like a stakeout pole, so that we could thoroughly cover the area with casts. After 10 minutes or so we would then move 20m down the bank and position ourselves again. More flathead came aboard and in our 2 hour session we had landed 5 yellowtail pike, a nice bream, and a dozen flathead, keeping a few fish in good condition in the icebox to take home for a feed. After a couple of hours and plenty of fishing action, we decided to paddle the kilometre and a half back to the ramp in 1 run and did it with ease. I had thrown my 2.18m kayak paddle in to experiment with on the return journey, and because the rear

of the Scamper Duo tapers to the stern and this canoe is reasonably low to the water, I could comfortably use the kayak paddle while Sheri made tracking adjustments with the canoe paddle from the front seat. It was a great morning on the water, with plenty of fish, plenty of laughs, and we are looking forward to our next canoeing adventure. The Scamper Duo is a quality, well designed, stable, lightweight and versatile option for paddlers wanting to explore their local ‘flat water’ — be it lakes, rivers or estuaries, day trip and picnic from the canoe, do a bit of basic fishing, or for the solo paddler who wants to do a bit of fishing and camping. Rosco back the quality of their products with a 5 year Rosco warranty and there are

a stack of colours to choose from if you want to give your canoe a personal touch. For more info on the Scamper Duo and the full range of Rosco canoes and kayaks, visit www.roscocanoes.com. au, or pick up the phone and give the team a call to discuss your needs and the options available. If you’re lucky enough to live in the area, make sure you visit the store, where as well as canoes and kayaks you will also find stacks of accessories, including paddles, PFDs, dry bags, safety and navigation equipment, outfitting hardware, and the team even do repairs and fit out in-store. Not sure which craft is right for you? Rosco also offer a hire service for canoes, kayaks, SUPs and accessories.

Top: Lightweight, stable and versatile. Above Left: There’s plenty of storage space in the stern. Above Middle: Plenty of room for an icebox and other gear. Above Right: Loads of room in the front to stretch the legs or swivel around and access the icebox.

Left: Using a paddle to anchor the Rosco Scamper Duo on the edge of a dropoff. Middle: Fish on! Anchored at the edge of a dropoff. Right: Sheri with the first fish of the day.

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Revelling in the Renegade: Quintrex 460 SC BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

There’s always lots to enjoy in a boat review; after all, who wouldn’t like running around in a brand new boat? But the review of the Quintrex Renegade 460 side console was extra special because we latched onto a feed of fish in the Jumpinpin Bar area before getting serious with the camera. Launching at Jacob’s Well at 5.30 on a winter’s morning, Springwood Marine’s Guyla Vari and I headed straight for the sudsy stretch of water between North and South Stradbroke islands to see if the 460 Renegade’s Blade hull — with its fairly shallow Vee plus ample under-hull pressings — was as stable as it looked as it slid off its Quintrex skid and roller trailer. Seated on the premium Maritime seat while running down to the ’Pin bar at 50 clicks with the big block Mercury 75 humming astern at 4100rpm saw me grateful for the spray jacket I was wearing. While there was some protection from the Renegade’s neat side console, an air temperature of 8°C will always demand extra clothing layers at that sort of pace! Wintery conditions were soon forgotten, however, once we arrived at the bar and saw the dipping flocks of terns coming our way with the flood tide. To assess the hull’s capability, I moved right into the white water to close in on the action. Conditions were quite lumpy, with some swell moving in across sandbars to liven things up, but we experienced no problems, even when a peaking side swell coming off the collision of twolarge waves joined the party. We stood and cast at the tailor and dart that were soon entertaining us on very light spin tackle. It was interesting fishing; the Lowrance HDS7 Gen 3 was showing us clouds of bait from time to time, so it was just a matter

of maintaining position and keeping the casts going. Thanks to the Renegade’s external side height of 105mm, I was more than

into the area of white water that the fish fancied. When we moved, I was also impressed with the ease that the Blade hull and its well

JULY 2015

along with a seat spigot were 3 more below-deck hatches. The most forward of these was set up with a battery to power the

I also noted handy off-floor storage pockets along the side of the hull, plus 2 seating positions, with the

SPECIFICATIONS Length of hull:.................................................4.65m Beam:...............................................................2.26m Length on trailer:...........5.75m with drawbar folded Height on trailer:.............................................1.70m Hull material:............................................ 3mm alloy Weight of hull:...................................................40kg Deadrise aft:........................................................ 14° Persons:..................................................................5 Engines:....................................................... 50-75hp Engine fitted:.............................75 Mercury 4 stroke Fuel:......................................................................77l

Underway at speed, displaced water from the Renegade’s bow area is pushed well aft.

Standing to play a fish in the chop was no issue at all in the stable Quintrex Renegade.

The Renegade’s rear cockpit area. Features are easily noted, as well as the area where the two rods are standing, which made a very handy spot to fish from in choppy conditions. happy with the boat’s sea-keeping capability. By leaving the 4 cylinder Mercury ticking over, it was very simple to counter flood tide influence and move back

flared bow section kept water well away from Guyla and myself — even in the really sudsy stuff. I’ve no doubt that in suitable conditions the 460 Renegade would easily

Guyla opened our account with a tailor at the Bar. 84

make offshore fishing par for the course. The 460 Renegade — both tiller steer and console versions — does provide the

option of a large lift out kill bin up front (which can also be set up as a live well) and it was an easy matter to slip fish into the well with our ice while fishing. Also up front

Renegade’s 55 Motorguide, while the other 2 on the sides of the catch bin were available for storage. I took the opportunity to fish from both the front deck and the main cockpit area of the 460 Renegade and found it easy to work in both areas. With the console taking up so little room within the Renegade’s 2.22m wide cockpit, it was easy to take a quick image of Guyla on the job, maybe remove a ruined plastic, store a spare rod, or unhook a fish in complete comfort. The rear area also featured the Renegade’s 280mm wide — unpainted, therefore less slippery — side decks set up with paired rod holders each side, along with a cleat aft.

skipper’s deluxe Maritime seat combining a bolster front section to facilitate driving while standing. The craft’s side console was equipped with twin grab rails atop the screen, along with a neat glove box to port. As the side console was entirely open on the bottom section, there was full leg room while comfortably seated. Dash instruments consisted of a premium Mercury Vessel View instrument, which provided all engine functions in full, easy-to-read colour with an array of switches nearby, and a marine radio. Atop the dash was a Lowrance HDS 7 Gen 3 Touch unit complementing an identical unit set up on a ram bracket

A lift-out kill bin is a mighty handy asset in a small craft.

mounted on the foredeck aft of the Motorguide 55. Completing the Renegade’s stern features was a live well within the port quarter, a recessed, full-height engine well (an optional feature), which offered very handy cornerof-transom brace points. Note that a full width casting platform is also available in this area, with the engine mounted on a stern lip in lieu, but in those somewhat demanding conditions I was content with the Renegade’s setup that allowed me to stand tucked into a corner of the transom to fish. Based on a 2.1l in-line 4-cylinder powerhead, the 75 also shares the same block as Mercury’s 90 and 115hp 4-strokes. And yet, at just 163kg, the 75 is not only a much under-stressed engine thanks to its huge capacity, but it’s very light as well. Whisper quiet at idle, the 75 eased the boat onto the plane at a mere 8.3knots with a modest 2200rpm on the Vessel View’s digital display. At 3000rpm we had 18.6kts recorded, with 4,000rpm (an ideal cruising rev range) giving the blade hull a speed of 26.2knots. A burst of near WOT on the new engine saw 5300rpm on Vessel View, with 36knots also noted. Impressive figures, certainly, but equally impressive was

the terrific torque from the large capacity 75. The merest touch of the throttle lever brought instant response throughout the engine’s entire rev range. Engine ratings for the 460 Renegade are from 50-75hp and although there’s little doubt the hull would perform well with a 50 on the transom, I would advocate the 75 as the engine for the Quintrex’s solid 405kg hull, especially when an electric motor plus battery is installed. And with a passenger rating of 5 aboard when friends or family are along to enjoy the ride, I’m sure the easy power of the smooth 75 would be appreciated. While enjoying some speed runs, I put the Blade hull through its paces at pace and my original impressions of stability and soft riding attributes were readily confirmed. Quintrex have obviously put a lot of R & D into the development of the Blade hull and it certainly does provide a very impressive ride, with the flared bow keeping occupants as dry as possible under prevailing conditions. Dare I say it, but the Renegade’s ride was very reminiscent of a glass hull rather than alloy. Interestingly, while Vee hulls are the flavour of the month in some circles, the Renegade’s 4.65m long alloy

Top left: Ample work area up front of the Renegade is a feature anglers will enjoy. Note the neat Lowrance setup, plus the under-floor hatches. Top right: The Blade hull’s well formed pressings are easily noted. Bottom left: This image provides a look at the Renegade’s stern. Note the substantial pressings and shallow deadrise, all of which combined to provide a really good ride. Bottom right: Side consoles make sense, taking up so little room, yet make for an easy helm station plus a dash layout that’s easily monitored.

hull with its beam of 2.22m and relatively shallow aft deadrise of 14° gave away nothing as far as ride quality was concerned. In summing up the Quintrex 460 Renegade side console, I’ll confine my comments to finish and presentation as I’ve ready outlined just how good the craft was to fish from and how well it rode. And what a great match the Mercury 75 was! In usual Quintrex style, the Renegade shone like a new $2 coin, with the natty Springwood Marine wrap also adding to the overall bling of the package. Fit and finish of joinery and upholstery was all it could be, so pride of ownership would be assured. Package prices for the Quintrex Renegade start at $29,990 with plenty of options to upgrade. For more information contact Bendigo Marine at www.bendigomarine.com.au. ph. 03 5448 3988 or visit 160 Midland Hwy, Epsom. • 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.

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www.bendigomarine.com.au JULY 2015

What’s New BOATING

FUSION-LINK COMPATIBILITY

Fusion, has announced its Fusion-Link audio access system is now supported by the Furuno NavNet TZtouch2 series, providing the ability to control all FusionLink enabled 700 and 750 Series marine entertainment systems capabilities and functions directly from the TZtouch2 multitouch display. Now it’s easy for Furuno owners to enjoy their on-board audio and video entertainment from their Multi-function Display (MFD). “We are excited to extend Fusion-Link capabilities to Furuno’s latest and most advanced TZtouch2 displays,” said Chris Baird, managing director, Fusion. “Furuno owners with the latest hardware and networking capabilities can now enjoy the convenience of our awardwinning marine audio at their fingertips.” The only ‘True-Marine’ entertainment solutions on the market, Fusion stereos give Furuno owners unparalleled reliability and performance, and multi-zone audio configuration specific to their vessels. Fusion-Link allows boaters to navigate all stereo sources from their MFD and provides full control of iPod/iPhone/Android or CD/DVD music libraries via track, artist, album or playlist. – Fusion Communications

SENIOR MERCURY APPOINTMENT

Mercury Marine is pleased to announce that Trevor Hutchings has been appointed as General Manager - Mercury Finance. Trevor comes into his new role with a wealth of experience in banking and financial service organisations Trevor, an MBA and a Bachelor of Business in accounting, will report to Will Sangster, General Manager of Mercury ANZP, and the Mercury Finance board. “With his unmatched experience in this area and his undeniable drive for success, it bodes very well for the future,” Will said. “Since its introduction 18 months ago Mercury Finance has been well received, but Trevor is now ready to take it to the next level – and that’s good news for boat lovers across our region.” Trevor replaces Paul Watters who has taken up another role. “I’d like to thank him for his valuable contribution so far and wish him all the best with his new challenge,” Will said. – Mercury Marine

SLIDE BOAT LOADER

Whether it’s for safety or simply loading and unloading the dinghy, solo time on the water is hard to achieve. With RhinoRack’s Side Boat Loader that is no longer the case. An innovative pulley system allows a single person to load an 80kg boat onto the roof of a vehicle with zero risk of straining your back or dinging your vehicle. All you need is an 18v cordless drill! The Side Boat Loader winches from the passenger side of the vehicle and can be fitted to crossbars measuring 1250mm and up. Boats up to 3.65m in length will work best, but either side of that number is also workable. Many vehicles are compatible with the Side Boat Loader including 4WDs, low roof camper vans and station wagons. If you’re unsure as to whether or not the Side Boat Loader will work with your vehicle you should contact a RhinoRack retailer for expert advice. Price: RRP $1801 www.rhinorack.com.au

LIFE CELL

The Life Cell device designed to reduce the amount of lives lost at sea, by ensuring all safety equipment is contained in one place when abandonment is the only option. Life Cell is made from closed cell PU foam and constructed from UV resistant flame retardant polyethylene (PE). They are supplied with a PE mount bracket. The Life Cell is designed to automatically float from the bracket in the event of being submerged. Unlike grab bags, Life Cell’s float acts as a secure handhold keeping all crew together and as stable platforms to assist in the deployment of flares and other safety equipment. Life Cell is a floatation device that stores all your essential safety gear including; EPIRBs, flares, V sheets, whistles, horns, torches. These accessories are not included. For the full range of safety products please, refer to section 22 of the BLA catalogue, Edition 12. - BLA

As the name suggests, this vessel was not built for the rivers, it’s a serious bit of kit for a serious owner. It is Aussie made for Aussie conditions, it has a full variable dead rise shape 19’23’40, the bottom sheets of the 6m vessel are 5mm thick and the dry weight is 960KG. The design is such that it’ll turn short sharp chop into glassed out conditions and ocean swell into molehills. The new FX hulls have huge oversized 200mm reverse chine edges traveling over 2.5m forward to stabilize the hull, so there’s no rocking and rolling, its like walking on a pontoon. There’s a host of standard features like built in tackle boxes, recessed Epirb and fire ext. areas, enclosed battery compartments, cabin hood lining, deluxe seating, 7” sounder, VHF, charts, bait tables, bait tanks and kill tanks. Available in 5.3, 5.6, 6.0, 6.3 and the affectingly factory nicknamed ‘The Beast’ at 6.8m. You won’t find a bigger better hard top than this anywhere! – TABS Boats

JULY 2015

TABS OCEAN SERIES HARD TOP

HONDA’S EXTENDED WARRANTY

Honda Marine is proud to announce the introduction of Australia’s best extended outboard warranty, offering a 7-year domestic warranty and a 3-year commercial warranty – available free of charge to any outboard that is serviced for the entire warranty period by an authorised Honda Marine dealer, in line with the recommended service schedule. With the introduction of Australia’s best extended warranty, Honda is showing its commitment to you, our customers. By having your outboard serviced at the required intervals by a trained Honda Marine dealer, you are getting the same fantastic coverage on the last day of year 7, as you are getting on day one! Unlike other brands that exclude many high value engine components, every Honda part is covered. If it is a manufacturing fault, then it is covered under our industry leading warranty. Get into your local Honda Authorised Dealer today! Offer ends 31st March 2016. – Honda Marine

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

FISHING PRODUCT GUIDE

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What’s New FISHING

FISHING PRODUCT GUIDE

TESTED: MotorGuide’s Xi5-55 reviewed Starlo looks back on almost a full year of intensive fishing since switching to a MotorGuide bowmounted electric motor, and offers his frank and honest assessment of the unit’s performance to date. Last August, I told Fishing Monthly publisher, Steve Morgan, of my decision to switch to a MotorGuide electric motor on my 4.81m Cross Country boat after many, many years using the other major brand of electric. I’d agonised over making this switch for some time, but in the end it felt like the right way to go. Morgo’ was interested in the thought processes I’d followed, and asked if I’d be keen to write a thorough review of the new MotorGuide for his magazines some six months or so down the track. I happily agreed. As it turned out, work and travel commitments have intervened, and well over nine months actually passed before I finally found the space to sit down and write this piece for Morgo’. By the time you read it, I’ll have been living with a MotorGuide on the front of my boat for just shy of a year. In that time I’ve fished intensively (around three to four times a week, on average) and also travelled widely with the rig in tow throughout NSW, as well as into Queensland and Victoria. My no-longer-new Xi5 MotorGuide has worked hard over this period, racking up far more hours than the F70A Yamaha outboard on the back of the boat. The only maintenance the MotorGuide has received to date is a thorough hose down after use in saltwater and the occasional removal of the prop’ to check for weed or discarded fishing line wrapped around the drive shaft. I’m delighted (and more than a little relieved) to report that the Xi5 hasn’t missed a beat in that time.

QUESTIONS OF RELIABILITY

To be brutally honest, it had been lingering doubts about ruggedness, durability and long term reliability that had deterred me from going down the MotorGuide path in the past. My previous brief encounters with the brand, along with feedback from others who’d used their earlier products more extensively, didn’t leave an entirely positive impression in these important areas. It’s worth stressing that no electric motor (or ‘trolling motor’, as the Yanks call them) can be regarded as ‘bullet proof’, especially under harsh Australian conditions. These units originated on the freshwater bass and walleye lakes of North America, and are still primarily engineered for those fisheries, although widespread take-up by inshore and flats anglers in the United States has led to the introduction of models specifically engineered for saltwater work. Despite ongoing improvements, no brand of electric motor has proven itself to be completely trouble-free on our demanding waters, and almost every Aussie angler with a lengthy history using these units has a horror story or two to tell. Sometimes, you get lucky and go years without a major malfunction. On other occasions, it feels like the good old ’lecky (as we tend to call them) is spending more time back at the workshop, or spread out in bits across your garage floor, than doing

what it was meant to do, up on the front of the boat. Some of the earlier iterations of the MotorGuide marque to hit our shores were certainly not immune from such sorry tales of woe. However, following the arrival of numbers of their latest Xi3 and Xi5 units early in 2014, I began to hear more and more good things about the brand. The time seemed ripe to take the plunge and make the move.

the edge of a drop-off or weed bed. I really do use this feature a heck of a lot. Another little trick I regularly employ is to set and pre-record an ‘Anchor’ waypoint well out in the open away from a particularly gnarly snag, then slide in (often using ‘Jog’) to fish the spot. The moment I hook a fish, I punch the numbered button for the stored

of button presses on the remote. After nine months of intensive use, I find that a much more positive button-press is required, especially on the most commonly-used controls, and sometimes I need to press a second time if my first push was too light. Also, the MotorGuide’s two-bladed propeller appears to be constructed

BOTTOM LINE

After reviewing the latest range, I opted for a 12-volt, 55-pound thrust MotorGuide Xi5 Saltwater (white) model, with builtin GPS capabilities and a 54-inch shaft. It should be noted that the Xi5 Saltwater also comes in 80lb (24-volt) and 105lb (36volt) thrust versions, featuring shaft lengths from 48-60”, with and without built-in GPS. I figured the 55lb with a 54” shaft was spoton for my rig, and I really wanted the GPSequipped version. I guess the million-dollar question is this: Do I think I made the right decision by changing electric brands in August last year? Well, I’m pleased to report that the answer to that question, at least at this point in time, is a resounding and unequivocal ‘yes’! So, what do I like most about the MotorGuide Xi5, and what features and functions am I less keen about? Here’s the wrap-up so far, based on nine months-plus of hard use:

THE PROS

For me, the stand-out features of the MotorGuide Xi5 are its fast, smooth and quiet operation, extremely efficient GPS interface and dramatically improved battery life. I’ve definitely noticed (and appreciated) slightly faster response times to steering input, as well as a quieter hum from the motor at most speeds and while manoeuvring. I’m also pleasantly surprised at how much longer my deep cycle battery seems to last between re-charges, especially compared to other 12-volt electrics I’ve operated in the past. However, it’s when using the more sophisticated GPS navigation functions that the MotorGuide’s clear technological edge really seems to come to the fore. In particular, the ‘Anchor’ or position-holding

SPECIFICATIONS MOTORGUIDE Xi5-55 54” GPS Saltwater Shaft Length: 54” (137 cm) Peak Thrust: 55lb (25 kg) Power: 12 volts Max Draw: 52 amps Steering: GPS Remote and wireless foot pedal Suggested Hull Lengths: 3.7 to 5.4 m Website: www.motorguide.com Suppliers: Mercury Marine dealers function is appreciably faster and much more clearly defined than anything similar that I’ve used previously. It really seems to lock on quickly and hold well. I’m also a huge fan of the unit’s ‘Jog’ function, which quickly shuffles the vessel 5’ (just over 1.5m) in any direction at the single click of a button while you’re holding on ‘Anchor’. This capability is absolutely brilliant, and allows me to slowly work my way up to or around a snag or other fishholding feature, as well as to shuffle along

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

Starlo has been running his new MotorGuide Xi5 electric motor for almost a year now and remains extremely happy with the unit. Photo courtsey of Jo Starling. waypoint and the boat hauls out and away from the rough stuff, effectively dragging and steering the hooked fish with it as it goes! I can’t tell you how many big, bluenosed bream and thick-shouldered bass this little trick has won me this past year, and I can’t wait to try it on mangrove jacks, barra and Murray cod. The MotorGuide’s ‘Heading Lock’ (tracking) and ‘Cruise Control’ (speed setting) functions both work as they should although, to be honest, I’ve hardly even played with the powerful route record/playback aspects of the unit yet. These allow eight separate tracks of up to 6.4 km to be recorded and re-traced at the push of a button. I keep promising myself to use this feature more, but just haven’t come across too many practical applications for it yet. I’m sure I would if I did more trolling.

… AND THE CONS

To be honest, I can’t find much to be critical of at this point in my ongoing relationship with the MotorGuide Xi5. However, here are a few relatively minor nitpicks: Firstly, there’s no LCD screen nor LED status lights on the GPS remote control unit itself. No doubt this simplification of the remote’s construction adds to its robustness and reduces battery drain, but I wouldn’t mind having some visual indication on the remote itself of what functions were operating and at what power or speed. Certainly, the LED panel on the motor’s controller mount reveals system status, battery strength and whether or not the GPS system is active, but it doesn’t show what speed the prop’ is actually spinning at. This can be mildly annoying at times, especially as the unit is so quiet! Sticking with the remote control unit for a moment, I’ve also definitely noticed a reduction in the sensitivity of the control buttons over time. When it was brand new, the motor responded instantly to the lightest

from slightly softer material than some other makes, collecting dings and nicks faster, and potentially becoming unbalanced and less efficient over time. This may well be a trade-off to reduce the risk of drive train breakage, but I reckon it’s not a bad idea to carry a spare prop, in case your first one gets too badly dinged-up to work smoothly. There are also a few little operating quirks that take some getting used to. For example, when you press the M button to de-activate ‘Anchor’, the motor remains in its prop-activated, power-on mode, but with the revs now at zero. This seems counter-intuitive to me, and I invariably end up hitting the power button again (rather than simply increasing revs) when I want to move on… effectively turning the power off instead, and then wondering why I’m going nowhere when I push the + button to accelerate! Over time I’ve finally learnt to avoid this little double-shuffle. Clearly, if those are the only tiny niggles I can find to complain about concerning the Motorguide Xi5 after almost a year of running it, then this unit is well and truly ahead of the game… and the pack! In particular I’m extremely impressed that I haven’t had a single breakdown, malfunction or glitch in over nine months of solid operation (touch wood!). This may not be a long enough test period for me to sign off just yet on those lingering questions about durability and reliability, but at least I can say that the early signs are very positive! I’ll come back in another year and let you know how it’s going then (or you can jump onto my StarloFishing page on Facebook and ask me). Meanwhile, all I can say is that if you’re one of those many people who’ve been thinking about making the big move in electrics, then it seems like now might be the right time! - Steve Starling

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

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

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1800 228 244 Readers Picture

Robin Knaggs and some of the team from Boats & More at Shepparton hit the Northern Territory for a bit of barra fishing. They managed to get a few metre plus fish like this one that Robin caught.

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Advertisers wanting to be involved in this directory can call (07) 3387 0800 or email pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

JULY 2015

Victorian Tide Times

POINT LONSDALE – VICTORIA MAY Time 0241 0943 FR 1453 2149

m 0.70 1.25 0.78 1.30

2015

LAT 38° 18’ LONG 144° 37’ Times and Heights of High and Low Waters JULY JUNE Time

Time

0.35 1.68 WE 1800 0.81

2 0452 1211

17 0600 1309

3 0545 1301

18 0048 0650

4 0045 0635

19 0137 0736

5 0137 0723

20 0222 0817

6 0227 0811

21 0303 0855

7 0315 0859

22 0343 0931

8 0404 0946

23 0421 1006

9 0457 1034

24 0500 1042

2 0454 1157

17 0525 1237

3 0542 1245

18 0015 0619

4 0023 0625

19 0108 0709

5 0112 0707

20 0156 0755

6 0159 0748

21 0241 0838

7 0243 0830

22 0323 0918

8 0327 0913

23 0404 0956

9 0413 0958

24 0446 1032

0425 1139 TU 1655 2318

0.51 1.49 0.95 1.37

Time

0353 1116 WE 1630 2245

0.46 1.53 SU 1607 0.77 2247 1.47

Time

m 0.39 1.62 0.85 1.47

0357 1104 MO 1623 2235

0.58 1.42 0.92 1.36

Time

0.52 1.44 0.73 1.45

0225 0941 SA 1447 2144

Local Time AUGUST

0.45 1.56 TH 1735 0.90 2347 1.40

0505 1216 TH 1737 2354

Time

m 0.40 1.59 0.83 1.43

Time

0511 0.38 1232 1.57 SA 1755 0.78

0032 0633 SU 1328 1907

2 0022 0610

17 0122 0717

3 0120 0704

18 0206 0757

4 0214 0756

19 0245 0833

5 0305 0845

20 0321 0907

6 0357 0934

21 0356 0942

7 0449 1021

22 0433 1016

8 0546 1107

23 0513 1052

9 0647 1154

24 0557 1129

2 0355 1048

17 0338 1053

3 0456 1145

18 0446 1158

4 0545 1234

19 0546 1256

5 0018 0627

20 0042 0641

6 0101 0705

21 0132 0730

7 0143 0742

22 0218 0816

8 0224 0818

23 0302 0901

9 0303 0855

24 0345 0943

10 0344 0932

25 0428 1023

10 0501 1044

25 0530 1109

10 0554 1122

25 0544 1118

10 0035 0749

25 0646 1207

11 0425 1012

26 0512 1100

11 0557 1132

26 0618 1148

11 0004 0700

26 0631 1157

11 0129 0851

26 0030 0743

12 0509 1054

27 0559 1139

12 0015 0703

27 0028 0713

12 0055 0809

27 0030 0726

12 0230 0953

27 0117 0847

13 0600 1140

28 0016 0653

13 0109 0819

28 0110 0813

13 0152 0914

28 0111 0826

13 0338 1054

28 0217 0956

14 0020 0702

29 0102 0756

14 0211 0930

29 0158 0915

14 0256 1016

29 0200 0930

14 0444 1152

29 0329 1102

15 0117 0820

30 0154 0901

15 0317 1037

30 0253 1016

15 0402 1118

30 0300 1035

15 0542 1244

30 0443 1201

0.66 1.30 SA 1614 0.81 2243 1.31 0.59 1.38 SU 1725 0.80 2332 1.34 0.51 1.48 MO 1816 0.77 1.39 0.44 TU 1316 1.57 1859 0.73 1.43 0.38 WE 1356 1.64 1937 0.70 1.46 0.34 TH 1434 1.69 2015 0.67 1.48 0.32 FR 1513 1.71 2052 0.65 1.49 0.31 SA 1551 1.71 2130 0.63 1.48 0.32 SU 1630 1.68 2208 0.63

1.46 0.35 MO 1711 1.64 2248 0.62 1.43 0.40 TU 1754 1.59 2331 0.61

1.41 0.48 WE 1842 1.53 0.59 1.39 TH 1233 0.56 1937 1.49 0.57 1.39 FR 1335 0.66 2039 1.46

0.38 1.63 MO 1722 0.76 2347 1.50 0.30 1.72 TU 1824 0.72

1.53 0.26 WE 1349 1.78 1916 0.68 1.55 0.25 TH 1437 1.80 2004 0.65 1.55 0.27 FR 1522 1.78 2049 0.63

1.53 0.31 SA 1603 1.74 2131 0.62

1.50 0.37 SU 1642 1.68 2214 0.62

1.45 0.45 MO 1718 1.62 2254 0.63 1.39 0.52 TU 1753 1.56 2334 0.64

1.35 0.61 WE 1830 1.50 0.65 1.31 TH 1220 0.69 1910 1.44 0.66 1.29 FR 1306 0.78 1955 1.40

0.65 1.30 SA 1400 0.86 2045 1.37

31 0254 1005

0.63 1.35 SU 1507 0.91 2139 1.35

0.52 1.51 TU 1730 0.90 2330 1.38 0.46 1.60 WE 1820 0.85 1.42 0.40 TH 1329 1.67 1905 0.80 1.46 0.35 FR 1412 1.72 1947 0.74 1.49 0.33 SA 1454 1.75 2029 0.70 1.51 0.33 SU 1535 1.75 2111 0.65 1.51 0.35 MO 1615 1.73 2153 0.61 1.50 0.40 TU 1656 1.70 2238 0.57 1.49 0.47 WE 1738 1.65 2324 0.54 1.46 0.55 TH 1823 1.60 0.51 1.45 FR 1224 0.65 1913 1.55

0.49 1.46 SA 1321 0.74 2009 1.51

0.46 1.49 SU 1427 0.82 2112 1.48

0.43 1.55 MO 1541 0.86 2215 1.47

1.49 0.32 TH 1330 1.73 1856 0.76 1.51 0.32 FR 1417 1.75 1945 0.72

1.51 0.34 SA 1500 1.74 2030 0.68

1.50 0.38 SU 1538 1.72 2114 0.65

1.48 0.43 MO 1613 1.68 2154 0.63 1.45 0.49 TU 1645 1.64 2232 0.62

1.42 0.56 WE 1716 1.60 2311 0.61 1.38 0.63 TH 1749 1.55 2348 0.60 1.36 0.70 FR 1825 1.50

0.59 1.34 SA 1230 0.78 1905 1.46

0.58 1.34 SU 1317 0.86 1951 1.41

0.57 1.37 MO 1413 0.93 2044 1.38 0.55 1.42 TU 1519 0.96 2142 1.36

0.39 1.64 FR 1830 0.83 1.45 0.35 SA 1349 1.70 1918 0.75 1.50 0.32 SU 1433 1.74 2005 0.66 1.54 0.33 MO 1516 1.76 2052 0.59 1.56 0.36 TU 1558 1.75 2140 0.52 1.56 0.41 WE 1638 1.72 2227 0.46 1.55 0.48 TH 1719 1.68 2315 0.42 1.52 0.57 FR 1802 1.63

0.40 1.49 SA 1212 0.67 1850 1.57

0.40 1.48 SU 1303 0.76 1944 1.51

0.41 1.49 MO 1403 0.83 2044 1.46 0.42 1.51 TU 1514 0.88 2148 1.43

0.41 1.54 WE 1629 0.87 2253 1.42

0.38 1.63 FR 1836 0.77

1.44 0.38 SA 1355 1.66 1927 0.71

1.46 0.39 SU 1435 1.67 2012 0.65

1.47 0.41 MO 1510 1.66 2053 0.61 1.47 0.45 TU 1541 1.65 2131 0.57

1.46 0.50 WE 1610 1.62 2207 0.54 1.44 0.55 TH 1641 1.60 2243 0.52 1.42 0.61 FR 1713 1.56 2317 0.51

1.40 0.67 SA 1747 1.52 2352 0.50

1.38 0.74 SU 1825 1.47

0.50 1.36 MO 1240 0.81 1909 1.42 0.49 1.36 TU 1329 0.88 1959 1.37

0.48 1.38 WE 1429 0.92 2058 1.34 0.47 1.43 TH 1539 0.92 2205 1.34

1.44 0.34 SU 1323 1.65 1851 0.66 1.51 0.32 MO 1410 1.70 1944 0.55 1.58 0.32 TU 1454 1.73 2033 0.44 1.61 0.35 WE 1536 1.73 2123 0.36 1.62 0.40 TH 1616 1.71 2211 0.31 1.60 0.47 FR 1658 1.66 2259 0.29 1.56 0.55 SA 1741 1.61 2346 0.30 1.51 0.63 SU 1828 1.54 0.33 1.46 MO 1243 0.72 1920 1.46 0.38 1.43 TU 1338 0.79 2021 1.40

0.43 1.42 WE 1446 0.84 2127 1.35 0.45 1.43 TH 1604 0.84 2234 1.33 0.45 1.47 FR 1717 0.79 2337 1.35

0.44 1.51 SA 1817 0.72

31 0406 1137

0.43 1.50 FR 1650 0.87 2317 1.38

 Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2014, Bureau of Meteorology Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astonomical Tide Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect Full Moon Moon Phase Symbols New Moon First Quarter

m 1.38 0.43 1.55 0.64

1.42 0.42 MO 1405 1.57 1949 0.57 1.45 0.43 TU 1437 1.58 2028 0.51

1.48 0.45 WE 1507 1.58 2103 0.47 1.49 0.48 TH 1536 1.58 2137 0.44 1.49 0.52 FR 1607 1.56 2211 0.42

1.47 0.56 SA 1640 1.53 2244 0.41

1.45 0.61 SU 1715 1.49 2316 0.41

1.42 0.67 MO 1751 1.44 2350 0.41 1.38 0.73 TU 1833 1.38

0.42 1.35 WE 1252 0.79 1923 1.34 0.43 1.35 TH 1348 0.83 2025 1.31 0.44 1.37 FR 1458 0.83 2138 1.31

0.43 1.42 SA 1613 0.77 2257 1.36

0.40 1.49 SU 1724 0.65

31 0006 0550

1.45 0.37 MO 1254 1.57 1826 0.52

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. 90

JULY 2015

WINNER

H L EY S L 24

FIS

S AS

YOUR LEGEND...

- FIBREG L NG HI

YOUR WAY! SL Sportfishing Series

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SL 22

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Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve refined the technology and dramatically improved the reliability to bring you the next generation of electric trolling motors so advanced and so precise, the fish will never hear you coming. From the durable and versatile all new X3, through to the wireless, stealth-like Xi5, this pair delivers the ultimate fishing experience, so you can now focus purely on the catch. Visit mercurymarine.com.au for your nearest Motorguide dealer.

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The perfect companion to the Xi5, Pinpoint GPS takes boat control to the next level. With an ultra-precise receiver and two digital compasses, it teams up with your trolling motor to deliver best-in-class boat navigation.