Victoria and Tasmania Fishing Monthly April 2019 by Fishing Monthly

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April 2019, Vol. 14 No. 6

Contents WEST COAST West Coast

Warrnambool 18 Cobden 19 Apollo Bay

CENTRAL Geelong 20 Port Phillip West

Port Phillip North East

Port Phillip East

Mornington Peninsula

Port Phillip Bay Offshore

Western Port North

Western Port South

Phillip Island

EAST COAST Lakes Entrance

Marlo 38 Gippsland Lakes

Corner Inlet

Bemm River

NSW SOUTH COAST Bermagui 44 Mallacoota/Eden 44 Narooma 43 Merimbula 42

VICTORIAN FRESHWATER Robinvale 60 Snowy Mountains

Wagga Wagga

Albury/Wodonga 61

From the Editor’s Desk... We’re fresh back from a couple of weeks on the road, including some Bassco and Campion boat tests at Lakes Entrance and some BREAM events across East Gippsland. The weather was great, the fishing was pretty good and the locals were friendly, no matter where we were. The only negative feedback we got was from the nameless complainer behind the Australian Professional Fishermen’s Facebook page, who thought that our sharing an album of caught-andreleased fish from the Metung weigh-in showed that the Gippsland Lakes net fishers have been hard done by. The fact is that the net removal was an election policy, the people voted for it and now it will happen. Even better, the remaining netters in the

increasingly unproductive fishery will be compensated for their licences. I don’t know about you, but if and when my business becomes unviable I won’t be baled out with public money. It’s far more likely that the ATO will take my house! Of course, the discussion went the same way as all discussions go on social media: first propaganda, then a bit of fake news and then playing the man and not the ball. You know you’re getting the upper hand when they start calling you names! If the pros created that Facebook page to help build their flagging social licence, they definitely need more compelling arguments. In any case, we are sure that the local businesses, accommodation providers and food outlets loved the fact that the travelling roadshow came to town, spent money and left

with 100% of fish caught returned to the water. Numerous studies over the years, including from companies that court events to come to specific council areas, estimate the spend of competitors at around $1000 per competitor per event. That’s a big boost for a weekend in some regional areas. I’m all for commercial fishing – just not for longlived species, with nets, in areas that rely on tourism. We’re all looking towards the inevitable rebound of stocks of all net-caught recreational species in Gippsland Lakes.

It’s truly going to be an even more wonderful place to spend time with friends and family while fishing. GO FISH NAGAMBIE Speaking of competitions, the Go Fish Nagambie event is being held over the Anzac Day weekend, and it’s shaping up to be the biggest freshwater tournament in Australia. We visited the area to give you the good oil on how to fish it, to help you be one of the anglers who will share in the prizes. Check out Peter Jung’s feature in this issue.

Yarrawonga 61 Mildura 61 Horsham 69 Wangaratta 62 Shepparton 64 Ngambie 63 Eildon 63 Bendigo 67

TASMANIA WRAP

BOATING AND KAYAK

REGULAR FEATURES Back to Basics

Chappy’s Hotspot

Cooking 79 Dam Levels

Fun Page

Inland Fisheries Service

Science meets fishing

Tasmanian Lake Levels

Tournament News

Track My Fish

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Victorian Tide Times

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Paul Thomas took this brightlycoloured golden perch from the Nagambie system.

APRIL 2019

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Peeling back the mystery of Nagambie Lakes

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Peeling back the mystery of Nagambie Lakes FMG

Peter Jung pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

In many ways the last 6-12 months has seen the focus on the waterways around Nagambie go from almost non-existent to in the spotlight. Most of this spotlight has been produced by the Go Fish Nagambie event that is happening at the end of April. However, there has been

based around some time spent on the water with them and observations and thoughts based around similar fisheries. OUR FOCUS The heart of the Nagambie system is the Goulburn River. This waterway provides the water to fill the various backwaters and Lake Nagambie itself. The area I would like to highlight is the 11.5km section between Lake Nagambie and the Goulburn Weir. I am sure many of the

Bailey Thomas with one of the many quality fish that can be caught in the system.

There are some quality redfin to be caught throughout the system. A few of these fish make for a nice feed. a considerable effort by local anglers, the Nagambie Angling Club and the VIC Fisheries Authority to develop and create an ever-improving fishery for everybody to enjoy. Far be it for me to think that I could possibly give you a complete insight into what the area offers, so I roped in some local knowledge. Sunny Martins, Paul Thomas and Bailey Thomas have spent many hours developing an understanding of the waterway and unravelling the mystery of the Nagambie system. The tips, tricks and techniques that follow are

techniques to follow will work outside of this area, but the beauty of this section of the waterway is that the fishing can be as diverse as you want to make it. FROM NOTHING TO SOMETHING The Nagambie area is a true stocking success story. Looking at VIC Fisheries Authority stocking records, stocking began in 2006 and

Golden perch love hardbody lures. This one came from the tip of the timber in the background of the image.

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APRIL 2019

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has significantly increased since then. Nagambie Angling Club records have informed fisheries that the stocking work was successful and with the Target 1 million Project the area should continue to be seeded with fish. Talking to Paul about the success of the stockings was very interesting. He explained to me that catching a native species (Murray cod or golden perch) would have made front page of the local paper prior to 2006. It would have been as rare as a donkey walking down the main street. Now, it is becoming a premier fishery and with the stocking and continued assistance of the local anglers it will only get better.

ACCESS Access by boat is reasonably limited. There is a ‘pay to use’ boat ramp facility at McNamara Point at the Nagambie Lakes Regatta centre and a couple of dirt launching areas at Chinamans Bridge and Kirwans Bridge. The latter is only suitable to launch smaller craft and the pay facility is suitable for all craft. Once you are on the water the biggest thing to be aware of is the speed limits that are in place throughout the area. There are a number of 5 knot zones sprinkled amongst the 20 knot and unlimited areas. There is plenty of structure below the water to catch the unsuspecting visitor, so be aware and adhere to the

Sunny Martins with a solid fish from the Goulburn Weir part of the system.

speed limits. FISHING HABITAT When I said the fishing is diverse, what I meant is that there are many different options depth wise to explore and different amounts of structure in each of the areas. Lake Nagambie itself is the most open of the areas as far as visible structure is concerned. The rowing course takes up a big part of the main basin and can be a hive of non-fishing activity at times, so it pays to be aware of any closures due to events. From a fishing prospective, there is still plenty of good looking

country to explore. The first obvious structure is a shallow area just around from the boat ramp. There are a number of tree stumps that litter the area. This type of structure is quite prevalent in the other parts of the system and holds plenty of fish. Unfortunately, with its proximity to the boat ramp and water ski zone the fish can be a little gun shy. Delilah Island was the area that really caught my eye. There is a lot of visible fishable structure along its shoreline from fallen timber to willow trees and branches hanging over the water. There

Teddy Bear Island that has the same look about it. Time didn’t permit on my recent visit, but the two backwaters (western and eastern) and the waterway

Lake Mulwala and I believe could be fished in the same way. There is an abundance of structure and I think during water release periods the water in these areas would

The author with his first fish in the area. It was caught on a spinnerbait cast to the edges downstream from Kirwans Bridge.

Delilah Island in Lake Nagambie really caught the author’s eye. It had plenty of likely areas to catch a fish from.

is also plenty of other that you couldn’t see, but could feel when you fished there. Boat traffic can still be an issue here, but it is an area you could spend a whole day fishing and I believe you could get a fish on any given cast. Once you are in the proper river section of water between Lake Nagambie and Kirwans Bridge there is a plethora of opportunity for anglers. The river section before you get to the eastern and western backwaters lends itself to trolling or tying off to a tree and fishing with bait. The water is deeper and in my mind there will be some bigger fish in residence through this area. There is another area on the outside of

The shelf between the main riverbed and the shoreline is full of structure and a prime location to target fish. around Heath Island are spots that I would like to spend a bit of time in. It has a very similar feel to the upper reaches of

be a little warmer than in the main system. This in turn may mean better fishing during To page 10

APRIL 2019

From page 9

these release periods. The Goulburn River below Kirwans Bridge is where I spent some time on the water with the boys. It is a mixture of deep water (the river bed) and a distinct shelf leading to the water edge. The structure situated on the shelf varies from tree stumps to overhanging willows, reeds

and fallen timber; all of which provide perfect cover for the golden perch and Murray cod to hide. We spent 3-4 hours peppering the area with lures and only covered a 300-400m stretch of bank. There are lots of nooks and crannies to cast to. The final area I wish to touch on is the basin leading to the Goulburn Weir. The

Cattanach and Stuart Murray Canals feed off the area and the shelf of shallower water broadens. Like everywhere else I have mentioned there is plenty of habitat for the fish to hold up throughout the weir section. LURE OPTIONS The fishing methods available are as diverse as the fishery itself. Paul Thomas,

There is an abundance of structure around, so it pays to fish each area thoroughly.

who has been fishing the area for many years, said that although there are areas where you can troll, the majority of fish caught are taken by anglers bait fishing with yabbies, cheese or casting lures. Limiting yourself to fishing one lure style would also be a disadvantage. We fished as a group of four anglers and even amongst us there were three different lures being used. Sunny and I fished spinnerbaits while Paul fished a Jackall Doozer, and Bailey, fished lots of things. You will see throughout the images in this feature that everything from hardbody lures, small and large lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits and surface lures are all present. So if you plan to visit the area, bring a selection of lure options may well make the difference. WHAT AFFECTS THE FISHERY? There are a few things that can affect how the area fishes apart from outside temperature. Water temperature is the biggest factor and this is affected by the water releases down the Goulburn River from Lake Eildon. It pays to check water release volumes and dates as the cooler water from the lake can drop water temperature by a few degrees quickly and our native fish tend to shut down when this first happens. It can

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The Victorian Fisheries Authority Target 1 Million Project has ensured good numbers of native fish have been stocked in Nagambie. take a few days for them to adjust, so at times like this it may pay to fish locations out of the main flow that are less affected or time your visits to avoid fresh releases. Wind also affects water clarity. The large expanses of shallow water can quickly be stirred up by strong winds,

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reducing productive areas into a soupy mess. They are still fishable but the structure below the waterline can cause a few problems as you navigate around. TIPS FROM THE LOCALS As anglers we like to keep our cards close to

our chest, I think the local Nagambie anglers would like to see some of the mystery remain in tact. However, after plenty of banter and a barrage of questions from the author, Paul, Sunny and Bailey offered the following titbits of gold for when you visit Nagambie. • Nagambie is not a run and gun type of fishery. With the amount of structure you can and can’t see it pays to have a stealthy approach when casting to an area and

NAGAMBIE ANGLING CLUB Anglers fishing the Nagambie area can thank the hard work of the Nagambie Angling Club for establishing and continuing to maintain this fishery. A few facts about the club are: • Established in 1977. • Funded the first stocking of the area in 1979 with 38,000 golden perch, 5000 Murray cod and 5000 silver perch. • 1986 saw the majority of the fish in the area lost due to water levels. • 2006 saw the first and ongoing restocking in conjunction with Fisheries. • Angling Club premises is situated at Kirwans Bridge. Memberships are available. Contact Wally Cubbin 0428 942 744.

The fish at Nagambie are in really good condition. This one was caught on a Jackall Doozer.

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work it over thoroughly. • Be aware of water flow in and around likely locations. Active fish will position themselves in the prime locations to have their food come to them. • Certain structure holds certain fish. Overhanging willows and the spindly tips of fallen timber are prime locations for golden perch to be found. Getting in and under these areas will increase your chances of catching them. The root balls of the many tree stumps in the system offer the solid roof over their head that Murray cod like, so fish them from all angles. • Switch your lures up. All the boys were adamant that changing up to a bigger lure if the fish aren’t fully committed to taking what you are casting or just changing the profile could change lookers into hooked fish. • Fish your lures all the way to the rod tip. It is not unusual at Nagambie for fish to follow and take your lure well away from the structure they came from. • Surface lures definitely have a place in your tackle bag if you intend to fish Nagambie. GO AND ENJOY NAGAMBIE April is a big month fishing wise for the Nagambie system; many anglers will be experiencing what it offers for the first time. Enjoy and I hope that this feature removes some of its mystery for you.

CAMO VERSION FEATURES

hobie.com.au The Nagambie system is a true stocking success story. The fishery has evolved from virtually no native fish captures to a premier fishery.

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info@hobie.com.au APRIL 2019

Science meets fishing

What are we going to do about flathead? GEELONG

Ross Winstanley

Until 2004, recreational catch limits applied uniformly to all four flathead species in Victorian bays and inlets, despite their varying sizes, fishing pressures and stock conditions. Bag limits and size limits were set at liberal levels, with no requirement for anglers to distinguish between the species. Since then, flathead have increasingly become recreational-only species in these waters. In eastern Victorian inlets, fishing regulations have been used successfully to halt stock declines and now support outstanding fishing for dusky flathead. However, for the stock in greatest need of recovery – sand flathead in Port Phillip Bay – adjusting regulations has not had the same effect. During 2019, the Fisheries Regulations 2009 are due for a major revision before being ‘remade’ by February 2020. These regulations include the catch limits that apply to recreational fishing across the State. When these limits are discussed during the next few months, perhaps we can learn from success with managing dusky flathead catches to improve long-term returns from the other three flathead species in the bays and inlets. DUSKY FLATHEAD The removal of commercial fishing from eastern Victorian inlets since 2000 has gone a long way to establishing fishing for dusky flathead as a tourism drawcard. However, the ‘golden goose’ was in danger of suffering from its own popularity until 2004 when the first species-specific regulations set the bag limit at 5/day, of which only one could be longer than 60cm. In 2009, the legal minimum length for all flathead was increased to 27cm, then in 2013, the slot limit of 30-55cm was introduced for dusky flathead. The combination of the 5/ day bag limit and the slot limit have been widely supported and it is not uncommon, now, for an angler to catch and release dusky flathead exceeding 80cm in some inlets. The Victorian Fisheries Authority’s ‘Recreational Fishing Survey 2018’ reported that 20% of Victorian saltwater anglers list dusky flathead as their favourite fish. Our management of the other two large bay species – Yank flathead and rock flathead – can benefit from our success with managing duskies. YANK FLATHEAD Southern blue-spotted or Yank flathead grow to 90cm; a ‘King of the Rip’ competition in the late 1980s recorded two 12

APRIL 2019

of 5kg and 6kg from Swan Bay and the Barwon River. Yank flathead are comparable in sizes to most of the dusky flathead caught by anglers, and – like duskies – they are now essentially a recreational species. Since the start of the buy-out of commercial net fishing in Port Phillip Bay, commercial catches of Yanks there have fallen from a yearly average of about 15 tonnes to 1 tonne in 2016/17. Currently, anglers are permitted to take 20/day above 27cm, and during the 2018 autumn, many were reported to be doing just that. If we no longer find that behaviour acceptable for duskies, why is it acceptable for Yanks? In the VFA’s 2018 survey, 39% of saltwater anglers responded that 20 flathead (other than duskies) per day was “too many” or “way too many”. My 20-year catch records of Yanks in the Bay show that only 4% were between 27-30cm in length, and less than 1% were above 55cm. So, adopting the same protection as popularly applies to dusky flathead would allow for excellent catches without disadvantaging anglers. With net fishing in the Bay to end in 2022, and a 55cm maximum legal length, over time we could expect to see increasing numbers of 60-90cm Yanks, providing outstanding fishing. Reducing the current bag limit of 20/day could accelerate this process. ROCK FLATHEAD With the exception of Corner Inlet, rock flathead are rapidly becoming a recreational species. While anglers are permitted to take 20/day above 27cm, my 20-year records illustrate two things: anglers rarely catch rock flathead and 95% of those caught in the Bay are between 30-55cm long. SAND FLATHEAD The clearest evidence of a flathead species facing a stock conservation challenge is sand flathead in Port Phillip Bay. The estimated stock size in the Bay declined from more than 3000 tonnes in the early 90s to about 400 tonnes in recent

years. The two main factors behind trends in stock size are: • the environmental ‘driver’ of yearly recruitment or spawning success, linked to outflows from the Yarra River during the main spawning season, November to January; and • the number of large mature females in the Bay when conditions are favourable. Estimates of recreational catches in the Bay have declined from 437 tonnes in 1987 to 110 tonnes in 2006/07. The fishery is essentially recreationalonly as commercial catches now average 1 tonne a year. In 2009, the legal minimum length was raised from 25cm to 27cm to increase protection for mature flathead; it has had the opposite effect for mature females, exposing them to increased exploitation. The daily bag limit has been 20 since 2009. While not rated as a sportfish, sand flathead are a popular ‘bread-and-butter’ species for both novice and experienced anglers alike in the Bay. The severe and lasting stock decline has been the subject of several reviews, stock assessments and discussion forums involving anglers, researchers and managers over the past 12 years. In 2013, concerns led to a $300,000 Recreational Fishing Licence-funded study of the state of the stock and the causes of declining flathead numbers and catch rates (see story, VFM July 2015). We now know more about the sand flathead’s life history in the Bay – including what determines stock size – than we do about any other marine species in Victoria. The ‘27cm legal size dilemma’ described in the July 2015 story is this: females reach 27cm in four years and the few males that get there take 12 years, so anglers’ retained catches are almost entirely females. Worse still, during years of poor recruitment, it is these large mature females that are being taken – the same fish needed to kick-start recovery when good spawning conditions return. Every angler who bags-out is

The author’s Yank flathead catches over the last 20 years. Commercial catches of Yanks in PPB have fallen from a yearly average of 15 tonnes to 1 tonne. likely to be removing 18-20 mature females at a time. Looking ahead, the two things essential to recovery in the Bay sand flathead stock are favourable conditions for spawning and larval development, and sufficient numbers of large mature females. There might be an outside chance of managing environmental flows in the Yarra River but that is unproven and some way off. The other and more feasible measure is to increase protection of mature females. That is controversial but perfectly achievable as discussed below. HOW DO ANGLERS FEEL ABOUT SAND FLATHEAD? Two VFA surveys point to an opportunity to improve the prospects of a stock recovery by tightening daily catch limits, with the support of anglers. Creel surveys The VFA’s Port Phillip Bay boat ramp surveys have found that: • 40% of Bay anglers like to catch flathead – after snapper and whiting, flathead are their preferred species • 80% of anglers’ retained flathead are sand flathead • 80% of anglers’ flathead trips take less than 10 flathead • angler satisfaction with flathead catches has risen steadily since 2014-15, to 82% in 2017-18 VRFish’s survey indicates that most flathead anglers are more motivated to be

The author’s rock flathead catches over the last 20 years. A key issue this species faces is that most catches are female due to the 27cm minimum size requirement.

outdoors, to relax and to be with friends and family rather than for food; 53% are satisfied with sand flathead fishing. Rebuilding fish numbers rated highly among their priorities for the fishery. From this it seems that, while sand flathead continue to be a popular take-home part of catches from the Bay, anglers’ expectations in terms of takehome bags are not high. 2018 survey The VFA’s recreational fishing survey reported that 39% of saltwater anglers believe that the 20/day bag limit is excessive as “a fair and reasonable day’s take” for flathead (other than duskies). Overall, 25% of anglers believed these flathead should be subject to a slot limit. FLATHEAD CATCH LIMITS For decades, the only restriction on catching flathead of all species was a legal minimum length of 25cm. In 2001 a catch limit was introduced: 30 flathead per day, of which no more than two could exceed 60cm. As the graphs of my catches show, this upper size limit has little impact on Yank and rock flathead stocks in the Bay. In December 2004, new provisions specified daily bag limits of: • five dusky flathead, with no more than one larger than 60cm, and • 30 other flathead species, with no more than two fish larger than 60cm The ‘other flathead’ bag limit referred to combined catches of sand, rock and Yank flathead. These limits continued until, after input from anglers, the Fisheries Regulations 2009 specified: • an increase in the legal minimum length for all flathead species to 27cm; • a reduced daily bag limit of 20 fish for other species, with no limit on how many of those were larger than 60cm; and • continuation of the daily bag limit for dusky flathead as five fish, with no more than one larger than 60cm. In 2013 the catch limits for dusky flathead were changed

to the current arrangements: • legal minimum length 30cm; • legal maximum length 55cm; and • daily bag limit five fish. WHERE TO FROM 2019? The timeline of recreational flathead fishing catch limits tells us a couple of things. First, anglers care about flathead and are prepared to accept low bag limits for larger species in order to prevent over-harvesting and to rebuild stocks of large fish while allowing ‘a fair day’s take’. However, to date such limits have only been applied to one of the three large flathead species. Second, despite all we now know about sand flathead in the Bay, we still allow the very thing that is both preventable and harmful to the stock: liberal harvesting of almost-exclusively mature females at a time when they are the main hope for rebuilding the stock. As all of Victoria’s bay and inlet flathead are now essentially recreational species, it is up to anglers to work with the VFA to set the regulatory framework needed to protect the stocks while ensuring quality fishing opportunities. Heeding all we have learnt in the past decade, the need for new regulations to be in place by February 2020 presents us with the opportunity to make real advances in the protection of valuable stocks and the maintenance of quality fishing for all four species. Let’s consider: • uniform State-wide bag limits of 5/day and slot limits of 30-55cm for dusky, Yank and rock flathead; • a Port Phillip Bay bag limit of 10/day, of all flathead species combined, including no more than five Yank or five rock flathead; and • retaining the 27cm size limit for sand flathead. Given the quality and accessibility of information products today, the old argument that ‘anglers can’t tell the difference between species’ should no longer prevent progress in managing our flathead fisheries.

APRIL 2019

Get in quick as entries are open now. To secure yours, visit www.gofishnagambie.com.au and be sure to check out the GoFish Nagambie Facebook to stay up to date with the latest news and give us a ‘like’ to join the community.

It’s the biggest fishing competition in Australia, ever. We are talking three days of fishing the Goulburn. We’ve got camping covered; bars covered; bands and BIG FISH are all covered. It’s got everything you could possibly want and more than you could poke a stick at! Whether you’re a mad keen angler, never fished before or you just enjoy a weekend away with mates on the river, GoFish Nagambie has got your ANZAC long weekend plans sorted. Here is the long and short of it. THE FISHING The GoFish Nagambie tournament zone is situated on the Nagambie Lakes and Goulburn River system. The area reaches from the Goulburn Weir and includes everything upstream to the junction with Hughes Creek. Known among the locals as a hotspot for its impressive natural waterways and world class fish population. The tournament zone covers all the key bite-zones and provides some cracking opportunities to land big fish. Anglers will be chasing Murray Cod, Golden Perch, Redfin and Carp in this cracking catch, measure and release tournament (carp not to be released) adjudicated through the official tournament app. The Goulburn River at Nagambie always delivers fast and furious action with fishos having the option to switch between boats, shore and kayaking to hook the mighty Murray Cod. With 13 ramps and 20km of bank fishing locations, including exclusive access to otherwise inaccessible ramps and bank fishing spots outside of the tournament, there are going to be some absolute rippers reeled in left, right and centre. “We are fortunate in Nagambie to have guaranteed permanent water levels to ensure a terrific competition,” said Tournament Director Rod Lockwood. “With the dry conditions stretching further south, this is a fisho’s paradise.” THE PRIZES The excitement can’t be understated with half a million dollars’ worth of cash and prizes to be won! And it’s all guaranteed to be given away. With over 400 prizes up for grabs, one in every eight people who enter the comp will go home a winner! You’ve got to like those odds. The top 10 prizes for the Tournament powered by Mercury Marine totals $315,000, and the remainder of the prize pool will be split so that anyone can win.

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is why we are setting up the greatest of campsites to go with the great fishing within our tournament zone. Located right on the banks of the Goulburn River, this will be ground zero for the keenest of competitors getting out on the water. The campsite will be set up especially for convenience, security and fishing, with staff available 24 hours. Both powered and un-powered sites are available and – this is the big news – we’ll have an exclusive boat ramp only available for campers staying at the site, ensuring you’ll be on the water as fast as possible each day. And that’s not all. We’ll be running a FREE shuttle bus between the campsite, Nagambie and the Festival Hub, and there will be showers and toilets available, exactly what you want after a long day out on the water before heading into the Hub for the festivities. THE FESTIVAL The Festival Hub is an awesome gathering place where fishos, foodies and families can gather, relax and chill-out. By day, we’re talking casting competitions, education sessions and workshops, fishing gear, outdoor gear, lots of food and wine tastings, kids’ activities and live music. By night, we’re talking food trucks, the best bar to grace the shores of Nagambie Lakes, daily presentations and prize winners and night-time entertainment including bands and fireworks.

“This really is a competition for everyone, for all abilities across all age groups, and the prize haul is huge,” Rod Lockwood said. Rod also wanted to touch on how the tournament is managed. “The tournament zone is split into 5 sections with marshals responsible for patrolling and responding to any suspicious boats or anglers, big fish caught or any issues that arise within their designated sections,” he explained. “When it comes to prize winners, our expert panel of judges will have final say over those who take home the cash and prizes.” THE CAMPING Fishing and camping. Hook and line. Beer and esky. Lenny and Carl. You just can’t have one without the other. Which

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THE LOCATION There’s more than one way to skin a cat here. Nagambie is 90-minutes from Melbourne. It’s an hour south of the Murray on the Goulburn River. It’s an easy 30-minute drive from Shepparton. It’s 120km east of Bendigo. It’s under 3.5 hours’ south of Wagga Wagga. It’s a hop skip and a jump from Echuca. It’s an easy 550km from Canberra and less than 500km from the Murrumbidgee. From Mildura it’s only 480km and Adelaide is about an 8-hour drive away. It’s close to EVERYTHING and EVERYWHERE! TIPS FOR FISHING NAGAMBIE This waterway is an angler’s paradise with plenty of heavy timber, standing trees, overhanging structure, willow trees, thick weed beds and a river channel that provides the lake system with depths varying from 0.5m down to 11m deep in some locations. Minimal water flow makes for great fishing opportunities and allows for a range of different fishing styles, including bait, lure and even fly. Whilst there are plenty of bank and kayak entries available, boat spots are motoring out the door. Head to gofishnagambie.com.au to book your boat in, check out the prizes and book a campsite.

UP FOR GRABS AT AUSTRALIA’S WEALTHIEST FRESHWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT APRIL 2019

Make your day with a catch of mulloway WEST COAST

Brett Carson

If the mouth is open, April is usually a fairly predictable time to fish the Glenelg River. The system has just been through its second blocking of the mouth this summer due to low flows in the catchment and is now returning to normal. The standard line is that when the mouth is blocked the fishing goes off the charts. While that’s true, at times there is a heap of heartache in the gaps in between. I personally like the tidal influence for a whole range of reasons, but mainly for the ability to better predict feed times. As I’ve mentioned before, the February to April time of year sees massive schools of small

to trophy-sized mulloway patrolling the local coast chasing baitfish amongst the kelp country. They are often straight out from the many spring-fed freshwater creeks between Nelson and Port MacDonnell. When the mouth of the Glenelg is open this time of year those monsters charge into out system chasing the millions of baitfish that inhabit the estuary. Last year’s 70lb fish (amongst others near 50lb) was a perfect example of this theory after two years of the mouth not closing. I keep saying it, but the mulloway fishing has been super consistent this last twelve months. Taylors Strait and the estuary have remained hotspots, but fish have come from as far up as Wild Dog Bend. Is you are bait fishing, obviously live mullet is the pick, but squid, pilchards and mackerel have

also enticed a feed. Make sure you try the top and bottom of the water column, and be prepared to change rigs for more success. Berley if you are sitting is a good idea; sometimes it might just be the trigger that starts the chew. Estuary perch are coming thick on the surface and some awesome catches and tales of unstoppable fish are common. I like this time of year when those summer afternoon breezes drop off and the water goes to glass. On and after dark, unfamiliar anglers often mistake the hectic slapping and surface boofing as mulloway feeding on mullet. The noise seems like it’s coming from much bigger fish, but they are just so aggressive in their baitfish attack that they are often misidentified. Smaller livies or lures get the best results

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on perch, with reed beds and heavy snags holding large schools this time of year. Bream fishing has been hit and miss with the closed mouth, but is now returning to tidal triggered bite, especially in the lower reaches. Brendan Provis and his mate bagged out on the bream recently in the estuary, only catching three undersize fish amongst them. I think that crabs will be a real go-to bait to weed out the hungry clouds of last year’s spawn of juvenile bream. It’s a sign of a healthy river, so I guess we can’t have our cake and eat it too. The surf is holding plenty of bream. My youngest boy Charlie spent hours diving around the shallows of a local coastal bay raving about the size of the bream he could see. Speaking of the surf, it’s also a great time to target the gutters before the winter swells come back and with them, the weed. School elephant fish and gummy shark are there for the taking on the bigger tides, but be prepared to fish into the dark for the best results. • Good luck and feel free to come and see us at Nelson Boat Hire for the latest info. We have the local ‘live bait licence’ meaning we

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Ponch Enoos caught this quality mulloway with the help of his brothers, Derulo and Ozmond. Catches like this continue to be common this month.

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It’s now time for rolling in the deep after tuna WARRNAMBOOL

Mark Gercovich mgercovich@hotmail.com

April used to be the time when anglers would anticipate the run of southern bluefin tuna that would start appearing at this time of year. However, things have changed, with the past few seasons throwing up consistent runs of the species throughout summer. This month tuna are in excellent numbers right along the coast from Warrnambool through to Portland Bay. The fact that most of these fish can be found in the 15-40m range makes the long trips to the shelf to fish for winter run SBT an unnecessary hassle. The size quality of these fish is also good, with some 20-30kg fish available in the schools and most fish in the

14-18kg range – awesome fun on heavy spin gear. If you’ve never fished for tuna before, a heavy spin outfit with 50lb braid and 60-80lb leader and a small 2-3” skirt trolled behind the boat is the easiest way to get connected, as the fish are often feeding on small baitfish at this time of year. For the more adventurous, casting a stickbait or a metal slice into the school can be hard work, but more rewarding, particularly when a fast-travelling bullet of an SBT mows it down in front of you. Even with the tuna in so close, as with all offshore angling in the South West, check the weather forecast before going out. April is pretty much the end of any chance at a kingfish locally, but the option of trying for a mako is still well and truly on the cards. John Cahil landed

a monster mako recently off Port Fairy that had the audacity to eat a seal after it had already been hooked and fought for over an hour. Port Fairy and Warrnambool ramp and fish cleaning areas have attracted a few seals with all the tuna activity and some are more than just a little curious. Be careful if they begin showing a brazen interest in your catch and keep any small children away from them. Inshore there has been enough pinkie snapper to keep anglers looking for a feed happy, and April should still see them being around along with squid, silver trevally and King George whiting. The Hopkins has been a little quiet lately with the high water levels but it often begins firing well in April, particularly if the mouth opens with some decent Easter tides.

Tuna have been providing plenty of action offshore recently, and are showing no signs of slowing down.

Anglers to make the most of the warm weather The local beaches have been good and the forecast northerly winds and warm weather is a good time to get out and try for a gummy. Anglers Chris and Michael Levett were fishing for salmon at Johanna Beach when the rod buckled while using bluebait – to their surprise there was a quality mulloway that measured in at 90cm and 14kg. Local rivers and streams have been good with reports of bream caught up to 37cm. Trout have also been getting caught higher up. The Apollo

APOLLO BAY

Craig Rippon

The weather has been on our side lately and the good weather forecast ahead gives us plenty of time to spend on the water. There has been some great fishing of late, with offshore providing excellent captures. Local angler Brandon Cole had a great day landing two nice makos and many more table fish. The snapper have been in really good numbers on all our local reefs, spread from Wye River to Moonlight Heads. I have found that the change of tide and just before dark is the best with some decent-sized fish in amongst them. Gummy and shoal sharks have been about as well, along with some good-sized flathead.

Chris and Michael with a decent mulloway that they caught off the beach while fishing bluebait. There have been tuna sightings, although their size has not been big. It is still worth keeping your eyes on

them, as this time last year is when they started firing. Kingfish have been a bit slow so far, but with the

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Bay harbour has been good with a few nifty calamari inside. Pink Yamashita jigs have been the colour of choice, but don’t be scared to try other colours as they change a bit. With a couple of long weekends coming up plus Easter, now is a good time to plan a trip to Apollo Bay with the good weather ahead. April offers us some of the last warm weather that makes for awesome fishing, as it won’t be long before winter hits us again.

higher water temperatures they should start to get a bit more active, and live baits have been best when they do bite. There have also been some solid schools of salmon seen offshore, with some anglers having great fun casting lures into them on the surface. They are great fun to catch on light gear and also provide productive bait for the gummies as well. Whiting have been a bit patchy this year. Other parts of the coast have been getting some catches, but not in bag limit numbers. Most of the fish getting caught are around 40cm, so the size makes up for the numbers. I personally am not giving up on them, as this time last year we got some good catches and pipis have been the best bait for them. So, keep trying and you will be rewarded.

Brandon ‘Grubby’ Cole had a great day landing these nice makos.

Fishing in full swing COBDEN

Rod Shepherd

Although most of the action is occurring offshore, those who cannot access the briny or prefer calmer waters are coming up trumps in the Hopkins on the bream, perch and mulloway. Some solid bream are about with anglers primarily targeting cliff faces fishing unweighted, fresh baits cast right in close or flicking soft plastics and minnow lures.

catch one, you’re in with a good chance of catching more. Jigging is popular – especially with knife jigs – and so is live baiting as well as simply casting. Occasionally, small southern bluefin tuna to 7kg are also being caught alongside the kingies. It’s believed kingfish are travelling with the tuna, not the other way round. Kingfish will also congregate around larger creatures such as giant rays. Any flotsam or jetsam floating out on the

to the Tasman Sea – these fish really travel. Some good King George whiting are being caught not far offshore in depths from 8-20m. A predominately sandy bottom with weed patches mixed in is a good spot to try. Anchoring up and sending out a berley trail made up of scented pellets certainly helps and if no whiting bites happen within 30 or so minutes, it’s time to move on and try elsewhere. Tenderised strips of squid along with the ever-popular

Boat Bay at Peterborough. It looks like a formidable place to launch into the sea but as long as you have a 4WD and take your time, it shouldn’t be a hassle. As the sun hits the water the fish move out deeper but don’t necessarily go off the bite. Some fish are exceeding 40cm in length, which is a good fish, and I encourage all anglers to take heaps of photos of the fish before releasing these big breeders back. Keep some around the mid-30s if you want a feed, but let the big ones go so they can pass on their genes to the next generation. Estuary perch have been taken along the bank adjacent to Lyndoch as well as directly opposite on the mud flats, but only in low light conditions. Casting or trolling shallow to medium diving minnow lures as well as casting soft plastics in shrimp and prawn patterns have also picked up a few fish. Mulloway approaching a metre or so in length are still being caught, especially by those specifically targeting them. Live baiting with small mullet or casting soft plastics in and around 130mm in length is also attracting a few bites. The yellowtail kingfish season is still in full swing with plenty of fish to 13kg being caught. There are plenty of smaller fish about too, so remember size and bag limits. They are a schooling fish, so where you

water is definitely worth a cast or two, as kingies are very curious and they used to get caught in there thousands years ago off New South Wales in unbaited, floating traps that commercial anglers would set offshore. This decimated the population to such an extent that the then State Government placed a permanent ban on this type of fishing and now we are most likely, as amateur anglers, reaping the benefits. Even here in Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean, as opposed

pipi are the perfect baits to employ just a foot or so off the bottom. Whiting will also take pilchard, so try filleting a pilchard and thread it onto a long shanked baitholder hook. A hook that has a bit of guts to it, not the thin whiting hooks (usually red in colour), as it isn’t always whiting that will take your bait and these thin whiting hooks have a tendency to snap or bend when a half decent fish has taken the bait. Fish exceeding 45cm have been boated recently.

This lip hooked bream took a Pontoon 21 Greedy Guts deep diver fished in deeper water during the middle of the day. APRIL 2019

Things that bite in the night GEELONG

Neil Slater slaterbunch@optusnet.com.au

April can be peak time for the Barwon River’s redfin population. The river in Geelong has been fishing well for redfin to 40cm for anglers using live bait and lures. The water has remained relatively clear

so lure fishing has been popular, but live baits such as gudgeon or galaxias will often catch more fish when they are quiet. Both live baits can be trapped in the shallows of the river using a collapsible bait trap set with white bread. As we ease into the cooler months, expect the summer fish such as kingfish and snapper to slowly

taper off while the whiting should really come on in the region. It’s hard to believe that the whiting fishing could actually get better than the last few months, but typically they go nuts around this time of year. The last month has seen whiting really have a crack. Best fish have been either side of 40cm and mostly caught around dawn and dusk.

Mounzer has been enjoying the Surf Coast beaches of a night, where he managed this quality gummy.

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Locations such as Point Henry, Avalon, Curlewis and Clifton Springs all hold good schools of fish but it pays to move around. Undersized pinkie snapper have been a real pain, scoffing whiting baits in the region as well. If they move in, it’s time to move on. Keep your leaders short as this helps to reduce gut hooked fish – especially when there is little to no tidal flow such as inside Corio Bay. Where there is strong tidal flow, such as St Leonards to Queenscliff, then longer leaders do increase the bites. Dean McDonald has been getting a few out off Portarlington and says the bite just before dark has been best with pipis and squid getting the job done. Dean took Jon Salmon and his son Kingston out to try to catch a few. Kingston caught the first three fish to keep the dads on their toes re-baiting hooks. The trio ended up with a decent catch of a dozen or so from 6:00pm until dark. Most fish that night were around 30-35cm, but Dean says a few have been around the 40cm mark lately. Dean also notes that if one spot

APRIL 2019

doesn’t produce a fish in 15-20 minutes, keep moving until you find them. Point Henry and Avalon in Corio Bay have been producing good numbers of whiting for boaties, while those that are land-based have caught them on dusk at

Limeburners boat ramp rock walls and St Helens rocks. Anglers fishing Clifton Springs and Portarlington for whiting have found them in less than 3m of water dawn and dusk and in depths greater than 4m during the day.

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Mounzer caught this ripper mulloway in the first 15 minutes of a session from Thirteenth Beach after an intense fight.

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St Leonards and Indented Head have some beautiful whiting grounds with plenty of shallow patchy weeds and sandy patches. Rod Ludlow from Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head says the whiting are hanging about with the top of the run in and start of the run out the best tides. Inner and Outer Governors reefs and all the way through to the Prince George Bank are the best areas, while mussels and pipis have been the best baits. There is a lot of small pinkie snapper eating the bait set for whiting, so be prepared to move if they are around. Rod says there have been some reasonable pinkie snapper caught near the Prince George light around the turn of the high tide, but again be prepared to run from the small bait stealers. Squid have been patchy but are about if you are prepared to move around a lot. Morning and evening have been best for these tasty critters. Quality flathead have been caught by anglers drifting with pilchard pieces in 8-12m near the shipping channel and off St Helens. Closer to the edge of the shipping channel, there has been pinkie snapper to 45cm caught on soft plastic lures,

fresh squid and pilchards. There have been some rippers amongst them too, with some up around 55cm. Soft plastic enthusiasts have also take a few pinkie snapper to 50cm casting from along the Geelong waterfront from the yacht club to Cunningham Pier

while land-based anglers have caught a few around St Helens on dusk. Mounzer ‘Marc’ Yahgi drove down from Melbourne to Thirteenth Beach near Barwon Heads to fish the outgoing tide after dark recently. Using fresh squid and yellowtail

Jacob, Connor and Tyler managed these impressive catches on whiting gear in 21m.

scad for bait, Marc hooked something very large which he fought for 10-15 minutes, until the 20kg leader gave way and the line went sickeningly slack. Later that night, he managed a couple of quality gummy sharks but the one that got away had him keen for more. Marc headed back down the next night, lobbed out a fresh bait and had a massive bite almost immediately. He had a mulloway on the beach within 15 minutes of arriving! Marc also caught two juvenile bronze whaler sharks, two nice pinkie snapper including one that weighed in at 1.5kg. Marc says he was absolutely smashed by what he unequivocally believes was a very large mulloway that broke his 15kg braided line. That’s enough motivation for another trip down to Thirteenth Beach I reckon. Point Wilson has also been fishing well for pinkie snapper either side of 40cm. Most fish have been caught on baits such as squid and pilchards, but they can be caught on soft plastic lures as well. Jacob Norton took his sons Connor (14yo) and Tyler (9yo) out from Clifton Springs recently. Anchored up in 21m, it wasn’t long before they were catching a few flathead and whiting.

Kingston kept dad on re-baiting duty while he went ahead and scored the first three fish, including this whiting. To Jacob’s surprise, they also landed some very respectable snapper on their whiting gear, which was a first for the boys. Bellarine Pirates and St Leonards Angling Clubs hosted the Bellarine Flathead Challenge over the Australia Day weekend. Best flathead was 583g caught by Joe Scaffidi, while second place went to Daniel Purchas with a catch that weighed in at 566g and third place was junior competitor Brandon

Scaffidi with a 517g catch. Catch a few around Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula or Surf Coast to Lorne recently? Send in a report to slaterbunch@ optusnet.com.au with ‘VFM’ in the subject field or give me a call on 0408 997 348. Please include where (without giving away your secret spot!), when, what on and who caught the fish. Pictures are always great, but please make sure they are at least 1MB (file size).

APRIL 2019

More opportunities for fishing PORT PHILLIP BAY WEST

Alan Bonnici alan@fishingmad.com.au

Shorter nights are on the way thanks to daylight savings, which ends on Sunday 7 April. The weather is also starting to get a little cooler, but don’t fret, as April is actually a pretty awesome month for fishing. Not only are the conditions great, it has the added bonus of additional days to get out on the water thanks to public holidays. This includes the extended Easter long weekend, which starts 19 April, followed by Anzac Day on the 25 April. I see these simply as extra opportunities to hit the water and try to land a trophy fish. The whiting fishing in recent months has been nothing short of sensational. We have been seeing regular ‘ting catches pushing the 50cm mark. However, the

most common catches have been between 30-45cm and in big numbers pretty much all over Port Phillip Bay. Some of the local hotspots have included Corio Bay entrance, Kirks Point, St

Leonards, Wedge Spit, Clifton Springs and Werribee just to name a few. Neatly presented baits have generally ensured a good day out on the water; my go-to baits have included

fresh pipis and small strips of fresh squid, usually on a running sinker rig with about half a metre leader to a size 6 long shank or circle hook. I have also had great success using a pre-made whiting

As the warm weather comes to an end, so does the snapper season. But sizes are only looking to improve over the coming years.

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flasher paternoster rigs. There are several different branded ones out in the market, such as Black Magic Whiting Snatchers or Rig Master Tackle Hairy Backs, and they all work well. This past month I have had several great days on the water with bag out sessions. I have mainly been targeting shallow areas between 3-5m deep and slowly motoring along with the polarised sunnies on keeping an eye out for weedy areas, which is often easier to do rather than relying on the sounder. Once we finally decide on a location, we anchor up and berley hard then wait for the magic to happen. It’s a great time of year out in the bay to be chasing gummy sharks. Gummies have renowned eating and

Illegal netting needs to be stopped, remember to report any suspicious activity to the VFA, Victorian Fishing Authorities, on 13 fish (13 3474). fighting qualities that make them a great species to target. James has spent a few days out in Port Phillip Bay specifically targeting gummies. He has been using fresh salmon fillets for bait on twin Black Magic 6/0 Suicide hooks with 80lb Shock Leader. He has managed to land a few big gummies, his biggest coming only 10 minutes into his first session. Landing a gummy is great fun as they dart around and go for powerful runs. When they come on deck, they thrash around like crazy causing all sorts of chaos. When targeting gummies, always take time to notice if your catch is a female who may be pregnant with pups. If you do catch a pregnant female, then make sure you handle her with care and quickly release her back in

the water. Targeting pinkies (also known as juvenile snapper) can be great fun, but gee they have become somewhat of a pest over the last month or two. Pinkies under 25cm are in huge numbers, in fact, they seem to be everywhere. They have a habit of taking your baits as soon as they hit the water, which prevents you from reaching your target species. This too can be a lot of fun when using ultra-light spinning gear and flicking small soft plastics, however, I have spoken with a lot of other anglers who have expressed their frustrations with this, but we all recognise that snapper fishing in future years is going to go from strength to strength. It was a shock this past month to see illegal netting happening within

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James with a Port Phillip gummy that he caught using fresh salmon fillets. These fish are good fun as they go for long runs and fight hard.

the residential area of Point Cook. A good friend of mine was the one who found the nets and acted quickly calling VFA Victorian Fishing Authorities on 13 FISH (13 3474). To the credit of the VFA, they arrived at the scene then proceeded to remove the net. With more investigation, they found and removed a further five nets from the area. The culprits, who were local residents, were caught

in the act and by all reports were quite unremorseful for their actions. They had their car seized and face up to $16,000 in fines and six months imprisonment. I’ll never quite understand why people would want to carry out illegal netting in fragile ecosystems such as these. It’s an insult to those, like myself, continually preach catch and release practices and careful fish handling. I

encourage all other anglers to report anything you see that’s suspicious to the VFA so we can stamp out this type of behaviour. Big carp are still very active this time of year. I’ve been receiving plenty of pictures and stories of big mud marlin catches from Melton Reservoir, Pykes Creek, and Taylors and Cherry lakes. Michael King was very pleased to land a monster carp around

Michael King with a big 80cm Melbourne mud marlin that he caught on a scrubworm bait.

The author has been finding plenty of whiting. There have been some truly spectacular catches this season, with some pushing 50cm.

80cm that managed to snap his 3-5kg spin rod as he landed it in the net. It was taken on a scrubworm and a basic running sinker rig to a size 6 long shank hook. Don’t forget that carp are considered a noxious pest and cannot be returned to any Victorian waterway. This year we haven’t seen a lot of kingfish catches around the heart of Melbourne. This time last year social media pages blew up with some amazing

kingy catches around areas such as the Docklands. However, the outer areas such as The Rip and beyond Queenscliff have been producing good size numbers of kingfish. There are some very reputable charters taking people out to target kingies, so make sure you look them up and if you catch a decent kingy around Melbourne, then be sure to let me know. That’s all from me this month. Please share your

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recent fishing experiences around Melbourne and Port Phillip Bay so they can be added to next month’s article. You can contact me via email at alan@fishingmad.com. au, check out my website at www.fishingmad. com.au, or look me up on Facebook (facebook. com/fishingmad.com. au), YouTube (youtube. com/c/fishingmad) and Instagram (instagram.com/ fishingmad.com.au).

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Patience leads to bigger catches PORT PHILLIP NE

Wayne Friebe wfriebe@bigpond.net.au

A late season patch of warmer weather has been the norm for the past month or so on the bay, even with some prolonged periods of very hot weather that we are more used to experiencing

in the middle of summer. Milder weather during the summer months has kept water temperatures down while keeping bite times and periods more consistent. As the water temperature continues to cool as we move closer to winter, some of the bay’s target species will really start to fire again, and they have started to already. For

Junior Friebe with a nice calamari from Mornington. He’s not willing to hold it up for a photo, but is more than happy to eat it.

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many of the bay’s anglers, the change of seasons into the autumn months is their favourite time of year, and for good reason. As was the trend for the last few months, with so many other fishing options further afield, especially offshore, local snapper reports have been less frequent. The dedicated snapper anglers have still been getting amongst plenty of quality fish out wide from Mornington and Mount Martha, as well as some of the local charter operators. The recent success definitely seems to be centred around the run-out tide. Most of the fish have been in the 3-5kg range, and by all reports have been in top condition. I would expect this trend to continue for the next couple of months or so, and for other techniques like slow jigging and even live baiting to become more popular when the snapper are not biting. Depths between 19-22m have been the most productive, and in the deeper areas closer to the channel, anglers have reported that passing container ships are triggering snapper activity. Mornington and Mount Martha have been the best. Many decent gummy sharks have also been taken in this area over the past month as well, to the point where many anglers are now targeting them specifically in this area. This is a great sign for the bay and the future of our fishery. Yakka and slimies have been very productive for snapper and gummies, as well

as fresh squid. Good quality frozen baits are also good, but there’s no substitute for the real stuff, especially when there is so much natural food available. Reports of quality pinkie snapper and smaller schoolsized fish have been coming in thick and fast over the past month, especially from the kayak anglers and those casting lures from drifting boats on the inshore reefs. I have also received a couple of encouraging reports of some 2kg+ snapper being taken trolling hardbodied lures around the Mount Martha mussel farm, and the surrounding reef areas. Calamari numbers have heavily increased on the inshore reefs over the past month as well, which seemed to be a long time coming this year. After a few lean months in our local areas, big numbers of squid have moved in in recent weeks. Swarms of smaller squid have been very active, especially around first and last light, and with new competition for food, there have been a few larger models reported as well. Mornington Pier has been a real hotspot of late, and will continue to be so for the next few months. All of the usual inshore reefs are producing well, especially around Olivers Hill, Mornington, Mount Eliza and Mount Martha. Interestingly, black or red jigs have been very productive at present, and also glow white or prawn patterned jigs. Big schools of salmon have

If you’re patient and put up with all the keyring-sized pinkies around at the moment, there are some better quality fish being taken on lures amongst the shallow reefs. continued to pop up from time to time around Mornington, as they have been in residence for the past 12 months. Kingfish are reported to be hanging with them as well, but have been very elusive. I know of only a few taken locally recently. Salmon are far more reliable, however, and seem to be popping up every afternoon at the moment, and smashing the daylights out of everything in their path. Baits, lures and flies all work when they are in the mood, and they are great fun, top class snapper and gummy bait, and not too bad to eat both when fresh, and dispatched properly immediately after capture. Local whiting reports

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have increased over the last month, but the small ‘key ring’ sized pinkies still continue to be very trying for bait fishers. However annoying they may be, their presence is a great sign for the future of the bay, so take care to return any undersized fish back into the water unharmed. It’s worth a change of location if they become too thick. Boat and land-based anglers in both bays are all having to wade through the small pinkies at the moment, but persistence will pay off, as some quality whiting are amongst them as well. Fresh pipis seem to be standout at the moment, but fresh squid and mussels are also hard to beat. Patterson River has been fishing really well over the last month, with some ripper bream coming to the hand of lure fishers in the canals, and the bait fishers in the main river system. Topwater lures and plastics have been the choice of most in the canals, as well as the ever-reliable Cranka Crab. Prawns, freshwater yabbies and scrubworms have been the baits of choice for anglers fishing the canals. And as the water cools beyond Easter, expect the reports of mulloway to become more frequent in the river for anglers casting lures and fishing live baits from the banks of the main river.

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Lee Rayner info@fishingfever.com.au

Some warm days are now mixed up with cooler mornings and when it blows there is definitely that hair raising chill that hits your skin from any winds that flow in from the south. But, as we slide into the guts of autumn, this month really sees the change of seasons as the summer species – such as whiting – thin out and the beginning of the pinkie run as some better quality fish start to move into the shallows. While there has been a non-stop run of squid on offer all over the bay through summer, the drop in water temperature and some cooler weather will see the squid numbers increase over the coming weeks and months for land-based and boat anglers. The other great thing about the coming months is that the land-based fishing options in this part of the world really start to come into their own. With the calm autumn weather the shallows tend to be very clear and make a perfect hunting ground for squid. In fact, many anglers who have boats tend to find themselves heading to a rocky bit of shoreline to cast a squid jig around for some calamari late in the afternoon. MORDIALLOC TO BLACK ROCK With the water cooling down it’s now getting to that time of year when the creek beings to really fire, with the big schools of mullet appearing from wherever it is that they come from. Best of all, the creek offers a safe and comfortable fishing location. Kids fishing for mullet can learn the fundamentals of fishing using a small amount of berley, a carefully balanced float and small hooks baited with tiny pieces of peeled prawn, dough or bits of chicken.On the pier itself, the mullet will often be out there and fishing with the same method should also see anglers into good numbers of garfish, which have also started turning up in good numbers during April. Late in the afternoons and into the evening pinkies are now a prime target as they move onto the reef in low light to feed. The best baits for them are half pilchards or small squid strips, and while most of the fish are in the 30-35cm size, there is more than enough in the 40-50cm size to keep it interesting. Best of all, this fishing will only get better in the coming weeks and months. Out in the boats anglers are getting into good numbers of pinkies and squid at locations such as the Parkdale Pinnacles and up towards Ricketts Point.

Squid will really fire up this month. Beaumaris Pier has had a few squid coming off it each evening, but it should really fire up this month as the water will drop in temperature quite quickly, which they love. From Ricketts Point to Black Rock it is definitely pinkie season, with any reasonable evening seeing a bunch of boats fishing the edge of the reef through here. If the past weeks are anything to go by, then this month should be great with good numbers of 30-35cm fish on offer, with some anglers reporting that they have been finding fair numbers of fish around 45cm on bigger baits or 5-6” plastics. Interestingly, there has also still been a small number of very solid whiting still being caught over the past weeks off the reef edge towards Black Rock, so it may be worth putting out a few pipi baits for a big late season King George. SANDRINGHAM TO ST KILDA There are plenty of land-based options at this time of year in this part of the world. Everywhere from Sandringham break wall to the Hampton rock groynes and up off Brighton break wall are all top locations to set yourself up for some solid land-based pinkies. Personally, one of my favourite places is the end of the Sandringham break wall, as it drops into relatively deep water and on a southerly blow the waves push everything around the end of the point and the pinkies tend to gather there. On the rough ground that runs all along this part of the bay is also a perfect place to fish for calamari as they are currently in good numbers and this will only get better as they increase in size over the coming weeks. Up at Brighton, either off the break wall or out in the boats, the shallow reef areas are coming into their own on the pinkies, with some solid fish to over 2kg being taken over the past weeks. During this month there are generally

always a few big late season snapper that are caught while anglers are chasing pinkies, so it’s always well worth fishing with a larger bait or plastic, as it will help separate the smaller fish from the bigger models. If the weather is no good, turn you attention to the inside of the break wall where the pinkies will push inside the wall to feed. With a steady berley trail, there is a fair chance you will have some great action on pinkies and also some solid trevally, which also move into this area during April and May. As for a good fishing method here, try using a fine bran style or just mashed up pilchards, then cast unweighted pilchard fillets or whitebait out and allow it to slowly sink through the water column, then repeat the process every five minutes. ST KILDA TO PORT MELBOURNE At St Kilda it’s now time to start looking for bream that become quite active in this part of the bay at this time of year. The prime area to look at is along the break walls, as the bream will patrol the edges where the rock meets the sand. Working this area with small plastics – such as the ZMan 3” grubs or small diving hardbodies such as the SX40s or Daiwa Double Clutch – can prove deadly on big bream. The other option is to berley with mashed pilchards or crushed up mussel shell and use unweighted mussel as bait. This can also be done around the moored boats where the bream love to hang around. Out in the boats the extensive cunjevoi beds in the area will provide anglers with some big pinkies and even late season snapper for those anglers willing to fish into the evenings. If the water stays clean there should also be a good number of garfish available over the coming weeks and months for boat and land-based anglers fishing off Lagoon and Kerford Road piers.

Good eating options this Easter MORNINGTON PENINSULA

Julian Frank

With Easter just around the corner and school holidays about to begin, we are hoping for a great month ahead fishing wise. There should be plenty of opportunities for anglers to get out and have some cracker sessions on all our bread and butter species and maybe head outside the heads – fingers crossed the weather holds up. MOUNT MARTHA TO DROMANA Squid are on the go at the moment. Land-based anglers are picking up some quality flathead for a change from the rocks. Schools of big salmon have been showing up and flicking plastics and smaller metals will get you bite after bite. Dromana Pier and Safety

Bernard Abrams collected this solid mixed bag. Mixed bags will be quite common this month.

Little swimbaits have been a dynamite choice for estuary perch. Beach jetty have seen their fair share of fish caught, including squid, whiting and salmon. ROSEBUD There are still a heap of small pinkies around the wrecks, which has been causing some uproar amongst anglers but on the up side, some of these fish have been of quality table fare. We have had whiting reports from the Tootgarook area in 4-5m of water, and good squid through here as well. SORRENTO AND PORTSEA Good mixed bags of whiting and squid are consistent. Areas around the Pinnace Channel, South Sands and Blairgowrie moorings have all been fishing well. Portsea Pier has heaps of baitfish around it at night, it is especially holding good

numbers of slimies and yakka. Across the other side of Mud Island, reports of better whiting have been circulating. Good gummy shark are regular catches at the top end of the Symonds Channel and for the punter who just wants to get a good feed, there are sizeable flathead that are being regularly caught west of the Fairway lane. FRESHWATER Devilbend Reservoir has been a fantastic place to enjoy a nice relaxing fish, with plenty of estuary perch to be caught on a range of surface lures, spoons and soft plastics. As the water temperatures start to drop a bit, now would be a great time to get out and look for some of the bigger trout that readily cruise the banks in the mornings and late afternoon. OFFSHORE Kings have been fishing

well the last weeks, and signs of tuna have also shown and is including some solid catches. We have seen a few fish come in around the 40kg mark and up. So, if the weather permits I’d certainly try and head outside and troll some small skirts and hardbodies.

Quality gummy shark have been caught at night on the opposite side of the channel.

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Local fisho Mick Britain showing a decent catch of squid and ‘tings in his livewell – nothing beats fresh! APRIL 2019

Get ready to score when you head offshore PPB OFFSHORE

Gerry Morsman

When it comes to fishing down the southern end of the country, it doesn’t get much better than our offshore fishery here in Melbourne. There are not many places in the world where you can catch big tuna, big kingfish,

big gummy sharks, big calamari, and the list goes on! All in the one area. One of the beauties of this is that you don’t need to be an expert angler and with the amount of expert knowledge you can receive from your local tackle shop, it leaves you with a very good chance of getting into battle with one of these awesome fish.

SOUTHERN BLUEFIN TUNA I love the fact that I get to write about southern in a report around Melbourne. Even better is that these fish are no longer by-catch when targeting other species such as kingfish; they are now a regularly targeted fish. There have been tuna up to 150kg being caught, and that means we’re a world-class fishery.

A common sized kingfish for this area. Gawaine Blake caught this beauty near Pyramid Rock.

If there were as many people fishing for them here as in places like Portland you would be seeing these fish pop up all the time, as us recreational anglers see them all the time. It’s not just the big ones though, as there are paddocks of school size tuna, all around that 20kg mark, and there has been frequent drone footage to prove this. One of the best ways to target them has been skirts, but remember to not go out there with an one bait mind as skirts won’t always work. Try throwing casting lures like the one pictured. As you can see, they can imitate a bait almost perfectly, in this case a pilchard. One of the benefits of using a casting lure is that if the fish are sitting down deep and aren’t interested in some trolling lures that typically don’t go much deeper than say 6m, you can actually let them sink straight down and then bring them back through the school and hopefully get a hook-up. Some of the most popular areas for tuna have been the typical kingfish areas such as Cape Schanck and The Rip. These areas tend to hold a lot of bait, which ultimately

There is plenty of fresh flake in this photo. You won’t go hungry this month with plenty of these beauties around. brings the bigger predatory fish in to feed. KINGFISH We have a very good

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were consistent amounts of fish up to and above 30kg and one of the main reasons for this is that it was before netting bait got popular, when it was legal. Since the banning of netting the fish sizes are definitely increasing again and seeing fish around 20kg isn’t so unbelievable anymore, whereas five years ago getting a fish over 10kg was a pretty big deal. This is great news for us recreational fishers. The bulk of fish are coming from Cape Schanck as per usual, but the average size isn’t that great. The reason for this is that bigger kingfish in our area generally hang out in less tidal areas. They are here to spawn and in less tidal areas, like the inshore bays, there is less temperature variation and therefor creates a better environment for these bigger fish.

These casting lures are a great option for kingfish or tuna when sitting down deep or even on the top. is due to the huge volume of water trying to make its way out and this creating a huge current that makes it impossible to drop a jig down and fish vertically. GUMMY SHARKS It’s pretty much the same

The Tall Trees crew got onto some quality tuna out the front of Cape Schanck. If you like your jigging, well then The Rip is the place for you. Although it hasn’t really been a hotspot this year, there is still quite a number of good fish to be caught. Fishing the slack tide is the best way to approach this area as it is nearly unfishable through the middle of the tide. This

story for gummy sharks – there are plenty being caught. I believe these are our best species for offshore fishing as you can target them all year. They pull hard, they are easy to target and most importantly they taste great. Targeting reefy areas and anchoring up has been

the flavour of the month and for good reason, as there have been very consistent amounts of fish being caught off the reefs. Using parrotfish and barbers perch as bait is ideal because baits like squid or pilchard get picked at constantly by all the small reef fish, but these baits tend to get left alone and most importantly, gummy sharks love them! Another benefit to using these fish as baits is that they are very easy to catch off the same reef you are targeting gummy sharks in, around that 35-50m of water. You will find these reefs all along the coast and finding them is very easy by just using your depth sounder. SQUID Catching calamari squid is one of my favourite things to do offshore because the quality of the catch is quite exceptional! You very rarely get small squid and they are in very good numbers, even in depths of up to 50m. The best way to do this is to drop your jig down on a paternoster style rig with a small sinker. Putting your rod in the rod holder and leaving the jig a couple of metres off the bottom is very effective as the rocking of the boat does all the work for you and you are able to leave your jig in the firing line for longer periods of time. There are also plenty of areas around Flinders where you can get in close and cast jigs like you usually would in the bays.

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Bet on the bait to bag WESTERN PORT NTH

Jarrod Day jarrodday@iprimus.com.au

The cooling water temperatures throughout Western Port over the past few weeks have had a dramatic effect on the fishing, but it is still worth heading out, providing the weather allows you to. Whiting are still about throughout the top end, but you do have to put in the effort to get rewarded and it is certainly worth doing,

as their size is quite good. A lot of whiting are still in top condition and some of them exceed 45cm. Finding whiting of this calibre will require you to work the edges of the banks, particularly around Gentle Annie, Charring Cross, Browns Reserve and it is still worth concentrating along the Tyabb Bank. These locations have been fishing best on the high tide and during the first two hours of the run-out tides. Another good autumn location for whiting is fishing the reefy drop-offs

When fishing the shallow banks, you have the ability to catch a range of species. Whiting and garfish are plentiful this month.

around Joes Island. This area supports a good population of whiting at this time of year, and while you might catch a bag of fish, and the ones you get will be enough for dinner. If you’re up for some line screaming action, then you should focus your efforts on fishing big baits on the bottom. Of course, you will encounter the bottom dwelling species, like Port Jackson sharks and stingrays, but if you’re not hooking them then your baits are not on the bottom. Throughout this month, gummy sharks and elephant fish will be in abundance. While elephants have a bag limit of only one fish per person, they are still a lot of fun to catch using light tackle. If you’re choosing to fish in the top end channels, such as Bouchier and Boultins, then you can expect to catch quite a few, especially when fishing the run-out tide. Personally, I would berley but baits such as squid rings, pipi, and whole pilchards work extremely well. Rigging up for gummies requires the use of a running sinker rig, which is generally tied from 60-80lb leader with a snelled set of 6/0 octopus hooks or a single 6/0 circle.

Justin Blythe with a solid elephant from the top end. Rigging for elephants on the other hand uses lighter leaders such as 20lb with a 3/0 circle hook, as they only have a small mouth. Further down the Port along the Middle Spit, whiting are still the main focus, but they will start to become fewer in numbers as the water cools. Most of the whiting fishing should be focused on the shallow banks during the high tide, especially in the Eastern Entrance and through ‘The Cut’. For those who don’t know, The Cut is the thoroughfare from the North Arm to the Eastern Entrance. The depth average is 4-5m on the high tide and 2-3m on the low tide. You do have to take it easy when going through so you don’t run aground on the mud banks. Another prime species to target in the top end of the Port is calamari, and these are rife right throughout the autumn months. Personally, I love fishing for them on the Tyabb and Quail during the high tides. When the tide is high, they cruise about the weed and while flicking artificial jigs about gets their attention, sitting back with silver whiting on a jag under a float is also fun. It’s quite ironic, but it is always the

larger calamari I’ve caught using baits. However, it always pays to do both at the same time. Calamari are extremely widespread and while the focus can be on the Quail and Tyabb banks, it’s fair to try along the edge of the Middle Spit, outside the Hastings Channel and right down to Stony Point. There are plenty of weed beds that run along the edges of the drop-offs where calamari can be found in good numbers. If you’re a sportfishing fanatic and you like throwing

Whiting are still about in good numbers at the moment but will begin to die down in the coming weeks.

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There are plenty of whiting still about if you’re willing to put in the effort. 30

APRIL 2019

lures, then you’ll love playing with the schools of salmon that have begun to enter the Port. They tend to do this at this time of year and hang around until May when they head back offshore and along the surf coast. In the Port, however, you can find schools of salmon busting up bait around Crawfish Rock and down the North Arm and most of the time in the area of Buoy 15 to Stony Point. Although they can bust up anytime, it’s usually a sure bet around an hour either side of a

tide change. When you do find them, you can troll diving lures, but it is more fun casting soft plastics and metal lures. If you are casting metal, always remove the treble hook and replace it with a single inline hook. Salmon have a talent of flicking trebles, but with singles you’ll catch the majority of the fish you hook. It’s a fun time of year on Western Port and with such a variety of species on offer you’re always best to take every bit of tackle you have, just in case you decide to switch species or if you get bored of targeting just one.

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APRIL 2019

Get wild about whiting WESTERN PORT STH

Jarrod Day jarrodday@iprimus.com.au

The southern end of the Port continues to fire, with a range of species on offer. With the water temperatures cooling, whiting, kingfish, gummy sharks, calamari and a host of other prized species are still on the chew.

and it continually produces solid whiting. Once again, it is a shallow water location, so you do have to be quiet when fishing, but there are plenty of whiting on offer. In saying that, despite the prime bait being mussel and pipi, it is also elephant fish season – so don’t be surprised if you end up going toe to toe with a brute of an elephant. Mind you, catching elephants using

reports that the best bait has been pipi, with mussel and squid coming a close second. If you’re after big whiting, then look no further than the Rhyll Channel, and down the Eastern Entrance. With the whiting beginning to quieten down in the coming weeks, these fishing locations are where you’ll continue to get good numbers of fish before they head back offshore. Still inside the Port, working the sand holes from Cowes Jetty to McHaffies Reef has been productive. Due to the shallowness of this area and the fact that you do have to fish in close to the beach, it is more productive on the top of the high tide than the low. This is because this area is frequented with high volumes of boat traffic, on the low tides, the whiting move off into the deeper waters. In fact, I have always had my best success on the first two hours of the run-out tide early in the morning.

Patric Neidhart found success while trolling live baits offshore. This king was the result of a good day out. Photo courtesy of Patric Niedhart. There has also been a significant amount of whiting being caught in the Somers/Balnarring area for those experienced enough to navigate to this area. There is a heap of sandy area amongst the weed beds to fish and the whiting have no hesitation in hitting your baits. Of course, using berley will bring them in, but it is not necessary here.

Anglers who have put in the effort have been rewarded with good catches of whiting. Mind you, that will change in the coming weeks, so you’re best to get out while you can to take advantage of Western Port’s finest. Whiting are still the talk of the town and they are literally everywhere at the moment, with the Tortoise Head Bank producing some exceptional catches during the last few hours of the flood and first two hours of the ebb tides. I’ve mentioned this area quite a lot over the past few months

light tackle in the shallows is far better than fishing heavy tackle in the deep. Another location where you can continue to catch whiting is in 5m of water from Settlement Point at Corinella and right down to Reef Island. David Jarman from a local charter has been dominating the whiting and his clients have been having a blast going home with a good feed of fish. David himself has also been getting a few for a feed. David

Land-based whiting fishing is at its best. There are many locations you can try, such as Balnarring, Point Leo and Flinders.

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If you’re going to catch a big whiting in the Port, then this is the place to get them. Land-based fishing for whiting is also very productive along this stretch of coast. From Merricks to Balnarring there are plenty of sand holes, all within casting distance from the sand. I recently fished from the rocks off Balnarring in search of whiting. One thing to note here, is even on a standard low tide, the rocks can still be covered with water. After studying the tides, the day I fished were directly after the full moon meaning larger tides. In that, fishing from the rocks at this location is a low tide fishery, but only if you cast to the sand holes. With an hour left in the ebb tide, I fished until dead low and all the action happened during that last hour. In all, 13 whiting were caught using pipi and squid baits. Of course, when land-based fishing for

whiting, your baits can easily come into contact with the weed, so I suggest using an elevated running sinker rig. This is simply by using 50cm length of leader with your sinker tied to one end and a swivel tied to the other. This can freely run on the mainline and keeps your bait up off the seafloor. Circle hooks are not an option in this case and a running sinker rig allows slack line because you can’t always keep it tight to the reel, so Mustad’s stainless #6 92647S Baitholder is the ideal hook. One of the reasons being that it is offset, so the fish hook themselves without the need for the angler to do so. Still, this section of the coastline is great for landbased anglers to catch whiting right up until the end of the month. Offshore, the fishing has also been exceptional. Despit this, you’d expect Bass Strait to be full of mako sharks, reports of capturing them have been few and far between in recent weeks. While you do need to have the right set-ups to target them, thoughts of targeting mako have been tossed aside due to the influx of kingfish. Kingy season has been an interesting one, and while they have not really been caught within the confines on

the Port itself, they have been offshore. When the weather has allowed, anglers have been trolling live baits along the coastline of Phillip Island and from Flinders to Cape Schank with success. Live squid has been the go-to bait and kings have been caught upwards of 15kg, with most averaging 10kg. Of course, these fish are the powerhouses of the ocean, so you do need to have quality gear to be able to stop them from rubbing you off on the reef. Local angler and Western Port Angling Club member Patric Neidhart recently took a trip out trolling livies along the coast with success. Working in close to the rock, Pat managed a cracking king that took a livey down deep. While we are now in the middle of autumn, the water will begin to cool, and while our summertime species will dissipate, the winter species will begin to make their presence known. Gummy sharks will still be a targetable species along with hordes of salmon that enter the Port along with calamari, silver trevally, elephant fish and a host of others. Although we do have to begin to select our fishing days based on the weather, there are still plenty of fishing opportunities available.

David Jarman from T-Cat Charters with his hands full of Western Port whiting.

Whiting better late than never PHILLIP ISLAND

Craig Edmonds

I was just reading last year’s April report and it started off with a description of what a whiting looks like, because it had been so long since most of my customers had actually seen one. Thankfully, this year it is a slightly different story. As predicted, the whiting picked up and the lack of fish over the last couple of years was most probably due to breeding cycles. One thing has been for certain, there has been a lot more whiting around than the last couple of years, and while not all are 40cm, the amount of 25-30cm is very promising for the future. The numbers

worse than toadfish when they are in those numbers and can be impossible to get away from, but if you do persevere there are bigger ones to be had and we have seen plenty around the 40cm mark and even a few into the 50s. The bigger ones seem to come on first and last light, while the very small ones are very active during the daylight hours. The offshore reefs have also been good for reds and more snapper than pinkies have been caught out there. The small pinkies in the bay are everywhere, whereas the bigger ones are being caught around areas of structure or heavy bottom. Offshore the best spot has been down off Kilcunda towards the Powlett River in the 25m area for the bigger snapper and the smaller

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Several late season makos have been caught this month. Heading offshore is a sure fire way to catch a quality 10kg+ model. pinkies are around the cape towards the clubhouse. Generally, those fishing for whiting were also finding the pinkies, but strangely the ones they were catching were around the mid 30s with not too many tiny ones. They seemed to be mixed with the whiting and it was common to catch a couple of whiting, then a couple of pinkies, then a couple of whiting again. There are a lot of very small whiting around, but unlike the pinkies you can get away from them by fishing in a different area. The very small whiting seem to be found mostly shallow around Reef Island, Bass River and Maggi Shoal, and if you fish a little deeper you get the better quality fish. Now that autumn has set in a few reports of the quality big whiting have come from the offshore spots and from the gutter off ‘Foots’. Gummies have fished very

well over the last few months and we have had some very good reports from the landbased and boating customers, but only on the moons, and in between they have been very quiet. Those caught from the land were a bit smaller, and the same goes for those from the boats up the bay, but the closer you got to the offshore grounds the better they got. The reports from offshore were that they were all typically big, around 10kg+. The area around the windmills to Cole Point in 20-30m of water was the best and everywhere fresh baits, calamari, salmon, mackerel accounted for most of them. It will only be another couple of reports until we will be speaking about surf fishing and catching salmon and adding a few layers of clothes for the cold, then a minute Every couple of years there is a snook over 3kg later we will be reporting the to weigh. This one came in at just over 3.2kg. first snapper of the season! It just seems to go faster and and the size have improved faster, especially when you get over the last month now the a late season followed by an bay has dropped back to a early season. more respectable and normal Last winter we had temperature. We went through some very good weather a stage where the bay was that for offshore boating, but it warm in the shallows that you was no good in the bay with could almost catch and cook the northerly winds. Many your fish all in one! anglers took advantage of Although the season will the good fishing close come to an end for many in offshore and they surprised April, it’s far from the end of themselves with what was the fishing season. We often available out there. In the get asked in the shop what is bay was the same when the the fishing season around here, conditions allowed, because and it really depends what you of the fine weather and lack are fishing for, because there of rain many dragged the is no off season as a whole. cover off the boat and went What does happen is some for a bit of a run and mostly species fish better at certain fished the tide changes, times of the year, but there which they found productive. is always something to catch Although no one caught bags right through the year, you just of fish, you could head home need to be prepared to change with a feed and only spend up your gear and fish a little a couple of hours on the different. water, back in time for the Once that temperature afternoon. dropped the pinkies, which There is plenty of had been non-existent, came fishing around this area right on with a vengeance, with through the year, you just lots of small undersize ones need to think outside the box showing up. They are almost It took a while but quality whiting are finally showing up. and adapt.

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News

Lost Bar Crusher found A Bar Crusher that was lost offshore from NSW has turned up over 2000km away on the coast of New Zealand. The Sydney-based marine dealer originally sold the new Bar Crusher 615C to a customer in 2015. It was then sold to another owner, David Nash, in mid-2017. In September 2017, David arrived at The Peak, approximately 13km offshore from Maroubra in NSW. As he was dropping the anchor, the rope became tangled around the motor. Before he could unhook it, the anchor took hold and pulled the stern under in the rough conditions. When David jumped in the water to try to cut the rope, a large wave swamped the stern of the vessel causing it to capsize, only leaving the bow protruding out of the water. David dived under the boat and retrieved his EPIRB, and clung to the bow until a rescue helicopter came about 30 minutes later, followed by the Water Police. As the boat was being towed back the tow line snapped, and the vessel disappeared from view. A 4-hour search was unable to locate it, and it was presumed sunk. The matter seemed closed until earlier this year, when the boat was discovered on the east

A tractor carried the boat up the beach to begin its new life in New Zealand. Image courtesy of Zak Slaughter. coast of New Zealand, after floating in the water for around 18 months. One of the people who found the boat was charter operator Zak Slaughter, and he soon realised it was largely intact, aside from the damaged folding hard top/rocket launcher and windscreen. The motor was still there, along with around $1000 worth of fishing gear, much of which was salvageable, aside from a few rusty hooks. Zak offered to return David’s tackle to him, but David said he was welcome to keep it, seeing as the cost had been covered by insurance. The insurance company agreed to give Zak ownership of the boat, and

he plans to one day have it back on the water. “We’re going to blast off all the barnacles and get a good look at what we’ve got under there, but at this stage it’s looking pretty good,” he said. “Part of the steering system, the transducer and the trim tabs are all OK. A marine supplier here has already offered to sponsor some of the replacement parts we’ll need, such as the electronics and wiring.” The team at Bar Crusher have asked David to keep them abreast of the boat’s new lease of life, saying that its discovery is a great testament to the build quality and air buoyancy chambers of these boats. – Fishing Monthly

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The clean-up begins. Image courtesy of Zak Slaughter. APRIL 2019

Horsing around with big bream GIPPSLAND LAKES

Brett Geddes b.geddes@bigpond.com

This report is what bream anglers’ dreams are made of. I just love the creative names we give to really big bream. They get called a horse, donkey, stud, monster, blue nose, thumper or cracker and I like to also call them a truck or a b-double, and lately even a ‘bull of a bream’. Pictures and reports with some of the biggest bream I’ve seen since last winter are now flooding my phone and email almost daily. I’ve been very busy myself and

I’ve got so much to report on. I’m very confident the next few months will see some outstanding local fishing and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you. HORSING AROUND Some of the biggest bream are right now being caught across the whole Gippy Lakes from the entrance and way up into the far reaches of Hollands Landing and Lake Wellington. The Tambo and Mitchell will continue to be standout locations along with Lake Victoria and Duck Arm – I’m struggling to know where to start! It’s been stunning lure sport with a lot of visual sight

At 1.89kg this big bream was a relief to finally net in just 3ft of water. It attacked a Hurricane Vibz 37 lure in Gippy devil colour. Shallow water blading is the best lure trick and leads to a lot of truck bream for the author.

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casting and surface action. Bait anglers are also finding their share of the action and good old frozen prawn is probably the best option. The lure fishing has been the real standout and just as an example, let me begin with results of the latest ABT Mercury BREAM Qualifier at Metung. Brad Hodges took out first place and his 10 bream averaged nearly 1kg each. He weighed in a final total bag of 10/10 for 9.74kg. Brad is an outstanding and regular comp angler who is creating an absurd record here in the Gippy Lakes. Another quick shout out also goes to local star Peter Nord, who has stamped himself as a comp winning angler and has stacked big numbers of thumping bream over the last few months. Big congrats to Pete and a well-earned win to one of the most enthusiastic and dedicated blokes in bream fishing. During that last Gippy Lakes ABT comp bags of five fish weighing in at 4 and 5kg were common and the biggest bream was 1.63kg. This gives you a fair idea of how good the fishing will be over the weeks to come. MORE ON THE ALL BLACKS It’s my turn to brag now, but I promise to try and keep a lid on it! I’ve just been so excited to see a lot of b-double bream over the last few weeks because they have all been caught in my local backyard of Lake Wellington. My best trip was 39 bream netted with the best six trucks going 43cm or just

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over. At least 15 of those fish were 38-42cm and just a handful of squeakers around 25-30cm. That was a very busy day on the water. A second trip saw me land 22 bream with most of them around 35cm and I landed just the two donkeys on that occasion. One was a 43cm fish and then I netted a real bull that I quickly weighed on my digital scales at 1.89kg. Amazingly the big girl was ‘just’ 46.5cm and was fat and round like a footy. It was a stunning and rare catch and after getting some pictures I was happy to see her swim off like a bullet. During two other trips I returned a modest eight and four bream respectively, so not every day has been gold, but I did release bream 40-42cm on each of those two quiet days. Nearly all of these fish have been caught while shallow water blading in depths of 2-4ft around the lake with small hops of the lure. It’s a deadly searching method I’ve been using for years now. What this all means of course, is that I’m going to be extremely busy looking for more thumpers over the next few months hoping for that 50cm monster! YELLA FELLA Not all of the donkey bream caught recently have been blacks. Blair Bryant is another fella keen on luring bream and has landed a thumper yellowfin. He was fishing the Tambo River downstream of the Johnsonville boat ramp and hopping a 2” ZMan grub in motor oil on a 1/16oz Jigman Allrounder jighead. The start of the session saw him only catching a couple of just legal fish, but then he hooked-up to something much heavier. This fish was pulling line as he was only running 3lb leader and had set the drag appropriately. All of a sudden he had done a lap of the boat, but when the fish came into view he saw why, he was looking at a horse of a yellowfin bream. On the ruler it went 43cm and pulled the scales down at 1.56kg. This capture once again confirms that this species of bream are now well and truly calling the Gippy Lakes home.

Blair Bryant snagged a real prize catch for the Gippy Lakes with a 43cm yellowfin bream taking a small soft plastic. After a quick photo this fish was released. DUSKY MORWONG? It seems a pity to end my report because I’ve hardly scratched the surface. More kingfish have been caught along with plenty of EP and big flathead. A professional eel netter working in Lake Wellington near Marlay Point has found so many prawns in the area and even flounder, sole and incredibly a big dusky morwong! I’ll finish with an announcement about the impending buyout of commercials from the lakes. Minister for Fishing and Boating Jaala Pulford has stated the buy-back of 10 Gippsland Lakes Access Licences will be complete

by the 1 April 2020. VRFish says that now the date has been set, planning can start to boost our fish stocks even further through restocking programs for black bream, estuary perch, dusky flathead and more Australian bass. There are plans to bring recreational fishers together in the future to develop a recovery plan that includes management, monitoring and data collection by our sector, increased stewardship and working closely with the East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority on long-term programs to improve fish habitat and water quality.

Here you can see how clean the water is in Lake Wellington as the author releases this 43cm bream.

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Make your entrance LAKES ENTRANCE

Steven Pryke

Our small local towns have begun to pick up once more with an influx of visitors for the Easter break. This time of year anglers are spoilt for choice, with all manner of species available in the lake and offshore. LAKES ENTRANCE The Gippsland Lakes have a variety of fish species on offer. Anglers have mostly targeted King George whiting out on the scattered weed flats of Flannigan Island and Rigby, where prime broken weed beds are located, ideal for a

flats throughout the Gippsland Lakes have all seen good numbers of school and king prawn runs. People have taken full advantage of the numbers of prawns, with a good number of people walking the shallow flats in North and Cunningham arms. This has really produced, with people regularly turning up a couple kilograms of prawns per night. With the lower lakes consistently changing and lack of rain over the last year, the Gippsland Lakes’ salinity has changed. With this, all manner of new species have called the lake home, and consistently yellowtail kingfish are spotted running

the time further and get away from areas that are commonly fished. The bottom lake has been the place to be if you’re chasing quality flathead, with large dusky being caught off the deeper points that meet the main lake basin. Further upstream the barnacle-encrusted snags of the Nowa Nowa Arm have had quality bream sitting high in the water column. Small jerkbaits or shads like the Bassday Sugar Deep have been ideal cast up tight to cover then worked slowly with a combination of small twitches and pauses. For keen anglers,

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Gun angler Brad Hodges with a Gippsland Lakes kingfish caught on C’ultiva Zip N Ziggy. hunting whiting to ambush their prey. Traditional bait fishing methods have been the most productive, with anglers fishing a combination of peeled prawn or fresh mussel on a paternoster rig cast close to the edges of the weed beds. These offerings are usually taken extremely fast if there are feeding whiting in the area. It’s that time of year again when the annual prawn run is underway. The scattered sand

around lakes, with few anglers managing to figure out how to catch them. Some consistent patterns have formed. Large surface walkers have been a good producer, but part of it is lucking out and being in the right place when they turn up. LAKE TYERS The sheltered estuary of Lake Tyers has been a consistent performer, especially if you invest

the early morning has been good fun with the shallow mud flats making for great surface fishing. HAVE YOU BEEN FISHING? If you have been out for a fish lately and have a great pic, please send it to stevenprykefishing@gmail. com with a short description and you could be in the next edition of Vic & Tas Fishing Monthly.

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A soild bream from the higher reaches on the Nowa Nowa Arm. This one was taken on the Bassday Sugar Deep. APRIL 2019

Mixed bag for Bemm anglers BEMM RIVER

Robyn Sturgess

Within the last month the entrance remained closed and the water level was very high. The fishing has been a bit tricky lately, but the persistent anglers have been rewarded. The channel has been

alive with tailor, with some of them being rather large. Trolling for these fish can be exciting and action-packed. The ‘myths’ about tailor not being the best eating fish can be proved wrong. If they are bled and eaten fresh they can be very tasty, and I sampled one a few weeks back. If you are heading up to Bemm River it would be

Plenty of tailor will be about this month, be sure to add them to your target list.

With the versatility of a kayak, flathead are a great species to target.

Bream are one of many species on offer this April.

advised to obtain sandworm and spider crabs on your journey. Our local bait collector is not pumping at present due to the high water. On the other hand, the lure anglers have been picking up nice flathead on the sand flats opposite the storm hut.

The entrance to Mud Lake and the river have been popular spots to fish. The surf is producing good amount of salmon, tailor and trevally. It is disappointing to report that our Pearl Point Road is in extremely bad disrepair.

The 7km to our pristine surf beaches is corrugated and caution is required while driving along. We are trying to have this rectified, but it falls on deaf ears. If you are in Bemm River and wish to sign our petition, which will be forwarded to the Minister for tourism, it is available at the hotel. Alternatively, if anyone wishes to write a letter directly to the Minister, details as follows:

The Hon. Martin Pakula MP Level 36 121 Exhibition Street, Melbourne Victoria, 3000 • For on the spot and up to date fishing reports check out Robyn’s website: www. bemmaccommodation. com.au or ‘like’ us on Facebook – Bemm River Holiday Accommodation Phone: (03) 5158 4233/ Mob. 0427 584 233 Email: bemmaccomm@ bigpond.com.

Feeling the pain of no rain MARLO

Jim McClymont mcclymont@net-tech.com.au

With Easter here and no major rain event occurring in our area, the rivers and streams are short of good flows of freshwater that is needed to refresh the estuary and

give the rivers a good clean. Having said that, the prawn are still here and running to the ocean on the right tide and moon as they mature. As you would expect with the prawns still about, the fishing is still very good. There are plenty of good size dusky flathead still being captured along the sand flats that run from

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fishing the snags and other structures using either live prawn or lures. The surf beaches are still producing good bags of salmon, tailor, flathead, rays, gummies and bronze whalers. Fishing offshore from Cape Conran is a bit hit and miss. Anglers are reporting some good captures of flathead and others are getting very little, but one local angler Kirby Radford caught her first gummy shark. Reports have been coming in of some anglers getting onto the kingfish while others just can’t make them bite, but that’s king fishing. Some marlin have been sighted, so they should be in better numbers soon, hopefully allowing some local anglers to capture a few. Anglers have been patiently waiting for the weather conditions to settle down to allow the local anglers a window to go out to the shelf and do battle with the mighty broadbill swordfish. The broadbill fishery opened up off Cape Conran a few years ago and now several big world record fish have been caught. The only setbacks are the shelf is 40km offshore, the fish live in 600m of water and anglers need very heavy fishing gear with plenty of line.

Kirby Radford and a gummy shark she caught. The surf beaches are producing good numbers of them this month.

Kingfish the main target CORNER INLET

Will Thompson allwaysangling@bigpond.com

What a season it’s been on the kings, and Corner Inlet has continued to produce some of the best fishing for kings around. Offshore Corner Inlet and around Wilsons Promontory has been the main locations to target the kingies when you are around this way. If you are wondering how to find the kingies, just put out some small skirted lures and troll

kingy. A lot of anglers also like to slow troll with squid strips or whole squid, this is a very effective method, but you will need to use heavy sinkers to keep the bait close to the bottom. Birds are also a great indicator of where the fish are likely to be, so keep an eye out for terns diving. The kingies are around in big numbers and most have been between 60-70cm, however there have been some absolute thumpers caught at over a metre. If you want something other than kingies, don’t

There have been some bigger models over 6kg, and they should continue to be caught at least until May and possibly into June if it’s anything like last year, so there’s still plenty of time to catch them. There’s heaps of pinkies in the Toora and Franklin channels, and they are ranging between 30-50cm and are being caught on squid and pilchards fished on paternoster rigs. Lastly, there’s a stack of kingfish inside the inlet as well. They can be seen busting up on the surface in the mornings

580

FUNSEEKER

The author’s 90cm king caught on a Eureka knife jig. until you find them. Once you mark them up on the sounder, continue to work that area with lures or drop down some knife jigs in the 150-200g range, or large soft plastics in the 7-10” range on heavy jigheads between 1-2oz. At times we have been lucky enough to have the ultimate sport fishing situation, where the kingies are busting up on the surface and we have been doing well with 90-130mm poppers and stickbaits in this situation. If you are not into your lures, live baits such as slimies, yakkas, garfish, squid or even salmon will be a sure way to get a big metre

discount a feed of pinkies or gummies. There have been stacks of pinkies between 30-45cm caught on the scattered reefs offshore in 20-30m, and also a heap at Rabbit Island as well. Drifting with paternoster rigs until you find them is a great way to go. If you want gummies, there are a few in close around Whale Bay in 12m of water and heaps out wide in 25-30m as well. Again, drifting has been effective, but you can anchor and berley if need be. INSIDE The big snapper have moved in again and are getting caught in the entrance.

and evenings or on nice days that are glass calm. Throwing 7” soft plastics has been very effective, but they also love poppers and stickbaits, especially if you see any splashes on the surface. So, there’s plenty of good fishing to be had at the moment, and we are just about to get into the good weather period, so we have a good 3-4 months left of some seriously good fishing. • For more information, Contact Will at Allways Angling in Traralgon on 5174 8544.You will expert advice and great prices on all fishing bait and tackle.

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A few tips for playing fish NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

Landing that whopper is about keeping your cool, having a game plan and understanding exactly how your gear works. I’ve detailed the basics of hooking, fighting and landing

the ‘high’ that keeps bringing us back for more — but it’s what you do in those vital seconds or minutes after setting the hook that will ultimately spell the difference between landing a good fish, or adding another sad story of the “one that got away” to your growing collection! If the fish you’ve just hooked is relatively small

extreme cases, your rod might even snap! Strong, active fish like tailor, salmon, snapper, trout, barra or tuna are all capable of breaking a line with a rated strength greater than their actual body weight. Many anglers are surprised to learn that a fish of less than 3kg can easily snap a 4-5 kg line in a direct pull, but they certainly can! That’s exactly why larger, more active fish need to be ‘played’. ‘Playing’ a fish doesn’t mean mucking around simply

slightly more. Game fishers chasing line class records often set their drags against calibrated scales. But very few of us carry spring balances or weights around to test our drags. Instead, we develop a ‘feel’ for the right setting, and learn how to sense when the drag is too tight or too loose. If the line whistles and sings in the breeze, there’s a good chance your drag is set too tight! If in doubt, it pays to err on the lighter side. On the other hand, if the drag’s too loose, the fish may be

This is about as high as you should ever lift the rod when pumping and winding to recover line.

Even a modest trout like this could snap light line or tear free of the hooks if your drag is set too tightly. fish a couple of times over the seven years I’ve been writing this column (yes, it’s really that long!). However, it’s one of those critical but often overlooked subjects that’s always worthy of a quick refresher, especially considering the fact that

in relation to the gear you’re using, you can simply raise the rod to about 45º above the horizontal and crank smoothly on the reel handle to bring it in. However, landing bigger, stronger fish require a bit more thought and skill. Attempting to use sheer

Your rod acts like a giant shock absorber to soak up the lunges and dives of a hooked fish. This is fly gear, but conventional tackle works much the same. new readers are constantly coming on board. As I’ve explained here before, hooking into a fish is one of the most thrilling moments in angling — it’s

muscle to haul in a fish that’s heavy and strong in relation to your tackle is very likely to result in disaster. The line might break, or the hook could tear free or straighten out. In

When a big fish is running hard and taking line against the drag, keep a bend in the rod but don’t try to crank the reel. Wait until the run comes to an end, then smoothly pump-and-wind. to prolong the fight for our own entertainment. Instead, the term means taking your time and bringing the fish in slowly and smoothly while using the flex of the rod as a shock absorber to protect the line and hook. It also means, if necessary, allowing the fish to run, or take line against the reel’s drag mechanism, which you should set every time you go fishing. As a rough rule, your drag should be set somewhere between a quarter and a third of the rated breaking strain of the line, measured in a direct pull from the reel. In other words, if you’re using 4kg breaking strain line, the pre-set drag pressure at the reel should be around a kilo or

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angle, begin turning the reel handle as you smoothly lower the rod towards the horizontal. Repeat this process to bring the fish in. Be careful to maintain tension at all times. If you don’t, loose line can wrap around the rod tip, or create slack that might allow the fish to throw the hook. The best way to avoid slack is to start turning the reel a split second before you begin lowering the rod. Maintain enough pressure to keep at least a slight bend in the rod right through the down stroke. Most importantly, stay cool and have a game plan in mind… It’s amazing just how large a fish can be landed on light gear if you keep your head!

Lift without winding until the rod butt is angled about 45º above horizontal or a little higher, then wind the reel as you smoothly lower the rod to recover line.

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impossible to bring in, or it may even strip all the line from your spool. It’s about finding the right balance. As soon as the fish you’ve hooked stops pulling line from your reel against the drag, you need to begin recovering lost line and bringing that fish in. The best way to recover line is to ‘pump-and-wind’, which means lifting the rod without cranking the reel, then lowering the rod while turning the reel. Begin by smoothly lifting the rod from just above the horizontal until the butt or lower portion is angled up at least 45º above the horizon. Don’t crank the reel as you lift or pump, because that’d put unnecessary strain on your gear. When the lower portion of the rod passes that 45º

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Estuaries reward hard work MERIMBULA

Stuart Hindson

Those anglers visiting our shores should be happy with the variety of fishing options available. All areas are firing at times; it really just depends on what type of angling you want to do.

Inshore the fishing is exceptional, with flathead numbers being excellent at present. Most anglers are getting their bags within a few hours, with all the usual haunts holding fish. Water depths of 28-36m seem to be the go, with Tura Head, Bournda Island and the sticks near Pambula seeing plenty of the action.

On the reefs it has slowed up, but you can still get a feed of snapper and morwong if you put in the time and use fresh bait. That shouldn’t be too hard, as slimy mackerel are thick in close just past the bar entrance. Drop a bait jig down in 12-14m and you should be in business. In this same area there’s

Jimbo fishing the snags with hardbodies – this session saw plenty of estuary perch from this sort of cover.

APRIL 2019

been a few undersized kingfish, salmon and the odd bonito harassing the slimy schools, so it would be worth casting a few poppers or metal jigs around for some action. Those after bigger kings are becoming extremely frustrated, as plenty of fish have been seen on the surface, but they haven’t been playing the game in recent weeks. Yes, there’s been the very odd fish caught, but when these bigger schools decide to chew you’ll be in for some serious fun. This coming full moon might just fire them up and if you look back on this time last year it was all systems go, so let’s hope it’s the same over the coming weeks. Further offshore the marlin bite continues to be down south of Eden. One local boat went five from six last month and so did a few others also. The majority are striped marlin in the 80kg bracket, making for good fun on the 15kg stand up. The shelf is still the place to fish but this can change daily, so it’s just a matter of being out there and trying your luck. What is exciting is

Frank with a typical Pambula yellowfin bream. the very warm water that is above us off Batemans Bay and heading south. It’s a hot 26°C and I wouldn’t be

surprised at all to see short billed spearfish, wahoo and maybe even a sailfish or To page 43

NSW South Coast

Late warm run making for mixed catches NAROOMA

Stuart Hindson

Offshore anglers have had a mixed bag of late, with the game fishing crew targeting marlin, although they have been patchy depending on the day. This has been mainly due to the prevailing conditions, with the current, tide and bait all playing a part as to how the fishing is. Some days the current is pushing hard south doing 3 knots, making it hard for the bait to school up and quite often they get deeper in the water column to combat this and spread out closer to the bottom. This will slow down the billfish action. There will still be fish there but not in the usual numbers. This should change, but when is anyone’s guess because north of us the water is hot as (25-26ºC) and if that gets here it might really slow things down along the shelf, for striped marlin especially. It would certainly help with smaller black marlin in close or at Montague Island, as these conditions are ideal for them. We’ve had it before when the water is hot enough that plenty of black marlin get caught in close. Most of them are are caught trolling smaller skirts more aimed at striped tuna, however if you concentrate on mid-sized pushers you From page 42

two – I know it sounds crazy this far south but it has happened before. In the estuaries the fishing is average, so you do have to work for them. Casting a mixture of stick-style soft plastics in natural colours has been effective on flathead, trevally and a few bream, especially in the channels upstream on the main bridge in town. There are plenty of casts between fish, however it’s still definitely worthwhile with the odd solid fish being caught. Further upstream in the main basin it’s still fishing well with plenty of flathead to be caught around the weed-fringed margins. Water depths of 4-7m are the go, with soft vibes working a treat. One visitor I talked to caught 19 for the session with the best at 83cm, which is pretty good going in my books. He said the key was to fish very slowly, with quite long pauses between lifts; often the fish was on when the

There are some great bream around the racks. Fishing surface lures is a lot of fun and works a treat. might be in business. At the moment the kings at Montague are a daily proposition. Some days are good while on other days the kings are hard to entice. Anglers using jigs and live bait on the west/ southwest side of the island have done reasonably well when the kings decide to chew. The majority of fish are schoolies in the 3-4kg bracket. The odd better fish up to 8kg has been caught but there are not many of them. Hopefully that will change over the coming days, with April

generally a cracking month for kingfish. On the reefs the reds are still good. Further north of the point is the go, with those anglers drifting with fresh baits like squid getting the more consistent results. The beaches are still fishing well for salmon, even with the warm water around, with metal lures and paternoster rigs rigged with a bait/popper combination working a treat. Coila Beach would be the standout; there’s been a great looking gutter

next lift was executed. He also mentioned that he caught a few legal pinky snapper, bream and a heap of tailor when they came to the surface after the whitebait schools. Over at Pambula the main basin is still producing some quality bream and flathead, mainly around the weed edges in 3-4m of water. Bait anglers seem to be having more success with fresh prawns and striped tuna strips. Fishing the afternoon into the evening has been prime time when the weather has allowed. Don’t be too surprised to see the odd mulloway caught too. I know of several fish lost lately by anglers fishing too light while targeting the eating species. On the beaches, Merimbula Main is still good for whiting, with pipi and beach worms proving the best baits. Try fishing the morning tides, and remember that there’s no need to be too eager to get out really early as the whiting can be caught throughout the

day. The key is to have the freshest of bait. If you’re after pelagic species then Tura Main has been good, as there’s a cracking gutter about halfway along the beach there. It’s a bit of a walk to get there but will be worth it. A few salmon up to 3kg have caught from this gutter, mainly on bait. If you’re after a shark from the beach, there have been a few caught from this same spot after dark on salmon fillets. For the rock hoppers it’s been very good, especially at Tura Head. Frigate mackerel are abundant at the minute with a few bigger bonito and salmon with the odd better kingfish too. Casting shiners is the go for the frigate, although the smaller 5-10g tending to be the better option for matching the bait. A few lads are live baiting the frigate mackerel and catching the odd shark, with a few kingfish as well. The best king landed over the past few weeks was around 11kg with a few bigger greenbacks lost as well.

on the southern end of the beach lately. Brou is also worth a look to the south of Tuross, especially if you’re targeting bream. This beach would be the pick too if you’re after a mulloway or gummy shark. It’s a long beach with plenty of formations so finding a decent gutter or hole shouldn’t prove too hard. Fresh bait like tailor or squid is the go if you’re chasing the larger variety. For those anglers who are after a feed, the southern end of Narooma Main has been good for bream, especially after a southerly.

Using a mixture of beach worms and pipi will catch you plenty, with the odd whiting thrown in too. Off the stones it’s been excellent for the pelagic species such as salmon, tailor, bonito and smaller kingfish. Anglers using pilchards on ganged hooks have fared best, with chrome lures up to 50g a close second. It might also be worthwhile putting a live bait out under a balloon or bobby cork; this might help if a bigger king is what you’re after. Look at either the golf course rocks in town or Mystery Bay’s high rock to the south, as both ledges are excellent land-based areas. The washes at both spots should produce a few blackfish and drummer, with cabbage and cunjevoi the preferred baits. Using berley will also improve catch rates but use it sparsely or you will only get the pickers taking your baits. Wagonga has been a mixed bag lately, though the bream surface fishing has been nothing short of awesome. Catches of a dozen plus fish is the norm, with a few crackers over a kilo making their presence felt. The fish can be found throughout the entire system, with the weed edges certainly fishing better than the oyster racks upstream. You can expect the odd trevally, flathead and whiting also. Most days you will catch a few of each species, so it makes for great fishing.

In the main basin the place is loaded with salmon and tailor, and the diving terns are a dead giveaway as to where they are. Some of the salmon are solid models. I know of a handful of fish over 3kg, which are big fish for the estuary, particularly when taken on light line. There are also a few schools of frigate mackerel poking around. These little speedsters can be hard to entice at times, so use only very small 5-10g shiners and wind fast. Down deeper the flatties have been unusually tough for this time of year, as have the mulloway population. There has been the odd good fish taken, but there’s certainly no guts to them. This should pick up as we head into April though, with these two upcoming months being the best of the calendar year in my book. Up at the Tuross the surface fishing for bream and whiting is still going strong, especially in the river system. Several local guns have been getting 20-30 fish per session, with some cracking elbow slapping whiting amongst them. Some of these fish are 44-45cm, and are a stack of fun on the light gear. There are still a few mulloway coming from the lower sections, with the draining and ebb tide being the time to fish. If this coincides with an early morning or evening then all the better!

There are still a few good mulloway around, with Tuross being the pick of the systems. APRIL 2019

Late season larks will produce BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

This season is seemingly a late one, and with a now very hot summer behind us we are still experiencing some very warm days. With some late summer storms Brogo Dam is close to full capacity, this means a late season on the bass to us anglers, where Brogo Dam is

still producing some excellent fish. What is happening out at the dam is there is plenty of black crickets on the move, which can lead to some spectacular surface fishing, and early morning or late afternoon is the prime time to fish and enjoy this scenic waterway. If it is offshore game fishing you like, then you won’t get a better opportunity than now, with excellent weather conditions allowing anglers to venture further

Brogo bass vary in size due to annual stocking.

afield, with ambitions of a variety of species. It is well known at this time of year that the big blue marlin are a targeted species, with some of the largest of them captured in April. A spread of large pusher style lures is often the preferred method to drum up some business out over the continental shelf and beyond through to the Canyons or further afield. Mixing with them are the smaller stripes or blacks of varying sizes, mahimahi, yellowfin tuna and the odd spearfish. You just never know just what will present itself! Closer to shore around Montague Island and the closer inshore reefs, kingfish and bonito are on the short list. These lighter sportfish are providing plenty of entertainment on light gear, whether you wish to use lure or bait. The inshore reefs are also providing plenty of bottom fish for those who wish to put some tasty species on

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

Stripies are still being caught, and anglers are hoping there are a few big blues around as well. also primed, and even though it is starting to get cooler it is still pleasant enough to fish into the night. Those who wish to do so are encountering plenty of tailor and salmon, and mixing with them are gummy and small whaler sharks, along with the odd mulloway. During the day, whiting, mullet and bream will also grace the sands. Into the estuaries, it has been a brilliant season and it is not over yet. Most estuarine fish, if not land-locked, will look to migrate out into the ocean where they will move to another warmer system over the winter months. However,

before they do so they will feed in earnest, building up body condition. This is when anglers can really cash in, making the most before the waters cool. This is also a time of year to concentrate on the lower parts of the estuaries towards the entrances, especially on a rising tide where bait is likely to be a better option. Bream, flathead, luderick and whiting along with most other species will move over the flats in search of worms, prawns, nippers and small crustaceans like crabs, providing some excellent shallow water and often very visible angling.

Another busy time for the area MALLACOOTA/EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

With summer well and truly over the Eden/ Mallacoota area is still abuzz with visitors to the area enjoying the weather, along with some excellent fishing. After the Easter break the area will once again quieten down as we head towards winter. The past month has seen some good rainfall in this corner of Australia, and it has got the rivers and creeks flowing. It’s a good

start but more is needed. The Mallacoota lakes system is still closed and needs a good rainfall to open it to the ocean. This rise in water levels is really needed to flush out the amount of sand that has built up inside the entrance area to the lake, and many other rivers in the area are also closed off to the ocean. The offshore fishing in the Eden/Mallacoota area has been excellent over the past month, with good numbers of striped marlin being caught. The fishing has involved finding the bait balls then dropping a bait amongst them. Some success has also come

from trolling skirted lures. The coming months should see some yellowfin tuna caught, along with southern bluefin tuna. Yellowtail kingfish have been caught and sighted over the past month, but not in any numbers, and hopefully this will change over the coming months. Good numbers of tiger flathead and sand flathead are coming over the side, along with some great fishing for gummy shark, with good numbers of quality fish caught. Snapper are around on the inshore reefs, with morwong and leatherjackets

thrown in too. Along the beaches, salmon are being caught. The fish aren’t about in big numbers, but there are enough fish about that you can expect to catch one or two, and finding a good gutter and fishing around the top of the tide gives you the best chance of catching fish. In the past month, flathead have really fired up. Fish are being caught in good numbers in all the estuaries in the area, with soft plastic lures working well. You don’t need to be fussy when selecting a lure, as it seems whatever colour or size lure you use, it will get eaten. In Mallacoota Inlet, good numbers of pinkie snapper are being caught. The fish are a good size, around the 35-40cm mark, and are being caught on baits of fresh prawn, with soft plastic lures also catching fish.

A few decent salmon have been landlocked in the lake system, and have provided a bit of sport for estuary anglers. Yellowfin bream and sand whiting have been taken in many of the estuary systems in the Eden area, with the estuary mouth area fishing well with fresh baits like nippers and beach worm fished on a rising tide. The beaches in the same area are also fishing well.

Atomic Semi-Hardz sink slowly and are capable of being fished in a wide range of situations. They are built extra tough with heavy duty wire running through the lure, insuring you stay connected with your prey. The life-like feel of the Semi-Hardz will keep fish coming back again and again.

www.atomiclures.com.au 44

APRIL 2019

A closed mouth has meant that water levels have stayed fairly high.

BIG BREAM ARE MISSING Mallacoota was once considered the premier bream fishery in Victoria, but in recent years there seems to be a lack of big native bream in the area. The problem has gone undetected for many years, as the native black bream numbers have been propped up by the travelling yellowfin bream population. The lake has been closed for the past year and a half, so anglers are now starting to notice. As commercial net fishing ended in 2003, mismanagement and the pressure of rec fishing would have contributed to the issue. I doubt we will ever see the number and size of the black bream in Mallacoota return to its past glory. Nevertheless, over the past few months there have been a few big bream caught with many anglers releasing their fish. Hopefully, this will give the species a helping hand.

Hot Spot

Anglers have a royal time fishing the King River CRANBOURNE

Mitch Chapman

Often overlooked by its ‘big brother’ the Ovens River, the King River is probably one of the most underrated waterways for anglers who want to catch the iconic Murray cod. The clear water up past Edi is a favourite of mine and I look forward to fishing it

every year. PRIME TIME Early morning and late afternoons are by far the best times to target cod. During the day they tend to seek deeper water and hold tight into structure. December through to April, depending on the water levels, are the best months to target this area. THE GEAR Lighter baitcast set-ups

are ideal for the King, especially in the clear water up high. For fish in this river, a 4-8kg baitcast rod is more than ample. There are some big fish well over 1m, so if hooked on the light gear, you’ll be sure to be in for a fight of sudden death if hooked tight into structure. THE RIG In this river 30lb braid with 30-50lb leaders is

A midday spinnerbait-eating cod caught walking the banks of the King River.

A topwater cod caught on a Sammy Bug 75 just before dark.

perfect. Bait anglers like to use a running sinker rigs with a piece of cheese, yabby or bardi grub. BAIT AND LURES Surface lures are a must, and are one of the best ways to catch fish in this river. Lucky Craft Sammy Bugs in 75mm and 100mm are by far a standout. The Live Target mice are also deadly and because they are weedless you can put them into places most lures can’t get to. During the days when the sun is up is when spinnerbaits

and hardbodies take their fair share of cod also. BEST METHOD Structure, structure, structure! If you see structure, cast at it. You’d be surprised at where the fish will be, so cast at anything and everything. If you combine this with drifting down the river fishing in a kayak, you can have some great sessions catching a lot of fish. MOTHER NATURE Murray cod have a closed season throughout all of Australia from 1 September

through to 1 December. If you catch any cod in this time in the rivers while targeting other species, please do the right thing and let them go to do their thing. HOT TIP Good footwear is a must if you’re fishing out of a kayak. When it’s time to get out and drag a kayak up or down a rapid and you don’t have footwear, you’ll wish you’d stayd home. Those big river stones hurt like crazy, and turn a quick run down a rapid into a long one.

DROP IN TO YOUR LOCAL QUINTREX DEALER! TASMANIA Lewis Marine

273 Kennedy Drive, Cambridge TAS p 03.6248 3222 www.lewismarine.com.au

BENDIGO

Bendigo Marine & Outdoors 160 Midland Highway, Epsom VIC p 03.5448 3988 www.bendigomarine.com.au

GEELONG

Geelong Boating Centre 88 Barwon Heads Rd, Belmont VIC p 03·5241 6966 www.geelongboatingcentre.com.au

BRAESIDE

JV Marine World 878 Springvale Rd, Braeside VIC p 03·9798 8883 www.jvmarine.com.au

LAVERTON NORTH JV Marine World

15 Fitzgerald Rd, Laverton North VIC p 03·9368 7100 www.jvmarine.com.au

BAYSWATER Streaker Marine

461 Mountain Hwy, Bayswater VIC p 03·9729 8288 www.streakermarine.com.au APRIL 2019

Go Behind the Scenery

Tasmania

This month is a game changer TASMANIA

Kelly Hunt

I like to keep up beat and glass half full, but I am finding it tough at the moment. The days have been getting shorter and on 7 April we lose daylight savings. If you read my article here each month, you would know that I am a huge fan of daylight savings. There are always some positives to be had. Yes, the available light is reduced and it is getting colder but the fishing is still very good. The fishing keeps on keeping on as the ambient water temperature is slow to fall

Wrights Island. The fish were in nice and shallow, in 4-6m all along that piece of coastline. They were also found in and around the same depth around the shores of Egg Island. If you are looking to go and have a look for them this month I have a few tips. Get your boat speed up when trolling. These fish like a lot of speed to fire them up. They will react out of instinct and hit your lures. The extra speed will also keep the barracouta and pike off your lures, as they are thick in this area as well. The lures to use are very simple and I only put out four when looking and cut back to three or two rods

Bluff and Don Heads. Kings will be along Lillico Strait and at each of the points at either end. At Ulverstone the fish will be in and around the squid grounds off Degree C and on towards the river mouth and the Three Sisters. These areas all have places that land-based anglers can try as well. You will need an 8ft rod and some good quality braid, as you will be casting long like a bullet and winding in swiftly. GAME SEASON IS ON! Gamefishing season is about to explode. The water temps are high and there is a lot of bait in the water. The water is looking fabulous and of great quality. The

is as simple as spending some quality time on the water with a game plan. Too often I see crews heading out loaded up with too much gear and no real idea of what they are going to do. The racks are full of rods that cover all types of fishing, from whiting and squid to big overhead gamefishing outfits. The decks are full of all sorts of tackle boxes, covering every species in Tasmania and cluttering up every space on the boat. If you are going to successfully target gamefish in Tasmania then a plan is a must. Some flexibility when it comes to weather and other variables is necessary, but you still need a guide to

Partners that fish together smile and have fun together. This fish weighed in at 130kg gutted.

Jarvis had some fun on this Devonport kingfish. back away. It takes a while early on in the season to warm up and thankfully the other applies at the other end of summer. The gamefishing is superb at this time of year. The weather and cooler water from the south starts to have an effect on the East Australian Current from the north and we find big albacore and school size southern bluefin tuna in big numbers. The latter half of March and the first couple of weeks of April are great chances to hook a yellowfin tuna or a striped marlin. NORTH COAST This month’s article is unashamedly about gamefishing and how to get into it. The season so far has been about snapper and yellowtail kingfish, and they are still about in good numbers. The North West Coast had a solid run of kingfish and if they stay on, the bait will continue to be found. Devonport had a good few schools off east Devonport, from the breakwater down towards 46

APRIL 2019

when I find them. This makes getting back on them a lot easier, as the key is to hold the school in the area and pick up multiple fish. I usually have one big Halco Sliced out to the side about 6m and a 6” Gulp Nemesis on a heavy jighead out the other side in pilchard colour. Down the back, just in the wash, stick another Nemesis out in pearl white and in close at the back of the boat put a diving lure like the Laser Pro 140. These diving lures have a great action and will take the speed needed. You’ll want to be trolling at 10km/h or around 5 knots. Should you hook a fish, get the other lures in quickly and then cast over the back of the caught fish with the soft plastic and work it back to you erratically. There will be other fish swimming with the hooked one. We often catch multiple fish this way. These fish will be all along the coast and I am sure similar ground can be covered with lures right up the coast to Burnie. Look to troll the points and shallows around areas like Mersey

East Australian Current is spearing down the coast at around 4 knots and bringing with it lots of fish. The gamefishing off Eden and Bermagui has been hectic all last month and that body of fish holding water is well on its way. So, let’s have a look at what you need to get into the action on a typical gamefishing trip. Make a plan Getting into gamefishing

your approach. Don’t spread yourself too thin. Where to start You need a crew and they must be committed and included in the plan. You do not want people on board who after the first hour of trolling with no result start getting distracted or bored. This is gamefishing and quiet times are part of the game. Get used to it. You need crew that will find

something proactive to do when the fish are quiet. You need people who will climb up on a gunnel and hang on to the rocket launcher and scour the area for birds. Once you have your crew sorted you need to let them know that a trip is weather dependent and they’ll need to be ready to deploy at short notice. The weather is crucial and is best when there is little or no swell. Wind should be light to moderate and if you can fluke it, flat mirror calm on the way out. If the weather picks up a bit later in the day, as it usually does, you can plan your route and fishing day around the weather prediction. You would not want to head out and troll lures south off the shelf all day if the wind was going to pick up and be brisk from the north by noon. This will result in you punching into it all

the way back to the ramp. The better plan of attack would be to head north and troll around, maintaining a position off the shelf that allows you to troll or come home with the wind and sea astern. The boat will travel much more comfortably with the chop to the rear of your vessel. What to take Do not clutter your boat with every bit of tackle and gear you own on the off chance you might see some squid or Australian salmon. You can take that gear when you are targeting those species. All you will need are three big spinning reels with some 50lb braid and about 50m of 24kg mono wound onto the reel in what we call a top shot. The fancy named top shot will give you some stretch. Monofilament has some elasticity that will keep you connected to fish.

This month offers some great fishing weather, which makes for smooth and enjoyable trips offshore.

Go Behind the Scenery The give in the mono will prevent fish pulling hooks out of themselves when they shakes their head and go on a big run. You will have to either learn to do an FG knot to join the braid and mono or head into a tackle store and have them do it the first few times. Knots come easily to some people, but if you are like me you will have to be shown eight times and do it yourself another eight before you can remember it. If you are getting help from your tackle store, have them put a double in the line long enough for you to have a few winds of double on the reel before they do a cat’s paw on a snap swivel. A double is the double backing of the main mono line and using a knot that doesn’t allow it to slip. Some like a bimini twist, but I am a huge fan of a plaited double. Cat’s paw is a way to affix the snap swivel to the other end of the double without actually using a knot. While you are in the tackle store ask them if they can rig up four or five tuna lures with 100lb leader material. A lot of people might think that this is too light. I would rather get the fish to bite due to minimal leader spook than use the whipper snipper cord most have on their lures. It is a little bit different during jumbo season, when tuna are damn strong and a handful on the leader. You can go up in poundage of breaking strain then, but for now 100lb will be more than adequate. Now, I said four or five lures and that will mean you have a couple of spares as you will only have three rods out. When a rod screams off, or even two, you will lose more fish to tangles and muck-ups when inexperienced, so less is more when it comes to rods. If you have had your knots tied well and you have your drags set nicely there is no reason for you to lose a lure. When a fish strikes, be calm, be measured and play the fish gently to the boat. Don’t rush, don’t jerk the fish and if your crew member grabs the leader, make sure they’re gentle. On the day Okay, it is go time and the weather has played the game and the crew has assembled. The night before you would have packed your three rods and one spare, a large landing net, a gaff with a 4” head with a handle around 1.2m long, and a decent size icebox for two bags of ice for your catch. If you’re really switched on you’ll have purchased one of those folded tartan looking bags that open up huge with a zip. These are the best tuna catch bags going as they store flat and are big if you catch a monster. They are not thick vinyl and insulated like all the more popular

Big albacore tuna are about this time of year, and in good numbers. bags, but they also cost $4 as opposed to $200. You should also have an icebox for food and drinks. Big broad brimmed hats and sunscreen are a must when gamefishing, and get the sunscreen on early. A big day out on the open ocean will torch up your face, ears and neck quite badly. Once you have calmly put the boat in and got your bearings, you can head off on your thought-out run to the shelf, taking into account the afternoon weather conditions. I know you will be keen, but don’t roar out and bash your crew to pieces. The weather you have chosen should mean a pleasant ride out, but every sea condition will have a comfort zone. Find a speed and motor trim that has the boat and crew happy. Ask your crew and find out how they are travelling. Where to fish When deciding where to start, think about this quote from Leo Miller, “there are no fences in the ocean.” The ocean is full of fish and sometimes you just have to find them, and it is not easy. If you are down south it’s a bit easier, as the bait are in some good structure out to Hippolyte Rocks and all through Munroe Bight and around to Tasman Island. Tuna are quite often in and around the structure that tends to hold the bait. Here you can use your sounder to great effect and target them. If you do not get a hook-up first and second pass, that is not an excuse to head off in some other random direction. You should work that bait and fish on your sounder from a dozen angles and try and raise some fish. Only after a dozen passes would I consider heading off. Tides and conditions do weird things to fish and if you find some on the sounder you are best to put your lures over them as many times as your patience will allow.

Those skippers who have patience and a sense of the task at hand will do better than those who chase the supposed hotspots. If you don’t have structure to troll around – like off St Helens or Birchen – you can head out to the continental shelf and try your luck. The shelf is a good spot to try, as it is the supermarket of the ocean. All sorts and all sizes of fish are in the water looking for a feed or trying not to be fed on. The East Australian Current rolls down the coast offshore and when it hits the ups and downs

depth, but not the edge of the shelf where the depth drops away to 300, 400 and 600m+. The Hundred Metre Line is also where the birds start to thicken up. Lure set-up It is time to come out of the throttle and put the lure spread to work. Set the trap! The skipper must keep the boat tracking nice and straight at around 6 knots and preferably downsea if there is a bit of sea on. If it is dead calm, then you don’t need to worry. Downsea is the smoothest run on a vessel in a sea and means that you are travelling the same way

Tasmania shotgun position. This is the nickname for the lure that is furthest back behind the boat. Sit it about 3m from where the wash of the boat stops being confused and full of white water. The next lure that you run out is your next longest. When you run out your long lures first this saves running them back through a heap of short lures and causing mayhem as the skipper wanders all over the sea. He is meant to be running straight but he will be trying to take a pic of the sunrise to put on Facebook or remembering where he put the rest of the iced coffee he bought at the bakery in Bicheno. That second lure should be the Zacatak Roach in sacred saury and it loves to swim at ‘long corner’. This is another name for the lure that is off the portside corner of your boat, about 15m to stern, and the rod lives in the corner rod holder. The next lure I like to run is the Halco Laser Pro. This is a diving lure. Most people call them a deep diver, and at 3 knots they are. When travelling at tuna speeds they are a sub-surface lure at best. This one I like to have in the opposite corner from long corner at ‘short corner’. About 10m of line out will have this lure roughly 8m behind the boat, just beside and slightly under the wash trail of your outboard. You now have a lure spread that will be of interest to

and as fishers we like to see this. The Roach will be breathing a lot more and also on surface, it will push some water forward and sploosh on the surface when running correctly. The sub-surface lure completes your trap and a lure under the surface works in a totally different action to the skirts on the surface. This lure, through the design of the bib, will be well under the surface and be wiggling like mad in a psycho swimming action. I like a gold or silver colour for the diving lure, as a reflective sun glint can be seen from a long way under water. I imagine that a massive big tuna size eye can see something like that from a great distance. This could be enough for that school of fish to come say hello and see your lures. If this spread does not hook you a fish, you have not found any fish to drag the lures over. Now that you have your lures out you can make the decision to troll at 6 or 8 knots. I say this as I find that striped tuna and the smaller albacore will be more likely to nail your lures at the slightly slower speed. So, if you would like to get some runs on the board early I would start at that, then later when you are looking to get some southern bluefin, marlin or a yellowfin tuna, bump the speed up to around 8 knots. Once you have made that

Helen did an awesome job in catching this early season barrel that measured in at 198cm. of the shelf and its many underwater shapes, it spills nutrient rich water full of life to the surface. This turning over of the water causes up welling and down welling that is exaggerated by the moon and the tides. The water can spill over the shelf and push water in towards what we gamefishers call the ‘Hundred Metre Line’. You’ll want 100m of

as the swells or wind chop. You should have picked an awesome day and there will be beautiful, smooth, calm ocean as your crew runs the lures out. You have three, so you better make them count. The first one you should run out is called a Zacatak Bunga in redbait. You run it out first as it goes all the way back into what is known as the

many fish. The two tuna skirts are of a colour combination that mimics local baitfish here in Tasmania and will work the surface slightly differently. The Bunga at the rear will hug the water harder due to the weight in the head of the lure. It will still come up and leave a bubble trail in the water occasionally. We call this a smoke trail

decision, make somebody on board responsible for the lures and how they are running. The Bunga to the rear should be coming up to breathe every 30 seconds or more, the Roach every 10 and the diver should be giving a constant action on the rod tip all day. If any of these is not happening you have weed on your lures. To page 48

APRIL 2019

Go Behind the Scenery

Tasmania From page 47

Now, it is up to the skipper and the crew not staring at the lures to do their job. Skipper is in control of speed across the water and also the sounder. He must know his sounder and know how it works, why it works and what he can tune to improve it. When it comes down to it, any sounder in front of you will help you find fish and once you find them keep on them. If you see some bait on the sounder, haunt it. Come at it from a couple of angles and sea conditions. Downsea, cross sea and punching into it. If the bait is deep it will take a fair few passes to work any tuna or marlin up to have a look at your trap. What you are trying to do is have the fish see your flashy diving lure swimming away like a caffeine-crazed loon and look up. Then that fish or school of fish is going to see the shadow of the boat hull and froth and bubble from your outboard and go

“bait ball, I’m on it!” Then, if your lure guy has kept the kelp off the lures, they are going to stream in and see your three lures looking wounded and distressed. This triggers a feeding reaction and they will be lining up to jump on your lures and strike. The third member of the team is on board solely to annoy the skipper by mentioning any small detail that they spot on or above the sea surface. The skipper needs all the information they can get and combine it with what they are seeing and what is happening on the sounder. All the information can combine into a successful day when you work as a team. Landing the fish Some days you can have the rod go off in two minutes, some days you will troll for hours and not have a touch, but all days you must be ready. On a strike you must work as a team. On a single hook-up the angler

that was discussed as first up must pick up the rod and set the drag. The skipper must not come out of the throttle at any stage here until it has been decided that the fish is not big and not a marlin. You will never catch a striped marlin by pulling out of the throttle on the sound of a strike. You are far better off, for all hook-up rates on all species, keeping the boat on the trolling speed until you have started to clear the gear and made sure it is not a marlin. This sounds silly, as it will be a marlin once in 100 strikes, but that’s why you don’t want to drop the lure straight out of that rare marlin’s mouth. The other reason you keep the speed up is for multiple hook-ups. The skipper on the sound of the reel drag ratchet should go to work placing a waypoint in the sounder immediately. Then monitor how the crew is going in clearing the other gear. Around 60 seconds is enough time to have picked up a second or third fish and

Tuna on big spinning reels is great fun.

Toddy Bryant was keen to catch a local kingfish and had success. These fish are turning up along the north coast. gathered some idea of what you have hooked. Now the skipper can slow down and just trundle forward slowly. You should make boat position to the fish down sea. This is when you have the fish between your boat and where the wind and chop is coming from. This is all good practice for that time you get a solid fish that will take you to task. People get a little used to fighting school sized fish, where you can manhandle them and do what you want. This is bad, as it teaches bad habits. A good fish fighting habit is to keep angle on the fish and don’t let the fish get straight up and down on you, as this will have the boat hull and engine skeg too close to the battle. These are all things that are the enemy of braid and mono fishing lines. Keeping angle on the fish means that sometimes you will have to drive off and lose some line to the fish. This is all normal and you have all the time in the world to land the fish, so do things that maximize the potential for the fish to end up in your

boat and freezer. Once the fish is tired and you notice the fish starting to swim in circles you can have a go at gaffing the fish. The fish will have one last ditch effort at escaping, so be prepared for this. Once you get a sense the fish is spent, you can back the drag off slightly so you don’t pull hooks. Then ensure your leader guy knows not to heave and tug on the leader like moving a stubborn horse. They can come in and take the leader gently on one of the circles in one hand and on presentation of a nice arc in the water hit the fish with the gaff sharply. I find when learning, coming over the top of the fish and pulling the gaff sharply towards you, aiming to sink the gaff point in the head, is best. That way if your aim and arm speed are not quite right you have the whole length of the fish to get a gaff into. A gut-hit tuna is still a gaffed tuna! You should keep up the momentum towards you, get your other hand on the gaff and lift vertically into the boat.

After celebrating, you switch back on and repeat. The skipper goes to work getting back onto the waypoint they created. One crew member sets about bleeding the tuna and getting it on ice a short time later. The other has already got the shotgun lure out the back and is sending it out the long corner. The skipper has to think here. Where is the current running and in what direction? The waypoint is a static mark on a digital map. The fish are not back there just hovering under this imaginary mark on the ocean surface. They are in the current and traveling in it with everything else. So, if you think about it you should plot a course that has you come back up through the sounder mark from below the current flow. Current off the shelf on the east coast of Tasmania at this time of year is mostly north heading south. This is not the only way to find the fish or even guarantee you find them again, but it is a practice that I have used to great effect after learning

HYDRO TASMANIA WATER STORAGE INFORMATION Water Storage Information as at 15th March 2019 Lake/Lagoon

Metres from full

Comment

Trevallyn Pond..................................0.57........................................................Steady Lake Mackenzie................................7.97........................................................Steady Lake Rowallan..................................8.52........................................................Steady Lake Parangana................................1.91........................................................Steady Lake Cethana....................................3.37........................................................Steady Lake Barrington................................0.00.......................................................Spilling Lake Gairdner...................................5.73........................................................Steady Lake Paloona....................................0.89........................................................Steady Lake Augusta....................................2.67........................................................Steady Arthurs Lake.....................................2.17........................................................Steady Great Lake........................................14.96......................................................Steady Little Pine Lagoon.............................0.80........................................................Steady Shannon Lagoon...............................0.10........................................................Steady Penstock Lagoon..............................0.31........................................................Steady Woods Lake......................................1.54........................................................Steady Lake St Clair.....................................1.84........................................................Steady Lake King William.............................7.83........................................................Steady Lake Echo.........................................8.34........................................................Steady

Dee Lagoon.......................................0.00.......................................................Spilling Pine Tier Lagoon...............................2.60........................................................Steady Bronte Lagoon..................................1.04........................................................Steady Bradys/Binneys/Tungatinah..............3.32........................................................Steady Laughing Jack Lagoon.....................5.68........................................................Steady Lake Liapootah.................................0.89........................................................Steady Wayatinah Lagoon............................0.48........................................................Steady Lake Catagunya................................0.46........................................................Steady Lake Repulse....................................0.00.......................................................Spilling Cluny Lagoon....................................0.41........................................................Steady Meadowbank Lake...........................0.35........................................................Steady Lake Burbury....................................8.14........................................................Steady Lake Margaret..................................8.53........................................................Steady Whitespur Pond................................6.28........................................................Steady Lake Newton.....................................2.74........................................................Steady Lake Plimsoll....................................0.48........................................................Steady Lake Murchison................................14.94......................................................Steady Lake Mackintosh..............................4.21........................................................Steady Lake Rosebery..................................0.89........................................................Steady Lake Pieman.....................................0.72........................................................Steady Lake Pedder......................................1.32........................................................Steady Lake Gordon.....................................27.47......................................................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

APRIL 2019

Go Behind the Scenery from other skippers. The best tip I could give you about gamefishing is, get out on the water. You have to spend time on the water learning your craft and building up your knowledge of an area. I will let you in on another little secret, look after your catch post capture

and learn to cook it up and prepare a great meal. This is as important as learning the knots and every other thing I have mentioned. TUNA Jonah Yick headed out recently with his partner Helen to see if he could find a bluefin tuna or two. They found a good fish and enjoyed a great

day out on the water together. They had watched the weather down the far south for the few days prior to the trip when a half day window appeared. The plan was to collect two sub-adult bluefin for genetic research/ samples for the tuna group at CSIRO. Bluefin had been quiet at Eaglehawk Neck and the

South Coast is well regarded for the bigger model fish early in the season. It was only a small weather window, but it was worth the gamble. Only 15 minutes of trolling and the short rigger and 37kg gear was screaming! Helen O’Neill was on the rod and she had to work hard to recover the 400 metres of line

Tasmania the fish dumped from the spool in the first run. It took her over two hours, but she landed the 198cm beast. This fish went 130kg gutted, which puts it at around 135-140kg whole. By the end of the day they had managed to get samples from a male and a female fish. This trip highlights what good planning and weather

watching can achieve. Jonah would have had everything in the boat ready to go, his crew organised and when he saw the weather window it would been go time. Great to see those fish about early and with everything looking so good this month there is no excuse not to get out there and have a crack.

INLAND FISHERIES SERVICE

Protecting the spawning fish IFS

Tim Farrell

The IFS caught 33 carp from Lake Sorell during October-December. Most carp (76%) were caught in gill nets set widely around the lake. Most nets were set around the shallow regions of the lake in response to rising water temperatures and lake levels. Over 50% of the male carp caught were infected with the naturally occurring jelly gonad condition (JGC) that affects their chances of successfully spawning. The number of male carp affected by JGC is playing an important part

in the final stages of the eradication. To find out more about the current progress of the Carp Management Program, go to www.ifs. tas.gov.au. ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME FOR COMPLIANCE On Monday 4 February, three defendants appeared in the Launceston Magistrates Court. They faced charges relating to the taking of fish from the IFS fish trap at Sandbanks Creek, yingina/ Great Lake. The Court heard that the men had used a light to assist them to tickle fish out of the trap. This was in June 2018 during the brown trout spawning run. The

men each pleaded guilty to five charges: • Taking fish without angling licence • Using light to facilitate taking of fish • Disturbing spawning fish • Taking fish from a closed water • Taking fish by means of other than rod and line They were fined $683.74 each, including $83.74 in Court costs. The protection of spawning fish is important to us as it supports the future of the fishery. If you, or anybody you know, witnesses illegal fishing activity, please report it on 1300 INFISH (1300 463 474). IFS needs your help to protect our valuable inland fisheries.

HOW IS WOODS LAKE PERFORMING? Late last year IFS completed a Fisheries Performance Assessment at Woods Lake. We wanted to know how the trout fishery was handling the increased fishing pressure of the last few years. With improved vehicle access and good performance, Woods Lake has seen an increase in anglers. In the survey, IFS was pleased to see a good range of sizes and many strong young fish growing through. All signs of a healthy fishery. IFS works closely with Hydro Tasmania to manage the water levels to provide a good environment to support a healthy fishery. In December, the lake

Woods Lake is one of the venues for the 2019 World Fly Fishing Championships. will be one of five venues for the World Fly Fishing Championship. The quality and quantity of the wild brown trout are sure to impress our international guests. Learn how IFS does a fishery performance assessment by watching the

Woods Lake video on the front page of www.ifs. tas.gov.au. For more information read the Woods Lake Fishery Performance Assessment Report 2018, also found at www.ifs. tas.gov.au.

INDUSTRY NEWS

New manufacturing plant and retail facility for Whittley Marine Longstanding Australian boat builder, Whittley Marine, and the Group’s retail sales arm, Whittley Victoria Sales, have moved into a new purpose built facility in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. The large site boasts the most advanced, modern and lean fibreglass trailer boat manufacturing facility in the country, while featuring a new industry leading sales and service facility; all on the one site. The new site will secure up a strong sales and manufacturing future for the 65+ year old family owned business, as it continues its expansion plans in 2019. Genevieve Whittley, Sales Assistant at Whittley Marine, had this to say about the exciting news. “2018 has been a strong year for the Whittley Company, in a tough market for new boat sales we have increased our sales of new boat packages. The new facility was an essential move to ensure that the business continues to prosper and build the highest quality of boats. The new facility enables Whittley Marine to adopt industry best manufacturing processes, offer new R&D tooling facilities as well as an automotive standard sales showroom. These key and exciting changes roll out into the market in 2019, ensuring

our position as a market leader in fiberglass boat building can continue.” Whittley Victoria Sales operates as the sales arm for the Group’s manufacturing business and offers Victorian customers a unique buying experience. Whittley Victoria Sales sell the full range of Whittley fiberglass boats and Clearwater alloy boats, powered by Yamaha Outboards and Volvo Penta Stern Drives. The sales arm are also authorized dealers for Mackay and Dunbier trailers as well as Garmin and Fusion electronics. With

Victoria’s largest range of new fiberglass boat packages on display, and the largest new boat sales and manufacturing site in the state, when taking to the water potential customers should consider a Whittley and being involved in your new boat’s build process. Ms Whittley, continued to say that. “The new show room and sales area was modelled on the high standards of the automotive industry dealerships. It sets a new benchmark for new boat sales in the state, offering a unique opportunity where potential customers can come in to

review our full range of boats undercover, while also seeing the manufacturing process of how a new boat is built. You can see a drum of resin delivered on a truck, then the product in build and finally being handed over onsite; being exposed to the whole process before making the decision to purchase.” Not only is the Group’s retail arm benefiting from the move, but the new facility also opens up larger R&D and tooling areas for new model development and increased production capacity for supply to the

local market. All of the Group’s 12 hull platforms and 15 different models are now produced in the new facility, with all other key areas of the business now conducted on site, including: upholstery, fiberglassing, assembly, wood shop, engine fit up, stores and administration. “We are an Australian family, building boats here in Victoria for our unique and tough boating conditions for Australian families. The company is proud of its manufacturing heritage and this move ensures a stronger manufacturing business and one that is both committed to growth but also sustainability into the future, implementing best practices across the complete manufacturing process. I encourage all new boat buyers to come and see how we build our boats before making a decision to purchase. It’s an interesting process and one that in today’s world, you don’t get to see very often.” Ms Whittley added. Momentum is building around the Whittley brand for 2019, leading into the national boat show season. Whittley Marine plans to have a grand opening sale for the new facility in May 2019 with dates and special deals to be announced shortly. With additional new model announcements set for

release at this year’s 2019 Melbourne Boat Show. For a unique new boat buying experience visit the Whittley Victoria Sales show room and Whittley Marine manufacturing facility, at 12-14 Somerton Park Drive, Campbellfield, Victoria, 3061, or call 03 8339 1800 for more information. ABOUT WHITTLEY MARINE Whittley Marine is a third-generation Australian boat-builder based in Melbourne. This familyowned and operated company has focused its resources on providing highquality boats to boating families since 1953. A marine industry innovator, Whittley’s award-winning range of family cruisers and fishing boats truly offer ‘A Boat for All Seasons’ – versatile boating solutions that can be enjoyed all year round. For further information or to arrange a personal factory tour, contact:  Alan Whittley, Director of Sales and Marketing, Whittley Marine Group,  +61 421 170 192 or via alan@whittley. com.au. For additional information about Whittley Marine’s class leading range of fiberglass boats visit www.whittleymarinegroup. com.au. –Whittley Marine Group APRIL 2019

BLACK MAGIC

MASTER CLASS

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

Prepare well with quality hooks When it comes to fishing regardless what of your target species is it’s often the little things that add up to make huge differences in success. Hook choice is certainly one element that if overlooked, it can be detrimental to a successful day fishing. QUALITY HOOKS There are many different things that need to be thought about when determining what size and

hooks that have never let me down are black magic as they are all made in Japan and have a hook to suit every purpose. Suicide hooks (also known as octopus hooks) are one of the most popular styles of hooks for a range of species. Starting from smaller sizes in #10-#8s for luderick to 1- 2/0s for bream, 3/0-6/0 for snapper then 7/0-10/0 for mulloway. Larger sizes are also the go to choice when it comes to

snapper and hooking fish through super tough top jaw molars, which is an area where I’ve seen other hooks tips fold over on numerous occasions. LIVE BAIT HOOKS Live bait hooks are ‘J-style’ hooks and are generally heavy duty with a short straight shank. They are particularly popular in sizes 6/0-8/0 when for live baiting for pelagic species such as tuna, kingfish and cobia – using baits such as slimy mackerel, yellow tail or bonito. When fishing this way, live baits are pinned lightly behind the shoulders, meaning there is plenty of hook being exposed so no need to go overboard on hook size. Another benefit of these hooks is you can seriously lock up on fish trying to bury you into structure without the fear

fish in the corner of the jaw, eliminating the result of a gut hooked fish. The best hook sizes for billfish are 6/0-7/0, whereas 8/0 is better suited for the fish inshore and anything above 8/0 to be fished wider. Slow trolling bridle-rigged live and skipbaits or dropping them down into bait schools with a sinker attached to an elastic band is the preferred rig when fishing this way. If you’re fishing tournaments remember your circles need to be non-offset to be legal. Black magic KLT range are the ultimate tournament hook for this kind of work. These hooks (especially the 7 and 8/0s) are also starting to gain a cult following for anglers who are livebaiting for mulloway – fishing straight up and down in deep water from boats. Black magic also does

Bait holder style hooks are great for bread and butter species, making it perfect for the kids. pattern of hook to use. Things that need to be considered are the target species and type of bait you’re throwing. Knowing what to choose will greatly improve your hook up rate, resulting in catching more fish. Before we get into the nitty gritty, first and foremost I recommend the use of quality hooks to be vital. I can’t believe how many anglers have all the best gear, lines and leaders but then put less thought into quality hooks that cost a couple of bucks a packet extra. This blows me away as the hooks are your last first and last link to that potential fish of a lifetime. It’s crazy to risk missing the hook up or losing the fish through a cheap hook straighten or bend. By far my favourite

snelling two hooks together for kingfish or mulloway when using livebaits and squid. They are a perfect hook for cut and stripbaits, and take the shape of a prawn nicely. Hook size depends on bait size and you need to find the sweet spot as too much hook exposure will turn fish off and to little hook exposure will severely impact your hook up rate. A good rule is to make sure you always have the point of the hook to past the barb out of the bait. Black magic C point are by far the cream of the crop when it comes this hook pattern. They are super strong and have a three-point cutting edge that provides maximum penetration during the hook set. The difference is particularly evident when fishing for bream and

Black Magic C Point hooks are perfect for snelling squid for mulloway, kingfish and snapper. 50

APRIL 2019

Bait presentation is important for best hook-up rates. of the hook straightening. This is particularly useful for big kings and also why the smaller sizes in these hooks are popular for coastal brutes like drummer and grouper. Size 1/0 hooks suit a large peeled prawn or conjevoi for drummer, whereas the 3/0-4/0 sizes are ideal for a crab when fishing for grouper. For the smaller sizes I use the black magic KS range and larger sizes above 6/0 for live baiting I use the black magic DX hooks. CIRCLES While circle hooks can be used for a range of fishing situations, they really come into their own when livebaiting for billfish or bottom fishing. The use of circle hooks has revolutionised gamefishing over the last 20 years, where they haven’t just improved the hook up conversion rates but also drastically aiding in catch and release survival. This is due to the hooks almost always hooking the

the KL series which are based on the same pattern but go down to much smaller sizes – making them perfect for bottom fishing species such as snapper, flathead, nannygai, pearl perch and

Black Magic KLT hooks are lethal on deep water mulloway. trag. Circle hooks also need to be fished differently to normal hooks, as the point needs time to find its mark and roll into the corner of the jaw. If you strike a fish and you’re using circles, you will almost certainly miss that fish. When bottom fishing, a slow vertical lift up on the rod until you feel weight is all you need to do to set the hooks or you can leave it in the rod holder and let the fish hook themself. When live baiting, it’s best to fish the reel in free spool and when you get a hit be sure to point the rod at the fish and gradually increase drag pressure, then slowly lift the rod tip once you feel the fish’s weight. LONGSHANK/ BAITHOLDERS These style of hooks are great for bread and butter species such as bream, whiting and flathead, fishing from the beach and local

estuaries. The most popular sizes for this type of hook are from size #6 through to #2, which are perfect for delicate slender baits such as small peeled prawns, live nippers or worms. These should be carefully threaded up the inside of the bait before coming out and leaving the barb and hook point exposed. The longer shank allows you to perfectly present these sorts of baits with the tiny small barbs on the back of the hook shank helping it hold it in place. This really helps the bait hang on the hook and not be flung off during the cast – a common problem with those delicate baits. They are perhaps the best hook to use for taking the kids fishing as they tend to catch smaller fish as well as hanging in there if a big flattie or bream comes along!

Choosing the right hook for the job is critical for success.

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING NEW NEDLOCKZ COLOURS

With the growing popularity of the Ned Rig in Australia, the TT Lures NedlockZ, ‘mushroom’ style stand-up jighead is now available in two new colours, chartreuse and orange. Originally available in black and green pumpkin colours, anglers were looking for a couple of strike trigger colours. Chartreuse and orange are popular highlight colours on hardbodies and blades, and are the perfect fit for pairing up with plastics to attract fish and trigger strikes. The orange head is particularly good for teaming up with natural coloured plastics. The team from TT’s say that the NedlockZ combine perfectly with the buoyancy of ZMan ElaZtech plastics to create a presentation that is either fleeing when retrieved or standing up vertically in a feeding or defensive pose when paused, much like a crab, yabby or prawn. NedlockZ are available in four weights: 1/15oz 2H, 1/10oz 1H, 1/6oz 1H and 1/5oz 1H. Price: SRP $9.95 (5-pack) www.ttlures.com.au

SHIMANO REVOLUTION TRAVEL 2 Shimano have refined the travel rod concept even further, with this excellent seven rod Revolution Travel series that are perfect for the highly mobile angler. Travel rods aren’t necessarily just for jet setters though. In the car, on public transport – even people who don’t know have a lot of storage space at home shouldn’t miss out on using quality fishing tackle. Like the standard Revolution series, the Revolution Travel line-up now feature soft touch reel seats for greater comfort in the hand, full and split custom shaped EVA grips where applicable, and Fuji O Ring Guides, where the insert is protected by the frame from knocks and scrapes. Most importantly in a travel rod though, the ferruling system is pretty well undetectable, and in no way diminishes the feel and performance characteristics of these great baitcast and spin rods. They all break down in to three pieces, with the 904 Spin into four. www.shimanofish.com.au

DAIWA EMERALDAS LT

Light as air and strong as steel, the famous Emeraldas name receives the LT treatment with the release of the new Emeraldas Air LT spin reel. Gifted with Daiwa’s latest design innovations, and featuring the famous Emeraldas styling the new Emeraldas Air LT is the ultimate combination of technology, looks and performance. Daiwa’s new LT Concept heralds a new age of lightness and toughness, and the new reel also benefits from Daiwa’s famous Real Four design. The Emeraldas’ Tough Digigear heralds a revolution in gear design, with its high-precision cutting technique achieving perfect gear meshing and ultra smooth performance. MagSeal protects from the elements, while Air Rotor, ATD, LT’s new Longcast ABS spool, Perfect Line Stopper, and Air Bail combine for unrivalled performance, power and precision. Loaded with Daiwa’s latest design innovations and the legendary Emeraldas swagger, the new Emeraldas Air LT is the perfect combination of style, technology, and performance. www.daiwafishing.com.au 52

APRIL 2019

PRODUCT GUIDE

BASSDAY BACKFIRE

Bassday’s expertise in the surface lure market is second to none, with the Sugapen one of the deadliest surface lures available. Bassday’s newest creation, the Backfire, was originally designed for black porgy (sea bream) in Japan, but it has proven itself in our local conditions already. And like the Sugapen, this new lure is set to be a runaway hit. The Backfire is 65mm long and through wired, making it strong and dependable. It weighs 7.5g and casts exceptionally well for a small lure. The large cupped face is capable of both dramatic pops, and subtle, rippleinducing pops, when using a slow and light touch. The slim profile produces little wind resistance. The action is that of a classic popper and will be excellent for bass, bream and other surface feeders. It works best with a ‘pop, pop, pause’ technique. The new model comes in eight colours, and all but one have been designed exclusively for Australia. For more information visit the Bassday website or like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BassdayAus. www.bassday.com.au

UNIQUE ANYSINK

Brisbane inventor Creig Adams has set out to change the way Australians go fishing with his new AnySink. The AnySink lets you change sinkers easily and quickly with out having to cut and retie your line. The invention also allows anglers to change from using toxic lead sinkers to anything that sinks – hence the name ‘AnySink’. “As I entered my 40s and my vision started to deteriorate, I found that cutting and re-rigging was becoming more and more difficult,” Mr Adams said. “I set out to find a better system.” After experimenting with different designs, Mr Adams settled on a spherical plastic design that splits in half and allows the angler to place a weight inside it. “This weight can be a lead sinker, a pebble, nut, bolt or even berley,” Mr Adams explained. “Once you are ready to drop down your AnySink, you can also crush berley into the grated casing of the device, where it will slowly break off and attract fish.” Price: SRP $10 (pack of 10) www.anysink.com.au

RHINO-RACK GRAB HANDLE

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Rhino-Rack’s Pioneer range continues to grow, and the latest release is the Pioneer Grab Handle. It has been designed to aid in loading, unloading and securing your gear onto all Rhino-Rack Pioneer systems. We’ve all been there – you’re shifting item upon item up onto roof racks, tying your load for the trip and being left with nothing to hold onto while you make your descent. The new Pioneer Grab Handle solves this problem. Its large and sturdy form allows for a sturdy grip when used as a handle, and provides a strong anchor point when securing gear. Made from diecast aluminium that is powder coated to prevent rust and corrosion, the Rhino-Rack Pioneer Grab Handle has a 120kg load capacity, and installation is quick and easy. For more information on this and other products in the Pioneer range, visit the RhinoRack website. Price: SRP: $59 (2 pack) www.rhinorack.com.au

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ECOODA BLACK HAWK ROD V2

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

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The Ecooda Black Hawk V2 puts Ecooda in the middle of the battlefield. The fast matt black blanks are ideal for lure casting off the banks or in the boat. With striking red aluminium anodized details, the cosmetics are appealing to a variety of anglers. The ultra-hard EVA grips and custom locking rings are comfortable in the hand, while stainless steel framed guides are light enough for blank reaction and smooth enough to let your line cast effortlessly through the insert. Whether you’re targeting bream or flathead with vibes or reef species with a plastics, there’s a Black Hawk II that’s perfect for the job. It’s available in five spin models (6’10 light, 7’0 Medium Light, 6’4 Medium, 7’0 Heavy and Extra Heavy) as well as two baitcast models (6’0 Medium Heavy and Heavy). Visit the new Ecooda website for more information and stockists, or check them out on Instagram and Facebook. www.ecooda.com.au

REVAMPED CELTA

Back by popular demand is the world’s most famous trout spinning lure, the Rublex Celta. The Celta has been retooled, and is now stronger than ever before. Of course, it still offers the legendary fish-attracting butterfly spinning action that has enticed thousands of rainbow and brown trout captures worldwide. The Celta has an inbuilt, anti-line twist system that rotates on the main shaft to prevent your line from twisting while fishing. Armed with VMC trebles, Celtas come in 10 natural fish-catching colours and three sizes, incorporating 2g, 3.5g and 5g weight variations. For more information visit the Rapala Australia website, or check them out at your local tackle store today. www.rapala.com.au

SILVER CREEK LT

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Trout fishing perfection has arrived with the release of the new Silver Creek LT spin reel. Loaded with style and gifted with many of Daiwa’s most advanced technologies, the newest addition to the famous Silver Creek family features LT design, making it feather light and ultra strong. A Zaion body houses Daiwa’s high performance, ultra-strong Digigear II gear system, while Magseal provides unrivalled protection, ensuring ultimate durability and optimum performance. The Silver Creek’s Air Rotor enhances reel balance, strength and support courtesy of the highly sensitive, ultra-light, precision engineered Zaion rotor, while a lightweight aluminium spool, ABS, Air Bail and Twist Buster technologies combine for ultimate spool performance and line control. Other features include ATD drag, washable design, and a machined ‘screw in’ aluminium handle. www.daiwafishing.com.au

BONE FOCUS 130

The Bone Focus 130 is a multi-towpoint glide bait that is an ideal size for many fish throughout Australia. Featuring 4+1 towing eyelets, each with its own unique swimming action, this lure is truly revolutionary. The ability for anglers to choose the desired swim depth when fishing in different terrains is the focus of this lure. The first eyelet serves to create a swimbait with a seductive wide wobble and roll action, mimicking a lifelike swimming action. Attaching your line to the second or third eyelets gives the lure greater diving capability. A vibration mode can be imparted when the line is attached to the fourth eyelet, as it swims in a forward position with internal bearings knocking against the body. Additional weights can also be attached to the chin eyelet without impacting on the lure’s action, allowing the Focus to reach deeper in search of your prey. www.wilsonfishing.com

SAMAKI MAHIMAHI SHIRT

Bright, bold colours erupt from the water as this big bull mahimahi swims and attacks the baitfish and lures surrounding the FAD, revealing the true nature of the species. Capturing all the attractive elements of the warmer climate, with volcanic islands in the background, crystal clear waters and abundance of wildlife above and below the water, this new Samaki shirt has been a winner with all anglers. Samaki designs are brought to you by Australian anglers. These shirts feature lightweight fabric that’s perfect for all outdoor elements, protecting you from the harsh sun with Samaki’s UV50+ technology. The soft touch 100% polyester material is comfortable and very breathable, keeping you cool and dry. Samaki fishing shirts are available in adult, youth and kids sizes from a size 2 through to a 5XL, allowing the whole family to get in on the action and out onto the water. Price: SRP $59.95 (adults), $49.95 (kids) www.samaki.com.au

BONE HOVERJET

The Bone HoverJet brings together two topwater concepts in the one lure, and is unlike any other topwater bait on the Australian market. This multifunction lure is 130mm long and weighs an easy casting 28g. Its specially designed aerodynamic shape allows the plug to cast like a bullet and reach distant targets where wary fish hold. With its flaps closed, working the HoverJet as a topwater pencil bait on the surface is effortless as it slides from side to side, creating small splashes. With the flaps open, the HoverJet transforms into a topwater prop bait that can be worked with a variety of retrieves to produce aggressive strikes. In fizzer mode, a straight retrieve creates that classic chop of the blade on the water’s surface that drives fish like jacks and barra crazy. If a louder fizz is needed, sharp rod tip rips produce a distinctive fizzing chop which will draw fish from afar to investigate. wilsonfishing.com APRIL 2019

WHAT’S NEW FISHING BLACKWOLF DIRECTORS CHAIR

BlackWolf’s new Compact Directors Chair has a strong, supportive frame, non-slip foot design for all surfaces and a solid weight capacity of 130kg, the Directors Chair is safe, reliable and able to withstand almost any environment. The chair has padded seating, wide armrests and high back support for maximum comfort, and it also features a convenient foldaway table with a drink holder. The chair also boasts an accessory pocket with a safety zipper for stashing much-needed items such as your phone, keys, camera, sunscreen, or other gear, meaning you don’t have to get back up to get them. You can set up the Directors Chair in under a minute, and when you are ready to pack up, all you need to do is fold it down flat to its very compact size, and store it away for next time. Price: SRP $139.99 www.blackwolf.com.au

NEW BOMBER COLOURS

JM Gillies has just released new colours in the Bomber Long A and Longshot models. Bomber’s original Long A design is one of the most effective lures on the market, and is arguably Australia’s most popular barramundi lure of all time. The larger BSW16A (150mm) and BSW17A (175mm) sizes are the preferred choice for anglers chasing 1m+ barra in the big saltwater rivers of the Top End, and are also extremely effective in the impoundments throughout North Queensland. The new Long A colours are BMDI (brown back, pale blue belly), and ABM3 (orange head, green body, black stripes). The Longshot range of lures feature a weight exchange system that assists in super-long casts. The body is tough and durable as well as sporting saltwater hooks and hardware. It’s available in three sizes, 125mm, 150mm and 175mm. The new XM7 colour (black back, green body) is the perfect addition to the existing premium colour range. www.jmgillies.com.au

SHIMANO TEKOTA

APRIL 2019

NEMO HORNET

A lighter tent shouldn’t mean sacrificing a good night’s sleep. Trusted outdoor equipment brand NEMO have developed the master of ultralight hiking tents to save your back, without skipping on quality, comfort and livability. The NEMO Hornet is the ultralight hiking tent for adventures demanding a lighter load. The NEMO Hornet is the ultimate lightweight tent, weighing-in at a mere 900g for the 2P edition, and an even lighter 765g for 1P. The Hornet 2P is equipped with two doors and two vestibules, for ultimate comfort for sharing the space. And better still, the Unique Divvy dual stage stuff sack makes it easy to divide the load with your travel partner. The single-hubbed pole intersections of the Hornet allow for quick setup and spend less time setting up. The Hornet can be erected without the need for ropes and a fly. If you need more space, you can also pitch the triangular shaped cords for 15% more interior capacity. Price: RRP $549.95 (1P), $621.95 (2P) www.nemoequipment.com

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150LB PINK SHOCK 17 LEADER Pink leader has been popular with bluewater anglers for some time, given that it is seen as less visible in certain water conditions. Although fluorocarbon options are common, Black Magic’s Pink Shock Leader is produced as a copolymer trace. This provides great value for money but still gives robust performance under stress – and Black Magic has now expanded the range up to 150lb. Features include: retains the high performance in abrasion resistance and knot strength seen in Black Magic tough and supple trace; coloured pink to provide less visibility, particularly when water conditions are a little murkier; and provides a more affordable option to anglers than fluorocarbon. Current breaking strains are 20lb, 40lb, 60lb, 80lb, 100lb and 150lb. www.blackmagic.com

OKUMA DISTANCE 15 SURF ARENA

Whether you’re bottom fishing for reef fish or trolling for pelagics, the latest Shimano Tekota is a great all-rounder. This enduring levelwind overhead has just undergone a big upgrade, with a number of new features that includes a main gear upgrade that is 50% stronger than its predecessor. The Hagane Body, coupled with the S-Compact Body Design, makes it comfortable to hold while waiting for a bite or fighting a fish. Gear size has been dramatically increased, and with it comes a super fast retrieve ratio of 6.3:1. A larger handle knob than its predecessor also helps in this regard. The CoreProtect system of seals keeps saltwater away from the internals, which includes three A-RB bearings and one roller bearing, and 11kg of drag will keep those reefies’ heads up and continuing towards the surface. Shimano recommends matching the Tekota to the Taipan 661 Overhead. It has quality Fuji componentry, and its graphite integrated fibreglass tip (G.I.F.T) construction can take the knocks. www.shimanofish.com.au 54

PRODUCT GUIDE

Okuma continues to offer anglers quality and excellent value for money with the release of the new Okuma Distance Surf Arena spinning reels. Features include a Slim Blade corrosionresistant graphite body, Worm Shaft transmission system, and a Hydro Block drag system (designed to ensure water and foreign materials do not enter the system and the drag washers perform to their optimum level), and FPD (Fast Progressive Drag). Designed for casting distance and handling big fish, with their lower gear ratios and 16kg max drag, Distance Surf Arena reels hold plenty of line on their machine cut aluminium spool, with the Even Flow line roller designed to reduce line twist. Other features include 3BB+1RB, Quick Set infinite anti-reverse system for rock solid hook sets, Rotor Equalizing System for precision balance and smooth cranking, Rigid Metal Handle and TPE T-shape handle knob. Built to take on the surf and its hard fighting species, the Okuma Distance Surf Arena is available in 60 and 80 sizes. Price: SRP $119.90-$139.90 www.okuma.com.au

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING

TESTED

Strike Pro Guppie sinking glidebait Cooler nights and shorter days mean that the prime time to target big Murray cod on large lures is almost upon us. More and more anglers are getting out there and giving it a go using a growing range of lures, and I would like to add one to the list: the Strike Pro Guppie. This lure isn’t new but it’s very effective, and it’s well worth considering if you enjoy this style of fishing. Everybody notices I was lucky enough to receive a box of Guppies, and everybody I showed them to commented on the quality of the finish on the lures. It is exceptional. There are seven colours available and each has the ‘I would like to swim that’ appeal. The layering of

pattern and paint gives them an almost 3D effect, and also increases the durability. They are an outstanding looking lure. Strike Pro Guppie 101 The Guppie is a wooden sinking glidebait with an interchangeable soft plastic tail. The lure comes with a soft plastic paddle-tail and a curl-tail that you can interchange using the wire corkscrew on the end of the body. It is simple and easy and also allows you customise the tail if you like. On a slow, constant retrieve it glides from side to side and screams “eat me”. Changing the plastic tail doesn’t change the lure’s action, but it does give it a different feel through the rod. The paddle-tail definitely sends more feedback

At 120g and 13.5cm long it is important to have the right rod and reel to cast the Guppie.

The Guppie comes with two soft plastic tails that are interchangeable using the wire corkscrew on the rear of the lure. through the line and the rod. The other thing to note with the Guppie is its hardware. From the packet it comes with sturdy hooks and strong split rings – there’s no need to upgrade anything, just tie it on and fish it. At 120g and 13.5cm long you will need a rod and reel suitable to cast the Guppie, otherwise casting something of this size and weight will be daunting. Field Testing I haven’t yet had many opportunities to swim the lures I was sent, but I did get the chance to try them out at Lake Mulwala when I visited. There are huge expanses of water with lots of structure and Murray cod in Lake Mulwala. I quickly learnt that long casts were not the go; the hooks of the Guppie grabbed the structure, which was quite frustrating. The hooks are sticky sharp, and with how the lure swims, if they touch structure they grab it. However, adjusting my technique and throwing shorter casts beside and along the structure made all the difference.

In a matter of minutes a 52cm fish snaffled my Guppie as it snaked along a laydown. Wind and weather cut short the fishing that day, but with that initial success in mind, I can’t wait for my next opportunity to swim the Strike Pro Guppies. Check them out yourself To find out more about the Strike Pro Guppie and the other Strike Pro lures available, you can go to www.jurofishing. com or ask for them in your local tackle store.

Success! It may not be a big fish, but it’s guaranteed to be the first of many cod caught on these lures.

The sky is the limit with the Bone Voyage rod series In 2017 Bone fishing rods were introduced to Australia through the team at Wilson Fishing. There are a number of ranges and models available but my interest was sparked by the Voyage series of rods. It’s a travel rod series designed for the angler who doesn’t want to compromise with the gear they use while traveling. In my mind, the words ‘travel rod’ and ‘compromise’ have always gone handin-hand. In years gone by, we travelling anglers have been content to use rods

that weren’t ideal, just so that we could go fishing. Having to compromise was a necessary sacrifice when venturing far from home, but not anymore. My interest in the Bone Voyage BVC704 XXH was twofold. Firstly, I wanted to jump on board the swimbait/big lures for Murray cod revolution, and secondly, I knew that my only opportunities to do this type of fishing would be travelling. The technology behind the rod The blanks used for the Bone rods, including the Voyage series, are Toray hi-modulus graphite. The key with the

The heavy-duty soft carry case makes storage and transport easy.

Voyage series is keeping the integrity of what is an elite level blank in a travel configuration. The designers have achieved this. When loaded, the rod has a smooth bend (no flat spots) in a fast taper format. Fuji K-Alconite guides complete the package. There are 12 rods in the range in spin and baitcast configurations. Field Testing I have had the rod for over 12 months and it has gone to Lake Eildon, Lake Mulwala, Canberra and Glenlyon Dam with me. I cannot tell you how many big lures I have cast with it, from large swimbaits to 3oz spinnerbaits. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I have not compromised with this rod. It is well suited to the fishing I have used it for, and on each trip it has gone into a mediumsized suitcase (the heavy-duty soft case it comes with is great). Having said that, I haven’t yet caught a big fish on this rod. You can see a photo of my most recent catch in the review above (a Murray cod at Mulwala), but I am yet to really test the Voyage BVC704 XXH on a better quality fish. I will continue to try, and am planning a trip north targeting barramundi on similar sized lures to really put the Voyage through its paces. Where can you find them? Bone rods are built to a high standard so they’re not cheap. The Voyage series rods start from around $350 depending on the model you choose, and in my opinion they are worth every cent. To see the full range of rods you can go the Wilson Fishing website at www. wilsonfishing.com, or you can check them out at selected tackle stores. - Peter Jung

TESTED

VIC/TAS BONE ROD STOCKISTS Hooked On Bait and Tackle - Hoppers Crossing Compleat Angler Ringwood - Ringwood Compleat Angler Melbourne - Melbourne CBD Tackle World Alpine Country - Sale Mildura Outdoors - Mildura Tamar Marine - Launceston The Fisherman’s Shed - Kingston

Just a few of the lures the author has been casting with the Bone Voyage BVC704 XXH.

APRIL 2019

I’m fishin’ some good vibrations FEATURE

Joel Edwards

With so many lures available these days, it can be sometimes be some of the oldest creations, like lipless lures, that still catch the most fish. While not always the most effective

notice a few guys I looked up to experiencing success on a whole manner of species using these noisy baits, I had to have one and try it out. I had no idea this would start a life long obsession with all things lipless. The appeal for me was that I could work this type of bait at any depth and

journey can be as in depth as you make it. With the vast amount of lipless baits on the market and the techniques that accompany them, it would be impossible to cover them all in this article. So let’s focus on a few. The rattler The first thing that comes

can be easily inhaled. There are some beautiful lipless cranks on the market. Each bait is designed meticulously to set them apart from the already flooded lipless market. So if you’re searching your box to find a bait that will induce a reaction, a rattler will 100% create a stir. The soft vibe In my opinion the soft vibe is one of the most versatile baits available to the modern angler. They have a silent, soft and more natural approach as opposed to the whiz-bang of the rattler. Soft vibes has become one of the most popular baits in Australian waters and the world. Soft vibes have a completely different sonic signature to other vibes due to their soft plastic construction. This construction produces a totally unique presentation. A lifelike, soft feel helps aid in the deception of your chosen

Soft vibes are perfect for offshore predators like snapper. vibes are produced with a through wire construction that creates strength and security in the event of an

particular the Fish Trap by Zerek, has been a deadly bait for me in deeper water. It impersonates a herring, small

Lipless lures come in all shapes, colours and sizes, and can be used for just about any predatory fish species. choice, they are incredibly versatile and easy to use, and many fishless days have been turned around by using these strange lures. GOOD LIPLESS VIBRATIONS Versatility is the first word that comes to mind when describing a lipless bait. Hard, soft, rattling, silent, sinking or floating – there is a lipless for your fishing needs. From cranking for Aussie bass to hopping a soft vibe for dusky flathead to deadsticking for yellowbelly, there is a plethora of baits, species and retrieves to explore that come under the ever popular ‘lipless’ banner. I purchased my first lipless lure when I was a teenager; it was a gold Cotton Cordell Rattlin’ Spot. I hunted one down with Australian bass in mind. I’d begun to

The next big mulloway that snaffles a vibe won’t be the last. Vibes, particularly blades, are just as deadly in the fresh as they are in the salt. almost any speed. The great thing about these baits is they work for just about any angler, from tossing it out and cranking it in, to honing your techniques and increasing your productivity, the lipless

Bream are an excellent target when fishing blade style lipless lures. 56

APRIL 2019

to mind when I think of rattling lipless cranks would be stocked impoundment fishing for Australian natives. Baits such as the Jackall TN series have been a go to for weed bed dwelling Aussie bass since their late ‘90s inception. The Maxy Vib has claimed more yellowbelly than most other baits. Having said that, these baits are equally deadly in the rivers and salt on a number of species. Our native fish are very responsive to the whiz and bang of a rattling lipless crank. Rattlers are designed to induce a strike from a predatory fish, often the sound is tuned to mimic the sound of a fleeing baitfish or in some cases designed to sound like a predatory fish attacking a bait school. This sound attracts the predator to an area where the lipless bait

quarry. Like all other lipless cranks, these baits can be fished at any depth with a variety of speeds. Most soft

XOS model eating your bait and you having to tighten down on it. The soft vibe, in

tailor or mullet, and these little beauties are irresistible to a host of estuarine dwellers – particularly mulloway.

Fishing close to the bottom is the way to go with soft vibes.

The blade Now for the slimmer side of the family – the blade offers a slight twist on the lipless term. They are often constructed from lead, metal and even polycarbonate. These violent, vibing vectors are about as versatile as baits come. A good point of difference the blade has over many other lipless baits is that they often have multiple tow points. This creates an opportunity to vary the speed in which you fish the bait as well as changing the vibration level to suit your chosen application. Blades are a favourite amongst bream and bass anglers, and it has a place in many tournament anglers’ tackle bags. The blade is designed to be fished slowly and close to the bottom, inducing strikes from even the most timid of

as a lot of the bites will come at this stage of the retrieve. Keep in contact! Lengthen your leader Lipless cranks are more often than not rigged with treble hooks. While increasing the odds of a

shock absorber or cushion to assist in keeping those hooks in. A lot of largemouth bass anglers in Japan and the U.S.A choose to use straight through monofilament or fluorocarbon line for this very reason. This results in more

or larger hops, letting your bait sit longer between hops, burn and kill, or fast then slow – it’s all trial and error. By all means mix up your retrieve, however, take a mental note of what retrieve you’re trying. There’s

Sometimes the smallest lures can fool some thumping fish, and blades fished for big yellowbelly like that are a great example. ‘deadsticked’ the bait for a length of time the bream would mistake the bait for a shell and pick it up off the bottom. The blade is a lipless presentation you should never leave home without.

lipless crankbait angler will be in contact with their bait at all times. When hopping a soft vibe along the bottom it is vital to keep the line tort to control the sink rate of the bait. This not only ensures the lure is swimming nicely

Vibes often get eaten properly by hungry estuary dwellers like mulloway. hook-up, small treble hooks can pull quite easily. With braided mainlines being most anglers’ line of choice, including mine, I’ve found that adding an extra metre of length to my leader gives me that little bit more of a

Blades rigged with assist hooks are deadly on fish that bite lures timidly. adversaries. I’ve even seen blades manipulated to mimic a piece of shell that has been dislodged from structure and simply come to rest on the bottom. If the angler

TOP 3 TIPS TO LIPLESS SUCCESS Line control The biggest mistake anglers make when fishing lipless lures is not staying in contact with the bait. A good

stretch and less pulled hooks. Vary and monitor your retrieve I’ve found that in many cases it can only take a slight change in retrieve to induce a strike when fishing a lipless. For example, smaller hops

UFF T 0 0 3 E S A E L E R NEW

nothing worse than eventually cracking a pattern and getting that bite and not remembering what induced the strike. So, if you haven’t already, get some lipless baits in your box. They may just be the bait that fools your trophy!

DU RA BI LI T Y Y ST AB IL IT Y & AR ND GE LE E M SA

on the drop, it also keeps the angler ready for the often subtle bites that accompany this style of fishing. The same goes for medium rolling a rattling lipless – pauses need to monitored and controlled,

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Community

The death of a river: let’s get started on a plan NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

Unless you’ve been overseas or off grid for the past few months, you’ll have seen coverage of catastrophic fish kills in outback NSW, especially along the Darling River near Menindee. The scale of this disaster is staggering and difficult for most of us to comprehend. It’ll take decades for native fish populations to recover, assuming they ever do… and that’s a big assumption. The Darling River holds a special place in my heart. Back in 1980, my first posting as a wet-behindthe-ears schoolteacher was in Bourke, in northwestern NSW. Here, along the steep banks of the twisting Darling, I discovered the “vision splendid” of Banjo Patterson’s “sunlit plains extended, and at night the wondrous glory of the everlasting stars.” It was here I first inhaled the intoxicating perfume of that wonderful petrichor that’s released as fat drops of rain smack onto drought-parched plains, and watched the sun slide behind a horizon so staggeringly wide you’d swear you can see the curvature of the earth. On the downside, I also witnessed the mud-sucking peak of a spreading carp plague, and watched the disturbing phenomenon of a river suddenly flowing backwards as giant irrigation pumps fired up to feed cotton crops the size of small European nations. For me, the writing was already on the wall for the mighty Darling, and the story it told was not a happy one. The Darling is officially described as a ‘dryland river’ and is characterised by ‘extreme climatic variability’. It has

The images of big, dead cod and other fish have been harrowing. been that way since well before the first humans of any colour reached its high banks and gazed down in wonder at what must have been a green-tinged artery of life twisting through the baked red plains. Even then, the Paaka or Barka (as it was known to the local Barkindjii people) was an ephemeral watercourse. For every grainy black and white print of cargo-laden paddle steamers plying a broad body of water in the 19th century, there are almost as many images of those same vessels sitting like discarded toys on the cracked bed of a dry river. This was before cotton or rice. Before today’s massive levels of water extraction for irrigation. Before Cubby Station. Before environmental flows or basin plans or political pork barreling. Between 1885 and 1960, the Darling at Menindee ceased flowing on at least 45 separate occasions, and during the 1902/03 drought, it didn’t run for 364 days straight. The natural inhabitants of the river – from the

smallest shrimp to the largest cod – adapted to its fickle nature by developing boom-and-bust survival strategies. In the hardest of times, their numbers dwindled to remnant populations in isolated waterholes or tributaries. But as soon as new floods came – often the result of cyclonic rains far to the north – they bred up in massive numbers, quickly re-populating the swollen waters by migrating vast distances up and down the river. This was long the way of things across most of our ancient continent: on land as well as in the water. A recently published 40-year study found that kangaroo numbers on the western plains of NSW varied from 18 million in good years to just five million during drought times. Fluctuations in native fish densities can be even more dramatic. Terra Australis refuses to march to the regimented, relatively predictable routine of European seasons. It lurches instead from bitter poverty to boundless plenty and back again, across a

cyclic time frame much older than humanity. Trouble is, we’ve overlaid our pervasive impact on all of this natural variability and resilience. We’ve introduced thirsty crops and livestock from the other side of the globe, let loose exotic pests, built multiple barriers to hold back rivers and block the migration of fish, sucked out water (and baby fish) and pumped toxins back in. So powerful is our impact on the natural world that we’ve even modified the underlying climate. The combined effect of all of this is a flattening out of the natural peaks and a dramatic deepening of the troughs in those ancient rhythms of boom-and-bust. And now, if you’ll pardon a biblical analogy, we’re reaping what we’ve sown. It’s not surprising that the latest fish kills have evoked so much raw, visceral emotion amongst Australians. Anger. Outrage. Sadness. I’ve felt all those things myself – often simultaneously – as the shocking story of a river in its death throes

unfolds across our screens. It’s human nature to look for someone or something to blame at these times. Drought. Climate change. Irrigators. Big cotton. Politicians. Bureaucrats. And the truth is they’re all partly responsible. But guess what? So are you, and so am I. Our cotton shirts, loaves of bread, rock melons, grapes, steaks and rice don’t just magically materialise on supermarket shelves. They’re grown somewhere on our behalf, using lots and lots of precious water. We are as complicit in their creation as we are in their consumption. It’s futile looking for one factor or one person to blame for the Menindee fish kills, and equally pointless (in my opinion) to call for an overnight change in the way we live our lives. We like our cotton and our wheat and our rice and our roads and our air conditioners far too much. In fact, we’re addicted to them. Perhaps the best way forward is a gradual modification of habits and a reduction in some of the more obvious excesses of our modern, Western lifestyle? This begins with recognising that many of these excesses are simply not good for us, nor for the planet we depend on for our survival. As an interesting aside, did you realise that for the first time in human history, we live in age when more people are dying from eating too much than from not having enough to eat? It’s a sobering thought. I suspect that incremental change will need to be driven by us – the people. Sadly, our politicians (of all persuasions) have repeatedly shown themselves to be incapable of doing the ‘vision thing’ and looking beyond the next election. We can’t rely on them to fix things, so I

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reckon we’ll have to force gradual change from the bottom up instead. I’m not talking about unplugging from the power grid tomorrow, growing all your own food, wearing animal skins or living in a cave. I like my creature comforts, too! But we can definitely do a lot better. And if we want to see ecosystems like the Darling River return to even a shadow of their former glory, we’re going to have to do a lot better… Are you up for it? I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I reckon the adoption of the following five-point plan would represent a wonderful starting point: A FIVE-POINT PLAN 1. Immediately establish a Federal Royal Commission to examine the overall management of the Murray-Darling Basin. 2. Urgently re-assess all existing barriers (weirs, locks, barrages and dams) with an eye to removing or dramatically reducing their impact on fish migration. 3. Place a moratorium on the granting of new water extraction licences and examine the viability of buying back some of the existing allocation. 4. Actively prosecute companies or individuals found to be illegally extracting water, and investigate their potential linkages to politicians and bureaucrats. 5. Mandate the fitting of effective screens on all pump inlets to prevent millions of juvenile fish being sucked from our inland rivers by irrigators. •This article was an opinion piece from Steve Starling on the recent massive fish kills in the lower Darling River. This article first appeared in the Fishotopian newsletter, which is part of an online portal run by Steve and his wife Jo. You can subscribe to their monthly newsletter for free at www. fishotopia.com.au.

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Cooler weather is producing hot results creek, which provide great areas to walk and cast for both cod and goldens. Paddlers are by far the go and the smaller lures will give you more chance of catching smaller fish. First thing in the morning and late afternoon is by far the best time to fish. Try to fish close to structure but

WAGGA WAGGA

Rhys Creed

If I had to order the months in a list based on my favourites, April would take out 1st place! If you’re just a casual angler, this is the time to get out and wet a line because it’s one of the most enjoyable months ,with great weather and active fish on offer! MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER As always, this time of year signals the end of the irrigation season as the temperature begins to

especially overnight off the bank with grubs and yabbies. It can be hit and miss but it’s still worth a visit – just try to plan your trip around a high barometer! You really can’t go wrong in April along our rivers and creeks with such good fishing opportunities available!

Adam Smith with a monster river golden that was sitting tight to heavy structure. work on the day. If you’re not keen on casting lures then bait fishing with the family is a great option. Head out to one of the local reserves and throw a yabby, bardi grubs or even some worms in off the bank. If you have a boat, find some big logs and willow trees to tie up to and drop your bait straight down under the log. OLD MAN CREEK As well as the Murrumbidgee River running low, Old Man Creek won’t be too far behind

Tallis loves using stinger hooks on his spinnerbaits at this time of year to ensure he sticks all the hits.

The Takacat Inflatble gets a good work out at this time of year as it’s perfect for the low flowing rivers. cool and the river reduces in height and flow. Less height means more snags are exposed, which means more room to cast lures around, making for less snagged lures. Also, the flow of the river slows, which ultimately allows for much better lure fishing opportunities. Both downstream and upstream of Wagga will fish well. Fishing below Wagga will yield more numbers of fish, especially Murray cod. Casting 5/8oz spinnerbaits is by far the go to technique. Make sure you cast them close to the structure and remember to

lure to sink. Once it hits the bottom, give it a flick and slow roll it back. This is the best way to target the large browns that sit down deep in these holes. If you’re after a bit more fun, fish below the rapids in the faster flowing water with spinners, wobblers and small hardbodies. Cast

let them sink in below the structure before retrieving the lure out. Running hardbodies along the length of fallen logs is another great technique. My favourite lures are Mud Guts spinnerbaits, AC Invader 70 and 90mm, Balista Dyno 90 and Strike Force 80mm Cod Stalkers. The best lure colours will vary, so make sure you have options of both bright and dark on hand. I like purple and orange at this time of year to trigger an aggressive fish, but also have natural greens and blacks with purple as well. You never know what will

A slab of a yellowbelly caught on the frog pattern AC Invader. and if you’re keen for a surface fish, this would be the place to go. There are plenty of reserves along the

Mitch Condell with a solid river golden on dusk caught on a Mud Guts spinnerbait.

keep in mind that the creek is flowing slowly, so you’ll be able to cast anywhere in the creek and retrieve your lure back. Make sure you cast everywhere, as chances are there will be submerged structure below and sometimes you catch more fish off hidden structure than the stuff you can see on the bank. TUMUT RIVER Another great place to visit this month is the Tumut River! The flows are low and the trout action is second to none. Casting spinners, Tassies, small soft plastics, gold wobblers and small hardbodies will work wonders. If you’re after large fish and are happy to do more casts for less action, target the deeper holes and use a lure that sinks, such as a 1/6oz soft plastic. Cast into the deep hole and allow the

them into the fast water and retrieve them quickly. Rainbows love these fast flowing areas and will chase down most lures at this time of year. BLOWERING DAM The lake reached low levels over the summer but is slowly on the rise now. It will start to fish well and now is a good time to visit, as it will have been left alone by most anglers who are fishing the rivers. Local native populations will be feeding up ready for the winter ahead, so fishing

I have also been travelling and fishing other areas outside the Wagga Wagga region and one I wanted to touch on quickly is Nagambie Lakes in Victoria. Australia’s largest fishing competition is being held down there at the end of this month and it has over $500,000 in cash and prizes with the angler with the biggest Murray cod taking home $80,000! It’s only a 3.5-hour run down the Hume Highway from here and is well worth entering. I’ve been fishing

You have to love this time of year, floating down the river with good mates! the rocky banks around the wall end will result in good catches of small to mediumsized Murray cod. Trolling 70-120mm hardbodies will be the best option, followed by spinnerbaits. Bait fishing at this time of year can be great,

the lakes lately catching some cracking fish and it’s definitely going to be an incredible competition. So there is plenty happening this April. Whether you stay close to home or hit the road, get out fishing! APRIL 2019

Finally some promising results ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

As we roll towards the autumn break, it’s good to see a few more anglers out on the water and into the fish. The sting of summer is gone and a day on the

shrimp and worms are all accounting for fish. Lake Boga is producing Murray cod to 70cm on trolled lures, and a few golden perch on bait. Good numbers of sizable Murray cod have been landed along the Murray River between Murrabit and Nyah. Several metre plus cod have been caught on trolled

also landed some good size Murray cod this past month in these areas and the fishing should only get better as things begin to cool down. Further down along the Murray River to Boundary Bend anglers are catching good numbers of golden perch on bait and lures. Several cod to 65cm have also muscled in on the lure action and once again, bright-coloured lures are working best. Reports of yabbies in the river are reason enough to break out the nets to chase a feed. While they are not running full on, there are enough to keep

the cooker boiling and the taste buds content. Wemen has golden perch to 48cm on cocktail baits of shrimp and worms. Fishing close to the structure, most anglers are catching a few perch between carp. Murray cod from very small to 65cm have also been landed in the Murray at Wemen on both bait and lures. Around Mildura, golden perch are taking bait near the weir with fresh shrimp and worms working best. It’s a similar story below the weir at Wentworth, with some quality perch landed on both bait and

A solid golden perch caught on a Tubby Minnow lure.

Peter Luczkowski with the 103cm Murray cod he landed on a lure in the Murray River near Mildura. water should be a far more comfortable affair. In the Swan Hill region Lake Charm is producing redfin on local shrimp and white bait. While the biggest fish have been around 500g, they have been about in good numbers. Lake Merrin is also producing redfin, with some solid fish up around the 1kg mark. The redfin at Merrin are taking bobbers, trolled lures and fresh bait. Small yabbies,

lures, with bright coloured StumpJumpers working best. It has been common for anglers to land up to half a dozen cod per session and while they are not all monsters, most are of quality size. The best areas to troll are rocky bottoms and timber clad runs or corners. The water runs quite quickly through this section of the Murray River, so trolling is mostly done with the petrol motor. Bait anglers have

Mildura angler Gareth Lynch with a thumping carp caught in the Murray River on bait.

lures. With good flows going through the Frenchmans Creek regulator, it could be well worth a visit to this location. Good numbers of large golden perch generally bite very well in the flow. Several cod over the metre mark have been landed in the Murray River near Mildura this past month on trolled lures. It’s a good sign and the first big fish reported since the black water a few seasons back. Perhaps the tide has turned and cod fishers can once again hold hope of catching a good cod around Mildura in the Murray River. I guess only time will tell, but until then there are plenty of options and enough fish biting to keep us more than busy.

That heat is hard to beat SNOWY MOUNTAINS

Ant Bentley

Despite now being in the middle of autumn, it still very much feels like summer. Hopefully the coming weeks will bring some rain and much cooler weather. Unfortunately, we are still very hot up here in the mountains. With some very unseasonal warm weather that seems to have been going on forever, the fishing in both the rivers

and local lakes has still been very tough. With low water and still quite high temperatures in the rivers and lake edges, the only real option for productive fishing at the moment is to head as high as you can. The Thredbo River from Skitube upwards is still providing anglers with some reasonable fishing opportunities as the water is a little cooler. Fishing the well oxygenated white water and the spring feeder creeks coming into the larger rivers will be advantageous.

The Snowy River above Island Bend has been somewhat consistent over the summer and has been fishing quite well, as have most of the creeks and streams at the higher altitudes with Perisher, Spencers, and Betts creeks all producing fish on the cooler days. The Mowambah River has seen very slow fishing this season, with low flow and high water temperatures making the trout a little uncomfortable and unwilling to play on most days. Fishing early in the morning or

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right on dusk were the most productive times of the day for the Mowambah, but I would recommend resting this bit of water until the temperatures are well and truly down. There are plenty of snakes around the river edges as well, so be careful where you tread. Lake Jindabyne is just starting to fish okay around the edges, but it is still quite inconsistent and fishing the deeper water from a boat will give you an advantage. Early morning after a cooler night will be a good time to have a look around the shallower water with a fly or lure, but the warmer parts of the day are going to see the fish go into deeper water. Lake Eucumbene is quite low at the moment and is fishing very inconsistently, with boat-based anglers the only ones to be getting anything decent. Fishing the deeper drop-offs and wooded areas are having the best results. Early morning around the edges can be worth a look, but don’t expect to see a lot just yet. I have heard some rumours of midge emerging and balling. Hopefully this weather will cool down and we get some rain very soon! Flies to use are Snowy Mountains Hopper in sizes #12

Andrew Denham recently upgraded his rod and promptly christened it! and #14, Yellow Stimulators in sizes #12 and #14, Parachute Adams in sizes #14 and #16, elk hair caddis in sizes #12 and #14, and black unweighted nymphs in sizes #12 and #16. Lures to use are red Spiners in 3.5g, gold vibes in smaller sizes, and the brighter coloured Tassie Devils also seem to be getting good results. Until we get some cooler weather and some decent rainfall, fishing slowly and carefully will give you an advantage. Limiting your fishing to the early morning or late in the evening will be favourable. The next month or so should hopefully see some early snowfalls (fingers crossed) and hopefully the last part of the season will see some better fishing than we have had during this long

hot summer. •High Country Outfitters has the largest range of fly fishing gear in the Snowy Mountains, with something for every skill level and budget. Brands include Sage, Rio, Redington, Scott, Simms, Patagonia, Loop, TFO, Vision, Hardy, Riverworks, Scientific Anglers, Airflo and McLean nets. There’s also a big range of flies from Manic, Stu Tripney, Mick Hall and Pisces, as well as waders, boots, vests and outdoor apparel. For all the latest information on what’s biting and where, drop into the store at Nuggets Crossing Shopping Centre, Jindabyne. You can also call them on (02) 6456 2989, like them on Facebook or check out their website at highfly.com.au.

Persistence will prove best results this month swimbaits definitely have their place. All lures have their perks, but I’ve found that slow rolling swimbaits

ALBURY/WODONGA

Connor Heir

April would have to be my favourite month of the cod season – the long walks, swagging it rough, boating, kayaking and everything in between. It all makes for an awesome adventure, with the added bonus of catching a big Murray cod! I’ve had my most successful fishing trips in April. Not only for numbers, but their size as well. This may be a coincidence, but it’s a month I have plenty of confidence in for catching these wonderful fish. Depending on what the flow/height of the river

I highly recommend is a ‘text book’ technique. Hardbodies will always be a first choice for me when

This quality Murray cod was taken in tight, shady structure.

Swimbaits are a perfect way to get amongst Murray cod as they provide a natural presentation in the water.

Just one powerful tail kick and they’re back to their home! is doing, river fishing is great this time of year. Good water temperatures along with consistent night and flow rates, should see some really good fishing

opportunities. Techniques and theories tend to differ between most anglers, but a consistent flow definitely helps the success rate when catching Murray

cod, particularly when lure fishing. Like I mentioned last month, surface fishing this time of the year is such an adrenaline rush! However,

in a slight current is very effective for cod. I’m reasonably new to fishing with swimbaits, so I’m certainly no expert on them, however, they have a great natural presentation and, to a hungry feeding fish or aggressive fish, these lures certainly produce success. I’ve had most my success on Jackall swimbaits, although there are many different brands on the market, so go pick your poison - remember don’t be afraid to go big! Another lure style

packing for a cod fishing mission. I love hardbody fishing for cod because they’re so easy to use. If you’re new to cod fishing (or fishing in general) and you want to get into lure fishing, a hardbody would be the first lure to try because they are snagresident and easy to use. A simple slow role against some structure is all you need to do, with a little patience. When in doubt or struggling to get a bite I’ll usually go a hardbody. Keep in mind, Murray cod are predators and will scoff anything down, so you have to be ready for it. i April will reward you if you are patient enough to persist. Cod fishing is something you really need to just keep doing to get the results. You will pick up fish easily at times, others not so much. Don’t loose faith, just enjoy what you’re doing! Spend time with good mates or family, or even alone, just look at what’s around you and take it in.

By-catch is always a welcomed surprise, just like this golden perch.

Oh my cod, the season is now in its prime YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

Autumn is undoubtedly the prime time of year to be fishing Mulwala and we are currently in the middle of one of the hottest bite periods I have ever seen. The old story of having to tie your lure on or put your bait on hiding behind a tree has never been more true! Returns of numbers of cod that range up into the teens and beyond have been reported on a steady basis. Normally the average for the Mulwala is roughly one or two cod per day, but constant effort is seeing most rewarded with at least half a dozen for a day. The anglers who are trolling the 1.5 – 4m range are producing good

numbers, while the switched on younger brigade who are chucking around surface lures, swimbaits and

wakebaits are getting the quality fish. There are no lures that are head and shoulders

Vanessa Bennett with a cracking 102cm cod taken off the surface.

above the rest, but those in the 120-170mm range seem to be doing the damaged on a consistent basis. In store at Fish Camp Ski, Yarrawonga & Mulwala, the Barambah Bidgeewongs and Manic Budgies are selling like hot cakes while the Kuttafurras, Zereks and Westins have plenty of fans. Looking back over February, it’s impossible for me to give everybody a mention who has landed a metery. A few that spring to mind who’ve tangled with some rippers have been Brad Stillard, Mick Crothers, Steve Cannon, Thomas Pinter, Harry Crawford, Dan Wright, Tom Stanton and even the boss ‘VB’ - Vanessa Bennett. Apologies to those I have forgotten. A personal highlight for the month was having a visit from our world travelling French fishing

friend, Matthew ‘Frenchie’ Tourneau. Frenchie spent six days with us wanting to fish every minute of his stay. We managed to put him onto plenty of 40-65cm cod but low and behold, the only day we could not get out with him we loaned him our boat and he returned home with photos of a 96.5cm beauty! The ever popular Lowrance Da$h 4 Ca$h was held mid Feb with record numbers of cod captured, photographed and released. In total, over the three four-hour fishing sessions, 142 anglers landed 117 legal fish. Team Hill Boys, Robert and Nick Hill took the cash Saturday morning with two great cod measuring 98.7 and 73cm. Lake Cargelligo Angling Club team of Derek Davis and Tony Hayward landed a ripper Saturday arvo that went a healthy 105.1cm.

That along with another smaller legal helped them to the arvo session win. Sunday morning was hotly contested, it was team Reel Chase’s Craig Leehane and Daniel Bongo who got the big prize with their beauty that went a touch over 102cms and was caught sixth cast of the morning. • If you’re visiting town I urge you to call in and say G’day at Lake Mulwala Fish Camp & Ski, the shop with the big green cod out the front (Opposite the Post Office) in Mulwala or find us in Yarrawonga located between Rivers and One Zac. We are your largest Murray Cod specific shop in Yarrawonga/ Mulwala and specialize in all things “Green”! For any information on the upcoming events or fishing reports give us a hoy on 03 5744 3133. APRIL 2019

You’ve got to be ‘codding’ me this season both Lake Buffalo and Lake William Hovell during April, as the water in both lakes gets quite low and cools down quickly. Last year and the year before it was Lake Buffalo that I fished the most. Perhaps this year it will be Lake William Hovell’s turn to produce? In both lakes, try fishing

WANGARATTA

Robbie Alexander

Welcome to April in North East Victoria. This month is all about magnificent stable weather, clear low water and the most inconsistent Murray cod fishing that you will find anywhere in the MurrayDarling Basin. MURRAY COD Late summer saw a slowdown in the Murray cod fishing right across North East Victoria. The cod did not shut right down, they just became somewhat inconsistent with their biting, which is what happens in late summer every year in

Brett Corker with a decent Murray cod caught in the Wangaratta area on a jointed Codger surface lure.

A quality trout cod caught by the author on a No.2 StumpJumper in Wangaratta recently. Trout cod tend to bite better than Murray cod as the water temperature drops during autumn. this area. As we head into April, that inconsistency will enhance, with a lot of fishless trips being broken up by some of the best fishing of the year. But when is the best time to target Murray cod in April? When do they switch on and provide us with this amazing fishing? Well, that is the million dollar question. Nobody really knows, but here are a few things that I like to look for.

Strike Tiger – it is slightly bigger than the nymph but not as big and bulky as the 3” curl-tail grub. At this size, the small fish will willingly take it and keep you entertained while you wait for the bigger ones to turn up. Trolling is another great way to pick up April redfin in both lakes. I like the Halco Crazy Deep lures as they are

I love a high barometer of around 1020hpa. In April we start seeing very strong high-pressure systems nudging 1030hpa, but personally I prefer the barometer around 1020hpa. I am basing this on my own previous experiences. I love stability. Not just a high barometer, but a stable barometer. A barometer that stays high for several days is ideal. My favourite time to fish though, is just before a cold

front crosses Victoria and drops the barometer after it has been stable for some time. I love to fish in what I call the ‘build up’ before the front arrives. This is even better if the front delivers a line of thunderstorms. Possibly the worst time to fish for Murray cod is after the front has passed through and the southerly wind is blowing hard. This southerly wind is the very start of the barometer rising again and it may take some time for things to improve and stabilise. Bait fishers using cheese as bait will have the best chance at catching a Murray cod, even if it is a small Murray cod. Lake Mulwala is quite the opposite and April can be a red-hot time to fish down there. TROUT April can be a fantastic time of the year to target trout in North East Victoria. The water is usually very cold all month and the shorter daylight hours usually trigger the trout to start migrating upstream to prepare to spawn in late May.

As the trout are moving around, often the large trout from the deep, hard-toget-to holes find themselves passing through popular campsites and spots that are easy to access. It is for this reason that April is a great time of year to target larger trout. Just because there wasn’t a big trout in your favourite hole during February or March does not mean there won’t be one there during April. During April I like to use one of two different types of lures. Either something small

A small stream brown trout caught on a 75mm Pontoon21 jointed minnow. Don’t be afraid to tie on a larger minnow when targeting trout during April. with tiny yabbies as bait, or live shrimp if you can catch them and keep them alive. If you prefer to fish with lures, try a small soft plastic cast out, allowed to sink and retrieved slowly.

quite well priced and dive to a good depth of around 20ft. Luhr Jensen Hotlips is a lure that has also served me well in both lakes over the years while trolling. Pretty much any small lure around 50mm

Jobe Currie with a magnificent Murray cod caught on cheese in the Ovens River. Bait fishing will be the easiest way to catch a Murray cod during April.

Jaden Lloyd and Jobe Currie holding up a large carp caught by Jaden in the Ovens River. 62

APRIL 2019

and fluorescent coloured like an orange Super Vibrax spinner or a Strike Tiger Nymph in orange spawn colour, or a larger minnow that may resemble a small fish that a pre-spawning wild trout may see as a threat and strike out of aggression. Don’t be afraid to tie on a long skinny minnow of some description, longer than you would normally use. REDFIN April is a great time of the year to target redfin, in fact it is probably my favourite. Every year the redfin bite really well in

I like to twitch my rod tip during my retrieve to impart some action into my soft plastic, making it look a bit more lifelike. I am sure there is a fancy name for this type of retrieve but I do not know what it is. I prefer to be actually fishing rather than making up fancy names for fancy retrieves. Maybe it is a flick-twitchmedium roll with an inverted twerk retrieve? My favourite redfin soft plastic is the Strike Tiger 1.5” curl-tail grub in whitebait pearl colour. This is a relatively new model for

in length that has the ability to dive down really deep is worth a try in both lakes. As the water is really clear in both lakes I like to troll deep, usually around 20ft. In saying that, as the lakes drop the water dirties up a bit and it is possible to troll redfin in shallower water. SUMMARY So to sum it up, the Murray cod fishing becomes inconsistent in the rivers during April but it remains great in Lake Mulwala. It is also a great time to target trout and redfin in North East Victoria.

Autumn fishing will be dandy at Nagambie NAGAMBIE

Paul Thomas

The Nagambie Lakes region will continue to be a popular fishing destination during April and May. With its close proximity to Melbourne and the consistent stocking program in place, it is fast becoming one the best native fisheries in the state. Currently water quality throughout the area is very good and all manner of angling methods have been successful. Although water flows have been high to meet demands downstream, finding

creek using the same methods, but upsize your lures. Casting medium size surface lures one hour either side of sunrise and sunset will also put you in with a good chance of landing a resident green fish. MITCHELLSTOWN Fishing in the Mitchellstown area of the river has been a little slow due to the high volumes of cooler water being sent down the river from Lake Eildon. Anglers willing to tolerate the lower productivity are still catching Murray cod, golden perch and the occasional redfin, but they are generally rewarded with quality fish

redfin and yellowbelly from the boardwalk. In the river section close to the caravan park, anglers trolling large hardbody lures such as size 1 Stumpjumpers, AC Invaders and large Oar-Gee Plows have landed Murray cod to 96cm. Casting surface lures like Mega Pompadours to the edges out of the main flow early morning and late evening has also seen good size Murray cod hit the deck, with one angler landing six in one session up to 78cm. Anglers using worms and locally sourced shrimp have been consistent catching yellowbelly to 45cm. A Bailey Thomas, one half of Flumen Fishing, with a nifty golden caught on a Bullet Lures hardbody lure.

Sunny Martins with a decent golden perch. There are plenty of good fish around if you can find areas of quieter water out of the main flow. those pockets out of the main current has been the key to finding a few fish. MAJORS CREEK With the new boat ramp now finished at Majors Creek Reserve, launching a vessel has become a breeze for those wishing to explore this section of the Nagambie Lakes system. The creek itself can produce very good results for those willing to put the time in and persist, resisting the temptation to head out into the river to chase larger prey. Good numbers of yellowbelly have been caught in the creek by anglers casting lipless crankbaits, lightweight spinnerbaits and small hardbodies to the multitude of structure that lines each side of the waterway. Murray cod can also be caught in the

when landed. As irrigation requirements slow, the fishing should only improve. Using baits such as cheese, chicken, large yabbies and bardi grubs around the drowned timber has produced Murray cod to 75cm and trolling large bibbed hardbody lures is picking up slightly larger fish. For yellowbelly, the methods have been bait fishing with worms or casting lipless crankbaits and smaller spinnerbaits around the reeds and fallen twiggy trees. NAGAMBIE LAKE Without a doubt, the area around the main lake has been the most productive over the last month. Bank anglers bait fishing with worms and also casting small profile lures out across the shallow weed beds have caught good numbers of

cocktail of both these baits on the one hook bobbed around the abundant willows and the heads of the big fallen trees is dynamite when targeting this species. KIRWANS BRIDGE Due to increased pressure around the Kirwans Bridge area from anglers pre-fishing and preparing for upcoming events, the productivity in this section has suffered a little. The local natives in this area have become slightly gun shy, to the point they will follow your cast lure right to the boat only to turn away, apparently uninterested. Extra casts into snag, a slower retrieve or change in presentation may be required to convince the

finicky fish to bite. I have found that adding a little scent to lures can help when the fish are in this mood. On a recent trip with the team from Flumen Fishing, (Sunny and Bailey) we managed seven Murray cod and two yellowbelly between us. Three of the Murray cod measured 60cm with the rest between 47-57cm. The two yellowbelly were 38 and 43cm. All fish were caught casting a variety of different lures, including medium hardbodies, spinnerbaits and Jackall Doozers. Best colours for the day were purple, chartruese, white and orange. Interestingly all fish were landed during a 3.5 hour

The author with a better quality fish from the Nagambie system.

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bite window from 8:30am to 12:00pm, with few enquiries after that. So, it pays to spend the whole day on the water when possible, as you just never know when they might go off. Joe from the Nagambie Angling Club also had a successful morning landing five yellowbelly to 41cm on shrimp as well as five undersized Murray cod. WRAP UP April should continue to produce good results throughout the entire Nagambie Lakes system. Provided we don’t experience any significant rain events and river flows continue to ease, water clarity should remain good. It is during this time the big girls start to move as they prepare to bulk up for winter. My personal best cod from the area have all come from the months March, April and May. Casting big spinnerbaits, hardbodies and surface lures around the biggest timber you can find will eventually bring one of the larger green locals undone. So, whether you like bobbing a few shrimp around the trees for redfin and yellowbelly, sitting back as you troll the river for a cod or two or maybe casting into the evening with surface lures anticipating that unmistakable boof from a big resident green fish, Nagambie Lakes has it all on offer. The fish are there, just waiting to be caught. Please remember to ‘limit your catch, not catch your limit.’

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Gearing up for the Challenge EILDON

Peter Burtchell

Early February saw cod, big cod and more big cod landed from one of the deepest parts of Lake Eildon at Jerusalem Creek. Trevor, who regularly visits Jerusalem Creek, landed a 107cm, 97cm and 91cm Murray cod from the rear deck of his Boatel in a 2.5-hour mid afternoon session using sausages as bait. Mid February saw the Jack Harder fishing guides on the money, with a 2-hour Friday evening tour landing six Murray cod and the Saturday 2-hour evening tour landing eight, all within the Jerusalem Creek Arm. Fluoro colour 15ft divers were used because the summer boating activities were increasing the turbidity of the water. Late February saw Josh Henderson join the Metre Club. Pushing for time to get back to the café for dinner, with his last cast he landed a nice 105cm Murray cod. Trolling, flicking and bait fishing out from Jerusalem Creek into the Big River and Goulburn Arms saw Murray

cod over the metre mark being landed regularly during the same period. The Victorian Fishing Authority ran their Lake Eildon Electrofishing Survey Operations from the boatels at Jerusalem Creek. Their results will be out soon and in the interim they have provided us with the following report. Cod almighty, Lake Eildon’s Murray cod fishery is in amazing shape! During

recent electrofishing surveys, more than 300 Murray cod were caught, measured, weighed and released. Sizes ranged from recently stocked 3cm fingerlings, all the way up to a 111cm 30kg monster! Cod over 35cm were tagged before their release. Anglers who catch tagged cod are encouraged to report the details so we can all learn about cod growth and movement in Eildon. People

the Jerusalem Creek Arm, where they are taking worms, yabbies, spinnerbaits, and smaller hardbodied lures. Even during the heat the young Hornstra twins managed to land 10 brown trout up to 44cm in an evening’s casting session along the Jerusalem Creek Arm using various colours of Mapso Spoon spinners. Northerly winds had pushed a lot of baitfish into the arm earlier in the week, making for great fishing. Smaller Murray cod catches have slowed somewhat in the last week, with the big cod fighting for new real estate as the irrigation season reduces lake levels. With so many big fish moving down to the next level of ambush structure, the smaller 45-80cm Murray cod have retreated to deeper water and will remain there until the turf wars have waned. Territorial battles take a lot of muscle and use a lot of energy which leads to an increase in appetite, so April

Jamie Smith from Melbourne Marine Centre with a yellowbelly taken from the Jerusalem Creek arm on a Megabass Bait X.

This 75cm cod was caught right on sunset on a 1oz Bassman Creature Series spinnerbait with a soft plastic trailer and stinger hook added.

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who attended the electrofishing demo by the Arthur Rylah Institute also got to see firsthand the techniques used and ask questions of experts on native fish. While we’re still compiling the full results, early indications are the cod in Eildon are bigger and better than ever, meaning anglers have a great chance at catching that trophy metery! Might be time to plan a trip to Eildon, cod lovers! The VFA were amazed as to how many yellowbelly were resident in the Jerusalem Creek Inlet. The large number of yellowbelly being electrofished hampered their Murray cod tagging efforts somewhat, however they were very pleased with the prolific resident population. Some of the best yellowbelly fishing still remains along the mud banks to the far end of

Bailey with a 48cm cod caught on a 65mm Bullet lure cast to bankside structure. is looking good for fishers to round up a metery or two. The mud banks on the east side of Jerusalem Creek and Wilson’s inlet will fire soon, with the last of the summer season yabbies being the favourite

food source for both Murray cod and yellowbelly. For the month of May, Jerusalem Creek will host the Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge. Run over three days from 15-17 May 2019,

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Paul Thomas with his first ever Eildon cod caught off the surface. It took a 170mm Koolabung Cod Cracker.

the competition covers all fish species in the lake, and all proceeds go to Variety Australia, to help kids in need. Guest speakers at the event include Taylor Hunt (Fisheries Manager for Victorian Fisheries Authority), Brenda Galey (owner and guide of MsGuided Fly Fishing), and Jack Harder (our local Murray cod guide). With over $25,000 in prizes, this year’s event will be a cracker! Jerusalem Creek Marina & Holiday Park is a friendly, family-orientated caravan park, and makes the perfect home away from home. While there you can opt to hire one of their Boatel floating apartments, hire a boat or book a fishing guide at competitive prices. For more information on all of these services and other attractions in the area, visit jerusalemcreek.com.au, or give them a call on (03) 5774 2585 or email info@ jerusalemcreek.com.au.

The cooler weather has changes brewing SHEPPARTON

Nick Brown teamriverrats@hotmail.com

Just like this time last year, it has been a very dry period leading into autumn this didn’t see the rivers drop off fishing or water weight wise. The environmental flows have seen the river running a lot harder, which has made fishing a little more difficult but also has made the fishing enjoyable. There have been plenty of reports of high numbers of smaller fish being caught in the Goulburn River from Bunbartha to Toolamba. Best methods have been bait fishing deep in the timber, almost letting your bait drift hard into the snags and letting it move around in the current. There have been reports of 10-12 cod being caught in a day’s fishing out towards Rafterys Road with the average size being around the 40cm mark. Those using lures such as Old Mates and Codgers either casting or trolling have had some luck behind Aquamoves just upstream of the main boat ramp. Spinnerbaits on the

edges of sandbars has also been working well for those chasing yellowbelly with red and black being the best colour. With Easter late this month we will see less numbers of fish reported, but hopefully more quality reports. The smaller fish seem to drop off the bite as the cold sets in. If you’re putting in the long hours I would go as big as possible with your baits and lures because the smaller bites are just not there, so you may as well maximize your chances of a monster. The big Goodo Baits and Coddogs will be the lured of choice this autumn as both have been producing good fish all over the state. The Broken River has fished pretty well recently, with good numbers of fish still being caught on surface lures as well as spinnerbaits throughout the day. Those bait fishing have reported a lot of carp being caught down towards the junction in south Shepparton. KIALLA LAKES There has been some work done to the edges of the lake with some new rocks being placed around some of the banks to ensure the

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stability of the edges. This will have caused a bit of a stir with some of the rocks rolling into the water giving the smaller fish and yabbies some extra structure to hide in. This will be an instant fish attractant in those areas with smaller yellowbelly. They are being caught just off the edges in around 4ft on small vibes and spinners. Other areas of the lake are still fishing well with slow rolling Tn50s or spinnerbaits around the small sound bars working well. Bait fishing has also had some success, but mostly at the second lake opposite the playground. Casting unweighted heaps of worms or shrimp at the weed edges has worked well. With the weather hopefully cooling off the fishing will stay good up until about mid-April and once we get a few frosty morning’s it’s almost a sign to avoid Kialla for a few months. WARANGA BASIN With the blue green algae outbreak in the Waranga Basin it’s been hard to get a good report of how it’s fishing. Prior to the outbreak there was plenty of concern on how

low the lake was and in spots some fishos have been thrown off by areas that are normally deep that are currently really low. Some areas you could be 50m from the bank but still in 3ft of water, so be very careful when boating. Redfin were being caught around the wall trolling small codgers or lipless crankbaits in the shallows. Casting vibes and plastics around the points and drop-offs was still a deadly way to land a feed of reddies. If we do get some rain the fish might move up into the shallows to feed on all the run-off as it will create a hotspot for the fish. Drifting baits in around 8ft has worked well in past autumns and I can’t see why this autumn won’t be the same. If you can add some silver or gold beads or even some foil above your baits it will help attract the fish. CRAIGMUIR LAKE Just like Kialla Lakes, time is running out for fishing at Craigmuir before it gets too cold. Hopping vibes and plastics around the weed edges is still working well with lightweight spinners also working well burning across

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the top on the weed. Bait fishing off the bank can be hard with the weed but smothering the bait in scents can help attract the fish. LOCAL CHANNELS This time of year I always stress about writing about the local channels as I always talk up how good they are and as soon as the article comes out they get dropped. So, I am not making that mistake this year. Up until I wrote this article the channels were still fishing well. From Katandra to Wahring, the Main Eastern has been producing cod and yellowbelly, all around legal size. Surprisingly the fish seem to be on the bite all throughout the day, which has been different to recent years when mornings and evenings were the best bite times. Around the flowing water the fish seem to just bite all day. I recently caught a handful of fish in the hottest part of the day, which is something I am not used to. Casting TN50s or 60s with a beetle spin is the go-to lure combo in the channels. You can catch a range of sizes and species on these lures. The technique I found that

has worked best is the slow roll with a five second pause once it has hit the bottom. I have had countless bites either on the drop or as soon as I have lifted the rod tip after the pause. Now I spoke about the channels being drained, well if this happens in April there will still be easily accessible areas to fish. The water levels are a lot lower, so smaller less weighted lures or baits are a must or else you won’t keep the lure in the fish’s face for long enough or you will just drag up a heap of mud. Most bridges hold water over the cooler months, so jump in the car and stop bridge to bridge until you find the fish. SHEPPARTON LAKE Those fishing the lake from kayak or boats have been catching some good-sized yellowbelly on spinners and vibes. It’s very tricky with the weed, but if you can find some banks with less weed and you fish those edges you will be in for some good fishing. Trout will start becoming more regular on the catch list with small spinners the best way to target the trout on lures, or floating worms or PowerBait for the bait fishers.

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Why not experience the al-lure of Ballarat? BALLARAT

Shane Stevens

Just when we thought we were going to get some cooler weather, given that autumn is here, our region decided that it wasn’t ready for a change of season yet. The Ballarat region – and all over Victoria, South Australia and NSW – has been torched with searing temperatures around the mid 30’s to 40°C. This has certainly quietened down the fishing action at our Ballarat. The heat, high water temperatures and dropping water levels have affected the fishing for many anglers; it has also reduced the number of angler that have been hitting our waterways significantly. Those anglers who have been fishing have been rewarded for their efforts, especially if they go at the right times (early morning and evenings) when it is cooler for them and the insect and food sources that the trout and redfin eat start to hatch and move around.

Moorabool Reservoir has been fishing well over the past month for anglers who have been venturing out on evening and first light. Andrew Borg and Grant Gordon, both locals from the area, have been having a ball fly fishing the evenings. Andrew has taken Grant under his wing as he is new to the sport of fly fishing. Andrew has said the fish are coming in close

and then after dark a quick change of fly patterns to a Craig’s Nighttime. The brown and rainbow trout start feeding on the mudeye imitation fly pattern, obviously when the mudeye start to hatch. The hatches have been lasting about half an hour to an hour, then the fish disappear Andrew said it’s awesome fun during that period. The boys have landed some awesome

Andrew Borg landed a lovely 54cm brown trout from Moorabool Reservoir on a black beetle fly pattern. Photo courtesy of Andrew Borg.

A selection of hardbody, surface lures and soft plastics to use on Wendouree and surrounding waters over the coming months. to shore, feeding initially on stick caddis. Then a few black beetles appear before dark, which they feed on with gusto

Steve Angee with a lovely Wendouree redfin caught on a mudeye suspended under a bubble float. Photo courtesy of Steve Angee.

brown trout up to 54cm and rainbows mid to high 40s and all fish are in excellent condition. Andrew mentioned that he has seen other anglers fishing bait and lures catching some quality trout as well. The Moorabool Reservoir will fish well over the next month, especially when the weather cools down a bit. Trout are certainly looking for food now and when it’s about they will feed up even more in readiness for their breeding season in a few months time. The fishing on Lake Wendouree has been a bit quiet, once again due to the weather. Steve Angee has been catching a few redfin on mudeyes suspended under floats fishing from the boat and Ryan Carol has been nailing a few lovely redfin on

DAM LEVELS Dam............................... % Full

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

LAKE/DAM

Jan Feb March

Cairn Curran

LAKE/DAM Jan Feb March Mulwala (Yarrawonga) 93 98 91 Newlyn 75 57 40 Nillahcootie 50 43 35 Rocklands 31 30 27 Tantangara 47 46 39 Taylors 53 51 42 Tullaroop 43 39 36 Waranga 23 21 21 Wartook 56 51 39 William Hovell 99 84 63

39 36

Dartmouth 70 70 63 Eildon

54 47 41

Eppalock

48 45 52

Eucumbene 21 26 25 Fyans

72 69 60

Hepburn

61 46 35

Hume

37 32 25

Jindabyne 70 83 81 Lauriston

85 83 74

(All levels correct at time of going to press. Dam levels can change at any time, so please check with local authorities to ensure safe boating and fishing.) 66

APRIL 2019

surface lures and soft plastics fishing from the shore. Wendouree specialist, Ben Young has been snaring a few trout and redfin on recent trips casting hardbodied lures and plastics. He mentioned it’s been relatively quiet compared to last year with the water surface temperatures sitting around that 23-24°C mark. Ben mentioned that on one of his recent trips he thought he’d snagged into a real thumper who fought like crazy only to be disappointed when they netted it – a 54cm tench on a small hardbodied lure. Lake Wendouree has a good population of tench that certainly grow very well. Many anglers have been catching them on fly, worms and now on lures. The tench are not a very good fish to eat and by all reports most are caught and released. Lake Wendouree will start to fire up over the next few months, like everywhere else around the district, when the temperatures cool down. I do harp on this temperature stuff as due to the shallow nature of our waterways, water temperatures play a massive part in how the fishing action is going, especially the trout. The cooler the water the happier the trout are and they will actively feed. When it’s hot they sit on the bottom and sulk. Over the coming few

months the lure fishers will come into their own, either casting or trolling lures out of the boat or casting plastics and lures from the shore. Trout and redfin will actively be feeding, and once again small hardbodied lures and surface

mayfly hatches that normally occur in the end of March through to the end of April and early May. There are exciting times ahead for all anglers, whatever your method is. At Newlyn Reservoir the water level is certainly dropping, with the road in the northwestern end of the reservoir being exposed now; this is due to irrigation requirements that happen every year. The road is certainly a fishing platform that opens up a lot of options for anglers who like to fish Newlyn’s margins, as there is a significant drop-off that the fish will cruise along. Anglers who like to fish mudeye, a bunch of worms, or cast lures or flies use this drop-off to their advantage while the water level is low. The fish seem to cruise along this drop-off looking for food. It’s not the only spot to fish, as there is plenty of clear water

Ben Young thought he latched onto a massive trout only to be disappointed at the net with a 54cm tench that took a small hardbodied lure. Photo courtesy of Wayne Rigg. lures like my favourite Bent Minnows will be devoured and soft plastics will be on the menu as well. The fly fishers are looking forward to the

Ryan Carroll nailed this magnificent redfin landbased from Lake Wendouree. An Ecogear Power Shad soft plastic brought this redfin undone.

around – you just have to cast out over the weed into the open water to catch some lovely trout or redfin. Fishing in Newlyn will improve over the coming months with a few mayfly starting to hatch on the overcast days for the fly fishers,and the trout and redfin should start chasing a few smelt in around the edges. Steve Angee has been catching quite a few redfin fishing the deeper edges and drop-off at Cosgroves Reservoir. Cosgroves is fairly small and located at Creswick, about 15 minutes from Ballarat, and it is a landbased fishery with no wading allowed. Cosgroves generally fishes well this time of year with the redfin being on the chew. Steve has been casting soft plastics and hardbodied lures, and he mentioned there are a few small ones with the odd good one thrown in as well. He’s been getting a good feed most trips.

Get ‘reddy’ to rumble this April CRATER LAKES

Rod Shepherd

Down my way one great aspect about autumn fishing is that redfin at Lake Purrumbete have schooled up and can now be caught in large numbers. This will carry on throughout the cooler months, and as long as the barometer is up and you have a few hours up your sleeve then you should have no trouble in picking up an ethical feed of freshwater fish. Reddies can be found anywhere from 12-17m

depth, and a depth sounder really helps identify a school as they look like an misshapen cloud coming off the bottom. It pays to locate a school as you have to be right on top of it to be able to bottom bounce either bait such as live minnow or worm, or jigging metal vibes, spoons or soft plastics. Anchoring up and lowering a small berley bucket with chopped pilchard and dry berley will keep the school in your direct vicinity. If your boat doesn’t have a sounder, try drifting and jigging roughly 10-15m out from the bank until a fish or two has been picked up, then

gently lower the anchor. This last method works just as well as long as the winds are light or non-existent. Anywhere around the lake will produce redfin. Once located it’s just a matter of waiting for redfin to switch on. Jigging a lure or live bait amongst a school is a sure way to fire them up. At the start of redfin season the fish tend to be on the smaller size with the bigger ones measuring between 25-30cm, but as we progress into winter expect fish catches to average from 32-38cm. In recent weeks several

The reddies were all over Magbite Snatchbite 3” shads jigged just off the bottom on a 1/6oz jighead.

good reports have come in regarding some serious brown trout being hooked and boated. The best so far pulled the scales down to 10lb 11oz. That’s one serious fish and it took 15 minutes to play and land. Most fish are taken trolling lures and as the water temperature drops flatlining is overtaking down rigging. Lake Bullen Merri is still consistent for Chinook salmon despite the blue green algae. The fish being brought aboard seem healthy, even though the authorities are requesting that no one keep them for the table. Hopefully the cooler weather accompanied by some decent rainfall will once again dissipate the algal outbreak. The chooks are coming in all sizes and weights with the biggest ones pushing 60cm in length. Most are being taken trolling (mostly flatlining) with depths from 5-8m being favoured. The fish have been caught throughout the day with some boaters trying from first light only to find the fishing quiet until midday onwards. The fish seem to come on the chew throughout the afternoon. This may not be the norm but I’ve heard this firsthand from quite a few anglers in the know. A few decent trout

As we move into the cooler months, redfin catches will become more frequent with bigger sizes a real possibility. have been caught out of the Hopkins River from below the falls all the way to Allansford. The serious by-catch has been some solid estuary perch that are well known to spend the majority of their lifespans in the freshwater reaches of the river. Flicking a wide variety of minnow lures of the floating variety has been the go. Some are using soft plastics but can run the risk of snagging up on a heap of scrap lying on the bottom. Those who practice casting plastics, try to keep the lure off the bottom with little or no pauses on the retrieve. Using very light jigheads also helps, but does reduce casting distance.

Lake Bolac is a lake under stress and only cooler temperatures and rainfall will help. Numerous and, thankfully, small fish kills have occurred recently. The fish have mainly been 2yo rainbow trout. It seems the stocking of estuary perch here in recent years has failed. Not that long ago Fisheries employed a mob of electro fishing professionals to attempt to net any perch left. Over 120 fish were caught and relocated to Hamilton Lake, which is deeper and cooler. Perch have been stocked here for almost as long as Bolac and have thrived. The perch relocated varied in length from 15-34cm.

Autumn will bring on amazing fishing times BENDIGO

Roger Miles codhuntertours@bigpond.com

April is a great time of year to spend some time fishing. There are several factors that make this one of my favourite months. Firstly, water clarity is often very good at this time of year. The weather patterns also tend to change during this month and this is where we often start to see a trend of slow moving high-pressure systems moving across the state. This produces ideal fishing temperatures combined with increased days with reduced wind. This makes for a perfect recipe to go fishing. LAKE EPPALOCK The fishing at Lake Eppalock remains good but it is not easy. Redfin continue to make up the majority of anglers’ captures. The most productive depth ranges have continued to be in deep water over 10m. Over the last few weeks bait fishing for redfin with small yabbies and worms has proved to be more productive than lure fishing for the majority of anglers. The few anglers that have been doing well with

lures have been trolling deep diving hardbody lures or casting soft plastics. As the trend has been all this season at Lake Eppalock, the hardest part of the redfin fishing has been locating a good concentration of fish. Anglers need to be prepared to move around a lot and fish several locations in order to locate good concentrations of fish. There continues to be small numbers of golden perch being caught at Lake Eppalock. Productive techniques for the golden perch have been bait fishing around the

standing timber, trolling deep diving hardbody lures over submerged timber and casting lipless crankbaits around the standing timber. We should see a slight increase in the number of golden perch being caught at this location over the next couple of months. It will pay to start thinking about targeting some trout at Lake Eppalock next month. There have been some good stockings of trout into Lake Eppalock over the last few seasons. As the water temperatures start to cool the trout will move into shallower

water and start feeding more aggressively. CAMPASPE RIVER The fishing in the Campaspe River has been good over the last month. The productive fishing should continue to be good this month. Water clarity remains good but will vary depending on the volume of water being released from Lake Eppalock. I often find the fishing to be more productive in the Campaspe River when the amount of water being released is lower. During periods of higher

This double hook-up of redfin was caught at Lake Eppalock on a Custom Crafted Bass Hunter.

flows often the productivity in the fishing is lower. Golden perch are making up the majority of anglers’ captures. Casting medium sized hardbody lures and lipless crankbaits have been good options. Small numbers of Murray cod continue to be caught in the Campaspe River. Good lure options for the Murray cod have been a combination of spinnerbaits, hardbody lures, lipless crankbaits, surface lures and swimbaits. The majority of Murray cod being caught continue to be during period of low light. Surface lures and swimbaits have been the most productive options in low light conditions. CAIRN CURRAN Water clarity continues to be poor at this location. The fishing remains average. A combination of golden perch and redfin are making up the majority of anglers’ captures. The most productive method continues to be bait fishing. The most productive area for the golden perch has been fishing in the middle section of the lake around the standing timber. Some reasonable concentrations of redfin have also been caught by this technique. Fishing in depth ranges of 3-4m around points has also been

producing some redfin. For those anglers fishing this location with lures, bright colours such as pink, orange and chartreuse have been the best options. LODDON RIVER The fishing in the Loddon River remains good. Water clarity continues to be patchy depending on the volumes of water being released from Cairn Curran and Laanecoorie. The water clarity has been worst in the sections directly below these impoundments. Further downstream at Bridgewater and Serpentine the water clarity has been good majority of the time. Golden perch catches are common in this area. Good options for targeting golden perch have been casting lipless crankbaits and casting suspending hardbody lures. The number of Murray cod caught has been significantly lower than the golden perch. Still, anglers have landed some quality Murray cod measuring over the metre. The majority of these larger fish have been caught after dark, with surface lures and swimbaits being the most productive lure choices during these times. APRIL 2019

Pre-spawn trout awaiting autumn rainfall WST/STH GIPPSLAND

Steve Haughton steve@habitatcreations.com.au

Winter is dawning upon us with fewer daylight hours, and we say farewell to daylight savings on April 7. The question this month on everyone’s lips is “will we get the autumn break this region so desperately needs?” Streams and rivers are flowing very low with very little rainfall hitting the catchment over summer, following a dry spring last year. The water level at Blue Rock Lake is also dropping but still holds plenty of water for recreation. Historically the bass shut down feeding when the lake levels drop so it will be interesting to see what they do over the coming month. With streams and rivers low, trout are still about and likely hiding in cool well-oxygenated water. The bigger fish may have moved on but there’ll still be plenty of small trout about providing fun for anglers on light gear.

Strolling or wading a trout stream set amongst a dry bushland backdrop is a great way to escape and spend the weekend. Brown and rainbow trout are generally lively this time of year as the quest for food helps them prepare their body condition for the journey upstream for spawning which starts anytime from now through to June; it’s all dependant on the rain. Techniques for stream trout vary but often a simple set up is all you need. Lures to include in the tackle bag are soft plastic wriggler grubs with light jigheads, small spinner blades and hardbody minnows. Use sinking or suspending hardbody minnows for deeper pools and runs, and use a floating hardbody for most of your shallow runs and pools. Anglers casting lures can use an all-rounder rod and reel combo. A 6-7ft rod with a line class of 4-8lb fitted with a 1000-2500 size reel will do the trick. This is a great versatile set-up, perfect for drifting livebaits downstream, fishing

baits under a float or fishing baits off the bottom – all of which are productive techniques for catching and releasing pre-spawn trout. This same outfit is also ideal for Blue Rock Lake too. Trout are aggressive feeders so anything well presented in their feeding zone is fair game. Fly fishing is the pinnacle of skill and patience for stream trout fishing. As the streams flow and begin to increase with more rain, many fly anglers will be nymphing, using the everpopular black bead-headed nymph. Attaching a dry fly indicator with a bit of flare and colour has also helped anglers have a productive day out on the streams. This month, Blue Rock Lake should be a bit of fun as trout become more active on the surface. Bass are still very active and will start to head to deeper water as the temperature drops. As we approach winterlike conditions, casting lures will be replaced with sounding up schools of both bass and redfin and using jigs to entice them. Be sure

The author with a healthy 40cm bass caught on a spinnerbait. The Blue Rock Angling Club recently had an event where multiple 40cm+ bass were caught and released on various techniques. that if we do get an autumn break and the lake begins to rise, there might be some very exciting fishing for landbased anglers as

fish begin patrolling the shoreline for new food as the water levels rise. Feel free to send me a report or photo, particularly

if you have any success stories fishing over the Easter break and please email me any questions. Happy fishing!

The rivers are low, so lake fishing is the go CTL GIPPSLAND

Will Thompson allwaysangling@bigpond.com

Obviously the creek and river reports aren’t real flash of late, solely due to the fact that our

small streams are barely running due to the severe lack of rain. For this reason, Gippy freshwater anglers have opted to target our local lakes such as Blue Rock Lake and Glenmaggie. These lakes have been our

saving grace as they are all heavily stocked with Aussie bass and they have been going very well. Blue Rock Lake has been fishing particularly well. There has been a daytime bite, especially when using worms or lures

Paul Landmeter with two cracking Blue Rock bass, one measuring 44cm and the other 37cm. They were caught on Rapala Shadow Deep lures. 68

APRIL 2019

that run deep such as soft plastics, heavy spinnerbaits or vibes. The main lake and up the river have been producing bass and there seems to be plenty around the 25cm to 30cm bracket, and a few bigger 35cm plus models getting caught too. The evening bite has been sensational, with cicada style lures working a treat. They can be cast into the snags surrounding the banks and bays and that will get fish, but on the warmer evenings bass have been rising like trout and a simple cast out away from the edges and a slow roll back with a cicada has been working a treat well into darkness. The last technique to try is trolling. You can use any lure, however, something heavier or that dives deeper has been working well lately. This season I’ve seen more bass caught on dry fly than I’ve seen before and small Dahlburg Divers or Hopper patterns have been working in the last part of the day. Over the next month the topwater bite will be unpredictable and will depend largely on what weather patterns we get. If we get some hot days we should still be able to use topwater lures until the water temperatures drop, however, if it cooled down the bass will start holding

A double hook-up of Blue Rock bass on Tiemco Soft Shell Cicada lures. up a bit deeper. • 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.

Weather is cooling, but trout are heating up! move into shallower water, which is making them easier to target. Drifting through trees, or using an electric motor and casting soft plastics and vibes has been effective. If you’re lucky you may find a good school and can tie up/ anchor and keep casting at them. Bait fishers have been doing well drifting with

HORSHAM

Liam Lannen

The time is here for all fly fishers and trout fishos to blow the cobwebs off the gear and get back into it! Grampians lakes are producing lovely trout and redfin of late. Lake Fyans has been producing some beautiful trout and redfin this month, with boater and land-based anglers scoring success. The better technique for trout has been trolling hardbodied lures such as Rapala Minnows, Daiwa Double Clutches and winged lures like of Tassie Devils in a range of colours. The bait fishers have been doing well tying up to trees and drifting mudeye over weedbeds and

fishing has slowed down, but patient fishos are still managing to land some beauties. Cod seem to be holding close to timber, so casting lures into trees has been bringing a few unstuck. Yellas are still there and anglers have been landing a few on bait and lure. Bait fishers have been

casting hardbodies and spinnerbaits along snags and drop-offs has been best. Catfish have been going well with quite a few admirable ones being caught, and fishing worms at twilight along dropoffs and snags has been really good. Lakes to look out for are Lake Wallace,

Daniel Bowell cracked this trophy cod at Taylors, measuring a whopping 102cm.

Al Vanstan with a cracker Wimmera River catfish. Twilight has been the most productive time to target them.

in amounst timber. For the people wanting to target redfin, Fyan is definitely worth a crack, with some whoppers coming out over the last month. Drifting while casting soft plastics and hardbodies has been very effective. The best areas to target are treelines, weedbed and cumbungi edges. These areas have been producing some beautiful fish up to the high 40s. The best soft plastics are minnow style in bloodworm and pumpkin seed, and the better hardbodies have been Dawia Double Clutch in a range of colours. These Double Clutches are great and are a must have if you live in the Wimmera area. Rocklands Reservoir is still producing bags of redfin if you want to put the effort in. The fish are on the

The author with a lovely redfin at 42cm. Lake Fyans is the best place to have a crack at these fish. live minnow. Tying up to trees and dropping them down, waiting 10 minutes and moving onto the next tree until you can find a school has been proving productive. Trolling diving minnows is another good option. Trolling lures like StumpJumpers and Rapala shad Raps along treelines and in amongst trees is great if you can do it safely. At Taylors Lake

doing well using worms and yabbies in various locations. You have just got to keep moving until you find fish. Lure fishers have been having success trolling through trees and

Toolondo and Bellfied as some good fishing should be on the way. That wraps up this month’s report. Make sure you all continue to keep safe, follow all boating

Autumn is the season for redfin MELBOURNE METRO

Dylan Brennan

Suburban stocked lakes like Rowville and Karkarook will begin to fish a bit better for trout from now on. With the water temperature cooling down rainbow trout will begin to feed more actively for longer periods of the day. This means that you can head down to the lake on a cool autumn day with the hope of finding a trout or two at any stage of the day. With school holidays looming, the lakes should also see a boost stocking of rainbows to kick the fishing along. With two rods in your arsenal, you should be fishing one rod with a dough bait and coarse rig, and perhaps a

lure of some sort on the second. Having different bait and lure set-ups will help determine what technique will be more effective on the day; and by fishing a small lure or plastic around the lake margins you will also pick up the odd trout or redfin as well. Sugarloaf Reservoir has flown under the radar a bit, but it has been producing some goldens as the weather has cooled off a bit. This is really the last window of high feeding activity for the lake, as the fish will shut off through the winter months. They can still be caught with more persistence, but with less consistency than previous months. As the lake is an artificial bait water only, lure fishing the banks is the way to go. The best tactics to pin a golden perch or two before the colder months is to target

the standing timber just out from the shoreline. The fish will school up around the flooded branches and this is where you want to target. Sinking lures like vibes or plastics are the way to go when targeting the vertical timber, just make sure to keep ‘in touch’ with the lure by letting it sink on a tight line. This will transmit any small bite or snag bump and let you act accordingly. Over at Auravale Lake there have been some decent redfin caught as the mercury has dropped. Auravale Lake is situated roughly halfway between Narre Warren and Emerald and is actually part of a drainage system connected to Cardinia Reservoir. While the main reservoir itself is out of bounds for fishing, Auravale Lake can be fished from the southern shoreline.

Autumn normally produces some larger redfin here as they start to school up before winter. A good way to catch the reddies is to pack a small bag with some lures and walk around the shoreline of the lake casting to any timber, lilypads and drop-offs. While small soft plastics and hardbodied lures up to 60mm are normally the best options here, larger fish can easily eat a much bigger lure – so a larger soft plastic or hardbody that imitates a smaller redfin may snag you a much bigger fish! • For any of the latest metro reports and information, pop into Compleat Angler Dandenong at 241-243 Princes Highway, Dandenong, give us a call on 03 9794 9397 or jump on to the ‘Melbourne Metro Freshwater Fishing’ page on Facebook.

Gage Wright with a solid golden perch. Yellas will be on the quiet side this month. around the points. Wimmera River is still producing some quality yellas. The same methods as usual are producing, and

laws and if you’re after any more information you’re always welcome to drop into the local tackle store, Webbcon Marine. APRIL 2019

Better bass and

Boosting bass fishing in Gippsland Last summer 291,000 Australian bass fingerlings were stocked in 17 Gippsland waters and Lake Bullen Merri thanks to fishing licence fees and the State Government’s Target One Million plan, which aims to increase participation to one million anglers by 2020. 127,000

• Thomson River

5,000

• Snowy River

40,000

• Lake Narracan

5,000

• Mitchell River

30,000

• Avon River

5,000

• Timbarra River

20,000

• Lake Bullen Merri

5,000

• Lake Glenmaggie

10,000

• Tyers River

2,000

• Nicholson River

15,000

• Cowwarr Weir

2,000

• Brodribb River

15,000

• Hyland Lake

1,000

• Macalister River

7,000

• Traralgon Creek

1,000

• Valencia Creek

1,000

• Blue Rock Lake

Since 2002, more than 1.6 million bass have been stocked in Gippsland. Target One Million has also delivered better access at Blue Rock Lake with boats of all lengths and engine sizes now allowed. A speed limit of 15 knots applies. Learn more at www.vic.gov.au/bluerockbass

Authorised by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne

APRIL 2019

perch fisheries

Stocking record numbers of estuary perch A record 275,500 estuary perch have been released in five waters across Victoria with the Maribyrnong, Barwon and Snowy Rivers being stocked for the very first time. • Maribyrnong River

133,000

• Barwon River

75,000

• Lake Tyers

40,000

• Bemm River

15,000

• Snowy River

12,500

Victoria is the only state to stock estuary perch on a large scale. Since starting our 10-year estuary perch stocking plan in 2012, we’ve released over 800,000 fish into 18 waterways. Growth rates have exceeded our expectations and we’re now seeing fish over 27 cm caught in the stocked waters of Devilbend Reservoir, Albert Park Lake, Werribee River, Lake Hamilton and Lake Struan.

Huge thanks go to the competition anglers and volunteers who take part in our ‘Perch Search’ annually to catch the broodfish used in our breeding program. Learn more at: www.vfa.vic.gov.au/estuaryperch

APRIL 2019

Nord nails the first Costa Bream Qualifier Peter Nord is a local Gippsland angler and has proven his knowledge of his home waterways by taking out the win in the first qualifier of the 2019 Costa Bream Series, also being the first angler to win on our new format for little systems, with one day on Bemm River and the second day at Marlo. This was Nordy’s maiden ABT win. Going into day one on the Bemm River Pete had a game plan in mind. He fished in anywhere from 5-10ft of water. The cool thing was that all his fish were caught on his own brand of lure. The go to lure was a Hurricane vibe 37mm in camo crab. He was hopping his blade along the bottom on a very small lift, no more than 20mm off the bottom. If the lure was hopped any higher the fish would not have had a bar of his lure. He also noted he had seen guys from NSW and QLD fishing a blade and hopping them way too high. The trick with blacks is the smaller the hop the better. He also caught some fish on his

Slam 47mm as well, but the majority came on the blade. His day one weight was 4.32kg. He used a Duffrod custom made for blading, 7ft in length and very stiff in action. He used 3lb line Fireline

Crystal with 4lb leader. Day two at Marlo he had two options, he could fish the Brodribb River or Lake Corringle. He had to make a choice. He didn’t think the Brodribb would produce enough weight, so

Peter Nord took out first place at the first qualifier for the Costa Bream Series.

Peter Nord managed to secure his win by over 500g with fish like this in his bag.

Lake Corringle it was. He fished a Hurricane Twitch 50 in UV prawn colour. It took him a while to figure out what was going on. The water in there was very dirty. So he would work the lure very slowly

banging the bottom and letting it sit. Because the water was very dirty he didn’t want to move the lure very fast, so he would just leave it sitting there giving the fish time to see it and eat it. He

would find his fish on his Humminbird side scan grazing around. Nord’s day two weight was down a little bit from the day before at 4.23kg but enough for the win with a total weight of 8.55kg.

BOATER RESULTS

Scan the QR code to see Boater winner, Peter Nord interview.

Place Name 1 Peter Nord 2 Brad Hodges 3 Tristan Taylor 4 Corey McLaren 5 Declan Betts 6 Charlie Saykao 7 Peter Stephens 8 Cameron Whittam 9 Darren Weda 10 Daryl Baird

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888 72

APRIL 2019

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize 10/10 8.55 $3500 + $500 Mercury Bonus 10/10 8.00 $2000 + $300 Mercury Bonus 10/10 7.38 $1250 10/10 7.01 $800 10/10 6.92 $700 + $200 Mercury Bonus 9/10 6.85 $500 9/10 6.81 $500 10/10 6.65 10/10 6.42 10/10 6.23

Scan the QR code to see Bemm day one highlights.

Bream Series presented by

Brad Hodges takes second... again! Brad fished day one at Bemm River in the middle of the lake sitting in 8-10ft of water doing long wind assisted drifts. He used a 1/16-1/12oz jighead rigged with a 3” Berkley Nemesis in camo to get his bag. Once he got his bag he changed to a

Berkley Jigging Shrimp and Berkley Turtleback Worm. He caught 25 legal fish for the day and upgraded about five times. He finished with a day one weight of 4.19kg. For the second day at Marlo he fished shallow flats in Frenchs Narrow using

BREAM SERIES

SECOND PLACE GEAR Rods: Abu Garcia KRX Salty Stage 7’2” and 6’8” Reel: Abu Garcia Roxani 2000 Line: Berkley Ultra 8lb Leader: 6lb Vanish

Scan the QR code to see Bemm day two highlights.

Nord didn’t get quite as good a bag on day two, but it was still enough to push him into first place.

Boater competitor Brad Hodges claimed second place, with decent fish like this making up his bag.

a Berkley Puppy Dog in the gauge colour. He used a subtle twitch before pausing for 1-2 seconds. It was slow fishing and he didn’t fill his bag until 12pm with a couple of upgrades after that. His day two weight was 3.81kg, leaving him with a total of 8kg.

Bowen Joiner takes J-Braid Big Bream Bemm River and Marlo are known for big bream and the 1.42kg black bream

caught by Joiner was a cracking fish. As this was his first ABT event as a

boater you can imagine he was stoked with his capture. Fish was caught on a camo

Gulp Nemesis rigged on a 1/20th jighead in a shallow drain near Lake Corringle.

NON-BOATER RESULTS

Bowen Joiner claimed the Big Bream prize this tournament with a cracking 1.42kg black bream.

Place Name 1 Neil Kelly 2 Travis Ryan 3 Colin Wilson 4 Doug Badrock 5 Daniel McNeice 6 Sam Ogden 7 Greg Cooper 8 Bernard Kong 9 Shannon Hush 10 Kim McIntyre

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize 9/10 7.16 Daiwa Prize Pack + $200 Hobie Bonus 9/10 6.78 Fishtec Solutions Prize Pack + $100 Hobie Bonus 10/10 6.51 Cranka Prize Pack + $75 Hobie Bonus 9/10 5.72 Tackle Tactics Prize Pack 8/10 5.39 Sufix Prize Pack 6/10 4.98 Ecogear Prize Pack 6/10 4.95 Shimano Prize Pack 8/10 4.90 Lucky Craft Prize Pack 7/10 4.89 Keitech Prize Pack 8/10 4.71 Sunline Prize Pack

Kelly bags at Bemm and Marlo Neil is a very soft-spoken man and hard to get a word from, but he can make his rod and reel talk when chasing bream. It’s not his first win, as he won the 2017

Scan the QR code to see Non-boater winner, Neil Kelly interview.

Neil Kelly is no stranger to the tournament fishing circuit, and he showed everyone there that he still has it.

Bream Grand Final, and has now taken out the first bream qualifier. Kelly fished each day at the different venues the same way. He fished a ZMan curl-tail grub in bloodworm on a 1/8 and a 1/20, depending on wind and depth. He fished this lure on a Samaki rod he won in the 2017 Grand Final and a Shimano Static CI4. The technique he used was that he would cast in after his boater and catch them. On his first day he ended with a reasonable bag with five fish tipping the scales at 3kg neat. He secured his victory on day two with a bag of four black bream weighing 4.16kg. This left him with a total weight of 7.16kg.

Joiner managed to land the Big Bream prize during his first ABT tournament as a boater. He caught this beauty on a camo Gulp Nemesis in a shallow drain near Lake Corringle. APRIL 2019

Hodges breaks his bridesmaid streak to take first Brad Hodges proved he is a gun at Gippsland Lake during Round 2 of the Costa Bream Series, the Mercury Gippsland Lakes qualifier. Hodges fished day one up the north arm targeting snags on the edge using a Berkley Puppy Dog in the 12 gauge colour. Casting as deep into the snags as he could, he would twitch them into the strike zone and pause them for as long as possible – anywhere from 3-6 seconds – leaving the lure in the fish’s faces to trigger a bite. He only caught five fish on day one, finishing with a weight of 4.10kg; but he found a bank loaded with fish towards the end of the day, which would be his day 2 plan. Day two Brad had to wait for the tide to get up so he just junk fished

WINNER’S GEAR Rods: Abu Garcia Krx Salty Stage 7’2” Reel: Abu Garcia Roxani 2000 Line: Berkley Ultra 8lb Leader: 6lb Vanish

Brad Hodges had a winning bag on day two, and the biggest bag of the tournament.

With fish like this in his bag, it is no wonder Brad Hodges took out first place.

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888 74

APRIL 2019

Cunningham’s arm until about 10am for no fish. By then, the time was right to head to a bank that was loaded with fish he found late day one. He filled his bag on the first drift with the first fish weighing around 1.20kg. After the first drift he left the bank to rest before returning two more times. Each time he came back he got two upgrades fishing a 1/24oz jighead rigged with a curl-tail grub. He cast into 4-6ft of water and hopped his grub around the darker weedy patches. The fish would usually eat within the initial sink or first hop and if they didn’t he would burn the lure in and repeat the process to the next weedy patch. His day two bag weighed in at 5.64kg and is now his PB individual bag. This gave him a total weight of 9.74kg

Scan the QR code to see Boater winner, Brad Hodges interview.

Scan the QR code to see Gippsland day one highlights.

for 10 bream. Hodges told us that in 2016 he was also left in 8th place and came

back with the win using the same technique with another 5kg+ bag.

Hodges managed to win by over 1kg, and also shared the boater Big Bream prize.

Gary Carruthers takes second place Gary seemed to do a bit of running around for his second place at Gippy, fishing locations such as the mouth of the Mitchell River, the mouth of the Nicholson River, Jones Bay and ‘The Cut’. He fished the flats of these areas using a Hurricane Twitch 40. He didn’t catch a fish until the wind blew in around 11:30am, but once it did he had his five fish by 12:10pm and started upgrading from there. His technique for the Twitch 40 was a long wind assisted cast and

SECOND PLACE GEAR

Bream Series presented by

BREAM SERIES

Rod: Smith 6’6” Reel: Daiwa Luvias 2000 Line: Sunline 8lb Leader: FC Rock 3lb to shake the rod tip with some twitches and pauses and slow rolling mixed in between. Day two he had his bag a lot earlier as it was much windier. He had his bag by 10:00am, mirroring his day one technique. Gary’s total weight was more than a kilo off Brad, but enough to hold down second place.

Gary Carruthers had to do a lot of running around to earn his bag, but it paid off when he claimed second place. Scan the QR code to see Gippsland day two highlights.

Rodney takes his second qualifier While this is not Rodney ‘Rocket’ O’Sullivan’s first win at ABT, he says he will remember it for a long time due to his new PB bag

Scan the QR code to see Nonboater winner, Rod O’Sullivan interview. being weighed in on day two at Gippsland Lakes. His massive day two bag weighed in at 5.35kg and he also shared the Daiwa J-Braid Big Bream prize as well, which weighed in at 1.36kg.

Rod O’Sullivan didn’t manage to bag out, but with some crackers in there he won the non-boater category. Rocket couldn’t fill a bag on day one, he only made it to the scale with

This fish tied for the J-Braid Big Bream with Brad Hodges.

two fish for 1.16kg. But, what he did on day two was pretty impressive. Not only catching them at the back of the boat as a non-boater, he caught his PB bag fishing behind a true bream champion, Mark Crompton. Rodney had nothing for most of the day, well nothing until the trip back and last stop of the day. He decided to use a lure he had not used in a long time, an Ecogear SX43 in the 307 colour and the first fish he caught was a 1.36kg donkey hooked in the tail. They made one more quick stop to the snags at the mouth of the Tambo River where he filled the rest of his bag. This gave him the win with a total weight of 6.51kg. Still using the first lure rod, he brought a Shimano Rack Raider, a Shimano CI4 reel and 4lb straight through Yamatayo line.

BOATER WINNERS Place Name

Total Fish Total Weight (kg)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

10/10 10/10 9/10 9/10 10/10 10/10 7/10 10/10 10/10 7/10

Brad Hodges Gary Carruthers Tristan Taylor Steve Morgan Peter Stephens Alex Franchuk Declan Betts Christian Wardini Cameron Whittam Mark Crompton

9.74 8.33 8.32 8.19 7.98 6.73 6.37 6.18 6.15 5.15

Prize $3500 + $500 Mercury Bonus $1500 + $300 Mercury Bonus $1000 $800 + $200 Mercury Bonus $700 $600 $500 $500

NON-BOATER RESULTS

O’Sullivan was pretty happy with this day two bag weight.

Place Name

Total Fish Total Weight (kg)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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

Rodney O’Sullivan Ahmad Mahfoud Stuart Walker Neil Kelly Darren Murphy Greg Cooper Shannon Hush Travis Ryan Glen Sturrock Shaun Egan

6.51 6.05 5.11 4.93 3.93 3.52 3.31 2.91 2.76 2.31

Prize Daiwa Prize Pack Fishtec Solutions Prize Pack + $200 Hobie Bonus Cranka Prize Pack + $100 Hobie Bonus Tackle Tactics Prize Pack + $75 Hobie Bonus Sufix Prize Pack Ecogear Prize Pack Shimano Prize Pack Lucky Craft Prize Pack Keitech Prize Pack Sunline Prize Pack APRIL 2019

Australian Freshwater Masters: wrap up BRISBANE

Stephen Booth

The Australian Freshwater Masters is an event that pits teams of two anglers against other teams in a three-round series. Points are allocated at 1 point per millimetre of legal fish. For example, a 458mm golden perch will receive 458 points. Teams measure in their top 10 fish to accumulate a total team score per round, while individuals measure in their top 5 fish for the Overall Champion Angler section per round. The event visits Lake Windamere near Mudgee for the golden perch round, Lake Glenbawn near Scone for Australian bass and the final leg is at Lake Mulwala on the border towns of Yarrawonga/ Mulwala for the Murray cod round. Three iconic freshwater species in three iconic freshwater lakes. ROUND 1 WINDAMERE The first round of The Australian Freshwater Masters was held at an on-fire Lake Windamere near Mudgee in NSW in November 2018. Day 1 of the comp saw the teams head to the bottom

The tournament crew ready to go at Glenbawn. half of the lake and wait on Spot-Lock for the start time to roll around. Most of the favourite teams were using soft vibes such as the Zerek Fish Trap 95 and the Jackall Mask Vibe or Lake Police Transam to catch their fish and the edge bite was fantastic. In fact, the edge bite was so good that Team Venom

TOP 5 GLENBAWN ROUND 2 Place Team 1 Skeeten (Scott and Glen) 2 Wodonga Caravan and Cabin Park (Corey and Ben) 3 Team Venom (Stephen and Shane) 4 Windybanks (Simon and David) 5 Gottcha (Michael and Andy)

Glenbawn 4037 4025 3947 3938 3882

Round 2

Lake Mulwala DC on the Lake – Mulwala

• April 6, 2019 • Registrations Fri 5th 4pm–9.30pm, Sat 6th 6am–8am • Singles Event • Cash Prizes • Sausage Sizzle

Bridgewater Lures Juniors Super Series *Children up to 14 Free

New

“SHANE’S SPLASH THE CASH” Sunday 7th April 2019, 7am–12 noon

$20 per person (no junior concessions) • Winner takes all • Lure fishing only • Largest native fish, Murray Cod or Yellow Belly

Check out our Facebook page:

• Central VIC Lure Casters Super Series For more information contact

Shane Melrose 0406 141 967 76

APRIL 2019

had their 10 fish limit only 1 hour and 17 minutes into the competition with three landed golden perch in the first five casts! A lot of teams reached their limit on day 1, which meant that there was fierce competition for upgrade fish on day 2. Day 2 is a half-day and the fishing was much slower as teams concentrated on upgrading their fish from day 1. Most of the top teams only measured in a few fish as they worked their way through 55cm golden perch to find fish in the 58-60cm range. That’s not easy on tournament-pressured fish! After round 1 was finished, Team Gotcha had amassed 5,780 points (average fish of 57.8cm) and Aaron Lawson had landed the largest golden perch at 59.6cm total length. ROUND 2 GLENBAWN Round 2 was at Lake Glenbawn chasing bass, a round where traditionally a lot of teams bag out, but getting a big bag is not so easy. Anglers were keyed right into a football or swim jig bite. This technique has found a home at Glenbawn and its resident bass love slurping these offerings off the bottom or when fished vertically around the trees. Other methods to work were trolling diving minnows and casting small chatterbaits. Every team on

the books landed fish and it was definitely a race to see who could land the bigger fish. Unlike golden perch, the bass are measured to the fork and, just like the Windamere round, fish must be measured by competitors on another boat, ensuring the measuring of fish was accurate. While some great catches

top teams landing over 40 bass with an average length over 400mm. Leading the pack was Skeeton who scored 4,037 points for the day and half fishing with an average fork length bass of 40.37cm. The big bass was a ripper coming in at 45.4cm fork length for Chris Bird.

including session times, were laid out for the competitors. Day 1 would see the teams fish from 12:00pm through to 7:30pm. At start time, the teams scattered to all corners of the lake with boats heading up towards Bundalong, other boats staying in the main basin at Mulwala and plenty

Overall Champion Team. Team Venom consisting of Shane Banks and Stephen Booth went back to back at this year’s event. were had on chatterbaits and trolled lures, it was the football jig bite that was outstanding with the

ROUND 3 MULWALA Day 1 started with a briefing at 11am where all the rules and regulations,

of boats hitting the flats. Scattered storms rolled through all afternoon and the fishing was tough,

TOP 10 TEAMS OVERALL Position Team Windamere 1 Team Venom (Stephen and Shane) 5621 2 Jigheads (Brad and Mitchel) 5404 3 Mines Bigger (Aaron and Corey) 5246 4 MLC (Peter and Duncan) 5190 5 Wodonga Caravan and Cabin (Corey and Ben) 5205 6 Team Dog House (Scott and Joel) 5672 7 Skeeten (Scott and Glen) 5225 8 Gottcha (Michael and Andy) 5780 9 Mako Eyewear (Murray and Mark) 5327 10 Avid Anglers (Chris and Frank) 2552

Glenbawn 3947 3418 3840 3540 4025 3743 4037 3882 3530 3638

Mulwala 3681 4286 3675 3754 1155 581 640 0 583 3210

Total 13249 13108 12761 12484 10385 9996 9902 9662 9440 9400

however those boats fishing on the flats managed to get several Murray cod, with Team Jigheads leading the pack with four legal cod

11am. This wind stayed with the field for the rest of the day making flats fishing next to impossible and had a lot of teams

without cost with Mines Bigger breaking their electric motor shaft at 11am on day 2 and Jigheads cracking gel coat and

TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS OVERALL Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Competitor Mitchel Skeers Stephen Booth Aaron Graham Duncan Eddington Ben Faro Shane Banks Corey Hohnberg Peter Kerr Chris Bird Scott Hartley

landed. Spinnerbaits cast tight to structure looked like the go-to method. Day 2 had a horrible wind forecast with the gentle breeze on start time of 15 knots quickly escalating up to 30 knots by about

Windamere 2625 2797 2621 2305 2670 2818 2625 2702 950 2895

Glenbawn 1819 2033 1915 1716 2030 1914 1923 1822 1883 1933

looking for some sheltered water to fish. However, two of the top three teams stayed with the flats in the horrendous conditions, catching fish where others feared to tread. This tactic didn’t come

TOP 5 MULWALA ROUND 3 Place 1 2 3 4 5

Team Name Jigheads (Brad and Mitchel) MLC (Peter and Duncan) Team Venom (Stephen and Shane) Mines Bigger (Aaron and Corey) Avid Anglers (Chris and Frank)

Mulwala 4286 3754 3681 3675 3210

Mulwala 3102 2569 2402 2493 1155 1112 1273 1261 2640 581

Total 7546 7399 6938 6514 5855 5844 5821 5785 5473 5409

irreparably damaging one of their transducers while bending the mounting plate on the other. It was tough and gutsy fishing the snag riddled waters of Mulwala in those winds! However, Team Jigheads did well landing 7 fish for the round and three other teams managed to land 6 legal cod for the event, Team Venom, Mine’s Bigger and MLC. The event was getting very tight with four teams in with a real shot at winning overall.

A top tournament fish at just under 600mm. Taking out the honours at Mulwala was Jighead with 7 fish for 4,286 points, with an average legal Murray cod of 61.2cm. The biggest cod caught was by big fish master Chris Brid with a sensational 95cm Murray cod taken right near the briefing area and boat ramp! TEAM VENOM WINS At the presentation it

was revealed that Team Venom had won overall Champion Team for the second year running by only 140 points, which is equivalent to 14cm in total length. Consistency proved the key for Shane Banks and Stephen Booth with the team finishing third in every round to accumulate enough points

to win overall. It also ended up that the top three teams were all within one legal fish of taking the win – the closest finish the Masters has had for a few years. If you’re interested in participating at this event, contact the organisers via their Facebook page. – Stephen Booth

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR 2019

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

6-7 Apr

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 4

Blackwood River

6-7 April

Tasmanian Bream Classic Series Round 3

Derwent River, Hobart

13-14 Apr

ABT BASS Electric Round 2

Toonumbar Dam

27-28 Apr

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 5

Nelson

30 April-1 May

ABT BREAM Round 4

Albany

4-5 May

ABT BREAM Round 5

Blackwood

4-5 May

Victoria Bream Classic Round 3

Metung

18-19 May

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 6

Woy Woy

25-26 May

ABT BASS Round 2

Glenbawn Dam

22-23 June

ABT BASS Round 3

Lake St Clair

22-23 June

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 7

Gold Coast

22-23 June

Victoria Bream Classic Round 4

Hopkins River

hobiefishing.com.au

tasmanianbreamclassics@gmail.com

abt.org.au

hobiefishing.com.au

abt.org.au

billhartshorne@hotmail.com

hobiefishing.com.au

abt.org.au

hobiefishing.com.au

billhartshorne@hotmail.com

Add your tournament or competition to this list by emailing jthomas@fishingmonthly.com.au or calling 07 3387 0800 in office hours. Just supply a date, venue, tournament name and a telephone number and contact name. APRIL 2019

Ten years of champions for Hobie Fishing Day one of the Hobie Kayak Bream Series 10 Australian Championship presented by Daiwa, blasted off from the Power-Pole Starting line, in Forster, New South Wales, at 7am. It was a level playing field for all anglers who were each in brand new 2019 Hobie Outback kayaks with a forward and reverse MirageDrive 180 pedal propulsion, a remote control Power-Pole Micro anchor

him a nine fish bag weighing in at 6.33kg, the only angler to go above the 6kg mark. The championship was Somerton’s swansong to Hobie tournaments, after a career that has earned him the reputation as an all time outstanding performer in the Australian kayak fishing tournament scene and one of the top two in the world. Somerton tried to move around as much as possible, he checked out a few of

Jack Gammie won the Atomic Big Bream on day one, and it wasn’t enough for him to take the title but he still secured second place. system and Lowrance Elite Ti2 7” sounders with triple shot transducers. The 45 elite kayak anglers competing in the 10 year anniversary Championship came from all over the country. They had all qualified for the championship by competing in eleven qualifying rounds held across Australia in 2018. SOMERTON REACHED THE SUMMIT AGAIN At the end of a massively close contest the 2013 World Champion, and 2016 Australian Champion,

his favourite spots but they didn’t work for him because of the tides. So, he decided to check out a few spots a friend had recommended when he was researching the fishery and they seemed to work. The overcast day they had on the pre-fish gave him a lot of confidence, but unfortunately the skies were clear throughout the competition and that made it tough. Somerton spent most of the time in some pretty close paddocks, but he did have a couple of runs up the Wallamba River to hit a spot.

The 45 anglers were competing on a level playing field, as all were supplied with a 2019 Hobie Outback kayak to fish the tournament. Richard Somerton from Victoria won his second Australian Championship with a day one bag of 1.98kg, a 2.41kg bag on day two and 1.94kg on day three, giving 78

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He was really struggling late in the final session, sitting on about 1.3kg, which he knew wasn’t going to be enough. He had been destroyed in one of the big

fish spots that he goes to. He was onto a very big fish and the braid snapped as it was under so much pressure. When he lost that one he started to get a bit worried, but he then put a 500g fish in the well and then he finally bagged out, but the final fish was only 26.5cm. Somerton kept him because he wasn’t sure how the rest of the session was going to go. Luckily, he upgraded both of these, but after that everything went dead. Richard Somerton mainly used the Daiwa Certate 1000/2000s reel. He was using a Duff Rods rod and primarily used a Cranka Crab in light. If he had brought his heavies he probably would have smashed the bridge, as there were plenty of fish around there but the tide was just raging in. He was mainly throwing the Cranka Crab Fish Fiddler lure, which caught him a few, and a couple of different Berkley Gulp products such as the Camo Crabby and the Shrimp. He was using J-Braid line with 12lb FC Rock leader. When Somerton uses a Cranka Crab, if it doesn’t get a hit on the drop he usually leaves it on the bottom for a little bit and then gives it a bit of a shake, anywhere from 10-60 seconds usually. The fish sit there and watch the crab or they may be swimming by and see a bit of movement out of the corner of their eye and then hit it. He mainly throws into structure and not as much into the flats. He says that every year the competitions are getting better and better, the level just keeps going up. GAMMIE GRABS SECOND Jack Gammie ended day one with 2.44kg, day two with 1.37kg, and day three with 1.93kg. This gave Gammie a nine fish bag over the three championship days and a total weight of 5.74kg. Gammie was leading the championship on the first day and dropped down to third place on the second, and in the end that is probably what cost him the title. He pulled in the largest fish of the tournament on day one and just couldn’t get the repeat that he was hoping for after that. During the pre-fish day he went and tried a few different areas. When he went up the Wallamba River on the Tuncurry side he found some good fish, so he thought he’d leave them alone and went to other areas to look for more fish. On competition day one he went back up the Wallamba and saw some big birds cruising up between

the racks, so he decided to give that a go. He had a bit of a cast and that is where he got his big fish on day one, weighing in at 1.4kg. It was a big clunker and he was very lucky to have landed him. He moved on to another area of abandoned racks and managed to land another 40cm fish. He didn’t get that kicker fish or even a kicker bite on day two. He was fishing up the Wallamba River in a stretch from the channel markers along a bank that has about 1km of racks just covered in oysters. He was mainly throwing a Hurricane Fat 37 Shallow in camo crab colour and it produced every singly one of the fish that he bagged in the three days of the championship. On day three he went up the Wallamba again and got his bag, then he came back down to the paddocks to try and upgrade, but that didn’t quite work. For majority of the weekend he was fishing 8lb with 8lb braid using a 1-3kg

Richard Somerton won the Championship as the only angler with a combined bag weight over 6kg. two with 2.35kg, and day three with 1.70kg. This gave Greisdorf a nine fish bag with an accumulative weight of 5.73kg, which put him in third place in the Australian Championship. Greisdorf had finished a close second place in the last championship to fellow Western Australian, Paul Burton (fourth this year) on his home waterway. But to perform so well in a completely new arena he’d never fished before showed that this WA angler is a true gun.

Alex Greisdorf missed out on second place by 10g, but for his first time fishing this water he really showed his skill and managed to hold onto third place with a 5.73kg bag. rod with a locked drag. But, on the final day he dropped down to 6lb just in case the system was shut down. The weather was good, the tides were perfect and the fishing was great. GREISDORF GETS TOP THREE Alex Greisdorf (WA) finished day one with a total weight of 1.68kg, day RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

He tried different stuff over the course of the three days, but the only thing that was consistently catching fish was the Jackall Chubby in a brown suji shrimp colour. Greisdorf ran it on a 7ft 1-5kg Duff rod with a 2500 size reel on 5lb leader and 10lb braid. Unlike other anglers, when fishing for yellowfin

Angler Richard Somerton Jack Gammie Alex Greisdorf Paul Burton Simon Morley Tyson Hayes Richard Patterson Kane Terry Danny Jobson Tony Pettie

Total Fish 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9

bream Greisdorf doesn’t let them run, he keeps them up high and winds them in to keep them away from the weed. This worked a treat for him during this tournament. He found a spot where there were lots of big ones cruising around, but they just did not want to play the game. On his last upgrade on day three he lost two possible 40cm fish when a smaller one took the lure instead. Greisdorf was very happy with the tournament and his performance. Only one angler missed out on catching fish on day three, Adam Costa took home but Peter Cook from NSW still bagged himself $100 in Donut Dough. On day two there was no Cranka Donut Dough as all anglers caught fish, but on day three the Cranka Donut Dough went to Adam Costa. Jack Gammie caught the Atomic Big Bream, the largest fish of the session, on day one weighing in at 1.40kg and picking himself up $250 from Atomic. The $250 on day two went to Richard Somerton with a 1.12kg fish, and finally on day three Jon Clisby from Victoria took home the prize from Atomic with a 960g bream. A lucky local won themselves a Hobie Lanai kayak after entering a competition sponsored by Hobie Asia Pacific, and was presented with the kayak and an amazing package of Hobie products, worth around $1500, at the event site before the main presentation. For a review of what was happening on the water during the event, and event at the event site weigh-in each day go to Facebook.com/HobieFishing AsiaPacific. – Hobie Total Weight (kg) 6.33 5.74 5.73 5.48 5.19 4.86 4.76 4.68 4.66 4.63

Cooking

Pan-fried salmon with a side of pepperonata SYDNEY

Andrew Humphries

For this recipe I was hoping to use freshly caught kingfish but I had no luck catching a legal one, and no luck at the local fish markets, so I used salmon instead. The recipe works equally well with either fish. Start by halving and deseeding the capsicum, and slice lengthways into strips about 0.5cm thick. Slice the red onion as finely as

possible, and then chop the garlic and tomatoes, keeping everything separate. Next, heat the oil in a frypan or saucepan set to a medium heat. Add the onions and sweat for 3-4 minutes. Add in the capsicums and garlic, stirring occasionally, and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the capsicums are soft. For the pepperonata add the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and olives, cooking for a further 6-8 minutes. Stir in the oregano and then taste to check the level of

seasoning. If needed, you can add a touch of sugar to balance the acidity from the vinegar. Heat a saucepan over medium heat with a little oil. Season the salmon fillets on both the skin side and flesh side, and place them in pan skin side down for about 4 minutes, checking occasionally. Turn the salmon over and cook for a further 5 minutes, depending on how thick the fish is. Once the fish is cooked to your liking, serve with the pepperonata on the side.

This recipe is for salmon, but kingfish would work just as well.

After the onions have sweated for 3-4 minutes you can add the capsicums and garlic.

Depending on the thickness of the salmon, you should cook it for around 4 minutes skin side down, and then around 5 minutes on the other side.

INGREDIENTS 2pc 150g salmon or yellowtail kingfish fillet 1 red onion 1 red capsicum 1 green capsicum 1 yellow capsicum 1 garlic clove, minced 2 tomatoes, roughly diced 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 60g black olives 10g fresh oregano, chopped 2 tbsp olive oil

The capsicum sliced and ready to go. You need to keep the capsicum, onions and tomatoes all separate, as they will be cooked at different times.

All the ingredients of the pepperonata are blending â&#x20AC;&#x201C; capsicums, onion, tomatoes, olives, garlic, oregano and balsamic vinegar.

Perfectly cooked salmon and pepperonata.

APRIL 2019

Venturing west In late February I made what is now an annual pilgrimage west to work with groups in Western Australia on Track My Fish projects. WA is a special place when it comes to fishing, because it combines spectacular

differences between west and east became obvious and I felt as though I was stepping back in time. I grew up in the 1970s when the coast wasn’t as populated as it is now, distances between populations were further and the roads into the coast were goat tracks. I remember the bone shaking, sometimes impassable road

connected to the land or sea and its rhythms. Their clocks are dictated by nature, not the daily commute. As such they are more direct, practical and grateful for what they have. They are under no illusions that they are blessed, equally they take nothing for granted. Tourism is a big area where the city/country

Fig.3 Concentration of catches during 2018-19. Angling and Aquatic Club, who in my estimation are one of the most forward thinking and innovative clubs I have seen. Like many clubs they have been under increasing scrutiny with their weigh-in events. In response their first step was to introduce a catch and release element to their monthly competitions, but that is not where the response ends.

lot of development time to providing an improved platform that makes life easier for weigh-ins. Track My Fish aims to help clubs and events to reduce the load on volunteers without favouring any fishing philosophy. Marmion have a vision to take that to the point where the catch and release and traditional weigh-ins

of the sport through technological innovation rather than wiping it out altogether. Even more importantly, it leaves the choice with the fisher as to how they want to approach the monthly club events. We don’t want to see an end to weigh-ins, but they have two key problem; community attitude and fisher attitude. The

Fig.1 All catches reported by Westag by species. scenery with some amazing fishing. If I was to pick a place in Australia to get away and fish, WA would be at the top of my list. This month I want to share some of experiences of the west as well as the ways that clubs in the west are innovating in tackling some of fishing’s big challenges. THE WEST IS STILL WILD I have been to the west five times on fishing business, but prior to this trip all trips were to

into 1770. The coastline between Perth and Kalbarri is essentially seven hours of beaches, punctuated by shacks used by commercial crayfishers and small communities. Distance wise, it’s a similar trip to Brisbane to Gladstone, but with only one sizable community in Geraldton in between. When it comes to scenery, there is sand, low lying hardy scrub and not much else. Not much of the land is sheltered from the wind which is constant and there is nothing to hold

divide is most apparent. Decisions made in Perth directly affects the regional tourism towns and unlike the cities, there aren’t always a lot of options to get alternative clients. Given that fishing plays a big role in tourism, fishing regulations do affect the regional economies and to be honest, the fishing regulations around the Kalbarri region require a PhD to be sure a fisher is complying. Sure, the rules are intended to protect fish stocks, but I was surprised to find that

Fig.4 All catches reported by Swanfish by species. Weigh-ins are still an important part of fishing life and even though we have an app-based system for catch and release we don’t see that as a weigh-in killer – quite the opposite. We also work with a range of live and traditional weigh-ins and we are investing a

are integrated so that fishers have the option to release fish that they don’t need during competitions. Fish released are assessed using length-weight charts allowing weight to remain the common measure. I think this is the right approach – preserving the traditions

community has a concern that fish populations are improved and that harvest is managed to reduce the impact on wild stocks. Being able to demonstrate responsibility in addressing this concern is key to our social license. Fishers are looking for options when

Fig.2 Average vs maximum length of fish reported by Westag by species. Perth. This trip I finally managed to get out of Perth heading north to the town of Kalbarri. Perth is very attractive city and it’s my favourite capital to visit. I have already locked in a trip next year to do Swanfish. It wasn’t long past the outskirts of Perth that the 80

APRIL 2019

water above the surface. Dry is not the word. The harsh but beautiful environment is reflected in the people. Fishing, agriculture and sand mining are the dominant industries, with tourism offering a seasonal boost. One way or another everyone is

the regulations were much more complicated than in Queensland. The gap in life experiences between city and country are huge. MARMION ANGLING AND AQUATIC CLUB My first stop was to meet up with the Marmion

Fig.5 Average vs maximum length of fish reported by Swanfish by species.

it comes to participating in events. We were involved in the Boondooma Yellowbelly Family Fishing Competition, which ran both an app-based section and a weigh-in section with a 50/50 split of the fishers. I think it will stay that way for a long time to come. Choice in how fishers interact with fishing competitions is important to the long-term sustainability of clubs and events. Marmion are ahead of the curve in recognizing this. WESTAG Westag is the Western Australian fish tagging organization, a group we at Infofish have had a long history with. Like many clubs, Westag has had a tough time in recent years, as clubs disappear and

are getting regular updates on how the program is tracking and there are a lot of stats up on the Westag website, westag.org.au. So far in 2019 there have been 591 fish reported with 58 recaptures. That effort is concentrated in three key regions – Kalbarri, Broome and Nicol Bay. Over the next few years Westag are aiming at raising those numbers and providing much more feedback to the communities they fish in. Fig.1 and Fig.2 provide a summary of the catches so far this year. SWANFISH Swanfish 2019 was a step up on 2018 with the number of participants, fish and fishers reporting fish all up. Overall in the second year with an app-based

me it’s a template that other capital cities should follow. One of the interesting stats out of this years event was that fish smaller than 250mm made up 42% of the catch. That fits well with land-based fishing as closer to shore provides shelter for smaller fish, but that number indicates that the Swan River is a great place for fish to grow up. In the Fitzroy River in Queensland for example where there is now a net free zone we have seen the survival rates for juvenile barramundi drop, as there are more predators in the system. Juvenile and smaller fish are often ignored in the fishing equation, but nursery areas are critical to the long-term sustainability of fish populations, just as managing catch is.

his partner Fay runs the Kalbarri Seafront Villas. I have known Jamie for many years and heard many stories of his mulloway exploits, so I took the chance to see the legend in action, and he didn’t disappoint. Like all good fishing trips there was an early start, in this case to take down the four wheelers

at fishing for sharks, I can say that 60 second adrenalin rush was enough to whet my appetite for a more serious go at some point. I know there is some controversy among green groups on sharks, but I can’t deny that hooking one and seeing it launch was one of the most exhilarating moments of my fishing life.

I wouldn’t call that a downgrade – I am a fan of octopus. Unfortunately, I was a couple of weeks early, and there would be more action as the moon disappeared. On the last day, I managed a trip again out with Steve to see if we could scare up some mackerel. I hadn’t trolled

WA has long stretches of coastline that are perfect for targeting mulloway and tailor.

Fig.6 Catches in the Swanfish Event by hour compared to the tide. members age and move onto other activities. Things are starting to turnaround though. Westag moved to a direct membership and led by Steve Wiseman and Jamie Waite numbers are starting to pick up. Over the past six months I have been working with Steve and Jamie to develop enhancements to their services. The leadership team are meeting every fortnight to see through a program of new services and there are some positive developments to come with customizable recapture certificates, a Westag specific app and new dashboards to track catch rates, species and sizes in key regions. There will also be some new member focused activities, which is a fantastic. Already fishers

event processes started to settle and with excellent weather, participation was high. It’s exciting to see the community coming together and the combination of good conditions and positive buzz led the minutes per fish to drop from 8.67 to 6.32. Over a 24-hour period only a limited number of events achieve that sort of catch rate. I love Swanfish, it’s a unique event because it’s a community event and so far as I know the only capital city in Australia where most of the catches are land-based. One of the benefits of an event like this is we end up with another area of the coast that has good data on fishing, nearly a third of the Westag data, with only a couple of days effort. To

SWANFISH STATISTICS Total hours Total fishers Total fish No. Fishers caught fish No. fishers didn’t catch fish % fishers caught fish Minutes/fish Overall catch rate (fish/fisher/day) Average no. fish/fisher Total species

2019 24 272 228 89 139 39.04 6.32 0.42 0.84 20

2018 24 221 166 76 90 45.78 8.67 0.38 0.75 14

In a real sense, the Swan River is as important to the fish as it is to the people living on it. Fig.4 and Fig.5 provide a breakdown of the catch at the Swanfish event. Another interesting analysis of the event is to look at fish caught across the tide. While the Perth tide is much smaller than the tides I am used to on the east coast, there is still a similar pattern in the fishing. As with 2018, the prime times were on the lead up to high tide and the first part of the run-out. Fig.6 shows a plot of the tide and catches by hour. KALBARRI Kalbarri itself is a small piece of paradise. There are no words that do justice to the scenery on offer for the locals and they know it. Fishing isn’t just a lifestyle choice, it’s much closer to the 1970s where fishing is a natural part of daily life with groups of fishers heading out to feed the family. Kalbarri being so far from Perth, growing and catching your own food is a key part of life given the cost of transporting food to the community. On my first day I had a taste of local life thanks to Jamie Waite who with

to a customised barge to transport them to the fishing zone. There isn’t room on the barge for more than a bike and with that weight on board it’s a gentle speed, but once at the destination, the four-wheelers made up for that crossing the terrain at high speed. Along the trail we stopped off to check out some rocky outcrops where abalone used to be harvested. Ten years prior a current of hot water pushed through the coastline around Kalbarri decimating the stocks along with kelp, sea grasses and crayfish. Ten years on the stocks were still recovering and are a no take species. Even down in Perth abalone are only allowed to be targeted for one hour at a time on four separate occasions. Our first fishing stop was a bust, but the second saw Jamie nailing two good mulloway at 675mm and 970mm, both tagged and released. I managed a small tailor, although I was hoping for one his larger cousins, as catches in the region average between 600mm and a metre, dwarfing the common models from Queensland. Later that evening a boat was targeting that size class with large poppers around the rocks, highlighting that tailor of that size are serious predators. I did manage a last cast burst of fun, as the line started peeling off and I was dragged towards the water before a spinner shark burst through the waves, cutting me off as it rolled. Having never tried my hand

Speaking of sharks, the next day I headed out just past the mouth of the Murchison with Steve Wiseman to check out the cray pots. In my short stay, I managed three meals that consisted of crays, which made felt like I had won the lottery. We didn’t even get close to the pots before the boat was surrounded by sharks that have become used to the sound of the motor and have come to associate it with an easy feed. By the time we actually pulled the pot there were nearly a dozen 2m plus models hanging around. It didn’t take much to get them worked up as Steve slapped the water with a glove. Let’s just say, nobody was volunteering to go for a swim. With a full moon the night before there was nothing on offer, however we did pick up a good-sized octopus, which are common by-catch.,

for mackerel since I turned 12, so this was a real journey into my childhood. While the mackerel didn’t play ball, the spectacular coastline provided pretty good compensation. Again, I was a little early, a month or so more the winds would drop and the opportunity to fish wider would open up more opportunities. Even so, the idea of being able to go fishing in the morning before work and fresh fish, crayfish or octopus for dinner has its appeals. At some point in my Infofish journey, I intend to withdraw to a Kalbarri somewhere on the planet. Working seven days a week takes its toll creatively, and at some point, I know I will hit the limits of my problem solving and it will be time for a new perspective. I can think of no better place to refill the tank and reconnect with the real world.

Some ‘friendly’ visitors hoping for a free feed. APRIL 2019

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Salt-away 1800 091 172 or www.salt-away.com.au SERVICE CENTRE

KRIS OAKLEY MARINE SERVICES

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HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION WEST COAST Warrnambool Holiday Park (03) 5562 5031

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. 82

APRIL 2019

EAST COAST

CHARTER BOATS

SHALLOW INLET CARAVAN PARK

Able Fishing & Charters, Williamstown (03) 9502 3777

FRESH BAIT | HIRE BOATS | ICE

Adamas Fishing Charters, Barwon Heads (03) 5254 3320

On the Waters Edge

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

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Shallow Inlet Caravan Park (03) 5687 1385

Big Red Fishing Charters, Queenscliff 1800 805 587 Blue Magic Fishing Charters, Rowville (03) 9759 5301 Geelong Charters & Fishing Trips, Geelong (03) 5275 7107

ALL YOUR FISHING MONTHLY GEAR From

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Phone Cases From

29 45

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From

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TASMANIA & FLINDERS ISLAND Ausprey Tours, Launceston (03) 6630 2612 Gone Fishing Charters, St Helens (03) 6376 1553 Fish Wild Tasmania, Hobart 0418 348 223 Flinders Island Adventures, Flinders Island (03) 6359 4507

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Espirit Charters, Bermagui (02) 6493 4104 or 0407 260 110 Freedom Charters, Eden (02) 6496 1209 or 0415 602 446 Headland Fishing Adventures, Merimbula (02) 6495 1134 Island Charters, Narooma (02) 4476 1047 or 0408 428 857

From

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K9 Fishing Charters, Merimbula (02) 6495 1681 Merimbula Marina, Merimbula (02) 6495 1686 or 0427 951 080 Narooma Charters, Narooma 0407 909 111 (03) 5155 1323 ♦ 0418 516 555 ♦ 35 Roadknight Street, LAKES ENTRANCE

O’Brien Charter Service, Bermagui 0407 214 124

FISHING GUIDES Lazy Acre Log Cabins, Lakes Entrance (03) 5155 1323

CHARTER BOATS WEST COAST Portland Fishing Charters, Portland (03) 5523 3020

NSW SOUTH COAST Wilderness Fishing Tours, Mallacoota 0424 625 160 Aussie Fish Estuary Adventures (02) 6495 9902 or 0400 062 504

CHANDLERY & ACCESSORIES

CENTRAL

Anchor Right (03) 5968 5014

Timeout Fishing Charters

Salt-away 1800 091 172 or www.salt-away.com.au

Throw Pillows

From

25 4 2

and lots more...

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

Techni Ice (03) 9783 1922 X Factor Signs 0413 113 828

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Advertisers wanting to be involved in this directory can call (07) 3387 0800 or email pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au APRIL 2019

FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS BEST EATING FISH IN TIME FOR EASTER

WHITING DORY SNAPPER PIGFISH MAHIMAHI FLATHEAD SALMON MACKEREL LUDERICK CUTTLEFISH

DTD - REAL FISH OITA

BOARFISH TILAPIA TROUT FLOUNDER COD KINGFISH AMBERJACK TUNA WAHOO GROUPER

Name: Address:

P/Code:

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

VIC APRIL 2019

Phone (day):

FINS SCALES & TALES by A. Both

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

SPOT THE

10 DIFFERENCES

GEORGE & NEV by Michael Hardy

ORIGINAL

FIND-A-WORD

Congratulations to, Hannah Willmott who was last month’s winner of the Find-aWord Competition! Monthly winners receive a Fishing Monthly prize pack. Prize delivery can take 8 weeks. – V&TFM

SUBSCRIBER PRIZE

The subscriber prize winners for February are B Owen of Belgrave, M Sultana of Taylors Hill, and S Maddison of Alfredton, who each won a Salt-Away kit valued at $99.90. All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks.– V&TFM

Warren South, K Voros of Korumburra, L Vitelu of Epping, T Kubeil of Eurora, M Peeters of Colac, C Kelly of Cranbourne, L Milkins of Wonthaggi, R Meaney of St James, J McNamara of Goornong, K Robinson of Ocean Grove, M Miller of Euroa, J Stoop of Portland, J Drummond of Moe, C Sharp of Wendouree, A Pears of Truganina, M Moulding of Lakes Entrance, M Lea of Caramut, D Parry of Stawell, K

Morrison of Moama, B Crooks of Lyons, I Christensen of Rosebud, A Strange of Cardigan, T Tippet of Nurrabiel, T Logiodice of Morwell, K Tripp of Glenroy, R Gillett of Portarlington, E Dix of Hamilton, N Foot of Lara, N Sanders of Irymple, E Howarth of Cowra, and T Mathieson of Patterson Lakes. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – V&TFM

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

FIND THE GAMAKATSU LOGO

APRIL 2019

GUESS THE FISH?

This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Spanish Mackerel

The answers to Find the Gamakatsu Logo for February were: 9, 12, 18, 30, 32, 36, 40, 42, 80, 82, 86, 89, 91, 95, 119. – V&TFM The Find the Gamakatsu Logo prize winners for February were: G Ball of Tatura, P Wickham of Corinella, J Killian of Paynesville, A Bonner of Coragulac, K Scott of Gawlwer, A Melis of Reservoir, J Beer of Williamstown, N Beck of Newington, D Murray of Templestowe, T Metherell of Narre

Answer:

boats & kayaks

In the skipper’s seat

Inside story...

Bassco is a new Aussie boat company operating out of Wy Yung in Victoria. Owner Mike Boag is a skilled tradesman with many years of boat building experience and an acute attention to detail. He delivers three fantastic models in the Bassco range.

Made for...

All the boats that Mike builds are suited to fishing. There are two inshore/offshore style boats, the Tornado and the Storm, and one tournament style boat, the Hurricane. All are perfectly suited to Australian conditions and anglers.

This month...

Steve Morgan checks out the Tornado, powered by a 115hp Mercury Pro XS! Check it out on page 96!

88 Prep for winter

Justin Willmer looks at how prep for winter can start now – and it’s worth getting out there in the cold!

90 New from Savage

Wayne Kampe looks at three new hulls from the oldest aluminium boat company in Australia!

92 Sea-Doo Fish Pro 155

Peter Jung steps out of his comfort zone to try out a new fishing specific jet ski from Sea-Doo!

94 Breezaway 460

Bob Thornton takes a ride in the middle child of the Stessco Breezaway series, powered by a Yamaha F70hp!

FEBRUARY 2019

WHAT’S NEW BOATING HDS CARBON UPGRADE

The Lowrance 18.3 software update for HDS Carbon displays includes support for Active Imaging, StructureScan 3D with Active Imaging enhancements and the LR-1 Remote Control, plus a simplified user interface and new Dual Mode WiFi capability. Active Imaging allows anglers to see structure from a greater distance, with more refined detail. The software update enables support for both Active Imaging 3-in-1 and 2-in-1 transducers. Active Imaging enhancements for StructureScan 3D include a cleaner water column with less noise, refreshed colour palettes and enhanced sonar processing to deliver maximum detail, plus a new depthhighlighting feature. Users can control an HDS Carbon display from anywhere on their boat with the optional LR-1 Remote Control. The simplified HDS Carbon interface has dedicated pages for CHIRP, SideScan, DownScan Imaging, StructureScan 3D and SpotlightScan. With Dual Mode WiFi, you can maintain a WiFi connection to HDS Carbon and still use it as an access point for screen mirroring/remote control from a smartphone/ tablet. This update is also available for Simrad NSO, NSS and GO series displays. www.lowrance.com

FUSION PANELSTEREO

Fusion has released a weather-proof (IP65) version of all-in-one marine entertainment system – the Panel-Stereo Outdoor. Offering AM/FM, USB, AUX and Bluetooth streaming source options, it provides exceptional sound reproduction from a single product, and flexibility in installation options. Panel-Stereo allows boaters to enjoy the flexibility of audio control from anywhere in or on an vessel via Bluetooth from compatible Apple or Android devices. Users can also enable stereo control from a compatible Garmin watch and Fusion ARX wireless remote, or simply use the front face of the Panel-Stereo. Designed for surface mounting with the optional 43mm surface mounting spacer, Panel-Stereo can be installed onto any flat surface with no mounting cut-out required. It’s ideal for shallow wall cavities, with only a single cut-out, where standard speakers will not fit. Both flush and flat options are available. Requiring only 12V DC power, ground and AM/FM connections, the set up is quick and easy. www.fusionentertainment.com

ALL-NEW 400HP VERADO

Mercury Marine is introducing an allnew 400hp Verado outboard - the most powerful Verado on the water. The new engine is built on Mercury’s proven L6SC Verado platform, and is suitable for a wide range of applications including offshore boats, centre consoles and pontoons. As well as the added power, owners will enjoy the smooth and quiet operation. Weighing just 303kg, the same as the 350hp Verado, the newest Verado is the lightest outboard in the 400hp+ category by more than 130kg. The 400hp Verado will exclusively use the 5.44” 1.75 HD (heavy-duty) gearcase and is compatible with Mercury Joystick Piloting for Outboards. It will be available in the same model variations as the 350hp Verado.

APRIL 2019

PRODUCT GUIDE

The 3+3=6 year outboard warranty provides engine owners with an additional three years of factory-backed protection against failures caused by defects in material or production. www.mercurymarine.com.au

KOVIX KVH ALARMED LOCK

1 4

The Kovix KVH alarmed trailer U lock allows you to secure your boat, caravan or trailer. Made from high strength 304 stainless steel, this lock is designed for Australia’s tough conditions. The original KVH-88 model has now been superseded by the new KVH-96. The increased width of the new version (96mm) means it fits more coupling types. It is suitable for the following couplings: standard 50mm ball, standard 70mm ball, ALKO Offroad 3.5T and ALKO Offroad 2T. On most ball couplings, the KVH can also be locked on while the trailer is attached to your vehicle (use caution when driving with the lock attached, as extreme conditions may cause damage to the lock). Features include a built-in 120db alarm system, CR2 long-life lithium battery, on and off alarm functions and waterresistant electronics. Price: SRP: $224.95 www.kovixaustralia.com.au

CREWSAVER CREWFIT 165N

Crewsaver has released a new model lifejacket called Crewfit 165N, which is a safe, comfortable and affordable PFD for the everyday recreational boater. The Crewfit 165N Sport uses the latest 3D technology, ensuring maximum comfort levels. Entry level to the 3D range, the Crewfit 165N Sport has the essential features to ensure the user remains safe when out on the water. Key features include: ISO 12402-3 (150N) approved but with superior buoyancy (165N) to float you higher in the water; Peninsular Chin support, to keep your airway well clear of the water whatever the conditions; attachment point for Crewsaver Surface Light; soft loop D-ring for attaching safety harness (with harness option); robust outer cover for durability; UML MK5 Automatic or Halkny Roberts 840 Manual operating heads; centre buckle adjuster; crotch strap (optional extra); oral tube; whistle; reflective tape; and lifting becket. www.crewsaver.com

ICOM IC-M330GE VHF

The Japanese made Icom IC-M330, with its ultra-compact body (156.5mm x 66.5mm x 110.1mm) is the ideal marine transceiver when space is at a premium. A combination of the directional keypad and soft keys provides simple, smooth operation, and the most used functions are assigned to soft keys for quick one-push function access. A new speaker design delivers dynamic and clear sound over a wide bass and treble range, and the IC-M330/G provides a distortion-free clear audio even at full volume. The radio provides reliable communication in RF busy environment like a marina. The ICM330 radio monitors CH 70 continuously, even while you are receiving another channel. The built-in GPS receiver provides your location, bearing and speed by using information from GPS, GLONASS and SBAS. The acquired position information can be used for DSC calls. Other features include an easy-to-read full dot-matrix display, AquaQuake draining function, and IPX7 waterproof construction. www.icom.net.au

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

SCAN THE QR CODE!

MAJOR PRIZES

FIND THE

LOGO COMPETITION

1st PLACE

1000

There are 15 logos hidden throughout the pages of Fishing Monthly.

Find the logo and page number, fill in the entry form and go in the draw to win!

RRP worth of Frogley’s Offshore products

2nd PLACE

The first 40 correct entries drawn at the end of each month will win a packet of the world’s finest hooks from

500

All entries will go into the major prize draw (APRIL 30, 2019).

RRP worth of Frogley’s Offshore products

www.frogleysoffshore.com.au

3rd PLACE

200

RRP worth of Frogley’s Offshore products

PAGE NO: 1

NAME ............................................................................................................ ADDRESS .......................................................................................................

VFM Find the Gamakatsu Logo Competition, PO BOX 3172, Loganholme QLD 4129 Entries must be received by 30TH APRIL 2019 Original entries only. No photocopies.

SUBURB .................................................................P/CODE ........................... PHONE .......................................................................................................... EMAIL ............................................................................................................

VFM APRIL 2019

MAIL ENTRIES TO:

Wind woes to prepare for winter! BRISBANE

Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

I awoke at 4:30am to the sound of the alarm on my phone, barely drowning out the dreaded sound of the wind blowing through

tube remaining motionless in the shed while I joined a couple of mates on their boating adventures to scratch the fishing itch. I did make the most of one free morning for some kayak maintenance, getting my pedal yak back in order, ready for some glassy winter weather and

kayak would allow me to cover some ground, fish back into the wind and make my way back home against the forecast 20+ knots of breeze that gusted to well over this. Remember, safety first, and as always I had a plan – fishing areas that would be safe with the forecast

it has a rod rack set up that can securely hold four rigged rods and I had a selection of new colours in some of my favourite soft plastic models, so was hoping to have four different plastics rigged and ready to fish. Finally, it is set up with a quality anchor running rig or anchor trolley, allowing me to move the anchor line to the nose or tail of the kayak and anchor more effectively and safely in the wind. Launching at the local boat ramp I pedalled across the wind and set up a drift across a large flat. The first new plastic to get a run was one of my favourite profiles – a 2.5” paddletail, in the newly released green pumpkin colour. With the overcast sky and dull conditions I was pretty confident that this natural, darker silhouette colour would get eaten. Fishing in 1-1.5m of water, I had the little paddle-tail rigged on a 1/4oz 1/0 jighead. For many this would seem like too heavy a jighead, however there are a couple of reasons that I run this jighead weight.

The alternative retrieval point and trolley came in handy again with the wind blowing hard. small bream I was stoked to have it on board and took a couple of quick photos. It was my first cast with the new colour paddle tail and it was also my first fish in the

A pretty good bream was soon in the net, had its photo taken and was released. This better fish had me thinking about the coming cooler months and the quality

A simple kit – jigheads to suit the plastics, scents, snips and a few different leader weights. the trees outside. It had been a busy month of work and family commitments, topped off by what seemed like never ending wind and cyclonic conditions. I opened the front door and was greeted by gum trees blowing in the breeze and dark clouds moving across the sky. What to do? Go fishing, of course. A lack of free time and the poor weather had seen the kayaks, SUP and float

this inspired me to take on the wind and get the yak out while I had a few hours. I still hadn’t replaced the rudder cable on the kayak, so effectively had no steering. I set the rudder to straight, tightened up the tension screw so that it wouldn’t move and my plan was to simply dip the paddle blade in the water on either side to steer the kayak, while pedalling to power it. Even without the rudder the pedal

wind direction and I had an alternative option to retrieve the kayak, along with my trolley, should it become too difficult to make the pedal all the way back to the boat ramp I was launching from. There were a few more reasons for stepping up to the pedal kayak. Firstly, it is longer and larger than my small paddle kayak, so it would be much more comfortable and safer in the windy conditions. Secondly,

An anchor and running rig or anchor trolley make fishing in the wind much easier.

Just a small bream but good fun and first fish on the first cast with a new colour. 88

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Firstly it allows long casts, even in windy conditions, so that the lure is further away from the kayak, while fishing shallower water and often spooky feeders. Secondly I am drifting on the flat, so I am fishing fast and covering as much ground as possible, making as many casts as I can before I have drifted off the flat. With the strong wind moving in the same direction as the rising tide I was drifting fast. A long cast across the flat and slightly ahead of the drift, a few shakes of the plastic and then a fairly quick retrieve speed, resulting in a tap, tap and hook set. A short but stubborn fight and a small bream was in the net. Even though it was only a

kayak for a little while, with the run of bad weather and lack of time. Upon releasing the fish it powered off, giving me that bream release shower with its tail. I added a little more scent to the plastic and looked up to find that I was already halfway along the 200m flat… the speed of the drift was crazy. A couple more casts and the drag screamed as what felt like a better quality bream nailed the plastic and sped off across the flat. The speed that the fish travel at across the flat when hooked is one of the things that make rolling plastics on the flats so addictive. They can’t run deep, so they power off across the flat at blinding speed.

bream fishing that will be on the flats as there is an influx of bait into the system. Many anglers shy away from kayak fishing in the winter months, however, for me this is some of the best fishing, with plenty of bait being followed into the river and estuary systems by a mix of cold weather species. Winter days can also mean stable weather patterns, glassy conditions and an escape from the heat of summer. The key with fishing in the cooler months is to get your kayak fishing apparel sorted. Layering allows you to remove or add layers as the temperature changes and it’s important to invest in some quality outer layers, including lightweight

waterproof pants and top. A headscarf and hat or beanie will keep the head warm. There are even waterproof socks available that can keep your feet dry and warm, inside a pair of water shoes. A dry bag is a good idea for storing additional or unrequired layers. By the time the bream was released I was almost

and ensure the anchor locks into the bottom, then slide the anchor running rig into position and prepare for any jolt as the slack line is taken up. You do not want to end up side on in current and rough conditions. I made a couple of dozen casts around the kayak and after only a couple of yellowtail pike

and out of the water. When the weather is better I will be giving it a run over the sand flats and picking some pockets in the weed beds. Looking out of the mouth of the creek I could see that the wind had lifted to another level and conditions were quite rough. There were also some big black clouds looming in the distance. It

A quick clean up in the landing net while wheeling the kayak home. stopped occasionally, where the wind had pushed seaweed and rubbish up onto the bank and collected some rubbish in my landing

the environment healthier. It had been a testing, but enjoyable morning on the water, with a few fish on some new lures and the big

rain… if I was still on the water when the torrential downpour happened the ending may not have been so happy. Make the most

Four new fish lollies, rigged and ready to go. off the flat and with it blowing hard, I decided to pedal back up the flat to drift again at that speed was not an option, opting instead to anchor near the edge of the flat. It’s important that when anchoring in wind and rougher conditions you have the anchor line and running rig sorted before you move into position

and the wind increasing, it was time to leave the flat and head for the shelter of a local creek mouth. It wasn’t so much about fishing on this trip but getting out on the water and getting the big yak back in action, so I opted to explore some new water and flick another new colour, this time in one of my go-to flathead plastics.

was time to head for home. Hugging the mangroves as I exited the creek ensured that I was travelling in sheltered waters, until I rounded the last bend and felt the full power of the wind. The decision of whether to pedal back to the boat ramp or to pull out at the alternative retrieval point was made for me Only a small flathead, but it christened the new hot snakes colour in the ZMan 3” MinnowZ. net for later disposal. If we all do our bit and clean up on our travels, we will help to keep our fisheries and

yak back in action. I arrived home, cleaned and stowed the kayak and then the skies opened and it poured with

of your weather windows, gear up for the winter months and all the best with the fishing.

It’s nice to have the big rig back in action... just need to sort that rudder cable! to anchor. The last thing you want is the anchor line tangled around something, pulling something into the water or making the kayak unstable. Paddle back into the current, lower the anchor, clear the anchor line

After drifting for a while, I anchored on the edge of a weed bank and threw a lot of casts for only a couple of small flathead. I can see this new colour becoming a favourite as it looked awesome both in

instantly and I only had about a hundred metres to pedal before sliding the kayak up onto the bank at the closer exit point and loading it back onto the trolley for the roll home. On the roll home I

That’s a better quality fish and another on the new green pumpkin coloured ZMan 2.5” Slim SwimZ. APRIL 2019

Three great boats for families or anglers BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

It was a boat review to remember: a day in the Southport Broadwater

assessing three popular boats from the Savage range – the brand is celebrating 120 years of alloy boat manufacturing this year. We had the opportunity to assess a pair of great family craft

plus one more suited to us anglers. The three craft were sensibly sized rigs, ideal for the family or first time boater, easily towed by a family sized SUV or wagon and with enough features to

CELEBRATING

arouse interest in novice and experienced boat owners. All three craft sported 3mm bottoms and topsides and were finished with some considerable attention to detail and presentation. Savage are acknowledged

as the oldest alloy boat makers in our country and have a heritage, and reputation, that stands behind the range of Savage craft that are now manufactured by the massive Telwater conglomerate on the Gold Coast.

Founded in 1898

fitted) for some welldeserved snacks. There is carpeted floor throughout, while a family sized see-through glove box and a dash area large enough for all electronic deviced were all standard fare. Meanwhile, the cockpit table and bimini, plus a pair of rod holders were options. Power astern was courtesy of a 90hp Mercury

four stroke – maximum power – and even with four passengers aboard, the 485 Beachcomber had no problem exceeding 60km/h at near wide open throttle. Able to pull a skier? No question about it. Some useful options for the Beachcomber are a bait station, drum winch, plus a berley bucket so fishing is not overlooked.

What did impress me about the 485 Beachcomber, along with the stability at rest, was the roominess within the hull plus an easy, unfussed ride. The run out to our designated photo and test work area was far from smooth and the Beachcomber – with four aboard – acquitted itself very well in the short, sharp chop we encountered.

120 years of Boating!

BOW RIDER LUXURY, 485 BEACHCOMBER I was lucky enough to be aboard a couple of craft that could fulfil the roles of handy family runabouts or fishing craft, depending on the day’s requirements. The first, the 485 Beachcomber, was a nippy bowrider with seating for five on comfy pedestal seats up front and a wide folding lounge at the stern. Cockpit side pockets were large enough to take

care of less bulky items and there was also handy storage in the bow area within three compartments found under the plush cushioning up front. Access forward was via a port opening windscreen section. Personally, I’ve always thought bowriders to be a very versatile – and underrated – craft with up front seating just perfect for fun in the sun, plus it’s a handy fishing

station to have first crack at fish ahead. On family days, that extra seating would certainly be put to good use as well. A ski pole insert is fitted on this craft, so tow sports could well be part of a day on the water with the Beachcomber when conditions are right. The bowrider area is perfect to set-up an optional table (with a floor spigot

There’s sufficient room on the Beachcomber’s dash area to set-up one of the larger sounders, via a RAM bracket.

The Beachcomber’s aft seat was well set-up with a back rest but can be folded right down out of the way to provide more work room for fishing.

Strutting its stuff, the Beachcomber was amply powered by the 90 Mercury four-stroke.

When it’s time to relax and enjoy the ambience, the Beachcomber’s optional table would certainly come in handy.

The numbers tell the story: Savage are celebrating 120 years of boating in Australia.

A close look at the Beachcomber reveals her high sides and attractive lines throughout. That bimini is a must have extra in the author’s opinion.

THE 435 BAY CRUISER Although a half metre shorter and with less beam (1.95m against the 2.08m of the 485 Beachcomber) the 435 Bay Cruiser also did very well, even with four passengers aboard. This was especially apparent during

the run out to more sheltered waters where digital images could be later assessed as suitable for publication rather than simply trashed because of focus issues. The Bay Cruiser’s interior layout was very similar to

Anchor access within the 435 Bay Cruiser is simplified by an opening windscreen centre plus a recess in the front deck. 90

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that of the Beachcomber’s, with a port folding windscreen centre, a lean-through central screen section to allow anchor access and glove box in the dash. There was also carpet throughout, full cockpit length side pockets plus seating for five

via the familiar arrangement of pedestals up front and a three person lounge at the stern. Again, the ample cockpit area ensured there would be plenty of room for fishing tackle or family orientated items – extra clothes, ice boxes and

The Bay Cruiser’s dash area was large enough to provide room for plenty of gauges plus a big screen sounder on a RAM bracket.

the like – depending upon the day’s agenda. Like the 485 Beachcomber, the Bay Cruiser’s options included a bimini and rod holders with additional options also extending to similar fishing assets as the Beachcomber.

Set-up with a smooth Mercury 50 four-stroke, the 435 Bay Cruiser lifted onto the plane in a couple of boat lengths and cruised quietly at over 50km/h without much effort. In all, a neat and very useful runabout rig.

Four passengers aboard and the 435 Bay Cruiser with its 50 Mercury four-stroke was cruising nicely.

ABOARD THE 445 OSPREY Of the three craft I was invited to drive I thought the 445 Osprey was the more fishing orientated rig. It was a good sized open boat, with lots of work room and storage up front under the 55cm high cast deck to compliment the cockpit side pockets, the 445 Osprey seemed to be well set-up for fishing

and crabbing. At the helm I found the Osprey had a nice feel about it underway, too, due to the tiller steer 40 Mercury fourstroke (max power is 50hp) being quite responsive and providing that sensation of unity of motion that tiller steer rigs always do. Cruising along, I felt the 40’s offset tiller handle plus trim/tilt

at the fingertips made the journey better and just for the fun of it we recorded a speed of just over 40km/h on my handheld GPS with two aboard on the run back to base at the Marine precinct. The ride of the Savage was also good, and when belting across a few pressure waves from the two accompanying Savage

The author drove the rig over some serious wash at a good pace and was quite impressed with its performance.

The Savage 485 Beachcomber and 435 Bay Cruiser on the South Stradbroke Island beach. As useful runabout craft, either would be ideal for family fishing or boating fun.

runabouts the Osprey surprised me with its gentleness. Driving while sitting on a metal seat without padding makes it pretty easy to gauge whether a particular craft is soft riding or not. With a beam of 1.96m the Osprey was quite beamy for length while the side height of almost 900mm would ensure there would

be ample peace of mind for Mum or Dad with youngsters aboard the craft. The rating was for up to five passengers and a nice touch was the carpeted cast deck and floor throughout. Options consisted of rod holders, glove box and most interesting, a side console was available as well. I’d see the 445 Osprey fulfilling

quite a few useful roles as a fishing rig for bay, estuary or impoundment work. CONCLUSION Summing up my Savage day I formed the opinion that all three of the reviewed craft would live up to expectations of their owners and, best of all, a 4x4 is not essential to tow any of these crafts.

Time for a break! Although not top power, the 40 Mercury was an ideal motor for the tiller steer Osprey.

A useful storage hatch under the front deck was ideal for out of weather storage within the Osprey.

A look at the 445 Osprey’s interior: it’s a typical open fishing rig so beloved by a lot of anglers for the combination of simplicity and inherent usefulness.

Drop in to see your local Dealer!

king

taking Aussies ﬁshing. s or bays we haven’t seen. hooked. With our Ultra Lift dry and the tough plate sides st about anything. At a price e Prepared. Get Savage.

Find out more at savageboats.com.au

MELTON, VIC

THE MARINE SHOP 6 Holland Drive PH: 03 9747 0588 w w w. t h e m a r i n e s h o p . c o m . a u

WARRAGUL, VIC

WARRAGUL MARINE CENTRE 172 Queen St, Warragul PH: 03 5623 6250 w w w. w a r r a g u l m a r i n e . c o m . a u

ECHUCA, VIC

XTREME MARINE 24 Sturt Street PH: 03 5482 2333 w w w. x t r e m e m a r i n e . n e t . a u

Fish like a king Since 1898 Savage boats have been taking Aussies ﬁshing. There aren’t a lot of rivers, creeks, lakes or bays we haven’t seen. And there’s not a lot of ﬁsh we haven’t hooked. With our Ultra Lift Hull designed to get you there fast and dry and the tough plate sides on the 385 and up, we can handle just about anything. At a price that makes our competitors blush. Be Prepared. Get Savage.

Find out more at savageboats.com.au

APRIL 2019

Sea-Doo Fish Pro 155 - fishing with a playful twist - SC

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Main: At full flight the Sea-Doo Fish Pro 155 is pretty impressive and difficult to photograph. The author got Mark Frost to slow down a little to show you what it is all about. Above: The footrest gunwales are reinforced so you can sit side on and fish. Stability while fishing is no issue. an in-hull transducer. The Garmin units are easy to use and have quality imagery. To aid with stability at rest and to add storage versatility the rear deck platform has been extended. The extension is not blatantly obvious, however, this platform has a duel purpose as it also houses the LinQ system. This is a mounting system that allows you to attach an icebox, spare fuel or even a ski pole to the platform, maximising the versatility of the Fish Pro. It is also extra area for you to stand and fish from. The flexibility doesn’t stop there either. The rod holders can be placed in multiple positions around the icebox using a click and place system. The icebox is also large enough at 51L to hold enough food and drinks for a day or to put livies in if your

plan is to target some of the larger pelagic species. There is significant storage in a hatch in front of the seat. When I say significant, I mean serious. There is room for large and small items. Netting can be put in place to separate items and there is also a smaller compartment that has dry storage for your phone and other valuables. Want to play tunes while you are on the water? No problem! The Fish Pro has a Bluetooth sound system that ensures whatever your music requirements are, you can listen to them. Last, but certainly not least, are the seating arrangements. The seat itself has been squared off. This maintains the comfortable driving position, but also means that at rest you can sit

facing to the side. To further facilitate this, the gunnels for the foot wells have been reinforced to protect them and to give you a brace point when fighting a fish while seated. POWER AND PERFORMANCE As far as testing is concerned, I really don’t have a reference point to compare the Fish Pro 155 with anything else. Sea-Doo watercraft are powered by Rotax motors and the Fish Pro has the Rotax 1503 NA 155hp engine. I can’t say that I have ever driven anything like the Fish Pro before, but it certainly can go quickly if you want it to. They manoeuvre well and it is surprising just how agile they are, even at speed. I left most of the driving to Mark Frost from Boats and More. He spent the majority of the time we were on

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Doing boat tests for the magazines can sometimes throw you a curve ball and that was certainly the case when I arrived in Shepparton to do some reviews for Boats and More. Lined up ready to head to Lake Nagambie was a nice little fishing tinnie and to my surprise, a Sea-Doo Fish Pro 155. It was definitely going to be a different kind of boat test. The drive from Shepparton to Lake Nagambie gave me the opportunity to give Mark Frost from Boats and More the third degree on what features the Sea-Doo has, especially those targeted towards anglers. This conversation drove home to me that you need to keep an open mind and look at each test on its merits. FIRST IMPRESSION After the initial question going through my head, I was quick to realise that the Fish Pro 155 isn’t just a Sea-Doo watercraft with a few rod holders attached. A great deal of thought has gone into creating a fishing friendly platform, making it an option for the angler who wants to fish, but wants the fun as well. WHAT YOU GET From a fishing perspective, the first inclusion is the Garmin ECHOMAP Plus 62cv chart plotter sounder mounted on the dash. This quality sounder offers navigation as well as Chirp ClearVu sonar scanning using

pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

Peter Jung

the water on the Fish Pro and when not required for photos, he was off putting it through it paces. I have to say you couldn’t get the smile off his face. STABILITY AND FISHABILITY We did not spend a lot of time fishing from the Sea-Doo, but the little bit that we did do was comfortable. Stability as rest is no issue. There was no underlying feeling that you were going to be tipped into the drink even when we were hit by the wash of the ski boats going past. We did use the Sea-Doo as a camera boat for another boat test. Mark and myself were on board filming and photographing another boat as it did runs pasts, as well as jumping between the boats while on the water. I didn’t fall in the water, so it was definitely stable.

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FINAL THOUGHTS I can see the appeal of a watercraft like this and why there is a growing group of anglers taking to the water on them, especially on our bays and larger waterways. There are enough well thought out fishing features on the Sea-Doo Fish Pro 155 to effectively go fishing and yet you still have the option to just have fun using it. It definitely has a broader appeal. CHECK THEM OUT YOURSELF Mark and Simon from Boats and More were very knowledgeable about the Sea-Doo and the features and options available. The Echuca and Shepparton Boats and More dealerships do on water days and attend shows, so if you are interested in anything Sea-Doo check out their website www.boatsandmore. com.au or contact either of the stores.

Check out the YouTube video done with this test (QR code on main image) to see the take off. The Fish Pro has plenty of grunt.

Launching and retrieving the Fish Pro is as simple as driving it on and off the trailer.

Above: There are lots of well thought out features on the Sea-Doo, especially when to comes to angling. Right: The icebox has a click and place system so you can place your rod holders and other items in multiple positions.

Everything is at your fingertips at the pointy end. The Sea-Doo Fish Pro has a rearboarding ladder to assist getting back on it if you happen to go in the water.

Above left: Playing your favourite tunes is easy with the Sea-Doo Bluetooth stereo system. Above right: The foot well gunwales are reinforced to protect them and to give you a solid footing when fighting a fish.

The seat offers plenty of room and is practical for fishing.

The storage in the 155 was impressive, from the smaller compartment with dry storage for your valuables (top) to a huge compartment in front of the seat for larger items (bottom).

A good quality sounder is a must have when fishing. The Fish Pro comes with a Garmin ECHOMAP Plus 62cv chartplotter/sounder.

Above: The 51L icebox has enough room to hold food and drinks for a dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fishing or to put some livies into to go and target some serious fish. Right: This section holds the LinQ system that allows you to attach the icebox or other accessories like spare fuel or even a ski pole Right Inset: The rear deck has been extended on the Fish Pro. APRIL 2019

Stessco Breezaway 460 with Yamaha F90hp - SC

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put on a purpose-built trailer, and not just any old trailer from a yard somewhere. For extra peace of mind, the Yamaha F70hp comes with a 4-year warranty.

easily achievable if you were on your own or with people less experienced in boating. Pulling the loaded trailer back out of the water can be done with a standard

Main: The 460 is the middle child in the Breezaway range, with a 440 and 480 also available. Above: Adrian Beil from Stessco certainly made the 460 look easy to operate in a little bit of chop – probably because it was! LAUNCHING Launching couldn’t be any easier with the Breezaway, with the boat quietly sliding off the composite bunk/roller trailer with ease, with retrieval being just trouble free. Even in windy conditions, launching this boat by yourself would be

family sedan or small 4WD, with no specialised towing vehicle needed. ON THE WATER The Breezaway 460 has been designed with one goal in mind, and that is to make it easy to operate, and Stessco achieves this by making everything as open

takes a ski pole or bait board, which Stessco can provide. The working space behind the cockpit is as open as possible, with only one underdeck storage hatch, which would make an ideal kill tank. There is also storage under both gunwales to stow any small or long items out

of harm’s way. This working space is extremely versatile, and perfect for taking extra people, ski tubes, fishing tackle or camping gear. Up toward the cockpit, the new Stessco bolster-style seats are super comfortable, even with the deteriorating conditions in South East Queensland’s Pumicestone Passage, and swivel easily. There’s no rocking or wobbling, even when punching through a bit of chop, and the seats are well-padded for comfort on those longer boating trips. The windscreen provided protection from any splash that made it over the bow, and featured a design that allows quick and safe access to the anchor well. Under the front deck is enough room to put any larger items that need to be kept dry, such as camping gear. A lockable glove box is another handy feature not often seen in boats of this size. The dash layout is very simple and easy to navigate, with a flush mounted sounder diminishing the need to fit and re-fit a unit every time you launch the boat, and gadgets and switches all within flicking distance of the steering wheel. POWER The test boat was fitted with a Yamaha F70hp – the maximum horsepower for

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Length (mm) ................................................ 5054 Beam (mm) .................................................. 2100 Depth (mm)...................................................1150 Bottom sides (mm) ........................................... 3 Top sides (mm) .................................................. 3 Max. hp ............................................................ 70 Max. transom weight.....................................175 Transom height ..............................................20” Max no. people ................................................. 5 Base boat hull weight (kg) ........................... 390

and accessible as possible. The transom is an open design, meaning there’s ready access to the battery, fuel filter and splash well, which at the same time are well housed and safe from the weather. A small transom door is perfect for accessing the boat from the rear, which is also possible from the bank, as this range of runabouts draws so little water. Not only was this boat easy to pull into the shallow water transom first – we still had to stop it from drifting away! With versatility being the middle name of this boat, it also has a simple mount above the splash well that

Stessco has always produced fantastic boat/motor/trailer packages, and being an Australian boat builder, they cater very well to Australian conditions and lifestyles. While they have always built great hulls for specific purposes, some buyers just want something that will get them out on the water for a day of fishing, skiing, or just relaxing with friends and family! Perfect for this caper is the runabout style hull, of which Stessco produce many. Boaters will be pleased to know that Stessco offer not one but a range of packages for this category of buyer. This time we will be focussing on the Breezaway 460, with the tested model sporting a Yamaha F70hp at the transom. The Breezaway 460 is part of a family of versatile runabouts, which also includes the 440 and 480. Adrian Beil joined the Fishing Monthly team to take the middle child of this family for a spin. ON THE TRAILER The tested Breezaway came to the ramp on a Stessco trailer OEM built by Dunbier, which comes in either a galvanised or aluminium option. The Breezaway, being part of Stessco’s premium range, when housed on one of these trailers comes with a warranty of five years, as opposed to 24 months when not on a Stessco trailer. Additionally, being a single axle trailer, it makes the whole rig very manoeuvrable not only when towing, but also in the garage with only one person pushing or pulling. There’s no doubt that a boat will have a longer life when

SPECIFICATIONS

Bob Thornton

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this craft – and it delivered fantastic fuel economy and a top speed of 57km/h in the choppy conditions. Amazingly, there wasn’t a lot of difference between the most economic cruising speed at 43km/h (4500rpm), which delivered 3.1km/L, and the top speed of 57km/h (WOT), which delivered only slightly less, at 2.6km/L. FINAL THOUGHTS This boat, if fitted out correctly, could head offshore, however there are more suitable boats in the Stessco range for regular offshore work. Where the 460 really excels is in the bays, estuaries and lakes with general boating, skiing, camping and fishing in mind. This rig is absolutely perfect for someone who wants maximum usage out of a boat and doesn’t want to have to rob a bank to afford it. As tested, this rig would come home for around the low to mid $30,000s, with different outboards and optional additions affecting this price. If you’d like to check out this boat or any others in the Stessco range, you can jump online and check them out on Instagram and Facebook at ‘Stessco’, or visit their website at www. stessco.com.au.

PERFORMANCE RPM .................. km/L ............................ km/h Idle ........................ 6.3 ....................................3 1000 ...................... 6.1 ....................................4 1500 ...................... 4.1 ....................................8 2000 ...................... 2.8 ....................................9 2500 ...................... 2.3 .................................. 11 3000 ...................... 2.6 .................................. 17 3500 ...................... 2.9 .................................. 27 4000 ...................... 2.9 .................................. 33 4500 ...................... 3.1 .................................. 43 5000 ...................... 2.9 .................................. 48 5500 ...................... 2.6 .................................. 55 WOT ...................... 2.6 .................................. 57

That square in the middle of the windscreen opens up to provide access to the anchor well.

An uncomplicated dash layout with a flush mounted sounder makes this rig very easy for a less experienced boater to operate.

The underfloor kill tank is a handy feature, and means there’s no need to drag a stinky esky on board if you’re after a feed of fish. The anchor well is sensibly-sized and shaped, and isn’t complicted by an anchor winch. Queenslanders are tough like that!

Top: The Stessco trailers OEM built by Dunbier improve the warranty deal, and almost definitely the longevity of the boat. Above: Launching the 460 was no hassle, with the rig sliding off without any back-breaking pushing or shoving.

Having an open transom means you can access the battery on the water should anything go wrong. Although open, it was well-housed and safe from spray.

Stessco’s OEM built trailers by Dunbier come in a aluminium or galvanised option.

Side pockets offered storage for small or long items, well out of harm’s way. The work area behind the cockpit is left deliberately empty and free.

Top: Extra seating via a lounge is a great idea, and gives younger passengers the chance to feel the open air and enjoy their boating experience with safety. Above: The open transom and work area would make any onwater activity very easy and safe for all passengers aboard.

While 70hp is the maxiumum horsepower the 460 can take, it felt just right for the boat, and offered excellent fuel economy, even at WOT! APRIL 2019

Bassco Tornado CC with 115hp Mercury Pro XS - SC

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Main: The Bassco Tornado is a locally designed and built centreconsole that is a rare combination – it holds a stack of tackle efficiently and you can seriously tackle oceanic species. Above: Wayne Mauger is equally at home on an estuary of Port Phillip Bay in his Tornado. You’ll notice that Wayne has accessorised his Tornado to the hilt. boats seemingly well built, but they will hold the gear of the biggest tackle junkie for a social or tournament angler. Bassco customer Wayne Mauger brought his Tornado along to the test day. He came out of an American built Triton bass boat into the Bassco and couldn’t be happier. “This boat does

SPECIFICATIONS Length........................................................5.0m Beam........................................................2.07m Transom.Deadrise ...................................... 20° Capacity ............................................ 4 persons Max.hp ..................................................... 115hp (special build 150hp available) Hull.Weight .............................................. 690kg 96

APRIL 2019

everything that my bass boat used to do, but I can still get out and fish offshore,” Wayne said. “I like to sit down when I drive a centre console – which is unusual – but to me, this handles like a 7m boat,” he continued. Unfortunately, the test day was glamour , with not a ripple on the water, so we couldn’t independently test the tide in nasty conditions, but we did see how much tackle this thing gobbles up. With eight rods under the deck and another six around the console, the Tornado boasts 14-rod storage along with 20 tackle trays that are actually accessible. Whether you are needing

DE FOR EX

It’s hard not to get enthusiastic when talking to Michael Boag from Bassco boats. The Gippsland Lakes boat builder has a solid history in building big, dieselpowered fibreglass boats and only recently turned his hand to making smaller boats designed for fishing. Cleverly, though, when doing his R&D, Michael enlisted the help of anglers. “I know it’s a strange concept – actually talking to the guys who will use the boat,” he quipped sarcastically during the video interview (scan the QR code hereby for details), “but for me, layout and the ability for a boat to securely hold all of your gear and to keep it dry is a benchmark that I judge a fishing boat by.” After all, locally built craft have to compete with imported fishing boats that have had decades to evolve to a point where they are a pleasure to use. I’m happy to report that not only are the Bassco

s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

a livewell or a kill box, there’s a great, plumbed box under the console seat that serves both purposes. Powered by a 115hp Pro XS Mercury, this sure is a fun boat to drive. The 2.1L 4-stroke powerplant delivered great economy at 4,000rpm cruising speed (2.4km/L at 46km/h) but stretched out to a mid-70km/h maximum at 6,200rpm. There’s also a cavernous fuel tank underfloor, boasting 140L capacity and a theoretical range of around 350km, and that’s plenty for a weekend away! With a package price of $50,999 for the boat/motor and trailer, it’s up to you after that to accessorise with electronics and electric motors of your choosing. Wayne certainly hasn’t skimped in any of these

Steve Morgan

CON

AN THE

FMG

PERFORMANCE RPM...... Speed.(km/h) Idle .......................... 4 1000 ......................... 8 2000....................... 12 3000....................... 29 4000....................... 46 5000....................... 61 6000....................... 74 6200 ....................... 76 areas, with top of the line Humminbird and MinnKota gear finishing his rig exactly as he likes it. For more information, give Michael Boag a call on 0417 545 593 or visit their Facebook page (Bassco Boats). They don’t have a website yet, so don’t look for them there. But if you’re considering a local alternative to an imported fishing boat, you do need to throw a Bassco into the mix!

The Tornado jumps onto the plane easily with the 115 Pro XS Mercury. Wayne likes driving his centre console while sitting down.

Top: It’s impractical to flush mount a sounder into the console, yet the Humminbird fills the console top nicely. Above: Step up to the front deck for your lure casting. From the console forwards, it looks and fishes like a bass boat (but without any carpet).

There’s plenty of room to move up front – and the grab rail is a handy place to grab while you are doing so.

I dare any angler to be unimpressed by the cavernous central rod and tackle storage. This one holds 8 rods and 14 tackle trays, while being dry and secure.

Moderate transom deadrise offers a balance between wave cutting ability and shallow water draft.

Top: Plenty of anglers nowadays appreciate a carpet-free interior. You do your cleaning with a brush and hose rather than a wet-and-dry vacuum cleaner. Left: The transom is clean with access points contained behind access hatches Right: You can store more rods in the side pockets if 8 isn’t enough in the central locker. Too many rods isn’t enough.

Top: A single-axled trailer with mechanical override brakes is all that’s needed and this rig is towable behind most family cars. Left: Single-axled trailers allow for easier manoeuvrability in confined spaces – like a standard garage. Right: Mercury’s 2.1L 115 Pro XS 4-stroke is a class-leading power plant that adds excitement to any performance craft. It matches the red hull nicely, just quietly. It delivered maximum economy of 2.4km/L, giving a theoretical range of around 350km with the 140L fuel tank.

You know that the Tornado will turn heads at the ramp and on the water. The boat drives on and off the trailer with ease. APRIL 2019

Victorian Tide Times

2019 2019 Local Time

POINT LONSDALE – VICTORIA POINT – 144° VICTORIA LAT 38°LONSDALE 18’ S LONG 37’ E

JANUARY Time Time m JANUARY 0113 0801 TU 1359 2109 TU

1 1 2 0205 0853 2

Time 0.54 0113 1.48 0801 0.35 1359 1.37 2109 0.65 0205 1.41 0853 0.36 1455 1.38 2215 0.75 0304 1.35 0948 0.36 1557 1.41 2318 0.81 0414 1.30 1046 0.35 1700

18’ S of High LONG 144° 37’ E TimesLAT and38° Heights and Low Waters Times and Heights of High and Low Waters MARCH FEBRUARY MARCH FEBRUARY m Time Time m Time m Time m

Time m Time m 0032 0.58 0230 0.73 0032 0.58 0230 0.73 0712 1.43 0907 1.32 09070.36 1.32 13050712 0.411.43 FR 1515 15151.35 0.36 1956 1.310.41 2245 WE 1305 FR 1956 1.31 2245 1.35 0116 0.67 0330 0.80 03301.26 0.80 07520116 1.380.67 1004 10040.39 1.26 13460752 0.391.38 SA 1617 16171.35 0.39 TH 1346 SA 2058 1.310.39 2345 2058 1.31 2345 1.35 0207 0.75 0444 0.84 04441.22 0.84 08400207 1.330.75 1106 11060.40 1.22 14350840 0.361.33 SU 1724 FR 1435 SU 1724 0.40 2205 1.340.36 2205 1.34 0307 0.83 0045 1.38 00450.82 1.38 09360307 1.290.83 0559 05591.21 0.82 15330936 0.331.29 MO 1208 12080.38 1.21 SA 1533 MO 2317 1.390.33 1825 1825 0.38 2317 1.39 0420 0.86 0138 1.43 01380.76 1.43 10420420 1.280.86 0704 07041.24 0.76 16441042 0.291.28 TU 1305 13050.36 1.24 SU 1644 0.29 TU 1918 1918 0.36 0026 1.47 0222 1.47 0026 1.47 0222 1.47 0538 0.84 0757 0.69 0538 0.84 0757 0.69 11561156 1.301.30 WE 1356 1.28 1356 1.28 MO WE 1757 0.24 2005 1757 0.24 20050.34 0.34

16 16

0.54 1.48 WE 0.35 1.37

Time 0140 0140 0802 0802 SA 1400 1400 SA2128 2128 0233 0233 0859 0859 SU 1457 1457 SU2241 2241 0341 0341 1008 1008 MO 1608 1608 MO2356 2356 0501 0501 1132 1132 TU 1730 TU 1730

16 16

m 0.72 0.72 1.34 1.34 0.30 0.30 1.36 1.36 0.79 0.79 1.30 1.30 0.30 0.30 1.36 1.36 0.83 0.83 1.27 1.27 0.31 0.31 1.41 1.41 0.81 0.81 1.29 1.29 0.30 0.30

17 17

18 18

19 19

1.45 0018 20 5 0018 0529 0.82 1.45 5 0529 0.82 20

0101 1.48 0101 0.72 1.48 20 200621 0621 0.72 WE 1251 1.36

6 6

WE 1455 WE 2215

3 0304 0948 3

TH 1557 TH 2318

4 0414 1046 4

FR 1700 FR

1.28 SA 1145 1145 SA 0.33 1800 1800 0115 1.50 0115 0635 0.79 0635 1.29 SU 1240 SU 1240 1852 0.30 1852

0.65 1.41 TH 0.36 1.38

0.75 1.35 FR 0.36 1.41 0.81 1.30 SA 0.35

SU 1.28 0.33

21 21

1.50 0.79 MO 1.29 0.30

1251 WE1848 1848 0159 0159 0730 0730 1358 TH 1358 TH1953 1953

21 21

1.36 0.26 0.26 1.56 1.56 0.59 0.59 1.45 1.45 0.24 0.24

1.55 1.55 01280128 1.551.55 0300 0203 03001.51 1.5122 0250 0250 1.62 1.62 7 0203 22 22 0730 0.73 0.73 06480648 0.760.76 7 7 0841 7 0730 08410.62 0.62 220828 0828 0.45 0.45 1330 1.30 1307 1.36 1441 1.32 1458 1.55 MO TU TH FR 1.30 MO 1330 1939 0.28 0.28 1939 0246 0246 1.58 1.58 0816 0816 0.68 0.68 TU 1415 WE 1415 TU 1.33 1.33 2022 2022 0.27 0.27

8 8

1.36 1441 1.32 FR 1458 TU 1307 TH 1903 0.180.18 2046 2048 1903 20460.33 0.33 2048 02230223 1.631.63 0331 1.54 0337 0331 1.54 0337 07480748 0.660.66 0920 0921 09200.55 0.55 0921 1409 1.431.43 FR FR 1522 15221.37 1.37 SA 1553 WE 1409 SA1553 20032003 0.150.15 2123 2139 21230.34 0.34 2139

23 23

1.55 0.24 0.24 1.66 1.66 0.33 0.33 1.61 1.61 0.26 0.26

1.60 1.60 03140314 1.691.69 0401 0420 0323 04011.56 1.56 0420 1.67 1.67 9 0323 24 24 0859 0.63 0.63 08440844 0.540.54 9 9 0956 1010 9 24 0859 09560.49 0.4924 1010 0.23 0.23 WE 1458 1.35 TH 1505 1.50 SA 1601 1.40 SU 1646 1.64 WE 1458 1.35 TH 1505 1.50 2102 2102 0.28 0.28 20582058 0.150.15

SA 1601 1.40 2157 21570.37 0.37

SU 1646 1.64 2225 2225 0.31 0.31

Time 0113 0113 0741 1345 FR 0741 2105 FR 1345 2105 0158 0158 0829 1431 SA 0829 SA 1431 2201 2201 0250 0250 0924 1528 SU 0924 SU 1528 2301 2301 0359 0359 1030 1639 MO 1030 MO 1639

m 0.63 0.63 1.38 1.38 0.32 0.32 1.37 1.37 0.71 0.71 1.29 1.29 0.39 0.39 1.32 1.32 0.78 0.78 1.22 1.22 0.46 0.46 1.29 1.29 0.82 0.82 1.18 1.18 0.50 0.50

Local Time APRIL APRIL Time Time m

m Time m Time m 0036 0.65 0215 0.77 0036 0.65 02150846 0.77 1.22 0652 1.39 0652 08461439 1.22 0.54 12481.39 0.28 SA MO 0.54 1.29 19580.28 1.44 MO 14392210 SA 1248 TU 1958 1.44 2210 1.29 0118 0.71 0316 0.81 0118 03160955 0.81 1.18 07380.71 1.35 0738 0955 1.18 0.61 13331.35 0.30 SU TU 1543 0.61 1.28 SU 1333 WE 20590.30 1.39 TU 15432310 2059 1.39 2310 1.28 0209 0.76 0438 0.80 0209 04381110 0.80 1.18 08370.76 1.30 0837 11101705 1.18 0.64 14301.30 0.35 MO WE MO 1430 22100.35 1.37 WE 1705 0.64 TH 2210 1.37 0315 0.78 0008 1.30 0315 00080601 1.30 0.74 09530.78 1.28 0953 0601 0.74 1.23 15431.28 0.40 TU TH 1220 1.23 0.64 TU 1543 FR 23250.40 1.38 TH 12201822 2325 1.38 1822 0.64 0437 0.74 0058 1.34 0437 00580659 1.34 0.65 11230.74 1.31 1123 06591318 0.65 1.32 17101.31 0.42 WE FR 1.32 0.62 WE 1710 0.42 SA FR 13181919 1919 0.62 0031 1.44 0140 1.39 0031 1.44 0140 1.39 0600 0.64 0742 0.56 0600 0.64 0742 0.56 12431.40 1.40 1407 1.42 TH SA 1243 1407 1.42 SU TH 1833 0.41 SA 1833 0.41 20022002 0.60 0.60 01301.51 1.51 0130 02170217 1.44 1.44 07110.50 0.50 0711 07180718 0.47 0.47 13501.52 1.52 1349 FR SU 1350 1349 1.52 1.52 FR 1940 0.40 SU MO 1940 1940 0.40 1940 0.58 0.58

16 16

Time

0055 16 16 0730 TU 1313 2043

m 0055 0.73 0730 1.33 1313 0.46 2043 1.41 0200 0.72 0852 1.32 1425 0.55 2153 1.41 0322 0.67 1021 1.38 1552 0.60 2258 1.44 0443 0.56 1136 1.49 1715 0.60 2356 1.49 0548 0.43 1241 1.61 1822 0.59

17 17

0200 17 17 0852

18 18

0322 18 18 1021

19 19

0443 19 19 1136

0003 1.30 0003 5 0520 1.30 0.82 20 5 0520 0.82 20 TU 1138 1.17

0548 20 20 1241

21 21

0048 0048 1.54 21 21 0643 0643 0.32

0146 1.38 1.38 22 7 0146 0733 0.67 0.6722 7 0733 TH 1339 1.27

0136 1.57 22 22 0731 0731 0.24 MO 1430

22 33 44

TU 1138 1753 1753 0100 0100 0636 0636 1243 WE 1243 WE 1855 1855

1.17 0.50 0.50 1.33 1.33 0.76 0.76 1.21 1.21 0.48 0.48

1.27 TH 1339 1945 0.45 0.45 1945

WE 1425 2153

TH 1552 2258

FR 1715 2356

SA 1822

SU 1339 1915

1430 2002

02211.57 1.57 0225 1.43 1.43 01530153 1.48 1.48 0219 8 0225 230221 8 0752 08080.36 0.36 8 0752 0817 0.58 0.5823 23 23 8 0816 0817 0808 0.39 0.39 TU MO 1429 1.60 FR 1426 1.35 SA 1450 1.63

FR 1426 1.35 SA 1450 1.63 MO 1429 1.60 TU 1516 20340.39 0.39 2028 0.44 0.44 2028 2034 20152015 0.58 0.58 2045

1339 1.72 1915 0.58

m 0.73 1.33 0.46 1.41 0.72 1.32 0.55 1.41 0.67 1.38 0.60 1.44 0.56 1.49 0.60 1.49 0.43 1.61 0.59 1.54 0.32 1.72 0.58

0136 1.57 0.24 1.79 1.79 2002 0.58 0.58 0219 1.58 1.58 0816 0.21 0.21 1516 1.80 1.80 2045 0.58 0.58

0259 1.48 1.48 03081.61 1.61 02290229 1.51 1.51 0300 0300 1.57 24 240308 9 0826 9 0259 0855 0.50 0.5024 08590.25 0.25 9 0826 24 9 0859 0.34 0.34 0900 0900 0.22 0855 SA 1508 1.42 SU 1545 1.71 TU 1507 1.65 WE 1559

1.57 0.22 1.77 1545 1.71 1507 1.65 1559 1.77 1508 1.42 SU TU WE SA 2104 0.44 0.44 21230.41 0.41 2123 20512051 0.58 0.58 2125 2125 0.60 0.60 2104

1.61 1.61 04000400 1.711.71 0431 0501 0330 1.51 1.51 03511.63 1.63 1.54 0356 04311.56 1.56 0501 1.65 1.65 03040304 1.51 1.51 0338 0338 10 0356 25 25 250351 25 10 0330 0937 0.58 0.58 09360936 0.430.4310 1029 1057 0929 0.43 0.4325 09450.18 0.181010 25 10 10 25 0941 0941 0.26 0937 10290.44 0.4425 1057 0.18 0.18 10 0945 09000900 0.30 0.30 0929 1639 1537 1.36 1600 1.54 1639 1.42 1738 1.63 1546 1.48 1634 1.73 1545 1.67 TH

FR FR 1600 1.54 SUSU 1639 1.42 MO TH 1537 1.36 MO 1738 1.63 2139 2139 0.30 0.30 21492149 0.180.18 2230 2309 22300.40 0.40 2309 0.38 0.38

1.54 0.26 1634 1.73 1545 1.67 TH 1639 TH 1.71 1.71 SU 1546 1.48 MO MO WE WE SU 2139 0.45 0.45 22070.44 0.44 0.62 0.62 2207 21272127 0.59 0.59 2204 2204 2139

1.60 1.60 04450445 1.711.71 04311.61 1.61 0401 1.53 1.53 05021.55 1.55 03390339 1.50 1.50 0416 0416 1.49 0540 1.61 1.61 11 0427 26 26 11 0401 260431 26 26 11 0427 110502 260540 1015 0.54 0.54 10271027 0.340.3411 1100 10300.16 0.161111 1000 0.37 0.3726 1140 1015 11000.39 0.3926 1030 09340934 0.28 0.28 1019 1019 0.32 1000 1140 0.17 0.17 11 1717 1616 1.37 1652 1.55 1717 1.43 1721 1.71 1623 1.67 1624 1.53 1829 1.58 FR

SA SA 1652 1.55 MOMO 1717 1.43 TU FR 1616 1.37 TU 1829 1.58 2214 2214 0.33 0.33 22382238 0.240.24 2303 2350 23030.45 0.45 2350 0.46 0.46

1.49 0.32 1721 1.71 1.67 FR 1717 FR 1.64 1.64 TH MO 1624 1.53 TUTU TH 1623 MO 22480.48 0.48 2212 0.47 0.47 2248 22032203 0.61 0.61 2243 2243 0.65 0.65 2212

05331.53 1.53 0510 04150415 1.48 1.48 0455 0455 0433 0619 1.54 1.54 1.43 1.59 1.59 05270527 1.681.68 05101.57 1.57 0433 1.53 1.53 12 0458 27 120533 270619 27 27 12 0458 27 12 27 1050 11310.36 0.3627 1112 10101010 0.28 0.28 1032 1222 0.19 0.19 12 1058 1058 0.39 1050 0.51 0.51 11151115 0.280.2812 1131 11120.18 0.181212 1032 0.33 0.3327 1222 1654 1.36 1747 1.54 1757 1.43 1806 1.66 1704 1.63 1701 1.55 1920 1.51 1756 1.56

1.54 1757 1.43 WE SA 1.36 SU 1747 SU WE1920 1.51 SA 1654 TU TU 23380.50 0.50 2246 2246 0.38 0.38 23252325 0.330.33 2338

1.43 0.39 TU SA SA 1756 1.56 WE 1806 1.66 FR FR 1704 1.63 TU 1701 1.55 WE 2328 22412241 0.64 0.64 2321 2321 2246 0.69 0.69 23280.53 0.53 2246 0.50 0.50

0506 0031 0.54 0.54 1.37 06061.49 1.49 0547 04520452 1.45 1.45 0535 0535 1.56 1.56 06070607 0506 1.51 1.51 1.631.63 05471.51 1.51 13 0529 280031 28 130606 28 28 13 0529 13 28 28 1124 1103 0659 1.47 1.47 13 1134 1134 0.46 12030.33 0.3328 1151 10471047 0.29 0.29 1124 0.48 0.48 1103 0.30 0.3028 0659 12021202 0.240.2413 1203 11510.23 0.231313 1733 1.35 1739 1.55 1303 0.25 1837 1.48 1845 1.50 1840 1.42 1850 1.58 1748 1.58

1.50 SU 1.35 MO 1845 MO SU 1733 2319 2319 0.44 0.44

1840 1.42 WEWE

00150.57 0.57 1.53 1.53 00100010 0.430.43 14 0600 29 140015 1157 06411.44 1.44 14 0600 29 1157 0.46 0.46 06480648 1.561.5614 0641 MO 1815 1.33 TU 1248 0.24 TH 1236 0.31

MO 1815 1.33 TU 1248 0.24 TH 1236 0.31 19291.40 1.40 2354 2354 0.50 0.50 19451945 1.451.45 1929 0635 1.48

0054 0.53

0055 0.64

1.48 0054 0.53 0.64 15 1230 30 150055 07181.39 1.39 15 0635 30 1230 0.43 0.43 07300730 1.481.4815 0718 TU 1902 1.32 WE 1333 0.27 FR 1315 0.30 TU 1902 1.32

WE 1333 0.27 FR 1315 0.30 20241.37 1.37 20452045 1.401.40 2024 01400140 0.640.64 08160816 1.401.40 1421 TH 1421 0.310.31 TH 2144 2144 1.371.37

31 31

TH1303 0.25 TH 2012 1.44 1.44 2012

WE SU WE 1739 1.55 THTH 1850 1.58 SA SA 1748 1.58 2322 23202320 0.68 0.68 2322 0.54 0.54

1.37 0.46 SU 1837 1.48

0.73 0539 0007 05340534 1.41 1.41 0001 0001 0539 1.48 1.48 00070.58 0.58 14 29 29 0620 0620 1.30 1136 0627 11291129 0.33 0.33 14 29 1136 0.28 0.2829 06271.44 1.441414 TH 1820 1.53 FR 1230 0.30 SU 1837 1.51 MO 1214 0.55

TH 1820 1.53 2359 2359 0.59 0.59

FR 1230 0.30 1934 19341.49 1.49

0.73 1.30 SU 1837 1.51 MO 1214 0.55 1922 1922 1.41 1.41

0614 0046 00030003 0.71 0.71 0045 0045 0.76 0614 1.44 1.44 00460.64 0.64 30 30 15 1210 0707 06250625 1.36 1.36 0715 0715 1.24 15 30 1210 0.27 0.2730 07071.36 1.361515 FR 1905 1.49 SA 1309 0.38 MO 1215 0.39 TU 1257 0.63

FR 1905 1.49

SA 1309 0.38 2021 20211.41 1.41 0128 01280.71 0.71 0752 07521.29 1.29 1350 0.46 SU 1350 0.46 SU 2113 21131.34 1.34

0.76 1.24 TU 1257 0.63 MO 1215 0.39 19351935 1.45 1.45 2012 2012 1.36 1.36

31 31

 Copyright Commonwealth of Australia2018, 2018,Bureau Bureau of of Meteorology Meteorology  Copyright Commonwealth of Australia Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide are in local standard time (UTC +10:00)orordaylight daylight savings savings time when in effect TimesTimes are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) time(UTC (UTC+11:00) +11:00) when in effect Moon Phase Symbols New Moon First Quarter Full Moon LastLast Quarter New Moon First Quarter Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon 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. 98

APRIL 2019

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