Vic/Tas Fishing Monthly February 2018

FEBRUARY FISHY FUN• KINGFISH CHAOS

NEW FIND THE

LOGO COMPETITION

Techniques

SEE INSIDE!

Tackling kingfish and getting ready for action • Lures and techniques guide for trout • Topwater EPs at Devils Bend

Boating & kayaking

•

Urban exploration in the kayak • Enjoying your summer boating • Sea Jay Velocity Sports 550 • Stessl 580 Seahawk with Yamaha F130hp •

Features DIY Lure making: Pop‘n’Doc • Mixing and matching bladed and skirted lures •

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February 2018, Vol. 13 No. 4

Contents WEST COAST West Coast

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18

19

36

43

Portland 19 Warrnambool 19 Apollo Bay

20

Cobden 20

CENTRAL Geelong 22 Port Phillip West

24

Port Phillip North East

26

Port Phillip East

28

Mornington Peninsula

30

Western Port North

31

Western Port South

32

Phillip Island

34

EAST COAST Lakes Entrance

36

Marlo 36 Gippsland Lakes

37

McLoughlins Beach

38

Bemm River

38

NSW SOUTH COAST Eden 42 Mallacoota 42 Bermagui 43 Merimbula 44 Narooma 45

VICTORIAN FRESHWATER Horsham 88 Robinvale 89 Yarrawonga 89

From the Editor’s Desk...

We love the February magazine for plenty of reasons, but a major one is that we get to include one of the two Tournament Angler Guides from ABT in the middle of this issue – 32 pages of tips, tackle and techniques that have been derived from the BREAM, BASS and BARRA Tour in 2017.

Now we know that most of the fishing population aren’t tournament anglers and don’t ever want to be a tournament angler, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that there are techniques and tackle developed on tour that will help you enjoy your fishing even more.

So if you keep an open mind, there’s a lot to be gained from those pages.

An example is Stefan Sawynok’s piece merging sports science and fishing.

Although targeted at tournament anglers who want

to improve their performance, who doesn’t want to catch more fish?

DIGITAL MAGAZINES OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED Thank you to all of our new digital subscribers that have signed up through the platform on www.issuu.com.

We are confident enough now to run the ad in the magazine to promote it (rather than just a couple of paragraphs in the Editor’s Desk).

The three-magazinesfor-one-price has been really popular. You get your home state magazine plus the two others and they are launched

about an hour after we sent the title to the printers. That’s nearly two weeks earlier than they arrive in your mailbox.

There has been little confusion about the digital subs; some readers thought that you got it for free with your paid, printed subscription. That’s not the case – for your $65 per year, you get either a print issue (from your state) OR a digital subscription (for three states).

Got it? Good. If you have any teething problems, give us a buzz in the office and we can sort you out.

REDBUBBLE One of our 2018 resolutions was to solve the FM merchandise issue – y’all love it but we infrequently stock it.

Problem fixed.

We’ve partnered with Redbubble to offer a massive variety of clothing and other merchandise to satisfy your urge, or to fill the gift bag.

The way Redbubble works is that you pick your item, pick your logo and they custommake and ship it to you.

THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR And apart from all of that, we hope you enjoy the tail end of summer. It offers warm water and what many would argue is the best time of the year to catch fish and spend time on the water. There’s our popular Find-the competition inside and mountains of articles that relate to fishing in YOUR state.

Get into it!

Jindabyne 90 Wangaratta 91 Shepparton 92 Ballarat 93 Bonnie Doon

94

Eildon 94 Eildon Rivers

95

Bendigo 96

TASMANIA WRAP

82

BOATING AND KAYAK

113

REGULAR FEATURES Back to Basics

16

Chappy’s Hotspot

41

Dam Levels

89

Fun Page Inland Fisheries Service

112 81

Spearfishing 80 Tasmanian Lake Levels

84

Tech Tricks

100

Tournament News

108

Track My Fish

106

Trade and Services Guide

110

Victorian Tide Times

122

What’s new fishing

102

What’s new boating

115

SPECIAL FEATURES Tackling kings and getting ready for action

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Field Editor: Kelly Hunt Publishers: Steve Morgan Matthew Drinkall Advertising: Ph: (07) 3387 0800 Fax: (07) 3387 0801 Copy and materials should be sent direct to: ads@fishingmonthly.com.au

Distribution: Gordon & Gotch Pty Ltd Subscriptions: Kym Rowbotham

A Richard Abela image.

TO SUBSCRIBE SEE PAGE 79 FIND THE GAMAKATSU LOGO COMPETITION PAGE 17 Victorian and Tasmanian Fishing Monthly magazine goes on sale the last week of each preceding month (latest sale date 31st of the month).

Office Manager: Marie Dykstra Annual Subscriptions: $65 for twelve issues (GST inc.)

Make cheques payable to Queensland Fishing Monthly PO Box 3172 LOGANHOLME QLD 4129 SUBSCRIPTION HOTLINE FREECALL 1800 228 244

Published by:

Qld Fishing Monthly Pty Ltd ABN 72-010-542-195 All material is © copyright, and cannot be reproduced in part or in full, by any means, without written permission of the Managing Editor. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher.

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Advertising Enquiries: Peter Jung ads@fishingmonthly.com.au

Website: www.fishingmonthly.com.au

Richard Abela displays a lovely East Gippsland kingfish.

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Sub-Editors: Bob Thornton Nicole Penfold Cordelia Adams

Production: Karen Millward Jenna Milburn Keith Hawley

OUR COVER

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Editorial Manager: Jacqui Thomas

Printing: APN – Print

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DIY lure making: Pop‘n’Doc

Managing Editor: Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

Advertising Sales: Peter Jung pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au Phone: (07) 3387 0800

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Topwater EPs at Devils Bend

Phone: (07) 3387 0800 Fax: (07) 3387 0801

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AUST

Trout offerings – lures and techniques

VICTORIA FISHING MONTHLY

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ION

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84

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TOURNAMENT ANGLER GUIDE

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CI

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Central Gippsland

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Crater Lakes

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Melbourne Metro

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Yellowtail Kingfish

Tackling kings and getting ready for action WESTERN PORT STH

Jarrod Day jarrodday@iprimus.com.au

It was back in 2009 when the first reports of kingfish being caught in Port Phillip Bay’s Rip began to surface.

This was after a solid 20 year drought – they had

and rec anglers?

The answer is still unclear, however today the kingfish fishery in the Rip is as healthy as ever and has been growing stronger with passing each season. Catches of kingfish over 15kg may raise a few eyebrows, but it’s the excitement of just hooking one that sees

the water back in the day.

Understanding how the Rip’s currents operate is the first hurdle before getting one onto your hook. Without prior knowledge, things can go from bad to worse in the blink of an eye, so it always pays to fish with someone experienced before you do something you might regret.

Matt Cini prides himself on targeting kingfish in the Rip. for kings in the Rip requires extremely tough tackle.

Being one of the more brutal species of fish to battle, kingfish are notorious for finding every weakness in your tackle, leaving you with one lure less in your tackle kit and sometimes without your rod and reel.

Couple their fighting

Yellowtail scad make some of the best live baits available. all but disappeared. Why they left is anyone’s guess.

Was it that the current dispersion or the bait they were chasing diminished or was it over fishing by the commercial sector

more dead lift power you can have, the easier it will be to get them up. My setup is a 14000 Shimano Twin Power mounted to a Wilson Venom 350. This specific rod is a little more expensive than most but is very comfortable to jig and live bait with and provides enough lifting power to not wear the angler

hundreds of anglers all trying their luck.

The Rip is no easy place to fish; in fact it is Victoria’s most treacherous waterway.

Hundreds of boats went down here due to the uncertainty of

Live baits don’t last long once they’re sent down to the depths. Ensure your tackle is up to the task.

Gathering as many live bait as possible is the key to a successful session.

GETTING READY FOR BATTLE Due to the fast current, deep water and reef, rigging

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FEBRUARY 2018

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ability with the current and the reef and you’re certainly in for one heck of a fight, which is why you need to be geared and ready from the get-go.

In an ideal world, it would be good if you could suit up with a few Shimano Stella 18000 reels but at just over the $1,000 mark it can become an expensive setup. Dropping down in a few bearings and a little drag pressure, reels like Shimano’s Saragosa 18000 will certainly bring them to the top. Load it with 60-80lb braid to ensure you can turn their head in the split second they take the bait or jig. Also, choose a multicoloured braid so you can put the jig or live bait right on their nose once you find them on the sounder. Most multi-coloured braids are coloured every 10m so you can count down the colours to know the depth where the fish are holding.

Rods also need to be able to pack a punch and when fighting a fish boat-side, the

out during the fight. Taking a step down, Shimano’s T-Curve 200 or Revolution Offshore 200 will handle them with no problems and won’t break the budget when you’re setting up.

Overhead reels are also just as effective, but you’d want to get something of quality with a moderate drag curve, such as a Trinadad 16 or 20, or if you just want to live bait and not use your outfit for jigging, a Shimano TLD 15 or 25 may be a more affordable option.

BAITING THE HOOK With the depth of the Rip and the strength of the current there are two main techniques used to catch kings.

While I’ll get into the jigging side of it next, live baiting is the most effective, however you want to be doing both at the same time to create the commotion on the water that the fish have to come to investigate.

Live baiting may

Using assist hooks that are too long can cause foul ups and if a king attacks the jig, you’ll miss a solid hook set.

Yellowtail Kingfish be simple in its method but gathering the bait is the most difficult part, despite the bay having a very healthy population of calamari, yellowtail scad and slimy mackerel.

Those targeting kings in the Rip tend to launch from Sorrento, Rye, Rosebud, Queenscliff, Swan Bay and even Mount Martha, although it is quite a run down from here. These ramps provide anglers with plenty of opportunities to find live bait along the way. Of course you can stop in over the weed beds anywhere, flick out a jig and snag a few but unless your bait tank is set up right, they don’t tend to stay alive too long.

Catching yakkas and slimies also takes a little more work, so you need to set aside a good hour or so before heading to the Rip to gather enough livies. How many is enough do you ask?

Well, how long is a ball of

you’re down at the Rip, taking care with your livies is paramount. Rigging them takes care and while there are good and bad techniques, I like to get the most out of them the quickest

way possible.

Bridle rigging through the nose can take time and precision piercing while rigging through the shoulders can cause the fish to die To page 10

Using a jigging assist hook rigged onto the live bait hook is very effective in the hook-up process and maximises the life of the livie. string? This question is a hard one to answer purely because of all the things that can happen to them when they are down.

Barracouta, pike, snook and even bluethroat wrasse are happy to devour your livie; then again you could get snagged up on the kelp, which can bust off your rig

and dislodge the hook from your live bait. I guess a good rule of thumb is to take a good 30-40 livies with you, but you must have a good live bait tank or two to keep them alive for your session.

Good locations to catch bait along the Mornington Peninsula are around any of the jetties and or boat

You don’t need to get too technical with the live bait rig. Just make sure your knots are strong.

moorings. All it takes is a good berley trail to get them going and a jig sent down the trail. Alternative locations include near the South Channel marker, Mount Martha Mussel Farm and around the spoil ground out from Rosebud.

THE RIG Live bait rigs are the least complicated rigs to make. Standard live bait rigs consist of around a metre length of 80lb trace. Whether you use fluorocarbon, soft or hard nylon is up to you.

At one end have a good size #1 rolling or crane swivel to prevent line twist and at the other end a size 7/0 live bait hook.

While the excitement might set in quick when

Chris Cassar knows all too well the importance of using quality tackle and ensuring the rigging is 100%.

FEBRUARY 2018

9

Yellowtail Kingfish From page 9

quickly, especially when he has to battle the current and a tight line to his back. I find it much simpler to attach a size 1/0 jigging assist hook onto the live bait hook. Then you can easily pin the live bait

through the nose with the assist leaving the live bait hook just in front of the nose. This will maximise the life of the live bait and, when a king drills it, it will hook up on either the assist or the live bait hook.

To get your live bait down

to the depths you can use a kingfish sinker between the mainline and the live bait rig.

This is made up from a size 8 barrel sinker with a section of 200lb leader running through it. On one end use a crimped loop and on the other a crimped loop with a heavy duty snap swivel.

GETTING ALL JIGGY While live baiting is very effective, it also pays to have an angler or two jigging.

Jigs in the water going up and down quickly while drifting over a patch of fish can really fire them up. This in turn encourages them to take the live bait, which is

mental to say the least.

Jigging is quite an intense technique and you really have to be ready to hook up, as it is fast and brutal. Jigging outfits can double as a live baiting setup, which makes them more versatile, but going down the path of a TLD 25 with bait rod limits you to live baiting only.

Due to the strength of the current at times, you need heavy jigs; don’t overdo it or your arms will ache after a few drops. Smaller length jigs in the 20-25cm range in weights of 200-300g are recommended – try to keep

Kings hug the bottom and you need to get your jigs and live bait to them. Check out the jigs and live bait showing up on the sounder, right in the strike zone.

When the kings are on, the Rip can be very busy, so always be careful when drifting.

Short, stout jigs are the ideal choice.

already skittish, and while all the commotion is going on; other kings will chase the jigs. This technique can have multiple anglers all hooked up at once, which can be

them slender in design.

Wider leaf-style jigs will only catch the current and flutter away, rather than drop faster and more vertically.

Jigs should also be fitted

with one single assist hook rather than two and whatever you do don’t attach an assist or treble to the bottom of the jig; this will only cause the jig to snag up on the bottom and you’ll bust off.

The best thing about our kingfish season is that it runs for so long these days.

The fish turn up around

December, and the peak time is late February through to the end of March. A few weeks into April you might still get them before they head back off to warmer waters.

Jigging the Rip certainly is a lot of fun. Be ready for it, otherwise you could spend a lot of money to get little result.

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FEBRUARY 2018

FEBRUARY 2018

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Trout Lure Feature

Trout offerings – lures and techniques for trout today. Blue Fox Vibrax lures are a similar style, but come in a vast range of colours and have a bell-shaped body that emits added vibration and sound. The other lure that has stood the test of time is the Rooster Tail. A little bit of feather added to the treble and a good colour range made it a must-have.

There is a plethora of spinners now available and unsurprisingly all the above spinners are still readily available. Some others to look out for are the Juro Alpine and Sonic Spinners or the Gillies Feathertail.

The downside to this style of lure is casting distance and although they still caught plenty of fish around the margins of the Snowy Mountain lakes, as an angler you always wonder if you would catch more fish if you could cast that little bit further.

FMG

Peter Jung pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

Inspired by the ramblings of Rupe (Rupe is Fishing) on the styles of lures he uses to target Murray cod and Australian bass, I felt the urge to jump on the computer and do the same thing on one of Australia’s favourite introduced species – trout.

The 4 May 1864 saw the first successful hatching of brown trout eggs in Australia. This was the result of a huge endeavour to transport live ova from England. This successful hatching in the Plenty River in Tasmania became the primary stock of brown trout for Australia and New Zealand. It was 30 years later that rainbow trout were also introduced to

JUNGY ’S TACKLE BOX SPINNERS The author’s tackle box is a blend of the old and the new. They range from 25 year old Rapalas to the latest Zerek Tango Shads and Bullet Lures. The surface lures are a recent addition.

Andy Queck showing off a nice brown trout caught on one of the latest colours in the Rapala CD range.

Australian waters from North America via New Zealand.

Although an introduced species, there has been less heated debate on how much their introduction has affected the ecosystems of the waterways they inhabit.

There is no doubt they have done so, but certainly not in the same manner as European carp and English perch have.

In this humble angler’s opinion they have become an integral component of the

The author was surprised that Andy’s soft plastic of choice was a chartreuse Berkley Gulp Minnow, but you can’t argue with the results.

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FEBRUARY 2018

recreational fishing scene in Australia, and as long as a balance can be found where our native species and trout can coexist the industry can preserve the economic value that has been created as well as celebrating what anglers have enjoyed since their introduction in 1864.

As trout require cool water, their key strongholds are in the New England region of NSW, down through the high country of NSW and Victoria, around through into South Australia and southern Western Australia. Tasmania is recognised by many as the prime location to catch wild fish and has anglers from around the world visit its shores. Significant stocking efforts ensure many lakes in NSW and Victoria are fantastic fisheries and provide a huge economic benefit through the anglers that visit. Prime examples are Toolondo in Victoria and the Snowy Mountain lakes, like Eucumbene and Jindabyne.

FISHING METHODOLOGY Lure styles and trends in Australia are often dictated by overseas markets. Lures that are designed for other species tend to be adapted to targeting our Australian fish.

In the case of trout, this is very different.

European and American markets also have dedicated trout fisheries and lures to suit.

Major brands like Rapala and Rublex have been part of a trout angler’s arsenal for as long as I can remember and, while they can also be adapted to other species, they are lures designed to target and catch trout.

There are some very switched-on Australian lure-makers (must be a freshwater thing) that have been around forever and produce highly effective lures for the trout market. Tasmanian Devils are the first to pop into my head from Wigstons Lures in Tasmania. Has any lure caught more trout than a Tassie Devil since the late 70s? There are many more as you read on.

Many of my formative years casting lures for trout were spent walking the banks of the Murrumbidgee River between Canberra and Cooma as well as many of the smaller creeks that feed into it. It was a huge learning curve and very rewarding.

There were no mobile phones back then, so not many images exist, but the memories are etched into my brain and my love for chasing trout will never be lost.

I have to say it is a shame that these areas now hold little or no trout any more.

Drought knocked out fish stocks and huge numbers of carp have taken over. NSW Fisheries’ stocking focus seems to be on the lakes and not boosting fisheries that inspired a generation or two of anglers. It

• Rublex Celta • Blue Fox Vibrax • Rooster Tail • Sonar Spinner

is great to see that the native species are still going strong, but the trout that swam with them are now few and far between.

SPINNERS My first recollection of fishing for trout with lures was with a Rublex Celta in the no.

1 and 2 sizes (5g and 7g) in the gold blade with red or green markings. These simple lures are basically a blade that rotates around a body with a treble at the rear. They, like all of this type of lure, were great for a young angler to use. They had enough weight to cast with little difficulty and the retrieve was simple – wind fast enough that the blade spins.

The advantage of a spinner is that in a river fishing scenario it can be fished upstream, downstream, across current, shallow or deep; it doesn’t matter. As long as you get the blade turning it will catch a fish.

The flash of the blades seemed to mesmerize the fish and certainly hooked this angler on lure fishing.

It didn’t take long for other similar lures to find their way into my tackle box and are still, like the Celtas, catching fish

SPOONS AND SLUGS To have the ability to cast further added a new dynamic to lures for trout and spawned from this was a lure called a Baltic minnow.

Made in Australia it was a lure with plenty of weight and minimal action. People fishing the mountain lakes couldn’t get enough of them.

They could now cast three times as far as they ever had, get to the bottom quickly and wind in quickly to maximise any action in the lure. The strikes when they came were vicious, which made using them lots of fun.

However they were limited to lake use and other options that had the castability, but also had potential in the streams as well.

Enter spoons. They come in all shapes, sizes and weights, with the added dynamic of a wobbling/fluttering action. Lake anglers flocked towards lures like the Pegron Minnow and the Wonder Wobbler while river anglers were drawn towards lures like the Wonder spoon or IMP Spoon as I know it.

The action of the lures also made them favourites with anglers who trolled for trout, as it removed the need to have attracting devices in front of their lures.

There are plenty of options when it comes to what is available through your local tackle store. One that has come to my attention is the Kroc Lure from Australian

Since the early 70s there probably hasn’t been a lure brand that has caught more trout than a Wigstons Tasmanian Devil. Here it is rigged with a Mustad Inline single hook in clown colour.

Trout Lure Feature producer Wonder Lures. There wouldn’t be too many Victorian trout anglers that don’t have one of these in their tackle box.

JUNGY’S TACKLE BOX SPOONS • Pegron Minnow • Wonder Kroc Lure

WINGED LURES One of the biggest contributions Australian lure-makers have made to trout fishing has been winged lures. They are a great combination of a slug and a spoon and the three brands I am aware of would have accounted for millions of fish captures. Those three brands are Tillins Cobra, Wigstons Tasmanian Devil and the Johnson Kobra.

All are variations on a theme and all are fish-catching machines in their own right.

They have great castability, a wicked sideto-side action and are very affordable for every angler.

Tassie Devils are most probably the most recognizable these days with significant wall space designated to them in most tackle stores. Their colour range is massive and the addition of coloured wings in recent years has been very popular.

To improve the hook-up rate, remove the wire insert and treble and put your leader

straight through to a treble of your choice. Put a coloured bead between the lure body and the treble/inline single hook to avoid knot damage.

If you are trolling for trout, these are a must-have lure.

JUNGY’S TACKLE BOX WINGED LURES • Wigstons Tasmanian Devil in colours, clown, tinkerbell, yellow wings, Willy’s special, fire tiger

DIVING MINNOWS Diving minnows changed the way I fished for trout. My initial foray into diving minnows was using Rebel Crawfish

and Crickhopper lures in my local streams.

It was my version of matching the hatch.

I had enough success to head to my local tackle store (Anglers Art in Phillip ACT) in search of more options. What caught my eye were the Rapala CD3 and CD5 ranges as well as the floating versions.

There were lifelike rainbow and brown trout colours as well as a perch colour that tickled my fancy, but the odd one out was the fire tiger colour. ‘No way a trout would eat that’ was my initial thought, but I had to have one anyway. Luckily I did, because it smashed them. These became my go-to lure – the floating version for the streams and the sinking version in the lakes. This was the beginning of the influx of a myriad of lures to fill a similar purpose.

Baby Merlin Lures and McGrath Attack minnows were a couple of the Aussie options and now there are so many lures that can be adapted to trout techniques that you are spoilt for choice. While many

You don’t need to use big lures to catch big fish.

This browny smashed a 3cm Bullet Minnow.

Rapala continues to be innovative with their lures and their new X-Rap Countdown series lures definitely have a place in every trout angler’s tackle box. tend to lean towards Japanese-made lures, which is not hard to understand as their quality is outstanding, but I must say I still lean towards the latest Rapala offerings (X-Rap CountDown and BX Minnows) if I am going to spend that sort or money.

The other standouts new offerings are the Bullet Minnow and Five-O Minnow from Bullet Lures and the Tango Shad from Zerek, if you want something that dives a little deeper. Both brands have sinking and floating versions, which is important depending on the waterway you are fishing.

One tip that I will give you is it is vital to have natural colours in your collection To page 14

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13

Trout Lure Feature From page 13

(spotted dog, brown and rainbow trout are must-haves), but have a few out-there colours like chartreuse or fire tiger, as there will be days where these shine above all.

JUNGY’S TACKLE BOX DIVING MINNOWS • Rapala CD3 and CD5 •R apala X-Rap Countdown 5cm and 7cm • Bullet Minnow • Bullet Five-O Minnow • Zerek Tango Shad • Geecrack Suguri 60

SOFT PLASTICS Soft plastics have become an integral part of any lure angler’s arsenal. Your ability to adapt to the task at hand by adjusting the weight of the jighead or changing the size and style of the plastic makes them almost the ultimate fishing tool. There are so many different offerings available that can replicate anything from a small fish to an insect. The old match the hatch principal comes into play again.

Trout love the PowerBait dough baits that are available, which I put down to the scent in it, so it stands to reason that plastics with the same in them would work and they certainly do.

I also leaned towards paddle-tail or curly-tail styles. I wanted the lure to be working for me throughout the retrieve. I have stuck with natural colours and those shapes, but my mate Andy blew my theory out of the water when we fished last. He fished a Berkley Gulp Minnow in chartreuse and white and was unstoppable. At least I got the Gulp component right.

Insect and insect larvae imitations come into their own when fishing rivers and creeks or during the low light periods of the day in lakes. Strike Tiger lures from Tasmania do a 1” nymph and a number of other variations that are well worth getting your hands on.

I would like to quickly go back to colours. Like the minnow lures, natural colours are a must-have, with gold and black at the top of the tree, but don’t forget to have something a little out-there as well.

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An assortment of lures that bring back a lot of fond memories for the author. of them. I spoke to Robbie Alexander about this and he said that it was the question he is asked the most.

Weight simply comes down to the depth of water and how far you need to cast. For me the most important thing is the hook. You want a fine gauge hook that is super sharp; it is vital that you get good hook penetration (even from the lightest of bites) as mister trout seems to find a multitude of ways to get off, especially via aerobatics.

My preference is TT Tournament jigheads; there is a huge range of sizes and weights and I use the finest gauge possible. Another that has impressed me on recent trips is the Mustad Darter jighead; the range isn’t overly complicated and, while they’re not a superfine gauge, they make up for it with how sharp they are.

JUNGY’S TACKLE BOX SURFACE LURES • OSP Bent Minnow • Maria Pencil • Bassday Sugapen I hope that this has you itching to check out the lures in your local tackle store. I know I certainly want to. It has been a blast putting this together, as it has been a while since I went through my old trout tackle boxes. Some lures are still in their boxes and others show the markings of success. The best part for me is that my next outing to go and catch a trout is just around the corner. The fish in Lake Jindabyne won’t know what hit them; there will be plenty of my old and my new lures cast at them.

JUNGY’S TACKLE BOX JIGHEADS • TT Tournament Jigheads • Mustad Darter Jigheads

The beauty of soft plastics is their versatility. You can fish them deep in a lake or match the hatch in a stream. This fish took a liking to a Strike Tiger 1” Nymph.

Photo courtesy of Robbie Alexander.

My introduction to targeting trout with plastics has come later in life. The variety I have mentioned didn’t exist in my formative fishing years, unless you considered cut-down lizards and worms designed for largemouth bass or Mr Twisters as the ideal trout lure!

My initial forays revolved around Berkley PowerBait and Gulp soft plastics.

JIGHEADS AND WEIGHTS Fishing with soft plastics can be frustrating and the most frustration stems from which jigheads you use and the weight

SURFACE LURES If I had of written this feature a month ago I don’t think I would have had a surface lure component. What changed, I hear you ask? I had the pleasure of watching a couple of young fellows casting OSP Bent Minnows across a shallow bay at Lake Jindabyne.

The trout seemed to be fighting with each other to eat the lure. I saw almost a repeat performance in the Pondage below Lake Eildon – this time using Bassday Sugapens.

This is a ‘watch this space’ situation for the author – there is no doubt I will be giving it a try next time I have the opportunity.

The Bullet Five-O Minnow is one of the new-generation trout lures available. Daniel Piazza was impressed with how well they work.

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15

Finding your perfect estuary boating rig NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.starlofishing.com

The bulk of Australia’s army of trailer boat anglers concentrate their efforts on estuaries, tidal rivers, bays and harbours. Many also visit freshwater lakes and artificial impoundments.

As a result, one of the

15-70hp outboard, although in recent years there has been a noticeable shift to more powerful donks on these rigs; it’s no longer rare to see pocket rockets loosely based on the American bass boat, flats boat and bay boat concepts, often sporting power plants with ratings from 70 to as much as 150hp or even more.

Personally, my idea of the perfect estuary/

lot of additional space in a boat and that’s important.

The hull of my dream estuary rig will have a modest V up front, transitioning to a flat underside amidships. It should draw no more than 20-30cm of water and be stable at rest, even with two or three adult anglers moving about as they stand and cast. Naturally, the trade-offs in such a hull design are diminished

Starlo and Jo nowadays run a Beastmaster Snubby 500 for their estuary, freshwater and inshore boat fishing. water as practical taking into consideration stability and safety issues. Every extra centimetre of elevation adds to the effectiveness of such a deck, increasing an angler’s ability to see into the water, not to mention

rear casting decks while fighting a fish without having to step back down into the cockpit – even if only along one side of the vessel – so much the better.

This may be achieved via a generous, top-opening rod

vessel’s ability to navigate in tight country. If you insist on having a canopy of some sort, make sure it’s easily removable, or able to be stowed without impacting the vessel’s fish-ability.

Abundant under-deck

A bow-mounted electric motor is virtually essential for truly effective lure and fly casting. most popular classes of trailer-able fishing boat sold in this country is the ubiquitous ‘semi-flat water’ or estuary rig.

Typically, this is a hull from 3.7 to about 5.2m in length, powered by a

freshwater rig is an open boat with a centre or side console, although there is also much to be said for tiller steer setups, especially at the smaller end of the size range under discussion here.

Tiller steering opens up a

You don’t need to spend a fortune to put together a really effective and versatile little flat water rig.

sea-handling capabilities. I accept that my dream rig may bang a bit in a decent chop (especially if built from alloy) and be rather wet in a quartering sea.

Without question, my dream rig will be fitted with a bow-mounted electric motor, ideally one that boasts a wireless remote control and has GPS-actuated spot lock or anchor capabilities.

There will be a powerful sounder/GPS combo unit on the console or back by the tiller steer position, and likely a smaller unit up in the bow where it’s easily visible while casting. Both units will have colour screens and the latest in StructureScan or CHIRP capabilities for enhanced sonar imaging.

As a dedicated lure and flyfisher, I place great store in having a generous casting deck located in the bow of my estuary/freshwater boat.

Ideally, this flat deck will be set as high above the

Imported bass, flats and bay boats are gaining popularity in Australia. their casting range.

Having a smaller, functional casting deck in the stern is also handy, both for a second or third angler and also on those occasions when it works best to fish over the transom (such as when using your bow-mounted electric motor’s anchor or spot lock function to hold position against current or wind).

If it’s possible to walk from the front to the

locker set at the same height as the casting decks, or even extra-wide coamings unencumbered by rails, radio aerial mounts or nav light fixtures.

Things my dream boat won’t have are a permanent canopy or bimini top. These can be great for escaping the weather, but in any boat under 5.5m in length, they’re also guaranteed to adversely impact your casting, inhibit your vision and reduce the

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storage is highly desirable, as is an enclosed or partly enclosed rod locker capable of holding half a dozen spare rod-and-reel outfits up to at least 2.2m in length. If it can swallow a fully rigged 9ft (2.8m) fly rod, so much the better.

Hopefully this quick overview of my personal priorities when choosing an estuary or freshwater rig may help when you’re next shopping for one.

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17

Consistent warm summer fishing WEST COAST

Brett Carson

The summer fishing has been consistent even through that busy Christmas holiday season and most anglers putting in the efforts are reaping the rewards. Fish eventually have to eat just like us and even when we all think they’ve been put to ground by the summer hoards, someone comes in with tales of a hot mulloway bite at noon – in the middle of the ski zone – while boats roared past.

The water cleared up just before Santa wandered through and the river again looks inviting. The calm warm February nights are an ideal

time to target all areas of the river from the snaggy top end to the sandy tidal flats of the estuary.

This time of year I love nothing more than to drop the boat in 40km up at Pritchards Landing and fish the Glenelg’s quiet and pristine top end.

Above there the river narrows right up so you can work both sides of the bank from the middle. Some of the big old snags will have you salivating as your lure meanders over the sunken branches waiting for the inevitable strike. Pauses on surface lures and deep diving hardbodies in the strike zone are nothing short of deadly.

This high country is where fishos like the enigma that is ‘Beetle Bailey’ have

Evie and Lailas with an awesome 40cm bream.

tussled with many a large perch. Small livies under a float dropped quietly over a snag are irresistible for the large schools of perch that call this place home and a quality fluoro leader above 6lb is often a starting point for that potential biggie.

Guys that normally fish 4lb leaders for bream often regret only putting 8lb on for that two seconds of screaming drag followed by twang then silence. The problem is if you fish too heavy for the fish of a lifetime, you won’t get as much normal action; unfortunately it’s a trade-off.

Perch are already on their way home before they take your lure, so you better be on your game.

The best mulloway river in the state has been living up to its reputation with plenty of fish coming from up around the caves area right through to the estuary. Mark and Barry from Warnambool slayed the mulloway at Evans Head in an epic morning session that saw multiple hook-ups with baits barely touching the water. The size of the fish has been a lot more consistent than other years with 70cm+ fish being common.

Live mullet have been the best producer as this time of

year, and the hungry mulloway are hunting the poor old mullet schools up and down the river gorging themselves on the tasty morsels. If you spot mulloway in the middle of the river on your sounder, don’t necessarily fish for them; mostly those ones aren’t the feeders. Think like the fish and target the shallower ground near the edges where the feeding fish chase the mullet up into the shallows.

The ones you look at in the deep water on the sounder are laying doggo letting the water flow over the top, just being the lazy fish that mulloway are. Working through a block of pilchards is another effective way of targeting mullies. Some fishos even sit land-based slowly berleying the water with small pieces of pilly while flicking unweighted halves out to waft down in the berley trail. The key is to be consistent with the berley – just a piece at a time. If you throw it all in at once, the current will take it away and the fish with it.

Think Hansel and Gretel with the bread.

There have been some good bream catches but it’s fair to say they’ve been spasmodic. Lightly weighted crabs thrown close to the

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Danny with a great mulloway from the surf. edges have been accounting for plenty. The soft baits like podworms, prawns and glassies have been producing – particularly podworms down in the estuary where the bream are digging holes with their mouths looking for worms and brown shells to chew.

The shallow sand bars often have hollow patches where the bream have spent the high tide rooting around in the ground they can’t normally access. For the lure fisho a camo worm worked slowly in those estuary shallows can be great fun when it’s picked up by a feeding bream that tears off sideways with your line

trailing rapidly behind.

Mulloway, salmon, bream and school and gummy sharks are all coming from the surf.

The beaches have flattened out with the constant heavy winter swells long gone, so find the gutters and put the time in.

• 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 stock live mullet, crabs and podworms along with all the frozen bait, tackle and lures you need for the area. We’ll do our best to give you some local knowledge and get you on the fish quicker.

Snapper and whiting winners PORTLAND

John Johnstone

As summer draws to a close, the summer run of species continues to impress. Tuna are the foremost thing on anglers’ minds when they turn up in numbers. This month traditionally sees numbers increasing and anglers can expect to get a fish on most days.

The kingfish run is continuing in the usual area at the north shore, Minerva Reef and Julia Reef areas.

The best tactics are trolling

a skirted lure with a strip of squid as a sweetener; even trolling a squid strip can be an effective way to catch these fish. Alternatively, slow trolling a whole garfish can bring results as well.

Snapper continue to be caught along with good bags of whiting. The usual areas from Point Danger to the North Shore are producing the best bags.

Gummy and school sharks are being caught in good numbers from the North Shore out to the deeper water.

Targeting these species in shallow water and on light gear

can make for a challenging but at the same time fun fight.

Most sizeable sharks put up a fight you won’t soon forget! If you do manage to land a big gummy or schoolie, release it, as these are the big breeding fish.

Heading further offshore, the deep water species of blue-eye, gemfish, blue grenadier and pink ling

of tasty by-catch along the way including gummy and school sharks, flathead, snapper and latchet.

The Bridgewater area is still producing good catches of flathead, gummies, schoolies and others. Nothing much changes there; there are always a few flathead around.

Sticking in that area, mako sharks have been caught Hugh Johnstone with a 4.3kg snapper caught off Bridgewater.

A small 20kg mako that a local angler caught and released.

George with a 50cm whiting caught in Grant Bay.

continue to feature in anglers’ bags. Blue-eye to 8kg have been caught regularly with most anglers bagging out in a few hours.

Coming inshore a little the Tassie trumpeter have gone quiet, as they usually do at this time of year. However they are still there, if anyone is willing to try. Anyone deciding to fish this water should pick up a few species

ranging from very small to very big; these are great fighting fish and tend to jump once hooked. Please exercise caution when chasing these fish as they can and will jump in your boat if you’re not paying close attention.

The Lee Breakwater has seen snapper to 8kg, kingfish to 6kg, gummies and schoolies to 15kg, whiting to 45cm and salmon to 3kg, along with

plenty of little pinkie snapper to keep the kids entertained.

The local beaches continue to produce good catches of snapper, whiting, mulloway, sharks and salmon.

Swan Lake near Bridgewater is the best place to target sharks, while the Hole In The Wall and Snapper Point are the best places to target the other species.

The annual Hooked On Portland Competition was a huge success, as was the Sea Sherpa North Shore Challenge. Looking ahead, the annual Hooked On Tuna Competition in April is the premium tuna competition held in Victoria. Run over four weekends with guest speakers and cash prizes, it’s not to be missed.

So overall Portland continues to produces the

goods with all anglers covered.

• Family owned and operated, Portland Bait and tackle has fishing tackle, bait and marine accessories. We are open seven days a week from 7am-7pm. Portland’s one-stop fishing tackle shop, we cover everything from chasing redfin and trout in freshwater to blue-eye and other deep sea fish over the continental shelf. Owner John Johnstone has extensive fishing experience for both fresh and salt water – he has fished most areas of Australia. From chasing trout in the high country to the jumbo tuna down south, chances are John has done it. To get the latest advice on what’s being caught, call us on 5523 5213 or drop in and see us at 111 Bentinck Street Portland.

SBT are on again WARRNAMBOOL

Mark Gercovich mgercovich@hotmail.com

This month there should be plenty of action around the South West Coast.

By late December most of the summer staples have already shown up, so come February there should still be great fishing.

After a disappointing inshore winter season, schools of tuna have begun to show in early summer again. With many

genuine specimens over the 20kg mark, these fish have been turning up in waters from 20-35m deep.

The fact that many of these fish are taken by anglers casting stickbaits on heavy threadline tackle makes for some superb fishing.

One thing that is different about this inshore summer run of fish is that you aren’t usually looking for huge bust-ups and diving birds like in the cooler months.

Instead you need to be on the lookout for the surface ripple or disturbance caused by the school of fish. Of

Summer school SBTs are usually solid fish.

course this isn’t easy and the need for flat, calm weather certainly helps with visually locating the fish.

These days are also the best days for hunting the local kingfish population.

There have been fish caught and sighted around all the usual haunts early in the season. One of my son’s mates was even spooled by one casting stickbaits off the Warrnambool breakwater.

The warm waters of February are perhaps the best to target the mighty kingfish, so hopefully this early action is a sign of things to come.

While they don’t hold the prestige of the kings and tuna, surface schools of salmon can also offer some fun at this time of year. Often regarded as a winter species, they can offer some good fun if the tuna and kings can’t be found. For anglers looking for a feed there are plenty of pinkies, King George whiting and squid around the inshore reefs to keep you happy.

If all the action at sea isn’t enough for you, the local estuaries are firing as well. Some ripping mulloway have been taken in the Moyne and Hopkins rivers.

Many of them are between 70-90cm, so they are well worth putting in the time for.

These fish have responded

February is a great month to target the local kingfish population. to a wide variety of methods from trolled live baits, fresh cut baits and a variety of lures, so everyone is in the ball game.

There are plenty of smaller species on offer as well. Lightly weighted fresh baits will see plenty of bream, salmon, mullet and

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19

Fantastic February fishing for sharks and more APOLLO BAY

Wayne Diffey

There has been some good weather lately and there has been some reasonable reports coming in regarding salmon off the beaches. Wild Dog Creek Beach is still a favourite spot, with Marengo a close second.

Out wide the gummies, snapper and some big flatties have still been about in good numbers. Snapper to 4kg+ have been regular. I’ve also seen some good catches of nannygai. Bald Hill and Blanket Bay reefs have been very productive for the gummies in 40-50m of water. Local charter operator Matt tells me that they have been doing very well for gummies in 38m directly off Cape Otway.

Our new fish-weighing gantry at the Apollo Bay Harbour was christened recently with a 41kg thresher shark caught by Kevin Taylor, and a 138.4kg mako shark caught by Marcus Sturzaker.

Kevin Taylor and his 41kg thresher shark.

We have also seen a lot of kingfish turning up on the outside of the harbour

breakwater and off Cape Otway. Fish to 80cm+ have been caught. So far they

have been caught on knife jigs, stickbaits, live baits and big soft plastics. One local reported hooking a 30kg tuna on a deep diver as well as two thumping big kingfish recently. This is very early, so hopefully it is a sign of a good season to come.

King George whiting are still being caught in good numbers off the Bumbry Reef and off the waterfall in that 8-10m mark. There have also been good catches of whiting in Apollo Bay Harbour. Pipis remain the best bait on a running sinker rig.

Fishing in the Apollo Bay Harbour has been pretty productive lately with plenty of whiting and trevally.

There have also been a lot of couta about, so the calamari have been quiet as a result.

One young angler showed me a photo of a flatty he caught in the harbour that measured 78cm!

• If you’re coming to Apollo Bay for a fish, be sure to pop in to get all you bait and tackle needs, as well as an up to date report, or call us on (03) 5237 6426.

Rod Shepherd

This summer has turned out to be magnificent.

The weather has been reasonable without too many scorching hot days.

The southerly winds have been annoying at times, but getting out on the water early can solve that problem.

Offshore out in the 40-50m mark we have seen some excellent gummy and school sharks

to 18kg taken bottom bouncing whole squid baits. Rubbly reefs have been the target for many.

Some solid pinkie snapper to 2.2kg have also been picked up and there are plenty of morwong about.

Throw in a few nannygai and largish leatherjackets and you can easily bring home a mixed bag.

Don’t forget the squid jigs, as there are heaps of cephalopods out there as well. There is nothing like bringing home a feed of calamari, and also

Wal Wynd is a shark fishing extraordinaire.

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having the freshest bait available on hand.

Larger, pelagic species such as mako sharks are making an appearance and already small rockets weighing in around 70kg have turned up in good numbers, along with yellowtail kingfish.

Concentrate your efforts around sub-surface reefs close to shore.

Closer inshore, often just a stone’s throw from the shore, there have been plenty of King George whiting and small pinkie snapper on offer. From dusk onwards the gummies often come out to play so it pays to have some sort of universal rig to try and cover all three species.

I believe the hook is the most important part of the terminal end and a solid no. 2 long shanked bait holder hook can often

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Marcus Sturzaker with a 138.4kg mako shark.

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Heavier leader isn’t a problem as many serious surf anglers begin their session on dusk and often fish well into the night.

Again, squid is the number one bait – it’s tough and combined with hosiery elastic you don’t need to check the bait every ten minutes. Sea lice and small crabs can demolish a soft bait in minutes.

My good mate and fishing fanatic Wal Wynd was recently down on the coast wetting a line; the whiting and small snapper seriously began to come on the chew when out of nowhere, a rogue wave washed up onto the beach, picked up Wal’e open tackle bag and dragged it tumbling back into the surf.

Wal got most of his tackle back, but

unfortunately his flash mobile phone was nowhere to be found.

Ever since then Wal has been waiting at home for a fishy phone call from the briny to his landline, so if any local fish or crustacean is reading this article, please give Wal a call.

The bream in the Curdies Estuary have been steady but it can take a while to locate the fish due to the mouth closing over and the bream spreading out far and wide. Usually boaters end up working their favourite stretch of river or just concentrate their efforts in the lake and sooner or later most end up finding a fish or three. The top baits have been locally sourced live shrimp and greyback minnow.

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21

Plenty of fish are on the bite GEELONG

Neil Slater slaterbunch@optusnet.com.au

It’s been a heck of a 2018 so far with plenty of fish willing to climb aboard in the region!

The Barwon River in Geelong has warmed up bringing the redfin and carp on the bite. Keep an eye out for snakes along the water’s edge and signs alerting for

blue green algae, as both are common during hot weather.

Carp seekers should lob out sweet corn kernels or white bread while redfin chasers can use live minnows, worms or almost any small lure from single-tailed grubs to minnowprofiled lures or vibes.

Michael Evans has been fishing Wurdee-Boluc Reservoir near Moriac and caught a few quality redfin and a rainbow trout to 40cm.

Michael says the 3” Fish

Arrow Flash J Shad soft plastic lure has caught plenty with a semi fast twitch and retrieve casting from the rock walls out over the tops of the weed beds. Michael notes that late afternoon was when the fish seemed to come on the chew.

Dean McDonald fished with Stewie Turner inside Corio Bay last month. Fishing over near Point Henry, they caught a small salmon trolling skirted lures and a single calamari drifting over the

Michael showing the Wurdee reddies who’s boss.

weed near Curlewis. I’ve had similar adventures where I’ve found the salmon holding deep near Point Henry and a surface popper has bought them to the surface. Offer up a soft plastic lure and you’re in for a good session!

St Helens rock wall inside Corio Bay has been popular with flathead to 40cm and pinkie snapper to 35cm biting on blue bait and pilchards.

Daytime fishing has been tough, so see if you can get there around dawn and dusk for the best results.

I’ve fished out off St Leonards and Queenscliff a few times last month and nabbed a few calamari and King George whiting. Most of the whiting I’ve caught have maxed out around 37cm. With a few calamari and flathead it makes for a great feed. Larger whiting to 45cm have been caught by anglers fishing dusk and a few hours into dark. The best tides have been the lead up to high and the beginning of the run-off.

Talk at the ramp suggests it has been one of the best seasons for calamari and the whiting aren’t far behind with lots of anglers enjoying both species. Each time I’ve been out, there have been plenty of other boats getting

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The Ocean Road can produce whopper whiting on occasions. stuck in, so get amongst it!

Snapper and gummy sharks are high on the target list as well with anglers doing best out deep of St Leonards and

north of the shipping channel at Portarlington. Landbased fishos have caught a few ripper snapper to 4kg from both St Leonards and

Portarlington piers.

Andrew Jones fished with his son Mitchell out off St Leonards last month where they had an epic session.

Launching at first light, they spent some time drifting the shallow weed beds catching calamari for bait then headed out to the deeper water in search of gummy sharks and snapper. They ended up with

five pinkie snapper – one of which was 4kg – two gummy sharks and a few flathead.

What a day out!

Silver trevally have been caught in and around the Queenscliff Boat Harbour and inside Swan Bay. Adam Jordan got stuck into a few trevally with a ripper at 50cm and pinkie snapper inside Swan Bay using pilchard

Rip kingfish mainly hold deep and will often show up with attitudes on the surface if they follow a hooked fish to the boat, so keep a rod rigged with a popper just in case.

Australian salmon can show up inside southern Port

FISH HARD – DIE HAPPY! 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

Adam caught this cracking 50cm trev on a pilchard cube in Swan Bay.

Whiting numbers are steady along the Bellarine Peninsula.

pieces for bait.

Adam said the key to success was a heap of berley and lightly weighted baits. The Queenscliff Boat Harbour can see fantastic trevally fishing, but it can be tough fishing due to tidal flow, so try to time your attack with slack water. Pilchard fillets and pipis are great for bait fishing and single tailed soft plastic grubs in motor oil do well for lure enthusiasts.

Ken Carmen fished the Great Ocean Road last month where he and his mate caught 18 big King George whiting to 640g and three pinkie snapper to 43cm using cockles for bait.

That’s a great day out!

The rock platforms

along the Great Ocean Road consistently produce Australian salmon on both bait and lures from 500g to 2.2kg. Bait fishers have also enjoyed quality King George whiting over 500g and pinkie snapper to 50cm. The whiting have been caught during daylight hours and the prime times for snapper have been dawn and dusk.

As we ease into February, kingfish should be red hot in and around the Rip, off Barwon Heads and the deeper reefs. Both Port Phillip and Corio Bay have warm surface temperatures, so I’d expect a few kingfish to be caught in and around the structures there as well.

Mitchell and his dad Andrew had a great day out off St Leonards.

Phillip Bay in large schools over February. They can easily be caught by trolling white skirted lures or stopping and casting lures or flies at the school. Never troll lures through the school, as this will only frighten them off.

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).

FEBRUARY 2018

23

Anglers are getting into land-based heroics PORT PHILLIP BAY WEST

Alan Bonnici alan@fishingmad.com.au

February is upon us and the warm muggy conditions have set in. The snapper fishing along Port Phillip Bay continues to provide local anglers with exciting action on a daily basis.

Frequent catches far outweigh the occasional quiet day and I’m receiving regular messages from locals who are catching their fair share of quality size reds. However, Melbourne is surprising us with some quality catches from some unexpected species.

This month I want to acknowledge many of our local land-based battlers – local Melbournians who put in countless hours from landbased locations trying to land that trophy-size fish. They often don’t have a fancy boat and frequently fish for long hours in all sorts of weather conditions to land that dream

fish. These are local anglers who have my utmost respect.

Last month saw some unbelievable land-based fish caught close to Melbourne around Docklands and Port Melbourne. Kadir Sahin, a big promoter of kids fishing and catch and release programs in Melbourne, has been putting in countless hours targeting yellowtail kingfish around Docklands near Etihad Stadium.

Kingies close to Melbourne have created a lot of hype in recent months and for good reason, as targeting these magnificent illusive fish requires patience and time to study the changing conditions with a small window of opportunity for success. It also requires consideration to select the right gear, which for Kadir has been his heavyduty Daiwa Saltiga range.

Achieving success has required much experimenting with different baits and lures.

Initially, Kadir found that the kingies were quite

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inquisitive, coming in close to the edges and eagerly looking at baits and lures, but for some reason they were in a timid mood and just wouldn’t strike anything. Rather than getting frustrated Kadir persisted going through live baits, swimbaits, fresh squid, soft plastic shads and hardbodies trying to crack the code.

Finally, after putting in the hours, Kadir landed a couple of ripping size kingfish on the same day. This was after some heavy rain with cloudy water conditions. This is perhaps the key difference in getting the kingfish more aggressive and confident to finally take baits and lures. What makes these catches even more special is that Kadir was fishing with his boys, creating some memories that will last a lifetime.

Another epic land-based fishing story this month belongs to Hakan Unen who managed to catch an monstersize mulloway from the Warmies in Newport. Hakan had been putting in the hours and slowly managed to catch some pinkies. The decision to persist and fish through a stormy summer day full of rain and blustery winds paid dividends. Sometimes it’s a change of conditions and wind direction that brings the fish in close eager for a feed.

To Hakan’s delight, the reel started screaming and his rod almost took off from the holder. A big mulloway over 1m in size smashed his pilchard. After a long battle – a tricky task when fishing at the Warmies due to the rocks and snags – he landed this silver monster with the help of his good mate Gurkan.

I get a sense of joy hearing about land-based anglers who have put in many hours and finally been rewarded with a

trophy-size fish. I have spent countless hours land-based fishing around Melbourne myself and I’m still searching for a mulloway over 1m in size.

Targeting areas such as the Warmies, Yarra River, Maribyrnong River, Web Dock and West Gate over the years I have managed to land several large snapper and a few large gummy sharks, but that massive mulloway has eluded me. Dream catches like Hakan’s mulloway are what get you out of bed in the early hours of the morning in hope of your time coming. Big

congratulations to Kadir and Hakan who are Melbourne’s land-based heroes this month.

Back in the bay, the snapper fishing is still going very strong. Many local anglers around Melbourne are reporting regular bag-out sessions on both bait and plastics around Port Phillip Bay. Lightly weighted or unweighted full silver whiting or pilchards on a double snelled hook have been working well, particularly after a couple of windy days. While large shad and curl-tail plastics continue to produce results.

Dean Yeoman recently booked in a fishing charter for him and his close mates. With calm conditions Dean and his mates shared an amazing morning out on the water and didn’t have to wait too long for the action to start, as the charter team managed to locate some good schools of snapper, which happened to be in a very active mood. There are many great fishing charter operators around Melbourne who will be able to give you and your mates a great day on the water. If you don’t own your own boat, remember to look up some charters around Melbourne for a great day out before snapper season comes to an end.

Russell House recently purchased a new boat and was incredibly keen to hit the local waters around Port Phillip Bay. Russell won’t forget his maiden voyage in a rush, as he was able to break in his new boat with a beautiful 85cm snapper. Well done, Russell, hopefully that is the first of many successful future fishing

The author has been catching flathead around 60cm in shallows.

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Russell House with a lovely PPB snapper.

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Kadir was happy to share the moment when he caught this awesome land-based kingfish.

frighteningly close to my yak.

I rushed back to shore without hesitation, which was quite a challenge. It’s a great reminder for everyone to take the extra time to study the weather conditions before planning your fishing outing, and to prepare for the unexpected.

Even though I checked the conditions, Melbourne’s unpredictable weather can change quickly and put you in some challenging situations; my lapse of judgment on this occasion will hopefully become a valuable lesson.

It’s not all doom and gloom and on most occasions I have really enjoyed catching a lot of fish on the yak while soaking in the calm and mild summer mornings. Get outdoors, enjoy the sunshine and take advantage of some quality summers fishing Melbourne has to offer.

That’s all for this month.

I’d love to hear about your recent fishing experiences around Melbourne and Port Phillip Bay. Feel free to contact me by email on alan@ fishingmad.com.au, at www. fishingmad.com.au, or on Facebook via facebook.com/ fishingmad.com.au. Also check out the FishingMad YouTube channel.

•A

trips out in Port Phillip Bay or Western Port.

This summer I have ventured out on my kayak many times and have enjoyed catching a lot of flathead, pinkies, whiting, and the occasional gummy shark and snook while testing out the new rods and reels. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed flicking soft plastics in the shallows and have caught both flathead and snapper up to 60cm.

Every now and again nature reminds us just how suddenly the weather conditions can change; one recent session became quite scary when the weather turned much sooner than predicted.

The calm waters quickly turned choppy thanks to sudden gusting winds followed by unexpected heavy rain and lightning strikes

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www.stessco.com.au FEBRUARY 2018

25

Hot summer snapper reports PORT PHILLIP NE

Wayne Friebe wfriebe@bigpond.net.au

A more settled period of weather has been welcomed by the bay’s anglers over the past month, and after a

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quieter time last month, it’s good to see plenty of anglers getting amongst the action this month.

It’s been great to see plenty of holiday anglers and locals alike enjoying the spoils of PPB, experiencing some great fishing variety and fishing conditions as well. With the predictions of a couple of warm months ahead, things are looking very nice indeed for the rest of the summer and beyond.

Snapper reports have been coming in thick and fast over the past month, after a bit of lull in the local action earlier in the season. The presence of the charter boats is often a good indicator of numbers of fish in any area, and most of the major businesses have been operating from the wider marks out from Carrum for the past 4-6 weeks.

Great fish have been taken by anglers of all ages, including plenty of real solid specimens in the 6-8kg range.

While bite windows and peak activity are still remaining concentrated in tighter periods of time, the longer

days are allowing for morning and afternoon charter groups to all get amongst the action.

The Frankston area has also been very productive for snapper anglers over the past month as well, both out wider in 17-18m, and also in closer during more inclement weather, as the fish move in closer to the reefs to feed.

Afternoon bite times have been the best, and some great bags of fish have been landed.

It doesn’t take long to bag out when the action is hot, and many anglers have reported leaving the fish biting after they’ve got their limit. The Shultz boys have been dominating the area of late, with some great bags of fish.

The greater Mornington area out wide has probably been the most consistent producer of snapper for the majority of anglers over the past month, and while the average size of the fish is a little smaller than some of those being caught in other

Daniel from TW Cranbourne with 5kg of Mornington red. this is certainly my preferred snapper bait when available.

Recently, there have been some massive schools of salmon around the Mornington area, and plenty of anglers have been cashing in collecting baits, and having some fun in the process. Most fish have been in the 1-2kg

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Jason Schultz with a recent bag of quality snapper taken out from Frankston in 17m. areas of the bay, some better quality fish have also been taken by those putting in the extra effort.

Recently, Mornington wide is typically a great area to cash in as the snapper tend to group up in this area to feed, before they head south. Expect the extensive mud bank areas out from Mount Martha and Safety Beach to be good in the coming months as well as this migratory pattern takes hold. Unsurprisingly, some of the charter boats have also been operating from this area lately as well.

The most productive baits have been fresh squid, silver whiting, and the good old pilchard is still the number one choice of most anglers.

More anglers this season are also having success using fresh salmon as well, and

size, but some bigger models have also been reported as well. Anglers fishing lighter line and with the stealth of a drifting boat, or even an electric motor have been doing best, especially fishing unweighted plastics, and

small surface poppers.

Local whiting reports have been fairly scarce so far, but expect this to change over the coming months, as they move further north in the bay, and along the eastern reefs. Rosebud and south has been the best so far. Squid numbers are also starting to really thicken up along our local reefs – expect this to improve further in the coming months.

Devil Bend Reservoir has been producing some good trout and redfin, especially after the waterway has been opened up to kayaks. Some nice fish up to 3-4lb have been taken by anglers casting and slow trolling Tassie Devils in the lake basin.

There have also been plenty of EPs for anglers fishing amongst the weed beds with plastics and topwater lures from the bank.

The Patto has taken a while to recover after recent storm waters resulted in a minor fish canal bream.

Recent reports suggest that the fishery has rebounded well, with some nice bream being taken on bait and lures, and also some great EPs being taken at night by anglers fishing lures and plastics around the lights.

There has been plenty to write about this month, and I reckon next month will be even better. Hopefully the big boys with yellow tails show up in our local areas this season. Stay tuned for next month’s VFM for all the action.

Harry Konto proudly displaying his 9.2kg snapper taken in 18m out from Carrum.

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Whiting sizes are a nice surprise for anglers PORT PHILLIP EAST

Lee Rayner info@fishingfever.com.au

While the past weeks have seen hot and cold weather the fishing certainly hasn’t. With lots of great fishing options on offer as we roll into February it seems like the fishing should only improve. In saying that, the recent fishing has been excellent.

While there are lots of different species to chase right now, over the past weeks the main focus species has been the whiting with a lot of anglers reporting that, after putting in a bit of effort to find them, there have been great numbers of bigger sized fish on offer. Several of the local anglers that fish out of Mordialloc Creek reported bags of a dozen or so fish in the 35-40cm size.

The fishing should only get better on species like the whiting, salmon and garfish. While on the kingfish front there were a few sneaky reports of kingfish in the area during January, a pile of fish moved into the rip and lower parts of the bay.

This month should see a few of these fish turn up, especially those 6-10kg models that have been around in good numbers.

MORDIALLOC TO BLACK ROCK Over the past weeks the pier has been fishing well with calm weather producing squid and garfish. During some of the bigger winds we saw in January the pier had a few anglers report that they got into some good pinkie fishing of an evening.

The big news over the past weeks has been anglers getting into good numbers of whiting by fishing the rough ground on the north side of the pier late in the evening and into the night. And while most of the whiting are solid school fish in the 32-36cm size, there are enough bigger ones around the 40cm mark to keep it interesting.

The best baits have been pipis and mussels fished on a paternoster rig and a light rod.

In the boats it’s been all about the whiting, with a lot of the local anglers saying that the area of reef that runs from the front of Parkdale and up to

Check out this thumping whiting caught by Natalie Powell fishing out of Western Port. Now is definitely the time to be chasing these big whiting which seem to be around in good numbers.

Mentone has been fishing well with some of the better fishing happening on the lighter reef areas. This has also seen less pinkies than up on the harder reef areas.

Other than this the lump of bottom known as ‘Brickies’ has also held a few whiting.

In these areas the best

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FEBRUARY 2018

success seems to come from using a little bit of berley and baits of pipi or mussel, with the shells added to the berley. Don’t use too much berley though or it tends to attract the pinkies, and if this happens it’s best to make a small move to get away from them.

As for the size of the fish, most people are reporting whiting in the 32-38cm size, but there are a few patches of fish that have some 40cm models among them.

Up off Ricketts Point it’s also time for the kingfish to be turning up, so if you’re in the area, have a lure ready such as a big plastic, or put a live bait out under a float while chasing whiting and pinkies.

Keep your eyes peeled this month for schools of salmon that have been turning up over the past weeks. Just watch the birds and they will let you know where the feeding salmon are; from there it’s a matter of sitting off the school and casting plastics and small lures into them.

For the land-based anglers there have also been pinkies and the odd whiting taken off the front of the Half Moon Bay car park at night, while the pier itself has seen some good catches of whiting for anglers who fish late at night and cast baits out towards the Cerberus.

SANDRINGHAM TO ST KILDA It’s a great time of the year to be fishing this area and if the past weeks are anything to go by then this month should be great. Try the Anonyma Shoal, as for whatever reason February seems to produce some stonker whiting in this part

of the world. In this spot I always find that fresh mussels are the best bait.

It’s also a hotspot to find a kingfish, so while you’re chasing the whiting berley up the garfish and put one of them out alive under a small torpedo float.

Back in closer to shore the Yorkies Reef system has been holding whiting and squid in good numbers.

While they haven’t been there every day, I have also heard of some good catches of garfish being taken in the same area.

Further along towards Sandringham there are good land-based fishing opportunities this month.

Anglers have a really good chance at decent numbers of whiting and pinkies while fishing the end of the breakwall and the rock groynes late in the afternoon and into the night.

Out a little wider anglers fishing in their boats in the 6-8m areas up

towards Green Point and Brighton will be finding a mixed bag with the past weeks producing whiting and pinkies. This month, however, by fishing out a little wider in the 10-12m areas there will be some solid pinkies on offer with the best results coming to anglers who fish at dawn and dusk with larger baits of pilchards and squid strips.

Up off North Road it’s also a top time to be chasing big garfish around the shallow reefs, as they tend to hold between here and St Kilda Marina during the hot weather. While fishing the reef edges and into the sand holes either on foot or in a boat, now’s the prime time to find some big flathead by casting around soft plastics.

ST KILDA TO PORT MELBOURNE It’s a busy time of the year here as everyone makes the most of summer with water activities such as jet skiing, kite surfing and general boating, so noise levels are up.

For that reason a lot of anglers who are doing well on the fish in this area tend to fish in the dark or during the first and last light periods when there is less activity on the water, allowing the fish to feed in the shallower water.

For something different get in behind the breakwall in a kayak or small boat to cast plastics at the moored boat hulls for some big bream and trevally, or head out the front in search of pinkies and whiting on the abundant cunjevoi beds that run all the way along towards Station Pier in the 5-8m areas.

Use a bit of berley and baits of mussel and pipi for the whiting. Squid strips and pilchard tails work for the pinkies and, as always, a bit of berley will help to get the bite going.

Over the past weeks the main focus species has been the whiting with a lot of anglers reporting that, after putting in a bit of effort to find them, there have been great numbers of bigger sized fish on offer.

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Busy fishing times on the water continue MORNINGTON PENINSULA

Julian Frank

The start to summer has been madness down on the Mornington Peninsula, but the fishing has been sensational. It will continue to fish well this month and hopefully into March. It could very well be one of the busiest years we’ve seen; now that we are into February the amount of boats still around is crazy, and it has been a great season for many. Let’s see what the next months bring.

ROSEBUD The pier has seen a lot of action over the past couple of weeks with plenty of squid being caught late into the evening and after dark.

Small 2.0 and 2.5 size jigs have seen the best results. If you’re chasing a few tails, there have yet again been plenty of herring in around the pylons as the sun goes down. Use maggots or slithers of pilchard on a sabiki rig.

Out the front along Rosebud Reef and down towards Tootgarook plenty of boats are getting into some nice pinkies on

early mornings and late afternoons along with the odd gummy shark.

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can find some of the fresh yakkas that often show up when berleying, a fillet off one is most welcomed.

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RYE Rye Pier has been packed at night and is producing some great fishing. We’ve had plenty of reports of squid being taken in great numbers.

Flathead are a popular target species this year too for anglers fishing off the end of the pier. Some mornings the mullet have even shown up, which isn’t a common occurrence.

These fish make for a good catch if you’re there when they show.

The fishing around White Cliffs has been reasonable with a few really good flathead taken on soft plastics drifting in shallower while the whiting have been firing up on the outgoing tide. Pipis and squid strips are the go, on their own or in a cocktail.

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FEBRUARY 2018

Joel Argentino hauled this bag in only three drifts.

not uncommon for trevally to show up with schools of mullet. Out the front of the wall is a great area to fish lures and soft plastics for flatties, pinkies and salmon.

It’s also a great place to collect fresh baits.

Sorrento is ridiculously busy at the moment with all the kingfish action.

It’s not uncommon to see a couple hundred boats going towards the heads to fish the Rip and some offshore grounds.

Jigging for kingfish seems to be the most popular method by far.

Use 150-300g knife jigs depending on the tides and how much flow there is.

Green/gold, black/silver and blue jigs have all been really popular so far this year.

If you want to bait fish for them, towing around a live squid or baitfish such as yakkas or slimies will do the trick. Some anglers even use a paternoster with a single hook and strip bait on it for good results.

Just a precaution to anyone fishing the Rip – it is a very dangerous place.

Make sure you follow the Maritime Safety laws at all times, look out for others and most importantly pay attention to the marked marine zones and changing sea conditions. It all pays off in the end and we don’t want to see any accidents or possible tragedies unfold.

For any other questions or enquiries you can pop down to the Compleat Angler in Rosebud for more information.

Anglers catching a little bit of everything WESTERN PORT NTH

Adam Ring

It’s a very interesting part of the season that we find ourselves in at the moment. I wouldn’t say that any particular species is really going right off, but the variety of species on hand at the moment is the real positive.

SNAPPER After a pretty tough season on the reds I really didn’t think I would be writing about snapper, but they just continue to hang around and are still well worth targeting.

The Grantville Pier is a local land-based favourite and while it’s better known for its gummy and elephant fishing, it still surprises anglers with the odd really nice snapper. Chad Nipper put in a few hours at high tide and was rewarded with a quality red for this time of year. The humble pilchard was the game changer.

Young Jack Abrehart headed out from Tooradin recently and recorded his firstever snapper. Working the channel edges and sounding around the deeper water just outside the Tooradin Channel is a great way to pick up a few snapper as they school up in the deep water during the heat of the day. Well done, Jack!

Mark Keaveny and Gerry Morsman zipped out from Hastings after work

on a recent outing to target the snapper. The sounder showed the way and after wading through a heap of pinkies the boys left a couple of nice 3kg models. Pilchard and Californian squid coupled with an outgoing tide delivered the best results.

KING GEORGE WHITING It has been a very frustrating season on the whiting so far with huge catches recorded one day and then very little the next. The fish seem to be constantly on

the move and as a result it’s the anglers that keep active and on the move that get the fish.

Andrew Ketelaar, who is an absolute jet when it comes to fishing Western Port, has been finding some really nice whiting in the Tooradin Channel. The bigger fish have been nudging 45cm, so nice hearty baits like big pipis and mussels or pilchard fillets are a great option.

The deeper drop-offs around Crawfish Rock have been producing some massive whiting over the last couple

nice gummies in the same areas. By lobbing a nice fillet of fresh salmon or trevally into the deeper water Sam has been picking up the odd really nice gummy.

For those after some fresh calamari for whiting bait the Tyabb Bank still has a really nice sprinkling of calamari all over it. Hux Fysh has the squid well and truly sorted and has been getting stuck into some exceptional models lately. White squid jigs in size 3.0 and 3.5 have been the best jigs.

Tommo Fitzpatrick was up in the Bouchier Channel on a recent outing and ended up tangling with a cracker little bronzy that took a liking to a nice fresh squid head. Great effort, Tommo!

It certainly is a great sign to see this type of variety still around and I really think that the best whiting fishing is still to come! Like always, keep those reports coming and good luck on your next fishing adventure.

Mark Keaveny with a pair of beautiful Hastings snapper.

A fine example of Middle Spit whiting.

Tommo and his bronzy from the Bouchier Channel.

of weeks. Ben Hoskin found some absolute beauties on a recent outing in 10m of water with the biggest fish measuring 47cm and multiple fish at 45cm!

We can’t talk whiting without talking about the Middle Spit. The Spit has been a little bit patchy, but overall has still been one of the more consistent areas to find a feed of ‘ting. Berley is an absolute must and at times, live Bass yabbies have been the difference between a feed of fresh whiting and a quick stop at the fish and chip shop on the way home!

Sam Triplett has been making the most of the holiday period and spending a heap of time on the water, which is great to see. Sam sat through a really slow slack tide period to be rewarded with the whiting going absolutely nuts when the tide changed and the water got moving again. In that craziness the biggest whiting went 45cm and there wasn’t a fish smaller than 35cm. A great session, Sam – you’ve got to love it when the fish switch on like that!

THE REST You would have read earlier that Sam Triplett dominated some whiting on the Spit but he has also been getting some really FEBRUARY 2018

31

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Now is the time for whiting WESTERN PORT STH

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Magnificent on the plate, whiting have been more than plentiful over the past few weeks and will continue on for the next few months.

Finding solid fish over the 40cm mark is always a challenge, but if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, you can easily be rewarded.

Most of the whiting action has been along the Middle Spit with particular attention payed to the bottom end, especially from the ‘Cut’ south. During the high tides, whiting have been moving up on the banks to feed on the small crustaceans and molluscs they can scavenge. As the tide abates, whiting tend to move into deeper water where they can be found in anything from 5-15m.

Although there are a lot of whiting on the banks, the average is around the 35cm mark, however, if you do move out into the deeper water, the average is around

Phil Spec displays the fruits of a good day out. Photo courtesy of Shaun Furtiere. whiting also requires the use of good quality baits. Pipis are number one in my book but they fall off easily in the current. Mussels, on the other hand, are a little bit firmer and stay on well. If you have

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FEBRUARY 2018

Fishing the Somers and Balnarring areas certainly has its rewards. Photo courtesy of Justin Blythe.

40cm. Fishing the deep water isn’t easy for whiting, mainly because you have the tide to contend with.

I recently headed out with good mate Matt Boultin and fished smack bang in the Middle of the North Arm near the Esso Jetty. Fishing the hour up to and after the tide change we managed a great bag of whiting with the smallest going 39cm and the biggest at 48cm.

Fish of this range are common in these deep-water areas and to catch them you just have to get your timing right. In saying that, we were still fishing 4-5oz leads to hold bottom. At this depth, there is no use for long shank hooks as you can’t strike to set the hook, whereas a paternoster rig with size 2 circle hooks works a treat, allowing the fish to hook themselves every time.

Of course, winding the fish in with such a heavy weight is hard work; at the end of the day, with a bag of fish averaging in the 40s, who’s to complain?

Fishing the deep for

some squid or cuttlefish, this too is excellent and will serve you well.

Matt Catterson took his son Taj out for a whiting session fishing out from Stony Point. Taj was quick into them catching some solid whiting using a pipi and squid bait cocktail.

One local charter operator has also been smashing the whiting recently with regular customer Phil Specs on board.

Fishing the North Arm and using live bass yabbies for bait, they had no trouble catching a solid bag of whiting. In recent weeks, anglers have been concentrating heavily on the whiting and found them plentiful in the North Arm and right throughout the Port.

Occasionally when the whiting have been a little more challenging, moving into the Eastern Channel and around the Tankerton area has been worthy. Of course, in these shallower areas, berley has been a must to get them going.

Be careful when berleying though – salmon and silver trevally have been moving in

on the trail. Though they are fun to catch on light tackle, they can destroy your rigs; it pays to up your leader strength to at least 15lb fluorocarbon to withstand the battle and not be broken off. The last thing you need if the whiting bite is hot is to spend the next ten minutes rigging up.

Snapper season might not be over just yet and those anglers that are continuing to hunt them are doing quite well.

Snapper are still being caught in good numbers throughout the Port but are confined to a few areas. The North Arm is seeing some good fish continuing to be caught, especially around the Buoy 24-26 area. In saying that, if it’s snapper you’re after, you can’t go past a good feed of pinkies from the Coronet Bay and Rhyll areas.

Within this area is the wellknown GPS mark ‘the Corals,’ which is kicking goals when

it comes to catching pinkies.

Some of these fish have been a solid 1-2kg in weight and there are plenty of them making some light entertainment for the last of the holidaymakers in the surrounding areas. While it’s nice to continually catch snapper for as long as possible, most of Western Ports anglers have already made the switch over to targeting King George whiting.

Land-based fishing has also been very rewarding and now that we are into February, things are going to hot up in a big way. The February/March period is the prime time for gummy shark fishing in the port and if you’re land-based then Point Leo, Somers and Balnarring are the pick of locations to be trying your luck. Local angler Justin Blythe recently fished the Somers and Balnarring area on the incoming tide with success – silver trevally bait did the job.

Outside of the port things are beginning to hot up as the water temperature continues to rise. A few mako sharks have been caught along with some sizeable gummy sharks on the bottom. It is always a good option to drag a few baits on the bottom while drifting for sharks, as you’ll end up with a good bag of mixed species including gummies, snapper, sand whiting and flathead.

These next few weeks are shaping up to be fantastic within the port and offshore.

All it takes is a combination of the right weather and gear for the species you target.

I can certainly tell you now, gummies are on my hit list this month. While it is the time to hit up the big girls in the Western Entrance, please practice catch and release, as these are the fish that keep on breeding year after year.

Young Taj Catterson displays two nice whiting from their successful session off Stony Point.

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Craig Edmonds

February as a kid marked the start of school and some of the hottest weather of the summer, but as a fisher it marks the start of the best four months of the year for fishing.

While the weather patterns have changed over the years and February doesn’t seem to be as extreme as it once was, the late summer into autumn is still the best time of the year for stable weather and that generally produces the biggest variety of fish around this area.

The numbers are certainly down on other times of the year and fish like snapper and whiting will be smaller than in their peak, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there and you can’t get a decent feed. This time of the year will produce the most stable conditions for offshore fishing for kingfish, mako sharks and flathead.

If we are lucky again, tuna will show up towards the end of autumn. As the temperatures start to drop back in the bay we will get the last run of pinkies and the better-size gummies will start to show, especially on the moon phases.

There will be plenty of baitfish both offshore and in the bay and schools of salmon will be seen up and down the main channels.

Don’t forget to have the kingfish gear ready because generally the big arches on the sounder under a school of salmon aren’t big salmon.

While the weather

patterns are more stable at this time of the year, never take it for granted; always check the weather. Ask your local tackle store, because this time of the year can also produce some decent storms with strong wind changes.

A common theme through the reports that started this year and hasn’t changed has been quality fish in some good numbers with absolutely no pattern at all. This has made it very difficult to give accurate information to people and the reports are all over the place. Every year is different and that’s why it’s important to be prepared to change up during your session if nothing is working – try something different or a spot you may not usually fish.

Although it has been an odd season, there has been one major positive – from the reports I’ve had, far more people are catching fish than normal; they just aren’t catching as many fish each.

Pinkies have been good in size this season with the average around the 38cm mark. It’s only in the last couple of weeks that a lot of small and undersize ones have shown up. The usual spots around the corals have produced the most, and this season the best reports are coming from deeper water off Rhyll early in the morning. Then as the day goes on they are moving to the shallower areas, spreading out across the corals. The hardest part has been picking what section of the corals to fish. Some customers have told me that rather than anchoring they have been drifting across the

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FEBRUARY 2018

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This whiting measured 53cm and tipped the scales over a massive 1kg. It was in extremely good condition.

Several whopper sharks like this have been caught in the bay this season. corals towards the end of the tides with success.

Drifting in these areas can be difficult over the busy times, but going to the fish rather than waiting until they come to you can be a successful way of fishing.

Berley has helped a lot and cubed pilchards or crushed up pilchards in a berley pot have the most success.

The odd larger snapper has been reported over the last few weeks. This will continue right through until next season and is normal for this time of the year. It seems to be a bit more regular over the last few years with more resident fish and more people chasing them through the off seasons.

Apart from the quality catches of flathead offshore lately with the tiger flathead showing up in reasonable size and numbers, the flathead in the bay have also been quite good and plenty are well-worth taking home.

Most of the reports in the bay are from those who are chasing pinkies around the corals, and the odd report has come from some of the deeper water areas and channel edges around the bay; many of these flathead are the biggest reported. The other flathead reports have come from those chasing whiting. The majority caught are the prized rock flathead.

Whiting, calamari and garfish are what you need to be geared up for if you are heading to Dickies Bay or around Maggie Shoal.

A good pair of polarized sunglasses is a must, because you will often see these fish in the water before you catch them. One thing you need to leave at home is that mate who continually

bangs the sinkers on the side of the boat or stomps around dropping things all day. All three of the species you are catching in these shallow areas are very easily spooked and fishing shallow water any noise can turn them off.

Another trick of my successful customers is to have the anchor in the back of the boat, so you can let it out without rattling the chain everywhere, or have a chain sock on it, which will quieten it considerably.

I think this is why kayak fishers are so successful at times, because the noise they make is minimal at best.

For many years I have said fishing is 99% luck and has very little to do with how expensive your gear is or how long you have been fishing. Again this season at the shop we have seen it several times with some of the best fish being caught by new fishers or those who don’t necessarily have the best gear. It happened again with a customer who went out in his boat for only the second time, just learning where to fish, and while his gear isn’t the cheapest around it is miles away from the most expensive.

We got the phone call at the shop asking if he could weigh a fish saying he thought it looked bigger than the whiting he had seen while fishing with his mates. When he arrived, it was obvious it was good size measuring just over 53cm and as thick as your arm.

When the scales settled the weight was 1005g, the magic 1kg whiting – something those with some very expensive gear and years of experience have only seen in pictures.

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Plenty of variety on offer at Lakes Entrance LAKES ENTRANCE

Steven Pryke

With the first month of 2018 done and dusted, anglers have made the most of the warm and consistent weather catching a wide array of fish from garfish to gummy sharks, with and the odd broadbill swordfish being landed.

in form with quality catches of King George whiting and flathead throughout the scattered weed beds around the many sand islands.

These fish have mostly been targeted with traditional tactics; paternoster rigs baited with fresh prawns or mussels have been truly deadly.

Throughout town, the fishing has been very slow.

Nowa providing quality action. Bream anglers enjoyed the challenge of sight fishing for cruising bream; the mud flats and steep rock walls have been the centre of the action.

Early and late in the day will produce quality bream and the odd flathead on surface lures bent minnowstyle lures. These have been extremely productive,

Prawn patterns are very effective at this time of year and are quickly taken by hungry predators.

A few quality King George whiting taken in a recent session off Fraser Island in Gippsland Lakes.

LAKES ENTRANCE Over the recent months Lakes Entrance has had its traditional prawn runs with anglers catching quality school or king prawns.

These have made extremely productive baits throughout the Gippsland region along with prawn imitation lures.

With all these prawns on the move the fishing has been reasonably consistent.

The main lakes are back

Areas such as the North Arm Bridge and Kalimna rock wall are producing quality luderick, though, on the standard running float rig bait with local green weed. These offerings have been fished tight to cover, allowing the sometimes wary fish to easily pick up the bait.

LAKE TYERS Recently Lake Tyers began to fire up with the higher reaches of the Nowa

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especially combined with quality casting. Make your lure land as close as possible to a likely area.

With recent holidays, the Lake Tyers fish stocks have been a bit gun shy. Keen anglers are still getting stuck into quality bream and flathead – a key to success at this time off year is hitting the water early before every other person is out and about. The snaggy edges of the Nowa Nowa Arm have produced some great sight fishing with bream often seen rolling and flashing and crunch barnacles off the snags.

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 Victoria & Tasmania Fishing Monthly.

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The higher reaches of Lake Tyers are a snag fishing paradise. It doesn’t hurt to up your tackle, especially when fishing these barnacle-covered snags.

Baitfish have arrived MARLO

Jim McClymont mcclymont@net-tech.com.au

The weather is warming up and so is the fishing.

The warm water has arrived from the NSW East Coast and moved into our area of Bass Strait and the baitfish have arrived in big numbers exciting the gamefishing anglers.

Kingfish have moved onto the Tamboon Reef and all reefs down to Marlo Reef, although anglers haven’t been getting big numbers of yellowtail kingfish. It will be only a short time before they start attacking baits and lures.

Along with the yellowtail kingfish many other species also arrive, such as stripy tuna, mako sharks and pike. Soon the marlin will also appear.

In the meantime there

are plenty of flathead, gurnard, squid, barracouta, pinkie snapper and gummy sharks. The surf beaches are also producing good catches of salmon, tailor, flathead and gummy sharks on a variety of baits and lures.

The whole estuary system is fishing well from the Marlo entrance all the way up both the Bridribb and Snowy rivers.

Down towards the entrance anglers are having plenty of fun fishing the incoming tide for salmon and tailor either spinning with metal lures or trolling with both metal and hardbodied lures.

Dusky flathead are in good numbers on the sand flats that stretch from the Marlo Jetty all the way down to Frenchs Narrows; the best results come from wading and spinning with soft plastic lures. Prawns have begun to show up

in good numbers along the sand flats, which is most probably the reason the dusky flathead are gathering there.

Estuary perch have also started to show up on the snags and structures in both the Snowy and Brodribb rivers; the best results have come on live prawn or lures. Luderick can be found schooling along the rock groins surrounding the islands and river banks.

Bream can be found through the whole system, from the entrance up both rivers and into the lakes; you’ll have the best results using sandworms, prawns, local shells and black crabs. For the anglers who prefer to use lures, the fishing area is unlimited. Golden-eye mullet are also in big schools throughout the whole system.

Summer perch and bream are back on the menu GIPPSLAND LAKES

Brett Geddes b.geddes@bigpond.com

After a busy few weeks with holidaymakers enjoying the break, we are slowly getting back to normal here in the Gippy Lakes.

Boat traffic is winding down but the fishing is gearing up and getting better by the day.

BREAM AND PERCH LURING After a nice bit of rain a few weeks ago, the signs were there that we could be in for some great river or lake fishing and it’s now in

full swing. We are starting to enjoy some terrific lure sport and these last few weeks have been really hot.

The better areas include the Mitchell around the highway bridge right up to the barrier, the Nicho River up to the backwater and from the mid sections to the entrance of the Tambo. The Straits at Hollands Landing is also slowly starting to fire and the flats around Lake Victoria will start to produce this month.

You can almost expect a lot of bream between 42 and 45cm each trip and not many fish under 32cm. There is also some white knuckled

Bream to 43cm are now back on the chew taking all sorts of lures and bait.

snag sport with locked drags and heavy leaders. The best lures for the snags have been hardbodies like the Hurricane Kaplunks or Twitch 50 lures.

We’ve also had good sport using bibbed lures weighed down with lead to quickly get them sinking deep into the structure.

A few of us have also encountered a lot of big perch almost as by-catch while snag fishing. One morning I landed five out of eight hook-ups with some nasty fish almost impossible to turn. No wonder I had trouble, because one EP I eventually tamed went a nice 48cm.

The lower Tambo and Mitchell rivers will continue to produce very big bream and some days you will sight fish the bream and throw unweighted plastics and small hardbodies to cruising or feeding fish.

On other days the bream go deep, so it’s best to chase them with blades.

METUNG I have many reports coming in now with anglers sighting kingfish between Kalimna, Nungurner and Metung. They are a fussy predator at times but they rarely knock back a live bait

like mullet, salmon or small tailor. Big squid baits are also worth a try. Kingies can be large fish in this area and you usually find them between 50 and 70cm and even over 80cm – you need to gear up accordingly.

Big soft plastics are best on these kings and fast retrieves are a must.

They will readily take surface lures as well. Not many people know about all of the kingies that also live right along the Ninety Mile Beach, so if you’re launching tinnies off the surf down there, keep an eye out for them busting up the surface. If you decide to try live baits when fishing the Gippy Lakes then be prepared for a by-catch like massive flathead or a lucky mulloway capture. Even gummy sharks to 5ft have been caught near Metung over the last few years.

LAKE KING BREAM And just before I close this report, hot off the press, here’s some fishing news from Lake King; keen local angler Robert Harvey rang me while he was actually fishing from his boat, and I was typing away on the keyboard putting together my final words for this

Big perch are back in the rivers for summer and are holding deep in the snags. issue. Robert had put his boat in at the Nicholson Boat Ramp and was searching the Mitchell flats in the late afternoon out in the vast shallows of Lake King.

He was hooking big nasty bream with most casts and netted over a dozen big fish. His best five bream

were 43-45cm. The trick to success out in this lake is to target bream when the wind gets up with plenty of solid wave action. The bream will attack lures freely as they use the choppy water for a bit of cover and the rougher the conditions, the better the bite!

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Summer has certainly satisfied our holidaymakers with one of the best fishing

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The bream being caught recently have been up to 42cm and flathead are in abundance.

The river has been very quiet but the lake and the channel have made up for it. We

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have had numerous reports of customers going fishing at 6.30am and coming back in at 8.30am with their bag limit.

Prawns have been quiet this season. The surf has been great with salmon up to 5kg. These fish have been taking mainly blue surf poppers and pilchards.

There have also been good reports of tiger flathead and trevally being caught off the surf as well.

Now that Bemm River has navigation aids, night fishing has become a popular activity.

It has been great to see the new All Abilities Hoist in action at our modern launching facility.

Wheelchair-bound visitors are now able to enjoy being on the water and dangling a line.

• 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.

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Wellsy with a 69cm flathead caught on pilchard at Port Albert. with anglers either struggling to catch a handful or catching up to a dozen. The one good thing is that the whiting that have been caught have been a cracking good size up to 46cm long.

Offshore, it’s been all

Deniliquin Yamaha

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For more information visit www.stessl.com.au 38

With summer in full swing, the water is warm and the fishing has been nothing short of sensational.

Firstly, the inside fishing has been very good with the big blue-spot flathead being on the chew in the shallows around Manns Beach and Port Albert.

McLoughlins has had a bit of slimy weed inside making the lure fishing difficult at times, however there are certain tides that seem a bit cleaner than others, which is why anglers have been going further west instead. The flatties are huge at the moment and are being caught up to 70cm in length.

Larger soft plastic lures in the 4” range are working well on 1/4oz jigheads. The bait anglers are doing well but use berley and sit in the shallows to get those larger flathead into the trail and you will do well.

The whiting have been much quieter than last season

Ben Barnes and crew caught a cracking feed of kingies and gummies offshore.

about the kingfish. There has been a stack caught around the islands and the prom, however most have been just undersized at 57-59cm but you will get a few around the 65cm mark and the odd one at 80cm swell.

Trolling skirts has been the most effective way to find the kingies and then jigging with knife jigs or medium-sized micro-jigs has been the go. For more information, contact Will at Allways Angling Bait and Tackle in Traralgon on 5174 8544. You will get expert advice and great deals on fishing bait and tackle.

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Hollands Landing is an awesome little fishery that is 2 hours from Melbourne and only a short drive from the centre of Bairnsdale.

It is home to some of the best bream fishing in the country, with countless anglers, fishing clubs and competitions visit there all year round chasing some of those monster specimens.

PRIME TIME Hollands can be fished

is best when chasing bream and flathead.

THE RIG A reel spooled up with 6lb braid and a long 4-10lb fluorocarbon leader is ideal for casting lures at bream. You might want to bump it up a little if fishing the snags, as light leader doesn’t last long around barnacle-encrusted snags. If you’re specifically targeting flathead then 8-12lb leaders are a good starting point with a 1/8oz jighead and your favourite plastic tied on the end.

in open water or along rock walls and casting small blades to the fish is by far one of the best methods and most enjoyable ways to spend time on the water.

MOTHER NATURE Dusky flathead rules and regulations have recently changed. Remember that the size slot limit for dusky flathead is now 30-55cm with a total possession limit of 5 fish per angler. Letting the bigger fish go will ensure stock levels are maintained and the breeders are left

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A typical Hollands Landing bream caught on a surface lure early in the morning. with great success all year round. Targeting flathead in the warmer months is best when the shallow water heats up and the fish become more active and ‘bask’ in the sun waiting for an easy meal to swim by.

Bream fishing is exceptional in the winter months when the fish start to school up pre spawn.

Cricket scores of fish can be caught during the time of the year and can make for some top-notch fishing.

THE GEAR Like most estuary fishing, a light 2-4kg graphite spin rod with a 2000 size reel

BAIT AND LURES A couple of go-to softies for bream are the bloodworm Wrigglers in 80 and 100mm, they are almost my first plastic to tie on and cast out.

Fishing blades in the open water and along rock walls is very effective and one of the easiest ways to catch bream.

Estuary perch like the same sort of lures, so don’t be surprised if you pull a bream off one snag, and then a perch off the next.

BEST METHOD When targeting bream in the winter months, a quality sounder is essential.

Locating schooled up bream

to do their thing – Fish for the future!

HOT TIP It’s important to adjust the drag on your reel to suit the surroundings and environment that you are fishing. When fishing for bream in snags you want to have it locked up making it easier to pull fish from the timber and not get busted off.

It is best to have the drag backed off when fishing in open water for bream and flathead. You will not pull as many hooks from fish’s mouths as you won’t need to pull them from timber in a white knuckled affair.

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The elusive estuary perch are hard to find but Gerard seems to know where to look.

FEBRUARY 2018

41

Good catches to get in gear this February be long before the striped marlin make an appearance.

A variety of fish are being caught on the local beaches, with the warm water really firing things up. Salmon are being caught along with yellowfin bream and sand whiting.

A few gummy sharks are also being caught by those fishing into the night.

Good fish have been caught from the local headlands with bream, drummer and luderick turning up in the wash with a berley trail bringing them on the bite. Salmon are

EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

The town is abuzz with visitors and with all the caravan parks in the area busy, the good launching facilities and parking at Quarantine Bay caters for anglers heading out into Twofold Bay and beyond.

Good catches of sand flathead have been found heading north towards Haycock Point with fish also being caught down a bit from South Head. For the more adventurous, the fishing in Disaster Bay has been worth the drive.

Out wider the tiger flathead have been biting with good catches of goodsize fish being reported.

The local reefs have been fishing well for snapper with morwong and leatherjackets also being caught along with some good sized gummy sharks.

Kingfish are also being caught down towards Mowarry Point. With the

moving along the rocks and a well-placed lure will catch these travelling fish. The local estuaries are fishing well with good catches of dusky flathead taken on a variety of soft plastic lures and live baits like mullet and nippers have been catching fish for the bait anglers.

Good numbers of prawns are in the lakes and rivers as well and are great eating. Fresh prawns are one of the best baits you can use – sand whiting, bream and flathead will take a fresh prawn with gusto.

The summer months are the time to spend the night out chasing mulloway. Fish around the full moon and new moon for the best chance of catching a fish.

Both the estuaries and the beaches are worth a try.

Bass fishing is at its best over the summer months for those who don’t mind bush bashing along to find the pools the fish live in. That’s why these fish are catch and release, as it’s a lot easier to catch a feed of flathead or bream and release these great sportfish.

Fishing is still strong MALLACOOTA

Kevin Gleed

Flathead are an excellent fish to introduce kids to fishing with lures. fish on the move chasing schools of bait, it pays to keep an eye on the birds as you search for any signs of

surface action. The water out wide has really warmed up with plenty of schools of striped tuna, so it shouldn’t

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With the holidays just passed, the boat ramps are still busy, as people head offshore and out in the lake for a day’s fishing. Bastion Point has been busy when the wind has allowed boats to head outside and the fishing has been good with decent numbers of gummy sharks being caught along with sand flathead and tiger flathead in the deeper water.

Big schools of baitfish are about, and wherever the baitfish can be found there is a good chance of catching a kingfish. To find the baitfish keep an eye out for bird activity, trolling lures has been the way to go as you are covering more ground.

Out wider there has been

little to report as the few boats that have gone out far are yet to come across fish.

Along the beach salmon and a few good flathead are being caught with pilchard being the best bait.

Down at Quarry Beach gummy sharks are being caught by those fishing into the night. You never know what might turn up when fishing here, as a good cast puts the bait into deep water.

The main lake at Mallacoota is closed to the ocean and it will take a good lot of rain before it will open again. Betka River is also closed. Both of the lakes have good numbers of prawns; they are a good size and will only get bigger over the coming months.

Good fishing has been had in the lake with decent catches of dusky flathead coming from both the Top and Bottom Lakes. Fish have also been caught as far upstream as Gypsy

Point. Soft plastic lures have worked well and bait fishers are doing well using fresh prawn for bait. Good numbers of good-size flounder are also being caught on soft plastic lures and prawns.

Decent silver trevally are being caught in Harrisons Channel. The Narrows and the Top Lake have been fishing well for bream, both black and yellowfin, with the margins of both lakes fishing well. Prawns are a good choice of bait and a variety of lures are working well.

A few anglers have been fishing into the night chasing mulloway, but so far there has been little to report. With the lake closed there have been some good catches of fish coming from Gypsy Point and above with reports of good black bream and flathead.

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FEBRUARY 2018

The summer weather has really got the flathead going.

NSW South Coast

Kingies reign continues BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

It’s that time of year when Montague Island is at its best with kingfish all fired up and on the chew, providing plenty of action for anglers.

Most methods are working like jigging, live baiting, drifting with squid or trolling, with the

the strike zone. More often than not it takes even longer to retrieve, but the rewards are worth it.

While out on the deep blue you don’t just have to target way down below, as February is prime marlin time, so by drifting live bait out under a bio-degradable balloon you may even find yourself hooked-up to a striped, black or blue marlin.

There are many options now; you can do that deep

There are good kings like this one to be found at Montague Island and along the coastline. latter producing its share of bonito. There are also some of those larger game species already mentioned lurking there.

The reef and bottom fishing are also in full swing with plenty to be had for all. Most of your popular flathead species are on the chew with the sandies hanging around areas like Tilba to the north, Cuttaggee, Murrah and Goalen Head to the south.

The odd nice gummy shark is also adding to the bags.

Out wider around the Four or Six Mile Reefs there are plenty of tiger flathead on the fringes after you drift off the reefs where the snapper and morwong are lurking.

Out wide from Montague over the Continental Shelf there is one form of fishing that is becoming even more popular in our waters and that’s deep water angling for a variety of species.

Venturing out into depths of 500m or more with the aid of electronic reels, these become more accessible than ever before, with a mixture of species on offer.

These include fish such as hapuka, blue-eye trevalla, gemfish, John Dory, ocean perch and more with the number one attraction for anglers being their excellent eating qualities.

If it’s fast, furious action you are looking for then this type of fishing isn’t for you, as it often takes up to 10 minutes for your 1-2kg sinker to take your hooks (loaded with half a slimy mackerel or generous portion of squid) down to

water fishing and then you might go targeting the marlin along the Continental Shelf with a selection of lures, or troll some live baits over and around the TwelveMile Reef where the marlin should be concentrated at this time of year.

There are also a few schools of yellowfin tuna around along with plenty of striped tuna, frigate mackerel and the odd mahimahi. Bait schools are the key. Where you find the bait like stripies, mackerel or frigates, you will find the predators like hammerhead sharks, which are everpresent at this time of year and loves all of the above.

There are plenty around and they are great fun.

Recent rains and minor

flooding have the estuary systems in top shape and fishing brilliantly. No matter where you go or what system you fish, whether you’re a bait fisho or a lure addict, you will find good angling. Nearby Wallaga Lake is still well and truly open to the ocean where it is providing some of its best fishing.

In the main lake lure fishing for duskies is excellent with plenty on the chew, along with a few nice tailor, bream and the odd pinkie snapper or mulloway. Below the bridge towards the entrance in the channels a wellplaced nipper around the weed beds will account for some nice luderick, whiting and trevally. A well-laid berley trail will bring in plenty of yellowfin bream, mullet, flathead and a nice little added by-catch of some of the largest garfish I have seen.

The Bermagui River is also playing host to many of these species. The flats fishing as the tide rises is the highlight, just scatter a few lines baited with nippers or worms over the sparselycovered weed areas and hang on – it’s great fun.

A lot of these species are on the chew out on the beaches as well. With some great gutters being formed following the rains species like whiting, mullet, bream, salmon, mulloway and tailor are all calling this area home.

This is a fantastic time of year to visit Brogo Dam, which was recently at 100% capacity and fishing brilliantly. Thankfully lots of fish stayed in the dam after the floods where anglers can take advantage of an evening or morning, either with lure or fly, as these fish feast on the insect activity associated with the warmer months of summer.

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FEBRUARY 2018

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Normality returns for regular fishing locals MERIMBULA

Stuart Hindson stuart@ausfishing.com.au

Merimbula has been a pretty busy place over recent weeks with the holiday crowds but, with school back in, some sort of normality has returned for the local fishing community.

Anglers fishing offshore have seen the marlin action hot to trot with multiple captures occurring daily.

Both black and stripies have been caught mainly by boat crews trolling lure spreads of pushers. The 70-fathom line and further east has seen most of the action. Some crews have been getting six shots a day and I know of two crews getting double hook-ups, which is awesome to see.

There has also been the odd jumbo blue encountered for those venturing even wider and one skipper I talked to told me he had a 300kg+ fish on for 7-8 minutes before the hook pulled. That’s a big animal for this neck of the woods – maybe it’s the year of the big blues with that 493kg fish off

Exmouth this month. One can only hope. It wouldn’t surprise me if a few fish were caught in closer to shore over coming weeks, especially black marlin in the 60-80kg range.

The water is 23°C in close loaded with bait and the current is pushing south – all the ingredients needed for an inshore bite.

There were a few marlin last season caught only a stone’s throw from shore, so let’s hope this season is the same. Those after a feed of bottom fish won’t have any trouble.

Snapper, morwong and kingfish are plentiful on the reefs with sand and tiger flathead in good numbers on the sand.

Fish in 30m straight off the Pambula River mouth for the sandies; the gravel edges along the reefs in deeper water are best for the tigers. You can expect a few gummy sharks too, as there have been quite a few caught with the average fish around 6-8kg – a great size for the pan.

The rocks are still firing well for the pelagic species like salmon, tailor, striped tuna and kingfish. Both Short Point and Tura Head

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A perfect time for an afternoon mulloway bite.

has seen most of the action with anglers using live bait fairing best on kings. I know some big fish around the 15kg mark have come from Tura Head of late; a lot of luck needs to be on your side to land a fish like that. Casting smaller chromies up to 50g should also work, especially on the smaller pelagics. The rock fishing will only get better as the weeks pass.

February to May is prime time for these speedsters and I for one will be getting amongst them.

On the beaches both bream and whiting numbers have really increased over recent weeks and this will continue right through the month. Anglers using a lightly weighted rod with live beach worms or pipis will catch plenty with most local beaches holding fish.

The better beaches include North Tura, Tura main and Merimbula’s main beach.

Just remember most of these species will be caught just past the shore dump. A lot of anglers try and cast too far for these species and cast past them – they’re at your feet. Merimbula main has seen some solid night

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To page 45

NSW South Coast

The early bird catches the big estuary fish NAROOMA

Stuart Hindson stuart@ausfishing.com.au

Another mad January has passed for the Narooma locals who now look forward to some fishing in slightly less congested waterways. In saying that, the fishing has been pretty good, especially in the estuaries and early morning starts have been a key ingredient to more consistent results.

The bigger estuaries like Wagonga Inlet, Corunna

and Dalmeny Lakes have been excellent and flathead are the main species being targeted. Fish to 90cm have been caught regularly, with most flatties averaging 40-45cm. All methods are working with smaller softplastics, live poddy mullet and strips of striped tuna all producing results. The fish are widespread, but the bigger models are coming from the shallower sections around the basin margins.

A lot of anglers think this shallow water won’t hold big fish but it will. If you have

A decent 75cm mulloway prior to release in Tuross.

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time shark action as well.

There have been several 6-7ft bronze whalers caught and a few bigger ones lost, so if a decent bitey is on your list, this place is worth a look for sure. If you’re after salmon and tailor, they have been a little tough of late. The better beaches that have produced a few include North Tura towards Bournda Island

and Haycock to the south of Pambula, but you do have to work for them.

In the estuaries it’s all systems go with Merimbula Lake a standout. The channel section below the main bridge has been exceptional for bream, trevally, tailor and flathead with the flats adjacent to both sides of the channel producing whiting on worms and nippers on the flooding tide. In the

a drive on your electric over this type of water you will be pleasantly surprised at how many big girls you actually spook. Fishing weedless soft plastics is dynamite in this situation. Concentrate your efforts around the pockets of sand that exist amongst the weed beds. Yes, it’s a little more challenging, and it’s highly rewarding when that croc comes aboard.

Whiting are around in big numbers too. Anglers using Bass yabbies and squirt worms are getting the best results. Again the shallower sections are the place to fish, particularly in Wagonga Inlet.

If you’re fishing the run-out tide, fish the eastern side of the main highway bridge and the opposite side for the run-in tide.

Using very light leaders can be the difference to getting a few fish or a quality bag.

It’s even more important now with the increased fishing pressure and boat traffic that summer brings. Expect a few bream and flathead too if you’re fishing the main channel below the road bridge.

Decently sized trevally are a probability, especially if you use soft plastics.

Anglers fishing the beaches are catching plenty of whiting on beach worms and pipis on a flooding tide. There top lake solid flathead to 80cm are being caught on a regular basis and most are let go, which is great to see.

There have been ample tailor early before the boat traffic becomes too much with plenty of snapper and bream around the ribbon weed edges in 3-5m of water.

Soft plastics and blades have worked a treat with bait fishos getting their fair share too.

Bream like this horse can be found around the racks in the top lake at Merimbula.

The Tuross River has plenty of EPs around this size. have been some cracking elbow-slappers up to 44cm, which is a stud sand whiting.

Most local beaches are holding fish – Brou and Narooma main are the best. The key for these guys is not to cast past the close-in gutters that these beaches have at present; a small cast on light tackle is all that’s required.

You will also get the odd bream and quality salmon when targeting the whiting.

If you’re after salmon, a paternoster rig with a bait/ popper combination will work, as will chrome lures up to 50g. The better beaches for salmon include Brou and Blackfellows just south of Tuross, though the salmon action has been patchy over the last 2-3 weeks.

Off the stones the pelagic speedsters are keeping most rock-hoppers happy. All platforms are producing – the golfie rocks in town, Dalmeny headland and High Rock near Mystery Bay are all worth a look. You can expect bonito, salmon, frigate mackerel and smaller kingfish with a mixture of chromed lures, pilchards and live bait all working at times. Early mornings seem best with that first two hours from dawn the prime time in my books.

If you’re after a feed of blackfish or drummer, you will get a few but you will have to work for them. I’d be looking at the golfie ledge on the far northwest corner or the southern breakwall of the bar entrance. Cabbage and weed are the pick of the baits.

At Montague Island the kingfish have been plentiful with most techniques working. Jigging has been exceptional with fish between the 60-75cm mark being most common. As we know, the legal size is 65cm, so there are quite a few undersize fish. Do the right thing and let the smaller models go. There has been

the odd better fish pushing 1m but most of these have been caught on live bait. The kings are widespread with the southern pinnacles and Fowl House Reef holding plenty.

Mixed in with the kings are loads of bonito, with striped tuna schools thick at times. I’ve heard of a few black marlin hooked at the rock accidentally when targeting kings on live bait. It would be great to slow troll a live bait for a beakie but due to the soaring seal population this would be near impossible to do. If you’re after a feed of flatties, they are thick lately with the 30-40m line straight out the front of Kianga producing the goods.

There have been plenty of tiger flathead in 60m on the outside edge of the rough stuff off Potato Point so it too might be worth a look. You should snaffle a few snapper on these grounds also, but the reds have been a little finicky of late.

Out wider game anglers

have had good results when the weather has allowed. The water temperature is hovering between 22-24°C – very warm and perfect for marlin.

All three marlin species have been caught, though stripies from 70-100kg are the most common. Trolling skirted lures and switch-baiting with live slimy mackerel have again been the best methods for the beakies.

The fish have been widespread along the shelf, though the Tuross Canyons and Kink Grounds have had some memorable days recently. There have been reports of yellowfin tuna on the smaller side. There have been plenty of jellybeans from 6-10kg, which is great to see, as they haven’t been around the past few seasons at that size. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few more yellowfin in the 30-50kg bracket and plenty of bull mahimahi over the coming weeks, the water looks that good.

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Boating News

Formosa Marine commemorates 20 years Formosa Marine are proud to acknowledge that 2018 marks 20 years of aluminium boat building for the Australian boating public.

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The key to the longevity, growth and reputation of Formosa Marine has been the constant onward development of the company’s product range and designs to meet customers’ demands for

The Railblaza StowPod is UV-resistant, has a drink holder partition and holds all PRINT.pdf 1 31/08/2017 3:03:53 PM yourAttomic personal items at your fingertips.

high quality build and performance in a hull that can be tailored to their individual needs.

A Formosa Marine built hull is marketed under the Tomahawk and Sea-Rod brands of plate boats offering a full range of models from open to cabin hardtops, sizes from 4.55m Classics to the latest 7.4m heavy-duty Offshores with true self-draining decks.

Select from one of the largest range of optional extras, such as the latest ‘BowActive’ Ladder, or custom design to enhance your boating form.

NEW BOAT GRAPHICS FOR 2018 To commemorate the 20th anniversary, Formosa Marine are re-launching their boat graphics for both the Tomahawk and Sea-Rod range.

The business acknowledges that the Formosa Marlin graphic has become symbolic with their branding, readily recognizable on the water and much sought-after.

The new graphics will feature the iconic Formosa Marlin and a 20th Anniversary sticker, plus an increase in size of the

From humble beginnings, Formosa Marine now sees itself as one of the mainstay brands of the Australian recreational boating market with an Australia-wide distribution network. branding to accommodate the larger boat models now on offer.

The Barra graphic is still available on request.

FREE GIFT TO CELEBRATE… As well as a boat graphic refresh, Formosa Marine are giving away a free gift to celebrate their 20 years.

If you order the famous Formosa Marine designed and built bait board and bait tank with your Formosa boat, you will receive a free Railblaza StowPod with a removable QuickPort fastener.

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Discover more online at www.formosamarineboats. com.au. – Formosa Marine

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FEBRUARY 2018

abt

Tournament

FREE GUIDEBOOK

Guide

Australian Bass Tournaments

ABT.ORG.AU

18

abt

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abt.org.au

2018abt calendar BREAM SERIES

with the Victorian double header, then makes its way through the country before heading to Marlo in Victoria in early December for the big show: the Costa BREAM Grand Final.

Get set to fly because the Costa BREAM Series spreads its wings in 2018, with five states and nine qualifying rounds waiting for anglers in the new tournament season.

The tour kicks off in February Costa BREAM Qualifiers

• Boater $250 • Non-Boater $125

DATE

STATE

LOCATION

EVENT

13-14 Feb

VIC

Mallacoota

Round 1

17-18 Feb

VIC

Gippsland Lakes

Round 2

20-21 Mar

TAS

St Helens

Round 3

24-25 Mar

TAS

Derwent River

Round 4

21-22 Apr

NSW

Gold Coast

Round 5

5-6 May

WA

Swan River

Round 6

2-3 Jun

NSW

Hawkesbury River

Round 7

11-12 Aug

NSW

Lake Macquarie

Round 8

13-14 Oct

QLD

South West Rocks

Round 9

30 Nov-2 Dec

VIC

Gippsland region

Grand Final

5-7 Mar

NSW

Sydney Harbour/Hawkesbury River

BREAM Australian Open

BASS ELECTRIC SERIES DATE

STATE

LOCATION

EVENT

25 Feb

NSW

Richmond River

Round 1

22 Apr

NSW

Clarrie Hall Dam

Round 2

10 Jun

QLD

Wyaralong Dam

Round 3

29 Jul

QLD

Lake Macdonald

Round 4

25-26 Aug

QLD

Wivenhoe Dam

Grand Final

Revamped for the new tournament season, the Casino Outdoors BASS Electric Series is primed and ready for 2018. Four Qualifying Rounds and a Grand Final await anglers in the new tournament season, with two new venues slated for the 2018 series. It all kicks off at the end of February on BASS Electric Entries $80 per angler

AUSTRALIA BASS PRO SERIES DATE

STATE

LOCATION

EVENT

29-30 Apr 3-4 Jun 7-8 Jun 5-6 Jul 8-9 Jul 2-3 Sep 14-15 Oct 16-17 Sep

NSW QLD QLD NSW NSW NSW NSW QLD

Hawkesbury River Cania Dam Boondooma Dam Lake St Clair Glenbawn Dam Clarence River Richmond River Glenbawn Dam

Hawkesbury River BASS Pro Qualifier #1 Cania BASS Pro Qualifier #2 Boondooma BASS Pro Qualifier #3 Lake St Clair BASS Pro Qualifier #4 Glenbawn BASS Pro Qualifier #5 Clarence River BASS Pro Qualifier #6 BASS Pro Grand Final Storm BASS Australian Open

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DATE

STATE

LOCATION

EVENT

10-11 Feb

VIC

Bemm River

Round 1

10-11 Mar

NSW

Foster / Wallis Lake

Round 2

7-8 Apr

NSW

Sydney

Round 3

14-15 Apr

WA

Blackwood River

Round 4

5-6 May

NSW

St Georges Basin

Round 5

2-3 June

QLD

Gold Coast

Round 6

15-16 Sept

NSW

Central Coast

Round 7

6-7 Oct

WA

Swan River

Round 8

13-14 Oct

VIC

Hopkins River

Round 9

3-4 Nov

NSW

Lake Macquarie

Round 10

24-25 Nov

VIC

Mallacoota

Round 11

Feb-19 2019

TBA

TBA

Australian Championship

TAG 2018 abt

one of the best wild bass fisheries on the tour, the Richmond River, then heads to Clarrie Hall Dam, Wyaralong Dam, and Lake Macdonald.

The BASS Electric Grand Final returns to the scene of two past BASS Electric Conventions, Wivenhoe Dam, with the biggest event of the calendar taking place in August when the Hoe’s big bass are at their most active.

To qualify for the Grand

Final all you need to do is fish two rounds throughout the year, while the Angler of the Year points race will be decided on an angler’s best three results, with the Grand Final included in the calculation. This is the first time BASS Electric anglers get to fish their first event for free in 2018, so check out the calendar to find out where and when you can get your Casino Outdoors and Disposals BASS Electric fix.

Rapala headlines the BASS Pro Series in 2018, with the new tournament season delivering a host of challenges and rewards for new and returning anglers.

Six Qualifying Rounds throughout the year held on Queensland’s and New South Wales’ finest bass rivers and lakes – plus a

Grand Final at Queensland’s home of XOS bass, Lake Somerset, in September – will present anglers with a BASS Pro calendar that is sure to test and challenge.

Add the Storm BASS Australian Open to the mix, and the BASS Pro calendar is the biggest and best we’ve ever seen.

Rapala BASS Pro Qualifiers

• Boater $275 • Non-Boater $150

BARRA TOUR DATE

STATE

LOCATION

19 Nov

Kinchant Dam (Evening Event)

Round 1

20 Nov

Teemburra Dam (Evening Event)

Round 2

21 Nov

Peter Faust (Night Championship)

Round 3

23-24 Nov

Peter Faust (Evening Event)

Round 4

Barra is on the menu for the November full moon, with the Zerek BARRA Tour set to storm the bass lakes of

North Queensland. Kinchant, Teemburra, and Peter Faust dams host the four-event tour, and if the biggest fish

Zerek BARRA Tour Entries $250 per team, per event

The Hobie Kayak BREAM Series marks a milestone in 2018, celebrating its 10th birthday with a tour set to impress. Featuring events in WA, VIC, NSW and QLD,

anglers are spoilt for choice with 11 rounds making up the series. All events of course lead to the biggest event of the year, the Australian Championship, and in 2018

and big bites of 2017 are anything to go by then the 2018 Tour is one not to miss.

Whether you’re a veteran of the tour or a barra beginner looking to catch your first barra, the Zerek BARRA Tour is the place for you next November. the big show has a twist; the climax event of the series will be taking place in February 2019, becoming the opening event of the new tournament season.

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A day on the lake at wonderful Wyaralong Dam BRISBANE

Bob Thornton

Whether you’re a tournament buff, a travelling fishaholic, or just a holiday angler, at some point you will find yourself fishing in unknown territory without any help.

Chances are, if you’re new to tournament angling, you’ll probably find yourself fishing a lot of bodies of water completely foreign to you as you follow the tournament trail up and down the coast. It’s a daunting feeling standing on the boat ramp and looking out onto a waterway that is someone

else’s stomping ground or, in the case of this article, no one’s stomping ground yet…

GOING IN BLIND I decided to simulate this and I asked Michael Rowswell if he wanted to help me out. Michael is new on the BASS Electric scene, but already has a few podium finishes to his name, and is

Expectations were high as Michael and the author launched the boat at Wyaralong Dam. 4

TAG 2018 abt

definitely one to watch in the next few years. My plan was to get out on a body of water completely foreign to both of us, and observe the decisions Michael made both prior to and during the day’s fishing. Michael didn’t take much convincing and was as keen as I was.

The arena for the day was going to be Wyaralong Dam in South East Queensland, near Beaudesert. A relatively new dam, it was completed in 2011, and stocking began shortly after with the Logan & Albert Fish Management Association providing a steady supply of bass and Mary River cod.

As yet, very little, if anything, is written about the lure fishing opportunities in this dam, and anyone who does catch fish keeps the info close to their chest. I gave Michael a week to do some research and prepare a plan for our day on Wyaralong.

The aim was for Michael to treat the day like a tournament and put a limit of bass together – it was going to be interesting.

FISHING DAY 5:43am As we rolled into the car

The guys were met with unseasonably cool weather for this November day with intermittent rain, so spray jackets came on and off all morning.

park with Michael’s boat in tow on Saturday 11 November 2017, it was unseasonably cool, and drizzly rain looked like a possibility. We noticed another rig being set up in the car park, and neither of us were surprised to see the figure of Bass Electric veteran Adrian Wilson step out of the car. Adrian has been putting some time into this lake, and assured us there were some chunky bass in residence, we just had to find them!

We finally pushed off Wyaralong’s steep one-lane

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boat ramp at 5:58am, and the plan was made to fish some grassy edges with topwater offerings immediately opposite the ramp. I’d originally planned to not fish, and just take photographs and notes while Michael fished, but he insisted I fish with him.

Again, it didn’t take much convincing.

We’d done some research, and found that there were no bony bream in the lake, which often points to a good edge fishery. We decided to fish this area thoroughly, but

with this area and technique bearing no fruit by 7:00am, we thought it was time to move further up the dam.

At 7:32am, we ran into Adrian along a steep bank, with a mixture of drowned timber and rock dotting the waterline. Michael and I were throwing a spinnerbait and football jig respectively.

Adrian said he already had a full livewell between him and his partner for the day, and tipped us off that the fish were sitting off the edge a little bit and relating

All the bass caught on the day were relating to the drowned timber scattered throughout the lake. This made extracting them something of a challenge.

The first bass was an incredibly stout, 40cm fish that ate a ZX40 blade.

to the thermocline that was clearly visible on Michael’s Lowrance HDS Carbon 12” unit. It was then that the fish started to trickle in…

7:34am While hopping and rolling an Ecogear ZX40 blade in colour 442 just below the thermocline in around 25ft of water, Michael hooked up.

His drag was screaming in noisy protest, but when a beige mud marlin broke the surface, we were both a little disappointed. As Wyaralong is dammed on a tributary of

the lower Logan River, the European carp that abound in its waters were able to build a self-sustaining population in the lake. We were aware of this coming into the day, but clearly they were more numerous and aggressive than either of us had predicted.

While it wasn’t a bass, it somehow relaxed us both.

It didn’t get the monkey off our back, but it did convince him to loosen his grip a little.

Catching fish is always a good way to ease the tension.

The carp of around 50cm was

humanely dispatched and disposed of.

7:47am After this we came across a little patch of fish on the sounder as we continued to cruise along the bank. We were still in about 25ft of water when Michael hooked up again. The smaller headshakes indicted that he’d hooked a native species – it was now a question of what kind.

It wasn’t a bass! It was the biggest spangled perch either To page 6

wasaby 8/12/18 G THE

WINNING TRADITION continues

zx30/35/40

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Bream prawn 40/50 mm abt

TAG 2018

5

abt From page 5

of us had ever seen. With this thing giving 30cm a tickle, it’s no wonder we mistook it for a bass on hook-up. We agreed that spanglies of that size would hang out with bass, as they’d most likely be after the same tucker. We

Tournament Angler Guide away to around 80ft, was only about 50m away. We decided to give it a peppering, with Michael throwing a ZX40 in colour 442, and myself throwing an Ecogear Grass Minnow with a 1/4oz jighead.

I suddenly found myself turning around when I heard

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After a few runs for cover and some fancy rod work from Michael, we had our first bass for the day in the net. Finally, the monkey had let go!

At exactly 40cm to the tip of the tail, this was considered a good one in here according to Adrian, who was still

Cod never go quietly…

This little Mary River cod was without doubt the highlight of the day. It was taken on a scent-laden ZX40 blade hopped amongst a bass school, no less! continued mooching along the bank. Surely we were getting closer…

At 8:14am, we came to a timbered point, which protruded out into the riverbed. Bass are wellknown to hang around points with deep water nearby. It was 16ft where we were, and the riverbed, which dropped

6

TAG 2018 abt

the sound of drag coming off Michael’s reel, but Michael had merely snagged the blade on a piece of sunken timber close to the bottom.

With a few flicks of the wrist, Michael managed to rip it away from its snaggy doom, but as the blade came free of the timber, the rod buckled right back over – fish on!

within earshot. This fish was incredibly deep-bodied, and had clearly been eating well.

We were stoked, and after a few photos, put our first customer into the livewell!

Hooking this fish so close to timber was an important piece of information to note.

As we got ourselves reorganised, we noticed a few

fish moving in under the boat on the sounder. We were now sitting in very close to the timber line. We both switched to blades and began harassing these fish by vertically jigging them in the sounder beam.

At 8:30am, Michael decided to give his blade a bath in some Ecogear Egi Max scent. We’d been getting half-hearted bumps and taps without any hook-ups. He assured me that this product had turned many of his slower days around. As he sent his blade back to the bottom, the hits started up again as the

bait was dropping, and after 2-3 hops off the bottom he was hooked-up once more.

The surging runs had us calling this fish for another carp, but when I caught a glimpse of the animal under the boat, I saw it had a rounded tail. “No way!” I heard myself saying, as I slid the net under a fat little Mary River cod. The high-five that I then I shared with Michael hurt my hand for minutes after the capture!

We knew that Mary River cod had been stocked into this lake, and the stocking group had made an effort to stock more cod than usual into Wyaralong in the hope of creating a viable fishery for them. That said, having personally only ever seen two

Even though the author was meant to be taking photos and notes, he couldn’t resist dropping an ice jig down to some suspended fish spotted around a sunken tree.

caught from dams in about 20 years of fishing, I was pretty excited to see such a beautiful and endangered species up close once again.

With a few photos, the fish was lowered back into the water, where it powered back to the deep, giving Michael a late shower in the process.

These fish never go quietly.

We speculated that with good stocking of these cod, in a few years this may be an area where anglers can set out to target these majestic mottled gluttons… but then it was back to the task at hand.

At 8:42am, while fishing the same school of fish with a ZX40 blade, I managed to connect to another one of the 30cm spangaloid monsters – the dam was proving to be full of surprises.

After that, we decided to leave those fish and return later, opting to head toward some isolated timber in the distance that we saw Adrian pull a fish off around half an hour earlier. Upon getting there, we realised that this tree stood alone in around 70ft of water, and we could see fish suspending about 15ft down, both tight to the tree and out to the side.

8:57am Michael made a cast with a black Ecogear Grass Minnow on a 1/4oz jighead away from the tree, let it fall

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Tournament Angler Guide

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Michael’s second bass ate his soft plastic in seemingly open water around 70ft deep, but upon inspecting the area afterwards the guys discovered a sunken tree with more fish suspending around it. for only 2-3 seconds to keep it up where the fish were, and almost immediately after commencing his retrieve the soft plastic was crunched.

Knowing that carp generally feed in the bottom third of the water column, we were very confident that this fish was a bass. At 32cm to the fork of the tail, this bass was Michael’s second for the day, and was put into the livewell

to join his first victim. Our objective had been reached; Michael had put together a tournament limit!

Upon moving over to where Michael had hooked this fish, we found there was a second, sunken tree, with plenty of fish relating to it. With suspended fish notoriously difficult to target, Michael suggested that I tie on an ice jig and lower it

down to where we could see fish sitting at around 15-17ft, just below the thermocline.

I chose a 12g Smak Wild Ice Jig Darter in brown dog colour, because it reminded me of peanut butter and I was hungry.

At 9:19am I pulled tight to a fish that barely breathed on the jig, after several minutes of tiny bumps that had me questioning whether they were bass. Again, my lure was very close to timber when the fish struck. With a very stout 35cm fork-length bass in the well to join Michael’s two fish, we decided to have a bite to eat, before exploring further up the dam. Pulled pork rolls and Gatorade did a good job to pick us up after a slow morning.

As we worked our way up the dam, we were seeking out timbered points and isolated timber similar to the area that produced those two bass, but while we found bass on the sounder, we struggled to get them to eat. At least we know where they are for next time.

At 11:34am, after approximately two hours of not turning over anymore bass, we pulled into a small bay in about 14-16ft of water, where we could see some large arches holding tight to the bottom. Deep down, we knew they were probably carp, but it didn’t stop us

from trying.

With Michael fishing his ever-faithful ZX blade, and me continuing to rock the ice jig, we dropped our offerings to the bottom expectantly.

Within seconds, Michael was hooked up, and low and behold, the second carp for the day came to the surface.

Once we agreed that all

to catch one anyway,” Michael laughed.

Within seconds he had his rod bent to the felt, as a hefty mud marlin sucked his ZX blade off the bottom. I shot a few photos of him hooked-up while I held my rod between my legs, making my ice jig dance in an unusual fashion near the bottom and, of

The Lowrance HDS Carbon 12” sounder proved invaluable to the day’s fishing. the other large arches were probably carp, we made a move and headed for the next little bay.

We arrived at the next bay at 11:45am, and found an even bigger patch of fish on the sounder. It was only about 12ft deep where we were.

“I’m 100% sure they’re carp, but I’m gonna try

course, another carp decided it was time to eat. I promptly put the camera down – it was time to have some fun!

For the next half hour we caught around 15 carp, with a few double hook-ups! It didn’t seem to matter what we dropped down, they would eat it in seconds, and each To page 8

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fight usually broke the threeminute mark, as 2kg of angry mud marlin doesn’t come in easy on ultra light bass gear.

We were having too much fun. We were like a

Tournament Angler Guide in shallow water well away from any structure were most likely carp. In a tournament situation, this would be a very logical way to fast-track your search for bass. The bass we found were all near timber,

It was around midday that the boys discovered ‘carp bay.’ pair of giggling school kids every time one of our rods buckled over. It was time to move on. The livewell was filling up with carp, which were to be dispatched. We left them biting at 12:15pm. I told myself I’d return at some point with a fly rod for some real fun. I honestly can’t wait!

We didn’t view the last half hour of our fishing as a waste of time. What we did learn from our session in ‘carp bay’ was that any really large fish schooling

8

TAG 2018 abt

and suspended off the bottom.

This is all useful information for next time.

Our day was cut slightly short when the sounder that we were relying on died at 12:30pm, and the decision was made to jet back to the ramp, release the fish in the livewell, get packed up and head toward the golden arches for a feed.

LESSONS LEARNED Although we didn’t light up the bass, our day at Wyaralong Dam was most definitely a success, and it was very interesting for me to see how Michael took on the challenge of fishing a dam he’d never been on before and that doesn’t have much published information about it. Watching how he broke down the water and put together a bag of bass

This beautiful koi carp was a highlight in the short but intense pest control session.

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The carp were putting a real bend in Michael’s rod and taking some serious drag. was informative for me, and I also believe our day’s fishing proved the point that even the top tier of tournament anglers like Michael don’t spend the whole day smacking fish.

Sometimes they’ll even doughnut, but this is also useful information in the process of nutting out a new waterway. The lesson here is to learn from your experiences, good and bad.

Another key lesson is to let the fish tell you what they want. Every fish you catch tells a story, and it’s important to note when, where, how, and why you think you caught each fish. This is how they tell you what they want.

As for Wyaralong Dam, I really hope to see it added to the calendar sometime in the next few years. Those chunky bass will only get

chunkier and more numerous as the stocking continues.

Oh, and the by-catch isn’t too bad either!

I hope this gives you the confidence to tackle more unfamiliar territory as we march into the tournament season. Or, if you don’t fish tournaments, I hope you make plans to try fishing those places you’ve been meaning to for years, but have ‘never got around to.’ You’ve gotta be in it to win it.

Good luck!

While the bass weren’t jumping into the boat, having two bass as chunky as this to show at the end of the day is never a bad result. The condition on these bass really had the boys baffled, as there are no bony bream in Wyaralong!

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Using subtle spybaiting tactics for our wily bass SYDNEY

Tom Slater

Australians are a savvy bunch; I’ve had many conversations over the years with international anglers that would tell you as much. Australian anglers, and especially those who fish tournaments, are often at the forefront of angling techniques and tackle.

Take spotlock and side imaging for example; we’ve known the benefits of these technologies and used them better than arguably most of the other markets in the world. There is, however, one phenomenon that has quietly taken the bass fishing world by storm and completely missed Australia. Despite being one of the hottest baits of the last two years, the spybait (or ‘spinbait’) has yet to draw the attention locally as it has in Japan and the USA. Spybaiting originated in Japan many years ago. You can in fact go back decades to some of the first lures of this style. In the last few years spybaiting has boomed, sparking a revolution in many markets. Every few years you can bet on a new technique to break through and capture the minds of 10

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anglers. A few years ago, it was the skirted jig, which Peter Phelps used to win the Grand Final in 2015. In 2017 on the ABT BASS Pro series, it was the finesse technique of spybaiting.

Although it’s not new, the spybait has yet to take off in Australia. A finesse tactic, spybaiting relies on the subtle nuances of a sinking prop bait to draw strikes from fish that you previously thought were uncatchable.

Most anglers would look at a spybait in the water and think that it doesn’t have enough action, but that’s what makes it so effective.

When fish are shut-down and pressured, sometimes a lessis-more approach is best, and that’s where the spybait comes into its own.

The spybait became prominent at the conclusion of last year’s Storm BASS Australian Open, and looks set to establish itself as a tournament-winning tactic in 2018. As this year’s calendar looks to return to a number of deep Queensland impoundments, don’t be surprised to see savvy anglers using this technique as part of their repertoire on the BASS Pro Series.

WHAT IS IT? A spybait is recognizable by the rotating propellers that

are found on the front and back. It’s often mistaken for a topwater fizzer style lure, but a spybait actually sinks.

They’re often available with different sink rates to cater to different depths, and a spybait will swim as it sinks, shimmying like a stick minnow as it reaches its target depth.

It’s not all about the sink though. Once at its target depth, the propellers will begin spinning as the angler imparts a slow and steady retrieve. The two propellers don’t look like much, but they’ve been specifically developed to impart a tantalizing wobble as the bait tracks horizontally through the water column.

Spybaits are finesse lures, so don’t think you’re going to feel a solid thumping vibration through your rod tip. It’s a technique that requires confidence in your approach, knowing that even on the slowest of winds, your lure is down there doing what it’s supposed to, even if you can’t feel it.

Spinbaits come in all shapes and sizes; some go as small as 40mm, though they are more commonly seen in the 70-90mm range. All have their small differences, and at last year’s Storm BASS Australian Open, just about

every variety caught fish for the competing anglers.

HOW DOES IT WORK? So now we know what it is, how does it work? At its core, the technique of spybaiting is very simple.

Locate the depth where the fish are holding, cast as far as possible, and slowly retrieve the lure through the strike zone.

The spybait shot to fame in Australia during last year’s Storm BASS Australian Open, where Steve Morgan highlighted the lure’s effectiveness during his pre-fish day. Having received a Storm Arashi Spinbait in his pre-tournament swag, Morgan put it to good use during the event, landing almost 100 bass during the

three days of fishing. Once word spread, other anglers were quick to jump on the bandwagon and soon there were spybaits being flung around all over the place at Cania Dam. Spybaits work on one fundamental principle – realism. How many baitfish do you see swimming around vibrating like a TN60 or

It’s not just bass that love spybaits, yellowbelly will take a fancy to a well-placed and worked lure.

darting side to side like a jerkbait? When fish are active this in-your-face response works great and triggers a reaction bite. When the fish shut down, however, things can change quickly.

If you’ve ever watched baitfish when not under duress, you could hardly even notice how they propel themselves through the water. That action is what a spybait mimics. The two props on a spybait give just enough flash and turbulence to create an irresistible shimmy, and they work even at the slowest of speeds. As slow as you can wind, a good spybait will be swimming.

Designed to target pressured fish in clear waters, spybaits are perfectly suited to Australian bass, a species notorious for shutting down, especially under tournament conditions.

Queensland’s stocked impoundments of Somerset, Wivenhoe, Boondooma, BP and Cania are perfectly suited to the technique of spybaiting. When fish are suspending mid-water, relating to schools of bony bream around creek beds, it’s time to spybait. When these schools are biting, it can be the best day’s fishing you’ve ever experienced, but when they shut down, it’s a tough slog to convince one

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of them to bite.

HOW AND WHEN TO USE IT? Spybaiting is a technique best reserved for open areas. Think of it much like heavily weighted soft plastics, which are so dominant in QLD impoundments. It’s a lure and technique for targeting schooling fish in any part of the water column.

Being a finesse tactic, spybaiting is definitely more suited to spinning gear than baitcasting. Once you’ve located a likely school of fish using your sounder, position your boat so you can make as long a cast as possible. Spybaits work best when retrieved horizontally through the water – avoid retrieving them up on an angle.

Once you’ve located the fish, you want to familiarise yourself with the sink rate of your chosen spybait. All spybaits will sink at slightly different speeds, and some are even weighted towards the nose to sink faster and reach deeper depths.

Counting your bait down is paramount to making sure you’re retrieving through the strike zone. Once you know how long your lure takes to sink 1-2m, you can use this to determine how long you need to allow

for your bait to reach your target depth.

Once you’ve counted your bait down, commence a steady slow retrieve, almost as slow as you can wind. A smaller, slower gear ratio reel will help with slowing you down. Depending on how deep you’re targeting, you can occasionally open your bail and allow the lure to sink back. This can also be a key bite trigger, forcing following fish to commit to the strike once your bait begins to sink and shimmy as it’s falling.

You’ll be fishing treble hooks, so when you feel a bite don’t strike. Imagine you’re fishing a crankbait; you want to keep winding until you feel consistent pressure, then a gentle sweep of the rod should be enough to make the hooks penetrate and hook the fish.

WHAT TACKLE DO YOU NEED? Spybaiting is a technique our bream anglers will immediately feel comfortable with. Straightthrough fluorocarbon, long rods and slow retrieves are pretty common in the Costa BREAM Series. For our freshwater friends, this will require a more tailored approach.

With treble hooks, you’ll want to invest in a

The ultra-sharp finesse hooks on a spybait will easily pin fish – even a tentative, enquiring bass. long rod. Anything over 7ft will be adequate, but if you think of where and how you fish a spybait, a longer rod will offer far more benefits.

A longer rod acts as a larger shock absorber, keeping that light line intact and those small trebles holding in the fish. A longer rod will also allow you to make longer casts.

You’ll also want to

invest in a quality small spinning reel, preferably with a slow retrieve ratio.

Drag is also important, as it’s pretty hard to find a bad reel these days. Something like the new Daiwa SOL III in a 2000 size would be perfect.

A spybait works best on fluorocarbon line. Just like any treble-hooked bait, fish have a tendency to swipe at

the bait, often getting hooked in the lip or on the outside of the mouth. As good as braid is, the lack of stretch in this instance can be detrimental, pulling hooks free when a more cushioning, stretchy fluorocarbon line would have landed the fish. You can keep your fluorocarbon line in check with a lineconditioning spray, which To page 12

New Australian rattling Bent Minnow coming March 2018 Designed with high pitch rattles to imitate flicking prawns.

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minimises memory and lengthens the life of your fluoro.

Use a straight-through fluorocarbon line of anywhere between 4-8lb, depending on the size and weight of your spybait. The lighter the line, the better it will work. As fluorocarbon line sinks, it will help keep your lure tracking horizontally through the strike zone.

When it comes to the lures themselves, my favourite is the DUO Spinbait G-Fix 80. It’s an 80mm bait, which sounds long, but the thin profile makes this a perfect morsel for an Australian bass. The DUO Spinbait is available in a range of sizes, from 60-90mm. I like the G-Fix version because it’s heavier, but it still sinks horizontally.

It’s good for depths up to 10m.

If you find fish in deeper water than that, or if the fish are responding to a faster retrieve, upsizing to the Spinbait 90 is the way to go.

This model sinks head-first, and will reach depths faster and track deeper than even the G-Fix version.

Many other brands have a selection of good spybaits.

The Storm Arashi Spinbait is a great option with a slower

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Tournament Angler Guide sink. Nories also have their Wrapping Minnow, which is more suited to fish on braided line with its one larger single hook.

Whatever bait you choose, be aware of how it swims at all speeds and take notice of its sink rate so you can be sure to keep it in the strike zone at all times.

Spybaiting has taken Japan and the US by storm over the last few years.

Kevin VanDam won last year’s Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on the St Lawrence River in the US on a spybait. It was the first time a Bassmaster Elite tournament had been won on such a technique. Tackle stores in the US sold out of spybaits overnight.

After Steve Morgan’s masterclass on spybaiting at the 2017 Storm BASS Australian Open, it’s only a matter of time before spybaiting wins its first Australian tournament. The next time you’re on the water and catching them on the same old grub you’ve been throwing for over a decade, why not grab a spybait, count it down and take a more finesse approach? You just never know when having another arrow in your quiver could come in handy during the 2018 ABT BASS Pro Series.

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Duo Realis Spinbait 80mm, 9.5g (3/8oz)

Megabass Baby X-Plose 70.5mm, 5.3g (3/16oz)

Jackall iProp 77mm, 7.7g (3/10oz)

Storm Arashi Spinbait 80mm, 9.4g (1/3oz)

Nories Wrapping Minnow 57mm, 14g (1/2oz)

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Sports science and competition fishing BRISBANE

Stefan Sawynock

I have been working most of my life to understand how fishing works.

That journey started at 18 months old as I was being carted around by my father in the trout streams of Victoria. I suspect that spending my earliest years trying to replicate my father’s fishing techniques gave me a natural curiosity for fishing. Translating that fascination into knowledge took a lengthy study in the fields of evolutionary biology, neuroscience and sports science.

In this article, I aim to provide insights into practices that will make you a better competition fisher. On your behalf, I have pulled together observations of the world’s best anglers and worked with elite sports scientists and experts on human performance. None of my advice will change your unique technical skills, but rather enable you to weaponise them.

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Main: It’s go time. The question is who’s best prepared and skilled enough to win?

Above: Tackle knowledge and preparation is one of the keys to angler and tournament success.

JUST COPYING THE BEST ANGLERS IS A BAD IDEA One of the elements I have noticed with fishing, in general, is there is a focus on interviews with the anglers at the top and getting their ‘secrets’ and sharing techniques. The trap for aspiring fishers is that while new techniques might be attractive, there is a routine of preparation that

leads to success. Rather than focusing on techniques, you need to focus on preparation.

Dig out a copy of The Karate Kid and put it on repeat until you burn into your brain the fact that technical knowledge alone is not the path to victory.

Also, top fishers may well say they don’t follow the routines below. Everybody is different, but simply put, with few exceptions,

competitors rise to the standard of the competition.

Would those fishers do more if presented with an improved opposition? The opportunity to set a new standard for competition fishing is there for taking.

THE STORY OF FISHING How old do you think fishing is? The first recorded book on recreational fishing Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth

an Angle was published in 1496 just after the invention of the printing press, by Dame Juliana Berners. It caused controversy at the time, not because of the gender of the author but because the gentry was concerned that involving the ordinary folk would destroy the sport. That argument sounds familiar even today, but I digress.

Flyfishing in Europe dates back at least as far as 200CE and even further back in Japan to the ninth century BCE. From an Anthropological point of view, the earliest evidence of fishing comes from isotopic analysis of skeletons, paintings, and hooks made from bone, which takes us back at least 40,000 years.

As fishing is a subset of hunting, we end up traveling back around two million years to the earliest hominids who started the path to the brain we have now by adding the energyrich protein sources found in animal meat. From a technical standpoint, the fishing brain is the result of two million years of natural selection. Fishing is one of

the last significant links to our origins as a species.

However, that is not the end of this journey. The real story of fishing goes back way further – 500 million years – to the seas of the Cambrian Era. A FISHER’S EVOLUTIONARY LINK TO THE SEA Two neurotransmitters are responsible for your fishing success, and they date back a long way further than two million years. You have probably heard of them – dopamine and serotonin.

Dopamine traces back to sea sponges, jellyfish, and worms. If you increase the dopamine levels of worms, for example, they become more motivated to seek out food sources; if you reduce their dopamine levels, they will only seek easy to obtain food sources. Serotonin is even more interesting.

Serotonin dates back even further to protozoa but again manifests in influencing behaviour with the arrival of arthropods such as lobsters. When lobsters battle, as they do to establish a hierarchy of dominance, the loser pulls

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in its claws and makes itself smaller – the trigger for this is falling serotonin levels.

You see the same behaviour in humans – when you look at a child being berated by an overbearing adult, what do they do? They make themselves smaller. What is a competition if not a battle for dominance in a hierarchy?

WHERE THIS FITS IN WITH FISHING

How do these neurotransmitters affect fishing? Dopamine you

probably know as the ‘pleasure’ chemical, but that is a simplistic and somewhat outdated view. There is a moment that every fisher experiences when they catch their first fish. Most of the time we associate that particular happy dance with ‘I just conquered the world’ when in fact what it really means is – ‘I just got food – I am not dying tonight!’

It’s important to remember that industrial food production is only a

hundred years old. Go back to 1870 and 70% of the US workforce was employed in food production. As of today, only 2% of the global workforce is involved in food. That, however, is a fact your brain is yet to catch up with from an evolutionary standpoint. Even if you fish to catch and release from an ethical perspective – your mind understands the opposite. A big fat fish means party time for the tribe. That is why we value trophy fish

Being happy and relaxed can play a pivotal role when it comes to catching fish and tournament success.

even if we have the luxury of being able to let the fish go in modern times.

Dopamine can more accurately be considered a ‘motivation’ chemical.

Dopamine is the drug that enables you to spend hours catching nothing and plays a critical role in our decision-making. A brain is a prediction machine (e.g. this lure will get me fish). When we make a wrong prediction, it’s dopamine that triggers the brain to start updating our understanding of the world. Almost everything you have learned in fishing is down to Dopamine.

Serotonin is essential for one’s sense of self-worth and willingness to take on challenges. It might sound obvious, but nobody wins a tournament by feeling defeated from the start.

Serotonin is crucial in developing the confidence to take on challenges. You need to defeat the big lobster after all.

Here is the takeaway.

You owe your fishing ability to your ancient ancestors of the sea. Respect that gift.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR COMPETITION FISHING Competition fishing is a ritualized version of a two million-year-old practice.

The guy who brings home

The live streaming of ABT events allows you to see exactly what the best anglers do during tournament hours. the biggest fish is the leader of the tribe. Yes, technology has changed that game, but that was true even two million years ago when the advent of the use of simple spears improved success catching antelope. Knowing that your brain is purposebuilt for catching fish is a blessing because now you know that all you need to focus on is getting rid of the things that get in the way of performance.

Warning: everyone is different. If a fisher came

to me individually, I would measure many elements of current performance and tailor a specific plan.

What follows is a core set of practices, rather than the perfect recipe that will maximize your unique performance.

TRAINING AND PRE-SEASON First things first, competition fishing is like all sports, you need to have a routine built around the competition circuit, and you To page 16

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need to plan your pre-season, and that includes exercise.

Fishing is not an aerobic sport. Nobody runs out of breath during fishing or at least nobody that shouldn’t be having an ambulance on standby before they get on the water. The exercise regime should be built on some form of weight training, be that with weights or just using body weight to

increase muscle mass across your body. Note that bulking up is not the objective and is counterproductive.

You want to create muscle mass, which has the dual benefits of improving serotonin and testosterone levels. The combination of the two will increase confidence and risk-taking, which you need in competition. Too much testosterone though will tip the confidence and

risk-taking balance too far towards the risk end, so you don’t need to go crazy.

The second purpose of training is to develop finemotor control. Pilates and yoga (sans the leotard) are good examples and have the bonus of strengthening parts of the body related to fishing.

Any fine-motor training needs lots of deliberate movements, not just highspeed repetitive moments.

Note taking and recording good and bad days on the water helps identify and measure the influences of success and failure.

COMING TO AN

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IN 2018

Aim for three or more sessions a week of each type of exercise with 20 mins each a session.

If you want to go ultimate, take up the sport that has a historical link to fishing – karate. Many of the stances used by karate were developed by fishers in Okinawa while at sea. Kata will supercharge your brainbody connection while doing some kumite (sparring) will do wonders for decision making under pressure. Find a dojo where the teacher focuses on teaching the craft – not self-defence.

PREPARING FOR SUCCESS There are two parts to getting your fishing brain in top condition – setting goals and solving problems. Goal setting is simple. Your goal must be to get a maximum bag (e.g. five for bream) 100% of the time. The advantage of setting that goal is it’s measurable. If you are achieving your goal only 50% of the time, you have work to do. If you are reaching your target 80% of the time, you are in a position where regular podiums are possible.

Put that goal up on the wall and mark every time you achieve the goal both in practice and in live events and continually update your success rate. Keep the two

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Carl Jocumsen knows the value of physical preparation for peak angler performance. sets of results separate.

If there is a big difference between practice and competition outcomes, that’s an indicator that the increased pressure of competition is affecting decision-making.

In that case, you need to practice making choices under pressure. Try this.

Reduce the time window for a practice session down to an hour and offer your partner $50 spending money every time you fail to make the maximum bag. Either you will become amazing at decision making under pressure in record time, or

your partner will tell you to go fishing every day. Either way, you win.

The other advantage of setting a goal is you will be focusing your dopamine system on the thing it’s designed for – working out how to catch fish.

DIRECTED PRACTICE Now that you have a goal and ability to measure that goal, you can direct your practice to removing obstacles to that goal. Instead of discussing techniques, I would prefer to highlight practice regimes. The practice regime below will give you

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the elements of dedicated practice. Dedicated practice means you are focused on continuous improvement that results in being prepared for the best and worst of circumstances. In terms of frequency, three times a week is a minimum.

Always record your bags and weights (use a lengthweight curve if needed).

Keep a track of your averages and compare over time.

• Include casting sessions where you practice casting into difficult situations like low hanging trees • Allow a maximum four hours on the water to get your five-fish bag. Don’t do all-day sessions, because if you are doing exercises, you will be fit enough. Focus instead on perfecting the different parts of the fishing day.

• Mix up practice times; fish the first half of the day and second half of the day sessions, different tides and all the conditions you will see in competition.

• Practice with a single Practicing, particularly on casting accuracy, is a must for all anglers. technique or lure each time you’re on the water with only only sessions to be clear where he would sit on the the odd session where you favoured method.

• Practice across the tidal on how you want to start pitch with his bat and build swap between all methods. a picture of what was going • Compare results of each range and record success. and finish.

PRE-FISHING to happen when he went out of your techniques and Where possible, focus on focus on the weakest ones improving outcomes during I have only a single piece to bat. Take a leaf out of his until you get similar results the worst part of the tide and of advice for pre-fishing. book. Your job on pre-fish is Don’t pick up a rod. Matt to spend time on the water, to the strongest. Then rotate cash in on the best part.

Samurai Mag ad PRINT copy.pdf 3 18/09/2017 12:29:32 PM back to improving your • Practice first and last hour- Hayden used to have a ritual maybe sound up fish and get

to understand conditions.

Use that time to create a picture in your mind of how you will be getting your max bag during the event. The brain doesn’t know the difference between imagination and reality. Having a picture in your head sets up your built-in prediction system. If your vision of what will happen is not coming to fruition – your problem solving will kick in immediately on the day.

WHEN THINGS AREN’T WORKING Here is my last piece of advice and it’s probably the most important. There are those days when the fish don’t play the game within the bounds of the techniques you have. On those days, it’s easy to grind it out, throw out the game plan or just put it down to the fish not being in the mood. While these conclusions may be correct, none are useful because they reinforce the idea that the result is out of your hands. This belief, even by implication, is where neurotransmitters come in – you are essentially admitting defeat no matter how you want to spin it.

When things aren’t working, it’s essential to stop fishing, even for few minutes. In this instance, a useful technique is to close your eyes, focus on breathing

with deep breaths in and out.

I have some great meditations to use, but the important thing is to just reconnect with yourself and go through one by one all the tools you have available to change your fortunes until one stands out.

By doing this, you have tapped into the dopamine system rather than depleting serotonin. You may not catch fish, but you will find reward down the track in a fishing brain that is much more resilient and always focused on working out the fish.

WINNING IS THE RESULT, NOT THE OBJECT If you do everything I have listed here for an extended period, you will climb the leaderboard. That said, there is no shortcut. One season will see a significant improvement, but it will take 3-5 years to see the full results, depending on your current skills and how much you practice. The key is to understand that winning and taking your place as the leader of the tribe is what happens when everything comes together. It is not the object of the game.

If you perform at your peak, you give yourself the best chance of success. Until you push yourself, you will never know just how good you can be.

Unleash the warrior within...

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How to start stepping up your tournament game

BRISBANE

Elliott Fooks

Whether your aim is to catch fish at every tournament you fish next season or to take those midfield finishes into top-tens, we can all make steps to improve our success on the water.

While most of the time anglers look for the next hot bait that no one has found, or fish that harder-to-reach spot in the search for tournament results, for sustained longterm results anglers need to look deeper. To give us all an insight into what it takes, we talked to three of ABT’s finest anglers: Mark Crompton, Craig Griffiths and

Charles West.

Regardless of which ABT species you target, this talented trio will have plenty of tips and tricks on how to step up your angling in the next tournament season and beyond. While all three of our anglers believe that you can fish for a lifetime and still have an infinite amount to learn, they all believe their angling has greatly benefited from four key areas: goal setting, building a knowledge base, mental strength and understanding the seasons.

SELF-EVALUATION AND SETTING GOALS While most people say they want to be a better angler, without specific direction and measurable outcomes it’s easy

to become complacent and your angling can stagnate. We all want to win tournaments and come out on top, but most anglers fail to build a plan to achieve this goal.

“Fishing is like business – you’re not going to start out employing 5-10 people.

It takes time to build up your business, much like you should build up your fishing goals,” explained Crompton.

Building your goals in layers can make this process easier; think short-term, medium-term and long-term.

Short-term goals should be something that you can achieve in a few months. It can be something as simple as being able to hit a target at To page 20

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Main: Craig Griffiths has reached the top through lots of hard work and practice.

Above: Adrian Wilson and Charles West fish with a purpose and with goals each time they hit the water, whether it be social or tournament fishing.

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10-20m distance eight times out of 10.

Medium-term should be something that will take you 6-12 months, such as mastering techniques or understanding a specific waterway. Your longterm goal should be something that will take you up to five years, such as placing in the top ten of Angler of the Year, or taking a podium place on your favourite waterway. All your goals should always be specific, attainable, relevant and time-specific, not aspirations.

As a part of your goalsetting process, it is also important to assess yourself as an angler. Again, Mark Crompton shows how his business insight can guide you to find the gaps in your angling skill set.

“I am happy to admit I have used a range of business assessment tools to evaluate myself as an angler,” he said.

“It’s important to know what your strengths are and what you need to work on before you even think about getting better tournament results.”

Setting short-term goals to fill gaps in your angling ability is ultimately what will help you reach your longterm goals.

BUILDING THE KNOWLEDGE BANK When I asked all three

anglers about finding information, techniques or fishing locations, all three anglers quickly shot back saying written and video information are a good start, but there is nothing is better than working it out on the water.

“You need to create your style of doing something – a book or dock talk is good to get a starting point, but the only way to get it right is time on the water,” said West.

“Most of what I know and use today is the result of previous experience, talking with my fishing partner and time working on my skills,” said Griffiths.

While putting time on the water is one thing, the key is using it effectively and understanding the successes and failures you experienced most on the water each session.

For Crompton, his process of building a knowledge bank all started with having a fishing diary.

“When I started fishing more seriously, I really struggled to remember everything that happened on the water,” he said. “Looking back on old diary entries, I really missed lots of key indicators for where fish were on a given day. Maintaining my diary allowed me to retain more information, and now I can use old entries as a method

to jog my memory.”

In a standard diary entry, you should cover everything from tides and wind through to the lures that worked and didn’t work. It is all about helping to build a mental memory bank to reflect upon, and to help you build patterns of success. And if writing isn’t your forte, don’t worry – West has you covered.

“I really can’t find an ordered method that allows me to keep a fishing diary in written form, so I take photos instead,” he said. “When I am visiting an old lake or thinking of a technique I am trying to work out, I use old photos to jog my memory.”

While all three anglers agree that you need to be able to reflect on your fishing successes and failures, each of them have wide-ranging views on pre-fishing and social fishing, and how best to use your time on the water.

Crompton and Griffiths do most of their fishing solo, using the time to focus on what they are trying to achieve.

“I find when I fish solo I can experiment more,” Griffiths said. “I don’t worry about getting other people onto fish, and it frees me up to try techniques and locations that may fail spectacularly.”

Once off the water, Griffiths uses his networks to validate and bounce ideas off

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other anglers to see what they have been finding.

“I think it’s important to have a network of people you can talk fishing with; that idle chat allows you to think of new ideas and push each other forward,” said Griffiths.

Unlike our two lone wolves, West likes to use his social time to take family and friends out on the water, but still focuses on his

angling goals.

“I think too many people worry about catching fish on a social outing and don’t look at it as an opportunity to learn,” Griffiths explained.

“I am more than happy to forgo catching 30-50 fish a day socially if it means I can work out a new technique or understand where the big bass will hold in a tournament.”

You may be thinking,

‘gee this sounds like I need to become a monk and not talk to the outside world’, but for our anglers it’s about building confidence in yourself and knowing what works for you.

External information is great but it should be used as a starting point.

“Everyone’s information is valuable; no matter if you’re first or last in the tournament,

The hard work and preparation is done; it’s now time to put what you’ve learnt into action.

MAP IT. OWN IT. SHARE IT. I can’t believe how good this map is I just downloaded free off the Quickdraw™ Community. Look at this structure, those drop offs. Never would have known about this lake without the community. It’s fun fishing new water. I’ve already caught two nice keepers. Of course, I’ve uploaded some pretty nice maps, too. Glad someone decided to share this one.

IT’S YOUR TIME.

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To page 22

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Tournament Angler Guide

From page 20

there is plenty to learn from everyone,” West explained. “It is all about having it stored in the back your head so you can adapt to any conditions.”

CONFIDENCE, DISCIPLINE AND MENTAL STRENGTH Griffiths said that all of his tournament wins have come down to being confident, working to a plan and not stressing out. That’s all well and good, but how exactly do you build up to this success?

Much like setting your goals and building knowledge, this can be broken down into setting yourself up, using the moment effectively and post evaluation.

For each of our anglers the tournament starts weeks before they have even cast a lure on the pre-fish day. Having all your gear maintained and set up in the week leading into the event can make all the difference, because every minute counts during a tournament.

“I start checking over my gear in the week leading into the tournament,” West said.

“I like to have my reels in top condition and rigged on clean rods before I set out on the drive. It’s all about putting myself in the tournament space before I hit the water.”

Building a pre-tournament ritual allows you to mentally

Success comes through hard work and planning.

Mark Crompton’s evolution as a tournament angler is testament to that. check off the tasks you need to complete, so once you get to the event it’s all about the fishing. Over years of running tournaments I have seen loads of anglers miss opportunities to win or place well in events due to boat or equipment failure.

Once your physical equipment is prepared it’s time to get a game plan set for the weekend. As they say, failing to plan is as good as planning to fail.

Your game plan can be as detailed as a time specified run sheet of spots based on the tides and winds, or as loose as a mental checklist of spots you want to hit. It’s all about what works for you.

Craig Griffiths plans where and when he is going to catch every fish in a tournament.

“The goal is to get dialled in to knowing when the fish will move through, to maximise my time fishing with confidence,” he said.

West and Crompton both added that having a plan is all about maintaining the confidence that you have something as a backup, and that you are already in the mindset of catching fish.

“I try to think it’s a process of when I am going to catch my limit, not if I will catch them,” said West. “I visualise how I will catch the fish and what I am doing on

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is a tough ask, it’s always important to remember fishing is fun, and accepting failure is a major part of the process. These failures can be fed back into your knowledge bank. And through reading the tournament report, you can learn how others caught the winning fish on the same day.

UNDERSTAND YOUR SEASON AND SPECIES If you look at the biggest difference between tournament fishing and social fishing, most people will tell you it’s the boats or the gear.

When you scratch below the surface though, it’s the fact you don’t get to pick when you go fishing. Champion anglers of the past got to pick the best times to catch the best fish, and now it’s all about knowing how to catch fish in any conditions.

“I think the biggest and steepest learning curve for anglers is understanding what effect the weather has on the fish,” said Crompton.

“Knowing what the weather will do to the fish will allow you to cut down your time searching for them.

“The biggest thing I look at in the weeks leading into a tournament is weather patterns; knowing what has happened weatherwise on the lake in the weeks before, combined with previous knowledge helps

13 VICTORIA ST TAREE NSW

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me narrow my pre-fish down into manageable areas,” explained Griffith.

Having a quality data bank of diary, photo and metal notes will allow you understand weather patterns and the way it changes fish behaviour, and use other written texts to give you a starting point on where to begin.

West takes his understanding of the seasons one step further, citing the breeding cycle of bass and their cyclical habits in both lakes and rivers.

“I think knowing the breeding and movement cycle of any species helps you target them. If you can understand if they are feeding up or sitting deep, combined with an good understanding of weather conditions, you can eliminate a lot of wasted casts,” said West.

JUST KEEP FISHING While you may be thinking, ‘I haven’t been told anything about techniques and the new hot baits,’ it’s important to know that great anglers are a product of a passion for fishing, understanding their target, and refining their skills – not a specific lure or technique.

Set a goal and push your knowledge. In the words of Craig Griffith, “trust your gut on the water, fish with confidence and enjoy it.”

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the water.”

While even the best-laid plans don’t always work, the anglers who consistently do well in tournaments are the ones who bounce back and mentally reset themselves during the event and after a hard day.

“Staying calm is the best way to ensure you make the most of your whole session in a tournament,” said Crompton.

West added to this, “You need to find something to calm the nerves; it could be music or sitting down for two minutes and then getting back into the fishing.”

While keeping focused throughout a tournament

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Filling your quiver – the right rod for breaming SYDNEY

Tom Slater

You wouldn’t build a house with just a hammer and you wouldn’t play 18 holes of golf with only a 7-iron.

It’s time to take a serious look at your stash of light tackle rods to ensure you have the right selection, as anglers around the country are putting the finishing

touches on their equipment in preparation for the 2018 Costa BREAM Series.

While it’s true that lures like the Cranka Crab and ZMan Grub have simplified many anglers’ approaches to tournament fishing, the many varied venues that the Costa BREAM Series takes us to present anglers with a wealth of opportunities; you only have to watch some of Kris Hickson and Steve Morgan’s

livestream highlights videos from the 2017 tour to see just how many different ways you can catch the humble bream while competing on the water.

The idea behind having a variety of outfits on the deck at any one time is exactly the same principle; just like you wouldn’t use a hammer to cut a piece of timber, a rod that has been designed to excel at one technique might not be

Main picture: A shorter rod is often the best way to go when fishing close to cover and casting accuracy needs to be pinpoint.

Above: Length and strength is the name of the game in rocky situations.

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24

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all there for another. Each rod will have a purpose and that comes down to three main properties; length, action (fast or slow) and strength (stiffness). With that in mind, here’s the ultimate guide to setting up a quiver of rods catered to the demands of tournament fishing.

CRAB ROD What better place to

start than with possibly the hottest lure the country has ever seen? The Cranka Crab has totally revolutionised the modern angler’s approach to bream tournaments, especially those held from Sydney north to the Gold Coast. Those deep, clear NSW rivers are prime Crab territory. Just like with any new lure, as the techniques

evolve and anglers begin to understand the nuances of how best to use them, tackle selection adapts.

If you look back over the past few seasons of the Costa BREAM Series, there were two main ways the Cranka Crab dominated.

The first was fishing it deep around reefs and rockwalls predominately at the front

Tournament Angler Guide

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of river systems. The second was using it as a specific structure lure and placing it close to cover, allowing the natural look and movement of the Crab to draw fish into striking.

For fishing Crabs in deep or open water, many prefer a longer softer tapered rod.

A longer rod will help avoid pulling hooks when fish are hooked in the lips or on the outside edge of the mouth, and it will help control fish so you can more adequately steer them into the clear. It will also aid in deep water hook sets, because as you strike, the tip of a long rod

will move a greater distance than that of a shorter one, so you can more quickly eliminate any slack in your line and set the hook after feeling a bite.

The debate on line choice for fishing Crabs still lingers on, and many still opt for a braid and leader combination.

If you do choose braid and leader, adopt a longer leader length to help give you back some of that stretch. For the deep stuff, find a rod at least 7’4 or longer – Steve Morgan even uses rods as long as 8’6 for fishing Cranka Crabs, so don’t be scared to go extra long.

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For structure fishing, there are generally two trains of thought – go stiffer and shorter to aid in casting accuracy and strength to pull fish away from cover, or stick with a longer soft rod and rely on your casting skills to allow you to fish a long rod and cast tight to structure. Again, line choice will dictate which way you go; if you like to fish braid, choose a softer rod.

Adversely, if you choose to fish straight-through fluorocarbon, which many are favouring for this ‘cast and wait’ style of Crab

Charlie Saykao loaded up in the heat of battle.

To page 26

James Morgan arms himself with a variety of different rod lengths, weights and tapers as he travels the country fishing the Costa BREAM Series.

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Tournament Angler Guide

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From page 24

fishing, then you can get away with a stiffer rod and rely on the stretch to be the shock absorber. Don’t go too short; stick with something around 6’8-7’0 and try to find something with power that doesn’t lock up in the middle section of the blank.

Having a rod that is too fast – it goes from a light tip to a stiff middle section – is where lots of dropped fish and pulled hooks come from when fish take their last lunge under the boat.

SOFT PLASTICS ROD Again, there are two main ways soft plastics win tournaments on the ABT BREAM Tour. The first is fishing light (1/40-1/20) with lures like the ever-popular ZMan Grub and flicking these baits as close to structure as possible. Venues like Forster, Lake Macquarie and Sydney Harbour are prime ground for this technique with the plethora of floating structure to cast at.

The second technique involves a much heavier jighead and the deep water around the mouths of river systems are where the Cranka Crab has dominated. Before the Cranka Crab, a heavy soft plastic was the number one choice for fishing deep reefs and steep rock walls with fast current. Losing Crabs can get

Few people on tour fish with as many rods as Kris Hickson. Each one is selected with a particular lure and job in mind. expensive, and the humble soft plastic still catches them as good as ever down deep.

The principles of rod selection for these two styles of fishing soft plastics mirror that of the Cranka Crab – longer for deep water and shorter for close quarters. A longer rod in deep water will

enable to you pick up slack line quicker; it also allows for longer casts to get the lure as far from the boat as possible.

For the close quarter work, look for something shorter but not too stiff. A short rod will help you to flick underhand casts and skip lures into places others

can’t. Take it from guys like Kris Hickson; if you can put your lure further into a jetty or snag than anyone else, there’s usually a fish there waiting to reward you.

TWITCHING ROD If you’re heading to the Victorian or Tasmanian legs of the Costa BREAM Series

this year, then you’ll definitely want to pack one of these in your stash! Twitching a hardbody is a go-to technique for black bream in Australia’s southern states. While you might reach for that ultralight rod you’ve been using to slow roll crankbaits, maybe it’s time to think again.

Finding the perfect rod for this technique can be difficult. To start with, you’re fishing a lure with treble hooks, so you don’t want a rod that’s too stiff. To get the best action out of your lure, you really want to be using a braid and leader setup, so that lack of stretch in your fishing line means your rod has to make up for it.

Finding a rod that’s soft enough to not pull hooks but has that perfect tip for twitching a lure and making it dance can be difficult. Look for a rod between 6’8 and 7’0 that allows you to really ‘snap’ the slack line with the smallest of rod movements; that will ensure your lure is working fiercely left to right underwater and that’s what big southern black bream absolutely love.

SLOW ROLL ROD Time to bust out the ultralights! Slow rolling a crankbait is an angler favourite on the Costa BREAM Series. Baits like the OSP Dunk, Jackall Chubby, Pro Lure Crank and many more feature so often in anglers’ talks at the weigh-in stages. These lures are simple to use, cover lots of ground and help you find productive areas where you can knuckle down and grind out a limit.

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Russell Babekuhl uses a long rod to punch out a searching cast on a St Georges Basin flat.

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Using the correct sized and weighted reel – and the right line – is important when putting together a quiver of rods.

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abt From page 26

Many anglers prefer to use straight-through fluorocarbon line when fishing one of these lures, and that’s all about the stretch. Specifically, the stretchiness of the line cushions timid hook sets in the outside of the mouth, which is so common when fish attack a moving lure like a crank. Treble hooks that are just pinned on the outside of the face can so often pull free with the slightest change of angle, so

Tournament Angler Guide the more shock absorption you can have in your system, the better.

For this reason, the perfect crankbait rod is long and soft.

Just like the fluorocarbon, the long soft rod is another shock absorber. It also helps with casting baits as far as possible – something that’s very important when fishing over shallow clear flats where your boat and shadow can be the biggest deterrents to catching more fish. Look for something at least 7’4 in length with a slow taper.

KRIS’ PICKS • Cranka Crab rod (used for deep reef, seaways and rock walls) – Daiwa TD Zero 701LXS or Black Label 701ULXS • Cranka Crab rod (used for structure fishing, boat hulls and jetties) – Daiwa Black Label 642ULFS • Soft plastics rod (used for deep reef, seaways and rock walls) – Daiwa TD Battler 762ULFS Kung Fu Prancer • Soft plastics rod (used for light plastics, skipping pontoons and boats) – Daiwa Black Label 642ULFS • Twitching rod (used for twitching hardbodies around Victoria and Tasmania) – Daiwa TD Commander 6101ULFS Desert Bull • Slow rollin’ rod (used for slow rolling hardbodies) – Daiwa Gekkabijin AIR AGS 74UL-S • Topwater rod (used for treble hook topwater lures, bent minnow-style lyres and walk- the-dog lures) – Daiwa TD SOL 701ULXS

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Low ratio reels, slow taper rods and straight through fluorocarbon are essential when fishing cranks.

TOPWATER ROD You should think of a topwater rod very similarly to the twitching rod mentioned earlier. Many topwater lures require rod work to get the maximum amount of action, so the same principle applies.

You’ll often work a topwater lure with your rod tip pointed downwards towards the water. For that reason, you don’t want anything too long.

Look for something around 6’8-7’2 depending on your height and your boat’s height off the water.

Topwater lures often have treble hooks, so you don’t want something too stiff.

Bream will often only barely get hooked when trying to eat a surface lure, so you have to be gentle to avoid pulling hooks.

You can’t rely on the stretch of

TOURNAMENT RODS FOR ALL ANGLERS

straight-through fluorocarbon either, as the line’s inherent lack of buoyancy will drag your lures under the water.

Braid and leader with treble hook lures mean you need to go soft, look for something with cushioning and get ready to put more fish in the boat this summer.

The first tournament of the 2018 Costa BREAM Series is right around the corner, so now’s the time to clean the boat and organise the tackle.

For some, this is the perfect opportunity to shop for some post-Christmas bargains and fill out that rod locker a little more. This guide is just the beginning, but most of these styles of rods can cross over into other popular techniques.

Take the deep-water plastics rod, for example; more often

than not, that style of rod is perfect to use with blades and vibration-style lures.

If you’re the sort of angler who likes to have one of everything rigged up before a day on the water, then you might end up with as many as a dozen outfits scattered across the front deck. For some, 4-6 outfits can comfortably get them through anything they face on the water and leave their boat (and their minds) a little less cluttered and focused on finding those winning fish.

CROMMO’S PICKS • Cranka Crab rod (used for deep reef, seaways and rock walls) – Daiwa TD Zero 701LXS • Cranka Crab rod (used for structure fishing, boat hulls and jetties) – Daiwa TD SOL 701MLXS • Soft plastics rod (used for deep reef, seaways and rock walls) – Daiwa TD Zero 701LXS • Soft plastics rod (used for light plastics, skipping pontoons and boats) – Daiwa TD SOL 701LXS • Twitching rod (used for twitching hardbodies around Victoria and Tasmania) – Daiwa Gekkabijin AGS • Slow rollin’ rod (used for slow rolling hardbodies) – Daiwa Gekkabijin AIR AGS 74UL-S • Topwater rod (used for treble hook topwater lures, bent minnow-style lyres and walk- the-dog lures) – Daiwa Gekkabijin AGS

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2017 ABT Rankings and Angler of the Year

The calm before the storm – anglers patiently wait for the kick-off to another season.

The big guns fired and a host of first-time winners cashed in on the BREAM, BASS and BARRA tours in 2017.

Kris Hickson finished the year as the number one ranked BREAMer and BASS Pro boater, while Stuart Walker once again rounded out the season as the number one ranked non-boating BREAMer. Walker will be the man to catch on the BREAM tour, as 2018 is sure to be no different for the Canberra-based bream gun.

Warren Carter was as consistent as ever securing the Power-Pole BREAM Angler of the Year boater AOY crown for the Costa BREAM Series, and Stuart Walker etched his name on

the Power-Pole BREAM Angler of the Year with his third AOY crown in as many years.

Ross Cannizzaro made the step from the bream into bass in 2017 and hit the ground running, claiming three wins for the season and capping off his maiden year on tour with the Bass Cat BASS Pro Angler of the Year title. Keegan Painter also claimed the non-boater AOY crown in his maiden year on tour with the Brisbane basser securing the title with his victory in the last qualifying round on the Clarence River.

Paul Aldous continued his winning ways from the 2016 season with the Kingaroy bass angler finishing another tournament

Ross Cannizzaro had a red-hot year on tour this year.

Kris Hickson with the Mercury Cup for the best ranked Mercury owner for 2017.

year as the number one ranked BASS Pro non-boater on the Bass Cat BASS Pro Tour.

New to the BASS Pro tournament calendar in 2017 was the Storm BASS Australian Open, with Matthew Mott returning to the ABT winner’s stage after a long absence, with the Mayor of Murgon securing a wire-to-wire win in Australia’s first-ever boater-only, five-fish limit bass tournament.

The Open returns again

in 2018 with the Hunter Valley’s Lake Glenbawn set to host this unique event in October.

Richard Somerton continued his dominance in the Hobie Kayak Bream Series with the Victorian bream fishing juggernaut claiming three event wins, and a 493/500 point score for the season to secure the Angler of the Year title over Tony Pettie in 2nd and Simon Morley in 3rd.

Angler of the Year dominance continued on

BREAM PRO RANKINGS BOATER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Kristoffer Hickson Warren Carter Steve Morgan Mark Crompton Cameron Whittam Brad Hodges Graham Franklin Charlie Saykao Mark Healey Ross Cannizzaro

NON-BOATER 325 323 317 295 256 232 221 220 216 214

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Stuart Walker Rodney O’Sullivan Clint Voss Jonathon Thompson Mike Hodges James Morgan Shaun Egan Simon Johnson Tomas McIntosh Russell Winters

305 234 255 220 218 209 207 198 186 182

BREAM PRO ANGLER OF THE YEAR (AOY) BOATER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 30

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Warren Carter Kristoffer Hickson Cameron Whittam Mark Crompton Steve Morgan Charlie Saykao Jason Harlock Graham Franklin Andrew Moore Alan Lister

NON-BOATER 483 481 470 465 461 428 383 369 369 357

t 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Stuart Walker Nick Penprase Allan Murray Wally Fahey Justin Reeves Scott Wilson Tanya Konsul James Morgan Rebecca Fazlo Tony Khouri

474 450 449 441 427 422 419 414 384 371

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the BASS Electric scene in 2018 with Charles West writing his name into the ABT record books with a perfect season. Compiling a 500/500 points score to claim the title.

West had one of those years where everything he touched turned to gold.

Five wins from as many starts, West capped off his year adding the number one ranked BASS Electric title to his AOY crown for 2017. West had a stunning

year, a year like none that we had seen before on the BASS Electric tour. The question is will 2018 be as fruitful for the Valley Hill sponsored tournament angler? The five event Casino Outdoors BASS Electric Series will decide.

The race for the Zerek BARRA Tour Team of the Year was more of a nailbiting affair with two points separating the top three wins in the 2017 Zerek BARRA Tour. Craig Griffiths and

Karim DeRidder (297/300 points) from Team Fish-Tec Solutions/EJ Todd made it back-to-back Team of the Year wins, pushed to the limit by the new kids on the block, Peter Laine and Zac Hunt from Team Barratrauma in 2nd with 296 points, and Ash Sims and Dan Curry in 3rd with 295 points.

For full rankings, records, and earnings of each species and series visit www.abt.org.au.

Ross Cannizzaro and Brian Everingham with the spoils of their 2017 Bass Pro wins.

BARRA RANKINGS 1 1 3 3 5 5 7 7 9 9

Craig Griffiths Karim De Ridder Ashley Sims Dan Curry Jake Mitchell Wally Wilton Geoff Newby Phil Lyons Dustin Soppel Rick Napier

228 228 191 191 161 161 146 146 143 143

BARRA TOY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fishtec/EJ Todd Barratrauma Jackall Venom Triton Boats/Edge Rods Lucky Craft/Edge Rods Zerek Tree Huggers Lews Toray Flattop Fishing

297 296 295 286 284 283 281 280 279 279

BASS PRO RANKINGS BOATER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Kristoffer Hickson Peter Phelps Tom Slater Mark Lennox Brian Everinham Mitchell Cone Stephen Kanowski Warren Carter Terry Allwood Mark Ferguson

NON-BOATER 265 252 242 221 215 208 201 193 189 166

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Paul Aldous Peter Morgan Jason Martin James Reid Orton Marchant Brendan Pieschel Brett Hyde Simon Johnson James Hickson Aimee Thompson

212 206 200 199 187 183 182 176 174 165

BASS PRO ANGLER OF THE YEAR (AOY) BOATER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Ross Cannizzaro Mark Lennox Terry Allwood Kris Hickson Tom Slayter Stephen Kanowski Peter Phelps Adrian Melchior Brian Everingham Graham Ford

NON-BOATER 395 389 382 384 380 372 369 364 361 359

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Keeghan Painter Peter Morgan Dylan Byron Paul Aldous Jason Martin James Reid Lochie Rutherford Brett Hyde Leone Walker Mal Draper

388 387 384 379 376 360 357 356 350 348

BASS ELECTRIC RANKINGS BASS ELECTRIC AOY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Charles West Adrian Wilson Dean Thompson Tom Reynolds Jonathon Bale Matt Johnson Tim Nagano Brett Kleinschmidt Robert Butler Joseph Urquhart

397 342 286 242 230 219 209 203 177 160

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Charles West Adrian Wilson Tim Nagano Brady Ellis Craig Atta-Singh Shaun Falkenhagen Joey Urquhart Dean Thomson Tom Reynolds Sean Connelly

500 478 375 368 350 282 280 276 275 273 abt

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79

Feel like a king for a day, or even a few days!

WEST COAST

Brett Illingworth

Everything this time of year revolves around kingfish, kingfish and kingfish – oh and the occasional crayfish – and don’t forget kingfish!

All other species can sigh with relief as they themselves have an unusual respite from the normal onslaught.

Reports of capture and sightings have covered the entire state. Notable catches have come from Portland, Killarney, Sugarloaf, Torquay, Barwon Heads, Point Lonsdale, Mornington, Frankston, Fingal, Cape Schanck, Flinders, Pyramid Rock, Woolamai Pinnacles, Kilcunda and all around Liptrap and the Prom.

In the far east, the towers south of Mallacoota have produced. You can pretty well expect to see the enigmatic critters anywhere. It is the only time of year that I suggest that you take your biggest gat on every dive. If one of these beasts swims up, you don’t wish to be undergunned.

The reported size range has varied from barely legal up to 18kg. Fish of over 20kg have been sighted, and it will only be a matter of time before someone cracks it for a whopper.

The current record is 23kg.

Beware; if you haven’t shot a kingfish before, you are in for a real treat. They

also make great sashimi.

They are, without doubt, my favourite fish. Kings have everything in their favour:

Brad Gardiner in the water with a kingfish.

of other satisfying and worthy targets. With water temperatures in the ocean hovering at 20°C and even higher in the bay, you would be hard-pressed not to get a good feed. Large King George whiting have been prevalent on the sandy ocean locales.

Trevally have been plentiful and quite huge.

The humble sea sweep can always be relied upon, as can the late summer influx of large flathead.

Leatherjackets are very much an underrated catch, but there are few fish than can rival the flavour of a large sixspined leatherjacket that has been prepared correctly.

Last year around this time there were persistent sightings of small southern bluefin tuna around the entrance to Port Phillip Bay. Although common in the west of the state, it has only been in recent years that regular sightings and underwater captures

fight like nothing else and will test your gear, your strength and your sanity.

Prepare to be taken for the ride of your life.

Another plus, beside the combat element is in the joy of consumption. A southern waters kingfish is a delight to the palate, and the size and texture of their flesh allows for numerous styles of cooking. Kings

Chris Rogers and a great crayfish. attainable recently. This late summer period merging into autumn offers the absolute best that Victorian waters

are capable of providing.

Get out there and really enjoy it. Forget everything else – go and find a kingy.

Brad Gardiner caught this fantastic kingy.

Mitch Kornberg with a tasty cray. Photo courtesy of @southernspearfishing.

mystique, good looks, large size, a good battle and they’re satisfying in the tummy.

While the main focus has been on the kingfish, if you haven’t been lucky enough to receive a regal visit, there is certainly an abundance

have occurred. Already this season, I have thrice seen small schools of fish to 15kg. On each occasion I was both unarmed and unprepared. Not again.

Southern rock lobster, abalone and scallops round off the summer delicacies and have each proven

Shane Harrison and a decent kingy.

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Inland Fisheries Service

Officers uncover illegally caught whitebait IFS

Tim Farrell

Officers from the Inland Fisheries Service (IFS), Tasmania Police and the Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS) conducted searches of nine residential properties and vehicles in the northwest of the state.

The raids uncovered illegally caught whitebait, unlawful whitebait nets, illicit drugs and related material.

According to Stephen Hepworth, IFS Manager (Compliance and Operations) the joint operations were the result of intelligence-led enforcement between the IFS, Tasmania Police Marine Division at Stanley, Smithton and Devonport Uniform Police, and the PWS Regional Compliance Officer at Ulverstone.

“This level of cooperation between the various agencies has resulted in eleven people, many of them of mutual interest to the enforcement agencies involved, facing potential charges under a variety of legislation, including several drug related matters.” Mr

Hatchery and stocking manager Brett Mawbey releasing one of 380 Atlantic salmon into Brushy Lagoon earlier this summer. These fish averaged around 1.5kg and followed 606 similarly sized salmon into Craigbourne Dam. All of these fish were generously donated by Tassal from their Russell Falls hatchery.

Hepworth said.

“Eleven court files are to be prepared for complaint and summonses to be issued with two files relating to two men facing multiple charges alleging the unlawful take and possession of over 32kg of whitebait,” he said.

Officers also seized 21 whitebait nets and a boat.

Under Inland Fisheries legislation, special penalties of $159/kg of illegal whitebait apply, on top of any fine that may be imposed by the Courts.

Repeat offenders may also be given a prison term.

These harsh penalties serve as a warning to anyone choosing to disregard the strict regulations around the taking of whitebait.

Poaching and the illegal sale of whitebait are ongoing threats to the longterm recovery of whitebait fisheries.

Anyone who suspects or witnesses unlawful activity is urged to contact the Inland Fisheries Service on 1300 INFISH or on 0438 338 530.

Information that will help catch offenders includes dates, times, vehicle descriptions, registration numbers and any details of the people involved.

LAKE ST CLAIR BOAT RAMP UPGRADE COMPLETED MAST has advised that the Lake St Clair Boat Ramp has been reopened after a recent upgrade. The project to rebuild the top end of the ramp and construction of a new walkway was funded by the Recreational Boating Fund after an application was received from the Southern Highlands Progress Association.

The new walkway is designed to provide protection from northerly winds. The ramp is owned and managed by Parks and Wildlife Service.

SHANNON LAGOON – THE FULL RESULT During early October 2017, we undertook a survey of the trout population at Shannon Lagoon.

Preliminary results showed the lagoon held a small population of larger-thanaverage trout. The completed Fisheries Performance Assessment – Shannon Lagoon 2017 report is now completed.

For more Fisheries Performance Assessment results head to the publications page on www. ifs.tas.gov.au.

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81

Go Behind the Scenery

Tasmania

Signs are good for a February fishing frenzy TASMANIA

Kelly Hunt

Oh my sweet Betsy – are we having a fishing season or are we having a fishing

season? December was awesome with promising signs and January was on fire. We look to February to deliver more of the same.

Do I sound excited? I am.

Tasmania has been bubbling

away for several seasons with more and more good fish being caught.

While some say the quality of the snapper and kingfish has been a fluke and these fish won’t be around all the time,

they’re wrong. The snapper fishing has been exceptional around the state and more and more anglers are changing what they do, gearing up to find them in and around their home waters. The kingfish

differences of opinion here!

Some people will swear by cod and others think it’s complete rubbish. Australian salmon is held in high regard by some and others wouldn’t give you two bob for it.

While I don’t get too caught up in it, I have had plenty of success with couta halves and whole fresh mackerel.

My thoughts here are that the mackerel has a good amount of fish oils in the flesh and when you cut a couta in half both bits have some guts in the cavity left.

If you have a close look at the front of a crayfish you will notice a whole heap of weird looking hairy bits and wild fuzz in and around their mouths and on their front legs. This is how they sense smell and to taste.

Those hairs are chemosensory and are sensitive to chemicals; that’s how they sense the odour

of a fish and particulates in the water. Every decision that you and I would make with our eyes and ears they make with those hairs and filtering water through them.

That’s why I like couta and mackerel – they both put out some good fishy smells and hopefully bring the big boys running!

The west coast has also been fishing well for striped trumpeter. While your pots are soaking, or when you have exhausted your crew diving, you can head out and try your luck. You can try and pry some marks out of a local or someone that goes down and does quite well, but you don’t need to. The areas off the west coast lend themselves well to prospecting about and in good weather you will find your own patch.

While depth seems to vary, the bigger fish tend to come out of water deeper than 100m out towards the shelf line. I have mentioned

before to have a selection of baits and have the crew put something different on to try and find what they like the taste of on the day. Once you pick up a trumpeter make sure you put down a waypoint as you drift. If you pick up another fish in the same drift line, mark that and now you have a line to concentrate on.

Repeat that drift line and try for another few fish; if you don’t pick anything up, just change your start point so you drift a little to the left or right of your original success. The sounders and GPS units we have at our disposal are powerful and we are fools not to use them to our advantage.

If things are a little slow then by all means move off and try another spot, but come back to a spot where you have caught fish on at a different part of the tide. If it’s holding fish, it may just need some water movement to fire them up.

WEST COAST Trial Harbour, Granville Harbour and Macquarie Heads – take your pick. They are all fishing tremendously and the cray fishing has been very good. The local haunts and bommies off the west coast are continuing to fish very well. Anglers setting pots or using rings have been taking home a feed most days. The crews with dive gear have been doing exceptionally well and have found some very nice crayfish. It doesn’t matter which way you find and harvest some crayfish, so long as you get them into the pot to boil.

Getting a good feed of underwater spiders is a very satisfying pastime and there is as much fun in the preparation as there is in the gathering. Bait needs to be caught and – like all things fishing – there are some FAR NORTH WEST It’s a place that has long been cloaked in secrecy and only ever spoken about in hushed tones, but the gloves are off – it can be said the waters west of Wynyard are a treasure trove of fishing and fish species.

The far northwest has been fishing very well and is always an option in February. Sisters Beach and waters through to Rocky Cape are offering up staples like flathead and gummy sharks and, of course, the big Australian salmon off the areas rocky headlands.

They are also grounds

where anglers have been finding snapper and kingfish.

There are a number of bommies that you can find on your sounder that are always worth a look. Locals in the area have been reporting great catches and the ramps at Sisters Beach and Rocky Cape are good facilities. Find yourself a weather window, get up there and have a good look about.

We mentioned Montague and the Hunter Island group last month and it still continues to fish amazingly well. This is

NORTH WEST ULVERSTONE The kingfish and snapper fever gripping Tasmania hasn’t escaped the areas off Ulverstone and through to the Tamar River this season.

There have been a number of kingfish caught off the Three Sisters and Goat Island. This area is known to hold good schools of large Australian salmon and the kings have been moving with them. This area is popular among landbased anglers and can be a great spot to try ballooning with prevailing winds.

This art is great fun and with a long rod, a good rod holder and some biodegradable balloons you can get baits out a lot further than you normally would.

The balloon will also allow 82

FEBRUARY 2018

your baits to be working a part of the water column you would not ordinarily fish.

On a day with a stiff breeze to your back you can suspend your baits about 1.5-2m under the balloon and float them naturally out to see stripping line as you go. Use good quality circle hooks for this method, as the baits will often be picked up as you strip line out. You can use whole pilchards as bait and make good use of some bait buddy to keep your baits intact longer.

Blue bait is fabulous bait but keeping it on your hooks has been an age-old battle.

This is where bait buddy is king; it’s a funny, stretchy and cotton-like substance that you can carefully wind around

Finding some good bottom and current flow is crucial at Montague for kings. your baits. It takes on the moisture and oils of the bait and is next to invisible.

What you have done is gently tied your bait onto the hook, allowing it to withstand a few decent nibbles. Then when something decent comes along and has a go you are in great form. You can also use the stray line rig and float out whole pilchards or even live bait small cocky salmon or mullet.

Ulverstone has been a hive of activity recently with all sorts of keen fishers doing very well. The area supports the fishing activity for kids and teenagers very well. It is pleasing to see young men and women riding their bikes or simply walking to take up their spots on the river breakwalls and beaches in the general area.

The upper reaches of the

Leven River fish very well on high tide and an hour or two of the run-out. The fish in the area get up in the river past the train bridge to feed on the ample small baitfish on the mud flats. The area up past the dual highway fills with water and bait that the schools of estuary fish love to ambush in the many gutters and deeper sections.

You can have a lot of fun catching cocky salmon and small tailor that school up on the high tide. These fish then fall back to the deeper sections and wait for all the food to come to them as the water falls off the flats and out to sea.

Good numbers of mullet and the occasional couta can be caught and on light gear these can be good fun for the kids.

These areas can easily be accessed from the shore and the best way to find the

are the same, popping up everywhere. If you’re keen to try something a little different, be prepared for when they appear out of nowhere.

These two species are exciting to catch and great to

eat, and they are not alone.

The usual suspects we see this time of year are on the chew and it’s time to get to a tackle store near you and take advantage of the stellar season we are having.

Friends that cray together stay together. probably Tasmania’s premier yellowtail kingfish grounds right now. Let me know if you can think of a better place that continually offers up quality kings as often. They love big plastics and plenty of current, so you will need some jigheads to 1oz or more and hooks to 7/0 if you find the bigguns.

Take plenty of sunscreen, as it’s a big day on the water when you venture up there.

Always look to maximize the time on the water if you get the weather right up there. Getting to the kingy grounds is the start for most. Then try for a quality snapper out round the lee of

the islands and maybe a big King George whiting session on the way home along the front of Robbins Island.

The tackle store to get into and get the lowdown in and around this area is Tassie Tackle and Outdoor.

These guys and gals know heaps about the area and are only too happy to share their personal experience. Hannah Ledger has fished the northnorthwest extensively as has owner and manager of the store, Rodney Howard. In the main street of Burnie, this store is well stocked and worth a visit whenever you are in town.

holes and gutters is on a super low tide. If you look at the tide charts online, you can highlight a time when there is an unusually low tide. This is a great window to go down to the river and check out where the deeper pools, gutters and logs might be in the water.

You can even stand in the spot you might fish and take some pics of the area out in front of you. You could even go full retro and take a notepad and pen to make some sketches and notes. While this may sound a bit weird, it will pay dividends when the tide is full and the water has started to fall away back out to sea.

You can say to yourself, ‘If I was a school of fish, where would I be waiting to ambush some food?’

The lures only need to be small silver slices like the ones Halco make or some

small-bibbed lures with a tight shimmy action. These mimic fleeing panicked bait movements perfectly.

If you are looking to snare some fish out of the Leven in these high water conditions look, soft plastics that have a fine action tail (like the Berkley range) that looks and works amazing in a little current flow. Use as light a jighead as you can for getting a good cast. This may mean a longer rod than you are used to and some finer braid line around 8lb breaking strain.

In Ulverstone if you are looking for a tackle store to put you on the right track, you are in luck. There are two tackle stores and they are both brimming with quality tackle and have staff full of advice and enthusiasm to put To page 83

Go Behind the Scenery From page 82

you onto a feed of fish.

Ultimate Fishing and Outdoors is up near the clock at the top end of town.

They are jam-packed with all types of fishing equipment and this store has a long

a skill and a skill that will take some nurturing.

Land-based fishing around Devonport is always an option and the squid and salmon are often still about in February.

The Mersey Bluff is a great spot for land-based fishing

have to be there early to get one of these prized positions.

Taking some time to set up and prepare makes for a good rock fishing session here at the bluff. Getting some berley in the water will maximize your chances of success and also

Tasmania

if there is any sort of swell hitting the rocks, you should be very careful. If you arrive and it looks too rough then by all means give it away and try another time. There is no point risking yourself or your family and mates to fish dangerously.

The snapper off Devonport have been continuing to excite anglers that find them. I rang Harry from Seamaster Fishing Supplies to get the lowdown on what has been happening in his area and he had a story of a big snapper caught off Port Sorell. It was an absolute stonker at 8.5kg and was caught by locals Mick Gleeson and Colin Rockcliff.

These esteemed gents were just out nailing a few flathead off Bakers Beach and hooked what they thought was a very good gummy shark.

They were both very

happy with themselves when they saw a healthy orange-red glow come out of the depths.

This just goes to show that with fishing you can prepare and target a certain species and do no good, and some days you are just plain lucky. This should excite people to just get out while the weather is good in February and have a go.

If you are looking to get some gear and info in the Devonport area, get in and see Harry in East Devonport. You can find him in behind Prairie Signs off Wright Street with plenty of parking. His shop is well-stocked and specializes in commercial and recreational fishing supplies. You will always get some good information from Harry on where they are biting.

You are spoilt for choice if you’re looking for tackle and fishing advice in Devonport area as a trip to Blue Peaks VDL will have you in good stead.

Bob Duncombe has a vast wealth of knowledge on all things angling in Tasmania and around the country.

He has been in the game many, many years and is supported in store by his wife Heather.

They run a great store chock full of fishing and outdoors gear for the keen angler and bush walker.

If you are looking to get into flyfishing or looking to improve your catch rates, Bob is definitely the man to talk to. This time of year the fish are looking up and it’s all about the dry flyfishing.

Tristan Cocker found decent whiting in Port Sorell estuary. history of serving anglers in the area. Reel Tackle and Bait is situated on the other side of the Leven River in West Ulverstone. It’s another well-stocked fishing store that can offer heaps of advice on where to go in the area and what to use. The store manager Tristan is a bit of a whiting expert and has his finger on the pulse of other species as well.

DEVONPORT The access to all the western lakes should be open by now and the fishing and trout stalking is world-class.

If you want to combine a bit of bush walking with fishing then this area is the place for you. Taking fish on the dry fly in and around the wild tarns of the western lakes is

and massively underrated.

The rock fishing opportunities are fabulous and can supply excellent fishing with a little forethought. I dived around the area extensively as a youth and the healthy reef and boulder bottom supports a great number of fish species. The healthy bottom also supports plenty of bait and with the right setup and a bit of berley, the area can really come alive.

You’ll need rods of 10ft and upwards on 5000-8000 sized reels spooled with 30-50lb braid. Make sure you take something to use as a rod holder as no one likes to drive their pride and joy into a rough rock crevice. Around the shore parallel to the surf club there have been some rod holders built into the rocks, but you

increase the range of species to be encountered. The area directly off the lighthouse shore falls away to rubble and shale bottom then eventually sand. A consistent trail of berley will draw good-sized flathead and gummy sharks to a long cast directly out the front.

The sand is a little closer off the eastern edge of the rocks and is a cracking spot to berley up some Australian salmon or couta. The squid fishing is also quite good off all the rocks across the front and down the side in towards the surf club. This is also a spot to try your hand at balloon fishing, if the wind blows seaward.

Rock fishing comes with its dangers of course and

Tristan’s young son Leo also got in on the action and caught some great King George whiting.

EAST COAST This is when the jewel of Tasmanian fishing really begins to shine. The entire coast from Musselroe Bay down to Orford just brims with fish from the estuary to the shelf and beyond. The amount of species that can be encountered is sensational; there is something for the sports fisho and the fisho that likes to put something on the table for friends and family. The highlights are St Helens, Bicheno and the Swansea area. There are great accommodation options and fabulous ramp facilities in these areas, but the entire coast is a treasure trove of fishing gold.

St Helens has long been the focal point for a lot of the fishing activity on the coast. Now it’s just one destination in the pack. The bay fishing is also a great drawcard for the area, since the gamefishing that was

the shining light in years past is being experienced everywhere.

In February Georges Bay is in its prime for the year. The water quality is fantastic and the water temperature is up. This all provides an environment that has the water teeming with microorganisms that in turn bring the bait and we all know what that means.

Healthy bait grounds mean that the bigger fish have heard the dinner bell ring and come in to feed. It doesn’t matter if it is in the bay from the shore or out around Elephant Rock and beyond out to the shelf. The fish are feeding and they are spoilt for choice. In the food chain this only means one thing – the bigger fish are on the move eating these guys that think they are the be all and end all of the ocean.

While we are all out looking

India Thompson found a few crayfish to keep the family fed off St Helens. and catching yellowtail kings and albacore tuna there are big mako sharks and bigger tuna eating these.

Don’t forget the big mako sharks as well. They are thinking it’s a veritable marine supermarket with all

the food available on tap.

Quite often at this time of year, while you’re out on or over the shelf deep dropping you will raise some school kingfish to the boat just from the action of going up and down to the bottom catching

gemfish and blue-eye. This commotion can also have a mako shark just turn up out of the blue with not so much as a flick of berley tossed overboard.

St Helens has also been fishing very well for crayfish and I saw a number of crews bagging out over the Christmas break and into January. You don’t see a great deal of ringing done on the East Coast, but pots and diving are as popular as ever.

Swansea is the little tourist town that can give you big results. The new boat launch facilities are fabulous and the only thing that is wanting is maybe a little more parking, because everyone is waking up to what a great spot it is to launch from.

From here you can access Great Oyster Bay and head across to the passage and out into the open ocean. Should the weather be a little untidy out to sea, Oyster Bay and the area up towards Coles

Bay offer sensational fishing.

If you can’t catch flathead in Great Oyster then I suggest you break all your rods over your knee and take up golf.

Smaller boats can access both Great Oyster and Coles Bay from a beach launch in the Swan River.

Coles Bay up and around the boat moorings is a great place to try and find some more Tasmanian yellowtail kingfish. These fish really are a fabulous sportfish and good to eat in a number of ways. They’re favoured by sushi eaters and cleverly done as ceviche, which is another way to eat raw fish cured in citrus juices such as lemon or lime and spiced with pepper and salt or chilli.

Chasing kings in and around Swansea with larger minnow lures behind your boat can lead to some exciting action. Thresher sharks are in good numbers at this time of year and will hit a silvery bibbed minnow To page 84

FEBRUARY 2018

83

Go Behind the Scenery

Tasmania From page 83

at high speed in a big spray of water. Some of this spray can be caused by the thresher trying to whip the lure with its oversize top caudal fin.

The shark looks to hit and stun its prey with the tail before circling round to eat it.

Should you hook one, they go hard and often get airborne.

If you do catch one in Great Oyster Bay, remember it is a shark refuge and it should be released quickly.

If you’re in the Swan River area with a smaller boat or fishing from the shoreline

with waders, you might like to try the bream fishing in February. The fishing on the flats at this time of year is the envy of the nation’s keen black bream fishers. The rods tend to be longer and longer casts are required, as the fish are spooky on the flats in shallow water. Stalking and glassing for fish feeding in the shallows is exciting and rewarding if successful.

Shallow running hardbodies are the lure of choice and good quality fluoro leader material is a huge advantage. This is the

Naomi Wisby with a cracking summer flathead.

EAGLEHAWK NECK The Neck had a slow start to the tuna season by its own reputation in December and made up for it in droves in January.

There were a good number of albacore around early

and they thickened up with some lifters around the 20kg mark. These are sensational albacore tuna and really produce a good yield of flesh for the table.

I have mentioned this

time of the year to have a go at the topwater craze for these fish. Throwing bent minnows like Hurricane lures Switch 66 or little prawn poppers like the Dart 45 is an exciting way to take bream. While the flats are full of fish, you can find the bigger specimens nearby in slightly deeper water in and around the rock bars.

Out to sea and beyond the passage you can still find plenty of striped trumpeter along the seaward rock sections below Schouten Island. Using your sounder will identify areas of interest to drop your rigs and do some prospecting. In February if you reduce your rigs to a smaller breaking strain and finer hook gauge, you put yourself in with a chance of catching some nice snapper as well.

If you have some great weather conditions and come across a school of mackerel or slimies, by all means drop over a medium-sized Sabiki rig and catch a few. Be adventurous and drop a couple into the deep on a live bait rig. This rig can be super simple and set up fairly quickly.

Grab one of your heavier rods with 15kg line or better spooled on a bigger spinning reel. Thread on a ball sinker of around 1oz – or heavier if you are deeper than 50m – to your mainline. Tie a ball bearing swivel to that; braid or mono – it doesn’t matter. Then tie some 60lb mono to the other end of the swivel. To the business end of that, tie on a 5/0-7/0 live bait hook, depending on your bait size.

Chase one of the live baits you prepared earlier around the live well tank and select a likely contender.

Let the little fella know it is for the greater good as you pin him swiftly and lightly in front of his dorsal fin and let him over the side. Drop the bail arm on the spinning reel and pay line out slow and steady until he hits the bottom or more excitingly gets smashed by a kingy, snapper or striped trumpeter three times the size of what you would expect.

The area out off Schouten Passage has a convergence of current in and around the 100m line and beyond to the shelf, which always means a chance for the holy grail of Tasmanian gamefishing – the striped marlin, or the equally elusive yellowfin tuna. This is a time of year when you

can upsize the lures in your spread from your normal 6-8” southern bluefin skirts. It’s time to be brave. Don’t listen to your doubting mates; roll a five-lure skirt spread that has at least one big 12” cup-faced bad boy that looks like an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine in the water.

If you want the bite, you need to attract some attention, because there is some serious amount of water between you and the fish. You need every trick in the book to draw them closer to you. You can even trim your motor out a bit to cause some more prop wash and trick something down deep into coming up to investigate.

Mako sharks are as thick off Schouten as they are anywhere else on the east coast. The 100m line or the shelf – it doesn’t really matter.

Put some berley in the water and within two or three hours at this time of the year you will have sharks at the boat wanting to be fed. February can also have some hammerhead sharks turn up and these will test your patience. These blighters can be quite finicky when it comes to taking a bait.

The secret here is to have a wire trace leader as light as you think you can get away with and not those massive blue plastic things I see so often. Those traces are massive overkill and next to impossible to feed a bait back into the trail in as natural way as possible.

The best shark traces are the clear plastic coated wire ones in 3-4 different gauge and poundages. This way you have all bases covered when sharks of differing size come to the back of the boat.

before; everyone loves a good feed of albacore and chips or salad – even the people that would traditionally turn their nose up at fish.

Bluefin tuna thickened up in January, so look for that to improve in February.

When they thicken right up,

more and more people look to throw stickbaits or big soft plastics like 7” Berkley Jerk Shads at them. Lighter outfits are being used, as these fish are great sport and fun to catch.

Good sounders and good crew are needed to find

the humble tuna. While I can’t vouch for your crew, I can vouch for decent sounders through personal experience.

M o s t sounder touchscreens are like all the smart phones we play with now and the interfaces are easy to

navigate. This is exactly what you want when you are out to sea and looking for bait and trying to mark bigger fish – ease of use and simplicity. It’s crucial to get to know your menu screens and where things

Genesis Meir-Anderson with a January bluefin; that’s some great summer angling.

To page 85

HYDRO TASMANIA WATER STORAGE INFORMATION Water Storage Information as at 10th January 2018 Lake/Lagoon

Metres from full

Comment

Trevallyn Pond..................................1.33...................................................................

Lake Mackenzie................................5.78...................................................................

Lake Rowallan..................................1.74...................................................................

Lake Parangana................................0.48...................................................................

Lake Cethana....................................0.21...................................................................

Lake Barrington................................0.87...................................................................

Lake Gairdner...................................1.15...................................................................

Lake Paloona....................................1.92...................................................................

Lake Augusta....................................3.22...................................................................

Arthurs Lake.....................................0.84...................................................................

Great Lake........................................13.85.................................................................

Little Pine Lagoon.............................0.65...................................................................

Shannon Lagoon...............................0.15...................................................................

Penstock Lagoon..............................0.23...................................................................

Woods Lake......................................1.06...................................................................

Lake St Clair.....................................1.9.....................................................................

Lake King William.............................2.9.....................................................................

Lake Echo.........................................5.6.....................................................................

Dee Lagoon.......................................0.08...................................................................

Pine Tier Lagoon...............................2.41...................................................................

Bronte Lagoon..................................1.07...................................................................

Bradys/Binneys/Tungatinah..............3........................................................................

Laughing Jack Lagoon.....................2.13...................................................................

Lake Liapootah.................................3.02...................................................................

Wayatinah Lagoon............................0.09...................................................................

Lake Catagunya................................0.26...................................................................

Lake Repulse....................................0.67...................................................................

Cluny Lagoon....................................0............................................................Spilling Meadowbank Lake ..........................0.12...................................................................

Lake Burbury....................................1.78...................................................................

Lake Margaret..................................5.09...................................................................

Whitespur Pond................................7.05...................................................................

Lake Newton.....................................3.42...................................................................

Lake Plimsoll....................................7.9.....................................................................

Lake Murchison................................16.42.................................................................

Lake Mackintosh..............................4.97...................................................................

Lake Rosebery..................................0.7.....................................................................

Lake Pieman.....................................0.26...................................................................

Lake Pedder......................................1.3.....................................................................

Lake Gordon.....................................22

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

84

FEBRUARY 2018

Go Behind the Scenery From page 84

are located.

A favourite feature of mine is marking and naming a waypoint.

Naming a waypoint with even the briefest description will be valuable 10 times over when you have been fishing that area a lot, instead of having a mass jumble of different icons with no names and no idea what they mean.

You can take a small amount of time to add value to your mark.

There have been a number of crews heading out and trying their luck deep dropping for broadbill swordfish. The data from the tagging program suggests they are here. With a few big ones caught on the mainland it has raised interest. There have been a couple caught, but they are yet to really

Jack Gard with Eaglehawk Neck crayfish destined for the boat galley.

thicken up and crews are looking for February to be the month. The arrow squid have been thick, so everyone has plenty of baits to get down and see how they fare.

This is still a very early fishery with lots to learn.

It is very exciting and will fill you with pride that Tasmania is leading the way with this form of fishing nationwide. There are a great many gamefishing anglers that are looking to people like Leo Miller, Jamie Harris, Mason Paull and Josh Hammersley in this somewhat new frontier of fishing. While they have all hung fish for records or gamefishing competitions, they are also all leading the way in tagging and releasing these fish and developing techniques and advising on outfits that aid in the healthy release of these giant gladiators.

Not to be outdone, the Neck area has been fishing well for kingfish as well as – surprise, surprise – mako sharks. Crews have reported bringing multiple sharks to the boat on occasions, so all looks well for this fishery to be healthy into the future.

It is again pleasing to see people taking a smaller fish for the table and tagging those that are a bit bigger.

Tasmania

Brody and Naomi found some jellybean albacore to bring the smiles.

This is a good idea, as we can continue to harvest the occasional fish in the future and teach our sons and daughters how to do it as well.

The point I would like to make for this month is don’t leave anything to chance.

Make sure you check weather and swell before setting

out. While the weather in February is normally good weather-wise, that doesn’t mean you won’t be caught out by a storm front or a late change. Have all your safety equipment up to date and make sure crew members know where it is all stored – even the EPIRB. They’re not an inexpensive item and

sometimes this has them stored out of the way of sea water and spray. This is fine as long as the crew doesn’t have to turn the boat upside down to find it.

Get out and enjoy what Tasmania has to offer and stay safe. I hope to see you at a ramp or river sometime soon.

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85

Catch topwater estuary perch at Devils Bend CRANBOURNE

Jesse Matthias

Sometimes there is nothing better than catching fish close to home – even better when you’re catching

the easiest access to the lake.

Follow the main pathway towards the water and you’ll notice a no fishing access area. This the best place to start, keeping on the correct side of the fence of course; I always look for weedy

areas with broken ground, or any structure that might hold fish – like a stump.

Cast a small popper or surface lure over the weed. As the lure hits the water, leave it for a few seconds; there could be a

Devils Bend is a pretty lake, and being so close to Cranbourne, it’s also very popular.

With all the insect activity, this time of year is the perfect time to fish topwater. estuary perch off the surface. Only 30 minutes from Cranbourne, Devils Bend Reservoir produces a lot of excitement, especially coming into summer. The hot, balmy nights with moths, flies, mosquitoes and all the other annoying flying bugs landing on the water taunting the perch mean now is a perfect time for surface fishing.

There’s even a barbecue area to cook your catch, or for a picnic. Devils Bend also has a toilet block on site! Flyfishers, experienced anglers and kids just want to give it a crack! They all venture down here in hopes to land a few fish.

Park your car at the main entrance near the barbecue area off Graydens Road for

FEBRUARY 2018

will need a different technique compared to a bent minnow-style or pencil. To work a cicada lure, simply use a slow roll retrieve. Sometimes all the

different techniques you can think of don’t always help!

The wind can be a killer; I prefer like to fish the surface with little wind.

With a slight breeze up to

The banks of Devils Bend make walking relatively easy for the shore-based angler.

The estuary perch are now at a fun size for catching!

86

2-4kg with a 2500 size reel, holding 150m of 8lb braid and running a rod length of 6-8lb fluorocarbon leader.

The lures that are most effective are pencils (like the Pygmy Pencil), bent minnow-styles. Any surface lure that mimic a small

nearby fish that’s heard or seen the lure drop into the water and hopefully that fish may come in for closer look. After the ripples start to clear, start twitching the lure while winding in your slack line with a pause every couple of twitches. As the lure pauses, you will see a boil behind it, just as the perch gulps your lure off the surface.

Using a slow constant retrieve will have you landing lots of fish – this is my favourite method. As your lure is moving towards you, darting side to side, you will see a wake behind it. Trace the movements, and then smash it off the top. If you notice the wake, but the fish still won’t take the lure, try Changing the speed of the retrieve by either slowing it down or speeding it up. See what works, as all nights are different.

The best outfit to use on these fish is a 1-3kg rod, or a

injured baitfish or an insect struggling to make its way back to the bank, as well as lures that look like cicadas will work well.

Keep in mind a cicada

The perch in this lake are in great condition.

If that doesn’t get your casting arm twitching, nothing will!

8km, once you get a lake full of small wake, waves can make it hard! Carrying a couple of different scents can help turn on the bite. I like to use S Factor or Dizzy Scent in garlic or UV. While you’re standing on the bank don’t let all the thick weed that you can see in the water put you off getting your lure wet. On most of the lures that I use at this lake I’ve changed my treble hooks over to singles – only having one point on each hook helps to not catch a mass of weed each cast. A con to these is that you’ll find that you will be dropping more fish and not hooking up. When you do get a hook up it’ll be a solid pin in the corner of the jaw or the top lip.

Even better for us catch and release anglers, single hooks make de-hooking the fish a piece of cake! Single hooks also cause minimal damage to the fish’s mouth.

Treble hooks can be messy and a little frustrating; one barb in the top of the lip, one in the side of the jaw and the other wedged somewhere else – that’s just making life hard!

Down towards the quarry or the floating pontoons are very popular spots to fish. Even though these are heavily fished areas, it doesn’t seem to stop these estuary perch from mistaking a lure for the real thing and there are

plenty of them. The stocked estuary perch totalled 122,000 from January 7 2014 to the most recent in 13 December 2016! They were all stocked as small fry and have grown a lot

to come down and give it a crack.

Give yourself plenty of time of time to walk around the areas you’re able to access. At this time of the year I try to arrive around

minnows and soft plastics.

The old pink Tassie Devil works a treat too.

The best time to land a fish here is late in the afternoon when the sun is nearly hitting the horizon

A fun-sized perch is subdued in the shallows.

Most perch will be spending summer trying to fit big insects in their mouth! in this time. The estuary perch in Devils Bend aren’t the biggest yet, but a fair few being caught are legal size (27cm).

There have also been 52,186 rainbow trout and 48,329 brown trout released into Devils Bend, making it more inviting to anglers

7:30pm. This will give you plenty of time to cover more water and to find a few spots to try on the walk back. Fishing early mornings will produce a good number of fish and don’t give up after the surface bite goes quiet – try some shallow diving

when the fish go mental!

When you see them smacking bugs and small fish from the top of the water start casting right on top of these surface takes.

Since the opening of

kayaks being allowed on Devils Bend in December 2017, a lot more fish are being caught, like estuary perch and some monstrous redfin. Kayaks will be a massive advantage, as you are able to throw lures towards jumping fish you can’t reach from the bank, which will make catching fish from Devils Bend a lot

more interesting. Fishing weed beds all over the allowed area creates more structure for us fishos to target and find a new favourite spot.

Happy fishing! *Information on fish stocking used in this article is available on the Victoria Fisheries website at vfa. vic.gov.au.

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Top: Grass makes great cover for perch.

Above: Late afternoon is an ideal time for topwater fishing estuary perch.

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FEBRUARY 2018

87

You can’t go wrong picking spots this month so well, but don’t be put off if you’re a lure or bait angler. A well-placed small soft plastic will be hard for them to pass up. A lot can be learnt from the fly anglers.

Take the time to stop and watch the surface; take note of the direction the surfacing fish are feeding in and cast in front of them. If you’re fishing with bait, it is worth using a drogue on the boat to slow your drift down.

This will give you a more natural bait presentation to have a shot at tricking

HORSHAM

James Perry

Long days and good water levels make for a hard choice when picking a lake in the region to fish and at this time of the year it’s truly hard to make a poor choice.

Taylors Lake has been the standout waterway recently and I expect this to continue next month.

Many anglers have been doing well targeting cod and yellowbelly from both boat and bank. Bait anglers have been getting the best results with whole yabbies and scrub worms. Targeting the drop-off between the sunken tree line and the shore is the best bet for picking up a late afternoon yellowbelly that is cruising for an easy

Young gun Jack Seater landed this beauty at Taylors Lake.

Jason Meehan fooled this ripper trout with an Atomic Plazo Jerk Minnow. feed. If you’re in a boat, it’s well worth checking out the Eagles Nest area of the lake.

Lure anglers have been doing well with smaller chatterbaits and spinnerbaits casting at structure. If you would rather troll a lure, be sure to work the open water sections with a deep diver, as some monster arches have been sounded up recently, and a few tight-lipped fishos have done well using this method.

Darker coloured lures are always a good choice with the murky water; think hues of brown, black and purple when selecting a lure to tie on.

Lake Bellfield has continued to reward those that make the effort and put in the time. If you’re targeting redfin on this mighty lake, it’s hard to go past the old baltic bobber jigged vertically under the sunken trees. Spend 10 minutes on a tree; if it doesn’t provide results, drift to the next tree and try again.

Try to be reasonably quiet when working the trees, as often the redfin will be high in the water column. If chasing trout is more your thing, it’s hard to go past small bibbed minnows and minnow-shaped soft plastics.

SEASON

5

FEBRUARY 2018

Natural colours seem to be the favoured option at Bellfield.

My favourite plastics at the moment would be the new Squidgy Bio Tough Wriggler 70mm or the Westin Shadteez. For hardbody lures, I would be looking to lures like the StumpJumper Finesse or the Woolley Morsel in rainbow trout pattern. Never discount the simplicity of a celta though. Bait fishers have been doing well with scrub worms fished with a floats or sinkers. Play around with bait depth until you find the sweet spot.

Lake Fyans is fishing reasonably well early in the morning with good numbers of trout feeding on the surface.

Fly anglers have the upper hand in these conditions, being able to match the hatch

Ben scored this Grampians trout during a tough session.

Royden Klemm joined the 50cm club with this beast of a redfin.

IS HERE!

Every Saturday 4.30pm on 88

a suspicious trout. If you’re chasing redfin, try bottom bashing large plastics in the weedbeds.

The 6-9g jigheads and 100mm plastics are the standard in Fyans. The weed is where the fish are, so get used to cleaning a bit off your plastic. To make it a bit easier, try using a worm style hook in a weedless fashion and tie a conventional ball sinker into the lower side of your loop knot. This will drastically lower the weed fouling rate and still offer a

great action and hook-up rate.

Rocklands Reservoir is still producing great numbers of redfin. Be it bobbing worms or yabbies, flicking a lure or plastic, anglers can’t seem to do wrong. Fish are found schooling up around sunken trees and rocky points and depressions. Keep moving until you locate a school and then stick with them. Once again, if they are in shallow water, be sure to keep the noise down or they will spook to another spot.

Don’t stress if you lose the school, as they won’t have moved far.

OUTDOOR & FISHING SHOW

Listen on 5am-6am Every Saturday

The deluge challenge for visiting cod anglers ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

For the start to the cod season and the first month of summer the heavens opened and a deluge of rain turned the river on its head. Before the rains arrived some very good cod were landed on lures in the Murray River around Swan Hill. That quickly changed as the river swelled to an inflow of dirty water and the lure bite stopped as quickly as it begun.

This was not the end of the fishing as bait anglers cashed in on a hot bite; cod after cod was caught from bank and boat. One group of once-a-year fishos caught a respectable nine cod between 60 and 85cm in a single afternoon’s fishing from a sandbar. Cheese was the bait of choice, closely followed by chicken.

Swan Hill Tackle

Beating the heat – Jock Mackenzie with a solid Murray cod taken on a Cod Hopper surface lure. proprietor Jim Credlin said it has been a great start to the cod season with most anglers catching fish. Credlin also

said what’s most exciting is that some of these cod have measured in at a metre or more. He commented that it’s

great to see larger cod once again being caught in our local waters. With any luck the weather will settle down

and the river will quickly turn to its normal levels.

Downstream to Robinvale on the Murray River, the word on cod captures is quiet to say the least – not a single reported capture over a month into the season. I cut my teeth catching big Murray cod in these waters but I fear I will be plonking them in a glass of water beside my bed before these fish are once again about in numbers. It’s sickening to dwell on what’s been lost.

On a brighter note, good numbers of golden perch have been biting at this location on bait. It’s a similar story downstream through Wemen on the Murray and beyond. Good numbers of perch have been caught on bait but there are no real confirmed cod captures.

The Darling River at Pooncarie and downstream has been producing a few cod on bait. Cheese, prawns and chicken are among the best.

It’s amazing how Murray cod will forgo a natural bait in order to gobble down those prepared in the kitchen.

The water clarity along the Darling is still very poor, so it will be a while before we see much real lure action in this river.

As the Murray River begins to fall away after the recent high flows the best bite should continue to be on bait. No doubt the water clarity will remain poor until the river levels out once again. Perhaps then it will clear a little and be more suited to the use of lures. There are plenty of keen anglers waiting for this to happen.

Remember it is very hot up this way during the summer months so slip, slop, slap and don’t forget the mozzie spray or you will be eaten to bits. A bit of night fishing might be the way to avoid the heat and cash in on the nocturnal habits of larger Murray cod.

Mulwala’s the place for full-on February cod YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

The roar and buzz of the holiday boating traffic has lessened to a constant hum allowing fishos to come out from hiding. We are now entering the prime few months of fishing at Mulwala with February through to April being the pick of times. Early season has seen the swim and glidebaits coming into their own fooling more fish than most other lures.

I believe cod wizen up over time to certain types of lures and they are now taking a liking to these as they haven’t seen a lot of them in the past. There are many companies jumping on board the ‘swimbait bus.’ A slightly heavier and longer rod than the traditional 6ft, 6kg models will see you delivering these lures with ease. Another benefit of upsizing your gear is that you will have the firepower in hand to tame a beast if you do come across one.

For those choosing to bait

Kyle Stevenson’s 122cm beast that helped him win Champion Angler at the 2017 Cod Classic.

fish, you still can’t go past the traditional bardi grub if you can get hold of them.

Yabbies have accounted for their fair share of good fish this season while a wellplaced scrub worm will also do the trick. Interestingly, for the second year running cheese accounted for more fish in this year’s Cod Classic than any other individual bait or lure!

Looking back, the 2017 Yamaha Cod Classic proved another great success with some great cod being caught.

Even after receiving the worst weather predictions, 2300 keen anglers hit the lake in hope. Conditions were more conducive to bait fishing and this proved successful, as near on 500 legal cod were measured and released.

A monster stretching the tape out to 122cm caught by Kyle Stevenson on a bardi grub got the chocolates for the adult section while junior Marcus Hope trolled up a beauty measuring 100.5cm to claim bragging rights in his division.

After the Cod Classic and into the holiday period it was hectic with plenty of quality reports. To give everybody a mention would see me running out of ink!

Those that exceeded the 90cm mark included Steve Ryan at 92cm, Marshall Elliot – 93cm, Bailey and Paul Thomas with 95cm and 96cm, Trent Goldman with 96cm, Joel Thomas with 100cm, Braidy Lewis with 102cm, Glen Spinks with 106cm, Owen Conway with 115cm and John Thurston

with 120cm. Apologies to those who I forgot. Above Bundalong David Foster and mates had a ball landing a 125cm and 100cm.

Apart from the cod, below the weir there have been many reports of quality yellas being taken. The 55cm models are common with best methods being shrimp or yabbies bobbed around timber or a well-placed smaller sized willow bladed spinnerbait.

The competition season is upon us with a few events coming up over the next couple of months. The first is the ever-popular Lowrance Da$h 4 Ca$h on 17-18 February. Following this is the His and Hers Partners Classic on 3 March. To round out the competition season is the Cod Nationals, four days of serious tournament fishing for the dedicated green fish angler held between 15-18 March.

Happy fishing and all the best for the new season.

• If you are visiting town, I urge you to call into Lake Mulwala Fish, Camp & Ski (opposite the post office) in Mulwala and say G’day. We are your largest Murray cod-specific shop in Yarrawonga/Mulwala and specialise in all things ‘green’! For any information on the upcoming events or fishing reports, give us a hoy on (03) 5744 3133.

DAM LEVELS brought to you by w w w. b a r g a i n b o a t b i t s. c o m . a u

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

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

Nov Dec Jan

Cairn Curran

78

Nov Dec Jan Mulwala (Yarrawonga) 95 82 91 Newlyn 100 92 84 Nillahcootie 91 103 97 Rocklands 44 42 40 Taylors 77 76 74 Tullaroop 74 72 68 Upper Coliban 100 100 98 Waranga 55 61 60 Wartook 99 96 85 William Hovell 99 102 99

76 72

Dartmouth 87 87 89 Eildon

72 74 74

Eppalock

91 86 83

Fyans

86 83 76

Greens

64 66 67

Hepburn

98 101 82

Hume

87 76 68

Lauriston

99 94 91

Malmsbury 99 57 45

(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.)

FEBRUARY 2018

89

Looking good for this season’s fly fishing Steve Williamson steve@swtroutfishing.com.au

Welcome to February and the last month of summer.

Due to the late season and cooler conditions in early summer, the flyfishers are only now experiencing the best flyfishing for years. With lots of bugs about now the trout are leaping for joy!

The water level on the streams is lower and clearer and also much

more fishable after all the regular summer storms. The fish are still mainly taking hopper patterns and beetle patterns. The Thredbo River continues to fish okay but again the water is clear and the trout are very spooky.

Perisher Creek is well worth a try if you like dry flyfishing; it’s great if it’s not too cold and windy up there. Spencers Creek is also an option.

Some of the best lake flyfishing is over the coming months and this year with the steady lake

level we should see some big fish caught. Try any of the streamer patterns, and olive green nymphs and shrimp patterns are also worth a try. The South Arm, Creel Bay and Kangaroo Bay are all great.

The boat trolling this year has been very good and we are still catching trout on the surface, as the water temperature isn’t as warm as in previous years. We have been using downriggers on the really hot and bright days. The downrigger depth hasn’t

Zara Johnston caught this beautiful brown trout.

“Over 250 patterns to choose from”

out H

been as deep as in previous years either, with 25-35ft about perfect.

I would expect that we should see this formula continue over the next month or so. Start off early in the day with surface lines.

The trick is to have at least 60m and even up to 100m of line out to get best results when trolling the edges of the shoreline. After about an hour, add a lead core line

r atchery n TONLINE e d ORDER a G

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into the equation. With lead lines you should start with two colours (20m) early and three colours (30m) later in the morning.

Try yellow and brown colours at the moment.

Black and gold lures like the and holographic Tasmanian Devil have been the best for darker conditions and have also been good for downrigging.

I have also been doing well with 9cm hardbodies down off the downrigger and lead lines. The best colours are rainbow trout and brown trout. Gaden Trout Hatchery released the baby rainbow trout fingerlings into Jindabyne last month so all natural rainbow trout colours are working well.

With water levels still high, some of the better trolling areas this month will be Hatchery Bay, Hayshed Bay and Sids Bay through to Rushes Bay. Watch the rocks; the East Jindabyne Islands start to reappear as the water levels drop.

The best lure spinning has been on the lake in the shallow bays early and late in the day. You can start by spinning the edges with small bladed spinners or flicking Strike Tiger soft plastics.

Late in the day areas with steep drop-offs and plenty of rocks will be the best. Bays like Creel and Hatchery and the Snowy Arm all fish well.

On brighter days, change to a winged lure and cast further out over drop-offs, letting the lure sink before you slowly retrieve. The best areas have been down at the South Arm or near Banjo Patterson Park.

Fish are still being caught in the Thredbo River also on small floating minnow lures with the best colours being rainbow trout and goldfish patterns.

On the smaller streams like the Moonbah River or upper Snowy River a variety of lures will work, but the best

Dave and Lotti Staig with a great rainbow trout. will be small bladed spinners.

Bait fishing on Lake Jindabyne has been good over recent months with the higher water levels.

Mudeyes have been very scarce this year but if you’re lucky enough to get some they have been good used under a float at about a 2m drop. If you can’t get mudeyes then worms under a float are still worth trying.

Another bait worth suspending under a float is the old faithful grasshopper, which is one you don’t see used much these days. They work a treat and there are plenty about at the moment, however you might need the kids with a butterfly net to help you collect the bait.

The best bait fishing areas are Creel Bay,

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Hatchery Bay and Curiosity Rocks. Another great area is the bottom of Discovery Holiday Park near Widows Creek Inlet.

If you would like some personal guiding, I will be available over the coming months for flyfishing tuition and lake trolling trips. Lessons can be booked from two hours and trolling trips from three hours to a full day.

Until next month, I hope you catch the big one.

• If you want to know more about the latest in fishing conditions, just give me a call on (02) 6456 1551 or check out my website at www.swtroutfishing.com. au. And you can see our daily Facebook updates at www.facebook.com/LJTFA.

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Options are still good with low, warm water WANGARATTA

Robbie Alexander

February is the second hottest month of the year behind January. It is a time of year when the water in the rivers is at its lowest and easiest to wade. Murray cod fishing can be red-hot and trout fishing can be hard.

TROUT As stated, the trout fishing around North East Victoria can be quite tough during February with low, warm water slowing the trout right down. It’s not all doom and gloom though and there are still quite a few options for those that are either willing to work for their fish or lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

Firstly, don’t overlook the highland lakes. In the Ovens River catchment the best lake is Lake Catani on Mt Buffalo. At an altitude of 1300m above sea level, Lake Catani often freezes over in winter and is subject to year-round trout fishing, even in the heat of summer. The lake isn’t large and it’s popular with kayakers, flyfishers and canoeists. Most of the trout in the lake and surrounding creeks are quite small,

right on the edge of the tree line. Both lakes freeze right over during winter and offer fantastic trout fishing during summer.

Pretty Valley Dam is the smaller and shallower of the two lakes, and also has a few larger fish.

Boating is permitted on Rocky Valley Dam and both lakes offer great trout fishing in the heat of February. Away from the highland lakes and creeks, the best places to target

freshwater in the streams can help fire the trout up in February.

REDFIN February can be a good time of the year to target redfin in both Lake Buffalo and Lake William Hovell.

Both lakes fish okay, but not great during summer.

As soon as they start to drop in water level in summer the redfin can start to get active.

During February, trout are unlikely in Lake

Low water levels in February can make accessing the deeper holes a bit easier for shore-based fishers.

February can be a great time to target redfin in Lake William Hovell and Lake Buffalo. trout during February will be the faster flowing larger rivers, which flow out of the mountains. The Ovens River around Harrietville

William Hovell due to the warm water pushing the trout down deep, so it will be all about redfin up there.

Trout and redfin are the only species in the lake other than the dreaded carp.

Lake Buffalo on the other hand has been stocked over the years with yellowbelly (golden

A hybrid Murray cod/trout cod caught near Wangaratta recently – interbreeding between the species is not common but it does happen from time to time.

February is not a great month for trout fishers, however there are a few options for those willing to think outside the box. however it is a great fishing option and a great way to escape the heat.

Across in the next valley – the Kiewa Valley – there is Rocky Valley Dam and Pretty Valley Dam. Both lakes are situated on the headwaters of the Kiewa River system and are both

will be a great place to start.

For most other creeks, try fishing early in the morning after the water has had time to cool a little during the night, and straight after any decent rain. Whether it is a thunderstorm, shower or just a rainy day, any

Brett Corker with a small Murray cod caught near Wangaratta around Christmas time.

perch) and Murray cod, so if the redfin fishing is slow, you may be able to target other species.

MURRAY COD February can be a great time of the year to target Murray cod in just about any waterway that holds them. Low flows of warmer water can really speed up the cod’s metabolism and get them feeding more frequently.

On days of extreme heat, the Murray cod fishing can really slow down. It is during this time that the water often gets quite dark and looks almost tannin stained. This could possibly be attributed to the water holding less oxygen

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as it warms up.

When this happens I like to focus my attention on small areas of flowing or broken water: a small trickle, water swirling behind a log, a drop-off or anywhere where the water can break up and pick up oxygen. I find these ‘micro environments’ to be great fish-holding spots during the heat of summer when the water is a little warmer and oxygen may be a little lower.

All known Murray cod fishing techniques will work well during February with surface fishing being the most popular over the last few years for a number of reasons. The ‘boof’ made by a Murray cod as it hits a surface lure is exciting, addictive and can be downright frightening.

Surface fishing lure losses are minimal thanks to the fact that you are swimming your lure above the snags.

CONCLUSION In all, February is likely to be hot, especially for the first half of the month.

Murray cod will be the most popular species of fish to target.

Later in the month as the nights become longer as summer tapers off, water temperatures will slowly start cooling in the trout streams which should hopefully pave the way for some decent autumn trout fishing.

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It was a hot and dry start to the new year and throughout January. This meant fishing during the heat of the day was very tough going. I have received reports of good numbers of smaller fish caught locally in the mornings and the larger fish in the evenings.

Surface fishing has been on fire in both the Goulburn and Broken rivers recently, which is a trend that should continue for the next few months.

The Broken River is one of the hottest surface fishing locations with the river fishing well from Benalla all the way down to the GoulburnBroken junction.

A few anglers are now starting to fiddle around with hook sizes and setups with some also adding a few extra O rings to help increase the chance of a hook-up, as it’s not uncommon to drop dozens of fish in a session walking the banks.

Buzzbaits have been the standout in the Goulburn River as well as surface lures.

Those fishing with bait have reported a lot of silver perch around the Bunbartha and Moira Park areas. Silvers can be a very annoying fish when using expensive bardi grubs, so I would suggest moving spots if you get a lot of little nips at your bait.

Shrimp and worms are still the go-to bait for yellowbelly with some over 50cm being reported off the

bank behind Aquamoves.

This coming month I would look to again fish the mornings or late afternoons.

You will catch the odd fish during the heat of the day, but it’s tough with temperatures likely to hit the high 30s regularly.

In years gone by when I used to run the major fishing classic in Shepparton in February, a lot of events were won along the stretch of river behind Aquamoves or down towards Jordans Bend, so I would target those areas just a few minutes from the boat ramp.

KIALLA LAKES The lakes system has been fishing really well recently with a lot of younger fishos and families fishing the lakes. Both the first and second lakes have produced good numbers of legal yellowbelly with some reported over 45cm. There are a lot of fish in the lake around 25-35cm, which can still be great fun on light gear. Casting spinnerbaits and Jackalls off the bank is the go-to method at Kialla.

With the drop-off ledge about 4ft from the bank, make sure you keep your lures active all the way to your feet. I have been smashed plenty of times in half a foot of water, which can really get the heart pumping. Those fishing with bait can either float baits around the willows and weeds or cast out some unweighted worms or shrimp in the drop-off area.

WARANGA BASIN The basin has been fishing well in the lead-up to February with plenty

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The author’s son Ayden Brown with his first-ever fish – a 28cm redfin caught on a Codger at Waranga Basin.

Braxton Winnell with a nice yellowbelly caught casting spinnerbaits in Kialla Lakes. of redfin heavily schooled up all over the lake. They haven’t been too hard to find, and once you find them you need to sit on top of them, as they were really tight the last few times I fished out there.

Casting into the schools worked but they didn’t seem to follow the lures very far out, so jigging Mask Vibes or ice jigs works best. I had the pleasure of watching my son catch his very first fish recently trolling in 14ft with a small diving Codger in pink. It just goes to show that even a basic $50 setup and a lure can catch fish once they’re found.

In coming months the ski boat traffic from the holidays should drop off and hopefully the fish will still be easy to find. In past months the redfin seemed to hold deep once the sun was right up; they can be caught mid-water a lot more during the mornings and late afternoons.

SHEPPARTON LAKE There were plenty of reports over the school holidays of silver perch and yellowbelly being caught on bait around the grass hill, with some also using cheese to catch both small silver perch and Murray cod up to 40cm.

Anglers in kayaks and boats have reported the odd Murray cod being caught trolling Jackalls and spinnerbaits. Little to no trout have been caught

and those trying their luck have been using blades and spinners.

February is not the best month for targeting fish in the Shepparton Lake with many tending to hold deep in the weed on the hot days. There will be the odd fish caught in the morning and evenings but it can be hard work.

LOCAL CHANNELS The cod fishing in the local channels has been on fire yet again in the summer months. So many more locals are now targeting the mighty greenfish in the systems around Shepparton and also in the inlet and outlet channels at the Waranga Basin.

Cooked yabby tails and bardi grubs have been the best baits and almost any lure cast around structure has resulted in fish. My favourite lure this summer has yet again been the Jackall TN50 in purple rigged with a Bassman beetle spin on the top. I find this lure works well around the bridge pylons, both on the drop and retrieve. Just like at Kialla Lakes, make sure you concentrate on your lure all the way to your feet. Some cod love to ambush the lures at your toes.

There have also been plenty of encounters with tiger and brown snakes trying to share the same shady banks as us fishers, so always keep a look out.

Wendouree’s the shining star BALLARAT

Shane Stevens

Anglers in and around Ballarat have certainly had to work for their fish over the past month. Now the weather has definitely

arrive. The cooler days and nights reduce the water temperatures down to more comfortable levels for the trout to once again feed with gusto in our lakes and reservoirs.

Lake Wendouree is certainly the shining star

in previous years; I really don’t need to travel further than five minutes from home to have amazing fishing right in the centre of Ballarat – how good is that?

This is a true testament to the fisheries management systems that are in place

Brian Rivett with his PB 55cm rainbow trout caught while casting a silver Bullet Lure on Lake Wendouree. warmed up, as have the water temperatures in our district’s fisheries.

This certainly dictates our fishing and will for the next few months, until the cooler nights of autumn

bright blue sunny skies haven’t stopped the fish from biting. The fish have been caught on a variety of methods, such as casting plastics, hardbodied lures, flyfishing and mudeyes suspended under bubble floats.

I have fished with my son Will on a couple of occasions casting lures out of a drifting boat catching some lovely trout and big redfin up to 45cm. We have also fished mudeyes land-based and out of the boat anchoring up, either drifting our baits into the weed beds or out from the weed beds into open water with excellent results, Will has landed some lovely brown trout up to 3.5lb.

Brian Rivett and I have also had a couple of ripper fishing sessions over the past month during the middle of the day, which is totally out of the norm for this time of the year. As long as you have a bit of breeze on the water, the fish have been on the chew. Brian landed a personal best rainbow trout of 55cm – a big rainbow for Wendouree – on a silver bullet lure on

Will Stevens nailed this magnificent Wendouree brown trout on a spider mudeye suspended under a bubble float.

of our fisheries. In our district over the past month, Wendouree never ceases to amaze me with how good a fishery it is. Over the past month I have probably fished the lake more than

The author snagged another magnificent Wendouree redfin casting lures from a drifting boat along the weed beds.

Mick Newman with a couple of big Wendouree reds caught casting plastics in the main rowing channel on Lake Wendouree. Photo courtesy of Ben Young.

for the lake by Fisheries Victoria and local angling bodies, whether you are a flyfisher, lure caster or like to fish bait. Landbased or from the boat, Lake Wendouree caters for all anglers.

Over the past month, many anglers have been catching plenty of quality rainbow and brown trout as well as the big redfin that reside in Wendouree.

The time of day is very important during the warmer weather, however, this hasn’t seemed to bother the fish at the moment.

Early, midmorning, lunchtime, evening – even

one of our recent trips. We drift out of the boat casting the lures into and along the weed beds. Trout and redfin use the weed beds for cover in readiness to pounce on any food source that swims past, and they have certainly been nailing our lures.

Mick Newman and Ben Young have targeted the main rowing channel in search of the big reddies with excellent results casting soft plastics late in the afternoon and evening, with Mick nailing two 50cm thumpers on one session.

Over the next month Lake Wendouree will continue to fish well for all

angling methods. I would suggest that mornings and evenings would be the best times, but going on what has happened over the past month you could catch a fish any time.

Reports from other waters in the district have been a bit light on over the past month. Going on previous years, I expect that the redfin will start to bite, especially with the warmer weather and warmer water temperatures. In waters like Newlyn Reservoir, Cosgroves Reservoir and Moorabool Reservoir the reddies will fire up. Anglers should target the deeper drop-off areas with lures, plastics and also baits. The best baits to catch redfin are garden/scrub worms, yabbies and minnows or galaxias usually fished on a running sinker rig.

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Lake water clarity will return EILDON

Daniel Piazza

Lake Eildon in February should see the lake water level stay at a steady amount and we should start to see the storm season rains start to settle. The water clarity will back to that green, clear colour that can make the fish a little easier to spook but our lures a lot easier to see for the resident fish that call Lake Eildon home.

Back in December I took

a few mates out for a fish and I thought I’d figured out the bite patterns that I always talk about; we were blessed with mild temperatures all week.

The barometer was at 1020 but falling to around 1010 – diving then rising. It was all over the shop.

It had me stumped with the water being dirty! Lake Eildon had me guessing and I found it hard to tell the boys that the natives (Murray cod and golden perch) had just gone off the bite – I guessed that much in the first hour. I

Chris Roks with one of many decent redfin.

still had confidence that there had to be one resident cod to hit our lures.

Then Tim was on and I was shocked to see a redfin in one of my snags where a good-size ‘green fish’ resides.

I thought it was like a mouse sleeping in the house cat’s bed; I scratched my head and said out loud some pretty bad words.

The electric motor came up and I was flying to the next area when we saw a massive school of redfin. I caught on real quick – all the natives were full as me on Christmas night. We cast our arms off trying for the only cod or yellowbelly that hadn’t seen the school swim past.

I missed one key ingredient that morning with my prediction for the bite window. All morning the wind was blowing northeast, which isn’t my favourite.

Midnight came and one of the boys had to get home.

I wasn’t satisfied, thinking ‘I am not going home fishless!’

I told my mate Chris that we’d go and check one spot and if it didn’t produce, we’d head home.

When the redfin are on it’s good to fill the freezer with 10 or so fish. The average size was around 35cm and well-conditioned. The hot bite

stopped and five minutes later it came back on; I couldn’t figure it out to save me. Then I checked the wind in the 15 minutes – it was shifting to southwest and speeding up with gusts of 15-20km. I had it worked out finally!

I told Chris about it and he just thought it was some voodoo with a bit of leg-pulling. After the 65th or so redfin that came in the boat in two hours with the biggest well into the 40s – these models weren’t rare – I had restored confidence that Lake Eildon does produce. It’s luck 20% of the time – an angler needs to be able to read the signs for what the fish are likely to do.

The fish were caught on anything that was clear and looked like a yabby. After a while I was just throwing spinnerbaits that I’ve never caught fish on and this proved to me that colours don’t mean that much when there is a hot bite. The soft plastics that I produce did the most damage were white in colour with a lot of UV and sparkle that the fish couldn’t resist.

The school was thickest in around 32m. I found them around a bunch of tight pines five minutes from Fraser Boat Ramp and boats would drive right by the trees most

The author with a chubby redfin. of the time.

Let this mad-busy time calm down if you want some serious fishing sessions or even fish at night. Plenty of big fish are caught this way.

Remember to have all your safety gear up to date and be careful with the 3 million trees sticking out of the water.

The dam wall is a must after dark; many of my best

sessions have seen 20+ cod for only three hours of fishing.

Spinnerbaits, vibes, silent swimbaits and surface lures are my go-to lure choices.

If you would like to get a photo published, you can get in contact with me via email: primalspinbaits@ gmail.com. We are always keen to hear the stories and see the photos of our readers.

Summer boom time rewards BONNIE DOON

Andy McCarthy

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As the native fish population continues to grow and prosper in Lake Eildon, so do the crowds. As a local, seeing fishing boats roll past my place throughout the start of the year is a very common thing. This year the numbers have been simply staggering and the amount of fishos on the water is incredible.

This is great news for all our local businesses reaping the benefits of all the great work that Fisheries have done in turning Eildon into a native fishing Mecca

that only grows in stature day by day. It’s still not producing the amount of yellowbelly it’s renowned for with only a handful of reports coming through

Paul Thomas, who picked up a few nice yellas on a recent trip over. He picked them up in close to the snags holding really tight, so if you’re not hitting

the snags, you’re not in the game. Todd Reddie picked up a cracker of a yella measuring 60cm.

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FEBRUARY 2018

Paul Thomas caught this healthy yella.

To page 95

End of summer trout fun in the small streams EILDON RIVERS

Gary Constantine

The Goulburn River had been very cloudy and resembled coffee recently due to heavy rain, however the smaller streams managed to swell and remain clear – these fished well through it all.

Up on the Big and Taponga rivers anglers are picking up brown trout up

to 35cm drifting unweighted scrubbies and worms. Lure fishers in the same area are doing well on small bladed lures such as Celtas, Vibrax Blue Fox and minnows.

The Goulburn River has cleared and was running at over 3000ML a day recently. This will increase with power and irrigation demands during the summer months. When it comes to fishing the Goulburn River at this time of year it pays

to target 8-10ft from the bank, areas where the trees overhang the river, and the grassy backwaters that are created when the flow is increased.

The best baits have been scrubbies, maggots and mealworms. The chunky cheese PowerBait has also worked between Eildon and Alexandra. Flies that are working include bead head nymphs, hoppers, midges, ants and streamer patterns.

Belinda Daws with an awesome rainbow that she picked up in the Goulburn while drifting with scrub worms.

From page 94

is after and the numbers are very solid indeed with fish ranging from 30cm up to 112cm.

Troy Butler had a session to remember where he pulled an 89cm model followed by an enormous and very healthy 112cm tank.

There are plenty of them in there.

It seems that Eildon is becoming the go-to waterway for people chasing the elusive 1m fish and it’s virtually a weekly thing now.

The reddies are going

along nicely as well with good results coming in on worms, plastics and small hardbodies. Remember, if you get onto a school, keep them active and you will get the rewards.

Lake Nillahcootie is often overlooked as a fishery and has been going great lately with some nice yellas and cod taken as well as some cracking reddies, so do yourself a favour.

If you want to escape the crowds at Eildon, don’t be put off by the water colour – it still produces good fish. Use noisy lures and spinnerbaits.

Between Alexandra and Yea a small tinny can also reach some excellent Murray cod areas and anglers using spinner baits in purple and chartreuse and lures like the No2 StumpJumpers in black and light green have landed a few up to the 80cm mark recently.

Snobs Creek has been producing some very nice brown and rainbow trout up to the 4lb mark on minnow-style lures and bloodworm soft plastics. In the Rubicon, Steavenson, Acheron and Little rivers the small hardbodies such as the Rapalas, Daiwa Dr Minnows and shallow diving bullet lures and bladed lures are landing small, healthy brown and rainbow trout.

Above the lake in the Jamieson and Howqua rivers, once again small, healthy rainbow and brown trout are taking Celtas or bladed lures in the slow moving sections of these rivers.

Another thing to remember is that during the warmer months there are quite a few snakes about, so make sure you are alert, well protected and know what to do if you are bitten.

Also in the bush and upper reaches of the most of the rivers in the area, leeches are plentiful as well.

Mick Daws caught this great rainbow in the Goulburn River near Thornton.

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FEBRUARY 2018

95

Consistent options around Bendigo region BENDIGO

Roger Miles codhuntertours@bigpond.com

The fishing in the Bendigo region has been very good lately. We have experienced some hot weather over the last month and this has helped to fire the fish up. The water clarity has improved in our impoundments and continues to slowly improve in the river systems. Anglers should get out and make the most of the productive fishing while it lasts.

LAKE EPPALOCK The fishing continues to be productive at Lake Eppalock, however there has just been a blue-green algae warning placed at this location. If you are fishing this location, take some precautions with the bluegreen algae. Be careful not to get the water onto any open wounds and don’t ingest the water. If you are keeping any fish, make sure you wash the

The productivity in the golden perch fishing has slowly improved over recent weeks around Lake Eppalock. fish thoroughly when you get home and fillet them.

The productivity in the golden perch fishing has slowly improved over recent weeks. Golden perch measuring over 50cm have been caught over the last month. The most productive golden perch fishing has been around the timbered areas of the lake.

Small numbers of golden

perch have also been caught around the edges of the rocky shorelines. Trolling these banks with a medium-sized hardbody in a depth range of 3-4m has been working.

Casting lipless crankbaits parallel to the rocky banks and retrieving these lures in a similar depth range has also been producing some good golden perch.

The majority of anglers

fishing Lake Eppalock are targeting redfin and good numbers are still being caught. Anglers need to be prepared to move around a lot in order to find a good concentration of fish.

Recently I have been finding my best concentrations of redfin in a depth range of 8m. Trolling deep diving hardbody lures such as Custom Crafted Basshunter and Australian Crafted Invaders has been working well. Casting soft plastics and blades has also been productive for the redfin.

CAMPASPE RIVER The productivity in the fishing in the Campaspe River has been lower than normal so far. The good news is that conditions are improving and the productivity in the fishing has improved over recent weeks.

Water clarity continues to slowly improve and water temperatures have increased over the last month. Lately small numbers of redfin and average numbers of golden perch are being caught in the

Campaspe River.

The most productive lure options for the redfin have been soft plastics and small hardbody lures, while the most productive lure options for the golden perch have been spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits. The occasional Murray cod has also been caught. The most productive lure choice for these have been spinnerbaits during the day and surface lures during periods of reduced light.

CAIRN CURRAN While the water clarity is still poor, it’s slowly improving. Redfin are making up most of anglers’ captures. Bait fishing around the trees and casting soft plastics and hopping them along the bottom have been the best techniques on the redfin. Small numbers of golden perch have been caught at this location and most of these have been around the rocky shorelines and the edges of standing timber.

LODDON RIVER The water clarity is still

patchy in the Loddon River system. It has been poor in the Newbridge area but good at both the Bridgewater and Serpentine sections of the system. The productivity in the fishing has been good lately. There has been some good fishing in the Loddon River directly below Cairn Curran and Laanecoorie weirs when there has been a flush let down the system.

There are currently good numbers of golden perch being caught in the Loddon River. Casting and retrieving hardbody lures and lipless crankbaits have been working well. The most productive fishing continues to be in the first and last couple of hours of daylight.

Murray cod are proving a bit harder to catch but reasonable numbers are being caught by anglers fishing at night with surface lures. Small numbers of Murray cod are also being caught on swimbaits.

Spinnerbaits have also been working well during periods of reduced light.

Feb is for poppers and hoppers WST/STH GIPPS

Steve Haughton steve@habitatcreations.com.au

This month is all about surface action freshwater fishing. Blue Rock Lake bass will be feeding off the surface during dusk and dawn, retreating to deeper waters during the heat of the day.

Stream trout will be doing much the same.

Surface fishing is an exciting sport requiring vigilance and stealth.

Spotting for surface activity, matching the hatch (which is relevant for fly anglers and lure anglers) and stealthily approaching a feeding zone will result in a much more successful outing.

Blue Rock Lake has many coves around the lake’s shoreline and up the Tanjil River Arm, which present sheltered areas where bass can be easily spotted feeding on the surface in the early morning or late afternoon.

They tend to be much more active on the surface in well

TARGET

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

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

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

P:Roger: 0427 483 286

E:codhuntertours@bigpond.com

www.codhunter.com.au 96

FEBRUARY 2018

shaded areas. The sound of a surface feeding bass could be best described as an aggressive popping or gulping sound.

Trout, carp and redfin also feed off the surface when conditions are right but the noise and action of a bass is quite distinct and something you’ll pick up in time. Move your boat or kayak quietly into casting distance; this is where an electric motor or paddle can be very advantageous. Even a boat that doesn’t have an electric motor should consider drifting and using an oar or paddle to move the boat into position.

Blue Rock bass are starting to reach trophy sizes of over 40cm and there are many fish being caught and released on a weekly basis around the mid-30cm. Even fish around 20cm give you a run for your money on light gear! A good setup for surface fishing is a 6’6-7ft rod with a weight rating of 2-4kg fitted with a 10002500 class reel. An 8lb line or braid is the norm with an 8-12lb leader, depending on the season. Most anglers will start to increase their leader to 12lb at this time of the year as the bass pull harder into the snags when hitting surface lures.

When the cicadas are buzzing, you can’t go past cicada imitation surface lures. Cast out towards a surface-feeding bass and retrieve slowly, pausing

between winds. Remember the phrase ‘match the hatch’; this is important when lure fishing too.

If bass are feeding on cicadas, then it’s best to have a small range of colours and sizes to suit.

Poppers and bent minnows are great fun to use too and mimic struggling baitfish or frogs on the surface.

It’s important to retrieve surface lures slowly especially within potential strike zones. As the lure gets closer to the boat then maybe up the pace so you can get the lure back out to the feeding zone.

Grasshoppers will start emerging this month and provide stream trout their staple diet. If you carry around a small landing net, try scooping up a few hoppers to use on a hook and cast out unweighted.

Fly anglers will be tying on dry flies to mimic the local grasshoppers, which vary from small brown wingless grasshoppers to the much larger yellowwinged locust.

Like bass, stream trout are best targeted in the early morning or late afternoon.

Sneak up to potential trout feeding zones and assess the best spot to cast. Often you’ll only get one cast in before you either get a strike or spook the fish. If you are well hidden then your chances are much higher. Wearing waders is recommended at this time of the year as stealthy bank

Kirsten Fitzpatrick with a healthy trout caught on worms in the Morwell River recently near Boolarra. Many of these lesser-known fishing rivers hold quality trout and are worth a look. strolling and sunbaking snakes do not mix.

They always say to make as much noise as you can when walking in potential snake habitat, but unfortunately this doesn’t work well with stream trout fishing. A good tough pair of waders will allow you to wade the stream or walk comfortably on the bank if certain sections can’t be traversed in the water.

The rivers to try this month are the Latrobe River around Noojee,

Toorongo River along the Toorongo Valley Road, Loch Creek and Bunyip River. These are goodsized streams that will have plenty of water in them over summer and have plenty of feed to keep trout active.

Feel free to send me a report or photo, particularly if you have any success stories over the summer holidays with the family and please email me any questions.

Happy fishing!

Hoping for the right weather and water levels CRATER LAKES

Rod Shepherd

The lakes are a tad touch and go with the summer weather making a fair show.

While the water levels in our lakes are ok at the moment, the surface temperature is sitting in the mid 20s.

It’s a well-known fact that trout do not like warmth and that is what we have in all of

our sweetwater locations. Our Crater Lakes have the depth for the fish but we also have plenty of shallower lakes that when full, are battling to reach depths around 5m.

This is no good for the salmonoids. It’s fine for the redfin; in fact it generally fires them up, so don’t think for a moment that it’s all doom and gloom. Early autumnal rains will fix this in a jiffy if it happens. It’s all down to the

Another Elingamite boater enjoying the current redfin bonanza.

toss of a weather coin.

Lake Bullen Merri has a full-blown case of blue-green algae, which it has had for some time. This was only recognised by the authorities in December.

The fish are still biting, but I would recommend not keeping any fish for consumption.

Most of the catches seem to be the Chinook salmon, which this lake is now known for.

The fish are being caught in a wide variety of weights from just a few hundred grams to well over 2kg.

Both bank anglers and boaters are catching their fair share. However, since the algal outbreak, few visiting anglers are venturing down to this neck of the woods.

Fishing from the bank has accounted for most fish.

Various baits left to sit on the bottom work well, as has casting soft plastics. Local fishing guru Ken Carmen can attest to this. Ken specializes

in using Fish Arrow 3 and 4” Minnow Shads and Huddles and has landed many fish from the shoreline in recent times.

Recently the water levels at Lake Elingamite seemed to be coping well but another month of warm, dry weather could change that for the worst.

We will have to wait and see.

Plenty of boaters with shallow draught craft not exceeding 4m can still easily get out.

I have been fishing this lake a lot recently and while the trout captures have receded, the redfin captures have really increased. Casting and trolling medium diving lures in 2.5-3m depth has worked extremely well for myself and many others. Concentrating your efforts on working the clear water close to the weed growth; this seems to coerce the fish into leaving their camouflaged home to investigate your offer.

All medium diving minnow lures are good.

It’s great to take home a solid Elingamite fish such as this one. The lake is famous for its thumpers.

Lake Purrumbete is still firing for school redfin and large brown trout. The reddies can be found in 12-16m depth and schools can be easily spotted just hanging off the bottom. Jigging plastics and lures as well as bait is the way to attract a bite or three.

Browns approaching 10lb are still being caught in small numbers – they don’t get that

big by being stupid. Many anglers are keeping their methods a secret. Working the shoreline either casting or trolling lures at first and last light is a proven method. At this stage, downrigging during the day at depths exceeding 10m isn’t necessary. That could change within a blink of an eye if a thermocline layer forms.

Crowds are gone and fishing looks good MELB METRO

Dylan Brennan

With the New Year celebrations and time off work a somewhat distant memory, many lakes and local fishing haunts will be much quieter. The yearly grind has begun and many have just finished up their holiday fishing, while there is still some good fishing to be had.

Many a local angler will be seen around the metro waterways, and for good reason. While the crowds are quiet the fishing will pick up on the local scene – depending on your target species you could only be minutes away from your ideal fishing location.

The middle reaches of

the Yarra River have thrown some decent Murray cod up for persistent fishers over the last few weeks. For anglers looking at connecting to one this summer, maximise your chances by fishing lures, as well as bait. A solid bunch of fat scrubbies or bardi grubs will normally get the attention of a hungry cod, while the annoying ‘in my personal space’ vibration and flash of many modern-age cod lures will turn a well-fed cod into a green and gold maniac looking to swat away any hook-fitted intruder.

Spinnerbaits and large buoyant hardbodies are the go if you are fishing during the day, with big noisy surface paddlers and crawlers providing entertainment after dark. If you are lucky enough to land a mighty Yarra cod,

There are loads of these little guys to catch locally over the warmer months. Photo courtesy of Morgan Taggert. just remember to look after these fish by supporting the belly with one hand and gently holding the bottom jaw with a good set of lip grips.

Around the suburbs themselves, most of the family fishing lakes have been

producing the odd trout from pre-Christmas stockings by Fisheries Victoria. To make the most of these close waterways make sure you have the correct bait, berley and tackle setup to catch these fish.

Long, light-tipped

rods spooled with 4-6lb monofilament are the go for detecting subtle bites, while a feeder cage packed full of berley towards the business end should ensure that the fish are coming to you, rather than you trying to them. The most consistent lakes around the suburbs recently have been Karkarook Park Lake, Caulfield Racecourse Lake and Rowville Lakes. Even if the trout are a bit slow, redfin, carp or roach will normally keep you busy.

Emerald Lake is another hidden gem stocked with trout near the outer southeastern suburbs. Situated just below the picturesque township of Emerald, Emerald Lake is frequently stocked with rainbow trout to be caught by angling families over the school holidays.

The lake itself isn’t a huge body of water, but it does have plenty of fish habitat from dense weed growth to scattered rock piles. All the usual urban lake fishing methods listed above work here.

PowerBait, maggots and worms are some of the best baits to try. Lure and fly anglers catch a few fish here as well, as there are plenty of natural prey items for the trout to chase down amongst the structure.

• 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.

Hot weather brings on the bass CTL GIPPSLAND

Will Thompson

on the warmer nights when there isn’t much wind. This season seems to be producing

some better size fish with quite a few fish in excess of 40cm being taken from the

allwaysangling@bigpond.com

Gippsland has become a bit of an Australian bass Mecca these days since Fisheries have been stocking the region heavily over the past decade. Summer is the time the bass fishos wait for as the warmer waters really get those bass feeding and it’s when we start to see those awesome surface bites that bass are renowned for.

Blue Rock Lake has been fishing consistently and some of the gun anglers have been lucky enough to get good surface bites with cicada-style lures like the Tiemco cicadas

A 40cm bass caught on a ZMan Diesel Minnow.

lake over the past month. Lake Glenmaggie is another local lake that has been fishing well.

The winds have been an issue this month, but on the nice afternoons, the bass have been responding well to hardbodies or 2.5-4”soft plastics cast into the snags or edges and there been some cracking bass taken in excess of 40cm. On evening the cicada bites have been huge and anglers have been catching some big bass to 44cm on Tiemco Cicadas and frog-style popper lures.

• For more information, contact Will at Allways Angling on (03) 5174 8544.

You will get expert advice and great deals on fishing bait and tackle.

A healthy 36cm bass caught on a Tiemco Cicada.

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DIY Lure Making

DIY lure making: Pop‘n’Doc BRISBANE

Greg Vinall support@makewoodenlures.com

I thought for our final project of this beginner’s lure making series we might do something a little different. So this month we’ll make a little surface popper to take advantage of the upcoming autumn surface bite.

The Pop‘n’Doc is a very simple lure to make and a lot of fun if you like splashy strikes on light lines. Ideal for throwing at bream, whiting, trevally, saratoga, sooties, bass and other small to medium surface feeders, you’ll quickly become addicted to flicking this little guy around our inland and estuarine waters!

Surface poppers vary tremendously in the amount of commotion they create, which is a function of the size, depth and angle of the concave mouth at the front of the lure.

To make a splashy lure, the concave surface needs to be large, so noisy poppers are often oversized at the front to maximise the space for this feature.

That’s great if you’re targeting aggressive or inquisitive species in windy conditions, but often you’ll want a more subtle approach that doesn’t send timid

species scurrying off for cover. The Pop‘n’Doc has a small mouth and creates a gentle ‘pop’ that throws a little splash of water forward on each pulse. It sits close to horizontal at rest, making it perfect for still, quiet water fishing.

FISHING WITH THE POP‘N’DOC The Pop‘n’Doc is very much a light tackle lure.

I generally prefer 2-3kg braid and a matching mono leader. Braid and mono is generally a good line/leader combination for surface fishing, because both the line and leader float.

Fluorocarbon may be great for its low visibility and high abrasion resistance, but it sinks, which can spoil the action of a small surface lure.

Make sure you attach your popper to the leader with a good loop knot like Lefty’s Loop. All hardbody lures perform best if they have freedom to move at the end of the line.

I like a light, reasonably fast taper rod for finesse popping. Unlike stickbaits and gliders, I don’t want a smooth, flowing action when I’m fishing poppers.

It’s beneficial for the lure to move in short, sharp jerks that maximise the effectiveness of the popper mouth in creating audible

splashes and pops.

Spin gear is usually my preference, and make sure the spool is full for maximum casting distance.

Throwing small, lightweight lures on baitcast gear can be frustrating, so I’d usually avoid it.

Like stickbaits and gliders, small poppers tend to perform best if you give them just a little slack line between twitches. Often the strike will come when the lure is stationary, during a pause between twitches, so don’t be afraid to let the lure sit momentarily.

Pop‘n’Doc is a great option over shallow weedbeds for bass and estuary perch, through shallow, snag dotted flats for saratoga, or around shoals and oyster leases for bream. The key is not to rush it. After you make a cast, let the lure sit stationary for a few moments before you start to retrieve. This allows the fish to come and investigate the source of the splash and often results in an aggressive strike the instant you start moving the lure.

You can play around with the cadence until you find what’s working on the day.

MAKING THE POP‘N’DOC We’ll use the same materials as we have for all of our projects: balsa

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for the lure body, a little stainless steel wire, some size 000 ball sinkers, and a good epoxy adhesive like 24hr Araldite. You also need some paint and clear coat to tart the lure up, of course.

I used a round-nosed burr to make the concave mouth for this lure. You’ll find these with the drill bits in larger hardware stores.

Alternatively, a countersink bit or a rotary tool like a Dremel can do a pretty good job too.

Painting lures is nearly always for the angler more than the fish, and that’s especially true for surface lures like poppers, where the fish are approaching

Tools Utility knife, battery drill and bits, hacksaw, pliers.

Materials • 12.5mm x 75mm balsa plank • 1-1.2mm stainless steel wire • 120 and 240 grit sand paper • 240 grit wet sanding paper • Epoxy adhesive (with syringes and mixing sticks) • Ball sinkers (size 000) • Methylated Spirit • Rotary burr, countersink bit or Dremel tool from below and mostly see just a silhouette.

Still, painting is fun! I’ve airbrushed the poppers I made for this article in a frog pattern, which seems appropriate, since frogs are a common food item for surface-feeding fish.

WANT MORE LURE MAKING LESSONS? I have an online

Template: 1 Square = 1cm

crankbait-making course that will take you through all of the basics. In it I show you how to make a couple of great crankbait projects, give a bunch of painting tips and provide some downloadable templates. It’s 100% free and you can sign up for it at thecrankbaitmasterclass. com.

100% Scale

Visit www.MakeWoodenLures.com/Fishing-Monthly/ to download all the templates in this series.

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Glue some sandpaper to a flat block and with your lure blank on a flat surface, sand the edges square. Use a curved sanding block to clean up the concave edge on the underside of the lure. Gently remove timber until you’ve shaped down to the profile you marked in Step 1.

Cut out the template and trace the side profile onto a piece of 12mm thick balsa wood. Use a utility knife to cut away most of the waste, but stop just short of the lines you marked.

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Mark a centre line and then the locations of the tow point and hook hangers. Drill a 2mm hole for each of these items, plus a 5mm hole where the belly weight will be.

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Mark the top profile on the blank using the template provided, then cut away the waste with your utility knife. Finish by squaring the blank again using your sanding block. One of the advantages of hand carved poppers (as opposed lathe turned ones) is that you can create more complex body shapes. Pop‘n’Doc has a slightly concave belly area, which allows it to sit slightly tail-down at rest. I mark carving lines fairly close to the edge of the blank on all four sides and remove the small amount of waste with the knife.

Then I sand the lure until the body is roughly circular in cross section.

DIY Lure Making 6

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Make some stainless steel twist eyes and glue them into the tail and belly hook hanger holes with 24hr, super strength epoxy. While you’re at it, glue the belly weight in place, making sure it sits neatly below the surface of the wood. Then put a little more epoxy on top to fill the hole. Set your lures aside to cure, then trim away the excess epoxy using a knife. Finish by sanding the epoxy flush with the wood. Don’t glue the tow point in just yet, as we’ll need to smooth the popper mouth after hardening the wood.

Using the rotary burr in my battery drill I make the concave mouth of the popper. I find that a high drill speed and light pressure makes for a clean and controlled cut. Start with the burr at an angle to the wood and then straighten it up as the mouth starts to deepen.

FINISHED LURE

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Harden the balsa using some thinned epoxy. You can get full instructions for this on my website at https://makewoodenlures.com/lure-bodies-hardeningsealing/. Then set your lures aside for a further 24 hours (minimum) before sanding off the gloss with 240 grit wet sanding paper. Use your rotary burr with light pressure to de-gloss the epoxy inside the mouth of the lure. Glue your tow point into the lure with epoxy, wiping away any excess glue with a rag soaked in metho. Now you’re ready to paint and clear coat your lure!

• For extra information and video tutorials please go to Greg’s website MakeWoodenLures.com/Fishing-Monthly/ and complete the free registration. To check out Greg’s other work visit crazylureart. com and his Facebook page Wooden Lure Making.

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99

Tech Tricks

Mix and match bladed baits and skirted lures BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

There are many factors believed to trigger a strike from predatory fish species. Vibration, flash, erratic movement, colour, curiosity, territorial aggression and scent are a few of the more prominent factors. For anglers, getting as many of these factors into your presentation as possible often means the difference between success and failure.

While there are many great lures on the market, and many can be enhanced to make them more attractive to certain species. This is especially the case with soft plastics. Most of these emit great action yet lack flash and vibration. Thinking anglers can solve this problem with a little ingenuity.

Additionally, many anglers will have a particular profile or style of soft plastic that they like to fish in a certain area, however some days they will need a little more enticement. Adding blades to your jighead rigged

plastics will increase the vibration and flash emitted.

Various skirting materials, such as spinnerbait skirts, add pulsing movement and colour to your offering.

Having numerous soft plastic styles and colours, various blade sizes, styles and finishes and a selection of spinnerbait skirts at your disposal will allow you to customise a lure to suit your situation. Various jighead weights allow a lure to be customised for all water depths. Combined, this gives you a massive array of lure options.

This is especially handy when you’re going to fish unfamiliar water and aren’t sure what depths or types of terrain the fish are holding at. You can quickly adjust or create a new lure in the desired colour, weight and action using the components at your disposal.

While getting some stuff together for an upcoming cod fishing trip to Glenlyon Dam, I began exploring a few options. Big and boisterous is usually best for cod, so I have rigged many larger plastics as well as some smaller offerings to tempt

the golden perch population.

Although I already have a healthy box of spinnerbaits, I additionally created some larger profiled, big bladed baits featuring some of my favourite plastics. I would also have liked to use ZMan or Boom Bait plastics, due to their durability. However these plastics feature the 10X material, which reacts badly with spinnerbait skirt material and other plastics, so I needed to use other brands for pre-rigged offerings.

If you’re going to make up baits featuring plastics made from 10X, rig them, use them and then disassemble them, otherwise you’ll just have a big gooey mess in your bait box next time you open it. Let’s look at a few different ways to enhance your soft baits with blades and skirts.

These are just a few possibilities for your own creations using numerous types of blades and spinnerbait skirts. The options are endless and you can create an offering with the right colour, profile, weight and action to suit your chosen species or fishing situation.

There are a lot of great plastics and components you can use. These are the items the author started with to create some lures – the Bassman spinnerbait skirts, Decoy Flashin’ Blade jig blades, Halco Fish Rings and Crosslock Snaps, Norman Speed Clips and TT HeadlockZ jigheads will be used to rig the PowerBaits, Keitechs and Chasebaits. You can keep excess components to quickly create a few specific offerings while on the water. Tackle Tactics have a great array of single, and twin bladed arms that easily attach to any jighead under their TT and Tribe brands.

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To make the first lure, use a PowerBait 4.5” Rib Shad, TT 3/4oz 7/0 HeadlockZ, TT HD no. 4 Jig Spinner and a Bassman spinnerbait skirt.

For a slightly larger profile, the Keitech 6.8” Fat Swing Impact would be suitable.

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Push the skirt right up the hook shank and over the moulded keeper so that it sits on the shank directly behind the head. When the skirting material is folded back, the majority of the strands will be a similar length.

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You’ll notice that the band on a spinnerbait skirt is not in the middle. This is so that the longer side can fold back and be a similar length as the shorter side. Push the hook point through the retainer band from the longer side as shown.

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Put the soft plastic on the hook so that it is straight, as you would rig for normal use. Attach the TT HD Jig Blade to the eyelet of the jighead via the pigtail attachment. You would now attach your line with a blood knot or sliding uni knot to the small kink in the wire blade arm. This bait is now ready to fish with a slow rolling retrieve or a series of winds and pauses.

Tech Tricks

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For this next creation you will need a TT 3/4oz 8/0 HeadlockZ jighead, spinnerbait skirt, TT Tribe Twin Jig Spinner no. 3 and a Chasebait 6” Curly Bait (in pearl prawn colour). With any of these jig spinner blade attachments you can also change out the blade (i.e. Colorado for willow) easily as they are attached to the arm with a small split ring.

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Put the skirt on the jighead as with the previous lure. Place the jighead beside the plastic to work out the hook placement keeping in mind that the plastic will just go to the back of the spinnerbait skirt, not the rear of the head.

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Put the plastic on the hook so that it’s straight and then slide the twin blade arms out so they spread and attach it to the eye of the jighead. You may want to widen the arms further to increase the profile of the bait. Your line will attach to the wire circle from which the two wire arms are protruding.

This big bait is ideal for Murray cod.

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For our next offering, a bladed jig, we will use a Keitech Crazy Flapper 4.4”. This is a creature bait that doesn’t necessarily imitate anything too closely, yet it has a load of appeal. You’ll need to spread the tail pieces until it looks like this, as they are joined together for packaging purposes.

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Put the spinnerbait skirt on the TT HeadlockZ 3/8oz 5/0XH jighead and then impale the plastic so that it presents straight as shown.

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Put the Halco Crosslock no. 4 snap through the lower eyelet on the Decoy Flashin’ Blade (size L). Next put the snap swivel setup supplied with your blade through the other two holes from the curved side of the blade as shown and clip it shut.

This supplied clip could also be replaced with another Halco Crosslock no. 4 snap.

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Attach the small end of the Halco snap to the split ring. Proper split ring pliers will make the task easier. Your bladed bait should look like this with the curvature of the blade facing forward. When hopped or slowly rolled the blade will rock from side to side, creating flash and vibration.

Similar to the first two lures, this offering is a smaller one that would suit bass, yellowbelly, saratoga and the like. This lure is made with the new Saltwater 3.7” PowerBait, a spinnerbait skirt, TT Jigspinner Blade #3 (standard guage) and a TT HeadlockZ 3/8oz 5/0XH jighead. Put the spinnerbait skirt on the jighead, and then the plastic on the hook.

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Put a Halco no. 4 Fish Ring on the eyelet of the hook. This is required because the eye of the jighead is at the wrong angle to attach the blade and you can’t open the eye of the jighead hook to put the blade straight onto it. However, using a split ring is a heavy duty rigging option for chasing cod and the like.

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Another option for rigging this lure (say for use on line classes up to 10kg) for species such as bass, golden perch, flathead and the like is to replace the split ring and crosslock snap with a small Norman Speed clip. Once you have the blade setup you can easily add or remove it from any jigheadrigged bait by opening the Speed Clip.

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Push the plastic up onto the moulded keeper and fold back the skirt. Attach the blade to the eye on the jighead via the clip mechanism. You can trim the spinnerbait skirt a bit if you wish.

I like the way the longer skirt pulses around the tail. Attach your line to the loop on the blade arm.

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING SAMAKI VIBELICIOUS 1 UV SQUID

DTD WHITE KILLER OITA

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

This new pattern is all about the detail. It has long tentacles extending over the tail, and a soft spot and stripe details add the pearl underbody plus a very lifelike green eye. This colour has proven itself time and time again in field testing around Australia, accounting for barra, mulloway, bream and flathead to name a few. The fish-attracting features of the Vibelicious Fork Tail and Thumper Tail are further enhanced by the ultra-violet properties of the new UV Squid colour.

The Vibelicious Fork Tail and Thumper Tail come in three sizes: 70mm, 100mm and 125mm. The 100mm and 125mm models have now been upgraded with new BKK Raptor Z Hooks and new Decoy EX Strong split rings. New quality hardware like this assists longevity and promotes better hookups, as the hook penetration is on point.

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

The White Killer Oita is the latest innovative European squid jig to hit the Australian market. Manufactured by leading Croatian company DTD, this baby is taking the world by storm.

Unlike any other product in the market, the defining difference is the White Killer cannot help but be noticed by any lurking predators. Made with all the durability and quality you’d expect from DTD, it is bright, attractive, and features three unique ‘glow’ points. The body of the jig omits a green glow in night conditions, and the coloured ‘spine’ is UV enhanced and ensures high visibility during daytime conditions. And as if that wasn’t enough, the side of the lure features a blue glow point to once again enhance visibility.

These glow qualities, coupled with DTD’s use of only the highest grade materials available, ensure great balance and results in superior catching ability. The White Killer Oita is available now in three sizes (2.5, 3.0, and 3.5).

Price: SRP $17.95 www.dogtoothdistribution.com.au

WILSON LARGE LURE WRAP

SAMURAI OSPREY BOAT RODS

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The arrival of the Wilson Large Lure Wrap has allowed lovers of big lures to keep themselves, their lures and their rods safe from the rigours of travel on the water and during transport.

The damage that can be caused to a rod blank, the bindings and the guides can be quite significant if you travel any distance in a boat with lures rigged (as almost all of us do). The Wilson Large Lure Wrap stops this damage by protecting the rod blank from a wildly swinging and swaying lure. Measuring 26cm x 28cm, the Large Lure Wrap securely encloses both the lure and the rod, stopping the lure from banging around while you are underway.

Additionally, the wrap reduces the risk of anglers catching themselves on the hooks, and allows for better storage of rigged rods, whether in rod lockers or in rod stands.

The Large Lure Wrap comes in a single pack and measures 26cm x 28cm. It is simple, effective and one of those products that you can’t believe you didn’t think of yourself. www.wilsonfishing.com

OBSESSION GUMMY 3 BAITS Large spinnerbaits to target big Murray cod are a must-have for serious native fish anglers. Australian-made Obsession Spinnerbaits have plenty of options in their Gummy Bait range to meet the needs of these anglers.

Available in 3/4oz, 1oz and 1 1/8oz and four blade configurations (single, double, quad and six blades on request), Gummy Baits are designed to tickle the fancy of Australia’s largest freshwater fish. There is a huge range of head colours, which are matched with Obsession’s hot tip and turbo-flared skirts and finished off with a curl-tail grub and stinger hook to match the head. If you love casting or trolling large spinnerbaits, Obsession Gummy baits are for you.

To find out more about Obsession Spinnerbaits you can contact Ray on 0428 462 397, or to find your nearest stockist go to the Obsession Spinnerbaits website. www.obsessionspinnerbaits.com 102

FEBRUARY 2018

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Samurai has released a new series of all-rounder boat rods with user-friendly actions and a wide weight range, perfect for any offshore boat style fishing.

These very versatile rods can be used for bait fishing, lures, trolling, casting or for the keen jigger.

Each rod is fitted with the finest rod components by Fuji — anti-tangle K Frame guides with alconite rings and Fuji reel seats.

The grips are custom shaped and the rods are pimped out with aluminium decorative parts for some essential bling. A premium rubber gimbal cap is dual purpose: fit it into your rod holder or hold it freestyle. There’s no need for those annoying caps anymore that everyone loses!

There are six models, all 6’0”: OS-25 (1525lb, spin), OS-40 (20-40lb, spin), S-60 (3060lb, spin), OS-H25 (15-25lb, overhead), OSOH40 (20-40lb overhead), OS-OH60 (30-60lb overhead). www.frogleysoffshore.com.au

EGI OH Q LIVE COLOURS

PRODUCT GUIDE

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The Yamashita Egi Oh Q Live series has eight new high-contrast colours added to its range. These incorporate UV and glow paint to create a unique contrast to the cloth and undertape.

Like all Live jigs, they are fitted with the ‘warm jacket’ cloth which converts light into heat. This capacity to hold a level of heat similar to natural fish makes the Lives more successful in attracting squid interest, helping you to catch squid even when conditions are tough.

These jigs also have a patented thin nose design, which minimises water resistance when hopped to give the jig more action for less effort. Other features include large, flat eyes with a glow edge, super fine spikes, Hyper Direct SUS eyelet to maintain jig strength and protect against breakage or leaks, a knife-edged sinker to reduce resistance in the water, and a strike body to make it easy to retrieve the jig. It also has a much longer casting distance than many other jigs, and comes in 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5 sizes. www.ejtodd.com.au

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING STORM GOMOKU SURF RODS

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No one knows what crustacean or insect ZMan’s new creature bait is meant to imitate, but the TRD HogZ has already accounted for a stack of species in both the fresh and salt.

Plenty of moving parts, in the form of large antennae and fine legs, create vibration and water movement, while the natural buoyancy of the 10X Tough ElaZtech material encourages an ‘antennae up’, life-like pose when at rest on the bottom. This buoyancy, combined with TT Lures’ new NedlockZ jighead, creates a deadly stand-up presentation that reduces snagging and puts those antennae right in the face of the fish, triggering strikes.

A ribbed body adds to the realistic feel and creates additional water movement, while also being perfect for holding scent. A solid core allows the TRD HogZ to be trimmed shorter for a more finesse presentation.

Available in six natural colours, the TRD HogZ is a go-to for anglers chasing bream, bass, trout, redfin, flathead and more.

Price: SRP $10.95 (6 pack) www.z-man.com.au

CODGER TOPWATER

ET’S FISHING ADVENTURES

LUMO SNAPPER SNATCHER

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The world renowned Storm Gomoku micro and light jigging rods are the ultimate weapon for all manner of vertical fishing in both salt and fresh water – and they are now available for surf and rock fishers as well.

Light and powerful, the new Gomoku surf rods have soft tips for casting distance and accuracy but plenty of power in the lower end to be able to stop even the biggest mulloway or Australian salmon.

They feature hi-modulus graphite blanks, colour-coded shrink wrap grips, Fuji KR Stripper Guides, Fuji O Guides and Fuji Reel seats.

Gomoku surf rods are available in three lengths of 9ft 2-piece medium heavy, 12’ 2-piece medium, and 13’ 3-piece heavy.

Line breaking strains range from 8kg up to 15kg on the heaviest model, and lure casting weights start at 30g all the way through to 150g. They are available now at all leading tackle retailers. www.stormfishing.com.au

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Graham Saunders, the man behind Goulburn Lures, has expanded his Codger range into the topwater market with his Codger Topwater.

Easy to use, these super strong lures have a super loud clacking and splashing action that will tempt even the most fussy Murray cod. Available in nine colours, they come equipped with double rear split rings and are fitted with VMC 3X tough trebles for an increased hook-up rate.

The Codger Topwater has a medium sized profile that can be cast using your standard cod fishing tackle. No need for specialised rods and reels – just put a Codger Topwater on and you can experience the cod surface fishing that everybody is talking about. Or if you just love catching Australian native fish using surface lures, then here is another quality offering from an Australian lure maker that is a must-have for your tackle box.

Price: SRP $25 goulburn.lures@bigpond.com

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ZMAN 3” TRD HOGZ

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Black Magic Snapper Snatcher flasher rigs have landed some serious fish over the years, and it’s not by luck.

Australian anglers continue to swear by their quality, and constantly send Black Magic great fish photos and feedback. Now the range has been further improved with the exciting new super lumo colour.

This new rig is tied with the popular KL recurve hooks and Tough Trace, but what makes it stand out is the ‘flash’ colour, Super Lumo. The rigs tied with this material out-performed many other products during field testing, and this is due to their high luminosity and UV content. And you can also ‘super charge’ them with a Black Magic UV Torch.

Snapper Snatcher super lumo rigs are available in sizes 5/0, 6/0 and 8/0. For more information visit the Black Magic website, or look them up on Facebook for all the latest catch photos, news and competitions. www.blackmagictackle.com

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ET’s Ultimate Fishing Adventures features Andrew Ettingshausen’s favourite fishing destinations with hundreds of his wonderful images, essential tips and background stories of adventure. This is the ideal book for any casual or novice angler who dreams of landing the perfect catch. While reading its photo-filled pages you will explore some of the most beautiful fishing destinations across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Isles with ‘ET’ as your guide.

ET’s extensive fishing experience makes him a knowledgeable and well-rounded author. While filming Escape with ET and Seafood Escape, he has travelled all around Australia, trekking inland to its rivers and gorges and fishing the deep blue oceans offshore to find the best fishing destinations.

His adventures have also taken him to New Zealand, the Pacific Isles and countless islands and territories around our continent.

ET’s Ultimate Fishing Adventures, published by New Holland Publishers, is available from all good bookstores or from the New Holland website.

Price: SRP $49.99 www.newhollandpublishers.com

HURRICANE FAT 37 12 SHALLOW CRANK Hurricane Lures is continuing to expand its range of tournament-tested quality lures, which are not only suitable for the tournament angler but the everyday angler as well. The new Fat 37 Shallow Crank is a shallow-running lure with a fast, wide action, designed to draw attention from predators in a large area. It is ideal to use over weed beds, rock banks, sand flats and any other fishy looking structure.

Suspending in freshwater and slow sinking in saltwater, it runs at a depth of just under a metre. Weighing 4.4g it has great castability, allowing you to cover large areas of water. It also comes in a huge range of colours suitable for any situation.

To check out the Fat 37 and the rest of the lures in the range, go to the Hurricane website or look for them in your local tackle store. You can also find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HurricaneAustralia and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/ HurricaneLures. www.hurricanelures.com.au

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au FEBRUARY 2018

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING BERKLEY POWERBAIT POWERPOP FROG 13 A favourite meal of just about any freshwater fish is the frog.The new Berkley Power Pop Frog is a unique soft popper with inbuilt PowerBait scent and flavour.

The Power Pop is equipped with a cup face popper at the front end and a mass of trailing legs at the backend combining to give it an action that fish can’t ignore.

The Power Pop Frog comes with a weedless worm hook ready to fish, inbuilt glass rattle and 3D eyes. At 70mm long, plus training legs, the Power Pop Frog is a tasty meal for a variety of freshwater fish that love a surface presentation such as bass, cod, barra and saratoga. It’s available in eight colour variations so you can match the hatch to perfection.

The Power Pop benefits from Berkley’s legendary PowerBait scent infused into every bait. Berkley PowerBait makes novice anglers good, and good anglers great. Berkley scientists have spent over 25 years perfecting an irresistible scent and flavour – the exclusive PowerBait formula. Fish love PowerBait so much they hold on 18 times longer, giving you the time and confidence to feel more bites, set more hooks and catch more fish!

Price: SRP $8.99 Berkley-fishing.com.au

2-PIECE ATOMIC ARROWZ

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Atomic Arrowz rods launched in early 2017, and brought together advanced designs and the finest Fuji components assembled on a full-graphite blank. Designed originally as series of 1-piece rods, they are now available in 2-piece models featuring the same high quality components.

The focus has been on the Estuary, Offshore and Bream models, and ensuring no flat spots through the join to maintain sensitivity. The 2-piece Estuary Series has four models, starting from the finesse 70SUL (2–6lb) up to the 70ML (6-14lb).

The 2-piece Offshore Series delivers superior control across four 7’ spin rods. They feature ultra-refined fore and rear neoprene grips and have an excellent balance. The 2-piece models again have seamless transition.

For the Bream fans there are now 2-piece versions of the Bream Surface 70BS and the Bream Crank 70BC, making transportation and storage easier and safer.

All Atomic Arrowz rods are balanced perfectly to deliver the ultimate feel and bite response, and are lightweight without sacrificing strength.

Price: from SRP $189 www.frogleysoffshore.com.au

NEW COLOURS BULLET LURES

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Bullet Lures have become a favourite for many trout anglers in the form of the Bullet Minnow and the Five-O Minnow. These lures’ popularity has reached the point where users are now demanding more colour options, and Bullet Lures has done so with two new colours: pearl widow and black widow. These very distinctive patterns are highlighted with UV-enhanced dots on the side of the lures, adding even more attraction to the lure.

The new colours will be available in the sinking 3cm Bullet Minnow and all three styles of the Five-O Minnow (floating, suspending/ slow sink and sinking). If you are already a fan of Bullet Lures you will want these, and if you haven’t tried Bullets you should get into your local tackle store and check them out. You 104

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can also browse the range on the Bullet Lures website. www.bulletlures.com

NEW MONO FROM SHIMANO

PRODUCT GUIDE 13

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Shimano has released three new mono lines: Exage+, Tiagra Hyper, and Tiagra Leader.

Exage+ is a fine diameter Japanese manufactured monofilament with excellent clarity and super sensitivity. It has a soft feel with low memory so it lays neatly onto the spool. It’s ideal for floater fishing for snapper or even surf fishing for species such as salmon.

The new Tiagra Hyper gamefishing line uses premium class Japanese IGFA-rated nylon monofilament that combines high abrasion resistance with optimal stretch. It’s available in invisible clear blue and high-vis fluorescent yellow in 15kg, 24kg and 37kg breaking strains in 1000m spools (15kg and 24kg breaking strains are also available in bulk).

Manufactured in Japan, the new Tiagra Premium Nylon Mono Leader is significantly tougher in abrasion resistance than standard nylon, and offers the very best in knot and crimp strength. Available in 20-150lb, the leader is suited to making rigs for snapper right through to trolling leaders for marlin. www.shimanofish.com.au

NEW FLUTTER JIG COLOURS

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Black Magic’s Flutter Jigs are designed to create a fluttering effect when dropping and retrieving, and are built with highquality components to ensure anglers are getting the most bang for their buck.

Now Black Magic has introduced two new colours to the range that are sure to turn on the predatory instincts of many species. The new colours are silver with orange and lumo stripes, and blue with lumo stripes.

Flutter jigs come in four sizes, 40g, 60g, 80g and 100g. The 60g, 80g and 100g sizes are supplied rigged with a high strength assist hook rigged on Kevlar thread. The 40g model has a lighter gauge hook more suited to the size of the jig, and it also uses Kevlar thread.

Flutter jigs are available from Black Magic stockists nationwide. For more information visit the Black Magic website or like them on Facebook. www.blackmagictackle.com

TICA TACTICA GCA REEL

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The new Tactica Baitcasting reel certainly fits the bill for the angler looking for a small baitcaster for species like bass, estuary perch, trout, redfin and for trolling.

The Tactica baitcaster is packed with excellent features including a one-piece, high-strength aluminium body with a V-shaped, forged machine-cut aluminium spool. It also features a magnetic cast control system, precision-cut brass main gear, quick remove sideplate, soft EVA handles and eight ball bearings, featuring two RRB rust-resistant bearings and six stainless steel ball bearings.

This new reel offers a 6.3:1 high speed retrieve that retrieves 71cm of line per handle turn, and holds 150m of 20lb braid.

It’s a great choice for the beginner right through to the more experienced angler.

For more information visit the Juro website. www.jurofishing.com

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

The revamped Costa range - bigger, better and more affordable US-based sunglass and apparel brand Costa Del Mar have been in the premium eyewear game since 1983, and have been available here in Australia for many years. They have gone through a lot of very important and sometimes industry-defining changes in that time.

The range is now bigger, the quality is better, the price tag has been lowered and they’re now available from one of this country’s largest and best known fishing wholesalers: Rapala VMC Australia.

This move to Rapala brought with it renewed focus, larger distribution networks and a better connection to anglers, and a whole new range was unveiled at the 2017 AFTA Tackle Trade Show on the Gold Coast. What a perfect place to launch new sunglasses! Not only was it warm and sunny, a lot of the patrons were left needing shades all day and even inside, thanks to overindulgent nocturnal activities.

Costa have always been known for lens quality, but in years gone by their range of On the saltwater flats or in the middle of the rainforest picking off carp on fly, if frames wasn’t as diverse as it could be.

With the increasing need of people wanting you’re hoping to sight fish, you’d better take a high quality pair of polarized glasses.

My second pair, the Half Moon, has a slightly smaller frame and lens, and is just as comfortable and easy to wear all day.

For this pair I went for the blue mirror 580 glass lenses, to try something different.

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an alarming rate of 190 sharks a minute.

Mostly for soup! Anything that helps to restore balance and strength to the oceanic ecosystem has my vote every day of the week.

This program, as well as others that are helping coastal villages recover from devastating hurricanes or floods, is just a small example of the charity work Costa is doing at the grass roots level.

But back to the glasses themselves, since that’s what we’re here for, the bulk of my on-water time is spent in small, clear-ish rivers and creeks. I sight cast to most of my fish, and for the rest I rely on spotting a split boulder or submerged laydown where the target species is likely to be. Having the right eyewear in these types of situations can be the difference between a session I’ll be exaggerating about to my grandkids one day, and a dreaded doughnut.

I’ve found the Costas to cut through the glare very well in all manner of lighting, enabling me to target fish quite easily.

In days gone by a 580 glass lens pair of Costas would set you back as much as $500, but right now you can pick up a set for around the $350 mark from your local stockist – and it’s cheaper again for poly lenses. This is a big win for all anglers as we have another $150 to spend on lures we certainly don’t need! The next time you’re

I found the Costa Rincon frames to be comfortable enough to wear all day, and they cut through the glare in all light situations. to wear the same glasses on the water as they do driving around town or at the pub, a freshen up was needed. Costas new range certainly offers this versatility. Gone are the days where we can get away with a pair of $14.95 servo sunnies – we need to protect our eyes and not be shunned by the fairer sex in doing so.

You can even wear the Costas in combination with a 90s-era flap hat to spot pies at the shops on the way to the water.

Most of the old Costa classics remain, but there have been some really cool new styles released that have already been a hit with anglers, myself included.

I’ve worn most of the major sunglass brands over the last 10 years or so, with varying levels of success. Each brand has its strengths. Some have great lenses but the frames are bulky, rigid and heavy; some have lightweight frames but are not as good on the lens front. I’m pleased to say that the Costa Rincon and Half Moon sunglasses I’ve been wearing for the last 6-7 months are the best combination of vision, comfort and style I’ve ever owned. The bride even likes the look of these ones, which hasn’t always been the case with my fishing sunnies. She actually liked them so much we had to go and buy another pair of Costas for her in the Remora model.

The Rincon are a slightly larger frame, which suits my large noggin. I’ve been able to wear them for hours and hours without the discomfort I’ve felt from a couple of other brands over the years. Clarity of vision and the lightweight frames are the standout features for me. I went for the green mirror 580 polarized glass lens, which was described to me as being the best allrounder for the mix of fresh and saltwater fishing I do. They have not disappointed in either field.

Mr Sun was certainly doing his job this day, but spotting this feisty pest wasn’t a problem with the help of the 580 lenses.

Again, I have worn them in both fresh and in your local tackle store, ask about Costa saltwater situations and they have always eyewear and give them a go for yourself. You can thank me later. - Rupe performed very well.

Both pairs are flexible enough that they don’t push into the side of my head too hard, but at the same time they hold firmly enough to not slide down my nose when I look down or bend over to pick up a fish.

While Costa do offer both polycarbonate and glass lenses, once I tried the demo pair of 580 glass on and walked out into the sun for a test drive, I had to go that way. Weight has traditionally been the downfall of glass, but in these new styles the difference was undetectable.

Something else that drew my attention to the Costa brand was how much it’s putting back into our sport and the people who enjoy it or even rely on it. Costa has long been associated with the OCEARCH Another sight cast victim - I took the program, whose goal is to save the world’s sharks from mass slaughter. Every pair of glasses off for the obligatory solo bass fishing selfie, but I wouldn’t have had OCEARCH-branded Costa models helps fund on-water research and put science the opportunity without seeing the fish first in fast-flowing water. on the side of sharks, which are killed at

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How to deal when fishing’s a B-word SUNTAG

Stefan Sawynok

I will confess, I am pretty much up for any topic in fishing. I don’t care how thick the reading material, I once read both the original Fisheries Act of 1994 (Queensland) and the most recent edition just to find how it had changed.

Hint: they murdered the original and buried it in a shallow grave under a pile of rotting tilapia. I don’t care how controversial, I am ready, willing and able to debate both sides of the fish and pain debate (at once).

I certainly don’t care how weird the topic (anyone up for noodling?) however, there is one topic too hot to ever be discussed in a fishing magazine before now – an elephant so big they had to demolish the whole building in a desperate attempt to prevent it from escaping. Unable to resist a challenge I decided I would take on the science of the most controversial topic in the world of fishing – fishing can be super boring.

There; don’t you feel better now that there is a public scientific acknowledgment of something fishers have been anecdotally suggesting for years? If you, like me, find the quieter times in fishing to be some of the best times, here is the science

you have been secretly demanding. Just like Doctor Strangelove, you can learn to stop worrying and love the boredom.

BOREDOM HAS A BAD REPUTATION Did your mother ever tell you that only boring people get bored? Did you lie awake at night fearing you were boring? Boredom has a bad rap sheet, and it’s something that we go out of our way to avoid. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines boredom as: “the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest.”

A common understanding of boredom is the ‘are we there yet’ syndrome of car travel.

Boredom in children is such an obnoxious and insidious problem that all manner of electronic devices have appeared with the magical cure for boredom. I question who the cure is for.

Boredom can be a problem if you have a high-risk-loving personality type. Such personality types get particularly creative in addressing boredom – negative expressions of this range from drug taking, getting drunk and getting into fights on a Friday night to being the Hollywood favourite – the bored rich kid.

Somewhere between annoying kids and selfdestructive adults we have collectively managed to get the impression that boredom will leave you a friendless social pariah. There is no social upside to boredom.

Mindlessly repeating a task like casting is similar to meditation.

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A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF BOREDOM A more refined definition of boredom is: “unfulfilled desire for satisfying activity” (Eastwood, Frischen, Fenske, and Smilek, 2012).

That definition fits fishing to a tee if you count catching fish as a satisfying activity.

If not, why are you reading this magazine?

Another similar activity – meditation – is seen as a positive activity by most people. Daydreaming? Not so much. An intriguing fact discovered when you first start many meditation processes is that the mind will wander, and that’s okay. In other words, while meditating, there is a high likelihood of daydreaming occurring.

You might think that meditators are taught to stop the daydreaming, but the opposite is true. In most instances, the trainee is told to just allow the mind to do what it wants, but be mindful of what is happening. When aware that daydreaming is occurring, bring the attention back into the here and now, usually by focusing on a physical element such as breathing.

Rather than trying to stop daydreaming, meditation emphasizes developing focus and discipline so that your mind doesn’t need to wander.

Meditation in a way is the process of deliberately instigating boredom to learn how to deal with it. Fishing can have the same effect.

Exposing yourself to the boring parts of fishing will improve your concentration and ability to focus in the long run.

THE ERA OF SOCIAL MEDIA, BLUE LIGHT AND THE EMPATHY DEFICIT There is something else that creates focus – smartphones. There has been a lot of research into smartphones and the average adult in the US, for example, checks their phone every ten minutes. Now I am a little concerned with such studies as many studies are motivated to demonstrate a problem, but there have been enough separate studies to confirm that phone use is high.

There has also been a lot of study on the effect of social media networks on young people. Social media can deliver a regular small hit of dopamine from the ‘attention’ of the phone. This brain hack has the effect of entertaining us and also making us more prone to feeling boredom when we aren’t getting that attention.

I’m not a scaremonger on such topics. Nonetheless, the evidence is clear that

If you are looking to improve your fishing ability then you need to use boredom wisely. Make sure you are focused on fishing problems so that your subconscious mind knows to get creative on fishing. our brains aren’t built for the constant flow of information, nor the flooding of our dopamine systems that occurs today.

All this smartphone usage, particularly at night, is playing havoc with our sleep – so much so that there have been health warnings about the effect of the blue wavelengths of light phones emit. Not using your phone before rest is a good idea and doctors recommend keeping screens off for a couple of hours before going to bed.

Something less widely covered is a phenomenon called the ‘empathy deficit.’

High amounts of social media use, especially interacting with people outside of friend groups, causes our ability to empathize with others to drop. Manoush Zomorodi covers this topic well in her book Bored and Brilliant.

One interesting study in Ireland on the effects of boredom was a greater preference for ‘in groups’ – people like us – and a greater desire to punish ‘out groups.’

The scary part of the empathy deficit is that while we are very resilient and can stop being online monsters, it isn’t an instant turnaround.

When the smartphone is off and replaced with regular human interaction, returning to a more normal empathetic state can take a week or more.

How often does anyone turn off the phone for a week?

None of this is to say that technology is dangerous, but our brains have evolved for a very different world and as such technology overuse can have negative consequences.

Fishing can help you to train your brain to better deal with modern technology.

FISHING MINDFULLY It’s at this point that I have something to confess.

I rarely fish to catch fish; I fish to fish. Most of my waking day is all problem solving, high focus activity,

and lots of maths, reading and design for often 12+ hours at a time. I find it hard not to be thinking, so some time mindlessly repeating a task like casting is similar to meditation, only I can do it for a lot longer.

Focusing on casting has something of a similar effect to concentrating on breathing in meditation. The attention is on the here and now and your physical existence rather than the external world or internal world. There are some excellent reasons to do this. Meditation, for example, improves tasks such as multitasking, increase concentration and enhance your ability to resist distractions. In my experiments with casting verses meditation, I tend to find the same sorts of effects, so long as I am focused on the task of casting and rhythm.

Meditation and fishing have helped me to concentrate longer when it comes to working. I also don’t feel so needy when it comes to social media. I am regularly not on for weeks at a time, and I don’t feel like I am missing out.

Without a serious study, I am not about to proclaim fishing the next thing in Zen. That said, I have read a lot of research on the subject, not to mention tested concepts out for myself. I have measured my performance, and there is no doubt in my mind that repetitive fishing such as lure fishing is a positive in improving focus, lengthening attention span and reducing susceptibility to distractions.

A SECOND LOOK AT DAYDREAMING Remember the poor cousin to meditation – the one that gets kids in trouble in school? Was that you?

Do you even now drift off to meetings but still keep the thread? Congratulations – you are probably a

creative person.

You know all those modern-type offices with beanbags and ‘creative spaces’ decorated with lots of colours and toys. An empty room with white walls is an atom bomb in comparison, creatively speaking. All those objects used to ‘create possibility’ actually work to constrain it by focusing the mind on a specific object or process and distracting you from boredom.

It’s through boredom that your true creative potential explodes. It’s in the absence – not the presence – of a stimulus that our brains are at their creative peak. Having the discipline to endure the boredom and tap into your natural creativity is a superpower.

I have no idea why daydreaming has the bad press it has, other than the fact it annoys the crap out of teachers. Many of the most inventive people in history have spoken about daydreaming as an essential part of the creative process.

No wonder brain scans of people experiencing daydreams have discovered that, far from a resting state, our brains are in fact very active.

Nature is a pretty elegant version of the white room, especially as the environment remains relatively constant; if there isn’t much going on, the conditions are good to go for boredom. Bait fishing on a slow day is about as good as it gets to unleash your creative firepower, or sleep – whichever you need more.

CHEWING GUM AND WALKING AT THE SAME TIME Here is an interesting question; have you ever driven to work and forgotten the journey? The ability to do an activity even while not thinking about it is called ‘unconscious competence’ – the ability to use an automated

routine in the brain that is created through repetition to complete a task without the need for conscious input.

Unconscious competence is a hardwired routine that allows brain functions to be freed up.

In other words, we can drive and be off in another world at the same time.

Daydreaming when operating heavy equipment isn’t a good idea. Fishing is a very different matter.

Daydreaming during a hot bite might be regrettable, but rest assured the adrenalin (and copping shit from your mates) will sort that out quick smart. At all other times, it’s fair game.

Daydreaming while fishing can provide a host of benefits similar to meditation, including better use of working memory, improving

your ability to work in distracting environments, improved empathy, problemsolving (as your brain has time to focus on a problem) and ironically enhanced focus.

For men in the modern world, mental health is a vital part of life that gets dangerously neglected. Going fishing regularly and giving yourself time to daydream is one of the best gifts you can give to yourself.

ECHOSOUNDERS ARE THE SOCIAL MEDIA OF THE SEA Screens have invaded the water. Gone are the days when you could be guaranteed some tech-free time on the water, and that has an impact on us.

While I will acknowledge a title like ‘Echosounders are the social media of the sea’ is a little bit clickbaity, it’s

not inaccurate. Echosounders trigger the same response in your brain as social networks, so when you see a fish on the screen, you get a little hit of dopamine. If you plan to catch fish, this is a good thing, as this is training your brain to reward itself for finding fish.

The challenge for your brain comes if you are already a major phone or social media user. Instead of a useful message on fish, your brain gets a different message – what you want is more dopamine.

Flooding your brain with dopamine, as with almost any excess, has a whole host of negative consequences from lower attention spans and sleep issues to addiction, anxiety, and depression.

I don’t want to be alarmist – using your echosounder is fine in moderation. There

are way too many devices now that want to hijack your dopamine system, so staying in control is wise.

My advice to fishers that want to use sounders intensively is to pick which screen is vital to you and stick to it. Ditching the social media and going for the sounder is better in every way; it means less dopamine overall, improved concentration and training your brain to get better at fishing – all win.

CONCENTRATION ON THE WATER For most of this article, I am contradicting my usual advice to fishers, which is to pay attention. That is in no small part because this article is intended for a different group of anglers – those that fish for reasons other than developing skills. If you

enjoy just getting out on the water on the weekend, or you are finding your regular life is stressful then this article is for you.

The trick with processing anything like boredom is mindfulness; that is fishing with the clear intention of resting and allowing your mind to wander. Being mindful means monitoring that process, so if things such as negative emotions or thoughts come up, it’s a good idea to seek professional assistance.

If you are looking to improve your fishing ability then you need to use boredom wisely. Make sure you are focused on fishing problems so that your subconscious mind knows to get creative on fishing. More importantly, if you are in skill-building mode, boredom isn’t for you.

A FINAL CAUTION ON BOREDOM Very few things in life are as simple as ‘do A and get result B.’ I have to caution that boredom can also have negative downsides. Being bored a lot is a bad sign. If you are in a job that you find boring then being bored while fishing isn’t a good idea.

Experiencing boredom all the time can have significant health consequences or be a sign of depression. Talk to your GP if this is happening to you.

All of our emotional states exist for a purpose; they are there to help navigate the world. Boredom, like all other states, has a useful purpose.

If improving your capacity to handle the stresses of modern life is your goal, you can do a lot worse than unplug and fish mindfully more often.

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR 2017

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

3-4 Feb

ANSA Victoria State Championship

www.ansavic.com.au

Portland ansavic@bigpond.com

10-11 Feb

Round 1 Hobie Kayak Bream Series

Bemm River

13-14 Feb

ABT BREAM Series Round 1

Mallacoota

17-18 Feb

ABT BREAM Series Round 2

Gippsland Lakes

17-18 Feb

Lowrance Da$h for Ca$h

Tony Bennett

Lake Mulwala

(03) 5744 1667

24 Feb

CVLCSS Round 1

www.cvlcss.com

Lake Eppalock

David Nelson 0418 378 944

3 Mar

His and Hers Partners Classic

Tony Bennett

Lake Mulwala

(03) 5744 1667

3-4 Mar

ANSA Victoria State Championship

www.ansavic.com.au

Glenelg River

ansavic@bigpond.com

6-8 Mar

ABT BREAM Series Australian Open

abt.org.au

Sydney Harbour/Hawkesbury River

15-18 Mar

Cod Nationals

Tony Bennett

Lake Mulwala

(03) 5744 1667

20-21 Mar

ABT BREAM Series Round 3

abt.org.au

St Helens, Tasmania

24 Mar

CVLCSS Round 2

www.cvlcss.com

Mitchellstown

David Nelson 0418 378 944

24-25 Mar

ABT BREAM Series Round 4

abt.org.au

Derwent River, Tasmania

7-8 Apr

ANSA Victoria State Championship

www.ansavic.com.au

Port Phillip Heads

ansavic@bigpond.com

www.hobiefishing.com.au

abt.org.au

abt.org.au

Add your tournament or competition to this list by emailing jthomas@fishingmonthly.com.au or calling 07 3387 0800 in office hours.

Just supply a date, venue, tournament name and a telephone number and contact name.

FEBRUARY 2018

107

ANSA Port Phillip Bay Convention winners Williamstown Sport and Game Fishing Club hosted the Port Phillip Bay Convention on the weekend of 25-26 November. They had 89 entrants weighing in a total of 96 fish for

the weekend.

While conditions were a little uncomfortable early on Saturday morning, they soon calmed to a delightful day as long as anglers dodged the late afternoon thunderstorms.

Sunday

This fish came from Corio Bay’s inner harbour along with several others over the 5kg mark.

Other notable captures were Frank Aarsman’s 2816g flathead and Frank Naylor’s 5043g gummy shark. The surprise captures were yellowtail kingfish caught by Gavan Maloney

(2450g) and Libby Gibson (1774g); these fish were also caught on 2kg line.

Hopefully this is a good sign for the King of the Rip Convention coming up in April.

We hope to see you all at the Portland Convention on 3-4 February. – ANSA Victoria

Frank Naylor with his gummy shark, which weighed 5043g. morning saw similar conditions and a wet drive up to the Convention Centre at Altona for those coming from Geelong.

After several weeks of exceptional snapper

fishing in the northern end of the bay the fishing had slowed by the weekend.

However, there were still some great captures with Danny Sparks’ 7205g fish on 2kg line being the best.

Daniel Sparks with his 7205g snapper.

RESULTS Place Club 1st Southern Boat Fishing Club 2nd Bellarine Light Game and SFC 3rd Williamstown Sport FC Place Club 1st Williamstown Sport FC 2nd Bellarine Light Game and SFC 3rd Drysdale Sport FC

Ethan Debono caught this 4920g snapper.

SENIOR CLUB

JUNIOR CLUB

SENIOR MALE Club Bellarine Light Game and SFC Southern Boat SFC Southern Boat SFC SENIOR FEMALE Place Angler Club 1st Libby Gibson Bellarine Light Game and SFC 2nd Kathy Dickson Southern Boat SFC 3rd Elly Polonowita Southern Boat SFC JUNIOR MALE Place Angler Club 1st Todd Gusman Williamstown SFC 2nd Scott Gusman Williamstown SFC 3rd Harry Martin Drysdale SFC JUNIOR FEMALE Place Angler Club 1st Ellie Gibson Bellarine Light Game and SFC 2nd Bryah Debono Williamstown SFC 3rd Teresa Di Santo Southern Boat FC SUB JUNIOR MALE Place Angler Club 1st Anthony Di Santo Southern Boat FC 2nd Ethan Bebono Williamstown SFC Place Angler 1st Daniel Sparks 2nd Frank Naylor 3rd Frank Aarsman

Points 1367.66 1035.10 778.15 Points 955.36 507.65 371.65 Points 523.23 107.60 100.00 Points 183.63 31.20 28.20 Points 242.15 105.80 77.50 Points 295.69 291.11 60.47 Points 316.30 73.90

ANSA Victoria

ANSA Victoria is the peak body for Sportfishing in Victoria and encompasses all the needs of the beginner as well as the experienced angler. It represents recreational sportfishers through various affiliated clubs across Victoria.

BENEFITS OF CLUB AFFILIATION: Able to claim IGFA records Able to claim ANSA Australian records Able to claim Victorian records Participate in ANSA State Championships - with Club awards, team awards and individual awards We offer - Line class awards, length only/catch and release

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP EVENTS: Lake Purrumbete - October 21/22 Port Phillip Bay - November 25/26 Portland - February 3/4 Genelg River - March 3/4 Port Phillip Heads - April 7/8 Apollo Bay - May 5/6

www.ansavic.com.au ansavic For more information email ansavic@bigpond.com

Gava Maloney caught this surprise kingfish of 2450g on 2kg line.

108

FEBRUARY 2018

The Riverina Classic is on again this month!

The Darlington Point Riverina Classic Catch and Release Fishing Competition is not your average fishing competition. It offers

restocking the waterways of the Murrumbidgee River with fingerlings of Murray cod and golden perch, in order to help secure a sustainable fishing future.

12,000 Murray cod and golden perch fingerlings into the Murrumbidgee River. The competition has successfully run as a photoentry-only event for the last two years.

This is designed to minimise any negative effects on fish welfare and ensure anglers have maximum opportunity to chase that elusive big one.

This year the committee have turned their focus to the cancer support network CAN ASSIST. All profits are going to the local Griffith and Coleambally branches for assistance and practical support for cancer treatment.

The competition area spans 24km of the Murrumbidgee River – a thriving water system with an abundance of fish caught over the summer period by keen anglers using bait, spinnerbaits and hardbodied lures. Four state national parks line the boundaries of the fishing competition, making it an ideal location with plenty of river access from the bank to camp and fish.

The river is also easily accessible by boat and it isn’t an odd sight to see 5m fishing boats getting around the river system.

Prize categories in the competition include:

Every single junior that enters is guaranteed to go home with a prize.

Bring along the family and enjoy a great weekend out in Darlington Point at the Riverina Classic. a family fun weekend filled with markets, entertainment for kids, helicopter joy flights,

Plans for 2018’s competition are off to great start, with the committee again set to release over

The Riverina Classic draws a great crowd each year.

There are tonnes of prizes up for grabs. river train rides, merchandise and food stalls. An array of fishing tackle will be also be on offer from some of the leading suppliers for the fishing enthusiast, as well as one of the largest prize pools for inland fishing competitions in NSW. The Riverina Classic is held on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River at Darlington Point in the Riverina NSW. It’s a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers of the community. They concentrate their efforts on

Biggest Yellowbelly, Biggest Cod, Biggest Carp and Cumulative Length.

Each category has both junior and senior sections and every single junior that enters is guaranteed to go home with a prize.

Included in the prize pool is $8000 cash, a Stacer 409S Proline Angler running a 30hp, 4-stroke mercury motor complete with trailer for the big kids and a kayak for the juniors.

Early bird entrants that register online also go in the draw to win an Adventure Kings Big Daddy Double Swag, Single Swag, campfire BBQ plate and Sumo Stretcher Bed.

The competition will again be held over three days this year, commencing on the afternoon of Friday 9 February with presentations and prizes to be drawn Sunday 11 February. Bring along the family and enjoy a great weekend out in Darlington Point.

To register online visit www.riverinaclassic.com or visit the headquarters tent at the Darlington Point Sports club on the

day. For more information check out our Facebook page Riverina Classic Fishing Competition, or call Chris Sutton on 0427 516 197 or Shaun Roche on 0447 727 697.

– Riverina Classic ENTRY FEES Adults................. $50 Juniors............... $25 Family Pass....... $120

Round 1

February 24 – Lake Eppalock (Lake Eppalock Holiday Park)

February 25 – Fundraiser Mosquito Creek CFA Redfin Comp 2018 CENTRAL VIC PRO SERIES DATES Round 1.

May 6 & 7 Mulwala (DC on the Lake)

Round 2.

Dec 8 & 9 Lake Eildon (Fraser National Park)

This Series is for Teams of two only, check out the Central Vic Pro Series group on facebok for more details www.facebook.com/groups/CVLCPS/

Check out our Facebook pages:

• Central VIC Pro Series • Central VIC Lure Casters Super Series

Presentations will be held on the Sunday.

For more information contact David Nelson 0418 378 944 roundy@cvlcss.com • www.cvlcss.com FEBRUARY 2018

109

Nautical Marine (03) 5984 1666

BAIT & TACKLE

FISH TAXIDERMY

Melbourne Marine Centre (03) 9703 2003

WEST COAST Portland Bait & Tackle (03) 5523 5213 Compleat Angler Portland (03) 5521 1844

Regal Marine (03) 9874 4624

Fish Taxidermist 0428 544 841

Streaker Marine (03) 9729 8288

Neptune’s Treasures 0419 643 654

Triple M Marine (03) 9465 8787

CENTRAL

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Warragul Marine (03) 5623 6250

Hooked On Bait and Tackle Hoppers Crossing (03) 9748 3811 Fishing Fever Mordialloc (03) 9590 9899 Melbourne Marine Centre (03) 9703 2003 JV Marine World Braeside (03) 9798 8883 Compleat Angler Ringwood (03) 9870 7792 The Flyfisher Melbourne (03) 9621 1246

Wes Frost Marine (03) 5976 4622

Logan Specialised Screen Printing (07) 5546 4107

EAST COAST

BOAT TRAILER

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FRESHWATER

EAST COAST

CENTRAL

Boats and More Shepparton (03) 5822 2108

Always Angling Traralgon (03) 5174 8544

Vic Marine & Trailer Warehouse 0412 264 450

Boats and More Echuca (03) 5482 1992

FRESHWATER

BOAT HIRE

Eades Xtreme Marine Echuca (03) 5482 2333

Compleat Angler Echuca (03) 5482 1992 Compleat Angler Shepparton (03) 5822 2180 Compleat Angler Wangaratta (03) 5722 4622

MARINE ACCESSORIES

MARINE MECHANICS

PROVEN WORLD LEADING

Naaj Marine 0421 955 371 Unique Marine Accessories (03) 5427 1802 CMC Marine Sales www.cmcsales.com.au Hunter Marine Boat Builders (03) 5032 2320

CENTRAL

ANCHOR DESIGNS

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

HOLIDAY RENTAL

The SARCA EXCEL and SUPER SARCA are certified type approved Super High Holding Power Super Sarca

Sarca Excel

WEST COAST Warrnambool Holiday Park (03) 5562 5031

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Stick with convex design and leave the mud behind

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All you need to worry about are the fish

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Anchor Right 03 5968 5014 or www.anchorright.com.au

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES PROVIDED…

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

KRIS OAKLEY MARINE SERVICES

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ONLINE TACKLE PRODUCTS Specialty Fishing Products

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Boat, motor & trailer packages!

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Korr Lighting

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She Left

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• HARD BAITS • SOFT BAITS • METAL BAITS • TERMINAL TACKLE

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION EAST GIPPSLAND

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www.marlocamping.com.au Marlo Ocean Views Caravan and Camping Park, Marlo (03) 5154 8268

Lures for the thrill of fishing...

This is where your copy will appear.

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FINANCE AVAILABLE PH: 03 5984 1666 W: nauticalmarine.com.au E: info@nauticalmarine.com.au Nautical Marine: 139 - 141 Hotham Rd Sorrento Vic

SAMPLE AD - BUSINESS NAME

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$320 + GST for 6 months Email : pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

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.

110

FEBRUARY 2018

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

Geelong Charters & Fishing Trips, Geelong (03) 5275 7107 Katrina Louise Charters, Cheltenham 0402 828 140 Kestrel Charters, Queenscliff (03) 5258 1783

EAST GIPPSLAND (Continued)

Queenscliff Fishing Charters, Queenscliff 0458 504 058

Bemm River Holiday Accommodation & Boat Hire, Bemm River

Pro Red Fishing Charters 0421 442 775

(03) 5158 4233 or 0427 584 233

Rip Charters Fishing Trips, Sorrento (03) 5984 3664

Lazy Acre Log Cabins 1, 2 & 3 BEDROOM SPACIOUS COTTAGES ♦ Solar Pool ♦ Free Wi-Fi ♦ Air-Con/Heating ♦ Fishing Advice ♦ Boat Parking

Saltwater Charters, Queenscliff (03) 5258 4888 Quiet central location Ideal for all the family Close to 90 mile beach 5min drive to boat ramps

N O W AVA IL A B L E ALL YOUR FISHING MONTHLY GEAR

Off The Hook Fishing Charters 0419 554 916

T-Shirts

St Kilda Fishing Charters, St Kilda (03) 9770 2200 Western Port Fishing Charters, Hastings (03) 9769 5544

EAST COAST Far Out Charters, Lakes Entrance 0428 401 819 Prom Coastal Charters, Yanakie (03) 5687 1248 or 0429 935 583 East Gippsland Charters 0400 564 032

(03) 5155 1323 ♦ 0418 516 555 ♦ 35 Roadknight Street, LAKES ENTRANCE

FRESHWATER Angling Expeditions Victoria, Tawonga (03) 5754 1466

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

TASMANIA

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

TASMANIA & FLINDERS ISLAND

AMAZING ANSONS BAY

ABSOLUTE WATERFRONT HOLIDAY HOME • Stylish house with great water views NORTH-EAST TASSIE’S • Bathroom on 2 levels BEST FIS • Access to the beach in front of house HING! • Boatshed with bikes and kayaks for your use • Boat ramp at Ansons Bay • Great fishing due to remoteness

Ausprey Tours, Launceston (03) 6630 2612

Phone Cases

Gone Fishing Charters, St Helens (03) 6376 1553 Fish Wild Tasmania, Hobart 0418 348 223

Mugs

Flinders Island Adventures, Flinders Island (03) 6359 4507 Trout Territory, Northern Midlands (03) 6397 5001

NSW SOUTH COAST Reel Affair, Merimbula freecall 1800 233 247 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 K9 Fishing Charters, Merimbula (02) 6495 1681

House rents for $190 per night – sleeps 6 Contact Kevin 0457 778 097 or for more photos go to Stayz Property – number 220674

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

CENTRAL

Timeout Fishing Charters

0400 440 705

www.timeoutfishingcharters.com.au Timeout Fishing Charters 0400 440 705 South-West Fishing Charters, Portland 0418 306 714 Gone Fishing Charters 0409 007 068 Able Fishing & Charters, Williamstown (03) 9502 3777

Clocks

Merimbula Marina, Merimbula (02) 6495 1686 or 0427 951 080 Narooma Charters, Narooma 0407 909 111 O’Brien Charter Service, Bermagui 0407 214 124

FISHING GUIDES

Carry Bags

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

TRADES AND SERVICES ADVERTISING Line listing from $90 + gst 6 months* 2cm x 2 from $195 + gst 6 months* 5cm x 2 from $320 + gst 6 months* 8cm x 2 from $590 + gst 6 months* Rates exclusive to Trades and Services Directory *Conditions apply Call (07) 3387 0835 or email pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

Cushion Covers and lots more...

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

If you have any other trades or services that you would like to see in this section please don’t hesitate to give us a call Email: pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

ACE Fishing Charters, Bonbeach (03) 9773 4183 Adamas Fishing Charters, Barwon Heads (03) 5254 3320 Big Red Fishing Charters, Queenscliff 1800 805 587

CHANDLERY & ACCESSORIES Anchor Right (03) 5968 5014

Blue Magic Fishing Charters, Rowville (03) 9759 5301

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

Calypso Fishing Charters, Tootgarook (03) 5985 8463

Techni Ice (03) 9783 1922

fishingmonthly.redbubble.com

Advertisers wanting to be involved in this directory can call (07) 3387 0800 or email pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au FEBRUARY 2018

111

FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS STRUCTURE TO FISH AROUND

DROPOFF HUMP POINT RIDGE REEF FADS WEED BED ROCK TIMBER DOCKS

WRECKS BREAKWALL JETTY POTOON PYLON BRIDGE BOARDWALK BUOY BOMBORA BRUSH

Valley Hill Rocketeer Slicer

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 FEB 2018

Phone (day):

FINS SCALES & TALES by A. Both

The Rocketeer Slicer from Japanese tackle giant Valley Hill is a real feat of Japanese design and engineering.

The Rocketeer Slicer has a unique metal plate at the nose of the jig, which lets you secure line in two places, and ensures a superior swimming action even through debris. In addition, its tail system lets you cast more effectively into the wind.

The Rocketeer Slicer is available in two sizes (3.0 and 3.5) and 13 different colour combinations. It has proven to be highly effective on Australian squid. www.dogtoothdistribution.com.au

SPOT THE

10 DIFFERENCES

GEORGE & NEV by Michael Hardy

ORIGINAL

FIND-A-WORD

Congratulations to Michael Stacey from Portland, who was last month’s winner of the Find-a-Word Competition!

Monthly winners receive a sponsor prize. Prize delivery can take 8 weeks. – V&TFM

SUBSCRIBER PRIZE

The subscriber prize winner for December is S Rhind of Rochester, who won a Aquayak Kayak voucher valued at $300.

All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – V&TFM

S Brightwell of Mordialloc, M Fallon of Hamilton, D Hedley of Hamilton, B Howieson of Wrattonbully, A Bonner of Coragulac, B Peeters of Colac, G Bannister of Lorne, E Kopsidas of Nathalia, J Gillett of Portarlington, D Dunn of Warrnambool, M Adams of Grahamvale, K Carter of Shepparton, B Stokes of Morwell, H Kirk of Hadspen , C Nish of Naring, R Coombes of Vermont, K Morrison of Moama, B Meaney

of Tungamah, R Crossman of Echuca, D McKenzie of Burnley, M Collier of Smythes Creek, D Fitzgerald of Coldstream, T Richardson of Warrnambool, I Lovel of Bealiba, T Kubeil of Euroa, F Weber of Corack East, W Fearnhead of Skipton, E Forrester of Merricks , K Voros of Korumburra, D Wyatt of West Wodonga.

Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – V&TFM

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

FIND THE DX POINT LOGO

The answers to Find the Gamakatsu Logo for December were: 8, 16, 18, 23, 28, 30, 32, 38, 44, 58, 66, 70, 74, 96, 98. – V&TFM

112

FEBRUARY 2018

This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Yellowbelly

The Find the Gamakatsu prize winners for December were: P Gierakowski of Clifton Springs, P Geale of Georgetown, M Moulding of Mornington, C Pezos of Clarinda, K Tripp of Glenroy, D Hill of Cranbourne North, J Clarke of Newport, M Stacey of Portland , H Skeer of Millicent, T Dron of Alfredton,

GUESS THE FISH?

Answer:

boats & kayaks

In the skipperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seat

Inside story...

Sea Jay Aluminium Boats has been family owned and operated for over 25 years, and the name has become renowned for strength, quality workmanship and customization with the angler in mind.

Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re fishing in fresh or salt, inshore or offshore, Sea Jay will provide you with a model to suit your boating and fishing needs.

Made for...

Sea Jay specialises in boats for sports anglers, offering a stable fishing platform and plenty of storage.

This month...

Editor Steve Morgan takes the Sea Jay Velocity Sports 550 out for a run in Raby Bay. Check it out on page 120!

114 Urbanised yakking experiences in summer Corey Gallaghar explores some of the more urbanised fishing environments around Melbourne to see what they have to offer.

116 Get the most out of your boating outings Wayne Kampe looks at a few ways you can maximise your enjoyment on the water during this busy time of the year.

118 Stessl 580 Seahawk with Yamaha F130hp Steve Morgan catches up with Scott James from Stessl to test out this offshore beast on the Tweed Bar.

Urban exploring around Melbourne in the yak MELBOURNE

Corey Gallagher

For those of us who reside in our larger cities, planning a weekend fishing trip often requires long hours on the road travelling to far-off systems in search of a fish or two. Often we neglect what is right under our noses and ignore the

a far more attractive option than in years gone by.

The mighty mulloway is also a viable option, although it must be said that they are a very difficult fish to work out and serious time on the water is required to catch silver ghosts regularly.

Snapper are also a viable option around the Geelong and Melbourne waterfronts.

Pinky snapper are available all year round and bigger

mullet, a plethora of species is available to those fishing in our urban waterways this summer.

THE GEAR The outfits you require depend largely on the species you target, however, a heavier bream setup would be a great general purpose setup for targeting fish in the metro areas. A 2-4kg rod in 6-6’6 range is a great starting point, matched up with a

The urban jungle isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but for those willing to take it on it has a lot to offer, with the added bonus of being right at our doorstep. Photo courtesy of Darren Weda.

The CBD provides an amazing backdrop. Nick Mace working these likely-looking pylons. Photo courtesy of Darren Weda. excellent fisheries we have right on our doorstep.

Melbourne’s Yarra and Maribyrnong rivers and Geelong’s waterfront are outstanding areas to chase predatory species such as bream, snapper and trevally and the good news for kayak anglers is that smaller craft are perfect for getting in and amongst all that artificial fish-holding structure.

TARGET SPECIES Many species are on offer when fishing around artificial structure in our urban estuaries. The mainstay for most kayak lure casters is the southern black bream, which are available in good numbers, particularly throughout Melbourne’s systems. Estuary perch have become a far more common catch in the metro rivers in recent years and many have grown to very respectable sizes, making targeting them amongst the piers and pylons

FEBRUARY 2018

drag can be difficult and comes only with experience.

Strike Pro Micro Vibes have long been a favourite of mine in the pylons and are always worth a throw.

Kayaks are an excellent option when fishing the piers, as their low profile often allows anglers to get right up under the pier to target the fish in areas other anglers simply can’t reach.

Pontoons and boat hulls are another abundant form of structure in our urban areas and when fished correctly they can be very productive indeed.

Again, casting crabs or micro vibes close to the edge of the hull or pontoon is critical. Use the tide to your advantage to sink your lure right down under the structure where the fish will be holding.

I always try to position my kayak on the shaded

the heavy structure.

Rock walls are plentiful along the banks of the metro rivers and often hold good numbers of bream, perch and snapper. Over summer one of the more exciting ways to catch a bream or perch is to twitch a bent minnow-style lure along the edges at first light in an attempt to entice an exciting surface strike. If the surface bite is not productive, try throwing a diving minnow.

Chose a lure that dives to an appropriate depth relative to the depth you are fishing. I like to keep the lure as close to the bottom as possible, even bumping the lure along the rocks on the bottom if possible.

CONCLUSION Fishing urban areas is perfectly suited to kayak anglers; our chosen craft allows us to manoeuver

Nick Mace with two city-dwelling estuary perch – this species has grown in numbers in the metro rivers in recent times. Photo courtesy of Darren Weda. units moving into the bay during spring and summer.

Along with Australian salmon, silver trevally, King George whiting, flathead and

Pontoons and boat hulls often hold good numbers of bream; the author pulled this urban bream from the pontoon in the background on a Cranka Crab.

114

your search can be somewhat overwhelming. In actual fact, most of the structure will hold fish and – armed with some general tips and some local knowledge gained by spending time on the water – it’s not too difficult to unlock the code to a successful day on the water in one of Victoria’s urban systems.

THE TECHNIQUES Piers and pylons are a great place to start and hold good numbers of snapper and bream if the conditions are

2500 size reel, 10lb braid and 6-10lb leader. These will allow you the pulling power to stop hard fighting bream and perch before they have the chance to bust you off.

This size outfit would also have no trouble accounting for a larger mulloway or snapper if you take your time and use the kayak to your advantage. I prefer to use smaller rods when fishing in heavily built-up areas; they allow for easier casting when in and around tight structure.

THE STRUCTURE Fishing in built-up urban areas can often feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack with a seemingly endless supply of rock walls, boat hulls, piers, pylons and pontoons. Finding a productive spot to begin

right. Mulloway will also feed in these areas if they are present in the system. As always, select a lure that mimics the natural food the fish feed on. Crab imitation soft plastics and hardbodies such as the Cranka Crab are hard to go past and are definitely my go-to lure when fishing most types of urban structure.

Cast your crab in tight against the pylons and allow the lure to sink on an open bail; it’s important to present a natural-looking bait. Watch your line for any indication of a bite and then load up.

Drag settings are critical when fishing heavy structure; too much drag will result in pulled hooks, and not enough will mean the fish have no trouble wrapping you back around the pylons. Finding that fine line of just enough

Dale Baxter used his kayak to his advantage and got right up underneath a pier to areas other anglers simply can’t reach. Photo courtesy of Dale Baxter. side of the pontoon or hull; the fish are more likely to be holding out of direct sunlight. By fishing from the shady side the sun will silhouette the fish, making them a lot easier to see.

Another productive lure to throw at hulls and pontoons are stick minnows. Worked in a similar way to a soft plastic grub stick minnows can be dynamite in amongst

easily in and around all that artificial structure.

While it’s not essential, if you’re lucky enough to own a kayak with reverse capabilities then you have the perfect vessel for extracting fish from tight urban structure. Next time you’re planning a trip make sure you consider the urban areas, less time travelling means more time fishing!

WHAT’S NEW BOATING C-MAP GENESIS UPGRADE

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C-MAP Genesis’ processing engine has undergone a major revamp to improve map display and creation speed.

Benefits include: faster population of Social Map with community-sourced contour data; enhanced contour display, optimized by zoom level, of both personal maps and Social Map charts on the C-MAP website (no need to manually select fixed contour level – C-MAP delivers the optimum detail, depending on the zoom level); reduced clutter of depth markings; significantly reduced wait time for sonar data to upload, process and display a finished map in your dashboard; restored functionality of features you may have noticed were temporarily not working, including downloads of large merged maps; and a ‘Favourite Lakes’ feature in Social Map that allows for quicker and easier navigation between the charts of your favourite waterbodies.

C-MAP has also announced the full global integration of public Fishbrain catch-location waypoints, helping you to identify why fish were caught where they were. www.genesismaps.com

MERCURY VESSELVIEW 703

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The next gen VesselView703 delivers improvements across the board.

Its SolarMAX high-definition glass touchscreen has wide viewing angles, dimmable lighting and a glare-reducing coating for viewing in all conditions, and a new customizable WheelKey and an expanded keypad give you total control of all functions.

The new unit includes built-in WiFi and Bluetooth. It also contains an Active Trim Control Pad, which when coupled with ECU module automatically trims the engine(s), to improve performance and cut fuel costs.

Other features include an integrated echosounder, true dual channel CHIRP, GPS and chart plotter. With twice the memory of the previous model, the VV703 also has a more powerful dual core processor.

VesselView703 can simultaneously display detailed information for up to four engines.

It can also be integrated with all the Simrad accessories for the NSS Evo3 product line. www.mercurymarine.com

GARMIN ECHOMAP PLUS

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The new Garmin ECHOMAP Plus features powerful sonar capabilities, preloaded charts and mapping, and built-in WiFi. All models have a sunlight-readable 4”, 6”, 7” or 9” display, and the 7” and 9” units have a new keyed-assist touchscreen, providing quick access to the features you use most.

Thanks to built-in Wi-Fi, anglers can take advantage of the free ActiveCaptain mobile app. You can use the app to access, update and purchase maps and charts on a mobile device anytime, reference the ActiveCaptain community for marina and other points of interest details, and more. The app provides notifications directly to the plotter/combo, software updates, off-vessel planning capabilities and more. Once the unit is turned on, the maps and charts will be instantly available.

All units have built-in CHIRP traditional sonar and CHIRP ClearVü and SideVü scanning sonar. The 7” and 9” Plus models also provide support for all Garmin Panoptix all-seeing sonar transducers. The entire range is preloaded with BlueChart g2 HD cartography.

Price: $499-$1599 garmin.com/newmarine

FC 680 SEALEGS

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FC Boats, manufacturers of specialist fishing boats, have created a unique amphibious model.

Ross Christensen and his team have created a 680 Sealegs prototype, developed for a customer who lives on the water and wanted a boat he could drive in and out of his shed.

The boat is roomy for an amphibious craft because the additional engine, which drives the Sealegs’ wheels and hydraulics, has been built into the centre console, with the hull reengineered to conceal the cooling and exhaust pipework. Externally, the Catalinastyle raised sheer line means the front wheel can tuck away nicely, for a better looking profile.

Contributing to the prototype’s success is its 6-cylinder 225hp Verado, whose power steering technology has allowed FC to link the outboard and the front wheel in one steering system.

“It works better than other brands due to the Verado’s vertical steering pivot, even when the motor is fully trimmed up,” Ross explained. “It really enhances the steering of the boat when it’s up on its wheels, and when it’s in the water it’s a beautiful boat to drive.” fcboats.co.nz

NOHEA MOKU BOAT SHOE

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Hawaiian inspired footwear creators, OluKai, have released the Nohea Moku boat shoe, made to withstand and provide superior traction when wet.

The Nohea Moku is lightweight and breathable, thanks to the outer mesh and stretch air mesh tongue and gusset. Coupled with drainage ports on the medial side and a soft, aerated microfiber lining, these shoes were born to keep boaters dry whenever, and wherever possible. They are also easy to get on and off – you just tighten or loosen the elastic laces.

Boasting a highly durable, dual-density, anatomically moulded PU footbed with a soft gel heel insert, the Nohea Moku is as strong as it is comfortable. It also has an all-weather, anti-marking gum rubber outsole.

Available colours are trench blue, black and dark shadow. To purchase visit the Escape 2 website.

Price: SRP $139.99 www.escape2.com.au

MERCURY VESSELVIEW 903

PRODUCT GUIDE

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Mercury’s new VesselView 903 is the largest and most advanced version in this popular range of multifunction displays.

With a 9” screen and a 16x9 aspect ratio, VesselView 903 is easy to read in virtually all conditions. The touchscreen interface delivers intuitive display interaction, with an optional remote-control button interface available.

The 903 can be integrated with all the Simrad accessories for the Go9 product line – radar, transducers, AIS, VHF, Sonic Hub/ Fusion Link/SiriusXM and more. It also has a built-in 10Hz GPS and chart plotter capability.

Auto notification of software updates come through the embedded WiFi. VesselView 903 provides a descriptive fault text display, as well as up-to-date information for more than 30 engine parameters including fuel level and range, oil temperature and pressure, battery voltage, water depth, Genest and more.

In addition, with VesselView Link boaters can fully integrate the propulsion system via NMEA2000 onto other devices. www.mercurymarine.com

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

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FEBRUARY 2018

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The best of the summer boating BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

It’s a busy time and a fine time to be on the water. Days start early in summer and even with daylight savings, 5am is still a great time to be on the water.

Launching recently around that very time of day, I saw a mum and dad team with a couple of youngsters having all sorts of trouble with their transition from car to boat.

Dad and the little ones were in the obviously very new craft, while Mum was holding it and the engine wasn’t playing the game with lots of starter motor but no exhaust note.

Accordingly, I am putting a few ideas forward to ensure

when the trailer is in the water for the very first time.

Certain things can influence fuel supply, especially if there is some time lapse between dealer start and owner start at the ramp. It’s easy to make sure the engine is ready for the get-go by setting it up at home for a short start-up a day prior to the big event.

The boat should be in a convenient place with the outboard right down, and the engine flush muffs set up over the water intake near the prop and the hose turned on. This is the marine mechanic’s recommended method of flushing an engine; the concept is to get the water through the entire system the same as if the boat was in the water. Make sure that most

and turn the key again. It will fire first click, and it will do the same at the ramp where, again, a squeeze of the primer bulb is a good idea.

A SMALL CHECKLIST When it’s time to put in the fishing tackle and tucker and leave home with the boat on the tow bar a small checklist of to-do items will make things go a whole lot smoother. First off, is everything up nice and tight?

The boat should be tied down at the rear on the trailer, and latched securely up front to the winch and safety chain.

The bung should be in too.

Prior to leaving home it’s wise to see that all the trailer electricals are working. In the case of an older rig, something might be amiss – maybe an indicator or stoplight is not

At this ramp we see rocks on each side and a somewhat narrow area in which to reverse to the water. It’s probably not an altogether ideal place for a beginner to learn to reverse, nor for someone to be hanging on to the boat if it doesn’t start immediately. that a much-anticipated fun day on the water is just that, with no disappointments or hard times.

START HER UP AT HOME A shiny new boat is a wonderful thing to own but if it’s going to have its maiden voyage, it might be best to see what might facilitate things. From a couple of very interesting experiences I’ve had with brand new boats of my own, it’s a really good idea to make sure the engine is going to start easily. Although it would have been started and run by the dealer when the engine is fitted, that doesn’t mean it will start immediately

of the water is available for the engine and not escaping around the sides of the muffs.

I put occy straps on my flushing muffs to keep them tightly in place.

At home a few squeezes of the primer bulb are wise to ensure fuel is right through the system and the key can be turned to start position. Don’t be surprised if the engine takes a few cranks to get it firing initially; this is by no means unknown for brand new engines.

The idea is to get water running through the engine for a few minutes. Next, shut down and give the engine a rest for a couple of minutes

A dodgy ramp at low tide is not for the uninitiated.

It’s best to come back when the tide is higher.

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Leave the safety chain on.

Any gear to go into the boat should go in at this point and then the rig can be lined up for take-off when it’s your turn.

Reversing can be tricky; I did a whole article on reversing in last month’s issue.

If you missed it, I stressed that one of the easiest methods of keeping things on track is to watch the boat in the side mirrors. As soon as it moves out of alignment with the car a small turn of the steering wheel in the direction the boat is heading should straighten things up. Once the wheels are in the water it’s time to release the safety chain and free the boat from the trailer’s restraint.

If you find mirror reversing too hard, have someone walk alongside and direct you. New boaters can do a whole lot worse than head to a freshwater dam for an initial boating experience.

These are much smaller boating environments all round and most Southern Queensland impoundments offer decent ramps with plenty of room each side. Also, there’s likely to be far less pressure on learners coming to terms with reversing or driving a new boat.

EXITING THE TRAILER – TRAPS FOR THE UNWARY With the trailer wheels in the water, now comes a decision – do you simply attach a rope to the front cleat and let the boat slide off

This looks spectacular, but it’s not the way for the family to enjoy their boating.

Leave the air time to the experts. smartly, or is it better to use the winch to manually lower the boat off the trailer slowly and under full control? Either method will work but a big, solid boat on a ramp with

Beach launching is strictly for the experts in the game. It’s far better to stick to the easy ramps and enjoy the experience. working; a spray with some electrical contact enhancer on trailer/car connections just might save the day. Those connections also need a bit of TLC, so a spray with contact enhancer after fishing.

THE RAMP Practice makes perfect with launch and retrieve procedures, but why not choose an easy ramp to start with? A ramp with a handy pontoon walkway is going to make things easier and it will be a whole lot better if final organisation is carried out in a methodical manner prior to engaging reverse gear near the water.

Your first step is to free the boat, removing rear tie-downs and any other encumbrances.

a fair amount of slope will gather so much momentum it is going to be like holding a high spirited horse; once the slack takes up it’s mighty hard work! A smaller, lighter, craft can be more easily managed with a bow rope or free slide launch. Again, it comes down to experience and practice.

Give some thought to that valuable transducer.

As sounders have become larger and more complex, so too have transducers. If it damaged through contact with the ramp – heavier hulls can dip surprisingly deep when they slide off a trailer rapidly – there will be some hand wringing and teeth gnashing taking place if the transducer is mangled.

Transducers can’t be

A situation all boaters strive for – a well-trimmed craft riding smoothly and freely.

repaired and if the installation has been somewhat complex or involved (due to the cable snaking through confined or hard-to-get-at areas of the hull) it’s likely not a DIY project to install another one later.

Time off the water and money from the pocket will be the outcome, so give some thought as to how the boat might best be launched from the trailer. I always reverse winch it down, walk out and free the tow hook. This is a small fetish of mine that keeps trailer bearings mostly dry. As I have waterproof legs, they have never shown signs of corrosion or other damage from saltwater immersion.

NEW ENGINE TLC With the boat in the water and crew aboard, stay aware as you leave the ramp that red beacons are kept on the right, green on the left, and other

boats are passed on the left.

How do you proceed when outside restricted speed areas?

A rule of thumb is to trim the engine right down to achieve planing speed then trim up once on the plane, without overdoing it. Getting the feel of things is the smart move; it’s best not to overdo any of the procedure.

Over-trimming upwards will see the engine burbling and bow far too high to make decent forward progress, so a happy medium needs to be attained. Comfortable and easy going boating is the name of the game.

If a sensible medium trim level doesn’t easily occur, the boat needs to go back to the dealer for the engine to be moved up or down on the transom. Don’t ram the throttle lever right forward to see how fast she will go until

A decent walkway adjoining a ramp takes a lot of stress out of launching and retrieving a small craft.

the recommended break-in period for the engine is over. At the first service the technician will link a workshop computer to the engine and if the manufacturer’s break-in period/rev limits have obviously been ignored, you are going to attract some

different sea conditions on any given day. With the car, headlights are for night time, windscreen wipers are for driving in the rain and all contingencies are covered.

When in a boat it’s all up to skipper once the

Even in the Brisbane River there can be some pressure waves or wash. Note the big ship in the background; it had just passed while Denise was working on this mulloway.

One of Moogerah Dam’s ramps – an easy place for a beginner to become acquainted with reversing and general boating. Take some bait or a trap to score some shrimps and you can take home some bass as well. sideways glances from the management.

EASY DOES IT ON THE WATER First boating trips for a novice are very different to driving a car as a learner.

Cars travel on marked lanes on roads and roads are always driveable – however slowly. Boating is a whole new ball game, as watercraft are subject to

ramp is out of sight. Go fast in waves and there will likely be some spray and bumps, and very possibly discomfort.

Even boating or fishing in the Brisbane River will see some massive wash causing temporary upset as tugs, huge ships, and island-bound ferries pass.

Slackening off as a big wash approaches makes

a lot of sense in these conditions.

When heading out into a bay or estuary it’s a smart practice for a beginner, particularly with family aboard, to have a quick look at local conditions on the net before departure.

Try the BOM and Queensland Observations; conditions recorded on the various beacons will confirm that things are going to be pleasant for the launch and hopefully for the duration of the time on the water. Also, consider the consequences of wind against tide – this is always a certain recipe for some chop.

Limiting first trips to easier destinations makes sense, too. While the

wrecks at Tangalooma look great in this mag’s pictures, they are a long way from any launching ramp if a strengthening breeze whips up serious chop, making a run home into a nightmare in a smaller craft.

On the other side of the coin, heading for an easy-toreach destination in decent conditions will ensure the home team are willing to come back for more of the same. Drenched with spray, bounced around and uncomfortable, they will likely find more urgent things to do next time boating is suggested. Enjoyment is the aim of time on the water and going about things correctly will ensure there is plenty to go around.

The perfect boats

Fishing with Nitro is a blast!

Whether you’re a tournament pro or a weekend warrior, Nitro boats will ignite your passion and pack more fun into your day. Just getting there is half the fun!

For more than 20 years, Nitro have continually refined and delivered serious fishing boats for serious anglers.

Nitro boats are foam-filled to exceed US Coast Guard survey requirements.

This gives you the safety of level floatation, security and comfort – and additional fishing stealth – all backed by a Limited Lifetime Warranty.

The world’s #1 aluminium fishing boats!

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

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

www.wesfrostmarine.com.au VICTORIA’S AUTHORISED DEALER

3 SATU WAY, MORNINGTON

PHONE: 03 5976 4622 FEBRUARY 2018

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Stessl 580 Seahawk with Yamaha F130hp - SC

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Main: Stessl Seahawk’s Platerix hull is designed to withstand all of the punishment that fishing offshore can deliver. It’s a big, beamy and solidly built boat that delivers over 2km/L at 4250rpm.

Above: With 200L of fuel under the floor, the Seahawk has a serious range – over 400km!

6mm stringers and then full height, transverse bulkhead frames.”

In summary, it means that they are over-

Length.........................................................5.8m Beam...........................................................2.5m Depth........................................................1.45m Hull weight............................................... 840kg Bottom........................................................4mm Sides...........................................................4mm Capacity.......................................... six persons Max hp.......................................................... 150 Shaft.............................................................. 25”

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aluminium in the Platerix hull, combined with the foam filling makes this a quiet ride.

Yamaha’s superlative F130 isn’t the maximum horsepower allowed on the hull, but it lifts the hull onto the plane with ease and at 4250rpm delivers 2.2km/L

PERFORMANCE

SPECIFICATIONS

from other plate boats on the market,” Scott explained, “We run a 100x10mm keel down the centre, which is fundamentally the backbone of the boat.

Followed by that we have

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Stessl boats has moved back home. With Scott James (from Horizon Boats) the new owner, Stessl is once more owned and built in South East Queensland. With decades of history for the brand in the books, it’s not surprising that Scott’s dad, the legendary Bob James, was once the foreman at the factory in one of its Queensland iterations.

And Scott is excited about the acquisition.

One of the first things I asked him, though, was about what ‘Platerix’ was.

“Platerix describes the way that we build our plate boats, which is different

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bilge and batteries through a pair of watertight hatches.

Without a transom door, boarding happens up the ladder and over the transom via the duckboard.

On the water, the hull runs quietly. Sometimes this isn’t the case with plate boats, but the amount of

FMG

engineered and designed not to break. Ever.

The boat we tested on the Tweed River and bar was a customer’s boat that has been fitted out as a serious offshore fishing

boat. Although this craft boasts 1.8m bunks in the cabin and a bait station that converts to a ski pole in a matter of seconds, it’s unashamedly a ‘dad’s’ fishing boat.

With an impressive 2.5m beam, there’s a huge cockpit to comfortably fish three or four anglers at a time. Coupled with the factory installed vinyl flooring and deck wash, the clean-up options are easy.

The overhead rocket launchers fitted into the canopy swallow up any rods not immediately in use and the port side live well keeps your live baits in A1 condition. There’s also an underfloor kill box under the cockpit floor.

The transom design is neat, with access to the

RPM........................ km/h...................... km/L Idle................................ 4.............................5 1000............................... 8.............................4 2000............................. 13.......................... 2.5 3000............................. 23.......................... 1.9 4000............................. 37.......................... 1.9 5000............................. 48.......................... 1.4 6000............................. 59.......................... 1.2

The 2.5m of beam make this a very stable boat.

of unleaded burned. At 6000rpm the package scoots along at 59km/h, but burns fuel much less economically.

It’s the same for most outboard powered boats – ease up on the throttle and your day on the water gets much cheaper.

The real talking point for the Seahawk, though, is the price. Eyebrows were raised when the package on a twin axle trailer landed at under $60,000 – well under $60K at $56,990.

If you want more information, watch the test video on the FishingMonthly YouTube channel (by scanning the QR code hereby on your smartphone), or go to www.stessl.com.au and you can also like Stessl Boats on Facebook.

Now that’s a lot of cockpit space – the test boat has custom synthetic floors fitted to keep it softer and quieter underfoot as well as easy to clean up.

Relaxn helm seats are lifted with a large storage box. The helm is comfortable on the test boat.

Yamaha’s F130 is destined to become a classic.

Delivering quiet, economy and reliability, it pushed the test boat to just under 60km/h at 6000rpm. The best economy was at 4250rpm, where fuel use for distance was nearly halved.

Excess fishing rods can be stored in the rocket launchers, which are incorporated into the canopy.

We love flush-mounted electronics at Fishing Monthly. It means that the design is modern enough to incorporate the common units used for fit-up at the time.

Top: Side pockets are standard in a boat of this configuration. The Seahawk’s gunwales are high enough to be comfortable fishing offshore.

Left: The footrest lets you lock yourself in when things get a little rough.

Right: There’s a deck wash to keep everything civil in the cockpit.

Top Left: A port side live bait tank is plumbed to keep your livies in top condition before you send them to their doom.

Top Right: The optional bait board fits five rods, two cans and a block of IQF pills. What more could an owner want? The board also detaches and leaves a ski pole for the family days.

Left: True to its bulletproof heritage, the cabin isn’t the most luxurious we’ve ever seen, but it does the job of keeping significant others out of the sun and weather.

It’s 1.8m long, which will allow most adults to stretch out and get some sleep.

Right: We had plenty of fun testing the Stessl Seahawk in the Tweed River and bar!

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Sea Jay Velocity Sports 550 – a big, versatile tinny

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Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

It’s a real lucky dip when we get to take a boat out for a test. Sometimes we’re cursed with billiard-table flat seas. Other times we are blessed with a bay that looks like a washing machine. It’s these rough days where you can really find out what a hull can do.

After all, there’s no such thing as a crappy ride on a calm sea.

Sea Jay’s Velocity Sports models are based on the Samurai hull – built with a steep entry, which tapers off to around 16° of deadrise at the transom. Couple that with some wide reverse chines and you get Sea Jay’s iteration of a perfect compromise between the

ability to carve water and stability at rest.

There are three models in the Velocity Sports range and we tested the largest of them. The test boat was fitted out by Stones Corner Marine as a staff and demonstration model. Powered by a Yamaha F130 four-stroke, it wasn’t missing any of the fruit you’d expect, kind of the same way you never see a butcher with an iron deficiency.

After completing the

obligatory performance statistics in the sheltered waters of Raby Bay, Stones Corner’s Troy Wegner and I got the opportunity to take the rig out in more exposed waters to see what it could do. Anything up to around 0.75m the Velocity took in its stride – the length of the hull and mass of the boat allowed the craft to bridge the ‘holes in the road.’

When wind blew against tide and the waves really stood up, you needed to

PERFORMANCE RPM. Speed (km/h) Economy (km/L) 650.................................. 8......................................6.8 1000................................ 9......................................5.2 2000...............................14......................................2.7 3000.............................. 22......................................2.2 4000.............................. 42......................................2.9 5000.............................. 54......................................2.2 6300.............................. 70......................................1.4 * Fitted with a SOLAS 13.5” x 16 pitch propeller.

You can see how deep the sides of this boat are.

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Main Pic: Sea Jay’s 550 Velocity Sports is a big, beamy boat. With nearmaximum allowable beam (for towing) and a mile of deck space, this rig covers a pile of inshore and offshore applications. Above: The raised front casting deck sees the angler up the bow fishing with their feet well above the waterline when the boat is at rest. The rails are low enough to cast sidearm. come off the throttle and drive the boat through the troughs and that’s standard for a boat of this length.

Also standard, if you decide to quarter the sea while off the plane, you will get spray blown back across you.

Overall, though, there are few aluminium open boats that you’d take on the bay with the same confidence as the Sea Jay. The 1.3m depth allows you to crawl through the nastiest slop without stuffing the bow under.

As usual, a mid-range Yamaha provides superlative fuel economy, yielding 2.9km/L at the optimal cruising range (4000 rpm) and backs it up with great hole shot (four seconds to planing speed).

If, for any reason, the bright yellow hull didn’t turn heads at the ramp, the

optional accessories certainly would, especially when you decided to remote-deploy the MinnKota 80lb Ulterra. It’s a neat party trick.

Coupled with a Humminbird Helix 9, you have all of the tools you need for tracking down and effectively catching fish anywhere from your local freshwater lake through to offshore and everything in between.

Completing the package is the OEM Sea Jay Trailer, built specifically for this hull by Dunbier trailers.

Constructed on an alloy I-beam backbone and fitted with braked mag wheels on its twin axles, you can be sure that your investment is being well looked after.

Sea Jay are so confident with the combination that they double the warranty on

the hull to two years if you choose this option.

As tested the boat rolls off the yard in the low $60Ks. You can get into a lowerspec Velocity Sports 550 package for under $50,000.

For more information or find your local dealer visit Sea Jay’s website www. seajayboats.com.au.

SPECIFICATIONS Bottom...................4mm Sides......................3mm Beam....................2.45m Depth.....................1.3m Floor Ribs.................. 14 Capacity..... six persons Hull weight..........660kg Rec hp.....................100 Max hp..................... 150 Max Motor Weight....230 Overall Length.....5.60m

Matched with a Sea Jay trailer OEM built by Dunbier, the Velocity Sports gets an extra year of warranty. It’s a damn sexy trailer, too. Aluminium I-beam construction and alloy mag wheels would make anyone feel funny inside.

A steep bow entry tapers down to a 16° deadrise at the transom. On the water, this translated to the ability to punch across a chop of about 0.75m. After that, you need to slow down and navigate the troughs.

Top Left: Lots of anglers appreciate the ability to either anchor or use the electric motor, depending on conditions. There’s room in that anchor well to fit an anchor winch, too. Bottom Left: The 60” of MinnKota shaft were just enough to use in calm waters.

Right: Humminbird’s Helix 9 is a great all-round unit and combines side image, down image, GPS and mapping features.

The Yamaha F130 threw the Sea Jay up and onto the plane in around four seconds. It definitely wasn’t a slouch out of the hole.

Clever use of underfloor space allows for a variety of wet and covered options in the final layout of the Velocity.

Left: Everything you want in a console is right here – room for big electronics, plenty to hold on to, double shelves out of the weather and the ability to drive from a standing or seated position. Right: The tackle trays in the side of the console were the icing on the cake.

If this console was any more hotted up, it’d leave skid marks.

There’s a whole lot of workspace on this front deck. This image doesn’t really do it justice. You could lie across it.

If you’re a deeper water angler, you’ll appreciate the lower cockpit floor behind the casting deck. There are no rod lockers in this hull layout – the vertical rod storage in front of the console does just fine.

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Victorian Tide Times

2018 2018 Local Time

POINT LONSDALE – VICTORIA POINT – 144° VICTORIA LAT LONSDALE 38° 18’ LONG 37’

JANUARY Time Time JANUARY m

Time m 0033 0.81 0033 0.81 0545 1.32 0545 1.32 TU 1152 0.26 1152 0.26 TU1813 1813 1.51 0123 1.51 0123 0.79 0649 0.79 WE 1246 0649 1.35 1.35 WE1904 1246 0.20 0.20 1904 1.61 0206 1.61 0206 0.73 0742 0.73 TH 1336 0742 1.40 1.40 1336 TH1949 0.14 0.14 1949 1.69 0244 1.69 0244 0.64 0825 0.64 FR 1422 0825 1.46 1.46 1422 FR2030 0.10 0.10 2030 1.74 0318 1.74 0318 0.55 0905 0.55 0905 1.50 1505 SA 1.50 1505 SA2107 0.11 0.11 2107 1.75 0352 1.75 0352 0.47 0942 0.47 0942 1.52 1545 SU 1.52 SU 1545 0.15 2141 0.15 2141

18’ of High LONG 144° TimesLAT and38° Heights and Low37’ Waters Times and Heights of High and Low Waters MARCH FEBRUARY m Time Time m Time MARCH m TimeFEBRUARY m

m 1.38 1.38 0.83 0.83 1.22 1.22 0.38 0.38 1.43 1.43 0.79 0.79 1.24 1.24 0.34 0.34 1.48 1.48 0.72 0.72 1.27 1.27 0.31 0.31 1.53 1.53 0.66 0.66 1.31 1.31 0.30 0.30 1.57 1.57 0.59 0.59 1.35 1.35 0.30 0.30 1.59 1.59 0.54 0.54 1.38 1.38 0.31 0.31

Time 0131 0131 0715 0715 FR 1311 1311 FR 1927 1927 0213 0213 0802 0802 SA 1402 1402 SA 2011 2011 0250 0250 0843 0843 SU 1448 1448 SU 2048 2048 0326 0326 0919 0919 MO 1531 1531 MO 2124 2124 0400 0400 0954 0954 TU 1613 1613 TU 2159 2159 0434 0434 1028 1028 1653 WE 1653 WE 2236 2236

m 1.38 1.38 0.73 0.73 1.23 1.23 0.39 0.39 1.44 1.44 0.65 0.65 1.30 1.30 0.37 0.37 1.50 1.50 0.56 0.56 1.37 1.37 0.36 0.36 1.54 1.54 0.48 0.48 1.43 1.43 0.36 0.36 1.57 1.57 0.41 0.41 1.47 1.47 0.37 0.37 1.57 1.57 0.34 0.34 1.50 1.50 0.40 0.40

0447 1.73 1.73 22 0426 0426 1.60 1.60 0508 0545 1.61 1.61 22 0508 770447 77 0545 1026 1142 1026 0.40 0.40 221017 1017 0.49 0.49 1102 1142 0.25 0.25 22 1102 1734 1646 1.51 1626 1.40 1820 1.49 TH SU MO WE

1.56 1.56 0.29 0.29 1.51 1.51 0.45 0.45 1.53 1.53 0.26 0.26 1.50 1.50 0.50 0.50

Time 0416 0416 1046 1046 MO 1645 MO 1645

11

220022 0022 0534 0534 TU 1157

1157 TU1757 1757 0124 0124 0645 0645 WE 1304 1304 WE1902 1902 0220 0220 0746 0746 TH 1405 1405 TH2001 2001 0313 0313 0842 0842 FR 1500 1500 FR2056 2056 0401 0401 0934 0934 1554 SA 1554 SA2147 2147

33 44

55 66

16 16

17 17

18 18 19 19

20 20 21 21

Time 0102 0102 0621 0621 TH 1246 1246 TH 1849 1849 0201 0201 0730 0730 FR 1352 1352 FR 1952 1952 0255 0255 0830 0830 SA 1451 1451 SA 2046 2046 0343 0343 0923 0923 SU 1546 1546 SU 2137 2137 0427 0427 1013 1013 MO 1639 1639 MO 2223 2223 0508 0508 1059 1059 1730 TU 1730 TU 2305 2305

11

22

33 44

55 66

m 1.52 1.52 0.72 0.72 1.37 1.37 0.20 0.20 1.59 1.59 0.62 0.62 1.44 1.44 0.18 0.18 1.65 1.65 0.50 0.50 1.50 1.50 0.18 0.18 1.69 1.69 0.40 0.40 1.54 1.54 0.21 0.21 1.69 1.69 0.32 0.32 1.55 1.55 0.27 0.27 1.66 1.66 0.27 0.27 1.53 1.53 0.34 0.34

16 16 17 17 18 18 19 19

20 20 21 21

Time 0440 0440 1118 1718 TH 1118 TH 1718

m 0.75 0.75 1.30 1.30 0.34 0.34

0038 2 0038 0604 2 0604 1237 FR

1.44 1.44 0.67 0.67 1.36 1.36 0.33 0.33 1.51 1.51 0.55 0.55 1.45 1.45 0.31 0.31 1.57 1.57 0.43 0.43 1.53 1.53 0.30 0.30 1.61 1.61 0.33 0.33 1.59 1.59 0.32 0.32 1.62 1.62 0.26 0.26 1.61 1.61 0.36 0.36

11

FR 1237 1838 1838 0138 0138 0715 1345 SA 0715 SA 1345 1942 1942 0230 0230 0815 1445 SU 0815 SU 1445 2036 2036 0317 0317 0906 0906 1538 MO 1538 MO 2123 2123 0400 0400 0952 0952 1628 TU 1628 TU 2206 2206

33

44 55 66

Time 0521 0521 1139 1750 FR 1139 FR 1750

16 16

m m 0.80 0.80 1.18 1.18 0.55 0.55

Time Time 0109 0109 0559 1238 SU0559 1828 SU 1238 1828 0101 0101 0654 1335 MO0654 MO 1335 1919 1919 0146 0146 0740 1426 TU0740 TU 1426 2004 2004 0227 0227 0822 1511 WE0822 WE 1511 2045 2045 0303 0303 0901 0901 1550 TH1550 TH 2121 2121 0337 0337 0939 0939 1627 FR 1627 FR 2157 2157

11

0045 1.32 17 0045 0638 1.32 0.72 22 17 1246 0.72 1.24 SA 0638 SA 1246 1857 1857 0132 0132 0730 1343 SU 0730 SU 1343 1945 1945 0215 0215 0810 1431 MO 0810 MO 1431 2025 2025 0253 0253 0846 0846 1516 TU 1516 TU 2103 2103 0330 0330 0922 0922 1559 WE 1559 WE 2141 2141

18 18

19 19 20 20

21 21

1.24 0.53 0.53 1.39 1.39 0.62 0.62 1.34 1.34 0.50 0.50 1.45 1.45 0.52 0.52 1.44 1.44 0.47 0.47 1.50 1.50 0.42 0.42 1.53 1.53 0.46 0.46 1.54 1.54 0.33 0.33 1.59 1.59 0.46 0.46

33

44 55

66

Local Time APRIL APRIL Time m

m 1.47 1.47 0.49 0.49 1.50 1.50 0.49 0.49 1.52 1.52 0.39 0.39 1.59 1.59 0.48 0.48 1.55 1.55 0.31 0.31 1.66 1.66 0.48 0.48 1.56 1.56 0.26 0.26 1.68 1.68 0.49 0.49 1.55 1.55 0.25 0.25 1.67 1.67 0.52 0.52 1.52 1.52 0.26 0.26 1.64 1.64 0.55 0.55

m Time m 0540 0.59 0540 1219 0.59 1.42 1807 1.42 0.66 MO1219 MO 1807 0.66

16 16

0030 1.43 17 0030 0624 1.43 0.47 17TU0624 1311 0.47 1.54

TU 1311 1854 1.54 0.63 1854 0.63 0115 1.48 0115 0705 1.48 0.37 1358 0.37 1.65 WE0705 WE 1358 1937 1.65 0.60 1937 0.60 0157 1.52 0157 0746 1.52 0.29 1443 0.29 1.72 TH0746 TH 1443 2019 1.72 0.58 2019 0.58 0238 1.54 0238 0829 1.54 0.23 0829 1526 0.23 1.75 FR1526 1.75 FR 2100 0.58 2100 0.58 0317 1.54 0317 1.54 0912 0.21 0912 0.21 1609 1.74 SA 1609 SA 2143 1.74 0.58 2143 0.58

18 18

19 19

20 20 21 21

0437 7 0437 1033 7 1033 WE 1714

0411 1.48 1.48 0359 1.53 1.53 0407 1.55 1.55 70411 220359 22 0407 1015 0.29 0.29 22 0956 0.22 0.22 0959 0.27 0.27 7 22 1015 0959 0956 SA 1701 1.59 SU 1653 1.70 TH 1640 1.63

0513 8 0513 1113 1113 TH 1756

1.56 1.56 0.22 0.22 1.56 1756 1.56 TH 2322 0.47 0.47 2322

0443 1.54 1.54 0445 1.44 1.44 0441 1.50 1.50 23 0443 80445 230441 1037 0.22 0.22 1049 0.33 0.33 23 1040 0.26 0.26 8 1037 1049 1040 FR 1721 1.63 SU 1736 1.53 MO 1739 1.63

0546 9 0546 1149 1149 FR 1837

0519 1.52 1.52 0521 1.38 1.38 0528 1.45 1.45 24 0519 90521 240528 1116 0.21 0.21 1124 0.38 0.38 24 1126 0.33 0.33 9 1116 1124 1126 SA 1804 1.60 MO 1814 1.46 TU 1830 1.56

0104 0036 0606 0104 0.60 0.60 0036 0006 0.41 0.41 0606 1.53 1.53 10 0735 0655 1159 100006 25 10 0735 1.39 1.39 25 0658 0658 0655 1.56 1.56 25 1159 0.36 0.36 10 1340 0.34 1257 1248 0.33 1831 1.39

0620 10 0620 1225 1225 1917

0600 1.32 1.32 0623 1.40 1.40 0558 1.49 1.49 100600 250623 25 0558 1200 0.45 0.45 25 1215 0.42 0.42 1157 0.22 0.22 10 1200 1215 1157 1857 1.40 1930 1.49 1851 1.55

0121 0050 0.52 0.52 0147 0.68 0.68 0121 0005 0.50 0.50 11 110050 260005 11 0147 0816 0737 0642 0737 1.48 1.48 26 0816 1.31 1.31 26 0744 0744 0642 1.49 1.49 11 1423 0.38 1344 1333 0.35 1236 0.32

0036 11 0036 0656 0656

0026 0.73 0.73 0051 0.67 0.67 0022 0.59 0.59 110026 260051 26 0022 0645 1.26 1.26 26 0732 1.35 1.35 0640 1.44 1.44 11 0645 0732 0640

0134 0.62 0.62 0049 0.58 0.58 0237 0.76 0.76 0213 0213 12 0237 120134 270049 12 0820 1.39 1.39 27 0722 1.44 1.44 12 0904 1.24 1.24 27 0841 0841 0820 0904 0722 1420 0.37 1317 0.30 1515 0.43 1441

0115 12 0115 0734 0734

0112 0.77 0.77 0200 0.67 0.67 0107 0.65 0.65 27 0107 120112 270200 0730 0741 0857 0741 1.22 1.22 27 0857 1.34 1.34 0730 1.39 1.39 12

0224 0.72 0.72 0337 0.82 0.82 0318 0138 0.66 0.66 0318 13 0337 130224 280138 13 0907 1.32 1.32 28 1001 1.19 1.19 28 0953 0953 0809 1.39 1.39 13 1001 0907 0809 1513 0.40 1618 0.45 1553 1406 0.28

0159 13 0159 0819 0819 1422

0208 0319 0208 0.79 0.79 0319 0.63 0.63 0159 0.70 0.70 28 0159 13 28 0849 1015 0830 0849 1.19 1.19 28 1015 1.38 1.38 0830 1.33 1.33 13 1423 0.65 1543 0.67 1423 0.39

0452 0.84 0.84 0322 0.80 0.80 0234 0.74 0.74 14 0452 140322 290234 1107 1.17 1.17 0959 1.26 1.26 29 0904 1.34 1.34 14 14 0959 1107 0904 WE 1730 0.45 SU 1611 0.41 MO 1504 0.27

WE 1730 0.45

0250 14 0250 0915 0915 WE 1516

0319 0433 0319 0.77 0.77 0433 0.55 0.55 0304 0.72 0.72 29 0304 1007 1125 0950 14 29 1007 1.22 1.22 29 1125 1.46 1.46 0950 1.30 1.30 14 SA 1537 0.69 SU 1701 0.69 TH 1536 0.46

0042 1.32 1.32 0432 0.84 0.84 0343 0.80 0.80 15 0042 150432 300343 0611 0.81 0.81 1055 1.22 1.22 30 1012 1.31 1.31 15 15 0611 1055 1012 TH 1212 1.19 MO 1714 0.41 TU 1615 0.27

0357 15 0357 1025 1025 1627 TH

0440 0535 0440 0.69 0.69 0428 0.69 0.69 0535 0.46 0.46 30 0428 1116 1118 1228 15 30 1118 1.30 1.30 30 1116 1.32 1.32 15 1228 1.56 1.56 1703 0.50 1702 0.69 1806 0.68 FR SU MO

1646 1.51 SU2236 2236 0.22 0.22

1626 1.40 MO2214 2214 0.34 0.34

1820 1.49 WE 2345 2345 0.42 0.42

1734 TH 2314 2314

0459 0542 0531 1.69 1.69 0459 1.59 1.59 0622 1.54 1.54 0542 880531 88 0622 1115 1051 1222 23 1115 0.35 0.35 23 1051 0.44 0.44 1222 0.26 0.26 23 1138 1138 MO 1740 1.48 TU 1705 1.40 TH 1911 1.43 FR 1817 MO 1740 1.48 2322 2322 0.31 0.31

TU 1705 1.40 2247 2247 0.38 0.38

TH 1911 1.43

FR 1817 2354 2354

0532 0618 0532 1.57 1.57 0025 0.51 0.51 0618 0614 1.63 1.63 99 0025 990614 1124 1202 0659 24 1124 0.40 0.40 0659 1.47 1.47 24 1216 1216 1202 0.33 0.33 24 TU 1837 1.43 WE 1746 1.40 FR 1300 0.29 SA 1905 TU 1837 1.43

WE 1746 1.40 2325 2325 0.43 0.43

WE WE 1248 0.33 TH TH 1831 1.39 1938 1938 1.38 1.38

TH TH 1333 0.35 FR FR 1236 0.32 2039 1923 2039 1.34 1.34 1923 1.38 1.38

FR1420 0.37 SA1317 0.30 FR SA 2138 1.32 1.32 2022 1.37 1.37 2138 2022

SA1513 0.40 SU SU1406 0.28 SA 2237 1.31 1.31 2130 1.37 1.37 2237 2130

SU 1611 0.41 MO 1504 0.27 2336 1.34 1.34 2244 1.39 1.39 2336 2244

MO 1714 0.41

TU 1615 2357 2357 0502 0502 1130 1130 1735 WE 1735 WE

31 31

0.27 1.44 1.44 0.79 0.79 1.32 1.32 0.24 0.24

FR 1300 0.29 2000 2000 1.38 1.38

SA SA 1340 0.34 2052 2052 1.32 1.32

SU SU 1423 0.38 2146 2146 1.29 1.29

MO 1515 0.43 MO 2245 1.27 1.27 2245

TU 1618 0.45 TU 2345 1.28 1.28 2345

TH 1212 1.19 1834 0.43 0.43 1834

1.49 1.49 0.24 0.24 1.47 SA 1905 1.47

0.57 1.44 SU SU 1257 0.24 2000 2000 1.43

0.65 1.39 MO MO 1344 0.26 2104 2104 1.39 0.72 1.33 TU 1441 0.29 TU 2217 1.37 2217

0.76 1.30 WE 1553 0.33 WE 2331 1.39 2331

1.60 1.60 0.23 0.23 1.60 1714 1.60 WE 2245 0.41 2245 0.41

1.51 1.51 0.25 0.25 1.50 1837 1.50 FR 2359 0.53 0.53 2359 1.45 1.45 0.29 0.29 1.44 SA 1917 1.44

0.59 0.59 1.38 1.38 1300 0.34 0.34 SU 1300 2000 1.37 1.37 2000

0.66 0.66 1.31 1.31 1339 0.40 0.40 MO 1339 2048 2048 1.32 1.32 0.73 0.73 1.24 1.24 0.46 TU 1422 0.46 2144 2144 1.27 1.27

0.79 0.79 1.19 1.19 0.51 WE 1516 0.51 2245 2245 1.26 1.26 0.82 0.82 1.16 1.16 0.55 TH 1627 0.55 2348 2348 1.28 1.28

1.63 TH 1640 2220 0.47 0.47 2220

FR 1721 1.63 2300 0.50 0.50 2300

SA 1804 1.60 2341 0.54 0.54 2341

SU 1851 1.55 SU

1240 0.25 0.25 MO 1240 MO 1943 1.49 1.49 1943

1327 0.31 0.31 TU TU 1327 2045 2045 1.43 1.43

WE WE 1423 0.39 2155 2155 1.39 1.39

TH 1536 0.46 2305 2305 1.38 1.38

FR 1703 0.50

1.59 SU 1653 1.70 SA 1701 2232 0.58 0.58 2226 0.60 0.60 2226 2232

SU 1736 1.53 MO 1739 1.63 2309 0.63 0.63 2310 0.62 0.62 2309 2310

MO 1814 1.46 2346 0.68 0.68 2346

TU1857 1.40 TU

1238 0.51 0.51 WE1238 WE 1947 1.34 1.34 1947

1325 0.59 0.59 TH TH1325 2045 2045 1.31 1.31

FR FR 1423 0.65 2148 2148 1.30 1.30

SA 1537 0.69 2248 2248 1.33 1.33

SU 1702 0.69 2343 2343 1.37 1.37

TU 1830 1.56 2358 0.65 0.65 2358

WE1930 1.49 WE

1312 0.52 0.52 TH1312 TH 2033 1.44 1.44 2033

1421 0.61 0.61 FR FR1421 2137 2137 1.42 1.42

SA SA 1543 0.67 2239 2239 1.43 1.43

SU 1701 0.69 2335 2335 1.45 1.45

MO 1806 0.68

0011 1.42 1.42 31 0011 0551 0551 0.61 0.61 1231 1.40 SA 1231 1.40 SA 1823 1823 0.50 0.50

CopyrightCommonwealth Commonwealth of of Australia Australia 2016, 2016, Bureau Bureau of of Meteorology Meteorology Copyright Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Timesare areininlocal localstandard standardtime time (UTC (UTC +10:00) +10:00) or or daylight daylight savings savings time Times time (UTC (UTC +11:00) +11:00) when whenin ineffect effect New Moon First Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon New Moon First Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon

Last LastQuarter Quarter

Tide predictions for Port Phillip Heads have been formatted by the National Tidal Centre, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Copyright reserved. All material is supplied in good faith and is believed to be correct. It is supplied on the condition that no warranty is given in relation thereto, that no responsibility or liability for errors or omissions is, or will be, accepted and that the recipient will hold MHL and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Australia free from all such responsibility or liability and from all loss or damage incurred as a consequence of any error or omission. Predictions should not be used for navigational purposes. Use of these tide predictions will be deemed to include acceptance of the above conditions.

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