Victoria and Tasmania Fishing Monthly July 2019

SURF’S UP THIS WINTER • HAVE A TRY IN JULY

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Techniques for tackling the surf • Bream in the Bay • Stayin’ alive on the rocks July, 2019 Fishing Monthly G R O U P

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July 2019, Vol. 14 No. 9

Contents WEST COAST West Coast

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15

14

18

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Cobden 16 Apollo Bay

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CENTRAL Geelong 18 Port Phillip West

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Port Phillip North East

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Mornington Peninsula

24

Victorian Gamefishing

25

Port Phillip Bay Offshore

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Western Port North

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Western Port South

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Phillip Island

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EAST COAST Gippsland Lakes

34

Marlo 35 Bemm River

35

Lakes Entrance

36

Corner Inlet

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

VICTORIAN FRESHWATER Wagga Wagga

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Mildura 50

From the Editor’s Desk...

Fishing Monthly publishes the businessto-business magazine Australian Fishing Tackle Retailer. It’s where the back end of the tackle industry discusses industry issues. Recently we printed an article inside it discussing the difficult retail environment and the reasons why small tackle stores can sometimes struggle.

We had more feedback about that article than any we have published in that magazine.

Ever.

It struck a nerve with operators who have lost the joy of being in the industry due to eroding margins and digital disruption.

We all have a local tackle store. Sometimes

it’s a stand-alone tackle store. Sometimes it’s a part of a servo, or camping store, or toy shop. I’ve seen nearly every combination in my travels around Australia.

They’re usually staffed by locals who have an excellent idea about what’s happening in the area.

Rewind 20 years and the first thing you’d do is drop into the local when you go fishing to get a head start for your time on the water.

You’d buy your bait and terminal tackle there, too.

I reckon that there’s fewer small, independent tackle stores around now than at ant time in my lifetime and that’s sad.

It’s sad for the owners who struggle to make ends meet, and it’s sad for the areas who now lack that local, finger-on-the-

pulse advice.

Maybe Facebook reports from your mates are good enough nowadays? But remember, they only tell you what they’ve caught, not when they’re going next or what’s on the horizon.

They don’t want you there catching ‘their’ fish.

It’s the same premise for Fishing Monthly magazines, we like to tell you what’s coming up and to help you plan your trips and less about what happened a month ago. That’s why lots of our contributors work in these local tackle stores.

Do you want your local, independent tackle stores to survive? Make sure that you involve them in your trips! Talk to them about what’s been happening and what’s expected to happen in the close future.

Buy your tackle there.

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Buy your bait there. Tag them in your posts when you’re showing off your catch online.

I don’t like the idea of a future without my local tackle store, and I bet that you don’t either. Keep that in mind next time you buy your lures from a dodgy Internet seller and shamefully drive past their door on the way to the river.

Well, that might be going a little over the top, but you get what I mean. Does your internet supplier sponsor local kids fishing days, help the local school or help your local fishing club with prizes? I bet not.

Look after your local tackle store and they’ll keep looking after you as long as they can stay in business.

Albury/Wodonga 50 Robinvale 51 Snowy Mountains

52

West/South Gippsland

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Wangaratta 53 Shepparton 54 Eildon 54 Bendigo 55

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A tasty blue-eye trevalla caught offshore on a beautiful winter’s day.

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Techniques for winter’s surf fishing

Sub-Editors: Nicole Penfold Bob Thornton Annie March Lucette Eggleton

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SURF SALMON

Top techniques for this winter’s surf fishing While I use berley to attract the fish to my gutter, there is no need to make long casts, in fact, I’d be lucky to cast more than 10m into the surf. This is because if there are any fish in the gutter I’m

WESTERN PORT STH

Jarrod Day jarrodday@iprimus.com.au

Surf fishing is nothing new to Victorian anglers. In fact, on any given weekend day it is common to see the beaches lined with anglers all trying their luck. Sometimes – depending on the beach being fished – it can be challenging getting your own piece of sand to make a cast.

Winter is the peak time to target Australian salmon, but they can be challenging to find at times. With such a broad coastline, salmon can be in numbers at one beach one day and a different beach the next.

All beaches are lined with gutters. This gutter in the bottom of the photo runs along the beach and then back out to sea. the fish can be right at your feet. If you’re trying to cast to oblivion, then you could be casting over the top of the school of fish.

This is also true should you be using berley because the fish will swim right into the shore break following the food source.

While it is common to use long surf rods, your choice should be based on how you’re going to fish.

In most surf fishing cases, a 9-10ft rod is recommended

Rod holders should only be used when replacing rigs or threading on new baits. Holding the rod and feeling for the bite will increase your chance of success.

It’s not often you come across monster surf salmon but on occasion, you do strike it rich. This beast was taken while spinning Gunnamatta Beach.

When choosing which beach to head to you should look at two main things. Keep an eye on your local fishing reports and social media, and keep an eye on the weather.

You want to head to a beach where the wind is blowing directly into it.

Often, the rougher the weather, the more chance the fish will school up in

on your arrival before setting up your rods and rigs. This is because while you’re setting up, the berley trail is being created and subsequently attracting the fish. Usually by the time you have set-up,

the wash searching out easy meals that are washed around with the surges.

DIRTY OL’ BAIT Surf fishing techniques can vary quite a bit from angler to angler but the basics should be the same.

Rod selection should be based on how you fish, not where you fish. For instance, while it is common practice

to attempt to cast as far as you can to reach deeper water, this mindset will not get you far. Gutters or rips as they are commonly known to surfers and swimmers, are where you’ll find the bulk of the fish holding due to the water’s depth.

In many cases, these gutters run right into the shore break meaning that

A good range of metal lures is ideal when spinning the surf. because they can be used for multiple techniques, including bait fishing and casting lures.

fishing, they will move right into the shore break.

A technique I swear by is to establish a berley trail

the fish will already be in your gutter.

Rigging for salmon is quite simple, but there are also mullet and silver trevally, which are common catches and can be caught in the same gutters.

The humble paternoster rig is undoubtedly the most effective rig for surf fishing and can be set-up in numerous ways. While most Victorian salmon don’t exceed 3kg in weight, with the average being 1.5kg in season, there is no need to tie rigs from a leader strength greater than 15lb. An exception to this is when there is a strong wind blow, which will rip up kelp and other seaweed

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JULY 2019

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Fishing a longshank hook on the bottom dropper allows you to catch mullet and trevally, although salmon will still take a bait offering.

SURF SALMON

When on the beach, look for the green or blue coloured water. This signifies a rip/gutter and is where the fish will be holding. from the seafloor. This is then pushed up to the surface and washed into the beaches.

During these days, you may need to use a heavier leader so as not to get busted off on the floating debris.

Hook choice is also critical and more often than not, anglers go in for the kill and use hooks too large in size for the fish that are about. Small hooks will catch big fish too.

Paternoster rigs in the surf should contain two droppers to increase your chance at hooking fish, but be mindful of the bottom

dropper being too close to the sinker. The reason being is that sand crabs also like an easy meal and often chew up the bottom bait if they can get to it.

To avoid the crabs stealing baits, a surf popper or soft plastic can be used on the bottom dropper, which is also effective.

My rig tends to comprise of the top dropper containing a Mustad 1/0 Redbait holder hook containing bluebait while the bottom dropper has a Mustad #8 bloodworm long shank hook tied to it, which is laced with a pipi bait.

Once all this is set-up, vary your casts starting in shallow and slowly work your way out in the gutter.

At some point, you’ll get a bite and if you can remember where you made the cast, replicate it on the next, as this is where the fish are likely to be holding.

SPINNING Another effective surf fishing technique is to walk the shoreline casting metal lures. Surf casting is far easier than bait fishing but also has its disadvantages.

Unlike using berley when bait fishing and attracting the fish to your location, with spinning you have to go in search of the fish. This means starting at one point and begin casting in a gutter

Berley is necessary to attract fish when you’re surf fishing.

There are some hefty salmon about. Keep your eyes on fishing reports to find out which beach they are on.

a few hundred times before making your way up the beach to the next gutter and continuing the process.

The best part of spinning the surf is that you can easily cover distance and before long, find where the fish are holding. Then again, you can take it all one step further

and combine berley and spinning, however, if you are going to set a berley trail and then spin that gutter, you will need to stay the for the duration of your session.

Otherwise, making a move to another gutter and berleying once again will cause the fish To page 10

JULY 2019

9

SURF SALMON From page 9

to spread out along the beach and not be confined to the gutter you’re spinning.

One thing to note when spinning is that the average salmon along Melbourne’s beaches are a good 1.2kg.

Solid fish no doubt, but there is no need to fish too heavy for them.

Spinning requires a light setup and I’d recommend a 9ft rod specifically designed for surf casting. This can be mounted with a 4000 series reel and I personally wouldn’t go anything heavier than 10lb braid or 12lb mono.

Due to the pressure on the line from the waves, braid is a better option due to its fine diameter, but should you use mono, keep it at 10-12lb.

I’d also suggest running

lure that resembles their main diet will see the fish engulfing your lure without hesitation.

Metal lures are the most popular and those that are rear weighted will help you cast further. The further you can make the

Never fish where the waves are breaking, always search and fish in the gutters.

Salmon fishing really heats up in rough seas.

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JULY 2019

lures ranging 15-40g are more than heavy enough and as for colours, stick to those that are similar colours to baitfish, like silver, green and blue.

Surf season is upon us, and while salmon are scattered along the beaches,

a length of leader and something with a little abrasive quality behind it. Fluorocarbon is a great option because it is high in abrasive qualities and known for its strength. In the surf, the possibility of getting tangled with a big clump of kelp or seaweed and the pressure from the waves washing it around can cause your leader to break when attempting to pull it up the beach to free your lure. In this case, a 15lb fluorocarbon leader will prevent you from busting

off unnecessary lures.

While there is no finesse approach to spinning the surf (in fact it is just a matter of casting a mile and retrieving), it does pay to be casting the right lure. Remember the saying fly anglers live by, match the hatch. This should be a saying to live by regardless of the species you’re targeting. To a fish, a lure similar to that of the baitfish they are used to eating won’t rouse suspicion of a foreign object in the water. A fast-retrieved

Kyla Day knows all too well about catching salmon in the surf. She’s been at it for the past five years showing good results. cast, the more water you’ll cover, however, you don’t need to be casting lures too heavy. For salmon, metal

there is no better time than now to be heading to your local surf beach and giving it a go.

Science meets fishing

Bream in the Bay – El Dorado or just teasers?

GEELONG

Ross Winstanley

We’ve always known about black bream in the rivers but who knew about the wonderful bream resource in Port Phillip Bay? Commercial fishers who took catches of up to two tonnes per haul seine shot, some weighing more than 4kg, that’s who. The real question is whether anglers can find a way to get these fish on the end of their lines.

WHAT ANGLERS KNOW ABOUT BREAM AROUND THE BAY Most Vi c t o r i a n saltwater anglers are well aware that the streams flowing into Port Phillip Bay carry healthy black bream populations. Anglers have been targeting them for decades, wherever bream can be accessed, from the bank or by boat. Bream are also a popular target species under the jetties and wharves around the

Anglers know how to catch bream in estuaries like Balcombe Creek. catches by haul seining were occasionally interspersed with individual catches of up to two tonnes per haul. Rising commercial catch rates reflected the increased numbers of bream in open waters since 2000 (see Fig. 1).

Fig. 2 One fisherman’s combined monthly bream catches from Port Phillip Bay, 2011-2018.

Bay and it’s not surprising to catch them among pinkies and trevally when casting soft plastics around boat moorings, particularly in Hobsons Bay and Corio Bay. Anyone diving around shore structures is likely to see schools of juvenile bream.

Bream tournaments have had a mixed experience in the lower Yarra and Maribyrnong rivers; while the bream fishing there is excellent, the port authority’s speed restrictions are a turn-off for competitive fishing.

So, what might anglers, including tournament pros, be able to do with an untapped resource of 2-4kg bream in open waters of the Bay? COMMERCIAL BREAM CATCH RECORDS Victoria’s commercial fisheries catch-by-species records dating back to 1914 show that catches were incidental and totalled less than one tonne annually until 2000. Since then, until the buy-out of commercial licences began in 2016, continuing incidental 12

JULY 2019

Bream catch locations Fisher’s catch reporting records show that the greatest quantities of bream were consistently caught in open waters close to river mouths and major outfalls. Combined with statistical reporting blocks, these records show that most catches occurred along the western shore, between Corio Bay and Point Cook, with smaller catches reported from areas including Point Cook to Elwood and outside Swan Bay. Conversations with fishers indicate that the largest single catches were taken off Little River, Kirk Point, Werribee River, Hovels Creek and the outfall from the Werribee Treatment Plant. Catches off Little River and Kirk Point commonly featured bream larger than 2kg, meanwhile most of the bream caught in Corio Bay were just above the legal size.

During the 1990s, a former commercial fisher confided that each year, during spring, he hauled his

dinghy across the sand bar at the Little River mouth to set mesh nets illegally, to take large catches of very large bream. A few keen anglers have also enjoyed fishing for these fish after dragging their kayaks into the river. This illustrates another facet of the relatively untapped bream fishery resource around the Bay: healthy stream populations with limited access by anglers.

Seasonal catch patterns Monthly logbook records show that most commercial catches occur during the warmer months between November and April (Fig. 2). This fits fisher’s belief that, shortly after spawning, adult bream leave the rivers and enter the Bay’s open waters.

Bream were taken regularly in the same areas over periods of up to several weeks, which suggests that these large adults remained in the Bay over extended periods during the warmer

popular among anglers but appears to be isolated from the rest of the Bay. WHAT’S CAUSED THE CHANGE? Several intriguing questions arise from commercial fisher ’s records and observations, for example: • What has caused the post2000 upsurge in bream catches and catch rates?

• Why were similar catches not taken along the eastern side of the Bay? Haul seining has been practised along the western shore of the Bay for more than a century. The haul seines used throughout that period to catch pinky snapper and whiting would also have taken any bream that occurred there. For a short period during the 1980s, it was possible to take large catches of bream near the Shell refinery cooling water outlet in Corio Bay. However, at the time they suffered from ‘kerosene taint’ and were unmarketable. Then for many years, bream catches reverted to small and incidental by-catch, for example in 6” flounder nets.

It is hard to fathom why it was not until 2000 that annual totals of one tonne or more and large individual catches began to occur on a regular basis. Whenever bream had occurred in numbers in the Bay, fishers had targeted them, motivated by the price incentive (Fig. 3). After 2000, when the price paid to fishers for bream rose sharply – above the price for snapper – the number of fishers landing bream rose from a 20-year average of 2.9 to an average of 14.9, until the start of the Bay licence

Fig. 3 Average yearly prices/kg for bream and snapper, 1989-2010. months. If they had entered open waters simply to move between rivers, significant catches should have been reported between the Yarra River mouth and Werribee and along the eastern shore, down to Mordialloc Creek, Patterson River, Kananook Creek and Balcombe Creek. The healthy bream population in Swan Bay is

buy-out in 2016.

What recent factors affecting streams around the Bay may have driven a post-spawning summer exodus into the open Bay waters, so noticeable since 2000? Bream being an estuary species, the obvious things to look at are recent changes occurring in these streams. What springs to mind is the Millennium Drought, which began in the mid-90s and intensified until it broke late in 2010.

Overlaying this were the recent record global

structures in the Melbourne, Geelong and Queenscliff harbour precincts, also fish with identical gear to catch pinkies elsewhere without incidentally catching bream.

Illustrating the point, on one occasion, commercial fishers report seining not far from where a group of anglers were anchored off Kirk Point. Along with half a tonne of pinkies, the seine shot took more than two tonnes of large bream while the anglers only caught pinkies.

Fig. 1 Annual commercial bream catch (tonnes) and catch rate (kg/haul) from Port Phillip Bay, 1980-2015. temperatures and their effects on stream and estuarine environments, particularly during summer months. Bream’s behavioural response may point to irreversible changes to these environments, warranting further investigation.

There is no ready explanation for the lack of substantial seine catches of bream along the eastern side of the Bay. As with the Bay’s western shore, haul seining has been practised for more than a century between St Kilda and Portsea.

WHY DON’T ANGLERS CATCH THESE BREAM? On the surface, it has been suggested that, during their time in the Bay these large bream are not feeding. While it seems unlikely that they would stop feeding during the productive warmer months, that’s an obvious explanation for why anglers haven’t been catching them while fishing for pinky snapper using bait, lures and soft plastics that would catch bream if used in rivers or around shoreline structures. Anglers who target bream, trevally and other species around

However, fisher ’s observations – in Port Phillip Bay and the Gippsland Lakes – suggest another explanation for the lack of bream catches by anglers. In the Bay, commercial fishers have frequently seen bream feeding in depths of only 1m, mainly at night.

Fishers have observed similar behaviour in the lakes. They believe that the bream schooling up in large numbers and taken in seines or mesh nets in deeper waters are not feeding at the time.

THE BOTTOM LINE To date, tournament pros and other skilled anglers haven’t found a way – deliberately or incidentally – to hook bream in open Bay waters.

Now that there’s an informed basis for targeting bream using bait, lures and soft plastics in the shallow fringes of the Bay, and fishing at night, we may see a change. Otherwise, it seems likely that bream will remain an angling resource of the rivers and the harbour precincts. If so, anglers can look forward to significantly increased numbers of large bream once all net fishing in the Bay ceases in March 2022.

COMMERCIAL FISHERS’ OBSERVATIONS IN PORT PHILLIP BAY • Large adult bream leave rivers in November, after spawning, and remain in open Bay waters until re-entering the rivers in April; • The largest numbers of bream in open Bay waters occur along the western shore, from Werribee to Corio Bay; • This regular seasonal behaviour only began on a large scale since 2000; • When in the Bay, bream feed at night in very shallow water but school up in deeper water where they do not feed and, hence, are inaccessible to anglers; • Some commercial catches comprised bream of 2-4kg; Similar seasonal movements and feeding behaviour occurs among adult bream in the Gippsland Lakes.

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Stayin’ alive on the rocks NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

Winter is a great time for rock fishing, but we should never forget the dangers of this pursuit.

Make no mistake about it: rock fishing is potentially a very dangerous pastime.

Statistically, it has been cited as the most hazardous sport in Australia, and also the third highest cause of drowning deaths after swimming and boating. It’s sobering to consider this statistic on a per capita basis, especially in terms of how many people go swimming or boating each year compared to the much smaller numbers who actually rock fish.

Touch wood, but in half a century of rock fishing, I’ve never been washed in.

Flattened, skittled, rolled, dumped and washed back across the rocks, yes… In fact, more often than I care to count, especially in my younger and more foolhardy days! On one memorable occasion in my late teens, a mate and I along with all of

The author with a nice black drummer or rock blackfish. He’s wearing an inflatable jacket, just in case the worst happens.

Wet rocks tell their own story. These ledges are occasionally being inundated by larger sets on a rather sloppy day. There’s nothing ‘freakish’ about those bigger waves, but they could easily prove deadly. most was losing one of my favourite sidecast outfits in the process. Again, it was a life lesson and has further modified my behaviour on the rocks. I’m a lot more cautious these days.

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Every time an angler loses his or her life on the ocean rocks, the media talks glibly about ‘freak waves’, thereby implying that the tragedy was somehow beyond the control of the hapless fishers involved.

This is a big mistake. In my experience, ‘freak waves’ are extremely rare. Sure, in every hour of every day there will be a couple of larger-thanaverage swells. These are not ‘freaks’, they’re natural anomalies that occur in any medium that’s affected by wave patterns. More experienced rock-hoppers inherently understand this, but new chums often don’t.

The very best advice I can offer in this regard is to sit and watch the spot where you intend to fish for at least 20 minutes before venturing

In the beginning, I was opposed to these rules myself, seeing them as yet another example of unnecessary, nanny-state over-reaction. But I’ve gradually (and somewhat grudgingly) come to accept that wearing life jackets on the rocks might not be

onto it. If in any doubt, go home, no matter how early you got up and how far you drove to get to your chosen spot.

In recent times there’s also been a great deal of

Lightweight sandals that fit well and offer good grip are a very sensible choice on many rock ledges. our gear ended up bobbing in a big, deep gutter behind the low rocks we’d been fishing from a few seconds earlier.

We were at serious risk of being sucked through the outflow at one end of the gutter, into the open ocean beyond, but we somehow managed to scramble out and also recovered most of our tackle. We picked up some deep scratches and a few interesting bruises for our troubles, but were otherwise unharmed. It was a salutary lesson.

As recently as a decade or so ago, another friend and I were knocked off our feet by a particularly powerful swell and bounced back across an uneven ledge, picking up some more impressive bruises along the way. But what hurt

heated debate about the introduction of laws mandating the wearing of flotation vests (life jackets) by rock fishers in certain jurisdictions. Such laws have already come to pass in parts of NSW, much to the annoyance of many observers.

Jo Starling learnt to fish in Darwin, where seas are generally calmer and swell virtually unknown. She enjoys southern rock fishing, but sensibly insists on wearing a lightweight, comfortable life jacket at all times: in this case an inflatable, yoke-style PFD.

Even on flat rocks and in calm weather, you need your wits about you and should always wear the correct clothing and footwear.

such a bad idea after all.

These days, I often wear an inflatable, yoke-style PFD myself on the rocks, even where the law doesn’t demand it. Rather like choosing sensible, grippy footwear and lightweight clothing that I can swim in if necessary, wearing a PFD is no great inconvenience, and it just might save my life one day. For me, that’s enough reason to do it.

In the end, however, rock fishing safety is about a lot more than what you wear. It’s a matter of mindset, planning for possible eventualities and a strong sense of selfpreservation. The bottom line must always be that no fish or fishing experience is worth risking your life for — nor anyone else’s life . It really is as simple as that.

Making the most of the mulloway madness WEST COAST

Brett Carson

I always say to anglers that come seeking their first mulloway to not get too wrapped up in where they’ve heard fish have been caught in the past.

Quite often the fish are not where they were this time last year or even last week.

The seasons change so much – you have variables of salinity, flow, water temperature and more.

lower reaches. So, if nothing else, July is a good time to focus your mulloway efforts from The Caves down.

The mulloway have been doing well around The Caves, Taylors Strait and the estuary, with plenty of 15lb fish and a few around the 20lb mark. Young Charlie and I boated a 15lb fish working 5” Gulp Jerk Shads through a thick school. We target the shallower fish that have moved away from the schools down deep and are actively looking for a feed.

and after 20 minutes of luckless fishing I planned on moving a very small distance to another patch of fish, but the sounder was bare. I searched the whole estuary area, but what was lit up like a Christmas tree was now bare. I found those fish moving upriver.

A big weather event was rolling in at the time with a big barometer drop, so I find it really interesting that in a half hour period hundreds of fish all felt the same thing and decided they had

The author with a 7kg mulloway taken on a jerk shad.

These lads caught five fish up to 7kg in a hot session.

When you begin chasing mulloway, the first thing you need to know is that mulloway more than anything chase food – the bait moves and so do they.

The one sure thing we have in this part of the world during winter is that it will rain, and the freshwater flow that comes as a result will see the fish more concentrated in the

We caught a few smaller fish at the beginning, but sticking to this plan paid off. Fishing light with plastics always makes for a great fight when you finally hook a good one.

I witnessed a mass school movement from the same spot the very next night.

When I arrived to fish, the large school was still spread right through the poles area

to scoot. They certainly feel things that you and I don’t.

While the fish will continue to move about, I expect the winter mulloway fishing will again produce some of the best fish of the year for those that brave the elements.

Bream fishing has been patchy, with some good reports coming from upstream. Fish around

the 40cm mark are mixed amongst plenty of smaller ones, and crab seems to be the go-to bait to weed the small ones out. Make sure to cut the bigger ones in half and crack the smaller ones to get a bit of scent out.

The larger winter tides are a great time to fish the estuary for bream. The fast flow over the sand flats stirs a feed and following the blue water line up is a logical option. Sometimes it pays to fish the dirt water ahead of the blue, whereas other times the clear incoming provides the best results.

When it comes to fishing, don’t be afraid to mix it up.

Bream are now starting to school up in the middle of the river for their yearly spawning migration, as are the estuary

perch, so the edge bite will become slower. Vibes will start working for both species on the lure front, and when bait fishing it pays to try the deeper water when you would normally target the shallows.

Perch are in good numbers in the river below the bottom ski zone – a sounder will show patches that just black out.

Those fish will be feasting on the balls of whitebait that have congregated in the same area. I love getting a windless night when these fish are feeding, slurping at surface lures that mimic the millions of whitebait – the action can be intense.

The dark of the moon is a good time to fish the surf, with plenty of gummies and schoolies coming from the deep winter gutters. Bream

can be a regular by-catch with smaller hooks in the surf along with the winter salmon run. Black clouds of salmon can be spotted from planes this time of year, patrolling our rugged coastline, and they are hungry and suckers for the traditional slice lures.

• Good luck and feel free to come and see us at Nelson Boat Hire for the latest info.

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15

Bagging some big bluefin COBDEN

Rod Shepherd

A few gummy sharks have been caught out around the 40m mark over broken ground right along our coastline. Quality squid or eel chunks remain the best baits. However, either due to a lack of boaters heading out for bread and butter species

or bad weather (probably a combination of both to be honest) not many reports have come in lately.

I can, however, talk on the sheer amount of southern bluefin tuna taken off our coastline during June. Boaters have been encountering quite a few barrels not that far offshore, including a pending world record on 10kg line. However, reports have

You can encounter bluefin during these winter months not too far offshore. Photo courtesy of Marty Ellul.

indicated there have been more fish lost than boated.

This has primarily come down to outfits (rod and reel) as well as quality and strength of line and leader. The larger specimens are a smidgen off 100kg. This requires quality gear suited to the situation as well as some blood, sweat and definitely tears.

Fish of this calibre are only being landed once in every eight or so fish. This is not surprising, but the odds can fall towards the angler rather than the fish if you know what you’re doing.

There are two outfits that I recommend when targeting the large 100kg+ tuna.

These are 24kg and 37kg sit-down outfits.

Now, the kilogram weight I’ve given to line strength needs to be converted to braided lines. A 16kg stand-up braided line has a knot strength well over 100kg. The 24kg sit-down gear has a braid line strength approaching 200kg and even more for 37.

If a fish in excess of 100kg is hooked and being fought, the reel’s drag needs to set under that breaking strain so when the fish runs it can but under pressure, which will tire it out. Leaders need to be made of fluorocarbon or even wire trace as opposed to monofilament and need to be of a strength approaching 200kg.

You’ll need to upgrade your swivels, hooks and the like if you’re fighting a king.

If you buy a lure for tuna and the treble hooks aren’t at least 3x strength they need to be replaced. Don’t forget the split rings that keep the hooks attached to the lure.

I bought 500-240lb stainless steel split rings from the US prior to a trip to Peter Faust Dam in Proserpine chasing 100cm+ barra amongst the timber. It’s gear like this that you’ll need for these tuna and they have no snags or timbered cover to run to, unlike those barra. That’s the scary thing. These fish are fuel injected, supercharged speedsters and can take 100m of line off your reel in mere seconds.

If you happen to hook a schoolie under 30kg, well, you’ll have a great fight but end up bringing the fish in quicker than a barrel. This means the fish won’t have as much lactic acid build-up and will make for a quality sashimi meal. A fish that size would feed all on board.

You’ll need overhead reels (no eggbeaters here) with a capacity of 500m+ of at least 80lb braid for the big guns and they need to be regularly serviced. Rods need to be 16, 24 or 37kg strength-plus, and this could easily mean rollers instead of guides. Don’t go understrength. You might only hook one fish for the session; do you want to risk the chance of loosing it? Don’t forget those overhead reel clamps either. No one wants

Xavier Eull with a beautiful bluefin from off the South West Coast. If you’re going to target this species, make sure your gear is up to the task.

Photo courtesy of Marty Ellul.

the reel seat to fail during a stubborn fight.

If you have never fished for bluefin before, the best bet is to take a charter and plenty operate out of Warrnambool, Port Fairy and Portland harbours at this time of year.

However, they are popular and it pays to book in advance.

You will pick up plenty of tips and methods, which should stand you in good stead for when you finally take the plunge and go out solo with your mates.

There is always a fishing option WARRNAMBOOL

Mark Gercovich mgercovich@hotmail.com

July might be the depths of winter but there is always some type of angling

option available here in the South West to keep anglers sane. Trout are the most obvious option in the wintry conditions.

With the Hopkins and Merri rivers now open in their entirety for the duration of

the closed season, anglers are free to target trout during the most productive time of year to catch them.

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lures around any spot where a crafty trout can lie out of the main current to ambush its prey. Trout season has started fairly slowly at this time. A few rain events saw some fish begin to appear, but the size has been down on this time last year, with most fish in the 0.5-1.2kg bracket. However, come July and some more rain, fish around 2kg should become more prolific.

Australian salmon are another winter staple, and like the trout have been a little slow to fire up this winter season.

Some smaller fish around 1kg have been common off the breakwater, but the larger fish that are often taken in the Killarney area have been quiet so far.

In the Hopkins bream have well and truly schooled up in the deeper water. They are easy to locate on the sounder, but enticing them to bite can be the hard part. If the mouth is open work your efforts around the change of the high tide.

This same change of high tide has also been the most productive time for fishing the Moyne River at Port Fairy.

Silver trevally, small salmon and mullet can provide plenty

Ben Woolcock with a quality South West river brown. Anglers are now free to target this species in the Hopkins and Merri all year. of fun for young anglers. Light tackle, with just enough weight to get down in the current and a small hook/bait can provide almost non-stop action.

The big tuna action continues along the coast in the Portland area with massive fish being encountered in shallower waters from behind the rock along to Bridgewater.

Each day, when conditions suit, seems to bring in another 100kg+ fish, but there are a lot of boats that miss out.

Locally, small school tuna in the 6-8kg bracket have been encountered, but they are further out (60m to the shelf) than the bigger summer run of fish, which means not a lot of people are targeting them.

It’s time to head north for the winter fishing APOLLO BAY

Craig Rippon

July brings with it the coldest time of the year, this is the ideal time to head north to fish. While it has been cold, the fishing has been okay with some good reports of fish when anglers are able to get out on the water.

There have been good reports of snapper, and we recently had a great outing

bagging out on some nice fish up to 55cm. We sounded the fish then anchored with a berley pot on our anchor chain. I don’t normally do this, but gave it a go, with great success.

The fishing was very steady and saw us landing many species, including a decent 25kg school shark. I think the berley had a lot to do with our success, as it held the fish in the area.

There have been some

really nice gummies being caught off the beach at Johanna and also in depths around 48-55m.

Whiting have still been a bit quiet, with only reports of small bags being bought in. I don’t know why we have not had a great year on them, but time will tell if this winter will turn around.

Quality school bluefin tuna are about with plenty of fish around the 8-10kg mark.

We recently had a good day

The author with an armful of school bluefin tuna that was caught off Apollo Bay. Hopefully this month brings us some bigger tuna. out catching our bag, tagging and releasing a few more. It’s always great when they get caught again and you get the info on that fish. The fish were taking very small skirts around 3-5” trolled at about 7 knots.

There is a lot of bait about and when you find the bait the fish are not far away. I expect the bigger fish to show up soon. With the

Stephen Toose with a quality Apollo Bay pinkie.

SIMRAD VGF Tuna Classic held here this month it would be great to have some good weather and some good fish about for the fishos. This event brings people to the town that support our local business and it is a very well run event. For details you can log on to the VGF website, vgfc.wildapricot. org/event-3281118.

With it getting colder the fishing will slow but it won’t be long until it warms up and with it the fishing. For now, rug up, keep warm and fish when we can.

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Slow and steady catches the fish GEELONG

Neil Slater slaterbunch@optusnet.com.au

We’ve had a splash of rain, so the Barwon River in Geelong is fairly discoloured.

Wurdee Boluc Reservoir near Moriac has started to produce a few large redfin either side of 45cm. It is rare to get multiple captures of these big redfin and they

can be few and far between.

The trick here is to persist until one jumps on. Slowly working soft plastic lures and heavy spoons close to the bottom will give you the best chance.

CORIO BAY Pinkie snapper to 55cm have been biting well inside Corio Bay. Soft plastic enthusiasts have had a ball catching these fish and they sure test out the bream gear!

They have been caught along the Geelong waterfront and over the Corio Bay spoil grounds on bait and lures.

Australian salmon have also moved in close along the Geelong waterfront. They have been hanging deep, so sending bait and lures to the bottom is a must. Most of the salmon have been either side of a kilogram in weight.

Point Wilson and Point Henry have been consistent

The Queenscliff boat harbour is a prime trevally spot this July.

with flathead over 40cm, meanwhile anglers drifting with pilchard pieces and using soft plastic lures slow and close to the bottom have been producing some 50cm models. Calamari have been busy out off Clifton Springs lately, with some fair specimens around the 40cm hood length coming on board.

Pinkie snapper to 60cm have been caught along the Curlewis Bank in 5-6m of water on baits and soft plastics retrieved close to the bottom.

They are reaching the end of their season in Corio Bay, as they migrate out of the heads and onto places unknown.

Hardcore snapper fishos still catch quality fish right through winter, but they work hard for them after dark. Long cold nights on Corio Bay can see snapper in excess of 7kg, so if you’re keen and have a decent wardrobe of warm gear, give it a go.

We should also see an influx of yellow-eyed mullet into Corio Bay. These fish are relatively easy to catch from a pier once they’re schooled up and great fun for kids. Set up a small float about 30-60cm above the hook and bait it with bread or raw chicken.

Chook pellets and tuna oil mixed with water will get

Gummy sharks are still a viable option this winter. them around and hungry.

Marc Ainsworth and Ross Winstanley have been doing well on the whiting in Corio Bay lately. They caught some quality fish using squid for bait.

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off Clifton Springs with son Jack and daughter Gemma, while Hayden Strom and his daughter tagged along.

Dave said it was tough going with only a couple of flathead kept for a feed and the undersized pinkies and mini leatherjacket were ravenously pinching all the

baits. However, the kids had a ball catching and releasing plenty of fish while the dads were flat out re-baiting hooks and releasing fish.

Gummy sharks have been hungry in the region with a few of these tasty critters biting inside Corio Bay and around the Bellarine Peninsula. Nathan Grasso caught a solid 5.9kg gummy shark while fishing with his dad Charley.

Calamari have been going well around the Bellarine with the mouth of Swan Bay, Bell Reef near Queenscliff and St Leonards and Portarlington piers all producing cephalopods.

Silver trevally and Australian salmon have been biting well inside Queenscliff Harbour. Brenton Hodges and his daughter Zoe have been using Berkley Gulp Turtle Back Worm soft plastic lures around the Queenscliff harbour and locking horns with the resident trevally population.

Brenton says fishing has been most productive either side of a tide change for silver trevally. They have been good fun on light gear, with a few pesky leatherjackets keeping the kids entertained on the slack tide.

Rod Ludlow from Beachlea Boat Hire says there are plenty of squid up to 1kg, with most of his hire boats bagging out. Rod says that the whole Indented Head area has been fishing well right out to the deeper water.

He also says that flathead have been plentiful along the Bellarine and it has been relatively easy to get a great feed. Anglers keen on flathead should try drifting in the deeper water anywhere from the Prince George Bank back to St Leonards, and the best baits have been squid, chicken and pilchards.

SURF COAST This time of year can see schools of garfish invade the bay at Point Roadknight near Anglesea after dark. You’ll need some warm waders, a decent headlamp and maybe a thermos. Garfish school up

on the surface, so rig up a float and bait up with sand fleas or small bits of bread squashed over the hook. Sand fleas can be caught by lifting up dry seaweed along the beach and will keep the kids entertained for ages.

Australian salmon also come in close to the boat ramp at Point Roadknight, so pack a few lures too.

Southern bluefin tuna schools are moving east and have been caught out off Apollo Bay. During June

know it has been closed for some time and this can lead to stagnation of the water – particularly during periods of low rainfall such as what we have experienced. Olivia did speak with officers at DELWP, so no doubt they will be doing some water quality tests.

Catch a few around Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula or Surf Coast to Lorne recently? Send in a report to slaterbunch@optusnet.com. au with ‘VFM’ in the subject field or give me a call on

Whiting do taper off a bit over winter in Corio Bay, but can still be caught in good numbers along the Surf Coast. Marc caught these while fishing with Ross inside Corio Bay. there were a few big schools of slimy mackerel out off Barwon Heads, so hopefully they’ll lure the tuna in close during July.

I had a call from Geelong Advertiser journalist Olivia Reed last month asking if I’d heard of any fish kills in Thomsons Creek at Breamlea as a few concerned members of the public had called. I

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).

Thanks to all those that have sent reports in – please note that I’ve updated my email address to slaterfish@ gmail.com.

Zoe Hodges with a beautifully marked leatherjacket she caught in Queenscliff Harbour with her dad Brent.

JULY 2019

19

You’ll have to work for your supper this season numbers. It just takes a little patience, persistence and know-how. Many of the piers and rock walls around Port Melbourne, Werribee and Williamstown are great places to start. Mark Moseley recently caught a 60cm flathead flicking a Savage Gear fat curl-tail in purple haze colour. Casting out, letting the soft plastic sink followed by some subtle lifts and pauses was

PORT PHILLIP BAY WEST

Alan Bonnici alan@fishingmad.com.au

Fishing in Port Phillip Bay isn’t always easy during winter. The mornings are very cold and some of our seasonal fish have shut down for the season.

But winter provides good opportunities to target flathead, squid, gummy sharks, salmon and trout in our river systems.

The humble flathead is an all-year-round prospect in Port Phillip Bay. You will find them in just about every part of our bay and who doesn’t enjoy a good feed of flatties. Flathead are one of the easiest fish species to catch either by bait or lure. When selecting a soft plastic, minnow imitation and curl-tails are hard to beat and likely to be scoffed by these ambush predators Chris Bowles has

Chris Bowles with a pair of flathead from Werribee.

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been fishing from Werribee throughout June.

Anchoring up and drifting in depths between 5-8m has been producing bag out sessions of flathead between 35-45cm without too much trouble. Chris has been using pilchard chunks, squid tentacles and pipis on paternoster rigs.

It’s not just those with boats who have all the fun, as flathead are great to target for land-based anglers too. Flicking soft plastics around many of our local piers and jetties will produce flathead in good

This pinkie was caught from Williamstown and was one of many for the session, all measuring between 35-50cm.

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what tempted this flathead.

It was quite a challenge to land using his light 1-4kg spin rod amongst the structure of the pier, but with some help from his brother he managed to land the big lizard.

Winter is a great time to target gummy sharks, with channels and water columns great places to start – these are deeper pools of water within a

Squid are around in big numbers this month. Exaggerated sharp lifts can get them going again if they go quiet.

shallow area or area of the same depth. This is because gummy sharks forage these areas using their nose to look for food.

Areas such as Werribee and Corio Bay are terrific options without needing to venture out too deep. Berley is an essential item when targeting gummy sharks.

My last trip to Werribee I was standing at the boat ramp cleaning table and watched as boat after boat brought in a few gummy sharks. Half pilchards, full pilchards, salmon fillets and fresh squid head make for great bait options when targeting gummies. Fresh baits are great as gummy sharks have a strong sense of smell.

You’re likely to encounter plenty of pest species such as banjo sharks, stingrays and Port Jackson sharks. This means that you’re fishing the right areas and simply need to work your way through them to get the rewards.

Don’t forget to stick to your catch and legalsize limits with gummies,

which is two per person at least 45cm in length measured from the gills to the start of the tail. They are truly beautiful creatures and undersize or pregnant ones should be returned to the water quickly.

It’s not just the flathead and gummies that are fishing

well, the squid fishing at the moment is as good as I can remember. Many areas of the bay including Black Rock, Portsea, Corio Bay, Portarlington and closer to our side of Altona are fishing incredibly well. I went out on several squid sessions this last month all

Big land-based flatties are great fun. They are a good target species all year in Port Phillip Bay.

of which ended up being bag out sessions. In fact, most colours and squid jigs were fishing really well. Exaggerated sharp lifts seem to get the squid going again if things get a little quiet.

During the quieter times of winter, your sounder will become a very important asset.

If you know how to use your sounder correctly it becomes an amazing guide to ensuring you’re fishing areas that are holding good numbers of fish.

Last month I went fishing with Rob Kriz and we looped around Williamstown a few times before his sounder indicated that we had stumbled onto a huge school of pinkies.

We anchored up and threw out some soft plastics, which were immediately smashed by aggressive pinkies between 35-50cm.

Almost every cast for an hour produced fish and even though we released plenty of fish we caught our bag limit without too much effort. Without the sounder as a guide, this likely would have been a quiet and uneventful day.

Through my adventures I get asked a lot of fishing questions. One question that comes up quite frequently is anglers sending me

Sounders are an important asset during winter. photos and asking to ID the species they have caught.

I’m always happy to help and point anglers in the right direction. However, what really surprises me is how many people handle a fish species they’re not familiar with, without knowing whether that fish had venomous spines or spikes, such as gurnards and scorpion fish, which are both quite dangerous to handle. People even keep a fish to eat without knowing if it’s a protected species or is governed by local size or

catch limits.

If you catch a fish and you’re unsure what it is, make sure you handle it with care, take some photos and release the fish. Then do some research to see if there were any legal limits with that fish type and you’ll be good to go next time you catch one. Always carry a fishing guide with you that you can refer to, these can be picked up for free from your local tackle shop.

That’s all from me this month. Don’t forget to

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Brave the cold to head offshore PORT PHILLIP NE

Wayne Friebe wfriebe@bigpond.net.au

The cold, wet and dull days of winter that stayed away for so long have arrived on the bay with a bang. It always feels like somebody has flicked a switch at this time of year when the cold sets in, and this winter has been no different.

The great change to last year has been the solid and substantial rain we have received so far, and although this makes fishing a little less comfortable, it is great for the season ahead.

Many of the bay’s anglers are traditionally more focused on football and other local activities or other species further afield at this time of year, but there’s still plenty of bread and butter fishing on offer. Even better,

there’s still plenty of good snapper to be had out wide and from the shore in the right conditions, so there are plenty of reasons for local anglers to get a bit excited!

It might be cold in the mornings, and sometimes wet and windy, but on the flipside, we do get some ripper conditions for fishing and boating at this time of year. So, rug up and get out on the bay and have a crack.

Although the winter months are not the peak time for snapper anglers in the bay, the reality is that PPB snapper are an available and reliable target all year.

There has been plenty of larger fish still being taken from the wider areas out from Mornington and Mount Martha in 19-21m, and most of the better snapper have been in the 4-6kg size range.

There has been a few big fish taken land-based as well,

particularly during and after periods of strong onshore winds. This weather brings the snapper that are holding out wide onto and around the inshore reefs to feed, and during this period the land-based anglers can cash in. When the weather calms down during the following days, anglers fishing from boats can do equally as well fishing big baits in and around the inshore reefs, especially around first and last light.

these fish are small and many also undersized, there are still plenty of larger models to keep anglers keen.

Lure fishers seem to be doing the best of late, especially those fishing from kayaks and drifting boats casting 3-4” soft plastics.

While you can certainly still fish effectively for pinkies with baits, the huge numbers of smaller fish can be a real nuisance and make it very hard to keep baits in the water. It is also much

Gerry Morsman making the most of the fleeting last rays of winter sun with a quality squid off Mornington.

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Before the weather turned in early June, anglers on the bay were enjoying some ripper evening conditions.

The other feature over the last month, and certainly what PPB anglers have been more accustomed to in recent years, has been the swarms of pinkie snapper on the inshore reefs. While many of

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easier to release undersized fish using plastics, as they are normally hooked on the outside of the mouth. Lure fishing for pinkies is also a great way to get the kids and less experienced anglers into this style of fishing.

Big schools of salmon have been hanging around the Mornington area for the past few months, and will continue to do so right

through winter, especially with all the food on offer in the bay. Frankston, Mornington and Seaford piers, as well as the mouth of Patterson River and Martha Cove are all great land-based spots, especially during rougher weather.

During the calmer days they can be effectively targeted from a drifting boat, and are also fair game from the bays beaches and shorelines, especially at first and last light. Canadian Bay and Daveys Bay have been producing some of the bigger salmon reported, while most of the schooling fish seem to be hanging around Mornington at the moment.

The squid fishing has been very consistent over the past few months, and although recent rain have dirtied the water inshore, this clears quickly, and the squid will once again continue to feed in the normal areas. All the reliable inshore reefs and land-based areas have been producing good numbers

of calamari. Keep in mind, as the water and weather gets colder into the depths of winter, they will become less active, so be prepared to fish slower and closer to the bottom for results.

Generally speaking, the fishing in the Patterson Lakes system has been pretty good of late for the bait and lure fishers right through the rivers and canals, which is certainly what tends to happen after a good dose of rain. All the talk of late has been about the anglers fishing at night with lures and flies and snagging big numbers of smaller perch.

Great news, and undoubtedly the result of successful recent stocking programs.

Some bigger models have also been taken around the bridges, as well as a few nice mulloway. The river produced some great mulloway at this time last year, so I expect to be writing more about the Patto in next month’s V&TFM.

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23

Winter favourites here to play MORNINGTON PENINSULA

Julian Frank

Winter hasn’t been the kindest to us anglers. We have had non-stop periods of consistent heavy rain, crazy wind forecasts and some of the coldest days recorded. For most anglers this has been a real turn off, but for some it has been the time to target a few of our winter favourites.

There are plenty of fish all along the surf beaches, and most of the piers between Mornington and Sorrento are fishing well.

MOUNT MARTHA The rocks have been a popular target area for good size pinkie snapper over the last couple of weeks. A couple of local anglers are having success during early mornings fishing fresh baits of yakka and squid.

Fishing for calamari is always worthwhile on calmer days. If you’re able to put the boat in there are some terrific weed beds that are holding some bigger calamari a little further out from the rocks in about 5-6m.

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Cove. Be sure to have a couple of lures on you in case they do show. Martha Cove is full of barracouta and yakka, and they are a great option if you’re looking for some fresh bait.

ROSEBUD TO RYE The Rosebud Jetty has been mentioned quite a bit lately, with reports of big and small salmon caught on slightly rougher days. There are still reports of tommy ruff being taken on night fall along with squid.

The Rosebud wreck area is also worth a look for some bigger winter whiting.

Rye Pier has had its moments over the last month, and mixed bags of flathead, salmon, mackerel and squid have all been reported at different times of the day.

Early mornings are usually best for the flathead and salmon. After dark is worth a go for mackerel under the lights and squid have been caught around

the clock.

BLAIRGOWRIE TO PORTSEA Blairgowrie marina is a hotspot during early mornings for salmon, with anglers catching good size fish and numbers from the beach and the pier. Soft plastics have been the best and smaller metals have also accounted for a few fish.

There have been a few gars caught during the day and the occasional trevally has been swimming with schools of salmon amongst the moorings.

Gummy shark have been reasonably consistent for those who have been able to get out to target them.

Sorrento has been a little quiet. The number of squid have dropped off but there has been plenty of smaller cuttlefish around and the odd trevally has been caught at night from the pier. A few whiting have been caught around the Sisters and across the South Channel to

James Gwynn caught a solid bag, including a 1.1kg trevally.

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Good gummies like this are a welcome catch at this time of year.

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Portsea is the obvious choice this time of year for big calamari and for good reason. If the weather is good, fish early morning until just after sunrise for what could be a trophy catch. Most of the squid you’ll get this time of year range from 1-3kg. Larger jigs and baited jigs have been working best.

BACK BEACHES Gunnamatta, Rye and Portsea have all been reported to be fishing well. We have weighed a number of fish up to 3kg from Gunnamatta.

Portsea back beach is also worth a look for big salmon.

A lot of anglers are getting good results using baits and if you prefer spinning lures, fish have been jumping on the line no issue.

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Options from east to west GAME FISHING

Lee Rayner info@fishingfever.com.au

Winter blasts and some big seas have reduced the number of days that anglers have been able to get out on the water over the past weeks. But, when they have the Victorian blue water fishing scene has

spotlight, there are other tasty options on offer over the coming weeks and months. In particular, the deep-water bottom fishing at this time of year is nothing short of awesome. So, as we roll into winter it’s certainly not the time to start packing away your big gear.

As an added bonus, the next two months often see some good tuna fishing for

Richie Abela helped an angler land this cracking 252kg swordfish off Mallacoota. been very much alive and well, with tuna in the west and swordfish to the east.

Although it’s the big fish that tend to take the

school and jumbo bluefin in and around the more local waters from Apollo Bay to Barwon Heads and off the back of Phillip Island.

WEST COAST While some of the hype died on the jumbo tuna off locations such as Portland and to the west at Port MacDonnell during May, for the anglers who stuck it out the fishing has been very good. Everyone has been reporting that they are marking lots of big tuna on their sounders. Add to this the visual of the big fish busting up on redbait and it certainly gets the heart pumping.

In saying that, tuna can be very frustrating as they are quite hard to fool, but working hard, making sure your lures are swimming properly and pulling a few patterns that imitate the bait will ensure you start getting a bite.

As with all fishing, take note of things like tide changes and make sure you’re in the bait holding areas and where you can see flocks of birds. During these prime times you will quickly see the ocean come alive with birds, seals and dolphins all getting in on the action.

Over the past few weeks the big tuna have also had a few of their smaller mates getting in on the action. While it’s primarily big fish in the 90-150kg bracket that are getting caught, there are lots of reports of solid schoolies in the 40-60kg bracket being seen but not caught. This always bodes well for the future of the fishery.

Chris Solomon was fishing with Aaron Crocombe off Portland where the boys landed a 150kg jumbo.

Then, Aaron and his mates crazily decided to jump in on a bait ball to spear a tuna.

What they found was several jumbo fish sitting deep, but a bunch of 40-60kg specimens zipping around getting in on the action.

If jumbos aren’t your thing and you just want to have some fun on something smaller, then head a bit wider from the 100m area to over

the shelf where there are plenty of school bluefin on offer. It’s here that you can have a bunch of fun pulling small skirts and divers on light game and spin tackle to catch a bundle of school bluefin in the 5-15kg bracket.

Heading a bit further east, it’s also a great time to be looking at places like Apollo Bay and to the west looking at some of the big reef formations such as the Nine Mile Reef. Even further to the west at the very famous Big Reef you can find large concentrations of bait that can make an awesome spot for some wild tuna fishing.

To the east from here it can also be worth looking for big tuna from Lorne to Phillip Island, with the basic formula being that if the bait turns up the tuna will follow.

EAST COAST It’s hard not to get excited each autumn as the big swordfish move into this part of the world, offering anglers the chance to tangle with one of the biggest and toughest fish in the ocean.

Over the past few weeks swords have been hot for some anglers and cold for others, as they appear to be in confined areas that are changing on a daily basis.

Some anglers are getting multiple bites each day and others a few kilometres away are getting nothing.

Chris Solomon wrangled in this solid 150kg southern bluefin tuna off Portland.

Then a day or so later that area will be quiet while another area fires up.

June has also seen a mix of fish sizes, with everything from small male fish in the 20-80kg bracket right up to some sea monsters, such as Richie Abela’s 252kg

It took Tom and Chloe Laurence over four hours to land this monster 278kg swordfish off Mallacoota. Gamefishing is not for quitters.

sword that he got on board the Dreamcatcher 2. Tom and Chloe Laurence also managed a belter of 278kg.

This fish showed them how important it is to be super organised when doing this type of fishing, as this fish was hooked at 4:00pm and landed at 8:30pm. So, make sure you have enough fuel, food and gear to land the fish.

If the swords are slow, it’s also well worth sending a few baits down on the electric reels, as the bottom fishing options in the canyons and surrounding waters is exceptional for blue-eye trevalla, hapuka and pink ling. It’s hard to beat a feed of these deep water species.

This month all we need to do is cross our fingers for some calm weather so we have the chance to get out and land some monsters.

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25

Keep it simple this winter PPB OFFSHORE

Gerry Morsman

The beauty of fishing at this time of year is that there is so little boat traffic, and to this day I have never heard an angler complain about that!

There are plenty of options this month. The boat ramps may be empty but if you head offshore I can almost guarantee your esky won’t be! With a range of species that hang around all year, and some species like gummy sharks which seem to prefer the colder weather, why wouldn’t you get your mates together to have a crack at that? Although the weather hasn’t been on our side lately, we should start to see calmer conditions occurring more often, giving us all a much higher chance of getting offshore.

SOUTHERN BLUEFIN TUNA If you want to target tuna at the moment, there is no doubt that Portland is the hotspot, with countless amounts of school fish around, and plenty of barrelsized tuna in the mix.

Winter time is gummy shark time! many areas and different ways to target them. Areas around Barwon Heads and Point Lonsdale have been fishing very well in close on the reefs, and in deeper water up to 45m over the reefs you can also target other desirable species such as gummy sharks.

When fishing in close on

A solid hook-up to one of many good sized gummy sharks caught that day.

Having said that, heading wide straight out from the Western entrance still puts you in the firing line of landing some decent-sized fish. Although there haven’t been a lot of reports of late, it’s still amazing that we have the chance to land them in our own backyard. There have been some reports of big schools hanging around, and anglers are targeting them by trolling skirted lures.

Other anglers are casting smaller stickbaits into the feeding schools, such as the Bassday Bungy, to imitate the baitfish they are feeding on.

Upgrading the split rings and trebles on these casting lures will give you the ultimate chance of landing these hard fighting fish.

SOUTHERN CALAMARI If you want to target big squid with a high chance of getting a decent bag, look no further than targeting them offshore. There are just so 26

JULY 2019

reefs in around 7m of water you can either throw squid jigs around or even anchor up and use baited jigs with baits such as silver whiting.

Silver whiting is a great bait to use because it is hearty and can take a beating from the squid’s big beak, giving the squid time to hook up.

Other areas in deeper water of up to 35m over reef in between Seal Rock and Pyramid Rock have been fishing well also. To target squid in these depths seems ridiculous to some anglers but by all reports it has been very effective. How do they do it?

Its pretty simple actually! Set up a paternoster style rig with a sinker at the bottom and a squid jig about 1m from the sinker. Drop it to the bottom and bring it back up 1m or so. Continue drifting in your boat, letting either the swell or chop of the ocean do the work. It’s that simple! And because you’re offshore you also have a very good chance

of catching some of the biggest cuttlefish you have ever seen.

GUMMY SHARKS Now is the time of year when I and many other anglers like to target gummy sharks offshore. The boat traffic is at a minimum, the gummies are generally in good numbers, and it’s also the time of year when the big girls like to come out to play.

The hotspot I have noticed this month has definitely been off Cape Woolamai. Reports say that

Sam showing off a great southern calamari while fishing offshore. if they come across a bait they think is a little bit funky and they aren’t that hungry, chances are they won’t go near it. Another advantage of having a fresh oily bait while drifting over sandy ground

Drifting for flathead is highly recommended. There have been tasty fish like this regularly coming in.

This is a quality catch!

getting on the drift with oily baits such as salmon, trevally or even mullet has been the go over the sandy grounds.

Fresh is best, so if you can catch yourself a few of these fish before targeting the gummies, you’ll maximise your chances. Gummy sharks have a very good nose, and

is that the gummy shark’s incredible nose can detect it from a very long way away with the moving currents.

Another stand-out area has been Cape Schanck.

This area hold a lot of reefy ground so the method most anglers use here is anchoring up in around 30m of water

straight of the headland, and catching fresh bait on the same spot such as parrotfish or barbers perch. A tip I can give you while anchored up is to constantly berley! This brings in more baitfish for you to catch, and creates more activity over the surrounding reef which brings in curious predators such as gummy shark.

Fishing off Barwon Heads has also been very productive, but you want to head out into water of around 45m as these depths seem to hold the better reefs that gummy sharks like to feed over.

FLATHEAD We all know how expensive it is to buy flatty tails, and we all know just how good they are on the chew, so it’s a no-brainer to target a few of these fish while you’re already out there. Reports of flathead offshore are always good, but once again Cape Woolamai on the drift takes the cake. There are many ways to target flatties, but keeping it simple is the key.

Using a running sinker rig over the sandy ground with a squid strip is way too tempting for a flatty to resist.

Although Cape Woolamai is a standout area, don’t hesitate to use this method no matter where you are offshore, as there is a carpet of flathead almost anywhere out there.

The average size of them is also much larger than those caught while fishing inshore.

It might be cold but the fishing is still hot, so don’t hesitate to get a few mates together and have a crack at landing yourself a feed.

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27

The cold has set in WESTERN PORT NTH

Jarrod Day jarrodday@iprimus.com.au

It is time to rug up as much as you can, because July means we’ve hit mid-winter and it feels like fishing in a freezer at the moment. However, if you are brave enough to get out on the water, the rewards are most certainly there.

It’s fair to say that whiting fishing in the top end is now a thing of the past and while there might be a spattering caught here and there, a lot of work has to be done to find them in any numbers. Not that I want to deter anglers from trying their luck at winter whiting, but I’d be more inclined to try for them in the southern parts of the Port rather than the north.

One saviour in the top end is of course calamari, and they can be found in numbers spread out over the weed beds. Winter

Young Taj Caterson has been getting amongst the monster inkers along the shallow banks.

If you put in the time, you get the rewards, like this cracking snapper.

Photo courtesy of Justin Blythe.

is a great time to target calamari while they are widespread throughout the Port. The top end has

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plenty of access points for boaters to target them and all ramps are within just a few hundred metres of

productive weed beds.

Tooradin and Warneet channels provide anglers with access to the very top of the Port, with productive weed beds found at Browns Reserve, the top of the Middle Spit and the Tyabb and Quail banks.

In saying that, launching from Hastings also gives you quick access to these areas, along with the entire Middle Spit and Eastern Channel.

All these areas are fishing extremely well, especially during the last of the run-in and run-out tides.

The eastern channel would have to be one of the better locations to target calamari and is what you could call an all-weather location. This is because it is shielded from most wind directions due to the Middle Spit and French Island.

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Justin Blythe with a solid snapper from the top end.

Photo courtesy of Justin Blythe.

28

JULY 2019

To page 29

Surf’s up for winter salmon WESTERN PORT STH

Jarrod Day jarrodday@iprimus.com.au

There is really no shortage of fish about in the bottom end of Western Port and while it is the coldest month for the winter period, it hasn’t deterred the fish or the anglers whatsoever.

The surf scene is extremely productive with all the local beaches producing salmon. While their sizes vary, they are still a viable catch right along the coast.

Smaller salmon have turned up at Williamsons Beach, but as we move

further into July they will get bigger. The gutters at Williamsons are very deep and there are always big salmon to be found. Just remember, berley is your best friend.

There has also been some good salmon that have been caught at Kilcunda, Cape Woolamai and most of the other beaches on the ocean side of Phillip Island.

Surf fishing is one of the more popular fishing styles throughout winter and salmon are a common catch. If you want to hit up a beach that tends to not get a lot of attention, then have a look at Cat Bay. This beach

Surf fishing is firing, as Kyla Day found out with this nice salmon.

From page 28

Even during northerlies, due to the shallow water, it is still fairly fishable, you just have to battle the rough water to get over there.

Still, if the weather is playing its part, there are plenty of other weed bank options all worth drifting along.

If you don’t want to travel too far from any of the boat ramps, the edges of the banks on the western side of the north arm are also very productive, especially

in Sandstone Channel and around the submarine.

On another note, there are still some solid snapper getting about in the top end.

Well, that is if you’re willing to put in the effort.

Justin Blythe has done a few sneaky sessions when the weather has been calm.

His rewards certainly speak for themselves, braving the conditions for some cracking winter snapper.

Winter snapper are a frequent catch these days and some of the ones caught

gets good runs of salmon throughout July, especially in strong westerly winds when the surf is pumping.

The bottom is quite reefy, so take a few extra sinkers for your trip.

Silver trevally are a common catch along with gummy sharks for those anglers keen to brave the twilight hours and fish the lead up to the full moons. This beach also produces seven-gill sharks throughout winter.

On the land-based theme, Flinders has also been productive for those targeting calamari from the pier. Fishing the high tides is imperative here and when they are about, they usually are in fair numbers.

Keep in mind, the seafloor around the pier is thick with weed, which is why it is such a productive calamari fishery, so you will lose the odd jig. It is also a great option to take along baited jig. Calamari respond well to a silver whiting suspended under a float.

Other hotspots for landbased fishing have been Stockyard Point and Lang Lang for those targeting gummy sharks.

Lang Lang has been extremely productive and while it is not common for monster gummies to be caught here, most are in the 3-6m bracket.

Keep in mind, this is a high tide fishery only as it is a vast mud flat. Fresh baits are the key, as during these high tides the gummies feed up on the flats.

From the boat, there is plenty of good fishing action to be had. Calamari are in abundance around Tortoise

Head, Ventnor, Cat Bay and Reef Island, and there is some good whiting still on offer. Whiting are scattered throughout the system, but if you put in the time you’ll get the rewards. Pipi and mussels have been the prime baits and from the reports I have heard, and the best bite time has been two hours either side of the high tide.

Although it is very cold at this time of year, fishing for snapper can be very rewarding. Each year there seems to be more and more winter reds caught and they are of substantial size. Justin Blythe has been out and about on the Port targeting everything in recent weeks and has brought some snapper on board for his efforts. This shows just how good our winter fishery is. It all comes down to putting in the time to get the rewards.

Trolling is another fun winter activity in the Port.

The surf beaches may be full of salmon, but so is the Port. The area from Buoy 15 to Stony Point always has a school or schools of salmon busting up bait on the surface. It all comes down to working the water and looking for the birds diving into the bubbling mass of distressed bait. If you can’t find any surface activity, trolling lures is the next best thing. I find that 90-100mm deep diving hardbodies are addictive to salmon, silvery trevally, pike and snook.

are certainly solid fish, all it comes down to is fishing the right location and with fresh baits.

Although they can be found lurking around anywhere, locations such as Joes Island, the Barrage and Long Reef are good starting points.

While we are smack bang in the middle of winter, spring is just around the corner and before you know it, we’ll all be biting at the bit to begin the spring snapper onslaught.

Photo courtesy of Justin Blythe.

There really is no shortage of fishing options around the Port at the moment and things are only going to improve.

CORINELLA BOAT RAMP UPGRADE For those who haven’t heard, big things are coming to Corinella. The Corinella boat ramp is set for a major upgrade that will include a duplication of the boat ramps into a 3+1 configuration,

upgrade of the jetty with a floating pontoon as well as adding new fish cleaning facilities.

During this time the Corinella jetty will remain open for anglers. Upgrades to the ramp commenced on 27 May and are due to finish late September. In the meantime, anglers are urged to use the launching facilities at Newhaven, Tooradin and Hastings.

No matter the size of the fish, always use quality tackle.

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29

Reports are flooding in PHILLIP ISLAND

Craig Edmonds

If you are heading out to chase whiting at the moment you need to be organised, according to the reports we are getting. A reasonable bag is possible, but you’ll need to put in a bit of work to catch them. They are present at almost every area you would expect to encounter them.

Cleeland Bight, Dickies Bay, Rhyll, Long Point Jetty and Reef Island have produced numbers and almost every report has been the same.

Pick a spot, set four rods or so with a variety of baits, have extra bait on the bait board ready to go, a little berley, then wait. If the whiting are there they will come on quickly, change all rods to that bait and fish hard for 10 minutes or so and they will stop, so move and start again and don’t be surprised if they bite on a different bait in each spot.

That method has been in the reports dozens of time over the last couple of months.

We haven’t really seen the big length, channel whiting you would expect for this time of year. They are mostly between 32-38cm, but you can barely get your hand around them and each fillet is almost a feed for one.

While you are fishing for whiting don’t forget calamari.

You will find them all in the same areas this time of year.

Calamari reports have been a little patchy all year, patchy for numbers in each session that is, but the reports we are getting are coming from all over the place. They don’t seem to be as concentrated to certain areas now and it’s as if the whole bay has the potential to produce some.

We are getting reports from all the jetties and the usual beaches are producing numbers. The boats are the same and those dropping a jig down, even in some of the channels and across the corals, are finding the odd calamari.

Over the last 12 months or so I have been getting more and more reports of clouds of baby calamari in the bay, which is a good sign for the future. The reports of small baitfish in the bay have also increased considerably over the last couple of years. I have had several customers who fish the same area all the time for their calamari complaining that they only get 4-5 and not the 10 they used to, which I think has more to do with the calamari moving around.

Don’t forget offshore this winter. Last year, because of the strong north winds people were forced to fish in close and were surprised with what they were catching. There are plenty of snapper on the reef off Kilcunda and will be right throughout winter. We 30

JULY 2019

have had some quality reports of tiger flathead and plenty of sand flathead, although you need to sort through smaller ones.

Gummies when you find them are always a good quality offshore target. The best time to target them is over the moon, full and new, during winter. They become a better target species through the spring months. Gummy reports over the last month have been of a lot of females, but the odd male will show up.

Every season I get customers looing for the edge they need to catch more fish.

They will wait for the new season tackle to come out thinking that’s all they need to fill the fish box. Sadly, all the new seasons gear will do is give you more second-hand stuff to sell or take up space in the back of the shed.

Fishing is a very simple and basic sport and while the newest model rods or reels will look good, in all reality the ones already in the shed will do the same job. There is nothing wrong with updating every now and again and we all enjoy using something a bit more modern, but don’t do it thinking that is a golden ticket to catching more fish.

Concentrate on what will make a difference and you will have a much better chance of improving your catch rate.

All too often I have customers come in and purchase a $500 rod and reel combo, spool it up with the best line then walk up to the counter with the cheapest swivels and hooks we keep. I have been out on boats with people that take so long to get organised that not only have the fish moved on, but the day is almost over.

I have been standing on the beach watching someone turn up with a whole tackle shop full of gear, then once they get there are exhausted

and need a rest before they can start fishing. What can make the biggest difference – and let’s leave out location and tides ect. – is being organised, only carrying and taking what you need, and most important is have you rigs ready to go.

Tying them in a rolling sea or on a freezing morning on the beach when you can’t feel your fingers is not the best move.

With rigs you can gain a lot of advantage if you’re prepared and have variety.

Comments we hear all the time are: “I was on the whiting and a leatherjacket bit off my hooks and by the time I tied up another rig the whiting were gone,” or, “I should have changed my hook size but couldn’t be bothered tying a new rig,” and even, “the fish were a bit fussy and a smaller hook probably would have helped, I just didn’t have any with me.”

Now is the time to sort out your gear. Ensure you have three or four spools of leader of different strengths, a few packs of different size swivels (good quality ones) and buy the best hooks you can, you will probably need six or so sizes and types. Add to that a pack of small ziplock bags, as we find a soft plastic wallet works to put them all in. Then while you are sitting watching the football or TV in the evenings start tying.

Every year through the winter we will sit and tie about 20 different types of rigs to give us variety, about six or so of each. We’ll label them clearly so we can grab them quickly, and most of the time that will get us through the season. We have done this for the last 10 years or so and I don’t remember the last time we needed to get the tackle box out of the cabin while out fishing. Simply get out the sinker box and the wallet with all the rigs in it.

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Blue Rock is booming CRANBOURNE

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Blue Rock is one of those special little fisheries that offers excellent sportfishing for our iconic Australian bass. With only two bass impoundments in Gippsland, Blue Rock is by far the most popular one.

The way it is going with improving numbers of fish stockings, this place in five years time is going to be out of control, and one of the best Aussie bass dams this country has to offer.

PRIME TIME The warmer months are by far the best when targeting bass in the lake. As during that time of year is when they are tuned into surface lures, especially cicadas.

Winter does offer some decent opportunities, as the trout fire up as the water temperature cools down.

The bass go deeper and tend to shut down, as the trout get on the move in preparation for the run upriver before the season closes. This means you have options all year round.

THE GEAR A 2-4kg graphite spin rod and 2000-2500 sized reel loaded up with 10lb braid will cover most things when lure fishing the lake.

There are already some good size bass in the lake pushing 50cm, but most are still on the small size. When this fishery really gets firing with some bigger fish, then 2-4kg outfits will be put down and you’ll need heavier ones for fishing around the timberlined banks.

THE RIG Bait fishers tend to use a small running sinker rig if fishing around the timber for bass and redfin. Trolling is also an effective way to catch

Tiemco Soft Shell Cicadas are a productive surface lure for Aussie bass in Blue Rock. trout but you have a greater chance of picking up some by-catch fishing this way.

BAIT AND LURES As I mentioned earlier, in the summer months bass can’t resist a cicada. Tiemco Soft Shell Cicadas are a great imitation option for this area.

If the fish aren’t eating off the top, then try casting some hardbodies like Lucky Craft Bevy shads.

Another effective ways to catch fish here is to use a Molix RT or RA shad on a jig spin. This combination is great for triggering bites when things are tough.

BEST METHOD Fish the timber and the

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Daniel Griffin with his best bass to date.

rocky shorelines. In the morning start in shallow casting lures towards the banks and lay down snags that come from the bank.

As the day goes on and the sun gets up, move out off the banks and fish deeper. Doing this will see you figure out what the fish are doing and you’ll be able to tune into what technique is working on the day. As with most things with fishing, they are continually changing.

MOTHER NATURE Bass are definitely seen as a sportfish and are generally not killed for a feed. There are plenty of other species in the lake that taste a lot better, such as redfin and trout. So think twice before you hit one on the head, as this fishery is still relatively new.

HOT TIP The best way to target this area is to use your sounder.

Look for fish and bait and concentrate around those areas. It’s a big lake and the hardest thing can be finding the fish to start with.

Also, if you have a GPS, when venturing up the river or even through heavily timbered areas, put the tracks on so you can see how you’ve navigated the area. There is that much timber that can’t be seen from above the surface it is easy for someone to do damage to their propeller or motor.

If you got in with no issues, then take the same line getting back and you won’t have to worry about it.

JULY 2019

33

Big perch are back and biting GIPPSLAND LAKES

Brett Geddes b.geddes@bigpond.com

With just enough rain to settle the dust, I think we can now call the current conditions a green drought. The paddocks may have coloured up but there’s no real guts in the grass that has tried

to grow in these short cold days. Farm dams remain empty.

So, with no run-off rain that means the Gippy Lakes are still super clear and salty. Our TV weather person Jane Bunn has said it’s the driest start to a year on record and this has had an enormous impact on the Gippy Lakes.

It’s the first year I’ve

The author with a 53cm estuary perch that fell to a pink Twitch 40 lure.This was one of the biggest local EP he’s seen for a few years now.

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seen a lot of dolphins way up in the Latrobe River.

The bream have been rather hit and miss, but I’m sure they will start biting very soon and there’s good, but possibly confusing, news about the estuary perch.

WHERE TO CHASE BREAM Over the next few weeks I expect the bream fishing to really peak. The Mitchell River will be the focus for most anglers especially around The Cut and about halfway down the Silt Jetties from Two Bells to the entrance.

Schooling bream will also push up further from the Grassy Banks to the Butter Factory.

You may have heard that Hollands Landing and Seacombe have been quiet over the last month, but for me that just means it’s going to fire up right about now. I would expect things to improve dramatically in July.

With the water so clean in the straits, fishing the edges deep in the snags could produce trophy bream on any trip, so go prepared with heavy leaders 10lb or better. However, most of your lure and bait fishing should be out in the deeper areas around 4m. Don’t overlook the upper reaches of the Tambo River either, because historically this time of year can see plenty of bream up there and also a lot of winter flathead.

If you want to fish the Nicholson River, then try right at the boat ramp and work your way to the entrance. The bream will probably be out in deep water doing their normal winter tricks. The big run of bream in the lake areas like Wellington and Victoria seems to have dried right up, but that’s typical for now as the fish head for deeper waters.

BIG EP ON LURES The one thing you can always be sure of with estuary perch is that you will never fully work them out. I have given up trying to predict when and where they will appear, let alone

MARLO

OCEAN VIEWS CARAVAN & CAMPING PARK

why. The Mitchell River seems to be the only reliable perch fishery here and that’s where I suggest you concentrate your efforts if you want to chase EP. The highway bridge at Bairnsdale is a well-known hotspot, but the rest of the Gippy Lakes is a real puzzle. So you can imagine my joy when I found them totally unexpected while chasing bream from Hollands Landing and right up into Lake Wellington.

One of the first to show up was a cracking 53cm fish that was wrestled from deep snags and took a pink Hurricane Twitch 40 lure. I had just caught four or five nice bream on that lure and I was shocked when this brute turned up.

Knowing that they love to school up in big numbers I expected more action and I could barely contain my excitement. I should’ve known better, as it was the only perch for that day and also for the next few trips to that same area.

I guess I’ll never work them out.

PERCH ON BLADES I gave up on the perch and chased bream in deep water using blades, mainly at Seacombe, the Woodpile or Eel Farm and into shallower waters like Lake Wellington from Plover Point around into Bull Bay. To confuse me even further, I suddenly started finding big perch where I’d never caught them before.

They were in 3-4m of open water and not even hiding deep in snags where you

Rod Tatterson with his first lure-caught estuary perch and he’s still got that smile locked onto his face. would always expect.

Over a few trips I caught a modest 12 EP, but most of them were between 40-46cm. During those same sessions I also clocked up about 45 bream from 25-44cm all caught on the same blades. So, I was kept busy when the perch refused to bite.

Then for whatever reason, the perch vanished from those areas almost overnight and now I have

to find them again! I won’t give up.

DUSKY FLATHEAD Winter can be the best time to target flathead in the rivers and already the Mitchell has been producing impressive numbers all the way up to the highway bridge. I’ve already mentioned the Tambo and there have been lots of big dusky flathead to 72cm caught near Hollands Landing.

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This typical and very solid Lake Wellington bream fell to a black Hurricane Sting 37.

It’s time to jump into good fishing this July MARLO

Jim McClymont mcclymont@net-tech.com.au

Nothing much has changed with the weather. Good rains have not happened, so the farmers are still in trouble with the lack of water for their crops and lack of fodder to feed their stock. They still have to buy their stock feed in to keep them alive.

But on the fishing scene the employment of heavy machinery has opened the estuary to the ocean, allowing the tides to do their thing and pump huge amounts of

seawater in and out of the estuary. With huge amounts of water entering, big schools of new fish enter the system and anglers are reporting good captures of luderick along the rock groins that surround the islands and river banks.

The best results for luderick have come from using sandworm either under a float or fishing with a running sinker. Anglers fishing up near both lake mouths using peeled frozen prawn have been reporting good captures of bream. Big schools of salmon and tailor are coming into the estuary on incoming tides and are giving anglers plenty of action using metal lures.

Offshore on the shelf is a good place to start looking for some marlin this month.

It took Joe Connelly and his crew seven hours to land this cracking swordfish.

The surf beaches are still fishing very well, with plenty of salmon, tailor and flathead.

Kingfish, gummy sharks and big bronze whaler sharks are being landed offshore.

Kingfish have been here in good numbers, but for some reason anglers are having trouble getting them to take bait and lures and so they are concentrating their fishing on species that are here all year round.

Most boats have been getting good bins of flathead, gurnard, squid, barracouta, octopus, salmon and gummy shark.

For the big gamefishing fanatics, it’s time. Marlin are beginning to be caught in numbers and those who fish well offshore on the shelf are starting to bring in some quality broadbill. The annual broadbill competition fishing out of Lakes Entrance began in the second part of May, with several big swordfish weighed in.

Local Orbost Sport & Game Fishing member Joe Connelly fished out from Cape Conran on his boat Moo Juice

and landed a 134kg swordfish from the continental shelf.

Joe is the club’s most experienced swordfish angler and he has landed several over the past few years.

He hooked up early in the fishing day, the sword surfaced and he underestimated its size and the time and effort needed to land it. Seven hours later they finally brought the fish

on board.

Joe and his crewmate then had to spend several hours butchering the swordfish to try vac all the meat into portions, so as not to waste any fish.

Bag a Bemm bream BEMM RIVER

Robyn Sturgess

We are now in the thick of winter and we are experiencing an amazing fishing season.

The entrance was opened in early April and remained open for approximately six weeks, then after about 10 days it re-opened and has remained open.

The bream have been relatively quiet, but the keener anglers who have ventured out late afternoon on the high tide have caught quality sea bream right at the entrance on sandworm and prawn. These bream

catches have ranged between 33-40cm.

Black bream have been prominent just near the storm hut as you enter the channel. Perch are active in the river and have been best targeted using hardbodies, Bass yabbies, sandworm and flicking flies. There have also been reports of quality luderick being caught in the river on sandworm.

The channel has been a popular location with most anglers chasing tailor and luderick. One tailor recently weighed in at an awesome 4.2kg, and the luderick coming in are between 32-42cm.

These are now becoming a sought-after table fish,

giving the bream a run in the popularity stakes.

The surf has seen strong numbers of tailor and salmon continually for the past two months, with by-catches of large trevally and sea bream.

• So, now is the time to plan your winter fishing trip to Bemm River. Give me a call on 0427 584 233 – the phone is always in my pocket!

For on the spot and up-todate 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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35

Water level is low, but fishers’ spirits are high LAKES ENTRANCE

Steven Pryke

The cold winter days and easterly winds have settled in and the town is back to its usual winter slumber. Over the last few months we have seen some challenging conditions, with Lake Tyers being

at its all time lowest water level, making just getting around the system difficult.

LAKES ENTRANCE

With the lake temperature dropping many species have begun to school up. Silver trevally are a classic winter target and the local town wharfs regularly produce good

numbers. Anglers are mostly targeting these fun fish with small pieces of pilchard and whitebait fished on a paternoster rig – a sure bet for some action. Small grub and flick bait style soft plastics are always deadly for trevally, especially if fished lightlyweighted, allowing your soft plastic to drift with the

A pigeon pair of 1.2kg yellowfin bream taken off the wharf at Lakes Entrance during the recent Vic Bream Classic.

current and appear natural.

Over recent weeks the 6 and 8 Mile reefs have been extremely consistent for pinkie snapper, leatherjackets and wrasse. Anglers have been targeting these fish with a combination of baits, such as squid and pilchard, on a paternoster rig. This deadly combination produces bites thick and fast.

The scattered weed beds of Nungerner have been productive for King George whiting and the time proven paternoster rig baited with either fresh prawn or mussel has been the best option for these great table fish. Anglers have simply cast these offerings to the edge of the weed bed. With winter cooling the lake, whiting have schooled up and won’t be as scattered, so you’ll need to put in some work to find them.

LAKE TYERS With Lake Tyers’ water levels extremely low, the lake has stayed warmer than usual for this time of year, but it is consistently dropping. The main lake basin has been starting to produce, with bream and other species beginning to form rough schools,

Electronics are your best friend in the winter months. especially off any points or deeper rock walls. These schools should continue to grow as the lake temperature drops.

Silver trevally have started to turn up in the lower lake. Silvers up to the 50cm mark are being caught around the deeper weeds beds and steep point in areas such as Mill Point and Blackfellow Arm. They have mostly been by-catch for anglers targeting bream with grubs and blades.

High upstream the flathead are still on the

move, with fish around 50-60cm being regularly caught when putting in a full day. Flatties have mostly been taken in the shallow margins where the water is at its warmest from the sun late in the day.

HAVE YOU BEEN FISHING? If you have been out for a fish lately and have a great photo, please send it to stevenprykefishing@ gmail.com with a short description and you could be featured in the next edition of Fishing Monthly.

Kings in royal numbers CORNER INLET

Will Thompson allwaysangling@bigpond.com

A couple of days ago we had windless warm days, flat seas and kingfish everywhere.

Now putting pen to paper to write a report, it’s snowing about 15 minutes away. Victorian weather! Let’s ignore this winter blast and focus on the fishing that we have had over the past week or so.

The word on the street is kingfish. There are more kingfish around

than ever. Most anglers that park their boats away and hang up their rods this time of year might think this is unusual, but it’s not. Late autumn and winter are great for kingfish. As I get older I am starting to realise that water temperature does not come into play with some fish and kingfish are one of them.

We have a great fishery around Wilsons Promontory and over the past month the yellowtail kingfish have been hot on the bite. With some of the windless days, the kingfish can be seen busting the

Just a few on the deck! Why stop fishing over winter?

36

JULY 2019

surface in schools out on the 25m line and if you get close enough you can see their yellow tails tailing through the water like a spawning trout. It’s quite a spectacle.

When you come across this situation you need to have some stickbaits or poppers ready. This season the kingies have been honing in on microbait, so there has only been a handful of lures doing the job.

The surface bite is best during a slack tide, so when the current is ripping the kingies are normally schooled deep mid water or on the bottom. When it’s like this, have your jig rod ready – PE3-5 is fine and 30-50lb braid. We have been using 150-200g knife jigs in greens and blues.

When you find the school of kings quickly mark them, drop your jigs to the bottom, start winding and you will be on.

Most of the fish are a bit bigger now at around 67cm with a good number of 75cm models and the odd 90cm mixed in with the smaller ones.

Moving along to the prediction, these fish should hang around until at least the first week of July, after that I’m not sure. I have never caught a king in August

Paul Landmeter with a winter kingfish caught out off Port Welshpool on a Flanker lure. before and I generally haven’t been able to catch them after the first week of July over the past five years.

INSIDE Calamari, calamari and more calamari. The calamari are thick. They aren’t huge, which is perfectly normal for this time of year, they are mostly around the 20-25cm hood length, but there is the odd bigger specimen of 35cm mixed in. Use 3.5” squid jigs. Red has been going good over the past two weeks, but obviously

it’s worth taking a variety, as you never know what mood they are in.

The squid will only get bigger and more plentiful over the coming months as well, so definitely don’t pack up your egi gear yet!

The whiting have really turned on over the past weeks. I’d say they will be in the inlet for the rest of the year now. I’ve caught plenty in 10°C water and that’s about as cold as it gets down here.

The ones around Port Albert are crackers and

there’s heaps in the high 30s to over 40cm being caught on fresh calamari and pipis. The ones at Corner Inlet are a bit more random in size, with a good mix of small just legal sized models and some bigger ones as well.

The same baits work in Corner Inlet.

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JULY 2019

37

Estuarine sure is fine MERIMBULA

Stuart Hindson

Winter is well and truly here, with those cold SW winds coming straight off the snow, but don’t let this deter you, as there’s still some pretty good fishing going on around the Merimbula region.

Those anglers fishing in close offshore are doing well, with snapper numbers and size on the increase. A few of the reds are nudging 5kg, which is a decent fish for this neck of the woods, with bait and lure anglers getting amongst them.

The bigger fish seem to be responding well to larger white soft plastics

Black bream have big teeth, especially when they get over that 1kg mark.

fished slow and hard on the bottom. There’s been a few falling to micro jigging as well, with 40-50g size lures in pink/white being popular.

I know of a few local crews who have got 12-15 fish in a session, which is pretty good angling in my books. Most reefs are holding a few fish, but the better ones definitely seem to be south, with Haycock and Hunter rock the standouts.

You can expect morwong, pigfish and the odd john dory in the cooler water, but the best fishing is certainly at sunrise, and if you can coincide that with a tide change then all the better for you.

A little further out there’s been a few yellowfin tuna and SBT floating about, but no guts to them yet. Trolling is the go until you find them, then it may be a case of reverting to berleying and live bait or cubes to hopefully get the fish up and holding at your boat.

There’s been a few big mako sharks getting about too, so if a bitey is what you’re after the now is not a bad time to target one.

A few switched on

Craig Hendo with the sort of typical black bream you can expect throughout the cooler months. crews fishing deep have got a few broadbill of late.

Local guru Chris nailed a nice 118kg fish and lost another, so there’s clearly a few about. The beauty of deep dropping off here is you’re a chance at big eye tuna, big yellowfin, SBT and broadbill. Yes, this type of fishing isn’t for everyone and you have to be rigged up properly to get the best

results, but when it all happens and comes together it’s pretty exciting stuff.

In the estuaries the water has cooled down a lot, with some estuaries hovering around 13-14°C, which is pretty chilly. The flatties have slowed up somewhat, but if you fish lighter leaders and slow your presentation down, you will still get fish. They are

not as aggressive, but they still have to feed.

You cold also try fishing the draining tide, especially in the channels east of the main bridge in town. You tend to get more colour in the usually crystal water from the water receding off the flats and sometimes this is all that’s required to get some fish. Anglers To page 39

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JULY 2019

NSW South Coast

Find a good weather window NAROOMA

Stuart Hindson

Narooma and its surrounds have seen some ordinary weather of late, with cold SW winds over the previous few weeks. This has made offshore fishing tricky, with the swell some days making the bar crossing a bit more treacherous. Thankfully, this will change when the weather does and anglers can venture offshore and get amongst them.

July fishing can be a bit hit and miss, with a lot dependant on water temperature, current and bait. If all the ingredients are there, it can be sensational, with SBT and yellowfin both possible targets. Before the blow there were some decent yellowfin about and I did hear of a few SBT caught

wide off Tuross, but it was for a day or two only. These 40kg fish fell to trolled skirts around that 8” size, but deeper divers and a berley trail might just work as well.

Hopefully the weather will turn our way and we can get a better idea of what is happening tuna wise wide off Narooma.

At Montague the kings are good one day then quiet the next few. You just have to be there when they do decide to play the game. Anglers using a variety of techniques are getting the best results.

Some days jigs are the go, other days live bait, then squid, and so on. You just need to have all the arsenal at hand, as everyday is different with these sometimes fickle creatures.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see some larger hoodlum kings on the surface this

month, especially around the Fowlhouse Reef. Every winter these brutes turn up.

Seeing them is one thing though, and catching them is another. The majority are caught on live bait, and if you can get close enough to them and pitch a bait out then you in with a chance. This can be hard when their moving around, but sometimes you will get lucky.

If the pelagics isn’t your thing, then the snapper fishing should make you smile. The reds are only getting better each season and I know they’re pretty good at present. There’s quite a few bigger fish in close, with the reefs close in at Brou and Potato Point both worth a look. Using a mixture of soft plastics, micro jigs and the freshest of squid will see plenty of fish caught. You can expect

Winter means big trevally and yellowfin bream for our estuaries, as these boys found out.

From page 38

using jerk shad style soft plastics will fare best with trevally, bream and the odd blackfish all succumbing to the same method.

Over at Pambula winter is a gun time to fish it. Every year is the same and no one seems to go there, and I don’t know why! The lower sections in the channel below Shark Hole are loaded with trevally, tailor and salmon. There’s ample fish there at present, and I can’t see why that would change any time soon.

In the main basin

I would try using blades around 35mm in length and concentrate your efforts on the edges of the ribbon weed. When fished with very small hops, this is deadly for blackfish and whiting, and I know that sounds crazy, but trust me, it works in this system!

Off the beaches the usual haunts like Tura Main, North Tura and Haycock all have plenty of salmon available to be caught. You will catch them using most methods, although a paternoster rig with a popper and bait combination is still the go-to method. I had a walk

along Tura Main the other morning casting shiners on bream gear, and it was great fun, with a dozen or so solid salmon around that 1.5kg mark coming ashore. The fish were thick in pockets and easy to catch once you found them.

There were a few anglers on the beach that morning, and everyone was catching, which was great to see.

Off the stones, those after blackfish and drummer are feeling pretty happy, with both species in great numbers and quality fish too with a few drummer nudging 3kg. At

morwong, john dory, trevally and the odd king on these reefs, with the outer edges on the gravel and sand good for flathead and the odd gummy shark.

In the estuaries the water has gotten cold, but there’s still plenty of fish to be caught. The main basin in Wagonga is loaded with whitebait, with quite a few big salmon about. These hard-fighting pelagics are great fun on light line and if everything else is quiet, at least you’re going to have some fun. In saying that, under these whitebait schools you can expect flathead, snapper, trevally and tailor. You might have to move from school to school, but you will be rewarded with some quality fish.

You’re also a chance at a mulloway, especially if the tailor are feeding. This system sees more mulloway caught under tailor schools than any other in my books, at least along this part of the South Coast.

Further downstream the channels are consistent for trevally and bream, with some nice blackfish coming from the southern breakwall.

Fishing the flooding tide seems best for blackfish, and it’s the opposite for the other species. Anglers using soft plastics are having most of the luck, but if you anchor up and berley and use fresh bait, you should still get a fish or two for the pan.

Off the stones down south at Mystery Bay’s High Rock, it’s been a great month for salmon, tailor and some decent snapper, which have

been coming from the wash zone at the southern end of the ledge. After big seas this ledge always produces decent snapper, although I know not many people fish it after these conditions, which surprises me a bit. Try using a lightly-weighted bait like a half pilchard or fresh squid, and using a little berley won’t hurt either. Closer to town the golf course rocks are worth a look too, and casting whole pilchards on ganged hooks should see plenty of salmon and tailor caught.

On the beaches, with the bigger swells of late there’s a few very deep gutters along Brou Beach, which is just north of Dalmeny. This beach runs for 7km or so, so there’s ample gutters along

A 40kg SBT about to be tagged and let go to fight another day. Let’s hope this season is a cracker and the weather gods are on our side.

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(07)

You can still get solid flathead during winter. In Wagonga Inlet the upper reaches around the oyster racks hold some decent fish at this time of year. its length. It can be a bit of a walk from the southern car park to get to the deeper water, so another option is to enter the beach via the Brou Tip Road, and you can then get to the middle of the beach. Not many people get in there, especially at this time of the year. You can expect salmon, tailor, bream and you’re also a very good chance at mulloway and gummy sharks along this stretch. Using a single paternoster will suffice for the larger species, with metal shiners for the salmon and tailor and a running sinker rig for the bream. Don’t be surprised to get big winter whiting either, particularly if you’re using beach worms or pipi. that size they’re brutes on any gear and hard to stop, but a lot of fun.

Try using green cabbage or cooked prawns for the pigs, with cabbage ideal for the blackfish.

On a sad note, I would like to send my condolences to Ron and Gael Van Der Drift who owned Tackleworld Merimbula.

Unfortunately their business was destroyed by fire a few weeks back. The guys are going to rebuild and come back bigger and better and hopefully be up and running by Christmas, which is great to see.

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39

You’re an

you’ll wa

Fish are still biting in town MALLACOOTA/EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

With winter here once again, the visitors are moving on as the cold weather sends them on thier way north, but despite the cold weather the has still been some good fishing to report.

The past month saw the water temperature both in

the lake and offshore start to drop, with the coming months possibly getting even colder. The colder water has really started to shut down the offshore fishing.

Earlier in the month there were some good catches to report, with sand flathead being caught in good numbers out around Gabo Island, and some good gummy shark from the front of the Island. Those chasing tiger flathead have been

heading out wider for good catches. You really need to move around for tigers, as some boats were really on the fish while others struggled to get a bite.

There are a few good reefy areas off Mallacoota where snapper can be caught, however those who know these areas keep the locations quiet and have enjoyed catching fish to around the 2kg mark.

The offshore fishing

Snapper are still being caught on the back of Goodwin Sands.

out around Eden has been good, with the average water temperature a bit warmer than further to the south, and this sees the same species a bit more active than they are in the colder water to the south. This time of year sees the big boats come into town to head out wide chasing the broadbill swordfish, and if they are about the southern bluefin tuna. In the coming months we will see if the season is a good one, and half the battle is getting good sea conditions. If the weather is good I’m sure fish will be caught, as the anglers doing this style of fishing really know their stuff.

With the cold water along the beaches, this is the time when the salmon numbers start to increase, with any of the local beaches from Eden to Mallacoota seeing numbers of fish. The fish are a good average size at around 1.5kg, with bigger fish amongst them. Tossing metal lures is the way to go, as you can stay on the move, searching for the gutters that the fish are feeding in.

A few gummy sharks are being caught by those fishing into the night, with Quarry Beach a good place to soak a big bait at this time of year.

You really need to rug up if

(or nearl

There wi

optimistic Either is

You’re h

Victor with a black bream that ate a blade fished in deeper water. you intend on fishing into the night.

The fishing in the estuaries has been good, and there has been a bit of rain, but more is needed to really liven things up. The black bream are spread out, feeding in both the Top and Bottom Lake, and a few good size fish are being caught, with fish around the 36cm size being the average.

Silver trevally and tailor

are being caught and their numbers should increase over the winter months.

Good-sized snapper are still being caught in the lake. They would normally have run to sea by now, but they are not aware the entrance is open as the flow is that minimal.

The flathead are still around, but catching numbers of fish over the colder months is a real challenge.

WE A

Reefing up some tasty treats for the holidays BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Reef fishing is excellent at the moment, with snapper dominating catches.

Most areas are holding fish, with the southern reefs out from the Three Brothers, Murrah and Bunga Head being most productive.

These fish are being taken in many ways, from anchoring and berleying, jigging with plastics, to the more traditional ways of drift fishing. Perch, morwong and leatherjackets will all feature in bags, while out wider towards the shelf, Tassie trumpeter,

large nannygai and the occasional hapuka come up from the deep water. Large tiger flathead lurk in this area as well, which are a welcome catch, and these fish are also in the shallower water, possibly in greater numbers although not as large.

Inshore there is plenty of salmon both around the beaches and rocky headlands.

They are responding well to lures. Walking the beaches is most productive, while waiting for passing schools from the stones will also gain results.

Bream are still in good numbers on the beaches, where a well presented cube of striped tuna will often gain the intended result, and mullet or the occasional

Morwong are a winter specialty and very tasty.

40

JULY 2019

mulloway can provide a welcome by-catch.

This is an excellent time to fish for drummer from the rocks, and they are in good numbers, responding well to cunjevoi, cabbage weed or prawns. The best areas are around the Blue Pool, Michael Lerner Lookout and the south end of Cuttagee.

In Bermagui Harbour, trevally are the flavour of the month as they patrol the jetties, boat ramps and rock walls. Most baits will work well on them, as will some small hard and soft bodied lures. Bream are another common catch, often in good numbers straight in front of the main cleaning table.

Further upriver, things are pretty quiet. Most of the flathead have migrated out of the estuaries, making them hard to find. Those who remain are likely to be towards the entrances.

Blackfish are now the mainstay in the estuaries, and are responding well to green weed. In the Bermagui River the rock walls are producing well, as are the bridge pylons, the rocks adjacent to the bridge boat ramp and the rocky outcrops further upriver. If you wish to venture further afield, try Wapengo Lake south of Bermagui, and the many

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AV BO CA Beautiful, bright sunny days and a few fish. What more could you ask for? weed beds towards the entrance are holding plenty of lovely fish that taste great.

Winter brings cold weather, cold water, cold winds and fish that love these conditions. These fish come in the form of southern bluefin tuna, which love these conditions even if we don’t, so when there is a break in the weather look beyond the continental shelf and start thinking big.

Bluefin can be targeted in many ways, although trolling

is probably the simplest and most successful. This allows you to cover more water where hopefully you may find where the fish are concentrated.

Lures will vary from skirts to deep divers and sometimes bibless, and occasionally jigging will work. Once a school is located, expect multiple hook ups, where the size of the fish may vary. To keep the school around, have some pilchards handy to

toss over, and keep the fish feeding. You can also try and keep a fish hooked up, which will bring the school to the area. Don’t expect action every time you go out, but when you find it, it will more than make up for the days without.

Mako sharks are in this deep water following the tuna, so if things are not happening with the bluefin, try a berley trail to attract one of the best sportfish in the ocean.

4

ant to go again and no matter how many fish you catch

You’re an Angler, and no matter how many times you go fishing

ly catch) it will never be enough.

you’ll want to go again and no matter how many fish you catch

ill be days when the fishing is better than one’s most

(or nearly catch) it will never be enough.

ic forecast, others when it is far worse.

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You’re hooked, along with us.

You’re an Angler, and no matter how many times you go fishing you’ll want to go again and no matter how many fish you catch (or nearly catch) it will never be enough.

ARE TONIC!

There will be days when the fishing is better than one’s most optimistic forecast, others when it is far worse.

Either is a gain over just staying home.

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41

Go Behind the Scenery

Tasmania

Outstanding offshore options OFFSHORE

Kelly Hunt

The old timers should be very happy, as they say the jumbo bluefin don’t get thick until a few dumps on Mount Wellington in the state’s south. The Tasmanian state capital of Hobart forms the base of the mountain and the city winds its way around its foothills and up its lower slopes.

Hobart has seen a fair few dumps of late and the tuna have been thickening up. The action for the most part takes place in two major fishing ports at this time of year, Southport in the state’s far south and Eaglehawk Neck in the southeast.

SOUTHPORT At Southport the ramp is a pretty good place to deploy and retrieve a boat up to 7m, but at low tide you will want to be careful.

Low tide will also have you trying to find the shallow channel that leads to deeper water and around to the tuna grounds.

The area is also famed as a great access point to Pedra Branca. Pedra is a set of big monolithic rocks that come up out of the southern ocean and is a fabulous holding point for big tuna all year round. School sized bluefin can be found here

for most of the year, but at this time of year and with a good weather window it is where the monsters hunt in packs.

The weather must be perfect if you are thinking of venturing to Pedra Branca. It is not a place to go if the weather report is iffy. It is a little over 24nm from the safe haven of Southport and when you

ocean found anywhere in the world.

The area has a few traps and is not for the fainthearted. There are a few rock ledges that will really raise up and break even when the conditions seem fair. The Flying Scud is one such area and so is the area around Eddystone, so always keep your eyes open for where the swells are

some juicy bits of striped tuna or a few whole pilchards to fire them up.

When you come down to this part of Tasmania at this time of year and have a winter getaway there are a number of things to keep the family entertained if they are not into the fishing. Hastings caves and the thermal pools close by will keep everyone amused

Mark Spencer has skipper Rocky to thank for this magnificent fish. for vessels of all sizes and caters for crews of all experience levels.

The landscape offers a level of protection to the fishing grounds. The big spectacular cliffs along from Waterfall Bay, down past the mouth of

Pete Bailey with a solid school bluefin taken under the cover of the cliffs. clear Whale Head to the south you’re a little over halfway. The next part of the journey as you leave land will have you well out into the wildest section of

A fish of this quality off St Helens made a slow day well worth it for Eythan, Bryce and Jake.

likely to peak up and draw water off the shelves.

The area has to be treated with some healthy respect and caution, but a good day at Pedra will reward handsomely. The area is loaded with 100kg+ fish, so if you are chasing a trophy it is well worth a look at this time of year.

It is also a great spot to load up on a few striped trumpeter before the season closes in September and October.

The area to the rear of Pedra itself and grounds of the Flying Scud are loaded with big numbers of the sensational tasting trumpeter. Quite often they will be on the chew hard but can be fickle around the tide, so it pays to take a range of baits. Just because they smashed the squid strips last time on a favourable tide doesn’t mean they will cooperate next time. You may need

The author’s favourite spread of lures for winter tuna. while you are out on the water for hours. There are also the picturesque drives to Roaring Beach and Lady Bay, which make great destinations for a winter picnic.

EAGLEHAWK NECK Eaglehawk Neck is a Mecca for big powerful southern bluefin. The water here is accessible

Fortescue Bay and beyond provide ample protection for all boats to have a fish.

This is acres and acres of tuna riddled ocean you can cover to try and get a feed or catch that massive fish of a lifetime.

The lures to use are a combination of traditional tuna skirts and deep divers. The tuna skirts are

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traditional resin head or metal jet head lures with a couple of rubber tubes of differing colours and sliced to give the appearance of a fleeing baitfish. Once in the water and being towed at 7-8 knots, the combination of the head shape and material will combine with the skirt material and colour to look very fishy to a tuna.

That is the plan anyway.

The deep divers are a hardbody lure made of wood or plastic with a plastic bib or head shape that combines with a particular towing point and allows the lure to pull down under the water surface. The design, how the lure is rigged and the speed the boat tows the lure affects the depth the lure will swim. These lures are often towed with skirts at speeds suited to make the skirts work, so they are less deep diving and more a sub-surface lure to a metre or two.

Those crews who run a spread of all hardbody lures and slow the boat down will access a different part of the water column. This can be advantageous in bright conditions or when you can see the fish on the sounder but you cannot get them to come up and have a go at

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Go Behind the Scenery the surface skirts.

Something to keep in mind with the bibbed and diving lures is to not kill their action with the way you rig them. It is best to rig them as light as you dare with a big loop to the tow point. I often notice people rigging 400lb leaders with big flemish eyes to the tow point and wondering why their lure won’t swim.

Even if by some miracle it did swim, the action would be so dulled down that the potential for a bight response from the tuna is significantly affected.

Action is king when it comes to trying to fire up a pack of bluefin, so with skirted lures default to going that bit quicker than you feel comfortable with. They are a super quick fish and they will have no problem putting a speed burst on to hit and eat your surface lure. You don’t want to be going slow enough that they recognise your presentation as a lump of plastic and rubber!

For lure colours I prefer something natural for catching tuna. In Tasmania the bait is predominantly sauries, redbait and mackerel, so any skirt colour combination resembling these will have you in great form!

ST HELENS Not to be forgotten is the gamefishing town of St Helens. The tuna have been off the coast of the seaside town of late and some good fish have been caught.

The fish have been of all sizes, from school sized to jumbos and everything in between. The area is a vast big open seafront and does not have the bait holding spots that are easily found down south. So, crews must work hard to spot the surface cue that something is going on.

Your first clue will always be the birds. They do not need to be diving and feeding. A congregation or a thickening of birds is enough reason to do a few laps and explore the

Tasmania water with your lures. Any sort of surface disturbance is worth a look and even if it turns out to be a dolphin, give it a second glance. Dolphins can give away what is going on under the surface by their movements. A pod of travelling dolphins moving quickly is not of a lot of interest. Sometimes they are moving in slow moving circles and coming to the surface a lot. This can indicate they are over bait and if they have found, the tuna might have as well.

The lack of seals at St Helens means you could try berleying to get the tuna to the back of the boat. The odd seal will still turn up off St Helens, but nothing like the numbers down south. Head to the shelf and get some berley in the water and keep it up for a number of hours.

Any tuna in the area will sense the food in the water and come looking. If you have kept berley going in the water slowly and

Peter Cousins and Jake Ormston managed to tame this 90kg bluefin from Eaglehawk Neck.

constantly you stand a good chance of getting them under the boat.

We have done this many times while looking for a mako shark and there is no reason at this time of year you can’t use it as a standalone technique for bluefin. There has been the odd mako shark still taken in the latter half of June, so don’t be too surprised if you have one turn up in your berley. Don’t forget to take a few wire traces if you plan to have a go.

Eythan Purton and his brother Bryce put a crew together with Jake Morris and also found a tremendous fish off the shores of St Helens. The boys borrowed their uncle’s boat The Jury and headed out on the back of some good reports.

The birds and sea surface sparked up and the reel screamed after a slow day.

The fish eventually came to the boat after a couple of hours and pulled down the scales to 115kg of prime southern bluefin.

INLAND FISHERIES SERVICE

Shannon Lagoon offers a challenge to anglers IFS

Tim Farrell

During June 2017, we collected 500 fish from the River Derwent fish trap at Lake King William and then tagged and transferred them into Shannon Lagoon. On 1415 May 2019 we surveyed Shannon Lagoon to see how these fish were going.

Over one night of trapping, we captured 43 brown trout. Of these fish, seven were tagged (16%).

These tagged fish were mostly around 250-290g when initially released in 2017. All but two of these seven fish were over 1kg

when recaptured last week (see the table for details).

The average weight for the tagged fish was 1,066g, meaning they had increased in weight by almost 800g. One fish had grown from 220g to almost 1.4kg. The average weight for the non-tagged resident fish was 1,107g.

Of all the fish captured, one third were between 1.251.75kg, with the largest fish weighing 2.1kg!

Back in 2017 when these fish were released, they represented 24% of the catch, while this year (2019) they represented 16%. This shows us they are surviving well, growing and in good condition.

If you have an afternoon

SHANNON LAGOON FISH CONDITION PROGRESS Tag number 2567 2540 2291 2084 2138 2556 2350 Average weight (g)

Release weight (g) 2017 250 260 220 270 290 290 430 287

to spare during the fishing season, try a session at Shannon Lagoon, you may be surprised at the size and quality of your catch.

If you catch a tagged fish, let us know the weight and length by emailing infish@ ifs.tas.gov.au or phone (03) 6165 3808.

Capture weight (g) 2019 650 1120 1387 980 1047 1128 1150 1066

DO NOT OBSTRUCT FLOATING PONTOONS The IFS and MAST ask that anglers do not place rocks to step onto the floating pontoons at yingina/Great Lake or Arthurs Lake.

The pontoons slide on the anchor cables – if there is a gap between the pontoon

Weight gain in two years 400 860 1167 710 757 838 720 800

and the shore simply slide the pontoon back to shore.

Placing rocks stops the pontoon from sliding and can damage the cables and chains under the pontoons when the lake level rises.

IFS UPGRADES TO HADDENS BAY RAMP Anglers have suggested

that more parking would be useful at the Haddens Bay boat ramp at yingina/ Great Lake.

In response, the IFS has groomed the ramp on both sides of the rock groyne to provide additional area for turning, launching and parking.

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This offset circle design is the perfect deepwater bottom fishing hook with paternoster ‘dropper-style’ rigs or normal boat fishing with cut baits.

When using this hook, anglers do not strike on the bite, rather the fish is allowed to run with the bait and as the line comes tight, the hook will roll into the corner of the fish’s mouth. This is a great hook to use for ‘lazy’ rigs fished from a rod holder as fish simply hook themselves.

Brock Cuthbertson with a solid Shannon Lagoon brown trout.

www.gamakatsu.com.au JULY 2019

43

Go Behind the Scenery

Tasmania

Chasing those winter blues in beautiful Burnie BURNIE

Damien Turner

Bluefin tuna are a prime target species throughout the winter months here in Tasmania. The tuna are found up and down the East Coast, with St Helens and Eaglehawk Neck being the two most popular places to fish.

The West Coast is a very underrated coast too.

The waters off Strahan are often littered with bigger school sized bluefin tuna – usually bigger than the East Coast. With fish averaging around the 30kg mark, fishos are starting to take notice of this great fishery.

The number of school fish is generally higher from May through to October,

with some jumbo bluefin thrown in the mix. These fish feed on the masses of redbait that are present at this time of year. They have also been known to feed on baby leatherjackets at times, along with small mackerel and squid.

A range of skirted and hardbody lures works well at different times of day and weather conditions.

I generally start the day with three skirts, such as Meridian or Pakula, and two hardbodies, like Samaki Pacemakers in 180DD, and by the end of the day I could have five skirts or five hardbodies out, as I’ll adapt to what the fish are responding to.

Generally redbait coloured skirts are the go, although there isn’t a right

or wrong colour in my opinion. Some just seem to work better than others on the day.

The type of head your skirted lure has determines the best position to have it in your lure spread.

Heads that are longer with a smaller diameter face on them are usually best run further from the boat: examples being long rigger, long corner or shotgun.

Pusher style heads that are fatter with a bigger surface area face are designed to run closer to the boat: examples being short corner and short rigger.

Weather conditions often have a say in what lure goes where and lure weights can also help.

Trolling speed is another factor that often comes into

Charlie Vella has found that when chasing bluefin at Eaglehawk Neck the by-catch can be pretty good, especially when it’s a 20kg albacore tuna. play. My advice would be to troll as slow as you can while still having your lures working efficiently.

The faster you troll, the more unstable your lure is in the water. This can also make your rig move around more, which means your hook-up rate won’t be as good.

Over the winter months, 37kg outfits are nearly a must with bluefin tuna ranging from 15-150kg. The worst thing is you just never know what size you’re going to come across. It’s better being over-gunned than under-gunned and losing

One of the well-conditioned southern bluefin tuna you can expect to catch this month.

that fish of a lifetime.

The seal population seems to grow this time of year and they love tuna! So be prepared to move around and try to avoid them.

A couple of methods here in Tasmania that get a little lost when tuna fishing is casting stickbaits, surface poppers and soft plastics. These methods are great when the fish are actively feeding on the surface. Being able to get a nice long cast into the feeding fish and working your stickbait or popper back to the boat is often a better method on these fish, as the motor noise can

often send the fish deep.

Casting lures and the shear excitement of that surface bite is certainly more rewarding than catching a fish on the troll.

On the other hand, it pays to occasionally mark fish on the sounder that are down deep and not coming up to the surface. Trying something different, like a big soft plastic such as a Squidgies Pro flickbait 145 or Halco Mad Eyes 8” on a 1.5-2oz jighead.

This allows the plastic to get down nice and quick to where the fish are, and then working it back with a To page 45

HYDRO TASMANIA WATER STORAGE INFORMATION Water Storage Information as at 11th June 2019 Lake/Lagoon

Metres from full

Comment

Trevallyn Pond..................................1.01........................................................Steady Lake Mackenzie................................7.58........................................................Steady Lake Rowallan..................................12.38......................................................Steady Lake Parangana................................0.86........................................................Steady Lake Cethana....................................2.80........................................................Steady Lake Barrington................................0.00.......................................................Spilling Lake Gairdner...................................4.34........................................................Steady Lake Paloona....................................2.56........................................................Steady Lake Augusta....................................2.69........................................................Steady Arthurs Lake.....................................2.26........................................................Steady Great Lake........................................14.75......................................................Steady Little Pine Lagoon.............................0.48........................................................Steady Shannon Lagoon...............................0.22........................................................Steady Penstock Lagoon..............................0.20........................................................Steady Woods Lake......................................1.45........................................................Steady Lake St Clair.....................................1.32........................................................Steady Lake King William.............................7.95........................................................Steady Lake Echo.........................................8.63........................................................Steady

Dee Lagoon.......................................0.00.......................................................Spilling Pine Tier Lagoon...............................0.57........................................................Steady Bronte Lagoon..................................1.04........................................................Steady Bradys/Binneys/Tungatinah..............0.91........................................................Steady Laughing Jack Lagoon.....................6.42........................................................Steady Lake Liapootah.................................0.04........................................................Steady Wayatinah Lagoon............................0.00.......................................................Spilling Lake Catagunya................................1.52........................................................Steady Lake Repulse....................................0.00.......................................................Spilling Cluny Lagoon....................................1.31........................................................Steady Meadowbank Lake...........................0.62........................................................Steady Lake Burbury....................................4.99........................................................Steady Lake Margaret..................................1.73........................................................Steady Whitespur Pond................................1.34........................................................Steady Lake Newton.....................................3.04........................................................Steady Lake Plimsoll....................................4.02........................................................Steady Lake Murchison................................9.38........................................................Steady Lake Mackintosh..............................5.66........................................................Steady Lake Rosebery..................................0.59........................................................Steady Lake Pieman.....................................2.08........................................................Steady Lake Pedder......................................1.05........................................................Steady Lake Gordon.....................................27.11......................................................Steady

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

44

JULY 2019

Go Behind the Scenery

Tasmania

There are still some good all year round options HOBART

Andrew Large

What a blinding start to winter we’ve had here in the south! Anglers may not have been able to do much of late as the windy and snowy conditions arrived curtailing a relatively long calm window in fishing for offshore and further inland in the freshwater reaches of the state.

The first day of winter was a real gem with little to no breeze and a daytime temperature of around 16°C, allowing anglers to try their luck on such things as southern bluefin tuna on the coast and attempt a highland trout trip in the lakes.

Starting off for the season we have Craigebourne Dam located within a 35-minute drive from Hobart and 15 minutes drive from the historic town of Richmond and recently stocked with thousands of 500g rainbow trout. IFS traditionally time the release to correspond with cooler water temperatures and increased water level. Doing this roughly eight weeks from the Inland Fisheries Open Day on 1 August ensures the fish settle in well to their new home. These fish can be caught now with a 2018-19 Inland Angling licence, which are available at most tackle stores and IFS agents.

A little bit further inland sees the Great Lake also fishing well. IFS recently held their Liaweenee Open weekend and it was here that we learnt from compliance and field staff that the spawning run was predominantly finished for around mid May – a good month earlier than usual for brown trout.

Alex Green, Harry Foster and myself spent

Kathy Buttigieg rugged up on a mid-winter highlands trout trip at Great Lake in Central Tasmania. As a reward for braving the cold, Kathy snagged this well conditioned 1.4kg brown trout. two evenings spin fishing from the shore after work and landed good fish in the 0.75-1.3kg range. Our guess was a large percentage of fish were still hanging in the heads of many bays waiting for a final flow of snow run-off or ground water to make their push up to spawn as well. The two good snowfalls we’ve had since then means that you won’t find them there now.

We used Tillins 2” Ashley Spinners in the colours 14D, phantom and spotted dog. Remember to use an anti-kink to prevent line twist. Craigebourne Dam and Great Lake are just two of the waters that are open all year. See the table in this article for more information.

Bream in the South East have been fishing exceptionally well, or were up until the onset of rain.

They were progressing naturally up the Huon and

Derwent rivers to spawn.

The same was happening on many of the east coast rivers and coastal lagoons.

The above average amounts of baitfish ensured these fish were in tip top condition prior to spawning – the upside for anglers was a population of black bream that were having a mega feast and happily smashing soft plastics and hardbody lures. My personal lure preference is the good old Berkley PowerBait T-Tail 2.5” in olive pearl or in hardbodies the Black Magic BMax 60mm bibbed lure in colours GLD and MDM, or a Duo Spearhead 50MDF in Ryuki pattern.

Searun trout are also starting to move for the year in the tidal zones of nearly all of our estuaries state wide – many of these fish will not spawn and will simply smash bait during the winter months. These fish are eagerly awaiting

the arrival of the first sprinklings of whitebait that will begin to spawn later in winter and early spring.

On the coast we still have good numbers of mega calamari being taken by shore-based anglers and those accessing the fishery from a boat. Here if you find the weed you find the fish.

Don’t be afraid to prospect in deeper water at this time

on tiny redbait encountered annually during April. This seems to be coming right in recent days with anglers using smaller 5-6” lures such as the Zacatak 9mm in dorado, yamas, otto and secret stripy.

Jumbo SBT are still having a crack and have also been a little hard to catch – many anglers believe that a lot of the SBT are simply full and not feeding much.

These larger fish are being sounded with the odd one hooked, and this is not unusual behaviour. A good day jumbo fishing sees 20% of the fleet having some sort of encounter with a 100kg+ fish.

Albacore are still present but waning in numbers. Fish to 23kg have been caught amongst the school-sized SBT. One angler I heard of had a triple strike, two fish landed were SBT and the third was a 19kg albacore.

This shows the chicken of the sea are still available, but a lot of luck is needed to land one.

In summary, winter presents some unique Tasmanian fishing experiences, for the large part many fish are mopping up autumn offerings in the form of remaining bait while others are quickly finding winter bait or having a snack as they too head off to spawn. Make

WATERS OPEN ALL YEAR • Brushy Lagoon • Craigbourne Dam • Yingina/Great Lake (other than Canal Bay) • Huon River downstream from the Huonville Bridge • Lake Barrington • Lake Burbury • Lake King William • Huntsman Lake • Meadowbank Lake • Lake Pedder • Pioneer Lake • River Leven downstream from Whisky Creek • Kanamaluka/River Tamar, downstream from the Lower Charles St Bridge on the North Esk River and West Tamar Road Bridge on the South Esk River • River Derwent downstream from the New Norfolk Bridge

From page 44

good action is the key.

This year is already shaping up to be a fantastic year with a number of good fish up to 125kg already being caught with some more fantastic fishing still to come.

• For all the latest info on what’s biting and where, drop into Tackle World and Outdoors at 37 Wilson St, Burnie, or call them on (03) 6431 6500. You can also check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ tassietackle, which is regularly updated with product news, catch photos, videos and fishing tips.

of year, as calamari will move and hold in areas that are favourable depending on the swell conditions of the day.

Flathead are still biting well. In Tasmania we used to find sand flathead had a distinct start and finish time each year (same as for most Tasmanian species) but slight warming has lead to these fish being targetable nearly all year round over sandy bottom. Slow drifting from a boat or spinning with lures and soft plastics seems to drum up a bit of flatty action when all seems quiet. Go bright – pinks, yellows and chartreuses – for best results.

Australian salmon are still available from most surf beaches and are schooling well offshore with sizes ranging around 0.5-1.5kg. In Peninsula waters and on the North West you have a chance at some bigger specimens, and the estimated size of some of these fish has been 3kg. Locally these fish have hit trolled lures intended for SBT! Kingfish action has gone quiet and the last reports we heard of these fish was over a month ago, but what an amazing season we had with these fish in and around our CBD in the south and further afield into the channel and peninsula areas. It seems

Jamie Harris with a 30kg bluefin caught out of Strahan on the west coast of Tasmania.

as though Hobart, Port Arthur and Coles Bay (if present conditions persist) are now an annual kingfish proposition, whereas in the past visits were spasmodic and limited in nature.

The talk of the town lately is southern bluefin tuna, which are ranging from as far north as Bicheno on the East Coast to Pedra Blanca in the south. This season so far has seen a return of fish in the 22-35kg bracket, mid-ranging fish we have not seen since the mid ’90s. The usual 10-20kg fish have turned up as well and are ensuring a good day on the water for most. The action has been a little patchy over the last month, however, as SBT continue to focus

sure you rug up, buy a heated jacket or a good set of thermals and gloves and get out on an average day.

Choose your species wisely and have a crack, as the fish are generally still there throughout this cold winter.

Until next time, keep your rod held high.

• For expert fishing advice, have a chat to the friendly team at Spot On Fishing Tackle – The Fishing Connection at 87-91 Harrington Street, Hobart.

You can also give them a call on (03) 6234 4880, or like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ Spotonfishingtackle. The store carries an extensive range of tackle to cater for every fisher’s needs and for all types of fishing.

JULY 2019

45

Fly fishing essentials: Art of the strip tease FLYFISHING

Richard Barnsley

Fly fishing and fly casting are two distinct disciplines.

Some anglers are superb technical casters yet lousy anglers. Some champion fishers are rough casters but know how to approach water, select a pattern and keep it in a fish’s jaw.

Combining and refining the two is the challenge.

Perhaps the standout element of a good angler is their ability to maintain good line control while fishing. It is one thing to get your fly on the water, but another to keep contact and set a hook effectively.

Judging stream currents, water depths and holding lies in rivers comes from experience. Working lake margins or drifting loch

This is poor stripping technique. Note the slack line between stripping hand and reel seat. vary the speed and length of the strip to impart action into fly imitations. As a general rule, the larger the fly the longer the strips. Consider

the movement of sub-surface fly presentations just as you would try to match your lure shape and bib configuration.

Learn the ‘figure-ofeight’ retrieve! This is a terrific method that ensures constant contact with the fly during slow drifts. It’s also extremely useful when fishing nymphs and buzzer patterns in lakes or ponds.

There are some excellent YouTube videos on this method if you’re wanting a starting point.

Be prepared to mix up your speed and length of line retrieval during a day’s fishing. Once you find a presentation that works, mimic it through similar water conditions.

SETTING THE HOOK The quickest way to positively set a hook is with the stripping hand. Novices traditionally raise the rod tip to strike, as you would with spin gear, but this often produces insecure setting of the hook when fly fishing.

Draw down with the stripping hand for a positive

transmission along the fly line. Generally the rod tip should be low on the water so that you do not have a ‘belly’ of slack from the raised tip to the water surface. Although there are techniques such as Czech nymphing that defy this rule, for the majority of situations keep your tip low and follow the drift or retrieve with the rod tip.

Midging trout in lakes can be especially frustrating.

Essentially, when a hatch is thick the fish swim about with their mouths open like whales eating plankton. If you strike traditionally, you will simply pull your fly out of their mouth.

I once stood 30m along the lake edge from a fishing mate during a big midge hatch. Rainbows were porpoising all across the lake as they fed on the tiny emerging midges.

Danny hooked, landed and released six or seven fish while I couldn’t pick up anything. We changed spots and he landed another three from where I had just

You can keep contact with the fly by keeping slack out of the stripping hand. style rigs from a boat are equally the result of hard won knowledge.

Perhaps the most critical component of all is setting a hook. How you strip line, use the rod tip and detect a strike is critical if you wish to progress as a practical fly angler. Like a golf swing, you’ll develop your own style over time but several fundamental techniques are important.

For the purpose of this article, I’ll largely focus on streams or moving water. These situations are generally more complex than lakes, although the basic techniques will find a place in your still water arsenal.

THE APPROACH Always take time to observe your chosen spot of river. A few minutes watching for current lines will greatly improve your ability to competently tackle a section of stream. Two things to look for are current and foam lines. These generally follow the fastest, deepest section of streambed. Alternatively, watch for objects such as 46

JULY 2019

leaves floating downstream.

Most detritus will follow the main current line.

Funnel points, where two or more currents mix, are prime holding lies. Fish will often be found slightly downstream of the ‘mix’ point. You should also target the edges of these current streams.

Basically, plan how you will ‘attack’ a stretch of water before you even make a cast. Observation skills are vital for productive angling and learning to read a basic ‘run’ is essential stuff.

LINE CONTROL Whether fishing dries, wets or nymphs, you’ll want good contact with the fly.

Subtle takes when dead drifting nymphs transmits little energy up the line.

Finicky bream and carp are another also difficult take to detect. Your reaction time needs to be immediate.

When stripping line, either to remove slack or to agitate a streamer, it is imperative to keep contact with the fly. New chums often draw in line, drop it at

their feet and lose contact.

Keep the stripping hand close to the rod so that you have ample room to strip down past your hip when a fish takes. Having slack between the bottom runner and stripping hand dramatically reduces positive hook-ups.

Experienced anglers will

Placing the rod under the arm allows anglers to employ handover-hand retrieves. This is particularly useful for fast retrieves, such as when targeting open water species.

The ‘figure-of-eight’ retrieve is an awesome technique, particularly for fiddly lake trout or picky bream.

been standing.

Eventually I stood at his shoulder and observed his detection and subsequent strike to the subtly frustrating takes. These days in such situations, if I think there is a take I slowly strip strike until I feel resistance. Often the fish will feel the prick of the hook point, turn and hook itself. It took me some time to master this technique, but it has been hugely successful, particularly on midge feeding trout.

Learning to strip confidently and appropriately for the situation is vital to becoming a successful fly angler. It won’t make a lot of difference to your cast, but will certainly help you get more fish on the bank!

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47

Keeping busy this winter in Wagga Wagga WAGGA WAGGA

Rhys Creed

July is one of the toughest months to fish. In saying that, there are still options or other things you can be doing in the ‘fishing world’ to get you ready for the warmer weather.

BLOWERING DAM This time of year is nothing short of freezing!

Days and nights are guaranteed to be cold and tough fishing, but this is the time of year to persist for that once in a lifetime fish.

There will be a number of anglers who spend some solid time up on

the water and with effort will come reward. First thing to remember if you are going to fish the dam in July, be prepared with warm clothes, and I mean warm! You can never be too prepared for the cold here, and I always wear layers of thermals, jumpers and a set of ski pants and

While chasing big cod on a 90mm AC Invader, Baily caught this quality winter yellowbelly as by-catch. jacket on the outside. The wind can cut through you, so you need to keep it out.

Gloves you can fish with are vital if fishing during the night or early morning, which is the most productive time to go fishing. So, I would recommend investing

Tallis with a giant cod that smashed the Ignite Cod Fury 220mm just after dark.

in a pair.

In terms of early morning fishing, that first hour of light is key and this is when you’ll have the best chance of hooking into a cod. Fishing shallow at this time of year is the go-to technique, try casting in very shallow with surface,

swimbaits or lightlyweighted soft plastics. Big cod will cruise the edges looking for food but once that sun rises, the bite period is all but over.

Fishing heavier soft plastics down along the rocky banks is another of our go-to techniques, and it

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

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

Apr May June

Cairn Curran

34

Apr May June Mulwala (Yarrawonga) 93 98 94 Newlyn 33 28 38 Nillahcootie 29 25 24 Rocklands 25 23 23 Tantangara 32 23 19 Taylors 36 32 25 Tullaroop 34 33 33 Waranga 11 12 14 Wartook 32 27 29 William Hovell 48 36 59

32 32

Dartmouth 63 63 64 Eildon

37 34 35

Eppalock

39 37 36

Eucumbene 26 25 24 Fyans

71 65 66

Hepburn

25 25 30

Hume

18 14 18

Jindabyne 80 78 71 Lauriston

71 80 80

(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.)

Yellas will still chew in the afternoons along the river, as Tallis demonstrates.

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JULY 2019

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has been productive nearly every session.

MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER The Murrumbidgee River is set to run low throughout all of winter, with little rain predicted.

This provides the perfect opportunity to chase big cod that hide under logs all year round. They are intelligent and are tough to catch but as fishing can be slow in winter, the effort is worth it.

The size of your lure

doesn’t really need to change when targeting these large Murrumbidgee River cod. We still use the Mud Guts 5/8oz standard with a Colorado blade, we just add a bigger tail (PowerBait Rib Shad) and a stinger hook to add a little bit more size. The Mud Guts Big Quaddie is a bigger offering that does work a treat on the bigger fish. With hardbodies, we prefer the Balista Dyno 90 and the 90mm AC Invader 24ft, especially for casting

in still and deep water with large submerged snags.

Don’t forget the surface lures in the morning and evening.

AFTERNOON IS KEY In winter, the afternoon will be the best time of day. In the morning they can be extremely slow, as the water is colder than the fish prefer. If it’s sunny, the water warms up a little bit during the day, therefore the fish will feel more comfortable later in the day.

Trout cod are a fun by-catch in the cooler months around Wagga.

The clarity of the water in Blowering Dam at this time of year is incredible.

Winding your lures very slowly is important and also try to fish the sunny side. That’s right, the sunny areas can and usually do out-fish the shady areas in winter.

If you’re not keen on hitting the water in the cold, it doesn’t mean you

have to remove yourself from the fishing. There are so many other things you can be doing and one of my favourites is researching and learning as much as I can.

You can spend so much time watching videos, reading articles (just like

this), searching on the web and taking in as much as possible to become a better angler.

Good luck if you happen to hit the water this month. My pick of the locations would still be Blowering Dam, chasing those giant Murray cod!

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JULY 2019

49

Break out the heavy artillery for winter fishing MILDURA

Rob Oswin

Over the last month there have been many reports of larger cod and golden perch being caught, with the vast majority of these reports coming from anglers who have been using hardbody lures and spinnerbaits.

With cold weather setting in, some nice Murray cod up to 80cm have been caught trolling hardbodies and casting spinnerbaits.

The 75-105mm hardbody lures and 1/2-1oz spinnerbaits seem to be the most popular size lately with both the the cod and perch.

Although there have been gradually fewer numbers of fish caught per session, the size of the fish have been notably increasing.

This is no doubt due to that fact that bigger fish are wanting larger meals before the water temperature

Now is the time of year to be targeting big Murray cod along the river. decreases too much.

The cooler months in Mildura are going to be mostly about the bigger

Murray cod. It can be expected that the amount of golden perch being caught will decrease.

Anglers willing to put in the time trolling and casting will manage to pull in some larger Murray

cod. However, there are still some goldens getting around. Lure or bait, placement and location will become more important than ever. Getting close into the structure with precise casting is going to be key to bagging the bigger fish.

Willow trees seem to be a hotspot at the moment for all species of fish, as they provide a huge area for fish to hold under and give plenty of shade. With many different size fish holding in and around these large trees, any of the areas offering the deeper holes are worth a try.

The big, deep bends around Red Cliffs and down around Hattah are going to be ideal. There will be fewer anglers out on the river and barely any campers, so don’t discount the more shallow sections of the river and get right amongst the timber, with reports of surface lures

also being effective in the shallow waters.

There are plenty of great lures out there to choose from these days.

The hardest decision may be which colour, and I find natural colours to be the most effective, but it’s best to go out with a combination of both dark and lighter colours to get the most out of the upcoming shorter days.

Not only will the colder weather produce some great fish, it will also produce some great moments around the campfire as well. There are not too many things better than being around a warm fire on a cold morning on the banks of the Murray River.

Crawling your way out of the swag and boiling the billy while thinking about the day’s fishing ahead is one of the best things about being down on the river, so take the time to enjoy these moments.

Two months left to crack the cod this year ALBURY/WODONGA

Connor Heir

July is here, which leaves us with just two months of the cod season left to find that trophy fish in what is the prime time for big cod.

July is very similar to June. Bigger lures, more time between fish and

persistence are all elements to cracking onto that prized big fish. The past month in the local area has been very tough. Recent rainfall has made many waterways quite dirty, however this has been much needed rain. Fishing becomes quite difficult when the water becomes murky from run-off, and it seems to slow fishing down dramatically.

With that aside, I’ve still managed to snag a few, and I did veer away from the cod fishing for a few weeks, instead targeting golden perch in Lake Hume. Usually this time of year fishing in Lake Hume is tough going, but with the lake at a very low level, fishing opportunities for yellowbelly have been quite good.

I also achieved a personal

There will be plenty of casts between fish, but those who persist will find cod throughout winter.

This Lake Hume Murray cod came as a surprise but proves that the lake is home to plenty of quality cod.

50

JULY 2019

goal last month in Lake Hume, catching my first cod from there. I was killing some time just casting small vibes around from the banks trying to catch a redfin or yellowbelly and I managed to hook onto a fat healthy Lake Hume cod. They are definitely in Lake Hume, however I believe that they just don’t get targeted enough in there to really see the potential results.

Catching one has intrigued

me to perhaps putting some more effort.

With conditions going back to normal, cod fishing is starting to go back to normal again as the water begins to clear up. Fishing is still slow, however, as expected for this time of year. Flows in the river locally have dropped and this is when fishing for bigger fish can produce some golden opportunities.

Much like last month, make sure your gear is prepared

well enough to withstand a big winter cod. The last thing you want is to put all the effort into finding that big fish, then when it finally happens your gear fails on you.

Sometimes we can be unlucky, and that’s fishing and life, however much of the time it can be avoided with care and preparing properly, which leads me into a big point, and again, To page 51

Moths are now on the Murray cod’s menu and golden perch have been caught on both bait and lures. Small yabbies are working well, especially when fished on the edge of the backwaters.

Other good news in this area is the reports of a large cod of around 40lb landed on bait. This is great to hear, as big fish have been absent from this area for quite a while now. Downstream

ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

The promise of rain was all it took to begin the seasonal hatch of ghost moths that appeared right on cue to the autumn break. It did not take much rain to tempt these giant winged moths from their earthen chambers as the rain rolled in.

Streetlights illuminated their erratic flight as they winged to no set pattern, ploughing headlong into ground and wall alike. Their path of self-destruction while traumatic to watch is serious business, as they have but a short time to propagate the next generation. With

Jamie Steward with an average-sized cod from the Murray River at Swan Hill.

Clinton Hann with a solid golden perch on one of the new coloured StumpJumpers. This particular pattern is working very well.

From page 50

it’s another basic point, but it can make the world of difference. Make sure everything is ready to go for when you do hook onto that big fish. For example, have a net ready, have a phone or camera nearby ready for a snap if you want to do so, pliers ready to unhook, measuring mats or

even if most of the moths have hatched.

The Murray River at Mildura continues to fish well, with golden perch to 50cm on bait and Murray cod to 72cm on trolled lures. Local fishing identity Kym Sykes says the cod are feeding mid-water on bait balls, so it pays to run your lures in the mid to upper part of the water column. With

follow up rains these moths will continue to hatch over the coming weeks and our local fish are also in tune to this event.

The ghost moth is just the adult form of the bardie grub, possibly top of the list as Murray cod bait goes.

With the ability to fly, many of these large moths find their way onto the water and our local cod population is more than happy to chow down on the heaven-sent bounty. These hatches fire up some excellent surface luring opportunities during periods of low light or on cloudy days. Already looking topside it doesn’t take much to tempt a cod to the surface as they mistake your paddling lure for

another struggling moth.

With good water clarity in our local waters we can expect the cod captures to continue over the coming weeks, be it on surface lures or bait, there have been some great fish landed of late, especially along the Murray River at Swan Hill.

Several metre plus cod have been landed upstream of the road bridge, with the biggest stretching the brag mat out to 112cm. This fish was caught on a grub, but several other good-sized cod have been taken on lures.

It’s a similar story as you head downstream, with most sections of the Murray River fishing well.

At Boundary Bend good numbers of Murray cod

anything else you may need for those moments.

This isn’t only important for you as an angler, it also ensures that the fish is being looked after, and I’ve always pushed for good handling practices, as we want to protect these fish. If you are looking for something in your backpack or boat, try to keep the fish in the water while

This nice-sized Murray cod probably thought it was scoffing another ghost moth when it hit this Bassman Aussie Crawler surface lure. along the Murray, Robinvale and Wemen are producing both golden perch and Murray cod on bait and lures. A few surface caught cod near Wemen are a great sign for the coming weeks,

good catches in most areas, all looks set for a good bite in the weeks to come. Don’t forget the surface lures, as they continue to work even when the weather cools right down.

Round 4

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51

Snowmelt improves lake fishing SNOWY MOUNTAINS

Anthony Bentley

We are now right in the thick of winter.

With some great early snowfalls, Jindabyne and the mountains are looking like a winter wonderland.

This means it is now time to fish the lakes.

July can be great for some sight fishing around

the edges, although the weather can be a little less than desirable.

Traditionally the lake edges start to fish better toward the latter part of winter, but don’t let that stop you from getting out there and amongst it.

The middle of the day is the most comfortable part of the day to go for a walk around one of the many lakes in the area, the

The author caught this quality brown trout before the cold set in.

sun is higher in the sky making it a little easier to see into the water and a little warmer. The warmer day temperatures can often trigger some small hatches of bug life, and quite often you can find fish feeding on the surface.

The bug life in winter is usually a lot smaller than the warmer summer and spring months, using smaller sized 16-20 mayfly and midge style dry flies can be presented to the cruising fish without too much surface disturbance that could spook the fish.

I like using a simple black nymph that is neutrally buoyant as it can be fished right throughout the water column. You’ll need a careful approach as the fish can be in very close to the edges and can easily spook.

It’s also a good idea to watch the movements of the fish before making a cast, they will usually be on a ‘beat’ feeding and you can try and work out their next move and place a cast

into the feeding zone.

The next month or so we should see the wintery conditions continue and a little snowmelt and rain will bring in some more water and higher levels to lakes Jindabyne and Eucumbene. So rug up and hit the lake during the day for some polaroiding.

There has also been some large Atlantic salmon released into Lake Jindabyne over the past few weeks with some fish already being caught, some of these fish are well beyond the 6-8lb mark.

You’re best trying to tackle these beasts after dark when they become quite aggressive and are a great hunt for spin and fly fishers.

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Wayne Tucker with a late season brown trout.

Anglers, Airflo and McLean nets. There’s also a big range of flies from Manic, Stu Tripney, Mick Hall and Pisces, as well as waders, boots, vests and outdoor apparel. For all the latest information on

what’s biting and where, drop into the store at Nuggets Crossing Shopping Centre, Jindabyne. You can also call them on (02) 6456 2989, like them on Facebook or check out their website at highfly.com.au.

Choosing your winter options: stream or lake?

WST/STH GIPPSLAND

Steve Haughton steve@habitatcreations.com.au

The stream trout season is now well and truly closed and will re-open on the first weekend of September. Never fear, freshwater anglers still have plenty of choices locally for the upcoming month.

For those who enjoy being out on the streams of west and south Gippsland, then blackfish and eel are good winter options. If a winter stream is not your thing, then Blue Rock Lake will wet your winter appetite with bass and trout on offer.

River blackfish, short-

finned and long-finned eel can be a lot of fun on light gear and are a good alternative when the stream trout season has closed. These species are best targeted on dusk and well into the night, so be prepared and rug-up.

The hunt for these nocturnal species requires a sense of adventure, and if you’re up for it you’ll have a lot of fun.

The key spots to look for along any stream are dark slow-moving water or deep holes that provide blackfish and eel the perfect habitat to snare their prey. They are ambush predators and can take their time before seizing a well-presented live bait.

From time to time, blackfish have been known to take lures, although this is quite uncommon. Worms are by far

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Peter Newgreen with a personal best 47cm bass caught and released on a yabby during the last Blue Rock Angling Club event. He was hoping that he’d finally cracked the 50cm mark, but just missed out.

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the best bait and are best fished using a small hook (sizes 4-10 are typical) on a small enough running sinker to hold the bottom. If the water is moving very slow or you are fishing a backwater or eddy, then a ball float suspending a bait off the bottom is also a good basic technique.

Key rivers holding blackfish and eel include the larger downstream runs of the Lang Lang, Bunyip, Tarago and Latrobe rivers.

Heading further east and into more rugged country, the downstream runs of the Tanjil and Thomson rivers offer some good-sized native fish of a night.

There is no season on eel.

The season for river blackfish

south of the Great Divide closes on 1 September and re-opens on 31 December.

Blue Rock over winter is the best time of year for surface trout activity. Land-based fishing has been sucessful this winter already, with plenty of anglers having success from the shoreline. There hasn’t been any big trout yet, with most being pan-sized brown trout. The lake is down low, so anglers are able to cast into the weedy banks where trout cruise through.

Rainbow trout are out in the lake, but are few and far between. Flat-line trolling has been the most common method for boat and kayak anglers. The condition of the fish so far this winter has

been good but start to expect some skinnier fish over the coming month or two.

Blue Rock is also producing lots of winter bass and redfin. Anglers are doing well sounding up schools of fish out in the lake and using ice jigs, soft plastics and live worms. The technique can be achieved if your boat is fitted with a spot-lock on the electric engine, allowing you to hold position over a school of fish.

Kayakers are able to hold position over a school quite easily, especially if your kayak is a pedal operated system. If you don’t have an electric engine or if the conditions are too windy to hold position, you can simply find a school and keep passing over trolling lures in their feeding zone.

Within a school of fish, the species and sizes can vary greatly. In one school you can expect to land a 25cm bass, followed by a 15cm redfin, then a 42cm bass; I know because this happened to me on my last outing. Anglers tying up to the trees near the shoreline have been catching large bass. Live baits such as worms, yabbies and crickets have been working well.

Feel free to send me a report or photo, particularly if you have any success stories out on Blue Rock Lake or if you have been targeting winter blackfish and eel. Also, feel free to email me any questions.

Happy fishing!

Make the most of what’s on offer at Wangaratta unlikely to be stocked in its current state. Hopefully we get enough rain very soon to fill it up.

In these family friendly waterways, PowerBait is a great choice. Worms will also work, and so too will small lures.

My favourite lure for fishing in these stocked ponds is the Strike Tiger nymph soft plastic in black and gold colour with

WANGARATTA

Robbie Alexander

Writing my fishing report for July is usually met with mixed emotions. Sad because there are not a lot of fishing options around during July, and excited that I can start writing about fishing for trout in streams again very soon.

During July the trout streams are all closed to help protect spawning trout. I think the season closes a month too late as brown trout are often found spawning late in May in North East Victoria.

MURRAY COD The Murray cod fishing is generally very slow in the Wangaratta region. In

trolled behind a boat or kayak will work as well.

If bait fishing, try using lightly-weighted or even unweighted scrubworms in the top end of the lake near where the King River is flowing in.

The more rain we get between now and July the more effective worms will be as bait.

MURRAY CRAYFISH July is the middle

Brett Corker caught this very well coloured trout cod in the middle of May when the cod fishing was really slow. option and a great starting point is worms or really small yabbies.

TROUT Trout are our saving grace in North East Victoria during the winter months, and July is a fantastic time to catch them, except in the streams as they are closed.

At the end of June, in time for the July school holidays, Victorian Fisheries Authority stock all of the family friendly waterways across North East Victoria. Fosters Dam in Glenrowan, Merriwa Park Lake in Wangaratta, Stanley Dam and Lake Sambell in Beechworth and

Stanley Dam is a very popular pond in July when Victorian Fisheries Authority stock it with yearling rainbow trout in time for the school holidays. the claws removed and a very light jighead. Small, natural coloured and fished slowly, possibly even with a bit of lure scent, and you cannot go wrong.

Away from the stocked ponds, Lake William Hovell will definitely be

month of the Murray cray fishing season. Whether we actually get to go cray fishing in the Ovens River or not is largely dependent on whether we get much rain before July.

The Ovens River downstream of Wangaratta

A beautiful rainbow trout caught on a Wildbait minnow back in May in a tributary of the Ovens River. fact, July is the only month of the year that I cannot remember ever catching a cod in the Ovens River.

I remember catching a few trout cod in June over the years, and also in August, but I never catch any in July.

So, expect very slow Murray cod fishing in the

Wangaratta region during July. If you are wanting to try and catch a July Murray cod, you would be better off heading downstream to Lake Mulwala.

REDFIN Redfin can be very hard to catch in North East Victoria during July as well, as they seem to

have a tendency to prefer warmer water.

If you put in the time you may catch a redfin if you are lucky. Try Lake Sambell in Beechworth, Lake William Hovell or Lake Buffalo. I cannot make any promises though.

It’s going to be very slow. I think bait will be your best

July is the hardest month of the year to catch a Murray cod in the Wangaratta region. The author is already looking forward to the season opening in December and the current season has not even closed yet.

A nice late season brown trout caught on a Strike Tiger nymph in orange spawn colour.

several others are stocked each year. Please refer to the Victorian Fisheries website for a full list of fish stocking.

Please keep in mind that trout will only be stocked into these ponds if there is sufficient good quality water. Fosters Dam at Glenrowan is very low and

worth fishing for trout during July as the trout begin returning to the lake after spawning. Post spawn trout are often lean, and very hungry and willing to hit lures and take bait freely.

Try trolling a winged lure like a Tassie Devil or Wigstons. Small minnows

is a great place to go cray fishing. Please ensure that you are up to speed with the current cray fishing rules and regulations though, as they have changed a bit over the last few years.

Remember, it is the responsibility of the angler to know the rules before they head out.

JULY 2019

53

Battling through the cold SHEPPARTON

Nick Brown teamriverrats@hotmail.com

July is the first of the toughest months for fishing in the Shepparton area, with catch rates dramatically falling in the winter months.

There has not been a heap of reports handed in recently, with a lot more locals choosing to target the channel systems.

Trolling or casting big hardbody lures would be the plan of attack for those chasing the bigger Murray cod in the Goulburn River.

There are some larger holes and big timber downstream of the Broken-Goulburn junction and I would hit those areas hard if fishing the winter months locally.

Cray fish are well and truly on the move out towards Murchison with reports of good-sized males

being caught amongst some thumping females.

The cray fishing seems to drop off closer to Shepparton, but that is not to say you can’t still manage a feed in the area. Bait fishers have reported having fresh baits taken by hungry crays off the bank, with some even holding on tight and being landed on the bank.

For the upcoming months I would suggest the fishing will stay tough, but those willing to put in the hours may just hit gold and land a monster Murray cod, as there is still some very large local fish around.

WARANGA BASIN The frustration is at an all-time high for those who love fishing the Waranga Basin, with yet more weeks under blue green algae warnings. This is the longest period of time that blue green algae has been detected in

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I know a handful of locals have fished the basin and been super careful in trying to keep water contact minimal, but that’s almost impossible when fishing.

The winter months are not the standout months at Waranga, but you can usually catch a good feed of redfin during this cooler time. If the blue green algae warnings lift in July, I would suggest targeting the points down the Harrimans Road ramp end of the basin.

Be careful when heading to this area, as the water can shallow right out real fast when approaching the points and with the water levels around the 35-37% mark the banks will appear quicker than normal.

Trolling in 6-8ft with vibes or lipless crankbaits will work well. For those wanting to cast, I would use a Squidgy Wriggler or a Gulp Grub, sitting the boat in around 8ft and casting hard up at the points starting the plastics in around the 3ft mark. Slow rolls with the odd hop can work well.

If the warnings are still present in July, I would be leaning towards staying away again as the skin reactions can be pretty full on if you’re in contact with the water for a period of time. Not worth it.

SHEPPARTON LAKE The lake is now fishing better for those wanting to target trout. The natives have gone right off the bite, but there is still a good number of small trout being caught on

lures and bait.

Floating worms at the grass hill has been very successful and also off the main fly fishing jetty. Floating baits can sometimes be the only way to fish bait off the banks with the weed normally heavy in most areas, so aim to get your floats around the edges of the weed beds.

Those using lures have been high rolling basic spinners. When I say high rolling it’s just a term that can be used for holding your tip high and rolling your spinner just under the surface. This technique works well at first light once the sun hits the water and can help keep your lure above the weed.

There has been some more fish stocked into the lake from the local channel systems and I hope to have more information on the numbers and sizes of fish released in next month’s article.

KIALLA LAKES It’s been very hard going at Kialla this winter, which is to be expected. The three-lake system always drops off in the cooler months and this is a shame, as it can be a great family friendly fishery.

There has been the odd report of a redfin or two being caught around the rocky banks at the Archer Street end of the lake.

Yellowbelly have fully shut down and they normally don’t fire back up until mid to late September, once the water temperatures start to rise.

Bait fishing for carp is probably the only realistic way to target the lakes over the next two months,

The author with a local channel yellowbelly caught on a TN60 with a fluoro yellow beetle spin. with some bigger carp seen swimming the shallows of the third lake, which is the smallest of the three.

LOCAL CHANNELS The channels are now a lot of locals’ go-to fishing location in our area. During the winter months the fishing does slow up, but the chances of a good fish out of the channels can be better than targeting the rivers or local lakes.

With the water being lowered the access is a lot easier, because some bridges are just too hard to target when full. Some bridges you will be able to fully stand up under and cast at all five or six pylons, as when the water is high you can really only target the two uprights on either side of a bridge.

In the cooler months I like to put a cast about a foot behind the bridge uprights

Watch, learn, and catch fish EILDON

Peter Burtchell

The large schools of roach are still present in the Jerusalem Creek Arm and should be for some time to come during the winter months. Again, they will predominantly school on

the west side of the arm including Wilsons Inlet and Big River Arm. This time of year the trout are also firing, with many catches around the 1-6kg range being reported. There is no closed season for trout in Lake Eildon, this brings a lot of trout fishers to the lake over the winter months when the rivers

are closed.

The running trout are also a great food source for Murray cod and Lake Eildon’s Murray cod will be active around these annual spawning trails, waiting in ambush for the passing trout.

The open of the Murray cray season on 1 June saw a healthy population of Murray crays, with many

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and then 1-2 seconds after landing my lure I rip the rod tip up, which makes a real violent and loud rattle.

From there I let the lure drop to the bottom with a beetle spin working all the way down. From there, a nice slow roll back to the bank with two short pauses along the way.

There is no science behind this, but I feel the initial rip of the lure through the water just switches the fish onto the lure and from there I have been smashed on the drop or just after the pause.

The Fisheries have conducted some electro fishing recently in the channels. These fish will be relocated to a handful of waterways in the local region and I will have more information in regards to numbers and sizes in the next article.

Robert Donaven Timothy and a fishing guide pointing at the shallow point where the 102cm winning and 84cm third place Murray cod were landed, measured and released.

fishers enjoying some great time with their drop nets on the lake.

During winter and as always, share your itinerary with others, take wet weather gear and heavy fishing tackle, and ensure the latest weather reports are at hand when you are adventuring out fishing on Lake Eildon. I think the best part of fishing for native and introduced trophy-sized fish up here at Lake Eildon is the scenery, with snowcovered mountains providing a stunning backdrop while casting, trolling or bait fishing the lake. If you are really lucky you may land a 1m+ Murray cod while it is snowing.

Observation is the key to understanding what fish are up to beneath the surface of Lake Eildon. As winter weather approached and with a lower than normal lake level, observation is what has helped anglers find fish around the shallow bays next to the Jerusalem Creek To page 55

Slow times but worth a go BENDIGO

Roger Miles codhuntertours@bigpond.com

The Bendigo region has received some reasonable rainfall over the last month. The rainfall was early enough that there was still some good warmth in the soil. The rain combined with reasonable soil temperatures has lead to some good growth in vegetation.

Anglers are feeling more positive with some green growth in the area.

The growth in the vegetation in the exposed banks of our impoundments play an important role in helping produce good conditions later in the year. The amount of rainfall has not been enough at this stage to produce any significant run-off, we’ll need some more rainfall for that.

LAKE EPPALOCK Redfin continue to make up the majority of anglers’ captures at Lake Eppalock.

Most of these catches have been in deep water, with depth ranges greater than 10m the most consistent.

Casting and retrieving soft plastics along the bottom

has been the most productive lure technique for redfin, but anglers vertically jigging soft plastics, ice jigs and blades have been bringing in some smaller specimens (up to 1kg).

The number of fish being caught is not great and anglers need to be prepared to work hard in order to find a good concentration of redfin. The number of golden perch and Murray cod being caught at this location will be very low over the next few months. Hopefully we do receive significant rainfall throughout the winter and spring months, as if we see rising water levels later in the season we will see the native fish fire up.

At this stage I have not received any reports of trout being caught at this location.

There are now reasonable numbers of trout in Lake Eppalock thanks to stocking from Victorian Fisheries. At this stage very few anglers are targeting the trout in the lake, but if you did want to give it a go, rolling winged styled lures and small profile hardbody lures around the edges of the lake are good options.

CAMPASPE RIVER Water clarity is still good

at the majority of locations along the Campaspe River.

At this time of year water clarity can change quickly.

Always keep an eye on the weather and if the area receives around 50mm of rain then local creeks will produce reasonable run-off and the water clarity will deteriorate.

If you are fishing the Campaspe River at this time of year it is not about the number of fish you catch, but the quality of the fish that you catch.

Small numbers of quality Murray cod have turned up in the Campaspe River. Majority of the Murray cod being caught are between 65-80cm in length. A mixture of lures has proven successful on the Murray cod; large lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits and surface lures have all been good options.

The number of golden perch being caught has been low, but the occasional golden perch measuring up to 60cm has made it worthwhile. The most productive lures for golden perch have been lipless crankbaits and suspending hardbodies.

Winter is also a good time of year to target the redfin population in the Campaspe River. Targeting redfin around the edges of weed beds and cumbungilined banks has been the best method. Good lure options for the redfin can be small hardbody lures, soft plastics and bladed spinners.

CAIRN CURRAN Water levels are currently stable at this location. The catchment for Cairn Curran has received some good rainfall through May and June. A couple more significant rainfall events and we will see water levels starting to rise in this location. Like most other areas, the number of golden perch being caught has slowed significantly due to the cold water temperatures.

Redfin continue to make up the majority of anglers’ captures. Bait fishing with worms and small yabbies has been the best option. For those anglers targeting redfin with lures, soft plastics and ice jigs have been working if you can locate a good concentration of fish.

Most anglers fishing this area have found it to be quite slow.

From page 54

boat ramp.

LAKE EILDON FISHING CHALLENGE At the end of May the annual Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge took place. For two weeks prior to and during the Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge, three pelicans could be observed traversing the low level shoreline and upon closer observation you could see that large bait balls of roach were hard up against the shallower than normal banks. The Murray cod were pushing the schools of roach to the bank, then the roach had to retreat back through the Murray cod to avoid

You can adjust the buoyancy of your lures by changing your treble hooks and split rings.

Fishing with slow floating or suspending lures can be very effective when casting and retrieving for Murray cod during the winter months.

LODDON RIVER The water clarity is currently patchy in the Loddon River. Throughout June the water clarity was poor at Newbridge, good at Bridgewater and poor at Serpentine. The water clarity this month will depend on the amount of rainfall the Loddon catchment receives. The less rainfall we get, the better the clarity will be.

With the current conditions, the most productive fishing in the Loddon River has been in the section above and below Bridgewater, where the water clarity is the best.

The number of golden perch being caught has been low, but small numbers have been landed measuring

up to 50cm. Casting lipless crankbaits and suspending hardbody lures are good options for golden perch. If you are fishing the pooled section above Bridgewater, then trolling heavy spinnerbaits and medium-sized hardbody lures has been producing small numbers of golden perch.

The most productive fishing times for the Murray cod have been late afternoons and early evenings. Good lure options for the Murray cod have been large lipless crankbaits and large suspending hardbody lures. Small numbers of Murray cod are also still being caught on surface lures and chin weighted swimbaits.

challenge.com or their Facebook page Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge.

Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge shouts a big thank you to all competitors, organisers and sponsors that make this event so special!

Other activities around

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Jayme Hawthorne Smith with a quality 60cm brown trout caught in the Delatite Arm.

Taylor Hunt from Victorian Fisheries Authority gave a great presentation and also hinted that the whereabouts of schooling roach numbers may affect the outcome of the Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge.

the pelicans.

The west side of the deepest parts of the lake that receive the early morning sun saw some morning fishers land the catches of the event.

The impressive 102cm and 84cm Murray cod were landed right next to the boat ramp, where many competitors had launched earlier in the morning in full view of the pelicans.

The competitors were from Naru, they had never fished in freshwater before and asked one of the fishing guides where would be the best place for them to fish from the bank (as they did not have a fishing boat), the guide simply pointed to the pelicans.

Competitors were surprised to learn that the winning and third place

Murray cod of the event were both caught on surf rods with paternoster rigs and pilchards for bait next to the boat ramp. It just goes to show that anybody can catch one of Lake Eildon’s many 1m+ Murray cod.

In addition to multiple Murray cod catches, yellowbelly, trout and redfin catches also landed some great prizes for competitors.

The Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge takes place annually in May at the Jerusalem Creek Marina and Holiday Park to raise funds for Variety the Children’s Charity and is fast becoming a must enter May event for Australian and international fishers.

For more information, please visit their website w w w. l a k e e i l d o n f i s h i n g

Brenda Gayley from MS Guided Fly Fishing also gave some hints to competitors of the Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge on how and where to target trout in the lake. the lake during winter include a free open day at the Snobs Creek Hatchery where show bags, prizes, casting lessons, movies, kids activities and the opportunity to tour the facilities at your own pace are on offer. The open day is from 10am-2pm on 11-12 July. For more information

of their Boatel floating apartments, hire a boat or book a fishing guide at competitive prices. For more information on all of these services and other attractions in the area, visit jerusalemcreek.com.au, or give them a call on (03) 5774 2585 or email info@ jerusalemcreek.com.au.

JULY 2019

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The Murray cod are cranking NAGAMBIE

Paul Thomas

The Nagambie Lakes region has continued to fish very well over the last month, with water levels dropping as irrigation needs eased and the clarity remaining very good. There has been some excellent captures throughout the entire system.

Water levels will be low in the area for several weeks as work is carried out around the Goulburn Weir. So, keep this in mind if you’re heading to the region, as launching boats in some areas may be difficult.

A blue green algae alert has also been issued around the lake area, which will need to be closely monitored.

MAJORS CREEK As the water has been dropping, Majors Creek has suffered a little bit clarity wise but has still been producing a few golden perch and the odd Murray cod from those willing to put the time in.

Fishing above the bridge away from any power boat traffic, anglers casting lures from kayaks and canoes have landed yellowbelly up to 43cm. Campers in the same area fishing from the bank have also landed yellowbelly, redfin and some large European carp on baits such as worms, small yabbies and homemade dough.

The occasional Murray cod is still being caught from the large snags close to where the creek meets the Goulburn River.

Bruce Sherlock with a 65cm Murray cod caught on a swimbait. These fish are a good target option all through the Nagambie Lakes region.

MITCHELLSTOWN The Mitchellstown area has been very productive over the last month.

Although the number of fish caught has not been huge, the quality of some of the fish has been outstanding.

Central Victorian Lure Casters held round three of their series in this area in late May and 71 anglers (including 8 juniors) braved the cool damp conditions in an effort to land a native fish and take home one of the many prizes on offer.

Although fishing was tough, some very good quality fish were still landed.

A total of 15 Murray cod, 7 golden perch and 3 redfin were caught, all of which were landed on lures, as bait fishing is not permitted.

Among the excellent Murray cod landed were an 80cm model on a Jackall swimbait, an 81cm cracker and a whopping 107cm

beauty landed by Shane Mackay on a Codger hardbody lure.

For anyone looking for a good family-friendly fishing competition to enter, the CVLCSS is a great event

to participate in. Check out their Facebook page for details.

NAGAMBIE LAKE There were very few reports coming from this area throughout June, as this is where the blue green algae alert was from.

Just above the lake and caravan park in the river a few Murray cod have been landed on spinnerbaits with red, black and black and orange combinations working best. Anglers in the same area have landed golden perch trolling hardbody lures from the JD Eddy range. The best colours have been purple, orange, and green and black.

KIRWANS BRIDGE The Kirwans Bridge area has been a little more productive now that the boat traffic has eased and the water clarity has improved.

I personally had a good

The author with an 80cm Murray cod caught on a Jackall swimbait. outing recently, boating seven Murray cod for the day while dropping three others. All fish were caught on swimbaits and ranged between 46-80cm.

On a day trip prior to this one I bumped into Bruce Sherlock and Gavin Fallon from South East Victoria who had decided to make the three and a half hour journey to Nagambie

Shane Mackay with a 107cm Murray cod caught on a Codger lure during round three of the Central Vic Lure Caster Super Series at Mitchellstown.

rather than fishing Eildon, even though they had never fished the waterway before.

They certainly didn’t go home disappointed after landing four quality Murray cod and dropping five others. Using a range of spinnerbaits and swimbaits the boys managed to land an 85, 77, 65 and 54cm cod. Considering their lack of local knowledge, that’s a great day out indeed.

WRAP UP The productivity in the Nagambie Lakes area will be heavily dependant on the weather. While water clarity remains good and flows are low, good quality fish will remain on the radar. Trolling deep divers, casting big spinnerbaits and using big baits such as bardi grubs and yabbies will continue to be your best bet at landing a quality native fish.

During these cooler months it always pays to have a spinning rod in the boat when hunting native fish as you will often see some goodsized trout hunting baitfish on the surface in the area. Please remember to ‘limit your catch’ not ‘catch your limit’.

Water is low, spirits are high CRATER LAKES

Rod Shepherd

I decided to venture out recently on Lake Tooliorook at Lismore.

The lake’s level is still down a tad, with another metre needed

to completely fill it. The water was turbid (as per the norm) with a green tinge, but it didn’t look like a full-blown blue green algal outbreak.

I was the only boater out on the lake until another angler turned up from Geelong to wet a line off one

The boat ramp and jetties looked all vacant and forlorn when the author launched.

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of the jetties. Out beyond the 3m depth there was some patchy weed growth on the bottom and my sounder showed fish congregating around this. I started trolling medium diver lures without success, so switched to deep divers and concentrated my efforts in depths over 3m as the fish were holding deep.

The deepest section was 4m and this area can be found in the northern reaches of the lake.

I had no luck on trout but picked up a huge redfin that must have survived recent years of low water. Unfortunately a strengthening northerly was making it hard to troll so I pulled the pin around lunchtime.

June last year saw Fisheries restock the lake with fingerling trout. About 5000 each of brown and rainbow trout were released into the lake, so these fish are

now a year old and should be weighing in around 800g at a guess.

Recently local angler Keegan Gaby was trying his luck chasing a few redfin in the Mount Emu Creek when he pulled up tight on something a lot larger. The fish in question turned out to be a huge, fat Australian bass and measured 50cm in length. Going on that, I’d hazard a guess that the bass would have pulled the scales down well over 2kg.

What a catch!

Speaking of the Emu, a few half decent trout, brown and rainbow, have been taken in the creek near the Castle Carey Bridge on minnow lures. I’ve been told that seeking cover or camouflage while casting is necessary, as quite a few fish follow the lure then spook near the surface.

Redfin and the odd reasonable trout are coming

This large reddy tried to eat a deep diver just off the north shore in 3.5m depth. out of Purrumbete once again. The terrible storm that decimated the park in May put a temporary hold on fishing (well, boat launching) but that’s all behind us now.

Most redfin are being taken off the bottom in around 15m depth on bottom bounced live bait or soft plastics. A few trout up to 1kg are being caught trolling or casting around the lake’s perimeter towards the weed beds.

I hear a few anglers are

now braving the elements and bank fishing Bullen Merri after dark. The main target is brown trout followed by Chinook salmon that come into the shallows at night searching for prey. Locally sourced gudgeon minnow or bullheads fished unweighted on the bottom in non-snaggy areas is the go, otherwise suspend the bait 60-90cm under a bubble float.

No winter blues for Ballarat BALLARAT

Shane Stevens

Anglers around the Ballarat district haven’t been struck down by the winter blues, with plenty of reports coming in from a variety of waters after a couple of relatively

can only use a boat with an electric motor – kayaks and canoes are allowed as well. The usual boating regulations apply in regards to speed restrictions and safety equipment. Victorian Fishing Authority have constructed boat launching facilities at the northern end of Tullaroop at

redfin captures over the last month.

I mentioned last month that this is the time of year when I walk the expansive shorelines of Tullaroop casting lures and flies.

On recent trips I haven’t managed to land any fish but I’ve had quite a few follows, which is enough to get me going back.

Colby Lesko has been casting lures from the shore. Colby likes to target the steeper areas, and he has had some excellent results nailing some lovely rainbow trout. His best session so far was four rainbows, and he is aiming to catch a big one soon, and there is no doubt he will if the sizes last year are anything to go by.

Wendouree is still fishing well, but the fly fishing is quietening down due to the mayflies now being in their winter slumber. We will have to wait until the water

really coloured up now they are getting closer to spawning. Ben Young and Wayne Rigg have been out on Wendouree casting plastics and hardbodied lures and the boys have been nailing some absolute rippers up to 58cm, with the colours being awesome. The boys catch and release all their fish for other anglers to catch another day.

Jo Howes has been fishing Wendouree from the shore and it has been getting harder to find areas that are clear enough to fish, given the weed growth. The weed cutters on Lake Wendouree will fire up in a couple of months and clear all areas around the shore and open up the opportunities for land-based anglers. Jo has recently landed some lovely trout on mudeyes suspended under a bubble float, which included some nice rainbow trout that

Jason Andriske landed this magnificent coloured and conditioned brown trout from Tullaroop Reservoir trolling a holographic Tassie Devil.

Photo courtesy of Jason Andiske.

Jo Howes caught this lovely rainbow trout fishing Lake Wendouree from the shore using a mudeye for bait.

Photo courtesy of Jo Howes.

quiet months. The cooler weather has now settled in, which has fired the fishing up with the local trout and redfin coming on the bite.

Anglers over the past month have had a win, with Victorian Fishing Authority announcing that Tullaroop Reservoir has been opened up to boating. This provides opportunities for all anglers, whether you chase

the dam wall.

Anglers have jumped on board at Tullaroop since it was opened up to boating, with many anglers hitting the water trolling lures, drifting the open water jigging for redfin and fishing areas that have never been accessible until now.

Jason Andriske and his family have been out trolling lures flat lining and

Colby Lesko has nailed some lovely brown trout recently from Moorabool Reservoir while casting PowerBait T-Tail Minnow soft plastics.

Photo courtesy of Colby Lesko.

have been scarce over the past few months.

Moorabool Reservoir has been relatively quiet

over the past few months; I was definitely surprised by the lack of reports. It seems Moorabool has

finally turned the corner, and I now have reports of some lovely brown trout being caught on lures, baits, plastics and fly.

Colby Lesko has been walking the shores of Moorabool casting soft plastics with excellent results. On one of his most recent trips he nailed a couple of browns around 50cm+.

The trout in Moorabool, as I mentioned last month, focus on the smelt small baitfish for food during the cooler months when the insect activity slows down.

Anglers casting lures will do well over the next few months as will fly fishers walking the edges casting Woolly Buggers and smelt patterns. If you are a bait angler, a bunch of garden worms cast out with a lightly-weighted sinker will catch you some nice trout.

Boating is now allowed on Tullaroop Reservoir, and boat launching facilities are now at the dam wall.

Photo courtesy of Marc Ainsworth.

trout, redfin or the soon to be released yellowbelly and Murray cod.

This will make Tullaroop an all year round fishery. Boating restrictions do apply to Tullaroop, you

down rigging with excellent results. Jason recently nailed a true trophy brown trout of around 10lb, with his brother Mark nailing a fish around 9lb. I have also seen some magnificent

temperatures rise for them to hatch again. Anglers who have been out trolling lures or casting lures and plastics have been catching plenty of quality brown trout.

The brown trout are

Ben Young nailed this magnificently coloured golden brown trout casting an Ecogear Power Shad soft plastic on Lake Wendouree.

Photo courtesy of Wayne Rigg.

JULY 2019

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING SAMAKI TEFLON PLIERS

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Samaki premium stainless-steel tools have been developed from the ground up. The perfect combination of stainless steel and Teflon coating makes these pliers rust resistant, strong and durable.

Every tool has been hand finished to ensure comfortable use and long-term performance.

There are three precise models: two 160mm split ring models in straight nose and bent nose, plus the heavy-duty 130mm side cutter. Each plier sports Samaki’s exclusive handle, which has been designed for superior comfort and durability.

For more information on the Samaki range of tools and accessories, or to find your nearest stockist, check out the Samaki website. You can also like them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/samakifishing) to see the latest news and catch photos, or follow them on Instagram (@samakifishing).

Price: from $14.95 www.samaki.com.au

SNAPPER SNACK IN 2 BANANA SMASH Black Magic has announced the release of the new Snapper Snack in banana smash colour.

The perfect combination of lure and rig, the Snapper Snack is designed with high UV and luminous skirts which slide above the premium KLT hooks to provide a fantastic action. Snapper Snacks are best fished with a thin strip of bait to help maintain the natural swimming action of the skirt. Available in sizes 3/0 and 5/0, there are a wide variety of species being caught on these effective rigs.

The banana smash colour is a proven and popular colour, and it’s hitting all good tackle stores now. You can ask to see the Snapper Snacks at your local Black Magic stockist today, or head to the Black Magic website to find out more. You can also find more information, news and catch photos on their Facebook page (www.facebook. com/blackmagictackle), check them out on Instagram (@blackmagictackle) or subscribe to the Black Magic YouTube channel. www.blackmagictackle.com

DAIWA TATULA RODS

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Daiwa has announced that the new Tatula rod series is set to strike for 2019. A reboot of the popular Tatula range, the new series introduces new looks, technologies and models to elevate the series to a new level of style and performance.

SVF blanks featuring 3DX carbon is where it all begins, with a new spiral palming grip, new Fuji LKW Alconite guides, carbon butt cap, and Fuji PLS Palming Support reel seats combining to deliver anglers performance and comfort well above the rod’s price point.

Featuring eight baitcaster and three swimbait models in the range the new Tatula rod series is the mid range series designed for the angler looking for that ultimate balance between performance and price. Whether your taste is for bass, barra, cod or mangrove jack the new Tatula series is one that’s sure to draw you in to its angling web. www.daiwafishing.com.au 58

JULY 2019

PRODUCT GUIDE

GIANT KILLING BIG GAME

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

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The 2019 release of the Major Craft Giant Killing Big Game features major changes to the range, with new rod lengths added and updated cosmetics. It still stays true to the series’ focus: hard-fighting offshore fish.

The rods feature the new Fuji Silicon Slim K Frame guides bound onto a supremely strong and light blank. This offers a superb feel in the hand while still delivering the low down power needed to stop big fish.

There are five rods in the series, with lengths ranging from 7’6” through to 8’6”. This makes them all excellent casting rods and perfect for lure chasing tuna, kingfish and topwater or sub-surface reef species.

The rods come with PE ratings starting at 1.5-3.0 for the 7’6” and go up to 8.0 PE for the 8’6” Tuna model.

There are two rods aimed at Hirimasa (Japanese for ‘kingfish’), a 7’7” and 8’6”. Both are rated to a max PE of 6.0 and 100g lures.

The Buri (Japanese for ‘amberjack’) is an 8’ offering with a PE rating of 2.0-5.0, and it’s capable of casting 25-80g lures. www.majorcraft.com.au

SHIMANO STRADIC FL

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The new Stradic FL will carry forward most of the Shimano technologies that have made the Stradic series so strong, durable and uncompromising.

The Micromodule Gear II ensures that the gears can align and perform with minimal resistance, and SilentDrive technology educes the smallest of clearance gaps and tolerances within the gearing system. The Hagane Gear has been upgraded for added strength and smoothness.

On top of all this, X-Protect has also been added to the Stradic FL. The internal labyrinthtype structure gives the reel a superior level of water-resistant performance without impeding the rotation or lightness of the reel. The new Long Stroke Spool has been incorporated to improve casting distance, giving you the ability to cover more water when fishing. The 1000, 2500 and 4000 models have felt washer drags whilst the C3000 and C5000 models have upgraded cross carbon drags.

With 6+1 ARC ball bearings, the new Stradic is sure to impress anyone who picks it up.

Price: SRP $339.95-$389.95 www.shimanofish.com.au

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NEW STUMPJUMPER 6 COLOURS Born on the Victorian banks of the mighty Murray River in 1986, the StumpJumper range of lures have the world’s only truly successful interchangeable bib system.

As unlikely as it sounds, it’s an idea that really works. With the deep diving bib, the No.1 StumpJumper is a great cod lure, but switch to the pointy, shallow running bib and you have a minnow lure capable of taking saltwater speedsters like mackerel and tuna or even barramundi. Not many other lures can do that.

The four new colours that are now available in stores are set to be a sure-fire hit amongst both freshwater and saltwater anglers alike.

The new colours are chartreuse tiger (#107), pink tiger (#108), chartreuse scale (#109) and pearl scale (#110). www.jmgillies.com.au

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

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

STORM 360GT SOFT BAITS

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The Storm 360 GT Coastal Largo Shad offers highly detailed, universal baitfish appeal.

This effective soft bait has a deadly body rolling action and an exaggerated tail swing that fish can’t resist. It can also be customised by removing the ‘tail tendon’ to create a wider and more erratic swimming action for those times when the fish are more aggressive. It swims both on the retrieve and on the fall.

The 360GT Coastal Mangrove Minnow has a more slender profile, and its hard thumping paddle tail produces a tight body roll. Like the Largo Shad, the tail action can be customised by removing the tail tendon to deliver a wider tail swing, which mimics an erratic, panicking baitfish. It swims both on the retrieve and on the drop.

Both the Largo Shad and Mangrove Minnow are available unrigged in 3” and 4” sizes in packs of seven, and are currently available in eight colours (Arkansas glow, electric chicken, hot mama, limetreuse, pilchard, pearl, silver mullet, and salt and pepper/chartreuse tail). They can be rigged weedless or on a standard jighead. www.stormfishing.com.au

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SAMURAI EGI RODS

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Samurai produces some of the finest, lightest and crispest feeling rods in the world, and they have turned their attention back to squid or egi rods. When Samurai began, they had some of the sleekest, multi-tapered graphite blanks for this style of fishing, and the new models take that technology even further.

The new Samurai Egi rods use cross woven, hex axial carbon graphite to deliver a blank that is ridiculously light and strong. They press and cross the fibres in a process that results in a crisp, precise machine rolled multitapered blank. These rods have the action that’s essential for the lunging runs of large squid. The tip of the rod remains light and whip sharp, imparting crucial, instant action to the jig as soon as the angler initiates any movement with the rod.

There are three models, an L, M and ML, covering jigs from 1.5-4.0, and all employ class-leading Fuji Titanium Torzite guides and EVA foam grips. www.samurairods.com.au

ULTRA-SIL VIEW DRY SACK

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TD COMMANDER RODS

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Built to perform and ready to unleash fury the TD Commander series has been revamped and restyled. An evolution of the original TD Commander series the new lineup has been expanded and now features 14 models (7 x spin and 7 x baitcast).

Featuring proven Daiwa rod technologies such as HVF Nanoplus blanks, 3DX, AGS and Fuji Titanium SiC guides, the TD Commander series also launches some of Daiwa’s newest and most advanced technologies including the ultra light, ultra strong, SVF Carbon Air Sensor reel seats, and X45 Cobra Shield that greatly enhances blank responsiveness and allows for long accurate casts and better hook-sets.

Dressed in classic green and featuring stylish cork grips the new TD Commander series is a range that delivers in looks and swagger and high-end performance. From ultra-light finesse models tailor made for bream and trout through to extra heavy models tuned to muscle cod and trevally from cover the TD Commander is ready for the Australian angler who’s looking to go to battle. www.daiwafishing.com.au

The Ultra-Sil Dry Sack from Sea To Summit is perfect for land-based anglers and those fishing from an open boat or kayak.

The Ultra-Sil Dry Sack has a clear TPU window to allow you to easily view the contents inside. The window is RF welded into the side panels of the dry sack, producing a super-strong bond.

Features of the Ultra-Sil Dry Sack include: siliconised high-tenacity Cordura nylon fabric for exceptional strength; Hypalon roll top closure does not wick moisture; Polyurethane coated and fully seam sealed for water resistance; reinforced stitching for greater seam strength; super compact and ultralightweight; and round base design. It also uses the Sea to Summit Field Repair Buckle for a tighter closure, and even better water resistance.

The Ultra-Sil View Dry Sack comes in five colours and six sizes, ranging from 1L to 20L. The larger sizes are particularly useful for groups storing their belongings in the same bag.

Price: SRP $14.99-$41.99 www.seatosummitdistribution.com.au

RUMPL PUFFY BLANKET

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BIWAA DEUS 5” AND 6”

Born out of a crisis, with its founders trapped in their immobile van at sub-zero temperatures in America’s northwest, the Original Puffy Blanket by Rumpl, incorporates the latest outdoor technical material technologies, providing a much needed update to the traditional blanket.

A new arrival to Australian shores, the Original Puffy Blanket is water, stain and odour resistant, with an ultra-warm 3D Hollow Fibre synthetic insulation – the same stuff as premium sleeping bags and down jackets. It’s not just warm, but super lightweight and easily packable, making this the perfect blanket to get warm and cosy with this winter.

Available in three sizes and a plethora of plain and printed colour designs, Rumpl’s Original Puffy Blanket fits easily into its water resistant drawstring sack, which ideal for packing your blanket away with the change of seasons.

Available sizes are the Throw size (127 x 178cm), 1-Person (137 x 203cm) and 2-Person (224 x 213cm).

Price: SRP $149.95-$269.95 www.rumpl.com.au

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The Biwaa Deus is a custom designed soft finesse swimbait, and it’s now available in 5” and 6” sizes.

The dense belly allows it to keep an balanced keel, even while unweighted. Hook slots are provided to create a perfect weedless presentation, or you can use a standard jighead or use it as a trailer. A pre-positioned hole lets you add weights, while not compromising the balance and action.

The Eco formulation plastic has the softness and durability that allow the maximum action to be coaxed from the design.

Biwaa’s unique B2A Scent is a natural attractant that is infused into the body during manufacturing, as well as on the outside. The shrimp based, water-soluble additive creates a strong scent trail, activating aggressive feeding behaviour.

The Deus’ tapered spear-tail design works at any speed, and the scale pattern gives the Deus an added level of realism. It’s now available in 3”, 4”, 5” and 6” sizes and a range of fish-catching colours. www.ejtodd.com.au

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

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING

PRODUCT GUIDE

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

TESTED Let’s talk tackle storage solutions Outside of using your fishing gear, one of the next most important things is how you store it. There are many options available, from individual tackle trays to full scale tackle stations.

Queensland-based Wilson Fishing has a wide range of tackle storage solutions, and

Wilson lure wallets come in two sizes (large and small) and have heavy-duty zip lock pouches to house your lures. I have been using mine for my big Murray cod lures. I can take a selection of lures in my suitcase with the peace of mind that the lures will be protected, and that the items

Simple and effective tackle storage solutions are important to every angler.

All smiles for the author, but this trip could have been a disaster if the tackle tray that went in the drink had been a regular one instead of a Wilson Deluxe Waterproof model. we have reviewed a number of their products, from their standard tackle bags to the awardwinning Platinum Series Tournament bag and Wilson backpack (check them out at www.tacklejunkie.fish). This time I’ll be focusing on Wilson’s new waterproof tackle trays and their lure wallets, which I have been testing for the last six months.

WILSON LURE WALLETS Lure wallets give you the ability to easily pack items that can be awkward to store. Items like spinnerbaits, rigged game fishing lures and larger lures are just plain difficult to transport, and a lure wallet is a good solution.

The author’s kayak bass tray. It may look a little messy but it holds everything needed for a bass session, plus there’s room for the car keys!

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in my suitcase are safe from hooks. The case is strong, and the zippers have held up well to regular mistreatment.

WATERPROOF TACKLE TRAYS Wilson’s has always had a range of basic tackle trays, which are available individually or come included in their tackle bags. In 2019 they have upped the ante, releasing a new range of waterproof tackle trays. They come in Standard and Deluxe versions in a number of configurations (go to www. wilsonfishing.com to see the range).

The Standard trays are a simple four latch system, while the Deluxe version has larger heavy-duty latches and has a few more options when it comes to tray configuration and depth.

What I expected and what I found The first thing I wanted to know was how waterproof these trays are, so I submerged them for a minute. The Deluxe version had no water enter it, while the Standard tray did let a little bit of water in (maybe a teaspoon’s worth). A pretty good result, as you’d realistically never fully submerge the trays like this; even with quite a few jigheads in a tray, it still floats.

The ability to adjust the compartments in the trays is also important. The Deluxe trays provide more options for the user and have a couple of deep tray versions to hold larger lures. As anglers we always want more options, and I think the team at Wilsons have done pretty well.

Last but not least, I wanted to know how the trays would hold up and protect their contents. Extra latches can mean extra things to break.

I’m happy to report that after six months of regular use I have had no issues. I

have seven trays in total and have had no breakages or damage.

Final thoughts I may not be a total convert to waterproof tackle trays, but there are certain scenarios where they become almost essential. For instance while fishing one of our local waterways in my kayak, I was able to put all the lures is a single Deluxe Waterproof tray. During that trip not only did that tray end up in the water (very easy to retrieve a floating tackle box), but a storm hit, saturating us.

Everything in the tackle tray remained dry and safe, including my car keys!

A common concern with waterproof tackle trays is that moisture can get trapped in them, and this is true. You can avoid this problem by not putting wet items into the trays, or by leaving a couple of latches open so that any moisture can find its way out.

Likewise on hot days the air in the trays expands, which plays havoc with the trays and the items inside them. You can avoid this by keeping the trays out of direct sunlight, or by leaving a latch disengaged.

Overall, both the lure wallets and the waterproof tackle trays have been a great

addition to fulfilling my tackle storage needs, so the next time you are looking at your tackle storage options, check out the complete range of Wilson Fishing products in your local tackle store.

– Peter Jung

The Wilson Fishing Platinum Tournament bag won the Best Tackle Storage award at the 2018 AFTA Tackle Trade Show.

All set for a bit of flathead fishing.

Quantity not quality for Round 3 The Central Vic Lure Casters Super Series had a great turn out for round three held at Hawswing, Mitchellstown. Even the weather came through

in the Junior. The event saw 15 Murray cod, seven golden perch and three redfin caught.

It was a tough day of fishing, with the water

first place victory in the Senior category with 385.5 points, 200 points ahead of second place.

Janelle Missen took second placed senior

early during the session on the Saturday and it set him up for a good day.

Young Junior angler, Georgie Upshell took home first place in her category with 56 points for her 46cm golden perch caught on a Bridgewater spinnerbait.

A solid effort and a fish to remember.

All junior entrants received a free spinnerbait provided by Bridgewater Lures just for competing in this round. So, a huge thank you to Quinton on behalf of all the junior anglers.

On Sunday competitors took part in Shane’s Splash For Cash. It was another lovely day weather wise and all the anglers were keen to hit the water and

Nick Hill with his 81cm chunk of cod. try their luck.

Russell Sanford turned the tables on second place Janelle with a 55cm Murray cod. This fish won biggest cod in Shane’s Splash For Cash and saw

Russell taking home a nice pocket full of cash.

Thank you everyone who attended and be sure follow us for more information on round four at Bundalong. – CVLCSS

Georgie Upshell with her dad Cameron and her winning golden perch caught on a Bridgewater Lures spinnerbait. despite a wet weather forecast, and anglers were met with perfect weather for the competition.

A lot of new faces made the journey to set-up camp and enjoy some refreshments around the fire and get into some hot fishing. We hope everyone had as much fun as we did.

There were 71 keen anglers competing in round three, 68 in the Senior category and eight

dropping and the barometer doing the same. The fish just didn’t want to play the game, but some lucky anglers managed find and land some quality fish.

Paul Thomas gave the Venom rods another good workout casting swimbaits around to some great results.

He managed seven fish for the day and the best five fish measured between 55-80cm, securing his

with her two Murray cod and one yellowbelly. She showed everyone how it is done and scored 182 points for her effort.

Shane Mackay wrestled an 107cm murray cod, and this fish scored him 127 points and won him third place in the Senior category.

Nick Hill also managed to snag a healthy Murray cod that measured in at 81cm.

He caught this one

Janelle Missen with one of the Murray cod that helped secure her second place.

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR 2019

JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

6-7 Jul

ABT BREAM Round 6 Bribie Island

abt.org.au

13-14 Jul

ABT BASS Round 4 Cania Dam

abt.org.au

10-11 Aug

ABT BASS Round 5 Somerset Dam

abt.org.au

7-8 Sep

ABT BREAM Round 7 Gladstone

abt.org.au

20-22 Sep

ABT BREAM Queensland Open Moreton Bay

abt.org.au

12-13 Oct

Victoria Bream Classic Round 5

billhartshorne@hotmail.com

Marlo

19-20 Oct

ABT BREAM Round 8

Port Stephens

23-24 Oct

ABT BASS Grand Final Lake St Clair

abt.org.au

26-27 Oct

ABT BASS Australian Open Glenbawn Dam

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.

JULY 2019

61

Hutchison clinches first ABT win with topwater The Sufix BASS Pro took place over 25-26 May at Glenbawn Dam. The weather was cool but the fishing was hot. Scott Hutchison claimed his first ABT win over a massive 68 boat field.

He didn’t have much of a pre-fish getting on the water at 9am cruising around looking for likely spots, like weed edges, muddy flats and timbered edges that might hold fish. He found some key areas and was off the water by 12pm, leaving the fish alone until comp day.

He said that you can’t win a comp on pre-fish, but you can lose it by burning your fish on practice. Wise words for people looking to get into comp fishing.

Day one he left in 51st place out of 68, he got to his spot in the bays on the right hand side of the boat.

Throwing topwater for the first 20 minutes saw Scott landing his first fish within 10 casts.

He then headed to Pelican Point, trying topwater once again for nothing. He then moved on to some muddy flats in 3-4m of water, throwing a 3/8oz Keitech jig and picking up a fish every hour or so.

He only landed five fish for

BOATER WINNER’S GEAR Rods: Reels: Line: Lures:

Ian Miller Rip Freaks Shimano Exsence 20lb Sunline and 12lb Seaguar leader 3/8oz Keitech jig and a River2Sea Whopper Plopper

BOATER 2ND PLACE GEAR Rod: Reel: Line: Lure:

Scott Hutchison claims his first ABT win and the biggest tournament pay-out in ABT history. day one and finished with a weight of 4.32kg, which had him sitting on 4th place going into day two.

Day two he tried the same run, but it was a lot windier and his surface bite didn’t work. So, he headed

straight to his muddy flat working his 3/8oz Keitech jigs. Once again, fishing was quite slow for him and he was only picking up a fish every hour or two. He worked that flat methodically all day for only four fish. He

was getting worried as he had a 1pm finish.

At about 12:10pm he saw a swirl in 30ft of water and didn’t think it was a carp. He picked up his topwater rod with a River2Sea Whopper Plopper and cast straight into

Samurai 201 Shimano Stradic Ci4 1000 Berkley x9 6lb braid 6lb Momoi leader Keitech Easy Shiner

the rings and boom, his 5th bass came on surface in deep water with sunny skies in the middle of the day on a surface lure. He couldn’t believe what had just happened, nor could anyone else after telling them how he caught it. You can see it in the day 2 highlights video.

Scott weighed his five fish for 4.40kg and a total of 8.72kg and locked his first ever ABT Sufix BASS Pro win and the biggest qualifying cheque in about five years of $4000.

Scan the QR code to see Glenbawn day one highlights.

BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Scott Hutchison 2 Troy Boulton 3 Mark Lennox 4 Russell Babekuhl 5 Luke Draper 6 Robert Tilley 7 Graham Ford 8 Greg Beattie 9 Mitchell Cone 10 Tom Slater

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize 10/10 8.72 $4000 10/10 8.70 $2000 + $500 Garmin Big Bass 10/10 8.39 $1750 9/10 8.20 $1500 10/10 8.00 $1250 10/10 7.81 $1000 10/10 7.80 $750 + $250 Evinrude Bonus 9/10 7.51 $650 10/10 7.47 $550 9/10 7.38 $550

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888 62

JULY 2019

Boater winner Scott Hutchison and his non-boater Mark Larsson with a couple of their day one fish.

Mick Eastment’s first win in second event Day one Mick headed out with boater Mark Parriot in 16th place. They headed up Glenbawn Dam to just before the 8 knot zone to some trees in about 20-30ft of water. Once again, the 2” Keitech came into play.

Fishing definitely wasn’t easy for Mick, only getting a bite about once an hour and not filling a limit of five until about 12pm.

Those five fish were all that Mick and Mark caught for the first session of the second round of the 2019 ABT Sufix BASS Pro. The pair weighed a decent bag of five for a total weight of 3.57kg.

Day two Mick headed out with Russell Babekull, not going too far up the dam to Big House Bay. They were targeting banks in about 2-6ft of water with Russ fishing a jerkbait and

Mick sticking to his plastic pattern. Russell filled the shared weight bag by 8am before Mick caught a fish.

After the sun hit the bank they were fishing, Russell’s jerkbait bite had stopped and this gave Mick’s plastic pattern a chance to work.

He was casting beside trees and letting them sink to the bottom and would twitch them out. He ended up getting two good upgrades in the afternoon.

Mick would like to give a big thanks to his boaters Mark Parriot and Russell Babekull for an amazing tournament and leading him to his first ABT BASS Pro win. Taking a Bassman Prize Pack that will fill his box with spinnerbaits, jigheads, chatterbaits and skirted jigs for the next couple of seasons.

Mick Eastment claimed the non-boater win with a total weight of 8.38kg.

Boulton bags boater second Day one Troy Boulton fished Big House Bay targeting deep edges. He was casting a Keitech 2” Easy Shiner in pumpkin

chartreuse on a 1/4oz Bassman jighead. He told me the first hour was crazy. He would land a fish first cast, drop a fish

on the second, and then him and his non-boated had double hook-ups three casts in a row.

Catching his bag by

Troy Boulton and his non-boater Anthony Melchior with a couple of their fish, which helped score them second place in their respective categories.

7:10am, and he only started at 6:55am. He lost count of how many times he upgraded. After a while the bite slowed and became a grind, and he only caught two more fish for the day.

But that first flurry was enough to give him a bag of five fish for 4.59kg.

Day two he ran straight back to his spot. Bolton said that the fishing was slow on day two, and saw him not catching a fish until his 5th cast and not filling his limit until 7:30am. I hope he was joking on the slow fishing comment, because filling a limit in 35 minutes is just sick.

By 9am the bites had completely stopped. So, he moved around looking for new ground. He found one area holding fish but only got one to bite around 11am, which turned out to be a nice upgrade.

By then he was happy with what he had in the well and just junk fished for the rest of the day for no more fish.

For his effort, Troy Boulton took out the $500 Garmin Big Bass with a healthy 1.25kg fish taken on a 2” Keitech Easy Shiner.

Bass Pro Series presented by

Scan the QR code to see Glenbawn day two highlights.

NON-BOATER WINNER’S GEAR Rod: Reel: Line: Lure:

Shimano Zodias Shimano Stradic Ci4 1000 6lb main line 8lb leader 2” Keitech pumpkin on a 1/6oz jighead

Non-boater Leaon Walker came in third with a total weight of 7.97kg, and walked away with this Tackle Tactics Prize Pack for her efforts.

NON-BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Mick Eastment 2 Anthony Melchior 3 Leaon Walker 4 David Welfare 5 Eathan Martin 6 Robert March 7 Allan Price 8 Thomas Konen 9 Ryan Bates 10 Tim Steenhuis

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize 10/10 8.38 Bassman Spinnerbaits Prize Pack 10/10 8.27 Fishtec Prize Pack 10/10 7.97 Tackle Tactics Prize Pack 10/10 7.84 Sufix Prize Pack 10/10 7.80 Daiwa Prize Pack 10/10 7.50 Sunline Prize Pack 10/10 7.41 Keitech Prize Pack 10/10 7.39 Lucky Craft Prize Pack 9/10 7.35 Ecogear Prize Pack 10/10 7.25 Shimano Prize Pack

Competing anglers waiting at the bump tubs before the weigh-in.

JULY 2019

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Alan Lister annihilates ABT record at Albany The 2019 Costa BREAM Qualifier took place at Albany in WA from 30 April to 1 May. The weather was freezing, raining and blowing a gale, but that didn’t stop keen anglers from getting out there and producing some cracking bags.

Alan Lister is a bream legend from Canberra.

He follows the ABT Costa BREAM Series everywhere it goes. He has had some highs and lows on the tour over the years, with a couple of top tens in Tasmania and having a cracking bag disqualified at the Tweed River because his phone was on NSW daylight savings making him an hour late. This year at Albany was another high to add to his list.

Lister’s pre-fish started pretty good considering he had never fished or seen the water at Albany before. He picked up a legal fish not far from the boat ramp, but that good luck didn’t last. Not only was it freezing cold, wet and windy, he only caught small undersized fish the rest of the day fishing the Kalgan River.

He soon realised he would have to try a different area, so Alan made the move to King River. This move

BOATER WINNER’S GEAR Rod: Daiwa Gen Black Instant Noodle 702 Reel: Daiwa Aird 2000 Line: Sunline Castaway 10lb Leader: Sunline FC Rock 4lb Lures: OSP Dunk ZMan motor oil GrubZ

Alan Lister didn’t even need to fish day two to win this round. He finished with a bag total of 6.28kg. was perfect and saw Lister catch five black bream with a combined weight of 4kg. He left the pre-fish at King River in a good mood, believing he had found something special.

Day one saw Lister head to that sweet spot he found in the pre-fish and he caught his limit of five bream by 9am.

Alan was throwing an OSP

Dunk in a metre or less of water. He was dredging the bottom with his Dunk, giving the rod a couple of big jerks with his rod to really puff the sand up, then pausing the lure and as it would just sit there the bigger fish would smash it. Alan upgraded though the day.

With 10 minutes to go he

He only caught three small fish in his spot, so he decided to head further upriver fishing the edges. This saw him catch two more legals on a ZMan grub.

Heading back to the weigh-in site he was a little worried he had not done enough. Lister weighed five fish for 1.65kg and a total weight of 6.28kg. Alan Lister could of got a doughnut day two and still won his first ABT Costa BREAM Series Qualifier.

Scan the QR code to see Albany day one highlights.

upgraded his smallest fish for a 39cm black bream, which weighed 1.3kg and also won him the Daiwa J Braid Big Bream. His day one bag was an impressive 4.63kg.

Day two conditions were different from day one – it was glassed out and Lister was worried. He stuck to his guns and went back to his flat.

BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Alan Lister 2 Charlie Saykao 3 Tristan Taylor 4 Mark Crompton 5 Alex Greisdorf 6 Joseph Gardner 7 Wally Fahey 8 Callum Dowell 9 Steve Morgan 10 Peter Degroot

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize 10/10 6.28 $1100 + $500 Big Bream 10/10 3.48 $750 7/10 3.33 $500 8/10 3.25 Keitech Prize Pack 8/10 2.89 Sunline Prize Pack + $500 Mercury 8/10 2.62 7/10 2.34 $300 Mercury 5/10 2.16 5/10 2.15 4/10 2.05 $200 Mercury

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888 64

JULY 2019

Fishing Monthly’s Ian Sewell and Steve Morgan checking out some of the catch.

Walker strolls away with the top win Stuart Walker is by far the most consistent non-boater of the last five years, with wins and top tens all around the country fishing in the ABT Costa BREAM Series. He is looking to take out his 5th AOY title in consecutive years.

Walker pre-fished with Wally Fahey for the WA round at Albany. He said they didn’t catch many big fish on practice day, but caught good numbers of small fish. This gave him a strong game plan for day one of the 2019 ABT Costa BREAM Series held at Albany WA. Day one he was paired up with Mark Crompton.

The first thing Crommo said to Walker as they were boarding the boat was, “Hope you got good wet weathers as we’re gonna get wet.” How right he was.

They headed up the Kalgan River to start the day.

Mark was fishing tight to the edge, so Walker worked the secondary drop-off in around 8-10ft of water using his much loved ZMan GrubZ in motor oil on a 1/16oz jighead. He picked

BREAM SERIES

Scan the QR code to see Albany day two highlights.

Non-boater winner Stuart Walker and boater winner Alan Lister. up a couple of keepers working the drop-off. They didn’t spend too much time there, and they decide to head to the King River just past the bridge in the mouth.

Walker found his groove here, catching a fish a cast.

They weren’t big fish, but he

was getting a keeper every now and then. He managed a 36cm fish that weighed 1kg and tipped his five fish bag to 2.68kg.

Day two Walker was fishing with Tristan Taylor, who had motor problems day one that carried on to day two.

They fished just past the King Bridge for 20 minutes before the motor problems started again. They managed to get a mechanic to come down and fix the problem, and then they were off again right up the King River.

Walker caught his five

Saykao claims second prize For Charlie Saykao, the pre-fish suggested it was going to be a grind, not because of a lack of fish, but because of a lack of legal bream, even with a 26cm tip minimum.

At the start of day one, Saykao changed his strategy and opted to hit the open flats and try to put an early bag together.

The wind was forecast to pick up, so it was better to hide in the Kalgan River later. Fishing the flats leading into the Kalgan River produced many undersize fish. A few drifts saw Saykao only pick up two legal fish.

The move into the Kalgan didn’t see much change, except calling a legal for his non-boater if he cast at a rock they had drifted past. He made the cast and bang, legal.

The rest of the session went the same, undersize after undersize. The Slim

fish limit up there. So, they headed back early, giving themselves time to get back and have another shot at the bridge. With 15 minutes to go, Stuart picked up a vital upgrade of a 39.5cm bream at 1.27kg and his five fish.

This gave Walker a day two

Second place boater Charlie Saykao was stoked with the fish he brought to the weigh-in.

SlimZ in bloodworm kept hooking up and he managed to get to four legal fish.

With high winds and not much time left, Saykao drew on his knowledge

from being an Albany local for 14 years and headed to the Bayonet Head flats.

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize 10/10 5.30 Daiwa Prize Pack + $200 Hobie 9/10 3.81 Fishtec Solutions Prize Pack+ $100 Hobie 8/10 3.04 Cranka Prize Pack + $75 Hobie 5/10 2.17 Tackle Tactics Prize Pack 4/10 2.03 Sufix Prize Pack 5/10 1.66 Ecogear Prize Pack 2/10 1.42 Shimano Prize Pack 4/10 1.39 Lucky Craft Prize Pack 4/10 1.34 3/10 1.26

weight of 2.62kg and secured his second non-boater win of the 2019 Costa BREAM Series Qualifiers.

He thanks his boaters Mark Crompton and Tristan Taylor, and gives a shout out to Wally Fahey for the pre-fish.

NON-BOATER WINNER’S GEAR Rod: Reel: Line: Lure:

NON-BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Stuart Walker 2 Michael Sammut 3 Craig Wise 4 Fred Fraser 5 Michael Hodges 6 Mike Sutcliffe 7 Richard Wootten 8 Dallas Batchford 9 Travis Ryan 10 Oliver Seear

BREAM Series presented by

Silver Wolf 7’2” 1-4kg Silver Wolf 2004 6lb Daiwa Evo 8 braid and 4lb Sunline Bream Special leader ZMan motor oil GrubZ on a 1/16-1/12 jighead

It would be protected enough from the high winds and hopefully produce a legal or two.

It ended up being a good call.

Saykao resorted to his new trusty Berkley 3B Puppy in 12 gauge colour. With only 20 or so minutes left, the Puppy Dog hooked up on his 5th legal. He ended his day one with a 1.69kg bag, which was good until Lister dropped his 4.63kg bag.

It was swing for the fences on day two.

Charlie Saykao decided to head upstream of the Kalgan River. There is a history of big bags coming from above the rapids, and Saykao knew he had to go big.

The Puppy Dog came out to play in the shallow rocky zones to pick up a few legals, but the undersize fish were dominating. Sometimes Saykao and his non-boater thought they had snagged a legal only to be disappointed.

The plan was to fish one side of the bank on the way up, and the other on the way down. Saykao

switched between ZMan GrubZ in the deeper water and Puppy Dog in the shallow rock zones.

The upper reaches saw some legals caught, but it was upgrading 1mm at a time. He thought it was going to turn on when his non-boater hit a 30cm bream in the middle of the river, but nothing came.

They hit a few spots on the way back and even managed a couple more upgrades, but still only by millimetres. Returning to the weigh in Saykao was sure he didn’t have enough, but his 1.79kg bag was enough to snag second.

Charlie would really like to thank Shane and Steve Owens for loaning their Nissan Patrol and boat for the week. The round sponsor was Power Pole and it is so hard fishing flats on a boat without Power Poles, especially in the windy conditions they had in Albany.

Saykao was using Millerods matched with Daiwa Luvias and loaded with Daiwa Evo 8 in 6lb.

This meant he had a setup for each occasion.

JULY 2019

65

Degroot dominates at brilliant Blackwood It was a great weekend at the Okuma Blackwood River BREAM Qualifier – the fifth stop of the 2019 Costa BREAM Series.

It was a one, two and three WA finish, with Mandurah local, Peter Degroot holding onto his day one lead to take out the champion’s trophy for this event. His 10/10 limit for 6.11kg put him nearly 100g ahead of Perth’s Alex Greisdorf, who brought in 10/10 bream for 6.02kg to finish in second place.

Degroot is a Perth local and he has had a few top 10 finishes in the ABT bream circuit over the years. Now he has taken out his first ever ABT win. He only fishes the

WINNER’S GEAR Rod: Reel: Line: Lure:

SECOND PLACE GEAR Rod: Reel: Line: Lures:

Despite Blackwood not being his favourite fishing location, Peter Degroot still managed to claim the win with a combined weight of 6.11kg.

Scan the QR code to see Blackwood River day one highlights.

Atomic Arrows 7ft Shimano Stradic Ci4 2500 Sunline Siglon braid and 6lb FC Rock leader River2Sea Baby vibe

Blackwood River roughly six times a year as it’s not his favourite venue, even with his win that hasn’t changed.

Peter went into the pre-fish not so confident and fished upriver just past the ski zone. He caught a few nice fish on a reedy bank in the mid 30s on a River2Sea Baby vibe. He left there happy enough to go back and fish this area on day one.

On day one he headed straight upriver to the reedy bank. He was casting his Baby vibe hard to the bank in under a metre of water, working it down the bank to about 4m of water and usually getting bit on the edge. He filled his limit fast and started upgrading by 8am. Peter started to get the bigger bites as the wind picked up and the tide got higher. He finished

day one with five fish for a weight of 3.54kg and a lead of about 400g.

Day two Peter went straight back to where he fished the day before, a little worried about whether his spot would handle the pressure and hold up for a second day. His fears were confirmed when he got there, as the fishing was a lot slower and he didn’t get his limit until well after 9am.

Duffrod Daiwa Exist and Luvias 2004 10lb Daiwa Evo 8 and 6lb Yamatayo leader Jackall Chubby shallow and a ZMan GrubZ

The bites did become more consistent as the tide got higher, but it then became hard to land the fish as he started pulling hooks and busting some good fish off. Peter’s persistence paid off, and he managed to land some nice upgrades

at the end of the session giving him five fish for 2.57kg and a total weight of 6.11kg. This secured his first ABT Costa BREAM qualifying win and saw him taking home $1300 and the first place $500 Mercury bonus.

BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Peter Degroot 2 Alex Greisdorf 3 Charlie Saykao 4 Steve Morgan 5 Joseph Gardner 6 Tristan Taylor 7 Mark Crompton 8 Alan Lister 9 Callum Dowell 10 Kim McIntyre

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize 10/10 6.11 $1300 $500 Mercury 10/10 6.02 $750 $300 Mercury 10/10 5.76 $500 10/10 5.18 Keitech Prize Pack 10/10 5.09 Sunline Prize Pack 10/10 4.93

10/10 4.77

10/10 4.52

10/10 4.42

10/10 3.70

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888 66

JULY 2019

Anglers lined up and ready to take on the Blackwood River.

BREAM Series presented by

Blatchford boomed at Blackwood Dallas Blatchford hails from the Wangi Wangi area and loves his bream fishing. He will tell you himself, he doesn’t compete to win the ABT Costa BREAM Series, he just comes because he loves it. This passion is what makes the win so special to him and all the anglers he competes against.

Day one he fished with Wally Fahey. They headed upriver hitting snags and natural structure on the edges of the Blackwood River. Throwing 2.5” Berkley Gulp camo Crabby on either a 1/32 or 1/24 jighead depending on the wind was his method of choice. Dallas said he had a ball fishing with Wally. They bounced off each other, just having a laugh and catching fish in the mean time.

Dallas had filled his limit by 10am and he upgraded a few times after that by 10-20g, fishing in a depth of 0.5-3m of water.

His day one bag weighed in at 1.94kg.

Day two he went out fishing with Steve

Blatchford stuck to his Crabby pattern, catching a fish here and there with two keepers. As the tide turned in and stated to run hard they headed behind Molloy Island hitting reedy banks with white weedless Ecogear Aqua Bream prawns.

Dallas landed two more legal fish there, just missing out on a limit bringing four fish to the scales for a weight of 2.09kg. This gave him a total of 4.03kg and secured Dallas his first ABT Costa BREAM Series win.

Steve Duff took out the Daiwa J-Braid Big Bream on the Blackwood with a 1.96kg bream using one of his own Duffrod Urban Bones rods Okuma reel and an OSP Dunk 48 in colour T23.

BREAM SERIES

Scan the QR code to see Blackwood River day two highlights.

NON-BOATER WINNER’S GEAR Dallas Blatchford claimed first place for the non-boater category and took home a Daiwa Prize Pack for his efforts.

Morgan, and they headed downstream. They started on some flats but left pretty

quick as they were covered in snot weed. They made a move to the jetties and

artificial structure and it was totally different to the first day.

Rod: Reel: Line: Lures:

Daiwa Black Label V2 Daiwa Luvias 2506 Sunline Siglon 8lb 6lb FC Rock leader Gulp Crabby and Ecogear Bream Prawn

Upgrades paid off for Griesdorf Day one Alex headed downstream of the Blackwood River, fishing banks less than

a metre deep targeting overhanging paperbark trees. His lures of choice were a shallow

Jackall Chubby in black and gold, and brown suji shrimp, and ZMan GrubZ in

Boater first and second place, Peter Degroot and Alex Greisdorf, with some of the catches that made up their winning bags.

gudgeon on a 1/16 TT HeadlockZ jighead.

Alex just kept going through the motions, knowing that any cast with one of his three lure choices was bound to get bites and fill the limit of five bream a day.

He only got his five fish day one for a total weight of 2.88kg.

Heading out on day two he was a little more confident in his pattern and filled the limit of five Blackwood black bream by about 10am, far better than his first day.

Not only did he fill his limit quite quickly, he also got three upgrades before the end of the session and the three upgrades were his best three fish for the weekend. Bumping his five fish for a day two weight of 3.15kg and a total weight of 6.02kg saw him win $750 and the $300 Mercury bonus.

Everyone was having a great time fishing the Blackwood River!

NON-BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Dallas Blatchford 2 Tani Konsul 3 Stuart Walker 4 Richard Wootten 5 Oliver Seear 6 Mike Sutcliffe 7 Fred Fraser 8 Michael Sammut 9 Bernard Kong 10 Michael Hodges

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize 9/10 4.03 Daiwa Prize Pack + $200 Hobie bonus 10/10 3.85 Fishtec Solution Prize Pack 10/10 3.70 Cranka Prize Pack + $100 Hobie bonus 7/10 3.61 Tackle Tactics Prize Pack + $75 Hobie bonus 9/10 3.39 Sufix Prize Pack 9/10 3.30 Ecogear Prize Pack 8/10 3.10 Shimano Prize Pack 7/10 2.90 Lucky Craft Prize Pack 7/10 2.86 6/10 2.23

Wally Fahey missed out on top 10 boaters by 120g. So close!

JULY 2019

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Let’s rethink fishing in New Zealand brewery to create a product that benefits both brewer and fishers is a great idea.

Both industries have the challenge of promoting the responsible use of their products, as irresponsible use can be destructive.

Fishing has long had a social element where at the end of the day, we often sit down over a beer. I hope that both sides benefit

SUNTAG

Stefan Sawynok

I was going to do part II of my codelab this month, but when a bigger story comes along, I think it’s important to tell it while it’s fresh. Accordingly, the codelab will continue next month.

May has been a massive month for Track My Fish, we have run events at all parts of the country including New Zealand, and we had several high profile events, including the Barra Nationals on our list. The biggest was left to last and required traveling to our friends and rivals over in New Zealand.

The Kiwi’s promised a massive event – and boy did they deliver. The only downside, they plan to go bigger again in 2020, so I am going to spend the next year putting in new technology to cope with what will be one of the fastest paced fishing events on the planet.

This month I will look at the numbers, provide you with plenty to think about in terms of planning your fishing holidays and if nothing else, you can feel the pangs of jealousy that come when someone else is finding bigger fish than you.

TAKING A TEAM TO NZ We at Infofish were so impressed with the quality of the 2019 Luremasters event that we are organizing to take a team over to Auckland for the 2020 event.

Of course, don’t take our word for it, the data speaks for itself. Spaces will be limited, but if we get our quota, we will arrange a group booking, as from my experiences at events like the Barra Nationals and ABT Tours, fishers that stay together form friendships for life.

I am keen to see fishers involved from any state, expressions of interest are open, and you can get on the list by registering at https://tmftournaments. com.au/luremasters2020.

Fig.1 Catches during the day at Luremasters.

DAIWA NEW ZEALAND I want to give a shout out to Scott Malcolm and the team at Daiwa New Zealand who approached us nearly a year ago to develop their app, focusing on improving the level of catch and release in tournaments. Daiwa has a clear objective to spread lure fishing, but not at the expense of fish stocks.

That is a message I can get behind. We have taken a ‘gently, gently’ approach to New Zealand because we want to be a positive part of the fishing scene, and we want to ensure we deliver a product that matches the needs of the locals.

LEGASEA Another group I would like to give a shout out to is Legasea, the peak body for Recreational Fishing in New Zealand. I have had several very positive meetings with the guys at Legasea, which is essential to us, as we want to be respectful of long-term players in the fishery.

effective program for larger competitions where fish are weighed in to provide professional fish filleters and organize for the discarded frames and heads to be used in other communities for food.

Another area they have innovated is in funding; they raise funds through partnerships, member clubs as well as through government grants. In other words, they have some independence in their funding, and I think that is a good thing.

I think the big takeaway for readers is that not only is the fishing excellent – the recreational fishery in New Zealand is in good hands under the stewardship of Legasea.

AUSTRALIAN VS NZ LURE FISHING There is a big difference in the types of lures and techniques used

by Aussies and Kiwis. In Australia, there is a broader variety in methods between regions even on the same

species. Having spent a recent weekend at the lure show at Beenleigh, it’s clear that many Australians are on a never-ending quest for the perfect lure.

There is a significant lure ‘collecting’ scene as well, which highlights the value of the craft as something more than just the fish you catch. There were many a

STATISTICS Event % Catch >500mm NZ Luremasters 31.1% Suntag (2017-19) 11.6% QLD Recreational Fishing Survey (2013/14) Not Available NSW Recreational Fishing Survey (2013/14) Not Available SA Recreational Fishing Survey (2013/14) Not Available Event NZ Luremasters Barra Nationals 2018 SCF 4lb Club 68

JULY 2019

It was a full house at the post-event presentation. lure at the lure show that had aesthetics designed to catch the eye of the fisher, as much as the fish.

Kiwis, on the other hand, are more pragmatic, using the lures that work and tending to stick to them, or at least in the regions in the North Island I visited. Heavy jigs, soft

Fig.2 Number of unique fishers reporting catches by hour during the day at Luremasters.

I have found Legasea to be very impressive. They have a focused message in which they have identified the fundamental problems to be solved, they deliver services to the fishing community (and the wider community) and advocate for a responsible recreational sector. They have a very

No. Days 1 5 2 2

No. Fish 1071 1185 756 1118

Minutes/Fish 0.60 2.37 2.86 0.90

Avg Weight (est) 2.00kg 0.90kg 1.47kg 0.80kg 1.60kg % Trophy 1.8% 0.42% 2.5% 1.1%

At 500 anglers, the event closest in Australia I know of at those catch rates is the flathead classic on the Gold Coast.

The weather gods were definitely on our side, with perfect weather for inshore and offshore, leaving a crazy amount of territory open for review.

With a midnight start, we expected to see fish

plastics, metal lures, and the larger stickbaits were common. The locals do know their stuff, and local knowledge is vital, so make some time to share a brew or three. On that point, Legasea has its own lager, so that you can support the local fishing industry even in the off time. I think that teaming up with a local Avg Length (est) 463mm 355mm 420-440mm 330-350mm 420-440mm

% fish >=500mm 37.3% 42.7% 21.3% 13.6%

No. Species 12 1 71 44

from the relationship, and fishers adopt the positive message on both fronts.

I am willing to bet that most fishers have everything they need in the tacklebox now for inshore and estuary in NZ. No doubt there are some great opportunities to do some lure swaps with the locals.

LUREMASTERS 2019 Going into Luremasters, we knew that we were up for some challenges. The event is the creation of a couple of Kiwis, Daniel DeJong and Wayne Downer, and with some helpers they have managed to create a major event. With the addition of the Daiwa NZ Tournament App, fishers had the option of releasing fish with catches reported on the go. As a group, 500 anglers is the largest we have managed, where we don’t have one on one training available for fishers, and the kiwis handled it like pros. We had a few questions that we managed before the event via messenger, but 99% of people just downloaded the app, registered and were off and running. On that front, things ran smoothly – given we were running two comps in different countries on the same day.

Our previous most fish processed in a single day clocked in at 530, and the prediction was for double that. There are not many events that deliver those sorts of catch rates. In this case, it was only me doing the processing, so I knew I was in for a busy time.

early, but maybe the lure fishers are later risers, and we didn’t start receiving large numbers of fish until 6am. Once the event got going though, it was full on, with two fish reported every minute between 6am and the cut-off of 5pm.

Fig.1 captures the day succinctly; every time the catch rates dropped in an hour, they were building to more significant numbers.

Fig.2 shows the number of unique fishers reporting catches during the day, which shows the spread of fish reported across the field.

A SNAPSHOT OF THE EVENT The headline numbers for the event, 1071 fish in total from 298 fishers with an average catch rate of 2.35 fish/fisher. Five species targeted – snapper, yellowtail kingfish, kahawai, john dory, and gurnard, with 12 species in total reported. Most of the fish were caught north of Auckland between the Great Barrier Island and the mainland, though fish came in from the Bay of Plenty to the tip of the North Island, providing a vast fishing area of more than 800km of coastline.

In terms of trophy fish, 1.8% of the fish met the trophy length, but this is a bit lower than the long term Track My Fish average of 4.3% (645 out of 14,777 fish). That, however, is a little misleading, and I expect that to change next year, as there will be a bait division as well. Looking

at trophy fish alone doesn’t fill out the picture, and a quick look at snapper shows why.

Snapper might not sound like the most exciting option until you see the numbers. In all, 745 Snapper were reported at an

a smaller portion of the catch, and I suspect mostly by-catch. One area that the locals could be a bit more adventurous on is to experiment more with species beyond snapper and yellowtail king. All fishers benefit from getting outside

From the numbers, it’s clear that Luremasters is an elite event by Australian Standards in terms of results. The only measure they were behind on was the % of fishers reporting fish, but that is a function of time. The comparison events are two days plus, which gives anglers time to learn from mistakes and network to find fish. In some ways, I am grateful for that stat being down as the catch rates would have been near unmanageable if 80% of fishers reported fish. New Zealand is more consistent with changes in results a function of fishing pressure. The Barra Nationals, for example, was down to 215 fish

the extremes of our climate.

LUREMASTERS 2020 Luremasters 2019 was a huge event, but Luremasters 2020 is going to present massive technical challenges.

In 2020, Luremasters will have a bait event running at the same time which from a citizen science point of view will be fantastic, but from a technical point of view doubling the fish per day makes for some significant challenges.

In 2020, we will have a new NZ Server, implementing new artificial intelligence to sniff out duplicate photos and auto check the lengths of fish smaller than 500mm.

We are also going to have new scoreboards and statuses for scoreboards

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The winner of the largest snapper category was Matt Pearson. average length of 463mm.

A whopping 232 of the 745 were over 500mm, and this is where the Luremasters event stands out as a worldclass fishing event.

In comparing with the Australian experience, data is sporadic in Australia and not exactly recent, but using the numbers available; you can see some significant differences. One of the most obvious is the proportion of fish >500mm.

On the quantities available, nowhere in Australia returns fish at that size consistently to the degree seen in the Luremasters event. If you are interested in Snapper as a sports species, it might be time to book a flight to Auckland.

The remaining species yellowtail kingfish, kahawai, john dory and gurnard provided

their range of experience – that is where skills are built. That said, with snapper fishing as good as it is, it’s easy to see why the locals focus on snapper.

COMPARING EVENTS There are plenty of events wanting to take your money, so what’s the selling point for going to Luremasters 2020? I am not going to make a pitch to emotion, although the Auckland area offers crazy beautiful backdrops for fishing. Instead, I will present a comparison of similar events from Australia and let the results speak for themselves. To provide a well-founded comparison, I will use a premium event, community event, and sports event as Luremasters is one of those weird events that embraces all three classifications.

Fig.3 Snapper size breakdown.

40 yrs experience

Australian standard fire rating Legasea have made many partnerships in New Zealand, including with local brewer Moa. this year and I expect the Hinchinbrook event to be down slightly with longterm dry weather. Australian events are more subject to

– so fishers can see the provisional scores before full checking. All in all, we have aimed to introduce much more automation on the backend while not overcomplicating matters for fishers in recording catches.

1000+ fish in one day via the Daiwa NZ Tournament app is a good sign that things are heading in the right direction.

With 1000 fishers involved, this is going to be one of the most significant sportfishing events on the fishing calendar in either country; predictably tickets are already selling fast.

If you are looking for a different tournament experience and being part of history, join team Australia in 2020.

In the meantime, if you have a few days free, why not consider heading over to Auckland and grabbing a charter for a brilliant time and a chance to scope out the competition.

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FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS FISHY BLOCKBUSTERS

LEGALLY BREAM THE GODFISH REEF WARS FLATTY GUMP SNOW WHITING MURRAY CODDINS JIGGING PARK LURE KING DIVE HARD

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GEORGE & NEV by Michael Hardy

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FIND-A-WORD

Congratulations to, Robert Barns who was last month’s winner of the Find-aWord Competition!

Monthly winners receive a Fishing Monthly prize pack. Prize delivery can take 8 weeks. – V&TFM

SUBSCRIBER PRIZE

The subscriber prize winner for May is L Smith of Bicheno, who won an TT Lures Prize Pack valued over $400.

All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – V&TFM

S Waters of Pahran, J Brumby of Nirranda South, S Rhind of Rochester, B Delphine of Emerald, M Adams of Grahamvale, J Aquilina of Keilor Downs, J Smith of Carranballac, J McNamara of Goornong, J Titter of Werribee, G Ball of Tatura, M Fryer of Balwyn North, G Miller of Euroa, T Edwards of Castlemaine, R Coombes of Vermont, D Mackley of Daylesford,

J Jenner of Drummond, D Hennig of Mooroolbark, M Stacey of Portland , R Dreldel of Mt Helen, T Kubeil of Euroa, S Brightwell of Mordialloc, D Martin of Nowra, A Melis of Reservior, P Wickham of Corinella, J Darch of Altona, G Thomson of North Geelong, C Hehir of Belmont, J Barns of Euroa.

Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks.

– V&TFM

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

FIND THE DAIWA LOGO

72

JULY 2019

GUESS THE FISH?

This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Australian Bass

The answers to Find the Daiwa Logo for May were: 10, 14, 18, 23, 32, 38, 41, 45, 54, 59, 61, 64, 81, 86, 89. – V&TFM The Find the Daiwa Logo prize winners for May were: J Thomas of Broadford, A Foster of Drouin, E Dix of Hamilton, M Forys of Indented Head, T Tippett of Nurrabiel, P Berner of Box Hill, W Johnson of Morwell, K Dowell of Highton, J Ellis of Reservior, F Hutchins of Sunbury, C Peeters of Colac, W Witton of Yinnar,

Answer:

boats & kayaks

In the skipper’s seat

Inside story...

Stessl Boats have been part of the Australian boating landscape for decades and continually strive to develop and produce quality aluminium boats to suit the tough Australian conditions.

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Whether it be a 3m dinghy or cartopper, or a classic Edgetracker side console, you’ll find the perfect boat for your needs in the extensive Stessl alloy boat range.

This month...

Field Editor Wayne Kampe takes a ride in the Stessl 485 Apache Pro with a Yamaha F75hp on the transom. You can check it out on page 80!

74 Taking your love for kayaking overseas Justin Willmer takes a trip overseas and takes his love for kayaking with him!

76 Avoiding storage woes between trips

Wayne Kampe discusses how storing your boat correctly can save you some coin in the long run.

78 What’s new in Boating

Check out what’s new in the world of boating, including the latest news and products.

FEBRUARY 2019

73

A paddle through foreign waters BRISBANE

Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

My wife Sheri and I love everything kayaking, be it fishing or crabbing, camping, exploring new waters, immersing ourselves in the natural environment

It’s well worth the effort though when it comes together as you may find yourself hooked up to new species, or seeing your destination from a completely different perspective, with some unique photos and memories of your destination. Simply Google your destination

At the end of our Colorado River journey, the guides sort the many kayaks. and observing wildlife, or accessing land-based areas to explore.

Whenever we travel interstate or overseas, we ensure that we fire up the search engines, hit the internet and look for kayak fishing, kayak tours and kayak hire options in the area that we are travelling to.

From here you start to get an idea of what there is to see, catch or explore in the region, all from the seat of a kayak.

Unfortunately, on our last overseas trip a few years ago, both of our kayak tours were cancelled due to weather.

This is always a possibility, so it pays to have a couple of backup activities pencilled in just in case. This was on a trip to Queenstown, New Zealand and one of the tours was a paddle across a lake

in terms of fitness levels or paddling ability.

Even though Sheri and I have been paddling for many years, we still prefer to select tours that are suitable for all age levels and generally labelled beginner or possibly intermediate. After all, we are unfamiliar with the area and the craft, while also being on holidays. Most reputable operators will have quality kayaks, PFDs, paddles and other gear, however the reviews section will give you a better idea of the quality of the tour.

After a lot of saving and preparation, we recently took off overseas again, hoping that the weather would play the game for the two kayak tours that we had booked.

The first was in Las Vegas, consisting of a 20km paddle from the base of the mighty Hoover Dam, down the Colorado River that divides Arizona and Nevada states, finishing up at the Willow Beach Marina.

COLORADO RIVER It was an early pick up for our Colorado River paddle with Evolution Expeditions and Michelle our guide was also our driver. Michelle gave us a basic rundown on the day, made us feel at ease and also had plenty of stories about the area as we made the drive to our launch point.

We were lucky that there was only Sheri, myself, our guide Michelle and another couple Jeff and Casey from

Sheri exiting Sauna Cave after a quick sauna.

The natural hot pools were almost too hot to get into.

Time to paddle back for a well earned BBQ lunch. followed by ‘kayak hire’, ‘kayak fishing’ or ‘kayak tours’ and you will find some options in the region.

Then it’s just a matter of

The second in Hawaii and was a simpler adventure that included paddling from Ha’eia State Park onto Kane’ohe Bay to snorkel the reef, with the hope of coming across a honu (green sea turtle) in the wild. Both adventures went ahead and here’s a quick wrap up of the two adventures, along with the gear that we carry with us on these adventures.

Ohio. Sheri and I were in a two-person kayak, as was Michelle with plenty of water, snacks and our lunch, while Jeff and Casey decided to take separate kayaks.

The kayaks were quality Perception kayaks, with rudders, comfortable seats, dry storage, quality paddles and we were fitted with comfortable PFDs. By the time we had travelled down the old road used to build the dam and were standing at the base of the Hoover Dam in awe, I already had my money’s worth. No time to stand around though, as security is strict getting down to our launch point.

The group’s kayaks on the bank below the River Gauger’s station.

The author was lucky enough to swim with a couple of green sea turtles. to dinner at a lodge, with a return paddle on sunset.

The reviews were good, the photos amazing and we were disappointed that the weather denied us our adventure and we didn’t have any flexibility in our itinerary to reschedule.

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JULY 2019

picking an adventure that sounds like the right fit for you and investigating it further in terms of when it is available, pricing, inclusions, what you are required to bring and whether there are any requirements

After some instruction we boarded our kayaks, launched and moved out into the middle of the river where we could admire the Hoover Dam and the surrounding construction.

Michelle pointed out some of the narrow catwalks that had been built along the sides of the canyon wall and were used during the construction of the dam. Being a dam built in part for hydroelectricity I was confident that we would have some flow in the river to assist us over our 20km journey and I was correct.

We were all paddling steadily, while admiring the scenery, the colour and clarity of the glacial water and chatting as we all paddled close together, learning more about each other and also the history of the area.

Jeff and Casey were also competent paddlers, so in no time at all we were at our first stop, Sauna Cave. Michelle

The longhorn sheep come down to investigate Jeff’s kayak.

tied our kayaks off and we climbed a small track, before entering Sauna Cave. The water in the cave was hot and a couple of feet deep, the cave was filled with steam and as we walked further into the narrow cave Michelle turned her headlamp off and it was pitch black. We felt our way along the walls a little further into the cave and then Michelle turned the headlamp back on to guide us out of the cave. It was such an unique experience, it was like a sauna and upon exiting the cave the desert air rapidly dried our clothes.

We continued our journey down the spectacular

Colorado River, a source of life that carves its way through the desert, supplying hydroelectric power and water for farms in multiple states.

The river is also the border between Nevada and Arizona, so it was cool to paddle from one state to another.

The next stop on our paddle journey was morning tea from Michelle’s box of snacks. Then we went on a short walk up into a canyon, where we were met with a metal ladder.

We had arrived at the

on a paddle the day before and had us paying special attention to some sections of the surrounding rocky walls.

Our instructions, keep an eye out for their white butts as that’s the easiest way to spot them.

A short distance on and we were lucky enough to meet a herd of longhorn sheep that included a couple of tiny babies and some larger female sheep. We moved closer for a few photos and the sheep came right down to the water to drink, while The view from the River Gauger’s station up the Colorado River.

Sheri takes a moment to appreciate the bridge and the dam. hot pools. Taking turns to carefully climb the ladder and we were standing in the first and coolest pool, which was still pretty warm! The pools are maintained with sandbags of gravel and we met the man who maintains the pools, chilling out in pool three. As you move through the pools you get closer to the main source, where the water flows from the rock, they get hotter. We all did pool one, two, three, and then I pushed on through pool four to get a photo of the water flowing from the rock. Safe to say, if it was a bath I would have waited a while before getting in. We chilled and chatted in pool one for a while before continuing on our journey.

Sheri had come across photos of longhorn sheep when looking up this tour, so she asked if there was a chance of us coming across some during out paddle.

Michelle had seen some

sheep negotiate the steep, rocky inclines, seemingly climbing straight up smooth rock faces. We said goodbye to the sheep and thanked Michelle for yet another cool experience.

Further down the river we pulled up for lunch in a shady area that allowed us to rest, relax, chat and enjoy the delicious lunch packs that Michelle had for us, including a meat and salad roll, fruit and other snacks.

It was then back on the river and we were treated to a story about the River Gauger, his office built onto the canyon wall where he measured river heights, sediment levels and so forth.

After a day’s work he then

final paddle to Willow Beach Marina, where we enjoyed a cold drink before boarding the mini bus back to our hotel.

What an incredible adventure and amazing scenery, not far from the craziness of the Las Vegas Strip.

HAWAII Our second adventure was a mini bus from Waikiki in Hawaii, to Ha’eia State Park and onto beautiful Kane’ohe Bay. After some initial instruction, our group of six double kayaks (twelve paddlers) was towed halfway out to the reef we were going to snorkel. We were then detached from the boat and paddled out to a

on the mini bus to Waikiki after what had been another fun day of kayaking and adventure, getting away from the standard tourist trails.

There are a few things that we carry with us on our travel adventures, when we have kayak tours booked.

Sturdy, supportive water shoes are important and can be washed and dried before returning home. We also take our own Sea to Summit dry bags with us as it allows us to organise and pack these before our tour, although most tours will supply dry bags and outline this in their tour description. Other items include a waterproof

Just one of the interesting creatures found swimming around Hawaii. sandy section in the middle of the reef where we met the boat again, reattached our kayaks, entered the water and had some snacks and drinks before a quick snorkel instruction.

We spent the next hour snorkelling the reef edge, with one guide snorkelling with us and another monitoring the group from a kayak. We saw a variety of colourful fish in good numbers and we were lucky enough to swim with two small turtles that didn’t seem too concerned

phone case, sunscreen and bug spray. Your choice of clothing needs to be based around your adventure, considering sun protection, temperature and layering so that you can regulate your body temperature.

Next time you’re planning a trip, be it a couple of hours from home or internationally, if like us you love adventuring in the kayak, there may be an opportunity to catch a new species, explore an incredible environment,

Paddling into Emerald Cave, the sunlight reflections cause it to light up green. a few others surrounded the small babies to ensure they were safely out of sight. It was amazing to watch the

Sheri and her group gearing up for a paddle and snorkel in Hawaiian waters.

had to cross the raging river by lying in a basket and using cables to pull himself across, then negotiate a narrow catwalk around the canyon wall, another basket and cables to cross the river and then a couple of miles walk home. After twelve years of river gauging, the dam was then built at a different location!

It was then onto the famous Emerald Cave and after having the river to ourselves we were now joined by more paddlers. We waited our turn and reversed into Emerald Cave for a few photos. When the sun shines into the cave, the water

lights up emerald green and the green light then bounces around the walls and roof of the cave. Another cool stop on our journey.

Being a small group of reasonably strong paddlers, we were ahead of schedule and able to make one last stop at the River Gauger’s house. Unfortunately, a fire had consumed the house, however, the foundations remained, along with a sign and images of the residence and garage. There was also the old road, some hand laid rock walls and a spectacular view back up the river. It was a great way to finish our adventure, before the

The mighty Hoover Dam. with our presence. It was then back onto our kayaks and we made the paddle back to our launch point, where we finished the adventure with a delicious BBQ pork ribs and chicken lunch with salads and drinks. It was then back

observe wildlife or check out the tourist attractions from a whole new perspective. I will never forget standing with the crowds on the wall of the Hoover Dam during our Hoover Dam tour.

See you on the water.

JULY 2019

75

Preventing boat storage woes between trips BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

In last month’s issue of the magazine I looked at storage issues in smaller boats, and how to address the challenges of working with limited space.

This month I’ll take you through some of the issues

start but there are many other issues confronting a boat owner contemplating laying the boat up for a spell.

Let’s begin by looking at the average glass rig, climb aboard her on the trailer, and see what action we can take to prevent drama down the track.

To start with, pull the anchor and warp out and give them, and the anchor well, a

are stored in a hatch where salt residue has been lurking.

PRESSURE WASH This is the right time to also give the deck a thorough clean-up, especially if there is a non-skid surface up front. Non-skid areas seem to accumulate small particles of ingrained material that causes discoloration that’s very hard to dislodge.

You can trust me on this,

This should not occur in an open bilge area that’s easy to clean and dry out.

Note the small patches of dampness-induced mould in the top left corner. space. Many consoles come with upper and lower storage via a central shelf, and if the uppermost shelf is most used it should be well aired, and all the unwanted material should be removed prior to extended storage. If you

see any nuts, washers or other assorted small pieces of hardware (vibrating free of an original fitting), these need to be reinstated without question. A half cabin boat often features under bunk storage, and this might also

If you do see salt residue in the storage area, wipe it out with a damp cloth and then one with some vinegar on it.

Side pockets, especially lined ones, are also places where unwanted salt can later cause dampness and

If you don’t remove the rope and thoroughly clean the whole area, you’ll end up with a damp anchor well. that come with storing a boat for extended periods between outings. This is something that boat owners don’t usually expect to happen, but it can certainly occur due to circumstances beyond our control.

I have a friend who repairs trailer boats, and he said that if more people did the right thing before letting their boats sit for a while, he’d be far less busy! A fair proportion of his livelihood comes from neglect and sheer carelessness. He has seen boats come in for repair work that actually have fungi growing in damp areas – how bad is that? He’s also seen seats and other soft materials fall apart from mildew and other dampness related issues.

His number one recommendation is to ensure that the stored boat stays as dry as possible (throughout, not just on its outer surfaces), particularly if air flow throughout the craft is likely to be restricted.

THINK THINGS THROUGH A dry boat is a good

thorough clean up prior to being put away. If the anchor well is within the front of a cabin, some damp, salty ropes are going to promote moisture for sure.

Forward storage hatches should get a clean out next.

It’s surprising how a little bit of saltwater sneaking in now and again can make a mess, especially if a few emergency tools or other metallic items

as I’ve owned four boats with non-skid decks, and I’ve found that a pressure washer – the good old Gerni – is far more efficient than a scrubbing brush/sugar soap/ elbow grease session! Carpet is different, easier to clean and then dry properly.

If the craft is a centre console rig, now is the time to open the console doors and have a look in the storage

Every time the bucket is returned wet and salty, a layer of salt is added to the storage compartment.

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Every Saturday 5.00pm on 76

JULY 2019

Roller marks can be hard to remove, but acetone will do the job. need a good clean out. If there’s any old food or drink bottles, take them out.

BEWARE FLOOR LEVEL STORAGE AREAS Many craft over 5m in length have floor level storage areas which can be a terrific place to store a handy bucket or other receptacle.

However, this can be a sneaky trap. A bucket that has saltwater dripping off it will cause a build-up of salt in that compartment when it’s returned, to the detriment of anything metallic in the area. So while it’s quick and easy to dump the bucket back in the compartment, it’s best to wait until you’ve removed the salt first.

even mould if you leave them long enough. A sponging with some warm water and detergent prolongs useful life, and if there are drain holes you should ensure that they are open and free to do their job.

LET THE BILGE BREATHE Bilge access is not always easy in trailer boats, but if there’s reasonable access it certainly pays to clean the area out. Anything discarded in the cockpit can find its way to the bilge area before long, so lure packets, wrappers and the usual suspects of sand and soil often end up in a bilge sump. Also, boats stored near trees will

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certainly accumulate leaves, twigs or berries in a very short time. Removing the bung and allowing the whole sump area to dry properly can greatly reduce issues associated with storage.

Now we come to the outside of the hull – those exposed areas that tell the world just how well we look after our boat.

MAINTAINING THAT FIBREGLASS LUSTRE Fibreglass craft are easy to clean both inside and out with detergent and warm water, except when you get those hard-to-remove marks

on the hull from trailer rollers or from scuffing on the yellow edges of pontoons. Pontoon marks are no big deal, but those roller marks are something else.

They are often associated with even a brand new trailer (usually if the tow vehicle has a diesel engine) due to a reaction between the diesel exhaust fumes and the rubber rollers. Removing these stubborn marks might require some acetone, which is best applied with heavy-duty gloves to protect your hands, and always in a well-ventilated area. Just

rub it onto the area, and it should clean it up. Rubbing alcohol such as Isocol can also clean up fibreglass, but I prefer acetone.

Small scuffs and scratches can be removed by fibreglass polish, and I have found that the Extra Cut stuff does a great job without too much effort.

The last job is to give the engine a once over and release the winch ratchet a tad. Why compress the boat onto the trailer when it’s not going anywhere? Summer storage requires engine inlet ports to be mud wasp

The Gerni at work: note the difference! The deck had been hand-scrubbed beforehand.

When the boat is going to be mothballed for a spell, you should thoroughly clean and dry out all the compartments.

proofed as well.

ALLOY BOAT STORAGE When it comes to alloy boats, completely drying the hull is equally essential, as is providing plenty of airflow through the stored craft.

Hatches should be opened and residue removed to see what’s going on under the debris.

If it’s possible to lift floor coverings it’s very wise to do so, just to see what’s doing down there! Any foreign material plus residual water, both fresh and salt, are the

trouble makers. Discarded tackle is also a problem because if a battery is left connected to the rig (even when isolated completely) some corrosion through galvanic action might occur where sinkers and the like contact the alloy.

Diligently washing an alloy boat with a strong detergent mix might not be doing the alloy a favour, due to the alkaline composition of that detergent. From experience, a gentle baby detergent is a good choice

for alloy craft exteriors and other soiled areas.

Again, the trailer should be well cleaned and all traces of salt removed from around the springs and brake units.

Some stronger detergent can be used to clear away salt traces.

Last but not least, the fuel tank needs topping up with a good dose of fuel stabiliser. Filling a tank when it’s not going to be used may seem unnecessary, but it will minimise the chances of condensation.

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77

WHAT’S NEW BOATING AXIOM SUPPORTS YAMAHA CL

1

Yamaha Command Link and Command Link Plus has now been integrated into Raymarine’s family of Axiom multifunction displays.

Raymarine’s Axiom series can now display the instrumentation for up to 4 Yamaha outboards on a single display. The Axiom engine data display echoes the look and feel of Yamaha’s digital instrument displays and is compatible with a wide array of Yamaha outboards installed on existing boats as well as on new boats.

Raymarine’s integration with Yamaha outboards gives boaters a big-screen view of engine parameters, tank levels, battery status, and more.

Just about any boat with Yamaha Command Link or Command Link Plus can be integrated with Raymarine’s Axiom MFDs using Yamaha’s optional NMEA 2000 gateway and pigtail. Boats equipped with Yamaha Helm Master or Set Point systems can also integrate with Raymarine using Yamaha’s optional NMEA 2000 gateway (6YG) and Yamaha’s CL7 display.

The free LightHouse Annapolis 3.9 OS update is available now for Axiom, Axiom Pro, Axiom XL, eS Series and gS Series MFDs. www.raymarine.com

ROD HOLDER EXTENDER

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If your rod holder is just out of reach, or the rod butt is hitting the deck of your kayak, check out the Railblaza Rod Holder Extender.

The addition of a Rod Holder Extender to your rod holder will let you offset your rod holder too, adding another level of versatility. You can make your set-up ergonomically better, and get easier access to your rod holder. More importantly, you’ll have the rod in your hand faster when you get a strike.

The Rod Holder Extender will fit any Railblaza rod holders, giving 125mm (5”) of extension. It is fully adjustable, allowing the rod holder to be extended outwards or conveniently position your rod holder closer to you on your kayak or boat.

Care must be taken if you are using the Rod Holder Extender for trolling, as breakage can occur if drag is not set correctly on your reel.

For more information on mounting options, or to view more products in the range, visit the Railblaza website. www.railblaza.com

MAZU UPDATE FOR AXIOM

3

Mazu has added powerful new functionality to its app available on Raymarine Axiom MFDs through Lighthouse Apps.

Raymarine Axiom users who have mazu’s m2500 satellite system can now view ROFFS (Roffer’s Ocean Fishing Forecasting Service) fishing forecast hotspots using the mazu app on the MFD. Users also get offshore access to up-to-date sea state data including sea surface temperature, chlorophyll, altimetry and currents. The app also has a new, streamlined user interface.

ROFFS provides a variety of the high-resolution satellite-derived fishing oceanographic analyses customised for anglers. These analyses are specialised for pelagics like tuna, marlin, wahoo, dolphinfish, sailfish, swordfish, sharks and more. ROFFS professional oceanographers analyse multiple real-time oceanographic datasets including but not limited to ocean currents, SST, clarity, ocean colour/chlorophyll, plankton, frontal boundaries, species habitat of targeted fish, and bottom structure to guide users to the most productive waters for a successful 78

JULY 2019

PRODUCT GUIDE

fishing trip. This data is integrated into hotspot locations detailed on an oceanographic map and a comprehensive text description that is easy to understand and use. www.mazu-marine.com/sportfishing

SEAFARER VICTORY 6.0

1 4

The Victory model has been part of the Seafarer family since the early days, and has evolved over the years. A pioneering sport-fishing craft, it is one of Seafarer’s most popular boats.

The new model Victory 6.0 has been transformed with a whole new above-thewater design, and has been kitted out with a plethora of new options, most notably the addition of a new hard top option which has transformed it into an exceptional offshore fishing boat. The hard top also includes two hatches in the roof for ventilation and a Hella LED deck light. A dive/side door also now comes standard.

A whole new layout has also been introduced with a redesigned transom, deck, dash and cabin, improving on what has been a highly respected fishing craft for many years.

Head to the Seafarer website to see the full list of specs and options. www.seafarerboats.com

SIMRAD CRUISE CHARTPLOTTER

5

Designed for simple and straightforward navigation, the new Simrad Cruise features a simple, easy-to-use interface, sunlight-viewable display, preloaded Australia charts, mounting bracket and sonar transducer.

The Cruise combines essential GPS features with depth-finding capability to deliver safe and reliable navigation at an affordable price. Free from complicated fishing-specific sonar and networking features, Cruise eliminates the need for boaters to master complex electronics.

The user interface is controlled with a rotary dial and keypad, ensuring smooth navigation through menus, and provides the vital information needed for a safe and enjoyable time on the water. The included transducer provides CHIRP sonar with excellent automatic depth tracking for worry-free operation without the need for fine-tuning or pre-programming.

Available in 5”, 7” and 9” display sizes, this unit is IPX7 waterproof rated and ideal for installation in open boats, and can be flushmounted or bracket-mounted.

Price: SRP $699-$1099 www.simrad-yachting.com

WHITTLEY SL 20 OB

2

6

The new Whittley Sea Legend 20 Outboard (SL 20 OB) is a Yamaha outboard powered model with a 6.3m, SL 20 hull. There’s also the option of a new Coast Tourer Edition hard top, with a full length screen and sliding side windows.

The SL 20 OB gives you the option to easily set your package up as an offshore weapon, a family overnighter, or both. There’s a new flat back transom offered to maximise the fishing area. It also comes with standard premium rear rubber flooring and twin ice/fish boxes (doubling as a seat), which can easily convert to a family area with the side seat and table option.

The package can be optioned up to suit customers’ budgets and needs, with prices ranging from $69,990 for the soft top model, to the Coast Tourer Edition available from $79,490. All SL 20 OB packages are factory rigged to be powered by a Yamaha F130 or F150 four stroke, and are packaged on a dual axle Mackay trailer. www.whittleymarinegroup.com.au

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

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79

Stessl 485 Apache Pro with Yamaha F75hp

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Apache handled fast turns and powered over the Seaway chop with only the slightest of bumps. At rest it was also very stable, which is a factor for family boaters to consider as well.

The power from the 1.8L F75 Yamaha was

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

It was another hard day at the office, with the sun shining gently in the early morning light, a subdued hissing of waves from the Southport Broadwater, and our morning’s work: a shiny white Stessl 485 Apache easing off its Dunbier trailer into some of the cleanest water on the east coast.

The Stessl Apache Pro is a good looking rig with a small amount of vee aft and prominent reversed chines, straight sides with around 600mm of freeboard, extruded, fully-welded decks and a full-height transom.

At 4.85m in length, it is the largest in the Apache Pro

PERFORMANCE

Main: A great looking boat on a great day! Here you can see the ample freeboard, reversed outer chines on the straight sided hull and the very clean wash. Above: This shot gives an idea of the floor depth of the Stessl plus the full height transom tucked ahead of the 75hp Yamaha.

SMART LAYOUT Surveying the 485 Apache at length, I decided that I agreed with Scott. As an uncluttered side console

SPECIFICATIONS Hull length.................................................... 4.85m Hull beam..................................................... 2.20m Depth.............................................................1.20m Bottom and Sides.......................................... 3mm Weight boat only.......................................... 370kg Min H.P........................................................... 70hp Max H.P......................................................... 90hp Number of people.................................................5 range, with 460, 450 and 440 models also available.

Scott James of Stessl Boats welcomed me aboard the all new Apache, and took pride in showing me just what the 485 offers. He explained that the largest Apache is primarily a very serious fishing rig, but added that a family looking for boating fun would enjoy it just as much.

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a near silent 3500rpm at 37.25km/h (3.71km/L) with just Scott James and I aboard.

SUMMING UP The Stessl 485 Apache is pretty much an all rounder in my view. It’s well finished, roomy, stable,

craft there was fishing room to spare, yet the addition of four seating positions also allowed flexibility in seating arrangements.

Well-padded, high backed pedestal seats for skipper and mate were installed, with the skipper’s perfectly placed aft of the console with its recessed storage box up top, grab rail

and instruments linked to the Yamaha F75.

A Raymarine sounder was mounted atop the console, although there was room to recess a 12” sounder within the console’s face depending on the owner’s preference.

There is an elevated casting deck up front, with storage underneath. This deck offers room for an angler to either sit (a seat spigot was installed), or to stand to cast.

The craft is carpeted, as you’d expect, and within the main work area there are useful features for anglers including side pockets, a 30L plumbed live well in the transom, a large underfloor storage area able to be used as a kill tank, and enough space for at least two anglers to work in comfort.

The 610mm freeboard linked to the full-height transom astern also means that on the right day you could go for a run offshore.

This boat’s versatility is one of the best things about it.

Whether it’s impoundments, estuary, the bay or bluewater work, the 485 Stessl Apache would be ideal for the job.

RIDE AND PERFORMANCE With the Apache having a 2.2m beam and the hull featuring reversed chines outside the vee, it was no surprise to find how easily and precisely the Stessl

RPM................. Speed (km/h) Economy (km/L) 1000................................ 6.60 3.38 2000.............................. 10.75 2.83 3000.............................. 29.90 3.57 4000.............................. 43.90 3.39 5000.............................. 56.20 2.57 5700 (WOT)................... 65.10 2.16 nothing short of impressive.

Although the 485 Apache is rated for up to 90hp, the F75 certainly was no slouch off the mark or lacking grunt. It provided smooth, seamless power at virtually any revs.

Silent at idle and quietly efficient at speed, the Yammy impressed me when we managed – with three aboard – just over 60km/h!

The sweetest cruising was

soft riding and inspires confidence. In combination with that smooth F75 Yamaha, it would be an ideal rig for both experts and beginners to enjoy. At around the $39,990 mark as reviewed, it’s also great value for money.

Visit www.stessl.com.au for more information or like Stessl Boats on Facebook for updates on the entire Stessl range.

With just two anglers at work it’s not hard to see additional room for a couple more to enjoy some action as well.

A carpeted floor throughout is a nice touch, as is the seat spigot up front. Note the high backed seats as well.

Careful positioning of floor spigots allows a lot of latitude in passenger placement.

Although not full power, the 75 Yamaha did a praiseworthy job on the Stessl’s transom.

A side console makes a lot of sense on a dedicated fishing boat, and the Stessl’s was large enough to be useful without being intrusive.

A bird’s eye look at the interior reveals plenty of uncluttered work room for anglers to use to their advantage.

High backed seats for skipper and mate are a big plus for the Apache owner. The practical console is set up with a storage compartment, sounder and instruments.

The Apache’s livewell is strategically placed at the transom so anglers can easily grab a livie when it’s needed.

A plumbed livewell is an asset for anglers intent on keeping live bait in top condition, and this one is a decent size.

The well formed and strong side ribs are carried under the floor of the Apache to maximize strength and rigidity.

An underfloor compartment is very useful for storage, and the Apache is set up with both fore and aft compartments.

JULY 2019

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Victorian Tide Times

2019 2019 Local Time

POINT LONSDALE – VICTORIA POINT – 144° VICTORIA LAT 38°LONSDALE 18’ S LONG 37’ E

JANUARY MAY Time Time m 0113 0801 TU 1359 2109 WE

1 1 2 0205 0853 2

WE 1455 TH 2215

3 0304 0948 3

TH 1557 FR 2318

4 0414 1046 4

FR 1700 SA

5 0018 0529 5

Time 0.54 0139 1.48 0822 0.35 1350 1.37 2107 0.65 0248 1.41 0939 0.36 1459 1.38 2203 0.75 0410 1.35 1050 0.36 1626 1.41 2258 0.81 0512 1.30 1150 0.35 1737 2346 1.45 0556 0.82 1241 1.28 1827 0.33

m

18’ S of High LONG 144° 37’ E TimesLAT and38° Heights and Low Waters Times and Heights of High and Low Waters FEBRUARY MARCH m Time Time m JUNE Time m Time JULY m

Time m Time m 0032 0.58 0230 0.73 03001.32 0.68 07120154 1.430.65 0907 10100.36 1.36 13050859 0.411.39 FR 1515 15151.35 0.93 1956 1.310.70 2245 SA TH 1412 2121 1.46 2153 1.37 0116 0.67 0330 0.80 04021.26 0.61 07520310 1.380.58 1004 11130.39 1.45 13461017 0.391.46 SA 1617 16341.35 0.94 FR 1530 SU 2058 1.310.76 2345 2222 1.47 2249 1.39 0207 0.75 0444 0.84 04581.22 0.52 08400422 1.330.49 1106 12070.40 1.56 14351126 0.361.57 SU 1724 SA 1651 MO 1740 0.92 2205 1.340.78 2344 1.42 2320 1.49 0307 0.83 0045 1.38 05460.82 0.44 09360523 1.290.40 0559 12571.21 1.67 15331228 0.331.68 MO 1208 18300.38 0.88 SU 1758 TU 2317 1.390.77 1825

Time 0140 0357 0802 1110 SA 1400 1621 SU2128 2245 0233 0457 0859 1209 SU 1457 1729 MO2241 2341 0341 0550 1008 1302 MO 1608 1826 TU2356

16 16

17 17

22

17 17

18 18

33

18 18

19 19

44

0501 0.81 0032 1.29 1.48 19 191132 0638 0.30 0.35 TU 1730

0.78 1.23 TH 0.78 1.32

0.72 1.29 FR 0.81 1.34 0.64 1.39 SA 0.80 1.38

0420 0.86 0138 1.43 00350.76 1.46 0.54 10420015 1.281.51 0704 06301.24 0.37 1.51 16440616 0.290.33 TU 1305 SU 13440.36 1.75 0.77 MO 1322 1.76 WE 1918 1915 0.83 1852 0.75 0026 1.47 0222 1.47 0103 1.53 0124 1.49 1.43 0538 0.84 0757 0.69 0703 0.29 0715 0.32 0.45 1156 1.30 1356 MO TU 1411 1.81 WE TH 14291.28 1.79 1.62 0.240.72 2005 19590.34 0.79 0.75 17571939 0128 1.55 0300 1.51 0210 1.52 0147 1.54 1.47 0.760.28 0841 08000.62 0.30 0.38 06480748 1307 1.36 1441 TU WE 1455 1.81 TH FR 15131.32 1.81 1.70 0.180.71 2046 0.72 19032021 20430.33 0.75

WE 1350 1914 0101 0119 0621 0723 WE 1251 1433 TH1848 1958 0159 0202 0730 0805 1358 TH 1511 FR1953 2040 0250 0243 0828 0845 1458 FR 1545 SA2048 2119

20 20

1.50 0031 21 6 0115 0635 0.79 21 6 0635 SU 1240 1.29

66

21 21

77

22 22

MO 1852

7 0203 0730 7

MO 1330 TU 1939

0359 0000 4 4 1030 1639 MO 0556

11

55

1325 0.30 1908 1.55 0114 0.73 0712 1.30 1407 0.28 1947

Time 0113 0259 0741 1345 FR 1030 2105 MO 1534 2155 0158 0400 0829 1431 SA 1130 TU 1647 2201 2257 0250 0500 0924 1528 SU 1228 WE 1750 2301

16 16

0.78 1.21 WE 0.72 1.33

20 20

SA 1145 SU 1800

m 0.72 0.45 1.34 1.59 0.30 0.90 1.36 1.47 0.79 0.40 1.30 1.66 0.30 0.88 1.36 1.47 0.83 0.37 1.27 1.72 0.31 0.85 1.41

22 22

1.58 1.50 02230229 1.631.53 0331 0337 0323 02551.54 1.53 0155 8 0246 23 23 0816 0.68 0.33 07480830 0.660.30 8 8 0920 0921 23 8 0924 08450.55 0.3023 0749 TU 1415 1.33 WE 1409 1.43 FR 1522 1.37 SA 1553 WE 1447 1.75 TH 1535 1.78 2022 2026 0.27 0.70 20032101 0.150.70

SA 1556 1.79 2123 21270.34 0.71

SU 1618 2139 2159

1.75 0.81 1.48 1.49 0.72 0.35 1.36 1.76 0.26 0.78 1.56 1.49 0.59 0.37 1.45 1.74 0.24 0.75

1.62 1.48 0.45 0.40 1.55 1.71 0.24 0.73 1.66 1.46 0.33 0.45 1.61 1.68 0.26 0.71

1.60 1.51 03140309 1.691.51 0401 0420 03411.56 1.53 0402 1.67 1.43 0235 9 0323 24 24 0859 0.63 0.30 08440911 0.540.35 9 9 0956 1010 24 9 09320.49 0.3424 1000 0.23 0.51 0827 WE 1458 1.35 TH 1505 1.50 SA 1601 1.40 SU 1646 1.64 TH 1528 1.77 FR 1612 1.73 2102 2105 0.28 0.69 20582141 0.150.70

SU 1639 1.75 2157 22120.37 0.67

MO 1650 1.64 2225 2236 0.31 0.70

11

22

33

TH 1320 1844 0003 0057 0520 0648 1138 TU 1409 FR 1753 1933 0100 0150 0636 0740 1243 WE 1456 SA 1855 2022 0146 0241 0733 0830 1339 TH 1541 SU 1945 2112

55 66 77

Local Time APRIL AUGUST Time Time m

m Time m m Time m 0036 0.65 0215 0.77 0.63 0430 04230846 0.38 1.22 0.54 06520.43 1.39 1.38 1146 11591439 1.57 0.54 1.47 12481.58 0.28 0.32 SA MO 0.91 1.29 0.99 19580.92 1.44 TH 17132210 1.37 TU 1658 FR 2311 1.40 2332 1.41 1.39 0118 0.71 0316 0.81 0.71 05300955 0.33 1.18 0.48 0526 07380.41 1.35 1.29 1256 1.64 0.61 1.56 1241 13331.61 0.30 0.39 SU TU 1543 0.81 1.28 0.98 SA 20590.88 1.39 FR 18152310 1.32 WE 1800 1.40 0209 0.76 0438 0.80 0.78 00381110 1.47 1.18 0005 0.41 08371.40 1.30 1.22 06301705 0.29 0.64 0616 1.64 14300.40 0.35 0.46 MO WE 0.93 22101.65 1.37 SA 1346 1.70 SU 1.29 TH 1330 1912 0.70 1852 0.83 0315 0.78 0008 1.30 0.82 01360601 1.54 0.74 0056 1.44 09531.42 1.28 1.18 0726 0.28 1.23 0702 0.34 15430.39 0.40 0.50 TU TH 1220 1.74 0.64 1.72 FR 1411 MO 23251.66 1.38 SU 14341822 2004 0.59 1939 0.77 0.87 0437 0.74 1.30 0058 1.34 0141 02310659 1.60 0.65 1.48 11231.43 1.31 0.82 0745 08191318 0.30 1.32 0.30 17100.40 0.42 1.17 WE FR 1.75 0.62 1.77 TU MO 15191919 0.50 SA 1446 1.67 2021 0.73 2057 0.48 0.79 1.33 0031 1.44 0140 1.39 0325 1.62 0223 1.44 1.53 0.76 0600 0.64 0742 0.56 0910 0.35 0825 0.42 0.28 1.21 1243 1.40 1407 1.42 SA 1600 1.74 WE 1519 1.66 1.79 SUTH TU 0.48 1833 0.41 2002 2147 0.40 0.60 2100 0.68 0.71 01301.44 1.51 1.38 0302 04190217 1.62 1.44 1.56 07110.46 0.50 0.67 0901 09590718 0.42 0.47 0.30 13501.65 1.52 1349 1.27 FR SU 1549 1642 1.70 1.52 1.79 TH MO 1940 0.40 WE 1940 0.45 2138 0.65 2236 0.35 0.58 0.64

Time

m 0055 0557 0730 0.44 1303 1.52 TU 1313 1832 2043 0.78

16 16

11

16 16

17 17

22

0200 17 0037 0852 17 0645 1.36 0.42

18 18

33

18 18

19 19

44

19 19

20 20

55

20 20

21 21

66

21 21

22 22

77

22 22

m 0.73 1.33 0.46 1.41

0.72 1.32 WE 1425 0.55 1344 2153 1.55 1.41 1920 0.70 0322 0.67 0125 1021 1.39 1.38 0729 0.42 0.60 TH 1552 1417 2258 1.58 1.44 2000 0.64 0443 0.56 0207 1136 1.43 1.49 0807 0.44 0.60 FR 1715 1447 2356 1.59 1.49 2038 0.58 0548 0.43 0246 1241 1.46 1.61 0842 1822 0.46 0.59 SA 1516 1.59 2112 0.53 0048 1.54 0324 1.48 0643 0.32 0915 0.50 1.72 SU 1339 1545 1.58 1915 2145 0.49 0.58 0400 0136 1.48 1.57 0949 0731 0.54 0.24 MO 1430 1616 1.56 1.79 2002 2216 0.46 0.58 0440 0219 1.48 1.58 1024 0816 0.59 0.21 TU 1516 1648 1.53 1.80 2248 2045 0.43 0.58

02211.44 1.57 0225 1.57 1.43 05160153 1.59 1.48 230342 8 0752 8 0331 08080.51 0.36 8 1045 0817 0.35 0.5823 23 23 8 0936 0921 0.51 0.39 MO 1429 1.60 FR 1426 1.35 SA 1450 1.63

MO 1624 1.76 TU 1618 1.62 TH 1723 1.65 FR 20340.61 0.39 2028 0.57 0.44 2213 2201 23232015 0.33 0.58

03081.43 1.61 0259 1.56 1.48 06170229 1.55 1.51 0521 0300 1.47 24 9 0424 240421 9 0826 08590.56 0.25 9 1130 0855 0.42 0.5024 9 24 1010 0.61 0.34 1011 1100 0900 0.65 TU 1507 1.65 WE 1559 SA 1508 1.42 SU 1545 1.71

1.57 0.22 FR 1805 1.58 SA 1722 1.49 1.77 TU 1706 1.72 WE 1649 1.60 21230.58 0.41 2051 0.58 2320 2125 2104 0.51 0.44 2247 2252 0.42 0.60

1.61 1.51 04000347 1.711.47 0431 0501 03511.41 1.63 0330 1.53 1.51 0315 00100304 0.34 1.51 0608 0338 1.44 04291.56 1.51 0443 1.65 1.40 25 10 0356 25 25 250502 10 0521 0937 0.58 0.29 09360949 0.430.4010 1029 1057 09450.63 0.181010 0929 0.51 0.4325 10 10 25 25 0907 1100 07180900 1.51 0.30 1138 0941 0.72 10190.44 0.4025 1034 0.18 0.57 10 1045 1537 1.36 1600 1.54 1639 1.42 1738 1.63 1634 1.73 1545 1.67 1639 1546 1.48 TH

FR SA 1647 1.68 SUMO 1723 1.70 MO FR 1609 1.75 TU 1723 1.59 2139 2145 0.30 0.69 21492219 0.180.71 2230 2309 23000.40 0.64 2313 0.38 0.69

1.54 0.26 1217 0.71 SU 1759 1722 1.56 MO TH 1.44 1.71 SU 1749 1.67 TH WE SA WE 22070.56 0.44 2139 0.47 0.45 2342 18512127 1.51 0.59 2356 2204 0.41 0.62 2320

1.60 1.50 04450427 1.711.43 04311.40 1.61 0401 1.51 1.53 05211.55 1.48 0526 1.61 1.37 00590339 0.37 1.50 0701 0416 1.42 11 0427 26 26 260547 11 0627 11 0355 110502 260540 26 26 1015 0.54 0.31 10271027 0.340.4711 1100 10300.70 0.161111 1000 0.62 0.3726 1140 0947 11080.39 0.4826 1111 0.17 0.64 11 1148 1123 08180934 1.47 0.28 1220 1019 0.79 1616 1.37 1652 1.55 1717 1.43 1721 1.71 1623 1.67 1717 1624 1.53 1829 1.58 FR

SA SU 1722 1.61 MO TU 1808 1.64 TU SA 1650 1.71 WE 1758 1.55 2214 2225 0.33 0.69 22382258 0.240.72 2303 2350 23500.45 0.61 2351 0.46 0.67

1.49 0.32 1757 1.52 0.79 MO 1841 TH FR 1.39 1.64 MO TH 1833 1.61 FRTU SU 1306 22480.54 0.48 2243 0.65 2212 0.47 2356 19432203 1.43 0.61

01520415 0.42 1.48 0039 0455 06241.53 1.45 0615 1.54 1.34 0032 0639 0.40 1.59 1.47 05270507 1.681.38 05101.39 1.57 0433 0.45 1.53 120533 270619 27 27 12 0437 27 12 0458 27 27 12 09181010 1.44 0.28 11590.36 0.5927 1149 0.19 0.72 12 0737 1203 0802 1058 1.40 1030 1050 0.51 0.35 11151103 0.280.5412 1131 11120.77 0.181212 1032 1.49 0.3327 1222 1403 0.87 1858 1.59 1835 1.50 1238 0.73 1835 1.47 1309 0.86 1735 1.65 1758 1.55

1.54 1757 1.43 SU 1.36 SU 1747 MO SA 1654 TUWE 2246 2307 0.38 0.69 23252337 0.330.73 2338 0.50

TH1920 1.51 WE

1.43 0.39 FR TU SA 1756 1.56 WE 1806 1.66 MO FR 1704 1.63 TU 1701 1.55 SA 20402241 1.37 0.64 1933 2321 1922 1.35 0.69 2328 0.53 2246 1.55 0.50

02530452 0.46 1.45 0131 0535 00451.49 0.58 0030 0.54 0.65 0126 0033 0.40 1.56 1.44 06070552 0506 0.45 1.51 1.631.33 05470.51 1.51 130606 280031 28 28 13 0525 28 13 0529 13 28 28 10191047 1.44 0.29 07410.33 1.4428 0714 1.47 1.34 13 0843 0737 0911 1134 1.39 1115 1124 0.48 0.41 1103 1.49 0.3028 0659 12021140 0.240.6113 1203 11511.39 0.231313 1512 0.90 1254 0.70 1233 0.81 1332 0.82 1249 0.85 1410 0.90 1823 1.58 1836 1.50

1.50 MO 1.35 MO 1845 TU SU 1733 2319 2354 0.44 0.69

1840 1.42 TH FR1303 0.25 WE TH 1951 1.54 1916 1.44 1.46 2012

1.37 0.46 SA 1739 1.55 SUTH 1850 1.58 TU SA 1748 1.58 WE SU 1837 1.48 WE 21432320 1.33 0.68 2038 1.32 2015 1918 1.42 2322 1.49 0.54

01450.57 0.55 0114 1.53 1.40 00100018 0.430.74 140015 14 0621 29 08571.44 1.46 29 0817 1205 14 0600 29 1157 0.46 0.50 06480645 1.561.2914 0641 FR 1355 0.80 SA 1324 TU 1917 1.52 WE 1220 0.70

04000534 0.47 1.41 0237 0001 0225 0116 0.40 0539 0.45 1.48 00070.49 0.58 14 29 29 11191129 1.45 0.33 0945 0840 1023 0620 1.42 14 29 1136 1.51 0.2829 06271.41 1.441414 WE 1628 0.90 TH 1525 0.89 SU 1435 0.90 MO 1343 0.92

02510.64 0.50 0202 1.48 0.68 00540104 0.530.74 150055 15 0048 30 10061.39 1.52 30 0924 0732 15 0635 30 1230 0.43 1.37 07300748 1.481.2715 0718 SA 1505 0.87 SU 1424 WE 1303 0.60 TH 1308 0.79

0328 0210 05010003 0.46 0.71 0354 0045 0.39 0614 0.44 1.44 00460.46 0.64 15 30 30 1047 0947 12150625 1.48 1.36 1130 0715 1.48 15 30 1210 1.54 0.2730 07071.44 1.361515 MO 1547 0.93 TU 1447 0.97 TH 1736 0.85 FR 1644 0.81

MO 1815 1.33 2354 0.50

TU 1248 0.24 TH 1236 0.31 20481.40 1.50 19451919 1.451.44 1929

TU 1902 1.32 WE 1333 0.27 FR 1315 0.30 21461.37 1.47 2017 1.48 20452007 1.401.41 2024 01400158 0.640.72 08160900 1.401.29 1405 FR 1421 0.310.87 TH 21442059 1.371.38

31 31

0.63 1.35 0.89 2004 1.42 0.59 1.40 0.96 2057 1.39

TH 1820 1.53 2113 2359 1.44 0.59

FR 1905 1.49 2212 1.41

FR 1230 0.30 2010 19341.38 1.49

SA 1309 0.38 2109 20211.36 1.41 0313 0.43 0128 0.71 1056 07521.50 1.29 1601 WE 13500.97 0.46 SU 2219 21131.37 1.34

31 31

0.73 1.30 SU 1837 1.51 MO 1214 0.55 2245 1.31 2156 1922 1.33 1.41

0.76 1.24 MO 1215 0.39 TU 1257 0.63 23451935 1.32 1.45 2316 2012 1.39 1.36 0511 0.35 1229 1.56 SA 1752 0.68

31

 Copyright Commonwealth of Australia2018, 2018,Bureau Bureau of of Meteorology Meteorology  Copyright Commonwealth of Australia Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide are in local standard time (UTC +10:00)orordaylight daylight savings savings time when in effect TimesTimes are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) time(UTC (UTC+11:00) +11:00) when in effect New Moon First Quarter LastLast Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon New Moon First Quarter Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon Tide predictions for Port Phillip Heads have been formatted by the National Tidal Centre, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Copyright reserved. All material is supplied in good faith and is believed to be correct. It is supplied on the condition that no warranty is given in relation thereto, that no responsibility or liability for errors or omissions is, or will be, accepted and that the recipient will hold MHL and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Australia free from all such responsibility or liability and from all loss or damage incurred as a consequence of any error or omission. Predictions should not be used for navigational purposes. Use of these tide predictions will be deemed to include acceptance of the above conditions.

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