Victoria and Tasmania Fishing Monthly March 2019

MARCH INTO AUTUMN • START YOUR PERCH SEARCH

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Tried & Tested Stessco Bowrider 520 with Yamaha F90hp • Kayaking in the wind • Bar crossing for beginners • Yamashita Eginno Pyonpyon squid jig •

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Venus Bay estuarine assault • Port Welshpool delights • Live baiting tips •

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March 2019, Vol. 14 No. 5

Contents WEST COAST West Coast

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16

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19

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Warrnambool 18 Cobden 19 Apollo Bay

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CENTRAL Geelong 20 Port Phillip West

22

Port Phillip North East

24

Port Phillip East

26

Mornington Peninsula

27

Port Phillip Bay Offshore

28

Western Port North

30

Western Port South

32

Phillip Island

33

EAST COAST Lakes Entrance

36

Marlo 40 Gippsland Lakes

38

Corner Inlet

41

Bemm River

40

NSW SOUTH COAST Bermagui 46 Mallacoota/Eden 46 Narooma 44 Merimbula 45

VICTORIAN FRESHWATER Robinvale 61 Snowy Mountains

60

Wagga Wagga

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From the Editor’s Desk...

It’s become a habit over the last couple of years to head to Japan to see the latest and greatest tackle. Last year it was the Yokohama Fishing Show and this year it was Osaka. These are the two main shows in Japan and they’re held a couple of weeks apart, right in the middle of winter (the Australian summer, and yes, it was a welcome escape from the heat).

Japanese companies use the shows to launch new product and to engage with the tens of thousands of fishing fans that come out to see the gear and meet their favourite fishing personalities.

And Japan has plenty of both – gear and fishing personas.

It’s not uncommon for hundreds of people to attend a stand-side presentation with a TV guy or girl or a winning tournament angler to hear them speak. It comes complete with security guards and ropes to hold the crowd in and to keep the aisles clear.

Image courtesy of Yokohamajapan.com

And then there are the giveaways. There’ll be a hundred people who want a chance to win a lure, and each of them challenges the host to rock-paperscissors – simultaneously! And the cool thing about it is that nobody cheats (I’d often remark that in Australia, there would still be 90 contestants after 10 attempts).

Closer to home, developments in the 2019 AFTA Trade Show on the Gold Coast may mean that YOUR opportunity to see the latest gear and to meet your fishing stars may be closer than

you think. Traditionally a tradeonly event, the 2019 AFTA Trade Show is set to be opened to the public for a look-and-see only event on Saturday 17 August this year. It seems like a long way away, but you all probably know by now that life is like a roll of toiler paper – the closer to the end you get the quicker it goes. So it will be here before you know it.

The Gold Coast may seem a long way to go to see some fishing tackle (and to not buy any!), but I’m sure that there will be thousands of fishing fans

who will take the opportunity to travel to this great destination.

After all, there’s plenty of accommodation at the right price and there’s not much better weather anywhere than the Gold Coast in winter. The family can go to the theme parks and you can give a rocksolid guarantee that you won’t buy a thing!

Actually, that’s not quite correct – there will be limited stickers, caps and catalogues available, but nothing to catch a fish on. I’m old enough to remember the last time the industry opened its doors to the public; it was at a Sydney show and it was well regarded for years afterwards.

One thing is for sure, you can bet that any fishing media, pro-staffer, social media legend and content creator will be there – either working the booths or visiting them – so here’s your 6-month heads-up… it’s time to plan a family holiday to the Coast!

Albury/Wodonga 62 Yarrawonga 62 Mildura 61 Horsham 70 Wangaratta 63 Shepparton 64 Ngambie 64 Bendigo 68

Crater Lakes

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TASMANIA WRAP

50

BOATING AND KAYAK

81

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A Daniel Griffin image.

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Daniel Griffin took this chunky EP from his Hobie at Venus Bay, on a bent minnow style lure, no less!

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Production: Karen Millward Keith Hawley

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Live baiting tips

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Port Welshpool delights

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Estuary perch madness at Venus Bay

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GIPPSLAND

EPs ignite at Venus Bay VENUS BAY

Jamie Smith

Although I like targeting many species, estuary perch are particularly close to my heart, and I have spent many hours on the water in search of them. We are very lucky in Victoria to have so many waterways that hold estuary perch.

excellent beach fishing options to bread and butter fishing in the inlet and river.

ACCESS Venus Bay has one boat ramp that can be accessed from Fishermans Road, and it offers easy access to launch your boat or kayak.

Boat launching is affected by tide. The area around the ramp is quite shallow, and although there are

River along the road leading into Venus Bay. These are all well maintained by the council and Fisheries, and offer great access to the waterway.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR Getting started can be quite tricky, mainly because everything looks the same, especially at high tide. However, there are a few keys that can help you find likely spots for fish to congregate.

First of all, look for ambush points. Due to the tidal nature of Anderson Inlet, getting out at low tide can really give you a feel for where the fish may be at the top of the tide, and also where they may head to when the tide is low. Look

Mouths of creeks are good locations to try for perch, especially at the start of an outgoing tide. in numbers in areas like this.

Current lines and areas where two channels converge are some of my favourite areas to look for.

Current influences where the food is, and areas of deep water with flats all around will encourage the perch to school and wait for the food to come to them, especially as the tide drops.

A recent trip with Peter Jung from Fishing Monthly and Andrew Stephen from

There are a number of fishing platforms in the area. This one is just down from the boat ramp.

Every waterway that enters the ocean from East Gippsland around to the South Australian border holds populations of them, but my favourite is Venus Bay. Venus Bay is a small coastal town situated in the South Gippsland Shire approximately two hours from Melbourne. It is located on Andersons Inlet, which provides an accessible boat ramp and fishing jetty. Even though it’s not an official fishing town, there are plenty of hotspots in the area for all types of fishing, from

navigation markers in place I would advise that larger boats should be launched at mid to high tide to avoid any dramas. Small craft and kayaks shouldn’t have any problems; just take care at low tide, take your time and you will get to where you want to go.

Shore-based anglers are also catered for. There is a fishing platform just down from the boat ramp, and a planned upgrade for the boat ramp also includes options for landbased fishos. There are also a number of platforms sprinkled along the Tarwin

Mia Stephen showed dad Andrew how to catch them.

EPs on plastics is a great way to get kids into fishing. for structure hanging over the water’s edge, creating a little bit of shade or full shade over the water below.

If this coincides with the edge of the mangrove line, even better. EPs will school

Venus Bay EPs can be caught all year round.

Brendan Smith got this fish in the depths of winter.

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MARCH 2019

Melbourne Marine Centre really showed the worth of current lines. Launching at the bottom of the tide, all of my usual hotspots were high and dry, but we found a current line pushing onto a flat. This produced some of our best fish for the trip until water eventually spread over the flat and the fish went with it.

Another sign to look for is timber that has fallen into the waterway. EPs love a bit

• Excellent for sight fishing • Everday activities • Most versatile • Cloudy days

Fishing Monthly’s Peter Jung joined the author at Venus Bay and caught his first ever estuary perch.

of structure to hold under, and baitfish love hiding in it. Mouths of creeks are also well worth spending some time fishing.

ELECTRONICS A sounder is pretty much an essential item on a boat these days, and it certainly helps to have one when you are looking for estuary perch. You are generally looking for shows of baitfish, rather than the EPs themselves. Where there are baitfish, the EPs won’t be too far away.

An electric motor is also a handy thing to have on your boat. To have the stealth to hold in a likely area is a great advantage to

GIPPSLAND have. It is an even bigger advantage if you find fish, because generally if you find one EP there will be plenty more.

OUTFIT When it comes to choosing what size rod and reel to use, that really

fish’s mouth.

It’s always best to have a reel that is balanced to the rod, as you will be doing a lot of casting. Reels in the 2000 or 2500 size are what I like to use. They have good line capacity and offer a little bit better casting

caught of most types of lures. EPs can be targeted with surface lures, diving hardbodied lures and soft plastics with equal effect, however my personal favourite is soft plastics.

I tend to start fishing with a plastic and then play with the other options if the plastics aren’t working.

I find that plastics are in the strike zone for longer than the other two lure types. There have been plenty of times when a fish has picked my plastic up before I even put my bail arm back over.

Soft plastics There’s a multitude of soft plastics on the market that will catch estuary

perch. I prefer plastics that are 2.5-3” long on a 1/8-1/12oz jighead, depending on the water depth and current. When I go fishing I tend to have three rods set up with three different profiles, generally a 2.5-3” paddle tail, 2-2.5” curl tail and a prawn imitation plastic.

I am a fan of natural coloured plastics or matching the hatch with the local baits. The best colours for me in Venus Bay have been bloodworm, motor oil and avocado olive. However, I believe the profile of the plastic is the key, so don’t be afraid to use something a bit out there if you are

Checking out areas at low tide will give you an understanding of what lies below the water line at high tide. depends on what lure you’re going to be casting at the EPs. I love fishing soft plastics, so I like to use a rod that is quite tippy.

Around 1-3kg or 2-4kg will be well suited, and that’s so I can feel my lure when casting but most of all feeling that soft plastic get sucked right into the

distance than a smaller reel.

Heavy line and leaders are not required with estuary perch. A quality 4-6lb braid with a 6-8lb fluorocarbon leader will do the job on most occasions.

LURES Estuary perch are one of my favourite fish to catch because they can be

Wes Miller holding up a couple of typical Venus Bay estuary perch.

Flathead are a tasty by-catch when fishing for estuary perch.

having no success on the natural colours.

Hardbodies Hardbody lures can be very effective at times, particularly small baitfish imitations.

There is no better feeling than having your slow rolled lure intercepted halfway back to the boat, so

I always have a few handy.

Fishing with hardbodies in Venus Bay can be quite difficult at times though, because certain tides will bring on a lot of that slimy weed we all hate. This tends to foul your lure if it hits the bottom too much, which can be very To page 10

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GIPPSLAND From page 9

frustrating. For this reason, shallow running lures tend to be the best option in this waterway.

Surface lures Topwater lures are a great way to target

it is a pretty simple retrieve.

Cast out and wind the lure in quickly enough so that it has the rolling action it is supposed to, and then wait for the explosion under it.

Alternatively, you can use a small blooping retrieve and

BAIT FISHING Although I don’t tend to target EPs at Venus Bay with bait, a lot of people do. If you want to use bait, your best option is to get it from the local area. You can pump yabbies and worms

viable either from a boat or from the land-based areas mentioned.

BY-CATCH Although I am focusing on estuary perch, the by-catch at times can be even more fun. It is not unusual to catch silver trevally, flathead and Australian salmon in the same areas you get the perch. Let me tell you, a decent-sized trevally or Australian salmon on light gear is a hell of a lot of fun!

EATING QUALITIES I know I may upset a few people, but I like to take a few EPs home for a feed.

Estuary perch are a good table fish, and as a family

Soft plastics are the author’s goto method to target EPs.

Structure like this is a prime location to target estuary perch estuary perch in the low light periods of the day that coincide with a high tide. I can’t imagine a more exciting form of fishing. I prefer cicada or cup-faced poppers to target estuary perch.

When using the cicadas,

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MARCH 2019

hope for the same thing.

A sure sign of when a surface lure is a good option is when there are prawns and baitfish scattering in the shallows.

They will most likely have a estuary perch trying to make a meal of them.

or catch some mullet to cut up for strip baits. These baits can be fished in the same areas using a light running sinker rig or, if the weed gets the better of you, fished under a float (make sure you use a short dropper). Either option is

Access to the water from Venus Bay is via the boat ramp at the end of Fishermans Road. It has good parking facilities, and a new pontoon and jetty are being built later in the year.

we like nothing better than some battered perch with chips and salad. If anglers keep no more than they need for a feed, there will be plenty of estuary perch for everybody.

CONCLUSION Luckily for me, Venus Bay is only a little more than an hour from home and I have considered it my local for many years. The estuary perch fishing can be spectacular at times, but even when it’s tough this waterway is a great part of Victoria to visit, and there are plenty of other species to put a bend in your rod.

Give a try yourself.

GIPPSLAND

Port Welshpool delivers an angler’s paradise WESTERN PORT STH

Jarrod Day jarrodday@iprimus.com.au

Located two hours from Melbourne on the southeast coast of Victoria, Port Welshpool is a quaint waterway like that of Western Port.

Influenced by strong tidal flows and at times wild weather, Port Welshpool is located at the base of Mt Oberon, Wilsons

LAND-BASED OPTIONS Now that the Long Jetty has been repaired, landbased anglers can catch a wide range of species here.

The jetty runs alongside a sand flat before entering and running along the Lewis Channel on its southern side, providing anglers with access to deep water. During the high tides, gummy sharks, calamari, King George whiting and kingfish are all on offer.

When the kings are inside, trolling up the Lewis Channel with live squid baits is effective.

If you’re into sportfishing, catching kingfish on surface poppers is a lot of fun.

Promontory’s highest mountain. The scenery is breathtaking, and this tranquil waterway boasts some amazing fishing throughout the year.

In recent weeks, the once damaged Long Jetty has finally been repaired and reopened to the public.

It has been the best part of 15 years since it was closed to the public, and land-based anglers have already been having plenty of success.

There is a superb boat launching facility near the Long Jetty, providing easy access to Port Welshpool’s fish-rich waters. It’s a great location to spend a day or even a whole weekend.

One thing to remember though is that Port Welshpool cops its fair share of unfavourable weather.

You should always check the weather, tides and swell before embarking.

MARCH 2019

Providing you do a little research on the species you want to target, and implement the techniques suited to that species, you should have success.

Calamari make exceptional baits for kingfish, whiting and gummy sharks. You can easily catch calamari by

Early in the season, hordes of rat kings turn up but they are still fun on light tackle.

Micro-jigging is gaining in momentum for snapper, and it’s not surprising that sizeable flathead will also have a crack at a jig.

Offshore from Port Welshpool, the islands hold good numbers of kingfish in season.

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not used to the standard running rig, it is as simple as attaching a 2m length of 60lb nylon trace to your braid via an FG or PR knot.

A sliding sinker clip can be threaded onto the length of 60lb leader followed by a crane swivel. Then tie a 1m length of 80lb trace with either a single circle hook or snelled suicide hooks to the opposite end of the 80lb leader.

There are many locations in which to catch snapper. However, despite its multitude of channels, it is Singapore Deep, Franklin Channel and Bennison Spit where you should begin the hunt.

KINGFISH Port Welshpool is well known for getting an influx of kingfish into the system

casting jigs towards the sand bank and working them back towards the jetty, and you can either take your squid home for dinner or turn them into bait for a more prized species.

Though calamari can be caught during the day, they are more prolific at night.

Though the Long Jetty is a standout, there is also the shipping port jetty located approximately 500m further up the inlet.

The odd gummy shark can be caught here along with kingfish in season, and silver trevally, calamari and

whiting are also available.

If you’re the adventurous type, wading the flats can lead to some memorable catches. Early in the morning on the high tide you can walk the flats around the Long Jetty up to Possum Creek and flick soft plastics for flathead or cast baits out for whiting.

This is also effective during the summer months, fishing the high tide late in the afternoon.

SNAPPER Snapper are well regarded in Welshpool, and while the snapper season in Metro Melbourne begins around September, at Port Welshpool it tends to start a few weeks later. It also finishes later, running well into January, with the larger fish often turning up throughout the December/ January period. While a 8-9kg fish caught in Port Phillip Bay or Western Port might have a similar shape to smaller snapper, it’s a different story in Welshpool – big snapper there can have huge bulbous noses

and huge bony head crests.

You can catch snapper of prehistoric proportions here, and if your goal is to catch a genuine 20lb red, Port Welshpool is the waterway you’ll find it in.

Fishing for snapper in Welshpool is no different from fishing in Western Port. The techniques are the same, it is just the location that differs. For those

throughout the summer months, and traditionally they begin to appear in late December. Inside Welshpool tends to become dominated with rat kings in the 3-5kg bracket, while offshore around the islands the kings can reach epic proportions of 20kg+.

When the rats arrive, they terrorise schools of bait and can often be

There are many whiting grounds in the Port, and all support a healthy population of fish.

GIPPSLAND spotted busting up on the water’s surface. If you haven’t caught kingfish before, they can be a lot of fun. Throughout January, they tend to hunt baitfish throughout Singapore Deep but also up the Lewis Channel and within casting distance from the Long Jetty. You can get good results trolling live squid or squid strips up and down the Lewis Channel. When the kingies are busting up on the surface, casting stickbaits and surface poppers to the area will catch their attention.

Outside is a different story. The run to the grounds is much further, and you do need to have the weather in your favour. If you do make the trek, you

and when the weed beds are thick, you can snag up very quickly and lose a jig or two. A 3.0-sized jig can sink too quickly, so I recommend using a size 2.5 jig for best results.

Finding calamari is really quite easy. All you need to do is drift along the edge of the weed beds and make casts into it, then vigorously work the jig back to the boat. It won’t take long before you hook a calamari. When you do, quickly wind it in, make

The launching facilities at Port Welshpool are excellent for all water craft.

Rolling along the Long Jetty is where you’ll find kingfish. can have success casting larger stickbaits and poppers if the kingies are on the surface, or jigging techniques if you find them

another cast to the same area and you’ll probably pick up a few more.

GUMMY SHARKS Due to the depth of the entrance into the Port, gummy sharks are a common catch. Although they can be caught throughout the channels, and Singapore Deep is the most popular location in which to target them. There isn’t much to it, it’s just a matter of sounding along the bottom and finding an area where the bank rises,

be found, feeding on the abundant tasty morsels.

Fishing for whiting in this system can be challenging at times, but if you stick

during the last two hours of the rising tide and then during the first two hours of the ebb tides, before they swim off the banks back into the channels.

In these situations, it pays to use a little berley to encourage the fish to come to your area, and then fish your baits back into the berley trail.

While whiting can be found throughout the system, the most productive banks are in the Lewis Channel along the bank, running from the Long Jetty to where the Lewis Channel joins the Toora Channel, around the outskirts of Little Snake Island as well as around the entrance to the channel which runs between Little Snake and Snake Islands.

These are just a couple of the areas throughout this system in which to

the Port, calamari are in abundance.

Boat-based anglers can work their way along the edges of the Lewis Channel, focusing on the edges of the banks where calamari are found.

This can be very shallow water on the top of the high tides. In fact, it can only be 1m deep in parts,

When you find kingfish holding deep, jigging is a good technique to employ.

Since the Long Jetty has been refurbished, the fishing has been exceptional.

Gummy sharks are a common catch in Singapore Deep. schooled up on the bottom.

WHITING Port Welshpool, amongst its deep channels and weedy banks, also has vast sand flats in which King George whiting can

by the ‘2-hour’ rule you should be fine. The 2-hour rule is simply fishing two hours either side of the high tide change. This is when the whiting will come up onto the flats to feed

catch whiting, and it only takes a little exploring to find some exceptionally productive areas.

CALAMARI With its vast weed beds scattered throughout

Calamari make fantastic baits for all species and can be caught over the shallow banks.

and setting anchor along the edge of the channel.

Gummy shark respond well to fresh oily baits, so where possible you should use calamari, silver trevally, yakka, salmon or slimy mackerel.

Gummy sharks can certainly test your gear, and when rigging for them it pays to use quality tackle.

Standard gummy shark rigs consist of a running sinker rig tied from 60-80lb trace with a single 6/0-8/0 circle hook. Gummy sharks have a knack of playing with a bait before engulfing it, and a single circle hook will ensure a solid hook set once they take the bait.

As you can see, Port Welshpool has a lot to offer angler of all levels of experience. With its vast array of species and beautiful scenery, you should definitely spend a weekend there.

MARCH 2019

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

To Shepparton Stuart Murray Canal

Goulburn River

13km Ramps

Cod’s country For many anglers Nagambie is relatively uncharted territory, but it’s well known among the locals as a hotspot, with impressive natural waterways and healthy fish population. The tournament zone covers all the key bite-zones and provides some cracking opportunities to land big fish. Let’s have a closer look.

THE GOFISH TOURNAMENT ZONE IN SPOTLIGHT The GoFish Nagambie Tournament is situated on the Nagambie Lakes and Goulburn River system. The tournament area starts at the Goulburn Weir and includes everything upstream to the junction with Hughes Creek, a massive 30km upstream. All backwaters, billabongs, lagoons and creeks within this area are included in the competition area. These areas include the Majors Creek system and Sandy Creek.

This waterway is an angler’s paradise, with plenty of heavy timber, standing trees, overhanging structure, willow trees, thick weed beds and a river channel that provides the lake system with depths varying from 0.5m down to 11m deep in some locations.

Minimal water flow makes for great fishing opportunities, and you can get great results on bait, lure and fly.

Below the weir The Goulburn River below the weir is a classic native cod fishery, featuring high clay banks and sandy beaches, and is shaded by the river gums. In this section of the tournament zone, there is an abundance of instream structure and there are many different options for fishing.

Bait fishing amongst the fallen timber is a very productive option in this spot.

The backwaters Exploring the backwaters on the Goulburn River downstream (north) of Nagambie Lake and throughout the Goulburn Weir, Western and Eastern backwaters and the backwaters to the west of the lake, there are plenty of great opportunities by boat and by kayak.

Apart from the flooded river sections the water is mostly shallow and between 1-3m for the most part, with dead timber and stumps in abundance. This makes for a strong case to troll from your boat or kayak. Focussing around the drop-offs tends to pay off.

Lake Nagambie Lake Nagambie is effectively a shallow billabong on the Goulburn River that is formed and holds water due to the downstream backing up of water at the Goulburn Weir. In many ways, it is like Lake Mulwala (another iconic Murray cod water to the north), in that it is fed by a premier fishing river and backs up many kilometres of shallow flats that are littered with enormous amounts of dead timber, weed beds and other fish and bait holding structure.

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Healthy water is making for healthy catches WEST COAST

Brett Carson

With summer done and dusted and after having bugger all rainfall, the saltwater has pushed way up our system and the fish are spread far and wide.

The warm weather and long days give the keen anglers plenty of time to hunt for any of our big three species.

You might think that things have slowed a bit here, but they have done the opposite. In fact, we may have had the best summer for mulloway that I can remember in a long time.

Last winter the bream had a mass spawning and as a result clouds of 50c piece sized bream are roaming the shallows looking for a feed.

There are large schools of whitebait right through the lower reaches with bream, perch and mulloway in hot pursuit, and it’s fair to say the poor old mullet are sleeping with one eye open too. As always, our mighty river is full of options and healthy to boot.

Coral is now growing in the heavy structure wherever the sun can get through, so the bream edge bite is in full swing. After munching on the coral for months some bream now have serious teeth wear

Pradeep with one of his first bream caught on pipi.

and as a result are loving the soft baits like podworms, pipis and glassies.

When the edge bite is on you can drive along slowly looking for silver flashes of bream rolling as they rip a mouthful of coral from the structure. Lightly-weighted baits or plastics cast amongst them will often do the trick as they waft past the feeding fish.

Fishing with podworms and crabs on the flats in the estuary has been very productive. Lure fishos are still catching mulloway land-based near the mouth, but it’s fair to say all of the usual mulloway haunts are producing plenty of fish.

Peter Touhey caught a 15lb fish from the shacks at Donavans on live mullet amongst others. Abba Richardson has also been doing well up that way, pulling good mulloway to his shack consistently.

Livies are doing the most damage, but squid on the bottom has enticed plenty too.

Perch are fishing well as they do at this time of year, with plenty of lure fishos chasing them on the surface. If you want to give it a go listen for

Diko holding a mulloway caught on live mullet above Donavans Landing. the slurping sound around dark, this is perch taking food from the surface.

Dawn and dusk are the best times; they are intense feeding periods for perch that will take a paused surface lure thrown amongst the action.

Any other time of the day perch will take hardbodies and soft plastics right through the river. Any lures that catch bream will sort perch out too.

The local surf is producing plenty of school

and gummy shark with the odd mulloway and snapper taking the bait too. These heavy surf beaches are a good place to use surf sinkers with wire, they are the only thing that hangs on long enough to get a run.

I fished a local beach with my boys for five snapper in a frantic bite period just before dark and got busted by an unstoppable. Fresh salmon fillets worked a treat.

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17

Summer fun should continue through March WARRNAMBOOL

Mark Gercovich mgercovich@hotmail.com

The fishing here on the South West Coast is very much governed by the prevailing weather conditions. With

some great summer weather, without days of protracted southeasterlies, conditions have been great for offshore fishing, and the fish have responded accordingly.

Pinkie snapper are practically in plague proportions, and have

Luke Gercovich with a kingfish from the Killarney area.

been providing most holidaymakers with plenty of action around the inshore reefs. If you can find the better fish in the 40-50cm range you are in for some fun. Coupled with a good run of squid, getting a feed is not a problem at the moment.

Moving on to the more sportfish-oriented species, there have been plenty of kingfish spread along the coast. The amount of fish from just undersized to about 65cm is a great sign for the future, and there have been enough big fish around the 1m mark to keep keen kingy anglers’ knots well tied. Live baits have been the go-to technique for the bigger fish, and there have been plenty of cowanyoung and slimy mackerel around so it’s not hard to get some.

Once again we have seen a solid run of inshore tuna this summer. We came across a school in just 7m of water the other day, so it pays to keep your eyes open wherever you are fishing.

The tuna have been spread

anywhere from Port Fairy to Narrawong, with 20-30m of water a good starting point.

Once again they have been quality school-sized fish in the 15-30kg range. They can be temperamental at times, but cast stickbaits and very small skirts are the best techniques to elicit a strike.

March is still a great time to target all the above species, particularly if the weather and the seas stay good.

The estuaries have been fishing well, but I personally haven’t had an estuary or freshwater session in a month of holidays. Conditions have been so good that it’s been sea fishing all the way! Plenty of bream have been taken in the shallows by lure anglers in all the systems along the South West Coast.

Another successful, well patronised, Shipwreck Coast angling competition has been run and won. With the good fishing and fairly favourable weather conditions, there were plenty of exceptional catches in most of the species categories. Some of the

Summer tuna are becoming more common these days. highlights were Mick Moore’s 14.2kg yellowtail kingfish, Nicky Oosthuizen’s 20.04kg tuna, Clayton Smith’s 18.96kg gummy shark and Tim Vincent’s 2.36kg brown trout.

The mulloway section was

a hotly contested affair, with Patrick Hynes’ 6.44kg fish the biggest amongst several similar-sized specimens. The heaviest game shark was a 80.8kg mako caught by Grant Bellman.

Success on snapper of all sizes APOLLO BAY

Craig Rippon

The weather was fantastic over the holiday period, which allowed a lot of boats on the water for some great results.

Offshore has produced great fishing lately. There have been plenty of snapper of all sizes caught out on the local reefs, with some great fish up to 6kg.

The best baits have been anything fresh, from squid to salmon. There’s heaps of bait in the water so the fishing should continue to be awesome.

There have also been plenty of 15-20kg gummies around, and their bait of choice is fresh salmon.

Off the beach at Joanna, the kingfish have been patchy. I found a small school behind our breakwater, but they were happy to cruise past everything I threw at them, as kingfish do. Still, the

signs are great as there is so much bait in the water.

Whiting have been about but not in big numbers. The water temp is on the way up though, so we can expect the numbers to improve. Pipis and squid have been the best

baits on a change of tide.

The good news is there are some great flathead about. These fish are plentiful, and the deeper you go the bigger they are. The good fish are at the 60m line, and most anglers have been

getting gummies as well.

Squid has been the best bait.

The Apollo Bay Harbour has been very popular over this period, with lots of different species caught in there. It’s a great place to fish with the family, and even get

Local brothers Mick and Tom Cannon caught this awesome flathead just off Apollo Bay.

Michael Karlik caught this 5kg snapper on fresh squid off Cape Otway.

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a feed at the harbour fish and chip shop.

The local rivers have been good also, with some great bream caught on SX40s and bait. Lures have been more popular just before dark.

While out the other day I came across a school of tuna.

Like the kings, they were just sitting on the surface, not wanting to eat. However, this is the time of year for the

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tuna to show up en masse, and there is so much bait around that we should be in for a bumper season.

Local pro fishermen have reported seeing big schools out wide, so it’s only a matter of time. I recommend that you get all the gear out and do your maintenance, so if you do hook the fish of a lifetime, you’ll give yourself the best chance of landing it.

All systems are go COBDEN

Rod Shepherd

It’s all kingfish mania down here along the Shipwreck Coast, with some solid hoodlums to 14kg coming aboard in recent times. Along with these hoodlums there are also a plethora of rats being taken closer inshore.

In fact, some of those who practice surf fishing claim to be hooking up to some of the most feisty salmon that they have ever encountered; only to work out at a later stage that they have in fact hooked a smallish kingy.

Keep in mind that as the minimum legal take size for a kingfish is 60cm and as no one wants to be caught with

an undersized fish, I suggest learning to distinguish your catch should be uppermost on some anglers’ minds. I can understand this to an extent, as it’s only been in recent years that yellowtail kingfish captures have really become a common occurrence in our local waters, which is a great thing. Is this the end result of the banning of those kingfish traps years ago in New South Wales waters or just a cyclic thing? Either way, we are totally enjoying this now common (for this time of year) mini game fish.

A range of tactics including topwater casting, jigging a variety of slices like knife jigs, and live baiting slimies either free swimming or under a float or balloon, are all catching fish.

Reports are coming in thick and

This Hopkins bream snaffled a deep diving Crap-Pea cast along the transit channel drop off opposite the pumping station.

fast from those launching at both Port Fairy and Warrnambool, and it should only be a matter of time before I hear of captures off our section of the Great Ocean Road.

The place to launch is Boat Bay and straight out from the beach, and anglers will immediately encounter a multitude of reefs and stacks that kingies love to haunt. This is also the place to drop a cray net or two on the way out to the fishing grounds.

Heaps of southern bluefin tuna to 25kg are also being taken off our coastline. Many fish are being found in depths as shallow as 80m.

Those who cannot find the fish and choose to have a bottom bounce have picked up deep sea critters in the form of hapuka, blue grenadier, knifejaw and the odd smallish trumpeter using heavy weights to get down quick, as well as drogues to slow down the drift.

Closer inshore those surface baiting for mako shark have come up trumps, with plenty of these acrobatic toothy critters being hooked, captured and lost.

I won’t say boated, as these fish, if they are destined for the table have to be dispatched outside the boat. Bringing a live, frisky mako aboard is a downright stupid and dangerous

A slice of the Shipwreck Coast. This area is great for hunting kingfish, pinkie snapper, sweep and leatherjackets. It’s also worth dropping a cray pot! thing to do.

Reasonable amounts of pinkie snapper, King George whiting and sand and rock flathead are coming over the sides when fishing broken ground mixed with sand and weed patches. Depths of 20m or more seem to be the go.

Recent reports include two Cobden locals coming up with the goods. One hooked and landed a sizeable shark off the Port Campbell Jetty at night, and another, who has a holiday house down there, picked up a nice crayfish via a net, which totally enjoyed by all according to his wife.

Schools of barracouta have also turned up and once actively stirred into a feeding frenzy, can be easily caught in large numbers. Once a school

comes on the chew, slow trolling while feeding out an 8” length of broomstick handle with a largish (shark-sized) hook screwed to the timber and connected to some clothesline rope will pull the critters into the boat in no time. There’s no need to risk using expensive lures, as the ’coutas’ razor sharp teeth will soon strip the lure of paintwork or scratch the heck out of a polished chrome slice.

Some of the barracouta being caught can only be described as ‘pickaxe’ in size. The smaller ones make excellent fresh snapper bait. It can be a real pain deboning the fillets, but freshly-cooked ‘couta floured and breadcrumbed is delicious.

Frozen fillets when cooked tend to go mushy.

The Hopkins has good

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The Curdies estuary is quiet for bream. The system is relatively full, which is good to see and if we were lucky enough to get a half decent rain event in the near future, the mouth may have to be manually opened, which would certainly fire up the fish. The odd mulloway is also taking baits sent out for the bream in the Curdies.

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19

Cracking days inside the bay GEELONG

Neil Slater slaterbunch@optusnet.com.au

It was a heck of a summer in the region, with some epic captures of whiting, snapper, flathead and quality kingfish.

The Barwon River in Geelong has produced some quality redfin up to 38cm for those anglers working the shallow weed beds with lures and bait. Dusk has been best for redfin, while carp to 4kg have been caught consistently throughout the day when the

weather is warm.

My son Max and I were invited by Victorian Fisheries Authority to participate in the first ever release of estuary perch fingerlings into the Barwon River in Geelong. The 45,000 estuary perch released that day bodes very well for the future of the Barwon River that is so underutilised fishing wise. Well done VFA and all involved!

CORIO BAY Whiting should show up inside Corio Bay and around Point Henry. Last month they were pretty much everywhere and will

Amelia fished with her dad for this impressive haul of Portarlington whiting.

often come inside Corio Bay around March to May. Stingaree Bay and Point Henry can be hot for whiting around dawn and dusk. The water can get a little discoloured and I think the whiting use this as a bit of cover.

Flathead have been in good numbers and size, with the odd fish being caught over 50cm for those using fish baits such as pilchards and blue bait.

Pinkie snapper have been biting along the Geelong waterfront and Point Henry, with a few around the 40cm mark taking soft plastics and pilchard pieces, while Point Henry has seen larger fish caught around the 55cm mark.

Ross Winstanley has been getting stuck into the pinkie snapper out in Corio Bay. Launching out from Limeburners recently. Ross and his mate caught five snapper, plus three quality yank flatties in one trip and his next outing they left them biting after boating ten in 1.5 hours with six above 40cm.

Clifton Springs and Portarlington have been hot for whiting of late.

They haven’t been record breaking sizes, with most

fish from legal length to 35cm, but they sure do well on the plate. Pipis are the go-to bait, but they will take squid if you have a few in the freezer.

Pinkie snapper have also been biting well around Clifton Springs and Portarlington, with most fish from legal length to 50cm. The northern side of the mussel leases, Point Wilson and the edge of the shipping channel have all produced snapper.

Calamari have been caught over the weed beds, but they have been a little difficult to locate on occasions. Some anglers have done well while others have copped a zero.

Twelve-year-old Amelia Dangaard headed out off Portarlington with her dad Gary hoping to find a few whiting. After a few moves a hungry school was found and a bag limit of tasty fish resulted. The best bait was mussels and the best results came from 6m of water.

I fished out from Clifton Springs with visiting Japanese scientist and mad keen fisherman, Yasuhiko Kawato. We had a ball, fishing in a few locations off Clifton Springs and trying

The Chircop lads found an angry patch of pinkie snapper out off Portarlington. lots of different methods and target species. We caught a few small pinkies at the turning buoy off Clifton Springs, then tried for squid where we lost a couple and had to admit defeat. We found a patch of whiting out off Leopold in 4m of water and ended up with 23 fish from legal length to 35cm.

Yasu and his family were very excited about sampling some of Bellarine’s finest for dinner. We caught them on both squid and pipis, but pipis was the standout. We did see there were some

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nice pinkie snapper around the 50cm mark caught by anglers fishing with bait near the shipping channel as well.

Similar-sized pinkie snapper were also caught over near Point Wilson on the same day, with fresh pilchards being the best bait.

Dean McDonald took his son Harvey out off Clifton springs in search of whiting. The lads headed down towards Portarlington, where they caught a few whiting and flathead, but the bite soon came to an abrupt halt. Dean tied on a Berkley

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Gulp Turtleback Worm in pumpkinseed for a bit of fun and they were on again!

They caught enough whiting for a feed on soft plastic lures, while their bait rods remained untouched, which was very interesting indeed!

Mark Chircop and his sons Aiden and Jordan fished out off Portarlington recently,

Jeff Richards when he boated a beast of a King George whiting that measured in at 50cm.

ST LEONARDS AND INDENTED HEAD TO QUEENSCLIFF Hugh Hanson and I launched from Indented Head and headed down to The Rip to join the flotilla of boats

Looks like flake is on the menu for Cam and his mates! where they got stuck into a school of snapper to 3kg using pilchards and squid for bait. Mark says they went nuts right on the tide change and it was very exciting.

Chris Hateley was fishing out off Portarlington with

chasing kingfish recently.

Most fishos were just outside The Rip, where there had been a few caught to 65cm on both jigs and live bait such as salmon and squid.

Hugh sent down a freshly caught calamari as live bait

only to have it scoffed by a large bluethroat wrasse.

We squidded about the Lonsdale bight, where I caught a calamari with a 36cm hood on a tommy ruff on a skewer jig, but that was it. Hugh also caught a few over the grass beds north of the Queenscliff Ferry terminal using a natural green coloured jig. We also caught a few whiting to 35cm using pipis and squid for bait and invited them back for dinner too. The whiting were very hard to catch, biting very lightly.

The toadies on the other hand, were much easier to catch unfortunately.

Silver trevally in Queenscliff ’s harbour are a good fallback if the wind gets up, as it is quite sheltered in there. I got a call from a reader asking about the trevally in there, and the best bet for land-based fishers is to fish the slack water using raw chicken or pilchard pieces. It can be a long drop to the water, so think about taking a yabby drop net for fish retrieval.

They can be lowered to the water where the fish can be landed.

Cameron Lynch spent a day out on Queenscliff Fishing Charters with Charlie and Alex Spagnol.

They had a cracking day, catching three gummy

sharks including a monster of 35kg!

Rod Ludlow from Beachlea Boat Hire says his clients have had some reasonable catches of whiting, with one guy bagging out using mussels as bait over two trips. The fish seem best a few hours either side of high tide, and are very close to shore from Governor Reef around to White Woman Rock. The whiting are spread out from the Prince George bank back to outer Governor Reef.

Rod says that the squid are there, but patchy and somewhat small. He suggests to try the outer weed beds around the Prince George Bank.

Rod notes that there are plenty of flathead coming in from clients fishing in 14m of water off Indented Head and that drifting with pilchard pieces has been the best method.

Rod’s clients have been getting regular pinkie snapper to about 34cm, however there is a plague of tiny snapper making it hard to keep bait in the water on occasions.

BARWON HEADS AND SURF COAST Kingfish and sharks have been the main target out in Bass Strait, with anglers getting stuck into them when the weather

allows. Kingfish have been caught up to 10kg, but most have been around 65cm.

They can turn up almost anywhere, but slow trolling deeply set squid strips in 10-30m of water has proven deadly. You can do this using a simple paternoster rig and long leader, lead line or a downrigger.

Mick Allardyce has been using micro jigs out off Apollo Bay and snagging some pinkie snapper to 50cm over deeper reef areas.

Adam Skurka and his family had a week camping at Princetown recently.

Fishing the local beaches, the Skurkas manage an impressive haul of salmon

including a couple of donkeys around 50cm. Adam says he was out fished again by his lovely wife Tash, but he did snag the biggest!

FISH HARD – DIE HAPPY! Catch a few around Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula or Surf Coast to Lorne recently? Send in a report to slaterbunch@ optusnet.com.au with VFM in the subject field or give me a call on 0408 997348.

Please include where (without giving away your secret spot!), when, what on and who caught the fish.

Pictures are always great, but please make sure they are at least 1mb (file size).

Max (10yo) helps Kev from Trelly’s Tackle World in Geelong in the first estuary perch liberation in the Barwon River.

MARCH 2019

21

Autumn bliss begins PORT PHILLIP BAY WEST

Alan Bonnici alan@fishingmad.com.au

Snapper season is slowly coming to an end, and what another epic season it has been. The weather in general was quite pleasant,

and plenty of big reds were caught by local anglers.

Now that we are in autumn you will still catch snapper, but the rates will start to slow down as the fish head back out to deeper water as part of their seasonal migration. However, this is one of the best times of year

to target pinkie snapper, which can be found close to shore and in good numbers.

Catching them can be great fun with soft plastics and ultra-light spinning gear usually designed for bream, and it’s one of my favourite forms of fishing. Recently Cooper ventured out to Port

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Phillip Bay with a few mates launching near Point Wilson, and using grub style soft plastics in UV black colours the guys caught pinkie after pinkie. A lot of them were just under legal size, but Cooper eventually landed a 55cm snapper that gave one hell of a battle. What better way to break in a new light spinning rod combo?

WHITING What’s not to love about whiting? They’re fun to catch and are considered a top table fish. Recently the whiting have turned up in big numbers, which has local anglers excited.

Areas stretching all the way from Altona through to Geelong have been local hotspots, but often the challenge is locating the schools of whiting. In Port Phillip Bay they love shallow weedy areas in waters in depths between 3-5m. It’s always an intriguing sight to see massive open waters with 20 boats all huddled up on one little isolated area.

It’s a sure sign that someone has found the schools.

A good way to avoid the crowds is with a kayak, and Adam Attard has been targeting whiting on his kayak around Werribee with great success. If you’re struggling to find whiting with your sounder, chuck on some polarized sunglasses

and patrol around slowly, looking for heavily weedy areas. When you find the weed, anchor up, then berley that area using cut up pilchard, chook pellets and tuna oil. With a bit of luck and some patience you should get a few bites.

When it comes to bait, it’s tough to go past fresh

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at Albert Park Lake? I have been taking some local fishing buddies down there recently, and the surface fishing for estuary perch has been terrific. I am definitely hooked on this style of fishing. I use a light 1-4k 1DRF spinning rod, and always bring a couple of surface lures and a couple of grub style soft plastics.

The EPs there aren’t huge, but boy, surface lure fishing is fun! I love the anticipation of waiting for a perch to smash my lure gliding along the surface, and catching big yellowbelly as a by-catch is very welcome.

I recently took good mate Mark Moseley down to Albert Park Lake, an area he had never fished before. His first catch was a memorable one – a golden perch that happily struck a Savage Gear 5cm Pro Grub in motor oil after only a few casts. Yellowbelly don’t give a huge fight, but you tend to know you’ve hooked one by their weight. You need to remain calm and steer them away from the weed and get them in the net before their weight stresses out your thin leaders too much. Using the same lure, Mark also managed to catch a handful of estuary perch between 25-30cm.

Also keep in mind that many of the local lakes and estuaries are fishing well.

The Maribyrnong River continues to produce nice bream. At this time of year I have found that shallow diving hardbody lures work well, as many of the big blue lips are sitting along the edges. It pays to spend some time walking the banks looking for signs of life before casting.

I was quite honoured

Pinkies are keeping anglers busy in March. recently to be invited to an exclusive event, having lunch with the Minister of Fishing and Boating Jaala Pulford and her team. This was an opportunity for key people within the fishing media to come together and provide insight into fishing around Melbourne and Victoria. It was also an opportunity to hear first-hand what the State Government’s plans were after their recent election promises. They are asking the angling community for patience on what is a complex and delicate task. The initial stages consist of auditing all the boat ramps, assessing the conditions, understanding who owns them, and then slowly working their way through needed repairs upgrades and uplifting fees. We got insight into the next stages in increased stocking programs, thoughts about opening up lakes to non-powered vessels,

and plans with commercial netting. We were introduced the team and got insight into a clear plan and strategy on how they’re going to achieve these promises. I walked out of the event feeling humbled to be invited amongst other wellknown and respected fishing personalities, and also with a sense that the state government will do their best to live up too many of the bold promises.

That’s all from me this month. Please share your recent fishing experiences around Melbourne & Port Phillip Bay so they can be added to next month’s article.

You can contact me via email at alan@fishingmad.com. au, check out my website at www.fishingmad.com.au, or look me up on Facebook (facebook.com/fishingmad. com.au), YouTube (youtube. com/c/fishingmad) and Instagram (instagram.com/ fishingmad.com.au).

It’s great to be able to get urban yellas on Melbourne’s doorstep.

MARCH 2019

23

Flatties in the bay have come out to play PORT PHILLIP NE

Wayne Friebe wfriebe@bigpond.net.au

After a long summer of general mayhem and pressure during the busy holiday period, the boat ramps and popular landbased areas have returned to a more normal state for

local anglers.

After a slow start to the normal seasonal species and bite periods late last year, many of the trends of the last month should continue for at least the next month or so.

Recent weather conditions have been very settled, except for persistent afternoon winds, so hopefully this continues as well. The upside

for this trend has been that the morning conditions have been exceptional for the Bay’s boating anglers, and the landbased anglers have been able to cash in when conditions have consistently changed in the afternoons.

With so many other great fishing options on offer locally and further afield, snapper reports have been few and far

Snapper season has started a little slow, but is looking to fire this month. This beauty was caught out from Mount Eliza.

between over the past month.

However, the dedicated snapper anglers that love chasing reds at this time of year have still been getting amongst some lovely fish. Anglers are reporting that there are big numbers of fish schooling out wide right along the 17-18m line from Mornington to Frankston, and also out from Carrum. So I would expect that the late season snapper bite we all wait for is not that far away.

Some decent fish have been taken from the local areas over the last month, especially in the Mornington and Mount Martha areas. The wider marks and those in close have been producing, and have also been turning over some nice gummies as well, especially for those anglers fishing closer to the shipping channel. Bait choice seems to be varied, but fresh squid, garfish and salmon fillets have been a standout for many. The ever-reliable pilchard and silver whiting are a good bet for those not able to gather fresh local bait.

As usual for snapper season, good quality flathead have continued to be a by-catch

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Each season flathead become more prominent in the waterways. They are arguably one of the better eating fish the bay has on offer. some nicer school-sized snapper on baits and lures up to 2-3kg, much like late last year.

This area has been particularly productive for anglers fishing early and late in the day, and during the rougher weather.

Kingfish captures in the Bay will always cause plenty of excitement amongst anglers, and the rip has produced some lovely kings this year.

Although the amount of reports have been less than previous years, probably due to more anglers chasing kings further afield. Further up the Bay in our part of the world, reports have been less common, but it’s always a matter of being at the right place at the right time with kingfish. The most reliable method is to match the hatch and to fish live garfish, or even small salmon, and cast and troll lures and plastics of similar sizes and colours.

Concentrating your efforts around schools of feeding salmon isn’t a bad plan either.

Local whiting reports have

been a little slow over the past month, but recent reports of a fresh run of fish coming in further south of the Bay is encouraging and should see some better captures in our local areas in the coming months. Once again, with the late start to the season last year, I would expect the whiting fishing to get better and continue right through the autumn months this year. So don’t pack up the nibble tips and bait pump just yet.

‘The bend’ has been fishing really well during the warmer nights, and reportedly some of the EPs are beginning to grow to reasonable size. Fishing topwater lures on dusk and into the night is the preferred method for most anglers, and is good fun as well. Kayak anglers have also been getting a few nifty trout from beyond the weedline as well, and the trout fishing should improve when the water temperature cools down again in the next couple of months.

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Flathead are making a decent by-catch and target species this month. Here is Ian with a couple from near Carrum.

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and a target species for anglers fishing out wide. The improvement in the size and quality of the bays flathead has been a real feature of recent seasons and it’s great to see this trend continuing this season, too. The great thing is that they will take a wide variety of baits and lures, and are a great fish for kids to get amongst as well. The fact that the Bay’s flatties are arguably the best eating fish on offer doesn’t hurt either.

There is always plenty of pinkies on the inshore reefs for the kayak and lure fishing anglers, and the last month has been no exception. The general area around the mussel farm out from Mount Martha has also recently been producing

Snapper season always means some quality flathead captures. They are a great species for kids to target.

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25

Cooling weather brings anglers a mixed bag PORT PHILLIP EAST

Lee Rayner info@fishingfever.com.au

March is a great time to be fishing locally for us – while the water and weather cools off a little the fishing options land-

based and in the boat are still fantastic. At this time of year the crowds seem to disappear, and you can see some sensational fishing with very little boat and angler pressure.

If the fishing is anything like the past couple of months then March and

April could bring some great catches and hopefully some big fish come out to play.

MORDIALLOC TO BLACK ROCK The past few weeks have been a real mixed bag off the Mordialloc Pier. Each day is often producing something different, with anything from

There are still some big snapper to be found at this time of year. This is what they look like on a sounder.

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garfish to salmon and pinkies and even a few good sessions on the squid thrown in.

With clear water and calm conditions over the past weeks anglers are reporting excellent numbers of squid from Mordialloc to Beaumaris. One of the real hotspots has been the Parkdale Pinnacles.

The garfish seemed to have come back in really good numbers after a few lean years. Trying a bit of berley and small longshank hooks with live maggots under a float should see you finding a decent bag of these little critters.

In addition to this, there has still been the odd small kingfish lurking around the nearby reefs, so it’s well worth putting a live squid or garfish out under a float while you chase other species.

Up around Ricketts Point and down towards Black Rock the pinkie fishing has come back on, with anglers reporting fish around the 40cm mark.

During this month we should also start to see more consistent schools of salmon poking their heads up along the edge of the reef, and with them will still be a few kingfish.

Fishing with small soft plastics around the reefs will see some decent catches of these species, and you’ll also have the chance of some delicious red mullet.

The teahouse through to Black Rock has produced the odd King George whiting.

However, compared to the incredibly January we had with whiting it has seemed to slow down.

SANDRINGHAM TO ST KILDA As the water starts to cool off this month the landbased fishing in this part of the bay really begins to

It is flatty time! Dairy farmer Chris loves getting a feed of these. shine once again. The influx of pinkies moving back in on the shallow reefs, along with squid and a few leftover schools of whiting, can make for some really great fishing and an interesting array of catches.

As we roll into March and April don’t be afraid to fish some bigger baits with the resident snapper that live around these areas. They can come back on the bite as the water temperature drops and fish to 4kg have been reported while fishing the shallow reefs in the late afternoon.

ST KILDA TO PORT MELBOURNE If we continue to move into some settled weather over the coming weeks then this area will have some good fishing on offer. March and April often produce some great salmon schools and plenty of garfish action for

boat and land-based anglers.

For anglers fishing this month it’s well worth trying out off St Kilda breakwater in about 8m of water as the rough bottom in this area will be holding good numbers of pinkies and even the odd school of whiting.

Further along at Kerford Road and Lagoon Pier it’s a top time to fish of an evening and into the night for some quality pinkies that will be moving into the shallows to feed under the cover of darkness.

If you’re in a boat this month then it could also be worth putting in some time around Station Pier at night, as some quality late season reds also make their way into this small pocket of the bay during March and April.

So there you have it, plenty of fishing options on offer this month. Just remember to pack a jumper as the nights begin to cool off!

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Time to hit those hotspots MORNINGTON PENINSULA

Julian Frank

It’s been a great couple of months so far on the southern end of the Peninsula. Most of our local hotspots have been great for whiting and squid, while further down the gamefishing scene has picked up drastically with plenty going on inside the heads and offshore.

MOUNT MARTHA Snapper have fired up again. For anglers willing to put the time in I suggest fishing between 14-16m of water. We have a number of local fishos who have been doing really well mid-mornings, catching fish up to 7kg on fresh squid.

SAFETY BEACH TO ROSEBUD Straight out the front off Rosebud has been a hot area for whiting. You’ll need to move around a little to find the fish, but once you do they should hang about for a decent period of time. Pipis have been an outstanding bait for most, while a squid and mussel cocktail has been killing it for others.

The squid in close have been a little quiet due to increased boat traffic, so fish slightly deeper in around 6-8m of water for better results.

There are plenty of smaller pinkies around the mussel farm out the front of Safety Beach and you can often find whiting as well.

Rosebud Pier has been

Will Rootney Charmers took this flatty off Rye, measuring 58cm. busy as usual. At the moment you can expect to catch squid in the late evenings as well as tommie ruff under a float.

There have also been a few catches of garfish during the morning, along with flathead.

RYE The pier has been getting smashed the last few weeks, but the fishing is still fantastic. Plenty of squid are being hauled in with the occasional report of whiting and pinkies taken around dusk. Good numbers of medium-sized flathead have been caught off the pier and the beaches in the late

afternoons.

The White Lady has been a very popular area to drift for calamari, opposite this you can easily dive for a bag of scallops or fish on the deeper grounds for good flathead. If anchored, smaller to mid-sized gummy shark have been caught in the Rye Channel.

SORRENTO AND PORTSEA Sorrento Pier is fishing well for calamari in the early mornings and evenings, while during the day gars and luderick can be caught under a float. There have

been some reports of trevally moving through but not hanging around for long.

The Sisters have been fished fairly hard for whiting but the numbers are there, so make use of it while they are around. Drifting outside the boat moorings from Sorrento back to Blairgowrie has been good for squid early in the day.

Portsea Pier is worth throwing a line or two in for whiting at night, the squid fishing hasn’t been as good but the size of some is outstanding for this time of year.

OFFSHORE The kingfish season has been extremely good this year, with plenty of boats fishing the heads and outside, jigging and live baiting on the wrecks and reef areas out the front of Barwon Heads and towards the Schanck.

A little further down the coast plenty of anglers have been targeting makos, having great success in close and out wider along the 50-60m line.

For any other tips or more up to date week reports, drop in and see the team at the Compleat Angler in Rosebud.

Joshua Natolli caught these two cracker gummy sharks fishing off Rosebud.

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Zach Mcmahon and mates had a great session landing four good makos, two of which were released.

MARCH 2019

27

Anglers just can’t wait to catch those kings PPB OFFSHORE

Gerry Morsman

What a season it has been for recreational anglers fishing our local offshore waters, with most of us coming back in with a feed for our family and friends.

The flavour of the month has definitely been kingfish and for very good reason as our fishery is starting

to see kings of up to 20kg come back in and in very good numbers.

Like every other year there is plenty of smaller kingfish, more commonly known as rats, that we can all have fun on as it doesn’t take a big one to pull plenty of drag and really test us anglers and our gear out. In saying that, I believe now is a good time to take a day off from the kings and target

some of our bread and butter species such as gummy shark, flathead and of course calamari. With everybody turning their attention to kings these other species are seemingly untouched and, of course, a lot easier to target, provided you can get away from the large boat traffic targeting the hard pulling pelagics.

GUMMY SHARKS Most other months

Gawaine Blake with a whopping kingfish that was caught off Seal Rock.

A perfect eating size mako shark that Julian Rennie caught while on the drift off Cape Schank in 40m of water.

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have generally seen gummy sharks being caught in depths around the 35m range, but seeing as there has been a huge amount of boat traffic from anglers targeting kings most people have been pushing out wider and getting on the drift in around 50m of water. By all reports, finding a nice little drop-off and sharp edge contour lines has by far been

MARCH 2019

time. If you are fishing over reef, catch the fish that live on them using small pilchard baits. Gummy sharks still love them but they will be left alone by their own kind, allowing you a much greater chance of catching a fish of a lifetime.

FLATHEAD I absolutely love a flattie tail and I don’t know too many people that would

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a standout option.

Fishing over heavy reef structure where there is huge amounts of smaller fish, like barbers perch and parrotfish, allows you to use baits such as squid, salmon and trevally, as you would when fishing one of the ports. The reason most people don’t use these baits over reefs offshore is that they get destroyed in no

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pass one up. Fishing deep in around 100m of water gives you a really good chance of finding the tiger flatties, and if you haven’t tried one of these I highly recommend giving it a crack. One of the best things about targeting these fish is that it so easy and most importantly, it is fun. Take a box of squid, some light fishing gear and a good sense of humour with a couple of good mates and I guarantee you are up for a good day and a bloody good feed at night.

Another popular way of targeting them is getting in a bit closer off the back of the surf beaches like Woolami and Gunnamatta using the same methods as mentioned above. You can also try using plastics with a heavy jighead and you don’t actually have to work them like you usually would. Drifting with a paddle-tail style plastic along the bottom works very well as it represents a baitfish cruising along the bottom and with flathead being a very opportunistic fish this method has proven to work very well.

CALAMARI SQUID There are a number of very effective ways to target calamari offshore and the hotspots lately have been areaslike the back beaches around Portsea and Flinders.

These areas hold very reefy structure with a huge amount of prey that large calamari love to feed on. Getting in close on the drift using large jigs around the 3.5-4.0 size is the go and the reports have been thick, with a lot of anglers getting their bag limit in no time. Another effective way is to drop a jig down on a paternoster style rig with a sinker heavy enough to get to the bottom over reefs of up to 35m of water, as big calamari aren’t shy of heading out to reefs of theses depths and target themselves a feed.

KINGFISH The fish that has really put us on the map here in Melbourne lately is looking only to get better, or back to the way it used to be. Some 30 years ago kingfish up to 37kg were commonplace at the Rip. It’s no wonder why

angler Gawaine Blake has dominated the kingfish this season, as he has been fishing it since back then.

In fact, he was one of the anglers that pulled in a 37kg kingfish. He reports that it wasn’t uncommon to see fish over 30kg back then, before netting was a big thing here in Melbourne.

Kingfish were very rare here for a long time but have slowly made their comeback since professional

to determine high tidal flow areas is the sharper drop-offs on the contour lines that you will see on your sounder.

Seal Rock has been fishing very well but is a very tidal area, so getting at the back end of the rock where it is protected by the tide is your best chance at landing a big king and you will have to battle your way through the seals but that is all just part of the challenge. Pyramid Rock is producing fish and Flinders

Aaron Habgood with one of many fish from a solid session. Kingfish numbers have been steadily climbing each season. netting was banned in our bays. Of course, the netting issue has its ups and downs and I personally have seen the damage on both sides of the fence, so I like to stay away from the issue.

However, when it comes to kingfish it has seemed to bring bigger fish back in and the bait schools like slimy mackerel and yakka, which large kingfish love to eat and are a must-have live bait.

Gawaine reports that fishing more tidal areas, like Cape Schanke, tends to attract a lot of the smaller fish, so if you want to target larger models in these areas it’s best to target them on the slack tides. An easy way

in close has also been up there as one of the main hotspots.

Something I should have mentioned earlier, and this goes for all areas, is that finding the clean blue water is vital. If you find it is green and cloudy keep moving until you find something worth fishing, otherwise you are wasting your time and fuel trolling around as kings love the clean visible water to target their prey. A proven technique this summer has been luring the kingfish in with the live baits at the back of the boat and throwing plastics at them, as you can tend to make plastics look much more erratic in the water, firing the fish up enough to want to eat them.

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Ben Cunnington from North Melbourne Football Club was getting amongst the king action.

MARCH 2019

29

Whiting are still abundant WESTERN PORT NTH

Jarrod Day jarrodday@iprimus.com.au

From King George whiting to kingfish, it seems Western Port is the king of producing quality fish once again for this time of the year.

The top end of the port has been a little slow at times, especially if you’re targeting larger game fish such as gummy sharks and

elephant fish. While they are about, it is slim pickings in Bouchier and Boultins channel, however, putting in the time and effort reaps the rewards. Elephant fish don’t have the hype about them as they once did, but they are still good fun to catch on light tackle and great for kids to catch too. The rig setup is the same for them as with gummies, however, I’d drop the hook size down to a 3/0 circle as elephants only have a small mouth. They

also love pipi and squid baits rather than fish flesh baits.

Although it may seem that every shallow bank in the top end is loaded with whiting, they can still be a struggle at times. Imminent success will come to those working the tides and the banks. Whiting tend to always be on the move and while I do preach that it is a worth sitting in the same spot and berleying, it is a good idea to up anchor move 50m or so and berley once

Solid catches of whiting are being caught in the Tooradin Channel.

again in the new location.

This is especially important if the bite stops in your first location.

Of the more productive banks to be fishing, Tooradin, Gentle Annie and Charring Cross are all producing good numbers of whiting. Tyabb Bank and Quail are also holing numbers, but due to angling pressure, the whiting are a little hard to get going.

Mind you, the calamari along these two banks have been exceptional due to the lack of rain and clear water.

Another tasty fish that can be found on the Tyabb and Quail banks are garfish and they have been about in huge schools. Garfish tend to be caught on the top of the high tides over the sea grass beds. Due to their current size, they are a lot of fun to catch. Simply anchor in around 2-3m of water, set a light berley trail of pollard mix and fish little baits such as slithers of pilchard or silverfish under a float in the berley trail. It doesn’t take long and the gars will move in. Since you’ll be anchored over the weed, remember to flick out a squid jig, as the calamari will also move into the trail.

Another top prospect at this time of the year is catching whiting in the deep.

Though it is challenging, deep water whiting are often a lot bigger than those caught up on the bank. Of course it’s not easy fishing for deep water whiting because you’ll need up too 6oz of weight to keep the bait on the bottom.

Kevin Buhagiar with his hands full of Eastern Channel whiting.

Berley is essential and I’d suggest using a stainless steel berley cage and just put a few handfuls of thawed pilchards into it and mash them up. This will be enough smell in the water to attract them. Then, fish strips of squid, pipi and or mussel back into the trail.

Predominantly, the North Arm is where you’ll pick them up, with particular attention payed to Long Reef as well as Lysaghts in 17m of water. Depending on the

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Working the shallow banks throughout the top end can lead to some quality whiting being caught.

30

MARCH 2019

tide, you’ll find they will bite best either the last two hours of the flood tide or the first two hours of the ebb.

I recently fished the area with Taralgon angler Kevin Buhagiar on the last two hours of the flood tide.

Though it took a little while for the fish to come on, we certainly found no shortage of them when they came on the bite. Squid and pipis were the top baits.

The Eastern Channel has also been producing plenty of whiting and is one of the easier locations to catch them. Depending on the tide, it is a good idea to start at one end and work your way up or down the edge of Spit.

Ideally, try to anchor in 6m of water as the bank does rise up very quickly so take your time and get into the 6m–depth range.

Once again, deploy some berley and they’ll be onto it in no time. In saying that, so will the salmon, silver trevally, leatherjacket and flathead – and they can be fun to catch to!

If you are looking to tangle with something a little more sizeable than whiting then working the North arm can lead to some nice gummy sharks. Of course, one thing to note though, they tend to be a little smaller than those caught in the Western Entrance, but still they are of size and there are usually plenty about if you’re fishing with big baits in the deeper water.

The top end of the Port has a lot of options but while the whiting, squid and gars are about, you might as well make the most of them before they head back offshore as the cooler water begins to settle in!

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Western Port in fine form WESTERN PORT STH

Jarrod Day jarrodday@iprimus.com.au

There is no doubt in my mind that in the last few months, Western Port has been the best it has been in years.

The whiting season has been nothing but sensational and whether you’re fishing in the deep or on the banks, they are in abundance.

very impressive whiting ranging from 32-40cm.

Land-based anglers have also been pulling a few from the sand at Cleeland Bight and at the base of the sand dunes on Cape Woolamai. There is quite a lot of sand patches within casting reach through this area and it is always worth exploring.

Further up the Port, the Tortoise Head Bank has been one of the most productive

While most of the whiting catches reported have been further inside the Port, as the whiting begin to head back offshore towards the end of this month, it is worth concentrating on Cat Bay and the Flinders areas. Whiting fishing will continue on right up until around late April and the size of the whiting is generally much bigger than those caught throughout the rest of the Port.

Aside from whiting, the gummy shark action in the Western Entrance has been nothing but sensational.

February and March are typically the prime months for big gummies and that has been the case recently.

Justin Blythe from Amazing Bait and Tackle headed down to the Western Entrance recently and hooked into some thumping gummy sharks. Fishing into the night, Justin managed a few quality models fishing the run-out tide.

Fishing the Western Entrance requires a little prior knowledge of the area. There is no point just dropping your anchor anywhere, as this can do more harm than good.

The prime time to be fishing is two hours either side of a tide change, as this will allow you to use a reduced amount of sinker weight. Given the strength of the current throughout the entrance you’d want to get your timing right, otherwise getting your anchor set can be extremely difficult.

While the Western Entrance is like a huge gutter running in and out of Western Port, it’s really a matter of finding a location along its edge and fishing. Near Buoy 5, 11 and 15 are all productive spots.

Making your way out into Bass Strait, the fishing has been mind-blowing. This year’s kingfish season has been of epic proportions. There have

Justin Blythe with a solid gummy shark from the Western Entrance.

Coronet Bay has been consistently been producing sizeable fish on the top of the high tides in around 5m of water, which for kayak anglers is just a short paddle from the Coronet Bay Boat Ramp.

Those fishing from boats have also found plenty of whiting in the area without too much trouble. A little berley goes a long way in this area, and your typical pipi, mussel and squid baits work well.

A little further south at Dickies Bay and right down to Cleeland Bight, the whiting have been just as abundant.

David Jarman has been putting his customers onto some memorable whiting fishing throughout the area of late. Concentrating on the shallower banks, David’s customers have caught some

locations for whiting, yet as fast as they come on the bite, they can go off again.

This bank is quite shallow, especially towards the east of it, which is only around 2m in depth. Fishing is best on the high tide until an hour into the ebb. After this, drop back into 5-6m of water and you’ll keep on catching them as they drop back into the deeper water.

Further south, the whiting fishing is much the same.

Ventnor Beach has been exceptional for land-based anglers. If you walk left from the Cowes Boat Ramp about 300m, you’ll notice two red coloured buoys. There is a large sand hole out between these two buoys where whiting can be caught. Boat anglers can also fish here and it is best on the top of the high tides.

bassco boats

LOGO DESIGN

Fishing in the deep can lead to some monster whiting being caught.

been many successful anglers working the coast with various techniques.

Trolling small skirts has been highly effective for those trolling around Seal Rocks and Pyramid Rock. Live baiting is also highly effective with live squid the prime bait to use.

Gawaine Black from Saltguide has been dominating • Centre console the kings and has found live • 5 metres squid to be the number bait • Large front casting deck to use. Gawaine has been • Folding rear casting deck catching kings up to • Huge storage lockers everybody’s favourite species • Livewell under seat to target, there are plenty that still target them and take them home for a feed. If you have been fishing for pinkies over the last few months then you are in about the right area, using the right baits and a rig LOGO DESIGN bassco boats that will work for elephant fish. My only suggestion would be changing the rig, most would have been using Watch out for boat test in the April issue a paternoster for their pinkies and I would go back to a LOGO running sinker as you would DESIGN bassco boats for early season snapper – just downsize the hooks back ALSO • Twin console • Centre console to a couple of snelled 4/0.

AVAILABLE: • Front & rear casting decks • Small front casting deck The shallow end of the corals around Leola Shoal, Coronet Contact Michael Boag Full pricing & specifications Bay and Reef Island are some of the better spots to try.

Bassco Boats Offshore, the flathead This area is the home of big gummies and is undoubtedly the best place to catch them at this time of the year. As the month wears on, they’ll become fewer in numbers but for now, they are big and they are hungry.

Darren Hamilton-Moore with his hands totally full of a Bass Strait kingfish. have been very good, but a challenge at times this season, and a considerable amount of prospecting has been needed to find them. Much like they were a few years ago, they seem to be in very small patches and running the trace on your GPS is a must to be able to go back over a drift once the bite stopped. The other problem was finding the depth they were in from one day to the next. Today they might be in 25m, tomorrow in 55m, so not only do you need to work an area but in different depths as well. You will find them eventually, just be patient and work short drifts. Because you are working a lot of area make sure you have a squid jig out down deep and a bigger rod with a decent bait for a gummy that might be swimming past.

Hopefully as we get into autumn those very small whiting that plagued us in early summer have been eating well and are now worth keeping. The whiting fishery has remained frustrating and not changed a lot for the last couple of years. The main difference this year has been the very small ones that we

haven’t seen for several years, so hopefully we are now entering another cycle of good fishing.

With April approaching we are getting closer to our annual Easter fishing competition that we run to raise funds for the Royal Children’s Good Friday Appeal. 100% of the entry fee is donated to the appeal and we have some great sponsors supplying us with some excellent prizes.

It’s a fun weekend for all the family to have a fish together and there are giveaways all weekend just for entering.

In conjunction with one of the local fishing clubs we are also running a whiting competition that will run for all of April. There are adult and junior sections and with an entry cost of only $30 for an adult and the prize for heaviest whiting at $500 cash, it’s worth entering.

Entries for the whiting comp must be received before 1 April and you will find more information about both competitions on our website www.jimsbaitandtackle.com. au or Facebook page Jim’s Bait and Tackle Australia.

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32

MARCH 2019

Mark Sullivan found some monster kings while fishing offshore.

Avoid your old habits PHILLIP ISLAND

Craig Edmonds

Easter is just around the corner and that doesn’t signal the end of fishing, just a change of seasons, as plenty of fish can still be caught through late autumn and into winter.

Thankfully, the boat ramps are much quieter and the jetties not so crowded, and as a bonus the quality of

As anglers, at some stage we all make the mistake of getting stuck in habits, only fishing one time of the tide, only fishing in one spot, or using the same method we have for years then complaining there are no fish.

Every year we see some of the better reports come from visitors who come with little knowledge and expectation of what they should catch where or when. People often forget that, like the seasons,

change, try something, you might just be surprised.

For many years fishing customers told us that there are very few kingfish around, then diving customers told us that there are plenty around and older commercial fishers would tell us how to catch them. It took a long time to sink in, but finally people have caught on to this being a unique kingfish fishery and the methods you normally use at Eden and Bermagui

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Kevin with a decent late season red. the fish can be just as good if not better, all you need is to add an extra layer of clothing.

fish habits change and while there are areas that will be better than others, if you are not catching anything move,

Phil caught this quality Western Port flathead. After a quick photo it was sent back to swim away.

are not the best for here.

This season we have seen more kingfish than we have seen over the last 13 years in the shop. It is now a targeted fishery and with everyone starting to use similar methods it’s not just one or two people achieving some success. We are now getting multiple reports on the same day and best of all from a wide area along the coast.

During late autumn and early winter, when we get those perfect offshore days, consider heading out and have a look for the kings – the gamefish tagging programs show that they generally don’t travel very far. The best place to target them is from Cape Shank to Cape Patterson.

Fresh bait has been the preferred method, and yakka, squid and slimy have been the picks. Yakka work best live, squid either live or dead and slimy live or as fillets.

Send them weighted down to structure showing fish, or slow them using a lead line to get it down a bit. White soft plastics in 7” or 9” with heavy jigheads dropped down on a good sounding has also been producing.

Live baits and large soft plastics accounted for around 95% of the captures reported,

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To page 35

MARCH 2019

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with a few other methods also proving successful but mostly in a big school of rat kings.

Elephant fish season has been a little quieter over the last few years, but this season is looking hopeful.

While not everybody’s favourite species to target, there are plenty that still target them and take them home for a feed. If you have been fishing for pinkies over the last few months then you are in about the right area, using the right baits and a rig that will work for elephant fish. My only suggestion would be changing the rig, most would have been using a paternoster for their pinkies and I would go back to a running sinker as you would for early season snapper – just downsize the hooks back to a couple of snelled 4/0.

The shallow end of the corals around Leola Shoal, Coronet Bay and Reef Island are some of the better spots to try.

Offshore, the flathead have been very good, but a challenge at times this season, and a considerable amount of prospecting has been needed to find them.

Much like they were a few years ago, they seem to be in very small patches and running the trace on your GPS is a must to be able to go back over a drift once the bite stopped. The other problem was finding the depth they were in from one day to the next. Today they might be in 25m, tomorrow in 55m, so not only do you need to work an area but in different depths as well. You will find them eventually, just be patient and work short drifts. Because you are working a lot of area make sure you have a squid jig out down deep and a bigger rod with a decent bait for a gummy that might be swimming past.

Hopefully as we get into autumn those very small whiting that plagued us in

early summer have been eating well and are now worth keeping. The whiting fishery has remained frustrating and not changed a lot for the last couple of years. The main difference this year has been the very small ones that we haven’t seen for several years, so hopefully we are now entering another cycle of good fishing.

With April approaching we are getting closer to our annual Easter fishing competition that we run to raise funds for the Royal Children’s Good Friday Appeal. 100% of the entry fee is donated to the appeal and we have some great sponsors supplying us with some excellent prizes. It’s

a fun weekend for all the family to have a fish together and there are giveaways all weekend just for entering.

In conjunction with one of the local fishing clubs we are also running a whiting competition that will run for all of April. There are adult and junior sections and with an entry cost of only $30 for an adult and the prize for heaviest whiting at $500 cash, it’s worth entering.

Entries for the whiting comp must be received before 1 April and you will find more information about both competitions on our website www.jimsbaitandtackle. com.au or Facebook page Jim’s Bait and Tackle Australia.

A good 42cm flathead. They can be found at multiple depths, so it pays to search around.

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MARCH 2019

35

Post-summer catches are going to get better LAKES ENTRANCE

Steven Pryke

With summer finally over and the sweltering heat behind us, the fishing is only going to get better and more enjoyable.

LAKES ENTRANCE The summer rush has ended slowly and Lakes Entrance is returning to the charming seaside village it is known to be.

Local anglers are making the most of this time of year, with plenty of species

to target.

Close to town, anglers have had reasonable success fishing the sandy edges of the lower North Arm in search of dusky flathead with fish from 40-70cm being landed in the centre of town.

A perfect example of fallen snags in the Nowa Nowa Arm. The barnacle-encrusted snags are good at cutting fishing line.

The close sand flats have been a hive of action these past months, with good numbers of school and king prawns kicking about. Locals and tourist have made the most of these either for eating or as one of the best bait options.

Further upstream the scattered weed beds of Nungerner have been reasonably productive for King George whiting. The time-proven paternoster rig baited with either fresh prawn or mussel has been one of the best options.

When it comes to targeting these great table fish, anglers have simply cast these offerings as close as they dare to the edge of weed beds, and usually bites come thick and fast if whiting are in the area.

LAKE TYERS The lake has become highly popular, and every summer more anglers are making their way to the lake, usually in search of the large dusky flathead that call the lake home.

I have heard of plenty of anglers struggling in the system, but the majority of these anglers have been fishing the lower lake, which has been highly pressured over recent months with travellers and locals making the most of the warmth.

The mud flats of the Nowa Nowa Arm and Toorloo Arm in the high reaches have been rich with fish. Large schools of bream have been cruising the flats. The cruising fish have made for great sight fishing, with anglers able to pick a patch of bream out and make long cast with small surface lures.

The little Atomic Shiner has been a favourite over recent trips.

The barnacle-encrusted snags of the Nowa Nowa Arm make happy feeding areas for large black bream.

These large bream have been hard work to extract from these snags due to the razor sharp barnacles. Small shad style hardbodies have been the most consistent producer, with Atomic

Shiner or Ecogear SX40 twitched slowly through the standout producers, managing to land the fish in non-forgiving areas.

Personally, this is one of my favourite styles of fishing. You get to see everything, from first spotting a fish to landing it safely in the boat.

Fishing this unforgiving country, it pays to up your leaders as a 6lb leader will usually not be enough.

36

MARCH 2019

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Bream biting as drought sets in GIPPSLAND LAKES

Brett Geddes b.geddes@bigpond.com

This is the driest I’ve seen Gippsland in nearly 30 years. Farm dams that rarely empty are now bone dry, and have been for weeks. All the local rivers feeding into the Gippy Lakes are now super low, and I think the Avon and Nicholson have nearly stopped. However there’s good news when it comes to bream fishing, and will get even better over the next month. I’ve got some exciting kingfish and bass reports as well.

BIG BREAM ARE BACK As I was hoping when writing my last report, the bream have not let us down.

And they are big! On cue

they have provided us with excellent sport with both bait and lures, and scores of fish are over 40cm.

Plain old frozen prawn has produced some big surprises, especially in the lower Mitchell around the Grassy Banks area. And some even larger bream have turned up at the Hollands Landing and Seacombe areas, once again on frozen prawn.

The lure fishing has been outstanding and will only get better into the next few months. The hotspots are the usual areas for this time of year including the mouth of the Mitchell River, especially the rocky reefs and the northern edges of the lake towards the mouth of the Nicho River. The Silt Jetties from Two Bells all the way down to the mouth is where I’ll be sending

anglers over the next month for big bream. These fish are already there and not playing ball for the moment, but that will soon change as the water temps drop away.

There have been exceptional results for lure anglers at The Cut, with some of the biggest bream taking hardbody lures in the snaggy shallows. For the keenest of bream anglers in the know, working bent minnow style lures in clear shallow water is providing surface action from first light until about 8am. I still can’t believe how most bream anglers are totally unaware of how effective these lures are in the Gippy Lakes. A lot of anglers use bent minnow style lures further east at Bemm or Marlo without knowing they are also deadly here, especially in the lower

Some of the biggest bream have been taking a frozen prawn. This fish measured 42cm.

DEEP 7 3 FAT a Sonic Mould Ultr

Nicho or Mitchell.

I’ve also been looking way up in the river snags targeting perch without success, but pulling in a few ripper bream to 42cm. I’ve been averaging a modest 10-14 bream each trip. I’ve got nearly all of them on the Hurricane Twitch 40 or the smaller Stik 40 lures. A very slow retrieve has been the key. You will often see bream following lures at this time of year, and if this happens you should slow down even more. Long, probing pauses will get you more hook-ups as opposed to searching lots of areas too fast.

CAGEY KINGFISH Kingies are showing up for many anglers willing and brave enough to target them.

However, these fish can sometimes disappoint, even after long hours of endless casting! They also shock people who know nothing about them, as they briefly hook one of the best-fighting fish our area has ever seen.

A few holidaymakers were astonished when they landed specimens up to 60cm while chasing bream or flathead.

There are a few kingfish found from Kalimna all the way up to Swan Reach Bay, but most sightings are in Newlands or Duck Arm. I went looking just days before this report, and at the first jetty I came to, on my third cast using a 90mm soft plastic, I watched three kingies around 65cm flashing behind my paddletail all the way virtually to my rod tip. I could almost touch them, but they didn’t even nip at my lure. It was so frustrating – and I didn’t see another kingy for the next five hours! At least I caught flathead and pinkie snapper as by-catch.

My mate Justin Dingwall went there later that day, and landed two kingfish on plastics with his first few casts of the session!

Small sinking hardbody lures are a must when working deep river snags for bream.

He just loves rubbing salt into my bleeding wounds.

He fished late afternoon into the evening and saw them busting up on bait, and I’m sure we all have better chance of hooking cranky kingfish while they are feeding. Dinga went back a couple of days later but failed to score a single kingy or a snapper. Kingfish can frustrate anglers like no other quarry, but that just makes our successes all the more rewarding.

PINKIE SNAPPER The pinkies have grown in numbers yet again this year, and a lot of anglers have landed snapper to 46cm lately. This is tremendous sport for our Gippy Lakes.

I’ve caught them as far up as Duck Arm recently, and these fish will probably keep biting all the way through until May. Hardly anybody chases Gippy Lakes snapper with bait these days. Snapper are real suckers for small soft

plastics, and will readily take blade lures too. A trick to getting these snapper on lures is to try a super slow twitch retrieve when fishing deeper water. I’ve had mates outscore me by just slow jigging soft plastics while my faster retrieve hardly got a look in.

GLENMAGGIE BASS A lake that often gets overlooked by anglers is Glenmaggie. This stocked lake can fish every bit as well as Blue Rock, but for some reason gets far less pressure from bass anglers. I’ve been sent plenty of pictures over the last six weeks with fat healthy bass to 40cm all caught on lures, including surface poppers and bent minnows styles.

Just below the wall of this dam can also provide excellent river bass. It, too, gets very little attention from anglers, but those who do put the effort in can get impressive results.

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The weather is cooling, but the fishing is not BEMM RIVER

Robyn Sturgess

What a season this summer was – incredible weather, influx of families and lots of anglers.

The fishing has been reasonably challenging lately. The anglers using soft plastics have had success with flathead, as they have become more prominent in the warmer weather. There has also been a decent amount of bream, with the best report being of a 45cm bream that was released.

Hobie held their first round for 2019, with 98 registered participants in January. The two-day competition saw very trying conditions with strong southeasterly winds

on the second day, but still proved to be a successful event with just on 200 fish weighed in and released.

For sports activity and family fun, tailor have made for constant excitement in the channel, with some of these fish coming in at over 3kg. The surf has been producing salmon at all beaches, with reports of large trevally also caught at Ocean Beach.

Bobs Bay and Sibiera have been hotspots for bream and flathead on frozen prawn. Currently the entrance remains closed, but over the coming weeks it could be a different story.

Please fell free to phone us for a report.

The water level remains high and the water temperature is approximately 25°C.

The persistent anglers chasing perch have caught them in the channel in the early morning, with hardbodied lures as the preferred method.

One of our customers has fished the channel catching flathead around 51cm and bream around 43cm using frozen prawn.

The lower reaches of the Bemm River have seen good quality bream being caught all around the 35cm mark, with the best bait also frozen prawn.

• For on the spot and up to date fishing reports check out Robyn’s website: www. bemmaccommodation.com. au or ‘like’ us on Facebook – Bemm River Holiday Accommodation Phone: (03) 5158 4233/Mob. 0427 584 233 Email: bemmaccomm@ bigpond.com.

You never know what you’re going to catch this month, and there are options for everyone – from sportfish, to family fun.

The prawns will bring in the tasty predators MARLO

Jim McClymont mcclymont@net-tech.com.au

With the summer gone but the weather still warm, the fishing is at a premium.

The prawns are in good numbers on the sand flats that run from the Marlo Jetty all the way down to Frenches Narrows, allowing lots of people to gather fresh prawns for the table and live prawns to use as bait. The best results have come from using a prawn underwater light and a prawn scoop with a

bucket to put the prawns in to take home.

Along the same sand flats, big dusky flathead lie in wait for a chance to ambush their share of the succulent prawns. With the dusky flathead in big numbers, many anglers are targeting them using lures.

Young local angler Caleb Ingram caught and released an 80cm dusky flathead recently. Another young local angler, Koby Hough, had a great time landing a kingfish on light tackle.

Schools of black bream have moved in and scattered through the whole estuary system, and are taking a range of baits such

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Koby Hough played out this kingfish on very light gear.

Cape Conran is also very good, with reports of good schools of kingfish on the prowl. The best areas for kingfish seem to be Marlo and Tambo Reef, and anywhere in between these two hot spots. At this stage no marlin have been caught, but they will soon appear when the water warms up enough and the baitfish become more plentiful.

In the meantime anglers have reported getting plenty of flathead, gurnard, squid, barracouta, morwong, pinkie snapper, salmon, mako shark and gummy shark.

as sandworm, live prawn, frozen prawn, black crab, shell bait, and Bass yabbies.

Estuary perch are also in good numbers and can be found in both rivers, schooling on snags and other structures. The best results have come from using live prawns under a float, or soft plastics and hardbodied lures.

Luderick can also be found in big numbers schooling on the rock

MARLO

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groins and mud banks that surround the islands and riverbanks.

Salmon and tailor can be found in big numbers down towards the entrance on an incoming tide, and the best results can be achieved either trolling or spinning with metal lures.

The surf beaches are still firing, with anglers still catching big sharks off the surf beaches using game fishing gear. All the big shark fishing is catch and release. The surf beaches are also producing plenty of salmon, tailor, flathead, mullet and gummy shark.

Fishing offshore from

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MARCH 2019

Caleb Ingram was stoked with this 80cm flathead.

Phenomenal fishing CORNER INLET

Marcus Eleftheriou

The kingy fishing has been nothing short of phenomenal lately, and the beauty is, you don’t have to be an expert at the moment to get into these great fish!

The kingfish sizes lately have been excellent, ranging from school fish right up to those bigger trophy models (just over a metre) offshore.

Inside the inlet is still producing great numbers of

smaller kings, with the odd bigger one still being caught.

These fish have been caught on a variety of different methods lately. Most of the kings inside the inlet have been caught trolling squid, but they can also be caught using poppers and stickbaits when a surface bite appears.

However, offshore (around the islands) probably presents a few more options when targeting these fish, including jigging, live baiting, trolling small skirted lures or, once again, squid strips.

If you haven’t chased kings before, trolling squid strips is a great all round method! If lure fishing is more your thing, a few standout jigs at the moment have been the Storm Super Slim Jigs around the 80-100g mark, and also the Zetz Jigaros. For the surface bites, Molix poppers, Maria Loaded, and Zetz GIG sinking stickbaits have been standouts.

We’re still seeing really good gummy shark catches offshore, with some quality flathead amongst them.

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Matthew Calleja snagged this cracking squid off Queenscliff Victoria during September.

Whiting have also been getting caught inside and, although they are a little patchy, some great fish still have been caught.

As we all know the Long Jetty is back up and running now so if you’re land based, this could present an awesome opportunity to target a landbased kingfish, and also whiting and flathead. Most whiting have been caught on the usual pipis and squid strips, whilst the flathead have been caught on either bait or soft plastics.

THE MONTH AHEAD We’re coming off a pretty hot summer, so the kingfish should still hang around through March, which is great. We can also expect the flathead and gummies to hang around. The gummies may well be caught right through to April, and it’s a good time of year to catch the bigger specimens.

• For the latest info on what’s biting where, contact Get Wet Outdoors on (03) 5174 3999 or drop into the premises at 83 Argyle St, Traralgon to check out their great range of tackle and outdoors gear.

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The State Government has extended its commitment to recreational fishers, building on its Target One Million plan to grow participation to one million anglers by 2020.

• Phase out commercial fishing in the Gippsland Lakes through a compulsory buyout;

• Allow boats and kayaks with electric motors onto some reservoirs including Tullaroop, Lauriston, Hepburn, Barkers Creek, Upper Coliban and Malmsbury;

• Construct a $7 million native fish hatchery in Shepparton, focused on Murray cod and golden perch;

• Mandate fishing and camping access on crown land river frontages;

• Increase fish stocking to 10 million fish annually by 2022;

• Stock Eastern King Prawns into Lake Tyers;

• Partner with Lakes Entrance Fishermen’s Co-Operative Society to invest $1.5 million into a café at Bullock Island;

• Construct fish cleaning tables and platforms around Port Phillip Bay;

The renewed plan will invest more than $27 million to:

Authorised by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne

42

MARCH 2019

- Phase 2

• Improve fish habitat in Port Phillip Bay by investing $2.5 million into reefs; • Advocate for Southern Bluefin Tuna to protect the fishery from bag limit cuts by the Commonwealth; • Release more native fish including Murray cod, golden and silver perch into Melbourne suburban lakes such as Rowville, Lilydale, Karkarook, Casey Fields, Navan Park, Roxburgh and Melton; • Introduce a new Fishing for All program, including a further $200,000 into the Vic Fish Kids program; • Offer number plates for recreational fishers; • Develop a $200,000 recreational fishing tourism plan.

Better boating • Abolish parking and launching fees at boat ramps; • Ensure every cent of licensing and registration fees is spent on improving ramps, safety and facilities; • Establish a Better Boating Fund to urgently upgrade ramps, including Mordialloc, Queenscliff, Point Richards, Hastings and Rhyll; • Undertake critical maintenance at Cowes Jetty; • Provide eight new casual berths to the public across Port Phillip Bay; • Review boating infrastructure management in Port Phillip Bay and Western Port; • Create a Victorian Boat Ramp Authority.

vfa.vic.gov.au/targetonemillion2 MARCH 2019

43

Cracking into some local kings MERIMBULA

Stuart Hindson

The last month around the Merimbula region has seen some exceptional fishing, with offshore anglers having a ball on the pelagic species.

Marlin is the word out wide, with several crews in the week getting three or more beaks in a day, mostly stripes around the 80-90kg mark, all tagged and released.

These fish have responded to a variety of techniques, with slow trolling live mackerel, skip baits, skirted pushers and switch-baiting all producing the goods at various times.

You’re also a chance at finding a bait ball and pitching live baits into a pack.

This does happen at times,

and can truly be very exciting if it happens to you.

It’s just not marlin that are around, there’s plenty of mahimahi getting caught, with some big bulls among them around 18-20kg.

These fine sportfish can be in big numbers around floating debris or artificial FADs and will readily take live baits, trolled skirts or bibbed minnows, plus whole pilchards and occasionally metal jigs.

There’s still been a few smaller yellowfin about the shelf caught while trolling skirts intended for marlin, but these fin have been in the 25-28kg range.

Closer to shore the kingfish have still been tough, but they are there and in good numbers and size. If you

This is 42cm of solid whiting caught on a surface walker. This type of fishing makes for plenty of excitement in the estuaries.

persist you could be rewarded, it’s just a matter of putting the time in and hopefully you’re in luck. I’d be concentrating around the points like Tura Head, Long and Short Point, plus Haycock further south of Pambula. They can turn up anywhere, but I believe live squid will be your best bet. Try slow trolling one on a down rigger, and that might just do the trick on big kingfish.

Off the stones, Tura Head has been fishing okay. Some days it fires and others it’s not so great. Again, being there for periods of time will see you get results, and casting a mixture of 40-60g metals, whole pilchards on ganged hooks and live baits under a bobby cork or balloon is your best way to tempt a kingfish, bonito and big salmon from that ledge.

The bigger wharfs like Tathra and Merimbula seem to be fishing better, with Merimbula producing excellent results. I know of five kings caught there lately, with the best at 12kg, which is not massive, but still a great capture from land. Quite often the kings are following lures in but not eating them, and live bait has definitely been the better option.

What’s good to see is plenty of frigate mackerel in close, and these little speedsters are great fun on light tackle and ideal live baits for kings and tuna.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few more northern blufin tuna encounters over coming weeks, with Tura Head the best ledge to fish. I know of one solid fish lost and several more missed opportunities over recent days up at Tathra Head. If they’re up there they should pass on by down here too, and with that water a balmy 23ºC in close, it’s a possibility.

The beaches have been fishing well without being red-hot, but Haycock Beach south of Pambula has been pretty good for whiting.

There’s a great little gutter running close to shore that has seen plenty of whiting caught on both beach worms and pipis. You can expect a few bream and salmon as well.

Closer to town, Tura Main is the pick at the moment, with the evening flooding tides the go, especially for a shark or mulloway. Again, salmon have been actively chasing metal shiners in the 40g size.

In the estuaries there’s still a few stray kingfish in

This beast of a 1.3m king was caught on a live squid fished down deep. This is a cracking size for the area just off Merimbula’s Aquarium jetty. the main lake at Merimbula.

They’re not huge, mostly around the 65cm mark, but still fun when your targeting flatties. The main basin has still been good for flatties, with the latest local competition in early February seeing the best caught at 83cm, which a solid model, with plenty of fish in the 60-70cm category.

There’s still plenty of trevally and tailor in the main basin, with the shallow margins producing whiting and bream on surface walkers.

Over at Pambula Lake, it’s been better with the channels from shark hole

and down being great for flatties and trevally. With the monstrous tides we have had lately, fishing the last hour of the draining tide and the first hour of the flood has seen anglers getting better results.

A mixture of soft plastics and bait has worked – it really just depends on what technique you want to use.

If you’re after a few squid then you’re in luck, with the main wharf inside Merimbula Bay being great at the moment. Darker jigs in the 3.0 size seem to be best, with late afternoons into the evenings a top time to target them.

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NSW South Coast

Smaller fish eventually turn into bigger fish!

NAROOMA

Stuart Hindson

The offshore action off Narooma is excellent at the minute, with a wide range of game species on offer. With the water hovering around the 24°C mark, expect this action to continue and only get better as the weeks go by.

Marlin is the word and game anglers wishing to target them are in for a field day. Over the last few weeks I have heard of at least 20+ fish caught, with numerous others winning their freedom. Most fish have been striped marlin up to 100kg, but there has still been a few solid blacks up to 130-140kg also caught.

Bait concentrations from the 70-fathom line are prolific, especially down deep with slimy mackerel schools blacking out sounders at times. Striped tuna schools are also abundant on the surface, so slow trolling a live bridled stripey may produce a strike. A lot of the action has been on the shelf, with the Tuross canyons being consistent of late.

If the weather is kind and you’re confident enough to travel to the second drop-off, it too may be worth a look.

This area is big blue marlin territory with larger trolled skirted lures to 16” long and 80lb outfits the norm.

Sportfishers after smaller

fry will find yellowfin tuna to 20kg, albacore to 10kg, plus mahimahi to 20kg as well. It’s good to see these fast growing fish in numbers, with the traps a good place to target them. Closer to shore there has been kingfish on Moruya and Potato Point reefs, although they have been a little sporadic. It really depends on tidal and current movements as to when they feed. But when they do play the game, jigs and live bait have worked well.

At Montague Island, kingfish have also played the game with fish to 10kg succumbing to live baits and jigs. The kings have been slow this season but with the water now warming up expect the action to be more consistent. The northern end of the island is a good starting point to target the kingies.

Inshore the bottom bashers have been having a field day with, snapper, mowies, and flatties being caught and in numbers. The bottom end of Montague has been the pick of the reefs. A lot of gummy sharks have been caught by the flathead fishos, good to see them around and they are a great by-catch. For the flatties try 35-40m straight off Kianga – it’s been excellent of late.

Beaches have been a little quiet for salmon and tailor, but the whiting and bream have made up for it.

Live beachworms and pipis

are doing the damage, and light lines are required for constant results. A little bit of berley won’t hurt here – crushed pipi shells is a favourite of mine mixed with a little tuna oil.

I have heard a rumour or two that some good-sized mulloway are being caught up the coast around Brou Beach, so a couple of nights on the beach with the big gear might be worth a go.

The Narooma breakwall has been fishing consistent for bream, smaller snapper and blackfish. Fishing the ebb or flood tide on the inside of the northern breakwall has been the best time to target the above species. Fresh tuna fillets, prawns and cabbage for the blackfish are the preferred baits.

The golf course rocks should be holding some nice kingies, with live yellowtail or ganged pillies doing the trick.

There has been some good catches of bonito off these same rocks, spinning with 40-50g slices has been getting the desired results.

Bream, blackfish are still being caught in the washes, with cunjevoi and cooked prawns as the dynamite baits to use.

In the estuaries, the Tuross Lake system and Wagonga Inlet are in full swing with flathead, mulloway, whiting, bream, blackfish and flounder all

Only a pup, but there are still plenty of mulloway in the Tuross system. there for the taking. Now that the boat traffic has slowed down somewhat, expect it to only get better.

This month will see the surface action really pick up for bream and whiting, especially in Tuross. This magic piece of water has all the attributes with shallow weed banks, rocky points, extensive sand flats, the list just goes on. Using a mixture of smaller walk baits and poppers will do the trick. If

the wind is up, all the better, you should catch plenty more when it is.

This type of fishing is very visual and great fun. A good rule when working both these types of lures is to not stop moving when targeting whiting. When bream fishing long pauses may be needed in between walking the lure, these pauses can sometimes be the catalyst to tempting them to bite properly.

If lures isn’t your go,

them squirtworms and nippers will work. Fish them on light leaders with small number 10 shank hooks for best results.

Flathead have been good, and there’s a heap of smaller fish throughout the system. They can become a nuisance, even hitting larger lures meant for bigger prey.

It’s good to see these small fish though, it should mean better fishing years down the track.

Atomic Semi-Hardz sink slowly and are capable of being fished in a wide range of situations.

They are built extra tough with heavy duty wire running through the lure, insuring you stay connected with your prey.

The life-like feel of the Semi-Hardz will keep fish coming back again and again.

The upper reaches of Wagonga Inlet around the oyster racks is a great place to target bream on surface walkers.

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45

Chance to chase lots of species BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Yes it is that time of year where all the moons align to provide an array of different fish species to chase in many varied locations. This definitely has to be my favourite month of the year, with weather conditions generally calm, allowing anglers to fish their preferred methods for their favourite species.

Out at sea it is the best

fishing you could expect to experience. For the inshore anglers, there is plenty to be found. For those into sport fishing, species like kingfish, bonito, striped tuna, frigate mackerel, salmon and even the occasional small black marlin are patrolling the coast line or Montague Island in search of the many baitfish that are abundant in our area.

Small bait like pilchards, yakka or white bait, will move through the water columns, providing bottom or reef fish with an opportunity to also feast upon them.

Still, sunny mornings are a great time to get into some luderick on the Bermagui River.

Fish like tiger and sand flathead are following this bait, and allowing anglers plenty of opportunity to catch a feed. While reef species like snapper, morwong, kingies, perch or pigfish may also seek out this bait supply.

Out wider on the Twelve Mile Reef, expect more of the same action, only with the fish being of larger size, as they come from the deeper water.

Now is also prime time for marlin out to and beyond the continental shelf. Bait schools like slimy mackerel, cowanyoung and red bait are their main attraction, especially for the striped and black marlin. While the small pelagics like frigate mackerel, stripies and juvenile yellowfin are in the area, they have been a regular addition on small lures this season, and will also attract those big blue marlin that are lurking wider out over the shelf. If it is a big blue you desire, try whacking out a spread of large lures where you can cover the water, and push out to areas like the Sea Mount east of Montague.

For the striped and black marlin, and even

some blues, try hugging the edge of the shelf, working from the Twelve Mile Reef through to Tuross Canyons until you discover where the bait is concentrated, then work the area over. Expect while out there in pursuit of marlin to encounter some other predators like spearfish, yellowfin tuna and mahimahi that may be hanging around the buoys attached to the fish traps just inside the shelf. There’s also plenty of sharks out there. If you are live baiting for marlin, sharks like makos, whalers, hammerheads and sometimes tigers may also take a liking to your bait just to provide some variety to your day.

In the estuaries, the last of the prawns are making their way to the ocean, and this means the fish are feasting on them in order to build condition for the cooler months ahead. This may also be the last chance for humans to acquire some of this succulent seafood before it disappears for the season.

Prawn style lures are working well on flathead in Wallaga Lake and the

Snapper are a favourite any time, and they are now just starting to show in numbers.

Bermagui River. If you find conditions a bit windy, try drifting the lakes just twitching them along the bottom, as it has proven very successful this season. Other species like whiting, bream, luderick, mullet or trevally will move over the flats with the incoming tide, providing some excellent shallow water angling. A well-placed nipper, prawn or squirt worm is all that is required to gain a result. Often the easiest way to find fish in this area is to simply move about in your boat, kayak or wading where you actually sight the fish, then go back and have some fun.

This is also one of the best times of year on the beaches, as it is not too cold and allows anglers to fish both night or day. Of a night, expect all types of surprises in the form of some reasonablesized sharks like whalers or gummies, while mixing with them are the occasional mullowayor tailor. During the day, the shallower gutters are producing lots of whiting on worms, with the occasional bream or mullet adding to the bag while the deep gutters on the incoming tide are producing pack attacks from the local salmon schools and providing some frantic fishing for the anglers.

Warm water keeps fish around MALLACOOTA/EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

With the Far South Coast and Mallacoota region still nice and warm, there’s been plenty of fishing in the lakes, ocean and off the beaches going

temperature drops.

Sand whiting, yellowfin bream and tailor have been about in good numbers, with fresh baits of worms and prawns a good choice. There are good gutters on all the local beaches, with the rising tide around dawn and dusk a good time to be fishing.

Anglers heading offshore

Some big gummy sharks are being caught, with the bigger models coming out wide in 60m of water.

Some good squid have been caught by anglers quick enough to throw out a squid jig when they have spotted them following up a retrieved bait.

For a brief period, some good action was had on kingfish, however the fish haven’t been easy to catch.

There’s no doubt that they are still about, but finding

them and getting them to bite has been the challenge.

At present the game fishing action has been to the north of Eden, but the coming month should see striped marlin and striped tuna catches coming from off Eden and Mallacoota.

The estuaries have been fishing well, with plenty of flathead being caught, and a variety of lures have been catching fish. Soft plastics and blades were working well on a recent charter, with

Good numbers of black bream have been caught over the past month. on, with good catches to report.

The weather has been great, with the usual northeasterly wind that howls at this time of year not being such a bother.

Fishing the beaches has been good, with a variety of species being caught. Salmon are about, but not in big numbers, and the warmer water temperatures see fewer fish about, with numbers appearing when the water 46

MARCH 2019

have been catching plenty of fish with great conditions (no wind and slight seas), allowing boats to head out and chase a feed at any time, with only the odd day when the wind chases them off the water.

Sand flathead are being caught in good numbers, with some big tiger flathead coming in out wide. The challenge is finding the fish.

Some boats are catching plenty of fish, while others are struggling.

Max Oehlmann is very happy with an 82cm flathead he caught on a blade.

Who said you won’t catch fish with bananas on board?

one 82cm flathead caught.

This fish took a blade and was a PB for Max Oehlmann.

Good numbers of both black and yellowfin bream are being caught, with the fish taking both bait and lures. The fish are on the move and can be here one minute and gone the next.

The entrance area of the tidal estuaries has seen some good sand whiting taken, with bait fishing the way to

get numbers of fish.

The bottom lake in Mallacoota has seen a number of good-sized pinkie snapper caught, and with the lake still closed to the ocean, they will only keep getting bigger.

After the recent rains there is still a little flow in all the local rivers, but a good flush is needed to really liven things up as we head further into autumn.

Hot Spot

Poking around Portland CRANBOURNE

Mitch Chapman

What was once known as a small quiet fishing town in the west is now one of the biggest fisheries that Victoria has to offer. Just over four hours from Melbourne, Portland and surroundings has a plethora of species available all year round. The two main species that get the blood pumping for keen anglers are southern bluefin tuna and kingfish.

PRIME TIME The warmer months is

prime time for kingfish, as they start to fire up and on the right days can be seen sunning on top.

The tuna fishery use to be a winter thing, but in the last couple of years it has really become an all year fishery.

The summer months see less school fish, with most being around the 20-40kg mark.

THE GEAR Medium tackle spin gear during the warmer months is more than enough for the rat kings and tuna, and 30lb casting gear is perfect for this.

When chasing barrel

tuna in the winter, 50-80lb overheads can sometimes not even be enough, with tuna over 150kg a real possibility.

THE RIG If casting lures, a rod length of 30-60lb leader is perfect and should be tied to 30-50lb braid, depending on the size of the reel you are using.

If trolling skirts, then a wind on leader with a snap at the end is the preferred method. All that’s left is to attach your lure and trace and start trolling!

BAIT AND LURES A couple of my favourite

The Maria Pop Queen is a must have lure when popping for kings and tuna at Portland.

lures for casting for both species are as follows. 130mm poppers go good on the kings and have been taking their fair share of fish lately.

If the fish don’t commit to lures on top, then sinking stickbaits are deadly.

I’ll usually have a lure of this variety tied on my second outfit.

BEST METHOD To cover ground, trolling lures and baits works really well, and you can use the sounder to your advantage.

Casting to fish that you can see is still one of the best methods, and in this scenario you should have a variety of techniques ready, because the fish can be really picky and sometimes only zone in to one particular method of fishing. Always mix it up and have a variety of methods ready.

MOTHER NATURE The weather in Portland at the best of times can be scary for both experienced and non-experienced boaters.

Always check the weather and make sure you have a good understanding of what the day is looking like. The open ocean is a dangerous place, so treat it with respect.

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Ben Cunnington with a pair of cracking kings he caught trolling live baits in the middle of the day. generally the fish aren’t too far away. There are a couple of ways to do this. Always keep your eyes open for birds working. It could be one bird or a group, but they are always worth investigating if they look a little flustered or

they are chasing things.

Also, as mentioned above, a quality sounded is your best friend when out on the ocean. When you find bait, mark them so you can come back and search the area.

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47

One eye on the weather NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

More than most other sports, hobbies or pastimes, recreational fishing is incredibly weatherdependent.

Having a reasonable idea of what’s likely to unfold on the weather front over the coming hours and days can

much has changed. Were the same patterns to be repeated today, that intense tropical low would be accurately tracked from the moment it formed over the Arafura Sea, with clear alerts issued to those in its path well before any significant impact was felt. Combined with modern building standards and today’s communication networks, this level of preparedness would dramatically reduce the threat

localised variations can have far reaching impacts.

If you’ve ever done any reading about a baffling branch of science called chaos theory, you’ll likely have heard of something called the ‘butterfly effect’. This is defined as ‘the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic non-linear system can result in large differences in a later state’.

That sounds tricky, and it is!

What it effectively means is that a tiny variation in initial conditions can create significant outcomes, and that these outcomes can potentially occur far away in

One look at violent storm conditions such as these should be enough to instantly rule out any rock or offshore fishing plans.

The fish are biting, but the sea is rising fast as the wind picks up. Knowing when to pull stumps and run for home can potentially save your life. not only improve your catch rate and keep you dry, warm and happy, it might actually save your life!

Weather forecasting has certainly evolved in my half century as an angler. When I was a kid, the best way to get a handle on what was happening in the sky was to open a window and stick your head out! Official forecasts were notoriously untrustworthy, especially over time spans

to both human life and physical infrastructure.

While it’s still a popular Aussie sport to bash and even ridicule the much-maligned Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), the truth is they do a reasonably good job these days. Inputs of data from satellites, weather balloons, human observations and remote sensing stations are continuously fed into giant computers running complex

Always watch the skies. These clouds preceded a violent storm on the Tweed River in Far Northern NSW. both space and time from the initial influence. The extreme example cited is that a butterfly flapping its wings on the banks of the Amazon River in South America could (theoretically)

It’s lovely and calm now, but are those clouds telling a story? beyond 24 hours. You need only look back at Darwin’s lack of preparedness for Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Eve in 1974 to get an idea of how

models that the forecasters of my youth could only have fantasised about. The outcomes are impressive, but they aren’t perfect. That’s because tiny,

influence the weather in China! So, it’s not surprising the weather people still get it wrong from time to time.

My other observation

about the government-run BOM is that it’s a cautious, conservative and highly riskaverse organisation. In fact, as an angler, if I relied solely on the Bureau’s forecasts I reckon I’d hardly ever venture outside my front door, let alone offshore in a trailer boat! I have a theory that this risk-aversion intensified following the disastrous Sydney to Hobart yacht race of 1998, in which six lives and many vessels were lost, and 55 crew members were saved from mountainous seas in the largest peacetime rescue mission ever witnessed on Australian waters.

The Bureau copped a merciless flogging from the media and others over their failure to correctly forecast the severity of that 1998 storm, and they appear to have modified their predictive models and forecasting language as a result. Suffice to say that these days, they seem far more inclined to

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(07)

predict ‘fresh to frightening’ conditions (my terminology, not theirs!) than in the past.

In my opinion, serious anglers need to consult a number of sources when attempting to assess likely conditions for a planned trip, especially if venturing offshore or out onto large, exposed bodies of open water in small craft. The BOM should still be your first port of call, but it also makes sense to check at least a couple of other weather modelling sites or apps. Popular ones include Seabreeze, WillyWeather and Buoy Weather, along with my own personal favourite: Fish Ranger. Try all of these for yourself and assess which ones are most accurate in your neck of the woods.

My biggest tip is not to rely solely on any single source of forecasting. Even more importantly, listen for regular radio updates and maritime warnings while you’re on the water, and keep

High, wispy clouds and so-called ‘mares’ tails’ indicate strong winds in the upper atmosphere and often precede strong winds at ground or sea level, too.

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MARCH 2019

your wits about you and your eyes open for telltale signs of unexpected weather shifts. In the end, sticking your head out the window (or above the boat’s console) is still the most effective and immediate forecasting tool.

I’ll never forget the day, half a century ago, when my old man suddenly craned his neck, sniffed the air and sternly declared that it was time to wind up our handlines and head in from the flathead drifting grounds off Tathra, on the Far South Coast of NSW. As an impressionable 11-year old, I was in awe, and ready to acknowledge his God-like powers… until I turned and looked south myself at the boiling mass of darkly bruised storm clouds quickly blotting out the horizon. Half an hour later, as we winched the little tinnie back onto the trailer, we were lashed by icy horizontal rain driven by the southerly buster from hell. It’s hard to beat a weather eye.

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MARCH 2019

49

Go Behind the Scenery

Tasmania

Fish deeper to find the keepers TASMANIA

Kelly Hunt

Can you believe we’re in the third month of the year already? And what a year it has been so far. The fishing has been full throttle since 1 January and has seemed turbo charged since then. The weather has been fantastic, perhaps a little too warm, and the wind and sea conditions have been for the most part very good.

The severe fire conditions that saw a great number of fishing areas threatened in February look to have subsided.

Early to mid-February created some issues with road access

upsized salmon, but they are really making Tasmania home of late and you can expect to catch them well into March.

The hotspots have been Coles Bay in and around the moorings and across to Honeymoon Bay. The rocky shore and points all the way down to the passage are also worth a try. Down south they have turned up around Eaglehawk Neck, the bays in and around Port Arthur and the Derwent River. The Derwent River has been giving up quite a few kings this year.

Boat anglers have been doing well, but so have the shore-based fishos from all reports. The area in and around Bellerive Bluff is

riggers is a proven way to catch big yellowtail kingfish on the mainland, so maybe it’s time we gear up for that in March.

YELLOWFIN FEVER March is the time of year serious offshore gamefishers get really excited and the mighty yellowfin tuna is on everyone’s minds. It’s a much sought after fish and a prize trophy. There were years where they were quite abundant and places like the back of Merricks Reef off St Helens and the waters just off Schouten Passage were known to hold them. This just hasn’t happened for a few years and I am willing it to happen this year.

March is the best month to target kingies in Tasmania.

They are around in big numbers and sizes. to some of the highland lakes due to the danger of wild fire. This also impacted the southern boat ramps in and around Geeveston and Southport. Thankfully all this seems to be behind us and these areas are available for us to enjoy again.

So, let’s have a look at what we can get up to this March in and around this great island state.

KINGS EVERYWHERE Yellowtail kingfish have been the fish of 2019 and there were plenty found in February.

Kingies are still about and the anglers who found them early will be honing their skills to perfection by now. It pays to do so because this species of fish feeds hard when hungry, but they can also frustrate anglers when sighted and not take a lure or bait.

The shore-based anglers must look for some points or areas that promise some reef and broken ground. Look for some water movement and be prepared to up your retrieve to incite a bite.

There are more kings being caught this season, and of a bigger size. Traditionally they have always been found travelling with the schools of 50

MARCH 2019

always a popular sport to try a good long cast with a speedy retrieve. Boat anglers have been trolling small skirted lures like Zacatak 9mm and longer minnows. Soft plastics are also proving to be a winner with erratically worked Gulp Jerk Shads taking their fair share.

Locating a pocket of kings is best done with lures and soft plastics. Hardbody diving lures that will take a bit of pace as you wind them in swiftly are your best bet. Soft plastics that are elongated will work well.

The numbers of fish reported in early February and the varied and different locations they were caught suggest a session in the boat would be a great deal of fun.

Lures that you would use for salmon are fine and so are the rods and reels. Be warned though, an upsized specimen of 5-8kg will take you to task quickly on such gear but will be a lot of fun.

If you are trying to target the bigger fish that have been about this year, I’d opt for a deeper diving lure with a badly wounded fish action.

Slow trolling squid tentacles and small live baits on down

The water off Bicheno and the Passage looked fabulous late February and was a good temperature for holding cruising yellowfin tuna and marlin.

Pound for pound, these babies are the fastest and the most agile of all the tuna we face here in Tasmania. To land a good-sized yellow is an angling feat that not many can lay claim to.

Yellowfin are a true athlete of the ocean and are also fantastic eating when looked after. After a big battle tuna species can suffer what is known as ‘burnt tuna syndrome’. This is where the fish has over heated in the battle and continues to do so while on the deck after capture.

This can leave the flesh tasting muddy and not very appealing.

If you go to the trouble of catching it, a little more trouble won’t hurt to make sure you have some ice. Don’t be one of those people who complain about the bad taste after leaving the guts in the fish all day on the deck of your boat.

Yellowfin love a temperature break and current line. If you find some water that is dramatically hotter (by 2-4°C) than previous areas, work up and down that area until you can get a sense of where that temperature break is and where it runs.

You can use the sounder to plot marks and instead of naming them just log the temperature readings. You will soon get a picture of what might be going on around you.

While traveling and plotting, keep an eye open for bait schools as well. If you start to have a temperature break and some bait, you have found an area that is worth working over.

Come over the ground from all angles, working the bait from the warmer water to the colder and vice versa.

Yellowfin are also a species of fish that don’t mind traversing the shallow ground to get to where they want to go. Many spots along the east coast of Tasmania have held and had yellowfin feed in water as shallow as 50m.

Don’t get hung up on any special lure needed to target yellowfin in Tasmania. If you have a good spread of lures that mimic the Tasmanian pelagic bait you are on the money.

A couple of brown and light orange skirts will keep you in good stead as they will replicate the squid we start to see offshore and around in March.

A patch of weed was hiding this beautiful pair of kingfish.

As I have mentioned, it has been a while since we have seen a good run of yellowfin in Tasmanian shores. When we do see them they are normally good-sized fish of 50kg or better. With the water temperature and quality we had out wide in February, I believe we have a chance of seeing some this month.

I would like to see the broadbill crews get a good old fashioned NSW cube trail going while they are dropping for swords.

Although, the way the mako sharks have been fishing you would have three sharks at your boat in no time. Not ideal when you are trying to catch a broadbill. It wouldn’t be nice to hook a sword and get it boatside only to have it munched by a mako full of the cubes destined for a yellowfin tuna.

Don’t let me down, get out and pull a solid spread of lures. Get some 10” lures out, creating a good fuss on the surface and cover yourself in glory. Destinations like Bicheno and Triabunna are prime yellowfin haunts.

They are also great places

The waters around Eaglehawk Neck are a great place to target. This awesome rays bream came on board during a recent trip out.

to take the family while you are out draggin’ lures for hours offshore.

BLUE SPOT FLATHEAD Tasmania is lucky to have a number of flathead species in our waters. The bigger sand and tiger flathead are the ones I like to target to eat. There is also the big blue spot flathead that are becoming more and more popular to target. These fish are often very big and seen as a bit of a trophy.

They are great fun to catch on big soft plastics with an active tail. A trick is to use a heavy jighead to make sure you are working the seafloor hard and get an occasional puff of sand as you retrieve.

The retrieve is also very important and most success is had with a slow to very slow retrieve. If you have a stretch of water you suspect they might be living in a good trick is to check that area out at low tide.

Low tide will allow you to see all the area that the big flathead may lay looking to ambush its prey. Working this out and having a soft plastic come past a big flathead’s nose will have you hooked up in no time.

Marcus Popowski is a super keen fishermen who prides himself on thinking outside the box to catch fish. He is a great family man and raises his kids to love the outdoors and fishing as much as he does, but also to fish responsively and for the future.

With the southern blue spot flathead currently receiving increased recreational fishing efforts across the North West coast of Tasmania, Marcus was very keen to assist by being a fisheries ambassador for this species.

Very little research had been completed on the southern blue spot flathead and no foreseeable changes could take place unless some research was completed. It is incredibly important for the big estuary flathead to have some size and possession limits applied to them for sustainability. This

Go Behind the Scenery would bring us into line with other mainland states and their current regulations on larger species of flathead.

This led to Marcus getting involved in providing samples from July 2012 to September 2014 so that they could determine an idea of the southern blue spot flathead’s population, including growth, size at maturity modelling and age structure. The majority of these fish found in our estuaries are females and they are in these estuaries in good numbers over the summer months to spawn.

It would have been about six years ago that Marcus

released his first large southern blue spot flathead.

The release of this fish had the biggest influence on his fishing hobby to date. He has been fishing from the day he could walk, and so a flathead was just a flathead to him.

There was no education on the five species you can catch here in Tasmania – southern sand, tiger, rock, dusky and the southern blue spot. A flathead was just a flathead.

Since then, releasing a large wild brown trout, or flathead to the ever common Australian salmon is just second nature for Marcus and he actually enjoys releasing a

Tasmania

fish more than keeping them.

This often causes questions from nearby fishers, but it is a great way of educating fellow fishers on catch and release and discussions on spawning fish, whether they ever take it on board is for them to determine.

With modern technology and social media the ease of capturing a quick photo of your fish and releasing it is one of the best ways to preserve your fishing memories without having to take back a stiff, bent, discoloured trophy to show family and friends.

But Marcus still keeps fish for a feed and gets much Tasmanian waters are home to some of the most interesting fish, including this recent capture. You never know what you’re going to catch next out near the shelf.

A mixed bag that included a blue eye trevalla and an imperador from a recent trip, where every cast seemed to produce a catch.

enjoyment from cooking up some fresh Tasmanian species for the family to enjoy. The southern blue spot flathead is a softer meat than the popular common sand flathead, hence harder to skin and debone.

‘A flathead is just a flathead’ mentality is an area where species recognition is going to be a huge education process with the Tasmanian recreational fishers.

It was good to see Fisheries Tasmania recently releasing posters with the five species of flathead in Tasmania.

Without education on species recognition then bag and size

limits (if introduced) will be harder to comply with for the everyday fishers.

The banning of netting in Duck Bay and other surrounding inlets and rivers has seen an increase in fish numbers and a definite size increase. The increased popularity of soft plastic fishing has probably seen this take over as the preferred method of catching the southern blue spot flathead in shallow estuaries instead of bait and spear methods.

Unfortunately, these methods do not lend themselves to catch and

release. With bait fishing these large flathead often are gut or gill hooked and retrieving hooks is nearly impossible without damaging the fish.

Spear fishing is a popular method but a high percentage of these large flathead are often found in a foot of water or less at night. They are such a strong fish that they end up ripping free from the spear and swimming off with significant head and gill injuries, with a slow death nearly inevitable.

Nutting out the methods and what works best for catching these large flathead To page 52

MARCH 2019

51

Go Behind the Scenery

Tasmania From page 51

is addictive. It also expensive, with a continued flood of new soft plastics and jigheads entering the market. Let’s hope some sensible size and bag limits are put on our estuary flathead so many generations ahead can enjoy the lure of catching a ‘big one’.

BROADBILL Tasmania is ‘the’ broadbill capital of Australia, with these fish around in numbers but also incredible sizes. These fish are an iconic species for gamefishers as they combine two things, intrigue and difficulty of capture.

Swordfish brings both these and more to the party.

Broadbill gets their name from the bill that can be one third the length of a mature adult fish. They will use this weapon to great effect and are quite dangerous.

Massive shoulders that run down, maintaining bulk all the way to a tail that has a thick powerful wrist.

These creatures are mad and will attack all that crosses its path while looking to feed – they will even take on a submersible or two if in the wrong mood. That is why over the years this fish has gotten the nickname ‘gladiator of the sea’. Accounts dating back to the 1800s have depicted anglers and broadbill battling it out for hours. Be prepared for a long battle should you hook one up and keep an eye on the forecast and weather conditions.

March is the month for swordfish anglers to get really keen to get out and target these monsters. Anglers are encountering fish in excess of 200kg and the frequency of encounters is very surprising.

Recreational anglers have combined with TarFish, the GFAA and local government to instigate a satellite tagging program to get a real understanding of the local population. This study has

Bream are another possibility this month, and most captures are a decent size. been going on for a few years now and the first of the findings have just been published. It is a very interesting read and I would recommend anyone keen on catching or learning more about these fish to read it.

Head online and find the study here http://www.imas.utas.edu. au. It is very important that the fishery be understood and some fishing parameters be formulated.

The general methods that have been tried and tested internationally are accepted ways to hook swords. These involve drifting at night and setting a range of baits at various depths from 20-150m below the surface. Squid, mackerel or small tuna are the preferred baits.

While this works around the globe the popular method here in Tasmania is daytime deep drops. This involves dropping big baits down very deep on schools of fish off the continental shelf. Rigging these baits with a big circle hook out the front and having a good quality light attached to the rig. This is dropped down with a sinker on a breakaway

rig. These break away rigs are varied and inventive.

The very best results here are going to be in the very best weather conditions, so study that weather map and have a go.

BOTTOM FISHING The price of a decent electric fishing outfit is coming down all the time. There are a number of brands that are offering electric fishing reels that are very affordable and of good quality. Then if you feel the need to lighten your wallet extensively and get the best of the best you can look at the offerings from Miya Epoch and Daiwa.

Electric reels not only save you the hard labour of winding up fish and heavy sinkers all day, but they can be a good tool for blind dropping.

This is the term given to deploying baits on an area where you do not have any ‘marks’ for fish caught in the past or a sounder that will hit the bottom. A sounder that can hit the bottom with a powerful enough signal to show fish in 500m is an expensive outlay.

You need a solid head unit

like the SIMRAD NSS Evo III coupled with a 1kw transducer to get clear and solid fish finding returns.

On a good day with decent conditions you can hit the bottom with an electric reel and not care what is down there. Just get your big sinkers and hooks loaded with bait and drop down. Watch the rod tip as you pay line out in case you get hit on the way down.

Out on the shelf there is a heap of fish activity. It is basically the food court of the ocean. It is a game of who is looking to eat and who’s about to be eaten.

When you get to the bottom maintain tension by engaging your reel. On most days you can pay line out as you drift and see all the action.

The beauty of the modern braid lines is that they cut the water and current and telegraph every bump and bite back to the rod tip. This will let you know you are on fish and bring your tech into play. Your sounder may not be able to hit the bottom with its sounder function, but the navigation side of the unit should allow

you to drop a waypoint. This is crucial.

You may have a combo unit or a standalone map unit.

Either way, go to the menu and find ‘waypoint’ select ‘new waypoint’ and choose a new icon for a new day.

This will save confusion when you come back another day.

Don’t worry about naming this waypoint because it is only where you have found a few bites. When you later hook a couple of good species you can go back and name the waypoint.

Right, so you are getting bites, now is the time to load those hooks up. A normal deep drop rig will have three or four hooks, or maybe more, so you want to get them loaded. To do this try and take notice of how your rod bends and looks with different loads on it. I like to see a bite and then engage the reel a couple of metres and stop. If you are in a good patch of fish you will see more bites and the rod load up again. Repeat and engage the electric reel for another 2-3m and stop. You should see some more bites and the rod load up some more.

I don’t think the baits are moving up exactly the distance I am engaging the reel, but what I think I am doing by engaging the reel each time is taking the bow or slack out of the line. You must remember that the fish we are looking for are in 400-600m of water. If I don’t have to wind I will drop the whole show until I see the spool.

In engaging the reel every 2-3m you are making sure that the line is kept tight and the fish can’t get off. You don’t have to hook them, because deep sea rigs use good circle hooks that are designed to self-hook in the corner of the jaw. Maintaining tension just means the fish don’t rattle around down there on the sinker and make too big a hole in their mouths and drop

off. I also think that if my baits are in fish and I’ve hooked one and draw the line onto the reel the baits will move a little down on the bottom and evoke another fish to bite, and it often does. These fish are often in good size schools and three or more fish at a time is not uncommon.

Deep drop fishing is often done in very good sea conditions, as it’s best to hold bottom and get good slow drifts. In rough weather with a bit of sea and drift on I would not recommend fishing two lines at once. You wouldn’t wish upon your worst enemy the tangles and mess you can get yourself into fishing two electrics.

With the electric reels you have to add a bit more lead to hold bottom. You might even have to double the weight. If the weather gets a little worse you can still do very well by driving up the line. Some crews will back up into the wind and sea, but in smaller boats this is uncomfortable and unsafe.

You can extend your fishing time in unfavourable weather by dropping as normal on your fish mark and when it hits the bottom pay out a bit of line maintaining tension. When you have a bit of line out you can slowly drive back up the line into the sea and wind bow first. Keep the line to the side of the boat taking up slack if you need to. When the line is roughly straight up and down again you can start over and pay line out. Do this two or three times and come all the way up to see what you have.

You won’t stay as tight to the baits as normal but that is the beauty of the circle hooks.

You will have kept the baits in the area long enough for any interested fish to come over and have a crack. We have rescued a few days on the shelf by being patient and working cleverly while others have

HYDRO TASMANIA WATER STORAGE INFORMATION Water Storage Information as at 7th February 2019 Lake/Lagoon

Metres from full

Comment

Trevallyn Pond..................................1.05........................................................Steady Lake Mackenzie................................9.50........................................................Steady Lake Rowallan..................................8.31........................................................Steady Lake Parangana................................0.65........................................................Steady Lake Cethana....................................2.55........................................................Steady Lake Barrington................................0.00.......................................................Spilling Lake Gairdner...................................1.89........................................................Steady Lake Paloona....................................0.53........................................................Steady Lake Augusta....................................3.21........................................................Steady Arthurs Lake.....................................1.96........................................................Steady Great Lake........................................14.64......................................................Steady Little Pine Lagoon.............................0.73........................................................Steady Shannon Lagoon...............................0.12........................................................Steady Penstock Lagoon..............................0.26........................................................Steady Woods Lake......................................1.23........................................................Steady Lake St Clair.....................................2.06........................................................Steady Lake King William.............................5.58........................................................Steady Lake Echo.........................................6.96........................................................Steady

Dee Lagoon.......................................0.00.......................................................Spilling Pine Tier Lagoon...............................2.67........................................................Steady Bronte Lagoon..................................0.76........................................................Steady Bradys/Binneys/Tungatinah..............2.63........................................................Steady Laughing Jack Lagoon.....................3.85........................................................Steady Lake Liapootah.................................3.47........................................................Steady Wayatinah Lagoon............................0.32........................................................Steady Lake Catagunya................................0.97........................................................Steady Lake Repulse....................................0.00.......................................................Spilling Cluny Lagoon....................................0.20........................................................Steady Meadowbank Lake...........................0.58........................................................Steady Lake Burbury....................................8.41........................................................Steady Lake Margaret..................................9.61........................................................Steady Whitespur Pond................................8.08........................................................Steady Lake Newton.....................................4.68........................................................Steady Lake Plimsoll....................................8.01........................................................Steady Lake Murchison................................15.35......................................................Steady Lake Mackintosh..............................3.76........................................................Steady Lake Rosebery..................................0.55........................................................Steady Lake Pieman.....................................1.80........................................................Steady Lake Pedder......................................1.51........................................................Steady Lake Gordon.....................................27.31......................................................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

52

MARCH 2019

Go Behind the Scenery disregarded the possibility to fish. It’s only when you get back to the ramp with a fish bin full of chilled fish that they change their mind and ask questions.

SOUTHEAST One person that doesn’t muck about when he sees a weather window is Jonah Yick. You have seen him on these pages before holding some awesome fish. Jonah is a great example of someone who understands weather patterns and can read a forecast and plan a successful trip. The weather is often the key to all sorts of different

fishing activities and it’s no different with deep dropping.

Make a plan around a very good weather forecast, be organised and execute for maximum success.

Jonah took advantage of a perfect weather forecast predicted for the South East coast. He had his gear and boat packed and prepared a couple of nights before, and then all he had to do was load up the frozen bait on the morning and a few snacks.

They were headed south again and thought they might head back out to Eaglehawk Neck for a look.

Tasmania

He trundled through, looking on the sounder over the marks he had plotted a few weeks ago. They didn’t have to wait long, and soon had a mixed bag of fish coming over the side. Every drop was loaded with fish and they even managed to hook a strange, small-toothed, whiptail looking thing.

They encountered all the usual suspects. Gemfish and blue grenadier seemed to be on the chew, hard. They also caught a bright orange imperador and a few rays bream. There was a lot of excitement when they pulled

A monster blue spot flathead. It is important to know the different types of flathead and practice catch and release when possible.

This was another rare capture from near Eaglehawk Neck, a white warehou.

After a good clean it made for a tasty meal, according to Jonah Yick.

a few good blue eye trevalla over the side.

Luck was certainly on their side, as while drifting and working their marks they cam across a patch of weed. It was a large raft of surface weed and big enough to hold fish.

They decided to back up to it slowly and have a cast at it with soft plastics. This resulted in a hook up instantly and a school of kingfish came racing up to the boat.

This made things interesting while bottom sniffing.

After a bit of fun on yellowtail kings they went back to deep dropping. The

fishing continued to be very good, and they even managed a 4.6kg white warehou. Initially it looked like another blue eye, but when handled it had a huge amount of slime. This was quite a surprise as they are not very common. The fish was brown and covered in mucus when alive, but changes to a white colouration after death. Jonah said it was absolutely delicious and every bit as good as blue eye.

WRAP UP March is the month to get out and have a real good crack. We are holding on to the last of the hot

weather and the ample daylight hours.

The water quality and currents are the best I have seen in a very long time, so get out and prove some of the theories I have for this season. Time on the water is the best tool you have to get the job done with some of these fish. Having some time off and trying to get multiple days on the water, if weather allows, will have you find the fish others won’t.

Stay safe, make sure all your gear is in good condition and tight lines.

DROP IN TO YOUR LOCAL QUINTREX DEALER! TASMANIA Lewis Marine

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

BENDIGO

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

GEELONG

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

BRAESIDE

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

LAVERTON NORTH JV Marine World

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

BAYSWATER Streaker Marine

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

53

Inland Fisheries Service

All roads lead to fishing IFS

Tim Farrell

On Tuesday 8 January 2019, we went with Anglers Alliance Tasmania to Four Springs Lake to see the results of the cumbungi control done in January 2018.

We surveyed the eight sites sprayed last year. At two of the sites, eradication was 100% successful.

The remaining six sites have small areas of regrowth. These have been re-treated with low toxicity bioactive herbicide.

The highlight was that the largest area, which was treated by manually slashing the stems 150mm below the water surface in January and March, resulted in 100% eradication.

We will survey all sites again in in January 2020.

CRAIGBOURNE ROAD TO REMAIN OPEN At their meeting on 23 January, the Southern Midlands Council voted unanimously to keep the northeastern side of Craigbourne Road open to the public.

The Council maintained road provides access to the

more sheltered side of the dam for shore and canoe based anglers.

The IFS thanks the community for their overwhelming support in keeping this important public access open for anglers and other recreational users.

Anglers accessing the dam should respect private land and adhere to the access rules at all times.

ENTER INTO THE TASMANIAN TROUT PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION 2018-19 We want your best Tasmanian trout fishing photos. Entries for the Tasmanian Trout Fishing Photography Competition 2018-19 will be accepted up until 5pm on Tuesday 30 April 2019.

In particular, we are looking for photos of families, kids, female anglers, scenery shots and of course, trout.

There are cash and gear prizes on offer – first place: $500, second place: 1x pair Neoprene waders (Fly n Dry), third and forth Place: 10x Lures (Hueys Lures).

You can submit up to six images with a maximum size of 5MB each. Images

will be showcased and the winner announced at Trout Weekend 2019.

Entry is free. Conditions apply – see entry form for more details. To apply go to the IFS website and download the entry form, fill it out, press the submit button, attach your photos and email it all to us at photos@ifs.tas.gov.au.

THE YEAR OF THE WORLD FLY FISHING CHAMPIONSHIP This year, on behalf of Australia, Tasmania will host the 39th World Fly Fishing Championship.

From 2-6 December competitors from up to 30 countries will experience fishing for Tasmania’s wild brown trout.

After years of planning, the excitement is building.

This will be the second time Tasmania has hosted the championship.

In 1988, competing anglers fished three venues, Little Pine and Bronte lagoons and London Lakes.

The competition was shore-based with anglers wading set beats. The local angling community who volunteered their support still talk about the friendships made and the

The road to the eastern end of Craigbourne will remain open, pleasing many Hobart-based anglers. camaraderie of the event.

Now the event is held across five venues.

Competing anglers will fish from boats on Little

Pine and Penstock lagoons and Wood Lake and wade beats on the Meander and Mersey rivers.

Again, the Championship

will be a great opportunity for local volunteers to see the best fly fishers in the world and make lifelong friendships.

STACER 589 OCEAN RANGER CENTRE CAB

The best of both worlds with protection from the elements and 360 degrees of fishability.

The 589 Ocean Ranger Centre Cab is sturdy plate boat that gives fishos unobstructed fishing off all angles, dry storage and shelter from the sun or rain.

360 Degrees of Plate Boat Fishing.

Contact your local dealer for more information.

54

MARCH 2019

MELBOURNE

LAVINGTON

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MELBOURNE

GEELONG

612-614 Plenty Road, PRESTON

474 WAGGA RD, LAVINGTON

71-77 Chickerell Street, MORWELL

92 Hallam South Road, HALLAM

250 Portarlington Road, GEELONG

info@blmarine.com.au www.blmarine.com.au

bordermarine@westnet.com.au www.bordermarinecentre.com.au

sales@crawfordmarine.com.au www.crawfordmarine.com.au

info@melbournemarine.com.au www.melbournemarine.com.au

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

BL MARINE

Ph 03 9478 1420

BORDER MARINE Ph 02 6040 9999

CRAWFORD MARINE Ph 03 5134 6522

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THE outboard of the FUTURE

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JV Marine World

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9-11 Fitzgerald Rd, Laverton North 03 9368 7100 www.jvmarine.com.au • info@jvmarine.com.au

ECHUCA

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76 Northern Hwy, Echuca 03 5482 1992 www.boatsandmore.com.au • salesechuca@boatsandmore.com.au

ALBERTON

Cranbourne Boating Centre

236 South Gippsland Hwy, Cranbourne 03 5996 2206 www.cranbourneboatingcentre.com.au cranbourneboating@bigpond.com

MELBOURNE SW

JV Marine World

878 Springvale Rd, Braeside 03 9798 8883 www.jvmarine.com.au • info@jvmarine.com.au

Alberton Marine

Johnson St, Alberton 03 5183 2344 www.albertonmarine.com.au • albertonmarine@wideband.net.au

MARCH 2019

55

WHAT’S NEW FISHING POWERDOLPHIN WATER DRONE

1

ATOMIC HARDZ SLAPPA

4

PowerVision is launching the world’s first multi-functional water drone.

Equipped with a 220° dual-joint rotation camera, the PowerDolphin can capture 4K UltraHigh-Definition footage. The camera can rotate 70° above water and 150° below the water, sending real-time 1080 pixel footage wirelessly to your phone through the Vision+ app, with a maximum transmission distance of 1000m. The drone includes adjustable front lights to capture stunning illuminated photography in various water conditions.

The integrated PowerSeeker detects fish within a range of 40m and travels by waypoint to the perfect fishing spot, utilising the built-in sonar GPS to plot the ocean floor. It will tow hooks, lure fish, release bait and capture fish at a distance of up to 1000m. Once the fish takes the bait, the PowerDolphin will automatically drag itself back to the controller.

The PowerDolphin can travel at a speed of 5m per second. A helpful technology for Australia’s lifesavers, PowerDolphin’s robust design and 3 speed gears enables it to tow and remotely release lifejackets, lifebuoys and other rescue equipment.

Price: SRP $1299 www.powervision.me

The Atomic Hardz is one of the most popular lure brands in Australia, and the new Slappa has just arrived and has quickly proven itself on Murray cod up to 70cm and larger bass.

The Atomic Slappa is a classic surface crawler designed to make maximum disturbance on the water. It is 90mm long and has large aluminium wings that fold against the body, enabling anglers to deliver a long accurate cast time and time again. The wide body displaces water and provides the point upon which it waddles across the surface. The small cupped face also spits water as it moves across the surface.

Cast them for bass and cod, wind slowly and hold on!

The Slappa is available in 14 colours, including both natural and brightly visible patterns, and also some glow colours for anglers casting at night.

For more information on this and other new releases, visit the Atomic website or check them out on Facebook at facebook.com/ atomiclures. www.atomiclures.com.au

DAIWA FUEGO NATIVE CUSTOM

MAXIMA CLEAR

2

Bold in looks and impressive in design, the Fuego Native Custom is a baitcaster that definitely stands out from the crowd.

The Fuego’s striking low profile aluminium frame sits effortlessly in the hand and combines with its advanced technologies and designs to ultimately impress in style and engage in performance.

Weighing in at 215g, the Fuego Native Custom is lean and mean where it counts, yet refined and precision designed where it’s needed. It’s a combination that many reels aspire to have but few budget priced reels fully achieve.

Featuring many of Daiwa’s best baitcaster design features including Magforce Z, UTD, Swept Handle, and a spec sheet that includes a 6.3:1 and 7.3:1 retrieve ratios, six ball bearings, the Fuego Native Custom is pimped and ready for baitcaster excellence. www.daiwafishing.com.au

NIKWAX SOLARWASH

3

In just two weeks of summer exposure, synthetic materials can lose up to half their strength, making them much more vulnerable to tearing and puncture. To save your expensive gear, and double its lifespan, simply apply both Nikwax SolarWash and SolarProof. Their combined presence forms a protective coating which helps to maintain the product’s exterior.

Both sprays also individually increase UV resistance by 50% and form a waterproof shield against unwanted leakage.

With the ability to remove dirt and other barriers that decrease water repellency, SolarWash is the perfect high-performance tool for protecting outdoor equipment. It increases the durable water repellency of a product to the highest testable standard after just one spray and rub-in.

Both water-based sprays can be applied to wet or dry equipment that has been cleaned.

For the best results, apply Nikwax SolarWash and SolarProof to brand new equipment.

All Nikwax products are palm oil free, nonhazardous, water-based, biodegradable and contains zero fluorocarbons.

Price: SRP $25.95 (SolarWash), $34.95 (SolarProof) www.nikwax.com

56

MARCH 2019

PRODUCT GUIDE 1

2

3

5

Maxima, a company that has produced quality monofilament fishing lines for decades, has now upped its game once again, with the introduction of Maxima Clear!

The new Maxima Clear fishing line is incredibly strong and easy to handle, yet retains the tough, high-durability finish that maxima has always been known for. It has outstanding knot strength, exceptional abrasion resistance and low memory to improve casting distance. On top of that, its clear finish makes it difficult for fish to detect under water.

Maxima Clear meets a wide range of freshwater and saltwater fishing situations, from casting and jigging to trolling and bottom fishing.

It is available in Leader Wheels, with poundages between 1-30lb, Guide Spools, with poundages between 6-50lb, and Service Spools, with poundages between 2-130lb. There really is a Clear spool to meet just about any fishing situation. www.jmgillies.com.au

ZEREK GADGET Z TRAYS

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4

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Zerek has released an airtight range of storage trays to keep your tackle in the best shape possible.

Worm proof and TPE plastic safe, the Gadget Z range from Zerek makes use of a large rubber seal to keep these boxes airtight, and this serves to prevent water from getting in to destroy the lures inside.

Made from polypropylene material, the Gadget Z trays comes with removable compartment separators to allow the angler to design their own internal layout how they want, while maintaining the airtight seal to protect expensive lures.

Additionally, three extra strong locking clasps are fitted to ensure the tight seal remains locked tight, regardless of how the boxes are stored or transported.

Initially two models are available, the large size coming in at 360x230x50mm and the small at a compact 275x185x50mm. www.wilsonfishing.com

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING SHIMANO REVOLUTION SERIES 7

7

The newly revamped Revolution series brings 20 different rods to choose from in spin, jig, troll and surf, they’ve got you covered, whatever the target species.

This is a wide-ranging series, consisting of light, medium and heavy spin, baitcast, jig, bluewater troll rods at value for money prices – in effect, almost every fishing style available in Australia.

The new Revolution models have been updated with all-new fittings. Using Fuji O Ring guides, which have increased protection for the insert, Soft Touch reel seats for greater comfort during long fishing sessions, which complement the hard-wearing customshaped EVA fore and butt grips. The twopiece rods also have subtle ferruling system that you’d be hard pressed to pick.

Utilising Shimano’s 24-30 Ton Toray graphite, the blanks the new Revolutions are built on combine casting performance – where applicable – with incredible lifting and fish fighting power. www.shimanofish.com.au

8

9

ZMAN TRD CRAWZ

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Joining the already incredible line-up of various soft baits ZMan offers, the new TRD CrawZ is sure to fill a gap for those chasing crustacean-eating critters in fresh and saltwater.

One thing that makes the TRD CrawZ so unbelievably effective is the fact that when it’s rigged on a NedLockZ jighead, it stands on its head, waving its claws like a real yabby defending itself. The buoyancy of the 10X ElaZTech material serves to make this feature even more life-like.

The fins on the tail of the yabby resembles a tucked in tail, but also aids in helping this great bait glide naturally to the bottom on a slack line. Additionally, if rigged backwards, it can also glide in under structure!

With 8 colours to choose from, this 2.5” bait will be perfect for the likes of bass, bream, yellowbelly and many, many more. www.tackletactics.com.au

SAMAKI WINDCHIME

11

8

9

The new Samaki Windchime shirt is saturated in colour; with a scale base for depth, they’ve added some key species to make your fishing senses come alive.

Sailfish, barramundi, jewfish and mangrove jacks feature on the front and back, all erupting out of their hiding places to inhale lures.

The lightweight fabric is perfect for all outdoor elements, protecting from the harsh sunrays with UV50+ resistant technology.

The soft touch 100% polyester material is comfortable on the body, plus has the added feature of being breathable, keeping the angler cool and dry.

Samaki designs are brought to you

by Australian anglers who love to design Australian species. Windchime shirts are available in adult, youth and kids sizes from a size 2 through to a 2XL, allowing the whole family to get in on the action and out onto the water.

Price: RRP from $49.95 www.samaki.com.au

DUO ROUGH TRAIL HYDRA

10

WARLOCK COD LOLLY

11

Long and lean and designed as the ultimate sinking stickbait for large predators, the new Duo Rough Trail Hydra 220 is the lure to pack for your next offshore adventure.

Slim-profiled and with a fixed weight in the tail to maximise casting performance and enhance its action, the Hydra 220 features a dynamic skipping action when worked across the surface, while a twitch and jerk retrieve will see it move from side to side to enhance strikes.

A hyper realistic garfish imitation when worked across the surface, the Hydra is ultra long (220mm) in length to reduce fishing swallowing and biting off the lure, while its tail-heavy, 58.2g body weight allows for long, tangle free casting on the water.

If you’re looking to call up the predators to the surface the new Duo Rough Trail Hydra 220 is the lure to reach for. www.duo-australia.com.au

Just in time for big cod season, the Warlock Cod Lolly is here and ready to make an impact on the Murray cod fishing community.

The Warlock Cod Lolly is suitable for the deeper dwelling fish that are a challenge to reach with other lures, and it has the ability to dive quickly to the required depth. This lure will get in the faces of big predators in their hidey-holes and put you I with more chances at landing that dream fish.

The Cod Lolly has an incredibly enticing sideways swaying action that is irresistible to most predatory fish, especially big Murray cod in rivers and dams.

The Cod Lolly is available in a range of striking colours and is very well built, with quality materials to handle the toughest predatory fish, and will see you through many memorable cod captures. www.jmgillies.com.au

SHIMANO TRANX 200

12

Shimano’s Tranx baitcaster series has been expanded, with the addition of a 200 size in two retrieve ratio options. Whether you’re chasing barra and threadies upstream or even big Murray cod, GTs and the like out the front, these are perfect for the job.

These reals feature the CoreProtect system, which offers superior saltwater resistance through an internal water repellent and water resistant seal system.

A large 48mm throw handle with double paddle assists cranking power and complements the 7.2:1 gear ratio (the 200A has a 6.2:1 retrieve speed).

Featuring Shimano’s Hagane Body, the Tranx holds 170m+ of 30lb braid, and boasts a 5.5kg Cross Carbon drag.

The new SVS Infinity casting controls make these reels a precision caster’s dream by adjusting the external brake adjustment dial. A longer handle and three SA-RB bearings plus one roller bearing provide almost effortless winding.

Shimano recommends pairing the Tranx 200 with a JDM Dialuna or revamped Revolution series rod. www.shimanofish.com.au

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au MARCH 2019

57

WHAT’S NEW FISHING SAMAKI SKITCH X

OKUMA KOMODO 13 SS 273

Samaki Skitch X offers you a new range taking Skitch into the future.

With an extended history of Skitch and Skitch Nano, Skitch X has combined all of its predecessors fantastic features and rolled them into the one. The X factor in the Skitch X is obvious in its ultra slick cosmetics with a sleek black blank encased in X weave wrap, a powerful performance feature, ultra hard EVA grips for comfort and support as well as striking blue details and carbon fibre locking rings.

The Samaki Skitch X has been created for every angler across the nation, from Barra fishing enthusiasts with a 6’0ft cast and spin model , to the estuary fisherman taking advantage of light and medium spin 7’ models, offering the ever so popular slug spinning 9’ model plus the famous 6’6” and 7’ heave models which are designed to give you the grunt you require when fishing heavier slugs.

Price: from SRP $99.95 www.samaki.com.au

ZEREK AFFINITY

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The Zerek Affinity is a 220mm long, 3-jointed floating swimbait originally designed for large bass and pike, but built to accommodate the brutal fisheries that are Murray cod and barramundi.

Constructed with a tough ABS plastic body that is supported by through wire construction to ensure durability, the Affinity features a unique joint section that creates a smooth sliding action during retrieve.

With its large profile, the Affinity is the prefect size for massive predators that are feeding on larger baitfish in the fresh or the salt, and with the addition of the two provided removable weights (10g and 20g), the Affinity can target them at any depth. The removable weight concept keeps the extra weight perfectly hidden, and balances the lure’s action whether you’re using the lure unweighted or with the chin weights.

Unweighted, the Affinity weighs in at 96g and comes in 10 very lifelike colours. www.wilsonfishing.com

RAPALA BC400

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MARCH 2019

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The Okuma Komodo SS Series of baitcast reels has made a name for itself in big fish circles, taking on species such as barramundi, Murray cod, PNG black bass and offshore jigging targets, thanks to its stainless steel main gear, pinion gear, drive and spool shafts, offering the ultimate power, combined with impressive drag outputs.

The compact and much anticipated 200 Series models are now available, including the KDS-273 and KDS-273LX (left hand). Both models fit neatly in the palm, boast 9kg of drag, a gear ratio of 7.3:1 and a line capacity of 0.29mm/205m. They boast a heavy-duty build, heavy drag capabilities and plenty of line capacity in a compact size.

This feature-packed reel also includes precision Japanese ABEC-5 spool bearings, 6-pin Velocity Control casting system, Spool Access Port, rigid diecast aluminium frame and side plates with CRC: Corrosion Resistant Coating process, A6061-T6 machined aluminium, anodized spool, multi-disc high output Carbonite drag system, dual antireverse for maximum reliability, Zirconium line guide, synchronized level wind optimized for braid, and more.

Price: SRP $389.90 www.okuma.com.au

SKY RIGGER

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A new drone fishing device invented by NSW anglers Jaiden Maclean and Byron Leal has launched after more than two years’ research and development.

The pair created the patented Sky Rigger following the viral success of their Drone Fishing for Tuna video, which achieved hundreds of millions of views across the world.

At the time, they used a makeshift device to attach their rig to a drone and deliver the bait from the beach out beyond the breakers, and within 24 hours they landed a 20kg tuna.

The success of the video inspired them to develop a new drone accessory to make the sport safe and accessible for everyone.

The Sky Rigger, distributed by Sea Ulcer, attaches to DJI Phantom drones. Its unique, foolproof design ensures the safety of the drone while allowing unimpeded use of its camera so anglers can capture unique unseen fishing action.

Price: SRP $199 www.seaulcer.com

BLACK MAGIC 15 FLEA

The new Rapala BC400 is the ultimate all-round oversized baitcast reel. Whether you are casting large swimbaits for Murray cod and barramundi, or slow pitch jigging reefs for demersal species, the BC400 is the ultimate crossover reel.

It also features six ball bearings and a large over-sized handle, and the 6.3:1 gear ratio allows the angler to wind fast when needed, making this reel a very versatile fish catching weapon.

The CNC machined alloy spool has a line capacity of 200m/0.33mm of 50lb braid, and is easily accessible with a quick switch side plate, allowing for quick and easy maintenance on or off the water.

Carbon fibre drag washers with a drag output of 10kg/22lb, centrifugal brake system, precision machined brass gear and a one-way clutch system will see you stopping and landing that fish of a lifetime.

Check it out at your favourite tackle store. www.rapala.com.au

PRODUCT GUIDE

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Like the Maggot lure before it, the wellknown Black Magic Flea has had a refresh with some great looking new skirt colours added to the range Coupled with some of the old favourites, anglers can now select from 10 colour options to suit their preferences.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Flea, it’s a 200mm lure ideally suited for tuna, but it’s got a great record with other pelagic species like mahi mahi, sailfish and marlin. The head itself is 30mm in length and is a cup face pusher with a small reverse taper. That gives it a nice wriggly trolling action with a good bubble trail.

Black Magic recommends using up to 200lb leader with this lure and a 7/0 game hook.

The last point worth noting is that all the heads have good UV content which you’ll see if you place them under a UV light. You’ll notice UV content in some of the skirts and there are glowing lumo versions too – all extra attraction for your target species. www.blackmagictackle.com

17

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

Unique Yamashita Eginno Pyonpyon new on the squid scene

TESTED

Anybody who enjoys squid fishing, whether it is an obsession or an occasional flirtation, would or should know the Yamashita brand of squid jigs.

Yamashita’s innovation is second to none, and the jigs in their various iterations are available at an affordable price.

I have accumulated a significant collection of Yamashita jigs over the years. It has been difficult to walk past them in a tackle store and not at least grab one or two.

Eginno Pyonpyon It can be interesting to find out the translations of Japanese product names. In this case, ‘Eginno’ is the combination of egi (squid) with innovation, and Pyonpyon means ‘jump jump’, like the flicking of a prawn.

Like all Yamashita jigs, these new jigs have some unique and interesting features to attract cephalopods to them. All of these features are based around mimicking a prawn in the water.

The first thing you’ll notice is the folding front flap. It is designed to fold back on the cast to assist with casting distance, and will then fold out during your retrieve to create a unique water resistance. The goal is to create an effect that’s similar to

The author with a handful of South Australian cephalopod. that of a prawn swimming. I assumed that the design would give the jig a bit of a sideto-side action like it does with a lure, but this was not the case. There was no visible action created by the bib, but it does slow the decent of the lure. This is ideal when you’re fishing shallow water for the likes of tiger squid in Queensland, as you can fish far more slowly, keeping the jig in the zone for longer.

The next feature that’s a bit different is the addition the leg feathers. Video of the jig underwater show that these feathers need minimal movement of the jig for them to move and sway, similar to that of a prawn swimming. I suspect that for squid, with their high sense of vision, this additional movement would further spark interest in the jig.

The Search Rattle in Yamashita jigs is a feature I have always liked, and I am glad it is in the Eginno Pyonpyon. I was lucky enough to speak to one of the members of the Yamashita research and development team a number of years ago about this.

He explained to me that they had put a huge amount of hours into creating the correct pitch in the Search Rattle – 600hz to be exact. At 600hz the Search Rattle mimics a feeding sound that hungry squid

The Yamashita Eginno Pyonpyon looks a little different from conventional squid jigs. Different in this case is full of Yamashita innovation. are attracted to. How’s that for attention to detail?

My experience with the Yamashita rattling jigs is that you will have occasions where if you are not using a rattling jig, you may as well not be fishing. It really can make all the difference.

Last but not least are the 490 Glow Beads. These have been inserted into the body of the jig to create the unique glow a prawn emits in the water. This is not a feature of all the colours in the range, however, as some are UV enhanced instead.

From the packet to the water It is one thing to be different, but that difference also needs to work. I was given a couple of jigs in the 3.5, 18g size, and my plan was to use them in the squidrich waters around Port Vincent in South Australia. From a squid fishing perspective, this is a magnificent place as you have plenty of options, whether you’re landbased or fishing from a boat.

Even the smallest squid enveloped the jig. There was no questioning they wanted it!

The marina wall was my first port of call, and I realised pretty quickly that I had to fish the Eginno jig a little differently from other jigs. With traditional jigs I generally use quite a strong whipping action, with a short to medium pause in between. I found that although this retrieve did work with the Eginno, the 3.2 second per metre drop rate of the jig meant that my pause needed to be longer.

I also found that the Eginno didn’t whip from side to side like a standard jig, but instead hopped up and up, moving out of the strike zone. More subtle hops were better, and I didn’t have to worry about the jig plummeting into the structure below.

Looking back at it now, it was a more finesse presentation, which was ideal during the Christmas holiday break. There was certainly plenty of fishing pressure on the local squid, and we had more success than most.

This also proved to be the case out of the boat. The slower presentation had the jig in the zone for longer, and the squid couldn’t resist them.

I think part of the reason for our success was the hook-up location of the Eginno jigs. In 10 days of fishing them I had zero just tentacle hook-ups. Even the smallest squid enveloped the jig.

The majority of the hook-ups were in the

The author was impressed with the hook-up points when using the Eginno jig. Most squid were hooked in the prime location between the eyes, with no tentacle hook-ups.

The result of a couple of hours testing the Yamashita Eginno Pyonpyon.

sweet spot between the eyes. You get maximum result for effort when you are hooking them there.

Final thoughts I didn’t think I needed more squid jigs, but I have now changed my mind. There are enough differences in the Eginno jigs, and situations where they would be the best option, that I’ve decided to get a few more.

Bring on the squid season here in Southeast Queensland, because I can’t wait to use the Yamashita Eginno jigs on the tiger squid around the Moreton Bay islands. I think the Eginnos will be perfect for the shallow water presentation required to target these squid.

The Eginno jigs are available in two sizes (3.0/15g and 3.5/18g). Both sink at the same rate and are available in eight colours. To find out more about the Yamashita Eginno range, and the other Yamashita jigs available, go to www.ejtodd.com.au or check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ Yamashita.Australia. - Peter Jung

MARCH 2019

59

A smorgasbord of insect life is on the menu SNOWY MOUNTAINS

Anthony Bentley

The weather in recent weeks has been hot and dry. Thankfully, we have recently experienced some welcome cooler relief, and good rain has also come our way. To say the fishing has been tough would be a bit of an understatement, but there are still some opportunities for some good fishing if you know where to look.

First of all, the high country is definitely the place to be. The cooler temperatures of the higher altitude are both great for the fish and great for the angler.

The smaller, higher streams are still producing some good fish, although they are tucked away under banks and sitting in deeper water.

The lower river is running a little too warm for any real productive fishing during the daylight hours, and the lake is very warm around the edges. Lake

fishing should be restricted to early mornings, or you can seek out some deeper water with some sinking lines and bigger flies and lures.

The insect life at

LURES AND FLIES Tassie Devils: Dry flies: Nymphs:

Streamers:

Rowleys Riot and Neon Galaxia Snowy Mountains Hopper, yellow Stimulators, Manics Indi Klink Hare & Copper, Tungsten Death Metal in green, black beadhead nymphs Jindy Buggers, Mrs Simpson, and black Woolly Buggers

the moment is a virtual smorgasbord of beetles, grasshoppers, mayflies, and just about any other type of bug you can imagine – so pick a favourite fly and fish it!

However, although bug life is prolific, the warmer water and air temps are keeping the fish on the bottom in the cooler water, so it might be a good idea to get some heavier nymphs and lures down to the fish.

A Woolly Bugger or some tungsten Hare & Copper, PTNs and suchlike stripped in the deeper water will

Until the hot weather eases, you’ll get better results in cooler water.

often get you into the action.

The next month should start seeing the weather cool (I live in hope?) and hopefully some more muchneeded rain, and in turn some more fish should move from the lakes into the river system. Until the weather cools down and some more rain falls, we just have to try looking in the faster, cooler water to get some results.

• High Country Outfitters has the largest range of flyfishing gear in the Snowy Mountains, with something for every skill level and budget. Brands include Sage,

Rio, Redington, Scott, Simms, Patagonia, Loop, TFO, Vision, Hardy, Riverworks, Scientific Anglers, Airflo and McLean nets. There’s also a big range of flies from Manic, Stu Tripney, Mick Hall and Pisces, as well as waders, boots, vests and outdoor apparel.

For all the latest information on what’s biting and where, drop into the store at Nuggets Crossing Shopping Centre, Jindabyne.

You can also call them on 02 6456 2989, like them on Facebook or check out their website at highfly.com.au.

As close to perfect as it gets WAGGA WAGGA

Rhys Creed

It is the beginning of the best season of the year, for fishing and weather anyway. This is when I

get excited! Every season has different fishing styles – while summer has surface activity and trout on fly, winter is all about giant cod in the dams and spring is all gold.

Autumn means perfect

weather, perfect water temps, low running rivers and extremely active natives. My favourite style of fishing, if you didn’t know already, is chasing natives in rivers and March means the start of this great time of year.

MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER The Murrumbidgee River is at the top of my list for this month and the next few to come. This is good news for you because everyone in the Riverina can access it and the entire system will fish really well.

The extreme heat will start to dwindle and the water temperature will come back to a more comfortable level, most likely sitting around 20°C. With irrigation demand, the river will start to drop, but we won’t see a huge drop until mid-April.

Lure and bait will work

n Trout Hatchery e d a G

Adam Smith with a Tumut River rainbow caught on an FTL Twin Spin.

Gaden Trout Hatchery

Gaden Trout Hatchery See how premier sport fish are bred and raised!

Closed Anzac, Christmas, Boxing day.

Guided tours 10 am and 2 pm.

Self-guided tours on selected days.

Small admission fee.

Gaden Rd (off Kosciuszko Rd) Jindabyne. 02 6451 3400 www.dpi.nsw.gov.au 60

MARCH 2019

leaping fish * 4 species * aquaria, ponds, AV show * beautifulbreeding picnic–BBQ area * smoked trout sale * find out about for kids fishing workshops. *

12934

Open 10 am–4 pm daily.

really well. If you love casting lures, spinnerbaits and hardbodies should be at the top of your list.

Spinnerbaits are great for casting tight to structure when allowed to sink into the zone, with hardbodies working well in the slacker water, as you can slowly search the bottom as you retrieve your lure.

If you’ve never tried lure fishing before then a few brands that work well are the 70 and 90mm AC Invaders, Balista Dyno 90 and the Mud Guts 5/8oz. If you are fishing fast flowing water, definitely opt for a willow blade on your spinnerbait rather than a Colorado, which work better in the slower flowing water.

If you’re keen on bait fishing then make sure you tie up in shaded areas under willows or close to structure. You want to try and tie up above the snag and drop your bait down in front of the log. This way the scent from your bait will carry right through, past all the fish, and they will move up to eat it if they are hungry.

Yabbies and worms work well. Take a shrimp pot with you and use aniseed soap or cat biscuits as bait and drop it in close to some reeds – there are plenty of shrimp around at the moment. Now is also a great time to go chip some bardi grubs before they hatch and become moths.

It’s a great bit of fun with the kids as well, you just need to be prepared for some hard work chipping.

BLOWERING DAM The lake is much lower than it has been over previous

The author with a solid river golden that hammered the Balista Dyno 90 in hybrid green colour. years at this time, with little rainfall. This doesn’t mean poor fishing at all, it’s actually a great time to get up there and check out all the banks while they are low. We learn a lot about the dam by memorising or taking photos. Looks for snags or rocky patches that will hold fish when the water comes back up.

On the fishing front, March can be hit and miss.

You’ll want to fish in the low light periods, as there will still be a fair bit of heat around during the day.

As always, casting and trolling the rocky banks will keep you in with a good chance of landing a fish of any size. If you run a smaller lure (under 100mm) you’ll catch goldens and cod.

The rocky banks near the wall on the Batlow side are worth a fish, as well as the islands near the dam wall.

There is still plenty of water and structure around.

Right up the other end of the dam is also worth a visit ,with the main river channel being exposed.

There are some large rocky patches towards Yolde if you boat around from Yatching

Point. Between these two locations there are some good rocky drop-off and banks with lots of timber at this low level. Trolling large lures along the edge of the river channel works really well. There is also a creek that runs in from the flats on the south near Chucks Bay. If you can find this creek bed in 4-8m it’s definitely worth fishing, as it holds some giant cod.

TUMUT RIVER You can’t go past fishing the Tumut River either, as it has been fishing so well over the last few months.

Summer was incredible and it will continue to fish well as long as the bug activity stays around. We spent a lot of the summer casting hopper imitations with the fly rod into the backwaters and watching trout come up and smash them.

This is still a good technique, but as the water drops there will be less and less backwaters for this style of fishing. This is when we go back to the spin rod with spinners, with soft plastics and hardbodies being the pick of the lures to use.

Drought an easy out in fish kills ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

The fishing has remained much the same since our last report, although the weather has turned on some scorching hot days. For almost a month the weather has hovered between 35-45ºC, providing short windows of comfort for those wetting a line.

Morning and evening have offered the best bites and the coolest conditions to be on the water. The Murray River at Murrabit continues to fish well for Murray cod, with several fish landed this past month measuring in at over the metre mark.

With water clarity along the Murray River is still a little on the dirty side, the best catches have come on bait. Grubs, scrubworms, yabbies and chicken have all accounted for Murray cod.

The Murray River at Swan hill has also fished well in the warm weather with good numbers of Murray cod landed once again on bait. The cod have ranged in size from 50-91cm and once again, most have been landed during the cooler low light periods.

The Murray River at Nyah is also producing some nice cod up to 90cm on both bait and brightly-coloured lures.

The Wakool River at Kyalite is fishing well for smaller Murray cod to 60cm and some good-sized golden perch up to 50cm.

Scrubworms, river shrimp and small yabbies have tempted the perch, while the cod have preferred grubs and cheese.

Further downstream along the Murray River to Boundary Bend, anglers are reporting cod to 70cm on cheese and chicken and

a few good-sized perch on river shrimp and worms.

It seems the cod at many locations are trending towards kitchen baits.

Some good-sized perch have been landed from the Murray River at Wemen on bait, with just the odd small cod caught, mostly on cheese. It’s a similar story as you continue downstream to Wentworth, where several good-sized Murray cod to

80cm have been landed on trolled lures.

The Darling River continues to be the cod killing field, with another massive fish kill decimating native fish stocks to the tune of a million fish or more.

The stance from the MDBA is that drought is solely to blame for this event, yet as stated in last month’s report the Menindee Lakes were full in 2016, holding enough The second fish kill at Menindee was as bad, if not worse, than the first.

A few good cod are being caught at night on both bait and lures, like this one landed by Gareth Lynch.

water to keep the Darling below Menindee in flow for six years. This life-saving water was released in less than eighteen months, even though they were warned by the scientific experts of the possible effects to fish and the lower Darling River.

They went against their own payed advisors and emptied the lakes anyway.

I have watched this whole thing unfold and watched the response of the general public and several peak fishing bodies. It seems strange to me that the peak fishing bodies failed to make mention of these events openly or on social media without prompting, or for one group, until the second massive event got some media traction.

One group missed the

first event, even though it was right in their own back yard. Not a mention on their social media page, even though an estimated one million fish had died starting on 12 December.

They did, however, get on board almost a full month after the second kill got full blown media attention.

I can’t help but wonder why they missed the first massive kill. Perhaps they did not want to play the blame game...

Have we seen the last of the Darling River fish kills or will the rest of the river also be stripped clear of its fishes? I guess only time will tell, but without a huge rain event the fish that inhabit the Darling below Menindee are most certainly looking down the barrel.

Wonderful weather brings fantastic fishing MILDURA

Rob Oswin

What an exciting month we’ve had, with great weather and even better fishing. Amazingly, we can expect this to continue.

Over the course of the month I’ve been hearing more and more reports of people catching some

fantastic fish.

The majority of reports have been of fantastic sized golden perch being caught.

With captures 50cm and above, it’s pretty safe to say that the Mildura area has been producing some great fishing. This could be due to the combination of the beautiful weather we have been experiencing and the fish actively hunting for food. Bait

and lures have been effective lately, so it is no surprise that the quality of fish has been better than average.

Smaller lures have been the most effective with vibe type lures still being the go-to for many anglers. Brands such as Jackall, Megabass, Balista and Savage Gear have been the pick of the bunch. The lighter colours have been drawing most of the fish

There have been some decent eel-tailed catfish around. It is great to see a native species making a comeback.

in. The darker colours have still been producing some quality fish, but not quite in the numbers that the lighter colours have been.

Bait has still been a great go-to for those who don’t want to put in as much effort as those using lures. Shrimp and yabbies have been the most popular choice for many, but worms have been extremely useful, resulting in multiple catches of carp larger than 75cm.

There has been some fantastic by-catch being caught recently. One of the primary by-catch species has been eel-tailed catfish. Many of the catches have been larger than 50cm. It is awesome to see more and more of these fish, it shows that the native species are making a comeback. There have also been many reports of more and more turtles being caught.

With Easter just around the corner you can expect a large amount of people on and around the river, and as a result of more fishers we should see more fish being caught.

It also brings safety to the forefront, as boat traffic will much higher than usual in and around the river. Remember to stay safe and look out for those around.

Some eel-tailed catfish have been larger than 50cm lately. They are a fantastic by-catch species.

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61

Time for cod to switch on YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

For those in search of a mighty Murray cod or two, we’re genuinely entering the prime time of year to be giving Lake Mulwala a good crack. From now up until May, all roads should lead to the home of the Murray Cod, Lake Mulwala. Slightly cooler temperatures than the past month or two will lead to pleasant and rewarding fishing days.

This time of year with is when the cod are moving back into the shallower water, so casting or trolling any style of lure, be it a hardbody, crankbait, swimbait or spinnerbait, you will be in with a better than average chance of encountering some

rod bending action. The prime water depths to look for range from 2-5m.

Any night or morning with minimal breeze is well worth a look for those keen to get in on some surface action. By far, this is the most exciting form of cod fishing.

For those who haven’t had a crack on the surface, it’s pretty simple – cast it out and retrieve it slowly. The hardest part is keeping your nerve and not striking if you get a hit. Also, for safety sake, take a spare pair of jocks with you!

Looking back, January was a tough month, but in saying that, there were plenty of 1m+ cod caught and released. I put the ‘tough’ fishing down to two things.

First up, with a string of 40ºC+ days I believe the fish were feeling and had moved to deeper dwellings away from the standard 1-3m

mark we predominantly fish.

Secondly, with the mass increase of boats and jet skis scooting around the lake over the holiday period, this is sure to make them a bit gun shy.

Whenever there seemed to be a sudden change in weather pattern the cod seemed to go off for a 12-hour window or so. This happened a couple of times over the month, and with it came big cod.

A few deserve special mention. First up is Sunbury boy Ben Sharp. Ben loves fishing the lake and spends plenty of hours out with his girls, with them normally catching the fish! Ben’s turn came when he landed a wonderful 110cm off the surface. To top it off he came back the next weekend and proceeded to upgrade his PB, with another metre fish, this time measuring 112cm!

Ben’s lure of choice was a

Koolabung Cod Cracker.

Next up is Cain Peatling.

On a blowy morning he headed downriver with fishing mate Brayden Bosio.

Low and behold, third cast of the morning, his Kuttafurra Rat was smashed off the top by a beast that went 121cm.

Not to be outdone, the following weekend Brayden came up trumps when his trolled lure was inhaled by a monster that measured 120cm, and this time Cain was the net boy.

Daneka Robinson was next to score, when her swimbait was inhaled by a beautiful 110cm specimen.

As always there was plenty of action downstream in the river. Amongst the plethora of smaller Murray cod, trout cod, carp, silver perch and the odd golden, some respectable fish were reported. The secret to the

Ben Sharp with a beautiful 110cm Murray cod that he took on a surface lure. bigger fish was big baits. I did hear of a 117cm model that was taken on chicken, which is a new trendy bait that seems to be accounting for its fair share of cod.

The competition season is upon us, with two events coming up in March. The

first is the ever-popular His & Hers Partners Classic on 2 March. To round out the comp season is the Cod Nationals, with four days of serious tournament fishing for the dedicated green fish angler held between 14-17 March.

It’s a top time for topwater ALBURY/WODONGA

Connor Heir

We’ve seen long hot days, sunburn, fish and smiles, combine to make up some pretty epic fishing sessions.

March is on us, which is another great time of year to catch our prized natives. With the sun not going down until nearly 9pm, it’s a time when you can have some awesome fishing sessions.

March is one of my favourite months of the cod season for banging cod off the top. After the hot days fade into darkness, you can have some very successful fishing sessions. Surface lures are such a fun way to catch cod, and it’s addictive,

March is a great time to be chasing river cod.

Downsizing your lures is a great way to get good numbers of fish. but it can also be quite a challenge, with anglers often dropping as many fish as they land, if not more.

The surface ‘boof’ is like nothing else. The techniques of surface fishing are quite broad, so many keen fishers have their favourite lures 62

MARCH 2019

or techniques. When cod are active, at times you can’t do anything wrong, as long as you have the appropriate tackle to handle them.

You can cast into slight current among willows, snaggy areas, calm areas, backwaters, and the list goes

on – cod could be anywhere.

But no matter the spot, practicing the dead hands technique is a must. The dead hands technique, for new cod fishers, can be quite the challenge. Basically, the idea is to not strike, as you will more than likely pull the lure from the fishes’ gob. If you get a boof and there’s no hook up, quite often the fish will strike again. So a nice slow consistent retrieve with the occasional pause seems to be the most effective way to entice a fish to strike. Quite often if you pause your lure after a boof, and then just twitch it, you will get another chance, with the cod coming back for another crack.

Lure choice is very personal, but I highly recommend Kuttafurra Joe The Rat and Creeper, and Jackall Pompadours. I’ve had my most success on these lures, with Joe The Rat being one of my all time favourite

cod lures.

The other tip I have for fishing in March is to sometimes downsize the lure, especially in the daytime. This works for me, so it may help you catch a fish if the going is slow. I’m all for using big lures on cod, especially if you want to catch the bigger ones, but if the going is tough and you just want to get the monkey off your back, downsizing definitely doesn’t hurt.

Wether it be taking the plastics off spinnerbaits and having just the skirt and stinger hook, or using spinnerbaits with only one blade, or even just using smaller lures around 70-90mm – this little trick can be very successful. I have great results with good numbers of cod with smaller lures during the day. It could definitely be worth a crack if you’re just wanting to catch a fish. It’s not impossible to catch big fish on small lures, in fact this has been done many times. However, if you are chasing a bigger trophy

Spinnerbaits are a great way of finding cod during the day. cod, it’s probably best to stick to using the bigger stuff.

March, as I said, is an awesome time to start surface fishing in the late afternoons and early mornings. These are just recommended

Yellowbelly are still taking lures, and this slightly cooler weather will see yella catches increasing.

times, and cod will take a surface lure during the day if the conditions are right. However, none of this happens if you don’t put the effort and time in. As I always say, enjoy your fishing, persist and you will eventually see the results you are after.

We are very lucky in this area to have so many fisheries available, with plenty of fish in them to catch. There are areas across the Murray Darling Basin that have had devastating fish kills and areas of drought, and luckily we have not been affected.

To me, when fishing our waterways there’s a huge sense of respect and appreciation that we have such awesome places and waterways to fish in this country. So go out and find one for yourself and get addicted, or continue to feed your habit like myself and many other keen fishers do.

Now is a good time to go exploring streams WANGARATTA

Robbie Alexander

As I type, I am dreaming about March. We have had the hottest summer that I can ever remember here in Wangaratta. It really has been crazy hot, with temperatures maxing out at 45°C on several

hit-and-miss, with some amazing fishing possible, and also some slow fishing.

I do catch cod each year in March and have caught some larger ones at this time of year, so it is well worth heading out.

As the water starts to cool in March, I like to really slow my retrieve right down. A slower retrieve

more sheltered by the steep hills and more peaceful in the absence of speed boats which are not permitted, but Lake Buffalo is a much more reliable and consistent redfin fishery, particularly during autumn.

I have caught larger redfin in Lake William Hovell with my largest being 43.5cm, whereas I catch 25-30cm pan-sized redfin on a more consistent basis in Lake Buffalo.

There are pros and cons to fishing in both lakes, and being that I live in Wangaratta I am fortunate enough to get to fish them both regularly, and will do so this March.

My favourite techniques are casting and bobbing small soft plastics, and trolling small deep diving minnows behind my kayak. Both techniques

March often sees the trout starting to become active in the streams.

Black is a great lure colour as there are lots of black bugs around at this time of year, such as march flies and crickets.

A nice haul of Lake Buffalo redfin caught last autumn. occasions. The water is low and dark, and the fish are somewhat sluggish. The summer fishing has been quite good for Murray cod, but the trout have really slowed down.

As we head into March there will be a huge shift in just about everything fishing related here in North East Victoria, as longer nights and cooler days lead to clear water and active fish.

MURRAY COD Admittedly March is not the best month to target Murray cod in North East Victoria. In my book it is the 4th best. Decembers starts great, January sees a slight slowing, February similar to January, and March sees the cod fishing start to slow down. That being said, March can still be an excellent time of year to target Murray cod in North East Victoria.

During March I find the fishing can be a bit more

will help keep the lure in the cod’s face a little bit longer, which increases the chances of a strike, and subsequent hook-up.

Pretty much all of the waterways in the region that have Murray cod in them will be worth fishing, including the Ovens, King, Kiewa, Mitta Mitta, Broken and Buffalo rivers.

REDFIN This is the exciting part.

Well, it is for me anyway!

March is possibly my favourite time of the year to target redfin in North East Victoria. Both Lake William Hovell and Lake Buffalo are providing some really good redfin fishing as these two lakes are drawn down by irrigators.

Both lakes fish differently each season, with some years fishing better than others. It’s very hard to predict exactly which of the two lakes will fish better this March.

Lake William Hovell is

Lake William Hovell at the end of the day. Could there be a more peaceful waterway? It’s one of my favourite places to be during autumn.

these fish often lay low in the bottoms of the deep holes as they wait for the cooler weather, or flush of fresh water to arrive. By March they’re often very hungry and ready to go.

The problem this autumn will be knowing exactly which streams have trout in them. Having not spent much time around trout streams all summer, I am not sure exactly which streams will be worth fishing.

I do know that the Ovens River from Bright upstream has been fishing well, even throughout the heat, so that will most definitely be worth fishing during March.

I can only suggest trying the Buckland River, the Buffalo River upstream of

work very well. A fishfinder is handy to keep a track of how deep you are fishing.

When fishing with bait I find small yabbies and small live shrimp to be the best. Shrimp can be caught in the lower reaches of the rivers. The Ovens River at Wangaratta is a great place to catch them. They are hard

After such a hot summer, the author is looking forward to hitting the small streams again during March in search of wild trout.

The Murray cod fishing may become a little hit and miss during March, however the fish should still be reasonably active and are well worth targeting before things cool down.

to keep alive and require the use of a small aerator to keep oxygen in the water. If you do this, they make incredible bait for redfin.

TROUT We have endured record breaking heat this summer.

Trout are a cold water species.

You don’t need to be a rocket

scientist to realise that the trout fishing has been very poor this summer.

The good news is that the longer nights and cooler days will cool the water down a bit in the trout streams, and pretty quickly the trout will become active again.

During the heat of summer

Abbeyards and perhaps the Alpine lakes such as Lake Catani, Rocky Valley Dam and Pretty Valley Dam. All in all, it will be a good autumn to go exploring and discover new waterways. Good luck to everyone heading out fishing this March.

MARCH 2019

63

Getting in on the autumn action in Shepparton SHEPPARTON

Nick Brown teamriverrats@hotmail.com

That was a summer I bet we are all pleased to see the end of. Weeks upon weeks of extreme heat made fishing tough locally.

The high flows of the river also added to the frustrations of many, but those who managed to navigate the flowing waters in Shepparton did have some success.

Smaller cod and yellowbelly were caught mostly on bait in the late afternoon period, upstream of the main ramp.

Those using lures found trolling spinnerbaits and hardbodies in the stretch behind the lake in around 7-8ft of water hard up against the Mooroopna side of the river was the most

productive techniques.

Heading outside of Shepparton, about 10-15 minutes either way, there are reports of cod being caught around the 45-55cm mark in areas such as Moira Park and Loch Gary.

Fishing close to the bank deep in timber has been the way to go, plenty of tackle is being lost, but there has been plenty of action to match the tackle loss.

The Broken River is still producing fish up towards Benalla, mostly on surface lures. Some have been catching yellowbelly and carp on worms down around the junction.

Chicken strips have also been a bait of choice recently, with plenty of fish being caught on different baits over the summer months.

LOCAL CHANNELS The Main Eastern Channel has probably fished

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the best of all waterways in our area over summer.

Yellowbelly and cod have been caught daily up and down the channel system with the odd redfin being caught bellow drop bars.

Redfin were more prominent around the months when the water was being refilled, but are now much harder to locate. So most anglers are now targeting native species.

The best all round set-up for the channels has to be lipless crankbaits rigged with a beetle spin arm. Almost everyone I know who uses this set-up catches fish in the channels and they catch all three of the main target species in the system.

Changing up your tactics with the lipless crankbaits is easy and sometimes is a must, as the fish seem to react differently every trip.

Quick or slow retrieves work one day then the next they smash the lure on the drop or on the pause of a retrieve.

WARANGA BASIN The basin has been fishing well for those who can locate the schools. Two boats fishing the same area can come back to the ramp with doughnuts or a full well of fish.

The fish are still shallow, which was a surprise in the heat of summer, but anywhere from 6-8ft of water has been the best depth for those casting soft plastics.

Trolling at this depth can be tricky, but lipless crankbaits have worked perfectly.

Bait fishing around the wall has worked well, with yellowbelly being caught regularly on worms and shrimp.

Just like a lot of other local areas, March is a great time to fish the basin. The

Daniel Brady

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64

Phone: 1800 651 691 MARCH 2019

summer holiday traffic is gone, the wind is normally minimal and the days are not dangerously hot.

The fish may have moved deeper by the time this article comes out, so if you can’t get them shallow work different depths to see if you can locate the fish.

SHEPPARTON LAKE The constant fight against the weed is very frustrating in the Shepparton Lake, but it may have also been a blessing for the summer months with the extreme heat, giving the fish some cover.

The lake now days is very similar month to month, with fish being caught off most platforms and the grass hill on bait either lightlyrigged or floated.

Lure fishing is tough around the weed, but if you

can find some clear water and run your lures just above the weed you can have some success, with yellowbelly up to 40cm being reported.

There were not as many reports of cod over the summer months, which was a surprise, with a lot being transferred into the lake a few years back.

KIALLA LAKES There have been a lot of reports lately, with yellowbelly being caught on bait around the willow trees in Lake 1. Those who are using bait have found the trees to be very productive, but they have also seen results on floated baits around the banks in about 4ft of water.

Lake 2, the smaller one, has been producing some smaller-sized fish around the small sand bars on dark.

March will produce the goods NAGAMBIE

WATERFRONT HOLIDAY PARK CLOSE TO THE TOWNSHIP OF EILDON

Clancy ‘Cod Chaser’ Lester with his PB 57cm yellowbelly out of the Numurkah Lake.

Redfin and yellowbelly have been caught on bait and smaller lures in the lake, which can be very shallow in spots so lighter smaller lures have worked well.

March is normally prime time for fishing in Kialla Lakes, so hopefully we get a few storms to really fire up the fish.

As always, target the island and willow trees in March as these areas do hold good sized fish.

CRAIGMUIR LAKE Craigmuir Lake has been the best of the two Mooroopna lakes recently, with fish being caught on bait and lures throughout summer.

Cod, yellowbelly and redfin have all been caught using very similar techniques during summer months.

Bait fishers have been using unweighted worms or floated baits such as yabby tails and shrimp. Those using lures have used weedless rigged soft plastics and small vibes and spinners.

NUMURKAH LAKE This is something I haven’t wrote about before, but the reports keep coming in and it’s somewhere I will need to educate myself on in coming months.

I have been talking to local boy Clancy ‘Cod Chaser’ Lester recently about the lake and he shared some information on the success he has been having in the lake.

The best lures for the lake have been blades, lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits, but the weed can make things tricky from the bank, so Clancy suggests fishing the lake out of a kayak.

Hopefully in coming months I will have a bit more information on this lake, as it’s only a 20-minute drive from Shepparton.

The summer crowds have settled and the fish are on the chew. The lake has been fishing well the last couple of weeks and the warm weather has kept the natives on the chew.

Yellowbelly and redfin are the pick of the fish in the lake.

The shallow edges and rock wall have produced the most fish. Anglers willing to keep moving have had the best results. Small cod are still being caught now that the main boat traffic has slowed. Cheese and yabbies have been the key.

The boardwalk is still producing good fish. Worms and small hardbody lures have been receiving good

bites. Cam Ward reported six yellowbelly up to 45cm on small ZMan grubs. Evening has been the ideal time to head out and target them.

MITCHELLSTOWN The Mitchellstown area has been a little slow for this time of year. This has been due to the increased irrigation flow in the river.

Keen anglers have been watching the daily flows and have been picking their bite window, and producing the results.

Word on the water has been that morning and afternoons have been the most successful times for anglers. Lots of anglers fish around the Mitchellstown Bridge this time of year to get away from the traffic, so most of the success has been from this part of the river.

The best baits have been

Harry with his first cod that was caught on a spinnerbait out near the weir. cheese and yabbies fished in the deeper parts of the river.

Yellowbelly have been a bit hit and miss, but when the barometer is right, they have been starting to bite. I find at this stage the trees on the edges are holding more fish than the deeper snags.

As with the yellowbelly, redfin in the river have been playing hard to get as well.

The key to finding redfin at the moment has been fishing tight to the willows scattered along the river.

Redfin love these trees for protection, but also as a way to stalk their prey.

KIRWINS BRIDGE The bridge area has been fishing well of late.

Reports came through To page 65

A catch for everybody BONNIE DOON

Daniel Brady

The lake is starting to quiet down in regards to boat traffic, most of the holidaymakers have gone back to work, so now is the perfect chance to get amongst the great fishing the lake has to offer!

THE MAIN LAKE Water levels have been slowly decreasing of late with a lot of irrigation heading down the Goulburn River. This has made the fishing challenging at times, but keen anglers have found some great fish.

Reports are coming in from all over the lake, but by far the most consistent reports have been from around Jews Creek to Fraser National Park.

As mentioned in my last

report, good mate and ripper fisherman Charlie Cox has been hitting the main wall and harbour area and still getting some great results.

Cox has been getting some great results slow rolling spinnerbaits around the wall areas.

Good numbers of cod to 65cm have been caught on green/olive coloured baits.

He has also been getting fish in the same areas on cheese and yabbies. Unweighted yabbies have found the bigger fish.

Another gun angler, Ryan Krivsky has been smashing the fish around the wall area. He has had a couple of cracking nights fishing surface lures. One warm night in particular, Ryan and good mate Damo had a session that saw 12 fish hit the deck, with the biggest going to Damo at

Damo with a quality cod that was caught on surface.

From page 64

again from good mate and gun bait fisher Benny Lee, who spent a few days of the water for a cracking catch of fish. Yellowbelly, Murray cod and redfin all hit the deck. Ben reported the best redfin had been caught on shrimp, and the yellowbelly and cod all came on small yabbies.

According to local anglers, the best results have been morning and evenings.

Boat and jet ski traffic can be an issue this time of year, so fishing these times can have the best results.

A couple of bait anglers noted quite a few redfin on the reedy shallows around the bridge. The deeper holes of the river were producing good captures of cod. Yellowbelly have been

found on the river edges tight to structure. Worms and small soft plastics have been working best.

THE WEIR The weir is still a prime shot for fishing in the area.

With the water temp at this time of year at its prime, so is the fishing. Drifting along the timber-scattered basin, I have noticed lots of anglers catching plenty of fish. Redfin, yellowbelly and cod have all been on the list.

Most anglers have been trolling, or fishing worms and yabbies, and the occasional surface lure fisher has been getting some decent fish using bigger hardbodies.

I headed out with good mate Harry and we managed to sneak a couple of cod in between a break in work.

Throwing a mixture of

73cm. Jackall Pompadour is dark colours were the most productive lures.

If it’s trout you’re after, get the downrigger ready. A couple of keen trout anglers have still been catching a nice feed in the 40-50ft range in the main arm. The humble Tassie devil is accounting for most of the fish and Paravanes are a must!

BIG RIVER ARM A popular spot for many fishos is the Big River Arm, and for plenty of good reasons! I fished the Big River Arm a couple of weeks back and was rewarded with some cracking yellowbelly.

With a couple of ski boats around, I noticed a patch of bank all muddied up from the boat wash.

Throwing a Lucky Craft Chinu Shad hard against the banks and slowly bringing it into the deep saw me land 10 yellowbelly in a very short space of time. Dark colours and a slow roll yielded the best results. The fish were all released to fight another day.

On the way out of the river I was chatting to a fellow angler who had caught four cod to 80cm that day. He said all fish were caught in amongst the standing timber and all on a bright orange OarGee hardbodied lure. He noted if his lure wasn’t smashing into timber, he wouldn’t have caught fish.

GOUGHS BAY Reddies are still the main catch up in the Bay. Most fish have been coming from the standing timber and shallow bays. Bait has definitely been the standout in the form of worms, although lures in the form of small grubs and minnows have caught their fare share. Finding the fish can be tough, but anglers wiling to move frequently have had the best results.

DELITITE ARM Word on the water around Bonnie Doon is all hardbodies and spinnerbaits we produced two cod quite quickly. Slow rolling tight to structure worked for us both.

Lastly, I cannot stress how lucky we are to have this great fishery. It has been boosted by our Victorian stocking system, which has put thousands and thousands of fish into this system for the enjoyment of us and our friends and family. Please remember size and bag limits. Murray cod can only be kept between 55-75cm, yellowbelly/golden perch have a minimum keep size of 30cm. Unfortunately, I have seen quite a lot of bad fishing practice over the summer period. If you see someone keeping undersize fish or worse, a cod that is oversize, call Fisheries on 13 3474 (13FISH).

The author caught this decent cod slow rolling a hardbody. about the Delatite, with trout and Murray cod the primary focus for many. Gun angler Kris Lee has been smashing the natives of late. Throwing spinnerbaits and hardbody lures he has been catching cod and yellowbelly around the entrance of the arm. Bright colours in the morning and dark throughout the day has been the key he said.

Word has spread that a few quality yellowbelly have been caught around the traps.

The steep rock walls around the entrance of the arm have been producing some cracking

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results. Reports have been coming through from many anglers that the best method for yellowbelly had been trolling smaller hardbodies lures around the entrance of the arm.

FORD INLET Reddies, reddies and more reddies! Ford inlet has been the go to for most anglers in search of some redfin. Best results have been on the humble worm, fished lightly weighted and being left to slowly drift down.

Redfin have been loving this presentation. Find them on

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With the lake in its prime time for fishing, now is the perfect time to take the family up and try your luck at catching a fish or two.

With plenty of spots around the lake to pull up for a lunch or have a camp for the night, it’s a fisher’s dream. The boat traffic on the lake can get crazy at peak times, so it’s best to be on the water early to avoid the rush. Don’t be afraid to drive a little further around the lake to get away from the traffic.

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Reds on the bite and putting up a good fight BALLARAT

Shane Stevens

Anglers around the Central Highlands of Victoria, have been targeting many of our local waters in search of redfin. The redfin, or reddies as most anglers refer to them, are an introduced species to Australia.

With the warmer weather here and our water temperatures being very high (usually around the 22-23°C surface temperature) the redfin come on the bite. Many anglers love to target them, some for just sport and others for the table, as they are a magnificent fish to eat as well.

When redfin are in a feeding frenzy they can be

a simple running sinker rig.

Redfin are also very partial to artificial lures like plastics, hardbodies and flies. Reddies eat anything that moves. They do grow to some very large sizes, with a 50cm redfin as a trophy fish. They are generally between 5-1lb in size and they do interbreed, which stunts their growth in some waters but not in others.

Lake Wendouree is one such water where many anglers target the big trophy redfin, with quite a few 50cm models caught each year.

They are not easy to catch and are generally located in small pockets of clear water in the weed beds or in the rowing channel. A few, anglers who are just out on the water hoping to catch whatever snag a few much to their surprise. I know of quite a few flyfishers who are flyfishing after dark for trout and catching quite

Jason Mackley with a 49cm 2kg+ redfin from Lake Wendouree.

It fell to a twitched Strike Pro Flats Minnow.

Photo courtesy of Jason Mackley.

Tom Kulczynski with a lovely pair of Wendouree reds (45 and 47cm) taken on soft plastics.

Photo courtesy of Tom Kulczynski.

They thrive in most waters and breed prolifically; the local waters around the Ballarat district are well suited to them.

caught on anything; generally they like to eat worms, shrimp, mudeyes, yabbies, and minnows/galxiads using

Ross Goyne snagged this lovely brown trout on a brown nymph fly pattern while flyfishing out of a drifting boat.

Wayne Rigg nailed this lovely 46cm Wendouree red while casting a 5cm Fire Tiger Bullet lure.

Photo courtesy of Wayne Rigg.

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a few as by-catch. Not a bad by-catch in my books, given how good they fight and how good they taste. Redfin can be caught early in the morning and also the evenings. They do travel in schools, so anglers do have the chance of not just catching one but a few.

Jason Mackley and Tom Kulczynski are two such anglers who target redfin on Lake Wendouree – the boys have a few different spots on the lake where they specifically target them. They use the spot lock on their electric motor to hold them in a certainly area and work that weed bed or clear pocket of water with hardbodied lures or plastics. If they don’t catch anything in one spot they move onto another spot.

Generally they produce the goods with some big redfin around the high 40-50cm mark. Tom and Jason take a few happy snaps and release the redfin for another day.

Ben Young is another angler who really likes to target

redfin on Wendouree using the same method as Tom and Jason or just by cast casting lures or plastics from out of the boat on Wendouree. The difference with the drifting boat is you can cover plenty of water, exposing yourself to more fish instead of targeting one small area. Wayne Rigg and Philip Samson have been on board with Ben recently, both catching some cracking redfin on soft plastics and small hardbodied lures.

The trout on Lake Wendouree have certainly quietened down over the past month, mainly due to the hot weather. Anglers targeting them early morning and evenings using mudeye for bait have been catching quite a few, while the flyfishers have been catching plenty after dark on mudeye fly patterns. If the conditions are

okay, trout can be caught on fly during the day, but you’ll need a very overcast day.

Recently, Ross Goyne and I ventured out on an overcast day. Ross managed to snag a lovely brown on a brown nymph stripped very slowly drifting through the rowing channel.

Fishing around the Ballarat district has been very quiet, with the odd report filtering through.

Redfin in our local waters have featured in most of the reports. Anglers, while the hot weather is with us for the next month, we will need to stick to early mornings and evenings to go fishing.

Whether you target trout or redfin, when our cooler nights start to arrive and water temperatures start to drop the fishing will certainly improve.

Phil Sampson landed another beautiful Lake Wendouree redfin while casting an Ecogear Grass Minnow soft plastic.

Photo courtesy of Ben Young.

Looking forward to the cooler conditions BENDIGO

Roger Miles codhuntertours@bigpond.com

The Bendigo region, like the rest of Victoria, has experienced some record temperatures during the past couple of months. Like most anglers I’m looking forward to temperatures finally dropping back to a more comfortable level.

The extreme heat has had a negative effect on the productivity in the fishing.

At the time of writing this report, we are now starting to see some blue green algae events in our local waterways.

LAKE EPPALOCK Water levels continue to recede, and water clarity is still good in the majority of the lake. Due to the extremely hot weather we are starting to see some blue green algae appearing in the water column.

The productivity in the fishing has reduced in recent weeks.

The majority of redfin are still being caught in deep water, and the most reliable techniques have been trolling deep diving hardbody lures and casting soft plastics. The most productive depth range has been between 10-12m.

On the majority of my days targeting the redfin I have been catching most of them close to the bottom. However, on my last outing to the lake I found that this had changed; the majority of redfin were feeding 1-2m off the bottom.

I’m not sure whether this was a one-off or whether it will become a trend for the near future. I will find out on my next trip targeting redfin at Lake Eppalock.

The productivity in the golden perch fishing has slowed down over the last few weeks. Small numbers of golden perch are being caught by anglers trolling mediumsized hardbody lures. The most productive method for catching the golden perch continues to be casting lipless crankbaits around the standing timber.

A small number of Murray cod are being caught, mostly by anglers targeting golden perch. When you’re fishing for golden perch, it’s a nice surprise when a Murray cod nails the lure instead.

CAMPASPE RIVER Water clarity remains good in the Campaspe River.

River flows have been steady, and the productivity in the fishing has been good.

Golden perch are making

The author with a quality cod. The most productive bite times have been during low light. up the majority of anglers’ captures, and you can get good results casting lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits and suspending hardbody lures.

The productivity in the fishing has been slow during the middle part of the day. The most productive fishing has been early in the morning and late in the afternoon.

There are some quality Murray cod being landed as well, with a couple of 1m+ specimens caught and released in recent weeks. Most of the cod have been between 55-70cm, and the vast majority

of fish have been caught during periods of low light.

Anglers fishing surface lures and swimbaits have produced some quality specimens.

When the sun is up, casting spinnerbaits or larger lipless crankbaits has also produced some nice fish.

CAIRN CURRAN Water clarity is still below average, and we are also starting to see an increase in algae.

The redfin fishing has also slowed down over the past month. The majority of redfin are still being caught in the

depth range between 3-5m, and bait fishing with worms and yabbies has been catching fish. If you locate a good school, casting soft plastics is also a good option.

Catches of golden perch have slowed down over the past couple of weeks.

Casting brightly-coloured lipless crankbaits around the edges of the rocky shorelines and the standing timber has been the most productive way to locate a golden perch. Bait fishing around the edges of the standing timber has also been

producing small numbers of golden perch and the occasional Murray cod.

LODDON RIVER Water clarity has improved in the Loddon River, but the clarity is still variable. When larger flows are released down the river system, water clarity deteriorates. When the volumes of water being released are reduced, the water clarity improves.

Golden perch are making up the majority of anglers’ captures. The fishing often has been slow during the middle of the day. On the majority of days the most productive fishing has been in the first couple of hours and last couple of hours of daylight. These periods of reduced light are when the fish have been most active.

The most productive lures for golden perch continue to be lipless crankbaits and suspending hardbody lures. For those anglers targeting Murray cod, the best options have been fishing after sundown with surface lures and swimbaits. If you are targeting Murray cod during daylight hours, spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits continue to be good options.

All Melbourne’s freshwater spots are going off MELBOURNE METRO

Dylan Brennan

Warm weather this month means good fishing in all of the local freshwater locations, with pretty much all species available.

Local stocked lakes such as Rowville and Karkarook have been producing trout for patient anglers using dough and PowerBait. Most of the trout have been in the 200g size range, and once they get in on your berley trail you can easily get your five fish.

One of the key factors to increasing your chances is to make sure you create a good berley trail, and don’t just throw all your berley in at once. You want to make sure you always have a small amount in the water to keep the fish interested. Adding

Local angler Morgan Taggert caught this chunky redfin from right under the nose of suburbia.

Photo courtesy of Morgan Taggert.

small feeder cages to your rigs works wonders for attracting fish directly to your bait.

The main lake in the Rowville lakes system has been producing redfin for anglers casting surface lures

and also hidden weight rigged soft plastics. Fishing around the reeds and lake edges is where you will most likely get the bite. There have been plenty of small suburban lakes that have been producing quality redfin

on lures lately, with all having similar structure of reeds and grass beds.

Down on the Peninsula, Devilsbend Reservoir has been a little bit quiet lately. While this doesn’t mean that there

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are no fish to be caught, reports from the area have been few and far between. If you’re thinking of heading down to the area, make sure you stock up with a few different baits and lures to increase your chances – as the rewards in here can be brown trout larger than 3kg!

Meanwhile, Melbourne’s Yarra River has still been producing lots of species this month, from the odd large cod down around Eltham, to some nice brown trout in the cooler waters up above Warburton.

While the cod fishing is rarely red-hot, when you do come across them it can make it all worthwhile. Large scrubworms and yabbies fished around slower sections with logjams and rockbars will normally get the attention of the cod, just make sure you remove the claws of the larger yabbies, as they will dig their

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MARCH 2019

way under logs and into crevices and snag you up.

If trout fishing is more your thing, the river’s reaches from Woori Yallock and upstream have been producing the goods.

Some of the fishing around Warburton can be excellent, and it is only an hour from the busy suburbs. Small hardbodied lures that dive to around 1m are excellent trout catchers here, with number 1 size spinners also very productive. Gold and red colour schemes have been effective in the river of late.

• For any of the latest metro reports and information, pop into Compleat Angler Dandenong at 241-243 Princes Highway, Dandenong, give us a call on 03 9794 9397 or jump on to the ‘Melbourne Metro Freshwater Fishing’ page on Facebook.

A tough bite at Elingamite CRATER LAKES

Rod Shepherd

Since my last report I have ventured back out on Lake Elingamite many times.

The fishing hasn’t been outstanding, but on most trips I managed trout even though my main goal was large redfin, which this lake is renowned for.

The lake’s water level is

canoes and kayaks), however without rain this will continue to change for the worst in the coming weeks.

It’s best to avoid the worst of the weed on the way out (as it has grown quite thick in recent months) and back, as it has the capacity to clog and choke propellers. I use my bow-mounted electric in shallow drive to exit and enter the boat ramp. When ‘chopping’ through thick

This is the average size of redfin coming out of Elingamite for the author. slowly dropping. Around 2” of rain or more would be very welcome, but I cannot see that happening anytime soon. Flatbottomed as opposed to vee hull boats under 4m in length can still launch (as well as

weed, I use the maximum speed available, otherwise I would grind to a halt on a surface raft of the green stuff, which has happened to me in the recent past.

Surface water

temperatures are currently around 22.5°C, which is warm for trout (ideal for redfin), but even during the middle of a hot day, trout can be seen and heard leaping out of the water, which is fun to watch but frustrating, as these fish are not interested in feeding. Another frustrating thing is I am yet to land a decent redfin. There’s plenty of small fish about and it’s easy to land a dozen or so fish in a single session trolling minnow lures. But where have the big ones gone?

All my trout caught in recent times have been hen rainbows, except for a recent outing, which saw a feisty brown boated and then released.

The lures of choice have been reflective silver patterns, as these appear to be the flavour of the month for these trout in this lake. This colour is outfishing anything else I throw at them by at least five to one, so that tells me something.

Pontoon 21’s Tantalisa 70 (broken backed) in silver has been attracting the majority of fish for me, and therefore this lure is always rigged to at least one rod. Lofty’s Cobras in straight white have also attracted a few.

Meanwhile, Lake Bullen

Merri continues to fish well for Chinook salmon, despite the blue-green algae affecting the water. Recently Micheal Evans from Victoria Inland Charters has been putting clients onto many salmon and these fish are turning up in several size and weight brackets.

Trolling lures still seems to be the number one method, with depths from around 4-10m being favoured, depending on the time of day.

Some boaters are still clinging to bait fishing deep with mixed results. Bottom bouncing pilchard fillets or whitebait at anchor has turned up a few fish. The use of berley is almost vital in increasing the catch rate here.

The deeper pools of the

This sizeable Elingamite hen couldn’t resist crunching on the Pontoon 21 Tantalisa Minnow.

Mount Emu Creek are holding good redfin to 1.1kg, while the local trout have become very shy with the only activity being observed around dawn and dusk.

The trout are spooking

Not a common catch recently, but there are plenty of wily browns still out there. This one was released.

easily and care must be taken when approaching the river to cast. No heavy or large lures that may make a large splash; instead some are employing small spinners and casting beyond the cruising fish and then gently retrieving the lure back towards the fish at a slow, steady rate.

Reddies are taking earthworm fished on the bottom as well as deep diving lures and plastics, but keep in mind this river is often snag ridden, so expect losses from the tackle box. And watch out for snakes like tigers and browns, as they frequent the brush and reeds that grow along the riverbanks and they are very active at this time of year.

Lake and streams will be cooling down WST/STH GIPPSLAND

Steve Haughton steve@habitatcreations.com.au

There’s one month left of extended daylight hours before we ease back in to another winter season.

Daylight savings ends on 7 April, so now is good time to hit the streams of West and South Gippsland or Blue Rock Lake. Or why not do both?

The impressive streams of the Noojee region set amongst a beautiful backdrop of bushland and lush farmland is a must for any stream trout angler. The Latrobe, Toorongo and Loch rivers all hold small trout and are great fun on light gear, whether it fly, lure or bait fishing.

Closer to Melbourne the Tarago River begins north of Neerim South, and flows down to Longwarry before entering the Bunyip River; both rivers

Hooking into a surface feeding carp over the warmer months has been a lot of fun on light gear out in the lake.

offering good March stream trout fishing.

About 20 minutes north of Warragul is the picturesque Blue Rock Lake set behind the township of Willow Grove.

The northeastern banks of the lake are predominantly native bushland, creating the foothills of Mt Baw Baw. Open farmland dominates much of the western banks, with good land-based fishing around the two boat ramps positioned nicely at either end of the lake.

The Tanjil Arm located north of the lake is the main source of water, where the Tanjil River flows in. The river arm is set amongst an amazing rugged landscape of native bush and submerged dead trees, which is ideal habitat for big bass, trout and redfin.

Heading south, the Lang Lang River always looks very inviting at this time of the year with its tannin waters. There is plenty of food throughout the system, which results in some nice healthy brown trout and redfin swimming about. The Lang Lang River historically holds some big trout and blackfish, but access can be difficult, so it will require some adventurous spirit.

By March the stream flows can be down quite low, but there is still plenty of insect action happening on the surface. Dry fly fishing can be very productive, as can fishing with small surface lures. Your

approach to any stream will require stealth, as the fickle trout can be spooked very easily. Trout also like waters that are well oxygenated and cool, so it is likely you’ll find them in or below riffles where the water is flowing.

The lake levels of Blue Rock have been dropping and will likely continue over

the next month. This creates perfect conditions for shoreline vegetation to grow until the water comes back up to the natural water mark in the wetter months.

Good shoreline vegetation attracts the aquatic invertebrates, which in turn attract the fish, and this is ideal for land-based anglers. If an

autumn break comes early this month, then definitely head to Blue Rock to fish the rising lake levels.

Those who have boats and kayaks should also focus their attention on trolling or casting at the shoreline.

Feel free to send me a report or photo if you have any success stories.

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

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

LAKE/DAM

Dec Jan

Mulwala

Cairn Curran

45

Feb

42 39

(Yarrawonga) 95 93 98

Dartmouth 74 70 70

Newlyn

Eildon

57 54 47

Nillahcootie 55 50 43

Eppalock

51 48 45

Rocklands 33 31 30

Eucumbene 20 21 26

Tantangara 40 47 46

Fyans

77 72 69

Taylors

57 53 51

Hepburn

68 61 46

Tullaroop

46 43 39

Hume

41 37 32

Waranga

34 23 21

Jindabyne 66 70 83

Wartook

59 56 51

Lauriston

William Hovell 100

87 85 83

83 75 57

99 84

(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.)

MARCH 2019

69

Imports and natives are hitting their straps drop off.

Most of the river is fishing well from Riverside through to Quantong, so this is a really good option for a fish after

HORSHAM

Liam Lannen

Autumn is looking good for all sorts of angling. Many lakes and rivers are fishing well at the moment, and whether you’re after redfin, trout or native fish, a whole range of methods have been working.

ROCKLANDS Rocklands Reservoir has really stepped up a notch over the last two months, with cricket scores of redfin being landed and the odd trout.

Redfin have been holding from 3-9m of water, and trolling deep diving lures around until you find fish on the sounder is a great way of locating the schools.

Once found, dropping live minnow, worms and soft plastics has been a successful method. The best parts of the lake have been the wall,

a drift, because that could be the one with the big one on it!

TOOLONDO Lake Toolondo has been starting to improve, with some

A true Taylors Lake monster, coming in at 99cm.

Brodys, and Fergusons, with the best times being first and last light.

With Fisheries Victoria stocking a further 250,000 golden perch in late January, it

takes the native stockings up to nearly 1 million, which is very exciting for Rocklands.

FYANS Lake Fyans near Stawell has been producing solid redfin up to the 48cm and mark, and some lovely trout for the people putting in the

Bait anglers have been doing well fishing late in the afternoon and into the night, with reasonable numbers of golden perc and catfish being caught. The best baits methods are fishing with small yabbies and scrubworms on a running sinker rig near snags and nice

Peter Vincent with a stunning river golden perch.

Gage Wright caught this beautiful golden perch on a spinnerbait.

Round 2

Lake Mulwala DC on the Lake – Mulwala

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MARCH 2019

effort. Fish are still holding reasonably deep, so fishing heavily-weighted plastics and deeper diving hardbodies has been successful. Trolling Tassie Devils and Rapala styles lures, and casting weed edges with small minnows and spinners is another great method for the lure crew.

Bait anglers have done well targeting trees with live minnows the trout anglers have been doing well drifting mudeyes around the trees.

WIMMERA RIVER The Wimmera River has continued to fish well, with good numbers of golden perch, catfish, silver perch and redfin being caught. Lure anglers have been finding good results targeting timber, drop offs and weed edges tight with hardbodied lures and spinnerbaits in the 50-75mm range. First and last light have been best.

work, or late on a weekend.

TAYLORS LAKE Taylors Lake has continued to fish well through the summer, and now into autumn some thumping cod been have been landed, and good numbers of yellas are there to be caught by all anglers.

Lure anglers have been getting some nice yellas and cod trolling through tree lines and casting at trees. The best lures to troll have those that dive to the 2-4m range. Casting spinnerbaits and swimbaits has also been good, with the best method being starting on a treeline and slowly moving along, casting at every tree.

You should never miss one on

nice fish coming out recently.

The trout are starting to fire, with some good numbers being landed, and targeting shallow margins with hardbodies and bent minnow styles has been doing well. Angler have also done well trolling when the sun gets up a bit.

Redfin have been a popular catch while fishing the same methods. They’re not in great numbers, but most fish are a good size. The trout fishing will be very hot soon improve even more, with autumn being the best time to target trout at this lake.

We’re expecting all good fishing to continue going well.

It sure is a good time to live in the area!

The author with a fat 48cm local golden perch.

Pettie blew the competition out of the water The 2019 kayak angling season began with 101 anglers pedalling off in glassy conditions, in Strike Pro Round 1 of Hobie Kayak Bream Series 11, on Saturday 12 January, at Bemm River in Victoria.

Anglers powered away from the Power-Pole starting line just on 7:00am. A light NE wind wafted across Sydenham Inlet but an expected SSW change was due somewhere between 10:00-11:20am. The field split into several groups, with a fairly even mix of those heading to the north (Bemm River entrance and Mud Lake), south (Siberia), west of the start line (Bobs Bay) and to the east towards Mahogany.

While most of the field was struggling to find patches of bream, a dozen or so competitors had bagged out (three fish in the live well) by 9:00am. In the light conditions everyone was waiting for the wind to break up the surface on the mostly glassed out waterway. The

north side of Mahogany Bay was producing most of the fish and eventually the flats began to work well as the wind came up.

Conditions were slightly irregular with the water level in the river and inlet extremely high. The normal edge bite was not present with the waterline was some 100m further into the scrub than usual. Lures that were working early were Daiwa Double Clutches, Laydown Minnows and blades in the deep water. Some success had been seen on soft plastics like Damiki PaddleTail shads and GrubZ. At the end of the day 77 anglers presented fish to the weigh-master with over 180 bream caught, averaging 630g. In the running for the Atomic Big Bream was young Photi Kaoullas from Victoria with a quality black bream weighing in at 1.14 kg. Impressively, 17 anglers were sitting above 2kg with the leader Ben Thompson (VIC) weighing in at 2.67kg.

Day two was shaping up

to be a cracker of a day with a light easterly breeze and overcast skies greeting anglers at the start of the session. The north side of Mahogany Bay produced most of the fish on Saturday and ‘the flats’ were where most of the fish were caught on Sunday.

There was a very early morning bite on the flats due to the high cloud coverage and wind. Some anglers had a great start putting fish in their live wells very early on, one within three minutes of the start. As the day wore on the wind picked up. The official forecast was mixed across different sources.

When it came in, the wind hit Bemm harder than expected, increasing to an average of 16.7 knots with gusts much higher still. Most anglers handled the conditions well, and the harder the wind blew the bigger the fish were.

While there was slightly less fish caught on day two, in the heavy conditions the average size of fish was slightly bigger.

RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Angler Tony Pettie Nathan Wright Mitch King Kevin Varty Brian Hunt Corey Gallagher Steven Pryke Dale Baxter David Shanahan James Kilpatrick

State VIC VIC VIC NSW NSW VIC VIC VIC VIC NSW

Total Fish 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6

TW (kg) 5.35 5.22 4.92 4.92 4.74 4.74 4.67 4.62 4.51 4.34

Prize $2820 $1470 $950 $440 $370 $330 $290 $260 $220 $180

PETTIE HOOKS ANOTHER WIN The eventual winner of the tournament was Tony Pettie from Traralgon in Victoria. Pettie had also won this event back in 2017. He outlined how he took on the Bemm ‘blacks’ to collect a cool $2820 in prize money.

“On day one I fished the deeper water out from the red markers near the middle of the lake in 2.8m using Hurricane Vibz 37 in camo crab colour and Hurricane Sub Grub in spawn worm colour. In the glassed-out conditions I had caught my three bream by 8:15am. I then managed to upgrade three times throughout the day and at weigh-in they went 2.25kg, and I was sitting in 9th place,” he said.

With the water colour change overnight, the overcast skies and the cooler conditions Pettie was able to catch about twelve legal fish on day two, with the average size bigger than day one.

“On day two, I had a similar plan to the first day of the tournament and I used the same lures. I started fishing at the start of the drop-off and managed one bream on my second cast. The Hobie media boat turned up, and I hooked and landed my second bream and had my third by 7:25am. At 9:30am when the media boat turned up for a second time, I landed a 1.1kg bream. When the

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR

WINNER’S GEAR Rod: Hurricane Reel: Daiwa Aird-X Line: 6lb Leader: 4lb FC Rock Lure: Hurricane Vibz 37 in camo crab nasty, easterly wind started around 10:00am, I began to land some awesome fish and upgraded four more times. I tried to stay out in the rough conditions but eventually gave up and came in early with a reasonable bag of fish.”

“At weigh-in my bag went to 3.10kg. That was enough to put me in 1st place.”

WRIGHT WINGS HIS WAY TO SECOND For the second-place getter, Nathan Wright from Victoria, it was a tournament like no other. He had never fished Bemm River before and ‘just winged it’ on the new waterway. Over the two days of the event he used exactly the same approach, mainly throwing TT Slim SwimZ in motor oil.

It was also his first ever Hobie tournament, and when he first registered for the tournament online, he had to make the choice of whether to take the ‘First Time Entry’ option, and not pay the entry fee. However, in doing so he would have to forgo any prize money he may possibly win.

Luckily, Wright made the ‘Right’ choice; he decided to pay the entry fee, which

placed him in the Open Division along with the other anglers vying for prize money. That wise decision saw him go home with $1470 of prize money in his pocket.

ATOMIC BIG BREAM The largest bream caught over the two days of each round is known as the Atomic Big Bream.

At Bemm River the $100 cash prize went to Mitch King (VIC) for his 1.39kg black bream.

MORTGAGE CORP MONSTER MOVER The Prize Pack for the angler who improved the most over the two days, the Mortgage Corp Monster Mover, was Alex Whitehead from South Australia.

Whitehead weighed in no fish on day one, and then brought home 2.64kg on the second day of the tournament.

The next round will be Mortgage Corp Round 2 at Mallacoota in Victoria on 2-3 March.

Thanks to Strike Pro, Daiwa, Lowrance, PowerPole, Gerber, Atomic, Mortgage Corp, Tackle Tactics, Pro Lure, Cranka Lures, Lurefans, Hobie Polarized and JML. – Hobie

Brought to you by

2018

MARCH

2-3 Mar

ABT BASS Round 1

Clarence River

2-3 Mar

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 2

Mallacoota

9 Mar

ABT BASS Electric Round 1

Richmond River

9-10 Mar

Tasmanian Bream Classic Series Round 2

Swan River, Swansea

16-17 Mar

Victoria Bream Classic Round 2

Mallacoota

19-21 March

ABT BREAM Australian Open

Sydney

23-24 March

ABT BREAM Round 3

Botany Bay

30-31 Mar

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 3

Sydney

abt.org.au

hobiefishing.com.au

abt.org.au

tasmanianbreamclassics@gmail.com

billhartshorne@hotmail.com

abt.org.au

abt.org.au

hobiefishing.com.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.

MARCH 2019

71

Pirtek Fishing Challenge

Ready to enter the world’s biggest fishing comp?

Australians across all states and territories are being encouraged to prepare their fishing gear for the 2019

Pirtek Fishing Challenge.

The Challenge is a major fundraising initiative that helps to raise funds for Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) and awareness of the disease.

More than 17,000 men are

major fundraising partner for the Peter Duncan Neurosciences Research Unit.

The challenge is an online

national fishing competition open to all ages and experience levels. All competitors receive a limited-edition cap, brag mat and sticker, along with a redemption voucher for a bottle of Pirtek Protect, which is lanolin grease that has been

on the brag mat with their angler number and upload the photo to the website for judging.

Snap-On Tools 100-piece tool kit valued at $600 and a Valvoline $500 oils and lube pack. Spotter sunglasses are also supplying their awesome polarized eyewear.

One of the big attractions of the challenge is the $90,000 in cash supplied by Pirtek Fluid Systems and divided across the 25-target fish nationally. This is awarded via a ‘mystery length’ a secret measurement determined by the event organizers.

Michael Guest, Event Director, says the challenge is designed to allow people of all ages and experiences to get involved and enjoy a day outdoors.

“It doesn’t matter whether you are an experienced angler or picking up a rod for the first time, the Pirtek Fishing Challenge is all about getting together with your friends and family, having fun and

supporting our charity partners,” he said.

“Prostate cancer continues to affect thousands of families each year, and sadly almost every Australian knows someone who is affected by the disease.”

“The Pirtek team and I will continue to do all we

can to give PCFA and The Peter Duncan Neurosciences Research Unit the support they need.”

For more information and to register visit www. pirtekfishingchallenge.com. au. Registrations cost $25.00, plus postage and handling. – Pirtek Fishing Team

The list of 25 target species will be released to competitors on Sunday, 24 February to allow all anglers time to plan their fishing trips.

This year, the Challenge is offering a record $213,000 in cash and prizes. Just by entering, all registered participants will be in the running to win a boat, outboard and trailer package valued at over $29,000 courtesy of Stacer/Evinrude.

Along with two $2600 Snap On Tool chests, $2000 worth of Berkley/ABU Garcia fishing tackle, a $2000 Lowrance Hook2 12 Sonar/GPS, $1700 BCF spending spree; eight YOUR CHALLENGE • Enter the challenge via the website and be sure to read the terms and conditions.

• After you have registered, a limited edition Fishing Challenge cap and Fishing Challenge brag mat will be posted to you.

• The list of target species will be available via the website www.pirtekfishingchallenge.com.au at 1200 hours AEDST on Sunday, 24 February 2019.

diagnosed with prostate cancer in Australia every year.

Pirtek has been partners with Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia since 2009 to help raise vital funds for prostate cancer research, awareness initiatives and support programs by hosting Australia’s biggest single day fishing competition.

The challenge is also a

designed specifically for the marine and fishing industry.

It can be redeemed at any one of the 98 Pirtek outlets around Australia. You can find these locations at www. pirtek.com.au.

This year’s challenge will take place on Sunday 17 March 2019 between the hours of 6.00am-6.00pm. Competitors need to fish for their chosen species, photograph their catch

• On Saturday, 16 March 2019 (after 6:00pm) you will be sent via email a repeat list of the target species plus your angler number. You can also log on to the website to download this information.

• Fishing will commence at 6:00am and finish at 6:00pm on Sunday, 17 March 2019.

• All lines must be out of the water at 6:00pm on Sunday, 17 March 2019.

• When you catch your target species simply lay the live fish with the nose in line with the ‘0’ (zero) measurement on the Pirtek bragmat.

• Photograph the fish so the entire length can be seen in the photograph along with your angler number.

• Check out the Photographing Your Fish page for information on how to correctly photograph your catch.

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• If you do not receive your brag mat before Sunday 17 March, you may measure and photograph your fish using last year’s brag mat, a fisheries measuring sticker, another competitors mat (with your Angler Number), or a generic brag mat (BCF sell them).

• If you are not happy with the photograph, simply take another one.

• Quickly release the fish and try to catch a bigger one.

• Only a fish caught by the registered angler can be entered.

• Any photograph that shows a fish not alive or damaged will not be accepted.

• Any photograph which has undergone digital manipulation, i.e., photoshop, will be disqualified.

• You can only upload one photograph per angler to the website. This needs to be your biggest fish.

• Follow the directions on the website to upload your photograph.

• The upload needs to be complete by 7:00am AEDT, Monday, 18 March 2019.

• Any photographs uploaded after this time will not be accepted.

• Remember to write your angler number clearly in the white box provided on the brag mat.

• If your photograph is damaged, blurry or the overall measurement of your fish is not clearly seen with your angler number the photograph will be disallowed.

• Check your photograph to ensure the whole fish is in the photograph and the nose end of the fish is in line with the ‘0’ (zero) measurement and the overall length along with the angler number is clearly visible.

• Check the website on Saturday, 23 March, 2019 to see if you’re a winner. The National Fishing Challenge committee’s decision will be final and no correspondence entered into.

Size Range: Up to 1m, but more commonly encountered at 30-60cm.

Tactics: Smelly baits are very effective for carp. Carp will also get up into shallow water and mooch along the bottom looking for aquatic insects, and this is where fly anglers can have some fun, sometimes landing some huge specimens.

Rigs: A medium running sinker rig, paternoster rig or float rig with 6-20lb braided line onto a 10-20lb leader. Anglers can obviously go lighter in clear water free of snags.

Bait: Baits as varied as scrubworms, corn, bread, dough, shrimp and grubs are all attractive to carp and the use of berley will increase your success rate dramatically.

Lures: Carp will take lures, usually as by-catch. Fly anglers can target carp in shallow water by sight fishing with small nymphs.

GOLDEN PERCH Size Range: Up to 75cm, commonly caught at 25-50cm.

Tactics: Lures and live baits are popular, and they also love to hunt down worms and grubs set on the bottom. Lures cast around fallen timber in rivers and standing timber in lakes are all successful, especially around first and last light, and the warmer periods of the year are generally preferred.

Rigs: Running sinker rig and a paternoster rig are both good options with 20lb braided main line to 20lb leader. The same line weights can be used for lure fishing.

Bait: Baits of yabby, live shrimp, worms and even smelly dead baits are successful.

Lures: Lures like Australian-made hardbodied lures, spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits all do damage on yellowbelly.

MURRAY COD Size Range: Up to 1.8m, common from 40-80cm.

Tactics: Murray cod are a structure-loving and territorial species. Therefore, lures or baits fished or cast around big snag complexes repetitively usually get a response eventually. During periods of low light, they will often leave their lairs in search of food.

Rigs: 20-30lb should be your minimum line weights for both your mainline and leader.

Lures: Murray cod will eat a variety of surface lures, hardbodies, lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits. As with bait, lures should be big and annoying to achieve the best results.

REDFIN Size Range: Up to 60cm, common from 20-40cm.

Tactics: Redfin are a schooling fish, so finding schools of fish before deploying bait or lures is preferred. Redfin are very aggressive and will respond to a variety of presentations in the lakes and rivers where they have been introduced.

Rigs: A small running sinker rig fished vertically from a boat on 6-10lb is sufficient for redfin anywhere.

Bait: Any small invertebrates, such as worms, crustaceans and insect larvae make great redfin bait. Yabbies and shrimps are definitely standouts when searching for bigger perch.

Lures: Anything suitable for bass or trout will certainly fool redfin. Small hardbodies, soft plastics, surface lures and even flies will readily take perch.

Rigs: Light braided line around 4-6lb with a fluorocarbon or monofilament leader around 8-14lb is preferred for lure fishing. The same applies for bait fishing, with unweighted, weighted and floated rigs working, depending on how deep and where the fish are holding.

COASTAL

Tactics: Bass in rivers love structure, but when they spawn in winter, they will school up in open water around the tidal reaches. Bass can be a little different in the dams. If there are bony bream or other schooling baitfish present, the bass will usually school up in deep water, chasing the smaller bony bream. If there is a lot of structure around the edges and the food source in predominately insects, small fish and shrimps, the bass will feed in shallow water. Fishing where the bass are with lures or bait that mimics what food source is available is the preferred approach.

Bait: Grasshopper, cricket, worms, yabbies, and particularly live shrimp are successful.

Lures: Bass take a variety of lures from surface lures, diving lures, lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits, soft plastics, jigs and even flies. Match your lures to suit where and how the bass are feeding.

BREAM (ALL SPECIES) Size Range: Up to 50cm, common from 25-35cm.

Tactics: Bream are incredibly widespread and can be found in just about every saltwater river, creek and coastal lake in the state. Bream love structure – especially rock – and if you find rocks or other hard structure in the intertidal zone, you can be sure that bream hang around it at some time of the day. Bream will also aggregate around weed an flooded grass at times. Keep the gear light when bream fishing, as this will get you more bites. If you want to catch a bream on a lure, make sure that it’s small. They’ll eat nearly every bait you can find or buy, it just needs to be presented in a natural way.

Rigs: Running sinker onto a #1 or 1/0 hook will work for the bait anglers. For the lure brigade, 2-6lb braided line connected to 6-10lb fluorocarbon or monofilament leader is ample.

COASTAL

CARP

Size Range: Up to 65cm, common from 30-40cm.

Bait: Because they are omnivorous almost anything found or bought should catch bream, including white bread, which is an under-used favourite.

Lures: Small hardbodied divers, smaller than your little finger, cast around rocky shores, mangroves or bridges and worked with a slow, steady retrieve are hard to beat. When fish go deeper, tiny soft plastics and blades with according jighead size is a sure-fire way to pin a bream. At times, they will also rise to small surface lures.

FLATHEAD

Size Range: Up to 1.1m, commonly caught 30-65cm.

Tactics: Flathead are classic ambush predators that use camouflage to their advantage, often burying themselves in sand or mud when awaiting their prey. Drop offs, weed edges, hard rock and mud edges are all great spots for flathead. Flathead have a preference for tidal movement, either running in or running out, and don’t feed as much when the water is slack.

Rigs: A running sinker rig with 6lb braid with a 15lb leader is sufficient for bait fishing. The same goes for lure fishing, but try to attach your lures with a loop knot where possible to maximize the action of the lure.

COASTAL

Lures: Winged lures trolled off a downrigger are fantastic for when trout are schooling deep. Hardbodies, small bladed spinners and soft plastics are great for trout in shallow water.

BASS

Bait: Flathead will eat anything they can fit in their mouth, whether it’s live, dead, big or small.

Lures: Most lures work well on flathead, the trick is to have it in their face. Lures such as soft plastics, vibes, lipless crankbaits and hardbodied lure all take flathead, and they’ve been known to chase down swimbaits and surface lures as well.

AUSTRALIAN SALMON Size Range: Up to 90cm, common from 30-60cm.

Tactics: Salmon make migrations along the coast and come in close to beaches and headlands to chase bait. Anglers use this aggressive behaviour to their advantage, and rack up huge scores of fish casting baits and lures from the beach and headlands.

They will also occasionally head up into rivers.

Rigs: A lightly-weighted live bait or moving dead bait is hard to beat when concentrations of salmon have been found.

Bait: Any readily available baitfish rigged live is dynamite, with squid and a variety of dead flesh baits also great for salmon.

TASMANIA

Bait: Baits of worms, crickets, grasshoppers, mudeyes and shrimps can all be successful at different times.

MURRAY DARLING BASIN

Tactics: In dams and lakes trout can form huge school in deep water, and this is when they can be caught trolling lures. Trout are an opportunistic predator in streams, meaning they will investigate anything that comes into their domain. At other times, trout can sometimes be very fussy, particularly when there is a specific hatch of insects or baitfish in the area. Drifting baits, or casting small lures and flies is a good tactic in rivers.

MURRAY DARLING BASIN

Size Range: Up to 1m, common from 30-50cm.

MURRAY DARLING BASIN

(BROWN AND RAINBOW, INC. TASMANIA)

MURRAY DARLING BASIN

TROUT

GREAT DIVIDING RANGE

Pirtek Fishing Challenge

Lures: Salmon can be highly aggressive and willing to chase down a huge range of lures, from metal slices, hardbodies, soft plastics, surface lures, flies and even improvised presentations! Offerings that resemble the available bait tend to get more attention, however matching the hatch is not always necessary.

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73

Team Samurai start the year on top at Nelson The weekend of 2-3 February 2019 saw the start of the 2019 NS Rods Sunline Vic Bream Classic Series kick off at Nelson on the Glenelg River for the 2019 Glenelg Hopkins CMA Bream Classic. Unlike recent years, the Glenelg River turned on some great fishing and equally as impressive weather for the weekend.

No matter the conditions, quality anglers always make their way to the pointy end of the field and that’s exactly what Team Samurai Rods Dan Mackrell and Declan Betts did, taking the first victory of the year.

Team Samurai Rods, consisting of Frogley’s pro staffer Dan Mackrell and teammate Declan Betts, took to the water on Friday morning ready to see what lay ahead for the weekend’s tournament. However, the chosen boat for the weekend felt differently. Like a 5yo on their first day of school, the tantrum came on strong and there was no way the boys were getting on the water.

A trip to Hamilton came up short and the decision was made to head home… to get another boat! For their effort they only managed a 15 minute pre-fish left the boys

with not much to go on. They decided to fish the front of the system in that time and rely on prior information.

Tournament mornings are often filled with nerves, but after the previous day’s misadventure, the only feelings gracing the boat were that of relief and gratitude. They were just happy to be out there.

The mornings fishing was steady, upgrades came along at regular intervals and Dan had his 101 Samurai bent over regularly. It was just one of those days when one person had something dialled in and the fish were reacting to it.

As the scales went down,

BREAM CLASSIC RESULTS Place Team Name Competitor One 1 Samurai Rods Dan Mackrell 2 Kzazi Kat Ryan Newman 3 Just Winging It Chris Allwood 4 Tim Treloar Fencing Tim Treloar 5 Get The Net Aaron Bickery 6 Asleep At The Reel Daryl Hislop 7 Minn Kota Cam Whittam 8 Soft Spastics Kurt Howard 9 Barely Legal Michael Crane 10 Skales Simon Krause team Samurai Rods weighed a respectable Nelson bag of 3.18kg. At the end of the weigh in, it was enough to be day one leaders.

Kobie Rothall from Team Krazi Kats displays the 1.20kg JML Anglers Alliance Eco-Gear Big Bream he landed.

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MARCH 2019

Top three teams Chris Allwood and Jack Allwood (3rd), Ryan Newman and Kobi Rothall (2nd), and Dan Mackrell and Declan Betts (1st) pose with Glenelg Hopkins CMA CEO Adam Bester and celebrity Perce the Perch.

Competitor Two Declan Betts Kobi Rothall Jack Allwood Mick Treloar Tony Bickery Brad Stephens Warren Carter Joe Morrissey Shane Handley Patrick Krause

If there is one thing that many years of tournament fishing teaches you, it is to enjoy your down time. As much as you are there for the fishing, never forget, you are with your mates and you’re there to have fun! If your tournament experience is measured only by results, you will not last long in the sport at all.

Somewhat refreshed, day two dawned with the understanding that staying in the lead was going to be mighty challenging. Shallow water fishing with no wind and a day’s worth of pressure does not make for easy fishing.

Then, right on queue, there was wind. Previously skittish fish found their

They fished to their strengths for the weekend, using Unitika braid, light Unitika leaders, fine guage Gamakatsu jigheads and a combination of Samurai 101 and 181 rods. When fishing gets tough in a tournament situation, having everything in your favour can make all the difference, even if it is only by 10g.

Normally their return journey from Nelson to home is around 580km. Over the course of the weekend some 1300km were covered by the winning team and until tournament day, none of their plans panned out.

Total Fish 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

appetites and upgrades came along. Not only that, there were contributions coming in from both team members.

When you are pushing each other and both contributing to the bag, there is seriously no better feeling in a team event.

Fishing in close proximity to others can be challenging, and judging by the reactions coming from one particular boat, they knew there was a serious challenger out there.

They headed for the weigh in knowing that they had done all they could.

They had held off the fast finishing locals, team Krazi Kats, by 10g. If one of those breams had coughed up a crab, they could have been relegated to second!

Total Weight (kg) 6.43 6.42 6.24 5.75 5.72 5.60 5.39 5.25 5.23 5.20

According to them their win was attributed to equal parts stupidity and perseverance.

While Team Krazi Kat’s Ryan Newman and Kobi Rothall finished a very close 2nd, they did manage to secure the JML Anglers Alliance Eco-Gear Big Bream with a cracking 1.20kg beast and also the 3.65kg day 2 bag that rocked them into 2nd place took out the Sunline Best Bag for the weekend. Further down the order, but moving 9 places on day 2, was Team Outlaws, Bodhi Pannenburg and Cory Broad, who took out the Hurricane Monster Movers Prize for the weekend. The race for the newly introduced Glenelg Hopkins CMA Prized Perch was hotly contested and a cracking 1.04kg perch weighed in by Team Full to the Bream’s Sandy Moorhouse and Dave Murray took the $500 cheque.

Next stop, see the series head to Mallacoota for the Bayford Volkswagen East Gippsland Bream Classic on 16-17 March. If you would like to enter visit www. vicbreamclassics.com.au or call tournament director Bill Hartshorne on 0409 823 070 for all the details. – Vic Bream Classics

Young Harry Marshall from Team MPW won the Shimano Junior Angler Prize for the weekend and showed his skills putting the prize to good use to land a full bag of bream on day 2.

BLACK MAGIC

MASTER CLASS

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

No more waiting, get into some live baiting On the Mid North Coast of NSW live baiting the inshore reefs, islands and headlands is an extremely good way to get connected to some serious fish, but this great technique will also work in waters all around Australia. Kings, black marlin, longtail tuna, Spanish mackerel, mac tuna, bonito, cobia

longtail tuna will also move right up into shallow rocky bays and coves looking to feast on schools of garfish.

Often these kinds of areas are accessible by land, which dedicated hardcore land-based anglers take full advantage of, landing some spectacular catches from the rocks every year.

If you’re boat-based the live baiting options

For larger reef systems and around islands it’s best to cover as much territory as you can, which is why slow trolling these parts will work best.

On the flip side, if you’re fishing for kings in a small bay full of garfish, or for a cobia on an isolated bommie, or a particular point that juts out then anchoring up and sending live baits out under floats will be the better option.

TROLLING When it comes to trolling there are a range of baits that will work.

When baits tough to find a yellowtail or even a pike will do the job, however slimy mackerel are probably the best all round bait. Big kingfish and cobia also love a slow trolled calamari squid or small bonito.

It’s best to run two rods

Even small boats like this can get amongst the action, with this small crew pulling in a solid cobia onboard. will need around 3m of 80-100lb leader coupled with 60-80lb braided or 24kg mono outfits. Black Magic fluorocarbon leader is the best leader for this type of work, as it’s super abrasion resistant making it ideal for brutal kingfish fight in rugged terrain.

Hook choice you’ll

KLT 7/0 circle hooks.

All baits when trolling should be bridle rigged using either elastic bands or a loop of mono. Trolled

is simple with the length of your leader giving you your depth and a torpedo float running up the leader between your joining knot and hook. For the deeper bait a small pea size sinker can also be added on top of the hook.

A good hook for this is the Black Magic DX 6/0.

They are deadly sharp and since switching to them last year, I don’t think I’ve missed one tuna.

Live baits under a float are best pinned gently behind the shoulder just above the lateral line, with the exception being garfish that last longer when hooked just behind the

Longtail tuna are a prime candidate for a live bait suspended under a float. and even the odd stonker snapper are all live baiting possibilities.

While you can potentially catch any of the above species with a range of live baiting methods your success rate improves dramatically when know what and where works best for each fish.

This is why it’s important to know what fish your targeting and how to identify potential

are greatly increased for the above species, as shallow reefs and islands close to the coast become accessible. Here you are less likely to catch longtail tuna as they prefer to hug the coastline, but have a great chance of hooking into a black marlin.

This is especially the case on those inshore reefs holding baitfish in 20-40m of water.

The two most popular

Black Magic DX 6/0 are a lethal live bait hook.

Black Magic’s very own Chris Firkin in the closing stages of a tuna fight. when trolling, with one up high in the water column and one deeper. This is where a downrigger really comes into its own, allowing you to set the ideal depth you want your bait at. If you don’t have a downrigger an elastic band with snapper style sinker attached to the leader will be a good substitute.

Leader size and main line will depend on what you’re targeting. If it’s big hoodlum kings you

find it hard to go past the Black Magic DX 6/0 or KS 7/0-8/0, depending on bait size.

For black marlin the same leader size will also be perfect for handling the scuffing caused by bills even in a long fight on 100kg inshore fish – I’ve never had it wear through.

For marlin stick with mono line, preferably IGFA class, something like Black Magic IGFA 10-15kg, and use BM

baits should be fished in free spool to give the fish a chance to get the bait down before hooks are set. This is why overhead reels are the preferred reel for this type of work, however, baitrunner style spinning reels are gaining popularity for 10-15kg mono line

anal fin on the underside of the fish. For the leader try Black Magic flourocarbon around 60lb, unless you’re targeting big kings, then up it to 80-100lb.

Outfits can be either overhead or spin with 15kg mono or 50lb braid ideal for this type of fishing.

This Spanish took a slowly trolled garfish. areas for them.

The first thing you should be looking for are environments holding common food sources.

For species like longtail tuna, Spanish mackerel, kingfish and cobia prime areas are ocean headlands with deep reefy bottom, where schools of slimy mackerel and yellowtail concentrate. Kingfish and

ways to fish live baits are to either drift them out suspended under a float or to slow troll them through high-potential areas.

While the preferred method for tuna is live baiting under a float, the best way to target marlin is slow trolling. For the other species the most productive style will largely depend on the areas you’re fishing.

The author putting the breaks on a longtail tuna.

This solid king took a liking to a slow trolled slimy mackerel.

classes and up to 50lb braid.

USING FLOATS The best bait to run under a float is again a slimy mackerel, with garfish pike and yellowtail as good back ups.

I like to fish with two rods out at different depths, one at around 2m and the other one around 5m. The rig

If you do opt for the spin option, baitrunner reels are the way to go as you want your reel to be in freespool when the fish takes the bait then easily engaged into gear when it’s time to strike.

That’s live baiting in a nutshell, now you’ve just got to get out and do it.

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Recruiting for the future fishery SUNTAG

Stefan Sawynok

The Fitzroy River is an excellent case study of a system that has been through the good times and bad and come out the other side.

who for nearly 20 years have recorded and reported their catches. In this case the efforts were coordinated by Bill Sawynok, who pulled together the data and fed it back to the community. The missing link in this dataset was how many new fish were coming into the system – also known as recruits.

Looking at recruits requires a very different approach, fish

thin when it comes to the Fitzroy. The first question was how to detect recruits.

Electrofishing is a common method for finding recruits in freshwater, although the equipment is expensive and doesn’t work in brackish or salty water. Baby barra will head for off river sites that are only connected on large tides or flooding as this provides a safer environment to grow up

A typical small off river site.

Figure 1 – Barramundi catch rates from 2009-2011.

In 2007 a long drought period had reduced barramundi stocks to the point where the locals were thinking that a ban on all fishing was in order. The breaking of the drought led to three really good years of successful spawning and by 2011 the river was as close

10-15cm long don’t respond to line fishing and are found in different environments to adults, and can even move through several habitats as they grow.

There is every chance that fishers all over the country have detected recruits in their normal fishing life – especially

in. Barramundi have no issue eating juveniles, so getting away from the adults is a survival impetrative. This combination of challenges led to the use of the simplest of technologies, one most fishers would be familiar with – the cast net.

With the knowledge gaps

Bill Sawynok has refined his technique with over 10,000 casts. to full fish wise as it had ever been. Figure 1 provides a picture of catch rates in the past 10 years – from the peak around 2010/11 to today. In late 2015, local fishers were rewarded for their efforts in monitoring the Fitzroy with the declaration of a Net Free Zone. In 2017, this was strengthened when a voluntary code of practice was put in place to limit take home to maximum two barra, or two threadfin.

The only reason we have a good understanding of catch rates is because of the efforts of local fishers, 76

MARCH 2019

when using cast nets. That information is rarely recorded, but is vital to understanding where nursery areas are and if they need to be protected.

This article highlights the case for monitoring recruitment and how it can play into long term planning of the fishery.

LOOKING FOR RECRUITS IN THE EARLY DAYS The search for barramundi recruits started in earnest in 1999. At that time while there were some things known about barramundi recruitment, the details were

on when barramundi would be best found, surveys were conducted every month. A small number of Barramundi recruits were found in that first year, but that was only a fraction of the fish and other species detected.

LESSONS ON THE DRIVERS FOR RECRUITMENT One of the first lessons from the all year-round surveys – they aren’t needed.

The original reason for doing all round surveys is that nobody was sure when recruits would appear, it turned out that no recruits

were detected past April in cast nets, though from that point they were caught on line. This is down to baby barra entering the off river areas between December and February, then growing fast and moving to new areas in the site. Once they were bigger than 200mm, they were able to be targeted successfully with small lures. The most important recruitment site around Rockhampton is 12 Mile Creek. In good years where recruitment is strong, it’s not uncommon for the boys that tag to go down there with light gear and catch 50 fish in a session.

This first lesson was critical. As well as reducing the timeframes for surveys, the short window provided the first clues as to the environmental factors. Over the early 2000s a pattern of recruitment appeared, at the same time thanks to the internet, environmental data became more freely available. For the first time, it was possible to nail down the major environmental drivers Here is a summary of the complex interactions in the environment that need to line up River flows are critical, particularly low flows from September on. If there are significant fresh flows before November that drops the salinity in the estuary and can completely disrupt spawning.

Rainfall in January/ February is crucial to provide a signal to new recruits where the off river sites are, following the flush of freshwater.

At the best site (12 Mile Creek) recruits make it into the system on the king tides.

Higher river flows or flooding in January and February help recruits make it into other offsite locations.

Freshwater is the major driver of the system, but quantity alone doesn’t get you there – timing is critical.

Overall there are more ways

things can go wrong than right and barramundi have adapted by being super productive during the bad times. That’s why the Fitzroy went from its worst point in living memory in 2007 to the best point in 2010/11.

We have compiled those rules into a ‘traffic lights’ system. Lots of green lights means better conditions for recruitment.

PREDATION, FISH KILLS AND OBSTRUCTIONS Net free zones are a good thing right? There is no doubt that the declaration of a Net Free Zone in late 2015 has been a positive for

larger fish, the recruits have had a harder time. In 2017 recruitment surveys detected recruits in key locations within the Fitzroy River, but unlike prior years those recruits were not caught on line later on. 2018 followed a similar pattern. As the population of larger fish has stabilised and is now free to move throughout the system, recruits are now subject to predation.

In turn, this makes off river sites even more important.

In 2018 conditions in the 12 Mile worsened when much-needed rain failed to eventuate. Despite a huge effort to remove fish from

SPECIES SURVEYED IN 1999 The table below provides a summary of all the species present in surveys in 1999 SAND CRAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 MANGROVE JACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 BARRAMUNDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 SAND WHITING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 FRESHWATER SHRIMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 FLATTAIL MULLET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536 BONY BREAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 THREADFIN SILVERBIDDY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 SOUTHERN ANCHOVY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 WHITING SPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 SPOTTED SCAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 CRESCENT GRUNTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 RAINBOWFISH SPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 YELLOWFIN BREAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 GUDGEON SPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 BARTAIL FLATHEAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 COMMON TOADFISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 TROUT GUDGEON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 LARGETOOTH FLOUNDER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 SNUBNOSE GARFISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 SUNFISH SPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 DIAMONDFISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 SILVER MOONFISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SEA MULLET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 TARPON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SOUTHERN HERRING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 GOLDSPOT MULLET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 COMMON SILVERBIDDY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 MOUTH ALMIGHTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 GOLDLINED RABBITFISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 GIANT HERRING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 STRIPED SCAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 FLYSPECKLED HARDYHEAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 COMMON PONYFISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 PIKEY BREAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SPANGLED PERCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 MILKFISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 BANANA PRAWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 ESTUARY GLASSFISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Tim Mulhall with a metre long example of what is waiting for recruits! the system, which removed around 300 barramundi, there was a near total fish kill. Unlike the recent kills in NSW, this was not down to man-made factors, this was simply the natural cycle of droughts taking hold.

In a cruel twist of fate, an act intended to improve the fishery has made life more difficult for recruits. The lower survival rate makes them more susceptible to major events like fish kills.

The other factor to consider is the number of barriers that obstruct the movement of smaller fish.

In the Rockhampton region there are no less than 1200 such barriers, from roads to agricultural structures and while there has been some work done to improve fish passage, the task of mediating even just the key sites is near impossible. None the less this makes life more difficult for recruits seeking safety.

reasonably accurate but have wide bounds of error. Over the past 18 months, month attempts have been made to create a computer based predictive model and after many failures there is finally a solid model. Figure 2 shows the accuracy of three separate models verses the actual result.

These models allow for the input of the likely weather conditions, river flows and information on spawning stocks and predators at the beginning of the year to predict where recruitment will end up. Forewarned is forearmed.

The combination of prediction and monitoring enables local agencies to know in advance if there is something going on that need’s urgent attention.

One of the immediate befits has been in predicting fish kills. Through the models the potential for a fish kill is

Above: Juvenile barramundi taken during a recruitment monitoring session.

Below: Juvenile mangrove jacks are also found when monitoring barramundi stocks.

So, what do we do?

At this stage it’s too early for interventions, we need a couple years more monitoring to see if things settle out and come to a new balance.

GOING HIGH TECH IN PREDICTING RECRUITMENT As the understanding of recruitment improved, new tools were developed to predict recruitment. These hand-crafted models were

known months in advance and thus preparations can be made to move fish before things become critical.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE The amazing part of this process is that all the progress has been completed with recreational fishers doing the legwork both in the field and behind the computer. In recent years this work has been extended to new species including

yellowfin and pikey bream, barred javelin and king threadfin.

The combination of predictive models and low-cost monitoring are helping to identify the challenges for the next generation of recruits and more than once in twenty years has informed actions to improve habitats and fish passage.

The future fishery needs new recruits. Recreational fishers can play a serious role, especially in the estuary, helping to understand the things that matter most to ensuring long-term stable fish populations.

Figure 2 – Comparing the computer models verses the actual recruitment.

Left: Juvenile barred javelin recruitment, as with many other species, is affected by rainfall.

Right: Juvenile flathead regularly turn up in recruitment monitoring hauls.

YEAR

FITZROY RIVER

Monthly flow jan >0.5GL

Monthly flow feb >1.0GL

Wet season flow DecMar >2.0GL

1999

1.15

0.68

2000

0.06

2001

12 MILE

Max flow month

Low flow previous Sep-Oct <0.5GL

12 mile rain jan >100mm

12 mile rain feb >100mm

3.32

Jan

3.39

101

125

0.4

0.75

Feb

0

51

75

0.36

0.54

1.32

Feb

0

141

64

2002

0.34

0.1

0.47

Jan

0

61

68

2003

0

1.73

2.59

Feb

0

0

244

2004

0.53

0.51

0.62

Jan

0

165

92

2005

0.34

0.27

0.62

Jan

0

143

78

2006

0.04

0.01

0.23

Apr

0

61

55

2007

0.03

0.76

0.85

Feb

0

46

20

2008

4.00

7.59

12.16

Feb

0.04

80

227

2009

0.25

1.20

1.92

Feb

0.03

163

180

2010

0.12

4.46

10.50

Mar

0

64

313

2011

15.5

1.74

32.84

Mar

2.08

83

73

2012

0.08

2.12

5.73

Mar

0.09

84

63

2013

3.25

2.80

8.08

Jan

0.04

750

291

2014

0.02

0.79

0.96

Feb

0

52

199

2015

0.58

1.26

2.64

Feb

0.01

227

314

2016

0

1.88

2.24

Feb

0

41

133

2017

0.34

0.06

1.09

Apr

0.13

142

38

2018

0.02

0.13

0.65

Mar

0.19

36

151

2019

0 Conditions outside range Conditions close to range Conditions within range MARCH 2019

77

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

78

MARCH 2019

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

79

FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOUR CATCH

CRACKER WHOPPER DECENT IMPRESSIVE THUMPING NICE BEAUT DELICIOUS MONSTER PANSIZED MAMMOTH FIGHTER FLIGHTY

NIFTY DELIGHTFUL BEAUTIFUL CHUNKY AVERAGE ARMFUL HUMBLE ADMIRABLE SOLID QUALITY FEISTY ARM STRETCHING

DTD - REAL FISH OITA

Name: Address:

P/Code:

The first correct entry at the end of each month will win the prize pack.

SEND ENTRIES TO: VIC Find-a-word Competition, PO box 3172, Loganholme Qld 4129

VIC MARCH 2019

Phone (day):

BARRA COUNTRY by Brett Currie

The ‘Real Fish Oita’ is an incredible, award winning squid jig manufactured in Europe by leading Croatian company - DTD. Taking out the coveted ‘best new product’ in its class at the EFTTEX 2015 Expo in Warsaw, this wonderful range is now available in Australia through Dogtooth Distribution.

The product imitates real fish species. This coupled with DTD’s use of only the highest grade materials available, ensures great balance and results in superior catching ability. With the unique ‘fish parasite’ feature, aimed at luring predators in for an ‘easy kill’, these truly unique jigs are set to explode into the Australian market.

FEATURES - Double weight system with inner weight designed to produce sound while squid jig is in action.

COLOURS - 7 different designs representing popular fish species.

ADDITIONAL - Luminous body, fish parasite, great balance, sound effect, quality stainless steel hooks SIZES - 5 Sizes available www.dogtoothdistribution.com.au

SPOT THE

10 DIFFERENCES

GEORGE & NEV by Michael Hardy

ORIGINAL

FIND-A-WORD

Congratulations to, Mark Terrill who was last month’s winner of the Find-a-Word Competition!

Monthly winners receive a Fishing Monthly prize pack. Prize delivery can take 8 weeks. – V&TFM

SUBSCRIBER PRIZE

The subscriber prize winner for January is M Clutterbuck of Huonville, who won a pair of Mako polarised eyewear.

All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – V&TFM

D Fitzgerald of Coldstream, F Hutchins of Sunbury, N Bryant of North Albury, B Walpole of Warrnambool, G Boucher of Seymour, K Scott of Gawler, D Hausler of Croydon Hills, B Pontt of Loxton, B Bell of Wodonga, A Foster of Drouin, D Parry of Stawell, T Mathieson of Patterson Lakes, G Ball of Tatura, R Crossman of Echuca, N Sanders of Irymple, J Laszczyk of Newborough, A Pollard of

Darley, R Morgan of Dingley, N Foot of Lara, R Gillett of Portarlington, B Peeters of Colac, P Merrick of Shearwater, B Heazlewood of Mt Gambier, H Siesmaa of Fertree Gully, K Tripp of Glenroy, W Clapham of Alexandra, P Musgrove of Casterton , K Robinson of Ocean Grove, and N Wiese of Boronia.

Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks.

– V&TFM

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

FIND THE GAMAKATSU LOGO

© A Cordelia Adams original artwork. Instagram: clausdoesart

The answers to Find the Gamakatsu Logo for January were: 16, 20, 21, 26, 32, 38, 42, 52, 54, 58, 60, 63, 64, 80, 90. – V&TFM

80

MARCH 2019

This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Tilapia

The Find the Gamakatsu Logo prize winners for January were: H Kirk of Hadspen, F Healey of Traralgon, B Rafferty of Maryborough, G Smith of Stawell, D Robinson of Carisbrook, B Howieson of Wratton Bully, K Scutchings of Myrtleford, D Hill of Cranbourne North, E Sliwa of Ballarat, J Morrison of Clunes, R Waterfall of Bittern,

GUESS THE FISH?

Answer:

boats & kayaks

In the skipper’s seat

Inside story...

Stessco is an Australian owned and operated family business. With a love of fishing and boating, Stessco has built a wide-ranging network of dealerships, with the goal of providing customers with dependable, value-for-money aluminium boats. Stessco prides itself on the wide variety of options available which can be added to the already wide range of different vessels.

Made for...

Anglers who are after a reliable tinny that can be customised to suit their individual requirements and fishing style.

This month...

Editor Steve Morgan climbs aboard the new Bowrider 520 with Stessco’s Adrian Biel. Check it out on page 88!

82 What’s New in Boating Check out all the latest products and industry news in the world of boating.

84 The answer my friend, is yakking in the wind

Justin Willmer explains a few ways to cope with and even use wind to your advantage in the yak!

86 Bar crossing for beginners Wayne Kampe gives some pointers for a valuable skill for anyone wanting to travel offshore – bar crossings!

FEBRUARY 2019

81

WHAT’S NEW BOATING FULTON XLT WINCH RANGE

1

The new Fulton XLT Winch range provides premium performance at an affordable price. It comes in four sizes, from single speed through to two-speed, and rated from 680-1450kg.

With a stamped carbon steel frame, the range is built for strength and durability. The internals have a Z-Max 600 zinc coating for superior corrosion resistance and a 600-hour salt spray rating. The polypropylene cover protects the internal hardware from the harsh marine environment, and provides safety from moving parts. The carbon steel frame is built tough, providing all-important rigidity necessary for accurate gear alignment resulting in a longer life.

The single-speed winch features an efficient gear ratio, full-length drum bearings, oil-impregnated shaft bushings, and an 8” comfort-grip handle for ease of cranking. The two-speed winch also has a shift lock design.

All models are backed by a 5-year limited warranty.

Price: from $149 www.fultonperformance.com

FUSION EL SHALLOW-MOUNT

2

Fusion’s EL Series of shallow-mount marine speakers feature a modern design in two styles with LED lighting options, durable construction and accessory grille options.

The shallow basket design makes the EL Series ideal where mounting depth is limited.

The two grille styles, Classic and Sports, provide the ultimate in cone protection while complementing the vessel look, with the choice of seven LED lighting colours.

Designed for functionality that lasts in harsh outdoor and marine environments, the EL Series is rated IP65 for water and dust ingress protection from the front face when correctly mounted. It also meets industry standards for UV and salt fog protection.

Offered in 80W, 6.5” speakers, the powerful EL Series is engineered with a compact basket assembly for simple and versatile installation.

Extra grilles are available in Sports White, Sports Grey, Classic White or Classic Black. www.fusionentertainment.com

LOWRANCE HDS LIVE

3

Lowrance HDS LIVE, available in 7”, 9”, 12” and 16” display sizes, delivers powerful real-time sonar, charting and connectivity features including Active Imaging, LiveSight, Genesis Live and LiveCast smartphone integration.

Active Imaging lets you see structure and cover with a new level of refined detail, and at a range unmatched by any other structure imaging technology. Active Imaging 3-in-1 sonar combines Lowrance CHIRP with SideScan and DownScan Imaging, and Livesight sonar delivers the most detailed views of fish as they swim in and around cover.

When using LiveSight forward in conjunction with the Lowrance Point-1 GPS antenna, an on-chart indicator shows the direction the transducer is pointed, letting you line up on a waypoint or pinpoint structure.

Delivering real-time, custom-mapping capabilities, HDS LIVE harnesses the power of Genesis Live charting, which uses digital depth to create depth-contour overlays on charts.

HDS LIVE also allows anglers to display fishing info and entertainment from their smartphones on their 12” and 16” sunlight viewable displays.

Price: from SRP $1549 (7”) www.lowrance.com 82

MARCH 2019

MERCURY SALE NOW ON

PRODUCT GUIDE

4

Mercury is kicking off 2019 in the best way, with savings of up to $800 on its outstanding 40-60hp FourStroke outboards.

These are the most popular outboards on the water – for good reason. Ideal for a huge range of activities, these engines will revitalise your boat with the power, efficiency and reliability of Mercury’s advanced FourStroke technology.

Weighing in from just 93kgs, these engines have everything you need and nothing you don’t.

And to make a good decision even easier, Mercury Finance is available with deals at 3.99% allowing for easy, weekly repayments.

This offer is subject to engine availability so if you want to take advantage to repower, refresh, and rejuvenate your boat, then you’d better act fast.

This offer lasts until 22 March 2019 and is only available at participating Mercury dealers.

Terms and conditions apply. www.mercurymarine.com.au

NAVICO DISTRIBUTE 5 CLARION Navico, parent company to leading marine electronics brands Lowrance®, Simrad®, B&G® and C-MAP®, has announced its distribution agreement with Clarion Marine Systems, via JL Audio. Navico Australia and New Zealand will be able to offer a range of Clarion Marine audio products to its existing dealer network.

Under an exclusive long-term Licensing Agreement made in Q3 of 2018, JL Audio assumed responsibility for Clarion’s Marine Audio Electronics and Accessories business in North America, South America, Australia and New Zealand. Navico APAC has been the distributor of JL Audio products since 2016 hence was the logical choice to distribute Clarion Marine products moving forward.

Mathew Hooper, Navico Australia and New Zealand Sales Director, commented on the recent partnership.

“The well-established and quality proven Clarion Marine products complement Navico’s extensive product portfolio,” he said. “We can now offer a complete and premium range of marine electronics to our customer base and look forward to developing our partnership with JL Audio with the distribution of Clarion Marine Systems.” www.clarion.com/au/en/top.html

MERCURY’S 80TH ANNIVERSARY

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Mercury Marine will celebrate its 80th anniversary throughout 2019 with events around the world, reflecting on its strong heritage of innovation and leadership in the marine industry.

On January 22, 1939, E. Carl Kiekhaefer purchased a bankrupt engine manufacturing plant in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Now, 80 years later, the business that emerged from those modest beginnings – Mercury Marine – is a company with 7,000 employees across the globe and is heralded as the world’s leading manufacturer of marine propulsion systems, as well as marine parts and accessories.

“Eighty years ago, Carl Kiekhaefer had a vision for Mercury and that was based around product innovation and technology – and it’s that vision that built the foundation for us to continue to innovate today,” said John Pfeifer, Mercury Marine president.

Mercury will celebrate its 80th anniversary throughout the year and showcase some of its strong heritage during the 2019 boat shows. www.mercurymarine.com.au

5

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83

10 top tips for tackling yakking in the wind BRISBANE

Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

I had a few things in mind for this month’s article: setting myself the challenge of targeting a big fish from the kayak, catching a number of species in a session, hitting the freshwater or a kayak bait

effectively, even when there is no wind, however when you are at the mercy of the wind and especially when in a paddle kayak, an anchor of one form or another can make it possible to fish, instead of sailing along at speed with your lure skipping along on the surface.

An anchor can be set-up to slow your drift or fix you in position. A sea anchor

attaching it to the structure.

On my recent adventures I have used a Cooper anchor with a suitable length of anchor line for the depth I am fishing for the day, simply attached to my kayak grab rope with a locking carabiner that allows me to shorten the rope and lock it in if required. This anchor line is run through the front handle of the kayak so that when the

A simple anchor set-up: Cooper anchor, length of rope and locking carabiner.

A handful of windy weather bream that was feeding aggressively on the flats. fishing article. After a few sessions of facing 15-20 knot winds I decided it might be a good idea to share some tips for kayak fishing in the wind.

The fish don’t mind the wind, in fact sometimes it even fires them up, however it can make for a tough day on the water if you don’t take the wind into account.

Over the past 30 years of fishing from a kayak I have had some great success with numbers and size of fish in windy conditions, however I

(drift chute) is designed to slow your drift in the wind and is basically a funnel made of a synthetic material that opens, fills with water and creates drag in the water to slow your drift. Another drift option is weight attached to the anchor line that is allowed to drag across the bottom.

When it comes to holding you in position I have had great success with a 1kg Cooper Poly anchor, however another option

anchor is deployed the nose of the kayak is pulled into the wind or tide, whichever is stronger.

When I want to retrieve the anchor I simply paddle back toward the anchor, the slack anchor line floats and can be grabbed and the anchor retrieved. If there is any issue the anchor line can be accessed at the carabiner and the anchor retrieved to the front handle. This is a quick and simple option I use on my smaller kayak,

when the anchor locks into the bottom and everything goes tight it can make your kayak unstable and even roll it. I prefer to paddle slightly further than where I wish to anchor, allow the momentum of the kayak to cease, the drift begin and then deploy the anchor line carefully and so that the nose of the kayak is already pointing into the wind or current, to avoid any sudden stops or spins.

PADDLE BLADE ANGLE One trick that I have learnt over the years is to use the blades on your kayak paddle as a sail to adjust your drift angle in the wind. The wind can force your kayak to drift at an angle that makes fishing difficult, however, by laying your kayak paddle across or along the yak so that the blade catches the wind, you can adjust the position of the paddle blade to in turn adjust the drift angle of your kayak.

Catch the wind toward the nose of the kayak to turn the nose or catch the wind toward the tail to turn the tail. Get the angle of the kayak right and it can make casting, controlling your lure and catching fish a lot easier.

You may also find that iceboxes, landing nets in rod holders and other objects that catch wind may also influence your drift angle and on windy days you may have to decide whether to include them and how to carry them so as to not negatively impact

your drift angle.

WIND DIRECTION It’s worth taking some time to research the winds that are expected for the session and the direction that they are blowing from.

This information can be important as it may impact your decision when it comes to where to launch, where to fish and how long to fish for. You can use the wind

water should the wind make fishing dangerous or too uncomfortable. Remember safety first – you don’t have to go out, but you do have to come home.

WATER CLARITY Wind direction can also create another variable: water clarity. If you aren’t finding fish on the sheltered banks that often have better water clarity, then don’t discount

A weedless rig can save you time, frustration and distraction when fishing in the wind. to assist you to your spot, assist you home when it increases or blows up with a tide change or afternoon change, use it to slow your drift against the tide or to make note of banks that will have wind blowing onto them, which can oxygenate the water and also blow bait into the area.

Wind direction and speed is also important as you can make note of sheltered launch points, sheltered areas to fish and also alternative points to exit the

the windy banks, as you may find increased bait activity and more oxygenated water and in turn more fish activity.

I often have better success on flathead where the water is clearer, while bream and grunter seem to love feeding on a wind blown bank or flat.

Wind also creates dirty water lines that can be extremely productive. These dirty water lines are where the stirred up, murkier water meets cleaner water.

It can be an area where bait concentrates and also the

A sea anchor or drift chute is ideal for slowing your drift in windy conditions. go into the session with the mindset that I may need to approach the area I’m fishing systematically and grind out the bite to a degree. Here are a few things that I consider when fishing in windy conditions.

ANCHORING Anchoring can allow you to fish an area more 84

MARCH 2019

includes a stake out pole, driven into the bottom through a scupper hole or driven into the bottom and attached to an anchor line. If you are fishing around timber you can create a simple ‘grab anchor’ by attaching a spring style builder’s clamp to the end of your anchor line and

while a full anchor running rig is connected on my larger kayak.

One important note that I would make is be careful when deploying an anchor, especially in wind and current, as the anchor line may drift under or behind the kayak and then

Creeks and rivers are good places to seek sheltered banks in windy conditions.

perfect ambush point for predatory species.

TIDES When considering wind direction it’s also important to consider the direction of the tidal flow and how wind with tide and wind against tide impacts the area that

JIGHEAD WEIGHT The bulk of my lure fishing involves casting soft plastics and I generally use two different strategies when it comes to selecting jighead weights in windy conditions.

If I am fishing deeper

Grunter are a regular occurrence in the author’s local waterway along the wind blown murky banks. you area fishing. When the wind is blowing in the same direction as the tide it can mean a drift speed that is impossible to fish, so you may need to look at sheltered banks or anchoring options. I have used the wind against the tide to create an extremely slow drift, allowing me to effectively fish an edge or flat. It’s important to remember though that in some areas this can create rough and even dangerous conditions as the wind and tide collide.

CASTING When casting, it is much easier to cast with the wind, especially if it’s blowing hard and it also makes it much easier to retrieve your lures without the wind blowing your line around too much. Remember, if you’re drifting fast you may be retrieving quite quickly, however this is counteracted by the drift speed and the long casts; so you should still be able to monitor contact with the bottom, cover plenty of water and keep your lure working.

You can also cast across the wind and allow the wind to drag your line and cover water, however, it takes a bit more experience to get a feel for where in the water column your lure is tracking and how fast it is moving.

water and sandy/muddy bottoms without weed I will go a little heavier with the jighead, cast long, get it down quick and cover ground.

On the other hand, I fish over the weed a lot and it can be a nightmare in the

flats in the wind is to drop the jighead weight down from a 1/4oz to a 1/6oz, 1/8oz or even lighter. The wind allows a long cast with the light jighead, so your lure is a long way from the kayak and the fish are often feeding aggressively and up in the water column as the water is a little murkier and the surface disturbed.

WEEDLESS RIGGING The wind is blowing, the fish are biting and weedless rigging allows me to effectively and systematically work a bank, flat or structure with much less chance of fouling or snagging. This can take away a bit of the frustration of fishing in the wind as you will spend less time rigging and clearing weed off your soft plastic and more time fishing.

Accurate casts can be trickier in the wind and the weedless jighead means that if you cast a little too far onto the bank, miss the pocket in the weed or your lure gets blown into a tree by a gust of wind, then a slow wind should see you out of trouble and in the strike zone.

SCENT UP I apply scent on my lures

I may not have as much contact with and control of my plastics, I believe that scent is even more important. Anything that I can do to attract the fish, trigger a more aggressive strike or get that fish to hold on for a millisecond more, gives me more chance of feeling the bite and setting the hook in time.

PLAN AND PATIENCE It’s often not going to be as easy or productive kayak fishing in windy conditions, but it can be. I never head out in 15-20+ knot winds and think I’m going to smash it. I do however give myself the best chance by considering the aforementioned variables, making a plan around them and knowing that I am going to have to apply myself, have patience and maybe even grind it out.

Many of the same general rules of fishing often apply in the wind, including find the bait, find the structure, match the hatch and look for eddies, pockets, points and so forth. Don’t let the wind distract you or drag you away from what has worked in the past. If an area looks good, anchor

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If the call wasn’t made to fish in the wind then this would never have happened. An 80cm flathead in 20 knot winds. wind. It becomes difficult to control the line, keep the jighead out of the weed and drive the lure effectively over the weed. One technique that has worked well when fishing the weedy

at all times, with the theory of applying a little scent more often, about every thirty or so casts. It masks foreign scents, attracts fish and triggers strikes.

In windy conditions when

Keep it simple in the wind. The author’s basic anchor set-up with minimal clutter.

and grind it out. The main thing to consider first is always safety.

My latest session in the wind only resulted in a handful of bream, however, it was great to get out, catch a few and it was rewarding to make a plan and catch some fish, despite the conditions. I still managed to scratch the fishing itch.

If the wind kept me off the water I wouldn’t have landed the 80cm flathead pictured in last month’s article ‘Kayak fishing with Ned’, a fish that was landed after persisting in 20 knot winds, anchoring in and pick pocketing sandy patches on the weed flats.

If it’s blowing and you feel the need to catch a fish, consider the variables outlined here, make a plan, stay safe and hook in!

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85

You’re an

you’ll wa

The crossing to greater fishing opportunities BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Crossing our coastal bars seems to be almost a rite of passage for boaters that love fishing. Owners of most larger trailer craft sooner or later seem to

captures that keeps people heading offshore, it is very satisfying work. It combines assessing your environment, your ability as a skipper and your confidence in your craft.

There is a great sense of accomplishment at the end of a trip.

There’s no shame in

and not something to be taken lightly.

Yet, bar crossings will vary. Several factors are at play here: waves always run ashore, that’s a given, with their strength varying according to height and frequency. However, waves are only part of the problem.

Bar crossings, all so

(or nearly

There wil

optimistic Either is

You’re h

Little wave means little strength? Try to hold a tinny side on against a little wave and you might change your mind.

The Southport Seaway is a great place to gain experience at bar crossing work. This image gives an insight into some of the confused conditions that can be encountered. find a reason to leave the somewhat gentle confines of the estuaries and bays, opting to head offshore in pursuit of bigger and better fish.

Marlin are one of the pinnacle sportfish in the ocean, and enjoying the spectacle and sheer strength of these stallions of the sea will most definitely require deeper water.

In that same environment we might also stretch a line with some tasty wahoo, mahimahi or yellowfin tuna.

Offshore reef fishing is made more accessible by modern sounders that allow anglers to navigate the deep water’s rough ground.

A SENSE OF POWER These are just some of the incentives for heading well away from the launching ramp into an environment where wave height and timing between swells can dominate the day.

It is not just the impressive

being a little nervous on the way out – but there’s always a big smile on the return.

Been there and done that!

However, to enjoy the blue water and all it offers usually involves crossing a coastal bar; the place where a channel, river, or other major place of outflow or entry is in direct contact with the oceanic wave action.

The channel or river is usually easy going on initial approach to the main bar area, but as the craft gets closer you should expect the conditions to change as waves and current come together in water that’s often significantly shallower – a feature of many of our bars.

POTHOLES IN THE ROAD Suddenly it’s the equivalent of a potholed or badly corrugated road. You’ll need to slow down, look carefully at what’s ahead and proceed with caution. Bar crossings can be hazardous

MARCH 2019

(several have them) will give an insight into what’s happening in the wave/swell department.

A 1-1.5m swell does not sound like much to contend with, but even little waves have a lot of power. If there has been an onshore breeze blowing all night there might be wind chop on top of the swell, say half a metre. It may not sound like much, but if that carefully planned daylight departure coincides with a tide that has been ebbing for around a couple of hours and that outflow is the result of a higher than

The bar, what bar! The Seaway on a great afternoon with an incoming tide, with waves around the half metre mark. different in topography and characteristics, are always influenced by the state of the tide and the amount of current making its way in or out of the main waterway.

In many smaller coastal

Life jackets are essential for bar crossings in the author’s opinion. The law requires they are to be worn when crossing a bar in a craft less than 4.8m in length.

86

bars – think Tallebudgera or Currumbin Creek, both gateways to Palm Beach Reef – low tide means the lowest water with waves breaking merrily and shallow water sometimes preventing travel.

Low water on the Southport Seaway is no issue; there is plenty of water under the hull, but that same bar area can be a nightmare of white water and confused surface for reasons discussed later.

MAKING A START Now that we’ve covered some of the variables and issues associated with bar crossings we can get into the

thick of things, start the motor and see what’s ahead! In fairness, nothing can take the place of hands on experience in regards to bar crossing but we all have to make a start somewhere, so let’s consider some sensible starting points.

You should always start by getting a good look at the bar from land prior to approaching it in the boat.

Things can vary from day to day, so an idea of what lies ahead from a safe vantage point is a huge bonus. Tide status is vital. There must be enough water to allow the propeller to do its job – once the boat’s aground you have lost control of the situation.

Next consideration should be the sea conditions and studying the coastal observations on the Internet.

Taking a look at a bar crossing’s real time camera

normal tide then the larger the mass of water being moved the stronger the tide.

If there is a swell coming in and big current heading out then there is going to be some pressure waves ahead and the boat must have sufficient power to counter the force of incoming waves.

NEWBIES WISE TO WAIT FOR BEST CONDITIONS The smart boater should consider all aspects of the proposed crossing well in advance: the prevailing weather, the swell and wave action plus tidal state. For an absolute beginner, it’s common sense to take on a bar crossing when the conditions are as close to ideal as possible. Very light winds, small waves or swell and a flood tide are all ideal for a first go at a bar.

THE SEAWAY In considering bar crossings I could nominate at least a half dozen bars of varying degrees of difficulty.

Instead I’ll suggest one that is relatively user friendly on a good day and makes it ideal for beginners: the Southport Seaway.

There’s plenty of great blue water fishing within sight of the high rise ashore and the Palm Beach Reef is just a short run south. Marlin and other gamefish are well worth a try and there is plenty of reef scattered about as well, so with a flood tide and no more than a metre of swell heading towards shore it should be a breeze.

There might well be some swells during the last couple of hundred metres, but that’s standard for the course, so the idea is to move close to the action and watch the swell for a short time to ensure there are no big ones coming.

As soon as the wave set has gone it is good by the rock walls and then say hello to the blue water. Don’t forget, AVAILABLE ATon SELECTED the life jacket must be if& BOATING, FISHING the craft is CAMPING less than 4.8m STORES in length.

GAINING CONFIDENCE Experience in any bar in varying conditions is very useful in building confidence and sometimes heading outside on the last of an ebb tide will involve pressure waves ahead, but taking on differing conditions is the only way to build confidence. You’ll want to plan to return at AV the top of the tide or very BO shortly after before it gets CA too much of a gallop on during the ebb, especially if the high tide was a larger one.

Overall, a just making tide is the right choice especially if there is some wave action as waves and tidal flow are going in the same direction and are more easily assessed and managed. As mentioned, it’s the ebb tide, pushing against wave action, that’s the main troublemaker on a coastal bar.

In the next issue we’ll have discussions on important tactics and suitable boat designs for bar work.

WE A

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.

c forecast, others when it is far worse.

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a gainThere over just staying home.when the fishing is better than one’s most will be days

forecast, others when it is far worse. hooked,optimistic along with us.

A PAIR OF TONIC TANGO SUNGLASSES

Either is a gain over just staying home.

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.

CONTACT:

You’re hooked, along with us.

Doug Phillips 0466 112 681 e: doug@toniceyewear.com.au

n Angler, and no matter how many times you go fishing

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Online - ANYTIME MARCH 2019

87

Stessco Bowrider 520 with Yamaha F90HP - SC

TENT -

RE ONLINE MO

DE FOR EX

T

Length..........................................................5.1m Beam..........................................................2.29m Bottom.sheet ..............................................3mm Side.sheet....................................................3mm Hull.weight ................................................500kg Max.HP .......................................................... 115 Fuel .............................................................. 110L Capacity .............................................. 6 persons Main: Chasing a locally made aluminium plate boat that will keep the whole family happy and not break the bank? You need to check out the Stessco Bowrider 520.

Above: The bowrider was right at home in the Noosa River on the test day. means that it’s affordable for plenty of families. It also means that you probably won’t have to upgrade the family car to tow it.

S e c o n d l y, the configuration is pretty easily interchangeable between ‘fishing mode’ and ‘fun mode’. Drop in a few cushions up the front and add the removable ski pole and

RPM................... km/h.................... km/L 1000 ...................... 6.5 ....................... 3.4 2000.................... 10.7 ....................... 2.3 3000.....................27.9 ....................... 3.4 3500 .................... 35.6 ....................... 3.4 4000.................... 42.2 ....................... 3.3 5000.................... 54.8 ....................... 2.7 6000.....................67.2 ....................... 1.7 * fitted with SDS alloy 13 1/4 x 16” propeller MARCH 2019

easily interchangeable,” Biel continued.

And that’s exactly what they’ve done. Tweaked a great seller to make it just that little bit better.

For more information on the 520 Bowrider, or any of the complete Stessco range, visit their website on www. stessco.com.au, make sure

SPECIFICATIONS

PERFORMANCE

88

CO

s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

Stessco’s Adrian Biel reckons that when your hull is a good thing, you don’t change it. And that’s exactly what Stessco has done with their 520 Bowrider hull. They’ve kept the popular shape and improved the layout.

But let’s backtrack a few steps before we dig into the details. Where does the Bowrider sit in the Stessco range and why would you buy one?

Well, it’s definitely a more comfortable boat for the less hardcore anglers in the family. Especially compared to something like the Gulf Runner. And sometimes, the fishing alone isn’t the reason you buy a boat.

Yes, I know. It’s a strange concept, but shade, comfort and the ability to use a boat for a variety of activities ticks a lot of boxes with modern outdoor families and this Stessco fits right into the hitting zone.

Firstly, it weighs in around the high $30K mark (and at around 1,000kg on the weighbridge), which

R

formula from the Brisbane based company.

There aren’t many drawbacks of this rig, however the fact that most of your underfloor storage will still let water dribble through in the rain is a problem for local manufacturers.

“Look, from the gunwales down, there’s

Steve Morgan

Q

RA

CON

AN THE

FMG

you’re ready to go tubing.

If you’re really clever, you’ll even have an electric motor on a bracket that takes a few seconds to pop off and on, which will really turn this into a fishing machine.

Thirdly, this boat is cheap to run. A boat over 5m in length with this level of fitout and that delivers well over 3km/L at cruising speeds really is giving you great value for money. The 110L tank fitted in this boat will get you over 300km of range at cruising speeds. The best we saw was at 3,5004,000 RPM where it nearly reached 3.5km/L. And finally, it’ll definitely turn heads at the ramp. The smooth plate aluminium sides look great with Stessco’s standard

colours, or alternatively take a vinyl wrap if you really want to make a statement.

Other improvements like the new, smoother windscreen just add to an already winning

nothing much we wanted to change in this boat,” said Adrian on the 2018 Media Day at Noosa, “so it’s just the small things that we’ve made better.”

“Things like the removable ski-pole and bait board, these needed to be

you Like their Facebook page (Stessco Boats) for social media updates and definitely scan the QR Code hereby to watch the video review of this rig on your smartphone.

It’s also available direct on the Fishing Monthly YouTube channel.

Everything is economical in the rig – from the mid-to-high $30K purchase price (depending on options) to the best fuel economy of 3.3km/L at 4,000rpm.

Driven at the best economy, the 110L fuel tank will give over 300km of theoretical range.

Back in the cockpit you can sit in the shade and swivel the seats around to watch a skiier or talk with your passengers on the bench seat. The ski-pole is removable.

Obviously, there’s a mountain of storage space under the front seats, although it’s not totally waterproof.

Drop some batteries in here if you choose to add an electric motor to the front of the rig.

Stessco’s Bowriders are a fun and good-looking rigs that really hit the spot with family boaters.

Here’s what the front deck looks like with the foam cushions on top of the infill.

You can remove the centre cushion and the deck section to allow for comfortable seating forward.

You can shut the split windscreen and the bulkhead door to keep the breeze and spray out.

The rear bench sits starboard while the transom door allows easy loading and is on the port transom side.

The helm is simple and can hold smaller electronics flush-mounted.

Here’s how you transform the bow into its various forms. First remove the cushions and stow under the decks. Next remove the floor infill. It provides everything from lounging to fishing in a bit of a swell.

MARCH 2019

89

Victorian Tide Times

2019 2019 Local Time

POINT LONSDALE – VICTORIA POINT – 144° VICTORIA LAT 38°LONSDALE 18’ S LONG 37’ E

JANUARY Time Time m JANUARY 0113 0801 TU 1359 2109 TU

1 1 2 0205 0853 2

Time 0.54 0113 1.48 0801 0.35 1359 1.37 2109 0.65 0205 1.41 0853 0.36 1455 1.38 2215 0.75 0304 1.35 0948 0.36 1557 1.41 2318 0.81 0414 1.30 1046 0.35 1700

m

18’ S of High LONG 144° 37’ E TimesLAT and38° Heights and Low Waters Times and Heights of High and Low Waters MARCH FEBRUARY MARCH FEBRUARY m Time Time m Time m Time m

Time m Time m 0032 0.58 0230 0.73 0032 0.58 0230 0.73 0712 1.43 0907 1.32 09070.36 1.32 13050712 0.411.43 FR 1515 15151.35 0.36 1956 1.310.41 2245 WE 1305 FR 1956 1.31 2245 1.35 0116 0.67 0330 0.80 03301.26 0.80 07520116 1.380.67 1004 10040.39 1.26 13460752 0.391.38 SA 1617 16171.35 0.39 TH 1346 SA 2058 1.310.39 2345 2058 1.31 2345 1.35 0207 0.75 0444 0.84 04441.22 0.84 08400207 1.330.75 1106 11060.40 1.22 14350840 0.361.33 SU 1724 FR 1435 SU 1724 0.40 2205 1.340.36 2205 1.34 0307 0.83 0045 1.38 00450.82 1.38 09360307 1.290.83 0559 05591.21 0.82 15330936 0.331.29 MO 1208 12080.38 1.21 SA 1533 MO 2317 1.390.33 1825 1825 0.38 2317 1.39 0420 0.86 0138 1.43 01380.76 1.43 10420420 1.280.86 0704 07041.24 0.76 16441042 0.291.28 TU 1305 13050.36 1.24 SU 1644 0.29 TU 1918 1918 0.36 0026 1.47 0222 1.47 0026 1.47 0222 1.47 0538 0.84 0757 0.69 0538 0.84 0757 0.69 11561156 1.301.30 WE 1356 1.28 1356 1.28 MO WE 1757 0.24 2005 1757 0.24 20050.34 0.34

16 16

0.54 1.48 WE 0.35 1.37

11

Time 0140 0140 0802 0802 SA 1400 1400 SA2128 2128 0233 0233 0859 0859 SU 1457 1457 SU2241 2241 0341 0341 1008 1008 MO 1608 1608 MO2356 2356 0501 0501 1132 1132 TU 1730 TU 1730

16 16

m 0.72 0.72 1.34 1.34 0.30 0.30 1.36 1.36 0.79 0.79 1.30 1.30 0.30 0.30 1.36 1.36 0.83 0.83 1.27 1.27 0.31 0.31 1.41 1.41 0.81 0.81 1.29 1.29 0.30 0.30

17 17

22

17 17

18 18

33

18 18

19 19

44

19 19

1.45 0018 20 5 0018 0529 0.82 1.45 5 0529 0.82 20

55

0101 1.48 0101 0.72 1.48 20 200621 0621 0.72 WE 1251 1.36

6 6

66

WE 1455 WE 2215

3 0304 0948 3

TH 1557 TH 2318

4 0414 1046 4

FR 1700 FR

1.28 SA 1145 1145 SA 0.33 1800 1800 0115 1.50 0115 0635 0.79 0635 1.29 SU 1240 SU 1240 1852 0.30 1852

0.65 1.41 TH 0.36 1.38

0.75 1.35 FR 0.36 1.41 0.81 1.30 SA 0.35

SU 1.28 0.33

21 21

1.50 0.79 MO 1.29 0.30

1251 WE1848 1848 0159 0159 0730 0730 1358 TH 1358 TH1953 1953

21 21

1.36 0.26 0.26 1.56 1.56 0.59 0.59 1.45 1.45 0.24 0.24

1.55 1.55 01280128 1.551.55 0300 0203 03001.51 1.5122 0250 0250 1.62 1.62 7 0203 22 22 0730 0.73 0.73 06480648 0.760.76 7 7 0841 7 0730 08410.62 0.62 220828 0828 0.45 0.45 1330 1.30 1307 1.36 1441 1.32 1458 1.55 MO TU TH FR 1.30 MO 1330 1939 0.28 0.28 1939 0246 0246 1.58 1.58 0816 0816 0.68 0.68 TU 1415 WE 1415 TU 1.33 1.33 2022 2022 0.27 0.27

8 8

1.36 1441 1.32 FR 1458 TU 1307 TH 1903 0.180.18 2046 2048 1903 20460.33 0.33 2048 02230223 1.631.63 0331 1.54 0337 0331 1.54 0337 07480748 0.660.66 0920 0921 09200.55 0.55 0921 1409 1.431.43 FR FR 1522 15221.37 1.37 SA 1553 WE 1409 SA1553 20032003 0.150.15 2123 2139 21230.34 0.34 2139

23 23

88

23 23

1.55 0.24 0.24 1.66 1.66 0.33 0.33 1.61 1.61 0.26 0.26

1.60 1.60 03140314 1.691.69 0401 0420 0323 04011.56 1.56 0420 1.67 1.67 9 0323 24 24 0859 0.63 0.63 08440844 0.540.54 9 9 0956 1010 9 24 0859 09560.49 0.4924 1010 0.23 0.23 WE 1458 1.35 TH 1505 1.50 SA 1601 1.40 SU 1646 1.64 WE 1458 1.35 TH 1505 1.50 2102 2102 0.28 0.28 20582058 0.150.15

SA 1601 1.40 2157 21570.37 0.37

SU 1646 1.64 2225 2225 0.31 0.31

Time 0113 0113 0741 1345 FR 0741 2105 FR 1345 2105 0158 0158 0829 1431 SA 0829 SA 1431 2201 2201 0250 0250 0924 1528 SU 0924 SU 1528 2301 2301 0359 0359 1030 1639 MO 1030 MO 1639

11

m 0.63 0.63 1.38 1.38 0.32 0.32 1.37 1.37 0.71 0.71 1.29 1.29 0.39 0.39 1.32 1.32 0.78 0.78 1.22 1.22 0.46 0.46 1.29 1.29 0.82 0.82 1.18 1.18 0.50 0.50

Local Time APRIL APRIL Time Time m

m Time m Time m 0036 0.65 0215 0.77 0036 0.65 02150846 0.77 1.22 0652 1.39 0652 08461439 1.22 0.54 12481.39 0.28 SA MO 0.54 1.29 19580.28 1.44 MO 14392210 SA 1248 TU 1958 1.44 2210 1.29 0118 0.71 0316 0.81 0118 03160955 0.81 1.18 07380.71 1.35 0738 0955 1.18 0.61 13331.35 0.30 SU TU 1543 0.61 1.28 SU 1333 WE 20590.30 1.39 TU 15432310 2059 1.39 2310 1.28 0209 0.76 0438 0.80 0209 04381110 0.80 1.18 08370.76 1.30 0837 11101705 1.18 0.64 14301.30 0.35 MO WE MO 1430 22100.35 1.37 WE 1705 0.64 TH 2210 1.37 0315 0.78 0008 1.30 0315 00080601 1.30 0.74 09530.78 1.28 0953 0601 0.74 1.23 15431.28 0.40 TU TH 1220 1.23 0.64 TU 1543 FR 23250.40 1.38 TH 12201822 2325 1.38 1822 0.64 0437 0.74 0058 1.34 0437 00580659 1.34 0.65 11230.74 1.31 1123 06591318 0.65 1.32 17101.31 0.42 WE FR 1.32 0.62 WE 1710 0.42 SA FR 13181919 1919 0.62 0031 1.44 0140 1.39 0031 1.44 0140 1.39 0600 0.64 0742 0.56 0600 0.64 0742 0.56 12431.40 1.40 1407 1.42 TH SA 1243 1407 1.42 SU TH 1833 0.41 SA 1833 0.41 20022002 0.60 0.60 01301.51 1.51 0130 02170217 1.44 1.44 07110.50 0.50 0711 07180718 0.47 0.47 13501.52 1.52 1349 FR SU 1350 1349 1.52 1.52 FR 1940 0.40 SU MO 1940 1940 0.40 1940 0.58 0.58

16 16

11

Time

0055 16 16 0730 TU 1313 2043

m 0055 0.73 0730 1.33 1313 0.46 2043 1.41 0200 0.72 0852 1.32 1425 0.55 2153 1.41 0322 0.67 1021 1.38 1552 0.60 2258 1.44 0443 0.56 1136 1.49 1715 0.60 2356 1.49 0548 0.43 1241 1.61 1822 0.59

17 17

22

0200 17 17 0852

18 18

33

0322 18 18 1021

19 19

44

0443 19 19 1136

0003 1.30 0003 5 0520 1.30 0.82 20 5 0520 0.82 20 TU 1138 1.17

55

0548 20 20 1241

66

21 21

66

0048 0048 1.54 21 21 0643 0643 0.32

0146 1.38 1.38 22 7 0146 0733 0.67 0.6722 7 0733 TH 1339 1.27

77

0136 1.57 22 22 0731 0731 0.24 MO 1430

22 33 44

TU 1138 1753 1753 0100 0100 0636 0636 1243 WE 1243 WE 1855 1855

1.17 0.50 0.50 1.33 1.33 0.76 0.76 1.21 1.21 0.48 0.48

1.27 TH 1339 1945 0.45 0.45 1945

WE 1425 2153

TH 1552 2258

FR 1715 2356

SA 1822

SU 1339 1915

1430 2002

02211.57 1.57 0225 1.43 1.43 01530153 1.48 1.48 0219 8 0225 230221 8 0752 08080.36 0.36 8 0752 0817 0.58 0.5823 23 23 8 0816 0817 0808 0.39 0.39 TU MO 1429 1.60 FR 1426 1.35 SA 1450 1.63

FR 1426 1.35 SA 1450 1.63 MO 1429 1.60 TU 1516 20340.39 0.39 2028 0.44 0.44 2028 2034 20152015 0.58 0.58 2045

1339 1.72 1915 0.58

m 0.73 1.33 0.46 1.41 0.72 1.32 0.55 1.41 0.67 1.38 0.60 1.44 0.56 1.49 0.60 1.49 0.43 1.61 0.59 1.54 0.32 1.72 0.58

0136 1.57 0.24 1.79 1.79 2002 0.58 0.58 0219 1.58 1.58 0816 0.21 0.21 1516 1.80 1.80 2045 0.58 0.58

0259 1.48 1.48 03081.61 1.61 02290229 1.51 1.51 0300 0300 1.57 24 240308 9 0826 9 0259 0855 0.50 0.5024 08590.25 0.25 9 0826 24 9 0859 0.34 0.34 0900 0900 0.22 0855 SA 1508 1.42 SU 1545 1.71 TU 1507 1.65 WE 1559

1.57 0.22 1.77 1545 1.71 1507 1.65 1559 1.77 1508 1.42 SU TU WE SA 2104 0.44 0.44 21230.41 0.41 2123 20512051 0.58 0.58 2125 2125 0.60 0.60 2104

1.61 1.61 04000400 1.711.71 0431 0501 0330 1.51 1.51 03511.63 1.63 1.54 0356 04311.56 1.56 0501 1.65 1.65 03040304 1.51 1.51 0338 0338 10 0356 25 25 250351 25 10 0330 0937 0.58 0.58 09360936 0.430.4310 1029 1057 0929 0.43 0.4325 09450.18 0.181010 25 10 10 25 0941 0941 0.26 0937 10290.44 0.4425 1057 0.18 0.18 10 0945 09000900 0.30 0.30 0929 1639 1537 1.36 1600 1.54 1639 1.42 1738 1.63 1546 1.48 1634 1.73 1545 1.67 TH

FR FR 1600 1.54 SUSU 1639 1.42 MO TH 1537 1.36 MO 1738 1.63 2139 2139 0.30 0.30 21492149 0.180.18 2230 2309 22300.40 0.40 2309 0.38 0.38

1.54 0.26 1634 1.73 1545 1.67 TH 1639 TH 1.71 1.71 SU 1546 1.48 MO MO WE WE SU 2139 0.45 0.45 22070.44 0.44 0.62 0.62 2207 21272127 0.59 0.59 2204 2204 2139

1.60 1.60 04450445 1.711.71 04311.61 1.61 0401 1.53 1.53 05021.55 1.55 03390339 1.50 1.50 0416 0416 1.49 0540 1.61 1.61 11 0427 26 26 11 0401 260431 26 26 11 0427 110502 260540 1015 0.54 0.54 10271027 0.340.3411 1100 10300.16 0.161111 1000 0.37 0.3726 1140 1015 11000.39 0.3926 1030 09340934 0.28 0.28 1019 1019 0.32 1000 1140 0.17 0.17 11 1717 1616 1.37 1652 1.55 1717 1.43 1721 1.71 1623 1.67 1624 1.53 1829 1.58 FR

SA SA 1652 1.55 MOMO 1717 1.43 TU FR 1616 1.37 TU 1829 1.58 2214 2214 0.33 0.33 22382238 0.240.24 2303 2350 23030.45 0.45 2350 0.46 0.46

1.49 0.32 1721 1.71 1.67 FR 1717 FR 1.64 1.64 TH MO 1624 1.53 TUTU TH 1623 MO 22480.48 0.48 2212 0.47 0.47 2248 22032203 0.61 0.61 2243 2243 0.65 0.65 2212

05331.53 1.53 0510 04150415 1.48 1.48 0455 0455 0433 0619 1.54 1.54 1.43 1.59 1.59 05270527 1.681.68 05101.57 1.57 0433 1.53 1.53 12 0458 27 120533 270619 27 27 12 0458 27 12 27 1050 11310.36 0.3627 1112 10101010 0.28 0.28 1032 1222 0.19 0.19 12 1058 1058 0.39 1050 0.51 0.51 11151115 0.280.2812 1131 11120.18 0.181212 1032 0.33 0.3327 1222 1654 1.36 1747 1.54 1757 1.43 1806 1.66 1704 1.63 1701 1.55 1920 1.51 1756 1.56

1.54 1757 1.43 WE SA 1.36 SU 1747 SU WE1920 1.51 SA 1654 TU TU 23380.50 0.50 2246 2246 0.38 0.38 23252325 0.330.33 2338

1.43 0.39 TU SA SA 1756 1.56 WE 1806 1.66 FR FR 1704 1.63 TU 1701 1.55 WE 2328 22412241 0.64 0.64 2321 2321 2246 0.69 0.69 23280.53 0.53 2246 0.50 0.50

0506 0031 0.54 0.54 1.37 06061.49 1.49 0547 04520452 1.45 1.45 0535 0535 1.56 1.56 06070607 0506 1.51 1.51 1.631.63 05471.51 1.51 13 0529 280031 28 130606 28 28 13 0529 13 28 28 1124 1103 0659 1.47 1.47 13 1134 1134 0.46 12030.33 0.3328 1151 10471047 0.29 0.29 1124 0.48 0.48 1103 0.30 0.3028 0659 12021202 0.240.2413 1203 11510.23 0.231313 1733 1.35 1739 1.55 1303 0.25 1837 1.48 1845 1.50 1840 1.42 1850 1.58 1748 1.58

1.50 SU 1.35 MO 1845 MO SU 1733 2319 2319 0.44 0.44

1840 1.42 WEWE

00150.57 0.57 1.53 1.53 00100010 0.430.43 14 0600 29 140015 1157 06411.44 1.44 14 0600 29 1157 0.46 0.46 06480648 1.561.5614 0641 MO 1815 1.33 TU 1248 0.24 TH 1236 0.31

MO 1815 1.33 TU 1248 0.24 TH 1236 0.31 19291.40 1.40 2354 2354 0.50 0.50 19451945 1.451.45 1929 0635 1.48

0054 0.53

0055 0.64

1.48 0054 0.53 0.64 15 1230 30 150055 07181.39 1.39 15 0635 30 1230 0.43 0.43 07300730 1.481.4815 0718 TU 1902 1.32 WE 1333 0.27 FR 1315 0.30 TU 1902 1.32

WE 1333 0.27 FR 1315 0.30 20241.37 1.37 20452045 1.401.40 2024 01400140 0.640.64 08160816 1.401.40 1421 TH 1421 0.310.31 TH 2144 2144 1.371.37

31 31

TH1303 0.25 TH 2012 1.44 1.44 2012

WE SU WE 1739 1.55 THTH 1850 1.58 SA SA 1748 1.58 2322 23202320 0.68 0.68 2322 0.54 0.54

1.37 0.46 SU 1837 1.48

0.73 0539 0007 05340534 1.41 1.41 0001 0001 0539 1.48 1.48 00070.58 0.58 14 29 29 0620 0620 1.30 1136 0627 11291129 0.33 0.33 14 29 1136 0.28 0.2829 06271.44 1.441414 TH 1820 1.53 FR 1230 0.30 SU 1837 1.51 MO 1214 0.55

TH 1820 1.53 2359 2359 0.59 0.59

FR 1230 0.30 1934 19341.49 1.49

0.73 1.30 SU 1837 1.51 MO 1214 0.55 1922 1922 1.41 1.41

0614 0046 00030003 0.71 0.71 0045 0045 0.76 0614 1.44 1.44 00460.64 0.64 30 30 15 1210 0707 06250625 1.36 1.36 0715 0715 1.24 15 30 1210 0.27 0.2730 07071.36 1.361515 FR 1905 1.49 SA 1309 0.38 MO 1215 0.39 TU 1257 0.63

FR 1905 1.49

SA 1309 0.38 2021 20211.41 1.41 0128 01280.71 0.71 0752 07521.29 1.29 1350 0.46 SU 1350 0.46 SU 2113 21131.34 1.34

0.76 1.24 TU 1257 0.63 MO 1215 0.39 19351935 1.45 1.45 2012 2012 1.36 1.36

31 31

 Copyright Commonwealth of Australia2018, 2018,Bureau Bureau of of Meteorology Meteorology  Copyright Commonwealth of Australia Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide are in local standard time (UTC +10:00)orordaylight daylight savings savings time when in effect TimesTimes are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) time(UTC (UTC+11:00) +11:00) when in effect Moon Phase Symbols New Moon First Quarter Full Moon LastLast Quarter New Moon First Quarter Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon Tide predictions for Port Phillip Heads have been formatted by the National Tidal Centre, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Copyright reserved. All material is supplied in good faith and is believed to be correct. It is supplied on the condition that no warranty is given in relation thereto, that no responsibility or liability for errors or omissions is, or will be, accepted and that the recipient will hold MHL and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Australia free from all such responsibility or liability and from all loss or damage incurred as a consequence of any error or omission. Predictions should not be used for navigational purposes. Use of these tide predictions will be deemed to include acceptance of the above conditions.

90

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