Western Australia Fishing Monthly February 2020

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February 2020, Vol. 2 No. 6

Contents 8

12

15

17

From the Editor’s Desk...

8 METRO Metro Offshore

12

Metro 13 SOUTH COAST Bremer Bay

14

Esperance 15 WEST COAST Augusta 16 Bunbury 19 Busselton 20 Mandurah 22

The last month of summer is upon us and the fishing around the state is nothing short of spectacular in February.

If you like hunting trophy species then this is the month to get amongst it. You can get marlin and bonefish in Exmouth, metre-plus barra and spectacular thready fishing in Broome, Spanish mackerel are pretty much everywhere along the West Coast, mahimahi on all of the new FADs, and Australian salmon will be showing in Esperance as well as some other select South Coast locations.

The bread and butter fishing is at its peak, with herring and whiting readily accessible on

beaches and in the estuaries.

Crustaceans are also at their peak, with muddies in the north and blue swimmers everywhere. Western rock lobster, while not as easy to catch as whites, are still available to those willing to move around and the sizes seem to be up on previous years.

So I guess if you missed out on a fishing trip over the summer break, this month is a good month to make up for it. While autumn and winter is probably some of our most comfortable fishing weather, right now is red-hot fishing weather!

So make the most of it and have a read about the fishing around the state in the following pages, book in a trip with family and friends and make the most

of living in WA! This summer seems to have been a really good one for fishing, and while we are always battling the easterlies in the morning and the sea breeze in the afternoon, it seems that for those willing to fish to the conditions it has certainly been paying the rewards.

Good planning is usually what sets apart a good fishing trip from a failed one. But hey, as far as I am concerned, any time on and around the water, whether catching fish or not, is certainly far better than not having tried at all.

This summer seems to have been a bit better on the boating fatalities, but any fatalities at all is still too many. People are taking risks with their lives

Ian Sewell in unseaworthy boats, or getting their ambitions mixed up with their boat’s capabilities. Stay vigilant and stay safe, wear those lifejackets and ensure your vessel is well serviced and in good condition. If we are all more vigilant we can make a difference to reduce the number of deaths happening in our waters.

This issue is a cracker, with heaps of information as usual and a great feature on deep dropping; even if you have no intention of doing any deep dropping in the near future but have a boat, this is still a great read!

Until next month, stay safe and get out there on the water and enjoy the last month of summer!

Lancelin 58 Geraldton 60 GASCOYNE COAST Kalbarri 61 Exmouth 62 NORTH COAST

Boating 78 Fun Page

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Recfishwest 57 Tournament News

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Trade and Services Guide

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What’s new boating

76

What’s new fishing

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Go searching for a deeper understanding BUSSELTON

Stephen Norman

It is said that humans have only explored a mere 5% of our ocean floor. We seem to spend so much of our time on the water, however the ocean still remains one of the biggest mysteries on our planet. Prehistoric creatures, total darkness, and the allure of monster fish makes deep drop fishing an intriguing prospect to some, and a daunting one to others. In this article we will dive into the literal depths of everything related to deep drop fishing. We will cover everything you need to know before venturing towards the horizon in search of a deep sea monster, as well as look at a few tips and tricks, and bust a few myths along the way. So let’s get into it!

SOUNDERS To get us started, one of the most daunting tasks anglers face when pursuing deep sea species is finding good ground to fish on. This can sometimes be over and

underestimated. Your sounder is arguably the most important piece of equipment when deep dropping, and as such there are certain requirements you will need to obtain in order to read bottom on your sounder in depths of 200m and

Smaller transducers such as the ones provided in the box when purchasing a sounder (often known as ‘skimmer’ transducers) are not going to cut it out here. Some of these smaller transducer may promise the world on paper

A perfect example of the second set of assist hooks sticking to this hapuka, acting as a safety in case the top hooks fail or come free. beyond. Let’s briefly cover this aspect first.

If you want to read bottom and read bottom well in deep water, there is no compromise.

An example of the difference between low and high frequency sonar beams.

but trust us, for deep saltwater applications they won’t deliver. In order to achieve a clear reading in deep water you will need a minimum of a 1kw transducer.

What does 1kw mean you ask? Well, in simple terms 1kw refers to the power capacity of your transducer. Smaller ‘kit’ style transducers (like the skimmer style listed above) are often 300w units, or in some rare instances 600w.

So a 1kw is often capable of being at least 3x as powerful as most standard transducers.

Now, before you go out and buy yourself a 1kw transducer, slap it on the back of your boat and head for the horizon, there’s a catch. In order for a 1kw transducer to read bottom at its full potential, it must be connected to a depth sounder that can power it properly.

What I mean by this is a large slice of the depth sounder market is limited to run only

RINCON

Like the California point break it was named for, the Rincon has a classic West Coast straight bridge, wrapping style lines and edgy curved temples.

GREEN MIRROR: Enhanced vision and contrast for fishing inshore and on flats.

• Copper Base • 10% light transmission

8

FEBRUARY 2020

OPTIMAL USE: • Sight fishing in full sun • High contrast

600w transducers and below.

So to get your foot in the door, you will not only need to invest in a 1kw transducer, but a unit capable of powering it so you can enjoy the full potential of your investment.

A few of the most popular units capable of this include the Simrad NSS EVO 3, Lowrance HDS Live and the Furuno 588. For more information about sounders, come and see us at 2 Oceans Tackle. We have a full range of units on display and a wealth of experience to help you maximise your depth sounder for all fishing conditions.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR So once you have acquired the correct electronics for deep drop fishing, you need to find ground. First and foremost, you’re going to want to switch your transducer frequency to low (generally seen as 50khz), as demonstrated in the diagram. Once this is done and all aspects thus far going

A solid three-piece hapuka combo winched up from the depths by the electric reel. see 20-30m off the bottom.

One of the handiest tools for first time deep droppers is a good navigation chart, such as Navionics. This will show you contour lines and most importantly, changes in depths along these contours. These maps are great to study before

Bass groper are giants of the depths. Believe it or not, this very solid fish is not considered a massive specimen by any means. to plan, you should be reading bottom correctly. But now, what should you look for?

The most effective setting we have found is to split your sonar screen in two, and make sure one side of your sonar screen is zoomed in to show only the bottom 50m or so of water. This can be located within your menu system as either ‘bottom zoom’ or ‘bottom lock’. This is important because when your sounder is reading in 200m+ of water fish on the bottom are not displayed as big red blobs like dhufish or snapper are in 50m of water, so you need to zoom right in. Showing the entire water column on your sounder screen from surface to 200m+ down will leave little room for detail and you may drive straight past good fish.

Fish in these depths can often be stacked up 50m off the bottom, so be mindful not to zoom in too close – you’d be surprised what you might

you venture out, as you can look for areas of significant depth change and target these regions. Once you’re in your target area, take it back to 5-6 knots, maybe crack a cold one, and start driving. Just like finding ground or finding fish anywhere, it can take time.

This is where some preparation and map study pays off rather than blind sounding for hours on end. In these deeper waters, baitfish

tend to get caught in strong sub-surface currents that form around larger ledges and pinnacles, and as we know, where there is bait, there will often be predators. So keep an eye out for significant changes in depth, as well as bait holding in these areas.

Knowing what species you wish to target will dictate the depth of water you need to fish in. The four main species common to the South West of WA are the hapuka, Bass groper, blue eye trevella and bar cod. Hapuka and bar cod can be found from depths of 200m of water to around 300m and occasionally a little more. Bass groper and blue eye are more common beyond these depths, and start from about 350m and deeper.

By-catches will also include nannygai, deep sea gurnard, large flathead and the dreaded green eye sharks.

SETTING UP YOUR DRIFT Setting up a drift and dropping on the fish can sometimes be the trickiest part of this whole exercise. While in shallower water you may drive 10-20m ahead of your mark and make a drift over it, out here your bait most likely won’t make it even half way to the bottom before you have gone way past your mark, especially if the current is cranking. So ensure you figure out which way you’re drifting, and make a decent 200m+ run up wind of your mark before dropping. A few dummy drifts with no lines down is a good idea, because missing the mark in 300m of water is a tedious exercise.

This may be a matter of trial

A school of hapuka sitting on top of a 15m ledge.

and error depending on how strong the currents are on any given day.

ELECTRIC REELS, BAIT AND RIGS So by now you’ve got the sounder side of the equation sorted, you know where to fish and what to look for, but what gear should you be using?

Well, if you’re slightly out of shape or don’t enjoy burning

our favoured bait rig setup.

Circle hooks are an essential part of the rig, as they present the lowest possibility of falling free from the mouth of a fish once hooked, and seeing as you will be bringing fish up from 200+m of water, it’s a good idea to have as much on your side as possible.

Lights are also a critical part of the rig and something

A large school of hapuka streaming over 50m from the bottom. sensations in your arms, the option taken up by the majority of anglers deep dropping is the electric reel, and there is certainly no shame in opting for this route out here.

The Shimano Beastmaster is our pick of the bunch, but there are a variety of different models on the market that will do the job. Just ensure your electric reel is matched to a bent butt rod rated to 80lb or above, spooled with a minimum of 700m of 80lb braid and topped off with a 200-400lb leader no shorter than 5m. Leaders of this length may seem excessive, but the reason for this is pinnacles, caves and general uplifts off the bottom in these depths can often be easily upwards of 10m. So should a fish fancy going home once hooked, you won’t stand a chance with a short 1-2m leader. As such, be generous and tie on at least 5-10m of leader to give yourself the best chance of avoiding a bricking.

When it comes to bait rigs out here, there are possibly many variations of much the same rig. The diagram shows

that most a lot of anglers will have not used before. The idea is pretty self-explanatory. It’s deep and it’s dark, so you need light to attract the fish to your bait. These strobe lights are also water activated. Sinkers can again vary depending on

To top off the bait rig you will of course need bait. Bait in these parts of the world need to be tough in order to survive not only the journey to the ocean floor, but also the many pesky by-catches you are likely to encounter once it makes it there. In this regard, baits such as whole herring, half mullet or whole squid are often a good option, as they will stay together and last much longer than fillets, however ough skinned bait such as salmon can make epic fillet baits due to their high blood and oil content.

JIGGING A concept that has taken off significantly in recent years is deep water jigging. Before you dismiss this as absurd, let me explain. Around 90% of people who try their hand at deep drop fishing turn their nose up at the thought of winding a fish up manually from 200, 300 or perhaps even 400m of water, but is it really that gruelling? Well, we don’t think so, so let’s break down the best gear to use in order to make jigging in deep water as comfortable as possible.

There are a few boxes we recommend you tick right off the bat. The first being the use

N O I P R O 485 SC Hooked up in less than ideal conditions, but the help of a light overhead jigging outfit makes the job that much easier. currents, but 80oz is a good starting point. Just make sure this is attached to your rig with a lighter line of around 50lb.

This is to enable to sinker to break free should your rig become fouled on the bottom, rather than losing a lot of gear.

A chunky hapuka taken on a jig. Here you can see the jig setup as well as the outfit used in the background.

overhead reels, and small ones at that. The general consensus is that the deeper you fish, the bigger the gear; the bigger the rod, the bigger the reel, the heavier the line. But when it comes to jigging out deep, this rule begins to reverse, and you may be shocked to know that often the same outfits people use to catch dhufish could also be used to jig hapuka in 200m+ of water, with the addition of some extra line on the spool, of course.

Overhead reels have a much more direct delivery of power from the main gear to the handle, as the main gear drives only a small pinion gear rather than a larger one, as found in spinning reels. Also, there is no large rotor spinning the line onto your spool and no rotor continuously moving up and down the main shaft.

As such the ease of retrieving line for long periods is much greater with an overhead reel.

This is a difficult concept to explain on paper, but trust us, we’ve tried both many a time and overhead beats spin every time in efficiency and comfort. I’m not saying you

rmation visit

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DINGHY WORLD

252 Canning Highway Como 6152 Perth City, WA (08) 9367 6555 david@dinghyworld.com.au

To page 8

FEBRUARY 2020

9

From page 7

can’t use spin out deep, but you are likely to be much more comfortable with an overhead reel.

When choosing line for your jigging setup, it needs to be thin for two reasons. Firstly, thicker line will create more resistance in the water, as you are attempting to get your jig to the bottom, and secondly you need thin line to allow adequate space on your reel for 500m+ of line. Depending on the depth of water you are fishing, we recommend having at least 200m of line on top of whatever your desired fishing depth is. Our most common braided line we spool our deep jig reels with is Sufix 832 braid in 30lb. This braid is the ideal balance of a thin diameter while retaining optimum strength. Once again, people may think that using such light line in such great depths is preposterous, but let’s break it down.

In reality the most common fish you will catch off our South Coast will be hapuka, and we have found that these schooling fish average 5-10kg. Much like their inshore demersal cousins, the hapuka and most deep water fish suffer from barotrauma. Meaning once they are lifted a certain distance from the ocean floor quickly, their swim bladders will inflate and as a result they

10

FEBRUARY 2020

will begin to float toward the surface. This is a key factor to keep in mind, as it means you are only fighting these fish for the first 10-30m, once they are beyond this distance from the bottom they are all but done. So 30lb braid is more than enough to not only make sure your jig makes it to the bottom without creating drag and resistance in the current, but to ensure the fish make it

fun right?

When considering line you should also make sure you’re running a long leader, and I mean really long.

Around 10m or more of 100lb is our recommendation.

When choosing the right rod and reel for you, it will come down largely to personal preference, but we have a few pointers to keep in mind. Firstly, it probably

Left: Our standard three-hook deep drop rig rigged with 400lb mono and 16/0 circle hooks.

Right: A closer look at a well-rigged deep water jig with a twin assist hooks. out of the harsh ocean floor.

Now this is obviously going to be fraught with danger, as there are larger models of hapuka, Bass groper and blue eye trevella lurking in these areas that will give you a run for your money, but hey, that’s all a part of the

won’t be cheap. Cheaper reels with small handles, low gear ratios and weak gearing will not suffice for this application.

The list of rods and reels you can use to jig in deep water is probably a mile long, but our favourites are the Shimano Ocea Jigger 1500 and 2000

reels, and the Ocean Legacy Elementus series of rods.

It can be a long way to the continental shelf, so what’s the harm in spending a few extra dollars on the correct gear to ensure you have a comfortable and productive experience when you arrive?

The final piece of the puzzle for your jigging setup is the jigs. In comparison to setting up your actual outfit, this may be the easiest aspect of jigging out deep. In depths ranging 220-300m, we will use jigs up to 600g (current dependant), and in depths of 300m+ we will use jigs ranging from 700g up to 1kg.

These jigs are rigged with large and extremely strong 6/0 and 7/0 assist hooks on the top and bottom to ensure no hooks pull out half way up.

A handy yet very important tip to note is always ‘thumb’ your spool as you drop your jig. If you allow your jig sink aimlessly to the ocean floor, it will roll and flutter and as a result take 2-3 times longer to reach the bottom. Not only this, but it will dart and drift in all directions and quite possibly end up hundreds of metres away before reaching the bottom, so keep your thumb on that spool!

Once your jig finds the bottom, the technique for working them is much the same as inshore techniques,

Deep water shovels! Nothing like a few big flathead to top off the esky at the end of the day! only exaggerated. Lift the rod high and drop it fast to allow the jig to free-fall. Incorporate perhaps a wind or two of the handle to ensure your actions are translating 200+m down.

Small movements of the rod will not be enough to move your jig correctly in such depths and are less likely to entice a bite.

SUMMARY A few final notes to take with you before you set out.

Firstly, check the weather,

make sure it is suitable for your vessel and leave plenty of time to make it home before any sea breezes kick in.

Secondly, tell someone where you’re going or better yet, convoy with multiple boats.

You’re often a long way from rescue, so making sure your safety equipment (EPIRB, flares, PFDs) are all up to scratch is vital.

So all things aligning, you’re now ready to go deep dropping!

Metro

All fishing on offer METRO OFFSHORE

Jacob Crispe

The offshore action around the Perth region couldn’t be more exciting

for the smaller boats to venture out.

The FADs out wide are definitely checking out.

They went in about three months ago, and they are already harbouring good

and those casting should find success with stickbaits and small heavy bibbed lures. Live baiting for mahi mahi can be extremely fun and effective, because you can see live bait jumping

Mike Robertson (aka Spanish mackerel Mike) provided this epic shot of a big mack coming aboard his kayak in Cockburn Sound.

James Closey with a lovely looking Rotto dhufish caught on his Penn Slammer III. at the moment. There’s something for everyone, and the weather should allow some windows

numbers of mahimahi.

Small skirted lures and bibbed minnows are good options if choosing to troll,

and getting chased before it gets eaten!

On your way in you may find schools of bluefin tuna, which although scattered, can be intercepted with skirted lures or bibbed

are eating. To get the most fun out of these fish, try using lighter line class of around 8-10kg. These tuna are wonderful eating, either raw as sashimi or cooked.

As we go in, there’s a wreck called the Derwent, and in this area mulloway, snapper and eightbar cod have been the main targets. Strong baits that hold onto hook are best in this deeper water to prevent smaller fish from stealing baits.

Kingfish are widespread at the moment, and particularly prominent around Mindari, Hillaries, and the southwest side of Rotto. Live baits,

There’s plenty of dhufish around at the moment, and depths ranging from 30-50m are the best places to target, as it makes for easier fishing.

The north side of Rotto is a good area to begin your search. Samsonfish,

Fresh caught squid for bait is always best on these tasty table fish.

Speaking of squid, there’s lots of them in close around Freo at the moment, and their preferred depth seems to be about 3-8m.

Look for any weedy patches

Marco hooked this southern bluefin tuna when casting metal lures into a school.

An excellent mixed bag from top to bottom caught by brothers Marco and Emilio Orifici.

Sunny Closey with a beautiful southern calamari caught from Mindari.

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FEBRUARY 2020

minnows (the Halco Laser Pro 120 is a favourite). If you prefer to cast at schools on the surface, try using small metals, as tuna are feeding on small stuff at the moment. Just try to match the size of the bait they

unweighted mulies, soft plastics, and even metal lures or stickbaits have been producing. If you want to troll, bibbed minnows worked along the reef line can also produce good results.

baldies and breaksea cod are common in the same areas. Fresh bait is best, and occy, wrasse fillets and squid would have to be the best bait. If specifically targeting the sambos, live baits of yakka, herring or king wrasse will always get hit first.

There is still some big King George whiting hanging out in the 14-20m mark, with any undulating broken ground a good place to search. If you’re lucky enough to find them, expect them to be big, with an average of 50cm or bigger!

and set a drift to best cover the ground.

Bread and butter species like skippy and herring are also available right in close, especially on any close reefs or beaches. As always, berley is the key to success when targeting these fish, as it brings them to you.

Finally, anyone after blue swimmer crabs should find plenty in the Swan River system, and also down in Mandurah.

Please take care if fishing offshore this month, and enjoy what is set to be an exciting period!

Metro

Have a flick on the flats METRO

Jacob Crispe

Most of us have headed back to work and real life has set in once again, but that’s by no means any reason to give up fishing. In

time when after sandies to avoid baits being pestered by blowies. Bloodworms always preferred, and around here we tend to buy them from bait and tackle stores.

The hot days will bring plenty of light tackle fun in the river systems, with

A lot of flathead have moved onto the flats in the Swan River, and moving baits will do the job, however, soft plastics vibes, blades and hardbodies will prove to be most effective, as you will cover more ground and not lose baits to blowies.

During the holidays South Beach in Freo and Cottesloe are also popular day spots for herring, whiting and pilch (mullet), and should continue to produce in February.

Squid, as always, will be available from all the metro rock walls. These are a good reliable species when it comes to catching a feed of something tasty, and can be done before or after work.

There are lots of small sharks getting about for those who like flake.

Fishing for sharks is fairly simple, and can be done from Port Kennedy in Rockingham through to the Freo rockwalls, and all

Shaun Beard shows off a beautiful Peel estuary yellowfin whiting caught with a blade. find schooled bait. For those wanting to fish the beaches, mulloway can be caught along the same beaches where you’ll find sharks.

With all the mulloway fishing, most of the action will occur after dark.

A late arvo tailor caught by the author casting stickbaits along a drop-off from the flats in the Swan River in East Fremantle. fact, this is one of the best months to be out chasing trophies and a feed, with so much on offer!

Big sand whiting are a big drawcard in the Swan River during February, and the night time is the best

whiting on surface a greta way to spend a few hours.

Excellent numbers are being caught from Mandurah’s Peel system, while in the Swan River there seems to be fewer numbers but better quality fish overall.

a trophy have never been higher. If you want one of these trophies, look for baitfish, because if you can find what they’re eating, the predators will be near.

Popular spots include Woodmans Point Jetty, North Mole and Point Perron. Surface ballooning with livies is a good method, but if you’re after a bit more sport, spinning metals SureCatch Knights and Spanyid Raiders, or bibless minnows such as Halco Max

hook-up, because you don’t want to miss any bites when you get so few chances.

Chasing crabs is great fun at this time of the year, and drop nets from any jetty should find a few. In the Swan, anywhere from E Sheds up should have crabs present. For those who like to go for a walk in the shallows after their crabs, Mandurah’s Peel system is a great place to do this.

As always, herring, skippy and odd King George

A magnificent yellowtail flathead caught on a lure by Peter Zahradka in the shallows of the Swan River near Applecross.

Early morning sessions from Fremantle rock walls never disappoint. These two squid and cuttlefish were caught by the author from North Mole rock wall.

metro beaches from there northwards.

This is an activity best done at night.

Mulloway are also very common during this time of the year, particularly in the river where there is bait.

E Sheds is a popular spot right now, as you can always

There is good numbers of chopper tailor in river, and salmon trout are being caught around a lot of yacht clubs and marinas in the river, starting from around East Freo.

It is now prime time for land-based Spaniards, and your chances of catching

Swan River giant herring are one of Perth’s top trophy fish targeted during the warmer months.

This one was caught by Max Sampson.

130 is a good way to find a rogue Spanish. A short single-strand wire trace is essential to prevent bite-offs, and super sharp hooks will maximise your chance of a

whiting can be caught in the early mornings off South Mole in the sandy patches amongst weed, but remember to berley hard to bring the fish to you.

FEBRUARY 2020

13

South Coast

There’s always somewhere to escape the wind BREMER BAY

Keith ‘Fisho’ Morris

The fishing has been quite good at Pallinup Beach, with catches of herring, skippy and the occasional King George whiting.

There are reports of big black bream in the upper reaches of the Pallinup River, but not many catches down the front.

This is to be expected, because the warming

water in the estuaries makes the fish seek out cooler water upriver in the deeper sections.

At Reef Beach there are flathead, herring and skippy, and if you put the time in you’ll find them. The track is a bit rough and washed out, but people have made tracks around the washouts.

At Dillon Bay there have been herring and skippy, along with the occasional salmon and sand whiting. The beach is soft

so you’ll have to let your tyres down.

At Fosters Beach you can encounter herring, slippy, flathead and salmon. Fosters can be tricky to get into and out of at times, so take care when you’re going through the sand hills.

At Bremer there have been a few herring and skippy caught along the beaches, along with silver bream. There has also been the odd bronze whaler

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prowling around. It’s a bit soft at the east end of Bremer so you’ll either want to go via the west end or let your tyres down.

The Bremer River is very low – it’s a battle to get up it now – but there are still mullet and black bream in the river. The black bream have moved upriver to escape the warmer water in the estuary, and they’re holding in the deeper, cooler holes.

At Doubtful Island there are herring and skippy, you just have to put the time in to look around and fish different spots until you find them.

They’re good size herring, up to 20cm long.

FISHING IN FEBRUARY February is a good time to fish. If the wind is blowing from the east you can usually fish on the western side of the headland, such as Peppermint Beach, Fosters Beach, Dillon Bay, Reef Beach. If the westerlies are blowing you can fish Short Beach,

A tasty feed of queen snapper and dhufish.

Image courtesy of Bremer Rural & Hardware.

Fisheries, Back Beach, Bremer Beach, Doubtful Island or Trigalow. You’ll

mainly catch herring and skippy, with the odd salmon mixed in.

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Julie Outram was happy with this Fosters Beach salmon. Image courtesy of Bremer Rural & Hardware.

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FEBRUARY 2020

South Coast

Warm currents bring on the best catches ESPERANCE

Murray Johnson

Local town fishing has definitely been getting better thanks to the warmer water coming through. The Taylor Street jetty has been producing plenty of fish, including smaller herring during the day, and bigger bull herring moving in at around 8.30pm. While fishing at night you’ll also get squid and garfish.

During the day it’s still worth trying for some smaller

Southern Sports team member Oli Stevenson loves chasing bream in the lakes, and at Quallilup he and a mate recently landed over 100 bream in a session. They were caught on ZMan GrubZ in bloodworm and Slim SwimZ in mood ring, with S Factor scent re-applied every fourth cast. Oli skip-cast his soft baits under shady snags in the middle of the day, and the biggest fish went 38cm.

Salmon Beach has been producing only the occasional salmon, but catches should ramp up this month. We are

Jackson Wild with a solid samsonfish. Image courtesy of Mitch Johnson.

Harvey Jarzabek has caught the bream bug recently after cracking his first 40cm bream wading the local lakes. A ZMan Slim SwimZ did the damage, imitating a fleeing baitfish. Image courtesy of @olistevensonn. skippy and King George whiting, and there are also plenty of small sweep.

Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has been producing small King George whiting (just undersize or just legal), plenty of small herring, small skippy and the occasional black bream.

In the bream lakes, anglers are getting heaps of black bream up to 40cm. The bream are sitting in the snags, and in some of the bigger holes around the edge of the lakes.

The bream have been taking peeled prawns and herring strips, and lure anglers have been mixing between hardbody lures and soft plastics. When selecting lures, go for natural colours such as light tans, clears and olive green. A couple of standout lures lately have been the 60mm Daiwa Double Clutch in lazer ayu and AusTackle 87mm Banana Boat. One of the most effective soft plastics has been the 2.5” ZMan GrubZ in motor oil. When using a curl-tail plastic like this one, you should retrieve it with a slow, constant wind, and don’t let it hit the bottom.

starting to see those tell-tale dark clouds in the water, as the salmon school up. There are still plenty of small herring and the occasional small skippy being caught.

Fourth Beach has been producing lots of flathead, and recently an angler got seven in seven casts. The flatties there aren’t overly big (around

30-35cm) but there are lots of them. Salmon are also getting caught, with most of them around 6-7kg, and at night anglers have been getting a couple of mulloway.

Further out of town at 11 Mile there’s been a big school of salmon hanging around, taking chrome slices. There’s another school of salmon at Roses Beach, along with some small tailor. At Roses you can also get skippy around 1kg, and there are some bronze whalers following the salmon around.

There are heaps of tarwhine at Stockyards, which is unusual as we don’t normally get them in big numbers. They are solid specimens, ranging up to 2kg. There are also plenty of salmon trout, big bull herring, and lots of sand whiting. Off the rock at Wylie Bay one guy has also been getting King George in the morning to 40cm on pilchards.

Anglers fishing at Rossiter Beach have been consistently getting mulloway after dark.

There are also plenty of salmon trout and herring being caught during the day.

At Whartons Beach you will encounter the occasional salmon, herring and skippy, and there are a couple of

bronzies cruising around there as well. Guys fishing Victoria Harbour are also getting bronzies.

At Kennedy Beach there are 30-40 ton schools of salmon, stretching over 100m wide with large numbers of bronzies following. One angler also hooked a mako off the rocks. You can also catch skippy, salmon and herring.

At Thomas River during the day there are heaps of smaller salmon trout, the occasional salmon, flathead

going 45cm and plenty of herring and small skippy.

Just after dark is when the big schools of mulloway come through, and anglers have been getting 6-10 in a session, with the average size being around 85cm. Most are being caught on pilchards. At night there’s the odd tailor, and some bigger skippy to 85cm, plus the bronzies prowling around.

At Poison Creek there have been lots of big schools of salmon, tailor, and heaps of bronzies.

have been coming from just 10-15m of water.

In close there are still plenty of Breaksea cod, queen snapper and the occasional small yellowtail kingfish.

A few anglers fishing around 45km offshore came across a school of samsonfish going 20kg+ in unlimited numbers, and they left them biting. Sitting underneath the sambos was a school of kingfish, but they guys found it difficult to reach them because the jig would only make it down a metre before a samson would smash it. The goal of the trip was actually to catch nannygai, but that didn’t eventuate because the kingfish and samsons followed the boat around.

For most anglers though, samsonfish and kingfish have been only occasional catches offshore, and there have been good numbers of nannies up to 65cm. There are swallowtail mixed in, along with sweep and queen snapper.

FISHING IN FEBRUARY The warm currents are still coming from the west coast, and this will result in more tuna coming through this month. Squid catches will probably continue to decline, but the samsonfish will stay in close, and we’ll see more and more salmon school up for both boat-based and

This is what anglers like to see – a hungry school of salmon busting up.

Chris Tyrell headed out east of town and was rewarded with this bronze whaler shark in the early hours of the morning. It took a large mullet bait, and was released successfully. Image courtesy of @olistevensonn.

Israelite has been closed due to fires.

Moving back to town, if you’re fishing from a boat in the bay or Lucky Bay, you can catch good numbers of squid and plenty of herring. There are still snook around and bluefin tuna have continued to keep turning up. They are ranging from 2-10kg, and are mainly caught trolling skirted lures such as Black Magic Jet Setters, in colours like purple and pilchard. Some are also being caught on hardbodies like 120 Halco Laser Pros in blue angel or 190 in pilchard.

Around the close-in islands there are plenty of samsonfish, Most of the guys target them on 200g knife jigs, such as the Samaki Hummer V2 in pilly or zebra glow. Some samsons

surf anglers. At this time of year you’ll sometimes come across a huge school up to 3km wide, and the salmon will be so tightly packed that they’ll be smacking into the side of the boat.

Anglers fishing off the shore will catch good numbers of mulloway this month, along with more bull herring.

• Southern Sports and Tackle specialise in the supply and servicing of fishing equipment. They have an extensive knowledge of the local area and provide all brands, whether you’re fishing from beach, jetty or boat. Drop in for a chat at Shop 16, The Boulevard, Esperance, give them a call on 08 9071 3022 or look them up on Facebook.

FEBRUARY 2020

15

West Coast

Heat sweeps over South West AUGUSTA

Anthony Gillam

Last article I wrote about how Augusta was not too hot and not too cold in summer; boy did that change in a hurry! Not only did it heat up to ridiculous temperatures in Augusta, the rest of the country decided

to catch on fire and burn right through Christmas into the New Year.

As a result of the over the top heat, many people decided to travel as far south as possible to try and get some respite from the apocalyptic heatwave. This resulted in shady fishing spots being at a premium for the land-based fishers and parking at the

Augusta Marina becoming as scarce as unicorn manure.

The Ellis Street jetty, also known as the town jetty, had a full renovation in December courtesy of the Department of Transport with new jarrah timbers all round and a couple of lights that turn night into day. The jetty looks impressive and should be good for another 20 years. Night fishing for

The sandbars in Hardy Inlet are very prominent at the moment, which makes navigating a little challenging. However, they are great flats for yellowfin whiting fishing.

squid, skippy, whiting, tailor and herring dramatically improved with the increased lighting attracting a plethora of species.

The Dukes Head cut at Colourpatch continues to narrow, with large sandbars visible during high and low water, and these present a challenge for navigating watercraft.

Without appropriate lighting it would be a real health hazard at night. That being said, the channel – although somewhat skinny – still has reasonable depth and is frequented by a large number of whiting, herring and tailor that disburse throughout the Deadwater, Swan Lake and up to Molloy Island with the tides. Land and boat-based fishing has been increasingly productive in Hardy Inlet, which was ideal for the hundreds of holidaying families that took advantage of the hot weather to get out for the day.

Beach fishing has been frequently punctuated with some of the dreaded southeasterly winds, but all in all it was not really too much of a bother, mostly occurring after lunch when it did show up. Sand and King George whiting were everywhere, and although many of the sandies

This happy client of Leeuwin Marine Charters shows off his dhufish, which is a perfect example of what is currently being caught in Hamelin Bay. were small, there were also some absolute rippers amongst them. The beaches from the marina to the Dead Finish Landing were popular for families wanting to teach their children how to fish for whiting, and it was not very often that they missed out on something.

For those with 4WD vehicles, the beaches at Deepdene, Salmon Pools and Boranup have seen plenty of action and with the track to the latter having been completely revamped, it

ACTIVE TRANSOM

16

FEBRUARY 2020

became the place to be when the southwest winds were around. It is important to remember that families with small children frequent these beaches, so being vigilant and driving slowly around other vehicles could save a tragedy from occurring. Look after the tracks, look after your vehicles and look after the environment so that we can continue to use them into the future.

There were plenty of days to get offshore into the deep water, but most boaties chose

TRUE SELFDRAINING DECKS

West Coast to spend the day within sight of land where they were able to get out and back with a feed without having to risk the wind coming up making the return trip unpleasant.

The demersal closure seemed to have made the dhufish complacent, as they have been taking bait, slow jigs, soft plastics and knife jigs without any seeming to be favourite. Some rippers have been caught and the number of undersized juveniles around appears to be more than ever.

Divers report that they have seen dhufish everywhere while they have been looking for crays, with fish coming to greet them as soon as they drop over the side. It would seem that the management of this easily over-fished species is working well. As much as we dislike having fishery closures, it is the way forward in maintaining a recreational fishery well into the future.

Some of the better producing areas at the moment are behind Saint Alouarn Island, Bessies Reef and Hamelin Bay. There have been plenty of dhufish, pink snapper and breaksea cod, with the odd harlequin thrown in for good measure.

White glow 7” soft plastics jigged near the bottom have been working on most demersal species, and when used in the 40-50m depths have also scored some bight

A very nice blue spot flathead! Dieter was pleased to land this thumper on a squid bait near Saint Alouarn Island while on holiday in Augusta. redfish and blue groper. Large baits of whole squid, octopus tentacles (skinned) and whole herring seem to be in favour in the deeper waters, with mulies and squid the go to bait in the 12-25m reef.

Fishing in close in around 16-18m is continuing

to produce the good run of whiting, with plenty of little flathead proving an annoyance. Fishing with larger baits doesn’t seem to deter these little predators and it is just a matter of putting up with them until a big brother or sister comes along. When

you are catching whiting and a 50cm+ flatty takes the bait, you are in for a bit of fun. For something different, try using bloodworm soft plastics; they work particularly well on a nice slow drift along the sandy bottom. If you want to target flathead, just run your drift along the sand as close to weed banks as you dare, and they will take most lures or jigs that get too close to them.

Yellowtail kingfish and samsonfish are always a popular back breaker for those who want to do something a bit different or to test their stamina. They can be jigged around large bommies, which there are many of in Flinders and Hamelin Bay. Depending on depth, they can be picked up on the troll with a hardbodied deep diver or knife jig dropped alongside the reef. Whole fish are the best dead baits, and if you drop a live squid down it won’t last long at all.

Rock fishing conditions remain very good most of the time, however the swell made for dangerous conditions a few times during the holiday period. With some really low water areas that were usually too far out for land based fishing, some platforms should became accessible for a couple of hours per day. In these areas you can find some nice King George

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whiting, small sharks and breaksea cod, especially on the western side of the coast.

Squid strips, coral prawns and mulies were all winners. The Honeycombs, Elephant Rock and Cosy Corner continue to be good sheltered areas.

the fishing conditions and slippery rocks are a recipe for disaster. Please remain vigilant when rock fishing; wear a life jacket and tie off to something solid. You can hire one for free from Augusta Xtreme Outdoor Sports at 66

Bight redfish make a tasty edition to the demersal bag. This one went 60cm, which is a very good size for this species in Augusta waters.

• As I always point out, Augusta has some really productive rock fishing locations, however, people have died here by being washed off by king waves. Unpredictable weather can quickly affect

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Big salmon schools are approaching and each year they seem to be arriving earlier and earlier. The salmon give the shore-based angler a consistent sport fishing target and depending on water temperatures and if it has dropped enough, we should start seeing an increase in numbers over the next month.

and brutalise your offering.

A 6-10kg graphite rod in the 9’ range (in the boat a 7’ rod) is perfect, and is strong enough to cast large lures and put some real grunt on the fish without taking all the fun out of it.

A commonly forgotten target during salmon time are the biggest ones on offer, the sharks. There are a select few in the area that are keen sports fishers targeting sharks that are following the schools of salmon for an easy feed.

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John dory like this one caught by Neale Bird sometimes show up offshore.

Leave the bait at home and try flicking a lure at the schooled up fish. Schools from the beach will looks just like a weed bed, only it moves! If you want to just tie something on and cast away with little to no fuss, pick up a pre-rigged soft plastic in the 5-7” range. This will allow you to fish the whole water column, as it sinks down to the depths where the salmon are holding.

When a school of salmon is coming your way, don’t cast directly into the middle, try to get your lure landing 5-10m in front of the leading fish and watch as the fish that lead the pack peel off

Quite often the salmon are being sent back with a nice new nose ring intended to be the dinner for our friends in the grey coats. This can definitely be a heart-pumping experience!

At this time of year there is nothing better than heading down the beach after work and relaxing with the sand between your toes, with the waves lapping at your feet, and enjoying the afternoon seabreeze! These conditions usually get the tailor hungry and aggressive and make them a great target for throwing hardbodied and soft plastic lures. Look for a likely gutter and starting casting the ever-

reliable metal slugs for some high-speed spinning action.

Use metal slugs in 10-70g range with the weight determined by what your rod is capable of cast (if you’re unsure look for a gram rating on the rod blank), and also what weight your line has been rated to handle. If flat out non-stop spinning is not your style, try a bibbed minnow.

By twitching and pausing the lure while retrieving, the lure will imitate an injured baitfish and get the tailor excited, and they will spring into action attack!

When the tailor are being fussy (whether it be from angler pressures or from an overabundance of baitfish) my go-to technique is a mulie on a 3/0-4/0 chemicallysharpened gang with little or no weight. This is tied onto the mainline with some 20lb fluorocarbon leader. This technique requires a more ‘hands on’ approach, with a slow retrieve and pauses thrown in and can convert fussy feeders into hook-ups.

Belvedere and Buffalo beaches are a popular option, but the area a little bit further north towards Myalup and Preston and can turn on some red-hot fishing at times.

The demersal fishing has been as hot as the weather, with some cracking dhuies been caught. The artificial options keep producing, with the flutter jigs in the 100-200g weights seeming to get good results. The bigger fish have been showing a preference for larger offerings like 8-9” plastics, which are generally getting inhaled on the drop or shortly after touching the bottom.

• Whatever your preference, get out there and give it a go!

The boys down at Whiteys Tackle and Camping in Treendale live local and fish locally so if you have any questions on what you have read, or if you just want to say hi, pop in and the crew will always be happy to chat!

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FEBRUARY 2020

19

West Coast

Warm water brings hot fishing of the hottest summers of fishing we have seen in some years.

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING? Tuna have been in good numbers while whispers

BUSSELTON

Stephen Norman

The water has been warming up noticeably and this has resulted in some

of Spanish mackerel have been heard around the capes as well. Yellowfin whiting are still keeping landbased anglers happy, with big numbers patrolling the beaches on those warm days.

Dunsbrough and Wonnerup beaches have been some hot spots.

Some days of extremely low wind and swell have bought upon the opportunity for many anglers to head out deep to chase hapuka, Bass groper and blue eye.

Anglers fishing around the 250-300m mark have found strong numbers of hapuka, while the Bass groper and blue eye catches have come from 350m+.

Squid and crab catches in the bay have been a little slower, meaning anglers are having to work hard for a feed. Squid have been biting well in the evenings around the 6-10m mark in the bay on natural yellowtail imitation jigs, while most crab catches have come from either scooping along the beaches in the evening, or setting nets just off Wonnerup beach in 3-6m of water. You can try almost any beach for scooping crabs, but areas where small drains run out into the ocean are always worth a go first. There are a number of these between Busselton and Dunsbrough and they are all worth a go, namely Tobys Inlet.

A perfect example of what an hour on the flats can yield in summer!

Spanish mackerel and mahimahi. The best method for bagging any one of these four species is to troll small skirted lures around the FADs, or cast small

A big dhufish at first light is a great way to start the day.

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A little two-piece kingy combo from the local FADs! Plenty of kingfish this size call the FADs home.

UPCOMING February generally follows on from January, with warm weather and warm water keeping the fish on the chew, especially the pelagics. Our new FADs situated off Cape Naturaliste have been holding great numbers of tuna, kingfish,

baitfish imitations close to the markers to help draw the fish away from the FAD. The best lures are stickbaits, metal slugs and poppers.

Cubing with mulies is an ideal way to further entice the pelagics that call these FADs home, as they can sometimes be holding

down deep and need some persuading to poke their heads up towards the surface.

So introduce some mulies as berley near and around the FAD, and small rat kingfish will likely be the first fish to show up, so keep an eye out for them.

Dropping larger metal jigs near the FADs can also yield some action, with the larger kingfish tending to hold down deep, so give this a try as well.

Tailor and herring catches have been on fire, with good fish coming from Injidup, Smiths Beach, Willyabrup and further south. Fishing early morning or late afternoon has been the best method for the herring, while staying on late into the evening and even the night has paid off for anglers chasing tailor.

The humble mulie, as always, has been killing the tailor while fresh squid have been dynamite on herring.

Anglers fishing these beaches have also been getting swamped by swarms of sand whiting, especially Injidup Beach. While only small, it’s not hard to grab yourself 10-20 fish quite easily, and they make great baits for tailor and even the elusive mulloway. A simple paternoster or running sinker rig coupled with a size 8-10 hook and a small piece of squid is all you will need for the sand whiting.

The crayfish run has been hotting up over the past month or so, with anglers finally getting decent numbers in their pots. Areas off Canal Rocks, Yallingup and Killcarnup have all been hotspots, as well as reef areas just offshore from Peppermint Grove Beach for those diving.

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Chasing the dream: fishing off the beach Ocean beaches are a great place to catch a range of species, from bread and butter stuff like bream, whiting and tailor through to larger predators like mulloway and sharks.

Most of the time these areas are not only productive fishing areas but also easily accessible by foot or 4WD, making them ideal locations for anglers of all skill levels from kids to hardcore mulloway anglers.

Regardless of what species you want to target from the beach, it’s important to get the fundamentals right, as without them you will struggle.

Some beaches are dozens of kilometres long and only a small percentage of that will be typical fish holding country. Shallow areas that are constantly bombarded by waves should be avoided. Instead, look to fish the deeper gutters

as they usually disappear once the low light period is over.

LARGER PREDATORS Mulloway are without doubt the holy grail for beach fishers and while they can be caught a variety of different ways, the most effective method is fishing after the sun goes down with large baits. In order to cast out larger baits, you need a stiffer rod around 10-12’ matched to a 10,00020,000 sized reel spooled with 10-15kg mono line. My preference again is the Black Magic Velocity Surf Line, as it casts great and provides

Black Magic has you covered when it comes to beach fishing.

A promising looking gutter. and troughs. These can be easily identified by places where waves don’t break and darker coloured water.

Gutters will often funnel back out to sea while some troughs can run horizontal behind, in front or between sand bars. Fish are attracted to these places, as food sources like pipis, worms and crabs are pounded out of from adjacent banks and washed into them.

On top of this, the deeper water also offers a bit of protection and rest zone for large schools of fish especially during annual mullet, luderick and bream migrations.

Once you’ve narrowed down where to focus your efforts, it’s time to fish the area in the right manner for the desired species.

There are three ways to fish from the ocean beaches

once the sun goes down.

The easiest way to rig a mulloway bait is to use a three way swivel with a star sinker attached to the bottom swivel eye and a 60-80cm length of 40-60 Black Magic fluorocarbon leader coming off the side swivel eye.

Hook size will depend on your bait size and can be anywhere from 6/0-10/0.

I always snell two hooks together when targeting beach mulloway and the best hooks I’ve ever used for them are the Black Magic C Point range. With

– one for your bread and butter species like bream and whiting, another for smaller pelagics like tailor and salmon, and then the third for larger predators like sharks and the mighty mulloway.

BREAD AND BUTTER FISHING This is the simplest way to fish the beaches, but it’s extremely effective when done right. Use a 10-12’ rod with a light soft tip paired with a 40006000 size spin reel spooled with 6kg mono, preferably something like Black Magic Velocity Surf Line, as it’s made specifically for this type of fishing. Mono line is far better suited than braid when fishing the beaches, as the swell and turbulence will often throw the braid over itself and make some epic knots and birds’ nests.

The rig is very simple and Black Magic makes it

even simpler, with the perfect pre-made rig ready to go in the Sandy Snatcher. It is a twin long shank rig, which is the ideal hook to use from the beach. Bait these up with live beachworms or pipis and you can’t go wrong.

This is an effective way to catch things like bream and

whiting but you can also score loads of welcome by-catch species with dart, salmon, flathead and even mulloway often taking a Sandy Snatcher Rig. The best time to fish these areas is around the high tide, especially when you can get one that corresponds with dawn and dusk periods.

Smaller pelagics like tailor and salmon also frequent the surf zone, making them a popular target for recreational anglers. The best rods to target tailor on ocean beaches are between 8-10’, with a 40006000 sized reel spooled with 20lb Black Magic Rainbow Braid to a 30lb 80cm length of fluorocarbon leader. Braid is the preferred option in this instance as you are constantly casting and retrieving, which eliminates the problems braid can give to anchored baits in the surf. The best thing to use is a whole pilchard, garfish or a metal lure around 20-40g.

Early morning and late afternoon are prime times for both fish, especially for tailor,

The Sandy Snatchers are lethal on bread and butter species. unmatched knot strength.

The favoured mulloway baits are whole squid or even better if you can source it, some live yellow-tail, mullet, whiting or tailor. Many anglers will get to the beach well before dark in order to catch a live whiting or tailor to put out

The ultimate prize for every beach angler: the mighty mulloway.

these hooks, you will rarely miss a hook-up.

CASTING FURTHER Occasionally you’ll come across good-looking mulloway territory by way of a trough or gutter that’s just out of casting range and this is where Black Magic Longreach Rig comes into its own. It’s great for smaller live baits such as small yellow-tail or dead baits like whole squid. It comes pre-rigged with a KL5/0 and 3/0 hook attached to a plastic clip at the bottom of the rig near the sinker. This makes it super aerodynamic, allowing for much further casts than traditional rigs.

It also has a small, inbuilt float that lifts your bait up to waft around rather than letting it sit on the bottom and be picked apart by crabs and rays.

FEBRUARY 2020

21

West Coast

Find some fab feeds in Feb MANDURAH

Jesse Choy

January was a productive month on the water, with plenty of people able to find something that takes their fancy, and this trend should continue in February.

Good numbers of blue swimmers are still very accessible, along with tailor

and whiting, along with some good-sized bream further up in the river systems too.

Bluewater fishers have been catching a number of mixed species, however results are heavily influenced by how targeted their approach is. Those setting out to target pelagic fish are finding there is plenty on offer and those targeting demersals have also been rewarded if

looking in the right spots!

Beaches around Mandurah should continue to fish particularly well through February, with many anglers still reporting tailor, herring, whiting, school sharks and mulloway. There are plenty of tailor around the local beaches, with the prime time to target these fish being first or last light.

Having only a short window

of opportunity to land these fish is not uncommon, so being prepared ahead of these peak times will ensure you heighten your chances of catching a few. Pilchards cast just beyond breaking waves are usually effective and there is also a lot of fun to be had if you are targeting these fish on metal slices or surface lures.

Anglers after slightly bigger specimens have been having some luck using freshly caught tailor, mullet, herring and whiting. There is plenty of these fish available around Mandurah at the moment and presenting baits that are available in your local area will certainly increase your odds at catching.

Whiting along the beaches have been slightly smaller in size on average, making them great for bait.

If you are after slightly bigger, edible yellowfin, then you should look to head into the estuary, targeting areas with weedbeds and noticeable sand patches nearby.

Slim topwater lures, as well as shallow sub-surface lures are definitely the pick when it comes to targeting whiting, as they not only offer

Taking only enough to eat ensures you are doing your part for the oceans! larger whiting. Heading out with a mate is a great way to increase your chances of taking a feed of either species home, and if you are scooping, two pairs of eyes is better than one.

Rivers are fishing relatively well, with plenty of bream, mulloway and whiting being caught throughout both systems. Anglers have also reported that there are some great-sized blue swimmers being caught in both rivers, with the Murray river a preference for drop netters and the Serpentine more favourable for those trying their hand at scooping. Lure anglers are finding that the

There are some awesome quality bream getting around at the moment, which are a lot of fun when you are using light gear and lures!

The upper Murray does not get a lot of attention, but exploring up here is enjoyable and can yield some good results!

Ultralight 403 Ultralight Outboard Motors

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the angler the ability to be more mobile, but they are also great when it comes to targeting these fish over the top of weed.

If you are planning on taking a feed home, you should encounter blue swimmers while targeting

numbers of bream being caught are not particularly high, but reports show that the quality is quite good and that there are certainly some bigger fish around.

Offshore fishers are spoilt for choice during the seasonal transition, as there

appears to be plenty on offer when it comes to ocean fishing around Mandurah.

Tuna have been caught in depths of 15-55m, with the odd mahimahi and mackerel being taken by those working the top of the water column more methodically. While there are a few fish available, the smaller quantities will mean that you are generally required to pay a bit more attention when heading out, noting signs from both your electronics and mother nature to enhance your odds at success.

If you are fishing the lower water column during February, you are likely to find plenty of skipjack, King George, snapper and dhufish when heading out to similar depths. Fishing both artificials and bait is a great way to target these fish and varying your approach when heading out is a great way to hedge your bets.

As we head into autumn next month, we can expect temperatures to begin to drop, and we will begin to enjoy chasing some of the cold water species like the salmon.

April will generally mark that beginning of what we call salmon season, but most years you will start to see the odd fish come in during the month of March. Our rivers should begin to fire right up, with this transition month offering a bit more cloud cover, promoting fish confidence and also making for some very relaxing days on the water!

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FEBRUARY 2020

When heading offshore, don’t be afraid to fish close to the shoreline.

A lot of the time, these spots just out of casting range can hold some great quality fish and save you on the fuel bill.

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Get moving and stay mobile!

NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

C’mon, don’t sit and wait for the fish to find you! Get out there, be active and hunt down your prey instead. It’s much more fun — and more effective.

but there are many ways that land-based and bank-bound fishers can improve their mobility to cover a lot more water and often increase their catch rates too.

The biggest trick in mastering mobility lies in not burdening yourself with too much tackle and related paraphernalia. There’s a lot to

Fly fishing wading boots are perfect for their intended purpose, but not always ideal for longer hikes.

The author’s new Simms Flyweights (right) are the best he’s found so far for extended trekking. also strap a spare multi-piece rod to the side of a backpack if needed. The other important thing I always include in my pack these days is a simple first-aid kit, including a compression bandage to

an important role, too. The obligatory Aussie summer ‘uniform’ of T-shirt, shorts and thongs might feel nice and casual around the house or by the beach at this time of year in many parts of the

Hooked up to a rampaging rainbow trout in the teeth of a Tasmanian gale. Staying mobile can dramatically improve your fishing results.

Believe it or not, this was the author’s total collection of terminal tackle for a three-day coastal hike on the far South Coast of NSW! When you’re covering well in excess of 30km on foot, every gram counts.

In my opinion, there’s a lot to be said for mobility when fishing. Those happy holiday danglers with their heavy folding chairs, full drink coolers and a couple of rods propped up on forked sticks at the water’s edge might be doing it in comfort and style, but they’ll almost always end up being comprehensively out-fished by an active, alert angler who’s on the move and willing to take the game to the fish, instead of waiting for the fish to come to them.

Boat and kayak anglers are obviously mobile by definition,

be said for a single, versatile rod-and-reel outfit, a small tackle box holding only what you’re likely to need, some leader material, a water bottle, a knife, pair of scissors and a set of long-nosed pliers, perhaps in pouches on your belt.

For more extended forays, you can take things a step further with a lightweight backpack or a decent bum bag. This allows you to pack a warm or waterproof jacket, a few energy snacks, sunscreen, more drinking water and maybe a camera and some extra terminal tackle. You can

Fishing vests are great, but rationalise what you pack into those multiple pockets. It’s easy to overdo it and overload yourself.

are all arguments against this omnipresent ocker ensemble.

When you blow a thong an hour’s hike from the car across rough country, you’ll quickly come to realise that you’ve made a very poor wardrobe choice.

Footwear selection is largely dictated by terrain and fishing style. Lightweight sandshoes or even open sandals will suffice in some scenarios, while others call for decent hiking boots. If you intend to go wading, there are specialist types of footwear.

Attitude and philosophy are even more important than exact gear selection when it comes to achieving fishing mobility. Being willing to stay active, keep moving and hunt your prey will make you a much better angler,

deal with snakebite. In really remote areas, consider adding a personal EPIRB or emergency locator beacon.

How you dress and what you wear on your feet plays

The author lands a lovely rainbow trout. His sling pack holds all his flies, leader material and other tackle, as well as drinking water, a camera, snacks, extra clothing and a basic first aid kit

There’s a track winding back… to a great fishing spot!

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FEBRUARY 2020

country, but it’s not the ideal get-up for safely racking up some kilometres along a remote riverbank, lake shore

or rocky shoreline. Sunburn, scratches from vegetation, insect stings and the everpresent threat of snakebite

not to mention keep you fitter and healthier! Make the commitment to be more mobile this year.

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Costa BREAM Series Qualifier Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Round 8 Round 9 Grand Final Australian Open Queensland Open

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Date 4-5 February 8-9 Feb 7-8 March 11-12 March 4-5 April 30-31 May 25-26 July 29-30 August 26-27 September 6-8 November 29 April - 1 May 22-23 February

State VIC VIC TAS TAS WA NSW QLD NSW QLD NSW NSW QLD

Location Gippsland Lakes Gippsland Lakes Derwent River St Helens Mandurah Forster Bribie Island Richmond River Gladstone Port Stephens Sydney Harbour-Hawkesbury River Moreton Bay - Gold Coast

Date 21-22 March 25-26 April 23-24 May 20-21 June 18-19 July 8-9 August 3-4 October 12-13 September

State NSW NSW NSW QLD QLD QLD QLD NSW

Location Lake St Clair Clarence River Glenbawn Dam Cania Dam Wivenhoe Dam Somerset Dam Cania Dam Glenbawn Dam

Sponsor Sufix Megabass Keitech Bassman Spinnerbaits Ecogear Evinrude Sufix Rapala

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Date 30-31 October 26 November 27 November 29 November 1-2 December

State QLD QLD QLD QLD QLD

Location Tinaroo Kinchant Dam Teemburra Dam Peter Faust Dam Peter Faust Dam

Sponsor Edge Rods Wilson Fishing Lowrance Power Pole Samaki

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State VIC NSW VIC WA NSW QLD NSW WA NSW TBA

Location Bemm River Sydney Mallacoota Blackwood River Woy Woy Gold Coast Forster Albany St George’s Basin TBA

Event Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Round 8 Round 9 Australian Championship

Date 29 Feb - 1 March 28-29 March 18-19 April 2-3 May 16-17 May 20-21 June 19-20 September 3-4 October 17-18 October TBA

2020 West Australian Bream Classics

WA BREAM CLASSICS

Location Richmond River Coldstream River Lostock Dam Moogerah Dam Hinze Dam Clarrie Hall Dam TBC Wyaralong Dam

Event Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5

2020 Hobie Kayak BREAM Series 12

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State NSW NSW NSW QLD QLD NSW TBC QLD

Sponsor Costa ZMan Cranka Mercury Sunline Daiwa Garmin Atomic Mercury Costa Daiwa Samaki

Event Boat Round 1 Kayak Round 1 Kayak Round 2 Boat Round 2 Kayak Round 3 Boat Round 3 Kayak Grand Final Boat Grand Final

2020 Vic Bream Classics Event Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Grand Final

Date 15-16 February 8 March 24 May 14 June 13 September 25 October 14-15 November 28-29 November

www.hobiefishing.com.au Sponsor Strike Pro Cranka Lures Mortgage Corp Lurefans - JML Atomic Tackle Tactics Lowrance Power-Pole - Gerber Pro Lure Daiwa

Facebook: WA Bream Classics Location Nornalup Inlet, Walpole Swan River, Perth Moore River, Guilderton Murray River, Mandurah Peel Inlet, Mandurah Swan River, Perth Murray River, Mandurah Blackwood River, August

www.vicbreamclassics.com.au Date 1-2 February 21-22 March 25-26 April 20-21 June 17-18 October 28-29 November

Location Marlo Metung Mallacoota Nelson Warrnambool Marlo

Sponsor Atomic Club Marine Daiwa Glenelg Shire Glenelg Shire NS Rods Sunline

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We are ready to roll!

From a little company established in 1998, ABT’s done some pretty big things over the years. Established in the era of consolidated media and a real bait fishing and trolling culture, I truly think that we have changed the way we fish.

You guys are innovators and early adopters. You’re

always the first to take on new tackle, techniques and gear and happy to share the fruits of your labours. Every year, more and more of you are happy to run cameras and show the fans what you’re doing out on the water.

‘Who Shares Wins’ has never been more relevant or more widely adopted. Thank

This is where we all want to be – holding up the perennial trophy at the end of the season and enjoying the accolades being an ABT winner offers. The new boat is nice, too.

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TAG 2020 abt

you for that. It helps the industry grow, our sport grow and it helps you raise the bar as anglers.

Increasingly, we are able to reach more and more people with what we do. Fifteen years ago, it was magazines and the AFC TV show that promoted growth in our sport. Nowadays we still use the magazine network (after all, you’re reading this in one) of Fishing Monthly Magazines, and a variety of other channels to get out our other content. Last year, ABT produced videos reached 549,000 people through our digital platforms. That number rises every year.

All of it has a hub on the ABT website (www.abt. org.au). Each event, the front page story for that event has links to the preview stories, results, image galleries, videos and everything else we publish - wherever we publish it.

So you don’t need to trawl through a site, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to get what you need. Just visit the site and it’ll all be there for you.

On that note, it’s worth mentioning that we will be transitioning our platform for our live weigh-ins from the Facebook platform to our YouTube channel in 2020. It may take a while to train our viewers to look for it there, but remember, it’ll also be embedded in ABT’s page for that event. If in doubt, go to www.abt.org.au.

If you’re a YouTube

Main: You’ll see this van kicking around the ABT circuit again this year, sometimes with a stage trailer on the back and sometimes with the Fishing Monthly boat. Say g’day if you see us on the road!

Above: The ABT website is the hub of all ABT information and media streams.

You’ll find the 2020 weigh-ins embedded here from this year forwards. subscriber, the channel to follow is ‘ABT Tournaments’.

Make sure you subscribe and hit the little bell – that way you’ll be notified when we go live from each weigh-in – just like Facebook occasionally does for you now. And like we see every year, you can watch it from your phone, from your computer at work or streamed to your 70” telly at home!

We have a new boat sponsor this year – Bluefin Boats is back. Bass Cat is still a minor ABT sponsor (through Manning River Marine) but the declining Aussie dollar has put the brakes on a Bass Cat for a major prize for the moment.

We’ve given away plenty of Bluefin boats in the past, some at BASS Electric Conventions and some at the ABT Grand Finals. Graham Franklin and Neil Kelly won a pigeon pair at the Lake

Macquarie BREAM Final in 2017 and Jeremy O’Connell won one at a BASS Electric Convention at Hinze that I saw on the water at the Australian Open this year.

Brad and his team from Bluefin Boats have been long time supporters of ABT. This year, we have a prize boat for the boater winners of both the BREAM and the BASS Grand Finals AND for the winner of the BASS Electric Grand Finals.

That’s three Bluefin boats that’ll go to new owners at the conclusion of the tournament season.

A BassPro 498 in the BASS, a Bass Pro 463 in the BREAM and a decked out P-Series in the BASS Electric.

And if you think that we’re just giving away tinnies, think again. Bluefin’s new Alloycraft Bass Pro

models have the looks, the storage and the affordability to be a serious contender for boater bucks when it comes to getting on the water.

Check out their rigs on www. bluefinboats.com.au.

ABT also gets great support from outboard motor suppliers. After all, at our first BASS series in 1999, the average horsepower on a tournament boat was under 30hp. Nowadays, most fields average between 150 and 200hp and we are definitely spending more money on our boats than ever before.

Mercury in the BREAM and Evinrude in the BASS offer owner bonus programs to reward ABT anglers who perform well and support their product.

We also have some out-of-industry sponsors who help the machine roll. Neil Carstairs from Mortgage

Corp immediately saw the value of live broadcasting and has been helping us do it ever since. Without Neil’s help you’d still be wondering what’s going on at weigh-ins and on the water. Instead, we can stream it to you – LIVE! What you mightn’t know is that Neil can also help you with your fishing. He’s a specialist at re-financing your mortgages in your favour. The way it works is that the less you have to pay the banks, the more you can spend on boats and doing what you love.

Seriously, give him a call if you think that you’re a slave to your bank and see what he can do about it for you. It won’t cost you a cent to ask and he has helped more of your fellow anglers than you’d think.

And lastly, of course, there’s the broad range of tackle sponsors that keep ABT ticking. We’ve always had a theory that a lot of companies kicking the can a little bit is the healthiest thing for our sport. A GFC, dozens of natural disasters, a massive change in the media landscape and a generational change in the anglers and we are still going strong thanks to their support.

They provide the product for the prize packs and some coin to pay our

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After 20 years, there’s plenty of history being created. Aaron Sharp named the Queensland Open trophy ‘Geoff’. After all, he’s been looking after it for a lot of its life. hard working ABT staff.

New sponsors on board this year include VMC hooks, Megabass and we see the return of Atomic, BKK Humminbird and ProLure.

We have a new ABT Tournament Director starting this year, so we hope that you’ll make him welcome.

Want to know who it is?

You’ll find out at the BREAM Queensland Open when he starts his role.

Nicholle Smith has become the backbone of ABT sponsorship and media and Kym Rowbotham the hub of all entries at the ABT head office in Shailer Park

in Queensland. Plenty of you met them during the year and at the Grand Final dinner on the Gold Coast. Keep playing nice with these ladies and they’ll make your tournament smooth and enjoyable.

And finally, there’s you guys. Thank you for your business and your

membership of ABT. Your membership fees help to keep the wheels turning back at the office and it is appreciated.

We’ve had excellent uptake of the digital subscription tokens that we send out each month with the ABT member email newsletter. Instead of a single,

posted copy of the magazine for your state, we now offer you all four of the Fishing Monthly magazines in a digital form for you to read at your leisure.

Going to a tournament interstate? No worries – read up about the areas before you go. That’s where it’s powerful.

Not getting your ABT member newsletter? Call the office and make sure that we have your correct email address. Also, check your Junk Mail folder, sometimes your mail server doesn’t know the difference between quality email content and that letter from the Nigerian millionaire that wants to give you all the cash.

Prefer a printed copy?

Call the office and Kym will swap you across to a print version for your state. Call (07) 3387 0888.

There are several event changes in 2020, you can read about them in the pages of the 2020 Tournament Angler Guide. We’ve added a BARRA event in Tinaroo, added an event to the Costa BREAM Series, changed the Samaki BREAM Queensland Open to a multi-venue, weekend event and we’re leaving the BASS Pro tour exactly as it is!

See you on the water in 2020.

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Samaki Queensland Open changes for 2020 The Samaki Queensland Open has had an interesting history. It’s an event that has had many names over the years. It was an Invitational at the old Brisbane Tinnie and Tackle Show and it’s been both a teams and singles event at the Cleveland Boating, Caravan and Outdoor Expo for a number of years. And now 2020 sees the format become more mobile and locked into a two-day, weekend footprint.

The Daiwa BREAM Australian Open uses multiple venues to test anglers across the tournament days.

Brisbane’s waterways have the same potential, so from 2020, the Samaki Queensland Open will feature two

There’s a great mood involved in a Queensland Open event. Anglers fishing a wide arena tend to look after each other and share some great days on the water.

How’s this for a mean assortment of breamers? We expect fields to increase in 2020 with a reduction in days to two-days and a weekend footprint.

Payouts are based on 100% of entry fees paid back plus added prizes.

SAMAKI QUEENSLAND OPEN Event: Samaki BREAM Queensland Open Dates: 22-23 February 2020.

Venue: Gold Coast (1-day), Moreton Bay (1-day).

Venue order will be weather dependent.

Entry Fee: $550, 100% payback.

Coverage: Full ABT Live weigh-ins plus

Garmin highlights cameras.

Format: Boater-only with paired

observers is available.

days on two different sections of Brisbane and surrounding waterways.

And with the massive arena divided, anglers will need to formulate different plans if they’re able to take the trophy off encumbent Queensland Open Champion, Jamie McKeown.

The arena will be divided at the Powerlines at the mouth of the Logan River.

ABT Director, Steve Morgan said, “The split of the Sydney arenas has had nothing but positive feedback in the Australian Open, so we’re looking To page 8

McKeown displays the bait that caught him the winning fish in the 2019 Queensland Open – the Tiemco Lonesome Sweeper.

TM

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forward to rolling out that theory in the Queensland version.

“We’re also aligning the event with a weekend footprint to see if we can encourage more Queenslanders to come and test themselves in this boater-only, Open format.

“Naturally, we’ll also have spots available for observers, so that if you want to spend a day aboard with some of Queensland’s best breamers, you just

Tournament Angler Guide need to let us know and we can allocate you with the leading anglers. It’s a great way to accelerate your learning curve.”

McKeown, who is currently looking after both the BREAM Australian Open and the Samaki BREAM Queensland Open trophies, added, “It’s such a big arena and you’ll need to have a variety of spots and plans if you want to take the title in 2020.

“And you don’t need to be a local to do well.

We’re unsure how often this will happen. Jamie McKeown won the 2019 Daiwa Australian Open and the 2019 NuLook Floors Queensland Open in the same year. Amazing effort!

Dave Mackenzie (commonly known as TNB: Tristo’s Non Boater) chanced his arm alone at the 2019 Open and finished just out of the money. His name is on the perpetual trophy plenty of times.

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abt.org.au Last year South Australian, Wally Fahey, fell one legal fish short of a win by focusing on a simple, canal fishing pattern and sticking to it for the whole event. Get in the groove and anyone can take home the win,” he continued.

The other change for the Queensland Open this year is the time of year. Originally held at any time between March and September, the last few years have seen it run in spring. The move to late summer will mix it up again,

with bream in a different phase of their yearly cycles.

Are you keen? You just need an ABT capable boat (3.7m or greater with 20hp or greater) and a 60L recirculating livewell. Fill out the entry forms when they become available and you’re in.

BREAM QUEENSLAND OPEN

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Moreton Bay rat Denis Metzdorf is always up there at a Moreton Bay event. His success in the Queensland Opens, Australian Opens and Grand Finals has elevated him into the top 5 ranked BREAM anglers at the end of 2019. The Queensland Open gets you plenty of rankings points.

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Barra events expand in 2020 Arguably, the ABT BARRA tour is the best fun you can have fishing. Socialising by day and catching barra by night, the 50-odd anglers who make the trip each year sample the best that the Mackay and surrounds can offer when it comes to catching big, impoundment barra.

In 2019, there was plenty going on in BARRA events. We added the Venom Rods BARRA Australian Open at a resurgent Lake Awoonga to take advantage of this fishery, which is coming back strong. A 100% payback and some great prizes from Venom will

Mick Detenon broke through for his first BARRA event win at Faust in 2019. Let’s hope he can continue the momentum in one of the six 2020 BARRA events.

Who could forget the 137cm Kinchant Dam beast that graced the deck of John Campbell’s boat in 2019? At a tad under 50kg, the 2020 events will still reward big fish with their estimated weight, but the AOY points will reward numbers of barra a little more. This fish set social media alight!

ensure that this event grows from year to year.

In 2020, this event will be held on the lead up to the early October full moon, a few weeks later than the 2019 event. According to Awoonga guide, Justin Nye, this is the best time of the year to catch these fish. It’s a three-day event with the final night landing right before the full moon.

And, for the first time in over a decade, ABT BARRA is headed back to Tinaroo Dam. A lake famous

What would a BARRA Tour be without a Colin Brett? This man is dangerous with a barra rod or a beer in hand. for world record barra, it’s a fishery on the rise and according to locals, it’ll fish great on the early November full moon when the event is scheduled.

There are two full moons in November. The one at the end of the month is

traditionally when the Zerek BARRA Tour is held, and 2020 will mimic the popular rotation of lakes in a weeklong, four-event series that will end up crowning the 2020 BARRA Team of the Year.

There’s a calendar hereby for you to lock in the dates,

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but there’s also a full BARRA Tournament Angler Guide published later in the year, so keep an eye out for that in the Fishing Monthly publications.

BARRA TEAM OF THE YEAR There was a lot of discussion on the 2019 BARRA Tour about trying to reward the teams who catch a limit of fish. With the length/ weight curve used to run the

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abt.org.au events, a big barra can beat a whole limit of little fish.

ABT won’t be changing the app-based system that converts verified lengths into weights of fish in 2020, but we will be modifying the points system that we use to decide the Angler of the Year to reflect the numbers of fish caught.

Teams have always received 100 points for an event win and one less point

for each place down the list they finish. In 2020 there will be a bonus point awarded for each barra caught in the session (up to a limit of 5 fish). Therefore, you can now technically get up to 105 AOY points in a one day event, and each fish caught matters in the AOY race.

So we now have a Team of the Year trophy that’s skewed to reward consistency, and an event system that’s designed

Jimmy Reid’s now retired from running tournaments and weighing fish, but you may well see him around with a rod in the hand in 2020 events. to reward big fish.

Finally, the 2020 Team of the Year will count your top 5/6 events, allowing you to drop or miss a round. Canny anglers will also realise that a three-day event will offer plenty of opportunities

for bonus points (up to 15 bonus points available in a three-day event) where a single day event will only offer potential for an extra five points.

That makes the Australian Open look

appealing, doesn’t it!

Want to get on board?

Lock in the dates, stock up on your Zereks and organise your time off. We’d love to have you there for any or all of the BARRA events in 2020.

2020 BARRA EVENTS Date Event Sep 29 - Oct 1 R1: Venom Rods BARRA Australian Open Oct 30-31 R2: Edge Rods Tinaroo 2-Day Nov 26 R3: Wilsons Lake Kinchant Event Nov 27 R4: Teemburra Dam Evening Event Nov 29 R5: Faust All-nighter Dec 1-2 R6: Faust 2-Day

Dylan Brier-Mills is stoked that the Zerek Barra Series is coming to Tinaroo in Spring 2020. He’s a gun on the lake and reckons that fishing will be ‘grouse’.

Location Lake Awoonga Tinaroo Dam Kinchant Dam Teemburra Dam Peter Faust Dam Peter Faust Dam

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Humminbird BASS Electric Open to boom in 2020 ABT

Joey Urquhart

With the new year upon us and the regular BASS electric season about to get underway, let’s fast forward to the end of the season to the pinnacle of the calendar, the BASS Electric Australian Open.

2019 saw the inaugural Valleyhill BASS Electric Open take place at Wyaralong Dam in Southeast Queensland, and following

its initial success, it’s back in 2020 with a new naming sponsor: Humminbird. It promises to be bigger and

Day 1 Highlights

better while offering 100% pay back in cash plus prizes to all bass anglers wanting to get their hands on the trophy.

Most people won’t have heard of Wyaralong Dam as it only finished construction in 2011. Only weeks after construction, however, the large catchment area received massive rainfall which filled the dam in a matter of weeks.

Located about 15 minutes’ drive west of Beaudesert and only a 1-hour drive from Brisbane and northern NSW, it’s perfect for day trips.

This puts a new meaning to catching them in the trees. Blades fished right amongst the timber yielded results in 2019.

Two typical size Wyaralong bass. That’s right – this is the average size when you fish reaction baits in the right places. These fish came from heavy timber.

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Wyaralong is an up and coming lake that is jam-packed with plenty of big bass and huge numbers of small bass – but rest assured that the by-catch of carp and tilapia will keep you busy.

The dam offers great access for all types of boats, whether it’s a 3m tinny or a 20ft bass boat, with great car park facilities to accommodate all trailers.

You can leave your petrol motors attached, you just

can’t use them.

BRINGING IN THE BASS Wyaralong is really a bass fisher’s dream, offering everything from rocky banks, sunken timber and lily pads to reed-lined foreshore. There’s something for every angler to target, no matter what your favourite technique is.

2019 saw the bar being raised yet again in the BASS Electric Australian Open held there. Wyaralong turned

it on with nine 6kg+, 5-bass limits, with the largest for the tournament coming in at just over 8kg. The Big Bass prize was fiercely contested, and the eventual winner tipped the scales at 2.03kg.

It is really one of those lakes where you can catch them on anything, although there were some stand-out lures from the 2019 Open.

Day one leader Charles West chose to target sunken timber using his lipless

cranks to great effect, and I also opted for the same technique, which helped to put me in the top three going into the last day. Talking to anglers after the tournament showed that more then half the field opted for this same technique, while eventual

Day 2 Highlights

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There are plenty of these in Wyaralong – big timber standing in open water. The bass love these areas.

Adrian Wilson weighed a cracking bag on Day 2 of the 2019 BASS Electric Australian Open with quality fish like this.

Want to be treated like a BASS Pro angler?

The BASS Electric Australian Open has the same payout percentage and coverage as the BASS Australian Open on Glenbawn. Boom.

winner Jake Schwerin fished the same structure throwing a spinnerbait, keeping it in contact with the timber at all times.

The trusty old blade played a big part in filling people’s limits, although the average fish size on blades was a lot smaller than those caught on reaction baits.

You can see lots of the angler highlights in the videos captured at the event – just scan the QR codes hereby or search on ABT’s YouTube channel (ABT Tournaments).

WHAT’S IN STORE IN 2020 Jumping forward to this year’s event, I think we will see a lot more of this lake

unlocked as anglers search and find that something a little different.

In saying that, I think if you were going to fish this event you would be silly not to have a lipless crank tied, and searching different ground from the community spots could prove crucial.

Rain could also play a big part in this event. Having large amounts of rain that cool the water down could see the edges fire with jerkbaits, but that’s totally weather dependent.

Another way to bring in a large limit I feel could be the very popular skirted jig.

It’s a technique that hasn’t been fished there a lot and To page 16

Dean Thompson’s old man was the inaugural BASS Pro Angler of the Year in 1999. The young bloke can catch them pretty well, too.

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abt.org.au dam permits you to leave your petrol motor on the boat, there’s no excuses not to come.

For more information on this event or any of the BASS electric events jump onto www.abt.org.au and follow the links to the entry forms and rule sheets.

As a wrap, I personally love this dam and if you love catching XOS bass on a number of different techniques you will be mad if you miss this one. Will we see that elusive 10kg limit come in or even a 3kg bass?

I know one thing for sure and that’s there’s every possibility of both happening.

Hope to see you there.

From page 15

if done on the right structure at the right time could be the winning combination. Be assured though that anything could produce a big bag as it’s really undocumented and there’s a lot more to learn about this lake.

The Open format allows anglers to fish for a 5-fish limit while not having the pressure of someone else in the boat. You also have the chance to take home some big prize money and at only $250 per angler entry, its great odds.

This event is open to all boats, providing they are only run by electric power and given that Wyaralong

There’s a lot of great looking country in Wyaralong. Bring your own favourite baits and techniques to dissect it for yourself.

Adrian Wilson spends a lot of time at Wyaralong. “The secret is out,” he said after the 2019 Open.

A small electric-powered boat or a big bass boat are both fishable in Wyaralong. You can leave your petrol motor on while fishing the event.

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Braid v fluoro: what’s the best for your fishing?

ABT

Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

It’s been interesting watching the trends of fishing line in this country.

When I started working in the tackle industry in the 1980s, everyone used nylon monofilament line.

Working at Mossops and The Tackle Warehouse in Brisbane, you’d sell spools of mono to customers.

ANSA (Australian National Sportfishing Association) and GFAA (Game Fishing Association of Australia) guys demanded pre-tested monofilament nylon line to claim their lineclass records, because if your line broke over the designated class, your claim would be refused.

Heavy tackle game fishers and fly anglers used non-stretch braided Dacron lines for their specific applications (mainline for marlin guys and backing for fly fishers). Dacron, however, wasn’t thin for its breaking strength and wasn’t eminently castable like modern braids are.

The birth of ABT BREAM and BASS events 18

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and the broad uptake of soft plastic baits went hand-inhand with the acceptance of braided and fused lines made of fibres such as Dyneema and Spectra.

These fibres were super strong for their diameter and eminently castable off spin and baitcast reels.

Aussies, as soft plastic newbies, needed to ‘feel’ the bites to keep their confidence up, and products like Berkley Fireline – a cheap, no-stretch line where the fibres are fused together rather than woven into a braided form – took over the market. Tipped with a fluorocarbon leader, anglers

had the feel of braid and the confidence with 5-8ft of low visibility leader connecting their lure to the highly visible main line.

Switched-on anglers in general, and bream anglers in particular, became partial to the suppleness and durability of very fine, expensive,

Main: We all have our favourite lines, but how much thought have you put into choosing the right combination for your presentations? Above: Generally, if you want to set hooks and bully fish, use braid and leader. If you use a lure that you don’t impart action to, why not use straight through fluorocarbon?

woven braids that cast amazingly well compared to the fused offerings.

Subsequently, breamers worked out that there was a middle ground between the zero-stretch braid and the very stretchy nylon monofilament. Fluorocarbon line fell right in the middle of the elasticity of these two products. It had more ‘feel’ them nylon and more ‘give’ than braid. And, you could use a whole spool of it at once and fish this fluorocarbon ‘straight through’ to the lure.

I make no secret of the fact that I use braided lines only when and where they are needed. To me, there are only a few situations where braid is the best, and they are usually scenarios where you need to combine good castability with either a heavy leader and/or some hook setting power. These situations include: • Fishing topwater baits (where the braid floats and you set the hooks after the fish eats the lure on a slack line); • Oyster rack fishing (where you need to take charge and skip the fish over racks with no stretch); • Sight fishing with weightless plastics (especially where the

fish eats the offering on a slack line); • Using jigheads with bigger baits in deeper water; and • Any combination of the above.

Everything else on my boat gets fished on straight through fluorocarbon.

I’m also a believer that if you use moving baits, the fish can be spooked by the ‘line shadow’, and a solid braided line is more visible in the water than a fluorocarbon line. I know this by years of fishing with non-boaters in ABT events. Dozens of times I’ve fished side-by-side with some excellent co-anglers in clear water, with both of us using the same crankbaits.

It’s incredibly rare for the angler using braded line to out-fish the angler using mono. It’s that simple.

Within the fluorocarbon classes, you have to fish as light as possible while still retaining the best chance of landing the fish.

In open, super-clear water, I have no problems using 2lb fluorocarbon straight through, even in Tassie where the bream weigh on average the same weight as the line’s breaking strain. By doing this, I hook many more To page 20

Tournament Angler Guide

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Tournament Angler Guide

From page 18

fish and still land nearly all of them.

When the water is dirtier or the structure I’m fishing is more rugged, I’ll up the line class to 3lb or 4lb when I think I’ll still hook plenty of bream. If I’m fishing a bridge pylon in dirty water or the same water over rocky reef, 5lb or 6lb fluorocarbon is the natural choice – I don’t have to make long casts in those conditions, the fish aren’t put off by the diameter, and the pulling power is sometimes a blessing.

There’s a fine balance, though, between having the pulling power and actually using it. Sure, fluorocarbon stretches, but it’s still possible to tear the hooks out of a bream’s mouth with stretchy line. When I used to fish crankbaits on braid,

Straight-through fluorocarbon should be right in the zone for crankbait anglers, especially for yellowfin bream where a straight retrieve often works well.

I’d lose heaps of bream with pulled hooks. It didn’t matter how soft my rods were, there was still a percentage of fish that wouldn’t stay connected, no matter how skilful I thought I was.

The answer is to fish all line classes as if the bream is only just hooked. Treat your extra diameter (and breaking strength) in your fluoro as simply more abrasion resistance. Just because you’re fishing 6lb doesn’t mean that you have to have a heavy drag. The bonus with doing this is that if the fish does make it home into some structure, it will be much harder for the fish to break a line under less pressure.

Any line, at breaking point, will part instantly when it touches a sharp, underwater object. The same line at only To page 22

abt.org.au

Fishing unweighted plastics, you need to set those hooks hard, which means the braid and leader combo is the natural choice.

SPOOLING FLUOROCARBON

SPOOLING BRAID

I’ve read plenty over the years on the best ways to spool line. Spooling light fluorocarbon onto a small spinning reel is the easiest process ever.

1. Thread the line down the guides and tie it onto your reel.

2. Stick a pen through the middle of your spool.

3. Wind the line onto the reel with a small amount of pressure.

There’s none of this having the line come off this side or that side of the spool to counteract the twists. That’s all rubbish. The line is untwisted when it’s sitting on the spool you buy it on. It twists slightly as the line is spooled onto the reel. As you cast, these twists are removed. Don’t make it any more complicated than that.

The main danger in spooling up fluorocarbon is to not overheat the line.

Heat kills fluoro very quickly, and you can create too much heat if you’re trying to wind the line on under too much pressure. Add the pressure with your bare fingers, and if it gets too hot for your fingers, it’s too hot for the line.

You spool braided line in exactly the same way that you spool fluorocarbon, apart from the pressure. A little bit of heat doesn’t damage the braid the way it can destroy fluoro, and braid spooled under too little tension can cut into itself and create problems.

Use a piece of rag to add enough pressure to keep the braid tight as you’re winding it on.

If you’re using a shallow spool that doesn’t need backing, use some sticky tape to help anchor the braid to the spool. If you don’t do this, the whole spool of line can slip on the spool.

A deeper spool that needs backing can be backed with cheap nylon monofilament line. The braid will never slip on mono backing. Just make sure that the knot between the backing and the main line is good. You never know when you’ll need the connection to remain fast.

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abt From page 20

20% of its maximum tension will be very forgiving.

This leads me into my ‘softly-softly’ approach.

FIGHTING A BREAM SOFTLY If a bream swims around structure when you’re fighting it, the worst thing you can do is to pull as hard as you can. This will invariably break your line.

In contrast, I have landed hundreds of bream from sticky situations by

Tournament Angler Guide easing the drag back to nearly nothing and slowwinding the fish back out the way it came.

Let me explain.

When a bream is hooked, it will, naturally, swim away from the perceived danger.

When the pressure is relieved, the bream will often stop and then focus on the lure in its mouth. At this time, gentle pressure will often result in you being able to ‘lead’ the fish back along the lay of the line. If it is swum around a

abt.org.au

couple of pylons, then very often, it will let itself be led back the way it came.

It’s pretty important to do all of this work with the reel and not to move the rod much. If you try to ‘pump and wind’ the fish, the pressure is uneven and each time you drop the rod tip, the bream has a chance of turning its head around and changing direction.

You don’t want it to change direction. You want it to keep swimming the way you’re

Left: It’s a dead-set walk in the park to re-rig your fluorocarbon rods.

Cut the line, tie a knot and you’re done. Right: When it comes to connecting your braid to a leader, modern knots like the FG are vastly superior to the Albright connectors we all tied when ABT started.

The shadow of the line spooking fish may be a foreign concept to some, yet braid throws a much bigger shadow than light fluorocarbon does. Food for thought.

winding it.

Whenever I extract a bream like this, I make sure that I don’t do the drag back up when it’s clear. The line may be damaged and break at a fraction of its advertised strength. The fish will eventually see you – or the boat – and try to swim away again.

There’s no better example of why you should do this than the 1.47kg yellowfin bream I landed on the second day of a

BREAM Australian Open on Sydney Harbour. I was fishing a flat in around 3ft of water with two, large rocky outcrops on it with an SX40 and 3lb fluorocarbon straight through. The lure bounced over a rock pile and got clobbered by the bream, which then bolted up the gap between the two rocks and buried itself in a crack.

Instinctively, I loosened the drag, put the electric motor on 100% and headed straight for the rock. The

armature of the motor hitting the rock at around two knots spooked the fish, which then took off over the flats.

Drifting with the current and after nearly 10 minutes of back and forth with the light drag, the bream succumbed to the net. When I removed the hooks and tested the line, it broke at around 250g of pressure.

Keeping the drag backed off with the damaged line make a kilogram difference to my final bag.

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Joseph Urquhart

1

Nathan Swanson

2

3

Adrian Wilson

2019 BASS ELECTRIC RANKINGS Ranking

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 17 19 19 19

First Name

Joseph Nathan Adrian Charles Aaron Jesper Matthew Pete Tom Mark Scott Dale Jake Paul Glen Nick Alan Steve Chelsey Drew Liam

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Charles West

4

5

Aaron Kemp

2019 BASS ELECTRIC AOY

Surname

Points

Urquhart Swanson Wilson West Kemp Noisen Flynn Bostock Reynolds Palazzi Bryant Lucas Schwerin McHugh Swanson Nutley Britcliffe McLean Lennon Sharpe Dutton

229 203 200 192 170 168 146 139 130 129 129 119 102 99 93 90 88 88 85 85 85

Rank

First Name

Surname

Points

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 15 17 18 19 20 20

Joey Mark Adrian Dale Tom Nathan Alan Glenn Charles Jake Liam Aaron Peter Mattew Matt Stephen Jesper Luke Drew Mark Wade

Urquhart Palazzi Wilson Lucas Reynolds Swanson Britcliffe Swanson West Schwerin Dutton Kemp Bostock Flynn Williams McLean Noisen Albone Sharp Mckay Walker

298 292 290 289 287 284 283 282 280 278 277 276 274 270 265 265 261 260 257 247 247

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TAG 2020 abt

abt

Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au

ABT BREAM and BASS rankings by the numbers 2020 marks ABT’s 21st year, and over that time a total of 659 boaters and 903 non-boaters have competed in 180 BREAM events since rankings calculations started. Many Australian anglers dream of winning an ABT event, however Anglers not only seek to win events during the year but compete for Angler of the Year (AOY). AOY rewards the angler who is the most consistently highly-placed angler throughout the BREAM rounds, with points per round allocated according to placing. Tristan Taylor (Boater) and Stuart Walker

only 102 boaters can claim to have won an ABT bream tournament. This of course means there are anglers who have won multiple ABT BREAM events. 31 of these winners have won more than once, making them our superstars of the sport.

(Non-Boater) took out this prestigious title in 2019.

ABT also tracks the form of anglers through rankings. Rankings use the best five scores in the last 12 months added to the best five scores in the preceding 12 months (12-24 months ago). The top five ranked anglers coming into 2020 are:

TOP FIVE RANKED BREAM ANGLERS 1 2 3 4 5

BOATER Steve Morgan, QLD Jamie McKeown, QLD Mark Crompton, NSW Denis Metzdorf, QLD Charlie Saykao, QLD

1 2 3 4 5

NON-BOATER Stuart Walker, NSW Mike Hodges, VIC Craig Johnson, NSW Tanya Konsul, ACT Neil Kelly, NSW

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ABT BREAM MULTIPLE EVENT WINNERS Steve Morgan Chris Wright Warren Carter Kris Hickson Russell Babekuhl Tim Morgan Darren Borg Szarn Tink Brad Hodges Tristan Taylor Cameron Whittam Andrew Howard Chris Metcalfe Scott Towner Mark Crompton Dror Pietsch Jamie McKeown Mark Mangold Steve Steer Ross Canizzaro Ben Godfrey Ian Seeto Jarrod Healey Jay Morgan Michael Metcalfe Nigel Webster Patrick Sullivan Scott Butler Spiro Spiropolous Steve Starling Graham Franklin

11 9 9 8 7 7 6 6 6 6 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

ABT BASS in 2019 saw a massive increase in numbers, which we assume is due to the collapse of BASS Nation.

As such, competition for the AOY and Rankings placings was tighter than

weighed at the BASS Grand Final in 2019 at Lake St Clair.

After a cracking year, where he won the BASS Boater AOY and the Rapala BASS Australian Open, Graham

TOP FIVE RANKED BASS ANGLERS BOATER 1 Graham Ford 2 Kris Hickson 3 Keeghan Painter 4 Stephen Kanowski 5 Jonothan Bale in recent years. In fact, Grand Final spots were at a premium. We think that it will be a long time before an entire Grand Final field logs a perfect score, like the 300/300

1 2 3 4 5

Jason Martin ended the year at the best ranked angler in the back of the boat, and 2019 BASS Non-Boater AOY Paul Mazaroli landed just out of the top five after a stellar year.

NON-BOATER Jason Martin Nick Price John Francis Mitchell Petty Trent Blake

Ford topped both lists, displacing fellow NSW angler Kris Hickson who spent a lot of his year deciding which country he was going to fish in next.

After his Grand Final win,

It’s great to see that ABT is rewarding the increased participation in BASS with a prize boat again in 2020.

The numbers back this decision up.

Anglers of the year (AOY) The other game in town, of course, is the Angler of the Year. These coveted trophies reward the angler who does the best in the season that year.

Angler of the Year

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abt

Tournament Angler Guide

1

Steve Morgan

Jamie McKeown

2

3

Mark Crompton

2019 BREAM BOATER RANK

abt.org.au

Denis Metzdorf

4

5

Charlie Saykao

2019 BREAM AOY BOATER Current

First Name

Surname

Points

383

1

Tristan

Taylor

494

370

2

Steve

Morgan

481

Charlie

Saykao

480

Ranking

First Name

Surname

Points

1

Steve

Morgan

2

Jamie

McKeown

3

Mark

Crompton

353

3

4

Denis

Metzdorf

316

4

Mark

Crompton

470

Alan

Lister

457

5

Charlie

Saykao

281

5

6

Alan

Lister

279

6

Wally

Fahey

435

Scott

Wilson

430

7

Kris

Hickson

276

7

8

Wally

Fahey

269

8

Jamie

McKeown

419

Allan

Murray

411

9

Cameron

Whittam

237

9

10

Tristan

Taylor

232

10

Chris

Head

345

Jason

Mayberry

341

11

Christian

Wardini

218

11

12

William

Carruthers

218

12

Stephen

Duff

318

Mark

Saric

314

13

Brad

Hodges

209

13

14

Jason

Mayberry

204

14

Christian

Wardini

268

Denis

Metzdorf

263

15

Scott

Wilson

203

15

16

Todd

Riches

195

16

Kim

McIntyre

257

Steven

Pryke

251

17

Ross

Cannizzaro

193

17

18

Allan

Murray

178

18

Craig

Templar

246

Scott

Towner

231

Zac

O’Sullivan

224

19

Grant

Kime

172

19

20

Mario

Vukic

168

20

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TAG 2020

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abt

Tournament Angler Guide

1

Stuart Walker

2

Mike Hodges

3

Craig Johnson

abt.org.au

Tanya Konsul

4

5

Neil Kelly

2019 BREAM AOY NON-BOATER

2019 BREAM NON-BOATER RANK Ranking

First Name

Surname

Points

1

Stuart

Walker

391

2

Mike

Hodges

3

Craig

Johnson

4

Tanya

5

Neil

6 7

Current

First Name

Surname

Points

1

Stuart

Walker

496

268

2

Travis

Ryan

470

247

3

Richard

Wootten

465

Konsul

238

4

Neil

Kelly

465

Kelly

234

5

Bernard

Kong

457

Colin

Wilson

224

6

Dallas

Blatchford

456

Michael

Thompson

212

7

Tanya

Konsul

450

8

Glen

Sturrock

210

8

Darren

Murphy

448

9

Bernard

Kong

207

9

Justin

Reeves

440

10

Dallas

Blatchford

205

10

Glen

Sturrock

437

11

Rodney

O’Sullivan

187

11

Craig

Johnson

423

12

Brendan

McNamara

185

12

Colin

Wilson

406

13

Shaun

Egan

181

13

Rodney

O’Sullivan

369

14

Richard

Wootten

169

14

Michael

Hodges

350

15

Peter

Breukel

152

15

Shaun

Egan

348

16

Nick

Penprase

140

16

Andrew

Williams

345

17

Travis

Ryan

140

17

Daniel

McNeice

333

18

Daniel

McNeice

140

18

Jordan

Armstrong

278

19

Jordan

Armstrong

130

19

Ahmad

Mahfoud

263

20

Grant

Oliver

128

20

Shannon

Hush

255

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TAG 2020 abt

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Tournament Angler Guide

abt

20 abt

TAG 2020

29

abt

Tournament Angler Guide

1

Graham Ford

Kristoffer Hickson

2

3

Keeghan Painter

abt.org.au

Stephen Kanowski

2019 BASS BOATER RANK

4

5

Jonathan Bale

2019 BASS AOY BOATER Current

First Name

Surname

Points

1

Graham

Ford

383

2

Keeghan

Painter

379

235

3

Matthew

Langford

368

217

4

Jonathan

Bale

359

Bale

216

5

Jake

Schwerin

359

Lennox

208

6

Robert

Tilley

353

Matt

Johnson

203

7

Nick

Anderson

345

Tom

Slater

195

8

Luke

Draper

343

9

Glenn

Hayter

188

9

Kristoffer

Hickson

332

10

Mike

Nelson

167

10

Steve

Chang

328

11

Greg

Beattie

166

11

Mark

Parriott

327

12

Luke

Draper

163

12

Dane

Pryce

326

13

Dane

Pryce

163

13

Adrian

Melchior

324

14

Robert

Tilley

160

14

Philip

Nix

323

15

Phillip

Nix

159

15

Gregory

Burke

323

16

Simon

Marchant

157

16

Greg

Mitchell

321

17

Wally

Fahey

156

17

Tony

Thorley

318

18

Peter

Phelps

153

18

David

Browning

316

19 20

Jake Paul

Schwerin Aldous

149 148

19

Wally

Fahey

315

20

Brett

Hyde

313

Current Rank

First Name

Surname

Points

1

Graham

Ford

331

2

Kristoffer

Hickson

300

3

Keeghan

Painter

4

Stephen

Kanowski

5

Johnathan

6

Mark

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abt

Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au

1

Jason Martin

2

Nick Price

3

John Francis

Mitchell Petty

4

5

Trent Blake

2019 BASS AOY NON-BOATER

2019 BASS NON-BOATER RANK Current Rank

First Name

Surname

Points

Current

First Name

Surname

Points

1

Jason

Martin

239

1

Paul

Mazaroli

376

2

Nick

Price

192

2

Mick

Eastment

367

3

John

Francis

188

3

Tim

Steenhuis

362

4

Mitchell

Petty

186

4

Barry

Reynolds

357

5

Trent

Blake

184

5

Leaon

Walker

352

6

Paul

Mazaroli

183

6

Allan

Price

347

7

Bill

Rose

181

7

Shaun

Beekman

339

8

Leaon

Walker

180

8

Trent

Blake

337

9

Tim

Steenhuis

179

9

James

Browning

333

10

Tom

Deer

176

10

Brad

Wickson

333

11

Dylan

Byron

174

11

Ian

Wratten

327

12

Mitchell

Rose

163

12

Mitchell

Petty

325

13

James

Browning

156

13

Shannon

Hush

324

14

James

Hickson

152

14

Blair

Shapland

316

15

Angus

Meyndershagen

148

15

Jason

Martin

314

16

Mark

Caneris

131

16

Blake

Chivas

311

17

Mathew

Flynn

128

17

Rodney

Thorpe

310

18

Warren

Howe

122

18

James

Hickson

309

19

Mick

Eastment

116

19

Angus

Meyndershagen

304

20

Anthony

Melchior

106

20

Malcolm

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304

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recfishwest

Signs of recovery for West Coast demersals In December 2019, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) released their latest stock assessment of West Coast demersal scalefish stocks.

It’s been 10 years since wholesale rule changes were brought in to recover some of these species after all the research showed the stocks were in strife. Since those changes were implemented, recfishers have played our part – a big part – in sticking to the rules designed to achieve a 50% reduction in the catch from 2005/6 levels and recover these slow-growing species’ stocks within a 20-year timeframe.

Now we are at the recovery plan’s mid-way point, the Department have released a west coast demersal update based on their latest research.

You can find this research update on the Fisheries website at www.fish.wa.gov.au and by entering ‘west coast demersal update’ in the search – but below we gave a summary of the document and our key take-aways from its results.

GOOD SIGNS BUT STILL A WAY TO GO YET It will come as no surprise to many of us who target

bottom fish in the metro and the South West that there are some good signs with many more, smaller dhuies being seen in the last few years. This is certainly grounds for cautious optimism, showing that our good work and stewardship, sticking to bag and size limits, and the annual two-month closure, is paying off.

However, we’re not out of the woods yet, with the research showing limited evidence of recovery for demersal scalefish stocks in the Mid-West and Kalbarri areas.

In addition, there appears to be few older dhuies and pinkies in the Department’s samples from across the whole bioregion (Kalbarri down to Augusta).

This shows there is still a way to go and, while the recovery is progressing well, we need to keep doing what we’re doing to ensure the recovery stays on track.

That means doing everything we can to ensure released fish go back healthily.

Barotrauma can impact on these species significantly, with the research summary showing that ‘post-release mortality’ – fish dying after being released – is potentially having an impact on

It’s not just about boat fishers! Mark Tasker with a sensational pinkie taken off a Mandurah beach.

Being able to catch ripper land-based fish is another reason why we need to continue to do what we can to ensure West Coast demersal stocks continue to be well looked after. the recovery.

So, it’s imperative to handle the fish carefully and use release weights to give them the best chance of going back well, if returning them.

It also highlights why catch and release fishing for demersals is not OK – once you’ve hit your bag limit, it’s important to move on and target other species like pelagics and squid.

TAKING STOCK Clearly, the Department needs to keep gathering scientific evidence to monitor the recovery’s progress. And this is also where we can all play a big part by donating

some of our demersal frames to the Department’s Send Us Your Skeletons sampling program.

The more samples the scientists get – the clearer and more robust picture they can build of the stocks’ health.

So do the right thing by the fish and help the Department collect more samples by donating some of your frames to science (you can keep the wings and the cheeks – they just need the heads and the guts intact).

So, we hope you get to bag a demersal or two – but let’s continue to work together to ensure the recovery continues

to progress and that there will be plenty of these fantastic fish to go at for us and for future generations of West Aussie fishers.

FISH HANDLING TIPS By handling fish appropriately, you can reduce their level of stress and decrease the chances of injury, ensuring a better chance of survival if they are released.

If you are fishing in deep water, use a release weight when releasing demersal species. The release enables fish to be returned to the depth at which they were caught, while minimising the effects of barotrauma.

Remember, if you are fishing for demersal species in the West Coast Bioregion you must have a release weight on board, although you don’t need one if a boat is used exclusively for spearfishing.

Here are some other things you can do to give the fish the best chance of being released healthily.

• Minimise the time fish are out of the water.

• Support the body of the fish; never hold a fish by its mouth or gills. Recent studies have shown significant damage can be done to fish when they are held by their gills or jaws.

• Keep fingers and hands clear of eyes and gills. Fish gills contain fragile blood vessels that are easily damaged by hands.

• Use wet hands, a wet cloth or a wet glove to handle fish. This will prevent the loss of protective slime from the scales. The slimy coating on fish protects them from infection and disease.

Removing this coating can leave a fish susceptible to infection.

• Lay fish on a wet towel or brag mat. Never lay fish on the hot deck of a boat. Excess heat causes undue stress on the fish and affects body functions.

• When fishing, lift your fish clear of the side of your boat.

Do not drag your caught fish over the edge of your boat as it can irreparably damage the fish.

• Using long-nosed pliers or dedicated hook extractors to remove hooks minimises damage to the fish and keeps your fingers safe from teeth and spines.

• If the hook is deep within a fish’s throat, cut the line as close to the mouth or eye of the hook as possible. Leaving the hook in place reduces damage to vital organs; the hook will eventually rust away.

WA Bream Classics 2020 series set to go off!

We hope the festive season was as enjoyable for you as it was for us and you are looking forward to the 2020 WA Bream Classics season as much as we are. Last year was a fantastic year and if that’s anything to go by then 2020 is shaping up to be even better.

For 2020 we have kept the same format for both the kayak and boat series as last year, with each series featuring three rounds to earn qualification into the grand final. What we have changed for 2020 regarding the calendar is tournament locations and the time of year we hold such events at particular locations. To

further enhance the quality of fishing for each event, we have tried to schedule every event on the best possible tides and moon phases that favour bream fishing.

Keep an eye out for our social events that will be held throughout the year as

well. Yes, they’re not on the calendar as of yet, but if you follow our Facebook page (West Australian Tournament Anglers) then you will be alerted of the proposed dates that will be released later in the year. The social events are a fantastic way to become involved in the tournament scene by getting to meet new faces and thus make new

friends while experiencing a taste of what tournament fishing is like. The social days run from 7am to 12pm and costs $5 to enter, which goes towards pizzas and drinks that are put on by the organisers for lunch. The social events are very laid back and an enjoyable way to familiarize yourself with people in the scene and tournaments themselves.

Another way we have made things easier for people to become involved in the WA Bream Classics boat and kayak series is by creating an online system to enter the events. By visiting our website (www.watournamentanglers. com.au), you will be able click on the event/s you’re interested in and from there all you need to do is fill out the details in the required fields before then transferring your entry fee to the West Australian Tournament Anglers bank account. The entry process in years gone by wasn’t as straight forward so we are confident that this change to the entry process will make things a lot easier for everyone.

Something we implemented last year to help people see if tournament fishing is for them, without it being an expensive exercise is to offer first time anglers to compete for free. You won’t be eligible for prizes but

you’ll be able to compete in your first event in a very cost effective manner. To keep up to date with the latest news and information simply visit and like our Facebook page ‘West Australian Tournament Anglers’. As for entering our events and finding information on the rules then visit our webpage www.watournamentanglers. com.au 2020 is shaping up to

be a fantastic year with the support from our sponsors and most importantly the competitors that get behind our events. Without the fantastic nature and good sportsmanship of the anglers involved, we wouldn’t have such a great series. As well as the sponsors, the competitors really make the tournament series what they are today.

As a result, we are always extremely welcoming of new

anglers to the sport so we can grow what is a great environment to be a part of. You make new friends, travel and fish great river systems for bream amongst a great bunch of anglers with the chance of winning some fantastic prizes.

Most of all, the memories you take away from these events are priceless and will last a lifetime. – WA Bream Classics

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR 15-16 February

8 March

4-5 April

2-3 May

24 May

14 June

13 September

3-4 October

25 October

14-15 November

28-29 November

WA Bream Classics Boat Round 1 – Walpole www.watournamentanglers.com.au WA Bream Classics Kayak Round 1 – Perth www.watournamentanglers.com.au ABT BREAM Round 5 – Mandurah abt.org.au Hobie Kayak Bream Series 12 Round 4 – Blackwood River hobiefishing.com.au WA Bream Classics Kayak Round 2 – Guilderton www.watournamentanglers.com.au WA Bream Classics Boat Round 2 – Mandurah www.watournamentanglers.com.au WA Bream Classics Boat Kayak 3 – Mandurah www.watournamentanglers.com.au Hobie Kayak Bream Series 12 Round 8 – Albany hobiefishing.com.au WA Bream Classics Boat Round 3 – Perth www.watournamentanglers.com.au WA Bream Classics Kayak GF – Mandurah www.watournamentanglers.com.au WA Bream Classics Boat GF – Augusta www.watournamentanglers.com.au FEBRUARY 2020

57

West Coast

Tailor will continue to bite along the beaches schools, some that can be found on lumps inside the White Bank. It is a good opportunity for small boat fishers to check out some of these lumps with the eco sounder to see how many fish they are holding. The best lumps always have a big

LANCELIN

Peter Fullarton

The beaches have been firing on all cylinders when it comes to tailor fishing, with many reporting they believe it to be the best start to the tailor season they have seen in years.

Though not one of the best periods for big mulloway, there has been a steady stream of captures, with most fish under a meter.

Guitarfish seem to be showing in bigger numbers each summer fishing season.

They are a powerful fish to catch from the beach, with long runs taking line that make it difficult to gain line back. Herring

Summer sunsets and tailor fishing is a great way to relax and de-stress. berley with an unweighted berley cage and a small bait on a 70cm leader trailing behind. Tailor have been

long as you fish the weed and sand edges you can still gather a feed of them. Drop netters have been finding a feed of blue swimmer crabs along the bay’s shoreline.

Offshore, demersal fish have been best out at Direction Bank. As usual, as you go out further, you tend to find a more diverse mix of species and the dhufish tend to be a better average size.

Although there have been plagues of small snapper in the 35-40cm range out from 30m and beyond, if

along the outer reef break, and this is a great place to look for the tuna or kingfish.

Lobster potters have done well on the white crayfish, but now most potters have moved out past the White Bank looking for jumbos.

Pots in close to shore need to be right in the reef to find some reds.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN FEBRUARY Anglers can expect better numbers of larger tailor in the 50-60cm range. These are usually harder to find

Dhufish are close to spawning, and schools can be found inside the White Bank at this time of year. have been pretty easy to find, with plenty taking the pilchard baits from tailor fishers. There has been a good number of fish around 30cm, which are known locally as bull herring. Early to mid-morning and late afternoon have been the best times to chase the herring.

The jetty has seen big schools of herring coming in after dark. The rough, windy nights can stir them up into a feeding frenzy, while calmer nights they can be more finicky. When they are difficult to catch, try using

caught casting pilchards with the sea breeze from the northern end of the jetty, although it is prime real estate, with fishers getting there early to peg out the spot on weekends.

The bay’s been great for herring as well. Setting up a berley trail will bring them to the boat. Trollers have been doing well on them too, especially over the sand holes at the shallow south end of the bay. King George whiting have not been as good as they were during last year’s bumper season, but so

You need to get out of bed very early to fish the sunrise in summer, but the mild temperatures and light winds make fishing a joy.

58

FEBRUARY 2020

odds are not really in your favour, you might still run across a fish. Trolling jet head lures or bibless minnows like the Halco Max can be done at 12 knots if you’re covering long distances.

The chances of hooking a fish is greatly enhanced

Demi with a typical summer chopper. overhang ledge or cave.

What excites me the most is we are moving into the better time of year for chasing pelagic species.

February through to May is the peak time to score some of the more tropical species.

Spanish mackerel would be one of the most keenly sought after of the pelagics, not only for their sporting attributes, but also their great eating quality. There are a number of ways to specifically target them. Put in enough time and your chances of success are quite good over the next few months. There is a

when trolling is planned.

Peak feeding times can be dawn and dusk, so this is the perfect time to troll. Also, fish are far more likely to be where the baitfish are, as the saying goes, ‘find the bait find the fish’. Often there will be schools of bait between the 15-20m contours out from Lancelin. This is a great area to concentrate your efforts at dawn or dusk. Set a spread of bibbed minnows to cover several depths, and troll at around 6-7knots. If you do come across a bait ball during your travels, it is a great opportunity to score

You don’t have to have a big boat or need to go far to score a feed of quality fillets, with fish like this available inside the bay. you go up to at least 9/0 hooks and use large baits the snapper won’t hook up so easily. This will give the bigger fish a chance to find the bait and you won’t be pulling up a constant steam of undersized snapper.

This years’ pelagic season has kicked off well, with plenty of tuna schools about. Yellowtail king fish have been mainly caught along the back of the first line of reef where the shelf falls from 5-10m. They are usually found not too far from a breaking reef. If the conditions allow you to get safely into casting range of the reef breaks, casting stickbaits is a great way to catch them. Lancelin Island creates a pressure point, pushing the baitfish schools

over the December and January period, but numbers usually pick up again during February. Look around reef breaks or beach gutters for the larger fish. Using large stickbaits or poppers is a great way to cover some ground to find some of the larger fish.

Better numbers of baldchin groper will be in closer to shore with the warmer water, and the better bottom of flat reef or coral areas out from 24m should be holding fish. A lot of the ground they live on can be difficult to discriminate on the sounder, so when you find a good patch producing fish, mark it up on the plotter to return to at a future date.

Dhufish will be preparing for breeding and gathering in

Banjo sharks often come into the berley trail. Check out the colouration on this one Arun caught! whole bunch of techniques that work, so you can mix it up when you’re out chasing other species.

Trolling can be done between fishing spots or heading out to check the cray pots. Although trolling blind with no sighted baitfish the

a mackerel. Tuna schools also attract the mackerel, so get some lures out if the tuna or bait schools are about and don’t be shy to put a small live baitfish, tuna or bonito out near the schools, as the mackies find these irresistible!

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West Coast

Action from river to reef GERALDTON

Graham Maunder & Michael Triantopoulos

This summer’s fishing season is one of our best for quite a few years, and even though the rock walls and beaches close to Geraldton

fishing much better than earlier in the summer, with plenty of prime tailor being caught. Our summer tailor tend to be smaller, light in colour and thinner, but this season the tailor are in much better condition.

The average size is closer

great fighting fish on light tackle. Some of the Dart are a bit small to make a meal out off, but there are enough 40-55cm and a few even big enough to take pilchards on standard 4/0 ganged hooks. Surf beaches and reefs from Flat Rocks to West Bank are all fishing well, but weed movement means you might have to change your fishing spot or switch from mornings to evenings depending on weed movement or tide.

Recent mulloway catches have improved, with school-sized fish up to 8kg showing up more often and mulloway closer to 20kg near Royces have also been reported. The larger fish have not shown up until after sunset, but you never know with mulloway, so weather it’s sunset or sunrise, a good bait in the water is always a chance.

Co-author Michael Triantopoulos with a dhufish caught recently off Geraldton. at the moment, but be aware of your legal size requirements, as many of the bream are borderline

This goldspotted rock cod made a nice addition to the icebox for co-author Graham Maunder. have been short on big fish, there are plenty of whiting, good size herring, striped sea pike and squid around the weed beds and marina lights after sunset.

BEACH The beach channels from Dhus Reef, Twomeys, Head Butts and south to Wakeford Road have been

to 40cm than 30cm and 40-55cm is not uncommon.

While herring catches are not as consistent as past seasons, the size has been excellent, with some fish over 30cm caught on tailor gear. Dart are plentiful in the surf breaks and whiting anglers are getting some extra fun, as dart are a

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Jayden (12yo) with a very healthy 77cm tailor caught off the first point at Greenough.

North of Geraldton to Drummonds cove usually has excellent surf fishing over the summer, but this season tailor, herring, mulloway and even school sharks have been unpredictable.

From Morning Reef to Jacksons Hole north of Coronation Beach tailor catches were a bit slow early in the season, but over the last few weeks the fishing has really picked up. Lately there have been bag limit catches of tailor, dart, whiting, mulloway and school sharks. Fishing the reef holes and gutters is better from mid-afternoon until after dark.

The Greenough River at Cape Burney is having a good run of black bream

for size (25cm) and also the tarwhine (23cm) may need checking. There are also bream upwards of 30cm

and big tailor over 45cm that have been river bound since sandbars shut of tidal flow many months ago.

BOAT We’ve started to see some better weather that has allowed anglers to get out.

The fishing around the ship anchorages has been fairly consistent, with reports of dhufish, goldspotted rock cod, baldchin gruper and painted sweetlips, although the strong north current makes it hard and often the fish seem to shut down.

With those low swell and wind days, the water being clear and free of seaweed, fishing the top of Pensioners on both the north and south side off the shipping channel has been producing some solid coral trout, baldchin groper and the occasional dhufish.

Trolling deep diving lures and using soft plastics seem to be the preferred methods.

Spanish mackerel and tuna have been a bit inconsistent this season so far for those fishing the outer edge of Pensioners Bank.

Bait schools around the shipping channel markers and the Outer Knoll Buoys have been prolific with slimy mackerel, yellowtail, scalies, bigeye scads, pike and whiting. There’s

also been some larger pelagic predators hanging around them too, schoolsized mahimahi, Spanish mackerel and samsonfish, so it’s always a good idea to have a live bait out there waiting.

South West Bank has produced dhufish, pink snapper, baldchin groper and red throat emperor reasonably consistently, making the effort rewarding and enjoyable.

SMALL BOATS/KAYAKS Pages Beach to Seal Rock has been fishing well for a mixed bag of bread and butter species such as herring, tailor, pike, whiting and the occasional flathead.

Blue swimmer crab numbers are still consistent for those putting the time in around the tide changes setting drop nets inside the Batavia Marina and along the Town Beach.

Until next month tight lines and screaming drags!

• Geraldton Sports Centre is the Mid West’s specialist fishing tackle store. Drop in and see the friendly professional staff for local advise and knowledge and browse the extensive range of fishing equipment on show at 204-208 Marine Terrace, Geraldton, or call (08) 9921 3664

A solid beach summer bag taken from south of Greenough.

West Coast

Spaniard run has begun KALBARRI

Stephen Wiseman

The warmer water pushing down the coast has brought plenty of Spanish mackerel with it.

The water temperature is now around 24.5-24.8°C in spots and in among the macs are a few nice cobia available for all anglers visiting Kalbarri.

The hot spots at the moment are just shy of the sand patch in 20m and a little further north out to 30m. Don’t look for birds, as they are elsewhere. There’s no sight of the mutton ducks that normally grab baits and get tangled in lines, so just work the massive bait balls and avoid the everpresent sharks.

Crabs are plentiful upriver from the pens, with the occasional mulloway getting hooked up around the barbecues area.

There’s no sign of mangrove jacks as yet, but they must be around, as they are here all year and just playing doggo around the pens and taking easy feeds. Try mullet strips cast around the piles or flick back under the jetty to entice the bigger models.

Fishing up the coast a while back Jamie Wait, a member of the WESTAG group, tagged and released a nice tailor which swam off in good condition. And

boy can that fish swim! It was recaptured five days latter about 378km south by Chris Smythe at the mouth of the Greenough River. Now that’s a swim!

David Waite with a Spanish mackerel taken just off Kalbarri.

The author holds up a decent wahoo. These speedsters will be available this month.

Whiting are still around in good numbers at the usual areas, which are along the flats in front of the IGA and the sand flats by the boat hire.

Offshore in the 40-50m line pink snapper are around in good numbers and of a

nice size, with the average fish around 600mm. These are intermingled with dhufish to 700mm and the occasional baldchin, although the baldies are down on catch numbers from previous years.

My hope is for wahoo to

turn up along the 50m line to the north of the sand patch as they have in years past in similar conditions of clear, warm water. My best yet got my pacemaker cranking to near warp speed!

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61

Gascoyne Coast

Inshore fishing continues to fire for summer EXMOUTH

Barry Taylor

Blue marlin have been coming on strong on the west side, with some blacks in the mix as well. The average size for the blues is 120-170kg, with a few reaching 250kg.

This year marks the second anniversary of the big grander that was caught on New Year’s Day; this 1089lb (494kg) blue was an Australian record on stand-up 60kg tackle.

headlands anywhere around the Cape, using huge poppers and heavy spinning outfits.

At this time of year the sizes range from 2-20kg.

The queenfish have been biting at Learmonth Jetty, and a metre long fish has been spotted amongst them. Most queenies have been taken on poppers such as Halco Roostas.

Anglers have also been catching jacks at the marina, with most going around 30cm long. There are usually a lot of baitfish around the jetty, so it’s easy to livebait for jacks. You

gold glow. It’s a bit like bream fishing on steroids! You may also encounter Chinamanfish in the same areas, and they’re always a welcome bycatch.

There have been reports of good squid almost everywhere on the gulf side, and also in the lagoon over the weedy areas.

There has also been a good run of cobia of late.

Anglers have been picking up 2-4 cobia in a session, up to around 13-14kg. Most have been caught while jigging for coral trout and Rankin cod in 12-15m of water in the gulf.

Spangled emperor have been taking poppers and stickbaits. Photo courtesy of Evolution Charters.

8kg. When they do come in in force everyone can catch them in front of the marina in small boats and have a ball. The best way to catch them is with chrome slices, as small as you can go, fished on 20-30lb braid.

We can expect a good run of small black marlin on the west side, and they will be found close enough for the smaller boat anglers to have a shot at catching a 30-50kg

black marlin. This action should continue until around March. Fishing from a 4.5-6m boat you can get multiple blacks in a session, sometimes half a dozen.

If the water stays warm the good inshore fishing should continue, providing a lot of fun for people throwing lures around the beaches and the ledges.

• For all the latest news on what’s biting and where, drop

in to Tackle World Exmouth at 3 Maley St, Exmouth or give them a call on (08) 9949 1315. You can also view the range at www. tackleworldexmouth.com.au, and see the latest catch photos on their Facebook page. This family business stocks a large range of tackle, from light spin to big game. The staff have a wealth of local knowledge and expertise, and are always happy to help.

It’s a great time of year to target giant trevally. Photo courtesy of Evolution Charters.

On Strike Charters went five from five on a recent trip, with four blues and a black, all for one very happy angler. Eddie Lawler from Peak Sportfishing has also been putting customers onto marlin on fly. A few world records have come from here for different species of marlin on fly.

The water temperatures have been warming up, resulting in great inshore fishing along the shore.

Queenfish and trevally are on the chew, with GTs and golden trevally being caught during the holiday season.

It’s a particularly good time to target GTs, and you can get them spinning the rocky

just jig your livey vertically against the jetty, or throw it out to the side of the school or around the pylons.

Flyfishing guide Brett Wolf has been putting anglers onto permit on the flats down in the Gulf, and there are also bonefish on the western flats, so those are some good options for flyfishers.

Spangled emperor catches have been quite good inside the reef in 1-2m of water.

To catch them, switch your motor off, let the wind blow you along, and start casting.

Most fish have been taking poppers and stickbaits such as the 110mm Strada Tempest in gold, and the 95mm and 115mm Nomad Mad Scads in

Cobia are often sighted off the backs of big tiger sharks, so if you see a big shark you should have a cast around it.

The shallower country in the gulf is good for jigging for coral trout and Rankins on slow pitch jigs year round. A couple of stand-out jigs lately have been the Vexed Dhu Drop and Entice Juicer.

FORECAST FOR FEBRUARY The warm water will hopefully make for great sport and game fishing for a few months. We haven’t seen a good run of longtails (northern bluefin) in the gulf for a few years so we’re definitely due. So far we’ve only seen a handful, averaging around

Chinaman can show up while you’re targeting spangled emperor. Photo courtesy of Evolution Charters.

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North Coast

Diversity on offer in Dampier DAMPIER/KARRATHA

Troy Honey

When it comes to fishing Dampier, the area is well known for its superb demersal and sports fishing around the archipelago, and is also the gateway to what many anglers would title as the best fishing zone in Western Australia, the Monte Bello Islands.

Dampier and its next door neighbours of Karratha and Point Samson are alive at this time of year for many anglers with their tinnies making the trek from down south to fish the end of the wet and battle the searing heat and flies to fish the creeks, tidal flats and rocky coastline. The average person would certainly question why anyone would holiday and fish this Pilbara region in the hottest months of the year, but there are a few very good reasons. Big barra, threadies, mangrove jacks and mud crabs are some of those reasons.

Yes, it is hot, very hot and the ever-prevailing risk of a cyclone turning your holiday into a washout never leaves the back of your mind, but anglers who have fished

the region at this time of year before know just how rewarding it can be.

The reports over the last month have been rolling through one after another of great-sized barra and threadfin salmon, with many of them in the creeks within 10 minutes from the boat

ramps. Airport Creek has certainly been a highlight, with some anglers landing eight or more legal barra in a single tide change session.

Among them the threadfin have been proving they can be as consistent as the barra in both size and numbers.

All of the creeks

William got onto some great sized mangrove jack when fishing the rock edges around Dampier in January.

surrounding the region are producing good catches, with the lesser accessible creeks producing the larger specimens. Among them there have been a few reports of jewfish coming in, with one local angler landing four fish over a metre while fishing a creek mouth at sunset just north of Point Samson in January.

Mangrove jacks have been really turning it on in December and January in numbers that cannot be discounted. You can find jacks in all of the creeks around the mangroves as well as the rocky areas surrounding the mainland coast and archipelago islands. Many of these rocky areas are also where you can find coral trout, albeit at the smaller end of the scale.

Don’t be fooled into thinking these areas are just for the smaller fish though, as the moment you lapse your hold on the rod, I guarantee a big bluebone will be there to teach you a lesson.

If larger coral trout, blueline emperor, rankin cod and saddletail seaperch are what you would prefer to chase in February, then head out past the islands and fish the structure in 20-40m.

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You don’t have to go far to catch quality fish, as they are in abundance even from shore. This just-legal trout was caught by the author at the boat ramp groyne in Dampier. Who said you need a boat?

There are lots of Spanish flag about, which are a great little fish and superb on the table, but if you find you are losing too many baits to the peckers then head into the deeper, cooler water or switch to jigs

appropriate for the amount of current. By doing this you will have a far greater chance of hooking up to something larger, as your jig will work as it was designed to rather To page 65

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FEBRUARY 2020

North Coast

Barra chaos in creeks BROOME

Troy Honey

What a season it has been so far in Broome, with this year’s wet producing some of the best barramundi fishing in memory.

The local creeks and Fitzroy River have all reaped the benefits of the previous

anglers with healthy catches both in size and numbers.

Land-based and boat anglers alike are doing exceptionally well, which again highlights just how good the stocks are right now.

The developing barramundi fishing in Broome from the rains when partnered with the significantly improved threadfin salmon fishery is

good fish.

The wet season in Broome runs from November through to April, and is also my favourite time to target big queenfish that can be found right around the coastline of Broome and up the Dampier Peninsula. The best time to target queenies is on the tide change when they are often seen chasing baitfish in the

An 84cm Fitzroy River barra will certainly put a smile on anyone’s face.

Local Vaughan Guan has been put to the test with the barra this season, but learning from his mistakes was the key he needed to turn things around and land this beauty of a 98cm barra from the shore in the Fitzroy River. few years of average to good rainfall, allowing the barra to successfully breed and stock the area with big numbers. Those hatchlings have now grown to fish in the 60-90cm range that have been rewarding local and visiting

setting the scene for a great finish to the wet season. You can almost be assured when trolling a lure around Crab, Dampier or Willie creek or anywhere around the fingers in the east of Roebuck Bay that you will hook up on a

shallows or over rocky areas.

I prefer to use hardbody lures or metals with doubles fitted, with both hooks facing up.

This allows the lure to bounce over any ground that would otherwise see the lure snagged up. Big queenies can be found

around Gantheaume Point and the jetty, but my preferred location to fish for them is up at James Price Point an hour either side of high tide. James Price Point has some great ledges to stand and cast from into deep water and anglers only have to stand there for a short time to see them firing past chasing baitfish.

Around James Price Point and further south around the rock wall of Barred Creek, there are plenty of bluebone to be caught, with some well above the 600mm range being reported over the last few weeks. Among the bluebone are trevally, golden snapper, cod and the odd barra.

Boat crews who have

up with you jigging rods in the PE4-PE8 range and berley up over large bommies in the 20m mark. Using micro jigs or unweighted fresh fish fillet baits, it will only be a matter of time before the large brassy trevally begin to attack your rigs. These fish are strong fighters and great fun for the whole family.

Back to the creeks and you will find it hard to escape an argument with anyone in Broome over whether live baits of popeye mullet or lures have been more successful recently. It really does come down to when and where you are fishing, with factors such as light, tide, boat or land-based and water

how they will go about it.

There are two predominate moon phases for targeting barra and they are the lead-up to the full moon and the fall of the new moon period.

The lead-up to the full moon will see larger quantities of bait pushing into systems with the bigger building tides, which can really fire a system up. During this period, night fishing is very productive, as barra are very big nocturnal feeders.

The fall of the new moon is when better captures will come from early mornings and late arvos, as with little moonlight it is harder for the barra to feed at night. Put yourself in the barras mind

From page 64

than drifting with little action if it is too light or not provide the feel if it is too heavy.

Mud crabs are plentiful in Karratha at the moment, with all of the creeks holding goodsized specimens. Red meat baits such as lamb necks have been working best over fish frames or chicken wings for those using drop nets. Start putting your nets out at high tide, as the crabs tend to go on the walk in search for food for the following few hours and then bury themselves again before the low. This is not to say you cannot catch them at low tide, but when fishing the low tide I always prefer to hook for them in the mangrove roots or walk the creek beds for the stragglers.

We are only two months away from the start of the great blue crab run of Karratha. I will touch more on this as we get closer to Easter, as that is the time to start catching size blueys.

Until then, enjoy the barra and threadfin salmon.

Night can be the best time to fish for barra, especially if you are chasing the bigger specimens. Vaughan Guan landed this 94cm fish at night on the Fitzroy River at the start of the wet season.

Fishing for bluebone is all about the tide, not the time.

Learning when they are actively foraging for food will enhance your chances of a land-based trophy fish.

been heading out wide off Broome have reported good catches of longtail tuna while trolling hardbody lures. If you are more inclined to search the reefs for demersals, in February you can expect to see saddletail seaperch, blueline emperor and big golden snapper in the 20-30m zone, with the trophy demersals of red emperor and rankin cod further out in the 40-50m zone, where the water temperature is much cooler.

Still out wide, if you are looking to get into some serious fighting fish then gear

clarity playing a big role.

When everyone is having such a great season the key is if something is not working, change it up. Make one change at a time so you can identify what the factor was, and it is highly recommended to record it so you know for next time. Sometimes it can be as easy as match the baitfish with your lures, with the emphasis on size. If the baitfish are small in the area, use smaller lures and vibes.

A lot of barramundi anglers fish with the moon being the ultimate factor of

and think about how you would go about a feed.

There are endless ways to enjoy a day’s fishing in the last couple of months of the wet season in Broome.

Please remember the nasties such as irukandji and stone fish are well and truly about at this time of year, so always protect yourself from them if you enter their habitat.

Hopefully the season finishes off with some more great rainfall without the cyclones, so the great barra run can continue to be set up for many more years to come.

FEBRUARY 2020

65

Redfin are available while the trout are sulking FRESHWATER

Peter Fragomeni

Extremely hot conditions over spring and early summer has put undue stress on our trout in the northern areas, with even

brown trout, so you would think they would share a similar heat tolerance. Still, some reasonable trout have been caught but have been limited to streams with cold flows out of our irrigation dams or heavily shaded southern streams.

above species into selected inland lakes and dams that are highly modified waters, most teaming with redfin. It’s interesting to note that South Australia and Western Victoria have successfully introduced these natives outside their

Silver perch are super active in the warmer months and are fun on light fly gear.

Trout have been quiet, so it’s hoped a few will survive over these hot summer months. Fish deep and keep moving until you find where they are sitting.

further upstream keeping the temperature down to a comfortable level . This resulted in very clear water, so most of the trout were caught in the deeper areas

low, average size is well up. All the popular lures have worked, but it’s best to mix it up a bit, as what works today may not tomorrow.

A couple of lucky anglers with nice redfin caught at the Harvey Dam leg of the Redfin Bash.

Photo courtesy of Didier Blanquart.

Pemberton suffering with the thermometer hovering in record territory on a number of occasions.

Redfin perch have fared better, with reports of them feeding well in water as warm as 28°C, and shows

AUSSIE NATIVES It’s a different story with the eastern native freshwater species, as they are loving the hot conditions we experience over here in the west, with a number of bass, cod, and silver perch

natural range. We are a few steps closer over, and one day it’s hoped that these species will boost funds to inland towns and add much needed angling species to our waters as is the case in other states.

Redfin are very active all year, as shown here by Eric Kirsch with a couple of thumpers caught spinning.

Drakesbrook Weir Surprisingly, trout were active just prior to Christmas, no doubt due to the large volume of irrigation water coming down from Waroona Dam

in excess of 4m by those in kayaks, although some were also caught from the bank.

A number of nice redfin have come out lately, and although the numbers are

Logue Brook Dam Mid-week is the best time to fish this water, as the ski boats aren’t as active then, but unfortunately the best results have come from those who are able to get

Big redfin are available from the bank if you are prepared to put in the effort. Jonah Chiera managed this beast. why they do so well in Australia as opposed to trout, which perish in those conditions. I find this strange, as they are endemic to Europe just like 66

FEBRUARY 2020

being caught by a dedicated band of keen freshwater anglers. It’s these same anglers that are pushing for a controlled government release of some of the

DAMS Waroona Dam A few redfin were caught over the holiday period by those who braved the crowds.

Cold, clean water in the peak of summer let out of irrigation dams makes ideal trout habitat.

out on the water and fish deep over the old creek bed.

Trout are your only option and you need to fish water in excess of 6m to have a chance at nailing one of

were apprehended with 418 marron in their possession, and according to reports half were undersize. If convicted they could face fines of approximately

wise (as was suggested by some) to keep this sort of stocking a secret until just prior to the opening of the season in future years.

To the fishing and I can

clear some confusion about using motors on this dam, petrol powered boats are only allowed at the ski area and the 5-knot zone outside the ski area. Only electric motors are permitted on all other areas of this dam.

Glen Mervyn Dam There’s been no recent reports, but redfin are always willing to take lures.

Big Brook Dam A few reports have come in from those fly fishing

of them. Just a warning that the rocks are very slippery, so take care by the waters edge.

Blackwood River The Blackwood is very slow at the moment, and no reports have come from this water.

Warren River Some nice redfin are still coming out from the whole system, but I would target the national park area and below.

areas are the best in the warmer months.

Donnelly River I had reports of a few good browns being caught in the low water levels, so this is encouraging to hear. The opposition is still gaining on the Record Brook irrigation scheme, which involves building a small weir on the Donnelly itself and pumping to 15-gig dam on Record Brook.

Some see this as a negative

A nice brown trout caught deep using a sinking fly line. the elusive rainbows. Try sinking fly lines with small flies or soft plastics capable of getting down deep.

Harvey Dam This dam got in the news for all the wrong reasons after a large number of

$40,000. This caused Recfishwest to post a angry response on their Facebook page and I have not seen such a response by them on social media for some time, or possibly ever. It shows how passionate they are

say this dam suffered from the extreme heat we had in the November/December period, so I would consider only targeting redfin, as trout would shut down over this period. This water is an electric motor only dam, as

Kayak anglers getting ready for an early start at Harvey Dam.

Some beautiful sunsets can be witnessed on the inland dams and can be breathtaking on occasions. marron were stocked in December by Fisheries.

It seems that a couple of greedy individuals decided they wanted to be included in all the hype and luckily

about marron and although marron aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, there’s no excuse for such a classic disregard for the law and our public marron stocks. It may be

DAM LEVEL PREDICTIONS FOR FEBRUARY Harvey, Glen Mervyn and Wellington dams are quite low, with levels like this that have not been seen for around seven years. The others are faring well, considering the very hot conditions we are experiencing this summer.

WAROONA DAM 73% DRAKESBROOK WEIR 79% LOGUE BROOK DAM 68% HARVEY DAM 42% WELLINGTON DAM 46% GLEN MERVYN DAM 51% BIG BROOK DAM 88%

is Drakesbrook Weir and a total fire ban is in place for all areas this summer.

Wellington Dam Reports have been slow, but that could be the result of most keeping a tight lip on this water, as some of the biggest redfin come from this water. It can be daunting to fish, as it’s such a big area and not all of the sections hold fish. This is one dam where having a kayak or boat puts you at a big advantage. A good sounder and a electric motor will give you a even bigger advantage, with Potters Gorge or Hamilton River being good starting points. Just a reminder or to

the back of this dam at night. Apparently some nice browns are cruising in close, but only late when most of us are asleep. I love this style of fishing, and for those who have mastered the art of casting in the pitch black without piercing your ear, the rewards can be high on some occasions.

There’s been no reports of redfin, but they are there in good numbers, so any good lure will invite a strike if presented correctly.

RIVERS Most of the rivers are very low if they aren’t being fed by irrigation water.

Murray River A few redfin have been taken around the Dwellingup area, but trout have been hard to find, apart from the usual small ones being caught in Nanga Brook Collie River below Wellington Dam A nice brown was caught here recently on fly, but a lot of legwork was put in for the reward.

Rainbows have been active in the cold water closer to the dam wall, with lures accounting for most

Trout have been hard to locate, but that’s not to say they are not there. One angler reported a 40°C day on a visit back in December on the upper reaches, so the trout were shut down.

Lefroy Brook This is by far the pick of the waters, and trout have come from the whole system, so just move around and approach carefully if you want rewards. Shaded

on the main river ,as winter flows are no longer as reliable as they once were.

For more information, go to ‘Save the Donnelly River’ Facebook page.

Summer is a great time to be inland and swimming in freshwater is a delight, but be careful and watchful for snakes, even at night.

Total fire bans are in place, and please and keep the scene clean.

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING SFT TAKUMI

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SFT is a new tackle brand to hit Australian shores, and the range includes some serious lures for serious offshore anglers.

Anyone who keeps an ear to the ground would have already heard of the SFT Takumi lure last tuna season in South Australia. The Takumi has been the must-have lure to use, with countless fish caught on it.

The Takumi comes in three sizes, 75mm, 95mm and 125mm. It can be trolled or cast, and being a weighted lure it tracks straight and quite fast, allowing it to be trolled at speeds up to 15 knots. Boasting fully wired though construction and Owner trebles straight out the pack, the Takumi also runs well with inline singles for catch and release anglers.

The SFT range also includes lures to suit salmon, kingfish, GTs, mulloway, barramundi, snapper and more. You can check out the range and stockist locations at the SWL Distributions website. You can also follow SFT Australia on Facebook and Instagram. www.swldistributions.com.au

DAIWA LEGALIS RODS

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The new Daiwa Legalis series is light in the hand yet heavy in quality. Featuring advanced design and excellent value for money, this rod series performs well above its price point.

The Legalis’ Braiding X graphite blank, with its robust and rugged construction, boasts superior lightness, sensitivity and responsiveness. The Legalis’ impressive blank is matched by its equally impressive hardware, with stainless steel O ring guides, Daiwa Surround Hold reel seats and a combination of cork and EVA grips providing comfort, control and stylish design and looks.

With a range that includes 16 models (10 spin and six baitcaster), the Legalis series has tapers and designs to suit a variety of angling types, from ultra-light estuary to heavy-duty freshwater and inshore. If you’re in the market for a good quality budget baitcaster, check out the range at your favourite tackle store. www.daiwafishing.com.au

NEW ZMAN COLOURS

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There have been some exciting new ZMan colour additions, including purple death, the Wright stuff and hot craw.

Purple death is making a name for itself in both the fresh and salt, thanks to its UVreactive green belly, translucent purple back and micro glitter that adds a natural scale flash. It is available in both the 3” MinnowZ and 4” DieZel MinnowZ. The Wright stuff colour is named after US angler Jesse ‘Redfish’ Wright, who helped design it. This natural translucent brown colour contains a mix of black, gold and copper fleck, making it dynamite in dirty and tannin-stained water, along with targeting species that reside around muddy and weedy environments. Available in the 3” MinnowZ and 4” DieZel MinnowZ, these two new colours will be on the menu for flathead, barra, jacks, mulloway, bass and more.

The hot craw colour has a dark back over a bright red, with a black and gold glitter.

Hot Craw is an excellent reaction colour, and it stands out from the natural colour range offered in these models. It’s available in both the 2.5” TRD CrawZ and 2.75” TRD BugZ. The 2.5” TRD CrawZ, 2.75” TRD BugZ and 3” MinnowZ have six per pack, while the

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PRODUCT GUIDE 4” DieZel MinnowZ has five per pack.

Price: SRP $11.95 www.z-man.com.au

TICA BRUTE WOLF REEL

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TiCA has released a new large sized spinning reel for the budget conscious angler, and it’s jam-packed with quality features at an affordable price.

The TiCA Brute Wolf features a high tensile strength slim body frame that helps to keep weight down. Other features include a forged aluminium spool, computer-balanced rotor, multi anti-reverse, TiCA’s IOS Intelligent Oscillating System, and four TiCA rust-resistant bearings.

The Brute Wolf also offers a robust 10kg of drag pressure, and comes with an extra large, round EVA power handle for extreme cranking power. The Brute Wolf will retrieve 90cm of line per handle turn on its 4.4:1 ratio, and will hold 320m of 20lb line.

All in all, it’s the perfect entry level reel for the angler wanting a large line capacity while fishing the rocks or surf.

Price: SRP $70 www.jurofishing.com

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TASSIE DEVIL BLADES 5 AND SPOONS The new Tasmanian Devil Blade features a uniquely designed spinner blade which has been created to match the famous Tasmanian Devil lure. The blade provides a distinct, enticing action as it spins through the water.

The Devil Blade range features custom Tasmanian Devil paint designs that have been created specifically for freshwater species.

Devil Blades are available in two sizes, 3.8g and 5.4g, and each lure is equipped with quality terminal tackle and VMC treble hooks.

Another new release is the Devil Spoon, which has the dual attraction of vibration and flash. As the spoon travels through the water it flutters from side to side and emits a vibration that attracts fish, even in cloudy water. The polished underside of the Devil Spoon produces a flash attraction which is particularly effective in clear, running water, and it’s a proven trigger for predatory species. It’s available now in 7.5g and 12.5g sizes. www.jmgillies.com.au

BIWAA BALTIK 7” PADDLE TAIL

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The Baltik Swimbait 7” is one of the newest members of BIWAA’s soft swimbait line-up, and has been designed by one of BIWAA’s most innovative pro staffers, Kevin Hernandez.

The Baltik Swimbait 7” looks as good as it performs, and is great for a wide variety of presentations. It can be fished with great effect at any speed. This big 7” paddle tail is what you need if you are targeting barramundi, mulloway or cod. You can rig it with weighted or unweighted weedless hooks, or use a jighead with a 7/0 hook.

Other features include: durable and long lasting plastic formulation; 3D eyes; photorealistic paint designs; and 3D scales to create an ultra lifelike appearance.

The BIWAA Baltik Swimbait 7” is available in six colours (08 – herring, 19 – aurora gold, 22 – hitch, 008 – pearl white, 303 – pro blue, 305 – lavender) and comes in packs of two.

You can view the full colour range on the EJ Todd website. www.ejtodd.com.au

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

SAMAKI MANGROVE JACK

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The Manic Jack shirt takes red dogs to a new level! Aggressive by nature, this powerhouse of a species pounces at speed, attacking the Samaki Redic lure – and lurking in the background is the school of pups waiting for an opportunity to join in on the feast.

The lightweight fabric is perfect for all outdoor elements, shielding you from the harsh sun with UPF50+ protection. The soft touch 100% polyester material is comfortable on the body, and has the added feature of being breathable, keeping you cool and dry.

Samaki designs are brought to you

by Australian anglers who love to design Australian species. These shirts are available in adult, youth and kids sizes, ranging from size 2 through to a 5XL, allowing the whole family to get in on the action and out onto the water.

You can find more information and stockists on the Samaki website. You can also see the latest releases, catch photos and special promotions on Facebook and Instagram.

Price: SRP $59.95 (adults), SRP $49.95 (kids) www.samaki.com.au

RAPALA X-RAP MAG CAST

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Built heavy and aerodynamic for extreme casting distances, the new Rapala X-Rap Magnum Cast delivers even in the most demanding saltwater fishing conditions.

Heavy-duty construction ensures that the X-Rap Magnum Cast stands up to the strongest of saltwater beasts. Featuring a perfectly balanced swimming action for fast retrieves, it will run straight even with the fastest cast-and-burn presentations. Its fluttering action on the drop also adds lifelike flash.

Other features include: full wire through construction, extreme casting performance, perfect balance, new generation high definition colours, 3D holographic eyes, and durable in-line VMC single hooks. For more information head to the Rapala website, or look them up on Facebook (www.facebook. com/rapala.australia) or Instagram (@ rapalaaustralia). www.rapala.com.au

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SAMAKI TEFLON KNIVES

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Following an extensive design process, Samaki have produced a knife to suit all anglers. This knife fits comfortably in your hand, is built strong with a German stainless steel blade, and is rust resistant with a Teflon coating.

The ultra-sharp German stainless steel blade is of the finest quality, with excellent durability and longevity, and a Teflon coating for rust resistance. The handle has been carefully shaped and moulded to suit a variety of anglers’ hands, fitting comfortably and allowing you to apply pressure when necessary. The two-toned Samaki design allows for a good grip and protection of your hand.

Our sheaths are custom designed from the ground up, and have a sharpener at the tip for that quick touch up, a scoop for innards removal, rear belt clip for fast access and screw holes for attachment to your bait board or chopping board. This sheath has it all!

With two lengths of 6.5” and 7.5”, Samaki offers a fine boning blade, two all-rounder fillet knives, and a super flex fillet.

For more information and stockists, check

out the Samaki website. You can also join them on Instagram and Facebook for updates and catch photos. www.samaki.com.au

ZEREK ICE GIGOLO

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The Ice Gigolo is a classic ice jig that is 40mm long and available in six colours.

Weighing an easy-to-use 10g, the Ice Gigolo is ideal for targeting suspended Australian bass, redfin and trout in our many lakes and reservoirs.

Work it with a subtle hop or with light taps on the rod butt to shake the Gigolo in the fish’s face to ensure solid strikes. With a specifically placed tow point that allows the Ice Gigolo to dart from side to side easily, this lure is fantastic for shut down and hard-totempt fish.

Equipped with two strong single hooks on the ends and a belly treble underneath, hookup rates compare very well with all other ice jigs on the market. Clever anglers adjust this lure’s capabilities by removing the belly treble and placing a sinker on the hanger to give the lure greater depth capabilities without the loss of action. www.wilsonfishing.com.au

LIVETARGET SLOW ROLL SHINER

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The award-winning LiveTarget Slow Roll Shiner features Injected Core Technology (ICT) which produces a lifelike ultra-realistic metallic core with lifelike eyes and scale patterns produces large amounts of flash and providing perfect balance, while the outer Exo-Skin generates a hard-thumping paddle tail action. The result is a perfect looking, shimmering baitfish profile inside a larger, clear paddle-tail soft plastic.

Unlike other soft plastics, the Slow Roll Shiner’s thumping tail creates a whole body rolling action. This subtle and enticing roll is irresistible to a range of species, including bream, bass, flathead and barra. It can be rigged weedless for fishing in snaggy country, and it’s also very effective when rigged on a traditional jighead and retrieved along the bottom.

LiveTarget Slow Roll Shiners are currently available in six colours and three sizes. The 3” and 4” models come in a pack of four, and the 5” version comes in a pack of three. LiveTarget lures are distributed by EJ Todd, and you can check out the full range on their website. www.ejtodd.com.au

DAIWA X TIDE COLLAB

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It’s time to dress to impress with the Daiwa X Tide Collab range. Featuring a more generous sizing than previous collabs, the range ticks the boxes in both looks and comfort and welcomes some new stylings to the popular Daiwa X Tide Collab line-up.

Featuring six pieces in the range, including two short sleeve T-shirt designs (Barramundi and Locked Up designs), Lake design long sleeve tee, and two-toned (black and camo) Nature Boardshorts, the new collab series is Daiwa streetwear with that classic Tide flavour.

On the water the new Nature Jersey and Facemask will have you protected from the elements with their SPF 50+ rating, and the contemporary style will stand out in a crowd on the beach, boat or headland. Look good and stay protected this summer with the Daiwa X Tide Collab summer series. www.daiwafishing.com.au

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au FEBRUARY 2020

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING

PRODUCT GUIDE

JIG STAR SHIMANO BLUE STARWALKER LURES 13 ROMANCE Jig Star evolved after its founder and acclaimed jigging expert Chris Wong in New Zealand had spent many years jigging with some of the world’s most renowned big fish anglers from Japan, USA, Southeast Asia, South Africa and New Zealand. Hundreds of hours were spent testing products.

One of his latest releases is the Starwalker, an inexpensive but productive topwater stickbait that has proven highly effective on yellowtail kingfish, tuna and giant trevally.

Starwalker lures cast like bullets, are perfectly weight balanced, and don’t tumble during casting. These lures feature a hi-tech laser etched holographic finish, and come in eight vibrant natural baitfish finishes.

Starwalker lures are 18cm long and are available in both floating (100g) and sinking (130g) models. Each lure features a wire through body construction for added strength, and stainless steel tow points.

These lures come un-rigged to allow the angler to determine their chosen configuration.

Jig Star recommends using 8/0-9/0 inline hooks, such as Jig Star In-Line Hooks, to ensure a perfect swimming action.

To find out more about the Jig Star range visit the Juro Oz Pro Tackle website. www.jurofishing.com

SHIMANO BRENIOUS 14 JIGS The Brenious NT (bottom style) jigs are an exciting new way to fish soft plastics, introduced to Australia direct from the Japanese domestic market.

This innovative snag resistant jig is designed for bottom style fishing and can be hopped, slow rolled, jigged and dead sticked and consistently accounts for fish in a diverse range of environments. This finesse jig can be used with a variety of plastic styles in the Squidgy Bio family and has proven deadly on a range of Australian species ranging from bream, flathead, snapper, trevally, bass, and yellowbelly.

The Brenious NT jigs are available in three weights (5g, 7g and 10g) and four colours (flash purple, flash green, flash pink and suika red).

Price: SRP $8.95 www.shimanofish.com.au

PRO LURE FISHTAIL

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Designed by Shimano Japan, the new Blue Romance series incorporates the most popular actions from the Australian TK3G series and unique Shimano rod components.

Featuring Shimano’s High Power X graphite blanks, which features 0 and 90° wrapped graphite sheets and spiralled Infinity Tape prevents the rod twisting during the cast and the fight.

A CI4+ reel seat provides weight reduction advantages, EVA grips for functionality and comfort, and Fuji’s classic K aeries Alconite guides throughout.

There’s a choice of spin rods in one and two-piece in a range of line weights, from ultra-light up to heavy-duty. Baitcaster users are well covered also, with a single piece 5’8” and a 6’0” option featuring the same componentry, but with trigger grip reel seats. www.shimanofish.com.au

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PLATYPUS STEALTH 17 FC LEADER Manufactured in Japan to exacting specifications, Platypus Stealth FC is an advanced fluorocarbon leader that offers cutting-edge technology and excellent value for money. With over 120 years of line development and manufacturing in Australia, Platypus has comprehensively tested its fluorocarbon leaders to deliver a world-class product.

This leader has extreme abrasion and impact resistance, excellent knot strength and a refractive index close to that of water, making it virtually invisible underwater. Stealth FC also has a quicker sink rate than mono, making it ideal for maintaining contact with baits and lures when sinking, while not absorbing water and in turn maintaining its strength throughout extended fishing sessions.

An elastic line tamer comes with each spool, protecting and controlling the leader on the spool, while allowing easy dispensing via the eyelet on the line tamer. This avoids the spaghetti mess of leaders without keepers, and the difficulty of locating the end of the leader in hank style, clamshell spools.

Platypus Stealth FC is available in breaking strains from 2lb-50lb, and spool lengths from 50-100m.

Price: SRP $18.95 - $22.95 www.fishplatypus.com.au

RAPALA 15 RIP STOP

Over the past 12 months Pro Lure have been working on some modifications to the popular Fishtail soft bait.

In order to increase the versatility and make the lure easier to rig, several changes have been made. A shallow split belly has been added to aid weedless rigging with worm hooks, and the dorsal fin has been removed, replaced with a shallow groove along the back, making it easier to rig straight and align jigheads, as well as having a protecting channel for weedless worm hook points to sit snugly. The final change is a slight narrowing up front so that standard jigheads will sit cleaner. The addition of a white albino colour to the range and more rigging options will provide more possibilities for the Fishtail.

The Pro Lure Fishtail is available in three sizes, 80mm, 105mm, and 130mm.

Trade enquiries can be directed to sales@ prolureaustralia.com.au. www.prolureaustralia.com.au

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The new Rapala Rip Stop is described as ‘fast ripping – hard stopping’. Its unique boot tail design acts as a break when paused, and when the lure stops it perfectly suspends, triggering the bite.

The one-of-a-kind tail design generates a fast-ripping and flashing swimbait action. The unique body style lessens forward travel after each twitch, delivering an action that is unlike anything the fish have ever seen. Built with a secondary lip towards the rear of the bait, the Rapala RipStop Jerkbait stops on a dime, and produces a subtle shimmy before coming to a rest, then ever-so-slightly lifts its heard with a super-slow rise. You can fish it for a range of species using a variety of techniques, and cast it far with little effort.

This suspending lure is available in two sizes, 9cm (7g, 0.9-1.2m running depth) and 12cm (14g, 1.3-1.6m). There is also a Deep version, which is 12cm long and dives to 1.22.4m. www.rapala.com.au

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Mangrove Outdoors M-Series Coolers – built tough, excellent cooling The 2020 cooler market isn’t quite as crowded as the sublimated fishing shirts scene, but the number of offerings – both good and bad – has certainly grown significantly in the last few years.

When Mangrove Outdoors launched mid-way through last year, this Aussie small business set out to break the mould and offer features you won’t find in most other coolers at a price that’s not going to cost you a second mortgage.

While there are big plans in place to expand the Mangrove Outdoors range, their first offering is fairly simple: three different sized coolers (20L, 45L and 70L) in three colours (Uluru Red, Daintree Camo and Thredbo White).

Accompanying the coolers is a small range of accessories and apparel. Each is well made and features only subtle labelling.

The rubber latches keep a great seal but are easy enough to open that my 9yo daughter, Asha can easily open them.

20L CONSTRUCTION Rotomolded in the same fashion as your kayak might be, the walls of the coolers are made from BPA-free, UV-stabilised material and are smooth and easy clean after a trip. In between those walls is plenty of high-density poly foam insulation to keep your essentials cooler for longer.

From the first time you pick them up you can feel they are built to last, and every cooler has its own unique pattern.

FEATURES It’s clear that plenty of thought and research has been put into configuring each of the current sizes. All come with strong XL-sized hinges which don’t protrude from the main body, have comfortable non-slip handles, and oversized rubber latches that keep a tight seal but are easy enough to use that my 9yo daughter can open them.

Perhaps my favourite feature though is the marine-grade, slip-resistant pad with a pair of cut-outs that fit your stubby perfectly. It also provides extra insulation and makes it comfy to sit on.

The 45L and 70L models come standard with a dry goods basket, drink holder and an acrylic cutting board which also doubles as a divider. This is very handy for keeping your catch separate from your other food and drinks if you decide to keep a couple for the table.

All models feature lockable lids and tiedown loops so you can leave them in the boat or ute tray without having to worry some scumbag will help themselves to your precious cargo.

On the Mangrove Outdoors website there’s a handy guide of just what you’ll fit inside your new icebox, measured by beers + bags of ice. From my own ‘research’ they are accurate, and are as follows:

• 20L: 12 beers + one bag of ice • 45L: 30 beers + three bags of ice • 70L: 60 beers + four bags of ice When you add the storage basket to the larger two models you can also keep those other fishing trip essentials fresh and cool, – i.e. a couple of servo pies, a box of Pizza Shapes and two king-sized Chunky Kit-Kats.

PERFORMANCE So far so good, but what happens when the sun starts to sizzle and you need to keep the T-bones and marlin cans cold?

This is was the most impressive part for me. The M-Series coolers exceeded all my expectations when it came to

Plain old servo party ice was lasting up to three full days in the smaller two coolers, and when I went on a camping trip and took the big rig, I used the supplied info sheet and combined block ice I froze myself with 4L ice-cream containers. I was able to get five days of stable, dependable cooling before heading home for a much-needed shower!

This is with all with very little maintenance from myself as far as opening the bung to drain the excess water. If I was more attentive it would have extended the life of the ice even further, but for the purpose of this review I wanted to just let it do its thing and report back on what you guys can expect as a basemark for performance.

OVERALL To say I’m impressed by the Mangrove Outdoors M-Series would be the understatement of the year. My family spends a lot of time in the outdoors, and being able to keep food fresh and drinks icy-cold away from home makes our lives so much better. For my kids to be able to easily grab themselves a drink or snack without me having to get up again might just be my favourite feature.

With prices ranging from $229-$449 with free shipping available to most areas, Mangrove Outdoors are making it easy for Aussie fishos and families to have a premium quality cooler without the price tag you might see from overseas owned companies.

If you’re tired of poor performance and durability from your current ice-box, jump onto www.mangroveoutdoors.com.au and order one for yourself. - RUPE

45L internal temperatures and how long the ice lasted in the red-hot Queensland summer.

I’ve had all three out and about with me camping, at Christmas BBQs and running around the Gold Coast broadwater islands on a sweltering New Years Day. Each time they stood up to the heat and to my kids constantly opening them, despite growing levels of threats from myself!

70L

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au FEBRUARY 2020

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Boat ramp smiles for miles BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

A boating lifestyle is a great lifestyle. Whether it’s fishing, touring or just ‘taking her for a run’ to ensure that all systems are working, the chance to get on the water in a small boat and start an engine is one of life’s pleasures.

occasionally things aren’t ideal for the launch either.

EARLY STARTS THE NORM Frustratingly, what was so easy a decade ago now tends to be harder, thanks to an increase in boater numbers. As boating has gained more and more popularity, boat ramps don’t seem to have increased in number or size to keep up with this growth. Launching

Makeshift ramps can be tricky. Check to see what depth, slope and mud awaits the boat.

NO NANNY STATE One of the main attractions with boating is of course, the freedom. The Nanny State stops at the ramp and the rules and regulations are quite limited when compared with driving a car.

Navigation rules simply come down to common sense: who wants to run aground?

If everything goes well, you get to the ramp and

can be tricky, especially in areas of dense population.

At this time of year, if you want to beat the crowds on a weekend morning you often have to launch at 3:30-3:45am.

With a lot of boats ready to go at just a few minutes’ notice around the same time of day, things can become a bit hectic. Manners have been left at home, and there can

For skippers who are accustomed to launching under pressure from other boaters waiting their turn, things seldom go pear shaped.

These skippers have a mental checklist to make sure that routine tasks are performed before backing down the ramp. The tie-down straps are off, bungs are in, engine is up, and the shackle connecting the safety chain and boat has been greased recently so it won’t need tools to free it.

KEEP THAT RAMP FRIENDLY For skippers who are new to boating, there are a few pitfalls to consider before putting the trailer wheels in the water. It’s a good idea to have a look at your selected ramp prior to a first launch, to check out its size and slope. And if the ramp is a makeshift job, as we have on some of our unofficial launching areas these days, it will pay to see what your wheels will be going down into. There may be weed or mud, and/or it might be much too shallow.

A ramp’s slope and size dictates how far the trailer may need to go in the water for you to get the boat off. For this reason, you might want to have someone accompany the trailer down the ramp and into the water to provide feedback to the car driver, if possible.

Dropping a trailer off the end of a ramp into deep water and current in the pre-dawn gloom is no way to start the day.

Also, if the ramp has a shallow gradient and/or the tide is low, it might be necessary to physically push the boat off to get it into the drink.

A busy bayside ramp on a Saturday morning. This photo was taken at 6am. then give a small amount of attention to straps, maybe lift the engine a bit higher, and back down the ramp so the boat can be pushed, slid, lowered by winch or driven off the trailer.

Retrieving the boat isn’t always as easy as launching.

Things can change, and I’ll discuss this later. And 72

FEBRUARY 2020

often be tension between ramp users. This is not how things should be and it’s certainly not an enjoyable way to start a day on the water. Try to keep things in perspective and on an even keel. While there might be a bit of a delay in launching it’s not hard to stay out a few minutes longer to make it up.

Once your boat is off the trailer on a narrow ramp, you should shift it so that other boaters can also launch – and this is where things can get tricky. Some ramps cater for this, or at least have a pontoon close by, while other ramps are cramped and tend to make things hard. If there’s nowhere for you to

move your boat out of the way, don’t stress – everyone else just has to sit and wait for a short while until your crew are ready to go. It’s not a good look to see a mum with kids in the boat try to move a fair lump of a craft (while dad is parking the car) because some inconsiderate so-and-so is backing down on her. It’s just not on.

RAMP HAZARDS Fortunately, most marine ramps have stand-by areas at their ends or sides which can usually be reached without getting wet above the knees. However, freshwater ramps can be very difficult, due to a lack of room or localised hazards.

A couple of examples of tricky ramps would be Borumba Dam and Peter Faust’s ramps. Both are very busy on a weekend or Friday afternoon, especially Faust if there’s an upcoming tide

Borumba Dam’s ramp shares a trait with several other freshwater ramps in that slime adorns nasty rocks on the sides. top of this, your team may be tired and irritable thanks to that sparrow chirp start, or just plain cranky because the fishing was poor. Been there, done that!

Crosswinds can also raise their ugly heads on a tidal change to make things hard, which can see the longsuffering partner holding the boat in enough water to get it

A welcome sight: a boat ramp with plenty of slope, ready and waiting for the boat. Just be aware that things may have changed a lot by the time you return. change (this is considered to be a hot barra bite time). Both ramps have nasty slimy rocks beside them, accompanied by a generous coating of slime in the area where the boat leaves the trailer. This situation can make things… interesting. For example, if you’re at Peter Faust and a strong southerly is piping through the surrounding hills, it’s very difficult to hold your boat steady at the end of the ramp. For this reason it’s wise to have a rope handy to let the boat out a tad while the car is being parked.

My advice is that if you’re launching in fresh water in new territory, especially in the dark, avoid moving quickly around the boat. If you do, you may well end up with a wet backside.

RETRIEVAL ISSUES Now that we’ve covered launching the boat, let’s have look at retrieving it.

In the sea, retrieval isn’t always as carefree as the launch, because tide height may have changed a lot, and there’s possibly a fair line up at the ramp, all waiting to get out of the water. On

onto the trailer while the car is being reversed down.

This is a time for patience and good humour. And if things are going pear-shaped for someone else, go and help them if you can. Help is much more effective and appreciated than abuse.

The last thing that should occur is for another boat to be trying to reverse down while a boat is trying to come out. This situation is very

frustrating if you’re flying solo and have to leave the boat at the ramp while you’re getting your car and trailer.

At Borumba Dam one busy afternoon I saw a solo boat owner in his car, lined up, and ready to reverse down. He was faced with letting four other teams launch or retrieve their boats before he was able to complete backing down the ramp to get his tinny out.

Pretty frustrating!

Boating isn’t always easy, but we should all do our utmost to make it what it should be: an enjoyable escape from the day-to-day grind.

FUN TIMES AT FAUST On the topic of fun I’ll share an interesting incident which occurred at Peter Faust’s ramp. With fishing over for the morning I was holding the Galey at the end of the ramp while my wife Denise went up to get the car and trailer.

Low and behold, down backs a ute and jet ski straight onto me. The driver, not acknowledging my presence, almost pushed me right off the ramp as he braked to slide the ski off its trailer.

No sooner had I dodged this missile than I spotted a big brown snake next to me in the water, which had been rudely tipped out of a nice, warm spot in the jet ski.

Not good! I hastily pushed the boat out and scrambled aboard in one movement. The snake must have thought I’d take it for a spin because the cheeky devil tried to get over the transom! The E-Tec was in gear the second it fired.

Life is a bit easier when the ramp has a pontoon beside it.

FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS TYPES OF LURE COLOURS

CAMO

REFLECTIVE

IMITATION

LUMINOUS

NATURAL

HOLOGRAPHIC

FLUORESCENT

FLASH

METALLIC

SHINY

CHROME

BRIGHT

CLEAR

DULL

TRANSLUCENT

ULTRAVIOLET

Name: Address:

P/Code:

The first correct entry at the end of each month will win the prize pack.

SEND ENTRIES TO: WA Find-a-word Competition, PO box 3172, Loganholme Qld 4129

WA FEBRUARY 2020

Phone (day):

GEORGE & NEV by Michael Hardy

Complete the Find the Word and go in the draw to win a Fishing Monthly Prize Pack containing a limited edition neck scarf and a Fishing Monthly environmentally-friendly tote bag.

SPOT THE

10 DIFFERENCES

BARRA COUNTRY by Brett Currie

ORIGINAL

FIND-A-WORD

Congratulations to Charles Warren, 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. – WAFM

SUBSCRIBER PRIZE

The subscriber prize winner for December is R Lambly of Malaga, who won an Alvey prize pack valued at over $300.

All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – WAFM

Baskerville of Glenfield, L Doecke of Byford, J Hislop of Yokime, J Benson of Oakford, D Elkerbout of Dunsborough, K Andrews of Kalgan, G Duncan of Duncraig, B Jacobs of Safety Bay, A Hogan of Parmelia, D Godfrey of Cooloongup, D Myers of Sorrento, C Walker of Canning Vale, D Werder of Dawesville, W Drew of Silversands, G Uren of Ballajura, P

Williams of Brookton, R Crossingham of Secret Harbour, S Szabo of Albany, K Cowton of Mount Helena, D McGillivray of Moora, C Pitt of Yakamia, R Adamczyk of Spalding, P Dunlop of Capel, L Gibbs of Boulder, D Gibb of Huntingdale, A Honey of Oldbury, G Shute of Claremont.

Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – WAFM

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

GUESS THE FISH?

FIND THE ZMAN LOGO

This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Giant Gruoper

The answers to Find the ZMan Logo for December were: 9, 14, 16, 20, 26, 31, 32, 34, 36, 39, 45, 49, 51, 55, 57. – WAFM The Find the ZMan Logo prize winners for December were: S Armstrong of Spearwood, J Curley of Falcon, C Carey of Bentley, G Higgins of Eaton, A Sturcke of Joondalup, P

Answer: FEBRUARY 2020

73

Trades, Services, Charter BAIT & TACKLE METRO Castaway Tackle Malaga (08) 9248 3800 Earlybird Bait Rockingham (08) 9527 3333 Gun-Mart & Tackle Midvale (08) 9274 5699 TackleHQ Kingsley (08) 9309 4200 WA Bait Supply O’Connor (08) 9314 1755 Tackle West Beckenham (08) 9350 6278

EXMOUTH

HOPETOUN – BREMER BAY

Tackle World Exmouth (08) 9949 1315 Exmouth Tackle & Camping Supplies (08) 9949 1179

BUSSELTON 2 Oceans Tackle (08) 9752 4924 Geographe Camping & Tackle World (08) 9754 2909

BOAT HIRE

Anglers Fishing World

(08) 9433 4768 www.anglersfishingworld.com.au Getaway Outdoors Balcatta (08) 9344 7343 Getaway Outdoors Cockburn (08) 9417 4644 Getaway Outdoors Joondalup (08) 9300 1330 Getaway Outdoors Kelmscott (08) 9495 4444 Getaway Outdoors Mandurah (08) 9581 8877 Jet Cycles & Compleat Angler Gosnells (08) 9398 2359 Tackle World & Outdoors Mandurah (08) 9581 6953

Cheynes Beach Caravan Park Cheynes (08) 9846 1247

Achievement Charters Fremantle 0418 655 188 Apache Charters South Fremantle (08) 9339 2432 Black Jack Charters Bandy Creek 0429 106 960 Blue Horizon Fishing Charters Exmouth 08) 9949 1620 Blue Juice Charters (08) 9401 4666 Diversity Bluewater Adventures Exmouth Exmouth 0488 009 989 Duke Charters Condingup (08) 9076 6223 Esperance Diving And Fishing Esperance (08) 9071 5111 Evolution Fishing Charters 0477 901 445 Fly Fishing Frontiers Exmouth 0427 366 142 Great Southern Discovery Albany 0455 105 127 Jazz Charters Fremantle 0433 521 297 Kalbarri land Based fishing Carters 0418930695 Mills Charters Hillarys (08) 9246 5334 Perth Fishing Safaris 0422 686 363 Port Bouvard Charters Wannanup 0477 347 465 Set The Hook Exmouth 0433 049 988 SHIKARI Charters Fremantle 0412 131 958 Spinners Charters Emu Point (08) 9844 1906 Specialist Fishing Charters 0407 259 399

SPECIALIST FISHING CHARTERS FAD’s Squiding and Whiting Crayfish (craypots) and Whiting Deepwater Wrecks / Samson Fish

Tailored Treks - Lancelin 0427 941 126 Top Gun Charters EXMOUTH 0418 925 131 West End Charters Winthrop WA 6150 (08) 9332 4303

ONLINE TACKLE PRODUCTS

Albany Rods & Tackle (08) 9841 1231 Trailblazers Albany (08) 9841 7859

ESPERANCE Esperance Camping & Workwear Esperance (08) 9071 2142 Southern Sports & Tackle (08) 9071 3022 Tatey’s Bait ‘n’ Tackle Castletown (08) 9071 5003

DONGARA & GERALDTON Dongara Sport & Tackle Dongara (08) 9927 1196 Geraldton Sports Centre (08) 9921 3664 Getaway Outdoors Geraldton (08) 9965 3766

CARNARVON Carnarvon Tackle & Marine (08) 9941 4161

KALBARRI Kalbarri Sports & Dive (08) 9937 1126

Lilacs Waterfront villas & cottages Robinson (08) 9841 2390 Two Peoples Caravan Park Kalgan (08) 9846 4024

DENMARK Denmark Rivermouth Caravan Park Denmark (08) 9848 1262 Denmark Waterfront Denmark (08) 9848 1147 Karri Aura Caravan Park & Motel Suites Shadforth (08) 9848 2200

WALPOLE – MANJIMUP – PEMBERTON Big Brook Arboretum Pemberton (08) 9776 1207 Coalmine Beach Holiday Park Walpole (08) 9840 1026 Manjimup Central Caravan Park & Deli Manjimup (08) 9777 2355 Nornalup Riverside Chalets Nornalup (08) 9840 1107 One Tree Bridge Chalets Manjimup (08) 9777 1196 Peaceful Bay Chalets Peaceful Bay (08) 9840 8169 Rest Point Holiday Village Walpole (08) 9840 1032 Riverside Retreat Walpole, (08) 9840 1255 Warren Way Caravan Park Balbarrup (08) 9771 1060

AUGUSTA Flinders Bay Caravan Park Augusta (08) 9780 5636 Hamelin Bay Holiday Park Hamelin Bay (08) 9758 5540 Molloy Caravan Park Kudardup (08) 9758 4515 Sheoak Chalets Augusta Augusta (08) 9758 1958

Gracetown Caravan Park Gracetown (08) 9755 5301 Margaret River Tourist Park (08) 9757 2180 Prevelly Caravan Park Prevelly Park (08) 9757 2374 Riverview Tourist Park Margaret River (08) 9757 2270

Dunsborough Beach Cottages (08) 9756 8885 Yallingup Beach Holiday Park 1800 220 002

Ideal for braids and leaders large and small.

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King River Palms Caravan Park Willyung (08) 98443232

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Emu Beach Chalets Emu Point (08) 9844 8889

MARGARET RIVER

Bookings/Enquiries 0407 259 399

Compleat Angler & Camping World -Rockingham (08) 9528 5255 Port Kennedy Cycles and Fishing (08) 9524 6774 Whitey’s Tackle & Camping Australind (08) 9797 0762

ALBANY

Albany Holiday Units Middleton Beach (08) 9841 7817

Departs Fremantle

Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour Mews Road, Fremantle WA 6160

Wavecrest Village & Tourist Park Hopetoun (08) 9838 3888

Albany Holiday Park Albany (08) 9841 7800

BlueSun2 Boat Charters Ardross 0405 353 353 Boating West O’Connor 0429 887 798 Boat Hire Perth Mindarie 0403 095 868

Demersal / Reef Fish Exclusive Fishing Charter Deep Drop

Hopetoun Caravan Park Hopetoun (08) 9838 3096

Albany Happy Days Caravan Park King River (08) 9844 3267

FISHING GUIDES/CHARTERS

Baitmate-Bricap Wangara (08) 9309 5474 Bluewater Tackle Mindarie (08) 9407 9766 Bluewater Tackle World Joondalup (08) 6244 0344 Bluewater Tackle World Morley (08) 9375 9800 Bluewater Tackle World Myaree (08) 9330 7766 Compleat Angler Nedlands (08) 9389 1337 Dawe’s Bait & Tackle Mandurah (08) 9534 6661 Fishing WA Pro Tackle Wangara (08) 9409 2253 Hillarys Boat & Tackle Hillarys (08) 9401 4331 Sportsmarine Bunbury (08) 9721 4961 Tackle World Miami (08) 9534 5533 Tim’s Tackle Plus Bassendean (08) 6161 0044 Anglers Fishing World South Fremantle (08) 9433 4768

Bremer Bay Beaches Resort & Tourist Park Bremer Bay (08) 9837 4290

www.fgwizz.com.au

BUSSELTON Amblin Holiday Park Busselton (08) 9755 4079 Busselton Beachfron Busselton (08) 9755 2607 Busselton Holiday Village Busselton (08) 9752 4499 Busselton Villas & Caravan Park Busselton (08) 9752 1175 Fourseasons Holiday Park Busselton (08) 9755 4082 Geographe Bay Holiday Park Busselton (08) 9752 4396 Lazy Days Holiday Park Busselton (08) 9752 1780 Sandy Bay Holiday Park Busselton (08) 9752 2003

BUNBURY

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION ESPERANCE Bathers Paradise Caravan Park Esperance (08) 9071 1014 Esperance Chalet Village Bandy Creek (08) 9071 1861 Munglinup Beach Holiday Park Munglinup (08) 9075 1155 Ocean Beach Holiday Units Esperance (08) 9071 5942 Pine Grove Holiday Park Esperance (08) 9071 4100 Pink Lake Tourist Park Nulsen (08) 9071 2424

Binningup Beach Caravan Park Bunbury (08) 9720 1057 Brunswick Junction Caravan Park Bunbury (08) 9726 1544 Bunbury Glade Caravan Park Bunbury 1800 113 800 Discovery Parks - Bunbury (08) 9795 7100 Riverside Cabin Park Bunbury (08) 9725 1234 Taralea Farm Bunbury (08) 9728 1252 Waterloo Village Caravan Park Bunbury (08) 9725 4434

This section in WA 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.

74

FEBRUARY 2020

Boats & Guided Fishing Tours Directory MANDURAH Belvedere Caravan Park Mandurah (08) 9535 1213 Estuary Hideaway Holiday Park 0407 838 061 Footprints Preston Beach (08) 9739 1111 Lake Clifton Caravan Park (08) 9739 1255 Lake Navarino Holiday Park (08) 9733 3000 Mandurah Ocean Marina Chalets (08) 9535 8173 Miami Holiday Park (08) 9534 2127 Peel Caravan Park (08) 9535 4343 Pinjarra Caravan Park Mandurah (08) 9531 1374 Pinjarrah Holiday Park (08) 9531 1604 The Dwellingup Chalet and Caravan Park (08) 9538 1157 Timber Top Caravan Park (08) 9535 1292 Waroona Caravan Village (08) 9733 1518 Waters Edge Caravan Park 0427 281 622

MOORE RIVER – LANCELIN – CERVANTES Branchys Holiday Homes Guilderton (08) 9577 1321 Experience Lancelin Holiday Park (08) 9655 1056 Guilderton Caravan Park (08) 9577 1021

JURIEN BAY – GREEN HEAD – LEEMAN Green Head Caravan Park Green Head (08) 9953 1131 Jurien Bay Tourist Park Jurien Bay (08) 9652 1595 Leeman Caravan Park Leeman (08) 9953 1080

DONGARA – GERALDTON Batavia Coast Caravan Park (08) 9938 1222 Double Beach Caravan Park (08) 9921 5845 Horrocks Beach Caravan Park (08) 9934 3039 Leander Reef Holiday Park Port Denison (08) 9927 1840 Port Denison Holiday Units (08) 9927 1104 Seaspray Beach Holiday Park Dongara (08) 9927 1165

KALBARRI Kalbarri Anchorage Caravan Park Kalbarri (08) 9937 1181 Kalbarri Beach Bungalows A & B Kalbarri (08) 9937 0400 Kalbarri Blue Ocean Villas Kalbarri (08) 9937 2442 Murchison caravan park Kalbarri (08) 9937 0400 Murchison House Station Kalbarri (08) 9937 1998 Murchison River Caravan Park Kalbarri (08) 9937 1005

SHARK BAY Bay Lodge Denham Shark Bay WA (08) 9948 1278 Denham Seaside Caravan Park, (08) 9948 1242 Oceanside Village Denham Shark Bay (08) 9948 3003 RAC Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort (08) 9948 1320 Shark Bay Caravan Park (08) 9948 1387

CARNARVON Capricorn Holiday Park (08) 9941 8153 Carnarvon Caravan Park (08) 9941 8101 Coral Coast Tourist Park (08) 9941 1438 Norwesta Lifestyle Park (08) 9941 1277 Outback Oasis Caravan Park (08) 9941 1439 Wintersun Caravan and Tourist Park (08) 9941 8150

CORAL BAY Bayview Coral Bay (08) 9385 6655 Ningaloo Club (08) 9948 5100 Ningaloo Reef Resort (08) 9942 5934 Peoples Park (08) 9942 5933

EXMOUTH Exmouth Escape Resort (08) 9949 4800 Mantarays Ningaloo Beach Resort, Exmouth (08) 9949 0000 Ningaloo Caravan and Holiday Resort (08) 9949 2377 Ningaloo Lighthouse Holiday Park (08) 9949 1478 Yardie Homestead Caravan Park (08) 9949 1389

ONSLOW Discovery Parks - Onslow (08) 9184 6007 Ocean View Caravan Park (08) 9184 6053

DAMPIER Aspen Karratha Village Baynton (08) 9185 2726 Dampier Transit Caravan Park (08) 9183 1109 Discovery Parks - Balmoral, Karratha (08) 9185 3628 Discovery Parks - Pilbara, Karratha (08) 9185 1855 Karratha Apartments Karratha (08) 9143 9222 Karratha Caravan Park (08) 9185 1012 Karratha Village Karratha 1300 321 669 Searipple Village Karratha Bulgarra (08) 9158 7400

PORT HEDLAND Blackrock Tourist Park South Hedland (08) 9172 3444 Discovery Parks Port Hedland (08) 9173 1271 Landing Resort Port Hedland (08) 9172 4111 Port Tourist Park Port Hedland (08) 9172 4111

BROOME Broome Caravan Park (08) 9192 1776 Broome Vacation Village Caravan Park Broome (08) 9192 1057 Cable Beach Caravan Park Broome (08) 9192 2066 Discovery Parks - Broome (08) 9192 1366 Tarangau Caravan Park Broome (08) 9193 5084

WELDING & MANUFACTURING CSD Designs Bayswater 0407 772 010

BOATS Aquasports Marine Midvale (08) 9250 3339 Midway Marine (08) 9527 6963Bluewater Marine (08) 9791 1499

650HTF

DERBY

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Kimberley Entrance Caravan Park (08) 9193 1055 West Kimberley Lodge & Caravan Park (08) 9191 1031

KUNUNURRA Discovery Parks - Lake Kununurra (08) 9168 1031 El Questro Wilderness Park 1800 837 168 Hidden Valley Caravan Park (08) 9168 1790 Ivanhoe Village Caravan Resort (08) 9169 1995 Kona Lakeside Caravan Park (08) 9161 1139 Kununurra Lakeside Resort (08) 9169 1092 Lake Argyle Caravan Park (08) 9168 7777 Lake Argyle Resort (08) 9168 7777 Town Caravan Park (08) 9168 1763 Wyndham Caravan Park (08) 9161 1064

MARINE MECHANICS Bay Marine Maintenance Crawley (08) 9386 7059 Boat Fix Balcatta (08) 9240 8778 Boat Lifters Blue HQ Perth (08) 9239 9333 Bravo Marine Services Bayswater (08) 9272 9300 Bravo Marine Services Bayswater (08) 9272 9300 Chandlers Marine Service Wangara (08) 9303 9366 Falcon Services Australia Midvale 0458 852 591 GP Marine Cockburn Central 0408 913 104 GP Marine Cockburn Central 0408 913 104 Hitech Marine Wangara (08) 9309 2888 Mandurah Outboards, Mandurah (08) 9581 7224 Matich Marine East Fremantle (08) 9339 7722 Mobile Marine WA Osborne Park 0428 225 877 Parker Marine Fremantle (08) 9336 6979 Parker Marine Fremantle (08) 9336 6979 Perth Boat Mechanics Huntingdale 0405 593 786 Platinum Boating Maintenance Wangara 0402 477 656 Pleisure Marine Maintenance O’Connor (08) 9337 9569 Seapower Australia Pty Ltd (08) 9335 9777 Seasport Marine Kelmscott (08) 9498 1799 The Boat Business Henderson (08) 9437 5144 Total Marine Repairs Mandurah (08) 9582 7211 West Coast Boat Works Perth Landsdale 0439 969 459 Westmarine Boating Services Fremantle WA 0425 177 700

MARINE ACCESSORIES All Boats and Caravans Kingsley (08) 9309 4200 Challenge Batteries Osborne Park (08) 9446 6122 Crackpots Marine Supplies O’Connor (08) 9337 2211 JPW Marine Wholesale Distributors Perth (08) 6253 3000 Offshore Marine Guildford (08) 6278 1299 Searano Marine Malaga (08) 9248 2242 Whitworths Marine & Leisure - Leerderville (08) 9381 1442 Whitworths Marine & Leisure - Mosman Park (08) 9385 5877

18 HAWKINS ST, EAST BUNBURY, WA 6230

(08)

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Cutting Edge Marine Trimming O’Connor 0432 062 834 Exclusive Marine Trimming & Upholstery O’Connor (08) 9314 6882 G.K. Trimmers Canning Vale (08) 9455 7144 John’s mobile trimmers Jandakot (08) 9417 4414 John’s Motor Trimmers Auto & Marine Upholstery Welshpool (08) 9470 5531 Mandurah Motor Trimmers Greenfields (08) 9581 8180 Mason Marine Trimmers O’Connor 0418 923 787 McCarroll Motor & Marine Trimmers Osborne Park (08) 9244 1449 Prestige Marine Trimmers Perth (08) 9303 9536 The Trim Shop (08) 9430 5332 Universal Marine & Automotive Upholstery O’Connor 08) 9314 1770 Waters Edge Marine Trimmers Leeming 0412 204 085

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Advertisers wanting to be involved in this directory can call 0417 901 301 or email nick@fishingmonthly.com.au FEBRUARY 2020

75

WHAT’S NEW BOATING POWERWINCH 912 TRAILER WINCH

1

The affordable Powerwinch 912 electric trailer winch is designed for power-in and free-wheeling out.

Features include an efficient gear train system for smoother pulling action and less amperage draw, a level wind system that prevents snarls and cable wear, aircraft-quality cable fitted with safety hooks, and a super-tough, ABS weatherresistant housing. This winch suits boats from 7-9m L.O.A. The maximum single line pulling capacity is 1587kg, the maximum double line pulling capacity is 2721kg, and the maximum approx. boat weight is 4535kg.

The Powerwinch 912 is supplied with a simple-to-install wiring harness that can be hooked up to any 12V auto or truck battery in minutes. www.powerwinch.com

RAILBLAZA RODSTOW

2

The RodStow rod holder system is a vertical fishing rod storage rack and caddy for boats. RodStow rod racks will hold your rods above deck, safely and securely, until you’re ready to fish.

These rod holders have a removable gimbal pin that you can leave in to support the rod and stop rotation, or remove to let the rod pass through. RodStow is a modular system, so if you buy more you can add them together to make longer rod racks. If you buy a Double or Triple kit you can easily join the components together with the provided stainless steel fasteners, and install it in minutes. The attached storage caddy holds lures, leader and other tackle, and it’s even big enough to hold a small tackle box. The Double kit has one caddy, and the Triple kit has two.

Offset mounting is possible, preventing large reels from hitting each other.

The vertical RodStow rod rack is suitable for most rods and reels, including spinning, baitcast and game reels, and any length of rod. It’s made from UV Stabilised, fibreglass reinforced engineering polymers, and comes in black or white.

Price: SRP $49.99 (Double model with caddy) www.railblaza.com

FUSION MS-RA210 STEREO

3

Fusion has launched the successor to the highly popular MS-RA205: the MSRA210. Packed with Fusion Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology, it delivers an exceptional audio experience in a compact form.

The MS-RA210 features a 2.7” optically bonded colour LCD display, built-in Class-D amplifier, Multi-Zone technology in two zones, and Fusion-Link integration. The brilliant, fullcolour LCD display offers colourful album art with information such as the artist, album and track title. Meeting both IPX6 and IPX7 international standards for water resistance from the front panel, the MS-RA210 is built to last in the harsh marine environment.

Fusion’s DSP technology delivers premium audio to all speakers, subwoofers and amplifiers. Every step of the audio chain is optimised to deliver a technically superior listening experience, without the need for boat owners to have a technical understanding.

Setting up DSP profiles is simple with the free Fusion-Link app. With just a few clicks, you can set up the preconfigured DSP profile to play high-quality audio, customised for your ears and the environment. Precisely calculated loudness curves are optimized to ensure quality audio delivered at every volume level. www.fusionentertainment.com

VESPER CORTEX

PRODUCT GUIDE

4

The Cortex from Vesper Marine is the world’s first radio with wireless touchscreen handsets, built-in Class B SOTDMA smartAIS transponder and remote vessel monitoring.

Cortex alerts boaters of collision risks, providing information about the potential threat and making it easy to communicate with them.

The touchscreen handset makes typically complicated functions easy to use. For example, touching a vessel onscreen and pressing ‘call’ makes a direct DSC call. Cortex continuously shows crossing situations, navigation light sectors and even allows trial manoeuvres while a boater talks on the VHF radio. A 10W speaker output enables louder audio and alerting even while handsets are turned off. Cortex includes dual-watch, favourite channels and onehanded operation. Pressing the man overboard button activates a track back mode on all handsets and marks the waypoint on NMEA 2000 connected MFDs. Cortex combines data such as wind speed, GPS and AIS to prioritise alerts, such as potential collision or anchor drag or MOB. For the full list of features visit the Vesper website. www.vespermarine.com

STAR BRITE HULL CLEANER

2

5

Star brite Hull Cleaner gel formula sticks where it’s applied, to maximise cling time and cleaning power.

This product completely covers stains to penetrate and dissolve them. It’s specifically formulated to remove the toughest stains, including rust, dried fish blood and leaf stains.

It works on all fiberglass and painted surfaces and is ideal for vertical surfaces.

This product does not contain harmful acids, and it’s safe and easy to use. You just spray it onto the surface being cleaned (rubber gloves are recommended), let it remain on the surface until the stain disappears, then rinse thoroughly with fresh water. Stubborn stains or spots may require a repeated application with longer soak time and gentle scrubbing.

Price: SRP $35 www.starbrite.com

YELLOWFIN PLATE CC

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All models in Yellowfin’s updated Centre Console series come standard with Yellowfin Plate’s Spartan Console. This rugged, wide console has plenty of room for electronics and grab rails. For additional cover, a Dolphin Pro T-Top can be installed.

The biggest of Yellowfin Centre Consoles (7000 and 7600) can be optioned up to the Mega Console. This aluminium folding console is 220cm high with six rod holders, space for a 16” sounder and room for a radio or other accessories in the top.

Standard fishing include 6-side deck rod holders, a live bait tank and self-draining deck.

The Platinum Pack includes a bow mount plate, removable bait board, deck wash and more.

To get up to the 520mm high raised casting platform, there are steps on either side of the boat with a space in the middle so you can fish at sea level or raised up. Inside the casting platform is a large hatch that can fit a big icebox. he strike chair in the Centre Console is wide enough for two passengers and can quickly be reversed with two release pins. Yellowfin Plate owners can be driving one minute and fishing the next, and the Offshore HD Hull will keep drivers stable and dry. www.yellowfinplateboats.com.au

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

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Anglapro Core CSR444 with Suzuki 50hp 4-stroke - SC

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Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

Sometimes it seems overwhelming to make the step from your first boat to a bigger, more comfortable boat that expands your range, safety and fishing options.

There are literally dozens of options in this class of aluminium boat in Australia. Considering that a really basic tinny will cost you around $10,000, the guys at North Coast Boating Centre in Coffs Harbour have set up this Anglapro Core444CSR for on-water testing. And it’s come in, as tested and drive away, from under $20,000.

So what do you get for double your money?

Basically, you get a painted, carpeted, more stable and capable boat with boarding steps, storage and the potential to trick it up into a real fishing machine.

Let’s look at the details.

The 4.5m hull has a 2.11m beam, which makes this rig very wide for its length. It means that you’ll find stability to be no problems compared with a 3.7m v-nosed tinny.

PERFORMANCE RPM.... SPEED.km/h 1000 ....................... 3 2000 ....................... 5 3000 ....................... 8 4000 ..................... 24 5000 ..................... 36 6000 ..................... 52 78

FEBRUARY 2020

Main: Open tinnies with smooth sides are increasingly popular on the water. The Anglapro Core CSR444 paired with the Suzuki 50hp tiller is a great rig for under $20,000. It’s at home on open water on calm days, and it can sneak up a shallow estuary with ease.

Above: Headed out from Coffs Harbour, the Anglapro was noticeably light in the bow. This can easily happen on a boat test where there’s no electric motor, batteries or fishing tackle onboard.

The Core444CSR has 3mm bottom sheet and 3mm side sheets with plenty of internal ribs to support the smooth plate gunwales.

Traditionally, strength used to be added with clinkered sides, but more and more aluminium boats feature the smooth sided finish nowadays.

Before painting, this rig has the floor frames welded in, an optional bow-mounted electric motor bracket and the rear boarding step and rails attached, as well as a couple of internal side pockets.

After being sprayed (this one was

white), the carpeted floors are fitted.

Finally, the team from NCBC drop it on a single axle, Australian-made trailer (which you can pull around with virtually any car on the road today) and bolt on the 50hp tiller steer Suzuki outboard, which is fuelled by the remote fuel tank that’s kept out of sight under the rear hatch.

Registered and out the door, that’s $20,000. You’ll need to add your own fish finders and electric motor.

From a fishing point of view, this is an inshore boat that you can take outside on

calm days. We took it for a spin off Coffs Harbour on a calm day with a few lumps left over from some wind elsewhere. You can watch it in action in the video version of this boat test on the Fishing Monthly Magazines YouTube channel (or by scanning the QR code on this page on your smartphone).

Although there was no fuel metering equipment fitted on the boat, we did get a feel for it in a cruise up along the coast. At wide open throttle (WOT) we hit a top speed of just over 50km/h at 6,000rpm. The optimum cruising speed was between 4,000 and 5,000rpm, and we infer well over 50km of range from the remote tank.

These boats need a little weight up front to balance the ride and help the rig out of the hole. With all of the weight (battery, fuel, motor and two people) down the

SPECIFICATIONS Length................. 4.5m Beam................. 2.11m Depth .................. 1.1m Bottom ................ 3mm Sides ................... 3mm Capacity ..... 4 persons Hull.weight (basic) ................ 250kg back, it took a little effort to get this boat up on the plane, but once you add an electric motor and some of your gear, it will level out nicely.

I would also add a couple of seat bases a little further forward. These can help you balance the load, and they also hold the seats when you’re anchored up and drowning some baits.

For more information about the Core CSR444 and to check out the rest of the Anglapro range of boats, go to www.anglapro.com.au.

At rest, the Core is stable and roomy. There’s plenty of room for you and a couple of mates to wet a line.

Using a Suzuki with a 20” shaft, there’s a fair difference between the top of the transom and the outboard mounts. Inflow is caught and channeled away by a channeled engine well.

The step and grab rail is standard on this Core model.

The electric motor mount is optional but a necessity on a boat of this size.

The cranking battery sits inside this rear, starboard side hatch.

There are a couple of rear seat mounts, however a port mount a little further forward would allow for a variety of configurations.

Check out this for a mountain of deck space. The semi-raised front deck is a great compromise for a boat that may spend equal times in calm and open waters.

Like all boats with casting decks, the Anglapro gains plenty of underfloor storage space.

The Core comes with a built in anchor well, allowing anchoring as well as electric motor options.

You’ll see plenty of ribs in the smooth sided design.

There are two long side pockets that will hold all of your gear that needs to be readily accessed.

The Core runs a remote, 25L fuel tank. It’s tucked neatly away under the starboard rear hatch.

The step up onto the front deck isn’t too high and gives you the height you need to see into the water.

FEBRUARY 2020

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World Class Engines, World Class Support.

All recreational Mercury Outboard models from the 2.5 to 400hp range now come with 6 years of warranty coverage.

A comprehensive warranty that’s supported by the strength and service expertise of one of the largest dealer networks in the country. Simply have your engine serviced at an Authorised Service Centre at the recommended servicing intervals and you’re covered by an additional 3-year factory backed warranty on top of the first 3 years.

That’s a full 6 years of non-declining warranty coverage. *Terms and conditions apply for full warranty information visit mercurymarine.com.au.

mercurymarine.com.au