Western Australia Fishing Monthly January 2019

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One month of marron mayhem • Beach launching guide

January, 2019 ISSN: 2209-3354

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January 2019, Vol. 1 No. 5

Contents 8

METRO Perth metro

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Cockburn Sound

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Swan & Canning Rivers

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Metro Offshore

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SOUTH COAST Esperance 20 Bremer Bay

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Albany 24 WEST COAST Augusta 25 Busselton 28 Bunbury 28 Mandurah 30 Lancelin 32 Jurien Bay

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Geraldton 34 Kalbarri 35 GASCOYNE COAST Carnarvon 37 Shark Bay

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From the Editor’s Desk...

Well here we are in 2019 already! I hope all of you had a very safe and fishy Christmas break, and if you didn’t, hopefully you will be getting amongst it soon.

So, five issues in and WA Fishing Monthly is selling better than we could have ever anticipated, on the isubscribe.com.au website under the Fishing and Boating section we are now ranked number 5! Top 1, 2 and 3 are our sister publications over in the east. Achieving the top 5 has been a great milestone, and we will wait and see if we can make it a Fishing Monthly Group top 4 in the near future. If the support keeps growing like it has been, it will not take long.

If you are reading this and it is your first issue from a Christmas gift or you have not seen the mag

before, you can also catch up on old issues for free by getting onto the Issuu. com website. Look up Fishing Monthly and click

mags for free to check out the articles, techniques and what is going on over on the eastern seaboard. You might just pick up a few tricks

on the issues with no prices against them, and they are free to read. Likewise, if you cannot read enough about fishing you can also check out the east coast

and tips for catching your favourite species!

If you really love your fishing and have some skills and photos you would like to share, be sure to get in

Happy New Year 2019

Ian Sewell touch with me about how we can get your article published and give you some spare fishing tackle money at the same time! I am always keen for more land-based content, but am happy to look at whatever ideas you have. The hardest part is actually getting in touch, after that you will find the process very easy.

Likewise, if you have a boat ramp in your town and we do not have a fishing report on your area and you would like to be a part of action, get in touch and find out how easy it is!

As with every issue, we have some cool prizes to give away, and this month we have 40 packs of hooks and you also go into the draw for the major prizes drawn at the end of April, so check out page 21 for more info and get those entries in and good luck!

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Exmouth 38 NORTH COAST Port Hedland

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Broome 40

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Dam Levels

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Recfishwest 44 Tournament News

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Trade and Services Guide

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What’s new fishing

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What’s new boating

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Beach launching tips and tricks

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One month of marron mayhem

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One month of marron mayhem METRO

Kurt Blanksby

There is something so exciting about shining the torch light into the shallows just after dark every January when the marron season starts. Seeing those big black freshwater crayfish materialising out of nowhere to feed on the baits in only inches of water is totally captivating, and catching them becomes your soul purpose and nothing else can draw your focus away from attempting to do so.

gear, traps and fishing out of season. It makes me wonder how it all goes unnoticed.

Sure there was several high profile prosecutions

by Fisheries over the years of people caught doing the wrong thing, but these are few and far between.

Even seeing Fisheries Officers patrolling would be a better deterrent to those planning to do the wrong thing, so I would dearly love to see a couple of the guys drop by and check licences, gear and have a friendly chat to all of us participating in the season. I know they are stretched to the limit

These Harvey Dam monsters were caught by snaring the night before.

HISTORY For thirty years now I have participated in marron season every summer and have seen what I consider the best years and the worst.

The season was closed for several years at one stage to allow stocks to recover and although I consider stocks to be OK, the illegal poaching and fishing methods has certainly taken its toll on our once trophy water – Harvey Dam. For the last 20 years I have never seen a Fisheries Officer while marroning, but I have personally witnessed so many illegal activities and seen blatant use of illegal

and they do participate in surveillance activities, but this is not enough to keep the majority of wrong doers from pilfering a very delicate fishery.

MEET THE MARRON Aright, enough of me getting on my high horse, let’s get back to the basic nuts and bolts when it comes to catching these freshwater beasts. Marron are our third largest freshwater crayfish and are endemic to Western Australia, however they have been translocated through most of the south west and reach up as far as the Hutt River near Northampton.

A limited season of a month each January and strict size and bag limits apply, and you must buy a licence to fish for them. Make sure you check out the legalities online and buy a licence before you head out. Of all the methods, I prefer the pole snare technique, which is by far one of the most enjoyable and is highly effective once you hone your skills.

WHERE Marron can be caught from many irrigation dams, rivers and streams, however I prefer the big irrigation dams that are open to fishing, namely Harvey Dam. This particular water is classed as a trophy water so it is snare only and has a larger minimum size of 90mm carapace length.

That is from the tip of its longest point on the nose to the part where it joins the articulated tail. Having seen and caught marron up to 150mm carapace length in the past, you can see that their potential to grow to a bragging size is there. A bag limit of five marron per fisher per day (12 noon to 12 noon) applies to this water, but trust me, five marron of legal size are pretty big, so this is a fair bag limit.

Other trophy waters are Waroona Dam and the Hutt River, where these regulations apply, but for any other open water the bag limit is eight marron per day and a carapace measurement of 80mm. Proper wire based marron drop nets and wire scoop nets are allowed to be used in some waters, but again check the regulations online before you head out.

I like to get to my chosen location early in the day, the main reason for this is to secure a spot for the nights marroning, as it is a very popular past time and pushing in on someone else’s area is not going to be greeted well. Once I am set up I mark out a section of bank, being mindful that space is limited and not taking too much ground that

Marron season is popular, and you need to get a spot early. Pick a nice gravel bank that is sheltered from the wind.

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JANUARY 2019

would prevent others from finding a spot. I check out the water depth, the slope of bank and clarity of the water, as once darkness falls I want a steadily sloping bank adjacent to deeper water where the biggest marron will move in from.

If possible I prefer a gravel or sand section over mud, and although this is not always possible when the shallows become stirred up and silted, your visibility will be extremely limited.

Try to pick a section of water that is on the sheltered side of the wind, noting that late in the day the sea breeze might prevent you from seeing into the choppy shallows. The same goes if the easterly wind kicks in too early after dark. Your once calm sheltered location will turn into a soupy mess, preventing you from seeing, let alone catching any marron.

BAITING UP

Bait is easy.

Commercially made chicken laying pellets bought from any stockfeed supplier is clean and effective. I usually purchase a 30kg bag, which will allow me to bait up

Chicken laying pellets make ideal bait. There is no smell or mess and the marron love them. making their escape easier and you will muddy up the shallows wading out to try and catch them. You’re much better off keeping your feet out of the water and bringing the marron in to you.

The next mistake is people using a snare that is not long enough. I have made my snares out of old

some practice it is very easy and highly effective, great fun and without doubt the best way to catch these creatures. Once snared the marron needs to be carefully removed from the snare, all the time avoiding their powerful claws that will deliver a painful nip. They should then be measured

This is the correct position to put the snare behind a marron. Once you get the snare wire over the tail, wait until it is near the body before you lift it quickly to tighten the loop and lift the marron from the water. on several trips during the season. Marron love these pellets and they also have the added advantage of being white, so when a cupful is places in the shallows any feeding black marron will contrast against the white of the pellets making them easy to spot and snare.

SNARING THE PREY A big mistake I see so many people making is putting their baits out too far from shore. You only need to put them no further than 60cm (2ft) from the shore, as marron will venture right up to feed. If you put them further out you will then have the marron in deeper water

3m fishing rods with a 90° bit of plastic tube coming off the end. This short dogleg at the end of the snare pole has the thin white plastic coated electrical wire running through it and is tied off on the tip of the rod. With a self-tightening loop on the business end this allows me to drop the snare over the back of the marron and gently move it up over the tail to where the carapace joins. Once in place a quick lift upwards tightens the snare around the marron and it can be easily lifted from the water and up onto dry land.

It sounds tricky, but with

to make sure it is of legal size. If it’s too small it must be put back into the water immediately, and if it’s legal size it can be put into a damp hessian bag where it will stay cool and calm while you continue marroning along the bank.

Your baits should be placed every 10m or so along the bank in the stretch of water you are marroning, and by quietly moving along and shining a torch on and around each bait you should spot any marron moving in or feeding. If they are too deep and not quite on the bait, turn your torch off and wait, usually they will keep

walking into the shallows to feed. Trying to snare a marron in deeper water can mean you will only get one shot at it and if you miss it will dart backwards into the safety of deeper water.

If you let it come in and start feeding you will have a better chance and numerous chances of getting the snare

around its tail.

If you work with a partner it can pay off. As one of you positions your snare behind the marron, the other can gently touch it on the nose to make it move backwards into the other snare. By using teamwork you can take turns at snaring marron until your bag limit

overnight. If kept moist and cool they will live for a day in this way, so it is important not to subject them to heat or direct sun, and the same goes for keeping them in a bucket of water, which will eventually run out of dissolved oxygen and the marron will die.

When I get home I put the wet hessian sack in the chiller section at the bottom of the fridge for a few hours to slow the marrons

I prefer to half the tails and cook them on a BBQ plate with lots of butter and a hint of garlic and salt. Claws can be cooked the same way and have a different taste and texture to the tail meat.

Marroning is a very enjoyable and rewarding experience for adults and kids alike, and it is purely a West Australian activity that is eagerly looked forward to each year. It combines the great

A good catch of marron by a couple of ‘marroners’ in an evening.

A damp hessian sack is the best way to keep your marron alive and quiet while trying to snare more.

is reached. Although it is tempting, don’t try and snare a marron by its claw. If you are successful in tightening the loop often the marron will shed the claw as you try and lift it from the water.

Only go for the tail and be patient; the higher up the body you move your snare the less chance of the marron slipping out of it. Trying to lift the snare too soon before the whole tail is through the snare loop will usually result in you not being successful, as the snare needs the weight of the marron to tighten, and just the tip of the tail will only lift the animal up and the loop will slip free.

Usually I find the first walk or two after dark the

best, as this is when most marron have eagerly made their way into the shallows for a feed. Numbers will generally taper off for the next few walks, as spooked or fed marron will retreat to the cooler, deeper water again. Then a second run will start when often the biggest most cautious marron will make their way into the shallows, so a long late night marroning can be the norm.

CARING FOR YOUR CATCH You will either reach your bag limit or eventually tire and head for bed, and at this stage the live marron can be kept together in the wet hessian sack and put in an esky to stop them escaping

A delicacy on the plate, marron make fantastic eating. metabolism down, then when ready to cook I take them out and drive a knife between the eyes to humanely kill them before cleaning them down for cooking.

Most people boil marron whole, and although this method is still very effective,

outdoors with the thrill of catching a feed on a warm summers night. Please be responsible and do the right thing if you plan to give it a go. If you do, you will no doubt have plenty of laughs and build great memories of going marroning!

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9

Beach launching tips and tricks LANCELIN

Peter Fullarton

I have spent many years as a commercial fisherman in a state-wide fishery operating and launching small boats up to 7m from many beaches around the state of Western Australia.

Nowadays, I reside in Lancelin. As a recreational fisher, I see a lot of visitors

effects how much wave energy there is over the outer reef and to the beach. This is something to consider if leaving on a low tide in the morning, as when you return later there may be a lot more swell surge at the beach at a higher tide and a strong sea breeze.

In more northern parts of our state, the large tides up to 10m can create further problems. You need to be

flies is never a fun thing to do. Remember, if the tides are going to be coming in while you are out fishing, park your trailer at the top of the beach above the high water line.

THE RIGHT VEHICLE Before beach launching and retrieving, always have the car engaged in 4WD. It may be too late to use 4WD once you spin the wheels in 2WD and start to dig in. If you spin your tyres

Even on a calm day you can get stuck. This group backed the 4WD into the sea and then took a long time to retrieve the boat, getting bogged on exit. who are used to launching on concrete boat ramps getting into all sorts of trouble while launching off the unfamiliar beach.

A few simple things to keep in mind may help you to prevent getting bogged in the ocean and a car full of sea water.

CONDITIONS The first thing to consider will be the tide and conditions. In Lancelin, and many other locations, the height of the tide greatly

totally aware how much water will be at the launching site when you return to the beach. Karratha back beach boat ramp is a classic example, where you have a nice concrete boat ramp, but once the tide is out, it can be more than a km of soft sand and mud to the sea. Broome is also a renowned place for people to be caught out by being too late to return to the beach. Spending 6 hours in a boat stuck in mud at night being eaten alive by sand-

TECHNICALS Launching When launching or retrieving, before driving out of the water always reverse the car downhill towards the water a little to push the boat trailer wheels out of the holes they have sunk into before you attempt to drag the trailer forwards.

Don’t forget this, as it is very important! Many people needlessly get bogged for this reason alone.

Launching is the easy side of the operation, as you are only pulling out an empty trailer. Still, some people can get into trouble.

Have your trailer set up right so the boat will easily slide off quickly and you are not spending a prolonged time in the surge. Done quickly you can offload the boat between the waves peaking.

If you go out too far and drop the trailer wheels over a drop off, even on a calm day, it will make it difficult to drive back out. Best to only go as little a distance

Just a light tap of the brakes sends the boat sliding off the trailer between each swell peak.

50cm wave can push 15-20m up the beach between each swell. It’s best to have at least one helper launching in swell, you need to time the attempt to get down the beach and back between the peak of each wave. Have the boat winch and chain disconnected with your buddy holding a bow rope.

Wait until there is a lull in the size of the wave sets, then, as the wave surge peaks, start reversing the car following the water out.

When the boat is in enough water, hit the brakes so the boat slides off at the

can before starting off.

Make sure everyone is on board and clear of the propeller before putting the engine into gear. With smaller boats and dinghy’s it is much easier to just dump the boat in the wave zone, rather than back all the way out into the water. Drag the nose around quickly into the waves and float it out on the next set of waves.

There comes a time when discretion is better than valour. Know your limitations and cancel the day if you are concerned the swell is too big. You are the

above the water line you will only bog a little. Do it below the waterline and the disturbed sand can liquefy to quicksand and you sink very quickly into a hopeless situation that is almost impossible to drive out of.

In this situation, the only way out is with assistance of a winch or tow. It is not about accelerating or power, so drive quietly in low range so as to not spin the wheels and disturb the sand, creating the quicksand effect.

A boatie commencing to retrieve the boat, starting with the boat at the shoreline. out as required and not a good idea to back right out to try and drive the boat off the trailer.

Always have the motor fully tilted up. If it is calm, back just far enough out to push the boat off the trailer into adequate depth of water.

Don’t worry if the boat transom hits a sandy bottom, leaving the boat half off the trailer, you can just drive the trailer out from under the boat.

If there is a bit of swell things become more complex. Even a small of

A Lancelin Angling Club fishing competition day saw plenty of locals getting into strife.

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same time selection forward gear and accelerating (gently!) back up the beach away from the next breaking wave. The helper needs to turn the boat to get the bow pointing into the waves quickly as possible. If you don’t time it right the 4WD can be swamped by the following wave. You need to park the car and get back to help ASAP, as the boat will be difficult to handle solo.

Keep the boat’s nose into the surf lowering the motor so the propeller is submerged and push out as far as you

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skipper, and the vessel and every ones safety is your responsibility.

Retrieving Retrieving becomes much more difficult, with the extra weight of the boat on the trailer. Most commonly when I see people getting into trouble, it is when they are trying to drive the boat onto the trailer, rather than use the trailers’ winch. The beach generally has a less steep angle than a concrete ramp, so both the car and trailer must back out well into the sea to get enough

water depth at the back of the trailer for the motor to drive the boat on.

The beach is also open to the wind and swell. This adds an extra level of difficulty in that it can take some time to get the boat lined up right.

Meanwhile, the swells can be bouncing the boat off the rollers or push it out of line with the trailer, all

Even then, plenty of tractors still manage to get bogged when the swell is running.

If you insist on drive on or off launching with a conventional 4WD, make sure to have a second 4WD above the waterline hooked up to pull the primary one with a strap or winch, so both are pulling as the boat is retrieved.

the winch and trailer. Unless the swell is running high, only the car’s rear wheels should be below the water’s edge by the time the boat is retrieved. Be as quick as possible to get the boat on and drive out, and as soon as it looks like you’re getting into trouble, don’t hesitate, just push the boat back off and try again.

A particularly long extendable draw bar. These pieces of apparatus are helpful, but not an absolute solution.

Winching the boat up off the sand. the while the trailer and car When using a 4WD, the TIPS AND wheels are settling into the best method is to bring the ACCESSORIES sand and this is going to boat to the shore nose first, A number of experienced make moving your rig more the engine must fully tilted local Lancelin people will difficult without bogging. up so it won’t dig into the dig the engine into the sand At Lancelin, most locals sand as the boat is winched. to keep the back of the boat with larger boats will use Back your trailer up to the stable and nose pointing a tractor for drive off and boat, then slowly reverse forward while they retrieve on launching, not a 4WD. the car under the boat while the 4WD. To achieve a Most would still retrieve the simultaneously winching the solo retrieval of the boat boat by winching the boat up boat onto the trailer. The car in difficult conditions, the as they drive under it from and trailer should be kept engine must be lifted once the shore elevating the three- moving for most of it so they hooked up to the trailer and point linkage at the start to don’t sink into the sand, and winching starts.

STA16112 Revoboats’ 499 FM_Layout 19/06/2018 11:32 Page 1 If you do have a big get under the nose. the1 load is lessened onAM both

heavy boat, consider the use of a set of traction mats under the rear wheels of the 4WD and lowering tyre pressures to 15psi.

If you do happen to get stuck, the best option is to find someone to pull you out rather than keep making futile efforts while you sink further, making recovery difficult and sitting the car lower into the water so it can ingress to the cars’ interior.

A good idea is to have a short strong rope with a hook attached to the trailer so when you return to the beach and the swell is pushing a long way up, you can use the rope to drag the boat up onto the sand away from the breaking waves before using the method as

described above.

Trailers may be set up with a ‘tow hitch extension bar’. There are different types; they may fold out from the side or slide through the centre of the trailer, but effectively they extend the distance between the car and boat, reducing how far the 4WD backs into the sea. Most are not more than 2m, and not a solution in themselves, but a further bit of help.

Another option is to use a drop down dolly wheel. It is a spare wheel holder at the front of the trailer; the spare sits on a drop down bracket with a complete wheel hub assembly. These are great for traveling, as you have a spare bearing, hub and tyre should

you get into trouble on the highway. The method is to put the spare wheel into the lowered position, allowing the trailer to run on all three wheels. Attach a strong rope or strap between the car and trailer. The trailer is then pushed out by hand and the boat winched on while the 4WD remains on dry land. The trailer and boat is then pulled out of the water before re-attaching to the 4WD. They are effective, as in the 4WD and trailer can be as far apart as the rope is long, so the 4WD should be in no danger of bogging in the sea.

Be careful when using these launching, as the trailer will jump up at the front as To page 12

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11

From page 11

the boat weight passes the wheels. In the initial stages of retrieving while the boats weight is behind the wheels, the trailer will stand up at the front making it difficult to reach a winch. Dolly wheels can be very handy when the shore is muddy or on steep river banks, where it is not possible to have the 4WD close to the water.

Beach launching puts lots of strain on the equipment, so trailers need to be sturdy to take the weight of the boat.

Unlike boat ramps, the boat is not floating on top to the trailer. It will receive the full weight of the boat through the trailer chassis as it comes up and off the beach. Any

weaknesses in the winch, winch cable, winch post and trailer will be tested to breaking point. Make sure to keep everyone clear of the rear of the boat and winch cable, if something breaks someone may get hurt as the boat slides back or the cable recoils.

Low slung trailers work best, as they help reduce the loads of lifting a boat off the beach and work better in shallow water. If you’re doing this type of launching often, look at modifying the trailer to remove rollers for skid plates to make the boat sit lower on the trailer.

Remote operated electric winches allow the driver to back under the boat while

winching at the same time, or one person can be aligning the nose of the boat with the trailer while operating the winch.

If you get back to shore and it is rough and windy, the boat must be controlled or brought onto the beach.

Don’t leave a single person trying to control a heavy boat in a strong surge while you go get the car. It is possible the boat will be washed ashore side on where the surf can fill the boat with water and sand making it next to impossible to retrieve. Bring the boat in with both people nose first and let the waves push it onto the beach, then have the one person keep the nose pointing towards the beach.

Some visiting anglers got into a spot of bother with a large boat and were quickly helped out by some locals. It made an interesting sight with two large boat combos linked together.

12

JANUARY 2019

Even with a well set up rig, a 4WD tractor and remote electric winch may be needed for larger vessels. The best practice is to nose the boat to shore and winch it up without dunking the tractor.

FINAL THOUGHTS Don’t be afraid to ask for help, as often you will find plenty of willing volunteers.

When there is a lot of surge or strong wind, be very cautious. Don’t get caught between a boat and trailer or have the boat wash over someone in the shallows. The force of the sea pushing the boat is immense and broken bones can easily happen.

Keep a close eye on any children or elderly helping, as they may not be strong or quick enough to stop a boat washing over them.

Make clear instructions to everyone about the risks and watch what they are doing.

Everyone’s safety must be your priority.

Be cautious when driving a boat into the beach with breaking waves. Avoid having waves overtaking the boat, breaking over the transom or breaching the boat in the surf zone. Watch the swells and wait for a smaller set of waves. Drive the boat immediately behind the crest of a smaller wave trimming the motor up as the water shallows. Once the motor is bottoming out, the surging water should continue to push the boat onto the beach as you kill the engine and lift the motor out the water.

If unsure, watch some people with a similar rig to yours first and see how

they go about it. Experience counts a lot and some people will make it look much easier than it is! Have a chat to them about the conditions and take any advice on board.

Seawater is not kind to 4WDs. If you do dunk the car in the sea, wash the underside with fresh water very well. Brakes should be given special attention, as they don’t like the salt, so it is advisable not to park up the car with hand brake on for an extended time until it is all dried out or it may rust into the on position!

There you have it, a nice little guide to give you confidence launching and retrieving on the beach.

Stay safe.

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Metro

Fishing after hours for quality METRO

Kurt Blanksby

The typically warm January days can sometimes be very brutal on us out in the sun, so fishing activities from the shore will usually see us up before dawn to try and get a few hours in wetting a line before the heat becomes unbearable.

Alternatively, we head out late afternoon, and although the baking sun can still have plenty of bite, the typical afternoon sea breeze takes the edge off it.

Many of us also realise it is too hot to be cramped up at home after dark when the temperatures are perfect, so we escape the aircon and grab the fishing gear and head out to try our luck. The change of light at dawn and dusk is also one of the best times to be fishing, as it is usually when many species actively search for food.

Combine this with a rising or high tide and you are really upping your odds.

Tailor are still one of the main targets for metro anglers at this time of year, and just prior to first light you stand a real good

14

JANUARY 2019

chance of picking up a few fish either on bait or lures from many of the northern beaches. North and South Moles at the mouth of the harbour also produce some good tailor at first light in summer, so get up early and give them a go.

The first couple of hours of daylight will also see some big yellowfin whiting feeding in and around the shallow surf zones from

many beaches. The best way to tempt these fish is with light gear and a small sinker, swivel and 30cm length of mono or fluorocarbon leader to a small hook. This is baited with cut coral prawn or blood worm and fished only a few meters out in the churning surf.

As the day progresses the sand whiting will take their place, and although usually small, it pays to keep trying,

A lovely nighttime tailor on ganged hooks and a mulie (pilchard) bait. A cork helps to float the bait up away from pesky sand crabs.

as enough bigger specimens can be caught to make up a tasty meal. Not as fussy as the yellowfin whiting, these sand whiting will take almost any bait fished in the surf. Often I will run two hooks baited with cut prawn or chicken breast and allow one fish to hook itself and then wait for the second to move in on the other bait. It can be tempting to reel in the first hooked fish but trust me, be patient and another will easily be hooked resulting in a double header.

From the rock walls along the coast, other smaller daytime species can also be targeted with light line and small hooks. Sand whiting, yellowtail, slimy mackerel, tarwhine and the occasional flathead and flounder will turn up. By-catch of sweep, brown wrasse and goatfish will also keep you amused and often can be kept for the table depending on your tastes.

Any of the local rock walls also hold good numbers of a fish that many turn their noses up at but provide excellent sport and hours of fun to catch, and one of these is buff bream or silver drummer. These schooling fish range in size from tiny

While not targeted by many anglers, the buff bream or silver drummer is a great sportfish and available in big numbers at any rock groyne in the metro area. specimens to massive 8kg beasts that are practically unstoppable on light line.

Having only small mouths and a mostly vegetarian diet, they are usually seen but not hooked.

Smart anglers have worked out that if they berley up with pollard and fish oil and use light line and small hooks they can trick these fish into taking baits. They can be hooked on small pieces of coral prawn or bread fished unweighted or under a small float in the

berley trail. Once they feel the sting of the hook you had better be ready, as they fight hard and dirty as they power off along the rocks, and only the skilled will manage to land the larger specimens.

They might not be everyone’s cup of tea, and their eating qualities are strongly debated, but you have to give these fish credit for providing fishing entertainment and being readily available from any rock groyne in the metro area.

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Metro

Pelagics power into the sound COCKBURN SOUND

Kurt Blanksby

January is an interesting time in Cockburn Sound.

Many anglers are holding off and waiting for the pink snapper ban to finish at the end of the month,

at Rockingham that allow access to the southern end of the sound.

Most cray boats will launch very early, so if you just want to head out for a fish, give them some space and launch a bit later. Trust me, you will not face the same traffic jams and will get your

that can be used to both troll minnow lures and cast stickbaits or metal slices, then look for birds.

Terns, gulls and gannets are all good indicators of pelagic species chasing baitfish about, and this can be as subtle as one tiny tern hovering over a spot to a full-on squadron of birds all screaming and diving in one area. There are no hot spots, but keep an eye on the edge of the shipping channels, even the ones that lead down to the industrial jetties in the sound.

If you spot birds, then try and work out if the fish are held up and attacking the bait

or cruising in a direction that you can try to get in front of.

This can be very frustrating, and it is important not to spook the fish while putting yourself in casting range. If bait is being held up, then casting or trolling slowly around the area is the best method.

Other species like squid are still about, and although many say the warmer summer months are not the best for catching them, it is just a case of searching deeper weed beds where a correctly weighted jig will get down to the strike zone just above the weed.

Shore-based squid anglers should plan on working

A flock of swooping birds over foaming water means pelagic species feeding below, so get ready for some fast action. but for those prepared to target the other species the sound has plenty to offer.

The boat ramp at Woodmans Point and the private ramps only for members of the Cockburn Power Boat Association will all be busy still, with many launching early to head outside the sound to pull cray pots, so expect plenty of delays. The same goes for the boat ramps

boat out into the water with less hassles. Having said that, don’t leave it too late, as the unpredictable sea breeze could kick in early and limit your enjoyment out there.

This is prime pelagic time and many species like Spanish mackerel, shark mackerel, longtail tuna, striped tuna, Watson’s leaping bonito and oriental bonito will all be a possibility in the sound. Pack a couple of medium outfits

Summer sees good numbers of sand whiting in Cockburn Sound. Throw in a few squid and you have a great feed!

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Big Spanish mackerel are a rewarding catch in metro waters over summer. from the rock groynes like Woodmans Point just on first light before the squid move out to deeper water as the sun climbs higher. The same goes for those targeting whiting, as summer sees good numbers of sand whiting from along many of the beaches and out in the sound, and again, start a bit deeper and move about until you locate fish.

Tailor will also be well worth looking for along the beaches and rock walls, especially in the afternoons when the sea breeze arrives.

The best method is to fish one

of the beaches like Challenger Beach in the industrial stretch, and plan to be fishing a couple of hours before dark and into the early evening. Tailor will readily respond to oily baits like pilchards (mulies) on a set of ganged hooks and cast out a short distance into the turbulent surf. Challenger Beach, like many of the Cockburn Sound beaches, doesn’t get bashed by big waves due to the shelter of Garden Island offshore, but there will be enough chop to trigger the tailor to move into the shallows to feed after a hot day.

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Metro

Joyful January on the Swan SWAN & CANNING RIVER

Kurt Blanksby

Good-sized blue manna crabs have been turning up in drop nets for those working the deeper waters of both the Swan and Canning rivers over

haven’t been hammered in the days before.

It’s almost too tempting to keep going back to your favourite spots, but this is where it pays to spend some time looking for other locations that have gone under the radar of others.

Sure, many of these spots

reaches of the river, and these fish can be found in scattered schools across many of the sand flat areas where small surface lures will attract their attention, provided you are stealthy. If wading is not your thing, then try fishing from the shore along the deeper stretches in East Fremantle at night with blood worm or cut coral prawn baits. A high or incoming tide after dark is the best and when using bait, this also solves the problem of hooking unwanted blowfish that are not as active after dark.

Flathead are still getting

caught, but again it pays to be up early and getting to the best spots before other anglers do, or if you are fishing from a boat try drifting the deeper waters from Bicton, Rocky Bay and Applecross where good specimens can be hooked.

Baits will work, but blowfish will be a problem, as with soft plastic lures on jigheads, so arm yourself with some old fashioned bucktail or feather jigs and work these down deep. Blowfish will still be hooked, but they will not destroy the tails of these lures as easily as they do with

A good way to pick up some decent whiting is to use fresh bloodworms fished in the lower reaches of the Swan on a warm night. the last few weeks, and the trend for January is that it should keep firing.

Remember that over the holiday period at Christmas the crabs cop a hiding and the river is often peppered with drop nets, so be prepared to get up early to find a good spot and try fishing areas that

will be shallower, but they are still worth a look. Most of the biggest blues will spend a fair bit of time in the deeper channels, but they will venture into shallower water at night or on incoming tides to look for food.

Good numbers of big yellowfin whiting will now be established in the lower

Big, tasty and blue, the crabs continue to keep river anglers happy over summer.

Black bream are really aggressive over the summer months in both the Swan and Canning rivers, which makes lure fishing very productive and rewarding. soft plastics. An added bonus is the occasional flounder that just love a feather jig bounced across the bottom.

Alternatively, trolling deep diving minnow lures along the edges of the drop offs is also a very effective method of picking up a few flatties. In the deeper areas it is not unheard of to also pick up mulloway or black bream of various sizes by slow trolling, especially in the upper Canning River around the Shelley pipeline and down to Mt Henry Bridge.

The upper reaches of the Swan are now really worth prospecting for black bream, and many of the old jetties, tree snags, rock bars

and reed beds will be worth working with both bait and lure. High tide seems to be best, and the upper reaches only accessible by kayak will hold some good fish. Prime time is early mornings before it gets too hot, which usually sends the fish into the deeper water until the temperature drops in the late afternoon.

The problem with fishing the afternoons or evenings is the hoards of hungry mosquitoes that arrive as the sun drops low, making it very uncomfortable to be outdoors. If you are prepared to cover up, use insect repellent and put in the effort, then some good fishing is there to be had.

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17

Metro

Tasty critters on the move METRO OFFSHORE

Allan Bevan

Welcome to the New Year.

The start of the year has produced scrumptious food, great friends and good times late into the

Mackerel, both Spanish and shark, have been turning up in good numbers.

Throw in the odd longtail tuna into the mix and you’re into some fantastic light tackle sport fish that perform in the water and are just as good on the plate.

Pro and Rapala X-Rap lures definitely catch well, but I’m finding, especially very close inshore, a selection of metals in different sizes and colours that match the white bait and blue bait can be the difference between catching and missing out. I’m finding slow speed around 5 knots with light tackle and a short length of single strand wire gets the job done. Always remember, if you have a second or third person on board it’s worth casting and retrieving and seeing if a second or third fish can be picked up.

While I’m close inshore,

it’s worth mentioning that squid and cuttlefish are still active over the Gage Roads flats so it’s worth having a jig out. As well as all the bread and butter fish, good herring, that have been missing for the last few years, whiting, the odd samson or yellowtail kingfish can all make the day for a boat load of kids, as it is school holidays.

Alternatively, these can also be good for a later afternoon after work trip with a couple of mates.

Snapper catches are great. The broken ground around Rottnest and both

Editor Ian Sewell with a snapper destined for the table.

Dale Neindorf with a colourful harlequin. night and I hope that you and your loved ones have survived the silly season.

With summer come all the fishing joys of summer’s warm water and the fish that swim with it.

I’m pulling lures almost as soon as I depart Fremantle fishing boat harbour.

Finding bait and matching the hatch is the most valuable information I can pass on. The Halco Laser

The author with a Rottnest Island shark mackerel.

These are by-catch when chasing Spaniards, tuna and kingfish around the island.

north and south are still holding fish left over from the spawning run.

It’s a good time to remind everyone that the Cockburn/ Warnbro Sound closures are still in force until midnight 31 January.

If you still want a snapper fix, the back of Garden Island out to the back of the 5 fathom bank is great. Soft plastics with

berley should have you hooked up in no time flat.

The back edge of the bank has been productive, with the odd dhufish, breaksea cod and with smaller hooks, numbers of tasty sand whiting.

Fishing out a bit further in 35-50m has seen all the reef regulars like foxfish, pigfish, harlequin, dhufish, snapper and cod. Working

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JANUARY 2019

Metro plastics, jigs and bait around the Recfish fish towers has produced dhufish on jigs and samsons taking topwater stickbaits. You don’t have to park yourself right on top of the towers, with drifts around 100m away still finding the fish.

The 100m wrecks are a samson Mecca for the jiggers at the moment, with the average fish around 1200mm and a fish that size is around 20-25 kg. This season has seen the return of some of the Japanese anglers, along with visiting eastern state anglers tackling our local samsons, with more than a few coming off second best. These fish show no

dancing green and gold flashes of mahimahi that can at times be one of the most frustrating fish to try and catch. From eating everything one moment to refusing the most perfectly presented bait, lure or fly, they pose a challenge to anglers. I do find that berley can help at these times, but the birds can also make fishing almost impossible.

Again, like the fish towers,

A close up of a harlequin shows just how beautiful the colours can be. respect to gear, jigs or how good you thought you were as an angler. I could do a

Fantastic light tackle sportfish, mahimahi show spectacular colouring when fresh out of the water.

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The wrecks don’t just offer samsons, and birds are an indication of tuna and these could be southern blues, stripies or yellowfin tuna. If dropping down and fishing under the samson schools, you can have pink and queen snapper, or even mulloway coming aboard.

Further offshore and out to the trench, whispers of early marlin are getting the trolling outfits dusted off and ready for action.

For those deep dropping, swordfish and offshore palagic action is sure to get them excited!

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you don’t have to be on top of the FAD. The school of fish can be hundreds of meters away, so don’t get too frustrated if you get all the way out there and someone is parked on top of the FAD or divers are in the water. At the end of the day we all have to work together and that crew you had an argument with could also be the one that to tows you home… So just be

respectful of other anglers.

With that, I’m looking forward to another great year on the water and look forward to seeing you all out there soon.

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South Coast

‘Fishtive’ season not over

580

ESPERANCE

Jaimen Hudson

SEAHAWK

Australia Day long weekend is coming up and what better way to spend it than on the beach with a nice cold beverage in one hand and a rod and reel in the other. Not into beach fishing? No problem. Get out on a fishing charter and relax while the skipper takes full responsibility for the boat and you just enjoy the time focusing on your fishing.

January in Esperance has to be one of the favourite months among locals and visiting tourists. The day temperatures usually reach around 30°C with a nice cool sea breeze in the afternoon to help bring the temperature back down to a comfortable level.

East of town fishing during the night on Alexander Beach, Thomas River and Cape Arid you are likely to bring home a mulloway. There is also a very good chance of landing a gummy shark or bronze.

We also get nice size skippy, salmon trout, whiting and

Fishing deep could find you a bright harlequin fish, like this beauty.

Bandy Creek is a great location if the winds are too strong at Taylor St jetty as

Rob Paxevanos with a beautiful Queen snapper (blue morwong). Heading east is your best chance of finding one.

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JANUARY 2019

herring off the majority of the beaches. Salmon trout in particular have been caught regularly off of Observatory Beach. You can access this location via the Observatory Point car park and then walk down the stairs on the eastern side.

I was also told of someone catching a mulloway off of Dolphins Beach, which is adjacent to Twilight. This is nice and close to town, so worthwhile taking a drive and casting a line in.

The Esperance Bay and Taylor Street jetty continue to offer decent numbers of herring, skippy, whiting and loads of squid.

The herring have been absolute thumpers.

Bandy Creek will also offer up similar species.

Bream are also caught here as the Bandy Creek River runs into the mouth of the bay.

the harbour offers protection from the prevailing southerly.

Out on the water we

have been getting reports of small tuna. These are being spotted about 15-30nm off shore. It is great to see them as bluefin and bonito are great fun to catch and even better to eat. Trolling with a good tuna lure will be the best way to land these beauties.

Moving away from the surface and down to the depths we are getting large red snapper, queen snapper, breaksea cod and harlequin fish. Yellowtail kingfish and pink snapper schools are also making their presence known.

Make the most of the warm January weather and get outdoors.

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Tony Bradshaw looking proud with his Queen snapper.

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By now the summer invasion of anglers will mean soft sand with lots of wheel ruts along many of the popular beaches, and these will test your 4WDing skills, but don’t be put off, as this is a great time of year to be enjoying warmer weather and pristine beaches along the South Coast.

Bremer Bay area has so many locations that allow beach anglers the chance to drive along a beach and

from some spots like Fosters or Reef Beach.

Bigger baits fished after dark not only turn up gummy sharks, but some bragging size tailor will also be showing themselves. Big skippy continue to be a prize species, as do the occasional large blue spot flathead that are often caught at this time of year. During the day, lighter line and smaller baits or lures will provide a good feed of herring, especially if you berley up to bring them into the area.

Rock anglers picking the best conditions for safe fishing will do well

for not only samsonfish and yellowtail kingfish, but also demersal species like dhufish and breaksea cod.

An often overlooked but decent table fish is the horseshoe leatherjacket.

These colourful fish are in good numbers from the rock locations, and by changing down to smaller hooks and baits you can actively target these fish. Along with the horseshoe leatherjacket, smaller hooks will pick up skippy, King George whiting, numerous wrasse and sweep.

Summer wind patterns will be making boating a hit and miss affair, but for those

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Southern bluefin tuna can be picked up trolling small pusher style lures between spots or by casting lures at feeding schools. This one was picked up on fly. find a good looking bit of water to spend a few hours, or a night or two chasing some decent fish from the surf. Typically most are still fishing the evenings, as after dark these sometimes quiet fishing spots suddenly turn on the goods.

Sharks of all sizes from manageable gummies and small whaler sharks through to unstoppable bigger beasts move in to the gutters and surf zones to feed. Later in the year when the salmon turn up, the number of big sharks increases dramatically, as they follow the salmon schools along the coast.

Speaking of salmon, January usually sees the first few scout fish move into the area, so it is not uncommon to pick up a salmon or two

live baiting with floats or balloons for big samsonfish and yellowtail kingfish.

Another method is to slide bait, and this is basically casting a big sinker out on a lighter leader that snags up in the reef further out, a clip on leader is then used to send a large bait or live herring back down the main line, once a fish takes the bait the sinker leader is broken off and the angler can fight the fish as normal.

Metal demersal jigs designed for jigging from boats have also been popular amongst many rock anglers, and these can be cast a long way out on spin gear and fished at numerous depths.

The jig is worked back to the rocks in an erratic fashion and has been accounting

managing to head out there will be a good chance of picking up demersal species from the deeper water.

Closer in, mixed bags of skippy, herring, and King George and sand whiting are there for the taking. Throw in a few squid and you can enjoy a good fishing session without facing the risk of having to head offshore should the strong winds pick up.

Trolling small skirted lures or minnow lures can account for bonito, snook or southern bluefin tuna that will be in reasonablesized schools. Look for bird activity over feeding fish or just troll between spots as you search for demersal species for a chance at these pelagics.

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South Coast

You’ll find squid and samsonfish close to home ALBANY

Callum Dowell

I hope you all had a fantastic festive period and managed to get out for a fish with family and close friends.

There were many positive reports over the month, including hot squid fishing and monster samsonfish right under our noses.

It doesn’t matter where the wind is roaring from, you can always find a spot with it behind you to sling a jig around.

Southerly, southwesterly and westerly winds means you can find plenty of shelter in Frenchmans Bay and Fisheries Beach area. There are many easily-accessible rock platforms to fish from, and the water depth is perfect for squid. It’s a great area to take the kids, as it’s

months, and a great area to escape these winds is Gull Rock. There is a band of rocky outcrops with plenty

them is on the tide change.

These are genuine 100lb fish that are being captured, with stories of fish even

popper and got the hook up 5m in front of him! A solid 15kg specimen was landed a short time later.

A dolphin at the Little Grove Marina ended the author’s fishing session pretty quickly!

Ben Poutney the ‘squid wrangler’ with a prime South Coast calamari.

Albany is renowned as a land-based squid destination, with our rocky secluded coastline providing excellent habitat.

protected from the swell in King George Sound.

North and north easterly winds have become very common in our colder

of squid waiting. You may have to venture around the rocks slightly, however, depending on the wind direction.

Easterly and southeasterly winds are the trickiest winds to get relief from in town. Out coastline has been carved by this wind direction over the thousands of years.

Bunking down at the town jetty area is a minimal effort option, otherwise Middleton Beach Jetty and Ellen Cove is a pleasant spot to fish and often produces squid.

I have spent many fishless evenings there, however when your options are limited it’s worth a crack.

It has been well known that big samsonfish come into Oyster Harbour searching for an easy meal.

Over the past few years the hot spot has remained the Emu Point Channel rocks, and enthusiasts have told me the only time to catch

bigger burying anglers on the big rock bommies in the channel.

Chris Panton went down to try his luck with a big

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JANUARY 2019

Expect the inshore activity to heat up during the summer months.

Griffiths Street, in between Surfers and Emu Point, can

be overlooked by many anglers, but it produces some big whiting, herring and flathead. You can duck for cover quickly if the weather turns bad in this area as well.

Two Peoples Bay is worth dropping the boat into. The early bird gets the parking spot close to the launch spot. It’s a really versatile fishery, with whiting and squid in close and plenty of snapper, breaksea cod and groper within a stones throw from the rocks on the right hand side. It replenishes with fish quickly, unlike King George Sound and the islands, which are tough going now. Be armed with jigs and white 7” soft plastic jerk shads on heavy jigheads.

Just a warning on launching at Two Peoples Bay; make sure the tide is not low when you are planning on launching or retrieving. As it is a beach launch, it can become very shallow.

Stay safe and stick to the speed limits around the area, you never know where a fisheries officer with a speedo may be waiting!

Chris Panton with a stud land-based samsonfish from right in front of his favourite coffee shop!

West Coast

Fish bite in unseasonal weather AUGUSTA

Anthony Gillam

Western Australia has certainly been in the grips of some really unseasonal weather for the last six months, with winter

bright sunshine that had us reaching for some 50+ sunblock, you could easily have been fooled into thinking it was much earlier in the year.

Fortunately the run of yellowfin whiting has swung into action. The early birds

Colourpatch near the boat ramp and in front of the carpark has produced plenty of fish in the first hour of daylight, with glass shrimp, coral prawns and river prawns all producing. King George whiting have been giving a good showing, but

A nice mid 40s Flinders Bay King George whiting caught by Georgia Gillam on squid. blending in to spring without any discernible difference in the wind or precipitation. Were it not for the odd day or so of

have been taking advantage of the ability to get a good session of fishing in before heading out on the day’s tasks.

many have been borderline legal size and a better prospect for a feed has been the solid yellowfin, with many of them producing

thick fillets. The layer of fat in their belly shows that they have been gorging on the abundant food in the river.

Further up the Blackwood River, the bream have been very active and with some 40cm+ fish being bagged in the recent fishing competitions, it is a good sign for the summer. Many of the bigger fish have succumbed to soft plastics and a variety of hardbodied lures and vibes. With no obvious pattern or size showing itself as being superior, it really has been a case of trial and error. The ever-reliable river prawn has always produced fish, but with thousands of undersized bream around you need to use larger whole prawns to get a chance at the big guys or the juvies will pick them to pieces.

Beach and rock fishing has been patchy, however King George whiting have shown themselves just about everywhere, which more than makes up for the lack of other species.

Boaties have been making the most of the ability to search around for the bigger sand whiting and KGs, with some cagey locals bagging out on XOS kidney slappers. Reports of 70cm,

A nice-sized ‘tar spot’ female rock lobster about to be sent back in to continue breeding.

1.5kg+ fish being landed are enough to get anyone excited at the prospect of the fish of a lifetime.

Now that summer is in full swing the weather patterns in this area dictate that you need to be prepared to change your plans depending on where the wind is predicted to come from. With southeasterly winds predominant throughout summer, fishing in Flinders Bay can be

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somewhat challenging. It is not uncommon for a gentle breeze at sunrise to quickly build to 30knot winds by midday.

Plan your trip well and there are awesome opportunities to get amongst the big tackle-busting demersals and pelagics and be back in for a fresh fillet for lunch. Go out unprepared and you could find yourself punching through swell and To page 26

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West Coast From page 25

chop trying to work out how much fuel you have left before your motor is sucking fumes.

There are a multitude of weather apps that are available that will give you a pretty accurate forecast as to when and where you should be putting the boat in, but I have always found that local knowledge is the key. If you go to the Augusta Marina and none of the boat trailers and vehicles in the carpark have a local AU number

boat ramp is a little tricky for larger boats and quite often there is a lot of weed on it. This is not too difficult to overcome because not only is the caravan park a great place to stay, it also has a bobcat that makes quick work of cleaning it off.

There is a spacious parking area for your vehicle and trailer, which makes parking up a breeze.

Get a couple of pots, a rock lobster licence and some stinky bait and take advantage of the big numbers of crays

While the pots are soaking, try heading around from Hamelin Bay towards Foul Bay and Deep Dene. It doesn’t take long to locate the type of reef outcrops that are a magnet to the dhufish, breaksea cod and blue groper we all seek. If conditions are right a drift around 1-2 knots with a juicy squid or mulie with a 6/0 hook or a couple of 6” soft plastics jigged through the zone will either be quickly nailed or let you know it is time to move on.

For land-based fishing,

Hamelin Bay boat ramp allows access to some pristine coastline. plate, it is a pretty good indicator that the weather is due to turn.

The good thing about Augusta is that quite often Hamelin Bay will be flat calm when it is unfishable in Flinders Bay, and well worth the 15-minute drive. The

that inhabit the rocky ledges and outcrops. You will soon work out that the big crawlies you catch yourself taste so much better fresh from the water. There is plenty of reef to drop a pot in around Hamelin Bay and if you persevere the rewards will follow.

it’s a choice of left or right of the boat ramp depending on how far you like to walk, and if you like the odd rock scramble. Left will take you to a plethora of small beaches and rocky outcrops where you can fish for whiting, herring, sharks and the odd

mulloway. Go right and it is beach for miles all the way to Boranup, or you can drive back along Caves Road until you find the rough limestone and sand track known as Bobs Track. This will take you to the same areas, but will save your legs. Much the same fishing can be done along the beach, which is a gold mine during the annual salmon run around Easter.

Rock fishing from the Honeycombs, Elephant Rock or Cosy Corner during the day presents some good shelter from the southeasterly winds and it is not uncommon for dhufish, mulloway, yellowtail kingfish and samsonfish to make their presence felt.

Try jigging, ballooning or slide baiting for some of the deeper areas, channels or gutters, and don’t be afraid to try several different methods, as sometimes it just takes one change for sleep-inducing monotony to become adrenalinpumping action.

Remember that rock fishing in these areas can be dangerous and king waves have swept people off the rocks in the past.

People have died, but using a bit of common sense will make fishing these areas a lot safer.

Study the area you want to fish for at least 10 minutes

Hamelin Bay Beach is a Mecca for salmon fishing during the annual run. before you do anything else to see if there are any unusual wave or swell patterns, and if you feel uncomfortable don’t fish there. Make sure that you stay away from black, green or wet rocks, as they are nearly always slippery and you will inevitabley end up on your back or in the water, possibly with a head injury.

Wear appropriate footwear and tie off to something solid when fishing, but most importantly wear a life jacket. You can hire one for free from Augusta Xtreme Outdoor Sports at 66 Blackwood Avenue Augusta, the local tackle shop and font of all local fishing knowledge. It’s right next to the Better Choice Fuels Service Station.

No matter where you

like to go on holidays, you just need to be a little adaptable when it comes to your summer fishing trips.

Mother Nature might throw a windy curveball at you, so have an alternative plan and you could still end up hitting a home run.

• If you are fishing from the rocks at any time of the year it is important to take advantage of the free lifejackets available from Augusta X-treme Outdoor Sports. It is also the best place to obtain a mud map and list of locations where they are currently biting. The locations mentioned are all well-known and are marked on most vehicle GPS units, especially if they have HEMA maps or a list of locations can be obtained from the local tackle store, Augusta X-Treme Outdoor Sports.

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Fishing 2019 – let’s ‘dhu’ it!

BUNBURY

Nathan Crago

The long hot summer days we’ve been having are doing a great job of warming the local estuary, turning it into what may as well be a warm bath.

As a result the blue swimmer crabs are thick and the whiting even thicker.

Unless we receive an unusual summer rain event the estuary will remain very clear, making for some awesome flats sessions for the whiting. With the warmer water in full force, the whiting are hungry and aggressively taking close to any surface lure anglers are presenting so long as they aren’t too large.

Something a little different that is starting to become a popular sport is flyfishing for whiting, and when the winds permit our local fly fishos are able to present a subtle bloodworm or prawn imitation and coax a bite from these beautiful specimens.

Flyfishing can be a lot of work, but is very rewarding for the efforts. Who knows, this could be your next hobby!

Why not give it a try?

With the demersal ban being lifted mid December, there has been some great numbers of dhufish and snapper captures being reported and even more reports of divers seeing some monster dhus in close that have followed the walking crays.

Cray divers as usual are picking up great numbers, with plenty of jumbos to help fill the bag while the boaters dropping pots have been rewarded for the efforts. The crays started their walk earlier than what was expected, so the potters got started early too. Between spot changes or cruising in or out of the jetty,

be sure to have a trolling lure or bullet out the back, as the chances of a school of tuna or bonito is high, and they can make a really tasty meal, or even fresh bait for the next trip! Alternatively, they can make a nice oiley bait to top up the cray pots.

Boaties aren’t having all the fun, and black bream are firing in the Collie River.

With them are some late night mulloway and bull shark captures, making for some great fun, especially along the weedy snaggy banks of our beautiful Collie River system.

The most productive way to target these guys at night is to present a nice live mullet

Cameron Hill was very pleased with this solid dhufish.

on a light setup, as mulloway can be fussy eaters. A good few throws with a cast net in the estuary should gather you enough baits for a night.

Keep them in a bucket with an aerator and you will find they will stay alive for the night.

Now that the crabs have moved into the estuary in full force, the easiest and most enjoyable way to get your quota has got to be scooping.

Scooping truly is great fun whether it be by yourself or as a family – it sure is great interactive fun for the kids.

Look for nice patchy weed beds on a high tide where the crabs will be burying themselves alongside the weeds waiting for a passing meal. I recommend an old pair of sneakers or reef boots for this job, as they can be sneaky critters and when you step on one most the time you’re just surprising them, but if they manage to snag a toe it can put a dampener on the trip.

Remember, if you think you’re walking in a colder area, not only is it unpleasant for you but also the crabs, so pick up and try a new location, as the chances of crabs deciding to feed there are low.

Kurt Krispyn proving that a supergun is a great way to gather a feed of dhufish meat.

Beach goers can expect to find some good numbers of tailor patrolling the beach and the odd mulloway in between cruising the gutters.

Like all beach fishing you don’t always need to cast far to find a fish, and quite often a metre mulloway can be just in behind the wash on the drop off. Berley up for your herring baits (you can always keep a few for dinner) and present them

either butterflied or as a live bait. Herring are irresistible baits for the mulloway. Worst case you have a tustle with some rays or banjos, but it’s all good fun!

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

It’ll be an action-packed start to the year BUSSELTON

Stephen Norman

December was a cracking month in the South West.

Anglers were keen to get back into the demersal species after the 2-month ban period. Anglers fishing out of canal rocks and Gracetown found the usual variety of demersals, all of which were in good numbers.

Dhufish, pink snapper and nannygai are all making their way into anglers’ ice boxes, with not all boats having to do the miles. Rough bottom in and around 15-20m of water has been firing well for the tinny anglers.

Whiting catches continued to improve for land-based anglers.

Yellowfin whiting have been gathering in huge numbers in the shallows right along the Geographe Bay shoreline, taking a liking to small surface lures and bloodworms. Be mindful, however, that if you are targeting whiting on lures we have found that some days the whiting will climb all over them, and other days they won’t even look twice. I’ll cover a little more on that shortly. If you’re after a feed, maybe pack some bait as a backup, and we recommend coral prawns or bloodworms.

The Leeuwin current 28

JANUARY 2019

has had a noticeable impact over the past month or two, with water temperatures slowly on the rise and pelagic species beginning to pop up.

Tuna have been moving into the bay and the best catches have come from around Cape Naturaliste, around the 25-30m line. Based on last year’s tuna run from December-April, we should be in for another big season this year. Those choosing to pursue a battle from the stones have also been rewarded with solid numbers of samsonfish patrolling the rock ledges along Cape Naturaliste. Sugarloaf Rock, Rocky Point and surrounding areas have been the target locations.

WHAT’S COMING UP? January kicks off the year as one of anglers’ favourite months to wet a line. Warm weather and warm waters make for perfect conditions for hitting the water in the South West and the kick off to 2019 has been no exception. With the sea surface temperature heating up thanks to the Leeuwin Current, we have seen a spike in fish numbers, namely southern bluefin tuna. Tuna captures have been on the rise from both the bay and West Coast, however, we have seen the largest numbers congregate on the West Coast with schools spanning from 50m of water, right out to 250m of water.

If you’re not venturing to the West Coast, your next best bet would be to zig-zag the 25-30m line off Cape Naturaliste and Eagle bays.

This area is a hotspot for bait to ball up and provide the tuna with plenty of food.

Despite their large numbers, the bluefin can be spooked easily. So if you find yourself approaching an area of feeding tuna, circle the school rather than running right through them. Work the outer areas of the tuna to

While not quite as common as some demersals in shallow water, the bright red fish, or nannygai, is top level eating.

Spotting the tuna when they are in such abundance isn’t difficult. First you want to look for birds overhead and then watch for the tuna breaking the surface below.

avoid spooking them.

The best lures for the southern bluefin tuna are definitely small skirts. These come in a range of styles and colours but some key

points to look out for are small metal jet heads in bright colours and an overall size of around 15-20cm long.

The great thing about tuna skirts as opposed to bibbed minnows is that they can be trolled at relatively high speed, thus you’re covering more ground.

The Port Geographe Marina has been a hot spot for chopper tailor as the weather heats up and more bait appears inside the rock walls. Anglers casting metals around 15-30g, as well as 70-80mm stickbaits from the rocks have had a blast on these toothy critters, with evening being the most productive time.

During the day however, there are a plethora of options to be had inside the marina.

Whiting, flathead, flounder, bream and many more species are all easy targets.

A simple running sinker rig coupled with prawn or bloodworm will always get results. Yellowfin whiting are also an easy target at this time of year, especially on those warmer days when they enter the shallows. As mentioned earlier, small poppers and stickbaits are an awesome way to target these fish, but the whiting don’t always play the game.

To up your chances, fish as shallow as possible. Find an area of open sand flat with some deep holes for fish to seek refuge in. Dunsbrough Flats just down from the

main street are a great place to start. Fish the bottom of the tide and cast into the deeper holes as the tide slowly rises. You should find that as the tide rises the fish in these deeper areas will become much more active and move out onto the flats.

A bright sunny day is vital, as the warm waters increases fish activity as well as aiding your visibility. Although it is nice to fish on those glassy calm days, we have found that a light breeze is helpful for casting distance as well as providing a small amount of chop or disturbance on the surface of the water. The whiting seem to be extremely spooky on those glassy calm days. If all else fails, bloodworms and prawns are your best friend!

The run of crayfish so far been steady. Divers spending time around the 30-35m marks have had huge success off Busselton and Bunbury.

Those dropping pots have reported solid catches around Quarrys and inshore areas around Kilcarnup.

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West Coast

It’s time to get stuck into those tasty demersals MANDURAH

Jesse Choy

The month of December is always a significant one when it comes to fishing in Mandurah. The demersal ban has been lifted, and the weather also becomes fairly consistent, which means a large quantity of anglers find themselves fishing from the shore less and heading out to target species like pink snapper and dhufish more often.

While they are a common catch for many anglers, it is their accessibility that is most appealing, as you do not need to go far and wide to capture these hard-pulling, tasty fish.

In the Peel, crabbing has been improving and it should continue to heat up through January. Not only should the quantities start to increase throughout the estuary, but the average sizes as well. While the flats scooping is often rewarding, it definitely can be a bit inconsistent.

Anglers heading out from their boats are finding it a lot easier to move around to locate the better specimens with drop nets, especially

when it comes to fishing the deeper drop offs and secondary flats. Fishing from the boat allows you to locate your species, rather than having them come to you, which ultimately increases your odds and you can often make a quick shift over to some new ground.

Since there has been a steadiness in the weather, options for fishing around

While a pilchard or mullet on a gang is a favourite for tailor and mulloway, a variety of baits like squid, prawn and worms are being used to target the smaller species. If you are willing to learn, these fish are all partial to taking artificial lures, which is a great way to fish, keeping you entertained and tuned in to the experience rather than

quite considerably.

Beaches north and south of Mandurah are great places to try your luck for some tailor, herring and mulloway. Preston, White hills, Tims Thicket, Madora Bay, Singleton and Golden Bay are all great places to look when you are heading out for a session in January. Good gutters can change, dependent on the

This mulloway smacked a 95mm hardbody intended for bream in the upper reaches of the Murray River.

Mandurah continue to open up and really are plentiful if you have the time to get out. Whiting, bream, herring and tailor have all really started to fire up both for lure and bait fishers.

zoning out. While bream can be a little bit more difficult to target on lures at times, it is definitely a good time to try if you’ve ever thought about it, since the heat increases the activity

weather, but a good set of polarized sun glasses and a bit of observation will allow you to see the darker lines closer to shore. It can pay off to view the areas you intend to fish prior to

loss of too much light if you are planning to fish through the night, since once you find these darker lines, deeper water follows and usually provides a lot better fishing than a flat featureless bottom.

Through January, those heading out for a fish will be able to find their fix in Mandurah.

King George whiting and flathead are finding their way back into the estuary, so those out targeting crabs or yellowfin whiting may also find some unusual by-catch by Mandurah estuary standards. Flathead in Mandurah really have thinned out over the years, so seeing them turn up like this is a sign that the estuary is becoming better for a bigger variety of fish.

Offshore there is no shortage of both King George and flathead, but it is an exciting thing to be able to land these fish from our shorelines, especially if you are getting into the art of fooling fish on artificial lures. Blades are regularly proving themselves to be deadly lures when out chasing whiting on the deeper drop offs, as they allow for lengthy casts in

regular conditions, as well as the ability to fish on the bottom with ease, kicking up a lot of sand that triggers fish curiosity.

Those chasing river species find that they can be restricted to where they can target fish, dependent on the time of the year. This warmer weather allows anglers to move further upstream in to the areas of the rivers that see less pressure during the colder months. While there is not a lot of access for land-based anglers, the further upstream you go, the more launch locations there is for boats and kayaks. Mulloway and bream often move further upstream where there is less competition with estuarine species that cannot tolerate the water conditions, so anglers use this knowledge to improve their results.

If you are fishing the Serpentine, you can find whiting, crabs, bream and mulloway well up above the lakes, which provides quietness away from estuary at this busy time.

If you are going to fish the Murray River, you can also head up as far as the Pinjarra bridge for bream.

Occasionally you will find

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West Coast mulloway up a lot further than you’d expect them, but typically the structure and conditions up there are better suited to black bream.

When targeting these fish upstream, a snag proof rig, or something that will prevent you from getting snagged constantly, will be beneficial. While the hook up rate is not the best on a very timid bite, the terrain

further up in the rivers is quite treacherous and will make short work of your gear if you are anything but on top of your game.

Heading into February, we can expect an increase on much of what was covered here, particularly with the bream, whiting and tailor. Although they are a constant all year round, we can also expect

to start seeing a lot more salmon showing up in Mandurah ahead of the schooling migration up the coast of Western Australia.

Those chasing marron out on the freshwater can also continue to do so through to early February, but should be aware of the exact dates in which they are to cease targeting marron when the closed season starts.

King George whiting of this size are not uncommon, but can be hard to come by. They make for excellent eating and put up a great fight.

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West Coast

Pelagics and holiday goers visiting Lancelin LANCELIN

Peter Fullarton

January is a busy time at Lancelin, with plenty of visiting holiday fishers in town.

A favourite target for the visiting boaties during the summer holidays is the demersal species Lancelin

sounder. Look for lobster pot floats if you want to find bladchin. If the type of country holds crays, then the baldchin will be there too.

Most people bring a few lobster pots, checking them each day while out fishing. The white cray run should be winding up as the month advances and most fishers should have

between fishing locations. I like to keep either live baits or a floating pilchard out the back of the boat this time of year. You never know what may be lurking around the boat; a Spanish mackerel, yellowfin tuna or something else that may surprise you.

Recently, I hooked up a 4m blue shark in 20m of water while fishing for

Bluefin tuna have been abundant this pelagic season. is renowned for! Dhufish, breaksea cod, snapper and baldchin groper make up the bulk of these catches.

West of Lancelin, Direction Bank is about 15nm out and one of the more popular spots to target these species in 35-40m, although you do need a reasonable size boat to safely fish that far offshore.

reached their possession limit. If you have only just started your holidays, fear not, as it is the time to pot some jumbo lobsters. Since the implementation of the quota system for commercial fishers, there are plenty of big ones left. Look for some good ground in around 25m or deeper and drop your pots there.

A solid 60cm tailor taken on a Halco popper.

The small boat fishers can still capture dhufish, breaksea cod and snapper from quite shallow depths close to shore, just look for areas of heavy reef or small lumps on the bottom. The baldchin groper are more common a little further out from outside the white cray bank in depths from 24m.

They are caught on relatively flat ground that won’t show up much on your echo 32

JANUARY 2019

It has been a good start to the season for pelagic fish, with plenty of southern bluefin tuna about.

In January you should be looking for birds where the tuna are feeding, as there is a good chance of some shark mackerel to be feeding with the school.

If the water temps are 23°C and above, the Spanish mackerel should be active, so be sure to troll a lure

whiting. The shark took a live whiting and gave quite an aerial display before doing a 90°turn at speed, managing to pop the line from the extra pressure exerted to the angle of the line dragging through the water. Needless to say, it’s always an exciting bait fishing session when you hook a fish as long as the boat!

Watch the reef breaks around the bay itself. If birds are feeding in the surf zone, there is likely to be some tailor or yellowtail kingfish feeding. They like to hunt where the waves are breaking. The white water formed by each wave gives the fish an opportunity ambush their prey. There has already been some yellowtail kings caught recently and some really solid tailor that have been caught casting stickbaits, metals and surface poppers into the edge of the wash.

Be very cautious fishing the wash areas in your boat, and make sure you wear your life jacket! It’s best to have two people, one casting lures and the other driving the boat.

Watch the sea and depth on the echo sounder, making sure to keep the boat in a depth where the waves will not break. You should also be watching further out to sea for larger wave sets and give clear instructions to the fisher to brace if you need to accelerate away from the reef, as you don’t want them falling out the back of the boat.

Always approach downwind of the break, as should the motor fail the wind will push you away from danger.

A way to safely fish the reef breaks is to send live baits in under a balloon.

Anchor upwind and well clear of the break. Make sure the echo sounder shows a safe depth, so the larger waves will not break, and be sure to set the anchor alarm on your plotter. If the anchor starts to drag you will be alerted before being pushed into the waves. Make sure to use a berley trail and have handfuls of chopped pilchards ready. If you catch a yellowtail kingfish, it’s likely to be part of a school and some may follow it to the boat where you can keep them interested.

Fishing for a feed of bread and butter species, the beaches have been fishing well at all the popular spots.

Early mornings have been producing some larger size whiting, along with herring, including some two-year-old bull herring over 30cm long. You don’t need to go far or have a 4WD. North Point off Lancelin Bay has been fishing well for whiting, herring and tailor early mornings and late afternoons. From late afternoon into the evening some small whaler sharks and the odd mulloway have also been landed there.

A steady number of mulloway have been landed mainly from just north of town and up into the bombing range. There has been a great run of 60-80cm tailor, with the mulloway along the beach gutters and reef breaks where the wave action is stronger.

The clear water beaches have been fishing well for smaller chopper size tailor and small whaler sharks.

There have been plenty of King George whiting around the bay since June. to fish these conditions other than the jetty. Some are caught from time to time off the jetty in stormy weather, but it is not a reliable proposition, especially summertime. What we do have is some good reef ground for pinkies not too far out of casting range. Our chance of landing a landbased pinkie is at its best when the weather is calm enough to fish the beaches.

Look for where there is some reef not too far out from shore. Pumping out lots of berley into a rip can bring them into casting range.

Most are caught from sunset through to mid-morning. A strong easterly can also help get the berley scent out on calm mornings. Make sure to use plenty of oil in the berley that the wind can push out.

It pays to have a line out

for a long cast. I bait the circle hook with a modest size bit of squid or octopus, and the small bait and big sinker combo gives you the ability to make a very long cast. Use a lighter line on the sinker lead, so that if the sinker snags reef the fish and hook can still break free from the snagged sinker. I have also caught a number of land-based samsonfish using this rig.

Fishing north of Lancelin town site, legal size for pink snapper is 410mm, and from the northern most point of town south, legal size is 500mm.

The jetty has been fishing very well for squid, snook, pike, tailor, herring, and sand and King George whiting. It has been a bumper season for the King George whiting this year. They have been caught regularly off the jetty since June. They are

Small samsonfish have been caught off the reef breaks of Lancelin Bay. The tailor have put on a heap of condition since the run started and are providing some good sport on light gear and lures.

Around Perth metro, everyone gets excited when a big blow and swell roll in for a land-based pink snapper session. In Lancelin, we don’t have the luxury of a suitable land-based platform

as far as you can cast a bait out the back, and another in close to the berley just at the back of the breakers. Odds are pinkies will take the one right out the back and the mulloway will take the bait at your feet.

What has worked really well for me is a simple paternoster rig with one 7-8/0 circle hook and a large sinker

being caught from the sand areas bordering the weed throughout the bay, and dinghy fishers have been doing very well on them and there are several good spots to cast to from the jetty. Fresh squid has been a proven bait to target them and they continue to bite into the night under the lighting of the jetty.

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JURIEN BAY

Jason Harris

The run of school mackerel continues in the bay, with fish also coming from the jetty. Mackerel are taking most baits from the jetty, mostly whole fish like mulies or bony herring. The schools are coming past at various times during the day and you just have to be there when it happens.

There are still plenty of good squid being caught down at the jetty. Late afternoon is proving to be the best time of day, with most squid jigs in the 2.5-3.5 sizes working. The favourite colour is still the green and yellow. Don’t be surprised if one of the squids looks a bit funny, anglers are reporting cuttlefish catches in amongst the squid.

Tailor have been running off the jetty at night. They have been taking all the

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This cuttlefish came from the jetty. You can catch them like a squid, and should clean and cook them like one, too. sure you keep a berley trail going and leave a bait out for the mulloway. The same bait you are using for tailor will work well. If you can catch them, live herring and small whiting make excellent baits.

For early risers dawn is a good time to throw lures around for tailor from the beach. Look for the reefy

with fish oil in it. There are some squid and skippy in there, as well. Many of the skippy are undersize, so make sure you measure them carefully.

You can fish the boat harbour any time of day for herring, but the afternoon and night are best. It can be windy at this time of year, but there will always be a sheltered spot somewhere around the harbour.

There are still plenty of sand whiting being caught in the sand patches around the bay and behind Favourite Island. The best bait is worms, squid or oxheart.

Fish are being caught drifting or anchoring. If you can set up a drift along a good patch of sand you will usually find some. If you hit a good patch it might be worth anchoring. The best bait is oxheart, but squid and prawns also work.

Out at Sandy Cape they have been catching skippy in the afternoon on squid and prawns.

They have been keeping busy out at Sandy Cape, with some good-sized whiting coming in as well as tailor from the beaches.

Crayfish have been steady with reds being caught all around the bay.

There has been a bit of swell and wind around, so you have to pick your days. As usual, the earlier the better to beat the wind.

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whole fish baits like mulies, areas close to shore. You will sardines and white bait. have to be out early to beat The occasional mulloway is the southerly. being caught from the jetty at The water quality in the night, too. It is worth having boat harbour has improved a larger bait out as well – a with herring and other fish whole herring or other small moving back in. Fish from fish being ideal. the rock walls or jetties for Herring are being caught herring. Make sure you use a NEW RELEASE at the jetty on and off. You can berley cage and some berley also find some larger whiting and skippy around. The best time is in the afternoon and into the evening.

There are bigger tailor still coming from the beaches, with mulloway showing up as well. The best reports are coming from the beaches south of town.

Tailor are showing up in the late afternoon and biting into the night. Mulies or poddy mullet on gangs are the best baits.

Whiting and herring are SPORTS CRUSADER still being caught from VELOCITY the beaches. Baits like squid and worms are working. Make sure you keep your berley trail going.

Mulloway are being caught at night, while also Fisheries are checking pots to make sure fishing for tailor. Make they comply with new rope regulations.

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Land-based fishing at the start of summer is such a good activity in the mid-west of Western Australia. Earlier sunrises and later sunsets means more time for fishing before and after work.

How good can life get!

BEACHES The southerly or south westerly breezes come in early most days, so if you like using lighter tackle then the earlier you can get down fishing the better.

Whiting, herring and striped sea pike fishing has been pretty good for a while now, with both bait and lures being successful.

The anglers targeting whiting on lures have been successful when using a range of small poppers and stickbaits, and the standout lures have been Zip Baits Skinny Pop Jnr in keimura colours along with prawn patterns, Nomad Chug Norris 50 and Riptide 50 in clear and prawn patterns, and Bassday Sugapen 58F in clear prawn patterns.

For best result, remove the rear treble and replace with a small set of dedicated whiting assists. The Ocean’s Legacy Whiting assists are great for this job.

Whiting to 35cm have been caught, and so have some large herring and chopper tailor in the same areas. The productive areas have been Drummonds Cove, Separation Point, St Georges Beach and Little Bay (Horrocks). For the angler who prefers to fish with bait, peeled coral prawns, sand worm and mullet fillet are successful baits, bait also give you the bonus of berley, which will keep the fish in the area.

Bait rigs vary a lot and anglers will use whichever they have the most success with, but a paternoster rig with a set of ganged number 2-4 Mustad Limerick hooks with a white bait, pilchard or pilchard fillet on top and a single Long Shank or Limerick hook in number 4-6 on the bottom is very successful and has the bonus of catching extra species.

Tailor, herring, mulloway, pike and sharks are plentiful at the moment, and depending where you fish the prominence of each species will vary. In the mornings the beaches and Reefs from Geraldton to Greenough have tailor, whiting, mulloway, school sharks and herring, but the further south at Royces to West Bank and Flat Rocks, tailor are generally larger, and the mulloway more plentiful. If you can stay

Tailor will be available to anglers fishing land-based and from a boat. until sunset, the larger fish and sharks have been biting well.

Either lightly-weighted pilchards fished in the mornings before the southerly comes in too strongly, or a sinker heavy enough to hold your bait in the hole or gutter, are the most common methods used. Pilchards are the most common bait, but pike, mullet or tailor fillets will stay on better, especially if you want to use a set rig.

North of Geraldton to Drummonds Cove, Buller River and Coronation have been reliable for tailor, herring, small sharks, pike, whiting and mulloway. The majority of the mulloway are between 55-75cm, but a few fish over a metre have been landed as well.

Recent catches of bonefish and forktail catfish have been made from Lucky Bay to Port Gregory, with some of the bonefish over 80cm and the catfish over 60cm. Both species are quite common in northern areas, but to have catches of 5-10 of each species landed in one session in our local waters on conventional surf fishing tackle is very unusual.

Sand and weed movement from Separation Point to Pages Beach has been making local fishing a bit hit and miss, but in the last couple of weeks the beaches have cleared up and catches of herring, pike, whiting, tailor have improved.

The Northern side of Point Moore, Explosives and the Eastern end of the rock wall behind the Fishermans Harbour have been fishing well from 5pm until dark, with tailor, herring, pike, school whiting, and even the occasional school mackerel.

BOAT With the conditions not being too favourable to venture out, there has been occasional mornings when there is very little breeze to get out. The water temperature is still a bit cold, but anglers putting in the time have been successful trolling for tuna,

school mackerel and bonito.

Trolling along Pensioners Bank has produced striped tuna, school mackerel and Watson’s leaping bonito.

Using lighter gear and smaller lures for these species have provided some great fun.

when trying to land fish, so moving around is a must, and it will give you the option of finding new ground.

The reefs along Chapman Road and around the Light House all produce some nice tailor, and casting stickbaits into the wash zones will work, as they tend to sit and ambush predators as they pass. Be mindful of the swell in these areas, as it does get quiet hairy in spots and you have to get relatively close to get a cast into the strike zone.

The more protected areas around Pages Beach to Explosives, Seal Rock and Point Moore have been producing great numbers of herring, pike, skippy, tailor and squid. Using light tackle and small lures provides great fun for the family and kids, and anchoring up and getting a berley trail out certainly keeps the fish

Beach anglers will enjoy some great species like mulloway this month.

The South West Bank has been producing striped and yellowfin tuna, along with the lumps holding large amounts of samsonfish and amberjacks.

Southern Group and Wreck Point has been successful for yellowfin tuna, shark mackerel and yellowtail kingfish.

Unfortunately the sharks have been a real nuisance

around you and in casting range. Samsonfish also inhabit these shallow sea grass and sand holes, so having a live herring or pike out could see you tied in knots for awhile.

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West Coast

Hit the ground running this year KALBARRI

Robbie Leck

With summer well and truly set in, with it comes the heat and the wind… and hopefully an abundance of fish! With rising water temperatures, big summer tides and a seemingly endless southerly, the fishing in Kalbarri’s Murchison River often seems to outshine the windswept seas west of town, however there are still

are less prolific. Long light beach rods are also preferred, as the bonefish tend to have a fickle approach to baits.

Local fishing competitions are still proving that there are plenty of fish to be caught on Kalbarri surf beaches, including Wagoe and Frustrations, with a local landing a club record breaking mulloway off the Wagoe Beach, catching a massive 30.61kg beauty! Also on the bite in that area were golden trevally and bonefish. Reports

of the boat pens where crabbers work the drop offs, where the rubble meets the sand.

Mud crabs are also a regular by-catch in the Murchison River at this time of year. In recent years crabbers chasing blues have found more success

Reef Cut In, upriver sand flats and Chinamans Beach, and anglers are preferring the start of an incoming tide. Small bits of prawn are by far the most commonly used bait by regular whiting bashers, however some anglers opt

Demersals are once again a priority for many anglers in the Kalbarri area.

Giant mulloway are becoming common captures from the beaches.

Tailor and XOS bonefish are a Kalbarri speciality! a great host of species on offer for both boat and landbased anglers.

Following previous reports of numerous bonefish being caught all along Kalbarri’s surrounding coastline, numbers have continued to increase, with some impressive specimens gracing anglers lucky enough to hook them. Fishos finding success with these fish have found small mullet cut baits to be the most effective, although mulies have also proven popular in areas where pickers

of more notable catches of mulloway around 10-15kg are fast-becoming a regular occurrence. Large mullet and squid baits are favourite baits for this caper. Preferable weather conditions also promote a drop in the swell and rising tide.

The presence of blue manna crabs is being felt through the river, with the population experiencing a growth spurt in recent weeks.

Popular areas through the river are the upriver sand flats or the rocky edges of the river north

using either mullet or fish frames, as apposed to the everpopular ox-heart.

Increasing reports of the elusive Murchison mangrove jack have arisen, with fish being spotted chasing small mullet around the boat pens.

Summer is usually prime time to target these fish in the Murchison River, which are often found around the local jetties and boat pens.

These fish will utterly destroy the unprepared angler, hence heavy fluorocarbon leaders and solid hooks are standard

for a more sporting approach by using small poppers and stickbaits to entice the tasty bits of silver.

Anglers braving the southerly have found success in the washy areas around town targeting large greenback tailor. Proven tailor haunts include Chinamans Beach, Oyster Reef, Frustrations and Wittecarra. Large surface poppers are often used when chasing these fish, although a big slow-rolled gardie is hard to beat when chasing green backs.

for anglers to get out to decent ground.

With school holidays and the weather warming up, we should hopefully see some brilliant fish landed over this time from both the Murchison

we have the glorious sunshine!

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Some incredible size bonefish have been landed recently.

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Dhuies are just one of many species back on the menu in January!

Red emperor will be high up on many people’s lists during January.

when targeting Kalbarri jacks.

In recent years, the most surefire way to catch these fish has been with the use of live bait, usually a small whiting or mullet.

Whiting are continuing to plague anglers, with fish being caught from the Oyster

With the demersal ban lifted on 15 December we are free to once again chase our favourite reef dwelling summer species such as pink snapper, coral trout and red emperor. Although with the unpredictable southerly winds, it may at times prove difficult

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Gascoyne Coast

Hot and windy start SHARK BAY

Kurt Blanksby

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It’s a windy and hot time of year in Shark Bay, so bigger boats heading out are taking advantage of the early morning calm before the wind picks up. Pink snapper, black snapper, cod and mulloway have been the main targets from any of the deeper channels out from Denham or over on the eastern side at Monkey Mia. Typically anglers use their sounder and GPS to locate the drop offs and then anchor up and start a berley trail to attract the fish.

Undersize pink snapper can be a real problem in this part of the world, and are often in big numbers, however patience and a good berley trail will eventually bring bigger fish in for a look.

Big baits and larger hooks are the go to avoid too many undersize snapper being

During summer, spinning with lures from the rocks at Steep Point can reward anglers with fish like this longtail tuna. being picked off too easily.

Crabbing out from Monkey Mia is also worth a shot, as good-sized blue manna crabs can be caught in drop nets a short way out from shore in the deeper channels. Bring plenty of bait and be prepared to get hassled by pickers or sharks stealing fish baits from drop nets. Alternatively, you can

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JANUARY 2019

Peron Peninsula in Shark Bay is one place you can catch northern species, like this queenfish. caught, and it also allows a bigger fish the chance to bully its way in and steal a meal from the smaller fish.

One of the best baits is yellowfin whiting heads that are easily taken by all large fish and are not easily picked off by the smaller ones. The added advantage is that you can spend time in the shallows catching a feed of yellowfin whiting and saving the heads when cleaning for bigger species out deeper. Many anglers have also learnt that working a jig through a berley trail will also account for the bigger specimens and can be very effective if baits are

use bait cages to help keep this problem to a minimum and allow the crabs to move in for a feed.

Those fishing the high rocks at Steep Point or Dirk Hartog Island will now be concentrating on early mornings before the wind and swell picks up, making it very difficult and dangerous.

Several species of mackerel, tuna, trevally and tailor will be taking lures cast from these locations, while baits fished down deep will see the usual mixed bags of reef species taken.

Walking the shallow sand and broken rock areas on the sheltered sides of the

Shark Bay peninsulas can be a good way to escape the strong sea breezes and have some fun with ultra-light tackle. Yellowfin whiting, yellowfin bream, flathead, tailor and even giant herring can be found in only knee deep water, so flicking small lures about is a good way to spend the afternoons when it’s too windy to be out in a boat. Again, these spots will fish way better on a high tide, but take care, as wading the shallows means you will be in the same water as numerous stingrays and treading on one of these is going to result in a painful sting that will knock you off your feet for days.

A drive up the Peron Peninsula into the National Park is always a good way to spend some time, however a reliable 4WD vehicle is needed, as the track at this time of the year is very boggy, rutted and corrugated in many sections. This is a popular area, so be prepared for crowds at some locations, but if you’re prepared to do some walking or kayaking, you can get away from other people and into some decent fishing spots.

More northern species like queenfish, spangled emperor and many species of trevally begin to show up in this area, so a real mixed bag can be the order of the day when fishing Peron Peninsula. The numerous rocky areas are home to blue bone at high tide for those prepared to fish crab baits on heavy tackle. Further out in the channels, mackerel and tuna can often be seen busting up baitfish on the surface.

So don’t just lose motivation because the wind is blowing during your holiday in Shark Bay, as there are many options.

Spend time actively fishing for a wide range of species and you’ll have a great time.

Get up early and make the most of the morning calm, then when the wind does come in, go for a drive and check out the sheltered bays and beaches to see what you can find!

Gascoyne Coast

Break in the weather has delivered results CARNARVON

Janice Baird

Lately it has been very windy, as you’d expect at this time of year, but when there’s been a break there’s been awesome fishing around the islands. Anglers have been catching a lot of rankin cod, lots of big pink snapper, red emperor and black snapper.

If you want to do well on these fish, it’s important to use really good quality bait.

We always use cuttlefish because it’s definitely the best, especially if you use the head. If you prefer plastics, a good choice is a 4-5” Madeyes Paddle Prawn in pearl or fluoro pink.

There are also still Spanish mackerel around, along with big schools of cobia.

Moving in close, there are a few pink snapper being caught in about 1m of water, and there are always good size mulloway and tailor along the beach and creek mouths. If you want

to catch a mulloway, first throw out a scaly on a gang to catch a tailor. Using a small legal tailor as a livey is the most reliable way to catch a mulloway.

The best times to catch tailor and mulloway are sunset or sunrise coinciding with the high incoming tide.

However, even without the high tide, it’s still worth having a try at sunset or sunrise.

The whiting and bream fishing has been good, with both biting well on coral prawns. The bream are also being caught on Gulp 3” Nemesis.

THE MONTH AHEAD In January the water temps will be nice and warm, and the mangrove jacks always like those conditions. We can expect these fish to come in thick and fast around the mangroves, with sizes averaging around 35-40cm.

A couple of places to try are the entrance to the boat harbour and over at Dwyers Leap, but anywhere around the mangroves is worth a go. The action is always

best on an incoming tide, and the time of day doesn’t really matter.

I generally use lipless crankbaits for jacks, such as a Sébile Flatt Shad or a Rapala Rattlin’ Rap. If you prefer bait, a bit of squid is good, and locally-caught is best. Thread a 1cm piece on a 3/0 or 4/0 circle hook on a running sinker rig, and you’re in business. If you hook a jack and he runs into a bit of structure, give him some slack line and he may think he’s off the hook and come out.

Big schools of GTs are around, and you can catch them in just a metre of water, which is very exciting and visual fishing.

We’ve had good results on Halco Roosta poppers in FIFO and liquid lime, Williamson Jet Poppers in dorado, and Halco Twisties in chrome or gold.

When the weather allows, we’ll continue to see good catches of reef species, as we do all year.

These fish receive very little fishing pressure for much of the year, thanks to

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Darren with a 32kg cobia taken in a metre of water. the wind, so when the blow does die down the fishing is red hot.

If it’s windy you can

launch early and retreat to the creeks. You can get a lot of bream (which will eat just about anything)

and flathead. The flathead like a lightly weighted coral prawn retrieved very slowly, bumping along the sand. When you feel a flatty take an interest in your bait, let it nibble for a bit and wait for it to take a bigger bite.

You can still catch blue swimmers but they’ll be in bigger numbers in the cooler months.

If you want to tangle with queenies or GTs, you’ll find them hanging just on the ocean side of the river and creek mouths in about a metre of water.

They love spoons, metals and poppers. The average is around 4-5kg for both species, with the occasional monster up to 30kg!

Carnarvon Tackle & Marine is more than just a tackle shop – they also sell fresh local seafood.

And of course there’s a great range of tackle, marine accessories, block ice, and local Carnarvon bait. Drop in and see Janice and Darren at 93 Harbour Road, Small Boat Harbour, or phone them on 08 9941 4161. You can also Like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ carnarvontacklemarine.

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JANUARY 2019

37

Gascoyne Coast

Wind no dampener on catches EXMOUTH

Jenni Gates

The fishing scene recently has been particularly good for those shorebased, with some ripper reports on all sides of the cape, plus up the creeks in the gulf.

On the days when boats

could venture out it was productive, but we did have a few windy periods through the month that challenged some anglers.

The highlights included some wicked days on sailfish in the gulf, with Captain Josh Bruynzeel getting double figure tags, and Captain Eddy Lawler getting double figures on

marlin west side.

Recreational anglers also got in amongst the action with some double figures and the hot bite was certainly running for quite a few weeks. Some days there was only a small window of opportunity in the gulf as the wind calmed to glass, which is when it pays to have a fast boat or

Quade Kitson with his PB red, a 9.5kg model caught off the Muiron Islands.

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JANUARY 2019

one with good shelter and comfort. Having said that, if you get wet, at least it is not cold or too far to return to port, with the grounds very close to shore.

The shoreline was busy with fish and quiet with people as the temperatures reached into the forties at times through the lead up to summer. The queenfish came in close to shore on queue and the whiting continued to grow fat, so be ready for a fresh feed and fun times with youngsters on the beaches in the gulf!

The mangrove jacks increased their appetite and showed up in a few social media pictures, along with squid that have been spotted by fly anglers.

Reef fishing was also a winner for some with Quade Kitson getting in to cracking reds off the Muiron Islands on a glass day.

The electric brigade have been smashing the deeper waters and getting in on the goldband action, as well as the cod, ruby snapper and a few amberjack.

Flyfishing in the gulf was a highlight for visitors from overseas as large permit combed the flats while the waters heated up. Fly guide Brett Wolf had a few clients land cracking fish from this area, while a couple who came to Exmouth to live for 12 months purely for the fly fishing managed to get some permit while wading the flats. I must confess that

Deb Foster with a bluey caught from the shore. some ripper statistics again as the water heats up for the summertime blues.

Although we live in a cyclone region, the fishing through summer can be

Summer is a great time to collect a feed in Exmouth.

I personally am yet to get one of these and it is on my list for 2019.

Last year in January started with a blast when Eddy Lawler brought in the 1089lb blue marlin, so we are hoping to see

sensational, especially in a lead up to a cyclone. Last year we had none come close and the year before was the same. In fact, the last time we had anything nasty was in 2015 on Friday the 13 March. Even

then, it only put the fishing off for two days and then boats went out and tagged a bunch of hungry billfish.

Generally speaking, January can be very hot, so be prepared for some 45°C+ days and know that you can’t walk the beaches bare foot, but you can find plenty of secluded places to wet a line.

Jumping in the water is a great option in summer as the water temperatures rise and you can expect a stack of options here from coral trout to rock lobster, reds, blueys and all sorts.

Of course, plenty of people have been doing this during the holiday period.

Remember that the Australia Day long weekend is the Heavy Tackle Tournament, with three days of fishing in water depths over 250m on 37 and 60kg tackle to target billfish. There has been a lot of interest in this event over the years and we expect it to be another awesome event run by a few volunteers of the Exmouth Game Fishing Club.

• For more up to the minute information on what is biting and where, drop into Bluewater Tackle World Exmouth and have a chat to the friendly and informative staff. They are located at 3 Maley St Exmouth and can be contacted at (08) 9949 1315.

FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS PLACES TO FISH AROUND THE WORLD

UMBA RIVER EGUUR RIVER AMAZON BASIN CONGO RIVER BRAINERD HALONG BAY PIAS BAY ABACO ISLAND BELIZE CAPE COD

DTD - REAL FISH OITA

BOULDER CREEK RIO GRANDE LOUGH CURRANE CHALK STREAMS CAPLES LAKE FLORIDA KEYS RIO COLORADO CHOLLAS LAKE ARAMIA RIVER

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 JANUARY 2019

Phone (day):

BARRA COUNTRY by Brett Currie

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SPOT THE

10 DIFFERENCES

GEORGE & NEV by Michael Hardy

ORIGINAL

FIND-A-WORD Congratulations to, David Gibb 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

J Bremmell of Brunswick, P Buszan of Bunbury, A Nicholls of Augusta, M Curry of South Guildford, C Bowling of West Pinjarra, G Screaigh of Meadow Springs, G Uren of Ballajura, B Bizjak of Boddington, I Williams of South Yunderup, J Addenbrooke of Maddington, N Metcalfe of Fallon, Y Hwangbu of Ballajura, C Warren

of Wagin, K Culshaw of Banyo, R Rose of Baldivis, B Piercey of Eaton, W Carr of Exmouth, P Dunlop of Capel, A Hogan of Parmelia, D Elkerbout of Dunsborough, R Walsh of Armadale, S Cameron of Tyndale, V Stacey of Butler, R Adamczyk of Spalding.

Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – WAFM

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

The subscriber prize winner for November is A Cassells of Waikiki, who won a Korr Lighting Pack valued at $398.

All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – WAFM

© A Cordelia Adams original artwork.

GUESS THE FISH?

FIND THE GAMAKATSU LOGO The answers to Find the Daiwa Logo for November were: 8, 12, 14, 22, 26, 31, 32, 35, 36, 38, 40, 44, 55, 59, 61. – WAFM

This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Trumpeter

The Find the Daiwa Logo prize winners for November were:

Answer: JANUARY 2019

39

North Coast

Wet season wonders along the North Coast BROOME

Troy Honey

Broome and surrounds has been absolutely firing this wet season, with barramundi reports hard to keep up with. The boaties have been hitting the creeks and finding success in both numbers and size.

Land-based fishers are also finding barramundi in the creeks such as Dampier, Willie and Barred creeks, as well as very good fish in the 600-700mm range being caught from the Broome jetty at night.

They are being caught on a variety of jig colours and also as a by-catch on lures, so it is pretty much about putting in the effort to get the reward. The jetty has bright lights at night that attract squid, so it is the perfect setup from the walkway to have a go and a fantastic way for the kids to get amongst the action, as it is quite a safe fishing platform.

What I love about the wet season in Broome is the near shore pelagic action, with queenfish at the top of my list for excitement on light tackle and also on the chilled sashimi plate or cured

Large permit visit Cable Beach over the holiday season and this one certainly taught the author that gifts don’t come easy.

Fishing Entrance Point, Liam Dimascia got stuck into some good size squid from the rocks.

Fishing the right tide for the area you choose is one of the keys to hooking up on barra. Fishing from the jetty as an example, the rising tide is the preferred option. Casting lures from the walkway and retrieving them past the pylons at night has been producing goodsized barra. The larger tides are often more productive and putting the time in to fish the few hours either side of the high tide to find the feeding time will pay off.

You will need a good rod that is both strong and flexible.

The jetty is very high and having a good rod to assist in manoeuvring the barra along the walkway as you work it to the shore certainly helps in the landing. Strong braid and leader will also be required to prevent the bust offs on the oyster-encrusted pylons.

It is worth flicking a few squid jigs around the jetty and Entrance Point while you are there, as there have been some very good squid reports. Liam Dimascia is one local angler that has recently enjoyed this delicacy while fishing from the rocks at Entrance Point, getting into some nice squid.

40

JANUARY 2019

on a pink Himalayan salt block. Queenies are well known for their aerobatics and tough fight to the end.

They will hit a variety of lures including metal slices, poppers and stickbaits.

Queenies congregate around rocky outcrops and creek mouths, which Broome has many of, such as Entrance

and Gantheaume points, the jetty, Dampier, Willie and Barred creeks, as well as all along the iconic Cable Beach, where they can often be seen busting up on baitfish. My preferred spot to chase big queenies is up the Dampier Peninsula around James Price Point around the reefs.

The best times for fishing for queenies is either high or low tide change, as this is when they group together to feed and will hit almost any lure cast into the feeding zone.

For tackle, a rod of 7ft or more in the 3-7kg range matched with a 3000 size reel fitted with 20lb braid will give you the stopping power you need while providing the fish the chance to give you a run. I really like how the queenies fight you all the way to the bank or boat, with multiple runs and will shred your heavy leader on the sharp rock edges the first moment it

gains the better of you. You may also require a net for landing queenies, as they will continue to flick when raised out of the water, managing to free themselves from your doubles or trebles before they are landed. Doubles are not a commonly-used hook, but when hunting queenies I will usually remove the trebles from my lures and replace with them doubles, facing the hook upwards, as I find it reduces snagging on rocks significantly, which is always a good way to reduce your tackle expenditure.

Mud crab reports have slowed, but that is not to say they are not about, however normally during the warmer temperature of the wet season it is more difficult to find good size muddies.

With that warmer water temperature, just like the queenies the mighty barra and threadies have been firing. During April of this

Ben Lye made an early start to ensure he wouldn’t miss the sunrise and a chance to catch some barra.

this year, a world record was set by local angler Ben Little on fly. While fishing in Roebuck Bay, Ben landed a 3.45kg threadfin salmon and received official confirmation from the Game Fishing Association in November. While not the biggest thready ever caught, Ben certainly showed everyone how it is done on fly. Roebuck Bay offers magnificent fishing over the flats for threadies as well as other pelagics such as queenies and GTs during the wet season. Small boat or land-based fishing is common practice while chasing threadies, as larger boats can be more challenging to manoeuvre over the shallow muddy bottom. Everyone is predicting another stellar wet season for threadies, which has been improving year on year since the closure of commercial fishing in the bay.

down Cable Beach feeding in the gutters on the incoming tide. Permit are often a fish chased by fly anglers on the flats in Roebuck Bay and along Demco Beach, but can be caught on Cable Beach as well. I was lucky enough to experience this myself around 12pm midday on Christmas day last year, and had an epic battle in front of a crowd of families while my sausages were sizzling on the Weber. Using a 3kg outfit on 20lb braid the solid permit took a cooked prawn I smuggled out of the fridge that morning. The permit had me guessing for quite a while as to what I had hooked due to the never-ending runs into the deeper water. Managing to turn him back around on three occasions between his bull runs, I was exposed to flashes of silver and called it for a big GT. I was very surprised after landing the

The stunning rock-littered coastline along the Dampier Peninsula offers magnificent sportfishing action, with catches like this big queenfish caught by the author.

School holidays and the time off for the rest of us over the festive season often brings days of 4WDs with awnings erect, eskies and deck chairs on Cable Beach, so there’s no better time to drive the rod holders into the sand, bait up a paternoster rig with a prawn and cast out into the stunning turquoise water in between turning a few snags on the portable bbq with the family. The mighty Cable Beach never fails to turn it on with one of the best mixed bag of potential fish in the state. Everything from barra, queenies, GTs, whiting, bream, threadies, cobia, sharks, golden trevally, mangrove jacks and flathead can be caught here.

A rarer but by no means less exciting species is the permit that travel up and

fish to see the biggest permit of my life. I had to regain my breath and sit back and attempt to take in how lucky I was to be sitting on Cable Beach on Christmas Day with perfect conditions, an esky of icy cold drinks and the smell of a bbq sizzling away while recuperating the fight of one of the toughest pound for pound fish in our waters. It truly was a gift I will likely never forget.

But that is the wet season in Broome!

Some can find the humidity all too much, but venturing out near the water where it is cooler, and trying your luck with the array of different fish species the wet season brings with it is a perfect way to beat it. Here’s hoping for another great holiday season in Broome!

North Coast

Challenging conditions call for a tactics change DAMPIER/KARRATHA

Troy Honey

The wind has been relentless and everyone I have been speaking with cannot wait for the holidays to start and the wind to end. With the usual end of year westerlies now behind us and holidays and glass-offs in front of us, there is no better time to clean the dust off the boat and head out to try your luck on some nice demersal fish.

in smaller boats or landbased. Myself, I really enjoy the challenge of land-based fishing as it is relaxing and gives you the time to sit back and enjoy the magic scenery of the Pilbara. Another option is to pack the kayak on the roof racks and head off to find those creek spots that the boaties can struggle gaining access to.

I recently took the kayak for a spin in an attempt to get a feed of mud crabs and with it came some interesting challenges of its own. Trying to manoeuvre

The author tackling big mud crabs from a kayak in Point Samson.

One advantage of the consistent westerly wind over the last few months was the reduced fishing pressure on the demersal species.

It is always good to allow some time each year to give the fish stocks a break and the wind at this time of year is pretty much a nature induced demersal ban, albeit for some of the larger boats that can manage the sloppy conditions. From my fishing in the Perth and adjacent regions over many years it is very clear to me the positive effect the demersal ban has had on the pink snapper and dhufish stocks down there. So, I for one am really looking forward to getting out there in search of big reds and rankins.

Wind aside, the Dampier and Karratha regions still offer fantastic fishing options either in some of the protected bays and creeks

the kayak in the right position in order to not spook the crab on the net while the wind was blowing me off course was hard. You really need four arms and hands: two for the paddle and two to pull the net as soon as you touch it. It was very frustrating seeing the crabs trying to rip my lamb necks off in the clear water and then finally grabbing hold of the rope only to pull up an empty net.

Once I figured out my drift pattern, I repositioned my ropes in the mangrove branches further away and up wind, then positioned the kayak to drift down onto the ropes, allowing me to start pulling the net in without as much risk of spooking the crab. Finally success!

But then came the next challenge of removing the feisty mud crab from the net and into the bucket that was

Bluebones are in abundance around the rocky headlands of the Burrup Peninsula. The author took this 460mm bluey last month from the shore on a 150lb handline with fresh rock crab for bait. sitting between my legs. I am sure you could imagine what damage any mistake could possibly incur.

With the barra well and truly on fire in the local creeks it is certainly worth heading in for a chance to land some silver beauties.

Balla Balla to the north has been producing very good fish with many over the magic metre mark. The creeks further south around Point Samson and Karratha are also holding barra along with mangrove jack, jewfish and cod.

We recently had a great session at the mouth of the Harding River at Cossack on school mackerel that were hitting anything that moved. These were great fun on light gear jumping around and are fantastic on the dinner plate, too.

Along with the schoolies there were plenty of queenies and trevally to test your gear out. On the same day we had a try for mud crabs, but somehow they managed to remove the lamb necks from our wire clips. So, we moved the nets out to the 6m mark in the bay for a try at some late season blue swimmer crabs and were well rewarded for our efforts.

The rain will hopefully fill the dry creeks beds

Angler Alyssa fishing in the stunning surrounds of the Dampier Archipelago Islands getting into some beautiful coral trout action.

up this year and I am looking forward to chasing mangrove jack in the kayak as they feed on what the freshwater rains washes downstream. I find the

It is the perfect option on those windy days if walking around the creeks chasing barra or mud crabs is not your preferred day out fishing. On my travels I have been coming across many anglers out enjoying the same, often stopping for a chat about each other’s success or frustration.

On a recent bluebone junket I managed to land one around the 460mm mark. I hooked up to six others only to lose them in the rocks, one of which was right at my feet at an estimated 700mm. It certainly is heart breaking, but also ensures I keep coming back for more.

As mentioned previously, using fresh rock crabs or cooked crab legs for bait is the way to maximize your chances of hooking up to the brutes. Also ensuring

plus side, he did get his line back. If you can manage to secure a rod holder in between the rocks, you can then place the reel over the rod holder. Just make sure the handline can spin freely as the big bluebones like to run a bit before chewing up and swallowing down the crab. When you see it peeling line off you simply lift it up the rod holder and strike all in one and this will usually result in a hook up.

Cannot say I am not excited about the next couple of months, the fishing options are endless, and the weather should be perfect, albeit a little on the hot side. One thing to remember is the lightning that comes with the wet season in the Pilbara and it is not recommended to be

The blue swimmer crab run in Karratha is slowing down, but if you search around you can still bring home a feed, like this one the author caught before Christmas. Trying the cooler, deeper water is one way to find success. kayak as good, if not better, than the boat for floating lures down past the snags.

Jacks are aggressive hunters and, like barra, they like to sit behind the snags with the water flowing past them and strike at food as it comes along. This reserves their energy and allows them to feed for longer periods, so the fish feeding times are not as tide dependent.

January and February will be perfect for this style of fishing and semi-floating lures work best for it.

Another way is to use your electric motor on the boat to anchor you in position near the snag and cast upstream and slowly retrieve your lure past the snag – with the current also pushing your lure a fast retrieve is not needed. The trick is to allow the lure to move like a live baitfish that uses the current to travel, so replicating that as close as possible entices jacks or barra into a strike.

Being an avid landbased bluebone fanatic I have been out climbing over the rocky headlands and bays of the Burrup Peninsula and around the Cleaverville and Point Samson areas.

you are either hanging on to your hand lines or they are secured in a way that they can spin but not fire off into the water is essential.

I was fishing next to another avid bluebone hunter recently who laid his handline down on the rock

out fishing with a graphite or carbon fibre fishing rod when it is all guns blazing.

These rods are conductive, and fishers have been seriously injured or worse when attempting to fish in these conditions. Best to sit it out and either fish the

Heading out to the 40m mark and beyond is where you will find the big red emperors off Dampier. for just a moment when a big bluebone decided it was time to eat. Within an instant his handline was flying across the rocks and into the water with the fisher straight in after it.

Alas, the fish was gone with a feed of crab and the fisher enjoyed a nice swim. On the

build up to the storm, or wait until it is all over and head out to make the most of the flowing water the storm has brought with it

Hope to see everyone out there over the holiday period and I hope it brings some memorable catches for you all.

JANUARY 2019

41

A little window to find some Aussie natives FRESHWATER

Peter Fragomeni

With the summer heat really setting in, the trout fishing in our northern water is limited to a few rivers that are fed by irrigation water being let out at a high rate at this time of the year, or a few spring fed streams that are shaded by tall timber.

Some of our dams can fish in January if you find where the fish are holding and present your offering right on their nose.

DAMS Waroona Dam This water experienced the best trout fishing in over two decades thanks to the dedication of the few keen members on our stocking committee and the willingness of our Fisheries Department to embrace change by growing on the normal small yearlings to a size that offer immediate sport. These fish are large enough to evade the average size redfin and our smaller little pied cormorant (add the good water levels this year) and it resulted in some great

the majority of the catches.

We just have to see how they go through the hot summer, but if you are keen to have a crack then fish deep and you will at least get rewarded with some tasty redfin for your efforts.

Remember this water is open to all boating, and the skiers are in full swing, so pick the quiet time midweek if you can.

Redfin have been caught in varying numbers and sizes, mainly in the deeper water around 6m on lures and very small ones are coming off the bank.

Big Murray cod are available to those in the know. This one fell to Kepler Weber’s surface lure at night. late at night, making snaring impossible, but sometimes you can be pleasantly surprised by the size of the marron available. Remember camping is allowed, but only in the designated area for $10 per person per night paid to the Caravan Park.

Logue Brook Dam Reports have been slow, but I fish this dam in summer with the aid of a boat and a fast-sinking fly line or

Camping is now restricted to a small area in the back section of this dam, but I wouldn’t take young children there in full skiing season as the ski boats can be very active.

Harvey Dam This dam can be hard going in the warmer months compared to the higher dams, and the trout go deep and can stress out and become reluctant to feed in all but the

using a pole snare.

Camping is not permitted in this catchment and it is owed by Water Corporation that have chosen to turn a blind eye to people doing the right thing, but they can send you on your way if they choose. Rubbish is a concern and I always collect a couple of bags in my area on my visits Wellington Dam Redfin are your only

Trout can still be active on early mornings in the warmer months. This rainbow was caught on a deep drop-off using a sinking flyline.

The lower waters around Pemberton and surrounding areas always fish this time of the year, and redfin are active in all waters in the warmer months.

Aussie natives are active and being caught by those in the know, with some truly large silver perch hitting surface lures in the dark.

fishing with up to 10 trout being caught in an evening fishing the shallow bays.

The fly rod proved most successful, but small lures accounted for a few as well.

Some large brown trout were caught and a number of ex-brood rainbows were caught, but the advanced yearling rainbows made up

January sees the start of the marron season and this water is a trophy water, so check the Fisheries website as this is a fishery that is policed heavily and they don’t give many warnings.

I have found that the water can be too muddy in some parts of the dam due to ski boat activities until

Trout can grow fast if the right food is available.

This rainbow is only 13 months old!

WA has some beautiful freshwater impoundments, but unfortunately because of the lack of East Coast native species they are only worth fishing for a short period after the spring trout stocking.

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lures that get deep down in the creek channel with some success.

Marron numbers are high in this water but finding legal size ones can be hard at times, even though it’s not a trophy water and the size limit is the lower at 80mm carapace (head) measurement.

No redfin are present, but the ski boats can be very active, so be careful if you are on a small kayak or trolling this water.

cooler summers.

Redfin have been active and some nice fish have come out lately. There are a very small amount of eastern native species in this water, and are not a common occurrence, although they are more active in the hotter months.

There are some nice marron in this water and it’s a trophy water, so the 90mm head size and five bag limit applies. These marron can only legally be targeted

option and some nice specimens have hit the deck in recent times, although the numbers aren’t as high as other waters further north.

The recent decision by Department of Transport to bring this dam in line with other waters where you can use a electric motor on the whole dam is a step in the right direction, as it opens up a huge area in this dam to explore by boat.

The use of a good sounder is more important here, as

you can go for hundreds of meters without seeing a fish, so paying more attention to areas that show fish on the screen is the way to go.

As I reported in earlier editions, this dam was the site of our first East Coast native species trial, where

but you can camp in areas outside the park to the back of the dam for up to 28 days.

Big Brook Dam Pemberton This nice little water has been fishing well in the last few months, with little rainbows plus a few ex-brood

is a good option, as its fed by water coming out of Big Brook Dam. One little trick I use is to carry a little thermometer and test the water, and if it’s over say 25°C, then move on and try upstream, downstream or another water, as trout prefer

Silver perch fight hard and are great to catch on fly. It’s a dream of many West Australians to have these and other natives stocked in our dams. golden perch and bass were selected.

This is the same situation as we had fighting to stock Lake Kununurra with barramundi that went on for over 20 years. Look at it now, producing fish of nearly over a meter and on track to be a world-class fishery, attacking tourism from all areas.

If you are in favour of stocking East Coast natives

rainbow trout finding their way to the bank or kayak recently.

This had a stocking of 130 surplus two-year-old browns in October, so I would give it a go if you’re down that way around Christmas.

They still have a lot of growing to do, and as they can live longer than the rainbows plus predate on the small redfin it’s a unwritten

Cody Willis with a huge silver perch caught on a surface lure at night. to a selected few dams where redfin predate heavily on marron and other species, contact your local MP or myself and have your say, as without support from anglers, change won’t happen.

Good numbers of marron are always seen here, but there’s a lot that aren’t the minimum 80 mm head size required for this water.

Camping is permitted at the Potter’s Georges site inside the National Park,

rule that these magnificent looking fish get returned to the water.

Rivers I would concentrate only on the ones that are fed by irrigation water if you’re chasing trout, but the rivers around Pemberton always fish well through summer.

My picks would be the Collie (below Wellington Dam), but as long as it’s not too high, the Lefroy Brook over its entire length

water that’s a few degrees under that.

Redfin will be active in waters above that, but generally I find the cooler water is preferred by this species as well.

Marron are present in most rivers, but the size and quantity vary at different locations.

Sitting around a camp with mates or family with a couple of freshly-cooked marron and crusty bread, butter and a beer is a great way to spend a warm summers night outdoors.

Just check you have a license and are familiar with all the rules, as patrols are common, even in the most secluded places, and be aware that snakes are very active in the warmer months even at night!

AUSSIE NATIVES Here I am referring to native sport fish from the East Coast of Australia as ‘Aussie natives’. I’m talking mainly about Murray cod, golden perch, bass and silver perch, of which the latter is by far the most widespread we have over here in the west.

Unfortunately, nature wasn’t kind to us when it comes to freshwater species over here, and as I have learnt first hand, our authorities are no more generous in allowing the translocation of these iconic sport fish into a few selected dams in our south.

These dams are overrun with introduced redfin perch and a annual stocking of trout bred by our Fisheries Department takes place every year.

Make no mistake, the Pemberton Hatchery do

a fantastic job breeding a cold water species in our hot dry climate. Our trout are world-renowned to have a heat tolerance a few degrees higher than other parts of our own country and around the world.

These genetics are now in demand by countries that are facing climate change and a program is being developed to successfully breed triploid trout that are sterile by heat treating the eggs or pressure stressing them before they hatch.

This is not new, but has only been moderately successful with as low as a 50% rate being achieved.

Apparently they are striving for almost 100% before they will sell to these countries.

I’m not sure what they are trying to protect, as we don’t have a large trout aquaculture industry in this state.

Anyway back to the natives. There are a small band of dedicated freshwater angers that are pushing hard to get these stocked in a controlled situation, and I don’t hide the fact that I am one of them.

I just can’t see how we have a species like redfin in most of our dams that are breeding to the point that they overrun themselves and become stunted, consuming all available food to a point that even trout can’t compete, yet we are denied of a species like golden perch that have proven to prey on the small

Leah Fragomeni with a healthy rainbow being released. stage of life. Authorities have opened up dams such as Eildon, Blowering to join Copeton as an all year fishery, unlike other waters that close in September, October and November to protect the males who guards

are sick of the slow hand approach by those in charge of making the stocking decisions.

The value that decent sport fish bring to small towns was witnessed at the recent Recfishwest Troutfest

Our irrigation dams offer some good marroning if you get in early on opening day. As night approaches marron move into the shallows. redfin in waters like Eildon, Blowering, Hume and many more. In fact, the natives have completely eliminated redfin out of Lake Mulwala and Copeton Dam over east.

The fact that they can’t breed in dams and they require a flood in rivers late spring, plus an algae bloom to create zoo plankton for the fry to feed on is a situation that will never happen here in WA. It has even been proven that Murray cod do breed in dams, but the tiny fry generally don’t have the available zoo plankton to sustain them in their early

the nest of eggs until they hatch, and also the females before the spawn.

We have a number of natives here and numbers are increasing because people

in Waroona this September, and although it was shortlived, the numbers kept flowing in, because of the very large browns that were stocked in the nearby dams.

DAM LEVELS WAROONA DAM 94% DRAKESBROOK WEIR 85% LOGUE BROOK DAM 69% HARVEY DAM 74% WELLINGTON DAM 73% GLEN MERVYN DAM 95% BIG BROOK DAM 97% All our Irrigation Dams are well up on this time last year so unless we have a very hot and dry summer things should look good for next autumn JANUARY 2019

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recfishwest

Care of iconic species As fishers take to the water over the summer months, we remind those who chase iconic bottom fish such as dhuies, baldchin and snapper to exercise the utmost care and respect when targeting these fish.

Stocks of these fish have been under recovery since 2010, when both the recreational and commercial fisheries had management changes aimed at cutting each sectors’ catch by 50%. As the fishery is composed of multiple species existing over a large area and targeted by both recreational and commercial fishers who

water showing signs of barotrauma may often have difficulty swimming and returning to the bottom and subsequently have a much lower chance of surviving.

These fish also have a much greater risk of being eaten by sharks, because they can’t escape.

Anglers are competitive by nature and we continue to strive for bigger and better catches. This has led to some anglers choosing to release small (but still legal) fish in the hopes of catching a larger fish to take home. Some anglers also mistakenly think a release weight ensures all released fish will survive,

• Never intentionally targeting bottom fish for catch and release purposes • If a legal-sized fish is caught in deep water, consider keeping it rather than releasing it in the hope of catching a larger one • Always release bottom fish using a release weight As stewards of this resource, it is imperative that they all do as much as they can to ensure the fish stocks rebuild. These simple steps will make a difference by ensuring both fewer unwanted fish are brought to the surface, as well as a greater rate of survival for those that are released.

Dhufish and many other demersals are at high risk of suffering barotrauma from depths greater than 20m. views. This is the largest number of responses we have ever received for a single species survey.

We are extremely proud of the people of WA, who took a fairly conservative approach to crab management, in supporting some management measures that although would impact fishing experiences at certain times of year, would ensure

that completed the survey list the Peel/Harvey Estuary as their preferred crabbing location.

• About 55% or survey respondents fish using only drop nets.

• 95% of respondents supported managing fisheries to deliver positive experiences even if it means different arrangement in different fisheries.

• Although having a male-

supported a crabbing season from DecemberApril, which would provide protection to pre-spawn female crabs during the May-November period.

• Almost two thirds of respondents did not support a nighttime curfew on crabbing.

• 98% of respondents support measures to reduce the amount of pre-spawn female crabs taken by the

Blue swimmer crabs are WA’s most popular species. use different fishing gear, it is an extremely complex fishery to manage.

One of the issues around managing this suite of species is postrelease survival. Many of these species suffer from barotrauma, which is when air inside the swim bladder and other organs of the fish expands as the fish is brought to the surface.

A quick retrieval does not give the fish enough time to adjust to the rapid changes in water pressure. Some fish suffer from barotrauma more than others, but generally bottom dwelling (demersal) species caught in depths greater than 20m are amongst the fish most affected.

The physical effects of barotrauma can be seen in the form of inflated abdomen, bulging eyes, stomach protruding from the mouth and distended intestines.

Undersize or unwanted fish that are returned to the 44

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making it acceptable to target demersal fish for catch and release purposes.

These practices are not as innocent as they seem, and end up having a larger impact on these fish stocks than people realise.

Research on dhufish has shown a large proportion of fish caught at depths over 30m metres die when released, with survival rate decreasing the deeper the fish was caught.

When undertaking assessments of these fish stocks, fisheries researchers take into account the estimated number of fish that die after release as part of their calculations.

This estimate is added to the ‘catch’ component in a total mortality model.

This means for fishers, it is essential we do everything they can to ensure the number of fish that survive release is high.

There’s a number of simple ways in which they can achieve this, including:

COMMUNITY SHOW LOVE FOR CRABS In last month’s edition of Fishing Monthly, you will have read about the Department Primary Industries and Regional Development’s Fisheries Management Paper 288, which focussed on “Protecting breeding stock levels of the blue swimmer crab resource in the South West.”

The paper included options for management arrangements that would build the resilience of the South West crab stocks.

Following the release of the paper, Recfishwest produced an online survey that made it possible for fishers to put forward their point of view on how crabs might be managed into the future.

Blue swimmer crabs are WA’s most popular species, and this was confirmed through the survey, in which almost 3,500 people shared their

Recfishwest will continue to work with government to ensure that crabbing is managed in a way that supports excellent fishing experiences. high quality crab fishing experiences into the future.

Here are some important parts of Recfishwest’s submission to the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development that they believe will be of interest to those who catch crabs in the south west: • About half of the people

only fishery was popular amongst respondents, Recfishwest do not believe this is the best tool to achieve the level of protection required for breeding crabs.

• Almost two thirds of respondents prefer that the minimum legal length remain unchanged.

• 87% of respondents

Mandurah to Bunbury Developing crab fishery.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank those in our community that put forward their views. We will continue to work with government to ensure that crabbing is managed in a way that supports excellent fishing experiences for all WA fishers forever.

New Year fishing resolutions NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

It’s that time of year when many of us make worthy resolutions aimed at improving our lives: we pledge to lose weight, get fit, drink less, give up smoking, clean out the garage or whatever else. But let’s not leave our fishing lives out of this important process!

The end of one year and the start of another is a great time for taking stock of things and re-evaluating one’s priorities. We shouldn’t ignore our fishing life when we’re undertaking this process, either. Most of us can easily do things that will make us happier and more successful anglers, as well as taking actions that benefit the fish stocks we chase and the environments they live in.

This year I’ve chosen 10 resolutions that I’ll do my very best to stick to. Hopefully, they might give you some ideas, too. The first five are intended to improve my personal fishing results (and my enjoyment of the sport). The second five aim to benefit the fishery itself.

Here they are:

hopeless at it myself. This year I plan to change that, thanks to the introduction of an online log book function by my favourite weather platform, Fish Ranger.

PERSONAL RESOLUTION 2 Organise my gear better:

fish I keep: Instead of almost always filleting and skinning my catch and discarding the frames and offcuts, I pledge to more often keep the ‘wings’ and fry them up, to make soups and stocks from fish heads and frames, and to occasionally cook fish whole to reduce wastage.

FISHERY RESOLUTION 2 Practice restraint, in addition to sensible catchand-release: In other words, to actually stop fishing for a certain species, in a specific spot, or using a particular technique once I’ve caught and kept or released a couple of the target fish. This might involve packing up and

We have a responsibility to honour our catch and make the most of it by reducing wastage at the cleaning and preparation stage. This starts with a sharp knife and the right attitude. with smaller ‘micro’ barbs and partially or even completely flattening my barbs (particularly on treble hooks) by using a pair of long-

Hooks, leaders and line are amongst the cheapest elements in the whole fishing process, but also the most important. Changing them often definitely pays dividends.

Despite my best intentions, my tackle room and shed constantly turn into a confused nightmare of tangled gear. I can hardly ever put my hand straight onto what I need for a particular trip, especially

Keeping a diary can help to identify productive patterns, but when you strike pay-dirt on fish, like this snapper pulled from 50m of water, stopping when you have enough can be much kinder to fish stocks (and therefore more sustainable) than switching to catch-and-release.

PERSONAL RESOLUTION 1 Maintain an accurate fishing diary: For years I’ve been telling people to keep a diary or logbook in order to identify successful patterns and repeat them. But I’ve been

tackle in good working order, but I know I can lift the bar.

As well as a wash down and dry off after every trip, I’m going to add a light spray of my favourite aerosol lubricant (Mako Oil) for each rod and reel after every trip.

if it’s something a little out of the ordinary. This year, all that changes.

PERSONAL RESOLUTION 3 Improve my gear maintenance routine: I’m not too bad at keeping my fishing

PERSONAL RESOLUTION 4 Turn consumables over more regularly: Line, leader and hooks are amongst the cheapest components in the entire fishing process, but their performance is also critical to our success. So, no more scrimping on line, re-using leaders of getting by with slightly dulled or rusty hooks for me. I pledge to change each one of those key components more regularly.

PERSONAL RESOLUTION 5 Finally, I’m going to slow down and do more looking: Instead of rushing in to any new situation and firing a bait, lure or fly straight into the water, I’m going to hang back and observe, even if only for a minute or two. One thing I’ve learnt over the years is that careful observation is a major key to success. Now it’s time to really implement that lesson!

I reckon the five steps just listed will lead to a noticeable improvement in my catch rates this year. However, as mentioned earlier, I’m also going to pledge to do five important things to help protect fish stocks and the habitats they rely on. Here they are: FISHERY RESOLUTION 1 Utilise more of every

Most modern hooks have tiny barbs that do much less damage to fish than the ‘ski jump’ barbs of the past. Single hooks are also a great option when catch-and-release is on the cards.

Thinking about this stuff is important. heading home early or (more likely) switching to different targets and locations.

FISHERY RESOLUTION 3 Go barbless or partially barbless more often: By choosing hook patterns

Slowing down and spending a little more time observing before wading straight in and wetting a line can make a huge difference to your fishing results.

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nosed pliers in more fishing scenarios. Better for the fish and me.

FISHERY RESOLUTION 4 Continue experimenting with retro-fitting single hooks to lures: I’ve been dabbling

with using singles to replace trebles on some lures for a while now, but this year, I resolve to take it to the next level and apply it to a lot more of my lure fishing. As with reducing barb sizes, it’s kinder to the fish, and safer for me.

FISHERY RESOLUTION 5 Finally, always carry a garbage bag with me when I’m fishing: And make it a habit to bring home at least half a dozen or so items of rubbish I encounter in and around our waterways every time I go fishing. Can you imagine the difference it would make if we all did this?

So, there you have it.

Those are my 10 fishingrelated New Year’s resolutions for 2019. What are yours?

If you interested in pursuing these ideas further (or monitoring the progress of my resolutions), my website portal www.fishotopia.com offers access to lots more content like this. Jump on, have a look around and consider signing up for the free monthly newsletter.

Meanwhile, happy New Year!

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BLACK MAGIC

MASTER CLASS

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

Conquering inshore marlin run Australia is lucky enough to have the best black marlin fishery anywhere in the world, both for quality and quantity. The legendary giant black marlin fishery off Cairns produces more granders (fish over a 1000lbs) than anywhere else in world.

It is mainly experienced though through larger

How many fish show up varies considerably each year, depending on the previous years recruitment.

In 1997 the NSW interclub tournament tagged 852 black marlin in just four days and while this was an exceptional year there have been plenty of good ones since. When they’re really hot, switched on crews can

The two fundamental things to look for are good water and food sources.

This is where sea surface sites and apps really pay off. Some like the one on BOM website are free and will give some idea, but if you want up to date accurate detailed maps then you need to open your wallet and invest in something like Rip

You know the blacks are on when even the big boats opt for the inshore option. live-aboard style charter boats set up for heavy tackle fishing, which puts it out of reach for most anglers.

On the flipside the annual inshore run of juvenile black marlin is something that even small inshore boats can get in

rack up double figures.

Only a couple of years back Scotty Thorrington, who operates Freedom Fishing Charters, caught 20 in one day out of Port Stephens.

The fact that this kind of action is accessible to small boats makes it very special and just about the

Pre-rigging your leaders will save you time spent out of the water resulting in more fish caught. on the action for, and in areas like Jervis Bay blacks can even be caught from the rocks.

These fish start showing up in Townsville around winter then move down when the East Australian Current starts to run south. Progressively from November to March concentrations of small blacks will show up from Fraser Island through to the Gold Coast down to South West Rocks, Port Stephens, Sydney and Jervis Bay. 46

JANUARY 2019

most fun you can have out of a trailer boat.

As red hot as these fish can be, everyday is completely different and they can go off the boil very quickly, so waiting until there’s a hot bite and everyone else is catching them won’t often pay off.

There are also a lot of things you can do wrong and common mistakes that virtually write off any chances of success, so it’s important to weed these out of your game before you start.

Charts or Fish Track. These will allow you to really hone in on those high potential areas or to stay at home because the waters turned over and gone cold. The ideal water is a nice blue colour and 21-25°C. Once you find a patch of good water the next thing to look for is the food source.

For inshore black marlin the most common of these are schools of slimy mackerel, yellowtail and pilchards.

Check your Navionics charts for any reefs or pinnacles in 30-80m of water, as these create upwelling and there is plenty of food for slimy and yellowtail schools to hold on and in-turn attract predators such as black marlin. They will also be feeding on pilchard schools, holding on to the edges of temperature breaks and current lines.

Good quality electronics play a big role in modern day marlin fishing. Not just for finding bait, but also marking marlin. With the right sounder it’s possible to mark multiple marlin feeding on a bait school, which you can then spend the time on to try and get a bite out of.

While trolling skirted lures for marlin is a proven technique, live baiting for inshore fish is far more productive. The biggest advantage is the conversion rate of strikes as small blacks, especially the toothpicksized models, can be woeful on trolled lures. An effective technique is slow trolling a bridled live slimy mackerel

through bait schools with one up high and the other with a sinker attached via elastic band to the leader so as to get down deeper. This way you can really focus on balled up bait or marked fish and work all depths of the water column to give yourself the maximum chance of a bite. Done right and using circle hooks and the right angle the success rate is very high for hooking and landing that fish. Reels need to be fished in freespool to a release clip and when the line pops out and drag screams it is just a matter of pointing the rod at the fish and slowly engaging the drag and lifting up on the rod.

The other benefit of circles is they are almost always hooked in the corner of the jaw, virtually eliminating gut hooked fish and ensuring a far better survival rate for released fish.

While there is a big range of circle hooks available out there, Black Magic Tackle has released their new KLT circles, which are highly productive. They are an inline hook and this makes them tournament legal with a Teflon coating that greatly improves hook penetration. The Teflon coating also aids in rust and corrosion resistance.

This a big benefit as one of the biggest problems with some other high end popular circle hooks is the point of the hooks corrodes away after one use.

They are available in size 6/0, 7/0 and 8,0 and while all will be adequate I think the 7/0 will hit the sweet spot for all sized inshore blacks, from 10kg to those 100kg inshore granders that sometimes pop up.

In marlin fishing it’s nice to have everything rigged up and prepared, especially your leaders. I always use fluorocarbon for leaders

The author hooked up and fighting a marlin only 1km from shore. and I would recommend Black Magic Tough FC. For inshore fish 80lb is perfect and should hang in there if a 100kg model does come along, but if fishing is tough try dropping down to a 60lb leader. It could help you get that bite.

I run about 12ft of leader with hook crimped on one end and a loop crimped on the other that clips to a small ball bearing snap swivel tied to a short double on the end of my mainline.

Light mono is by far the best for marlin, as braided line has no stretch for a brutal fight, often resulting in pulled hooks and busted leaders.

For inshore fish 10kg is ideal and Black Magic IGFA line is what I use and it has never let me down. The hi-viz yellow is the way to go as it makes it much easier for the skipper to see where the

line is in relation to the fish when fighting.

Smaller leaver drag overheads in a 16-20 size are most popular for this type of fishing, however, spin set ups with baitrunner style reels such as Shimano Thunnus 8000 are gaining popularity. The one big advantage the overhead still has over the spin gear is if you get that 80kg stubborn fish on, you can clip yourself into a Black Magic Equalizer gimbal and harness. These are high performing and for long hard fights they can be a lifesaver, even on inshore fish. They can be set up and fitted prior to using and then you slip off the gimbal but keep the belt on and when the time comes, it’s a quick simple procedure to slip the gimbal back onto the belt.

A beautiful black boatside in the closing stages of a fight.

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We all agreed that time out for yourself doesn’t have to be a 3-day trip to North Queensland; you just need to switch off for a moment and enjoy life.

Fishing for sanity

Main: Casting off the Cay with Bommi Adventures and Ed from Trademutt. Inset left: Bill Ovenden, Ed Ovenden, Ed Ross and Mitch Macrae - lads on the Job. Inset right: Ed Ross with a nice jobfish.

Top: Ed and Bill Ovenden with crayfish and coral trout.

Above: Bommi Adventures bagging out: coral trout, sweetlip and crayfish.

Below: Mates on an adventure with Bloomfield Escape. Bottom: A Daintree Rainforest crossing with the lads.

“You’re on Rossy, you’re on!”

Those were the words I heard right before my 10-minute battle with one of the biggest fish I’d ever caught. There’s nothing like that feeling you get when you see the line tweak and hear the excitement from everyone around you.

That was exactly the feeling I experienced on a trip with Bommi Adventures. On that trip there was plenty of banter and laughs between the boys, mixed with the excitement of catching fish. And it was awesome just being out on a boat, so far away from home, with not a care in the world.

Well, not a care other than my battle to boat this slippery bugger. I spotted a glimmer of colour, like a piece of gold appearing from the depths.

“Don’t lose it now,” I thought.

Luckily, Mitch knew what to do. He grabbed the fish’s tail and pulled it onto the deck – an 8kg green jobfish. Awesome!

So how was it that TradeMutt, a workwear company, came to be on the same boat as Ed, Bill and Mitch from Bommi Adventures? Let’s rewind a few months.

Dan and I started TradeMutt after working together as carpenters for three years. We were always talking about ideas that we had for our lives, and one of our ideas was to create our own workwear label. We didn’t know why nobody had made workwear fun.

Could it be done? We didn’t know.

Should we give it a crack? Definitely.

Then in late 2016, Dan got one of the worst phone calls of his life: one of his best mates had taken his life. I’ll never forget arriving at Dan’s place to see him and his friends crying and trying to console each other.

The months that followed were hard for Dan, and I knew it was my job to support him in any way I could. Mostly it was just being there for him, going for a beer or a feed and talking about things.

This experience opened our eyes as to just how big an issue poor mental health is in this country. Six Australian men die from suicide every day.

Then, in the middle of 2017, someone introduced us to the idea of social enterprise – using a profitable business to tackle social issues, or in other words,

using profit for purpose.

We immediately knew that our mission was to create a bold line of workwear that would be so eye-catching, it would be a conversation starter. The conversation would be about mental health. If we could create a product that blokes needed, but make it interesting and fun, perhaps we could allow guys to be able to talk about mental health issues.

Not long after launching TradeMutt, Dan and I were contacted by two early 20-something lads who wanted to have a meeting to discuss an idea. Brothers Ed and Bill Ovenden have spent their lives exploring North Queensland. While the lads are currently based in Brisbane and have regular 9-5 jobs, their passion is driven by one thing – catching fish. They wanted to share their experiences with others, so they started their own fishing and outdoor adventure company, Bommi Adventures.

So what did Bommi Adventures want with TradeMutt?

First of all, we shared a passion for addressing the issues surrounding mental health. The boys wanted to take people away from their daily grind and struggles, and give them an awesome experience in North Queensland. Bommi Adventures provides all-inclusive fishing and outdoor expeditions – everything from flights and accommodation to transport, boats, food and drinks.

Ed and Bill Ovenden invited TradeMutt to join them on an expedition to Bloomfields Escape – a coming together of two entities wanting to lead a generation of Australian men who are comfortable with mental health. It’s about guys being able to talk about their feelings and emotions, whilst participating in classic blokey activities.

We arrived in Cairns on the Friday and headed to the stunning Daintree Rainforest.

After a creek swim, croc-free, we made it to Bloomfield Escape where we were greeted by owners John and Debbie and their deckhand, Shane. I was shown to my accommodation and put my feet up while the Bommi boys got everything ready for the next day. Their professionalism is impressive. The transport was easy, plenty of good food, rods always rigged up ready to go, GPS coordinates set, and straight

IMAGES COURTESY OF: Myles Bennell onto the fish. We couldn’t help but be on cloud nine on that trip, and the only thing we had to worry about was which beer belonged to who. All the while, everyone on the trip was looking fantastic in their TradeMutt shirts.

We donned stinger suits and dived for crayfish, and also caught coral trout, nannygai and sweetlip – plus my whopper green jobfish. We took in the sights at Sand Cay, and then spent time snorkelling and free diving around Pickersgill Reef.

At one point we were in the eye of a fish vortex, consisting of large spangled emperor, trevally and even a school of bonefish.

Dinner at Bloomfield Escape was fit for a king – jobfish, coral trout, crayfish and sweetlip.

After dinner we headed down the river to wet a line, get a fire going, and kick back and chill. We talked about how easy it is to forget what is truly important, because we get swept up in work and financial obligations. Do material possessions really bring happiness? We discussed how much better people’s lives could be if they took a moment to re-evaluate what’s truly important to them.

Just consider: are you the priority in your own life? Do you give yourself the opportunity to be the best version of yourself? Could you do a bit of de-cluttering and focus more on the simpler things that bring happiness?

We all agreed that time out for yourself doesn’t have to be a trip to North Queensland; you just need to switch off for a moment and enjoy life. Having said that, we did have a great time catching jacks that night!

But all good things come to an end, and before we knew it, it was Sunday. It was time to head back down the coast to Cairns, after a stop at Cooktown to check out the sights.

The experiences on that trip were some of the best I’ve had in my life. And it was great that a group of lads could come together and appreciate the importance of good mental health practices. Bommi Adventures did an phenomenal job, and we’ll definitely be doing it again.

If you like the sound of our trip, give these blokes a shout. It’s an experience you’ll never forget.

JANUARY 2019

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING OKUMA PRESSURE POINT RODS

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their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ blackmagictackle. www.blackmagictackle.com

Okuma brings affordability to high end heavy plastics, popping and stickbait rods, without sacrificing quality, with the release of the Pressure Point rod range. Features includeToray graphite blanks, Fuji K-Series Tangle Free Guides, Fuji reel seats and most importantly actions and builds designed in conjunction with guides from Australia’s premier sportfishing charters.

The range consists of five rods, a one-piece general purpose 701M 7’ PE 2.0-4.0, 20-80g Heavy Plastics rod and four two-piece, butt joint rods, for easier transport and storage. The two Popping rods are a 792MH 7’9” PE 4.0-6.0, 50-150g and a 792H 7’9” PE 6.0-8.0, 80-200g, while the Stickbait models consist of a 762M 7’6” PE 2.0-4.0, 20-80g and a 832M 8’3” PE 4.0-6.0, 40-120g.

These five models will have you covered for light jigging and heavy plastics applications, through to the bulk of anglers’ stickbait and popping requirements, without breaking the bank. Team them up with an Okuma Azores Blue spinning reel and you have a genuine big fish stopping combo for around $500, or put the money you have saved on the rod toward arguably the strongest reel in the world, the Okuma Makaira, including the soon to be released 10000 size.

Price: SRP $279.90-$299.00 www.okuma.com.au

Long-sleeved collared shirts make ideal fishing wear, as they shield the neck and forearms from sun exposure. The new Sublimated Fishing Shirts from Shimano go one step further though, as the fabric has a UPF 50+ rating for maximum protection.

The 100% poly microfibre material used is also moisture wicking, so it draws moisture away from the body. Consequently, the shirts keep the wearer cool, and dry fast should they get wet. Additionally, they contain an antimicrobial treatment, meaning bacteria can’t get a foothold in the fabric.

The fish designs of Bream, Tuna and Kingfish represent a collaboration between Shimano Australia and noted fishing writer/ underwater photographer, Al McGlashan.

There is also a Squid design in the range for those anglers who love their egi fishing. The sublimated printing process means they will retain their vibrant colours for many years to come.

Shimano Sublimated Fishing Shirts are available in sizes S-XXXL. www.shimanofish.com.au

SAMAKI VIBELICIOUS 2 YAKKA

MAPSO VLASON SPINNER

Samaki Vibelicious brings a new colour to the lure market: yakka.

Yakka is all about the detail, with its patterned back featuring yakka stripes, and hits of yellow on the tail and fins adding to the lifelike appearance of the lure. The colour has proven itself time and time again as it is fished in multiple locations around the country, attracting barra, jew, bream and flathead to name a few. The traditional features of the Vibelicious Fork tail and Thumper tail are only enhanced by such an attractant as the yakka colour.

The Vibelicious Fork Tail and Thumper tail come in three sizes – 70mm, 100mm and 125mm. The 100mm and 125mm sizes have now been upgraded with the new YS81 Decoy Hooks and the all new Decoy EX Strong Split Rings. Hardware like this encourages longevity in your fishing experiences and better hookups, as the hook penetration is on point.

As always, the Vibelicious contains premium Japanese stainless wire and is made of the toughest 10X super stretch material. www.samaki.com.au

BLACK MAGIC MEASURES UP

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With the growing emphasis on measuring fish rather than weighing them, particularly in tournaments, Black Magic has introduced a ‘brag’ mat into its range of quality fishing accessories.

The Black Magic brag mat is manufactured from a durable UV-resistant PVC material, so it won’t warp and deteriorate in the sun like cheap mats will. It also has a sturdy acrylic header board to butt the fish up against.

This brag mat is designed to measure fish up to 1300mm, so it’s better equipped to measure big specimens than some smaller truth mats are. It has well-defined numbers and centimetre markings that show up clearly in photos.

This mat is 250mm in width and rolls up tightly for easy stowage, and comes complete with a handy mesh bag. For more information on this and other Black Magic releases, visit the Black Magic Tackle website. You can also see all the latest news and catch photos on

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JANUARY 2019

SHIMANO FISHING SHIRTS

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The new Mapso Vlason spinners are sure to be a hit with Australian anglers chasing freshwater species.

The Vlason is a bell-shaped spinner that features an internal cog which creates a vibration as it spins through the water. This vibration helps to attract fish from longer distances, as they pick up the lures vibration on their lateral line. As you can imagine, this lure is particularly effective in murky water.

The Vlason, like the rest of the Mapso range, is made to the highest quality standards, and has a 100% perfect spinning action every time. The Vlason weighs 4g and is 50mm long. It is available in six proven colours and has two pieces per packet.

The Vlason will also be very effective on redfin, bass, sooty grunter and jungle perch.

To find out more visit the Juro website. www.jurofishing.com

DAIWA TD BLACK LT

PRODUCT GUIDE

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It’s time to get back in black with the release of the new TD Black LT spin reel range. Bearing the famous Black name that has been featuring so strongly in the Daiwa line-up over the last few years, the TD Black LT features the LT’s Light Tough Concept to deliver anglers a reel that impresses in looks and wows in performance.

Lighter, stronger, tougher and more advanced in design and performance than its predecessor, Generation Black, the new TD Black features Daiwa’s new Tough Digigear gears for enhanced gear smoothness, strength and power.

New gears is just the tip of the iceberg, with an ultra-light Long Cast ABS aluminium spool, Zaion body, ATD drag, Air Bail, MagSeal, Perfect Line Stopper, aluminium Air Handle, and Air Rotor combining to make the TD Black LT one of the standout reels in the Daiwa range.

Available in six different sizes, ranging from the 2000D through to the 6000D, the TD Black LT heralds a new age for the famous name, and makes the perfect partner for the equally restyled and relaunched TD Black rod series. www.daiwafishing.com.au

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING B&S Q6500 QUIETPOWER

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The new Q6500 QuietPower Series Inverter Generator from Briggs & Stratton is designed to deliver consistent power for essential appliances and sensitive electronics. The all-steel frame, encased in a protective shell, increases the lifespan and reduces repair costs. Inverter technology produces power that is 60% quieter than standard generators.

The Q6500 features an efficient integrated engine/alternator to provide up to 14 hours of run time and 6500 starting watts of reliable back-up power. With its telescopic handle, integrated wheels and a design that’s 45% more compact and 30% lighter than standard generators, moving and storing the Q6500 is easy.

Another feature is the Bluetooth functionality available through the InfoHub app. The app monitors total power being used, run time (hours until empty), total unit hours and maintenance reminders.

With the added option of the new Manual Transfer Switch, the Q6500 can also be easily connected to provide power at home in the event of a power outage.

Price: SRP $2999 www.briggsandstratton.com

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RHINO-RACK WIND FAIRING

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Engineered with an innovative sawtooth pattern to disrupt and redirect airflow of oncoming wind, the Rhino-Rack Pioneer Wind Fairing reduces wind noise and resonance for a quieter drive. Not only will it effectively deflect the air surrounding your load, the Pioneer Wind Fairing doesn’t take up any of the usable space.

The Wind Fairing has a stylish black design to give your vehicle and roof racks a sleeker look. Offering both adjustable angular and longitudinal movements, it will conform to most vehicles’ roof lines and allow a more desirable fit for your car.

With 4mm thick ABS construction and glass-filled nylon, the new Pioneer Wind Fairing is solidly built. The UV resistance will prevent any colour fading, so that sleek black won’t be turning grey. The addition of soft Santoprene rubber feet and 3M clear plastic patches protect your vehicle’s paintwork to keep your roof scratch free.

Compatible with existing Pioneer Systems for easy installation and removal, the Pioneer Wind Fairing is backed by a 5-year warranty.

Price: SRP $179 www.rhinorack.com.au

UGLY STIK GOLD SERIES

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The Ugly Stik Gold series incorporates new technology that further improves dependability and performance.

The new Ugly Stik Howald process features Triple Built construction around an internal fiberglass core. Parallel fibers infused with pigmented polyester resin creates a strong yet sensitive rod with better balance that is virtually indestructible.

The latest inter-core laminate is an innovative design process that surrounds the graphite shaft fibers in the outer walls with a rigid-wrap structure.

The new process provides greater stiffness and superior strength through the blank shaft.

This creates a better taper from the backbone of the blank to the tip providing extra sensitivity and casting performance.

Ugly Stik Gold series are equipped with a full Fuji New Concept Guide for tangle free fishing. Fuji reel DPS graphite and Fuji TCS trigger reel seats are incorporated throughout

the Gold range.

Finished with comfortable tapered grips with Ugly Stik etched into the EVA and a slick new matt finish. www.uglystik.com.au

NEW DAIWA RELEASES

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SAMAKI SUNGLASSES

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GILLIES SHRIMP AND VIBE

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First you became a fighter, now you must become a leader. Backing up from the success of J-Braid, J-Thread FC is a brand-new 100% fluorocarbon leader material that boasts increased abrasion resistance and super-low memory.

Made in Japan from the finest raw materials, J-Thread FC features a low-memory core, improving handling characteristics and improving knot performance. The outer layer is treated to increase hardness and resilience to abrasion. It’s available in 4-80lb breaking strains in 100 or 50m spools.

Another new release from Daiwa is the updated Double Clutch colour range. A jerkbait with few peers, the Double Clutch continues to set the standard as the ultimate suspending twitchbait. Available in three sizes (60mm, 75mm, and 95mm), the colour range has been enhanced and standardised across the range, with the 20 available colours now available in every size.

The 75mm and 95mm Double Clutches have also been upgraded with Owner ST36BC trebles, which are razor sharp and ultra strong. www.daiwafishing.com.au

Meet Slick, Dodge and Duke – the front rowers of the new Samaki Sunglass range.

These three frames have been tried and tested by the team to ensure there’s a model to suit everyone, from the square-shaped Slick to the wrap-around Duke and Dodge.

Each one designed to hug the face, give great coverage from the elements and provide you with the polarised lenses you need when you’re out on the water. The Samaki team say these sunnies are so comfortable you won’t want to take them off.

All the lenses are a polarised grey tint with the option of a reflective external in either green or blue mirror. With matt black or gloss frames, the superior frame material is comfortable for the extended wear. Additionally, the Dodge is a floating model, so if you drop it into the drink you can just grab the net and get it back.

Price: RRP $49.95 www.samaki.com.au

JM Gillies has released two new realistic lures: the Gillies Shrimp and the Gillies Vibe.

The new Shrimp have a natural shape with realistic legs, antennae and also feature bright three-dimensional eyes. The body is ultra soft for a natural feel and look. The 68mm and 100mm version come rigged with premium extra sharp hooks.

The new Gillies Vibe combines the realistic soft X-Flex body and the vibration of a hard vibe bait into one. It features meticulous attention to detail, and its uniquely designed forked tail allows additional vibrations upon retrieval with a seductive, tight wiggling action that mimics a live fish. Gillies Vibes are the perfect bait for barramundi, snapper and many other species, and are fitted with extra strong VMC Spark Point hooks that allow you to target your favourite species with ease.

Gillies Vibes are definitely a great all-round lure for both freshwater and saltwater predators. www.jmgillies.com.au

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au JANUARY 2019

49

WHAT’S NEW FISHING MUSTAD FLASHER RIGS

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Mustad has released two new Flasher Rigs onto the market – the UltraPoint Octopus Flasher Rig and the UltraPoint Circle Flasher Rig. These 2-hook rigs rigs are user friendly, and can be used to target snapper or any other reef species. Suitable for jigging while drifting and also for bottom fishing, UltraPoint Octopus and UltraPoint Circle Flasher rigs are built using high quality Mustad UltraPoint hooks and 60lb leaders to maximise the flasher’s action while still being suitable for serious fish.

These rigs are also suitable for tipping with bait to enhance their appeal to a wider variety of fish, which includes the likes of pearl perch, flathead, kingfish and more.

The Octopus Flasher Rig uses the famous Mustad Octopus hook and has blue and red flashing with a generous pearlescent Fish Skin across the back of the hook.

The Circle Flasher Rig uses the Mustad 39953 circle hook and is finished with chartreuse/green flashing.

Fishing deep or shallow, with or without bait, the new Mustad Flasher Rigs will provide great options for anglers across the country. www.wilsonfishing.com

BLACKWOLF SKYRUNNER PACK

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The BlackWolf Skyrunner Transit Rolling Travel Pack is tough, durable and versatile.

It has a multitude of compartments to keep you organised, including the easily accessible main zippered compartment.

Coupled with lockable No.10 zips to prevent theft and a state-of-the-art side compression system to help keep your gear in place, it anticipates travel needs at every turn.

Choosing what to leave behind when travelling is time-consuming. Pack more gear and make use of the Skyrunner’s dynamic expansion gusset, which allows you to increase the capacity of your pack—for more room and fewer hassles. There’s an ergoharness that can be packed away when not in use and a two-stage handle for total command over the unit.

Unlike many rolling travel packs, the Skyrunner isn’t just made for airports. With durable, all-terrain 4WD wheels, BlackWolf’s Skyrunner can successfully tackle rocky, rough and uneven surfaces alike.

With a limited lifetime warranty, the Skyrunner is a testament to thoughtful travel design.

Price: SRP $299.99 (60L), $319.99 (80L) www.blackwolf.com.au

PRODUCT GUIDE

happens, the Swiss Champ Wood is the essential fix-it solution that should always be with you.

Price: $239 www.victorinox.com

WILSON PLATINUM 16 BACKPACK Designed specifically for fishing, the Wilson Platinum Series Backpack allows anglers to carry just about everything they need on their backs.

At the heart of the new system is the side access to the internal cargo area. The lets you easily keep the backpack over one shoulder while accessing the internal cargo area, so you don’t have to remove the backpack while you’re fishing.

Other features include three tackle trays inside the main cargo area that are sealed to provide waterproof boxes that will let you bring a mountain of tackle. An external sunglass holder and a retractable tool lanyard are also included. There are also four external zippered pockets for accessories such as leader, fishing gloves and more, as well as two Velcro secured tool holders and a massive front flap with even more storage for items such as plastics, spare hooks and more.

The top pocket also features an elastic webbing for securing jumpers or rain jackets, and the adjustable shoulder straps are padded for comfort and feature a chest strap for a more secure and ergonomic carry of the load.

Heavy cord with sturdy plastic sleeves are used on all zippers to ensure that even cold hands can easily open the zippers. www.wilsonfishing.com

RAPALA SPLIT RING PLIERS

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The new Rapala RCD 4” Mag Spring Split Ring Pliers offer easy to use, singlehanded operation.

Unlike conventional split ring pliers, the new Rapala RCD series are built with two internally opposing magnets to hold the pliers open.

The patent pending Mag Spring mechanism cannot fail, even in the harshest of conditions.

The split ring nose opens rings up to size 0, while the built-in cutter cuts all lines or tag ends with ease. Other features include stainless steel jaws with a gun metal finish, and ergonomic co-moulded Soft Grip handles for a comfortable hold.

In a nutshell, the RCD Split Ring Pliers are one of the easiest, quickest and toughest built split rings pliers on the market. Keep an eye out for them at your local tackle store. www.rapala.com.au

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STORM COASTAL SWISS CHAMP WOOD 18 15 TRICK TAIL KNIFE Anglers will love how the new Storm 360

Victorinox is now giving some of its most iconic knife models a revamp with walnut wood sourced sustainably from European forests. Each knife boasts a unique casing due to the natural wood grain.

One of the new models is the Swiss Champ Wood pocket knife, which is a modern day upgrade of the original Swiss Army Knife – the legendary Officer’s Knife.

With more than 29 functions and countless possibilities within it, including a ruler, pliers and a screwdriver, it is the perfect tool for almost any situation. There is a bottle opener and a corkscrew to kick off any celebration, a fish scaler and a wood saw for camping, a nail file, sewing awl, as well as some classic features such as a blade, screwdrivers and scissors. So wherever you are and whatever 50

JANUARY 2019

GT Coastal Trick Tail works the water.

This soft jerkbait has a fleeing baitfish action, and its ability to change direction is extraordinary.

If you stop the retrieve, and rather than slacking off, the Trick Tail will rock back and forth like a stressed baitfish. Its webbed tail continues to pump on the fall, or alternatively you can simply pinch out the webbing to switch to a more traditional wiggle effect.

The Storm 360 GT Coastal Trick Tail has a slotted back and belly for easy and balanced rigging. It is 5” long and is currently available in eight fish-catching colours, and we’re sure to see many species fall victim to its enticing action. Keep an eye out for it at your favourite tackle store. www.stormfishing.com.au

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

Black Magic Snapper Snacks and KLT hooks Recently we received a package from Black Magic, and in it were a handful of the premade Snapper Snacks flasher rigs, and some of their new rust resistant KLT circle hooks. We sent them out to some of our valued contributors, and this is what they came back with.

TESTED

coated KLT circle hook. This KLT circle hook is designed so that fish will hook themselves. They are most effective on fish if the angler resists the temptation to strike at the bite. The PTFE coating also makes the hook super slick, to assist penetration.

I gave them a run on the Murray River cod opening weekend. We spent some

Hungry snapper just can’t resist the Black Magic Snapper Snack flasher rigs.

NEIL SLATER Black Magic have released Snapper Snacks, which incorporate a variety of tantalising, UV fish-attracting material and a glow skirt. The glow skirt works best in deeper water, where light does not penetrate as well, or after dark. If you want to use the glow skirt after dark, use a torch, phone light or camera flash and check it after an hour or so and reapply if necessary.

These are designed to be used on a paternoster rig so the Snack sits as a visual attractant above the sea floor.

They incorporate a rust resistant, PTFE

time in banana lounges and nobody was getting up to attempt to set any hooks.

The KLT hooks did an excellent job where the rods were left alone to allow the hook to do its work, as any good circle hook should do.

ALLAN BEVAN I had the very good fortune to have Black Magic send me two of the new offerings: the Black Magic Snapper Snack flasher rig and the KLT chemically sharpened hooks. The KLT chemically sharpened hooks are the bomb – they are strong yet fine gauge, and are like a cross between a wide gape and circle hook with the recurve ‘self hooking’ design, pinning fish in the corner of the mouth.

With sizes through the range up to a 7/0, these hooks are for all styles of fishing from sweetwater to offshore bait

fishing. My own favourite has been the 1/0 for King George whiting, and it has done wonders for the hook up rate and they are easy to unhook, with all the fish hooked in the corner of the mouth.

The Snapper Snack flasher rig is a two hook paternoster rig with the KLT hooks, lumo bead and flasher material that normally catches the fish in the

corner of their mouth. They are great to use in deep water or at night. By adding a small amount of bait you end up with the benefits of both lure and bait. The very first one that I dropped down in 50m was monstered as soon as it hit the bottom, with a double header of breaksea cod and snapper!

Neil Slater found the KLT hooks to be great for bait fishing on the Murray for cod and carp.

JANUARY 2019

51

‘No worries’ for Boat Classic GF winners The time had come for the 2018 Getaway Outdoors and Hobie Polarized WA Bream Classics Boat Series Grand Final to take place on the scenic waterways of Augusta’s Blackwood River.

Proving that you don’t need a fancy boat with all the bells and whistles to consistently find the larger bream each day of the event was Fred Fraser and Michael

Doust from Team Hakuna Matata, with a combined two-day bag weight of 5.020kg. Fred and Michael set up their push for the title with a fantastic day one performance with a full limit that tipped the scales to 2.76kg, which had them sitting in first spot and 210g clear of the team in second.

It’s not easy to maintain such a position by the end of the

second day, but they managed to do just that, but only by the skin of their teeth with another quality bag weighing in at 2.260kg.

On day one the pair concentrated their initial efforts in the ski area and managed to bag out very quickly by 7:30am. They then chose to head further downriver to another spot, and this is when their weekend’s

Second place getters Team Shimano caught fish of this size on both days, proving that having a well thought out plan will hold you in good stead for two days of fishing. fortunes took a turn for the better. The move to this spot was such a good decision that not only did they upgrade all of their fish bar one on the first day, but they fished this spot for the entirety of the second day, which still produced enough quality bream to maintain first place.

Their lures of choice were ZMan 2.5” and 3.5” GrubZ in midnight oil and

Team Hakuna Matata with their day one bag that put them in a strong position to mount a push for the championship title.

bloodworm, ZMan 2.5” Slim SwimZ in bloodworm and Pro Lure Paddle Grubs in chartreuse shrimp.

Fred did most of his damage using a 7ft 1-2 kg Daiwa Battler Water Zombie Rod, which was matched with a Daiwa Luvias 2506 sized reel that was spooled with 8lb Daiwa Tournament Evo braid.

Meanwhile Michael did most of his damage on the bream

using a 7ft 1.5-3kg Daiwa Generation Black Scratchy rod that was matched with a Shimano Sienna 1000 sized reel that was spooled with 8lb Sunline PE. In his words, Fred after the event he said “If there is anyone out there with a little tinny thinking of giving the WA Boat Bream Classic tournaments a go, then I To page 53

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MIDVALE

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Gallant effort from Greisdorf for Grand Final The 2018 Getaway Outdoors and Hobie Polarized WA Bream Classics Kayak Series grand final took place in Western Australia’s South West town of Albany on the Kalgan River.

he lost a handful of chances to capitalize on big bream that he was hooking into.

Although, he held his nerve and salvaged the second half of the day with a quality bag of 2.11kg by throwing Cranka Crabs covered in ProCure

scent and throwing them tight against the pylons, Alex took full advantage of the morning bite by not only bagging out in the first hour but also catching what would eventuate to be the event’s biggest bream for day two

Alex did most of his damage using a 7ft 2-5 kg Duffrod that was equipped with a 2500 Daiwa Luvias.

Spooled onto his Daiwa Luvias was 10lb Daiwa Evo 8-ply braid and attached to his braid Alex ran 5-6lb Shinu fluorocarbon leader.

A SNEAKY SECOND Sneaking into second spot by 90g thanks to a strong day two performance was Ben Oakes, who weighed in a combined two-day bag of 4.020kg. Ben Oakes who is no orphan to long paddles to his preferred fishing grounds once again set off on a trek to the King River which neighbours the Kalgan River. His pattern would remain consistent over the course of the two days and it proved very effective. Early each day, Ben worked the drop offs that border the King River flats using purple Norries Jerkbaits to compile both of his bags. From there onwards he would look

for upgrades by locating schooling fish in deeper water with his sounder. Once Ben located these schools of bream he would target these fish with Crawdad coloured OSP Dunks and successfully make the upgrades he needed to bring back two quality bags each day. Such consistency over the weekend netted him $1100 in cash, a prize pack full of quality sponsor provided products and an Atomic Arrowz rod!

Ben did his damage on the bream using G Loomis Edge ISR701 rods equipped with Daiwa Certate and Aegis 2506 reels that were all spooled with Sunline Siglon 0.6 PE braid. Connected to his spools of Sunline Siglon braid was 4 and 5lb Sunline fluorocarbon leader.

ANGLER OF THE YEAR

If winning the championship wasn’t already satisfying enough for Alex Greisdorf then the achievement in taking out

this year’s Angler of the Year title was the icing on the cake. Coming into the grand final, only one point separated Alex Greisdorf and Joseph Gardner due to a hotly-fought contest between the two anglers. The grand final was no exception to this, with Joseph in the lead for the title by the end of the first day largely due to his capture of the events biggest bream on the first day weighing in at 1.45kg. Although, due to Alex’s strong second day performance, Joseph was unable to hold onto the lead and in the end Alex won the Angler of the Year title by a small margin of four points.

A a massive thankyou goes out to both the sponsors and the anglers who supported the 2018 series and made it very enjoyable for everyone. We hope to see everyone back next year for a bigger and better 2019! – WA Bream Classics

Alex Greisdorf with day two’s big bream weighing in at 1.41kg.

One angler who time and time again defies whatever Albany has to throw at him is Alex Greisdorf, who once again showed he has just what it takes to rise to the top and claim the honours of becoming 2018 champion angler. Alex has been extremely consistent in 2018 and this form continued throughout both days of the event but not without its hiccups. For most of day one, Alex was not on the side of the fishing gods as From page 52

would highly recommend it.

Don’t go thinking that you need a boat that’s fast to be competitive.” That couldn’t be any truer, as Fred and Michael fished out of a 3.7m tinny that was powered by a 15hp Mercury.

SHIMANO FALL JUST SHY Falling agonisingly short of taking out the championship by 30g was Paul Burton and Tom Schuilling from Team Shimano, who still put together a mighty effort to claim second place with a combined bag weight of 4.990kg. Their game plan each day had them fishing shallow submerged structures in the ski area each morning, before they would make a move to work deeper sections as the sun rose and the fish became skittish in the shallows. Fishing in either shallow or deep water, their offerings were just what the fish wanted.

They would bag out quickly using Shimano Bio Tough 100mm Wrigglers, OSP Dunks and Cranka Vibes and then continue to

scent against the pylons of the Kalgan River bridge.

This ability to resurrect his first day from the brink of a near disastrous day was the most critical element of his angling abilities throughout the course of the weekend.

Wasting no time on the second day, Alex headed straight to the Kalgan River bridge to try and emulate what he was able to do during the later stages of day one. Again by covering his Cranka Crabs in Pro Cure

weighing in at 1.410kg.

From there onwards the action petered out to a rather uneventful day for Alex but the damage was already done and his day two bag of 2.310kg to earn him a two-day combined bag of 4.420kg would propel him to first position on the final standings to claim the championship honours for 2018! Not to mention $1850 in prize money which included the $250 he won for big bream on day two.

use these lures to great effect in the deeper areas (3-5m) they fished. Whether they were fishing shallow or deep, they found that was it was important to work their lures close to the timber structures that line the banks of the ski area. By doing so they were able to extract the larger fish remaining in the area to produce a bag weight of 2.55kg on day one, and then 2.44kg on day two to mount a strong challenge for the win.

HERRING A CLOSE THIRD Rounding out the grand final podium in third place was Joseph Gardner and Tom Harders from Team

Herring, who brought back a whopping 2.930kg bag on day two to finish the event with a combined bag weight of 4.850kg. Joseph and Tom fished a wide range of areas from upriver towards the end of the ski area right down to the mouth of the river.

Yet on both days they found themselves doing most of their damage around the areas close to the weigh-in site. In this area they focused their efforts on tea trees and used the strong current to their advantage by throwing a mixture of plastics ahead of the structure and letting the current bring the lure into the strike zone. Lures that did

This is why Albany is a favourite venue for many of the anglers who compete in the WA Bream Classics! the trick for the boys on day one were Draggon Maggots, ZMan StreakZ, Ecogear Bream Prawns and Razor Edge Brawler Baits.

On day two their presentations were refined to using just Ecogear Bream Prawns and ZMan GrubZ. This combination on day two worked a treat and they went to town on the bream in order to not just catch the biggest bag for the weekend, but also the biggest bream, that Tom Harders caught, which came in at 1.08kg.

TEAM OF YEAR TITLE Team Gladiator/Tackle HQ by enough positions to claim the title ended up taking

out the team of the year title, a closely fought title. Team Gladiator/Tackle HQ finished one position behind Team Herring on the grand final scoreboard, which gave them the win by a narrow margin of two points. Shane Owens and Graeme Kovacevich thanked the series sponsors and everyone who took part in this year’s series. Shane Owens thanked his sponsors Gladiator and Tackle HQ for all the support they’ve shown in helping him and

Graeme defend the very title Shane and his father Steve won in 2017.

So that wraps up the 2018 Getaway Outdoors and Hobie Polarized WA Bream Classics Boat Series!

A big thankyou to everyone and every company that got involved, we highly value your support and hope to see you back next year for what will be a bigger and better 2019 WA Bream Classics Boat Series! – WA Bream Classics

Team Hakuna Matata’s Fred Fraser and Michael Doust proudly holding their trophies in the tinny they fished from.

JANUARY 2019

53

Trades, Services, Charter BAIT & TACKLE METRO TackleHQ Kingsley (08) 9309 4200 WA Bait Supply O’Connor (08) 9314 1755 Castaway Tackle Malaga (08) 9248 3800 Gun-Mart & Tackle Midvale (08) 9274 5699 Earlybird Bait Rockingham (08) 9527 3333 Bluewater Tackle World Morley (08) 9375 9800 Bluewater Tackle World Myaree (08) 9330 7766 Bluewater Tackle World Joondalup (08) 6244 0344 Bluewater Tackle Mindarie (08) 9407 9766 Tim’s Tackle Plus Guildford (08) 6161 0044 Baitmate-Bricap Wangara (08) 9309 5474 Compleat Angler Nedlands (08) 9389 1337 Anglers Anonymous Fishing Tackle Supplies Canning Vale (08) 9455 2521 Tackle World Miami (08) 9534 5533 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 Anglers Fishing World South Fremantle (08) 9433 4768

Anglers Fishing World

FISHING GUIDES/CHARTERS Apache Charters South Fremantle (08) 9339 2432 West End Charters Winthrop WA 6150 (08) 9332 4303 Blue Juice Charters (08) 9401 4666 Mills Charters Hillarys (08) 9246 5334 Achievement Charters Fremantle 0418 655 188 Port Bouvard Charters Wannanup 0477 347 465 Blue Horizon Fishing Charters Exmouth 08) 9949 1620 Fly Fishing Frontiers Exmouth 0427 366 142 Top Gun Charters EXMOUTH 0418 925 131 Diversity Bluewater Adventures Exmouth Exmouth 0488 009 989 Set The Hook Exmouth 0433 049 988 Esperance Diving And Fishing Esperance (08) 9071 5111 Duke Charters Condingup (08) 9076 6223 Black Jack Charters Bandy Creek 0429 106 960 Spinners Charters Emu Point (08) 9844 1906 Great Southern Discovery Albany 0455 105 127 SHIKARI Charters Fremantle 0412 131 958 Evolution Fishing Charters 0477 901 445 Kalbarri land Based fishing Carters 0418930695 Tailored Treks - Lancelin 0427 941 126 Perth Fishing Safaris 0422 686 363

ONLINE TACKLE PRODUCTS FG Wizz www.fgwizz.com.au

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www.anglersfishingworld.com.au Tackle World & Outdoors Mandurah (08) 9581 6953 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

ROCKINGHAM 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 Rods & Tackle (08) 9841 1231 Trailblazers Albany (08) 9841 7859

ESPERANCE Tatey’s Bait ‘n’ Tackle Castletown (08) 9071 5003 Esperance Camping & Workwear Esperance (08) 9071 2142

DONGARA & GERALDTON Dongara Sport & Tackle Dongara (08) 9927 1196 Geraldton Sports Centre (08) 9921 3664 Getaway Outdoors Geraldton (08) 9965 3766

CARNARVON

WALPOLE – MANJIMUP – PEMBERTON Peaceful Bay Caravan Park Peaceful Bay (08) 9840 8060 Peaceful Bay Chalets Peaceful Bay (08) 9840 8169 Rest Point Holiday Village Walpole (08) 9840 1032 Coalmine Beach Holiday Park Walpole (08) 9840 1026 Riverside Retreat Walpole, (08) 9840 1255 Nornalup Riverside Chalets Nornalup (08) 9840 1107 Pemberton Caravan Park Pemberton (08) 9776 1300 Warren Way Caravan Park Balbarrup (08) 9771 1060 Manjimup Central Caravan Park & Deli Manjimup (08) 9777 2355 RAC Karri Valley Resort Beedelup (08) 9776 2020 Big Brook Arboretum Pemberton (08) 9776 1207 One Tree Bridge Chalets Manjimup (08) 9777 1196

AUGUSTA Flinders Bay Caravan Park Augusta (08) 9780 5636 Molloy Caravan Park Kudardup (08) 9758 4515 Turner Caravan Park Augusta (08) 9780 5633 Hamelin Bay Holiday Park Hamelin Bay (08) 9758 5540 Sheoak Chalets Augusta Augusta (08) 9758 1958

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SEE IT! .. BUY IT! .. www.fgwizz.com.au HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION ESPERANCE Esperance Bay Holiday Park Esperance (08) 9071 2237 Bathers Paradise Caravan Park Esperance (08) 9071 1014 Pine Grove Holiday Park Esperance (08) 9071 4100 Pink Lake Tourist Park Nulsen (08) 9071 2424 Esperance Seafront Caravan Park Castletown (08) 9071 1251 Ocean Beach Holiday Units Esperance (08) 9071 5942 Esperance Chalet Village Bandy Creek (08) 9071 1861 Esperance Beachfront Resort Esperance (08) 9071 2513 Munglinup Beach Holiday Park Munglinup (08) 9075 1155

HOPETOUN – BREMER BAY Wavecrest Village & Tourist Park Hopetoun (08) 9838 3888 Hopetoun Caravan Park Hopetoun (08) 9838 3096 Bremer Bay Caravan Park Bremer Bay (08) 9837 4018 Bremer Bay Beaches Resort & Tourist Park Bremer Bay (08) 9837 4290

ALBANY Cheynes Beach Caravan Park Cheynes (08) 9846 1247 BIG4 Emu Beach Holiday Park Albany (08) 9844 1147 BIG4 Middleton Beach Holiday Park Middleton Beach (08) 9841 3593 Kalgan River Chalets & Caravan Park Kalgan (08) 9844 7937

Carnarvon Tackle & Marine (08) 9941 4161

KALBARRI Kalbarri Sports & Dive (08) 9937 1126

EXMOUTH 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 BlueSun2 Boat Charters Ardross 0405 353 353 Boating West O’Connor 0429 887 798 Boat Hire Perth Mindarie 0403 095 868

DENMARK Denmark Rivermouth Caravan Park Denmark (08) 9848 1262 Denmark Ocean Beach Holiday Park Denmark (08) 9848 1105 Karri Aura Caravan Park & Motel Suites Shadforth (08) 9848 2200 Denmark Waterfront Denmark (08) 9848 1147

Prevelly Caravan Park Prevelly Park (08) 9757 2374 Gracetown Caravan Park Gracetown (08) 9755 5301 Riverview Tourist Park Margaret River (08) 9757 2270 Margaret River Tourist Park (08) 9757 2180

Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour Mews Road, Fremantle WA 6160

(08) 9433 4768

Emu Beach Chalets Emu Point (08) 9844 8889 Albany Holiday Units Middleton Beach (08) 9841 7817 Havana Villas Albany (08) 9844 1085 Lilacs Waterfront villas & cottages Robinson (08) 9841 2390

Albany Happy Days Caravan Park King River (08) 9844 3267 Albany Holiday Park Albany (08) 9841 7800 King River Palms Caravan Park Willyung (08) 98443232 Two Peoples Caravan Park Kalgan (08) 9846 4024

YALLINGUP – DUNSBOROUGH Caves Caravan Park Yallingup (08) 9755 2196 Yallingup Beach Holiday Park 1800 220 002 Dunsborough Lakes Holiday Resort (08) 9756 8300 Dunsborough Beach Cottages (08) 9756 8885

BUSSELTON RAC Busselton Holiday Park Busselton (08) 9755 4241 Busselton Villas & Caravan Park Busselton (08) 9752 1175 Geographe Bay Holiday Park Busselton (08) 9752 4396 Lazy Days Holiday Park Busselton (08) 9752 1780 Amblin Holiday Park Busselton (08) 9755 4079 Four Seasons Holiday Park Busselton (08) 9755 4082 Busselton Holiday Village Busselton (08) 9752 4499 Sandy Bay Holiday Park Busselton (08) 9752 2003 Fourseasons Holiday Park Busselton (08) 9755 4082 Busselton Beachfron Busselton (08) 9755 2607 Busselton Jetty Chalets Busselton (08) 9752 3893

BUNBURY Bunbury Glade Caravan Park Bunbury 1800 113 800 Discovery Parks - Bunbury (08) 9795 7100 Binningup Beach Caravan Park Bunbury (08) 9720 1057 Riverside Cabin Park Bunbury (08) 9725 1234 Leschenault Caravan Park Bunbury (08) 9797 1095 Waterloo Village Caravan Park Bunbury (08) 9725 4434 Brunswick Junction Caravan Park Bunbury (08) 9726 1544 Taralea Farm Bunbury (08) 9728 1252 Australind Tourist Park Bunbury (08) 9725 1206

MANDURAH Pinjarra Caravan Park Mandurah (08) 9531 1374 Mandurah Caravan & Tourist Park Mandurah (08) 9535 1171 Belvedere Caravan Park Mandurah (08) 9535 1213 The Dwellingup Chalet and Caravan Park (08) 9538 1157 Waroona Caravan Village (08) 9733 1518 Timber Top Caravan Park (08) 9535 1292 Lake Clifton Caravan Park (08) 9739 1255 Miami Holiday Park (08) 9534 2127 Tathams Caravan Park (08) 9537 6844 Peel Caravan Park (08) 9535 4343 Lake Navarino Holiday Park (08) 9733 3000 Estuary Hideaway Holiday Park 0407 838 061 Pinjarrah Holiday Park (08) 9531 1604 Waters Edge Caravan Park 0427 281 622 Mandurah Ocean Marina Chalets (08) 9535 8173 Murray River Caravan Park (08) 9537 6140 Footprints Preston Beach (08) 9739 1111

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.

54

JANUARY 2019

Boats & Guided Fishing Tours Directory MOORE RIVER – LANCELIN – CERVANTES Guilderton Caravan Park (08) 9577 1021 Branchys Holiday Homes Guilderton (08) 9577 1321

JURIEN BAY – GREEN HEAD – LEEMAN Jurien Bay Tourist Park Jurien Bay (08) 9652 1595 Green Head Caravan Park Green Head (08) 9953 1131 Leeman Caravan Park Leeman (08) 9953 1080

DONGARA – GERALDTON Seaspray Beach Holiday Park Dongara (08) 9927 1165 Dongara Tourist Park Port Denison (08) 9927 1210 Leander Reef Holiday Park Port Denison (08) 9927 1840 Port Denison Holiday Units (08) 9927 1104 Double Beach Caravan Park (08) 9921 5845 Batavia Coast Caravan Park (08) 9938 1222 Drummond Cove Holiday Park (08) 9938 2524 Horrocks Beach Caravan Park (08) 9934 3039

KALBARRI

Chandlers Marine Service Wangara (08) 9303 9366

DERBY Kimberley Entrance Caravan Park (08) 9193 1055 West Kimberley Lodge & Caravan Park (08) 9191 1031

Mobile Marine WA Osborne Park 0428 225 877 GP Marine Cockburn Central 0408 913 104 Hitech Marine Wangara (08) 9309 2888

KUNUNURRA Town Caravan Park (08) 9168 1763 Wyndham Caravan Park (08) 9161 1064 Lake Argyle Caravan Park (08) 9168 7777 Discovery Parks - Lake Kununurra (08) 9168 1031 Kimberleyland Waterfront Holiday Park | Kununurra (08) 9168 1280 Ivanhoe Village Caravan Resort (08) 9169 1995 Lake Argyle Resort (08) 9168 7777 Hidden Valley Caravan Park (08) 9168 1790 Kununurra Lakeside Resort (08) 9169 1092 El Questro Wilderness Park 1800 837 168 Kona Lakeside Caravan Park (08) 9161 1139

BOATS Aquasports Marine Midvale (08) 9250 3339

Bravo Marine Services Bayswater (08) 9272 9300 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 Boat Lifters Blue HQ Perth (08) 9239 9333 Bravo Marine Services Bayswater (08) 9272 9300 Perth Boat Mechanics Huntingdale 0405 593 786 GP Marine Cockburn Central 0408 913 104 Platinum Boating Maintenance Wangara 0402 477 656 Parker Marine Fremantle (08) 9336 6979 Westmarine Boating Services Fremantle WA 0425 177 700

MARINE ACCESSORIES

Murchison River Caravan Park Kalbarri (08) 9937 1005 Kalbarri Anchorage Caravan Park Kalbarri (08) 9937 1181 Kalbarri Tudor Holiday Park Kalbarri (08) 9937 1077 Murchison House Station Kalbarri (08) 9937 1998 Kalbarri Beach Bungalows A & B Kalbarri (08) 9937 0400 Murchison caravan park Kalbarri (08) 9937 0400 Kalbarri Blue Ocean Villas Kalbarri (08) 9937 2442

Challenge Batteries Osborne Park (08) 9446 6122 JPW Marine Wholesale Distributors Perth (08) 6253 3000 Whitworths Marine & Leisure - Leerderville (08) 9381 1442 Crackpots Marine Supplies O’Connor (08) 9337 2211 Hydrowave – www.hydrowaveaustralia.com

SHARK BAY Denham Seaside Caravan Park, (08) 9948 1242 Shark Bay Caravan Park (08) 9948 1387 Blue Dolphin Caravan Park and Holiday Village Denham (08) 9948 1385 Oceanside Village Denham Shark Bay (08) 9948 3003 Bay Lodge Denham Shark Bay WA (08) 9948 1278 RAC Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort (08) 9948 1320

$449 USD

CARNARVON Wintersun Caravan and Tourist Park (08) 9941 8150 Capricorn Holiday Park (08) 9941 8153 Outback Oasis Caravan Park (08) 9941 1439 Carnarvon Caravan Park (08) 9941 8101 Norwesta Lifestyle Park (08) 9941 1277 Coral Coast Tourist Park (08) 9941 1438

CORAL BAY Peoples Park (08) 9942 5933 Bayview Coral Bay (08) 9385 6655 Ningaloo Club (08) 9948 5100 Ningaloo Reef Resort (08) 9942 5934

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All Boats and Caravans Kingsley (08) 9309 4200

MARINE TRIMMERS

John’s Motor Trimmers Auto & Marine Upholstery Welshpool (08) 9470 5531 G.K. Trimmers Canning Vale (08) 9455 7144 Prestige Marine Trimmers Perth (08) 9303 9536 McCarroll Motor & Marine Trimmers Osborne Park (08) 9244 1449 Exclusive Marine Trimming & Upholstery O’Connor (08) 9314 6882 Universal Marine & Automotive Upholstery O’Connor 08) 9314 1770

DAMPIER

Broome Caravan Park (08) 9192 1776 Discovery Parks - Broome (08) 9192 1366 Broome Vacation Village Caravan Park Broome (08) 9192 1057 Cable Beach Caravan Park Broome (08) 9192 2066 Tarangau Caravan Park Broome (08) 9193 5084

Searano Marine Malaga (08) 9248 2242

Waters Edge Marine Trimmers Leeming 0412 204 085

Discovery Parks - Onslow (08) 9184 6007 Ocean View Caravan Park (08) 9184 6053

BROOME

Whitworths Marine & Leisure - Mosman Park (08) 9385 5877

Mason Marine Trimmers O’Connor 0418 923 787

ONSLOW

PORT HEDLAND

Offshore Marine Guildford (08) 6278 1299

The Trim Shop (08) 9430 5332

Ningaloo Lighthouse Holiday Park (08) 9949 1478 Yardie Homestead Caravan Park (08) 9949 1389 Ningaloo Caravan and Holiday Resort (08) 9949 2377 RAC Exmouth Cape Holiday Park 1800 871 570 Exmouth Escape Resort (08) 9949 4800 Mantarays Ningaloo Beach Resort, Exmouth (08) 9949 0000

Discovery Parks Port Hedland (08) 9173 1271 Port Tourist Park Port Hedland (08) 9172 4111 Blackrock Tourist Park South Hedland (08) 9172 3444 Landing Resort Port Hedland (08) 9172 4111

www.hydrowaveaustralia.com

Bluewater Marine (08) 9791 1499

EXMOUTH

Dampier Transit Caravan Park (08) 9183 1109 Discovery Parks - Pilbara, Karratha (08) 9185 1855 Karratha Caravan Park (08) 9185 1012 Discovery Parks - Balmoral, Karratha (08) 9185 3628 Harding River Caravan Park (08) 9182 1063 Aspen Karratha Village Baynton (08) 9185 2726 Karratha Apartments Karratha (08) 9143 9222 Searipple Village Karratha Bulgarra (08) 9158 7400 Karratha Village Karratha 1300 321 669

(includes shipping)

John’s mobile trimmers Jandakot (08) 9417 4414 Cutting Edge Marine Trimming O’Connor 0432 062 834 Mandurah Motor Trimmers Greenfields (08) 9581 8180

WELDING & MANUFACTURING 18 HAWKINS ST, EAST BUNBURY, WA 6230

(08)

9791 1499

CSD Designs Bayswater 0407 772 010 XFactor Signs 0413 113 828

Northbank Fibreglass Boats @northbankboats MARINE MECHANICS Falcon Services Australia Midvale 0458 852 591 Bay Marine Maintenance Crawley (08) 9386 7059 Pleisure Marine Maintenance O’Connor (08) 9337 9569 Boat Fix Balcatta (08) 9240 8778 Parker Marine Fremantle (08) 9336 6979 Matich Marine East Fremantle (08) 9339 7722

Boat Wrap Specialist www.xfactorsigns.com

Advertisers wanting to be involved in this directory can call 0417 901 301 or email nick@fishingmonthly.com.au JANUARY 2019

55

Happy fishing at Harvey Dam HOTSPOT

Luke Doherty

Driving the Southwestern Highway is nice enough on its own. Although, for most freshwater anglers the most exciting part is the turn off onto Weir

around Bunbury. With the introduction of a yearlong freshwater season, it’s now possible to fish freshwater any time and make the most of your license.

TARGET SPECIES There is an abundance of redfin perch in the dam.

These are considered a pest

the Southwest freshwater scene. Smaller numbers of brown trout are released each year and as a result they are a target for more serious freshwater anglers. The optimal time to target trout is during the cooler months before the water becomes too warm.

easy enough to avoid getting wet. If the water level is low, the muddy bottom will stick to everything, so wear footwear that you don’t mind getting dirty.

THE APPROACH Freshwater fishing is all about presentation. The right lure or bait, at the right depth and moving in the right way.

The right depth changes through the day. Low light can bring redfin up close to the banks and when the sun hits its peak, fish retreat to deeper snags.

Baits for freshwater species are very simple.

Worms and insects are easy enough to collect or buy from a shop. Freshwater species in WA dams respond well to lures and can be a great way to cut your teeth on lure fishing.

While trolling is a preferred method for some anglers, there is a lot of satisfaction in a nice cast

A quality depth sounder can make all the difference when fishing this dam.

Photo courtesy of Ben Kelly from Southwest Kayak Anglers.

fallen timber and submerged logs. When worked correctly the bibs will clip the timber and this lifts the rear hooks up, making it more likely to get through a snag without getting caught up.

Early morning and late afternoon solid colours work well, but around noon when the sun is overhead

Launching into the water at Harvey Dam is quite easy.

Photo courtesy of Ben Kelly from Southwest Kayak Anglers.

Road. This is the road that leads to Harvey Dam and some of Southwest WA’s most accessible freshwater kayak fishing experiences.

species, so returning them to the water is discouraged.

While they can be a little fiddly to fillet, with a mild flavour and white flaky flesh

Rainbow trout are prolific in this dam thanks to annual stocking.

Photo courtesy of Ben Kelly from Southwest Kayak Anglers.

A short one-hour and forty-minute drive from the Perth CBD, Harvey Dam is an easy day trip for most Perth anglers, and an even shorter drive for those based

they are a fantastic table fish.

The prize catches are the two species of trout.

Stocked annually in three separate sizes, rainbow and brown trout are the stars of

LAUNCHING The signage here isn’t great. Turning onto Murray Road from HarveyQuindanning Road will lead you down to the boat ramp.

There is a slight right off the tarmac onto a dirt track that leads down to the boat ramp.

When parking it’s best to take the higher ground, down by the water can be tricky to get out from if the ground is soft and it’s not uncommon for 4WD to churn the soft ground up, making it nearly impossible for 2WD vehicles to get out. As appealing as it is to spin those wheels in the mud, be aware it’s riddled with boulders that will make a mess of your undercarriage.

Make sure you leave it the way you found it so we can all continue to enjoy it.

As it’s a dam there aren’t usually dangers like tide or swell, so it’s a comfortable launch and

There is a fair amount of structure in the form of fallen timber and submerged logs in this dam, be on the lookout as fish can hide in these shelters.

Photo courtesy of Ben Kelly from Southwest Kayak Anglers.

56

JANUARY 2019

The views alone are worth the early morning trip to Harvey Dam. Photo courtesy of Ben Kelly from Southwest Kayak Anglers.

and a well-timed strike to set the hook. Fanning casts around in front of your kayak is a great way to get a presentation in front of fish that may spook if you pass over the top of them.

Trolling along the banks and maintaining depth can be tricky without a depth sounder. Dams tend not to have gentle drop-offs like rivers and this means that depths can change quickly.

A sounder can help maintain your depth and if you are trolling a diving minnow this could be the difference between being in the strike zone or way out of it. Often you will find 4m of water in closer to the banks than you would expect. In deep water a sounder will make finding fish a lot easier, also allowing you to find submerged timber and other structure.

THE TACKLEBOX A mix of shallow and deep diving minnows is handy to have in your tackle box. Bibbed lures like the JM Gillies stumpjumpers are fantastic because you can change the bibs between shallow and deep diving configurations. The bibs are particularly handy around the

translucent colours seem to be favourable. A few other favourites are RMG Scorpions and Poltergeists.

In deeper water soft plastic lures will sink faster but can rise up in the water column when trolling them.

anglers are restricted to one line in the water at a time.

Fisheries monitor the area, so make sure to scrub up on the regulations.

SAFETY Harvey Dam is a big body of water, it’s easy to go hours between seeing another person. Mobile coverage can be patchy as well, so being self sufficient and paddling with a buddy is a must. Pack enough food for the day, plenty of drinking water and your first aid kit.

Another consideration is your PFD. You’re not going to be as buoyant in freshwater as you are in salt water. Selfrecovery or a swim to the bank will be more taxing as a result, so make sure you have a PFD on.

There is no camping on the land around Harvey Dam, so arriving to launch in the early morning will probably mean driving while it’s dark.

Kangaroos and feral pigs are common in the area, so drive carefully.

CONCLUSION While there is no camping at the dam, Harvey is picturesque enough to make the early morning drive worthwhile. A comfortable launch and sheltered body

Kayak fishing is very popular on Harvey Dam. Photo courtesy of Ben Kelly from Southwest Kayak Anglers.

To counter this you could use a heavier jighead or a downrigger. A downrigger will also help get the deep diving minnows down to greater depths and keep them there. This can be a real game changer in 20m of water.

As part of the management of the fishery,

of water makes it ideal for a family day. For the family members who might not want to spend the day fishing the surrounding land has some pleasant walks. Before you know it the orange tint from the sunset will start to creep across the sky and it will be time to head home.

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12 Uppill Place WANGARA Phone: (08) 9309 2888 | Fax: (08) 9309 2397 Email: sales@hitechmarine.com.au Website: hitechmarine.com.au

BUNBURY BLUEWATER MARINE

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18 Hawkins Street BUNBURY Phone: (08) 9791 1499 | Fax: (08) 9791 1497 Email: bluwater@bigpond.net.au Website: bluewatermarine.com.au

Lot 2541 Coolawanyah Road KARRATHA Phone: (08) 9185 5017 | Fax: (08) 9144 4890 Email: sales@karrathamarine.com.au Website: karrathamarine.com.au

1/2 Decastilla Street BROOME Phone: (08) 9192 7221 | Mob: 0427 090 972 Email: nelson@portdrivemarine.com

COMO DINGHY WORLD

MANDURAH MANDURAH OUTBOARDS

HENDERSON THE BOAT BUSINESS

252 Canning Hwy COMO Phone: (08) 9367 6555 | Email: info@dinghyworld.com.au Website: dinghyworld.com.au

53 Gordon Road MANDURAH Phone: (08) 9581 7224 | Fax: (08) 9581 6305 Email: james@mandurahoutboards.com.au Website: mandurahoutboards.com.au

1/5 Contest Link HENDERSON Phone: (08) 9437 5144 | Fax: (08) 9437 6144 Email: mark@theboatbusiness.com.au Website: theboatbusiness.com.au

EXMOUTH EXMOUTH AUTOMOTIVE & BOATING

ROCKINGHAM MIDWAY MARINE

5 Griffiths Way EXMOUTH Phone: (08) 9949 2795 | Fax: (08) 9949 4795 Email: exautomotive@bigpond.com Website: exmouthautoandboating.com.au

43 Hurrell Way ROCKINGHAM Phone: (08) 9527 6963 | Fax: (08) 9527 6964 Email: sales@midwaymarine.net.au Website: midwaymarine.net.au

WHAT’S NEW BOATING MERCURY FINANCE 1 OFFER EXTENDED

RAYMARINE NEXT-GEN VHF

Great news for boat owners considering a repower this summer – Mercury Finance has extended its 3.99%* finance offer until 31 January 2019.

That means a brand new 40-150hp Mercury FourStroke can be yours for the very competitive loan rate of just 3.99% (comparison rate) through Mercury Finance*.

Mercury has been perfecting its FourStroke technology for decades, making its outboards lighter, stronger, fuel-efficient and more reliable, yet still able to produce the power and performance Mercury is famous for.

For additional information, visit the Mercury Marine website. *Fees, terms, conditions and credit criteria apply. Offer is available from participating Mercury Finance Dealers. www.mercurymarine.com.au

The compact Raymarine Ray53, full-sized Ray63 and the multifunction Ray73 with AIS are all full-function VHF marine radios with Class D Digital Selective Calling (DSC).

Each model is equipped with a built-in GPS receiver and connection point for an optional GPS/GNSS antenna, which improves the GPS reception when the radio is mounted below deck or in an enclosed pilothouse.

Additionally, Ray63 and Ray73 can connect to Raymarine’s new wireless VHF hub and can support up to two wireless handset stations for wireless communication anywhere onboard.

For more information on the features of each model, visit the Raymarine website.

Price: SRP $699-$1199 www.raymarine.com.au

SIMRAD ACTIVE IMAGING

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Simrad Active Imaging Sonar features advanced new scanning-sonar technology that provides incredibly detailed, highresolution imaging without sacrificing range. It replaces TotalScan transducers.

Active Imaging Sonar (AI) provides incredibly clear views of structure and cover with refined detail at a range unmatched by any other structure imaging technology.

It’s available in two models — 3-in-1 and standalone. AI 3-in-1 combines scanning sonar with a traditional medium/high CHIRP sonar element for easy single-transducer installation, while the standalone transducer is designed for install alongside a separate CHIRP sonar transducer.

Operating at 800kHz or 455kHz, AI provides clear and precise views of structure, fish and bottom composition up to 300ft from either side of a boat. There’s no need to change frequencies while fishing; you can see where you should be fishing instead of just the immediate area at a set frequency.

The Simrad Active Imaging 3-in-1 transducer will be bundled with Simrad GO series displays.

Price: SRP $275-$350 www.simrad-yachting.com

NAVICO NEW DISPLAY CATEGORY 3 Navico has announced the 2019 launch of a new category of marine technology — the information display (ID). Marking the first significant evolution of the multifunctional display (MFD), IDs have a configurable interface that simplifies monitoring and control of onboard systems, and is customised to each vessel.

The experience-based software features pre-defined modes that display all relevant data for the current situation. Pre-defined modes include System Checks, Cruising, Anchoring and Water Sports. Custom modes can also be easily configured to builder specifications to best accentuate the utility of an individual vessel or to complement any boater’s passions (e.g. offshore sportfishing).

Consisting of a bonded-glass display and a powerful integration hub, IDs will be available in Lowrance, Simrad or B&G electronics. Each solution consists of one or multiple displays bridged together to function as one integrated system. The centralized hub uses ethernet, WiFi and Bluetooth along with sonar, USB, CAN and NMEA 2000 ports to connect to all onboard systems. An easy-to-upgrade hub installation simplifies the change-out process for upgrades. www.navico.com 58

JANUARY 2019

YANMAR 4LV STERNDRIVES

PRODUCT GUIDE

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Yanmar is launching a full line-up of 4LV sterndrives to complete its 4LV series of common rail (CR) engines. The new 150250 mhp five-engine range combines with the Yanmar ZT370 sterndrive to offer exceptional acceleration, fuel efficiency, remarkably quiet operation, and low vibration to suit a wide variety of vessels.

The corresponding 150Z/170Z/195Z/230Z/250Z mhp sterndrives feature the latest in electronically-managed CR fuel injection systems. The system delivers more complete combustion, adding efficiency in fuel consumption, torque and lowered emissions (all models are virtually smoke free).

Features include smooth and quiet gear engagement, exceptional corrosion protection, precision-forged gears with extralong service life, the choice of electrical or mechanical shift models, and an integrated exhaust system. The ZT370 sterndrive is available in various gear ratios, All Yanmar 4LV engines with ZT370 sterndrive offer a selection of control systems, and are also available with the JC10 joystick system. An NMEA connection ensures engine data is available for all NMEA 2000 compatible MFDs. www.yanmar.com

FUSION APOLLO SERIES

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The Fusion Apollo RA770 is the world’s first purpose-built marine entertainment system. It features a one-piece glass touchscreen display, built-in Wi-Fi streaming, Digital Signal Processing Technology (DSP) and PartyBus capabilities.

The touchscreen makes trying to locate the correct button a thing of the past. To pause and play you just tap the screen, or swipe through a playlist to find your favourite song.

The Apollo Series harnesses the power of Fusion DSP, providing premium audio delivery to all speakers in any environment. Every step of the audio chain is optimized to deliver a technically superior listening experience – without the need for boaters to have a technical understanding.

The RA770 lets you play music via Bluetooth, Optical Audio, DAB+ ready, AM/FM radio, AUX and USB. Users can also stream music from a mobile device via Universal Plug and Play (UPnP). The Apollo series can also connect multiple Apollo stereos with Wi-Fi. www.fusionentertainment.com

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Hobie Mirage Outback 2019 designed for fishers

MELBOURNE

Corey Gallagher

Hobie have a long tradition of quality and innovation.

Their products have dominated kayak angling markets worldwide since the introduction of the first purpose designed, pedal propelled fishing kayak, the Mirage Outback in 2001.

In the 18 years since its introduction, the Outback has undergone several key upgrades, transforming it into one of the best kayak angling platforms available. The 2019 model sees the biggest upgrade in the model’s history with a complete redesign of the hull, ensuring the Outback continues to sit atop of an ever-growing list of purpose built fishing kayaks.

Like its bigger brother, the Mirage Pro Angler, the Mirage Outback was designed purely as a fishing kayak. Its new hull design and deck layout have been carefully considered and the result is an exceptional kayak that appeals to both tournament and social anglers alike.

As a regular participant in the Hobie Kayak Bream Series, I have witnessed the growing popularity of the Mirage Outback amongst kayak tournament anglers in recent years. The Outback offers many advantages over rival kayaks and its lightweight hull design is a major contributor to its success. The Mirage Outback can be easily

Main: The 2019 Hobie Mirage Outback kayak is a favourite in the kayak angling community.

Above: The 2019 Hobie Outback has undergone the biggest redesign in the model’s 18 year history. transported to and from your favourite fishing spot on roof racks – its manageable size and weight makes launching that much easier when fishing solo and very little room is required when storing the kayak at home.

A major upgrade to the 2019 Mirage Outback is its redesigned hull, featuring a sharper bow that cuts effortlessly through the water,

SPECIFICATIONS Length Overall..........................................3.86m Beam.........................................................0.86m Crew..............................................1 (single seat) Capacity.............................................. 192.78kg Fitted Hull Weight................................. 38.56kg Fully Rigged Weight.............................. 46.72kg Hull Construction.....Rotomolded Polyethylene SRP..................................................From $4190 60

JANUARY 2019

wind, wake and chop while also greatly reducing any hull slap. The kayak is very fast off the line and gets up to speed within just a few kicks of the mirage drive 180, thanks largely to this redesigned bow. The 2019 Outback also features a completely redesigned rear deck and stern.

The old twist and stow style rudder has been replaced with Hobie’s kick up rudder, the rudder is spring loaded and will bump up out of the way when it hits rocks or snags underwater.

The new Outback features dual steering controls, meaning that left and right handed anglers will find manoeuvring the kayak a breeze, capable of turning in a tight circle with full rudder lock. The rear end

also features a large H-Rail carry handle that not only assists while transporting, but also allows kayak anglers a convenient place to mount Hobie H-Rail accessories, such as a Go-Pro mount.

Another new addition to the stern of the 2019 Outback is it comes power pole ready with pre-drilled inserts. The large rear deck is massive in comparison to the old model and allows plenty of room for a livewell, icebox, rod holders or storage crates.

The rear deck also features two recessed areas.

It has a H-Track deluxe with bungee tackle retainer that allow anglers to store two 3700 size tackle trays and secure it in place using built in bungee straps. The cockpit area also features two similar recessed areas, only these come equipped with a H-Rail, giving the angler even more storage and accessory mounting options.

The four H-Track Deluxe recessed storage areas not only greatly increases the tackle storage capacity of the 2019 Outback, but also includes handy storage for your fishing pliers, braid scissors, lip grips and other fishing related tools, with bungee tie downs to keep everything secure and safe from an accidental swim overboard.

Together, these features combine to make the 2019 Outback an incredibly organised kayak, everything has its place and for a tournament angler who needs quick access to their equipment, the Outback ticks all the boxes. Hobie have introduced a rectangular centre hatch into the new model as standard, an upgrade many owners of the old Outbacks retro fitted. The larger centre hatch comes standard with a tackle bucket, the perfect place to store smaller tackle trays,

leader and other frequently used items. The hatch also has a built in bottle opener for those who are keen to partake in a cold beverage while on the water. The mesh pocket on the inside of the hatch is a great place to store keys or a mobile phone.

Another key upgrade to the 2019 model is the seat has been widened by 1.5”. The Vantage CTW Seat features 4-way, adjustment making it comfortable for any angler no matter your size or shape.

Hobie have also introduced the Guardian retractable transducer shield to the 2019 Outback. The system protects the transducer on impact and retracts into the hull for transport.

The 2019 Outback is powered by the V2 Mirage Drive 180, Hobie’s reverse capable pedal drive system featuring ARC shafts, which allow kayakers to adjust the cranks at the push of a button.

The 2019 Outback is available in a large range of colours: slate blue, papaya orange, red hibiscus, ivory dune, seagrass green and camo package, which also features camo deck pads and pedal pads.

I recently competed in a Hobie Kayak Series

Event out of a 2019 Outback in Mallacoota, where we experienced strong breezes for the duration of the tournament.

To say I was impressed with the performance of the new hull under these testing conditions would be a huge understatement. True to Hobie’s claims, the hull slices effortlessly through the water, wind and chop and does it without losing forward momentum. Hull slap has been greatly reduced, even in the choppy conditions.

Please note that the kayak featured in this article featured several aftermarket accessories including the Hobie V2 Livewell, Hobie Vantage Seat Bag and Lowrance Elite 9 Ti Sounder.

The Hobie Mirage Outback is an extremely versatile kayak that appeals to a broad range of anglers. It is feature packed in a lightweight package, adding further to its appeal. The Outback has long been a favourite among the kayak angling community and the 2019 model, with its upgraded storage options and improved hull design, will ensure that this kayak continues as one of the best options for kayak anglers looking to purchase a new yak.

The lightweight hull makes the 2019 Outback perfect for those looking for a feature packed kayak that is still easily transported on a roof rack.

Pre-drilled inserts allow a Power Pole Micro to be mounted directly onto the hull.

The rear cargo area has been significantly increased and features two H-Track deluxe with bungee tackle retainer systems.

New for 2019, the Vantage Seat CTW features an extra 1.5” width.

Hobie’s innovative H-Track deluxe with H-Rail integrated track is a multipurpose addition to the 2019 Outback, excellent for mounting all manner of accessories and storing tackle trays up to 3700 size.

The new Outback is powered by the reverse capable V2 Hobie Mirage Drive 180.

A vertically mounted rectangular hatch now comes as standard.

A ‘reclined’ seating position in the new Outback.

The Hobie Guardian retractable transducer shield has been introduced into the new model.

The twist and stow rudder has been replaced by a kick up rudder mounted under the stern of the kayak.

The cockpit of the 2019 Outback has been carefully designed and now features plenty of storage and accessory mounting options.

The new design features a sharper bow that effortlessly cuts through water, wind, wake and chop and allows the kayak to get up to speed quickly.

JANUARY 2019

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Stabicraft 1550 Side Console with 70hp Suzuki - SC

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Main: Ross Tizard’s Stabicraft 1550 is set up ideally for his Mandurah lifestyle, which includes bream fishing, crabbing and sneaking offshore for snapper.

Above: The Stabicraft’s excellent stability comes from welded external tubes that add flotation to each gunwale.

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buoyancy of the rig, with the compromise being reduced internal beam. There are a few things that Ross has done to counter the reduction of room, including the addition of a fold-away helm seat for the driver and high internal gunwales in the cockpit.

The console is broad and provides protection from a little wind spray. It easily holds all of the gauges and switches Ross needs for his daily boat operation.

Also unique to the Stabicraft as a long sub-gunwale shelf that can easily accommodate a couple of fishing rods and all of Ross’ accessories that he needs ready-to-hand.

“The wide gunwales also provide an excellent place to sit,” Ross added.

On the port side of the transom, a large, windowed live bait tank allows you to keep an eye on your catch or livies and ensure that they’re in prime condition.

The raised front deck gives you a place to cast lures from while under Minn Kota power, however Ross’ Stabicraft also comes with raised rails so you can get up there when it’s a little rough. Ross admits that he’s not the world’s smallest man, and appreciates the extra support up front.

Important to Ross is that the rig is easily launchable and manoeuvrable singlehanded, as he often ventures out on his own to hunt and gather. The single-axled Dunbier trailer facilitates this, and he has a system

DE FOR EX

It’s not that often that we get to head out with a dealer’s customer to do a boat test, but Scott De Mouncey of Mandurah Motor Marine was 100% confident that his repeat customer, Ross Tizard, was the perfect advocate for his New Zealand built Stabicraft boat range. Ross is now on his second Stabicraft, with the 1550 being an upgrade from a smaller Stabi that he

Let’s have a look at how he’s done it.

The 1550 hull is fitted with a 70HP Suzuki 4-stroke outboard which gives Ross wonderful economy – up to 4.25km/L at 3700rpm and 35km/h – giving a theoretical range of over 300km in ideal conditions. In Ross’ case, this means that it’s often a long time between service station visits to fuel up.

Stabicraft hulls are unique in the way that they incorporate welded aluminium airtight tubes into the hull design. These increase the stability and

CO

s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

owned previously. He was happy to take us out on the Mandurah estuary on a windy afternoon to show us just what it could do.

Ross is retired, and he’s pretty particular about what he needs his boat to do. Whether it is crabbing, chasing black bream up the Murray River or sneaking offshore to chase a few snapper, Ross’ boat needs to be able to handle all of these activities and be able to do it by himself. That includes single-handed launch and retrieve and boat positioning on the water.

R

Steve Morgan

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SPECIFICATIONS Length......................................................4.72m Capacity ............................................ 5 persons Max HP ..........................................................75 Fuel ..............................................................85L External beam .........................................2.02m Internal beam ..........................................1.46m Transom deadrise ........................................15° Tube thickness .......................................2.5mm Hull thickness............................................4mm Hull weight .............................................. 415kg worked out with a couple of ropes that makes it all look too easy.

“I really love the build quality of the Stabicraft boats, and maybe it also has a little to do with the fact that I’m an expatriate New Zealander,” says Ross, “but you really do feel safe in this hull. It’s a great little hull that I can use for all my types

of fishing.”

Both of Ross’ Stabicraft boats have been supplied and delivered by Mandurah Motor Marine in Mandurah, WA. You can find out more on their website at www. mandurahmotormarine.com. au. As tested, Ross’ package came in at $52,500 with all electronics. Base packages start from $45,000.

Ross has perfected the single handed launch and retrieve method. Since he often fishes by himself, this is an important feature of the boat.

Fifteen degrees of transom deadrise helps the hull negotiate the often choppy waters of Peel Inlet and the Indian Ocean.

A broad console holds Ross’ fishfinder, engine gauges, radio, music and accessory switches.

It’s rare to see a transom build like this in an Aussie boat; there are cranking and trolling motor batteries in the hatch and a bait station on the top.

The windowed live bait tank on the port side is particularly useful.

Supplied on a single axle Dunbier trailer, the whole rig is easily manoeuvrable in a garage and capable of being launched one-handed.

The cockpit has plenty of depth to remain fishable in rougher conditions and suits Ross’ style of fishing perfectly.

There’s a lot of Mandurah’s waterways that are speed limited. The 1550 is quiet and stable at non-planing speeds.

Boat builders often try to keep the batteries and the centre of gravity of their boats as low as possible.

Sometimes this makes the batteries harder to access. The Stabicraft’s stability isn’t compromised by this setup and batteries are very easily checked.

Another day in the office for Ross. Retirement at Mandurah is awesome. Happy fishing, Mr Tizard!

Top and above: We loved the fold-down seat. It’s held up by two removable pins, and it stows away to give the extra room in the cockpit that Ross needs.

JANUARY 2019

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World Class Engines, World Class Support.

All recreational Mercury Outboard models from the 2.5 to 350hp 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