Tackle Testing – Taste of Tasmania — Matt Sherriff

TASTE of TASMANIA

Matt Sherriff does a roundup of tackle testers.

One of the favourite things about my job in the tackle industry is being able to work with some of our fishing suppliers to bring in tackle that is suited to our local market. Over the years we have continued to expand the colour range of our popular Hawk Lures (new deep divers to be released soon), worked with Hayabusa to help design high quality and affordable whiting rigs as well as other products such as the Hawk and Gaff-Mann Squid cleaning bags. All these products have been tweaked to suit our local conditions in Tassie. We have had plenty of help and ideas from local tackle stores along the way, but we would also like to thank the following anglers who have helped us by testing out our gear and giving us feedback along with new ideas: Marcus Popowski, Damien Virieux, Andrew Pender, Josh Hammersley (and team Black Magic), Brodie Munday, Harry Foster, Nathan Van Der Spek, Shane Ling, Jason Kerrison and Jack Gillespie. Here is some insight into some of the fishing that a few of these guys enjoy and it goes to show some of the diversity we are blessed with in our beautiful state!

Marcus Popowski - Smithton Favourite Species

King George Whiting have become like an addiction for me over the past few seasons. Not only because of their eating qualities, but their fight capabilities on light gear and targeting them has so many unknowns. Including: Where are they turning up today? What size is going to come aboard? What tide will they bite? There are so many factors that can influence the catch rates! Many hours on the water over the past few years Marcus Popowski showing some form with a big King George whiting.

collecting samples for the Australian Maritime College and working with Dr James Haddy, has made this species a favourite of mine. Learning the biology of this fish and getting some protection in regard to possession and size limits has been very fulfilling, as their numbers and the areas they are showing up in, seem to be increasing every year in Tasmania.

Favourite location

I enjoy fishing most of the coastal estuaries. Tide and conditions play such an important role in nutting out this species of fish. Sometimes hours pass before the bite happens and patience is key. Searching out new grounds is always on the cards as the fish will be in different places at different times of the tides.

Tips

King George Whiting can certainly be an elusive species from day to day. I love using light gear such as 1-3 kg or 2-5kg rods. Even though I may be a bit under gunned on some of the big KG’s we get up here on the NW Coast, it’s all part of the fun. Rod sensitivity is so important in distinguishing bites from King George’s or by-catch species such as Leather Jackets, Wrasse & Toad fish which can all be absolute pests some days. King George have such a distinguished bite it is important to know when to lift or strike the hook or soft plastic home. I use Timber Wolf Braid in 4 or 6lb tied with a 10-20lb rod length shock leader and a Hayabusa Whiting Rig. These rigs have the best hooks I have ever used! One aspect to these hooks is if there is a pesky Leather Jacket to clear out of the area, these hooks have a very high hook up rate. When targeting King George on plastics any of your shrimp or worm imitations seem to work well in natural or red colours, slowly hopped or retrieved in sand gutters along reefs or weed edges.

Favourite Gear

Two things I would never leave home without are my Minn Kota electric motor and my Tonic sunglasses. Both are an absolute must in estuary fishing. For the past decade I have used Lox rods, with the 1-3kg being my absolute favourite. I have added the Murasame 7’ Tournament Spin 702ULS to the rod collection in the past year and it has been very hard to put down, matched with the new Pioneer 2000 Cyclone Prestige Reel.

Bucket List

A metre long Kingfish is still on the bucket list for me. Managed a 99cm two seasons ago, so getting so close has me eager for a metre long unit.

My favourite species to target would have to be the iconic trout, mainly due to the thrill of the chase of landing one of these incredible fish and the hard work and perseverance you need to successfully target them.

Favourite Location

Probably my favourite location would have to be Four Springs Lake, mainly due to the average size of the fish that come from this water being around 2.5lb which is outstanding, although you can often catch fish over 5lb. There are good numbers of fish in this lake and catching your bag limit is definitely on the cards, although don’t be fooled into thinking they always come easy! There’s both Brown and Rainbow Trout in Four Springs.

I find the best time of year to fish Four Springs would be early in the season while the water is cooler and before the weed starts growing making it too difficult to fish. The best days to fish this lake would be an overcast day with a light breeze. I’ve had the most success in this lake targeting fish in the shallow margins with hard bodied minnows.

Favourite Gear

The gear I use is a Murasame 2-8lb ultra-light finesse rod, paired with a Pioneer Cyclone Prestige 2000 reel spooled with 4lb Timberwolf braid and a 5lb leader. The lures I find most successful are the Hawk Sniper range, in particular the “killer wasp” and “black and gold” colours.

Nathan van der Spek - Launceston Favourite Fish

The humble Silver Trevally is my favourite light line fish to target. These fish go extremely hard on light line and I believe they are the ultimate sport fish, pound for pound, and If you’re lucky enough to hook a fish over the 55cm mark, you’ll defiantly have your work cut out trying to stop it! Nathan van de Spek with a great estuary sport fish - silver trevally.

Favourite location

Georges Bay, located in St Helens on the East Coast would be my favourite location as it holds a healthy population of these great sports fish with some of the biggest specimens you are likely to encounter anywhere in the state up for grabs.

Tips

There are a variety of ways Silver Trevally can be targeted, either on bait lures, soft plastics or hard bodies. The method I use to target them is by either using soft plastics or hard body lures, which depends on the area and depth I am fishing. When fishing areas with current flow and drop offs deeper than two metres, I use soft plastics such as worms, paddle tails or green flick baits, matched with 1/6th jig heads. I have found the Seamaster plastics to be deadly on the fish in the bay. Despite targeting most of my fish on soft plastics, the Hawk Sniper hard bodies can also be an effective way of chasing them, especially when the fish are schooling up amongst the shallow weed beds and up on the sand flats.

You do not need expensive boats or the most expensive gear to catch these fish. Some of my biggest fish and best fishing sessions have involved land base fishing.

Tides have a big impact on the spots I choose to fish in. When fishing from the shore, I prefer low tide, because this enables me to get my soft plastics into the middle of the channel, but I can still fish the whole channel and drop offs. When fishing from a boat in George’s Bay I prefer to fish two hours before high tide and the first two hours of the runout tide. Fishing the channel can be done on either tide.

Favourite Gear

When tackling Silver Trevally, I use the Pioneer Cyclone Prestige reel in the 2000 size spooled with

No1 -Whiting Rigs

When only the best will do!

Cyclone 2000 Reel Available from

Ideal reel for the Murasame tournament spin!

leading Tassie owned Tackle Stores

6lb braid and either 6 or 8lb leader, depending on how much structure there is below. This is matched with a Murasame 702 tournament 2-8lb rod. I have been fishing with this gear for a while now and I can’t fault it. This gear has plenty of strength and is also light enough to feel every single bite. To help enable me to find the fish on the flats, in shallow water and below where I am fishing, I wear blue mirror Tonic sunglasses which are typically used for salt water fishing.

Damien Virieux - Kingston Favourite Species

This is a really difficult decision because I get so much enjoyment out of chasing any fish. If I had to pick one it would be Striped Trumpeter as nothing makes me lose more sleep the night before due to being so excited to be targeting these fish the next day. At times they can be very challenging to get them to play the game, but when you hookup and get the big nods, with the rod bent from butt to tip, it is a great workout and the end result is a delicious treat that the whole family really enjoys. Also, I have shared some epic times chasing these fish with some of my best mates - whales cruising past, beautiful scenery, massive sharks at the side of the boat, Makos jumping, mate’s boats not starting and the joys and rewards of working hard to find the fish sometimes. Damien Virieux with the most delicious fish in the sea - striped trumpeter

Favourite location

The beauty of living in Tasmania is it that every fishing location is so picturesque and unique in its own way but my favourite place to find Stripeys is definitely around the Friars, south of Bruny. A good friend of mine, Dean Martin, has an excellent knowledge of the area and even when things are looking tough he can put us onto the fish as there are just so many places down there to try to find some that are biting.

The best bait is some octopus or good squid (that you have previously caught yourself), but we have also been successful using fish baits and soft plastics. When they are biting hard you can even use jigs successfully. The best times of the year for shallower water Stripeys are around the season closing time, just before or just after, however they can be targeted all year round especially in deeper water. It is surprising at times just how shallow you can catch them though! My best tips are to keep your hooks well off the bottom, and having your baits move a touch faster with the tide helps minimise the unwanted by-catch but also seems to be when the Stripeys bite best.

Favourite Gear

My favourite gear to target Stripeys includes a Pioneer 6000 Altitude Reel and a Crucis Elite Empire SP601L spooled with 30lb Timberwolf braid. Yes, it is a small and light looking rod, but I have nailed some of my very best Stripeys on this outfit (see pic).

Bucket list

My bucket list species would have to be a bream from Oman, given the time and cost to get over there I can›t see it happening, but to catch and release a 40kg bream, with 60+kg GTs as by-catch would be a dream come true.

TECHNICAL CONDITIONS / ULTRA-FAST ACTION

• Windy conditions • Long casts & line carry • Accuracy & loop control

The most demanding conditions require a different kind of tool. Strong head wind? Fish at distance? Bulky rigs? Heavy sink-tips? The INGITER is tuned to handle the most technical of conditions. Not a rod for the everyday angler, the IGNTER is equipped with a high line speed taper to carry large amounts of line at distance with wind cutting performance. Perfect for streamer fishing with heavy sink tips or covering big water when conditions turn south. If you bring the will, the IGNITER will supply the way.

• KonneticHD Technology • Chipotle blank color • Cayenne thread wraps with Gunmetal trim wraps • Fuji ceramic stripper guides • Hard chromed snake guides and tip-top • Freshwater 4-6 weights: • Cocobolo wood insert with gunmetal anodized aluminum up-locking reel seat • Flor grade snub nosed half-wells cork handle • Saltwater 6-10 weights: • Gunmetal anodized aluminum up-locking reel seat • Integrated hidden hook keeper in reel seat • Flor grade full-wells cork handle with EVA fighting butt • Laser etched line weight on slide band • Black rod bag with Titanium logo and chipotle color model tag • Black powder coated aluminum rod tube with Sage medallion

IGNITER SPECIFICATIONS

Model Line Length Weight (oz) 490-4 4 9' 0" 2 13⁄16 590-4 5 9' 0" 2 15⁄16 690-4 6 9' 0" 3 691-4 6 9' 0" 3 1⁄8 697-4 6 9' 6" 3 9⁄16 790-4 7 9' 0" 3 7⁄16 7100-4 7 10' 0" 3 15⁄16 890-4 8 9' 0" 3 13⁄16 990-4 9 9' 0" 4 1090-4 10 9' 0" 4 1⁄8