Tasmanian Fishing and Boating News Issue 106 2013 October

Issue 106 October - November 2013 $5.95

Print Post approved; 100003074

HOT FISHING STARTS NOW

Trout Brilliant Bream Southern Inshore NW Australian Salmon Haines Hunter 146 Rebuild Reviews and a Whole Lot More

Brendan Turriff with a cracking bream. Photo: Andy Howell.

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Fishing News - Page 2

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11 15

36 W

e are doing Facebook - it is a fast learning curve, but we are getting the hang of it and it is a great way to communicate quickly. So ‘Like Us’ please. Enter Tasmanian Fishing to find us.

The guy on the cover is Brendan Turriff and he has joined us as part of the team. We needed some younger blood and Brendan is it. He has fished all over Tasmania and will be a great asset. He loves trout, bream and anything else that swims.

His skills in websites and social media will become apparent as we ramp up in Tasmanian Fishing and Boating, Facebook and www.tasfish. com up.

He will also be looking after some advertising and coordinating campaigns for advertisers to include both magazine, website and social media.

Southern Inshore Opportunities — Matt Byrne

4

Plastic Fly Rod Build — Gavin Hicks

8

Australian Salmon NW Coast — Rodney Howard

11

Brilliant Bream — Brendan Turriff

15

Baitfishing for Trout — Adrian Webb

18

Jan’s Flies — Jan Spencer

22

Marine Fishery News

26

Is a Saltwater Licence Coming?

31

Tasmanian Fly Casting Championship Results

34

Reviews 35 Haines Hunter V146 Rebuild

36

Fishing, boating and accommodation services directory

38

He has a bream story in this edition and is a fantastic photographer so look out for him — give him a call or email.

There is an interesting article from Sven Frijlink starting on page 32.

Sven received a grant to look into the ramifications of a general saltwater licence. I ran this article without any changes from me.

I don’t agree with most of it, but will respond more fully in the December Edition of TFBN. You might like to have your say as well. Email me with your thoughts.

October/November is, to me the start of better fishing as water and air warms up. I am keen to get out in my rebuilt 445 Haines Hunter (page 36) and get some good fishing in before Christmas.

Mike Stevens

Mike Stevens talks fishing ABC Statewide Saturday mornings 6.40 a.m.

Tasmanian Fishing and Boating News

Published by Michael Stevens: PO Box 7504, Launceston, 7250.

Brendan Turriff – P: 0418 313 179 or E: sales@tasfish.com Mike Stevens – P: 0418 129 949 or E: mike@tasfish.com Stevens Publishing, ABN 79 095 217 299 All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. Print Post approved; 100003074

For subscriptions go to www.tasfish.com or phone Mike 0418 129 949 One year $36 - two years $70 includes postage.

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Fishing News - Page 3

Southern Inshore

..on soft plastics

Matt Byrne

W

armer and longer days are what all Tasmanian fishers look forward to the most, as we head into the month of October. Here we explore what is in store for southern inshore anglers as we head into spring and how to do it using nothing other than the famous fish catching abilities of just some of the large Berkley range of soft plastics.

What’s on offer?

Heading into October, while the fishing conditions are more pleasant for the angler, it is what is happening in the water itself that creates the most excitement. Here we are talking about the heating up of our inshore saltwater fishing and although the inshore water temperature may have only risen by just a couple of degrees, it is more than enough to signal the real start of the post winter action for our staple southern inshore species such as Australian salmon, sand flathead and tiger flathead.

Australian salmon At this time of year, Australian salmon ranging from 500g – 1.5kg are plentiful if you know where to look. Understanding the species and its feeding habits is key to success and given the species aggressive feeding pattern, the very first place to start is to look for congregations of baitfish.

The really great thing about Australian salmon is that they are so easily accessible by both shore and boat based anglers, provided you keep the above information in mind and target the likely fish holding areas.

If you happen to be land based, then look no further than the many rocky points on the lower Derwent River Estuary. If on the Western shore, lower Sandy Bay to Taroona is a very good holding location for Australian salmon. On the Eastern shore, try fishing the main rocky points located in the vicinities of Kangaroo Point, Little Howrah Beach and Tranmere. On two recent outings over September, these Eastern shore locations have given up good solid, hard fighting Australian Salmon in the 1kg bracket.

Other southern shore based haunts that are consistent producers of Salmon are Cremorne Canal and a little further afield, the rocky points and beaches in the Clifton Beach and South Arm areas.

For the boat angler, why go leaving fish to find fish? The point here, being that all of the aforementioned shore based fish holding locations can be worked more than efficiently by boat either by cast and retrieve style fishing or by trolling.

Now that we have narrowed down where to find the fish, we turn to how to successfully target and catch these fish on a regular basis. Starting off with tackle, all you need to arm yourself with is a standard light 2-3kg spin rod and 2000 size reel, loaded with a 3kg braid of your choice (I have used Berkley fireline for many years now and have found it both durable and long lasting, even when used regularly in the saltwater). At the business end attached to your braid, 1.5 – 2m of 3-4kg fluorocarbon leader is all that is needed.

Fishing News - Page 4

Oliver Byrne gets amongst the salmon.

When it comes to lures, 20 gram silver spoons, wobblers and slices have been the standard hardware on salmon for many years and still work well. I too was a common user of these lures, until I discovered the sheer versatility and enjoyment of fishing for salmon with Berkley soft plastics. Casting heavy metal lures on my light spin outfit was a thing of the past, and much better on the pocket where for the same price of 1-2 quality metal lures you get a pack of 10 Berkley soft plastic lures! This is also extra handy when the barracouta are present and your loss of lures increases somewhat!

So what Berkley soft plastics are advised for use on salmon? Well you just can’t go past the Berkley 3 inch Power Minnow in either Smelt or Watermelon Pearl or a Pearl Watermelon Shad for their amazing baitfish resemblance. Another personal favourite is also the Berkley 3 inch Ripple Shad in Perch colour, which via its paddle tail, provides a very attractive vibration through the water.

Fish these plastics on relatively heavy jig heads in the 1/4th – 1/8th weight range and in sizes 1-2. The big advantage of using these slightly heavier jig heads is that you can fish all areas of the water column and find where the Salmon are holding, not to mention that the heavier jig heads allow you to slow troll your soft plastic if that happens to be your preferred method (and what a very effective method it is too!)

Using the deadly combination of light spin

gear, braided line and quality Berkley soft plastics, you are sure to have increased success and enjoy the hard fighting qualities of this great inshore sportfish. Soft plastic fishing for salmon is also great for the kids and less experienced anglers, where their sheer ease to use ensures that every level of skill is in with a genuine chance of enjoying their day on the water with a bend or two in their rod.

Sand and tiger flathead – Where and how Sand flathead (and more seasonally tiger flathead) are prolific in South Eastern INSHORE waters. While sand flathead may be caught throughout the year, it is the warmer water temperatures that appear in mid to late Spring, that really get these fish on the chew and see them move from deeper water into the inshore bays. October is

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Fishing News - Page 5

often well regarded as that time of the year when tiger flathead make a reappearance and start to again feature as a regular catch.

While sand flathead may be caught off the jetty or estuary, we are mostly talking here about launching the boat and fishing the southern inshore bays where anglers have an excellent chance of taking both sand and tiger flathead. Southern Tasmania is home to many of these locations where a boat may be easily launched and line dropped to the bottom, within just a few minutes of leaving the ramp.

Excellent locations to try are Frederick Henry Bay (accessed either from Cremorne or Slopen Main ramps), Marion Bay (accessed from the Dunalley ramp), Bruny Island and Pirates Bay at Eaglehawk Neck.

When on the water at any of the above locations, where to start is all important and experience mostly says that finding some nice sandy bottom in the 30 to 40m depth range is a very good place to start early in the season. If you start making regular catches of blue throated wrasse or red gurnard then you are not on the money location wise and keep moving around until you find that consistent sandy bottom. In some cases, Sandy bottom can be patchy and if that is the case, put your GPS to good use and save yourself some time in re-finding your fish catching points again.

Tackle in this situation is purely a matter of personal choice but is mostly dependent upon the wind conditions and your rate of drift. If you are on a slow drift with little wind, then fishing soft plastics with your light salmon outfit is a very fun way to catch sand and tiger flathead but the key requirement being that your plastic must be on

Flathead loves plastics and there is no messy, stinky bait. or very much near the bottom. As I often find in Tasmania that we are mostly battling the wind and a generally faster rate of drift where heavier sinkers are required, I favour using heavier spin gear with a rod in the 8kg range, 4000-5000 size reel and 8kg braid. This offers a much more consistent option of keeping your plastic on the bottom and in the strike zone.

There is no doubt that sand and tiger flathead succumb very easily to a well presented strip bait of squid, octopus or mullet but again, I have found targeting these fish much more satisfying (not to mention quite regularly fooling much larger specimens) when presenting Soft Plastic lures.

Berkley have an amazing range of life like saltwater soft plastic baits that work amazingly well on our flathead.

Berkley soft plastics that every Tasmanian Flathead angler should have in their arsenal are the 2 inch Crabby in Emerald Shiner and Black, 2 inch Baby shrimp in Green Prawn and Banana Prawn and also 3 inch grubs in Pepper Prawn and Pumpkinseed. For something just a little different, try a 3 inch fry in Lime Tiger colour and don’t be surprised if the Flathead don’t climb all over it!

Perhaps the best way to catch a salmon is a plastic.

Fishing News - Page 6

A recent flathead trip out of Marion Bay left me especially impressed with the above selection of soft plastics that kept catching fish both when the bite had slowed and when even bait was being ignored.

This can only be put down to the very lifelike action of these plastics that seem to elicit an aggressive response from the fish even during these slower periods in the day. As is the case with working most plastics in a range of situations, giving the rod regular lifts will impart that irresistible

action into your soft plastic, one that the flathead cannot resist.

In terms of presentation, I like to fish these plastics in quite a similar way to the Power minnows, with the use of a 1/4th jig head in size 1. The only difference being that here being a much greater depth of water, we present this using a two hook paternoster rig. Using a natural plastic like a 2 inch Crabby in conjunction with a 3 inch Lime Tiger as an attractant is where this method comes into its own. When in doubt, just experiment with different plastics, as you are sure to find something the fish can’t get enough of.

Just with your paternoster rigs, you can either make up your own using heavier 20lb monofilament, or you can purchase the pre made versions at your tackle shop for ease. When you don’t have a lot of time on your hands to tie up rigs etc, the pre made option is great for its sheer ease and the fact that they work equally as well as self tied rigs! At the sinker end, use simply enough weight to keep your plastics on or near the bottom.

If you have followed the basics of this article, you will be well on your way to success using Berkley soft plastics. These soft plastics with their irresistible fishy scent and realistic action are every bit better than natural bait (you need not panic if you went fishing and left the bait in the freezer at home!). I guarantee you will be impressed with their versatility for your inshore fishing this spring.

With the warmer part of spring on our doorstep, hit your tackle shop for some Berkley soft plastics and get out there and enjoy the fine inshore Australian Salmon and Flathead fishing that’s on offer.

Matt Byrne

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Fishing News - Page 7

Plastic Fantastic Gavin Hicks

an Epic rod build...

The decision maker

Epic rod build

I

had been tossing it up for a while; it is after all a big decision. Will I or will I not build my own fly rod? There are quite a lot of things to consider when you want to head down the path that is building your own rods of any type. The first thing that came to mind for me was, is it really worth doing. It is just so easy to walk into your local tackle store have a cast of the rod you are interested in, make the purchase and walk out the door again safe in the knowledge that you have an exceptionally well finished off rod with all the factory rod warranty trimmings to boot.

If I was to build a rod myself and, god forbid, something happened to it then I would have to purchase all the hardware again and rebuild the rod etc. What sort of gear would I need to build the rod and did I want to outlay the money to purchase it all? Did I have the space to work in? Did I have the time to do it, hell could I even be bothered with it all? I had been tossing this around for about 12 months.

I had purchased myself a fibreglass fly rod from Leroy at Big Fin in Devonport and was really enjoying fishing with it. Then I noticed through an internet forum that some new fibreglass blanks were being sold out of New Zealand by Carl McNeill from Swift Fly-fishing. I did some reading on their web site regarding the action, lengths and line weights of the blanks available and liked what I saw.

Then taped some guides he had at his shop onto the blank and ran a line through them to make sure we had the guide spaces correct and the line was forming a nice even arc along the length of the rod.

After all this was complete he wrote down what guide sizes he thought would best suit the blank and sent me on my way to do the rest of the hardware decision making.

A brief phone conversation with Peter Hayes whom I had seen in some photos casting a few early prototypes of these rods was the final straw.

He gave them the thumbs up and that was good enough for me. One final trip into see Leroy again and he pointed out how easy it was to get started without having to outlay money on all the expensive tools and equipment first up and I decided to go for it. After a lot of thought on which model to go with for my first build I decided on the 8 foot 4 weight.

I thought it would be good fun to use on my local favourite – Mersey River. I bit the bullet and ordered an Epic fibreglass blank along with a custom made rod sock to suit from Carl in the above mentioned configuration.

I spent some time searching the internet on rod building sites looking at styles of reel seats, colours of reel seat inserts and different styles of guides.

Along with many other things like thread colour to best suit the blank, would I use a full or half wells style cork grip, what type of winding check to use, did I want to bind on a hook keeper amongst other things. I had no idea there was so many decisions to make!

Now that I finally had a rod blank on the way I needed somewhere I could do the hands on stuff. I cleaned out a corner of my shed, built a rod building bench along the wall and put up a few shelves to keep things away from prying hands! Then it was time to whip up a small timber jig to hold the rod whilst I bound on the eyes etc.

Parcel time In seemingly no time at all I got a phone call from my wife whilst I was at work to say a package had arrived from New Zealand, it could only be one thing couldn’t it? After what seemed like an eternity the work day was over and it was on the Giant for the fastest pedal home I had done in a long time. With great excitement I unwrapped the package and was pleasantly surprised with what I found. Not only was there a sweet looking natural fibreglass coloured blank and rod sock, but there was also some Swift branded decals and a hard covered rod tube as well which was an added bonus.

When ordering I wasn’t sure which coloured blank to go with, as there was a few to choose from. In the end the natural fibreglass with its translucent look was a good choice that I am very happy with.

Having absolutely zero experience with the whole rod building game once again it was back to see Leroy at Bigfin for some advice on guides, spacings etc. Whilst there he had a play with the blank, located the spine of the rod and marked it on each section for me.

Fishing News - Page 8

Eventually I settled on a rough plan for how I wanted the finished rod to look and sent an email to the guys from H.C.E in Victoria to see if they would be interested in helping out with the components.

I had become familiar with these guys once again through an internet forum and thought well why go directly to America myself to purchase gear when I can do my bit to help some Aussie guys out with their business. So that is exactly what I did. Tony from H.C.E was back to me with a reply email in no time at all with his thoughts on what parts I should go with and another order was placed. Only downside was I had to wait a couple of weeks till they did their next reel seat order, but seeing as I hadn’t built a fly rod for 37 years I couldn’t see a couple more weeks being that bigger issue.

Throughout the whole process we only had one drama. Tony had kindly offered to glue up and machine a custom made cork grip for me, but seeing as it was my first rod building effort I didn’t want to stuff up a custom grip so I just went with a preformed and drilled grip. When all the gear arrived the cork on my grip had been damaged so a replacement had to be ordered. Not really that big of a deal, just a bit longer wait. Then the wait was over, another package arrived in the mail.

Finally building I decided to go for a natural buckeye insert for the reel seat and it looked good. Along with the agate stripper Tony had recommended this had the potential to be a pretty smart looking rod.

As long as I didn’t butcher it too much whilst in the building phase that was. I purchased the full size range of chainsaw files and reamed out my cork grip to suit the rod diameter. When this was completed I took the rod butt, grip, reel seat and winding check into Leroy at the shop and he glued it all into place for me, showing me step by step how to do it along the way. Which I might add having

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never seen it done before was nowhere near as complicated as I thought it would be. Whilst in there he showed me on one of his blanks how to bind on the eyes so I could now ago away and complete the rod up to the final epoxying stage by myself.

Initially I had a bit of fun getting the guides taped on in the right spot for binding but with patience it became easier with each guide completed. I made a deal with myself before I started that no guide was going to be bound a second time, if it was a bit rough on the first go that’s how it was going to stay.

I wanted the rod to have a bit of a unique style to it. I wanted to be able to walk up the shore of any lake or river knowing the rod would be saying “Look at me all you factory rods, this bloke is casting me with the same hands that he used to build me and although I may not be as pretty as you guys are I can still hook as many fish”.

After taping on one foot of the guide I was having trouble getting the thread going on the other side without the guide moving so I cut a very narrow strip of tape and put on the side I was binding as well.

This helped to lock the guide in place and once the thread was halfway up the foot of the guide I just removed the narrow strip of tape and continued binding the rest of the way. It was then just a matter of repeating the process till all the guides were bound to the rod in there correct positions. After all that was done I glued the tip top into position with some araldite, got my good workmate Brian

Driscoll to put some fancy script on the butt section of the blank for me and finished off with some decorative thread wraps to complete the build. This is where the second and final drama of the whole process came in to play. Although I didn’t know it at the time I hadn’t done enough research into what type of pen to use for the script work and when the epoxy was applied to the scripted area I got a couple of slight runs in the text. Oh well, it had to have some character right?

It was now time to head back to Leroy’s so he could show me the ins and outs of the final epoxy stage, and also so I could use his drying lathe as well. Once again he did the first guide for me whilst I watched on and then left me to it. This part of the process was no big deal either and before long I had my first fully built and epoxied rod sitting there rotating in the dryer. All I had to do now was wait for it to fully cure for a couple of days before I could run a line through it on the back lawn.

So, what does it cast like?

The Epic blanks are marketed as a fast glass rod and to be honest my first impression of the rod in the hand with no line was that it felt a bit soft in the action to what I was expecting. When I got it home though and put a line thru it my initial thoughts on the rod were completely blown out of the water. The

Attention to details is essential. rod casts nicely at a range of distances; roll casts well and is very good at doing a single back cast pickup to change direction which will be perfect for some tailing fish action. By the time you read this story the fishing season will have opened again for the year and I will have hopefully been able to have a cast at a Little Pine Lagoon tailing fish with it. I am busting to see how it performs with an angry tailing fish heading for the cover of deeper water firmly connected to one end. If you have never had a go at building a fly rod, or any type of fishing rod for that matter as I hadn’t, give it a go. Don’t be put off by the thought that you need expensive gear to get started, as I found out that certainly isn’t the case.

And if you are wondering what type of blank to start with why not try something a bit different and go with one of the glass blanks from the Epic range, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

It would be wrong of me to finish the story without a final thanks to Leroy Tirant for all of his help and assistance throughout the build with knowledge and equipment, there is nothing this bloke doesn’t know. Thanks legend..

Putting together your own rod is very satisfying.

Gavin Hicks

How big will your weekend be when you win a new boat and trailer package?

Competition closes 30 November 2013. Eligible to persons 18+. Terms and conditions apply. For full details go to www.ifs.tas.gov.au

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This trout season, the only thing bigger than the fish will be your own memories. Get a 2013–14 full season or five season adult, senior or pensioner fresh water angling licence before 30 November and you could win a boat and trailer package, complete with registration, boat licence and water safety equipment. Renew or purchase your angling licence online at www.ifs.tas.gov.au or visit your nearest tackle store or Service Tasmania shop.

Fishing News - Page 9

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Fishing News - Page 10

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Australian salmon Tasmania’s most popular sportfish Left and below: The author at Sinking Rock at Marrawah – a relatively safe platform and some big fish available.

Rodney Howard owns Tassie Tackle in Burnie and has fished for Australian salmon for most of his life. Here are a few tips from Rodney.

W

hilst I have spent a lot of time fishing from the shore in recent times I have really enjoyed fishing from a kayak, so I will cover that as well.

Locations One of the absolute prime spots for Australian salmon in Tasmania is the northern part of the West Coast. You will see Marrawah on the map and close by are two of my favourite places, Nettley Bay and Sinking Rock, off the north eastern side of Green Point. These are consistently prime places as is both East and West Inlet, although I would favour West Inlet over the two.

Nettley Bay You can drive to Nettley Bay and Nettley Rock is straight in front of the car park. Fishes well in all tides, but it can be really wet from the spray that comes in. It can look dangerous, but it is mostly spray rather than waves. However you should take great care and if in doubt don’t go. Any big westerly can be severe here and you will not be fishing.

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Fishing News - Page 11

People that know it fish from the side of the rock rather than the front. And the best fishing is parallel to the beach rather than trying to belt out a big cast towards South Africa. The rock is quite high and one of the trickiest things is getting your fish up and away from the kelp which surrounds the base. You must play your fish out so that you can use a wave to bring it up and then swing it onto the rock.

Lures and bait both wok well here and I have found the most productive spot is behind the breakers. So cast parallel to the beach, but along behind the breakers. Time of day doesn’t seem to matter. They are schooling fish and sometimes they are there and sometimes not. I have been there at dawn and the bite doesn’t happen until two in the afternoon.

I like a big strong 10’ rod here with a 5000 or bigger reel capable of casting a 30-70 gram lure, but I will talk about gear later. It is vital here because of the constant wind, high rock and strong fish.

A good strong rod is essential to lift big fish.

Sinking Rock This is accessed from the same car park as Nettley Bay. There is a well established track that runs north along a coastal reserve to Green Point.

You cross the finger of land to Sinking Rock on the northern side. It is an easy flat walk and takes less than half an hour. This is a better spot in a westerly or south westerly. Tide does not seem to matter too much, but at some stage you will get a good run of fish.

The most consistent fishing seems to also be by fishing parallel to the shore – so fishing in a north easterly or easterly direction, rather than out of the bay. Lures similar to Nettley Rock, but also poppers and bait is a great option – especially if you want a break from casting lures. Always soak a bait while you are stopping for lunch or a coffee. Bait will often work best on the rare calm or glassy day.

Duck Bay

Nettley Rock can get very rough so take care.

This is more of a boat fishery and the prime spot is Eagle Point, between Perkins Island and Seven Mile Beach. This is where the main tidal flow runs in and out of Duck Bay. This can be accessed from the shore along Seven Mile Beach.

Duck Bay is also a great place to fish from a kayak and if the salmon aren’t running you might find some good trevally or some very good flathead.

Smithton – East and West Inlets One of my standout favourite places is West Inlet.

There is a small sandy track that runs from the Stanley Road about 2 kilometres from the Bass Highway to West Inlet. You can drive your car down here, but if the tide is in turning will be difficult as there is no turning circle and no car park. Park on the road and it is only a couple of hundred metres to walk. You can launch a small dinghy here – or best of all fish West Inlet from a kayak.

Lures – hard body, slugs, slices, wobblers or soft plastics, plus bait or fly fishing from the shore is easy. If you walk north a couple of hundred metres you will find a man-made, but abandoned rock bar which runs two thirds the way across. On the back side of this you will nearly always find salmon – it just depends which way the tide is running. About two thirds tide – either running in or out is best as the water races across the top of the rocks. Size of fish varies here, but there will often be good blackback salmon of more than 1.5 kilograms. It’s not unusual to catch a fish ever cast.

Fishing News - Page 12

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I love fishing here with much lighter gear than on the west coast. My tips on gear are down further.

East Inlet can be a bit more hit and miss than West Inlet, but when the fish are on it can be fantastic. There is a track to the right off Stanley Road about another kilometre further towards Stanley and there is good parking here. Take a walk over to the inlet and scope it out. The channel moves around and it is a matter of finding the deeper holes. A good running tide will be best.

Other hot spots along the North West Coast Any river that runs into Bass Strait between Smithton and Devonport will have a run of salmon at some time between winter and Easter. I find as the winter flow drops off the fishing seems to get better.

Whitebait runs does attract the fish – so from late September you will see some good action.

Tide is a bit more important and I believe the fish will sit just out of the strongest current and wait for the food to come to them. Try fishing down the side of the hard current and swing your lures through to the quieter water. If I am limited to time at a river mouth I like the last hour and a half of run-in tide to about half run-out. Normally the high to the first part of run-out is best.

Most of the river mouths lend themselves to all methods – fly, lure and bait fishing. Only light gear is necessary and your trout gear will be fine.

West Coast gear As mentioned earlier strong gear is necessary for a number of reasons. Constant wind means you will often be casting into 15 knots of breeze. That means heavier lures 30-70 grams and powerful rods. A long powerful rod of around 10 feet, is also necessary in lifting, or swinging, a big fish up onto the rocks.

There are a number of rods on the market these days that suit. Reels around 5000 or bigger in size are good and whilst I like to fish with braid it is not essential. Braid in my opinion needs to be matched with the better quality reels, which invariably have the best drag systems. Cheaper reels have drag systems that are not as smooth and you are better off with monofilament on these. Line stretch will take up the cushioning and less fish will throw the lure.

Buy good quality mono and don’t go much under 20 pound. Fifteen pound braid should suffice. So please ask the tackle store what will suit you and the gear you have.

I love poppers and there are some new Strada lures in the 80-90mm range that have been getting great results on salmon. I don’t think colour matters too much. These do excite fish sometimes and seeing a big salmon smashing a popper is awesome. These are best fished with braid.

East and West Inlet give up some good salmon — a kayak can be a great way to chase them.

Kayak and estuary gear Some people like the new shorter so-called kayak rods. I am not a fan and find a good strong seven foot rod is good for both kayak and shore based estuary and river mouth fishing. If I am in the kayak and a fish runs around the front of the kayak I can reach out and run the line from one side of the kayak to the other. Short rods won’t allow this.

Six or eight pound braid is what I use or up to ten pound mono. Lighter gear will let your lures have a better action – and consequently catch more fish.

Split tail minnows around three inch are great and brand does not matter too much. Some of the local Yep lures are great in the lighter silvery

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Fishing News - Page 13

The mouths of all NW estuaries hold salmon. colours, but there are many. Jig heads in 1/8 ounce will mostly do, but at times ¼ ounce will be necessary to get down deeper or to cast into the wind. I like a good strong hook on my jig heads and a 1/0 is my choice. It is strong and gives a good hookup.

I always use a fluorocarbon leader.

I am convinced this material is tougher and the fish less likely to see it.

If you are bait fishing use a standard Paternoster rig with two baits on the bottom droppers and a surf popper on the top dropper. Always put a surf popper on your rig as the fish seem to love them. Best hook size is around 2/0 or 3/0 and bait can be bluebait or squid.

Best advice from me though is to visit your local tackle store – ask what fish are around and some tips on catching them.

Are they good to eat?

THE SINTRIX STORY When we launched the first SINTRIX technology rods in 2010, some people were sceptical. How will the claims of improved technology translate into fishing rods? Is it just hype?

Almost three years on we have a range of fly rods that have won accolades from the press, competition anglers, professional guides, and of course the hundreds of other anglers out there enjoying their sport with these rods.

The improved strength/reduced weight was the headline for the technology, but the rods shine for a different reason—they’re an absolute joy to fish with. The rods feel feather light in hand and can control and manipulate a fly line a short range, and can also deliver a long cast or pressure a strong fish in a tight situation.

Not only have many anglers found it’s the rod they like best, Zenith rods have come out top in some pretty scientific head-tohead tests against other leading fly rods—Yellowstone Angler’s ‘shoot-outs’ have gained cult status with those who really want to get into the detail when choosing a rod, and in 2011 the Zenith 9’ #5 topped the 5-weight shoot-out, and the Zenith 8’6 #4 followed up with a win in the 4wt shoot-out in 2012.

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You bet. Australian salmon are delicious and nutritious, however they are best when looked after correctly.

Kill them straight away, bleed them by cutting through the gills, keep them cool in any esky and on ice or in a slurry is best of all. The medium size fish are best and eat them within a day or two of catching. Don’t EVER freeze them.

I like mine in egg and breadcrumbs, and they are great smoked as well.

Australian salmon are probably Tasmania’s most fun and easily accessed sport fish. I hope you enjoy them.

Rodney Howard

Befriend the Bream T

he start of daylight savings excites the trout fisher as it signifies the general start to the mayfly season; an insect that causes many a trout angler to become obsessed, chasing that hatch like a moth to a flame. Many anglers who chase trout also target bream but at this time of year, as trout anglers are in such a mayfly-induced trance, thoughts of bream become nullified. For the sneaky bream angler, this is a gift, paving the way for cheeky little solo sessions and all-round good times for you and your mates!

Where are they hiding?

Many readers would be aware of southern black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri), but it is regularly surprising how few Tasmanians have ever seen such a fish, let alone catch one. They can be encountered anywhere from the Inglis River in Wynyard all the way clockwise across the north coast, up and down the east coast and as far as the Southport Lagoon in the south. Estuaries, rivers, creeks and coastal lagoons can all contain bream, providing they open out to the ocean at times. For reasons unknown, they don’t exist in the far southwest or on the west coast despite some areas providing prime habitat. They are a slow-growing fish that can be as old as the angler, with studies showing some specimens of 40cm to be up to 30 years old. With this in mind, it pays to keep only what you need for a feed.

Some people may disagree, but I think there are much better tasting fish out there! Generally speaking however,

silvery fish from saltier regions can have tastier flesh than say, bronzecoloured fish from brackish water.

Cracking specimens can weigh over 2kg and measure 50cm to the fork of their tail, though yarns from yesteryear speak of fish well over 3kg and 60cm!

Probably the most intriguing bream locations in Tasmania would include the Tamar River, Mersey River and Port Sorell, where fish seem to enter in the warmer months and retreat in the cooler months leaving behind a very small population of resident fish. These particular fish appear to be migratory, perhaps even hanging out amongst coastal reef systems.

It is these silvery sea-going bream that regularly push that magical 50cm mark and haunt the dreams of every bream angler!

Events Although bream can be targeted year-round in many systems, things start to fire up from around October through to April. During October and November, bream are often schooling up and gradually making their way upstream to spawn in great numbers. They can be targeted during this journey and indeed while they are spawning, with different factors attributing to your level of success. In

addition, the spawning run coincides with a whitebait run in some systems, giving you the chance of landing a sea-run trout too. I’ve had sessions on the Derwent River, for example, where I’ve hooked a bream from a cluster of rocks and while I’m fighting this fish, my companion casts in exactly the same spot and nails a trout – Double hook-up, trout and bream style! There are not too many locations around Australia where that can happen.

Methods Probably the most exciting way to catch bream is using cast and retrieve methods with spin gear, or even fly gear if you’re that way inclined! Sure, you can sit there and soak a crab, pink nipper, pretty-fish, sandworm, mussel or prawn for bream but with modern gear, imitative lures and a range of diverse locations; covering hundreds of metres of water by boat or from the shore is far more entertaining for the active fisher.

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Fishing News - Page 15

Flats Fanatic There is no greater feeling than sighting a fish over shallow water. Bream will often move out over flats to feed as the tide comes in and believe me, watching a bream hone in on your lure, pause several times to then eventually crunch your offering, takes some beating! If a high tide occurs at first light or late in the evening, you can see bream in the shallows with their tails sticking out of the water, furiously digging away in the sand or crunching shells with their mighty jaws. Shallow running hardbodies or lightly weighted soft plastics work very well here, with the hard body lure being my favourite.

Fish smash these with gusto; often hooking themselves in the process. Bear in mind however, that pausing your lure is crucial to success with these challenging fish.

Get on Top Like the famous singer Prince once said; “Bream, get on top” (I think he did anyway, I wasn’t really listening). Once you have the bream bug, an obvious progression is to delve into surface lures or poppers. My word, you thought ordinary hardbodies were fun? This stuff is off the charts! Bream can be an extremely finicky fish but when they are in the mood, they will hunt down a surface lure out of aggression alone. A general tip is to work your lure in a ‘walk-the-dog’ style, pausing regularly and for periods up to ten seconds. If a fish

Deep Searching Sometimes, locating bream in larger systems can be half of the challenge. A great way to start is searching deeper holes that contain tidal flow using soft plastics, deep diving or sinking hard body lures.

If you have a sounder on your boat, on occasions fish will be so thick that they will appear as a school on your screen. Scented soft plastics, vibrating

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boils behind your lure, pause, give a little tweak and pause again. They can be difficult to hook sometimes but keep persisting until you convert that boil into an almighty ‘sluuuuurpp’! Bream will often sit right under your lure with their mouth against the trebles, deciding on whether to commit or not, when all of a sudden, they open up and suck – it’s pretty amazing to watch! Using surface lures is most productive when there’s a slight roll on the water and when it’s cloudy or overcast.

Fly Poppers Once again, natural progression and subsequent obsession occurs. If you fish for bream and you also fly fish, then chances are that you want to chase bream on fly.

If you don’t, then you should!

I’ve had some great success over the past couple of years using home-tied popper flies in various shapes, sizes and colours. These are used in exactly the same fashion as mentioned above but the biggest challenge here, is getting your fly out there without spooking fish. I will only touch on it here but needless to say, for me, this is the most challenging way to catch a bream but by far the most rewarding!

Black bream are an amazing estuary species and due to the cessation of netting in many of our estuaries over the past decade or so, they are quite abundant. You don’t need top-of-the-range gear to chase these fish, just a lightweight spinning outfit of 2-4kg, a 1500-2500 sized reel loaded with 3-6lb braid and some fluorocarbon leader material

between 3-6lb. The sunnier and calmer the conditions, the longer and lighter the leader – sometimes up to several metres. Polarised sunglasses are almost imperative for any fishing these days but for bream fishing they are an amazing asset. The sun can begin to have quite a bite as we approach the warmer months, even more so when you’re around the water so be sure to slip, slop and slap between 10am-3pm. If you do encounter bream spawning, once again take only what you need for a feed and it’s a wise choice for the future generations to release bream that are displaying signs of eggs or milt. The more fish, the more fun!

Brendan Turriff

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Fishing News - Page 17

Trout on bait Adrian Webb

T

he way many start trout fishing is with a cheap little rod and a few worms. Bait fishing is one of the most enjoyable ways of fishing and often the least expensive too - no matter if it is trout - or from a jetty fishing for salt water species.

This article is on the simple basics of bait fishing for trout. There are several methods used to catch trout, and most novice trout anglers begin by learning to catch trout on light spinning tackle and bait fish first, before moving on up to the more advanced methods of trout fishing like spinning with spinners, hard body and soft plastic lures.

Some anglers like the challenge of using a fly rod and fish for wild trout in crystal clear lakes, rivers and streams.

Some anglers spend many days (and years) trying to catch that trophy fish. As you get more experienced with your trout fishing then you may want to get into that type of trout fishing. But for now we are going to stick with basics and it’s not an expensive way to set yourself up, and that’s a good thing too.

Getting Started

Simple and effective

Fishing News - Page 18

For starters get hold of some IFS Angler Access Brochures of the many rivers in and around Tasmania that you can fish with ease. It’s always handy to study maps of the area that you may like to explore and fish one day as well. I used to sit down and go over and over detailed Tasmaps (1:100,000) for hours checking out rivers and marking them down as ones I wanted to fish. I have fished many of them now and continue to do so. Make sure

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you get permission to access private lands that do not have Angler Access on them. You will find most landowners are happy to let you fish on their property if you just ask for their permission first.

Please note: Bait fishing is not allowed in National Parks throughout Tasmania.

Bait and Tackle We all have different ideas on the best methods for catching trout and what baits to use. Anything that works is good that’s for sure, but the following will help you get set up for bait fishing.

1: A lightweight fast action spinning rod around 1.8 mtrs to 2.1 mtrs in length is really all that is required for bait fishing rivers and most lakes. It doesn’t have to be expensive.

2: A small spinning reel outfitted with 4 to 6 pound test line. I use 4 lb mono main line with a 6 lb trace.

You can use 6 lb or 8 lb main line if you prefer. I just prefer to fish with light tackle.

3: Size 4 or 6 bronze bait holder hooks are ideal.

Hook sizes for Mudeyes are size 12 or 14.

4: A few small/medium split shots and running ball sinkers for the odd occasion when you need to get your bait down in a section of faster flowing water.

Bait It’s free if you want to collect it yourself.

1: Earth worms and wattle grubs early season in flooding rivers.

2: Wattle grubs, cockroaches, crickets, and grasshoppers later in the season as the river levels drop and weather becomes warmer and more settled.

Another excellent bait also is the mudeye — a bait that the trout won’t bypass. The mudeye is the dragonfly in the nymph stage of its life cycle and can be collected in waters that have reeds and any dead wood along the edges. IFS still strongly

recommends against transferring flora and fauna of any type between water bodies. Around the end of October would be the time to start collecting them.

They are best kept in a container half filled with cool clear water and keep them shaded, if any die remove them from the container as well. They can be kept in the fridge too. You can fish them under a bubble float or flick them out un-weighted and just let them drift and wait for the trout to snap them up.

Place the hook through the unopened wing area just behind the head, this will keep them alive much longer.

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The common garden (earth) worm works a treat in these conditions. Depending on the size of the

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Worms and are the best bait to use the early season and especially in flooded waters, and even more so when the rivers are spilling into the paddocks. This is when the trout will be in these areas gorging themselves on earth worms that have come out of the saturated ground. You will often see the trout feeding in these flooded areas by spotting bow waves and quite often there fins protrude out of the shallow water.

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Fishing News - Page 19

When I bait fish a river in these conditions I always keep well back from the river banks and stay in the shade where possible. Trout will sit in the areas of shade that are on the water and it’s only a matter of flicking the unweighted baited line upstream and letting it drift back down. This method of fishing will often produced a feed of trout especially when you see them on the rise.

February, March and even into April is when the grasshoppers work a treat on the trout. An easy way of collecting hoppers is to walk along the rivers edge (and not where you are going to fish) and pick them of the water as they very often land on the water as you disturb them. The other is to buy a child’s butterfly net and swipe it through the long grass and collect them that way. Keep them in a white plastic container with a few air holes in the lid, and place some grass in it and make sure to keep them in a cool place. The light container is ideal as if you use a tin or a dark container, then as soon as you open it they will head straight for the light and you will lose most of them.

When using the hopper for bait it’s only a matter of placing the hook through the back of it just below it’s neck. Approach the river quietly from downstream and cast the hopper upstream and let it drift with the flow back towards you should pick up a trout or two using this method as well. There is another alternative that you may want to try, and that is fishing for trout in the lakes of Tasmania. Before you do though, make sure the lake that you intend to fish is allowed to be bait fished. Check your IFS Tasmanian Inland Fishing Code Booklet to make sure you can fish your selected lake.

I am not one for fishing the lakes as there just seems to be too much water between the fish for me. If you do decide to give it a go, then you can use a few different set ups for fishing the lakes.

You can use a light running sinker rig which is the most common set up with a hook below the sinker, and one set at least a metre above it. Same size hooks can be used and worms early season and wattle grubs, cockroaches, crickets later. Lakes like Arthurs, Rowallan and Cethana to name a few would

worms I usually thread two of them on the hook and flick it out into the area that they are feeding.

Then it’s just a matter of waiting for the trout to pick up the baited hook. Give the fish a little line as it moves off and then when you feel the weight of the fish on the line lift the rod and set the hook.

Do not have the reel tension to tight either as you don’t want to break your line and lose what could be your first trout for the start of your trout fishing days.

Once you have caught your first fish, I can assure you that you will want to keep on coming back to fish for them. Wattle grubs can be used at most times of the season as they are a great all round bait for trout. Later in the season once the weather becomes more settled and the days are warmer then the baits change as do the trout’s feeding habits.

Early mornings and late afternoons are the best times to fish once the days get longer and warmer. River levels are much lower and the water is also clearer and this is when mudeyes, crickets, cockroaches and then later in the season from around January the grasshoppers come into play. In the deeper rivers quite often the wattle grub is used to good effect. This is where a pair of polaroid sunglasses are a must as they take the sun glare off the water giving you a good vision of what is in the river in front of you. With the clear conditions the trout will spook quite easy and the slightest movement will often send them on their way well before you can get a bait in the river. So remember it’s a low and slow approach.

Fishing News - Page 20

No stopper above float so the fish can run with bait

1/2 to 3/4 filled bubble float

Adjustable foam stop bead - set around one metre above baited hook

Bubble float setup for mudeye fishing

Place hook through the wing case, behind the head of the mudeye.

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be my preference to fish as they hold a lot of dead trees in them and these are the areas to bait fish.

I have had success on the few trips I did to Lake Cethana many years ago. So the lakes are there if you wish to give them a go and several are open all year round as well. Make sure to check the IFS booklet to confirm which lakes are open all year.

Night fishing is also very popular and you will often be rewarded with much bigger fish too. Larger trout often move into the shallow areas along the lakes at night to feed, so a night fishing session is always worth a try.

This article has been written from my experiences of bait fishing rivers over the many years (48) of my trout fishing days. Today I mainly lure fish by wading and spinning the rivers in the North of Tasmania.

I still do my bit of bait fishing early in the season in flooded rivers and also I like to flick a grasshopper about late in the season as well. ** Now here are a few pointers to remember:

A brace of Atlantic salmon from Lake Barrington.

1: Flooded rivers,backwaters and paddocks are ideal for bait fishing with worms early season.

2: Fishing flooded rivers look for a calm stretches along river banks or tree lined sections of river.

3: Stay hidden when rivers are low and clear.

4: Try not to walk in the water and spook fish when rivers are low.

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5: If you spot a fish try and make and accurate cast above the fish so bait will drift back to it.

6: Warmer weather conditions fish early morning and late afternoon.

7: Fish with light weight tackle and unweighted where possible.

8: If lake fishing use light running sinkers and fish the heavily wooded areas.

9: Give a night bait fishing session a try, you may get that big fish of a lifetime.

10: To release a fish that has swallowed the hook, cut the line near the mouth of the fish, do not try and remove a swallowed hook unless you intend to keep the fish.

So there you have it, the basics of getting yourself started in the methods of bait fishing for trout. Bait fishing is one of the cheapest methods of fishing too, as the bait that you use is free as it’s just a matter of getting out there and collecting it. It is also a nice relaxing way of fishing too by just sitting back on a river bank enjoying the beautiful scenery that surrounds ones self while waiting for the trout to take the bait. Doesn’t get any better.

Adrian Webb

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Fishing News - Page 30/05/13 9:18 21 AM

Jan’s Jan Spencer

I

t is time to think nymphs. Numerous trout foods have a nymphal stage as part of their life cycle and these include damselflies, dragonflies, mayflies, stoneflies, caddis and midges. All have different body shapes and colours.

There is no pattern to cover the lot, but I think it is important to get the size and colour correct. The weight depends on what depth the fish are at and as the season progresses the nymphs become larger and more active. Earlier in the season the fish are deeper and as the water warms fish and insects rise in the water column.

You should always have both weighted and unweighted flies in your box. Fishing weighted flies in shallow water will often have you hooked up in debris on the bottom.

Flies One of the best known and popular flies, and very simple to tie Tasmanian nymphs is Dick Wigram’s Pot Scrubber. It has caught thousands of Tasmanian trout. A favourite of mine is a little different, but still easy to tie.

Brown Nymph Thread: Brown or black.

Tail: Bunch of fibres from a dark brown cock hackle.

Rib: Medium copper wire.

Body: Dark brown seals fur.

Wing Case: Slip of dark brown turkey feather.

Think about all the aspects of depth, current if in a river, or drift if in a boat and choose the weight of your flies to suit. Fly lines and leaders all come into the equation as well.

It is also worth knowing what insects are in the water you are fishing - from large mudeyes (dragonflies) to stick caddis.

Method

I like to keep the patterns relatively simple. One of the most popular nymphs in Tasmania is the mayfly nymph and the pupa - just before it hatches.

3. Place the slip of turkey feather on top of the body, tie down, with the main length protruding back towards the tail. This will form the wing case.

Hook: Long shank, medium to heavy weight.

Thorax: Dark brown seals fur.

2. Place copper wire in and dub in a body of seals fur, shape the body from slim at the tail end to thick at the body end. Finish the body two thirds along the shank. Wind the copper wire over the formed body and tie down firmly. Cut away excess copper wire.

4. Take some more dark brown seals fur and form a thorax slightly larger than the body. This should finish behind the eye — leaving enough room to tie down the wing case.

5. Pull the turkey slip forward over the thorax, tie down firmly and cut away excess.

Beard or Legs: Fibres from a bronze coq de leon feather.

1. Take thread full length of hook shank, place tail fibres from a dark brown cock hackle in and tie down firmly.

6. Take a bunch of coq de leon feather fibres and tie in underneath the chin of the fly. Cut away excess, whip finish and varnish head. You can also add a couple of coats of varnish on top of the wing case. This adds some strength to the fly and gives a nice sheen.

I like to fish this as part of a team of three nymphs or even some small English wets on lines through from floating through to fast sinking.

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Outfitting anglers since 1986

Get someone who practically lives in waders to give ‘em heaps!

We asked Trout guide, Commonwealth Gold Medallist and competition angler, Christopher Bassano to try them for a season.

Christopher wears waders for about 250 days a year and he gave Aquaz the big thumbs up.

‘Right up there, and in fact better than some of the highly priced brands used by some snobs and greenhorns.

‘Love the fit and comfort, great belt and gravel guards, and reinforced knees.

And when I learned the price I couldn’t believe it’.

We are so confident in Aquaz waders we offer a three year seam warranty. If the seams leak within three years we will repair or replace your waders — no questions asked.

However, to be fair, if you roll down a forest of black berries, have the crotch eaten out by a Tassie Devil, or lose a fight with a barbed wire fence, we will gladly sell you a repair kit to keep the water out.

Worn by Christopher - Aquaz Trinity chest, stocking foot waders and Aquaz Trinity wading jacket.

Breathable Waders from $229 to $299 Breathable Jackets from $229 to $299 Visit your local specialist retail outlet to view the full range of Aquaz products from thermals, wading boots, softshell jackets, gloves.

Contact 03 9899 0034 for your stockist.

Fishing News - Page 22

www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

Fishing News - Page 23

535 CR in stock NOW

Bar Crusher 535 series gets a boost Bar Crusher’s popular 535 hull series has been upgraded to incorporate the innovative Quickflow™ water ballast technology.

Bringing the 535 series – which is available in CR (cuddy runabout), SC (side console) and XS (rear centre console) versions – inline with the rest of the Bar Crusher range, the Quickflow system incorporates a cavity running the full length of the keel that’s open at the transom.

This cavity quickly fills with water when the boat is stationary, which lowers the chines into the water for greater stability, and is jettisoned from the hull in seconds as the boat moves forward to allow it to leap effortlessly onto the plane.

The 535 series upgrade extends the versatility of what was already a very capable hull.

The 535 hull was launched as the ‘Wave Crusher’ series back in 2010, a concept which applied the superior engineering of other Bar Crusher models into a range of smaller boats.

Constructed from high-tensile marine grade plate aluminium, the Wave Crusher series incorporated the Waveslicer smooth-riding hull and Rigideck sub-floor system for maximum hull strength, but not our Quickflow technology – until now!

Although they’re the smallest models in the range, many 535 owners have continually praised the capabilities of their boats and are taking them further afield to target more species — out of the estuaries and into the bays and even offshore in the right conditions.

Stability at rest is significantly boosted with the addition of Quickflow, which allows the boat to take-on several hundred kilograms of water ballast.

The added weight and resultant stability is ideal when fishing at anchor for whiting or snapper, slow-trolling or jigging over reefs.

535 XS in stock NOW

For shallow-water applications, such as trout, bream and flathead under the power of an electric outboard, the optional Bar Flap system can be used to keep water out and ensure the boat is easily manoeuvred through tight waterways.

Bar Crusher leads the industry in design excellence and quality to produce the most advanced plate aluminium boats on the market. Incorporating exclusive innovations such as Quickflow™ – water ballast technology; Rigideck™ – engineered sub-floor system; and Waveslicer™ – smooth non-pounding hull design, Australian-made Bar Crusher boats are renowned for their superior performance.

View these boats and more at Cnr Fairlands Dr and Bass Hwy, Somerset

Burnie TAS, 7320 Phone: 6435 2200 E:anthony@coastal-marine.com.au W:www.coastal-marine.com.au Fishing News - Page 24

www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

Learn to Fly Fish BRONTE FLY -FISHING SCHOOL 5-10 January 2014 The Devonport Fly Fishing Club (Inc) will be holding their annual fly-fishing school at Bronte Lagoon in the Central Highlands from the 5th to the 10th January 2014.

This long running school has helped in excess of 1000 students over the years and is a great opportunity for beginners, or those with some experience, to learn and improve their fly-fishing.

Students are well supported with the club providing practical lessons and experienced instructors to help fast track their development.

What could take someone years of practice and frustration by themselves can be learnt in this one week.

At a cost of $125 per student for the 5-day course it is well within the reach of everyone, with many students choosing to turn it into a family holiday. The club actively promotes women anglers attending the course and also junior anglers provided they are under adult supervision.

Students who undertake the course will be required to supply all their own angling gear and if choosing to camp on site will need to be selfsufficient. The club provides camping area, large marquees, fresh water and portable toilets. Showers and food are available at the nearby Bronte Park Highland Village.

Some of the topics covered by the course include Safety, Casting, Fishing Techniques, Knots and Leaders, Gear set up, Entomology, Reading Lakes, and Streams, and Fly Patterns. The learning atmosphere is relaxed and informal providing ample time for socialising and fishing also.

As usual the school will again cater for those people returning as second year students with a separate program that will enable them to take that next step and follow on from the previous years learning. More details available at http://www. devonportflyfishingclub.net.au For further information or to enrol please contact any of the following.

Peter Burr, Camp Secretary, 6424 8287 David Best, Camp Chairperson, 6424 6628

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Fishing News - Page 25

When launching the app, the Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries, Bryan Green, said Tas Fish Guide takes the hugely popular printed Recreational Sea Fishing Guide to new levels.

RECREATIONAL SEA FISHERIES NEWS October/November 2013 Go Smartfishing this Season The wait for Tassie fishers is over - the Tas Fish Guide phone app is now available. This app is essential for anyone going recreational fishing in Tasmania. An interactive version of the popular printed Recreational Sea Fishing Guide, it’s FREE for iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets.

“This is a fantastic, free interactive version of the guide which can really enhance fishing whether it’s boat or land-based,” he said.

“The huge amount of information and images on the app covers everything fishers need to know about legal size and bag limits, if certain areas can be fished, species habitat and identifying catches.

“As well as the basic rules, there is a host of extras. Fishers can check marine weather and tides, log their catches and favourite fishing spots, locate boat ramps and even find seafood recipes and cooking tips.

Mr Green said an increasing number of people use smartphones to access all types of information, and fishers are part of this trend.

Insert photo (MinisterGreen_ appLaunch.jpg) of Bryan Green catching a mullet at app launch with caption: “Fishcare volunteer Rob Wood, Fisheries Minister Bryan Green and Recreational Fisheries Manager Rod Pearn use the new Tas Fish Guide app on an iPad to identify the Minister’s catch.”

Features The Tas Fish Guide app is now available FREE for iphone and Android”

• Species descriptions, habitat and fishing tips • Fishing gear illustrations and specifications • Interactive fishing area maps • Boat ramp locations to help plan your Tassie fishing trip

• Up to date rules for sea fishing • Legal bag and size limits • Searchable, full colour guide to over

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iPhones so you can download the app.

In either of these stores, search for ‘Tasmanian Sea Fishing Guide’. If you have problems, ask a nearby teenager for help!

For more information about phone compatibility and download links, visit www.fishing.tas.gov.au/phoneapp

• Log your catch and favourite fishing spots • Latest marine weather and tide information • Recipes and cooking methods for popular species • Cached maps for offline use • Use the app to buy a licence online • Fishing alerts and season reminders from DPIPWE Fisheries • Responsible fishing tips for all species and gear

Fisher reviews for Tas Fish Guide: “Very handy to identify my fishes caught.”

“Check this out! MUST HAVE APP OF THE YEAR!” “All rules, regulations and heaps of other great info at your fingertips wherever you may be fishing.”

“Well worth the Download.”

“Great app!!!”

“Very cool app.”

Re-Power and Service Specialists

Fishing News - Page 26

115 Tasmanian fish species

“Another great #tasmanian app.... if you #fish, then this is a great one.”

“A brilliant Tasmanian Government initiative.”

“Android and iOS? How fantastic!”

“At least these guys realised that there are many, many Android devices out there.”

Is the printed Guide still available?

Yes. You can pick up a copy as usual at Service Tasmania or most bait and tackle shops.

Licence holders will be sent a copy when they renew their licence.

It is also available online at www.fishing.tas.gov.au/recguide

Fishing App FAQs How do I download it and will it work on my phone?

Make sure you are registered with the Google Play Store for Android phones or the Apple App Store for

www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

Which fish species are on the app?

The app features over 115 Tasmanian fish species including popular recreational species such as flatheads, flounders, salmons, tunas, trumpeters, mullets, whitings, garfish, bream and trevally. It also features other scalefish, shellfish, gamefish, sharks, skates, rays, lobsters, crabs, prawns, octopus, jellyfish, seaweed, squid, seastars, urchins and protected species!

Information about each fish includes: standard and scientific names, bag, size and possession limits, identifying features, maximum size, habitat and fishing information.

Fishing rules applying to all species and gear are also listed in the app.

How do the interactive fishing maps work?

The app’s superior, interactive fishing area maps will be particularly popular with fishers. The iPhone version uses highly-detailed Tasmanian LIST maps and the Android version features Google maps. The majority of information is held within the phone and maps can be cached for use in locations out of phone coverage.

Fishing area maps included are marine reserves, seaward limits, net and line restricted areas, research areas and marine farming lease boundaries.

Open the Maps menu and zoom into your fishing area using the touchscreen.

Touch on the red fishing area restriction to see a description of the boundaries. On iOS devices, scroll to see gear and species restrictions, or on Android devices, select ‘See Restrictions’.

How accurate are the fishing area boundaries?

If you have your GPS on, your location will appear on the app to give an indication of whether you are in a restricted area.

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www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

Fishing News - Page 27

The maps on the app should be used for reference purposes only and the boundaries of fishing restriction areas are indicative only. Refer to the Living Marine Resources Management Act 1995 and the Inland Fisheries Act 1995 and the legislation made under those Acts for specific boundary descriptions.

The maps in the app should not be used for navigation purposes.

Do the maps work when I don’t have phone reception?

Yes. The app will cache map data for areas viewed beforehand by you on your device. To have access to map data when fishing in areas out of phone reception, view these areas whilst you have coverage, prior to going fishing. Area restriction information will be visible regardless of whether you have reception.

How do I log my catch?

Go to the fish menu and select the fish you have just caught from the list. If you can’t find it, enter the common name for the fish into the search bar as its standard fish name may not be the name you know it by.

When you are in the fish details screen, press My Logs to go to the log your catch feature, then press New Log. The map should indicate your current

location, then enter the number of fish you caught and/or released and press Save. If you are diving or see any protected species, you can use the ‘Sighted’ category. If you want to log your catch later when you are away from your fishing spot, just move the map locator using your touchscreen.

Will anyone see my secret fishing spots?

No. Catch information and locations entered by you are stored in your device only.

What sort of fish recipes are in the app?

The app features simple fish recipes which highlight the best ways to use Tasmanian seafood.

It also has cooking tips such as the best cooking method to use for each fish, how to fillet some species and their cooking characteristics.

ROCK LOBSTER NEWS Rock Lobster Season Dates The recreational rock lobster fishery in the Eastern Region will now open on 16 November 2013, the third Saturday in that month. The season start remains unchanged for the Western Region where it will open on 2 November 2013, the first Saturday in November. Other season dates have not been changed.

The adjustments to season dates are part of the East Coast Rock Lobster Harvest Strategy.

East Coast Rock Lobster Strategy Aims to Rebuild Stocks Fishery assessments conducted by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) indicate that rock lobster stocks have declined since 2006.

Many fishers are aware that this decline was of most concern on the east coast of Tasmania. This is particularly important to the recreational fishery with surveys indicating that around 70% of the total recreational catch is taken in the Eastern Region.

As an initial response to the statewide stock decline, a number of Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) reductions occurred from a TACC of 1523 tonne in 2008 to 1103 tonne in 2011. The TACC has been caught for the last two seasons and is now effectively limiting the commercial catch as stock levels start to improve. The statewide total allowable commercial catch (TACC) continues to be set annually against defined performance measures aiming to rebuild stocks.

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Fishing News - Page 28

Consultation on recreational season dates and a number of other management measures were part of the rock lobster fishery review held between 2009 and 2011. The final report recommended developing targeted management arrangements for the East Coast rock lobster fishery. Lower recreational catch limits were implemented for the Eastern Region, however adjustments to seasons were held over and included in the development of a package of additional catch limitation measures for the recreational and commercial sectors.

www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

Hornet Heaven

The NEW QUINTREX Hornets are coming Deegan Marine are pleased to announce the NEW Quintrex Hornets are coming.

These are the best Hornets ever with new bow design, heaps of storage and stability like no other boat. With the Eclipse V-Flared Hull the Hornet offers a smooth and steady ride in all conditions and amazing stability at rest. Already renowned as the best trout and estuary boat ever in Australia, Quintrex have now improved them even more.

F481 Hornet Shown above and opposite the F481 is the perfect size for Tasmanian trout and estuary fishing. And if towing the kids is important it is great for that too.

Overall it is just on five metres and is comfortably driven by a 60HP motor through to a 90.

This is a good beamy boat at 2.1 metres and tough 3mm bottom and transom sheet.

An under-floor fuel tank gives you heaps of storage space under a multitude of hatches.

Pedestal seats and side console give you what some describe as a ‘sports car’ feel. The 481 Hornet is light and easy to tow and has a range of options that boaters normally dream about.

F481 arriving mid October.

Coming Soon QUINTREX ‘on water’ day Subscribe to our newsletter or like us on facebook for details when date is confirmed or of course contact us by email or phone if you would like to be notified.

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Fishing News - Page 29

The strategy developed for the East Coast includes: Delaying the season opening in the Eastern Region for the recreational and commercial season by 2 weeks; Maintaining the 2 weekend buffer, where the commercial season opens two weekends after the recreational fishery; Additional winter closures for the commercial fishery comprising of 2 x 6 week periods between Port Sorell and Penguin Island (south of Adventure Bay, Bruny Island).

Introducing a commercial catch cap system to directly limit the catch between Eddystone Point and Penguin Island. If the catch cap is reached, the commercial fishery will be closed from Port Sorell to a line of longitude through Tower Bay, north-east of Southport, that is, the majority of the Eastern Region, for the remainder of the commercial quota year. The commercial quota year is from 1 March to 28 February the following year.

The closure boundaries have been set to reduce the risks associated with transfer of fishing effort to areas adjacent to the targeted management areas.

Other measures may be considered in the future, including a maximum individual season limit for recreational fishers using tags. This would require further cost benefit analysis, consultation and funding.

SCALEFISH REVIEW NEWS A new management plan for the scalefish fishery is needed by November 2014. Any new rules will apply from the start of the next year’s fishing season.

What issues are being considered?

Revising scalefish catch limits: Are daily bag or on water possession limits needed as well as possession limits? Are boat limits needed for some species such as tuna? What is a reasonable day’s catch for species such as flathead.

Review size limits for some species: Increase the minimum legal size of striped trumpeter based on size at maturity size of 60 cm. For some species such as flathead, consider an increased size limit to reduce the number of fish required for a feed.

Set limits for emerging species: Includes King George whiting, marlin, yellowtail kingfish, tailor and mahi-mahi.

Set lines: Consider how many hooks are appropriate (the current limit is 30) and whether soak times are needed; Gillnet usage: Consider results of new gillnet research including whether more gillnet free areas or other changes are needed; Netting practices: How to improve enforcement of sunset and sunrise gillnet practices; Reducing wildlife interactions: Consider measures that reduce gillnetting interactions, particularly near bird colonies and with the Maugean Skate in Macquarie Harbour?

Issues can be raised via fishing and community organisations and at events such as AgFest, fishing

Channel Marine Services Lot 10 Gemalla Road, Margate Phone: 03 6267 1456 Fishing News - Page 30

forums and Fishcare activities. Research has been undertaken since the 2009 review so outstanding issues can be addressed during the 2014 review.

How to have input into the Scalefish Review You can raise matters prior to the consultation period by contacting DPIPWE Recreational Sea Fishing by phoning 1300 720 647 or emailing fishing.enquiries@dpipwe.tas.gov.au.

Formal consultation will begin around April 2014.

Notification of the release of the draft management plan will be in all Tasmanian newspapers and at www.fishing.tas.gov.au. Flyers will be available from Service Tasmania and tackle shops and sent to people registered for the fishing news email service.

Need more information?

Get a copy of the Recreational Sea Fishing Guide from Service Tasmania; visit www.fishing.tas.gov.au; or Ph: 1300 720 647 (local call cost) or 03 6233 7042

C.J. Marine Pty Ltd 8 Legana Park Drive, Legana Phone 03 63302277

www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

A saltwater fishing licence for Tasmania?

Fishing licenses in Australia In Australia, the two main sources of funding for recreational fisheries management are consolidated government revenue and ‘strategic revenue’ sources.

A strategic revenue source is just a fancy term to describe financial contributions from fishers through fishing licences, permits, levies or gear registration fees. Once upon a time, all fisheries management costs were funded through consolidated revenue; however, there is a general movement towards strategic revenue options, mainly fishing licences.

This is largely due to the decreasing appetite of governments to spend more money than is absolutely necessary to manage fisheries (among other things)

Is a saltwater licence coming? Some want it - some not.

driven by an ever growing number of services and programs competing for public funding and a greater level of spending accountability demanded by taxpayers.

In Australia, the Northern Territory remains the only ‘state’ without direct financial contribution from fishers.

Therefore, fisheries management costs are completely funded through NT consolidated revenue. At the other end of the scale, almost 80% of fisheries management costs in New South Wales are funded through a general fishing licence. Their licence covers all freshwater and saltwater fishing activities and is very similar to the ‘All Waters Fishing Licence’ in Victoria.

South Australia and Queensland do not have fishing licences. However, a limited amount of fisheries management revenue is provided through other strategic revenue sources – gear registration fees for lobster pots and gillnets in SA and permits for fishing stocked lakes in Queensland. A levy on boat registrations also contributes to fisheries management costs in Queensland. As a proportion of the total funding for recreational fisheries management, these strategic revenue sources only contribute around 18% in SA and 28% in Queensland.

In Tasmania, recreational fisheries management funds are provided through licence sales and consolidated revenue.

Within Australia, the licensing model in Western Australia is the one most similar to our marine licensing system in that separate licences are required for fisheries with high management needs (i.e. rock lobster, abalone, net fishing, marron and freshwater angling). A boat fishing licence was also introduced in 2010. The main difference between the WA and the Tasmanian model is that in Tasmania, licences for high management needs fisheries are offered as low cost endorsements on a ‘base licence’ while in WA, each licence is issued separately.

Another difference is that in WA, licence revenue is collected from around 30% of all marine fishers while in Tasmania, that figure is around 17%.

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As some of you may be aware, an independent report examining licensing arrangements for Tasmania’s marine fisheries was funded through the Fishwise Community Grants Program. The report addressed the need for a strategy when considering future licence changes, particularly considering current challenges including a downturn in licence sales in some fisheries. The downturn has reduced funding for essential management services while funds for the Fishwise Community Grants Program have effectively dried up.

Other ‘issues’ with the current system include a lack of fairness in the way a fairly small number of licensed fishers in ‘high management needs’ fisheries (i.e. rock lobster, abalone, net fisheries) effectively subsidise management contributions for fishers in other fisheries. The report also looked at ways in which the licensing system could be restructured to provide additional benefits to improve our fishing experiences.

It should be noted that DPIPWE has not flagged any intentions to make changes and any views expressed in this article are mine and not those of the Department. However, changes to the way our marine recreational fisheries are licensed are possible in the future; just as they have been in the past (the current model is the result of many changes since the early 1970s). Given that the current licensing arrangements cover around 17% of marine fishers, it is likely that if changes did occur, they would extend to cover a greater proportion of the fishing population. While a ‘general’ type licence, such as they have in Victoria and NSW, has merit, the report suggested that expanding the current system to other fisheries would be a better option.

As the author of the report, I feel that it may be helpful to promote community discussion about expanding our licensing system in view of the benefits it could provide and the concerns that fishers may have around the issue. Before looking at the benefits and concerns however, it is helpful to look at the different recreational fishing licences (and other ways in which fishers contribute to fisheries management costs) in Australia….

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Fishing News - Page 31

What are the benefits of fishing licences to through grants programs that provide funds to community groups, individuals and fishing clubs recreational fishers?

Also addressing information needs, contact details of fishers collected during licence registration enable fishing surveys to for projects that deliver benefits to recreational be undertaken. Recreational fishing surveys gather information Benefit 1…To provide additional benefits including fishers. In states that rely mainly on government on various things including fishing catch and effort, which is programs, services and infrastructure funding for recreational fishing (South Australia, invaluable in managing fisheries. In more recent times, fisheries Among Australian states, there is more money Queensland and Northern Territory), the limited surveys have also collected social and economic information to available for recreational fishing when a greater funds available do not stretch far enough to better understand fishers’ opinions about proposed changes and proportion of operating revenue comes from strategic provide community grants programs, or other the social and economic value of recreational fishing. This type of revenue sources such as licences. There are two main forms of non-essential spending. In Tasmania, a information has proven valuable in securing recreational access reasons for this. Firstly, state governments are generally community grants program ran from 1997 to 2011. to a larger slice of the fisheries pie in conflicts with commercial reluctant to fund management costs beyond minimum However, funding shortfalls from a decrease in fishing interests. While surveys may be conducted without essential services. Secondly, when fishing licences have licence sales have effectively closed the program licence databases, contacting fishers in other ways is much been introduced, governments have allowed management for funding new projects. more costly and inefficient. Because of this, potentially valuable agencies to retain the previous level of government information may not be collected. In the absence of knowledge Another way to address fishers’ interests and funding. Therefore, extra revenue from licence sales about some of our fisheries, overly precautionary management concerns is by providing an adequate and secure has effectively boosted ‘bare-bones’ budgets to allow arrangements may prevail. source of funds for fisher peak representative for discretionary spending on stuff that fishers want. bodies. These bodies, who are funded out of the Benefit 4…To increase the effectiveness of communication Providing these things has contributed to the popularity pool of money available to fisheries management, programs of general licences in Victoria and New South Wales ‘go into bat’ on behalf of fishers when their The collection of contact details such as postal and email where fishers have enjoyed many benefits. These include rights or interests are threatened. Unfortunately addresses also enables information from management agencies additional research and compliance, education/awareness however, limited funds often translate to to be delivered more effectively to their target audience – programs, fishing platforms, disabled access facilities, insufficient funds for peak bodies to operate recreational fishers.

Such information may relate to changes marine fish stockings, artificial reefs and commercial effectively. In Tasmania, the revenue shortfalls to fisheries regulations, education/awareness material and the fishing buy-backs in popular recreational fishing areas. In mean that the future of our peak body (TARFish) seeking of fisher’s input to management plans.

Tasmania, where non-essential spending is currently a remains uncertain.

What are the concerns fishers have about fishing licences? pipedream, a wish-list of benefits under a broader-based Benefit 3…To provide information to better licence system could include these items as well as the Of course, there are costs as well as benefits to licensing manage fisheries purchase of commercial rock lobster quota, securing recreational fishers. Fortunately, the balance between benefits Knowing the number of fishers within a licensed and costs can be altered by the way licences are designed and recreational access to ‘new’ species such as snapper and fishery gives managers a better understanding yellowtail kingfish…….and the list goes on! administered. Clearly, the most obvious cost to fishers is the of the fishing pressure sustained. For example, in financial cost of the licence itself, though an expansion of the Benefit 2…To engage fishers in fisheries Tasmania, recreational fishing pressures on rock current system would likely see many fishers paying less than management decisions lobster, abalone and scallops are better understood they currently do. Potential costs will be discussed in regard In Australia, fishers are engaged and represented than for our unlicensed fisheries. This information to five common concerns that fishers often have about fishing more effectively in states with broader-based fishing is very useful in developing the regulations (e.g. bag licences. licences. This is because their ‘non-essential’ spending is limits, size limits) required to ensure sustainable Concern 1…“Licences are just another tax grab by overseen by recreational fishers who sit on expenditure fisheries into the future. government” committees. Part of this ‘non-essential’ spending is The sustainable management of our fisheries does not come for free – unfortunately there’s no way around it! In funding essential management services, and potentially ‘non-essential’ items, the money needs to come from somewhere – either Self S ervici indirectly though our taxes or directly through strategic revenue ng Guide t sources such as licences. o the Storm rider r Concerns about “tax grabs” were voiced by many fishers an on ou r web ge prior to the introduction of general licences in Victoria and Save $ site.

NSW. However, when state governments assured fishers that $$ licence revenue would be ‘ring-fenced’ for recreational fishing purposes only, the proposed licences were (and remain) very popular. Another condition requested by fishers was to maintain the existing level of government expenditure. Therefore, licence revenue was additional to what was already received and did not replace it, enabling the provision of benefits to fishers that they STORM RIDER didn’t have before. In countries where licence fees have been used by the government to fund things unrelated to recreational fishing (i.e. Portugal), licences have been very unpopular among Designed For The Serious Fisherman fishers. And rightly so!

• Totally waterproof – all seams sealed Concern 2…“I’m concerned that my licence fees will be • Super warm quilted lining eaten up by administration costs” • Includes free waterproof pants For obvious reasons, fishers would like to see their hard earned dollars being spent on things that improve their fishing PFD TYPE 1-150N experiences in a visible or tangible way. However, whether you are managing a fishery or a football team, there is no way around STORM RIDER administration costs. Nonetheless, there are ways in which licence administration costs can be minimised. Concerns about + FREE LED TORCH administration costs by NSW fishers prior to the general licence introduction led to a government commitment to maintain these costs at or below 10% of revenue. For our current system in Tasmania, administration costs are already relatively low.

The fact that we already have licence purchasing and database management systems in place means that licensing additional fisheries will not incur significant additional costs.

T Concern 3…“Licences restrict fishing activity to those able A ABLE AVAIL to pay for one and may deter young people from fishing” OOD G G L L This is a valid concern given that, in the past, some fishing A HIN G, FIS Y N I T licences have been designed to do just that – limit fishing to A R E BO ANDL those that can afford it. Fortunately, no broad-based licences & CH RES STO in Australia have been proposed or implemented with that in mind. However, in a bid to reduce fishing pressure in two ailing fisheries, a demersal fishing licence in WA and a snapper fishing licence in Queensland were recently proposed and NEW STORM RIDER RANGE AVAILABLE | STORM RIDER JACKETS FROM $250 RRP were priced to reduce fishing to those willing or able to afford it. Fortunately, they were met with fierce opposition from the fishing community and the proposals were withdrawn. As well as being affordable to all and offering concession rates for some groups, the offering of short-term licences is another way of not deterring those who only fish once or twice a year.

EXPLORER

Check your PFD before

Yoke you next go boating.

www.pfdaust ralia.com.au

PFD AUSTRALIA

Fishing News - Page 32

www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

24 Capital Drive, Grovedale VIC 3216

Concern 4…“Licences impinge on our natural right to go fishing” Strictly speaking, it is hard to argue otherwise! After all, if a fishery is licensed, you can’t legally fish without one. However, given the costs involved in managing fisheries (which increase with greater fishing pressure over time), fishers fund these indirectly though taxes or directly through licences. Way back in the day when there were more fish, less people and less competing interests, management needs were low and there was little need to licence fishers. Nowadays however, it is more reasonable to argue that licences actually protect and strengthen our right to fish. Licence fees may be seen as buying a share or stake in the fishery. This is because a portion of the proceeds go towards representing fishers’ interests through grants programs (in which fishers decide on how money is best spent) and by providing adequate funding for peak bodies. By representing recreational fishers in the face of perceived threats to our fishing rights, peak bodies do much of the heavy lifting in response to various issues ranging from super-trawlers to marine park access.

Concern 5….”Licences are another way for government to intrude on my privacy and collect information about me” Fortunately, in Australia, strict rules control the use and access of information in licence databases.

The Privacy Act prevents access from third parties and ensures that the information is only used for management purposes.

So, what does this all mean for Tasmania?

If you have made it this far into the article, I’m guessing that, like me, you are genuinely interested in the management of our marine fisheries. Given our reliance on collecting licence revenue from a small subset of fishers, it seems that it was only a matter of time before a downturn in licence sales would present the challenges we are currently facing. Expanding the current model to encompass other fisheries would not only insulate fisheries management from these fluctuations but would spread the cost across a larger number of fishers (it is not only the current licensed fisheries that require the attention of management). Such changes would not only be more equitable but could reduce the licence costs that licensed fishers currently pay. In view of the benefits outlined, a restructuring of the current model would see more benefits flowing to fishers including a higher level of services, the re-establishment of the community grants program, and a greater level of fisher engagement and representation. Potentially, licensing changes could also provide for discretionary spending on things such as access infrastructure, artificial reefs and commercial quota buy-backs. For more information, please see the report at www.fishing.tas.gov.au/Fishwatch/Fishwise/ Past and Present Projects/ Fishwise Community Grants - 2011 Funding.

A new boat from your old glass clunker Penguin Composites specialises in taking your old fibreglass boat and building it into a modern, practical fishing platform.

There are many excellent boats around that just need a revamp to bring them up

to date. Yours could be one of them.

That could mean a pod on the back or a total make over from a cuddy cab or runabout to a terrific little bay, estuary, lake, bream or trout boat.

To this

From this

From this

From this

To this

To this

Sven Frijlink sfrijlin@bigpond.net.au

Do you think there should be a rod fishing marine licence?

I don’t, but to be fair I will ask other interest groups for their comments and will publish those in the December edition. Sven seems to put a convincing case but his report was funded by licence money through a grant.

A couple of quick points though.

• Not all licence money goes to fishery management. Most goes to consolidated revenue.

• The Government collects 10% GST on every bit of fishing tackle and boats, plus fuel levy etc.

• Boaters (over 80% of whom are fishers) pay $72 a year to register their boat annually and $43.20 every three years for a licence. Much of this goes to boating facilities. Tasmania has the best facilities in Australia.

Any obstruction will stop people.

Mike Stevens, Editor.

From this

To this

From this

To this

If you have an old clunker that you think has the makings of a modern sporty, practical boat give Penguin Composites a call.

We do simple or complex repairs to hulls, floors, replace transoms and love anything to do with fibreglass and other composites.

Call our manager - mad fisherman and ‘The Man of Glass’, David Mercer and have a chat.

Ph: 03 6437 2791 808 South Road, Penguin, Tasmania 7316

www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

Fishing News - Page 33

Tasmanian Fly Casting Championships 2013

T

he first Tasmanian Fly Casting Championships were held in 2001 and Charles Peck was the inaugural champion. Since then each September a Tasmanian Championship has been held where keen casters from across the state compete in friendly competition. Organized by Master Casting Instructor, Peter Hayes, these Championships have helped raise the standard of casting in Tasmania.

The 2013 Championships were held at Hayes on Brumbys Lodge at Cressy on 8th September About 50 men and women from eight clubs around the state attended. Unfortunately, Peter Hayes was not able to be present as he was conducting casting courses in Indonesia. In his absence Master Instructor Roy Wybrow and a band of dedicated helpers ensured the event ran smoothly and everyone had a great day.

The Club Championships for teams of four was won by the Van Dieman Fly Fishers & Fly Tyers Club, second was The Fly Fisher’s Club of Tasmania followed by Corralinn Fly Fishing and Casting Association.

The Champion of Champions was won by Allan Ekert from Corralinn Flyfishing and Casting Association for the second year in a row with Stewart Dick (Van Dieman Fly Fishers & Fly Tyers Club ) second and David Hemmings (Tasmanian Flytyers) third.

Four different disciplines were conducted during the day. The Dry Fly Accuracy was won by Stewart Dick followed by Gary France (The Fly Fisher’s Club of Tasmania ), David Hemmings and Allan Ekert in equal second place.

The Wet Fly Accuracy was won by Allan Ekert followed

by Stewart Dick and David Hemmings.

The International Skish event had equal winners in Jonathan Stagg and Allan Ekert followed by Roy Wybrow (Devonport Fly Fishing Club).

The 5 weight distance event was won for the second year in a row by Hamish White from the Devonport Fly Fishing Club with a cast of 97.5 feet. Second place went to Jonathan Stagg and Brett Fazackerly (Van Dieman Fly Fishers & Fly Tyers Club).

The comment was made a number of times during the day as to how the standard of fly casting across the state is improving. This is in no small part is due to the work of Peter Hayes as a member of the Board of Governors of The International Federation of Flyfishers. This worldwide organization provides training and accreditation for casting instructors and currently has 2 Masters and 12 instructors in Tasmania. The availability of Master Casting Instructor Roy Wybrow and other instructors in Brett Fazackerly, David Hemmings and Allan Ekert ensured everyone had access to some knowledgeable (and free) coaching during the day.

There were no prizes for the event winners but thanks to the generosity of Ross Pullin from The Essential Flyfisher a Sage fly rod was won by Malcom White from the Corralinn Club as a lucky gate prize. Ross has supported the Championships for a number of years and his interest and backing

Malcom White receiving his Sage rod from Ross Pullin of The Essential Flyfisher. is very much appreciated. Many of the competitors were using Sage rods from the Essential Fly Fisher so Malcolm will be in good company when he competes next year.

WILL TRADE

Haines Hunter Pro Strike Black sides with white accents in immaculate condition. Used for trout fishing, bream tournaments, recreational use and skiing. No money spared on this boat and everything in perfect working order.

• BF150 Honda 4 Stroke (around 120 hours on this motor) Boat was previously fitted with a 90 Honda.

• Two stainless and two alloy props for all applications.

• CMC hydraulic jacking plate with helm controls for both jacking plate and trim.

• Hot foot throttle.

• Full custom cover.

• Ski pole.

• Custom rod storage locker for nine rods or more.

• Two on board CTEK smart chargers for both 12 volt starting battery and for twin 120AH Absorbed Glass Mat batteries.

• Minn Kota 80lb 24 volt iPilot Riptide.

Rod holders for eight rods.

Fishing News - Page 34

Helm control for trim, tilt and hydraulic jacking plate. Hotfoot throttle.

• Fusion sound system for CD or iPod/iPhone.

• Two Lowrance colour sounders – one with GPS. • Pedestal seats.

• Live well with timer.

• Stainless Boat Buckle tiedowns x 3.

Price: $35K. Replacement price around $55K

Protective removable bra

Mike Stevens 0418 129949

12 and 24 volt on board smart chargers.

24 volt 85 pound iPilot with transducer

Boat Buckles - Worlds best tie-downs.

www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

Scientific Anglers new fly tippet spools

Yamaha Motor Australia Launches Spring Promotions

These spools will save your teeth.

Yes, everyone has scissors, nippers or some form of accessory to cut the line, but everyone has at some stage bitten the line to cut it. NO MORE. The new 30 metre tippet spools from SA feature three simple and useful features.

Built into the spool rim is a razor to cut the material. It is fabulous. There is also a colour coded elastic band to stop the tippet unwinding.

It has a tab and also a small hole through which the tippet goes. Simple, but it all works.

The spools all click together and free wheel independently - allowing each tippet spool to spin freely when joined together.

The centre hub can be retracted to become flush with the spool body when used alone.

The spools are also moulded with UV inhibitors to help protect the tippet from degenerating UV rays.

The color coded tippet retainer band also has the size of the material printed, but you will quickly learn the size by the colour.

But is the tippet any good? SA products have a fabulous reputation and never let you down.

Their sizes and stated breaking strain are: 4kg - .008in or .203mm 3kg - .007 or .178mm 2.1kg - .006 or .152mm

With spring now in full swing, Yamaha Motor Australia is releasing two new promotions designed to help customers get on the water with a brand new Yamaha outboard.

consisting of free Command-Link Digital Gauges, free controls, free stainless steel propeller and $515 to spend in-store at your Yamaha dealership. This unbeatable deal is perfect for new boat packages or for repowering older boats. Press Release Yamaha Launches Spring Promotions 01/10/13 Setting itself apart from the competition with its compact 4cyl design, the F70 continues to deliver class leading performance.

Yamaha’s F115A is a popular choice for repowering older boats. Give the old girl a fresh set of legs today.

Full details of the promotions on offer visit your local participating Yamaha dealership or the Yamaha website today. http://www.yamaha-motor.com.au/promotions/marineoutboard

For the boater seeking a new midhorsepower engine, Yamaha is offering $600 off all four-stroke 50, 60 and 70 horsepower motors. The F50 and F60 are some of the most popular models in the Yamaha range and offer the advantage of an economical four-cylinder design for smoother running and great performance. The Yamaha F70A is still unmatched in its category in terms of power to weight ratio. It’s the reason why so many Australian boaters are turning to Yamaha’s F70 for a huge variety of applications where weight matters, not to mention power and reliability. The “Take off $600” promotion is available until the end of November.

Yamaha is also offering an amazing deal on the gutsy F115A. This 1.7L fuel injected four-stroke engine delivers powerful performance, leaving the competition in its wake. Until the end of November, Yamaha is giving away $2000 of extra value with each F115A,

1.6kg - .005 or .127mm

Rapala Triple X-Rap Designed in Australia for the toughest, hard-fighting fish; Rapala’s Triple X-Rap comes equipped with the most durable construction for a lure in its category, that we’ve ever released.

Complete with moulded bib, 4X strong split rings, 6X VMC Perma Steel treble hooks, through-wired construction and a secured solid tow ring; the Triple X-Rap leaves nothing to chance.

Ideal for both casting and trolling, with a slow rise on the pause; this beefy 10cm lure won’t just prevail over tough encounters, it will encourage them – with its reflective holographic eye and unique X-Rap colour schemes that fish find irresistible.

Available only in Australia, in eight unique colour patterns.

Extraordinary fly fishing gear - developed for the world - Perfect for Tasmania

IKON Waders Chest and Thigh

NEW Vipu fly rod

These 4 piece rods have medium fast action, which will make them good all-rounders for almost every imaginable situation. The Vipu series is almost ridiculously cheap at around $220. The series includes four-piece rods from #3 to #6 and come in protective cordura tubes.

Nite fly rod

The 3/6 layer construction in F3.5 fabric offers you the most durability and comfort while wading. Stretchable belt, water resistant front pocket take these waders to a new level of technology. With or without a zip in front and thigh length as well.

Speed Wading Jacket The perfect wading jacket. Cut short to accommodate your waders, and keep you dry, but with heaps of storage.

Highly breathable with a comfortable cut to allow free movement.

How good are IKON waders?

A rod even better than our world famous 3Zone. This four piece took us several years but we did it. The Nite is superior. It is well balanced, it has slim blanks, a very nice medium-fast action and budget price.

The readers of a UK based Total Flyfisher magazine voted Vision to be the Winner (Best manufacturer) in the Chest Waders category in their annual tackle awards survey in their January 2012 issue (see http://www.totalflyfisher.com). The magazine states: “These guys have been at the very forefront of wader design for some years now. The company’s breathable Ikon chest waders are a popular pick with most of us. Solid and reliable, these won’t let you down when it matters.”

Distributed by Clarkson Imports. Available from all good tackle stores.

www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

Fishing News - Page 35

As the V146R Haines Hunter stood in Lewis Marine’s yard.

Now: A Haines Hunter V445 Side Console - beautifully painted by Tim Mellor.

Haines Hunter V146 rebuild For many years I had wanted a V445F Haines Hunter. I had read about them as being perhaps the best 4.5 metre boat ever built in Australia.

Game fisher, Peter Pakula probably owned the best known 445F and used it to great effect fishing for marlin off the Gold Coast.

There have been a few reincarnations of the 445 as the mould was sold off by OMC when they owned Haines Hunter. Kaj Bush, a very well know angler now owns one of these as well.

The original were, and are, few and far between. There might be three or

four in Tasmania, but that is about it.

If you do find one they still bring very good money.

But there was another way as all the V146 and 445 Haines Hunters are pretty well the same basic hull. The size was my first consideration as it is light to tow, easily managed by one person, fast, comfortable, seaworthy and strong.

I searched for a number of years to find the right one and eventually it turned up at Lewis Marine. - a V146R, a runabout of about 1980s vintage.

The hull and transom were in first class condition, trailer stuffed.

My instructions were to remove anything that was screwed on. That included the motor, screen, seats, steering etc. The trailer was dodgy, but no matter it was going to be rebuilt.

I am not going to give a blow by blow description, but a brief overview, and mostly let the photos tell the story.

Everything in this project was carefully considered. I wanted a boat that was a dedicated fishing platform that was minimalistic, but with all necessary options for functionality.

The first job was the trailer. It was completely rebuilt, widened so the boat sat between the guards, skids not rollers, new bearings, wheels, LED lights and the frame was regalvanised.

The hero in this rebuild was David Mercer from Penguin Composites.

Whilst I did much of the cutting and shutting David did all the technical stuff to a level not possible by me.

The diamond cutter comes out.

Lines were drawn and it is quite easy to follow these by hand.

Trailer was a wreck. All this went.

Flat chines give the boat stability at rest. Transom was full of holes.

Rebuilt trailer - boat now between guards for easier launching and skids. Works well and no rattles.

Fishing News - Page 36

www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

These Haines Hunters were strong and look like they will last forever.

My Naval Architect son, Hamish helps out.

Even the seat bases were removed.

Starting to put things back together. Patterns were made for everything from cardboard, then finally plywood. Slowly does it and check everything fits, opens and closes and suits you style of fishing.

The top and seat bases removed.

Side pockets also went.

Deegan’s Chris Fraser fitting the fabulous BF90 Honda.

This was done early in the rebuild to ensure everything was fitted around it. We didn’t want any surprises later with steering, cables, fuel lines, batteries, switches etc.

This boat had an 85HP Mariner on it previously so a 90 was not a problem.

A BF60 Honda was considered and would have worked fine, but I do like my horsepower.

Penguin Composites’ David Mercer spent many hours on this rebuild. His knowledge of boats, fibreglass and a love of fishing really helps to get things right.

David understands what you want and know how to achieve it.

All deck hatches were solid fibreglass and will last forever.

Hatches and casting decks are covered in ‘Seadek’ this is a superb material that has an adhesive back. It is simple peel and stick. I will discuss this more in the next edition of TFBN. The main floor is by Regupol as is a reconstituted rubber. I will also discuss this in the next edition.

All plywood decks were fibreglassed both sides and then fitted into place.

A separate 140AH battery is fitted up front for the bowmount 55lb iPilot Minn Kota.

The rear hatch is watertight and plumbed to use as a live well.

Finished. The side console sits about 25cm out from the side deck. This allows room for a drogue, net etc. without getting in the way. I always fish over the port side, so it makes sense to have drogue on starboard side. The Minn Kota also goes down the starboard side so you are not fishing over the top of that either. An 85 litre fibreglass Baileys cooler doubles as a seat and is the perfect height.

The rear deck has a lift out fish bin in the centre, start battery on port side and deck wash under starboard side.

Everything worked perfectly - as planned. There has not been many outings yet, but the ride and performance has been stunning running a 21” stainless prop.

Bob Littler Agencies - Minn Kota, Humminbird and hydraulic steering.

Solas Propellers.

Chris Fraser - Deegan Marine Ulverstone.

I will bring you some very detailed explanation on particular building points in future editions.

Tamar Marine.

Sean Cossey Marine.

This project was a great success due to the following people: David Mercer - Penguin Composites.

Tim Mellor - painter Eastside Smash Repairs Devonport.

Mark Tapsell - Aluman Engineering.

The centre of the floor was cut out and a 60 litre fuel tank custom made to fit underfloor.

Hamish Stevens - Naval Architect, heavy lifter, holder and all rounder.

Seadek - Paul Madden, Southern Cross Textiles NSW. More in future editions....

Mike Stevens

Splash into Summer with Honda Dollars Honda Australia is splashing out and giving away up to $800 with the purchase of selected outboards in the lead-up to summer.

Making it easier for people to get on the water, the ‘Splash into Summer’ offer applies to current model Honda outboards from the BF2.3 up to the BF150.

Customers who purchase a BF2.3 or BF5 will receive $50; a BF8, BF10, BF15 or BF20 will receive $200; a BF25, BF30, BF40 or BF50 will receive $300; a BF60 will receive $400; a BF75 or BF90 will receive $600; and customers who purchase a BF115, BF135 or BF150 will receive $800.

Honda Dollars must be spent at the time of purchase on anything within the dealership from which the outboard is purchased - and can even be taken off the price of the outboard engine (or new boat package).

The console was mocked up with cardboard, then built using mdf and finished inside and out with fibreglass by Penguin Composites. Tim Mellor finished and painted it.

Available only to retail customers, the campaign runs until 30 November 2013, so hurry into your local Honda Marine dealer to ensure you’re ready to enjoy the water this summer! Full terms and conditions are available in store or on the Honda Marine website.

Visit marine.honda.com.au Deegan Marine or Maynes Marine.

www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

Fishing News - Page 37

Fishing and Boating Directory Advertise here for $77. Contact Mike Stevens 0418 129949

Outboard Technology Quality Service and repairs to all Outboard Motors

David Gillespie 6248 9080 or 0417 562 859 96 Clifton Beach Rd Sandford Tas 7020

5.1 Metre Badman Tournament

This is an awesome boat that has been designed in Tasmania by a Naval Architect. It is built from 4mm plate and has huge casting area, with lockers underneath. Superb seats for comfort and a 75HP Yamaha propells it to 70KPH+. Ideal trout or bream boat with performance that will amaze you.

Custom built galvanized trailer, 55lb Minn Kota bowmount electric and Humminbird fishfinder.

Ready to rock and roll now. Any modifications you want can be done by the builder, Mark Tapsell.

A fantastic buy at $20,850. Will trade.

Aluman Engineering

Mark Tapsell 424 Hobart Road, L’ton Ph 6343 3341

Atmospheric Highlander Arms tavern on the doorstep 3 course meal provided each night Catch your own salmon in Tarraleah lake and learn how to prepare it with expert chef 18 lakes within 30 minutes drive

(03) 6289 0111 info @tarraleah.com www.tarraleah.com

Call in for all your fishing tackle including full range rods, reels, lures, landing nets and bait. Also life jackets plus diving gear and stuff for all water sports.

Scott, 53 King Street Scottsdale.Ph. 63522357 Julie-Anne, 41 Quail Street St Helens. Ph. 63761390

Top Service – Top Price Fishing News - Page 38

guided fishing trips

around $90ea

62 Hopkins St, Moonah 6228 0274

BURNIE MARINE Services • Over 30 years experience on all types of motors • Approved insurance repairer to boats and motors • Propellor rebuild and refurbishing • Repairs of all types - including skegs etc.

• Contact: Cyril Stevens Phone 6431 3082 g Sea

Stay in a luxury art deco 3 bedroom cottage

wine & whisky tasting

Dunbier and early Holden pattern

Fishin

World class fishing in the heart of the central highlands

cosy wood fires

Boat trailer wheel and tyre

great pub

The Tamar’s fishing authority For the very best advice on fishing the Tamar River and surrounding area call in and see Sarah and Damon Sherriff.

For the best range of fishing tackle and watersport gear in the Tamar Valley.

Open:

son

Launceston’s Only Authorised

Dealer and Service Centre

8 Legana Park Drive Legana Industrial Estate, Ph: 6330 2277 Email: chris@cjmarineandkarts.com

St Helens Your every need catered for • Eight en-suite cabins • Convenience store • Hot takeaways • Groceries • Newspapers • Boat parking • Fuel • Bait and tackle • Boat and car wash

Hillcrest Tourist Park and Mini Market 100 Chimney Heights Rd. St Helens 6376 3298

Gone Fishing Charters

9 - 5.30 weekdays 9 - 1 Saturday

44 Macquarie St George Town Ph: 6382 2373

www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

• East coast estuary and bay • Bream, salmon, garfish, flathead, mullet and squid • Specialising in BIG BREAM • Soft plastics, lures, flies and bait • 5.8 metre sportfishing boat.

Gone Fishing Charters St Helens Michael Haley 0419 353 041 mhaleycharters@bigpond.com www.breamfishing.com.au

Fishing and Boating Directory

Experience: You Advertise here for $77. Contact Mike Stevens 0418 129949 obviously need strong paddling skills including a reliable brace and Eskimo roll, and a good handle on how sea conditions are influenced by the wind, tides and currents. Offshore from the Tasman Peninsula is not a place for novice kayakers.

OKUMA TITUS GOLD 15S $330.00 Safety gear: A 20S $350.00 marine VHF radio is especially handy, and I routinely car r y an EPIRB, flares, whistle, SHIMANO TLD50 FULL ROLLER 24KG ROD paddle float, strobe light $575.00 (for my own epileptic marine disco), map, compass and a GPS. I barely ever use them, but its comforting to know they are all there.

Fishing gear: A handline is much cheaper SHIMANO TYRONU S 50 than a rod and reel and ROLLER TIP 37KG ROD seems to work fine for $779.95 this type of game fishing A dream fulfilled and thankful to be on hard ground again.

BULK MONO LINE providing you have a PRICE PER METRE Handline trolling for bluefin from a kayak is not easy, but is way to securely attach it, 10KG $0.04 achievable as the author shows.

15KG $0.06 and plenty of line (I use 24KG $0.08 Endurance: You might need to stockpile some patience, about 300m of 37 kilo mono). Don’t forget your gloves. Include 37KG $0.10 a couple of lures that swim well at kayaking speeds, ideally fitted since the reality is you’ll be slow and with only one lure out STORMY SEAS YES!! WE CAN with long heavy mono traces. A gaff, knife and club to pacify your chances are low compared to other boats. But when MARINA WET SPOOL YOUR the fish are all potentially useful. You’ll need plenty of water your time finally arrives.... its hard to imagine any other WEATHER SET REELS FOR YOU fishing experience coming close. Best of luck out there. and high energy food to keep paddling for hours. $39.90 Bluefin tuna from a kayak, it is indeed possible.

JACKET & PANTS Nick Gust

GAME FISHING SPECIALS

Outboard Servicing

Mobile service, saves you time, money and convenience.

• Servicing greater Launceston, east, northeast coast and central highlands. • Latest computer diagnostic equipment to suit most models. • Quality work guaranteed.

Grant Garwood: 0428 382 130.

Email: ggarwood1@hotmail.com

ASE SCOOP PURCH

Stay and Fish the Peninsula - Advertorial Feature

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$39.90 Tasmania’s huge online fishing website with forums, classifieds ROD HOLDER OR RAIL MOUNT AVAILABLE Kitchen and the Tessellated (or tiled) Pavement. You and the will be impressed by the drama of these geological wonders, sculpted by Mother Nature over millions latest of years.

A mere 15 minutes south by car the history of LARGE BAIT BOARD $129.00 fishing Tasmania’s convict past comes alive at the former $99.90 TRE ME 1.8 penal settlement of Port Arthur and other historical newsTAMAR MARINE TOP 4 sites on the Tasman Peninsula. $49.95

HEAVY DUTY GAFF

380 Pirates Bay Drive Eaglehawk Neck Toll free 1800 639 532 (03) 6250 3262 www.lufrahotel.com or lufrareception@bigpond.com

The Lufra - close to all the (fishing) action

It is no exaggeration to say the Tasman Peninsula is truly remarkable with possibly the best sport fishing, highest sea cliffs, outstanding diving in giant underwater kelp forests, renowned fine food producers, Australia’s leading convict site and some of country’s best bush walks.

Situated at Eaglehawk Neck, and just one hour from Hobart, The Lufra provides relaxed affordable accommodation close to Port Arthur and natural attractions and is ideally located as the base for you to enjoy many activities, sitting as it does at the narrow isthmus which connects the Forestier and Tasman Peninsulas. Visit the Lufra and you’ll share more than a stunning view because the area abounds in many attractions — both natural and made-made — all within easy driving or walking distance.

Close to the hotel are several amazing rock formations and attractions - The Blowhole, Tasman Arch, the Devil’s

Nearby you can also indulge in sports and pastimes like deep sea fishing, surfing, and bushwalking, or visit other nearby attractions like wildlife parks and wineries. $59 pp twin share incl.

The Lufra Hotel offers comfortable accommodation continental breakfast or in a range of rooms and self-catering units as well as a $65 pp with hotrooms” breakfast. limited number of “fishermen’s at very affordable rates. · 66 Stylish Additional car parkingRooms development allows substantial car and· boat parking.

Our licensed restaurant and bistro CBD Location restaurant are complemented by a games/recreation Affordable Rates room, ·TV/lounge area with open fireplace, café/coffee shop and two bars. · Conference Rooms Australian aviation pioneer tourism entrepreneur · FREE Parking · and FREE Movies Sir Reginald Ansett is reputed to have described the Lufra · FREE Fitness Hotel as “the hotel with theRoom best view in the world.” No wonder· there has been an accommodation house on Wireless Broadband the same site for more thanon 150 years. · Three Steps GeorgeThe Lufra Hotel Bar - Restaurant 380Heritage Pirates Bay Drive Eaglehawk Neck www.colonialinn.com.au Toll free 1800 639 532 (03) 6250 3262 www.lufrahotel.com or info@lufrahotel.com

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6-8 WEST TAMAR ROAD, LAUNCESTON, TASMANIA 7250 PHONE (03) 6331 6188 FAX (03) 63342681

Phone & Mail Orders welcomed We accept...

TRADING HOURS

MON TO FRI 8AM TO 5.30 PM

Ph: 6331 6588

WWW.TASFISH.COM - Over 850 stories online. Get the knowledge–get the fish.

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Fishing News - Page 11

Fishing News - Page 39

Issue 106 October - November 2013

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HOT FISHING STARTS NOW

Trout Brilliant Bream Southern Inshore NW Australian Salmon Haines Hunter 146 Rebuild Reviews and a Whole Lot More

Over 1000 FISHING STORIES

Brendan Turriff with a cracking bream. Photo: Andy Howell.

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