BNB Fishing mag | July 2020 by bnbfishing

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Squidding secrets

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Cold weather Murray cod Mixed species in Moreton Bay Sunshine Coast barra fishing Winter flathead tactics & techniques

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From the Bush ‘n Beach Fishing Editor

ELCOME back to the printed edition of BNB Fishing. As I’m sure you have noticed, the format has changed to a new A4style publication and slightly larger text size. There were a few reasons behind this, but it is very similar to the digital format we used for the past couple of months, which proved very popular. So popular in fact, that we are keeping the digital publication as a free option for everyone to view. The free digital mag means we can increase our reach, which will assist companies who support us through ads and get more information out to more fishos. It also means you can easily search back issues to find information in previous editions. While the digital edition was very popular, there remained a high demand for the hard copy, hence it is back and looking refreshed.

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Please feel free to provide feedback on the new style by emailing ben@bnbfishing. com.au – we have high hopes it will be a winner. Apart from the changes to the mag, what a crazy few months we have all been through on multiple fronts, though this global pandemic has again highlighted that we live in the best country in the world. Thankfully, travel restrictions within Queensland have been eased, allowing us to journey greater distances from home base, which has helped abate some cabin fever. Despite the restrictions, fishing and boating has been an escape for many people over the past couple of months and it is awesome to see so many people out on the water. This activity is going to really help the industry and in turn help the economy get back on track. With overseas travel

to a number of places unlikely to be open for a decent period, I believe more and more Australians will start travelling and fishing within Australia. This can only be positive for all the small towns and business within them. While the recent boom in fishing and boating is awesome to see, it has meant a lack of second-hand boats on the market. I can attest to this as both my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and my brother have been looking to buy boats and I have been trying to assist them. If you are looking to move your boat on, now would be the perfect time to consider selling it. Similarly, if you are thinking of upgrading and buying a new boat, there is high demand in the second-hand market. On the fishing front, a mix of species has been on offer all over the coast and in our impoundments. Have I mentioned we live in the best place in the world? Snapper, squid, bream, tailor, flathead and many more are all on the chew, so make sure you check out the host of articles in this edition for the best advice. I love eating squid and they are starting to show up in good numbers. Whether you are keen to put a feed together or want to gather a few for bait, squidding can be a lot of fun and

plenty of land-based spots are productive. This month we see the introduction of the new fishery closure for snapper and pearl perch from July 15 to August 15. There has been plenty of debate about this closure since it was an-

nounced in September last year. Regardless which side you are on, the closure will be beneficial to the long-term sustainability of snapper and pearl perch stocks, which is a definite positive. Ben Collins

OUR COVER

TERRY HITZKE with one of 12 big tiger squid he caught on a Gold Coast charter with CLINT ANSELL. For tips on targeting squid, check out CLINT’s article on Page 24.

NEXT EDITION: August edition will be on sale in newsagents from July 31. JULY SUBSCRIPTION PRIZE: See subscription form on Page 81 go in the draw to win an ultimate fishing pack valued at over $300. MAY PRIZEWINNER: Congratulations to Mark Masson, Redland Bay; Tom Mortland, Enoggera; and Lachlan Perrin, Kangaroo Point who have each won an Okuma Avenger 3000 spinning reel and BNB beanie pack valued at $81.95.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 3

July 2020 contents

State of confusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Bill Corten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P8 Techniques for targeting squid. . . . . . . . . . by Brian Webb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P11 Family flathead fishing fun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Sean Conlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P15 Tactics for flathead in winter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Justin Willmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P17 A range of species around Brisbane . . . . by Keith Stratford . . . . . . . . . . . . P21 The humble flathead a winter favourite. . . . by Brad Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P23 Tips for Gold Coast squid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Clint Ansell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P24

Bream are kid-friendly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Gavin Dobson . . . . . . . . . . . . .P27 Jewfish taking the bait. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Tye Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P29 Catching bream on lures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Brett Hyde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P31 Spoilt for choice on Sunny Coast. . . . . . . . by Grant Budd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P32 Hervey Bay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Tri Ton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P36 On the move in isolation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Paul ‘Chief’ Graveson . . . . . . . . P38 Tide Times. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .P39 Hot action at Bli Bli Barra Fishing Park. . . . . by Sean ‘Skip’ Thompson . . . . . . . P40 Investing time pays off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Brad Young . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P43 Insights into boat insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . by Nautilus Marine . . . . . . . . . . P44 Boating & Marine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .P45 Charter Directory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P50

Good times in Gladstone Harbour. . . . . . . by Gary Churchward . . . . . . . . . P53 Readers’ Forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .P56 Capricorn Coast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by John Boon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P58 Wonderful and wild Wenlock River. . . . . . by ‘Billabong’ Bazz Lyon . . . . . . P62 To the Cape or not to the Cape. . . . . . . . . . . . by Craig Tomkinson . . . . . . . . . . . . . P64 4WDing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .P65 Caravanning trip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Todd Eveleigh . . . . . . . . . . . . P68 Impoundment barra. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Dominic Wiseman . . . . . . . . P70 Somerset Dam bass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Robbie Rayner . . . . . . . . . . . . P72

Cold weather cod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Stephen Booth . . . . . . . . . . . . P74 Winter fishing worth the effort. . . . . . . . . . by Neil Schultz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P78 Trading Post. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P80 Subscription form. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .P81 Page 4 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

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Our website bnbfishing.com.au is updated several times a day with the latest news and handy fishing articles.

The Team

EDITOR: Ben Collins SUBEDITOR: Daniel Tomlinson ADVERTISING: The BNB Team PRODUCTION: Jo Hendley, Lisa Jones

Bush ‘n Beach Fishing magazine is published monthly by Collins Media Pty Ltd ABN 43 159 051 500 ACN 159 051 500 trading as Collins Media. Phone 07 3286 1833 Fax 07 3821 2637 Email: ben@bnbfishing.com.au PO Box 387, Cleveland, Qld 4163 PRINTER: Spotpress DISTRIBUTION BY: Fairfax CORRESPONDENTS: Editorial contributions are welcome, as is news from clubs, associations, or individuals; and new product news from manufacturers. Entire contents copyright. Nothing may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. It is the responsibility of advertisers to ensure the correctness of their claims and statements. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher.

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New Queensland study to shed light on black jewfish population Q UEENSLAND Gover n ment scientists will assess the population biology of black jewfish in a new research project to better understand stocks and manage the species. Minister for Agricultural Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said the three-year priority project would provide crucial information to help protect the sustainability of black jewfish. “We need to know more about black jewfish on the east coast of Queensland to inform future assessments and management decisions that will lead to a long-term sustainable

resource,” Mr Furner said. “The outcomes of this research project should give fishery managers an improved understanding of the biology of black jewfish stocks to be able to set catch limits for the species.” Mr Furner said scientists will work closely with commercial, recreational and charter fishers to collect samples and learn from their existing knowledge of black jewfish. “While the research will be Queensland-wide, there will be a strong focus around the black jewfish hot spots such as Mackay and Rock-

hampton,” Mr Furner said. The research project’s objectives are to: • Determine the stock structure and connectivity of black jewfish throughout Queensland waters using genetics; and • Assess the age structure, spawning biology and size-at-maturity for black jewfish populations on the east coast of Queensland. Funded by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, scientists from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries will conduct the research project that commences on July 1, 2020.

Stakeholders who would like to participate can contact the project team by emailing samuel.williams@ daf.qld.gov.au Since 2017, there has been a rapid increase in targeted commercial fishing of black jewfish following a rise in market demand for their

swim bladders, which are sold fresh or dried in South-East Asia. In May 2019, the Queensland Government introduced a total allowable catch limit of 20 tonnes for black jewfish in response to escalating catches and concerns about sustainability.

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Nice snapper and a kingfish were landed by father and son team Attila and Nick Bognar.

The author got lucky with a pearl perch.

State of confusion

Attila Bognar was rewarded for his efforts with a nice snapper.

George Baumber got into the action with a classy pearl perch. Page 8 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

OR anyone who fishes and enjoys boating, the past few months have been full of change, uncertainty, confusion and totally compounded by a severe lack of good leadership by those in charge of boating and fishing in Queensland. The confusion started at the commencement of COVID-19 restrictions when the boss of Maritime Safety Queensland came out hard in the media and stated all recreational boating was off-limits. Not one to miss a media opportunity, he was quick to deliver the bad news. This went down like a lead balloon and was quickly overruled by the Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey. After withdrawing an earlier tweet, Bailey’s next missive was ambiguous and smelt of a typical government backpedal with his sudden, “Boating is banned, but fishing for food is permitted, as

Offshore by BILL CORTEN

is using your boat for essential travel, to get to work, to and from your home or to local shops for provisions.” Wow, there must have been some interesting exchanges behind the scenes to generate this much action from the Minister because he is not known for engaging with the recreational boating community. Seems many people ignored the limitations that were imposed and did their own thing anyway, while others stayed put – riding out the whole COVID-19 thing at home. Shame there was next to no enforcement of the limitations and this added more fuel to the fire of confusion. From where I sat, Bailey was the same bloke who appeared to have only the very slightest interest in engaging with boaties and ignored requests from a

peak body to meet and discuss a range of initiatives yet was quick to add to the situation of COVID confusion at the time. Poor leadership all round, and perhaps now we are at the tail end of COVID, the Maritime bloke should focus on working with the industry to bring to fruition the change initiatives pitched to him – previously ignored with public service speak when challenged about progress. Marine licensing is a classic topic that springs to mind. The present system commenced in January 1996, over 25 years ago and desperately needs an overhaul. Who knows, Bailey will likely be gone as Minister anyway after the next election in a few months, so why not work hard on preparing * continued P9

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Queensland the state of confusion * from P8

to brief the next person on changes the industry is calling for. Some good news that benefits boaties would be a welcome change from the bloke who likes media opportunities. This could be as simple as relocating several of the now poorly positioned navigation buoys at the eastern end of the Rous Channel. This area has been poorly buoyed for some time now, with boats frequently grounding here due to redundant buoy placements because of sandbank shifts. Not much rocket science is required to get this done. Positive progress by our leaders on issues of interest to the recreational boating community can only lead to a restoration of confidence in our current state of confusion. On another note, regarding the snapper closure about to commence in Queensland – how things have changed since the announcement last year to introduce strong measures to rebuild stock. Many people were up in arms stating the closure was unwarranted. Yes, levels of emotion were high and, in most cases, selfish. One bloke reckoned tourists from overseas would be deprived of opportunities and because of the closure there wouldn’t be enough fish to feed tourists in his local community and so on. Well, the tourists aren’t even allowed

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into the country this year, and we’re still importing a shite load of snapper from New Zealand because domestic stocks on the east coast can’t cope with demand. At the time of writing, tourists from overseas and interstate still can’t come here, but the plane loads of New Zealand fish have been coming into Sydney during the COVID crisis and trucked up to Brisbane to meet local demand, and a glance at the progressive commercial quota catch for snapper and pearl perch indicates the quota won’t be threatened in the first year. Admittedly, the year didn’t start until November, but COVID-19 can’t be blamed for that, though I imagine there would be some serious lobbying going on to exempt several marine operators from the closure this year so they can make money. It will be interesting to see whether government holds its nerve and sticks with the new arrangements that were put in place to rebuild the fishery, which is in serious decline, or caves in to the demands of operators who care only about their bank balance. Having said my piece about that, snapper have made a strong appearance already this winter, with a few very good early season catches. The wider reefs seem to benefit first, so a recent day offshore working the deeper grounds saw a good mix of snapper and some large

pearl perch, as well as a few kingfish hanging around rocky areas that had bigger fish aggregations. When these fish are on, they respond well to fresh baits and artificials floated down to the depth they are located at, if you can get the right mix of slow current and light wind. This will get you better-quality fish, and when you use live bait kingies will go nuts if in the area, but snapper don’t always respond as well to livies. Consider a visit to your local tackle store and help them out by spending a few dollars loading up with flutter type jigs because these beasties will account for excellent snapper and pearlies. In this modern era where we appreciate the privilege of catching fish, it can be a challenging yet personally satisfying means of bringing home excellent food as reward for your efforts. When conditions are not so pleasant it is still possible to score good-quality snapper, with a paternoster rig held off the bottom at the depth the fish are sitting at on your sounder. Have a look at the photo of a double hookup of snapper I was lucky to score recently by doing just that. With a bag limit of four fish, I enjoy the challenge of seeking out better fish and engage in careful release techniques to assist with the survival of any released fish.

The author picked up this double hook-up of snapper by keeping a paternoster rig off the bottom.

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Basic techniques for targeting squid

ATCHING squid is one of my favorite forms of light tackle fishing. It presents a unique challenge involving slightly different gear, plus the results are delicious. Though a boat will often dominate the photos you see of squid catches, you can have just as much fun catching them from the shore, and there are a lot of dedicated shore-based squid fishos out there. The following covers the basic techniques for catching squid. Target this creature

Moreton Bay by BRIAN WEBB

with a light rod around 6-7’ – or a specific squid fishing rod – a reel size of around 2500-3000, a 14lb line or 10lb braid and a 14kg leader. They can change colour to adapt to their surroundings, they fire jets of ink to make a quick escape, they have amazing eye sight and above average intelligence, and are equal parts cunning predator and elusive prey. If you really look at

Tiger squid have a more colourful back to arrow squid.

a squid and analyse the way it’s designed to perfectly adapt to its surroundings, you’ll have a whole lot more respect for them. The difference between the two species arrow and tiger is the tail – tiger squid have a more colourful back and tiger with a spot on their backs are female. For finding and catching squid, you should be looking in tidal areas that contain structure squid like to hunt in. Weed beds and rock walls are two areas to be looking for them from the shoreline, and one of the many piers that dot the eastern side of the bay. At night I like to put a glow stick on the line on top of the squid bait, it helps attract the squid. Where there are weed

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beds there are squid, and here you have less chance of snagging on rubble areas. Two hours before high, two hours after and at the bottom of the tide are prime times. The bay holds a multitude of areas for both boat and land-based fishing. Most jigs are heavy and great for long casts, I prefer the 3-3.5g jigs and will often shave a 3.5g down to a 3g. I also paint the jigs with a clear lacquer to give it more shine in the water. You need the jig to sink at around eight to ten seconds per meter, so do some experimenting with your jigs to see what the sink rate is – in water over 3m a heavier weight such as a 3.5-4g is needed to get the jig down. You can also buy a squid jig spike, where you thread the rod up through a small pillie and use it instead of a jig. Cast the jig out as far as you can and let it sink to the bottom, then start winding in with short lifts every few seconds until it’s back at your feet. The retrieve that

works best on the day will suit the temperament of the squid, so its pays to change your technique each cast to see if they’re feeding aggressively or wary. On a pier, if the water is 3m or more at the bottom, I often drop the jig down with a light stick and let it sit about a metre under the water. Quite often you will get an inquisitive squid take your jig. Have a look at the colour chart of jigs to give you an idea of colours to buy. Once you hook a squid, it’s important to slowly wind the squid in, keeping tension on the line to keep it from releasing itself. Get it to the surface so it can’t fill its body with water and try to propel itself away – you can buy telescopic nets to help on those long drops from a pier. It is a foolish fisho who thinks the squid is done when it’s in near your feet because the squid can still shoot ink, and most times it’s at your face. To kill the squid, use a karate chop between the head and the body.

* continued P12

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 11

Basic techniques for targeting squid * from P10

Preparing squid for cooking.

Fresh calamari and tentacles are best for cooking.

The way squid catch their prey is indeed quite different to fish. They use their long tentacles – also called candles – to capture prey. That is why a jig looks unlike any lure you have used before, and why when a squid grabs a jig it can’t release its tentacles. Squiding does not tend to be a catch and release pastime. This is the reason they are good for two things – fishing and cooking. Remember to catch only what you need and stick to the bag limit of 20. One barrier that deters some is cleaning and preparing squid to eat. There are a few basic principles and it takes a little practice. Remove innards from squid by pulling the head and tentacles off. If you’re not going to use the tentacles, keep the head and tentacles together for use as bait on your next trip. Cut across the head,

underneath eyes to separate tentacles, push tentacles outwards and squeeze the beak out and discard. Slice off the wings from the body and cut into strips. Remove the skin from the body by running your finger underneath the skin, separating it from the flesh, then peel off in one piece and discard. Remove the backbone from the tube. Clean out the tube. Slice the body into circles – or score the tube – for frying. I love nothing more than a simple salt and pepper squid. The worst crime is to overcook your squid, as it can turn it rubbery. Do not freeze squid you intend to eat otherwise they could turn rubbery when cooked. Fresh squid has a nice texture and flavour unlike any calamari you have eaten, possibly because the squid you have eaten before was frozen. My recipe for salt and

peppers squid: • 3 tablespoons self-raising flour • 3 tablespoons rice flour • 1 tablespoon salt • 1 tablespoon cracked pepper • 2 tablespoons ginger powder • 2 tablespoons garlic powder • 2 cups peanut oil for the pan • 600g fresh calamari (scored for frying or cut into rings) • Mix all the ingredients together, except for oil which is used in the pan. • Then place the calamari in the dry ingredients and mix around until covered. • Cook at a moderate heat for 2-3 minutes, and place on paper towel. You’re ready for a good feed. There is a heap of information on YouTube or Google ‘squid fishing Moreton Bay’. Do not forget the snapper closure from July 15 through to August 15.

Arrow squid differ to tiger squid in tail shape.

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Family flathead fishing fun

OPEFULLY things are starting to get a little back to normal, or as everyone else likes to say ‘a new kind of normal’, after COVID-19. I’ve been out on a couple of charters and some tuition but mainly I’ve been fishing with my son, and getting a fish in with my brother and father which is something we haven’t done for many years. It’s been a bit tricky lately to line up charter work with the weather windows because the weather has been a little up-and-down over the past month, but hopefully it will start to settle through July and August. Species that have been around include school mackerel which have been in reasonable numbers, and plenty of squire as well as our usual flathead, with a few trevally mixed in. So, there’s definitely been plenty of species

Southern Moreton Bay by SEAN CONLON

to target and these will also be around in the coming months. With all of the species around, casting lures has been working quite well but I have found on the tougher days trolling hard-bodies for these fish has been one way to basically wake them up a bit, and this technique has accounted for a lot of better quality fish. As I’ve said before, I don’t always troll and I don’t always I like to, but trolling hard-bodies has definitely been a stand out on recent fishing trips. The bulk of mackerel and squire we’ve been catching have come from trolling hard-body lures in water around 8-10m, because these fish have been close to the bottom in that depth, getting your

hard-body down deep has been essential. The other key thing I’ve been looking for before I troll is plenty of baitfish – you want plenty of baitfish around so that when predators are chasing schools you can drag your lure through. Remember, squire and mackerel are way down the southern end of the bay and they should be around for the next few months, so for fishers who think mackerel season is over – yes, it may have slowed down in the northern bay, but this year we had nice clean water and a heap of baitfish down the southern end which means we should have mackerel for a few months yet. There have certainly been plenty of flathead * continued P15

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Young Maxy with his winning flathead. www.bnbfishing.com. au

The author caught this nice lizard casting Flash Wrigglys in the shallows.

The author’s son Max, dad and brother Tony with a nice little feed of fish to take home after a great day on the water.

Simon with a southern Moreton Bay school mackerel caught on a Zerek Ripper Diver.

Family flathead fishing fun around Moreton Bay * from P14

around and while trawling for flatties you may run into a few trevally in the shallows as well, which is always great fun. If the water is nice and clean up against the mangroves, don’t be afraid to use gold colours and maybe something a little brighter, but if the water dirties up again go back to your darker colours. Also don’t be afraid to try different types of lures because sometimes they want a smaller lure with a more aggressive action such as a Zerek bulldog crank, and then other times they want the Zerek tango shads, with their thinner profile and tighter action. At other times they want something in between and that’s when I find the little Wilson fish art lure works quite well. That leads me to a nice flathead session I had with my boy Maxy, my dad and my brother Tony. As I said, we haven’t fished together for years because my dad‘s health hasn’t been great for a while, so we didn’t think we were even going to have another fish with him, but we were really lucky and the stars aligned, includ-

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ing the weather and the right-sized tide for us to head out and target a few flatties down the Broadwater. So, I met them down at Jacobs Well a couple of hours before the bottom of the tide and we headed out to chase a few flathead. Now, my brother doesn’t use lures very often because he likes his bait, but we were going to change that, so we headed to do a couple of drains and as the tide was falling away we put a few casts in, and believe me it didn’t take long and my brother had a nice 49cm flatty in the boat. One of his first ever fish on a soft plastic. This is where things got a little interesting because my father piped up and challenged my young boy Max with a $20 bet to see who could catch the biggest flathead out of the two of them. The pressure was on, and we put a few more casts in the same area but no luck, so we moved to another location. We started trolling hard-bodies and it didn’t take long before young Maxy had a flathead in the boat – he gave it a measure and it was exactly 49cm. We put the lures back

in the water and kept trolling. The next to hookup was my brother with another nice fish around the 48cm mark, then Max caught another one. Most fish were around 45-48cm, and over the next hour I caught a couple, dad scored a couple and we had a great time. Tony and Maxy were catching more fish than Dad and I by using Tango Shads. This lure was definitely the standout, with my brother and Max catching at least twice as many fish as Dad and I. While not big fish, we found plenty of them and had lots of fun. All good things must come to an end, so we pulled up on a beach to have a sandwich, chat and clean the few fish we kept for a feed. Young Maxy won the bet with the longest fish, so the old boy had to hand over a $20 and Maxy was pretty happy. We all had a great time and will do it again sometime. An advantage of not going to work all the time is we can get out and enjoy days like this. And after that little session we may have turned another bait fisher over to the dark side of lures.

As we all know with our busy jobs and lives, we are time poor, so if you can learn more to optimise your time on the water, then why not? Remember: knowledge is the key. If you’re interested in any off or on-water tuition classes or you

just want to do a charter, don’t be afraid to give me a call on 0432 386 307 or send me an email at seanconlon sfishing@hotmail.com You can also check out the Sean Conlon’s Fishing Charters and Tuition Facebook page. Until next time…

Bill with a nice southern Moreton Bay flathead.

Simon caught this flathead casting Flash Wrigglys in the shallows. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 15

Kayak fishing the shallows for flathead can be extremely productive in winter.

A landing net makes landing flathead simpler and safer for the angler and fish.

Tactics for targeting flathead in winter

FAVOU R I T E target species for many anglers, including myself, is the humble flathead. They love eating lures, fight well on light gear, are readily available, make great table fish for those wanting to keep a couple for a feed, and everyone is in the running to catch a trophy fish, whether fishing land based or from watercraft. Winter is a great time to target flathead because the creeks, rivers and estuaries fill with bait, the weather patterns stabilise and the water clears to assist us in hunting fish and the fish in seeing our lure presentations. I also find that where

Tackle Tactics by JUSTIN WILLMER

I fish, the flathead get really angry, maybe due to the cooler and clearer water, which sees them aggressively attacking lures, tracking and attacking them right at the kayak and boat and when they are hooked, fighting hard! Here’s a few tips and techniques that work for me when targeting flathead in winter. Clear water With the water often clearing in many areas in winter, thanks to more stable weather conditions and westerly breezes, I find myself fishing more natural

Sean Bekkers with a school size flathead. Land a few of these and there can often be a larger female in the area. Page 16 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

colours in my soft plastics, such as Baby Bass, Opening Night and Bad Shad. These colours are more transparent than many of the darker, more solid silhouette colours I fish when the water is dirty, giving them a more realistic baitfish profile. I generally team these with unpainted jig heads, or jig heads painted in natural colours to match the plastics. With the light penetrating deeper in this clearer water, my deep-water plastics and jig heads also change a little, with 3/8oz, 3/0 jig heads changing from Black with a glow eye to Chartreuse, and my plastics changing from dark silhouette colours to UV-reactive colours such as Motor Oil, Midnight Oil and Purple Death to make the most of both the UV reactive qualities of the plastic and the additional light penetrating deeper in the water column.

In the shallows, the fish seem to become very aggressive, feeding actively, travelling further to eat the lure and more often inhaling the lure at speed close to the boat or kayak. This is probably partly due to the water clarity allowing them to spot the presentation from further away, while simultaneously creating a need for them to be fast and aggressive as they are more visible to the prey they are aiming to ambush. The influx of bait into the system also seems to fire up the bite. The dud tides The neap tides seem to fish slower in winter, when there is little difference between low and high tide. This is due to little tidal run. As the saying goes, “no run, no fun”, and this often rings true. To overcome these less-productive tides, I change my technique and where I fish. If I’m fishing fast and covering ground on the flats and drop-offs and the fish aren’t firing, I’ll slow things down

and focus on more specific structure that will hold fish. The gear will change to the Ned Rig, consisting of a 1/10oz or 1/6oz TT Lures NedlockZ jig head and Z-Man 2.5” TRD CrawZ or 2.75” TRD BugZ. This presentation relies on the mushroom-shaped jig head and buoyant soft plastic to create a rapid standup presentation that imitates a crustacean fleeing and then defending itself. For some reason, when the bite is slow and the fish just don’t want to eat, they can’t resist the Ned Rig. The bite changes from nil or the occasional subtle tap to a fullblown clunk of a strike and an inhaled plastic. The trick when fishing the Ned Rig is to narrow the search area because you are generally fishing slower and more focused, with a hopping or shaking retrieve and plenty of pauses. Rather than rapidly drifting the flat or working the edge, I will look for the key struc* continued P18

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Tactics for targeting flathead in winter * from P16

Drifting the flats, gasbagging and fanning casts for flathead.

Not a monster flathead but good fun on light gear and Barry christened his new kayak.

Sheri with a nice eating size flathead kept for a meal of fresh fish.

Ronny with a flathead landed fishing a weed edge in a creek using a 1/4oz, 1/0 jig head and Z-Man 2.5” Slim SwimZ. Page 18 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

ture in the area along with areas that have been productive in previous sessions. Key structure includes drains that hold a metre or so of water throughout the tide, mangrove edges, weed edges on the drop-offs of flats, rubbly sand patches in large weed flats, pressure points and eddies impacted even by the smaller tides and small weed and rubble flats that hold at least half a metre of water throughout the tide. I often fish a 7’, 3-6kg rod, 30 size reel, 10lb braid and 10lb leader when fishing my heavier, deeper edge-bite plastics on 3/8oz jig heads. However, to get a long cast out of the Ned Rig, I switch to a 7’, 1-3kg or 2-4kg rod, 20 size reel, 6lb braid and 10lb leader. Note the leader remains 10lb because I have had flathead to 80cm inhale this little snack size presentation. This lighter combo allows long casts, subtle hops and shakes that make the plastics come to life. It is more fun when dealing with Ned Rig-eating by-catch such as bream and grunter, and is more forgiving on the leader should a flathead inhale the bite-size presentation. Match the hatch Remember to keep an eye out for bait flicking and moving in the area as, in winter especially, the bait size can vary dramatically from tiny ‘eyes’ to larger species such as yellowtail pike. At times this can influence the behaviour

of the feeding fish and a hot bite may come on a tiny 2.5” plastic or 5” plastic, while on the other hand the fish may not even look at the larger or smaller presentations you are throwing. I generally carry curl tails and paddle tails in the 2.5”-4” size range, along with my mix of crustacean-style Ned Rig baits and can usually work out a feeding pattern for the session with a few changes. I will generally start by throwing a 2.5” Slim SwimZ on a 1/4oz 1/0 TT Lures jig head when fishing the flats and shallower areas under 2m, or a 3” MinnowZ on a 1/4oz 3/0 jig head when fishing deeper edges and drains. If the area looks good, there’s bait movement, it feels like I should be getting fish and it’s not happening, I’ll switch things up every 15-30 minutes until I crack a pattern. Having multiple rods rigged makes this process simpler and I will often have a smaller plastic, larger plastic and Ned Rig setup rigged to try to work out what they want. If you find a colour that works well for you in your area or when the water is a particular colour, it can pay to look at what other models come in that colour. For example, the clear, fleck-filled Opening Night colour is often in my winter kit in 2.5”, 3” and 4” paddle tails along with 4” curl tails, as it is a proven clear water colour. Up the creek

With less rain in win-

ter, I also find flathead often tend to push further up the creeks than in summer, when more frequent rainfall pushes fresh water and fish out of the creeks and into the larger rivers and bays. It’s not just flathead though, as you will also find a mixed bag of estuary and even reef and pelagic species further up the creeks, depending on the amount of rain that has fallen. This is a good option to keep in mind, especially if the wind is blowing, because these sheltered creeks and back waters provide a good mix of species and their winding series of bends and straights means there are generally plenty of places to get out of the wind. Key structure to focus on includes drains, rocks, deeper holes, timber snags and undercut mangrove edges. Flathead, along with most other species, will stick tight to this structure, especially if the structure is holding bait. In really snaggy sections, the addition of a TT Lures SnakelockZ weedless jig head will reduce lure losses and allow you to make that cast right in among the snags. Flathead are fun fish to target, love eating lures and a trophy fish could be landed on your next cast. Set the alarm and get the warm gear on because winter is a perfect time to target them. See you on the water…

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 19

Brett Enders scored this nice flatthead while chasing mangrove jack at Noosa.

Small mackerel have been active around the Bribie Island bridge.

A range of species in good numbers around Brisbane

ULY can be one of the best months of the year for a range of species around Brisbane. Flathead, tailor, jewfish and snapper should be in good numbers in most rivers and creeks close to Brisbane. Other species such as threadfin salmon, grunter and bream will also show up in good numbers. At the time of writing, flathead have been a bit slow to fire up.

Local Luring by KEITH STRATFORD

Last winter was the worst season I’ve seen for lizards, so hopefully this winter won’t be the same. Pumicestone Passage has been as good as anywhere to look for a feed of flatties, with the many weed beds in the passage holding plenty of good quality fish. Occasionally fish will

sit up on top of the weed, but mostly they will sit right on the edge of the sand patches waiting for any baitfish and crustaceans to swim by. A good pair of polarised sunglasses will help when looking for these sand patches. A few areas have a lot of sand among the

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weed and it can take a while to locate good numbers of fish. Quietly drifting over the banks and using an electric motor helps not to spook any flatties that are close by. Lightly weighted soft plastics work very well in this situation – 3-4” paddle tails and curl tails work really well rigged on a 1/6 or 1/4oz jig head. Prawn imitations can also work around weed beds because they hold heaps of small prawns and crustaceans. I like to cast my plastic to the farthest edge of the sand patch, concentrating on any corners first and then I fan cast around the whole area. Don’t just put one cast in and move on. Throw at least half a dozen casts into each area, preferably a couple of different styles and lure colours. When you find a good patch of fish, it can be a fun way to catch flathead. Always keep an eye out for squid chasing your plastic back to the boat. I like to have a squid jig rigged on a rod or handline when fishing

around rocks and weed, as there are normally a few squid patrolling these areas. The Bribie Island bridge is one of the better places to target during winter because it holds huge amounts of bait. Currently hardyheads, herring and pike are in plague proportions, and there are big fish around eating them. I fished it recently and there were tuna and mackerel eating hardyheads under the bridge. Pike are an excellent live and dead bait for a range of species. It’s always worth dropping one under the bridge with a couple of big hooks on a heavy leader. The big cod under the bridge can’t resist them and will swim a long way to eat one. Snapper also love them, along with jewies, mangrove jack and the elusive barramundi. Other rivers such as the Pine and the Caboolture as well as Hayes Inlet haven’t fired up yet, but hopefully that will change during July. It can be a real lucky dip when casting lures

* continued P21

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A range of species around Brisbane * from P20

in the rivers during winter. It’s possible to catch a variety of species during the one session. Most of the action in these rivers will be on the bends as the river winds upstream. These bends are normally the deepest part of the river and often have a bit of structure on the bottom. When these rivers flood, large trees get washed downstream and wedge themselves on bends, providing good structure for a range of species. Mangrove jack love these areas but expect them to be a bit slow this month. Winter will slow jacks down considerably however they still

need to eat, so if you have a jack addiction it’s worth targeting the snags for the elusive red devil. There will be plenty of by-catch around the same areas, with jewies, grunter and threadfin salmon all hanging around the same structure. Get ready to back the drag off if a big thready or jewie grabs your jack lure otherwise it will end pretty quickly. The past couple of winters have seen really good numbers of grunter showing up. Grunter – or javelin fish as they are correctly known – are one of the tastiest fish you’ll catch in the rivers around here. It’s a rare day that a legal one is released

on my boat. Check the regulations before keeping a feed of them, as there are two types of grunter you will catch around here. The barred javelin is the most common in rivers like the Pine and the Caboolture, but I’ve caught more spotted javelin in Pumicestone Passage. Both are excellent eating and will happily eat a well-presented plastic or vibe. They are also big fans of yabbies but sorting through the small fish can be a pain. That’s it from me this month. Get the jumpers and beanies on and get out among the great action around Brisbane. I hope to see you on the water.

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This nice flathead was caught by jigging a lure in a deep hole and happily released.

The humble flathead a winter favourite

G Bryce Parker with a nice flathead caught by trolling a hard-body minnow lure.

Flathead prints at low tide – this would be a great place to cast lures.

’DAY everyone, at this time of year we have cool nights and chilly winter mornings, but it is worth rugging up for because this is my favourite time to target flathead. The humble flattie is often referred to as being a lazy fish, but I consider them to be a master predator in that they can change colour to suit the bottom and have eyes on the top of their heads for bilateral vision. They also have big mouths and explosive bursts of speed which they use to perfection when it comes to ambushing any unsuspecting prey.

Finding bait schools on the bottom is vital for deepwater jigging for flatties lying underneath. Page 22 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

Gold Coast Guide by BRAD SMITH

Flathead will attack anything that comes past them such as fish, crabs, prawns and yabbies, which means the bait fisherman can use a variety of baits to target them. For myself and many others, lures are the way to go because they are very effective and allow you to be mobile in different locations, and they provide flexibility in being able to use a variety of different techniques. This species feed on both the run-in and run-out tides but overall, I find the run-out tide to be the best. Flatties love to position themselves at the bottom of deep holes and trenches as well as off the edges of sandbanks, knowing the draining tide will bring food to them. Trolling hard-bodied lures is a fantastic and reliable technique for targeting flathead because you can cover a lot of ground to find them, but the thing to remember when troll-

ing is your lures must be continually tapping the bottom. I believe the sand or mud that kicks up when the trolled lures hit the bottom is a major attraction and stimulates the fish to smash the lure. Fishing the bottom of deep holes also works well with soft plastics, metal and soft vibe lures. It is important that before you start jigging the lures off the bottom of these holes, you must find bait holding near the sand on your sounder. When you find good schools of bait on the bottom, there is every chance flatties will be lying underneath and feeding on the bait. Drifting along, or walking along casting lures and retrieving them, from shallow water back into deep water is also a very productive method. Well, everyone stay safe, stay warm and enjoy some great flathead fishing this month.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 23

Chantal with a feisty tailor taken on a blade well upstream.

Terry with a solid luderick, a common catch in winter.

Ecogear ZX40 in colour 440, a potent lure for fish and squid.

Ecogear VX45 blade, the colour pattern the author loves using in local rivers.

Terry with one of 12 big tiger squid he caught on a charter with the author. Page 24 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

Tips for Gold Coast squid

I everyone, how good is it to see this legendary magazine in print again. There are many things that change for the better with new technology, but you can’t beat a good hard copy magazine in your hands we reckon. We are enjoying great fishing on the Gold Coast, with flathead returning to their winter feeding grounds, and many other species turning up in the Broadwater such as tuskfish, flounder, squire, tailor, tarpon and winter whiting. This pattern will continue through July. We’ve never seen so many tarwhine as this year too, they are everywhere. Dart and bream are widespread as well – during a snorkel in the surf at Broadbeach recently there were big

SAX Scent helps catch squid.

Broadwater Guide by CLINT ANSELL

schools just beyond the shore break. In this article however, the focus is on squid, with some tips to help you catch a tasty feed of calamari. There are plenty of squid to be caught at night with squid jigs along the western shoreline of the Broadwater. They’ll be found around structure such as the Broadwater jetty or on the deeper edge of weed beds. Though we’ll focus on catching squid on lures during the day. During our charters on the Broadwater, squid are a welcome and common by-catch. All year around, but more so in winter, we will go out looking for fish and often end up with 6-20 squid after a 6-hour session. The cooler months from May to October are prime for squid, both in size and numbers, and the fishing is good then too. You can catch a healthy bag of flathead, big flounder, winter whiting and squid for a

fresh feed, all on lures. The best areas to fish for them are around weed beds and reef areas, and we catch them consistently at Runaway Bay, Currigee, the channel adjacent to Anglers Paradise, the area out from the Sea World boat ramp, Marine Stadium, along the sides of the main channel between Sea World and Marina Mirage, and along the western channel between Southport jetty and the Grand Hotel. The method is the same as our usual fishing technique, using Ecogear ZX40 blades and Samaki Vibelicious soft vibes. We drift in areas 2-8m deep at a speed between 0.6 and 0.9 knots while dropping lures to the bottom and teabagging – constant short sharp upward flicks of the rod tip. In shallower water cast further from the boat while drifting. Don’t wind in – the longer the lures are in * continued P25

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Tips for Gold Coast squid

* from P24

the water the better your results. Fish are often an instant hook-up, but squid are a different story. You’ll often feel them grabbing then letting go of the lures, and it feels as though you’re just catching on the bottom, except for a slight downwards thump. They will keep chasing until they get hooked, so do not stop flicking until you feel they are properly hooked. Then keep the rod steady and just wind – use a landing net to grab them and put them straight in a bucket to avoid getting sprayed with ink. It is essential to use vibes with two small sharp assist hooks. The hook-up rate on squid is far greater. When there are big arrow squid, it pays to loosen your drag more than usual to prevent the hooks tearing out of the squids’ candles as they desperately jet backwards at the boat side. Then gently slide

them into the net, holding it behind the squid so they shoot backwards into the net. As with any fishing, if you’re not getting bites keep moving a few hundred metres at a time until you do and keep mixing up lure colours to discover what works on any given day. You can also throw out a squid jig while fishing, but we find we catch more on blades and vibes because they get right among the weed beds, deeper drop offs and reef patches while drifting at a steady rate with the tide, and they draw squid out better during the day. The best times to target squid are just as the tide starts to slow or just before it starts to strengthen. Clear to slightly off-coloured water works well. We catch them on sunny or cloudy days. You need to experiment with different coloured squid jigs on some days but, at this time of year, a blade in a natural looking colour

works well most of the time. It’s our experience that any lure with an olive green-coloured back, white in the middle and an orange belly usually catches more squid and fish than anything else. Prime examples are the Ecogear ZX40 in colour code 440, the Ecogear VX45 in colour code 439 and Strike Pro Cyber Vibe 40 in JU020ES. If vibes comes with trebles, we remove them and put on assist hooks. We smear some SAX Scent goldprawn over the blades every 15 minutes too – it helps entice squid to keep grabbing at the lure until they get hooked. To book a charter with myself or Brad, or if you have any fishing-related questions SMS 0432 990 302 or email fishingwith clint@gmail.com You can also find us on Facebook by searching for Brad Smith Fishing Charters.

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An unusual catch in the Broadwater, a juvenile nannygai.

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www.bradsmithfishingcharters.com.au Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 25

Bream are kid-friendly and accessible

REAM are great fish to catch and are ideally suited for kids, due to their accessibility. Most wharves, pontoons, rock walls and riverbanks hold a population of bream. Most years around this time pictures of Keira and myself appear in these pages with bream from the bottom end of the Brunswick River. It’s something we particularly love, and this

Tweed to Byron Bay by GAVIN DOBSON

year has been a cracker numbers-wise. In fact, I’d step out and say it’s been one of the best for a fair while now. Tailor fishos in the surf are complaining because quality baits of pilchard, bonito and garfish are being destroyed before tailor

A couple of good bream by the author’s classification.

Keira swung a nice bream onto the jetty. Page 26 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

have a chance to find them. I sympathise with them but for those targeting bream – it’s a bonanza. Even in the middle of the day, if the water’s right beach fishos are coming back with a good feed. The average size of bream is down slightly this year but big ones are still out there, you just have more fish competing for bait. So, what is a big bream? Well, that’s going to differ depending on who you’re talking to and where you are in the country. Around here I class 35-40cm bream as good, 40-45cm as really good and 45-50cm as great. I’ve only ever seen one over 50cm caught in my life – by a mate – and it’s a feat I’d love to achieve. I know I’ve hooked them but to catch a wily old bream you’ve got to fish light, and trying to land one around oyster encrusted rocks and pylons on 6lb line is a mission. I guess that’s all part of the challenge and the fun of going back. I have seen a 50cm fish this year. He rose to grab my floating bait and as I struck, he rolled sideways and then the hook pulled. Who’s to say what would have happened had the hook stuck, but the odds were in favour of the fish because I caught two over 40cm that morning and only just managed to keep them out of the structure.

Not long after my encounter with the big bream, I thought I had him for a second time, but the fight was different, much more dogged and less erratic. I wasn’t surprised when a big luderick surfaced. It was a solid fish at 1.3kg and every year we catch a few on baits that are much more protein than salad. Speaking of bait, this carnivorous luderick ate some mullet gut, which is my preferred bream bait to use in the river, closely followed by mullet fillet. When I’m using mullet gut, I throw the onion in as burley and use the soft stinky part of the gut as bait. I just wrap a big blob around the hook and slide the appropriate-sized sinker right on top. On the change of tide, I like to not use a sinker if there are no pickers around. Night is the best time but if the water is dirty as it is now, daytime is fine and much more family oriented. Changing the subject, now to offshore where things have been hard. The weather has mostly been against us but if you can get out, the current is still running and out wide is just hard work. I’ve had a couple of OK days, with small windows of opportunity weather-wise but I’ve stayed mostly on the 32 fathom line to try staying inside the worst of the current. Sharks have been making their presence felt again and I feel petty complaining about them because losing a few fish is not in the same ballpark as losing your life, which

happened recently at Kingscliff. I was fishing on the local reef recently and pulled in the head of what was going to be a 20kg jewfish if it hadn’t been for a cheeky shark. The very next day, I was near the 32 marker and was in the process of lifting two fish aboard when a small 6-7’ white pointer charged up and grabbed a snapper off the bottom hook. The hook above had a sizeable maori cod on it – the cod had a few scratch marks and a terrified look on his face, I can tell you. I was pretty stunned myself, and it all happened so quickly. I didn’t have time to even lift the fish away from the shark, despite the fact I was already in the motion. Sharks of all species are on the increase around here that’s for sure. My condolences to the family and friends of the recent Kingscliff attack victim. Let’s hope the rest of winter and the whale season remain incident-free. Back to the offshore scene and leatherjackets may turn up soon – just to give me something else to whinge about on top of current and bad weather. Oh well, make up some wire rigs and go get a feed or just stick in close and try for a feed of reef fish, snapper and maybe a jewfish. Me? I’ll get offshore when weather and time allow, but on the other days I reckon as soon as Keira gets off the school bus we’ll be going to the river for an evening session while bream are still there.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 27

Jewfish taking the bait in Jewn and Jewly

HILE Jewn (June) may well be over, the good news is that Jewly (July) is now upon us and anglers can enjoy excellent jewfish chasing through the lower reaches of the rivers here on the far north coast of NSW. On the mighty Clarence River jewfish have been in abundance during the past month, and as long as we don’t have heavy rain this month, anglers can expect the same quality fishing during July. Fish to 25kg have been taken from the back of the surf break on the ocean side of the Yamba wall at night on live mullet. While on the river side at the T-Piece, nice catches of fish around the 15kg mark are to be had on both live mullet and hard-bodied lures during the slack high water after dark. Over at Iluka, the breakwall has yielded the odd nice fish on live mullet, however it has been dead bait such as

Just Jew by TYE PORTER

whole or stripped squid that have been producing the majority of fish to around 10kg. Inside the river, jewfish have been taken as far upstream as the Harwood Bridge on a combination of live herring, live mullet and both soft plastic and hard-bodied lures, and my son Mischa and his girlfriend Rebekah being just two of the many anglers getting among the fish. Casino angler Mitchell Cook has taken fish to around the 15kg mark, while Yamba angler Martin Wicks snared a nice 19.4kg specimen, and Ashby fisho Ted McLean landed a 14kg model to boot. The Iluka Bluff, the Second Bluff and the southern end of Woody Head rocks have seen reasonable numbers of jew taken on lures at low tide – when the wind and swell have allowed access to them

– and quite a few reasonable tailor and the odd small turrum have been landed as by-catch. After specialising in jewfish for a tad over forty years, the novelty of catching one has well and truly worn off for me and while yes, I do still have the odd throw for the smelly buggers, these days I really get a kick out of watching other anglers catch their first jew. Last month I had the privilege of watching Mischa’s girlfriend Rebekah catch her first jew, which I supposed had to happen one day particularly when you live in a household that is so jewfish oriented. After years of sitting in the wind, rain and cold watching either Mischa or myself catch jew, Rebekah finally bit the bullet and sent a live mullet out herself and bugger me if she didn’t hook-up almost instantly.

As the song goes, girls just wanna have fun and Iluka angler Rebekah Ellis had a ball starting her jewfish catching career with this nice speciDouble trouble, Mischa and Rebekah men taken in the Clarence River on with a nice schoolie each taken on live mullet. live mullet in the Clarence River. Page 28 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

Mischa stood beside her and coached her through the fight, and to her credit she had a 13.5kg fish floundering at her feet in about seven minutes flat, at which point Mischa gilled her fish and the whooping and hollering started big time. Since then Rebekah has landed a further two fish of similar size and while she is yet to catch a 3m flathead, she has landed nearly 3.5m of jewfish, which is one hell of a start to a long fishing career. Luderick numbers have really improved inside the rivers since the cold weather started in earnest, with most days at Iluka being a matter of take a number and wait for a spot at the Old Ferry approach when the bite is running hot. Terry Daley of Yamba fished the Middle Wall using cabbage as bait for luderick to just over 1kg, however it was Grafton angler David Bellamy who led the way with a nice 1.45kg fish taken from the Yamba breakwall on black weed. Elsewhere in the river, flathead continue to provide anglers with a tasty feed and bream numbers continue to grow as winter really gets into gear. Main Beach and the southern end of Back Beach have both had good formation on them recently and in turn reasonable catches of chopper tailor to 2kg have been reported, while the rocks at Shark Bay have also produced good tailor when the swell has been too big to access other locations. Offshore catches have been dominated by big snapper and reasonable-sized jew, with the best snapper this month

being the 10.875kg fish taken offshore at Wooli by local boatie Dayne Bishop. The majority of jewfish taken offshore have been boated at the trawler wreck just east of the Iluka breakwall and further north at Black Rocks off Woody Head, with Iluka angler Andrew Gill being just one of the many anglers taking fish to around the 14kg mark. Ten Mile Beach at Shark Bay has again been a hit and miss affair in recent weeks due to large swells, however when conditions allow you can expect to catch a nice feed of bream, tarwhine and the odd school jew on either live beach worms or pippies. Visiting anglers are reminded that a Beach Access Permit is required for driving on Main Beach at Iluka, and these can be purchased at the Riverside Tourist Park in Charles Street Iluka or the Clarence Valley Council offices in Maclean and Grafton. Even once you have done the right thing and bought a permit, it remains illegal to either drive or camp on the dunes and to drive between the on-track south to the breakwall because this is a designated pedestrian only area. If I had to give recent fishing a rating, I reckon it would have to be a nine out of ten and as I mentioned earlier, as long as nothing stupid happens weather-wise, July should be every bit as good – if not better. So, get your thermals on and get out there at night, and get in on the action that everyone else has been enjoying. Until next month, safe fishing.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 29

Tips for catching bream on lures

Thomas with a nice flathead from the RSL wharf.

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ELLO all and isn’t it great to be back. I hope each and every one of you has been safe at home during these past couple of crazy months. I also hope you managed to spend a little quality time with your family, and quality time out on the water catching food for them too. In case you hadn’t noticed, or your part of the world has not seen any sign of it yet, winter is most definitely here. I must admit I have really felt it over the past couple of weeks, but maybe that is my old football knees feeling the effects of the cold more than anything. The fishing around the Northern Rivers has been rather good of late. We have had a solid run of bream in the lower reaches of the river up to this point, and we are still seeing good quality fish come through the mouth of the river and congregating in reasonable numbers for their breeding cycle. There have been a few smaller fish further upstream, but I would

BALLINA BAIT & TACKLE

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Ballina Bait & Tackle by BRETT HYDE

suspect these fish are staying in those locations because they are not going to be a part of the breeding run this year. I am expecting to see bream hang around for the next month or so, which should be great as we have a qualifying round of the Australian Bream Tournament here in Ballina on the weekend of August 2930. So, if you’re in the neighbourhood around that time, make sure you come along and talk to the anglers to pick up great tips on catching bream on lures. For now, the run-in tide has been the best bet for most anglers, with prawns, mullet and squid being prime baits to catch your dinner. If you want to have a go at catching these cagey little critters on lures, then it will be worth trying some 2-3” curly tail grubs rigged on a jig head with a weight of around 1/16 to 1/8, depending on the current and tide on the day you’re fishing. With water quality the way it is at present, more natural colours have been working well. The cooler weather has slowed flathead down considerably, as you would expect, but there is still the odd one to be caught if you’re willing to put in time and effort. Better numbers of fish have been in shallow water, with larger fish coming on warmer days – usually later in the day when they’ve been more active.

With large numbers of white pilchard in the river they’ve been the best bait to try, but it may be worth throwing a few prawns and even a couple of mullet fillets around next time you head out. If you do intend to try a few lures, I would suggest downsizing everything as much as possible to match the white pilchard. Keep lures around that 60-70mm size and try slowly rolling them close to the seabed as flathead will be reluctant to venture too far off the bottom at present. Cold nights have been the order of the day for mulloway, with the Ballina breakwall producing school-sized fish and larger models falling to live bait behind the CBD. The change of tide and the start of the runout tide have been ideal to try your luck if you wish to chase these silver ghosts during winter. Catching larger live bait has been a little difficult of late, so make sure you have back-up bait just in case. The beaches have been difficult propositions of late, with wild weather events normally reserved for summer. Strong wind and large swells have made fishing the beach tough, but if you can get a slightly calmer day, quality bream have been taken from beaches because they haven’t found their way into the river yet. Pippies, pilchard and mullet fillets have all been good bait options * continued P32

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Spoilt for choice on the Sunshine Coast

W Kim McLeod hooked a snapper with a 5” Z-man DieZel MinnowZ in pearl.

This massive 53cm bass was caught on an ice jig in Somerset by Arna Love.

ITH spanish almost gone, winter is the time when several species are on everyones’ lips. For the beach fishos jewfish and tailor are prime targets. In rivers, an influx of golden trevally have made their presence known, and offshore snapper are coming on before their one month seasonal closure starts on July 15 for breeding. Offshore we are seeing better conditions as far as wind goes and rain events help keep sea conditions calmer. With rain, the inshore reefs have started to fish very well, with chunky sweetlip getting caught. These fish love everything in terms of bait and lures, so try

Catching bream on lures * from P30

for bream, but you will need to get the bait past any flathead and tailor, which have also been present on the beaches. The bulk of the captured tailor have been in the 1-2kg range, but we have had a couple above 3kg recently. As is usually the case, larger fish have been taking cut baits of mullet, yellowtail or bonito at night, whereas smaller fish have been showing up around the rocks and walls and happily chasing down metal spinners during low light periods in the

morning and afternoon. Angels, Seven Mile and Lighthouse beaches have all been good spots to try, but the formation move around fairly quickly, so you may have to check them out before your next fishing trip to make sure the formation is still acceptable. While I’m on the subject of Ballina beaches, it has been very disappointing that over the past year or so a small number of people have been driving on the sand dunes and driving erratically on the beach. The powers that

Page 32 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

be are considering all sorts of options – from closing the beaches permanently to implementing a permit system, which will cost all users more money. I can only hope that the behaviour by a small minority doesn’t continue in future, as it is a special privilege to venture down to the beach, enjoy mother nature, perhaps catch dinner and leave quietly. Please treat it as the special place it is or we may lose it all together. Well, that’s all from me ‘Til next time – tight lines!

Sunshine Coast by GRANT BUDD

slow jigs, soft plastics and of course a simple paternoster rig with squid or fresh mullet. For those after bigger snapper, North Reef and Chardons Reef are two great areas to start with. The deeper water of the Hards and the Banks has been dishing up the goods for those with bigger long-range boats. Many ways are used to target these old fish and now is the time to break out baitrunner reels and load them up with mono such as Platypus Lo-Stretch for the best floated pilchard presentation. Of course, this is best done during lighter wind and current situations. Be sure to pick up some burley in the form of a pre-made bomb or pellets and mix it all together with some tuna oil and sand. It is important to send your burley out in small amounts often as opposed to a lot all at once. Too much can attract sharks and once they move in, it is time to move on. Undoubtably, a pilchard floater is not only reserved for snapper, with this time of year producing bigger cobia to 15kg. Soft plastics are one of the most popular ways to target bigger fish and simple jerk shad or curl tail grub styles are the undoing of many fish. When you come in be sure to grab a few colours such as nuked pilchard, nuclear chicken,

pink shine, pink pearl and pearl prawn. These are some of my favourite colours and proven performers. Many anglers think the best way to fish these is to leave the rod in the rod holder. I can tell you that I’ve heard many stories of broken rods and lost gear from doing this. A big snapper, jew, coral trout and cobia will snap a rod or tear rod holders from boats in the blink of an eye if drags are incorrectly set. Light jigging is becoming more and more popular, and with lighter 20lb gear and matching leaders. Rods like the Storm Gomoku Vanuatu with a polyethylene rating of 2-4 are perfect for many species on our local reefs. Slow fall jigs like Blue Blue SeaRide and Palms Slow Blatt Cast Oval work very well with upgraded 3/0 Decoy twin pike assist hooks. When after these bigger fish it is better to use one set of assists. Running two sets of twin assists often sees the jig lost to the reef or caught in the face of the fish, which makes fighting it much longer and harder. Areas to target these are Jew Shoal, Sunshine Reef, Chardons and North Reef as well as further afield to Double Island. You can also expect * continued P34

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 33

Spoilt for choice on the Sunshine Coast * from P32

to find pearl perch, sweetlip, amberjack, longnose trevally, jewfish and cobia in the deeper areas north of Noosa. It is possible to stop these fish on lighter PE2-4 gear, but the fight time is extended and any sharks in the area could rob you of your prized catch. Mack and longtail tuna are still around, so having a 30g Arma Radico lure rigged and ready could see you hook up. The Noosa River is holding solid schools

of golden trevally, giant trevally and chopper tailor reaching up to 60cm. When the south or southeast wind blows, Woods Bay is one of my favourite places to fish early morning from the boat. A northeasterly wind is best if land-based fishing here. Surface lures have to be one to try as the sun comes up, with MMD Splash Prawn 95mm a great option. The Bassday Sugapen 95mm is another bigger option sure to get smashed at your feet. From here you can

Scored on the first day of winter, Ryder Worth was happy with his 43cm mangrove jack.

Adam Clinch with a monster 12kg jewfish. Page 34 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

head to the current line and have a shot at the golden trevally and flathead. These fish will take a wide range of lures, with 3” grub style soft plastics and small micro jigs such as the Major Craft Jigpara in 7 and 10g sizes proving the most popular. Be sure to up leaders to 12-14lb if targeting flatties, and strike the slightest bump on your braid as they often come off the bottom to hit a falling lure. This area holds fish way in excess of 75cm and landing nets should be a mandatory piece of kit regardless of how you fish. Trying to pull in 7kg of big lizard on 12lb leader will see you with a tale of “it was this big” and no photo to prove it. If chasing after a golden trevally and the water is clear several anglers will drop to a 4lb leader. This is not for the faint-hearted or the land-based angler because they know how to take line and quickly! Last month we saw a great run in the river of solid queenfish. The ski run and toward the mouth of Lake Cooroibah are great places to target them, along with jewies, trevally and flatties, especially around the mouth of the lake. Mangrove jack will still be about, and live baits are best when fished around any decent rock bar or jetty. Around the river mouth, Frying Pan estuary and along Gympie Terrace smaller bread and butter species can be found, and are great areas to fish when wind blows from the southeast. Off the beaches, solid

bream up to 40cm have been caught on the top of the tide around Peregian, Castaways and Sunshine Beach. Fresh mullet and small pilchards rigged on small sets of fine wire gangs work well. Tailor have been coming from the gutters and mouths of the Noosa and Maroochy rivers with fast retrieved slugs – whole pilchard or bonito fillet on a set of gangs being the best methods. If you are suffering bite offs then look at Tru Turn Strip Bait rigs, which have different sized hooks to help present your bait in the best possible way. Come and check out the new range of Alvey reels and Gary Howard surf rods, sure to match up and get you into serious surf fishing this season. For best results on big tailor, try fishing around the full moon because they are known to come in to feed with the light making it easier for them to hunt potential prey. During this time, you can expect to find a big jewie or two. These fish – thought to feed in the black of night – are often caught in the lead up to a full moon too. If you do hook the big one at night and are using mono, make sure you hook set multiple times as many fish are lost to poorly set hooks. For a great jewie hook, you can’t look past the Mustad Penetrator, which is a strong fine wire hook specifically designed for hardmouthed fish such as jewfish. Lastly, Lake Macdonald and Borumba Dam are still fishing

well, with afternoon the prime time for bass. Locating bass with your sounder is important, so pay close attention because they do tend to sit deep down during cooler months. This is the time of year where we often see heavy rainfall with major catchments, particularly Lake MacDonald, reaching over 100 percent capacity. Taking a range of spinnerbaits, vibes, jigs, blades, smaller grub and paddle tail soft plastics all help on schooled up fish close to the bottom. For those working the edges, suspending hard-bodies similar to the smaller Samaki Redic DS, Jackall Squirrel and Bassday Suga Deep are some options sure to get nailed on the pause. Don’t forget, if you’re planning a trip to the dams, you will need a Stocked Impoundment Permit – available online or call into Davo’s and the team will help you out. A reminder too that there is a closed season on Australian bass from June 1 to August 31 which applies to all Queensland tidal waterways. This means the Noosa Everglades will be a no fish area. For all the latest information, visit fishingnoo sa.com.au for up-to-date bar and fishing reports. Don’t forget to drop into Davo’s Tackle World, Davo’s Boating and Outdoors in Noosa and Davo’s Northshore Bait and Tackle in Marcoola for all the right equipment, bait and advice to get you catching. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and remember: tight lines and bent spines.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 35

The sharks arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t biting but everything else is

W Lorinda and a lovely afternoon golden.

INTER is definitely here now. Very cold weather in May made temperatures drop quick. Sharks seem to be less

Roy caught his first tuna.

Arthur with a cracking longtail.

> Hervey Bay > Fraser Island > Sandy Strait

Fraser Guided Fishing by TRI TON

active or not present, I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really be sure. Best of all, restrictions have been lifted to allow travel around Queensland. Hope this kicks a few more punters my way. Typical winter species have started to move and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exciting to think I will probably have a few months more of less shark activity. Other toothy critters are mackerel â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sometimes they are painful and steal all our lures. They certainly had their day a few times of late. School mackerel are best taken with fast retrieves and metal lures. This style certainly decreases lure loss, and the cheap price of the lures makes losing the odd one OK. Smaller snapper are about in the northern end of the Great Sandy Strait. Also in there are good numbers of flathead â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in shallow channels on flats and in creeks. Both are readily taken on light soft plastics outfits.

Big dusky flathead might require a fairly heavy leader because they can swallow the lure and can result in a bite off. Flatties are a great way to spend a windy day, especially if you want a feed. There are so many places you can catch one. Smaller trevally species such as brass are great fun too and can be found in big numbers. They can occasionally exceed 70cm and become a handful at that size. Hanging out in these schools are often queenfish, tuna, snapper, diamond and golden trevally, grunter and big cobia. I often target these fish with small plastics and small jigs. Soft vibration lures work well too when the bite is tough. Larger surface schools of tuna seem to have slowed as expected, and most of the tuna we

* continued P37

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Roy with his first Hervey Bay trevally.

Sharks aren’t biting but everything else is * from P36

might catch in winter are usually spotted on the sounder down deeper. The smaller numbers of tuna mean we can target fish with lighter tackle because other species aren’t as dogged as tuna and are

easily subdued with 20lb braid. But the odd tuna and extra-large cobia will really push a few anglers when we do hook them on smaller rods. While I’m here, let me make it clear – a 30kg cobia is not as tough to

battle as a 20kg longtail. And yes, if we do catch longtail in winter, there’s a high probability it will be over 10kg. I am looking forward to the next few months, and hope people are economically able to get out fishing.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 37

The author’s new fishing platform from BCF.

Tonia enjoyed the fantastic Noosa weather.

On the move in isolation

H Just what was needed for the Weber.

Alex and Lochlan with a few nice fish speared at Sunshine.

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Page 38 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

I all, well our Kandanga property sold and those dreams of travelling Australia soon became a reality, our minds running wild with thoughts of our new adventures. COVID-19 certainly put those plans on hold, but every cloud has a silver lining. Being considered persons with no fixed address and essential travellers, we were permitted to set up our new On The Move caravan in the beautiful Noosa River Holiday Park. Due to our van being totally self-contained, we were allowed to join a small number of other privileged folk stranded by the virus. I believe this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to stay at this particular park. Usually a busy packed-out destination, we were given a choice of site, each with two or so spaces between to assist with social isolation. We chose our location 10m from the sandy beach of the Noosa River, with spectacular uninterrupted views of the Noosa River Bar. We arrived about the same time as a moder-

Outdoors by PAUL ‘CHIEF’ GRAVESON

ate swell hit the coastline, so there was no shortage of waves. Talk about falling on your feet – I was often left with the decision of picking between either the surfboard or the fishing kayak. Both have been equally productive and to tell the truth both needs have been met on a daily basis. The Noosa River has been fishing extremely well, with a variety of species available right on our doorstep and paddling distance around Munna Point. It didn’t take long to identify a number of features such as sandbanks, drop offs, bridges and structures around the area to target for various species such as bream, flathead, tailor and trevally. Flathead have been the most prominent target and quick to take lures such as Jackall Squirrels and any similar lures in the Atomic Hardz range, including the 50mm Shad Deep Rattle Diver. Both lures offer a tight vibration action

but also suspend at depth. Perfect for fishing with a finesse approach in mind, using light 4-6lb leaders. An important factor in fishing any location, especially in the shallow clear waters of the Noosa River mouth area. I’ve concentrated on lures that suspend or dive in that 0.8-1.2m range. When fishing new ground such as this, I tend to slow troll from the kayak, covering a fair distance, and before you know it patterns emerge as to the most productive target areas. Areas I can then position the kayak to fan cast and increase my success rate. I’ve targeted the deeper areas around Munna Point with plastics and found the local bream population eager to play. The majority of bream here seem to be around the 28-33cm range and in excellent condition.

* continued P39

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On the move in isolation * from P38

I just can’t find those fish in the 38-40cmplus models we enjoyed catching in the Brisbane River system. One would think the action can only improve around here as the bream congregate around the river mouth to spawn. The trevally at the moment are the highlight of the area because they cruise the drop offs looking for baitfish. My best results have been using Shimano Squidgy Pro Prawn Wriggler Tail 65mm in Bloodworm and Euphausia colours. Both appear to be natural colour patterns that the fish may be familiar with. I’ve encountered a number of small juvenile giant trevally but for me bigeye trevally are the heart stoppers. They have been smashing the plastics and that first run on a light line can often feel like you’ve just hooked a passing boat. They slog away in the tide and make you battle, with the rod in one hand and using the paddle in the other to either chase or manoeuvre the kayak. I can tell you this stop-over based in Noosa has been a blessing, and a brilliant place to spend social distancing. In the past, most of the fish I had caught were catch and release but while travelling I’ve subsidised our food source with a little hunting and gathering of fresh fish for the Weber. While in isolation, we’ve been fine tuning the new Vortex Black Edition caravan and we

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are so happy with the set up. We have a very comfortable mobile base and we’re excited to put the off roader through a few tests. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been using my wife’s 2.8m kayak to fish because my 4.2m model is just too cumbersome and not quite so user-friendly. I bit the bullet and purchased a Pryml fishing kayak from BCF and I rate this little beast. It’s stable enough and a great little fishing platform. I love the deep well at the rear of the kayak, especially as I’ve removed the rear bungs to allow water to flow in and out. I find it the perfect place to drop a few fish and feel confident that my hard-earned catch will stay in there. Part of the sacrifice for the deep well are the high sides of the Pryml kayak, which can hinder drifts on a strong southeasterly blow. This would be my only whine and considering the majority of my trips coincide with early morning conditions, it is only an inconvenience once and a while. Overall, it’s a great priced kayak with heaps of potential. I look forward to sharing a few yarns as soon as we’re able to begin our journey, but for now our adventure has started here in beautiful Noosa. Hope you enjoy a few pics from our stay, and we’re looking forward to catching up with a few stories as we travel. Stay safe, healthy and tight lines. Cheers, Chief and Tonia.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 39

Josh with a fantastic 91.5cm fish landed on 8lb leader.

Warwick from the Barra Fishing Park and the author with the results of a double hook-up.

Hot winter action at Bli Bli Barra Fishing Park

The author with a nice fish from Big Boys Pond.

Make sure you present the hook nice and flat against the pellet.

The excitement of watching a fish sussing out your bait. Page 40 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

T’S been a tough time for a lot of businesses, and the Barra Fishing Park at Bli Bli was one of those closed for a few months due to COVID-19. So, it was great that my son Josh and I were invited for a ‘pre-fish’ before the official re-opening on June 11. The Barra Fishing Park is a fantastic option for a few hours of fishing with some friends, a family outing during school holidays or for a winter fishing break. From June 11 to August 31 the park will be open for pre-bookings – you can’t just turn up – with two sessions per day, Thursday to Sunday 11am to 1.50pm and 2pm to 4.50pm. Don’t muck around though, book in early because it’s going to be popular – especially if our results on the prefish weekend were anything to go by. Location The Bli Bli Watersports complex is situated at 367 David Low Way, Bli Bli – just off

Fishing Tips by SEAN ‘SKIP’ THOMPSON

the Sunshine Motorway. The Barra Fishing Park has been in operation for 30 years now and is catch and release only. While barramundi are the main fishing species stocked, you might also catch big bad old bream, mangrove jack, cod and numerous other species. The park caters for all fishers, from beginners and families to the experienced angler. Winter fishing With the park closed for a few months due to COVID-19, my suspicion was that the fish might have lost a bit of their caution, at least initially. This certainly turned out to be the case in our pre-fish, but we had all the right gear and a plan, thanks to our growing number of trips to the park and listening to Dave’s advice. As per many forms

of fishing, local knowledge can be critical. If people turn up thinking they’ve done a lot of fishing and don’t need to listen to anyone at the park, think again. I am always trying to learn more about fish and tactics no matter where I fish and am open to changing my tactics when things aren’t going to plan. By listening to Dave about a few missed strikes my son Josh had and a few lost fish in the jumps I had, we finetuned the techniques that might have worked elsewhere but didn’t for these barra, and soon the rate of fish we landed compared to the ones we lost improved. Tackle and tactics While the park has its own rods and reels available, I prefer to take our own. You then have no excuses if you’re ill prepared. * continued P41

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Hot winter action at Bli Bli Barra Fishing Park * from P40

When I go with my sons, I always take two rods each – one for fishing actively with pellets or lures and the other as a set rod with pilchard on it. Set rod set-up For the set rod, I put it in a rod holder with a bell and have pilchard bait set out only 1.5m or so from the shore on a steep bank. For this rod you don’t need anything too fancy – it can be an old fibreglass bait rod or brand-new graphite rod. However, it should be strong enough to handle fish to a metre or more but not so stiff in the tip that it has no give when the fish picks the pilchard and runs. So, leave the heavy-duty reef rods at home. I use medium-action rods in the 5-10kg category, and they fit the bill perfectly. In terms of reel, I use a 4000-size or the new Alvey Orbitor SR100 filled with quality 1520lb Platypus P8 braid and connect a 3m-long leader of the new Platypus Stealth fluorocarbon in 20lb. This is incredibly thin leader for its strength and holds up well to abrasion. At the business end I use size 3/0 Mustad wide gap hooks, which based on Dave’s advice for best hook-up, we hook through near the tail of pilchard with the point exposed. Set rod tactics Bring your own rod holders and set your rod back from the edge so it doesn’t throw a shadow on the water. Lie your rod horizontal in the holder allow-

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ing the fish to feel less resistance when it picks up the bait and runs. Choose a deep bank close to shore at Big Boys Pond for your chance to catch bigger fish that patrol the warmer water close to shore. Do not cast your bait out more than 1.5m from shore or you will end up with more bream and other assorted fish. Casting rod set up There’s an old saying in the fishing fraternity that elephants still eat peanuts. The principle is that big fish will still take small lures and even small baits at times, and this was the case at the Barra Fishing Park. The pellets provided might be small but it’s stock diet so the fish will gulp them down. However, present these pellets on the hook poorly, with thick whipper-snipper like line or a floating leader and forget it. These fish are smart even though they haven’t seen humans in months. It’s so cool to watch them with polarised glasses on – they will swim up and under your pellet, examine it, even nudge it and swim away. Better still watch their mouth open, close around your pellet, then dive under, your line go tight and you’re on. Magic! But once again, tackle choice is critical to success. We have been using 6lb Platypus P8 quality braid with a 3m trace of superfine 8lb Platypus Stealth leader. When you hook an 80cm fish on this stuff though you really need

to play them carefully and occasionally chase them holding your rod up over the mangroves. Tight drags with this sized leader will just result in bust-offs. For less experienced anglers and for more insurance on landing fish, you can go up to 10lb. Again, use a quality fluorocarbon leader, and avoid mono leader as it is easier to see and tends to float much more and thus is easier to see on the surface. In terms of rods, we have been using 4-7kg rods and reels about 2000-size, and the Alvey Orbitor 60. My son recently took over using my Orbitor, while I quickly rerigged his leader after a bust-off, and he loved the smoothness of the drag and control the oversized power knob gave him so much that he didn’t want to give it back. Not that I could blame him. Hooks are supplied at the shop and are tiny size 10 Mustad bronze French hooks. Casting rod tactics Ensure your hook is sitting flush against the flat base of the size 10 brown hook. If the bronze paint starts to wear on your hook, replace it as it needs to be camouflaged. Choose areas around mangrove trees and toss a few pellets in and around leaves in the water. When you spot a fish, toss two to three pellets in and try to land your pellet with your well-presented hook among them. Choose a spot with a bit of ripple on the water to make it harder

for the fish to spot your hook and line to your pellet. Try not to wear bright-coloured clothing and wear colours that will be more camouflaged with the background. Don’t stand right on the edge of the ponds, stand back a bit to avoid spooking the fish. For your best chance of more numbers, fish Barra Creek which has more fish up to an average of about 70-80cm. It’s a good option to have a set rod in Big Boys Pond. If you catch a couple of smaller fish, try switching to Big Boys Pond.

So, there you go. These practices and tackle certainly helped my son and I each land a handful of nice fish recently and we can’t wait to go again. Remember though, listen to the likes of Dave, James and Warwick and you’ll catch more fish. The park will make a great place to go fishing with a friend or family these school holidays and winter. Don’t forget to book in advance under the new COVID-19 rules. Cheers, and until next time I hope to hear from you on my Ontour Fishing Australia Facebook and Instagram pages.

Look for areas around mangroves for concentrates of fish in Barra Creek.

Hook-up!

Huge bream frequent the waters of the park. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 41

Investing time pays off

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Page 42 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

FINALLY had the opportunity to head offshore to fish an area around the Bunker Group I had been wanting to revisit. The tides were around the neap period and the seas were calm – the perfect opportunity to head offshore and target a few reef species. This trip provided the chance to fish new marks that I had gathered on a previous trip around four years earlier but hadn’t had the opportunity to actually fish. The fantastic looking weather map, a public holiday and easing of travel distance restrictions provided the perfect opportunity to head offshore for a day of fishing. The trip four years ago was under similar conditions and it was in the middle of a slow bite period that we decided to invest some time. After having a quick cook-up for lunch, I made the decision to do some prospecting. That is, to invest time searching for some new marks to target at a later date, and hopefully a couple that weren’t known to others. This decision saw us spending around an hour working through a one-kilometre grid pattern, trolling a couple of lures behind at the same time. I had picked an area around the 60m contour and used this line as a starting point. After a bit of time, the sounder started to show some small bumps and bommies that I marked as the boat passed over them. As the grid grew in size, there appeared to be a pattern building, with an apparent line of marks forming, indicating some good bottom

Bundaberg Region by BRAD YOUNG

features in one area in particular. After an hour had passed, it was time to head back towards the area we had been fishing earlier for a quick drop before heading home. That was four years ago. As we left Round Hill Creek and headed in a general eastward direction, I punched in the mark that was named ‘Start point’. This is where I had commenced my reconnaissance mission four years prior and had not – mainly due to weather conditions – been able to return to fish the area since. This day was to be our starting point. To give an indication as to the quality of weather conditions, we were able to easily hold a speed of 30 knots as we headed towards the Bunker Group, reaching the ‘Start point’ mark in near record time. On arrival, after adding sinkers and hooks to our terminal tackle and preparing pilchards, squid, cuttlefish and mullet for bait, I started to work around the marks identified four years earlier – and it didn’t take long to see the sounder light up a nice bommie with a good fish show. A couple of early drifts helped me get a handle on the direction of the tidal stream before dropping the pick. For the most part this was the way things stayed, apart from repositioning the anchor on a couple of occasions due to tide changes. This new spot produced nice emperor, red

emperor, a great pearl perch and several nice tuskfish as well as a few moses perch and our bag of big hussar. The highlight for me was the fact that we didn’t lose any fish to sharks. With the need to vary the components of our bag, I was tossing up whether to head to an area where I was confident we could add some redthroat emperor or an area I had wanted to target for coral trout but hadn’t had the opportunity to do so. Fate would have it that we headed to the proposed trout spot to try our luck. I hadn’t fished the trout spot before but had previously had a terrible session nearby where every trout hook-up was shared. That was not to be the story on this occasion, with some nice trout coming over the side in relatively short time around the change in tide. This had been the pattern. Slow bite until the tide slowed and then a good bite period. For me, the successes of this trip reinforced the value of doing your own prospecting to locate your own marks. On most occasions it is possible to get a mark for a general area, but it’s often the exploration around the nominated mark that might find that special spot. As I did four years earlier, spending time searching while dragging a lure behind to maybe hook-up a stray * continued P43

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Investing time pays off * from P42

mackerel or similar is a great opportunity to do this. When conditions flatten and glass out, this gives a very clear picture of the bottom without the distraction of lumps and bumps caused by your vessel travelling over the swell. My only other suggestions are to do this methodically so you can tick off an area as being searched, and determined as either written off or with new identified marks. This is best done with a regular grid pattern that can be tracked using your GPS mapping. I tracked a one-kilometre gridline. I also selected an area running between two depth contours. I now know that in this particular area I have marked any useful bottom features and can revisit them in the future. Future outlook – with winter weather patterns beginning to show on the weather map, there should be a few opportunities to head offshore. Remember to keep an eye out for whales off our coast because they have commenced their migration northward, and always log on with the local marine rescue

organisation to help ensure you have a safe return. Mud crabs are still available before we approach the coolest part of winter, so it’s worth targeting them. The Burnett River and local waterways have been producing some nice bream and salm-

on and there should be some winter whiting around as the water temperature cools. As always, I can be contacted via Bush n’ Beach, by email at fish nboat@bigpond.com or via post at PO Box 5812 Bundaberg West Queensland 4670. Until next month…

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BOATING & marine Insights into boat insurance How to avoid double trouble when repowering your boat

EPOWERING a vessel can make a great deal of sense for a wide variety of reasons – greater reliability, better fuel economy and improved performance being just a few. Nautilus Marine Insurance is able to accommodate the greater value that a repower can add to the vessel. However, it is not an open book and it pays to understand the rules. The first is to ensure the powerplant being added to the vessel sits within the boat manufacturer’s specifications. If the boat was originally rated to take an outboard of up to 200hp, you can’t simply bolt on a 250hp outboard and expect it will be insurable. You have stepped outside the manufacturer’s specifications. Some boaties might

argue that the newer four-stroke outboard to be installed is lighter than the original and therefore it is OK to put on more horsepower than the manufacturer’s original maximum. Not so. The weight of the motor and the maximum power are important, but they are two separate issues which must be considered individually and cannot be simply interchanged. Similarly, the outboards might have been designed for different transom heights and transom angles. In these cases, contacting the boat’s manufacturer and getting a clear direction in writing about the repower make good sense. It’s the type of information that a specialist like Nautilus Marine Insurance will

look for when making a decision about the insurability of the vessel with its new powerplant. If the manufacturer is no longer in business, you can enlist the assistance of a naval architect who will be able to provide you with a professional opinion, and who can certify that the proposed repower is within the capabilities of the vessel. Similarly, you will need confirmation from the vessel’s original manufacturer that the vessel is suitable for a twin outboard installation of say 115hp instead of a single 250hp. Again, it is not automatically valid to claim that twin 115hp outboards total 230hp, which is less than 250hp, so the repower must be permissible. The torque needs to be considered along with the combined weight of the outboards, and the location and distribution of that mass. Fortunately, many boat models carry a maximum horsepower for a single outboard but offer a rating for a twin outboard installation as an option. In those cases, it of-

ten is a far simpler route to ensuring the insurability of the repowered vessel. Then there’s the question of the condition of the transom itself. While the maximum horsepower of the new motor, and its weight and suitability to the height of the transom might all stack up in terms of specifications, you also need to consider whether the transom is in excellent condition. It is not uncommon for some vessels to suffer transom degradation due to a myriad of reasons – from amateurs drilling holes into them to accommodate the installation of electronics, bait buckets and grab rails, to water ingress resulting from structural stresses and separation. Ordinarily, such occurrences can be remedied by a professional boat builder and the remediation works can be reflected in the new value of the vessel. To ensure it is, you will need to present receipts and documentation from professional and recognised boat repairers. Once you decide

you’re going to install a new outboard pod on the back of your boat to accommodate a new power installation, you are potentially raising the stakes even higher. Someone such as a certified boat builder or naval architect will have to sign-off on the structural integrity and performance of the modified vessel if you are going to secure marine insurance for it. A good strategy is to talk to Nautilus Marine Insurance first. Discuss what is being planned and ask what the requirements would be for insuring the vessel once the modifications have been carried out. When it comes to marine insurance, always check your Product Disclosure Statement and if you have a query, ask your insurer for clarification. Any special conditions and excesses should always be explained clearly in your insurance policy’s PDS. If you need further information, you can contact Nautilus Marine Insurance on 1300 780 533 for any boat insurance requirements.

Any advice contained in this article is of a general nature only and may not apply or be right for you as it does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any advice provided in this article, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

Page 44 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

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BOATING & marine

RIB Force and Mercury – helping with kids at risk “RIB Force was recommended to us and Mike was honest, genuine and very keen to help, and do the right thing by us financially.” Owner of RIB Force in the Gold Coast City Marina Mike Orsmond said, “When the gents from SAILS walked into the shop looking for some help, I was more than happy to get involved because they do so much great work.” “We had a good talk about what they needed, so I recommended

the Aurora Adventure V450 console RIB, which Mercury Marine were happy to supply at a discount.” SAILS touches the lives of about 500 people every year, which was why getting a new safety boat was so important. “When we had the official handover of the boat, we were all very impressed with its performance,” Ian said. Ian and his colleagues were also impressed with the technological

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BOATING & marine

John Crawford Marine sees boat sales slingshot

OHN Crawford Marine industry consignment specialist Matthew Hodson said COVID-19 may have shut down boat sales initially, but

they’ve rebounded like a slingshot. Established 56 years ago, the Brisbane-based business specialises in used trailer boat sales and experienced sales

John Crawford Marine director Matthew Hodson.

in late May “like three Christmases in two weeks.” “That has created a vacuum in stock,” Mr Hodson said. “Sales were made right across the range leaving us with our lowest stock level in the 21 years I have been at JCM. “We’ve had first-time buyers as well as people who have owned multiple boats streaming through the display yard. “More than half of our recent purchasers have been first-time

boat buyers, which is encouraging for the marine industry. “We’ve had family groups, couples and singles inspecting and then buying almost immediately. “We’re also seeing more women deciding they want to go boating in their own right and seeking expert instruction, which we’re happy to provide.” Purchasers have been particularly focussed on aluminium side and centre console models from 4.4m to 4.8m powered by four-stroke

engines from around 40hp to 75hp, bow riders in the 5m to 5.6m range which are ideal family craft, and some larger offshore models. “Even the last of the trailer-sailers, a class of vessel which has suffered a dramatic decline in popularity from a sales point of view over the past few years, have been sold,” Mr Hodson said. “In the last few weeks, sales have been running at around quadruple the established rate for this time of year. * continued P48

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“The key purchase price bracket is the $10$30,000 mark, with selective weekender type models up to $140,000, also drawing keen interest. “We had two weekends when we didn’t have any time to answer email enquiries – we were attending to people in the display yard and on the phone, and then following up on Mondays. “We are still trying to source boats to sell as part of the follow-up

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signment agreement, which protects the boat owner. “There was some confusion as different administrative messages about whether or not you could go boating and under what circumstances were distributed, withdrawn, amended or clarified,” Mr Hodson said. “But once Maritime Safety Queensland said boating was safe as long as the social distancing protocols were in place, the pent-up demand to buy

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Coral trout have been a target recently and the author has managed a few smaller models.

Targeting fingermark in Gladstone Harbour

Spending time with the family has been a bonus. Kym with a nice pikey bream on a live herring.

Gladstone Region

by GARY CHURCHWARD

ELCOME back readers, it’s great to slowly get back to a form of normality and routine. With most weekend sports and non-essential activities being cancelled, most people have been given the chance to spend more time on the water. To make things even better, there have been cracking periods of little to no wind, which all anglers could have taken advantage of. Due to the lockdown, people had been restricted to their local area – for me this has

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been great, with rivers not fishing as well as I would have liked, I spent most of my time exploring and figuring out the harbour. There have been a couple of species I’ve tried targeting in the harbour – the first being fingermark, which I managed to find in numbers in various locations. I think the best thing I learnt was the typical type of area to find fingermark – I was able to apply this to other areas around the harbour with results. I caught fish on just * continued P54

Abby with a 50cm grunter on a live herring from a rocky outcrop in the harbour. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 53

Targeting fingermark in the harbour * from P53

Fingermark are fishing well. Phil caught this one on a vibe in the harbour.

about all techniques – both lure and bait – but vibration style lures, with their ability to be fished in deeper water and fast-moving current, is the most productive technique I’ve found. The other fish I tried to target were coral trout, but this has been a bit harder with only a few smaller fish caught. It will take a little time to crack the code on where the best and most contended spots are to find better sized and quantities of coral trout. While fishing for them though I have managed to catch other species I haven’t caught in the harbour before, with grass sweetlip and parrotfish a common capture. On the fishing front, during July blue salmon

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have been patchy, so if you can track down a school you will catch a few but schools have been hard to find. The Calliope River typically has schools moving through but with the lack of consistent herring in the river only the odd fish is being caught. Gladstone Harbour is holding large schools of herring and garfish, and this would be a better area option to start your hunt for salmon. Fingermark are biting extremely well – so if you can find bait, a depth change and structure, these will usually hold fish. There are plenty of these types of location through the harbour and if you can figure out a run of spots, you’ll be able to find a few fish willing to bite. Grunter will still be found in the region because they are widespread and don’t necessarily have a specific type of location. They will normally sit on gravel and scattered rock in water depth from a metre to deep water of 15m or more. Again, if you can find

bait in these areas you are more than likely to find fish willing to feed. Pikey bream and the less common yellowfin bream are hitting just about anything that moves and you can watch them feeding along the rocky shorelines. You can soon rack up some sturdy cricket scores with quality fish coming in between the smaller versions. Flathead numbers will be on the increase towards the end of July and into August, so expect to find a lot of smaller-sized fish. The odd large breeding female will be caught – remember that these fish will be working towards the breeding season, so handle and release with care. Queenfish are being caught off the markers in the shipping channel, the headlands and the reefs off Facing and Curtis islands. Hopefully, we get more good weather to take advantage of as well as slowly get back to normal life. Cheers and happy fishing from Gladdy.

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While out on our sailboat I caught this snapper off the south end of Peel Island in Moreton Bay. Alenka Vuksic Chris Edwards boated this big flathead around Tipplers Passage while on a Coomera Houseboat Holiday.

Adam Foley nailed a quality flathead on a Gobblers 4.75” Live Bait Paddle Tail.

A nice jewfish caught on a cracking recent day on a soft vibe lure, once it got past the sharks! Craig Engler

To have a photo of your catch featured in Readers’ Forum, simply email ben@bnbfishing.com.au with a good-quality picture, your name and details or hop onto our Facebook page and send us a message. Page 56 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

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Matt Foley with his first-ever red emperor caught on a recent trip to the Bunker Group reefs.

Went barra fishing with my husband because he always wanted to catch one and I landed an 86cm barra while hubby got a 42cm. Amanda Nicholls

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Cold water temperatures and hot fishing action

Mick Slade with the only red emperor landed on the author’s last offshore run during a westerly. Brendan Warren hooked up solid in the background.

July is prime tiger squid time, so get those jigs ready.

T’S a bloody good feeling to be sitting at the computer desk tapping away on the keyboard again. COVID-19 came to town and put a dampener on all things fishing and articles. Will we ever go back to normal? I guess only time will tell. Even though restrictions are easing, please maintain social distancing and hygiene. The last thing we need is a second outbreak of this global pandemic. Some say it’s inevitable, but I think if we all do our part good things will happen. Rightio, let’s move on to more important things and have a look at what’s been happening on the Capricorn Coast. The winter woollies are well and truly coming out in the morning. June was fairly mild with temperatures rarely sneaking under 10C. We will see what the month of July throws at us.

The author with a school-sized king threadfin. It will be good to see big schools push up the river again. Page 58 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

Capricorn Coast by JOHN BOON

Right on cue the bread and butter species have fired up. Flathead have been caught in good numbers up in Corio Bay. I would say Corio would be the pick of areas if you want to tangle with flathead. Sessions of a dozen or more fish on soft plastics isn’t uncommon. I haven’t heard of many big models yet, with some of the better fish coming in around the mid-60s. Bream have been turning up in numbers at Corio, but the better reports seem to be coming from good old Coorrooman Creek. A few snag-bashers who have been targeting winter barramundi in Coorie have been whacked by some absolute horse bream. For a split second they thought the winter barra were playing the game, with silver flashes and mad attitude. Anglers who have downsized their gear have been having a ball with bream. A sure handful hooking them close to structure. Barrel-sized blue salmon have been handing out lessons by burning some thumbs of unaware estuary enthusiasts. The smaller school models have been turning up in creeks around Rockhampton’s net-free zone as well as on the headlands and close-in islands. Soft vibes and flasha

spoon lures have been doing most of the damage. At the time of writing, big schools of king salmon hadn’t moved back into the town reaches of the Fitzroy River yet. Water temperatures were sitting around 20C. The yorkies and herring were present, but prawns weren’t very thick. I’m sure when the prawns thicken up king threadfin won’t be far away. There were still smaller pockets of threadies, if you’re prepared to put time into searching. We scored a few up to about the metre mark. The micro-threadies seem to be turning up in cast nets, which is a good sign. With the cold-water temperature, barra will be hard to get to bite. Not impossible, just a lot tougher due to their metabolism slowing. Bite periods might be short and sharp, and you will need to be Johnny on the spot. One great little technique is to gather live prawns and drop them right on their nose. You know nothing will get a bite if you can’t get them to go a live prawn. I have seen them swim around live prawns for hours – if you don’t get the timing right and the weather turns to crap. There should be goodsized barra moving up * continued P60

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 59

Cold water temperatures and hot fishing action * from P58

past the bridges to hang on the rocks chasing the warmth. Low tide around midday will heat those rocks well, so late afternoon might be the best option. Mud crabs have slowed, which is typical for this time of year. Fishers that have been putting in the hard yards have still been getting a few and what they have been getting

has been chock a block full. I have seen a few impressive 2kg specimens from the Port Alma region. Recently, an interesting topic came up on our Facebook group Fishing Central Queensland, ‘fishing during westerly wind’. It most certainly does affect the fish. There’re plenty of theories, but I’m not sure we’ll ever truly under-

Barramundi and a few king threadfin stacked on a drop-off in the Fitzroy River spotted on a Humminbird Helix G3N.

Mud crabs are in prime condition.

stand why it messes with them. There were a few comments regarding wind from the land being an unnatural wind, and other comments that a westerly wind will push bait further out to sea. What was really interesting were the number of anglers who said a northerly land breeze in South Australia and an easterly in Western Australia have the same effect that our westerly wind does. Just remember that winter is the time of year we’ll experience a heap of westerly wind, so a little extra thinking around bite times and trip planning would be a good idea. We recently had the pleasure of fishing the closer ground about 40-60km offshore from Yeppoon. Southwesterly wind was forecast. I have fished these conditions before so made the effort to get fresh bait and also live bait. We had a moderate 10-15 knot southwesterly blowing most of the morning. We struggled big time and only a few hefty gold spot cod reached

The author with a solid Fitzroy River winter barramundi. Even when the temperature drops they still have to feed. Page 60 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

the boat, being vented and released. We didn’t put a keeper in the boat until almost midday when the wind started to shift south. We had a short bite window on top of the tide where we got a nice red emperor, a few trout, sweetlip and a cracker goldband jobfish. A number of boats headed out a few days before we did and did really well. Most of those fishos scored their fish late afternoon after the wind had dropped. My good mate Dan Baker anchored on a patch right on dark and put 21 large-mouth nannygai in the Esky in an hour. I saw a few of the photos and it was bloody madness. A very impressive session. Tiger squid have been about, but reports are patchy. Earlier in the year we had a couple of unbelievable sessions when the water was warm. July is generally a very reliable month for them. The best thing about winter tiger squid is the size. For summer squidding I generally put two thirds straight into the bait packet because there’re heaps of small squid around. During winter the big breeders will show up. A good number of the larger squid will be full of eggs. It’s always a great idea to limit your kill and not kill your limit. Mackerel have been on the chew in close when the bay clears, and on inshore grounds. Most anglers who have been specifically

targeting school mackerel haven’t had to work too hard to put a feed in the boat. The good old floating pillie technique while you’re bashing the bottom has been very effective. Even heavily fished places such as the Pinnacles, which is around 40km north of Keppel Bay Marina, have been turning over some top school mackerel action. Rumour has it that bigger spanish mackerel have been picking off smaller macks as well. Recently the local wrecks both north and south have been on fire, producing a large list of different species. Mackerel, amberjack, grunter, fingermark, nannygai, trout and the list goes on. If you’re heading past a wreck, make sure you have a drop. Fishing pressured areas similar to wrecks will occasionally need a different approach to get quality fish on deck. Anchoring and sending down a paternoster of squid and pillie might get you a few fish, but how about if you tried something like a slow pitch jig or maybe a Zerek Live Shrimp with an ounce jig head? A little thinking outside the square can often be all it takes. Well, I’m hoping we get 5-knot variable wind that winter is supposed to be good for. My last offshore trip certainly didn’t scratch the itch. I’ve got a score to settle with some of the Cap Coast red population. Stay safe, fish hard and I’ll catch you next month.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 61

The wonderful and wild Wenlock River

Barramundi fun outside a gutter mouth.

A big crocodile basked in the winter sun.

ELL, with all the whohaa that’s been going on, here at Cape York we locals finally got a late OK from authorities to travel within the Cape’s ‘biosecurity region’. So, my wife Shelley and I decided to tackle the 8-hour lap from Cooktown to Weipa to visit our kids, and of course get out for a fish in that magical part of Australia. The gravel sections of Peninsula Development Rd were pretty ordinary but not dreadful after

Josh held a pair of cracker mud crabs.

A barramundi with a couple of regurgitated red claw. Page 62 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

Cape York by ‘BILLABONG’ BAZZ LYON

what was a fairly mediocre wet season. The road crews were only just making a start, having been delayed by events. They do such a great job. Anyway, the day arrived to visit and fish one of my favourite places – the mighty Wenlock River – with family and friends. This involved bank fishing about 100km upstream from the river mouth. One of the remarkable things about the Wenlock is that even that far up, the river though fresh is still strongly tidal. Only a few minutes in my son Josh – of Sportfisher Hire Boats and Fishing Charters fame – rolled a huge barramundi on a lure on a river bend that he estimated at around 110cm. Lures failed to attract any further attention there, so grandson Eligh – one of the keenest anglers around – cast a cherabin to the same spot. The explosive boof and water boil that resulted is one of the most impressive I’ve ever seen! Eligh gamely tried to hold the barra out of the snags but it really was a one-way contest. Ping, and that was that! A few smaller barra were landed and released at the mouth of a nearby gutter before

we had to make the four-hour drive back to Weipa. The next trip was by boat with Josh and Lee Hodgetts – owners of the highly reputable Weipa Sportfishing Charters. In fact, they both work closely together on charters, and a fishing trip with the pair is both highly educational and entertaining. Now, it has to be said that the Wenlock is not always the easiest river to fish, especially the estuary. There’s a lot of ‘big’ water in this section. Although the creeks and mud gutters near the mouth are usually pretty reliable, in many other areas you often have to hunt around to find good fish. On this particular day, we first had to find the preferred salty wedge of water to set some crab pots. By assessing the amount of froth from the wake of the outboard to find the brackish water, Josh decided on the best section of river and out went the pots for a few hours soak. Heading upstream, we spotted a cracker estuarine crocodile basking on a sunny bank – a perfect subject for drone filming. More by fluke than skill, I managed to get some half decent clips only to have the drone * continued P63

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Josh Lyon with the prize barramundi of the day – a lovely 98cm example.

The wonderful and wild Wenlock River * from P62

battery start to die in the you know what. The emergency critical low battery warning started squawking, with the drone wanting to return to where it had been launched from by default. Unfortunately, that was a few hundred metres away. With deft boat driving by Josh, I finally managed to pluck the drone from the air before it landed on the water to become a feature of the riverbed. Now time to fish. We first tried a couple of rock bars that often produce very well. It was very quiet – results which matched the side scan sounder that depicted only a handful of fish. We then headed further upstream to find some drains, given the success at one the previous week. So, the other wild thing about the Wen-

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lock is the luxuriant profusion of vegetation that clothes its banks. Imposing standard mangroves flourish in the lower estuary, graduating to seriously impressive stands of Nypa and Corypha palms in the mid reaches. This in turn develops into a lush ribbon of rainforest, all of which combine to give the impression of being on a New Guinean rather than an Australian river. First cast into the snags at the mouth of a small gutter and I was on to a decent barra in the high-70cm range. After some toing and froing, it finally gained its freedom in the plentiful snags. And so began a great session on barra, which were all hanging in snags around the virtually hidden gutter mouth. The prize of the day was a 98cm fish that Josh skilfully kept out

of the timber, and after taking a few pics, was released back into this amazing river. A big surprise was two red claw that one of the barramundi regurgitated. Though favoured as bait by anglers in many places, we’ve had virtually no success with red claw in this part of the Cape – cherabin being the standout success.

Mid-afternoon we returned downstream and pulled the crab pots, with great success. All but one had legal males, though not being full a few were released. The tally of keepers was a neat dozen, which were boiled and devoured at Josh’s place that night. A fantastic day of living the dream and I

can’t wait to get back there. The wind has been pretty consistent along the east coast of the Cape in not allowing reef fishing from small boats. Living near Cooktown, I can see plenty of trips into the magical Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park in the coming months as a great alternative. Until next month.

Nypa and Corypha palms line the Wenlock River. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 63

C AMPING & outdoors

To the Cape or not to the Cape

H New axle – hubs with greased bearings in place and a full set of wheel nuts duct-taped so they don’t shake off on the rough roads of the Cape.

Replacing bearings on the 1983 Jayco. They had a Wiseco set up – Holden inner and Falcon outer bearings.

The author is hoping to see a few things up the Cape with his kids if the road is open. It’s been 29 years since he was last there. Page 64 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

I, it’s Craig To m k i n s o n here. What a wild few months we have all had. Me, being a school cleaner, was classed as an essential worker, so I worked all the way through, which was good but I didn’t go fishing as much as I wanted – only once. For my holidays I was going either to Cape York which was shut or to Inskip Point, also closed. Then Inskip opened up and I thought I would go camping for 28 days but no, I wasn’t quick enough and missed out on a site. By the time they opened up more camp sites, our old 80 Series LandCruiser was playing up. It started fine at 4.24am for the trip to work but at the end of my shift the starter wound the motor over though it was really slow. Still it started, so on the way home I called into Slips Automate Spares in Cooroy and they did a load test on the both batteries. They were in great condition, so I took it home and checked all the battery connections, which were also fine. When I bought the four-wheel-drive seven years ago, the old fellow I bought it off just used a 3-way boat battery isolator switch and I thought that might be on its way out, so I ordered a new one.

Outdoors by CRAIG TOMKINSON

I rang a local auto sparky and asked what it would cost to rebuild the starter motor, he said around $200 but seeing it had done 750,000km, the gears and shafts would most likely be very worn – I ordered a new one and will check out the old one another day. Both the starter and isolator switch turned up the next day, so I fitted them to the 80 Series. Wow, the new starter just rolls the old 1HZ motor over much quicker. With that done I was going to head to Inskip Point but, because there were only two weeks before school holidays, I pulled the pin on that idea as I need at least three weeks to make carting all my camping gear there worthwhile. I’ll wait until after the school holidays and go then. In the meantime, I had cut back to two days a week at work – I now work Mondays and Tuesdays, and am loving it. With the travel restrictions lifted, my wife Donna, our four kids and I thought we would head up the Queensland coast, but our old Jayco Pop Top van needed some tender loving care after our trips to Darwin

and Fraser Island. The van needed its bearings checked, so I pulled them apart and found a little water in them from the recent trip to Fraser, and because they had rust on the bearing cones, I went to replace them with the spare Holden bearings I had. Well it turned out they weren’t Holden – I took them to Automate and found out they were Holden inner bearings with Falcon outer bearings – what used to be called Wiseco in the 1980s. I bought some NTN Japanese bearings. How lucky have I been? That van has done 20-30,000kms on the black top and western dirt roads, and I was carrying the wrong spare bearings because I thought they were Holden bearings! My advice is if you’re going to carry spares make sure they’re the right ones. A trap for young players that. Luckily, I pull them apart before each trip to repack the bearings with fresh grease. The family were discussing just going up around Cairns and back, then word came through that Peninsula Development Rd might be opening up. * continued P65

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4WDING & off - road Tow like a pro with an Isuzu UTE

OOKING up a boat, trailer, camper van or caravan can be both exciting and daunting at the same time. The potential for disaster does exist, but with our handy tips from Isuzu UTE, you’ll be able to confidently hitch up your rig and head safely off into the sunset. Starting out The first step to safe towing is to ensure your vehicle and van are built for purpose – by that we mean that they’re both up to the job physically and legally. The rule to go by here is find out how heavy your boat and trailer are

fully loaded, and work back from there to make sure your vehicle matches the task at hand. An important item often overlooked is the fact that towing capacity includes the boat, outboard and trailer as well as all the gear inside – fuel, fresh water, tackle gear, even your lunch box – every extra item on board your trailer, boat or caravan has to be accounted for to ensure you aren’t left ‘punching above your weight’, so to speak. Reversing Reversing a trailer really isn’t as difficult as it might seem, and with a bit of practice you’ll be

reversing like a pro in no time. Taking your time and having patience is the key to successful trailer reversing. Oversteering can cause the trailer to turn sharply, so make gradual movements. If you get in a bind, just pull forward and straighten everything out and try again. Don’t get embarrassed if it all goes wrong – it happens to the best of us. Braking Even if you have the biggest and best brakes fitted to your vehicle and trailer, it is absolutely essential to allow for longer stopping distanc-

To the Cape or not to the Cape * from P64

I thought, ‘Gee, I better make up a spare axle in case we do get to go up to the tip.’ I bought two Falcon bearing stub axles, NTN bearings, 1.7m of 50 x 50 x 4mm box mild steel and made the axle up. I used two Holden hubs with Holden stud pattern to fit the tyres I already had – a lot of people don’t www.bnbfishing.com. au

know that Falcon bearings fit a Holden trailer hub, this gives you Falcon bearings and a stub axle that is stronger than a Holden stub axle. Now this axle is only to get me out of trouble, not that I expect any. If the Cape road does open and we get to go to the tip, it will be good to have a look around – I ha-

ven’t been in nearly 30 years. Once the trip with Donna and the kids is over and we are back home, I’ll unload the camper, pack the 5m tinnie with gear, load up the 4WD and head back to Weipa for a fishing trip. I love my fishing holidays. ‘Til next month, stay safe on our roads and the water.

es when towing, because of the extra weight it will take longer for the momentum of your vehicle to be halted. A good rule of thumb on following distance of the vehicle in front of you is one and a half to two car lengths for every 20km/h of speed when towing. Cornering One of the most important points to keep in mind when you’re turning while towing is that you must take turns significantly wider than you typically would. It’s always a good idea to give yourself plenty of extra room when turning to ensure the outside edge of the van is clear of all curb side hazards. Tools of the trade Of course when you’re on the open road with a trailer in tow, you want to know you have the right tool at hand to get you to your destination safely and in comfort – without having to take out a loan for your fuel bill. As well as being a practical and reliable vehicle, both the Isuzu D-MAX and MU-X are capable of towing a serious load. Whatever you are towing, you can be confident that the Isuzu range is equipped to perform. With 19MY mod-

els now equipped with Trailer Sway Control too, you’ll have the confidence to ‘tow your own way’. The Isuzu D-MAX offers 3.5-tonne braked towing on all 4x4 models and 4x2 High-Ride models, while the 7-seat MU-X offers a 3-tonne braked towing capacity across the entire range. These outstanding towing capacities give you the versatility to tow all you need with ease. Instilling confidence while on the road, the entire 19MY Isuzu D-MAX and MU-X range are backed by an extensive dealer network of over 150 sites, and the comprehensive Service Plus 6-6-7 care package encompassing a 6-year warranty, 6-year roadside assistance and 7-year capped price servicing – for worry free motoring. Whether it’s navigating a sea of traffic during the weekday commute or dropping the boat in at your local ramp on the weekend, the Isuzu D-MAX and MU-X are geared for any adventure and ready to tow your own way. Visit isuzuute.com.au for more information.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 65

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Page 66 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 67

C ARAVANNING & adventure

Karijini National Park a WA treasure

EY guys, I hope everyone is going well and not going too crazy in these extraordinary times. Wow, who would have thought the whole of Australia would be in lockdown, but it is fantastic that things are starting to get back to normal and we are able to move further afield than just at home. It really has thrown a spanner in the works for us and our travelling but that’s okay because many people are doing it tough and our thoughts are with them. I don’t think there will be too much international travel in the near future with the COVID-19 pandemic, but

Caravanning by TODD EVELEIGH

this is a great opportunity for all Australians to check out their own backyard and to see all the amazing places we have here in our country. More importantly, to be spending our money in Australia and help prop up our tourism sector and fishing guides who are really doing it tough. So, I plead to all to book a trip and travel, tick off those bucket list fish by booking a guided fishing charter and help keep our Aussie tourist operators afloat because they are the

Fern Pool in Dales Gorge.

Walking through Hancock Gorge on the way into Kermits Pool. Page 68 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

worst hit, and as usual the government has been of no help to them. This month I would like to talk about this amazing place – Karijini National Park, which is located approximately 150km southeast of Karratha. Karijini National Park is 627,422ha and slightly north of the Tropic of Capricorn in the Hamersley Range. It’s Western Australia’s second largest national park, and the climate is best described as tropical, semi desert and the average rainfall is 250-350mm over the summer wet season through the cyclone period. In summer, temperatures can top 40C daily, but winter has clear warm days and cool fresh nights. The gorges have been slowly eroded over 2500 million years to form the spectacular ravines of Karijini. It was very warm when we were there but

thankfully there were plenty of swimming opportunities. If you pack a lunch, take plenty of drinking water, head into the gorges and stay there through the hotter part of the day, it’s definitely much cooler because the gorges are shaded, and there’s plenty of water to swim and cool off. On our first day, we went and explored Dales Gorge. Karijini gorges are quite different to many gorges we have seen in Australia, because you are camped on a flat valley and you have to hike down into the gorges, where with other gorges you need to walk up into ranges and into the gorges of the hills. So, it does have quite a different feel. Dales Gorge has a great staircase to head down and gives access to Circular Pools, Fortesque Falls and Fern Pool, which are sensational and if there were too many people in one pool you could just head further up to another that wasn’t so

Circular Pool in Dales Gorge.

crowded. But Fern Pool was definitely our favourite in Dales Gorge. You can do quite a long walk from one end of the gorge to the other, walking all the way through and taking in the amazing scenery and the colours of the rocks – the amount of iron ore in the rocks here is truly amazing and I reckon you could just about weld a piece of steel to it, it looked that high in iron. It was quite dry when we were there but plenty of water we could swim in, with a nice little waterfall at Fern Pool and we pretty much spent the whole day in Dales Gorge. Day two and we spent the morning exploring Weano Gorge and Handrail Pool. This really was an adventure being our first Class 5 walk in Karijini – it was so cool because you had to walk through little narrow sections with water running down between your feet, which carved spectacular pools over 2500 million years. Unfortunately, we didn’t swim in these as they did look a bit green and not so inviting for swimming – though this didn’t deter others – it was truly beautiful. In the afternoon, we went out to Hancock Gorge and Kermits Pool. Now, this was our favourite by far but very challenging because the * continued P69

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C ARAVANNING & adventure At the bottom of Kalamina Gorge.

The spectacular Knox Gorge.

Karijini National Park a WA treasure * from P68

rocks were very slippery and there were sections where you needed to walk and swim through water to get further up into Kermits Pool. A few sections were very slippery and steep – Raylene even used one as a waterslide, sitting down and sliding into the pool – totally worth the experience. We were kind of happy to walk out of there with all our teeth still intact and that we hadn’t slipped over and smacked ourselves one. While we were there quite a few people had falls, smacking their heads, hurting their arms and heaps of bruised backsides. It was a fantastic experience, though you do need to be quite agile on your feet. On day three we went and checked out Knox Gorge which offered great lookouts, and Kalamina Gorge which was just a nice easy walk with plenty to see. This is a fantastic destination to visit with the

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family, plus the kids seemed to thrive in those challenging gorges and loved the adventure as well as the thrill of sliding down natural water slides and swimming in breathtaking pools. The downside I guess was the ‘stairways of hell’ as the kids named them, because what goes down must come back up. The stairs at the end of the hike can be very challenging. The campgrounds are traditional WA park campgrounds, with no showers and only drop toilets but all very clean and well maintained. So, you do need to be very self-contained and take plenty of food and water. It is very important when you go on trips for the day that you take more water than you think you’ll need because the temperature is very warm, and you consume a lot during hikes. Also, it’s very important to carry a compact first aid kit with you for falls or snake bites.

There is very little shade and mostly red dirt with no grass, if it’s windy you can get a fair bit of dust blown into your van and campsite, so keep that in mind. The wildlife around camp consisted of your typical goanna, bush birds and the odd wallaby but it was still good for the kids to see

these up close. But there are a lot of snakes in the national park, so keep your eyes peeled. You can book your campsite on the WA National Park website – they do have a very helpful information centre, with maps and points of interest located in the national park.

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I think you need a minimum three days to see and enjoy most of the national park but five days would be more appropriate. Karijini is definitely one of the best national parks we have experienced so far on our trip, and we will definitely return one day because we had so much fun.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 69

Tricks of the trade for Impoundment barra

HE salty dogs have an annual pilgrimage to fish the coral reefs off the coast of Seventeen Seventy. Getting everyone together is hard enough, let alone getting a solid amount of time off work for an ample fishing window. Then there is mother nature who can throw a spanner in the works once everything has been sorted. The weather forecast

Page 70 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

was horrendous, and though the thought of sitting around local pubs for the week was enticing, the objective of the trip was to get bent in a much fishier and satisfying way. More often than not we’re forced into plan B, which is just as satisfying. Monduran Dam is about an hour and a half southwest of Seventeen Seventy and provides the perfect opportunity to fish in less than ordinary conditions. The well-stocked barramundi provide a safety net for the weary traveller. We always throw in a couple of extra outfits and lures to make sure we fish from sunrise to sunset every day of our trip. Even for impoundment fishing, finding fish when the sun is at its highest and the wind is howling, a strategic plan will assure that no stone is left unturned and optimise your chances.

The ideal boat Having a good casting deck and trustworthy electric motor are essential. The casting deck will help ambush the barramundi by giving the angler a perch to sight cast. It helps to have rods lay flat and tucked away so you have free range on the angle and approach of casts. The electric motor is an absolute game changer. Being able to maintain a stealthy approach has proven essential for any vessel. Having a remote control or foot pedal allows the angler to cast and manipulate the boat around structure – such as dead gum trees poking their branches above the surface from the depths. Using spot lock is a tool that helps maintain the position of the boat without having to throw an anchor, which wastes time and gets in the way when you’re * continued P71

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Tricks of the trade for impoundment barra * from P70

trying to fish. Spot lock will facilitate the angler to fan their casts around a number of different snags. This is ideal when fishing narrow bays around thick structure. Using GPS coordinates to manoeuvre the boat is another handy mechanism. Barra will more often than not be hanging tight to the banks and structure. The GPS positioning will act as a perfect drift, where a whole line can be worked without having to fiddle overly with the controls. While side scanning and depth sounding technology are valuable, I have found that by using highly powered transducers, the fish can shut down. The sound of the echo must make the fish wary. If you really want to use a sounder, go for the lower setting of 50kHz. If you have a good enough game plan, you should not need to rely on them to find fish. Having said that, on tougher days I have turned to the dark side just to make sure fish are even there. When to fish The well-known saying that it has to be hot and humid to catch barra is true. They do fire up particularly well in warm water. However, they don’t go anywhere in winter – definitely not when they’re in a dam. So, a well-presented lure in the right location

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will work year-round. In cooler months, if there is a breeze, look for bays on the sunny side of the dam and that the wind is blowing into. Warm water will be getting blown into these sections and can help motivate the fish to bite. The best time to fish is in low light. I will usually start my day fishing snags and shallow sections of weed and water lilies. Surface strikes are always mesmerising, particularly by the stout fish that impoundment fishing produces. As the day progresses, I tend to work the base of drowned trees that stand out of the water like stick insects. Using Atomic vibes has proven highly effective, and 60mm Silent and 50mm Semi-Hardz in natural colours such as Gold Ghost have proven to be irreplaceable in a tackle box. Especially when achieving regular success during difficult periods of the day. As the sun falls to the west, you can stalk lazy fish that have had a tough day. They might have moved into the shallows again, which is where you can find them tailing. Usually these fish won’t eat unless the lure is plotted right past their nose and it’s something they think to be appetising. Persistence is the key – and knowing what to look for. The better barramundi fishos will know exactly what a feeding fish looks like by how they are acting.

If the tailing is twitching, they are more likely to bite – just like a dog to a bone. Weedless I’ll use an Atomic Seekerz EWG weedless rig, 6/0 size with a 1/8 weight for castability. I will rig up a plastic frog or 6” jerk minnow. Weedless rigs are my favourite way to fish for barra. You can skip the lure into the most absurd locations and be confident you won’t get a snag. Under overhanging branches, into fields of lilies bouncing from top to top, across logs, snags into thick weed – this is where barramundi are going to be ambushing their prey. Having trebles on diving lures is not ideal and act more as a handbrake at times when you want to be getting as many casts into the zone as possible. If you don’t need to cast a great distance, I prefer to use a Gamakatsu EWG weedless hook which is weightless. The lure will sink slowly and naturally. Sluggish barramundi will have to watch it go past their face with enough time to potentially change their mind for the better. Diving lures I always like to use a lure with a deep, broader bib. Even if casting into snags and shallows. When a deeper diving lure is getting to its depth, they are usually more vertical than shallow divers. This will help them bounce off structure and avoid trebles get-

ting jammed causing complications. Lures I have a cast with include the BassDay Sugar Deep Suspending Barra tuned lure. The main benefit of these lures is the fact that they will hold in the water column with a slow rise after being twitched into position. Occasionally a lure can be worked to depth and left for up to 15 seconds before a fish will eventually commit. The Atomic Hardz Shiner in Double Deep has been a favourite for a while. To help this lure sus-

pend, I add Trick Bitz Sticky Weights to the flanks of the lures. This is a cheap and effective technique that will swiftly improve the performance of the lure for impound barra. When I want to use the Shiner again for a different purpose, I can peel the weights off and it’s good to go. The new Atomic Hardz Slim Twitcher is also a prime impoundment lure. It has a long, slim profile and a slow float. Being a jerk bait style, a twitch, twitch, pause retrieve is deadly. Dominic Wiseman

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 71

Somerset Dam anglers chasing world-record bass

W Harry Watson and Matt Johnson with a weekday bass session.

Nicole with a cracker PB over 50cm on voodoo in zombie colour.

ITH the di ff icultness of Somerset Dam’s bass over the past month, many anglers opted to head to Wivenhoe, except the die-hard dedicated anglers chasing the elusive world-record bass, which is currently sitting at 4.45kg held by Daniel McCoy. We predict it will be broken this year with the health of our fishery. This past month has seen limited numbers of bass caught, but the quality is there with a little bit of dedicated hard work and some cold morning starts. The holiday park is

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now open, so if you want to head to the dam and camp out with mates or the family, this is the time – it’s not too hot and campfires are more than welcome, with toasty marshmallows. Though bass are still scattered about the lake, several good schools are sitting in areas such as Pelican Point, right up close to the bank of Happy Clappers and the usual spot of Queens Street. These fish are thick but difficult to catch – once you spot lock they are out of there and are moving around – still trying to settle after the water change over the past four weeks. Several techniques have proven to entice these bass to bite and the main one has been using a deep water fly. Steve ‘K i l ler’ Kanowski and John Schoffield were out on a weekend recently and caught plenty on John’s hand-tied flies. These fishers run a very particular leader – we will show you how to set this leader up in a future issue so you’re not dragging your fly through the mud, but as a constant run in the school. One of Hot Bites’ pro team members also had success with bass using Hot Bites’ new secret lure, to be released later this year. Another successful technique for anglers has been spinner baits to the edges and Jackall Squirrels, depend-

ing on the depth of the edge you’re fishing you would need to switch it up to a 61, 67 or 79 series applying short twitches and medium pauses. Matt Johnson and Harry Watson have had some great catches on the dam lately. We are noticing that trolling is still the way to go, particularly for kids, and lures that run to around 5-7m seem to be the way to go. Dave’s Lures, Voodoo, RMG, Whiptail Piglet and Bullship lures have all resulted in great catches of yellowbelly and bass, especially around the Kirkleagh Flats area. Westvale has also had some great catches, with some locals getting their catches mostly on bait. Redclaw crab catches have been pretty good around the 2.5m mark using cantaloupe and sweet potato as main bait, but don’t be scared to mix up a concoction of different baits and put these into crab pots. Please note the crabbing rules of a 6” round float with name and phone number - a must at Somerset. Over the coming weeks we should see soft plastics becoming more of the go to lure, as well as spoons. Halco’s Twisty are still my spoon of choice and slider grub plastics on a 1/2oz impact jig head is my preference of plastics.

Robbie Rayner

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 73

The days before a down jacket came into the author’s life. The layering system in action, which worked great, until it got really cold. One trip of being uncomfortable was all it took to get him looking for the right clothing.

Setting up for cold weather cod fishing

HERE is something a little weird about the anglers who chase big green fish in the freezer, but it’s an addictive time when the big fish come out to play. My first introduction to cold cod fishing was way, way back in about 1995. Let’s just say it so long ago I can’t remember the exact year.

Fishing Gear by STEPHEN BOOTH

We planned a trip to the cod mecca of Mulwala in July, just to see what happened to the place in winter. With me were Adam Royter and Bradley Sissins, and we were wrapped in as many layers as we could find.

The author always takes a pair of fish-handling gloves to safely manage fish and will take them off so they don’t get wet and chewed up by fish. Page 74 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

The water temperature, instead of the usual 28C was hovering around 12C, and we didn’t hold out much hope of a catch. You need to remember cold water was the enemy of all cod fishing at that stage. The first day, we landed four fish and all at a better average size than we usually caught at Mulwala, and a further three the next day. In comparison to a couple of our summer trips, the results were fantastic. But we failed to connect the dots and gave it away as it was seriously cold and, apart from the action, not much was happening in outback

NSW in winter. Move ahead to more modern times and cod anglers cannot get enough of fishing in cold weather. The first frost and the big freeze of winter are considered prime times to get your personal best. In fact, if winter anglers saw 12C for water temperature on their sounder, they may just say it was a bit warm! The purpose of this article is not to tell you how to cold weather cod fish, but to give you some tips and tricks that we have learnt on how to do this comfortably. It’s not easy getting out of a warm tent or a heated cabin on a lake’s edge for soft, old people like me, when the temperature gauge reads -4C.

It’s even harder when it’s still dark and you know it’s going to get colder as dawn approaches. But still we go, and we go with a passion that makes me question our sanity. I’ll talk mainly about lake fishing because for Queenslanders that’s the main access to cold weather cod fishing we have. Dress to impress Understanding the need to stay warm is the first step to fishing cold weather cod successfully. In the old days, we jammed on as many pieces of clothing as we could and looked more like the Michelin Man than an angler going out to have some fun. But these days, there are heaps of options to * continued P75

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Setting up for cold weather cod fishing * from P74

cope with the cold. I spoke to Carl Jocumsen about this, as he is forced to fish all sorts of weather in the US and has experience dealing with snow, rain, wild wind and, sometimes, all three in one day. His biggest piece of advice was to layer properly with quality gear. The emphasis on quality gear was clearly apparent. Most people understand the three layers – a thermal bottom layer, warm middle layer and an outer shell that will allow perspiration to wick away, but as anglers we need to be able to move freely. This means that anglers are looking at specific fishing ranges – rather than snow ranges or hunting ranges – in cold weather clothing. Why hunting you may ask? It’s pretty simple. In Australia, we do not have access to the high-end fishing systems that they have in Japan, Europe and the US. However, hunters who need to be mobile one minute and static the next do have access to high-end clothing in a vast array of brands. Hunting activity is not that far removed from what we do fishing, so it’s mostly a good match. My good mate Adam Royter who lives in New Zealand, advised me to look at hunting gear made from down for the middle layer of the system, and after spending a lazy $550 on a down top, I almost don’t want to punch him in nose anymore after the first cold weather foray.

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It looks a bit like a puffer jacket, and I am not nearly trendy enough to pull that off. Worn underneath a windstopper jacket – I wear one from my work at Wilsons – I was toasty warm, in fact so warm I removed the windstopper when the boat was stationery. There is also another option for a jacket and this one comes courtesy of Andrew Hart from Hook, Line and Sinker. On a recent filming trip to Copeton, he had a jacket that had a heat source inside it. A simple press of a button turned the carbon elements on, and the jacket warmed itself up. The jacket was from Milwaukee – yes, the tool brand – and is a workplace jacket for tradies, so it’s tough and allows for movement. It also reduces the layering need a bit. Harty said it was awesome, but keep in mind this doesn’t solve the head and fingers issues, although one option is a hoodie. But the end point is to make sure you layer with quality gear. We’re a funny bunch who will spend $500 on a rod, $500 on a reel and $100 on line plus a box of $80 lures, yet we look for the cheapest clothes we can get. Good clothing is easily as essential as good gear, especially given you are placing yourself in a situation that could easily lead to trouble. One tip I have discovered when fishing the lakes has been the use of neoprene thigh waders. These have been a revelation for me when

launching and retrieving the boat, and for fishing without the bib and brace style – topend outfits, which I don’t own, yet. Underneath the neoprene thigh waders, I still wear thermal pants and trackie dacks with a couple of pairs of socks, and I am yet to feel the stinging numbness in my toes that standing on a frozen deck gives you. My fishing mates reckon it’s a top idea too, as they don’t need to go anywhere near the cold water anymore.

* continued P76

This is the prize, a fat Murray cod from a cool night on the water.

Shane was wearing a hunting jacket with a hood that allowed free movement and kept him warm and dry.

Only a small cod, but this pic is a good example of layering and protecting heat loss from your head with a thermal beanie and a hooded mid-layer.

It may not look it but this morning snuck down below zero. It didn’t stop Aaron Lawson from getting this chunk to bash his surface lure though. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 75

Shane Banks got so close to the metre mark with this 99.9cm cod that ate a Mudeye Snake as it rattled off a granite boulder and fell into the water from a very ordinary cast.

Marc Ainsworth with a solid 90cm cod that smashed a Bassman Spinnerbait at Mulwala in winter. He looks a lot warmer than he was.

Setting up for cold weather cod fishing * from P75

A cool dawn bite had this 80cm cod eating a Mumbler, and the pic was taken seconds after Josh missed a massive boof on a Zerek Stalker.

The spray jacket we love so much in Queensland is hopelessly inadequate when it’s raining sideways and the temperature maximum for the day is under 10C.

While it does get warmer during the day, fishing in the freezer doesn’t go quiet. This mid-afternoon 110cm cod got the blood pumping. Page 76 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

I know if I fall in, the neo waders will lift my legs up – I don’t tie them into a belt so they can be removed if the need arises. All this extra clothing comes with some responsibility on your behalf too. At higher risk times such as dawn, dusk and through the evening, we find ourselves wearing a self-inflating yokestyle personal flotation device. If you have quality clothing on, you’re probably not going to sink as quickly as you would with five jumpers and four pair of pants on, however accidents happen and in some states it’s the law given time of day or size of boat. At worst it’s good peace of mind, at best you get to go home to your family and friends. The biggest pain for me has always been my fingers. I hate cold fingers and when you’re casting lures in temperatures below 5C, your fingers are going to get really cold. Kris Hickson sold me a pair of SIMMS gloves that are made from windstopper material. They’re awesome

because they come with a mitten flap that can be pulled over exposed fingertips to warm them up. The gloves also allow you to place a hot pack on your palm, wrist or in the mitten pouch. The hot packs are the greatest thing ever when your hands are just too cold, and you need to warm them up. I love them. The last area to protect is your head. I wear a thermal beanie and my down jacket comes with a hood. This keeps me toasty warm for the most part, but I have added the Wilson Hooded head sock to this arrangement when the expected temp is approaching zero. Carl said he sometimes resorts to using heat packs on his head near his ears, and after a couple of super cold Copeton trips I reckon it’s not a bad idea and I’ll be giving it a swing this year if I can get on the cod lakes. Whatever you do though, absolutely make sure your head is protected and that heat loss from this area is minimised. A cap with a buff simply won’t cut it when it gets really cold.

Gear Let’s assume we are warm and can move freely in our winter clothing and all we need to do is fish. While I am not normally a big fish snob, if I am fishing the freezer, I am absolutely a big fish snob. I’m not putting myself through everything to catch a just legal cod – I’m going specifically to catch a big fish, so you need to make sure your gear is set up for the task. I will always get excited catching a cod, regardless of size, but these trips I have a target in mind and fish for that target. I have two outfits I use when fishing in cold weather. Both are set up for big fish and both offer something different to allow for options while I’m on the water. The first set up is one of my favourite outfits in my quiver. It’s a Venom 8kg 7’ baitcaster matched to an ATC Combat Plus reel spooled with 50lb braid and a 60lb leader. This rod gets used for throwing things like mid-sized surface lures, Bassman Mumblers, divers and spinnerbaits.

* continued P77

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Setting up for cold weather cod fishing * from P76

It can also double as a great trolling rod. My second rod is the big bertha. This is the Venom Swimbait rod matched to a 200-300-sized reel such as a Daiwa Zillion HD, Ryoga or Shimano Tranx. The reel is also spooled with 50lb braid and a 60lb leader, and is used for casting the largest swimbaits and surface lures, as well as being used for trolling larger offering too. It’s a real weapon of an outfit that easily casts the omnipresent Jackall Gigantarel with a chin weight attached to it – all without fatiguing the angler too much. Let’s be honest here, casting 150-200g for any length of time is just plain hard work, so don’t get a ‘maybe’ outfit, get one that is built for the job and can handle the lures you’re throwing. The fish are not that hard to land when compared to delivering the lures in the right manner, so the important thing is to get the rod that can cast the lures. Lure wise it’s all about being big. There is not a lure made yet a cod will not eat, but there are lures made that are too hard

to fish using the gear we have today. While I sometimes go down in size to a Bone Focus 130, that’s probably as small as I go and then only if I have to. If you look for subsurface lures in the 2030cm range, you’re in the ballpark. Subsurface lures I prefer include the Bassman Mumbler, Zerek Live Swimbait, Jackall Gigantarel, and the little Bone Focus just keeps catching. Our Aussie lure makers are starting to produce some really awesome looking swimbaits that are super tough and I can’t wait to give some a crack – options are everywhere now. On top, bigger snakelike lures, clattering walkers and paddlers are all the go, but keep in mind you still have to cast them. I like the Aussie Crawler from Bassman, the Zerek Stalker and best of all, anything from Kuttafurra Lures. There are literally hundreds of awesome offerings out there today and they will all work, so you’re not limited for choice as we were only a few years ago. You’ll also need an oversized net and a pair of gloves – insert

Countless personal best cod are testament to just how good cold weather cod fishing can be. www.bnbfishing.com. au

all the cod heroes who love their hands getting ripped up here. We use a Wilson rubber landing net that is obscenely large, though when you go to pop a 120cm-plus cod in it, all of a sudden it looks a little small. Rod Mackenzie summed it up as good as anyone by saying why would you try and catch an elephant in a butterfly net? Be prepared. As for the glove part, we use Mustad Landing gloves and they are fine for the job. I’ve never understood the status of ripped up thumbs and palms. A heap of my fellow fishos get up me for being a soft office boy, and they’re right, I am. I’m a soft office boy with hands that work for the next two weeks, and I am very reluctant to put my hands in cold water and undo all the good work my gloves and heat packs have done to keep my fingers working. Yeah, I guess I am that soft office boy. Freezer feast Fishing in the cold can be the most amazing thing you’ll do as a cod angler and I can’t recommend it enough. Don’t spoil your limited opportunities – actual trips and encounters with fish – by not being ready to go when it matters. Pay attention to your comfort and you’ll fish better. If you’re shivering, something has gone wrong with your system, so you need to upgrade your clothing to gear that is made for the cold conditions. It is out there, so go hunt it down and get into it – you will never, ever look back.

Shane Wohlsen spent plenty of hours, totally fishless before the magic happened in the cold at Copeton for him.

This pic shows the soft office boy using the Mustad Landing gloves with his SIMMS fishing gloves sitting beside him – taken off so they stay dry, undamaged and ready to get back on his hands to keep them warm.

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The extraordinarily talented and equally modest freshwater maestro Kevin Clark hooked up while looking for cold weather golden perch during a visit to Queensland. Note the Garmin side-scan sonar, a brilliant piece of fishfinding technology for locating schooling goldens.

Winter gold makes the effort worthwhile

ONTRARY to what a few of my good friends from southern states tease me about, we do actually experience winter here in Queensland. Mornings with ice on the ground and the car windscreen are proof positive that it does indeed get cold in the sunshine State, particularly in inland areas. My local stomping grounds around the Lockyer Valley see winter minimums of five degrees below freezing every winter, but happily that doesn’t put a halt to angling opportunities

Fishing for Sport by NEIL SCHULTZ

in local waters. Those frosty mornings almost invariably evolve into gloriously warm and windless days, perfect for a fishing session on one of the numerous lakes in southern Queensland. That there is a reliable winter bass fishery in the impounded waters east of the Great Dividing Range has been common knowledge for at least three decades. Fortunately, for those who fish the western lakes, there exist rea-

Caught on a B65UD Boomerang while trolling from the Hobie kayak, this fish was almost pure white. Golden perch can range from this colour to virtually black depending on water clarity. Page 78 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020

sonable chances of success on their mid-sized angling target species, namely golden perch. Numbers caught will be nowhere near those that can be expected in the hot spring bite, but the average size of winter goldens can certainly make the effort worthwhile. Before we delve into the specifics of golden perch behaviour, an overview of the principals of cold weather angling for freshwater natives may be helpful. Regardless of the season, predatory species will be found somewhere close to their primary food source. Fish will also either become inactive when water temperature drops with passing cold fronts, or seek out warmer pockets within their home range. A couple of degrees difference in water temperature in winter

can make a world of difference to angling success. I recall a couple of trips that highlight this principal, both were to barramundi lakes in cool weather. August is the worst month to be trying to catch barra regardless of location, but we had stopped at Lake Awoonga to break the drive home from the tropics. Having the boat in tow, it made sense to go for a look around the lake if for no other reason than to flush the salt from Hinchinbrook channel from the rig. Having checked out a couple of my most reliable spots to find them devoid of any fish life, we idled around into a shallow bay with breeze blowing into it and afternoon sun on the water. Here we could see garfish chasing insects emerging from afternoon hatching, and checking the sounder read-out confirmed our theory that the water

was warmer, if only by two degrees. A comment to my wife, “If there was only going to be one fish caught in the lake that afternoon it was likely to be from that bay” proved prophetic, with not one but three cruising barramundi finding our lures irresistible. The other obvious example of the effects of slight differences in water temperature on winter lakes was during another barra trip, with freshwater fishing legend and all-round nice bloke Kevin Clark. I had promised Kev that I would put him onto a forty-pound barramundi during a long weekend trip, and I was willing to lose sleep and blood if it was required to avoid disappointing the kindly gentleman. That the weather had turned to custard in the form of an unseasonal cold front within an hour of launching the boat, did nothing to lessen my resolve.

* continued P79

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Winter gold makes the effort worthwhile * from P78

Thrashing the water to a foam with uncountable casts in several of my most productive spots around the lake yielded one big barra for me about fifteen minutes into the trip, right before the weather turned nasty – but no other joy. Well into the night on our last evening, I commented to Kev that the shallows on the upper reaches of the lake may be holding some temperature due to solar warming during clear days, so we opted to go exploring. Once again, the sounder told the story with a couple of degrees higher surface temperature on the shallow flats. Strikes were forthcoming almost immediately, and though the air temperature had us donning raincoats and wrapping rags around our hands to stave off hypothermia, Kev did land his forty-plus barramundi well after midnight in about two metres of snag strewn water. If I ever get around to writing a book of angling memoirs, that epic outing is worthy of a chapter on its own. I digress however… from those paragraphs a few key points can be noted. Shallow water warms more quickly in winter. If breezes are gentle, the sun-warmed surface water will be blown to the downwind side of the lake. During winter, water that is warmer by a few degrees will concentrate bait and predatory fish, so is worth seeking out. Back to our target

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species – golden perch. During warmer months these fish, especially the larger models, tend to focus on crustaceans as their primary food source. In winter, with crayfish and shrimp being in short supply, the fish are forced to switch to other protein supplies and will actively seek out concentrations of baitfish. Those baitfish will often be found in aggregations on thermoclines in deepwater lakes and naturally, hungry goldens will follow. In recent weeks we’ve been experiencing good results by trolling where those thermoclines come close to the lakebed. That isn’t always along the shoreline, with sunken mid-lake hilltops and ridges being hotspots in some lakes. Anglers can take advantage of the gregarious nature of golden perch, which show them holding and feeding in groups. By marking the precise location of a hook-up, thoroughly covering the immediate area by either casting or trolling will often result in more fish being encountered. We tend to find winter golden in depths ranging from 5m right down to 9m or so, depending on the depth of the thermocline. One could get into numerous debates about lure colour for any species and golden perch are no exception. Most of us tend to have a few favourite patterns and after half a century of throwing lures into Queensland freshwater, I have those I clip on from habit sometimes differing by location.

In Queensland’s western lakes, fish preference tends to lean towards bright colours with yellow and fluoro green being reliable on most days. Lakes on the eastern side of the range, into which golden have been translocated, can yield good results on darker lures especially during colder months. Black with a silver scale pattern and all purple have both earned a place on the top tray of my tackle box for this time of year. Being cold-blooded, golden perch won’t be as active in low water temperatures, therefore don’t need to feed as often as they do in summer. This means a smaller bite window is normal, often during late morning, and may only last for a few hours.

Sunny, calm days tend to yield better results on cold water golden than windy days, so studying the weather forecast when planning will help

your success rate. Dust off those freshwater lures, don the beanie and jacket, and see if you too can strike gold.

The other end of the spectrum is this well-coloured fish from Lake Coolmunda, yet another victim of the ever-reliable 80mm Boomerang.

This chunky golden that fell to an 80mm Boomerang exhibited the typical colouration of winter fish from deep water.

DAM LEVELS CURRENT AS OF 15/6/2020

DAMS

PERCENTAGE

FEB MAR APR MAY JUN Atkinson 6 6 5 5 5 Awoonga 68 70 69 66 66 Bjelke-Petersen * 21 25 23 20 18 Boondooma * 34 38 37 36 35 Borumba * 101 100 99 97 96 Burdekin Falls * 103 106 98 94 95 Callide * 32 33 32 30 30 Cania * 56 56 53 52 50 Coolmunda * 30 33 31 29 29 Dyer/Bill Gunn * 9 4 3 3 3 Eungella * 86 90 89 88 88 Fairbairn * 17 18 16 14 13 Glenlyon * 9 14 14 5 13 Hinze 100 101 99 96 95 Julius 100 100 96 92 91 Kinchant * 59 77 82 85 86 Leslie * 12 14 14 13 13 Macdonald 103 104 101 100 100 Maroon * 61 61 60 58 57 Monduran/Fred Haigh * 62 63 61 60 59 Moogerah * 38 39 36 32 30 North Pine/Samsonvale * 67 69 62 64 62 Peter Faust/Proserpine * 68 72 70 68 68 Somerset * 78 83 80 79 78 Teemburra * 89 98 99 99 99 Tinaroo* 67 72 74 73 72 Toonumbar 62 69 69 66 66 Wivenhoe * 51 53 52 50 49 Wuruma * 64 63 62 61 60 Wyaralong 101 99 98 96 96 For updates on dams, visit sunwater.com.au or seqwater.com.au *This symbol indicates that a Stocked Impoundment Permit is required to fish these dams.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020 – Page 79

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