BNB Fishing mag | Sep 2018

Moreton Bay master plan inside

$

450 Includes GST

September 2018

Snapper season going strong

Print Post Approved PP100001534 Volume 29, Number 9

Finding big flathead

Tips for tailor

Jewfish galore

Freshwater features Swan Gully Park 4WDing Epic extended fishing trips Action aplenty on Gold Coast

Reviews

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 1

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Inside this month Swain Reefs

Snapper

P7

Capricorn Coast

P41 Bass

P56

issue as there is less floating debris during the dry season, and we had a full moon to light the water.

What I failed to pay attention to was the total lunar eclipse.

It wasn’t long before the eclipse turned the moon to a dark red (blood moon).

It was certainly an impressive sight but I took it steady until first light as it was very dark and a number of yachts and fishing boats were moored off Horn Island.

We would soon see how

OUR COVER

Phone (07) 3286 1833 Fax (07) 3821 2637 Email: ben@bnbfishing.com.au Internet: www.bnbfishing.com.au PO Box 387, Cleveland, Qld 4163 Unit 2, 39 Enterprise Street, Cleveland, Qld 4163 AFTA PRINTER: Rural Press DISTRIBUTION BY: Fairfax Max. recommended retail price $4.50 (includes GST).

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.

G IN

FISH ING ’S

A

LI

* continued P4

Ben Collins Daniel Tomlinson Ben Collins, Ashleigh Bartlett Jo Hendley

RA

www.bnbfishing.com. au

EDITOR: SUBEDITOR: ADVERTISING: PRODUCTION:

AUST

OCTOBER edition will be on sale in news­agents from September 28. See subscriber offer on Page 68 to go in the draw to win a super-cool new-release Evakool IceMate 60-litre icebox valued at $359!

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.

E TUR FU

ROBERT PAYNE hooked this big flathead around Jumpinpin on a Zerek Fish Trap. Check out LEEANN PAYNE’S article on Page 22 for plenty of flathead fishing tips.

the eclipse affected fish behaviour.

It’s funny how you can think you have an area worked out but then you experience a trip that throws it all out the window.

This was one such trip.

Last month I wrote an article about the west coast of the Cape and the abundance of bait and pelagic action.

I have now done 30-odd trips to this area over the years.

The schools of tuna, spanish mackerel and trevally have always been thick during the dry season and provided hours of line-burning fun.

So on this trip we were pretty amazed that in a 50 nautical mile run along the coastline we didn’t see one bust-up, or bird action for that matter.

Not one!

The place had completely shut down.

It was certainly frustrating because the weather and water quality were actually playing the game.

We just couldn’t locate any fish whose presence is often given away by the dozens of diving seabirds.

It certainly was unusual and I was convinced the lunar events early that morning were to blame.

We decided to spend the day chasing reefies and then head into one of the rivers for an afternoon flick.

I hit a few marks and while the sounder lit up, the fish just weren’t biting.

We persisted and managed to put a few sweetlip, nannygai and fingermark into the Esky but their bites were timid and several fish were foul hooked.

I then hit a rock that had produced good size red emperor on previous trips and it was a relief to land a legal red of 60cm on the first drift.

From what I could see on the sounder, plenty more were down there but again the bites were timid and we pulled hooks on

ATI ON

by MATT POTTER

CI

I put the word out to a couple of mates and within an hour we had the boat packed and fuelled up, ready for an early start.

The plan was to be on the water at 4.45am and crossing the Endeavour Strait before the current change at 6am.

With first light around 6.15am in these parts, we would set off in the dark, which isn’t so much an

Cape York & Torres Strait

O

W

ITH the southeasterly trade wind easing from its usual 20-25 knots to 15 for the weekend, I decided to again venture down the west coast of Cape York in an overnight trip from Thursday Island.

N

FIS

AS

S

Total lunar eclipse affects fishing

Cape York fishing.........................by Matt Potter.......................................P3 Snapper season going strong.....by Lachie Baker...................................P7 Moreton Bay master plan..........by Brian Webb....................................P10 SEQ Round-up...............................by Syl Cron..........................................P12 Cool temps stir up fish................by Sean Conlon..................................P13 Guide to offshore snapper.........by Adam Foley....................................P16 North Brisbane firing..................by Mitchell Townsend.....................P18 Tricks of the trade........................by Brad Smith.....................................P20 Better days on water..................by Darren Rama.................................P20 Flathead Classic preparation...by Leeann Payne...............................P22 Broadwater Region.......................by Wayne ‘Youngy’ Young...............P24 Gold Coast winter snapper.......by Scott Van Burck...........................P25 Keys to finding fish......................by Gavin Dobson................................P26 Offshore anglers rejoice................ by Brett Hyde............................................P27 Bream take up slack...................by Gary ‘Squidgie’ Palmer..............P28 Just Jew.........................................by Tye Porter.......................................P29 Finding bream near Sydney......by Caine ‘Caino’ Goward.................P30 Newscastle report.......................by Nathan ‘Nath’ Palmer.................P31 Sunshine Coast.............................by Grant Budd.....................................P32 Mary Valley to coast...................by Paul ‘Chief’ Graveson.................P34 Cooloola Coast..............................by Craig Tomkinson..........................P35 Taking the family to Fraser........by Sean ‘Skip’ Thompson................P36 Red emperor fishing trip............by Heath Zygnerski...........................P38 Burrum River bust-ups................by Keith Stratford...............................P39 Hervey Bay.....................................by Tri Ton..............................................P40 Swain Reefs trip...........................by Bill Corten......................................P41 Boat Review..................................by Daniel Tomlinson.........................P44 Boat Refurbishment.....................by Colin Hinder...................................P46 Sounder Review...........................by Sean Conlon..................................P48 Insights into insurance...............by Nautilus Marine...........................P48 Fishing from canoes....................by Dan Owbridge...............................P49 Readers Forum..............................................................................................P50 Wilson Fishing puzzle page......................................................................P50 AFTA Trade Show Awards........................................................................P51 Charter Directory.................................................................................. P52,53 Bundaberg Region.......................by Brad Young....................................P54 Gladstone barra fever.................by Gary Churchward.........................P55 Capricorn Coast............................by John Boon......................................P56 Father and son fishing................by Todd Eveleigh...............................P57 Stanage Bay..................................by Pee Wee.........................................P57 West coast of the Cape............. by ‘Billabong’ Bazz Lyon.................P58 Hunting rabbits............................ by Neil Schultz...................................P59 Recipe.............................................by Melissa Frohloff...........................P59 Swan Gully Park 4WDing..........by Greg Bell........................................P60 Gin Gin gateway to barra............ by Donna Gane..................................P62 Competition Report......................by Callum Munro...............................P63 Freshwater Impoundments.......by Matthew Langford.......................P64 Darling Downs fishing................by Noal Kuhl.......................................P65 Glenlyon Dam................................by Brian Dare......................................P66 Trading Post..................................................................................................P67 Subscription form.......................................................................................P68

PRO TE CT

Luke Beqir landed this red in just 11m of water.

P

P63

HIN G T R A D E

REVIOUSLY I have applauded the NSW Government regarding the management of its fishery and the all-waters licence necessary to fish in the state, but this is not the case with the recent proposal of sanctuary zones.

The numerous proposed sanctuary zones, which are at popular recreational fishing locations, are sure to anger fishos, with many questions raised regarding the proposals.

As more information comes to hand on this issue we will deliver it through our weekly e-news and daily website posts.

Unfortunately, similar things have happened previously in Queensland, with little or no correspondence with key stakeholders, and now I fear this is the case in NSW. It makes you wonder what agenda is really being addressed and who is pushing these sanctions.

And what scientific evidence is being used to support these sanctuaries?

This announcement is hot on the heels of the recent changes to mulloway regulations where the NSW recreational bag limit has been reduced from two to one fish.

A minimum size of 70cm for all recreationally and commercially caught mulloway has also been introduced.

On the commercial side, the possession limit of 10 mulloway between 45cm and 70cm has been removed, however this does not automatically mean the smaller fish will not be caught anymore, and this is the major flaw in the changes.

Commercial fishing methods will remain the same, so undersized fish will continue to be caught and more than likely discarded.

I just don’t see how this will solve anything.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who is confused and angered by this?

If the ‘scientific’ reports stating mulloway stocks are overfished are actually true, and there is plenty to suggest they are not, how will this change actually aid mulloway stocks?

Especially since mulloway only reach sexual maturity after growing to at least 70cm.

Once again, the recreational angler has felt the full brunt of these changes.

It seems when making new legislation, the dollars the recreational fishos pump into the economy are forgotten.

In this edition Tye Porter, one of our long-term gun mulloway fishos, has voiced his opinion on the issue (Page 29).

As you can guess from our cover, it’s flathead season.

Spring is a great time of year, with cool nights and early mornings and traditionally glorious days, which make it an ideal time for targeting the flat fish.

On Page 22 Leeann Payne gives you a few tips on landing a big one, and if you are fishing the upcoming Gold Coast Flathead Classic, this would be a good article to read.

Leeann and her husband Rob have nailed plenty of flathead over the years, and when they speak, I listen.

Hopefully you can pick up some hints to increase your chances the next time you are on the water.

Ben Collins

July prizewinner

Congratulations to Peter Eiby, Cooloola Cove who has won a mega Okuma prize pack valued at over $350!

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 3

Total lunar eclipse affects fishing

This nice little cobia gave Luke a workout.

A couple of grass sweetlip and a red taken on squid baits.

While not the target species, this pair of golden trevally gave the boys a working over on light gear up the river.

A legal size red emperor for Matt Arkell pulled from a rock in shallow water.

several fish before landing another nice red a few drifts later.

Over an hour we pulled five decent reds to 7kg from this rock but it was certainly hard work.

Morale was lifted and the Esky now looked quite impressive after a tough start.

While reds obviously get a heck of a lot bigger than these models, it is worth noting we were pulling them from just 11m of water and a couple of nautical miles from the coastline, which is awesome.

This is about as big as we have found red emperor on these inshore grounds, as they move out to deeper water as they grow.

We pushed on and decided to troll a couple of Rapala X-Raps around some contour lines in the hope of either getting a spanish mackerel or locating ground on the sounder.

After a few minutes my overhead reel started screaming and I thought we were onto a nice mackerel but was disappointed to see a big barracuda surface next to the boat.

We sent it back and continued trolling.

It wasn’t long before I came across a rock with plenty of life on it.

We dropped down whole squid on our paternoster rigs and started getting better bites.

Luke was loaded up on a solid fish and after a short but intense fight he lifted a red of 65cm aboard.

The next drift I was on but of course my red was just undersize, so I sent it back and rebaited with squid, ready to drop again.

The next drift Matt was on and it was another red, this one legal at 62cm and therefore released into the Esky.

I was certainly happy because it isn’t often the reds dominate the catch.

Perhaps the lack of pelagics was a blessing as I had certainly spent more time searching and finding ground than I normally would on an overnight mission.

We put a couple of largemouth nannygai into the Esky and then I headed into one of our favourite rivers to have a flick for barra.

Reds and barra caught within an hour of each other is certainly possible in these parts.

We trolled the river

mouth but surprisingly nothing climbed on our Classic Barra lures.

Usually the queenfish are quite thick here.

I pushed up the river as far as the tide allowed and we started flicking lures at any decent-looking snags and drains.

While it looked promising, we only came across a school of golden trevally that gave the boys a workout on the barra gear.

After a couple of hours and no barra, we headed back to the mouth, cleaned up, organised the boat and cracked a beer to help take it all in.

While we had caught some nice fish, it was certainly tough going and even the river seemed quiet.

Again there was a lack of baitfish and birdlife.

We cooked up red emperor fillets for dinner and watched the sunset.

The moon went through a transformation of colours as it rose and Mother Nature certainly put on a show.

The mozzies gave us a hiding for a couple of hours until the breeze picked up and we could get some sleep on board my 7m Fisher.

The next morning we had a quick brekky on the beach, fuelled up the boat with the extra jerry cans we were carrying and slowly fished our way home.

We managed another red and a double hook-up on cobia but after a tangle

only managed to land one fish.

I fished the same marks that were quiet the day before and found the fish were chewing harder, with sweetlip and fingermark coming aboard.

I then ran over some good ground at 25 knots and quickly spun the boat around to check it out.

This was a lucky find and I was glad I was paying attention to the sounder or I would have missed it.

We dropped baits and came up tight straight away, with a nannygai, venus tuskfish and fingermark coming over the side.

Time was running out but we managed half a dozen drifts and picked up more quality tuskies and nannies until the big bull sharks moved in.

These brutes are an impressive sight and often take a fish as you are about to swing it aboard.

This was more like the Cape fishing we are used to.

With a big clean-up ahead, we headed for home.

It was still a great trip but unusually quiet and the first time we haven’t boated a single northern bluefin tuna or spanish mackerel.

Not that we cared too much as there was a definite red theme on this trip between the red emperor, red moon, sunrises and sunsets.

Cape York truly is a special part of the world.

Upon returning to Thursday Island, I caught up with a mate who has fished the Cape for nearly 30 years, sometimes camping for up to six weeks at a time.

He confirmed he had experienced a trip in which the fishing went eerily quiet for three days around a lunar eclipse.

I’m not sure how other species fished in other parts of the country but I certainly have noted this info for future.

The following weekend, the tuna were back in large numbers and we didn’t go far to find them.

Check out my Fishing Missions- Northern Australia Facebook page to follow our adventures.

The author with an unwelcome big barracuda. Stay away from the fangs.

Between a total lunar eclipse, moon rise, the sunrises and sunsets, Mother Nature certainly put on a show.

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New rules regarding mulloway in NSW

T

HE NSW Government is working with fishers to ensure the future of one of NSW’s most prized fish species.

Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair said mulloway is a highly regarded sportfish and an important commercial species.

“In 2013, the NSW Government introduced a recovery plan with a number of new rules to halt the decline of mulloway stock and help the recovery of the species,”

Mr Blair said.

“Despite efforts by fishers, a recent scientific review showed mulloway are still overfished.

“In order for stocks to recover, the review recommended that more action needed to be taken.

“Given the seriousness of the issue, I asked both the commercial and recreational advisory councils to come up with actions for their sectors, with each council establishing expert working groups to investigate the best options.”

The advisory councils provided advice on this

important issue, which included: • The removal of the possession limit of 10 mulloway between 45cm and 70cm that currently applies to Estuary General meshing net fishers.

This will mean a 70cm mulloway minimum size limit will apply to all fishers.

• A reduction in the recreational bag limit from two to one.

The changes come into effect on September 1, 2018 and will be closely monitored by NSW Department

of Primary Industries.

An advisory campaign will also ensure all fishers are aware of the new rules.

“I know this has been a tough call but it’s needed to ensure mulloway stocks grow,” Mr Blair said.

“The reduction in the recreational bag limit from two to one still provides opportunities for fishers to catch these magnificent fish and if they wish, keep a fish for the table.

“It will also ensure consumers can still access wild-caught mulloway

now and into the future.”

Both councils will continue to look at other measures, including investigating options where commercially caught mulloway can be differentiated to reduce blackmarket opportunities, further monitoring to ensure the effectiveness of these actions, as well as more research on fishing gear technologies to reduce bycatch of mulloway.

Check out mulloway fishing legend Tye Porter’s article on Page 29 to get his thoughts on these changes.

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New boat bolsters Redlands fisheries compliance

A

NEW vessel for Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol in the Redlands will assist fisheries officers to detect netting and crabbing offences in the district.

Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner joined Member for Redlands Kim Richards to inspect the new 4.3m aluminium patrol vessel Interceptor at Raby Bay. Ms Richards said the vessel’s addition to the local fleet would improve capability for compliance inspections close to shore.

“The Interceptor is slightly smaller than the ageing patrol boat it replaces, which means better capacity to patrol foreshore and inshore waters, including rivers and creeks,” Ms Richards said.

“With significant levels of commercial and recreational crabbing in southern Moreton Bay, the local effort focuses on targeting seafood black marketing and interference with crabbing apparatus.

“Fisheries officers will use the new vessel to inspect fishers conducting foreshore netting operations and setting pots for mud and blue swimmer crab inshore.”

Ms Richards commended local fishers for a high level of compliance with rules and regulations.

“In 2017-18, the compliance rate was 97 percent,” she said.

“Of the 1354 inspections conducted, 96 offences were detected, with fines totalling $28,885 issued.”

Minister Furner said the Queensland Government had boosted fisheries compliance re-

sources across the state through the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy 20172027.

“The Government is committed to ensuring a viable fishing industry for future generations of Queenslanders,” Mr Furner said.

“We have recently

taken steps to improve compliance within the recreational fishing sector, including the appointment of an additional fisheries officer in the Redlands.

“Amendments are also planned to fisheries legislation to increase compliance powers for

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Queensland fisheries officers bust interstate mangrove poacher

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NSW man who took almost 200 protected marine plants from a declared Queensland fish habitat area for commercial purposes has been fined $12,000 in the Bundaberg Magistrates’ Court.

Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said there was evidence of a well-established illegal commercial operation when Fisheries Queensland detected the offences in the Elliott River Fish Habitat area.

“Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol officers found 193 dead yellow mangrove stumps ready for transportation during a vehicle search at Fallons Rocks in June 2017,” Mr Furner said.

“Admissions were made that the collection of the marine plants was commercial in nature, with the offender travelling from NSW to Queensland to remove them.”

Minister Furner said all marine plants are protected under provisions of the Fisheries Act 1994, which prohibits the destruction, damage or removal of marine plants without prior approval.

“This protection applies to all marine plants including in Declared Fish Habitat Areas, and regardless of whether they grow on privately or publicly owned land and whether the plants are alive or dead,” Mr Furner said.

“Marine plants are a fundamental part of fish habitat and a vital natural resource that help sustain fish for the future for commercial, traditional and recreational fishing.

“Disturbances can disrupt the estuarine food chain and lead to a long-term decline in fish production and general aquatic health.”

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Page 6 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

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The author with his PB 88cm knobby, which was tagged and released.

Snapper season still going strong

A

T the end of my last article I mentioned I have been doing as much offshore fishing as I possibly can, and it’s safe to say I have become addicted to this awesome fishery right on our doorstep.

I have been focusing the majority of my efforts on targeting big snapper, but I have been picking away at a couple of different species including spangled emperor, spanish mackerel and pearlies.

Being relatively new to offshore fishing, I am still learning lots, but applying both old and new techniques I have had very successful trips.

I have been crossing the South Passage Bar and heading to different reefs in shallow and deep water on the hunt for a trophy snapper.

The shallows in close to Cape Moreton and Point Lookout have held good size fish lately, but they are generally spread out over the large areas of reef they inhabit.

I have caught the majority of my fish on 7” jerk shad soft plastics, and depending on current and the speed of the drift, I rig them on 3/8-3/4oz jig heads generally with a 6/0 or 7/0 hook.

Because lots of small picker fish inhabit the shallows I don’t really like to use bait, as they will find it before a snapper will, but I have caught a couple of nice fish on lightly weighted

Moreton Bay Young Gun

by LACHIE BAKER

float-lined pillies when the situation allows.

Recently, good mate Kaspar and I found a large school of spawning snapper sitting on top of a very isolated bit of shallow reef.

The current was roaring, so I selected a 4 ball fluorescent sinker, a gang of two 6/0 7766 hooks and a large IQF pilchard and started to float it back.

I rigged my hooks the same way I discussed in my last article, separated by a small swivel with a bigger swivel

connected to the top hook.

This eliminates line twist and helps your bait sit more naturally.

My pillie got absolutely slammed on the way down, so I clicked the lever into gear and swung.

After a short fight a snapper of about 4kg was on the floor of the boat.

We positioned the boat for another drift and this time I stuck the float line in the rod holder and cast a plastic ahead * continued P8

James and the author sported two float line-caught squire.

Kaspar with a beast of a shallow water snap.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 7

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Snapper season still going strong * from P7

of the boat.

The plastic got nailed before my floater did, so I was too preoccupied fighting the snapper on my spin rod to notice the line flying off my overhead.

Among the chaos, I think Kaspar was having similar ‘problems’.

I reached back and managed to slide the reel into gear to hook the fish on my other rod, so as soon as I had one fish in the boat I jumped back and grabbed my Venom overhead from the rod holder.

Instantly I knew this was a much better fish, and with line peeling off my reel at a rate of knots I stuck my thumb on the spool in an attempt to keep it off the bottom.

I was also quite worried about a shark nailing the fish on the way up, so was keen to keep the fight as short as possible.

Soon I saw a silvery red glimmer sliding up the water column and a solid knobby broke the surface.

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I grabbed its tail and hauled the chunk into the boat.

Measuring 84cm, it was a new PB for me.

I stuck the fish with a tag, snapped a couple of quick photos and sent it on its way as we already had our bag limit.

The action didn’t stop there, with the next drift seeing both our float lines demolished again.

Amazingly, I had upgraded my PB yet again with an 88cm model.

This fish came from a triple hook-up, with both float line setups and a plastic getting eaten.

The next hour was a blur of action, with bust-offs as well as a couple of big spangled emperor thrown in.

We ended up tagging two spanglies at 72cm and 77cm, 20 snapper over 70cm long, as well as keeping our bag on snapper between 55cm and 75cm.

We haven’t had the same feeding frenzy in other sessions but have been able to put away a couple of quality fish, including half a dozen giant spangles, with the biggest models going 80-85cm long.

They are especially brutal at this size and very dirty fighters on 20lb plastic gear.

Fishing the deeper fringes of reef northeast of South Passage has been hit and miss for me lately.

Weather, current, work and school haven’t aligned for me to be fishing my favoured moon phase out deep.

I really like when the moon is rising in the early afternoon, as typically the wind drops for an afternoon glass-out and the

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snapper begin to bite.

During a recent afternoon session I raced out to the 29s for a quick fish.

The moon was just about to set when the sounder discovered a big school of bait with snapper feeding on them.

I made the first drop with a 7” white Berkley Gulp jerk shad and it got absolutely nailed by a quality snapper of 75cm.

My mate, who had never caught a fish on a plastic, was blown away at how effective they are.

Once the moon set, the bite became very tough, but we managed a couple more squire as well as one very lost school mackerel.

The following weekend I took my old man Glen to the same mark, where he hooked a massive snapper on a float line, only to

have the knot on his snell rig come undone.

I suppose that’s what you get for not testing your rig before deploying it.

I don’t think Dad will try another one anytime soon.

During another hot session out in the deep blue, family friend Chris Britton, his son James and I enjoyed a very hot float * continued P9

The author was stoked to tag his PB plastic-caught spangly from the shallows.

Kaspar with a giant spangled emperor that was tagged and released.

A nice snap taken by the author on a plastic from deep water.

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Sustainable Fisheries Strategy 2017-2027 – one year along the road to the future

I

Recreational and commercial fishing apps under development

Sustainable Fisheries Expert Panel established and met 3 times in 2017–18

11 new species monitored

8 working groups, which met 19 times in 2017–18

Innovation project using cameras, sensors and image recognition

io dat n u Fo ed d

17% growth in Facebook followers in 2017–18*

20 new compliance officers recruited, including 16 in the Great Barrier Reef Gladstone Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol office reopened and new boat is now operational

CS8518

08/18

New powers and penalties proposed under the Act for blackmarketing – more than 90% support from consultation Final vessel tracking policy and guidelines released and $3 m allocated for rebates

n reforms Sustainable catch limits

ov an pr ng Im tori rch ni ea mo res

* as at 19 June 2018

Ecological risk assessment (ERA) guideline published and ERAs started Im no pac n t sp -tar s on ec ge ies t

10

reform areas Re so

ef or ms

ur cin g

Responsive decisions

$5.78m spent in 2017–18 as part of the $20.8m additional funding over 3 years

All actions on track

Resource reallocation policy published

Harvest strategy guideline published and work commenced on drafting harvest strategies

s ule g r ess n i c h c Fis nd a a

too ls

More than 620 regional face-to-face meetings

urce Reso ation alloc

The smile on James’s face says it all!

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year. Details of the rebate scheme to assist industry with costs will be available soon.

To learn more about the progress of the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy, download the progress report online at fisheries.qld.gov. au or visit the Fisheries Queensland stand at the Brisbane Boat Show from August 2426, 2018.

You can follow Fisheries Queensland on Facebook at facebook. com / Fisher iesQueens land and subscribe to the eNewsletter Catch News through the Fisheries website.

Key achievements in first 12 months

e

pearlies and other mixed reef fish.

Plastics and float lines again got the job done.

I like to bring two or three rods offshore with me when hunting snapper.

I have been lucky enough to get my hands on some of the top-quality Venom rods from the Wilson Fishing stable.

The PE2-5 Venom overhead has to be the nicest float lining rod I have ever used, and all my fishing mates agree if they get an opportunity to use it.

I have coupled this rod with a Shimano Torium 16HG reel and PE3 ATC Salt Alliance braid.

I like to run 30lb leader because I find I get more bites fishing a bit lighter, and the same goes for my plastic setups.

Sometimes I will even drop down to 20lb if the bite is tough.

For my plastic setup I run a 4000 size ATC Valour spin reel paired with a 12-30lb Venom spinning rod.

I run 20lb Zerek HyBraid as I find it breaks at a much higher strain than other 20lb lines and is much more abrasion resistant than other braids, which is definitely a benefit if you hook a giant snapper keen on getting back to the bottom.

I’m really hoping I can get out a few more times before the end of the season because I still have marks and reefs I haven’t ventured out to just yet.

Our annual trip to Hinchinbrook Island is approaching very soon too, and as the days go by I am getting more and more excited.

Please be respectful of other vessels on the water and remember size and bag limits to ensure a viable future fishery for everyone.

Tight lines and sore arms.

nc plia gr Com tin en em Impl

line bite on snapper, followed by cracking pearlies taken by micro jigging.

We had our bag on snapper by 7.30am, with each of us nailing a 70cm-plus fish.

Young James caught one standout knobby that he managed to nail on my float line rod after I asked him to hold it while I rigged up a plastic.

Hats off to him though, as he fishes harder than most 11-year-old kids I’ve met.

James’s big snapper measured somewhere in the mid-80s and was almost too heavy for him to hold up.

Once we had our bag on snapper we moved to some deeper isolated pinnacles to target pearlies.

We upped our sinkers to 8 balls and tied on Infish Jig It 75g micro jigs.

James and I had an instant double hook-up on the micros and Chris was bent on the float line.

They were all solid fish of 55-60cm, which are good pearlies by any standard.

The action continued into the afternoon until we decided to pull the pin because the Esky lid wouldn’t shut and we were more than satisfied with our efforts.

Paying close attention to your fishfinder can pay dividends when fishing offshore.

During another session in deeper water, while both float lining and plastic fishing Kaspar pointed out a fish on the big Humminbird Helix 12 ascending the water column, and as if on cue his floater went off, with a squire of about 3kg the culprit.

That afternoon we stayed out until sundown and managed a couple of squire in the 60-70cm range, as well as a few

laws include stronger compliance powers and penalties for serious offences such as seafood black-marketing. There was overwhelming positive support for these changes. A Bill is expected to be introduced to parliament later this year.

• The strategy commits to having vesseltracking units installed on all commercial boats by 2020, with a priority to install them on net, line and crab boats by the end of 2018. The final policy and guidelines were released following feedback on drafts earlier in the

Har stra vest tegie s

* from P8

20 new compliance officers and the reopening of the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol office in Gladstone.

• The establishment of new fishery working groups and expert panel.

• The roll-out of new biological monitoring.

• Discussion papers outlining management reform options for specific fisheries and proposed Act amendments – released in March 2018 for public consultation.

• The release of a discussion paper on amendments to the Fisheries Act 1994. Proposed reforms to modernise Queensland’s fisheries

fo rm

Snapper season still going strong

These reforms will ensure healthy fish stocks that will support thousands of Queensland jobs.

One year on from the release of Queensland’s Sustainable Fisheries Strategy and there has been very positive progress towards implementing the action items.

It is important that pro-

gress is measured and tracked to meet the targets for 2020 and 2027.

The recently released progress report sets baselines and helps ensure identified outcomes are achieved.

It also includes a summary of key achievements over the past year, highlights challenges and presents the focus for the next 12 months.

Notably, while the strategy covers a 10-year period, 11 of the 33 action items have already been delivered and all items are on track.

Other achievements include: • The employment of

Imp enga roved gem ent

A nice snap taken by the author on a plastic from deep water.

N June 2017, the Queensland Government released the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy 20172027, paving the way for Queensland to have a world-class fisheries management system.

Re

Discussion papers on regulatory changes released for trawl, crab and inshore fisheries

Discussion paper released on amendments to the Fisheries Act 1994 with changes to allow responsive decisions using pre-agreed rules in harvest strategies

33

actions

Visit fisheries.qld.gov.au or call 13 25 23 for more information.

11

already delivered In June 2017, the Queensland Government released the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy 2017–2027, paving the way for Queensland to have a world-class fisheries management system. These reforms will ensure healthy fish stocks that will support thousands of Queensland jobs.

The strategy outlines 33 actions to be delivered across 10 reform areas and sets targets to be achieved by 2020 and 2027.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 9

Master plan for Moreton Bay fishing

Y

OUR boat is a major fishing tool to help you catch more fish.

Small trevally are commonly encountered around structure throughout Moreton Bay.

A great feed of mixed Moreton Bay reefies.

It’s tailor time in the bay, with fish chewing right across the paddock.

You have to successfully use your sounder and GPS/chartplotter, and anchoring and drifting require careful consideration at spot X. Additionally, is there any show of bait or fish life?

Is the current running hard or slow?

What is the wind direction?

Anchor on the spot or to the side, depending on what species you are chasing.

There’s not much point fishing in the desert part of the bay.

My biggest tip is to be stealthy.

Turn your sounder off at the spot because fish can sense the pings, and having carpet or mats on the floor of the boat to dull noise is vital, especially in aluminium boats.

With the beautiful and bountiful Moreton Bay on Brisbane’s doorstep, a jaunt out on the bay is the perfect choice, but where are the fish likely to be biting?

Harry Atkinson Artificial Reef Harrys, as it’s known, is situated at the western end of the Rous Channel and 7km east southeast of St Helena Island.

It’s a favourite among anglers of all types and is protected from most winds, except a northwesterly.

It’s best to target individual spots on Harrys and keep moving.

I find it’s either feast or famine here.

I always try to stay away from other boats and more than 50 can be sitting on Harrys at times.

Unweighted or lightly weighted baits floated

Some of the author’s favourite fishing locations.

Page 10 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

Moreton Bay

by BRIAN WEBB

down a berley trail work best.

Take a variety of baits and don’t be afraid to dead stick a plastic as well.

I have caught good fish with a plastic simply waving around in the current, though live or fresh baits will be best.

Head about 1800m northeast of Harrys to jig some bait on the spoil grounds.

At Harrys, fish one bait midwater and one on the bottom for snapper and jewfish and then chuck a big bait out the back for pelagics.

If you get grinners, keep the fillets to use as strip bait because snapper love them.

If the planets align and you get there through the week when fewer boats are around, try drifting.

The same principles apply, just don’t use too much weight.

Dangling a paternoster down won’t hurt and I have caught dinner that way too.

I have had the best luck for jewfish with livies (pike seems best) approaching slack water.

I normally use a large baitrunner reel with snelled 6/0 hooks, fishing one rig on the bottom and the other midwater.

Use sinkers to adjust the weight to suit the current.

Always keep a rod with a slug tied on handy because tuna turn up quite often.

If you find you’re losing the tails off your bait or plastics then it’s probably tailor.

Try to fish the edges of Harrys or the pipes further out because these cop less pressure and still hold good fish.

Also try fishing along the ledge where Chain Banks drops off.

It is a good 8m drop-off and has quality fish patrolling it.

Just remember the green zones through this area.

Peel Island Peel Island offers good fishing, particularly around West Peel Artificial Reef.

Located northeast of Cleveland Point, the reef is sheltered, close to boat ramps, and a prime spot for catching snapper.

Fish the ledge and you’re almost guaranteed to find tuskies, moses perch, bream, tailor, squire and grassies.

When I fish the east side of the island I try to sit in about 4m of water.

Anchor quietly and start a berley trail with chook pellets.

I set out a full pillie on a 2500 baitrunner with 10lb braid and 20lb leader.

My pillie is set up on snelled 2/0 circle hooks.

You need a bit of run in the tide or your bait will get snaffled by the pickers on the bottom.

I also put out a full squid on a light rod with the same tackle as the first setup, except I use a sinker as squid is hardier against the pickers.

My last two trips have snared snapper on the first rig and tuskies on the second.

Mud Island Mud Island is located about 5km from the mouth of the Brisbane River and is an easy trip by boat, though southeasterly and northeasterly winds churn up the water between the island and river mouth.

I find Whyte Island boat ramp the best for accessing Mud and the paddock.

You’ll find different fishing zones to the north, south and east of the island.

This is a prime spot for good size snapper but you’ll pick up loads of other species including pelagics, bream, tailor and grass sweetlip.

With so much to offer, it can sometimes get busy, so try for a midweek trip.

Try to be out there near sunrise or sunset and time your trip with either tide change.

A good start is to find broken ground around the 5-10m contours and anchor up.

Pillies will work but fresh is best, and prawns and squid are pretty popular too.

Live bait is easy to get near the channel beacons or cardinal markers close to the island using a sabiki rig.

Fish a running sinker with a trace to make the bait look more natural.

Drifting the western shallows is a good way of landing flathead and bream, and both plastics and bait usually produce.

Use similar tactics to fishing Peel Island but try to stay away from other boats.

Don’t be afraid to fish in close or out wider.

Sound around the twin beacons on the eastern side to find some good bommies.

Another good spot is a small reef about 300m northeast of the northeastern cardinal marker.

Livies are well worth using, and you can get them at the ‘poo chute’ at the mouth of the river.

I fish one unweighted and one on the bottom on the east to southeast side in slightly deeper water for all sorts of fun including big snapper and jewfish.

My favourite is live pike

on a large snelled setup.

Tailor have been on the bite in the bay and the best spots have been the Pelican Banks off Cleveland Point, the western side of Peel and eastern side of Mud, with ganged pilchards the best bait.

The beach fishing on Moreton Island and around Jumpinpin Bar has been a little slow.

I would be concentrating on the southern end of Moreton Island for dart and the occasional tailor.

Winter whiting are around Fishermans Gutter, the Rous Channel and the Sandhills.

Squire have been caught on the drop-off at Wellington Point.

This is quite an easy spot to fish as it is only a short boat trip and an easy paddle in a kayak.

The paddle out takes you over some great underwater structure that is well worth a fish on the way out or the trip home.

The Brisbane River has been holding jewfish, snapper, bream and threadfin salmon.

Jewfish and snapper are hanging off the deeper drop-offs near the front rock wall and the pipeline.

The oil pipe stretching across the mouth of Boggy Creek is a great place to start looking for jew and snapper because this drop-off normally holds good bait concentrations.

Remember the 30m exclusion zone around the wharves.

Try using sinking lures such as the Jackall Transam or micro jigs to get the fish to play.

Soft plastics will work as long as they produce a lot of vibrations.

Squid, pilchards, pike and even live poddy mullet are doing the damage on larger jew.

If bream are more your target, you can fish the numerous rock walls and

structure close to the edges.

They are great to chase because even if you are land based they are readily accessible.

Casting your baits or lures close to the structure is key.

There’s no point standing on the rock wall and casting 50m into the middle of the river.

Sometimes a 2m cast will get you the biggest bream or even estuary cod.

The best baits for bream include small prawns, squid and chicken breast, but lures will work in the river and plastics from the Z-Man range and Cranka Crabs fished close to the rock walls have produced decent bream.

Another area where I have heard of good success is Pumicestone Passage between Bribie Island and the mainland.

This is an important breeding ground for fish, crabs and prawns, and is full of opportunity.

Anywhere in the Passage will offer good fishing but head north of the bridge and you’ll be able to reach great fishing spots not accessible from land.

Hayes Inlet and Deepwater Bend in the Pine River is the final spot for this article.

There’s a good boat ramp and pontoon for accessing the river, and on the right days you can even motor right out into Moreton Bay. Make sure you follow the channel markers because the banks are very shallow at low tide.

Flathead and bream have been caught right through the Pine of late.

Most have come on plastics and hard-bodies in very shallow water.

Just remember the legal size limit for dusky flathead is 40cm minimum and 75cm maximum with a limit of five.

Whether you’re chasing reef fish or flathead, paddle tail soft plastics will get the job done.

Big jewfish can frequent Harry Atkinson Artificial Reef among other locations.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 11

Staying local and going global to find fish

S

EPTEMBER is almost upon us and the wind is picking up but Fish n Chicks members have enjoyed some awesome fishing and adventures recently.

SEQ Round-up

by SYL CRON

Plenty of members have been posting flathead photos to social media.

It’s so good to see diehard bait fishos experimenting with soft plastics.

Of the many brands on the market I prefer Gobblers plastics.

My favourite colours are pink and green, and I mix it up and use either the curly or paddle tails.

It all depends on what the fish choose to hit on the day.

A Fish n Chicks member recently invited me out for a fish and we left from Scarborough and made our way over to

A big cobia for Glen.

Cape Moreton.

The current was racing, the whales were breaching and the fish were biting.

Our best fish of the day was a snapper that weighed 5.2kg.

It was amazing to meet other keen fishos and get amongst it.

Robin Charman is a very dedicated Fish n Chicks member and will go to any extreme to catch a good fish.

He is currently in Norway fishing for halibut, and boy is he doing well.

Did you know the halibut is the largest flat fish in the world?

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The world-record halibut was caught off Norway in 2013 and it measured 2.6m long.

Did you also know the halibut is symmetrical when born, with one eye on each side of the head, but about six months later one eye migrates to the other side of the head?

The eyes are permanently set once the skull is fully ossified.

Fascinating!

Robin’s adventure went like this: “Hi Syl, my trip started in Sydney and after many transport changes we reached our final mainland destination of Hammerfest, Norway, the most northerly town in the world.

This stop presented our last chance to shop for two weeks, so stocking up was crucial.

We then headed west to Soroya Gjestestue where we are currently based in an old school house with rooms that are neat and tidy but very basic.

We have two boats that are very stable fishing platforms, fuel is brought in from the mainland and our host ensures we have plenty.

A small tackle shop runs alongside the accommodation where tackle can be bought or hired if needed.

It’s not the cheapest holiday by any means but for chasing big fish it’s a great destination.

And because it’s light for 24 hours a day during summer, you can fish anytime, weather permitting.

It’s harsh, it’s rugged, it’s pristine and that’s why we come back up here.

It’s a very long trip but totally worth it.”

All the best Robin.

Robin also took some Fish n Chicks beanies and stickers for his hosts.

Fish n Chicks can now be seen all the way over in Norway!

Thanks Robin.

Joe Pisano, aka ‘king of the Brisbane River’, never disappoints.

He recently hooked the quality 105cm jewfish pictured after braving the cold and waiting patiently.

The key is patience with these fish.

They are very smart and technique is imperative.

Fishing with live mullet proved successful on this occasion.

Joe is a book of knowledge and is always happy to help others when it comes to fishing.

It’s great to see so many kids out fishing, learning, having fun and making memories.

Hannah is 13 years old * continued P13

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Page 12 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

Alan captured a big snapper.

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Cool temps stir up fish I

HAVEN’T been out on the water too much in the past month due to family commitments, but when I did, some very nice fish were caught.

Robin with his halibut off freezing Norway.

Staying local and going global to find fish * from P12

and is always on the water with her brother and dad Brent trying her luck.

This little Fish n Chick has caught better fish than most adults.

Hannah landed the horse mangrove jack pictured off Mooloolaba and the smile on her face says it all.

I’m pretty sure she will grow up to be a

very competent fisher, just like her dad.

Chloe Argus recently caught an awesome whiting that measured 43cm.

Chloe and her dad Drew never miss an opportunity to go fishing and she hooked this beauty at Caloundra.

If you don’t see this little lady fishing, you will find her out in Moreton Bay chasing

Chloe Argus and her cracking 43cm whiting.

prawns with her dad.

Fish n Chicks recently went on another successful charter with Top Catch Charters.

We had a great day with Trent and Jarvo and were put onto the fish in speedy fashion.

Glen landed a sensational cobia that went just shy of 16kg.

Jules had a massive fight on her hands with something massive, and after over an hour of fighting and a couple of helpers, unfortunately we were unable to land this monster.

But boy, was it awesome to watch.

So many whales are around too, and they love to put on a show.

All in all, we had another sensational day.

Until next time, remember to stay safe and tight lines.

Cooler water temperatures definitely fired up a number of species including flathead, trevally, bream and the odd jewfish.

Among those quality fish have been a lot of juvenile fish such as squire/ snapper, grass sweetlip and tuskfish to name a few.

This is great to see as they are the breeding stock of the future.

One thing quite apparent

Southern Moreton Bay

by SEAN CONLON

is if you use bait you will catch more of the juvenile fish, while the bulk of the bigger fish have been taken on lures.

However, this doesn’t mean you won’t pick up bigger fish on bait as well.

We’ve mainly been landing flathead around the low tides by either casting soft plastics or trolling hard-bodies.

Because of the good water clarity, don’t be afraid to tie on those bright colours.

This nice jew was caught while casting a Zerek Live Cherabin at bait schools.

Pink is definitely worth considering.

A lot of people are chasing flathead at the moment, so give yourself the best chance with a nice light presentation comprising a 2-4kg rod, 6lb braid and 6lb leader.

If you’re concerned about the 6lb leader being rubbed through, run a sneaky foot of 10-12lb bite leader down to your lure.

While trolling and casting around the mangrove

line on high tide and drains on the low tide, don’t be surprised if you catch a flathead that goes a bit harder than normal and comes up silver and looking like a trevally, as they have regularly been popping their heads up, especially when a bait school is in the area.

Good size bream are around, particularly near the southern Moreton Bay islands.

Target these fish around rocky outcrops and underwater structure.

I’ve chased them around underwater structure by sounding around until I * continued P14

Jordan got a solid jewfish on a Ripper Diver.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 13

Cool temps stir up fish * from P13

Ben with an early morning flathead.

find them and then casting soft plastics.

Some of these fish have been absolute thumpers, like the one pictured that went 45cm.

The bream have also had a tendency to be more interested in bright-coloured lures such as pink in the clean water.

Another fish worth targeting is jewfish.

With the amount of bait around, wherever you find an abundance of baitfish, these predators won’t be far away.

A number of techniques work on jewfish, includ-

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ing live baiting, jigging with soft vibes, trolling hard-bodies such as the Zerek Ripper Diver through schools of bait and also casting soft plastics into bait schools.

These fish are mostly found in deeper water but they do come up into the shallows to chase bait.

I happened to come across a jewfish recently while casting for flathead in 60cm of water.

I must say I thought I had a hell of a big lizard on until it came to the surface and was the wrong colour, but I definitely wasn’t complaining.

Jewfish go all right as by-catch when flathead fishing.

When trolling hard-bodies for these fish we use a 3-6kg rod, 15lb braid and 15lb leader, which seems to pull them up and also makes for a hell of a lot of fun.

That’s my round-up for

fishing over the past month.

On another note, I would like to introduce Warren, who is joining the Moreton Bay Charters crew.

So now we have three skippers: Warren, Colin and myself.

Warren and his family have lived and fished the area for generations, so he brings a wealth of knowledge to Moreton Bay Charters.

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To learn more about our fishing tuition course ‘Ticking all the boxes’, phone 0432 386 307 and I’ll help you catch more fish, more often in Moreton Bay. Until next month, stay safe on the water.

A massive 45cm bream hooked on a pink Gobblers Curl Grub.

A few trevally have been turning up, especially when bait is around. This one ate a Gobblers Curl Grub.

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Greg with a solid jew caught by trolling Zerek Ripper Divers through bait schools on a charter skippered

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 15

Guide to offshore snapper success

S

EPTEMBER is here already and the year is absolutely flying by.

f

The EKKA arrived in August and so did the freezing cold winds that come with it.

Snapper fishing has been epic this year and now is the prime time to get out there and nail that trophy fish.

Over the past couple of weeks some absolute horse snapper have been caught offshore in shallower water up to about 50m.

So this month I thought I would write about my favourite fish to target and a few different ways I like to fish for them.

I have a few techniques that work well and should see you get into some crackers before the end of the season.

Most important is having a sounder that reads

e h t t u o Check e g n a r ew n c i p e l! e r a p p of a outerline.com.au

Offshore Action

by ADAM FOLEY

very well at speed so you don’t miss structure and schools of fish.

Being able to identify snapper on your sounder is important too.

I have both a Lowrance HDS-12 and a Furuno 295 in my boat.

I have seen pictures of Garmin and Humminbird sounders with snapper schools and they look a lot like the Lowrance.

Usually smaller 3570cm fish will be the ones schooling in big numbers.

It’s not very often you will see 80-90cm fish in large schools.

The larger models will be the big arches or lines on your sounder, either sitting out of the current next to a rock or structure

or terrorising a bait school by sitting above, below or beside it, and that is exactly what you want to see when targeting them because you know they are feeding.

I find if they are feeding up high then you don’t have to be as precise when presenting a bait to them.

They are already high in the water column, so anywhere in their vicinity is fine.

I like to target snapper with Shimano 4500 and 6500 Baitrunners coupled with Wilson Live Fibre 6-8kg and 10-15kg rods.

On my 4500 setup I use a multi-coloured 30lb braided line that changes colour every 10m, and on my 6500 I use the same

except in 50lb.

I like to spot the snapper on my sounder and see what depth they are in, then take into account the current and wind direction and what way I am going to drift.

Sinker size will depend on what depth the snapper are sitting at and what speed you are drifting.

Usually a 4 to 6 ball sinker will account for most conditions in under 50m of water when the fish are sitting up high.

I will start the drift and take notice of the colour changes in my line, calculating when the bait is going to be close to the fish.

If your line is on a 45-degree angle when drifting then you are going to need to let out another 10-20m or more of line to account for the drift.

Once my bait is down to the required depth, I close

* continued P17

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Schools of 40-60cm snapper sounded over hard ground on the author’s Lowrance HDS-12.

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Several big snapper eyed off a small bait school, pictured on a Furuno 295 sounder.

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Page 16 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

These two big snapper were boated on floating pillies fished at the same depth.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

The author held an 80cm snapper from a recent trip caught using the methods described in the article.

Broughty with his PB snapper. An absolute cracker fish.

Tony Kickert with an example of what is being caught of late in the form of a 92cm snapper.

Guide to offshore snapper success * from P16

my bail arm and engage my baitrunner function.

I have it set not so loose that it will over-spool if a big snapper hits, just enough that a snapper can run and not feel the resistance.

Every five seconds or so I will slowly pull some line from the reel to maximise the time the bait is in the strike zone.

Once the snapper hits the bait, let it run for a few seconds so it really gets the bait into its gob and then strike hard and hold on!

If for example I am in 50m of water and have marked a few fish on the bottom, I will not float line for them.

Think about it – if you were a fish and had so

many fresh slimies and yakkas swimming around, you would not swim up 30m to eat a dead pillie or squid.

I always hear fishos saying “Float lining gets the biggest snapper” and yes sometimes it does, but not all the time.

I have found fishing the depth where the fish are is a lot more productive than float lining and I will happily swap to an 8 or 10 ball sinker and send it straight to the bottom if it puts my bait in the snapper’s face.

Knowing what cone angle your transducer shoots at is important too.

If you have a wide beam, you may think your bait is in front of the fish but it could be 10m away.

So if you don’t get that fish on the first drift,

move over a few metres and go again.

Lately I have been running either a snooded rig consisting or two hooks, or a ganged set of three 7766 Mustad 5/0 hooks.

Between my hooks I use 85lb Shogun swivels to allow me to use a bigger pilchard, squid or other bait and still have the hooks set neatly in it.

The bait will also move more freely underwater thanks to the swivels.

I then slide a ball sinker down on top of the hooks, give myself a metre of leader and tie a swivel on.

This will not allow your sinker to slide back up your line when dropping and either tangle or leave your bait higher than you’d think while your sinker goes deeper.

Keeping your sinker

close to your hooks gives you a lot more control of what depth your bait is in, and therefore more chance of putting it close to a snapper’s mouth.

Moons definitely play a part and while I still haven’t got them completely sussed, I know I don’t like to fish on a full or black moon.

A few days before and a few days after seems to be the go.

Sunrise and sunset midweek is your best bet because the boat traffic is minimal.

Fish your preferred bite times and the moon rise, moon above and moon down periods.

Despite all this, I have also been out when all signs point to slow fishing and had some absolute cracker sessions.

I guess we will never have snapper completely sussed and this is what keeps us coming back for more!

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.com.au Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 17

Fresh and salt still firing despite the cool weather

T Sam with a huge bass from North Pine Dam.

A quality jewfish taken on an Entice 5” Twitcher.

The author pulled a cracking bass from North Pine Dam.

HE past month saw overnight temperatures drop significantly and daytime temperatures remain moderate, which means species such as mulloway, flathead and bass have been feeding.

Winter is a great time to target the elusive mulloway, or jewfish as they are commonly known.

Mulloway are awesome fun to target in our local rivers because they can grow to monstrous sizes.

Chasing them can be difficult because of their finicky feeding patterns, but once you work them out, you can fish certain bite periods to increase your catch.

Fishing in the creeks of Pumicestone Passage, the Pine River and Newport canals, I have found the fish bite an hour either side of a change of tide.

I prefer a low tide change coinciding with a new moon.

Fishing a few days either side of the new moon has been the most productive for me, however I have caught them on other moon phases.

The most important thing in finding them is having a good-quality sounder.

I recently bought a Humminbird Helix 10 Mega, which is a sideimaging unit.

This sounder has Mega Imaging technology that no other sounder pos-

Fishing Tips

by MITCHELL TOWNSEND

sesses, shooting out at 1200kHz compared to the 800kHz of other sounders.

This gives a crystalclear picture.

Being able to distinguish between rocks, timber, fish, bait and even species of fish allows you to more effectively target the jewfish.

Good areas to start sounding and fishing are deep holes in the rivers.

A lot of bait can be found in our rivers at this time of year and it usually schools in these holes.

This provides predators an easy meal, and fishing for jewfish in areas where they are feeding is key.

I use a variety of different lures, but the standout this season has been the Entice Twitcher 5” in Bloodworm colour.

Rigging this plastic on a 3/8oz 3/0 jig head has accounted for most of my jewfish this season.

Other good lures include Zerek 95mm Fish Traps, Z-Man 4” DieZel MinnowZ and Squidgies Bio Tough Flickbaits.

When I don’t have enough time to get out in the boat or the tides don’t line up, I have been venturing out to North Pine Dam and Lake Kurwongbah with great success.

At this time of year,

bass school in deeper water and throwing spoons, vibes and jigs is a great way to make them eat.

They can be a bit lethargic at this time of year and fussy depending on the weather, barometer and wind, so persistence is key.

A day with a rising barometer and light wind is when I have had my best sessions.

Land-based fishing North Pine from Bullocky Rest and Forgan Cove has been ideal, with mostly snag-free water to cast into.

The standout lure has been the new Hot Bite Gang Banger in all colours.

These lures weigh 21g and cast a mile, so you are easily able to get out to the fish in deeper water.

Letting your lure hit the bottom and either hopping or rolling it back at a steady pace is best.

If you are fishing in a snaggier area, beef your leader up to 15lb or even 20lb so you don’t lose too many lures.

Once you have found feeding fish, make sure you continue to change your retrieve and lure.

Lately the fish have reacted well to one lure for a short period and then turned off and wanted to

bite something else.

Even subtle changes in technique such as a slower retrieve or one extra jig have been enticing more bites.

Fishing at this time of year is magic, with sunny days and light wind, so make sure you get out there and make the most of it.

If you have any queries about this article or want to know more, don’t hesitate to contact me through my Facebook page Pine Boys, or come and see me at Tackle World Lawnton.

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Tight lines.

Mangrove jack aren’t uncommon when targeting jewfish in rivers.

Emily with a nice GT from the Pine River.

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Tricks of the trade – part three

I

HOPE you valued readers enjoyed my last two articles on the tips and tricks I use on a daily basis to guarantee my clients they will catch fish on lures.

Having a good sounder and using side imaging will help you find hidden fish-holding structure like this old abandoned slipway.

This old tree sitting on the bottom in the middle of the river had a carpet of flathead hanging around it.

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Bradh's Smited Guiding Fishs Tour

While driving to work today I thought about how the last two articles described the techniques I use but not where to find fish, which is arguably the most important factor.

You can have the best boat, best equipment, lures and bait, but unless you can work out where the fish are holding, nothing else really matters.

To begin with, a lot of anglers think the entrances of the rivers are always going to be a hot spot but this is not always correct because in times of drought or very little rain the fish will migrate as far upstream as they can go, following the bait schools and salinity levels.

Lately I have been fishing so far upstream that the areas I’ve targeted only look suitable for eels and catfish, yet I have been catching jewies and bag limits of flathead.

The flip side is with a good solid drop of rain the fish will be flushed downstream nearer the mouths of the rivers, searching for saltier water.

The biggest and most important tip in this article is: to find fish you must find bait.

The best way to find schools of bait is to know how to read your sounder, mark the bait and then proceed with your desired technique.

A good example is if you find clouds of bait close to the bottom on your sounder, you can almost bet there will be flathead laying on the bottom and rising to engulf their prey.

If an abundance of bait is showing from midwater to the surface, this is too high in the water column for flatties, bream and whiting, so you might have to adjust your technique to suit semi-pelagic species such as tailor, queenfish and trevally.

What do you do when you can’t find bait on your sounder?

You adapt and think of

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www.bradsmithfishingcharters.com.au Page 20 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

Gold Coast Guide

by BRAD SMITH

places where a predatory fish might wait in ambush for any bait to come its way.

This might mean drifting or trolling structured areas such as the edges of seagrass beds, rock walls and snags including old logs or trees on the bottom.

Most days I have to rely on this method as only two weeks in a calendar month have an abundance of bait in our Gold Coast rivers, and they are the weeks leading up to the new and full moons.

To find and identify hidden secrets like snags or logs on the bottom, you once again have to rely on your sounder.

Finding structure out in the middle of the river is gold.

As the old farmers’ saying goes: “If you only have one tree in your paddock, that is where the cows will be.”

Your sounder is vital, but remain aware of the environment around you, looking for visual signs such as water colour changes, tide lines and eddies because these are also fish-holding areas.

Studying the rivers on the dead low tide is an advantage because this will expose hidden secrets like sand bars, snags and rock bars that will be covered and remain undetected on the high tides.

Above all, the secret to success in your chosen river is to slow right down and learn every hidden secret of each small section of river.

Use your eyes and your sounder and don’t rush around thinking you have to move another kilometre to find the fish because you might only be 50m from success.

My two long-term apprentices Clinton and Ronnie are well aware of this and have been restrained to learn small areas at a time.

The moral of the story is to find bait and areas where predatory fish would wait in ambush, and don’t lose time travelling over fish to find fish.

Everyone is looking for instant success after learning from articles like this one and social media,

but the key is to think of the tortoise and the hare and take your time to learn your river piece by piece, timing your fishing trips to be in the right spot at the right time.

Look at your river as a chess board and make the right move at the right time.

If you make the wrong move, slowly progress to the next trump card in the deck.

To conclude, I would like to thank Humminbird Australia and James Cullen from Stones Corner Marine for providing me with a new Helix 9 sounder.

If you need a sounder supplied at a great price with great service, mention my name to James.

Thanks and I look forward to talking to you next month.

Sandy caught this flatty while fishing below a bait school in 9m of water.

Studying the visual aspects of the river as well as knowing how to read your sounder will help increase your chances of catching a nice jewie like this one.

Better days on water continue

I

T has become very clear winter is coming to an end for another year, as we see higher temperatures rolling through, which will hopefully make all fish more active, resulting in better days on the water.

Offshore fishing has been the most popular form of fishing over the past month, with great weather allowing for many to comfortably take their boats offshore.

The days look like they will continue to get better as the weeks roll over.

Now we just need to keep our fingers crossed the local impoundments don’t roll over.

When a dam rolls, it means the water on the surface becomes cooler than the water on the bottom, which kicks convection current theory into action where the warmer water always moves to the top, so as it moves from the bottom to the top it stirs up the mud on the bottom and makes the water quite murky.

As a result, the fish tend to go very quiet.

This took place in Hinze Dam last year around the end of August/early September.

One fish I have tar-

Nerang Rooster Report

by DARREN RAMA

geted lately and one that will continue to be a worthy target in coming weeks is snapper.

Moreton Bay is a popular place for people to target snapper in the cooler months as the calmer days allow for all manner of water craft to get among the action.

As we quickly found out, tides and time of day play a major role in the outcome of fishing the bay.

Fishing around the is-

lands can be challenging and rewarding.

The islands are a common target for recreational anglers but you have to be mindful of the green zones in the area.

First light will see snapper pushing up into shallow water zones, and they can be caught in as little as a metre of water.

As the sun rises and boat activity picks up, the fish will move into deeper water of 8m and more.

Fishing with plastics around the bay was most effective as being able to fish the plastic in all sections of the water column helps get the attention of the fish holding at all depths.

Make sure you bring a few packs of plastics because the huge population of pike will chew through a lot of your plastics, especially if you fish with curly or paddle tails.

Fishing out of the Seaway is a whole different ball game and the good fishing starts around the 24-fathom mark, which * continued P21

A shallow water snapper taken from Moreton Bay.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

This snapper was caught on a Damiki Backdrop micro jig.

A schooled bass hooked just as the sun was going down.

Better days on water continue * from P20

is about 40m of water.

A technique I have grown fond of is micro jigging.

Every time you drop the jig down and hook up, it’s a surprise what you have at the end of your line.

The benefit of a micro jig is its shape creates a fluttering action on the drop that looks like a wounded baitfish sinking to the bottom.

However, they can also be used as casting metals and generally come rigged with single assist hooks, which means a good hook-up rate.

I use an N.S Black Hole Explorer PE3 rod with a Shimano Stradic 5000FK and 30lb braid.

When fishing vertically, a short rod reduces the chance of tip wraps while a long handle to stick un-

EN

Double hook-ups are common when jigging on top of stacked fish.

D

OR

✩

der your armpit helps you get the fish off the bottom.

I often choose Damiki Backdrop jigs because they have a good fluttering action on the fall and a decent wobble when slowly wound up.

Size wise, the lightest you can use for the situation always does well.

In 40m of water I prefer to use a 20g jig, which I cast in front of the drift.

By the time it hits bottom I am right above the jig and often the fish will hit the lure as it’s falling.

As you go to lift, you might be in for a surprise if a big fish is on the other end.

But if there appears to be too much current, changing to the next size up doesn’t hurt because maintaining contact with the bottom is key.

Another feature I like about the Backdrops is the strength of the assist cord.

I have caught mackerel and all sorts of toothy critters on them without the cord snapping.

Colour doesn’t seem to have a huge effect on success, though jigs with stripes or a single solid colour are favourites of mine.

Next time you’re offshore and you can see fish stacked on the sounder but can’t buy a bite, try a micro jig because you never know what could happen.

In the impoundments, the back end of spawning season can be very productive as the edge bite continues to improve.

Patches of fish will still be schooled around the points and deeper holes.

Vibes and jig spins will continue to be the lures of choice as the water gets warmer, before surface lures are considered.

September 1 also sees the opening of bass season in all our waterways.

For some it was a long three-month closure and many anglers will be itching to get back into the shallow streams and throw small lures with light line to try to entice these native fish out of structure.

In the Broadwater and Jumpinpin, flathead will be this month’s target species as preparations for the Flathead Classic really kick into gear.

The snot weed has arrived earlier than usual, so fingers crossed the worst will be over by the time the Classic comes around.

The upper reaches of the Coomera River, Coombabah Creek and even the Nerang River have seen better size fish captured, but as usual the bigger ones are holding down deeper in the river mouths.

Plenty is on offer this month.

See you on the water!

This trevally was caught by casting a micro jig into a bust-up.

A surprise goatfish.

S E D BY

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 21

Flathead Classic preparation hits top gear

W

HAT a beautiful winter we’ve had in this neck of the woods, with clear blue skies and plenty of totally gorgeous days on the water.

The kids have been enjoying awesome fishing of late at Jumpinpin.

Graham Payne with a 70cm-plus flathead caught while trolling at low tide.

We have been very, very lucky to have experienced some fabulous trips with family, friends and colleagues.

Rob and I even managed a couple of ‘date days’ with just the two of us hitting the water around the Jumpinpin area after dropping the kids off at school.

Of course, we had to keep that from little Johnny as he would have wanted to wag it!

With the Gold Coast Flathead Classic now approaching, we’ve been targeting flathead a bit more specifically.

The fish are still showing up pretty much throughout all the channels from Jacobs Well and Cabbage Tree to the Pin Bar, northwards and south to the Gold Coast.

By and large, most of our better catches are coming in areas where there is bait, and it doesn’t matter if it’s deep or shallow water.

On the lure side of things, we are using the Zerek range of lures in the form of Fish Traps, Flat Shads and Tango Shads.

The deeper water calls for weighted lures to reach bottom, so here we’ve cast the Fish Traps and Flat Shads.

In deeper water, we use the electric motor to position the boat, casting lures up-current and allowing them to sink to the bottom before jigging them back using a variety of retrieves.

Fishing Australia

by LEEANN PAYNE

If you are just starting out with this method it’s a good idea to practise during the tide change when current is minimal to make it easier to feel the lure keeping in contact with the bottom.

Choice of lure weight and size often comes down to depth and water clarity.

You want a subtler presentation in clear water and a bit more vibration if the water is discoloured.

The Fish Traps come in 65mm, 95mm and 110mm, with a new 160mm model being released shortly and I’m really looking forward to using it.

The bigger the lure, the more vibration it will generate.

When jigging the lure back to the boat, it is of the utmost importance you keep in touch with it.

Sometimes the smallest ‘tick’ at the end of the line can be a big fish, and if you aren’t on the game, you’ll lose it.

Big fish can often feel like a snag and will remain sitting on the bottom.

This is where light lines and rods aren’t all that efficient in pulling up such a fish.

Bigger fish are renowned for coming from the deep water, however do not for a moment think the shallows don’t hold them.

My longest flatty of 96.5cm came on bream gear while chasing bream along a shallow bank.

I hooked the flathead in the shallows but it quickly swam to the adjacent deep water.

Using the boat as leverage, Rob was able to manoeuvre the boat into a position to lift the fish from the bottom.

I was ever so lucky it was hooked in the side of the mouth, and only landed it after what felt like an eternity and a lot of work.

After catching plenty of fish under 60cm over winter, the average size of flathead being caught is now on the increase.

Rob and I tend to mix up our fishing quite a bit and chase flatties in the shallows and the deep, so will cast as well as troll.

Trolling means you can effectively cover more ground and it has been Rob’s preferred technique while fishing comps like the Flathead Classic.

With three team members in the boat and one rod out each, it’s easy to cover ground and hopefully put the lure in front of more fish.

That’s another thing some anglers don’t consider.

If you catch one flathead, others will no doubt be laying there as well.

Turn the boat around and troll the area again.

It’s a great idea to mark fish captures on the GPS because in more cases than not we fish an area year after year and still catch fish in practically the same location.

Jumpinpin has a wide

range of areas renowned for holding flathead.

Jumpinpin Bar itself has always been popular for anglers chasing big flathead as well as jewfish.

Crusoe Island is usually a producer, as are the banks from the bar through to the Never Fail Islands.

We’ve got great trolling spots from the Jacobs Well boat ramp through to the Broadwater, and Tiger Mullet Channel is another prime area.

Also try the channel to the south of Russell Island, Cobby Passage and Canaipa Passage.

Flathead are the masters of disguise and can be caught in ultra-shallow water.

Bigger fish are showing up now and more of this size will soon be hitting the decks.

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John’s certainly taking after his dad and is becoming a great little flathead angler.

Lures from the Zerek range have been effective catchers of flathead.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 23

The author’s best snapper of the season so far was hooked on a pillie.

Rebecca held one of the many flathead landed recently in the Broadwater.

Flathead fire inshore; snapper on outside

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With the Gold Coast Flathead Classic not far away, a lot of local fishos have started their preparations for the comp.

Flathead are a great species to target, whether you’re an experienced angler or new to the sport.

They are aggressive fish that love both lures and bait.

Like most fish, they have their favoured areas to look for food, though they are ambush predators that will lay in wait for baitfish to come to them, rather than chase them around.

The small channels and drains that run into our main boating channels are popular spots to fish on the run-out tide as these are perfect feeding locations.

This is where Google Earth is a big help, especially if you’re looking at targeting a new area.

Zoom in on your intended location to see plenty of drains to target from the Broadwater to the Jumpinpin area.

If you need a few spots to look at trying, have a go at the sand and weed beds to the north of Crab Island and both the south and north entrances around Brown Island.

Further north, try the area around the Aldershots and the northern end of Tipplers Channel, and for

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www.bnbfishing.com.au Page 24 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

Broadwater Region

by WAYNE ‘YOUNGY’ YOUNG

those who fish the Pin area, the Slipping Sands and west of Tiger Mullet Channel.

These areas have plenty of spots to try, whether you like trolling, casting plastics or even using bait.

I find 3”-4” soft plastic wriggler tails are perfect for flathead fishing.

For those who like to troll, the ever-popular Lively Lures Micro Mullet in pink, Ecogear SX45 and 60 in gold and 50mm Zerek Tango Shad are the most popular lures.

A 3-5kg graphite rod with 8lb braid and 12lb leader is all that’s needed to catch flathead on lures.

However, an upgrade to a 4-6kg rod with 15lb braid and 20lb leader may be needed if you’re going to fish the deeper water in the Seaway or Pin Bar areas for bigger fish.

In this area, bigger soft plastics and jig heads would be needed than the lighter 1/8oz and 1/4oz heads used in the areas mentioned earlier.

For bait fishos, large yabbies on a long-shank 1/0 hook or white pillies on a small gang of hooks would be best, and it is best to drift because the flathead prefer a moving bait.

The past month has seen great catches offshore now we have had a run of decent weather.

The best snapper catches have come from the 36-fathom area.

In closer on the 24-fathom area we have been getting a good mixed bag of fish including snapper, trag, moses snapper and school mackerel.

Mackerel have been a bit of a surprise this winter, and they’ve certainly been in much bigger numbers than in previous years.

They are great fun to catch and have been taking both live and dead baits.

Float lining has been catching a lot more fish than paternoster rigs, and flesh of tailor, mullet and bonito have been the better dead baits.

The good fishing should continue offshore this

month because September usually sees some of the biggest snapper of the season caught.

This applies to tailor fishing too, both off the beach and in the estuaries.

Usually not the large numbers of fish but certainly the better-quality fish turn up towards the end of the season.

In the Broadwater, the best tailor fishing has occurred from first light up to a high tide about 8am, or the hour before and after sunset with a high tide around 7-8pm.

I always find trolling the easiest way of locating and capturing tailor, with the 10cm shallow-diving Rapala X-Rap in Glass Ghost colour the best lure by far.

If the high tide is more towards the middle of the day, a deeper-diving lure may be a better option because the fish will tend to stay deeper during this part of the day.

This month will see the start of our whiting spawning season and the big numbers of fish that have been upstream in the Carrara area will begin heading downstream.

I will probably do a couple more daytime trips in the Sorrento to Carrara area and then a night-time trip towards the end of the month to check on how the downstream areas are

fishing for whiting.

One of the more disappointing things happening on the fishing scene around the Gold Coast over the past few years is the number of pest species in our creeks and rivers.

I was recently invited out to fish for carp in one of our local lakes by my good friends Brett and Rebecca.

I was shocked when we caught nine large carp in a couple of hours.

Surprisingly good fighters on light gear and fun to catch, when landed these fish should be killed immediately because they do a great deal of damage to our native fish species and environment.

Unweighted small hooks and using bread for bait and berley was all that was needed to catch these fish.

Just be aware to dispatch and dispose of the fish discreetly to avoid offending people.

In an earlier article I

wrote how a trip to 1770 was on my bucket list for each year’s fishing.

Well I have just returned from this year’s trip and as always it didn’t disappoint.

We travelled about 260km in the two day trips but the fishing was outstanding, with the best catch being a 13kg red emperor, unfortunately not caught by me.

We also caught coral trout, redthroat emperor and tuskies, making for a very memorable trip and some wonderful meals.

If you don’t have a boat, two very good charter outfits operate out of 1770 but you should book well in advance as they can be very busy.

Damien at Hooked on 1770 Charters and James at Fishing Offshore 1770 Charters will put you onto some great fish and give you a memorable day.

‘Til next month, fish for the future.

Brett and Rebecca with a couple of carp captured locally.

Cameron with one of the many large jewfish caught off the Gold Coast recently.

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Winter snapper action on Gold Coast

M

E L BOU R N E was freezing while the Gold Coast had an ‘Indian summer’ over winter.

As the whales put on their magic show for the many tourists and locals, the snapper ensured a trip out wide was worth the fuel expense as every trip has seen Fish the Deep bagging out on quality snapper.

Float lining has resulted in the high catch rate.

The snapper bred very well over their gestation period, which means we’re having the best season in many years.

Our female fishers proved they can keep up with their male counterparts with impressive snapper and amberjack catches.

Kingfish are starting to come online.

Their arrival into Gold

Fish the Deep

by SCOTT VAN BURCK

Coast waters was slow this season.

Amberjack are being caught on the 50-fathom reefs, as are rosy jobfish, pearl perch, samson fish and kingfish.

All have taken live yakkas and slimies.

While a bit of current is running, it is not affecting catches.

Excellent catches are going hand in hand with whale watching.

With increased numbers of whales during winter, those on the water are able to relish in their favourite sport while delighting in the antics of the humpbacks.

Cobia and whales are around at the same time

each winter on the Gold Coast.

Quality pearl perch, the most flavoursome fish in the sea, have graced many dinner plates and their sizes have been bragworthy.

Gold Coast fishers appreciate the many species that frequent the Gold Coast waters including rosy jobfish, venus tuskfish, mulloway, moses perch, cobia, samson fish and mack tuna to name just a few.

Our neighbours across the ditch have recently graced the warmer shores of the Gold Coast and many are taking advantage of good fishing, sunshine and the tale of the one that did not get away.

The Danny Dimas group scored an awesome amberjack.

Regular clients are returning for challenging sessions as the fish just get bigger.

The reliable trag, tailor and flathead have shown up on the half-day charters when the snapper decide it is their ‘rest day’.

Good quantities of all these species have been caught on pilchards, live bait and flesh bait.

They are all great eating when cooked in foil with lemon and a nice teriyaki sauce mixture.

Spring is almost here and hopefully the immense snapper season will continue.

Our warm winter enticed the southerners north as they experienced a very miserable winter.

School holidays are upon us in a few weeks, so let’s hope the stupendous fishing continues.

A quality amberjack for David McDonald.

Cory Lindh caught a monster 94cm snapper.

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Warm water key to finding fish n Flathead n Fishing injuries n Offshore action

W

ITH spring upon us, the seasonal northerly wind has kicked in, but at least it fires things up in the estuaries.

Jesse with his 87cm snapper captured off the Gold Coast.

Flathead are the first fish that come to mind when I think of September.

In the Tweed River, these fish will start to spread out through the estuary and will be keen to grab baits and lures.

Despite being able to handle cold water, dusky flathead like the opportunity to get warm, so fishing the shallows is always a good starting point.

Getting up the back of

Tweed to Byron Bay

by GAVIN DOBSON

bays where the bottom changes from sand to mud is a decent idea too.

The black mud attracts much more warmth from the sun’s rays and the lizards love to sit up here and ambush the abundant schools of small mullet that are around at this time of year.

This is also part of the reason flathead lay in wait in the little channels that drain the flats and small side creeks.

All the baitfish and shrimp get funnelled out

through these areas, so it makes sense the ambush predators will be feeding here.

And for a springtime lizard, it is also a constant flow of warm water to sit in.

The best of both worlds I guess – food and warmth.

Later in summer, the opposite occurs.

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fish are where you find them, but this theory has worked for me in August and September.

Young Kade Meal knows where the flatties live and has been catching a bundle on diving lures lately.

Some good ones too – check out the near-80cm model he is pictured holding up.

Good on ya Kade, a fish to be proud of for sure.

Whiting should become more abundant this month, especially in the middle to upper reaches of our rivers.

It’s been very dry around here lately, as it often is in late-winter/early spring, so don’t be afraid to head up to Murwillumbah in the Tweed River looking for these great-eating fish.

It will be another month before the predatory fish including trevally and flathead head up that far chasing the herring and prawn schools but the whiting will be there from now until January if it doesn’t rain a lot.

Fishing comes with dangers, we all know that, but like most accidents, things strike when we least expect.

I stuck a 6/0 circle hook through the back of my knee the other week, despite being very careful.

Well I thought I was being careful, but not enough, obviously!

And a mate of mine just called in this arvo to show me a beaut injury.

He was fishing in the Brunswick River and caught a big porcupine toadfish.

Fortunately, he knew they were poisonous to eat but not having caught one before, he wasn’t sure how to handle the fish.

Looking at all the spikes, he decided to thumb grip it.

Big mistake!

He was laughing as he told me the story but I’m sure he wasn’t laughing at the time.

Apart from several stiches, the fish’s bite broke a bone in his thumb.

The local hospital wasn’t 100 percent sure how to fix it, so they stitched him and he’s awaiting his appointment at the Tweed Fracture Clinic later in the week.

Ouch!

So there you are, if you didn’t know, now you do: don’t thumb grip a porcupine toadie.

And please, I know they

are ugly and a great disappointment, but don’t kill them.

There was a big one living under the jetty here at Brunz and I would see it caught most days.

Mostly it would fall back in the water after the fisho tried to lift it out.

I removed 10 hooks from it once and it survived OK but unfortunately I heard a bit of commotion one day and a young boy was stabbing the poor thing.

He got a lecture, I can assure you, but whether it sunk in is another thing.

I constantly see kids being cruel to fish, so please, teach your kids to respect all fish, even the ones they don’t want.

Offshore hasn’t been too bad of late.

In last month’s article I complained about the weather but I can’t this month.

It’s been one of those runs of weather you dream about.

Fishing wise, the snapper were going great on the deep reefs but then the leatherjacket moved in.

They only stayed for a week and a half but boy were they savage, and probably the thickest I’ve ever seen.

Anyway, they are gone for another year now and the fishing is improving.

They wipe the place out and the fishing is often tough after they’ve gone, but the good news is only a week later snapper are once again being caught in the deep water.

In close they are very patchy but a few have come in, so it’s worth a go.

From what I’m hearing, it’s a good snapper season up and down the coast.

I’ve included a picture of a young bloke by the name of Jesse who caught a great snapper off the Gold Coast on the everreliable floating pillie.

Fishing in 24 fathoms, nine-year-old Jesse struggled to wind the fish in and I’ll bet he’s still smiling.

Spring is always a dodgy time offshore as the fishing gets a bit tougher in close and northerlies can blow for weeks on end.

Working gaps in the weather should still land you a feed, especially if you can get out a bit deeper and target snapper.

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Page 26 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

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When big flatties surface, it’s an exciting moment.

The author reckons Kade will catch more like this in the future but he’ll always remember this one.

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Wonderful weather sees offshore anglers rejoice n Snapper n Tuskfish n Flathead, bream, luderick in river

H

ELLO and welcome to this month’s edition of BNB.

The past month finally delivered some typical winter weather on the Northern Rivers.

For the most part it has been dry, which is highly unusual for us of late, with just a couple of short showers and mostly cool mornings followed by lovely days.

The wind has been playing the game as well, with light wind for the bulk of the month and only a couple of scattered days where it has blown up.

It all seems too good to be true at the moment, and if there is one thing in this life I am absolutely sure of, it is the weather can’t stay nice and dry for long on the Northern Rivers.

But hey, for now I’m not going to complain and as far as I am concerned, it can stay this way for as long as it likes.

This run of good weather has given most anglers something to smile about, especially the offshore contingent.

The calm conditions have meant most boats have been able to get out at least once or twice over the past month.

The current has dropped off and then picked up

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Ballina Bait & Tackle

by BRETT HYDE

again over the past two weeks, and the water temperature is a little higher than you would normally expect for this time of year.

It will be interesting to see if this warmer temperature brings on the summer species a bit earlier.

At the time of writing, the leatherjacket, which have been so prolific over the past few weeks, and have been spread from the 32s out to the 48s, appear to be dispersing fairly rapidly.

This is great news for most offshore anglers because these little critters can be brutal on hooks, line, lures and sinkers.

Snapper tend to move away from the leatherjacket out on the 32s, and generally we see better numbers on the close reefs at this time of year, but as yet this has not happened.

I have been wondering if the warmer than normal water has played a part in this situation.

Time will tell if the snapper still manage to move in a little later than usual.

For now, slow-pitch jigs in the 80-150g range have had

success, as has the odd soft plastic in brighter colours.

Good-quality tuskfish and flathead have also come from the 32-fathom line when we have been able to get a bait past the leatherjacket, and reasonable pearl perch have come from the northern 48s.

The increase in current has made fishing the continental shelf grounds a difficult proposition, but I am expecting the current to drop right off next month, which should allow an opportunity to chase bar cod, gemfish and blue-eye trevalla.

Back in the Richmond River, flathead also seem to think winter has left us and summer is here, with better numbers starting to show between the Burns Point Ferry and Wardell Bridge.

Only a month ago, the better numbers were above Wardell Bridge, but they certainly seem to be making their way downriver at present.

Metal blades and soft plastics in natural colours have been productive, and white or blue pilchards are the standout baits.

Most fish are in shallow water and the fishing has been better in the afternoons as the days have warmed.

At the river mouth we have seen good numbers of bream and luderick over the past couple of months.

Bream have been in much better numbers and are more aggressive during the incoming tide.

Prawns, mullet fillets, squid and mullet gut have all been good bait options, depending on the time of day.

Natural-coloured soft plastics with a curly tail and Cranka Crabs have been two of the better options for those wishing to try a lure of two.

The breakwalls, Porpoise Wall and Bream Hole have all been particularly good locations to try .

The usual spots such as Prospect and Missingham bridges, along with the top end of the Porpoise Wall and behind the Ramada have all produced luderick in recent weeks.

Green and black weed have been the better baits, as you would expect, but a few fish have grabbed a lightly weighted yabby, and the fish coming from the breakwalls have a preference for cabbage

that can be collected from the rock platforms.

As is usually the case at this time of year, fishing the high tides at night in the lower reaches of the river has produced quality mulloway.

Live baits are definitely the best option but can be difficult to catch, so have some sort of backup plan.

Soft plastics, hard-body lures and fresh or frozen baits are all options, with each having pros and cons, so mix it up to see

which works best for you.

Most beaches across the Northern Rivers have had tailor on them at some point over the past couple of months.

The usual baits such as blue pilchards, mullet fillets and bonito have been good options, and plenty of fish have also been taken on metal spinners and surface poppers.

The incoming tide has certainly produced a few more fish over recent weeks, but some of the

beaches are a little skinny due to the formations, so be careful when travelling up and down during the larger high tides at night.

Quality bream and a few flathead have also been taken on the beaches.

Mullet fillets and white pilchards are the go, but a number of flathead have also been taken on soft plastics and metal blades.

Well that’s all from me for this month.

‘Til next time, tight lines!

Bryce Cameron captured a lovely knobby.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 27

Ouch! The hook is meant for the fish, not the fisher’s wrist!

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S I sit here and put pen to paper, I’ve just come back from a stroll along the water’s edge where a few blackfishers were trying their luck.

They were pulling in a few nice fish too.

It’s been a hard year for the old luderick fisher with more miss days than full creel days.

The humble blackfish has gone missing a bit and if you do find a few they won’t bite.

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Evans Head

by GARY ‘SQUIDGIE’ PALMER

all up and down the coast from what I’m hearing.

Last year blackfishing was on fire and you left fish biting.

Cabbage has been the gun bait, and you wouldn’t believe it but I’ve just had a heap of weed dropped off to me from Sydney thanks to one of the fishers from a luderick page I’m on (thanks Billy).

I’ll go and use some this afternoon and hopefully I can get a feed.

Talking of which, I’d like to thank Jim Bower and German Pete (that’s the name Pete uses) for dropping me off a feed of fish.

Due to being a bit sick I have not been on the water for a while.

I seem to have a room booked in the Lismore Base Hospital.

I’ve been in a fair bit this year, which buggers my time on the water.

Blackfishing is a funny game.

I was watching a fisher today and noticed his leaders.

I had never seen leaders so short.

One was about 5” long and the other 7”.

Despite these being the smallest leaders I had ever seen, he was catching fish.

However, he was also losing a lot of fish.

I think the small leaders were helping to pull the hook straight out of the fish’s mouth.

I feel a longer leader sets the hook better.

Moving on to bream, some very big fish have been caught on our beaches using cut baits and a size 1 or 1/0 hook.

A well-presented cut bait will get you onto good fish.

Just remember to take a walk or drive and pick the good gutters.

I was talking to my mate Steve the other day and he and his friend Dave had been chasing jewfish but having a hard time finding them.

Hopefully things have changed for the better since then.

I can honestly say I won’t trouble the jewfish this winter as I’ve turned into a couch potato and won’t venture out at night

Hydraulic boat steering for a hard day’s fishing Go wherever and whenever the fish are biting with confidence!

Made in Australia for our tough marine environments.

or early in the morning, but that’s doctor’s orders.

Well that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

Without rain, the fishing has been hard for most river species.

Flathead are being caught right up at Lismore, as are bream, bass and estuary perch.

So there’s no need to hit the coast to catch the saltwater species.

As for eating the bream and flathead captured from the upper reaches, I would give them a miss.

I reckon you would have to soak the fillets in lemonade or water overnight to get the muddy taste out of them.

In saying that, I have mates who eat bass and any of the upper-reaches species, but as I’ve said before, I’ve never eaten a bass or EP. If you are going to target the top end, any of your bass lures will get you onto flathead and bream.

I would even use the humble prawn or shrimp.

You just can’t go wrong with these baits.

Out on the headlands I have heard of big bream, tailor and school jew but you have to work bloody hard to get a feed.

For jew you will need a few beach worms on a hook and 40lb line.

Try to send the worm as far up your leader as you can.

Some worms will not go over the hook’s eye, so try to pick the fattest one first and then finish with the skinny one.

If you have cut baits, make sure they’re as fresh as possible.

Tailor and mullet fillets are ideal.

If you have live bait, even better.

Try the washy areas with a bit of depth.

However, I have caught them at the headlands in shallow water just on dark.

Snapper Rock is another great spot to fish, though if you get a good jew it’s a bugger of a trip home carrying 20kg-plus of fish.

As I have said in the past, always fish the headlands with a mate so you can share the load.

But if you are only targeting bream, tailor and blackfish, it’s not so bad a walk home and you can clean your catch out there.

I gut mine on the headland and do the rest at the cleaning bays.

Snapper Rock is a great option because it’s not crowded and the walk will do you good.

Most times it produces great fishing but remember to not go in heavy seas because it is very dangerous.

I missed the AFTA Trade Show this year but keep your eyes out in tackle shops for some very nice gear to be released.

As I write, my rod stand is behind me and I can safely say I have no more room for rods.

So, looks like I need a new rod stand.

Getting it past the Minister of Finance might be a bit tough as with the quality Samurai rods and Daiwa reels I’m partial to, I might be pushing you know what uphill.

Maybe I can hide a few old ones or just buy some new ones and hide them.

Anyway, that’s it for me this month.

Remember: limit your kill, don’t kill your limit.

Tight lines and smelly fingers.

Photo courtesy of Vindicator Boats.

For product information and to find your nearest authorised dealer contact Graham HyDrive Engineering Pty Ltd – Queensland Unit 12, 73-75 Shore Street, Cleveland 4163 T: 07 3821 6580 E: qld@hydrive.com.au W: hydrive.com.au Page 28 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

A blackfish caught on weed in shallow water.

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Jewfish bag limit takes a hit

A

S of September 1, 2018 the NSW amateur bag limit on jewfish will be reduced from two fish over 70cm per day, per person to one fish over 70cm per day, per person.

All I can say is this is the biggest load of rubbish I have ever seen.

How can the Government and NSW Department of Primary Industries Fisheries reduce one sector’s (amateur) take of any species by 80 percent without reducing the other (commercial) at all?

In the initial round of reductions, the Government increased the legal minimum length from 45cm to 70cm and cut the amateur by 60 percent, while in the same breath introduced special legislation to enable the commercial sector to continue to take and sell a limited number of undersized jew each day.

This time around, the government has cut our already heavily reduced bag limit by a further 50 percent while again refusing to put any restriction on the commercial take.

Oh sure, they have finally stopped the taking and sale of undersized fish by the commercial sector, but this should never have occurred in the first place.

So yes, feel all warm and fuzzy about the new restriction if you must, but while that tingly feeling is running through you, just remember that at the same time six mesh nets will still be taking large numbers of big jew, set nets will continue to kill untold numbers of jew of all sizes and the river trawlers will still be slaughtering huge numbers of jew fingerlings and baby soapies at certain times of the year.

Finally, do not abuse or blame any commercial fisher for any of the above as how they currently operate is legal and they are simply doing their job.

Blame and complain to the State Government and NSW DPI Fisheries if you want, as they are the ones who continue to make these ill-informed decisions.

The only difference I have seen over the past 40 years of catching jewfish is nowadays a hell of a lot more wankers who can’t fish are trying to catch

Just Jew

by TYE PORTER

them, so naturally more wankers are whinging they are scarce.

As for jewfish numbers, I reckon just as many are around these days.

If there wasn’t, I wouldn’t be able to still tell you almost to the minute when you will hook a fish here on the Clarence River.

On the fishing front, regardless of the bogus propaganda being peddled by NSW DPI Fisheries, excellent catches of jewfish continued to be taken along the Clarence Coast here in northern NSW. Fish around the 8kg mark have been boated upstream at the Harwood sugar mill where the mill’s hot water outlet enters the river.

This area attracts a lot of baitfish such as herring and chopper tailor, which in turn entices the jew to frequent the area, especially at night during the high water.

Soft plastic lures, live herring and live mullet baits account for the majority of fish.

Similar-sized fish are also being boated at Browns Rocks on the above baits, while back downstream, larger jew averaging 15kg are being taken at the Collis Wall, Pinch Gut and over on the southeastern corner of Freeburn Island on live mullet and minnow lures.

Over at Yamba, the TPiece at the beginning of the wall is fishing really well for big fish on both live mullet and lures, with one of the better models being the 23kg specimen taken on lure by Sunshine Coast angler Justin McNab. Further along the wall, solid school jew can be found along the ocean side just behind the break by using beach worms at night during the rising tide, while fresh torpedo squid have accounted for a handful of larger fish from the river side of the wall just back from the point.

The Iluka wall is also holding reasonable numbers of school jew around the 12kg mark, with the most productive baits being live yellowtail and 6”

Swimming an unweighted live mullet or tailor off your local beach can result in top fish like this at any time of year.

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paddle tail soft plastic lures.

The southern end of the Bluff has been a bit on the quiet side, due mainly to the lack of swell.

On the days with white water breaking on the reef, decent jewfish have been taking hard-bodied minnow lures during the low water just on dusk.

Both Main Beach and Ten Mile Beach along Shark Bay saw jew to just over 20kg taken on live mullet and tailor along with reasonable numbers of school jew on beach worms.

You can just imagine how good the fishing would be if only jew were plentiful…

Bream and luderick failed to show up inside the Clarence in any great numbers this winter, but don’t tell Fisheries or we won’t be able to catch them either.

Gone are the days when you would see boats lined up thick as fleas along Middle Wall, Turkeys Nest and Collis Wall during the day fishing for luderick, with boats idling off them waiting for a spot.

Also gone are the nights when the river would turn red and green with an armada of boats returning from Browns Rocks after a bream session.

Gulmarrad angler John Conduit chose to fish for luderick off the Whales Back on the southern end of the Bluff with cabbage bait and returned with a donkey of a fish that weighed 2.17kg, and yes it was a luderick.

Even though tailor catches have slowed a bit in recent weeks, a few decent fish can still be found along the open beaches by using bonito strips and the humble old blue pillie.

Mischa has been spinning the reef at the front of the Bluff trying to get a feed of choppers for no result other than the odd small turrum and school jew. * continued P30

Mischa Porter of Iluka with a school jew taken from the Iluka breakwall on a 6” Squidgy soft plastic.

Mischa has found the Drop Bear colour out-fishes all others 10 to one.

Available in 6, 8, 10, 15, 20, 30 & 50 lb in Hi Viz Orange Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 29

The all-new Megabass Vibration-X Nano. You can’t help but sit and admire the finish on Megabass lures.

The author waited patiently, letting the lure sit on the bottom.

The Megabass Bottle Shrimp slays the bream.

Finding bream in hard-fished areas H Bream hanging on the edge of a slope next to a branch.

Bream hiding in a small hole.

The limited-edition Lox is a thing of beauty.

I everyone, it’s been a while but after a bit of R&R and time away as well as competing in the ABT tournament scene, I’m back and what better way to start than to talk about one of my favourite target species: bream.

Bream can be one of those frustrating species a lot of anglers struggle to catch on lures but the light at the end of the tunnel is that once you start catching a few it becomes a lot easier.

Once you become accomplished, it’s not uncommon to walk away with a tally of 30 or 40 bream at the end of the day.

Let’s start with some essential gear to target bream.

First, the rod and reel.

Rod choice will depend partly on where you are fishing.

If it’s in small creeks where distance casting is not on the cards and a more accurate cast is more important, a 6’6” or 7’ rod in 1-3kg or 2-4kg with a medium-fast taper (the rod will be stiffer for three-quarters of its length and lighter at the tip) is ideal.

This will allow for short and accurate casts and give you the stopping power required to get the bream out of structure and into the net.

Some of my favourite rods that fit the bill are the Murasame Tournament Spin 610LS, Lox Ambassador 610LS, Crucis Aegis 7023 and for ultraaccuracy the Murasame Kayak 5’6” ULS. These are just what I like and this is merely a guide

Jewfish bag limit takes a hit * from P29

As expected at this time of year, snapper have dominated offshore catches.

Katie Woods of Woombah showed the boys how it’s done by boating nice fish to 7kg off Woody Head.

Meanwhile, Gulmarrad angler Craig Slatter fished the southern grounds off Brooms Head for fish to 5.75kg.

September has never been one of my favourite months for fishing as the winter species have just about gone and the summer species are yet to turn up in numbers.

Inside the river, catches of big jew will decrease due only to the fact that the schools of flat-tailed mullet they come in to feed on will move back upstream until

Page 30 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

next winter.

Having said that, the humble-old jewfish will still be found along the headlands on lures, breakwalls on octopus and squid and inside the river on soft plastic lures and live herring.

So get out there and get your daily dose of mulloway magic before the tossers tell you that you can’t.

‘Til next month, safe fishin’.

2 Mates Fishin – Newcastle

by CAINE ‘CAINO’ GOWARD

but I recommend you go to a tackle shop and feel the rods mentioned.

Now for reels to pair with these rods.

I like to keep the rod weight down, and find adding large reels to ultralight rods just ruins the fun and wreaks havoc on your arms after casting all day.

I prefer reels in the 10001500 sizes (max 2000) and the main things I look for in a reel are smoothness of drag, a good gear ratio and smooth action.

Some of my favourite reels are the Daiwa Legalis, Daiwa Certate, Shimano Stradic and Sustain and the Quantum Smoke, which is a good budgetfriendly reel.

If you’re in a situation where you need to make longer, less-accurate casts, look for a 7’6”-7’8” rod in 1-2kg or 2-4kg with a medium-fast taper.

The medium-fast taper is important because it will allow you to cast further but still have the sensitivity to feel subtle bumps on your line.

All the reels previously mentioned will suit this style of rod too.

Here are some to take a look at when you next visit your local tackle shop: the Lox Ambassador 77MLT, Crucis Aegis 7823 and my recent addition is the Limited-Edition Lox Ambassador 7’8” pictured.

Only 50 were made, so if you can get your hands on one, do it, you won’t be disappointed.

Now moving on to lines.

I tend to lean to the light side for braid of around 2-4lb.

Make sure it’s smooth with good abrasion resistance.

I like to match my fluorocarbon leader to my braid and fish as light as possible for the area.

If I’m fishing open ground without much structure, 2-4lb is perfect,

just loosen your drag to suit and hold on!

However, if I’m fishing heavily structured areas I will go up to 8lb to put the hurt on the bream and turn their heads away from structure.

Some good braids to look for are Sunline PE, Daiwa J-Braid and Berkley FireLine.

One of my favourite subjects is lures.

I could buy lure after lure and still want more.

Some of the easiest lures that you don’t have to be a pro to use are hard-bodies like crankbaits or diving minnows of 40-55mm in deep and shallow bibs.

These can simply be cast and retrieved, letting the lure do its own thing.

However, this method relies on the angler to make accurate casts and try a mix of colours, mainly to suit changing light levels.

Keep an eye out for the new Megabass VibrationX Nano because this thing will be dynamite on so many species.

Obviously once you get better at targeting them you’ll find little things to get the bream more active such as adding a few twitches and pauses, and it’s so rewarding to go out and try new things to see if certain things work over others.

Some of my favourite hard-bodies are the Asakura S-Hornet 45, Megabass Shadding X, Megabass X48 and 50, Megabass Griffon, Atomic Crank, Jackall Chubby and the list goes on.

Let’s get into plastics.

You want to have a variety of jig heads, from hidden weights to normal jig heads ranging from unweighted to 1/8oz.

Some of my favourite plastics are grubs, minnows, creature baits and prawns, all from 1.5”2.5” in varying colours to match the hatch and light levels.

If all else fails, get a Cranka Crab out and let those claws do their thing.

With gear out of the way, let’s get into searching and finding the elusive bream and how to make them react in those hardfished areas.

One of the main fundamentals is learning your sounder and area.

With a bit of research and considering the number of how-to videos available these days, it’s easy to follow step-bystep guides for reading your sounder and being able to tell what’s fish and what isn’t, even finding the right ground.

Bream are very structure-orientated and they like to hide in wait and ambush bait.

They like shaded areas, mangroves, boat hulls, weed patches, small holes, gutters and wharves.

Get out and explore your local area!

Recently I’ve been on two trips to the Georges River near Sydney.

This is a heavily fished area with a huge amount of disturbance on the water in the form of numerous jet skis and boats, all of which can put the bream off.

However, this is a perfect example of finding the bream and triggering them to eat.

I usually try to fish the run-out tide, so all the bait is getting pushed out from the banks.

Bream sometimes move out of hiding and can often be found in holes and gutters when waiting to feed.

This can be a game changer on those hard days because they will be more aggressive as bait pushes past them.

Use your sounder and look at your maps to find small holes up to 3m deep, throw the plastic onto the rise and let it slowly drift into the hole, adding slight twitches of the rod and long pauses.

This worked phenomenally for me on the first trip.

I was using the Megabass Bottle Shrimp on a 1/12oz size 2 jig head and allowing its creature legs to flick about was key.

At times I was letting the lure sit in place for up to 30 seconds before hopping it again.

Often the bream would

come and take the plastic straight off the ground.

Using this technique I landed 40-plus bream from 25-35cm without changing lures.

The second trip was more of a challenge and I had to pull a lot of tricks out of the bag.

This time I was fishing the run-in tide with the sun at its highest point.

What made it more difficult was the bream going into hiding in the heat of the day, sitting deeper in the water column and hiding close to well-shaded and protected areas.

This is where you need to brush up on your casting skills, landing within an inch of the structure.

Unless you land in front of the fish’s face, nine times out of 10 they won’t touch your lure.

I was using the Megabass Hazedong soft plastic and Megabass Shadding X, casting as accurately as possible and letting the lightly weighted jig head pull the lure in front of the bream before adding a medium-fast downward ripping action, pausing for 10 to 15 seconds and then repeating.

This triggered a reaction strike as my lure looked like a fleeing and wounded bait.

Don’t be afraid to add scents or customise your lures too.

Sometimes just adding a small touch to the lure like a tail dip on a soft plastic or a lure weight to a hard-body can make all the difference.

The best bit of advice I can give you is to get out there and study your sounder, as not properly utilising it can make a hard day damn near impossible.

Right now I’m gearing up to head to Copeton Dam to chase some big Murray cod.

Hopefully I’ll have some really good pics and stories to tell when I get back.

If you are after any of the gear mentioned in this article, check out my online store at 2mf-tackle. com or find us on Facebook by searching for 2 Mates Fishin to keep up to date.

If you’re on Instagram, find me @Caino2mf to see what I’m up to.

Until next time, happy and safe fishing. www.bnbfishing.com. au

What’s new around Newcastle H

I and welcome to this month’s BNB mag.

Well, I was hoping my trailer would be done by now but that’s not the case.

Instead, I’ll talk about what’s going on around Newcastle.

We have been waking up to Jack Frost of late, that’s for sure, with very cold mornings and some 0C nights on the water.

It’s been tough but that’s fishing in winter.

The Newcastle fishing has been very good, with the mighty bream the standout.

Places including the pilot station have held some crackers and I’ve used ZMan GrubZ in Motor Oil, Gold Flake and Electric Pink.

The best time to land a few in the 30-40cm-plus

3WAYSFISHIN – Newcastle

by NATHAN ‘NATH’ PALMER

range is as the tide turns to slack water.

I like to start my day casting up against the sandstone walls or in the shadows where the pilot boats hang out.

Just remember to use the GrubZ slowly but throw in some quick and short shakes of your rod tip to entice the fish.

They’ll also be holding in the shadows under the jetties.

Jewfish have not been playing the game in Newcastle Harbour this month.

With so much bait in the water and all the salmon and tailor around, maybe the jew are full and taking some time off.

Luke snagged a 72cm jewie.

Hopefully in coming weeks things get back to normal and anglers can get back into the jewfish.

Newcastle Harbour has seen a few anglers braving the cold mornings and landing a good feed of flathead.

Up past Stockton Bridge is the place to cast vibes or plastics while drifting over the sand bars.

Many of the shallow areas have drop-offs, so it won’t take you long to find the flatties.

At this time of year the big ones seem to hang out there, so cover plenty of ground, get those lures skipping off the bottom and hang on.

Samaki Vibelicious soft vibes are the go at the moment.

Use the 100mm models in Motor Oil Orange, Silver Glitter, Clear UV Mullet and my all-time favourite White Bait.

These lures are so easy to use.

With just a short lift of your rod you make the lure vibrate to about a metre off the bottom, then wait four seconds and repeat back to the boat.

It’s the perfect way to land a few fish.

Just across from the sand flats are the ponds, which present a great spot to target bream using Atomic Hardz Cranks, with the mid-depth Ghost Brown Shad model a great lure that dives to about 70cm.

Cast along the side of the rock wall and wind very slowly and in no time you will get a good strike.

Prawn imitations are a good bet but little poddy mullet and small whitebait are in this area, so take a look in your tackle bag and try to match the hatch to see how you go.

A new pontoon has been constructed at the Tomago boat ramp and it’s open for business, which means you don’t have to go all the way to Stockton to drop your boat in.

I’m sure this will make plenty of anglers happy.

Stockton Beach has had a good salmon run with some tailor in the mix.

The odd jewfish has turned up through the night and the gutters look great.

Pillies, squid and live yakkas are best, and if you want to land a few whiting, you can get worms and pipis at your feet.

A run-in tide has produced the best bite, so good luck if you’re wanting to head out for a beach fish.

Heading to Lake Macquarie is worth the drive to get into jewfish and heaps of squid have been captured throughout the lake.

Squid are the numberone bait to score a jewfish.

I like to get the squid around the weed beds just up from the pilot station near the old airport, but if you can brave the cold at night you can’t beat a well-lit jetty.

Around Green Point and the Belmont 16s club is the place to go.

If you’re in a boat, you’ll pick up squid on the ocean side of Swansea Bridge over the sand bars and weed banks.

Night-time is the go, so again rug up because it’s really cold out there.

Places to find the jew are the drop-off near Pulbah Island and around the Toronto barge, but most deep holes are a lucky dip, just remember to fish a slack tide.

A well-placed bait or plastic will land you one or two.

Whiting are all over the shallow sand bars scattered around the place but I like fishing the runin tide out the front of the airport as well as the ocean side of Swansea Bridge.

You’ll put some smiles on your kids’ faces if you take them whiting fishing.

I would like to give a huge shoutout to young Chase and his dad Dean Meadows for hooking up to their first legal jewfish.

They caught it on a 70mm Samaki vibe and it went 96cm and nearly 8kg.

Dean said they fished for three hours and only got one bump, which was converted into this great fish.

What better way to catch a fish than on a father and son outing?

Congrats guys and thanks for sending me the pic.

I look forward to many more in future.

I’ll be back on the water soon and can’t wait.

Stay safe and enjoy the fishing wherever you are.

Luke Wheatley with an 81cm jewfish.

The 81cm jewfish on the mat.

Chase and his dad Dean with their 96cm jewfish.

Big Eye Bucktail Jig 2x strong Ultrapoint hook Two tow points for balanced swimming vertically and horizontally Real bucktail Durable paint

Wire plastic keeper

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Big 3D eyes

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 31

Sunny Coast set for stellar September

T

HE rivers on the Sunshine Coast, particularly the Noosa and Maroochy, are perfect around this time of year, whether you just want to while away a few hours or do an overnighter in search of the big one.

Anthony Thoma landed this tarwhine off the beach.

Photos: fishingnoosa.com.au

As we move into September, you’ll notice flathead are biting well, with good catches in both systems.

If fishing the Noosa River, the areas near the river mouth, Frying Pan and mouth of Lake Doonella are the flathead hot spots.

You will find the flathead school up in these areas, especially around the entrance to Lake Doonella.

Trolling is a popular method for anglers using hard-bodies such as the Daiwa Double Clutch around the last of the runin tide.

Throwing Squidgy Bio Tough plastics in the shallow channels near the bridge on the run-out tide

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www.issuu.com/bnbfishing Page 32 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

Sunshine Coast

by GRANT BUDD

will secure you a cracking catch.

Pink is by a large margin the most successful lure colour for flathead.

Further upriver along the ski run, good size jewfish have been taken in the deeper holes.

The best way to secure one of these beauties is to work soft plastics like Fish Candy Chasebaits along the deeper sections.

If using bait, live is best and it can be caught quite easily with a cast net.

If you combine the above tips with a new moon, the chances of landing a trophy fish are high.

The lower reaches have proven the trevally and whiting hot spots.

The top whiting location is the Frying Pan including the banks over to the sand bags.

Schools of whiting are moving up on the run-in tide, with worms the chosen bait.

The bigger fish are also hitting surface lures, with the Bassday Sugapen 70mm a popular choice.

If you find the whiting are biting short on your favourite surface lure, try retrofitting the lure with Ecogear ZX hooks.

These are light jig assist hooks that give a better hook-up rate.

The Maroochy is seeing whiting schooling at the Black Banks and Picnic Point, with trusty worms and live yabbies securing the better fish.

If wanting to troll lures, try the motorway bridge where you’ll find big tailor and trevally on offer.

The fish in this zone can be a little shy at times, so ensure your leader is made from high-quality fluorocarbon for more hits.

Drifting baits around the mouth is another method of enticing the fish.

Using small pillies, whitebait and live yabbies on the change of tide will do the job.

Some of the species that inhabit this area include flathead, trevally, whiting and even mangrove jack.

The offshore scene at Noosa has proven plenty of snapper are on the chew.

Head for Chardons or North reefs on the high tide at first light for the best chance of landing a good feed.

Make sure you have a quality berley trail when chasing snapper, whether one of the Davo’s frozen berley logs or a bag of Big John’s Berley Pellets.

I might talk a lot about berley, but I’m passionate about helping fishers catch big fish.

Sunshine Reef is holding good numbers of squire, sweetlip and still the odd coral trout.

The trout are normally active from December to April, but over the past couple of years I’ve noticed a scattering of these fish have continued to bite throughout the cooler months.

It’s worth investing in a few live yakkas on the way out, especially when fishing Sunshine and the

outer Gneerings, as these baitfish are irresistible to trout.

Out wider on the Barwon Banks and the bottom of the Hards, snapper are giving anglers serious curry in one of the best snapper seasons in recent memory.

The only way to catch big fish is with big bait, and one of my go-to baits is the squidchard.

This consists of a squid placed over the top of a pilchard and then rigged on a gang of hooks.

I use and recommend three 5/0 711 Tru-Turn hooks for a more secure hook-up.

Other Barwon Banks and Hards species on the chew include hussar, venus tuskfish, cobia, grassy sweetlip, spangled emperor and maori cod.

For the smaller craft angler wanting to fish a little closer, try Currimundi Reef where soft plastics

and micro jigs in 30g size have been dynamite.

For the bait fishos, quality pillies, squid and slimies are gun, with floated pillies the number-one snapper bait.

On the beaches it has been all about the tailor and the quality and size of fish has been better than last year.

This year has been a little different, with most catches coming late in the afternoon and into the night, where last year it was sunrise and sunset.

Your best bet is to fish the run-in tide in the gutters along Mudjimba to the southern end of Yaroomba Rocks.

If fishing Teewah Beach, the usual gutters on the north side of cutting three and the start of the camping area have been very productive.

Pilchards on a gang of three 4/0 hooks has been the popular rig, though you can pimp your pillies by adding a Neptune Tinsel Head.

The glitter and sparkle of a Tinsel Head has proven to be a great fish attractor.

They can be placed directly on top of your ganged hooks, letting the tinsel lay down the side of your pilchard.

The rocks around Noosa Headland are perfect for targeting squire and grass sweetlip, with fresh mullet strips nailing the bigger fish.

Yaroomba Headland is still producing quality jewfish on the run-in tide.

Fresh mullet fillets and salted bonito fillets have been the preferred baits, rigged on Tru-Turn’s Strip Bait Rig in either 5/0 or 6/0.

As with all strip baits used in the surf, make sure you soak them in tuna oil as this will not only enhance your catch but also attract bigger fish.

Don’t forget to check in to fishingnoosa.com.au for all the latest info on fishing and bar crossings.

The knowledgeable teams at Davo’s Tackle World Noosa and Davo’s Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola can provide you with the right equipment, bait and advice to ensure success.

Abe Andrews with a PB 86cm snapper from the Gneerings on a pillie.

Melanie Jade Ottaway captured this 57cm mangrove jack, which was pretty good by-catch, but she’s still searching for that big jewie.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

‘

W O H S T BOA

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 33

Tide Times Sponsored by

AUSTRALIA EAST COAST - BRISBANE BAR

The author enjoyed winter and tried out his new GoPro.

Dave held a Noosa River golden trevally.

Magic from Mary Valley to the coast

T

HE days are growing longer and you can feel the warmth of the sun as we move into spring.

WADDY POINT - FRASER ISLAND

Page 34 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

It’s been a mild winter for southeast Queensland and decent winter rainfall sees the countryside in fairly good shape.

These conditions will affect outcomes for coming seasons, just as last year’s bumper bunya nut season in the Mary Valley may have been the catalyst for a spike in feral pig numbers, with numerous mobs containing young squealers.

We recently lost a young bull calf of about 100kg and it only took two nights before the carcass was reduced to a mere stain on the ground.

That’s the polarisation of life in our coastal hinterlands, where we experience the harshness of life and death with the most perfect coastal conditions just over the hill.

While the surfers have been scanning the open beaches trying to find a wave, the boaties have enjoyed excellent offshore conditions, with relatively easy bar crossings over the Noosa River Bar. Just watch around the bottom of the tide as I saw a few boaties cleaning the bottom of their hulls on the sandbanks.

Check out the picture supplied by Terry and Bernadette Smith of the conditions on the Cooloola Coast during August.

They were out enjoying the weather on a jet ski adventure from Tin Can Bay to Double Island Point.

On the fishing front, reasonable-sized tailor have been harassing baitfish along our Noosa surf beaches, on the Noosa North Shore and around Rainbow Beach.

I’ve been lucky enough to watch the odd longtail tuna busting into the bait schools a mere 20m from the Noosa shoreline.

Speaking of surface action, I had the pleasure of going for an afternoon surf just south of the Noosa River Bar when a good-sized spanish mackerel took to the air 10m in front of me and left me totally speechless.

On reflection, I suppose

Cooloola Coast

by PAUL ‘CHIEF’ GRAVESON

the more time you spend outdoors, the more unbelievable things you get to see.

It is the right time of year to watch the whales passing the coastline as well.

I recently ran into Jake at Sunshine Beach, and he’d taken advantage of the winter conditions to launch his paddle board from the beach and spearfish some close coffee rock reefs.

On this occasion, light variable wind and small swell allowed him to pick up a brace of reef fish for the freezer.

No matter what water sport you enjoy, everyone has enjoyed our southeast Queensland winter.

Anyway, what does September have in store for this region and what can we look forward to?

We’ll have to wait and see if the northerly sea breeze affects our recent spell of good weather.

If it does, the estuaries and more protected areas will still produce two of the bread and butter species hot on the agenda.

Summer whiting and flathead are a perfect target for the whole family and ideal fare for the dinner table.

Both have made up the numbers in many an angler’s Esky and will con-

tinue to do so in coming weeks.

Nothing beats fresh whiting fillets and fishing the gutters on Sunshine and Sunrise beaches will help provide a few of these tasty morsels.

Both beaches have nice structure with ideal target areas between the outside banks and shore break.

Beach worms and yabbies have provided the results.

I have noticed a few quality fish coming from Little Cove on Noosa Headland late in the afternoons as well.

It’s funny when you think of pulling in quality fish within a stone’s throw from the Hastings St strip.

It just doesn’t get any better than fishing a gutter with sand between the toes and getting smacked by a healthy elbow slapper.

I’m still using the Synder Glas Crusoe Island light surf rod I bought when I was 17.

Thirty-nine years on and still going strong.

If that isn’t a recommendation for the quality of a product, I don’t know what is, and I’d gladly accept another.

I notice Wilson Fishing still produces the Crusoe Island light surf rod in a variety of lengths and weights as well as reel

Nicole Bruton with a lure-caught flathead.

seat positions for side cast and threadline reels, so check them out at wil sonfishing.com if you’re looking for a light 10’6” rod for whiting and dart.

Getting back to those Sunshine and Sunrise beach areas, I’ve recently found a few deep holes close to the shore break.

These gutters have great deepwater entries from the ocean and are sizeable hunting areas about 3m deep perfect for larger predatory species during the dark hours.

It has been a special time of year and September should see the Mary Valley and Borumba Dam saratoga on the chew.

The females will be releasing their broods of offspring from their mouths and looking to attack anything that moves on the surface.

As an outdoor enthusiast, September has so many options and not enough hours in the day,

so I’ve decided to take a few weeks off and cover as many bases as I can.

I will be meeting with the crew from the Lions Club of Gympie and finding out the plans for this year’s Lions Mary Valley Family Fishing Classic.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, last year’s comp was cancelled at the last moment.

The club was so disappointed and truly had no control over the outcome.

The comp has been growing every year and last year was set to break the attendance record.

Despite the comp being a wash, the club still managed to donate $1000 to fish stocking, so hopefully we can give the guys and girls from the Lions Club a break and support them with one of the best freshwater comps in southeast Queensland.

More info to come next month.

Cheers, Chief.

Perfect winter conditions on the Cooloola Coast.

Jake after an early morning spearfishing session off Sunshine Beach.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Lovely change on Cooloola Coast

H

I, it’s Craig Tomkinson here.

With spring upon us, September’s weather will bring a lovely change from those freezing-cold 5am starts at work in the pitch black.

Instead we’ll be driving to work in the daylight, seeing animals like kangaroos moving about and the birds out looking for an early morning feed.

It’s a great time of year, not too cold and not too hot.

Fishing wise, the close ground off Double Island Point should start to pick up again about three-quarters of the way through September.

With such great weather this year for the Rainbow Beach Family Fishing Classic, the close ground got fished a lot more than normal and the fish shut down for a few weeks following.

I am in no way knocking the comp, as it does great things for Rainbow Beach.

All I’m saying is the fish are still there, you’ll just have to fish lighter and stealthier.

Say you are going out for an early morning or afternoon session and it’s oily calm.

When you are about 200m off the mark, pull up, turn off your sounder and drift.

This will tell you which way you should anchor.

Noosa to Fraser Coast

by CRAIG TOMKINSON

Once you know which way you are going to hang, come up on your mark with the sounder still turned off and go a bit further than normal past the mark to get the noise of anchoring further from the mark.

As you lower the pick over the bow, do it without hitting the side of the boat, especially if fishing from a tinnie.

Once the pick is on the bottom, just drift back to the mark with the motor turned off.

Before you start fishing, get your berley over the side and down to the bottom.

You want to stimulate the fish before you drop down.

This way if you drop a fish, they will not shut down as quickly.

Try not to drop anything on the floor of the boat because that noise goes straight to the bottom and puts the fish off.

In close you should find good size snapper, grass sweetlip, pearl and moses perch and other mixed reef fish.

I recently took a trip over to Teewah Beach chasing tailor with Dave and Paul Anderson.

I jumped in Dave’s 60 Series LandCruiser and

we fished near the Noosa River mouth, just on the river mouth side of the FB sign.

Why there?

Well it was mullet season and the commercial fishos are working the beach day and night chasing the mullet schools as they run along the beach towards Fraser Island, but they cannot net on the river mouth side of the FB sign, so we could fish without them wanting to work the gutter we were fishing.

Sure, there were better places to fish but it’s about having a rod in hand and not getting hassled to move.

The boys and I had five hits for two nice tailor and we were happy.

It was great to be back on the beach.

A week or so later Dave asked if I wanted to go offshore with he and Paul in their brother Tim’s boat, which is stored in my shed.

They were going out to Sunshine Reef for the arvo and would come back just on dark.

I had a think about it and said no thanks.

Now Dave is a top bloke and a good mate but he’s not the best at doing maintenance on his brother’s boat.

The author with a couple of tailor from near the Noosa River Mouth on Teewah Beach.

Paul Anderson held two snapper from Sunshine Reef taken during Dave Anderson’s first offshore trip as skipper.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

It had been washed and was clean in my shed but Dave had not checked the wheel bearings or given the motor a run in nine months, and to me that is just asking for trouble, but I said nothing.

Dave turned up and we hooked the boat up to his car and he and Paul loaded their gear in and went through the safety gear and lights and gave the motor a run, and to its credit it ran great.

They headed off but as they pulled up at the servo a few kays away they could hear two wheel bearings making horrible noises.

So they fuelled up and called me, before coming back to fix the bearings.

To the boys’ credit, they just drove off and came back with new wheel bearings, borrowed some tools off me and fixed the bearings.

After an hour they headed off again.

This was Dave’s first time as skipper of a boat crossing the Noosa River Bar. Dave has been out with me and his brother a few times, so he has seen what to do, but it was all new to him.

They got outside the bar OK and the cunning buggers just followed the old plot trail that was in the GPS from months ago when we all went out together.

Dave said they had a go at anchoring and missed the first mark but ended up right on top of another mark on the GPS where they caught snapper and pearl perch.

The boys caught two snapper and a few pearl perch and had a fat time, so well done guys.

Over the next 11 months I will be preparing for a trip to Cape York with my three sons and mates.

First I will be giving my old 80 Series LandCruiser a paint and tidy up.

I will be doing it myself with help from my mate Ryan.

My tinnie also needs a bit of tig welding as every few years she needs the little hairline cracks fixed that form here and there around the seats from being strapped down hard to the trailer.

The trips up north on the rough roads take their toll on the old girl.

Reading fellow scribe Matt Potter’s stories of fishing the west coast of the Cape brings back memories of fishing that area myself.

So next year if the weather plays the game I would love to do a 90km run up the coast from Pennefather River and have a look in the areas Matt talks about.

Just thinking about and planning the trip north with my sons and mates makes me want to get ready to go.

‘Til next month, be safe on the water.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 35

Taking the family to Fraser

H

I folks, this is my third in a series of four articles on Fraser Island over the peak winter fishing season.

Matt with a nice tarwhine. Note the closed end of the gutter to the left of him.

You couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. Kids have a ball fighting a bucking and jumping tailor in the surf.

Page 36 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

In July, I outlined how to go about preparing for a Fraser trip, while in August I reported on the experiences and some tips from a three-night stay at Eurong Beach Resort with mates.

This month’s article covers my recent family trip, but from a reader’s perspective in terms of the fishing, scenery and resort facilities on offer.

Eurong Beach Resort Eurong Beach Resort is a great option for young families who visit the east coast of the island.

This was our third stay there as a family and we love the place.

A range of accommodation options are available, including apartments with cooking facilities and unlike some mainland resorts, this place doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

The accommodation is very comfortable, with some rooms having views of the pool, resort and ocean from your balcony.

In fact, we were lucky enough to spot whales from our balcony in the magical, glassy conditions during our fournight stay.

Something I love about this resort is the kids can run around and kick a football or play cricket on the big grassy areas, safe in the knowledge they are behind the township’s dingo-proof fence.

Like we did, you can also play tennis, swim in the crystal-clear pool as well and use the indoor pool table.

In the main complex near reception is a beach bar with arcade games and a large restaurant.

Other facilities within a short walk are the bakery ‘next door’ and the shop with a range of goods, ice and fuel.

I can also recommend the coin-operated ($1 for about five minutes) wash-down facility in the carpark, which is great if you want to give the four-wheel-drive a quick hose down or to wash the waders and shoulder bags at the end of a session.

The resort is very conveniently located to several must-see family destinations including Lake Wabby, Eli Creek and the Maheno shipwreck along the beach.

The longer hour or so drive to Indian Head is worth it for the incredible 360-degree views

Fishing Trip

by SEAN ‘SKIP’ THOMPSON

and the chance to spot a bunch of whales along with sharks, dolphins and schools of pelagics – as we saw on our visit.

Catching bait and fish While Fraser is famous for its brilliant tailor run, light line fishing for species like whiting, bream, tarwhine and dart can also be very good off the beach.

The key to getting results is picking the right gutter formation suitable to the tide, and fishing with live bait.

In fact, the kids can find bait collection fun and addictive and it can be hard to get them away from it to go fishing!

During our trip we found an abundance of pipis along the beach at low tide not far from Eurong.

The kids had a ball using them as bait and catching fish after fish in the gutter directly behind where we found them.

If you are not sure what to look for in terms of finding pipis, it is very simple.

On beaches that allow 4WDing, just drive along slowly towards the bottom of the beach at low tide (following others’ 4WD tracks) and have your passengers look for small lumps in the sand.

These are signs of pipis where the pressure from the tyres has popped the sand above them to give away their location.

Then it is a simple case of digging down a few centimetres and finding the pipi.

Another thing to remember is the fish are never normally far from the bait.

As it turned out, the gutter formation directly behind where we found pipis was exactly what I look for when chasing light line species on the island.

Check out the video of catching the pipis and then the fish on my Ontour Fishing Australia Facebook page.

Basically, the gutter had a blind or closed end right up against the sand, with deeper water just behind the shore break and a back sandbank running at a 45-degree angle out towards deeper water.

The fish gather in the corner of these gutters at low tide and this was certainly the case on this occasion.

The tarwhine and bream were so thick we spotted them in the water before the boys’ first cast, and as soon as the first bait landed they were on.

To top it off, we then had a procession of seven F/A-18 Super Hornets fly under the radar and directly over our heads as a dingo watched on as if it was all in a day’s work.

Again, check out the video on my page. * continued P37

Father and son with some Fraser Island beach worms.

The view from Indian Head is worth the drive. Just one of the whales breaching relatively close to shore.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

The fantastic view of the pool and ocean from the author’s resort apartment.

Taking the family to Fraser * from P36

Another great bait and simply the best bait for whiting on the beach is beachworms.

They are also excellent bait for the kids to try their luck.

My eldest son helped me pull several worms for our trip to the western side the next day.

The key in teaching kids, or anyone new to worming, is to ensure they don’t snatch at the worm.

The trick is to use a tough finger bait like pipi and hold that in front of the worm, even letting the worm grab it.

In the meantime, dig your thumb and forefinger into the sand a few centimetres back from the head and move them parallel so they are past the head of the worm.

The worm will ‘arch its back’ as it tries to pull the pipi under the sand and as it does, pinch firmly on the worm and then

smoothly lift it out of the sand.

Be sure to remove the slime off the worm by rubbing your fingers down it to keep it alive longer and to make it easier to put on the hook.

Keep the worms alive in salt water with an aerator.

We converted these worms into three-dozen lovely whiting on the western side of the island.

People think you must fish a rising tide for whiting on the flats but this is not true.

We got our fish in the last two and a half hours of the run-out up to dusk.

Interestingly, normally the whiting go off the bite in the hour either side of the change of tide, but as this coincided with low-light conditions, the fish kept on the chew and we had a ball, even releasing fish after we had enough for a feed or two.

The family enjoyed tennis between fishing sessions when staying at Eurong Beach Resort.

The type of mound you are looking for when chasing pipis.

The result of finding the mound: a pipi dug from the sand.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Our rigs consisted of 80-90cm of 6lb fluorocarbon trace and three or four small pieces of red tubing sitting above a blue Aberdeen fine wire size 4 Tru-Turn hook, a size 12 swivel and above that a soft luminous bead to take the impact out of the size 2 sinker banging against the knot.

Add another swivel above the sinker when using an Alvey to avoid line twist.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper beach fishing trip if we didn’t chase tailor.

My 12-year-old son hadn’t caught a tailor off the beach before, so was very keen, as was my older son who had hooked a couple on previous stays at Eurong Resort.

Fortunately, we found a great tailor gutter no more than 300m from the resort.

We caught fish at dawn and dusk and stuck to bait only, so the older boy learnt to cast with an Alvey and both kids learnt the basics of where, why and how the fish chase their bait.

We’ll have plenty of time to throw lures next trip!

Latest Fraser fishing report As of early August, several followers on my page were reporting the tailor fishing continues to be excellent, with solid catches of legal size tailor from directly in front of Eurong Beach Resort right up to Dundubara.

Some clued-up anglers from Kingfisher Australia also fished the rocks around Waddy Point just before the closure on August 1 for queenfish and tailor with Chase and Onda lures.

These guys also used their very popular slide bait rigs off the beach and rocks for great catch and release action including a couple of huge giant trevally to 1.35m, tiger sharks, a 2.51m dusky whaler, lemon sharks, a couple of big spanish mackerel and more.

Don Butler from Kingfisher Australia does the occasional presentation on these slider rigs around Brisbane tackle shops.

These rigs, along with a range of excellent tailor lures, are available to buy online at shdot.com.au Next month Finally, fingers crossed the beach conditions, fishing and lack of weed will continue so we can report on our big annual Fraser trip from late August.

In the meantime, keep up to date on reports and check out our videos and detailed posts at Ontour Fishing Australia on Facebook.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 37

Fishing freedom off Fraser W HAT do you do when it’s winter?

Dean with the first red of the trip.

You don’t realise how dark the nights are. This red sure brightened things up.

Glen scored the biggest red of the trip. The picture doesn’t do the fish justice.

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Head north, that’s what!

After a few trips off the Gold Coast with only a few snapper caught, the weather gods looked down on us with very good days.

We were watching for a decent weather window to head north out of Wide Bay Bar and hit the red emperor grounds off Fraser Island.

As the weekend approached, we saw a run of light wind days for the Sunshine Coast and decided if it stayed settled we would give it a bash.

Crawling through the traffic with a heap of other Gold Coast commuters that week, we could anticipate a good trip coming on, it just had that feel to it.

When the day finally came, we pulled into the Tin Can Bay boat ramp and could see it was already pretty busy on the water, with the carpark well over half full.

It was the first run up north in my mate Dean’s Mustang powered by a newly acquired Honda 250hp.

The boat was heavy, loaded up with three hefty blokes, 400 litres of fuel, 60 litres of water, ice, bait and food, but the smooth conditions made for a very easy exit of the bar as we headed 80km north off Fraser Island.

The plan was to follow the lead of Greg Lamprecht and hit isolated pinnacles looking for the fish.

It was about 3pm when we arrived at the grounds and it didn’t take long to find great pinnacles with a fair show on them.

We had jagged a lucky current, being slow enough to easily hit the bottom with a 12oz snapper lead.

After landing a couple of parrotfish and a pearl perch, Dean got three or four bumps and pulled up solid on a good fish.

Those tell-tale big bumps had us calling it for a red emperor and we weren’t disappointed as the first red came over the side.

We quickly reset our drift, hoping for a few more fish but got nothing, so moved on.

As the sun went down behind Fraser and the moon started to rise, we found the fishing heated up as more good size parrot came over the side but no more reds.

That was until we hit a nice pinnacle, and as we drifted right over the top of it I could feel that telltale hit of a red starting to move away with the bait.

As I lifted into the fish, the rod buckled over and those hellish head shakes again gave it away as a big red.

Sharks were now our biggest enemy in the dark, but luckily a quality red popped up on the surface and was scooped safely into the net.

A host of high fives among the crew was a given.

As the night wore on, we

Fishing Trip

by HEATH ZYGNERSKI

didn’t hook another red and only lost one fish to a shark.

Anchoring for the night, I got to see the real advantage of having an anchor winch.

We didn’t quite get the position right on the first set, and it was a simple task of pressing a button to lift the anchor and reset it.

The Lonestar anchor winch worked flawlessly the whole trip and I reckon it won’t be long before Aquaholic finds one on it.

As we settled into the night, we landed a few more parrot and called it quits about 11pm.

We woke to a bit of a sloppy sea that quickly settled down to an oily slick day, which was absolutely magnificent.

The fishing was very slow, with only a few hussar coming over the side until around midday when Glenn hooked up big.

This fish just didn’t want to give in, but after pumping and winding and hoping the taxman didn’t show up, a solid 13kg red was slipped into the net and hauled in the boat.

There were celebrations all round and we hoped we would pick up another as we continued our drift.

But even after restarting over the same show, that would be the last red we

would get for the trip.

Nonetheless, we were very happy.

We worked hard through the afternoon for more parrot and some bludger trevally that attracted two of the biggest sharks I’ve seen off Fraser, so we quickly moved to get away from them.

We were discussing the trip so far when Glenn’s rod again buckled and he was on to another good fish.

Initially we called it for a red but it gave a really good account of itself and I began thinking maybe even a mackerel by the way it was fighting.

Soon enough, a big green jobfish came over the side of the boat, much to Glen’s delight as it was his first jobby and one more fish ticked off his bucket list.

As the moon started to rise, the pickers moved in and we managed a few more parrot but the wind started to pick up early so we set anchor and hit the sack around 9pm.

It was a fairly rock and roll night as the northerly picked up to around 15 knots.

As morning broke, we saw we had moved a bit off our mark.

We reset the anchor and while having some brekky my rod doubled

over on a good fish.

I managed to turn its head just as the line went limp.

On inspection, I must have got a nick in my braid just above the swivel.

After a quick rerig I was on again and called it for a red.

As I got colour I was still thinking red emperor, and while it was red, it was instead a solid snapper that came over the side.

As we hopped from rock to rock heading south to the bar, we continued to pick up a mixed bag of parrot and redthroat emperor.

Crossing back in was as easy as heading out, with a flat bar.

A log off with Coast Guard Tin Can Bay and a quick shower saw us on our way home.

It was a great trip and although we are still novices at red fishing, we plan to nail it in the not-toodistant future and load the boat with reds.

Dean was suitably impressed with the fuel economy of the Honda 250hp over his previous Honda 225hp.

When Silver Service Marine fitted the engine, the team told Dean he’d get good fuel economy, but we didn’t expect to get under 1:1 considering the weight we were carrying.

In the end, we were pleasantly surprised to have used 285 litres for the 330km travelled.

‘Til next month, smoking drags to you all.

What a way to start the day. The author picked up this solid knobby during breakfast.

Glen crossed green jobfish off his bucket list.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

The author landed this queenie by casting at a bust-up on the surface.

Ashlee Levy with a nice Burrum River GT.

Bust-ups in the Burrum River

T

HE Burrum River is one of my favourite places to wet a line in southeast Queensland.

It’s very popular for its healthy population of barramundi and mangrove jack, which is what attracts most anglers to the area.

Both these species are a lot more active in the warmer months of September to April, so that’s normally when I would plan a trip to the Burrum River.

However, I recently found myself with a bit of spare time and decided to head up that way with my partner Ashlee.

The timing wasn’t great, as it was right in the middle of school holidays.

This made finding accommodation a bit more difficult, with most rental properties and caravan parks already booked out.

We found a nice place to stay on Airbnb just west of Maryborough.

The only downside was we had to make a halfhour drive to the river

Fishing Trip

by KEITH STRATFORD

each morning.

It ended up being a minor inconvenience, as the place we stayed at was excellent.

We have stayed at quite a few Airbnbs and most have been really good, but this one was exceptional value and had great facilities for vehicles towing a boat.

We left Brisbane nice and early on the Friday morning and arrived at Wals Camp Boat Ramp at Pacific Haven about an hour after sunrise.

A quick stretch of the legs and we had the tinnie floating on the Burrum about halfway through the run-out tide.

We put eight crab pots out baited with fresh mullet first and then headed to my favourite mangrove jack spot in the river.

The water was the cleanest I had ever seen it.

Rocks and snags were

Double hook-ups were common.

Once the fish were located on the sounder they were easy to catch.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

easily visible under the surface.

This didn’t give me a lot of confidence for targeting a jack or barra, as I prefer the water to be at least a little discoloured.

Clean water generally makes these fish very shy, and as the water was also cold we knew we might be in for a tough time.

The first spot we tried was a long stretch with plenty of rock piles and boulders.

I have landed loads of jacks from this stretch over the years as well as a few barra.

The tide was running out nicely and we had a perfect drift going when Ashlee got hit by a jack.

Unfortunately, the weedless jig head being used due to the terrain failed to find the mark.

Either way, we were both pretty excited to get a jack bite on the first drop in the middle of winter.

Little did we know, that was the only jack bite we would get all weekend.

A few estuary cod followed but it was a bit slow, so we pushed out towards the ocean to have a look around the mouth of the Isis River and the Buxton Hole.

The action was very slow in both locations and it had me wondering if I had made the wrong call by heading towards the mouth instead of upriver.

There was virtually no bait to be seen by eye or on the sounder, so we waited for the tide to start making its way back in and followed it upstream.

We checked the pots on the way up and had one tiny mud crab in one pot and the rest hadn’t been touched.

I have found this to be fairly common around Brisbane during winter, with the better crabs feeding overnight, so we decided to leave them in overnight and hoped nobody checked or stole them.

Our next stop was an-

other spot that has produced good results over the years.

It took a while to get the first bite, but after that it was virtually a bite a cast.

The fish took a liking to a prawn imitation cast in tight to the bank.

The fish gave a few taps before I could set the hook and then it came flying up towards the boat, where it revealed itself to be a nice little queenfish.

It had a few mates with it all trying to get the plastic out of its mouth during the fight.

I continued to get among the queenies on the prawn imitation, while Ash got stuck into some GTs on a paddle-tail plastic.

The action continued for the next couple of hours, with the queenies eating the prawns and the GTs only the fish imitations.

A couple of tarpon were captured too and they were solid fish.

One stretched the tape out to 65cm, which is a good-quality tarpon anywhere.

We pulled the pin midafternoon to head back to our accommodation and have a shower and a rest.

With high expectations of the fish being on the chew in the same area, we got an early start the next morning and weren’t disappointed.

The queenies and giant trevally were hungry again and the tarpon were in good numbers.

My brother and his housemate also came up for the morning in their boat and got stuck into a few.

A few random bust-ups in the area throughout the morning made for good fun.

I landed a prawn imitation right on the nose of one of the bust-ups and came up tight to a good fish.

The fish took me straight into a big tree close to the bank and nearly beached itself.

It was a pretty tense battle on relatively light gear and had me guessing at a few different species until a good-sized queenie popped up.

This action continued for hours, with a few flatties showing up as well.

We pulled the boat out and headed back to the house with sore arms and a few fish in the Esky.

The crab pots produced a total of five crabs all weekend, which were all female or undersize.

We did leave them in overnight but didn’t move them around at all.

We might have got a better result if we moved them upstream into some dirtier water.

Overall, it was a great weekend.

Once we found the fish, the action was non-stop, with double hook-ups common.

Though we didn’t land a jack or barra, we did have a big barra jump out of the water among a fallen tree near the boat and the fish would have pushed a metre in length.

We threw a lot of casts into that tree over the weekend, but never got the fish to bite our offerings.

The Burrum River is a great destination all year round.

This was the first time I have been able to fish it during winter when it’s not in flood and it won’t be the last.

I hope to see you on the water.

Quality tarpon were feeding among the queenfish and trevally.

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Andy landed a big snapper while hopping a grub plastic.

A solid golden for Arthur.

Surface activity to soar in spring

S

PRING is almost upon us and with the rise in temperature will come a rise in surface activity.

Kyrle with a very big diamond trevally.

A big giant herring for southern visitor Jason.

Hordes of mostly mack tuna will romp around Hervey Bay again.

They should be voracious and not fussy at all.

However, we can also expect the return of the sharks and the need to be ever-vigilant against attacks.

Fish heavy, especially when the bite is not particularly tough.

My go-to lure is a 1oz jig head-rigged soft plastic because it casts a decent distance and can be spun fast without breaking the surface.

A big plastic on a 1oz head can still catch fish, even when the tuna get fussy and are feeding on small baitfish.

When they are not fussy, topwater lures can be a heap of fun!

Victorian visitor Ian was casting and retrieving soft plastics for the first time and cracked a big kingfish on a 20lb snapper stick.

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Fraser Guided Fishing

by TRI TON

I run just the one tail hook on hard-body lures.

I find the belly hook often pins the tuna in the corner of the mouth, which is not a problem if the tail hook (treble or single) swings outside the mouth.

However, if it remains in the mouth after strike and hook set, you can almost guarantee heavy gill damage and probably death.

Tuna also have a very solidly set mouth without a good degree of flexibility or membrane, which makes two-hook removal more difficult.

Being a good catch and release angler you probably land your fish on appropriate tackle so they are not spent and are still swimming.

A thrashing tuna with two hooks lodged firmly in is not something I care to play with.

I catch these fish almost every day and feel there is no way to put it nicely: just don’t do it!

Remove one threat to yourself and one more hassle when freeing the lure.

A single hook also means less chance of foul hooking, which when topwater fishing for tuna is a high probability.

If you are dropping fish, I can almost guarantee most of it is poor line and rod angle management.

Take that as incentive to become a better angler.

By the end of September we might see a few marlin around these parts.

I definitely encountered several late in the month last year by trolling skirts rather than sight casting.

Last year was a very slow sight casting year.

Being prepared and sharp at any moment is key when the opportunity arises.

Some days we may cast at eight or more marlin, while on other days we are lucky to have a fleeting chance.

Some fish are angry and will eat multiple times.

Other times they will sniff and swim away.

As always, I feel I need to briefly touch on the process of handling marlin.

Use heavier tackle, let them take the first run and then subdue them fast.

If you need a picture out of water, have everything ready, including which way to face the fish, before you bring it into the boat.

One person can lift most Fraser Island marlin, but you must support the weight evenly.

If the fish needs two people to lift, use two, but if it’s too big, leave it in the water.

Dragging it over the gunwale by the head is not good for the fish, and neither is laying it on the hot deck.

Realistically, it’s best to not let it touch any dry fabric or clothing at all.

Promoting catch and release is great, just don’t be a loser and release dead fish, be it a marlin, a cobia or a little school mackerel.

Anyhow, back to the everyday grind, and at times the tours have been quite difficult, but with the right attitude you will have fun and produce good fish.

With my reputation on the line it’s often tough going, and staying focused and not feeling the pressure and letting it show is taxing.

Point in case was a recent half-day tour with a full vessel.

With four anglers and me, there wasn’t much room to fish and certainly not much room for me to sneak a cast.

All anglers on board had no lure fishing experience in deep water, if any lure

experience at all.

Entering the last hour, we were still on a doughnut – a chocolate one with every sprinkle colour you can think of on top.

We moved to the last spot and I was copping a fair bit of good-hearted lip from the crew, all fun.

I saw a few fish on the side scan and directed everyone into position.

I managed to hook one quickly and it was big.

The drag started to sing and then pop, the leader shredded.

Big queenfish was my first thought as the 20lb leader was set up for snapper and small trevally.

My first expletives vented my anguish and I quickly mentioned to one of the crew running the same lure to cast into the area where I just hooked up.

I told him the bite will be gentle and to wind the line tight when he gets the hit, then set the hooks hard.

Sure enough I heard “I’m on!” but with the rod barely bent I screamed “Set it!” several times and finally the words sunk in.

The fish sprang to life, pulled drag and broke the surface, leaping for freedom.

It was a lovely big giant herring!

And everyone thought it was a small bite.

Another day, we captured a big kingfish, all because we stayed alive and in the moment while having fun.

Thanks to both those anglers for doing what I asked them to ASAP.

Peter with a lovely little nannygai.

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Swain Reefs still produce the goods

A

N invitation to join a Swain Reefs fishing trip is pretty hard to knock back, and to do a trip with essentially the same nucleus of guys from previous years that all get on well and love their fishing makes it even harder.

We headed out from Yeppoon late in the evening on the Capricorn Star with owner/skipper Scott Wilson and his deckies Gav and Brad as well as an enthusiastic young lad Dakota, who was along for work experience during his school holidays.

Scotty takes us well up into the Swains and that is one of the advantages of departing with a head start from Yeppoon.

We saw one boat well to the west on the first morning out, but as the week progressed Scotty pushed on well away from where charter and trout boats might be operating and we had the place to ourselves.

The first morning it was the customary “Brekky’s on” call at first light after a big night of

Fishing Trip

by BILL CORTEN

steaming well out to sea.

With the dories in the water, Scotty briefed the dory skippers with a very accurate assessment of the lay of the land and in no time we were all into fish on the calmest day of the trip.

Tangles couldn’t make it this year, so George and I had the pleasure of Graeme Kime in the dory for the week, and what great company he was, with plenty of stories of life on the farm out the back of Rockhampton and his journey in life.

Graeme got into the groove of our drill in the dory in no time.

Working the edge of the bommies near any of the pressure points, he was pretty happy with the quality of lipper (redthroat emperor) and coral trout taking our unweighted offerings.

George was pleased with this cobia as the wind eased in the late afternoon.

Dan Howard was pretty happy with this typical spanish mackerel caught trolling from the stern between drifts.

After fishing the deeper reef waters at home, it is a good feeling playing the cat and mouse game watching the slack line on the surface peel off as a big lipper or hungry trout grabs the bait and runs hard.

A quick flick of the bail arm and it was game on, or in George’s case, feed the handline and wait for the feel of the fish mouthing the bait and suddenly stripping line.

It was a good day of fishing with an even better report card delivered by deckie Brad Watts at the end of the day over a hot dinner with all the cleaning done, dories back on board and species tallied, filleted, bagged with fish ID and snap frozen.

It really is a slick operation.

The meals in the saloon and regular treats of hot nibblies and the best desserts were a great tonic all week.

Some of the boys are right into their bottles of red and some pretty good wines were being passed around for sampling all week at dinner time.

We were off to a good start, yes, but we were braced for tomorrow’s weather: a 30-knot southerly change.

We usually get lots more fish working the dories and making our own luck than lined up along the deck of the Cap Star.

Thank goodness she still has a comfortable ride and is an excellent boat to fish from, even in a big sea.

Well it started blowing about 3am and kept picking up, so we did the mother boat thing and surprisingly, the fish were really biting and the taxman wasn’t tuned in yet.

The largest fish of the trip, a ripping sailfish, came from a trolled lure in between reefs that morning and we were all envious of the lucky angler Ivan Mapp as he struggled to bring this fish to the back of the boat.

Good communication between Gav the master deckie and the skipper up in the wheelhouse eventually saw the sailfish at the transom where it was brought aboard, much to

* continued P42

Ivan Mapp with his sailfish that was successfully released after capture and photographs.

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The trip organiser did well to get this spangled emperor past the taxman after dinner.

Derek Greenough scored the best of the dorycaught red emperor.

The fish-lifting photo bomber struck with a double-header.

Graeme Kime picked up a nice pair of trout flicking unweighted baits around the bommies.

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Scotty the skipper got the crew onto plenty of fish, even while it was blowing 30 knots after the change came through.

Swain Reefs still produce the goods * from P41

The photo bomber captured his own trout, minus the blue plastic add-on.

Coral trout, such as this fish caught by Andy Allizzi, were aplenty.

Ivan’s relief, and quickly photographed and successfully released.

The fish were really on the chew that day with the barometer sky high, and a very good catch was supplemented by a bonus in the form of Dan Howard’s spanish mackerel.

The next day saw the wind ease back to about 20 knots, so we fished the mother boat and yeah, Ivan did it again with a cracking early morning red emperor.

The fish flowed pretty freely for a while and then the taxman made his presence felt, with sharks becoming a bit of a problem, necessitating a few moves to get away from them.

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nailed another one.

Night fishing on the back deck was a game of ‘beat the shark’.

Ron Roduner managed a big spangled emperor from under their noses one night but mostly it was a story of good fish lost without much to show for the effort.

With lighter winds for the rest of the week, we were back to dory fishing and enjoyed spirited competition for the fish of the day, with a species nominated daily and a small pot of money up for grabs.

Graeme liked the no sinker caper while fishing the shallows, so after nailing some nice fish, including his first cobia, we headed right up inside the lagoon one morning, taking careful note of the route for the escape later.

Scotty’s advice was to get out of there on the dropping tide once we saw rocks appearing around the surrounding reef edge, because if we got locked in with the tide dropping we would be in strife on numerous counts.

We took a hit for the team and went up into the most picturesque lagoon we had ever seen, nailing ripping trout and a decent spangled while anchored on one bommie and casting back to a series of others behind us.

It was a good lively session with hussar competing with the target species and we regretted not having gone in earlier.

Common sense won the day and we didn’t stay too long.

Many better fish than what we were catching

were taken on the other dories, such as John McNicol’s big lippers and trout, Ron Roduner’s green jobfish and Derek Greenough’s red emperor.

Of special note was Bob Graham’s first spaniard.

Even young Dakota got a decent trout when there was a vacant dory spot one afternoon, and that was a bit of karma because he was a very hardworking and well-behaved young man who got on well with everyone.

The best fish taken on the dories was Drew Wither’s ripping spaniard that Scotty and his crew estimated to be 35kg.

Fishing a livie under a balloon a mack that big couldn’t resist, pandemonium ensued during the fight to get the fish alongside.

Then the real fun began as somehow in all the excitement the gaff got placed a bit far down the fish and it was a struggle to get a fish of that size and configuration on board.

Well, three big boys trying to get an unco-operative fish into a dory without flipping over was quite a spectacle and it went on for a while, but they did it.

In fact, Drew came home with a wet sail and was flying high after a slow start.

With his spaniard, other large trout and some catch of the day prize wins, he redeemed himself after his photo bombing antics from earlier in the week.

The ‘photo bomber’ nickname came from his penchant for picking up

Ron Roduner with a great dory-caught green jobfish.

other people’s fish for a photo and was made worse by slipping one of those large useless oversize blue soft plastic tails into the mouth of the fish being photographed, with the implication he caught it while using the plastic.

He was actually very good at taking selfies with my SLR camera and everyone willingly participated in the fun and games.

It was all done in jest and kept us amused for several days.

Again karma struck as it was a bit bumpy on the night trip home and to

the best of my knowledge only the photo bomber got seasick.

The risk now, after revealing the photo bomber’s antics, is that I may not be invited back again.

Regardless, it is a great week out on the Swains, providing you share the time with a fun-loving crew who are keen to work together and you are on a well-run vessel with an experienced skipper and well-drilled crew.

We all ended up with a great feed of fillets for the week and everyone made it home without incident.

Gav Ray, the master deckie, and Graeme Kime with some of Graeme’s fish about to be filleted.

The photo bomber put the author’s SLR camera to good use.

Work experience hand Dakota Jennings was rewarded for his hard work and courtesy with this trout in a dory (training) session.

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BOATING & marine Check out the footage by searching for BNBFTV

A clean and uncluttered profile is a Sea Class given.

Yamaha’s 175hp four-stroke provided plenty of motivation, pushing the hull to 73km/h.

AMM 5700 Sea Class all you could ever need

O Inboard grab rails allow for easy entry and egress over the bow. Raised cast deck includes massive storage hatch.

Helm layout incorporated ‘left-hand drive’ to keep throttle controls on top of the console instead of the side.

NE boat to do it all.

One boat to capably fish the bays, rivers, creeks and offshore.

I didn’t have my ‘one’ picked until I recently tested the Australian Master Marine 5700 Sea Class centre console off the Gold Coast.

As far as plate aluminium boat builders go, you’d be hard pressed to find one better than AMM. Customisation and attention to detail are two things Matt and Barton from AMM pride themselves on, and each boat that comes out of the Brendale factory is handbuilt to exacting specifications, incorporating any custom features the client could want.

Our test Sea Class, as with the vast majority of boats AMM builds, was kitted out with myriad extras designed specifically for the customer, who is actually onto his fifth AMM. That kind of repeat business demonstrates the quality product on offer.

Fitted with a 175hp Yamaha four-stroke, the highest horsepower available for the 5700 size, I expected performance to be spritely and I wasn’t disappointed.

For once we were greeted with good ‘boat-testing

AMM 7000 halo

Boat Review

by DANIEL TOMLINSON

conditions’ upon heading out of the Gold Coast Seaway, with a stiff northerly breeze stirring up a reasonable chop.

Trimming the motor down and dropping the hammer resulted in rapid acceleration onto the plane, with the motor and Sea Class hull combo holding steady on the plane at just 31km/h and 3000rpm!

This low planing speed returned a super-economical number of 2.1km per litre, which is bloody impressive for a high-horsepower motor and roughly 6m plate boat.

I found the boat handled the conditions best at a casual 4000rpm cruise, netting awesome 1.9km per litre fuel economy while nipping along at bang-on 50km/h, perfect for shooting across the bay or wide offshore to the deep grounds.

Flat chat, we managed 73km/h at 5600rpm, travelling 1.1km per litre of fuel used.

All very impressive numbers for a bluff-fronted centre console built from solid 5mm bottom and 4mm side sheets of

high-tensile plate aluminium.

AMM’s Sea Class hull is a proven design and ably treads the fine line between the offshore boating essentials of good ride comfort, stability at rest (with a 2.25m beam) and a dry ride under way.

Rolling along at that comfortable 50km/h, I found the 5700 Sea Class to tack straight and true regardless where I pointed the bow offshore.

Whether travelling with the swell and chop, straight into it or across it, the substantial reverse chines made short work of the Gold Coast slop, driving water well out the sides of the plate hull.

Only once did any spray find its way over the high sides, thanks to yours truly decelerating while working the wheel and dropping the front left corner into a trough.

Even then, the centre console’s windscreen copped the spray and I remained dry.

Pulling up to take some interior shots, I moved around the deck and took in what this beautifully finished boat had to offer.

Interestingly, for this customer’s boat, AMM did away with both traditional raised bow rails and rear grab rails, meaning viewed side-on the boat cuts an ultra-clean profile and looks ‘fast’ standing still.

Relocating the bow rails to the interior of the boat (see casting deck picture) affords easier entry and egress over the bow of the boat, with nothing to get in the way of your

bum when sliding in and out after nosing into the beach.

This kind of thoughtful design touch, as requested by the customer, is absolutely the norm for AMM and simply part of the process when creating custom plate boats.

Under foot was an awesome soft and grippy EVA foam flooring material that is laser-cut and can * continued P45

Classic centre console layout the ultimate in 360-degree fishability.

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07 3889 7380 | 234 Leitchs Rd, Brendale Q 4500 Page 44 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

www.bnbfishing.com. au

BOATING & marine AMM 5700 Sea Class all you could ever need * from P44

be finished in almost any design imaginable.

The boat’s camo print looked awesome and would no doubt prove very effective at hiding dirt and sand.

While every AMM is totally customisable and changes and additions to the already very good standard design are up to the customer, an interesting feature on the test boat was the central electric motor battery

Beautiful sliding seats great for relaxed cruising.

The perfect transom layout for hard-core fishos.

mounting location.

Under the centre console’s storage tray was an exposed piece of plate ready to be loaded with a couple of batteries to power an electric bow motor.

While the AMM hull does a fantastic job of disguising it, weight distribution is still a factor that needs to be carefully managed in console boats.

Moving the heavy batteries to a central location avoids the nose-heaviness that can be prevalent with an electric motor/battery setup mounted right up the front of the boat.

Under the lovely bolstered and sliding seats (soon to be replaced on the test boat with suspension seats of the same design) was a large box designed to house two smaller Eskies for food and bait, which could be slid out and in by removing an aluminium keeper plate.

Of course, a fully welded self-draining deck is standard on every AMM boat, which befits their offshore-ready design ethos.

The large centre console with solid aluminium

hard top easily facilitated two large Garmin and Furuno electronics screens and a left-hand drive steering layout meant a centrally located throttle lever, which is the preference for many fishos.

So, back to the ‘one boat to suit all fishing options’ idea: could you comfortably take the AMM 5700 Sea Class fishing almost anywhere in Australia?

Barring some shallower creeks and impoundments, yes, you absolutely could and it would do it all with aplomb.

Whether offshore from Moreton Island, in Hervey Bay, the Hinchinbrook Channel or up the Brisbane River, the 5700 Sea Class would see you fishing in fine style.

It really is the one boat to do it all.

To see this epic rig in action, check out the video review on our YouTube channel BNBFTV. For more information on the awesome AMM range and to design your ‘forever boat’, get in touch with Matt or Barton on 07 3889 7380, visit aus tralianmastermarine.com. au or stop by the factory at 234 Leitchs Rd, Brendale.

Doors open at Suzuki Marine’s new warehouse facility

A

UST R A LI A’S fastest growing outboard brand Suzuki Marine has officially opened the doors of its new warehouse facility at Wacol, west of Brisbane.

Located adjacent to its head office at 140 Viking Drive, Suzuki Marine’s new warehouse covers approximately 3000sq m of floor space and allows the brand to expand its facilities to meet consumer demand while consolidating its distribution operations.

John Haines of The Haines Group said the new warehouse would allow Suzuki Marine to better serve its dealer network and customers.

“Relocating our facility to our head office location will provide additional space for our product lines, which means increased stock levels and streamlined logistical processes,” John said.

“Housing our stock in close proximity to our

sales, service and parts teams means we can respond more rapidly to orders and dispatch goods in a more efficient manner.”

With another four and a half acres of land available for development on its nine-and-ahalf-acre site, the brand has further capacity for expansion in future.

“As we secure more dealers across the country, we have the ability to increase our operations as our market share and network continues to grow,” John said.

The new Wacol facility joins Suzuki Marine’s existing premises in Melbourne and Perth.

The warehouse will continue to be operated

by McPhee Distribution Services, who previously housed Suzuki Marine’s goods at their Larapinta site, south of Brisbane.

For more information about Suzuki Marine, the ultimate four-stroke outboard, visit www.suz ukimarine.com.au or contact your local Suzuki Marine authorised dealer today.

Suzuki Marine’s new warehouse at Wacol, Queensland (highlighted in red) totals approximately 3000sq m, with room for further expansion.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 45

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vessel Assessor and found while structurally it was a great boat, the cosmetics were starting to look a bit ordinary.

We recently had an issue with vandals, so made the decision to remove her from her normal weekly duties and give her a welldeserved facelift.

The boat was taken to the new Evinrude dealership at Redland Bay called Marine Care Queensland where she was totally stripped back to a bare alloy hull and had all the flotation and wiring removed.

Once the boat was completely stripped, we had her ready for blasting.

Thanks to Sales Agency QLD for arranging a blaster to look after the vessel.

They completed the entire hull, centre console and middle storage locker.

Then it was off to the metal fabricators for some panel repairs.

With the boat back in the shed after being washed out and cleaned, it was time to put things back together.

First job was to run all the new wires for the electronics, lighting and so on.

And boy, don’t the metres of wiring add up quickly.

We then had to refit the transducer, bilge pumps and nav lights.

We also replaced the underfloor fuel tank with all new hoses and breathers, and it’s always a good idea to double hose clamp your lines.

Then we started on the flooring.

If replacing your floor, try to keep any old pieces to be used as templates, which will make cutting out a lot easier.

Once all the pieces were shaped, it was time to start the flooring process.

We decided not to carpet the deck again because it is hard to keep clean and holds moisture.

So our first step was to resin coat both sides of the marine ply, then 400g/sq m fibreglass the top.

Once dry, we flow coated the top, adding flake to the finish, topped off with two coats of poly clear.

Boat Refurbishment

by COLIN HINDER

Do we need to say it should last a long time?

Hours and hours were spent placing and securing all the flotation into its rightful spots.

We then placed the floor down and were sure while fitting it to use a resin or Sikaflex to fill the holes when screwing the panels down.

We also used a product called Tef-Gel, which is similar to Duracryl, to prevent any corrosion at the fixing points.

A few splashes of paint were thrown around the place, leaving some places bare, while all the gunwales were covered in SeaDek. The fit-out continued by adding the console in place, running wires and installing new switch panels.

Whenever you are running wiring through your boat, always leave a spare wire or line in place as a pull-through may be required down the track.

With the interior starting to take shape, the hull was sanded and prepared for the team at Bonza Graphics to fit a newly designed wrap.

The design and installation of the wrap was a rewarding process to be a part of, and what a transformation it creates.

Now getting close, we put the engine back on, connected all linkages and cables, bolted the bimini back down with a new canvas and windscreen for the console and wow, it was starting to look complete again.

Just when you think you are getting close, it’s time to reassess.

We found we still had heaps of little jobs to be tidied up.

The new upholstery arrived and securing the seating was another timeconsuming but rewarding job.

We were really happy with the way the vessel turned out and very thankful for the effort everyone put in to make it happen.

It was an eye-opener to have the help we did – thanks guys!

Also, a big thanks to the team at Marine Care Queensland for the expertise during the refit.

I can definitely recommend these guys for any work you may be considering on your boat, whether that’s a refit, a repower with a new engine, trailer repairs or a motor service.

Give them a call on 07 3816 5270.

Bonza Graphics and the team as always delivered another great-looking product and really brought the boat to life.

If you are looking for a boat wrap, get in touch on 0415 828 293.

Keep an eye out for our sharp and refreshed vessel on Moreton Bay. If you are looking at completing your boat and/ or jet ski licence, please give us a call to discuss on 0434 148 705 or email boatlicensing@optusnet. com.au We are here to help. www.baysideboatlicens ing.com.au

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SAVWINCH.COM.AU Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 47

BOATING & marine

Lowrance Hook2 9 sounder review

I

RECENTLY fitted a Lowrance Hook2 9 GPS/sounder to my boat and have subsequently tested the product.

The inbuilt map is a great feature of the Lowrance Hook2 9.

This sounder features an inbuilt GPS with map as well as sonar with CHIRP, StructureScan and DownScan all in one as a standard unit.

The unit only runs one

Product Review

by SEAN CONLON

transducer, which simplifies installation.

Straight out of the box it came with everything needed to mount the unit into the boat other than a bit of silicone, which I thought was great.

I’ve put a few different sounders into boats over the years, so if you’re reasonably handy it is a pretty simple installation.

The unit also came with a manual, just like all sounders on the market, and to get the best out of your unit it’s worth a read.

However, I seem to learn a little better by pressing buttons and getting used to the unit out on the water.

So, like most would, I left the manual in the box and headed out.

While I do have a working knowledge of Low-

rance sounders, I’d only ever used the HDS and Carbon touchscreens before this model.

Also, all the screenshots alongside this article were taken on my first or second day of using the unit, and they were all taken in my local area of Moreton Bay. Straight away I began getting used to pressing the buttons and not touching the screen.

At first I found navigating the menu a bit awkward but once I got my head around it, it was pretty simple.

Other than changing the contrast and sensitivity, the screenshots pictured were taken with all the settings as standard straight out of the box.

On the standard settings you can clearly see fish

Insights into boat insurance

B

USH ‘n Beach has brought Nautilus Marine Insurance on board to expand the fine print and provide readers with clear, easy-to-understand and helpful tips on protecting their boating assets.

The scenario The meaning behind the classic ‘oils ain’t oils’ slogan from television advertisements featuring Sol and his gangster mates also holds true in some respects when it comes to insuring boats.

Not in the context of engine oils or two-stroke and four-stroke technologies, but in terms of boat construction materials and where the vessel’s engine is located.

If you want to pay the lowest possible insurance premium on a powered runabout, then an aluminium or plate alloy boat with an outboard is your go.

A fibreglass boat of similar length and market value ordinarily will attract a slightly higher premium.

Now you might argue that this fibreglass boat has an edge over that alloy boat in terms of design and seaworthiness, but ultimately, specialist marine insurers like Nautilus Marine analyse the historical patterns of claims and use that as a consideration in formulating premiums.

Put simply, aluminium and plate alloy boats proportionally figure less prominently in the value of insurance

claims lodged than their comparatively sized and/ or market-valued fibreglass equivalents.

And if the boat is a rigid inflatable, then insuring the hull ordinarily will be towards the higher end of the scale than the alloy and ‘glass boats.

You might argue that RIBs are a very popular design with organisations involved in potentially hazardous applications like rescue, commercial operations or law and security enforcement, and that should not impact on you as a private user.

But again, the premiums are based on the likelihood and historical patterns of claims across all sizes and applications of that material.

A small inflatable is perhaps more likely to be blown away in strong wind or more prone to suffering a terminal puncture from a sharp object – decisions are not made arbitrarily.

They are based on extensive experience in analysing claims and wanting to deliver the best option to individual boat owners in order to secure your business.

It is these variables which affect the cost of premiums.

They are also one of the many reasons why it pays to insure with a specialist marine insurer like Nautilus Marine.

You are dealing with someone who understands boats, the different designs, the different

materials, different power sources and different claims histories.

You are not dealing with, for example, a specialist in residential housing insurance who simply lumps all boats under one, very high premium category in order to have all the bases covered.

For them, marine insurance may be nothing more than an ‘add-on’ giving a level of convenience to clients who are already signed up to their core line of business – house insurance.

Nautilus Marine tailors its policies to the realities of use – and it extends much further than just boat construction materials.

Take engine types and installations for example.

If you have two boats of around the same length and value but one has a sterndrive and one has an outboard, which do you think is likely to cost a little more to insure?

If you said the one with the sterndrive, you are correct.

Now if you took two similar boats again, one with a marinised inboard, that vessel most probably will attract a slightly higher premium than the sterndrive.

Of course, the primary uses of your boat may far outweigh any consideration of a difference in insurance premiums due to its type.

You want that immaculate new fibreglass half

cab for your overnight fishing trips and you are not moving from that purchasing position.

Fine – at least you know that by dealing with a specialist insurer you will be getting the right insurance for the type of boat you want to buy and how you want to use it.

Bow riders, half cabins, cuddy cabins, centre consoles, side consoles and similar configurations are all regarded as ‘runabouts’ for the purpose of insurance by Nautilus Marine.

So while there are variations according to different construction materials and types of propulsion, there is no distinction between deck layouts.

However, and in a related vein, storing a boat on a trailer is proven to have a lower risk factor than having a boat moored on a pontoon.

For that reason, there are often additional conditions if the vessel is moored in the water.

There also might be requirements to have an automatically activating

bilge pump on the vessel, or for storm covers to be fitted.

So while oils ain’t oils, Sol, remember too that policies ain’t just policies, captain.

Special conditions and excesses should always be explained clearly in your insurance policy’s product disclosure document.

Always check your PDD and if you have a query, ask for clarification.

If you need further information, you can contact Nautilus Marine Insurance on 1300 780 533 for any boat insurance requirements. Win a Nautilus Prize Package Nautilus will also be answering your boat insurance questions of a general nature and will be offering a great bimonthly prize to the best questions received.

The prize is a Nautilus Marine merchandising pack comprising a collapsible chiller bag, a handy marine sports bag and a cap.

Just email your questions to qld@nautilusin surance.com.au

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 48 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

and structure on the sonar, StructureScan and DownScan and a good clear reading of the bottom.

As far as I’m concerned, what more can you ask of a sounder?

The sonar has 14 different colour palettes and StructureScan and DownScan have nine, so there is a colour to suit everyone.

In terms of features, the Hook2 9 has everything I use in the touchscreen models.

You can take screenshots, you can scroll the screen back to mark fish or check something, and creating a waypoint is as simple as pressing a few buttons.

I found the inbuilt map adequate for all my styles of fishing in Moreton Bay. It showed me land masses and had all the contour lines and channel markers and I could quite easily traverse Moreton Bay and other areas using this map.

It also had enough different icons so I could plot

my waypoints and find them quite easily.

I could go into how many kilowatts the transducer is and go through all the specs but at the end of the day let’s look at this sounder from a fisher’s point of view.

You get a unit with a built-in map, sonar, StructureScan and DownScan, it’s simple to use, shows fish and identifies structure.

You can mark waypoints on the inbuilt map and it helps with navigation.

In short, it has everything you could want in a sounder and it’s not going to break the bank.

While I have chosen to use touchscreens previously, if my budget didn’t stretch to one of those I would quite happily run a Hook2 9 in my boat for charter fishing.

At just $1349 RRP the Hook2 9 represents incredible value for a readyto-go sounder/GPS setup. ww2.lowrance.com

Plenty of pike were sitting around a wreck.

With minimal adjustments you will be able to get images like this.

The Hook2 9 produces top images for the outlay.

The side imaging clearly shows the bow of this sunken yacht.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

K AYAKING & canoeing

Canoes are great boats from which to teach your kids a love of fishing.

Fishing from canoes W

I T H O U T doubt, kayak fishing is one of Australia’s rapid growth activities.

More and more amateur anglers are hitting the water in an array of craft, from cheap plastic sit-on kayaks to top-end composite offshore fishing kayaks, fishing in waters from narrow freshwater creeks to open lakes and oceans.

It’s no surprise really; paddle craft offer anglers a low-cost and hassle-free method to get off the riverbank or ocean shore and onto the water.

They are, generally speaking, lighter and easier to manage by yourself than a tinnie and can in some instances get into places boats can’t.

The one style of paddle craft that is seemingly overlooked in the fishing world is the humble canoe, despite its long history as a traditional fishing craft.

This to me seems a shame because it truly is a versatile and very capable fishing platform with a lot of very positive attributes.

So, in the interests of defending the canoe’s honour, I shall outline what I think are the five best things about fishing from a canoe.

Carrying capacity If there’s one thing a canoe does well, it’s carrying gear!

Most canoes are somewhere around the 14’-15’ range and can carry up to 350kg of passengers and equipment.

Canoeing

by DAN OWBRIDGE

In general, that will accommodate two averagesized paddlers, fishing gear, food and drinks and a good size Esky to take your catch home in.

Better still, with all that gear on board you’ll still have space to swing a rod!

Versatility Canoes may be simple but their possibilities are endless.

Most canoes come standard with two seats but can usually be paddled relatively easily by one person or even by three.

Want to take the better half along?

No worries, take the canoe…

Want to go out alone?

No worries, take the canoe…

Want to take the kids?

No worries, put in a spare middle seat and take the canoe!

Canoes are also very easy to configure with rod holders, fishfinders and camera mounts.

In most cases a couple of simple bolts through the side of a canoe are all that is needed to set up your new fishing boat.

All you need to decide then is which camera angle will capture your next catch.

Stability Most recreational canoes are designed to be stable, confidence-inspiring paddle craft.

They have enough width to ensure you can comfortably sit and relax while waiting to hook your next monster.

In some cases, they can be stable enough to allow the paddler to stand and cast.

And if that’s not enough, take a leaf from our Pacific Islander friends and add an outrigger to your boat.

Now your canoe is a stable platform from which to cast a line, retrieve a pot or fight that reluctant fish.

Power options The hull on a canoe is indeed an agreeable beast.

It’s happy being pushed along by a single or double-bladed paddle, an outboard or even a sail.

Modern canoe designs certainly take that into consideration.

From low-sided pack canoes designed to be paddled with a longer kayak paddle to square-transom canes with mounts on the rear to facilitate the fitting of an outboard motor, there is sure to be a canoe to suit your needs.

Comfort Perhaps the single biggest drawback to paddling a kayak is the sitting position.

With your feet at the same height as your backside, there is a lot of pressure placed on the lower spine and hips.

Many a kayak paddler

Square-transom canoes allow the addition of a motor for trolling or an easy run home.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

has complained about dead legs and lower back pain after a few hours in the seat.

Canoes, with their raised seating position, offer some relief to paddlers’ aching posteriors, and being a deal roomier allow them to shift about during the day.

The secret is in your ability to get your feet under you slightly in a canoe and take some of the weight off your lower back.

In addition, most canoes can have a backrest fitted to allow the paddler to ease back into an afternoon of fishing.

Interestingly, many of the larger fishing kayaks are now fitted with a raised seat to allow a level of comfort on extended trips.

A word of warning: canoes, like most paddle craft, have their limitations.

Unless very experienced, I do not recommend taking a canoe out on open water when there’s a strong wind warning or the chance of a large swell.

Canoes, being an opentopped boat, can become swamped in heavy conditions, providing you with an unwelcome dunking.

Most modern canoes will have buoyancy fitted to prevent them sinking completely, but you could still be up for an uncomfortable swim back to shore.

On rivers, lakes and sheltered bays, it is hard to beat a canoe as a comfortable and versatile fishing platform.

So, when you’re next in the market for a new fishing platform, give the humble canoe a thought.

It might be the right craft to chase those elusive big ones in your secret spot!

If you want to know more about fishing from canoes and fit-out options, give me a call at One Tree Canoe Company on 0424 001 646 or visit onetree canoe.com Happy paddling.

Adding an outrigger to a canoe gives great stability to allow casting rods, checking pots and fighting the big ones.

Pack canoes make for a great lightweight fishing option and can be paddled with a kayak paddle.

CLASSIC AUSTRALIAN-MADE CANOES

Canoes | Repairs | Hires 0424 001 646 | onetreecanoe.com Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 49

Got my new PB jewfish of 101cm on a 110mm Zerek Fish Trap.

Logan Rudge My six-year-old grandson Noah Beattie with his first flathead caught in the Noosa canals trolling a hard-body while Grandad paddled the kayak.

Bruce Beattie

Here is my mate big Trev with a caught and released 80cm lizard.

It was taken at a secret Russell Island spot.

Brendan Hutchinson

Three young cousins, Isabella, Mackenzie and William all got their first fish on the Gold Coast.

Don Green

I have been landing a few nice flathead lately on the Gold Coast.

Tim Scott-Cowan

Donna from Laidley nailed this bream off the rocks at Amity Point.

Steven Hewlett

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.

■ Readers Forum ■ Readers Forum ■ Readers Forum

PUZZLE PAGE w i l s o n f i s h i n g.c o m

Spot 10 differences

Hidden handy gear Words can run vertically, horizontally, diagonally and back to front.

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KNIFE AERATOR ROD HOLDER LURE RETRIEVER GAFF

V A G E Tme X M Catch O R H Y E V I if you I E V O L G F E R B I F M Rcan!

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LIP GRIPS TUNA OIL BERLEY LANDING NET YABBY PUMP

Page 50 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

PLIERS ESKY GLOVES GIMBAL BELT HEAD SCARF

WIN a Wilson Fishing prize pack worth over $50!

For your chance to win, simply solve the puzzles, take a picture and message the Bush ‘n Beach Facebook page or email design@bnbfishing.com.au before Thursday, September 20, 2018. GOOD LUCK! Congratulations to Peter Warwick on being the winner of the August puzzle competition. T&Cs: One winner per month. One entry per person. www.bnbfishing.com. au

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2018 AFTA AWARD WINNERS

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BEST BAIT & TACKLE STORE

AFTER winning the AFTA Small Bait & Tackle Store Award in 2017, Anglers Fishing World in Fremantle, Western Australia expanded and increased its shop size.

The team was over the moon and felt very privileged to win the award for Australia’s Best Bait & Tackle Store 2018.

Posting on their Facebook page, Anglers Fishing World www.bnbfishing.com. au

thanked everyone who voted and congratulated all the other award winners.

The team had an amazing year of growth and looks forward to more in future.

Anglers Fishing World now has an even bigger and more extensive range of fishing tackle and accessories, with the same old-fashioned quality customer service and great advice.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 51

Charter Directory BRISBANE - MANLY - SCARBOROUGH

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Bookings from 1 to 12 people, discount for 9 or more

Depart from Manly or Scarborough

• Fishing offshore Moreton Island • Reef, jigging, soft plastics and game fishing • Moreton Bay trips for groups by arrangement • Custom charters to suit your needs

Jackson with a cracking knobby taken on a Smithy’s Fishing Charters offshore trip.

• Gift vouchers are also available • Full or extended day charters from only $220

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All quality gear, lunch and morning tea provided

DEEP SEA FISHING CHARTERS

Call Mat Hubbard 0413 128 056 Email: moretonislandfishingcharters@gmail.com moretonislandfishingcharters.com.au Full day charter

with Owner/Skipper Ed Falconer, 24 years reef fishing in this area. **EVERYTHING SUPPLIED**

Fish the abundant offshore reefs of Fraser Island and Rainbow Beach CONNECT WITH US ON FACEBOOK

A beautiful day offshore and an awesome cobia catch saw this Noosa Charters customer happy as Larry.

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Page 52 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Charter Directory YEPPOON

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Fish ‘N’ Cruise Charters ALL MEALS INCLUDED

Individuals needed to make up numbers on some trips.

Extended fishing charters available for contract work • Swain SwainsReefs reef • Bunker Group group • Coral Sea • Shoal waters and beyond

Contact Scott & Soozi Wilson P: 1800 SWAINS (1800 792 467) M: 0408 755 201 E: info@capricornstar.com.au

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Trips Available • Local • Gutters • Shoals Full day, 1/2 day, overnight, 2 day charters

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We supply morning tea, lunch, bait & tackle. We clean your fish.

Drinks available. BYO alcohol.

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Fishing charters

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Learn how to fish with lures and soft plastics • Inshore charters • Small groups only • All gear supplied • Full/half day Off-water courses also available.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 53

Don’t miss Australia’s biggest family fishing classic

J

UST like Bowen, the Bowen Family Fishing Classic is about more than fishing – it’s a time for the family to relax and be entertained, play, win and enjoy outdoor recreational activities for the weekend.

The Iron Jack XXXX Beach Party gets under way from midday on Saturday, September 22 when the amusement rides roar to life, followed by the Blessing of the Fishermen.

The show really kicks off then, starting with Ash Smith whose setlist consists of both original and cover songs with a twist.

Top-class on-stage entertainers from all over Queensland will be in Bowen for this muchloved event.

The kids are never forgotten, with handball comps, a water balloon challenge and heaps of prizes to be won.

Roving kids’ entertainer Windy Wizard will be there from 4pm on Saturday and 1pm on Sunday.

Also joining the event this year

A huge spanish mackerel from 2017’s competition.

The 2018 senior major lucky nomination prize boat.

27th A not fo organisatior profit n local and re helping gion charities al

the Hosted by EW CL ASSIC CR ED LU and our VArs sponso

nd

22

Check out our Website and entries available online

$25 SENIOR (16 years and over)

18 $15 JUNIOR (15 years and under) rd SEPT. 20 Australia’s BIGGEST Family Fishing Classic at the Top of the Whitsundays

www.bowenfamilyfishingclassic.com

- 23

$30,200

WOIFN2

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★ Innocent Eve ★ Heath Milner ★ Australian Chili Peppers Tribute Show ★ Whole Lotta AC-DC Tribute Show ★ Matt Angell ★ Geoff Wilson ★ Ash Smith ★ Windy Wizard (Roving kids show) WEIGH-IN WITH SPECIAL GUEST PERSONALITY

Catch one each of a nominated species in both senior and junior sections. Qualifying species and nominated length and prizes is on Page 5 and Trifecta Challenge rules are on Page 2 of the flyer.

SENIOR LUCKY NOMINATION PRIZE $1500 VOUCHER

SENIOR PRIZES $1500 value ea. - JUNIOR PRIZES $1000 VALUE EA.

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Page 54 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

and have some hands-on fun with bush and beach crafts, a sand castle competition and lolly drop at midday.

The bar stage starts up again at midday too, with Matt Angell playing a selection of the classics through to contemporary top-40 hits.

This is all interspersed with a huge range of activities from pie eating to sand sculpting, a lolly drop, casting competition and dash for cash.

There will be heaps of rides for the young at heart.

The Bowen Family Fishing Classic and Wet Weekend aims to be more than entertainment: the event organisers challenge everyone to switch off screens, phones, games and Netflix and come down to Bowen’s Sound Shell for an awesome time.

Geoff Wilson will entertain everyone during a lazy Sunday afternoon by the beach while the lure casting and dash for cash competitions are running and the weigh-in wraps up.

You can eat, drink and play in a celebration fit for all ages.

And if you missed the lovely ladies from Innocent Eve on the Saturday, they will be on the main stage once again on Sunday just before prize presentations to keep everyone relaxed and entertained before taking home a host of great prizes.

So what’s the cost of all this awesome-ness?

Senior entry for the entire event and fishing comp is $25, junior entry is $15 and the senior lucky nomination prize boat is worth $30,200.

The Stessl 460 Warrior is a superbly designed and built plate hull with a side console.

It is the perfect estuary and offshore fishing boat, with plenty of beam and depth, and it’s very versatile with excellent performance from its 60hp Honda outboard.

Honda is the pioneer of fourstroke outboard technology.

The BFP60 features Blast for unrivalled hole-shot power and ECOmo for industry-leading fuel economy.

This perfect boating and fishing rig is fitted on a SeaTrail trailer, Australia’s best value for money boat trailer.

The galvanised skid trailer with brakes and keel roller rack

safely carries the senior prize boat for ease of launching and retrieving.

This year’s junior lucky prize boat package is a Stessl 3.40 Vagabond V-bow punt worth $7400.

A tough and lightweight estuary and inshore fishing and crabbing boat, it is built strong with extra ribbing and transom bracing yet still only weighs 75kg and performs well with low horsepower.

Painted inside and out in Stessl white, it has a drop-in floor and two rod holders.

This perfect creek rig will be the envy of all junior anglers.

On the transom is the allnew Honda BF5 with sevenyear warranty and outstanding performance.

Honda’s portable range delivers unrivalled innovation, with the engines providing responsive, smooth and reliable power in a lightweight design.

The skid SeaTrail C-channel trailer (for corrosion protection) cradling the junior prize boat will last a lifetime and is a proven design for easy towing and launching.

If you’re not lucky enough to win a prize boat, there are 16 prize categories for fishing, including crabs, with a highest weight prize as well as secret weight for all senior and junior anglers.

Women are catered for with a top prize for the heaviest fish weighed in by a female angler from Centrepoint Traders.

The senior lucky nomination prize (non-boat) is a voucher towards a set of Mickey Thompson tyres valued at $1500.

Senior lucky weigh-in prize is four nights’ accommodation at Montes Reef Resort valued at $1000.

A Facebook competition will also be running, with the prize being accommodation at Castle Crest Motel Townsville valued at $280, as well as a $150 fuel voucher from Tropic Petroleum.

Entries to the comp can be bought from local tackle shops, online at bowenfamilyfishing classic.com and via Facebook.

Like and share the Bowen Family Fishing Classic Facebook page to keep up to date with all the exciting news.

See you there!

Westerly wind right on cue

T

HE usual August westerly wind that always seems to coincide with the Brisbane EKKA has arrived and ensured Bundy has had some chilly mornings.

SENIOR BOAT worth

BOWEN

is Whitsunday Sand Art sculptor Adrian Connor, so come on down and see what he creates.

Innocent Eve, a sassy and sweet duo with perfect harmonies, warm tones and moving lyrics will take to the main stage as the sun sets over the beautiful Bowen foreshore just before everyone settles in for the evening with country artist Heath Milner from Mackay, who will perform as he did on The Voice Season 6 when Boy George invited him to go to Nashville.

A fashion show by Luxe Fashions on the red carpet catwalk will see gorgeous gals taking to the spotlight to show off their classy and classic clothing line.

Fireworks will light up the sky just before the Aussie Chili Peppers knock your socks off with their pin-point accurate renditions of all the greatest hits.

They’re guaranteed to get you into a funky frenzy with a high-energy 60 minutes of non-stop music.

Get ready to witness rock ‘n roll at its best with a show that will leave you screaming for more from AC/DC tribute band Whole Lotta AC/DC playing and celebrating the greatest hits of this classic hard rock band.

It’s a superbly accurate show, complete with costumes, quality sound, lighting and unrelenting energy, all delivered with the power and high voltage you’d expect from an AC/ DC show.

Entry fee at the gate to experience the show is just $4 per person or $10 for a family.

On Sunday morning, locals and visitors can join in a fun run, with proceeds going towards cancer research, followed by brekky beachside and tagging and releasing the turtles by Gudjuda Reference Group Aboriginal Corporation.

So come on down for brekky beachside with the best view around before a leisurely day of music and family fun, the fishing weigh-in and wonderful prizes, all of which must go home with a lucky winner.

Car enthusiasts will appreciate the Classic Car Show, with beautiful rides on display from 9am Sunday.

The kids can come down too

As a boy I grew up in Brisbane and have this ‘phenomenon’ clear in my memories.

Unfortunately, the wind often also signals the start of the flu season!

While westerly wind can cause havoc offshore, gentle westerlies can provide small tinnie owners with the opportunity to target the close inshore reefs and rocky areas along our coastline, with the coastline providing shelter from the prevailing wind and the short fetch (length of water over which the wind has blown) ensuring wave heights remain low.

If you take your small tinnie along the coastline, remember to keep a close eye on the conditions because a wind change can make things wet and uncomfortable on the way home.

Make sure you wear your beanie and take a flask of hot tea

Bundaberg Region

by BRAD YOUNG

or soup to help keep you warm.

For offshore boaties, the warning is to be conscious of the fact that the ride out to your favourite offshore spot can be comfortable as you are running with the wind and waves… but the return journey can become perilous if wind speed and corresponding wave height increase because you will be heading directly into these conditions all the way back to port.

Be mindful of the conditions and how you will cope with them on the return journey.

Another important reminder is you need to keep a genuine lookout for whales at this time of year.

I have come across a humpback within 1km of the entrance to the Burnett River.

Whales can be especially hard to spot in the pre-dawn twilight hours, and they are often asleep on the surface and may not hear a fast-ap-

proaching powerboat.

As they are not actively swimming and their spouts are ‘gentle’ while they are resting, they do not give many visual clues as to their whereabouts.

The early morning light only makes things even more challenging.

Of course, the risk of whales to your vessel is less so during daylight when they are more active, can be seen on the surface and their spouts are more easily visible, making them easy to spot and give a wide berth.

With the end of August approaching, we begin to enter a period of change in seasons, with September seeing us move from winter to spring.

As well as the temperatures beginning to rise, the prevailing wind also changes direction.

We are in a period where * continued P55

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Jacks will become more active in September. This one hit a 3” Z-Man MinnowZ in Opening Night fished around a rock bar.

Phil with a nice creek barra taken on a 90mm green Maria hard-body lure.

Barra fever around Gladstone D

UST off your baitcasters and change your hooks on your favourite barra lures because September has finally arrived.

We can wave goodbye to winter as it’s time to let barra fever take over.

Longer days, warmer early mornings and a rising water temperature will have fish like barra and jacks becoming more active with longer bite windows.

With only two months until barra are off-limits, now is the time to spend as much time as you can to target them and leave jacks until after the closure.

Whether you’re targeting smaller fish among shallow fallen timber or bigger fish on deep rock bars, each one is exciting to catch.

Gladstone Region

by GARY CHURCHWARD

The mighty Fitzroy River in Rockhampton should be on every keen barra angler’s list of places to fish.

The net-free zone has been in place for a few years now and the region is going from strength to strength.

If the number of fish caught through winter and the couple of competitions that have been held are any indication, summer should see great numbers of barra captured.

The variety of structure and the sheer area of water available to fish between the town reaches and Port Alma gives you

every option you could think of to find and catch a fish.

Massive schools of threadfin salmon have been moving around the river, with the section from Devils Elbow to the city holding the best numbers.

Locally, Gladstone Harbour will be the best option to find consistent schools of good size barra, though you may have to cover a lot of water to find where they are.

Getting them to bite can be the next challenge and it can take some out of the box thinking to entice a bite.

Westerly wind right on cue * from P54

the viable target species will be dependent upon the water temperature more than anything.

If the water temps stay low, winter species will continue to feature.

If the water temperature begins to rise after a week of warmer days, we will start to see some of the summer species.

I am keen to get crab pots in the water on the next full moon as well, despite the water temp being cool, because crabs should be around.

We are often lucky in our area as we can sometimes catch nice full crabs right through winter.

Don’t forget to always use fresh baits because crabs respond better to fresh baits.

As an aside, when I go on an offshore trip and clean the fish, I now bag the frames for crab pot baits.

If I have the time, I sometimes wire the frames together in pairs, making the task

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of preparing crab pot baits even easier.

If the water temperatures begin to rise, we will start to see species such as mangrove jack stirring and becoming more active and ready to take a lure, though I would expect the water temps to at least reach the low-20C range to see this occurring.

Barra will also be more active, including in the dams as the water temperatures rise.

As with mangrove jack, barra will respond more readily to baits than they will to lures, at least until the water temps really rise.

I have been away travelling, hence the ‘no show’ of my article last month.

I am keen to catch up on local fishing action over the next month and am also looking forward to spending some time around the Bunker Group during late-September, so will be looking forward to sharing good fishing information in the Oc-

tober edition.

For those boaties who venture offshore, check you have renewed your membership to one or both of our local volunteer marine rescue groups, Marine Rescue Bundaberg (VMR488) and Marine Rescue Round Hill (VMR477).

I maintain membership of both groups, not because I intend to be one of their ‘customers’ but simply to show my support for their great work and commitment.

I feel all the safer knowing I have added my vessel and crew details on their log when heading offshore, so they have the necessary information should things go awry.

Please show your support by renewing your membership or joining if you are not currently a member.

As always, I can be contacted via email at f ish nboat@big pond. com or mail at PO Box 5812 Bundaberg West Queensland 4670.

Until next month…

It can be difficult to swallow when you can see the fish on the sounder but they repeatedly ignore what you’re offering.

Both the Calliope and Boyne rivers hold good numbers of barra, though not in schools like in the harbour.

Fishing shallow snags and rock bars will produce smaller fish while deeper rock bars and bridge pylons give up the larger fish.

It doesn’t matter if you prefer throwing around a few lures or soaking live bait, finding the areas where barra are holding is key.

I recommend having a few options on board because a change-up might be the difference between enticing a bite or getting a doughnut.

All you could need is a different style, colour or size of lure.

It’s the same when bait fishing, as different live bait types and sizes or even changing to fresh cut baits could get a reaction.

Awoonga Dam is another option as the weather warms.

It’s a bonus when you feel happy enough to jump over the side for a swim when it gets too hot.

If you’re after a few jacks, from Colosseum down into Turkey Beach holds great numbers of these fish in the smaller creeks.

Any likely spot holding good structure will be worth a fish, as jacks will happily sit in a few feet of water looking for an easy feed to swim by.

Hard-body and weedless-rigged soft plastic lures present the most effective way of targeting jacks in the heavy cover they hide in.

Fingermark have been around in great numbers, with fish from 30-50cm common.

Most are falling to vibes fished in deeper rocky areas.

Blue salmon are moving through the harbour in good schools and most of the rivers and creeks.

Catches of 30-40 fish a day have been the norm on lures and live baits,

pillies and fresh cut baits.

The harbour has seen the bigger schools, though once again, finding them can be a challenge.

Whiting can still be found over the yabby banks in the harbour.

While not the biggest fish, plenty in the 2730cm range are around to provide a good feed.

The odd flathead will show up along the dropoffs of the sandbanks in the harbour, around the mouth of the Lillies and in Wild Cattle Creek.

Crabs were still being caught in good numbers during July and August and they will get better as the water warms.

A bit of rain would also help to get them moving.

Hopefully we can all get out on the water and take advantage of the increasing water temperature to catch a few chrome beasts.

Cheers and happy fishing from Gladdy.

Good numbers of whiting can be found around Gladstone. Sam and Sienna caught these in the harbour on fresh prawn baits.

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www.issuu.com/bnbfishing Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 55

Weather windows galore

I

The author’s wife Amanda with a top goldband jobfish. It’s always great to get the family out on the water.

T’S been a long wait but spring is finally here.

You can start to box up the winter warmers and put away the heaters.

Overall, I would call this winter a mild one.

We didn’t see too many awful cold days in the low single digits.

That probably means we are in for one hell of a hot summer.

So what’s been happening in the creeks and estuaries around the Capricorn Coast area?

Well the barra have been very slow but should start to increase in activity with the rising water temps.

I went on a barra fishing trip in early August with my sister Cassee, nephew Linkin and one of Linkin’s good mates Ben.

Linkin Evans scored his first-ever king threadfin salmon. It went 109cm and came from the Fitzroy River.

Ben Sheehan with his first-ever barra. A proud moment.

Brad Handley caught a ripper black jew north of Yeppoon.

Page 56 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

Capricorn Coast

by JOHN BOON

We put in a massive day casting lures and were only rewarded with one king threadfin for our efforts.

It was a quality thready though, going 109cm.

Linkin was the birthday boy, so it was great to see him dragged all around the boat and to top it off it was his first ever.

How cool is that!?

We came back to the Fitzroy for round two the next day.

The day before was a mistake on my behalf.

I should have got some live baits for the boys to use because continually casting lures can get boring very quickly, especially in the cold water temps.

We cast netted some top river prawns and before long had the live bait tank almost overflowing.

Once we were done with the bait collecting, we went about sounding some likely spots with the Humminbird Helix.

It wasn’t long before the Mega Imaging showed us some mighty-fine barra shadows.

We rigged the live prawns with minimal weight as the idea was to cast them into the snags and let the current waft them past the ambush points.

The action was almost instant, with Ben hooking up to a feisty little thready.

The little tacker was brought on board and sent back with a cool yellow tag to hopefully be recaptured again one day.

Linkin returned serve with another small thready and the banter between the boys was very amusing.

Ben hooked up next and a little barra got airborne.

You beauty, Ben had never caught a barra before, so this just made my day, and his!

We got a few happy snaps, inserted a tag and put the barra back into the briny.

Ben was all smiles after that capture.

The next hook-up was a bit more intense than the last few.

Linkin’s prawn got hammered and we watched as a better barra jumped straight into the snag pile.

I thought it was a lost cause until the fish turned

and headed out.

Linkin was very lucky.

A few cool little jumps and we had Linkin’s barra on board.

He was proud as punch with his 61cm barra, and this one would be taken home for the dinner table.

After this spot went cold, we headed back to the town reaches to look for the plague proportions of threadies that had been hanging out through the moored boats.

There yesterday but gone today.

We searched around and eventually found some numbers sitting hard to the bottom on some rocks.

Linkin nailed the only thready from this spot before they scattered from the activity.

It was a tough weekend overall but we managed to boat a few.

A surprise gracing the pages of local social media is decent numbers of mangrove jack.

I’ve seen several of the local young guns getting amongst them, and on lures too.

You know it’s been a mild winter when the jacks are still keen to play.

Flathead have been very active, with some mighty fine specimens coming from Corio Bay and Coorooman Creek.

Live prawns have been doing well and for the lure fishos, small curl tail soft plastics around the 2”-3” size have been the go.

I’ve read a lot about the southern anglers throwing big plastics for big flathead.

It’s something I’ve never heard anyone talk about here.

It would be worthwhile taking note of those tips and techniques and giving them a whirl here.

I’m sure the big girls will be there, it would just be a matter of trial and error.

Offshore fishing has been very good of late, with plenty of opportunity to head wide.

Red emperor and largemouth nannygai are chewing pretty well, with the smaller patches producing the better quality.

Black jewfish have been testing anglers on all the inshore spots like Corio Heads and Finlays Reef.

The wrecks around Stockyard Point and the Pinnacles have been fishing well for grunter and jew.

There’s nothing worse than grabbing the light gear for a grunter sesh and the jewies firing up.

It’s a good way to lose a lot of gear quickly.

Recently I did a wide overnight trip northeast from the harbour at Yeppoon with my dad and one of his best mates.

It was one of those nights where we just couldn’t locate the hungry fish.

Six fish is all we could manage and those were a mixture of nannygai and moses perch.

One of the small-mouth nannies Dad caught went

over 4kg, which I thought was impressive for the species, but apart from that not much joy was had.

Once the sun came up it was a different story and the fish started chewing hard.

Maori cod, tuskfish and redthroat emperor were filling the Esky.

I finally managed to land a red around the 7kg mark and Dad boated a nice rosy jobfish.

No big standouts from the trip but a great haul of reefies for the freezer.

I’ve been wanting to take my wife for a reef trip for a long time.

We can never seem to line up a babysitter for the kids when the weather is good.

So what does a good husband do?

He takes the entire family.

Our youngsters are aged three, eight and 10.

They have grown up around fishing and boating but would a quick reef trip to try to get the wife onto some quality be too much?

I’m happy to report everything went smoothly and we caught some fish.

Or should I say the wife caught some fish.

Amanda went toe to toe with a few angry goldspotted cod before she landed a beautiful goldband jobfish.

She knew all about that one.

I think her muscles are still aching.

On the trip out and back we were able to pull up and let the kids watch the whales playing on the surface.

We had a mother and calf come over to check us out and the calf was tail slapping and putting on a show.

I couldn’t have hoped for a better day.

We even made it to the Hideaway on Great Keppel Island for lunch and were back at the marina by mid-afternoon.

A quality day spent with the family on the water in our piece of paradise and I can’t wait for the next one.

I still get reminded who caught all the fish on that trip… regularly.

This month’s Secret Spot Bait & Tackle voucher has been won by Rick Vanarkel.

The topic for the comp was best flathead photo.

Rick nailed the horse flatty pictured on fly and got a cracker pic of it.

Champion effort mate.

Rick won a $50 voucher to be used in store.

If you would like to be part of our photo of the month comps, then jump on the Fishing Central Queensland or Secret Spot Bait & Tackle Facebook pages.

Wait for the next comp to be announced and post a photo – it’s pretty easy.

Last but not least, this month will see the running of the annual WTF Women That Fish Barra Classic.

My wife participated last year and had a ball, so she’ll be back again this year for another crack.

It’s a top women’s comp and gets bigger and better every year.

I’m driving for the wife, so wish us luck.

Marriage counselling at its best.

We will also have a report on the King of the Fitzroy thready comp run by the Keppel Bay Sportfishing Club.

I was disappointed I couldn’t make this one due to work but with the size of the threadies being captured in the river at the moment I’m sure it will be a cracker.

Keep an eye out in upcoming editions for indepth reports.

I hope the weather gods keep smiling and everyone gets out to enjoy our wonderful sport.

Have fun, stay safe and I’ll catch you next month.

The spot where Linkin got his big thready. Humminbird Mega Imaging shows the fish up really well.

The winner of the Secret Spot Bait & Tackle voucher this month was Rick Vanarkel with this ripper flathead taken on fly.

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Todd and Zac enjoyed a double hook-up on mangrove jack.

Will with a spangled emperor.

Father and son fishing fun H

APPY Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

I hope you manage to spend some time with the kids and they spoil you rotten.

Or we could only wish, hey!

Lately we have guided lots of father and son fishing adventures at Crackajack Sportfishing Adventures.

Let’s face it, what’s better than just you and your

Hinchinbrook News

by TODD EVELEIGH

son or daughter heading off on a Hinchinbrook fishing adventure to make wonderful memories you can talk about for years to come, and of course enjoy the laughs along the way.

We recently guided Todd and his son Zac as well as Todd’s friend

Amanda with a cracking jewfish.

Mark and his son Luke.

The boys really got involved, catching fantastic jacks and little nannygai, and I think they may have even out-fished their fathers.

Zac really had it going on and was landing absolutely snodger mangrove

jack – pretty impressive for a 12-year-old.

We hosted another father and son team of Gordon and Will, and boy didn’t we get Will out of his comfort zone.

We had him casting and working soft plastics for metre-plus queenfish and trevally, fishing the snags for snodger jacks and we spent a day out on the reef smacking big coral trout, nannygai, green jobfish and plenty

This red emperor was a top catch for Brian Wells.

Lots on offer at Stanage Bay

I

HOPE you’ve all had many happy and safe fishing adventures and the ocean has been kind to you.

The road into Stanage has taken a beating with the holiday traffic, so if you’re bringing the boat, drive to conditions and please take it steady.

The weather has been a bit hit and miss, and some anglers have hit the jackpot while others not so much.

The muddies are feeling the cold, so you’ll

need to go further up the creeks to find them.

The crabs that are about are of an impressive size.

For those lucky enough to score the good weather, you don’t need to go far to catch a beautiful array of reef fish.

Marble Island has come alive with red emperor, sweetlip and cod.

Further out, Percy Island harbours red emperor, nannygai and mother-in-law (which given the right handling

A bunch of big muddies made for a happy crew.

Sasha weighed in a solid sweetlip.

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are still excellent-tasting fish).

If you’ve just got a runabout dinghy, the local jew hole can provide a bit of entertainment, as can bream on the lighter gear around the rocks of Quail Island.

No boat?

Stanage Bay can cater for you too.

Whiting are being caught off Flat Rock and it is accessible by fourwheel-drive at low tide, but be mindful it’s a bit of a hike back to the car, so take along your tackle bag/box.

The rocks at Alligator Bay are good feeding grounds at present for huge bream and tuskfish, and Porters Creek is also yielding good supplies of bream.

Whale sightings are increasing, so be aware they are about and try to avoid a collision.

September is generally the busiest time for the whales as they hug the coastline heading back south.

With school holidays long gone, the township has gone back to a bit of normalcy and calm, so the peace and quiet has returned for those who like to chill out and relax.

Now’s the time to start planning your next trip

to glorious Stanage.

Make sure the boats are maintained, safety equipment is up to date and on board and all rods are at the ready.

Stanage Bay Marine & Accommodation is only too happy to help with all your fishing needs.

Take care and we hope to see you here soon.

Pee Wee

Experienced local guide

of other species.

Will took it in his stride and by the end of the trip was hitting Gordon up to bring him to Hinchinbrook to go fishing for his birthday every year.

He was well and truly hooked.

Thinking back, a lot of my fondest memories of my childhood were fishing with my dad.

It’s great to see youngsters getting into their fishing and taking on so much tuition.

It really is a pleasure to guide kids in different forms of fishing and see them experience new things as their abilities and techniques improve.

Teaching them the difference between merely catching fish and angling for big fish is one of the best parts of my job.

I hope you enjoy the pics of these young people doing their thing and they inspire you to get out with your kids and pit them against different fish species using a variety of techniques to help them grow as anglers.

It’s amazing to see their passion grow so quickly with some successful fishing trips and tips, and it won’t be long before they will be showing you a thing or two.

Until next month.

Will’s queenfish was taken on soft plastics.

Zac nailed a stonker mangrove jack.

Gordon captured a quality green jobfish.

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Full-day inshore or offshore charters Come on a Hinchinbrook wilderness fishing holiday and tick some of those trophy fish off your bucket list – barra, mangrove jack, coral trout, GTs, sooty grunter, spanish mackerel, black marlin, queenies, nannygai and more!

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CheCk out our new website >>> CraCkfish.Com Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 57

Josh Lyon lifted a golden trevally. They pull like tractors at any size.

Prime camping on the west coast of the Cape.

Wicked west coast options around Weipa

F Tuskfish are a prime reef capture off the northwest coast.

OR a long time, any fishing trip to the Weipa area was pretty well limited to those with a car topper or a trailer boat on a very well prepared trailer with a full range of spare trailer parts.

Peter Pillans picked up a nice salmon.

Richard Pillans with a cracker Weipa threadfin salmon.

Page 58 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

Cape York by ‘BILLABONG’ BAZZ LYON

The Peninsula Development Rd was so rough, and the casualty rate among trailers so high, that many just didn’t think it was worth going there.

Boats themselves often suffered damage too, all from the relentless hammering of the seemingly endless corrugations.

As little as 15 years ago, I broke a trailer spring near Archer River and was very glad to have carried a spare, which allowed us to get back on the road fairly soon.

With lots more bitumen now, towing a boat to the more northerly parts of Cape York is a much more viable option, though being well prepared and carrying spares and tools is still very much a necessity.

The great fishing reputation of the Weipa area is fairly well known these days.

In fact, it has to be one of the best fishing destinations in Australia.

At Weipa itself the massive estuaries of the Hey, Embley and Mission rivers, along with the smaller Andoom Creek, all offer great and diverse fishing.

Just driving over the Mission River Bridge, you almost always see queenfish smashing into baitfish, which hints strongly at what is on offer.

These estuaries are famous for their barramundi, threadfin and blue salmon, estuary cod, grunter and giant trevally, among other species.

In good weather, a boat run to the west-northwest across Albatross Bay takes you to the Pine River and Nomenade Creek where the same range of species can be captured.

Slightly different habitats also see mangrove jack and fingermark more commonly captured there than around Weipa itself.

Then there’s the coastal and reef fishing.

The beauty of the western Cape is the southeasterly trade wind, the prevailing wind for most of the dry season, is blowing offshore.

That gives some leeway to fishing coastal and inshore areas, even when the sou’easter is howling.

You can fish off the beach for blue salmon in particular, and where rocky outcrops are present, also barra, cod and even in some places, coral trout.

Catching both barramundi and trout off the same rocks has been a highlight of fishing this part of Cape York.

Fly fishing off the beaches can be very productive for these species

as well as queenies and trevally.

You don’t generally get the massive reefs here that you do along the Great Barrier Reef, but there are still some beauties, mainly further out off the coast.

Often the inshore reefs are quite small but still fairly productive.

While coral trout and red emperor are certainly present, fingermark are common and often dominate as the main ‘quality’ species when bottom fishing.

There are also the usual range of reef residents, with some unstoppables among them!

Because many of the reefs lack the complex ‘snagging’ structure of the GBR counterparts, jigging with soft plastics and slugs/blades is a much more viable option here.

Tossing poppers can often result in mad chases and hook-ups with huge giant trevally and queenfish, typically over the reef edges.

Other pelagic action can be brilliant at times, especially for longtail tuna that are frequently seen smashing into the bait balls.

There surely can’t be much more fun than casting and retrieving a slug flat-out among the tuna and then hooking up with one of these speedster torpedoes.

They are great eating too, especially as sashimi.

Spanish mackerel are common captures, along with grey mackerel at times, taken by trolling and casting lures or floating a bait.

Weipa has a large campground, tackle and camping shops and boat ramps to service the local estuaries.

Beware the tide running against the sou’easter in exposed parts of the

estuaries if you’re in a smaller boat.

This can set up a steep chop and it’s definitely not the sort of place you want to swamp your vessel.

More great camping/ fishing options exist north-ish of Weipa too.

Pennefather River and Beach is located on the west coast, 71km from Weipa, and accessed off the Mapoon Rd (signposted).

The road is good gravel until just before the beach where you will hit the sand dunes.

Anyone towing will almost certainly have to air down because the sand is very soft.

It is possible to camp along the beach or the mouth of the river.

A beautiful part of the Cape to be sure, camping under the shady casuarina trees with views over the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Good fishing is on offer in the river, while a boat run to Duyfken Point gives access to rock and coral reefs.

Permits to camp here can be obtained from the Weipa campground.

Cullen Point is 10km north of the Aboriginal community of Mapoon, 91km from Weipa, and offers a campground adjacent to Port Musgrave, another picturesque area.

From here you can either boat into the Ducie or Wenlock rivers or along the coast or nearby reefs for a great range of fishing options.

The boat ramp is located just near the campground and care has to be taken here as it is exposed to the southeasterly.

The campground has toilets and cold showers, and permits are again obtainable from the Weipa campground.

All in all, a fantastic part of Australia, even apart from the good fishing! www.bnbfishing.com. au

HUNTING & archery Threats to the bush – rabbits

T

HE magazine you are reading is titled Bush ‘n Beach, and we see plenty of beach within its pages but not so much of the bush.

During the course of the next few months I’ll endeavour to throw a little of the Aussie bush into your monthly reading, purely for entertainment value.

Like most anglers, I spend much of my recreational time observing nature, not only in the pursuit of fish, but also out of a keen interest in our natural environments.

Some of the folks I meet are surprised to find that as a practising conservationist, a tree hugger,

Hunting

by NEIL SCHULTZ

a person who stops traffic to move snakes from roads and a catch and release angler, I am also an active hunter.

That surprise lessens when I explain that 100 percent of my hunting is ‘pest animal management’, controlling introduced feral animals and birds.

Nothing native to Australia will find itself in my sights including kangaroos, crows and snakes – all are safe when I am hunting.

Tiny targets make for tough bowhunting, but the bow allows for quiet shooting among livestock.

This month I’ll share random ramblings about the smallest introduced pest mammal I hunt, the European rabbit.

Rabbits were actually brought to Australia with the First Fleet to be kept in hutches and provide a food source for the new settlement.

By 1827 it was reported that a population of feral rabbits was established in Tasmania and in Victoria in 1859.

All of NSW and Victoria had feral rabbits by 1886 and they had reached the Northern Territory by the very early 1900s.

So rapid was the population explosion of the rabbit in the wild that by 1920, an estimated 10 billion lived in the wild in Australia (no, that is not a typo).

Yes, 10,000 million rabbits; a quantity that far exceeded the combined human and sheep populations in Australia at the time which were 5.4 million and 80 million respectively.

As you can imagine, the impact of so many rabbits in the landscape was significant and devastating.

Currently, the estimated population of feral rabbits in Australia is about 200 million following widespread baiting and biological control measures.

Though they do eat crops, the main impact

The holes in the foreground are entrances to a rabbit warren. Many more warrens littered the paddocks as far as the eye could see. Note how the rabbits have grazed every scrap of vegetation to bare ground.

They may look cute, but make no mistake, these are environmental vandals.

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upon our farmers is the amount of pasture or fodder wild rabbits consume, effectively reducing the stock-carrying capacity of the land.

In addition is the financial burden of controlling the pests that impact upon primary producers.

Their extensive burrowing also presents a hazard to machinery and livestock, particularly horses, and can damage farmers’ dam banks, roads and bush airfields.

If you’ve ever walked through alpine grassland where rabbits are present, you’ll know how easy it is to fall into a burrow.

While fishing along the Eucumbene River in the Snowy Mountains, I lost count of the number of falls I took by stepping into burrows concealed by the tussock grass.

A twisted or broken ankle is a very real possibility.

Outside their natural range, rabbits have proven to be very adaptable, inhabiting fertile coastal hills, alpine regions and semiarid environs, establishing themselves across twothirds of our continent.

I have seen rabbits in habitats as diverse as the very summit of Mount Kosciuszko and in the sandhills of Sturt National Park at Cameron Corner.

Environmental damage caused by rabbits is now the greatest concern for land managers and conservationists.

Though rabbits do compete with native animals for food and shelter, more concerning is the damage their feeding does to native shrubs and herbs.

Rabbits graze right to the ground and in high densities will eat the vegetation down to bare earth.

They also actively feed on the emerging seedlings of many native trees and shrubs, completely preventing any recruitment of those species locally.

This can see species completely vanish from entire regions in which rabbits are not native because once the mature trees die, no younger specimens are there to replace them.

Losing those species can have flow-on impacts upon native bird, mammal and reptile species that depend on them.

For very obvious indications of how severe the impact upon the environment has been, compare photographs of Macquarie Island with rabbits and now, after rabbits have been removed.

The difference is stunning.

An entire industry evolved around the rabbit plague, including trapping and shooting for both meat and skins.

The fur was (and still is) also used for making felt for the famed Aussie Akubra hats.

Surprisingly, a significant component of con-

trolling feral rabbits is done by hunters, both recreational and commercial.

Large-scale biological controls have made astonishing impacts in the short term, but the bunnies bounce back.

Shooting is a popular method of control and, being 100 percent speciesspecific, is effective in many situations.

The humble .22LR rimfire has possibly accounted for more rabbits than every other method combined.

Whether shooting for the table, for skins or just for pest control, the .22LR is the ideal tool, being cheap to run, quiet and capable of good working accuracy to 80m or so.

In recent years, longerrange rabbit shooters have taken to another rimfire round, the .17HMR, which is quite at home knocking over bunnies at 150m-plus.

Whether I’m carrying my bow, an air rifle or something larger, I rarely miss the opportunity to harvest some ‘underground mutton’ for the camp oven.

The author’s .17 rimfire is proving to be just the ticket for sniping rabbits at distance. These were taken from a warren 130m away.

by MELISSA FROHLOFF

Camp oven porcupine meatballs Rich in tomato flavours, these well-seasoned meatballs are a delight when served on creamy mashed potato.

Ingredients • 1kg beef mince • 2 x 420g tins tomato soup • 3 /4 cup long-grain rice, uncooked • 700g passata sauce • 4 tsp chicken stock powder • 2 tsp garlic powder • 1 tsp smoky paprika • 2 eggs • 1 large onion, grated • 2 sticks celery, finely diced • 1 tbsp finely chopped basil • 1 cup water

Method 1. In a large bowl combine beef mince, eggs, rice, chicken stock powder, garlic powder, smoky paprika and grated onion. Shape into 13 meatballs.

2. Pour tomato soup and passata into an eight-litre camp oven. Use water to rinse out the tomato soup cans and passata bottle and add to oven. Add celery and basil, stir to combine and bring sauce to a simmer on the camp fire.

3. Add meatballs to sauce and simmer for 45 minutes.

4. Serve on a bed of mashed potato and garnish with basil.

Prep time: 15 min | Cook time: 60 min | Serves 4-6 Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 59

4WDING & off - road

The Milk Carton and The Hulk 105 took advantage of the view.

Jack tackled the steps in his mental Suzuki.

The Hulk 105 lifted a rear wheel while going down a steep track.

Dean cruised up Track 35.

Page 60 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

Swan Gully Park 4WDing trip

A

RE you chasing an adrenalin rush?

Are you keen to drive some of the steepest, toughest tracks you’ll find anywhere?

If so, Swan Gully Park is calling your name.

In the past month we made the hour-long drive from Brisbane out to Swan Gully with the single goal of driving a track I was forced to turn away from two years ago.

To start this trip, we really need to dive into exactly why I’ve been so determined to drive this amazing track.

About two years ago I went out to Swan Gully with a mate who had just bought a Ford Maverick.

We wanted to test out his new rig and teach him a bit about four-wheel-driving (oh yes, he was very new to the scene!).

Well, wasn’t that a mistake.

I neglected to do any research on the park and when we arrived we very quickly worked out my mate was not ready for a park of this magnitude.

The first track we tried was Track 3 and we were travelling OK until we came across a large, steep rock face that led to a skinny track running up the side of a hill with a very large drop off the side.

We instantly made the decision to turn around, but for future planning I made the hike along this track to check out the challenges.

This scouting walk was enough to keep me anticipating my return.

My mate was not comfortable turning around on such a narrow track with such a large drop off the side, so while backing down the hill, he came across a large, deep rut that resembled a V. He tried to go around it but ended up taking the worst line possible.

Yep, he dropped one side into the rut and was sitting with a wheel about a metre in the air with the car see-sawing.

4WD Trip

by GREG BELL

By the time I reached him he was a wreck, so I got him out of the car and jumped in.

Within a few minutes we were back on four wheels and on our merry way.

Fast forward to last month and joining us on this trip were our mate Ben in his new rig ‘The Hulk’ as well as Dean from Lorian Automotive and his mate Jack in their Suzuki Sierras (after pulling an all-nighter to reassemble both front and rear axles specifically for this trip).

Now, looking at the initial rock face of Track 3 was daunting – both for me hoping it was as amazing as I had remembered and for the others trying to decide how to best attack it.

With a range of challenging lines on the steep, off-camber rock face, we all agreed that taking a diagonal line across the face was the best bet as it was the most level and had plenty of traction.

Much to everyone’s surprise, following this line made the obstacle a breeze.

Moving forward from this face, the track climbs up the side of a mountain with an easy 100m drop off the side of the track.

Climbing up we came across a number of rock steps ranging in difficulty.

One of the lines that stuck out was some very large boulders to the left with a straight forward line to the right, however taking the right-hand line meant your right wheels would touch the very edge of the track.

Surprisingly, the whole crew made it through all the rock-crawling sections without any hassle.

Once we all got to the top, we stopped to take in the view, and my gosh it was amazing.

From here we could see over to Wyaralong Dam and right across the top of Beaudesert.

Thankfully, everyone on the trip appreciated this track just as much as I did!

All amazing experiences must come to an end, and this track was no different.

At the very top of the hill the track changes from 3 to 4.

The Hulk 105 loved track 35.

Those who follow our Flexible 4WD Solutions page on Facebook will have already seen footage of this next section, and for those who don’t – what are you waiting for!

The next section thankfully had two lines: the chicken track and the next-level insane rock step.

Most of the group was dead keen on taking the rock step, and first up were the Sierras.

Leading up to the steps you have to conquer ovalshaped boulders.

Sitting about 50cm high by 1m long, they were certainly not to be sneezed at.

Once past the boulders, you had a choice of driving directly up the steps, which stood well and truly taller than Sammy, or you could become a mountain goat and follow the off-camber line and cross over the steps.

First up was Jack and he made the decision to track hard right and deal with the stupid angles caused by the camber of the track before crossing over the steps and hopping up onto them.

Much to everyone’s surprise, and with minimal packing, Jack was able to crawl his way up and show everyone how this track

* continued P61

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4WDING & off - road Swan Gully Park 4WDing trip * from P60

should be conquered.

Next was Dean, who tried his hardest to follow Jack’s line, however with a slightly different centre of gravity, harder springs and a harder tyre compound, he was simply unable to get as much traction as Jack.

However, Dean being Dean, he was able to get up, but not without about 15 minutes of attempts and having all four wheels off the ground a number of times.

The final contestant for this track was Ben in The Hulk 105 Series LandCruiser– now with 4” lift, 35s, sway bars sitting back at camp and front and rear lockers engaged.

We truly thought Ben would make it up but sadly, Ben’s wheelbase was simply not compatible with this track and the 105 would have laid over if we tried to take him up the off-camber line.

Though Ben couldn’t make it up the steps, he sure put on a show trying.

It’s always impressive when you see all four 35” tyres bellowing out smoke!

Like the chicken I am, I didn’t even attempt the steps – this was one of the challenges where the high possibility of damage outweighed the ego boost that comes with successfully tackling such a challenge.

After a quick pit stop at the lookout located at the end of Track 4, we moved on to explore the rest of the park.

The lookout doubles as a campsite, and for those who are confident tackling the track described above, this campsite is mint.

It is definitely one we will be using the next time we get out there.

Before long (and without surprise) the group got tired of following the easier tracks on our exploration and ended up on

Check out this gnarly part of Track 3.

The Hulk 105 smoked up its tyres trying to climb the rock steps.

one of the harder tracks in the park.

A winches and lockersonly track – Track 35.

This track raised my adrenalin more than any other I can remember driving.

Walking it was a struggle and more than one of us ended up on our butts walking up and down this beast.

I have to admit I wasn’t taking anywhere near as much caution on the first section as I should have, and I messed up royally.

I hadn’t been paying enough attention to my line and I slipped right into a rut at least a metre deep.

The Milk Carton was sitting on both front and rear diffs, with both driver’s-side wheels hanging freely in the breeze.

It was time to break out the winch.

Those who have been following us will likely know we are still running a cheap eBay winch that was already on the rig when we bought it – simply because we haven’t got around to fitting up a Carbon 12k.

Long story short, the winch is struggling to live at the best of times, and having to dead pull three tonnes up an insane hill was, well, torture.

With the winch cutting in and out and barely pulling, we hooked up a pulley block and ran a double-line pull, which helped, but I was still not going to get out of there any time soon.

Cue the skinny pedal, front locker and a fairly tight LSD. I sat there perched on my axles, smoking up all four tyres and winching at the same time.

With the very real possibility of snapping a CV or hub, this was not our preferred method of recovery, however, it worked!

With what seemed to be no damage to the rig, I

was able to get out and continue up the track (turns out I had damaged the hub but it hadn’t let go, thankfully).

Heading up this hill resulted in some of the most fun and terrifying driving I have done in a long time.

Large steps, loose boulders and deep ruts meant I was required to use a lot of right pedal and some skilful steering to make it to the top without any further hassles.

After we all conquered this amazing track we decided it was time to head back to camp.

We took the ‘fast route’ back, however in what seemed to be the theme for this park, we ended up on the wrong track and following a one-way, winches and lockers track the wrong way.

To describe how insanely steep this track was, heading down I was in first gear four-low with my handbrake on to hold the car from running away and feathering the brake pedal to control our descent.

Our inability to follow a map correctly added a good hour onto the trip back to camp, but as always it was bucket loads of fun.

Swan Gully Park is located among a number of mountains and consequently is scattered with extremely steep tracks.

This park is one I would highly recommend, however my recommendation is targeted at those who have significant experience, quality recovery gear and a massive set of balls.

Don’t forget to jump on and like our Flexible 4WD Solutions Facebook page to follow our adventures and get the latest deals on all your 4x4 needs.

Also feel free to send through photos and videos of your trips and we will post them on our page.

Until next time, cheers!

Photo: isuzuute.com.au

Customer satisfaction the key to success for Isuzu UTE Australia

T

HE latest research from Roy Morgan has further validated Isuzu UTE Australia’s continual drive for excellence in product reliability and after-sales service, with recent reports placing IUA second for the first four months of the year (January to April).

Over the past year, IUA’s score was up 2.4 percent, taking it to 96.4 percent (to the end of April 2018), above the average industry score for overall satisfaction.

Roy Morgan Research, Australia’s largest independent research company and one of the most respected in the world, has been measuring customer satisfaction for many years and collects customer satisfaction ratings from ongoing single-source surveys from over 50,000 consumers on a monthly basis.

This data is then used to determine the monthly and annual winners of the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards.

The winner for the full calendar year is the or-

ganisation that achieves the most months with a number-one ranking.

IUA managing director Mr Hiro Kuramoto said, “We are delighted our attention to customer satisfaction continues to be recognised.”

“Customer satisfaction is a defining factor in our ongoing success, which combined with the quality of our product and our after-sales care package defines the positive customer experience that people expect when purchasing a vehicle.

“I believe that if we can continue to respond to customer feedback and deliver on our promises, our brand will continue to grow from strength to strength.”

Coming up to IUA’s 10th anniversary of operation in Australia in October this year, the ongoing success of the brand is testament to its customer-centric culture, and the drive for double-digit sales growth since the company’s inception is a strong indicator of ongoing customer commitment.

In fact, double-digit

growth for a decade is now a tantalisingly realistic goal for IUA after an extremely strong first half of the year.

The ambitious goal was set after achieving nine years of doubledigit growth since commencement of business in 2008, with IUA successfully finishing 2017 with 25,804 sales and 10.4 percent growth year on year.

The growth of IUA over nine short years has been nothing short of remarkable, with sales totalling 10,209 just five years ago in 2013, illustrating just how rapidly the brand has grown in two extremely competitive segments.

Currently IUA is the 13th largest sales brand in Australia (ahead of well-established brands such as BMW, Audi, Suzuki and Jeep), with yearto-date sales growth of 10.6 percent giving IUA the second-highest sales growth among the top-15 brands.

For the full report, please visit roymorgan. com www.isuzuute.com. au

TOUGH GEAR FOR TOUGH TRUCKS

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Find us on Facebook Andrew posed for a photo while the author tackled Track 35.

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0401 221 596 Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 61

Gin Gin the gateway to barra country

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Barra Havoc TACKLE

HOME OF WORLD RECORD BARRA

BIG welcome to spring!

It is such a beautiful time of year and there aren’t many people it doesn’t appeal to.

With school holidays at the end of the month, this is an opportune time to pack up the family and head to Gin Gin. This place is halfway between everywhere and is great to not only break up your trip but also stay, as Gin Gin is the hub in the wheel of some fantastic day trips, especially for families and keen anglers.

Let’s start with Gin Gin and the variety of accommodation, from boutique B&Bs, farm stays, cabins, motels, hotels, houseboats and good-old back to nature camping.

The only thing not available is a penthouse, only because no buildings are over two storeys in height!

If it is an extended family stay, we have facilities for pet care and boarding, with some places welcoming our furry or feathered friends.

Lake Monduran is the jewel of the region.

Not only 1.6 times the size of Sydney Harbour, it currently holds the accolade of giving up the world’s largest line-caught barramundi.

Eight years on and nearly a million more fish released, we are seeing good catches right throughout the year, with some anglers preferring winter for a number of favourable attributes.

First, it’s cooler for the angler and you will have a large part of the lake to yourself due to fewer fishos on the water.

With an abundance of hungry barramundi and bass, you’ll be amazed at the size of both species consistently being pulled from the lake.

Increasing numbers of anglers have been fishing Monduran and catching good numbers of quality fish, which has improved public perception of our majestic lake.

It’s gone from a couple of mates boating 20-plus fish to half a dozen keen

Monduran Dam

by DONNA GANE

anglers hitting over 80 barra per session.

We’ve seen sounder images showing barramundi in excess of 120cm as well as plenty in the 80-100cm range.

Fish we stocked into the lake after the big floods are now in the metre-plus club.

Paradise Dam is only a young lake, so recreational boating is the best use for the dam until fish numbers increase.

I’m not saying you can’t fish it, but definitely keep an eye out for the native wildlife including lungfish.

Mingo Crossing at the top end of Lake Paradise is a good place to fish.

With a stocking program and many native fish already present, Mingo produces some decent fish and hosts a wonderful comp each August.

Lake Waruma is situated between Monto and Eids-

Jamie Bein knows all the secrets to finding barra.

vold and this is the red claw capital of the area, producing big numbers throughout the year.

If you are uncertain of how to indulge in this delicacy, just remove the tail and then the shell, slice and fry in garlic and butter or salt and pepper.

Bucca Crossing is a great place to chill, especially when it gets hot, as you can wade in the weir and allow the family to frolic in a safe water environment.

The Bucca Hotel is an attraction, with wholesome food, great entertainment and always a

cold beverage on tap.

Now we are only partway through the road trips around Gin Gin, so in a future issue I will pass on more cool spots around the gateway to barra country.

If you’ve got any inquiries, please call Les at the shop on 0427 880 827.

Even if it’s something random you’d like to know about the region or barra fishing, please ask as he will probably know the answer.

Travelling through Gin Gin, our Barra Havoc shop is southbound on the highway between the fire station and Tyrepower.

Night-time presents a great opportunity to catch barra.

Jamie’s partner Robyn joined him for a relaxing fish on Monduran.

Dennis Harold with his world record 44.62kg, 134cm long, 107cm girth barra caught from his kayak at Lake Monduran in 2010.

NEW LOCATION Pop in on your way to Monduran Dam for all your tackle needs – easy parking with boats!

26 Mulgrave St, Gin Gin (next to fire station)

0427 880 826

www.barratackle.com.au

Page 62 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

Catching barra of this calibre is not a bad way to spend the day.

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Ready to rock and roll in the cold.

Lake Boondooma pre-fish proves well worthwhile L AST month I wrote about my pre-fish for the B.A.S.S. Australia Nation round to be held at Lake Boondooma.

The pre-fish certainly paid off because I ended up in third place, which I was absolutely pumped about.

So in this article I’m going to run you through how I went about the tournament.

On the official pre-fish day I headed straight back to the spots where I had found fish two weeks prior.

I found the fish still holding in the same areas and didn’t fish at all for the first four hours, instead just drove around to locate any new areas that might hold fish.

First session To be honest, I was very nervous about the first session.

I knew it was going to be tough fishing.

Heading to the Junction for the first two hours, I went into the timber and sounded up a few fish but had no luck, so headed back to the weigh station pretty disappointed.

Second session I was more confident heading into the second

Competition Report

by CALLUM MUNRO

session because I knew the bite was better in the afternoon.

I went straight back to the Junction and within the first hour had two fish in the well, as did my nonboater on board.

We managed three double hook-ups for the session and boated at least 20 fish.

I was absolutely stoked.

Heading back to the weigh-in with two fish of about 1.7kg, I hoped they would keep me up there in a tough bite.

Third session Talking to my dad overnight, I was concerned about what I was going to do in the final morning session.

Dad reckoned the bite time would be 7am judging by the moon phase, so I thought I’d hit the Junction for the first 15 minutes and if I had no luck would have to make the tough decision to head into the timber to try to make something happen.

That is exactly what happened.

Having the leading non-

boater John Kennedy in the boat with me, I knew I’d have to perform to keep him up there.

After fishing the Junction for 15 minutes, I told JK we’d have to do something different because if the fish were going to bite, we would have caught one by now.

I also knew the bite period would end soon, so I headed into the timber to where I’d caught heaps of decent bass in my prefish.

When we arrived, I started sounding for about 100m and looking around isolated trees and boulders for small wolf packs of bass.

Within five minutes I had located them.

Using an Abu Garcia KR-X 2-6kg 721ML rod matched to an Abu Garcia Revo MGX 2000, I’d vertically jig a 1/4oz blade on 6lb Berkley FireLine Ultra 8 braid and 10lb Vanish leader.

My sounder allowed me to really zone in on the fish and after a few minutes I’d caught two decent

fish and was pumped.

JK also caught a cracker fish that ended up weighing 1.6kg.

The fishing then went quiet until about 10am when they came back on the chew for 20 minutes.

We didn’t land any in this bite time, instead losing two quality fish.

John hooked a big bass that ended up snapping his rod in half, and the worst part was losing the fish.

I was absolutely pumped with my decision to head from the Basin to the timber in the last session and it ultimately saw me jump from 12th to third place.

Another great weekend!

In other news, Borumba Dam has been fishing amazingly.

If you’re heading out to the dam and would like to learn how to catch big Borumba bass, book a five or nine-hour Untapped Fishing Expedition with me.

Give me a call on 0412 887 651 or jump over to untappedfishing.com.au Until next month, tight lines.

The author filled his bag during the final session on Sunday morning.

Competitors found plenty of fish around the standing timber.

LAKE BORUMBA A MUST-DO EXPEDITION!

LLUM MUNRO

GUIDED BY CA

info@untappedfishing.com.au

It was a foggy start to the morning on Lake Boondooma.

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0412 887 651 Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 63

Fish moving with changing water levels

S

INCE the onset of winter, the fishing has changed considerably in the South Burnett region.

Bass are keen on skirted jigs and yabbies as the afternoon heats up.

The author and Lennie with a brace of big bass pulled from the depths of Boondooma using blades.

With a bit of patience and some searching, you can find cracking catches of our native fish.

No matter what type of angler you are, you’ve always got great options when targeting fish in Boondooma and BP dams.

Lake Boondooma Over the past few months the fish have been sitting unseasonably deep in Boondooma.

Generally at this time of year you’ll see the fish sitting up along the rocky edges or feeding shallow among the weed.

This season it’s totally different.

The fish have been up a little shallower in 6m in the morning but as the day warms they are moving out into the 9-18m range.

I can’t remember the last time I caught bass this deep in Queensland, let alone Lake Boondooma.

The fish are sitting deep because the bait is there.

The bass are feeding on very small shrimp, red claw and

Nick Anderson with a beautiful yellowbelly captured from the edge on a small soft plastic.

y Guided b g f o rd n a L t t a M

Australian Freshwater Fishing Charters 0408 658 592 | australianfreshwaterfishing.com Page 64 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

Freshwater Impoundments

by MATTHEW LANGFORD

bony bream, a large percentage of which are moving along the bottom in those deeper zones.

Target the timber in the Boyne River early in the morning when it’s cold.

Small 1/4oz blades and ice jigs present the best way to catch a few yellowbelly and bass in 5-8m of water.

Fish these lures vertically with small sharp hops off the bottom among the timber pockets.

The afternoon has been the pick of the times to be on the water because the fish are responding well in the warmer afternoons.

Once the water has climbed above 16C, the deeper sections along the Barbers Pole area have fished very well.

Fishing water this deep is still quite easy using 1/2oz blades, 20g spoons, tailspinners and 1/2oz-rigged plastics fished along the bottom.

Bait fishers have been taking good catches of yellowbelly in the Boyne arm by fishing close to trees and rocks.

Most have been using saltwater yabbies, shrimp and worms.

It’s a good idea to use smaller sinkers because the bite is hard to detect if you’re using huge ball sinkers.

Simply tie up to a tree, drop your bait to the bottom and slowly move the bait up and down.

It won’t be long until you get a bite.

Trollers have been getting a few yellowbelly but they’ve had to work hard.

Make sure you take a tackle retriever as you’re bound to get a snag or two while trolling.

Red claw are still being captured in pretty good numbers around the shallow rocky edges.

Soft fruits and vegetables have been the best bait during the cooler months.

Lake Barambah Typically, in winter Barambah’s fish move in closer to the edge and can be caught

using a few methods.

Lately, the best edge fishing method has been casting Ecogear ZX blades, skirted jigs and jerkbaits into the shallows.

These slower-moving lures are dynamite in winter.

The key is small hops off the bottom near the edge with the ZX blades and long pauses near the edge with the jerkbaits.

The deeper flats have also produced lots of bass and yellowbelly.

Jigging blades has been the best method.

Most anglers have been sounding up fish in about 6m and sitting on top of them.

Ecogear ZX blades have been a real standout.

Drop them to the bottom and hop them with small sharp movements.

A fish only needs to touch them and the stinger hooks will grab them very quickly.

The best spot has been the big flat out from the main dam wall.

It’s valuable to remember most fish in the dam are gorging themselves on small bony bream, so it’s a great idea to throw anything that looks

like a small baitfish.

Search for steeper banks that hold some timber or rocks because these are likely places where fish will be looking for bait.

Out deeper, try to find flats close to significant drop-offs or the main submerged creek line.

Bait fishers have been getting a tonne of nice fish from Barambah.

Most have been fishing along the edge with saltwater yabbies and shrimp.

Trollers are catching the odd fish around the main lake points on small deep-diving hard-bodies.

Red claw have gone very quiet and should start popping back up as the water gets warmer.

Fishing charters Don’t forget you can book a fishing charter with me on Barambah and Boondooma.

If you’d like a great day out and all the info and knowledge to catch bass and yellowbelly in our two great dams, make sure you give me a call on 0408 658 592.

I’ll be happy to take you out for an awesome day’s fishing.

You can also check out my website at australianfreshwa terfishing.com Until next time, tight lines and bent rods.

Lennie held his PB bass of 51cm caught on a 1/2oz blade along the Barbers Pole area.

DAM LEVELS CURRENT AS OF 13/08/2018

DAMS

PERCENTAGE

MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG 15 Atkinson 14 11 8 5 5 100 Awoonga 98 97 95 95 93 22 Bjelke-Petersen * 22 22 21 20 19 44 Boondooma * 42 41 39 37 36 101 Borumba * 100 100 100 99 99 110 Burdekin Falls * 104 99 97 92 88 79 Callide * 77 76 73 71 69 99 Cania * 98 97 95 94 92 49 Coolmunda * 45 43 41 40 39 9 Dyer/Bill Gunn * 8 5 5 4 4 94 Eungella * 100 100 99 98 97 29 Fairbairn * 27 26 25 24 22 57 Glenlyon * 54 50 50 49 48 102 Hinze 101 100 98 96 94 100 Julius 98 95 93 91 89 68 Kinchant * 84 86 87 85 79 12 Leslie * 11 11 11 10 10 103 Macdonald 101 102 103 101 99 100 Maroon * 100 99 97 96 95 101 Monduran/Fred Haigh * 100 99 98 98 96 92 Moogerah * 91 89 87 84 82 90 North Pine/Samsonvale * 90 89 87 85 83 81 Peter Faust/Proserpine * 73 72 70 69 68 78 Somerset * 79 77 77 78 78 93 Teemburra * 98 98 98 98 96 74 Tinaroo* 95 97 95 91 88 100 Toonumbar 100 100 100 99 93 78 Wivenhoe * 77 77 75 74 73 100 Wuruma * 99 98 97 96 95 100 Wyaralong 99 98 97 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.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Waterways don’t have to be very large to accommodate quality size native fish, they just need the right elements such as permanent water, structure for cover and a rich supply of aquatic life to feed on.

A great catch by Scotty Vlietstra: a 16lb Murray cod on surface among the dense semi-submerged timber.

Murray cod are known to be territorial, so in isolated waters with little native fish competition anglers can reap great rewards if the lagoons have not previously been touched.

You’ve a better chance of catching a cod on surface during the colder months while exploring virgin waters.

Cold water fishing on the Darling Downs

W

ITH winter drawing to a close, it was tough for me to shake off summertime luring tactics and make the change required to catch native fish out of the Darling Downs creeks.

Using surface lures slowed right down to a crawl.

Those anglers who switched to hard-bodied lures reaped the rewards as they worked very well in the creeks on the Downs and some of the impoundments, especially Cooby and Cressbrook dams.

Jigging lures, divers and soft plastics reigned supreme during the frigid timeslots when other bait offerings failed.

It was one of the best winter seasons we have enjoyed for active native fish on lures.

Fresh Water

by NOAL KUHL

However, I still pursued cod on surface lures to test some theories of cod activity during dead winter.

I had very little luck, while anglers around me landed up to half a dozen native fish per session on diving plugs.

Switching over would have been easy, but I prefer the challenge of tempting a fish to strike at surface.

It was a hard task and I only tasted success during the hottest part of a warmer day.

This pattern occurred last year too, if I remember correctly.

The odd winter storm that flushed warm water

downstream would see the native fish become active on surface lures.

Even in chocolate-coloured water, the fish remained active for a week or so until the cold atmosphere penetrated the depths after the flows subsided to a mere trickle.

Surface lure casts had to be precise before any attention was garnered.

I usually find betterquality native fish, especially cod, are more commonplace in winter.

I still operated from a kayak over winter but had to remember to tie off somewhere so I wouldn’t get dragged about when a bigger specimen latched on.

Anything over 5kg in weight can cause kayak towing problems, especially around snags, which is usually where the cod are going to be holding up anyway.

Snags cast at from the bank got no results and it wasn’t until I hopped into a kayak and cast to the same snags at a different retrieve angle that I got

fish to hit the lure.

While the hits might be fewer, the specimens are much bigger.

Narrow water cools a lot faster than big rivers but these skinny creeks also warm up at the same rate.

With the sun getting closer and the days lasting longer, summertime tactics will be the go from about the start of October.

Utilising a kayak in winter can become a necessity when native fish like Murray cod are not actively feeding.

Callide and Cania family comps

W

HERE did winter go?

We are into spring already and before we know it Christmas will be here.

Nearing the end of the year, we’ve got lots of competitions in our region.

These fishing competitions help raise muchneeded funds to restock our impoundments and take care of running costs.

The Lake Callide Family Fishing Classic will be held on October 27 and 28.

This is a fun family weekend for all involved, with lots of draws, raffles, excellent tucker, prizes for fish categories and free camping on Friday and Saturday nights.

You can also camp or live it up in a cabin at Lake Callide Retreat.

With no significant

rain events for the past two years, no fish have escaped downstream.

Last year’s biggest barra of the event measured 104cm, and we should see numerous captures around the magic metre mark.

The last stocking of fingerlings have now grown to 60-70cm.

Barra are most active at this time of year.

With water levels around 70 percent and temperatures rising, we will be in for a good season.

The ever-popular red claw are still very active, with numerous reports of 40-60 a day.

The Lake Cania Family Fishing Classic will be held on November 10 and 11.

Cania’s stocking club runs a very good competition, with free camp-

Cania’s bass can’t resist soft plastics in the cooler months.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

ing Friday and Saturday nights, draws, prizes and food.

Cania is stocked with many different species of freshwater fish and fishes really well at this time of year.

Plenty of fish will be measured in and loads of good prizes are on offer.

The nights at Cania will remain quite cold, keeping the water temperature low for the next month or two.

The majority of schooled fish are in the main basin and before the timbered area.

Trolled lures will become very effective as the fish start to rise in the water column and move around a lot more.

Troll your lures in a variety of colours and depths up to 12m deep.

If you are lucky enough to have live bait, try in and around the start of the timbered sections.

Tie up to any of the large trees and if you don’t have any luck within 20 minutes, simply move to another spot and you’ll be into some action.

‘Til next time, get hooked.

Glenn Hobson

Nigel Krueger held a metre-long barra from last summer.

Dean Martin landed a little barra.

This little youngster had fun landing good-sized yellowbelly in Callide’s 2017 comp.

Layla Schulz scored a good size Cania bass while casting soft plastics.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018 – Page 65

Magnificent Murray cod observation

C

Dave Morris of Mittagong with a 110cm Murray cod that he shared with the campers.

Guyra TroutFest Sept 29 - Oct 1, 2018 • Fishing competitions – great prizes & giveaways • Fishing simulator all weekend • Market day – stalls, music, train rides, displays, trout tasting • Art Show and competition • Collector’s displays

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guyratroutfest@gmail.com | 02 6775 5735 www.guyratroutfest.weebly.com

ATCHING cod in winter, how!?

How many anglers know why cod are caught in winter or come on the so-called ‘bite’.

Were you told by some angler who is older than you or did you read about it?

Have you been advised by a mate whose dad picked it up from his dad or pop?

We are talking about 100 years of information, maybe more.

It is all about an annual event called breeding season.

I fished with my dad and uncles when I was a kid living in Leeton and fishing around Yanco, Griffith, Wagga Wagga, Hay, Darlington Point and so on.

I was always told winter was the best time to chase cod in Queensland, NSW and Victoria but it’s bloody cold.

Then I never gave it another thought until 21 years ago when we started to have day visitors tell us about the big fish at the dam wall.

We didn’t have time to look around as we were too busy at the camping area.

Glenlyon Dam in winter By 2008 we had become so interested that it became a big distraction to both Debbie and I. We actually went upmarket from a Brownie Box camera to a Canon 1000-D digital SLR with a 75-330mm zoom lens.

By putting a lens filter on the front to get rid of reflections from the sun and water you will be able to see for yourself what you’re looking at in the pictures on these pages.

We then had a ball each year watching these icons of Australia’s freshwater streams, the Murray cod.

It is a passion that actually ended up being a cod research project over a 10-year period, finishing in April 2018.

We have been advised it will be written up as a

Glenlyon Dam

by BRIAN DARE

major report in November 2018 for all to obtain and read.

We hope the information revealed will be acted on straight away, which was not the case with Dr Stuart Rowland’s findings back in the late-70s / early 80s.

Instead, his data was used about 30 years later and proved to be a bit of a game-changer in some states where the cod live and over the past two and half years it has proven to be the wrong way to go about things.

My thing was watching big cod as they moved backwards and forwards 20m each way past a flat slab of rock 1.5m under the surface.

They would then move in under the slab and come out three to four minutes later before going through the process once more.

I found out later that old mate was setting up a clean and tidy nesting site for the female cod to inspect as her home.

We blokes do this sort of thing during courtship too.

We get the girlfriend back to the flat or house and think hell, I forgot the stubbies, cans, dirty plates on the sink, microwave still holding a half-eaten curry dish, coffee cups with dribble down the side, dirty clothes on the lounge room floor, work socks and boots.

Don’t even go thinking about the bedroom or the shower…

You get the picture, it’s a crap heap.

So she moves on to suave Freddy’s joint, goes into his nesting site, looks around and likes what she sees.

Outside again, the cod go through the courting process.

Now this is where Debbie and I go home for a

GLENLYON DAM TOURIST PARK A great place to fish!

cold shower!

No, not really, but we have seen the process.

She lays her eggs on the cleaned site and they stick to the site area.

Cool Freddy puts his milt over the eggs to fertilise them, she comes out and says see-ya as she swims off to Myer, David Jones, K-Mart and so on, leaving Freddy to look after the eggs.

So poor silly Freddy hangs around for 12 to 14 days, day and night, with no rest and no food, waiting for the eggs to hatch.

When they do, he stays a further 14 days to protect the fry before they swim off, with a survival rate of 2 to 5 percent.

So one month later with no sleep and starved to near death and peed off with the whole process, Freddy starts to hunt for food.

By now it’s the end of September, and boy is Freddy aggro.

This is why in late-September and early October and to a lesser extent until May next year you will catch big cod in storages, and not so big models in the streams.

Wives’ tale or true?

There is a shrub in our region called the hakea (photo below) with bright yellow flowers.

The flowers last about a month and a half before falling off.

It has been documented the local Aboriginal people used these shrubs as

a guide to the breeding period of Murray cod.

The above is not observation but research into Aboriginal folklore and lifestyles written up and sitting in bookshops waiting to be read by people.

Even back then they had their own closed season for cod as they fished after the flowers dropped to the ground.

We should all read these books.

Have you picked up on anything yet?

You should be realising you can catch cod in winter, prior to spring.

And yes it’s legal to fish then, but keep in mind those cod are in the process of breeding.

If you want to take advantage of this format, do so, but if you’re fishing a river during closed season targeting yellowbelly with swimbaits, large spinnerbaits and big timber lures, let me know where this location is as I want to catch some of those 7.5kg yellas.

Otherwise, yes you can fish dams in Queensland year-round and you can keep cod to eat.

The same thing applies at Copeton Dam near Inverell in NSW. The bonus is you don’t have to fish the frosts in winter because lateAugust and September is when we see the big fish caught on dams.

It has been proven that if you run a lure past a Murray cod’s nest site in the river, the male fish is going to slam it, and if caught he won’t return to the site, primarily because you have kept him away from it for too long.

Just ask Dr Stuart Rowland or Dr Gavin Butler.

With Glenlyon sitting at 48 percent capacity and some 300 Olympic swimming pools of water being released every 24 hours, we could see the storage down to 45 percent before shutting down of the environmental flows.

When that takes place, you will see the cod at the storage doing their site selecting.

By the last week of September the cod fishing will pick up as Dad will be back out there hunting food to replace the body fat he used to do his job.

A cod near its nest site.

A cod on site.

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A native hakea tree in flower.

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Offshore fishing courses: • Comprising a night of theory and a full day’s practical training on offshore reefs • Finding reefs • Locating different fish species • Bait rigging • Shallow and deep reef fishing techniques • Using a full range of rods and reels • Sounder and GPS instruction • Offshore anchoring • And much more

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Page 68 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2018

Kids practised their new skills during TroutFest 2017.

Join Guyra for TroutFest

F

ISHERS will be lining up as the exciting fishing simulator is in town for this year’s Guyra TroutFest.

Courtesy of the Guyra Hotel Anglers Club, young and old can try their skills for a very realistic experience.

Choose your level of difficulty and your favourite fish species and be prepared to be challenged.

Any age or level of expertise is catered for.

All reports say you are guaranteed to get a workout as you try to beat the machine.

TroutFest starts September 29 (opening of NSW trout season), with a children’s fishing clinic at the Mother of Ducks Lagoon in the heart of Guyra (ages eight to 14).

Ebor’s Dutton Trout Hatchery supplies huge brood trout for the children to try to catch and take home from the dam at the Guyra Golf Course.

The excitement and fun for the kids has to be seen

to be believed.

The kids get their own tackle and other goodies as part of the lessons.

A fishing competition for trout and native fish runs over Saturday and Sunday, with over $1000 in prizes and giveaways for juniors and seniors.

As well as trout, you’ll find categories for redfin, catfish and yellowbelly.

A map of all the local public venues will be provided.

Photo proof entries close at 5.30pm Sunday, September 30, in time for presentations before the NRL Grand Final.

Guyra caters well for dedicated trout fishers, with several local fishing establishments providing accommodation right next to the well-stocked trout streams and private fishing dams.

Opportunities for fishing should be exciting, with streams and lakes returning to normal levels after recent rainfall.

Malpas Dam and the

mighty Copeton Dam are both in easy driving distance of Guyra.

There is also the obligatory fishing raffle.

For non-fishers, Saturday is Market Day, with the main street closed between 9am and 3pm for Guyra producers to highlight their products, with tastings including smoked trout, trout pâté, egg products, international food, stalls of every kind and a musical program to suit all tastes.

Guyra’s retailers, cafes and pubs will be open too.

TroutFest provides plenty of other activities including art and photography shows (find the tagged fish), antique machinery, museums, open gardens, golf and bowls.

Join in Guyra’s TroutFest on the September/ October long weekend.

For registration forms and more information, email guyratroutfest@ gmail.com or phone 0488 755 736.

Mercury Diesel three-litre 150-270hp engines

M

E RC U RY ’S latest offering – a new line of three-litre diesel engines for sterndrive, inboard and water-jet applications – has been released at the Sydney International Boat Show.

Available in 150hp, 230hp and 270hp variants, these engines have been engineered, developed and tested over the past three years to lead their class in several key attributes: • Acceleration; • Reliability; • Ease of installation and maintenance; and • Reduction in noise, vibration and harshness.

Mercury’s senior director Global Inboard and Sterndrive Categories Reinhard Burk said, “There is certainly customer demand for diesel power in this key horsepower range.”

“So we are excited to offer these new engines.

“Mercury already has a class-leading diesel portfolio and these engines add to that with their impressive lowend torque and exceptional durability.”

This new line of engines continues Mercury’s development of diesel motors that comply with tougher diesel emissions standards being introduced in many countries to reduce impact on the environment.

Mercury subjected

these engines to intensive testing including ‘accelerated life’ tests that exposed the motors to greater rigours than any customer would impose in normal operations.

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The engines also integrate with Mercury’s Joystick Piloting for Inboards and Joystick Piloting for Sterndrives to give the driver outstanding control and manoeuvrability.

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approach to our dieselengine design for these engines, focusing on consumer priorities in the global marketplace,” Mr Burk said.

“These new FCAbased engines satisfy consumer demand for diesel power that is easy to install, configure and control; making boating easy and intuitive.”

The new Mercury Diesel three-litre models carry a factory-backed limited three-year recreational warranty, with an additional two years on selected major components.

A light-duty commercial warranty provides protection for one year or 1500 hours, whichever happens first.

“They’re extremely reliable and durable,” Mr Burk said.

“And because they’re integrated into Mercury’s global service network, consumers will be able to easily arrange service.” www.mercurymarine. com

www.bnbfishing.com. au

NOT ALL FISH STORIES ARE EXAGGERATED.

The catch of a lifetime story, we’ve all heard one. But the fact is, once in a while, life hands you a set of circumstances so astoundingly awesome, it’s hard to believe. And with the power and reliability of the Mercury 40 - 60hp FourStroke behind you, this might happen more often than you think.

Learn more at mercurymarine.com.au

See your authorised Mercury Marine Dealer today.

AIRLIE BEACH Whitsunday Outboard Centre 17 William Murray Dr, Cannonvale Q 4802 P: 07 4946 7286 E: woc@whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au W: whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au

BRISBANE NORTH Cunningham Marine Centre 23-25 Snook St, Redcliffe Q 4019 P: 07 3284 8805 E: ian@cunninghammarinecentre.com.au W: cunninghammarinecentre.com.au

GOLD COAST Onshore Marine Horizon Shores Marina, Woongoolba Q 4207 P: 07 5546 2480 E: onshoremarine@ozemail.com.au W: onshoremarine.com.au

BRISBANE Coorparoo Marine 57 Cavendish Rd, Coorparoo Q 4151 P: 07 3397 4141 E: info@coorparoomarine.com.au W: coorparoomarine.com.au

BUNDABERG Adrians Marine Centre 28 Ritchie St, Bundaberg Q 4670 P: 07 4153 1819 E: adriansmarinecentre@bigpond.com W: adriansmarinecentre.com.au

INNISFAIL Coastal Marine & Outdoors 178 Edith St, Innisfail Q 4870 P: 07 4061 8272 E: joel@coastalmarine.net.au W: coastalmarine.net.au

BRISBANE Karee Marine 1776 Ipswich Motorway, Rocklea Q 4106 P: 07 3875 1600 E: sales@kareemarine.com.au W: kareemarine.com.au

CAIRNS Aussie Marine 5 Hannam St, Bungalow Q 4870 P: 07 4033 8800 E: sales@aussiemarine.com.au W: aussiemarine.com.au

IPSWICH Ipswich Marine Centre 45 Huxham St, Raceview Q 4305 P: 07 3294 3944 E: enquiries@ipswichmarine.com.au W: ipswichmarine.com.au

BRISBANE EAST Manly Harbour Marine 570 Royal Esplanade, Manly Q 4179 P: 07 3893 2199 E: info@manlyharbourmarine.com.au W: manlyharbourmarine.com.au

CAPALABA Mike’s Marine 9 Smith Street, Capalaba, Q 4157 P: 07 3390 3418 E: admin@mikesmarine.com.au W: mikesmarine.com.au

SUNSHINE COAST North Coast Boating 264 Nicklin Way, Warana Q 4575 P: 07 5493 9376 E: sales@northcoastboating.com.au W: northcoastboating.com.au

BRISBANE NORTH Brisbane Marine 306 Duffield Rd, Clontarf Q 4019 P: 07 3889 3033 E: info@brismarine.com.au W: brismarine.com.au

EVERTON HILLS Holt Marine 25 Queen Rd, Everton Hills Q 4053 P: 07 3353 1928 E: info@holtmarine.com.au W: holtmarine.com.au

TOOWOOMBA Water Skiers Warehouse 91-93 Neil St, Toowoomba Q 4350 P: 0400 379 514 E: info@waterskierswarehouse.com.au W: waterskierswarehouse.com.au

SEE US FOR BOAT SHOW SPECIALS McLay 651 Crossover HT

$HOW SPECIAL!

Mercury V6 200hp

McLay 611 Crossover HT

$HOW SPECIAL!

• Bait board • Kill tank • Deck wash • Dual batteries • Dunbier dual-axle trailer • Safety gear and more!

Tournament 1750

Tournament 1900 NEW! Bluewater

$HOW

SPECIAL!

Mercury 100hp CT 4-stroke

$HOW

SPECIAL!

• Stainless targa • Live bait tank • Electric winch • Redco alloy trailer • Smooth water safety gear

Renegade 440

Hustler 460

SPECIAL!

Mercury 60hp 4-stroke

• Live bait tank • Live well • Painted sides • Dunbier braked trailer • QLD regos

$HOW SPECIAL!

Tournament 1900 Centre Console

$HOW

SPECIAL!

NEW!

Mercury 150hp Pro XS 4-stroke

• 185-litre fuel tank • Plumbed live bait tank • Padded side coamings • Huge front cast deck • Three hatches

Gulf Runner 490

$HOW

Mercury 60hp 4-stroke

SPECIAL!

Mercury 90hp 4-stroke

• Full pod transom • Reverse chine • Live well • Bait tank • Electric motor mount • QLD regos plus more

• Bait board • Live bait tank • Rear lounge • QLD regos • Safety gear

UNBEATABLE UNBEATABLE

115HP CRUISE SPEED 115HP FUEL CRUISE EFFICIENCY SPEED FUEL EFFICIENCY MERCURY’S NEW 115HP VS. CURRENT FOURSTROKE VS. CURRENT AND OPTIMAX FOURSTROKE AND OPTIM FOURSTROKE g/kWh

MERCURY MERCURY 75-115HP 75-115HP FOURSTROKE FOURSTROKE RANGE RANGE

Mercury 135hp 4-stroke

• Bait board • Kill tank • Deck wash • Dual batteries • Dunbier trailer • Safety gear and loads more!

340

340

330

330

320

320

310

310

300

g/kWh

$HOW

SPECIAL!

Mercury 150hp 4-stroke

• Stainless steel rocket launcher • Live bait tank • Redco trailer • Smooth water safety gear

Side Console

$HOW

Mercury 150hp 4-stroke

• 9" Simrad • Drum winch • Electric toilet • Bunk extensions • Bolster seats • Ready to go!

NEW!

McLay 591 Sportsman HT

DELIVERS UP TO 14% BETTER CRUISE SPEED ECONOMY

300

290

290

280

280

270

270

260

260

PREVIOUS MERCURY FOURSTROKE 1.7L

BSFC dyno testing; data is an average of 60%-80% rated MERCURY PREVIOUS NEW MERCURY engine speed based NEW OPTIMAX MERCURY MERCURY OPTIMAX on standardMERCU ICOMIA emissions test.

FOURSTROKE 115hp 1.7L 2.1L 115hp 115hp 2.1L 11 Photos for illustration purposes only.

Can’t make the yard? Shop online! For quality new and used boats! www.kareemarine.com.au

1776 Ipswich Motorway, Rocklea | Call 07 3875 1600