BNB Fishing Mag | Sep 2020

Getting set for spring

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From the Bush ‘n Beach Fishing Editor

W

OULDN’T it be great to have a crys-

tal ball?

Unfortunately, that is not the case, so we must take each day as it comes.

Thankfully over the past month there have been several cracking days weather wise, which has enabled plenty of boating and fishing, and allowed us to escape the rat race and forget all the troubles of the world.

It is times like these I get a better understating and appreciation of what we have on offer here, and all the positive effects boating and fishing have on a person.

The recent snapper and pearl perch closure seemed to go well, with most people doing the right thing, which was very pleasing to see.

Even though the closure is now over, I still urge people to think about the fish biomass and stocks, and to take that into account when deciding to either keep or release fish – irrespective of their bag or boat limit.

To refresh your memory, we now have a boat limit of eight snapper, which takes precedent over individual bag limits.

If you have three people onboard you can

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only have a maximum of eight snapper, with no more than two over 70cm.

Thankfully, we had numerous species to target during the closure and the easing in pressure should help rejuvenate stocks.

Fishing September marks the start of spring, which I regard as a transition period.

This means there is a variety of fish on offer because you can still get the tail end of winter fish and the start of the summer species.

In this edition, the team have covered a variety of options along the east coast and freshwater impoundments, so there’s plenty of information to whet your appetite.

I do find setting fishing goals or targets helps you go out on the water with a plan.

Having a plan should make your time on the water more productive and improve your catches.

Although this is fishing and, as I have found out many times, having a plan B or even C is sometimes required.

However, the point remains – having a focus for your trip will get you more fish.

This month I am aiming to refine my snap-

per trolling techniques in Moreton Bay and have some fun throwing surface lures for bream and flathead.

I have also booked into Noosa for a getaway with the family for the September school holidays, so a little whiting fishing will be on the cards as well.

This very simple form of fishing, which includes ‘pumping for yabbies’ and either fishing on a shallow sand bank or from the shore, can be extremely rewarding, especially if the kids are involved.

Seeing their faces light up when they either spot a yabby, catch their rod tip fluttering or let a fish go are all very special moments and another reason why fishing is more than just a recreation, it’s a way of life.

Supporting a local Now, more than ever is the time to support local business.

With Queensland’s border closed for possibly the remainder of the year, we need to make sure we keep each state’s economy moving.

It doesn’t matter if you’re buying a lure from the local tackle store or purchasing a boat from a marine dealer, it will all help.

I have said this before, but it would be great to support our advertisers.

These guys have been with us through thick and thin.

It would also be appreciated that when you do support these guys you mention that you saw their ad in BNB. We try very hard to support those who support us, and I’m sure the feeling is mutual

across most of the industry.

We are a little fortunate in Queensland, and whether through good luck or good management – it doesn’t really matter which – we still have the opportunity to travel within the state and I encourage people

to do this.

September school holidays are just around the corner, so hopefully you have already booked a place to stay, as many places are already at capacity, which is awesome to see.

Stay safe.

Ben Collins

OUR COVER

LACHLAN BAKER nailed this lovely coral trout from the Bunker Group. Writers JOHN BOON and GARY CHURCHWARD have this area wired, and you can have a read about it on Page 52 and 62.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 3

September 2020 contents 12 Spring options for Moreton Bay. . . . . . . . . by Brian Webb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P8 Top-tier tailor tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Justin Willmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P12 Snapper and whiting dominate. . . . . . . . . . by Mick Clutterbuck . . . . . . . . . . P16 Tips on releasing snapper safetly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .P18 Cracking catches from the bay. . . . . . . . . . . . by Mark Templeton . . . . . . . . . . . . . P20 Yabbies getting it done. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Clint Ansell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P22 Tips for trolling lures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Brad Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P26

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Great time to be jewing it. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Gavin Dobson . . . . . . . . . . . . . P30 Heading to Fraser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Heath Zygnerski . . . . . . . . . . P32 Warm welcome for spring species. . . . . . . . by Brett Hyde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P34 Product News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .P36 Boating & Marine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .P38 Jumping for joy over big jew. . . . . . . . . . . . by Tye Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P40 Change of season brings big bites. . . . . . . by Grant Budd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P42 Tin Can bay action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Chris Rippon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P44 Midweek opportunities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Brad Young . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P48 Hot bites despite weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Tri Ton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P50 Bracing for barra fever. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Gary Churchward . . . . . . . . . P52 Charter Directory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P55 No complaints about Swains . . . . . . . . . . . by Bill Corten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P58

58

Sensational Capricorn Coast. . . . . . . . . . . . by John Boon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P62 Hinchinbrook in a tinnie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Keith Stratford . . . . . . . . . . . . P64 FNQ open for business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Brett Parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P66 Mackerel making reels scream. . . . . . . . . by Team Crackajack . . . . . . . . . . P68 Stunning southeast Cape York . . . . . . . . . . by ‘Billabong’ Bazz Lyon . . . . . . P70 Time for a Cape York trip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by David Donald . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P72 Recipe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Melissa Frohloff . . . . . . . . . . . P74 Readers’ Forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .P75 Caravanning trip continues. . . . . . . . . . . . . by Todd Eveleigh . . . . . . . . . . . . P76 Croydon: the pass-through gem. . . . . . . . . . . by Paul ‘Chief’ Graveson . . . . . . . . P78 Product News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P81 Big bass time at Somerset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Robbie Rayner . . . . . . . . . . . . P82

82

Glenlyon Dam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Brian Dare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P84 Predatek Bass Bug review . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Neil Schultz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P86 Trading Post. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P88 Subscription form. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .P89 Page 4 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

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22 Like us on Facebook (Bush ’n Beach Fishing Magazine), post your photos, share in the laughs and win prizes!

Check out our YouTube channel BNBFTV for boat tests, product reviews and other interesting videos.

Follow @BNBFISHINGMAG on Instagram to see cracking catches from all around the country.

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Subscribe to the FREE BNB e-news on our website to receive email updates packed with the latest fishing news and important information.

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

The Team

EDITOR: Ben Collins ADVERTISING: The BNB Team PRODUCTION: Jo Hendley, Lisa Jones Bob Thornton

84

Bush ‘n Beach Fishing magazine is published monthly by Collins Media Pty Ltd ABN 43 159 051 500 ACN 159 051 500 trading as Collins Media.

Phone 07 3286 1833 Email: ben@collins.media PO Box 162, Wynnum, Qld 4178 PRINTER: Spotpress DISTRIBUTION BY: Fairfax CORRESPONDENTS: Editorial contributions are welcome, as is news from clubs, associations, or individuals; and new product news from manufacturers. Entire contents copyright. Nothing may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. It is the responsibility of advertisers to ensure the correctness of their claims and statements. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 5

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Ocean Crusaders turning bottle caps into crab pot floats

A

UST R A LI A’S water way cleaning charity are at it again.

They never seem to stand still.

Having gone through the 100 tonne barrier of marine debris removed from Australian waterways already in 2020, they have now launched their Crab Pot Float Fundraiser, where they will turn plastic bottle caps into hard plastic floats.

In southeast Queensland alone, they have access to 750,000 bottle caps a day.

Yep, you read that right.

If every cap came back, that’s over 2 tonne of plastic that used to go to landfill.

In the clean ups, they commonly find broken

up crab pot floats.

The worst part is that the crab pot is probably lost on the bottom of the ocean and still fishing for crabs.

One crab goes in, starves to death, and then another crab goes in to eat that one and so on.

On the odd occasion a turtle will head in and then it is game over for the turtle too.

People need to change their habits and polystyrene needs to go.

Ocean Crusaders also collect thousands of bottle caps, so why not kill two birds with one stone?

They have set up collection points using container exchange locations from Noosa to Burleigh Heads.

You can find a page

on their website to see where your local drop off point is.

The waste is then brought back to one central place by Cleanaway, and is picked up and brought back to the facility where there are amazing volunteers who come along every Tuesday and Thursday to sort through the caps.

They separate whites (used for floats), metals and other debris.

The caps are granulated to be used in an injection moulding machine to produce a float.

The next step is to create the mould for the float, which is a whopping $15,000 to make.

Once created, the floats go into production and compete on

price with those pesky little polystyrene floats that are an environmental nightmare.

Ocean Crusaders are also chasing funding to move their facility to a dedicated indoor location, as at present it is in a backyard, at the same place they have all of their cleaning boats.

The machines are simply too loud to keep in a residential area.

Coloured caps will

later be turned into non-structural bricks, however the priority is the crab pot floats for now.

And they need your help!

They need to sell the first 2500 floats through their crowdfunder.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 7

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Tye Todd holds up a solid jewfish from the Brisbane River Mouth.

Spring options for Moreton Bay region

S

NAPPER fishing is now allowed, so they should be chafing at the bit after a month of closure restrictions.

With summer nearly upon us, pelagic activity in the bay will start to increase, and while there have been schools of doggy mackerel around in winter, their numbers should increase as the water temperature rises.

Finding them is often the problem, though you could be fishing for reef fish and they pop up not far from where you are.

The best way to start the search is usually to look for birds, but areas such as the eastern side of Green Island and across to Peel Island, up past Amity Banks and further north off Sandhills, the Rainbow Channel, the shipping channel, top and bottom of the Pearl Channel, Measured Mile marker and down to Mud Island will often hold them.

I always have a rod set up with a chrome slug

Moreton Bay

by BRIAN WEBB

when traversing the bay during summer because tuna activity will also increase as more bait moves in.

When the temperature starts to increase, it is mainly very small white bait that enter the bay and while longtail tuna will hang around for them during winter, their migration generally starts from spring into summer and this is when better numbers show up.

I find trolling the shipping, Pearl or Rainbow channels with a paravane or downrigger is a good way to find them.

On the odd occasion they pop up off Peel Island and the edge of Amity Banks, but their main feeding habit is to herd bait up against the side of channels.

Spotted mackerel usually don’t turn up until Christmas, and for the last couple of seasons

their numbers have declined.

The best area to find feeding spotties would have to be at Hervey Bay. You won’t find them hanging around beacons, as they’re mainly found attacking bait balls.

The only trouble is 70 percent of bait ball attacks are tuna.

There are still a few larger snapper of around 70cm and better hanging about.

Some stay in the bay during summer, but squire will be your main catch.

Don’t be afraid to fish the shallows at dawn and dusk in 3-4m of water.

Most of the big snapper spots are guarded secrets, but snapper can be found on the western side of Peel Island from the beacon at South West Rocks up to the green * continued P9

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Options for Moreton Bay region * from P8

zone, Green Island, the Wellington Point dropoffs, Harry Atkinson, Mud Island’s eastern side along the 10m contours – remember St Helena Island is a green zone – isolated wrecks and bommies around the Measured Mile marker.

If you’re lucky you could find snapper on the Neilsen wreck, then from Curtin Artificial Reef up to Bulwer ledge, or a few rocky areas along the shipping channel off Bribie, and I have often caught tuskfish in this area.

In reality, you never know with snapper, they could turn up anywhere on isolated coffee rock if there’s bait around.

The river over the past few years has been producing reasonable snapper, and even the rock wall out front is now

producing regular fish and a few cod between snapper.

Plastics have been doing the most damage in the river.

The northern end of Harry Atkinson produces better when there are less boats around, so that means a mid week fish, and the same applies to Mud Island and near Peel Artificial Reef.

I like to drift on most trips, as you can cover more ground and you’re not making any noise, compared to when you’re pulling the anchor all the time to move.

If you’re in a tinnie, put some carpet on the floor to stop the noise.

Around the Measured Mile marker, I’ll anchor off the wrecks or coffee rock structures and berley up.

This area fishes well into the evening, but you

need GPS marks for most of these structures, as very few anglers fish this area.

For land-based fishos, squid are still in close and around rock walls down the western side of the bay.

As the clarity of the water improves, you can usually find them sight fishing at night with a good headlamp.

For boaties, the weed beds near the entrance to the Rous Channel, Fishermans Gutter and Blue Hole are great places to look.

So, if the fish aren’t biting, try for squid on the eastern side of the bay, then you won’t go home empty handed!

Just remember the two nearby green zones.

Venus tuskfish are around and numbers will increase during summer. * continued P10

Tuna will be entering the bay in greater numbers as the temperature increases.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 9

Options for Moreton Bay region * from P9

A great bag of tuskfish to show for a day’s effort.

This pair of mack tuna provided a heap of fun for Justin Hodgson.

Darren nailed these two lovely bay snapper.

Page 10 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

The same applies to blackspot tuskfish, with areas like Peel Island, the Rainbow Channel, Bulwer ledge and the edge of the shipping channel off Bribie producing fish.

Venus tuskfish are more a by-catch species in the bay, but you can target them by using crabs, and Cranka Crab lures often work, even soldier crabs or small rock crabs on a hook get eaten.

If targeting big blackspot tuskfish, forget the light gear!

You must go up to heavy 50lb braid and 4050kg leaders, and even then you could be busted off if you connect to one.

For these monsters, there’s no better bait than sand crabs, just make sure your sand crabs are of legal size.

On the whiting side of things, there are plenty of divers around the northern side of Cockle Banks, south of the Sandhills, Fishermans Gutter and the weed beds in the Rous Channel.

Most of the good summer whiting are being caught down the Jumpinpin Channel and the Nerang River, but Banana Banks off Wynnum, around the Caboolture River, Hayes Inlet, the Pine River and Scarborough Reef are turning up good fish as well.

Remember the green zones off Woody Point, Bramble Bay and Beachmere.

With the water warming up more grass sweetlip will start to turn up, and a few have already appeared off Mud Island, the northern end of Green Island and the Wellington Point shallow reefs.

Grassies are better fished for in summer when humidity is high

– don’t fish up on the shallows but the edge of the drop offs.

Cast your plastic or bait onto the shallows and slowly bring it back over the drop off for a better chance of finding them, and when the tide is low move out into deeper water and work the edge of the drop-offs.

While chasing grassies or snapper, you may snag a moses perch, but they are not around in huge numbers.

While we’re on the subject of shallow fishing, bream are still around in fairly good quantities in the bay, and Mud Island’s eastern side in close (and I mean in close), near the small creek and the northwest corner by the spit are great spots.

Don’t forget the river itself, as it produces nice bream at times along the rock walls and entrance to Bulimba Creek.

If you’re after a feed of sand crabs, I’d try the deeper water on the western side of the Pearl Channel and the deeper water around the northern side of Mud Island towards the Brisbane Rd beacons, or even north of the Measured Mile marker.

Mud crabs can be found in the river, Boat Passage, the Caboolture River, Nudgee Creek and smaller creeks south of the river.

If you catch a muddy and the flap is soft, the crab is usually empty.

Look for crabs with darker shell or the Maltese cross on the underside of the belly.

If by chance you get bitten by one, hit the top of the claw with something hard and they will release, but not before they have caused a bit of pain.

There have been a few flathead caught at the southern end of Boat

Passage and around Boggy Creek, as well as the mud flats off Wynnum, the eastern side of Green Island and Wellington Point.

Heading north, the Caboolture River and Hayes Inlet, the sand bank off Scarborough, plus Bribie Passage have been producing better numbers.

There have also been a few caught around Coochiemudlo Island and the mouths of Lota and Tingalpa creeks, and the shoreline between Cleveland Point and Lota Creek can be worth a look.

A few spangled emperor have been caught in the Rainbow Channel north of Myora Light, and along the Wellington Point drop-offs and Green Island, but better quantities have come from the Curtin Artificial Reef up to Bulwer by those fishing the drop-offs.

The river near Boggy Creek and the 10-14m drop-off near the terminals, Mud Island’s eastern side and down around Goat and Bird islands have been producing good catches of jewfish.

Live baits or big plastics are the only ways to go.

Threadfin salmon in the river have gone quiet, but it’s still worth a try around the pipelines, Clara Rocks or further up the river near Newstead.

Live bait have been producing the nicerquality fish counts, and Boggy Creek and around the mouth of the Koopa Channel usually hold baitfish.

Next month I’ll give you a run down of our expedition off the Fraser Coast! www.bnbfishing.com. au

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 11

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Top-tier tailor tips T HERE have been plenty of tailor getting caught in recent weeks, both in the estuaries and along the beaches, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to run through a few of my favourite lures and techniques for catching this aggressive predator.

Finding tailor The first thing we need to do is find the fish and the three ‘Bs’ are often a good starting point.

Birds are the first B, and when they are actively diving and feeding, it’s a good sign that there fish are in the area.

Bait is next, and if you find patches of bait being especially harassed and spraying out of the water, this is also a great place to start.

Finally, boats attract boats, and you will often find that if tailor are on in an area then the

Tackle Tactics

by JUSTIN WILLMER

boats will gather, much like anglers gather on the beaches to target tailor schools.

If you are fishing rivers and estuaries then prime areas to start fishing are around the mouths of systems

where they meet the ocean, deeper channels with good flow, and areas where the current pushes around structure such as rock walls and ledges.

On beaches, look

* continued P14

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Spinning for tailor with light spin gear in the surf.

Top-tier tailor tips

* from P12

Jude landed this tailor after spotting the school while travelling the beach

A light spin outfit and a ZMan 3” MinnowZ gets the job done!

Page 14 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

for deep gutters with breaks out to the ocean and foamy water.

Prime time can often be an incoming tide as water fills the gutters or clean water enters the estuaries, bringing with it bait and plenty of depth for fish to feed in and feel less threatened.

Gearing up When it comes to rods and reels, I generally run three Okuma combinations for different applications.

My go-to would be a light spin combo to maximise the fun, consisting of a 7’ 3-6kg spin rod and 30 size reel, spooled with 10lb braid and 20lb leader.

I use this combo as much as possible when casting lures, even when in the surf.

Once the surf gets too large or the fish are further out, I will step up to a 9’ 4-8kg spin rod and 40-50 size reel, loaded with 20lb braid and 20-40lb leader.

This combo is still relatively light and fun

to fish, however taking into account surf size, distance, throwing larger lures or bait fishing, then I will step up to the surf combo of a 13’ 10-15kg spin rod and 8000-10,000 size reelloaded with 30lb braid and 40-60lb leader.

Bait fishing No doubt, the go-to bait for chasing tailor is a whole pilchard on a set of gang hooks, and this is generally rigged with a 50-100cm trace, swivel and running ball sinker of up to a 10 ball, depending on the amount of current and distance required.

If there are a lot of pickers around or the bait has remained thawed for a length of time, anglers may salt their pilchards to firm them up.

Other popular baits include whole fish such as garfish, mullet or yellowtail, and flesh strip baits such as bonito, gar and mullet.

Lure fishing I have three go-to lures for chasing tailor – TT Lures Hard Core metal

slugs, Fish Inc. Flanker sinking stickbaits and Z-Man 3” MinnowZ on TT Lures HeadlockZ HD jigheads.

The metal slug is a popular option and generally fished with a fast wind to represent a fleeing baitfish, or a burn (a few fast winds) and kill (pause) retrieve.

I commonly fish the 20g on the light spin combo, 30g on the 9’ combo and 40g on the 13’ surf combo, when the surf is larger or more distance is required.

The Fish Inc. Flanker sinking stickbait is available in 85mm 19g, and 115mm 28g, and as an ultra-realistic baitfish profile, and it has proven deadly when the bite is tough, while also increasing the by-catch of trevally species, kingfish, queenfish and tuna.

It can be fished with a fast wind, burn and kill or a rip-rip and pause.

It does cost more than * continued P15

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Top-tier tailor tips a TT Lures Hard Core slug though, so up your leader size from 20-40lb or add a wire bite guard to reduce lure losses.

Finally, when fishing Fraser Island, the deadliest presentation we have fished in recent years is a 10X Tough Z-Man ElaZtech soft plastic, the Z-Man 3” MinnowZ rigged on a 1/2oz 3/0 TT Lures HeadlockZ HD jighead.

This presentation casts well on the two lighter spin combos and when the fish are finicky from pressure or being harassed by larger predators, they still can’t resist that paddletail on a slow roll (slow to medium wind), burn

and kill, or hop, hop, pause retrieve.

Stick to natural baitfish colours, such as Pearl, pearl Blue Glimmer, Opening Night, Green Lantern, Smelt and Bad Shad for example and you won’t go wrong.

My advice when chasing tailor, even in big surf, is don’t forget ZMan 10X Tough soft plastics, because they are deadly and catch a wide variety of species.

You can up the jighead weight and soft plastic size to suit the conditions, even casting big plastics on 1oz plus jigheads on the larger surf combo.

Tailor are aggressive feeders, hard fighters

and a pretty good table fish when bled and prepared fresh.

Get out there and get stuck into a few!

See you on the water…

A couple of tailor pulled from the same school while rolling plastics.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 15

Snapper and whiting dominate recent catches

C Graham Bell with a lovely snapper destined for the table.

Offshore reef fishing fanatics WANTED One of Brisbane’s oldest deep-sea fishing clubs with a 100 percent safety record has vacancies for new members. Owners of suitable vessels encouraged. All levels of experience. Those without own vessels also invited to apply. Approximately 15 deep sea trips per year. One week-long fishing holiday to Town of 1770. Monthly meetings, video shows, guest speakers and free nibbles. 4WD beach fishing and camping. Inshore fishing also on the agenda.

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OM MODOR E Schombie and a collection of others managed to get out a couple of times over the past few months, so the following is a compilation of several of those trips, with one or two being COVID midweek sorties when a few nonretirees joined in.

Early on in the crisis, Rob had said COVID would be a plus for the fish, but how wrong he was because there have consistently been more boats at all ramps midweek than there have been on weekends.

The prawns being on the run for a good length of time probably didn’t help things either.

Two trips off Moreton Island went ahead, with basically the same trip schedule of hitting close to Cape Moreton with plastics early before moving out to

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Shallow Tempest then on to Deep Tempest.

Typically, plastics are deployed early, starting in close to the Cape and usually making a good account of themselves, bagging big snapper.

However, this wasn’t the case on both of these trips because it was a struggle, with the plastics only producing one barely legal squire and not much else.

Not a great start, but a start nonetheless.

Moving out towards Shallow Tempest, there were good shows across the GPS marks, but again the efforts produced nothing of note.

Heading out further to Deep Tempest, the sounder again lit up with what looked to be good shows of pearl perch.

Hopes were high but were quickly dashed by a ripping current in the area where even two 10-ball sinkers struggled to get a bait down the zone.

Rob even tried reversing up current, but the window was small before the sinkers were again up in the water column.

The trip out where you could get to the bottom with a 6-ball was very nice, but nothing could be tempted to take a bait, not even a sergeant baker, which in this case would have at least brought a smile.

Other anglers fishing in the area were experiencing similar results.

Both trips ended in the shallows, trying to get a feed and discussing what they could have done differently and what to do next time.

To rub salt into their wounds, social media was going off, with people catching excellent snapper from the mouth of the Brisbane River and off Redcliffe, where they had departed from.

They had all burnt * continued P17

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1/25 Smith St, 07 3390 1543 Unit Capalaba Page 16 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

Graham also took this goldspot cod while chasing snapper. www.bnbfishing.com. au

The author captured this glassed out scene on Moreton Bay.

Snapper and whiting dominate recent catches * from P16

60-100 litres, while the tinnies off Scarborough Reef probably burnt 6-10 and caught better fish.

Fishing can be damn cruel and frustrating at times.

Tallies ranged from donuts to a massive total of three fish.

Word around was that offshore current was running in the vicinity of 24C, while in the bay it was a more suitable snapper temperature of 17C, which would make sense because there were certainly plenty being taken throughout the bay.

Social media stories finally got the better of Schombie, so he organised a snapper trip in the northern bay.

A gentle start had them leaving an hour later than normal but arriving at the first spot after about 15 minutes on a glassed-out bay.

Only a couple of boats were in the area, so they could see if there were any fish around.

No one was catching, www.bnbfishing.com. au

so they moved a little further east looking for fish.

The first fish in the Esky was a big flounder that made a tasty dinner, followed by a tuna that Rob had hoped to be a longtail but turned out to be a huge mack tuna, so back it went.

They then decided to go to a ‘super-secret’ spot at Redcliffe that had been given to Rob by a mate, but when they saw several boats anchored, they knew it wasn’t such a secret.

They eventually found a spot, anchored, soaked a few baits and got a bait jig going.

Surprisingly, big garfish were smashing the bait jig, so Rob filled up on them.

One was sent out live to accompany a yellowtail pike, but no big munchies were in the area – though Pete did manage a nice squid on a Zerek Live Shrimp.

After an hour, it was clear Mr Snapper wasn’t home.

It was then that Rob

got a text from Graham Bell holding a 95cm fish he’d caught in the bay at the other spot they had contemplated heading to earlier.

Not wanting to die wondering, Rob headed out to Graham’s spot the next day and managed one nice fish… don’t ask about the other three he dropped!

Snapper aren’t the only fish that have been around in good numbers.

As usual, I’ve been out on a quite a few trips chasing winter whiting.

A few months ago, they were pretty scarce, and this prompted me to try out a couple of new areas.

I found plenty of fish up around Cockle banks, but nothing of decent size.

I was sure they’d be there somewhere, but I just couldn’t locate them.

Next I decided to head south to see what I could find.

The fish around the Rous Channel have been in ample quanti-

ties and excellent size, with some hitting the 30cm mark.

Since then I’ve been out on several occasions with mates Pat Moore and family, Brad Jones, Niel Trubshaw and even the commodore himself Rob Schomberg.

Each time we’ve managed good bags and learnt a few things along the way.

Besides the fish turning up again in abundance, the weather has been nothing short of spectacular.

You need to get out of bed early to experience the sunrises at this time of year – they are stunning.

Bay conditions have

been quite favourable too.

On the last trip with Niel, you could have water skied from Tangalooma to Nudgee without a problem.

Meetings Please note that meetings are now held on the first Wednesday of the month at 6pm for a 6.30pm start, at Club Manly bowls club, 26 Faine St, Manly.

Next meetings are scheduled for Wednesday September 2 and then Wednesday October 7.

Feel free to come and join us to see if it’s for you.

Until next month, safe boating.

Winter whiting have been in good numbers.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 17

Tips on releasing snapper safely

S

NAPPER are well known for being one of our most popular sport and table fish.

As all keen ‘reddie’ fishos know, these prized inshore sportfish fight hard, look amazing and taste great!

These days more and more anglers are choosing to release a few or all of their snapper – especially the bigger fish.

If you choose to release snapper after you’ve caught enough for a feed, or because you’re into catch and release sportfishing, here are a few tips to maximise the survival of the fish you release.

The first think to understand is that snapper are a highly resilient

species well suited to catch and release fishing.

DPI research indicates high survival rates for released snapper, even those caught out of deep water.

Key to snapper survival are minimising hook damage and getting the fish back to depth as quickly as possible.

The good news is that recreational fishers can do both of these things simply and easily.

Number one is to target snapper either with lures or use circle hooks if you’re fishing with bait.

Lures – be they soft plastics, jigs or hardbodied divers – tend to hook fish in and around the mouth area.

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Page 18 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

This significantly reduces the risk of internal injury from deep hooking, meaning the fish you release have increased survival rates.

It’s much the same with circle hooks when bait fishing, either drifting ‘floater’ baits back in a berley stream or fishing the bottom with a paternoster rig.

Circle hooks are becoming increasingly popular among die-hard snapper specialists, not only because they reduce hook injury but because they provide such a solid hook-up.

Circles are designed to hook fish securely in the corner of the mouth, which is a far more secure hook-set than that offered by a traditional ‘J’ style hook, often lodging in the soft tissue inside the fish’s mouth or throat and can easily pull out.

Circles are definitely the go-to when targeting snapper on bait.

Your local tackle shop will have a good range of quality circles on display.

Go for quality non-offset models in sizes 6/08/0 when using larger baits like whole pillies or big fish strips, and sizes 3/0-5/0 when using smaller baits such as squid strips.

Remember to let the fish hook itself – you don’t need to strike when using circles.

The second key to effectively releasing snapper is to carry and use a release weight, especially when targeting snapper in depths of more than 10m.

This simple yet highly effective tool allows you to easily get your released snapper back to depth, negating or minimising any problems associated with barotrauma.

Release weights are the preferred option when releasing snapper, to avoid barotrauma.

Department of Primary Industries advises against venting or ‘needling’ snapper for release due to the risk of the fish suffering either serious internal injury or infection.

Commercially made release weights are available to purchase, but they are easy and cheap to make yourself.

Follow these simple step-by-step instructions and set yourself up with a do-it-yourself release weight to maximise survival of your released snapper!

DIY release weight You will need: • 1 large snapper sinker – minimum of 16oz (450g) up to 40oz + (1130g) for larger fish • 1 long shank 7/0 stainless steel hook • 1 small stainless steel screw (must fit through the eye of the hook) • 2 cable ties.

Steps: 1. Remove the barb from the stainless steel hook using a metal file.

2. Lay the hook on the sinker, with the hook shank finishing at the top of the sinker.

3. Use a small screw and secure the hook to the sinker (you may have to drill a small pilot hole).

4. Use two cable ties to secure and strengthen the hook position to the top of the sinker.

5. Attach heavy mono filament of 80-100lb, Venetian blind cord or similar to the bend of the hook, about 25-30m of line should suffice – hand spool will help keep line tidy and tangle free.

When you’re releasing a snapper with a release weight, place the barbless hook in its jaw, get it in the water and let the weight of the sinker take the fish back to depth.

You’ll often find the fish releases itself once it gets down, but a quick upwards jerk of the line is sometimes required.

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ESTABLISHED IN 1946 Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 19

Luke nailed an absolute cracker of a spanish mackerel in between strong gusts.

Cracking catches coming from the bay

T

HE past few months have provided a bit of a smorgasbord when it came to species being caught in the Moreton Bay region.

Morgan, Austin and Wilson scored another awesome catch while fishing off Nudgee Beach with mum and dad.

Taking home a cracker feed of winter whiting, this was a great effort and I can only imagine the smiles on their fac-

Northern Moreton Bay

by MARK TEMPLETON

es when hauling these beauties on board!

There have been plenty of winter whiting caught in Moreton Bay over the past few months – around Cockle Banks, the mouth of the Caboolture River, Nudgee Beach, Cooper Channel and the Sandhills, just to mention a few areas.

Waan holds up a great squid from the day’s efforts at Woody Point.

Page 20 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

Preserved beach worms, live bloodworms, stripped local squid and peeled local prawns brought in the fish for those who were using traditional baits.

Those who chose to catch a feed using plastics scored well using Ecogear Marukyu Soft Isome Plastic Worms as a cut bait on a standard

long shank in #6 or #4.

When using topwater lures, you really can’t go past the Bassday Sugapen, as they have proven themselves many times over as a cracker lure for whiting.

Everyone seems to have their go-to colour, but from what we see in store, all colours work well.

For those who want to test their skills, squid have been a good choice recently.

Morgan, Austin and Wilson show off their lovely winter whiting catches.

Tiger or arrow, it does not matter because they all cook up well.

Woody Point and Shorncliffe Pier were the hotspots when it came to catching a feed, as both locations gave up their fair share of tasty squid.

Whether you were land-based, out fishing the shallows in a tinnie, or dropping deeper out off the islands, great numbers were taken home for a feed.

Waan certainly scored well, with a 1.1kg beast taken off Woody Point, while fishing the shallow reef areas.

Brent also managed to land a feed of very nice tiger squid during his visits to Woody Point and Shorncliffe Piers.

On average they were coming in around the 1kg mark, which is a hefty lump of calamari that anybody would be happy to take home.

Even our junior anglers managed a great day out, and young Ivy proudly caught her very own garfish – caught * continued P21

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Cracking catches from the bay * from P20

and landed all by herself.

Her dad Christopher was there for moral support and a bit of coaching, if she needed it.

Well done Ivy, hopefully you will go on to put future feeds on the table.

Young Luke has been at it again, finding a clear window for a few hours and turning it into a spanish mackerel fest!

Check out the one pictured.

Over the past few months, we have seen such a massive increase in family fishing time, which has been nothing short of awesome.

Understandably, we had all been ‘too busy’

www.bnbfishing.com. au

with work to spend quality time out and about with the family.

Now that people are returning to work and life is showing a little of the normality we once took for granted, we are still seeing family trips being taken for a few hours in the morning or afternoon.

Perhaps it is not about what we lost in early 2020, but rather what we may have regained.

A lot of stores are having issues keeping their shelves fully stocked due to the closure of many manufacturing facilities around the world.

Stock levels are getting better, particularly in the independent stores, so keep dropping in and checking

things out.

Just a quick update on the live bloodworm and white spot syndrome containment effort – it is still in effect from the lower part of Caloundra to the Tweed River, so if you are planning on using live bloodworms, please stay within the containment zone.

The Tackle Land crew would like to say a very special thankyou to everyone who has shown their ongoing support over the past few months.

We would like to thank all our new customers for dropping in and checking out the store.

In the months to come, we hope all our readers, customers and their families stay safe!

This solid Woody Point squid was one of many solid cephalopods for Brent.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 21

Yabbies getting it done

T

The author caught a 76cm flathead with a lure, which was carefully handled and released.

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HE Gold Coast Broadwater has been fishing well over the past month, with the usual winter varieties boated on our charters.

Our customers have been enjoying catching hard-fighting tuskfish, many winter whiting, some big arrow squid, flounder, school mackerel, dusky flathead, bartail flathead, the odd sand whiting, blue swimmer crabs and various random fish that call the area home.

Small metal blade lures and soft vibes in natural colours work extremely well in the Broadwater.

There are days however, when the humble yabby will out fish everything else by miles.

Such situations include calm and sunny days when fish are wary – when there’s heaps of snot weed around which fouls lures and stops them swimming – and on busy days with plenty of water traffic.

It pays to mix it up between yabbies and lures to find what’s working best on any given day.

Sometimes lures work best, other times yabbies are better and occasionally both get results.

Yabbies can be easily pumped at lower tides in the Broadwater and at higher tides at the western side of Wavebreak Island.

Drive the boat into the lagoon at the southwest corner of Wavebreak, and yabbies can be pumped along the shoreline at high tide up to 1.2m.

Yabby tips When getting off the boat, always walk further away from where

Broadwater Guide

by CLINT ANSELL

most people would pump.

You’ll get more and bigger yabbies faster.

So many people get off and immediately start pumping, and these are well beaten areas with small yabbies.

Pump four or five times in the same hole until you get as deep as you can reach.

You’ll find the best and most yabbies down deeper.

For mid or higher

tides, use a plastic sieve with a pool noodle cable tied around it, then tie 2m of cord or rope to the sieve, then a big offshore sinker to the other end.

The sinker acts as an anchor for the sieve when pumping into it.

If there’re two people pumping simultaneously, stand side by side so you’re both pushing the sieve in the same direction.

You can also stand on

* continued P24

These yabbies have been preserved by dunking in methylated spirits then freezing and will stay crunchy and meaty, making them top baits.

A selection of the best areas to pump yabbies in the southern Broadwater. www.bnbfishing.com. au

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 23

Yabbies getting it done * from P22

Will with a fine giant trevally, which have been present in the local rivers during winter.

Brent with a nice arrow squid that was caught in the Broadwater on an Ecogear ZX40 blade.

the rope to keep the sieve still.

Once you have enough medium to large-size yabbies, it’s time to go fishing!

Keep the yabbies in cool, shallow water in a bucket in the shade.

I’d say it’s impossible to not catch fish in the Gold Coast Broadwater if you apply the following.

Use a light bait rod around 7’ long with 2500 size reel, rigged with 10lb braid, then a running size 2-ball sinker, then braid tied to a small swivel with a uni knot.

Be sure to go eight or more times around, through the bottom loop and then through the top loop to ensure the braid knot doesn’t slip.

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the leader end.

When rigging yabbies on hooks, presentation is everything.

Grab a yabby and snap its big claw off.

This makes it easier to handle and easier for fish to swallow it.

Fish such as bream will nip at bigger claws to disarm them, which can result in getting bites and not hooking up.

Once you have snapped the big nipper off, hold the yabby upside down and gently slide the point of the hook under the little rib near the tail.

Then slide the hook through the body following the bend of the hook around and then pass the point through just below the yabby’s head.

The crucial part at this stage is to hold onto the point of the hook with one hand and gently wriggle the tail up over the eye of the hook and onto the leader.

Half the yabby should be on the leader and half covering the hook.

This way the yabby sits straight on the hook and doesn’t spin and twist your line while drifting and fishing.

Think of it as the same as rigging a soft

plastic lure – the better it’s presented, the better and more fish you’ll catch.

This also keeps the yabby on the hook securely, tempts bigger fish and results in a better hook-up rate with the hook point exposed.

The next step is dropping the bait into the water.

Don’t cast!

The aim is to get that bait into the strike zone and just reach the bottom without letting too much line out and snagging.

A 45-degree line angle into the water is sufficient.

If you watch the line closely, you’ll see the rod tip quiver as the sinkers rolls over the bottom.

Don’t strike straight away when getting a bite, just allow the fish to eat the bait and wait for the rod to load up.

Drift anywhere there’s tidal flow, making sure you drift parallel to the direction of the flow at a speed of 0.5-1 knot.

If wind is affecting the drift, you’ll need to constantly use your motor to counteract it.

If in doubt, drift near main channel markers.

My fish finder * continued P26

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 25

Yabbies getting it done on Gold Coast * from P24

wouldn’t turn on in the morning recently, and we still caught heaps of fish.

During bigger tides, get on the edge of the main flow.

During neap and tide changes, fish out in the open more.

Measure to ensure you only keep legal size fish and stick to bag limits or less, carefully handling and releasing the rest of the catch.

If you have heaps of yabbies left over at the end of the session, you can freeze them for another day.

Simply tip the water out and in a bucket pour enough methylated spirits to cover them.

Leave them for two minutes only, then drain the metho and place the yabbies in a small disposable plastic container with a lid and put them in the freezer.

This method keeps the yabbies firm enough to use again, or they will shrivel up and go soft.

The idea was given to me by Dan, an experienced beach fisher who swears by it.

Recently we used both the previously frozen yabbies and fresh yabbies at the same time.

I was quite surprised when they worked almost the same!

In September, we

usually encounter more snot weed, which is annoying when fishing because it catches on your hooks and line.

Fish don’t like it either and it puts them off the bite.

The best thing to do if you see lots of it is to immediately move elsewhere.

If it’s a run-out tide, move a kilometre or so downstream to stay ahead of the bulk of it.

On Broadwater Charters we fish in the area from Chevron Island to Sovereign Island.

The weed hardly appears south of the seaway.

When it’s in large amounts, we fish the area between the seaway and Sundale Bridge.

This area still produces daily catches of arrow squid, big winter whiting, sand whiting, flounder, flathead, tailor, mackerel and blue swimmer crabs.

Water depth between 4-6m is very productive for all of the above-mentioned species.

To book on a charter with myself or Brad, or if you have any fishing related questions, SMS 0432 990 302, email fishingwithclint@ gmail.com, or find us on Facebook at Brad Smith Fishing Charters.

Page 26 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

Large flathead are a real prize when trolling, and it’s a great way to catch them.

Tips for trolling

I

N this month’s edition I would like to give you a few tips for trolling our estuaries.

Most people think trolling is basic and that it’s just a matter of throwing a couple of lures out the back of the boat and away you go, churning around the river until something jumps on.

I however look at trolling as a valuable art form that has very important procedures to follow in order to perfect the technique.

Let’s look at some of these steps that are necessary for success.

The first rule of thumb is knowing the diving depth of your chosen lures.

The diving depth of almost all hard-bodied minnow lures can be found on the packet when you buy them.

I know of many anglers who take the lure out of the packet, put them in a compartment in a clear tackle box and then, with a permanent marker pen

Gold Coast Guide

by BRAD SMITH

above the compartment, write the diver depth of the lure.

Doing this it ensures you remember what depth the lure dives and you can also put it back in the correctly marked section after you use and wash it.

My trolling outfits are basically 2-4kg baitcasting rods with the reels loaded with 12lb braid with a 50cm long 6lb fluorocarbon leader attached.

In saying this, 2-4kg spin outfits matched with the same line are equally effective for the job.

The key here is the fine diameter of the braid, which we will discuss later in the article, and I also ensure the braid is colourcoded, which means different colours mark different lengths.

The colour-coded braid is almost vital for success, as it al-

lows me to set my lures around 15-20m behind the boat, which I find is the sweet spot.

Before the invention of the colour coding we had to guess the distance.

These light outfits matched with light line will handle almost any fish you encounter in our local rivers, as long as you remember to always set the drag accordingly before you start fishing.

While speaking of drag settings, I usually apply a very light drag setting to reduce the stress on the fish’s mouth, as there is a lot of force when they strike.

The next step is to choose the right lure for the depth of water you are going to troll in, and this means for flathead, bream and whiting, which are predominantly bottom * continued P28

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 27

Tips for trolling lures * from P26

Whiting will take a small lure trolled along the bottom.

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feeders, your lure must be continually hitting the bottom.

I believe the sand, mud or shell grit that puffs up as the lure hits the bottom is a major attractant for the fish, as it looks like a small fish, yabby or a prawn foraging.

I always have my rods out wide of the boat and down low to the water when trolling, as having the rods out wide puts more distance between the lures, which allows you to turn without cross ups.

Having the rods down low will help to keep the lures down to their optimum depth.

Having the rods out wide of the boat also allows the soft tip of the rods to act like a shock absorber.

A sounder on the boat

is also vital and allows you to know what lure to choose for the depth of water you decide to troll.

When trolling, the boat speed is also important, so with most boats the motor is on the slowest idle speed you can do, which usually means you will be doing a medium/fast walking speed.

Some other tips are to always keep your lures running clean of any weed or contaminants, as fish will never take a fouled lure.

Another tip is, when possible, try to troll with the tide.

The reason we usu-

ally try to troll with the tide is that all fish face into the flow with water running through their gills and bringing the food towards them.

By trolling the lures with the tide, with lures set back at the above mentioned distance, you will almost get your lures to dive down to twice their marked depth.

This is a real bonus, as you can turn a lure that has a 2.5m depth into a 4.5m diving lure, which gives you more coverage without having to change lures all the time.

Stay safe and happy trolling!

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www.bradsmithfishingcharters.com.au Page 28 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 29

Snapper have been rare in close this winter, but Toby managed to find this specimen.

Who wouldn’t have a massive smile with a jewfish this size?

A great time to be jewing it W

EAT H ER wise that would have to be the worst winter I can remember for heading offshore.

The frustrating thing was when you could get out there, the fishing was great.

Tweed to Byron Bay

by GAVIN DOBSON

The deep-water snapper season was and still is going off, with boats bagging out before 9am.

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the equation.

Firstly, while we had a good season last year too, it could be a very localised phenomenon.

What is a given is that the quality of fish is well down.

Bag limits are about half the weight of what they should be.

Here at Brunswick Heads we have had another flop as far as snapper are concerned on the inshore scene.

I believe up at Tweed Heads they are having a good year on the close reefs, so it’s good to see fish in numbers in select places, even if it’s not right along the coast.

We had a reasonably good mullet season this year, and in turn jewfish numbers were respectable.

Stories and photos are getting around of nice fish coming from the beaches and walls.

They have really dried up on the close reefs, with only the odd fish

being caught now as opposed to the last few months when they were plentiful.

Spring is school jewfish time in local rivers, and soft plastics will account for them along with healthy numbers of flathead.

A fair bit of late winter rain has brought the freshwater well downriver, but it will retreat quickly if we get a dry spring, and the estuarine species will head upriver looking for a feed of prawns and herring in the brackish water.

Fish the deep holes up the Tweed River this month and through to December if you want to catch a few jewfish chasing all this bait.

Tumbulgum is always worth a go this month, and you might even snare a mangrove jack up this way.

I’ve already mentioned soft plastics for the schoolies, but as far * continued P31

www.bnbfishing.com. au

A great time to be jewing it * from P30

as live bait goes herring are probably the easiest to obtain on a small bait jig.

Mullet, silver biddies and prawns are great too, but much harder to procure in NSW where castnetting is illegal.

Failing this, try some fresh mullet fillet or a beachworm.

Yes, jew love beachworms in the river, even up as far as the weir.

Joubert’s Hole above the piggery was always a good spot to get a jew on worms, but it gets a fair hammering these days.

It’s still definitely worth a go in a fresh though.

Offshore the upcoming months are always a bit tricky.

The current has been

relentless this winter, and there have only been a few days where it backed off on the 50-fatham marker.

It’s a very lucky day if you can fish the shelf.

For deep snapper, work out an area where you can get a fairly long drift down a stretch of reef, as you can still work in a fair bit of current with float lines.

This is especially true if a light southerly wind is blowing.

Spring northerly wind makes everything a lot harder.

In a bit closer, Windarra Banks has been inside the worst of the current, so in a northerly you might need to anchor in this vicinity for a snapper, jew or kingfish.

Spanner crabs start to hit their straps this month, so you could do worse than drop a dilly inside Windarra Banks while you have a bit of a fish.

Hopefully you will be rewarded with a few big crabs on your return run.

In close is anyone’s guess.

I’ve seen snapper come in as late as October, so there is still hope.

But as it stands, it is very quiet on both the jew and snapper fronts.

Still, you could do a lot worse than to have a go on a nice day.

If the snapper and jew don’t play, you might still come home with a couple of moses perch and maori cod for dinner.

A quick trip with the author yielded a top jewfish for Toby Hart.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 31

All were happy with the haul of tailor.

The author was stoked with a little trevally that took a metal lure.

Heading to Fraser when your favourite fishery is closed

W

Myles Bird landed this fantastic queenfish out of Waddy Point gutter.

When shark fishing, the wait is real.

Page 32 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

HAT do you do when your favourite fishery is closed off?

Go to Fraser Island, that’s what!

We’d been waiting on edge for a few months as restrictions were eased to find out if our planned trip could go ahead, as well as to find out if camp showers were finally re-open.

COVID spreads more in showers than toilets apparently.

Anyway, our trip coincided with a bit of a low-pressure system and we decided that a small window would allow us enough time to get there and settle in.

Rain on the way up made the trip reasonably uneventful, until we exited the barge at Hook Point when, much to my disgust, yours truly sunk down in the soft sand due to the weight of the trailer I was towing, with the hard sand a mere 5m away.

The trailer in question was a fridge/freezer combo that held enough food, bait and palatable

Fraser Trip

by HEATH ZYGNERSKI

liquids for 30 people.

This earnt me the first ‘jacket’ of the trip.

The ‘jacket’ is bestowed on anyone unlucky enough to stuff up on the trip.

Whether that is getting bogged, dropping a beer or not being able to hold your beer – you get the drift.

Luckily, I didn’t keep trying to crawl my way out and a quick snatch was all that was needed to get out onto the hard sand and enjoy that first Fraser beer.

The trip up to our camping spot at Dundubara was easy, with the beach hard and wide.

We couldn’t get around Poyungan Rocks, so had to use the bypass track.

In low range taking the strain off the car had all four wheels squealing as we got ourselves up the ramp.

The only time I’ve ever had to use low range

on the island is to get up that ramp.

Yidney Rocks didn’t provide such a challenge and it was easy to skip around them.

Eli Creek was in good shape as we made our way north.

When we pulled up to our chosen location, Mother Nature was looking out for us because the drizzle stopped, and we set up camp without getting wet and settled into afternoon beers with a little sunshine.

Sitting on the dunes with your friends having a beer on Fraser – why would you want to be anywhere else?

We don’t have a set plan when we’re on the island, we just take it as it comes and what we do on the day is largely governed by the weather.

For our first few days there was a hard southeasterly wind, so we * continued P33

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Heading to Fraser when your favourite fishery is closed * from P32

headed behind Indian Head and over to Waddy Point.

The way the island is situated, the wind is at your back at Waddy – in fact, you’d never know it was blowing.

Fishing was relatively hard going, with weed along the beaches for the first few days.

We managed a few dart to be used for sharks later on the trip but there was no sign of tailor.

The rangers gave us the good oil on local fishing with no reports of tailor, though we still had high hopes.

After three or four early mornings chasing fish however, our claim to fame was a couple of dart, bream and whiting.

I did manage to get a small trevally from a gutter on a metal lure, which I was stoked about and I hoped that its much larger giant trevally cousin might be around, but unfortunately not on this trip.

After lucking out, we decided to spend the day hitting the gutters all the way down to Eurong.

I landed a just-legal tailor on a slug from the first gutter we stopped at but after 30 minutes didn’t get another touch.

We kept trying and moved on every 30 minutes or so, gutter hopping down the beach.

Then it happened – the first cast with a metal and a nice fish was landed, then another on bait by one of the other fishers.

Then another and another – it was on!

Fish between 40www.bnbfishing.com. au

45cm were coming in regularly as the tide filled the gutter and the best part was that we had it all to ourselves.

I don’t beach fish as much as I probably should – it is serious fun!

As the sun came up and the top of the tide passed, the fish went off the chew and a quick check of the time had it sitting at 11:45am – no wonder I was hungry.

The ironing board cleaning table was proudly pulled out at camp as we cleaned our fish on a glorious day, looking forward to the afternoon when we would be having a shark session and maybe even a flick for tailor.

As afternoon came around, with plenty of beers and stories, we got some shark baits out by the drone.

There was a fair sweep to the north, which had the rod loaded up fairly hard.

So hard that Mitch had to stand in front of it to take the pressure off.

About 40 minutes in, he felt a bump and nearly got knocked off his feet as the rod loaded up and the line

peeled off.

Then… nothing!

After a bit of a wait the bait was wound in only to find it mouthed and munched.

A quick re-rig and another bait was flown out into the gutter but unfortunately, he didn’t get another hit despite waiting in the dark and the cold.

With the wind picking up the following day, we headed up to Waddy and spent the day fishing for tailor and sharks.

The only fish landed were a couple of dart.

We got caught at the pub on the way back – as you do – and found we had missed the tide, with the surge waves pushing right up to the dune north of Indian Head.

After waiting a couple of hours, it didn’t look like letting up, so well into the night we ran the gauntlet by timing our run between surges, much the same way as with a bar crossing.

With weather closing in we hit Wathumba, which was the shallowest I’d ever seen it.

Again, we couldn’t take a trick with the fishing.

One of the fishos we met over there showed us a great queenfish he’d landed out of the gutter at Waddy Point, which made us very happy considering we’d spent all the previous day there.

On what was to be our final day, we headed up to Sandy Cape.

Ngkala Rocks proved to be no problem.

Though it does amaze me how many people get stuck by using low range.

You are simply not moving fast enough to keep your momentum up.

My tip for Ngkala is high range second gear and of course tyre pressure.

While at the cape, we could see the weather moving in.

Luckily, we had phone

service, and when we checked the weather our faces dropped.

A low had moved in and predicted 50mm or more of rain and 25-30 knot wind.

The call was made, if it was good in the morning we would pack up in the dry and head off.

An early start had us quickly pulling down camp in the dry and we were on our way before lunch.

About 30 minutes down the island, the rain set in and fell virtually all the way home.

It was a wonderful two weeks on the island and with the good weather, we’d made the most of it.

If you haven’t been to Fraser Island before, what are you waiting for?

Indian Head produced a mixed bag for the fishers.

Camping or should I say glamping is fun.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 33

A warm welcome for spring species

I

HOPE you are all staying safe and healthy during this crazy period.

I also hope you are managing to get out and have a fish on a regular basis.

At the moment, it’s important to make the time for fishing because it provides a mental health break from the current madness in the world and allows a recharge of your batteries.

Please check in on your mates as well, we

Ballina Bait & Tackle

by BRETT HYDE

all need a sympathetic ear or a shoulder to lean on occasionally.

Putting it out there… if you’re in my neck of the woods, the kettle is always on and the fridge is stocked, so drop in for a chat if you feel the need.

Right let’s get on to fishing.

The weather over the past month has been a

little ordinary and certainly not what we’re used to for this time of year.

For the most part the current has been slightly offshore, but we’ve had a few irregular days where it has come from nowhere and has been as high as three knots out on the shelf.

Hopefully we will see this unpredictabil-

BALLINA BAIT & TACKLE The author with an early season river bass.

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02 6686 2527 Page 34 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

ity settle over the next month and the weather patterns we’re used to, with low wind and current, will return.

Leatherjacket have shown up as per normal, but with water temperature not as low as it typically is, they seem to be staying out a little wider.

The 42-fathom line has been thick with them and a few have been hanging near the 55 as well, so be aware next time you drop your favourite knife jig down for a kingfish – your jig may not come back!

The close reefs have been producing reasonable snapper, teraglin and mulloway recently.

Mulloway have been frequently landed using live baits such as slimy mackerel and yellowtail, while snapper have been more than happy to chase down lightly weighted soft plastics in brighter colours.

It is a little late in the season, but we are still seeing the odd longtail tuna on close reefs.

Most have shown an interest in live baits that have been put out for tuna, but every now and then one will grab a soft plastic as well.

Back on the beaches, salmon have started to make an appearance.

Certainly a worrying trend because last time we saw them they managed to make a massive dent in our bait fish stocks and we had a very lean time on bream, flathead and tailor.

Hopefully it won’t be the case this season,

and our bread and butter species will continue to flourish.

For now, most beaches are holding good numbers of bream and a few flathead.

The usual baits such as pipi, mullet and pilchard have all been working quite nicely.

The tailor and salmon seem to be in better quantities on beaches north of the river mouth.

Angels and Seven Mile beaches have been the pick to try, but most on that side of the river have produced fish at some point.

The usual baits such as pilchard and mullet have worked, but it has been difficult to source any bonito, so make sure you have plenty of the other two, just in case.

The river has been a bit hit and miss, with smaller tides making fishing a little difficult.

We can expect run-in tides to be the best bet for quality bream.

They seem to be a little spread out at present, so it’s worth a run up the river to check out the rock walls.

Soft plastics with an 1/8-1/12oz jig head have been working fairly well, along with crab imitations and the usual baits such as prawns or pilchard.

Luderick have been similar to bream, with run-in tides being the best opportunities to chase them.

Good numbers have been coming from the breakwalls, Prospect Bridge and the old ferry approach. * continued P35

www.bnbfishing.com. au

A warm welcome for spring species * from P34

Weed has been a difficult bait to find for luderick, so many anglers have resorted to using cabbage collected from either Flat Rock or Shelley Beach.

The change of tide at night around a full and new moon have been the best bet in the river for mulloway.

There have been a few school-sized fish around the breakwalls, but better models have been showing plenty of interest in live baits on Porpoise Wall and behind the CBD. Mullet have been a little hard to come by, though most anglers have managed to find a few yellowtail during the incoming tide to

use as live baits instead of mullet.

Better fish should continue to hang around for another month or so until the

water starts to warm again.

Well, that’s all from me.

Until next time – tight lines!

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 35

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Page 36 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

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Page 38 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 39

L m

Guy Hemmers of Yamba continued to land nice jewfish offshore using live slimy mackerel.

Being adaptable is key for consistently good fishing and Mischa used a 6” paddle tail soft plastic lure at the breakwall for this 17kg jewfish.

Jumping for joy over big jew

W

Rebekah Ellis landed a 13kg fish on live mullet while her fishing companions went home fishless.

The deadly duo of Rebekah Ellis and Mischa Porter fished multiple locations last month in their search for mulloway and were rewarded with two fish that weighed 17.5kg and 18kg respectively.

Page 40 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

ELL spring has sprung, and winter is but a distant memory.

However, while spring may mean the end of long cold nights, it also signals the end of winter mulloway fishing in the estuaries and I’m not talking about school jewfish to 10kg.

Yes, I know large mulloway are still being caught in estuaries during spring and summer, but the vast numbers encountered feeding on schools of mullet experienced in the cooler months taper out as they move back upstream.

It’s still possible to see this type of action during September if you’re lucky enough to find a patch of mullet dragging behind but generally speaking it’s goodnight until next April.

From the start of spring through to the end of summer, the vast majority of bigger fish will be taken from breakwalls on baits such as squid, octopus and live baits of yellowtail, slimy mackerel or soft plastic lures.

Near the headlands, minnow lures around 14cm that have a running depth of 1m or feather lures will be the main

Just Jew

by TYE PORTER

destroyers in summer, while off the beaches don’t be afraid of swimming a 30cm plus tailor back out in a rip for your chance to hook the jew of your dreams.

Good jew will also continue to be boated offshore along the coast by using live slimy, yellowtail or pike around any of the wrecks or good reef structure that is in abundance.

We live about 4km from the breakwall at Iluka, and on more than one occasion last month Mischa left home to plastic for jew on the wall and was back home with a fish still kicking in the boot of his car within an hour – his best weighing 17kg.

After spinning my heart out with minnow lures in the river this season for a big fat diddly squat zero result, Mischa had the nerve to use a small locallymade Croaker lure on the one night I didn’t go fishing and came home with a 15kg jew… just to rub salt into my already festering wounds.

Mischa’s girlfriend Rebekah Ellis added

several more jew to her tally during August, and while many people would kill to catch one measuring a metre, Rebekah is yet to catch one under a metre.

One night recently Rebekah fished with myself, Mischa, Ted McLean of Ashby and Guy Stewart of Lismore with the final tally for the night being Rebekah with one 13kg jew, Ted lost four, Guy missed one and Mischa and I never got a bite, and we are still all hearing about it.

Guy Hemmers of Yamba and my son Travis continued to sneak offshore to the jewfish honey hole they found and consistently caught nice jew when the sea and wind conditions allowed, though I do think I’ve taught Travis too well because he will not give up the location of their spot – even to his dear old dad.

Hopefully the east coast lows have disappeared for a while so that anglers can enjoy the excellent tailor * continued P41

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Jumping for joy over big jew * from P40

fishing along our local beaches, which has been experienced on the rare days when the swell abated.

Fish to 3kg were quite common, if you were free to fish the nights the sea was good.

This month normally sees large shoals of both white and frogmouth pilchards moving along our beaches and headlands, and in turn good catches of jewfish, tailor and turrum are usually taken in due course.

The Old Ferry approach at Iluka was on fire for luderick throughout August, with local anglers Tony Arnold, Spud Murphy and Wayne Franklin being three of the many anglers who

caught quality fish to around 1.3kg on both black and green weed.

This is one spot that normally yields a feed of luderick any time of the year, however the fishing experienced in the past month was beyond anyone’s expectations.

Bream can be taken around Iluka and Yamba all year though the larger fish tend to move back out along the breakwalls and headlands, so floating a lightly weighted white pilly or small king prawn around the rocks will see you hook up to not only big bream but school jew and tarwhine as well.

Towards to end of the month, I’ll do a few early season sorties for whiting inside the

river using yabbies and beachworms, however I am not expecting too much action until the weather really starts to warm up.

I normally don’t rate September as a great fishing month – because as per March, it’s a change of season month – but I suppose if you’re lucky enough to have the stars align, you might get the chance to enjoy a taste of both winter and summer fishing in the same month.

Having said that, the fact still remains… if you don’t have a line in the water chasing your target species, you won’t catch a fish.

So, get out there and enjoy the best sport known to humans.

Until next month, safe fishing.

Local angler Travis Porter continued to catch fine jewfish offshore on live bait but refused to give up the honey hole location.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 41

Borumba has been producing good bass, with spoons from Hot Bite working a treat for Pete. Photos: fishingnoosa.com.au

Big kingfish like this one caught by David Clark will be mixing with other trophy species offshore this month.

Change of season brings big bites

F

OL L OW I NG what was a colder winter to last year, now is when things are changing.

Daylight hours are increasing, and the temperature is creeping up.

We are also seeing a rise in water temperature, which is a trigger for many fish to start feeding harder.

The rivers on the Sunshine Coast, especially the Noosa and Maroochy, are perfect at this time of year, and without the humidity and rain, it’s comfortable and exciting to chase a wide range of species.

Starting in the Noosa River, the area of the river mouth and the dog beach drop-offs are a couple of flathead hot spots.

Trolling is one popular method for kayak anglers and smaller boat owners, with hard-bodies in the 7090mm range a popular choice, and the Samaki Redic range, especially Whitebait and Turbo Mullet colours, is producing great results.

Another popular area is Frying Pan and the various drop-offs and

Sunshine Coast

by GRANT BUDD

flats found here.

You can throw swimbaits, shallow hardbodies and soft plastics for great results.

Another popular choice is jerk shad style plastics, especially Z-Man StreakZ on a weedless unweighted hook.

Because these are more buoyant, you can jerk and twitch them similar to a stickbait, which bigger fish love to hit.

You can also expect to find schools of whiting and bream, and on 4lb gear you can experience the best flats fishing during the turn of tide.

Take a few smaller surface lures, including poppers and stickbaits and work the edges with a mix of retrieves to find out what works best.

If out and about in the lower estuary, be sure to look around the intersection of Woods Bay to the main river and down through the current line.

Page 42 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

This is a popular place to find a wide range of quality fish, as the mixing of currents during stronger tide runs brings food and nutrient rich water with it.

Drifting and flicking is the most popular method in this area, and stepping down to 4-6lb is required, as fish can be line shy.

Use quality 8-strand braids and fluorocarbon leader, with Dogtooth a perfect small capacity lower-priced spool if wanting to test your skills on 4lb.

Further upriver the jetski run is holding jewfish, queenfish, trevally and the occasional mangrove jack.

These fish will respond well to whitebait and unweighted baby blue pillies drifted in the current.

In low light try using Ecogear ZX40 blades, as flatties and jewies love a vibe or blade.

If wanting to target a jack specifically, live bait is best and can be caught quite easily with

a cast net around the marina and public jetties.

If you combine all this with a new moon runout tide, the chances of landing a trophy fish are high.

The Maroochy is seeing mostly whiting schooling up at the Black Banks and Picnic Point, with beachworms and live yabbies securing the better fish.

If wanting to troll lures around, try the Cod Hole where bigger tailor and trevally are on offer.

You can also expect to find mangrove jack here, but you best be on your game because the structure here is very unforgiving.

The previously mentioned Samaki Redic lures would do well for jack, as they come rigged with BKK 4X treble hooks that won’t bend out on such fish.

The fish in this zone can be a little shy at times, as it is a popular spot.

Ensure your leader is a high-quality fluorocarbon and is as light as you feel comfortable using, with 12lb the heaviest recommended

for lure fishing during the day.

Drifting baits around the mouth is another method of securing a quality catch, with a mix of bream, trevally, tailor, flathead and smaller jewfish hanging around this area.

The offshore scene of Noosa will be focused on snapper and pearl perch following the first seasonal closure, which ended on August 15.

Chardons and North reefs on the high morning tide leading up to a full moon will see a better bite.

Pilchard floaters with a bit of bait thread wrapped around secures it for casting and protects it from pickers closer to the bottom.

Make sure you have a quality berley trail when chasing snapper at anchor, which is better during a lighter current and neap tide.

Other fish on the catch list include big maori cod, cobia, sweetlip, pearl perch, the odd longtail tuna and even a lone spanish mackerel.

These fish tend to be found in close, es* continued P43

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Change of season brings big bites * from P42

pecially around Halls Reef and will take trolled baits or big live baits.

Sunshine Reef often holds good numbers of squire, sweetlip and coral trout.

Coral trout are suckers for a live yakka, so be sure to stop off at the bait grounds of Halls and the headlands to load up.

If you don’t like using Sabiki rigs because the hooks get stuck in everything, come and check out the Sabiki rods in store.

These are designed in such a way that the entire rig stays inside the rod when not in use.

This keeps those super small hooks away from marine carpet, other rods and your fingers of course.

Out wider on Double Island, amberjack, moses perch, venus tuskfish, snapper, cobia and mixed trevally species including longnose and diamond are out in force.

These fish will smash slow fall jigs fished around 6-8m off the bottom.

Take a look at the Samaki Wingman and Ribcage jigs, which cover multiple styles and conditions.

Barwon Banks and the bottom of The Hards usually hold big snapper, amberjack and pearlies due to the cold water temperature.

If big AJ are in the area, don’t think you are getting busted off by sharks because these fish love pearlies.

For any anglers fishing offshore, now is a great time to have a rewww.bnbfishing.com. au

lease weight on board.

Come and check them out instore so you can release fish with barotrauma easier and faster, rather than pushing a needle into them.

On the beaches it has been all about jewfish and tailor, which were slow to get going earlier in the year.

Fishing around the river mouths, run-offs around Castaways and Marcus beaches and any new gutters with an afternoon or evening run-in tide will certainly go a long way to helping you land a personal best.

Places to fish include the gutters along Mudjimba to the southern end of Yaroomba Rocks, as well as Noosa headlands and various bays on the way out through the national park.

Double Island remains a popular spot for those casting metals or stickbaits on lighter PE3 gear for queenfish and tailor.

The Rapala X-Rap Magnum Prey is a great baitfish profile with great colours, and at over 40g is guaranteed to cast very well.

Traditional pillies on three 4/0 hooks ganged has been the popular rig for tailor fishers.

If you want to add a little more attraction to your offering, try adding a Neptune Flashy Tinsel Head Skirt to the top hook.

This will stand out if you like to fish single dropper paternoster rigs in low light conditions.

Off the rocks, especially around the Noosa headlands, you can

expect to find squire and grassy sweetlip, with fresh mullet strips working well on simple 2-hook snelled rigs.

Down south off Yaroomba headland, quality jewfish have been available, with a run-in tide on the lead up to a new moon a popular time to fish.

Be sure to check in and see if we have fresh mullet, as this is the preferred bait for many anglers.

Finally don’t forget to use some bait wrap on bigger baits, as this keeps baits streamlined for casting and prevents them from getting quickly picked off.

Freshwater will see things start to heat up.

Afternoon bite times will be the better periods to be out fishing.

Saratoga can be seen free swimming just under the surface enjoying the sun, and bass can be found along the weedy

edges where still water warms during the day.

The lilies that died off during the prolonged drought have started to fill in, so be sure to work these edges thoroughly with lures like the Chasebaits Bobbin Frog, which is a personal favourite.

While the deeper water is cooler, it pays to throw suspending lures.

Smaller Jackall Squirrels and Nories Laydown Minnows are two popular choices.

If you are finding deeper schooled-up bass, the Hot Bite V2 spoons have claimed many fish with a simple slow roll.

I crimp all my barbs, as bass inhale these on the drop and you can perform quick, safe, inwater releases with a pair of long-nose pliers.

For the surface junkies, give smaller presentations a try like the Jackson Risk Bait, and of course the Lucky

Craft Sammy 65.

Smaller baits require less effort to digest by fish, and when cold this will be what triggers a bite.

Don’t forget to purchase your SIPS permit and enjoy this time of year no matter where you are.

If travelling between lakes and dams, be sure to wash any weed off trailers and props to prevent spread.

For all the latest information log onto fishingnoosa.com.au for up-to-date bar and fishing reports, and don’t forget to drop into Davo’s Tackle World, Davo’s Boating and Outdoors in Noosa and Davo’s Northshore Bait & Tackle in Marcoola for all the right equipment, bait and advice to get you catching.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and remember, tight lines and bent spines!

Dave Stevens cradles a quality jewfish he took braving a cold night.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 43

The author with a solid tuskfish caught out wide.

Mitch Cooper with solid winter mud crabs.

Warmer days bring bay fish on the bite

G

Young Jullian proudly holds up his first snapper.

A nice cobia taken onboard Double Island Point Fishing Charters.

Page 44 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

’DAY crew, I hope everyone had a chance to wet a line over the past few weeks – I know I sure did!

I managed to get a few good trips in between work, family life and coming down with bronchitis for a week.

I had a good trip to Hervey Bay with a friend, hunting the flats looking for blue bastard and golden trevally.

No bastard were caught, but we did manage a couple of nice golden in slightly trying conditions.

I also managed to get out to Borumba and spend the day with Peter Morse chasing bass on fly, and have had a couple of good sessions in the local creeks earlier in the month, targeting the trevally that have been in Tin Can Bay in considerable quantities and size.

At this time of year, good numbers of golden trevally can be caught from in the creeks.

Using your sounder to find schools of fish and targeting them with small prawn lures, vibes, flies and even

Tin Can Bay

by CHRIS RIPPON

micro jigs on 6lb braid and 14lb leader makes for awesome fun.

We have been having success with Palms Slow Blatt in 20g and Miniature Dax in 10g and 14g.

This style of fishing is made easier by using a sounder with sidescan because the school may not be under the boat.

I recently sounded a school of fish that was 5m to my starboard side, which was 20m wide and about 30m long.

I managed to pull three nice 60cm fish out of the school before it moved on.

I end up with nine fish for the session and

six of them were over 60cm, and all were caught on metal jigs.

If I wasn’t using my sidescan, I wouldn’t have even known they were there.

Using your sounder and its sidescan feature to mark schools of fish can save you time blind casting and improve your catch rate dramatically.

If you want to have a chat about how sidescan works, pop down for a yarn and we’ll be happy to interpret and explain what we see on the screen.

Anyway, enough about my fishing exploits, let’s have a look * continued P45

An average size golden from one of the creeks in Tin Can Bay. This one couldn’t resist a Slow Blatt jig. www.bnbfishing.com. au

Warmer days bring bay fish on the bite * from P44

at what else has been on the bite the past few weeks.

As it’s still fairly cool, we all know that squid are on the chew, along with winter whiting.

People have been making the most of them recently and the hot spots have all been firing, with the mouth of Kauri Creek being the pick of the spots for winter whiting and the powerlines in the bay are great for a feed of squid.

The little bit of dirty water from rain at the start of August has helped with flathead catches.

We have had reports of good numbers of fish showing up around Carlo Sand Blow and the surrounding flats all the way up to Ida and Pannikin islands, and in the coming months they should start to be a very viable target.

I am looking forward to tossing some big flies and swimbaits around our local flats for bigger models.

Offshore fishos have made the most of the fine weather windows and have been punching it out over Wide Bay Bar, dodging migrating whales.

These anglers have been rewarded with cracker catches such as tuskfish, sweetlip, hussar, moses perch, jobfish and red emperor.

By all accounts, snapper and pearl perch were on the chew too.

Before the snapper and pearly closure, there were substantialsized snapper being caught in close on a mixture of baits, slow pitch jigs and plastics.

The crews that went further north didn’t seem to have the same www.bnbfishing.com. au

by-catch problem as those who fished due east and south of the bar.

They also seemed to have fewer taxman problems.

There have been solid catches of cobia, amberjack and wahoo coming from around Double Island over the past few weeks.

Off the beach we have been seeing nice hauls of whiting, bream, dart and flathead, with fresh worms and pipis working the best.

Recently, slide baiting fishos have been getting stuck into nice spanish mackerel from the sand.

Whole garfish, pike and live tailor have proven to be the most successful baits for those fishing from the beach.

Don’t forget, if you

are coming to Tin Can Bay for a fish, bring your crab pots because there are still plenty of fine sand crabs being caught in deeper parts of the channel.

Though don’t stress if you do forget them or any of your fishing gear, as we have all your crabbing and fishing needs covered.

And there are still quality mud crabs to be caught, but you will need to put the time in to find them.

Well crew, that’s a wrap for another month.

Stay safe and healthy, keep warm and get out and have a fish!

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The author took this golden trevally on a very foggy morning over the flats.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 47

Midweek opportunities a good option

W

ITH the winter weather pattern providing good offshore conditions, anglers able to head out for a midweek sortie have enjoyed consistently good fishing.

There have been reports of red emperor from deeper water, as well as coral trout from the shallows.

The challenge in many cases is to get your fish to the surface before being ‘sharked’.

There appear to still be an overabundance of sharks, at least in popular fishing locations, and these ‘taxmen’ are impacting negatively on both productivity and enjoyment of trips.

On a recent trip offshore, we fished an area where I’d located some new marks – new to

Bundaberg Region

by BRAD YOUNG

me anyway – and were able to fish one location anchored overnight and across three tide changes without being sharked once.

In this time, we landed four red emperor, a number of large redthroat emperor as well as other lesssharked species.

My hypothesis regarding the lack of sharks in the area we were fishing was that it was not regularly fished and so sharks were not waiting there ready for an easy feed.

On my next trip I’ll fish this spot again and will be able to test my theory.

On this outing how-

Dawn offshore is a special time.

ever, we also fished for trout in a shallow area that I’d identified and where we hadn’t fished before, with the same zero shark result.

Again, I believe this may be due to fishing an area not targeted by many, so no sharks awaiting a feed.

I will share the results of my future trips to these areas and whether sharks have made their appearance felt or not.

Cobia, or black kingfish, a popular eating species, have been featured in a few catches and are more common during winter months.

The use of a berley trail will often see them lingering or loitering behind your anchored boat while bottom fishing for other species.

They are a tough fighting fish and very good eating, but they can sometimes initially be mistaken for a shark with their broad head.

Nearly fooled, I went to cut one free while anchored up for a sleep before realising the fish

was not a shark but a cobia!

Burnett slow Our local rivers and creeks have been fishing OK, though good mate Spider reported a disappointing result on his last trip.

Spider knows the Burnett pretty well, so with his dad and his combined knowledge, if they’re having trouble catching a feed I may as well skip fishing there.

He fished his regular target tides for whiting and came home with only three fish – two bream and a whiting.

He also noted that the whole system seemed quiet with no other boats and pro fishers out.

While he and I shared a couple of theories as to why this might be, we didn’t come up with a concrete reason.

Kolan lizards Nice flathead have continued to be landed as well as some bream around the rocky areas, especially a little further upstream.

Mangrove jack are much quieter during winter months but may still show up on a late night low tide … particularly with fresh mullet strip bait presented to them.

Last month I touched on the success of Joel who fishes the Kolan regularly, and espe-

cially his achievements with flathead.

I’m hoping Joel might target tailor around the mouth over the next month or so, as they’re certain to be around, and that he will ‘work them out’ given some time on the water.

Joel has been slowly building up his knowledge and understanding of when, how and what to fish for in the Kolan over the past few years.

He has successfully targeted mangrove jack and grunter, and now flathead.

Developing knowledge and skill in many ways, but mostly by simply spending time on the water enjoying his fishing, Joel has been learning and adding to his knowledge bank with each trip.

Which is similar to Spider’s experience on the Burnett and also reflected in the success I enjoyed fishing a newly found offshore location.

I am looking forward to another opportunity and the chance to target new ground when the next break in the weather occurs.

As always, I can be contacted via the Bush ‘n Beach website, by email at fishnboat@bigpond. com or post at PO Box 5812 Bundaberg West Queensland 4670.

Until next month…

TURKEY BEACH

Exploring new country produced this lovely red emperor and a few more species.

Page 48 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 49

Cranky weather and cranky tuna. Colin with a stocky sashimi pod on the snapper rod.

Hot bites despite inclement weather

I Morris found his first trout on a Zerek soft lure.

> Hervey Bay > Fraser Island > Sandy Strait

T’S September already and hard to believe we’ve been in restrictions for so long.

It’s now the new norm and I’ve noticed more and more anglers are visiting my area.

This is good for the local economy, and we are blessed that Queens-

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Fraser Guided Fishing

by TRI TON

land’s rates of infection remain low enough for us to continue business in our wonderful sunshine state.

I don’t think many of us could do any more rounds of lockdown, and while we are still restricted, some movement and money are better than none!

Another recent restriction was the snapper closure, which I must admit doesn’t really affect me that much.

Many other operators would be feeling it, as it is their bread and butter.

I don’t keep large snapper to eat anyway, as I generally prefer the pan-sized fish of this species.

I have had a few passionate people come to

me quite sure that the closure would be something I’d oppose.

I often left them speechless when I’d respond with “Yes, its fine, it doesn’t really affect me” and “It’s probably a good thing.”

If the science suggests we need to try something, then what harm could a few years of one-month restrictions do?

And it’s only a few weeks of the year when snapper are allowed to do their thing with little interruption from us.

If it works, that would be the perfect outcome.

We might find the restrictions only need to be practised every three years or so, but who knows? * continued P51

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Hot bites despite weather * from P50

Keep in mind, it’s the future of these fish we want to look after.

Putting our heads in the sand will not improve snapper stocks, and it is definitely something we will see more of as we learn more about the species we love and how our interactions with them can alter their future stocks.

It brings to mind issues such as barotrauma, and I believe there is some work to be done on species similar to threadfin salmon.

I have seen these fish caught and released in deep water and am itching to see the study on the big fish, especially the metre plus models.

I think a few trophy hunters will be upset that they may need to change their methods, especially when targeting these prize fish from deep water.

The larger the fish, the larger the swim bladder, so it seems they are more at risk.

I am of the opinion that if you catch threadies from deep water, you had better like eating them as well.

I have similar issues when fishing depths of over 20m.

Some fish just have no ability to cope with the pressure change.

I find large diamond trevally and cod are the worst.

Diamond trevally over 90cm (I have no idea why) sometimes suffer and sometimes don’t.

But you can usually see which fish is suffering badly.

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vent is a very sure sign there is extreme internal damage.

Also, if you look closely at the skin, you will see it has parted from the flesh, with what look like small blisters.

On fish with scales, you will notice the flared and lifted look of them.

These days any fish that is legal and looks compromised is coming home with me to be eaten.

Anyhow, moving on with a quick update from my local area.

Wind and rain have been featuring, so thanks very much Mother Nature.

I usually expect calm flat afternoons at this time of year, and while we haven’t had much of that, the fishing has still been relatively good, especially considering how tough the weather has made it.

Sure, you have to work hard, particularly if you need to fish closer to shore where the species are pressured, and often times you are working around other vessels too.

It would make my life easier if the fish keyed in on jigs more often, but plastics are still winning.

Windy conditions and light plastics are not an easy route to success!

Palai with a monster diamond trevally – her first ever fish on lure!

Adam loves jigging, and the queenfish were willing to dance on this day.

Chris with a monster golden trevally and check out that glassy water behind him!

Dave and his whopper cobia landed with a 20lb leader.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 51

Gladstone holds a good population of barramundi and Gaven caught this one in a small side creek near South Trees on a live mullet.

The stretch from Devil’s Elbow to Gavial Creek in the Fitzroy River can produce good fish and this one fell to a 3” minnow plastic.

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UST off your baitcasters and change your hooks on your favourite barramundi lures because September has finally arrived!

We can wave goodbye to winter because it’s definitely time to let barra fever take over.

Longer days, warmer early mornings and rising water temperature have fish such as barramundi and mangrove jack becoming more active and with longer bite windows.

With only two months until they are off limits again, now is the time to make as much of an effort as you can targeting barramundi and leave jack 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.

The mighty Fitzroy River in Rockhampton

Gladstone Region

by GARY CHURCHWARD

should be on every keen barra angler’s list of places to fish.

With the net-free zone in place for the past few years it’s gone from strength to strength.

The variety of structure and the shear area of water available to fish between the Fitzroy River and Port Alma has every option you could think of to find and catch a fish.

Locally, Gladstone Harbour will be the best option to find consistent schools of goodsized 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, with it taking a little out of the box thinking to entice a bite at times.

It may be difficult to

swallow, when you can see fish on the sounder and have them repeatedly ignoring what you’re offering.

Both the Calliope and Boyne rivers do hold good numbers of barramundi, though they are not found in the same school numbers as in the harbour.

Again, fishing shallow snags and rock bars will produce a smallsized fish while deeper rock bars and bridge pylons will give up larger fish.

It doesn’t matter if you prefer throwing around a few lures or soaking live bait – finding the areas where barra will hold is key.

I do recommend having a few options on board because it might be the difference be-

* continued P54

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Bracing for barra * from P52

Phil with a standard fish from the lower Fitzroy River taken on a hard-body flicked bank-side timber.

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tween enticing a bite or getting a donut for the trip.

This could be using a different style, colour or sized lure, and it’s the same when bait fishing – trying different live bait types and sizes – even fresh cut baits can get a reaction.

Awoonga Dam is an option as weather warms up and it’s a bonus when you feel happy enough to jump over the side for a swim if it gets too hot.

If you’re after a few mangrove jack, Colosseum down to Turkey Beach holds great numbers of these fish in the smaller creeks.

Any likely spot holding good structure will be worth a fish and jack will happily sit in a metre of water looking for an easy feed to swim by.

Hard-body and weedless rigged soft plastic lures are the most effective way of targeting jack in the heavy cover they hide in.

Fingermark have been around in numbers, with fish from 30-50cm common and most are falling to vibes fished

in deeper rocky areas.

Blue salmon are moving through the harbour and most of the river and creek numbers are lower than usually expected at this time of year.

The harbour has held the bigger schools, though once again finding them can be the challenge.

Whiting can still be found over the yabby banks in the harbour, while not the biggest fish there are plenty around the 27-30cm mark to get a good feed from.

The odd flathead will show up along the drop-offs of the sandbanks in the harbour, the mouth of Lilley’s and Wild Cattle Creek.

Crabs were still being caught in good numbers during July and August, and they will get better as the water warms, and a bit of rain too will help get them moving too.

Hopefully we can all get out on the water and take advantage of the increasing water temperature and catch a few chrome beasts.

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The author was lucky with a red emperor from the dory that tested the rod and triple surgeons knot rig.

Dan Howard got this cobia up past sharks on the rear deck during an after dinner session.

No complaints about Swains

T

Derek Greenough persisted with slick moves across the rear deck and up the side of the boat before landing a spanish mackerel after dinner.

Page 58 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

HE snapper and pearl perch closed season for this year is done and dusted, and the overall feedback from most people has been very supportive.

There were a few negative and veiled swipes at the closure conducted through the media, but they all link back to people who have a vested interest or who earn good money from being participants in the fishery.

The thing these people overlook is that the fishery is not just about their bank balance, and the way of the future is to have managed controls such as closures during the spawning season when fish are

Fishing Trip

by BILL CORTEN

most vulnerable.

Without it there will be a continued reduction in biomass, leaving the community with a poorer fishery.

A strong snapper and pearl perch fishery is what the majority of forward thinking and responsible fishers in Queensland want.

I enjoyed the closure period and packed a weeklong trip to Swain Reefs, a caravan trip to the beach just chilling out and a Turkey Beach fishing trip into the four weeks.

Without doubt the Swain Reefs trip with a great group of people

was the highlight, and I’ve done this sortie a few times now.

Keppel Bay Marina at Yeppoon is an excellent departure point to the middle area of Swains, and I regard the 22m steelp-hulled MV Capricorn Star as the perfect fishing platform for a safe, comfortable and enjoyable week on the reef regardless of the weather.

It is a long way out to the lesser fished areas of Middle Swains, something in the order of 250km, where you must first cross the * continued P59

www.bnbfishing.com. au

No complaints about Swains * from P58

often-treacherous Capricorn Channel before reaching the calmer water of Swains.

To be able to do the trip facilitated by a skipper who really knows his fishing as well as his way around these reefs, in a purpose-built reef-fishing boat for an extended period, with a well-trained crew was an absolute privilege.

The extended bag limits for these trips are generous too, and you can come home with plenty of fillets, if that’s your thing.

On arrival at Yeppoon, the MV Capricorn Star was gleaming from a recent refit and there were several noticeable changes from my previous trip two years prior.

Scott Wilson, the owner and operator is a stickler for maintenance, and COVID-19 hadn’t prevented his high standards from being maintained.

He operated within the framework of a strict COVID approved plan, with all the necessary protocols in place for our safety and his.

Out on the reef, we had four straight days of good weather, where we fished from the dories and this sated everyone’s fishing appetite.

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by Scotty on the lay of the reef and shoals, updated on suggested pressure point locations to fish and other options to make every day safe and a fishing success. www.bnbfishing.com. au

The dories were launched, and we were off fishing!

Lunch was at 12.30pm on the mothership and featured a location change while we ate, and then back in the dories by around 2:00pm for an afternoon session until 5.30pm.

Hot nibbles served on the rear deck at the end of fishing, washed down with a few beers were always enjoyable, as was the ripper of a substantial hot meal served in the saloon each night, followed by plenty of dessert and a few more drinks or a movie with the other guests.

Many of our crew opted to fish from the rear deck after dinner and there were some nice spanish mackerel, cobia and reef fish landed.

A couple of big sharks were on the chew at night too, meaning there were always interesting stories from those sessions.

Somehow during the trip, the crew managed

everything discreetly and behind the scenes for a seamless operation.

The good part was they were fully across keeping fish in brine, doing the filleting, and bagging, tagging, freezing and recording the lot!

During the day all the dories had radios, so we could communicate and keep each other updated.

Fishing the dories was made easier with most * continued P60

George Baumber with a nice red emperor to start the trip on day one.

A gleaming MV Capricorn Star ready to depart for a magical week to the Swains.

John McNicol was all smiles under the pump out on the side deck.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 59

Ivan Mapp with a double hook-up of redthroat emperor and coral trout.

Dave Bremen landed this nice redthroat emperor from the deck on one of the windy days.

No complaints about Swains * from P59

The author with a coral trout from the reef.

Page 60 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

having good colour sounders, and only one black and white unit remained.

Though it didn’t matter which unit you had because you could make good fishing choices all day long based on what was on the screen.

This year, we reckon we caught more coral trout than on previous trips, and there was an abundance of large redthroat emperor.

Spanish mackerel were a little light on, but plenty of shark mackerel were caught while trolling from the mothership and the dories.

My favourite fishing

on Swains was on the shallows and in anything from 5-18m of water.

The preference was a spin outfit loaded with colour-coded 50lb braid and fluorocarbon leader with a tiny running sinker or no sinker at all.

The trick then was to feed the bait out until it’s smashed by a trout or lipper!

My personal choice of hook all week was a single Mustad Octopus in an 8/0 size, as you don’t get so many pickers, and unlike ganged hooks, there aren’t as many bottom snags.

A strong but lighttipped spin stick in the Venom range is ideal because you have sen-

sitivity from the braid and the rod tip to feel the presence of fish, and the grunt to get them before they rub you out on the reef.

George still likes his trusty handline in the shallows because of the feel it offers him, and it was enjoyable to watch the determination on his face as he struggled to bring in several of the cracking fish he hooked.

Out a bit deeper on adjacent shoals, I preferred to use a 7’ Venom PE 2-5 overhead rod loaded with 50lb braid and the lightest snapper lead I can keep near the bottom on a two-hook fluorocarbon rig. * continued P61

www.bnbfishing.com. au

No complaints about Swains * from P60

For this trip I didn’t put loops in the paternosters, instead I added droppers with a triple surgeon’s knot and trying hooks individually.

They are far stronger rigs than the paternosters we typically use at home, and you will not suffer knot failure when they are tied properly.

The good thing about Venom overhead rods is they are very sensitive and have loads of grunt for when you hook substantial fish in deeper water.

I like the way they allow you to feel the weight of a fish mouthing the bait, then you can lean back on the rod to sink the hook, instead of waiting for that big bite.

This year, we did fish from the deck of the MV Capricorn Star for a couple of days while there was a bit of wind and rain.

The large undercover rear deck was excellent, as was the overhead shelter down the side deck.

I must admit, it felt good having the luxury of two deckies ready to remove hooked fish and keep the supply of bait coming, not to mention their constant cleaning of the fishing space in between drifts.

It was an exceptionally well-run operation!

Eventually our week at Swain Reefs came to an end, and we gave a huge thanks to Ron Roduner for organising a very enthusiastic crew of keen fishers to share www.bnbfishing.com. au

the charter with.

It was a very bumpy ride home across the Capricorn Channel, and we arrived back at Keppel Bay Marina at around 3:30am before a hearty farewell breakfast.

Even in the air conditioned cabins, you do struggle to sleep well in those situations, but George and I still managed a good enough kip in the forward cabin while ‘living the dream’.

That’s when you appreciate the good watch-keeping practices on board and the high standard the vessel is maintained at.

If anyone is considering a Swain Reefs trip for a small or large group, email them at i n fo@capr icor nst a r. com.au or give Soozi a call on 1800 792 467 and she will take you through the process for an amazing experience and seriously fantastic fishing.

Derek Greenough was all smiles with his blue maori cod.

Bob Graham was happy with a nice model blue nice maori cod.

There is always a contented feeling and a few jobs to do at the end of a good fishing session.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 61

The author with his daughter Brooky and son Braxy enjoying the Fitzroy River. This was Brooky’s third ever barramundi.

Big tiger squid will still be running into September. The author and his kids with a Keppel horse.

Sensational action for Capricorn Coast

I

T’S time to get the razor out and shave off the winter hibernation because the worst is now behind us.

I probably shouldn’t degrade the colder months this way, as there were amazing captures and weather over the past three months.

I’m definitely more

Capricorn Coast

by JOHN BOON

of a warmer water fan though.

You’re not arguing over who has to get wet to push the boat off the trailer, fighting three layers of clothing if you do an early morning run or cutting your

way through pea soup coastal fog.

We have had magnificent patches of weather recently.

June and July were a struggle, but a few week-long 10-knot forecasts were had

through August.

Most of the anglers who headed wide to get out past the dreaded westerly inshore wind have done really well, with red emperor the main target species.

Nannygai have been responding well to slow pitch jigs around Capricorn Coast’s wonky holes and fern grounds.

Cedric Auda with a fine red emperor caught while fishing offshore with Dan Baker of Yeppoon.

Page 62 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

Nannies can occupy any part of the water column, so it pays to watch the sounder and adjust techniques to suit the depth they’re sitting at.

Palms ZetZ Slow Blatt jigs have proven themselves time and time again if you’re looking to give them a go.

Winter black jewfish have been relatively easy to catch unfortunately.

With the current rules in place for jewfish, they are a no-take species at the moment.

Those targeting grunter on the inshore rubble patches and wrecks have been catching them accidentally and have had to move.

I know of a few anglers targeting them on soft vibes in really shallow water, where they can be safely released without any barotrauma.

They are losing more than they are landing, as they are absolute * continued P63

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Sensational action for Capricorn Coast * from P62

steam trains in among the rocky headlands.

All the mackerel species have been fishing well from the eastern side of the islands right out to the main reefs.

The cheeky buggers have been stealing jigs off us on most of the spots loaded with bait.

Fast-cranking metals up off the bottom have been sorting them out – and putting a nice feed of mack in the Esky.

It’s really great fun when they’re on.

Tiger squid have been quite easy to catch if you put the time in around the islands.

Putting the effort in to locate weed beds around the smaller islands has been key to landing a quality haul.

Pink Yamashita Egi are my proven favourites but they can be fussy buggers on the day, so make sure to vary size and colour to find what’s working.

Blue salmon have been running really well along the beaches and headlands.

Brenden Warren with his son Quinn have been nailing cricket scores right off the beaches around Yeppoon.

They’re great fun but you need to locate those schools to be in for this kind of action.

Mud crabbing reports have been very patchy, which is typical for August.

September should see them start to move again but from past exwww.bnbfishing.com. au

perience, we tend to see a lot of floaters around this time of year.

Flathead have been around in good numbers.

Good old Coorooman Creek – also known as Starvation Creek – has been turning over some absolute horses, with a few over the legal limit, which were obviously released.

The Gulp Swimming Mullet has been a good all-rounder from reports I’ve been getting.

What we can expect to see this month is the tropical estuary species start to chew again.

With rising water temperature, it should get barramundi and threadfin salmon fired up.

It’s generally the latter half of September when things start to improve for those species.

Fingermark and mangrove jack shouldn’t be too far behind.

I was actually surprised at the number of jack being caught in the cooler months.

If that’s anything to go by, we should be in for a great jack season.

With everything going to plan and COVID-19 hopefully behaving itself, we should see the Fitzroy River Barra Bash go ahead in early October.

There have been so many comps cancelled due to COVID-19 – Women That Fish Barra Classic and earlier the Frenchy Barra Bash, but we are all looking forward to the rescheduled comp next month.

This will be the comp’s third year running and there are still a few spots available, so make sure to contact the Frenchville Sports Club if you’re interested.

That’s all from me this month!

Stay safe and make sure to get the family out for a fish.

Quinn Warren with one of many blue salmon caught off the beach in a hectic Capricorn Coast session with his dad Brenden.

Jacob Betts with a horse 114cm barramundi from the town reaches caught on a 3.5” Castaic paddle tail.

Tom Baker with a nice pearl perch. You won’t see too many up here off Yeppoon.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 63

A lovely Hinchinbrook fingermark taken on a 3” Gulp Shrimp.

Hinchinbrook in a tinnie – part one

O

VER the past few years I’ve been on several fishing trips to Lucinda at the southern end of the Hinchinbrook Channel.

I’ve done these trips at different times of the year to try and find out

Local Luring

by KEITH STRATFORD

what works best.

This year my brother Chris came on the trip we’d planned for the middle of August.

My dad lives in Townsville, so we flew in there with bags full of lures and a tube full of rods.

The author scored a mangrove jack from heavy timber on a prawn imitation.

Page 64 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

There were a few clothes mixed in somewhere too, but they were at bottom of the priorities when going to Lucinda to fish.

I’ve been relatively lucky over the years with weather and this trip was no different, with a light southeasterly wind forecast for the four days we were going to be there.

We arrived at Lucinda on Thursday at around lunchtime and got the old man’s tinnie into the water then and there.

We went straight up the channel to look for fingermark, but the tide was a bit slow.

One thing I’ve worked out about fingermark up here is that they love current and lots of it.

The best sessions I’ve had have been when it’s difficult to get a lure to the bottom.

The tide had just

started running in, so we jumped on Google Earth and picked a small creek to cast lures into the snags on the run-in tide.

We planned to fish a few different places on this trip, so that for each new trip we would have more spots to choose from.

This little creek ended up being good, and we pulled a few nice mangrove jack and Chris got a nice grunter off a big fallen tree.

Plenty of cod got in on the action as well.

The standout lures were prawn imitations rigged snagless and with minimal weight.

I tried a variety of different plastics but the prawns outfished everything by a mile.

We got a couple of brutal smokings in this little creek as well, * continued P65

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Hinchinbrook in a tinnie – part one * from P64

though before we realised it was time to head back to Lucinda for a barbecue and a few beers.

The next morning was a glass out and the line-up at the ramp was ridiculous, so we decided to head to Fishers Creek and put in there.

This ramp needs a bit of water to get the boat in and out of, and even though it had only just started running out, the tide was already low when we got there.

Dad didn’t want to get stuck there all day, so he drove the trailer back to Lucinda and left us to find a few fish.

Once again, the fingermark spot was very slow – even the trevally and tarpon weren’t chewing.

I ended up downsizing to a 3” Gulp Shrimp on a 3/8oz head, and finally landed a nice fingermark.

This was followed by a little giant trevally

and then it went quiet again.

We travelled north to look at some drains around Benjamin Flats, but the tide was a little too high, so we killed time casting lures at rocky points for a heap of cod until the tide started coming in again.

We put a few pilchards in the Esky this time, for something different.

The old man’s tinnie is pretty basic, with a 2-stroke and no electric motor, so casting at snags when the afternoon breeze picked up was a bit tricky.

We found a likely looking snag and anchored just upstream from it.

It didn’t take long for the resident pikey bream to show up, with one fish per bait coming over the side.

Pikey bream generate a lot of activity and make for a great berley trail when they chew up pilchard.

This attracted fish from

Chris Stratford landed this grunter casting a prawn imitation at fallen timber. www.bnbfishing.com. au

other snags and it wasn’t long before a school of mangrove jack got in on the action.

We landed around 10 jack and a bunch of decent cod as well.

In tight country it was brutal fishing and a heap of fun.

A few of the better fish had us in the snags fast and it took quick rod work and patience to get them.

We left the fish biting in the creek and bashed back through the chop to get home before dark for a hard-earned drink and a feed.

Another mangrove jack from a small creek in Hinchinbrook Channel.

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Call 07 3286 1833 or go to bnbfishing.com.au #bnbbeanie Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 65

FNQ open for business

T

Ashton found this nice queenfish fishing up a river.

HE team at Fishing Cairns are pleased to report that most guides and operators made it through the shutdown and are out fishing again.

So, if you are heading north make sure you give us a call and we’ll match you up with a guide to suit any fishing style you desire.

The wind has been steady, making it hard work to get to the reef in smaller vessels.

However, recently the gusts have eased, and many boats have been dusted off and taken out for a fish.

But no matter what

Planning a trip to North Queensland?

Book a charter today!

From barramundi to marlin, jungle perch to jacks, we’ve got you covered.

www.fishingcairns.fish 0448 563 586

Page 66 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

Fishing Cairns

by BRETT PARKS

the weather, we can get you on a charter if you’re keen to wet a line.

We have guides to fish the Daintree River, the Hinchinbrook Channel, Copperlode Dam and the Russell/ Mulgrave river system.

These guys can put you onto winter barramundi, mangrove jack, giant trevally and queenfish at this time of year.

For a more relaxing experience, you can share a charter on the Trinity Inlet.

These charters are live bait trips and target a wide variety of species, including barra, jack, fingermark, threadfin salmon and more.

Take a private or share charter to the reef and chase coral trout, red emperor and nannygai.

As the days tick over we’re getting closer to the big game season, so if your dream is to land a 1000lb billfish

then north Queensland is the perfect location.

The travel industry has plenty of offers going at the moment, so get a few friends together and book a heavy tackle charter for a few days to chase the giants of the sea.

I’ve managed to get into a bit of action over the last few weeks with mixed results.

One morning last week during a short session, I managed to land two nice queenfish around the 90cm mark, lost three and had another 10 strikes – all on topwater lures!

It was a very exciting few hours of fishing.

A guide who was on the river the same day reported good numbers of fish too but said the day after, he was lucky to raise any fish at all.

Up in the freshwater reaches, the water temperature had dropped and cooled but there were still a * continued P67

A 90cm queenfish caught on a Halco Roosta popper. www.bnbfishing.com. au

Mangrove jack can be found in good numbers.

The author with a small giant trevally caught on a surface lure.

FNQ open for business * from P66

few fish to be had.

Tarpon had been missing in action for a few months but are in good quantities now.

They’ve been found in deep holes between shallow sections of river or cruising along the surface.

Sooty grunter and jungle perch have also been caught, with a few anglers crossing these species off their bucket lists.

I haven’t caught a barramundi for a while, but some of the guides we book are finding them on a regular basis.

So, if you can get off the couch, book a flight and come up to visit this spectacular country and support our local economy, which has taken a big hit during the shutdown.

We look forward to seeing you up north, and while you’re here why not wet a line?

Subscribe to our

Steve with his first tarpon.

channel!

Click here

Check out in-depth video coverage of the latest boat and product reviews plus fishing action and handy tips. www.bnbfishing.com. au

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 67

Spanish mackerel are running and Charles was rapt with his catch.

Mackerel making reels scream

A You don’t see this every day – check out the colours on this pigfish landed by Nathan.

BIG g’day to everyone!

I hope this finds you all healthy and happy.

Another month down and it seems we’re going through them faster than a mud crab on a mullet.

September looks set to be a big one, and with wind subsiding a little we are looking forward to more trips offshore.

Matt had a bit of a workout with this turrum.

Page 68 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

Hinchinbrook News

by TEAM CRACKAJACK

Recently we have seen a few great mornings, with wind picking up just before midday and blowing out the afternoon.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind a bit of chop

– it just means we’re limited to the distance we can cover in a day and restricted to a few spots closer in location to each other.

Whereas on the calm* continued P69

Another personal best for Jessie hooking his first cobia. www.bnbfishing.com. au

Mackerel making reels scream * from P68

er days, we can cover a lot more ground and hopefully find better bites with more fish.

Mackerel are warming up and there’s no better sound than a reel screaming when that line is being stripped off at what seems like a hundred miles an hour.

They’ve made a few appearances around the loader lately, taking queenfish that unlucky anglers have managed to hook-up to and doing it in spectacular fashion.

Leaping clear of the water with a meal in their mouth and alerting the angler who was just hooked-up to said fish, which is now that much shorter – that’s if what’s left actually stays on and isn’t hit by another one of these speedsters.

It’s great to watch – as long as you’re not the one who just hooked the queenie.

Offshore has seen a few hard-fighting trevally being caught on far north Queensland jigs, as well as the usual quality coral trout and nannygai, even a nice green jobfish.

A couple of weeks ago I saw my first goatfish onboard with its amazing colours of orange through the head fading down to an iridescent pink body.

We look forward to fishing several new reefs shortly – well not new per se, we have fished these grounds

www.bnbfishing.com. au

once before with what I would call a reasonable result of a nice red emperor, barcheek coral trout and a hard fighting chinaman fish – which should be exciting.

Inshore has continued to produce reasonable numbers of barramundi and mangrove jack – given the water temperature is still a little cool – along with the ever-present estuary cod, bream and even a nice cobia, though it was slightly undersized.

We look forward to a more consistent bite as the temperature rises because there are still a few slow days to be had, but that’s fishing, I guess.

Until next time, may the wind stay low and the fish count high.

Jessie with his first ever sand bass (often confused with barramundi), enjoyed an inshore day with mum Natalie.

Two full-time local guides!

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!

• Two boats available catering for groups of 2-8 • 3 to 7-day packages including accommodation T: 07 4777 2968 M: 0417 192 318 E: barra@crackfish.com

CheCk out our website >>> CraCkfish.Com Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 69

Josh Lyon holds up a lovely Normanby River barra.

Stunning southeast Cape – part two

L

AST month we explored the magnificent country around Cooktown, both south and north.

This time we’re diverting down Endeavour Battlecamp Rd and heading towards the wonderful Rinyirru National Park.

It is well worth stopping to view the picturesque Isabella Falls, about 6km in from Hopevale Rd. Now with bitumen

Cape York by ‘BILLABONG’ BAZZ LYON

in places, Endeavour Battlecamp Rd winds through the impressive Battle Camp Range, which is formed from attractive sandstone.

The range is so named after a significant armed conflict between gold miners on their way to the distant Palmer River Goldfields and the local Bal-

ganawarra people.

Many of their descendants are now back on country, running cattle and very productive ranger programs.

When you reach the crossing of the Normanby River, you are almost out of the high country and soon after reach the boundary of Rinyirru National Park.

A great catch of tasty cherabin.

Page 70 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

Comprising a spacious 5370sq km, this national park encompasses a wealth of rivers, billabongs, swamps, and expansive savannah woodland plains.

If you are into bush camping, fishing, nature and simply experiencing one of the absolute gems of the Cape, Rinyirru is a prime destination.

It’s such a shame for those who just gallop up to the Tip and back and miss this place.

While still on Endeavour Battlecamp Rd, a quick diversion into Horseshoe Lagoon is well worthwhile to view the waterbirds – except later in the year when water levels drop.

The rustic Old Laura Homestead, near the Laura River and listed on the National Heritage List, is a great place to visit and hints at what life was like in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The homestead was abandoned when a cyclone-driven flood

swept through the buildings in 1957.

In my view, the first of the better camping areas starts at Twelve Mile Lagoon on the Normanby River.

The turnoff lies just opposite New Laura Ranger Station, and incidentally you can get mobile phone reception here.

Twelve Mile Lagoon typifies most of the bush camp areas in the National Park – beautiful, shady and usually discrete sites set adjacent to a river or billabong.

There are detailed maps at the various interpretive shelters around the park and you can book online at Lakefield ranger base.

The Normanby features a wealth of great bush camping areas including Old Faithful Waterhole, Mickey Fein and Dingo Plains.

If you prefer better appointed camping, Kalpowar Crossing 3km from Lakefield features flush toilets,

* continued P71

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Exploring the southeast Cape * from P70

tap water from the river and cold showers.

North of Lakefield base lie White and Red Lily Lagoons, which are both beautifully decorated with waterlilies and great for birdlife.

The northern park also offers fantastic camping at Midway, Hanushs and Orange Plains as well as the two Whiphandle holes.

Basin Waterhole on Jam Tin Creek at the top of the tidal influence and Melaleuca Waterhole are another two top spots.

The latter is a large billabong, filled by floodwaters from the Normanby each wet season.

Browns Creek where it joins the Bizant River is hardly the shadiest place to camp, however it allows boat access down to this beautiful river, which fishes well for barramundi and all the usual tropical estuary species.

About 10km north of the Lakefield ranger base, you turn west to reach Breeza Outstation, originally established to breed horses.

Further west flows the stunning North Kennedy River, and Hann Crossing was named after explorer William Hann, who passed through in 1872.

Once again many campsites can be found along the North Kennedy, as well as great fishing for barramundi and cherabin.

All camps are on freshwater – except Camp 20, which is right www.bnbfishing.com. au

at the top of the tidal influence.

With care – beware of rock bars – you can boat a long way down this river and also divert up Jam Tin Creek, which usually features clear water.

Further west, after crossing the impressive Nifold Plain, are the last two camping areas in the park – Saltwater Crossing and Sweetwater Lake.

Then you leave the park on your way to Musgrave and points north.

The other prime destinations in southeast Cape York are Bathurst Heads and Cape Melville, though word has it that Bathurst Heads is currently closed.

That being the case, I’m packed, ready and raring to go to Cape Melville.

I haven’t been there for a few years, so will be able to provide an update next month.

Stay safe and enjoy the outdoors!

This salty barramundi with a bright yellow tail came from the Bizant River.

An aerial view showing the potential of Twelve Mile Lagoon on the Normanby River.

The picturesque North Kennedy River.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 71

C AMPING & outdoors Caravans have been arriving in increasing numbers on the Cape during the past three years. Travellers escaped COVID bubbles to spend winter under shady trees at the Weipa Camping Ground.

There’s plenty of room! This place is normally packed in the dry season but that’s certainly not the case in 2020.

Tempting time for a Cape York trip

W

ITH all the changes and restrictions we’re experiencing these days in this crazy COVID world, it’s good to have something that remains constant, and getting out to fish is one of those snippets of normality that is good for the soul.

Being able to go out to chuck a lure or bait is an activity that has kept a lot of us sane during this weird time.

It was interesting to see the boat ramp carpark at Weipa overflowing during the midst of the lockdown because even camping was off limits.

So almost everyone in town with a day off was out on the water enjoying a break away from the tedious and stressful situation imposed due to the restrictions.

This sort of reaction was certainly not limited to our Gulf outpost, but appeared to happen

Trip to the Tip

by DAVE DONALD

state-wide, serving to dramatically emphasise the very important contribution recreational fishing makes to mental health in our modern community.

For years, we’ve tried to get this message through to politicians and bureaucrats, but it has fallen on deaf ears, particularly in Queensland.

There can be little doubt that the ability to get out on the water during this crisis has been of major benefit to preserving family and community harmony.

Up here at the pointy end of Queensland, the lifting of the biosecurity zone to the Cape in early July has since seen traffic steadily increase, but it’s nowhere near as heavy as past years.

Page 72 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

There are still plenty of NSW and Victorian number plates among the traffic, so obviously quite a few people have managed to move north before the latest restrictions in southern states were imposed.

The relatively light vehicle numbers means that the road has been holding up much better than it usually does, which is certainly a bonus for those who have had the opportunity to make the trip.

Meanwhile there are another 50km of bitumen on the way by the end of the year, meaning that by this time next year there will be less than 200km of gravel road between Cairns and Weipa.

According to many of the inquiries being posted to the various

Cape York Facebook sites, there are still many prospective travellers worried about towing caravans up the Peninsula Development Rd. Rest assured that provided your van is set up for semi off-road conditions, which is fairly standard these days, you shouldn’t have any problems travelling the road safely, provided you always drive to prevailing conditions.

The number of vans doing the Cape has greatly increased over the past three years.

The biggest traps are bull dust holes, sudden gully crossings (usually labelled with a ‘dip’ sign) and corrugations on tight corners.

Identifying bull dust may be difficult to a newcomer but once you hit your first bad hole, recognising and steering clear of the soft patches becomes second nature.

One of the most important preparations for any remote excursion is making sure your suspension and tyres are in top-notch condition before hitting the highway.

While the road is vastly better than it was 20 years ago, there are still enough rough patches to find weak spots in a rig that has not been properly maintained.

On any dirt stretch, be constantly aware of what’s in front of you and never try to hurry.

It’s better to arrive 15 minutes later than spend hours stuck on the side of the track in the dust with a broken spring or axle – or even worse, an upturned vehicle!

The aim is to arrive safely, not pass every vehicle in sight.

If you happen to get stuck behind a truck or slower vehicle, give * continued P73

www.bnbfishing.com. au

C AMPING & outdoors

Time for a Cape York trip * from P72

them a heads-up using your CB radio to assist in getting past safely, particularly in dusty conditions.

A little courtesy goes a long way.

Normally the heaviest traffic to the Cape occurs in July and August then tapers off after the school holidays at the end of September, with few vehicles on the road during October and November.

The weather can be hot at that time of year but so is the fishing, consequently if you have a chance to travel and the current COVID travel restrictions see the Cape remain open to traffic, it could be an opportune time to make the effort to visit while there’re not many people about.

In fact, the fishing has been noticeably better this year because there are not as many charter and visiting boats on the water.

Of course, the main target for visiting fishers is barramundi, so be aware that the Gulf of Carpentaria season closes on October 7.

The place is still definitely worth a visit after the closure starts but barramundi are definitely off the menu after that date.

Inshore waters along the coast are usually very clear at that time of year, so it’s an ex-

www.bnbfishing.com. au

cellent opportunity to throw a lure or fly at the multitude of species inhabiting the bauxite reefs and sandy beaches that stretch south of Weipa township.

Several trevally species, queenfish, fingermark, tuskfish, mackerel, tuna and those revered fly fishing targets such as permit giant herring and blue bastard can be prolific at that time of year and ready to eat.

One consideration that is sometimes misunderstood concerns the arrival of the wet season.

In recent years, the big wet hasn’t really arrived until well into January, so travelling the road leading up to Christmas has been fairly easy.

There are predictions of La Niña happening this year, but it would still be unusual for the road to be undrivable before the start of December.

Early wet season storms don’t really cause dangerous washouts or affect river crossings, so as long as you travel carefully on any wet sections, getting up and down Peninsula Development Rd is not usually too difficult.

In a nutshell what this means is the Cape is open for business and looks like remaining so until year’s end.

It’s a great opportunity to see the place without the usual crowds.

There’s no Macca’s up this way but I can assure the burgers are the best you’ll ever taste.

The secret ingredient is the meat – it comes from the properties where the roadhouses are sited.

You can’t get more genuine and fresher than that!

Fingermark are one of the best eating fish in the sea and there are plenty in the Cape’s estuaries and reefs. William landed this beauty off a trolled Halco Scorpion lure.

2020 has been a horror season for Cape charter operators with most having bookings cancelled for the entire season. There could be spots available with the professionals if you can make the journey.

Hot weather equals hot fishing! One bonus for fishers visiting before the barramundi closure starts can be trophy fish such as this beauty.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 73

BlackWolf Turbo Tent collection: Australia’s favourite

T

by MELISSA FROHLOFF

Brined and smoked chicken To make the chicken brine Ingredients • 4 whole chickens • 5 litres cold water • 1 1/4 cups salt • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar • 1 tbsp crushed garlic • 1/4 tsp quick cure Brining the Chicken 1. Remove any excess fat from the internal cavity of the chicken. Add salt, sugar, garlic, quick cure and water to a plastic container and stir until the salt and sugar has dissolved to make the brine.

2. Using a meat syringe inject the chicken with brine. Pump legs, wings and breast in several places until the skin is firm and cannot take any more liquid.

3. Place chicken in a plastic container and cover with remaining brine. Make sure chicken is covered, otherwise

make up some extra and add, then stir 4. Refrigerate overnight or 12 hours for brining to take place.

Smoking the Chicken Cook time: 3.5 hours Smoker temp: low and slow Recommended dust: hickory 1. Remove chicken from brine, drain and pat dry.

2. Lay chickens in the smoking oven on racks. Place hickory sawdust in smoking tray and ignite the oven. Close the door.

3. Cook low and slow for 2 hours with just enough heat to burn the sawdust, check dust and add when needed.

HE Turbo Tent

by BlackWolf is Australia’s favourite and for good reason.

Turbo Tents are not only the highest quality on the market, they are the most reliable and durable choice and have become known as the ‘insurance policy’ when camping.

The BlackWolf team make products they actually use, meaning the Turbo Tent series has been tried and tested by expert campers and is the result of decades of experience and innovation.

With this in mind, Turbo Tents are waterproof and durable to withstand most weather conditions and every detail has been considered, right down to zipper placement.

The seam seals, zippers and tabs have all been specifically placed to give assurance that if the weather turns a little nasty, you will be dry and comfortable in your Turbo Tent.

Each tent in the collection stands at over 2m high, are built from the toughest of fabrics and are considered 3-4 season tents, which translates to comfortable use in most environments.

Setting up a Turbo Tent has never been easier with the rapid pitch Turbo frame.

And when it’s time to head home, simply pack the tent into the sturdy duffle bag – made to withstand most knocks.

With a huge range of additional options such as side panels and awning extensions available within the Turbo Tent collection, customising your tent to fit your needs is easy.

There are good reasons the Turbo Tent series by BlackWolf is Australia’s favourite.

BlackWolf Turbo Tents range from $1099 to $1699.

For more information on BlackWolf and its range of products, or to find your nearest stockist visit blackwolf.com. au

4. Turn heat up and cook on 160C for 1.5 hours or until internal temperature reaches 80C. 5. Remove chicken from smoker and allow to rest for 20 minutes before serving.

Tip: 8 hours before smoking the chickens make the brine and refrigerate.

Prep time: 20 min | Curing time: 12 hrs | Serves 16 Page 74 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

www.bnbfishing.com. au

We were on the Nerang River on the Gold Coast trolling and I used a deep diving Atomic Hardz Shiner. This flathead went 74cm and was released.

Verena Caltabiano

This yellowbelly was caught in Somerset Dam trolling hard-body lures and was 57cm long.

Ty Laverick

Scored in my Viking kayak in NSW, this yellowbelly went 60cm.

Brett Dowd

I captured a 58cm beauty at Hays Inlet on pilchards from Hornibrook Bait & Tackle.

Jess Richter.

These Somerset Dam bass were landed with a few others in the session. One was my PB at 52cm, the other was 45cm. Both on the new Nories Metal Wasaby 18g Hammered model.

Charlie Beacham

To have a photo of your catch featured in Readers’ Forum, simply email ben@collins.media with a good-quality picture, your name and details or hop onto our Facebook page and send us a message. www.bnbfishing.com. au

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 75

C ARAVANNING & adventure Kicking back at gorgeous Coral Bay 14 Mile Beach is a great place to camp nice and close to the water.

I

HOPE everyone is staying safe during these crazy times.

The Western Australia border was still closed at the time of writing this article, though I am sure it will reopen in due course to allow us east coasters the opportunity to venture over to the west coast to explore.

A couple of our favourite destinations on the west coast were Coral Bay and Warroora Station, which are located virtually along

Caravanning

by TODD EVELEIGH

the same latitude line as Gladstone on the east coast.

Coral Bay consists of a very nice caravan park, a couple of resorts and a few pubs, and is set up for tourism.

An interesting fact is there are no permanent residents at Coral Bay, and you are not able to purchase a house or land in this beautiful

part of Western Australia.

Another interesting aspect of Coral Bay is that all the water is desalinated and can be purchased at a few of the resorts for $2-$4 for 20 litres, which is pretty reasonable I think, and while it doesn’t taste that flash, you can live off it.

The pubs and res-

taurants offer amazing food and are great places to hang out for lunch, dinner or cold refreshments.

There are also dive, snorkelling and fishing charter operators running out of Coral Bay, with some amazing experiences on the reef.

There are amazing snorkel sites straight off the beach at Coral Bay itself and from the surrounding beaches.

Off the main beach is an amazing coral structure called Ayers Rock

Four-wheel-driving over the sand dunes on the way to Coral Bay. Page 76 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

that you can swim out to for a lap.

It’s approximately 250m from shore and best to head out at low tide, plus it makes for fantastic GoPro footage.

When you first hop into the water, it goes from a nice sand bottom to a quick drop-off and then onto amazing coral formations out to the rock.

You are immediately welcomed by all types of fish species, with amazing spangled emperor, parrot and all other types of reef dwelling species, and I have to say many large specimens at that.

It’s a great location for the whole family to have a snorkel because it’s very sheltered with considerably little current, so the kids can get right in on the action.

A short walk from Coral Bay Beach and around the bay will take you to the shallow flats of a shark nursery, where you can walk out at high tide and have literally hundreds of small reef sharks * continued P77

www.bnbfishing.com. au

C ARAVANNING & adventure Kicking back at gorgeous Coral Bay * from P76

swimming and relaxing around you in the clear shallow water.

This was both amazing and concerning, though funnily enough while snorkelling around Coral Bay we actually didn’t see any, which was fine by me!

There are other beautiful snorkelling areas on adjacent beaches off Coral Bay, with a little more care needed because they are more exposed to weather and stronger currents.

We chose to stay at Warroora Station and had this as our base camp.

It is approximately 20km south of Coral Bay. There is a back track from Warroora to Coral Bay, which offers a little four-wheel-driving adventure up big sand dunes and over headlands to amazing coves and bays with incredible outlooks.

After buddying up with a couple of fellow travellers, who we now call friends, we had many great ventures and laughs exploring the dunes and tracks on the way to Coral Bay. Warroora Station was truly an amazing place to camp and for $100 a week for a piece of sand right on the beach, it really was fantastic value.

The only catch was you need to be completely self-sufficient –

www.bnbfishing.com. au

you must have portable facilities and supplies such as a toilet, shower, water, food and other necessities.

It was a fantastic family destination because there were many other families, so all the kids got to hang out together, go snorkelling, swimming, play epic games of beach cricket and soccer, while the adults played Klop or Finska on the beach, with plenty of beers and even more laughs.

If you have a car topper, this is a fantastic place for it as you can just leave a tinnie sitting on the beach above the high tide mark and drag it down to the water for a fishing session.

The fishing here was exceptionally good, with Raylene and I heading out to the reef edge, which was within sight of the caravan.

With that we had dinner sorted for the next few nights.

I went out for a few solo trips too, casting soft plastics on a broken bottom and had an amazing time with big spangled emperor on light tackle, and the occasional huge one busting me off in the reef, which added to the excitement.

I also managed to catch a few nice calamari for evening entrée.

It really is an amazing place that we will

definitely return to in future, and maybe do more hardcore fishing.

But hey, this place was paradise, so you tend to relax and soak up the atmosphere and beautiful surroundings.

There are a number of camping options around Warroora, with beaches, bays and headlands all options, and being in close proximity to Coral Bay, it does give you the best of both worlds.

You can have your own piece of paradise and not be too close to another caravan, and only a short car ride from a nice restaurant or pub.

I hope this inspires you to explore and roam our beautiful country once restrictions ease.

Get over to Coral Bay and Warroora and check out this little slice of paradise for yourself.

Spangled emperor can be caught quite close to the shore, and taste fantastic!

The author managed a few squid as a tasty entrée.

Raylene caught this lovely trevally over shallow reef.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 77

C ARAVANNING & adventure

One of Croydon’s true bushie characters, Tom outside the Club Hotel.

Croydon: the pass-through gem

H

OW many towns are there where you can sit on the footpath under the shade of the hotel veranda, enjoying a cold one, eating a chilli-based garlic prawn pizza and watch a small mob of kangaroos make their way down the main street?

Croydon, often the pass-through gem, is a ‘must stop’ destination to soak up the history of this gulf and gold rush country.

Its characters are as colourful as the amazing sunsets seen in this dry and dusty region.

After leaving the coastal towns of Ing-

Outdoors

by PAUL ‘CHIEF’ GRAVESON

ham and Innisfail, we made the climb through the Atherton tablelands to cross the Savanah Way on our way to Karumba.

We were going to do an overnight stay in Croydon in the local free camp area, but we ended up staying for four days.

Everyone you meet has a passion for the history of the town and many great yarns are shared over an ale at the Club Hotel, which in fact is the last pub standing out of 64 that

Page 78 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

graced the town during its lucrative prospecting days.

The first gold strike in 1885 was the start of a massive 23,675kg of pure metal being excavated from the harsh land.

One could only imagine the wealth in this area as the goldfields grew.

At one stage it was the third biggest town in Queensland, until finally the gold ran out and the companies and miners moved away.

What is left here now

is a credit to the local community, as they’ve reinvented a taste of what life had been like.

There’s a heritage precinct where you walk down the street past the old school house, past the historic hospital, police station and courthouse.

Many buildings contain artifacts and even audio enactments of court cases and the woes of a prisoner as he lay in his cell bed.

It just captures the feel of those early days and all I can say is congratulations to the whole community.

A trip to the local cemetery leaves you

with a sense of selfreflection as you walk past many of the old burial plots.

The number of children who perished in this harsh land is hard to believe, even the ages of the many who passed before they had the chance to reach the grand age of 30.

This alone was an indication of what life would have been like.

There was an abundance of old steampowered mining equipment on display at various locations.

It’s easy to drive down a dusty track and find rusting machinery from * continued P79

www.bnbfishing.com. au

C ARAVANNING & adventure

Croydon: the pass-through gem * from P78

these early days littered in the bush, long forgotten.

On a road heading to the town’s water supply at Lake Belmore, you’ll find another site that was an archaeological dig location of the early Chinese settlement.

Due to laws in those days the Chinese were forbidden to work the mining leases, so many turned to market gardening and other small businesses.

This area had a Chinese temple as well as gambling dens, opium dens and a mixture of other small ventures.

The sunsets in this area can be spectacular, especially if viewed from Diehms Lookout, which is also situated on the road to the lake.

Honestly, we were totally entertained here and found the displays

and information presented were to museum standard, and everything is free!

The townspeople are so friendly and proud of what they have achieved.

We were lucky to spend a little time with Tom, who is one of the true characters of the town.

He gave us a good old laugh as he shared a few yarns of his life in a way only a trueblue Australian bushie could.

Remember, don’t treat Croydon as a blowthrough, plan to stop for a few days and have a look at what’s on offer.

You won’t be disappointed, especially if you have a yearning for outback history.

While travelling these beautiful outback locations, you get to try a lot of different products,

and many can make a big difference to the quality and standard you travel.

Tonia has a product she rates top shelf, so I’ve asked her to give a bit of a rundown.

The product is an outdoor mat designed by Affordable Camping, which is a southeast.

Queensland company.

The first important factor is this product is manufactured by using recycled poly.

The mat we choose is a 6m x 2.4m model, but they come in a range of sizes to accommodate your own personal requirements.

You can step from the van onto the mat without the need for shoes.

We’ve used it on a number of surfaces such as wet soil, rocks, sand or even red dust.

Cleaning this mat is

One of the author’s fishing buddies on the Norman River.

* continued P80

Beautifully restored historic buildings from the gold rush days in Croydon. www.bnbfishing.com. au

Tonia’s brother with another nice nannygai.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 79

An unbelievable western sunset.

Croydon: the pass-through gem * from P79

a breeze, as nothing seems to stick to it.

Even mud dries to simply release from the woven strands and falls away.

Another design feature are the two seams running the length of the mat, which are in reverse folds to each other.

This allows you to lift one corner and the mat folds concertina style and makes packing

away very easy.

It’s light and stores away in its own carry bag, so even Paul can use it.

We give ours a quick sweep and any trace of sand and dust disappears.

We’ve used tarps before and they stain, especially with red dust, they become slippery when wet and generally produce more of a mess, but these mats really are a

great product.

The mat appears to allow particles to fall through the weave, while not allowing grit and sand to rise up from underneath.

I believe this has enhanced the quality of our day-to-day camping, so it’s really worthy of a mention.

You can call Affordable Camping on 0418 785 549 and enquire about what would best

The author with his first little diamond trevally.

Page 80 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

suit you’re needs.

We’ve been on the road travelling along the coast, crossed the Savanah Way to Karumba down to Gregory Downs through to Camooweal, and we’re currently in Mount Isa. Our On the Move caravan has exceeded all of our expectations.

Sure, we’ve lost a few Anderson plugs, shook a sensor out of a water tank, lost a screw out of a door, but really, this van is unbelievable.

The metal sheets protecting our water tanks look like they’ve been peppered with buck shot, with a few added dents that look as though they’ve been provided by light artillery.

This trip has taken me to places where I’ve caught fish species I have never caught before, and I’ve watched and heard the roar of salty crocodiles as they’ve mated on the opposite bank a mere

20ms away.

I’ve watched sunsets I wouldn’t have believed and met people like Tom from Croydon, who I believe is the salt of the earth.

We haven’t even started this trip or scratched the surface, so who knows where we’ll end up.

About 99 percent of this trip has so far been free camping off the grid in small bush camps, gravel pits and locations set aside by small town councils, so next month I really want to talk about lithium batteries and look at how good they really are.

A few events have helped us understand the advantages of lithium and how to get the most out of the battery.

My girl and I are having an absolute ball and are really getting into this adventure.

I hope you also enjoy a few of our yarns.

Catch you next time!

Chief and Tonia. www.bnbfishing.com. au

Okuma Cavalla Lever Drag Reels

Wilson Pro Cast series nets

EVERY so often a product arrives that makes use of our team’s years of experience and the Wilson Pro Cast series of nets do just that.

Leaning on the experience of our staff and pro anglers, the Pro Cast nets features put them at the top of the tree.

All Pro Cast nets feature chain bottoms that are tied into the netting rather than looped through the nets, to ensure durability and perfect operation every cast.

At the other end of the nets, a rope tie-in is fastened with a super strong swivel that has been over-engineered to give years of service and minimise line twist, which can lead to poor casting performance.

Other critical areas have been looked at too, including the addition of a wrist strap on all models and an extension rope for dedicated prawn cast nets.

It is this attention to detail, as well as giving casters what they want and need, that elevate Wilson Pro Cast nets to the top level.

Eight models are in the range, giving users a wide choice of options.

Visit wilsonfishing.com.au for more information.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Bone Salt Finesse Voyage Spin

THE Salt Finesse series expands on the brilliant Voyage concept delivering a series of rods that will cover any light line application.

With six models in the Salt Finesse range, Bone has developed a brilliant cohort that incorporates the highest quality components matched to unparalleled design and function.

The highlight feature is the elimination of uneven spread of weight across the joints, achieving an ultra-smooth bend when the rod is loaded, yet maintaining the rod’s durability and strength.

These fast actioned, 4-piece rods are equipped with high modulus TorayCA carbon fibre layers with cross weaves, which makes the blank much lighter and stiffer without compromising strength.

Fuji K-Alconite guides for ultrasensitivity and a Fuji TVS reel seat are essential parts of the design that stand these travel rods above others.

Each Voyage rod comes with an individually constructed soft pouch for the ultimate in protection while travelling, ensuring your rod is undamaged in transit and ready to perform.

Visit wilsonfishing.com.au for more information.

OKUMA’S Cavalla Lever Drag reels contain the key concepts of Okuma’s industry-leading lever drag overhead platforms, taking shape in a more compact and accessible package, and radically advancing the power and performance that is available to everyday anglers.

Built tough, the Cavalla’s one-piece, fully-machined, rigid aluminium frame is designed to tolerate more pressure and torque, while it also comes equipped with a Carbonite drag system with Cal’s drag grease, for smooth stopping power, and 17-4 grade stainless steel main and pinion gears for strong, reliable performance.

The Cavalla is available in a variety of models in both single and two speed to cover vertical jigging to live bait fishing, and casting to light trolling for species such as mackerel, kingfish, tuna and billfish.

• Rigid 1-piece frame and left side plate construction • 6061-T6 Machined aluminium frame and side plates • 17-4 grade stainless steel main and pinion gears • Carbonite drag system with Cal’s drag grease • Cold forged, Type-II anodised, machined aluminium spool • CRC: Corrosion Resistant Coating process • 4BB corrosion resistant stainless steel bearings • Ergo Grip handle knob with anodised aluminium handle arm • Silent retrieve system for cranking smoothness • On/Off bait clicker for all lever drag models.

At an SRP of $499 they’re worth ever cent and are a worthy investment.

For more information visit okuma.com. au

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 81

Gerard Adam with a great yellowbelly on the new Ecogear ZX43.

Big bass time at Somerset

FREE T FREIGHrs on orde 0 over $12

Somerset Dam

N Contact Robbie 0413 344 462 or Peter 0474 908 181

• Rods • Reels • Lures • Line

• Fishing tools • Storage • Clothing • Terminal tackle

Shop online or visit the shop at: 78 Kirkleagh Rd, Hazeldean QLD E: sales@somersetfishing.com.au W: somersetfishing.com.au Page 82 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

by ROBBIE RAYNER

OW is our big bass time, though they are getting super big and are not playing the game for many anglers.

When you land one, they are healthy and fully ripe with roe.

The standout on the dam recently has been in the Kirkleagh recreation area and into the timbers up to the Westvale Rd boat ramp.

I have been fishing this area frequently over the past month, using small crank baits that dive to about 2m

on a Jackall TN60 Silent Vibe lure in Brown Dog colour – the bass have been healthy and aggressive down there – just casting into the weeds with a slow retrieve back.

The flats in the start of the timbers have been harbouring big fish, which are feeding in small bite periods.

With good schools in Queen Street, the southern side of Pelican Point and more recently – in the last ABT event – the Bay of Plenty. * continued P83

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Ty Richardson’s whopper on a spoon.

Tom Deer’s cracker 90cm saratoga taken on a Jackall TN60 Silent in Brown Dog.

Big bass time at Somerset * from P82

These successful catches were on Nories Wasaby spoons.

Mr Somerset (aka Brett Klaws) has also been catching bass in Kirkleagh on Evergreen Little Max blades and Nories Wasaby spoons.

We should see these big bass around for another month and growing increasingly more aggressive.

Trolling has been very good for catching bass and yellowbelly this month, and the lures we recommend and have had success with include Dave’s Lures, Eddy Dam Busters and Revenge Lures.

We suggest a slow troll rate of around 2-3 knots for this time of year and look for fish in shallow 3-5m water early in the morning.

We have been working on a new tournament series kicking off on September 24 with Somerset Queensland Freshwater Fishing Tournaments and are looking forward to a regular local event.

As we said in the pre-

www.bnbfishing.com. au

vious report, Peter Gray has kindly shared his bass recipe with us.

Scale, gut and gill a 45cm fish and put deep cuts along the length around 30cm apart.

Squeeze lemon juice and rub salt into the cuts and gut cavity.

Place on a rack in a baking dish and into a pre-heated 180C oven.

When the skin can be

lifted away from the flesh, the fish is cooked and the meat will come away from the bones easily.

Peel the skin off and place on an oven tray, sprinkle with salt and place in a hot oven to make fish crackling.

Thanks for this tasty tip Pete.

Until next month, stay safe on the water.

A healthy feed for lucky angler.

This bass was taken micro jigging.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 83

Lure maker Chris Neilson with a silver perch caught on a Barambah Lures Bony Shad swimbait.

Local Matty Starling landed this monster from the bank with a Jackall Gantarel.

Fish stocking issues

W

E sit with bated breath each year in the hope that our stocking grant funds may increase when it comes to the purchase of fingerlings.

The storage at Glen-

Glenlyon Dam

by BRIAN DARE

lyon Dam at full capacity is some 250,000ML – not that it remains at that volume for very

GLENLYON DAM TOURIST PARK A great place to fish!

• Powered and Unpowered Sites • No Domestic Pets or Generators • Kiosk • Ice • Gas • Petrol • Amenities Blocks and Laundry • BBQs • Hire Boats • EFTPOS • Fishing Permits

14 CABINS bookings necessary

GLENLYON DAM TOURIST PARK via STANTHORPE 4380 Contact Debbie or Brian Dare for more information or for bookings

Ph: 02 6737 5266 E: glenlyondamtouristp@bigpond.com Page 84 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

long because it is used down the river for crop growing.

I would suggest that a per capita rating on a dollar return from storages is needed.

This should be taken into account when it comes to dollar allocations of funds collected.

The old adage of ‘the rate is now worked out on a customer indicator when the permit is purchased’ is wrong.

This cannot and has not been done since the online system was put in place.

Stocking groups know what needs to be replaced in the fingerling stocking game on storages.

We’ve been doing it for the past 25 years or more, along with our rivers.

We see what comes out and what is caught * continued P85

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Fish stocking issues * from P84

each week, and regardless of what people think, it’s a ‘put and take’ system.

What is of concern though is the funding for this fishing format.

This year around $65 million was to be given out for restocking our freshwater species across the board.

Last call If someone was to suggest that for ten cents a day per angler for all age groups 18 years and over, $35 million could be raised each year, wouldn’t you jump at the chance to use those funds to better recreational fishing throughout Queensland?

I know I would, for both freshwater and saltwater.

A recreational fishing license at a cost of $35 a year for the next 10 years would raise $35 million to improve fishing in Queensland.

I keep beating this drum, and still the response received has been “no more taxes.”

What a weak and wet reply.

You’re told that there are ways of getting grants to put towards your ventures.

Show me a grant of $35 million a year that you can apply for – there’s no such thing.

When are we going to see some sort of intestinal fortitude by those who choose to stand up for election to represent recreational anglers in Queensland, for ten cents a day?

This would bring the state to the forefront of recreational fishing in Australia.

I ask you to put your phone to good use.

Ask your local elected politician if they can push for such a format to take place.

It’s not a tax, it’s a returned can or bottle.

Lismore angler Jeff Carter with a healthy winter cod.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Tilapia continue to move

O

UR waterways are an asset many of us have come to cherish.

Whether for the opportunity of getting outdoors with friends and family or the solitude it provides us and the chance to reflect on the important things in our lives.

The scourge that is tilapia continues to raise its head.

In this instance, an ugly head.

During June, workers at Mt Morgan Dam came across this critter.

A very well-developed male Mozambique mouthbrooder.

I hadn’t seen one like this before.

The concerning thing about this particular fish is there was no way it swam into Mt Morgan Dam. Mt Morgan Dam is a relatively large structure on the Dee River, fairly high up in the Fitzroy River catchment.

Tilapia are present in the Fitzroy River system.

Yet even with the biggest flood, there was no possible way this fish could have got there by itself.

It’s pretty obvious this fish and others

like it arrived by a deliberate introduction.

So, what will happen now?

Probably nothing.

Once tilapia have been found in a relatively large system there is no way eradication is plausible.

So, we need to remain vigilant.

We need to be talking about our native fish communities and how fragile they are.

We cannot allow these pests to continue to spread.

The Fitzroy catchment lies adjacent to a large portion of the northern Murray Darling Basin.

It is vital that the MDB remains tilapia free.

The spread needs to stop.

Much of this is common knowledge to the Freshwater Fishing and Stocking Association of Queensland Inc. members and associates.

In this viral age of COVID-19, and especially as people begin to venture back into the great Queensland outdoors, it is important to remind ourselves of what this pest is capable of and what it looks like.

If you have caught

what you think is a tilapia, freeze it and contact biosecurity.

There are also opportunities to report possible sightings online through the biosecurity website.

Know how to distinguish tilapia from our native fish.

Report any suspected sightings online through biosecurity: https://www.daf.qld. gov.au/business-pri orities/biosecurity/ invasive-plants-ani mals/pest-fish/reporta-pest-fish-sighting or phone 13 25 23.

Don’t release any aquarium or pet fish species.

Especially do not deliberately release any pest fish species.

Release of declared noxious fish species attracts a huge fine, but the environmental consequences aredisastrous.

Be aware of what catchment you are in and only collect live bait from the area you are fishing in.

FFSAQ members have access to good resources to identify pest fish.

For further information contact Rod Cheetham on 0427 514 704 or rch37222@ gmail.com

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 85

Predatek Bass Bug

E A close-up look at the Firebug colour and a trophysized bass taken from the kayak.

X T R AO R D I NARY circumstances this year have forced many Australian small businesses to shut down and sadly, many of those will never reopen.

We all expected the

A solid 41cm bass tried to inhale the Bass Bug and found the front treble. This was on a windy, chilly morning in early August. Bring on summer!

DAM LEVELS CURRENT AS OF 17/8/2020

DAMS

PERCENTAGE

APR MAY JUN AUG SEP Atkinson 5 5 5 5 13 Awoonga 69 66 66 65 64 Bjelke-Petersen * 23 20 18 17 16 Boondooma * 37 36 35 34 34 Borumba * 99 97 96 93 92 Burdekin Falls * 98 94 95 92 90 Callide * 32 30 30 28 27 Cania * 53 52 50 58 50 Coolmunda * 31 29 29 28 29 Dyer/Bill Gunn * 3 3 3 3 3 Eungella * 89 88 88 87 87 Fairbairn * 16 14 13 12 11 Glenlyon * 14 5 13 14 14 Hinze 99 96 95 93 93 Julius 96 92 91 88 87 Kinchant * 82 85 86 85 84 Leslie * 14 13 13 13 13 Macdonald 101 100 100 102 102 Maroon * 60 58 57 56 56 Monduran/Fred Haigh * 61 60 59 58 57 Moogerah * 36 32 30 27 26 North Pine/Samsonvale * 62 64 62 60 59 Peter Faust/Proserpine * 70 68 68 67 66 Somerset * 80 79 78 78 78 Teemburra * 99 99 99 99 99 Tinaroo* 74 73 72 71 69 Toonumbar 69 66 66 67 68 Wivenhoe * 52 50 49 48 46 Wuruma * 62 61 60 60 58 Wyaralong 98 96 96 95 95 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.

Page 86 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

Product Review

by NEIL SCHULTZ

negative effects COVID-19 restrictions would have on eateries, tourist and service venues, but I was surprised by the drastic downturn in sales of consumables used for outdoor pursuits, bait and lures being of particular interest to anglers.

In hindsight, this was probably predictable as, with travel being restricted to work or for medical reasons, many were unable to use their fishing gear.

Quite a few Aussie lure makers have been personal friends of mine for decades, including the dedicated crew of Predatek Lures in Port Macquarie.

When lure sales plummeted, they, like other small business owners, were faced with a difficult decision – run at a loss until they were forced to close down, or take innovative steps to generate enough income to keep the staff paid and the doors open.

Since customers couldn’t travel to tackle shops to make purchases, Pretatek took the initiative to create an online store, enabling purchases direct from the factory.

Although Predatek are now selling direct to the public at retail prices, tackle stores can continue to stock their favourite freshwater lures, giving customers the option of seeing lures first-hand

at point of purchase.

Shortly after the online store was up and running, a couple of new products were released.

The first of these were the transparent-bodied versions of their successful small surface walking lures, the 40mm MicroSpaddler and 50mm Spaddler, perfect for educated fish, appealing to species like bream, estuary perch, trout and bass.

Following those was the release of an entirely new model, a larger paddling surface lure, the 60mm Bass Bug! I first cast a lure for freshwater ‘perch’ in 1969, and have been a fan of surface paddlers for the not insignificant number of years since.

The mainstay of the bass anglers’ surface lure armoury back in the day was the Arbogast Jitterbug, but my favourite was the Heddon Crazy Crawler, mainly due to its folding wings that allowed it to fit into tackle trays – I still have one hanging on the ‘wall of fame’ in my den.

Some readers may be thinking that there’s nothing new about a paddling bass lure, and though this style has been around for more than fifty years, there was room for improvement.

The most common drawback of the old Jitterbug style paddlers * continued P87

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Predatek Bass Bug * from P86

was the distance they often need to be moved across the surface before they kicked into the desired paddling action.

Many would slide along for a while before commencing that seductive ‘freestyle’ swimming motion with the associated sound.

Tight water can see them glide out of the prime strike zone before generating the sonic attraction that bass and many other freshwater predators love.

More frustrating was the habit of paddling lures to tumble in flight allowing them to tangle on the leader, veer off target and cast like a toy parachute.

Predatek’s 60mm Bass Bug has been designed with modern science and materials to effectively eliminate both of those flaws.

This has been the ethos of the company’s lure designers since day one, making lures not purely to be different, but to be better than contemporary models.

On the day mine arrived in the post, I took them to a local stream for a test swim.

Immediately impressive was the way the Bass Bug started paddling with the first hint of movement on the retrieve.

The crisp, noisy ‘plipplop’ acoustics created by the paddling bib were equally awesome, echoing along the pool in the still afternoon air.

Being the closed season for bass in tidal waters, my fishing excurwww.bnbfishing.com. au

sions were in streams well upstream of large lakes where the fish wouldn’t be part of any spawning migration.

Surface lures work best in shallow water, which was easy enough to find, but they are also most effective in summer when cicadas, grasshoppers and other winged terrestrials are about in numbers.

Not expecting too much in the way of fish action in mid-winter, it came as a pleasant surprise to take a chunky 40cm bass within an hour of hitting the river.

Subsequent trips have all produced quality fish despite low water temperatures – a testament to the fish attracting qualities of the Bass Bug’s action.

There are 10 colours available in the 60mm Bass Bug size, in a mix of natural hues and bright, attractor patterns.

If you are looking for a surface lure that casts well, paddles perfectly and attracts fish even in less than ideal conditions, do yourself a favour and grab a few of Predatek’s 60mm Bass Bugs.

Bugs are available through select tackle shops or direct from the Predatek online tackle store predatek.com/ shop I’m now keen for a trip to the tropics to give the Bass Bug a swim in waters that are home to sooty grunter, jungle perch, mangrove jack, barramundi and tarpon, where I’m confident they’ll produce the goods!

The bright hues of the Wasp coloured Bass Bug are ideal for angler visibility in low light.

Fish hotel in Oakey Creek

A

N innovative project based on partnerships between government, community and industry will result in positive outcomes and restoring native fish in the Dewfish Demonstration Reach.

The DDR is a joint government and community initiative demonstrating how incorporating science, adaptive management and stakeholder engagement can deliver real benefits for native fish.

The DDR is located near Dalby in Queensland and stretches through parts of Myall Creek, Oakey Creek and the Condamine River.

The project commenced in 2007 and focuses on recovering native fish facing a range of threats including poor water quality, connectivity, loss of instream and riparian vegetation, instream habitat complexity, bank erosion and pest fish species.

The initiative has continued with on-

going support from the Australian government, MurrayDarling Basin state governments, with strong support from community and industry groups.

At the inception of the project, a robust monitoring program was introduced to evaluate the response of native fish to individual and cumulative rehabilitation activities.

This information formed an adaptive management framework.

The response of native fish populations to the application of multiple intervention activities has been outstanding.

At the intervention sites, abundances of large-bodied native fish species increased significantly – up to 20-fold – for species such as golden perch, eel-tailed catfish, Murray cod, spangled perch and bony bream.

Rehabilitation of bankside and instream vegetation also resulted in significant increases

of up to 100-fold in small-bodied native fish including species such as carp gudgeon and Murray–Darling rainbowfish.

Hyrtl’s catfish – also known as moonfish – have returned to the reach for the first time in many years.

The DDR has inspired the community and landholders within the Condamine River catchment to become more interested in restoring their local waterways and has provided them with the tools to be able to do just that.

The DDR project supplements and helps build on efforts that support native fish across the Basin, with a coordinated approach to recovery.

The Australian government has joined with Basin state governments to develop a new native fish recovery strategy, which is set for release in coming weeks and will continue to focus on recovering native fish across the Murray-Darling Basin.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 87

Like to learn more about crossing coastal bars safely and fishing offshore?

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Offshore fishing:

• Hands-on experience crossing

• Finding reefs • Locating different fish species

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on-water training course.

Contact Bill Corten M: 0447 233 247 / 0447 ( a f f a i r ) E: reel_affair@yahoo.com

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Page 88 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020

AQUAMASTER 3.7 BARRA - Mercury 15hp 2-stroke & warranty just had its annual service completed, Dunbier trailer, new Lowrance 4X fishfinder, 2 bench seats w. flotation under, 2 swivel seats with backrests, Checker-plate foredeck, rod holders, extension drawbar, built like a brick outhouse! @ $5,995 tow away – John Crawford Marine – “Qld’s Used Boat Specialists since 1964” www.johncrawfordmarine. com.au Ph. 07 3890 2322 BAYSPORT 545 WEEKENDER WITH 100HP YAMAHA FOURSTROKE (2016) This used Baysport 545 Weekender is in great condition and is ideal for families. Fitted with a Yamaha 100hp 4-stroke with very low 89 hours use. Full camper covers for your next weekend getaway! GPS sounder combo, Fusion stereo with 2 speakers, VHF marine radio, removable table, bunk cushions and infil. Call Brisbane Yamaha on 07 3888 1727 or visit brisbane yamaha.com.au JOHN CRAWFORD MARINE have numerous genuine buyers on the books for quality brand name, late model trailer boats. If you are looking to sell, avoid the pitfalls and hassles that come with a private sale, have the team at JCM handle the sale for you. John Crawford Marine – “Qld’s Used Boats Specialists since 1964” www.johncraw ford marine.com.au Ph. 07 3890 2322 OCEANCAT OFFSHORE 24 - $20K Price reduction! Plate alloy demonstrator model launched early 2020 with 9 hours on dual Yammy 130hp EFI’s. Superb build/design and quality craftsmanship. Transtyle alloy trailer. Lockup wheelhouse, double bed, side door access and so much more the OCD boatie - book your inspection. Now priced @ $239,995 – John Crawford Marine – “Qld’s Used Boat Specialists since 1964” www.johncrawfordmarine.com.au Ph. 07 3890 2322 QUINTREX 420 ESTUARY MASTER – just traded and fully workshop serviced and detailed by the JCM team, Yamaha 30hp with electric start backed with warranty, cano-

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Subscription prize for September! py, inshore safety kit, seating for 4, 24L fuel tank, 2 rod holders, 2 drink holders, carpeted floor, a fantastic entry level protected waters runabout. Only $12,995!

John Crawford Marine – “Qld’s Used Boat Specialists since 1964” www.johncrawfordmarine.com. au Ph. 07 3890 2322 QUINTREX 510 COAST RUNNER Beautifully presented and optioned one-owner boat since new, Quintrex braked trailer, Yamaha 80hp four stroke (low hours), hydraulic steering, seating for 5, combo GPS/Sounder, Bimini and clears, inshore safety kit and so much more. Sensational buying @ $25,995! – John Crawford Marine Queensland’s – “Qld’s Used Boat Specialists since 1964” www.johncrawfordmarine.com. au Ph. 07 3890 2322 TOURNAMENT 2000 BLUEWATER WITH 200HP SUZUKI (2015) Fitted with a Suzuki 200hp EFI with Seastar Optimus EPS Electronic helm, low 126 hours with manufacturer’s warranty available on the boat and motor, Stressfree anchor winch with rope and chain, Garmin GPSMAP 7407XSV GPS fishfinder combo, VHF and aerial, hardtop with curved glass windscreen, sliding glass front, windscreen wiper, hardtop extension, rocket launcher, dual batteries with Parallel battery switch and isolator, fibreglass baitboard, lockable cabin, plumbed toilet in cabin, bunk infil and cushions, folding rear lounge, transom door, swim platforms. Call Brisbane Yamaha on 07 3888 1727 or visit brisbaneyamaha.com.au WANTED - QUALITY, USED TRAILER BOATS – make selling your boat simple and hassle free with John Crawford Marine, “Qld’s Used Boat Specialists since 1964”! Call today to see how our experienced team can help you on 07 3890 2322. www.johncraw fordmarine.com.au

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Subscribe this month to go in the draw to win one of three Okuma Avenger 3000 spinning reel and BNB beanie packs!

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 89

MERCURY

NO SACRIFICES NO COMPROMISES NO APOLOGIES

BETTER ECONOMY

MORE TORQUE

V6 3.4L 200HP FOURSTROKE

12-16% BETTER

FUEL ECONOMY

12-15%

MORE

LEADING COMPETITOR

20%

VERADO

TORQUE

V8 4.6L

250HP PROXS

16% BETTER

FUEL ECONOMY

LEADING COMPETITOR

TORQUE AT 3500-4500 RPM

FOURSTROKE

LEADING COMPETITOR

TORQUE

200HP

4.6L

300HP

LEADING COMPETITOR

MORE

V6 3.4L

V8

*Based on testing done by Mercury Marine’s Product Research & Development team. Torque data collected on a Dynamometer at cruise speed, an average of 3500-4500 rpm. Fuel economy testing done using a 23 foot Centre Console boat for both 200hp engines, while a 21 foot Bass boat was used for the 250hp testing.

Go online or contact your nearest Mercury Dealer to find out more about the Mercury V6 / V8 range, taking performance, efficiency and reliability to the next level.

Page 90 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 MM0725 V6_V8_BnBFishing_210x297_v3.indd 1

www.bnbfishing.com. au 18/8/20 2:07 pm

Contact or visit us for more information.

AIRLIE BEACH Whitsunday Outboard Centre 17 William Murray Dr, Cannonvale Q 4802 P: 07 4946 7286 E: woc@whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au www.whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au

CAIRNS Aussie Marine 5 Hannam St, Bungalow Q 4870 P: 07 4033 8800 E: sales@aussiemarine.com.au www.aussiemarine.com.au

GOLD COAST Onshore Marine Horizon Shores Marina, Woongoolba Q 4207 P: 07 5546 2480 E: onshoremarine@ozemail.com.au www.onshoremarine.com.au

BRISBANE Coorparoo Marine 57 Cavendish Rd, Coorparoo Q 4151 P: 07 3397 4141 E: info@coorparoomarine.com.au www.coorparoomarine.com.au

CAPALABA Mike’s Marine 9 Smith St, Capalaba Q 4157 P: 07 3390 3418 E: admin@mikesmarine.com.au www.mikesmarine.com.au

IPSWICH Ipswich Marine Centre 45 Huxham St, Raceview Q 4305 P: 07 3294 3944 E: enquiries@ipswichmarine.com.au www.ipswichmarine.com.au

BRISBANE Karee Marine 1776 Ipswich Motorway, Rocklea Q 4106 P: 07 3875 1600 E: sales@kareemarine.com.au www.kareemarine.com.au

GLADSTONE Ship & Sale Gladstone Gladstone Marine Centre, Gladstone Q 4680 P: 07 4972 7111 E: sales@shipandsail.com.au www.shipandsail.com.au

ROCKHAMPTON Rifen Boats 6 Dooley St, North Rockhampton Q 4701 P: 07 4927 9150 E: rifen.boats@bigpond.com www.rifenmarine.com.au

BRISBANE NORTH Holt Marine 25 Queens Rd, Everton Hills Q 4053 P: 07 3353 1928 E: info@holtmarine.com.au www.holtmarine.com.au

GOLD COAST Nitro Marine 167 Currumburra Rd, Ashmore Q 4214 P: 07 5532 5812 E: sales@nitromarine.com.au www.nitromarine.com.au

YEPPOON Sea Breeze Marine 150 Scenic Hwy, Yeppoon Q 4703 P: 07 4933 6366 E: info@seabreezemarine.com.au www.seabreezemarine.com.au

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 – Page 91

HUGE RANGE OF QUINTREX BOATS COMING SOON!

UNBEATABLE UNBEATABLE

340

340

330

330

320

320

310

310

300

g/kWh

g/kWh

MERCURY 75-115HP MERCURY 75-115HP FOURSTROKE RANGE FOURSTROKE RANGE

115HP CRUISE SPEED EFFICIENCY 115HPFUEL CRUISE SPEED FUEL EFFICIENCY MERCURY’S NEW OPTIMAX 115HP VS. CURRENT FOURSTROKE AND FOURSTROKE OPTIMAX VS. CURRENT AND FOURSTROKE

300

290

290

280

280

270

270

260

260

PREVIOUS MERCURY FOURSTROKE 1.7L

DELIVERS UP TO 14% BETTER CRUISE SPEED ECONOMY

BSFC dyno testing; data is an average of 60%-80% rated MERCURY NEWMERCURY engine speedNEW PREVIOUS based OPTIMAX MERCURY ICOMIA MERCURY OPTIMAX on standard MERCURY emissions2.1L test. 115hp 115hp 2.1L 115hp115hp FOURSTROKE 1.7L

* Mercury Finance terms and conditions apply. 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 Page 92 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020 www.bnbfishing.com. au