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Bag a barra without a boat: Peter Faust Dam • Keep an eye on the sky • How-to: DIY lanyards • Victoria’s eastern snapper stock •
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CONTENTS
OUR COVER December 2020, Vol. 1 No.8 TAS
QUEENSLAND Gold Coast 16 Brisbane 20 Northern Bay 22 Noosa 24 Hervey Bay 28 Rainbow Beach 29 Gladstone 32 Bundaberg 34 Mackay 36 Whitsundays 38 Townsville 39 Lucinda 40 Hinchinbrook 42 Cairns 42 Port Douglas 44 Cape York 44 Cooktown 45 Freshwater 46 NEW SOUTH WALES Pittwater 52 Sydney North 53 Sydney Rock 54 Sydney South 57 Ballina 58 Coffs Harbour 60 Hastings 62 Forster 63 Port Stephens 66 Swansea 66 Central Coast 67 Illawarra 68 Batemans Bay 69 Bermagui 70 Tathra 70 Albury/Wodonga 72 Batlow 73 Hunter Valley 74 New England Rivers 74 Lithgow/Oberon 75 Canberra 76 VICTORIA West Coast 80 Warrnambool 81 Cobden 81 Apollo Bay 80 Geelong 82 Port Phillip East 84 Port Phillip West 86 Western Port 87 Phillip Island 88 Lakes Entrance 88 Gippsland Lakes 90 Bemm River 90 Marlo 91 Mallacoota 91 Robinvale 92 Yarrawonga 92 Bendigo 94 Ballarat 93 Wangaratta 94 Shepparton 95 Nagambie 96 Crater Lakes 96 Eildon 97 West/South Gippsland 98 TASMANIA Hobart 99 6
DECEMBER 2020
From the editor’s Desk...
WA
Will we see boat shows in 2021?
Dieteer Haage caught this beast of a 1.2m diamond trevally on a hardbody and light line while visiting the Whitsundays. A Mick Underwood image. Come and visit Fishing Monthly Group’s official Facebook page for all your monthly fishing information. Download QR Reader to access.
One of the biggest casualties of COVID in our industry was the Boat Show. Love them or hate them, most areas around the country have their local show. It might be one in the local showgrounds with some local dealers attending or it might be the behemoth Sydney International Boat Show, but kill the crowds and you kill the show. Ironically, not too many manufacturers I talk to lament the passing of their local show. Shows are an expensive part of a boat store’s marketing budget, and the competitive selling environment means that often they’re paying a premium to sell product for the lowest margin of the year. It’s good news for customers but not necessarily healthy for business. It’s like a sugar-rush of sales with not much nutritional value. Combine this with a boating industry that’s currently running red-hot, and the result is that some marine businesses aren’t interested in lining up for that sort
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WESTERN AUSTRALIA Esperance 104 Augusta 105 Bunbury 106 Mandurah 106 Metro 108 Lancelin 110 Geraldton 111 Kalbarri 111 Exmouth 112 Broome 112 Karratha 113 Freshwater 114
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REGULAR FEATURES Mackerel Island Adventure 8 Peter Faust Dam 12 Starlo’s back to basics 14 Sheik of the Creek 27 Tech Tricks 28 Victoria’s eastern snapper stock 78 WIRF 98 What’s New Fishing 100 Testing Booth: Wilson Steel Smoker 101 Recfishwest 116 Track my Fish 117 Tournaments 118 Trades and Services 122 Test: Stessl Funseeker Bowrider 124 Test: Jeanneau Merry Fisher Marlin 126 Tide page 130 COMPS AND OFFERS Find the logo Sub page Fun page
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of punishment. Especially since some manufacturers are talking six months plus worth of orders on the books to catch up. If you want a new boat in the short term, you’d better find one in stock somewhere! And that’s great news for the industry. If you’re sitting on the sideline, you may be wondering why the boat builders don’t just employ more people to get them out the door quicker? The thing is that skilled builders are hard to get. I was talking to one recently who had 40 boats made and sitting in the yard, waiting for painting and fit-out. You know it’s red hot when you can’t keep up with the fit-outs. Plenty of tackle stores are also experiencing consistently strong sales. It seems as though COVID has not only taught keen anglers to enjoy the basics close to home, but there are plenty of new anglers finding out what it’s all about. And that’s also great for the industry. Both industries are starting to struggle with supply chain shortages as well. What’s the take-home message for you? Want a boat? Be organised, research and order early. Want the latest tackle? You might have to wait just a little longer than usual to get it done. I expect holiday accommodation to be the next shortage. With international travel off the cards for the short to medium term, let’s see how the local providers go over the summer holiday period. And let’s hope it happens without any bushfires, floods, COVID outbreaks or anger. Be nice to each other in these trying times – there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
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Adventure among the atolls – Mackerel Islands the reef structures with bibbed minnows, soft plastics or small stick baits. Use bright colours such as green, orange or pink seem to attract the coral trout, spangled emperor, Spanish flag, bluebone and, if you are lucky enough, the ultimate prize of a yellow edged coronation trout. Flyfishing from any of the Mackerel Islands has become immensely popular amongst those chasing the prized trophy fish, permit.
BROOME
Troy Honey
The beautiful Mackerel Islands, located a short 22km off the spectacular Pilbara coast of Western Australia, comprise of 10 island atolls. Two of these islands, Thevenard and Direction, provide both accommodation and the perfect base for the fishing adventurer. Other prominent islands include Rosily, Tortoise, Ashburton, Surrurier (Long Island as known to the locals) and Ailie. The islands of Thevenard and Direction are easily accessed from the town of Onslow, which has a wellprotected boat ramp. Facilities
Thevenard Island is perfect for a spot of beach fishing.
Jake Maciaszek with a beautiful Spanish mackerel. at the islands provide mooring only, with loading and unloading the boat partaken on the beach. But a word of warning, it can be quite breezy at times with little protection, so unloading and loading the boat can become challenging. I would recommendation taking your own inflatable tender and a few strong mates to assist with the task.
Once you are all set up, the variety of fishing opportunities are endless. The range of species, both land and boat based, truly is an angler’s dream. If you are staying on either of the islands with accommodation, one of the advantages is being able to choose the best fishing option to match the day’s weather. You certainly don’t need to
miss out on any fishing time if the wind blows up, which it can at anytime of the year, by simply leaving the boat on the moorings and fishing for some of the vast array of landbased species on whichever side of the island offers the most protection. Thevenard Island landbased fishing offers species such as trevally, queenfish,
flathead, whiting, longtoms, longtail tuna, mackerel, coral trout, Spanish flag, bluebone, spangled emperor and various cod. You can fish from the jetty on Thevenard Island where there are always plenty of squid and the chance to catch a mangrove jack. Working the pylons for the latter with bait or lures, such as minnows and jelly prawns works well. Fishing the nights for squid will produce the best results. You can walk around the entire island of Thevenard and cast your line. Various sections includes both sandy flats and shallow reefs, and if you work the two different types of bottom with the appropriate rigs on the tide changes you will certainly see
Reuben Bufton caught this coral trout while spear fishing the shallows of Thevenard Island.
Rankin cod are one of the best eating fish from the islands.
HALF MOON
You’ll look like a Maverick in Costa’s Half Moon sunglasses, a West Coast inspired beach style that rides the mystique of epic ocean swells.
BLUE MIRROR: Best for bright, full-sun situations on the open water and offshore. • Gray Base • 10% light transmission
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DECEMBER 2020
The flats surrounding the islands offer the perfect environment for sight casting on those clear and windless days into the turquoise north west waters and, as mentioned previously, using the island as a wind break. Fishing on the opposite side to the oncoming wind is a great trick to finding clear water. Permit like to feed in the gully’s close to the shoreline on a rising tide. Always be aware to look
OPTIMAL USE: • Boating and fishing in deep water • Open reflective water • Harsh sun
some action. The sand flats and weed beds are best for whiting and flathead with the balance of species found over for the reefs. Popping for GTs and queenfish is a fantastic way to get into to some pelagics. They can both often be seen busting up on baitfish on the tide changes. The way to target these species is to walk around the islands until you see the surface action, then concentrate your casting in these area. If you prefer to chase some tasty seafood then work
right in front of you when searching. MACKEREL The Mackerel Islands, as their name suggests, is home to various mackerel species such as Spanish, spotted, grey, shark and school mackerel. Many fishers come here just for the chance to land some exceptional examples of mighty Spanish mackerel that are not only in good numbers, but also of enormous size. In late August 2020, the annual Ashburton Anglers Mack 10 Fishing Competition was held, which saw 70 boats present 129 Spanish mackerel with the heaviest weighing in
Michelle Maciaszek with a pretty red emperor.
Tim Maciaszek found this spectacular coral trout while fishing the reef structure. at 29.56kg. Many of the fish were well over the 10kg mark, which unquestionably shows just how good this mackerel fishery is! Working any of the reefs and ledges around the islands and atolls, with the most popular being Rosily Cay, is where you find the Spaniards. Fishing 5-25m depths is recommended with any number of large minnow style lures working well. If you have a good spread of rods, try using different colours and diving depths until you
find what is working best on that day. Sunny or overcast conditions play a big part in colour choice, with my preferred option of bright or shiny colours on sunny days and the old faithful red and white on the overcast days. If you are not gaining any hook ups it is time to try different trolling speeds. Start off in the 5-7 knot ranges, and work up to 8-12 knots if you are not seeing any strikes. Often you will have Spaniards following your lures, but it is the speed that is putting them off.
Imposing a bit more speed into the troll is generally all it takes to induce a strike. BILLFISH While out trolling, especially if you are geared up with some teasers and outriggers but not needed in most cases, then you cannot go past the opportunity to get stuck into the billfish action around the Mackerel Islands. Sailfish are the more prominent species over the marlin, but both can be found in good numbers. On one morning on our recent trip we were punching out at around 14 knots to the 70m mark off Thevenard in moderate seas when we noticed a large marlin following the boat, and that was without any gear in the water at all. Black marlin are usually found in waters from 20-70m,
along with the sailfish. The much larger blue marlin are found in the deeper waters further out over trenches and gas pipelines in depths of 50-100m and beyond. At least one of the three
birds as this is the area to concentrate for both billfish and pelagics alike. MAHIMAHI While still on the subject of pelagics we can’t go past the amazing mahimahi that are
Dylan Bilutawas is pleased with his tomato rock cod.
There are so many different species to target, like this golden trevally.
species can be fished no matter what time you visit the Mackerel Islands – there is always billfish action to be enjoyed. Blue marlin season is October to May, back marlin are a year-round occurrence, as are the sailfish, but sailfish are more prevalent from June to November. Always keep an eye out for baitfish and feeding
found in abundance in the clear waters of the Mackerel Islands. Mahimahi, or dolphin fish as they are more commonly referred to, can be fished yearround in these waters with no set high or low season. They are encountered when trolling for billfish or pelagics as well as when To page 10
We want your day out on the water with family and mates to be the best it can be. So we’ve designed the Fishabout Pro around the things that are important. Like plenty of space. Thanks to a wide beam and more distance between the dash and transom, there’s a stack of elbow room. And for even more space we’ve done away with the motor well that intruded into the rear lounge area. We’ve replaced it with a pod transom so we can mount the engine further back, with useful duckboards either side, and plenty of lounge space. Our famous Blade Hull now has a new improved Flared Bow – the stretch formed aluminium side sheets have more curve that runs further across the length of the boat to deflect more spray away from passengers.
See for yourself at your nearest quintrex dealer, or visit
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DECEMBER 2020
9
Tech Tricks
How to make DIY lanyards for all your needs BRISBANE
Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com
Whether you fish from kayak, jetski, boat or landbased, it is not uncommon to drop something and have it disappear into the drink. Scissors, pliers, de-hookers and even entire rod and reel outfits can end up in Davy
Jones’s locker in an instant. Securing your tackle to either yourself, the boat, jetski or kayak attachment point can save you a lot of grief and dollars. Even whilst travelling, rods and reels can eject from rod holders and rocket launchers. Today we are going to make some easy lanyards that can be used for securing all
sorts of items in an array of ways. I initially discovered the method of making these cords on an internet forum and though it was too good not adapt to the fishing scenario and share it with you. Hope you find it useful too! Whether you call them spiral cords, coil cords or curly cords, retracting cords like this are very useful. The item is secured yet the cord
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To make this lanyard you will need some whipper snipper cable (2mm used here), some large stainless steel key rings, a pair of cutters, crimps to match the cable, crimping pliers, a jug of boiling water, some sturdy cloth tape and some form of tube to wrap the cord around (I am using a large screwdriver). Various clips, shackles, carabiners and snaps can be used when making lanyards for other uses.
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Begin wrapping the monofilament around the tube (a large screwdriver in this instance). Hold the wraps against the tube between your thumb and forefinger between wraps. The monofilament will have a slight backbone so it is important that you allow it to coil around without twisting it. Releasing your grip on the tag end between wraps will stop this twisting.
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I also tape the tag ends along the tube at each end so this section of the monofilament will keep relatively straight once completed. 48
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can be stretched out so the item can be used and then retracts when the item is returned to its initial position. This keeps it secure yet neat. The material we are going to make these cords out of is heavy, stiff monofilament. The easiest type to source is whipper snipper cord, which comes in an array of thicknesses and some rather bright colours.
Most monofilament fishing line will probably not be stiff enough to maintain the coiled shape. How big you make the coils will depend on the use of the item you are making the coiled lanyard for. Use thicker monofilament for larger coils and thinner for smaller coils. How big the coils are will depend on what you are coiling the item around when making.
All manner of steel rods, curtain rods, conduit and dowel can be used. I often use screwdrivers as they are easy to grip whilst you are wrapping the monofilament around. Today I am making a lanyard to secure a pair of heavy-duty snips to the pouch on my decky belt but you will find a lot of used for these lanyards. Let’s get started!
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Cut a length of monofilament around 1m. This will allow the finished product to stretch to a bit over 60cm, which is enough for this purpose. About 15cm in from one end, tape it to the tube as shown with some sturdy cloth tape, which will withstand the boiling water and not come off.
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Continue along the tube until you are approximately 15cm from the end of the monofilament. Use some more tape to secure this end to the tube as shown whilst keeping the monofilament wrapped tightly.
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Fill a large jug or saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Pour this slowly along the spirals of monofilament plus each end. Pour the hot water up and down the length and make sure you heat all the monofilament fairly evenly so the coils remain uniform once completed.
Tech Tricks
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Now we need to cool the monofilament. This can be done by submerging it all in some iced water or just putting the freezer as I have done. I usually leave it in for a good ten minutes or so in the freezer.
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Once cooled, take it from the freezer and remove the tape securing the monofilament to the tube. You will notice that the coil size will slightly enlarge as the tension is taken off.
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Because the head of the screwdriver is slightly larger than the shaft, you will need to twist the coiled monofilament off it in the same direction that the coils are going.
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With a loop crimped in each end and a stainless steel key ring added the lanyard is now completed. I drilled a hole in the handle of the snippers to accommodate the split ring and attached the other end to the snipper’s pouch. There is enough stretch in the lanyard so that the snippers can be used however I will now never lose them.
You can make these lanyards out of any of the whipper snipper monofilament sizes. However, the thicker monofilament will need to be used for larger coils and the thinner for tighter coils to have them work appropriately and recoil well. After you have done a couple you will soon work out which to use for your chosen task.
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These lanyards can be used for securing all sorts of tools and making rod savers. I even made one out of the 2.7mm monofilament to use as a paddle leash on the kayak. They are exceptionally strong, fairly UV stable and can be completed with all manner of snaps, carabiners, clips, key rings and shackles to secure them. I thought they were a cool idea and hopefully you will find some uses for them also. DECEMBER 2020
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Vic’s eastern snapper stock’s place in the world GEELONG
Ross Winstanley
During the past 50 years, tagging studies have described the distribution and movement patterns of Victoria’s western snapper stock in increasing detail. They have also established Wilsons Promontory as the boundary between the eastern and western stocks. What has never been clear is the relationship between snapper off eastern Victoria and those off the Australian East Coast and, in recent times, off Tasmania. It has now been clearly established that the eastern Victorian stock is genetically distinct from the East Coast stock that occurs off NSW and Queensland, with
Port Phillip Bay, around Wilsons Promontory. First, two snapper tagged in Port Phillip Bay were recaptured off Lakes Entrance. Second, a study of the chemical ‘signatures’ of snapper otoliths or earbones, showed that snapper originating in the bay contributed to the eastern stock. MOVEMENTS OF EASTERN VICTORIAN SNAPPER The 1950s tagging
OVERVIEW OF SNAPPER STOCKS • The East Coast snapper stock, occurring off NSW and Queensland, is distinct from snapper occurring off eastern Victoria and Tasmania. • The East Coast stock is rated as ‘depleted’ in Queensland waters and as “sustainable in NSW waters. • Victoria’s eastern snapper stock is rated as ‘indeterminate’.
Movements of snapper tagged in Victorian waters in the 1950s and 1960s (M J Sanders, 1974). a boundary zone that has shifted, over time, along the NSW south coast. While Victoria’s eastern and western snapper stocks are genetically similar, in terms of their distribution, the eastern stock is largely isolated from both the western stock and the East Coast stock. EVIDENCE OF SEPARATE EASTERN AND WESTERN STOCKS Snapper tagging studies during the 1950s and 1960s provided the first evidence of Victoria’s separate eastern and western stocks. The western stock was shown to occur between Western Port Bay and Kingston, SA. Recaptures of fish tagged off eastern Victoria suggested that the eastern stock extended to the NSW north coast, as far as Yamba. Further tagging studies during the 1970s and from the 1990s confirmed the separation of the eastern and western stocks, either side of Wilsons Promontory. Despite the evidence of these separate stocks, there were also indications of a low level of west to east movement of snapper, from 78
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1998 and 2001 were recaptured in the same region, four moved as far as Forster on the NSW coast (850km to the NNE). THE STATUS OF EASTERN AUSTRALIAN STOCKS For practical purposes, Victoria has managed the fisheries based on the eastern and western stocks separately. At times, there have been concerns about the western stock due to
work appeared to show that Victoria’s eastern stock extended a long way up the NSW coast. As the chart from a 1974 report shows, all 59 snapper tagged in Mallacoota Inlet and recaptured outside the inlet were taken off the NSW coast, as far north as Yamba. None of the small numbers tagged in Corner Inlet and Lake Tyers in that early work were recaptured. Looking back now, those observations, combined with the lack of Victorian recaptures from the 1041 snapper tagged in Mallacoota Inlet, present the question: were the Mallacoota snapper part of Victoria’s eastern stock or a separate East Coast stock? This question was confounded when a more recent study reported that: • snapper tagged in Mallacoota Inlet in 1999 were recaptured to the west as far as McGaurans Beach (260km to the SSW) and along the northern NSW coast, as far as the Solitary Islands (870km to the N); and • while most snapper tagged off Corner Inlet between
periods of low recruitment (spawning success), the impacts of scallop dredging in Port Phillip Bay (until 1997) and fishing targeted on spawning aggregations. Despite this, aided by a number of management interventions, 20 years of stock assessments have repeatedly shown the combined impacts of commercial and recreational fishing to be sustainable. By comparison, the snapper off eastern Victoria are lightly fished and the ongoing impacts of fishing pressure on the stock there are of no concern. As the graph of recent catches shows, annual commercial catches taken off eastern Victoria rarely exceed 25 tonnes. Recreational fishing catch estimates have been 21 and 60 tonnes, but being a relatively small fishery, few fishers were interviewed meaning there is some uncertainty surrounding the accuracy of these estimates. About 15 years ago, there was growing concern about the Australian East Coast stock, which appeared to include snapper off Victoria’s east coast. Participants at a 2007
Queensland snapper stock assessment workshop raised the importance of ‘a unified east coast approach’ to managing snapper fisheries. The 2013 national Stock status determination for snapper, considered snapper from Queensland to eastern Victoria to be a single stock and listed its status as ‘Undefined’. This arose as both Queensland and NSW ranked their respective snapper fisheries as being overfished, in contrast to eastern Victoria where fishing pressure was considered to be light and sustainable. Following a 2013 national snapper workshop, fisheries managers and researchers from Queensland, NSW, Victoria and the Commonwealth collaborated in developing a 2016 ‘tri-state’ project to assess the structure of the East Coast snapper stock, and to provide advice on the best management of the fisheries. The project’s first clear finding was the existence of two genetically distinct biological snapper stocks, between northern Queensland and Tasmania. The northern or East Coast stock ranges from north Queensland into southern NSW and is genetically different to the southern stock that extends from southern NSW and Victoria to Tasmania. Between these two stocks, there is an area of overlap in southern NSW, around Eden. A previous study had identified a genetic overlap zone about 400km to the north, suggesting that the boundary between the East Coast and southern stocks has moved southwards over time. This might explain the recapture of snapper, tagged in Mallacoota Inlet, off the mid-north coast of NSW during the 1950s, 1960s and early 2000s. For practical fisheries management purposes, the tri-state study recommended
that Queensland and NSW stock assessments should address the whole stock, examining data from both states, but excluding data from Victoria. The 2018 national stock status report ranked
separate stocks. While the latest genetic study found a close similarity between them, the results of tagging studies indicated that there is little movement of snapper between the two regions. The tri-state study noted that
Image courtesy of Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
the Queensland stock as ‘depleted’, the NSW stock as ‘sustainable’, and Victoria’s eastern stock as ‘Indeterminate’ (because of the lack of data). FINDINGS FOR VICTORIA From Victoria’s viewpoint, perhaps the most interesting finding from the tri-state study was the genetic similarity of snapper off western and eastern Victoria and Tasmania. This touches on the question: what is a stock? In biological terms, the snapper occurring from south eastern SA around Victoria to southern NSW and off Tasmania appear to belong to a common stock, genetically distinct from the East Coast stock. But, in practical fisheries management terms, snapper in Victorian waters east and west of Wilsons Promontory continue to be regarded as
Catch history from Victoria’s eastern snapper stock. Image courtesy of VFA.
off eastern Victoria, snapper spawning takes place in coastal waters, and larval fish move into the eastern inlets where they develop as juveniles for at least their first year. This pattern is similar to that of snapper on the East Coast and contrasts with the western stock for which spawning and larval and early juvenile development are largely confined to Port Phillip Bay. WHAT ABOUT SNAPPER OFF TASMANIA? The tri-state study was only able to examine 29 Tasmanian snapper samples, collected from three separate locations. As a result, while the study grouped them as part of the ‘southern genetic stock’, it is not possible to clarify their possible relationships with snapper from Victoria’s western and eastern stocks. There are indications that at least some snapper in Tasmanian waters originate from local spawning. About five of the snapper sampled for the tri-state project were females with roes in advanced pre-spawning condition. Also, the presence at St Helens of 10cm snapper, likely to be less than one year old, strongly suggests local spawning. A current project, led by Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, is examining the southward extension of the ranges of snapper and other species into Tasmanian waters. This may shed more light on the relationship between snapper either side of Bass Strait.
Get prepared.
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Boating Vic provides targeted information on more than 400 boat ramps and launching locations across Victoria, with popular locations featuring boat ramp and car park cameras. Head to boating.vic.gov.au or download the app today.
WHAT’S NEW HUMMINBIRD SOLIX G3
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Humminbird’s new SOLIX G3 models feature a powerful new dual-core processor, delivering lightning-fast responsiveness from either the touch screen or keypad. Users can create custom screen views and save up to ten as favourites in a quick-access sidebar menu, along with the ability to modify data overlays, waypoint settings and more. Anglers can choose from 10.1”, 12.1” or 15.4” high-definition, sunlight-viewable displays. The G3 Series provides an expanded range of MEGA Imaging+, allowing you to view the highest quality imaging sonar on the market, now at deeper depths and further distances. Humminbird’s Dual Spectrum CHIRP sonar is built-in to every model, and they’re also compatible with optional Airmar CHIRP transducers for deeper water, and now include Airmar transducer ID. A built-in GPS and Humminbird Basemap provide depth info and navigational aids, and SOLIX G3 models are also compatible with Navionics charts, and include AutoChart Live. Simply turn the feature on and watch as depth contours and even vegetation and bottom hardness layers appear on-screen. Other features include advanced networking capabilities, and compatibility with the OneBoat Network to integrate compatible fish finders, trolling motors, shallow water anchors and downriggers. www.humminbird.com.au
DAIWA BAIT JUNKIE
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Bait Junkie is the culmination of years of collaboration between Daiwa engineers from Japan and Australian R&D teams, and is developed specifically for Australian conditions. Made from Daiwa’s Elastomax material, Bait Junkie baits are stretchy, durable and buoyant, with Elastomax allowing thinner designs to be created to optimise swimming action and performance at slow speeds. Amino-X, a natural based flavour and scent, masks any unnatural plastic odours or smells, while the baits and packs are also loaded with Shrimp Power-Oil, a powerful shrimp-based formula to make sure that the moment your lure hits the water it’s working. The range includes six of Australia’s most popular soft plastics models, including 2.5” and 4” Grub, 2.5” and 3.2” Minnow, and 5” and 7” Jerkshad. Packaged in a double clam tray to keep each bait straight and true and kink-free, Bait Junkies are available in an extensive range of fish catching colours, with UV colours prominent throughout the range. Built tough and designed for Australian anglers and species, Bait Junkie is available in stores. www.daiwafishing.com.au
LUMICA IKE SHINKE SPIKE
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Lumica Japan are the developers and inventors of the chemical light stick, and have now developed an outstanding fish spike (ikijime). The Ike Shinke Fish Spike is a humane way to kill fish and squid by spiking them in the brain to kill them instantly. This quick death also helps with the quality of the meat by reducing any stress. The Ike Shinke Spike comes with two spikes, with two different purposes. The 5cm long spike is ideal for piercing the air bladder in the belly of the fish, to help reduce barotrauma for any fish you want to release. The second spike is 20cm long, designed for piercing the brain. The Lumica Ike Shinke Fish Spike also come with a carabiner so you can clip it anywhere for easy access. www.jurofishing.com 100
DECEMBER 2020
PRODUCT GUIDE
MERCURY 1ST MATE
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Mercury 1st Mate is the world’s first engine-integrated ‘man overboard’ and proximity-based theft deterrent system. 1st Mate is composed of a hub, wearable devices, and a mobile app which integrates with a boat’s propulsion systems. If the captain falls overboard, the device sends alerts to the system’s hub, its app and the passengers’ wearable devices. The system cuts the engines and sends instructions to the passengers’ phones, guiding the passengers through restarting the engines and steering the boat to the location of the incident. If a passenger falls overboard, the captain receives heading instructions to return to the location of the overboard event. If a boat’s captain is alone and falls overboard, it sends a distress message to emergency contacts detailing the GPS location, time and date. To deter thieves, the system requires an ‘unlock’ command from the captain’s app or wearable device, and engines removed from the boat must detect a ‘system handshake’ before they can be started. www.mercurymarine.com
OKUMA JAW SPINNING REELS
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Okuma’s JAW Spin range puts the smooth, balanced and solid feel of much pricier reels into the hands of anglers who are looking to step up their fishing performance. A sleek, corrosion-resistant graphite body and rotor house 3BB+1RB quality stainless steel bearings, precision machined gearing, and a silky-smooth Japanese multi-disc felt drag. The result is a capable spin reel that has the sturdy, rock-solid feel of much more expensive reels. JAW Spin is finished in a striking matte grey metallic and burnt orange colour scheme. Other features include: CFR (Cyclonic Flow Rotor technology); machined aluminium, anodised spool; corrosion-resistant stainless steel bail wire; and RESII: Computer balanced Rotor Equalising System. Available models are the JAW-30 (5.0:1 ratio; 233g weight; 7kg drag; 0.20/300, 0.25/200, 0.30/130 capacity mm/metres); JAW-45 (290g; 9kg; 0.30/240, 0.35/170, 0.40/125), and JAW-55 (4.5:1; 422g; 14kg; 0.30/300, 0.35/220, 0.40/170). Price: SRP $59.90-$89.90 www.okuma.com.au
BONE SALT FINESSE
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
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The Bone Salt Finesse series expands on the brilliant Voyage concept delivering a series of rods that will cover any light line application. There are six models in the Salt Finesse spin range, all incorporating the highest quality components matched to superior 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 ultra-sensitivity, 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. www.wilsonfishing.com
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PRODUCT GUIDE
TESTING BOOTH
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Firing up the Wilson stainless steel smoker Anglers can be notoriously difficult to buy Christmas presents for. They either have everything (or so it seems) or you need to have a degree in fishing to understand what they want. With that in mind, I decided to test something that not only rewarded the angler, but the rest of the family as well. Enter the new stainless steel smoker from Wilson Fishing. This was my first foray into smoking fish and meats. There have been numerous cook-ups at the Fishing Monthly office over the years, involving smoked tailor, mackerel and various sausages, but up until now I had never been responsible for the process from go to whoa. I was really looking forward to it. The Product The Wilson stainless steel fish smoker has a dual burner system and is a little more compact than any I have previously seen out there (height rather than capacity), and most importantly for me it had some basic instructions on the best way to use it. The first thing that appealed to me was that it had an upper and lower grill. It meant that it had the capacity to hold enough food to comfortably feed my family of four, with a bit left over for me the next day.
Very little assembly is required. Once done the fun begins. smoked, but fish that have a higher oil content tend to be better to smoke. When it comes to saltwater species, good choices are tailor, mackerel, tommy ruff (Australian herring),
items to be smoked in the smoker and put the lid on, it is just matter of lighting the fuel pans, placing them in the fuel pan tray and letting the smoking process happen. Remember that it will get very hot, so put it on a nonflammable surface. I would also suggest an outdoor area that is well ventilated. Here are a few things that I have learnt as I have been testing the Wilson stainless steel smoker. A little bit of wood chip or sawdust goes a long way. It is very easy to use too much of either and have your smoked items take on too much smoke flavour. I was very surprised at how quickly even a large chicken breast or piece of salmon cooked. I found that 8-10 minutes was more
than enough time for them to cook through. I then extinguished the fuel pans and left them in the smoker for another 2-3 minutes. Doing this I found that both the salmon and the chicken didn’t dry out too much. I thinly sliced the chicken and we had it with salad, and I pulled the skin off the salmon and did the same. Around 3-5 minutes with smaller items did the job, and that resting process also worked really well for them too. Another tip if using fish fillets is to place them on the grills flesh side down. It reduces the cooking time and ensures a subtle smoky flavour. Important to clean It seems like an obvious thing, but it is important to clean the smoker after you use it. The drip tray and grills can be rinsed off and put through the dishwasher, while the rest just needs a good wipe down to ensure any oils, juices and smoking material is removed, otherwise you may be in for a nasty surprise next time you use it. All up to you now While doing this Testing Booth, I really enjoyed smoking the fish and meat, and experimenting with different flavours. I’m looking forward to doing more of this in future. As mentioned, salmon and chicken are great mixed into a salad, and the mullet I have smoked has been lovely on cracker biscuits. Last but not least, a smoker would be a great present for any angler out there. As this is the December issue I would like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a safe New Year. It is a great time to spend some quality time with our families and look forward to better times in 2021.
If you are looking for something a little different for Christmas, this may be it. A Wilson stainless steel smoker. Let’s get ready to smoke Not a lot of assembly is required and any that is, is pretty self explanatory. You will need to buy some smoking sawdust, and in my case I brought wood chips and some fuel for the two burners. It is then a matter of catching/buying what you are looking to smoke. Any fish can be
Once in the smoker, its time to put the lid on and let the smoke and heat do their work.
snook and mullet. In the fresh, good options are trout, eel or salmon. Other meats can certainly be smoked too, with great results. As previously mentioned, sausages are great, but I decided to try smoking some chicken breasts. The preparation of the meats to be smoked was the first variable I came across. Some people say with fish you need to soak them in a wet brine (generally sugar, salt and water) for a period of time or ‘dry brine’ them with the same products before smoking. Others say, like other meats (chicken and so forth), a spiced rub is all that is needed prior to smoking. I tried all three methods, and found with fish, a simple salt rub was best and with the chicken a salt rub with a little spice (little being important) added an additional flavour profile. There is a bit of trial and error with this side of it, but I think that is half the fun. Once your meat or fish is prepared, the next step is to fill the fuel pans, place some sawdust or chips on the bottom of the smoke box and place the drip tray over it. Now you are ready to fire up the smoker. Time to smoke Once you have placed the grills with the
Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au
Salmon, chicken breast and mullet all prepared and ready for the smoker.
The end result. Smoked chicken breast sliced and ready to be added to a salad. Salmon crumbling apart, also destined for a salad and mullet just needing a cracker biscuit to go with it. DECEMBER 2020
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recfishwest Get set for a crazy summer of crayfish! WA divers and potters are enjoying a bumper cray season, with recfishers catching plenty of crays ahead of the Christmas and festive period. The State’s annual crayfish migration, dubbed by the fishing community as the ‘whites run’, usually gets underway in late November or early December as crays begin their migration from nearshore habitats to deeper waters. Recfishwest Operations Lead Matt Gillett said the yearly event was a fantastic time for recfishers to get among the action and catch a feed of crays. “The run provides unrivalled fishing opportunities for potters and divers at many reefs relatively close to shore,” he said. “Given the nearshore proximity, boat ramps along the WA coast are usually a
Brenda Chua is among divers who dips below the surface to catch a feed of crays.
Pots are an effective cray fishing method. hive of activity in the early mornings of the summer months as crews aim to get a bag of crays before heading to work. “The amazing fishing opportunity during the annual whites run is the main
factor as to why more than half of total recreational cray catches occur from December to February. “It’s also why more than 50,000 West Aussies took out a recreational lobster fishing licence last year – quite
simply, catching crays for Christmas is an integral and much-loved part of the WA lifestyle. “It also show the social and economic importance of the recreational rock lobster fishery as well and why the rec sector always needs to be a part of the fisheries management equation and any decisions made about the future of the fishery.” DPIRD’s crayfish crystal ball At the time of going to press, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) Principal Research Scientist Dr Simon de Lestang forecast the 2020-21 getting underway in mid-November. He tipped this season to be a very good shallows run for recreational fishers. “There are a lot of crays in the shallows at the moment which are ready to
go and will walk out pretty strongly – it will be a bumper season, that’s for sure,” Dr de Lestang said. To forecast crayfish abundance each season, DPIRD collect the puerulus – a juvenile stage of a cray – using specialised ‘settler’ buoys mimicking natural algae habitat where juvenile crayfish like to settle. Through this method, DPIRD researchers determine how many puerulus have concentrated on these buoys for each new moon period, and then determine recruitment trends and patterns. The settlement information has a strong correlation with crayfish catches in three to four years, once the crays have matured to a legal size, allowing DPIRD to make accurate seasonal forecasts. Over time, WA’s rock lobster scientists have refined this method into a fine art and have a pretty reliable forecasting ability. According to Dr de Lestang, the puerulus settlement for the 2016 season was well above average, meaning fishers should enjoy plenty of catches in the next
Recfishwest’s Operations Officer Aaron Moses with a western rock lobster.
The latest metro puerulus count. You can find more information courtesy of DPIRD at fish.wa.gov.au/ Species/Rock-Lobster/Lobster-Management.
Tim Grose, of Recfishwest, loves setting pots for crays. 116
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few months. “We had a good puerulus settlement in 2016 and it’s set to be really pushing through in the upcoming whites run,” Dr de Lestang said. “It is a very positive outlook and fishers should definitely get a lot of catches. “This year, we’re expecting a lot more catches of smaller sized crays closer to 76mm, compared to last year when we saw catches of bigger crays.” Why is it called the
‘whites run’? For those who have ever wondered why the annual migration has been coined the ‘whites run’, Matt said the question had a simple answer. “A ‘white’ cray is a colloquial term describing crayfish which have freshly moulted with their new soft, pale shell,” Matt said. “Pre-moulted crays are easily distinguishable – they have a hard, dark red shell. Juvenile crays settle along seagrass beds and rocky habitat close to shore and when they
reach sexual maturity – at about three to four years – they migrate from this inshore habitat. During the migration, crays venture to deeper offshore reef platforms in a north-westerly direction, hence the ‘run’ in ‘whites run’.” How you can catch a cray There are two main methods to catch crays – potting or diving. Matt said potters are most effective during the whites run, while divers tend to be more consistent than those dropping pots year-round. “As crays are on the move from under their usual nearshore reef ledges, they will seek food and shelter along their migration path – which is generally a northwesterly direction,” Matt said. “A well-set cray pot provides both of these needs. Keep dropping pots further out to sea as the migration continues and check your pots every day during this period. Crays can travel many kilometres each day, so don’t be afraid to spread your pots out to get an idea of where good numbers of crays are. “There are plenty of crays for everyone to enjoy during the whites run, so let’s look after each other out there and we can all come home with plenty of crays for Christmas!”
Monitoring the shark depredation SUNTAG
Stefan Sawynok
‘Shark Depredation’ is a hot button topic for fishers. Offshore fishers in particular have had to deal with more regulatory impacts than any other anglers, from bag limits to marine park zones. Offshore fishers are all too aware that their impact on the fishery is under constant scrutiny, when the ‘taxman’ is also taking his cut, you can understand why the frustrations might be bubbling out. Game fishers are very nervous when they bring in a shark or marlin, sometimes doing so at night to avoid controversy. The reality is there is a portion of the community that equates taking big marlin or sharks as being the same as hunting lions or other game. There have been death threats over taking sharks. Equally there are often calls in the opposite direct to remove sharks when people are attacked. One thing is certain sharks are a polarising critter and very few people I have talked to have a neutral view. Having said that, we really don’t know very much at all about the frequency of interactions between sharks and fishers. I am pretty confident interactions between fishers and sharks constitutes the overwhelming majority of interactions between man and shark. Fishers have a genuine concern that in calculating bag limits, the ‘taxman’ isn’t being taken into account. I think that getting a sense of the scale of the problem is pretty important. I have had more than one meeting with the conservation movement where I have criticised their use of the word ‘shark’ as a catch-all word because it makes it easier to raise funds. The reality is this is effective marketing strategy, there is a sizable portion of the community that is genuinely concerned about the status of sharks. I am not opposed to those concerns. I am just not convinced that sharks as a whole set of species are in trouble. I am even less convinced that the bulk of ordinary fishers are encountering endangered shark species with any regularity, much less targeting them. I haven’t seen any evidence that there is widespread use of poor practices in targeting sharks in the recreational sector. If there are ways to minimise the chances of an interaction then that’s a good idea. Equally I don’t think
that fishers commercial or recreational should be going near genuinely endangered species of shark and using ‘incomplete science’ as a defence is a poor one. When you have genuine concerns on a stock of any species, erring on the side of caution has no downsides. After two years of conversations several things are clear: a) we need a better picture of what is going on and b) I think the lack of data is robbing the industry of the possibility of investing in solutions, and c) this issue is not just local, it’s global. WHAT IS SHARKD? This wasn’t a project I wanted to do, to be honest Infofish has a lot of projects on the plate. That said, when we have people coming forth saying this is a major pain point – we listen. It’s been a year of reflection on how to approach the problem, even with COVID we had a lot on so freeing up the resources took time but also I wanted to get it right. I know it’s kinda trendy to build an app for a problem but we did exactly that with a key twist – feedback and control. SHARKD, due out late November/early December has three key features: • Use without or without an account • Ability to report interactions with sharks and share via the app or keep to stats only • Access to maps of reports and stats for the local area updated every 24 hours In the design of the process, we aim to provide privacy options with the trade-off of a higher bar of evidence to count a report as credible. We don’t want to just accept large numbers of anonymous reports on face value but we respect that some people won’t want to be identified. We want to provide transparency so that when planning fishing activity, fishers are aware of what’s happening and if reports are high have choices
to head to other areas. In this way, users and communities are in control of how they want to adopt the SHARKD process. FISHERIES MANAGEMENT The first question I get always when we do projects like this is “How will fisheries use this data?”. Being honest, Fisheries departments have a poor track record when it comes to using citizen collected data. Bluntly, they don’t trust it. That said, if there is strong participation in SHARKD at a community level I doubt that fisheries managers could ignore what is going on and then initiate their own processes. How successful that will be remains to be seen. What SHARKD does do is provide communities and individual fishers options – be that advocacy, investigating new technologies to avoid depredation or just being aware of the what’s going on and finding somewhere else to fish. There is also the possibility that participation is strong but area reports are relatively limited and in that case, there isn’t much to do. Knowing that an area is relatively free of shark interactions is also a good result. Should we trust the community with data? I am a fan of data democracy, that is transparency around the data collected and what it’s showing. In my experience there is a mix in the community approaches when it comes to data but if something is important to a community they will take the time to get their heads around the data. We fully expect that there will be people who use the data for advocacy purposes, but if they go early or misuse the data they should expect pushback. On the other hand, there is a long line of fisheries interventions and science that
the community has failed to accept because they didn’t have visibility to the process. I am happy to put my faith in the community. If this is a bad project, the community will stay away it’s that simple. If the community feels the project is delivering useful results, I think they will be patient enough to allow a picture to form. At some point, if the picture is showing a problem, solutions will have to be sought. I don’t think that the solutions all lie with government. There are innovations that we haven’t thought through yet in equipment, and also visibility to data will reduce interactions over time. What I am confident on is the do nothing approach will achieve nothing. COMMERCIAL AND CHARTER FISHERS One of the key things we are aiming for is a ‘fishing community’ response to the issue of shark depredation. It’s pretty clear from feedback that charter operators and commercial fishers are also experiencing a lot of interactions with sharks. SHARKD is open to all sectors to report their interactions to help provide a more complete picture. I suspect that as these sectors are regulated fisheries departments will implement their own reporting procedures but until that happens we are more than happy to provide a repository. The one big advantage for commercial fishers and charter operators participating is it will give the rest of the community some visibility to their challenges on the water. Depredation might be one of the only issues all three sectors share. Can Groups/Communities get involved with SHARKD? There isn’t a scope limitation on SHARKD. As with commercial and charter fishers we are more than willing to work with
Fishing Clubs or other groups or communities and help groups to build additional online dashboards that track. Solving the problem of the ‘taxman’ is not something that should be restricted to a small group. As a part of the project we will be releasing any research or tactics that we find or are provided that helps fishers to successfully avoid sharks We will have any information resources we find available in the app so if groups want to share info we will happily work towards getting it added in. PUSHBACK It will probably come as a shock to hear that the second we put our first toe in the water on this project we got pushback from researchers who to quote ‘have more PHDs’, because don’t you know having PHD means you are qualified to talk on subjects? Please note that I don’t take you seriously when you quote how important a PHD is in an online comments section. Peer review, citation and all that. Infofish is always happy to work with researchers who come to us genuinely. I am hoping that this project generates work for researchers – if this helps uncover areas where there is a need for further work then I would see that as a win. LEARNED BEHAVIOUR? Let me get to nub of the issue. One of my ‘true believer’ moments came in Kalbarri where Steve Wiseman, long time president of ANSA WA and Westag took me for a run to check out cray pots. We were several hundred metres out from the string of buoys that marked the field of pots when a quick glace backwards revealed we were no longer alone. Travelling at 8-9 knots half a dozen whalers were hard on our tail. I am not sure whether I should have been amused or not but Steve took
This is a common sight for offshore fishers.
time out from lifting the pots to playfully slap the water and stir them up. By this stage more than a dozen had gathered in a tight cluster under the boat. This ritual would be repeated. I don’t know exactly what goes on in a sharks mind but I do know Australia is not the only place on the planet that has experienced this sort of phenomenon. There does seem to be a link between the activity of fishers and sharks beyond random chance. I suspect that the relationship between sharks and fishers is very long lived and will be variable based on the number and type of sharks in the area, as well as fishing frequency. Beyond that hopefully SHARKD will uncover patterns in their presence, is there peaks and troughs? Are there safe windows to avoid them? I am sure that there is a mountain of community knowledge and wisdom on this topic and we welcome any observations that will help us to understand what’s going on. BEYOND SHARKD What do we do as the picture forms? Well for a start ignoring the phenomenon won’t make it better. One of my personal objectives for collecting data comes win the hope/trust that once we start to see getting an idea of the scope of the problem, industry will respond. In the end the objective is to reduce the taxman’s cut of the take, if that can be done through changes in motors or some other innovation then I would take that as a massive win. In fact I would far prefer to see the fishing industry take ownership of the problem and reduce the interactions with sharks because that would demonstrate that the fishing industry as a collective can take a serious stewardship head on. I think this is an opportunity to send a powerful collective message to fisheries managers that the Rec sector is doing its part. This is a project we don’t want to claim success for, if it works well then the fishing community should own that success. If it doesn’t I will wear that, it’s my job to make these things work. By the time this goes to print the app should be nearing release, so you can find it the various stores and we will have a facebook page as a point for people to get in touch with us. SHARKD is our positive start to 2021. I think it’s going to be a massive year. Stay safe all and once Christmas lunch is done – practice some healthy social distancing and go fishing. DECEMBER 2020
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BASS Series presented by
BASS AUSTRALIAN OPEN
abt
Timmy’s Tiny Tinny Tops Qld BASS Open 2020 is definitely the year of the small boat and the first-time ABT event winner. Bundaberg’s Tim Steenhuis ticked both of these boxes on the way to his maiden ABT BASS Pro event win and the $5,000 payout that accompanied it. The Rapala BASS Queensland Open was spawned from a border lockdown between Queensland and NSW. The scheduled BASS Australian Open on Lake Glenbawn was changed to a NSW Open, and the Queensland Open was born to offer locals the opportunity to compete in a big money, boateronly event. Fished at the everpopular Cania Dam in Central Queensland, the Open attracted 22 of the state’s keenest tournament bassers fighting for their share of the $11,000 in cash on offer. Each angler’s biggest five bass for the day - weighed alive - counted towards their final totals. Bass were then released back into the lake. Fishing from his trusty Aquamaster tinny and fishing within sight of the boat ramp the entire event, Steenhuis not only won the event but dropped the biggest two bags of the derby onto the scales, as well as picking up the 1.82kg Big Bass prize on the way. This added a 13 Fishing baitcast reel to his hoard. It was a good weekend. “I used 7L of fuel for the three days and I reckon that I did 5 of those on the practice
day,” Tim said. “I did have a plan B that involved fishing other areas, but the fish bit for me all weekend in the main basin,” he said. Overall, he landed around 30 fish per day in that section of the lake. Tim fished a couple of different baits to accumulate his bags: a John Deere coloured Slider grub rigged on a lime green Dam Deep Nitro jighead and sneakily fitted with a small stinger hook on 8lb braid in the tail and a blue and yellow G2 Gang Banger HotBite spoon. He fished both on his favourite spin combo – a Daiwa Wild Weasel rod paired with a Daiwa Aird
Tim Steenhuis dominated the Rapala BASS Queensland Open field by bagging the two biggest limits of the weekend – all out of his little Aquamaster punt within sight of the start line. saw a lot of boats running around and they seemed to be moving a little too much.” You can see the full interview about his win that ran on ABT Lockdown Live by scanning the QR code hereby. To Tim Morgan from Rapala VMC Australia, the last minute change from an Australian Open to a pair of state-based opens was a COVID success story. Scan to see the full interview about his win that ran on ABT Lockdown Live.
Tim fishing from his trusty Aquamaster tinny and fishing within sight of the boat ramp the entire event, 3000 reel, 8lb Nippon braid and 10lb Sunline FC Rock leader. “I got real good at counting to 5 and 10. I’d
cast the lure, sink it for 10 seconds, retrieve it for 5 winds of the handle, sink it for another 5 seconds and so on. The fish were
sitting down between 30-40ft in 60-80ft of water,” Tim continued. Tim’s sounder was a basic 7” Lowrance Gen 2, but it gave him all of the information he needed to get the job done amongst a field of quality anglers. “I think that because I stayed put and worked through the fish it helped me,” Tim commented, “I
“We had over 50 boats on the water between the two venues and that’s what we have come to expect from the Open format. It pays well and the boater-only format is one that’s popular with anglers the times we get to run it,” he said. You’ll see us back here next year with bells on,” Tim concluded.
BIG BASS BONUS
Bundaberg’s Jordan Renz won $3,000 for second place.
RESULTS Place Angler 1 Tim Steenhuis 2 Jordan Renz 3 Matt Langford 4 Matt Johnson 5 Tim Morgan 6 Brad Wickson 7 Mick Johnson 8 Shaun Falkenhagen 9 Steve Kanowski 10 Keeghan Painter 118
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Full results at abt.org.au
Bag 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10
Weight(kg) Payout 11.460 $5,000 10.325 $3,000 10.295 $2,000 9.785 $1,000 9.595 9.315 8.885 Big Bass: 8.815 Tim Steenhuis 8.485 1.82kg 8.340
Tim added to his domination by securing the Big Bass for the event and adding a 13 Fishing baitcast reel to his booty. It weighed 1.82kg and was released back into the lake, alive. Tim added to his domination by securing the Big Bass for the event and adding a 13 Fishing baitcast reel to his booty.
It ate the G2 spoon cast parallel to a steep bank anchored the biggest bag of the event for the Bundaberg resident.
were issues with backlash on
abt
Phill used an Ian Miller
somersaults.
We
were
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had
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round four had gone, and
Year 2018.
abt.org.au An Tournament
abt.org.au Guide Tournament Angler
FISHING FOR A
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any anglers’ adrenaline Day weekend floods of 2013 rush into overdrive! saw the spillway go over by However, as quickly as an incredible 8m+! the conversation peaked, it In April 2016, Lake As barramundi addicts, we plummeted back to Earth, Awoonga spilled one last sit back and think about with spillover comments time, which had anglers far Lake Awoonga in its glory bringing misery to the barra and wide watching with days! ‘Pre-flood 2011’ is a fishing fraternity. nervous excitement as the conversation that’s passed Between 2011 and 2016, next chapter of the lake’s around many campfires, the lake’s levels remained history unfolded. October boat ramps and tournament reasonably high, with strong 2016 saw an opportunity D i s cofo vmonsoon e r I n sseasons ider S t r a for t e gmyself i e s to turn my briefings. The stories being 30 fish sessions, and 1.3m prominent, forcing several recreational fishing obsession beasts that go bump in the spill events during this period. into a career of guiding in night, were enough to spike The record-breaking Australia the Gladstone region. During GLADSTONE
Justin Nye
555,864 this financial year! And there are huge things to come for the hatchery, as the GAWB have been allocated funding to build a state-of-
abundance of 85-95cm fish, which are the real deal when it comes to barra impoundment angling. These fish are 3-4 years old, and they are
quick as a hook-up comes with these fish, it can all end just as suddenly if they get the better of your angling ability in tight country.
This fish was caught on a Molix Swim Shad.
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TAG 2019 abt
the-art hatchery at Lake ruthless at this size! They are Apart from bulk numbers Awoonga itself, which would known for blistering pace and of these 2-year classes, there have the capacity to produce acrobatics, and will give you are plenty of smaller fish in 1.2 million fingerlings a year. the full run around wherever the 50-65cm bracket given CURRENT FISH SIZES structure is involved. the massive numbers stocked Currently, there is a clear The next year class is last year, and metre class fish defining presence of year the 75-80cm models, which will also be on the cards for class in the lake. From the Area to theWater bass Board or bream angler broodstock. September. Gladstone hatchery To page 14 top down you will see a large will blow your socks off! As the summer of 2016/17 I reached maturity and were team took over the reigns recorded good numbers of hungry! In the period from of the GAWB hatchery and 50-65cm fish, although larger September 2018 to March developed a program that fish were rare. 2019 I recorded almost 600 would allow them to get the The 2017/18 spring and boated barramundi for clients best numbers of high-quality summer saw the lake gain onboard Gladstone Fly and barramundi out of the facility momentum, attracting more Sportfishing, with an average they had in Gladstone. anglers to try their luck. size of 82cm. Every Lake Awoonga Good numbers of 60-75cm HIGHEST STOCKED barra is spawned from fish were being captured, BARRA IMPOUNDMENT local wild-caught Central with some quality 80-85cm The flood events over Queensland broodstock, fish mixed in. the period of six years was and the fry and fingerlings It was in August 2018 heartbreaking, but it didn’t are graded every 2-3 days that I witnessed the rebirth stop the tireless work of to maximise numbers, which of Lake Awoonga! An the Gladstone Area Water maintains the efficiency of
WORK HARD FISH HARDER. 12
TAG 2019 abt
EASY SHINER
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FAT SWING IMPACT
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DEALER ENQUIRIES the program. Since the flood CONTACT BADEN of 2016, there haveON been 1.12 million barramundi stocked 0408into802 987 the lake, including
Josh Butler caught this nice barra on a jerkbait. abundance CofUS70-90cm fish Board RODSin restoring the best TOM FISthe HINGimpoundment were spread throughout barramundi lake, and their presence was fishery. In 2014, stocking mind-blowing. They had guru Thomas Hayes and his
DECEMBER 2020
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BARRA Series presented by
BARRA SERIES
abt
Tinaroo impresses as ABT returns
Last visited over a decade ago by ABT, Lake Tinaroo on the Atherton Tablelands truly impressed as a tournament venue by providing the arena for one of the most exciting Zerek BARRA Series events we have seen to date. A combination of a healthy population of catchable barra and near total cellular coverage of the lake allowed competitors to enter fish in their ABT App and create a live scoreboard that was not locked down until the very last cast was made in the round named by Edge Rods. Ultimately Team Spearn-Tackle (Daniel Goodhew and Nathan Ruth) took the trophy from a consistent SC Marine Electrical Doctor (Rob and Tommy Wood) with an after dark flurry before the end of the session that included a 110 and 111cm fish that added 36.25kg to their final bag of 8/10 for 107.99kg. And, they did it from one of the smallest boats in the field on a combination of a homemade jerkbait, topwater and a soft plastic presentation. “It was a crazy end to the second session,” said Goodhew, “I’d let our fifth fish jump off the deck back into the water before I had the chance to record it but straight after that we landed a 111cm barra and then hooked a 110cm that we had to untangle from sunken tobacco bush with a dead electric motor. That was intense, especially since I’d forgotten to retie after the
previous catch.” Luckily they converted both of those kicker fish to hand them the win and a $1,500 winner’s cheque. It wasn’t the first time that Nathan Ruth had tasted an ABT BARRA victory, taking a win over a decade ago in the period where we last visited the arena, albeit with a much leaner collection of fish. “The lake is fishing great at the moment and there’s a wide range of barra available. You can catch 60-120cm fish in the one spot and there’s a great class of 90cm to metrelong fish,” Ruth said, which augurs well for future events. The three key baits for
Team Spear-n-Tackle showed that you don’t need the biggest boat to win the biggest prize. Their competition limit was 8/10 fish for 107.99kg.
Tommy Wood’s come of age as a barra angler and does a lot of the heavy lifting for the old man. the pair included a homemade jerkbait, a Shimano Triple Threat topwater and a Castaic 7” soft plastic with a stinger-rigged 1/2 or 3/4oz jighead. The jerkbait was nicknamed ‘super glue’ with three trebles that hook barra and timber equally well. Daniel fished his on an outfit acquired from their
Goodhew and Ruth registered fish in both the day and night time parts of the session.
sponsor, a 6’9” Kistler with a Curado DC baitcast reel, 30lb braided line and 60lb Sunline FC Rock leader. WOODS DUO A SOLID SECOND Father and son team Rob and Tommy Wood were rewarded for the homework that they put into the lake. They hadn’t been there before and Tommy spent a week practice fishing and mapping key areas on his Garmin electronics. By the end of that time, he’d identified 10-15 spots with great potential and they rotated through the best of these during the event to amass their 10/10, 95.61kg bag. “There was a particular set of trees that we found that has a rubble bottom underneath that was our best spot for the event,” said Rob, “At the times we were able to rest it and go back, we’d usually have a barra in the first 10 casts.” Their lure of choice
RESULTS Place Team 1 Spear-n-Tackle 2 SC Marine Electrical Doctor 3 Humminbird/Edge Rods 4 Anita Barra 5 Tolga Traders 6 Crooked Brothers 7 Venom 8 Fishing Monthly 9 BME/Humminbird/Jackall 10 FNQ Fish Hunters 120
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was the old faithful gold and black 130mm Slick Rig with a stinger hook.
They used both spin and baitcast tackle to deliver it, and chose Samaki C12 rods for both (7’, 10-17lb) spooled with 30lb Sufix 832 braid and a 50lb Varivas fluorocarbon leader. “The Garmin mapping and LiveScope has really taken our fishing to the next level,” Rob said, “By the time I got up to the lake, Tommy had mapped all of the spots we wanted to fish and we could easily assess the position and mood of the barra. We haven’t had that much insight ever before.” They were fishing the Hotel Tinaroo section of the lake.
BIG BARRA TOPS 20 KILOS
It was expected that there may be a 120cm+ barra capture at Tinaroo, but this 114cm fish won the Big Barra award. A 20.70kg barra (114cm) by Ben Tunsted won a Wilson Bladesn-Tails rod and the Big Barra prize. It ate a Molix swimbait in the Barron River arm of the lake after dark on the second
session. “The fish was in the boat in less than 30 seconds,” said team mater Dylan Briar-Mills, “And that’s when hell broke loose. It was pretty green and I ended up with a hook in my finger.”
Full results at abt.org.au
Anglers Goodhew/Ruth Wood/Wood Griffiths/DeRidder Robinson/Wilson Brown/Browning Ferraro/Hapgood Dixon/Luckus Morgan/Williams Briar-Mills/Tunsted Pritchard/Johnson
Fish 10/10 10/10 9/10 8/10 7/10 10/10 7/10 6/10 9/10 5/10
Weight(kg) Payout 107.99 $1500 95.61 $1000 82.45 $500 81.30 77.14 72.93 Big Barra: 66.52 Ben Tunsted 63.33 20.7kg 62.58 114cm 61.28
BIG BARRA SPECIAL
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Long Baitcaster Venom swimBait rLFVswB 7'6" 30-60LB Venom Baitcaster 6kg rLFVBc7/6 7' 20-40LB Venom Baitcaster 8kg rLFVBc7/8 7' 30-50LB
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