Illawarra

ILLAWARRA Greg Clarke

Let’s not beat around the bush: it’s snapper time on the south coast and you don’t have to go far to get them. All of the shallow reefs have cuttlefish over them and while some have more than others, if you have a bait in the water, you are in with the chance of a nice red. There are plenty of small snapper about but everyone loves to see that big red flank with the blue speckles coming up to the boat ready to be netted, and there are always a lot of big fish out there at this time of the year – you just have to put in a bit of time and you will get one.

Some anglers get a big fish first up while others may take a few attempts but weather permitting, if you have a go, you will score that big snapper.

Getting up early and getting that berley trail going over your chosen reef is the key to success, as is starting in the early afternoon and fishing until after dark. Both work equally as well but when fishing the mornings you get warmer as the sun comes up, whereas in the evenings you just get colder, and those westerlies coming off the snow can chill you to the bone in an open boat.

The other option is chasing the floaters. Many of the cuttlefish die after spawning or are attacked by predators, and when they turn up their tentacles the large buoyant bone that forms their skeleton brings them to the surface. This is where the fun starts as it may have been a big snapper or several that caused

This is what you are looking for when chasing surface snapper: a bunch of albies on a cuttlie.

A pretty standard local winter snapper.

the damage, and they follow the cuttlefish to the surface and tear into it, often throwing spray into the air that you can see from quite some distance.

The other situation is where the cuttlefish have simply succumbed to the rigors of mating before floating to the surface, and they are then cleaned up by the ever-present albatross. This is how you spot them as there will often be several albies feeding on one cuttlefish, tearing pieces off with their large beaks. As they feed, plenty of small pieces drift down the water column and the snapper follow them to the surface, where they in turn start to rip in as well. Often you

NSW Fisheries Officers have recently had numerous calls and reports of dead and dying beachworms in the Forster/Tuncurry area. They have advised NSW EPA and are currently investigating and assessing the extent of the problem. Samples have been taken for testing to resolve what is/was the possible cause, and whether it’s linked to recent spraying by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of bitou bush in the nearby coastal sand dunes.

Spraying bitou bush has long been questioned by recreational and commercial fishers, with minimal research to date. There is no information on what impacts such spraying has on sand dune creatures like ghost crabs, the overall beach ecology and the wash zone that is tidal.

National Parks have some serious explaining to do if they are to blame.

While on the subject of toxic chemicals, there is growing alarm that the mouse poison bromadiolone will affect native fish.

The NSW Farmers’ Association estimates the mouse plague will chew more than a billion dollars off the farmgate value of the state’s winter crop. But a wide range of farmers, recreational fishers, bird and wildlife groups and environmentalists are raising the alarm that many other animals, including native fish such as Murray cod, will be poisoned if bromadiolone is approved for use in NSW as a mouse poison.

The state government is seeking approval from the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) to distribute 10,000 litres of bromadiolone in an attempt to end the mouse plague. Bromadiolone has not been approved for use in Australia since 2016.

There are already reports of native fish-eating mice, and fears that the poison (an anti-coagulant) will enter the food chain poisoning fish, livestock, birds, reptiles, other wildlife, working dogs and pets. This poison is outlawed in most countries for use in agriculture.

One alternative to bromadiolone in agricultural applications is zinc phosphide. That poison does not build up in the body of the target pest and quickly disperses as a gas after the death of the animal. Many scientists and groups such as NSW Farmers are arguing that allowing sale and use of double-strength zinc phosphide is the best option as it is much less likely to kill wildlife that consume dead mice.

NSW Farmers is campaigning against the use of bromadiolone—it says it never requested the use of the poison and had been calling on the government to provide rebates of up to $25,000 per farmer to purchase zinc phosphide.

NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall referred to bromadiolone as the ‘equivalent of napalming mice’ and said that more than 400 farmers had registered to use bromadiolone if it is approved.

Mel Gray from Healthy Rivers Dubbo took another view: she said Mr Marshall’s plan was extremely concerning—“Well, is he prepared to napalm Murray cod? Because that’s what will happen. If this poison is put out into the environment you might as well be directly poisoning threatened and vulnerable species like Murray cod, which is a vulnerable species under federal legislation.” – Recreational Fishing Alliance of NSW will see the albies sitting back while a big red has its turn; the birds don’t want to get a foot bitten by a hungry snapper.

This is when you quietly motor into the breeze and cast from the furthest distance away you can manage, ideally landing your chunk of fresh cuttlefish as close to the dead cuttlie as possible. Then just leave the bail arm of the reel open to allow the line to peel off freely as you drift away, allowing your bait to sink in the impact zone. If there are any fish about, they will grab it. Then just close the bail and wait for the line to start peeling off the reel under drag as the snapper hook themselves.

Often at this time of year with the westerlies blowing, the water is clear so the snapper, whilst being bold and coming to the surface are still wary. In this situation, using clear mono line is a distinct advantage over using braid, unless you use a very long leader. I’ve used both together, and the mono takes 10 bites to one in these conditions as most fishing is done in under 15m of water.

For the rest of the year when you are using plastics the snapper don’t seem be deterred by the braid as they are hitting often on instinct in deeper water, rather than scavenging in the shallows with a heightened awareness of danger.

Plastics do score fish at this time of the year, mainly during the day when the fish move out into deeper water, but why use plastics when you have a sure thing using cuttlefish for bait?

There are other fish about in close, with plenty of salmon moving along the coast and some good tailor in the evenings while chasing snapper. Barracouta will be all over the place – some days you’ll get them in plague proportions, while on other days you don’t see them.

Further offshore the bluefin should be heading up the coast. When and where they show up, as always, is in the lap of the currents and the bait. Maybe this year they will be in good numbers not so far out that you have to get your passport stamped to find them.

There have been some ripping yellowfin around up into June so let’s see if they hang about this month or the currents move and they go with good water. Even so there could be a few albacore starting to show later in the month if all else fails.

For the bottom bouncers there are still a few flathead over the sand but you will have to put in some time for a feed. It’s snapper that are the main target, with plenty of smaller fish and the odd big one grabbing baits. Mowies and pigfish will round off the bags but take plenty of hooks and sinkers with you as the leatherjackets and barracouta can be brutal on terminal tackle this month.

Back to the beaches, and while cold there are plenty of bream about along with the salmon in the early mornings and tailor during the evenings. Coniston Beach again has been a standout for all of the above species.

A few nice jewfish and some smaller ones have come in for those anglers who hunt in the dark hours on the high tides. These anglers mostly keep their captures to themselves but if you put in the hours, you will be rewarded and there are always the baitstealing bream and tailor to take home for a feed if you miss the big fish.

On the rocks salmon are taking pilchards with bream and trevally in the washes. Berley is a big help with the bream and trevally, and using prawns for bait will get any big drummer hanging about interested as well. Using crab pieces is even better and may score a groper into the bargain.

As for the estuaries… well, it is cold and windy with a few bream hanging around the weed edges at Primbee or maybe a bream or two on unweighted peeled prawns among the snags in the feeder streams to the lake. Alternatively, you can try the entrance to the lake on the break walls where you should see a few salmon on the run in tide. Good luck.