Issuu

• JACKS, COD AND SO MUCH MORE • TACKLE SPOTLIGHT

Sean Thompson brings us Weighing it all up: Matching tackle to targets QLD

NSW

VIC

TAS

FIND THE

LOGO COMPETITION

Features

Weighing it all up • Starlo: Bream refresher • A beginner’s guide to NQ jacks • Testing Booth: Maui Jim range •

January, 2024

TESTED

Surtees Game Fisher 700 with Yamaha 250hp V6

ISSN 2652-5798

9 772652

579005

Registered by Australian Post Publication No:100002088

wp.fishingmonthly.com.au

$9.95

(GST inc.)

issuu.com/fishingmonthly

fishingmonthly

Fishing Monthly Magazines

FishingMonthly

Our Cover

Contents

From the Editor’s Desk... Firstly, I’d like to stick my hand up and say that this month’s magazine had very little help from me – it was the team back in Brisbane that got the job done. Between representing AFTA at Parliament House in Queensland through to the running of the 2023 BARRA Tour, there’s been very few days in the air-conditioned office for me. Thank you for getting everything done so professionally, team! And the news from the home of public servants? Gill nets are nearly gone from the Great Barrier Reef marine park as you’re reading this. It’s

barra closed season at the moment, and by the time it opens nearly all of the N symbols that allow gill netting will have been bought back. A few may have transitioned to a short term transition licence, but even those will be gone by 2027. At the time of printing, every impoundment barra fisho in Australia is watching what happens with a cyclone off the Queensland coast. If it makes some of the barra lakes overrun, there will be losses of trophy fish over the dam walls. While terrible news for the lakes, at least the surviving fish won’t be

encountering the walls of death when they enter the estuaries. Hopefully, there’ll be no repeat of the ‘black tailed barra’ glut of Gladstone that happened after the 2013 lake overspill. Time will tell. And BARRA Tour 2023? Record numbers of teams from as far away as Canada competed and caught the heck out of the fish. Nearly 1,500 bed nights were added to the local economies and all fish were released to catch another day! Wherever you are in Australia, stay safe and enjoy your summer break.

INSIDE This Issue

QLD NSW

VIC

TAS

FISHING MONTHLY MAGAZINE Published by:

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Qld Fishing Monthly Pty Ltd ABN 72-010-542-195

The Tweed

Hunter Valley

Esperance

Gold Coast

Batlow

Brisbane

Albury/Wodonga

Northern Bay

Canberra

Noosa

Bundaberg

VICTORIA

Mackay

Townsville

Portland

Hinchinbrook

Warrnambool

98 99 100 101 102 103 105 104 106

Cairns

Cobden

Bunbury Augusta Metro Mandurah Lancelin Kalberri Exmouth Karratha Freshwater

Port Douglas

Apollo Bay

Cooktown

Geelong

Freshwater

Port Phillip

Starlo: Bream refresher

Phillip Island

Beginners guide to jacks

Gippsland Lakes

Sheik of the Creek

Port Albert

Marlo

Mallacoota

Robinvale

NEW SOUTH WALES Sydney Rock

Sydney South

REGULAR FEATURES Weighing it all up

Testing Booth: Maui Jim range

What’s New Fishing

Fun page

Tournaments

108

Tagging Tales

110

Trades and Services

114 115

Ballina

Coffs Coast

South West Rocks

Bendigo

Hasting

Yarrawonga

Port Macquarie

Wangaratta

Central Coast

Shepparton

Tide page

Port Stephens

Eildon

Boat test:

Swansea

Ballarat

Surtees Game Fisher 700 122

Illawarra

Crater Lakes

Batemans Bay

Gippsland Freshwater

Bermagui

Tathra

TASMANIA Hobart

All material is © copyright, and cannot be reproduced in part or in full, by any means, without written permission of the Managing Editor. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher.

Business Office: Unit 1, 11 Knobel Court, Shailer Park, Qld, 4128

FREECALL: 1800 228 244 Managing Editor: Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au Editorial Manager: Jacqui Thomas Editorial: Nicole Penfold Field Editors: Jason Ehrlich Publisher: Steve Morgan Advertising Enquiries: Peter Jung: pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au Phone: 0410 662 927 Nicole Kelly: nkelly@fishingmonthly.com.au Phone: 0407 369 333 Printing: Printcraft (QLD) Pty Ltd Production: Matthew Drinkall Website: www.fishingmonthly.com.au Distribution: Are Direct Subscriptions: Kym Rowbotham Accounts: Marie Dykstra

COMPS AND OFFERS Subscription

Find the logo

SUBSCRIPTION HOTLINE FREECALL 1800 228 244 $65 for twelve issues (GST inc.)

Come and visit Fishing Monthly Group’s official Facebook page for all your monthly fishing information. Download QR Reader to access.

FISHING MONTHLY MAGAZINE PUBLISHED JANUARY 2024

New England Rivers

ISSUE: VOLUME 4 NO. 9

QUEENSLAND

6 JANUARY 2024

Peter Jung with a nice feed of blue swimmer crabs after a family crabbing expedition. A Peter Jung image.

GET ONBOARD

FULL RANGE OF MODELS AVAILABLE...

500 CUDDY

550 CUDDY

550 RUNABOUT

600 CUDDY

650 CUDDY

650 HARD TOP

650 HTG

650 WALKAROUND

750 HARD TOP

QUEENSLAND: Brisbane Boating & Leisure 1743 Ipswich Road, Rocklea QLD Phone: 07 3875 1600

VICTORIA: Melbourne Marine Centre SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Christies Beach Marine 393 South Gippsland Hwy, Dandenong South VIC 19 Sherriffs Road, Lonsdale SA Phone: 03 9703 2003 Phone: 08 8387 6411

email:

sales@brisbaneboatingleisure.com.au email:

info@melbournemarine.com.au

email:

sales@christiesbeachmarine.com.au

Web:

brisbaneboatingleisure.com.au

melbournemarine.com.au

Web:

christiesbeachmarine.com.au

Web:

NEW SOUTH WALES: GRE Marine 24 Stoddart Road, Prospect NSW Phone: 02 9898 1010

WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Bluewater Marine 18 Hawkins Street, Bunbury WA Phone: 08 9791 1499

SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Port Lincoln Boat Supplies 7-9 Porter Street, Port Lincoln SA Phone: 08 8682 3122

email: Web:

sales@gremarine.com.au gregarine.com.au

bluwater@bigpond.net.au bluewatermarine.com.au

info@boatsupplies.net.au boat supplies.net.au

Northbank Fibreglass Boats

@northbankboats

FEATURE

Techniques

FMM

Weighing it all up: Matching tackle to targets QUEENSLAND

Sean Thompson

The summer holidays are here again! This time of year can mean different things to different anglers. This can range from a new cohort of young kids excitedly picking up their first rod and reel to use, casual anglers having their once-a-year fish, or experienced anglers taking a long-awaited fishing trip during their summer break. Regardless of the experience of the angler, there are several factors which play a part in the success of a fishing session or trip. These factors apply not only over the summer holidays but also any time of year. I’ve been over a few factors in previous articles in this magazine which

can influence anglers’ success. These include ‘What’s luck got to do with it’ and ‘Best fishing times, tides and moons’. However, in this article the sole focus is improving your catch rates by making

experience progresses, it pays to have a few different tackle set ups to cover different species and techniques (for targeting those species). This helps you specialise on a range of different species and allows you to have a few set ups on hand (as local fishing regulations allow) for a plan B or C, if plan A fails. However, if you are just starting out, my recommendation is to choose a rod and reel set up that best matches where and how you plan to chase your main target species. So, let’s get started on how to choose a matching and balanced outfit for your

matched outfit from rod to hooks but as part of that outfit you want a ‘balanced’ rod and reel. A balanced rod and reel is one where you can hold the rod and reel perfectly balanced, or parallel to the ground with just your index finger supporting the weight at an equilibrium point. This point is about an inch or so above the top of the rod grip. The term for this is weighted neutral, which simply means that when casting and retrieving your line on this outfit you are not fighting gravity, which you would be if your reel was too heavy, or vice versa your rod too

Bait casting outfits are a great option to throw lures into tight spots.

Combos are an easy and cost effective way to buy a balanced outfit. 8 JANUARY 2024

sure the ‘weight rating’ of your tackle aligns with the species you are targeting as well as your technique for doing so. WEIGHT RATINGS By ‘weight rating’, I’m talking about the capacity of your tackle to manage fish of a certain size. This can include everything from the rating (in kilograms) of your rod; the size of your reel; your line rating; sinker weights; swivel and hook sizes or the size and weight of your lures. When you put these all together, they should be consistently matched. Over time and as your fishing

Above: This test is an easy way to determine if your rod and reel is ‘balanced’. Main photo: A perfect match of spin reel, long graphite rod, braid and lure landed this tailor. required target species and the locations you aim for fish it. SELECTING THE RIGHT RODS AND REELS Firstly, you not only want a completely

heavy for your reel. So how do you go about achieving this right balance then? For beginners and casual anglers, the rod and reel combo off the shelf can be a

Techniques FEATURE

FMM The first step in choosing a rod is the type of fishing you plan to do. That is, will you be using a spinning reel and if so will it be bait or lure fishing? As a general rule of thumb, bait fishing is best suited to monofilament line and a more flexible tipped fibreglass rod. For lure fishing with a spinning reel, you are better off using braided line (for reasons outlined further below) and thus a graphite rod for more sensitivity. On the other hand, if you are a more experienced angler you might choose a baitcasting or overhead rod to match with a similar reel. Baitcasting outfits are great for throwing lures into tight spots with accuracy, while bigger overhead reels are designed for either trolling for pelagics, jigging lures or bait fishing deep water for big, hard fighting fish. Another variation to rod choice is how far up the rod the reel seat is

Trolling deep diving lures on thin diameter braid will get lures down deeper to fish like this bass caught in 26 feet of water. good option. A number of manufacturers offer rod and reel combinations in which they’ve done all the hard work for you. These are usually well balanced and also priced at a discount over purchasing the two items separately. The alternative is selecting your rod and reel individually and balancing them up. To do this you should first select the right rod then match it up with a suitably sized reel. Over time, you will

learn what size reels match with what size rods, though be aware reel manufacturers keep using lighter yet stronger components so keep that in mind when balancing your outfit. SELECTING A ROD Fishing rods are classified according to fishing style (i.e. the type of reel used with them), what material they are made with, their length, casting weight and line rating.

BLUEFIN BOATS

INFLATION BUSTING

BARRACUDA BMT PACKAGE

Fishing off the rocks requires more abrasion resistant leader material.

Choose rods, reels, braid and leader that match your target species, in this case flathead.

600 WRANGLER BMT PACKAGE

30,990 37,990 41,990

540 Barracuda SC + Mercury $ 90hp EFI 4-Stroke + Trailer or $165 per week

WIN A

spools of line flying off the big reels. When it comes to length, generally rods of 5’6-8’ are boat rods, while rods of 9-10’ are more suitable for bait fishing from the shore in an estuary, river or

SUPER PACK

480 Barracuda SC + Mercury $ 60hp EFI 4-Stroke + Trailer or $125 per week

500 Barracuda SC + Mercury $ 75hp EFI 4-Stroke + Trailer or $145 per week

situated. Most anglers using an Alvey reel prefer to have a shorter butt for more comfortable fishing when winding the heavier reel. Suitable rods for Alveys also have a bigger first runner situated further up the rod due to the larger

600 Wrangler T/T CLASSIC

+ Mercury 150hp EFI 4-Stroke + Trailer

INSHORE PACK

67,499

or $265 per week

at Valued 00 2 over $1

ENQUIRE NOW

SCOUNDREL BMT PACKAGE

450 Scoundrel + Mercury 40hp EFI 4-Stroke + Trailer

480 Scoundrel + Mercury 60hp EFI 4-Stroke + Trailer

25,990

or $110 per week

29,990

or $125 per week

Also AWESOME prices on Bowriders 515 Bowrider + 75hp Mercury $38,990 540 Bowrider + 90hp Mercury $46,990 580 Bowrider + 115hp Mercury $52,990 Scan the QR code or visit: www.bluefinboats.com.au/promo Finance TAP, T&C’s apply. Registration and safety gear not included. Only available via website registration. Pre-order and limited availability.

www.bluefinboats.com.au bluefinboats BLUEFIN_BOATS JANUARY 2024 9

TESTING BOOTH

Above: Any day on the water is a special one and protecting your eyes while doing so is very important. Maui Jim sunglasses offer maximum sun protection, with magnificent optical clarity. Go and check them out for yourself. Inset: Mangroves model in the Hawaii Lava™ lens colour. going to be which one I preferred, and as you can see from my remarks while explaining each model, I liked them all! As much as I would like to sit on the fence

take advantage of the flexibility that Maui Jim offers and customise the matte black frame with Maui Rose ® lens (a great full light to low light lens that was my favourite

Everything about this pair of Nuu Landing glasses says fishing to the author. Maximum glare reduction from all angles and a no-nonsense style that will suit most anglers. A great offering and not a bad fish either. them. I wear them everywhere. I have a birthday coming up soon, so maybe a matte black frame with a Maui HT™ lens might be on my wish list. So, there you have it, these five new options from in the Maui Jim sunglass range are well worth considering. Maui

Jim has a huge retail base that you can go and check them out personally or if you want to do a little research their website www.mauijim.com is an excellent source of information. It certainly explains all your options and should cover any questions you may have. Go and check them out.

MAUI JIM SUNGLASSES

The true surprise for the author was the Ho’opika XL. Not a style he would have selected prior to doing this Testing Booth. However, its featherlight construction and excellent glare reduction have changed his way of thinking. He wears them everywhere. His daughters think there may be hope yet? with this one, it came down to two models, the Mangroves and the Ho’ okipa XL. As I said previously, the Mangroves frame will appeal to many anglers and I would

PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY JANUARY 2024 2023 352NOVEMBER

from the previous Testing Booth). Having said that, the pair I have worn the most has been the Ho’ okipa XL. They are so comfortable it is hard to go past

• Every model (male or female) and lens offer comprehensive UV protection for your eyes. PolarisedPlus* is used by Maui Jim to provide complete UVA and UVB protection for the wearer. True peace of mind when you are out in the harsh Australian sun. • All Maui Jim sunglasses are produced in either Italy or Japan, while the prescription laboratories are based in the USA and Germany (both have won major awards in their field). • There are no polycarbonate lens used by Maui Jim. A lot of sunglass manufacturers offer polycarbonate lenses to reduce price points at the expense of lens longevity. Maui Jim offers two lens types, an Italian made super thin glass lens and a Japanese made proprietary synthetic lens (MauiBrilliant*). Both offer great

scratch/wear and tear resistance. • Hidden reader option. As we age, many of us need glasses to assist reading or, in the case of many anglers, threading line through hook eyes or tying knots (particularly in low light periods). Maui Jim has a solution that can assist in this situation. A reader material in three add power options (+1.5, +2.0 and +2.5) is available on some models and the film is on the inside of the lens (only visible to the wearer). • The eight lens colour options available are: Blue Hawaii, MauiGreen™, Neutral Grey, HCL* Bronze, Maui HT™, Maui Rose™, Maui Sunrise and Hawaii Lava™ • Don’t forget the website www. mauijim.com. It offers a great source of information as well as all your nearest stockists.

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

DAIWA 23 LEGALIS

Strengthening Legalis’ reputation for reliability, performance, and bang-forbuck value, the 23 Legalis is primed to become a hit with Aussie anglers. The latest Legalis welcomes Daiwa’s new Airdrive Design, a leap forward in spin reel design, form and function. It also features a redesigned Airdrive Rotor and Bail Arm, which reduces the weight of each part and greatly reduces start-up inertia. The result is that sought-after, buttery-smooth rotation that anglers all crave. The Zaion V composite body is impervious to the harsh saltwater elements, and produces a rigid and sturdy frame that houses Daiwa’s famous Tough Digigear drive system. ATD drag, Infinite Anti-Reverse, Twistbuster II, and an ABS Longcast Spool combine to enhance the 23 Legalis’ performance and strength. The Daiwa 23 Legalis is available now in sizes 2000D-6000D. www.daiwafishing.com.au

WILLIAMSON SOLID CARBON SJ ROD

The new Williamson Solid Carbon SJ (Slow-Jig) rods are built using a solid carbon blank. This solid blank provides additional durability, responsiveness, and power in a lightweight package. This rod’s parabolic action is perfect for slow-jig presentations and allows the rod to impart additional action to the jig. The Solid Carbon SJ is available in three models, and each model comes in both spin and overhead configurations. It’s finished off with premium Fuji reel seats and components to aid with sensitivity, even when jigging the depths. www.rapala.com.au

SEPHIA CLINCH LONG APPEAL

Shimano’s Sephia Clinch Long Appeal is a new and revolutionary squid jig. Traditional shallow-type jigs have long struggled with limited cast distances and fast sinking rates. However, Shimano’s Sephia Clinch Long Appeal defies these limitations by incorporating a Jet Boost mechanism and a centre of gravity movement system. This innovative design enables anglers to achieve an average flight distance of 52m, surpassing all expectations. One of the key advantages of this jig is its slow fall capability. With a sinking speed of approximately 7.4 seconds/m, this egi offers a slower fall rate than general shallow-type jigs. This feature is particularly effective when targeting wary squid, allowing anglers to present the jig with a tantalisingly slow descent. The Sephia Clinch Long Appeal slow fall also enables land-based anglers to explore shallow weed beds with ease. It allows you to meticulously present the jig to large squid, even when the tide flow is slow. Furthermore, the Sephia Clinch Long Appeal boasts exceptional action response. It retains the superior performance of the Clinch series, allowing for precise actions of the rod and supporting a variety of actions, including continuous wind with wiggles and high jumps with sharp vertical jerks. As well as a Jet Boost mechanism, this jig also has a Flash Boost mechanism. Coupled with a reflector suspended by a spring, the Flash Boost mechanism enhances the jig’s visual appeal. Whether during a darting action or on the fall, the built-in reflector sways and sparkles, captivating the attention of squid and maximising strike rates. www.shimanofish.com.au

PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY

MAUI JIM MANGROVES

Mangrove trees and shrubs create an ideal shelter for marine life, and this unique fishing environment was the inspiration behind Maui Jim’s new Mangroves model. This style combines the sleek coverage of a wrap silhouette with PolarizedPlus2 technology, allowing you to effortlessly navigate variable conditions with superior protection and enhanced visibility. The SuperThin Glass lenses inset in this nylon framework offer crisp views of the water, making Mangroves the perfect companion for fishing the estuaries and beyond. The frames come in four options – black gloss, matte dark, tortoise and black matte. Each model features SuperThin Glass, which is 32% thinner and lighter than standard glass while providing superior scratch resistance. There are four lens options: neutral grey with a bi-gradient front lens treatment, neutral grey with green mirror, HCL bronze with bi-gradient, and HCL bronze with red mirror. www.mauijim.com

ZEREK SLICK BACK

The Wilson Slick Back has been a staple for native fish anglers for years, and this classic lure has now undergone a transformation into the Zerek Slick Back. Maintaining the beautiful lines and dramatic action of its predecessor, the Slick Back is set to take on native fish like no other hardbody. There are three floating models in the range – a 100mm, 90mm and 55mm – and each size comes with loud rattles that attract fish from afar. These deep diving lures will plumb the depths, searching out your next cod, golden perch or Australian bass. Available in nine colours that include amazing natural and attractor patterns, the Slick Back lures are set to rule the scene again! Price: SRP $17.99-$19.99 www.wilsonfishing.com

TT QUAKE POWER VIBE

The new TT Quake Power Vibe is here, in three versatile sizes and 22 unique colours . A thorough R&D process has resulted in a new generation of soft vibe, with a sleek and realistic baitfish profile, forked tail and fins, complete with UV-reactive eyes that provide a solid strike target. A holographic finish on the internal weight of transparent models adds realism, while the unique colours include natural baitfish imitations through to vibrant offerings loaded with UV-reactive highlights. Built on a strong and durable stainlesssteel internal frame, that intensifies the vibing action, the Quake Power Vibe comes fitted with heavy-duty split rings and 4X strong Japanese trebles, ready to take on all comers straight out of the packet. From bass to barramundi, flathead to threadfin salmon, and mulloway to snapper, the 75, 95, and 110mm sizes have you covered, from the freshwater impoundments to bluewater beasts. Price: SRP $17.95-$21.95 www.ttfishing.com

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au NOVEMBER JANUARY 2024 202353 2

NSW

Coffs Coast

FMM

South West Rocks is all about pelagics SOUTH WEST ROCKS

Vic Levett

Holiday season is upon us, and hopefully there is plenty of great fishing in store for us. At Oceanhunter we hope you all had an awesome Christmas and are enjoying a wellearned break. The biggest hurdle of late has been the weather. Fresh to frightening north-easterly winds have been a real bugbear for anyone wanting to venture offshore. Fingers crossed January will have some more settled weather

Trial Bay will see a lot of activity this month. The 11 Fathom reef, the Jail Grounds and Jims Hole will see a lot of people slow trolling live Slimies in the hope of encountering marlin, cobia and mackerel. The reefs around Grassy heads will also be a hot spot for boats targeting both spotted and Spanish mackerel and cobia. Snapper should also fire up on the inshore reefs this month, and a bit of berley and lightly-weighted baits drifted through the trail should do the trick. As usual, fresh is best. It’s not hard to get at the moment, with lots of slimies, yellowtail and more on tap.

Big mahimahi are always a welcome catch on board Oceanhunter Sportfishing Charters.

This mackerel was taken on an Untamed Stickbait by Zane Levett. patterns, allowing us to enjoy our time on the water. December saw plenty of mahimahi (dolphinfish) on the DPI FADs, with water temperatures hovering around 23°C. Small live baits and soft plastics have been getting plenty of attention from these fast-growing fish. Keeping your livies as healthy and lively as possible will entice more bites, especially when the mahi are finicky, which they sometimes can be. Leaders of around 40lb and smaller 4/0 hooks can also be helpful when they are in a cautious mood. Mahimahi are one fish that needs to be chilled in an ice slurry as soon as possible to ensure their excellent eating qualities. Brain spiking and bleeding them is also a good way of getting the best out of these fish. Kingfish have been around for the past few months, and there have been some very large fish amongst them. Both Jack and Zane have been getting into some good fish over 130cm. Fish Rock has been the centre of activity for the kings, and there are plenty of 70-90cm school fish kicking around. Unfortunately, the sharks will only get worse from now on, so keep your fight times down to a minimum by fishing heavy tackle. That’s about the only way to get your king to the boat in one piece. 62 JAN/UARY 2024

ESTUARY School mulloway have made a great return since the floods, which provided just the right conditions for them to spawn. There are lots of undersized fish kicking around, and releasing them in the best condition possible will ensure plenty of larger models in the years ahead. Soft plastics and herring jigged up around Martys Flats wharfs are the go. Flathead have been biting well for the lure guys. The mangroves around Stuarts Point have been holding good numbers of fish, with plenty of larger models in the mix. A live herring

flicked around the drop-offs is a fun way to target them. Bream, whiting and luderick have all been prevalent around the break walls of the river and Back Creek. Fish as light as possible, and make sure your bait is as fresh as possible to maximise success. ROCK AND BEACH January can see some great catches off the rocks. Hat Head is a great spot to encounter all manner of fish, from mackerel to marlin. Fishing a live bait under a float or casting lures can score you some really large fish. Mulloway are also in the cards, when conditions allow. In January the northeasterlies can be relentless at times, but occasionally you’ll can get a small window to chase these much sought-after species. Mullet or tailor slabs, soft plastics and hardbodies will work. That’s it for this month. Remember, as the saying goes, ‘if in doubt, don’t go out’. This applies for the ocean, crossing the river bars and for fishing off the rocks. Stay safe and enjoy all that South West Rocks has to offer. As always, make sure you drop into

our local tackle shops to get the most up-to-date intel on what’s biting and where. • Vic Levett and his son Zane run Oceanhunter Sportfishing charters out of the beautiful South West Rocks. They target all manner of sports fish from

Hopefully January will see good numbers of marlin that South West Rocks is famous for.

The Macleay River should fire for big flatties throughout summer.

king fish, mackerel, cobia and all way through to the famous black marlin of Trial Bay. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced angler, the boys will put you onto the best fish available. To find out more visit www.Oceansportsfishing. com.au, Insta Ohsportfishing, Facebook Oceanhunter Sportsfishing. Email vic@oceansportsfishing.com.au, or call 0414 906 569.

Macquarie Coast NSW

FMM

Visitors enjoy the beautiful Macquarie Coast THE HASTINGS

Kate Shelton

Whiting numbers have picked up noticeably in the local systems, with Limeburners and Lake Cathie well worth a look. School prawns remain the bait of choice; however those anglers who prefer to throw surface lures have also again enjoyed success. The flathead fishing remains excellent, with the Hastings River

Camden Haven. Moving to the offshore scene, the Port Macquarie Game Fishing Club’s 40th Golden Lure is the talk of the Macquarie Coast at present. It will run from 5-13 January, and hopefully, there will be favourable conditions and plenty of pelagic fish caught throughout the week of fishing. Good luck to all competitors. Further south, off the Camden Haven there have been catches of snapper, teraglin and pearl perch on the reefs in around 60m of water, with pilchards and squid being the baits of choice. All the local FADs are now holding mahimahi. Most of them are smaller-sized fish, but there are a few larger specimens hanging around. With school holidays in full swing now, we will start to see the local boat ramp car parks full, and a steady stream of boats crossing the bar in the early hours of the morning. It is a timely reminder that the boat ramps are packed at this time of the year, so please be respectful and patient with other boaties. Bream and whiting numbers remain consistent off the beaches, with both North Shore Beach and Lighthouse Beach in Port Macquarie worth a look. Some quality tailor have also been active at both dawn and dusk. Off the rocks, a few tailor and bonito are showing up as the water begins to clear. Small metals have been the go. Luderick are also a viable proposition during the day, whilst those fishing the evenings

Port Macquarie father and daughter duo, Rick and Freya Adorini (3yo). Freya caught this great flathead in Lake Cathie. She loves going fishing with her mum and dad. have encountered a steady stream of pan-sized bream. Land-based game fishing anglers, it is time to dust off your gear, with the start of the warm water off our coast. Some early reports have come in from South West Rocks, Hat Head and Crescent Head of black marlin, cobia and kingfish caught off our local headlands. • Kate Shelton is the proud owner of Bay Explorer Marine Services and specialises in making deep-drop fishing rigs for blue-eye trevalla, bar cod, king fish and bass groper. For more info, look up ‘Bay Explorer Marine Services’ on Facebook and Instagram, or find her store on eBay.

Power for your GOPRO or VIRB from your navigation light socket

$250 + P&H

AVAILABLE FROM: www.tournamentboats.com.au

GOPRO not included

John Henderson with a 30kg mulloway he speared locally off the rocks. producing great results on both whitebait and lures. On the bream front, your best bet is in the Camden Haven River off the break walls using mullet fillets, mullet gut or brined prawns. For bream in the Hastings River, lures are again proving effective, with those anglers fishing around the Wauchope area also scoring a few solid bass. On the mulloway front, the break walls are just producing the occasional school-sized fish. 26-28 January will be the best time to target them, and an early evening session could be well worth a look for a larger model. Live baits or large lures will both be worth a try. For crabbing enthusiasts, mud crabs have been terrific in the Hastings and Macleay rivers, along with some nice blue swimmers in the

The author’s father, Geoff Shelton, with a snapper he recently caught off Port Macquarie. JANUARY 2024 63

VIC

Central

FMM

It’s fun breaking new ground to catch more fish PORT PHILLIP BAY WEST

Alan Bonnici alan@fishingmad.com.aua

Happy New Year to all our readers. I hope 2024 is a great year for you and your family, both on and off the water. In 2023 I got to meet and fish with so many wonderful people. I travelled tens of thousands of kilometres, fishing many different systems, and got some truly memorable catches. FishingMad grew significantly in many areas, and it rated so well on TV, so thank you very much for the ongoing support. Right now, we are in peak fishing time, and you should expect some great catches. The water took a long time to warm up towards the end of 2023, but now it has risen and our local species like snapper, king George whiting, squid and flathead are fishing very well. It’s hard to

While there’s nothing wrong with soaking a bait, it’s usually more fun fishing with soft plastics.

This snapper was caught on a 5” Nemesis soft plastic.

believe that soon the water temp will be too high, and the snapper will go off the bite for a short period before coming on strong once again. December was a crazy month for me. I was on the water day and night, obsessively chasing snapper. There was no shortage of amazing big reds. I love snapper season but it can be frustrating, with long hours on the water and generally small bursts of activity. Over December I spent a lot of time targeting snapper with soft plastics – my favourite form of fishing. Targeting snapper between 40-70cm (2-6kg) on a light to medium spin combo is brilliant. It can be challenging at times but it’s so rewarding when it all comes together. I have done this heavily around Altona, Williamstown, Werribee,

Port Melbourne, Geelong, Point Wilson, and some occasional trips across the bay to black Rock and Ricketts Point. My go-to setup for this form of fishing is a 7ft 2-5kg spin rod paired with a 3000-size reel spooled with 12lb line and one rod length of 12lb fluorocarbon leader. I tie on a jighead between 1/8 oz to 1/4oz, depending on the depth and the strength of the current. The size of the hook gauge is 2/0, 3/0, or 4/0, depending on the size of the soft plastic. Recently I have been fishing bigger plastics such as 4” and 5” paddle-tails, grubs, flick baits and jerk shads. During my last session around Geelong, I scoured the shallow reefs using tools like Navionics and C-maps. When I find productive grounds, I’ll spend some time sounding around for isolated arches or packed-up fish in the bottom third of the water column. I then set a drift line and, if it’s chopping, throw out a drift chute. That day I caught eight snapper between 45-65cm, and I kept two for a Christmas feed. Another great thing about this technique is that it allows you to fish much lighter with less gear, and find your own spots away from the crowds. It’s a far cry from traditional methods, when you have many boats anchored up in the same areas with a spread of rods, bait and berley. With water temps increasing, the King George whiting have come on strong, and so have the squid and flathead. From this side of Port Phillip Bay, I frequently make trips up to the Bellarine Peninsula, fishing areas such as Indented Heads, St Leonards, Queenscliff and Clifton Springs. That entire Curl Lewis bank is a great area in the shallows

117 Northgate Drive THOMASTOWN VIC

HOME OF

SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS FOR ALL YOUR BLUEWATER NEEDS

We have all these brands and PLENTY MORE! E

AUSTRALIA’S MOST OR EXTENSIVE RANGE OF BLACK INSTOW! N PETE PRODUCTS AND BRANDS

Stripteaser

03 9465 8787

www.triplemmarine.com.au We would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and safe 2024

3.7 NOMAD

SALTY CREW

AND MUCH, MUCH MORE...

WE HAVE • Clothing • Gift vouchers • Gift packs and a HUGE RANGE of tackle and accessories

5.03 TERRITORY

OPEN ALL AUSTRALIA DAY WEEKEND

For updates check us out on Facebook COME AND Hooked On Bait and Tackle SEE US! 174-180 OLD GEELONG ROAD, HOPPERS CROSSING

PROUDLY OWNED AND OPERATED BY MICHAEL FELSOVARY

Phone (03) 9748 3811 Open 7 Days 82 JANUARY 2024

sales@triplemmarine.com.au

550 TROJAN

Central

FMM for these species. The ground is full of shallow reefs and sand holes, which create an amazing ecosystem for these species to flourish. Flying a drone is a good way to scour these grounds for good fishing spots, or you can motor around on the boat or yak without fishing, just prospecting. In these areas, when it’s on it’s on. I’ve had some crazy sessions, going home with a bag of whiting, flathead and squid. There are also huge numbers of Australian salmon and big snook. I generally target these species with one light spin rod combo, which allows me to be nimble and move from spot to spot when the bite is quiet. That’s it for this month. I think 2024 will be a great year, and I recommend that you break out of your old routine, and try new

There are many pan-size pinkies around at the moment.

VIC

techniques now and then. It can be a lot of fun, and can open up new possibilities. Until next time, good fishing everyone. Feel free to contact me to share your fishing catches and photos around Melbourne, Port Phillip Bay and beyond, which we can feature in next month’s article. You can contact me at alan@fishingmad.com. au. Consider becoming a FishingMad member at www.fishingmad.com. au/member for fishing reports, workshops, podcasts, and monthly giveaways. You can follow my fishing adventures on YouTube (www.youtube. com/c/fishingmad), Facebook (www. facebook .com/fishingmad.com.au), Instagram (www.instagram.com/ fishingmad.com.au) and on Channel 31 Tuesday evenings at 8.30pm and Saturday afternoons.

A fishing rollercoaster of highs and lows PHILLIP ISLAND

Craig Edmonds

It’s been a stressful year with the increasing cost of living; we can only hope things will slowly get a little better in 2024. Many small businesses have been struggling, but with our support, they can survive these tough times. You might think all tackle is cheaper at the big chain stores, but that’s

usually get a feed. We haven’t seen a lot of big snapper this season, with very few 20lb ones showing up. However, the upside this season has been the amount of 35-50cm ones being caught. They will be the breeding stock in the years to come. There were also many very small, undersized ones showing up towards the end of the season. In recent years, we’ve seen more anglers practising catch-and-release, which is great to see. Often, people will take one big snapper, return any other big ones, and then keep the smaller, pan-size fish. Lately, there have been fewer big snapper being caught, with many people complaining about undersized pinkies steeling their baits. In the coming weeks, there will still be bigger fish around, but it’s harder for them to get to the baits with the pinkies being so fast. There’s not much you can do other than use big baits with big hooks. Try using big fillets of fish

Heath came into the store with his dad to buy a new rod and wasted no time putting it to good use. not true – a lot of tackle is actually cheaper at smaller stores, particularly terminal tackle. If you do your homework, you can save money and support a small business at the same time. Now, let’s look at what’s been biting. It has been a rollercoaster of a season, with reports of many highs and lows for all species (except calamari, which haven’t fired at all). Snapper and whiting are always there, and although they have their good and bad days during the various seasons, you can

There have been plenty of goodsize snapper around this year.

or large strips of squid, and let the pinkies rattle away at it. It will take the pickers longer to demolish the large bait, and hopefully a bigger snapper will come along before it’s all eaten. Something else you could try is to use live baits. The tiny pinkies won’t worry about a live bait, but the bigger snapper or gummies will take it without any problem at all. Around 10 years ago, catching a 40cm whiting was unusual; low 30cm fish were the norm. Nowadays, however, when someone reports getting 10 whiting over 40cm, the response is, “That’s good”, rather than the front-page news it would have been not too long ago. This season, we’ve had fewer people telling us they bagged out, but these anglers were still happy with their bag of a dozen nice whiting. The whiting this season have been in all depths and areas. Many catches have been reported from anglers fishing the deeper channels for snapper and catching the whiting on their snapper rigs. During the warmer months, we see a pattern develop with the whiting – deep water during the heat of the day and shallow during the early morning or evening. Baits have been varied as well. Some customers tell me they caught good whiting while snapper fishing with pilchard or squid baits, but when these guys go to the whiting areas, they only use pipis! The truth is, some days a squid bait might catch more fish than a pipi, so it’s worth bringing a variety of baits to see what the whiting prefer on the day. The calamari have been disappointing this season, with very low numbers. Why? Well, that’s the million-dollar question that no one seems to have an answer to. There have been some patches of good sizes and numbers,

but nowhere near what we’d expect to see, either land-based or from a boat. We are well into the season now, and normally at this time you’d expect artificial jigs to come into

Logan and Thomas recently managed to catch a few pinkies on a short afternoon fish. their own, but the reports are just as good on the baited jigs. With such a slow season it’s impossible to get a read on the best colours of jigs, which could be why people are still using a lot of baited jigs. As we keep saying though, just keep trying different colours to see what works best. What works today won’t necessarily work tomorrow. In January, patience is the most important item to pack in your fishing kit – and not just when you have a line in the water. There are lots of tourists who are new to fishing, so there will be tangles on the jetties, boats dragging anchors, and long waits and walks at the ramps. Take a few deep breaths and accept the reality that these people are still learning. You can make your life easier by helping them so they know what to do (and what not to do). It’s so much better than just standing there feeling annoyed! JANUARY 2024 83

BARRA Series presented by

BARRA SERIES 2023

Compleat domination at Teemburra The Compleat Angler Cairns boys - Harry Bez and Ron Bruggemann - caught ‘em good at the Tinaroo events earlier in the year. A couple of top 10 finishes had then looking good in the Team of the Year standings, but the question was if their Tinaroo skills at 4.2m boat would translate into good finishes a day’s drive south of their home lakes. The answer was a resounding ‘yes’, with the pair taking out the first (and third) events of the BARRA Tour. The Atomic sponsored Teemburra round they won by nearly 20kg and they enjoyed a bonus $1,000 for the win by having the supplied Atomic sticker applied to their boat. After a shaky early start to the session where they jumped off a lot of smaller fish on topwater and jerkbait presentations, the Cairns boys pivoted and decided to do what they normally do, and head out into the main basin of the lake using their live sonar to find pelagic fish and try to drop lures on their noses. It worked a treat, with three metre-plus fish anchoring their 5/5, 54.22kg bag. Those fish measuring 107cm (15.86kg),

Compleat Angler Cairns kicked off their first BARRA Tour with a win that included some bonus dollars added in by round sponsor Atomic. 104cm (14.15kg) and 101cm (12.63kg). The team both fish from the front of their 4.2m Quintrex Explorer that’s rigged with Active Target on a big Simrad head unit. Ron casts soft plastic swimbaits at the wider fish (like Molix 140s and Zerek Live Mullets), while Harry tries to tempt the closer fish with glidebaits and jerkbaits. “We find that no matter what the depth of water, the

BIG BARRA PRIZE

Scan the QR code to see the Winning team interview

barra always seem to stack up on features relating to the bottom whether it’s in 20 feet or 100 feet of water,” Harry said when asked about breaking down a new lake. “The bigger fish that we got to eat were a little deeper than normal - 4 to 5 metres of water seemed to be the depth that the fish were that we could get to eat,” Ron added. The margin could have been a lot larger if a 120cm class had remained pinned rather than

Compleat Angler Cairns also took the event’s Blade n Tails Big Barra with the 107cm kicker that ate the Molix. It earned Ron a Blade n Tails barra rod to add to the booty plus $500 Venom Target Dollars.

RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 108 JANUARY 2024

Team Compleat Angler Cairns EJ Todd/Tackle World Bundy Swamp Dogs Fishing Monthly Halco Fitzroy River Barra Bash Bermagui Bait & Tackle Fish With Me Mudskippa Slockmasters Garmin

throwing the lure at the back of the boat. Ron’s rig consisted of a Dobyns Kaden 744 rod paired with a Daiwa HRF 8.1:1 baitcast reel and 80 to 100lb fluorocarbon leader. “I like the high speed to catch up to the fish quickly. We believe that the quicker they’re in the net, the less chance we have of losing it,” Ron continued. It sure made up for some brutally brief encounters. “The fish in this lake are psycho,” Ron finished, “I would have loved more time to work them out.” We reckon that he did a pretty good job in the time he had.

Harry with one of the 1m + barra that anchored their bag and scored him $500 Venom Target Dollars Full results at abt.org.au

Anglers (Bruggemann/Bezuidenhout)

(Stoddart/Sutton) (Clark/Walker) (Morgan/Smith) (Carter/Ehrlich) (Conrand/Lill) (Pascall/Pentin) (Edmonds/Dow) (Hocking/Rutherford) (Mott/Mott)

Fish 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 4/5 5/5 4/5 4/5

Weight (kg) 54.22kg 35.94kg 30.15kg 20.60kg 28.36kg 29.60kg 26.32kg 24.59kg 25.57kg 24.03kg

Payout $3,000 + Big Barra $900 $800 $700 $650 $600 $550 $500 $500 Rapala pack

Dobyns Rods by 80g at Kinchant Dam

The Venom Rods round of the Zerek BARRA Series on Kinchant dam is always an exciting affair. Packing 45 boats onto the heavily stocked lake with full live coverage always results in close competition both on the scoreboards and on the lake itself. True to form, though, Kinchant delivered big numbers of barra and team Dobyns Rods (Mick Slade and Ben Wilcox) rose to the top with the help of a 106cm Kinchant barra. That fish also gave them extra payouts in the form of $1000 Venom Target Dollars for catching a 101cm+ barra and wearing the supplied Venom cap in the glory pics. Slade said that an early key-tag draw helped their cause,

BARRA Series presented by

BARRA SERIES 2023

A giant salami taking home the big cheque was an ABT first - but bound to happen eventually when presentation lands on Barra Tour party night. matched with a Tatula reel spooled with Sunline Assegai Xplasma 30lb braid and a Sunline 50lb fluorocarbon System Shock Leader with a Fastach clip. Ben’s was a 704 Dobyns Fury model with a Chronarch reel, 30lb Sufix 832 and a 80lb FC100 leader. Mackay’s dams have been

a happy hunting ground for the pair, with a win in 2022 at Teemburra followed by this victory at Kinchant Dam. Scan the QR code to see the Winning team interview

BIG BARRA PRIZE The team’s patience paid off with bigger models like this coming through their spot later in the session - the size class needed for the win. as they had chosen a dead-end channel in one of Kinchant’s numerous weed beds to sit and wait for the bigger barra to play. “It was pretty hard to sit and watch the teams around us catching plenty of fish before we landed our first keeper, but we thought our fish would come in late, and that’s exactly what they did,” said Slade. The pair didn’t catch their first fish until 7.45pm and then landed 10 barra (while losing another 10) between then and midnight. “All of our fish were close to

the bottom,” Ben said, “we’d cast, let the lure sink to the bottom and then wind it really slowly. Each 5 or 6 turns of the handle, we’d stop and let it sink to the bottom again.” That lure was a customised black and gold, 130mmm Squidgy Slick Rig retro-fitted with Mick’s own custom jighead with an Owner 6/0 hook. The size and shape is based on the original internal jighead that came with the lure. As expected, the pair used Dobyns rods to deliver the baits - Mick’s was a 705

RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Team Dobyns Rods Garmin Halco Atomic Samaki Rapala CrushCity Compleat Angler Cairns Lowrance Breram Wankaz Castaic

Ben Wilcox added a Blade n Tails rod AND an additional $1000 in Wilsons gear to the payout with a 106cm Kinchant giant that he landed late in the session. Full results at abt.org.au

Anglers (Slade/Wilcox) (Mott/Mott) (Carter/Ehrlich) (Starkey/Martin) (Wood/Lowry) (Morgan/Horn) (Bruggemann/Bezuidenhout)

(Price/Thomas) (McKeown/Heath) (Guest/Maclean)

Fish 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5

Weight (kg) 49.81kg 49.73kg 43.78kg 42.86kg 41.64kg 40.17kg 39.75kg 36.85kg 36.82kg 36.67kg

Payout $2,000 + Big Barra $900 $800 $700 $650 $600 $550 $500 $500 Rapala pack JANUARY 2024 109

FMM

TOURNAMENT NEWS

Bemm River Angling Club’s Lake Tyers comp The sun came out for us at Bemm River Angling Club’s annual Lake Tyers fishing trip, where over 50 members joined us for a great weekend fishing and catching up and have a refreshment or two. Even though the fishing was a little hard with the wind, some nice fish were caught, and the kids had so much fun. Young Abbey Garland caught a nice 600g bream, and Darcy Vukovic caught a 755g salmon off the surf, winning the salmon division and also a 40cm flathead. The bream took a bit of looking for and were hard to tempt, but Mark Purvis found the winning 1.080kg

bream, and took home the prize of an Aussie Disposals cooler bag and an East Gippy Knife Sharpening voucher. The runner up was Andy Loizou, whose 1.025kg fish won him an On The Edge mixed lure pack and a waterproof backpack. Andy was the most consistent angler for the weekend, catching several nice bream between 850g-1kg. There were many more bream weighed in, but they were under 1kg. John Roberts caught the biggest flathead over the weekend, with a 54cm dusky caught and released after a quick photo. John’s prize was an On The Edge mixed lure pack and a

At the Bemm River Angling Club’s annual Lake Tyers fishing trip, over 50 members enjoyed a fun weekend of fishing.

Tagging Tales Suntag is a world leading citizen science volunteer fish tagging program that is part of an Australian program that has tagged over 1,000,000 fish and was the first volunteer program in the world to reach that milestone. Data collected through the program is used to improve our knowledge base of recreational fishing by providing near real time information on the status of coastal estuaries and inland impoundments. Thanks to the fish, we can provide you with some interesting stories that they tell.

110 JANUARY 2024

Beach Caravan Park for hosting us and allowing us to use their awesome kitchen and dining areas for the weekend.

John Roberts was the winner of the flathead division. Acom shoulder bag. A few members walked around the sand flats opposite the Tavern to try to catch a dusky flathead on plastics, but after many lure changes and colours the flatties couldn’t be found. I’m sure they will turn up when the water warms up. Bemm River Angling Club put on breakfast, lunch and a BBQ dinner Saturday, which saw almost $2000 raised for the club through auctions, raffles and membership renewals. At night the kids were out and about looking for possums, wombats, rabbits and bandicoots with their torches, bringing memories they will never forget. A big thankyou to Lake Tyers

Darcy Vukovic with a 755g salmon. Thanks to all who helped out during the weekend and to those who cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner! Also, a big thankyou to our great sponsors for donating prizes and supporting our great club: Bemm River Holiday Accommodation, Bemm River Hotel, Hooked on the Bemm, Cosy Nook Accommodation, Aussie Disposals, Acom International, East Gippy Knife Sharpening, On The Edge lures, and Real McCoy Fishing Tours. - Tony Vukovic

Brought to you by

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT FLATHEAD TRAVEL THIS FAR? In recent times we have become used to tales of fish travelling considerable distances. Generally, it has been Australian bass, barramundi or some of our species that migrate to reefs after doing their initial growing in our inshore systems. However, over the years we have also discovered that our estuary species like to travel too. A prime example of this, is this flathead that was initially tagged in the mouth of the Pine River on the north side of Brisbane, then recaptured a little over 12 months later on the northern

tip of Moreton Island. Who knows what path this fish took, but in a direct line via water it is at least 45km it has travelled. WHAT TO DO IF YOU CATCH A TAGGED FISH The information you will need to report your recapture is. The length of the fish and the location it was captured. Get a photo if possible. To report the details of your recapture you have two options: Call 1800 077 001 or go to http:// crystalbowl.infofishaustralia.com. au/suntag /recaptures/recapture_ form_1.html and fill in the form. In return you will receive a certificate providing the details of the tagging and recapture of your fish, as a thank you for providing the information.

FMM

TOURNAMENT NEWS

Zerek BARRA Tour: On Target with the Live Mullet The 2023 Zerek BARRA tour has concluded and there were some very interesting highlights to come out of the events. The acceptance and use of many of our products across the venues (Kinchant, Teemburra and Faust) gave us a real insight into how anglers are using our gear and getting amazing results. At Kinchant the new to town Duo

help themselves. The ideal rod for casting these lightly weighted plastics was the Venom Target 1 rod, a 10-30lb braid rated rod that has a softer tip to allow the barra to inhale the lure, yet a good amount of power in the lower third to manage even big barra. This rod was also used by the top basin scopers who threw small, suspending hardbodied lures and racked up plenty of barra during the daylight hours. Teemburra was a very interesting venue with all the old favourites taking fish. Lures like the 5” and 7” Flat Shads and the ultra-reliable Fish Traps all took fish, but it was the Live Mullet 5.5” that stepped up a gear, both around the points and weeds as well as the deep water in the main basin. Teemburra barra are well

BooStar Wake 5” was outstanding in the weeds, as well as around the weed drop off and weed towers. Rigged on a weedless, weighted worm hook with a flashy spinner underneath, Kinchant’s barra could not

known to be a little crankier than their Kinchant counterparts, so anglers stepped up the rods to the Target 2 (20-40lb braid rated) and the ever-reliable Blade N Tails 7’ 30-60lb baitcaster. Faust provided many highlights on tour with two events finishing off the Series. The All Night event saw the basin scopers having a blast with the Live Mullet 5.5” coming out in force and taking a ridiculous number of fish. This was thrown on either the Target 1 rod for the more sporting, or the Target 2 rod, that can dictate terms a little better to metreplus barra. Moving onto the Two Night Event, the Target 1 rod got a serious amount

BIG BARRA, FAUST 2 NIGHTER

of barra to angler’s boats as the main basin was the action hot spot. A mix of suspending hardbodied lures and Live Mullet 5.5” were used and anglers were having a great time. In fact, the runner up team (Fishing Monthly) used the Target 1 rods to throw small hardbodies and the big barra on Day Two was caught on a Live Mullet 5.5” cast on the Target 2 rod by Luke Mulcahy! The Zerek BARRA tour is like all other ABT comps – the anglers are happy to help other anglers and make sure they get some fish and have some fun. It’s easy to become addicted to barra fishing when the lures and techniques are developing so fast and anglers are having a great time discovering it all. – Wilson Fishing

Multiple ToP 10 FINISHES

TOP TACKLE

TPE/KEVLAR MATERIAL ULTRA-SLOW RETRIEVE

SEGMENTED BODY ONE-PIECE WIRE FRAME

6’5’’ LONG ACCURATE CASTING 3 STRENGTH RATINGS ULTRA-TOUGH VENOM BLANK

Available at Wilson Retailers

JANUARY 2024 111

BARRA Series presented by

BARRA SERIES 2023

Cairns Compleats second tour win Team Compleat Angler Cairns (Ron Bruggemann/Harry Bezuidenhout) backed up for their second BARRA Tour win in three events, narrowly beating Team Samaki (Tommy Wood/Josh Lowry) in the 16 hour BARRA marathon, sponsored by Humminbird at Peter Faust Dam. The overnight event takes its toll on anglers, especially in 2023 when showers throughout the night hindered any chance of getting much sleep on the water, but the competition is tight, with less than 2kg separating the top three teams. CA Cairns showed their open water live sonar ability at Teemburra, taking the win there by nearly 20kg, but plenty of the field were switched on to the open water Faust bite for this event, with plenty of 85-95cm class fish congregating around the lower basin area. Where a lot of teams chose to spot-lock and let the fish come to them, Bruggemann and Bez opted to move around constantly, and were rewarded with 17

Racking up a second win for the season, the boys from Compleat Angler Cairns prove they are more than Tinaroo specialists. barramundi landed for the session. “For us, most of the fish we landed were before midnight, after that the other teams seemed to catch then and it slowed up for us,” said Ron. Quickly at Faust, Bruggemann found out that

BIG BARRA PRIZE

the lighter coloured Zerek Live Mullets trumped his darker Red Devil colour that’s his favourite in his home lake Tinaroo. This bait tempted most of their fish for the session. Harry specialises in fish closer to the boat and he added an important 95cm fish on a Jackall Dowswimmer glidebait. He delivered it on an Okuma Komodo 802XH rod paired with a Shimano Tranx reel. “When the bite slows down, I’m the one that cycles through baits to see what they’ve decided is better to eat,” he explained, “and you’ve got to understand - nearly every barra you cast at

John Schwerin from Schwerin Concreting landed the biggest barra of the event (and of the BARRA Tour) with a 112cm fish catapulting them into a top 10 finish. It ate a Delande GT Shad plastic that was 22cm long!

RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 112 JANUARY 2024

Team Compleat Angler Cairns Samaki Dobyns Rods TBC Redfern Halco Atomic Schwerin Concreting Rapala CrushCity Fishing Monthly

Scan the QR code to see the Winning team interview

doesn’t even acknowledge that your lure is there. You just need to keep casting at fish to find the one that wants to eat a lure. You do literally thousands of casts in a 16 hour session for 30 bites and 17 fish, so it’s a numbers game.” With the win, CA Cairns made the BARRA Team of the Year trophy points race very interesting indeed... If Team Samaki slip up and CA Cairns do well, anything could happen.

A weary Harry with a bag fish that he landed at 4:45am on a glide bait. Full results at abt.org.au

Anglers (Bruggemann/Bezuidenhout)

(Wood/Lowry) (Slade/Wilcox) (Laine/Williams) (Turner/Munro) (Carter/Ehrlich) (Starkey/Martin) (Schwerin/Schwerin) (Morgan/Horn) (Morgan/Smith)

Fish 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5

Weight (kg) 58.38kg 57.89kg 56.70kg 51.49kg 51.49kg 50.50kg 48.99kg 47.81kg 47.78kg 46.63kg

Payout $2,000 $900 $800 $700 $650 $600 $550 $500 + Big Barra $500 Rapala pack

Samaki bag Faust 2D & Team of the Year Repeating 2022’s final event result, Team Samaki rose to the top in the naming-sponsor event to take the win and seal their 2023 BARRA Team of the Year title in the Samaki 2-day round of the Zerek BARRA Series. In addition to the cash prizes, the team donated the generous product component of their prizes to teams struggling at the other end of the leaderboard. It was a case of Who Wins Shares. Taking advantage of large numbers of barramundi positioned within a kilometre of the buoyline near the dam wall, Wood and Lowry amassed the biggest bag of the event on Day 1 to lead by 4kg and then extended that lead to 6kg by the end of the event. Day 1: 5/5, 62.88kg Day 2: 5/5, 52.27kg

pattern effort in 2022 with the latest success, “I think the barra spawning instincts came into play

with the rainy weather and the there was a huge congregation of fish near the dam wall.” “We chased the fish around with the Garmin Perspective mode on the LiveScope and mainly got bit from the solitary fish. Barra that were roaming around in pairs or packs were much more difficult to get to bite,” he continued. The pair fished the whitebait coloured DS80 Redic on a prototype Samaki ‘Redic rod’, a 6’11” stick that’s soft in the tip and with a more forgiving action

RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

BARRA SERIES 2023

A consistent season secured Team Samaki the title of 2023 BARRA Team of the Year. to keep the hooks in. They used baitcast reels spooled with 50lb X Braid and 52lb Slim n Strong fluorocarbon leader. “That leader really doesn’t interfere with the lure’s action and it helped us get a few more bites over the course of the event,” Tommy continued. When the barra swum a little deeper and faster, the pair would switch to the Dr Shads, aiming to drag the moving bait past the noses of the suspending fish.

Team Samaki Fishing Monthly Venom Ward Brothers Wilson Fishing Compleat Angler Cairns Cast Fishing Co. Halco Gladstone Fly & Sportsfishing Hooked on Exploring

Scan the QR code to see the Winning team interview

“It’s got a custom made heavy duty, wide gape hook in it and it comes out of the box ready to fish,” explained Josh, while talking about the bait that was revealed at AFTA 2023. They’ll land and be in stores in early 2024.”

BIG BARRA PRIZE

Embracing his nickname ‘Barra Barbie’, Tommy got pretty in pink and Josh borrowed some props from home for a bit of fun during the second session of the event. There’s no secret that Tommy Wood is the master of converting barramundi that he finds on his Garmin livescope into hookups. In this case it was using two of his sponsors’ lures - the Samaki DS80 Redic and a soon-to-bereleased (Jan 2024) Fishcraft Dr Shad swimbait. The team would swap presentations depending on the moods of the fish that they saw on the live sonar. “It was a totally different situation from last year’s win,” said Wood, after contrasting the shallow water, back-of-the-lake

BARRA Series presented by

Wilsons gave away a Blade n Tails rod each day for the Big BARRA prize. On Day 1, this was a 108cm fish landed by the Ward Brothers (pictured) and on Day 2, a 107cm fish landed by Wilson Fishing. Both of the fish ate Zerek Live Mullets, proving once again that sponsor karma is a thing. Full results at abt.org.au

Anglers Fish (Lowry/Wood) 10/10 (Morgan/Smith) 10/10 (Dixon/Meredith) 10/10 (Ward/Ward) 10/10 (Cornelius/Mulcahy) 10/10 (Buuggemann/Bezuidenhout) 10/10 (Jones/Williamson) 10/10 (Carter/Ehrlich) 10/10 (Gooch/Hansen) 10/10 (Calvert/Calvert) 8/10

Weight (kg) 115.15kg 109.01kg 107.88kg 107.76kg 99.44kg 98.57kg 95.38kg 90.41kg 85.90kg 77.55kg

Payout $2,000 $900 $800 $700 + Big Barra $650 $600 $550 $500 $500 Rapala pack JANUARY 2024 113

BOATING TEST

SCAN THE QR CODE FOR EXTRA CONTENT

FMM

MORE ONLINE

Surtees Game Fisher 700 with Yamaha 250hp V6 trailers, removing the risk to customers of importing themselves. They also add local outboards that have full local warranties. In this case it was Yamaha is 250hp, DES 4-stroke that came fitted on the rig. This is the maximum horsepower for this hull. As tested, this boat came in at around $220,000, and at that price, you would expect everything to be spot on. Climbing up the rear step and into the boat, you can see how well appointed and well finished everything is. This

FMG

Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

There is one thing for certain when we test high quality and larger New Zealand built aluminum boats – they always stop people at the boat ramp and get them talking. This was again the case at Clontarf on the Redcliffe Peninsula when Northside Marine turned up with this 7m Surtees Game Fisher. And it’s not just the cool colour. New Zealand boats are typically very well-made and have all of the additions that a serious boatie and angler would want. Northside Marine import these hulls and then add them to locally built

Main: There’s no doubt that the Surtees 700 Game Fisher is a great looking rig. Above: It is fitted with Yamaha’s Digital Electric Steering (DES) 250hp outboard, which is plug and play with Yamaha’s Helm Master joystick and auto pilot system.

Above: All of the fishing space is in the cockpit and it’s definitely built to handle water nastier than this. Inset: This is the first boat I’ve seen gunwale mounted boxes in. Brilliant for tackle storage that you need close to hand. 116 JANUARY 2024

SPECIFICATIONS Length ................................................. 7.0m Beam ..............................................2.375m Sides ....................................................3mm Bottom................................................6mm Fuel ....................................................... 325L Max HP............................................250hp Capacity................................. 7 persons Transom Deadrise .........................20° Tow weight................................. 2140kg is a pilot house variation hull, which means that the rear doors can either be left open or pulled shut when the weather demands. At first glance, you would think that this may not be suitable for Queensland’s hot weather, but careful thought about ventilation in this boat, including large, sliding side-windows and ceiling mounted vents make circulation not an issue. And southern boaties will definitely appreciate the enclosed cabin when things get cold and nasty. All of the workable fishing space in this boat is in the main cockpit and this is fully rubber lined – from the gunwales to the floor.

FMM

BOATING TEST

Top: Surtees treatment of the boarding step problem is sturdy, simple and convenient. Above: Plenty of room in here for the windlass.

Yamaha’s DES models have ultra-simple rigging and are available in blue or white.

Top: We love the room for big, flush mounted MFDs at the helm. The Surtees helm is custom built to hold everything you’ll want to fit – including the rest of the Helm Master options if you want them. Above: Big windows that open from the front help air circulation massively.

The pilothouse doors can be held open or locked shut, depending on the weather conditions.

Now there’s some cockpit space. Can you imagine fishing from this beast? Plenty of rubber decking and Nyalic coating where it’s unpainted aluminium.

Top and Bottom Left: There’s ample cabin space for overnighters, and a chemical toilet under the infill. Top and Bottom Right: Standard access hatches allow you to access all plumbing.

Top Left:The bait board has space for four rods and a lip to keep everything in. Top Right: The side pockets are quite high off the cockpit floor and check out the additional rod storage. Bottom Left: Here’s the entry to the Water Ballast System at the transom. The flap can be lowered to optionally keep it in when travelling in rougher water. Bottom Right: A sink helps keep everything civilised. JANUARY 2024 117

FMM

BOATING TEST

Surtees has a knack of maximising the available storage. Gunwale mounted tackle boxes and clever side pockets allow the most efficient use of space. As a Queenslander, I also loved the extra shade offered by the canvas canopy extension. There is also ample rod storage, PERFORMANCE RPM Speed

(km/h)

Economy

(km/L)

Idle ............................ 4 ........................2.0 1000 .......................... 8 .........................1.5 2000 ........................13 .........................1.2 3000 .......................22 .......................... 1.1 3500 .......................34 .........................1.4 3700 .......................43 .........................1.6 4000 .......................49 .........................1.4 5000 .......................60 .........................1.0 6000 ....................... 77 ........................0.8 both in the rocket launchers, next to the side pockets and at the bait station. For’ard of the cabin doors, the luxury continues. There is a sizeable cabin, which will allow multiple anglers to enjoy an overnighter,

Top: Peak efficiency for this rig is at 3,700rpm where it delivers 1.6km/L at 43km/h. Punch the throttle and you get only 0.8km/L at 6,000rpm and 77km/h. Above: The Surtees Game Fisher 700 is beautifully balanced at rest. complete with chemical toilet. The helm is spacious, and the dash will hold any of the multifunction displays that you want to fit. And, there is room for Yamaha’s HelmMaster system, which is seamlessly compatible with this model outboard. Performance wise, it really gets

up and goes with the 250hp on the back. At wide open throttle and 6000rpm, this boat travels 77km/h while delivering 0.8km/L burned. To maximise efficiency, drop that throttle to 3700rpm and you’ll get twice that distance per litre – 1.6km. With a 325L fuel tank, you’ll be

scaring a 500km theoretical range if you’re not driving like a mad kiwi. At the helm, you’ll notice that the hull is quite weight sensitive and you’ll be spending a bit of time on the trim tabs getting it all level. That’s not unusual on a hull like this, but be aware it will need to become part of your driving procedure. And if you are looking to tow this rig with a standard, twin cab ute, you are in luck. Just over 2,000kg on the trailer when unloaded and, even loaded for a trip, you should be able to pull it with most models on the market. The Redco trailer is built locally, is twin axle and has electric/hydraulic brakes standard. Like what you see? The man to talk to at Northside Marine is Jason Comino who can quote you the Surtees package that will suit YOUR type of fishing. Just quietly, he’s pretty handy on a rod, so it might be nice to deal with a fellow angler when putting your rig together. Visit www.northsidemarine.com.au.

Left: You can see the spray chines doing their thing and deflecting water down and away from the hull. Right: Talk to Jason Comino at Northside Marine in Brisbane for more details about this beast of a rig. 118 JANUARY 2024