New South Wales Fishing Monthly - November 2013

FISHING HEATS UP IN NOVEMBER

Features

Go hard for mulloway • Sensational No. 2 StumpJumper •

Techniques

Jigging for golden perch • Choosing the right yak •

Tried and Tested

NEW!

The Hot Box • Parsun 25hp tiller • Sea Fox 256W Voyager •

Find the

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Dale Woolnough caught and released this estimated 30kg gummy shark in Port Philip Bay. Dale used Black Magic 80lb supple trace and a Black Magic KL 7/0 hook.

Geoff Martin used a Black Magic 8/0 Gummy Snatcher to bring in this estimated 12kg amberjack. Geoff was fishing off the Montebello Islands, Western ter Australia.

Douglas Wilhelmi landed this spanish mackerel on n Black Magic 60lb tough trace. Douglas was fishing off ff the coast of Weipa, Cape York.

After having other hooks let him down, Wade Batty decided to try Black Magic KL 8/0 hooks.

Fishing 13 miles off Noosa, Wade had a 27kg Cobia take his livebait. The 30 minute battle ended with the gaff snapping as he tried to bring the fish aboard, but the hook remained firmly nestled in the corner of its mouth.

A Black Magic 5/0 Snapper Snatcherr ‘original’ was used by Billy Gillon to o catch these salmon. Billy was fishing g from Swansea, NSW.

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November 2013, Vol. 19, No. 3

Contents 06

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From the Editor’s Desk...

CHANGING OF THE GUARD NSW Fishing Monthly boasts an Editor who’s been custodian of the title for a very long time. Tony Zann has been at the helm for near 14 years, and a contributor to the title for even longer than that. Prior to Tony’s time in the chair, the role was filled by Peter Horrobin and before that, I was NSWFM Editor.

And now I’m back! And I’m a fan of the quality fishing available in Australia’s most populous state.

Having learned my craft on the water in northern NSW – the various arms of the Brunswick River initially and radiating outwards from there – I have a special affinity for spinning tailor off the rocks, nabbing XOS river-mouth lizards, fooling bream into thinking plastic is food and tempting bass to take a ride on a Jitterbug.

More recently, I’ve been able to travel and fish the state far

and wide and can appreciate the quality and breadth of the fishery that the Northern Rivers offer.

I’ve spent a lot of time on the water in Forster and Taree and realise how special the lakes and rivers from the Manning to the Hunter are – not to mention the bass gems of the Hunter Valley, Glenbawn and St Clair.

I love the variety of fishing that Sydney offers. From jew and kingies and other estuary dwellers through to the incredible pelagic action offshore that appears seasonally.

And, I’ve sampled the gems of the South Coast. Is there anything as exciting as XOS estuary perch fighting a tailor for a topwater bait in an oyster rack?

Being shot-at while chasing Murray cod in the western flowing rivers is a badge of honour and I’m not too proud to chase a carp around a river run with a bead-head nymph.

Those things fight like the

BYRON COAST

The Tweed Evans Head The Clarence

9 10 12

COFFS COAST

Coffs Harbour Coffs Game South West Rocks

14 16 18

MACQUARIE COAST

Port Macquarie 19 Forster 22 Harrington 23 HUNTER COAST

Hunter Coast 24 Swansea 28 Central Coast 30 SYDNEY devil in running water before they meet their inevitable end.

As Publisher of the Fishing Monthly titles, it’s always given me great pleasure to share the information between enthusiasts and I’m looking forward to resuming the seat that I vacated so long ago.

Tony’s been a wonderful custodian of the title and it’s a shame that circumstances have conspired against him seeing

out his working days in the chair. But we move on, and I hope that you’ll all accept me as the new Editor.

Feel free to email me your feedback by contacting me directly on s.morgan@ fishingmonthly.com.au, or alternatively, by sharing your experiences through our social media. You can Like is at Facebook by searching for “Fishing Monthly Magazines”.

The Hawkesbury 32 Sydney North 33 Pittwater 34 Sydney Harbour 36 Sydney South 37 Sydney Rocks 38 Botany Bay 39 ILLAWARRA COAST

Illawarra 40 Nowra 43 BATEMANS COAST

Batemans Bay 44 Narooma 45 Bermagui 48 EDEN COAST

Tathra 48 Eden 49 Mallacoota 49

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Go hard on mulloway 6 Jigging golden perch 52 Sensation No. 2 StumpJumper 72 NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

5

Go hard on mulloway With the morning fog so dense, I did not want to travel too far up river until it lifted, so to fill in a bit of time I decided to troll a gold Reidy’s Judge along a drop-off near a prominent rock bar.

With the depth varying from 5m-7m, this lure would get me down to where I needed to be. The troll run was about 500m long and

would put me near the main road bridge that I intended to fish.

I was nearing the end of the run and my thoughts were wandering to which soft plastic would be used first off, so when I felt the slightest bump on my rod tip I snapped back to attention.

Seconds later, this light touch was followed by a heavy lunge, which doubled

the rod over.

Things had gone from slow to wow in a second and I was battling to get this fish away from the rocks.

I coaxed it from the rock bar below out into the open and we landed a nice 80cm mulloway.

To say I was excited is an understatement and my mind was now racing with the possibilities of chasing these fish up river on my barra gear. The penny had dropped. Oh well, sometimes it takes a while!

Guiding on the Mid North Coast, we constantly have anglers wanting to learn to catch the river’s most majestic fish, Argyrosomus japonicus, the mulloway or jewfish.

A close up view of the dental work on a Reidy’s-munching mulloway.

GEAR

MUSTAD.NO

Some of the author’s favourite lures for chasing mulloway.

Tackle varies on location. Baitcast or spin gear will do the job and if you have barra casting gear, so much the better.

Rods: 4kg-6kg and 6kg-8kg, spin or baitcast. Fast action in the tip and plenty of grunt in the butt.

Remember, this gear will be there when you do the big trip north!

Reels: I have Shimano and Daiwa reels with smooth, progressive drags on board.

Line, leader: Sunline 8kg PE Jigger braid, 16lb30lb Sunline FC Rock, depending on structure being fished.

Have the best quality you can afford. Your local tackle store should be able to advise you.

WELL AHEAD ON POINTS

While a majority of these fish are caught on soft plastics these days, more fishos are using their barra outfits to chase these fish and we have found casting and trolling to be extremely effective and rewarding.

If you are familiar with your local river’s jewie spots, you are already on your way because your barra lures will catch fish in these possies at some stage. Let’s look at some scenarios.

TROLLING When they think of jewfish, many anglers do not think of trolling and they can miss out on some

This mulloway took a liking to the author’s favourite coloured Reidy’s Judge on a foggy morning. great opportunities.

A lot of fishos head for the deepest water they can find but this is not necessarily the only spot worth targeting.

We fish in 3m-9m water when trolling and a lot of times we cast into 3m-5m depths.

When trolling, look for rock walls and rock bars and use your sounder to look for bottom structure and baitfish.

Remember, where you find the bait the predators will not be far away.

LURES When you have decided on a location you are going

to fish, it’s the time to select lures and this can be tricky.

Many fishos have lure boxes so big it’s a mind-boggling decision on what to tie on.

If there are two anglers on board we usually go for a diver that will periodically touch bottom and the other we run at mid-water.

Again, look at your sounder to find where the bait is situated. If baitfish are on the bottom, use the appropriate diving lure and if it’s mid-water you can use a shallower runner.

The lures we use range from 10cm-20cm and there are some great lures out there

Mustad’s unique Ultra Point is now available on treble hooks.

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NOVEMBER 2013

NSWFM

Bridge pylons are jewfish magnets and great places to cast your hardbodies.

MULLOWAY ON HARDBODIES TIPS

• Fish tide changes, preferably early morning or late afternoon.

• Days up to the full moon are best but if the tides are right, fish!

• Target holes on river bends, bridge pylons, rock bars, and breakwalls.

• Lures: Reidy’s Judge, Halco Hamma, and Maria floating MJ-1DD are favourites.

TIME, TIDE There are definitely times when we have a better chance of hooking up. Early morning or late afternoon tide changes are prime time in my river.

Remember, in a tidal system this can give you a great amount of time fishing because you can often move ahead of the tide.

Having the lures in the water for a longer period is going to get you more chance at cracking a decent jew.

Tide changes in the middle of the day will still

catch fish. Many of our trips have resulted in bites around a midday tide change.

Some anglers think trolling can be a bit boring but on those days when you’re prospecting new areas, it can be a real eye opener when you pull a fish when other methods have failed.

It is also a good way of learning your river system.

Constantly monitoring your sounder and finding snags and structure on the bottom will be of benefit when going over these areas later on with your plastics.

CASTING Most jewfish will lie up against structure, moving out only when food presents itself nearby. So casting hardbodies into the structure and working them back can be an exceptional way to hook fish.

A lot of times the strike will come as you work the lure down a rock bar, near a bridge pylon or tight to an eddy along a rock wall. All of these are prime jewfish haunts.

We’re not talking about the ocean breakwall jewies Continued page 8

There’s nothing like picking out a new lure and coming up trumps.

This red head Hamma took the second fish of the morning. for this job. We use Reidy’s, Halco Lasers and Hammas, some great suspending lures from Maria and plenty of others from the barra box.

When trolling I have no issue using the four-stroke motor, especially if the water has a bit of tidal movement still happening. I have not noticed a catch difference when using my electric.

I troll my lures 20m-50m back, depending on the structure fished.

And as for speed, get a

feel for it by the vibration at your rod tip. Remember if it’s not bouncing it probably is fouled or you are going too slowly.

When working a likely spot it pays to do a couple of runs over the area and trial different coloured lures.

On one of my rods I like a lure with gold or orange or a combination of both. They are proven colours for me so that’s a confidence thing.

On the other rod I mix it up. This rod is usually in a

holder and the lure I put on the rod I’m not holding is a mid-water runner.

You should be able to tow this mid-runner without snagging, meanwhile holding and working the rod with your deeper lure. This will help you manoeuvre the lure through trickier bottom because you will be able to drop back your rod when the lure fouls, allowing it to rise over the obstruction.

This will make your troll run more productive.

+

Mangrove drop-offs and rock bars provide great structure to cast or troll a hardbody.

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way you work your lure along the structure for the entire length.

Look for bends in the wall where water movement is altered, and for eddies

formed by boulders and depth changes. Cast past the eddy and bring the lure back through once it has time to get to the required depth.

This style of fishing

Although the bank doesn’t look promising, there is a deep drop-off only a metre from the shore for a 500m stretch. When the baitfish are about mulloway like this one, caught by Bernie Davies on a Halco Hamma, are quite common.

From page 7

caught on 10’ heavy-duty rods and 50lb-80lb line; we are using our barra gear and baitcaster tackle.

What we can do from the boat is a lot more manoeuvrable than fishing from the shore.

The trick when fishing a rock bar which leads into deeper water is to cast in very tight to the bank. Most of the hits come as soon as a lure dives down over the edge.

It pays to be aware that a hit can come after a

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NOVEMBER 2013

NSWFM

couple of cranks, so be on your game when casting to structure.

Bridge pylons are great spots. They usually have reasonable depth and often hold baitfish. Again, keep one eye on the sounder and choose lures to suit your depth and where bait is holding.

I like to face the boat into the tide and cast along the pylons, trying each from different angles.

I have a few rods set with different hardbodies for quick lure changes,

remembering that every minute of tide change it’s important to have a lure in the water, not going to and from the tackle box.

Once the run starts to freshen, it’s time to move on.

Breakwalls are great if you’re lucky enough to find a stretch where there are no shore-based anglers. Some truly big fish get landed along these walls.

If the situation arises and conditions are good, casting parallel to the wall is a winner. This

Great by-catch when trolling or casting hardbodies.

Remember, flathead of this size are females that deserve to be released to make more flatties.

is thoroughly enjoyable and you will tangle with some good-sized mulloway and some big flathead as by-catch.

When the moment arises and you finally have your jewie at the side of the boat, try to remain calm.

We use the large Envirostyle landing nets so as not to damage any fish we release.

A wet brag mat records the length, and you can leave the lure there for the photo. Take a couple of pics supporting the belly of fish at different angles and you can send it back on its way, no harm done.

And if you keep one for a feed, kill it humanely, bleed it and make sure you have ice on board. Make the effort to look after your catch because one decent jewfish will give you a few good meals.

So grab a handful of lures to suit a few different depths and give it a try.

Who knows, a quick troll along one of those rocky banks may produce the fish of a lifetime.

Most important, you can cover some ground, learn your river’s secrets and you will be on your way to landing some great fish. Give it a try; don’t just put those barra lures in the cupboard! - Mark Saxon

Keep an eye on the temp charts THE TWEED

Roderick Walmsley ru4reelcharters@gmail.com

Summer has well and truly arrived. But did we even have a Winter on the Tweed?

The odd cool morning with water temperatures only just dipping under 20° was about it.

All we can do now is hope for a mild Summer to

complement the mild Winter and it will be all good.

Considering that clement Winter, we may just see some of the Summer species kick into action a bit earlier than previous years.

A good tip is to keep an eye on the sea temperature websites and when you notice a line of hot water being pushed in to the coast, grab the trolling gear and head out there.

These early season bursts

of hot water don’t usually last very long but the fish can turn it right on. If you are in the right place at the right time, you can load up.

I remember a couple of years ago heading down to Palm Beach Reef early in the season. There was only our boat and one other on the reef and every live bait we put in the water was eaten by a spotted mackerel.

The fish were smashing the surface all around the

Look out for some early season mackerel if the water warms up.

boat and we eventually left with our bag limit. It was unbelievable.

The northerly blew up by the afternoon and started to cool the water and shut down the fish by the next day.

Everyone had heard about the action by this stage and the place was full of boats on the weekend, but very few fish were caught.

That was in October and not many people were really expecting the fish to be there yet.

It really pays to keep an eye on the conditions and you can get lucky like we did.

November is usually the first of the dedicated Summer months. The water temp is fairly consistent by this time.

The river is warm, the weather is hot and the fishing can be quite good – if the rain stays away.

The past few years have been pretty good up to around Christmas and then the heavens have opened.

It can be a bit of a lottery as to what is going to happen this year, with some forecasting heavy rain and others tipping a dry Summer.

I don’t think any of the weather pros can say for sure what is going to happen, so let’s all hope for the best.

Jacks like this are well worth getting up early for.

I am looking forward to a good Summer with plenty of time dedicated to fishing.

RIVER The Tweed can be a top place for Summer species, like mangrove jacks, trevally, bream, flathead and whiting.

The key to catching these fish consistently is to focus on one species and then specifically target it.

If you were heading out to chase a few whiting, then look at using light spin rods and focus your attention on the shallower sand flats reasonably close to productive yabby banks.

Baits like worms, yabbies and even casting poppers will be the techniques.

Light lines and small hooks will also increase your chances.

At the other end of the scale, this technique and tackle would not really be effective if you’re targeting mangrove jacks. You need to upgrade the tackle to a heavier rod/reel combo with heavier line or leader material, larger hooks and, to a degree, larger bait or lures.

Jacks also generally frequent slightly different areas from whiting so you would need to look for them in deeper water that has sufficient structure.

These same areas are also frequented by a host of other species, like bream and flathead, so the upgrade in lure or bait size will help you to focus on getting more bites from jacks.

Continued page 12

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NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

9

Nor’-easters get up early EVANS HEAD

Tony Zann t.zann@fishingmonthly.com.au

North-easters, often savage afternoon storms and the first real promise of some tropical water head the menu this month as things really warm up.

Unless that forecast wet Spring we’ve heard so much about finally eventuates, the ocean and the estuaries are likely to remain extremely clear.

The offshore boats will be returning by mid-morning, with whitecaps from the northeaster snapping at their heels.

With a nor’-east chop and swell colliding against strong outgoing tide over all of the local bars, they can become quite dodgy. It pays to get back in before the wind puffs up too much.

That’s especially so at Evans Head, where almost all of the reefs are south of the bar, which faces into the teeth of the breeze, and the bay seems to funnel in plenty of moving water back onto

the bar.

There hasn’t been a great deal of current at all lately, which has led to reduced catches on the close grounds and not a lot of joy on the bottom fish front apart from patches of trag and the odd jew.

It’s often easy to get the current bag limit of five trag but at this time of year there are a lot of small ones about.

Trag and mulloway have large swim bladders and suffer badly from barotrauma – ‘the bends’ – when brought up from water much more than 15m deep. So there’s a strong chance that a lot of throwback trag aren’t going to survive.

Makes you wonder what might happen if the bag limit is indeed cut to two.

The best way of ensuring their survival is to use a release weight, a kilo-sized lump of lead hooked to the bottom jaw and lowered to the bottom on a line. Jiggle it and the fish is free and pressurised at depth again.

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it wouldn’t hurt for bottom fishos to carry one here, either.

They’re easy to use and work well. Google ‘release weight’ and you’ll easily find out everything, including where you can buy one.

You could even make one by grinding the barb off an 8/0-10/0 straight-shanked J-hook, bolting the eye to the hole in a 600g snapper lead and tying the line to the hook bend.

Out wider, pearlies, better reds, kingfish and amberjack will be targets in 80m-120m until the East Australia Current begins to kick in solidly.

As the snapper trap bubbles begin to submerge in the increasing run, the mahi mahi should make their presence felt.

This is also when the first spotted mackerel sneak into Shark Bay at Woody Head.

Look for the first couple of days after a strong southerly, especially leading up to the new or full moon. Get out there straight away – take a sickie if you must – because they won’t last.

Back on the beaches, whiting and dart become the major catches, although whenever some baitfish are around there’s always the chance of tailor, bream and mulloway.

WHITING First light is going to be the best time for all these species, although if you have live beachworms you’ll be able to catch some smaller whiting and plenty of dart for most of the day, until the nor’easter blows you off the beach.

The whiting have already started to filter back into the estuaries. North Creek at Ballina and the Evans and Brunswick rivers have produced fair numbers early in the season on worms and yabbies.

But anyone who really wants to catch large whiting should try fishing over the shallow yabby flats at night on the top 30% of the tide.

Use unweighted live prawns or rock shrimps on fine

Jackson Mitchell, of Ballina, with a luderick caught on a soft plastic in the canals at Ballina Quays. wire hooks and 2lb-4lb line and try to make as little noise as you possibly can. But when you see the size of some of the fish, it often is very difficult to remain silent.

Of course, it’s also surface lure time for whiting. When the water is glassy and clear you might see plenty coming

days when there’s been at least a ripple on the water, and sometimes even a decent chop.

Keen-eyed whiting are ever alert to predators from above and rougher conditions make them harder to spot.

The warming estuaries have also got the mangrove jacks on the prowl. Best results

Fortunately Col Bovis, of Balllina, can see the funny side of catching this estuary perch and then embedding the treble of his blade in his index finger. up like micro marlin behind your lure, but it can also be very frustrating when they shy away as they see the boat.

I’m no expert but I have found my best surface whiting results have come on grey

in the clear, shallow Brunswick and Evans rivers come at first and last light but the Richmond guys seem to score well on deep lures and livies around the rock walls, in quite bright conditions at times.

Flathead remain in spawning mode with the big gals likely to be down deeper in the holes and around the boulders at the bases of the rock walls low in the systems. There should be enough frisky males around to provide a feed and you can let the big females go to keep restocking the estuaries with more flatties.

If the high-tide water in the morning is too clear and calm, a falling tide and an afternoon north-easter isn’t such a bad time to find the flathead hungry. Again, a bit of chop and slightly discoloured water from upstream can help these ambushers remain concealed.

If there’s just a tinge of colour to the water they don’t have so much time to be selective; the meal gets eaten or it gets away.

It won’t hurt to look for flatties around the edges of the flats where you’ve found whiting – any flattie likes a tasty whiting meal.

The dry Spring allowed the bass to move upstream quite quickly with fish caught at Lismore and Casino. Good flows down the Richmond helped to keep the fish going but nothing helped like the revamped fish ladder on the Jabour Weir at Casino.

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Many bass have stayed in the estuaries due to a lack of rain but the Richmond system around Casino flowed higher and clearer than most.

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Water temps rising ILUKA

Ben Pilch bjpcdh@gmail.com

This time of year we see that nice warm water start pushing down the coast, bringing with it all those Summer species we like to chase - whiting, flathead, bass, mackerel, tuna and those jacks.

Last year I was lucky enough to see some insane fish, including a 64cm red devil caught by one of those very secretive Clarence Valley jack fishos.

The big female flatties will all be down the lower end of the river, lying up along the walls, deep holes and reefs.

Remember to release these big breeders after a couple of brag photos; we want to be catching these great fish well into the future.

But if it’s a feed of flatties you’re after,

places like the North Arm or Oyster Channel are top spots to chase some nice eating quality 40cm50cm flatties.

Throwing around plastics like Z-Man MinnowZ in the space guppy colour has been dynamite on the flathead lately, as have the BJP Machete Blades in solar flare and blood prawn.

The whiting should be in full swing by now in places like North Arm and Browns Rocks. The best baits are live worms and live yabbies but if you can’t get hold of them, some fresh peeled prawns might get you in the chase.

If you’re keen to find some good-sized whiting, you could do a lot worse than fish at night on the new moon at places like Sleeper Island on the run-out tide with the aforementioned baits.

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the beaches, this is a good month to try to find some good-sized jewies on the big high tides.

Fresh large squid and big hardbody lures are the pick presentations.

The beaches have had a few nice dart and whiting, with pipis and live worms being a safe bet.

Outside fishos will be waiting with ‘baited’ breath for the first whisper of mackerel and then the madness will begin.

If everyone just uses a bit of commonsense and courtesy it can make everyone’s day a bit easier.

One important way we can do this is to have our boat completely ready to launch before we reverse down the boat ramp. There have been plenty of tempers flare when someone that has been waiting in line for 15 minutes reverses down the ramp and then takes the next five minutes to fiddle around and get everything ready.

Another way is to just fit in with everyone else when trolling. Usually when you arrive on the ground there will be a certain direction that everyone is trolling.

Just go the same way everyone else is and leave a nice distance between you and the boat in front of you – don’t drive in their spread of lures.

And last but not least, if you see someone hooked up, don’t see how close you can get to them!

Give them plenty of room to fight their fish; there is no worse feeling than losing a good fish because some muppet cut you off.

If we just use a little common sense and courtesy we can make everyone’s day. After all, we go fishing to relax, not to get aggro.

This is the quality of whiting on offer in the Clarence and off the beaches month.

Left: Some good flatties have been taking blades and plastics. Right: Another 17kg mulloway falls to local lure maker Steve Patti’s Jew Jewel.

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12

NOVEMBER 2013

NSWFM

A Tweed bass caught cranking the edge with an Imakatsu Dilemma 60.

OFFSHORE The offshore options will be starting to lean more towards the pelagic species.

You can expect the current to play a major role in what you can fish for over the next few months.

A raging current makes fishing the bottom quite hard and thus can limit you to trolling, while less current will open your options a lot more.

There should be a few mackerel showing up, but this will depend on the water temperature and availability of baitfish.

Yellowfin tuna around the Nine Mile and the Mud Hole, as well as blue marlin out on the wider grounds, will be the main options for the guys heading out for a troll.

An early Summer beckons COFFS HARBOUR

Stephen Worley worleybirdfilms@hotmail.com

I’m sure this month we will continue to have very summery days, as we have over the past month or so, and maybe the fish are starting to think the same way, too.

There have been days out on the water this last month that would not have been out of place in the height of Summer. Hot whiting bites on the surface, warm, humid evenings that just scream bass or jacks and the nor’-east sea breeze has certainly made itself known.

The whiting have started to come on quite strongly in the estuaries, with many being caught on lures, worms and nippers.

If you want to chase the whiting on lures it’s best to throw surface lures around the yabby banks on the incoming tide. Retrieve fast and straight

and try to bring your lure from the shallows and over a drop-off, if you can.

The odd flathead will be common by-catch with this technique as well.

As the estuaries heat up and the insect life kicks into gear, the surface luring will

become particularly effective on the bream.

Small cicada surface crawlers are always popular but there are some cracker lures out now that mimic all sorts of surface insects and they can be dynamite for bream.

there may be opportunities for some great sessions below those river wide barriers that block the fish.

Rapids that have a decent river drop, as well as weirs, crossings and other artificial barriers block bass moving upstream. The fish queue up waiting for rain.

This can produce a high level of hunger and competition, which is an angler’s ultimate combination of circumstances.

The bass this month will respond well to mediumdiving minnows and soft plastics. You may have to take quite a finesse options while the rivers are running low and clear.

In the evenings the surface crawlers will become increasingly effective as it

In the warmer months the land-based estuary spots can get a bit crowded. A kayak is a great way to get you (and the kids) away from the crowds at the main access points. You can fish from the ’yak or simply paddle to a less accessible spot and claim it for yourselves.

The bonito schools have been relatively consistent over the past few months and the rat kingies have started to

There are plenty of insect imitations on the market these days. Here’s just a small selection of lures that are quite successful on the bream.

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Surface bream tactics are the opposite of the whiting technique. Bream are very cautious fish so a slow, meandering and even dead still retrieve will give the fish a good chance to approach, assess and hopefully devour your lure.

Throwing one of these insect lures at snags and structure in the upper estuaries can lead to some great bream fishing, as well as a few trevally, flathead or even a jack.

If you’re going to give it a go, now’s the time.

MOVING BASS Further up the rivers and creeks, the bass will be continuing to battle their way upstream. Decent rain would enable them to make the dash for the hills but the ground is currently so dry that any rain just soaks in so we will need quite a dump.

Before the rain, however,

If we don’t get more rain as it heats up, you will need to chase trout in the deeper pools and look for shaded water, especially in the middle of the day. warms up and the cicadas break out after years of being stuck underground.

OFFSHORE The offshore climate has been a bit more wary of the upcoming Summer, with water varying from 19°-23°.

show up in numbers around most of the local washes.

Snapper continue to be spread out so it’s a matter of finding the fish on the sounder before bothering to drop a line.

My aim this Summer is to

give micro/light jigging a full crack so I have been leaving temptation at home by not bringing any soft plastics with me at all.

I’m yet to have a real crack on the snapper but the jigs have been working very well on many reef fish, especially when searching for spread-out fish.

A small jig (even a tiny 8g model) can get down into the zone a lot faster than a plastic, so if you locate fish on the sounder you can drop a lure on their heads in no time flat.

Once you put some action into the jig, though, it will still dance and flutter like a plastic and will attract a wide variety of fish in the same way.

Although Summer has made cameo appearances this Spring in the estuaries and creeks I’m not predicting the same scenario offshore.

There may be Summerfeeling days and warm water but there hasn’t been any sign of the mackerel, tuna or marlin yet, so we’ll wait and see.

But with the way everything feels, it may be a good idea to get out and wet a line before Autumn shows up for Summer!

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Sport

NOVEMBER 2013

NSWFM

Gamefishing

Trout streams are likely to be low this month. Seek shaded creeks with plenty of cover, but with the clear water you will need to blend in so you see the trout before they see you.

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NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

15

Promising signs already year, it will be good to get out and chase a few fast fish for a change. Perversely, not catching anything while game fishing is easier to stomach than not catching anything while bottom fishing.

The Solitary Islands Game Fishing Club boat Better than Vegas has been putting in the hours over late Winter/early Spring and is at least seeing marlin,

COFFS GAME

Glen Booth

The game season hasn’t quite fired up just yet but it is definitely building, hopefully into something quite special over the next eight months or so.

Following one of the worst Winter snapper seasons in many a long

if not catching them.

Having lost a couple of stripes and a blue, they finally came good out in 3000 fathoms a few miles south of the Red Rock Canyons, with Brendan Herdan catching a very nice blue over 200kg on 24kg line in just over an hour. That’s some pretty good angling, and the first marlin for the season for the Coffs coast.

Brendan Herdan on Better Than Vegas snared the first marlin of the season with this very impressive blue marlin on 24kg.

Seeing blues this early, while certainly not unusual, should augur well for the rest of the season and Gold Coast boats have been

patchy blue/green, although warm enough at just under 23°. The secret, it seems, is to find the patches of bluer stuff, which needs more

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NOVEMBER 2013

NSWFM

PP George Blackwell with his 39kg yellowfin tuna, caught wide of Coffs on 24kg line. Pic: Ric O’Ferrall reporting their fair share of early fish, too.

There have been a couple of yellowfin tuna kicking about, with Vegas getting a 12kg model as a consolation prize after losing a blue, and George Blackwell scoring a 39kg fish aboard Foreign Exchange out in 700 fathoms.

Boats that have pushed wide have reported marking schools of yellowfin down deep, but they’ve been reluctant to rise to a lure spread. As has been the case in recent years, much of the tuna activity is well wide, out as far as the E154° line.

Unfortunately, this puts it roughly 45NM out, which is just a bit too far for many of us.

The water has been a

boats on the water looking around on any given day or access to sea satellite charts.

With a couple of marlin seen and caught, enthusiasm to push wide will grow over the next few weeks.

South Solitary has been running hot/cold, depending on the vagaries of the current, with the kings biting/not biting based on its strength and direction.

Hard-fighting whaler sharks have been present in plague numbers at the known kingie marks and the Wide Bait Ground at times, although most offshore anglers regard them as little more than pests and something best avoided.

Finally, the Coffs Harbour Game Fishing Club will host its annual Hot Currents Tournament from November 9-12.

It’s a good time to be fishing the Coffs coast, with blue and striped marlin, yellowfin tuna, mahi mahi and various shark species all on the cards.

For further details, contact club president Troy Boulton on 0428 174 007 or go to www. deepseafishingclub.com.au to download an entry form.

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NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

17

Whiting and flatties popular STH WEST ROCKS

Phil Bennett philbennet2431@gmail.com

The weather is warming nicely on the Mid North Coast and many local and

visiting anglers are out and about enjoying the balmy conditions.

It seems the Macleay River is a popular venue with quite a few boaties around the lower reaches.

We haven’t had any rain

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to speak of for quite some time, so the Macleay is quite clear at the moment. Clear water usually means tough fishing, but despite the water clarity some nice fish are coming in.

The main players have been flathead and whiting, with the lizards preferring the last of the run-out

tide when the water is discoloured, and the whiting hitting the flats early and late in the day.

If you’re keen to try your hand at some flathead fishing, you can do a lot worse then jig soft plastics around the lower tidal flats on the Macleay proper, or in the Stuarts Point feeder arm.

Spring is a great time to break out the kayak and go exploring. Small water, fresh or salt, will produce the goods.

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The last of the run-out concentrates a lot of fish around the deeper sides of weed beds and sandy dropoffs.

Flicking lightly weighted softies around 100mm long, you stand a good chance of coming home with a nice feed.

Bait fishos should fish the same locations with any number of offerings and cast and slowly retrieve them, or allow the tide to drift the baits through the strike zone.

Good bait choices are whitebait on a small set of ganged hooks, prawns rigged on a single hook, and various flesh baits and strips of squid.

Flathead certainly aren’t too fussy; the key is simply

running it past their nose.

Those with a hankering for some succulent whiting fillets should hit the tidal flats just above Jerseyville late or early in the day. The ideal combo is a high tide around 6am/pm.

The low light levels gives the whiting (and bream) confidence to scoot up onto the shallow country and by making a long cast with light line, you can get in on the action without scaring the fish.

The lure crew love their small poppers and stickbaits; the bait guys are pretty happy with beach worms and nippers.

Those who love the freshwater can do a lot worse

than hitting the bass country above Kempsey. Pretty well everywhere from the Kempsey bridge to Georges Junction and beyond are well worth a throw.

That’s a hell of a lot of water but there are usually good numbers of bass right through the entire freshwater reaches.

OFFSHORE Out to sea it’s been a little quiet, with the only real stars being the snapper.

This is pretty close to prime snapper time and over the next few months we will see them thin out a lot, although the remaining fish will be quite large.

While there’s not a great deal happening as I type, the good news is things are about to fire up big-time.

I saw the first hammerhead shark last week. This in itself is nothing too exciting, but the general flow of northern visitors goes something like this: hammerheads, mahi mahi, marlin, cobia, wahoo and mackerel.

The hammers may not be the most exciting northern visitors but there are plenty of interesting ones not far behind him.

The water has been around 22°C and I suspect by the time you read this it will be closer to 24°C. From 23°C up you can expect some fun northern visitors; just keep an eye on the water temp and colour.

If it’s royal blue just off the Jail Wall, dust off the game gear and get out there.

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NOVEMBER 2013

NSWFM

PROFESSIONAL SKIPPER Fastest boat in the fleet

Warm blue water is on its way and then we can expect many exciting northern visitors in the Mid Coast region.

Whale of a time at Port PORT MACQUARIE

David Poulton pmbc@drsm.com.au

Time on the water in November can mean lots of fun and excitement.

Recently those fishing offshore have possibly had more enjoyment watching whales, and at times dodging them, rather than tangling with fish.

Hopefully this month with warmer water and easing winds we should see offshore action improving.

Those with smaller craft

making them easy to catch when you come across a patch.

Top spots this month are locations where back-eddies form and flow increases due to changes in the structure of the bottom. Places in the Hastings like the bottom end of the Maria River and around the Rawdon Island Bridge are hot.

On the Camden Haven River flathead can be found in similar spots, although they do love the Dunbogan Bridge.

The best bait this month will be live yakkas

warmer months.

For me it’s a top time to cast small crankbaits against banks, snags and structure and very slowly roll them back to the boat.

Nothing beats the feeling of a feisty bream crunching a hardbody and turning for cover. Top lures to try this month include the Ecogear CX35, Cranka Shad and Jackall Chubby.

Surface action for bream will also improve with early mornings and late afternoons the key to success.

This time of year I like

Maria River bass may not be big but they are healthy and give you a real thrill. will find plenty of platesize snapper on the inshore reefs off Lighthouse and Nobbys beaches.

Those wishing to venture farther afield will do well off Petersons Reef to the south, and the FAD off Port Macquarie should start to produce mahi mahi this month. The FAD should be out and in place by now.

Estuary action has been mixed due to the clarity of the water. Some days the fishing can be very average and the next on fire.

Those targeting bream and mulloway after dark have been catching some quality fish, especially on the breakwalls and coal walls.

Luderick have still been willing to take weed along the coal walls and around the oyster leases in Limeburners Creek on unweighted yabbies.

The best places to pump yabbies are at Blackmans Point and on the exposed flats in Limeburners Creek.

FLATHEAD TIME November is flathead time with plenty moving around and congregating near the bigger females,

or whitebait. If you like throwing lures, a decent 4”-5” soft paddletail or jerkbait on a 1/8oz-1/4oz jig head should to do the trick if worked close to the bottom.

Bream will be moving about, finding spots to hold up during the

to use a cicada pattern up river, with a black one the best choice because the little black prince cicada is the first to hatch out in our area.

In the lower reaches I like to throw a pencil or popper surface lure on the

Craig Ainsworth bagged this mulloway while casting a spinnerbait around lily beds in the upper reaches of the Maria River. flats for bream. A quick retrieve and a decent pause will yield good results.

Already whiting are on the chew and it’s looking like being a cracker season with fish moving into the Hastings and Camden Haven rivers and reports of decent catches.

Top spots for bait fishing for whiting will be around Blackmans Point and the weedy edge down river of the Hibbard Ferry on the northern bank.

Freshwater fishing will certainly improve this month. A recent trip to investigate early bass numbers on the upper Maria River proved there weren’t huge numbers and they were mostly small, but they were in excellent condition.

We perhaps could have caught plenty if it wasn’t for the presence of school mulloway that were chasing the baitfish.

We saw big boils around snags and in open water and then one decided to take a spinnerbait, much to the surprise of Craig Ainsworth, who thought he had a big bass.

It just goes to show you need to be ready for anything. Good thing he was using a baitcast outfit spooled up for chasing bass in impoundments in heavily weeded areas.

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NOVEMBER 2013

21

Shallow-minded flathead FORSTER

David Seaman dseamo@bigpond.com

The build-up to the Summer season has been plagued by issues and fishing difficulties.

It certainly wasn’t the ‘normal’ Winter season, either, with some species failing to live up to expectations.

While there were some salmon milling along the beaches, there was a significant decline in numbers this year and the super-clear water was evidence of a lack of decent rain in the past few months.

When you consider the flooding we experienced last January and April, it has been an incredible

change to the clear water that made the lake fishing tougher than it should be.

The beauty about the clear water is that as it warms, the whiting fishing in the lower lake becomes brilliant before the fish move out onto the beaches.

This is perhaps the best time to take whiting on poppers in the channels around The Paddock and the sand flats at the bridge.

The spawning aggregations of whiting are full of aggressive fish that chase down lures that are wound fast across the surface.

The same fish are prime targets during the evening and can be taken on beach worms or yabbies in the same areas.

By now most of the

DIZZY SCENT

male flathead should be looking for the large females that have been haunting the lower end of the lake for a month or two.

Many fish will be taking up ground over the shallow, weedy flats around the islands and bays in the lake.

While the last few hours of the run-out tide are best, it is a good idea to fish water around 60cm deep.

The flathead will be laid up waiting for the poddy mullet, juvenile whiting and schools of glass minnows to pull back with the first of the run out and I find them very receptive to a prawn lure at this time.

One area that is well worth a look for flathead is Smiths Lake, south of Forster. It has mostly shallow edges and fishes well during the Summer as the water warms quickly.

CRABS Hang on to those fish frames for bait; Reports

Mud crabs are fine dining but far too expensive unless you catch your own. of some good mud crabs have surfaced and the blue swimmers are on the move, too, in and around the weed edges in the main lake.

One thing the clear water has done is allowed me to GPS some mud crab holes and areas that I’m

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Bream are moving more on the surface, chasing prawns and lures. intending to cover this year.

Remember, five witches’ hats and one crab trap are all that is currently allowed per person and

they must be marked and buoyed appropriately.

On the first dark early this month I imagine the prawns will be running hard.

The supermarkets have had schoolies (prawns) for sale for more than a month so that is a great sign for a bumper prawning season.

BEACH BAIT Summer is a fun time on the beaches with the return of the whiting and dart during the daytime.

It can be great fun fishing during a hot day, as the kids play in the shore break while whiting, dart and the occasional bream get hauled up the sand.

What is even more fun, and a whole lot more challenging, is beachworming and there is always a good supply of worms down the south end of Seven Mile Beach.

The last three hours of the run-out tide is best and then you can fish the run-in.

Whiting and dart love beach worms and you never know, you may get a 30kg jew like one lucky angler did at Celito Beach not that long ago. The monster was landed on 12lb line after a torrid battle.

ROCKS The rocks are a mixed bag leading up to Summer.

Pigs, blackfish, bream and tailor are all still happening but visits from rat kings are not out of the question.

Butterfish and swarms of toads can make short work of baits so test the water without berley to start with, so you don’t encourage these pests.

Low light in the early mornings and afternoons is the key to better catches off the rocks and now that daylight saving has kicked in, there is extra reason to get out after work for a fish.

Throwing plastics from the rocky headlands back towards the beaches is a fine way to kill that last couple of hours of daylight and if you can snag a change of tide and halflight together, you have the best chance at a jewfish.

Spinning gets interesting from now with the gradual appearance of mack tuna and cobia. The bonito and tailor are more likely but areas like Seal Rocks or the north end of One Mile can produce surprises.

What the Summer will bring is anyone’s guess.

Wet or hot or hot and wet; not even the experts can agree. I think we’ll take our chances and take what we are dealt.

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NOVEMBER 2013

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There are still schools of blackfish off the rocks but most of the fish have returned to the lake to settle back into the weeds and lease areas.

Unseasonable times on the Manning this month HARRINGTON-TAREE

Ian Pereira ianpereira@aapt.net.au

Spring started much warmer than in previous years. Usually September is notable for its cold nights and strong westerly winds but this year the days were sunny and warm and there were few westerlies.

A couple of weeks ago I fished the beach until after midnight wearing shorts, a T-shirt and a light pullover without feeling cold. This unusual start to spring has been coupled to some mystifying behaviour of some of the schools of fish that visit our part of the coast.

Drummer started to turn up in late July but were few and small. They are still to show in any number.

On the other hand, we still have plenty of tailor to 2kg around the rocks.

Usually tailor of this size have gone up the coast before the end of July.

The chopper tailor that start to appear in early August or don’t show up until Christmas have just appeared and there are not

many of them.

To balance this, flathead are showing up in good numbers in the lower parts of the river and luderick are plentiful along the walls at the mouth of the Manning.

ESTUARY Some big flathead have been landed in the lower parts of the river.

Fortunately, most successful anglers have been releasing these big breeders.

This indicates that most fishers can see that by releasing the big females there will be more smaller, better eating fish to catch in a year or so.

Bream are moving up the river and catches at the mouth of the Manning are not as numerous or as large as a few weeks ago.

However, those anglers fishing just before and after slack water at night have still been scoring up to a dozen fish a trip.

Luderick are taking weed during the day and yabbies at night and it is easy to bag out if you need to. The bag limit is still 20 at the time of going to press.

School jew of 2kg-4kg have been caught upriver on soft plastics around Chinamans Point and

in the lower parts of the Lansdowne River.

Some nice whiting to 400g have been taken on the sand flats at the mouth of the river on worms and yabbies.

BEACH, ROCK The southern end of Crowdy Beach has produced catches of up to half a dozen bream on worms and mullet strips, while further up the beach a few chopper tailor have been caught on pilchards.

Salmon have also shown up but they are only relatively small, up to 2kg.

Lures and flesh baits are taking these tough fighters.

Diamond Head has fished well for better-sized tailor to 4kg. The best catches have been made at night around high tide.

OFFSHORE Snapper have been the most consistent catch in recent weeks with most boats bringing in a few.

Sometimes the fish are small, only plate size, while on other days reds to 6kg are common. The northern and southern grounds off Old Bar have produced good catches.

The leather jackets have eased off a bit and

As always, the Manning River has plenty of mulloway like this on offer.

This quality specimen was caught by Scott Lovig. complaints about linedestroying fish have ceased. Pearl perch and trag have been caught on the northern grounds.

By the time November rolls around flathead should be plentiful in the lower reaches of the river.

The big breeders will be schooling up on the sand flats and while they are quite easy to catch, it is better to release them and let them spawn so there will be heaps more smaller fish to catch.

Luderick will be on the

bite from the walls on weed for the float fishers and at night for those floating yabbies along the rocks.

Hopefully the chopper tailor will have turned up in big numbers by then and the beach anglers can get a feed.

NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

23

Set for a top Summer HUNTER COAST

Gary Earl earlybird13@optusnet.com.au

If all stays the way it’s been in this part of the world over recent weeks, we are in for some great Summer fishing.

I have seen schools of bonito, tailor, school kingfish

and salmon smashing bait in Stockton Bight.

The schools have been large enough for boats to circle and cast into.

One combined school of salmon and tailor was so big there were about nine boats trolling the outside picking off the fish. If truth be known, I think the boat pattern was holding the

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Unfortunately I was on the shore watching all the chaos and swearing under my breath and kicking myself for not taking the boat out that day.

But I had been told by a lot of friends that big bream were running the beach I was fishing and that was an understatement – the bream were huge.

With the weather absolutely amazing lately, I have seen the fishos come out of the woodwork, with boats going left right and centre trekking off to their favourite grounds.

I have also spotted lines of milk bottle floats, which excites me because I love blue swimmer crabs as much as I do my family, beer and the Melbourne Cup. November is a great time for the blueys as they march into the estuaries in great numbers.

If you haven’t tried crabbing before, it isn’t hard and on the way home from your usual fishing session the crabs can provide a real bonus for the table, especially if you have had a rough day’s fishing.

Kids love pulling up the crab pots and their faces tell the story if there are some big ones in them.

The Fisheries saltwater fishing guide will let you know the rules for crabbing and the number of pots you can use per person in your location.

Any fishing tackle store will sell the gear you’ll need and give you an idea of the local rules and hot spots.

Bait is as easy as a piece of meat, a fish frame or a perforated tin of cat food tied into the pot.

The area along the Stockton side of Newcastle Harbour around the old wrecks east of the bridge is a good place, as are Sandgate and Fullerton Cove.

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When blue swimmer crabs get as big as this it’s pretty exciting for everyone, especially the kids. November is usually great for crab numbers. caught a very good bream from the beach the other day.

I had to eat my words after suggesting the bait he was using wasn’t the best.

He has a habit of using peeled cooked prawns, partly so he can eat them as

the photo.

With the water warmer than usual, whiting and flathead should be more active now and overnight beach fishing will be great.

Mulloway usually roam the beaches through

Jason Earl took this bream off the beach on a cooked peeled prawn – he eats three and feeds the fish one!

He says the cooked prawns hold better on the hook and make the fish bite harder. well and because he thinks they hold to the hook better.

I can’t argue with his success. I think it’s one for the fish and three for him while he fishes, which isn’t a bad theory really. He has caught numerous big bream, small snapper, flathead and whiting fishing this way.

I prefer fresh green prawns, pipis or worms, but he manages to get some great fish like this and I am thinking about changing over.

I saw a guy fishing a little to the south of us and spied a fish he had just caught flapping on the sand. It was a 2.8kg monster bream that had lips rivalling Angelina Jolie’s and was so silver it looked like a huge dart.

He said he caught it on a frozen beach worm and thought it was a snapper when he saw it in the waves.

Here’s hoping he emails me

November and some big models have been taken on fresh squid, mullet or a few wriggling worms.

As the sun rises, change tack for the flathead, bream and whiting.

OFFSHORE The reefs should be well and truly firing this month and I am waiting to hear when the mahi mahi and big kings turn up in numbers.

Marlin and sharks have already been taken off of Newcastle but the big kings haven’t shown as yet.

A few anglers have bagged out on trag around the Granites and Pines reefs and flathead have been on the Gravel reef and at the Mudhole. The latter is known to fire for jewfish around the moon and hammerheads love the place.

I have seen numerous hammers of all sizes do their Jaws imitation on the surface there, a great sight especially when they’re big.

If you are out looking for fish this month it will be hard not to get a few.

Try afternoons and mornings for those big bream and whiting.

After dark fish the beaches and the lit areas in the Harbour for jewfish with live bait.

You can troll offshore for the schools of bonito, tailor and kingfish and don’t forget the crabs. If all goes well, the prawns may run early as well.

With the water temperature rising, an early prawn run could trigger better estuary fishing.

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NOVEMBER 2013

25

Fishway repairs aid Richmond bass FMG

Tony Zann t.zann@fishingmonthly.com.au

Installed about 30 years ago to aid the migration of bass, mullet and other Richmond River fish, the fishway over the Jabour Weir at Casino gradually fell into disrepair.

That left fish that had ridden autumn floodwaters downstream to their estuary

finally, the fish of the upper Richmond could return to their sweetwater homes each spring.

Commercial mullet netters at Ballina, 120km downstream, donated $4000 to the project, a proportion of their catch payment set aside annually into a habitat fund.

It was also a contribution to recreational fishers as a ‘payback’ for the concession to net mullet seasonally at Shaws Bay in part of

Volunteer workers from left, Kevin Clarke, Des Nelson and Barry Reeves work on the fishway. or ocean spawning grounds no way of returning home, nor their offspring to populate the freshwater reaches all the way to Kyogle.

Seemingly unlikely allies united to ensure that,

the Ballina Recreational Fishing Zone.

Richmond Valley Council procured all the materials, cut them to fit at cost and provided a day’s safety training for the three Kyogle

Acclimatisation Society/ Fishing Club volunteers who did the renovation.

Kevin Clark, Barry Reeves and Des Nelson contributed their energy and their time – the best part of a week, if you include all the planning and running around.

The driving force behind the initial fishway, Kevin has been a tireless advocate for the river for a generation.

“We made it by a week or two at the most,” he said.

“There’ll be thousands of tiny baby bass here within days; they’re not far down the river now, along with plenty of big ones heading back up.

“The little ones will be milling around down here for a while and then you won’t see them again until they come back down to spawn as adults. “ For Fisheries NSW conservation manager Patrick Dwyer, the job marked one of the final steps in restoring fish access to the entire length of the Richmond River.

With the old Norco and Manyweathers weirs downstream removed in recent years and the Jabour fishway functional again, the fish of the upper Richmond River have freedom of

Ballina’s Shaws Bay mullet netters present a $4000 cheque to rehabilitate Casino’s Jabour Weir fishway.

Aluminium denil-design baffles replace the original fibreglass ones and there’s a new security screen over the top.

The Jabour Weir fishway is perhaps a little steep for bass and mullet fry but it’ll do until funding becomes available for a more fish-friendly major redesign.

movement unprecedented in almost half a century.

And with Kyogle Council’s plans for a new water supply and the removal of that town weir, the final hurdle is in sight.

“This denil design fishway isn’t entirely suitable for the amount of rise in the weir – it should be a lot more gradual – but the new 5mm aluminium baffles and the security screens mean it will last well until a better scheme comes to fruition,” Patrick said.

There is a concept study for a larger, more elaborate

fishway scheme for the Jabour weir that will likely enable even the tiniest fry to work their way upstream, but that will also require larger, more elaborate funding down the track.

The 200m catch-andrelease only zone will remain in force around the weir to ensure that the migrating fish won’t be able to be exploited at their most vulnerable.

And it’s still OK to catch them below the wall and bucket them safely back over the weir to help them on their way, in the manner many dedicated local anglers have for years.

Kevin Clark, left, and Fisheries NSW conservation manager Patrick Dwyer explain the denil baffle design to a TV news crew.

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The cabins are luxurious, with sleek kitchens and all the mod cons of a hotel suite, with either two or three bedrooms. It’s the perfect spot to base your fishing trip, with easy direct access to the beach and close to other waterways around the region.

Stockton Beach is on the Tasman Sea, north of the Hunter River in New South Wales. It stretches from Stockton to Anna Bay in Port Stephens. The beach is accessible by 4WD, however a permit must be purchased ($10 for a three-day pass or $30 for an annual from the Metro Service Station at Williamtown) and restrictions adhered to, such as speed limits and not driving on vegetation. It’s a good beach for 4WDing due to its length and generally hard surface. It’s also a great spot for fishing, with bream, whiting, tailor and jewfish in abundance. There are also plenty of pipis in the sand, which if you have kids, will love digging up and releasing.

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beach really is an awesome adventure for everyone from the lone fisher to the family group. Whales can be spotted from the beach during the migration season and not too far off in the waters lies a great white shark nursery, with sharks thought to be ranging in size from one-anda-half to three metres.

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Local waterways coming alive SWANSEA

Jason Scerri jayro@hotmail.com.au

It certainly is a great time of year and there are not too many better ways to spend time than on our great Lake Macquarie wetting a line.

The water is up over 20°C now and the fishing is picking up as well.

With the longer daylight hours and the warm days there is no excuse not to be out having a fish.

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good catches.

The lake is in great condition these days and the offshore waters are coming alive with baitfish, so it’s pretty well all on offer for the next six months.

The lake really turns it on from November with cracking bream to 40cm being pulled off the flats, mulloway around in good numbers and some very good bags of flathead also.

There are bream in very good numbers around the sand islands at the moment and shallow-running or surface lures are doing most of the damage.

There have also been good numbers of bream coming from Myuna Bay and other similar bays.

Working blades and soft plastics over the cockle beds is a great way of putting a few fish in the livewell, too.

Bait fishos are also getting into the thick of it

caught in good numbers throughout Lake Macquarie and there are plenty of good places to try for a feed of fresh flattie fillets.

During the warmer months the fish will generally not be as deep as they are over Winter so now is a great time to start working the shallower bays.

There are plenty of 40cm-50cm flathead around at the moment and some real big girls in with them.

Just remember to let the big females go because it is extremely important to do so if we want to keep the lake fishing as well as it is these days.

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NOVEMBER 2013

NSWFM

Flathead are still around in good numbers so get amongst them and have some fun. with the bream. Anchoring up and laying out a good berley trail has been the key to success.

Some good bream bags have been coming from the Belmont Bay area with salted pilchards and mullet strips the preferred baits.

FLATHEAD Flathead continue to be

will do the trick to attract flathead.

Generally through the warmer months I find brighter colours on my hardbodies lures work well on flathead.

KINGS November is usually the beginning of great things in our lake if you like to target

Michael Jones with a solid kingfish taken inside Lake Macquarie – a great example of the quality fish on offer over the warmer months. some solid fish.

The yellowtail kingfish start to make their way into the lake from November onwards and although things won’t fully kick into gear for another month or so, there is still a real chance at a solid early season king.

Try working the marker buoys around the Dropover and around the yacht moorings in some of the deeper sections of the lake.

Live squid is one of the best options and live yellowtail or fresh squid are also great choices.

Lures are also very successful on the lake kingfish population. Flicking 5” soft stickbaits around the same areas will have you in with a good chance.

OFFSHORE Offshore anglers also have plenty to look forward to.

Those that don’t like to venture too far out are in luck. There are solid kingfish on offer from Moon Island down Catherine Hill Bay and Bird Island.

There are generally loads of undersized rats to get through before you find a big one but they will keep you entertained until you do, that’s for sure.

Unweighted baits such as pilchard halves are very successful if you want to

tangle with kingfish, and strips of fresh squid also work very well.

A good way to locate the fish is to set a pattern of just two lures and troll from Moon Island south to Bird Island.

It’s a good idea to troll as close as you safely can to the rocky shore on the day, depending on sea conditions.

A deep-diving lure and a small skirt style lure would be my pick.

Offshore currents are starting to kick in and sea temps are on the rise, and this should continue over the coming months.

This will usually mean a large increase in baitfish numbers and thick balls of slimy mackerel and the like will start to be encountered.

With them will be marlin, hopefully loads of them.

Again, it is probably a month or so until the game fishing really starts to kick into gear but from now is a great time to start looking for that early season billfish.

There should be the odd mahi mahi around as well and as a rule the early season fish are generally crackers.

They are usually stumbled across as by-catch when pulling a spread of lures for marlin but they are certainly a welcome catch and are very tasty.

FISHING FILL-ITS

Apply to be part of Marine Parks future Applications are now open for five Marine Park Advisory committees, Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson and Minister for the Environment Robyn Parker announced today.

“Each committee will provide a voice for local communities contributing to the management of the State’s Marine Estate and their local marine park,” Ms Hodgkinson said.

The Marine Park committees to be formed are: • Cape Byron; • Solitary Islands; • Port Stephens - Great Lakes;

• Jervis Bay; and • Batemans.

“I encourage anyone with an interest in the future of these iconic areas to nominate to be part of these important advisory committees,” Ms Hodgkinson said.

“The NSW Government is honouring its commitment to maintain the existing six marine parks, and improve marine park management, as part of our comprehensive approach to managing the NSW marine estate.

“The local advisory committees will engage with local residents and stakeholders, provide a forum

for local communities to raise issues, and give valuable feedback to Government.”

Minister Parker said the NSW Government is striving towards the vision for a clean, safe, healthy, biologically diverse and productive marine estate with a strong focus on economic, social, and ecological considerations.

“Applications are being sought from people who could represent the following groups; marine conservation, marine science, the tourism industry, commercial fishers, recreational fishers, scuba divers, and Aboriginal

people,” Ms Parker said.

Nominations for the Lord Howe Island Marine Park Advisory Committee were previously called and closed on 30 September 2013.

Successful applicants will be appointed for a term of up to four years.

Nominations close on 7 November 2013.

For more information or to request a nomination form visit www.marine. nsw.gov.au or visit your local marine park office.

– Minister for Primary Industries Kartrina Hodgkinson

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Flatties and bream fire up It was a fantastic start to Spring and even though some less stable weather has moved over our heads,

CENTRAL COAST

Glenn Ellis-Helmers

which is typical at this time of year, the local fishing is going along nicely.

It’s bream time in local waters now. This one took a small hardbody slow rolled through the shallows, but many anglers will be keen to cast surface lures from this month onwards.

Plenty of flathead have been taking baits and lures lately. One of my favourite lures for these fish is the 5” Gulp Jerkshad mated to a light jighead, say 1/8oz, or 1/4oz in deeper places with more current.

There are some excellent colours in the Gulp range these days and really, they all work on flathead so it can be more of a personal thing when it

comes to colours.

If you are not quite sure which to choose then I recommend watermelon neon, blue pepper neon, peppered prawn and smelt.

Another thing I like about the 5” Jerkshads is that some big bream will have a go at them, as will jewfish if you are fishing in the right spot.

Bream have been going well and they seem to be in better numbers compared with the same time last year. Some thumper fish are among them, with specimens of 1.3kg-1.7kg coming in from the Tuggerah Lakes and Lake Macquarie systems in recent weeks.

Smaller vibes like the Ecogear ZX and VX models have been good on the early season bream.

Now, though, with the water temperature rising it’s time to use surface lures more often. Poppers or the dog-walk style lures work very well and you can go up to quite large lures and still get smashed by average size bream. The bigger lures can also attract a better class of fish.

PRAWNS RUNNING Prawns are now running in our local estuaries.

Not only does that mean a nice seafood feast for us, but bream also gorge themselves on prawns, especially first thing in the morning.

So if you use a scoop or drag net and get a few kilos of prawns, why not save some to use as bait?

Alive, they can be deadly on bream and flathead, but even if you freeze some they are irresistible to

Plenty of flathead have been around lately. November will be another great month to target them, especially with soft plastics like the 5” Gulp Jerkshad. most species, from whiting through to drummer.

Speaking of fish off the rocks, we are approaching the time when good currents move closer in and so fish like kingfish or bonito aren’t too far away.

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The author with one of the many salmon caught in the southern end of Lake Macquarie over the past couple of months.

or live-baiting tackle for the season ahead. Right now, though, we can still expect a few salmon, bream and so on.

Offshore anglers have the advantage of being able to head farther out to seek warmer currents.

At present we are in between seasons, so it can be hard to predict what may happen from day to day. Strong north-easterly winds can kick in now, which means sometimes your planned weekend outing may be have to be postponed.

So it’s a good idea to spend any spare time or money on boat, trailer or engine maintenance. This way, when the good water does arrive you’ll be ready for action.

THE BEACH With Summer almost upon us it’s time to think about stocking up on some good bait for jewfish. A 26kg jewfish was caught off one of the beaches here a few weeks ago and that means it’s likely a few others in this size range could be swimming through the gutters after sunset.

Apart from that, I have heard mixed reports lately.

The fish are mainly salmon, bream and tailor, but they seem to be patchy.

If the water warms then it’s likely the salmon will thin out and whiting may be worth chasing more.

Fishing Friendly Accommodation Guide

Get away from it all at Grassy Head Holiday Park Hidden amid the lush coastal rainforest of Way Way State Forest and bordered by kilometres of pristine golden beaches, Grassy Head Holiday Park offers an abundance of fishing opportunities.

The park itself is

river, from the rocks or along the beaches.

At the end of Millington Avenue is the Macleay River, famous for very good fishing.

Some of the fish caught at Grassy Heads include bream, drummer, flathead, luderick, mulloway, rock blackfish,

accommodating to the recreational angler with plenty of room for the boat and the car. There’s plenty to see and do to keep non-fisher members of the family busy while anglers are reeling in a feed.

Guests can choose from passive recreational activities such as walks through the rainforest or along the beach, more active pursuits like swimming or surfing in some great places, or fishing in the

tailor, trevally and whiting.

In one of the unspoilt gems of the Mid North Coast, nature lovers will delight at the wildlife and the beautiful bushland surrounds.

The popular River Walk follows the old entrance of the Macleay from Grassy Head to Stuarts Point, closed off after a flood a century ago.

The easy River Walk takes anything from 35 minutes to more than an

hour, depending on your walking speed and any of the delights that make you stop and let it all sink in.

Yarrahapinni Lookout offers breathtaking views and is just a short drive away, with The Pines picnic area located en route. Here you can escape from the pressures of the world – relax, unwind and immerse yourself in the serene beauty of this very special place.

Grassy Head Holiday Park is the perfect location for those who enjoy what nature has to offer. The seaside village is also only to 10 minutes’ drive from Stuarts Point village, 45km from Kempsey CBD or 19km from Macksville CBD.

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Topwaters have bass appeal THE HAWKSBURY

Dan Selby dan@sydneysportfishing.com.au

Bass are looking up this month, waiting for your accurately cast surface lure. Head down to your local creek or river and give this great technique a red-hot crack.

Nothing beats the sheer aggression these fish have

for terrestrial insects that fall haplessly on the surface, and there are hundreds of lures to take advantage of this trait.

Be it a lure splashing, blooping, fizzing, paddling or delicately twitched on the surface, bass love to attack from below. Most lures these days are designed to trigger the bass’s feeding mode when worked correctly.

The bonus is that you

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can put your offering into some tight, nasty country where you would normally foul up using a diving crankbait, such as over weed beds and in heavy timber laydowns.

Dawn, dusk and after dark are prime times for this technique but there are exceptions, like well-shaded sneaky creeks with lots of overhead vegetation, and more open areas on heavily overcast days.

The estuary perch are still along the rock walls and in weed beds in the tidal water from Windsor to Lower Portland. Soft plastic

around Windsor with bait and lures. Flathead and bream push this high up the river when there has been minimal rainfall.

They come here for one reason: food in the form of prawns and baitfish.

The beach at Windsor regularly coughs up some of these welcome saltwater species while anglers are fishing for mullet with bread through the warmer months.

Mud crabs should become active this month for those putting in the effort to bait and set traps.

The creek mouths and their smaller feeder

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Left: The kingfish are starting to appear off the headlands and into Broken Bay. Live bait is the key to regular success.

Right: School mulloway will still be biting throughout the brackish reaches this month.

Live bait and lures will account for quality fish like this one Paul displays. grubs and live prawns are snaring a few on the quieter days during the week on a run-out tide.

FLATHEAD Flathead are widespread at present as they ambush the abundant prawns and herring. Soft plastics and vibes are deadly weapons in the right hands and can produce some cricket-score catches when the conditions are right.

Colour selection of soft plastics is always debatable but in saying that, pumpkinseed, white, bloodworm and gold are standout colours when the water has turbidity and suspended silt on the larger tides.

Go for the more translucent colours on the neap tides if the river is clear.

Areas to look for this kind of action are on the major bends, drop-offs, creek mouths and sand bars.

Select the right jig or blade to get your offering to the bottom and make regular contact to twig the fishes’ interest.

A few anglers will get a shock this season when fishing the upper tidal water

streams from Wisemans Ferry to Brooklyn regularly produce quality muddies through Summer.

When the crabs are active, bait anglers will

regularly experience some twitching of the rod tip and a bit of weight on the line. When retrieved, the weight disappears.

These are telltale signs

Jason got a nice surprise on a recent charter with this 84cm flathead, which was released after the pic.

the muddies are about. You may be lucky and foul one up in your trace but they usually let go as they get near the surface and the waiting net.

MULLOWAY Mulloway have been abundant this year throughout the brackish reaches. They venture right up to Lower Portland and beyond if the conditions remain favourable.

Most anglers have better luck back downstream from Dads Corner to Laughtondale on the plentiful drop-offs and creek mouths.

The size of the school jew has been reasonably good this year but this will start to change later this month as the smaller soapies beat every other fish to your baits and lures.

The kingfish have moved in and are harassing bait around the headlands, in Pittwater and sometimes into Broken Bay on the bigger tides.

Live yakkas, slimies, garfish and squid are top baits to tempt a big hoodlum.

Downrigging and flatlining are both accounting for some quality kings and this should continue through Summer.

Warm water and wind arrive SYDNEY NORTH

Darren Thomas

November is generally one of the windiest months, with the north-east breeze blowing down the coast from about mid-morning.

It is a time when the pre-Summer species like flathead and kingfish are out on the prowl around the drop-offs and among the

moorings, while bream and whiting travel the deeper holes and flats looking to shorten the lifespan of an early season prawn.

After our warmest Winter on record, local waters are still cool but temperatures are rising quickly and will soon be at their peak.

This is the month when I generally break out the crab traps and put a string

of witches’ hats out near a weed bed in the hope of catching a good feed of blue swimmer crabs.

In NSW you are still allowed a maximum of five of this style of trap, but only one of the box or round enclosure traps per person.

I recommend that when you place out your trap/s you stay close to keep an eye on them and mark your float with your details. More

Left: Narrabeen Lake prawns – everything eats them.

Right: Pumping live nippers will improve your catch rate this month.

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PRAWN TIME This is also a great time to dust off the prawning kit in search of a feed of prawns.

Around the weedy edges of the Harbour and Pittwater are popular wading areas, as too is Narrabeen Lake.

All you need is a prawn net, a light and a bucket for your catch. Any light will do but if the wind picks up even just mildly, it will ripple the water and render any abovewater light hopeless.

Most seasoned prawners will go that bit further and purchase an underwater light, which works in all conditions.

These lights are 6V, 9V or 12V, depending on choice, and are available at most tackle stores. LED prawn lights with small heads are the most manoeuvrable underwater.

You are probably wondering what time of month is best to go.

During the new moon phase and the couple of days either side is the recommended time to go Continued page 34

The author with a flathead about to be released.

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NOVEMBER 2013

33

Warmth makes the difference PITTWATER

Peter Le Blang plfishfingers@bigpond.com

Finally the warmer water is pushing into Pittwater and it’s starting to make a difference.

The incoming tide is pushing the warmer water into Broken Bay and Pittwater and there are some decent hungry fish coming aboard.

Early mornings we are seeing schools of kingfish, salmon and tailor milling around on the surface and most of the action is happening between Longnose Point and Soldiers Point. There is a common theme between all species at the moment and that is they want small baits or lures.

Small, clear soft plastics are accounting for some salmon whilst the 10g-20g

metals are catching most of the tailor.

Kingfish, as we all know, can be a fussy bunch at the best of times and this month will be no different on Pittwater.

Downrigging small live squid will be the undoing of many of the kings this Summer but at the start of the season they will also hit small yellowtail or slimy mackerel. Both can normally be obtained on baitfish jigs at Barrenjoey Head or West Head.

For a greater chance at a kingfish you could be better off targeting Barrenjoey Headland with live yellowtail or slimies as the sun rises.

There has been a fair amount of activity around Barrenjoey as well as West Head. Downrigging will put you in with a great chance at catching a king but remember to trust your

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sounder and lower the bait to the same depth as the balled-up baitfish.

The other thing to try is to add some Glowbait to your livie before downrigging it.

By applying this glowing coating you are making your bait show out from the rest of the panicking baitfish and rendering it more likely to be attacked.

Squid are again difficult this month but over the next few weeks we should start to see an increase in numbers as the small squid quickly grow and become noticeable.

Areas to try for smaller squid are the weed beds in Careel Bay, off Palm Beach and at The Basin.

No top colour seems to exist at the moment because the squid are changing their minds from one day to the next.

If you take a mate out with you, one of you should try fluoro colours and the other natural colours to find out what is working best.

If you find it difficult to catch squid along Pittwater,

head out to the ocean side of Barrenjoey Head and drift around with two squid jigs hanging off a paternoster rig.

BROKEN BAY There are some fish starting to chew around the reefs along Broken Bay. Bream, trevally and flathead are being caught at Flint and Steel, Middle Ground and right through to Juno Point.

The bigger jewfish shouldn’t be far away now and these areas will produce a few on the bigger high tides. Best baits at the start of the season are freshcaught squid, yellowtail, pike and slimy mackerel.

Try your better ‘secret’ spots on the tide change for your best chance.

Along the coast the fishing is starting to pick up.

We have kingfish off most headlands between Broken Bay and Sydney Heads, with Newport Reef and Barrenjoey Head the best areas recently.

As the warmer water pushes along the coast the fish will move with it and

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Dean with a snapper for dinner.

Mario with a hard-earned flathead. Sometimes the days are slow before the run-in tide. it won’t be long before Long Reef sees its fair share of action.

There is also the odd school of bonito along the coast. These can be caught on fast retrieved metal lures to 20g or trolled bibbed lures.

The reefs further offshore are turning up quite a few fish when the leatherjackets aren’t there. Boultons Reef, the Trap Grounds, Mona Vale Wide and Long Reef have all seen snapper.

When a jacket-free reef is found there are marbled flathead, morwong, teraglin and nannygai to be caught.

The depth changes each week and we are at the moment chasing the areas that have current. The current seems to shift the jackets off the reefs and they seem to group in areas that have little to no current.

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NSWFM

prawning for two reasons.

The moon is at its darkest then and survival rates for the prawn are at their highest due to the low level of light.

Secondly, during maximum darkness it is perceived that the prawns will ‘run’ with the outgoing tide, so be sure to look behind you as you walk and stir up the sand because this provides more cover for these tasty little morsels to scoot around in.

NIPPERS November is a terrific month for targeting flathead and whiting with live nippers.

Nippers can be pumped from Narrabeen Lake or around Bayview and fished around drop-offs and over sand flats. They are deadly bait which is almost always aggressively

in 30m but the next day you will succeed fishing wide in 85m.

Flathead are gathering off Broken Bay through to Narrabeen in 50m-70m, where they can be caught rather easily if the trawlers haven’t been hitting them.

Please take only what you need for an immediate feed and release the rest so they can be caught next time.

The best baits have been pilchards or the sand eels that are being spewed up by the caught flathead.

Just use a paternoster rig or soft plastics and both will see you onto many fish before too long.

To keep up to date with reports and our activities you can find us on Facebook.

• Peter Le Blang operates Harbour and Estuary Fishing Charters, phone 02 9999 2574 or 0410 633 351, visit www.estuaryfishingcharters. com.au attacked by most sanddwelling species.

As when using any livebait, give the fish ample time to swallow the nipper and your hook.

Small circle hooks from Black Magic and Eagle Claw are becoming increasingly popular for this style of fishing.

Hooking them only once through the tail allows the nipper to move naturally, often causing an aggro take by a bream, flathead or whiting.

When fishing with live nippers with a threadline reel on a running-sinker rig in low wind, I am a fan of leaving the bail arm open.

Once line starts leaving your reel quickly, only a gentle strike is required to secure a fish that has had time to swallow your bait.

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Waiting for warm water SYDNEY HARBOUR

Craig McGill craig@fishabouttours.com.au

If the huge influx of baitfish and early pelagic action is anything to go by, we are in for a big season.

Winter seemed to die very abruptly this year and we jumped straight into a very warm early Spring.

This has been a little disorienting for some anglers, raising expectations ahead of time. A quick check of water

temps will restore reality.

Out wide there is an unusually warm current but it hasn’t quite touched the coast and water temps on the beaches, bays and rivers are still at their Spring norms.

No matter how quickly it warms up on land, fish operate on water temps.

The promising signs include lots of goodsized kings on the close offshore reefs and some headlands, acres of baitfish in the Harbour and an early intrusion of salmon

and tailor.

We expect salmon at the Heads at this time of year but a lot of them have ventured well inside the Harbour and can be found anywhere from Garden Island to Goat Island.

There have been some good tailor working with them on the surface, something that we usually don’t expect until late October.

This month we should see the kingfish and bonito settle into the Harbour along with other pelagics.

The bigger kings will still be in the deeper water until it warms further.

Bonito are boom-or-bust fish – they either show up in millions or not at all.

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The kings just seem to be getting bigger and better every year and it will be interesting to see what this season brings.

This is a good time to find smaller kings on the surface and stacked up around the channel markers.

They are usually pretty keen to take a lure, with unweighted stickbaits and flies the best choices.

A quick tour of the channel markers with half a dozen casts at each one will usually reveal whether they are on the chew.

If you find kings following your lures but not taking them, at least you have a good idea of where

to go back to when you have caught some fresh squid bait.

The bigger kings will be in the deeper water. Good spots include Shark Island, Watsons Bay and Middle Harbour.

Bonito are boom-or-bust fish – they either show up in millions or not at all. The past few seasons have been boom years, which I hope will continue.

They are suckers for nearly any lure, from minnows trolled off the headlands to metal slugs cast at surface-feeding schools.

North Head, South Head and Dobroyd are good troll spots if you can’t see them on the surface elsewhere.

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It’s time to get the squid jigs warmed up. There is no better bait, whether you are chasing jewfish or kings, and they are great on the plate as well.

36

NOVEMBER 2013

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Washaway Beach can go absolutely nuts sometimes if the baitfish have been forced into the shallows. If you find bonito or any pelagic fish on the chew here, it is also well worth working the bottom with lures for flatties and flounder.

The pelagics force the bait into tight concentrations in the shallows, making them easy pickings for the flatfish.

When this occurs it can be mind-blowing fishing in there with pelagics on tap should you choose to keep winding and abundant flatfish if you let your lure sink to the bottom.

SQUID It’s time to get the squid jigs warmed up. There is no better bait, whether you are chasing jewfish or kings, and they are great on the plate as well.

Squid at this time of year will be relatively small and will be found in the shallower areas.

Best jig selection is a slow-sinking No 1 or No 1.5.

Moving slowly along the shore you can often spot large concentrations of small squid and sight-fish for them. This presents a good opportunity to test any theories you might have on the use of the various ‘egi’ type scents available for spicing up your jigs.

You can see the squid, so you know that they are there, an advantage not available when deep water fishing.

Try starting off with no scent on your jig. When the bite slows down, douse your jigs in scent and see if it makes any difference.

Reverse the experiment on the next school by starting with a scented jig and then changing to an unscented one. You are in for some surprising results.

• If you are interested in doing a guided fishing trip on Sydney harbour with Craig McGill please call 0412 918 127 or email craig@fishabout.com.au.

Slow troll pays dividends SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Not that long ago I brought myself a small downrigger so I could spend more time trolling live squid and yellowtail, plus some hardbodied lures.

After much consideration I decided to put it on the opposite side to where I sit, so that when I was trolling I would be able to keep an eye on the rod for when the lure or bait got slammed.

The first time I used it I was trolling the breakwall that runs from Yarra Bay and out to Molineaux Point.

It wasn’t long before my first fish, a salmon, struck the Rapala CD 9.

The next time you are out on Botany Bay you could try slowly trolling along this wall because since that day I have caught salmon, tailor, trevally and kingfish on the downrigger there.

I have also managed to lose a few lures to fish and to the bottom.

Other places that you could try a slow troll include around the markers at Bare

Island, the end of the Third Runway, The Drums in the middle of the Bay, the shoreline of Kurnell Point and around Henry Head on the northern side of the bay.

As well as hardbodies and livebait, you could also try trolling soft plastics, on jigheads or on worm hooks with weights attached to the shank to keep them upright.

If you mainly fish in Port Hacking you could try trolling the horseshoeshaped sand spit just off Lilli Pilli Baths, the entrance to Yowie Bay, and

the main channel from the eastern side of the sand spit at Lilli Pilli to the entrance of Gunnamatta Bay. Working the shoreline in South-West Arm is always worth a shot for tailor and salmon, too. And a very slow troll of around 1-2 knots along the deep edge of the southern side of South West Arm sometimes produces a mulloway.

Another place that I have had a lot of success trolling is the coastline from Sandshoes to Shark Island. You could also try

This salmon took a Rapala CD9 trolled at about 3 knots.

Try fishing the washes with lightly weighted peeled prawns. trolling along the backs of the breakers from South Cronulla to Greenhills.

Just remember that when you venture across the line from the northern end of Salmon Haul Bay over to Jibbon Point that you are now in open waters and are required to have the correct safety gear aboard.

BREAM, TREVALLY In November we will see bream and trevally start to school up off the rocky shoreline from the point at Sandshoe baths over to Shark Island. Most of the area is easy accessible, just park in one of the side streets and walk a couple of hundred metres to one of the many rock platforms, gutters and washes that can

be found here.

If you are going to fish from the rocks here I suggest that you use a bobby cork rig or fish as light as possible over the snaggy ground. Berley with bread and chicken pellets and use peeled prawns or strips of tuna or mullet.

There is a new boat ramp at Kurnell that is worth a look. They have dredged out part of the small bay and put in a couple of pontoons. This small ramp will give you a quick and easy access to the great fishing the bay has on offer.

For land-based anglers, this same shoreline is worth a shot for bream, whiting, trevally and flathead, except

when the north-easterly wind is blowing.

If you prefer to chuck around a few lures, Silver Beach at Kurnell is worth a go. Park near the boat ramp and walk the shoreline to the point at Kurnell.

Trevally, bream, flathead, whiting and flounder will start to show up along the beach front from Dolls Point to the wall at the entrance to the Cooks River.

There is plenty of parking along here and it is a great place to take the family.

The Georges and Woronora rivers should fire up for bream, whiting and flathead for both lure and bait anglers.

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NOVEMBER 2013

37

15/08/13 3:30 PM

Summer species arrive SYDNEY ROCKS

Alex Bellissimo alex@bellissimocharters.com

This month all the Summer species can come into full swing if the water warms up enough.

Off the rocks kings, snapper, bream, jewfish and pelagics like bonito will be there.

Off the beaches the whiting run will continue

with the jewfish numbers increasing.

Generally most rock anglers put the pig outfits on the back burner by now but the run of rock blackfish is continuing.

It will pay to put in a few more outings now for those whoppers that are often caught this month.

If the snapper or kings are slow, try for a big pig.

Cabbage weed under a float is a good bait choice

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although bread, cunjevoi and prawns are also typical baits.

November is a good snapper month off the rocks and the fish should continue until May, but now until January is a cracker month for a red in the suds zone.

Try 6kg-10kg mono or braid on a 4500-size threadline reel and a 12’ 6kg-8kg rod or a 6kg-10kg 13’ rod; I like the Wilson Live Fibres.

Light ball sinkers ranging from size 00 to 2 will cover most situations and 2/0-3/0 hooks like the Mustad 92554, 540 or 92247 are reliable choices.

For a snapper, large prawns or pilchard halves are the choice baits but you can add squid strips and cuttlefish to that list.

Salted striped tuna and slimy mackerel are great flesh baits and tough enough to take a long power cast.

Remember to add whatever you are using to your berley. Add small squid strips or prawn shells/heads into your pillie/bread berley.

Snapper get the taste for a particular bait and can refuse other offerings.

There are some very good snapper locations in the area. The washes on the eastern fronts of Bluefish Point, South Curl Curl, Mona Vale Pool and North Whale are producing snapper to 50cm.

Distance casting has been working for reddies to 45cm off South and North Curl Curl, the southern and northern sides of Long Reef and Mona Vale Pool.

If you haven’t landed a snapper off the ocean rocks, you are missing one of the true pleasures of rock fishing.

KINGS This is a good month for kings and some stud fish well over a metre are possibilities for the fisho that has the gear to deal with these brutes.

It’s OK to use 10kg15kg outfits for a king but

Katrina Grigg with her PB rock blackfish, a 2kg pig caught at night at North Harbour. the problem starts when you hook a fish over 4kg-5kg.

Big fish are landable on lighter gear but why risk it unless you are fishing a location that has fewer submerged pinnacles, boulders and ledges?

The more sandy rock ledges, like South Curl Curl about 200m south of the swimming pool, and North Whale to a lesser extent, are better locations for extracting a larger fish.

The Hat at Manly, Bluefish Point, South Curl Curl, South and North Whale headlands are the pick for kings.

Spin sea gars on gangs of 3/0-6/0 Mustad 7766Ds. These Tarpon pattern hooks don’t have an offset, reducing the amount a wellrigged bait spins while being retrieved.

Live bait like mullet around 20cm, yellowtail and live squid will get the kings’ attention. Squid strips work just great, especially with a squid strip berley.

Unless there is a flat ledge or a sandy bottom, avoid fishing the bottom for kings. Generally a balloon or a foam float in the torpedo or turnip shapes is buoyant enough.

Some days the salmon will pester you to the point of despair but at least you’re still getting bites. I like to take a 3kg-4kg spin outfit to take advantage of the sambos.

Bonito can be liviemunchers as well. Have large metals up to 125g or large minnows or poppers as back-up.

BREAM Bream angling will improve your fishing ability very substantially.

The rock bream angler fishes all terrains, shallow and deep.

Bream are one of the

most timid fish you’re likely to encounter. They are finicky, so you have to use stealth techniques, although they can be line-damaging species, so your fish fighting strategies will have to be good.

Generally ocean rock bream anglers use 3kg-5kg line so there is not much room for error.

Locations that are producing include Bluefish Point, Little Bluey near Shelly Headland, South Curl Curl, Long Reef in the shallows, Narrabeen Headland and Barrenjoey.

Peeled or whole prawns, pillie fillets or halves are top baits. Pink nippers are very hard to beat but the effort to pump them will have to be factored into your time. If you want to fish for bream often and you’re strapped for time, nippers may not be practical.

BEACH The beach scene has been encouraging, with whiting in good numbers.

Fish to 40cm have been caught and there have been reports of a couple over 44cm.

Typically live beach worms, pink nippers and the very best bait for a whiting, live bloodworms, are working just great.

Narrabeen Beach has been the best performer lately although all beaches are producing at least some.

Dee Why is also a good producer from the southern corner to the surf club.

Bungan Beach is a good whiting beach lately and Palm Beach north of the massive boulder is good.

A few jewfish to 9kg have come from Dee Why and Collaroy and there have been a couple of reports from Warriewood Beach.

It is the very end of the Port Jackson shark

run, which is great! These interesting but annoying bait stealers damage your rigs but they will be soon replaced by the dusky whaler sharks.

Well, that is the reality of the beach angler chasing a mulloway. Make sure you have ample pre-made rigs wrapped on the round rig spools that you can purchase at any good tackle shop.

If they don’t have them, ask that they get some in.

They normally come in a packet of two.

Purchase a few packs and put your rigs on them.

When you have damaged a rig, place it in your carry bag and simply replace it with a fresh rig.

Hooks from 5/0-9/0 will be good for anything from medium squid to large whole squid, live tailor or mullet.

Have a tailor outfit with you along with some pilchards and ganged hooks so you can catch a chopper and quickly convert it to live bait. A robust rod is required for large live baits off the beach.

My last advice for the rock or beach fisher person is to have some back-up plans and tackle to suit.

If it is too rough to fish the ocean, have a go in the estuaries like Pittwater, Narrabeen Lagoon or Sydney Harbour.

Switch to your downsized outfits and have a plan B spot that you will fish.

Don’t risk it off the ocean rocks unless you really know what you are doing in large swells.

• For rock and beach guided fishing or tuition in the northern Sydney region, visit www. bellissimocharters. com, email alex@ bellissimocharters.com or call Alex Bellissimo on 0408 283 616.

Hopes for Bay kings BOTANY BAY

Scott Lyons fishingsydney@optusnet.com.au

We are all looking forward to a great Summer season ahead. Let’s hope we don’t have too much rain, as we

did last year.

It kept the kingfish season on hold, so everyone has their fingers crossed that things stay dry enough that the kingies move into Botany Bay and surrounding waters to give us all a chance of hooking into a few.

This salmon took a Bumpa-Bar lure.

I plan to make trips every Wednesday and Friday just to focus on these great fish, either south from the Hacking River or north from Botany Bay. Kingfish give many anglers a great chance to target a tough sportfish close to home without travelling miles to sea.

Kings can be found along our coast all year in smaller numbers but build as the warmer weather hits, with good fish moving into our bays and harbours when water quality allows.

Three key factors come into play in my plans when heading after kingfish.

First is the weather, for safety reasons, while No 2 is the right gear (never fish too light) and the third is bait or lure selection, and this is up to the angler on the day.

Plan A is to find bait first, like squid and yellowtail. Kelp beds are around the lower ends of all Sydney waterways.

Most squid I catch are in 2m-5m of water over kelp and if you drop anchor and start a berley trail in this same area you will also find yellowtail and, if you are lucky, slimy mackerel.

Put the time in to find good bait spots; spend a day per

Not too bad for your first kingie at 80cm. Everyone is hoping they’ll make their homes in Botany Bay for the season. season finding these locations and you will achieve better results on all trips because you plan ahead.

Kingfish will hold along our coast and move from day to day. I always say don’t

rely on them to be where you found them yesterday, but it’s usually a good starting point.

OTHER TARGETS What else will be on offer over the next month?

Salmon will provide more

Bill with a late Winter kingie.

fun on light gear than any other fish. Small metal lures are the key and of late I have great results on size 15 to 25 Bumpa-Bars worked at a medium pace through feeding schools. They are made right here in Sydney from marine grade stainless steel with solid rings and hooks.

Trolling around the school may help if the salmon are fussy and you can even work an unweighted soft stickbait through the fish.

The summer season is now here so plan your trip, think about the species that you want to target, gear up with the right lures, bait and tackle and be ready.

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Lake Illawarra comes alive ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke clarkey1@westnet.com.au

A couple of afternoons ago I was working in the Macquarie Rivulet area and while driving past I saw the water rippling and there wasn’t any wind, so I had to have a look.

Big mullet were schooling in their thousands – great fun on light line, great bait and not too bad on the chew if you do them fresh and in the

right way.

But the strange thing was there were a few monster eels swimming with them on the surface.

Now I have seen eels swim on the surface before but not with all the mullet in an open river in mid-afternoon sun…

Then a movement close to the edge caught my eye. Just near a big log, three thumper bream were casually milling around, having a chew on the growth and taking things easy.

I walked a bit further, watching the snags in the

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shallows, and spotted probably 20 really good bream along a 100m stretch.

I didn’t have a rod with me, but time spent fishing the snags from a canoe or the bank could well be rewarding over coming weeks.

I wonder what got everything on the move that day. It wasn’t anything special, with just a small high-pressure system coming through.

Things should just get bigger and better over the Summer now as the water heats up and everything gets into turbo mode.

Down in the lake proper, the flatties are really starting to get a move along. Good catches are coming from the drop-off down the main channel and along the sandy patches among the weed beds all over the lake.

Soft plastic prawn variations are the way to go, with the prawn run hitting full swing on the dark of the moon

the length of the system, particularly at the edges of the deeper holes.

BEACHES The beaches are well worth a look and you don’t need waders anymore; the water is warming nicely.

There are plenty of salmon grabbing ganged pilchards, mostly around dawn and into the evening. Some tailor to 3kg are around too with most around 1kg.

Whiting are the main target. They bite all day and generally hide at night but some big ones do get caught after dark.

Beach worms are top bait but can be hard to catch because the worm pros give them a hiding at this time of year.

The beaches each side of the lake are the prime locations but the whiting are spreading all along the coast now so most beaches are worth a throw.

It’s fun and rewarding to toss soft plastics in the surf for flatties.

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Don’t forget to pack a few poppers to toss around over the shallow flats. Everything will be chasing these tasty little crustaceans, including big whiting and bream.

For more whiting, fish the sand flats around the entrance of the lake from the bridge to the breakwalls with squirt or tube worms.

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School jewies are about and the big fish will feed up from now until Christmas, so some late nights could be on the cards. Most beaches are worth a look with Coniston, Stanwell Park, Warilla and Bombo great spots to start.

The breakwalls at the entrance to the lake would

be worthwhile for soaking a live tailor.

Flathead have moved back onto the beaches and are providing variety for those chasing other species and some fun for the plastic tossers.

PELAGICS The rocks are starting to get going, with pelagics moving along the headlands particularly in the northern corners the morning after a north-easter. Bass Point and Port Kembla’s northern breakwall should produce salmon, tailor, small kings and bonito, as should Blowhole Point at Kiama.

The deeper ledges down around Kiama have a few better kings and maybe even the odd mack tuna or even a yellowfin.

The ’fin were recently spotted blowing up not too far offshore. Whether they hold

MINNAMURRA DESNAGGING A WORRY

A disturbing aspect has come to light in the Minnamurra River, one of the best bass waters on our short stretch of coast. There has been a dramatic decline in big bass in the lower sections.

There are a couple of trains of thought from passionate anglers who fish this system and protect it.

The first is that a local organisation has been carrying out snag removal from the waterway, probably in the name of flood mitigation, but as we know removing the snags destroys the bass habitat.

With no cover they are easy prey. About half a dozen 45cm-50cm bass were recently spotted in a cleared area huddling next to a rock but almost completely exposed.

The other thought was that some unscrupulous grub had netted the place, but the fact there were some big fish trying to hide points more to the first reason. If someone was netting the place I hate to think of what might happen if they were caught by law-abiding anglers.

I know NSW Fisheries read this and many other mags as a matter of course, so it may be worth a look into what is happening.

Removing snags does not stop floods, so Fisheries should investigate and stop their removal.

Spending our licence money on removing weirs and stocking programs is useless if the fish have nowhere to live. – GC

up or keep blasting south is another thing, but without a live bait in the water you will never know.

In the washes bream, drummer and trevally are taking royal red prawns and pilchard pieces fished on light tackle.

YELLOWFIN It is worth getting offshore again. After the great Spring run of yellowfin tuna a few are still hanging about on the continental shelf but the weather may not be as kind as it was a few months ago, so be careful.

A few may find their way in close, too. Don’t hold your breath waiting but have a look over the recognised spots.

While you are there, try dropping 6” plastics to the bottom over the reef; they have been smashing snapper lately.

These spots have always held a few nice fish in the quiet times for those who worked hard but the plastic revolution is proving so effective it may knock these residents around.

So be prudent with the size and numbers you remove from the system.

Striped tuna are still doing the rounds from in close to out wide, with salmon and bonito.

Some better kings have started to show around the islands and down at Rangoon Reef. They should improve in size and numbers as we head into Summer. Live squid, slimy mackerel and yellowtail have been the best bait, in that order.

Over the sand patches the flatties are back with fish to 55cm regularly filling boxes.

Morwong are on the move on the reef edges and over the gravel.

Leatherjackets are there but are patchy and can be avoided if you move about.

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With the countdown to Christmas well and truly on and the cicadas singing, the smell of Summer is in the air and things are looking up – to eat, that is!

Depending on the temps in close this month November generally heralds the start of the Summer surface lure season in the estuaries so it’s time to sharpen your pencils – that’s those pencils that walk the dog.

For anglers new to the game, walking the dog is a description of the action of a stickbait or pencil style of surface lure that pivots from side to side by the rod action imparted by the angler.

The angler twitches and lifts a 1kg-3kg or 2kg-4kg rod to alternatively create and remove slack in the line to make the lure erratically ‘walk’ across the surface.

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fishers are thinking of big lizards. The XOS flathead the Basin is now famous for have actually been ticking over since late Winter but in November they generally come into their own.

With so much pressure on these fish these days, anglers targeting them have the responsibility to be prepared to handle the fish properly prior to release.

A quick checklist of the right handling equipment should include a big barrastyle net.

On our boat we no longer lift the fish straight out of the

water on capture; we prefer to let the fish sit in the water and recover for at least five minutes, which makes for a better release.

While this is going on it gives you time to roll out the brag mat on the deck, wet it down and fire up the camera.

When lifting a big flathead for the camera always, and I mean always, support the belly. There’s no point putting back a fish with a broken neck because it’s been hung up by the lower jaw.

And finally, ditch the lip grips and use a glove.

Lip grips are great for fish destined for the table but they have a very high probability of piercing the lower lip of the fish while it’s being restrained and this may impede its ability to feed upon release.

Lastly, if you can, put the fish back in the same place.

All of this can take less than 10 minutes and will go a long way to helping preserve the health of the ‘big girls’ that are great to catch and provide us in the long term with all those yummy flathead tails that we take from their smaller offspring a few years down the track.

BAY, OFFSHORE Expect Jervis Bay to be slightly cooler than the estuary this month.

In early Spring there were kings to 30kg trickling in from under the cliffs but in November we should start to see the regular 6kg-10kg fish stacking up in close around the prominent headlands.

Slowly trolling live slimy mackerel or squid on the downrigger will tend to be the gun technique, but a large snapper lead cabletied to the eye of the swivel closest to the main line will do the job as well.

Using cable ties as opposed to elastic bands stops the sinker tangling in the line and at the end of the day reduces the number of lead sinkers being left in the ocean.

Kings are also suckers for a bit of flash in the water.

Try casting big plastics, such as a white Squidgy Flick Bait or a 9” Silstar Slapstix on a 1oz head with an 8/0 hook slightly forward of the boat to draw fish into the mix.

There will also be the odd striped tuna and bonito and large schools of salmon but some days these will require very small metals or flies smaller than your little finger to achieve a result.

With Winter and Spring fishing better this year than previous seasons, we may be in for a bumper Summer on the pelagics if conditions stay dry. Fingers crossed.

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Some great South Coast estuary mixed bags will be produced this month. Very tasty.

The author’s choice of big flattie lures for the month. in the right hands.

Different estuary species require different retrieves to achieve a result but one thing remains the same: the buzz of telling a lie to a fish with a piece of plastic or timber and watching your target rise to eat your presentation. It just doesn’t get better.

BIG LIZARDS St Georges Basin has been fairly consistent, with a steady stream of all the usual species.

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Hot times are ahead BATEMANS BAY

Dean Dawson lbg.dean@gmail.com

The lead-up to Summer is feeling warmer than in the past few years both on land and in the water.

Gamefish have been moving down the coast for a few months now with reports coming out of Sydney back

in September of striped and blue marlin, wahoo and mahi mahi to 25kg, along with yellowfin to 80kg and some big albacore.

What this means to us South Coasters is hopefully a similarly early start to our proper gamefishing season, rather than the usual December-January kick-off.

Sea surface charts have indicated a warm patch of

Rohan Griffin’s striped marlin takes to the air.

water has hung off the coast all year, albeit too wide for most trailer boats.

As the currents push closer to land, we can expect some great fishing to follow. There has been an abundance of striped tuna and smaller bait schools inside the continental shelf so it should go off with a bang when the big fish turn up.

Regardless, November is a proven yellowfin month if the billfish fail to show.

Expect kingfish to be high on the hit list this month, too.

I am pretty excited about this season for kings, which is something I haven’t been able to honestly say about our area for the past 10 years.

Last year’s run of fish were rarely under a metre and often were in schools of hundreds.

Whether it be off the stones, in a kayak or from a boat, there should be plenty of options for getting stretched.

Last season was the first time I have been involved in downrigging for kings and I have to say it is deadly, particularly with live squid.

I also played around with some Christmas tinsel

Hopefully an early billfish season is on the cards. tied to my live bait hook in conjunction with a live yellowtail. That resulted in a monumental bust-up on 80lb braid and a 20000 Stella combo.

We could clearly see the kingfish stacked on the sounder but we could not get a bite from our live yellowtail, so the experimental rig was deployed.

My mate Ben Roberts

was laughing hysterically at the ‘Mardi Gras rig’ – until it actually worked!

Kings are inquisitive fish and often when you present something different they can switch on.

CLYDE MULLOWAY In The Clyde River we can expect some great jewfish action. There have been some fantastic fish to 18kg captured on plastics in

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the daytime and I hear that all fish have been released, which is to be commended.

Each year this river just gets better for the mighty mulloway and this kind of proactive angling is only going to continue to benefit all anglers for years to come.

There is certainly nothing wrong with keeping a fish for the table but I can honestly say my most memorable jewfish captures involve the ones that are still hopefully swimming today.

Snapper, in size and numbers, are keeping the inshore boaters happy, with reports of 3kg to 5kg fish common.

The reds seem to be schooling in a certain size range, so if you are finding sub-kilo to 2kg fish and want bigger, you might need to up anchor and try another spot.

Off the rocks there are a few bonito appearing and if the water temps kick, their numbers should swell.

Land temps have been well above average and this should equate to some good bass fishing in the creeks.

We received good rains at the right time, so the fish should have found easy passage upstream from their Winter spawning grounds.

Check out Huw Kearney’s South Coast Bass Migration on YouTube and you will see what I mean by migration and why they need good rain to get the rapids flowing. It is an amazing bit of vision.

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Early signs point to a great season ahead frigate mackerel all possible.

Fishing early in the morning with chrome slices should produce but those after a bigger model should use livebait.

NAROOMA

Stuart Hindson stuart@ausfishing.com.au

It’s all happening, with offshore sportfishers getting keener as the days pass by.

As the water temperature increases, so does the pelagic action and if early indications are anything to go by, it’s going to be an excellent start to the season.

The kingfish have been good, especially over the northern reefs off Moruya and Potato Point.

Every day is a little different but anglers using a mixture of jigs and livebait have fared best. Some days the jigs are better and other days the livies are the go.

The fish are moving around a bit, but 40m-60m depths have seen most of the action.

I suspect that Montague Island will fire this month, too. Fish to 10kg are possible but the majority will be 4kg-6kg, good school fish and great on the plate.

Mixed in with the kings will be bonito. These underrated tablefish are awesome on the smoker and great fun on light braid. Their numbers will increase as we head further into the month.

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Darren and Nean Cooke with a brace of solid bream taken on softies.

They managed 36 fish for the day, all released. western corner of Montague are all worthwhile prospecting.

ESTUARIES FIRE In the estuaries it’s all systems go. The recent rain will do the local systems a load of good.

Narooma and especially Tuross will fire.

You will be able to target all species this month, with mulloway and big dusky flathead high on anglers’ lists.

The lower sections around the boat shed

them ample opportunity to get to the upper reaches.

If you know the way up there, you’re in for some serious fun.

In Wagonga Inlet the basin water will be 18°-19°C, ideal for mulloway and already a handful have been caught over recent weeks.

It was a little quiet on the jewie front last year but with the abundance of whitebait and tailor throughout the system, all looks good.

Sand whiting like these two bruisers caught by Mick Cumes will make the Tuross flats home over coming weeks.

Out wider there have been sporadic reports of yellowfin tuna to 30kg but not in any numbers. These speedsters are a real possibility over the next few weeks, so trolling a few 8”-10” pushers might be worth a go.

If the pelagic scene isn’t your thing then the reef species could be. You can expect snapper, morwong and pigfish on the reefs and ample flathead on the sand, so a feed shouldn’t be hard to get.

The reds are patchy but once you locate them you will be in business.

Reefs off Potato Point, Tuross and the south-

You should be able to get all the bait you require at the ledges you fish.

Try Dalmeny Headland, the Golf Course Rocks or Mystery Bay.

towards the entrance will produce a lot of action although the deeper hole up towards the main basin is also worth a look.

If a trophy isn’t for you there will be plenty of table flathead to 60cm plus bream, whiting and blackfish plentiful from the highway bridge upstream to the lower reaches.

The river should be good for bream and estuary perch on smaller hardbodies and soft plastics cast among the snags and rock bars.

The bass fishing way upstream should be excellent; the rain has given

The channels below the highway bridge will produce blackfish on weed with bream, trevally and flathead all catchable on plastics and fresh bait.

BEACH The beach action has been steady without being red-hot.

Bream and whiting have been hard to entice but with the recent bout of huge surf, that may just change.

Anglers who have downsized their tackle have had best success with live worms, pipis and fresh peeled prawns.

The rocky corners of beaches on a rising tide

close to dark have produced good bags. Narooma Main, 1080 and Handkerchief beaches have been the best.

There are still plenty of salmon so if the bread-andbutter species don’t play, there is something to fall back on.

With the warmer nights a mulloway session after dark might be worthwhile too. I’d be fishing Brou or Blackfellows; these are the best jewie beaches along this part of the coast.

Gummy sharks are possible, especially on moonlit nights on a flooding tide.

The rock fishing bandwagon looks set to continue as blackfish and drummer continue to chew.

Big groper are also available.

I know of a few solid blues to 9kg caught recently.

These were photographed and then released in good order – good to see!

The surface pelagics should improve further with kingfish, striped tuna and

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45

Hot estuary fishing MERIMBULA

Stuart Hindson stuart@ausfishing.com.au

Estuaries around Merimbula have been fishing exceptionally well and with warmer water coming down the coast now, we can expect them to improve further.

This is prime time for mega-flathead with fish to 5kg and bigger caught every season. Most will fall to large soft plastics but the bait anglers will also encounter larger models.

Prime spots to try are shallow banks on the flood tide, with the shallow areas around Mangrove Island in Pambula Lake worthwhile.

Work areas like this with reasonably large plastics on light to medium jigheads.

Afternoon high tides quite often offer better fishing.

On the bottom half of the ebb tide, target them around creek mouths. Small mullet and whiting have to leave the shallow flats in the creeks and usually there is only one place to go.

A good place to start

Grassy whiting have beautiful colours and are plentiful at times in Merimbula Lake.

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NOVEMBER 2013

NSWFM

here is Boggy Creek, in the top section of Merimbula Lake. It’s a shallow creek that falls away into 3m of water with ribbon weed on both sides of the entrance – an ideal ambush station for big fatties.

Almost every system feeder creeks so it pays to have a look around your local waterway and see what’s similar.

Slowly twitched soft plastics and mullet imitations in hardbodied lures will produce.

This month we will see an increase in whiting numbers with fishers using live yabbies, worms and even fresh prawns catching plenty. Try areas that have a combination of sand and weed for best results.

A few bream will also haunt you, especially during low light periods, with the surface-lure enthusiasts getting among them, too.

SNAPPER Offshore has been fishing well one day and then not much the next.

Snapper, morwong and flatties are making up the majority of the catch but in November we usually see a few pelagics turning up.

Kingfish, bonito and

Nathan and Kev with some solid bream taken on plastics. The boys caught more than 35 bream for the day and released them all. striped tuna are a real possibility on the inshore grounds. Trolling lures is the best way to bend a rod.

Out wide we should see yellowfin tuna, albacore and the outside chance of an early season striped marlin if last year is anything to go by.

We had a ripper start to the game season last year and let’s hope this year brings the same.

Trolled lures are the go early in the season; you get to cover a lot of ground to locate the fish.

The continental shelf and beyond will be the place to fish.

For bottom species, the best places to try are Long and Short Point, with The Sticks off Pambula good

for flathead.

There been a few decent kings from Haycock Point so some big softies or poppers may be worth a cast.

BEACH, ROCK Bream, whiting and mullet will keep the beach fishos happy, with beachworms and pipis the top baits.

Most beaches will hold fish but Tura and North Tura would be my pick.

Look for a small deep gutter running close to shore for best results. A little bread berley in the shore dump will improve your chances.

Salmon will still be around but numbers will be down as the water warms.

Expect a few more tailor to turn up and at night you’re always a chance of a

mulloway or gummy/school shark. Try fresh pilchards or mullet fillets, with fresh salmon and tailor strips worth a go for the mulloway and sharks.

Rockhoppers who love throwing lures will catch small kingies, bonito, salmon and tailor if the current comes close enough to shore, especially for the kingies.

Tura Head is this region’s land-based hot spot and every year some good fish are hooked from this platform.

Drummer, bream and blackfish will still make the washes home so if the surface action is a little slow there’s always that option.

Bait up and berley with bread, cabbage and cunjevoi.

Gomoku style fishing – will it storm across Australia?

FMG

Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

At the recent AFTA (Australian Fishing Trades Association) Trade Show on the Gold Coast, Rapala Australia invited their Singapore-based angling talent, Fred Goh, out to show and tell Aussie tackle stores all about their ‘Gomoku’ style of light jigging.

“There are no rules when it comes to Gomoku – it’s all about having fun,” Fred explained as he outlined the concept for the YouTube video (see factbox for details).

Although there are dedicated Storm Gomoku slim jigs, and jigs or heavy spoons in the recommended weight ranges will suit the tackle, Fred likes to rig the baits with assist-hooks to minimise snagging that can occur with a treble rigged at the tail of the

main techniques that will definitely work Down Under.

SURFACE PRESENTATIONS Schools of tuna or other small pelagics busting up all over the surface are common right around Australia – whether it’s northern bluefin in the Gulf of Carpentaria or Australian salmon in Pittwater, they all get focussed on small baitfish and don’t mind a bit of speed in the retrieve.

The surface retrieve is

GOMOKU RODS

Currently, there’s three Storm Gomoku spin rods available and two baitcast.

Ultra Light PE0.4 to 1.0 40g jig max.

SPIN Light PE0.8 to 1.5 120g jig max.

SPIN Medium PE1.0 to 3.0 160g jig max.

SPIN Light PE0.8 to 1.5 120g jig max.

OVERHEAD Medium PE1.0 to 3.0 160g jig max.

OVERHEAD

Gomoku micro-jigs will appeal to all predatory species that think a little baitfish is a tasty option.

And although this event was dealer-only, Fishing Monthly was lucky enough to get Fred out on the water for a day and ask him all about this concept. Essentially the Gomoku concept is a fusion of deep jigging (that we’d do for amberjack and kingfish) and light inshore lure fishing.

Although deep jigging is exciting and the fish are big, the size of the tackle is often daunting to a majority of anglers. There are very few anglers I know who have the stamina to jig all day and the offshore locations where deep jigging is most effective are limited to when the winds and currents are suitable.

Gomoku takes the deep jigging concept and shrinks it down to tackle that is a size that is manageable for nearly all anglers. By simultaneously reducing the size of the lures, the range of available species increases. So Gomoku will be suitable for such species as snapper, flathead, mackerel, tuna and trevally in the salt and bass and redfin in the fresh.

Fred’s been an advocate of the Gomoku style throughout the development of the concept – which at the moment is typified by easily distinguishable white rods with colour-coded grips – and is more qualified than most to spread the Gomoku word.

bait.

Indeed, the applications to Aussie fish are limited only to your imagination – and to those species that eat a fingerlength baitfish!

Fred’s main experience with this style of fishing is in the hard-fished Asian waters near his hometown of Singapore, but there’s three

simple – lead cast the jig across the schooling fish and bring it back through the school at speed. The fish will tell you their preferred retrieve speed.

Some days it’ll be flat-out and others it’ll be slower with a pause or two.

Either way, once you get connected on Gomoku gear, it’s gloves-off. The soft tips

Rapala’s Fred Goh shows off the quality of fish that Gomoku tackle can knock over. readily fold away and let you fish this tackle to the limit.

MIDWATER OFFERINGS Trevally, snapper and even bass or redfin schooling midwater will be partial to a micro-jig worked through the school. With modern electronics, we’re all getting rather good at identifying depths at which these schooling fish sit. And just like deepwater jigging, there’s no use expending time and energy fishing where there’s empty water.

Count the jig down to the depth that the fish are schooling at and let the lure dart and flutter through the fish. When you’ve worked it through, free-spool the lure back through and repeat the process.

The long butt of the Gomoku rod sits under your arm and allows this technique to be very efficient.

BOUNCING THE BOTTOM Flathead in particular won’t be able to help themselves when it comes to micro-jigs. Flutter them to the

bottom, let them sit there for a second and pop them up off the sand.

The assist-hooks minimise the chance of snagging up if the country is a little rougher than you expected and also offer some abrasion resistance with a lizard’s teeth.

Like standard soft-plastic fishing for flatties, you can tell when the lure hits the bottom by the slack dropping into your line. Pop it up and repeat.

OVER TO YOU But enough of us yammering on about Gomoku fishing. The proof of the pudding will be how it works on your water. Try the lures or go the whole hog and try the outfits. We’re sure that Storm (distributed by Rapala Australia) would love your feedback on their Facebook page (F: Rapala Australia)!

Best of all, though, is that the Rapala guys have offered a Gomoku/Okuma outfit as a prize for a reader in each of the three magazines (QFM, NSWFM and V&TFM) – see the competition box nearby for full details.

INTERVIEW

Want to see the full, quarter hour interview with Fred Goh about Gomoku-style jigging?

Scan the QR code for details. http://youtu.be/ Wz8nZtqb17c

To check out some of the Gomoku rods all loaded up with fish, go to http://youtu.be/VVkHltCEPA or scan the QR Code.

WIN A GOMOKU OUTFIT The team at Rapala Australia have generously donated a complete Gomoku outfit for one lucky reader to win! With rod/reel/line and lures, you’ll just need to add water.

To enter the competition, fill out the form below and mail it in – making sure that you’ve answered the question correctly.

We’ll give you a hint, too. The answer is in an advertisement in this issue.

Q:

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NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

47

Lakes receive a fish top-up BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsestuaryfishing@bigpond.com

This season is going to be interesting, with most estuaries open to the sea and some of the formerly closed ones recently re-opened.

Those that opened recently have allowed fresh fish stocks to re-enter.

Flathead, bream, whiting and many more species have moved into these rivers and lakes to feed on the prawn stock that abounds at this time of year.

One such lake that recently reopened is Wallaga, where anglers should now find the fishing and prawning excellent.

Flathead are a certainty along the western shoreline and rocky points, while those wishing to fill a bucket with prawns will work the flats around the bridge and down towards the entrance.

You can also add luderick on weed around the bridge and, for those who like to chase a feed of juicy garfish, this lake should host many.

As far as gamefishing goes, November can be hit and miss but when you strike it good, it can be damn good.

TUNA Yellowfin tuna and albacore are congregating on the edge of the continental shelf and beyond. Mixed in are schools of striped tuna, which can be a problem when targeting the larger species.

Trolling with a combo of

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bibless and skirted lures is the preferred method.

I like to see a bibless left way out the back and almost forgotten about. This lure often catches the larger, shy fish that won’t come into a trolling pattern.

Striped marlin are early this season, following the schools of striped tuna and slimy mackerel.

It’s a little early to target them on livebait; most fish are coming in on lures.

Not all gamefish have been caught on lures, though.

Some tuna have been caught in berley trails and of course there have been some very nice mako sharks taken on bait.

Kingfish are in reasonable numbers at Montague Island along with some bonito. Jigging is working best on the kings, while trolling will produce bonito around the western side of the island.

This is a great time of year for reef and bottom fishing. With the prevailing nor’-east winds you need

an early start because most of the fishing is over by mid-morning.

These winds provide good drifts along the edge of the reefs. Most of our reef structure runs north-south, so pick up the edge of the reef on the sounder, and position the boat just out from it to start your drift. If conditions are right you will go from one reef to another, picking up snapper and morwong with tiger flathead in between.

Generally the deeper the reefs, the better the fish and the Twelve Mile has some exceptional fish at present.

BROGO BASS If you get only one place to fish in November, make it Brogo Dam; it is going off.

High, warm water is spurring the bass into action.

Insect activity is providing some excellent fly and surface lure fishing towards dusk and in the early morning.

Work deep-diving lures, plastics and spinnerbaits through the day.

Troll to keep lures in the strike zone or sit back and

Wallaga Lake has reopened to the ocean and fish like this flathead have moved in. relax while soaking a worm and admire the beauty of Brogo.

Downstream from the dam along the river is also extremely good. Walking the bank will gain access to some nice holes, but the going can be tough.

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and work downstream you eventually will end up at the bridge crossing of the Princes Highway.

Anyone interested in stocking bass into farm dams or other private waters can call me on 0427 934 688 and I will put you in contact with a local fish breeder.

Bass are exciting fish, no matter how you catch them. at the height of the season, and anglers venturing from the Kianinny Bay boat ramp out into 50m-60m depths up or down the coast are likely to catch their bag of flatties (20 in total, minimum size 33cm) without much trouble.

If you want to go deeper, the size of the fish is likely to increase and there could be some surprises like gummy sharks or large sand flathead.

If you drift over some gravel there may be snapper or even early-season kingfish.

Out wide, gamefish are making an early appearance with good schools of tuna – yellowfin, stripies and albacore.

There has been the odd marlin and if you berley you are sure to find a shark, probably a mako. Use plenty of tuna, the fresher the better.

RIVER Rain has filtered into the Bega River, bringing muchneeded nutrients and some very hungry fish.

Earlier than normal warm weather has raised water temps, allowing fish earlier feeding opportunities

throughout the system.

In the upper reaches the bass fishing has been exceptional. Any relatively deep hole or structure is holding fish.

For a very entertaining way to catch bass in this area, try flyfishing late afternoon and early morning with cicada imitations cast beneath the oaks and willows. You will also be surprised how many bream are in there.

Into the brackish to salt, estuary perch are making a strong comeback in this system since the nets have gone.

These fish will be encountered in a lot of different habitat, from deep holes to shallow weed beds and snags or sunken timber.

You can pull several fish from one area before they wise up.

Throughout the estuary most other species are also active.

Bream are being taken around the Thompson Rock walls, weed beds and Blackfellows Lake areas on lures and bait.

Flathead are also plentiful over the shallows towards

the mouth and generally throughout the system.

Blackfish are in good numbers around the weedy areas and also the bridge pylons.

Tailor can be trolled up around the rock walls, where leatherjackets are taken on bait.

BEACH Tathra Beach, adjacent to the mouth of the Bega River, has been producing some very nice whiting on worms and nippers.

Bream and mullet are regular catches with some nice tailor at night. Salmon are prolific on Bournda Beach, to the south, which also has gummy sharks and the odd small bronze whaler.

Plenty of silver trevally are being taken on Tathra Wharf with yellowtail and slimy mackerel. Salmon schools pass regularly and tailor show after dark.

A long cast from the north-east corner will reach sand flathead while closer to the rocks, anglers using weed catch blackfish and the odd drummer.

From the ocean rocks, prawns or cut fish bait have produced many silver trevally with leatherjackets, bream and assorted reef species.

Cabbage weed and cunjevoi account for black and silver drummer.

Lures cast from the point adjacent to the wharf and around towards the pub will produce salmon around sun-up.

Freshwater

Waters finally wake up EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

With the days getting longer, it doesn’t take much time for things to really start warming up, especially the fishing as everything starts to come to life.

The offshore effort has focused on the inshore reef fishing with snapper, morwong, leatherjackets and sand flathead featuring in recent catches, along with some great gummy sharks.

The gamefishing has been quiet and with the warmer current due to arrive over the next few months, its arrival

will mark the start of another season.

Salmon are thick, with fish to 3kg visiting all the local beaches and headlands.

At this time of year it is often possible to see the big dark patches of fish, and if you put a lure in among them you will get an instant response.

In the estuaries the black bream have been well upstream. Try using fresh nippers and bloodworms to give yourself the best chance of success. The best fishing time is around dawn and dusk.

Lure fishers have had some success using soft plastics and suspending hardbodies fished in tight around structure. The odd

good-sized estuary perch has also been caught while targeting these kinds of areas.

Some good reports have come from the mouths of many of the local estuaries of late.

Good-sized yellowfin bream and sand whiting have been caught by anglers using fresh bait on a run-in tide, with the best fishing happening when the conditions coincide with dawn and dusk.

At this time of year things can change quickly as the days get longer and everything starts waking up. This is a great time to chase the flathead as they shake off their Winter lethargy and start feeding more actively.

Salmon are thick, visiting all the local beaches and headlands.

Growing warmth brings life MALLACOOTA

Channel with fresh beach worms a dynamite bait, especially at dusk into the dark.

Yellowfin bream are in the Top and Bottom lakes and plenty of these fish are crackers, weighing a kilo or sometimes more.

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

You have to wonder what happened to Winter. It hit late with a bang, then it was all over.

The water temperature is a good reminder that it’s still Winter offshore with water down around 15°C. The town is quiet at this time of year but as the warmer weather progresses we will see more visitors to the area over the coming months.

The boat ramp at Bastion Point has yet to be started on, with surveyors banging in a few pegs just to let us know something is around the corner.

The fishing off the local beaches has been good with salmon caught from the lake entrance and all the good gutters down Tip Beach and Quarry Beach.

Plenty of salmon are also visiting the lake with fish caught in the channels around the entrance and into the Top and Bottom lakes. They have been easy to catch, eating just about anything that goes

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You may need to chop and change lures until you can find something that the bream will eat. past them.

Offshore, things have been very quiet with a few gummy sharks the main captures. Things will fire up only once the water starts to warm.

This time of year the fishing in Mallacoota is all about the lake and the rivers

The black bream are moving back into the lakes after spawning upstream.

and as the saying goes, ‘when the wattles are blooming the bream are moving’.

The rivers are fishing well for black bream but these fish can be hard to catch at times.

If using lures you need to chop and change until you can find something that they will eat.

Fishing with bait, the best action usually is had at dawn or dusk or on those bad-weather days.

Flathead are also on the go and with the weather warming the fishing will only improve.

Flathead have been caught upstream around Gypsy Point and out into the Bottom Lake.

We will see plenty of big fish caught as they shake off their Winter lethargy.

Silver trevally and some good-sized tailor also have been caught with the Bottom Lake and the channels around the entrance fishing well at different stages of the tide.

Sand whiting have been caught around Harrisons NSWFM

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Gen 3 for Anglers Warehouse Anglers Warehouse at Tweed Heads is about to embark on a third generation of tackle retailing.

Graeme and Julie Poile took over the business in 1990 after Julie’s parents, Ray anb Bev Lederhose, started the iconic Tweed Heads fishing shop in 1975.

Now daughter Angela Poile and partner Jedd Riess are moving the business into its third iteration and

are relocating soon.

The old premises on Wharf Street has been sold and Anglers Warehouse will relocate before Christmas to a complex in Ourimbah Road.

It’ll be a more modern premises with plenty of room and there’ll be more concentration on the full retail experience, with a wide choice of stock on display for comparison shoppers.

All the major brands of

rods, reels, line, terminal tackle, accessories and much more will be on show. And, of course, the prices will be just as competitive.

Phone numbers, email, facebook page and web address will remain the same.

Graeme and Julie will be around to help Angela and Jedd find their feet but they’ll be spending more time fishing as well.

– Anglers Warehouse

Skippers convicted for taking undersized fish Commercial fishers are being warned to adhere to strict fish size limits and licence conditions or face the consequences after skippers of two commercial fishing trawlers were fined over $7,500 for illegal fishing offences detected in Sydney.

Department of Primary Industries, Director of Fisheries Compliance, Mr Glenn Tritton, said in one case the skipper of a South Coast based trawler was fined $4,000 plus placed on a good behaviour bond

by Milton Local Court for selling prohibited size fish.

“Fisheries officers inspected the catch of a 49 year old man from Ulladulla in Sydney in December 2012, after they suspected the majority of the fish were undersized,” Mr Tritton said.

“On inspection it was estimated that 90% of the 1,115 kilograms of silver trevally for sale were of a prohibited size.”

The fish were seized by fisheries officers and donated to Oz Harvest Food Rescue, a charity which collects food that would otherwise be discarded

and distributes it to the disadvantaged.

Mr Tritton said in a separate matter a 54 year old man from Dee Why was fined $3,650 by the Downing Centre Local Court after he was found in possession of prohibited size and mutilated fish.

“An inspection by fisheries officers of the trawlers catch revealed a large quantity of prohibited sized flathead and a bag of flathead fillets,” he said.

“The skipper was apprehended on board the fish trawler just inside the heads of Sydney Harbour as it returned from fishing in ocean waters.

“The skipper of the vessel made admissions to possessing 151 prohibited sized blue spot and tiger flathead and mutilating (filleting at sea) a further 113 flathead (226 fillets).

“Fisheries officers suspected that the flathead were of a prohibited size before they had been filleted.

“The whole catch for that fishing trip was seized, totalling 151 prohibited sized flathead, 226 individual flathead

fillets, 790 kilograms of whole legal size flathead, 433 kilograms of school whiting and 272 kilograms of mixed fish, molluscs and crustaceans.”

Mr Tritton said that fishers must adhere to the rules and regulations or pay the consequences.

“The retention of prohibited size fish and the filleting of fish at sea that are subject to a size limit will not be tolerated,” Mr Tritton said.

“Minimum size limits have been put in place to allow fish to reach a size where they can breed and taking fish before they have reached this size can reduce our fish stocks for future generations.

“Any fish that is caught in NSW that is of a prohibited size must be returned to the water immediately.

“Fisheries officers will continue to bring fishers who ignore the rules before the courts to face severe penalties.”

The NSW fishing regulations can be found online at www.fisheries. nsw.gov.au. - Department of Primary Industries

Pejar Dam Stocking Pejar Dam has gained an additional two thousand Australian bass as part of the NSW Government’s fish stocking program, NSW Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson said.

The Minister today helped release the fingerlings at the dam, north of Goulburn, just a week after releasing large readyto-catch rainbow trout into the water.

“Pejar Dam is already a popular spot for trout anglers because of its reputation for producing trophy sized trout,” Ms Hodgkinson said.

“It is anticipated the release of bass will lure more fishers over coming years and provide a boost to the

local community.

“It also is pleasing to announce that over summer a further 10,000 rainbow trout fingerlings and 5,000 brown trout fingerlings will be stocked into Pejar Dam. “The total number of fish stocked at Pejar Dam is now over 185,000 within ten years,” Ms Hodgkinson said.

Pejar Dam has received: 140,000 rainbow trout; 35,000 brown trout; and almost 10,000 Australian bass.

“The Australian bass fingerlings were bred at the NSW Government’s Port Stephens Fisheries Hatchery and transported here to be released today,” Ms Hodgkinson said.

“The fish stocking

program is supported with funds from the NSW recreational fishing licence fee which are placed into the NSW Recreational Fishing Trust.

“This is another great example of the NSW Government using funds from the Trust to continue to enhance fishing opportunities for our recreational anglers,” Ms Hodgkinson said.

This year the State Government’s fish hatcheries will produce and stock more than one million native fish and close to three million trout and salmon into impoundments and streams throughout regional NSW. – Minister for Primary Industries Kartrina Hodgkinson NSWFM

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Gold down below AYC tournament angler CHRIS FRITH outlines how to jig for golden perch The concept of vertically jigging for golden perch has grown enormously in the past few years, largely due to the growth of competitive yellowbelly fishing in which anglers are constantly trying and refining new techniques.

The popularity of vertical presentations is easily justified; in many situations it is simply the most effective method of catching yellowbelly.

Vertically jigging is the process of targeting specific populations of fish directly under you. It is especially effective on shut-down fish,

allowing anglers to hold their offerings right in strike zone for extended periods.

There are a number of situations where this technique can be employed, such as targeting fish holding tight to timber, sitting in creek beds or feeding off bait-ball edges. These factors will dictate the lure and which of the two main techniques you should use.

BOTTOM TAPPING This technique is best used for targeting fish holding tight to the bottom, particularly in the Summer when yellowbelly

A selection of plastics, vibes and blades that are well suited to vertical presentations.

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seek the cooler depths.

A quality sounder will allow you to identify fish holding in open water, on drop-offs or creek beds but it can still take a keen eye and well set-up unit to pinpoint bottom huggers.

For those without such luxuries, a ‘hit and miss’ approach on standing timber is hard to beat. The ideal depth will depend on the day, but I typically focus on 25-35ft during Summer and up to 13ft when fishing cooler water.

Lipless crankbaits and blades are the weapons of choice for bottom tapping; something with a bit of weight that will maintain good bottom contact.

My preferred lures are Jackall Mask Vibes, TT Switchblades and Mazzy Vibes, although the new Atomic Semi Hardz Vib lures are sure to be a big hit on the yellowbelly scene.

Use darker colours when targeting deep fish; these will stand out the most where there is low visibility by creating a sharp silhouette.

Black and purple patterns are great deep-water performers.

When targeting shallower

Scoffed! Soft vibes such as the Atomic Semi-Hardz and Jackall Mask series are great choices for vertically jigging. depths, natural colours are my mainstay.

Once you have found likely-looking water, simply drop your lure to the bottom and take up slack line so any rod tip movement will transfer to the lure.

Lift and drop the rod tip repeatedly without reeling in any line, allowing the lure to bump and dart off the bottom to stir up silt and mud.

The ideal rod-lift length will vary day to day but about Continued page 54

LURES

There is no ‘best’; sometimes it’s rattling vibes, sometimes blades or plastics but these three will cover most situations: Bottom Tapping • 1/4oz TT Switchblade in golden boy • Jackall Mask Vibe 19g ghost black red belly • Mazzy Vibe in midnight shad Slow Rolling • Z-Man 2.5” GrubZ pumpkinseed on 1/4oz Atomic Seekerz head • Atomic Bass Grub motor oil on 1/4oz Atomic Seekerz head • Berkley Gulp 3” Minnow Grub pumpkinseed on 1/4oz Atomic Seekerz head

Even yellowbelly holding in shallow water will respond to a lure.

Suspended fish are suckers for slowly rolled soft plastics.

Timber-lined banks are reliable areas to begin a hit-and-miss approach.

A quality sounder can help identify snags holding active fish.

GEAR

Fishing thick timber can be extremely rewarding. Soft plastics are a great option for rugged terrain as they’re relatively cheap to lose.

The gear used for vertically targeting yellas changes according to the thickness of cover and lure weight.

The decision between spin and baitcast gear is a personal choice but I opt for baitcast rigs because they allow me to effectively monitor the sink rate of a lure. Often a slow drop works as well as a slow retrieve.

I use four combos which cover most situations. Remember, the larger snags often house the larger fish so don’t be afraid to beef up the artillery in thick cover.

Rod Reel Line Leader Open water light G.Loomis DRS842-2 IMX 4-8lb Pflueger Patriarch 9525 4lb Unitika Silver thread 8lb Unitika Aiger 111 Thin timber medium light Samurai Reaction B251 4-10lb Pflueger Patriarch XT LP 8lb SAS braid 8lb Unitika Aiger 111 Thick timber medium Daiwa Steez MLFSA 4-12lb Shimano Stella 2500 10lb Power Pro 11lb Unitika Aiger 111 Heavy timber heavy Samurai Reaction B351 10-17lb Pflueger Patriarch WLP 15lb SAS Braid 11lb Unitika Aiger 111

THE FIGHT IS VICTORY AND DEFEAT

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www.majorcraft.com.au NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

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Going deep for gold can pay dividends. A Jackall Mask Vibe did the damage on this healthy fish.

From page 53

50cm is pretty standard.

Every couple of minutes it is well worth initiating a full retrieve, which can trigger a bite from nearby fish

watching the presentation. A full retrieve also explores the possibility of hungry goldens holding mid-water.

The metabolism of the fish should dictate how long

is dedicated to a particular snag or drop. Sometimes it may take a good 20 minutes to ignite a bite but this can often be backed up by a frenzy of multiple catches in the following minutes.

SLOW ROLLING Slow rolling is the process of repeatedly sinking an offering to the bottom and starting a slow-paced full retrieve. When the yellowbelly are sitting mid-column it is definitely the technique of choice.

Selecting targets is similar to the bottom tapping approach, with the main difference being taking advantage of the side scanning feature which can be fitted on most modern sounders.

I use a Lowrance HDS7 with StructureScan to identify trees holding active fish mid-column. They display as white dots separated from the main structure body. This allows me to target structures holding more active fish.

Soft plastics come into their own for slow rolling.

The realistic and unassuming presentation of a well-rigged plastic makes these lures proverbial jellybeans for golden perch.

Curl-tail grubs are my pick for this technique but paddletails, jerkbaits and hawg type patterns are also successful.

The general rule for any

plastics fishing is to use the lightest jighead possible while maintaining the desired effect of the lure. Depending on line weight and depth, anywhere from 1/8oz-3/8oz will cover most situations, with 1/4oz the reliable mainstay of many.

When retrieving your plastic, it is good practice to resist striking when you feel a bite. Unlike with conventional lures, you don’t have a set of trebles to rely on so it is important to let the fish nibble its way up the plastic until it eventually finds the hook and loads up the rod.

Many soft plastics, such as Berkley Gulps, come pre-marinated which makes them a top choice for keeping fish interested. Alternatively, a light coat of Halco Catch or Pro-Cure scent is well worth the effort.

WHERE? Most western impoundments have a massive army of standing timber so it can be hard to decide where to start.

I follow two principles: Isolated timber is likely to harbour fish from a larger generalised area.

The other approach is to ‘go hard or go home’ and muscle into the thickest rubbish you’ve ever seen!

ADAPT Fish and fishing conditions are invariably dynamic and it pays to change

what you’re doing when required.

This comes down to just trying different things to see how it pans out.

If you’re targeting bottom huggers with blades and they ‘light up’ and rise all of a sudden, don’t be afraid to drop a plastic down to drag

past their noses.

There really is an endless array of things to try when vertically targeting yellowbelly, such as ice jigs and UV stickers, which could potentially become winning ways for forward-thinking anglers.

– Chris Frith

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What’s new fishing Powered by

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Stop buying batterieS

Black Diamond has just released a hybrid power headlamp called the ReVolt.

It’s the first rechargeable (via USB) headlamp to also run on standard AAA alkaline batteries as a backup.

Other features are a max burn time of up to 300 hours as well as a power meter that indicates the remaining battery life for three seconds after switching on the headlamp.

The ReVolt weighs 97g (including batteries); has an output of 110 lumens; has 1 TriplePower and 4 SinglePower (2 white, 2 red) LEDs; and takes 3 AAA alkaline or 3 AAA NiMH batteries (both included).

The shine distance ranges from 8m to 70m, depending on which setting you select.

The headlamp has a sleek, low-profile design, and settings include full strength in proximity and distance modes, dimming, strobe, red night-vision and lock mode. The design protects the internals from splashing or sprayed water from any angle (IPX 4). It comes in four colours and is available now.

Price: RRP $99.95 www.seatosummit.com.au

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LiveLy’S bLoopit

Lively Lures has recently released a couple of new poppers in the Bloopit range. The two models, the Bloopit and Baby Bloopit, will appeal to anglers looking to make a massive amount of noise with small sized lures.

The Bloopit is 6cm long and weighs in at an easy casting 11g, making it ideal for a vast array of species. In testing barra, jacks, bass, salmon, tailor and saratoga climbed all over the Bloopit and with seven colours available, this lure looks set to be a permanent addition in many tackle boxes.

The Baby Bloopit is a tiny 3.5cm long and weighs in at only 5g. This lure is ideal for species like saratoga, bass, barra, salmon and tailor, however don’t be surprised if larger predators accept the challenge of nailing this little gem. Available in six colours, the Baby Bloopit will be ideal for small-water anglers who love to fish light and get in tight.

Price: Bloopit $12, Baby Bloopit $10 www.livelyluresonline.com.au

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new MuStad octopuS hook

Mustad has boosted its Australian Ultra Point range of chemically sharpened hooks with the addition of an Octopus hook pattern (ref: 92553NP-BN).

The Mustad Octopus hook is a medium gauge hook, situated between the Big Red and Penetrator in strength rating. Thus it provides another option for serious saltwater bait anglers, especially as a snapper hook.

This hook comes in the attractive new green Mustad labelling, in individual selfserve packs or boxes of 25. The size range is from 8/0 to 4 making it ideal for bait fishing for many saltwater and freshwater species, right up to snapper, mulloway and reef fish.

The Mustad Octopus hook is finished in black nickel and being an Ultra Point hook, it gives excellent point durability while retaining super sharpness.

Price: from $6.50 per pack www.wilsonfishing.com

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ShiMano techniuM Fd

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berkLey FoLding netS

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FuLLing MiLL FLieS

1

Given the long list of features found on Shimano’s new Technium FD series of spin reels, you’d expect them to be quite heavy, but that’s where you’d be wrong.

Thanks to the use of XGT7 in the body and XT7 in the rotor, these reels are light yet strong, and are no problem to hold whether actively spinning with lures or patiently waiting for a bite.

The Technium FDs feature X-Ship for more efficient power transmission when winding, three SA-RB bearings, Aero Wrap II line lay on the AR-C spool for effortless and accurate distance casting with Power Pro braid or nylon, and Floating Shaft II. These light to medium class spin reels are going to prove very popular with anglers fishing freshwater lakes, rivers, estuaries, even offshore, and are all covered by Shimano’s exclusive 10-year reel warranty.

Price: from approx. $140 www.shimanofish.com.au

The new Folding Nets from Berkley feature a folding hoop section and retractable handle for easy storage.

They’re available in kayak, general purpose and boat sizes to cover all applications. The mesh is made from fishfriendly silicon netting to minimize damage to the fish’s protective slime layer, scales and fins. It’s a great option if you want to give released fish the best chance of survival.

Other features of these quality nets include lightweight, corrosion-resistant aluminium construction, and EVA handles for a secure grip.

Price: from RRP $79.95 berkley-fishing.com.au

Fulling Mill is recognised as Europe’s leading quality fly manufacturer. It has a pedigree which dates back to the early 1930s, and has made over 200,000,000 flies.

Australian tackle distributor Mayfly Tackle recognised that the commercial flies reaching Australian shores were tied for price rather than quality. They felt that a high percentage of fly anglers who had little spare time to tie their own patterns were more than willing to pay more for flies tied on quality hooks with quality materials.

“When tackle retailers viewed the range at the recent AFTA Tackle Trade Show, they were left wondering whether we had sub contracted local custom fly tiers – that’s how good the flies were,” said Andrew Summers from Mayfly. “The quality has never been seen before at commercial scale.”

Mayfly Tackle has added the popular whistler patterns to their range and plans to add Australian patterns to the range over time.

“An expensive fly rod, reel and fly line are pretty much useless if you have a poor quality fly that doesn’t sit on the surface or swim correctly,” Andrew explained. “The Fulling Mill brand is worth chasing down at your local tackle store.”

Price: from RRP $2.95 www.mayflytackle.com.au

Please send contributions to: The Editor, Fishing Monthly Group PO BOX 3172 LOGANHOLME, QLD. 4129

NSWFM

What’s new fishing Powered by

FEaTurE proDucT daiwa tatula Designed to meet the durability and performance requirements of pro anglers, Daiwa’s Tatula has a rugged gear train that’s fully supported within rigid aluminium housing.

Loaded with proven technologies – Real Four, Digigear, Magforce Z and Ultimate Tournament Drag (UTD) – the Tatula also introduces Air Rotation, new generation TWS ‘T-Wing System’, and a super tuned large capacity spool.

A precision-designed solid aluminium frame and gear side plate deliver maximum power and unrivalled durability, while the ergonomically designed reel profile fits effortlessly in the palm of the hand.

The 90mm handle delivers maximum cranking power while its swept handle brings the cranking handle closer to the reel’s centre of balance, allowing for increased balance, power and comfort. It also features supersized non-slip paddle knobs and a large-armed ratcheted star drag.

The T-Wing System delivers improved casting performance and line control, a reduction in line noise and friction, and greater reel stability and balance. It has shattered the concept of traditional levelwind systems, with a moving line guide that pivots forward and back between the cast and retrieve position.

Of course, it’s just as strong and reliable as its predecessor.

New Air Rotation technology makes turning the handle almost effortless. The Tatula’s precision designed and machined gearing delivers buttery cranking and unrivalled smoothness when under load.

Magforce Z combines the best attributes of old-fashioned mechanical braking with

advanced magnetic braking technology, and easily adjusts to any skill level to control backlash.

Tatula takes Magforce Z one step further, with a 20-increment magnetic cast control dial giving anglers even more precision and control.

With 6kg of drag pressure available, the Tatula’s Ultimate Tournament Drag can handle any fish, and it does it with silky smooth braking power.

The wide spool delivers improved castability due to line being able to more freely unwind, and this is enhanced by the wide ‘casting area’ of the T-Wing, allowing unrestricted line flow. It all adds up to a reduction in line angles, line friction and backlashes, and a vast improvement in casting performance.

With a host of models available, from the slow cranking power of the 100P to the highspeed capabilities of the 100HS and the supertuned Type R 100H, there’s a Tatula to satisfy any angler.

Price: approx. $200-$250 www.daiwafishing.com.au

FEaTurE proDucT techni ice’s Signature Series Iceboxes are iceboxes, right?

Wrong! There are hundreds of bits and pieces that need to come together to form a reliable and effective icebox, and Techni Ice has bought these together in their new Signature Series.

The Signature Series comprises seven boxes that range in size from the easily portable 35L box through to the giant, “see you in a couple of weeks” 125L box. In between there are the 45L, 60L, 70L, 85L and 105L iceboxes to ensure you can grab the exact one to meet your needs.

The Signature Series combines all of Techni Ice’s best innovations. For a start, the boxes are elevated on four feet to stop rising heat from the ground penetrating the box from underneath. Air flowing under the Signature icebox clears the heat away.

Additionally, each Signature Series box has a genuine refrigerator gasket seal and a corresponding moulded ledge to ensure no air transfer can occur when the box is closed.

Techni Ice has also used marine grade rope and large, comfortable handles. This makes portage easy, especially on the larger models.

Fully integrated anchor points enable the ice box to be anchored to the boat or ute, and this anchor point can be used as a locking point if required. Techni Ice has also incorporated a massive 60mm bung for simple and quick drainage.

And if that’s not enough, the Signature Series also features two models (85L and 105L) that have wheels for the ultimate

in portability.

Lastly, all boxes in the range are designed with fully recessed stainless latches to minimise snagging on these vital areas, and fully integrated hinges that are designed to last a lifetime.

Keeping your goods cold is not a problem either. Techni Ice has used impressive wall and lid thickness, combined with high-density commercial insulation to give these boxes a real and measureable edge in ice retention.

Cooler for longer, a range of 7 sizes and a price that will impress, the Techni Ice Signature Series of iceboxes has a lot going for it. Check them out online if you’re looking for your next icebox. – Stephen Booth Price: from $159 for 35L (plus delivery) www.techniice.com

tackle boxes or worse looking for all the bits and pieces. I even chuck in a pair of scissors and my leader material on top of the plastics so I don’t forget those two vital pieces of equipment. And yes if you’re wondering I have forgotten leader and scissors and tying jigheads directly to braid is interesting. Still caught fish, it just simply felt wrong.

Summing up, the Plano Liqua-Bait Locker System is the system that has it all as far as I am concerned. It allows a simplicity in approach that I love and I am now not forgetting vital tools of the trade when I am in someone else’s boat and we’re chasing flathead on plastics.

Tough, durable, waterproof and does the job.

What more could you want?

Look out for these boxes at your local tackle store and think about how it will help organise your tackle and make your time on the water more about the fishing than the finding. And God knows I need all the help I can get to concentrate on the fishing rather than the finding. The units are sold separately so you can mix and match them how you want. In fact I have just purchased an extra Liqua-Bait Wallet to store larger jigheads for fishing deeper water and larger soft plastics.

A brilliant system. - Stephen Booth Price: $70-$80 for all three boxes together www.jmgillies.com.au

TESTED:

pLano Liqua-bait Locker SySteM

The Plano Liqua-Bait Locker System is one of the best systems I own for soft plastic lure fishing. Why’s that you ask?

Let me explain.

This system is specifically designed with soft plastics in mind and offers a peace of mind not found in many other plastic storage systems. I have a Liqua-Bait Locker, the Liqua-Bait Bottle, that comes with a set of tongs to allow users to get into the LiquaBait Bottle and extract their plastics, to store stinky, moist soft plastics like Gulp that need to be stored in air tight containers and juice.

Lastly I have a Liqua-Bait Wallet, which is a smaller box that is ideal for odds and ends that I use for jighead storage. The main box itself is big at 36cm x 23cm x 8cm and this size allows a heap of soft plastic packets to be stored easily. Best of all it’s totally water proof, in fact every container in the system uses a durable o-ring seal, non-corrosive pinned hinges and an advanced

latching system to ensure your plastics stay fresh and secure, and your boat and tackle bag stay odour free.

While all this is good, in fact it’s great, the best part for me is that I can store all of my flathead soft plastic requirements in one box. In the box I have around 20 packets of plastics. I use the Liqua-Bait Wallet (18cm x 11cm 4cm) to store my jigheads and the Liqua-Bait Bottle (18cm x 9cm x 6cm) is used to store some Gulp plastics of various sizes and shapes. This means that when I jump on someone else’s boat I can have all my terminal tackle in one neat box, not take up much room and get on with the job of outfishing them, or as is more common, being a good net-boy for them!

Being a clear box, the boxes are actually made from Duraview material, you can see that you have the right box and can then get on with the job of rigging up rather than sorting through wallets,

Please send contributions to: The Editor, Fishing Monthly Group PO BOX 3172 LOGANHOLME, QLD. 4129

NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

57

What’s new fishing Powered by

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A lot of heat radiated from the sun isn’t blocked by the UV filters in standard sunglasses.

However, Mako’s HDIR lenses (High Definition Infra Red protection) have changed all that. As well as filtering 100% of harmful UVA and UVB rays, and providing 99% glare reduction, these lenses also filter infrared rays to deliver the ultimate in protection, heat reduction and comfort for your eyes. It’s particularly good for anglers in hot climates.

As a bonus, the HDIR lenses also filter certain wavelengths of the visible spectrum that reduce your eyes’ ability to function at their best. By filtering these wavelengths, the lenses give you even greater clarity and contrast.

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new JarviS waLker crab potS

Crabbers will appreciate the hand-made quality and great value in the new crab pots and traps from Jarvis Walker.

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Jarvis Walker has also added the new Drop Net Heavy Duty 2 Ring to their comprehensive crabbing/netting range. It has an 800mm diameter with a 300mm depth.

The thick rings, quality mesh and hand-made build ensure this is another Jarvis Walker netting product that is made to last.

The entire Jarvis Walker netting range includes more than 20 products from bait, yabby and crab traps, to heavy-duty crab pots, floats, ropes and crab bait holders, with products suited to the various laws in each state and territory.

Price: RRP $49.95 www.jarviswalker.com.au

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70MM gouLburn codger arriveS

An iconic native lure in Victoria, the Goulburn Codger series has had a middlesized brother added to its range, and this lure will appeal to lure casters and trollers alike.

Designed with the same body shape as the 55mm and 85mm Codgers, the 70mm version exhibits the same fish-catching sway of the range in a size that all native fish will find appealing. Designed to dive on the cast down to around 3m and nudge the 5m barrier on the troll, the 70mm Codger is set to make a big impact this coming season.

Available in a range of colours that includes some stunning natural patterns, the ever reliable contrast colours and some more exotic attractor patterns, the 70mm Codger is set to become a very heavily fished lure. Trout, redfin, barra, jacks and bass will all find this lure attractive and will nail it without hesitation.

Price: RRP $16 goulburn.lures@bigpond.com

58

NOVEMBER 2013

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haMa kuru hitS the SurFace

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zMan 4” diezeL Minnowz

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it Sure duz repeL MozzieS

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Hama Kuru is a new lure in Jackall Australias arsenal.

A 75mm, floating, 8gm tripple jointed surface crawler designed to imitate a wounded reptile or fish. The vertical bib keeps the lure on or just waking the surface to attract strikes from wary surface feeders.

Bass, saratoga, sooties and cod are just a few of the fish that come to mind when you look at this lure but anything that feeds on or close to the surface will smash them.

Testing on some lakes has shown this lure to pull hookups from larger fish that the usual more common surface poppers etc could only get looks or short strikes.

This lure comes with all the usual Jackall high quality features.

Price: RRP $25 www.jackall.com.au

The ZMan 4” DieZel MinnowZ was born from the success of the ZMan 3” MinnowZ, a compact paddle-tail that has a knack for attracting the attention of everything from bass, flathead and jewies to mangrove jack and metre-plus barra.

After numerous requests from anglers for a larger version of the MinnowZ, ZMan created the 4” DieZel MinnowZ. Like all ZMan ElaZtech plastics, the DieZel MinnowZ is 10X tough, so you catch more fish per lure.

It’s also super-soft and flexible, for maximum action and a realistic feel that keeps fish biting.

It’s an extremely versatile and popular plastic that maintains the lively yet subtle tail action of the 3” MinnowZ, with a slightly longer, slimmer and deeper body profile that will appeal to larger predators and those that are feeding on larger profile baitfish.

The inclusion of a belly slot allows for effective weedless rigging, and it’s a great place to squirt a bit of scent for added attraction. There are 10 colours in the range, including pearl, electric chicken, Houdini and opening night, with five DieZel MinnowZ per pack.

Price: SRP $8.95 www.z-man.com.au

With the warm weather here, the mozzies have taken it upon themselves to breed up and get damn well annoying. Whether you’re in Queensland, NSW, Victoria or Tasmania, these annoying blood suckers are on the march, which stops a lot of outdoor activities.

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Used in a similar fashion to any candle, the Sure Duz team recommend that the candle be lit 20 minutes before outdoor activities take place. For those looking to take back the outdoors this summer, Sure Duz helps make it easier.

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Please send contributions to: The Editor, Fishing Monthly Group PO BOX 3172 LOGANHOLME, QLD. 4129

NSWFM

What’s new fishing Powered by

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rapaLa tripLe x-rap

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Designed in Australia for the toughest, hard-fighting fish, Rapala’s Triple X-Rap comes equipped with the most durable construction for a lure in its category that Rapala has ever released.

Complete with moulded bib, 4X strong split rings, 6X VMC Perma Steel treble hooks, through-wired construction and a secured solid tow ring, the Triple X-Rap leaves nothing to chance.

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Available only in Australia, the Rapala Triple X-Rap is currently available in eight unique colour patterns. Keep an eye out for it at your favourite tackle store.

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With a swag of high-end features, the Ecooda Black Hawk combo looks like a $1000 outfit but without the premium price tag.

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The series consists of spin models ranging from 6’10” to 7’0” in ultra-light, light, medium and medium-heavy in one and two-piece.

With its stealth design, precise performance and slick cosmetics, the Ecooda Black Hawk reel will tackle any challenge. Features include a Ecooda exclusive laser-etched custom ported spool, ultra-slim aluminium body, carbon fibre rotor, precision line lay, patented carbon fibre drag system, and 5+1 stainless steel ball bearings. It’s available in 2000, 3000 and 4000 sizes.

The rods and reels are available separately, or you can get the perfectly matched Black Hawk combo.

Price: RRP $249 for the combo www.ecooda.com.au

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powerbait 2” hawg iS back

When Berkley’s Power Hawg first burst onto the bream scene in Australia it quickly became a go-to shape for tournament anglers when fishing structure.

Still true to this day, this durable creature bait is deadly. The Hawg’s long flapping appendages create an enticing action that fish can’t resist, especially when combined with the fish-attracting power of PowerBait.

Now the Hawg is back in a range of original and new colours. Anglers will remember watermelon and Japanese green pumpkin, and now banana and pepper prawn have made their way into the new Hawg line-up.

Price: RRP $7.95 berkley-fishing.com.au

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daiwa caLdia Sha

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yaMaShita egi oh k

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SaMaki zing xtreMe

The Caldia SHA introduces new innovations and unparalleled designs, with the combination of Magseal, Air Rotor and Zaion, along with other features such as ABS, Digigear and Airbail, making it one of Daiwa’s most technically advanced reels.

The Caldia uses Magseal, which eliminates the intrusion of dust and water, eliminates oil spray, improves reel life expectancy and delivers friction-free rotary performance.

Caldia SHA uses Air Rotor, which is hollow for reduced weight, and has more surface area to create increased strength and sensitivity. This decrease in weight, increased surface area and new resin construction transmits lure vibration to the angler like never before.

The machined Zaion body is extremely rigid, incredibly strong and amazingly light. In manufacture, it is first ‘cast’ and then machined to the same precision as metal bodies, and has comparative strength to magnesium or aluminium while being fully corrosion-resistant.

Daiwa’s Digigear II features a highprecision cutting technique that achieves perfect gear meshing and ultra smooth performance.

Digigear II is also ultra strong, corrosion resistant, and impressively light.

The Caldia SHA 4000 will be available early next year. There will be four models, ranging from the 2000 (6.0/81cm ratio, 9+1 (5 CRBB) ball bearings, 6lb/190m, 8lb/150m, PE 1/200 m, 1.5/150m) to the 4000 (4.9/86cm, 9+1 (5 CRBB), 16lb/250m, 20lb/200m, PE: 2.5/300 m, 3/250 m, 4/180 m).

Price: Too new! www.daiwafishing.com.au

The Yamashita Egi Oh K delivers superior action in tough conditions thanks to its Hydro System design.

The Hydro fin at the rear helps maintain a stable falling angle and avoids unnatural action while sinking. The pentagon shape of the body, with its flat bottom, further improves the jig’s stability while it’s falling.

The flat Hydro eyes contribute to a smooth darting action, and the UV Glow (keimura) pupils sit within a lumo iris to create a unique double-impact appeal.

The Hydro sinker is lead-free and contains tuning holes for a slow sink. The double crown rear hooks are opened out slightly wider, to maximise the hook-up rate.

The reflective lateral line creates a strong appeal in all conditions, and its patented Warm Jacket converts light to heat to make the jig slightly warmer than the surrounding water to maximise its attraction.

Price: $25 www.ejtodd.com.au

The Samaki Zing Xtreme is for all the dedicated Zing followers.

The Xtreme boasts 30 and 40 tonne Japanese Toray Carbon for premium action, Fuji K Guides for casting accuracy and hardened EVA camouflaged grips for the perfect Samaki cosmetic.

With a huge line-up ranging from 7’6” extra-light spin models to 7’0” medium-heavy spin, 5’4” medium-heavy bait cast to 6’0” heavy bait cast, there’s an action to suit all your needs.

Price: RRP $199.95 www.samaki.com.au

Please send contributions to: The Editor, Fishing Monthly Group PO BOX 3172 LOGANHOLME, QLD. 4129

NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

59

Plenty to cast a fly at CANBERRA

Bryan Pratt

The opening of the trout season in October is an important time for the Canberra-Monaro trout fisheries.

During the closed season anglers take the opportunity to service rods and reels, replace worn lines, repair waders, check the status of lifejackets, restock fly and lure boxes and generally start the season in a refreshed and ready mode.

Then it’s time to greet old friends and revel in the joy of simply being outdoors after a long cold Winter.

It’s usually a productive time to fish, too. The streams are mostly full from rain and snowmelt, the browns and rainbows have all finished spawning and are hungry for

food to put on condition. This is the ideal time to chase a trout.

There has been a surge of interest in fly fishing in recent times, partly because we have put a lot of effort into publicising it and teaching newcomers the gentle art of fur, feathers and the wand, and partly because a lot more fish than usual have been available in the big mountain lakes and Canberra-Monaro streams.

All has improved since the big drought finished several years ago.

We also had a visit from Tasmanian Peter Hayes, a champion fly caster, teacher and ball of energy. In six days he conducted eight fullysubscribed fly casting clinics and gave two talks to the ACT Fly Fishers and at The Anglers Art. It was invigorating to see

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how well local fishers, even seasoned veterans who have seen it all before, responded to his enthusiasm for flyfishing and he is welcome back anytime.

The Canberra Anglers Association also was busy.

They stage free fly casting classes for the public on the lawns of Old Parliament House on the three Sundays prior to the opening of the season. Each year there is a big crowd of newcomers and it is particularly pleasing to see the numbers of women and children taking up the sport. A pat on the back to all of them.

We also had the annual Rise Fly Fishing Film Festival before the opening. This is the eighth year this worldwide enterprise has come to Canberra and they screened four wonderful films designed to do one thing – get you excited about flyfishing.

If you see an ad for the festival in your part of the world, move heaven and earth to get there – you will appreciate it.

BE A PET… In previous columns we have detailed some of the funny stories about the involvement of pets with fly rods and fly-tying equipment.

There was the dog that chewed up a $1000 Loomis rod, a horse that chewed the end off a Hardy fly rod, two cats that bit through new $100 fly lines, the dog that ate $300 worth of tying material and died, and a lovers’ tiff because the boyfriend wanted to shave his girlfriend’s cat to make fur flies.

More recently comes news of the cat which has been surreptitiously stealing items of fly-tying material and hiding them, to the bewilderment of the poor fly-tier. For months he was convinced things were going missing and found out only when he had to shift a malfunctioning refrigerator.

Behind the fridge were all of his missing materials, planted there for whatever reason by his innocent-looking moggy.

I also recently heard or a

Peter Hayes in red cap, teaching a fly class on the shores of Lake Ginninderra. chap’s mother, searching for a bit of string to hang Christmas cards on, who cut several metres off his prized fly line, because ‘there was such a lot of it’. Feel free to send me more.

REDFIN COMPETITION An interesting competition is being staged in Canberra.

It’s round two of the Redfin of Origin competition, in which anglers from the north side of Canberra fishing in Lake Ginninderra, are pitted against those from the south side, fishing in Lake Tuggeranong.

Apart from the prizes the winners win bragging rights for their suburb and enjoy a bit of competitive fun.

LBG BROWNS Lake Burley Griffin, that is. Robert Coulson made an interesting catch in the lake recently, a brown trout of about a kilo in perfect condition, caught on a locally-made Noxious micro spinnerbait while fishing for redfin.

Burley Griffin in past years was a superb trout fishery but that declined because of water quality and other issues and

Locally-made boilies are proving a hit with Canberra carp anglers.

Only redfin are involved and its a fun competition with some great cash and tackle prizes. The idea is to measure and photograph each fish caught, then the pics are sent to the competition headquarters.

trout have not been seen for many years.

This fish probably originated from the upper Queanbeyan River, where there is a breeding population of trout, and travelled 50km-

READER’S PICTURE

7

36

60km down through Googong Reservoir and Queanbeyan to get to Burley Griffin.

COD PARADOX The Murray cod season closure until December 1 always presents a problem. It is to enable fish to spawn in peace but during this period they are so silly and so active they are likely to jump on any bait, lure or fly.

That means anglers fishing legitimately for other species are likely to catch a cod. How then do you minimise your chances of catching one and staying within the law?

That’s hard to answer but I guess it would help if anglers refrained from fishing in known cod hot spots. Avoiding the use of large lures, deepdivers and spinnerbaits also might help, as might avoiding the use of the cod’s favourite baits, shrimps, yabbies and bardi grubs.

Further suggestions would be welcomed.

BOILIES SUCCESS For our specialist carp fishing mates, the boilies we mentioned last month that are manufactured in Canberra are an outstanding success.

Anglers report that many small and large carp have been caught on them and the only decision to make is to whether to choose garlic, corn, aniseed, chocolate, strawberry, coconut or other flavours available.

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hitide@2sm.com.au 60 • NOVEMBER 2013

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Jake Duckworth from Addicted Fishing Co with his 4th ever flathead – a cracker measuring 80cm long. [Image: James Fox Photography]

Big yellas infest Blowering BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

When you are in gorgeous surroundings with Goldilocks weather (neither too hot nor too cold), catching fish at this time of year is always a bonus.

Most species are quite active and getting about freely, making them quite easy to catch at times.

At Blowering Dam your main target this month will likely be golden perch. The goldens so far this spring have been sensational, with some huge yellas proving that Blowering is up there with the best lakes in the country when it comes to landing a trophy golden.

I have been making the most of the great fishing, landing a heap of big goldens including a massive 661mm fish which is a pending ANSA length-

only national record. It is not verified yet but I will keep you posted.

At Blowering countless 600mm-plus fish are caught each year so when fishing here you are always in with the chance of a monster.

The next fish you hook could be that trophy you will never forget.

The awesome yella fishing should continue this month as these fish continue to bulk up on a smorgasbord of food.

Casting a dry fly should really pick up this month on the lakes and in the running water. Best time for dry-fly action is around dusk but if you add a nymph dropper below a hopper dry fly, you could hook fish all day long.

The best time to target them, particularly on hotter days, is late afternoon but on those cooler days, particularly windy and overcast, they can bite in gentlemen’s hours in the middle of the day. This is great news if you don’t like those early starts or can’t hang around until the late afternoon bite.

Most anglers will target these fish with cast or trolled lures and it is hard to beat lipless crankbaits.

The Balista Juggernaut has been my pick so far but others like the Jackall TN60 are accounting for plenty of fish.

Lipless cranks are very versatile as they work great on the cast and trolled. It seems every fish that swims likes them so you just never know what is going to whack one next.

There is a good chance of hooking a good trout while targeting the goldens at this time of year and you should also see a few redfin frequenting the shallows as well.

TROUT With the new stream season open we can fish the lakes or the running water.

Trout will be firing in

Blowering golden perch have been sensational lately with fish like the author’s pending ANSA length-only national record golden perch up and about. The 661mm yella took a slow-rolled Balista Juggernaut cast from the bank. the creeks and rivers by now but if there is a heap of rain just prior to your trip and the rivers are too high and dirty for lure and flyfishing, hit the lakes.

If you’re a baitfisher, however, stick with the higher flowing creeks and rivers; this is when bait fishing comes into its own.

Simply drift a lightly weighted garden worm or wood grub along in the slower parts of the creek and strike as soon as your bait stops drifting.

If it stops drifting, it has been eaten by a fish or has become stuck on the bottom.

Either way, strike as if it is

a fish because it is often hard to tell the difference but striking every time will increase your chances of hooking fish.

This month we should see a bit more dry-fly action as insect life becomes more prevalent.

The best time to try for some surface action is right on dusk but the odd trout will stick its nose out during the day for a well-presented grasshopper imitation.

Team the hopper dry fly with a red Copper John gold bead-head nymph on a dropper and you should be able to get into fish all day long.

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NOVEMBER 2013 •63

High lake for Trout Festival smaller than the previous five so will have very little effect on lake levels and no effect at all on how the lake

JINDABYNE

Steve Williamson swtrout@airlan.com.au

I guess I could almost say that I have never seen two years so different, with 2012 having a late, cold Winter and 2013 bringing a warm, wet start to Spring and possibly even an early summer.

As I reported last month, there were only small water releases from Lake Jindabyne into the lower Snowy River and the next release will be on November 6. It will be even

will fish during the Trout Festival from November 2-8.

A high lake has kept

NOVEMBER ROUNDUP

Best method – Lake bank with artificial bait or scrub worms.

Best trolling lure – Rapala CD07 Scatter Rap gold, Tasmanian Devil No 111 green and gold.

Best lake areas – Creel Bay, Waste Point, Stinky Bay (The Haven).

Best lake fly – black weighted Woolly Bugger, Williamson’s Goldfish.

Best river fly – black bead-head nymph, size 12 Tea Tree Beetle Best river lures – Gillies Feathertail Spinner, trout pattern 3cm Bullet Lure Best lake lures – Trout pattern Dorado and Rayza 40 blades.

“All trout flies $1.20” For all your fly fishing needs ORDER ONLINE

the edge fishing at its best and plenty of trout are still being caught on bait, lure and fly.

We saw more insects about earlier this year so the river fishing started off with a big bang for the dry-fly fishers. After such a slow start last year it was great to go down to

months.

On the rivers and streams we are seeing plenty of white moths and tea tree beetles and a start to the hopper season.

If you want to you can still use a small nymph dropper in the faster water just to double your chances at catching a fish.

The flyfishing on the lake is still very good.

Small bays and inlets will produce results very early and late in the day if you’re careful not to spook the trout.

Woolly Buggers, Craig’s Nighttime and Williamson’s Goldfish have been the flies to use at dawn and dusk. The shallow bays are worth a try before the sun rises but after that you had better be fishing deep.

Towing lures at 2m and on lead-core lines will be the best methods to get a trout for the trollers.

It is also definitely

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the Thredbo River and see plenty of fish rising.

How the season will progress for now on will depend on how much rain we get. Most of the snow has melted now so we can’t rely on that as a supply for our rivers over coming

worth trolling some minnows early in the morning off the lead-core.

StumpJumper have some great colours in the 3.5” model now. And with Tassie Devils in Canberra Killer, Willy’s Special and brown bomber and the usual Rapalas, you are sure to catch a few fish.

The unique action of Rapala’s new Scatter Rap has proven very effective and it would be wise to try one off your lead-core early, especially before sunrise.

We have been trying out the relatively new LED Balista Trigger lures and have found them effective off the downrigger and lead-core. There are some exciting colours in the

Sydney visitor Virginia Chung caught this 2.2kg brown on a scrubworm. new range.

The best areas to troll at the moment with the high lake have been the East Jindabyne Islands, Hayshed and Hatchery bays and up at Creel Bay. BAIT, SPINNING Bait fishing has been good, especially if you team up your rig with worms and artificial baits.

Put two hooks on the line and combine a worm and artificial bait to double your chances.

The best areas have been around Waste Point, the Claypits and at East Jindabyne near Rushes Creek.

Spinning has been good early and late in the day and should continue that way for a while yet.

There are trout about and the best fishing is in the shallows early and in deep water later in the day.

Minnows like floating Rapalas, StumpJumpers and other brands have been best in natural rainbow trout and brown trout patterns or in gold to represent the

Jindabyne goldfish that the trout love to eat.

Don’t stay in one place too long and put in only a couple of casts in each area.

If you have been following my Lake Jindabyne Trout Fishing Adventures Facebook page you would have seen the new Bullet lures we have been trying out.

With the rivers now open we have experienced some good success with these little lures.

As the name implies, they cast like bullets and have been effective in the faster water and have a great action for such a small lure.

• Check out the range in my shop or on Facebook – so far there is no website for these lures. Call in at my shop next to the Shell servo at the junction of the Kosciusko Road and the Alpine Way or phone me on 02 6456 1551 for the latest updates. For daily updates become our friend on Facebook.

Nathan Berkery of Jindabyne is a convert to the new Rapala Scatter Rap after bagging this 3.6kg brown on a gold one.

Goldens step up a notch WAGGA WAGGA

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Summer is well and truly on its way and that means Murray Cod season isn’t far off reopening and if the local systems keep performing the way they have, we will have a great start.

But November is a magical time for golden perch and we will see plenty of these fish coming

from the local rivers and dams.

This is the month when we start to see some real consistency in water temps and the goldens will become very active and very accessible to any angler who puts a lure or bait in the right spot.

The fish will be in their usual haunts around heavy structure but you can afford to be a little less accurate with your casts because in the warmer water these

natives will quite often travel a few metres to nail a lure.

Dark purple seems to be a standout when it comes to lure colours. Small willowblade spinnerbaits and 60mm hardbodies will do the trick.

Bait fishos will have success with worms, grubs and small yabbies.

EUCUMBENE The stream season opening has come and gone and as usual there were

Caleb Craig with an early season rainbow caught drifting a nymph on one of the faster runs on the Eucumbene River.

During Murray cod closed season, and any time of year really, it’s a very good idea to remove the hooks while the fish is still in the water to minimise the stress placed on it.

bucketloads of anglers on the river around the Denison campground.

The river will fire up towards the end of November and we should have the odd hatch happening by then, so be sure to carry a few dry flies with you if you’re planning a river session.

The lake is by far the best option for any angler, with huge numbers of rainbows being reeled in along with some cracking browns.

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The water rose throughout October, bringing the fish in very close to the shore, which translates into great landbased fishing.

Bait has been very productive and as is to be expected, artificial baits are accounting for the majority of the rainbows while fresh worms and grubs fished unweighted have accounted for the browns.

Naturally coloured 5cm-7cm Rapalas have been doing well on browns

and rainbows but it is very hard to go past soft stickbaits or paddletails at this time of year.

Stand well back from the bank when casting because there are plenty of big browns cruising very close to shore at the moment. Be sure to fish your lure right to the edge.

This really is a great time to be in the mountains chasing trout. You can literally fish from sun-up to sundown and catch fish throughout the day.

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Warmer water, more insects these lures are after sunset to around 10pm, and then about half an hour before sunrise to about an hour after.

But if the day is quite overcast and there’s a bit of wind blowing, working surface lures along the banks at the back of the weed can be very productive. You can also cast in close to high banks that offer plenty of cover.

The Paterson and Williams rivers are in perfect condition and producing good numbers of bass from the lower tidal reaches right up to the freshwater.

Most of these fish will take reaction lures, with my favourites 50mm hardbodies and 1/4oz compact spinnerbaits.

MAITLAND

Dave McLean djfmclean@bigpond.com

This looks like being a bit different from last November; the water in the dams is a bit warmer and there appears to be a lot more insect activity around after a warm Winter.

So this should be a prime month to get out the surface lures for the adrenalin-rush topwater hits.

There is a vast array of surface lures available but my favourites remain the Heddon Tiny Torpedo fizzer, the Jackall SK Pop popper, the Megabass Siglett crawler and Taylor Made Basscada paddler.

The best times to use

The Hunter River should continue firing from the lower reaches right through the valley up to Aberdeen.

The Hunter fish are best targeted with surface lures in the low light and then with spinnerbaits, hardbodies and Beetle Spins. Some good hardbodies to try include the locally made Marz range and Jackall Chubbies.

I have not heard any reports from the Barrington Tops since the trout season opened but with the good flows up there, this season should be a very good.

Lostock Dam is really firing from the banks with fish taking Jackall TN 50s

plastics in the brighter part of the day out in 6m-7m.

In low-light periods use crankbaits or spinnerbaits worked right off the banks.

Lipless cranks work well down in the Broadwater, especially around the timbered areas up the bays from Wallaroo Point down to the landslip.

Up the back of the Fallbrook Arm from Carnells Corner to the Ruins along the old river channel, the banks are very good for casting spinnerbaits and lipless cranks.

Out on the flats, blades are very productive and in the timber, slow-rolled plastics do the job. This

Blair Whitney with two very well-conditioned Glenbawn bass that fell to surface lures after a storm front moved through.

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and 60s in peacock and ayu patterns and poppers in low light periods.

ST CLAIR Lake St Clair is holding around 98% and the water is up around 22°-23° with reasonably good weed forming, especially along sloping points that run back towards a gulley.

Up the back of the Carrowbrook Arm along some of these gently sloping banks the bass can be targeted using blades or

area always produces good fish if there have been strong westerly winds.

This area is also very good for trolling deep lures along the gullies.

Wood Bay is another very good area to target with blades and plastics out

along the points and into the 7m depths after strong winds.

There have been some school bass holding deep around Gindigah and down off Richards Point. These fish can be very frustrating but ice jigs or cut-down plastics can sometimes trigger a strike.

The best trolling area this month normally is in 6m-10m along the river channels up the back of both arms, but also try along the points on the eastern side of the dam and down around the St Clair island.

Bait fishing should really fire with catties and bass coming off the banks around Kellahear Point and up into Gindigah Bay, mainly at night on worms or yabbies.

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Tony Sansom with a beaut Barrington River bass caught on a Jitterbug.

GLENBAWN Glenbawn continues to fish well but one day it can be tops and the next shut down. But persistence usually pays off.

The water is just about up to 23°, which is when things really fire.

Surface lures are accounting for nice bass right up the back of the dam around some of the heavy timber, especially if it has been typically windy. Also try down around Cemetery Point to North Run. Along the timbered banks up the back of the dam around the Panhandle, some nice bass have hit deep plastics and ice jigs in 7m-15m, where they are feeding on gudgeons and smelt.

Along the steeper banks around the heavy timber you need reasonably heavy tackle with spinnerbaits, deep-divers and lipless crankbaits.

Down around the Narrows there have been some bass among the timbered banks. These are best targeted with spinnerbaits and shallow divers, especially late in the day.

The Main Basin is always a good area to target in mid-Spring with golden and silvers perch and bass caught on bait fished along the bank or dropped down a tree. Trolling is a very good option along either side of the basin and around the entrance to Boat Harbour.

A very interesting article I read several years ago said that in impoundments 90% of the fish congregate in 10% of the area which provides the optimum environment, structure and Continued page 67

Yarrawonga yella yield YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

Staring into my crystal ball and reviewing notes from previous years, the traditional arrival of ‘spring gold’, aka golden perch, should start to fire in and around Lake Mulwala anywhere from

mid October onwards.

Best bet for this time of year is to target the yellas in waters above Majors Creek up to Bundalong and surrounding backwaters.

Waters with increased current flow or a few of the sneaky lagoons that tend to be a couple of degrees warmer should be your first port of call. Lipless crankbaits, hardbody

Bass ready to distribute are the culmination of three months’ solid work.

From page 66

food sources.

You need to put yourself in these areas with a good sounder and every available

resource and knowledge you can find.

STOCKED FISH I recently assisted the DPI guys from the

lures in the 50-70mm size range or smaller profile spinnerbaits in natural colours would be my recommendation.

The last day or two of cod season proved fruitful for a couple as some nice cod were reported. Tristan Clough was rewarded when he cast his Bassman Spinnerbait and it was gobbled up by a beautiful Port Stephens Hatchery distribute bass fingerlings in local impoundments.

This was the culmination of three months’ intense work, starting before sunrise to catch about six pairs of mature wild bass to bring back to the hatchery, where the breeding process began.

The numbers of bass fingerlings produced this year was up around 300,000, so there will be some good stockings into NSW impoundments.

Luke Vandenberg, Brendan Findlay and I distributed around 75,000 into Glenbawn and 50,000 into St Clair, while another 10,000 went into Lostock the next day. This is your licence fee money at work.

Tristan Clough and his 83cm cod caught in the Murray River before the closure.

83cm specimen while casting below the weir.

Donna Stewart was another lucky enough to put her lure in the right place and have it returned to the boat with a cool 79cm model attached to it! Not bad for her second

cod ever (the other one measured 80cm!).

Positions are still available for the Golden Do$$ars, a golden perch specific event that’s being held on Lake Mulwala 26 October. For enquiries relating to this or the

upcoming Cod Classic call into Yarrawonga/ Mulwala’s official tournament shop, Lake Mulwala Fish Camp & Ski (opposite the Post Office) or give us a call on 03 5744 1667 for further information.

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Timing is everything LITHGOW/OBERON

Glen Stewart stewie72@bigpond.com

I hope everyone has some time off over November; it’s a great month to be out and about fishing and camping.

Weather patterns generally stabilise, which means you don’t get the four seasons in one day as much as you do in early Spring.

Afternoon thunderstorms can be a feature, though, so be careful, especially if you are out on the water.

My advice is to act early – don’t leave it to the last minute. Wyangala, Burrendong or Windamere are not places you want to be on the water when it’s too late.

If you do get caught out, take shelter on the bank and just sit it out; storms are

usually only short-lived.

Water temperatures in the district should be still rising with comfortable temperatures for trout and native species.

Cod are still off the agenda so leave your big gear at home.

Early mudeye hatches can be a factor for trout fishers in November so keep this in mind. The dark nights after the full moon seem to bring them on but a lot can depend on local conditions.

Thompsons Creek Dam had some good hatches last year and, true to form, the trout were not far behind them.

Flyfishing is far and away the best way to get among them. The early fish will start to rise out wide and then, as light levels drop, they move into shallow water.

Casting to rising fish more

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often than not leads to frustration. Have faith in your fly and keep working away methodically.

Good mudeye imitations are not hard to find, with Craig’s Nighttime, Hamill’s Killer and Mrs Simpson three of the most popular.

A lot of guys tend to tie their own creations, which can add to the experience.

There’s nothing quite like catching a trout on something you made yourself from bits of the family dog, cat or bird…

BASS DO IT I had a few early attempts at catching bass in Lake Lyell a month or so back.

We had a good warming trend come through and surface water temps jumped quickly and there had been quite a few caught over the Hunter Valley way on surface lures.

I was forgetting a few things, though: altitude, a longer Winter and fewer bass per hectare of water.

The good news is by now they should be well and truly on the job.

I reckon that apart from the finicky weather and the ski boats, small crucian carp play a major factor in when and how the bass feed in Lake Lyell.

Early mornings when the crucian carp are really active

This little Imakatsu skirted jig was a real winner on the golden perch early in the season, but now it’s time to be looking for more active fish in the early morning and late afternoon. seem to be when they bite best, especially on surface lures.

The bite period can be short and related to light levels and boat traffic. If it’s cloudy and humid with little or no boat traffic, they can be on the job for that little bit longer.

Having said all that, good mate Alex Hickson had one of his best sessions on surface there one afternoon in bright sunshine with water skiers flying past him everywhere, so go figure.

There are not many places where you can target bass and trout in the same water.

As the water warms and the trout go deeper, you tend to lose that ability to target both species in the same depth of water but November and early December gives you that option.

OVER WINDAMERE By the end of November I have usually had my fill of Lake Windamere.

It’s not that it doesn’t fish well; it’s just that I have fished it hard since late August and it’s time to move on.

If you do choose to fish on at Windamere, early mornings and late afternoons/evenings will become more productive.

As the day warms up and light levels increase you will find the golden perch moving deeper, especially if cover is light.

Quite often if you look and listen carefully in the early mornings at this time, especially later in the month, you will see and hear golden perch taking fire-tail gudgeons off the surface.

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Trout streams are special places in November. Sometimes it’s just good to sit back and take in the serenity.

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on a surface lure but it has been a loose goal of mine for some time. So maybe I may have to fish on and take advantage of the situation.

Over the past few years we have seen an influx of small surface lures aimed at the bream market and I reckon a few of these might be just the ticket.

TROUT PRIME Fishing the streams with dry fly is possibly at its best this month.

The water is still cool enough for trout to be comfortable in shallow water and insect activity is very high, especially on those warm, sultry afternoons.

Little black spinners are dipping and hovering and later termites hatch and land on the water. The trout take full advantage of them and you should, too.

I don’t mean to put any one off but do be mindful of snakes. I have never had any real dramas and it would never put me off going anywhere, but just keep them in mind as you are walking through kneehigh tussocks and stepping over logs where you cannot see the ground in front of you.

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Playtime on the water MOAMA

Ian Page

As the weather continues to improve, anglers, and fish, have decided to come out to play. With the

Golden perch are still the main target for anglers fishing around Echuca. The area below Echuca towardsTorrumbarry has been the best.

water temperature rising, the fish are improving in numbers in the rivers and channels around the area.

Yellowbelly between the Goulburn mouth and Torrumbarry are very active on scrubworms and shrimp, which have arrived in the river in great numbers. I like angling with a running sinker rig, the smallest weight as possible depending on conditions, with a couple of baits.

With water clarity improving lures are starting to come into play. By trolling or casting in around the snags, lures will give great results. My favourites are Oar-Gees, Custom Crafted and Predators, as I have had good results.

Places to target are the mouth of the Goulburn and upstream to the bridge, the mighty Murray between Browns boat ramp and Casey Road, downstream near Torrumbarry and the Gunbower Creek.

Reports from Kow Swamp are very strong above and below the headworks, with lipless crankbaits taking a lot of quality fish. You will still get your share using bait.

For those willing

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Cast and retrieve tactics that target the smaller branches on the edge of large snags are more likely to connect with goldens, keeping you away from the protected cod. to walk the banks of the Campaspe there are some great redfin taking small spinners and plastics. We have been using small Slider plastics with great action and getting good results. Some of the fish are relatively small but still lots of fun on light gear.

If you want to bait fish the reddies, it is best to use small yabbies or worms.

If the river is only moving slow, try unweighted.

This will give you more movement and the fish seem to like bait moving a little.

At this time of year it is always good to think about the up coming season and check your gear.

Renew braid and mono on your reels and, as all tackle shops are increasing

their stock for the holiday period, it is time to check out the new season gear, all the new technology, some great new lures and accessories. Some things to hide in the man caves before Christmas.

So with the last of our spring weather, enjoy the great fishing opportunities that present and get out and get amongst them.

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Flies. Who needs ’em?

ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

How quickly we forget the downside of every season.

During Winter I longed the warmth of Spring and for the chance to don the shorts and fish the rising rivers.

And so it has been for the past month or so, when numerous solid goldens have found their way onto the end of my line.

During this period I have questioned many times, in an explosion of profanities, the need for flies in our world. I have no doubt there is a reason for these small annoying insects, but why so many and why so bloody persistent?

I can handle them hovering around my face and eyes to a certain point but to fly directly down my throat is a whole different kettle of fish, to mix metaphors.

They spread their grubby little legs and hold fast to the back of the throat, refusing to go up or down.

This brings on a coughing fit and a tendency to choke, dry reach and eventually spit up what looks suspiciously like hair, but not a fly in sight. Then

comes the uncomfortable thought that the fly was no doubt chowing down on a fresh dog turd or the like only minutes before. Flies.

Who needs ’em?

Most local rivers have fished exceptionally well over the past month with a great run of golden perch, mainly caught on bait.

Anglers fishing the Wakool River at Kyalite

have reported excellent captures of golden perch to 3kg on scrub worms and small yabbies.

Several cod have also been caught in this area, the biggest an estimated 10kg, and all were returned to the river, as it’s still the closed season.

It’s a similar story on the Edward River, where anglers fishing from boat

Jarrah Turner, John Cassidy and Jock Mackenzie caught these and several other good-sized golden perch fishing from the bank on the Wakool River. section of Murray River locally is producing good numbers of golden perch on bait. Robinvale, Wemen, Mildura and Wentworth all have similar reports.

If you are new to fishing the Murray, look for old snags on the edges of the backwaters. Where the water rolls back on itself or,

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and bank are catching some excellent-sized perch and a few cod.

The Murray River at Swan Hill has goldens to a couple of kilos on bait, with scrub worms working best.

Goldens have been running well in Lake Charm with anglers fishing yabbies from the northern end bank landing good numbers of fish to around 4kg. A few redfin are also in the mix at Charm, so it’s not a bad spot to wet a line and catch a feed.

The Little Murray has also been fishing well, with several anglers consistently bagging out on perch to 8kg.

In truth, most if not every

Grabine Lakeside State Park ly” e th t h

i fa m

Great Fishing!

Wildlife at your doorstep Many attractions & activities for the family Numerous accommodation options available Camping and self contained cabins 2 hours from Canberra, 4 hours from Sydney

www.stateparks.nsw.gov.au All enquiries

E:grabinestatepark@bigpond.com Ph: (02) 4835 2345 70

• NOVEMBER 2013

with the bait before you set the hook.

Remember, it is still the perch breeding season and while you are not required to do so, returning larger female fish to the river is common practice and commonsense. Good luck and enjoy the Spring bounty of golden perch.

Jock Mackenzie with a typical Spring golden caught on bait at Wemen, on the Murray River.

SECRET CREEK LURES

“Come a nd relax wi

even better, sits almost still.

Fish close to the timber and present good-sized baits weighted just enough to hold bottom.

Golden perch can be very aggressive feeders but on most occasions they mouth a bait and take it slowly. Take your time and wait for the fish to move off

State Parks

Worms have been the pick of baits for golden perch over the past month.

DAM LEVELS

Dam

% Full

Dam

% Full

Blowering............................. 91

Glennies Creek....................... 96

Brogo................................ 100

Hume.................................. 98

Burrendong........................... 43

Jindabyne............................. 84

Burrinjuck............................. 68

Keepit.................................. 37

Carcoar................................ 65

Lostock................................ 93

Chaffey................................ 77

Oberon................................. 83

Clarrie Hall........................... 97

Pindari................................. 63

Copeton..............................N/A

Split Rock............................. 87

Dartmouth............................. 99

Tantangara............................ 29

Eucumbene........................... 48

Toonumbar............................ 99

Glenbawn............................. 98

Windamere........................... 56

Glenlyon..............................N/A

Wyangala............................N/A

(All levels correct at time of going to press. Dam levels can change at any time, so please check with local authorities to ensure safe boating and fishing.)

AUSTRALIAN RIVERS

LAST MONTH’S SOLUTION

BURDEKIN

HUNTER

BURNETT

JARDINE

CLARENCE

LEICHHARDT

CONDAMINE

LOGAN

DAINTREE

MACLEAY

DARLING

MITCHELL

DAWSON

MURRAY

FITZROY

SHOALHAVEN

FLINDERS

SNOWY

HAWKESBURY

YARRA

HOPKINS

FIND-A-WORD COMPETITION WINNER Congratulations to Martin MeWilliams of Hazelbrook, who was last month’s winner of the Hawk Tournament Find-a-Word Competition!

Monthly winners receive Hawk Tournament Tested Bayer Perlon IGFA line, assorted Panther Martin lures, Youvella hooks and a keyring. Prize delivery can take 8 weeks. – NSWFM

FINS SCALES & TALES

HAWK FISHING

FIND-A-WORD COMP

by A. Both

The first correct entry at the end of each month will win a Hawk Fishing cap, Hawk Fishing line, Hawk HB Lure, assorted Panther Martin lures and 3 packets of Youvella chemically sharpened hooks.

SEND ENTRIES TO: Hawk Tournament Competition PO box 3172, Loganholme Qld 4129 Name

BARRA COUNTRY

Address

by Brett Currie P/Code Phone (day):

Find the Marukyu Isome Boy major prize winners

BITE ME

by Trisha Mason

G&N

by Michael Hardy

The Major prize winners for July were: 1st prize A Sinclair of Lalor Park, who won $600 of Yamatoyo, Ecogear and Ecogearaqua products; 2nd prize L Jeffs of Gateshead, who won $400 of Yamatoyo,

Ecogear and Ecogearaqua products; and 3rd prize O Paterson of Sawtell, who won $200 of Yamatoyo, Ecogear and Ecogearaqua products.

Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

SUBSCRIBER PRIZE The subscriber prize winner for September was Nathan Taylor of Murringo, who won two new rods from the Lox Crucis range.

All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws.

Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM NOVEMBER 2013 •

71

The sensational Stumpy No. 2 FMG

Stephen Booth sbooth@fishingmonthly.com.au

This seems a little, well actually a lot overdue; a review and how-to on the sensational SumpJumper No. 2, my all-time favourite and most productive native lure casting lure.

The No. 2 StumpJumper is the smaller brother of the well-known and respected No. 1 StumpJumper. Originally the middle lure in the range of three, there are now 6 models of StumpJumper lures on the market and all catch fish hand over fist.

My love affair with this lure started on my first native lure casting trip way back

when I was just starting university (and that was 1989!). A mate suggested we come up to the Murray and check out what they’d been doing with cast lures and I jumped at the chance. Our

first trip was a memory in itself. My mate suggested we tie on a No. 1 Stumpy and go troll a particular stretch of river. We had gone all of 20m when the rod buckled over and a 63cm cod came flapping

Just under 70cm of Murray cod from 5’ of water. This is the perfect place to fish a pepe coloured No. 2 StumpJumper.

to the boat.

Next?

He then suggested we tie on the pink and purple No. 2 StumpJumper from Freshwater Fishing and cast to a set of snags along the edge of the river around the third bend near the reeds.

That’s sounds easy! Third cast and a golden of 45cm crash tackled the Stumpy and set the hook on my love for Stumpies as much as it set the hook on itself.

Since that first trip, Stumpies have generally been the first and the last lure tied on whenever I fish the Murray.

Countless golden perch and a stack of cod have been taken on the No. 2 StumpJumper in the last 20-odd years, and even with their subtle changes in manufacture and features, they continue to produce the goods. But it’s not just goldens and cod, as redfin, Australian bass, flathead and trout have all succumbed to the power of

The purple people eater Stumpy is one of my all-time favourites. This is my legendary 20-odd year old model attached to one of the hundreds of cod it has caught. around a metre deep. From there, slow everything up and try to keep the rod tip bobbing with the beat of the lure. You should aim to hit the snag at some stage of the retrieve as this throws a bit of variation into the swimming action and also creates a fair bit of noise underwater. Goldens love this retrieve. The benefits of this

My favourite colours include (left to right) 28 green scale, 44 people eater, FWF pink and purple (not available) and the ever reliable 45 pepe. And yep I am a fan of the clear, deep diving bib.

Goldens inhaling the No. 2 is nothing new.

They’ve been doing it for over 20 years for us!

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• NOVEMBER 2013

the No. 2 StumpJumper. To say I am addicted to them is a bit of an understatement.

CASTING AT STRUCTURE Casting lures at snags seems a simple task. Find a snag, chuck the lure at it and wind it back. And guess what, that approach works sometimes. But there are better ways and ideal areas to use a No. 2 StumpJumper.

These areas take into account the diving limitations of the lure on the cast and also the incredible snag resistance. If you know what areas to look for, you’ll have success.

I like to fish in areas from 3’-6’ (0.9-1.8m) deep that have a bit of current and some obvious structure. Lay down logs, dead trees, weed and reed edges with timber and rocky walls all fit the bill. On the cast the No. 2 Stumpy gets down to around a metre and when you add in snags, slower retrieves, pauses and twitches, the lure may actually only ever get down 60cm or so. Don’t fret though, this is enough depth in water less than 2m deep.

The easiest of retrieves, and one that works really well in cooler waters, is a really slow roll. To do this cast well beyond the snag you are targeting and give the reel three or four quick winds. This gets the lure down

retrieve include a constant and deeper running depth, more time for the fish to locate and smash the lure and an easy way to cover water.

The most common retrieve is the underwater jerk retrieve. This is similar to the retrieve used when fishing for barra and jacks in snags, it’s just done with a Stumpy and with much less violence and speed. Again cast beyond the snag and wind the lure down to achieve a bit of depth. As the lure approaches the snag

pause the lure briefly and jerk the rod tip down from 1-3 times. Wind up the slack and repeat. If you feel the lure is getting too high in the water you can use a few quick and steady winds to get a bit more depth, but the longer you can jerk the lure around while it is in amongst the structure, the more likely Mr Cod or Golden will come looking.

The benefits of this retrieve include a massive amount of noise and vibration, the ability to make the lure look injured and disoriented, with plenty of pauses thrown in to allow a fish to attack.

One retrieve used a lot by one of my mate Dirk Wendt is like a slow swish of the rod. Again cast out past the snag and get the lure down to depth. From there, slow the retrieve and introduce the occasional swish of the rod.

This speeds up the lure a bit before it essentially stops, then it darts off again. This needs to be done with a slow and steady retrieve and is deadly.

Well it’s deadly or Dirk is just way better at native fishing than me! The advantages of this retrieve are you retain your depth better while still offering a target that darts and pauses and doesn’t look fit and healthy. And it’s dead simple.

Of course you can do a variety of all these retrieves at any given time or on any given snag - experience and judging the fish’s mood on the day will help you get the best results.

With fish like this caught on a cast and retrieved No. 2 Stumpy, why wouldn’t you want to clip one on?

THE LURE ITSELF The StumpJumper No. 2 is 75mm long and weighs a very easy casting 16g. The lure, with the deep diving bib, has a very strong and vibrant action that speaks to cod and goldens like the Pied Piper to the rats – they simply cannot resist its charms. As a casting lure for native fish in shallow water it is close to being without peer. And no it’s not just that I use it the most, I use it the most because it works so well for me.

These days the No. 2 Stumpy is made offshore as demand for this little gem overtook the ability of the Australian manufacturer to

Good mate Adam Royter was searching for a golden in a lake when around 3.6kg of Aussie bass slammed his No. 2 pepe coloured StumpJumper. Awesome!

A recent pic with an old Stumpy colour. The Freshwater Fishing pink and purple Stumpy was once termed the illegal lure by our fishing crew because it simply caught too many! If only I could find a hidden stash of these somewhere.

keep up. That’s praise enough in itself. The newest models also contain rattles. This is a contentious subject with me as I reckon they don’t need the rattles – maybe they could bring out a silent version (like the older models) and then I could chop and change between noisy and outright, heavy metal band loud whenever I felt like it!

On the subject of noise, my regular fishing buddy Marc Ainsworth and I did a test on a heap of lures one year in the backwaters of Mulwala. We ducked down under the water, cast the lures out and listened for the noise. The No. 2 Stumpy was loud and easily heard a full cast length away.

Just imagine being a grumpy old cod or golden and hearing this annoying rattle get closer and closer, then hearing the lure crunch over the snags or rocks and then have it appear out of the gloom. If the fish isn’t hungry, its territorial instinct has to take over and the lure gets smashed, either way.

In regards to toughness, Stumpies are very tough. I have a purple veteran that I’ve owned for over 20 years that is still working (with the original clear deep diving bib) and still catching fish. In fact I use it for one fish every trip nowadays to continue its great work and to make sure that the old veteran doesn’t feel too left out!

Battle scars, hook scrapes and plenty of work with various tackle retrieving devices have not impacted on this lure’s fish catching ability and that is as good a testament to their strength as any that I can find.

Snag resistant? Yep, their name is no misnomer. They walk over snags very well and if you have the right feel, you can walk a Stumpy through some horrendous structure.

One interesting point is that when you retrieve your lure over a larger snag, the lure will actually flip on its back and swim over the snag rubbing its back on the log. This keeps the hooks away from the timber and aids immensely in the snag resistance. I’m not sure

if this was intentional as other good native lures do the same, but only if you keep winding.

THE RANGE Currently there are 36 standard colours in the range and in an exciting recent development there are three additional and new UV enhanced colours – the yellow peril, python and tiger snake.

I already own these lures and I cannot wait until I get the chance to swim them past some of my favourite snags.

Whether it’s trout, goldens, cod, redfin or bass, there is a colour suitable and a size suitable so Stumpies have an

enormous breadth to their use.

In fact there have even been barra, jacks, tuna and snubnosed dart (permit) caught on them – they’re that good!

My favourites? Well that’s easy. I’ll take a No. 2 in people eater (colour 44), pepe (colour 45) or green scale (colour 28) any day, but it wont stop me from using the new UV colours the next time a Murray River snag presents itself to me. I can’t wait!

You can check out a short video we made from some Murray River highlights on our Facebook page, just search for Fishing Monthly Magazines.

Unusual only by the fact that this golden was pinned on the rear hooks of this green scale Stumpy. Usually they will take the lure belly first and get tangled up on the middle treble.

NOVEMBER 2013 • 73

Freshwater

Get a fish eye view PART 2 NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.starlofishing.me

Last month, in my ongoing examination of the way the senses of fish affect our ability to catch these creatures, I looked at the basics of sight in fish. This time, I’d like to explore that subject a little more deeply…

So, what do fish actually see? According to most fisheries biologists, science can’t yet answer this question with very much certainty. The majority of research in this area involves monitoring the responses of fish to particular stimuli, such as colours, diagrams and pictures. Applying the test results from such experiments in the lab’ to practical fishing scenarios can be tricky.

However, we can definitely assume that most of the fish we chase in coastal waters, bays, estuaries and freshwater environments, as well as all those pelagic fish that hunt in the surface layers further from shore, rely heavily on sight to detect and track

their prey, and that almost all of them can differentiate between colours when the water is reasonably clear and light levels are high.

As an example, sight in marlin has specifically adapted to a clear water environment with lots of light. A marlin’s eyes are effectively split into two sections: The part of the eye that faces upwards contains more colour photoreceptors (cones), while the part that faces down contains more photoreceptors that are sensitive to light (rods).

Furthermore, as much as 30% of a marlin’s brain is dedicated to processing and interpreting vision. This fact

alone indicates just how important sight is to these billfish (and to many other pelagic predators, which also devote a lot of brain space to the sense of sight).

We also know that lots of fish, including species as diverse as carp, slimy mackerel, brown trout and damselfish (to name just a few), can see light reflected off objects at the ultraviolet end of the spectrum: wavelengths which are invisible to our human eyes.

This allows them to see patterns and shapes we could never hope to identify, and also to detect UV-reflective objects at greater depth or distance through the water.

Pelagic fish like this wahoo do a lot of their feeding near the surface in clear water. They rely heavily on their sharp eyesight to find and track prey.

Marlin have great eyesight, definitely see colours and devote a relatively large portion of their brain to interpreting what they see around them.

It’s also believed that other fish (including bait species such as anchovies) can see “polarised” light, which is mostly encountered early and late in the day, or in the reflections given off by the very silvery scales of these fish themselves (and possibly by some of the predators that hunt them).

In dirty water or low light, fish rely much more heavily on their sensitive rod cells than their colourdetecting cones. As a result, they’re most likely seeing their world in shapes and silhouettes consisting of various shades of grey rather than in colour when light levels are low or the water is discoloured.

Obviously, in such low-light environments, the shape, size, silhouette and action of your lure will be far more important than its actual colour.

As light levels and water clarity change, many popular angling targets have the ability to switch their reliance from cones to rods, and vice versa.

However, this changeover process is thought to take some time (possibly as long as an hour), and this may help to explain why many species are more susceptible

to being fooled by our lures during the so-called “change of light” periods around dawn and dusk. It’s also likely that some predators have adapted to change their reliance on cones or rods faster than their prey, giving them a distinct hunting edge at this time of day.

We still have an awful lot to learn about the way fish see and interpret their watery domain, but we can be reasonably certain that most of the species we hunt with our lures have good to excellent eyesight, can perceive a broad range of colours and tones under the right conditions, and that many can see light reflected at wavelengths that are invisible to us (such as ultraviolet). However, as we’ll learn next month, the colour palette in the underwater world is quite different from the spectrum of hues we see above the waterline…

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• NOVEMBER 2013

Bream obviously have very keen eyesight. This fish easily detected a small soft plastic in slightly discoloured water, identified it as potential prey and homed in on a deadly attack.

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR • TOURNAMENT CALENDAR • TOURNAMENT CALENDAR • TOURNAMENT CALENDAR • NOVEMBER 2013 Nov 2-8 Snowy Mountains Trout Festival Col Sinclair

Various centres 02 6454 2260

DECEMBER 2013 Dec 6-8 Brogo Bass Bash

Brogo Dam

Darren Redman 0427 934 688

Nov 2-3

Daiwa Hobie Grand Final TBA

www.bream.com.au

Nov 5-6

BREAM Classic Championship ABT Mallacoota Vic 07 3387 0888

Nov 8-10

BREAM Grand Final Gippsland Lakes Vic

ABT 07 3387 0888

Nov 9-10

West Diggers Nelson Bay Invitational Port Stephens

Chris Wills 0407 945 192

JANUARY 2014 Jan 24-26 Bluewater Classic

Bermagui

Denis Lucardi 0418 518 442

Nov 12-13

Tri-Estuary Merimbula

John Whittaker 0408 217 384

Jan 25-26

Kerry McKee 0488 388 422

Nov 23-24

Australian Yellowbelly Championships Grand Final Burrendong Dam

Bruce Anderson 0419 011 333

FEBRUARY 2014 Feb 22-23 Panthers Fishfest

Nepean River

Dec 6-8

Great Inland fishing Festival Brett McInnes Copeton Dam 0429 446 551

Dec 28-29

Tathra Beach Country Club Christmas-New Year Tathra

Australia Day competition Tathra

Kerry McKee 0488 388 422

Peter LeRoy 0414 733 878

Add your tournament or competition to this list by emailing nsweditor@fishingmonthly.com.au or calling 02 6682 5488 in office hours.

Just supply a date, venue, tournament name and a telephone number and contact name.

Rescheduled Clarrie bash a hit The strike was vicious.

I’d just put the rod in the plastic gunwale holder and turned to the tackle box as I heard the crash.

From the corner of my eye I saw the top half of my treasured Lamiglas rod disappearing into Clarrie Hall Dam, the Daiwa Sol only 30cm above the

As usual, we had a great time at the Australian Bass Association’s annual Bass Classic at scenic Clarrie Hall Dam, on the headwaters of the Tweed River. I haven’t fished a couple of the NSW South Coast bass dams yet, nor one or two in Queensland, but I still reckon nowhere could have

vehicle. This year’s effort was my 10th.

Held over the old Queensland May Day labour weekend for more than a decade, the running of the 16th event was delayed until late September after the Crams Farm end of the dam was turned into a US summer camp movie set and

The prizewinners of the 2013 Australian Bass Association Clarrie Hall Bass Classic. And NSW even won the State of Origin section! surface. Horror turned to elation as Wayne flung out his right mitt to snatch the outfit from certain oblivion, handed it to me and I was battling an angry 37cm bass, our second in a few minutes.

it over Clarrie when it comes to the scenery.

And few dams, if any, have such fit, angry fish.

The ABA stocks Clarrie and dams in southern Queensland and the Classic is its major fundraising

access restricted for long periods.

A few of the old hands had other commitments on the rescheduled weekend, allowing for some new blood to take part in an invitational comp in which it

was thought somebody had to die before a place became available. The organisers rightly believe that catering and logistics would be just too difficult if the comp were to grow too much.

It was thought that the bass would be chewing their heads off after hardly seeing a lure for six months but in reality the fishing was almost as tough as it gets.

The usually lush lily flats down around Snake Island were disturbingly sparse and it looked as if they had died off over winter.

That threw a spanner in the works for many anglers who liked casting to the edges for their fish, ourselves included. After fruitlessly bombing a heap of our usual hot spots with every lure in the box, a couple of hours later we opted to try a bank across the dam. We never made it.

We decided to troll a few hundred metres across to the intended bank and when a second bass almost ripped a rod from the holder, the penny dropped.

The fish were out hunting 15’-20’ below the surface wherever there were baitfish, regardless of depth.

Dave Hall grabbed the Col Wiley Memorial Trophy for the biggest bass with a 433mm fish.

And with the surface water temp fluctuating between 19° and 25° as the day warmed, it looked like the dam was starting to stratify. We saw baitfish and individual bass on the Lowrance all day, and caught a number of the fish we spotted after trolling our lures over them.

It was a bit like trolling around a school of feeding mackerel or tuna that were feeding deep. No signs on the surface but plenty happening down below.

Trolling is a bit of a ‘dark side’ thing for us but we learned plenty in a short time But ABA stalwart Brian McFarlane and lure maker Rob Gaden knew all the tricks and easily retained their 2012 teams title with 10 fish averaging almost 39cm. Rob Gaden Jnr and his mate Ryan were second with 10 fish averaging about 1cm less. Shane Gartner and Continued page 76

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Left: A typical Clarrie morning opens with almost impenetrable fog that takes a few hours to burn away.

Right: With its spectacular Tweed Range backdrop, parklike banks and acres of lily pads, if Clarrie Hall isn’t the most scenic bass dam in Australia then somewhere else is cheating.

...and they float!

PO Box 235 Yorkeys Knob Qld 4878 Ph: 07 4055 8472 Fax: 07 4055 8471 NOVEMBER 2013 • 75

21st Hawkesbury Classic The Pitt Town Fishing Club will host the Annual Hawkesbury Fishing Classic over the weekend of November 8-10.

This is the 21st year and the Hawkesbury Fishing Classic has become the largest dedicated estuary competition in the Southern Hemisphere.

With entries capped at 1000 and truckloads of spectators at the weigh-in, it’s sure to bring a smile to the face of any angler of any age.

Many entrants travel to the Hawkesbury district from all over NSW and interstate, just to enter the Hawkesbury

Classic.

Blakes Marine at Mulgrave are again this year’s major sponsors for the Hawkesbury Fishing Classic, donating some awesome prizes in conjunction with Suzuki Marine, Stacer Boats and Fusion sound systems, including a complete boat motor package, marine sound systems and more.

Thanks must also go to all the other sponsors who donate not only goods and services but also their time to help make the Hawkesbury Fishing Classic such a huge success.

Money raised over the years through sponsorships, entries, guessing competitions, etc have benefited local charities and organizations such as Windsor Park Public School (special education unit for underprivelidged kids), Camp Quality, Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol to name just a few, along with Hawkesbury Living Trust (cancer clinic).

To date we have given away over $400,000 – 100% of proceeds go to charity.

The Hawkesbury Fishing Classic is not only a fishing competition with categories

Chris Estreich received an award from the association for his tireless dedication over many years.

Brett Howell rounded out the placings.

Brian won the individual pointscore from Dave Hall, who caught the biggest bass of the weekend, a 433mm fish. Rob Gaden was third.

And for the first time for yonks, the Blues won the State of Origin contest, with the Queenslanders finally getting to eat some humble pie.

The Bass Classic is likely to remain a Spring event now. Watch these pages for details.

– Tony Zann

From page 75

for men, woman and children but it’s also a massive social day with a carnival atmosphere for all the family to enjoy with plenty of food, drinks, entertainment and Jumping castles etc for the kids.

There are also heaps of fantastic prizes to be won on the day in the way of raffles and lucky draws.

One lucky entrant will take home a brand new boat and motor package, complete on trailer, along with safety gear, all fully registered, just for entering and being present at the weigh-in on the day.

You only have to enter, not necessarily fish, or weigh in a fish to win this fantastic prize. Just fill in and post the official entry form and be in attendance at the weigh-in on Sunday November 6, check in at the registration table before 2pm and you’re in with a chance, it’s as simple as that!

Nowhere are the odds better than that to win a boat.

There is also another boat and motor package, fully registered, complete with safety gear also on registered trailer to be raffled on the day.

A huge auction will also be run where some terrific items can be snapped up at

20th Hawkesbury Classic winner Glenn Mitchell bargain basement prices.

Anything from fishing gear, 4WD accessories, outdoor entertaining furniture, tools and much more.

So come along to one of the Hawkesbury district’s biggest events, have a fun day and give support to two very

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Copeton Dam ready to come alive The Great Inland Fishing Festival will be held on December 6-8 at Lake Copeton, near Inverell in north west NSW. This catch and release competition is in its 15th year and regularly attracts in excess of 500 competitors.

While the competition has always attracted the serious angler seeking the generous cash prizes on offer, it is also a magnet for the more recreational fisher seeking a fun-filled long weekend on the dam.

Organising committee president Brett McInnes said, “In trying to keep the appeal as wide as possible we will this year be offering a broad range of mystery length and entry number prizes, which strike a balance between competition and participation.

“We have always had mystery prizes for our large number of juniors who compete each year and this is now giving the mums and dads a chance at a great prize by simply signing on.”

Copeton Dam has been hovering around the 70% mark for over six months and when it is this full it has more than three times the

capacity of Sydney Harbour.

What also appeals to a lot of fishos is the ability to camp right down on the water and leave the boat tethered for the three days.

The foreshore area is so huge that with even 500 competitors it is not difficult to find your own small inlet in solitude.

For those that might be looking for some more creature comforts, day sponsor Copeton Waters State Park has a wide range of serviced camping

options available.

The competition is timed to coincide with the opening of Murray cod season and Copeton has a reputation for producing large green fish.

In the lead-up to the season close several cod over the magical metre mark were boated by local anglers.

The golden perch fishing is also strong over the warmer months and anyone chasing the cash for the largest over the three days will need a specimen in excess of 60cm.

The weekend culminates in the presentation, held on the green area in front wonderful new facilities at the State Park.

As well as the presentation of prizes there is the draw for the everpopular fisherman’s dream raffle, giving everyone a chance to be a winner.

For additional information visit www. inlandfishingfestival.com. au or phone Brett McInnes on 0429 446 551. – Festival committee

Last year’s junior champion Tane Davis from Brisbane with his 84cm cod.

FISHING FILL-ITS

Fisheries NSW bust five ‘Club Setliners’ in the Namoi Five members of a local fishing club have been apprehended, and a number of fish seized, after they were observed using setlines in the Namoi River at Wee Waa. Fisheries NSW compliance director Glenn Tritton said Fisheries officers from Tamworth and Dubbo were recently conducting patrols along the Namoi River at Gunidgera Weir, Wee Waa, when a number of setlines were detected.

2013

“Fisheries officers carried out surveillance of the location and three people were observed approaching the lines in a vessel and removing the lines and fish from the water,” Mr Tritton said.

“It will be alleged that the lines were baited with live European carp and goldfish.”

“A search of their camp

by Fisheries officers resulted in a number of seizures, including a 123-litre esky,

76 rigged lines, 51 live European carp and goldfish.”

Seven Murray cod, allegedly illegally taken on the lines, were also seized.

They ranged in size from 58.8cm to 93.6cm.

Five men, from 32 to 60 years old, were apprehended.

They have been charged with using more than two lines, possessing fish illegally taken, using live fin fish as bait, leaving lines unattended, unlawful use of a net or trap, failing to pay the

recreational fishing fee and possessing prohibited size fish.

“The men were issued a large number of penalty notices totalling $4,000,” Mr Tritton said.

“Fishers should be warned that the use of excess lines and live fin fish as bait is prohibited in NSW, and heavy penalties apply.

“It is disappointing when you see this type of behaviour from those who should know better. Fisheries officers will

+ COD CLASSIC

continue to target offenders involved in illegal fishing on our inland waterways.

“We should all be aware of the fishing rules and regulations and help maintain the long term sustainability of our fisheries resources for future generations.”

Information concerning illegal fishing can be reported online or via the Fisher’s Watch Phone Line on 1800 043 536. – Fisheries NSW

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2013 Megabass BASS Megabucks Somerset Dam played host to the 2013 Megabass BASS Megabucks event. Given the reputation of Somerset Dam the expectation was high that the event would produce quality fish. Combine this with a no-holds-barred skins format and large payouts, all the signs pointed to an exciting two days on the water.

Ultimately the weather and fishing did not disappoint and delivered one of the 2013 BASS season highlights.

on a 1/2oz TT Tournament Series jighead the team were able to quickly land four bass and fill their tournament limit. Fishing in 35ft of water the anglers deduced that the smaller fish were holding tight to the bottom while the bigger fish were sitting suspended in midwater, around 15ft deep.

By 9.30am this separation had become more defined and the bass duly responded to the team’s lures.

Silvester explains, “The size difference between

stopped and dropped back to entice a strike.

“In all we caught 10-12 legal bass. The majority of our fish came when the field moved away from the area and there was less pressure,” said Stead.

3rd place Nexgen Lures Team Nexgen Lures fished two main locations, Bay 13 and Eagles Nest.

Sitting in 32-36ft of water Nexgen Lures would target bass sitting outside the main school. Upon finding more

finding patches of active fish. Once a fish was caught the school would scatter and it was a matter of finding another active patch of fish.

Generally we would try and stay about 50-100m away from other boats as the pressure made the fish less responsive. Occasionally when the midwater bites died we would target fish on the bottom as this often brought on the bigger bass again.”

Team Quantum/ Lowrance again found fish in midwater, and were able

session 1

Place/TEAM Boater 1 Boater 2 F1 W1 Payout 1 Quantum/Lowrance ................ Dean Silvester ....... David Green ............ 4 .......... 9.89........$1500, $450 2 Impact Tackle/Pimp My Lure .... Dan Stead.............. Peter Morgan .......... 4 .......... 7.32........$1,100 3 Nexgen Lures ......................... Matt Johnson ......... Dean Thompson...... 4 .......... 7.29........$700, $150 The skins format rewarded the three highest placed teams each session as well as the session Big Bass. This format gave all teams an equal chance each session to take home the great cash prizes on offer.

Throw in Megabass rods

the smaller bass on the bottom and the larger suspended fish was huge.

Using a retrieval technique that incorporated an initial twich, steady retrieve and freespool pauses, we were able to secure the bigger bites.”

active fish they then targeted them by slow rolling plastics (Ecogear Power Minnow in rainbow colour rigged on a 1/2oz TT jighead and Lunker City Grubster in goby colour rigged on a 1/2oz Nitro jighead) through the school.

to secure their tournament limit. A move was made in the last two hours to a ridge opposite Bay 13. The team changed presentations to a Squidgy Fish in silver fox colour rigged on an Impact Tackle 1/2oz Headz jighead.

“The goal was to secure

session 2

Place/TEAM Boater 1 Boater 2 F1 W1 Payout 1 Quantum/Lowrance ................ Dean Silvester ....... David Green ............ 4 .......... 9.89........$1500, $450 2 Impact Tackle/Pimp My Lure .... Dan Stead.............. Peter Morgan .......... 4 .......... 7.32........$1,100 3 Nexgen Lures ......................... Matt Johnson ......... Dean Thompson...... 4 .......... 7.29........$700, $150 and reel prizes and you had the perfect recipe for a high adrenaline, no-holds-barred battle royal.

SESSION ONE 1st place Quantum/Lowrance During the event prefish Silvester noted that the fish weren’t responding to traditional patterns. By

2nd place Impact Tackle/Pimp My Lure Team Impact Tackle/ Pimp My Lure caught their fish in Bay 13 using a ultraslow rolled 70mm Squidgy fish in silver fox colour rigged on a Impact Tackle 1/2oz Headz jighead. Stead explains the choice of lure.

Dan Stead and Peter Morgan from PML cashed in again at the Somerset Megabucks. applying erratic twitches and shakes to his retrieve Silvester was able to get the bass to respond. Using this knowledge Team Quantam/ Lowrance hit Pelican Point to begin their tournament.

Finding no fish, the team made a move to Bay 13. Using an Ecogear Power Shad in eel colour rigged 78

• NOVEMBER 2013

“The lure profile works well, especially with fish on the bottom. It is a classic case of big presentation equalling big fish.”

Fishing in 28-30ft of water the team would employ a slow, yet constant, retrieve to generate bites. When bites were forthcoming, but not hooking, the lure would be

Short strikes saw the team add an additional trailer hook, which improved the hook-up rate. Also of note was the tandem approach employed; one team member would constantly slow roll a lure through the school while the other would slow roll then drop the lure back to entice any following fish. This latter technique accounted for the team’s largest bass through the session.

Big Bass Fishing Monthly Mike Connolly of team Fishing Monthly caught the Big Bass for session one.

The bass came from Pelican Point in 35ft of water. The 3.79kg bass fell to a Slider in baby bass colour rigged on an Impact Tackle 1/2oz Headz jighead. The 61cm total length bass was a personal best for Connolly.

SESSION TWO 1st place Quantum/Lowrance Session two saw team Quantum/Lowrance return to Bay 13. Immediately they noted the increased number of boats fishing the area and realised they would have to adapt in order to land fish during the session. Silvester explains their approach, “It was a matter of

bigger fish. The larger lure profile and slightly larger jighead hook helped us to get the bass to respond and keep them on.”

Dean Silvester and David Green cleaned up at the Megabucks, winning every session to finish $6150 richer. of Pelican Point, fishing the edge of the old creek bed. The team positioned themselves in 30-40ft of water before making long casts to the bass.

Melchior explains, “The fish were sitting in the 15-20ft deep section of the water column. We would cast and let the lure hit the bottom before making a quick retrieve. The fish came straight on as soon as we arrived. The bigger bass seemed to follow the lure until it was halfway back to the boat before striking.”

The team found success with a 2 1/2” Atomic Big Bass paddletail rigged on a 1/2oz jighead. The lure was repeatedly scented with garlic Megastrike.

schooling up so we decided to drift over a large area of around 500m to maximise our chances of hooking up.

The key lure was a 70mm Squidgy fish in silver fox colour rigged on a 1/2oz jighead. The technique was a slow roll punctuated with pauses where we would open the bail arm. It was about keeping the lure as close to the bottom as possible. Most of the bites came immediately after we began winding the lure in,” said Glyn Barkhuizen.

Big Bass Quantum/Lowrance The session Big Bass (2.73kg) was caught late in the session from a ridge opposite Bay 13. The bass was caught on a Squidgy

Adrian Melchior and Steve Otto finished second and picked up the Big Bass in session two.

The team used the same retrieval technique used in the first session and found the larger fish required to capture the session victory. Their largest fish, 2.73kg, went on to take out the session Big Bass.

2nd place Gamakatsu Team Gamakatsu caught their bass at the eastern end

3rd place Samurai Reaction/TT’s Team Samurai Reaction/ TT’s fished off Pelican Point in 30-35ft of water. The team targeted a ridgeline that dipped into deeper water each side.

“The bass were holding on the drop-off. They were scattered as opposed to

fish in silver fox colour rigged on a Impact Tackle 1/2oz Headz jighead.

SESSION THREE 1st place Quantum/Lowrance In the final session team Quantum/Lowrance headed back to Bay 13.

They sounded big fish sitting midwater and

session 3

Place/TEAM Boater 1 Boater 2 F3 W3 Payout 1 Quantum/Lowrance ................ Dean Silvester ....... David Green ............ 4 .......... 8.12........$1500, $450 2 Tonic/Evakool ......................... Matthew Mott ......... Dylan Mott ............... 4 .......... 7.84........$1100, $150 3 Yamba Pro Prawn Blades ....... Ian Wratten ............ Mark Lennox ........... 4 .......... 6.36........$700

overall results

Place/TEAM

Boater 1

Boater 2

Fish KG

1

.............Dean Silvester .......... David Green........... 12/12 .....28.06

2

...................................Matthew Mott ............ Dylan Mott ............. 12/12 .....21.65

3

.............................................Steve Otto................. Adrian Melchoir...... 11/12 .....21.26

4

....................................Glyn Barkhuizen ....... Simon Barkhuizen... 12/12 .....19.56

5

NexgeN LureS ........................................Matt Johnson ............ Dean Thompson .... 12/12.....19.41

6

......................................Callum Munro ........... James Munro ......... 12/12 .....19.13

7

YAMBA Pro PrAwN BLAdeS ............Ian Wratten ............... Mark Lennox .......... 12/12.....17.38 MontHlY

8 New South Wales

.........................................Peter Legget ............. Mike Connolly ........ 10/12 .....16.32

Victoria and Tasmania MONTHLY

Queensland

MONTHLY

area. When bass were directly below the boat we would mix it up with an ice jig to get the fish biting. We used a Smak 12g priceless darter in silver colour,” said Matthew Mott.

3rd place Yamba Pro Prawn Blades Team Yamba Pro Prawn Blades fished two locations in Bay 13; a sloping bank that dropped into 35ft of water and suspended fish sitting in 35-45ft of water.

Lennox said, “Initially we hit the sloping bank where we found bass. The technique was to cast up shallow and work the lure down the slope. We would give the reel five slow winds then let the lure fall naturally to the bottom. This was repeated all the way down the slope.

“The suspended fish were larger than those on the sloping bank so we positioned ourselves in water between 35-45ft deep.

The fish were holding in 15-25ft deep. We would cast out and count down the lure for 12-15 seconds before slow rolling it back to the boat.”

The key lure for the team was a 65mm Squidgy fish in silver fox colour rigged on a 1/2oz Gamakatsu flathead jighead. The lure’s tail was coloured with chartreuse dye and a stinger hook was added to convert short strikes.

Big Bass Tennessee The session Big Bass went 3.6kg. Caught from a drop-off at the end of the Spit the bass fell to a slow rolled Slider in baby bass colour rigged on a Nitro 5/8oz jighead. The bass was caught with only 10 minutes remaining in the session.

The Megabass BASS Megabucks brings to an end the 2013 ABT BASS Pro season. A big thank you to all the sponsors who made the series possible, and to the anglers who attended the events throughout the year.

ABT looks forward to seeing you on the tournament trail in 2014.

MONTHLY

attempted to catch them using the techniques applied in sessions one and two. Finding the fish unresponsive the team moved to Pelican Point and the ridge opposite Bay 13 with little success.

Eventually, with one fish in the livewell, the team settled on Bay 13 as their location.

Sitting wide in 40ft of water the team sounded up fish and proceeded to target them using a combination of the Ecogear Power Shad in eel colour rigged on a 1/2oz TT Tournament Series and the Squidgy Fish in silver fox colour rigged on a PML/ Impact Tackle 1/2oz jighead.

As the session wore on the suspended fish became more responsive and the team consistently increased their limit throughout the session.

“The fish were under a lot of pressure with most of the field in the general vicinity. It was a case of getting a bite followed by the fish scattering, then having to find them again.

This process was repeated throughout the rest of the session,” said Silvester.

2nd place Tonic/Evakool Team Tonic/Evakool fished in Bay 13 to secure their tournament limit. The team positioned themselves in 30-35ft of water and cast towards a ridge in 25ft of water. Once on the bottom the lure was slow rolled back to the boat. This technique allowed the team to fill their limit before they made a move out wider.

Once relocated in 50ft of water the team cast back into 30ft using a tandem presentation. The lures used were a Slider in white colour rigged on a 5/8oz Bass to Barra painted jighead and a 70mm Squidgy fish in silver fox colour rigged on a 5/8oz Bass to Barra painted jighead. The retrieve was slow and constant.

Persistent bites resulted in the angler freespooling the reel to entice a strike.

“The sounder was the key to staying in the right

9

MaGaZine GrouP

BASS BrotherS .....................................Dave Young............... Gavin Dunne .......... 12/12.....14.76

10

................................Dan Stead ................ Peter Morgan ......... 10/12 .....14.61

11

...................................Craig Simmons ......... Wayne Gordon ....... 10/12 .....14.41

12

...........................................................Kris Hickson ............. Daniel Brown ......... 12/12 .....13.81

13

..................................................Shane Anderson....... Jack Gold ............... 12/12 .....12.47 BundaBerg

14

................................Barry Reynolds ......... James Reid ............ 9/12 .......10.63

15

........................................Mal Draper................ Luke Draper ........... 10/12 .....10.48

16

...........................Aaron Sharp ............. Steve Eldred .......... 9/12 .......10.19

17

teNNeSSee ...............................................John Brider ............... Gavin Sticklen ........ 6/12.......9.23

18

...........................................................John Picton............... Jody Vernon ........... 7/12 .......8.75

19

grAiN trAderS......................................David Reynolds ........ Noel Griffiths .......... 8/12.......8.43

20

..................................................Jason Shepherdson .. Tracey Johnson...... 6/12 .......8.34 toowoomBa

Dylan and Matthew Mott were as consistent as ever, cashing in two out of the three sessions and finishing second overall.

21

BArrABASS rodS .................................Simon Saint .............. Rory Saint .............. 6/12.......8.27

22

................................................Rob March ................ Tristan Taylor .......... 9/12 .......8.15

23

SAS BrAid .................................................Mark Reinbott ........... John Kennedy ........ 6/12.......8.00

24

wArwick outdoorS ANd SPortS ..Jamie Facer .............. Michael Thompson... 7/12.......6.49

25

....................Tracey Mammen ....... Alan Britcliffe .......... 3/12 .......6.45

26

............................................................Greg Mitchell ............ Todd McCormack ... 6/12 .......5.83

27

BuSY FiShiN .............................................David Hedges ........... Velinda Hedges...... 5/12.......5.22 NOVEMBER 2013 • 79

SMAK LURES BASS PRO SERIES

SILVESTER SNAPS TO GRAND FINAL GLORY BASS Pro Dean Silvester claimed the ultimate honour in Australian BASS fishing with victory in the Smak Lures BASS Pro Grand Final on Cania Dam, 14/15th September.

Grabbing the lead in session two and never surrendering the number one spot, Silvester eclipsed a talented field of anglers including event runner-up Steve Kanowski, Matt Johnson in 3rd, and threetime Grand Final winner Matthew Mott in 4th.

Victory for Silvester was a blade and plastic affair, with the GF champion catching his Session One fish snapping blades in a small gutter located in a shallow bay at the back of the lake. A 12-minute run from the event start line, the gutter featured the occasional large tree and a smattering of small flooded bushes on the bottom.

“The fish held next to

3” Ecogear Power Shad rigged on hand-painted 3/8oz TT jighead

Ecogear ZX40 blade

Jighead retrieve Blade retrieve Snap

Snap

to make sure there was a belly in the line before I snapped the lure,” Silvester

Dean Silvester and Callum Munro with the fruits of their Grand Final and AOY wins in 2013. the big trees, on the bottom and on the edge of drop-off,” explained Silvester.

Making short casts, Silvester sunk his Ecogear ZX40 blade to the bottom then gave the lure a short, sharp snap on slack line.

“I found it was important

explained. “If there wasn’t, the lure would dart too far and the fish wouldn’t eat it.”

More often than not it was when Silvester went to snap the lure again that a fish would be on it. The approach delivered Silvester his limit in an hour and a 3.12kg bag

for the session.

Heading straight back to his gutter in Session Two, Silvester picked up where he left off, with his snapping blade technique producing his limit in no time at all.

With managing his fish at the forefront of his mind, Silvester changed location – a move that he hoped would preserve his fish for the third and final session.

Heading back down the lake, Silvester found suspended fish in deeper water and began throwing an Ecogear 3” Power Shad rigged on a 3/8oz TT jighead.

This approach delivered three upgrades for the session, and had him sitting in 1st place heading into the final day.

Far from rested after a sleepless night littered with thoughts of what lay ahead, Silvester once again returned to his gutter, hopeful that it would deliver the goods for one final day.

“I was worried that I’d caught all that the place had to offer,” he said. “I even had thoughts of starting the session somewhere else. In

ED BUSINESS GIVING BACK TO THE SP Y OWN ORT L I M FA AUST RAL OWN IAN ED

AN RALI AUST DE A M

S B SP ER A O IE SS NS S 20 OR 13

Proven Tournament Lures 80

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w ww.s mak .com. au NSWFM

the end I just went back to the gutter to see what it had left”.

His decision to return was a correct one, with Silvester catching his first

fish on his second cast and his second fish three casts later.

This time it wasn’t a snapped blade that did the

Dean Silvester was red hot this year and showed it at Cania, claiming the boater BASS Pro Grand Final title.

damage, but rather a roll and paused Power Shad that tempted the suspended bass.

Forty minutes and a few bass later the bite shut down and the gutter had given up all that it was going to give up for the tournament.

“Rather than just beating my head against the wall and hoping that I could scratch out a couple more fish, I moved and went looking for active fish,” explained Silvester.

Targeting schooled fish in deeper water in a gutter similar to his first one, Silvester caught a few more fish but didn’t add much extra to his bag. However, in the end he had more than enough (2.37kg) to maintain his number one position and claim the Grand Final win.

“To fish AFC and win the Somerset BASS Pro this year was more than I could ever have hoped for,” he said. “To top it all off by winning the Grand Final as well is hard to comprehend and something that I’m incredibly proud of.

If I never win anything again I can die a happy man!”

SMAK LURES BASS PRO SERIES Kanowski Kills it for Second Steve ‘Killer’ Kanowski once again lived up to his bridesmaid tag and fell short of claiming one of the few bass titles he hasn’t won, the Smak Lures BASS Pro Grand Final crown.

Fishing a trio of locations to catch his fish, Kanowski focused on flooded bushes in 8-14ft of water near the timbered area not far from the event start line.

“The standout bushes were the ones that were adjacent to drop-offs and deep water,” he explained.

The lure and technique

that did the majority of the damage, catching all bar one of his fish, was a 1/4oz Evergreen Little Max blade fished vertically and worked with short, aggressive hops. The biggest fish in his limit for the tournament didn’t

fall to the Little Max but instead ate a plum/ chartreuse coloured 3” paddle-tail soft plastic.

Kanowski’s double lure approach had him sitting in first after Session One, second after Session Two, and ultimately second at

the end of the tournament.

“Sure – I would have loved to have won the event, but at the end of the day Dean caught the bigger fish and I just didn’t get the bites I needed to come out on top,” concluded a resigned Kanowski.

BASS ELECTRIC SERIES

TOP 10 NON-BOATERS Fish Weight (kg) Payout

Place / Angler

Steve Kanowski was once again the bridesmaid at the Grand Final, finishing second to Silvester.

Young Gun Fires to Win dam Radosevic once again used his two blade combo, but after getting blown away by five fish he was beginning to wonder whether it was going to all fall apart on him.

“I just couldn’t land a fish,” he said, “so I upped my leader size and that’s when it all turned around.”

1 Dean SILVESTER 6/6 8.36 2 Stephen KANOWSKI 6/6 8.27 3 Matt JOHNSON 5/6 7.02 4 Matthew MOTT 5/6 6.91 5 John BRIDER 6/6 6.70 6 David REYNOLDS 6/6 6.58 7 Mark LENNOX 5/6 6.41 8 Gavin DUNNE 5/6 6.35 9 Ian WRATTEN 6/6 6.06 10 Adrian MELCHIOR 5/6 6.01 For full result listings see www.australianbass.com.au

Nomad Adventure Trip MotorGuide electric motor Engel fridge/freezer Jackall Pack Imakatsu Pack Spotters Pack Smak Lures Pack Duffdollars Voucher

BASS ELECTRIC SERIES

.

Hervey Bay student and bass young gun Dane Radosevic secured victory in the non-boater division at the Smak Lures BASS Pro Grand Final with a 210g win.

Fishing with Trevor Stead on Day One and Barry Reynolds on Day Two, Radosevic fished a combination of Nexgen and Evergreen blades.

Day One involved fishing vertical timber and working his blades with a series of single and double hops. The approach was spot-on, with Radosevic catching his limit within the first hour of Session One. Session Two, however, proved a lot more difficult with Radosevic catching one fish for the session.

“I just couldn’t get the second fish I needed to complete my limit,” explained Dane.

Leading by a meagre 10g heading into the third and final session, Radosevic needed – and was praying for – a repeat of Session One to be confident of securing the win. Fishing the upper reaches of the

TOP 10 NON-BOATERS

The move was just what he needed to get his tournament back on track, and he finished the session with a 2.51kg limit. Claiming the event win over a strong finishing Terry Allwood, Radosevic in the end secured an easy victory. – ABT

TOP 10 NON-BOATERS Fish Weight (kg) Payout

Place / Angler

1 Dane RADOSEVIC 5/6 6.78 2 Terry ALLWOOD 6/6 6.56 3 Michael THOMPSON 6/6 5.40 4 John KOCH 5/6 5.24 5 Joshua EVANS 5/6 5.02 6 Tom SLATER 5/6 5.00 7 Duane MACEY 4/6 4.84 8 Glenn WOJTASIK 5/6 4.68 9 Andrew WOODS 4/6 4.45 10 Ben SCOTMAN 4/6 4.37 For full result listings see www.australianbass.com.au

MotorGuide electric motor Engel fridge/freezer Duffrod Toray Pack Pontoon 21 Prize Pack Tonic Prize Pack Bassman Prize Pack Duffdollars Voucher

BASS ELECTRIC SERIES

WINNING NOTES

Dane Radosevic claimed the non-boater title, anchored by his 3.42kg bag in Session One.

Winner’s tackle Rod: Dobyns Champion Extreme 702 spin Reel: Quantum EXO 25 spin Line: 10lb Sunline Rock fish Leader: 6lb Sunline Shooter FC Lure: Ecogear ZX40 blade (dark night colour #445), 3” Ecogear Power Shad (eel colour) rigged on hand-painted 3/8oz TT jighead Winner’s edge The key was snapping the blade up off the bottom on slack line. If you didn’t do this the lure wouldn’t dart correctly and the bass wouldn’t eat it.

Entries: Entry forms for all ABT Tournaments can be found in the 2013 ABT Tournament Angler Guide.

Simply photocopy the entry form, fill in the relevant details and send it in with your cheque or money order to; ABT, PO Box 7196, LOGANHOLME, QLD 4129 Alternatively you can download an entry form from www.australianbass.com.au At any time you can call ABT on (07) 3387 0888 for help with your entry during business hours.

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Kayak, canoe, which one for you THE TWEED

Roderick Walmsley ru4reelcharters@gmail.com

Working in a specialist kayak and canoe store really fires up your interest in more remote fisheries. It’s very rewarding to fish somewhere that powered boats can’t get to.

There are lots of other good reasons to get a kayak though, and there are plenty of kayaks out there that are good all-rounders, suited to a variety of activities and conditions.

Other craft are designed to suit specific fishing applications.

When you’re a first-time

kayaker, it’s easy to select a craft based on how it fits your budget, rather than thinking about what its main use will be. This is a problem, because when you start using it you’ll find it’s not really enjoyable.

It will end up sitting idle in your garage, or worse – on the internet for sale.

Let’s take a look at some of the styles of kayaks and canoes on the market and what makes each one different from its close cousins. With all the variety out there, you’ll be able to find one that suits your needs without breaking the bank.

KAYAK – SIT ON TOP This is one of the most

popular styles of light watercraft on the market. It is easy to use, generally quite manageable to launch and can easily be transported on a set of roof racks.

These kayaks come in dual and single person versions, which makes them attractive to both families as well as anglers. Because you sit on top of them rather than inside them, they can handle much rougher conditions. Due to the nature of these craft, you will usually be a bit higher off the water with no ‘gunwales’ to negotiate when casting or paddling.

Sit-on-top kayaks usually have drain holes that allow

Sit on top kayaks like this are a great rough water fishing boat.

excess water that comes over the bow, stern or sides to rapidly drain away. The downside to this is that water will also slop up through these drain holes while paddling.

You can stop this by adding scupper bungs – tapered plugs that you can push into the drain holes. If you do find yourself in a situation whereby the kayak takes on water, you simply yank the bungs out and the water will drain away.

These bungs can be a big plus on cold mornings.

Sit-on-top kayaks can be used in a host of different ways, from the surf to calm water in both the salt and the fresh.

When you’re buying one, look at the shape first. Models that are wide and short are harder to paddle, but are more stable.

Long and narrow models are faster but less stable.

There are slight variations to this rule, depending on specific hull designs. Some of the major brands, which can be admittedly be more expensive, put a lot of R&D into their hulls to make them paddle faster while still being quite stable.

Another factor to consider is what material the craft is made of, because Australian conditions can be harsh on watercraft. Good quality UV

The Ocean Kayak Tetra is a great multipurpose kayak. stabilised polyethylene will rapidly increase the working life of your kayak, and ensure that it can handle many of the knocks that these craft often have to endure.

The storage in sit on top kayaks is limited to the amount of hatch or compartment space in them. Using dry bags is a must if you don’t want your gear to get wet.

KAYAK – SIT IN Because you sit inside these kayaks rather than on top of them, you’ll normally have a lower centre of gravity. The fact that these craft have sides also means you’ll stay drier.

It’s great in the colder months because you can rug up against the cold without having to worry too much about getting wet. The only water that you

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NOVEMBER 2013

NSWFM

Longer kayaks with sleek hulls can be a pleasure to paddle. will get in your kayak will be drips from your paddles, but if you adjust your paddle stroke, and if your paddle features a good set of drip rings, you can cut this right down.

The downside to a sit-in kayak is that it’s not ideal for rough conditions. Unless you wear a quality spray skirt that fits over the top of your boat to make it watertight, you don’t want to use a sit-in around rough water.

Sit in kayaks are known for their exceptional paddle ability. They come in single and dual-person models, with the dual-person models usually preferred by touring kayakers that want to use the boat for extended paddles.

These craft are often the choice of calm water boaters due to the fact that you can store items in the seating area as well as in the designated

storage compartments.

As with the sit-on-top kayaks, you’ll find that the better boats usually cost a bit more due to hull design and material quality.

CANOES Even though canoes can be used to fish areas with rapids,

they are usually a dedicated calm water craft. Canoes are favoured by boaters who want plenty of internal space, which is why these are such a good option for extended trips. They handle weight reasonably well and the large models (designed to carry two or even three people) can be extremely stable on the water. They are often designed to allow for electric or even outboard motors to be added, and can accommodate batteries and motor brackets.

A good quality canoe will paddle really well, and will be a pleasure to use when travelling long distances on our river systems.

The material they’re made from can greatly influence their lifespan and, to an extent, how they perform on the water.

A good quality UV-stabilised

polyethylene will allow your canoe to withstand the harsh Australian conditions, and if you step up to something like Royalex you’ll decrease its weight substantially.

RIGHT FOR THE JOB Once you have chosen the model and make of your canoe or kayak, you need to get down to the nitty-gritty.

As yourself whether you want it to be a fishing platform, or for exercise. You can opt for a craft that does both, as long as you bear in mind there will be slight compromises in certain areas.

If you want a dedicated fishing craft, you’ll be spoilt for choice. These models have rod holders, tackle storage features and stacks of other angler-friendly benefits. How much you want to add to your craft to make it more user-

friendly is also entirely up to you. The kayak and canoe accessories are endless – anchors, drogues, rod holders, fish finders and sails are just a few of the accessories out there.

Another important question to ask yourself is, what are the seats like?

You’ll be spending a lot

Check the material it is made of – is it buoyant or do you need to add flotation? These are the questions you need to ask yourself or the salesperson.

You don’t want to be one of those people who has to put their canoe or kayak up for sale at half the purchase price because it was simply the wrong boat for them.

Canoes like this Old Town Guide 147 can be spacious and comfortable to fish out of. They can also accommodate sounders and motors quite easily.

Sit in kayaks like this offer a low centre of gravity and can be a drier option.

of time sitting down so you want a comfortable seat. A backrest is very important as well. I recommend one that is adjustable and will provide lumbar support while you’re paddling or fishing.

One thing I cannot stress enough is to do your research.

If one craft is more expensive than another, look at why.

When you make the right choice, you’ll find that kayaking and canoeing can be great fun. It can take you to some of the most beautiful places around Australia – places that you would never have had the opportunity to visit otherwise. Just pick the right one for you and you’ll never look back.

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The thrill you get down your spine when you realise the battle is about to begin. Your feet planted on a solid deck, everything you need within reach. In fact a Yellowfin comes with over 20 standard inclusions, that others class as extras. All designed to ensure you are free to concentrate on the task at hand.

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It’s times like these you appreciate the quality inclusions and workmanship of a true fishing vessel.

A Yellowfin plate boat is built for the world’s oceans and those who hunt there.

yellowfinboats.com.au NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

83

Comfortable Summer Camp BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

With end of year holidays just over the horizon this is a great time to think about summer camping and what steps can be taken to make it as enjoyable as possible.

Looking back on some of our really great camping trips this year there were several things that showed

us that our camping set ups were spot on for the circumstances.

Our trip to angler’s paradise Cape York saw us camping in rough circumstances. Firstly, we had sand and red dust under foot from start to finish, so the shade cloth on the ground was brilliant. This stuff can be swept when necessary and is a great idea.

Secondly, with day

temperatures in their low thirties and no natural shade on hand, the big poly tarp we set up overhead had to endure some very strong winds so the use of an adjustable spreader bar across the centre to maintain shape was vital. Also, an Explore portable fan from BCF made humid 30°C nights bearable and would, I feel, be a really handy item for campers this summer.

The camp was a little rough but we were comfortable thanks to Korr Lighting products and the Glind Cape Yorker.

Power draw was minimal at 1.7Amps on low setting, which was fine.

KORR LIGHTING PRODUCTS INVALUABLE A selection of Korr Lighting products also made our life easy. Three 50cm strips of magnetised LED lighting were easily attached to the iron spreader bar overhead and linked to a 12v battery which we kept topped up with a 165 Watt portable solar panel from Korr Lighting. The house battery also powered the portable fan when it was in operation, charged our

A portable fan is a great asset for steamy tropical nights. phones, I Pads, video and GoPro units so it had a busy life all round. Yet the solar panel kept it in good shape, never lagging in output.

External flood lighting around our camp was very

The compact yet very powerful Korr pole clamp and LED flood light kit. Note the different sized inserts that make the pole clamp so versatile.

Outdoor Stove Safe Ecofriendly Portable Fully enclosed Available in three sizes Heavy duty construction AUSTRALIAN MADE USING LOCAL MATERIALS

The compact size of the Korr LED flood light and the Korr pole clamp can be assessed from this image.

important. Snakes were certainly about: sighting of marks in the sand where they’d travelled nearby were all too common so the powerful 18 Watt LED floodlight, which we set up on one of the brace poles at the front of the camp, gave us great peace of mind if we had to move away from the camp at night.

This small but very powerful waterproof light with its 1800 Lumens output had a wide flood beam (a dimmer in the line could reduce output when we wanted to) and being attached to the tent pole with a Korr Pole Clamp, it could be swivelled or aimed in any direction. We worked on the boat winch one night to repair it and the flexibility in the flood lighting set up was vital.

The Korr pole clamp can hold up to 50kg and can be set up on virtually any camping pole due to its variable 18-25mm and 35–50mm internal clamp diameter, which is achieved courtesy of removable spacers. Once a chosen spacer is set in place (no tools required) a quick acting cam/knob system then locks everything solidly in seconds. Korr can be contacted on phone (07) 3801 8332 or on the net at sales@korrlighting.com.au.

GLIND’S CAPE YORKER PORTABLE SHOWER When camping in hot or really humid weather it’s Continued page 85

Can burn ecologs, heat beads, sawmill timbers or briquettes

• 0427 887 783 • 0432 817 008 www.thehotbox.com.au • info@thehotbox.com.au

07 5491 3578 84

NOVEMBER 2013

NSWFM

The Korr LED flood light in action; that shed is 40 metres from the LED light!

Hot Box offers the lot FMG

Greg Livingstone

A new product that stood out at the Tinnie and Tackle show earlier this year was the Hot Box. The Hot Box is a portable outdoor stove, much like an old Billy stove of yester year but with some pretty fancy modifications allowing it to be portable and travel friendly.

There are three sizes available in the range and

all three pack up within themselves, so at first glance these products seem to be too big for a standard camping trip. But the clever design means the legs, flume, side tables and all over accessories fit inside the main oven compartment for transport and storage, so it doesn’t take up much room at all. Smaller than a normal esky and about the size of a carton of beer, the Hot Box packs a mean punch.

I was super keen to try one out as I love an open

fire. The smell of burning timber and cooking food is hard to beat when you’re out amongst the wilderness or at your favourite fishing destination.

The main thing that impressed me was the workmanship. The quality of the door and the way the components are joined is first class. Putting the Hot Box together is a simple exercise: screw on the legs, put on the side plates, connect the flume and then add your fuel, it’s that easy.

The Hot Box is not designed for a raging fire.

It’s purpose is for cooking and radiant heat, and so massive tree stumps are not needed. I got the fire started with a fire starter brick, some twigs and a couple of pieces of hard wood cut into 20cm lengths. When the fire had caught I added 8 heat beads. If the heat slows you can simply add some more timber to get it going again and maybe add some more beads. Very easy and simple and the heat radiated is incredible as is the ambiance of this great

campsite centrepiece.

I reckon most anglers have a man cave or shed.

This would be a great feature if plumbed into the

roof making those cold nights a pleasure to escape the kids as you hibernate for winter.

Cooking is easy. I laid an oven tray with a family sized chook on top of the heat beads and then added the veggies about an hour after the chook started. The meal was fantastic and had a slight smoky flavour to it.

Maybe there is a possibility to smoke trout or tailor down the track – I can’t wait to try that out.

I had some friends over one weekend recently. The kids were being kids so we decided to sit outside in the patio area. I set up the Hot Box, placed it in the middle of the back yard on our grass and light a fire. We set out our chairs, opened

From page 84

hard to beat a shower at day’s end which saw the Glind Cape Yorker as the icing on the cake for our far northern trip. Those showers were just so good!

The Cape Yorker?

Where the traditional Glind hot water car or boat shower unit relies on a car or boat engine to heat water via a pump and heat exchanger system (and is usually installed under a car bonnet or beside a four stroke boat engine) the Cape Yorker is a stand alone system totally removed from a car or boat, which means it needs no installation.

Powered via an independent 12v battery and carried in a high impact Pelican-style carry case that is 340mm long, 290mm wide, 150mm in depth the Cape Yorker is a portable pressure wash system with a 4.3 litres per minute output courtesy of a powerful Flo

The Glind Cape Yorker’s case is a very compact unit.

Jet marine grade (OK in saltwater) pump.

With a 2m power cord and 6m of delivery hose. this unit needs only a source of power and water to direct a steady stream via the shower rose provided. This means it’s ideal for you and the family to enjoy at the end of a hot day or fine for washing down the car, boat, caravan or whatever else needs a

spruce up.

Looking at the kit in detail the input hose is high pressure industrial material, the output system a generous 6m of clear hose to facilitate the delivery of water to a shower tent or another chosen area, perhaps a boat privacy cubicle. The Cape Yorker’s shower rose is totally adjustable from full flow to reduced flow or

The Glind Cape Yorker in action.

the door and talked and drank the night way. The mood was fantastic and to my surprise when I rose in the morning there was no mess or burnt grass. How good are they? A suburban outdoor fire with no mess, all contained within itself.

Clean up is simple, shovel it out and load up again.

So where do you get the Hot Box from? Give Laurie or Rod a call (Laurie: 0432 817 008 or Rod: 0412 957 464 or 07 5491 3578), as they are two down to earth blokes who designed, build and sell the Hot Box. If there isn’t a Hot Box seller close to you, they will send you one to your door You can also visit their website at www.thehotbox.com.au. even turned off for a quick wash where water is in short supply. Hot water showers require no more than a bucket of hot water being handy for the input hose.

Bear in mind that people who want hot water continuously for their camping could have a Glind heat exchanger fitted to their vehicle and simply connect the input hose of the Cape Yorker to the output of the heat exchanger. It’s been done before.

All components of the Cape Yorker are largely Queensland made and there’s even an optional very fine stainless steel filter that is designed to operate in a mixed sand and water environment. Normal retail price for the Cape Yorker would be $225 but an introductory offer of $199 is current. Glind can be contacted on (07) 3408 6226 or on the net at www.glind. com.au.

NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

85

this section in nsw fishing Monthly consolidates the trades and services in your area that are relevant to your fishing and boating. whether you’re a local looking for more options or a travelling angler fishing around the state, this guide will direct you to reputable businesses in the area you’re searching.

Online Tackle Products

OUT of the BLUE TACKLE

SYDNEY’S HOME OF TRAILERS!

advertisers wanting to be involved in this directory can call (07) 3387 0834 or email ads@fishingmonthly.com.au

We Fix Trailers : Repairs + Services New & Secondhand Trailers Parts + Accessories

Introducing the all new INSANITY ACE REEL

Call: (02) 8544 8114 5 Captain Cook Drive, Caringbah

Bait & Tackle

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BYRON COAST

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of the Best Reel at China Fish 2013

SYDNEY

COFFS COAST

The Boat Pimpers (Sydney) (02) 9792 7799

Complete Angler Kempsey (02) 6562 5307

CMC Marine Sales www.cmcsales.com.au

Rocks Marine Bait & Tackle South West Rocks (02) 6566 6726

MACQUARIE COAST

Graham Barclay Marine (02) 6554 5866 Manning River Marine Taree (02) 6552 2333

3 • Gelcoat repairs 3• Insurance repairs

Port Macquarie Tackle World (02) 6584 9972

3 • Transom & floor repairs 3 • 12v Electrical installations

SAMPLE 2x2 AD - BUSINESS NAME This is where your copy will appear. You will have approximately 30 words within a 2x2 ad size.

Contact Sales: ads@fishingmonthly.com.au

4 aspinall place, MuLGraVe 02 4577 3482 www.westernboatrepairs.com.au

HUNTER COAST

2000 , 3000 , 4000 sizes available • Slim water tight body • No external screws • Leading technology • Easy to service • Ratio 5.1:1, 8 + 1 bearings • 6kg drag

Port Stephens Tackle World (02) 4984 2144

CENTRAL COAST

Umina Bait and Tackle (02) 4341 1686

Umina

Ph: 0417 608 344

Email: brian@outofthebluetackle.com.au

open 7 days

www.outofthebluetackle.com.au

ltD Bait & tackle PtY

Custom boat Covers Made by Professionals

Mobile service Available We Do... Boat Covers • Canopies • Clears

massive

range

• Spray Covers • upholstery • Industrial Covers • marine Carpet & Decking • Sails & Sail handling Systems

of tackle

cheapest bait around

02

Gabes Boating & Fishing Centre Narellan (02) 4647 8755 Gabes Boating & Fishing Centre Sylvania (02) 9522 5100 Windybanks Bait and Tackle (02) 9477 1520

BATEMANS COAST

Rob’s Bait and Tackle (Burrill) (02) 4454 3350

EDENS COAST

Bermagui Bait and Tackle (02) 6493 5444

FRESHWATER

Loomzys Fish and Fix (Forbes) (02) 6851 1425

Boat Imports Import USA Boat 0435 476 177

Boat Hire Boab Boat Hire (NSW) 1300 002 622

Fish Taxidermy Neptune’s Treasures - Your Catch Reproduced www.neptunestreasures.com.au Fish Taxidermist www.fishtaxidermy.net.au or 0428 544 841

Boat / Trailer Modifications & Repairs Bold Trailers (02) 8544 8114 www.boldtrailers.com.au Salt Away 1800 091 172 www.salt-away.com.au

Mo Tackle (02) 6652 4611 www.motackle.com.au Specialty Fishing Products www.specialtyfishing.com.au U-Make-Em Soft plastics ww.u-make-emsoftplastics.com.au Adrenalin Flies www.adrenalinflies.com.au Techni Ice www.techniice.com

4341 1686

SYDNEY

Out of the Blue Tackle 0417 608 344 www.outofthebluetackle.com.au

Chandlery & Accessories

FLush Your enGine With

0431 858 176 www.RHINOCOVERS.com.au

rhinocovers@hotmail.com

Boat Moorings corrosion controL saLt reMoVinG treatMent

Botany Bay Moorings

WARNING!

Limited availability only a small number remaining.

9 out 10 engines fail from salt corrosion

$700 pEr annuM fOr MEMBErs

MUDDy cREEK AMATEUR BOATING & FISHING ASSOc.

SLIPWAy AVAILABLE

Act now And protect your vAluAble boAt, engine, trAiler, fishing And dive geAr.

EnquirE nOW. 0427 908668

saLt-aWaY is a Must For:

or 0402 055 034

ENGINE FLUSHING JETSKIS TRAILERS

FREECALL

Botany Bay Moorings 0427 908 668

SAMPLE 2x2 AD - BUSINESS NAME This is where your copy will appear. You will have approximately 30 words within a 2x2 ad size.

Contact Michael Fox: mfox@fishingmonthly.com.au

For more info

86

NSWFM

1800 091 172

Visit www.salt-away.com.au Anchor Right (03) 5968 5014 Korr Lighting www.korlighting.com.au

WANT IN? EMAIL : ads@fishingmonthly.com.au NOVEMBER 2013

WASHING BOATS FISHING & DIVE GEAR

CENTRAL COAST

Mooring Security

Charter Boats

For all your boating needs

TAILORED INSPECTION PACKAGES STARTING fROm

• Outboard Motor Servicing & Repairs • Spare Parts & Chandlery • Marine Electrics • Trailer Repairs

FREE

$15

PRIZE

DRAW

PER mONTh

Mention NSWFM and Receive a Discou nt

vISIT OuR website

• Battery Replacement • Storm Checks • Scraping/Antifouling • Electrical maintenance • Water Courier Service • mooring Rope Replacement

A reliable and cost effective way to safeguard your moored, penned or trailer boat.

Boatminder will check your boat, start your engine & check your bilges

www.boatminder.com.au 0456 618 718

Sea Master Fishing Charters, 07 5524 8849 or 0415 593 901 Reel Time Fishing Charters 0428 231 962

COFFS COAST

Oceanic Sea Urchin II Charters, 02 6566 6623 or 0428 650 321 South West Rocks Fishing Charters, 02 6566 5298 or 0429 995 390 The Rocks Fishing Charters, 0412 074 147 Wooli Deep Sea Tours, 02 6649 7100 Trial Bay Fishing Charters, 0427 256 556

MACQUARIE COAST

Castaway Estuary Charters 0427239 650

COFFS COAST

Boat Minder 0456 618 718 www.boatminder.com.au

Jetty Boating (02) 6651 4002

Ocean Star Fishing Charters, 0416 240 877

MACQUARIE COAST

Breakdown Response

Your Mates on the Water

HUNTER COAST

Graham Barcley Marine (02) 6554 5866

Calypso Fishing Adventures, (02) 4984 7797 or 0411 111 476

Manning River Marine Taree (02) 6552 2333

Tailermade Fishing Adventures, (02) 4928 2653 or 0411 096 717

ILLAWARRA COAST

Calmwater Fishing Charters, (02) 4369 8872 or 0419 239 882

Nowra Marine (02) 4423 3440

Terrigal Bluewater Fishing Charters 0418 293 886

Dave Hill Marine, Nowra (02) 4423 6137

Providing on water marine assistance to boating enthusiasts in the Sydney Harbour region  Salvage  Fuel drop offs  Battery jump starts  Battery replacements

ph: 43 444 088 Mob: 0415 904 124 donterrill@hotmail.com 15 alma ave, Woy Woy nsW Don’s Mobile Marine 0415 904 124

BYRON COAST

Evans Head Deep Sea Fishing Charters,0428 828 835

FRESHWATER Dubbo Marine and Watersports (02) 6882 2853

 Breakdown assistance  Running gear untangled  On water towing  Water pump outs

SYDNEY

Fishabout Tours, 02 9975 1087, 0412 918 127 Harbour and Estuary Fishing Charters, 02 9999 2574 or 0410 633 351 Sydney Sportfishing Adventures, 0405 196 253

Holiday Rental

ILLAWARRA COAST

Jervis Bay Fishing Charters (02) 4447 8177 0412 506 422

www.boatassist24.com.au | 02·9746 6224

CHIFLEY DAM CABINS

Silver Star Fishing Charters, (02) 4421 7462 or 0412 977 000 Shell Harbour Fishing Charters, 0425 216 370

Just 20 minutes drive Sth of Bathurst Affordable self-catering accommodation Quiet peaceful setting Great spot for fishing

Boat Assist 24 02 9746 6224 www.boatassist24.com.au

Marine Mechanics

SILVER STAR FISHING CHARTERS

SYDNEY

MOBY MARINE

Your one stop shop for outboard & inboard service options

COFFS COAST

HUNTER COAST

Wangi Point Lakeside holiday Park (02) 4975 1889

www.mobymarine.com.au (02) 9153 6506

Macleay Valley Coastal Holiday Parks 1300 COASTAL

AquaMarine

Blacksmiths Holiday Park (02) 4971 2858

MObilE MAriNE bOAt SErvicES

Mechanical and Electrical Boat and Jet Ski Servicing All Watercraft Repairs Boat Fitouts Break Down Service Boat and Outboard Inspection NSW Boat Code Agent (Mobile)

PHONE: 041 5 600 301

www.aquacash.com.au

Game and Deep Sea, Charters ing Reef Fish

3 BoatS

Mowong

Pelican Park Nambucca Heads (02) 6568 6505

44 Barry Ave, Mortdale, NSW Contact us today

> > > > > > >

Snapper

Ben Chifley 1800 681 000 www.visitbathurst.com.au

Outboard and Sterndrive Specialists All Services & Repairs by Qualified Technicians We are one of the Largest Distributors of After Market marine engine parts in Australia

NOWRA NSW Choice of

Book now on 1800 68 1000 Book online at visitbathurst.com.au

S E R V I C E S P T Y L T D MARINE ENGINE PARTS DISTRIBUTORS

Greenwell Point only 10 mins from

Flathead

CENTRAL COAST

Kingfish

Central Coast Holiday Parks 1800 241 342

ILLAWARRA COAST

Tuna

Currarong Beachside Tourist Park 1300 555 515 Sussex Inlet (LJ Hooker) (02) 4441 2135

Plus more!

Riviera Caravan Park, St George’s Basin (02) 4441 2112

NSW Recreational Fishing Licence.

NSW Maritime Surveyed.

Jervis Bay Marine Park permit.

Killalea State Park, Shell Cove (02) 4237 8589

SILVER STAR

Holiday With Us, Sussex Inlet (02) 4441 2135

FISHING CHARTERS

EDEN COAST

Fishermans Rest (Eden) (02) 6496 1999

Phone John 0412

977 000

www.silverstarfishingcharters.com.au

FRESHWATER

Burrinjuck Waters State Park (02) 6227 8114

BATEMANS COAST

Moby Marine (02) 9153 6506 www.mobymarine.com.au

Providence Lodge (Eucumbene) (02) 6454 2200

Top Cat Charters, (02) 4472 7340 or 0427 727 340

Aqua Marine 0415 600 301 www.aquacash.com.au

Winter Keep (Snowy Mountains) www.winterkeep.com.au

Batemans Bay Fishing.com.au 1800 636 396

Cohoe Marine Products (Sydney) (02) 9519 3575

Gugegong River Park (02) 6373 0378

Blakes Marine (02) 4577 6699

Grabine Lakeside State Park (02) 4835 2345

Esprit Fishing Charters, 1300 556 658

Watersports Marine (02) 9676 1400

Lake Glenbawn State Park (02) 6543 7193

The Sheriff - Montague Is Game (02) 4476 4664 or 0428 277 727

Neken Marine (02) 9979 9649

Wyangala Waters State Park (02) 6345 0877

Freedom Charters Eden (02) 6496 1209 or 0415 602 446

Family Boats (02) 9622 0222

Bass Lodge Macleay River NSW 0433 482 325

Sea Lady Charters, 02 4234 2050 or 0411 024 402

EDEN COAST

WANT IN? EMAIL : ads@fishingmonthly.com.au NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

87

Trades, services, charter boats & guided fishing tours directory

MIKAT CRUISES

Charter Boats Continued

FREEDOM CHARTERS EDEN

BEST VALUE FOR MONEY ON THE NSW STH COAST!

EDEN COAST

Captain Kev’s Wilderness Fishing Tours 02 4474 3345 or 0424 625 160

SAMPLE AD - BUSINESS NAME

Swains & Coral Sea

• Reef, Game and Kingfish • Shared and private charters • Bait and tackle supplied • Homemade morning tea • Packages available • Owner operated

This is where your copy will appear. You will have approximately 30 words within a 5x2 ad size.

Fishing Charters

We catch fish!

E:

Ph: (02)

Email : pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

6496 1209 or 0415 602 446

fishing@freedomcharters.com.au W: www.freedomcharters.com.au

Freedom Charters (02) 6496 1209 www.freedomcharters.com.au

QUEENSLAND

MV CAPRICORN STAR EXTENDED FISHING cHARTERS

• Reef, Deep Sea and Sport Fishing • 20m Cat – Large comfortable & stable • Air-Conditioned & fast (cruise up to 18 knots) • Professional crew (over 22 years experience) • Cater for groups up to 14 for up to 10 days • Fully licensed bar • Dories available • Three large bathrooms • Blue Ray DVD + Plasma Tv’s • Desalinate unit • Trips designed to suit your requirements

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Line listing from $15 + gst per mth* 2cm x 2 from $35 + gst per mth* 5cm x 2 from $50 + gst per mth* 6cm x 2 from $69 + gst per mth* 7cm x 2 from $74 + gst per mth* 8cm x 2 from $84+ gst per mth* 9cm x 2 from $89 + gst per mth* 10cm x 2 from $99 + gst per mth* 11cm x 2 from $105 + gst per mth* 12cm x 2 from $110 + gst per mth* * Conditions apply Call (07) 3387 0830 or email : ads@fishingmonthly.com.au

Michael Ph: 0427 125 727

www.mikat.com.au Honda 34x6 Mikat Cruises 0427 125 727 www.mikat.com.au Not in system

Fax: (07) 4972 1759

BOOK yOUR

2013 TRIP NOW

Fishing Guides

Swains Reef • Bunker Group • coral Sea • Shoal Waters and Beyond

ILLAWARRA COAST

Bay & Basin Sportsfishing 0413 610 832 MV Capricorn Star 0408 755 201 www.amytiadventure.com.au Mikat Cruises Fishing Charters Swains & Coral Sea 0427 125 727

BATEMANS COAST

Aussie Fish Estuary Adventures, 02 6495 9902 or 0400 062 504

WANT IN? EMAIL : ads@fishingmonthly.com.au

SGreSgory AFC BLaA ke

Mbour EA AFCGlaBdsRtone ar H SEASON Queensland – where Australia shines

is proud to present the 10th season of the Australian Fishing Championships. With competition on three arenas – two of them brand new to AFC – you’ll be exposed to BREAM, BASS and BARRA fishing like never before.

And Queensland is the only state where you can catch all three.

• Lake Gregory – BASS • Gladstone Harbour – BREAM • Kinchant Dam – BARRA With a mix of old AFC stalwarts and new talent, follow your favourite anglers as they represent their teams – BCF, Hobie and Mercury.

CHECK LOCAL GUIDES

Ep 1

BREAM

Sun 13 Oct

11am

Ep 2

BREAM

Sun 20 Oct

11am

Ep 3

BREAM

Sun 27 Oct

11am

Ep 4

BASS

Sun 3 Nov

11am

Ep 5

BASS

Sun 17 Nov

11am

Ep 6

BASS

Sun 1 Dec

11am

Ep 7

BARRA

Sun 8 Dec

Midday

Ep 8

BARRA

Sun12 Jan

11am

Ep 9

BARRA

Sun 19 Jan

11am

V 88

NOVEMBER 2013

NSWFM

V

*Confirm times with your local TV guide

BASS Anglers – Dean Silvester (BCF), Callum Munro (BCF), Matthew Mott (Mercury), Dan Clancy (Mercury), Al McNamara (Hobie), Mark Lennox (Hobie).

BREAM Anglers – Steve Gill (BCF), Heath Blaikie (BCF), Warren Carter (Mercury), Russell Babekuhl (Mercury), Kris Hickson (Hobie), Shane Taylor (Hobie).

BARRA Anglers – Dan Grech (BCF), USA’s Gary Clouse (BCF), Jon Millard (Mercury), Japan’s Takayoshi Orimoto (Mercury), Peter Price (Hobie), 2011 World Kayak Fishing Champion Scott Baker (Hobie).

Parsun outboards: they’re for the long run FMG

Travis Davies travis@fishingmonthly.com.au

After seven years Parsun outboards have become a huge part of the Australian boating scene.

Thanks to a solid distribution network and a growing reputation for reliability and value, the brand has grown fast.

The only way for that to happen in a country like Australia is to earn a reputation and in the case of Parsun outboards, that has been achieved.

We recently were offered a run with the new Parsun 25hp two-stroke outboard and it seemed like an offer too good to refuse.

We arranged to hit the water for a tour of the amazingly scenic

you the ultimate corrosion protection.

The motor itself has a thermostat water-cooling system, which keeps and eye on everything inside for you.

The specs are below for the motor, as I said it’s confusing to the point that I know it’s a manual 25hp, you tilt it up and down manually, it has forward, neutral and reverse, you pull start it and it goes well!

We launched the boat jumped in and bang, one pull and away it went. In my opinion as all 25hp motors should; they are just little workhorses that run forever.

There were two of us in the boat (I got out to take pictures) and away we went with no plans, just to run around get a feel for the motor and boat and see this amazingly scenic river.

A simple tiller steer arrangement that has tension adjustment to allow the skipper to control the craft better.

On the small Island Inflatable, the 25hp 2-stroke had no dramas getting the rig moving at speed.

Woronora River.

We met Garry Baikovas, the owner of Island Inflatables and distributor of Parsun Outboards, at the ramp.

Naturally, the new motor was fitted on an Island inflatable, a hypalon 2.7m boat. I put 2 and 2 together and came up with the conclusion that this boat was going to fly!

The boat weighs only 52kg, actually the same weight as the motor, so with its buoyancy it was really going to get up and go.

Now I am not one to understand all the specs when you’re researching a motor. There are some big words and some strange numbers, but to have it laid out and sold to me by the salesman, basically to dumb it down for me, actually made sense.

I was shown it’s as good as other motors on the market but for a smaller price tag!

The motor is made from a high-grade marine aluminium alloy. This means it’s made from a quality material to give

We cruised along in the 6 knots zone hardly hearing the motor. I loved

this, as a lot of driving in 6 knots with a noisy rattling two-stroke is something I

Removable for transport, the 52kg Parsun 25hp can be managed by one person, however two people would make it a very simple operation.

wouldn’t like. I must say the motor was very new with only a few hours on it, so I suppose it should be quiet.

Once outside of the speed zone we opened it up and with the buoyancy of the inflatable there was no real hole shot, it just took off.

I am not sure of the speed but it was going as fast as the boat would allow.

In fact we pulled back the throttle to pull down the revs and run smooth. This didn’t really adjust the speed, just made for a quieter run.

We travelled about 20 minutes up the river, we both had a go at driving and then we took a few pictures and headed back.

It was a flat day so there was no chop to speak of. We created some chop ourselves by swinging into a few circles and the boat ripped through it and we threw the boat into some sharp turns and it all held well. There was very minimal cavitation coming

out of sharp turns and when straightened it just pulled away again.

You can tighten or loosen the adjustable steering friction lever to get it just the way you want it.

Changing gears was also very smooth from neutral to

forward and back and into reverse. The motor is fitted with a vibration reduction system; it made sense of its smooth running.

When deciding on your purchase, you have many choices even once you know you want a 25hp.

Your boat transom height will determine whether you need a longor short-shaft motor. Ask your dealer which suits your boat.

You can have manual start or for extra you can order an electric start, it’s up to you. But these motors do start easily with a pull anyone could achieve.

So decisions, decisions.

There are a lot of 25hp motors on the market but when looking and planning for your next motor, consider a Parsun outboard – they are here for the long run.

The motor comes with a factory two-year warranty and as tested costs $2,570, including a fuel tank.

Check w w w. islandinflatables.com.au for your local dealer or contact Parsun direct on 02 9532 0002.

PARSUN 25HP 2-STROKE SPECS

Length Overall.............. 849mm Width Overall................ 399mm Height overall................ 1.134m Transom height............. 381mm Weight............................ 52kg Full throttle range ........ 4500rpm-5500rpm Maximum output .......... 18.4kW/25hp @ 5000rpm Engine type................... 2-stroke Cylinders....................... 2 Displacement................ 496.0cc Ignition........................... capacitor discharge Starting.......................... manual Gearing ......................... FNR Gear ratio....................... 2.08 (27:13) Trim & tilt ...................... manual Fuel ............................... 24L remote Max fuel usage.............. 11L/h Fuel-oil mix.................... 50:1 Gear oil capacity........... 320cc Propeller ....................... 3-9 7/8” x 11 1/4” Warranty........................ 2yr manufacturer’s

Internally the Parsun outboards offer all the refinement needed to ensure the product works as expected. A 2 year manufacturer’s warranty gives buyers good peace of mind.

NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

89

Sea Fox 256W Voyager BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

The Sea Fox 256W Voyager is a 7.6m-long piece of hand-laid fibreglass with almost every component keen anglers seek in a fishing boat and enough stylish comforts to make a perfect family craft as well.

Built in South Carolina, this boat has almost every conceivable feature to ensure comfort and efficiency for serious fishing and family fishing.

No timber was used in its construction, with 20cm-wide fibreglass stringers, glass/composite transom and the interior liner bonded to the hull before closed-cell foam is injected. The result a strong and very quiet hull.

The beamy (2.8m) walkaround has easy access forward via steps and ample hand holds on the massive hardtop. But with an electric anchor winch up there I can’t imagine people moving up forward except to chase a fish or cast, or maybe take in some sun.

OPULENCE The test Sea Fox did offer a fair few optional extras, including an aft bench seat, anchor roller, Silver Shark coloured hull, full covers for the massive Ultima version hardtop and stainless propellers for the Mercury 150hp four strokes.

The fully lined cabin has shelves and a lockable

bi-fold door. With an infill the v-berths convert to a double bed and there’s a removable dining table, large woodgrain cabinet, sink with pressurised water and a butane stove. The electric refrigerator, four cabin lights and the marine toilet under the starboard bunk were also standard.

Up in the wheelhouse section there are twin

The Sea Fox off the leash and running hard.

SPECIFICATIONS

Hull length.........................7.6m Beam..................................2.8m Length on trailer...............9.4m Height on trailer................3.5m Hull weight........................1861kg Transom deadrise.............20° Fuel....................................568L Rec power.........................200hp-400hp Max adults.........................10 Towing...............................large 4WD or small truck Test boat supplied by JSW Powersports of the Gold Coast. Price as tested with braked tandem trailer and all options mentioned: $139,385.

A well-designed trailer makes driving the Sea Fox back onto the skids an easy matter.

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sliding swivelling seats mounted on storage boxes that have aft-facing squabs for additional passengers.

Under the skipper’s rear squab us a very large insulated storage box with a further compartment in the companionway for tackle trays and lure bags.

The mate’s seat had a 51L Igloo removable cooler under it, great for on-board tucker and cold drinks.

There’s more sealed storage in the floor between the seats.

The 256WA’s dash was somewhat plain Jane, although it has room for

2 STROKE OR 4 STROKE OPTIONS • 2HP TO 90HP • SHORT OR LONG SHAFT

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Clean, uncluttered lines put this big featurepacked Sea Fox in a class of its own.

a couple of 10” multipurpose displays above the helm. Rocker switches are above and to port of the three-spoke wheel, with engine ignition assemblies to starboard.

Analogue gauges, including speedo and two tachometers, fuel, volts and other dials stretch upwards on the starboard side of the helm.

The engine controls are neatly recessed into the cab side and in easy reach.

Helm seating was very comfortable with all-round visibility and a skipper’s footrest. The wheel was tilt adjustable and linked to hydraulic steering.

A louver window in the centre of the windscreen could be tilted to allow fresh breeze – neat.

Seated under the hardtop with the optional side and front clears, one could not help but be impressed by the massiveness of the sheltered area.

That hardtop also houses four lockable cabinets, two for personal items and charts and two lockable rod racks large enough to take game rods with ease.

There were also spreader lights, an electronics box, Jensen AM/FM radio with MP3 adaptor and four speakers, eight LED lights and a rear rocket launcher

NOW AVAILABLE AT BCF 02 9532 0002 • 5-800 Old Illawarra Rd, Menai info@islandinflatables.com.au • www.islandinflatables.com.au 90

NOVEMBER 2013

NSWFM

Pushing hard at near top speed, the Voyager leaves a very clean wake.

for seven rods.

The mist system was a novel touch, spraying a very fine mist through nozzles along the hardtop – made for a Queensland summer’s day!

COCKPIT Almost half of the Voyager is cockpit – fishing room packed with treats.

Aft in the non-skid selfdraining floor are two 1m long fish boxes with macerator pumps. Rod holders and drink holders were in strategic places, along with horizontal racks.

The live-bait well has four rod holders at its rear, a blue gelcoat interior to keep occupants happy, and a massive clear lid.

In front of the bait well is a removable upholstered seat for two. The boarding ladder is to port.

PERFORMANCE Although the hull was rated to 400hp, performance was never lacking from the twin Mercury 150s, which would offer some savings.

They were amazingly quiet and even at full revs made nothing more than a subdued deep roar.

With three aboard the Voyager planed at 13 knots (24.3kmh) at 2800rpm. At 3000rpm my GPS recorded 17.4 knots (32.3kmh); at 4000rpm 31.4 knots (58.2kmh) and at 5000rpm

39 knots (72.5kmh).

At the max 6000rpm we were doing a brisk 46 knots or 85.3kmh.

Hole shot was impressive, with the big

hull simply rising up onto the plane without any excessive bow lift.

A lazy 1.5m swell was mooching in through the Seaway and we had a great

time giving the big Fox some air time. There was no impact as we landed.

The 1861kg hull, 20° transom deadrise and reversed chines provided

an awesome ride. We did not use the recessed trim tabs during test runs.

FISHABILITY

With a plethora of fishing features,

Top Left: The layout of the Sea Fox is well thought out.Top Centre: The SeaFox 256 Voyager’s front deck is large enough to spread out and take a nap.Top Right: The Ultima hardtop comes will all the bells and whistles, including a mist-producing freshwater spray for hot days. Bottom Left: A handy icebox is stowed under the passenger’s seat. Bottom Centre: There’s all the room in the world for additional electronics of any size on this dash. Bottom Right: A comfortable galley makes dining aboard the Voyager an additional pleasure of ownership.

tremendous performance, soft ride and nimble handling, the Sea Fox 256 Voyager is a fishing craft of the highest calibre.

Offshore anglers are going to find the rock-like stability and easy, unfussed ride a huge bonus. With an interior side height of 690mm and exterior sides of 1040mm, seakeeping is of the highest order.

A very high standard of finish will engender pride of ownership in the Sea Fox while almost every useful and desirable fishing feature makes it a fishing craft of exceptional quality.

• Please bear in mind that the 2.8m beam means this rig exceeds most states’ transport regulations for regular towed vehicles.

Your state may require the driver of the vehicle towing this rig to be in possession of a permit similar to the Queensland Class 394-TH-13, which comes with a set of specific towing conditions.

Quoted performance figures have been supplied by the writer in good faith. Performance of individual boat/motor/ trailer packages may differ due to variations in engine installations, propellers, hull configurations, options, hull loading and trailer specifications.

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GOLD COAST 3 Ereton Drive Arundel Qld NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

91

NEWS

FROM THE BOATING WORLD

Interface lInks It all

Raymarine has launched the groundbreaking ECI-100 Universal Engine and Control Interface, an innovative device for boat builders and system integrators that bridges the gap between engine instrumentation, drive-by-wire propulsion systems, and Raymarine network navigation systems.

The ECI-100 collects and connects engine information to give the user simple and immediate access to engine performance data, fuel consumption and alarms via a full range of customisable information screens on Raymarine’s multifunction displays. It also integrates with Raymarine’s Evolution EV-2 drive-by-wire autopilot for control from any Raymarine multifunction display.

Simple to fit, each ECI-100 comes with a standard DeviceNet port which connects directly into the industry-standard NMEA2000 or J1939 Engine Data Bus used by major marine engine manufacturers.

ECI-100 then connects to any NMEA2000 network backbone using Raymarine’s SeaTalkng cabling system. Vital engine data can be displayed alongside Raymarine’s radar, sonar and navigation via a single touch screen display. Raymarine is committed to delivering seamless integration with leading marine engines. See www.raymarine.com. au for the most up-to-date list of compatible engines. – Raymarine

One-mInute QuIckbOat

The Australian-designed Quickboat is a flat-packed boat which can be assembled in 60 seconds, launched from anywhere and easily fits on any car’s roof racks, on a shelf or under a bed.

The entire boat packs down to one 36kg bag of 3.6m x 70cm x 13cm and another of 18kg a mere 1.5m x 1.2m x 80cm. The boat unfolds to 3.7m long and 1.7m wide, comfortably fits four adults and can travel in enclosed waters at 20 knots with a 9.8hp engine. It is made of high-end fibreglass and Kevlar.

Quickboats can be purchased for $4375 exclusively from http://quickboats.com. You can see a Quickboat being assembled in 40 seconds on the site. – Quickboats

92

merc fInance makes It happen

Mercury has taken the next step toward making your boating even more enjoyable and affordable with the launch of Mercury Finance, the new way to get out on the water.

“This is very exciting,” said John Temple, Mercury Marine’s Australian GM. “We see it as a natural extension of what we do – help people enjoy themselves on the water.”

Mercury Finance – available through your participating Mercury retailer – features competitive rates, loan terms up to 84 months and the backing of Mercury, It can be used to buy new or second-hand engines and trailer boat packages. Mercury Finance is not a bank product with a Mercury sticker on it. Subject to normal lending criteria, Mercury Finance is available now. For more information visit www.mercuryfinance.com.au. – Mercury

mOre shelter In hardtOp cruIse craft

Following the success of the 685HT, Cruise Craft has just released the Explorer 625HT, the second hardtop model to protect serious blue-water fishers from stormy skies, windblown spray and blistering sun.

The two-piece moulded hardtop has a smooth gelcoat liner that makes it easy to clean and maintain and the robust, stylish stainless steel aft supports double as secure handholds for the crew.

In its most basic offering, the hardtop has a full-height toughened glass windscreen with sliding glass side panels to port and starboard. An electric wiper on the starboard screen is standard. Those standing behind the seats are well protected by the hardtop and a slide-out canopy is optional for further protection. For more information call Cruise Craft on 07 3390 4877 or visit www. cruisecraft.com.au. – Cruise Craft

the bluefIn Guarantee

Gold Coast builder Bluefin Boats has announced the Bluefin Guarantee, an industry first supplement to their standard warranty which promises customers from October 1 full replacement in the event of failure brought about by defective materials or workmanship.

Director Brad Richey said Bluefin aluminium boats and trailers were manufactured to the highest possible standard and the Bluefin Guarantee meant that should the structural integrity of a Bluefin boat suffer from a severe failure caused by defective materials or workmanship, the vessel would be replaced with a brand-new one.

“This represents the belief we have in the Bluefin product,” he said. “We are that confident in our boats that we are willing to offer a full replacement across our 125-plus models in the range. As an Australian manufacturer we face constant pressure from imported products built to a price, so to ensure our customers continue to have faith in locally built products, we need to offer additional value and reassurance in our products.” For more information visit www.bluefinboats.com.au or talk to your nearest Bluefin dealer. – Bluefin

fIt a cOllar, stay dry

Do you hate having to wear a raincoat when it’s sunny, just to avoid getting drenched by salt spray when you’re riding in your boat? A great Australian boating product is guaranteed to reduce spray and help keep passengers dry and comfortable, even through chop.

The Kapten Boat Collar is well known for its stability- and performance-enhancing properties, but what is less known is the Collar’s amazing ability to improve ‘wet’ boats. The specially designed foam Boat Collar creates a massive spray strake when fitted to small boats. When the craft is under way, water and spray are trapped under the Collar and forced downwards.

Because the Collar runs the full length of the boat, all spray is deflected down and away from the boat and the improvement to previously wet boats is, in one word, drastic.

For more information on the ‘dry’ Kapten Boat Collar, call 07 5441 3636 or 0423 499 047, or visit www.boatcollar.com.au. – Boat Collar

rOOmy new crusher 730ht

clark steps up tO plate

Clark unveiled its feature-packed 5.45m Challenger plate cuddy cabin at Karee Marine’s stand at the Brisbane Boat Show.

Clark has 4.85m-5.15m cuddies, but the 5.45m has 4mm plate sides and bottom and an ‘egg crate’ rib and stringer build for maximum strength. This boat has hydraulic steering, transom door, folding ladder, removable folding rear lounge, upholstered bunks with storage below, a lined cabin interior, cabin windows, 150L underfloor fuel and a lockable cabin.

Rated to 150hp, this is a no-nonsense boat built tough and designed well at an affordable price. It’s said to deliver a solid ride, stability at rest and is quick onto the plane. Call Karee Marine on 07 3875 1600, Pacific Marine Centre on 07 3801 1722 or visit www.clarkboats.com.au. – Clark

Bar Crusher’s new 730HT is an offshore fishing machine for hard-core blue-water anglers.

Constructed from heavy-duty, hightensile 5mm (bottom) and 4mm (sides) marine plate aluminium, the 730HT measures 7.30m LOA with a 2.47m beam.

Rated to 250hp, its Waveslicer deep-vee hull delivers a smooth ride, the Rigideck sub-floor system ensures maximum hull strength and the Quickflow water ballast ensures stability at rest.

The 730HT, with more cockpit area than even the flagship 780HT, has self-draining deck, step-through transom, marlin board, berley bucket, rod holders, live-bait tank, in-floor fish storage and big side pockets.

Rocket launcher, hydraulic steering, dual battery system and Hella low-voltage coaming lights are standard. The options list is impressive. Call Bar Crusher Boats on 03 9792 2999 or visit www.barcrusher.com.au.

– Bar Crusher

Please send contributions to: The Editor, Fishing Monthly Group PO BOX 3172 LOGANHOLME, QLD. 4129 NOVEMBER 2013

NSWFM

INTRODUCING OUR NEW, AFFORDABLE, EASY-TO-USE ELITE-5 HDI SERIES.

• NEW Hybrid Dual Imaging™ (HDI) transducer combines Broadband Sounder™ and DownScan Imaging™ to deliver unmatched underwater views.

• Exclusive Advanced Signal Processing™ reduces the need for manual adjustments, so you can easily identify fish and structure.

• Reliable navigation that is easy to use.

• Built-in GPS antenna provides convenient, reliable navigation.

• High-resolution, 5-inch color display enables easy viewing in all conditions.

• C-MAP or Navionics chart options.

• ALL-NEW Page Selector enables quick access to all features.

• Create your own chart from real sonar data recorded with Insight Genesis™.

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Elite HDI family now available in 5- and 7-inch models.

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Elite-7 HDI

Elite-5 HDI

NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

93

4.8m Galeforce Tiller with 60hp Honda 4-stroke SUPPLIERS

FMG

The below list are the suppliers I chose to use. While some gave me a great price, the cost did not influence my buying decision. The decision was based on quality, the ability to meet my expectations and the service quality. I am not amazing at maintenance or fixing things up so all the products chosen were easy to maintain and had a reliability that many friends vouched for.

Stephen Booth sbooth@fishingmonthly.com.au

With all the kit sorted and fitted, it was time to get my new little girl wet and see how much of a water baby she was going to be.

This is the most exciting time with a new boat and also the most nervous. You want everything to be perfect but you know in your heart of hearts that there will be lots of little things that could be better.

Some you’ll learn to live with (like the dog snoring!), while others will need to be fixed to

Battery Traders Logan www.batterytraders.com.au (07) 3209 3144 120aH batteries for electric, cranking battery for motor, dedicated chargers Bay Marine www.bayhonda.com.au (07) 3269 2702 Fit out and service of outboard

Big seats make the ride even more comfortable.

SEND THIS!!

The SeaTrail trailer was adjusted to perfectly carry the rig. It’s oversized for the boat, but that allows me to store a bit of camping geat in the boat while travelling.

make the boat easier to use.

Being somewhat of a custom build there were always going to be things out of place, simply forgotten about or perfect, and my little girl had all of these. But let’s first have a look at how she ran.

The first trip out after water testing was on a blustery day with three in the boat and that meant any open boat was going to be wet, and we got wet. A gentle 25 knot southerly had short, sharp waves building against the tide and add onto that swells from 40-75’ cruisers and you

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can imagine the test this gave the boat. But those conditions were perfect as it would give a really good indication of how everything handled pretty ordinary conditions.

Apart from the spray being pushed into the boat the first thing I noticed was that the boat rode a little flat. I’m used to tinnies where you can trim up and get the nose high but this just wasn’t happening.

It felt like the hull needed to hit the water a little further back. But the best thing was that when we hit, went through or came over the top of the waves and boat wakes, there was almost no thumping or jarring. It was awesome.

I took the spray on that first day because I was simply loving how well the rig coped with the chop and wake. It made me remember all those conversations I’d had with the go fast tournament guys about how well fibreglass rode – well it’s true.

The 60hp Honda 4-stroke was all of 20 minutes old on that trip and she got the fairly heavy boat up on the plane reasonably quickly and pushed her out to a maximum speed of 27 knots. This wasn’t too bad as Tony from Galeforce predicted 30 knots. As an aside the most recent trip out saw us reach 31 knots 2 up, so Tony knew his boat. The Honda was perfect for what I was after. I didn’t want blistering speed.

I wanted reliability and good fuel economy and I reckon I have both of these in spades with the 60hp Honda.

Internally everything

BLA www.bla.com.au Minn Kota i-Pilot 55lb Humminbird All stainless latches, grab rails, screws, seats, switch panels, nav lights and more Galeforce Boats www.galeforceboats.com.au galeforce@galeforceboats.com.au 0427 870 799 Galeforce 4.8m Tiller, custom deck and internals Honda Marine www.honda.com.au BF60 4-stroke Korr Lighting www.korrlighting.com.au sales@korrlighting.com.au 07 3801 8332 Boat Light Strips Spotlight Marine Warehouse www.marinewarehouse.com.au 07 3272 7701 WaterScreen Nano fuel filter Flow Rite livewell system seemed pretty much right apart from the passenger’s seat that hit the port side gunwale.

This is one of those annoying problems that I cannot live with and I will fix it by moving the seat forward a touch and a touch towards the middle of the boat. As a bonus this move will free up tiller arm space as well.

With the fishing not exactly firing, we still managed to get amongst a few flatties and it gave us a chance to work the Minn Kota i-Pilot and the Flow Rote livewell system. I love i-Pilots so no point telling everyone again

how good they are, apart from saying the new model with i-Link is another step up the brilliant scale. The Flow Rite livewell system was amazing.

My old boat didn’t have a livewell, or an esky for that matter and the addition of a livewell coupled with the Flow Rite system was simply awesome. I could fill the livewell, drain it, recirculate it or any combination of the three at any time. The only problem I found with the whole set up was that at day’s end the flatties we wanted to keep were a little lively and had just as much fight in

✦ Independently collapsible front & back ✦ No straps or struts front or back ✦ Top quality frame & materials ✦ Large coverage area

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Left: The rod holder on the port side is great! Right: The front casting deck has plenty of room for two anglers and fits three if needed.

94

NOVEMBER 2013

NSWFM

them as they did when they were first hooked. Hmmm, I think an ice slurry needs to be investigated.

The hatches and front casting deck had plenty of room for two anglers with the third angler having room if needed. It was almost perfect for what I wanted. Usually I fish 2 up so the front casting deck was perfect. I think I will look into getting piano wire hinges down the track. The trick will be finding them at the right stainless steel grade.

This is not super important but at some stage it will matter – just not today.

The tiny custom built console was brilliant. I love it. It fits the Humminbird 898

perfectly, has two rows of switch panels and the livewell timer and is about to get a NMEA gauge installed as well. Robin’s Mobile Services also installed a hard wired 12V socket on the console and this has been amazing for charging the phone and running a hand held spotlight at night.

And speaking of lights, the Korr Boat Lights that were fitted throughout are exceptional. I have a switch that turns on the cabin lights and also a switch that turns on the lights in the hatches. Look out whiting and mangrove jack this summer!

Underneath the mini console is a 20L food esky.

Tony at Galeforce thought to

The livewell is spacious and the Flow Rite system works a treat keeping fish alive and healthy for release or for the table.

place this here as I had run out of ideas and it’s a great idea.

It gives me plenty of food and drink storage and the esky acts as a footrest when making longer runs. It’s really nice to have a food storage place away from fish, really nice.

Lastly the trailer. What can I say about the trailer from R & M Marne other than it works brilliantly.

After the boat was finished I dropped off the entire rig to their factory and they adjusted every nut and bolt to achieve the best support, launch and retrieve result. I could hardly be happier with it. I-beam aluminium and I love it.

WHAT I’D ADD The one thing I reckon I missed was a large side pocket. I’d run this down the port side and that will store things like fish measurers, crab measurers, gaffs and odds and sods. It wasn’t until I packed in all the gear I normally take that I noticed the beautiful clean deck was missing that little bit of easy grab storage space. This can be fixed and at some stage I’ll get a side pocket built in.

I am also thinking of placing another seat bracket further towards the bow. This will enable a passenger to sit facing the stern when I’m trolling offshore, and make no mistake, on the right day this rig will chew up some offshore fishing.

The mini-console fits everything on it well. A NMEA gauge is being installed in the middle to monitor fuel use, engine performance and more.

Apart from those additions I’m struggling to come up with more add ons, which is really good I reckon.

WHAT I’D CHANGE I’ve mentioned the passenger seat already and the piano hinges but apart from that I might tinker around with the electric battery position to

see if it will help get the nose up a bit. At present they are located in front of the livewell.

This adds a lot of weight to the nose of the boat.

I’d also investigate other avenues to raise the nose a little. Things like wedging the motor, raising or dropping the motor, repositioning weight or

simply learning to drive the rig better. I’m happy to admit it’ll take me 6 months to really get to understand the new girl.

OVERALL There are a few issues that need to be addressed and when they are this rig is going to be a fishing weapon.

Into the wind and chop the Galeforce rides magically, with the swell and across the swell it does get a little wet.

On my most recent trip though I reckon I was starting to work everything out a bit better and we didn’t get nearly as wet as the first two trips – maybe I can learn a thing or two.

I’m not sure I am cut out to be the guy who custom builds boats. It’s just not my thing and I reckon once is enough for me. But I have enjoyed immensely learning a heap about how boats are built, how engines are mounted, how all the electronics work and how easy it is to get things wrong.

Am I happy? Yep. I really love the way this thing rides, but I will need to sort out the spray issue. The soft ride means I can’t complain about a sore back anymore. I really like the way this rig fishes too, especially two up. From squid to flatties, from jacks to tuna the Galeforce 4.8m Tiller with 60hp Honda 4-stroke is going to be a busy boat. I can’t wait to get to know all her foibles and revel in her brilliance over the next few years.

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NOVEMBER 2013

95

TIDE PREDICTIONS FOR SYDNEY (FORT DENISON) NOVEMBER – 2013

EASTERN STANDARD TIME

When daylight saving time is in force, add one hour to times

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

1

0615 1.56 1229 0.41 1829 1.49

2

0033 0654 1314 1914

6

12 18 0 0510 0.46 1138 1.78 1825 0.27

6

12 18 0 0030 1.33 0611 0.52 1237 1.69 1928 0.31

0.33 1.67 0.32 1.51

1.5m 1.0m 0.5m

3

0112 0735 1400 2000

6

12

0.30 1.77 0.24 1.51

4

0152 0818 1447 2047

6

12 18 0 0245 1.35 0832 0.58 1451 1.53 2130 0.36

0.29 1.84 0.18 1.50

5

0236 0903 1537 2138

0.30 1.89 0.16 1.46

6

0323 0952 1630 2232

0.34 1.89 0.18 1.41

0 0.39 1.85 0.21 1.36

7

0414 1043 1725 2330

6

12 18 0 0534 1.58 1154 0.44 1754 1.44 2357 0.37

8

9

1.5m 1.0m 0.5m 0

10

18

0136 0719 1342 2030

0

1.32 0.56 1.60 0.35

11

NSW tides 6

12

12 18 0 0347 1.41 0945 0.55 1559 1.48 2224 0.37

6

13

12 18 0 0445 1.49 1054 0.50 1700 1.46 2313 0.37

14

6

15

12 18 0 0620 1.66 1246 0.39 1843 1.42

6

16

12 18 0 0037 0.38 0703 1.71 1332 0.35 1928 1.40

1.5m 1.0m 0.5m 0

6

17

12 18 0 0115 0.40 0743 1.74 1415 0.33 2011 1.37

6

18

12 18 0 0152 0.43 0820 1.75 1454 0.33 2050 1.34

6

19

12 18 0 0228 0.47 0857 1.75 1531 0.34 2130 1.31

6

20

12 18 0 0303 0.50 0932 1.72 1609 0.37 2209 1.28

6

21

12 18 0 0341 0.54 1009 1.68 1647 0.40 2249 1.26

6

22

12 18 0 0420 0.59 1046 1.62 1728 0.44 2332 1.23

6

23

12 18 0 0503 0.63 1128 1.56 1812 0.48

1.5m 1.0m 0.5m 0

6

24

12 18 0 0020 1.22 0553 0.68 1213 1.49 1900 0.51

6

25

12 18 0 0114 1.22 0650 0.71 1304 1.42 1951 0.52

6

26

12 18 0 0212 1.25 0755 0.73 1402 1.37 2044 0.51

6

27

12 18 0 0311 1.30 0904 0.70 1506 1.35 2135 0.49

6

28

12 18 0 0404 1.39 1011 0.64 1608 1.35 2224 0.45

6

29

12 18 0 0453 1.50 1111 0.55 1705 1.37 2309 0.41

6

30

12 18 0 0539 1.62 1204 0.44 1759 1.41 2354 0.37

1.5m 1.0m 0.5m 0

6

12

18

0

6

12

18

0

6

12

18

0

6

12

18

0

6

12

18

0

6

12

18

0

6

12

 Copyright: Commonwealth of Australia 2011, Bureau of Meteorology (ABN 92 637 533 532) Disclaimer: These tide predictions are supplied in good faith and believed to be correct.

No warranty is given in respect to errors, omissions, or suitability for any purpose.

Tidal information is provided courtesy of the Sydney Ports Corporation. Copyright in the Tidal Predictions is owned by the Bureau of Meteorology.

Users of these tables should be aware that the heights shown in this publication are predictions only and that the actual water level height may vary due to meteorological conditions (including barometric pressure, wind effect and storm surges) and seasonal variations.

Sydney Ports Corporation is not responsible for the average time differences for other locations.

96

NOVEMBER 2013

NSWFM

18

0

Wollongong 5 Islands Marine 40 Princess Hwy Yallah Phone: (02) 4256 6135 | Fax: (02) 4256 6701 Email: info@5islandsmarine.com.au Website: www.5islandsmarine.com.au

Riverina Maverick Boats Hammersley & Theiss Road, Corowa Phone: (02) 6033 3222 | Fax: (02) 6033 4488 Email: sales@maverickboats.com.au Website: www.maverickboats.com.au

Sydney North West Watersports Marine 11 Binney Rd Kingspark Phone: (02) 9676 1400 | Fax: (02) 9676 7588 Email: info@watersportsmarine.com.au Website: www.watersportsmarine.com.au

Central Coast Central Coast Boat World 19 Lake St Budgewoi Phone: (02) 4399 3568 | Fax: (02) 4399 3568 Email: ccbw3@bigpond.com Website: www.centralcoastboatworld.com.au

Far South Coast Merimbula Outboards 382 Sapphire Coast Dr Tura Merimbula Phone: (02) 6495 9634 | Fax: (02) 6495 9345 Email: info@merimbulaoutboard.com.au Website: www.merimbulaoutboard.com.au

Sydney A & J Outboard & Boating Service 734 Woodville Rd, Fairfield East Phone: (02) 9728 9311 | Fax: (02) 9728 9322 Email: sales@ajoutboards.com.au Website: www.ajoutboards.com.au

Cowra Cowra Marine Centre 29 Grenfell St Cowra Phone: (02) 6342 2904 | Fax: (02) 6341 1217 Email: cowmar@bigpond.com Website: www.cowramarine.com.au

Illawarra Nowra Marine Princes Hwy South Nowra Phone: (02) 4423 3440 | Fax: (02) 4423 0486 Email: admin@nowramarine.com.au Website: www.nowramarine.com.au

Central Coast Insinc Marine 278 Manns Road, Gosford West Ph: (02) 4324 4300 Fax: (02) 4324 4400 Email: troy@insincmarine.com.au Website: www. insincmarine.com.au

Newcastle Tomo’s Marine 96 Marks Point Rd, Marks Point Phone: (02) 4945 3202 Email: tomosmarine@hotmail.com.au Website: www.tomosmarine.com.au

ACT Queanbeyan Marine 20 Yass Rd Queanbeyan Phone: (02) 6297 5457 | Fax: (02) 6299 6336 Email: qbnmarine@bigpond.com Website: www.queanbeyanmarine.com.au

Northern NSW / Gold Coast Tweed Coast Marine 147 Pacific Hwy Tweed Heads South Ph: (07) 5524 8877 Fax: (07) 5524 3324 Email: dan@tweedcoastmarine.com.au Website: www.tweedcoastmarine.com.au

Port Macquarie Hastings Marine 185 Hastings River Dr Port Macquarie Phone: (02) 6583 5511 | Fax: (02) 6583 5797 Email: sales@hastingsmarine.com.au Website: www.hastingsmarine.com.au

Sydney West Penrith Marine 4/133 Coreen Ave Penrith Phone: (02) 4731 6250 | Fax: (02) 4732 3863 Email: sales@penrithmarime.com.au Website: www.penrithmarine.com.au

Dubbo Dubbo Marine & Watersports 36 Bourke St, Dubbo Ph: 02·6882 2853 Email: bbeandel@bigpond.net.au Website: www.dubbomarine.com.au

Coffs Harbour Jetty Boating 7 Keona Circuit Coffs Harbour Phone: (02) 6651 4002 | Fax: (02) 6652 1320 Email: jettyboat@westnet.com.au Website: www.jettyboating.com.au

Sydney North Shore Shannon Outboards 3/41 Leighton Pl Hornsby Phone: (02) 9482 2638 | Fax: (02) 9476 0009 Email: sales@shannonoutboards.com.au Website: www.shannonoutboards.com.au

Hunter Valley Maitland Power and Marine 23 Melbourne St, East Maitland Phone: (02) 4933 3284 | Fax: (02) 4934 1544 Email: sales@mpm.net.au Website: www.mpm.net.au

Sydney North West TR Marine World 44 Curtis Rd McGraths Hill Phone: (02) 4577 3522 | Fax: (02) 4577 3255 Email: sales@trmarine.com.au Website: www.trmarine.com.au

NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

97

NO DEALER SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE FOR

3YRS OR 300HRS

ONLY WITH EVINRUDE • No scheduled dealer servicing for the first 3 years or 300 hours.** • No oil changes. Ever.

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• Up to 50% quieter than older technology engines.

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Sydney North

Coffs Harbour

Nowra

Lismore Outboard Sales & Service

Huett Marine Centre

Coffs Harbour Marine

Dave Hill Marine

59 Union St, Lismore, 2480

1131 Pacific Hwy, Cowan, 2082

1 Berry Street, Nowra, 2540

02 6621 2657

02 9456 1444

311B Pacific Hwy Coffs Harbour Sth, 2450

www.huettmarine.com.au info@huettmarine.com.au

02 6652 4722

davehillmarine@onestream.com.au

Sydney South

Port Stephens

Sydney West

Forster

Cowra

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Graham Barclay Marine

All Service Motors

62 Princes Highway, Blakehurst, 2221

332 Soldiers Point Rd, Salamander Bay, 2317

Cnr Windsor & Mulgrave Rd, McGraths Hill, 2756

129 The Lakes Way, Forster, 2428

1 Redfern St, Cowra, 2794

02 4982 7899

02 4577 6699

02 6554 5866

www.lismoreoutboards.com.au lismoreoutboards@bigpond.com

02 9546 1324

www.huntsmarine.com.au info@huntsmarine.com.au

98

www.bayboatsales.com.au bayboatsales@hotmail.com

02 4423 6137

www.coffsharbourmarine.com.au info@coffsharbourmarine.com.au

www.blakesmarine.com.au sales@blakesmarine.com.au

www.barclaymarine.com.au info@barclaymarine.com.au

02 6342 2590

www.allservicemotorscowra.com.au allservicemotors@bigpond.com

© 2013 Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP). ®, ™ and the BRP logo are trademarks of BRP or its affiliates. Terms and conditions apply, excludes commercial purchases. * 'Spring Cashback Promotion' offer valid on MY11, MY12, MY13 & MY14 evinrude E-TEC engines 40 HP and above newly purchased and registered from participating authorized dealers between December 1st 2013 and January 31st 2014. Cashback will be in the form of a Prepaid Visa Card. ** For normal recreational use. # Extended warranty covers MY11, MY12, MY13 & MY14 Evinrude E-TEC engines 40HP and above, newly purchased and registered from participating authorized dealers between October 1st and November 30th 2013. ^ 25hp-250hp consumer models. For full terms and conditions please contact your local participating Evinrude dealership. BRP reserves the right at any time to discontinue or change specifications, prices, designs, features, models or equipment without incurring obligation. Products are distributed in Australia and New Zealand by BRP Australia PTy Ltd. Card Issued by Heritage Bank Limited ABN 32 087 652 024 AFSL 240984.

NSWFM apply.

VisaNOVEMBER Card Terms2013 and Conditions

Spin or overhead

Learn more about the Gomoku Concept

STORM is a division of Rapala VMC Corp.

For stockist information tel. 02 9780 8200 www.rapala.com.au NSWFM

NOVEMBER 2013

99

ON 2.5 115HP FOURSTROKE OUTBOARDS ENDS 15 NOVEMBER 2013

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100

NOVEMBER 2013

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