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September 2019, Vol. 31 No.11

Contents NORTHERN NEW SOUTH WALES

Yamba 20 Ballina 22 SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND The Tweed

Southern Gold Coast

Gold Coast Canals

Jumpinpin 29 Gold Coast

Southern Bay

Brisbane 34 Brisbane Offshore

Noosa 37 CENTRAL QUEENSLAND Hervey Bay

Rainbow Beach

Gladstone 42 Monduran 43 Bundaberg 44 Rockhampton 44 Mackay 46 Stanage Bay

TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND Whitsundays 68

From the Editor’s Desk... AUSTRALIA HAS A NEW WORLD CHAMPION A shout out to Aussie angler, Andrew Death from NSW (pronounced DEETH, even though his nickname is ‘The Reaper’). He won the 8th iteration of the Hobie (kayak) Fishing Worlds on the Gold Coast. Being the best in the world is no mean feat, even if it’s held in your own country on a species you have plenty of experience with. So congratulations Andrew, you were a great and humble winner and did your country proud. After helping Hobie to cover this event, I can confidently say that this was the best organised fishing tournament I’ve ever been to – period. And remember, we’ve been running events through

FM’s sister company, ABT, for 20 years. From qualifying events all around the world through to a superb five days of glorious winter weather on Queensland’s Gold Coast, the event was full of fish, fun, friendship, and maybe just a little bit of partying at either end of the stay. Full marks to Team Europe for winning the partying section of the event in quantity, quality and duration. Those guys have a stamina that’s hard to match! Even though the starts were increasingly like a dodgem-car race as the days went on, there was a great feel on the water, both between competing anglers and between anglers and residents. More than a few times the homeowners were happy to point the visitors in the direction of the fish. If you’ve never

witnessed a Hobie Australian Championship or Worlds event before, picture this: 45 identical top-of-the-line kayaks. All fitted with Power Poles, sounders, livewells and every accessory you’d need. Anglers just turn up with their gear and fish. It levels the playing field for everything except local knowledge. In that respect, the Aussies dominated, although several internationals gave them a great run for their money, especially Austria’s Edi Brader and the USA’s Nate Gloria. You just have to watch the final day’s weigh-in to see the passion that these guys have. If you want to see the extensive coverage, Like the ‘International Hobie Fishing Worlds Association’ on Facebook or visit www. hobiefishingworlds.com. Well done to Steve Fields and his hard working team.

GOODIES FROM THE AFTA SHOW Next issue will include our comprehensive coverage from the AFTA Tackle Trade Show on the Gold Coast. I’m sure that plenty of you would have seen the daily coverage on our Fishing Monthly and Tackle Junkie channels. That will be archived on the YouTube channel by the time you read this. We’re looking forward to hearing the feedback from the Public Day on the final day of the show. Fishing Monthly has been pushing for this for years now, and we hope everyone enjoyed it!

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Trolling for inshore pelagics with hardbodies get a big green fish playing up all merry hell next to the boat, it’s not always easy to remove the fish from the water as quickly as you would like. Having a long leader gives you something to hang onto to be able to steer the fish towards the landing net, lip grippers or whatever you choose to use. Unless we are getting pack attacked by school mackerel or some other toothy critter, I don’t like to use wire in my leader set-up as the bite rate noticeably drops off. Some days though it is necessary to

WHITSUNDAYS

Mick Underwood

Imagine this: it’s a stunning day. The sky is cloudless, the ocean is sparkling in the sun, and you’re hooked up to a monster fish. Your knees are pressed hard against the underside of the gunnels to stop you being pulled over the side, and the 12lb spinning outfit you’re grasping in your whiteknuckled hands is screaming in delight as line disappears at a breakneck pace. Then, a hundred metres out in front of you, a massive queenfish leaps well clear of the ocean’s surface, and every person on board hollers in delight. The fish then throws

It’s not often you come across turrum (gold-spot trevally), but when you do it’s always a beauty.

This sounder shot depicts a solid layer of bait, undisturbed by any predatory activity. Keep searching, especially around the ends of the school, and look for areas where the bait is more dispersed. in a somersault and a half pike before re-entering the water, and continues its seemingly unassailable quest for freedom. This is light tackle sportfishing at it’s finest, and it’s something that occurs multiple times a day for the guys and gals that board my boat. And you know what, you can do it too, because it’s

dead easy. Over the following paragraphs I’ll explain to you the what, where, why and how of this style of fishing, so you can get out and indulge in some adrenaline-packed light tackle fun. During the cooler months here on my home fishing grounds of the northern Whitsundays, we get to enjoy extended periods of cool and

clean water. This normally combines with vast shoals of baitfish moving inshore to inhabit our local grounds. As the bait moves inshore, naturally the pelagic predators do as well. Typical combatants to be found are multiple species of tuna, mackerel, trevally and some XOS queenfish. These are all big, fast and shiny turbo-charged critters that have a never-say-die attitude, and will regularly tire out even the most seasoned of anglers. With the exception of giant trevally, the majority of the abovementioned species are clean fighters, and as such they make perfect light tackle targets. Using light gear not only increases the fun factor but also allows a wider range of anglers to become involved, as you don’t have to be a weight lifter or footy player to be able to handle the tackle used (a bit of stamina can be handy though). And there’s the old adage ‘go light to get the bite’, which is often true. LINE I use outfits rigged with either 12lb or 15lb braid for

TUNA ALLEY

Named after the legendary 15-mile stretch of sand cutting through the deep blue Bahamian waters where the Bluefin tuna migrate north.

GREEN MIRROR: Enhanced vision and contrast for fishing inshore and on flats. • Copper Base • 10% light transmission

SEPTEMBER 2019

well as being frustrating, this can get expensive fast. Far better to double the wire back on itself and connect the leader with an Albright. RODS AND REELS I use spin reels in the 4000-5000 size range for this kind of fishing. Smaller reels don’t hold the required line capacity, and larger reels won’t balance correctly with the light graphite rods used for this application. All of the target species for this style of fishing are legitimate line burners, so

OPTIMAL USE: • Sight fishing in full sun • High contrast

this kind of fishing. You can go heavier, but the heavier you go, the fewer bites you will get. I find that the main reason for this is because it affects the action of the lures. Most of the lures I use for this style of fishing were originally

These bread and butter lures get the job done every time.

It’s not hard to get someone to smile for a photo when they’re holding up fish of this calibre. Monster queenies are a great sportfish. designed for barramundi fishing, and as such they are in the small to medium-sized bracket. When you tow these guys around on heavier line, say 30lb or more, they won’t swim as naturally as they do on lighter line, and a lot of brands won’t swim to their prescribed depth either. It’s only a small difference in the action of the lures, but it counts. You can also go to the super light end of the scale and fish 10lb or less, and it will provide you with entertainment all day long. However, unless you intend to put the majority of your catch in the ice box or you’re specifically fishing for records, this can be an irresponsible tactic, as the mortality rate of your fish will climb through the roof. Species such as queenfish, mac tuna and longtail tuna can be nearly impossible to revive if they have been on a hook for too long. LEADER There’s nothing too complicated here; around 2m of either 30lb or 40lb mono or fluorocarbon is fine. I like to keep the leaders of a decent length because when you

use a bit of wire in order to save a fortune in lost lures. On such days I like to use a short piece of mono wire (around 25-30cm) connected to the lure with a haywire twist and then to the leader with a seven-turn Albright. Try to avoid using snap swivels here because they create a bubble trail which will attract the attention of every school mackerel in the vicinity. The mackerel will attack the snap swivel instead of the lure, continually biting you off. As

the reels that you choose to use should have a solid, reliable drag system. Inferior equipment will not stand up to the punishment dished out by these fish. I use spin reels as opposed to overheads, mainly because of the higher gear ratios found in most spin reels. It’s a common scenario for any of the above mentioned species to turn and swim at the boat mid-fight, and you need to have the ability to get line back on the reel quickly and maintain pressure on the fish. The rods that I choose to match to the reels are of graphite construction, of medium to fast action and around 7ft in length. You can use shorter rods, but I find that in closing stages of a fight when the fish is getting closer to the boat, a shorter rod makes is harder to dictate angles to the fish, which prolongs the fight longer than necessary. The same applies with soft actioned fibreglass rods. LURES My prerequisites for a lure for this style of fishing are

Golden trevally are the perfect fish for introducing novice anglers to the sport. Once a hook penetrates those big blubbery lips, it rarely falls out. This allows anglers to make a mistake or two and not lose the fish.

pretty simple. The lure must be light and bright in colour, about 80-125mm in length and able to swim comfortably at up to 5 knots. I carry three trays of lures on my boat Reel Addiction. The first is full of 1-1.5m divers, the second

find in my lure trays. They all perform admirably and, as opposed to some imported brands, they all come straight out of the packet with good quality hardware, so no retrofitting of hooks and split rings is required.

shimmering or birds working will give the show away straight away. Unfortunately, I’ve haven’t seen much surface activity recently and so have had to work harder and use a little more nous to find the

there is any form of structure on the bottom. The baitfish don’t like to hang on these areas as they know that they will be open to predation from any fish living in the reef or rubble. The poor little buggers have got enough to contend with trying to survive against the pelagics, let alone adding reef fish into the equation. I instead search for the bait in open water where there is a featureless sea floor. Initially this process can take a bit of time, but once you know your own backyard and have an idea where the regular bait haunts are, it will become easier. Once you have located a nice school of bait, the next

A bit of stamina can be handy when tackling fish like this. Poor old Chris was out of action for a whole hour after winning a monumental battle with this queenfish.

It’s well known that tuna ignore any lure that’s bigger than the bait they’re eating and, unfortunately on this day, the tuna were eating tiny whitebait. However, a couple of juvenile longtom were spotted in the mix, so a large mackerel lure to imitate the longtom was deployed, and success was instant. The lesson is to be aware of everything that’s going on, not just the obvious. 3-4m divers and the third, 5-8m divers. I’m a fan of using lures produced by well-known Australian brands. Halco, Killalure, Classic Lures, Reidy’s and Lively Lures are the dominant brands that you’ll

FINDING THE FISH There’s no rocket science involved here – find the bait shoals first and the predators won’t be too far away. If the bait is sitting high in the water column then they’re fairly easy to find. Any flickering,

bait. Your sounder is your best friend here, and life is lot easier if you have the transducer set up correctly so that you can sound while you’re on the plane in order to save time. I don’t waste time looking for the bait in areas where

Here you can see predators lurking beneath the bait. The author was running a 5m and 7m diver, and both got smashed every pass. You don’t have to put your lures right where the big fish are, just run them where they’re focusing their attention.

ACTIVE TRANSOM

step is to find out where the predatory action is. The pelagics typically don’t feed all over a school of bait, rather they work together and feed on just one small portion of it. Most of the bait shoals that I’ve been working lately are 1-2nm in length so they’re quite large, and the predatory activity is normally at only one tiny part of each shoal. Areas where your sounder is showing a solid layer of densely-packed bait are generally not the go. Search around the fringes and on the ends of any school, and look for areas where the bait is more dispersed and spread right through the water column and To page 12

TRUE SELFDRAINING DECKS

SEPTEMBER 2019

Tech Tricks

Tooth-proof lure leaders for toothy predators BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

With conditions warming up and pelagic activity on the increase over the coming months, it’s a good

time to look at wire leader options for your lures. Using wire leaders for toothy critters like mackerel and wahoo will prevent biteoffs on the strike if the fish engulfs the entirety of your lure. This is also the case for rigged swimming baits, and

we will look at one of these next issue. There are numerous types of wire available to the angler. Choosing the appropriate option can be especially important for maximising strikes and minimising bite-offs.

Pre-made leaders can be used for bite protection on your offshore lures but you need to choose the quality carefully. I wouldn’t recommend a leader that wasn’t crimped as I have found that leaders with bound connections tend to come apart after a while. They are OK for lighter fishing applications, but aren’t up to the rigours of serious gamefish. The Halco branded leaders (available in multistrand or piano wire) are one of the few readily available premade leaders that are up to the task. These can be used in the conventional way by attaching the snap to the lure, but I prefer to remove the snap and attach the lure’s split ring directly to the leader as shown.

While any wire can reduce lost fish, some are more suitable for various uses than others. Options include single-strand and multi-strand, and each has a couple of variations. Multi-strand wires are more readily available in the fishing arena as 7-strand (1x7) or 49-strand (7x7). The more strands in the wire, the more flexible it is. Single-strand wire is either soft, flexible wire or hi-tensile (commonly referred to as piano wire).

Piano wire is a great choice for lure leaders as it is a dark colour, single-strand and inexpensive. Additionally, it can be used without the need for a crimping tool and crimps. Due to its high tensile properties, piano wire is only recommended to be used in shorter lengths as it can snap if bent several times in one spot. It is easily twisted up by hand using a wire knot called a haywire twist. There are specially designed tools for this, but it’s not hard to do it by hand.

Uncoated multi-strand wire is better for lure leaders than nylon-coated wire. Seven-strand is slightly stiffer than 49-strand but it’s more reliable during prolonged fights. Most wire is shiny silver in appearance, but some brands are available in a lower-visibility brown which is a better option, especially in hardfished waters. You can turn any silver wire brown by heating it (tempering) to a temperature of up to around 390°C. This will not affect the strength at all, and the colour change comes about due to oxidization. I often do this to lower the reflective property of wire used on leaders for trolling. 16

SEPTEMBER 2019

To do the haywire twist, first pass the wire through the lure eyelet or split ring and bend it back on itself, leaving a least a 10cm tag end.

Tech Tricks

Use a pair of pliers to grip the wire close to the lure. Next, use your fingers and begin bending both strands of wire around themselves evenly to complete four or five twists (the haywire).

Bend the tag end out at 90Â° to the main wire and begin doing 6-8 wraps (barrel rolls) around the main section. These wraps need to be right next to each other to maximize strength.

Due to its hi-tensile properties, the wire will snap off cleanly. If you were to snip this wire off with a side-cutter you would be left with a razor sharp end that would probably cause injury at some stage.

Repeat in the other end to either form a plain loop or attach a swivel to the leader. The lower leader is a 7-strand, brown wire leader which has the loop formed using a dark copper crimp. You will notice that both loops are relatively low profile which reduces air bubbles when trolled.

Once you have completed these wraps, grip the tag end by hand or with your pliers and rock the entire tag end backwards and forwards in a big arc in line with the wire.

Attaching this loop to your leader can be done in a couple of ways. The top one is the plain wire loop, and this can be attached to a ball-bearing snap swivel that is crimped to the end of a wind-on leader. The lower one is lower profile, and the leader is simply knotted (sliding uni) to the swivel that was put on the wire leader when it was made. These small rolling swivels are exceptionally strong and create a lot less disturbance in the water than the larger snap-swivel. SEPTEMBER 2019

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2019 zerek barra tour calendar

Springboarding from the successful Zerek BARRA Tour, ABT is excited about the 2019 calendar. It’s only one event longer, but what a cracker it will be! The Venom Rods BARRA Australian Open will be launched in Lake Awoonga in September, and according to local Awoonga guide Justin Nye, the timing couldn’t be better.

As the water warms in September, Awoonga’s current barra crop will be feeding up big time, and the positioning of the event as a mid-week, live scoreboard barra spectacle means that you’re not fighting the weekend warriors for a crack at these fish. Check out Justin Nye’s article inside to get a real head start on this event. Justin spends more time on this lake than nearly anyone, and he has handed out some pretty useful info. ABT’s motto is ‘Who Shares Wins’, and he has shared for us all. For several years, the Zerek BARRA Tour has been

DATE

LOCATION

EVENT

SPONSOR

SESSION TIMES

10-12 Sept

Lake Awoonga

BARRA Australian Open (Evening 3-day Event)

Venom Rods

2pm - 10pm

8 Nov

Kinchant Dam

BARRA Tour Round #1 (Evening Event)

Power-Pole

4pm - 12am

9 Nov

Teemburra Dam

BARRA Tour Round #2 (Evening Event)

Edge Rods

4pm - 12am

11 Nov

Peter Faust Dam

BARRA Tour Round #3 (Night Event)

Samaki

4pm - 8am

13-14 Nov

Peter Faust Dam

BARRA Tour Round #4 (Evening 2-day Event)

Wilsons

4pm - 12am

using the ABT Tournament Series app (powered by Track My Fish) to log and record catches, however the lakes on the traditional BARRA Tour are often out of mobile phone coverage. Kinchant is the only one that has 100% reception, and that event is just as exciting for anglers following off the water as it is for competitors. Last year, the lead chopped and changed until the final minutes. The Open will be the same. Featuring 100% cash paybacks as well as around $5,000 in Venom Rods prizes and a spectacular perennial trophy, we know you’ll want to be able to tell the story that you were there at the first BARRA Australian Open. With the BREAM and BASS Aus Opens firmly entrenched in the calendars, we know that the resurgent Awoonga event will be the start of something special. The other lesson we have learned in the Zerek BARRA Tour is: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. We have added a single rest day

between events 2 and 3, and that’s it. The waxing moon, the time of year and the lake rotation all stays the same for this epic barra trip that suits newbies and tournament veterans alike. There’s no better way to fast track your barra learning curve than to spend time with those anglers who excel at it. In recent years, competitors have been proud to share their knowledge. Just take a look at the 2018 BARRA Tour Team of the Year. Geoff Newby and Phill Lyons do their thing extremely well, and they’re happy to share all of the gear and techniques that they use inside this magazine. We hope that you enjoy their take on the Team of the Year title, and it might just give you the confidence to give it a go. Remember that all new teams are welcome to either of these events – it’s not a secret club – and the fishing looks to be as good as ever. I hope to see y’all on the Tour or at the Open. – Steve Morgan, ABT Director

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Tournament Angler Guide

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Zerek BARRA Tour’s top Four on the Floor MACKAY

Stephen Booth

Tournament anglers are unlike anything else you will find in the fishing world. They are pedantic, intuitive and exceptional. They discover the best of the best in lures, and quickly work out alterations or additions to get the most from these plastic and timber offerings. Rarely

is a lure fished by a barra tournament angler ‘straight out of the box’. Their penchant for tinkering goes against the efforts that lure designers and manufacturers put into their lures to get them right. However, clued-in manufacturers can learn valuable lessons from these switched-on anglers. Of course, the ultimate aim is to deliver a lure that anglers

The 5.5” Live Mullet was an immediate success for the Wells Brothers on Proserpine’s barra.

can literally take out of the box and tie on with absolute confidence, and that’s as it should be. While bream and bass fishers are moderate tinkerers, barra tournament anglers are elite tinkerers. I’m yet to run across a barra tournament angler who has not changed split rings, swapped over hooks, boiled soft plastics or cut extra nicks into a tail – all in an effort to get that extra 1% they are striving for daily. The reason is simple – that 1% may be the difference between coming first or last. At Zerek we thoroughly test all our lures before they are released, as do most manufacturers. We are happy to say that anglers can use our lures straight out of the box and catch fish, but barra tournament anglers find ways to modify the lure’s set-up to meet their needs. I don’t take any of this tinkering as a sign of poor design. I prefer to look at it as elite level anglers seeing something they really like in our lures, and taking the time to adjust it to suit their needs. It’s a real win-win for us, as we get loads of ideas for our next lure and some very solid feedback from the players who set the trends in fishing.

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The big paddle tail and easily crushed body of the Flat Shad allow for great hook sets. Very occasionally we will release a lure that is on point and needs no adjustment or retrofitting of components – a lure that everyone is comfortable using straight out of the box. The Fish Trap series, fitted out with 4x strong Mustad Saltism trebles, is one of the few lures that barra impoundment anglers can literally use straight out of the box! However, this lure does not suit every application tournament anglers fish. Some anglers still cut into the body and remove grams of lead, others are experimenting with assist-style hooks, still others are using lure pens to change the colours to suit. Tinkerers will be tinkerers! We’re lucky to have a number of very keen tournament barra anglers who choose to use our lures, and I’ve taken the time to talk to four of them about a particular Zerek lure and how they get the best from it in the heat of tournament battle. I deliberately asked them not to be afraid of telling me the whole story. I want to know

what changes they make to get that extra 1% in the end result. I want to know how the lure is best used and, more importantly, I want all of you to know these secrets too. Let’s get into it and look

a habit of working out exactly how to get the best from a number of Zerek Lures, and their immediate love for the Live Mullet when chasing Faust’s big silver slabs was obvious.

This barra nailed the Zerek Fish Trap on a vertical presentation. at the four Zerek lures you must have on this year’s Zerek BARRA Tour. WELLS BROTHERS ZEREK LIVE MULLET 5.5” Nick and Matt have made

“The Live Mullet showed up in 2017 and was an instant hit,” said Matt. “We were fishing and filming at Faust with Harro (Rod Harrison) just after they were released, and after a few good meteries

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Tournament Angler Guide

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his words were, ‘Nice one boys, it’s a bloody game changer’. “We first fished them on a rising dam, and the smaller profile was great for fishing

soft lure is amazing,” he said. “Whether you fish it hard and fast or soft and gentle, the life-like tail will be pumping from the first turn of your reel to the last.”

applications, Matt said that they like to upgrade the treble to a size 1/0 Mustad 4x strong Saltism for that extra bit of sting and strength. “The extra width of the

Robbie and Dicko caught this double header on Zerek Fish Traps vertically jigging them to a deep snag that had fish stacked all over it. right up in the shallows in the newly flooded grass and sticks.” It was an epic first trip for the boys, and confirmed their initial thoughts that these lures would be a game changer. Nick said that they like to fish the Mullet in depths ranging from 3-12ft, but added that it can also be very productive fishing deeper. “The versatility of this

A medium to fast retrieve with a few quick rips of the rod gets the Mullet dancing around the water column and can help to get that reaction bite out of those lock-jawed fish. It’s really quite a sight when you first see the Live Mullet doing its thing in the water! Although the Live Mullet can be fished straight out of the box for a lot of

1/0’s gauge can also help to pin those inquisitive, swiping fish,” Matt said. In regards to colour, Nick said that their colours of choice for Faust are min min, fat betty, temmy and orange gill. “These three colours have been standouts from day one,” Nick said, “and they have each delivered many of Faust’s magical meteries to the net.”

LOCHIE REED - FISH TRAP Lochie Reed is a gun at interpreting sounders and making the right lure and techniques choices from these observations and, over the last couple of Zerek BARRA Tours, has come to rely on the Fish Trap for a lot of work. “When turning up to fish it can take some time to understand what’s happening with all the variables,” Lochie said. “The first thing I do is look for barra on the sounder and try to understand what they are doing, and then hatch a plan to catch them. “The most critical element is what to cast at the barra to trigger a bite, and nearly always my first choice is a Zerek 95mm Fish Trap. “Why? Versatility!” The Fish Trap can be fished in many ways and at many depths, making it the perfect prospecting lure. Barra can be fickle critters, and presenting a lure just right can be the difference between donuts or winning a competition. This is seen all the time on Tour, where one team can be fishing right beside another, throwing similar lures, and only one team is getting the bites. “Fishing the Zerek BARRA Tour for the last few years has put into perspective how important it is to crack a

pattern quickly,” Lochie said. “Running over a week and with events on three different dams, anglers need to be able to adapt to each dam’s requirements.” Lochie said that the Fish Traps can be cast at weed edges to tempt barra in Kinchant just as easily as it can be vertically presented to barra in Peter Faust and Teemburra in snag piles. It is this versatility that allows barra tournament anglers to use the Fish Trap at all the venues the Tour visits. “The Fish Traps are ready to fish straight out of the box,” said Lochie. “We

do experiment with them occasionally by changing hooks and rings to make them lighter or heavier depending on what we need to do, but on most occasions, they are fished as they come. All in all, the Fish Trap is versatile, strong and easy to fish. With four different sizes, there is a Fish Trap to match whatever the barra are feeding on at the time, and at any of the locations fished. “I wouldn’t even think about fishing the BARRA Tour without an assortment of fish traps in different sizes and To page 6

Faust barra love smashing the Zerek Live Mullet 5.5” whether that’s in the trees, over the weeds or over the flats.

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Tournament Angler Guide

From page 5

colours in my kit,” Lochie said. TROY DIXON LIVE SWIMBAIT Troy ‘Dicko’ Dixon is a well-known identity on the Zerek BARRA Tour, and he uses the Tour to test many Zerek lures before release to the general public. It puts him in a position to really understand the lures and how to get the most from them. The 8” Live Swimbait holds a special place in Dicko’s heart, delivering him a metre-plus barra on the very first cast with the lure while pre-fishing for the 2018 Tour. This lure also delivered his largest impoundment barra over the 120cm mark! So it’s

fair to say this is a lure that can deliver on the big stage. “The best time to use the Live Swimbait is when you see fish sitting off the bottom or holding mid-water,” Dicko said. “These fish are a little more active than the weed dwellers, and respond well to the big bait. “When I see these fish on the sounder I will cast the lure towards the fish and allow it to sink to the just above the fish’s depth, and then start a slow retrieve with lots of pauses.” It’s interesting to note here that the Live Swimbait sinks in freshwater at a rate of a foot a second without additional weight, allowing for fairly precise positioning of the lure

Dark lures are becoming a real game changer for impoundment barra and the green sunset colour in the Zerek Fish Trap has proven itself during testing and after release since May 2019.

abt.org.au

The blended frog patterned Fish Trap is a new colour that had immediate success on impoundment barra. in the water column. Dicko added that the lure matches the hatch on many occasions, especially when the fish are eating bony bream. The Live Swimbait is a lure that you can option up, but Troy rarely alters the lure further than changing the split rings by doubling them up. You can add chin weights, hooks on the dorsal surface, swap out for assist hooks, add blades – the options are endless! “The bite is vicious so hang on,” Dicko said. “The barra really crunch this lure hard so hang onto your tackle as you could easily lose it over the side if you’re not concentrating.”

Park your boat on the floor it deserves!

As far as colours go, Troy recommends two colours, the mainly white FB (flying bear) and OBT (orange belly trout). If you want to go for something loud and proud, he said colour T (temmy) would be great. MICHAEL DETENON ZEREK FLAT SHAD Michael has fished the last two seasons of the Zerek BARRA Tour, and has been incredibly successful fishing the Zerek Flat Shad. The Flat Shad is a unique lure that features side slits that allow the soft plastic to compress and expose the worm hook it comes rigged with, however some anglers fish this lure on a jighead rig and yet others add a stinger to the bottom of the worm hook. The most recent upgrade to the Pro Series has seen the inclusion of an eyelet moulded into the worm hook weight to give anglers an easy connection point for their bottom stinger treble. “The Zerek Flat Shad has been my impoundment go-to lure for some time now, and it is the lure I tie on knowing on any given cast I can catch a barra,” Michael said. “My love for the 7” Flat Shad came about when I first started fishing competitions in the freshwater impoundments. I knew a big paddle tail plastic was needed, and I wanted something that I could rip out of the packet and throw without having to boil it, cut it or mangle it in any way. The 7” Flatty was what I found, and it didn’t only look good to me, the fish found it looked

pretty good as well.” Results came quickly for Michael and his team mates, finishing in the Top 10 in

several comps and bringing home a Top 5 Team of the Year finish last year. While Michael says these lures catch fish straight from the packet, he has added a 1/0, 4x strong treble to the tow point on the bottom of the standard hook, and with that Michael reckons the Flat Shad is ready to go. “They are just so easy to use, whether it is a weed point, a deep ledge or casting in amongst the trees,” he said. “You let the lure get to the depth you want and just slow wind. There is no need for hops or twitches, and as you slow roll you can feel the big tail doing its thing right through to your rod tip. “My confidence in these lures has grown so strong that on the last ABT Barra Tour I caught every single one of my

• Zerek Fish Trap

• Zerek Flat Shad

• Zerek Live Swimbait

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HEAVY OUTFIT • Venom 7’6” Swimbait • ATC Combat Plus 200 • 50lb braid

barra on the Flat Shad. The space mullet is the colour I tie on first, but I am never really worried about colour, as I have now caught barra on every single colour in the range.” LAST WORD These days there are many lures on the market for barra impoundment fishing and we are lucky to have a quality range of fish-producing lures that are tried and tested in the heat of battle. If you’re fishing the Zerek BARRA Tour this year, make sure you have these four on the floor!

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A likely win for the lads BRISBANE

Geoff Newby

Over the years my teammate Phill Lyons and I had been pretty consistent on the ABT BARRA Tour. Although we had never won an event, we had a couple of second places and top ten overall finishes – at least until 2017, which proved to be a disaster for Team Likely Lads.

old (2007) we have been doing it since 2009 when there were over 30 boats and although fished with two anglers per boat it was an individual event. The attendance gradually dropped to the lowest of 12 boats but this was due to the floods of 2010 when all the major barra dams were almost devoid of barramundi due to the fish loss over the dam spillways. The format was changed in 2013 to a two-person team

A bright yellow and red Nitro heralds the approach of the Likely Lads. We went into the 2018 Barra Tour not very confident, and our pre-fish experience was terrible. We spent over 40 hours on Peter Faust for one barra, around 30 hours on Teemburra for two barra, and 20 hours on Kinchant for a donut a couple of weeks before the tour started. During that period,

event, the dams gradually improved along with the team entry numbers and in 20018, 28 teams competed. We have not missed a tour since and it is the highlight of the year for us and I would advise any angler

Leicester called the Likely Lads, so we adopted that name here. We soon discovered that Australian comp fishing was very different. There are a couple of ways of barra tournament fishing: gunning and running, or hanging on a spot for the full tournament. The second option is the one we prefer. Different types of areas to fish are trees, bays and points, and we focus most of our efforts on points. The sounder we use is a Lowrance HDS Carbon (now being upgraded to the HDS Live), and we have found it to be the perfect tool for finding fish, and most of all for finding spots in the first place. The insight Genesis mapping system is first class, with almost all dams in Queensland mapped with depth contours. This makes it easy to locate potential spots around the dams that could hold fish in the conditions we would find the barra. ROUND 1, KINCHANT DAM Kinchant Dam isn’t like most of the other dams. Basically, it has one tree and one really significant point. The dam is almost 50% rock wall, and fishing within 100m of the rocks is not allowed, but it is chockers with big barra. Our spot was the bay

The author’s regular teammate and fellow compatriot Phill Lyons has many metre-plus barra under his belt to date. load of fish on the spot during the one pre-fish session, and although we couldn’t get them to bite, we thought we would have a better chance during the comp leading up to the full moon. It was a very slow night; we only just managed our five fish bag. One was caught on a 120mm Rapala silver ghost X-Rap, and one on a 130mm black/ gold Squidgy Slick Rig. We also each boated a good size barra on a new lure that Phill found: a Molix Shad swimbait. It needs to be modified by upgrading the front hook and split

ring, and we used an Owner ST66 no. 4 treble hook, heavy-duty split rings, and removed the spinner blade off the back and fitted a second treble as a stinger hook. This yielded two more barra of 90cm and 85cm. That got us into the prize list in 6th spot, and we were happy with that as we had not been confident leading up to the event. Phill uses an Ian Miller TCurve 1.73m, 6-8kg as his X-Rap rod, with a Daiwa Zillion baitcaster reel with Sufix 832 30lb braid and 55lb Schneider leader. His other outfit is an Ian Miller Toad rod with a Shimano

Stella FE 4000 reel spooled with Sufix 832 30lb braid and 28kg wire leader. I used an ACM custombuilt 15-30lb Revelation swimbait rod, with a Daiwa Certate HD 4000 30lb spooled with Sufix 832, and 70lb Schneider leader. ROUND 2, TEEMBURRA DAM We were more confident at Teemburra, as it’s what we call our home ground. On the October full moon, Phill, myself and another mate had boated 35 barra off our first-choice spot. We decided not to fish the dam during the week before the comp, and heard

• Berkley Giant Ripple Shad

we consoled ourselves with the fact that we were fishing at night on the wrong moon and it was very cold. We are not the youngest team in the ABT barra tour. We were already knocking on in years when we got our first boats, and we only tournament fish freshwater (dams). Although the ABT BARRA tour is not that 8

TAG 2019 abt

who enjoys barra fishing and has a competitive nature, to give it a go. We both emigrated to Australia from England in the early 1990s. Although fishing was in our blood, lure fishing in freshwater was new to us. We had both been regular comp anglers on the match fishing scene in England, and there was a successful team from

towards the tower, located to the right of the boat ramp. We went straight to it and never moved all night. We decided to not use the anchor feature on the electric motor, as we think the barra have started to associate the noise with anglers, so once in position we dropped the 15kg lead plonker. We had found a

Fish of this calibre, and a truckload of determination despite an ordinary pre-fish, helped team Likely Lads to dominate the 2018 ABT Zerek BARRA Tour.

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Tournament Angler Guide

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that it was very tough from the visitors during pre-fish. Before any comp we prioritise three spots, so if anyone gets in before us we have somewhere else to go. Our number one spot, Pinnacle Point, was open as we raced across the dam. In we went, straight on the mark, and dropped the 15kg lead plonker. Again, it was a slow start, but we expected that because we were fishing during the afternoon; the spot usually fishes better at night. Phill got a follow at the boat after

about an hour, but it didn’t eat the lure. Still, it made us feel better knowing that there were barra around. We were seeing the odd fish but no numbers, then at 7:50pm we had a small 60cm barra that consumed a Berkley 160mm fire tiger Giant Ripple Shad,

which got us off the donut. Our first objective was complete. Another fish followed at 8:20pm, an 83cm barra taken on the 13cm Molix Shad. The barra had the Molix in its mouth like a dog with a bone, and all three hooks were set. With around an hour to go we said if we could get one more barra it could get us a top 10 place. We never expected to find the result we heard back at the boat ramp – that we had not only won, but the 83cm

HD 4000 spooled with 30lb Suffix 832, and 70lb Schneider leader. Phill used an Ian Miller Toad rod with a Shimano Stella FE 4000 reel with Sufix 832 30lb braid, and 28kg wire leader. ROUND 3, PETER FAUST DAM ALL NIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP Although we had a disastrous pre-fish, we had decided on our three spots at Peter Faust Dam. A point in the basin was our number one location, and two other spots were

• Squidgy Slick Rig

barra was the biggest barra. We took home the top prize of $1400 and the Biggest Barra prize pack. I again used the ACM custom built 15-30lb Revelation swimbait rod, with a Daiwa Certate

towards the river. We had a good draw off at number three, and with not far to go we thought we would get on our number one choice, and we did. It’s a very shallow point To page 10

The author is no stranger to the BARRA Tour, and his record of podium finishes at BARRA events is testament to his experience.

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with a weed edge coming out from the bank about 2-3m, then another 2m of weed towers under the surface, then 1m deep out to around 3.5m where we were anchored. We started as usual, with each of us using different lures and swapping every 15 minutes or so, casting to the solid weed edge and burning it off before slowing the retrieve in the clear water. After 90 minutes a good fish fell to a Squidgy Mongrel. It measured 109cm, and was a great start. After that we got quite busy, boating barra every 20 minutes or so, and the lure doing the damage was the Berkley Giant Ripple Shad in fire tiger. Then at 8pm we boated our biggest barra of the night – a cracking 112cm fish. We were starting to get the upgrades we needed. We had also had a lure swap, and started to get the better fish on the 13cm Molix Shad in black/gold. We finished up with 14 barra, and our best five measured 5.36m. That converted to a weight of 80.83kg, and was enough for the number one spot. The wind had been very strong in our face, so there were issues with backlash on

Tournament Angler Guide baitcaster reels, so we mainly used spin rods. I used the ACM custom built 15-30lb Revelation Swimbait rod with a Daiwa Certate HD 4000, 30lb Sufix 832, and 70lb Schneider leader with the Mustad quick change clip. My other outfit was

Toad rod with a Shimano Stella FE 4000 reel with Sufix 832 30lb braid and 28kg wire leader. The main lures were the Berkley 200mm Giant Ripple Shad in fire tiger and the 5.5” Molix Shad swimbait.

• Molix Shad swimbait

a custom built Geoff Busbridge 12-20lb spin rod on a Rain Shadow blank, with 20lb Sufix 832 braid and 55lb Schneider leader with the Mustad quick change clip, with Transam vibes that picked some of the early barra. Phill used an Ian Miller

LUCKY CRAFT ROUND 4, PETER FAUST DAM This was the start of two massive sessions for Phil and I. Coming into the fourth and final round, our nerves were jangling and our stomachs were turning somersaults. We were

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leading the Team of the Year table by three points, just ahead of the best barra team in the last four years – Craig Griffiths and Karim De Ridder. What a position to be in! We decided to go to the point we had fished on

the night championship, settled in, dropped the anchor and started to thrash the water to foam. We had a great start, with Phill smacking a 100cm barra at 4:30pm (30 minutes in) on the Squidgy Mongrel. Our first fish, donut gone, and on the board. Then we had a

abt.org.au disastrous hour or so, dropping around seven barra. We called a halt to the fishing, and sat and talked for a few minutes. We decided that we needed to settle down and get back into the groove. The bite had changed from the night comp; we had been concentrating on hitting the weed edge, a short burn, drop and then a steady retrieve. This wasn’t working. We changed to a 45° angle cast towards the bank, but falling short of the weed fringe, concentrating on a longer cast and keeping the lure in the deeper water. The barra started to come at a steady pace, and we finished up with 10 barra for the session. Our best five total measured 5.05m and weighed 63.7kg, putting us in 3rd place. Session 2 The first session was a good result, but we still faced a big threat from Team Edge Rods/EJ Todd. Craig and Karim had had a tough session, and were down the field in 12th place, 27kg behind us. However, if ever there was a team who could pull a rabbit out of the hat and make up the deficit, it was Craig and Karim. The thought of winning round four had gone, and

all we could think about was catching a bag that would keep us in front for the Team of The Year. We headed back to the same spot and concentrated on the angle cast, with the main lure being the green grunter Slick Rig. At 5.30pm our first barra hit the deck, and a steady stream of smaller barra followed. We had anticipated a very late bite of bigger fish, due to what happened the night before, and at 11:30 we were into a good fish that measured 113cm. Before we boated this fish we thought we would be safe with the Team of the Year title, but it would be tight for a 4th round victory as we had an 80cm barra in our best five bag. We ended up boating 11 barra, with the best five measuring 4.87m and 59.69kg, and it earned us another 1st place finish in Round 4. We had almost completed a clean sweep – three wins in the rounds and Team of the Year. We were $4,400 better off with two beautiful Ian Miller rods and a pile of trophies. Greatest of all though was the accolade of being the ABT Barra Team of the Year 2018.

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Tournament Angler Guide

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Lake Awoonga Ver. 3.0 GLADSTONE

Justin Nye

As barramundi addicts, we sit back and think about Lake Awoonga in its glory days! ‘Pre-flood 2011’ is a conversation that’s passed around many campfires, boat ramps and tournament briefings. The stories of 30 fish sessions, and 1.3m beasts that go bump in the night, were enough to spike

any anglers’ adrenaline rush into overdrive! However, as quickly as the conversation peaked, it plummeted back to Earth, with spillover comments bringing misery to the barra fishing fraternity. Between 2011 and 2016, the lake’s levels remained reasonably high, with strong monsoon seasons being prominent, forcing several spill events during this period. The record-breaking Australia

Day weekend floods of 2013 saw the spillway go over by an incredible 8m+! In April 2016, Lake Awoonga spilled one last time, which had anglers far and wide watching with nervous excitement as the next chapter of the lake’s history unfolded. October 2016 saw an opportunity for myself to turn my recreational fishing obsession into a career of guiding in the Gladstone region. During

The result of a double hook-up on jerkbaits.

Gladstone Area Water Board hatchery broodstock. the summer of 2016/17 I recorded good numbers of 50-65cm fish, although larger fish were rare. The 2017/18 spring and summer saw the lake gain momentum, attracting more anglers to try their luck. Good numbers of 60-75cm fish were being captured, with some quality 80-85cm fish mixed in. It was in August 2018 that I witnessed the rebirth of Lake Awoonga! An

reached maturity and were hungry! In the period from September 2018 to March 2019 I recorded almost 600 boated barramundi for clients onboard Gladstone Fly and Sportfishing, with an average size of 82cm. HIGHEST STOCKED BARRA IMPOUNDMENT The flood events over the period of six years was heartbreaking, but it didn’t stop the tireless work of the Gladstone Area Water

team took over the reigns of the GAWB hatchery and developed a program that would allow them to get the best numbers of high-quality barramundi out of the facility they had in Gladstone. Every Lake Awoonga barra is spawned from local wild-caught Central Queensland broodstock, and the fry and fingerlings are graded every 2-3 days to maximise numbers, which maintains the efficiency of

WORK HARD FISH HARDER. 12

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Josh Butler caught this nice barra on a jerkbait. abundance of 70-90cm fish were spread throughout the lake, and their presence was mind-blowing. They had

Board in restoring the best impoundment barramundi fishery. In 2014, stocking guru Thomas Hayes and his

the program. Since the flood of 2016, there have been 1.12 million barramundi stocked into the lake, including

Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au 555,864 this financial year! And there are huge things to come for the hatchery, as the GAWB have been allocated funding to build a state-of-

abundance of 85-95cm fish, which are the real deal when it comes to barra impoundment angling. These fish are 3-4 years old, and they are

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quick as a hook-up comes with these fish, it can all end just as suddenly if they get the better of your angling ability in tight country.

This fish was caught on a Molix Swim Shad. the-art hatchery at Lake Awoonga itself, which would have the capacity to produce 1.2 million fingerlings a year. CURRENT FISH SIZES Currently, there is a clear defining presence of year class in the lake. From the top down you will see a large

ruthless at this size! They are known for blistering pace and acrobatics, and will give you the full run around wherever structure is involved. The next year class is the 75-80cm models, which to the bass or bream angler will blow your socks off! As

Apart from bulk numbers of these 2-year classes, there are plenty of smaller fish in the 50-65cm bracket given the massive numbers stocked last year, and metre class fish will also be on the cards for September. To page 14

A Weedless Castaic Jerky J was the undoing of this fish.

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Tournament Angler Guide

From page 13

TACKLE There’s plenty of highquality affordable tackle available on today’s market, so you can buy gear that’s up to the task without blowing your budget. Having a variety of rod options is beneficial,

especially if you want to turn bites into hook sets on every occasion. Tactics can quickly change in a tournament situation, especially if the fish are responding to a different presentation from the one used during pre-fish. Adjusting the sensitivity of a rod choice will often result in better hook-up

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rates, particularly when throwing soft plastics and weedless presentations. KEY AREAS AND TECHNIQUE If last September was anything to go by, experience tells me the fish will be moving around in large numbers in two distinct locations.

Various soft plastic presentations.

A healthy barra caught from a point.

The weed fence Look for direct or indirect windward facing edges, points or bays that have distinct weed fences, quite often with a small mix of standing timber. This weed creates a perimeter inside to the bank, which allows barra to herd the bait inside the ambush zone. These perimeters are often filled with chocolate coloured water as a result of east-northeast afternoon sea breezes.

Quite often when the word ‘weed’ is brought up, weedless presentations are the angler’s instant response. However, you shouldn’t be afraid to throw shallow hardbodies and standard jigheadrigged plastics into these areas. Practice variations in retrieve speed and aggressiveness, as ripping the lure through the weed quite often results in a bite. It’s a good way to maximise your catch rates.

Standing timber bays and points Again, using wind energy, directly or indirectly, find a bay that has a good variation of standing timber, particularly in 3-4m of water. Look for distinct laneways or pathways to open water, which the barra may use to move in or out of that area. Often one obvious laydown or horizontal timber may be the ambush zone for several fish, so look out for this kind of structure. Various techniques

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can be highly productive, so don’t hesitate to have a mixed bag of options rigged. Suspending hardbodies fished aggressively with long pauses, standard slow rolling plastics and vertical jigging vibes can all be great options. SCANNING TECHNOLOGY The use of modern-day sonar will enhance your ability to find fish during the pre-fish and during the tournament. All the major brands have incredible technology, and it’s vital that tournament anglers these days are equipped with at least side imaging or

downscan sonar equipment. During the pre-fish you should utilise these tools, mapping out contour lines and possible flight paths for daily barramundi movements. You will have a clear advantage if you can work out a pattern to their movements in the lead up to the tournament. It’s also important to keep an eye on the water temperature at this time of the year, as warm water honey holes can be a game changer. MY HOT TIPS You should pre-fish as close to the tournament as possible; don’t pre-fish in July

with the expectations of the same scenarios in September. The water levels, temperature range and trade winds will all have changed, resulting in significant barramundi mood swings. You can expect to see fish move through in a series of windows, such as moon and tide events, along with other natural occurrences like last light. You must capitalise on these events to be successful, as the bite windows will come hard and fast and often be gone again in the blink of an eye! Those anglers who can turn five bites into five

TACKLE SPIN OUTFIT: •7’-7’6”, 15-20lb medium-fast for weedless plastics and lighter presentations, matched with suitable 3000-4000 spinning reel with plenty of drag capability and 20lb braid or PE. •7’-7’6” 20-30lb fast action for heavier plastic presentations like slow rolling and even vibing, matched with 4000 to 5000 spinning reel and 30lb braid or PE. BAITCASTER OUTFIT: • 6’6”-7’ medium-fast to fast action 15-20lb for soft plastics and topwater, matched to suitable 100-150 size baitcast reel with plenty of drag capability (be prepared to thumb the spool). • 6’2”-7’ fast to extra-fast action, 15-25lb for heavier soft plastics and jerkbaits, matched to suitable 150-200 size baitcast reel with plenty of drag capability (again, be prepared to thumb the spool). LURE FAVOURITES Suspending hardbodies: Duo Realis 100DR, Jackall Squirrels, Lucky Craft Pointers Plastics: 5” and 7” Castaics, Hollowbellys, Happy Rock Swim Baits and Willys, Slick Rigs, Molix Shad, Zerek Flat Shads and ZMan SwimmerZ Vibes: Zerek Fish Traps, Jackall Transams, Madness Shiriten Vibes and Samaki Vibelicious.

captures will no doubt be on the leader board at the end of the tournament. Be prepared to cast your arms off, and if you’re going to take a

the second. For example, if the wind is blowing from the east, these anglers will automatically direct their attention to the western side

flight paths can produce good numbers of fish, there will always be an ‘end game’ (feeding location) destination nearby, and quite often in the

Garry caught this barra on fly from a weed wall. break, don’t take it around a bite window! My reference earlier to direct and indirect windwardfacing locations is a key factor. Most anglers will take the first option and disregard

of the lake. Although this is a likely location. It is not always the game changer, because barra will use wind energy down a point or bank as a flight path that can lead them to feeding locations. Although

most unlikely of places. With time and experience on the water though, you’ll know that these unlikely looking places are actually potential hotspots, giving you an extra edge on the competition.

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Cooking

The easy way to make a tasty fish laksa BRISBANE

Lynn Bain

Laksa is an Asian noodle dish with a warming spicy flavour. Using a prepared laksa paste and store bought noodles means that the following recipe is very quick and easy to prepare. The noodles, laksa paste, coconut cream and fried Asian shallots are available in the Asian section of most supermarkets. I have used fish fillets in this laksa, however please feel free to add other seafood, such as peeled

green prawns, prepared squid or mussels. Simply add the seafood to the laksa when you add the fish in the following recipe.

Ingredients • 200g rice vermicelli noodles • 1 tbsp cooking oil • 4 tbsp of prepared laksa paste • 2 cups coconut cream • 3 cups vegetable or fish stock • 500g fish fillets, bones removed and cut into 3-4 cm pieces • 2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander leaves • Handful of bean sprouts • 4 tbsp fried Asian shallots • 1 lime, cut into wedges • Coriander leaves, for garnish • 1-2 green shallots, finely sliced, for garnish

Prepare the noodles according to the directions on the packet. Drain well once cooked and put aside.

Add the stock to the wok and stir thoroughly. Bring to a gentle simmer and continue to cook for a couple of minutes

If you prefer an extra creamy laksa, add 1 extra cup of coconut cream to the laksa and delete one of the cups of stock.

Divide the cooked noodles between individual bowls and add fresh bean sprouts to each bowl.

Heat the cooking oil in a large saucepan or wok on a medium heat and then add the prepared laksa paste to the wok for approximately three minutes until fragrant.

Place the fish pieces into the laksa mixture. Reduce the heat to a medium low, maintaining a gentle simmer to avoid breaking up the fish pieces. Continue to cook for a further three minutes or so depending on the thickness of your fish pieces. When cooked, the fish should be able to be flaked with a fork.

Ladle the fish laksa over the top of the noodles and bean sprouts.

Add the coconut cream and stir well.

Add two tablespoons of roughly chopped coriander leaves to the mixture and combine gently. Be careful to not break up the fish.

Sprinkle the fish laksa with the fried Asian shallots, and add a wedge of lime to the side of the bowl. Add coriander leaves to garnish. SEPTEMBER 2019

Schwerin pulls Somerset sneaky Jake Schwerin is from the Toowoomba area, which pretty much makes him a local to Lake Somerset. Being able to fish this impoundment regularly definitely gave him an edge over the rest of the 52-boat field. Coming into the Friday pre-fish, Jake had one key area in mind, but he didn’t throw one cast at it on practice. He did a few sneaky passes checking with his Hummingbird Solix Side Scan, making sure they were still there from a few weeks beforehand, and he was happy to find out they had not moved. Jake said he didn’t fish this spot because he didn’t want to arouse any suspicion, or give anyone reason to think the area was worth looking at. On day one Jake made the quick run to his spot, which was within eyeshot of the start, just inside the timber at Kirkleigh. The area he was fishing ran into an old creek bed. Jake said this spot was the key to his win, as the fish had a nice flat to feed and deeper water to retreat to if need be. On arrival, the ledge of the flat was stacked with

BOATER WINNER’S GEAR Rod: Reel: Line: Lure:

Edge Rods Black Widow 703 Daiwa Steez 2004 Toray F4 0.8 braid and Toray Power Game 10lb leader O.S.P. HD Shad Tail 3.1” (dipped tail) with 5/8oz Smak jighead

BOATER 2ND PLACE GEAR Rod: Reel: Line: Lure:

Boater and non-boater winners Jake Schwerin and Bronson Tilley display the sort of bass that helped them to take out their respective divisions. fish, so he dropped his trolling motor, hit SpotLock, turned his sounder off, and proceeded to knock their lights out! Between him and his non-boater Bronson Tilley, they caught 20-30 legal fish and upgraded half a dozen times. If the bites stopped, he would turn the sounder back on to see if the fish had moved, and if they had he would sound along the drop-off to find them, before repeating the process. Jake was fishing a 5/8 Smak jighead rigged with a 3.1”

O.S.P HP Shad Tail with a chartreuse dipped tail, making long wind-assisted casts and letting it hit the bottom. He would then give the plastic ten or so winds before opening the bail and letting the lure hit the bottom again. Schwerin repeated this process all day. His tricks definitely worked well for him, reaching his limit of four fish very quickly, and he finished the day with an impressive bag weight of 8.79kg, putting him in first

place with a lead of 2.74kg. Day two had Jake heading out with non-boater Tom Deer. The pair went straight back to the area that was so productive the day before. The weather conditions were very different, with the wind already blowing quite hard due to a cold snap from the south, and this had changed the way the fish were biting. Schwerin noticed the fish were sulking on the bottom. The only way he could get a bite was to dredge his plastic along the bottom, and

Daiwa TD Black Wicked Weasel Daiwa 2500 LT Caldia Sufix Nano Aqua Camo 8lb braid and 8lb FC Rock leader Nories Wasaby Metal Spoon 18g in colour vr313

even then they were taking biting very timidly. The pair didn’t let that worry them, and by putting their heads down and grinding it out they managed to catch a fish every hour or so. Jake knew he was in with a good chance of taking out the 2019 Somerset Sufix BASS Pro with the lead he had from day one. He was the last to weigh on Sunday, only needing 1.87kg to take the win, and Jake made his way up to the stage with his limit of four fish with a weight of 5.95kg and a total of 14.74kg, smashing the

rest of the field to take the win of the 2019 Ecogear sponsored Somerset round.

Scan the QR code to see Jake Schwerin Interview.

BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Jake Schwerin 2 Anthony Thorpe 3 Nick Price 4 John Ciancio 5 Mark Parriott 6 Charles West 7 Keeghan Painter 8 Lloyd Brown 9 Steve Chang 10 Jordan Stoddart

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize Money 8/8 14.74 $3000 7/8 10.56 $1750 + $250 Evinrude Bonus 8/8 9.47 $1500 6/8 8.82 $1250 + $500 Garmin Big Bass 8/8 8.73 $1000 6/8 7.83 $900 6/8 7.55 $800 6/8 7.43 $700 6/8 6.92 $600 5/8 6.39 $500

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888 84

SEPTEMBER 2019

It’s clear that Somerset is still the premier big bass lake in the country.

Thorpey says the fishing was ‘fully sick’ Anthony Thorpe is from the Newcastle area, which is a long way from Somerset Dam. He had only fished this dam once in a competition, and one other time socially. Before the tournament, he’d caught one fish in two trips, so coming into Friday’s pre-fish he was not overly confident. He got a few bites but struggled to hook anything in the pre-fish. He did land a fish at Red Rock of around 32cm, but he was a little worried. He had a quick sound over the Kirkleigh flats and saw what looked like better fish. This area became his game plan for the fifth round of the 2019 Sufix BASS Pro Series. On the first day, he had a loose game plan, but wasn’t confident and knowing there was a cold front coming dampened his spirits further. Despite this, Thorpey started off strong, filling

his four-fish limit within an hour and a half, and this had him feeling a little more confident. He caught his fish on a 18g Nories Metal Wasaby spoon in colour VR 313 by just dredging it along the bottom. His non-boater Luke Sticklen caught their kicker for the day, which saw their bag of four bass weigh 5.23kg. The second day had Thorpey choosing to stick to his day one plan, and he headed straight back to the Kirkleigh flats. On arrival he noticed the fish seemed more active and were sitting higher in the water column, even though the weather was a lot worse than the first day. To get them to bite he noticed he had to speed his retrieve up a bit. Anthony caught three nice fish straight up, but the rest of the day was a grind, with he and his boater catching no more fish. Despite this, his

Anthony Thorpe travelled a long way to fish the Somerset leg of the Sufix BASS Pro Series, but went away $2,000 richer! day two bag of three fish was heavier than his day one bag of four by 100g! Day

two’s bag weighed 5.33kg, and a total of 10.56kg, securing him second place!

All action for Bronson Bronson Tilley was pleased when he got paired with local Jake Schwerin, as Jake had an awesome plan to head up in the sticks and fish a nice flat that he sounded up the day before, and no one else had fished there in the pre-fish. On day one they pulled up and sounded around for 5 minutes until the sounder lit up with around 25-35 fish on the Side Scan, and they decided to switch the sounders off, so as not to spook the fish, and hit Spot-Lock on the electric. Bronson fished with a 5/8oz Smak Jighead with a baby bass coloured Charlie Brewer Slider that Jake supplied him with. After five or so casts, Jake was hooked up and as Bronson was netting his first legal fish for the morning, he too hooked up. All the boys were doing was slow rolling the plastics along the bottom. By doing this, they were getting double hook-ups and caught around 15-20 fish within 30 minutes, and upgrading

Bronson Tilley fished hard through a tough weekend to come out on top, and took home some great prizes for his efforts. their bag twice. It then went quiet, so they stuck around for a bit and as the day went by, they upgraded a few more fish. Bronson landed the biggest of the day, going 51cm to the fork and weighing 2.53kg, which was a new Somerset PB for its captor. The team then headed in to weigh their bag of

four fish, and they noticed that not many people had a bag over 5kg. With their bag weighing a whopping 8.79kg, it put Bronson and Jake in first place. Day two on Sunday came around, when Bronson was paired with Greg Burke. Greg and Bronson took off in 23rd place and headed up towards Pelican Point,

where Greg got his bag on Saturday. The boys pulled up and found no fish what so ever, so they thought they would give it 20 minutes in case a school swam through. The guys struggled ‘hard core’, as Bronson put it, with the wind in this spot blowing over 35 knots, and they couldn’t manage in the wind without a Spot-Lock. The boys then decided to go up to Kirkleigh flats and try to hide from the wind for a bit. By the time they got up there it was around 10am, and Bronson stuck with what caught all his fish on day one, which was the 5/8oz Smak jighead with a baby bass coloured Slider. Again, he was fishing this presentation with a slow roll and letting it sink back down every so often. Bronson hooked up and landed a 2.02kg bass, and that was it! Greg had run out of battery for the electric motor, so they decided to call it and head in. As it turns out, Bronson’s 2.02kg fish was enough to secure him first place, with a total weight of 10.81kg!

Bass Pro Series presented by

Scan the QR code to see Bronson Tilley interview.

NON-BOATER WINNER’S GEAR Rod: Reel: Line: Lure:

Samurai 201 Daiwa Certate Finesse Custom 2506 Sufix Nano Camo 10lb braid Charlie Brewer Slider in baby bass (dipped tail) with 5/8oz Smak jighead

GARMIN BIG BASS John Ciancio managed to land the biggest bass for the tournament, weighing in a 2.66kg beast! The fish was caught around Kirkleigh working an 18g Nories Wasaby Metal Spoon up a creek bank ledge.

NON-BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Bronson Tilley 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Tom Deer Allan Price Leaon Walker Darren Greenstreet James Browning Jason Sheehan Steve Muldoon Matthew Martin Nathan Huggett

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize 5/8 10.81 Bassman Spinnerbaits Prize Pack + $300 Sufix Bonus 8/8 10.24 Fishtec Prize Pack 8/8 9.19 Tackle Tactics Prize Pack 7/8 9.14 Sufix Prize Pack 6/8 8.30 Daiwa Prize Pack 5/8 8.22 Sunline Prize Pack 6/8 7.83 Keitech Prize Pack 6/8 7.15 Lucky Craft Prize Pack 5/8 6.81 Ecogear Prize Pack 6/8 6.60 Shimano Prize Pack

This short-wheeled model got some chuckles back at the ramp. SEPTEMBER 2019

WHAT’S NEW FISHING EQUALIZER TWIN PIN PRO

The Black Magic Equalizer has grown a reputation around the world for being the ultimate fish fighting gimbal and harness, and now it’s even better. With the advent of different fishing styles and the growing popularity in bent butt rods, Black Magic has introduced a new Equalizer, called the Twin Pin Pro (patent pending). The change is simple yet significant, offering a great advantage to anglers who use both bent and straight butt rod types. As the name suggests, the Twin Pin Pro has two pins, one in the traditional recessed position, and a new pin in the front of the rod bucket. Now, anglers have maximum leverage whether using a straight butt or a bent butt rod, without the need for an adaptor. Simply choose the best pin for your style of rod and you are fishing without restrictions. Head to the Black Magic website to see more information, photos and a video of the Twin Pin Pro. www.blackmagictackle.com

OKUMA HELIOS SX SPIN RODS

Taking on all comers and reigning supreme in the Best New Rod category at the prestigious 2018 EFFTEX tackle trade show, the eye-catching Okuma Helios SX spinning rod is now available in Australia. There are three models in the range, covering many of our most popular light spin applications. Helios SX rods offer anglers high end components, ultra-light feel, crisp actions and incredible value for money. Features include 30T Toray carbon construction, creating slim blanks and fast actions, Japanese EVA split grip design, comfort grip ergonomic reel seat and Seaguide Gun Smoke SS guide frames with zirconia guide inserts. All up, it delivers classy looks, quality components and proven performance at an affordable price. The range consists of the following models: HSX-S-702L (light action, 7’0”, 2-piece, 1-3kg, 1-8g casting weight), HSX-S-702ML (med light, 7’0”, 2-piece, 2-4kg, 3-15g) and the HSX-S-702M (medium, 7’0”, 2-piece, 3-6kg, 5-20g). Price: SRP $109.95 www.okuma.com.au

STRIKE PRO X-BUSTER

The Strike Pro X-Buster is a deadly swimbait with a superior quality and finish. This jointed swimbait replicates a bony bream to perfection and is deadly on barramundi and Murray cod. It has an outstanding side to side action, and you can crank, rip, twitch, pull, jerk or troll it. Just remember to give it a good pause; it glides deadly to the left or right and it stays in the strike zone. This lure is extremely strong, with a tensile strength of 35-40kg, and it comes fitted with extra strong split rings and trebles so it’s perfect to use straight out of the packet for large species. The X-Buster is 17cm long, weighs 80g and suspends at approximately 4ft. It also features extra loud in-built rattles for added attraction, allowing the fish to home in on the lure in murky waters. The X-Buster is available in four natural baitfish colours and is a must for the serious swimbait angler. www.jurofishing.com 90

SEPTEMBER 2019

PRODUCT GUIDE

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

BASSDAY BACKFIRE 4 Bassday’s expertise in the surface lure market is second to none, with the SugaPen one of the deadliest surface lures available. Their newest creation, the Backfire, was originally designed for catching black porgy on Lake Hamana in Shizuoka, but it has proven itself in our local conditions already. And like the SugaPen, it’s sure to be a favourite for keen anglers. The Backfire is 65mm long and through wired, making it strong and dependable. It weighs 7.5g and casts exceptionally well for a small lure. The large cupped face is capable of both dramatic pops, and small subtle, ripple inducing pops, when using a slow and light touch. The slim profile produces little wind resistance. The action is that of a classic popper and will be excellent for bass, bream and other surface feeders. It works best with a ‘pop, pop, pause’ technique. The new model comes in eight colours, and all but one have been designed exclusively for Australia. To find out more visit the Bassday Australia website, or Like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BassdayAus. www.bassday.com.au

DAIWA KIX LT

Combining many of Daiwa’s latest technologies with stylish looks and contemporary design, the Kix LT delivers on both performance and price. The Kix’s impressive design and strength begins with its ultra strong, ultra corrosionresistant alloy body providing a rock solid foundation for the reel’s long list of features. Daiwa’s LT Concept delivers lightness and toughness while Tough Digigear provides flawless internal gearing, with its high-precision cutting technique achieving perfect gear meshing and ultra-smooth performance. MagSeal protects from the elements, while Air Rotor, ATD, LT’s Longcast ABS spool, Perfect Line Stopper, Air Bail and EVA knob combine for superior performance, power and precision. The new Kix LT is available now in six different sizes. www.daiwafishing.com.au

UPGRADED FG WIZZ

The FG knot is the best braid-to-leader knot because it has the slimmest profile of any other knot, allowing you to reel it through your guides and use longer leaders. It’s also stronger than any other braid-to-leader knot. This tool leaves your hands free to tie a slim, uniform and reliable FG knot every time, quickly and easily. There is no need to use your teeth or your rod. The FG Wizz is compact so you can take it anywhere. This Aussie invention is hand-made by angler Ray Fewell. “The original FG Wizz has been selling well, and everyone who has one loves it,” Ray said. “If there has been any criticism at all, it’s the fact that it doesn’t handle heavy braids and leaders as well as the lighter sizes. That’s because the stems get drawn together at a faster rate. “The new version is more versatile, holding heavy leader better in the back bobbin when finishing the knot.” To see how easy it is to use, look up ‘FG Wizz’ on YouTube. Price: SRP $44 www.fgwizz.com.au

6 visit www.tacklejunkie.fish for the latest tackle news - AS IT HAPPENS!

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

MAJOR CRAFT N-ONE 7 EGI RODS The Major Craft N-One Egi Series are all 8’6” lengths that cater for small 0.4 jigs all the way up to larger 3.0 and 4.0 jigs. The rods are all spin, using a nano-alloy and carbon blank construction to reduce weight. They also incorporate the CrossForce technology used elsewhere in the Major Craft range. These rods are a delight to use, with a super sensitive tip and an incredibly light weight, which allows anglers to impart jig movement with minimal effort and less fatigue. The guide train is all Fuji SiC, arranged in the KR Concept pattern, and ergonomics are at the centre of the build with carefully constructed composite EVA grips. The rod uses gold winding checks and black, gold and red bindings for a bold look. There are three models, the NSE-862EH (8’6”, PE 0.6-1.5, 3.0-4.0 jig size), NSE-862E (8’6”, 0.4-1.2, 2.5-3.5), and NSE-862EL (8’6”, 0.4-1.0, 2.0-3.5). For more information visit the Major Craft Australia website or Like them on Facebook. www.majorcraft.com.au

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RAPALA TOURNAMENT 8 SHIRTS

You can fish all day in comfort with the new Rapala Tournament Fishing Jerseys. These quick drying, 100% polyester shirts make a day on the water comfortable, and have a UPF 30+ sun protection rating to protect you and your kids from the sun’s harmful rays. These jerseys are available in adults’ sizes small to XXXL and kids’ sizes 2 to 14. For more information visit the Rapala Australia website, or check them out at your local tackle store today. To find out more about these and other products in the Rapala apparel range, check out the Rapala Australia website or like them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/rapala. australia), or Instagram (@rapalaaustralia). www.rapala.com.au

SHIMANO SLX DC

11 12

The Shimano SLX DC offers smarter, more efficient lure casting under a variety of conditions. Shimano’s Digital Control braking system automatically activates and controls brake force at every moment of the cast. A microcomputer controls the spool rotation by measuring and adjusting its speed, at 1000rpm/second, during a cast and little to no thumbing of the spool is required. It doesn’t require a battery, as the system re-charges itself as the spool rotates. Four adjustable settings enable anglers to fish a wide variety of lures in all weather conditions, without having to constantly fiddle with internal brake settings. The DC system can also accommodate various casting styles and even different line types, with setting 1 providing the least amount of brake control and 4 providing the most. The Hagane Body helps to ensure that the reel is extremely rigid and durable, so all movement results in smooth, yet strong cranking power. There’s an enlarged 48mm Throw Handle across three right-handed models, with gear ratios of 6.3:1, 7.2:1 (HG) and 8.2:1 (XG), and one left-hand (7.2:1 HG). With a maximum drag output of 5kg, the SLX

DC can provide great stopping power. Price: from SRP $339.95 www.shimanofish.com.au

SALTIGA 12 BEX UVF 10 PE+SI Made with UVF (Ultra Volume Fibre) and Evo Silicone, Saltiga 12 BEX UVF PE+Si Line is the ultimate high-density braid, exhibiting supreme abrasion resistance and ultimate strength. With 72% improved abrasion resistance, 20% more strength, an 18% more slippery surface and 30% less line stretch compared to 8 braid premium PE lines, Saltiga 12 Braid UVF is the ultimate in line technology. A reduced diameter provides an ultrasmooth surface for less friction/resistance on the guides and spool rim allowing for longer smoother casting, less noise, minimal water penetration and incredible sensitivity. Saltiga 12 is the ultimate heavy duty jigging and casting line for big gamefish, and is colorcoded in 10m, 5m and 1m increments to allow full line control. It’s available in a range of sizes from PE0.6 (200m spool) up to PE8 (400m spool), and you can see all the specs at Daiwa Australia website. Price: from SRP $99 www.daiwafishing.com.au

OKUMA EPIXOR SQUID RODS

A dream rod for egi anglers, Okuma Epixor squid rods feature stunning aesthetics, top quality components and slim blanks with crisp actions. Balanced for long casts and imparting action into jigs, with plenty of power down low for casting and control, combined with tips that can bring jigs to life in the water and control the surges of hooked squid, while reducing the chances of tearing jigs free. High end components are used in the manufacture of these rods, including 40T Toray carbon blanks for a light and responsive rod, finished with Fuji K guides and Fuji reel seat. Okuma Epixor Squid rods are available in 7’6” and 8’3” two-piece models, rated PE 0.61.2, with a casting weight of Egi 2.5-4.0. For more information head to the Okuma website, or look them up on Facebook (www.facebook. com/okuma.australia). Price: SRP $179.90 www.okuma.com.au

NEW FISH TRAP COLOURS

Anglers who love the Zerek Fish Trap will be excited to hear that seven new colours have arrived. The new colours have been developed with the assistance of gun anglers across Australia and with the help of tackle stores. Needless to say, Zerek has delivered an exceptional new range. Within the range are the following colours: BF – blended fog, GC – ghost carp, GH – gold herring, GS1 – green sunset, PS1 – pink sunset, SH – silver herring, and SS – sunset. Initially available in the 95mm size, these colours will be rolled out into the 65mm and 110mm sizes in the coming months. The Zerek Fish Trap features virtually indestructible TPE construction matched to forged split rings that hold the Mustad 4x strong Saltism treble. www.wilsonfishing.com

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au SEPTEMBER 2019

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

TESTED

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Perfect timing for flathead season

The flathead season on Australia’s east coast hits its peak in Southeast Queensland in late September, and the action filters its way south as water temperatures increase in December and January. Anglers all the way to bottom of East Gippsland in Victoria, and the southern coast of Western Australia, head out looking to tussle with a flat fish. Those of you who follow the Tackle Testing Booths in the magazines and the www.tacklejunkie.fish website know I love targeting flathead. When the team at Rapala Australia wanted to do something flatheadrelated, I was on board straight away. Much of what they sent me was newly released in 2019, and I could see that the lures were likely to catch their fair share of flathead. For now though, let’s start with the rod, reel, line and leader.

Rapala Australia’s portfolio of brands cover all the bases for you to catch flathead. The author’s chief product testing assistant, Nicholas Willett, has had a lot of success using paddle tail plastics this season. This flathead took a liking to a 4” 360GT Coastal Mangrove Minnow. The Rapala Maxwell rod that they matched with a Rapala R-Type reel immediately intrigued me. The Maxwell rods are available in nine different spin configurations, two of which are new for 2019. The rod to be tested was the 7’ 2-piece, 2-4kg model (MXS702L). Maxwell rods fit into the finesse spectrum of rods – super lightweight, quality Fuji KR Concept

guides, skeleton reel seat with an EVA foregrip and composite cork rear grip. They are a fast taper configuration. The Rapala R-Type 25 reel they matched it with is a new size within the R-Type Spin range, added in 2019. It and the R-Type 35 have been added to the three other sizes available this year. These reels have 6+1 ball bearings and the new models have a 5.2:1 gear ratio with a 6kg drag rating. A big part of the Rapala Australia portfolio is the Sufix range of lines. I was provided with a 10lb 150yd spool of Sufix 832 Advanced Superline in coastal camo colour to put on the reel, and some Sufix Super 21 fluorocarbon leader to go with it.

Both lines are recognised for their abrasion resistance and sensitivity. The Sufix 832 is an interesting concept. It is an 8-strand line with 32 weaves per inch of line. The line itself is a blend of 7 HMPE fibres and a GORE performance fibre. The GORE fibre assists with abrasion resistance while the HMPE fibres provide the strength and sensitivity. The Sufix Super 21 complements the main line, providing a strong, supple and invisible leader to fish with. VMC COASTAL X JIG HEADS AND STORM 360GT COASTAL SOFT PLASTICS The Coastal X jigheads and 360GT Coastal soft plastics were a new release for 2019, following on from the highly successful Storm 360GT Searchbait range. The VMC Coastal X jigheads range from 7-14g and come in 2/0-4/0 hook sizes. I would call the hook medium heavy, certainly fine enough to get through the top lip of a flathead. Storm 360 Coastal plastics come in a number of profiles and sizes, and you can find more information in the fact box hereabouts. Each style has eight colours. FIRST IMPRESSIONS The combination of the Rapala R-Type

reel and the Maxwell rod is a good one. It is well balanced, and although the reel feels a little heavy compared to some out there, it is spot on for the rod. Initial impressions of the rod where that it is quite soft or very tippy, whichever way you want to say it. I did have concerns that casting a 3/8oz or 1/2oz jighead and plastic may be a challenge, and that the initial power required to set the hook on a larger flathead may not be there. Loading the rod correctly (not the wiggle test) alleviated this concern. As tippy as the rod may be, there is plenty of power from two thirds of the way down the blank to deal with the above lures and to drive that hook home. The VMC Coastal X jigheads are also a little different. Their medium heavy wire covers the best of both worlds – fine enough for quick hook penetration with the strength to give you peace of mind if you need to dictate terms while fighting a fish. I would have loved for the 3/8oz to come in a 4/0 hook (like the 1/2oz) not just 2/0 and 3/0. It just has that hook point a little further back when you are fishing 4” and 5” plastics. I did love the concept of a second eyelet under the head. You can run a blade or add a treble or stinger hook, something that shifts the odds just a little

STORM 360GT COASTAL PLASTICS Type

VMC Coastal X jigheads have a second eyelet so you can add a blade, treble or stinger hook. The author has chosen to add a stinger to the tail of this 4” Storm Coastal Shrimp.

SEPTEMBER 2019

Coastal Shrimp Coastal Mangrove Minnow Coastal Manta Tail Coastal Largo Shad Coastal Trick Tail Minnow

Size

Colours

Plastics per packet

3” and 4” 3” and 4” 4” and 5” 3” and 4” 5”

8 8 8 8 8

7 7 7 7 7

PRODUCT GUIDE more in your favour. The 360GT Coastal plastics range has five styles, of which I selected four, and they are a good variation on traditional proven profiles. The Coastal Shrimp and the Manta Tail were my initial favourites. I also like the colour range, as I have always been a fan of contrast colouring, whether it’s layers or tail contrast. Each model has enough natural and ‘out there’ colours to meet most anglers’ needs. IN THE FIELD It has been an interesting three months testing the gear and plastics on my local flathead. Lower rainfall and longer than expected warm weather has my local haunts fishing a little differently from previous years. Smallish (3-3.5”) baitfish profiles have been the go. I expected the 3” Coastal Shrimp and Mangrove Minnow to be the standouts,

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

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too many fish that don’t like a feed of prawns. Also coming in 3” and 4” sizes, the larger size seems bigger than it is. I did use a stinger hook set-up with it on those occasions when the fish weren’t in full smash ’em mode. It has proven to be the downfall of plenty of flathead, and has its fair share of bycatch as well.

Flathead haven’t been the only fish to take a liking to the 3” Storm Coastal Shrimp. This nice little snapper smashed one in the new penny colour.

The Rapala Maxwell rod fully loaded during a cast. and I was half right. The Mangrove Minnow paddle tail comes in two sizes (3” and 4”) and is quite a slender profile. What was unexpected was how hard the tail thumps. The feedback through the rod in amazing considering the profile of the plastic. This has translated into some good fish being caught, but not as many as I expected it to. The season has been about finesse, and maybe the Mangrove Minnow was a bit full-on for some of the fish. The Coastal Shrimp, however, has exceeded my expectations. The profile suits any style of retrieve, and I don’t know

The Coastal Manta Tail and Trick Tail Minnow are a jerkshad configuration with different tail set-ups. Flathead love this style of plastic, and this proved to be the case with both lures. The Trick Tail Minnow is a 5” plastic where the Manta Tail is available in either 4” or 5” sizing. Flathead are not afraid of a large plastic, and the Trick Tail Minnow has caught its fair share of fish, but the Manta Tail has been winner between these two plastics. Like the Coastal Shrimp, the Manta Tail has accounted for some fun bycatch as well. The Rapala combo has been ideal for targeting flathead. The reel has a smooth drag and the rod is easily powerful enough. The combination of the Sufix 832 braid and Super 21 leader with the outfit is next level. The feedback through the rod from the line is second to nothing I have tested. You feel everything that is happening at the end of line, which is exactly what you want when you’re fishing plastics. The

No wonder the author is a fan of the New Penny 3” Coastal Shrimp!

Although all the Storm plastics tested caught fish, the author’s favourites were the 3” Coastal Shrimp and this plastic, the 4” Coastal Manta Tail.

This mulloway was a welcome by-catch. It was caught on a 4” Storm 360GT Coastal Manta Tail in the kickin chicken colour.

marketing for the Superline in particular is all about abrasion resistance, and I can’t fault it. More importantly for me, they are great to tie knots with. You can deal with your line being rubbed through, but not your knots giving way. FINAL THOUGHTS As an overall package, Rapala Australia has done a great job, and anybody who likes chasing a flathead or two should check out these products. The standouts for me were the Storm 360GT Coastal Shrimp and the Coastal Manta Tail. The Sufix 832 Superline is amazing too. Although I did like the coastal camo colour that I tested, I would probably steer towards the neon lime colour, as my aging eyes need all the help they can get. You can check out these products in your local tackle store, on their website at www.rapala.com.au or like Rapala on Facebook to get all the updates on their new products. – Peter Jung

The author didn’t expect to catch this on a 360GT Coastal Shrimp.

SEPTEMBER 2019

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING

TESTED

A perfect combination of touch, power and looks It would be the understatement of the millennium to say that product developer/fishing nerd Tommy Slater and the team at Daiwa Australia have been busy in 2019.

some time working out exactly which rods I’d get the most use out of. I initially asked for one of each model (16 total rods), and once the laughter on the other end of the phone stopped we settled on one

setting means little to nothing once you’ve actually strapped a reel to it, chosen a lure and set off to put a REAL bend in it. As crazy as my old mate Jimmy Reid from ABT can be, he’s got nothing on a wild bass who’s decided your Mazzy Pop looked good for afternoon tea and is heading back to the gnarly snag he calls home. In the three months or so I’ve been fishing the TD Zeros I’ve been most impressed by how well they’ve thrown lures of all different shapes and sizes. Using everything from Bent Minnows and iWavers through to

Throwing jigs into tight cover was easy with the TD Zero baitcaster.

SEPTEMBER 2019

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A wild fish that was extracted from a nasty snag thanks to the abundant low end power.

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various bass jigs, crankbaits and vibes, they’ve handled everything asked of them with ease. And when I put those lures in the right spots and actually hooked a fish or tiger squid, the fun really began. Ask any angler or experienced tackle store employee, and they’ll say that previous Daiwa rod ranges had too many versions of the same rods. The livery, cosmetics and price points would all change, but most of the lengths, weights and actions were very similar. This has really started to change in the last 12 to 18 months, and the TD Zeros are a perfect example of that change. The two models I’ve fished with so far (I’m still holding out hope the other 14 models will show up any day now) both have actions that are different from older Daiwa models I’ve got in the rack. If you were to just read the numbers though, you’d assume they’d be very similar to fish with. The spin rod has a light action and a fast taper, making it perfect for light lure work, so I’ve primarily used it for casting surface lures across flats for bream and whiting. The extra rod length means I can cast a long way without a lot of effort and once connected, the fast taper surrenders the tip of the rod without giving away power. This means you are less

FOR EXTR

spin, and one BC option. You can’t knock a bloke for trying right? In the end I settled on the 6102MLB for the baitcaster and the 732LS in the spin, with the bulk of my fishing being done in skinny freshwater and my local estuaries targeting bass, bream, squid, jacks and so on. FIRST IMPRESSIONS Unboxing is always fun, and holding both of these rods in the hand was no exception. Yes, they’re very pretty and everything is styled perfectly from the hook keeper to the ergonomic Daiwa reel seat and EVA grips, but the first thing you notice is just how light they are in the hand. As you all know, the natural thing to do with a new rod is to put a bend in it, and so every person who walked through our office did exactly that and everyone remarked how nice the new tapers were and how much power you could get out of a light set-up. ON-WATER PERFORMANCE Of course, how a rod performs in an office

Constant releases of new ranges of line, accessories, reels and rods has created plenty of work for them, and have given us mere anglers plenty to drool about as new press releases were rolled out and videos of them in action dropped on YouTube. One launch that really took my fancy was the re-vamped TD Zero range. The Zero name has been stickered on Daiwa rods for a long time now, but the 2019 version is the boldest and most ambitious version ever, with a range of spin and baitcast options to suit just about any light tackle angler in the country. Striking colours, unique handle designs, a balanced combination of Fuji stainless steel, titanium and SiC anti-tangle guides and the inclusion of a rod sock make the 2019 model an instant and impressive upgrade from previous offerings. When I was asked if I’d be keen to put them to the test for Fishing Monthly readers I said YES! very quickly. Then I had to spend

Close quarters bassin’ means you better have quality gear on your side.

likely to pull small hooks out of lips, but you can maintain control during the fight. It was matched with an older model 2506 Luvias and felt very well balanced in the hand. The baitcaster has now accompanied me on many boat and kayak trips on dams and skinny bass water, and has been tasked with fishing everything from Soft Shells and Shinmushis in the timber at dawn to spoons, jigs and vibes on schooled fish while the sun blazed above. I paired it with one of the new Tatula 150H reels and it’s been a dream to fish with. BANG FOR YOUR BUCK The RRP on the TD Zero range is $299, which is about the middle of the road in today’s fishing retail market. There are plenty of rods that sit either side of this price point, but there aren’t too many that offer as many options in the range and come packed from tip to butt with so many premium features. The 16 models cover everything from ultra light finesse fishing through to heavy work you’d expect to encounter in far north QLD or the Territory, and if all the models are as well built and thought out as the two I’ve been playing with, they’ll handle it easily. PICK ONE UP As I’ve mentioned, the rods do have particular actions that may be a little different from Daiwa rods you’ve used in the past, so I’d highly recommend getting into your local tackle store and putting a bend in one. A red hot looking rod with a free Daiwa rod sock for under 300 bucks is well worth it. – Rupe Gaden

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CENTRAL QUEENSLAND (Cont.) Bundaberg Fishing Charters 0429 017 217

MANY DESIGNS TO CHOOSE FROM ON A WIDE VARIETY OF PRODUCTS ALL MADE TO ORDER

Sport Fish 1770 (07) 4974 9686 Coral Coast Game Fishing 0447 347 437 Norval Reef Charters 1800 771 234 Iluka Fishing Charters Gladstone 0414 940 911 Kanimbla Charters Gladstone1800 677 202

TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND Action Charters Mackay 0417 452 346 Cairns Charter Boat 0427 533 081 Cairns Fishing Charters 0427 400 027 Cairns Reef Charter Services 1800 119 044 Eclipse FNQ Weipa Charters 0488 058 668 Fairdinkum Fishing Charters Townsville (07) 4751 5324 Fish’s Fly & Sportsfishing Weipa (07) 4069 9957

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Fishing Charters Townsville 0403 386 722 JC’s Fishing Charters 0438 753 382 Roko Island Fishing Charters 0488 074 593

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Advertisers wanting to be involved in this directory can call (07) 3387 0834 or email nkelly@fishingmonthly.com.au SEPTEMBER 2019

WHAT’S NEW BOATING OVERBOARD ALERT 1 SYSTEM

TITAN OUTBOARD LOCK

The new ACR OLAS (Overboard Location Alert System) product range includes the ACR OLAS Tag for attachment on your wrist or lifejacket. The technology works by detecting a break in the ‘virtual tether’ from the mobile device to the OLAS MOB system within eight seconds of someone falling overboard. The phone stores the GPS location, sounds a loud alarm, alerting the crew to the man overboard incident before the OLAS app then aids the recovery with directions to the stored GPS location. The Tag’s universal silicone strap can be used by crew, children and animals, and is ideal for daytime cruising. An alternative option is the OLAS Float-On, a water-activated USB rechargeable torch, which is easy to attach to a lifejacket and is ideal for boating at night. Introducing the latest 5.0 Bluetooth technology, the ACR platform also features the OLAS Core Base Station and OLAS Guardian, a wireless engine kill switch, for boaters who require extended functionality. Keep an eye out for ACR OLAS in selected chandlery outlets later this year. www.acrartex.com

The Titan Outboard Motor Lock has been cast for strength and durability. This lock comes in two sizes, and features an easy-to-use locking system that comes with two keys. It has a brass locking mechanism for long-lasting performance, and easily mounts over the mounting clamp handles for cut-resistant protection. It has been cast from aluminium alloy, and its Marine Grade black paint provides superior rust resistance, withstanding over the 500 hours of salt spray testing. Standard stainless steel cap locks are installed. The smaller model has a 12mm bold, a 14mm slot size and measures (L)280mm x (W)50mm. The larger version has a 16mm bold, a 17.5mm slot size, and measures (L)280mm x (W)50mm. Price: SRP $90-$100 www.titanmarineproducts.com

REPOWER PROMOTION

Mercury is offering a free rigging kit worth up to $1,575 with the purchase of a new 4.5L, 6.2L or 8.2L MerCruiser package. The kit consists of Mechanical SC1000 SmartCraft rigging kit, a single panel control, two control cables and one trim harness. Those wanting the premium experience can use the bonus value and upgrade to Digital Throttle and Shift (DTS) and simply pay the remaining difference. These MerCrusier engines have been designed and built for true customer value, with a proven durable marine design, smooth and quiet boating experience, greater performance with increased power and torque, exceptional fuel economy at cruising speeds, and improved access to maintenance touchpoints. Mercury MerCruiser engines and drive systems are designed, tested, and built exclusively for the marine environment. They have ultra-responsive acceleration, impressive manoeuvrability and superior durability. The large displacement of a Mercury MerCruiser means it will barely break a sweat while it delivers all the well-mannered power you want. The offer runs until 27 September 2019. www.mercurymarine.com

MAGMA KAYAK HOLDER

No more cluttered decks or damage to expensive kayaks and paddleboards from inadequate transport. Magma’s new adjustable, all-angle, rod holder-mounted kayak/SUP rack fits into any standard paired set of rod holders to safety transport your water toys. This convenient storage rack easily attaches to any paired set of standard straight or angled rod holders to crate a strong and reliable rack system. Made of 100% 304 marine stainless steel and 365 hand-anodized aircraft quality aluminium, each arm has two strong welded tie-down loops and is covered with a durable UV-protected polyethylene foam pad to protect your water toys from damage. These racks are designed to hold almost any kayak or one or more SUPs, wakeboards or surfboards. Magma’s LeveLock all-angle adjustable mounting system, along with the Pow’rGrip adjustable quick release rod holder system, allows the racks to be quickly installed and adjusted without tools. Price: SRP $430 www.magmaproducts.com 104

SEPTEMBER 2019

PRODUCT GUIDE

MOTORGUIDE CABLE5 STEER TOUR PRO The MotorGuide Tour Pro is the industry’s first true cable-steer motor with GPS anchor. Tour Pro models combine Pinpoint GPS, the most accurate GPS anchor available, with traditional pull-pull stainless steel cables for smooth, responsive steering. The Tour and Tour Pro motors are both built for tough conditions with a full 360° breakaway mount with integrated bounce buster and a rugged 2-piece shaft with metal outer column and composite inner shaft. Both models include a no-flex metal foot pedal that provides the most solid steering in the market. The new motors will include MotorGuide’s Zero-G lift assist system, which requires half of the effort compared to the competition, as well as the new Katana propeller – a Mercury designed two-blade weedless prop that delivers more power and up to 30% better battery efficiency than previous props. Both models also offer options for MotorGuide’s new HD+ universal sonar with both traditional 2D views and high-definition down-looking views compatible with most major fishfinder brands. The Tour and Tour Pro will be available in the first quarter of 2020. www.mercurymarine.com

NAVIONICS SONARCHART SHADING

Navionics has released SonarChart Shading for its Platinum+ cartography products for Australian waters. Embedded within the satellite overlay content layer, SonarChart Shading provides a detailed rendering of the seafloor. Varying shades of blue reveal changes in depth, highlighting channels, drop-offs, and other structures that give users better situational awareness and clear, visual cues to identify fish-holding structure. SonarChart Shading can be viewed on the same GPS chartplotters that are compatible with Platinum+ satellite overlay and with the same options, including selectable overlay on land, land and shallows or full overlay. Adjustable transparency allows customers to view the new imagery blended with either the SonarChart bathymetry map or the Nautical Chart. At closer zoom levels, SonarChart Shading is replaced by the actual satellite imagery over water, allowing boaters to see a bird’s eye perspective of sandbars, marshes and backwater channels. In addition to SonarChart Shading, Platinum+ will offer updated and optimized high-resolution satellite imagery. www.navionics.com

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

SCAN THE QR CODE!

THE outboard of the FUTURE

Contact your local dealer today BRISBANE

Brisbane Quintrex

BUNDABERG

3775 Pacific HWY, Loganholme 07 3133 3468 www.brisbanequintrex.com.au • sales@brisbanequintrex.com.au

GOLD COAST

White Water Marine

GLADSTONE

10 Hinde St, Ashmore 07 5532 4402 www.whitewatermarine.com.au • sales@whitewatermarine.com.au

BRISBANE

Marine Care Qld

15 Daintree Drive, Redland Bay 07 3186 5270 www.marinecareqld.com • enquiries@marinecareqld.com

SUNSHINE COAST

Caloundra Marine

8 Baldwin St, Caloundra 07 5491 1944 www.caloundramarine.com.au • sales@caloundramarine.com.au

Adrians Marine Centre

28 Ritchie St, Bundaberg 07 4153 1819 www.adriansmarinecentre.com.au • adriansmarinecentre@bigpond.com.au

Steve Fleetwood Marine

10 Morgan St, Gladstone 07 4972 9463 sfmarine@tpg.com.au

MACKAY

Phoenix Powersports

165 Paradise Street, Mackay 07 4952 2436 www.phoenixpowersports.com.au Sales@phoenixpowersports.com.au

Aquamaster 490 Centre Console with Suzuki 70hp - SC

TENT -

RE ONLINE MO

DE FOR EX

Main: Aquamaster’s 490 Centre Console is a great all rounder and a blank canvas for those wanting to step up from a simple tinny to a boat capable of broadening your fishing horizons. With packages starting from the high $20,000s, you can fit it up to suit your style of fishing. Above: Powered by Suzuki’s 70hp 4-stroke outboard, it’s a frugal rig. At maximum economy of 3.4km/L it gives a theoretical range of well over 200km with a 70L underfloor fuel tank There’s also a bug anchor well to turn this into a rig that you can fish into the night and bag a PB snapper on a livey on a shallow reef. Aquamaster is a well established (if not heavily advertised) aluminium boat brand that have been punching out fully welded hulls for the last 30 years. They were an

RPM......Speed.(km/h)........... Economy.(km/L) 700 ...........................4 .................................7.1 1000 .........................6 ................................ 4.7 2000....................... 10 ................................ 3.8 3000....................... 17 ................................ 2.8 3500 ....................... 27 ................................ 3.3 4000....................... 34 ................................ 3.4 4500 ....................... 40 ................................ 3.3 5000....................... 47 ................................ 2.6 5700 ....................... 52 ................................ 2.1 SEPTEMBER 2019

time. Additionally, there’s a stack of room for all the camping gear you’d want for a weekend away with the lads. For more information on Aquamaster boats, visit Australian Marine Centre, 3491 Pacific Hwy, Slacks

SPECIFICATIONS

PERFORMANCE

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s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

Most people I know go through boating phases. We graduate from being a bank angler to a tinny and then to bigger and bigger boats. We then tend to downsize when we get older. Aquamaster’s 490 Centre Console is an ideal rig for those who feel limited by a tinny. When there are too many days that are just a little too rough to go and run the crab pots, or when you’re tired of running for cover then the afternoon sea breeze kicks in… Sometimes an extra metre of boat and 50hp of outboard will let you stay out and fulfil your fishing desires. Priced from less than $30,000, the basic Aquamaster Centre Console is a fantastic blank canvas for those wishing to fit out a 5m centre console to be their next fishing boat. With a narrow console for true 360º access and a flat floor that runs from the bow to the transom, there’s capability for this boat to be a great crabbing platform, a super tuna chasing craft or an electric motor fitted rig for casting at snapper in season.

Steve Morgan

CON

AN THE

On the water, these Aquamasters feel solid. There’s no noise where it shouldn’t be and this hull rode and trimmed nicely at all parts of the rev range. It’s no rocketship with the 70 fitted, maxing out at

FMG

original adopter of the upswept bow – a feature that many other manufacturers have thought was a great idea since. They have a couple of dealers, including Australian Marine Centre in Slacks Creek on Brisbane’s southside. AMC’s Rod Elliott took us for a drive in the first Aquamaster I’d tested for Fishing Monthly. “These are a fully welded boat that we have absolutely no problems with,” Rod said at a calm morning’s meeting at the Raby Bay boat ramp. “There are eight centre consoles in the range and they vary from 4.2m to 6m.” We think that he won’t be the sole Queensland dealer for long. Arriving on a single axle Redco trailer, the test rig weighed in at around 1000kg,

meaning that there’s not many vehicles around that won’t tow it. And that single axle coupled with a folding windscreen means that you’ll shoehorn it into plenty of suburban garages.

Length......................................................4.90m Beam........................................................2.20m Hull.weight ..............................................400kg Depth .......................................................1.05m Fuel ..............................................................75L Max.HP ..........................................................90 Bottom.sheet ............................................3mm Side.sheet..................................................3mm Capacity ............................................ 5 persons 52km/h, however if speed is your thing, you’re allowed to drop a 90 on it. Economical cruising speed was at 4,000rpm and 34km/h where the 75L tank gives over 200km of theoretical range. Fishability is great in this hull configuration. The narrow console gives full 360º access – ideal for when a longtail tuna is circling the boat for the 20th

Creek, 07 3808 7333 or go to amcboats.com.au or aquamaster.com.au. The test rig was priced in the low $30,000 range. Also, check out the video boat test by scanning the QR code on your smartphone, or by visiting the Fishing Monthly Magazines YouTube channel. You can see this rig in action there.

Moreton Bay’s near-shore islands like Peel are easily within the reach of this boat, even on days much rougher than the test day.

There’s no denying that there’s mountains of room in this boat and the narrow console gives great 360º access.

Aquamaster maximise their internal space by having no false transom. The result is the widowed battery box – no biggies.

Looking back from the bow you can see that it’s easy to walk around the console. It’s always a balance between protection and access.

The transom is high enough to make this boat well capable of handling rough water.

Aquamaster have opted for a narrow console to maximise accessibility. There’s dry storage underneath and room to mount a big sounder on a bracket up top.

With a reasonable shallow transom deadrise, this centre console is definitely not built as a true nasty-water boat. You’d need some more vee and another tonne of hull to claim that. It does, however, offer decent stability and some limited nasty-water performance.

Suzuki’s 70hp 4-stroke is one of the most frugal outboards in its class. It’s an ideal match for this hull, even though it’s rated to take 20hp more.

There’s some wet, underfloor storage under the front deck. Don’t leave your keys and mobile phone in here.

The console windscreen folds over for boat storage, which will let you get this boat into a smaller garage.

There’s a big, inbuilt anchor well up front with a bollard and roller.

There’s a few built in rod holders scattered around the gunwales.

This is definitely a ‘console for’ard’ rather than a ‘console back’ rig. It gives you a bigger cockpit space.

Simple side pockets keep your accessible gear off the floor. SEPTEMBER 2019

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