Tasmanian Fishing and Boating News Issue 104 2013 June

Issue 104 June - July 2013

Game Fishing Record Breaking Bluefin Swansea - Tassie’s Best

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BIG n i f e u bl e r e h L L I ST

Bream Classic Results Boat Reviews

Print Post approved; 100003074

Fly Tying

Angler: Brendan Wing with a monster southern bluefin tuna.

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4 8

Do it Yourself Fishing Gadgets — Craig Rist

4

When Nothing Goes Right — Gavin Hicks

8

Jan’s Flies — Jan Spencer

12

Game Fishing Surprises — Kelly ‘Hooch’ Hunt

14

Boats

20

16 to 24

Southern Bluefin Tuna – Records Fall — Melissa Nelson

20

Jumbo Bluefin — Daniel Paull

24

Swansea – Tasmania’s Best Year Round Fishing Peter Broomhall

30

30

Tasmanian Bream Classic – Full Results

35

Marine Fishery News

36

Inland Fishery News

37

Fishing, boating and accommodation services directory

38

For sale Haines Hunter Pro Strike Black sides with white accents in immaculate condition. Used for bream tournaments, recreational use and skiing. No money spared on this boat and everything in perfect working order.

• BF150 Honda 4 Stroke (around 120 hours on this motor) Boat was previously fitted with a 90 Honda.

• CMC hydraulic jacking plate with helm controls for both jacking plate and trim.

• Two stainless and two alloy props for all applications from skiing to high speed.

• Hot foot throttle.

• Full custom cover. • Ski pole.

• Live well with timer.

• Two on board CTEK smart chargers for both 12 volt starting battery and for twin 120AH Absorbed Glass Mat batteries.

• Minn Kota 80lb 24 volt iPilot Riptide.

• Fusion sound system for CD or iPod/ iPhone.

• Two Lowrance colour sounders – one with GPS. • Pedestal seats.

• Custom rod storage locker for nine rods or more.

• Stainless Boat Buckle tie-downs x 3.

Price: $35K. May trade.

Replacement price around $55K Phone Mike Stevens 0418 129949.

Read about the replacement boat in the next issue.

Tasmanian Fishing and Boating News Published by Michael Stevens PO Box 7504, Launceston, 7250.

Fax: 6331 1378 Email; mike@tasfish.com Phone: 0418 129 949 Stevens Publishing, ABN 79 095 217 299 All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. Print Post approved; 100003074

For subscriptions go to www.tasfish.com or phone Mike 0418 129 949 One year $36 - two years $70 includes postage.

BACK IN STOCK

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The two most catching plastics in Tas. The Black/Gold Flapper and Red Rascal Split Tail are two of the most popular lures ever. New stock has just arrived and no matter whether you chase Australian salmon or trout the BG Flapper will catch them. For rainbows there is no better lure than the RR. Stock up while you can.

Find these at your local tackle stores.

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Fishing News - Page 3

DIY Fishing Gadgets E

very now and then you discover something that makes those little challenges of fishing, just a little bit easier. Inspiration to make, modify or adopt a good idea may come from something you have seen on TV, in book or magazine such as this or even from your friends and family, during your time on the water. Many of these ideas or inspirations are just too good not to have a go at making something similar yourself. Here are some of the DIY fishing Gadgets that I find useful through out the year.

Car Rod Racks

For as long as I can remember I have pack all of my rods on top of my other luggage or camping equipment just to give them some sort of chance of surviving the trip, especially if it’s going to involve some hard off road 4x4 driving. Although, even when I’m driving on sealed roads I still seem to get that annoying rattling of two rods touching each other, even though they were carefully separated at the start of the journey.

Other inconveniences like having to move all the rods off the luggage before I could get at something packed beneath them, often ended in multiple rods tangled together. Of course there are simple solutions like not having your rods rigged up in the first place. But for those short drives to a different location it’s just not practical.

These days you can buy many different rod tubes that will accommodate the rod and reel.

With out a doubt, these rod tubes offer the best protection for your favorite and often expensive selection of rods and reels when you want to leave the reel mounted to the rod. As good as they are, there is just something about putting a wet salty rod and reel into these rod tubes that just doesn’t sit well with me. Especially when they are going to be left there for some time. I’ve learnt this lesson the hard way when water penetrated the rod bindings after it was left in a hot car for too long.

modified bolt was then screwed back into the handle until the nut tightened up against the overhead handgrip, fixing it back into position. This left 25mm of the bolt extending beyond the handgrip to provide the forward locating pins to secure the front rod rack.

In the Subaru I used the same forward mounting points as in the LandCruiser by using the forward mounting points on the overhead handgrips. For the rear rod rack I was able to use the two existing coat hooks that are located behind the back seat without any further alterations being needed.

For me, the idea of installing a rod rack inside my car to let the rods dry out and keep them stored securely above my luggage was the answer. You can also buy or make rod racks that are mounted on the outside of your car.

To prepare the paint roller handles the plastic fittings were cut off at each end to leave an open end in the tubing to fit over the locating pins. The foam Handi Tube was then pushed over the paint roller handle to give the rods some protection against the hard round surface. Then, to stop the sharp open ends of the tubing damaging the cars inertia I fitted a Rubber Leg Tip to each end of the handle and then drilled the rubber ends out so they would go over the improvised locating pins. Each end of the handle was then extended between the two locating pins and locked into position by twisting the handle. To ensure the telescopic handle didn’t come apart I used a small screw to join the two sections together. The foam Handi Tube was then pushed all the way up to the Rubber Leg Tip, covering the entire length of the paint roller handle.

These are great if you don’t have to travel far and you don’t plan leave you car parked somewhere with a roof covered in rods and reels, because as we all know, there are people out there who think they are entitled to taking anything that isn’t bolted down. So with this in mind, a internal rod rack had to be the way to go for both my wagons, especially when the internal length of a wagon gave me the choice of storing a fully rigged 9 foot fly rods or rods that were already broken down into two pieces.

These are the components I used to make my internal rod racks for my LandCruiser and Subaru station wagons. All of these parts are readily available at most hardware stores.

Telescopic paint roller handle, 2 off 20mm x 1 m foam “Handi Tube” (used to insulate copper hot water pipe ) “Rubber Leg Tips” 4 off (used on chair legs to protect the floor and to stop them slipping) 6mm bungee cord x 3m Electrical cable ties Longer forward mounting bolts for each of the overhead handgrips.

the vehicle. To do this, some kind of locating pin had to be mounted from the inertia walls to hold up each end of the paint roller handle. In the Land cruiser I removed the rear seat belts that were no longer in use after having replaced the rear seats with a set or draws some time ago. I then reinstalled the seat belt shoulder mounting bolts on each side of the wagon to give me the rear set of locating pins I needed.

For the front locating pins I installed longer forward mounting bolts to each of the overhead handgrip typically used by passengers in the back seat when things get a bit bumpy during those hard to get at fishing spots.

This rod rack is made by utilizing the telescopic locking feature of a paint roller handle to span the width of the interior. This allowed a single bar or rack A nyloc nut was wound onto these longer bolts to be mounted overhead just behind the front seat to match the length of the original bolts. The slightly and a second bar / rack to be installed at the rear of Fishing News - Page 4 www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the

To prevent the rods sliding around, two lengths of bungee cord were stretched out across the top of foam covered bar and secured with cable ties at each end. An additional cable tie was used to secure the bungee cord midway, to help stop the cord rolling off the top of the bar. The idea behind the two bungee cords across the top of the bar is to allow one half of a rod to go under one cord and the other half to go under the second cord to lock them in place. Without this second cord there would be no way of holding the small diameter of the rod tip alongside the larger diameter of the rod handle. This system is so secure that I have no hesitation leaving my rods in this rack while driving the LandCruiser over some of the extremely rough off road track into the Western Lakes.

fish.

Fly Line Storage

simply using two ball point writing pens. Depending on the brand of fly line spool you are using you may have to enlarge the centre hole to accommodate the pen you want to use and again depending on the make of spool, drill another hole on one side of the spool for the other pen to become the handle to wind the spool.

When you start to accumulate a range of rods and lines, one inconvenience of fly fishing is the need to change fly lines. You know the scenario, your fishing with a floating line over shallow water and then you decide to dredge some flies down deep. If I just had one floating line and one sinking line then this wouldn’t be so bad, I would probably just get another spool for my fly reel to hold the second line. The problem is that once you start to delve into fly lines that sink, you can be talking about multiple lines. Here you have slow sinking intermediate lines, sink tips and a range of lines that have different sink rates to suit the many different fishing scenarios you may encounter on the water, be it salt or fresh water. I also tend to use one size reel across a few different line weight rods so that I don’t have to buy a reel for every rod I own.

So I needed a simple and efficient way of changing and storing fly lines.

Conveniently, some fly line manufacturers already have this second hole installed to drive the spool in the factory. Far too simple I know, but very, very effective.

Stealthy alternative to anchor chain

Sound can travel a long way under water so any chain rattling over the bow roller or even worse onto the gunwales or hull of aluminum boat is almost certainly going to send fish fleeing from the shallows. A good friend of mine Steve Hamilton showed over 6 metres. It’s just a stealthy alternative while you’re out on the water fishing. It wouldn’t take much me a very good alternative to anchor effort to attach the chain if needed and if you did it, chain by using 12mm Lead core the weight of the lead core rope would give you an rope. This rope is typically used in even greater chance of holding anchor. commercial fishing for sinking Long Lines or the bottom rope on Gill Nets. I’m not sure how Steve came up with this idea but I knew he was onto a winner so 250 mm diameter with powerful 1:1 winding power. 600 I quickly metre/23 kilogram line capacity, powerful multiplate drag adopted the idea system, strong solid 1.6 metre fibreglass rod. Ideal outfit to my own for striped trumpeter. boats and have never Don’t risk a good fish looked back. Lead core rope looks and feels get it in the boat. exactly like normal rope Available from all good until you pick it up and tackle stores for $299. feel the weight gained by the lead core. To achieve TAMAR MARINE PTY. LTD. the same anchor setting LAUNCESTON Ph: 6331 6188 capabilities as chain you THE FISHING CONNECTION need adjust the length HOBART Ph: 6234 4880 of lead core rope to suit your boat. But unlike PINE CREST FISHING and HOBBIES - SORELL chain, length isn’t really Ph: 6265 1272 a problem with this rope as it can be tied off just TASSIE TACKLE and OUTDOOR like any other rope. On BURNIE Ph: 6431 6500 my 3.75 M car topper and BIGFIN SPORTSFISHING my 5 M Bass Boat I have EAST DEVONPORT spliced 6 M of 12mm lead Ph: 6427 8854 core rope into a 10 mm anchor rope. This length MOUNTAIN DESIGNS FREE of lead core rope seams DEVONPORT Ph: 6424 8699 BONUS to easily set and hold my C H SMITH MARINE 500m 50lb S.A.R.C.A Anchor on both LAUNCESTON Ph 6344 166 these boats. On Steve’s Alvey line 6m Quintrex, he uses FISHING CAMPING SPORTS CAMBRIDGE Ph: 6248 4767 12mm lead core rope for the entire length of his TACKLE US PTY. LTD. anchor rope, so no more KINGSTON Ph: 6227 2400 For your free copy of our 84 page chipping off paint or noisy catalogue and guide to better fishing EASTERN SHORE FISHING TACKLE placement of the anchor simply fill in the coupon and send to: ALVEY ROSNY PARK Ph: 6244 2011 in those sensitive areas.

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Today, technological advances in fly line manufacturing have dramatically reduced memory in fly lines. Most of my fly lines don’t get much of a rest throughout the year and the ones that do I simply tie the leader off to the back fence, run out the full length of line to the front fence, then pull just enough tension on the line to lift it off the ground before tying it off. I then clean the line and apply some fly line dressing to slick it up and it’s good to go. So with no real memory issues to overcome the real answer for me was to simply utilize the same plastic fly line spool that I bought the fly line on and then find a simple way of making it into a winder. I’m sure many of you have already thought of this but for those who haven’t, please read on.

In the past, one of the problems with this concept was that some fly line manufacturer such as Cortland and Scientific Anglers made their spools to come apart, which left you with a tangled mess to deal with when they suddenly slipped apart. To avoid this little disaster, these spools have to be glued together before they can be used as an effective winder and storage spool.

Other manufacturers like RIO and Airflo already make the two half’s of their spools lock into each other so they are good to go straight out of the packet. To change lines quickly and easily the next step was to make the spool into a winder by fitting a handle to hold the spool and another handle to wind the spool like a fly reel. To do this you can quickly adapt any fly line manufactures spool into a user friendly fly line winder and storage device by

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In the past, the only fly line storage devise I could find was the “Tibor Line Mater “ which is used to remove fly line from the reel and then taken off the device to be stored in loose coils.

The idea of storing fly lines off a spool in loose coils is a good way to prevent memory forming in the line when they are stored for a long period of time.

But I needed something that wasn’t going to take up much space and was going to allow a fast line change out on the water.

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Fishing News - Page 5

PVC Rod Holder Extensions

PVC rod tube extensions were originally designed to permit a fully rigged fly rod and reel to be held in a conventional boat rod holder, that are fitted to most boats.

To make one of these you start off with a 500mm length of 40mm PVC pipe, which actually measures 43mm on the outside diameter and not 40mm as you would naturally think.

You then cut a 210mm long x 16mm or 20mm wide slot into the pipe to allow the reel to slide down the outside of the pipe while the rod handle remains inside the pipe.

The other end of the PVC pipe is then long enough to sit against the bottom of the rod holder without allowing the reel to come in contact with the boat.

For a fly rod, the slot is usually cut to the length of the fly rod’s handgrip, which is approximately 200mm back to the reel. The width of the slot can be anywhere between 16 to 20mm in width. With the smaller size accommodating the smallest of trout fly rods while the larger size caters for the larger salt water fly rod and reel combo’s.

I make my PVC Rod Holder Extensions double ended with a 16mm slot at one end and a 20mm slot at the other so I can use the one rod holder for the full range of rods.

While most plastic boat rod holders will comfortably take a 40 mm PVC pipe. By making these Rod Holder Extensions double ended like this, it gives the end going inside the boat rod holder the ability to squeeze down and fit into a slightly smaller diameter rod holder such as the ones made from stainless steel.

Although this PVC Rod Holder Extensions was originally designed for fly rods, this same design is also very useful when used with soft plastic or light spinning rods that have a short fighting butt that is not long enough to keep the reel up off the hard surface of the boat where it can cause damage to the reel or the paintwork of the boat.

Craig Rist

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Fishing News - Page 6

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Fishing News - Page 7

Plan ‘B’ didn’t work M

acca and I were kicking back in my tying room in early January this year tying a few flies, having a beer and talking about the seasons exploits. He was filling my head with stories of his Western Lakes adventures and big golden brown trout. Eventually I couldn’t stand it any longer, the images that were being painted in my head became unbearable.

It had been mid-December since I had been to the Julian Lakes area on a three day mission and I just had to get fishing again. Doing my best to sound polite I said “Macca please shut up with all the stories old pal its killing me, lets just get a trip organised and get out West to polaroid some of those trophy browns”. He didn’t take a whole lot of convincing that it was a good idea, so first things first we got the calendar out to settle on some dates that would work for both of us. Sounds easy, but I can assure you when both parties work and you factor in family, sport etc. it’s not always so.

Eventually we settled on a couple of weekends to choose from that suited us both, only problem being we would have to wait until the middle of March for the trip to happen. It seemed like such a long time to wait, I wasn’t sure if I would cope!.

At least I had plenty of preparation work to do with gear and the like, Fishing News - Page 8

and of course I would have to have a couple of fishing trips in between just to get back in the rhythm of things again. It had been a while after all.

sorted out. I even found a couple of dehydrated meals that expired in 2008 hiding away. Now it was time to sort out the fishing gear.

Preparation

Flies

It had been a good while since I had done a backpacking trip into the Western Lakes. On the Julian Lakes trip mentioned earlier I was lucky enough to be chauffeur driven in there in Craig Rist’s Land-cruiser. Let me tell you when you have a vehicle set up as well as Craig’s and you have the luxury of it being as big as a cruiser you don’t exactly have to skimp on gear if you know what I mean!

I don’t think I had been broken off by a fish in years, but on the last fishing trip I had two fish bust me off, one after the other. That had left me with only one of my current favourite flies to do me for the remainder of the trip. I wasn’t going to let that happen again, so some long nights were spent at the tying desk stocking up Western Lakes flies.

Anyway, back to the gear preparation. First thing was to dig out all my hiking gear from the various spots it was tucked away — not an easy task when you have my memory capacity.

The four seasons tent was unpacked to check pegs, ropes etc. It was a good thing it was because it had a nice tear in it down low on one of the vestibules. It wasn’t hard to work out how it got there either because my old pointer who was happily laying in the sun in the corner of the tying room all of a sudden wasn’t able to open his eyes and look at me any more!

Sometimes that dog is very lucky we are best mates. So all the hiking/ backpacking gear was rounded up and

Then it was just a matter of sorting out the rest of the gear we as fly fishermen think we need to carry. It is a horrible thought after all that you will be way out in the middle of nowhere and you have somehow forgotten that one thing you really need, especially if you don’t have Craig’s Landcruiser.

Finally everything was sorted and laid out on the floor ready to pack, which left only one key piece of prep work left to do. The pack was stuffed full of rags along with a few free weights to make up twenty kilograms worth and I went for a few training walks.

I don’t think it matters how fit you are it is still a bit of a shock to the system when you throw that sort of weight on your back and head off

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on a long walk, especially when you encounter some more difficult terrain and changes in elevation.

A couple of weeks out from the trip we had settled on a definite date so the maps were brought out and an area was decided on that would give us a good chance of hopefully finding some bigger fish.

I wrote down a rough plan of where we would be going, times and dates etc. to leave at home with my wife. I always like to do something like that just in case of emergency.

It wasn’t long after this that things started to go pear shaped. I had a trip to Gladstone in Queensland come up for work, which was cancelled at the last minute due to cyclonic weather in the region. Then Macca had something pop up that he couldn’t avoid so the date was changed and locked in firm for the following weekend. Then mother nature reared her nasty, but amazing head.

In the days leading up to our trip the forecast was going from bad worse. Finally the departure date had arrived and the forecast was for rain, overnight snow showers and some strong winds thrown in as well.

The decision was made to postpone the backpacking trip and head to the shack at the Great Lake to do things in a bit more comfort.

either look for a tail but I decided to stay back and wade the sandy beaches to see if I could polaroid a fish in the brief moments of sun that were passing.

Plan B Saturday morning came round and the gear was packed in the car for the drive to Miena.

On the way up the mountain from Deloraine we decided that we would head straight to the nineteen lagoons area and see what was about. Upon arrival at Liawenee we were greeted with the sight of a wall of the blackest cloud you would ever like to see coming at us from the other direction.

It was obvious that it was bringing with it a mother lode of rain so we changed plans again and headed for Little Pine Lagoon to see what was about.

I have had some really good fishing to late season tailers there over the last few years so it was definitely worth a look. By the time we got across the plain to Cameron’s Lagoon the rain had started and it was heavy. We got to the dam wall car park at The Pine and the rain didn’t look like stopping, so we did what any normal fishermen would do. We sat in the car for a while and moaned our guts out about how it is always fine weather during the week when you are at work then it turns to crap of a weekend when you have a fishing trip planned!

After we got that out of our systems we got some gear on and headed for a look up the back shore. Macca was fishing his four weight and he decided to try a dun pattern with a nymph

Storm clouds approaching. dropper to start with. I had a sage TCR five weight rod that I had only taken delivery of on the Thursday morning. I was very keen to get on the water and have a cast, even if it was at nothing.

I opted for an orange foam bug. What else do you do when its pouring rain and blowing a gale but stick on a big dry fly. A couple of hours were spent on the back shore with no fish seen, but I got myself nicely acquainted with new rod and took some photos.

Second Lagoon was roughly the size of half a footy field and ankle deep at best. I waded right through the middle and across it to see if I could spook a fish but nothing was seen anywhere. Macca stumbled across a platypus that looked like its eyes had been pecked out trying to find its way to safety. For two keen fly fishermen like ourselves it was disturbing to see and like a scene from our worst nightmares.

Then in a moment of madness we decided why not have a look at the Nineteen Lagoons anyway, yep good idea that was. We headed for Second and Double Lagoons and what a site it was.

We then headed further down the track to Double Lagoon. The weather had by this stage eased off a touch and there was a tiny patch of blue sky coming past every now and then.

Macca headed around the shoreline to

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The wind was blowing hard into the shore and I just thought maybe there might have been a fish cruising in close picking up anything that was being blown in or stirred up by the wave action.

With this in mind I opted to tie on a small brown fuzzle bugger to present in front of a cruising fish if the chance arose.

I also changed to a thicker butt tapered leader and shortened it down in length quite a bit to around eight feet. The chances of spooking a fish in these conditions were going to be minimal and the shorter length would help me greatly to turn the fly over if I needed to make a cast at a fish into the teeth of this wind.

After an hour or so with no fish seen we got sick of the conditions and decided to head for the warmth of the shack and its wood fire. We settled in for a warm by the fire and big plate full of steak and kidney stew for tea. After the stew had settled we came up with another genius idea, let’s hit Swan Bay and pull some wets on dark.

Fishing News - Page 9

When we arrived on the eastern shore of the bay it was again pouring with rain and the wind was ripping up the lake from the south west corner.

Macca decided the best option was to stay put in the car but I decided to have a quick cast anyway.

I did have a new rod to play with after all. It didn’t take long though, half hour later and no fish touched and I was back at the car to be greeted by a very happy looking Macca, who was very quick to point out that he had made the right decision. At least we would get a nice sleep with the rain on the shack roof and the wind howling.

The alarm was set for five o’clock the next morning just in case conditions improved somewhat and we could still sneak a nice long day walk somewhere. I remember still hearing rain at 3.30am then it was five and the frog alarm from my mobile phone was croaking in my ear.

A quick look out the window revealed sleety showers so we again opted for Little Pine to see if there was any tailing fish in close. As the sun began to rise in the east in didn’t turn into a bad morning for tailing conditions. But in keeping with the bad run of luck we were having for the weekend only one fish was spotted. We saw him twice in the shallows but the second time he was about thirty metres from where we first seen him which makes it a bit hard to track them.

We spotted one ‘tailer’, but didn’t get a chance at him.

Last chance....

managed to save the weekend for us I hear you asking, the good old Mersey River. We had driven nearly three hundred kilometres around the country side and now we were five minutes drive from my back door polaroiding and catching trout on foam grasshoppers within a few minutes of leaving the car.

We decided to try one last thing to resurrect the weekend. We headed back to the shack packed up our gear and cleaned up, then hit the road. What

I have to say though deep down I was quietly happy that I broken in the new TCR rod — on the Mersey that has been so good to me.

On the plus side we had plenty of time to play around with our cameras and take some different styles of photos. We even managed to practice undoing some casting knots which is always good fun.

So I guess that’s what can happen when you love to fish on Tamania’s Central Plateau, sooner or later

the weather will derail even the best laid plans and you will have to resort to your plan B to keep on fishing.

After all a weekend of bad weather at the shack is still better than being at work.

I have to mention two other things in finishing up this story. Don’t forget to put the new batteries in your GPS when planning the backpacking trips!

Secondly thanks to my great friend Sally for the home made spring rolls.

Gavin Hicks

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Fishing News - Page 11

Jan’s

Flies

Jan Spencer

N

ever before has there been so many fly tying products to choose from. A recent book I read had a number of very early flies and mentioned many different animal hairs and down from a variety of birds.

Saltwater flies are great with this material as well, tied in on the sides it looks good as an eye or flash.

The flies shown are just a few of my ideas on how to use these common materials. Most fly tyers look at materials everywhere and conjure up ways of using them.

Today there are so many different artificial materials produced the fly tier has never had it so good, nor so confusing.

Those early materials were often simple and we still use a lot today. There weren’t many really bright natural colours, but one was peacock herl, and that is one of my most used materials even today.

If the above bores use here is a fly for next season. Fish it on a weighted line to get it down into the fish zone.

Thread has progressed from using long animal hair and then silk to the modern synthetics of many different colours and sizes.

Hook: Long shank size 6-8-10

Most tiers know of – even if they haven’t used it, orange onion bag. It is an artificial man-made material that can be pulled out by the strand and split into a fine thread. I love this material for bodies. There are different shades from orange to red generally.

I recently bought garlic in a white fused diamond design bag – for the bag, not the garlic. I have since found a similar bag in orange, and have used both colours for wings. As the weave is quite open it tends to let the air through it rather than twisting your leader like some wings do.

Bead:

Gold

Thread:

Black

Tail: Olive marabou Rib:

Flat gold tinsel

Body: Olive and firey brown chenille

A few flies tied with ‘onion bag’

Wing: Barred rabbit in olive and black zonker strip Collar: Red Danvilles flat waxed nylon

Method 1. Slip bead on the hook and push around to the eye. Take thread full length of hook shank.

2. Tie in marabou tail and cut away excess marabou. Place rib in and tie down firmly. Now tie in chenille, take thread forward, finish hard in behind the bead.

Wind chenille forward to thread and firmly tie down and cut away excess chenille. Now wind rib forward making six nice even turns and then tie down firmly and cut away excess.

3. Cut a strip of zonker 12-15mm in length and fold in half and gather the fur up behind the skin. This will stop the fur going around the whole fly. All that is required is a wing on the top. When fur is gathered tie down so it does not spread. Cut away skin from fur with some pointy scissors and tie down well with black thread, whip finish and varnish.

4. With some red thread tie in a collar over the black thread. Build the red up so the black is completely covered, whip finish and varnish.

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Fishing News - Page 12

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Fishing News - Page 13

Tasmania

Game fishing surprises

T

his could well be the new number plate slogan for Bluewater anglers.

This season we saw good numbers of small albacore at St Helens swimming with the marlin. Yes! the marlin run was short, but good this year.

Southern bluefin turned up early and even the schoolies were big’uns. Mega sized albacore inhabited the Southern waters for a good while. A very fit looking 127kg Bluefin caught at the Light Line competition by a un-entered boat was an excellent surprise as it looked like they may have arrived early?

Broadbill… yes that’s right broadbill.

Captured while fishing out wide at the Neck.

No Yellowfin to speak of anywhere was a bit weird?

Bluefin then went quiet in the weeks leading up to the Tom Jenkins Memorial Bluefin Competition.

THEN - POW! The day before the Tom Jenkins they fired right up and have been going strong since.

We had been asked by Sebile lures Australia to trial one of their range. The Sebile Bonga Jerk. When it arrived it was quite different to most lures we had used before. There had been quite a lot of thought put into the design and was of fantastic quality. We rigged up the two we had been sent and got in for an early night.

The Sebile Bonga Jerk had only been swimming for 5 minutes when it was absolutely smashed and line peeled off the PENN 50vsw we had at short corner.

We were hard up against the rock at the Little Hippo and in very shallow water.

I swooped on the rod as Clinton Howe started to clear the other rods. I was in the corner of the boat, rod bent right over and line still streaming off the reel.

The fish made a sharp turn heading for deeper water and before we could regain position we had parted ways — CRACK Fishing News - Page 14

He was a very good fish and we had him on for around 5 minutes. Now that would have been a secret we may have taken to the grave. Some how, and none of are sure why, but the drag was set way beyond what it should have been.

No excuses though and we checked them all and rigged up another Bonga Jerk. Two hours later Adrian ‘Mozza’ Morrisby was on to a good fish.

We had seen a number of “feeds” in and around the two Hippo’s when we spotted one wide, south of the Big Hippo. The Bonga Jerks will hold in the water while doing 15 plus knots and this is of an advantage when running Skirted lures and motoring over to a “Feed”.

We slowed to a normal trolling speed and worked the feed for nil result. We were leaving the “feed” and returning to the Rock when BANG … the Sebile on short corner went off again and we had Adrian on to a very good fish. Working as a team and taking advantage of the wind we managed to have a very fit 120kg Bluefin at Adrian’s feet in just under an hour.

Three very happy fisherman headed back to Pirates to help get ready for the Tom Jenkins.

The “Jenkins” was a fabulous competition with a number of good fish caught and a few very notable battles that ended up fishless. Marc Largerewskij was hooked up to a fish for 5 long hours when the hooks pulled and they got their lure back.

Dylan Jarvis on board “GREY GHOST” was hooked up to a good fish and battled on well after dark with the aid of torch light. Graeme Purton managed to land an excellent fish with the aide of the team on OFISHAL BUSINESS. The Bluefin pulled the scales down to 99.80 kg, but was ineligible due to Seal damage.

The event winner was Stephen Fitzallen on the good ship SHANTA

The BIG ‘Mozza’ with a big bluefin, taken on ‘Penn Double Black’

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Fishing News - Page 15 6/02/13 3:51 PM

who managed to boat an 80.5 kg bluefin on the first day on a very dubious harness. He even had to gaff the fish himself after his crew had a few “windy whooshes” It was a fantastic 3 days of fishing that extended into the weekend. One of the Jumbos caught on that weekend was gutted and gilled only to find in its stomach — surprise — four mutton birds.

Graeme Purton is a happy boy.

Surtees Boats

Michelle Nelson had an awesome surprise fishing out of Fortescue Bay. Michelle and her partner Jason McGiveron went out in their 15 foot dinghy “Reely Nauti” and bagged a very nice 108.5 kg bluefin. The fight lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes before Jason gaffed it in the dark and landed a pending

Dylan Thomas under pressure.

Australian and World record at their feet.

It continues to be a season that keeps people on their toes. A season I think will go well into July. There are still good reports out of Portland and the massive schools of blues that made their way down the west coast of Tasmania have disappeared? They have

not come round the corner yet, so fingers crossed they sort their compass out and arrive at a place near you soon.

Do not be too quick to pack all your gear away just yet. Matter of fact, get in and drag some more out. Beanies, gloves and thermal undies. Thermos full of hot soup and pack your

12 volt pie oven for tasty warm food to keep you going on a chilly winters day. Turn on the radio, have a laugh with mates and forget all the worries of the week.

Have a good look at the weather and get out and surprise us with what you catch.

Kelly ‘Hooch’ Hunt.

Surtees® Boats were born during the early 1990s when Neil Surtees decided to design and build himself an aluminium boat to use for fishing off the wild New Zealand Whakatane coast.

When local people saw the finished product and the way it performed they were so impressed they asked Neil to build a boat for them.

As the fishing public saw more and more fishing boats the business continued to grow. Surtees now employs over 40 people building 300 boats a year for the New Zealand, Australian and Pacific markets.

Fishermen from all over the world recognise the high quality, stability, safety, and practical features of Surtees Boats.

Design Innovation Surtees boats are designed to be non-pounding, stable and comfortable. The super smooth ride is the result of combining two innovative design features - the Surtees Non-Pounding Super Deep V Hull and the Surtees Original Stabilising Technology:

Non-Pounding Super Deep V Hull All Surtees boats feature the uniquely designed NonPounding Super Deep V Hull. The benefits are numerous and all result in a comfortable ride for all on board.

The super smooth ride is the result of a very fine-entry hull, variable to 15-20 degrees deadrise at the stern, allowing you to cut effortlessly through choppy water.

Even in the toughest conditions you’ll be able to hold your course with ease and without the unpleasant pounding.

A deep V hull design would usually mean you have to trade off stability while the boat is at rest, but Surtees have overcome this with their Original Stabilising Ballast Technology to make sure you’ve not only got a great handling boat but also a boat that rests smooth and stable at anchor.

Stabilising Ballast Technology Typically, a non-pounding hull that rides smoothly through rough seas comes at the price of stability at rest.

Fishing News - Page 16

The Surtees 8.5 Game Fisher in action.

But thanks to the genius Stabilising Ballast Technology that runs along the keel line, it’s not a problem.

As the boat comes to rest, the ballast tank fills and steadies the boat. It then drains as the boat starts to move forward and empties in less than 5 seconds. Simple.

The result is maximum stability at rest, which provides more comfort for you and your crew and allows you to move around the cockpit safely.

In rough conditions the shut off gate can be sealed to retain the ballast water, making the boat heavier, to give you a much smoother non-pounding ride and extra stability.

For every litre of water there is approximately 1 kg of stability ballast in each Surtees boat. The ballast tank capacity varies according to the hull size, from 210 litres on a 4.85 up to 330 litres on a 7.3. So whichever Surtees model you get, that’s a lot of ballast making a huge difference to your boat stability.

Ultra Strengthened Deck System Surtees Boats have one of the toughest hull designs in the world. They are non-flexing and made using only the highest marine grade alloy. The Surtees design features 6 welded under floor stringers that run the length of the hull, creating the Strengthened Deck System, which is renowned for its superior strength and durability.

Surtees are known for their high safety standards, so it’s no surprise that the Strengthened Deck System also features 2 large air chambers to provide floatation. The air chambers run the length of the hull and are pressure tested at the factory to make certain they are 100% airtight for maximum safety.

Surtees Unique Trailer Catch All Surtees trailers come with a unique trailer catch allowing you to drive off and single-handed. There’s no winching and you don’t even have to get your feet wet.

Surtees 6-Year Worldwide Hull Warranty Surtees Boats have never had a structural hull failure because they are simply designed and built to last. We are so confident of this we happily offer a 6 year worldwide hull warranty on all of our boats.

Apart from knowing that all Surtees® Boats are ‘built to fish’ here’s a whole bunch of reasons to buy A Surtees BOAT.

All Surtees Boats REALLY COMFORTABLE RIDE – one of the special design features of all Surtees boats is the soft deep V hull and spray deflecting chines which help lift the boats out of the water for a smoother more comfortable ride in choppy seas INCREDIBLY STABLE AT REST – thanks mainly to our secret weapon, the self-flooding ballast tank (see ‘Our Secret Weapon’ section for more details) EASY TO LAUNCH – Each Surtees comes with a unique trailer catch EASILY CUSTOMISED - you can personalise your boat with all kinds of optional extras such as pedestal chairs, foldaway seats, outriggers, bait station, burley muncher, carpet, live bait tank, wash down pump, cooker/sink, a fresh hot water shower, paintwork, and much more.

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NEW Surtees 8.5 Gamefisher Two decades of development and refinement throughout the Surtees range has culminated in a boat that has it all - the Surtees 8.5 Gamefisher.

From bow to stern, it’s loaded with features that only a true Surtees can boast.

The non-pounding super deep V hull, original stabilising ballast technology, and an ultrastrong deck system makes the Surtees 8.5 one of the best handling, smoothest riding and stable boats at rest your hard earned money can buy.

The fit out and finish of all Surtees is second to none, but the 8.5 Game Fisher is even a step above that.

The rear deck is spacious and comfortable with loads of fishing room.

Designed using state of the art CAD and CFD computer design systems, this Surtees is arguably the best towable hull over 8 metres on the market.

Taking almost 12 months to design and build, every effort has been made to get it just right. With large opening rear doors, big windows, sleek design – and so much more - the Surtees 8.5 Gamefisher has certainly been worth the wait.

Your Surtees 8.5 Gamefisher are so much bigger than their predecessors and included is all these features as part of the total package:

Standard Features Water ballasted hull for superior stability 6 fully welded stringers Fully welded tread plate floor Sealed underfloor buoyancy Under floor storage bin Large dashboard area Toughened glass screens Large forward hatch Portofino stern Boarding ladder Large shelves side / aft and front-ideal for dive bottle storage Separate anchor locker Rod holders Rocket launcher Bow roller and bollard Bow, side and stern rails Ample hand /grab rails Toilet as standard Three berths Fold away galley table Side graphics Smooth non pounding hull design Hydraulic ballast shut off flap

Specifications

Water Ballast: 600 litres Fuel Tank: 500 litres Beam: 2500 mm Weight: 3100 kg Overall Length: 8.65 metres Recommended HP: 250 - 350 hp

Quality of fitting is superb.

102 Eastlands Drive, Ulverstone, Tas 7315 Ph: 6425 2238 info@deeganmarine.com.au www.deeganmarine.com.au www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

Fishing News - Page 17

“The alloy side sports console has been redesigned to give a more modern and slimline appearance, creating greater cockpit space and fishing access around the boat” he said.

“Featuring a front casting platform, high bow rails to give a steady hold in big swell and a high engine to keep the back of the boat dry” he said.

You can option up your 460 Renegade up into a custom fishing machine with hydraulic steering, live bait tank or live well.

Quintrex Tridents

The 460 Renegade like all the boats in the Quintrex range comes as an “Instant Boating Package” complete with boat motor and trailer to get you out of the house and onto the water quicker.

The 610 Trident is the new kid on the block in the offshore fishing market As a member of Quintrex’s new fishing focussed range of Tridents the 610 is built tough to battle the harsh conditions encountered during offshore fishing.

The new Trident range, also available as 650 and 690 models, sets a new standard for the offshore fishing market, with an innovative new design and more features than ever before the 610 Trident will have you reeling in the perfect catch in no time at all.

Featuring the new self-draining tread plate floor with an automatic, non-return scupper draining system and a 160ltr underfloor fuel tank the 610 Trident was built with the offshore fisherman in mind.

The 610 Trident is impressively safe and stable incorporating tough 4mm bottomsides, 3mm topsides and the renowned Millennium Blade Hull.

The Blade Hull sees the 610 Trident perform with a near zero nose high attitude for improved visibility at slower speeds and a dryer, smoother ride.

The 610 Trident incorporates all the features that really matter to boaters and fisherman including a live bait tank, alloy cutting board, drink holders, walk through cabin hatch, 135ltr plumbed kill tank and a rear ladder and transom door for easy access.

National Account Manager Cameron Wood said the 610 Trident is the complete package for offshore fishermen.

‘The 610 Trident as standard includes everything you need to head straight out on the water and start catching fish but still gives the customer the chance to add more personal electronics of their choice.’

With an extensive range of options the 610 Trident can be built to suit every boaties needs including bimini and envelope, storm cover, vinyl wrap, radio and CD Stereo with speakers.

The 610 Trident is available as a Quintrex Instant Boating Package including a Quintrex boat, trailer, engine and three year factory warranty.

For more information on the 610 Trident or the entire Trident range visit Deegan Marine, Lewis Marine or go to Quintrex.com.au

Quintrex Renegade The new 520 Renegade is ready to explore outer reefs, local estuaries, rivers and impounds.

This tough, strong fishing boat has 3.00mm bottomsides and 2.00mm topsides and a wide 5.20 meters beam for the fisho it features a front casting platform and an overall length of 5.20 meters.

Fishing News - Page 18

To find out more about the Renegade range or any of the models in the Quintrex range please visit Deegan Marine, Lewis Marine or go to Quintrex. com.au

Quintrex Renegade is a great looking boat.

Quintrex National Account Manager Jason Boal says the 520 Renegade is a fishing focused boat at a very affordable price.

“The centre console has been redesigned to give a more modern and slimline appearance, creating greater cockpit space and 360 degree fishing access around the boat” he said.

“The high fisherman bow rails give a steady hold in big swell and the high engine keep the back of the boat dry” he said.

The 520 Renegade features a front casting platform as standard and the back of the boat is set up with a transom cutting board mount that can be optioned up with an alloy cutting board.

The handy rear deck storage bin can be optioned up to a live bait tank or left out to make room for a dual battery set up for extra power.

The 520 Renegade like all models in the Quintrex range come as an ‘Instant boating package’ complete with boat motor and trailer.

460 Renegade Quintrex’s newest range of Renegades are built for the bloke in all of us, the range features two models the 460 and 520 which are bare bones fishing boats tough and strong ready to take on any conditions.

The 460 Renegade is the smallest in the range however still packs significant punch; with 3.00mm bottom sides and 2.00mm topsides, 77Lt fuel tank and 60Hp rating this boat has everything a bloke could want.

Quintrex National Account Manager Jason Boal says the 460 Renegade is a great entry level fishing boat at an affordable price.

Quintrex Cuddy Cabins The Sea Spirit and Ocean Spirit Range is Quintrex’s latest offering in the cabin market, perfect for taking the family out cruising around the bay or fishing for the weekend a Quintrex Cabin is a versatile, family boating option.

Quintrex Cabins are made tough to handle a variety of conditions with the new Blade Hull.

Featured across most of the Quintrex range, the Blade Hull is constructed with stretch formed technology for a smooth and stable ride.

The new look Cabin Range features new, smooth look sides for a modern appearance and tough 4mm bottom sheets on 530 and above models.

While the Sea Spirit offers a great elementary, family boating package if you’re after a little bit of luxury the Ocean Spirit might be the boat for you.

A new design feature seen across the Quintrex range the Ocean Spirit features the new improved transom, this increases interior space by 180mm and improved cable guides create a clutter free transom.

The Ocean Spirit Range also features the new Rear Folding Lounge, which creates a comfortable, cushioned seat and can be folded flush against the transom to create more room for fishing.

Quintrex National Account Manager Cameron Wood said the new Ocean Spirit Range is a great package with a large cushioned cabin bunk and plenty of underfloor storage.

If offshore fishing is more your scene then the Quintrex Trident could be the boat you’re looking for, released due to customer demand the new Trident Range is currently available in the 610, 650 and 690 models and built to meet the needs of keen offshore fisherman.

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Quintrex National Account Manager Cameron Wood said the Trident was a big step for Quintrex into the market of offshore fishing boats.

‘The entire Trident range will fill a gap in the market and with so many included features such as the live bait tank and tackle tray, there is no better value.

‘The Trident offers one of the smoothest rides even in rough water offshore, it’s a fisherman’s dream boat with the ability to personalise your boat to suit your fishing style,’ he said.

For further information on the Ocean Spirit, Trident and the entire Quintrex Range head to Deegan Marine, Lewis Marine or go to Quintrex.com.au

Quintrex 530 Sea Spirit.

The range features a self-draining tread plate floor with an automatic, non- return scupper draining system, offering extra safety for peace of mind.

The Trident is built tough with to 3mm topsides and 5mm bottomsides and an ‘egg crate’ rib structure below the floor sees longitudinal and latitudinal ribs for additional strength.

This fishing machine includes a live bait tank, alloy cutting board; drink holders, 135ltr plumbed kill tank and rocket launcher with an extra four rod holders and fuel tank all as standard features.

With a windscreen and walkthrough cabin hatch the Trident offers protection from the elements while still enabling easy access to the anchorwell and ample storage space.

Quintrex 570 Sea Spirit.

102 Eastlands Drive, Ulverstone, Tas 7315 Ph: 6425 2238 www.deeganmarine.com.au info@deeganmarine.com.au

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Fishing News - Page 19

Yamaha F200 Lighter than ever

Leggera it’s a term normally associated with Lamborghini cars but Yamaha’s new four stroke 200hp has shaved 56 kg off its predecessor and earns the right to be known as the super light. Super Leggera.

Yamaha has found weight reduction by changing from V6 format (F200c) to an ultra-modern and technically advanced inline 4. 16-valve DOHC power head equipped with a Variable Camshaft Timing (VCT) suggest kilo for kilo this is the outboard you want on your boat.

There has been a huge effort on behalf of Yamaha engineers on trim a massive 18 percent of weight from this HP range and that has been of massive benefit for end users.

The power to weight ratio is exceptional and this engine lends itself favourably to those owners restricted by transom weight, but wanting more grunt. The new F200 offers boat owners the possibility to fit a new outboard engine to an incredibly wide range of boats.

Tech heads take note Two versions of the new F200 will be available — the F200F, with a regular mechanical shift and throttle, and the F200G, with an electronicallycontrolled, drive-by-wire shift and throttle. The F200F/G also benefit from recent technological advances made by Yamaha, such as Yamaha’s Y-COP (Yamaha Customer Outboard Protection) anti-theft system, a newly-designed Reliance SDS (Shift Dampener System) as recommended propeller, a tilt-limiter, and LCD colour display (optional for the F200G only), one-touch start/stop (optional for the F200G only), and the ability to set variable trolling-speed revs. These features place the F200F/G firmly alongside Yamaha’s top-of-therange V6 (4.2L) and V8 outboards.

timing allows the best of both worlds. Specific engine tuning for bottom end punch bridging the fantastic midrange attained by 2875cc of engine displacement. Revs climb, the cam timing electrickery magic does its thing and we level out to allow a cruising speed of 24 knots at a fuel consumption of 22 litres per hour.

650 and 900rpm (in 50rpm increments) allowing constant lure or bait trolling speeds

Now… the mirror calm waters of the test site would allowed us to trim the new F200 right out and attain an impressive maximum speed. This is of course irrelevant as we all know that in reality , given sea conditions we never get the opportunity to, want or need to run our boats at wide open throttle…….

- Options include a tilt-limit switch (to protect the cowling on installations with restricted space overhead), and Yamaha’s Customer Outboard Protection anti-theft system which gives you the ability to disable the engine’s ignition system with the push of a button.

Just kidding

For normal boaters “It’s so quiet at idle it’s ridiculous, you find yourself looking at the tell-tale to see if it’s running.

Performance is outstanding and the little amount of fuel it uses is ridiculous.”

Seriously The vessel the F200 was attached to for this trial was a Bar crusher 670 HT loaned by Coastal Marine in Somerset Tasmania. The sea trialing was held in magnificent conditions in and around Wynyard. The sea conditions were calm with the obligatory half metre of confused nor wester. The high tide on the Inglis River allowed us to do some very accurate calm water testing.

A lot of reviews go on about the engine starting with a “simple turn of the key and settling into an easy and smooth idle”. Well it would want to wouldn’t it? Its brand new…..

Of course the Yamaha F200 was no exception and the whisper quiet idle is an industry standard with this class of outboard. Manoeuvring off the trailer, snitching in and out of gear and picking up crew from the pontoon I was thinking “what smooth operator and a demon helmsman I was”. I found out later it actually had more to do with Yamaha’s patented Shift Dampener System.

Gear shifting and transitioning between forward and reverse was effortless and smooth. Once clear of the pontoon and general wharf area we popped up on the plane and cruised down towards the ski area at a lazy nine knots. The F200 hundred was sipping at the in floor tank at a leisurely rate of 10 litres per hour.

On finding some clear water free of others we dropped the hammer and it is here you can see the variable cam timing come to the party.

Bigger 4 stroke outboards have been plagued by sluggishness to get off the bottom and into their strong mid-range. The variable nature of the Fishing News - Page 20

The only thing better than a F200 Yamaha is two......

This outboard engine from Yamaha will leave every bowl of rice custard in Australia skinless.

The variable cam timing allows old school 2 stroke acceleration to be achieved from around 3000 rpm through to “flat knacker.” It has been said that this type of constant drive and power is called… linear?

I don’t know what the hell that means, but “You are going to go through some Hats!”

The fuel consumption while traveling at this speed was of course considerabley more than at cruise, but is remarkable when you think you can cover 80 klm in that hour.

Twin Rigging The F200F and F200G are both ideal for twinengine applications as they are light in weight, compact in size and slim in profile. Amazingly, just 549mm (21.6 inches) wide. A pair of F200s can be mounted on a transom with just 660mm (or 26 inches) between the centre mounting points of each engine. You can see from the pictures that we had a test mount for twin rigged 200’s, but that is another story all in itself….

In my opinion The cage has been rattled and the introduction of Yamaha’s new F200 has significantly raised the bar. Its power to weight will impress those looking to power new craft, but this package is an extremely attractive option for anyone looking to repower a vessel with transom weight restrictions.

It is a very smooth, refined, and quiet-running engine with excellent fuel economy, low emissions and solid performance.

I feel like holding some one’s arm aloft. It’s a Technical Knock-Out. Kelly Hunt

Fast Facts - Two models - available with mechanical or drive-by-wire electronic controls - F200F has traditional mechanical controls ideal for re-powering secondhand craft with existing cables - F200G has digital drive-by-wire electronic controls. The F200G is subsequently easier for a dealer to rig and it requires less maintenance.

- Yamaha’s Variable Trolling Switch (VTS) allows the idle rpm to be adjusted between

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The new F200 Yamaha is 56 kg lighter than its predecessor.

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Fishing News - Page 21

NEW QUINTREX models hit Tassie Quintrex is back and better than ever before with a brand new look for 2013. Don’t miss out on these latest releases; check them out at Lewis Marine Centre’s In House Boat Show on July 6th.

The new range incorporates smooth plate look sides and the new Blade Hull, with over 90 models in the Quintrex Range there is a boat to suit everyone’s boating needs.

New Quintrex 490 Lazeabout.

If you like a little bit of luxury while you’re out on the water then Quintrex’s new Runabout release the Lazeabout is the boat for you.

With the new rear folding Lounge the Lazeabout ensures there is plenty of room for relaxation while it can be easily folded away into the transom to create a combing cushion for maximum fishing room.

The Lazeabout features a modern, new appearance with smooth, sleek plate look sides and a new raised top deck and low profile windscreen for a sportier look.

The aesthetically pleasing moulded top deck made from a composite material often used in the automotive industry features a high gloss capping finish making it impact resistant as well as resilient to scratches and stains.

The Lazeabout also features a new look, UV stable dash which allows room to mount larger sounder and GPS units while providing better visibility of the gauges.

With a new transom design the internal space across the Lazeabout Range is increased by 180mm and features improved cable guides for a clutter free transom.

Quintrex National Account Manager Cameron Wood said the new Lazeabout was a great allrounder and with the extensive changes from the previous Quintrex runabouts it had seemed appropriate to rename the range to identify it as a new model.

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‘The Lazeabout is packed with a great range of features to get you straight out on the water including plenty of underfloor storage, rod holders, a radio and sounder and walk through dash for easy access to the anchorwell,’ Cameron said.

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Cameron said they were anticipating the same success and reception for the new models that was experienced with the release of the fishing focussed Renegade and Trident ranges.

Released due to customer demand at the end of 2012 the new Trident Range is currently available in the 610, 650 and 690 models and is built to handle the rough conditions of open water.

The Trident Range features a self-draining tread plate floor with an automatic, non- return scupper draining system, offering extra safety for peace of mind.

The Trident is built tough with 3mm topsides and 5mm bottomsides and an ‘egg crate’ rib structure below the floor sees longitudinal and latitudinal ribs for additional strength.

This fishing machine includes a live bait tank, alloy cutting board, drink holders, 135ltr plumbed kill tank and rocket launcher with an extra four rod holders and fuel tank all as standard features.

If estuary, bay and river fishing is more your style then the Renegade is for you, available in 420, 440, 460, 490 and 520 models all in a variety of configurations including tiller steer, centre console and side console.

Want a ride this smooth?

Quintrex has gone back to quintessential fishing with the new Renegade Range developed to service the needs of no-fuss fishos after a practical boating option.

With a Quintrex Millennium Hull, the ride is always smooth. Choppy becomes calm. How do we do it? By stretch-forming aluminium we create a variable dead rise hull with a deep V design that slices through water. It’s an award winning process unique to Quintrex Withoffers a Quintrex Millennium Hull, the ride is aluminium always smooth.

Choppy calm. How do we it?easy By stretch-forming that the softest, quietest, driest riding hull your hardbecomes earned money can buy!

It’sdothe way to enjoy thealuminium water… we create a variable dead rise hull with a deep V design that slices through water. It’s an award winning process unique to Quintrex that offers the softest, quietest, driest riding aluminium hull your hard earned money can buy! It’s the easy way to enjoy the water…

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This beamy and stable fishing machine has all the essentials, complete with carpeted floors, front and rear casting platforms complete with a live bait tank and tackle tray, four rod holders and large side pockets.

For further information on the entire Quintrex Range head to www.quintrex.com.au or visit the friendly team at Lewis Marine.

Boating Made easy. Quintrex. www.quintrex.com.au or phone 1300 727 188 for your nearest dealer.

Fishing News - Page 22

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Fishing News - Page 23

Fishing News - Page 24

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Tas, Aust and World Record?

A

s a 39 year old mum of four my experience of fishing had been sitting on the side of a river or a jetty with my family with a cheap little spin reel hoping for the a big fish to bite. That changed when I began dating Jason McGiveron just under 3 years ago whom had been into game fishing all his life.

My very first game fishing experience was Mako Shark fishing on John McGiveron’s boat “Backlash”.

Not knowing what to expect when a Mako took the bait I was soon harnessed up and told to take the 24kg rod from its holder. I then spent over an hour fighting a shark that was to be my first ever Mako and to my surprise a Tasmanian record for a lady on 24kg line. My muscles were sore for a couple of days after that fishing experience, but I couldn’t wait to get out there and do it all again.

I have learnt a lot along the way about the game fishing rules and regulations, about trolling and about where the best place to position the lure behind the boat. I love shopping for new lures, although I pick them as I like the colours more than whether they may catch a fish.

For the first two year I was a member of the St Helens Game Fishing Club but am now secretary which has been an eye opening experience and at times very stressful, especially being a big part of running the 2013 Club Marine St Helens Game Fishing Classic.

I had no idea how big the game fishing in Tasmania was, and I have met some fantastic people along the way. I also had it in my head that it was mainly a mans sport and when attending some of the competitions in some way it still is.

Maybe other woman have that same image in their head. My children all game fish now, my two girls Zara (10) and Jessica (15) have both got national and Tasmanian records for bluefin and albacore and my son Damien (14) won the state junior GFAA tag and release award last year.

It’s not an easy sport and at times it is very frustrating, but when that one fish takes your lure and turns out to be “The BIG One’ it makes it all worth the time you spend on the water. That happened to me on the 24 May when Jason and myself decided to take a weekend trip to Eagle Hawk Neck, we left Scamander at around 8am and headed for Fortescue camping ground where we planned to stay the two nights.

Reaching our destination we decided to head out for a couple of hours fishing before bothering to set up camp and got onto the water at about 1pm in Jason’s 15ft open tiller steer tinny “Reely Nauti”.

I love fishing down here as the coastline is so spectacular and I love watching the seals playing in and around the rocks. There were a few other boats out fishing, the birds were diving at the bait balls and we were just hoping for something to grab a lure.

After a couple of hours of fishing in Munroes Bay, we decided to start heading into camp to warm up and set up camp. Jason casually said to me “wouldn’t it be pain now if the rod went off we would be here til dark” and no sooner had he spoken those words the outrigger cracked and the line started screaming.

Jason quickly started bringing in the spread and yelled to me to get on the rod. Grabbing the rod and quickly getting it into my harness I pushed the lever from around 10 kilo of drag up to strike of around 13 kilo drag. We quickly realized this was not a schoolie fish as it just kept going.

The next 20 minutes I was loosing line before I was able to start getting some of it back, after 40 minutes of fighting we could see the double approaching the tip of the rod and deep down see for the first time what I was fighting, it was about then the fish decided to wake up and do another run back to the bottom.

My body was screaming in protest at this point, I had never fished 37 kilo stand up before and was hurting. The only way I could raise the fish was to lock into low gear and push the lever right over to 20+ kilo of drag. After another 30 minutes the fish

was back in sight and Jason was standing ready with the gaff. We still don’t know how we managed to pull the fish into the boat once he had gaffed it.

Jason told me to just drop his beloved Tiagra and give him a hand.

With the gunnel at water level we managed to slide the fish in with about 500 litres of water, I am so glad the boat has 3 bilge pumps. We sat staring at the fish for about 10 minutes in total shock at the size we had just boated and after Jason doing his happy dance on the boat we had run out of daylight and headed for shore in the dark. We had one stop on the way back once we could find phone reception to tell family members of our excitement. Luckily Paul Hicks the president of the northern gamefish club was camped near us and had a set of club scales with him.

With the help of all the guys camping the weekend we managed to hang up my bluefin.

Watching the scales go past the 100 kg mark and landing on 108.5 kg actually brought tears to my eyes.

In the whole time of game fishing I never expected to actually land a barrel bluefin tuna.

That night we knew I had broken the Tasmanian Record, a record that has stood for 50 years, the Saturday we were told it would break the Australian Record and a few people had hinted it may be a World record. On Sunday Jason got the phone call that it had eclipsed the world record by nearly 30 kg.

There are still papers to be signed and line to be tested for the breaking strain but I have my fingers crossed that everything goes through smoothly and that I may be the very proud owner of a Game Fishing world record.

Melissa Nelson with her potential record catch. There is still some paperwork to finish, but it looks good. Regardless of any records it is an awesome southern bluefin tuna.

108.5 kg

Melissa Nelson

Although these records are from 2011, not much has changed. There are still plenty of opportunities.

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Fishing News - Page 25

Jumbos Barrels Daniel Paull

Southern bluefin down south

E

aglehawk Neck, located on the rugged Tasman Peninsula, has really become a paradise for those seeking the elusive ‘jumbo’ sized southern bluefin tuna. The ‘barrel’ has become an Australian fishing icon, especially here in Tasmania. People have travelled the country and the world searching for these fish, from Portland in Victoria, right around the Tasmanian coastline and as far north as Bermagui in New South Wales, there are virtually no boundaries on how far an angler will go to catch one of these awesome creatures. Here in Tasmania though, we are blessed with our tuna fishery, especially down on the Tasman Peninsula. Where else in the country can you launch a boat and start fishing for monster tuna just a stone throw away from the ramp? Each year, Dad and I spend at least one week fishing around the Peninsula, targeting one thing

and one thing only, the legendary jumbo bluefin.

This year, our trip started a day after local fishing messiah Michael Haley bagged a solid 100kg odd barrel while fishing around the Hippolyte early on a Thursday morning in May. During my morning smoko at work, I received an image of Michael and his tuna, needles to say I was pretty keen for Friday to come and go so I could jump out of my resin and gelcoat stained overalls and into a pair of battle hardened wet weather pants! Friday soon came and I was out of work quicker than green grass though a goose. Dad, myself and our good mate Tim ‘Bunter’ Blight now had a whole week too pursue a jumbo or two! After arriving at Eaglehawk Neck

at around midnight, we soon set up shop and got some sleep, the next day was to start our week with a bang.

Gentleman’s hours some may call it, we were still pretty wrecked from the long drive down but still keen to get out as early as we could. After chucking all the gear into the tub, we launched from Port Arthur and quickly made our way around to Tasman Island. As soon as we started trolling

past Black Head, I stood up on the gunwale to get a better view. No sooner had I set foot on the gunwale, I spotted one albatross almost running along on top of the water, as if it were chasing something. Chasing something it was! A school of big tuna travelling as fast, if not faster, than the boat! The school was quick to disappear however, so we continued our journey to the Island.

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As we approached the Island, we could see there was a boat or twenty trolling around, so we decided to head out a little further, too the east. Time passed and the boats in tight to Tasman started to dwindle, so we eventually started to work our way back in. I was almost asleep on top of the esky when we had our first strike for the trip. The big 37kg outfit on the starboard side suddenly buckled over and almost touched the gunwale as a heap of line was torn from the reel. Bunter picked up the rod and slowly slid from the cabin to the transom as the fish took more line. As soon as we screamed ‘live action’ and ‘jumbo’, the fish spat the hook and we were left with a long face and a thought no angler would like to think. Was that our only shot?

The next day brought with it high expectations, especially since we had launched from Pirates Bay and were heading for the ‘Promised Land’ that is the big Hippolyte. Brendan Wing and the YouFish TV crew were out at the rock already, they probably knew that today was going to be their day! Shortly after the sun came up, ‘Winga’ hooked a solid barrel.

It was a blind strike, hooked between the northern face of the Hippolyte and a nasty steep piece of reef called the ‘Pinnacle’ or the ‘Needle’. The YouFish TV crew drifted off into the distance as they duelled with the fish and other ‘natural’ elements. Brendan and the crew eventually landed the fish and ducked in behind the rock for a few well deserved photographs and high fives.

As time passed, we slowly grew tired of trolling around in the same spot.

A couple of nice sized albacore. seals, otherwise known as ‘nature’ like I mentioned before, multiple boats and lines going everywhere, I backed the drag right off and let the barrel take as much line as it wanted. Once we had cleared

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As soon as we made the decision to move away from the Hippolyte however, a school of fish started to work a bait school on the northern side of the needle, so we quickly shot over for a look. I stood on the gunwale and watched a few smaller fish smash the surface for a minute or two until the rod finally went off. I picked up the 24kg outfit, backed the drag off to about 6kg and let the fish run, just so he could get away from ‘nature’. After I’d let the fish take a little line, I cranked the drag lever up to strike. To my surprise, the fish didn’t feel too small. It felt too small for a really big fish, but too big for a school sized sorta thing. Shortly after cranking the hurt up a little, a solid 30kg odd fish came alongside the boat. We actually managed to get this fish past the seals! After that, I finally got to witness a bait ball being smashed to pieces by what looked like Russian submarines.

They were everywhere. They just wouldn’t take anything! We did manage two solid albacore at the end of the day though which was a pleasant surprise!

Monday arrived and we knew we were going to hook a barrel or two, landing one unscathed was going to be the ultimate challenge. The morning passed and it started to rain out at the Hippolyte, it became perfect bluefin weather. Time passed and a few other boats turned up, all looking for a big fish. It was just about lunch time when the Russian submarines returned to the surface for a feed. They were everywhere, yet again. I’m talking everywhere too, under the boat, behind the boat, in front of the boat, they were just about launching into the boat!

With all the boats working around and around the same school of fish, the sea literally turned into a whirlpool of white water, seals, redbait, krill and massive bluefin. Stu Nichols aboard his charter vessel ‘Big Pig’ was the first to hook up. In the midst of all the chaos, I just had to try and capture these fish on my DSLR, but no sooner had I taken a picture of the lucky customer hooked up aboard the ‘Pig’, the one and only 24kg outfit in the transom bent over and the poor old Okuma reel started to scream. I turfed the camera up to dad, who was behind the wheel at the time and picked up the rod.

The first thing I did was turn the clicker off, that baby was making one hell of a racket! Considering that once again we were faced with marauding fur

the deck and moved away from the whirlpool, I cranked the drag up to strike. Ok, lever up on strike and the fish is still going. I bumped the drag up yet again, all the way to the stopper, fish still going, not

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Fishing News - Page 27

good! It was over in a matter of seconds. The giant powered off around the ‘Back Reef’ of the Hippoltye and severed my connection. I was devastated, another barrel lost! After that, the fish shut down and never returned to the top. Stu ended up landing his fish, it went a touch over 90kg from memory.

When Tuesday came around, we knew it was only going to be a matter of time before we hooked another one. It wasn’t a matter of if, just a matter of when. We gave up on the 24g outfit and replaced it with a 37kg stick that Stu Nichols kindly gave us to borrow. After trolling around the southern face of the Hippolyte for an hour or two, as usual, the fish returned to the surface to feed.

This was the biggest school of any type of fish I have ever seen! The school stretched from the northern face of the rock, all the way south and past the back reef. They were feeding for well over half an hour before we finally hooked one.

Once again I was trying to photograph the fish as they jumped around the boat when the 37kg outfit beside me slowly bent over.

Fishing News - Page 28

I picked the rod up once again, set the drag to strike and held on for dear life! This jumbo didn’t take a whole lot of line. Instead, it looked like it was trying to stay with the school of fish still feeding on the surface behind us. By the time the school had finally dispersed, the fish still seemed to be swimming up on top. After a while I started to wind a little line back onto the reel, unaware of what was stalking my fish. I fought the fish all the way to the boat, which didn’t really take too long, but as soon as we could see it swimming just below the surface, a gigantic bull seal appeared out of the depths and grabbed it!

After all the time, effort and money we put into finding one of these illustrious fish, a seal had bitten and killed it! I was heartbroken!

We spent an hour chasing my fish while the seal had its way with it. Once we got a gaff into the barrel and hoisted it aboard, the seal simply swam off, seemingly content with his ‘glorious’ kill. The fish hit the deck with an almighty thump and bowled dad over in the process! There it laid, the fish I had waited so long to see, chewed and disfigured. It wasn’t the result we had all hoped for, but I was thankful the seal had let my fish go. It really would have been awesome to let this barrel swim away unharmed, but unfortunately, it was the way the cookie crumbled that day.

Once we took a few photographs and bled the fish out, we decided to head back and weigh the magnificent beast.

It weighed in at a touch over 111kg, a new personal best for me!

The eagle had finally landed.

Daniel Paull with a cracking bluefin.

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Wednesday and Thursday brought with it the same sort of scenario. The fish would begin feeding on the surface, usually during lunch time or right on the tide change and after trolling around a school a few times, we would hook up. Dad managed to hook an unstoppable monster on his Saltiga S-Extreme spinning outfit on Wednesday, which ended up spooling him. We had the hammer down trying to gain some line on the fish, but we just couldn’t keep up! On Thursday, we hooked another one between Fortesque Bay and Hippolyte. Bunter was on the rod, but after an hour long fight on 37kg, the fish spat the hook after one last effort to escape the wolves. I actually saw that fish launch clear of a pack of pursuing seals. It was incredible!

Friday was the same again, only this time we actually landed a fish!

It was early in the morning, before the tide change when we hooked our last barrel for the trip. I picked up the screaming 37kg outfit one last time. This time I let the fish take plenty of line, as I had done earlier in the trip. The rock had almost disappeared on the horizon when I finally kicked the drag up to strike.

I wound the fish all the way to the boat with a seal hanging off it. The fish must have been killed while I was letting it swim away from us! After getting a gaff into the fish, the seal cleared off and we hauled yet

MaST and SLST launch Boatwise smartphone app

M

arine and Safety Tasmania and Surf Life Saving Tasmania have teamed up to create a smartphone app to support Tasmanians who recreate on, in or around the water.

The app brings relevant information, legislative requirements, craft and activity specific checklists and weather all together to encourage more Tasmanian’s to get out and safely enjoy our beautiful inland and coastal waterways.

Ian Ross, MAST’s Recreational Boating Officer says the app is a major step forward in promoting recreational boating safety outcomes. “Whether you are a keen boater who likes to fish, scuba dive, prefer to jet ski, sail, kayak or simply go cruising, you can now be prepared with customised checklists and videos to ensure you

are always ready and safe on the water.” Mr. Ross said.

“An important feature for users of this application will be the ability to complete activity checklists specific to their need, all from the convenience of their mobile device. The checklist will assist users in identifying potential dangers and minimising risk associated with their chosen leisure activities. Importantly the app will also notify your nominated onshore emergency contacts”, he said.

Channel Marine Services Lot 10 Gemalla Road, Margate Phone: 03 6267 1456

another mangled barrel into the boat. This poor soul had half his head chewed off! It was the last fish for the trip and weighed in at 100kg.

Believe it or not, after landing two monster fish, being spooled, broken off and simply smoked by numerous other fish, we decided to head home. It was a fantastic little adventure and I’m really looking forward to doing it all again next year. If you head down to the Peninsula for a crack at one of these fish, just remember to keep an eye on the tide change, make sure you stay with the fish while they are feeding and most importantly, make sure you match the hatch while choosing the lures to run in your spread!

Daniel Paull

Tony Van den Enden, General Manager of SLST, is hoping the app will further reduce the number of rescues his volunteers are involved in. “The checklist will be designed to cater for a variety of experience levels and will work towards minimising risk and maximising safety whilst providing the user with relevant and specific information on weather, location rules/ regulations in relation to equipment (craft or vessel) and activity”, he said.

Send an email of your trip to your onshore contact

“The application will draw on various database repositories (including GIS specific information) and the Bureau of Meteorology with a series of rules to push notifications to users that will increase their safety, enjoyment and awareness Mr. Van den Enden said.

Receive weather notifications 48 hours before and the morning of your trip starts

Features of the app include: Plan and save your trips Get weather forecasts for your trip Find boat ramps (in Tasmania, Australia)

Essential safety checklists relevant to your location and water sport Maintain your vessels with a maintenance checklist Create due dates and sync with Reminders App Catalogue your vessels Share your trip with friends and family Video safety tips

Receive a reminder to run through your checklist the night before your trip The app is available on the iTunes store. Simply search ‘Boatwise’.

For further information please contact: Ian Ross, Marine and Safety Tasmania on 0457 826 975

C.J. Marine Pty Ltd 8 Legana Park Drive, Legana Phone 03 63302277

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Fishing News - Page 29

Swansea

Fun, variety and a good feed.

S

wansea can quite rightly lay claim to be the Bream fishing capital of Tasmania. The nearby Swan River literally teems with Southern Black Bream, a renowned species that is valued highly, especially in recent years, for its sports fishing attributes.

But as the knowledgeable angler knows there is far more to attract the visiting fisherman to the seaside town than just Bream. The waters of Great Oyster Bay hold many, many species of fish. The more common species encountered in the bay are Sand and Tiger Flathead, Sand Whiting, Australian Salmon, Barracouta, Arrow and Calamari Squid, Gummy and School Shark, Jackass Morwong and plenty of Wrasse. Further out in the waters around Schouten Island and beyond pelagics, including Albacore, Striped, Southern Bluefin and Yellowfin Tuna are possibilities. Mako Shark are also quite common offshore for those wishing to target them. Deep sea fishers will be able to locate stocks of Striped Trumpeter, Blue Eye Trevalla and Gemfish with a little research.

Early memories Introduced to Swansea by my grandparents approximately 4 decades ago the area has played a massive role in my passion for fishing.

My earliest memories of the area revolve around fishing on the bay or up the Swan in one of my pop’s custom built boats fashioned from fibreglass and ply. We would chase the Bream and Flathead and most times come back with a feed. On trips out to sea we would be under strict instructions to bring back a Cod or Parrotfish (Bluethroat Wrasse) for nan. For some reason she just loved

eating those fish even though they were regarded as almost inedible to most. We would be in real trouble if she found out that we had released any of these mushy fleshed species.

In those days my pop always seemed to have a project house or a caravan in the park on the go down there and I always made myself available for a trip to Swansea, the drive down being an adventure in itself through the then unsealed Campbell – Lake Leake road.

Since the early visits it has become a family tradition to holiday in Swansea with my own parents since owning a succession of onsite caravans in the Kenmore Caravan Park which is located on Schouten Beach right in the centre of the town.

A massive part of the trips down to Swansea has been the almost daily ritual of heading out in the boat on to the expanses of Great Oyster Bay just after sunrise to catch a feed of flatties and be back in time to throw them on the barbeque for lunch.

Boats were trailered down to the launching ramp at the Jetty and from there we would set sail off across the expanses of Great Oyster Bay to find that mother lode of flathead.

Secret places like The Pines, The Reef, Spikey Bridge, Refuge Island, Kelvedon and the Passage were spoken of in hushed tones as if we were the only ones that knew of their existence. For years it was hard to convince my father to head out to anywhere in the bay bar the Pines, a spot along Nine Mile Beach adjacent to a pine plantation. Other regulars believed that this was more to do with its relative proximity to shore as

Triple flathead hookups are not uncommon. much as the reliable fishing. (Dad’s swimming prowess would make Eric the Eel look like Michael Phelps, in fact his survival plan if the boat sinks is to “swim to the bottom and run like hell”….)

Originally our fishing methods were crude, thick green cord handlines with large hooks attached by a heavy piece of wire , usually baited with a piece of chop were weapons of choice in the early days . Sinkers nearly heavy enough to anchor the boat finished off the rig. Rods and BAR CRUSHER 5.5 reels were rarely used Cuddy fitted with Yamaha F100 4 stroke, colour soundor GPS,deckwash, to catch flathead back balt board, aux Brkt, AM/FM radio. All standard Bar Crusher leatures, then and at best were represents great buying,be quick as it won’t last long at this price regarded as unneeded $31,990 luxuries. Unbelievably the cord handlines SURTEES 4.7 WORKMATE were effective with 2010, Honda BF50 EFI 4 stroke, Bimini with front and side clears, Lowarance plenty of flathead hitting Elite 5 colour sounder/GPS combo with Nav Card, Lowarance VHF Radio, ballast the floor of the boat, flap, balt board, nav lights, bilge pump, in floor kill tank,rear boarding ladder, drive on catch

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probably saying just as much about the fish stocks at that time as much as anything else. In those days other fish species were rarely encountered with the occasional gummy shark, wrasse and bucket mouthed cod the only other species able to get their mouths around the enormous hooks or simply silly enough not to shy away from the cord handlines.

We eventually graduated to fishing rods instead of handlines, firstly short stiff boat rods with the casting action of a broom handle and then onto the new generation of equipment that is much more pleasurable to utilise.

Swansea fishing now If there is a fish species synonymous with Swansea, other than Bream of course, it would have to be the humble Sand Flathead.

The waters of Great Oyster Bay are teeming with this fantastic table fish.

Unfortunately in recent times the average size of the Sand Flathead in the bay has dropped markedly but there are more than enough 30cm plus fish available to make it highly likely for the visiting angler to catch his share of this delicacy of the sea.

In years gone by Tiger Flathead or Kingies as they are locally known were also a common catch. This is not the case at the moment with the capture off a large kingie cause for celebration but a few smaller specimens turning up in recent catches may be an indication of things to come.

Most of Great Oyster Bay has a sandy bottom with an average depth of only 10 to 15 metres. Dropping a line basically anywhere across this vast expanse of water will find willing flathead but to target the concentrations of larger fish the angler must be prepared to move quite often.

This is where a GPS comes in handy as when a patch of larger flathead is located the spot can be accurately marked and then drifted over time and time again.

When the flathead are on the chew at Swansea double and triple headers are commonplace with plenty of free swimming fish following the others to the surface.

Over the years we have found the best times to target flathead is early morning and late afternoon with the mornings preferred.

Anglers are reminded that there are currently bag and size limits for Flathead. All fish must be greater than 30cm in length and there is a personal possession limit of no more than 30 fish per person. These limits also apply to shore based anglers as well.

This possession limit is very generous and hopefully will be reviewed again in coming years.

Perfect weather conditions at Swansea for flathead fishing are generally light to moderate breezes coming from the northern or western quadrants. Anywhere from this direction the breeze will be offshore and keeps the swell and waves to a minimum thus ensuring crystal clear water and not too much floating weed.

The lighter breezes also ensure a good drift rate which is vital for success with these fish. Stronger breezes can be fished successfully but a drogue may have to be utilised to keep the baits on the bottom where they need to be.

Rigs are generally simple, with a 2 or 3 hook paternoster standard fare. Pre-rigged nylon traces with soft plastic squids already attached can be easily and cheaply purchased at most fishing tackle stockists. These are by far my favourite rigs for flathead fishing as when the flathead are keen bait is not required. If they are taking a bit of tempting, a juicy piece of flathead fillet or squid hung of the hook will generally draw a few bites.

Sinkers should be just heavy enough to keep the rigs bouncing across the sand. I have tended to avoid wire traces over the years.

The flathead tend to shy away from these, especially when they are a bit finicky. The higher catch rate with nylon certainly counters the inconvenience of having to tie on a new rig if a few Barracouta or other biteys move in.

Big southerlies tend to stir up the shallow sandy bay and curtail reliable fishing opportunities for a period after.

Boaters should be aware that the waters of Great Oyster Bay can chop up very quickly. Listening closely to weather reports before heading out and also keeping the marine UHF tuned for weather warnings is not just a good idea, it may just save your life.

The seasons do not really change the chances of catching a flathead.

The fish can be successfully targeted

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Regular bycatch when targeting Sand Flathead are other bottom dwelling species such as Sand Whiting, Gurnard Perch, Gummy Shark and Rock Cod. Drifting in close to rocky headlands and reef will result in hook-ups to hard fighting Blue Throat Wrasse, Jackass Morwong, Pike and other reef dwelling species.

The same rigs and baits used on the flathead are also effective on all these species.

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As mentioned above the best baits for Flathead I have found are chunks of fresh flathead fillet with skin attached or squid pieces.

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fish as they are being wound to the surface. If you are adept with a landing net you will be able to add a few of these delicious critters to the catch but a far more reliable method is to drift a squid jig behind the boat on another rod while bottom bouncing. There would not be too many days on the bay when this doesn’t buckle over signifying a squid has taken a liking to the offering.

A landing net is almost a pre-requisite when you are targeting squid as leaving the catch in the net for a while will ensure that it has expelled its fill of ink. Some very funny moments have occurred over the years when squid still full of ink have been brought on board. Funny that is until it is time to clean the boat and affected clothing!!

Arrow squid, the lesser desirable of the two species are the more frequent catch over the open deeper waters of the bay. The calamari is best targeted over reef and weedy areas.

Great Oyster Bay is a shark sanctuary.

The whiting in particular are also very good table fish. They have a distinctive bite but can be difficult to hook up on the larger hooks used for Flathead.

If you are experiencing plenty of bites but unable to come up tight downsizing the hooks can pay dividends with a few tasty whiting finding their way into the fish bin. Over the years we have found that to target whiting we need to be on the water very early as they will tend to go off the bite as the sun rises higher in the sky.

Anglers should also be reminded that any Shark species landed in Great Oyster Bay, including Gummy and School Shark, must be returned to the water unharmed. The whole bay is marked as a reserve for these fish.

Squid Another fine table species that abounds in Great Oyster Bay are the Calamari and Arrow squid. Often when the squid are about they will attack hooked

There is a closed season for squid species in Great Oyster Bay. This is currently from mid October to mid November to protect the spawning cephalopods.

Pelagics Australian Salmon are the most common of the pelagic species encountered in the bay. Early mornings will find schools of this hard fighting fish up on the surface chasing small baitfish. I find that trying to predict the path of the school and stopping the boat and casting small lures or flies to them is much better than trolling through or around the surface feeding fish. Too much boat activity will put the school down for a period, sometimes for good.

Often the lure casting angler will find barracouta mixed in with the feeding salmon but disappointingly these are usually smaller juvenile specimens just large enough to bite off valuable lures and flies if not using wire traces.

Areas to target the Salmon are off Waterloo Point,

Morwong are great eating. only a stones throw from the Jetty boat ramp, the mouth of the Swan River and around the rocky headlands and points south of Swansea.

Other pelagic species common in area are the smaller tuna species such as Striped Tuna and

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Albacore. Although uncommon in the enclosed shallow waters of the bay they are common in season on the outside of Schouten Island. Trolling lures such as skirts and divers is a reliable method of hooking up to these little pocket dynamites. Another method being used more often now is casting and jigging from a stationary boat.

The use of light rods and reels is great way to experience the best of these small pelagic species. The new generation graphite spin sticks, coupled with 2500 size threadlines are perfect weapons to tackle the Salmon and small tunas although you could be a little undergunned if a Bluefin or Yellowfin turns up…

Boaters should be aware that targeting the outside waters from Swansea means a 20 kilometre plus return across a sometimes very choppy shallow bay later in the day.

Boat Launching facilities

Summary The Great Oyster Bay at Swansea is a wonderful waterway to be out in the generally calm hours just after day break. Schools of fish on the surface scattering from the bow of the runabout, playful dolphins and seals, wheeling flocks of Mutton Birds plus dive bombing Gannets and feeding penguins are generally abundant. The reflections of the Hazards and Freycinet Peninsula in the gently rolling swell are also pleasant diversions that make it worth the early start just as much as the exciting fishing prospects.

And to top it all off, if the weather isn’t playing the game for fishing the expanses of the bay, you can always head to the river to catch a couple of Bream!

I’m sure that if you take the time to visit Swansea your first visit won’t be your last!

Peter Broomhall

The most often used boat ramp in the Swansea area is right in the town at the Jetty. A dual lane concrete ramp exists here and coupled with a pontoon beside makes it relatively easy to launch small to moderate sized boats. Owners of larger craft should be wary here as the waters surrounding the ramp are shallow and have a soft sand bottom. Dead low tides make it difficult to get the big boats off and on the trailer. Bogged vehicles are not an uncommon sight here at those times.

Parking is also limited at this ramp, especially in peak holiday periods and if you are late a long walk back from the alternative trailer parking site at the local footy ground will be required.

Swansea does have another boat launching ramp situated on Gordon Street. This ramp can be very exposed if southerly or easterly weather is experienced. Any sort of swell makes it difficult to launch and retrieve at this site as well. Be very sure of the weather if considering the use of this ramp.

Another ramp in the general area exists to the south on the Saltworks Road at Little Swanport approximately ½ an hours drive away. Beach launching around at the mouth of the Swan River opposite Swanwick is possible as well if the barway is passable.

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Land based fishing All of the species mentioned in the previous paragraphs are available at land based locations around Swansea, tuna aside of course.

The jetty is a popular fishing spot.

Although the area surrounding it has shallowed up markedly over the years, Flathead and squid are still readily targeted from here. Just be sure not to hook a passing speedboat heading out from the adjacent ramp (trust me I know how this feels !!!).

The beaches and rocky headlands around Swansea also make perfect platforms to target a feed of fish or to just while away a few hours taking in the remarkable scenery.

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A

nother series has passed and it was a huge success. Numbers of anglers were up, and in the economy we are currently living in this is great news. Weather over the 3 rounds was a mix of flat calm beautiful days through to howling winds, but all this did nothing to dampen spirits.

I want to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors. As we all know these events can not happen without the support of these great companies.

Bob Jane, Prospect Fish Shop, Penguin Composites, ALSTA angling, Cranka Lures, Spot On Fishing Connection, Liquid Gold Fishing, Tackle us, Blackmans Bay Butchery, Celebrations Blackmans Bay, Freetime, Pure Fishing, Pontoon 21, Sign Works, Red Tag Tours, St Helens Bait and Tackle, The Fishing DVD, Wilson Tackle, Sherriff Agencies - Lox Rods, Zip Baits, Aus Tackle, Wigstons Sports, Kingston Locksmith, Connor Shoe Repair, HAVE audio visual, Austins Ferry Yacht Club, ABT, Howler Custom Rods, RL Welding.

Round 1 - St Helens Round 1 saw what can only be described as the worst weather in ABT history. Electric motors were broken and courage was tested as 30 teams battled it out for the coveted round one of the Tasmanian Bream Classic.

As we all know Tasmania is the wild state and today’s weather was certainly NO EXCEPTION. However, like always spirits were high and for those few that stuck it out rewards were sweet.

With a mix of anglers new and old, many anglers’ skills were tested and many new methods of fishing were discovered. But as always, experience has prevailed.

Team Tackle Us for the second year in a row showed the field that quality fish always means more than numbers. Tackle Us team mate Andrew Wells pulled a lovely bream of 1.52kg and all though a small fish in comparison to their fish from the same time last year, managed to secure the big bream and the lead on day one.

Day two saw a light cool change with calm water at the start of the day. Teams had a window of about three hours until the breeze became strong and uncomfortable. Lots of fish passed through the scales, only to find that the weight of the bags were not there.

Not one Big Bream weighed in which left Andrew Well from Team Tackle Us Taking out the Cranka Big Bream prize weighing in at 1.520kg.

With the defending champs from last year Cranka II sitting on top early at weigh with 10/10 8.650kg in waiting for Day 1 leaders to step up to the scales. Team Tackle Us needed a quality bag to keep them in the lead and they only just scraped in with only 50grms between them.

Not far behind them were Team Cranka taking out third spot with 10/10 8.020kg. As always St Helens was a pleasure and a special thank you to the Sea Breeze Cafe for putting on a fantastic breakfast each morning for all our competitors.

1. Team Tackle Us - Andrew Wells/John Lister D1 5/5 5.450kg D2 5/5 3.250kg. 10/10 8.700kg Big Bream 1.520kg 2. Team Cranka II - Darrell Wells/Isaac Harris D1 5/5 4.430kg D2 5/5 4.220kg. 10/10 8.650kg 3. Team Cranka - Andrew Cox/Steve Steer D1 5/5 3.520kg D2 5/5 4.500kg 10/10 8.020kg

The Tasmanian Bream Classic 2013 Winners are grinners; Andrew Cox and Steve Steer celebrate with the Liquid Gold girls.

Round 2 - Swan River Round 2 of The Tasmanian Bream classic 2013 held on the Swan River. Weather conditions were perfect and Swansea as always put on a beautiful couple of days. With nearly all anglers catching a mix of big and small fish, positions after day one were tight and as a result have made way for a tightly contested day of fishing on Sunday.

Most important to mention was team Cranka, with Steve Steer and Andrew Cox fishing the entire event on their electric after some early engine trouble put their outboard out of action.

Swan Results 1. Bream It On - Nigel Harris/Josh Williams D1 5/5 5.210 D2 5/5 4.890 10/10 10.100kg Big Bream 1.520 2. Cranka - Steve Steer/Andrew Cox D1 5/5 3.640 D2 5/5 5.670 10/10 9.310kg 3. Brum - Danni Suttil, Antony Suttil D1 5/5 4.510 D2 5/5 4.710 10/10 9.220kg Round 3 - Derwent River Final Results Round 3 Derwent River 2013 Tasmanian Bream Classic The Derwent round met anglers with some crazy old weather. Seas were high and after day one saw some less than dry anglers. However many anglers still managed a good bag of fish.

Better weather greeted our anglers on Sunday and after a full belly from the previous night of slow roasted pork supplied by Blackmans Bay Butchery all anglers had their game faces on. On arrival back to the ramp anglers were met by the Liquid Gold Fishing Promo girls and they certainly warmed some hearts.

The day saw some big fish weighed in with many anglers trying to beat the previous big bream weight. But it was Steve Steer’s with a big bream of 1.98kg who took out the big bream for the round.

A special mention to the winning team of this round Team Brum. Danni Suttil has been fishing around the state for many years now and many of you may know him, but an extra pat on the back must go out to his youngster Antony who through the whole series has watched and learnt and has been the driving force of the team. Certainly one youngster to watch out for.

1. Team Brum - Danni Suttil/Antony Suttil 5/5 6.150kg 5/5 6.950kg 10/10 13.100kg 2. Team Liquid Gold - Lox Damien Viriex/Andrew Pender 5/5 5.650kg 5/5 6.230kg 10/10 11.880kg 3. Team Wigstons Sports - Martyn Evens/Paul Fulton 5/5 5.610kg 5/5 4.550 10/10 10.160kg

Series overall: Second place - Andrew Pender and Damien Virieux; Winners - Steve Steer and Andrew Cox; Third place - Pat Sullivan and Leigh McKenzie.

Overall results and winners 1. Team Cranka Andrew Cox/Steve Steer 12pnts 2. Team Liquid Gold Lox Damien Virieux/Andrew Pender 14 pnts 3. Team Berkley Samurai Reaction Rods Pat Sulivan/Leigh Mckenzie 15 pnts Junior Champion Antony Suttil Over All Series Big Bream Steve Steer 1.930 Up and coming Team Sebile Old Fellows Laurie Harrison/Martin Exel If you would like more information on supporting or joining the classic series next year please call Alistair on 03 6229 2700 Thank you for everyone who made this event possible and we look forward to making it bigger and better next year.

Tom Crawford and Alistair Creed

www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

Fishing News - Page 35

limit above the current legal limit of 30 cm, for example, 32 cm.

Measure your rock lobster catch, learn how to distinguish between male and female and learn responsible lobster handling techniques.

Fisheries Minister Bryan Green was a welcome visitor at the Recreational Fisheries display this year. He was impressed with the range of fishing exhibits and the practical nature of the activities.

After watching the demonstration about fish dehooking, staff enticed him into participating by learning how to de-hook a flathead successfully.

RECREATIONAL SEA FISHERIES NEWS June/July 2013 Fisheries Display Hugely Popular at AgFest Tasmanian fishers eager to improve their fishing practices flocked to the recreational fisheries education display at AgFest this year. The display was consistently busy with adults and children joining in hands-on fishing activities including fish handling and filleting demonstrations. The exhibit was organised by DPIPWE Wild Fisheries with outstanding support from Fishcare volunteers.

The ever popular kids fishing pool. Many children catch and measure their first fish here.

Fishcare volunteers took a leading role during the de-hooking, fish filleting and fish handling demos. extensive boating, fishing and water safety displays.

The fishing activities and exhibits included: Kid’s fishing pool; Fishcare display trailer; Fish handling and filleting demonstrations;

Recreational fishers flocked to the fisheries education display at AgFest this year.

Located on Main Street, the fisheries display was part of the popular AgFest marine precinct alongside

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Staff encouraged crowd participation in fish filleting and handling demonstrations. Many people were keen to improve their flathead filleting technique to help reduce fish wastage. The main responsible fishing messages to AgFest patrons this year were: Increase the survival of over 700,000 flathead that are released by Tassie recreational fishers each year. Use a de-hooker or wet cloth to minimise unnecessary handling of fish. Use circle hooks and keep your line taut so the fish won’t become guthooked; Maximise meat return from your fish – this was demonstrated for a variety of species where some were filleted, some prepared whole.

Take fewer fish, spend less time filleting and more time fishing!

How to produce a boneless and skinless fillet from flathead. To produce better fillets, fishers should try to impose a voluntary size

Fisheries Minister Bryan Green learns how to use a fish de-hooker.

Thanks to all our hard-working Fishcare volunteers who dedicate their time and knowledge to educate the fishing public at events like AgFest.

They did a brilliant job teaching hundreds of keen young fishers at the kid’s fishing pool how to identify and measure popular Tasmanian fish species. Their depth of knowledge about fishing in Tasmania is invaluable when it comes to assisting the wider community with understanding fishing rules and responsible fishing practices. Also thanks to Wild Fisheries staff Rob, Rod, Quent and Sally who persevered through hail, thunder, wind, rain and sun!

Need more information?

Get a copy of the Recreational Sea Fishing Guide from Service Tasmania; visit www.fishing.tas.gov.au; or Phone 1300 720 647 (local call cost) or 03 6233 7042

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RECREATIONAL INLAND FISHERIES NEWS Brushy Lagoon stocked with salmon Today (5 June 2013) the IFS stocked Brushy Lagoon with 230 Atlantic salmon. The fish were donated by Petuna Aquaculture and average four kilograms. This will be welcome news for those wishing to chase some big fish over winter.

Please remember that there is a five fish daily bag limit with only two fish over 600 mm permitted to be taken.

Note that Brushy Lagoon is open from one hour prior to sunrise and closes one hour after sunset (newspaper times for sunrise and sunset). Please note that IFS officers will be actively enforcing the regulations so that everyone can enjoy this opportunity.

Buy a licence - WIN this boat* *Buy a full season or five season angling licence for the 2013 – 2014 angling season before the 30 November 2013 and you will go in the draw to win this boat package valued at over $22,000.** The boat, a 4.4 m Sea Jay Discovery is fitted with a 40 Hp Yamaha four stroke and is perfect for our trout fishing waters.

Boat package proudly supported by Coastal Marine.

Together with safety equipment consisting of two personal floatation devices, fire extinguisher, flare pack, bailer, paddles, anchor, rope and chain, boat registration and a boat licence course if required. Safety equipment kindly supplied by Marine and Safety Tasmania.

Terms and conditions of entry

**Eligible to persons 18 years or over.

Employees and immediate families of the Inland Fisheries Service are not eligible to be included in the draw.

Draw to be conducted on the 23 December 2013 using a random selection process from the licence database.

Decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Winner to be notified by the Inland Fisheries Service by mail and or telephone and published on www.ifs.tas.gov.au.

The Inland Fisheries Service does not accept responsibility for any licence not included in the draw at the close off date due to circumstances outside its’ control.

Prize will be available ex 17 Back River Road New Norfolk.

The promoter is the Inland Fisheries Service ABN: 33 294 552 909.

The biggest transfers have been completed at Four Springs Lake (2,000 stripped and adipose clipped) and Bradys Lake (4,800) as well as smaller numbers into the Nineteen Lagoons waters and north west rivers, the Mersey River (300) and River Leven (300).

There are still some fisheries that are to be completed such as Tooms Lake, Brushy Lagoon and Craigbourne Dam. Rain is needed to get a further run of fish at Great Lake and Arthurs Lake before more transfers can occur.

Anglers from the North West Fisheries Association assist with the release of trout into the River Leven.

River Leven stocked with adult brown trout One of the smaller salmon being stocked into Brushy Lagoon by Jonah Yick of the IFS.

Busy time as brown trout are stocked out into several key fisheries As is usual for this time of year the IFS has been transferring brown trout from the spawning run at Liawenee to other waters throughout the state.

Joe Mangan with a good brown trout at Liawenee ready for transfer to another fishery.

Tuesday 4 June 2013 the IFS stocked 300 adult brown trout fresh from the spawning run at Liawenee into the River Leven. The fish were released at Bannons Park on the Gunns Plains Road. A good turnout of anglers witnessed the release. These fish have yet to spawn and could provide a boost to natural recruitment in the river.

The River Leven like many other rivers throughout the state has been hit hard by the large number of cormorants that were present during the 2012/13 season.

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Fishing News - Page 37

Fishing and Boating Directory Advertise here for $77. Contact Mike Stevens 0418 129949

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Atmospheric Highlander Arms tavern on the doorstep 3 course meal provided each night Catch your own salmon in Tarraleah lake and learn how to prepare it with expert chef 18 lakes within 30 minutes drive

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Call in for all your fishing tackle including full range rods, reels, lures, landing nets and bait. Also life jackets plus diving gear and stuff for all water sports.

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BURNIE MARINE Services • Over 30 years experience on all types of motors • Approved insurance repairer to boats and motors • Propellor rebuild and refurbishing • Repairs of all types - including skegs etc.

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Fishing News - Page 38

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Gone Fishing Charters

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Fishing and Boating Directory

Experience: You Advertise here for $77. Contact Mike Stevens 0418 129949 obviously need strong paddling skills including a reliable brace and Eskimo roll, and a good handle on how sea conditions are influenced by the wind, tides and currents. Offshore from the Tasman Peninsula is not a place for novice kayakers.

OKUMA TITUS GOLD 15S $330.00 Safety gear: A 20S $350.00 marine VHF radio is especially handy, and I routinely car r y an EPIRB, flares, whistle, SHIMANO TLD50 FULL ROLLER 24KG ROD paddle float, strobe light $575.00 (for my own epileptic marine disco), map, compass and a GPS. I barely ever use them, but its comforting to know they are all there.

Fishing gear: A handline is much cheaper SHIMANO TYRONU S 50 than a rod and reel and ROLLER TIP 37KG ROD seems to work fine for $779.95 this type of game fishing A dream fulfilled and thankful to be on hard ground again.

BULK MONO LINE providing you have a PRICE PER METRE Handline trolling for bluefin from a kayak is not easy, but is way to securely attach it, 10KG $0.04 achievable as the author shows.

15KG $0.06 and plenty of line (I use 24K G Inn Lake Leake is situated $0.

08 by Lake Leake , nestled in Endurance: You might need to stockpile some patience, about 300m of 37 kilo mono). Don’t forget your gloves. Include 37K the heart G of Tasmania’s $0.10east coast forests, 30 km from a couple of lures that swim well at kayaking speeds, ideally fitted since the reality is you’ll be slow and with only one lure out Campbell town and Swansea .

STcountry ORMY An Historical hotelSE withAS warm and friendly YES!! WE CAN with long heavy mono traces. A gaff, knife and club to pacify your chances are low compared to other boats. But when MA RINA service, hearty meals, comfy bar T and lounge, cosy log WE SPOOL YOUR the fish are all potentially useful. You’ll need plenty of water your time finally arrives.... its hard to imagine any other fires and private function lounge.

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Bluefin tuna from a kayak, it is indeed possible.

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It is no exaggeration to say the Tasman Peninsula is truly remarkable with possibly the best sport fishing, highest sea cliffs, outstanding diving in giant underwater kelp forests, renowned fine food producers, Australia’s leading convict site and some of country’s best bush walks.

Situated at Eaglehawk Neck, and just one hour from Hobart, The Lufra provides relaxed affordable accommodation close to Port Arthur and natural attractions and is ideally located as the base for you to enjoy many activities, sitting as it does at the narrow isthmus which connects the Forestier and Tasman Peninsulas. Visit the Lufra and you’ll share more than a stunning view because the area abounds in many attractions — both natural and made-made — all within easy driving or walking distance.

Close to the hotel are several amazing rock formations and attractions - The Blowhole, Tasman Arch, the Devil’s

Nearby you can also indulge in sports and pastimes like deep sea fishing, surfing, and bushwalking, or visit other nearby attractions like wildlife parks and wineries. $59 pp twin share incl.

The Lufra Hotel offers comfortable accommodation continental breakfast or in a range of rooms and self-catering units as well as a $65 pp with hotrooms” breakfast. limited number of “fishermen’s at very affordable rates. · 66 Stylish Additional car parkingRooms development allows substantial car and· boat parking.

Our licensed restaurant and bistro CBD Location restaurant are complemented by a games/recreation Affordable Rates room, ·TV/lounge area with open fireplace, café/coffee shop and two bars. · Conference Rooms Australian aviation pioneer tourism entrepreneur · FREE Parking · and FREE Movies Sir Reginald Ansett is reputed to have described the Lufra · FREE Fitness Hotel as “the hotel with theRoom best view in the world.” No wonder· there has been an accommodation house on Wireless Broadband the same site for more thanon 150 years. · Three Steps GeorgeThe Lufra Hotel Bar - Restaurant 380Heritage Pirates Bay Drive Eaglehawk Neck www.colonialinn.com.au Toll free 1800 639 532 (03) 6250 3262 www.lufrahotel.com or info@lufrahotel.com

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6-8 WEST TAMAR ROAD, LAUNCESTON, TASMANIA 7250 PHONE (03) 6331 6188 FAX (03) 63342681

Phone & Mail Orders welcomed We accept...

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WWW.TASFISH.COM - Over 850 stories online. Get the knowledge–get the fish.

www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

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Fishing News - Page 11

Fishing News - Page 39

Issue 104 June - July 2013

Game Fishing

Record Breaking Bluefin

Swansea - Tassieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Best

Bream Classic Results Boat Reviews Fly Tying

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Angler: Brendan Wing with a monster southern bluefin tuna.

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