Tasmanian Fishing and Boating News Issue 130 2017 December

December 2017 – January 2018

TASMANIAN FISHING

Print Post approved 100003074

and BOATING NEWS — ISSUE 130

Mason Paull with a North West Coast kingfish.

K ING GEORGE WHITING PAGE 3

PENSTOCK L AGOON PAGE 10

FLY FISHING CHAMPIONSHIPS PAGE 15

SALTWATER ROUNDUP PAGE 26

KINGFISH AND KING GEORGE WHITING

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Tasmania has seen some remarkable changes in the saltwater fishery over the last few years.

Kingfish and King George whiting have become prominent in many areas that these fish were unknown of in the past. There is no doubt either, that anglers are much better at catching these species than in the past. Tackle, better boats, electronics, access through improved facilities, social media

and magazines such as this have also contributed to the journey.

So what a ride it is being able to catch different species; the ability to research, plan, target and then catch some fantastic fish has never been better.

CHASE SOMETHING NEW THIS SUMMER.

Target Kingfish — Daniel Paull

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King George Whiting — Damon Sherriff

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Penstock Magic — Andrew de Bruyn

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Echo - 100 Trips — Shane Flude

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Australian Fly Fishing Championships 2017

15

Squidgies - Bio tough — Steve Starling

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Summer – River Fly Fishing Tips — Dan Pursell

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Saltwater Roundup — Kelly Hooch Hunt

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Recreational Sea Fisheries News

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here is a State election in March.

Which party will get my support?

I have no allegiance, despite what some politicians may think. The Liberal Party have done nothing to stop recent factory/ freezer trawlers decimating our small pelagic fishery in Commonwealth waters.

The State Liberal Party will say - ‘it’s not our jurisdiction’ and we have made it illegal in State waters. That is true, but these factory/freezer trawlers can still fish to within three miles of Tasmania’s shores.

The Liberal Party made a huge and significant change that we are benefiting from though. Bill Bonde (Fisheries Minister) introduced a netting ban in some areas, in 1998 from memory, and pretty much nothing has changed since.

Bill Bonde was the last fisheries Minister to do anything of significance that had a huge and positive impact on the recreational fishery.

EVERYWHERE (in the World) nets have been removed from the fishing has improved. You don’t need science for that. But the Tasmanian examples should be held up to see what has happened.

Georges Bay and Duck Bay are great examples.

Recreational graball (great name for

Mike Stevens talks fishing with Chris Wisbey ABC Statewide Saturday mornings 6.40 a.m.

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

Mike Stevens – P: 0418 129 949 or E: mike@tasfish.com 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

Fishing News - Page 2

a net) and all set nets should go. Some consideration could be given for areas close to fish farms, such as in Macquarie Harbor and D’Entrecasteaux Channel.

I recall David Llewellyn saying netting should not be a recreational practice.

There were a few positive changes while he was Minister, but it was only fluffing around the edges.

So if I just stuck to one recreational fishing issue for the next State election it would be supporting either of the major parties that said ‘We will remove recreational netting from Tasmania in our next term’. I don’t want ‘We will put it in the Scalefish Plan’. I don’t want ‘We will review it, nor we will do a report’. Just get some balls and do what everyone knows will improve the fishery.

There are many other issues and if either major party had a strong platform of support for the improvement of recreational fishing I would support it.

They must do it with conviction though, not hollow election statements.

So come at me Liberal or Labor by the end of January so we can publish your platform in the February issue, prior to the March election.

Mike Stevens

For subscriptions go to www.tasfish.com, phone Mike 0418 129 949 or pay by Paypal to mike@tasfish.com - Two years $60

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YELLOWTAIL KINGFISH - ARE ON! HARD TO GET TO - TOUGH TO LAND Danial Paull with a few tips from the NW Coast Summer is finally here! Over the past few months, the water temperature has significantly increased in Bass Strait and the highly anticipated return of the yellowtail kingfish has begun. The ‘hoodlums’ have seized control of the tidal waters surrounding Woolnorth once again and have been showing up since late November. In early October, we had our first trip up to the kingfish haven but with the water still pretty cold and dirty the ‘kingies’ simply weren’t there. It wasn’t until late November when we finally ran into our first few rampaging kingfish for the season!

Arriving at Woolnorth early in the morning one day, we soon found ourselves surrounded by one of Australia’s favourite fish. Since then the population up there is growing and the fish are getting bigger as we approach Christmas and the festive season!

Perched on the pinnacle on the northwest coast, the land at Woolnorth is Australia’s biggest dairy operation and is the home of the first operational wind farm in Tasmania. It’s also probably the best place in the state to consistently locate and catch big kingfish. With the numerous wind turbines, sand dunes and grassy hills in the background, it’s

probably one of the prettiest places to wet a line too! Throughout the summer months, the far north-west in general is a fantastic place to target a heap of other great species too including whiting and snapper.

Unless you’ve got access to the actual property at Woolnorth, the easiest way to reach the fishing paradise of the far north-west via boat is to launch from Montagu. Montagu is located a short drive west of Smithton and is a great place to camp and plan any adventure in that part of the world. Launching from the ramp at the ‘Gu’ as it’s affectionately known as, you can either head east out and around Robbins Island in order to reach Woolnorth or head west, through a stretch of water we like to call the ‘Rabbits Warren’ due to its shallow and often confusing nature.

The trip west of the ramp must only be taken at high tide and local knowledge is a welcome commodity while travelling through the labyrinth of tight channels and sandy banks. Either way, Robbins Island is the only real obstacle on the way to Woolnorth.

Once you’ve actually reached the place, finding the kingies is usually pretty

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Fishing News - Page 3

easy. As I’ve mentioned before in a recent article, the hoodlums that frequent the often treacherous waters surrounding Woolnorth and Trefoil Island are a pretty impressive bunch. They usually congregate most prominently in and around the small channel of water between Woolnorth and the Harbour Islets but they can show up just about anywhere outside the channel too around the Doughboys and Trefoil Island.

The tidal flow in the channel is very powerful, particularly in an outgoing tide which coincidentally is also the period of time when the kingfish respond the best, especially during the morning or at dusk. As the tide pushes out through the channel and flows into the ocean, the gang of ruthless kingies will set up behind the numerous reefs and bomboras and ambush just about anything that gets washed past.

Gear Up

you! Ag gressive and on the chew however, kingies will take just about anything. Large soft plastic baitfish i m i t a t i o n s, s u r f a c e poppers, diving lures and even trolling skirts work well on any given day.

We’ve had most of our success on the 150mm Squidgy Pro Whip Bait accompanied with a 1oz or 1.5oz jig head. It’s a good, sturdy soft plastic and they look great in the water!

Trolling is the most effective way to find the hoodlums in the first place. Try trolling soft plastics, divers or skirts around until you’ve found where they’re Trolling is an effective way to find kingfish. feeding then you’ll be able to cast whatever you want at them! When they’re aggressively feeding, a coming from the south-west, doing so will keep you quick retrieve along the surface is best and you’ll often protected from any swell and wind chop travelling to see the kingies chase your lure down. While they aren’t and from Woolnorth. as hyped up, a slow retrieve along the bottom with a few Hoodlums are certainly a rewarding fish to target and pauses and twitches will work wonders. Once you hook they always leave a smile on your face after wrangling up to one, tighten up the drag knob and hang on! If you with one, especially in the often hectic conditions around go too easy on them they’ll just destroy you every time! Woolnorth. Even if the kingies aren’t on the chew, Fighting kingfish from a boat can be challenging at there will be a heap of other species to chase if you do times, especially in inclement weather and high seas. The venture up that way. King George whiting, snapper, big channel up at Woolnorth can be notoriously dangerous flathead, gigantic Australian salmon and sharks all call so it pays to make a note of your surroundings and the far north-west home. Have an enjoyable Christmas always concentrate on keeping away from shallow and a safe and prosperous new year! structure. Try picking a day where the wind will be Daniel Paull

Because most of the kingfish you’ll encounter up at Woolnorth are pretty impressive in size, you’ll need to equip yourself with some fairly serious gear. High quality terminal tackle, rods and reels that can withstand a heap of drag pressure are a must! We’ve been using the Shimano Anarchy 5-10kg SW Spin matched with a Twin Power SW 5000 for a few years now and it would have to be one of the best outfits for targeting Tassie kingfish.

Even on a fairly heavy rod such as the Anarchy, we still manage to get smoked by the odd ‘freak’ sized hoodlum so it could pay to go even heavier! Braided line such as the ever reliable Powerpro from 30-50lb and fluorocarbon leader from the Ocea range in either 30-50lb will never let you down accompanied with tough, proven line connections such as the FG or PR knot. The good old fashioned Double-Uni knot will work fine too don’t worry, it’s just a bit clunky through the guides with heavier leader material.

In general, kingfish aren’t fussy eaters but can be shy on occasions. When they are a bit timid, try downsizing your leader material and lure size, the results will surprise

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Fishing News - Page 5

Tackle store owner, Steve Suitor, gets some research done.

KING GEORGE COMETH CRACKING THE CODE OF KING GEORGE WHITING Matt Sherriff turns up the volume on these remarkable fish

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he King George Whiting is the largest member of the Whiting family, growing to a length of 72cm and 4.8kg in weight. The colour of the King George is very distinctive, with a pale golden brown to olive brown top colour and white to silver colour on its underside. This species also has distinct, obliquely positioned rows of brown spots running the length of its body. They reach sexual maturity at three to four years of age, with males attaining 30cm in length and females 34cm. Currently in Tasmania the minimum legal size for taking King George is 35cm which should allow for each individual to be able to reproduce before being taken.

In Tassie, King George Whiting are most prolific throughout the Northern half of the island. Known hot spots include George’s Bay, Ansons Bay, Tamar River, Port Sorell, Montagu. King George have been caught in the greater Hobart area but not in the numbers we see in the North. This may change in coming years with fish moving further South with warm currents and also with more anglers targeting this great species.

Fishing News - Page 6

One thing that has really been driven home to me recently is that unlike many other species, King George rarely get taken as by-catch. If you want to catch these hard fighting, delicious fish, you need to be targeting them with the correct tackle! For starters you will be best using a 2-4kg set-up similar to what you would use for trout or bream fishing. I prefer carbon rods as they have great feel and are great for setting hooks and playing the fish. 6 -12lb braid, depending on your preference, will be fine and if you’re fishing with plastics, a 1.5 - 2 metre leader of 8lb fluorocarbon is all that’s needed. If your using dedicated Whiting bait rigs, tying the braid directly to the swivel on the rig is fine. A uni knot with 12+ turns is a great knot for this purpose.

For those who are looking to chase these fish on plastics, which is great fun, you just can’t go past the worm imitations. The majority of Whiting we have caught have had at least a couple of sand worms in their stomach and they find these baits hard to pass up. Berkley Sandworms, Turtleback Worms and Fry have all caught

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King George for me, however in areas with good populations of Leatherjackets, the Gulp plastics will get chewed up pretty fast and using ones that aren’t scented may be a better option.

I’ve found that you really don’t have to impart a lot of movement with these plastics as they will usually wave around in the current just like a worm would. If your plastic doesn’t get a hit after being paused on the bottom for a while just give it a couple of hops and let it sit again. When there’s a fish nearby it won’t muck about, once whiting decide they want your lure they just grab it and go! Size 1 or 2 hooks on a jighead weighted appropriately for the depth and current are my go to sizes for fishing with this type of plastic.

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Jason Sherriff with some nice whiting.

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Fishing News - Page 7

The most consistent bags of whiting in my opinion are caught with dedicated Whiting Rigs spiced up with a small piece of bait. Hayabusa Fishing Hooks in Japan spoke to us early this year and asked for some input into designing some Whiting rigs for the Australian market. With some helpful advice from our local tackle stores and a couple of knowledgeable Whiting anglers

we ended up with some great rigs that are put together the same as if we were to make them ourselves. One of the favourite parts of my job is getting to test new products out before they are released on the market and these rigs have proved to be awesome fish catchers with their ultra-sharp Japanese hooks always pinning the fish in the corner of the mouth. The hooks have been

standing up well to the punishment and maintaining their sharp points even after multiple catches. The rigs come set up with Japanese fluorocarbon, swivels and sinker clips and are in a variety of four colours which have all worked well on their given days. We have been testing them out in the Tamar River and up the North West Coast (special thanks to Marcus Popowski for his

The author gets amongst the King Georges.

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help with this) and have already boated well over 100 King George on them between the two areas. We are stoked to release these onto the market and they are now available in local tackle stores at $9.95 for a pack of two rigs. One thing that I must stress when baiting up Whiting rigs is not to choke the hooks with the bait.

Being a re-curve style of hook, leaving the gape open will allow them to perform their magic! A small strip of squid tentacle around an inch and a half long just pinned at the top has been working well for us (see picture).

Other good baits include nippers, pipis and sand worms.

Bomb sinkers work best with these rigs and using the lightest one you can get away with to keep your rig on the bottom will see the best results.

What should you look for when targeting these fish?

All our success has come in water from 1-5 metres deep with good weed areas broken up with patches of sand.

The secret is to get your rig or plastic on the sand as close as possible to the weed edge. These areas are also home to some annoying by-catch including Wrasse, Leatherjackets and such. Perseverance through these is key to succeeding as many anglers will catch a few wrasse and give up, moving on to another area. My advice is if you’re not catching a few Wrasse, you’re probably not in the right area to start with! King George love current… no run, no fun! Some areas fish well on an incoming tide whilst others fish well on an outgoing one, but for us, none of these areas fish well at slack water. Sussing out what tides work best in what areas is all part of the

Hayabusa rigs are available at good tackle stores and have been designed for Tasmanian whiting.

fun of working these great little fish out! Last, but by no means least, is to use some burley. Whilst we have caught fish without burley, they do respond very well to it and we have even had King George schooling right at the back of the boat. A mixture of chicken pellets, bread and fish oil seems to work well. Alternatively, burley logs that are available from most tackle stores are another good option. Burley will not only attract schools of fish but it will also hold them around for longer giving you a chance to score multiple fish in a relatively short period of time!

King George Whiting are a great family option especially when the weather may not allow trips offshore.

They can be targeted by wading beaches or by boat in sheltered estuaries and even the kids will have a great time catching them (and be kept amused by a few Wrasse). Their never say die fighting ability is enhanced on light gear and their table qualities are second to none!

What’s holding you back; grab some plastics and/or a few rigs and go and try and crack the King George code…you won’t regret it!

Note: the recreational limit in Tassie for King George Whiting is five fish and the minimum size is 35cm.

Matt Sherriff

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Fishing News - Page 9

The author with a beautiful Penstock Lagoon brownie.

3.30 am START THE MORNING RISE AT PENSTOCK Andrew de Bruyn rewarded for an early start “Pick me up at 3.30am”...

“What? Don’t you mean 6.30am?”

“No, I mean 3.30am; we will be there at first light”.

“Ok...?” I agree, “I hope they are biting” So comes 3.30am at the end of November, I apprehensively arrive at my mate Stu’s and we finish loading his boat and depart into the darkness to begin what turns out to be a spectacular day fishing.

As we ascend Poatina Hill the sun begins to spill over the horizon, we glance nervously at each other, it’s never a promising sign to see red sky in the morning (a sailor’s warning). “Is it too late to turn back?” I think to myself, knowing it was never really an option. We would just have to wait and see...

After arriving at Penstock Lagoon, we launched the boat into balmy dark water, park the car and are on the water just before 5.15am. Walking back to the jetty was pure serenity; it was calm and silent, no wind at all.

I hopped on the boat and was caught completely off guard; I was mesmerised by the breathtaking master piece of artwork that nature had provided. I scrambled for my phone to capture the moment, looking out of the canal to the lake was the most sensational sunrise.

It’s moments like that that are one of the reasons I love having the opportunity to fish – it’s like another world in the highlands of Tasmania exploring some amazing remote areas that have barely been touched throughout the ages.

We navigate our way through the canal, eagerly scanning for any signs of moving fish; from previous experience we often pick one up in the shallows against Fishing News - Page 10

the reeds but not today, no subtle movements giving away shy elusive and easily spooked trout. We creep forward to the mouth of the canal before we sight the first fish of the day. I had never before witnessed a fish like this – cruising just under the surface, chomping

down caenids in a rhythmic pattern, every couple of seconds. Seeing the ‘v’ of ripple giving away its position before slurping in another. We began casting excitedly competing to see who could catch first but to no avail, we decide to move on around the corner and to our delight it’s a feeding frenzy as millions of caenids have begun to hatch upon the water’s surface. We try to introduce our offering into the feast, however the fish seemed to be selecting every morsel except ours. We quickly dove into our fly boxes to change flies and I decided on the smallest fly I could find - a caenid pattern I had tied up during winter and hadn’t had the chance to break in.

This went on the point. The second fly was a small black Klinkhammer with a red post. Stu opted for an iron blue dun with a post and small klinkhammer combination.

Having read a bit about the morning rise and how hard fish are to catch - and now I could see why. We were presenting to a fish one or two times, but they keep turning away feeding in erratic circles or stop feeding altogether if we moved too close. Many times we would move to the fish only to put them down by getting too close. The secret was a single long accurate cast - about 18m to 20m. This was exciting and frustrating all in one, putting great casts onto the nose of the fish only to have them come up right next to your fly and move on in there slow, purposeful search The change of flies was all that we needed. It worked and we managed to trip up six hard fighting fish ranging from 2 to 3 pounds. Before we knew it it was already 9.30am and the feast was over. We had gone from a glassy water surface to a slight ripple and now small waves, and the fish had now retreated back into the

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watery depths below. It was time to reset, have a drink and a bite to eat and move on to the duns.

On past November trips, when we had not arrived at Penstock Lagoon until after 9.00am and would fish until around 5pm - with happy hour being between 3 – 4pm always producing fish. This trip would be different as the weather forecast was for winds to pick up over 20kmh after lunch. This was outside our comfort zone on a boat so we planned to be off the lake no later than 2.00pm Then we moved onto the DUNS! The point fly as always was MR Magic for both of us, this fly has single handedly accounted for half the fish we have caught on its own. The second fly options were Klinkhammers, Bibios, English Hoppers, Brown Wulff, Shaving Brush and other emerger types that we swapped around throughout the day.

When fishing from a boat we are constantly moving around looking for fish rising, either setting up a drift along an edge or out in the middle it varies day to day, even hour to hour, trying a spot for a while maybe catch a few fish on a drift or use the indispensible electric to hold us while we work an area thoroughly and then move on. We were regularly finding fish feeding. By the end of the day I’m sure I would have seen well over a hundred fish either sipping off the surface, jumping at spinners or damsel flies or a lightning fast, splashy take to grab a dun before it flies to safety.

The banter that goes on when fishing with a buddy is second to none, I always miss it when fishing on my own. So during the course of a number of trips together a number of reasons have come out as to why we miss fish. I have been blamed for distracting Stu so many times, talking on the phone or starting the motor have all been a cause for missing a take at the crucial moment. I was able to repay one back on this day. As we were finished with a drift Stu started up the motor to move in a bit closer to the edge, both out lines were still on the water. We were looking ahead working out our next position, just as we started to move I put up my hand to stop; turned and pointed at Stu’s flies, just as we both turned to look it happened. A fish took his fly! I have not laughed so hard in a long while, another one to the net.

This season I have mostly been fishing with a Sage Circa 5wt which has served me well on calmer days or downwind with dry flies and a Sage One 6wt on windier days or using Nymphs. I am now faced with the fly fisherman’s never ending need for one more rod to fill a gap. With the Circa I am comfortable casting it out to the 15m mark but 18m is my limit. Now I need to find a new rod which has a faster action to reach out to the 18 plus meter mark. This is now a necessity as Stu the fly fishing guru has shown me that when searching in his boat we must be able to fish 360 degrees. This means into and across the wind whatever is needed to capture that next elusive trout.

The forecast wind arrived and built up as expected so we reluctantly called it a day. Final tally was 16 between us - the biggest 4.5 pounds with the usual dozen or so misses.

Oh how good is dry fly fishing!

Andrew de Bruyn

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Fishing News - Page 11

ECHO 100 A CENTURY OF TRIPS TO LAKE ECHO Shane Flude shares a unique experience

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s a meticulous keeper of all things fishy my trout diary signalled an upcoming milestone event in my trout fishing career. My 100th trip to my favourite water, namely Lake Echo. I therefore planned for it carefully with numerous fine foods and beverages, researched all previous trips I had undertaken in spring time and counted down the days. Frank from Hobart was the only companion able to meet the deadline and embark on our epic adventure. As you will discover it was certainly a one in a hundred trip for all the right and wrong reasons.

Day one saw us converging on the trusty campsite near the Large Bay boat ramp in almost perfect unison from either ends of the state. Tents were quickly pitched to claim our spot in case other anglers arrived, a doubtful possibility as the forecast was indeed bleak but decidedly good for trout fishing on Echo at this time of year. A left over supply of firewood from a previous party saved us time cutting firewood and our fishing gear was quickly assembled and placed in the boat which was launched in record time. With enough food and beverages stashed on board to last until dark our chances of perishing through malnutrition were low enough to venture forth, let the adventure begin.

Fishing News - Page 12

Previous records indicated that all the shallow bays in Echo produce well up until early summer so it was straight up to Large Bay to test the waters. Two early fish to the ever trusty Rapala CD5 Rainbow and CD7 Perch and a couple lost was not a bad start. A similar score was had in Broken Bay, again several fish tapping the lure but not connecting. The day calmed off a treat for the next few hours as we made our way down the northern shore towards the canal mouth with only a couple of half hearted taps to show for our effort.

The canal mouth was hot as usual with five more quickly in the boat from the fast water. Numerous fish were seen and lost, the biggest as always right in close on the edge. I gave the drone a run here to view and film surroundings, the photos in this article say it all.

The tally was 9 claimed as we headed on our return journey for camp. We didn’t get far from the canal as we discovered fish in numbers about 150 meters from the main inflow and spent the next hour or so catching and losing another six. Several short drift spinning sessions resulted in the most fish. The stop and start method nailed them. A nice three pounder trolling across the front which completely inhaled Frank’s CD 5 rainbow

Lake Echo is fishing better than ever.

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pattern was the last fish we claimed. It turned out to be the biggest fish of the trip.

We call the last hour or so of light the “happy hour” on Echo as it is often that due to the great fishing. This To Little Pine Lagoon particular evening did not disappoint and six more came to the boat in Broken Bay and one more in Large Bay, several more of course being missed. We finished the LOCATION day with a healthy total of 24; Frank had bragging rights with the most and the biggest. Time to crank up the fire and savour the fine foods, perhaps washed down with a LAUNCESTON cool beverage or three.

Day two saw us starting early and heading straight LAKE TOP MARSHES ECHO down to Teal Bay for a concerted effort. We spent the CONSERVATION B11 next two hours spinning and trolling in and around all AREA HOBART the snags and tree lines. The best spot was the line of STATE trees that extend out into the lake behind the inflowing FOREST creek. Several fish were claimed here in only 4-5 feet of water in the main current, the remainder not much further out. After seven boated and a number lost we headed back to the northern bays and canal mouth.

Both bays again produced fish and fifteen by lunch was A drone shot from the top of the lake.

Map below from Angler Access maps by IFS. a good excuse to put ashore and have lunch and clean PRIVATE the ones we kept.

PROPERTY PRIVATE We didn’t bother with the tree Three PROPERTY lined northern shore and made Mile Marsh our way and started fishing in the Surveyors Marshes fast waters off the canal mouth.

Knights Broken From there we did a trolling run HYDRO Bay Lookout LAND down the north eastern shore. A submerged nice 2.5lb rainbow in the muddied trees Large Macclesfield waters of the small north eastern Bay STATE FOREST Hill bay was the best fish of the session. He was only in about 3 feet of water and scoffed the Bull Bank CD5 Rainbow almost under the HYDRO (submerged) Lake boat. Back to the canal mouth LAND Big Jim Dicks for a late afternoon session of LAKE Marsh STORMY mainly spinning in the fast water Teal BAY which included two double hook Bay ups. Again heaps were lost and a number of fish were seen to follow SU ECHO KE the lures right in to the boat. Two S more as we trolled through Broken TIER PRIVATE Bay and my final fish was the only PROPERTY one in our run through Large Bay. 846m We had a short conversation Lake with three anglers trolling the Samuel Brown deeper waters off the boat ramp Sukes Marsh Marsh before we landed. Their two fish PRIVATE PROPERTY for the day on cobra wobblers in PRIVATE over thirty feet of water did not PROPERTY Bronte stack up well against our 32 on Lagoon C173 rapalas. Our fish were all taken in water depths from 3 ft to around 20ft. Again Frank had bragging submerged Highland trees rights, this time not the biggest; Waters the rainbow won that one for me Brocks but certainly the most. Rain put Bay a slightly early dampener on our A10 STATE FOREST day and the happy hour was left Five Mile Marsh begging. The whole day however HYDRO Echo Dam ROAD could be described as one large LAND RE MO ENT M r happy hour. Tales would not be ve Ri HYDRO told around the camp fire that LAND night as the rain increased and PRIVATE drove us to bed early.

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PROPERTY

Fishing News - Page 13

Day three dawned with more drizzly weather and an ever increasing damp Frank. His gortex jacket, bought so many years ago for a bargain price of $25 in some Vinnies store had finally lost its zip and will to live.

Frank’s wet and now low body temperature caused him to retire early that last morning and not risk the already crappy weather that prevailed on the lake. He was more than happy with his fishing adventures thus far and pulled the pin. I of course having caught 11 the first day and 12 the second, now needed to catch 13 the last day to ensure my 100th trip as truly one to remember. I headed around into Broken Bay claiming my first only minutes after putting my line out. The wind was now blowing a steady 25ks from the west, a perfect direction from which to drift spin the tree line along the northern edge of Broken Bay. I didn’t start catching fish until I reached the 10ft mark, losing two beauties right near the boat to start. From here for the next three hundred meters they came thick and fast, engulfing the CD7 Perch. My tally was 10 claimed and four lost by the end of the tree line. I only needed three more, should I do one more drift or go for gold off the canal mouth.

Greed got the better of me and I made a quick dash to the mouth. A decision which would ultimately lead to unseen future cost and physical exertion. Travelling with the increasingly bad weather blowing from the west I really didn’t notice how rough it was until I stopped and started spinning. Three feet waves were now common and mixed with the inflowing waters of the canal the conditions although rough were perfect for fishing. A fish second cast confirmed my predictions. The waves at this stage dropped me down onto an unseen stump and a bad crushing noise resulted. I was briefly stuck but quickly motored off to start another drift, not at first noticing the rising water level around my feet.

When I stopped again this became apparent, I now had a lot of water in the boat. My first thoughts were that I had somehow dislodged the bung. I immediately turned for home, some 4.5ks back across the lake. I bailed furiously and stayed close in to shore. I reached for the bung and found it intact. Bugger, I had holed the

boat and each time I stopped the water came pouring in through a thumb size hole right under my feet. The entire northern shore of Echo is shallow and rocky with nowhere to land in these rough conditions. I managed to stuff a rag into the obvious hole and kept bailing whilst travelling as fast as my now rear heavy boat would travel.

This amounted to about 1.5ks down the northern shore before further disaster struck.

Due to my nose high boat I simply did not see the log just under the surface. I loud bang was followed by a drowning gurgling motor noise. My boat stopped quickly and I looked back and down to see my Johnson 15hp now laying in 7 ft of water. Oh great, standing in a sinking boat with no motor some 50 metres from shore with a water temperature of 11 degrees. I picked up the first oar, not used in the last seven years, and quickly snapped it in two. I then very frantically rowed with my now little oar onto shore. As I hit the shore the water level was now about a foot deep in the boat and so heavy I could not drag it up any further. I tied it off to the only large rock available and surveyed the scene.

My 47 year old Savage Kestrel 13 foot tinny had probably done more work and caught more fish than any other I know. Its total loss to waves on the rocks or being salvaged by the next angler was highly probable but this really didn’t concern me. If this was the end of the boat then what a way to go. My motor however was another matter and worth considerably more. Still, nothing else could be done apart from gathering my wits and everything I could carry and heading around the shore back to the car.

Ninety minutes later saw me unloading my stuff back at the boat ramp. A text from Frank requesting a score check resulted in a somewhat interesting phone call. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It was a sombre trip home with plenty to reflect on, what a 100th trip to remember.

Three days later saw a possible day for recovery and trusty mate Roger and I found ourselves staring across the calm waters of Echo once again. We were armed with grappling hook, lasso, rope and a quick dry putty

substance known as steel weld. We spotted the boat still some distance off, it hadn’t moved and still had the same level of water inside. The motor being white was easily spotted in the clear water. It looked a sorry sight. We managed to bail and overturn the boat before banging the 75mm hole/gash along the centreline partially closed. The putty was applied and allowed to dry for one hour. While this happened Roger’s lassoing skills were tested and he quickly collared the motor.

It was manhandled on board and drained water from everywhere, would it ever start again? The boat was hitched and then towed slowly back across the lake to the ramp. It did not take on a drop as the putty had set like concrete. Things were quickly stowed but the waters of Echo beckoned. As the recovery effort had gone so smoothly we had time to fish and spent the next three hours claiming another 17 fish, take that Echo, trip 101.

Two months later and the boat has been welded and the motor drained and fully serviced. Both are running well and have had an even further trip to the lake. I’m not sure how many more trips to Echo I will have but it’s certainly still on my favourites list despite obvious setbacks. I would have to say that Echo has fished probably the best it has this season since it filled in 1994. As a spring time venue it is hard to beat, the bays and canal mouth being really stand out locations. Fish average about 650 g this year and have all been in good to excellent condition, maintaining their excellent dark red flesh that makes them great for eating and smoking.

A couple we missed at the canal mouth were possibly a bit bigger than the 3 pounder we claimed but they rarely get much bigger. The water level was rising well up until about mid October but has since levelled out.

This is a pity because when it hits the minus 4.5 meter mark it starts to flood the marshes and tussocks in all the bays and the fish really concentrate in these areas in numbers. I guess we will now have to wait until next spring to watch the waters rise again. See you up there sometime during my next one hundred trips, I will be the guy in the very patched up tinny.

Shane Flude

Recovered - my 47 y.o. Savage Kestrel — now repaired and ready for new adventures.

Fishing News - Page 14

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Australian Fly Fishing Champion, Christopher Bassano.

XXIV AUSTRALIAN FLY FISHING CHAMPIONSHIPS T

h e AU S T R A L I A N F LY F I S H I N G CHAMPIONSHIPS, sponsored by Douglas Outdoors and Essential Flyfisher, were recently held in Tasmania. There were over 1000 fish caught and released, by 60 anglers from around Australia.

All anglers qualified to fish through their State competitions and came together at the Miena base to fish five session that included: Woods Lake, Little Pine Lagoon, Penstock Lagoon, Mersey River and Meander River.

Each angler fishes all venues and only fish against the anglers in their draw. If an angler wins their session they are awarded 1 point. If you win every session you will have 5 points. This is a simple explanation and it does get complicated after this with ranking points. The full results from each session and statistics on each venue is on the following pages.

Christopher Bassano won, taking top spot in each of his five session against some very good anglers that were in his group.

In second place was Tom Jarman and third, Max Verashaka, both from Victoria. The teams event was won by Victoria. Top lady angler was Casey Mattson from SA.

I used a double nymph rig, short-line, European style, fished through the beat once and then fished half of it a second time. Early in the day the light makes it difficult to see the leader indicators, but I did manage nine fish and dropped plenty. I tried quite a few different nymphs and the fish were not fussy. There seemed to be no difference in effectiveness between light and dark flies. The best flies were 2.5 and 2.8mm tungsten bead nymphs.

Here is a brief outline from Christopher Bassano on each of his sessions.

Day 1, Session 1, Meander River:

Christopher Bassano getting presented with his Douglas Flyrod prize from Essential Flyfisher.

“I fished beat six, which is above the cattle bridge at Meander. This is pocket water, not a lot of dry fly water, nor entirely suitable nymph under dry water either. This was the morning session from 8am until 11am so there was not a lot of insect activity on top. Water level was low and dropping, so not ideal fishing conditions. The water was clear and cold. I predominately nymph fished this area after trying some dries without much success.

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Fishing News - Page 15

Hanak Flurocarbon in .1mm worked for me. I had a lighter tippet ready if fish wouldn’t come to the .1mm, but they did, so I didn’t change. For those interested .1mm is about 2.5lb or 1.1kg. It is my favourite fluorocarbon.

Day 1, Session 2, 2.30pm – 5.30pm, Penstock Lagoon:

“I never like fishing competitions on Penstock Lagoon. There were a few rising fish and a bit of action with cloud cover most of the time, but with occasional sun. The fish were patchy and that made things tough. If you happened to be in the right place at the right time it was good. I tried all methods; dries, nymphs, loch style and streamers. Everything worked to some degree and fish would come to the flies.

I had Craig Shipton in the boat with me and he is a good angler. I think he did well on the dries and whilst I caught four it should have been eight or nine, but everyone has those stories. Best flies were parachute duns, black woolly buggers, brown nymphs and dabblers for loch style. I mostly fished a floating line, but did go to an intermediate as well for the streamers/woolly buggers.

Day 2, Session 3, 8am – 11am, Woods Lake:

“There was a light north easterly and it was overcast. There had been an early caenid hatch and there was an odd fish rising around the boat ramp. I setup with a floating line and nymphs. I think I hooked a fish second cast, but dropped it, however I didn’t feel this was the right setup. The wind and weather got a little heavier and I changed to a sinking line and streamers and had instant success.

People around me were having success nymphing and I saw both Josh and Grant

Flowers landing fish within a few casts of starting the session.

There were plenty of fish around and I was catching them on a regular and constant basis. I believed the sinking line technique was working well and be good enough to get me through, so I stuck with it. I put nymphs in the middle for a while, and swapped them around a bit.

I fished with both type 3 and 5 lines and that depended where I was on the lake. The flies had to be down near the weeds. These lines were the newish Scientific Anglers - Seamless Density, Sonar Stillwater S1/S3 and S3/S5. I amd convinced the lines were more important than the flies and I was using heavy .24mm Hanak fluorocarbon leader. I fish the flies 5 feet apart. When nymphing I used .18mm fluorocarbon and 9 feet to the top dropper, making the leader about 20 feet long. I ended this session with 24.

Day 2, Session 4, 2.30pm – 5.30pm, Little Pine Lagoon.

“This was the session I was most worried about. Weather was a variable northerly about 1-5 knots. Water was clear to dirty depending on where you were on the lagoon. I started with a sinking line pulling three streamers.

There were a few mayflies around, but I chose to pull wets. I vary retrieve speed enormously when trying to find which speed works best. The fish in Little Pine are the strongest in Tassie at the moment and I broke some off on .24mm, which is around 10lb. This can happen easily on the take, if you are tight to the fly. In this circumstance they are not leader shy.

Green and black woolly buggers in combination were good. I like to use a combination of colours as fish will often take one or the other. I give them a choice and am often surprised one colour will

2017 Australian Fly Fishing Championships ‐ Miena Venue Statistics River Venues Beat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Totals % total

Mersey River Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4 Session 5 Total Fish 3 13 3 1 2 22 8 3 2 6 3 22 12 7 11 5 1 36 7 12 8 4 4 35 6 10 1 2 7 26 7 9 7 6 5 34 0 10 5 5 4 24 2 3 1 2 4 12 16 0 6 4 1 27 7 7 8 0 11 33 6 2 4 4 4 20 3 8 0 1 4 16 77 84 56 40 50 307 25.1% 27.4% 18.2% 13.0% 16.3%

Total number of fish caught 307 Average size of fish caught (cm) 28.5 Largest Fish (cm) 43.6

Beat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Totals % total

Rank 4 4 12 11 7 10 6 1 8 9 3 2

Shayne Murphy (session 3 ‐ beat 8)

Meander River Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4 Session 5 Total Fish 6 4 1 1 3 15 1 1 3 6 1 12 4 3 1 4 1 13 3 9 4 4 3 23 7 1 3 2 1 14 9 2 1 5 0 17 1 0 4 1 11 17 8 6 4 4 5 27 3 1 0 2 2 8 1 6 2 1 1 11 3 0 0 1 2 6 1 1 1 5 0 8 47 34 24 36 30 171 27.5% 19.9% 14.0% 21.1% 17.5%

Rank 8 5 6 11 7 9 9 12 2 4 1 2

Total number of fish caught 171 2017 Australian Fly Fishing Championships ‐ Miena Average size of fish caught (cm) 29.8 Venue Statistics Largest Fish (cm) 44.0 Christopher Bassano (session 1 ‐ beat 6)

Lake Venues Woods Lake Total number of fish caught Average size of fish caught Largest Fish

345 34.7 cm 61.5 cm

Ricky Sunderland (session 5)

Little Pine Lagoon Total number of fish caught Average size of fish caught Largest Fish

100 43.1 cm 57.4 cm

Tom Jarman (session 3)

Penstock Lagoon

Collecting the competition spoils from Douglas Outdoors and Essential Total number of fish caught Flyfisher: Max Verashaka, 3rd (Vic): Casey Mattson, 1st lady (SA); sponsor, Average size of fish caught Largest Fish Mike Stevens; Tom Jarman, 2nd (Vic); Christopher Bassano 1st (Tas).

Fishing News - Page 16

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96 44.0 cm 56.4 cm

Tim Strong (session 3)

2017 Australian Fly Fishing Championships ‐ Miena ANGLER ANGLER NAME NUMBER

D37 C29 E52 A3 C28 A7 A11 B18 B13 B24 D39 E49 E50 D41 D44 D48 E53 E60 B22 A4 E55 B14 A6 B19 C27 E56 C35 B21 C26 C25 D40 A2 B15 C33 C31 D43 A8 D47 C32 B16 C30 D42 E58 A10 A5 D46 A12 B23 B20 D45 C36 C34 E51 E57 E59 E54 B17 A9 D38 A1

Christopher Bassano Tom Jarman Max Verashaka David Hemphill Daniel Ringer Craig Coltman Jonothan Stagg Jason Garrett Jnr Mark Bulley Luke Barby Joshua Flowers Tim Urbanc Tim Strong John Fisher Craig Dawson Geoff Naylor Brendon Cotterill Stewart Dick Matt Burnett Rick Sunderland Tom Watson Glenn Eggleton Gary Rapley Nathan Walker Chris Medwin Vern Barby Mark Youngman Royce Baxter Bob Bartels Steve Varga Craig Shipton Michael Lavers Garth Jackson Geoff Lay David Mccallum Shane Symonds Chris Dawson John Donnachy David Mapleson Pat Kennedy Michael Porte Grant Flowers Erhan Cinar John Kruska Doug Mosenthal Jason Mahoney Michael Burgess John Cummins Shayne Murphy Casey Mattson Caleb Page Karen Brooks David Jarman Derek Poole Jane Vincent Jane Forster David Carew Asitha Balanchandra Aaron Bridgborn Cath Weilde

ANGLER STATE

TAS VIC VIC NSW VIC VIC TAS TAS NSW VIC TAS TAS TAS NSW NSW NSW NSW TAS TAS NSW WA TAS VIC NSW TAS VIC TAS VIC NSW SA TAS NSW TAS SA NSW VIC NSW TAS WA NSW TAS TAS VIC VIC TAS NSW TAS NSW TAS SA TAS TAS VIC VIC NSW TAS VIC VIC VIC NSW

SESSION 1

SESSION 2

SESSION 3

SESSION 4

SESSION 5

CUMULATIVE

No. FISH No. FISH No. FISH No. FISH No. FISH No. FISH PLACE FISH POINTS PLACE FISH POINTS PLACE FISH POINTS PLACE FISH POINTS PLACE FISH POINTS PLACE FISH POINTS POINTS 9 6300 1 4 4280 1 24 20940 1 5 5080 1 11 8840 1 53 45440 5 7 7400 1 11 9300 2 4 4240 1 6 4260 1 3 2040 4 31 27240 9 12 7440 2 4 2800 4 2 1940 2 11 7840 2 4 4040 2 33 24060 12 3 2720 3 12 8180 2 4 2960 1 2 2300 3 6 5080 3 27 21240 12 3 3220 2 10 8620 3 2 2060 4 5 3260 3 11 8380 1 31 25540 13 1 1040 5 13 8480 1 3 2180 4 4 3900 2 10 7940 2 31 23540 14 5 5260 1 8 5480 6 4 2560 3 6 5420 1 4 2760 7 27 21480 18 10 8080 2 5 4540 1 6 3800 5 4 2800 4 1 1100 6 26 20320 18 8 6300 3 4 4180 2 11 7320 1 4 2560 6 1 1080 7 28 21440 19 6 4400 7 3 2740 4 8 5280 3 5 3360 3 2 2060 3 24 17840 20 4 2880 5 4 3980 2 5 3500 7 2 2040 4 7 4680 2 22 17080 20 6 3760 8 3 2140 5 2 2020 1 8 5760 5 3 2980 3 22 16660 22 7 4140 7 1 720 8 2 1860 3 9 7060 4 5 5280 1 24 19060 23 3 2240 7 1 1140 8 10 8380 2 3 2820 2 4 3000 5 21 17580 24 3 2440 6 3 2960 5 11 8360 3 3 2600 3 4 2660 8 24 19020 25 3 1920 8 3 3180 4 7 4960 5 2 1820 5 5 3620 3 20 15500 25 7 4960 4 6 4100 2 1 980 4 2 1360 9 2 1840 7 18 13240 26 16 11100 1 2 1380 6 0 0 12 10 8280 1 1 1160 8 29 21920 28 10 8460 1 3 2600 5 8 5960 2 2 1200 8 0 0 12 23 18220 28 3 2740 2 2 1640 11 1 660 10 2 1860 4 11 9980 1 19 16880 28 8 5380 3 9 5960 1 0 0 12 10 7400 3 1 920 10 28 19660 29 6 5840 5 4 3940 3 3 1940 8 4 2700 5 1 1060 8 18 15480 29 0 0 12 9 5980 5 4 2780 2 1 1160 6 6 3980 4 20 13900 29 0 0 12 1 920 8 4 2540 7 6 3880 1 3 2800 1 14 10140 29 2 2060 6 14 11500 1 0 0 12 4 2800 5 2 1380 6 22 17740 30 6 4600 5 6 3960 3 1 960 5 7 4940 6 1 900 11 21 15360 30 2 2100 5 6 5120 6 2 2040 5 2 1240 9 2 1440 5 14 11940 30 7 6100 4 1 1060 6 2 1440 9 1 900 9 2 1680 5 13 11180 33 0 0 12 11 7740 4 2 1940 6 1 580 10 5 3240 2 19 13500 34 3 2940 4 1 1120 12 3 3200 2 4 2600 7 1 720 9 12 10580 34 1 740 11 3 3260 3 8 6360 4 2 1780 6 1 840 11 15 12980 35 0 0 12 10 6580 4 2 1360 6 1 1000 7 4 3180 6 17 12120 35 3 1940 10 1 1020 7 7 4520 4 5 3680 2 0 0 12 16 11160 35 1 1040 8 4 3540 10 1 1060 7 5 3100 4 1 920 7 12 9660 36 1 960 9 6 5180 5 0 0 12 6 3900 2 1 680 10 14 10720 38 6 4360 4 2 2160 6 0 0 12 1 860 7 3 2040 9 12 9420 38 0 0 12 10 7280 3 3 2040 5 1 840 9 3 2460 10 17 12620 39 1 800 9 1 820 10 6 4680 6 1 700 8 4 2940 6 13 9940 39 2 1860 7 2 1460 11 0 0 12 4 2660 6 3 2260 3 11 8240 39 7 5620 6 0 0 12 5 3120 6 1 660 12 2 1860 4 15 11260 40 1 920 10 5 4620 7 2 2120 3 0 0 12 1 820 8 9 8480 40 8 5680 2 2 1820 7 4 3160 8 0 0 12 1 520 12 15 11180 41 7 4420 6 0 0 12 1 780 6 0 0 12 3 2880 5 11 8080 41 0 0 12 3 2140 9 1 740 7 2 1760 5 4 2620 9 10 7260 42 1 1100 4 7 4600 7 1 680 8 0 0 12 1 800 11 10 7180 42 7 5240 3 0 0 12 3 2180 9 0 0 12 4 2680 7 14 10100 43 0 0 12 3 2040 10 1 680 8 1 940 8 4 3280 5 9 6940 43 2 1960 9 0 0 12 1 600 11 1 700 10 3 2680 2 7 5940 44 4 3460 8 1 620 10 1 980 10 2 1360 7 1 820 10 9 7240 45 1 800 9 0 0 12 2 1160 11 1 540 9 4 3040 4 8 5540 45 3 3040 3 5 4280 9 0 0 12 1 580 10 0 0 12 9 7900 46 1 860 11 5 4360 8 1 880 8 2 1620 8 0 0 12 9 7720 47 3 2200 9 0 0 12 0 0 12 2 1600 8 2 1940 6 7 5740 47 2 1460 11 1 620 10 0 0 12 1 700 10 3 2900 4 7 5680 47 3 1900 10 1 640 9 0 0 12 2 2040 7 0 0 12 6 4580 50 0 0 12 1 740 7 0 0 12 1 700 10 1 1120 9 3 2560 50 1 700 11 1 860 9 0 0 12 1 700 10 1 1000 9 4 3260 51 0 0 12 7 4460 8 0 0 12 0 0 12 3 2660 8 10 7120 52 1 700 12 1 1020 9 2 1340 10 0 0 12 2 1100 10 6 4160 53 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 60 227 246 188 179 179 1019

RANK

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Overall 60 competition anglers landed and released over 1000 fish. often work to the complete exclusion of the other. Even on different parts of the lake fish will often key in on different colours. I ended with five fish for this session.

Day 3 Session 5, 8am – 11am, Mersey River.

“The river was a dirty as it had been raining heavily.

I had ‘Beat 10’, which was a part of the river I had never fished before. It hadn’t produced many fish, but it looked like a good piece of dry fly and nymphing water. The wind was blowing straight down the river, plus it was cold, raining and heavily overcast. It made dry fly fishing very difficult. I tried it, but the wind and

difficult light made it too hard. I changed to streamers, but that didn’t work either. So I changed to nymphs and it worked. There were both browns and rainbows and the browns were bigger.

I got wiped out by a couple of big fish – one I didn’t see at all. It took off so quickly the reel over-ran, tangled and the fish broke off. It would have been funny if it was someone else. I didn’t laugh – at the time.

With nymphs I usually go with light and dark nymphs to see which works. I used dull flies without hotspots and for leaders .10mm Hanak fluorocarbon. After getting smashed off on that I did go to .12mm. I did

land more fish with the heavier line, but I think this was at the expense of more takes, if I had been using the lighter .1mm.

The Mersey was an excellent competition venue with plenty of fish and variety of water. In fact after the competition was finished and I had signed off my card I asked the controller if he minded if I had a few casts on a piece of my beat I really like the look of. To my annoyment I caught a couple of rainbows in six casts.

I should have caught them in the comp.”

NOTE: Christopher (Tas) won all his session with a total of 53 landed and measured fish.

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Fishing News - Page 17

RAN PO

THE SQUIDGIES BIO TOUGH STORY

By Steve ‘Starlo’ Starling

T

he new Bio Tough range is without a doubt the most exciting addition to the Squidgies line-up in almost a decade.

But first, some background: Bushy and I developed the original Squidgies at the invitation of our mate, the late John Dunphy, who was then the boss of Shimano Australia. This happened around the turn of the new millennium. After more than 18 months of frenzied development, Squidgies finally hit the market with just three models (the Wriggler, Fish and Shad) in half a dozen colours and sizes, accompanied by a couple of jig head designs. The rest, as they say, is history!

At the time, and for many years after, Squidgies were the only soft plastics designed specifically to target Australian fish, and they totally dominated the local market. We also accompanied their release with a series of how-to videos and a national circuit of presentations dubbed “Squidgy Nights”. These events filled halls, clubhouses and theatres from Hobart to Darwin and Sydney to Perth. Aussie anglers were starving for info’ on how to use these newfangled plastics, and thanks to our concerted education program, combined with massive media coverage, a genuine grass-roots revolution swept the Australian angling world. Things would never be quite the same again.

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since those heady days of the early 2000s. Eventually, Dunphy Sports sold its controlling interest in Shimano Australia to the Japanese parent company.

Some time later, the contract that Bushy and I had to design, test, promote and endorse the Squidgies range also came to an end. Today, we no longer receive royalties from the sale of Squidgies, and our names and heads don’t appear on the packs. Nor do we any longer have a role in designing new product.

However, I’ve stayed on to do some of Shimano’s social media work, and in that role (and as part of Shimano’s Pro Angler team), I get to test new products, including pre-production samples of the Squidgies Bio Tough range. These are designed and made in Japan, and they clearly reflect the quality and attention to detail associated with most Japanese-made lures.

The Bio Tough range marks a significant departure from traditional Squidgies, and a bold new direction for the brand. These tails are manufactured from an extremely tough “Dura Stretch” material that’s far more resistant to cutting, tearing or breaking than earlier Squidgies. This new material also meets stringent requirements for biodegradability, breaking down at a measured rate over time after being lost or discarded.

While I was immediately impressed by the Fishing News - Page 18

obvious quality, appearance, feel and toughness of these latest Squidgies, I also quickly discovered that they’re a little trickier to rig than the originals. The elasticity of the “Dura Stretch” material means that these tails “fight” jig hooks and keepers as they’re pushed into place, and that they have a tendency to want to “crawl” off some jig heads after being rigged.

These habits are easily overcome with a little practice and persistence, but it does pay to take extra time and care in the rigging process. Luckily, straight rigging has been greatly enhanced by the inclusion of small indentations on the backs of the Bio Tough tails that act as pre-determined exit points for different sizes of hook. This is a neat touch. The other bonus is that these super tough tails can be pulled off a jig and re-rigged many times without tearing, so if you don’t get the lure dead straight first time, remove it and start over. It’s worth getting it right.

The second aspect of the “Dura Stretch” material that needs stressing is that this stuff doesn’t play well with others! Whatever you do, don’t mix these tails into tackle box compartments with traditional Squidgies, other soft plastics or hard-bodied lures.

Also, don’t leave them on table tops or other furniture and don’t store them bent. In fact, the best way to keep your Bio Toughs in pristine shape is to leave them in the packaging they came in.

Tricky rigging and a propensity to melt and deform if incorrectly stored might sound like negatives, but trust me, they are very minor drawbacks when compared with the effectiveness and durability of these new Squidgies. I can honestly say that I’ve never fished with deadlier plastics!

The UV-enhanced colours of the Squidgies Bio Tough range take on an incredibly life-like luminescence and transparency once in the water.

This property — combined with their appealing actions and positive buoyancy (meaning that the tail tends to float above the jig head at rest) — result in hit after hit, even when the rigged tail is simply falling through the water, sitting on the bottom, or being “dead-sticked” in any current or tide. Oh, and adding a smear of S Factor simply makes a brilliant thing even better!

Frankly, I was staggered by the fish-catching powers of the Bio Tough range during my on-water testing. In my opinion, these lures mark a significant advancement in soft lure technology. It wouldn’t be stretching things (pardon the pun!) to say that they might almost be too good, and that anglers will need to exercise an increased level of restraint in order to avoid over-fishing some hard-pressured waterways.

The old adage of “limit your kill, don’t kill your limit” takes on special meaning when discussing these latest Squidgies!

And yes, they’re tough, too. I have individual tails that have accounted for dozens of flathead and bream, along with a couple of mulloway or jewfish, all without any obvious signs of wear and tear.

Sure, toothy critters such as tailor and mackerel can still slice them, but nowhere near as easily as they do other plastics, including traditional Squidgies.

Where you might have expected to burn through a packet or two of Squidgies on a hot bite in the past, one Bio Tough tail should be easily up to the task, unless you snag up and lose it (and if you do, it’s reassuring to know that it will break down and degrade over time).

There will definitely still be a place for the older, traditional-style Squidgies in my tackle box well into the foreseeable future, but I am increasingly finding myself reaching for the Bio Toughs whenever I need to produce the goods in a hard-fought tournament situation, or when the TV cameras are rolling. They are quite clearly the next stage in the ongoing evolution of soft plastics, and a definite step up from what has come before.

Visit www.squidgies.com.au for more information, and to look at the entire range of Squidgies Bio Tough styles, sizes and colours.

I can honestly say that I’ve never fished with deadlier plastics!

Steve Starling

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Janet is a keen angler and a hard worker. A teacher by profession, Northern Midlands Councillor and passionate community contributor.

Janet wants a fair go for all, and is especially interested in improving things for anglers and fishers in Tasmania.

If you want someone who will work to improve, both the Fresh and Salt water Fisheries -

VOTE ONE for Janet Lambert Rex Hunt said: “I love Tasmania, I love the people and the environment and especially the trout.

I have worked with Janet Lambert in establishing the Australian Fly Fishing Museum.

I found it a pleasure to be on a Committee with her and found her to be passionate and competent in her work for us. The bonus is that her and husband Todd have become my good friends.

She is a gun angler, which assists us attract more women to fishing.

Her skills in communicating and leading from the front make her a standout in my mind.

Recreational Angling, the Environment, family values and a good old fashioned fair go are what I like about this lady.

As they say, ‘You go girl.’

All the very best.

Yibbida Yibbida” - Rex Hunt

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Janet

LAMBERT FOR LYONS

You can contact me on:

0418 555 643 lambertforlyons@gmail.com JanetLambertLabor

Authorised by Todd Lambert, 2 Devon Hills Rd, Devon Hills 7300

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Fishing News - Page 19

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Fishing News - Page 21

A RIVER SOMEWHERE EXPLORE TASMANIA AND FIND NEW WATERS Dan Pursell shares a few tips for Summer

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appy 2018 year to everyone — Summer gives us terrific fishing. The first thing that comes too my mind are long hot summer days, still evenings, grasshoppers in abundance and hungry fish looking for a well presented fly. The fishing has been nothing short of amazing already this season, but can it get better?

The answer is yes .

Locations

Tasmania isn’t a big of a place and we have the opportunity of being able too travel from one end to the other in five hours or less with countless streams and creeks available to fish. Grab a map check out a new spot or two. Chat with a mate he might have a different spot to explore and why not travel further than you normally would. Explore that new location, it could be a great spot, but you won’t know unless you get in the car and go find out.

If you decide to explore a new waterway and angler access is not available it always pays to ask permission to gain access across land before you go for a fish. Most landowners are very reasonable and will appreciate the effort you make too seek permission .

Fishing News - Page 22

Gear

I own a lot of gear maybe I am a collector of fly rods but the two that I personally take with me this time of year are a 7’9 sage circa in a 2 weight and a greys 9’6 in a 3 weight these are matched up with Scientific Angler VPT fly lines and I hold both the fly line and rods in high regard the longer rod is a good all rounder and as well as being a superb dry fly rod it backs up as my nymphing rod on these trips when the fish are being stubborn and I need too switch to Czech nymphing or swinging spiders too get a response.

The 2 weight rod is where the fun is at it’s a magical dry fly rod and its perfect for small creeks ditches and streams where the cover is tight and there isn’t any scope for error.

For leaders I use a Hanak 4X leader with a section of around 5-600mm of Hanak fluorocarbon in .14 and a single fly or a Hanak 6X leader and add a short section of .10 tippet to this. I believe that last section consisting of fluorocarbon is important as it sits below the surface film.

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Fishing News - Page 23

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Everyone has their favourites flies, for me it is dry flies. I love an elk hair and cdc combined caddis in size 14 and 16 and this is my number one go-to fly. Following this are some ‘foam hopper patterns ‘F-flies and royal wulffs and then a few big rubber legged Madam X type flies rubber legged flies. These are a fantastic addition too anyone’s fly box and when the trout are on them it’s exciting to see them smashing big flies.

Nymph wise I like to carry a large selection of nymphs but a few of my favourites are epoxied flies in black and olive with silver beads in sizes 14 to 18 and pheasant tail type patterns. I like to have a selection of different beads as you never know what the day might bring.

St Patricks River

This river is well known by a lot of anglers and sees a lot of angling pressure yet the fishing is incredible the fish are normally small but there are better fish amongst them and when it floods the local fish farm seems to lose some fish making it a real possibility too catch a brook, tiger and rainbow trout which are a nice novelty amongst the superb conditioned brown trout that abound in there. Places to fish on the St Pats are not hard to find. Myrtle Park is a common area to jump in the river there and fish up stream as is Corkerys Road a little further up its up here the scenery alone makes for a great day out gin clear water and sand flats make for exceptional polaroiding .

Tyenna River

Another fantastic river and a personal favourite. This is a exceptional water, great hatches and a incredible head of trout with some real monsters throughout the river thrown in for good measure for me its worth the 3 hour drive there just for the day and it never disappoints.

There are great angler access points on this river and it fishes well the entire length. Jumping in the water at Westerway or Maydena will see you into some lovely brown trout and they are not shy with eating your flies .

Meander River

This is another favourite waterway and there is some great fishing to be had from Deloraine through to Meander and beyond. There is great angler access points and is a river that fishes at its very best from December through too the close of the season. A favourite stretch here is in the township of Meander parking at the shop here at the bridge and fishing your way upstream is a nice way to spend the day. The fish here can be all over the river but a helpful hint is to make sure you fish the edges on both sides of this river and of course likely lies such as behind rocks and foam lines .

Whilst in Meander there are several small creeks such as Muddy Creek and Jackeys Marsh Creek and a few small ditches that are also worth taking the time too explore. The fish vary from season too season but it’s a good time of year too explore these.

Vale River

Located in the world famous Cradle Mountain area, this stream is another worth visiting. The Vale is a small stream with gin clear water and some big backwater holes worth exploring. The Vale produces browns and rainbows although sadly the rainbows have dropped off

considerably over the past few seasons. A great place to fish this is where you drive over it on the Cradle Mountain link road; park near the bridge and either walking downstream a few kilometres and fishing back to the car or fish upstream of the bridge. It’s a lovely little stream a word of caution this time of year it’s a great spot to run into a tiger snake or two. The main thing is leave them alone and they will generally leave you alone.

Get out and explore the fishing. A lot of it can be very visual with smashing your flies and polarioding is at its peak. Try something different, fill the car up, pick up a map and go for it. Just being out there is half the fun and fishing new waters is always exciting.

Dan Pursell

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Fishing News - Page 25

ON FIRE INSHORE AND OFFSHORE IS HEATING UP Kelly ‘HOOCH’ Hunt gets fired up

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asmania is firing on the fishing front. Tasmania has been a Summer fishing mecca for years and years and this January it will continue to do so. Tasmania is fast becoming a coveted destination throughout Australia.

Sure, we don’t have 1000 pound marlin or metre long Barra but what we do have is an extensive range of sports fish and just as importantly, delicious fish. If you are an angler that likes diversity or chasing a species personal best then Tasmania is the place for you.

We have long been famous for trophy sized trout, but you can add King George whiting and southern calamari are found of massive size in Tasmania. Southern bluefin tuna are also as big as you will get anywhere, with the only difference the ease of accessing the fishing grounds.

The big new player in the game are of course broadbill swordfish.

January is when all this kicks up a gear and continues to build as summer is in full swing.

North North West

Yellowtail kingfish have come on as expected. They are in good numbers and also good size. The North North West fishing grounds are the number one spot for reliable captures, but those areas don’t come without their trials and tribulations — extreme care is called for.

The water that moves in and around the Hunter Islands creates the fast moving current these fish love and thrive on. They fire up when the water starts to

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Fishing News - Page 26

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move and feed on the bait the water flow stirs up. This same water flow and tidal movement can also make the trip a little treacherous if not thought out well.

The ramp at Montague camp ground is the most popular choice to start a trip from and then head out under Robbins Island to the east. You can go the opposite way and cut under Robbins to the west but local knowledge and a full tide is something you would want to have. If you attempt it I recommend some sun screen, food and water and a good book.

Many boaters have been stuck on a sand bank and spent hours waiting for the tide to come and refloat you. You would not be the first — or the last to be in that predicament.

The best fishing is in and around the rocky outcrops of Harbour Islet and the Woolnorth Anchorage. This is where the moving water really works the fish up and they can be taken on lures and soft plastics. Heavy jig heads that are big enough to hold in the current but don’t kill the soft plastics action are best. Soft plastics chosen for this fishing are long and slender that allow good tail action.

West Coast Continues To Fire

We hope that the good weather continues right throughout January. Not only did we see some great sunny days with little or no wind in December, but we were also blessed with light swell conditions. This allowed people to get out and really hit the west coast hard and this will continue. The low winds is one thing and keeps chop low and comfort levels high, but often down the wild west there is still swell. This swell is not wind swell and built up locally by local weather patterns.

This is the sort of swell that is built in massive southern storms hundreds of kilometres away in the southern ocean. This swell is known as ground swell and it is big and powerful. Surfers love it and people who like to pot and ring for crays hate it.

The swell on the west has been small and stayed small so this allowed for some good fishing recently. If you keep an eye on the weather apps and spot low winds with low swell conditions plan a trip and get around it. The stripey trumpeter fishing is fantastic and the specimens found are often bigger than in most parts of the state.

However on a recent trip we went down to hit them up and didn’t do any good. We did well on the crays though and some big school sharks as bycatch. We didn’t feel too bad as on the same day west coast guru Mason Paull and his son Daniel were out on the water and only managed three good sized stripeys. This is testament to their skills as we punished the bottom and couldn’t find a stripey. We did however have one chap in the boat that managed to catch a lot of cod, who will remain nameless.

I was happy to take a big school shark on a soft plastic of all things. I was using a Penn CLASH reel and Oceans Assassin rod with a two ounce jig head. This fish hit the jig just off the bottom in 120m of water and I thought initially I was on to a stonking big trumpeter. It took some effort getting it off the bottom and half way up after a few good runs I was unsure of what it was. A little disappointed when we saw colour that it was another big school shark, but this was dispelled when someone reminded me that makes four for the trip. These fish are sensational eating and went well with the cray we took home as well.

The cray fishing was fantastic as well. The swells being so small allowed us to pot where ever we wanted and set some rings in areas you normally can’t get to. This meant we picked up a few cray in a short time and had us brimming with smiles. We were not the only ones enjoying the spoils of the west as the very next week Eythan Purton and Jake Morris went down and bagged out. Then to rub salt into our wounds Charlie Vella and Damian Turner found some more very good fish the weekend after that. So if you see a weather window for the West Coast get a crew together and hit it up.

Devonport Red Fever

The snapper moved in during late November and will continue right throughout January. While Devonport has seen most of the focus, the good news is that they are to be found all along the North coast. I went out to find some flathead and gummy shark late November and did quite well. But then I saw local snapper whisperer Glen Saltmarsh had picked up some nice snapper. That was enough for me and it was on.

I took the challenge straight away and tried my secret spot at the East end of Lillico Straight. I didn’t do any good, but found a couple of nice gummy. The a couple of nights later I decided to go deeper as Glen was having success in 20m or more off the back of Egg Island off Devonport. All I managed that night was gurnard after gurnard.

I was a little frustrated and continued to another spot off Ulverstone where “I had heard” there was some snapper taken from over the years. This was again unsuccessful for target species, but caught a couple of nice gummy shark. By then I was in a tizzy. I had Snapper

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Fishing News - Page 27

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the Lowrance sounder also helped me work out that this sandy section was 40m wide and in a depression that climbed up a little back to some harder rock. So in effect a channel of sorts. Once you have identified where you want to put your anchor down you then have to work out which way you are going to lay. There was no point us setting up only to have the boat lay back over towards the major reef section. This was only going to have our efforts bring wrasse and draughtboard sharks.

The idea here is to come off the reef section just enough to slow the rubbish fish bycatch, yet be close enough to draw the snapper off the reef to your burley and cube trail.

General train of thought is that the snapper are moving in and around the reef using it for cover and looking for bait fish and squid to eat.

Two things I have mentioned that are absolutely crucial. Fishing at anchor and using burley. These are the cornerstone of any snapper fishing session and you are wasting a lot of time by not employing both.

YES the anchor can be a pain to drop and raise, but it’s worth the effort.

On our bigger boat we have a Lone Star 12volt anchor winch and it’s the best thing since someone decided that bread should be available sliced. In the 420 Renegade however she is a manual operation. This is why you always fish with a cobber or two !

The other part of the puzzle is burley and cubes. You need a fine mist of burley and I use pilchards as cube

Distribibu

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Fever and I was starting to doubt what I was up to and how I was going about it. It was then that it struck me.

I had fell foul to the age old mistake of the ages. I had left fish to find fish.

This is an old adage from when we used to game fish hard and when out on the open ocean in a game fishing comp it was paramount that you never leave fish to find fish. So what this meant in this instance is that I had a spot that I had caught snapper from before, and I was Attomic PRINT.pdf 1 31/08/2017 3:03:53 PM not spending the time there. We have caught snapper in

my spot X over a number of years and it has proved itself. I just needed to go back and get time and tide right for results.

So I picked a night when the tide and falling light conditions were looking favourable and headed out from the Forth River ramp towards the end of Lillico straight. We roared the little 420 Buster down and pulled up well short of the waypoint I had saved previously. I like to do this as with this sort of fishing the way point is a starting point and not a specific feature on the bottom I am looking for.

Pulling up 500m short and coming up to the waypoint at a slow trundle off the plane allows me to sound the area and see if I can find some fish arch’s or bait activity.

I then do a square pattern around the mark that slowly moves to the centre right on the mark. This allows me to sound bottom thoroughly and get a really good idea of what the bottom contour looks like in my mind.

In doing this I could see that the up and down rocky reef was ending and my mark was 50m off the reef into some flat sandier bottom. In this session of sounding

Recently the Tasmanian recreational fishing campaign “Rec Fishers Bite Back” was launched.

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As a collective, recreational fishers should never be taken for granted, and this should serve as a reminder that political parties risk a major backlash at the ballot box should they ignore us.

Support this initiative and place these stickers on your car and boat to serve as a constant reminder of just how passionate we are about protecting this pastime for future generations to enjoy.

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Rec fishers have thwarted plans for foreign owned freezer factory trawling to get established in our Small Pelagic Fisheries and continue to advocate and lobby for a complete ban in Commonwealth waters, not only State waters - as the Liberal party spin is put forth.

Put politicians under pressure to consider our standing as a political voting block.

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Highlighted Recreational Fishers’ collective worth to Tasmania’s economy.

Questioned our current recreational salt water fishing representation and lobbied for a review.

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Fishing News - Page 29

base. I use the pilchards as they are also what I use whole as baits on the rigs. Get your burley trail going as soon as you have set anchor. I have my burley tied up so it is just under the surface. I do this so the burley is high in the water and travels far and wide as quick as it can before settling out on the bottom. Cubes can be cut up and plopped over the side from time to time. Little, but often is best. There is some thought that you can over cube and therefore diminish your baits effectiveness in attracting a bite. That is of course if you think that every cube sinks down through the water table and hits the bottom. I caught a couta during this session that had 7 of my cubes in its stomach!

Like all fishing capers, it is a waiting game. I normally have four rods out at a time in the little boat. Two strayline rigs with whole pilchards on and two snapper catcher style rigs from Hookem Fishing. On these I will have pilchards until I catch a fresh couta and then I have one hook of the twin hook rigs with that on as well.

Then it’s time for the snapper shuffle. Jiggle the burley, plop some cubes and watch rod tips and repeat.

Then after 15 minutes if you have had no action, check baits, wriggle burley, cut some cubes, plop some cubes and repeat. While all this is going on you will be dealing with bycatch of squid, couta and gummy if you are lucky.

The not so lucky will be dealing with blue head wrasse, gurnard and draughtboard sharks. Do not however be discouraged with this as you are on pretty good ground and you have to wear some unwanted bycatch to find the end goal. A nice red snapper with those magical iridescent blue spots… GOOD LUCK

Game Fishing Wooo Hooo !

St Helens

The water has been crazy warm of late and the Sea Surface Temps have been sparking a lot of conversations here in Tasmania. January is the time when the East Australia Current starts to move down the eastern seaboard of Australia and bring with it lots of game fish. In a good year it can bring down good numbers of large striped marlin, Yellowtail kingfish and Dolphin fish. In an average year it holds good numbers of albacore tuna, striped tuna and solid numbers of mako sharks.

So it is little wonder that the game fishers really look at January with wide open excited eyes.

HOT East Coast water

All eyes have been on the SST charts and the unusual amounts of early warm water in and around Tasmania.

This has shown up as a broad carpet layer of warm water across a vast area. I am not getting too caught up in the excitement just yet as I would prefer to see a nice long wide finger of warm water slowly moving down the coast from a bigger body of warm current of NSW. The blanket look to the chart to me suggests it is the result of the unusually and unseasonal warm weather we had in late November and Early December. The SST is measured from satellites and is a measure of the energy due to the motion of molecules at the top layer of the ocean with the use of radiometers. When I say top layer we are talking about 1mm or less, so it can be effected by unusual weather events and I think this is what we saw early to mid-December.

Good gamefishing is coming

I believe we are in for a very good game fishing season. Many fishos made the journey to St Helens in late November and were rewarded with good numbers of table fish and crayfish. There has also been some early season mako sharks taken and in also some albacore and striped tuna. These fish are both great fun and one eats better than the other. I say that as I have eaten both so I know from firsthand experience. A lot of people will tell you that striped tuna is only good for cray bait and burly. They are wrong… well they are not wrong all together as they do make awesome burly and cray bait, but they do also eat ok.

Like any fish from the ocean it is what Fishing News - Page 30

you do with it post capture and how you care for it till you get back to shore that really effects the eating quality. If bleed out quickly after capture and placed in an ice slurry striped tuna can be used in any number of recipes that will have you coming back for seconds. Is it as good and as easy to make awesome as albacore. NO. Finding albacore is normally fairly easy off St Helens.

Get your boat in at Burns Bay and head out to the 100m line on the sounder and put your lures in. Continue at trolling pace at right angles to the shelf until you are 2nm over the shelf, then turn 90 degrees to the east and troll 5nm up the shelf while zig zagging back into the shelf and back out to your original line. Then turn 90 degrees again and travel to the shelf and troll down the shelf line zig zagging into the land and back out to the shelf until you are back to where you crossed the shelf originally.

If you got to there and didn’t catch a fish then pack up and head back in because the albacore are not there yet. If you have another day there on the coast look to find the yellowtail kingfish in close or if the weather is really good hit the bottom in 70 and out to 100 for stripey trumpeter or head wider for some blue eye trevalla on the shelf. What will normally happen there while you are on the bottom with three rods is the albacore will come up and jump out of the water about 500m feeding on the surface right in front of you. Then you will swear and mutter under your breath about “why weren’t they here yesterday”

Bicheno

Some will know that Bicheno is a favourite place of mine in January and I like to spend some time there.

There are a few reasons. The place comes alive and the fishing is as good as the company. Myself and a clan of keen fisho’s have an annual pilgrimage to the seaside town of Bicheno on Australia Day long weekend. It’s a little informal event we like to call FISHENO. When I say event I actually mean just a flag in the calendar where we all like to try and converge have a few beers and fish, talk fishing and a great deal of trash. So if you are in the area feel free to come and join right it. You can

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Fishing News - Page 31

find info on the weekend at our Facebook sites – Team PENN SIMRAD Fishing or GO FISH TASMANIAwith Mozz and Hooch Last year in January we caught a treasure trove of species and you can do it quite easily from Bicheno. Small boats big boats it doesn’t matter. There are also a heap of land based options for squid and beach fishing. We managed to find some really good sized king flathead out in 100m of water but we also found them back closer in at around 40m. These shallower king or tiger flathead were mixed in with good sized sand flathead and it took no time to find a feed.

We picked the deeper king flathead up while prospecting for stripy trumpeter ground slightly North of the launch ramp. We managed two stripey some morwong and a good sized school shark. Once back in close we managed to find some southern calamari so we had one heck of a seafood basket for that night and some good squid baits and belly flaps baits for the next day.

The next day we just waltzed out the front and hit the shelf. A few laps of the area letting the big SIMRAD sounder pound the bottom we marked up what looked to be gemfish and sure enough within 10 minutes of working our drift out we had baits going down on electrics and gemfish coming up. We sounded and marked fish that were showing differently on the sounder a little deeper yet off the back of the gem fish but they would not take any of the baits. We tried different baits but we would only gemfish. It was decided that we would put a few marks around the fish and troll for a bit and come back when the tide changed. We didn’t go far and we had a couple of nice school sized bluefin to add to the species count and food esky and after a few more we went back to the marks. The fish had moved lower in the water and seemed to be much closer to the bottom and after a while we had success. A couple of big dangly

squid baits got the bite and we had two nice blueeye trevalla on the deck.

The attraction of Bicheno is not just with the fishing as if the weather goes pear shaped you can check out the décor of the local pub.

If you have taken leave of your senses and handed in your man card you could play some golf at the local course.

There are a couple of rivers not far away for those that would like to try their hand at some of the big bream that the area is famous for. If you get really, really desperate for something to do the walk up to the lookout right in town is actually not bad. So all in all a great place to go just not with a group of mates, but also a great spot for families that like to fish. There is lots to see and do in Bicheno in January.

so well. There is also something for everyone not unlike St Helens and Bicheno. Small boat, big boat and even land based you can have a really good day on catch and release of fill the sky up with tasty treats.

The bream fishing in the Swan River is world class and is arguably only bested by the high water fishing in the Swansea Little Swanport on the opposite of town. These fish can If we are talking about areas that come alive during be accessed by boat or by land based methods. Lures are January in Tasmania then we could not leave out the sport fisho’s option here in either hard bodies or soft Swansea. The Swansea area is a funnel for hundreds plastics. I have had some great success in January on high of locals and tourists alike. Its numbers swell and it has water with Hurricane lures bent minnow. These lures a great holiday vibe about it. All the shacks are either are a top water lure and when cast long and hard in the rented out or being used by the owners themselves to shallow water on high tide are a spectacular way to find enjoy all the area has to offer. The scenery is spectacular bream. If you are finding it tough and can’t seem to get and that is thanks to the Freycinet Peninsular and Great any bites try the Berkley range of plastic in Turtleback Oyster bay. While this landscape and features is pleasing worm and Gulp Fry. Cast these plastics out, let them sink on the eye it is also a lot to do with why the area fishes to the bottom and give them a couple of little hops. This wakes the fish up a little that have watched it swim to the bottom and when you pause they will grab it.

Be prepared to pause for ages and even fish it like fresh bait. If you cannot ST R A I G HT T O T HE catch a bream on these soft plastics break rod in pieces and throw reel and all in PR EC I SI O N - PO I SE - PO W ER the water and give up.

There is a new ramp in Swansea thanks to MAST and it is a beauty. MAST are the government body Featuring tailor made ranges for both that looks after our boat bait and lure fishing as well as for ramps and all things marine estuary, offshore, barra and bream in Tasmania. They do an specialities. Arrowz is equal parts absolute fantastic job and precision, poise, and power. everything they do is well thought out and actioned by people with years of experience. This new ramp Designed for Australian at Swansea will allow all species and anglers with the the keen boating anglers to most advanced materials, access all the great fishing including Fuji components and grounds available and there performance focused are heaps. The shores on full-graphite blanks. the town side hold big schools of Australian

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Fishing News - Page 32

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Fishing News - Page 33

salmon and they can be taken on larger diving bibbed lures to 120 mm or the good old fashioned Halco slice.

Once you find a school these are great fun on lighter gear casting soft plastics like the Berkley Nemesis. These lures have an ultra-fine paddle tail and fish well on the drop as they do worked back to the boat. They are also a great land based option.

The flathead fishing is superb in the bay and everyone has their favourite spot. If that doesn’t work for you just move a little bit and find a new favourite spot. There are some great gummy shark spots on the other side of the bay as you make your way up to Schouten passage. Keep an eye on your sounder and look for a slight depression or deeper section. If you can work out there is a bank there that is the best place to start.

If you move out through the passage you are always on the lookout for fish on the surface of the water.

The bait moves through there in the many currents and water eddy’s that form on the tides. This in turn brings in the bigger fish and you are looking for bluefin tuna or yellowtail kingfish. A longer casting rod and a few poppers and stick baits worked in close to the seaward side of Schouten Island is always worth a try. The fish can get right in close and work the bait schools hard up on the underwater clefts and shelfs down this shore and towards the south end of the island.

The activity in and around Schouten and the bait fish make it a great place to try your hand at a mako shark as well. All down the coast they will be being caught from St Helens down to Bicheno, past Swansea and down South to Eaglehawk neck. Personally though I love the area off the passage in 100m of water or more for mako sharks. It is a convergence point for current and tide and this brings bait that is like a supermarket for the big apex predators. Getting some burly in the water off here for two hours and I am disappointed at this time of year not to have something to play with. While you are out there and drifting along you can be throwing over some cubes as well. Once an hour has gone past get some big jig head weighted soft plastics or metal jigs out in your berley trail. We often get albacore of yellowtail kingfish in the trail while waiting for a big mako.

Eaglehawk Neck

The area we know and love as ‘The Neck’ has been a little quiet of late and we are all expecting big things.

There has been a bit of normality creep into the area we are used to seeing massive southern bluefin and broadbill swordfish come from. There have been some good catches of king flathead reported and that will continue into January. The stripey trumpeter caught while not being massive have been consistent. Yellowtail kingfish have started to thicken up as well.

Eyes will be on the area in January and those looking to target the big swordfish will be getting itchy feet.

There is very little known about this fish and the fishery itself just yet so any fish that is caught supplies mu ch needed information. January is a month you will see some crews try their hand at raising one of these giants. It was great to see the interest in tag and releasing these fish last year and that looks to continue again as we learn more and more. The trick seems to be fishing heavy gear and getting them up quick while not being to forceful and pulling hooks. 80- 100pound braid with 70m of 37kg mono is an accepted set up on as big an overhead as you can afford. The NEW PENN 70VISW is finding favour due to its smooth oversize bearings allowing quick dropping of baits. This alleviates having too much belly in your line allowing quicker bite detection. This is becoming more and more crucial as a lot of experienced crews are believing they are getting bit on the way down or very soon on hitting the bottom.

This of course makes sense as the big lights these guys use would stand out like the proverbial dogs what’s it’s as the rig descends into the depths. The PENN 70 is a great choice as it is not too big to use in hand while dropping baits and is a great rig on jumbo tuna and big mako sharks.

Kelly ‘Hooch’ Hunt

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Fishing News - Page 35

Tasmania. DPIPWE are assisting where possible and will consider the results during the next scalefish review.

DPIPWE will also promote improved handling through its social media platforms and the Fishcare Program.

Fish handing cloths were provided to all attendees who wanted them.

Identified the need to explain the basis of recreational surveys to Tasmanian fishers and promote that the survey methodology is internationally recognised as a statistically robust and cost effective method of estimating catch.

RECREATIONAL SEA FISHERIES NEWS December 2017 - January 2018

Is this gear legal in Tasmania?

Some fishing gear such as flashing lures may be legal in Tassie’s marine waters but not in Inland waters.

Light and sound emitting fishing gear Using light and sound emitting lures is generally allowed in marine waters but is prohibited for inland fishing.

Examples of using artificial lights legally during fishing in marine waters include: Using lights when spearing flounder at night; Lanterns and lights to attract baitfish and squid; Flashing or light emitting lures; and Glow sticks on set lines.

Are Opera House traps legal?

We are often a s ke d w h e t h e r opera house traps that are advertised in tackle shop catalogues are legal to use.

Under sea fishing rules, opera house traps fall under the description of a bait trap. Providing the trap meets the specifications of a bait trap, you can use it in marine waters where this gear is allowed. This may mean some traps may need to be modified before use to make them legal.

The trap must comply with the following dimensions: No larger than 500mm x 350mm x 250mm; Not more than two entrances that are not larger than 65mm; and Mesh between 10mm and 40mm.

Only one bait trap is allowed per person. Unattended bait traps must have a buoy or tag attached marked with ‘BT’ and the user’s surname, initials, year of birth and postcode.

You cannot take undersize fish in these traps or use undersize fish for bait. Bait traps are not allowed in some areas: www.fishing.tas.gov.au/sea-fishing-aquaculture/ recreational-fishing/area-restrictions Fishing News - Page 36

ST HELENS FISHING FORUM

We’ve received very positive feedback from many of the sixty or so people who attended the Fisheries Forum held at St Helens in October. The night commenced with the local MAST representative Peter Paulson providing safety tips, including how to strap on life jackets and the importance of checking them regularly.

Rock lobster vs long-spined sea urchins: The Recreational Sea Fisheries Manager from DPIPWE, Rod Pearn, outlined the challenges faced in rebuilding East Coast rock lobster stocks and how management is being applied to the commercial and recreational fishery. Professor Caleb Gardner from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) talked about the importance of rebuilding the rock lobster population of all size classes to combat long-spined sea urchin numbers, not just large lobsters. He also discussed the contributions of the commercial urchin fishery and the feasibility of urchin culling programs by commercial and recreational divers to combat the formation of barrens.

Recreational surveys and tagging programs: Dr Jeremy Lyle explained how surveys are conducted in Tasmania, the catch of key species, recreational fishing participation rates of the various fisheries. Dr Sean Tracey provided an overview of the current research tagging projects and IMAS findings about fish survival and handling that has led to fishing clubs and responsible fishers adopting codes of practices. The audience found the photos of tagging southern blue fin tuna and swordfish impressive.

Outcomes of the forum

Identified the need to improve communication with fishers about the merits and challenges of reducing the total rock lobster catch to enable the rebuilding of the stocks on the East Coast.

IMAS has updated information about long-spined urchins including video of lobster predating on urchins on their website. https://secure.utas.edu.au/imas/ research/fisheries-and-aquaculture/projects/projects/ centrostephanus-population-re-survey/_nocache Some north east fishers believe that the size limit of King George whiting is too small and that high mortality of released fish may be occurring due to poor handling.

One positive outcome of the forum is that the local community have offered to collect samples or King George whiting for further research. IMAS researchers will analyse the samples with the view of providing updated advice on the suitability of the size limit in

EMERGING FISHERY – KING GEORGE WHITING

King George Whiting (Sillaginodes punctatus) are a high-quality emerging fishery in many bays and estuaries of north and north east Tasmania. The fish have a sweet and delicate flavour and can be challenging to catch.

Preparation for the survival of King George whiting starts prior to setting out for a day’s fishing. To improve catchability, try using light graphite rods, braid and leaders of 6 - 10 lbs. This enables the fisher to feel the bite more easily and reduces the time fish are on the hook. Circle hooks of size 2 – 4 give a better hookup rate in the lip and jaw, whilst ‘j’ hooks, although popular tend to deep-hook in the throat, gills and stomach causing internal damage particularly when releasing the fish.

Squid or fresh local prawns are the recommended bait. Cut 1 cm long strips and hook to the end of the circle hook, don’t wind around the shank of the hook.

Whiting are renowned for being slimy, however this slime is a protective layer and if it is removed it can allow injuries to the fish to become infected. If the whiting is obviously undersize don’t lift it out of the water, use a dehooker to release the fish.

Measuring a whiting can be tricky - they are known as elbow slappers or back whackers for this reason. If you are going to measure the fish, try bringing the ruler to the fish while it is on the line or wrap it in a wet cloth or use a wet cloth glove. Hold the fish firmly but refrain from putting your fingers under the gill plates as this can result in damage to the gills. If too much force is applied damage can occur to the heart and other internal organs.

Remember every fish that survives when released means more fish for the future.

Need more information?

Get a copy of the Recreational Sea Fishing Guide from Service Tasmania Download the Tasmanian Sea Fishing Guide app Go to www.fishing.tas.gov.au; or www.facebook.com/ FisheriesTasmania Phone: 1300 720 647 or 03 6165 3233 Email: fishing.enquiries@dpipwe.tas.gov.au

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Get a fisherman’s perspective of the new F25 with Australian fishing legend Steve ‘Starlo’ Starling.

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Fishing News - Page 37

The Leven

The Leven slide on camper is constructed from light weight fibreglass panel and has outstanding insulation properties.

The aerodynamic shape of the Leven not only looks great, but is functional saving you fuel on those long road trips. The electric powered roof gives the Leven it’s stylish exterior and the camper is able to be used even with the roof down. Security features in the Leven include the Aussie Traveller security door, and double glazed windows with triple lock down points that ensure a strong and durable seal. The quality fitted interior is designed to allow the maximum use of space. The features include a pull out table which can be stored when not needed and comfortable face to face seating in a choice of durable fashion fabrics.

The sleek kitchen design features overhead storage, plenty of draws, and a choice of gas or electric hotplate. A fridge is also included in the camper so you will have everything you need including the kitchen sink.

Little Henty camper - this is a great camper for couples who want a very light weight fully insulated slide on with extensive customization options. So make it suit how you want to live while on the road. With seven models in the range and three of them set for those who travel alone we have it covered.

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Fishing News - Page 38

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Fishing News - Page 39

Know your lifejacket

Better safety and facilities for Tasmanian boaters

Incorrectly worn or fitted lifejackets may not work effectively Make sure yours; • Fits • Is serviced regularly • You know how to use it • If it is inflatable - is it auto or manual inflate? Explain that to the crew

Scan the QR code above or go to www. mast.tas.gov.au to see MAST’s lifejacket awareness video.

Incorrectly worn or fitted lifejackets may not work effectively

MAST spend $1,000,000 every year improving your recreational boating facilities around Tasmania. THE BOATWISE COULD

Apply any time for better boating facilities. Go to www.mast.tas.gov.au

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