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January 2025 Print Post Approved PP100001534 Volume 36, Number 1

New life jacket laws

Mangrove jack mayhem

Spotlight on spotty mack

Moreton Bay spoils

Fun holiday fishing tips ISSN 1832-4517

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 1

January 2025 contents

Targeting warm weather species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Sean Conlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . P8 Brissie systems fire up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Keith Stratford . . . . . . . . . . P10 Spoilt for choice in Moreton Bay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Mark Templeton . . . . . . . . P12 Tips for fun holiday fishing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Justin Willmer . . . . . . . . . . . P16 Tide Times - Brisbane Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P22 Pelagic Gear Australia at Tackle Tactics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P22 New life jacket regulations in Queensland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P24 Surfers Paradise targets after rain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Clint Ansell . . . . . . . . . . . . . P28

Spotted mackerel season. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Mitchel Zygnerski . . . . . . . P30 Plan for rain for less pain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Gavin Dobson . . . . . . . . . . P32 Boating & Fishing Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P33 Can’t keep an old fisho down. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Tye Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P34 Critical safety reminder for recreational boats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P38 OzFish welcomes new Queensland Government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P39 Bait gathering in estuaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Dean Galpin . . . . . . . . . . . . P40

Mangrove jack mayhem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Chris Rippon . . . . . . . . . . . . P42 Learning finer fishing techniques. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Tri Ton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P44 Tide Times – Waddy Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P45 New year, new me. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by John Boon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P46 Welcome to Rocky’s Ultimate Cash Catch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P48 Targeting tips for Gladdy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Gary Churchward . . . . . . . P50

Aquaculture Gladstone celebrates sea mullet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P52 East on Gibb River Road – Part 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Ben Collins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P54 Heading home via Alice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Craig Tomkinson . . . . . . . . P57 Forgotten art of fly fishing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Neil Schultz . . . . . . . . . . . . . P60 Great fishing at Cania Dam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Helen Abdy . . . . . . . . . . . . . P62 Dam Levels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P63 Changes required and lure makers comp. . . . . . . . . by Brian Dare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P64 Trading Post. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P66 Readers’ Forum ��P67 Subscription Form ��P68 Page 6 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 7

Exploring your land-based fishing options can produce quality fish, including this solid whiting for Slade. For the author, holiday time is all about getting family and friends onto a few fish.

Tips for fun holiday fishing

H Kids love gathering and fishing a few yabbies. Josh with a whiting on the Okuma Barbarian rod.

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Page 16 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

OW good is the feeling of knocking off for some holiday time. The upside is often more opportunities to fish, while the downside is that this fishing time is frequently shared with more people. In this article, I wanted to share some tips for getting the most out of fishing the holiday period, escaping the crowds and catching more fish in pressured environments. Let’s fish! Peak bite periods Low light periods of dawn and dusk have long been regarded as peak bite periods. Less light penetrating the water means less visibility for the fish and less shadows cast by vessel, angler and even birds. This will allow you to fish shallower areas and get closer to the fish before they realise you’re there and get spooked. Stealth is still an im-

Tackle Tactics by JUSTIN WILLMER

portant factor when it comes to noise from motors, movement in the boat and anchoring. The old saying is the early bird gets the worm. Getting out before the crowd, noise and disturbances on the water will catch you more fish, while also allowing plenty of time for other family activities during the holidays.

One of my favourite times to fish is the afternoon/dusk bite, when most of the boats have headed back to the ramp and the bait, and in turn fish, come back to life. The last couple of hours of daylight can produce a hot session on a stack of different species. Night fishing If your vacation days * continued P17

Downsizing your plastic can catch a mixed bag of species that feed on small bait, including this trevally on the Z-Man 2.5” Slim SwimZ.

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Tips for fun holiday fishing

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Fish will often have an area where they enter and exit key structure, such as flats, rock walls, mangrove lines and jetties. So consider key points of travel, such as deep water, drains, weed edges, shadow

Low tide is a prime time to fish the channel edges, drains and structure that is out of reach on high tide.

* continued P18

Early morning and late afternoon can produce some hot bites and memorable wildlife encounters.

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night fishing, I’m a fan of soft plastics – with their single hook simpler and safer in low light and the ability to change jig head weight to effectively fish the entire water column, minimising the amount of gear I need to carry with me. I generally select darker solid silhouette colours for night fishing, with added glitter to catch the available light. A few Z-Man favourites would include Gold Rush, Calico Candy, New Penny and Houdini. Whether fishing day or night, it’s important to think like a fish and consider where the fish might be travelling and why.

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are busy with family activities, night fishing is a great option and it can be cooler and more comfortable than the summer scorchers, just make sure the bug spray is packed. A couple of hours after dark may be enough to get a few fish and scratch the itch, with a prime starting point being around artificial light, such as bridges, streetlights and boat ramps. Artificial light attracts bait and in turn predators, so casting your bait or lures around the shadow lines can be extremely effective. When it comes to lure selection for

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The author captured an early morning spotted mackerel.

Jye was happy with his first spotted mackerel of the season.

Spotted mackerel season

Joe with a couple of healthy spotted beasts.

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Page 30 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

ELL, here we are in January and the pelagic species have been firing on the local reefs. With spotted mackerel coming down in big numbers, the larger models are always the first to show up. And with the average-sized spotty being above 80cm in length, any fisho would be over the moon. With a solid week of southerly wind and nice warm water making its way down, it was a recipe for success and that’s exactly what we had. My first session out on the local produced a bag out before 6am and saw me heading off to work by 7am. I will say that filleting 10 spotted mackerel after a full day of work was a mission in itself. The spotties were on fire that morning, with a slight westerly wind in the morning that glassed off by 5.30am – creating a muggy and overcast morning – which was the icing on the cake. Just drifting the reef seemed to do the trick on this particular morning.

Gold Coast Broadwater by MITCHEL ZYGNERSKI

Having two half pillies out the back underneath a float, spinning with metals and a slight trail of berley turned them on for a crazy session, with double and triple hook-ups. The rig I run for mackerel is quite simple. A swivel with 28lb seven-strand wire down to a 3/0 Mustad Hoodlum hook is a very effective rig that I’ve been using for years, with zero faults. It’s always a perfect hook-up and the hook is small enough to hide in the pillie if the fish are being skittish. Running 20lb mono on an old-school 4500 Shimano Baitrunner is a spotted mackerel catching machine – a nice rod with a soft tip to allow for stretch in the line and the right amount of pressure is essential. The beauty of a Baitrunner is having the reel set with a light drag to allow the fish to run freely, feeling little to no resistance. And, once they are

running, you flick the switch and the reel is back to normal drag pressure. When spinning for these line burners, I like to run a 5000-size reel or an old-school Shimano TSS4 with 30lb braid and 30lb leader, which is then tied to a Halco Twisty, Nomad Metal or a Gillies lure. I use a range of sizes, from 20-50g to give myself maximum chances to land a fish or two. There have been many sessions where the fish are so zoned in on a certain sized lure that they will only eat that size and colour. A silver or gold colour is always my first choice, giving off a strong flash that represents a fleeing baitfish at high speed, this will catch the attention of any pelagic. With Currumbin Bar still being dredged, it is a tricky bar to navigate – sand banks are constantly changing the direction of the chan* continued P31

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Spotted mackerel season * from P30

nel and surfers are out early with the sunrise. Tweed Heads has been very good lately, particularly after the recent dredging, which has created quite a safe passage for this time of the year. Seaway is still the pick though, being so deep and close to all the main reefs mackerel will congregate at. Mermaid Reef has been producing nice numbers of mackerel recently, as seen from the charters’ social media pages. Which allows for recreational fishos to see the fish arriving, then get out there and score some fish for themselves. Towing a pillie behind the boat is always

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the best option at the start of the season. There are plenty of towing rigs on the market, but the most efficient and easiest rig would have to be the Reaper Rig from Lure Us In, with more time spent fishing and less time mucking around rigging the bait up, it allows for all anglers to catch a mackerel. With its simple but effective design, the Reaper Rig takes all of 10 seconds to rig the pillie up and start fishing. A single-head spike locks the bait in place behind the moulded design and a rig of two trebles that hook into the underside of the bait creates the awesome swimming action and lifelike perfor-

mance that will trick any fish into eating. At the time of writing, the northerly wind was kicking around, making it harder to get mackerel in large numbers. I find the northerly shuts them down, turning the water green and cold. Not to mention the amount of rain the southern parts of the Gold Coast had, which turned the water cold and brown. The best option for right now would be to have all your gear ready and get yourself keen because they aren’t too far away from any reef on the Gold Coast. Let the fun and games that spotted mackerel bring every year begin!

The author boated two solid spotted mackerel.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 31

C ASTfrom the past

Bait gathering in estuaries F

E AT U R I NG a great article from the Bush ‘n Beach Fishing mag archives, welcome to Cast from the Past. If you have a hankering to read about a certain topic, drop us a line and we’ll do some deep diving. Here’s a piece by Dean Galpin from January 2015 with some tips on catching bait in various situations. Having a consistent live bait supply is an

Fishing Tips by DEAN GALPIN

awesome way to increase the amount of time spent doing what we enjoy most – targeting quality fish. Occasionally locating bait is difficult but there are some little things you can do to reduce the time taken to gather live bait. Over the years I have come to see the absolute value of wearing

Having two people to unload a net is very handy. Check in with Fisheries for rules on using a net in your area. Page 40 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

polarised sunglasses on the water. The number of times they have helped me spot bait and fish in the water when the person next to me cannot see a thing is beyond coincidence. I’ve had experience with expensive and cheaper polarised sunnies and, while both have their comfort and quality attributes, I find they work just as well as each other at reducing glare to see baitfish in the water, which is a big advantage when bait gathering. Knowing what fish moving in the water looks like is important. Being able to spot moving bait as you approach in shallow water or from a distance is vital to reducing the time spent gathering bait. Sometimes it’s small bow waves, other times small flicks of water on the surface and occasionally a shower of water as fish are spooked. My favourite is called ‘nervous water’, which occurs when a congregation of fish is close to the surface and makes little waves on top of the water. Certain geographical

features will hold different baitfish, so being able to recognise these is a sure way to reduce the amount of water you have to cover while throwing your cast net. Exactly where you target will depend on the tide at the time. Small drains and channels coming off or running beside sandbanks will often draw a congregation of poddy mullet and other baitfish at low tide. Remember, baitfish are also predators of smaller fish and crustaceans. So, in the same way large predatory fish will feed on draining banks, baitfish will feed on draining mangroves and shallow banks. A few centimetres of water over a sandbank is often enough to hold baitfish. Spooking fish in these types of conditions is easy, so a long cast with the net and a stealthy approach is always a bonus. Herring will often sit in little melon holes right next to the banks when all the water around them is shallow. Spotting these areas allows you to use the bank as a carrel to cut off baitfish escape routes. As with fishing spots, you will also

have go-to bait gathering spots. Most locations where you find bait will be holding it for a reason, so keep a list of good spots to enable you to put your boat in and efficiently check each area on the way to your destination. I prefer to stealthily walk the shallow banks as it’s quieter and keeps my boat free of the extra debris the cast net picks up. It also helps to have a partner with you so that one person can be on net duty while the other carries the bucket. Having a partner and a well-oiled plan for removing bait from the net is important, especially when you get a net full of herring because they often get their heads stuck in the cast net and die very quickly. Once you have your bucket of live bait, it’s important to do a complete water change when you get to the boat or fishing location. Also remove any dead baitfish from the bucket as leaving them in seems to start a chain reaction of baitfish dying. Though keep these, just in case you run out of livies on a hot bite and find the fish are also taking dead bait, or otherwise use

* continued P41

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C ASTfrom the past Bait gathering in estuaries * from P40

them for strip bait or berley on your next trip. Before having a live bait well in the boat, I found the square or rectangular bait-holding tanks seemed to work better than simply a small round bucket. I use an old 25-litre Esky with a single handle across the lid, so I can carry more than one thing if my bait gathering includes a long walk on the sand. Having a partner who is experienced in gathering bait is a real bonus in reducing the time it takes. So rather than letting your partner or kids sit in the boat, train them in little jobs that can help you out, such as emptying the net, carrying the bucket or even casting the net. A technique we discovered by accident – now our number one bait gathering method – is throwing cast nets almost simultaneously next to each other. Just as the first net hits the water over a spied school of bait, have the second net leaving the hand of the other caster. So many fish that spook early and are missed in the first net are caught in the second one, especially if you’re using a geographical feature such as a bridge pylon or bank as an obstacle

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for channelling fish towards your nets. If casting from the boat, I like to have a driver who can manoeuvre it quietly and away from a thrown net. This allows the net to fall flat in the water, which stops the escape of frantic fish from within the closing net much better than pulling it up vertically. Alternative methods of bait gathering are important to know when working the estuaries. A bait trap is a handy way to get a few livies and these can be bought or homemade. A 3-litre juice bottle cut and folded at the top and stuffed with bread is a cheap way of collecting bait, and you can see how to make these setups on YouTube. I also like to keep a couple of bait jigs in the tray of my boat, just in case bait is holding in a place where I can’t get my cast net. When it comes to herring, which stress and die very easily, I find the bait jig gives them a much better survival rate than a cast net. Good bait jig locations may include between bridge pylons, deep water and over rocky ground. Knowing what your cast net is going to land on when it hits

the bottom is vital for its preservation. Once you have gathered a few bait in the net or on the jig, handling them correctly is the next vital step to ensuring they survive the day. Always use wet hands when handling baitfish and treat them like you would a kitten or puppy – with light hands. I always prefer to use my best bait first because there is nothing worse than saving a good bait and then looking down to see it belly up in the well. If possible, once you get a livie, throw it out while you are gathering more bait. Quite often there will be predators about hunting the same baitfish you are chasing. Similarly, have one of the livies out while cleaning your fish too. Continuing to train yourself on what geographical features and movement in the water to look for is the most important factor in reducing bait gathering time. Train a partner or develop roles when gathering bait to improve efficiency and enjoyment. Treat the bait with respect when alive or dead to maximise freshness and put a livie out as soon as possible after catching it. Best of luck.

A school of mullet spooked as the boat came close. This is a good sign if you have a cast net in hand.

Notice the disturbed water beside the author’s right leg, this highlights how effective a second cast net could have been.

Mangrove jack will hit all types of lures but also love live bait. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 41

TOURING& exploring

Manning Gorge would have to be one of the prettiest gorges in the Kimberley.

East on Gibb River Road – Part 2

Getting to Manning Gorge required an adventurous walk and started with swimming across a river crossing. Page 54 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

ACH year the condition of the Gibb River Road is mostly unknown. Factors such as rain and traffic impact the road dramatically. Generally, it is better to hit the Gibb either early in the season or when it has reopened after the wet, as it will have been recently graded. Though it should still be attacked with caution. We passed two camper trailers on the side of the road that were broken and had been left by their owners. I feel we were relatively lucky in that the road conditions weren’t too bad. That didn’t mean we were impervious to any issues – a bolt

Family Adventures by BEN COLLINS

did come out of the suspension of our JB Scorpion caravan. Thankfully, Drysdale River Station had a mix of spare parts, which allowed me to rectify the situation, enough so we could continue and then have it replaced in Kununurra. Manning Gorge Located on Manning Creek in the grounds of the 283,280ha Mt Barnett Station, Manning Gorge would have to be one of the prettiest gorges in the Kimberley. The vivid colour of the rock cliffs and the crystal-clear water produce a picture-perfect postcard

that typifies the Kimberley region. Getting to the gorge requires an adventurous walk, starting with a river crossing at the end of the caravan park. We needed to swim across the creek because there had been plenty of rain. Thankfully blue drums were available for putting our gear into, keeping it dry when we were crossing the creek. Once across, we were then faced with a 3km hike to the top of the gorge. At the start of the hike, the trail was relatively informal * continued P55

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TOURING& exploring East on Gibb River Road – Part 2 * from P54

and required a bit of thinking to keep moving in the right direction – there were occasional markers to help guide us, but a keen eye was needed to spot them. The trail was overland and encompassed uneven terrain and rock climbing, with a steep decline at the end of the hike to get to the base of the gorge. This was a s em i- ch a l le ng i ng trek, yet the rewards were definitely worth the effort – particularly the dip in the water and the massage from the waterfall. This track was exposed with no shelter from the sun, so it is important to take plenty of water. Drysdale River Station If you are after some

creature comforts, Drysdale River Station is the spot for you. We stayed in the caravan park for a night, however if required, rooms were available. As we were more than happy living in our van, with all the basic comforts of home, we didn’t need to stay anywhere else. However, we did meet other travellers who were having issues with pumps, batteries and fridges, so a night or two away from their van was appreciated. In addition to accommodation, there was a beer garden and dining area, plus fuel, a small general store and a tyre repair facility. If you are on the Gibb and need something, Drysdale River Station is the place to

go – if it’s not available there, you will have to make it the rest of the way along the Gibb without it. Munurru (King Edward River) Campground One place we were all excited to see was Mitchell Falls. In order to visit the falls, you need to either drive in – which is not recommended with large caravans – or stay at Munurru (King Edward River) Campground. We chose the latter. The road in from Drysdale River Station was rough – make sure to keep an eye on your tyre pressure. It was also fairly dusty, so I advise taping your vents up. Our JB Scorpion had a dust reduction system fitted, which * continued P56

The rewards were definitely worth the effort of the semi-challenging trek into Manning Gorge. www.bnbfishing.com.au

The conditions of Gibb River Road weren’t too bad for us. While we did lose a bolt from the suspension of the van, it wasn’t a deal breaker. Others had to abandon their broken camper trailers. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 55

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Page 68 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

www.bnbfishing.com. au

BRISBANE Neptune Marine Oceania Unit 1/3361 Pacific Hwy, Slacks Creek www.neptunemarine.com.au 07 3290 6370

www.bnbfishing.com.au

GOLD COAST (NORTH) Slades Marine 16 Paradise Pde, Paradise Point sladesmarine@bigpond.com 07 5577 1011

SUNSHINE COAST Port O’ Call Boating 29 Production Ave, Warana www.marinecenter.com.au 07 5493 2255

GOLD COAST (SOUTH) Midcoast Marine International 254 Trees Rd, Tallebudgera www.midcoastmarine.com.au 0416 088 771

TIN CAN BAY The Chandlery Bait & Tackle Shop 1, The Marina Emperor St, Tin Can Bay www.tcbchandlery.com.au 07Bush 5486 4744Fishing, January 2025 – Page 69 ’n Beach