Fishing Monthly Magazine | February 2023 by Fishing Monthly

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Toby Grundy brings us ‘Scoring points off the rocks’ QLD

NSW

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Pelagics off the rocks • Lure fishing tweaks and tools • Snapper stocks in Victoria •

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CONTENTS

OUR COVER February 2023, Vol. 3 No.10 QLD NSW

VIC

TAS

From the Editor’s Desk...

For me, one of the biggest threats that anglers have, both domestically and globally, is access. It seems as though everywhere, governments, groups and greenies seem determined to lock up areas for their own use. Although there have been exceptions to the rule, anglers accept good, common-sense management over lockouts any day. And, importantly, policy and management decisions should pass the pub test. Maybe it shouldn’t have surprised me, then, when I read the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s (GBRMPA) stance on FADs (Fish

QUEENSLAND 16

Jumpinpin

Southern Bay

Brisbane

Northern Bay

Noosa

Bundaberg

Mackay

Townsville

Hinchinbrook

Cairns

Port Douglas

Cooktown

Cape York

Freshwater

Steve Starling with a beautifully marked brown trout caught on fly. A Steve Starling image.

NEW SOUTH WALES Pittwater

Ballarat

Sydney North

Crater Lakes

Sydney Rock

Eildon

Sydney South

Gippsland Freshwater

Ballina

Coffs Coast

Forster

TASMANIA Offshore Hobart

96 97

Port Stephens

Hastings

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Swansea

Central Coast

Illawarra

Batemans Bay

Bermagui

Tathra

Hunter Valley

New England Rivers

Batlow

Canberra

VICTORIA Warrnambool

Portland

Cobden

Geelong

Port Phillip West

Port Phillip East

Phillip Island

Marlo

Gippsland Lakes

Lakes Entrance

Port Albert

Bemm River

Mallacoota

Robinvale

Shepparton

Yarrawonga

Bendigo

Wangaratta

JANUARY 2023

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Esperance

104

Bunbury

104

Augusta

105

Metro

106

Mandurah

109

Kalbarri

107

Lancelin

108

Exmouth

110

Karratha

110

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Aggregation Devices) and Artificial Reefs (AR) in the vast GBR Marine Park. I can understand the policy for artificial reefs. You don’t need more reefs in a park that already has 3000+ reefs and shoals in it to fish. What about FADs? They don’t want them – even in areas well away from the reef. Along the easy coast, state Fisheries departments have run programs of FADs in barren areas of the ocean that help to aggregate pelagic fish and enhance fishing opportunities. Species such as the fast-growing dolphinfish (mahimahi) are a prime candidate to provide sustainable fishing opportunities that actually draw fishing pressure away from the reef’s demersals. Reading the literature review behind the policy decision, they state that a FAD’s risks include, “overfishing pelagic species, including juveniles; disrupting movement and migration and attracting fish from other habitats, as well as overcrowding and user conflict issues.” Sounds like they don’t want them because people might keep undersized dolphinfish? Or they’ll get overfished? Sounds like a public servant that doesn’t want to process paperwork. And that doesn’t pass the pub test.

106

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Scoring points off the rocks CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

I started fishing off the rocks around 10 years ago. During the winter months, my friends and I would

pelagics, we would cast small plastics for breadand-butter species like bream. We never did particularly well, but we didn’t mind. It was more about escaping the Canberra cold than it was

around my local area was slow to non-existent due to the recent rain, and I needed a change of scenery. At first the fishing was as hard as I remembered from my youth, but after a few subtle changes in my approach and a move away from live baiting, I figured out how to consistently catch pelagics right through the warmer months. I used a variety of techniques to keep the

fish interested and most importantly, on the bite. STRUCTURE I always look for a high ledge when arriving at a likely location. Around 2-3m above the water is perfect but I’ve also fished ledges at the 4-5m mark. If I can find a sheer ledge then that is the perfect scenario, because I only have to worry about the fish running towards my

The author packs light, bringing only a small number of lures and jigheads.

Main Pic: Double hook-ups are common. Above: If the author had to pick one lure for fishing the rocks, it would be a shallow-running 90mm jerkbait. pack into my ute and drive down to Tathra or Merimbula on a Saturday morning and spend the day live baiting for salmon, kings and tailor. To pass the time in between the 8

FEBRUARY 2023

about catching pelagics in big numbers. I recently rediscovered my love of rock fishing after several explosive sessions down the South Coast of NSW. The fishing in and

Often the small salmon turn up before the bigger specimens, so keep casting!

location as opposed to worrying about the fish running to a number of different levels of rock as I work the fish to the surface. I prefer high ledges because I can see deeper into the water column and, depending on the wind direction, I can cast a lot further. I’ll also look for kelp beds close to my location, and I try to angle casts towards this type of structure. The deeper the water off the edge of the ledge, the better. Anything from 5m or more is perfect. TACTICS/LURES The lures I use and the tactics I employ complement each other. I always cast a deep-diving lure first and I work that lure at pace back

to my location. I usually start with something bright, with a thin profile (10-15cm long) and a tight action. While I’m working the lure at pace, I first employ a figure-8 retrieve for the first several winds. A figure-8 retrieve is where the angler points the rod tip towards the water, starts winding and then moves the rod tip in a wide figure-8 while winding. This imparts a really erratic action into the lure, and often triggers a reaction strike from a cruising pelagic. After a few figure-8 style winds, I switch retrieve styles and I’ll start winding (still at a rapid rate) the lure while flicking the rod tip up and down. The short pauses also often bring on a reaction strike if a tailing pelagic hasn’t been fooled by the figure-8. Once I’ve caught one

“

to wise up, I stop using both the brighter coloured deep diver and the brightly coloured shallow running diver, and instead use natural colours in the same lure type. If the action completely dies off and stays this way for more than 10 minutes, I sometimes switch to a

I do the shallow divers. A completely different lure can elicit a strike when the larger lures fail. SPECIES I have caught kingfish, tailor, Australian salmon, trevally and small tuna using these techniques. Kingfish tend to chase the lure all the way back before

Overcast days and northwest winds mean good fishing on the South Coast of NSW.

Rock fishing can be very dangerous, especially for a novice. Wear a life jacket and make sure you wear the right footwear. I use spikes for my footwear and always wear light clothing.

pelagic, I switch lures and change my approach. The whole reason why I fish the stones now is because it is a really visual fishing experience. The reason why I start with the deep diver is to get the fish interested and once interested, I switch to a shallow diving minnow so I can watch the chaos unfold underneath my lure. I usually downsize to 5-10cm

minnow which runs 5-10cm below the water’s surface. I don’t mix retrieves when fishing lures close the surface. All I do is wind as fast as I can, and I rinse and repeat this time and again until the fish switch off. If they switch off, I go back to the larger lure, work them up again from deep and then cast shallow running minnows again. If the fish really start

Trevally love chasing plastics, especially when retrieved fast and near the top of the water column. small wriggler style plastic (80-100mm) in a natural colour, and I’ll cast out and let it sink. Once the plastic has sunk a few metres, I will wind the lure back at pace and fish it much like

striking at it, so make sure you keep your eyes on the lure. If a pack of kings is still on the lure a metre out from the ledge, run the lure right along the length of the ledge. This strategy

“

SALTWATER X-RAP DEEP SCAN ME

JUST IN TIME FOR BARRA OPEN SEASON Rapala Australia

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OLD

Barra season opening TOWNSVILLE

Dave Hodge

The predicted weather pattern that had everyone on edge at the end of the year was a bit of a non-event. Expectations

plastics as well. Barra season on the East Coast opens on 1 February, and aren’t people excited about that! Three months of driving past obvious barra on the sounder has been hard, but most anglers understand the importance of letting

Contrasting colours are working well in the dirtier waters. Getting that weight on the hook just right is key to presenting at the right depth. were for a very wet December and January, but a few showers here and there were all that we experienced. It was the wind that had us all down in the dumps though. Week after week, the fishing was just shut down, especially for the offshore fishos. Some really big tides made it hard in mid-December, but despite it all, thinking anglers found some nice grunter, jacks and fingermark in the deeper holes using vibes, plastics and live baits. There was enough rain to dirty the water up (but not really have any other benefit in relation to barra spawning), so bright coloured lures were the most productive. This trend continued on to the inshore grounds, where the fingermark were smashing brightly coloured vibes and

FEBRUARY 2023

these fish do their spawn thing, and have left them alone. Obviously though, some people believe that it’s fine to actively target and release barra. These people either don’t know or don’t care that these big girls re-absorb their eggs into their body when captured, eliminating the chance of them contributing to this year’s spawn run. As they say, common sense ain’t that common nowadays. THE MONTH AHEAD Let’s say we get the rain that’s predicted for the upcoming wet season, and rivers run hard and fast. Where would you start to search for the fish? Well, going from past experiences, it’s the second rain event that gets the barra going. The first rain event is just a clearing run to flush the sediment and debris before the main event, when you see schools of barra head

You never know what’s going to hit your lure next if you’re casting around inshore reedy type stuff. This flowery cod snatched a lure meant for a trout and gave a good account of itself.

If you’re in open water, don’t go too hard on your hooked fish. That tiny bit of skin would have pulled out if the author had gone any harder on this fish. further upstream to gorge on the mobile bait schools. This is usually when you find those drains that have distinctive colour changes and bait schools holding at the mouths of them. A wellpresented hardbody or soft plastic will almost certainly get intercepted by a barra if your timing is right. Whatever you do though, don’t forget those surface lures at this time of year. If you have never caught a barramundi on the top before, you’re in for a treat. If the water is a bit clearer, a walk-the-dog style of surface lure is a good choice. Lures like the Sugapens in the 110mm size work very well. I also like the Halco Roosta popper in the 80mm size, which casts like a bullet and has one of the best sounding ‘pop’s you’ll find. Also, the Bills Bug Fizzers in the 70mm size are one of the best surface lures ever produced, particularly for barra. While not as good a long-distance casting presentation as the Roosta popper and Sugapen, it has a unique sound that drives barra wild. If you find yourself looking for deeper fish, then trolling a deep diving hardbody while keeping your eyes glued to that all-important depth sounder,

(preferably side scan) will help you to find schools of fish down deep. Once you have located them, you can position yourself appropriately and deliver a vibe or plastic and catch them

bigger tides and freshwater runoff, there are often clearer flowing drains that enter the main river systems. These are prime locations to target mangrove jacks, and also barra. Having a few

During the festive season, the author and his son went for a flick around the mountains during the windy periods to chase a few sooties. They’re great fun if you’re not after a feed. on the cast. This technique of actually finding them first while trolling can result in big numbers of fish. Please don’t go overboard if you’re looking for a feed. During those times of

lure sizes to choose from is important though, and matching the size of the food they’re eating at the time is paramount if you are to get the most action possible. I’ve had to downsize to the

OLD

3” Atomic Prongs on 1/6oz jigheads to get the bites at times when the fish have been feeding on jelly prawns and rejecting everything else. Ever since, I’ve always kept them in the boat at this time of year. We usually fish them on 10lb braid and 20-30lb fluoro leader and that’s over a spin rod combo. This may sound light for barramundi, but you can’t fish small lures on heavy gear, and we land at least 95% of our fish in the open water situations. Our annual overall catch rate would take a serious dive if we didn’t carry these lighter options with us. It’s up to you if you want to give it a go or are happy throwing the normal type stuff.

CRABBING Fortunately for the smaller boats, the creeks have still been fishable, and the crabs have been running as thick as anyone can remember. However, but with a heavy out-oftown commercial crabbing presence, many were just under legal size. ‘Share farming’ (crab theft) is very much a problem around here, and people are not only losing their hard-earned crabs by scumbag robbers, but in many cases whole pots are going missing, especially the good quality ones. You would think that a fine of over $1200 per pot for interfering with a fishing apparatus would

they’re usually good species that hit them. If you want to more precisely target fingermark, and assuming you have an electric motor, you can spot lock your boat just downcurrent from them and hop a soft plastic prawn imitation (e.g. Halco Paddle Prawn 7” or Atomic Prong) through the school. Generally you will get pretty instant results. 20lb braid and 30lb leaders are usually enough stopping power if the sharks aren’t too

bad, although that’s a rarity these days. The longer you have to fight a fish, the more likely it is to get eaten, so sporting tackle often can’t be used. If you do lose a fish to the sharks, don’t keep fishing in that area. Just move on and find another school elsewhere. You don’t want to train the sharks to hang around boats waiting for an easy feed! I hope you all have a great barra season opening and bend a rod.

Catching sooties gets you into some breathtakingly scenic areas. As they say, a fish is a bonus.

This trout ate an Atomic Slim Twitcher meant for a mackerel.

New

be a deterrent, but nope. Every day in at the Fishing Warehouse where I work, we hear one victim after another come through the doors, and it really is huge concern. If you video someone in the act of robbing your pot, I’m sure Fisheries would love to see that evidence, especially if it’s got the rego number in it, so fines can be handed out appropriately. FINGERMARK Massive schools of squid have been showing up in the

ECLIPSE The Angler’s Bimini.

closer waters, and hot on their heels are the fingermark (golden snapper) schools. If you locate a school of deeper fish that you think may be fingers, there are a few things you can do. If you don’t have an electric motor and the fish are in less than about 13-14m of water, you can troll deep diver like a Halco Crazy Deep Scorpion 8m through the patch and hang on. Predators will, most times, rise to smash these versatile lures, and

Trout of this size are common if you’re a plastics chucker. Reflexes need to be fast, and rigging and hooks need to be spot on if you’re to land them.

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NSW

The skinny water is holding stonking fish CENTRAL COAST

Jamie Robley

February is a month I’ve always embraced with enthusiasm. Not only is it one of our peak months on the fishing calendar, it’s also when holiday crowds thin out and the weather begins to settle. Gone are the super early pre sunrise starts, as the sun creeps over the horizon a bit later now and with a bit of luck those persistent onshore winds will also abate.

fishing at Avoca back in the 1980s. In other words, casting hole pilchards on ganged hooks, live baiting with yakkas, pike or garfish and lure casting. However, the tackle itself has evolved into far more sophisticated and user-friendly gear. Some vital basics of chasing pelagics from our rocks are to only fish when sea conditions are safe, and getting out of bed super early and putting in the effort to be casting your baits or lures in the early morning period. Of course, bream and

The keener offshore anglers will also be enjoying the fact that they can launch nice and early in the morning without a big waiting line at the ramp. Offshore winds are starting to ease back a little, and this means anglers can stay out longer without having to rush back in before the wind picks up. This is particularly important at Norah Head, which is quite exposed to northeasterly wind. LAKES ALIVE The lakes here have been fishing well in recent weeks and that should only get better Flathead have continued to be active throughout summer and you’ll probably run into a few this month, especially in shallow spots. The Entrance, Ettalong and Woy Woy are some areas to concentrate on, but in reality, a flatty can turn up almost anywhere.

Bream fishing has been first rate in recent weeks. February is normally one of the best bream months, especially for those who prefer to cast small lures. If you’re into rock fishing and like to get some string stretched and hear what your drag system sounds like, then bonito, kingfish and other speedy predators should be on the prowl. In January everything was primed up for a good inshore pelagic season. By now we should (hopefully) already be enjoying some excellent warm water action. Effective techniques for this sort of fishing are still largely the same as they were when I first started my rock

tailor can also still be caught around our rocks at this time of year, and they also tend to be easier to catch around sunrise or sunset. However, both bream and tailor really like that churned up whitewash close to the rocks and a shallow, sandy bottom. So, if sea conditions are perhaps a bit too dicey to fish out on the more exposed, deeper ledges, try plonking some baits or lures back in around the more protected, washy spots.

this month. I must admit, I’m saying this with a bit of trepidation, as the previous few years have seen floods towards the end of summer and early autumn. This summer, the weather patterns have been a bit different, with a drier trend, so fingers crossed the weather gods are on our side this year! Bream are out in full force this summer, and they’ve remained my main target species, both in the lakes and feeder creeks as well as in

Brisbane Waters. However, whiting are also around in excellent numbers and flathead continue to be active throughout our waterways. Mud crabs, blue swimmers and prawns haven’t failed us either. No doubt, all of this is a result of the rain and flooding over the past three years. The rains may make things difficult at the time, but the long-term benefits are well proven. Regardless of exactly which species you prefer, nearly all of the action is in quite shallow water at this time of year. By that, I mean knee-deep or a metre at most. It’s an age-old habit of people to cast out into deeper places or always try to seek out deep water. I can assure readers though, almost always, that bream, whiting and flathead much prefer super shallow water during most months of the year, and this month you’ll do better by casting baits or lures in very shallow spots. BEACH BEASTS Beach fishing normally picks up as we get towards the

end of summer. Tailor, bream and whiting are the most active fish in our local surf zone right now, with a very good chance of mulloway at night. However, as water temperatures are very warm and there are lots of baitfish around, the sharks also love feeding close in along the beaches. They’re mostly

small whaler sharks around 1-2m long, but a few larger whalers and hammerheads also come in close at times. Eagle rays are also reasonably common and some of them are big enough to spool you in an instant. So be aware that if you hook something big, you might be in for some fun and games!

The best results in our estuaries for bream, flathead and whiting will come by fishing the shallows this month.

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FEBRUARY 2023

NSW

The season is in full swing SWANSEA

Jason Nunn

It’s all looking very good out wide, and marlin season is in full swing. The water temperatures out wide have been reaching heights of 24-25°C, and back on the edge of the shelf, the temp is around 22-23°C at the time of writing. There’s a little bit of current at the moment (which will probably continue through

with some nice mahimahi (dolphinfish), which have turned up in that deep water. A few of the boys got specimens around the 8-10kg mark recently, which is a welcome bycatch. It’s nice to be able to take something home for the table sometimes. On top of all these species, there should be blue marlin on offer this month as well. All in all, I have high hopes for the gamefishing in the coming weeks, if conditions remain favourable.

hooks is a proven method, but if you’re not equipped to fish with livies, you can troll 8-10” skirted lures. At the moment, the most reliable skirt is the JB Lures Dingo (and Small Dingo), rigged on 15-24kg line. You don’t need to have outriggers, and just troll around in the vicinity looking for baitfish on the sounder, and look out! Little blacks and dollies like the lumo green colour, and the dollies also like pinks and purples. Moving to inshore reef

are excellent on the plate. Make sure you ice them down to keep the flesh in tip-top condition. Bonito arrived at the beginning of January, and their numbers should increase in the coming weeks as the schools become more concentrated. With the arrival of the bonito we should see the onset of other fish such as frigates, mac tuna, and hopefully Watsons leaping bonito. It’s a very exciting time for pelagic fishers, who are spoilt for choice. Cubing works for bonito, or you can cast or troll for them. Some good lure options include small skirted lures, white Smith jigs, and chrome slugs/slices. If you’re using chrome lures, spin them back hard, and you may pick up a few frigates on that quicker retrieve. When everyone is hammering the surface, we troll deeper divers around them, especially the Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow. The Crystal Minnow is deadly, and often picks up those slightly larger fish subsurface.

Keeping slight tension and a digit on your line at all times will maximise your hook-up rate on mulloway. Ben didn’t feel a thing from this sneaky ghost until he had weight on the lure lift. Image courtesy of @hook__in. turn up on our beaches in good numbers in February, particularly the latter part of the month. Brined pilchards are a good option for tailor

This big girl couldn’t resist a Samaki Vibelicous smeared with Sax Scent. She was released after a few quick photos. Image courtesy of @hook__in. February) and there are lots of predators and a fair amount of bait. The water is good, with a nice blue colour, and there are a lot of pelagics in the water column at the moment. Both black and striped marlin are regularly being caught. There are little packs of these marlin swimming around, so you can be trolling along and before you know it you can have three or four in your spread. Anglers have also been encountering a few shortbilled spearfish along

The fishing prospects are also good for inshore anglers with trailer boats. A lot of juvenile black marlin are moving down the coast, with most fish ranging from 20-40kg. That’s a pretty good average, and there are a lot of them. I believe the FAD off Swansea will fire up this month, as some of that warmer water out wide starts to push in closer. Juvenile blacks and dolphinfish are the main targets. Live baiting with circle

fishing, the trag fishing along the coast has been out of sight for a number of months. Between Christmas and New Years, some guys were catching their 5-fish limit in half an hour, with the majority caught on pilchards. The action should continue right through February and into March. The average size has been around 45-55cm and I would expect some better fish as we come into autumn, up to that 60cm mark. Trag fight like a demon, and they

Flathead are plentiful HUNTER

Patrick Linehan

Consistent southerly winds over the last month or so have pushed in some warm water along the coast, seeing a good run of small black marlin reasonably close to shore to the north. There have also been plenty of striped marlin and a few blue marlin over the shelf. Unsurprisingly, the FADs have also produced plenty of mahimahi (dolphinfish) recently. There have been a few pelagics showing up inshore, but as usual for this time of year, there’s still a month or two before the action peaks. If the rain holds off, the signs are looking good for a reasonable run of mackerel and tuna. Closer in, the warm To page 66

Chris Clare with a healthy 60cm flathead caught on a soft plastic at low tide.

A healthy bass taken off the surface. Image courtesy of @hook__in.

Bonito very good for bait for species such as bream and snapper, and it’s also a very good eating fish when put straight into an ice slurry. Some people assume that bonito taste like striped tuna, but they’re much better than striped tuna. Bonito flesh makes fantastic sashimi and cooks up well on the BBQ too. If you can’t decide whether to use your bonito for the table or bait, try eating just the shoulder and using the rest for bait. Beach-wise, whiting been on fire this summer on our coastal beaches. The humble farmed tubeworm has proven once again to be an outstanding bait, and because they’re farmed they don’t impact wild worm stocks. This bait has also been accounting for bream and dart. We are just starting to see the odd tailor on the beaches in the afternoons. They normally

because these baits are tougher and don’t fly off the hook as easily as regular pilchards do. And of course, you can also get good results on chrome lures. If you’re using a 10-12ft rod you can use 65g+ lures, or 40-50g on an 8-10ft rod. Anglers chasing whiting and bream as we move towards autumn will also catch school jew, and that will only get better as we head into autumn. When it comes to estuary fishing, the bream and whiting catches throughout January have been very good, along with flathead. As an example, one customer just told me he went fishing in the channel and caught eight bream up to 39cm and a 67cm flathead to boot, plus a smaller flatty that they released. Remember the new slot limit for flathead in NSW, which stipulates that 70cm+ flatties must be released. One customer was disappointed that he couldn’t

catch a fish under 70cm… what a great problem to have! Regardless, in 4-5 years’ time we’ll reap the rewards of these big breeding females being allowed to reproduce, and there will be stacks of takehome size flatties. I’m looking forward to it. Squid have been in really poor numbers. February to March is traditionally the breeding season for squid in Lake Macquarie, but this year might not be as good as usual. We have to wait and see whether the floodwater last year has upset the breeding pattern. Summer has been very good for crabs, although in the coming weeks we’ll see a lot of female crabs in berry (carrying eggs) which can’t be kept. As we move into autumn, we’ll see more takehome crabs. We’ve had a bit of a resurgence of kingfish. There are quite a few small ones around 50-55cm, with a few around 70cm in the mix. As we head into Easter those kingfish numbers should increase, as will tailor. All in all, signs are good that we’ll enjoy some good fishing this autumn. • Fisherman’s Warehouse Tackle World has a large range fresh and frozen bait as well as a huge range of rods, reels, lures and accessories. They also sell and service outboard motors, and have a competitively-priced selection of new and second-hand boats. The friendly staff are all experienced local anglers, and they’re always happy to share their knowledge, whether you’re a novice or experienced angler. Drop in for a chat at 804 Pacific Highway, Marks Point, or give them a call on (02) 4945 2152. You can also find them on Facebook, or check out their website at www.fishermans warehouse.com.au. FEBRUARY 2023

A snapshot of Victoria’s snapper prospects FEATURE

Ross Winstanley

Analysis of basic fish and fisher data, collected over three decades, points to glowing prospects for the recreational snapper fishery in Port Phillip Bay. First, record recent recruitment or spawning success ensures the healthy state of Victoria’s western snapper stock over the next decade. Second, data from creel survey interviews illustrates how Victorians take full advantage of the accessibility of popular fish stocks in the Bay, particularly snapper. AUSTRALIA’S HEALTHIEST SNAPPER STOCK While Australia’s other major snapper stocks are

catches of pinkies from 2022. From 2024 onwards, when above 40cm long, they are expected to join the stock of adult snapper. At this point they will substantially increase Victoria’s western snapper stock numbers, joining the spawning migration into the Bay and other inlets between November and January each year. After spawning, they will disperse across coastal waters ranging between Wilsons Promontory in the east, and Kangaroo Island, South Australia. From about 2027, the adult stock will be further enhanced, by the 2022 recruits. HOW CAN WE BE CONFIDENT ABOUT THIS? Victoria’s fisheries

Figure 2: Annual commercial snapper catches from Port Phillip Bay, 1993/94 – 2020/21. fully or over exploited, Victoria’s western snapper stock goes from strength to strength. Since 1993, the Victorian Fisheries Authority has monitored annual recruitment to this stock by surveying the numbers of 0+ year-olds, at 35 sites in Port Phillip Bay. Trawl surveys in March record the numbers of 3-10 cm snapper, reflecting spawning success over previous months. These annual ‘recruit’ counts have proved to be reliable predictors of fishing for pinkies 4-6 years later and, further on, for adult snapper. Victoria’s 30-year snapper recruitment monitoring program has revealed two of the three best annual boosts to the stock, in 2018 and 2022 (Figure 1). Already grown past the legal minimum length, 28cm, the first (and best) of these – the 2018 ‘recruits’ – should be prominent in recreational 74

FEBRUARY 2023

researchers’ long-term commitment to research, monitoring and assessment of the snapper stock, its biology and fisheries provide a solid basis for predictions. As well as sound knowledge of snapper growth and recruitment, we have prior experience of boom recruitment events and their subsequent impacts on the fisheries. The peak recruit numbers of 2002, 2004 and 2005 produced an upsurge in recreational and commercial catches of adult snapper through the 2010-2014 boom period, as reflected in Port Phillip Bay commercial catches (Figure 2). Then, as the figure shows, the combination of ‘removals’ by overall fishing pressure, and natural mortality, depleted the accumulated stock of large adult snapper quite markedly after 2014, returning to levels consistent with the longerterm trend.

Figure 1: Annual abundance of snapper recruits in Port Phillip Bay. The Andrews Government’s imposition of an upper limit of 88 tonnes on the Bay commercial snapper fishery will prevent the sort of upsurge in catches seen between 2010 and 2014. In fact, we are yet to see whether the eight commercial Bay fishermen can consistently take 88 tonnes each year. WHAT THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE From the almost 30-year data sets on recreational and commercial catches, and annual spawning success in the Bay, the VFA’s Queenscliff researchers have been able to predict an index of likely future numbers of adult snapper. By factoring in the historic link between adult numbers with creel survey

catch rates, they have also estimated recreational fishing catch rates 6-7 years ahead (Figure 3). As this graph shows, adult numbers and recreational catch rates in the Bay look set to be ‘good to excellent’ until at least 2028. Further, average or above recruitment events in future years may extend the good times into the next 10-15 years. Of course, the signs also look good for the fisheries in open coastal waters off central and western Victoria. SOME CAUTIONARY WORDS After exceptional recruitment in 2018 and 2022, if history is repeated, we can anticipate a return to a period of much lower recruitment, as occurred following the 2001, 2005

Figure 3: Adult abundance index (black line), and observed and forecast angler catch rates (pink).

and 2014 peaks. This is quite predictable as the 0-3 year old juveniles spawned from 2023 will face stiff competition from the recent bumper year-classes of larger juveniles and young adults. In theory, if environmental conditions favour high recruitment, new recruits may face stiff competition, and probable predation, by abundant older year classes in the Bay until they disperse across coastal waters after a couple of years. In the longer term, it would be foolish to be complacent about the western Victorian snapper stock. We know enough about the environmental conditions that are vital for successful spawning and larval survival, and the critical importance of

the first few months after spawning. Everything hinges on environmental conditions in the northeast of the Bay from November to January, and those conditions are dictated by river flows and water temperatures. So far, so good, but Australia’s experience with global climatic extremes this year point to the threats posed by climate change. In the meantime, continuation of the VFA’s recruitment monitoring, creel survey, commercial catch recording and angler diary/app reporting, will be vital to tracking the future trajectory of the western snapper stock. SNAPPER ANGLER TRAVEL PATTERNS As a postscript to this account focusing on the snapper stock, some detailed analysis of a decade of creel survey data reveals some interesting facts about angler travels when fishing for snapper in the Bay. In January 2022, VFA researchers published a study titled ‘Angling to Reach a Destination to Fish—Exploring the Land and Water Travel Dynamics of Recreational Fishers in Port Phillip Bay, Australia’. They analysed data from 6,035 boat-based creel surveys, from 20 Bay-side ramps, between 2010 and 2019. The analysis showed that most anglers lived close to the Bay, within the Melbourne, Mornington, Geelong, Bellarine and Surf

Figure 5: Average hours spent fishing per fishing block in Port Phillip Bay, for all years and species combined. Figure reproduced with the author’s permission. Coast regions. However, some travelled long distances, from extremities of the state, or even from interstate, particularly when targeting snapper. Figure 4 shows the

most popular travel routes, over land and water, by anglers targeting snapper. The concentration of interest among residents from Melbourne’s northern and eastern suburbs is clear.

The travel routes shown represent about 50% of all surveyed trips on land and over 80% of trips on water. On average, snapper anglers launching from Bellarine ramps travelled

Figure 4: Map of the most popular snapper fishing trips over land and water in Port Phillip Bay. Figure reproduced with the author’s permission.

furthest on land and the shortest distances o n - w a t e r. Anglers launching from Melbourne and Mornington ramps travelled significantly further on water to fish, with those targeting snapper from Mornington averaging 14.3 km. Snapper were the most popular species targeted from most ramps, particularly in the Melbourne and Mornington regions. While snapper fishing effort was spread throughout the Bay, much of it was focused on deeper waters in the northern and eastern regions where adult snapper spawn. Figure 5 shows the average hours fished, for all species combined, for each fishing block. Two factors help to explain why, overall, snapper anglers averaged longer distances on water to fish than those targeting other species. First, the larger adult snapper tend to frequent deeper offshore water. Second, both juvenile and adult snapper occur in highly-mobile schools which cover wide distances, across a range of bottom habitats. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS ANALYSIS? As well as being of interest to anglers and value to fishing-related businesses, ‘geospatial’ analysis and modelling

taken from land and water travel and ramp use like this provide an important and realistic basis for planning facilities for recreational fishing. This is crucial at a time when the Government is intent on increasing recreational fishing and boating participation in Victoria. Understanding ‘travel dynamics’ is also essential in order to investigate the economic contribution of recreational fishing, and how this is spread across the state. By examining data collected across 10 years, trends in travel and usage patterns can be particularly valuable for planning upgrades and new facilities. For snapper anglers there were some clear trends. For those launching from the Bellarine region, land travel distances increased noticeably over time while on-water distances decreased. Similar but less marked trends occurred for Melbourne region trips. The most striking increases in on-water distances were for trips launched from the Mornington region, targeting the highly mobile snapper, including the central Bay waters. Knowledge of anglers’ launching and on-water activities is clearly useful for the VFA’s angler education and information services and for planning compliance schedules. FEBRUARY 2023

BREAM SERIES presented by

Hodges hoists the grand final trophy ABT’s flagship series – the Daiwa BREAM series – came to its conclusion for 2022 with 32 boaters and 22 non-boaters descending upon the black bream haven that is Mallacoota, Victoria. Boaters had to perform at their peak fishing ability over three days to compete for the incredible first prize of an Alloycraft Bass Pro 463 boat and Mercury outboard motor package, equipped with Green Marine lithium batteries and over $15,000 worth of Garmin marine electronics,

tournaments since 2008, Hodges has come painstakingly close to taking out a grand final on two other occasions, with two second place finishes in the 2016 and 2018 grand finals at St. Georges Basin and Lake Macquarie, respectively. “After having been in this position twice, I definitely felt the pressure once I was leading the event,” said Hodges. “I just knew I had to keep my head down and get it done.” Notorious through the ABT ranks for his unparalleled ability to catch

Brad Hodges can finally add ‘BREAM Grand Final champion’ to his already stacked resume! After two 2nd place finishes, he well and truly deserves it.

In second place just under a kilogram behind the win was Mark Crompton. Crommo used his skill with a soft plastic at Mallacoota to climb the leaderboard and achieve his highest place in a GF to date. including the Force trolling motor and LVS34 LiveScope transducer. The non-boaters were also competing for an incredible prize pack to the tune of around $4000 worth of sponsor products from 13 Fishing, Rapala, Sufix lines, TT Lures, Daiwa, Pro Lure, Atomic, Keitech and JML Anglers Alliance. CHAMPION BOATER – BRAD HODGES The old idiom ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ is used to describe a complicated and impressive task requiring patience, and this aligns with the career of long-standing Bream angler Brad Hodges. Having fished ABT

4.5kg on the last day to have it nailed down, and anything around 3.5-4kg would leave the door open if someone whacked them. But, luckily my bag got it done,” said Hodges. Hodges isn’t a fan of fishing around other people in tournaments, so he decided to steer clear of the popular Goodwin Sands area in the lake – where a large portion of the field were sitting – and instead focused, in his words, on an “insignificant” sand flat with broken patches of weed, where no other boats had been. The flat was in

FEBRUARY 2023

Bream being as fickle as they are, the bites each day didn’t come straight away. Instead, he had to wait until the tide change – starting at approximately 9:30am day one, 10:30am day two and 11:30am day three – before the fish fired up. “Like usual when the tide turns the wind picks up and that was the difference for me, I didn’t have a bag before the tide change each day,” explained Hodges. “Then they completely changed from me having to coerce them into eating before the tide change, to them charging down

Scan the QR code to watch the Boater Winners Interview

finicky black bream, Hodges went out and set the tone early. He led the event on day one with a smashing 4.770kg bag, which would turn out to be the biggest for the whole event. This was followed by a 3.890kg day two bag which retained him 1st place, before being anchored finally by a 4.180kg (one of only two 4kg+ bags on day three) on the final day. “I thought I needed

Great Wall of… Tackle? Non-boater champion Bobby Sproule joined the winners circle with an astounding come-from-behind win and in doing so, took home the loaded wall of tackle you can see behind him here.

BOATER RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

approximately 2ft of water where crankbaits and soft plastics are hindered by an excess of weed, so a topwater presentation was the obvious choice. For this, he used a 76mm Berkley Pro-Tech Bender from his long-time supporters Pure Fishing, which he credits to landing “at least 10 of the 15 fish I weighed for the weekend”. The topwater outfit was a light spin model Abu Garcia Rayrex Series 2 matched to a 2000 size Abu ALX Theta with 6lb Berkley X9 mainline and 4lb Vanish Fluorocarbon leader.

Angler Brad Hodges Mark Crompton Declan Betts Steven Pryke Kris Hickson Peter Breukel Steve Morgan Tony Pettie Mario Vukic Cameron Whittam

Fish 15/15 15/15 15/15 15/15 15/15 15/15 15/15 15/15 15/15 15/15

Weight(kg) 12.840kg 11.870kg 11.710kg 11.350kg 10.815kg 10.745kg 10.315kg 10.175kg 9.960kg 9.845kg

Full results at abt.org.au

Payout Alloycraft boat/Mercury motor package Millerods

BREAM SERIES presented by topwaters and nailing them.” He found the fish on day two had moved off the weedy flat to sitting on a sandy edge nearby, so he changed to a Berkley Pro-Tech Twitcher 45 crankbait to elicit a reaction from the fish. This ability to adapt caught Hodges his whole day two bag and kept him in the lead going into the final day. Scan the QR code to watch the Field Highlights

For the crankbait he used an Abu Garcia Veritas Tournament paired with a matching Abu ALX 2000 size spin reel, spooled with 6lb Berkley X9 braid and 4lb Berkley Vanish leader. “The bites came a lot slower on day two and I was only able to get my bag and upgrade once,” he explained. However, the change to the edges gave his flat a chance to rest, and he was able to return to it on day three and upgrade multiple times after 11:30am. Now that Brad has achieved what he’d wanted for so many years, will we see him defend his title in 2023 with a guaranteed entry to next year’s grand final? A simple “Absolutely” from the 2022 champion put that question to bed instantly. 2ND PLACE BOATER – MARK CROMPTON Another angler that has been in the hunt for a grand final victory for some years now is NSW angler Mark ‘Crommo’ Crompton. One of ABT’s most dedicated anglers, Crommo finished in second place with a 10/10 limit for 11.870kg, his highest place in a grand final to date. “I definitely feel like I’m due for one,” he laughed to Fishing Monthly. He punched his ticket to the Grand Final earlier in the year by winning the St. Helens qualifying round, proving he is just as dangerous on black bream as he is on their yellowfin counterparts. An angler known for his love of fishing lightlyweighted plastics across the flats, Crommo stuck to those very strengths for the Grand Final. “In prefish I tried to find

A Lakes Entrance local, Sproule knows the secrets to catching big resident black bream. It’s what kept him in striking distance going into day three. them as shallow as I could because I thought those fish would be less pressured from the boat traffic,” explained Crommo. Once he confirmed the fish were definitely going to eat shallow, he also pushed deep to find a contingency Scan the QR code to watch the NonBoater Winners Interview

plan in case the shallow bites slowed down. This forward thinking proved to be crucial to his final result as the bites slowed up on day two and he was able to consistently catch fish and fill his bag. Fishing soft plastics exclusively for the weekend, his go-to presentations were a Juro Firebait (colour 12) or Hurricane sprat 75 (machete colour) rigged on an unweighted Aberdeen hook. The idea was to keep the lure in front of the fish’s face as long as possible, and the best way to achieve that is an unweighted soft plastic. Fishing out of the

Daiwa stable, Crommo had a number of Daiwa combos on deck, however the standout for him was the 7’3” Gekkabijin ‘flats rod’ paired with a 2500 Luvias LT spooled with 4lb Daiwa Morethan braid and 4lb J-thread Finesse leader. This is the model the brand new Infeet AGS is based on and for Crommo, it is his OG flats rod and a proven performer. The technique was fast twitches on a long pause, similar to how one would fish a jerkbait, with the fish often eating it on the drop. To remain as quiet and stealthy as possible in the shallow water, Mark turned off all the sounders on his boat and only had his electric motor running so as not to spook fish. Mark’s vessel – a shallow drawing X-Rider 560 from Revival boats – was also key to the way he fished. This boat allows him to get as shallow as possible without getting stuck where other heavy glass boats would likely not dare to go. Mr Consistent will of course be back in 2023 and with an already impressive

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

Angler Bobby Sproule Michael Sammut Stuey Walker Grayson Fong Jarrad Stevens David Shanahan Lance Marsh Tommy Wood Taka Kawasaki Ruth Beeby

Fish 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9

resume, he will be looking to add that Grand final trophy to his cabinet soon. CHAMPION NON-BOATER – BOBBY SPROULE Bobby Sproule could not have picked a better event to join the winners circle than the 2022 BREAM Grand Final. Not only does he join the winners circle, he joins the elite circle of ‘grand final champions,’ an honour only very few can lay claim to. Non-boating requires a high level of adaptability, and Sproule had no dramas adapting to the techniques of Peter Breukel, Jason Mayberry and Steven Pryke. Day one saw him and fellow Victorian Peter Breukel throwing Hurricane Twitch 50s in iceberg colour across the sand/weed flats at Goodwin Sands. Day two was spent with Jason Mayberry fishing weed edges with hatchet coloured Hurricane Sprat 75s rigged on a 1/40oz TT Hidden Weight jighead. His day one and two bags amounted to 4.520kg, putting him in 4th place going into the final day where anglers are paired with the boaters in their corresponding place on the leaderboard. By chance, this saw him paired with 4th placed boater Steven Pryke, a good mate of

Living up to his reputation of being unmatched in ability to catch black bream, Hodges put on a topwater clinic on the flats to claim the Grand Final win he’s been searching for since 2008.

Full results at abt.org.au

Weight(kg) 7.225kg 7.205kg 6.790kg 6.695kg 6.310kg 6.290kg 6.250kg 6.225kg 6.020kg 5.810kg

Sproule’s. “I was really lucky to have fantastic boaters all weekend, but I was especially thankful I got to fish with Prykey on the last day,” Bobby said. “I didn’t feel any pressure, it just felt like I was going fishing with a mate!” Together they targeted fish sitting in around 3.5-4m of water using camo coloured Berkley Gulp Shrimp or Gulp Nemesis in the 2” size. They had them rigged on 1/24oz Atomic Seekerz jigheads, casting them out and letting them slowly waft down to the fish. Most of the time they wouldn’t even hit the bottom before getting eaten. They finished the day at Goodwin Sands rolling shallow diving Jackall Chubbies in pink eye brown suji shrimp colour, and with just 45 minutes left in the session, Sproule caught his final upgrade and his best fish for the weekend. He knows that fish made all the difference, saying, “Without a doubt that was the fish that won me the comp. Without that big upgrade I wouldn’t have got across the line.” Bobby’s soft plastic combo for the weekend was a Tackle Tactics Black Mamba 1-3kg matched with a 1000 size Okuma Ceymar,

Payout Epic sponsor tackle pack Millerods

spooled with 6lb pulse X8 and 4lb Daiwa X-link leader. Meanwhile, his hardbody set-up was a Millerods XFLC 7’3” 2-5kg paired with a 2500 size Shimano Vanford, again spoiled with Pulse X8 6lb braid and 4lb Daiwa X-link Fluorocarbon leader. Sproule mounted a remarkable come-frombehind victory to win the event on the last day and take out his first Grand Final as a non-boater by just 20g! FEBRUARY 2023

BASS ELECTRIC SERIES presented by

BASS ELECTRIC SERIES

abt

They say, ‘cometh the hour, cometh the man!’. Well, Peter Bostock must love coming to the big shows because this year he backed up his second consecutive BASS Electric Grand Final win with a third in a row, and sealed his second straight BASS Electric Angler of the Year title. This is how he did it. On October 22, 29 competitors lined up. The weather looked pretty good, with sunny skies and dead

Bostock wins 3rd BASS Electric GF

the water. A couple of winds, a pause and another wind and he was onto his second keeper – another good fish. It was at this point Peter decided he didn’t want to risk this spot by plugging away to try to upgrade two already good fish. He packed up his gear and left the spot in the hope that no one else would sting these fish, and he could return the next day. Peter then went for a drive up into Billies Bay and grabbed a drink, a bite to eat and chatted with other anglers whilst waiting until 1pm when everyone was due in. At the weigh in, Peter took his bag to the scales to see if his fish would be worthy of the top three for the day. Indeed they were,

a little late to the start line and while he was getting his boat into the water, anglers were joking with him about his brightly coloured shorts. Maybe these were his lucky ones! As Adrian counted down and let everyone go from the start line to their desired spots, Peter again cruised over to the spot he had left on day one. Once there, Peter started throwing a Jackall Mask vibe to where he had found fish the previous day, but to no avail. He got a backlash and threw his lure to the other side of the boat to clear the line. When he started winding again, he hooked up to another good fish. A couple of casts later and he

In an epic three-peat, Brisbane’s Peter Bostock won the 2022 BKK BASS Electric Grand Final on Wivenhoe Dam and took home an Alloycraft P395 boat package loaded with Humminbird and Minn Kota electronics for his troubles.

BASS ELECTRIC SERIES

abt

Back at the weigh in, Elyon Cloete weighed in one fish for 1.79kg. John Cianco, who had fished the same area he did on day one, had come in with a great bag of two fish for 2.94kg, which he had caught jigging pink Ecogear ZX blades along a drop off in Billies Bay. It was then Peter’s turn on the scales. His bag of two bass for 3.25kg was enough to secure him a third

John Cianco was the best of the rest. The Grand Final is a winner-take-all event. calm water greeting anglers at the start line. With anglers waiting in their boats and event organisers Adrian Wilson and Charles West having already briefed everyone and checked livewells, Peter was running a little late, but that didn’t deter him from getting down to business once on the water. At the start line, most anglers went up Billies Bay, while others headed north towards Hamon Cove. However, Peter leisurely made his way over to the flats where he proceeded to fish an area he had covered in the previous day’s prefish. Lots of catfish were caught by Peter initially until he found a rocky area where he threw a Jackall TN70 in brown dog towards a tree. It ended up on rocks, and as he pulled the lure into the water and gave it a few winds it got munched by a good bass. The very next cast he put the lure up on the bank on the dirt and hopped it back into 100

FEBRUARY 2023

with two bass for 4.59kg. That put Peter in top spot ,with Elyon Cloete in second place, and John Cianco in third after Day 1. On Sunday the weather had changed to a cooler, overcast day with light winds putting a slight ripple on the water. Also, SEQ Water had started releasing water from the dam. Would this change affect the way the bass were biting on the Saturday? Only time would tell. Again, Peter was running

was on again. Peter then moved in on those fish and started fishing ZX blades, but had no success when over the top of them. He could see the fish scatter on his LiveTarget when he presented the ZX to them. Peter then moved back away from the school and caught another five fish, but nothing to upgrade. That was it for day two. It would now be up to the ABT scales to determine whether Peter had enough in his bag to secure the win.

Bostock’s bass averaged nearly 2kg apiece.

RESULTS

Full results at abt.org.au

Place 1

Angler Peter Bostock

Fish 4/4

Weight(kg) 7.84kg

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

John Ciancio Harry Hardman Elyon Cloete Tyson Eveleigh Shane Dekker Christian Manolea Marcus Hope Charles West Brian Ruteledge

4/4 4/4 3/4 3/4 3/4 4/4 3/4 3/4 2/4

6.18kg 5.35kg 5.20kg 4.24kg 3.85kg 3.53kg 2.83kg 2.75kg 2.49kg

Payout Alloycraft P95 Boat and Minn Kota/Humminbird electronics

BASS Electric Grand Final win in a row! Peter used a Shimano T-Curve 3-7kg baitcast rod with a Shimano Metanium reel to throw his Jackall lures throughout the weekend. With this win Peter also took out Angler of the Year for a second year in a row. Congratulations Peter on a fantastic year, you definitely know how to bring your ‘A’ game when it counts! Shane Dekker

East Coast Bream Series Grand Final For the first time in three years we managed a run a full series and able to run the Grand Final. Not that everything went to plan; we had to reschedule one round as well as the Grand Final due to bad weather. Finally, we got to this day, and we thank all the teams for their continued support and understanding. 30 teams lined up on a beautiful morning ready to do their best on the Sydney Harbour. Expectations were high but the harbour had other plans – all teams commented how tough the fishing was. Lots of teams reported plenty of undersize fish, and said it took more work to find fish that counted. Competitors had to do lots of running around and lots of casting to get runs on the board. All in all, the event was a success and we congratulate all teams for making the grand final, especially the top three finishers. Their reports are as follows. 1ST PLACE ($5000) Michael Colotouros, John Nacitaa and Robert Patruno of Team Phoenix said that after the initial comp was postponed to a new date of 6 November, they were confident of the fish being active due to the time of year. “After take-off we went straight to some nasty oysterencrusted structure where we usually bag out within 20 minutes,” Michael said. “Two hours later, we only had two

Bill Maquire Family The top three teams (L-R): 4Castin/Fishon, Phoenix Boats All clear, and Daybreamins. fish in the well! We realised it was going to be a grind fishing the harbour. “Usually, we would fish between 6-8 spots, but the quicky became 15-25 spots – running and gunning all day. It wasn’t until around 10:30 we started boating some reasonable fish in the mid 30cm fork range. “Still not confident of our bag, we went to one last spot where I was reasonably confident to get a good bite, and sure enough in the last hour we boated our last mid 30s fish. “At the weigh-in we were not confident in our 3.67kg bag being in top three, and we released our fish without a pic. We were completely in shock

to see 3.67kg taking it out!” Most of Team Phoenix’s fish were caught on Cranka Crabs, The Muss and Gulp Crabbys. 2ND PLACE ($2000) Dave Masters and Adam Richards of Team 4 Castin said that the East Coast Bream Series Grand final 2022 was a special event for them. “Both David Masters and I are relatively new to bream fishing, and with that lack of tournament arena experience we both considered the year to be more about learning than being competitive,” Adam explained. “We started the ECBS qualifying rounds tailing the field. The best lessons are the hard lessons! We took a lot away from our

first events and worked on our strengths. “We had lost all hope of making the final, but just for tournament arena experience we competed in the last qualifying round at Botany Bay and ended up in a respectable 6th position and only 20g shy of the money. It proved to us how far our journey as a team had come. We knew that time on the water together and getting to know and understand each other’s fishing styles was key to our success. We also become good mates. “A 6th place Botany finish placed us just inside the top 30 for the Grand Final. Our goal was to finish the Grand Final in the top 15, and we

both pre fished in our own boats to cover as much water as possible, and put together a plan. “Starting from near last position isn’t ideal, but the silver lining was that we could see the general direction that most boats headed, which appeared to be west of bridge locations. Not wanting to fish anyone’s used water, we fished the east side of the harbour bridge and put some distance between us and the field. “Tight, accurate casts with Cranka Crabs, and Crabbies rigged with 1/20oz and 1/28oz Hidden Weights connected to 4lb and 5lb leader, proved to be the best approach on the day.

“Minimal breeze, the sun high and clear water – the day had ‘tough’ written all over it. We persisted, cast after cast, and slowly put together a bag of five. I caught the first two for the tank, Dave caught the next two, and with only 30 minutes left we both scrambled, searching for one last fish for the tank. Dave landed a perfectly positioned cast into unforgiving structure and found himself connect to a healthy 850g model, the 5th fish! “In the end, our efforts rewarded us with an unexpected 2nd position finish. Thanks to ECBS for running the event and the other teams for making it so much fun.” 3RD PLACE ($1000) Rasid Ammoun, Rabih Itani and Khalid Aja of Team Daybreamers fished all day west of the harbour bridge. “We fished between the Gladesville and Harbour Bridge, targeting rock walls, boat hulls and poles,” Rasid said. “The fish were on the bite all day, and we had our 5 fish by 7:22am. “The lures that did the damage for us were the Gulp Crabby in camo, ZMan Slim SwimZ in motor oil (on a 1/20oz jighead) and the Eco Gear black blade.” We wish to thank our event sponsors Shimano, Tackle Addiction and the Bill McGuire family, and also the East Sports Club group. They have sponsored our WSBB fishing club since 2005. Fishing clubs are the backbone of the fishing community, and need support. For complete results, go to www.wsbb.com.au. - WSBB

Tournament Calendar 2023 Date FEBRUARY 4-5 Feb 8-9 Feb 11-12 Feb 14-15 Feb 18-19 Feb 24-26 Feb 26 Feb

Tournament

Location

State

Contact

BREAM R1 BASS Pro R1 BASS Pro R2 BREAM R2 BREAM R3 Venom BARRA Aus Open BASS Electric R1

Swan River Bluerock Dam Glenmaggie Dam Gippsland Lakes Mallacoota Lake Awoonga Richmond River

WA VIC VIC VIC VIC QLD NSW

abt.org.au abt.org.au abt.org.au abt.org.au abt.org.au abt.org.au abt.org.au

MARCH 26 Mar

BASS Electric R2

Clarence River

NSW

abt.org.au

APRIL 22-23 Apr

Rapala BASS Aus Open

Clarence River

NSW

abt.org.au

MAY 2-4 May 6-7 May 7 May 20-21 May 23-24 May

Daiwa BREAM Aus Open BREAM R4 BASS Electric R3 BASS Pro R3 BASS Pro R4

Sydney Harbour Hawkesbury River Lake Macdonald Boondooma Dam Somerset Dam

NSW NSW QLD QLD QLD

abt.org.au abt.org.au abt.org.au abt.org.au abt.org.au

Add your tournament or competition to this list by emailing jthomas@fishingmonthly.com.au Just supply a date, venue, tournament name, telephone number and contact name. FEBRUARY 2023

101

North Coast

Cracking the code for consistent success DAMPIER/KARRATHA

Troy Honey

Good things come to those who wait, and finally, after more than two solid months of 20+ knot winds belting the Pilbara coastline every for what seemed like every single day, we have been rewarded for our patience with some great fishing days in January. If there is one thing to take from a prolonged stint of weather preventing the majority of anglers from fishing, it is the reduced fishing pressure – nature’s way of protecting itself. Windy conditions make diving near impossible due to poor visibility, and getting boats out in rough conditions is not only unpleasant, but very

dangerous. The first week of January in Dampier alone saw two overturned vessels, two boat breakdowns and one sunken boat. It was a week of howling 25 knots or more, and these are not conditions that small fishing boats should be venturing out in, especially if they are not maintained adequately. Fingers crossed we get a couple of tropical weather events that bring lots of rain and fill our creeks and rivers before the season is out, plus long periods in between with little to no winds. The wet season has many fishing options to explore, and as we progress into April and May, the months with the least annual average wind (equal to July and August), these options will begin to include demersals that start to migrate

Sometimes you need to go deep into the mangroves to find the big bucks, as the author regularly does both north and south of Karratha.

Winds keep anglers on the shore EXMOUTH

Barry Taylor

This month’s report has been supplied by Josh Cheong Recently conditions have been very windy, and this has been keeping

tuna that are in good numbers at this time of year. The largest fish reported recently have been around 40-60kg. Sailfish have been getting around as well. Most pelagics have been caught trolling out wide, however recently mahimahi have come in quite close

been present on the west side, but wind is coming from that direction pretty much permanently and has made fishing difficult. To escape the wind many have been flats fishing for whiting, throwing trusted lures such as Jackson Ebi Panics and Pygmy Poppers

the flats fishing for species like queenies, trevally, whiting and everything else on the inside of the gulf should fire up. By this stage the holiday crowds have well and truly died down, and this should create more chances for any looking to find quality fish. • For all the latest news on what’s biting and where, drop in to Tackle World Exmouth at 3 Maley St, Exmouth or give them a call on (08) 9949 1315. You can also view the range at www. tackleworldexmouth.com. au, and see the latest catch photos on their Facebook page. This family business stocks a large range of tackle, from light spin to big game. The staff have a wealth of local knowledge and expertise, and are always happy to help.

James Fitzgerald was stoked with this stunning sail. Image courtesy of @yimtaro.

Exmouth flats fishing at its finest. Image courtesy of @indepthangler_josh. temperatures down, and anglers have mostly stuck to shore-based fishing. There has been the odd day here and there suitable for smaller boats to get out, however the recent cyclone near Broome brought a lot of bad weather with it, and finding good windows has been difficult. BOAT FISHING Those who have gotten out have been after the blue marlin and big yellowfin 110

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at certain times. They were recently reported in 30m of water near tip of the cape. These fish don’t normally come in this close, but recent conditions have brought in plenty of clean ocean water. Trolling hardbodies as well as casting stickbaits will catch mahimahi. A lot of people have been taking advantage of the wahoo in the area, both by trolling and casting lures. SHORE FISHING Spangled emperor have

inside the gulf. On the tip of cape, there are blue bones looking for their next feed, and they can be fooled with crab imitations, flies, and various baits in the shallows. NEXT MONTH Over the next month the weather will get hotter, so the fishing out wide should get better. The squid that have been quite prevalent will thin out as the mercury climbs, but

A summer sailfish comes to the boat. Image courtesy of @indepthangler_josh.

LIGHT, POWERFUL, DURABLE… Bluebone have been caught tuna, including mac

closer to shore with the cooler water. The wet season also sees the lowest average of barometric pressure. This impacts fish species in shallower waters such as estuary and near-shore species, and also pelagics that frequent the surface regularly. It is believed low barometric pressure allows

and longtail, are schooling up, with the waters west of Legendre holding many schools at any given time – just look for the birds. Your challenge here will be getting them to the boat once hooked as the sharks have been trailing the tuna in this area and creating havoc for anglers, especially

North Coast

LIGHT, POWERFUL, DURABLE…

INTUITIVE CONTROL

VIC MERCURY DEALERS

WA MERCURY DEALERS

land-based on fresh crab baits from the regular spots around Dampier and Burrup Peninsula. It has been a great option to get amongst some demersal action when the wind has been blowing. THREADFIN SALMON My focus this wet season is to master the art of landbased Karratha threadfin

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MELBOURNE MELBOURNE MARINE CENTRE 393-399 South Gippsland Hwy Dandenong South P: (03) 9703 2003 E: info@melbournemarine.com.au W: melbournemarine.com.au MORNINGTON PENINSULA MY MARINE Cnr Nepean Highway & Ponderosa Place Dromana P: (03) 5987 0900 W: mymarine.com.au

MORNINGTON PENINSULA NAUTICAL MARINE 141 Hotham Road Sorrento P: (03) 5984 1666 SHEPPARTON E: info@nauticalmarine.com.au BOATS AND MORE W: nauticalmarine.com.au All around Dampier Harbour is ideal ground to fish for 207 Numurkah Road Shepparton bluebone. of these fish all along P: (03) 5822 2108 The author catches many TOORADIN the coastline in as little as half a metre of water. F: (03) 5821 2908 P&J MARINE SERVICE CENTRE P/L boatsandmore.com.au Tooradin the W: fish’s stomach to relax salmon. During101 myTooradin time Station thoseRoad running lighter gear more, thus giving an empty in Broome, this was5998 an 3107 for sport purposes. P: (03) MORWELL sensation and prompting the easy task due toE:thepjmarine_services@bigpond.com ease of Another thing to fishCRAWFORD to feed more regularly. access to great land-based mention is the number of MARINE This, combined locations that regularly hold squid turning up around 71-77 Chickerellwith Street the Morwell higher water temperatures, threadies all year round. the inshore reefs. During P: (03) 5134 6522trevally Karratha is a different MELBOURNE is why barramundi, kettle a couple of land-based (03) 5134fire 6455 M MARINE andF:queenfish up in the of fish (pardonTRIPLE the pun) bluebone sessions I had during January there were wetW: season. very Drive crawfordmarine.com.au as the threadies117are Northgate Thomastown However, with all the seasonal here. And there is 8787 many squid cruising past, P: (03) 9465 which we don’t normally statistics, ECHUCA averages, and an even biggerF:challenge: (03) 9466 1418 science, can MARINE still be getting to the good spots see at this time of year. EADES itXTREME W: triplemmarine.com.au unclear. During December without becoming stuck in There have been plenty Sturt Street and24 January there Echuca have been salt pans, which never ends of whiting being caught P: exceptional (03) 5482 2333 some reports of well. To date I have been around Dampier and Point F: (03) being 5482 2133 pelagics landed that unsuccessful in landing a Samson, and this may be a include red emperor and thready from shore here, factor for the squid coming W: xtrememarine.net.au saddle-tail seaperch, even as but I will continue to work in so it’s definitely worth a close to shore as 20m. This on it. I’ll keep you updated try. I recommend bringing a BRAESIDE has most probably been due and once I crack the code, couple of light rods, one for JV MARINE WORLD to the drop in water temp we I will share the tactics for whiting and one for squid if Road after Braesideeveryone to give it a go. saw878 lateSpringvale in December you are looking for a feed P: (03) 9798 8883 it started to rise earlier in This time of year if you land-based or near shore the F:month. It has (03) 9798 7554been an head out as close to the rigs from a tinny. unusual start to the wet, but as allowable you will likely Next edition we will W: jvmarine.com.au it is now flattening out into find plenty of mahimahi see plenty of barra coming its usual process. turning up on the surface. in, and fingers crossed, I Bluebone and coral trout If you are out that far then will have some good news have been showing up on it is worth having a drop for you with a land-based days when the weather for demersal species, but thready catch. There has allowed boats out, as well you will need to be quick been a second crocodile as plenty of Spanish flag becauase the sharks are very sighting in Karratha so be and blueline emperor, active at the moment due to mindful when you’re fishing although they have been the warmer water. around Dampier or any of mostly on the smaller side. Speaking of sharks, the the creeks in the region.

BUNBURY BLUEWATER MARINE 18 Hawkins Street BUNBURY P: (08) 9791 1499 F: (08) 9791 1497 E: bluwater@bigpond.net.au W: bluewatermarine.com.au MANDURAH MANDURAH OUTBOARDS 53 Gordon Road MANDURAH P: (08) 9581 7224 F: (08) 9581 6305 E: james@mandurahoutboards.com.au W: mandurahoutboards.com.au ALBANY RUSTY’S MARINE U2/205 Chesterpass Road ALBANY P: (08) 9842 1022 E: rustysmarine@bigpond.com W: www.rustysmarine.com.au WANGARA HI TECH MARINE 12 Uppill Place WANGARA P: (08) 9309 2888 F: (08) 9309 2397 E: sales@hitechmarine.com.au W: hitechmarine.com.au

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Sea Jay 453 Territory with 70hp Suzuki 4-stroke - SC

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Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

Believe it or not, I’m pretty sure that this is the first Suzuki-powered Sea Jay boat that we’ve tested - in modern history, at least. We heard that Mak Marine in Gateshead, NSW (near Newcastle) has put together a demo boat - the 453 Territory powered by a 70hp Suzuki 4-stroke and we thought it’d be a popular boat to take for a run. The Territory is a reasonably new model in the Sea Jay range which caters for angler who wants a large casting deck and a console located further back in the boat. Coupled with a full height transom, the Territory has found

admirers all over the country and not just in the Northern Territory. This Territory sports thee UE2 transom, which is standard at full height and includes duckboards and a heavy duty boarding ladder and live bait tank. This will give comfort to those venturing offshore on a calm day in this rig. The motor is a little set back from the transom SPECIFICATIONS Length .................. 4.90m Beam .....................2.12m Depth .......................1.2m Bottom ................... 3mm Sides....................... 3mm Ribs.............................. 10 Capacity......... 5 persons Hull weight............442kg Max HP........................70

Main: This Sea Jay 453 Territory is a shop demo boat for Mak Marine in Gateshead, NSW. It’s a basic boat/motor/trailer setup that’s ready for your choice of electronics. Above: Economy of the admittedly light demo was fantastic. Optimum cruising speed of 35km/h at 3,500 rpm yielded 4.7km per litre of fuel. itself but it’s not a standard pod-length back. Economy of the demo

The 70hp 4-stroke Suzuki is the maximum power rated for this rig. 114

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boat was borderline ridiculous. At the most economical speed of 35km/h at 3,500rpm, the Suzuki delivered 4.7km per litre burned. With a 70L underfloor fuel tank, that gives the boat a theoretical range of over 300km! Granted, the test rig wasn’t fitted with an electric motor or battery. Drop a 30kg battery and the same weight of electric motor on the bow and the economy will undoubtedly reduce. Still, with unleaded approaching $2 per litre at the time of testing, it’d be handy to know that it’s costing you less than 50c per kilometre to move around. This was evident when dropping the throttle on this boat. It seemed a little

light in the bow, but add the weight up there and it’d level out nicely. Large front casting decks mean another thing - plenty of space underneath for storage. The demo boat has a livewell fitted under here, but there’s still more room down there to accommodate

plenty of gear and the trolling motor battery. The helm and side console is also purposely basic. There’s a small pocket to keep your wallet, phone and keys in and out of harm’s way, but other than that, it’s up to new owner of this rig to pick and bracket mount electronics on top of the console. Mak Marine’s Brendan Macdonald explained. “There’s been quite a wait on made-to-order rigs since the start of COVID, but our demo is ready to go to a new home - just pick out your electronics and we can fit it all. It means you can have a boat next week, rather than in several months time.” As tested, the rig priced out at $44,600 on the water and ready to go. You can get more information by visiting www.makmarine. com.au or from the Sea Jay website. Also, you can scan the QR code hereby to see the boat in action by watching the video boat test on our YouTube channel.

PERFORMANCE RPM ............Speed (km/h) ... Economy (km/L) 700 .................................. 3 ......................... 5.3 1000 ................................ 5 ......................... 3.6 2000................................ 9 ......................... 3.0 3000.............................. 25 ......................... 3.7 3500 .............................. 35 ......................... 4.7 4000.............................. 39 ......................... 4.3 4500 .............................. 46 ......................... 4.0 5000.............................. 53 ......................... 3.8 6000.............................. 63 ......................... 2.6 spinning a 19” aluminium 3-blade propeller

Top: The bait board is basic, but it does have four rod holders to keep your rigged gear up and out of the way. Above: The heavy duty boarding ladder is standard with the UE2 transom design.

The outboard is a little offset behind the transom line but it’s not really on a pod. The full height transom will give peace-of-mind to those venturing into rougher waters with this rig.

Top: The Suzuki was spinning a 19”, 3-blade aluminium prop, which is factory standard issue. Above: You can also store a few rods horizontally in these gunwale mounted racks.

The Territory concept is simple - big floors and big deck with a variety of seat mounting points.

Looking for’ard you can see the space available in the 453.

Left: The electric motor mounting plate is standard in the basic hull build. Right: This demo model is fitted with a livewell under the front deck.

Left: Sea Jay console don’t allow for flush mounting of electronics rather a bracket space behind the windscreen. Top Right: There’s a small hatch yo access the bilge area for cleaning and repairs. Bottom Right: Factory seats are plush with a solid spigot base. FEBRUARY 2023

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