Fishing Monthly Magazine | June 2024 by Fishing Monthly

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LOCATION SPOTLIGHT

Jamie Robley explores Tuggerah Lakes

Features

Spotlight: Tuggerah Lakes • How to catch more bream • Starlo’s fishing essentials • Tested: Shimano Stradic FM reel • Local area reports •

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From the Editor’s Desk... It’s been a ridiculously busy start to the year at the FM Offices, even though all of the staff went home at COVID and didn’t come back. ABT, Fishing Monthly’s sister company, powers along and when we do ABT road trips, we usually incorporate a boat test or three at the same time. After all, we can’t just drive to Melbourne at the drop of the hat. We’ve just spent a week in Sydney for a couple of events (including the Daiwa BREAM Australian Open and the Maui Jim round of the BREAM Series) and let me commiserate with y’all who live there. I managed to get a parking ticket for

parking my trailer at the boat ramp. Granted, I didn’t read the fine print on the sign. We removed the vehicle to go and run the event with and when we got back, the $129 infringement was neatly tucked under the 7-pin flat plug on the unloaded, unattached trailer. The sign read “24h parking for boat trailers with vehicles attached”. But it wasn’t the first time I’d been fined while out fishing. In Brisbane, to stop people car-camping at West End, there’s a rule that you can’t park a vehicle anywhere near the boat ramp between midnight and 3am. Bad news if you meet someone for a late night threadfin or mulloway session.

That one was only $90, even though it was pretty obvious that there was nobody camping in the car. But I like to take a positive attitude, and at least there was free parking at both of these locations. What I really get cranky about is at boat ramps and service centres where single cars park in the trailer spots. Strangely, I get madder about that than the poor old parking officer doing his job. We just need old mate to be there with his tickets when Jack-the-Dog-Walker reckons that the last trailer park at the boat ramp is a great place to leave the car. So close to the water! Enjoy this issue.

INSIDE This Issue

QLD NSW

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FISHING MONTHLY MAGAZINE Qld Fishing Monthly Pty Ltd

Tathra

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

New England Rivers

Esperance

Hunter Valley

Bunbury

Batlow

Augusta

Albury/Wodonga

Metro

Canberra

Mandurah

Lancelin

Exmouth

Portland

Karratha

Warrnambool

Freshwater

100

Cobden

Geelong

Port Phillip

Phillip Island

Lakes Entrance

Port Albert

Gippsland Lakes

REGULAR FEATURES Spotlight: Tuggerah Lakes

Breamtopia

Starlo: fishing essentials

Tagging Tales

Marlo

Sheik of the Creek

Mallacoota

Testing Booth

Robinvale

Phases of the moon

Yarrawonga

Bendigo

Fun page

Wangaratta

What’s New Fishing

Shepparton

Trades and Services

102

Ballarat

Tournament calendar

101

Gippsland Freshwater

Tournaments

104

Sydney Rock

Sydney South

Ballina

Coffs Coast

South West Rocks

Forster

Port Macquarie

Port Stephens

Swansea

Eildon

Test: Haines Hunter 595

108

Central Coast

Crater Lakes

Tide page

110

Illawarra

Batemans Bay

TASMANIA

Bermagui

Hobart

COMPS AND OFFERS 69

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FISHING MONTHLY MAGAZINE PUBLISHED JUNE 2024

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FEATURE

Location

FMM

Exploring the delights of the Tuggerah Lakes CENTRAL COAST

Jamie Robley

The Tuggerah Lakes system lies roughly 100km north of Sydney and has been a popular angling destination for over a century. It’s such a great location that a large percentage of the local population is made up of people who’ve relocated from the Sydney area. My family has called this region home for around 200 years so I have some local knowledge up my sleeve when it comes to the fishing around here. Hopefully, some of the info in this article will help you catch a few more or bigger fish around the lakes. I’ve long believed that these lakes are underrated and misunderstood. Even as a kid I remember hearing people say the lakes are fished out and full of stinking weed and mud. “Hardly worth fishing these days,” they said 50 years ago! Fast forward to 2024, and some people still think that. Such words tend to come from those

who either don’t live around the lakes or have little interest in fishing. Yes, the lakes are very weedy, and they may not be the greatest angling location on the planet. However, they are home to an extraordinary amount of marine life. The weed is home to millions of juvenile bream, mullet, garfish, shrimp, crabs and many other organisms. People would be amazed if they knew how full of life the lakes really are. Another thing I hear is that the lake is “netted out”. Yes, the lakes are still open to commercial harvesting. However, the local netting, crabbing and prawning is nowhere near as damaging or drastic as many people assume. Firstly, far fewer commercial fishers are working the lakes than there were 20 or 30 years ago. Government regulations and economic realities have greatly reduced the commercial fishing industry here. Secondly, the vast weed beds act as a barrier, making netting, trapping and even line fishing techniques nearly impossible around a large percentage of the lake margins. This is where most

Most of the bream caught in the lakes are on the small side but there are definitely bigger bream here! 8 JUNE 2024

fish and crustaceans live, so they’re in a safe zone. Lastly, as someone who spends a lot of time on and around the water here, I’ve been seeing far less commercial activity than I did years ago – and the little I do see has a minimal impact. FISHING WITH WEED If you’re going to cast a line here, you’re going to be dealing with weed, and it can be problematic. The first thing to consider is that some parts of the lakes are much weedier than others. The weedier areas are the eastern and southern parts of Lake Munmorah, the eastern and western sides of Budgewoi Lake and the southern, eastern and northeastern parts of the larger Tuggerah Lake. I don’t fish much in those sections because it’s just too difficult. The Entrance is also very weedy but there are plenty of clearer, sandy flats and sandy channels adjacent to the weed, and this scenario makes for excellent fishing. Other parts of the system have little or no weed at all. There’s some good fishing up the feeder creeks – Wyong, Wallarah and Ourimbah – which all flow in from the west. The lower reaches of these creeks are still lined with weed, but once you get past the first 800m, the weed becomes less and less until it’s all just steeper banks with fallen timber, moored boats, pontoons and a few bridges – all great habitat for bream and other fish. Each side of Toukley Bridge is mainly rocky, with the remains of the old timber bridge and, of course, the large concrete bridge pylons. These structures are home to bream, flathead and other species. Budgewoi Channel, which links Lake Munmorah and Budgewoi Lake, is also a bit deeper, with rocks, bridge pylons and a few other artificial features. As you can see, there are various forms of

fish-attracting structure around the lakes without too much weed to deal with. Wind is a very important factor to consider when it comes to dealing with the weed. Whichever way the wind

Above: The feeder creeks that flow into the western side of the lakes are Ourimbah, Wyong and Wallarah. The upper reaches of all three creeks are excellent places to cast lures or flies for bream. Main photo: Try Toukley Bridge for bream and flathead on baits or lures in summer and autumn, or luderick in winter. A few tailor, whiting, EP, flounder and even the occasional mulloway can be caught here. The key is to fish close around the pylons instead of casting further out into the lake. is blowing, that’s the same way it will move weed across the surface of the lake. A strong westerly wind, for example, will push lots of weed to all eastern

Location FEATURE

FMM shorelines. A southerly wind pushes weed to the northern shorelines, and so on. By keeping track of the wind direction you’ll have a better idea of where to go fishing. If it’s been blowing from the east for a few days, it’s better to try your luck somewhere on the eastern side of the lakes, such as Budgewoi or The Entrance. Things become more difficult during prolonged, calm periods, or when there has been variable wind. This means drifting weed can be randomly floating around almost anywhere. In this case, you could consider trying up the creeks where there is generally no weed, or closer to the mouth at The Entrance as the tide is rising. The incoming tide mainly pushes in clean ocean water, as opposed to the ebbing tide, which tends to pull weed from the lakes towards The Entrance. Just remember, the abundant weed is actually beneficial because it shelters millions of juvenile fish. It’s a safe zone where netting, trapping and line fishing is often impossible, so the fish population has protection from overfishing. That can only be a good thing. BREAM The dominant target species throughout the lakes is bream. They can be found everywhere, from the surf zone just out from the mouth of the lakes at The Entrance, right up to the extreme limits of brackish water up

Wyong, Wallarah and Ourimbah creeks. The number of juvenile bream in these lakes is far greater than most people could ever imagine. It’s easy to think that all the bream here are small, but there are some big fish amongst them. The biggest bream I’ve ever seen was caught in front of me in Budgewoi Channel many years ago. It was close to the 3kg mark and fell to a bait of luderick gut in the middle of winter. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that you’ll run into a beast like that these days. However, it is very possible to catch bigger bream, well over a kilo, almost anywhere around the system. My best bream have mainly come

When the weather is calm the lakes are like giant mirrors.

Flathead are widely available around the entire Tuggerah Lakes system. Many are a bit small, but it’s not uncommon to catch a better class of fish.

from Toukley Bridge, the lower reaches of Wyong and Wallarah and Lake Munmorah. Over the years, I’ve caught a lot of 1-2kg bream in those locations. In my experience, you’re more likely to encounter bigger bream during autumn and winter. Good quality natural baits like mullet gut, fresh local prawns, live prawns, fresh garfish and freshly caught tailor are proven baits here. The fresher the better. It’s also important to fish your baits in the right manner, i.e. with light line, small, sharp hooks and very minimal sinker weight. Just the tiniest of ball sinkers threaded up the line, running straight down to the hook is all you need in most places. Sometimes,

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JUNE 2024 9

QLD Southern

FMM

Westerlies are here, and the rivers are alive BRISBANE

Bob Thornton tackleworldlawnton@gmail.com

After several months, we finally have a run of stable weather! The westerlies have kicked in, the bay has cleared up, and the rivers are alive with their usual seasonal arrivals! Winter has well and truly landed, and if you’re a bit like me and don’t really like the cold, the fishing action we experience throughout winter can make it bearable. More than bearable, in fact! I’m genuinely excited to see what this winter brings, and I know I’m not alone. The captures we saw through April and May were very promising, and if this winter is anything like last year’s, it’s going to be a good one. The massive volume of fresh that flowed into our local estuaries and finally into Moreton Bay over summer and autumn is still providing micro-organisms with life-giving

trevalla, bar cod, bass groper and flame snapper on the menu. Electric reels make the job far easier, and the good news is that we sell them at Tackle World Lawnton! These days electric reels come in a variety of sizes, including models as small as a large low-profile baitcaster! If you’re looking to search the depths for some of the best seafood imaginable, make sure you check our range of electric reels, bent-butt rods, and deepdropping rigs. Moving a little closer, the snapper offshore really come into their own at this time of year. The calmer weather generally allows more trips for trailer boats during winter, and this coincides with hordes of XOS snapper schooling up over shallower reefs in 20-50m of water. Reef systems, shoals and ledges such as Currimundi, Murphys, Caloundra Wide, North West Channel and Hutchies will be good areas to look. While soft plastics in the 5-7”

When you find tiger squid in shallow water they can be very aggressive, with double hook-ups common. nutrients. A population explosion of smaller animals almost always leads to heightened feeding activity further up the food chain. This is exactly what happened last winter, and so far, it looks to be repeating itself! OFFSHORE The offshore reports leading up to this report were few and far between, however by now there should be ample weather windows for a trip off the coast. Crews have now largely shifted their attention from seasonal pelagics to the bounty found closer to the bottom. At this time of year, the currents slow down out wide, and right now they’re running at around half a knot. Deep dropping out beyond the 100m mark becomes popular in June, with species like blue-eye 26 JUNE 2024

range with around 1oz of weight are the preferred approach for most offshore snapper fans, trolling with hardbodies has recently become a go-to method for some forwardthinking anglers. Lures around 80-120mm long that dive to between 6-10m will get the job done, especially if you can troll them along at 2-3 knots. Sticking the edges of the reef will give you the best chance of nailing a big snapper, but don’t be surprised to have spangled and grass emperor, large cod, GTs, mackerel, or quite literally anything else jump on! Trolling is a technique that can really broaden your possibilities in terms of by-catch, so why not give this criminally underrated technique a go? Another method of selecting out extra-large snapper is to use a technique called floatlining.

This 60cm tailor was spotted ‘boofing’ prawns in the shallows and had Tom calling it for a mulloway as he made a cast toward the commotion. While not a mulloway, this is an exceptional river specimen – taken on fly under the Story Bridge, no less! Floatlining involves an overhead set-up spooled with monofilament line (which floats), and a basic running sinker rig baited with a dead bait. Dead baits can be squid, a whole pilchard, strips of flesh and so on. The idea is to gradually feed out line with the overhead reel out of gear, allowing it to gradually waft down through the water column. Big snapper feeding in mid-water are usually quick to find a well-presented floatline rig. One thing to remember is to not put too much weight on the rig, as you want it to waft slowly toward the bottom, and not plummet like a stone. BEACHES While only at the beginning of our usual ‘beach’ season, our customers who beach fish are telling us there is already some solid whiting and dart mooching through local surf gutters. The best reports have come from Double Island and Teewah Beach, as well as the main beaches along Moreton (Mulgumpin), North Straddie (Minjerribah) and South Straddie. Mainland beaches such as Coolum, Perigian and Mooloolaba can fish well too, however hitting the water early in the morning or late in the afternoon will boost your chances, given the amount of fishing and swimming traffic in these densely populated areas. People do still swim and surf through winter, so it’s best for everybody if we respect their space to do it and avoid fishing too close. Low tides have been best for dart, whiting, bream and flathead, with beachworm, pipi and yabby baits all claiming their share of quality fish. Tossing a pillie on gangs into any larger gutters that form on a high

tide is a chance of an early tailor, though reports of tailor along the beaches have been a bit thin so far this year. Last year we experienced a later beach run than usual, so at this stage I’m expecting this season to pan out in a similar way. One very underrated beach adversary in this part of the world is big mulloway. Last year saw a handful of incredible captures from the sand, with areas such as Caloundra Bar, South Straddie and

Blackfish (also known as luderick) are at their best in our estuaries through the winter months. SEQ is home to some very large luderick, with this one measuring in the mid-40s.

Southern QLD

FMM Jumpinpin mentioned. These beaches are all abound with tailor and mullet through winter, so fishing large baits (live or dead) off the beach at night, however difficult, is probably the best way of hooking a really big fish in excess of 30kg from the shore. Live tailor and mullet are two highly sought baits, though whole live beachworms, squid (live or dead), along with most other fish fillet baits will suffice if you can’t get livies. Fillets of mullet and tailor are a good option if you wish to collect some baits ahead of time and keep them frozen for when conditions are right. Tide changes are usually favoured along any parts of the beach that offer a deep gutter relatively close to shore. You might need to cast a fair distance to reach the sweet spots at times, but generally anything that offers a few metres or more of depth within casting range is a good zone to position your bait. MORETON BAY One of the joys of SEQ in winter is the magnificent conditions in the bay. Light westerly winds create glassy calm days with amazing water clarity, which is ideal for species like squid and tailor. Additionally, the excellent boating conditions allow anglers to access the open parts of the bay to search for pelagics, as well as hit the

metals around the shipping beacons and drifting with unweighted pillies should still get you a bag. On the tuna side of things, good numbers of longtails have been landed in recent months, with quite a few over the metre mark. Autumn is the best time to find numbers of these enigmatic fish, and as winter sets in many of them begin their migration back to the tropics. Not all the tuna leave, however, with many of the larger ‘resident’ specimens sticking around through winter and spring. These are the times when it’s possible to catch trophy longtails, though like any bay longtails they’re seldom easy to fool. Mac tuna have been ever-present, often beating the longtails to lures, but they too are good sport. Even though the macs don’t perform nearly as well on the table as longtails, they make excellent bottom bashing and crab pot bait, so holding onto one or two is always a good idea. The snapper fishing is what many local anglers wait for in winter, and June is a great time to gather a feed of these incredibly tasty fish. The cooler months are the time to find good numbers of fish in Moreton Bay’s shallows, as opposed to summer when numbers are lacking but size is at a premium.

One drawback of squidding is the likelihood of getting ink on your clothes, boat and sometimes even your face. Tackle World Lawnton owner Ryan was the unfortunate victim of this ink-splosion. deeper reefs and wrecks. This autumn saw the pelagic activity peak, with heaps of spotties and schoolies taken trolling, spinning metals and drifting with baits. As it cools the mackerel activity will start to taper off, with spotties often disappearing for a few months over the coolest parts of the year. Schoolies tend to take over as the main mackerel species in the bay through winter, and trolling with paravnes, spinning

This means that some days you may need to sort through dozens of undersized fish to score a keeper, though the action is usually pretty constant once you find them. Along with the usual shallow spots like Scarborough, Woody Point, the rock walls along the Port of Brisbane and Mud, Peel and Green islands, the deeper marks will also fire for snapper. In fact, the bay’s scattered deeper marks are a good bet if you

wish to find larger snapper, though they can also sometimes be overrun with undersized fish as well. Harry Atkinson, West Peel, Captain Nielsen and Curtain are a few well-known artificial reefs and wrecks that hold big snapper and mulloway through winter, though there are plenty of other small

is also deadly in this scenario. Bent minnows, walking stickbaits, poppers you name it, they all work! The trick is to keep casting and hope that they show up. When they do, the action can be fast and furious for half an hour or so, before they move on and everything goes quiet again. Autumn saw some early

The run of chopper tailor was exceptional last winter, and this year it’s looking to be as good or better! isolated marks in 10-20m of water that are worth fishing too. In these deeper areas, a 1/2oz and even a 1oz jighead is needed to find the bottom if using soft plastics. Softies around the 5-7” mark are ideal if chasing the bigger oolgies that live off these marks, though don’t discount using a smaller presentation, especially if bites aren’t coming easy. Last year I caught a 76cm snapper on a 3” curlytail soft plastic, and the old saying ‘elephants eat peanuts’ couldn’t be more true with big snapper. Tailor have been having another excellent season, both in the bay and the estuaries feeding it. With big fish turning up as early as March, things are looking really good for the rest of the season. Land-based anglers fishing off the jetties at Woody Point, Shorncliffe, Bongaree and Redcliffe have had little trouble finding a feed when conditions are right. In winter, any time you can get a high tide coinciding with dawn or dusk is a good time to be fishing for tailor, but especially if you’re on a jetty and waiting for fish to push in close. Drifting unweighted pillies on gangs is the number one method from the jetties, but a few anglers have been hedging their bets by tossing a lure while they wait for their pilchard to get eaten. Metal lures in the 20-60g range are useful for punching out long casts and covering water, however it’s hard to beat a topwater strike from a tailor, and a topwater lure around 80-100mm long

indications of a better squid season this year. Last year things were a little slow to get going, but this year it seems to be a different story. So far tigers have been spotted and caught from locations such as Woody Point, Redcliffe, Cleveland, Wellington Point and most of the bay’s islands. Arrow squid have also shown promising signs, with these tasty critters reported from a variety of locations, including inside the Brisbane River! By now most squid will have matured enough to take an interest in jigs between size 2.5-3.5, and any shallow margins with adequate structure and water clarity is a good place to start looking. Crabbers can usually do well in winter. Setting your pots in 5-6m of water should put you in the zone for sandies, which tend to move a little deeper at this time. Pot and crab theft has been an issue even out in the bay, so staying nearby your pots while they soak is a good approach for avoiding this. RIVERS AND ESTUARIES As the water in our estuaries has begun to clear we’ve seen our winter predators venturing into our local systems in search of a feed. Threadfin salmon and mulloway have been the main targets for lure enthusiasts chasing big game, though there are plenty of other options if these two estuary trophies don’t want to budge. Thready numbers have been growing steadily, with deep JUNE 2024 27

NSW

Byron Coast

FMM

Quality flathead stacked up along the mud flats BALLINA

Anthony Melchior

As the cooler months set in we will start to see the tailor move in on the beaches, sitting in the deeper gutters and in the whitewash you get when the waves come crashing in on that back of the gutter. The tailor will spread out along our beaches and break walls, and casting

can be hard to find these fish in the deeper holes out towards the mouth of the river. However, if you have a great sounder, you may be able to see these fish around 4.5m-6m holes, and even on those bigger drop-offs around that 8m mark. When chasing mulloway you should use the freshest of fresh baits. With the abundance of mullet in the river you won’t be short of a decent

Tim with a cracking flathead.

Dominic with a longtail he caught while fishing for snapper. slugs is quite an effective method for these aggressive fish. Using pilchards off the beach can be just as effective, or even better. Make sure you are using your wire traces because even with heavy lines these guys will snip you off without a problem. Most of the tailor caught off the beach have been around 30-50cm, which is the perfect eating size. There have been reports of bigger fish in the mix, up to 70cm+, so it’s shaping up to be a decent tailor season along the beaches of Ballina and South Ballina. After the rain the Northern Rivers received over the last few months, we’ve been finding that the bream, whiting, and dart have been pushed down and out to the beaches. Here they are mixing with the running tailor and mingling with the massive amounts of mullet along the beaches. You can catching these guys on beach worms if you are quick enough, and pillies and pipis also will do the trick if you are looking for a quick feed of fresh, clean fish off the beach. RIVER The cold conditions will have a huge positive effect on larger saltwater species such as mulloway and snapper. Be prepared to have these guys schooling up in massive numbers around Missingham Bridge, off the north and south walls, and in the deeper holes off the edge of the Porpoise Wall. Mulloway can be a cunning fish, and often elude the best of anglers. It 52 JUNE 2024

bait; catching these little fellas on bread can be very effective. With clean water in the system, the yellowtail or yakkas may even come in the rivers, sitting under the lights of the north wall and over at Missingham Bridge. You can catch these guys on herring jigs. After big rains, you can catch mulloway along the north and south walls on big hardbodies and large plastics as well as your live baits. The flathead have been on the chew as well. These guys loved our last little blast of fresh from the rain,

and you will find them stacked in great numbers off the mud/sand flats. They’re a great target, whether you’re looking for a decent feed or just want to have some fun. The flatties have been coming off the flats early, and can be found sitting in those typical ambush spots – pressure points coming off rock walls or the edges of the big sand and mud flats around the Pimlico and Wardell area. Keep an eye on the tides when targeting these areas. The mud crabs have been on the move with this fresh flush. Throwing a few pots or dillies out with some fresh mullet for bait is a great way to get a nice feed of muddies. They have been reported from areas ranging as far up as above Wardell, and all the way even up North Creek. Be sure to check the rules about where you can use pots and dillies. Please keep an eye out for bass this time of year; you can’t target or keep them because they are spawning. The bass season reopens in September. In the meantime, if you are looking to

chase some, there is no closed season in the local dams such as Toonumbar. The bass there are schooling up down deep and can be a lot of fun to catch. OFFSHORE Bigger snapper come in closer around this time of the year. They sit on the shallow reefs very close to the bar, and it’s a nice, easy drive out there if you can snag a nice little westerly

Archie with a nice bycatch that turned up while he was fishing for bream. He released it after a quick photo.

Anthony and Tom with a double hook-up of dart off the beach.

wind and a little swell. I recommend throwing 5-7” soft plastics in natural colours. Use 1/8oz to 1/4oz jigheads with a hook to suit the size of the bait. Chumming is quite effective on those shallower reefs as the fish come up to feed. If you throw an unweighted pilchard chunk on a hook in your chum trail, you’re nearly guaranteed to catch your target species. It can also bring a range of other species up from the depths.

Coffs Coast NSW

FMM

Coffs Coast marlin fishery doesn’t disappoint COFFS COAST

Rob Taylor

We’re now entering winter but as I always say, don’t hang up the mackerel gear just yet. June is a cracking month to chase big Spanish

mackerel, and anglers in the know will now start trolling big dead baits. When I say ‘big’, I’m talking footlong baits, such as tailor or bonito, rigged on wire with multiple hooks and trolled dead slow. There’s no more certain way to bag a 25kg+ Spanish at this time of year. Plenty of big longtail tuna are patrolling the headlands, and good numbers of mulloway are feeding along the beaches. We have also had a good start to the tailor run, and this should only improve as the water temps drop and the beaches and washes start to fire. However, the real anticipation at this time of year is for big snapper to start falling to the soft plastics

However, Coffs is now showing some flashes of the old days. Last year, we had Troy Boulton score a grand slam in one outing, and this year it’s happened again. Local marlin guns Don Cummings, Sam Biddle and captain Chris Jauffret (fishing on Basil 2) initially headed out recently to spend the day chasing striped marlin but ended up scoring a black and a blue in the morning, dragging a spread of Chris’s own locally-made Reload Lures. Then, not long after the lads had lunch, they were all on the flybridge when the shotgun went off after being inhaled by – you guessed it – a lit-up stripe. The boys were excited to say the least, and I’ve dedicated most of the pics accompanying this month’s article to that fantastic achievement. Needless to say, we should all keep an

eye on the Coffs marlin scene over the coming seasons. CREEKS AND RIVERS There’s still some good flathead fishing in the creeks and rivers, with plenty of local fishos landing (and releasing) some solid fish over 70cm. It’s amazing watching the progression of the lizard fishery from the old days, when the old timers got them exclusively drifting with bait and usually kept them all, to today where they are almost exclusively targeted with lures and usually released. Good stuff. Casting big, soft glidebaits over large sandflats has been accounting for some bigger flathead, and soft plastics and crankbaits have also been working well. Winter bream and blackfish will start to increase in numbers in

OFFICIAL DEALERS FOR Local marlin guru Don Cummings with the first fish for the grand slam, a nice healthy black.

AIL AB AV

FINANC E

Don Cummings with a striped marlin to round out the grand slam.

This blue marlin completed the grand slam for the boys on Basil 2. An amazing day on billfish for anywhere in the world, and a good example of how good Coffs can be when it all comes together.

brigade in close. This month should see the first big reds starting to feed on the 20m reefs and shallower. MARLIN I have to dedicate a part of this month’s column to the Coffs marlin fishery. It’s certainly had its ups and downs over the years, but there are some solid indicators that Coffs Coast bill fishing is making something of a comeback. Don’t get me wrong, we get reasonably solid marlin numbers every season, but there aren’t too many places where grand slams go down each season.

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JUNE 2024 53

VIC

East Coast

FMM

It’s tuna time off Portland for game fishers PORTLAND

Nigel Fisher

Just like a light switch, the tuna turned on. We started with some good sizes, with fish well into the 100kg mark. As I write this report, the school tuna are quite wide, either right up near Port Fairy or far southwest towards the South Australian border. However, by the time this report reaches you, we should see those smaller fish moving in closer around Cape Nelson, Bridgewater and even Lawrences Rock.

How long the big tuna will hang around is unknown, but judging by previous years we should get multiple hits at these big fish in the coming weeks and months. The big tuna have also turned on at Port McDonald, and there have also been some good sizes around Port Fairy and Warrnambool. The barrel tuna have been hitting skirts in 8-10” sizes. Popular colours such as lumos, redbait, blues and multi-colours have been doing the damage. Hardbody lures in redbait, pilchard, and king brown in 140-200mm sizes have also been producing the goods. When

grab your family or your mates and check out the charter options for your next adventure. If you’d like some pointers, just drop into the store and we’ll help you out. Happy fishing! • For the latest on what’s biting and where, call into Portland Compleat

Tony, Long and Kip with a massive 150kg barrel caught just behind Lawrences Rock.

The crew had a ripper day with school tuna on Kraken Fishing Charters.

the school tuna start to really fire, you’ll want to downsize your skirts and hardbodies to match the size of the fish. Another great option to look at is teaser bars, which can work very well, especially if the fish are a bit finicky. Over the last couple of tuna seasons, we have also seen more anglers dropping large live or dead baits like pilchards and mackerel into schools. This has also done the job well, especially when cubing pilchards to entice the tuna to feed and stay around. As you can see, there are plenty of options to chase these great sportfish, whether it’s school fish or the big boys. If you don’t have a boat or the gear, we have some good charter operators at this time of year, so

The crew from Matthew Hunt’s Fishing Services with an impressive 122kg barrel. Angler and say g’day to the friendly team, and check out what they have on offer. You’ll find them at 61 Bentinck Street, Portland (next to the Gordon Hotel) or you can give them a call on 03 5521 1844 or look them up on Facebook.

Mick, Cullen and Ben scored this nice 82kg tuna on a trip with Bag Out Fishing Charters. 70 JUNE 2024

East Coast

FMM

VIC

The trout action is picking up as temps drop WARRNAMBOOL

Mark Gercovich mgercovich@hotmail.com

June may signal the beginning of winter, but there are still plenty of things to get anglers excited. Trout fishing picks up as the waters cool and rise, and with the Merri, Hopkins and Mt Emu Creek remaining open all winter and well stocked, there should be plenty of trout on offer. After two cool summers in a row, there should hopefully be some well-conditioned fish about. The weir at Broomfield St in the

Merri was recently removed to aid the migration patterns of native fish. It’s hard to know what the reduction in water levels in the upper Merri area will have on the local trout population. Time will tell. The Hopkins River closed over fairly quickly after its recent opening. The local bream population has begun to school up in the middle of the river in the lower reaches, and can provide some good captures when the bite is on. Mulloway are conspicuous by their absence. Even the reliable Glenelg River has been super slow for this popular species.

Trout fishing is popular locally during the winter months.

Plenty of estuary perch have been encountered throughout the system, from the upper freshwater reaches right down to the lower estuary. They will become more prevalent in the estuary as we head into winter. The Warrnambool Offshore and Light Game Fishing Club recently held the 2024 South West Victorian Game Fishing Classic. Southern bluefin tuna were the focus, and some glorious autumn weather treated the field of anglers to some great conditions. There were some great line class captures in the comp, including a pending State Record Junior capture to Archer Mills of a southern bluefin tuna of 17.94kg on 6kg line. Well done Archer, and the crew aboard Barzerk, skippered by Peter Goode and crewman Kevin Mills. The crew of Anne-Belle, skippered by Stephen Rhook, won Champion Boat Tag and Release, and Peter Goode won Most Meritorious Game Capture of a 12.56kg SBT on 4kg line. A big barrel-size tuna was taken on the same weekend, but the crew unfortunately didn’t make it to the weigh-in in time. The tuna will still be present in June; it’s just a matter of getting suitable conditions to get out amongst them.

Some tasty denizens of the deep: blue eye and pink ling. Offshore deep dropping is also a good option during the cooler months. With many of the closer inshore areas slowing as the water cools, a run out deep on a cold, calm morning can see you amongst the tasty treats of blue-eye, pink ling and trumpeter.

Low-light conditions will produce the goods COBDEN

Rod Shepherd

Sizeable bream are still being caught in the Hopkins River, with many exceeding 1kg. The best times to wet a line are dawn, dusk, and after dark. During daylight hours, many anglers have been inundated by undersized fish, while the bigger specimens have been elusive. Some good catches have been coming from the shallow mud flats (e.g. next to Mahoneys Road, the fence just upstream of the institute, and Rowans Flats). Soft plastics cast towards the bank and worked back to the boat have been working, and surface lures have also been catching their share. We are talking depths as shallow as 50cm. The bream have been burrowing into the mud, looking for tasty morsels, and they can sometimes be seen ‘tailing’ or disturbing the water’s surface tension as they hunt for food. Bank anglers have been getting a few from in and around the institute and from Rowans Lane. The key is to hang back from the water’s edge to avoid spooking the fish, and cast out only 3-4m with baits such as crab and brown shell. Again, in low-light hours. It seems we have a bit of a run of King George whiting, which is not unusual and can last into the winter

months. Soon after, most of the fish will move out to much deeper water, until warming water temperatures signal a move back into the shallows to spawn. The Port Campbell pier and Warrnambool breakwater have seen fish up to 39cm landed on a variety of baits, including softened squid meat, pipi and mussel meat. Land-based spots such as Newfields and Worm bays should also be firing, especially on a rising tide. Kelp worm is also a top bait,

and can be found in the sand under clumps of washed-up kelp at low tide. Remember that digging implements such as shovels are banned; a pair of sturdy gloves is what’s needed to dig down. Adding berley into the wash can only improve the bite. The inshore reefs and bommies have been holding good schools of sweep to over 2kg. Anglers have also been picking up the odd pinkie snapper, along with rock cod, morwong

A nice bag of reasonable bream, which were released back into the Hopkins. Most fell to Damiki blades in black, fished along the rock walls.

and leatherjacket. The best baits have been soft baits, particularly pipi and craytail. Hosiery elastic is needed to keep the bait on the hook. Most of these spots can only be accessed via boat, and keeping a vigilant eye on the sea whilst keeping the motor running is the only safe way to fish these bommies. So, unfortunately, the skipper must miss out on playing a fish. Plenty of schooling southern bluefin tuna have been taken along our coastline, and not too far offshore, either. Most fish have been schoolies, both in size and weight, compared to what’s to come. Still, they put up a great fight on medium gear and are the perfect size for the table. Diving flocks of seabirds working the surface are a dead giveaway for a school of tuna mass feeding on sauries or mackerel. Surface lures worked in and around the school have been picking up a few fish. There have also been plenty of yellowtail kingfish about, and they can often be found lurking near schools of feeding tuna. Plenty have been caught on minnow lures trolled and cast, but jigging seems to be the way to catch a few, with knife jigs the go. As with the tuna, the average size of the kings seems to have fallen, with many ‘rats’ being caught as opposed to the larger ‘hoodlums’ we saw back in summer and autumn. JUNE 2024 71

TESTING BOOTH

Shimano Stradic FM is the reel deal FISHING MONTHLY

Peter Jung

One of the more talked about releases for 2024 has been the latest iteration of the Stradic reel from Shimano, the FM. Prior to its release in Australia at AFTA 2023 it had won multiple awards at various international shows, so Aussie anglers really wanted to see what all the hype was about, including this intrepid angler. The hype has been justified, with stores quickly selling through initial stocks and the feedback has been nothing but positive. I am sure you can imagine how

happy I was when, amongst the items to be tested from Shimano came, a 1000 sized Shimano Stradic FM was one of them. I have now had the reel for nearly six months and feel I can offer you an insight into this reel and a few other items I was asked to test. I have had plenty of excuses to get out on the water. What is all the hype about? Shimano Stradic reels have been a mainstay within the Shimano range of spin reels for a very long time. In my early fishing retail years, one of my first memories of the name Stradic was the twin handled Aero Stradic I felt I had to have after selling plenty to our customers. White in colour, it really stood out

The new Shimano Stradic FM reel straight out of the box. PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY JUNE 20242023 88 1 NOVEMBER

in the reel cabinet and the Stradic reel has continued to evolve with each new release since then. Part of this evolution has always been the inclusion of improved technologies from reels higher up in the range within the Shimano portfolio. This is the case again with the FM range of Stradic’s, and is also one of the main reasons for all the hype. Four key technologies from the legendary Shimano Stella reels have now been included in the Stradic FM range. First and foremost is the addition of the Anti Twist Fin to the reel. Anybody who is constantly casting when fishing will appreciate this upgrade. Line twist and the tangles that can occur because of it, are one of the biggest pains in the butt you can have on the water and the Anti Twist Fin pretty much takes this out of the equation. As someone who is constantly flicking a lure of some sort around while fishing, I was very interested to see the effectiveness of this feature – in five months of use I am yet to get a wind knot or tangle with either braid or spinning fluorocarbon lines. That is an amazing result! Another component to this result is the Infinity Drive system Shimano uses in the FM Stradic reels. This super oscillation and line lay system ensures the line going back onto the reel is even and firm, helping with castability and assists avoiding the dreaded wind knots and tangles. Another key change to the FM range is the inclusion of a Duracross drag system. This is a hybrid felt and cross carbon drag washer system.

The Shimano 1000 size Stradic FM is the perfect reel to cast small lightly weighted soft plastics. This combination of a felt system (low inertia initiation and very smooth) with a cross carbon system (excellent durability) provides peace of mind when you have that fish of a lifetime on and that the reel drag system is built to last. Last but not least is the Infinity Cross gears now used by Shimano in the Stradic FM range. In a nutshell, a wider surface area for the winding gears to mesh has been created (50% more than previously) resulting in an even better mesh and a smoother feel when turning the handle. This isn’t something you will always notice, but you will appreciate after fishing all day or several years down the track, hence the saying it still feels like I just took it out of the box. The Shimano Stradic FM range comes in six sizes (including a new 2000 sized reel) from a 1000 up to a 5000 sized reel. The reel drags vary

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

TESTING BOOTH from 3kg in the 1000 and 2000 sized reels to 9kg in the 2500 and 3000 reels and an impressive 11kg in the two larger sizes. Certainly, enough drag to cover most fish species you would target using these sized reels. As you would expect with reels of this quality they are light weight as

My main focuses for this outfit were going to be flicking small plastics, hardbody lures and surface lure around the local creeks for bass, making use of some the Shimano Bantam lures also supplied in our local bass impoundments as well as cranking for bream. With more time and opportunity, it would also be an ideal set up for trout fishing (lure casting in my case) in either a river or lake situation. The Expride rod most probably deserves its own testing booth. It is one of twelve rods within the range (four baitcast and eight spin options) and offers what is an incredibly sensitive rod to use. What do I mean by this? Shimano’s combination of a High Power X wrapped blank construction with a

A well balanced combo. The Shimano Stradic FM 1000 and the Shimano Expride 6’4” ultralight rod.

Many flathead anglers would choose to use a larger sized reel for their flathead fishing, however the 1000 size Stradic is more than capable of doing the job. well as strong. The weight of the reels ranges from 185g (the two smaller reels) up to 290g (the 5000 size reel). Putting it to the test Other than the unboxing of the items Shimano sent to be tested, I think half the fun is getting things set up, matching outfits together and tinkering/pondering what will go with what? What species can be targeted, how will that swim and, in my case, certainly running a UV light over things to see what stands out. It is all part of the discovery process and for me the spark to get out on the water to use it. In the case of the Stradic FM 1000 reel, I matched it with a Shimano Expride 6’4” 2-piece Ultra Light rod (22EXP264UL) which is from one of their JDM rod ranges. It was spooled with 4lb Power Pro braid in the Hi-Vis yellow colour.

Not all the bass in our small creeks are big. Most times it is all about being able to explore and figure out where the fish may be hiding. Carbon Monocoque butt featuring high grade cork grips and a CI4+ made reel seat plus Fuji SiC premium guides offers maximum feedback to the angler through the rod. This ensures you feel the smallest change to your lures swimming action or if a fish has picked up your lure or plastic. An essential feature when fishing light lines and finesse fishing. Add to that most of the rods in the range are a fast taper, so plenty of tip to cast small offerings while absorbing any

lunges and runs while fighting a fish using light lines. All this with plenty of power in the butt section to help turn the tables in your favour during the fight. The tested combo was/is a beautifully balanced outfit to do the

enjoying the better living conditions. Some of these creeks are accessible and it is an outfit like the Stradic/ Expride combo that is required. Shorter in length to allow you to cast in tight situations and to have the ability to flick small lures and lightly weighted plastics. In these creeks a legal bass (30cm) is a big fish and they can be a handful, however many of the fish are much smaller, so it is more about the exploring and figuring out where a fish might call home. It is a tremendous test of the castability of your gear, as well as drag settings and rod suitability. The Stradic/Expride combo has been fantastic, however looking at the Expride rod range, the 22EXP259UL rod may be even better. At 5’9” it may be better suited again to the tight casting conditions. This type of fishing really reminds me of the small stream trout fishing I did as a young man and this outfit would be amazing for that as well.

A nice yellowfin bream caught on a Shimano Bantam Enber 60SP Flash Boost lure.

That is a 95mm Squidgies Wriggler Prawn in this flathead’s mouth. Matching the hatch proved to be fruitful for the author.

types of fishing mentioned. With the wetter than normal summer experienced in SE Queensland many of our small freshwater creeks have maintained higher water levels than normal and the Australian bass in them are

As much fun as the small creek bass fishing is, the other thing I was looking forward to was doing a bit of cranking for bream and bass with a few of the Shimano Bantam lures that also arrived to be tested. The four lure options that arrived (Pablo Shad

NOVEMBER 202389 JUNE 2024 2

TESTING BOOTH 52SP, Pablo Shad 59SP, Enber 60SP Flash Boost and the BT Bait 99) all screamed bass, bream, flathead, trout and redfin to me and with the weather slowly cooling a suspending minnow bass edge bite was calling. Another exciting way to catch a bass, this simple technique involves casting a suspending hardbody lure

combo. A smooth drag, good castability and a rod that helps absorbs the lunges of these fish is essential. You generally fish light leaders and cast around structure or over shallow broken bottom and bream can certainly play dirty when they want to. I prefer a floating lure to do this, however it was silly not to give

The author spent a lot of time flicking lures and soft plastics in his local creeks for bass using the Stradic FM 1000 size reel matched to a Shimano Expride 6’4” UL rod spooled with 4lb Power Pro braid.

The author has every reason to smile. This 35cm tip bream ate his Shimano Bantam Pablo Shad 52SP as he bounced it through a rubble patch in less than a metre of water. like to above into a likely looking zone, cranking it down to depth and then letting it sit there (5-10 seconds) and then rolling it a bit further before stopping again. Many of the hits from the bass come on the pause or just as the lure begins to move again. It is amazing to see your line just take off or to feel the bass nab your lure as you twitch or move it. I managed to get bass on all the suspending lures mentioned (they did slow float in freshwater), while the BT Bait 99 (a small slow sinking swimbait) was ridiculously good fun to fish with in the same situation. You need to fish it much slower, but the takes were spectacular. Unfortunately for me, a big Maroon dam bass got the better of me and I didn’t get to use this lure for anywhere near as long as I would have liked to. Cranking for bream is another option for Stradic FM and Expride

A beautiful small creek bass caught using the Stradic/ Expride combo mentioned in this testing booth. the Bantam lures a try. Interestingly the Pablo Shad 52SP and the Enber 60SP provided the better results. The Flash Boost system in the Enber

This 50cm+ flathead ate a Squidgies 80mm paddle prawn in the bloodworm colour. PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY JUNE 20242023 390NOVEMBER

60SP may have been a contributing factor, the extra flash it offers, I believe made a difference when the water was dirtier. Again, I managed to get fish on all the crankbaits. The outfit was certainly proving to be versatile, although the 6’10” Expride

rod (22EXP2610ML) may be better suited, as it may offer a little more casting distance. Back to the Stradic 1000 FM reel, I had one more test, which for me would round out this review nicely. Hopping plastics for flathead and an opportunity to use trying some of the Squidgies prawn soft plastics Shimano sent. I replaced the rod with one more suited to casting 3/8oz jigheads and hit a couple of my local flathead hotspots. The Squidgies prawn offering come in a paddle tail (80mm and 110mm) or a wriggler tail (65mm, 95mm and 110mm) and are available in eight proven colours. I had a few of the 80mm paddle tail versions as well as some 65mm and 95mm wriggler tails to play with. With so many prawns in the system at the moment, matching

the hatch seemed the right way to go and the results reflected my theory. Many anglers doing this type of fishing would opt for a larger size reel (possibly the new 2000 size or the 2500), but the 1000 size Stradic FM did not feel under gunned in any way. I just upsized the leader tied onto the 4lb Power Pro braid and fished away. Both plastic styles offer plenty of action and I am always a fan of UV enhancements in a lure or soft plastic. The Squidgies prawns are all UV enhanced and I think this can make a big difference, especially in the dirty water we are experiencing in SE Queensland at the moment. You will see that I did have some success, with the bloodworm, black and gold and estuary prawn colours becoming immediate favourites. Final thoughts I can totally understand the hype surrounding the new Shimano Stradic FM series of reels, the 1000 size reel tested had been a pleasure to use, and it is going to be hard to give it back to the team at Shimano. Outside of how smooth it feels to use the standout feature for me has been the Anti Twist Fin and for me the complete reduction of wind knots and tangles. I did not have one during the entire testing period. With the amount of casting I do, I think that is amazing. Although the smallest reel in the range, it offers plenty of versatility re fishing applications and you can certainly see how the Stradic FM range of reels can suit your needs whether finesse fishing or are focused on bigger target species. 100% worth checking out when you are next in your local tackle retail outlet. You can check out the Shimano Stradic FM reels and all the other products mentioned in this testing booth at www.fish.shimano.com.

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

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

GARMIN ECHOMAP ULTRA 2

Garmin’s EchoMap Ultra 2 chartplotters, available in 10” and 12” sizes, have the highest screen resolution in the EchoMap series, for ultra high-definition scanning sonar images. Notable features include preloaded Garmin Navionics+ mapping, a 1-year subscription for daily updates, depth range shading, and detailed 1” contours, to help you identify fishing hot spots. Additionally, optional Garmin Navionics Vision+ gives you features such as high-resolution relief shading, satellite imagery and more. You can also capture your impressive fish catches with the new screen recording feature. If you have more than one UHD2 or Ultra 2, you can network them wirelessly to share sonar, waypoints and routes. Wirelessly connect to your Force trolling motor to navigate to waypoints, draw and follow routes and more, and get improved position accuracy in areas where the signal is weak with multi-band GPS. Price: from SRP$3999 (including transducer) www.garmin.com

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RAPALA X-LIGHT CRANK

Shimano’s Extraction rods have been engineered with cutting-edge technology and premium materials. At the heart of the Extraction rod range is the revolutionary T45 High Modulus Carbon Graphite Blank Construction. This carbon graphite material combines strength, lightweight properties, and exceptional sensitivity. It enables anglers to detect very subtle bites, and enhances overall responsiveness. The Fuji K-Series Tangle-Free Guides with SiC Insert ensure a smooth and effortless line flow, for accurate casting. The spin models feature the Fuji Graphite DPS Reel Seat, renowned for its lightweight construction and secure fit. For the Overhead Models, the FUJI Graphite PSS Reel Seat with a power screw lock mechanism ensures the utmost stability, particularly in overhead and trolling setups. The machined aluminium lock nut fittings provide a secure connection between the reel seat and rod blank and enhance the rod’s overall strength and durability. High-density DURA-EVA handle grips offer superior comfort and a firm hold, ensuring a fatigue-free fishing experience. The range consists of 11 spin and four overhead models, with weights ranging from 10-80lb and PE 5-8. Price: from SRP $249 www.shimanofish.com.au

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Coming in shallow and mid-runner models, the X-Light Crank from Rapala is perfect for targeting smaller fresh and saltwater species. The X-Light Crank has a seductive wiggle and a finesse rattle, which the predators can’t resist. Highly versatile, the X-Lite Crank can be steadily cranked or twitched in the strike zone, or you can use the burn-andkill technique to trigger bites. The shallow version can be used as a wakebait on the surface with a slow retrieve, and will dive to just under a metre on a steady retrieve. The mid-runner will dive to 1.8m. These lures come in a range of proven colours, featuring detailed and textured finishes, and are fitted with sticky sharp VMC trebles. Price: SRP$14.95 www.rapala.com.au

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DAIWA J-BRAID EXPEDITION

SHIMANO EXTRACTION RODS

Featuring the same IZANAS fibre construction of other J-Braid lines, J-Braid Expedition features Daiwa’s Silicon ‘Coating PE’ technology to create a slicker, smoother braid with hydrophobic properties. The result is increased durability and enhanced feel. J-Braid Expedition’s silicon coating means the braid does not absorb any water. Importantly, this means the braid also does not absorb the silt and sediment in the water, which is the number one cause of braided line wear over time. By shedding the water, thanks to its hydrophobic properties, J-Braid Expedition will last longer than traditional braided lines, providing better value and performance. With an incredibly high weave count, J-Braid Expedition is braided tighter than almost any other line on the market, providing an incredibly round profile braid that won’t separate and fray when in use. J-Braid Expedition is available in two colour options – hi-vis orange and metered multi-colour – in 150m, 300m, 500m and 3000m bulk spools across PE ratings from #0.6 (8lb) through to PE #8 (90lb). www.daiwafishing.com.au

PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY

DUO TIDE MINNOW SLIM 200

Building on the success of the Tide Minnow Slim 140, DUO has released a 200 model. The larger model has a different design from the original, with a slimmer body to reduce air resistance, as well as the perception of size. The lip has been fixed into the lure to create a very sharp action that fish love, while a brass weight is located just behind the lip for perfect lure balance. Two 6mm tungsten balls and a 6mm stainless steel ball are located in a track that allows these balls to roll to the tail during casting, for extra distance and stability in the air. The balls then roll forward when the retrieve starts. You can fish this versatile lure with a jerky retrieve for species such as flathead, or take it to the next level chasing mulloway, threadfin salmon, barra and more around weed beds and drop-offs. Price: SRP $34.99 www.wilsonfishing.com

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TT TACKLE STORAGE BAGS

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Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au NOVEMBER JUNE 2024 2023 91 2

Freshwater

FMM

Dams are filling and rivers are flowing FRESHWATER

Peter Fragomeni

June is normally the time of the year when dams are filling and rivers start flowing, with rapids forming in all the usual spots. The trout normally move from the pools and take up station at the head of these

the inland waters I have never seen it so dry. Most of our rivers have stopped flowing and the dams are extremely low, which is not good for our trout that thousands of anglers enjoy chasing every year. To say we need rain and, lots of it, is an understatement. The general reports coming through are indicating that most trout anglers are returning home emptyhanded. There are a few locations that are producing a few good trout and its these areas that are susceptible to overfishing. I was very concerned after seeing an angler holding up four nice size trout he posted on social media, he repeated it again only a few days later with three trout he caught from the same location. The trout were caught from a waterway, which is one of the only places that doesn’t have redfin. We need to look after our limited trout fishery in this state because, our only option without trout is redfin. This is the case in some locations this season with trout being absent compared to

Wellington Dam is suffering from low water levels after the above average irrigation draw occurred this last summer. Care is needed if you are launching a trailer boat as the banks can be very muddy. recorded or spotted recently. Redfin catches seem to have slowed down compared to previous months.

Darrell Higginbottom with a small redfin he caught early one morning at Harvey Dam. His ailing health is not stopping him from what he loves to do, he is an inspiration to us all. pools, where the fast flowing water offer a perfect environment with plenty of food and oxygen. The bays of the dams offer plenty of food as the water encroaches the shallower areas and it is these areas the freshwater anglers would target. Unfortunately, this is not the case as of up to the time of writing we have experienced the driest period ever recorded in South West WA. In over four decades that I have been fishing DAM LEVELS South West WA Overall storage in our dams that allow public access and recreational activities are currently 30.8% at the end of April compared to 49.8% as of the same time last year. It’s officially the driest year on record with the South-West region of WA going six months without any decent rain. Glen Mervyn is basically empty with Waroona, Harvey and Wellington dams lower than usual for this time of the year. WAROONA DAM DRAKESBROOK WEIR LOGUE BROOK DAM HARVEY DAM WELLINGTON DAM GLEN MERVYN DAM BIG BROOK DAM 100 JUNE 2024

23% 72% 51% 34% 30% 2% 48%

Winter can be the best time to catch trout in WA. This little brown hit Wendy’s Tassie Devil trolled at a fast speed. other years.

REDFIN The ever-reliable redfin are loving these conditions with a few good ones being taken in a variety of waters throughout the South-West. This is the time when most of the schools are well established in our dams and the river fishing is at its best. AUSSIE NATIVES I was saddened to see a few dams out in the Western wheat-belt totally dry. Some of these held only silver perch that can be replaced as they are readily available here in the West. However, the ones that held other species like cod, yellowbelly and bass will suffer as these species have a translocation ban and can’t be purchased over here. The few locations that haven’t suffered from low water have been turning up some nice cod and the occasional bass. DAMS Waroona Dam Extremely low with no trout being

Drakesbrook Weir The same is to be said at this little dam with trout refusing to put in an appearance. Local Jonah Chiera has been monitoring this water and reports that the water level is also very low. He observed schools of

tiny redfin cruising the edges and only a few pan size ones taking lures. Hopefully, a good stocking will change this situation. Logue Brook Dam The future of this dam as a camping destination could be jeopardised if it’s not better policed. We have a track record of closing areas off here in the west, instead of policing them and curbing the problem before it gets out of hand. It’s normally caused by a few individuals that disregard the simple laws that are in place. I hope this doesn’t occur because it’s the only place where we can camp on the water and flick a line at any time of the day or night. As far as the fishing goes it seems a few anglers are starting to catch a few trout with a bit of perseverance. It’s extremely important that we preserve the trout stocks in this water as it is the only dam that is trout-only water. Harvey Dam Although, the trout fishing has been slow the redfin have made up for the shortfall with good catches of pan size fish in the 25-30cm range being caught by both shore base and

Redfin are loving the low water with plenty being caught in all the major rivers around Pemberton.

Freshwater

FMM boat anglers alike. The ever-reliable soft plastics seems to be working the best, however, a slowly trolled deep diving lure is preferred if you want to cover lots of water. The deep water is producing the bigger redfin although local Darrell Higginbottom is getting his fair share off the shore. As with all our dams a good drenching of rain is needed as levels are extremely low. Wellington Dam A few reports have come through of trout being caught up the back of the dam on a variety of lures however, I can’t confirm this as I haven’t seen any photos. It had a good stocking last year so whether they have survived the very hot summer is yet to be seen. The redfin have been harder to locate as some areas have been void of any great numbers. It’s very hard to be consistent if you are limited to bank fishing as it’s not hard to be in the wrong spot and moving a few hundred metres can make the difference between catching or blanking. Having access to a boat or kayak is a great advantage as you can move around and find where the fish are holding and a good sounder is imperative. A warning that the low water has created muddy banks so be careful if you are launching a trailer boat although, you can normally find a gravel bank that only has a few centimetres of silt over the top. Remember this water is a electric

The extreme heat and lack of rain over summer has caused havoc on dams that were home to East Coast native freshwater species. With translocation laws in place, many of these species can’t be replaced.

chances. Fish heavy and deep when the water is high and fast and adjust your technique with different river conditions. Collie River above Wellington Dam This section has produced some nice redfin over the autumn with some quality specimens being caught. Lures like red spinners and also soft plastics have all been working and it seems like everyone has their favourite patterns. Blackwood River Very low so I would avoid until we get some decent flow. Warren River As with most waters this river has been very quiet in the way of trout captures. This will change with some rain as it will push any fish held up in the pool that have been inaccessible to most anglers. The redfin fishing has been very good and in some situations,

conditions with rainfall being well below average. A few nice trout have been spotted, however they are very wary at the moment. A good rain event should get things going. RIVERS Murray River No trout are showing up in the main river with a few little rainbows still active in a couple of the spring fed feeder streams that flow into the system. Redfin are widespread in the deeper pools with the better areas being well upstream of Dwellingup.

Blair from Blair Hutton Fishing YouTube had a good day chasing trout down the Donnelly River. He also caught some nice black bream while chasing the trout.

A selection of flies that work well in WA dams and rivers. powered vessels dam and any petrol engine must be no bigger than 5 hp. Glen Mervyn Dam I have never seen this dam so low. It is almost empty at only 2.5 %. Surprisingly, a few redfin are coming out as they are concentrated in a tiny part around the wall. Lake Kepwari No reports but I wouldn’t let that deter you as the redfin would be schooling this time of the year. Big Brook Dam This little scenic dam situated in the heart of the state’s best trout fishing is lower than usual for this time of the year. Pemberton hasn’t escaped the extreme weather

As with most deeper pools the humble soft plastic on a small jig-head cast to submerged structure will get some interest from any redfin in the area. Collie River below Wellington Dam Because of the dry conditions and the longer than usual irrigation needs this section had been flowing nicely over the last few months. The fishing has been inconsistent with some anglers having success while others finding it hard to even get a strike. The trick is to keep moving around because the more water you can search the better your

June can be cold at our Inland dams, so a good fire and a nice red keeps the bones warm after a hard day’s fishing.

superb. The long dark pools are home to some of the best redfin in the west. Most of the action has been coming to those that have a kayak or small boat as access to the prime structure is key to success. All the typical redfin lures have been working so don’t be particularly fussy on selection. Lefroy Brook By far the best little stream in the south-west as its fed by water let out of Bigbrook Dam over the summer. The trout have been very wary in the clear shallower area so I would put some leg work in and target the timbered sections. Small flies and lures are required but that will change when we get good rains. Donnelly River Blair Hutton from Blair Hutton Fishing YouTube has been exploring the lower section and has been getting into a few trout with an added bonus of landing some black bream that inhabit this area. The upper reaches are dry so unless you have a boat or kayak then I would try the other rivers. That raps up another report and whilst things are looking bleak so far, things will improve as the Hatchery has lots of yearling trout ready for stocking. Until next time. Stay Connected. JUNE 2024 101

BASS SERIES presented by

Heath masters Reef to win Clarence BASS Pro Southgate local Taigan Heath showed that you don’t need a big, fancy boat to win an ABT BASS Pro Qualifier when he set up shop at Maclean reef to win the Maui Jim round of the 13 Fishing BASS Pro series on the Clarence River. Fishing in his modest 4.5m aluminium centre console powered by a 70hp outboard, Heath made his way down 38km of river each day to a single rockpile on the seaward side of the structure and peppered it with a variety of presentations to keep a steady stream of bass coming into the boat. With the event run on the ABT app, these fish are released back into the water at point of capture, allowing spectators to keep a close eye on the live scoreboards.

Taigan Heath shared his Clarence River win with the family - the kids were quick to make their claim on the big cheque! Scan the QR code to watch the Boater Winners Interview

Patience on the Maclean Reef paid off for Taigan Heath working a variety of baits to land his limits each session. Lengths are converted into weights by a lengthweight curve. Heath narrowly outdistanced a fast-finishing

Aaron Swanson to take the $3,500 payout and an instant qualification in the BASS Grand Final to be held on Lake St Clair later in the year.

BOATER RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 104 JUNE 2024

Angler Taigan Heath Aaron Swanson Robert Blackeby Cameron Hall Tom Deer Tom Slater Braden Schuch Mitchell Cone Troy Lowe Tim Jones

Fish 10/10 10/10 10/10 8/10 8/10 10/10 10/10 8/10 10/10 6/10

The winner of that event takes home a $50,000+ Alloycraft/ Mercury boat package. Here’s how he did it. Day 1: 5/5, 4.203kg Day 2: 5/5, 3.876kg Total: 10/10, 8.079kg “I had the good oil from one of my mates that the bass were holding on the reef at Maclean after the recent influx of fresh water,” Taigan explained. It was the opposite plan to the previous iteration of the event, where Heath travelled as far as he could up the Orara River to land his limits. Spot Locking on a single rock, Heath made repeated casts with a variety of plastics, blades and crankbaits to get bites, but his main weapon was a Daiwa BaitJunkie Minnow fished on a TT Rev Head, 6lb Sunline braid and

Full results at abt.org.au

Weight(kg) 8.079kg 7.906kg 6.881kg 6.806kg 6.618kg 6.274kg 5.885kg 5.75kg 5.693kg 5.429kg

Payout $3,500 $1,700 + $250 Merc bonus $1,250 $1,000 + $125 Merc bonus $900 $800 + $75 Merc bonus $700 $600

6lb Sunline FC leader on a custom made Gen Tek rod. “I tried to throw everything in that chartreuse colour in the dirty water and it seemed to work,” Heath continued. “Both of my non-boaters caught fish there, too and it was pretty continuous action until the tide slowed down,” he concluded. SWANSON PLUNDERS DRAIN FOR SECOND Evans Head’s Aaron Swanson missed the top spot by less than 200 grams and caught the majority of his fish from a single drain on his bream fishing gear. “I had the outfit left over in the boat from the last time I was bream fishing - it is a Samurai Infinite 2-6lb 6’9” with a Daiwa Luvias DA and straight through 3lb Sunline FC,” Aaron explained. Scan the QR code to watch the Field Highlights

“I did catch a couple of fish early upstream of Grafton, but after that, every single bass I caught came from that drain,” he continued. The drain was near Ulmarra and he certainly didn’t have it to himself. “I noticed that the bass were feeding on small gudgeons and the 2” Z Man bloodworm coloured grub I had on was a pretty close imitation of what they were

BASS SERIES presented by eating,” he said. Swanson would fish the drain, catch a fish, and then rest the area for around 40 minutes before he’d return to

fish he needed to take the title. “If I was going to lose to anyone, Taigan’s the one, he’s a deserving winner,” he concluded.

One, a bigger bag on Day 2 ensured his victory by 375g over Bobby Hart. Day 1: 3/3, 1.747kg Day 2: 3/3, 2.119kg Total: 6/6, 3.866kg He fished with Tim Price on Day 1 and Tom Slater on Day 2 - both days up the Coldstream River. “The water was cleaner the further we went up

a #2 TT beetle spin blade) that he’d custom painted orange and loaded with a 3” prototype Crush City paddle tailed grub. He cast it on a 13 Fishing Omen 6’6” L that he usually uses for bream, paired with a Daiwa 2500 TD Black, Sufix 0.4 Egi braid and a Sufix 12lb fluorocarbon leader. Harry would slow roll the

Aaron Swanson concentrated his efforts on a drain near Ulmarra to secure the second place finish. bag another single fish. This plan yielded 6 bass on Day 1 and 7 bass on Day 2. “I really think that my bait choice made the difference,” Swanson continued. Aaron saw on the scoreboard that he was one upgrade away from victory, but he just couldn’t find that bigger

SCHOFIELD BEST FROM THE BACK Brisbane’s Harr y Schofield won his first BASS Pro event he fished as a non-boater. He was also the only non-boater to assemble a full bag of 6/6 over the two days of competition. Sitting in second place after Day

Harry Schofield kicked off his BASS career with a Non Boater win!

BIG BASS PRIZE

Crushed it! Crush City plastics were Harry’s go-to bait on the Clarence. Brisbanite Brad Wickson landed the Maui Jim Big Bass of the event. It went 44.5cm (1.715kg) and ate a D-Style Crawl Up crankbait (distributed by JML Trading) while spot locked on the reef at Maclean. He pocketed $500 and a brand new pair of Maui Jim sunglasses for his efforts.

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

Angler Harry Schofield Bobby Hart Benjamin Crispin Corey Goldie Brent Garde Jill Wales Karen Van Bael Simon McAlpin Jake Hardie Damien Winters

Fish 6/6 5/6 4/6 3/6 3/6 4/6 3/6 2/6 3/6 2/10

Weight(kg) 3.866kg 3.491kg 3.374kg 3.073kg 2.698kg 2.267kg 1.904kg 1.745kg 1.410kg 1.302kg

the Coldstream - like it hadn’t been raining at all,” Harry said. He mainly cast a beetle spin (1/4oz TT jighead with

Full results at abt.org.au

Payout Rapala pack + $250 Rapala bonus Bassman pack Duo pack Keitech pack Tackle Tactics pack Ecogear pack Samaki pack Keitech pack Atomic pack

Scan the QR code to watch the Non-Boater Winners Interview

bait as soon as it hit the water and most fish came early in the retrieve,” he said. Working for Rapala, Harry opted to donate his prizes for the win to fellow non-boaters. “I distributed it to all of the nonnies I could find wearing a Rapala jersey. Thank you for supporting the brand,” Schofield said. He also said, “ I crushed it.” JUNE 2024 105

BASS SERIES presented by

Johnson dominates Richmond River drain-fest Chinchilla’s Mick Johnson had a day to remember on the first day of the Atomic round of the 13 Fishing BASS Pro Series on the Richmond River. He threw topwater frogs in a series of drains running into the river proper to put together a seemingly insurmountable 8.37kg of Australian bass. Come Day 2 and suddenly the impossible seemed possible. With Cameron Hall and Dylan Walsh quickly assembling quality limits and Johnson stuck on a single fish for what seemed like hours, the live scoreboard told a story. That story was ‘catch your limit or lose this event.’ With a couple of hours to go, Johnson downsized his soft plastic offering to a diminutive Rapala Crush City Suspect and the fish started to flow. By the end of the session, he’d won by over 2kg and pocketed $4,250 for his efforts, which consisted on a $3,000 winner’s payout and a bonus $1,000 from Atomic for running an Atomic sticker on his boat as well as the $250 bonus for the highest placed Mercury owner.

Mick Johnson has racked up his second win for the 2024 13Fishing BASS Pro Series, putting himself in serious contention for Angler of the Year. Day 1: 5/5, 8.370kg Day 2: 5/5, 4.149kg Total: 10/10, 12.519kg “I admit that I did start

to look at the scoreboards when I only had a couple of fish at 10:30 and I started to panic a little,” Mick said,

After the drains suffered from a heap of pressure, Mick downsized to a Rapala Crush City Suspect in Motor Oil colour that

Scan the QR code to watch the Boater Winners Interview

Dylan’s second place finish on the Richmond has secured him a spot in this year’s BASS Pro Grand Final.

Downsizing his plastics was key to Mick getting the right bites on pressured drains on the Richmond.

BOATER RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 106 JUNE 2024

Angler Mick Johnson Dylan Walsh Cameron Hall Glen Bailey Aaron Swanson Mitchell Cone Joey Urquhart Keeghan Painter Mick Horn Tom Slater

Fish 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10

“you can’t back off in these events because someone will always catch them.” Mick caught 10-12 bass on Day one, and they were the right ones, with several fish in the high-40cm class. On Day One, his main bait was a Daiwa Kikker Curly frog that he fished in a rotation of drains from ‘Lismore to Woodburn’.

Full results at abt.org.au

Weight(kg) 12.519kg 10.270kg 9.731kg 8.790kg 8.392kg 8.326kg 7.687kg 7.674kg 7.654kg 7.598kg

Payout $3,000/$1,000 Atomic/$250 Merc $1,500 + $125 Merc bonus $1,000/ $500 Big bass/ $75 Merc $900 $800 $700 $600

he fished on a 2/0 worm hook. “The heavy hook allows the bait to sink a little, so I could use it as a topwater or subsurface presentation,” he said. Mick delivered the bait on a 13 Fishing Omen ML 6’8” coupled with a Shimano Vanford spin reel loaded with 17lb Sufix Egi braid and 15lb Sufix leader. “That rig has the tip to cast the smaller baits but the strength to haul them out of there. Every bass came over logs and sticks. Some came over 10 sticks on the way in,” he continued. With his instant qualification into the BASS Pro Grand Final already redeemed after his win at Lake Glenmaggie in February, Second placed

BASS SERIES presented by Dylan Walsh got the Golden Ticket to St Clair. WALSH A SOLID SECOND Lismore’s Dylan Walsh made the most of his first BASS Pro entry for 2024 to take home $1,625 for second place and an auto-invite into this year’s Grand Final, due to the fact that Mick Johnson has already qualified for the year. “This year I learned from my mistakes at previous events and concentrated on fishing like I usually do and not trying to change and fish like someone else,” he said. The tactic yielded his two consistent bags and a healthy payout. He led the event for a while on Day 2. Day 1: 5/5, 4.886kg Day 2: 5/5, 5.384kg Total: 10/10, 10.270kg In the mornings, he would fish in the snags at the mouth of Swan Bay with several other boats and bag a quick limit until the bite slowed down. After that he’d fish the current-washed banks of the main river with Scan the QR code to watch the Field Highlights

BIG BASS PRIZE

Coffs Harbour basser Cameron Hall won the $500 and pair of Maui Jim sunglasses with a 49.5cm (2.422kg) giant that obliterated a black Daiwa Kikker Curly Frog upstream of the start line. It anchored a big bag for Hall and moved him into the lead at one point of the morning on Day 2.

a beetle-spin to add to his limit, following the flow to keep the bass biting. Dylan used a Daiwa Zillion reel spooled with Atomic Linez 16lb braid and 10lb Sunline FC Rock leader with a Bassman #2 beetle spin (gold blade) matched with a 1/4oz Bassman head and a 3” Gold Rush coloured Z Man Diezel Minnow. The rod was a Samaki Zing 2-6lb 6’4”. “I didn’t expect the river

to fish so well during the event - it’d been really tough right up to the prefish ban,” he said, “and it’s been fishing great ever since the tournament.”

he finished dead last. Three days later he was at the other end of the field, picking up a 13 Fishing outfit and great Rapala pack as well as some cash and a fancy trophy for winning the Richmond River event. It shows that you can experience the highs and lows of this sport in a single week. Two consistent bags over two days was enough to beat Grafton local Mat Cameron into second place by nearly 500g. “The first day I drew Glen Bailey and it was in insane morning. We fished a snag around the mouth of Swan Bay and you could hear the bass chopping into bait when we got there. I had six fish in the first 40 minutes and it was some of the best bass fishing I’d ever experienced,” Chris said. The second day Chris fished with another local, Greg Burke, and visited an entirely different part of the river.

By wearing his Rapala Jersey on each day of the tournament, Chris also secured a Rapala Cash Bonus with his win.

Chris Rawlings experienced the lows and highs of tournament fishing during the NSW double-header.

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

Angler Chris Rawlings Mat Cameron Kelvin Hatton Jake Hardie Bridgett Currey Ryan Vanderburg Paul Mazaroli Blair Shapland Reece Winters Karen Van Bael

Fish 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 5/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6

Weight(kg) 5.204kg 4.712kg 4.677kg 4.611kg 4.208kg 4.003kg 3.977kg 3.916kg 3.759kg 3.558kg

Walsh also wants to come and fish one or both of the SEQ BASS Pro rounds - depending on how work shapes up. Both rounds are mid-week. LAST TO FIRST PLACE TURNAROUND Chris Rawlings did not have a spectacular Clarence River event. When he added a late penalty to a small bass, Full results at abt.org.au

Payout Rapala pack + $250 Rapala + $500 Atomic Bassman pack Duo pack + $125 Rapala bonus Keitech pack + $75 Rapala bonus Z Man pack Ecogear pack Samaki pack Keitech pack Atomic pack

Scan the QR code to watch the Non-Boater Winners Interview

“We started at the Broadwater mill outlet and I landed a decent bass on a TN60 rigged with a single hook. After missing some topwater fish on some banks we ended up at the Woodburn reef and I landed three more fish on a deep crankbait,” he continued. The bait was a Storm Arashi Rattling Deep 10 crankbait in Tilapia colour (now discontinued) that he fished on a Millerods SwitchFreak UL paired with a Daiwa Tatula 100SH reel loaded with 15lb J-Braid Grand and a 12lb fluorocarbon leader. JUNE 2024 107

BOAT TEST

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Haines Hunter 595 Offshore Yamaha 200hp FMG

Steve Morgan

SPECIFICATIONS Length Overall .......................... 5.95m

s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

Beam ................................................ 2.40m

Some boat dealers do demo boats well, while others don’t put that much energy into it. Phil and the team at Port Phillip Boating Centre at Point Cook in Melbourne definitely don’t fall into the latter category. We caught up with them earlier in the year to check out their Haines Hunter 595 Offshore demo boat, powered by a Yamaha 200hp 4-stroke outboard and loaded with essential options. “I set up the demonstrator boats as if they were my own,” Phil explained. “This one has all of the kit to go marlin fishing offshore, with tubes and riggers. You just need to put in the snapper racks and she is ready to go and catch a feed in the bay.” The dealership uses these boats for formal demo days, social fishing and trial

Height ................................................. 2.2m Hull weight....................................870kg Fuel .......................................................200L trips with interested customers – exactly how they should be used. Broadly, Haines Hunter hulls are built with enough mass and vee in the hull to offer a smooth ride in most conditions, and Phil has been their advocate for over two decades. The whole time he has been in business, he’s sold the one major boat and outboard brand. This was the case on the test day. It was by no means rough, but rough enough to be a little careful when recording the performance data. The boat landed softly and seems very capable of handling the

upgraded horsepower bolted on the back. And like most planing outboard powered rigs, economy was best in the mid-rev range, with 3500rpm yielding 36km/h at 1.8km/L. Coupled with a 200L tank, this gives a theoretical range of around 350km in ideal conditions. And as is always the case, the economy halves when the throttle is pushed all the way down; 6000rpm gives 74km/h and a thirsty 0.9km/L. The Yamaha F200XSA features integrated electro-hydraulic steering that integrates with Yamaha’s digital helm offerings. It’s a 2.8L inline four-cylinder. The demo boat is rigged with Helm Master and the electric/hydraulic steering, and it was smooth and effortless throughout the steering range. The helm is great, with plenty of room for flush-mounted electronics, and all of them that we’d want in a boat of that size. There’s a footrest, too, which is essential for a boat you’ll be doing some miles in out in the ocean. The cabin is definitely big enough to stretch out and sleep, although there’s no lockable door to secure your gear on longer trips. We loved the underfloor wet storage area, which can act as a kill-box or hold wetsuits and other watersports gear. The cockpit has high gunwales, and the proportion of cockpit space to cabin PERFORMANCE RPM Speed

(km/h)

The demo rig allows interested customers to feel the Haines Hunter ride. 108 JUNE 2024

Economy

(km/L)

600 ............................ 5 ............................3 1000 ...........................7 ........................2.5 2000 ........................12 .........................1.5 3000 .......................26 .........................1.6 3500 .......................36 .........................1.8 4000 .......................47 ......................... 1.7 4500 .......................53 .........................1.5 5000 .......................60 .........................1.3 6000 ....................... 74 ........................0.9

space is pretty standard. The stainless-steel framework has plenty of places to hang on and the mandatory overhead rod storage and lighting. I personally loved the trailer design – maybe because it shares a lot of characteristics with a bass boat trailer. A C-section frame allows you to easily wash all of the salt out and, with carpeted bunks taking most of the hull weight with the assistance of keel-only rollers, you get a rig that’s low maintenance and easy to drive on and off the trailer. Fewer moving parts

Main: Port Phillip Boating Centre are big on their demo boats, and Phil sets them up as if they were his own. This one is good for everything from bay whiting to marlin out wide. Above: For a big glass boat, the economy can be surprisingly good. The 200 Yamaha delivered 1.8km/L at 36km/h. means fewer problems. Boat/motor/trailer packages for the 595 Offshore start at $110,990, although the demo boat had lots of options and at the time of testing, comes in at $168,000. Contact the team at Port Phillip Boating Centre for more information, a quote, or to take a demo ride for yourself.

FMM

Top: The combination of heavy hull and deep vee at the transom translates to a smoother ride in choppy conditions. Above: Here’s some efficient use of space – side pocket mounted rod storage.

BOAT TEST

Phil rates the bunk system with keel-only rollers as the best and lowest maintenance, especially when combined with the galvanised C-section framing on the trailer.

Top: The bowsprit is significant and easily carries the anchor type needed in a boat this size. Above: That’s some pretty fancy pedestal storage.

There are plenty of places to hang on here, and storage for excess rods.

The helm is comfortable, with a footrest and heaps of room for flush mounting a suite of electronics.

Top Left: There’s no problem getting some rest in the cabin, although it doesn’t have lockable doors. Top Right: Yamaha’s electric-over-hydraulic steering is smooth and consistent throughout its range. Bottom Left: The trailer is fitted with electric brakes. They’re not obligatory, but stopping is important if you’re doing the miles on the road. Bottom Right: The spacious underfloor wet tanks can hold fish or wet gear from family activities.

Left: The Yamaha 200hp 4-stroke can be fitted because of a transom upgrade to hold the weight and horsepower. The usual maximum is 175. Top Right: Even though this isn’t a Digital Electric Steering model, it can still run the full Yamaha HelmMaster system. JUNE 2024 109