Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2017 i Fishing World

It’s not about catching the most or biggest fish, maybe it’s about catching that fish under your own set of rules. Maybe it’s just about having fun!” THE new year is here and that often means social media and television is abuzz with talk of "new year’s resolutions". Lose more weight, drink less booze, join a gym... all the favourites are there. For us fishos it’s a different story. I have no plans to join a gym (although I probably should) and I’m not giving up beer! No, my new year’s resolution obviously involves fishing. Setting your own fishing goals is, in my opinion, one of the strongest motivations for getting out again and again and maintaining a strong interest in fishing. Fishing is a very personal thing and each…

THE Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) of NSW has raised concerns about the quality of fish sourced from near Sydney’s sewage outfalls. The Hawkesbury Bioregion has over 1.3 billion litres of sewage per day discharged into it, mainly from the Sydney Deepwater Ocean Outfalls that replaced the old “murks” at Malabar, Bondi and Bluefish Point. The RFA believes that the effects of these discharges on fish and other marine life are not being effectively monitored and are in fact being ignored, making the government’s focus on creating more marine protected areas in the bioregion somewhat hypocritical.…

1 ENVIRONMENT: JUSTIFYING MINIMUM SIZES BY JOHN NEWBERY AT last, after decades of so-called reviews of minimum sizes which have basically just fiddled at the edges, an Australian fisheries management authority has finally fundamentally questioned and analysed the use of minimum... 2 FISH FACTS: COBIA BY DR BEN DIGGLES COBIA (Rachycentron canadum), also known as black kingfish, are one of the more interesting and enigmatic species available to anglers fishing in our warmer northern waters. This species is found offshore and in inshore bays in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide, and is known to be one of the fastest growing... FISHINGWORLD.COM.AU…

“Over the years I have cleaned a lot of dolphin fish, and I doubt there is nothing at all that lives in the surface layers that they won’t eat.” A LONG-TIME FISHO CORRESPONDENT, DAVID GREEN ENJOYS CATCHING EVERYTHING FROM FLATHEAD TO MARLIN. Mahi Mahi, more commonly called dolphin fish or “dollies” are one of the wildest craziest animals in the oceans of the world. If you want to liven up your boat a bit, just gaff a 15 kilo dolphin fish and dump it on the deck. Dolphin fish are the hardest fish in the ocean to easily dispatch boat side, are one of the most impossible fish to control in a boat and are responsible for putting more hooks into the hands of deckies and crew members than any…

Trailerboat marlin Q My Dad and I would like to catch a marlin this summer from our 5.6m boat, what would be the best approach? Finn, Via Email A This will be a moment shared with your dad which you will never forget, they are truly inspiring to catch for even the 100th time. There are so many different ways to target them, trolling, live baiting, skip baiting, switch baiting and even more so it can get somewhat confusing. I firmly believe the cheapest and most effective way would be to live bait for them. Live slimy mackerel or yellowtail fished on an 8/0 – 10/0 circle hook on 100-200lb leader is rarely refused by a hungry marlin. Some homework on finding the desired locations in your area is…

THE human eye is an incredible part of our body, able to distinguish millions of colour variations along with perceptions of distance and depth. What we see and perceive with our advanced cerebral processes differs to that of simple animals such as fish. Vision is critical in most fish however it would be incorrect to assume they see the world in a similar way that we do when swimming underwater with a pair of goggles. A key point to remember is that we view the world on land with air as a medium of light transmission which allows an abundance of light to pass through unimpeded. Under water however the characteristics of light change which along with the evolutionary development of fish based on the depths frequented and time of…

THE debate over the installation of shark nets around Ballina in northern NSW has shifted from anti to pro as the number of attacks on surfers continues to increase. Many local surfers don’t support culling or killing sharks generally but are in favour of the use of nets to deter sharks from feeding at popular surfing locations, as has been the case at beaches around Sydney since the 1930s. For whatever reason, aggressive sharks, particularly young great whites, appear to be feeding in-shore far more regularly. Anecdotally, rec fishers are reporting increased shark predation of hooked fish such as mackerel and commercial shark hunters are blaming conservation efforts which both protect the sharks and their natural food sources, particularly schools of Australian salmon. Bycatch issues related to the nets appear…

“The blank he needed had to to have a very fast taper and it didn’t take long to organise a Samurai Premium as the weapon of choice.” WHEN the phone rang it was gun bass fisho Todd Chown wanting to discuss a custom rod. I was all ears! Each angler prefers something a little different and every now and then a blank or design that a client comes up with impresses me so much I end up building one for myself. I got the feeling quite early that this project was going to result in me duplicating the client’s design for myself! Talking with Todd he explained he wanted a shorter blank suitable for the kayak and the river systems he fishes and that mostly consists of rapids and heavy…

Copeton Dam has a storage capacity of 1,361,500 megalitres and is built on the Gwydir River which is an important tributary of the Barwon-Darling river system. It is located about 35km southwest of Inverell, 8km west of the old Copeton township and 50km from Bingara. Inverell is situated a mere 570 kilometres north of Sydney or 472km from Brisbane so it is certainly not out of the question as a weekend getaway destination from either of these two capital cities. 939 hectares of land on the southern bank has been converted into Copeton Waters State Park and include family friendly facilities such as deluxe cabins, standard cabins, on-site caravans, powered camping sites, bush camping, camp kitchen, bunk house and function centre. Other facilities include jumping pillow, splash park, adventure playground,…

A Over millions of years, fish have evolved to suit their desired environment and their tails have also. The primary function of a fish’s tail is propulsion or thrust to move the fish in a desired direction. Fish like tuna and marlin are oceanic pelagic fish which means they are nomadic and travel long distances. Tuna and marlin have a crescent shaped tail built for fast speed over considerable distance but lack innate manoeuvrability. Murray Cod, on the other hand are an example of a large freshwater fish that typically live in a snag and have a more rounded tail suited to short movements with increased manoeuvrability. Send in your questions! To Chris at: Fisho’s Shimano Junior’s Q&A, GPO Box 606 Sydney NSW 2001, email to comps@fisho.com.au or fax 02…

“They are good climbers so secure a lid over the container or you may have muddies stalking your home.” SUMMER is a great time to be a fisherman. Not only are the bass, whiting and mangrove jacks on the chew, mud crabs are out and about in force; and I love a feed of muddies. Whether boiled or put together in sauces to die for, muddies always taste great. Chilli mud crab is a favourite when we are at home and many a muddie feast has taken place on the back deck with our hoard joining in with gusto. We simply cook them in a wok heated by a gas ring and then hose off the deck afterwards. On a recent trip to the Sydney Fish Markets I was astounded…

THERE'S no point buying the best boat and engine if it sits on a bad trailer. The trailer is what gets your boat to and from the water in one piece, so it’s rather important! Poorly maintained or designed trailers are the cause of so many disastrous starts or finishes to a day’s fishing. Trailers these day mainly come in steel with a hot dipped galvanised finish, however the trend of late has been to build them from aluminium. I’m a fan of aluminium as it reduces the overall weight of the towing package. It's also less prone to corrosion and therefore lasts longer. If you are buying a second hand boat a few things to check... Springs and axles These are usually some of the first components to corrode…

AMANDA Bajada, wife of Fishing World writer and renowned game fisho, Nathan Bajada, was recently nominated for recognition at the 2016 Central Coast Sports Awards for the Master Sports Person Of The Year. The judging panel considered Amanda’s nomination and she was named a finalist, with her category being won on the night by a multiple world champion holder. However, as Nathan explained, it was a privilege just being present. “We felt like fish out of water, however we were amazingly grateful to be representing fishing at these awards,” Nathan said.…

DICK Lewers, one of this country’s early sport fishing pioneers, passed away at the start of December aged 92. Before the internet and Google and social media, if you had a fishing question, you’d ask Dick Lewers. His Q&A column in Modern Fishing “Ask Dick Lewers” spanned an astonishing four decades. Lewers went the extra mile, personally answering each question in detail and returning the answers by mail. Generations of fishos benefited from his vast fishing knowledge. Lewers played a large part in Australia’s early sport fishing movement. Together with Vic McCristal, John Bethune, Jack Erskine, and a few others, Lewers helped establish the Australian National Sportfishing Association (ANSA). This movement back in the 1960s had long last effects to this day with more emphasis on the sport of fishing,…

OYSTER farmers in Port Stephens will provide seven tonnes of old oyster shells, and Star City Casino’s buffet restaurant an additional tonne, to create increased marine habitat in Sydney Harbour. The shells will be packed into biodegradable coconut fibre bags and as these break down it’s hoped new oysters will grow on the shells and that other marine species will take up residence. Reclamation of foreshore areas combined with historical over-harvesting and poor water quality have dramatically reduced Sydney rock oyster populations up to the 1990s, but through the efforts of multiple state and local government agencies to clean up the harbour and its water, populations are bouncing back impressively in many locations.…

GARMIN EXPANDS GPSMAP RANGE GARMIN is further expanding the popular GPSMAP product range and the new touchscreen and keyed units are packed with innovative sonar and chartplotting features. The new units offer full-network compatibility for the Garmin Marine Network, which allows support for sharing sonar, maps, user data, radar, IP cameras and Panoptix all-seeing sonar across multiple units. There’s also NMEA 2000 and NMEA 0183 support for autopilots, digital switching, weather, VHF, AIS and other sensors. All 2017 GPSMAP models also feature built-in Quickdraw Contours software – an easy-to-use tool allowing boaters to instantly create personalised HD maps with 30cm contours on any body of water. In the new GPSMAP touchscreen series, the compact 752xs (7” display) and 952xs (9” display) are equipped with 1kW traditional CHIRP sonar, CHIRP ClearVü…

There’s absolutely no doubt that the knotless mesh design of the Environet and other similar nets that are available these days is far more fish friendly in terms of minimising damage to a fish's protective slime coating, scales and fins.” TECHNICAL EDITOR MARK WILLIAMS IS A HIGHLY EXPERIENCED ANGLER WHO WRITES REGULARLY FOR FISHO. IN last month’s Fisho we had an in-depth look at fish handling tools such as Bogagrips, fish grips and gloves. This month we’ll focus on landing nets, looking at the best types available and tips to employ when using them. The range of landing nets available today is mind-boggling. Thinking back to when I was a young bloke we owned a landing net and a prawn scoop. Both were of exactly the same construction with a…

LEFT OR RIGHT HAND WIND? Q Should I wind with my dominant hand, which in my case, is the right hand? Jesse Williams, Eden, NSW. A You should wind the fishing reel with whatever hand feels the most comfortable and practical. If you cast right handed i.e. with your right hand on the reel controlling line release, then the most practical hand to wind with is your left and holding the rod in the right hand you cast it with. This is a lot smoother and quicker as it saves changing hands when the cast is completed. However – and it’s a big however – if you struggle to wind with your left hand and it just doesn’t feel natural or comfortable then wind with your dominant right hand.…