Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2019 i Fishing World

THE images of dead fish strewn across the water makes any fisho’s blood boil. Sadly 2019 has had more than its share of fish kills, the worse taking place in the Murray Darling. Many other less notable occurrences around Australia. Worse still, more often than not, it’s a man made occurrence. Fish kills are usually the result of bad choices, greed or ignorance at a higher level. Environmentally the results are catastrophic and of course you and I are worse off with less fish to catch and a bleak future in these waterways. The much publicised Murray Darling fish kill created shock waves at the highest level of government and business. State and Federal Ministers’ jobs were threatened, while cotton farm directors were implicated in fraud charges which could result…

THE WA fisheries department has launched “Operation Shadowedge” in Esperance, Houpetoun and Collie along the state’s southern coastlines. Its fisheries officers will be using aerial surveillance, long range cameras and drones to make sure commercial and recreational fishers stick to the rules covering fishing and harvesting activities. Recent surveillance actions have proved effective in identifying landing locations of commercial abalone catches and providing evidence of out of season marron fishing. The surveillance efforts are being supplemented by various education campaigns aimed at encouraging voluntary compliance and keeping everyone up-to-date on current fisheries rules and regulations. WA considers it has some of the world’s best fisheries and aquatic resources and that it’s vital that everyone continues to work together to protect them.…

THE Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation (ARFF) recently announced the 2019 National Recreational Fishing Conference will be held in Hobart, Tasmania, and focus on how every fisher can help steer Australia’s recreational fishing future through taking part in citizen science projects. Our Fishing, Our Research, Our Recreational Future is the theme of this year’s Conference, promising to celebrate, inform and expand Australia’s vibrant recreational fishing citizen science programs. The conference will be held across two days, December 10 and 11, 2019, and will incorporate the National Recreational Fishing Gala Dinner and Recognitions Awards. The conference will be live-streamed, allowing all interested fishers to engage and discover ways that they can contribute positively to the future of our sport. Every Aussie fisher has the ability to take part in citizen science projects…

I RECENTLY purchased a used Nissan Navara D22 with the aim of turning into a touring vehicle for fishing, boating and camping. However, finding a way to carry fishing kayaks and camping gear while towing a boat and carrying a rooftop tent presented a unique challenge. The idea was to have the Feldon Shelter rooftop tent sitting just above the dual cab’s tray, below or flush with the height of the Navara’s roof. That was the was the plan… Having it sit flush meant roof racks could be installed to the Navara and kayaks could be carried while the tent was collapsed and travelling, plus I could tow a boat! The problem was roof top tents are bulky and the packed tent was still sitting about 100mm above the height…

ULTIMATE ONE Ultimate One is a New Zealand designed an built 72 foot luxury wave piercer. With a 1800NM range and top speed of 30 knots, this boat is designed to explore and is the ideal boat for reaching remote destinations along the PNG islands. This vessel will carry six anglers on eight day charters to various locations around New Britain. The accommodation is very comfortable with twin shared bedrooms, multiple bathrooms, an enormous lounge/dining area and a modern kitchen. The food on board was fantastic with plenty of fresh fish and fruit. Ultimate One also makes a great fishing boat. More details about Ultimate One and Baia Sportfishing can be found at www.baiafishingpng.com GEAR For the PNG bass I used the combination of a Shimano Tranx 300, Grappler Type…

ONE of the talking points that I see regularly discussed, involves the technique and speed required to effectively work a fly or lure. There are many factors that come into how you fish a lure. Most lures are designed for a specific purpose and retrieve speed so trying to vary that will usually see the lure not working to its best. Trying to crank a soft plastic prawn back at warp speed doesn’t work and working a metal slug slowly with rod action is also usually a waste of time. Quite often the determining factor is the species being targeted. You wouldn’t fish a high speed metal lure for flathead just as you wouldn’t fish a soft plastic crab for tuna. All species that sportfishers target have a range of…

Any time you add the element of “sight” to fishing, the adrenaline factor ramps up. You need only ask a marlin guru who has his eyes peeled for hours waiting for a beak to appear in the spread. Hours of nothing instantly transformed into moments of heart-pounding excitement as the fish dances from lure to lure deciding which one it’ll eat. Guys catching GTs or doggies on surface say the “take” on surface is more addictive than the fight. I reckon if you asked the bream gurus they would say the same thing. Seeing a big blue-nosed brawler come hunting up behind the back of their topwater lure is every bit as exciting as the big game targets. Most competent bream anglers would say it’s their preferred method for catching…

SLX DC BAITCAST REEL THE SLX 150 series has seen another addition to the family in the shape of the SLX DC. The SLX DC offers smarter, more efficient lure casting under a variety of circumstances at a price point never seen before. The SLX DC utilises Shimano’s Digital Control braking system as the star element of this reel. When a cast is made, the DC braking system automatically activates and controls brake force at every moment of the cast. An internal microcomputer controls the spool rotation by measuring and adjusting its speed, at 1000 RPM/second, during a cast and little to no thumbing of the spool is required from the angler. While electronic, it doesn’t require a battery, as the system re-charges itself as the spool rotates The SLX…

“The species can be fickle and challenging, but that’s part of their attraction. They’re a consuming species, and they seductively draw you into the chase.” Beaching a big jewie is undoubtedly the pinnacle for all keen surf fishers. And landing that first good fish represents a turning point, a shift from merely targeting jewies to success, and the confidence to know what you’re doing is right. That first fish is definitely the hardest. Jewies, or mulloway, are not an easy fish to crack, not with regularity anyway. And there aren’t many beach fishos out there who can say with sincerity that they have the species wired, and they get results on every outing. If an elite group even exists, I’m certainly not within that circle. I love the species, but…

Shark Bay is a special place. It consists primarily of a western and eastern gulf and is largely pristine. It’s a sparsely populated area and the only settlement on the eastern gulf is Monkey Mia. The place is world renowned these days as a place to view wild dolphins which come in most days for the strictly controlled feeds they are given. But it is the fishing and exploring opportunities that have found me venturing there annually for the past few years. Monkey Mia is not a town so much as a single resort/caravan park complex where you can stay metres from the sheltered beach and watch the dolphins cavort. It is frequented most commonly by families and overseas tourists anxious to see these engaging marine mammals. There is a…

FISH FACTS: CODS LOSE THEIR CODS ESTUARY cods (genus Epinephelus) are amongst my favourite fishes. These highly predatory tropical species ambush a variety of smaller prey with a “can do” attitude - often trying to eat something first and working out whether it will actually fit into their mouth later. Shy they are not, especially when it comes time to get inside a crab pot to plunder the bait (whether it is guarded by a big muddie or not!) But arguably the most interesting thing about estuary cods are the details of their sex lives. ● By Dr Ben Diggles ENVIRONMENT: JUST HOW GOOD ARE WE? THIS week’s inbox seems to have been full of horror stories about unsustainable fishing practices and ugly outcomes. The ABC ran an expose on…

EVERYONE should own a Swiss Army Knife. I own several and use them regularly. Victorinox has been making these reliable knives for a long time and hasn’t stopped improving designs and coming up with innovative features. The company is known for its ingenuity and that shows in its latest design - the Navy Camo Skipper. This knife is part of a special “Navy Camo” release, which included several models, from a Classic SD, Huntsman, and the feature packed Skipper. I’ve been using the Skipper knife for a few months now and it’s become a useful addition to my fishing tackle arsenal. The corrosion resistance is excellent and it has enough features to make it a handy accessory on a boat or while fishing shore-based. Victorinox has inlcuded 18 functions into…

Few places on earth feel truly remote. Our closest neighbour to our north, Papua New Guinea, is one exception. While PNG is far from undiscovered, the country’s rugged terrain has meant many areas remain seldom fished and that’s a big draw card for anglers looking for real adventure and world class fishing. “We left the islands behind and moved inshore for the second leg of our journey.” A LIST FISH Black bass have been at the top of my bucket list for a long time. It all started with a cancelled black bass mothership trip almost 20 years ago. Two subsequent trips to PNG – one for game fish, the other an exploratory journey looking for black bass and barra – whet my appetite for catching these iconic freshwater fish.…

OVER the past year I’ve been repeatedly visited by the evil Cluster Duck fairy and it is amazing how one simple omission leads to a world of painful events. Let’s go through a typical day where things pile up on each other. I think it started in December. The plan was to go out and catch a black marlin or any other big pelagic game fish. My crew was totally inexperienced and were keen to try their hand at game fishing but were complete greenhorns. I was to meet them at the boat ramp at 6 in the morning. It was raining, and while setting up the boat I dropped my much loved large and expensive sounder onto the concrete, smashing the screen into a thousand small pieces. That hurt…

Bread & butter species - along with their great eating qualities - are often a useful option for learning the basics of fishing. And the general perception with these species is it should be relatively straight forward to achieve consistent results. Enter the King George (KG) whiting, and this perception couldn’t be further from the truth! When chasing KGs there’s an advanced level of tactics well beyond the norm that are required for regular success on these notoriously tricky fish. If you head out for a session thinking the job is already done before you’ve started then you’ve already set yourself up to fail. RIGGING Advanced rigging is one such area where attention to detail is required. “There’s a lot more to it than pulling up at a likely spot,…

THE Sailfish 2800 Gamefisher is a purpose-built offshore fishing vessel that is without doubt one of the most impressive and complete boats I've had the pleasure of reviewing. Sailfish Catamarans has been on the scene for over 25 years now and has grown a solid reputation and a loyal following of owners. Talking to Gavan Daly from Sailfish dealer, Webbe Marine, a large number of the orders they now receive are from repeat customers. Fisho got to review a 2800 Gamefisher that had been sold and with the owner on board. It was a great opportunity to discuss the functionality of the Gamefisher with someone who knows it well. The owner Rob is a mad keen reef angler from Brisbane and purchased the Sailfish to chase snapper and other reefies…