Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2019 i Fishing World

I recently returned from a week on the Pacific atoll of Christmas Island. This small island in the middle of nowhere is one of the fishiest places on earth. Inside the vast lagoon, swarms of bonefish, GTs and triggerfish swim the shallow flats and provide exciting fishing on fly and lure. Just offshore there’s an untapped fishery for sailfish, yellowfin, wahoo, and who knows what else... The island has been on the radar of travelling fishos for over 30 years and is widely known as one of the best places on earth to target bonefish. Americans and Aussies frequent the island and help keep the fragile economy ticking along, employing guides and service staff across the fishing lodges on the island. Being a guide is a prestigious job in these…

FISH FACTS: PIPI TAGGING Bivalve molluscs are the unsung heroes of our inshore ecosystems. Consider the humble cockles or pipis living in soft sediments in our estuaries and beaches. Or the “ecosystem engineers” in the form of the oysters which formerly formed large shellfish reefs in virtually every estuary and bay. ● By Dr Ben Diggles ENVIRONMENT: PROTECTING PLATYPUS (& OTHER IMPORTANT ANIMALS) Ever been fishing really early on a bass pool or trout stream and seen a platypus pop up? It’s a great bonus to see these eccentric animals in their natural habitat but there are increasing concerns about their long-term viability. ● By John Newbery…

In March NSW DPI Fisheries officers caught a 36 year old Pomona man using gill nets to catch golden perch in the lower Darling River near Menindee, following a joint operation with Victorian and South Australian compliance teams. Commercial fishing for native freshwater finfish was phased out in NSW from 2001. He pleaded guilty to seven fisheries offences in court and was fined $12,000, plus $3,000 in costs. His boat, motor and trailer were also confiscated by the court. Officers executed a search warrant at the man’s address and found an additional 101 golden perch in a cool room. It’s alledged that since July 2017 the man had sold a further 12 tonnes of golden perch illegally caught in NSW in Victoria, under the guise of being legally caught in…

When I first fished the rocks for tailor, salmon, little tuna and other speedy pelagics as a youngster, light spin outfits and lures didn’t even get a look-in. Back then, we were obsessed with fishing with whole pilchards, ganged-hooks, heavy line and broomstick-style surf rods. And we weren’t alone. In the '80s, pilchard-tossers ruled the rocks on the NSW far south coast. Sure, there were some spin guys on the stones around Jervis Bay and further north, but they weren’t exactly fishing with light tackle. And going light and hurling lures certainly wasn’t in vogue where I fished. We caught plenty of fish on our heavy set-ups, but it was a cumbersome approach. Tailor and salmon made up most of our catch. We’d often get bonito, frigate mackerel and sometimes…

WITH summer upon us and the icy winds of winter a distant memory it's always nice to have an early morning flick off the beach, or a safe ledge, and watch the sun come up. With this in mind, Frogleys OffShore has come up with the 9ft 6” SP512-2F blank - a nice two-piece graphite spin stick that would not be out of place on a ledge or beach. The blank comes in kit form with quality Fuji hardware or it can be purchased separately. I would rate the blank between 6-8 kg. Broken down, the rod fits nicely in any small family car and once put together is certainly a high-performance piece of carbon fibre. I opted for the kit which includes chrome winding checks, hypalon grips that can…

KAKADU is a destination that’s been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. Watching Malcolm Douglas and The Bush Tucker Man as a child and growing up with an unhealthy obsession with fishing and the outdoors, Kakadu sounded like the perfect place. I had been living in the Northern Territory and teaching in the remote Indigenous community of Numbulwar. This is my first experience in the Territory and I wanted to make the most of it. My girlfriend Chelsea and I had been planning for friends and family to come visit in Kakadu for a week of camping, fishing and 4WD’ing. Months passed by with endless amounts of preparation, ensuring that all the gear was tip top and ready to be put to use. After all…

Q WHAT IS THE BEST COLOUR PLASTIC FOR SNAPPER? Jason e-mail AA question that seems to arise for all species targeted on soft plastics and I’m not surprised with companies making plastics in all the colours of the rainbow and even few that are not. Plastic type such as shad, curl tail, stick bait, paddle tail, worm, squid, lizard you get the point there is many can determine what the best colour to choose is. For example, a shad will most likely resemble a more natural fish colour where as a worm or curl tail might be a darker brown, red or green. This aside, one of the best colours in the snapper on plastic boom was the Nuclear Chicken colour which does not seem to resemble much in…

I made a long cast up onto a shallow flat. The tide had filled the edges of the sand flat, and in the narrow window of water I knew there was a good chance that a few big flathead would be hunting whiting in the shallows. It was an experimental trip, where we were trying to perfect a few new tactics in preparation for an upcoming tournament. The lure was a Mega Bass eel, a strange looking articulated lure that had so far proven to be a completely fish free purchase. We’d already caught a couple of monster flathead, and it was time to put this expensive piece of Japanese plastic to its final test, but my confidence in this lure was very low. I retrieved the lure in a…

WA Premier Mark McGowan has said that the creation of the Houtman Abrolhos National Park off Geraldton 400km north of Perth will both protect the area and make it more accessible. The island chain is famous for its coral, crystal clear waters, wildlife and its fishing. It includes North, East Wallabi and Rat Islands, which each have red dust airstrips to allow for day trips, but little infrastructure for tourism. To better provide for visitors to the park, the WA government has committed $10 million to building new jetties and installing toilets, shade shelters, trails and signage at East Wallabi and Beacon islands. It’s hoped that creation of this terrestrial park will support access to and management of the surrounding, already existing marine park and in time allow tourists to…

STORM 360GT BISCAY MINNOW AND 360GT BISCAY SHAD DESIGNED with long casting and fast winding in mind, but still at home fished slowly in shallow and deep-water situations, the 360GT Coastal Biscay Minnow features a slim, supple body rigged to a tapered jig head with a fixed hook. An additional chin eyelet gives the option of adding an assist hook or blade. The weighted head and body combination allow you to cast further and fish deeper. The subtle paddle tail kicks with life-like action and incredible vibration, even at slow speeds. The Storm 360GT Biscay Shad swims with a significantly enhanced life-like action to that of most other baits. The super subtle body is fixed to the head by a free- swinging screw and VMC hook that rest perfectly hidden…

At home in the NSW Southern Highlands, night time temps were creeping below zero degrees, a clear indication it was time to head north. As luck would have it, a good mate who lives in Mackay took ownership of a 7m Kevlarcat and wanted someone to help crew it (and help with the fuel). Three days later and I was in Mackay with a quiver of heavy spin rods and a bag of stickbaits and poppers. These just begged to be fed to the army of XOS GTs and coral trout that we envisaged would be waiting for us on the outer reefs. I had also packed a couple of fly rods in case I got the urge and time to chase some spawn run trout in the New England…

Today’s fishing rod has evolved into a remarkable tool. The cost reduction that mechanisation and mass production created has seen a massive increase in rod options and styles at prices few cottage rod builders can match. These technological advances are also reflected in rod componentry including grips, reel seats, thread and runners. Simply, we are now spoilt for choice at affordable prices. In this article we answer some basic questions about rods to assist the new angler to understand and appreciate this vital fishing tool and pick the one he or she needs. DO I NEED A ROD? Probably! A handline will do a good job in some fishing scenarios, but most anglers now opt for a rod. A rod is required when you need to cast a bait or…

1 Mad keen fisho Aidan with a 41cm mangrove Jack. 2 Five-year-old Lucas Solomon caught this bream on a soft plastic all on his own from his Kayak at The Entrance, NSW. 3 William seale with his first lure caught mulloway from the Hawkesbury River. 4 Five-year-old Jason Thomas with a break sea cod. 5 11-year old Sam caught this small silver trevally with the first rig he made on his own.…

THE Palaszczuk Government has announced some major changes to Queensland fishing legislation effective September 1, 2019. These include a number of changes to rebuild snapper, pearl perch and scallop stocks. Which are all considered depleted by the Queensland Department of Fisheries and Agriculture, with stock levels reportedly under the nationally recommended 20% biomass level. Changes for recreational fishers include: • A new annual seasonal closure for snapper and pearl perch from 15 July to 15 August. • Increasing the size limit of pearl perch from 35cm to 38cm. • Removing extended charter catch limits for snapper and pearl perch. • New boat limits for mud crab, prawns, snapper, black jewfish, barramundi, Spanish mackerel, shark, tropical rock lobster and sea cucumber, which hold the operator of the boat responsible for ensuring…

Regulations involving size, bag and possession limits are one of the main tools used to manage recreational fisheries. The goal of such regulations is to help ensure healthy and sustainable fisheries for future generations. Size limits are imposed to allow fish to reach maturity and complete their breeding cycle while bag and possession limits help ensure species aren’t overfished and that everyone gets a fair share of the resource. It’s important you have a good understanding of relevant bag and size limits before you head out for a fish. Taking undersized fish or exceeding your bag/possession limit can result in pretty hefty fines – and ignorance is no excuse! Information about bag and size limits in NSW is widely available across a range of digital and traditional media formats. Probably…

Targeting whiting on lures is an exciting and productive means of catching these estuary beauties. Whilst not recognised as a premier sports fish, whiting have a never say die attitude and on light tackle they put up a fight that seems out of proportion to their size. Long runs are not in the equation, but there are plenty of darts and dashes all the way to the way back and decent fish (40 cm +) will pull string. A big whiting is known as an “elbow slapper” for good reason ... they continue to fight whilst hooks are removed! SURFACE LURES “Whiting like current, so focus on the flats with water movement, rather than those tucked away in quieter corners and back eddies.” Casting surface lures at whiting is an…

EVERYONE loves a feed of fresh fish – myself included – however fisheries management practices such as the implementation of bag & size limits have meant that recreational anglers are releasing far more fish than they ever did in the past. I’d go as far to say that the all the gun anglers I know release the majority of the fish they catch these days and only keep what they need for a feed, fish is best eaten fresh so why would you bother freezing any when these elite level anglers can get a feed of fish pretty much whenever they hit the water. I believe more work needs to be done on educating recreational anglers on the best practices for handling fish that are to be released to maximise…

LAST month we looked at various factors relating to fighting a fish and how they’ve changed over the years. The outcome was that is all depends on the individual and the style of fishing. To some anglers the fight is all important and the main reason why they fish but to others, the fight is of much less consequence. No matter how important the actual fight is, we all want to see it end in a good way with a fish in the live well or safely released. Achieving that end takes some experience and patience so let’s look at what can go wrong and what we can do to reduce the chances of a lost fish. From the moment a fish is hooked, things can go downhill quickly. I’ve…

I don’t want to get into a discussion about great cricketing allrounders but anyone who ever watched Andrew Simons play one day cricket for Australia would agree he was one of the great all-rounders. With the bat in hand, he was brutal, with ball in hand, he was unpredictable and, in the field, he was like a cattle dog rounding up sheep. What was he best at? In my opinion, nothing. He was just at home no matter what he was doing and you wouldn’t hesitate on picking him first for any form of cricket. It’s a huge call but that is how I rate the 6200 Rear Console from Yellowfin. It’s big enough to work the close reefs and bays but is just at home in the rivers, lakes…

Each month we will select five lucky winners for our Grin & Win section. Grin & Win winners will each receive a cool Shimano cap and Squidgy DVD! E-mail your entry and contact details to: pictures@fisho.com.au Please include your name and age and details of your catch. Also provide a postal address so winners can receive their prize. Good luck! Visit the Shimano Junior Anglers’ website at www.shimanofish.com.au…