Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2021 i Fishing World

FISH FACTS IT’S RAINING CATS AND DOGS In todays world, rain runoff from developed catchments is one of the most damaging factors impacting riverine and inshore fisheries. Not only do fishes and their prey organisms have to endure the most obvious toxic pollutants such as hydrocarbons (oils, fuels) from road surfaces, pesticides… ● By Dr Ben Diggles ENVIRONMENT AQUACULTURE IN THE SPOTLIGHT Aquaculture has for a couple of decades been something of a pinup industry for a whole suite of interest groups desperate to save the world’s fish stocks while meeting the need to provide safe seafood for human consumption. In Australia we’ve put in tight regulations… ● By John Newbery…

The Lake Macquarie Recreational Fishing Haven (RFH) has certainly become a favourite destination for local and visiting fishos as its productive waters provide quality fishing for a range of popular estuary species. The good news is that Lake Mac is set to get even better with the recent stocking of 1200 “advanced size” juvenile mulloway. It’s not only Lake Macquarie that has reaped the benefits of the great work done by DPI’s Port Stephens Fisheries Institute (PFSI) marine hatchery in “cracking the code” to successful induction and spawning of these iconic sportfish. Earlier in the year, 80,000 juvenile mulloway were released into the Botany Bay RFH in Sydney’s south with an additional 10,000 stocked into the Hastings River RFH, near Port Macquarie on the NSW North Coast. The dedicated research…

We all know how important the weather forecast plays to any planned fishing trip; especially for extended trips away. A couple of mates and myself had recently planned four days fishing the remote beaches along SA’s Bight region. It is a wild coastline with hundreds of kilometres of sand and surf to explore, but it’s not the ideal place to be grounded when the weather isn’t on your side. I prefer the drop-of-the-hat type trip when visiting these beaches; throwing camping and fishing gear together at the last minute when a good window of weather rolls around. And by picking favourable weather it helps to improve your chances of success in the surf, and also makes the whole beach-camping scene more enjoyable. Being stuck on a beach in a 20…

Mulloway stocks in NSW are currently at critically low levels, yet many don’t want to admit or believe the facts. Trouble has been evident for many years, as is evident by the implementation of the NSW Department of Primary Industries 2013 Mulloway Stock Recovery Plan, which sadly did not go far enough to result in a recovery. Stocks continue to decline and I believe that if it wasn’t for the floods of last summer, a stock collapse would be imminent. Extraordinarily tough management decisions must be immediately applied to both the commercial and recreational sectors if we are to have a viable and thriving fishery into the future. In my opinion, recovery will only occur if we temporarily reduce the number of mulloway killed in both fishery sectors, understanding that…

AS sport fishers in Australia, many of us are lucky to live in great locations that are suited to our wonderful sport. Unfortunately, where many of us live is dictated by work, lifestyle and family. There are numerous factors that come into play on where every one of us lives. You have work, climate, amenities, proximity to fresh or saltwater, where our roots/family are and where we feel like we are home. That can be anywhere. There are sport fishos who live in Weipa and Exmouth who could not fathom why someone would want to live in Sydney. On the other side of the coin there are many keen anglers who live in big cities and enjoy it because of the work opportunities, social life, amenities, etc. In the past…

The fire started burning after a conversation with my partner, Rachel, about this so-called Australian paradise. ​ It wasn’t until we started to dig into any little bits of information we could find that we knew it was our calling. With Rachel’s final teaching internship on the horizon, she bounced a few emails back and forth and secured a placement with the local high school. The two of us were currently driving dump trucks in the Pilbara, flying in and out of Perth. However, with the current border restrictions and a lack of operators on site, we were turned down when we requested leave to pursue this opportunity. We knew this would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, one we would be devastated to miss out on. That being said, we quit…

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! SHIMANO Visit the Shimano Junior Anglers’ website at www.shimanofish.com.au…

Back in the July 2021 issue of Fisho I offered an initial review of the new Simrad NSS EVO3S multifunction display after mounting one on my boat earlier in the year. For those who didn’t read the initial review, I upgraded my Simrad 12” NSS EVO3 to a 16” NSS EVO3S and was running my existing 600W 50-200kHz echo transducer along with an LSS Structure Scan transducer. Maintaining the original transducers allowed for a direct comparison between the two head units. The initial review was of commendation, suggesting valuable upgrades had been made since the EVO3 was released in 2017. The first noticeable difference between the two models was the speed of processing courtesy of the iMX8 Integrated six-core processor. This increased processing speed offers instant chart rendering and scrolling…

Since 1971 Stacer has established itself as one of the fondest and most recognised names in the boating industry, becoming a major part of many families lives in Australia and beyond. “Acquired by Telwater in 1999, Stacer has completely boomed. With a rich history already established in the market, we took the brand to another level by introducing specialty craftsmanship techniques into the designs including technical aluminium molding to strengthen and form the hull into shapes similar to that of fibreglass to deliver an industry-best ride experience,” says Telwater general manager Sam Heyes. What started off as a small factory based in Victoria, founded by Ernie Stadler and Horst Cerncic who combined their surnames to cultivate Stacer Alloy Craft Pty Ltd, has now flourished into a fully comprehensive aluminium boat…

WELCOME to the Summer-long edition of Fishing World. Things are slowly getting back to “normal” in Australia after – depending on your location – a long winter of Covid lockdowns. At the time of writing (late October), there were announcements made around long-awaited state and international border openings, plus more personal freedoms to travel. Thankfully, fishing was still allowed and the option of finding fish locally kept many of us sane during the lockdown. I learned a lot about my local fishing options and enjoyed the challenge. That said, the grass is always greener and I can’t wait to hook up the boat and hit the road! Something tells me I won’t be alone! WHERE TO GO? Summer is a fantastic time to explore Australia if you’re a fisho. It’s…

UNIVERSITY of NSW (UNSW) scientists have uncovered why artificial reefs attract more baitfish than natural reefs. Using a high-tech, multibeam echosounder, researchers gained a 3D picture of five natural and three artificial reefs off Sydney. They found that tall artificial reef structures allowed baitfish such as yellowtail scad and mado to spread out and feed much higher above the seafloor while still remaining close to the structure. The tall structures also allowed baitfish greater access to food – drifting plankton – than they would receive on a low-lying natural reef. The East Australian Current also plays a major part in delivering a “conveyor belt” of plankton food to the baitfish, with subsequent benefits for their predators, including the bluespotted flathead, one of NSW’s most iconic commercial and recreational fish. The…

WA’s Shark Bay is reported to be experiencing a massive increase in recreational fishing pressure aimed at snapper and people avoiding COVID exposure situations is suggested as a cause. Council’s contract cleaners are removing up to 16 wheelie bins of fish waste per day from beachfront cleaning tables. The story is similar in the West Coast Bioregion where rec fishers are reported to be taking over 250 tonnes of demersal fish, including snapper and baldchin groper. WA Fisheries is concerned about this level of harvest putting stocks at an unacceptable risk, so expect to see increased catch restrictions and possibly mandatory catch reporting, maybe via an app. From July 1, WA fishers have been limited to having a maximum of 10 kg of finfish fillets in their possession … which…

KEEN freshwater fishos will have heard of Googong Dam. Built in the late 1970s on the Queanbeyan River the dam is just over the NSW/ACT border and acts as a backup water supply for the region. In the most recent drought Googong’s water level dropped significantly, at present, however, its water level is 100 per cent. While the dam is a water supply, the federal government had the foresight to approve rec fishing at Googong – shore based only initially. Boating was later allowed; restricted to paddle, sail or electric powered craft. A deep waterway, Googong’s main basin drops away to over 60m. The majority of fishing is concentrated near the shoreline in 15m or less. During the height of winter, water temps are often measured in single digits. Googong…

The New England area of NSW is such a superb fishery for Murray cod. The area features a diverse range of native cod water, from seldom-fished rivers, to the more popular impoundments. The New England region is situated along the top part of NSW. Its many rivers and impoundments form the upstream portions of the Murray Darling system. Cod dominate in these parts. Murray cod are built for short, hard battles. Some are easy and some are just downright nasty. And they love lures! As a keen lure fisho, they lend themselves to so many different techniques. That’s what makes them a freshwater gem. It is difficult to work out what is my favourite method to target cod, from throwing surface lures and explosive strikes, to swimbaits and unseen subtle…

Q WHAT JIGHEAD SHOULD I USE FOR SNAPPER? Brendan E-mail A First and foremost, a strong one. Snapper have incredible jaws for crushing things like fish bone, limpet shells, sea urchins, crabs and lobsters so a thin gauge hook does not last long on a large fish. For small fish, say under 3kg then a light to medium gauge hook should suffice. Anything larger will chew and crush a medium gauge hook, so this would be the absolute minimum with heavy gauge preferred if fish above this size could be encountered. The hook size is also dependant on the size of the likely fish targeted. Under 3kg fish use a 3/0 to 4/0 and above 3kg I would suggest a 4/0 to 6/0 in the hook size. Also have a…

Sea-Doo won a lot of fans back in 2018 when it introduced its ground-breaking FishPro personal watercraft (PWC). While fishos have long recognised the capabilities of PWCs as fishing platforms, the FishPro marked the first time any company had designed one from the keel up specifically with fishing in mind. Packed with useful features and brilliant design innovations, the FishPro has gone on to become one of Sea-Doo’s best-selling models all around the world. Now Sea-Doo is raising eyebrows all over again, with even more of a good thing. Combining the sporty performance of a personal watercraft with the seating capacity of a pontoon boat, Sea-Doo’s all-new Switch is a revolutionary new fishing boat that’s quite unlike anything that’s gone before it. Announced in August for debut in the 2022…

THIRTY or forty years ago, Australia saw a revolution in small boat fishing. Advances in technology and boat building design meant smaller boats could do so much more. Fishos took their boats further offshore and caught fish that most people only thought were available from larger game fishing boats. And the revolution continued. These days the vast majority of boats offshore are small and trailerable. Inshore and freshwater it’s much the same. Boats can safely travel faster and are far more capable at targeting fish. Over the past few years we’ve seen a new revolution. These days, the advancements in hull design and style of boats has slowed. Instead, we’re seeing a movement towards fitting out boats with high-end equipment. That might mean bigger and better sonar, radar, auto pilots…

We’re all fishing much closer to home these days, whether we like it or not. For almost two years, travel restrictions, bubbles, lockdowns and cancelled plans have forced anglers to explore their own backyards a bit more. With this shift, I reckon there’s been a discernible resurgence in the popularity of bread and butter fishing. Because we haven’t been able to venture to far flung locations to target exotic species, we’ve had to reacquaint ourselves with the “usual suspects” – fish we cut our teeth on. In my neck of the woods, south-east NSW, that means fish like flathead, bream, tailor, whiting, trevally and salmon. And I don’t hear anyone complaining. In fact, I think a lot of fishos have enjoyed the opportunity to go “back to basics”. Bread and…

For the first time, the Great Australian Pub Fishing Competition is set to lure a cast of hundreds – if not thousands – of social anglers to Newcastle NSW for a weekend of fishing and fun. Dates for the inaugural event are February 11-13, 2022, and there’s nothing fishy about the rules, No.1 being that anglers must be members (or representatives) of a social fishing group associated with their local pub or club. That means they’ll potentially be coming from far and wide … even from across the Tasman as the event is partnering with travel specialists Ticket2Ride.com.au. Iconic beer brand XXXX is a key partner and will promote the event through pubs, while City of Newcastle and Club Marine magazine are also a foundation supporters. “The competition is designed…

THE reasons for using surface or topwater lures over other presentations are quite varied, but most anglers will use them when they can, because a strike on the surface from a fired up fish is very exciting. Of course, there’s more to topwater fishing than flicking out a lure and hoping for the best! Conditions have to be right for fish to be feeding actively on the surface and the size and style of lure also needs to match what the fish are feeding on. Once these basics are well understood, topwater lure fishing becomes a reliable and fun option. WHEN TO USE SURFACE LURES Typically, the warmer months of spring and summer sees most fish feeding higher in the water column. Warm weather triggers increased activity in bite-size animals…

For many anglers interstate travel has been out of the question for quite a while now due to Covid restrictions. Borders open and close according to case numbers, but unlike N.S.W. and Victoria, Queensland has been relatively spared from the Coved surge at the time of writing. We originally planned this trip to the Northern Territory for July but a sudden lockdown in Queensland put paid to those plans. When things came together our trip was scheduled in September. By this stage the water in the billabongs was warming up, the crocs were increasingly frisky and the barramundi were biting. There had also been some early rain. I flew up with Ross McCubbin and Roxsean Edwards met us at the airport and was already packed and ready. Rocky is one…

An “allrounder” or “crossover” style boat is well worth considering if, like me, you enjoy a range of different fishing applications yet are restricted by budget and storage space to owning a single vessel. Luckily, there are plenty of options available, ranging from various US imports – the Edgewater 188 is a great example of a typical American allrounder style boat – through to an array of Aussie-made models built in either pressed alloy, plate alloy or fibreglass. The Haines Signature 543SF is one of the best known – and most popular – Aussie-made allrounder sportfishing vessels. Built on a proven hull, the 543SF comes standard in side console format (with a centre console as an option), boasts a large casting deck with plenty of stowage and fits the bill…

Back in June Fisho I wrote a piece about my experience of using Lowrance’s Active Target live sonar (Seeing & Catching). Since then I’ve been asked by other fishos about the installation and set up of Active Target. Hopefully the following offers some insight and tips on this live sonar and catching fish as a result of its use. Firstly, some background. As a longtime user/tester of Navico products like Lowrance and Simrad sounders/chartplotters I was sent an Elite FS9 sounder to test with the “standard” Active Imaging transducer with sidescan, downscan and traditional 2D sonar. The Active Target module turned up a few months later which gave me time to use the FS9 before getting my head around using live sonar. That said, I was surprised by how easy…

When most people think kayak fishing it probably entails sore arms, aching back, wet undies and a constant fear and anxiety of capsizing with no means of rectifying the up turned vessel. In my few and short experiences in both kayak and canoe I can vouch for the above. Subsequently, this type of fishing was never more than a once a year novelty. It wasn’t until recently by some sheer luck or an act of god that a kayak literally landed in my lap and the mind began to ponder, especially since an unceremonious bout of repeated and constant coastal weather had limited any offshore fishing for months. The coast is literally dotted with many creeks and rivers which I could fish in unfavourable weather and I knew they held…