Shades Fishing News

http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/dpi/nrenfaq.nsf/LinkView/AB18E51729632395CA257457000789FB626A406A2AB2C9ABCA256EA700811FBF

“The current Fisheries Regulations 1998 are due to expire in March 2009 and must be remade before then. Fisheries Victoria is leading this process and has undertaken a review of the existing regulations. It is proposed that a large proportion of the existing regulations will be retained in the new Fisheries Regulations 2008, but a series of additional changes are proposed. The new regulations have been drafted to improve their clarity and effectiveness.”

To summarise:

Golden perch (yellowbelly) in lakes & impoundments
CURRENT : 30 cm
PROPOSED : 30 cm

Bag Limit CURRENT 10 / PROPOSED 5

Murray cod
CURRENT : 50 cm
PROPOSED : 60 cm

Bag Limit
CURRENT :
2 (of which no more than one may equal or exceed 75 cm)

PROPOSED :
2 (of which no fish may equal or exceed 100cm)

I really encourage people to provide feedback on these proposed amendments! :
Link To Feedback Form PDF

Col Buckley

NIL currents and nil swell might sound fine, but unfortunately they usually put fish into retreat. There were takes of trevally and two teraglin off Dee Why by a small boat on the drift.

Ron Kovacs is back to full fitness after his heart scare and has been making up lost time on his beloved yellowfin tuna. He landed fish to 25kg and some nearby anglers landed ‘fin of the same size on eggbeaters!

A rising tide, a rising moon, fresh squid and a setting sun were the perfect ingredients for a great snapper session by Guy Innes. Working baits off Long Reef, fish came on the bite just as the sun slipped behind the hills.

After the swell died down, salmon went berserk in the surf. Catches of 10 or more were not uncommon and they all did their aerial bit when hooked. Unfortunately they’ve gone off the boil due to flat seas, but may come back when the swell increases.

Those nigger men have been strutting their stuff off the Curl Curl rock platforms. Blackfish captures have been well above average and there’s plenty of cabbage on the rocks right now.

The Hawkesbury, up close against the ghost pylons of the old railway bridge, has seen some monster bream cradled in landing nets. The secret is to cast Slider Grubs or small shads up against the wall and immediately let out line so the lure keeps in contact with the structure and is not pulled away. Hits are hard and frequent, so make sure all knots are secure.

Using halved Berkley Camo worm in Dee Why lagoon, Ben Nesbitt took four bream and a flathead near the Narrabeen surf club. Ben reckons fish were just legal, but he saw bigger fish look at the lure then turn away at the last moment.

Sliced bread took bream, trevally and a couple of mullet off Wimbledon Avenue for regular lake fisho Dom Gallo. After fishing the lake for 15 years, Dom reckons it’s the first time he has seen trevally take bread.PUT Saturday, June 28, in your diary. That’s when Warringah Anglers have their yearly tackle auction and some wonderful bargains can be had. It’s held at Dee Why Bowling Club, 233 Fisher Road North, Dee Why. Registration of goods is from 3pm and the auction starts at 5pm. All are welcome. Bring fishing gear that’s in working order to put a few dollars in your pocket. Ring Terry Crawford on 0404446762 for more details. WE ARE lucky to have a wonderful band of women on the peninsula who love to fish. They are thirsty for knowledge and can hold a candle to their male counterparts when it comes to technique and tenacity. Go girls, you contribute so much and we welcome you with open arms.

* WEEKLY TIP USING different hooks for different species is vital.You can buy compartmentalised plastic boxes with see-through lids and that’s where I house my huge collection of hooks. I have the same type of box for sinkers and swivels.

Source: Manly Daily

THE impact of future plans for recreational fishing could threaten the viability of small local costal communities and businesses.

Jurien Bay Recreational Fishing Club spokesperson Terry Cullen said Fisheries Minister Jon Ford’s plans for recreational fishing will mean that many fish species that need protection will continue to be exploited.

Mr Cullen said the result will be a serious depletion in stocks.

Mr Cullen was a member of the Recreational Advisory Committee appointed to advise the Minister on all recommendations on recreational fishing issues.

He said the JBRFC agrees with most of the recommendations set out in the recently released document by the Minister, but not all of them.

Public submissions have now closed and the group has submitted the changes they consider necessary to the document.

Mr Cullen said JBRFC members disagree with recommendation number four which limits the number of fish on boats when used in conjunction with a seasonal restriction.

“Because of the cost of boats and fuel, if holiday-makers are restricted to fishing for just two weeks over the Christmas holiday period, then this would be disastrous for the town’s economy,” he said.

“January is the worst month for fishing because of seasonal winds and people cannot always get their boats out, leaving them with limited suitable days to fish.”

He said, it has also been stated in the document that there are 80,000 registered boats in Western Australia, but the JBRFC believe that 50 per cent of these would be dinghies, 15 per cent pleasure boats and 10 per cent sail boats, leaving 25 per cent of boats that would actually be able to chase the larger fish species.

JBRFC believes the 80,000 figure has been used more as a tool to over estimate the number of boats actually able to fish the larger species.

Mr Cullen said it is also recommended that a Recreational Fishing Trust Fund be established called RecfishWest, to be funded by the State Government.

One of the recommendations under this peak body was a proposal of participation in a commercial by-back scheme.

“JBRFC do not agree with this. If a commercial fisherman leaves the industry, we as recreational fishers, should not be forced into funding the buy-back of the license,” Mr Cullen said.

He said the group also believes there has not been enough research done into the spawning cycles of the fish, especially dhufish, pink snapper, baldchin groper, breaksea cod and red snapper in the West Coast bioregion.

Source: Central Midlands and Coastal Advocate

GAME fishers tested the waters around Port Lincoln last week with the inaugural Port Lincoln Blue Water Classic game fishing tournament, and it will be back again next year.

The Game Fishing Association of South Australia has locked into a three-year program of tournaments for Port Lincoln.

More than two tonnes of fish were tagged and released over the week, including southern bluefin tuna, samson fish, eagle rays and four different species of shark, but only six fish were kept, the others went back to ensure the sustainability of the sport.

The weather was not perfect but Game Fishing Association of South Australia president Steve Morris said it was good enough to get out safely to the best fishing areas.

Mr Morris said he hoped the event would start building a reputation to attract more boats in the future.

“The outcome shows that Port Lincoln with its location, facilities and accessibility to good game fishing grounds is suited to this type of event and with the overwhelming reaction to this year’s event, I’m sure this will grow to be the biggest in this State.”

To be in the running to win champion boat or champion angler, fishers had to record a capture of a recognised game fish, an eagle ray and a shark, and tag a game fish or shark.

Once these four criteria were achieved, extra points were gained by tagging and releasing as many of these species as possible, and the top trophies go to the boat and angler with the highest score.

The champion boat was Galaxy Star, skippered by Rolf Czabayski with 24,613 points and champion angler was Chris Earle with 6839 points fishing on Galaxy Star.

The highest point scoring boat with or without achieving the four tournament criteria was C-World II, skippered by Bryan Stokes with 10,118 points. The highest point scoring angler with or without achieving the four tournament criteria was Vincent Nguyen with 7181 fishing on Galaxy Star. Mr Nguyen also won the senior tagging trophy for the most fish tagged by one senior angler with 22 tags.

The highest point scoring female angler, with or without achieving the four tournament criteria, was Janet Forster with 1806 points, fishing on Long Shot, skippered by Ron Forster.

Mrs Forster also won the women’s trophy for most fish tagged by a female angler (22) and heaviest game fish for a 24.1-kilogram southern bluefin tuna. Steve Morris caught the heaviest shark, a 20-kilogram school shark, and Mark Snadden caught the heaviest eagle ray, at 47 kilograms.

Source: Port Lincoln Times

The Amateur Fishermens’ Association says it will oppose any proposal to introduce special no fishing zones in Northern Territory waters unless conclusive research can prove it is worthwhile.

The idea of introducing special no fishing zones was raised at a meeting of the Marine Protection Advisory Committee last night.

The “no go, no take” zones aim to act as a safe haven for threatened species of fish and marine life, and have already been imposed in several areas interstate, including parts of the Great Barrier Reef, Ashmore Reef, Lord Howe Island and the Great Australian Bight.

The chairman of the Marine Protection Advisory Committee, professor Bob Wasson, says while no take zones are unpopular with many fishermen, it is worthy of consideration in the Territory.

But the Amateur Fishermens’ Association’s Chris Makepeace says there has been little scientific process involved in setting up marine protection areas interstate.

“The way in which it seems to work in other places is that percentages are being plucked out of the air and then for each of these mini bio-regions that your going to have around the coast, we’ve got to have a percentage of this and a percentage of that.”

Source : ABC Darwin

Anticipation is building for the 40th Three Way State Spear Fishing Championships to be held in Eden on June 8.

The South Coast Skin Club has an estimated prize pool of $7000 which over 100 competitors will contest over just six hours of spear fishing.

Registration is Saturday, June7 at the Twofold Bay Yacht Club at Quarantine Bay and Sunday at 6.45am to 7.30 at the boat ramp.

The fish caught will be donated for auction with all profits to the Eden Whale Festival.

The Great Southern Inn will host the presentation dinner on Sunday, June 7 from 6.30pm.

Source: Eden Magnet

GREAT salmon were caught in and around the Leven River last weekend, mainly on silver lures and bait.

These fish were down deeper than usual, so a heavier lure, sinker or jighead is the ticket, especially when the current is running.

The rain earlier this week may have flushed these fish out for a few days, but they have been super consistent over the last few months, and are very likely to return.

Give it a few days to settle and the fresh to flush out and the Leven would be well worth a look.

Good salmon are also being caught at Marrawah, and have also been running in the Inglis on and off.

With more and more fishos switching to braided line, especially for winter casting and bottom fishing, we are getting plenty of queries about this style of line.

Braided line is super low diameter, so it improves casting distance, and also has very little stretch, so you can feel everything happening at the end of the line.

The low diameter also allows you to fish significantly heavier line if required - it is possible to spin cast with lines of up to 50lb!

Following are a few tips that will allow you to enjoy all the significant benefits of braid and minimise the frustrations.

Not all reels are suitable for running braid, plastic spools are a definite problem as the line will cut the spool.

A `worm drive’ oscillation system on your reel is a big advantage as it lays the braid on the spool much more smoothly and evenly, this minimises looping and tangles when casting.

When loading spools with braid, run a couple of layers of monofilament on first and then attach the braid - otherwise the braid will slip on the spool under load.

As a rule, fill your spool only to about 80 per cent full.

Buy the best braid you can afford, as better lines have coatings or additives to stiffen the braid slightly, again minimising tangles.

Keep an eye on the line, especially during the first couple of winds after a cast when there is less pressure on.

If you see a loop on the spool, don’t keep fishing - run the line out behind the boat or along the shore.

If fishing very light jigheads or lures, especially into the wind, looping is more likely.

In these conditions, every 10th cast or so I turn around and fire a long cast with the wind or with the current.

This straightens the line out and allows you to wind back onto the spool with pressure against the line.

Finally, I recommend investing in a good pair of braid scissors - these make cutting this line much easier and stand up to the braid, unlike many pliers and nippers which very quickly go blunt.

If you would like more info regarding braid, knots to use, leaders to tie on, or anything else, feel free to call in.

Tight lines.

Source: The Advocate Tasmania

ANOTHER good week for fishing.

A series of highs have kept the weather favourable for most of the week.

VMR logged on a heap of boats over the whole week.

It seems outside fisher folk are enjoying not just good weather, but also good catches.

There were rumours of mackerel off Arrawarra, kingfish at the lighthouse and cobia are still around.

I want to apologise for being too specific about local GPS marks and will pull my head in as kindly suggested.

The estuaries have come good this week with muddies.

Big Joe and Mal from Dimax have been cleaning up and generously gave one up for my dinner.

Another punter assures me there’s plenty of mud crabs in Sawtell Creek and Craig Smith tells me there’s also big numbers of tailor and luderick off the headlands down Sawtell way.

Craig’s been fishing the bottom with pilchards with great success. He also has one of the best fishing brains I know. Drop into Coffs Bait and Tackle on Mondays or Tuesdays to pick his brain.

Still in the estuaries, I’ve been throwing a lure down at Coffs Creek on the change from low to high and got amongst some nice flathead of the sandy variety.

On the beaches, it seems the whiting are making a last show at Boambee in early morning and sunset and bonito have been spotted off Park Beach and South Wall.

The salmon are just south of us now and the odd one was seen this week.

It seems the mullet have all passed on to the north, but bream of good size and luderick are in big numbers up and down the Coffs Coast right now.

Early in the week squid showed up on the North Wall, so get your squid jig out.

It’s been a little harder to catch a fish in the harbour this week because of the excellent visibility in the water.

Irish Jim has been doing well on the trevally, as usual, but assures me not to let the fish see you or hear you - it works for Jim.

Congratulations to Aaron Toms. He is this week’s fish picture winner with two lovely luderick from the harbour.

Hope you made it to recent marine park review meeting. If not, stay tuned.

For those fisher folk who chase bass, remember its closed season from June 1 to August 31.

Until next week.

Source: Coffs Coast Independant

RECENTLY completed extensions to the Coffs Harbour Deep Sea Fishing Club have enabled the board to hold its first-ever meeting in the club premises.

“After years of holding our monthly board meetings at the Catholic Club, as we didn’t have our own board room, we are proud to be able to meet in our own modern, well appointed premises,” club president Ian Finn said.

“These extensions also incorporate an upgrade and extended outdoor barbecue area for the benefit of members and vastly improved administration staff areas.

“Our secretary-manager’s office was set up in a transportable shed as a temporary arrangement over 10 years ago and the administration needs of the club have grown to a point where our office staff were working on top of one another.”

The club has been in existence for 44 years and has grown from small beginnings to its present status through a planned continual expansion process.

Facilities have been upgraded and added for the benefit of members. The club now has more than 5500 members and membership continues to grow.

The club currently employs 15 part-time and full-time staff and Mr Finn said it had assumed a position as a responsible and respected corporate citizen within the Coffs Harbour Community.

He said the Club had contributed significantly to other community organisations over the years and regularly contributed in a positive way to local debate and discussion in relation to the future of Coffs Harbour on matters ranging from town planning to environmental issues such as fishery management.

“We have a great club with the best location and the cheapest beer in town, and we just got better with these great new extensions,” he said.

“With a new membership year about to commence, the board of the Coffs Harbour Deep Sea Fishing Club wants to continue to grow its membership base and expand on the benefits it delivers to members.”

Source : Coffs Coast Independant

Scott Kitchell loves big jew fish. It’s fair to say he’s obsessed with them.

That, in part, explains the shark.

While most of us were rugged up in front of the tele on Tuesday night, 26-year-old Scott was in a different realm.

Dressed in waders, two jumpers, a jacket and footy socks, at 8pm he was sitting on the sand at Marcoola, his heels dug in deep. It didn’t help.

He tried to snap off whatever was pulling him towards the water but the thing on the end of his line dragged him anyway.

“I was trying to use the sand like a fighting chair,’’ an exhausted and bruised Scott said yesterday morning.

He knew whatever latched onto the mullet head at the end of his nine kilo line with a 36.28kg trace wasn’t the jew fish he had hoped to catch.

In its initial run it took almost all of the 300 metres of line his reel holds.

The decision to get a look led to a two-and-a-half hour battle, dragging Scott south some three kilometres from where he hooked on near Marcoola Surf Life Saving Club.

“It pretty much hammered me,’’ Scott said of the 2.56 metre tiger shark he cut off as soon as it was close enough to see. “I don’t kill ’em if I don’t eat ’em. It must have weighed over 100 kilos.”

By that stage it was nearing 11pm, the gear Scott had left on the sand had long been washed away by the tide, and he had a tiring walk back to the car.

Scott doesn’t go fishing for sharks. If he did he said he would catch one every night, because he goes fishing every night.

“I love it,’’ he says of his quest to bag big jew fish.

“Once you catch one off the beach you’re addicted. I can’t help myself. I get home at 6pm and say ‘no more tonight’. But then I’m gone.

“I sit there and get excited and I just know I’m going out again. If it’s low tide at nine o’clock, I’m there at 8. It’s heaps better than TV.’’

This has been going on every winter since he was a teenager.

“They’re a thrill to catch. My girlfriend never sees me. She’s so used to it,” Scott said.

Source: Sunshine Coast Daily