Shades Fishing News

A memorial fishing competition will be held in south-east South Australia this week to pay tribute to one of the fishermen killed in a boating accident last month off Stansbury, on Yorke Peninsula.

The memorial will be held for Mt Gambier man, deckhand Adam Nicolai, 28.

The body of fellow Mt Gambier man, Justin Hellyer, has never been found.

The organiser of the memorial competition, Michael Gordon, says it will be held at a place where Mr Nicolai spent a lot of his spare time.

“It’s all about Adam’s life pretty much. The way he spent most of his life fishing and the enjoyment he had doing it down here,” he said.

“Most of his fishing got spent down at Livingston’s Beach, so we thought we’d have a memorial down there for him, for all families to have a bit of a think about the times they had with Adam and have a bit of fun.”

The competition will be held this Saturday at Livingstons Bay, starting at 10:00am ACDT.

Source : ABC News

The first barbecue weekend for the year is at Wyangla Dam at Grabine, to coincide with the Grabine Classic - which is worth entering, as you may be lucky enough to win the boat, motor and trailer.

The Soldiers Club Fishing Club will have members going, so if you’re a member of the fishing club there is a notice on our notice board where you can place your names. If you need directions please phone Allan on 6226 5258 and he will guide you to the right location, or follow the YSCFC signs. Hope to see you there giving the fishing club that runs this classic all the support they deserve.

Our annual trip to Eucumbene runs on the weekend of September 20-21 at Old Adaminaby. We’re staying at Rainbow Pines Tourist Park in the bungalows. These have been booked, so if you’re going please write your names on the list which is on our notice board at the Soldiers Club. Hope to see you there.

Just a quick reminder on the Eucumbene barbecue - if you’re going, would you please ring Dianne at work on 62261015 or at home on 62265258. This very weekend last year was a great two days enjoyed by all who attended.

Source: Yass Tribune

The August mini catch up outing saw a dozen fisher people brave the elements and wet some bait.

Men’s winner was Jimmy Ashby 2.48kg including a nice tailor of 1.4kg. Ladies winner was Vicki 3

Leather Jackets plus a Bream and the Junior winner was Mitch Mac with 12.7 kg of Grouper Drummer.

Blue water was won by Gav Mac with17.96 of Grouper Drummer. A small but enthusiastic gathering at the club on Sunday saw outing captain Shaun award meat trays to Neil, Vicki and the raffle was won by a non fishing, Club member schooners going to Gav and Jimmy.

A story was told to me about a bloke who set up a new trolley to fish off the wall at Harrington.

The maiden trip of the trolley saw it been dragged down the rocks by rampaging Jewfish, much to the horror of the proud owner.

After retrieving a banged up trolley, the owner lost the jewie. Better luck next time or maybe weigh the trolley down with a slab.

Apparently there is going to be an ICAC investigation into the awarding of the meat trays, but our President is doing his best to stall the investigation till he catches a few more. I will keep everyone updated on how this situation unfolds.

Dates to be put on the calendars include:

Glenbawn inter challenge September 19, 20 and 21.

This is the only trophy that we don’t hold at the moment, so a good roll up is needed to fish in this event.

Presentation November 1, at the Bowling Club.

Nelson Bay invitational team event November 7, 8 and 9.

Charity Fishing Event November 22 invitation only, club teams and workers are needed to ensure that this event is a success again.

Until next month, remember Sushi is really only bait waiting for a hook - by Off His Perch.

Source: Gloucester Advocate

A big crowd is expected to head to Wyangala Reservoir this weekend for the annual Grabine Fishing Tournament being staged over three days, starting today.

There is a stack of prizes on hand for Murray cod, silver perch, golden perch, catfish and carp and there will be a lucky draw for the main prize, a Brooker boat, motor and trailer worth $10,500. Total prizes exceed $20,000.

Plenty of camping is available and anglers can fish anywhere within the reservoir, currently at about 10 per cent capacity.

There will be strong emphasis on conservation fishing during the tournament. Anglers will be encouraged to weigh their fish alive and then release them as soon as possible.

There also will be a nice touch, with local NSW Police at the camping ground offering free breathalyser tests for drivers before they drive home. A great safety feature that will be much appreciated by responsible drivers.

Felt soles banned

Anglers heading to New Zealand on annual trout fishing trips should note there will be a ban on the use of felt sole boots in trout fishing waters that comes into force on October 1.

The ban is to assist in slowing the spread of a nasty form of algae known as Didymo, and other micro-organisms, and applies to all forms of shoes or boots with felt, matted or woven fibre material.

It will initially apply to all trout fishing areas except the Taupo fishing region but that is also expected to be banned.

In the South Island, Didymo grows in streams and lakes and covers the bottom of waterways with a stifling algal mat, but it is likely to spread unless preventative actions are taken.

Anglers returning to Australia can expect strict quarantine measures to be followed at airports, including washing and cleaning of all fishing gear by Australian Quarantine staff.

Jindabyne’s browns

The good news in the mountain lakes is that Jindabyne is producing some great fish in some easily accessible areas.

Angler Rory, who has just returned from a residential stint in Jindabyne, reported catching huge browns night after night on small soft plastics, from the shore, right in the middle of town.

He said the best times were half an hour before dark and half an hour afterwards and the fish ranged from 1.5kg to 5kg, Well worth a look.

The bad news is that a prominent illegal setliner is active at Eucumbene again.

In recent months, anglers have retrieved dozens of his illegal lines from the lake at Seven Gates and tossed them in the fire. Last weekend he was back, setting at least a dozen lines which other anglers found and burnt.

They said they would like authorities to check out a fellow driving a white Toyoya Hilux with a canvas canopy and who prominently displays a Queanbeyan City Council witch’s hat at his campsite.

Redfin at Googong

There have been reports of big redfin in local waters and it is obvious the fish are on the move as water temperatures increase.

Some big fat fish were caught on spinnerbaits and celta at Googong. Nathan Walker landed an absolute monster on a Jackal lure in the Molonglo River.

The fish are bulging with roe and are well worth pursuing from now on.

Mallacoota worthwhile

If you are looking for a bit of new water to fish, consider a trip to Mallacoota. It takes about four hours to drive from Canberra and in recent times has provided some superb fishing.

Canberra identity Jim Seears went there recently and despite some inclement weather he had a ball catching bream on soft plastics and hard-bodied lures.

The best of the bream were great fish, some of them up to 50cm and they were testing opponents on light tackle.

Jim tells me the man with all the local info on where to fish and what to use is ”Bob” at the local Ampol Service Station.

Bryan Pratt is a Canberra-based ecologist

Source: Canberra Times

The Railway Hotel Fishing Club will be holding an open waters competition this long weekend.

Weigh-in will be held in the hotel beer garden at 3pm on Monday, all welcome.

The ANZAC Shield fishing competition held annually between Cowra, Wyangala and Penrith was down on numbers this year with Penrith not being able to field a team.

Considering the rising costs in fuel, food and accommodation, this is unfortunately quite understandable (but they promise to be back in 2009).

Cowra and Wyangala had its own share of problems with neither club able to field a junior side.

So if anybody is interested in joining the club, or has ideas about improving membership numbers, please feel free to come to the weigh-in and share your ideas (men, women or junior).

Results from the ANZAC Shield:

Total amount of fish weighed in over the weekend – 43.158 kilograms

Heaviest fish – Murray cod 2.144 kilograms

Wyangala won the men’s with an average weight per fisherman of 1.64 kilograms, Railway 0.87 kilograms

Cowra won the ladies with an average of 5.384 kilograms, Wyangala 3.98 kilograms.

Source : Cowra Guardian

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

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

THE Forster Fishing Carnival has been labelled a success, despite a gale warning that nearly ruined it.

Strong winds spoiled the first part of the carnival, with Sunday’s Great Lakes Gamefishing Tournament cancelled. Gusts were forecast until midweek, and organiser Max Frost blamed the conditions for keeping crowds away.

“I would’ve liked to have seen thousands, but we lost four days to bad weather,” he said.

“Fishing is a sport that really relies on the conditions, and it’s hard to attract people when you’ve got a 40 knot gale forecast until Wednesday. A lot of guys planning to come to town for the week decided not to, but once we got good weather things picked up.”

There was another headache when the 18,000 litre Reef Science tank’s filter stopped working - a new one was soon fitted, to the relief of a few dozen fish.

The Australia Bream Tournament’s skins event drew a healthy crowd to Wallis Lake’s shores. A field of fishing experts, including the gangster rapper of angling Kaj Bushy Bush, inundated the Reef tank with 270 bream. Nabiac’s Pete McKinnon took overall honours with team mate Martin Richards.

The carnival’s open fishing competition was more about participation than results, but it yielded some huge fish. McKinnon backed up his angling win with the biggest bream, a whopping 1.41kg specimen.

Local teenagers Jacob Bowland and Shaun Ireland won the Squidgies Forster Flathead Classic.

In the week’s best underdog story, the mates with a foam esky full of bait outdid seasoned pros with the latest sat-nav technology.

“Unfortunately the prize money got canned because there weren’t enough entries,” Ireland’s dad Craig said ruefully.

There was no cash, but they hauled in a five kilogram monster to win a top-of-the-range kayak.

Coolongolook’s John Startin won the major prize, a Quintrex E-Tec Hornet boat with Evinrude engine. Startin’s boat is pink, which will contrast nicely with his friends’ green eyes.

Heidi Sims won second prize, a top range Lowrance colour sounder.

Other winners were:

Mark Amato, largest flathead

Ken Grzeslik, best snapper

Allan Freihaut, biggest pearl perch

Martin Barry, biggest cobia.

When organisers schedule next year’s carnival they’ll almost certainly say yes to less.

“We bit off a bit more than we could chew [in organising the carnival]. I don’t mind admitting that,” Frost said.

“Next time we’ll look at streamlining it to four days, not a many events and have it earlier in the year for better weather. We’ve broken even and we’re happy enough with that side, but we’ll need some more dollars to do it all again in the future.”

Source: Great Lakes Advocate

One of Western Australia’s biggest fishing competitions has cast off in Carnarvon.

More than 360 competitors will take part in the 17th annual Carnarfin tournament, with 35 per cent of participants travelling from interstate and overseas.

Organiser Wally Dale says it is a fun event for professionals and amateurs alike.

“We don’t promote, publicise or advertise Carnarfin at all,” he said.

“It grows simply by word of mouth and that way we maintain the integrity of the atmosphere which is being created through Carnarfin.

“It really is a fun week where people simply enjoy themselves. If they catch a fish or win a prize, well that’s a bonus.”

Source: ABC News

A TROPHY for the biggest flathead and a $250 prize are among Kimberley Busteed’s favourite HookUp memories.

Kimberley, a former Miss Universe entrant now turned TV presenter, will return to the region on Friday, June 6 to host a segment on The Observer Boyne Tannum HookUp for Channel 7’s outdoor adventure program Creek to Coast.

“I love doing TV work and presenting,” Kimberley said. “And I’m really excited to be doing a show on my area, my locality.

“The HookUp is such a great event.

“I actually entered one of the first years it was run and I won the trophy for the biggest flathead,” she said. “I was stoked.

“I can’t wait to get up there and go fishing.

“I want to get out there with family and friends and catch some big ones.”

The Observer Boyne Tannum HookUp will be the focus of a segment by the Creek to Coast team along with a second feature on the Boyne Tannum region.

“We’ll be up to co-host the event and to talk to the locals on their secret bait and where they go to fish.

“I’ve got a lot of good memories of the event,” she said. “It should be great.”

As fishers gear up for the fishing bonanza, HookUp organisers are busy behind the scenes.

Committee president Jeff Amos said tickets for seniors and juniors were still available but anglers shouldn’t waste time.

“We have unlimited junior entries available and we’ll sell them till Monday,” he said. “But seniors still thinking about getting into the competition should be quick.”

Mr Amos said the long awaited pontoon would be officially opened on Saturday at 2.30pm, with or without the top structure in place.

“Liz Cunningham (Member for Gladstone) is coming down on Saturday with the mayor (George Creed) for the opening,” he said. “We can’t promise the pontoon will be there for the opening.

“We had a setback when they were a week late with the pylons but the guys from the Gold Coast are trying their hardest to have the pontoon ready for the HookUp.

“I’ve told them that come the June long weekend we’ll have 30,000 people tramping the park,” Mr Amos said. “They understand the urgency we need that pontoon.”

This year’s 13th annual HookUp won’t hold any hoodoos for organisers.

“Luck is what you make,” Mr Amos said. “We looked at how we could make 13 into a positive and came up with 13 years, 13 boats to give away.

“This year we’re giving away over $200,000 is prizes, so we’re going to have a good time.

“The only setback for people could be if it rains,” he said.

“But then it always rains at the HookUp and everyone still has a good time.”

Source: Gladstone Observer