Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2016 i Fishing World

THE inaugural national Gone Fishing Day has been declared an overwhelming success with over 130 events staged across the country. Fishing World attended an event at the Sydney Game Fishing Club where Gone Fishing Day organisers hosted several politicians and high profile anglers. Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water resources, Senator Anne Ruston, NSW Department of Primary Industries Minister, Niall Blair, and Robert Brown MLC from the Shooters and Fishers Party were in attendance and spent several hours fishing Sydney Harbour with local guides and tournament fishos. Gone Fishing Day organiser Allan Hansard told Fisho the Sydney Harbour event was a priceless exercise in education for the ministers and a highly valuable method to inform these decision makers of the importance of recreational fishing in Australia. “Having 130 events around…

FRESHWATER fishos are being invited to Shepparton on Sunday 11th December for Victoria’s first ever Murray “Codference” where they can learn about the health of our Murray cod fisheries, how to improve their fishing and how they can contribute to long term sustainability. Fisheries Victoria Executive Director, Travis Dowling, said “Codference” topics would include the record stocking of Murray cod to improve fishing in rivers and lakes, indigenous connections to the species, habitat restoration efforts and a progress report on how the new slot limits are working. “Dr Stuart Rowland from NSW, a nationally recognised expert on Murray cod, will present the keynote address and reflect on times gone by and the resurgence of the species,” Dowling said. Also appearing are cod fishing legends Rod Mackenzie and Rod Harrison talking…

A TOTAL of 240 teams and 588 anglers competed in this year’s Gold Coast Flathead Classic held between the 29th September and 1st October in some horrendously windy conditions. Wilson Fishing was awarded champion team with an impressive 3222 points, ahead of Lowrance Whyte Boyz in second and Team On-Strike in third place. Gold Coast flathead gun Franco Martinese scored most individual points at 1784, that’s despite breaking his foot only hours before the comp kicked off! Franco and his team-mate Chris Metcalfe of team “Out 4 a Quickie” also took out champion two-man team. Champion Junior was awarded to Jamie Horner with 866 points, while champion visiting team went to “Beer & Bullshit”. Christian Cross caught the longest flathead, a 96cm monster caught on a plastic in shallow water.…

In mid-2015 the National Seafood Alliance was commissioned by the Australian Government to design a national peak representative body for the seafood industry. Driven by key industry stakeholders, it’s now proposing the creation of Seafood Industry Australia, aimed at promoting, protecting and developing the interests of players in Australian commercial fishing. The new body would be the national voice of the industry, act as a marketing and communications hub and work to remove obstacles to continued industry growth. It’s been canvassing for potential members via circulation of a letter of intent to join. One voice for all industry members: an approach that the rec fishing sector would do well to follow.…

PFLUEGER’S NEW PATRIARCH! PFLUEGER says that whether pulling bass out of the timber or presenting light weight finesse lures to wary bream, the Pflueger Patriarch XT delivers dependability you can trust each time out and is saltwater tough and freshwater dependable. Anglers will appreciate the SMART Retrieve Technology that creates precise line lay, and the sealed carbon drag ensures no corrosive materials will gum up the reel. SMART gear Technology gives the Patriarch XT durability and precision that anglers can feel. The 11 XCR sealed ball bearing system safeguards against corrosion and maintains a smooth operating system. Available in size 30 and 35 models, the Patriarch XT has a magnesium body and rotor, a titanium mainshaft and a carbon fibre handle. The reel weighs 175 grams (size 30) and 204…

THE “boof” sounds coming from the flooded mangroves were like a red rag to a bull. It was a run out tide and soon these mangroves would be dry forcing the feeding barra onto the flats where our boat was parked. Like clockwork, the shallows transformed in front of us. Rock bars appeared and bankside structure was now high and dry as the tide continued to empty. Our guide, Justin Jones, positioned the boat and lowered the electric motor. We cruised along within casting range of the water’s edge looking for signs of fish. The barra would be sitting in less than a foot of water, often in amongst the shallow mangrove roots and usually in a nearby drain. The drains snake though the shallows offering cruising fish a highway…

AT this time of year the water is warming up along the east coast of Australia and the East Australian Current is starting to run south bringing a wide range of pelagic game fish with it. For many of us, the tackle we use to chase these fish has been mothballed through the colder months. Preparation for the upcoming season is a job full of anticipation. It’s time to get ready, make plans and dream about screaming ratchets and the thrill of the big bite. Every outfit used for chasing big fish requires careful maintenance. If you spend time on the water chasing everything from mackerel to marlin, chances are you will have quite a few outfits. On my boat we generally troll a spread of five lures, and over…

1 Braxon Agnew, four, caught this nice 38cm bream in the Gold Coast Canals on a mullet strip. He let it go to fight another day. Well done Braxon! 2 11-year-old Chanel Worthing's dream was to catch a tailor but instead she caught her smallest bream yet sizing in at 13cm! Good luck with the tailor Chanel! 3 Damian Lawn, 10, from Mackay caught this 40cm sooty grunter while kayak fishing in Kinchant Dam with his new rod. Good solo effort Damian! 4 Claudia Brightman caught and released this lovely little bream while fishing with prawns. Great work Claudia, he'll be bigger next time you catch him! 5 Owen Brightman caught this 36cm bream on a prawn at an old rail bridge. Owen put the old girl back to live…

“Blue marlin are considered by many anglers as the ‘holy grail’ of game fish due to their high-speed runs, sheer fighting power and incredible stamina – not to mention how impressive they look beside the boat.” “Fishing offshore from Sydney, the boys released several blues over a few trips – the smallest around 150kg, with a couple of big fish conservatively estimated to be well in excess of 250kg.” The Fishing World crew had an awesome season on blue marlin last summer (fingers crossed for a repeat this year!), fishing with Bar Crusher’s marketing man Ben Sandman onboard his boat G-FORCE. Fishing offshore from Sydney, the boys released several blues over a few trips – the smallest around 150kg, with a couple of big fish conservatively estimated to be…

KING George whiting are one of the most popular inshore fish in Southern Australia, and for good reason. On the table there are few cool-water species that can match the delicate flavour and texture of a King George. For most southern fishos it is the table qualities of KG whiting which make them so appealing, but they are a really fun fish to target as well. They fight surprisingly well – especially the bigger models – and their fickle feeding habits make them a challenging species to catch with any regularity. I’ve always enjoyed catching KG whiting, but I never prioritised them as a species until recent years. I used to look at them as a good substitute when the snapper fishing was quiet, but lately I’ve been finding myself…

Quintrex yellowfin 5800 THE smallest in the range, the Quintrex 5800 is capable of some serious offshore fishing while offering practicality and a lower price point. According to Quintrex, the Yellowfin models are built strong for ultimate protection from the elements. The 5800 features 5mm plate bottomsheets, 5mm transom material and 4mm side sheets. The "Marine Core" construction features a sub frame rib structure of longitudinal and latitudinal ribs made of 6mm vertical stringers and 5mm horizontal ribs. Similar to the larger boats in the range, the 5800 features a fully welded checker plate floor with box section floor frame offering extra strength. You can guarantee ultimate power as the new transom design also allows for larger outboards in both power and weight. With a maximum horsepower rating of 150hp…

AS I write this boat review (October 2016), rain is pelting down and it’s blowing a stiff southerly outside in southern NSW. It’s the standard weather most journos experience when the sniff of a boat test is in the air. I would hate to guess how many times I’ve had a boat test planned that’s been blown out or had to be done in atrocious weather conditions. Great conditions to fully test a boat, but horrendous to get good photos. However, less than a week ago I was in Batemans Bay testing a Formosa 480 Tomahawk Offshore centre console in the most perfect conditions you could imagine. Typical! The 480 Tomahawk Offshore is the second Formosa I’ve tested in the past six months for Jason Graham from Aussie Boat Sales…

IT seems the terms “stickbait" and “poppers” are becoming more and more common in fishing circles across all aspects of our sport. This extremely visual method of lure fishing is an exciting way to hook a fish, whether it’s for bream out of an oyster rack or pulling a massive GT from a coral atoll. Popper vs stickbait There are obvious differences between the two. Poppers come in an array of different shapes, sizes and colours and the majority are made to float. They usually have either cup face or are built in a way to grab the water on retrieve and make a large noise and splash. Some poppers don’t have any actual resemblance to a fish, in my opinion, and can even look comical in their appearance. Stickbaits…

HELIFISH is offering its anglers the chance to double their winnings if they hook a $10,000 tagged barra under the Northern Territory’s Million Dollar Fish competition. After several below average wet seasons, early signs are that the 2016-17 wet season is going to be a fantastic one after early rain and predictions of a strong La Niña weather pattern for 2017. Helifish hopes this promotion helps to ignite Helifishing awareness for all operators across the NT and remains long after the Million Dollar Fish competition season ends. “In an average year Helifish take in excess of 1000 people, many of these are repeat clients that keep coming back year after year because they enjoy the remote access fishing that a helicopter allows,” said Helifish manager Elli Vukasovic. “We fish at…

SKIRTS Ditch’n Work is an apt name for a champion ladies fishing team and this year the team took out the top place yet again at the 2016 Spotters Secret Women’s Business (SWB) Barra Challenge held on the picturesque Corroboree Lagoon in the Northern Territory. Skipper Tash Rammers took on new crew mates Helen Stuart and Melita McKinnon in this ladies only tournament and stormed ahead on day one with 1152 points. With the uncertainty of landing barra in previous years Tash cemented her winning strategy of targeting saratoga and welcoming any barra landed as bycatch. Only half of the 30 teams scored a fish on the first day with 15 Barra and 45 saratoga captured. Day 2 was slower fishing and overall 26 Barra and 72 saratoga were landed…

I’VE been using Schneider’s Eight Carrier Super Smooth Braid for a few months in various breaking strains and across several fishing styles. This impressive braid from the established line manufacturer is an eight-strand 100 per cent Spectra braid with no stretch. It has a reasonably thin diameter for its breaking strain, it’s smooth, soft and supple, and it is these qualities that make the pink braid such a fantastic line to use. I’ve now used it in 15, 20 and 30lb classes on both spin and baitcast outfits. When casting, the smoothness and softness of the line means there’s very little friction on rod guides and the line is just itching to get off the spool, which results in fantastic casting distance. When using a baitcasting outfit this caught me…

ABU released its revamped Revo spin range last year with five models covering all bases. The range spans across most price points from $219 up to about $360 for the smallest high-end MGX. For the past six months I’ve been using Abu’s Revo SX, one of the mid-priced models in the range, teamed up with a Abu Veritas 2.0 1-3 PE micro jig rod. Micro jigging has been a popular form of sport fishing for a few years now and developments in tackle have followed suit. Without going into too much detail, most micro jig rods are lighter than conventional jig rods and have a slow or parabolic action. They’re mostly used with smaller jigs under 100 grams and often as low as 20 grams depending on species, depth and…

IT'S been 20 years since Australian bass were first stocked as fingerlings into Lake Bullen Merri at Camperdown in Victoria’s southwest. This milestone provides a good opportunity to reflect on the development of the fishery, its future and the recent expansion of the stocking of this species at rates never seen before in Victoria in the East Gippsland impoundments. Australian bass are an exciting recreational target species and while they are generally classed as a slow growing fish, they are very long lived and have been found to reach more than 15 years of age in impoundments in NSW. Their aggressive nature makes them attractive to a variety of angling methods and as a result they are one of the most popular native fish in the country. While the success…

AS daylight began to break across the beach, the images of watery explosions erupting across the surface of a glass-smooth sea became clear. With that, the plan to wait for Mick, Brett and Mick’s son, Tom, flew out the window. We’d been catching Spanish and spotted mackerel, big snapper and longtail tuna all week, so I was used to seeing plenty of surface action, but not on the scale that I thought I was seeing in the half-light of that morning. The kayak came of the racks in record time and after a quick set-up I was wading out past the small shore-break. I didn’t start to worry until I was 50m short of the splashing. By then there was sufficient light and I was close enough to get an…

Bream from the timber! Zane Jessamine, five, pulled this 33cm bream out of heavy timber upstream on the Moore River, WA using a Zman Slim Swimz. Great catch on a lure, Zane! Each month we will select a Pic of the Month Major Prize Winner as well as FIVE other lucky winners for our Grin & Win section. Pic of the Month winners receive ALL of the great prizes you see here, while Grin & Win kids will each receive a cool Shimano cap and Squidgy DVD (right)! E-mail your entry and contact details to: pictures@fisho.com.au or post it to: Shimano Pic of the Month, Fishing World , GPO Box 606 Sydney NSW, 2001 Please include your name and age and details of your catch. Send a stamped,…

This year the Atomic Southern Bream Series carnival rolled into some beautiful places, friendly communities and fantastic fisheries up and down the South East Coast of Australia including Mallacoota, Sydney Harbour, Narooma, St Georges Basin, Shoalhaven, Botany Bay and Batemans Bay. The 2016 Series was a roller coaster ride of massive bags, good times, tough fisheries, hard fought leaderboard battles and above all, lots of laughs. This year we had it all, from young guns Michael Gauci, Lachlan Latham and Cullen Dimattina taking out the boating and kayaks at the Sydney Harbour round to seasoned pros Mark Crompton and Glenn Ross from Team Hobie / Lowrance in their Evinrude powered machine taking out the Navionics Australia Grand Final. The overall series lead in both the kayaks and boats changed hands…

SQUID fishing has seen a resurgence in popularity of late and it’s easy to see why with their exceptional eating qualities and status as a premier bait making them a highly sought after species. By squid, I should point out that I’m referring to southern calamari which are far superior on the table and more readily available in the estuaries than the more oceanic arrow squid. These cephalopods are an interesting creature; they only live for about one year and have a voracious appetite, opportunistically eating practically whatever they can get their tentacles around, including each other! One thing I love about squid fishing is the simplicity of it all. There’s nothing better on a warm summer afternoon than heading out for a few hours to target a few feisty…

➀ ENVIRONMENT NEWS: PROPOSED SYDNEY LOCKOUTS BY JOHN NEWBERY ONCE there was a Marine Parks Authority in NSW that was created when the respective Fisheries and Environment Ministers did not get on... at all! They were from different factions in the same government. National Parks had long wanted to create a representative system of marine national parks commonly referred to as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) but NSW Fisheries maintained it should control what actually... ➁ FISH FACTS: BRAIN SPIKING & IKI JIME BY DR BEN DIGGLES IN today’s world there is increasing community awareness of welfare issues related to how people use and treat animals. Because of this, fish welfare is becoming more important to the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, with increased scrutiny over a range of historically accepted fishing…

EARLIER this year 10-year-old Makayla Buttigieg caught a pending Australian and World record marlin in the Small Fry category and now these records, as well as a heap of Australian and state records, have officially been approved. The verification process set by the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) is very strict and requires having the fish weighed on certified scales, sending photos of the rod, reel and fish, sending samples of line used and having all witnesses sign a statutory declaration with their account. The process then takes up to an agonising six months to be completed, but the end result is a World and Australian Small Fry record with a striped marlin weighing an impressive 147kg on 24kg line. It is the biggest striped marlin ever caught by an…

IT’S no secret Sydney has some exceptional fishing. Social media and its band of Sydney anglers have all but dispelled that myth some time ago. Yet despite daily pictures of better than average size fish in the shadow of one of our largest cities, for the most part it seems simply unbelievable that such a large and populous city could provide such outstanding fishing. Long before this “insta” world of fishing with its hashtags, updates, reports and captures, Sydney, for the lesser known, was regarded as polluted, dirty and simply out-fished. I too had this misconceived perception when I made the plunge to move here for work about 15 years ago. With no social world, and no actual mates who fished in the region at that time it literally felt…

ONE of the most consistent methods of catching golden perch at Windamere Dam is slow hopping lipless crank baits across the bottom with various pause times in-between hops. This style of fishing is a type of dead-stick method with pauses of up to several minutes working at various times. Generally this happens when you stop to talk to other anglers out on the water and the lure is left sitting idly on the bottom. Often the lure is sucked up by a golden perch after an indefinite amount of time with the angler doing nothing. The Balista range of lures have a water activated red LED light in the tail of the lures so these lures are still actively working whether you are slow hopping, slow rolling or dead-sticking these…

TAKING out best saltwater reel at this year’s ICAST tradeshow, the recent release of Penn’s flagship threadline, the Slammer III, has piqued understandable attention. To shine in the well contested, mid-range, offshore reel market, there are three key areas that the Slammer needs to deliver on: gearing durability, drag quality and water resistance. The first thing you will notice when you pick up the Slammer is the weight, stemming from a full metal, diecast aluminium body, sideplate and rotor. There are two reasons for this solid exoskeleton, the first is to ensure rigidity in the reel under load, so as the brass main gear and brass pinion gear retain precise alignment. These gears are machined using Computer Numerical Control (CNC) technology, which delivers fastidious manufacturing tolerances. The second, is attributed…

SPIRIT Lake in Iowa isn’t a place that registers on the map of most Aussie fishos, but the tiny town in the Mid-Western United States is a place with far-reaching significance when it comes to sport fishing. It all began in 1937 when 16 year-old Berkley Bedell began tying flies in his parent’s basement to sell to tackle shops and travelling fishos. By the time Berkley had left high school he had moved out of his parent’s house, had several employees working for him and the Berkley brand was up and running. By the end of the war he shifted the focus towards cable wire leaders and eventually he would shift direction again to mono leaders culminating in the release of Trilene in 1959, which is still in production and…

IN the 1980s on a small creek off the Clyde River on the NSW south coast I caught my first lure eating bream. The chunky dark fish came from under a timber snag to tackle an orange Flopy as it plopped to the surface. The bream’s territorial attack mirrored the bass we were chasing and provided quite a surprise as it surfaced at the side of the canoe. Since then I always get a kick out of a bream grabbing a lure or fly as soon as it hits the water. While the lures might have evolved from old Flopys, the excitement of a surface bream take never gets old. In the last couple of decades, Australia’s humble bream has risen to prized sportfish status. More recently this has been…

“With a good berley trail in the water, don’t be afraid to fish at your feet. It’s not uncommon to be able to sight cast some of these big fish right in your berley trail!” CATCHING big snapper off the stones is a dream for most anglers at one point or another. While achievable, many hours are put into the search and lots of trips go by with no reward and fading motivation. But fear not my frustrated fisho – you’re only a couple of hours flight away from land based snapper paradise. You do technically have to leave the country, but thankfully it’s to one of the most fish rich and beautiful places in the southern hemisphere – The Bay of Islands in Northland, New Zealand. If you want…

WHAT'S the best time of the year for fishing? Pose this question to half-a-dozen anglers and you’re likely to get as many different answers. It all comes down to where you fish and what you fish for. Personally, if I could pick one period of the year to fish for the rest of my days, the answer would be simple –the first few weeks of summer. The weather alone at this time of the year makes it a great time to be alive. Living in Canberra, the warmer months in general can’t come fast enough for me – and many others. And by the time early December rolls by, the depressingly cold, dark months of winter and early spring are a distant memory. The fishing that’s unfolding on the nearby…

GAME fishing was once a sport associated with large 40 plus foot fly bridge boats, manned by large crews, boats with huge fuel tanks with a no-cost spared approach to the sport. Seemingly for many years the game fish rich grounds of the continental shelf and beyond remained out of reach to owners of smaller trailerable boats and the average fisho. There’s never been a better time to get into trailer boat game fishing with such a wide choice of boats available. So with all this choice, what is the perfect trailer boat? It’s a subject that’s heavily opinionated and debated. But one thing most can agree on is there’s no such thing as the “perfect boat”. What might be considered perfect by one person may be a shortcoming to…

“The Feelfree Lure 13.5 has been designed with the angler in mind and for me is the perfect answer for all of my fishing pursuits.” WHEN the search began for my next kayak I had a few key things on the list of requirements for fishing offshore, bays, rivers and dams. After trying out a few different models, researching specs and watching YouTube videos, I knew there was only one that ticked all the boxes – the Feelfree Lure 13.5. The Lure 13.5 is big! At 4.1m long and 91cm wide, not only does it have great stability, it also paddles effortlessly for those longer trips in search of better fishing grounds. Feelfree has also made the most of this kayak’s beamy design and excellent stability with a flat deck…

Simrad’s GO9 XSE on the radar SIMRAD’S GO9 XSE is the latest addition to the popular GO Series systems. Packed full of features, it has intuitive multi-touch controls that smartphone and tablet users will instantly find familiar and easy to use. Boaters can view charts, add waypoints and see key information on a large 9-inch screen. Additionally, the GO9 XSE is fully compatible with Simrad Broadband 3G/4G Radar systems and features an internal 10Hz GPS receiver, StructureScan HD and Chirp Sonar for fishfinding, autopilot integration for precision control, engine data monitoring, full audio entertainment connectivity with SonicHub 2, built-in wireless connectivity and the Simrad TripIntel trip computer. The Cruise Charting page combines crucial navigation data and charts into one easy-to-read display, while new TripIntel technology tracks and displays the key…

HAVING recently completed the biggest adventure of my 59 years I thought I’d like to share a number of tips that would assist others in undertaking such a trip. These are things that I found helpful, others that were unnecessary, or what could have been done better. Plus big factors like the cost of such a trip, and how good preparation is a vital key element for any successful adventure. The adventure was primarily a five month long camping and fishing trip towing my Renegade 420 behind my Ford Ranger that departed the South Coast of NSW in May and travelled across into SA, down the Eyre Peninsula and back up and across the Nullarbor into WA. Then I went down around the south west and then up the west…