FATHER DAUGHTER: Allastair Petrov from Drouin in Victoria was pleased with his 82cm kingfish caught at Montague Island last week, until he got out-fished by his 10-year-old daughter Indiana, who caught one 85cm long.
10-year-old Indiana and her 85cm kingfish.
NIGHT JEWIE: Alex Krantz got this nice 8kg jewie in the Tuross River on Saturday night. The fish was caught on an unweighted strip of squid at the end of the run-out tide.
ROCK SNAPPER: Ian Payne of Bingie got this cracking 5kg snapper fishing off the rocks at South Durras last weekend after pulling an all-nighter.
MERV’S KING: Bermagui Bait & Tackle customer Merv of Bega with one of the better-size island kingfish caught on Sunday when the tide picked up running to the south.
SNAPPER AT ANCHOR: Staff member Michael with a very nice snapper taken at anchor off Bunga.
JUNIOR AWARD: The yearly NSSC Junior Sports Person of the Year Award is presented to Georgia Poyner by sports director Noel O’Hehir.
LATEST CATCH: Showing why she is worthy of the award, Georgia and her snapper catch from the weekend comp.
NIPPER TIME: Collecting nippers for bait was almost as fun as fishing.
CLUB CATCH: Thor Weston catches a bream fishing at the Narooma Sport and Game Fishing Club.
JOE’S TREVALLY: Joe Driscoll and his trevally caught off the club jetty.
KNOT TYING: The kids learning knot tying at the fishing club clinic.
Bermagui Bait & Tackle fishing report
THERE was a little bit of activity inside the shelf this week with a few marlin lost by a number of visiting boats just inside the shelf from 60-90 fathoms.
Boats landed a number of smaller albacore hanging with the striped tuna and a couple of small yellowfin were taken by others nearby to 15kg.
There is no real point of difference in the water of Bermagui with temperatures fairly consistent at 20.5-22.3 degrees.
The water is very similar from in close to well beyond the 100-fathom line.
Bait levels remain healthy on the shelf with most boats having little trouble finding large slimy mackerel for baits and obviously stripies are an option also.
The water had cooled off a little off Tuross during the week and despite it still looking very fishable only one crew we knew of raised a fish, most others did not see a fish.
On the back of the strong southerly stirring up the water this week and despite no current in close, staff member Michael headed south to Bunga and at anchor managed 12 good snapper up to 3kg.
Most inshore reefs continue to produce Morwong of good size however, the leatherjackets were abundant in some locations and terminal gear losses were fairly high for some fishos.
Flathead off Tilba and Cemetery were in good numbers and the odd gummy shark.
Kingfish captures are steady and still consist of many rats for return to the water undersize. The odd big fish to 1m is being taken on the largest of live slimies.
A lot of nice yellowfin bream are moving in and out at the entrance to Wallaga Lake and the Bermagui River, and there has been a bit of surface action some with Wapengo probably the pick of it.
Salmon of the beach have been sporadic with tide use being crucial in getting a bite, those fishing light are still picking up the odd whiting and bream too.
- Scotty and the lads
Bluewater Classic attracts a crowd to Bermagui
IF you’ve ever wanted to walk the walk of actor Lee Marvin or talk the talk of novelist Zane Grey, then head to the annual Bermagui Blue Water Classic game fishing tournament this long weekend.
Entrants in the Classic – now in its 77th year – will be following in the fishing footsteps of the two famous Americans who were frequent visitors to Bermagui.
A NSW Game Fishing Sanctioned Tournament, competitors who sign up for the tournament, which runs from January 26-28, will also be chasing other fish such as shark, kingfish and tuna, in the waters north or south of Bermagui.
Game fish are well known for their fighting abilities and the sport is all part of the difficulty of the pursuit.
With a number of tournament trophies and prizes on offer, there really is something for everyone.
The prize list is extensive with various categories in the tag and release sections as well as the capture.
Prize categories include marlin, other game fish such as yellow fin tuna and shark, junior and lady angler categories, most meritorious, as well as a small fry section and a lucky angler prize.
“There’s more than $40,000 in prizes on offer” said Scott Bradley, who as owner of Bermagui Fish and Tackle is a major sponsor of the event, as well as president of the town’s Chamber of Commerce.
“Everyone is welcome to enter, from adults to juniors (aged 11-16 years) and what we call ‘small fry’, which is kids under the age of 11. As long as you have a saltwater fishing licence and are prepared to obey the rules on bag limit and size restrictions, you can try your luck.”
You can find more information on other activities in the region by visiting the Sapphire Coast website www.sapphirecoast.com.au
The 77th Bermagui Blue Water Classic is proudly sponsored by local and national companies including Shimano, Bermagui Bait & Tackle, Yanmar Marine, Yamaha Australia and the Bermagui Country Club.
Narooma Sports and Game Fishing Club news
THE weekend saw 18 kids at the Narooma Sports and Game Fishing Club fishing clinic.
They were taught the art of tying hooks and rigs and finding bait. Probably getting the nippers was just as much fun as the actual fishing! Putting the bait on hooks got some “ewww’s” from some kids but the girls coped better.
Before fishing the kids were treated to a scrumptious lunch prepared by chef Les.
It was then into the fishing. The group took over Taylor’s restaurant jetty, the fishing club jetty and also the jetty of the boat repairers next door.
The next couple of hours was great fun with quite a few fish landed resulting in the quirkiest catch was by Thor Wesson who was fishing from the fishing club jetty hooked a decent bream which pulled the rod out of his hands.
A group of enthusiastic fisher kids raced around to the next jetty where the tip of the rod emerged from the depths, the rod was recovered and Thor then reeled in his bream.
Other catches we a good size trevally caught by Matt Driscoll, and the most fish caught was by Jo Driscoll, who caught a mixed bag of eight fish.
A great time was had by all, including the fishing club members, and hopefully 18 kids will now be set on the course to follow a fishing hobby.
The next event on the club calendar is the Australia Day celebration which, because of licensing requirements, will now be held on Friday the 25th.
There will be lamingtons, Anzac biscuits, sausages and lamb sizzle, with damper and salad on the side.
Australian country music by the Bushwhacker and Bullocky Band and also the Cobbers will be giving an Australian flavour to the evening.
Come along and celebrate the birth of our nation! The event is free of change, (excluding drinks).
The fishing at the weekend proved to be disappointing, with only a few boats out on Saturday, but about 50 out on Sunday.
Most boats returning reported disappointing catches of kingfish with a lot of undersize fish caught and released.
Flathead seemed more productive and a few snapper were also landed. Leatherjackets were a problem, biting off hooks and the occasional seal robbed some people of fish.
Some anglers who ventured up to Tuross obtained good catches of snapper and flathead. Live bait seemed to be the preferred bait. There was not much action from the surf beaches.
There was not much of a tidal run at Montague Island which the experts blamed for the lack of kingfish. We may get an improvement this week.
You are invited to come to the club on Friday evenings (located next to Taylor’s Restaurant), the club opens at 4.30pm, and we look forward to seeing you there.
- Terry Vincent
Dalmeny girl angler wins NSSC award
ON the weekend, the Dalmeny Fishing Club hosted its first monthly competition of the year. It was a good crowd, enjoying tasty food and tall tales of fish that got away!
Narooma Sporting and Services Club vice president and sports director Noel O’Hehir visited the weigh-in to present an award on behalf of the NSSC.
The yearly Junior Sports Person of the Year Award was presented to Georgia Poyner, the first time a member of a fishing sub-club has won the award.
The results from the weekend comp were as follows:
Juniors: Georgia Poyner, with 60pts
Ladies: Enid Davies, with 120 pts
Mens: Todd Ayers, with 380 pts
John Rowley received a special mention, with his catch of a ling.
President Norm Budin thanked those responsible for helping in the fit-out of the new kitchen for the club house, especially John Rowley and Peter Mac - their help and support is greatly appreciated by all members.
Many thanks also to the lunch crew, who provided a delicious lunch.
As well, just a reminder that the new raffle roster is up at the club - please check it out, so that you know when you're rostered on.
The funds raised from the raffle go towards the delicious lunches we all enjoy.
Next weigh-in is Sunday 17th February - hope to see you all there!