NICE MULLOWAY: Tathra's Corey Walters got this great mulloway or jewfish on a live yakka at an undisclosed location last night...
WHARF CATCHES: The Tathra Wharf is firing at the moment with lots of salmon, frigate mackerel and the odd bonito. Alex Blacka of Bega is picture with a salmon.
SALMON TIME: Salmon are thick off local beaches at the moment, so why not get a lure or plastic and get casting!
MARLIN PLAY: Peter Bridle on Merimbula game boat Annabella releases by hand a striped marlin after tagging it on Sunday.
WITH the Narooma Sport and Game Fishing Club annual convention on this weekend it looks like the weather has improved just in time.
While it is ANSA (Australian National Sportfish Association) in Narooma there is the tag-and-release Alliance tournament on in Bermagui, so plenty of visitors around.
Scott Bradley from Bermi Bait & Tackle headed out late Monday morning down to 36'38 150'16 where the water has improved and was holding plenty of bait.
But above that it was still brown/green and 21.5 degrees as it’s taken a few days to recover from last week’s blow.
Scott says it's now looking good and fish should push into this water over the next couple of days.
Kingfish have finally made a solid showing at Montague Island with good numbers of fish and most were size or better again on Monday.
A large flotilla on the southern side of the island could be seen from Mystery Bay on Wednesday morning, indicating the fish are still on the bite.
Further south, Tathra Wharf is firing at the moment with lots of salmon, frigate mackerel and the odd bonito.
A decent hammerhead shark was also seen cruising through the bait fish just off the wharf on Sunday.
Jewfish or mulloway meanwhile remain a good bet with popular spots including the Clyde, Tuross and Bega rivers.
There have been heaps of salmon off the beaches around Bermagui as well with metal lures a great, fun option for the fun fighting fish.
There are still some great flathead up to 75cm being caught at Wallaga Lake, while whiting are still an option on the sand flats and select beaches as well.
Rob Paxevanos meanwhile reports that the striped marlin bite continues to go reasonably well.
Autumn is the best time to chase these fish on the south coast; when the weather comes good it usually does so for a few days and the marlin start to localize in areas boats will team up to help each other.
On the estuaries, Rob says the flatties have started to slow a little on the colder days but are still biting well when conditions are warmer.
Yellowfin bream and blackfish are in some estuaries tending to gather closer to the entrances.
Bait fishing for trout is picking up momentum at Jindabyne and Eucumbene.
Expect at good bags of rainbows if you have several morning or afternoon sessions to play with.
There have been some big browns in the mix including a freak 5.2 kilo brown from Yens Bay.
Best technique is an artificial trout bait in honey worm (bardi grub), or blood worm (midge) flavor.
Rob says float these baits off the bottom on a running sinker rig, and tip them with a scrub worm or mud-eye if you want to see bigger brown trout in your catch of rainbows.
Narooma Sport and Gamefishing Club news
THERE has not been much activity on the fishing front, but the club house is a hive of activity! We are preparing for the onset of fisher persons registering for the fishing competition this tomorrow.
The club has been cleaned to pristine standards, information bags have been filled by an army of people walking round and round a bench, banners have been put up, prizes and awards sorted out, the bar restocked and three days of food ordered. It's a bit like a 60 minute makeover, with people everywhere (in an orderly fashion).
The event starts on tomorrow with registrations opening at 5pm at the clubhouse and also on Friday at breakfast. On Thursday a free barbecue will be provided for registering fisher persons and guest.
At 7.30pm on Thursday there is a briefing for competitors, regarding rules, weather conditions and any restrictions on events due to inclement weather.
The real action begins 5am on Friday, when the fishing starts, the competition finishes at 1 pm Sunday. All fish must be in the weigh-in area at the clubhouse, by 1pm on Sunday.
There is a barbecue on Sunday afternoon when trophies/prizes will be awarded.
A full list of competition rules and regulations will be available at the club house and a copy will be given to you on registration.
Hope to meet up with you. The bar will be open and swinging, all evenings, including the normal Friday evening.
Any enquiries Telephone/fax: (02) 44765202, email: nsgfci@bigpond.com, facebook: Narooma Sport and Gamefishing Club or call in at the clubhouse: 25 Riverside Drive Narooma, 2546.
Come and have a great time, and catch award winning fish!
- Terry Vincent
Rob Paxevanos’ fish’n’tips
THE Sustainable Rivers Audit Report 2 was released in December 2012 and is available on DVD.
The Sustainable Rivers Audit (SRA) 2 is a comprehensive assessment of the health of river ecosystems in the Murray–Darling Basin. It reports and analyses data collected systematically across all 23 river valleys within the Basin.
The SRA is an initiative of Basin governments, coordinated on their behalf by the MDBA. The program is overseen by a panel of independent ecologists – the Independent Sustainable Rivers Audit Group, which reports to the Murray–Darling Basin Ministerial Council and the wider community.
The SRA’s second report, released in 2012, presents ‘report cards’ on river ecosystem health for each of the 23 valleys in the Basin. The reports are based on observations of fish, macroinvertebrates, vegetation, physical form and hydrology from 2008 to 2010.
For more information contact Alys Wall, Theme Coordinator, Sustainable Rivers Audit, Murray–Darling Basin Authority, Alys.Wall@mdba.gov.au
New fishing arrangements have been implemented in NSW to assist with the rebuilding of Harrisson’s Dogfish and Southern Dogfish populations and to provide protection for other dogfish species in NSW waters.
Dogfish are a group of small to medium sized deepwater shark species. Dogfish species are not commonly targeted by most recreational fishers but may occasionally be caught as a by-catch when fishers are targeting other more highly valued species such as bar cod, blue-eye cod and gemfish.
These new fishing arrangements are necessary as CSIRO research studies have indicated the east coast populations of Harrisson’s and Southern Dogfish are at only 10 per cent of their unfished biomass.
Similar restrictions and trip limits are also in place for commercial fishing, as well as a series of new fishing closures restricting certain fishing areas and methods.
If you catch a dogfish and are unsure about what species you have caught, DPI encourages you release it carefully and immediately.
If you incidentally catch a Harrisson’s or Southern Dogfish while fishing for other species, you should release the dogfish and move to another fishing location.
Fishcare Volunteers have been out and about over the summer period just past talking to anglers and advising new keen anglers about responsible fishing tips.
Since our last update, this passionate group have been out and about promoting responsible fishing at 100 events and talking to over 9,000 people. New volunteers that were trained in in late October, have hit the ground running assisting some 600 fishers in DPI Fishing Workshops.
Don't forget, if you see volunteers in their blue shirts, please have a chat to them about anything to do with fishing.
Get hooked… It’s fun to fish is a school based program that aims to introduce primary school students to recreational fishing while practicing safe and responsible fishing.
Registrations are now open for schools to apply for our free, fun and interactive program for 2013.
Please contact the Get Hooked team via email gethooked.fisheries@dpi.nsw.gov.au or on 9741 4849 for further information and to register.
The Healthy Waterways DVD "Healthy Waterways = Better Boating, More Fish" has been completed and is being distributed.
Produced by the Hawkesbury Nepean Catchment Management Authority, this short film discusses how boaters and fishers can help keep our waterways healthy by protecting habitat, preventing the spread of aquatic pests, and volunteering.
DVDs of the video (with multilingual sub-titles) are available for fishing clubs; for more information contact Linda.Dedovic@cma.nsw.gov.au.
Aquatic Habitat Conservation News
Twenty five new habitat projects, with a total value of almost $525,000, were announced by the Minster for Primary Industries The Hon. Katrina Hodgkinson, MP as part of the 2012-2013 Habitat Action Grants.
These grants will assist recreational anglers, local Councils, environmental and community groups and private landholders improve fish numbers through rehabilitating degraded recreational fish habitat. Rehabilitation of fish habitat provides long-term sustainable benefits for native fish stocks and in turn provide benefits for NSW recreational fishers who will enjoy more healthy, productive fisheries.
See you on the water,
Rob Paxevanos
www.robpax.com
