NICE BREAM: Craig Coughlan with a couple of nice bream that are worth a try for at the moment.
Scott on his new 'torque' with a trevally from the Bermagui River...
Co-pilot Finn with a Bermagui River salmon from the weekend...
COLD, dirty, green water descended on the Far South Coast from Tuross to Bermagui last week with slime coating lines dropped into offshore waters on Sunday.
One group of fisherman were not put off with a group of three Bermagui boats targeting gummy sharks not far off Tilba beach.
And the gummies must have been schooling as they ended up with 10 big fish between them.
Just a short distance away on The Step flathead grounds and all the way back to Bermagui, the flathead were not cooperating with not even a bite.
Local pros were left discouraged after searching for any kingfish at the usual haunts without any success – how different from last spring when they were around in numbers!
The highlight of the fishing trip was a large, very scratched up whale that almost looked white from a distance.
And by Tuesday, John Suthern of the Tuross Boatshed who is still on holidays found everything had cleared up north of Narooma.
Here is John’s report from Facebook:
“After a slow day on Sunday, the fishing outside was good today! We had a real nature day, as we went over the bar two whales breached in front of us, a mother and calf, the calf decided we were interesting and followed us out to the fishing grounds, it stayed about 4 hours going round and round the boat laying on its side and eyeballing us, so cute! then we got a visit from a group of seals, not interested in stealing our fish, just sunbaking together, with a fin in the air. That was not the end, we then had a visit from a huge turtle! It was the size of a dining table, came up beside the boat for about 5 min just catching it breath and disappeared again, fantastic! We caught snapper, nannygai, leatherjacket, and a good feed of flathead! Great day!”
Meanwhile Scotty from Bermagui Bait and Tackle has been playing with his new toy picked up at the recent AFTA show.
His maiden voyage in the 'Torque' kayak saw an immediate hook up to a nice Salmon in the harbour, some solid Trevally also near the ramp thanks to his 6yo co-pilot working the throttle and the net. “Awesome vessel!”
He was out again on Tuesday when clear, cold water in the Bermagui River made it hard work across the board, but a 65mm Squidgy Wriggler in 'fireworks' with a little S-Factor will still produce.
“Loving the Samaki C-12 1-3kg rod & 2500 Stradic Ci4 with 3lb Powerpro & Berkeley Ice 3lb Fluro....all good. Cheers Scotty”
Mulloway submissions sought
PUBLIC submissions have been invited on proposed management options to promote the recovery of mulloway in NSW.
Department of Primary Industries (DPI) acting commercial fisheries director, Doug Ferrell, said mulloway had been assessed as an overfished species and a recovery program was required to help rebuild the population to a sustainable level.
“All fishing sectors that impact on mulloway have a role to play in assisting with the recovery of the species,” Dr Ferrell said.
“Given the importance of mulloway to all fishers, the government is committed to providing an opportunity for everyone to have their say on the proposed management arrangements.
“Various options have been developed with input from recreational, commercial, conservation and Indigenous stakeholders, as well as fisheries scientists and managers who formed part of a mulloway resource planning group.
“This group of experts and key stakeholders came together to come up with a range of alternative management actions that would promote the recovery of mulloway stocks while minimising economic and social impacts.”
Dr Ferrell said that a program to support mulloway was strongly supported by all parties involved and a public consultation period was an important step to ensure the best overall option was implemented.
Reducing fishing pressure on mulloway stock was a challenge as the fish were caught throughout their lives in many habitats by many different fisheries.
Targeted strategies were needed to address various methods used to catch the species, so input from a diverse group of stakeholders was vital to coming to the right solution.
“All of the options are outlined in a discussion paper available on the DPI website and I encourage anyone with an opinion on the management of this important species to have their say via the online submission form before 16 October 2012,” Dr Ferrell said
To find out more about the Mulloway Recovery Program or make an online submission go to the DPI Have your say on mulloway recovery web page or follow the links from www.fisheries.nsw.gov.au
Try kayak competitions for extra fun: Craig Coughlan
This week Craig Coughlan is filling in for Rob Paxevanos and Craig takes a look at Kayak Fishing Tournaments which are undergoing a surge in popularity.
KAYAKS are a popular fishing platform for many of today’s anglers and with the large numbers of kayak anglers in the sport, the introduction of kayak fishing tournaments was inevitable.
In 2009, the first kayak-only tournament series was introduced in Sydney, the Daiwa/Hobie BREAM kayak series, and it was a huge success.
Since 2009 the series has grown significantly to an 18-round series covering all states in Australia except the Northern Territory plus a big two-day grand final.
In addition to the Daiwa/Hobie series, there is the Squidgies Southern Bream Series which covers waters from Sydney and south to Mallacoota in Victoria.
I have fished many of these events from both series since their introduction with mixed results and enjoyed every one of them. They attract anglers from near and far, making them a great social experience, and I met lots of people and made some good friends along the way.
The idea is to catch and present your three best bream to the weigh master, and the heaviest bag wins. All fish must be presented alive at the weigh in and all fish must be released immediately after weighing.
Catching three bream within the required time certainly sounds easy to me, and sometimes it is but on other days things just don’t go as planned.
Tournament fishing can be a real test of one’s patience and composure, as one wrong decision could decide your whole day. In a boat, if you choose your destination and it is not fishing well you can simply fire up the outboard and head off to your next hot spot quickly. But in a kayak, obviously things move a lot slower so it is easy to waste a lot of time jumping between spots. Choosing your location to suit your preferred style of fishing for each event is important.
South Coast anglers have lots of events to choose from including those on the Clyde River, St.Georges Basin and the Shoalhaven river. These are an easy trip even for the masses that head down the mountain from Canberra, and it’s from these three venues that I have experienced my best results with plenty of top-five finishes plus a lonely win in my local, the Clyde river.
In February this year, round five of the Daiwa/Hobie series was held at St.Georges Basin where I was lucky enough to scrape into fifth position and a spot in this year’s grand final. That will be Bemm River, Victoria, in November where we all fish from identical kayaks to get us all on a level playing field.
The last time I fished and grand final was in 2010 at Forster NSW, and it was an experience I will never forget. After missing out on last year’s grand final my only goal for this year was to qualify, so it was of course a huge relief to achieve that so early in the series to take the weight off my shoulders.
Anyone who fishes from a kayak, from the keenest of anglers to amateurs, are welcomed into these events, and I highly recommend giving it a go. They are a heap of fun and a great way to improve your skills. These events have given me the motivation I needed to visit some great fisheries along the east coast that have been on my “to do” list for a long time.
Volunteers wanted for reef diaries:
Are you a keen angler and want to contribute to research to enhance recreational fishing on offshore artificial reefs in New South Wales?
Volunteers are needed to participate in an angler diary program that is being conducted on the recently deployed artificial reef off South Head, Sydney. This research is part of a joint study by the University of New South Wales and NSW fisheries on estimating the catch effort and harvest rates of recreational species associated with the artificial reef. The data collected will assist in determining the effectiveness of this artificial reef in attracting fish and will provide information for further deployments of artificial reefs in the future.
A diary and a fish identification kit will be distributed to all volunteers who participate, so that information on the length of each fishing trip as well as catches can be recorded. Volunteers will also be contacted throughout the study period for brief phone surveys.
If you are interested in participating in the angler diary program, contact Krystle k.keller@student.unsw.edu.au or call 0402 537 290 for more details.
See you on the water
Craig Coughlan
