Fishing Australia

SOUTH COAST SMALL TIDES

It is always worth having a good look at the tide chart before you fish and not only take notice of when the high and lows occur, but also what size they are.

This weekend the tides along the south coast are small, for example the high at 3:17 am on Saturday morning is 1.0 m followed by a low at 8:44 am of 0.7 m. That’s a difference of just 0.3 meters!  The following high tide at 3:40pm is 1.4 meters, a difference of 0.7 meters.

As you can see, the afternoon tide will have more flow, but it is still relatively small compared to some parts of the month where the difference between high and low can be around the 2 meter mark!  Some of the better tide charts show the highs and lows in a graph form, which is easier to understand.

This weekends small tides will help some scenarios, but not others.

One of the places most affected by the small tides are the estuaries that are open to the sea. The narrow channels and entrances is where the flow is always fastest, but the small tides this weekend will alleviate this a little and make these areas a tad easier to fish.

However in broader deeper areas of some estuaries, less flow can make some species a little less hungry because they don’t have to swim as hard.

Smaller highs also mean less fish like whiting and bream can come up on to the flats. It also means less bait is drained off them when the tide flows back out, so the amount of flathead lying in wait can be less pronounced.

The excellent salmon fishing continues on many of the popular beaches along the south coast, but the small tides may make the fishing harder where pickings are already lean eg where there is only small schools of resident fish. You’ll need to find big migratory school holding up if you want to haul in a mother load of fish.

Bream, blackfish, drummer, snapper and other species that move in close to the rocks to feed on the incoming tide may be a tad slower than usual, unless the swell has been big enough to wash food in. In this scenario fishing just after a big swell is typically more important than the tide size.

Out on the reefs, small tides ‘can’ make fish a little less hungry, but in the ocean where most people reef fish along the south coast, the east Australian Current has much more of an impact; in just a couple of days it can change from zero to howling along at three knots making it harder to fish. When the current is slower I still like to fish the tide changes if possible.

As you can see it is still a matter of getting out on the water and having a look what is happening because many other factors affect fishing, but understanding the tide will always help immensely.

Forum to present MDBA native fish program report card

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority will present a report card on the first five years of its Native Fish Strategy when it hosts the 2009 Native Fish Forum at Albury on 1 and 2 September. The open invitation event to be held at the Albury Entertainment Centre will discuss the achievements of the program and future directions.

The Forum will provide:
  - participants with a broad understanding of progress and outcomes of some of the key projects funded by the Authority;
  - an opportunity for active engagement between researchers, managers and other stakeholder groups; and
  - a vehicle for communication of ideas, and discussion of future directions.

The Native Fish Strategy was released in 2003 to guide the management, protection and rehabilitation of native fish and their habitats within the Murray-Darling Basin for the next 50 years.  In the long-term, the strategy aims to rehabilitate native fish populations to sustainable levels across the whole Basin.

To reserve place email kate.scanlon@mdba.gov.au as soon as possible as places are filling fast.

The forum agenda and more information on the MDBA Native Fish Strategy can all be found online at: http://www.mdba.gov.au/programs/nativefishstrategy

FISHING AUSTRALIA

This weekend on Fishing Australia it is again time to screen the ‘Best of 2009".

Highlights include fishing with the stars of Underbelly on the NSW South Coast, huge SA snapper, Kimberley Barra, diving with the great white sharks, Rock fishing with Erin McNaught, Milkfish, advanced Kayak fishing, and fishing with Soccer Legend Robbie Fowler.

You can catch all the action on this weekend at 5 pm Saturdays on WIN and Channel 9, around 2 pm on NBN and 1:30 pm Imparja check your local TV guide for details.

See you on the water.

Rob Paxevanos