Fishing Australia

SOUTH COAST INSHORE

The deeper headlands along the south coast are producing bonito, kingfish and some big frigate mackerel to 1.5 kg. Troll around half a dozen headlands with a mix of tiny little skirted lures and big high speed deep diving lures and once a school is located you can stop and spin up the frigates or bonito with small metal lures or deep jig for kings with the Japanese Kabura style lures which imitate baby squid.

Conditions permitting rock anglers are also getting into the same species and a yakka or slimy under a ballon should easily find a hammerhead shark, whaler shark, or if you are extra lucky an inshore marlin.

Further out the fads are producing good numbers of mahi mahi, especially if you can be the first one to get to them after rough weather has seen them untouched for a few days. Floats from fish traps and anything else that sits on the surface will attract good numbers of Mahi Mahi and fish to 10 kg have been recorded.

There have also been some OK patches of striped marlin along the South Coast and if fish migrating down the coast are anything to go by things might get even better, as they often do as Autumn sets in. Mal Grey fishing from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland struggled for years but is now raising at least half a dozen black marlin with consistency each day, and tagging plenty in the process. All this from his little 6m half-cabin that looks like a kayak next too the larger game boats.
Hopefully south coast waters will experience some of the boom; Mal says it is the best fishing he’s encountered in a decade.

WOBBYS ON THE COMEBACK

Another ten Wobbegong shark pups have been released in Sydney waters, as part of an Australian first study to unlock the secret life of the iconic shark species.
The wobbegong shark pups were released into the sea at Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve at Shelly Beach, near Manly, as part of a collaborative research project with I&I NSW.  This is in addition to the ten Wobbegong shark pups released at the same location in 2008.

The Wobbegong shark pups were born at the Sydney Aquarium as part of this Australian first study which researches the movements of Wobbegong sharks within an aquatic reserve, ensuring future reserves are designed with these charismatic species in mind. The research is also exploring the use of captive-bred sharks that can help replenish wild populations that may be depleted through fishing.

Successful re-introduction into the wild is critical to allowing captive breeding programs to contribute to the conservation of species, particularly of marine predators like the Wobbegong shark.

The research has been supported by I&I NSW, NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, Sydney Aquarium Conservation Fund, Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Australian Acoustic Tagging and Monitoring System (part of the Integrated Marine Observing System), Defence Maritime Services, and Macquarie University.

SNOWIES

Rainbow trout are being caught on all the usual techniques in Lake Jindabyne and Eucumbene and the solid rains recently have only helped cool things off and flush food into the edges which trout love. Keen anglers seeking XL brown trout are already starting to look around the mouths of the larger rivers.

2010 NSW FISHING GUIDES

Fishers flocking to the water in 2010 should make sure they grab their copies of the latest NSW Recreational Saltwater and Freshwater Fishing Guides. The guides provide recreational fishers with comprehensive and user-friendly information regarding fishing rules and regulations in NSW waters.

Two separate guides are produced every year, the NSW Recreational Saltwater Fishing Guide and the NSW Recreational Freshwater Fishing Guide.  Included in the free guides is information on fishing fees, catch and release fishing, safety tips, knots and rigs, fishing rules, legal lengths, bag limits, protected and threatened species, and tide charts.

They also explain how fish license fees are invested back into fishing through the Recreational Fishing Trusts of NSW which fund various projects such as the provision of fish cleaning tables at popular fishing spots, the mooring of fish aggregating devices (FADs) offshore to promote new fishing areas and fish restocking programs across the state.

Copies of the NSW Recreational Saltwater Fishing Guide 2010 and the NSW Recreational Freshwater Fishing Guide 2010 are available from I&I NSW Fisheries Offices and most fishing tackle shops.

Rob Paxevanos