Weekly report 30/07/07
New fishing bag and size limits announced
Minister for Primary Industries, Ian Macdonald, said the bag and size limits for recreational fishing are reviewed periodically to ensure a sustainable future for high quality recreational fishing in NSW. The size limits also apply to commercial fishing.
The major change to freshwater fishing includes:
• Leaving a line unattended will now be prohibited; this aims to reduce the injury, stress and death of fish and invertebrates that result from being caught on unattended lines. However the distance a person can be from each line will increase from 10 metres to 50 metres.• Increasing the minimum legal length for Murray cod, to provide better protection for immature fish. The current legal length will increase to 55cm after 1 December 2007 and to 60cm after 1 December 2008.
• A new closed season for Australian bass and estuary perch from June 1 to August 31 each year to allow the fish to spawn.
• Simplifying the trout water classifications to two categories; artificial fly and lure only waters and general trout waters.
• The bag limit for unlisted native fish, which previously had no limit, will now be set at 10.
Rowan from the Windybanks Fishing Club is in the running for the fish of the month prize. So keep those entries coming in.
Rowan from the Windybanks Fishing Club is in the running for the fish of the month prize. So keep those entries coming in.
The major changes to saltwater fishing includes:
• Introducing a new minimum legal length of 30cm for pearl perch.
• Introducing a new minimum legal length of 30cm for pearl perch.
• Increasing the minimum legal length for yellowtail kingfish from 60cm to 65cm.
• Increasing the minimum legal length for luderick (blackfish) from 25cm to 27cm.
• Introducing a minimum legal length of 60cm for dolphin fish (mahi-mahi). Additionally, only one fish may measure over 110cm.
• Introducing new combined bag limit of 20 for bream and tarwhine.• A bag limit reduction from 20 to 10 will now apply to bonito, dolphin fish, octopus, rubber lip and jackass morwong.
• A bag limit reduction from 2 to 1 will now apply to highly prized billfish species, including sailfish and swordfish. A bag limit of 1 will also apply to each species of marlin. Reducing the bag limit will still allow for a trophy fish to be taken.
• A minimum legal length of 30cm will be introduced for blue groper. These fish mature as females between 24 and 34cm and change sex to males at about 60cm. The new size limit will protect females prior to maturity.
• The legal length for rubber lip morwong has been increased by 2cm to 30cm and the bag limit reduced to 10.
• The minimum legal length for red morwong will be increased from 25cm to 30cm. This aims to improve protection of small fish in shallow water.
• A combined bag limit of 5 will now apply to all shark and ray species, including only 1 tiger, mako, blue shark, hammerhead and whaler species. A zero bag limit will now apply to wobbegong sharks.
A full list of changes can also be found at www.dpi.nsw.gov.auMedia contact: Jason Bartlett, 0438 209 28
Carl Dubois reports that he had an outing on the Cooks River only to find that the water temperature started at 10 degrees. Even though the water was freezing he decided to give the Cooks River a go at places where he thought he could get a few fish. Carl tried a lot of his regular spots, but couldn't even tempt a nibble from a bream. He used HB's and SP's, fished the shoreline, deep holes, bridges and boats for a big fat zero. The water temp was very cool: 11 degrees in most places but he did find one tropical spot that zoomed up in temperature to 11.9. And guess where he caught the flattie? That's right, in that small pocket of warmer water.The fight, if you could call it that, was something akin to a wet towel that half swam up with him. It was only when Carl got him near the surface that the fish put in a few half-hearted tail flicks. The flattie went 42cm's on the lie detector and he probably hated him for putting him back into the cold water.
Scotty Lyons from Southern Sydney Fishing Tours http://www.fishingsydney.com.au/ reports that the fishing at this time of the year shore test most as the mornings are rather cool and the slight wind from the west cuts deep so rug up. Last week on the water Scott found trevally at Trevally Alley, just off the Oil Wharf. There is plenty to keep most anglers happy the only problem is the size they all seem to be a small run of fish, (So one Trevally and lots of chips). Tailor have seemed to have moved from the hot water this week, but still worth a look as they might just be there tomorrow morning one cast with a metal slice will tell you if any one is home.
Scotty has a MID WEEK SPECIAL of SIX HOURS FISHING THE PORT HACKING FOR BLACK FISH. NORMALLY $750.00 HE WOULD TAKE FOUR ANGLERS OUT AND SHOW THEM ALL THEY NEED TO KNOW AND HOW TO TARGET BLACK FISH. BUT IT IS NOW FOR $550.00.THESE SUPER DEALS ARE ONLY ON FOR FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST SO BE QUICK AND BOOK IN. For bookings you should call Scotty on 0418 169 439.
Gabes Bait and Tackle are now located on the corner of the Prince Highway and Holt Road at Sylvania Heights. 5100. It would be definitely worth a trip over to their new shop to have a look at the great range of tackle they now have. For those of you that brought tackle and tackle at the old shop you will be pleasantly surprised to see that the new shop is now 3 times larger. So get over there and have a look for yourself.
They are going to have a Grand Opening Sale from Saturday the 25th of August to Father’s Day the 2nd of September.
Rowan from Windybanks Bait and Tackle reports that the Windybank's club ventured off to Lake Lyell on the weekend. They braved the wind and the cold to not catch a great deal of fish. However, most people caught something. The dam is looking great compared to just a couple of months ago when you weren't even aloud boats on there. About 8 turned up, some for the whole weekend, some for just Saturday. Rowan fished the Saturday with his father and found it very slow. They spent most of the day trolling. Lures that they used were Tassie devils, deceptions, RMG’s, Halco’s and Rapala’s. The best lures were the Rapala's by far. They out fished all the others. For the Saturday night weigh-in Rowan managed the largest Brown trout which went 1.7kgs (Un-cleaned) and 1 small rainbow trout. Others caught rainbows.
A full list of changes can also be found at www.dpi.nsw.gov.auMedia contact: Jason Bartlett, 0438 209 28
Carl Dubois reports that he had an outing on the Cooks River only to find that the water temperature started at 10 degrees. Even though the water was freezing he decided to give the Cooks River a go at places where he thought he could get a few fish. Carl tried a lot of his regular spots, but couldn't even tempt a nibble from a bream. He used HB's and SP's, fished the shoreline, deep holes, bridges and boats for a big fat zero. The water temp was very cool: 11 degrees in most places but he did find one tropical spot that zoomed up in temperature to 11.9. And guess where he caught the flattie? That's right, in that small pocket of warmer water.The fight, if you could call it that, was something akin to a wet towel that half swam up with him. It was only when Carl got him near the surface that the fish put in a few half-hearted tail flicks. The flattie went 42cm's on the lie detector and he probably hated him for putting him back into the cold water.
Scotty Lyons from Southern Sydney Fishing Tours http://www.fishingsydney.com.au/ reports that the fishing at this time of the year shore test most as the mornings are rather cool and the slight wind from the west cuts deep so rug up. Last week on the water Scott found trevally at Trevally Alley, just off the Oil Wharf. There is plenty to keep most anglers happy the only problem is the size they all seem to be a small run of fish, (So one Trevally and lots of chips). Tailor have seemed to have moved from the hot water this week, but still worth a look as they might just be there tomorrow morning one cast with a metal slice will tell you if any one is home.
Scotty has a MID WEEK SPECIAL of SIX HOURS FISHING THE PORT HACKING FOR BLACK FISH. NORMALLY $750.00 HE WOULD TAKE FOUR ANGLERS OUT AND SHOW THEM ALL THEY NEED TO KNOW AND HOW TO TARGET BLACK FISH. BUT IT IS NOW FOR $550.00.THESE SUPER DEALS ARE ONLY ON FOR FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST SO BE QUICK AND BOOK IN. For bookings you should call Scotty on 0418 169 439.
Gabes Bait and Tackle are now located on the corner of the Prince Highway and Holt Road at Sylvania Heights. 5100. It would be definitely worth a trip over to their new shop to have a look at the great range of tackle they now have. For those of you that brought tackle and tackle at the old shop you will be pleasantly surprised to see that the new shop is now 3 times larger. So get over there and have a look for yourself.
They are going to have a Grand Opening Sale from Saturday the 25th of August to Father’s Day the 2nd of September.
Rowan from Windybanks Bait and Tackle reports that the Windybank's club ventured off to Lake Lyell on the weekend. They braved the wind and the cold to not catch a great deal of fish. However, most people caught something. The dam is looking great compared to just a couple of months ago when you weren't even aloud boats on there. About 8 turned up, some for the whole weekend, some for just Saturday. Rowan fished the Saturday with his father and found it very slow. They spent most of the day trolling. Lures that they used were Tassie devils, deceptions, RMG’s, Halco’s and Rapala’s. The best lures were the Rapala's by far. They out fished all the others. For the Saturday night weigh-in Rowan managed the largest Brown trout which went 1.7kgs (Un-cleaned) and 1 small rainbow trout. Others caught rainbows.
The biggest around the 1kg mark. It was a pretty slow days fishing, but all in all it was just great to see the dam with a good quantity of water in it again. And excited expectations about the next couple of seasons.Rowan did here a good report of some blackfish off the rocks down at Curl Curl that was enough to excite the senses a bit. That customer bagged out in 45mins. Reports of Yellowfin quieten down a bit last week. There were still fish being caught, but not nearly as many as the week before. Again Browns Mountain is the place to be to tangle with a big yellowfin.The Hairtail are still a good prospect at the moment. Continued reports of big numbers being caught in Jerusalem Bay have led to the place resembling a car park on weekend nights. Bigger fish are starting to be caught now, although not the 6-7footers of years gone by, there are some big ones around, but not in the numbers of the small ones. Generally the guys with the big ones will only get the odd few fish compared to the guys getting the smaller ones.
So if you are after a bit more information on what is happening in Sydney or you would like to book into my next fishing class you can phone either Rowan or Annette on Ph (02) 9477 1501 at Windybanks Bait and Tackle (Next class starts the 9th of August) or call into 523 Pacific Hwy Mt Colah NSW 2079. 
Dave Fletchers from Queensland with his best ever Barrimundi caught on a lure.
Paul Martin from Rock Marine Bait and Tackle (rocksmarine@tsn.cc) reports that plenty of fisho’s were out wetting a line last week with a break from the south westerlies blowing you out of the water. With the conditions on the water so good, anglers ventured out wide to chase bar cod. Wal Savin and Shane van Dyke got amongst the Cod with the best going 18.2 kg while young local Joseph Dall’acqua out with Rod Payne hooked a nice 12kg unit. Snapper are on the northern reefs but have been hard to find in numbers Pearlies are about if you can get past the millions of leatherjackets. Good green backed tailor around Green Island while Fish Rock has some fair sized kingfish.
Cracker bream are still being caught in the river with plenty over the kilo mark. Flathead are about with the Gulp Plastics working extremely well on these fish. Blackfish are there in masses at the moment but were tough to catch in any numbers
over the last week, it did seem cabbage was the preferred bait but it can change on a daily basis. Good bream and dusky flathead were reported at Smithtown along with some smaller Bass.
Rock Hoppers are doing well on good bream and a few silver trevally, while the tailor fisherman have been cleaning up with good size fish. Smoky is still hot spot if you fish the surf. There has been bream in most gutters and reports of big whiting all the way down to Hat Head. Tailor are still around but not in big numbers. Beach fisho’s should dust off their bigger gear because the salmon are coming to give you a work out.
Jason and Virginia Isaac from Ned Kelly’s Bait and Tackle jasned@ozemail.com.au reports that in the estuaries, the big news over the past week has been the opening of Lake Cathie. Since council sent in the excavator last Saturday, some bumper whiting have been on offer, and this can only improve once the clean water begins to flush back in. Live worms have proven the bait of choice; however yabbies and particularly live prawns if you can find them will also produce results. In the Hastings, blackfish remain on the chew, with the break walls still fishing well and areas further upstream now producing more consistently. Flathead numbers remain excellent, with Blackman’s Point and the flats around Pelican Island well worth a go. On the bream front, the lower estuaries after dark have been excellent with fish to well over a kilo common. As for bait, look no further than those delightful substances being either mullet or blackfish gut, although yabbies will also produce excellent results. Those throwing lightly weighted yabbies are also encountering some solid tarwhine and blackfish during evening sessions.
On the beaches at present, this week has at last seen conditions which are conducive to fishing areas other than the protected corners. Bream numbers remain consistent although with the upcoming full moon, the morning tides may prove the more productive time slot. Tailor numbers and quality are reasonable albeit inconsistent, whilst there are still some plump winter whiting to be scored from the shallow spits on the northern ends of both Lighthouse and Shelley’s. Still no startling results on the mulloway front, although conditions at present should at last see the optimum tides this weekend fishable from the location of your choice. Fresh tailor or a bunch of live beach worms as usual will be the morsels to use when seeking these big silvery critters. Salmon numbers continue to escalate and should be everywhere by now.
Of the rocks, consistent reports on drummer are still coming in, with Point Perpendicular giving up some nice bags over the past week. Locally, Rocky’s, Shelley’s, Nobby’s and Lighthouse too have all produced fish. On the tailor front, good reports continue to filter in from Point Plommer and areas further north, with solid greenbacks to around 2 kilos remaining on offer. On the bream scene, Plommer and Hat Head have been giving up plenty of top fish to well over a kilo, with yabbies and tailor strips achieving the better results. Plenty of blackfish around too for those keen to toss a bit of cabbage, with Miners and Nobby’s giving up some top bronzies early in the week.
Offshore access has at last improved with this week finally seeing the seas back down for a few successive days. Results have been basically the same as per the last few weeks, i.e. reasonable snapper in close, good flatties around the 50 meter mark, and stacks of jackets just wider. Wire is an absolute essential unless you have an unlimited supply of terminal tackle. Wider out, those bottom fishing the shelf report little current of late, and as result, some nice bar cod to around 15 kilos, together with some back breaking kings thrown in for good measure.
When you are next up in Port Macquarie call into the shop and have a look at their great selection of tackle and bait they have on offer. You could also ask Jason and Virginia for their daily report on what’s happening on the fishing front. Call them on (02) 6583 8318.
Peter Le Blang from Harbour & Estuary Fishing Charters http://www.estuaryfishing.com.au/
Reports that last week has seen some wonderful calm days on Pittwater and some good fishing as well. The main catch of Pittwater recently has been trevally. These feisty little fighters have been devouring squid pieces and peeled prawns whilst using light tackle to drift down the burly trail. Most of the trevally have been taken at many of the wrecks around Pittwater with Botham’s Reef and Jacks being the better areas. A fair amount of fine burly is required to attract and hold the schools of these fish. The average size is 30-35cm and are great fun on lighter tackle.
Kingfish have been caught on most of our recent charters. There have been a couple of days that these bruisers were seen on our cameras, but refused to eat anything that was presented to them. By using their downrigger camera they are normally able to track down kingfish and usually able to hook at least one up. The kingfish that we have been able to tempt have been between 65cm and 75cm. This has been a little disappointing because being the adrenaline junkie that Peter is he loves to hear screaming reels from big fish. We have had our chances with some freight trains mind you, but they have busted us off amongst the ever-present moorings of Pittwater. Places to try for these kingfish are amongst the wrecks of Pittwater and at West Head and Barrenjoey Head.
With colder water temperatures the fish don’t need to eat as often and will often be seen “playing with their food” instead of their usual smash tactics. If you don’t want to catch kingfish in Pittwater then there are still a few other species that can be caught. Besides trevally the mouth of Pittwater still has some nice flathead and flounder to be caught whilst drifting. The better flathead have eaten live yellowtail but smaller just keeper models have eaten whitebait or pilchards.
Bream are starting to be caught amongst the moorings at Palm Beach and Mackerel Beach at night or in the first few hours after sunrise. The better bream have taken a liking to live nippers or fresh well-presented prawns. John Dory have been caught by a few locals over the last week at Careel Bay Wharf and Palm Beach Wharf. Although they are not in great numbers the deeper holes in the bays along Pittwater may be worth trying. The best area for boaties to try for a john dory is The Basin. This area has a fair amount of structure thanks to the mooring blocks and holds a lot of smaller fish that these slow moving fish prey on. The best baits to use are small yellowtail or sweep or mado’s. Suspend the bait a metre from the bottom using a long trace and large sinker above the swivel.
Peter is going to target HAIRTAIL in the coming weeks. If anyone wishes to join in, please book now as we are only running them for a short time. The things that you will have to supply for these charters are a tolerance of the cold, lots of warm clothing including a wind and waterproof jacket in case of fog or unpredicted winds. A headlamp is also needed. Peter will supply everything else that is needed for the afternoon/evening charter including, food, hot drinks and cup-a-soups. The charters will start at 2.30pm and you will be dropped off back at the pick up point at around 9pm. The charter will start by catching our live baits of yellowtail and squid before heading off to one of the many hairtail grounds of Cowan Creek to watch the sun go down and plunge the river into total darkness. The targeted species will be hairtail but we will also have a line out for a mulloway and bream incase one of these by catches are hungry.
Peter's Winter Specials Have Started.
$330 For the CHARTER. 1, 2 OR 3 PEOPLE.
That equates to $110 each for a 3-person charter.
Book now and don’t miss out.
Special lasts until 31st August 2007.
0410 633 351
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