Southern Brisbane Sportfishing Club Inc.

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Southern Brisbane Sportfishing Club Inc. P.O. Box 5057 Eagleby. Qld 4207 Editor: Jeff Maddalena jmaddalena@optusnet.com.

1 Southern Brisbane Sportfishing Club Inc. P.O. Box 5057 Eagleby. Qld 4207 Editor: Jeff Maddalena Newsletter February, 2009 TRIP REPORTS - Jabiru Island - Ballina Bream - Fly-fishing NZ Tech Tips-Soft Plastic types Jeff Maddalena with a Fat Bream caught around Ballina. THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE ON MONDAY the 2 nd of February 2009 at 7:30pm (even if it s a public holiday) at the Beenleigh Bowls Club, 11 Hanover Street, Beenleigh. See access map further on in this Newsletter. Acknowledgement: This Newsletter was kindly copied by Brett Raguse, member for Forde, at no charge to the club. Special thanks to Mr Raguse for his kind assistance

GUEST SPEAKERS- This month s guest speaker will be Fred Preston from the Sundowner s Fishing Club. Fred will be talking about crabbing in the local area.

2 GUEST SPEAKERS- This month s guest speaker will be Fred Preston from the Sundowner s Fishing Club. Fred will be talking about crabbing in the local area. JANUARY / FEBRUARY TRIPS- January s club trip is to the Pimpama River on Sunday the 25 th, Craig Milne is trip captain Ph: Two club trips for February; the local trip is Southern Moreton Bay on the 22 nd of February and will be targeting Snapper. Mark Veivers is trip captain Ph The away trip is our Borumba Dam trip on the 20 th to the 22 nd of February.We will be chasing Saratoga and Bass. John Eldred will be arranging accommodation at Borumba Deer Park, so bookings are essential. Call John on day and we were joined by my wife Rachel and my young Daughter Kate. After we had our fill of Rum balls and White Christmas, I headed to the canals opposite the Jabiru swimming enclosure. This was the only place out of the strong northwest winds. I started working the Jetties but found that I was getting small bream hits near the sandy areas between the pontoons. Finally I had my first hook-up and landed a small 20cm Bream. I was not expecting fish of any size in this area but it was the only place where my canoe wasn t getting blown away. I was also trying a few new soft plastics on flathead in Saltwater Creek as well but I did not have any more touches for the rest of the trip. JABIRU ISLAND TRIP 14 TH DECEMBER by Jeff Maddalena Just 5 club members braved the windy conditions around Jabiru Island for this club trip. Craig Milne, Kevin Ford, Lloyd Willmann, Nakia Melody and myself. Although strong wind was forecast for Saturday night they were meant to drop off to 4 knots by about 8.00am. They didn t, in fact they felt more like 40 knots. I arrived at about 7.30am and found Craig Milne working around the jetties and rock walls of Coombabah Creek. Craig was after Mangrove Jack but the difficult conditions and the murky water were putting both fish and fishermen off. Craig went home early due to other commitments. Lloyd and his deckie Nakia were fishing for Flathead on the north bank of the Coomera River. Lloyd was first with a Flattie hit, but this fish was dropped after a few seconds. Not a very successful morning for this pair. Kevin had an early start to the day but only picked up his first Flathead (43cm) around 9.30am, trolling using a Lively lure-mad Mullet. It was time for a quick morning tea at Jabiru Island. Christmas treats were the order of the Kevin Ford did manage to pick up another 39cm Flathead around the islands in Coombabah Creek. Kevin also had a few crab pots out this trip and managed 6x Muddy's (3x Jennies and 3x Undersize), 2x Sandy's (1x legal and 1x undersize). So there was not a lot of action on this club trip, the storm run off and high winds made it a difficult day on the water. Hopefully the delicious morning tea made up for the unfavourable conditions for those who attended.

3 BALLINA BREAM By Jeff Maddalena The summer months are ideal for catching quality Bream in our rivers and creeks. The warm water temperatures and large daytime tides bring bream to shallow water to forage for food. The most important thing to look for when fishing for bream in these waters is to think like a fish. Look for snags and drop-offs although shallow water around the mangroves can also be productive. Our trip to the Ballina area over Christmas gave me the chance to brush up on my kayak fishing skills. And it was the first time that I had fished for bream in it. My kayak is pretty basic, with only a few rod holders and a boat seat added to the sit in kayak. Being very light it is easy to transport and I don t have to carry much fishing gear on family trips. Most of my gear fits in a fishing vest, easy to organize and it eliminates the need for a bag on the usually wet kayak floor. I take two light rods and a landing net. My main rod is a 3kg 6 6 Wilson sovereign with a 2500 Daiwa Laguna reel; this is rigged with 6lb smoke fireline and a 10lb flurocarbonate leaded. The back-up rod is a two-piece 3kg Daiwa Procaster-V Graphite with a 1000 Daiwa Laguna reel. Two spools with this reel, one has 2lb Stren Microfuse/4lb leader the other is 4lb Berkley Trilene. The lighter line is for when the heavier gear may spook the bream. The 10lb leader does not put the fish off at all and gives me the confidence to pull fish away from snags and oysters. I won t give away any of my fishing spots but most of the fish habitats covered in this report are common to estuaries in NSW and Qld. My first fishing outing was on Christmas Eve. I was not worried about the tides; I just wanted to get on the water for a recon run. It was low tide and the runout water was a bit murky. Low water gave me a chance to check out some of the structure that will be below the water line on the big Chrissy tides. I found that the area I was in had mangrove flats and a rocky oyster encrusted edge that dropped off into deeper water. This is ideal for bream on the high tide. After about 1.5 hours of casting with no action, I came across an old fallen tree in one of the smaller creeks. This looked like the spot and I pulled a small 20cm Bream from the snag using an Ecogear SX-40. Although small I was happy with at least one fish under the murky windy conditions. As my wife & daughter would not let me go fishing on Christmas Day, my next chance was to sneak out early Boxing Day. The tide was full and there was no wind, perfect conditions! I set out to the spots I had discovered on my first outing and started to work them with Hardbodies. My first sighting of action was a few bream feeding at the edge of a small rock wall. When Bream are feeding this way all you need to do is pop a floating lure near where the action is. Sure enough the lure was taken, but the bream didn t hook up properly and got off. Presso Live Cicada (top), Ecogear SX-40 (left) and Presso KP Crank (right) The spot that I really wanted to try was the small creek where I had caught my small bream. The water was now very clear and I could see the oyster encrusted rock below the surface. Time to bring out my best and favourite bream lure, the legendary Presso Live Cicada. This lure has a very wide action and only swims about 15cm below the surface making it perfect for shallow or rocky waters.

A few bream trailed the live cicada and one was a good size. It was not long before my first hit and the fish screamed into the deep water.

Not a bad Bream measuring in at 29cm and after a quick photo was released. called it a morning.

! NEW ZEALAND FLY FISHING By Bob Hartley Spring Pilgrimage Since 2000 I have taken a spring fishing pilgrimage in the South Island of New Zealand with my Kiwi fishing mate Tim, from Christchurch.

4 A few bream trailed the live cicada and one was a good size. It was not long before my first hit and the fish screamed into the deep water. I use barb less hooks so it was important to keep weight on at all times. The most nerveracking time is getting the fish in the landing net and after a few attempts it was in the kayak. Not a bad Bream measuring in at 29cm and after a quick photo was released. called it a morning. Not so long ago the Richmond River was closed due to massive fish kills, so its great to see this waterway recovering so well. I m positive I will be heading back to this area very soon. Great Fun!! NEW ZEALAND FLY FISHING By Bob Hartley Spring Pilgrimage Since 2000 I have taken a spring fishing pilgrimage in the South Island of New Zealand with my Kiwi fishing mate Tim, from Christchurch. This area was too good looking, so I paddled back for another drift. It was not long before the cicada was hit again and I knew this was a bigger bream. Although the fish did not take any line it moved around a lot and care had to be taken to guide the fireline past the bow of the kayak. You know you have a good bream when it can pull a kayak around. The bream came to the surface and was netted, a 31cm fat Ballina Bream. This fish was also released. The window of opportunity was closed as the runout tide made the current too strong and I An opportunity to visit a new wilderness area each year, and fool a few decent size fish with our flies. We choose November/December as we have a view that the trout will be easier to catch at that time of year - still be feeding to replace condition after the spawning season - fewer anglers on the banks. The downside is that spring weather is unpredictable and can bring high winds, heavy rain and snow as well as wind free sunny days. Our plan this year was to spend a week tramping into the Karamea River, in the NW of the South Island, but being advised by DOC not to go there (severe winter windfalls had resulted in over 200 trees across the track) we invoked Plan B 8 days in the Caples and Greenstone Valleys.

The Caples Greenstone This fishery, located near Queenstown is unique in NZ.

Additionally, helicopter access is banned for anglers. This reduces the number of angler encounters and gives better chance of being the sole angler on the river.

..and then there is the dreaded Nor Wester which is in your face on both rivers when it blows.

5 The Caples Greenstone This fishery, located near Queenstown is unique in NZ. An additional Back Country licence is required, and in Feb through April a permit system applies allowing only 2 anglers per beat at any one time. Additionally, helicopter access is banned for anglers. This reduces the number of angler encounters and gives better chance of being the sole angler on the river. It seems to work, as we didn t come across another angler during the whole 8 days. The downside is that it requires much footslogging and either camping or staying in DOC back country huts...and then there is the dreaded Nor Wester which is in your face on both rivers when it blows...and despite the manufacturer s claims, even a Sage TCR rod doesn t provide any help in getting the fly in the right place. The Upper Oreti After Tim returned to Christchurch I spent a week in Te Anau in between the rain and snow showers was lucky enough to fish the Upper Oreti on a perfect day. This is also a top drawer fishery known for holding double figure browns in its crystal clear pools. We spent the first 2 days in the Caples, but true to form, the dreaded Nor Wester started to blow as soon as we assembled the rods, rising to gale force by the end of day 2. Nevertheless we spotted some good fish, managed to hook 2 and bring one to the net. Day 3 brought heavy rain so we spent 6 hrs transferring ourselves and packs to the Greenstone to find it in flood which also wiped out Day 4. However the weather gods relented for the rest of the trip day we were able to find some nice feeding fish and fool several of them. There are interesting local customs here to prevent angler encounters In an effort to combat such encounters on the Upper Oreti, Fish and Game Southland have erected three signs detailing beats. You simply park beside the sign describing the beat you wish to fish that day, state whether you have gone upstream or downstream and leave a departure time in the windscreen of your vehicle for latecomers and the beat is yours. First person on the river has the right of way.

I arrived at the upper beat and found an angler had gone upstream, several hours before. I reasoned that the water had time to settle and walked slowly upstream with the Polaroids.

6 I arrived at the upper beat and found an angler had gone upstream, several hours before. I reasoned that the water had time to settle and walked slowly upstream with the Polaroids. In the second pool I found three feeding fish. Cast a Hare and Copper nymph to the back one Eureka fish on and what a beauty it took me 15 minutes to land it having been dragged 200 metres downstream, through three sets of rapids. Karamea River Towards the end of our stay DOC advised the track to the Karamea had been cleared, so with a good 5-day forecast we decided to just do it. 2-day walk in, 2 day walk out with a day s fishing. The quality of this river is superb; you immediately appreciate why it is a Mecca for fly fishers. The water is so clear you can spot the trout from 100 meters but... they can also spot you. Over the day I spotted 10, fished to 4 and spooked them all they knew how to choose impossible lies. So the Karamea is a project in progress ; however, I ve decided to act my age and stop carrying 20 kg packs around the NZ Alps a helicopter is booked for next spring. Tech Tip- Soft Plastic Types There are many different styles of Soft Plastics on the market today and it can be all very confusing as to which ones work the best for you. This is especially true if you are new to lure fishing or fishing soft plastics. Here are a few things to consider when selecting a soft plastic and when considering how to fish it. One of the first rules with Lure fishing is there are no hard and fast rules. The trick is to figure out what will get a fish to strike your lure on any given day. Second rule with Lure Fishing, you have to fish where the fish are. If there are no fish in the area you are fishing you aren't likely to catch any. This means moving around an area where fish are likely to be to find them, or it may be fishing the shallows or deep sections of a river at a certain part of the tide. Third rule is to fish as light as you can, the lighter the line, leader and jighead the more strikes you are likely to attract. Of course the lighter you fish the more liking you are of getting busted up and loosing gear, but that s the pay-off. With the different styles of soft plastics, some of the most common types are Grubs, Paddletails, Minnows and Stick baits. As well as this there are a range of different Soft Plastic compounds, some soft and others hard. Indeed within some brands different colours can be softer than others as well. There are also some leading brands on the market that offer very little action at all regardless of what style they are or what input they are given and rely on being heavily scented to attract fish. For the novice- Grubs are by far the easiest to learn with, basically because they require very little input from the angler to get movement of the lure. If there is any tidal movement in the water or of the lure at all, basically the tail will be moving. Light jigheads can be used and the tail will still swim on the drop. Next are probably the Paddle tails, with a quality lure and the slow retrieve the Paddle tail will kick over and the lure will look like it is a swimming baitfish. The thing to look in a paddletail is a thin wrist of the lure. The wrist is basically the bit between the body and the tail. Ideally this should

7 be thin and/or flexible. Generally a slightly heavier jighead is needed to get the paddletail to swim on the drop and to avoid any spirally as the lure falls through the water column. The size of the actual paddletail also comes into play as well a large paddletail can overpower a light jighead. Minnows are considered for the more experienced user, the reason for this is the Minnow requires input from the angler to get movement out of the lure. This can be a series of twitches and jerks to make the lure look like a wounded baitfish. There are a lot of different sizes in minnows, and these are used when fishing for many different species. Stickbaits are in the same class as minnows, generally a stickbait has no tail, so any movement is generated by the way the plastic is rigged and how it is moved through the water. It requires a deal of expertise to get the most out of these lures and is probably best suit of an experienced angler. When starting out, generally fishing the lure slow is good. Once you have caught a few fish and your experience builds, then it pays to try different techniques or style of plastics to find one that consistently gets results for you. This is really where confidence comes into the art of fishing. If the Angler is lacking belief and confidence in catching fish then they are on a hiding to nothing. If you have a Question, or would like some information on a specific topic, please let us know and we can do a Tech Tip article on it for you. us at question@lureworld.com.au KEVIN FORD If you haven't joined Team Lure World yet, Click here to register. sales@lureworld.com.au Ph/fax Mobile /09 COMMITTEE PRESIDENT: Craig Milne Ph: SECRETARY: Ross Williamson Ph: TREASURER: Dave Rawlins Ph: AS-TREASURER: Mark Veivers Ph: ANSA REP/Rec: Lloyd Willmann Ph: TAG. OFFR: Kevin Ford Ph: RAFFLES: John Eldred Ph: PUBLICITY: Ray Bricknell Ph: NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Jeff Maddalena jmaddalena@optusnet.com.au Club Logos for Shirts and Stickers for Boats Just a reminder - for $10.00 you can have the SBSFC logo embroidered onto your own shirt. Bring your dress shirt / polo shirt or fishing shirt to the meeting with $10.00 and it will be back at the following meeting. The $10.00 fee includes a $1.00 levy that will go towards reimbursing the club for the $75.00 set up cost. Tom Wallbank has had a number of large and small boat stickers printed, and these are available for sale at every meeting. COST- Small $1; Large $5 LIIBRARY STUFF The club library has the following items available for borrowing by the members. They are available at our monthly club meetings. A $20 deposit will be required please, just to make sure they come back at the next meeting. ET's Bass and Barra Fishing Gently Does it when releasing fish - booklet and DVD Gillies Introduction to Fly Fishing Squidgy Secrets - Part 1 Basics The Kayak Fishing Video (On DVD) Basic Bait Fishing (DVD) Queensland's Freshwater Fishing Impoundment Guide (NAFA / Tourism Queensland) Queensland's Offshore Fishing Guide (NAFA / Tourism Queensland) Evinrude Etec DVD Zed Lure field test series 2004 parts 1 to 4 Fishing DVD volumes 1, 2 & 7 Flathead Study (cd-rom) Ray Bricknell s Kimberly Barra Adventure DVD

8 USEFUL NUMBERS & WEB SITES: SE Qld Boating Weather Qld Marine Warnings Fish watch Hotline Bureau of meteorology Sweetwater fishing Crab pot Theft Hotline Bonzer imports Coast watch SEQ kayak fishing Southern Brisbane Sportsfishing Club Classifieds For Sale- Rod covers made to order -$5.00 Call Mark on For Sale- Boat and trailer 4.2 m Brooker, 25hp Evinrude.reg to Oct $3200 ono Ph Rob on To place an ad, simply or give the Contents to your Editor. jmaddalena@optusnet.com.au SPECIIAL DEALS Danny Hughes -Fishing Tackle Restoration Mobile Ph He also has 2 nd hand good quality reels & rods for sale at all times. He does the Reel / Rod Repairs for Mossop s, Fish Head etc. R.T.L. Trailers Mark builds trailers and repairs them very economically a good tradesman too. 79 Boundary Street, Beenleigh Yatala Outboard Wrecking Gary and Trent specialize in used parts to suit all outboard makes and models. They also do repairs and service work. 7 old Pacific Highway, Yatala. Logan River Marine Logan River Marine has been in business for 30 years. They have always based themselves on good old-fashioned service. As the boating industry has advanced, so have they, providing to all the modern demands. Whether it is the tuning of a direct injection motor or providing the latest electronic equipment, they always aim to provide for all your boating needs. Please call and talk to their friendly staff. They also offer a 15% discount to SBSFC club members in their Pro Tackle Shop. Logan River Marine 1 Christensen Road Yatala QLD 4207 Ph Fax loganmarine@optusnet.com.au

9 NEW MEMBERS Prospective Members reading this Newsletter will be made very welcome at any Club meeting so please come along and check us out at our next meeting on the first Monday of the month at 7:15pm. Single membership - $58.00 p.a. Family Membership - $78.00 p.a. Student (over 16) - $20.00 p.a. Child (under 16) no parent in club- $20.00 Child (under 16) parent in club- $10.00 NOTE: - The Bowls Club has a Bar. Please remember the gear swap table at the meeting bring your swaps or items for sale. This can be a great club facility if we all use it.

10 2009 SBSFC TRIPS CALENDAR HOME TRIPS AWAY TRIPS

Southern Brisbane Sportfishing Club Inc.

Southern Brisbane Sportfishing Club Inc. P.O. Box 5057 Eagleby. Qld 4207 Editor: Jeff Maddalena jrmaddalena@bigpond.com Newsletter AUGUST, 2010 Tech tip: soft plastic types TRIP REPORTS Redcliffe Kevin