Newsletter May, 2006

Transcription

1 Southern Brisbane Sportfishing Club Inc. P.O. Box 5057, Eagleby. Q 4207 Editor: Ray Bricknell raybrick@bigpond.net.au Newsletter May, 2006 Next Meeting THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE ON MONDAY 1 May, 2006 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. 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. Single membership is $58.00 p.a. - Family Membership is $77.00 p.a. Guest Speaker: Guest Speaker: Treasurer Tom Wallbank runs fishing charters in the Jumpinpin area (Jumpinpin Charters), so who would know the Pin better than Tom? So come along and get some really good tips specifically applicable to the Jumpinpin area. Should be very interesting. Acknowledgement: This Newsletter was kindly copied by Kay Elson s office at no charge to the club. Special thanks to Neville Wright for his kind assistance. May Trips: There are three trip options available this month, including the club trip to Maroon Dam chasing Bass on Saturday 13 May (Sunday is Mother s Day), the ANSA Winter State Titles on 20 th -21 st, and the King of the Pin on the weekend 27 th -28 th. Details will be provided at the May meeting. SPEAKING OF TRIPS Don t forget to book well ahead for the Lake Monduran trip for the week 3-10 November this year to REALLY get among those big Barra. Start planning your holidays now guys we re serious this year. (This is the last reminder to be included in the Newsletter for this trip.) But remember - there ll be a full moon whilst we re there! It drives the Barra into a feeding frenzy! AND ANOTHER GREAT VALUE TRIP OPPORTUNITY xml Page 1 23-Apr-06

2 Ross Williamson and Ray Bricknell are locking in on the week 23 to 30 June for a low cost week fishing the creeks and rivers close to Coffs Harbour, including the lovely Bellingen River at Urunga, in the heart of the Blackfish season. SBSFC Web Site: Check it out - My COD! What a Mouth! FishCal says the week we ve picked is a TOP fishing week the fish will be in a feeding frenzy all week. And the early morning high tides will present ideal Luderick fishing conditions. Book your place for this trip with Trip Captain Ray Bricknell now. Trip Reports Sadly, your Editor has received no trip reports for the Newsletter this month. The Moreton Bay trip was too late to be included, so we ll hopefully pick it up next month. The Virgin In a tiny village on the Irish coast lived an old lady, a virgin and very proud of it. Sensing that her final days were rapidly approaching, and desiring to make sure everything was in proper order when she dies, she went to the town's Undertaker (who also happened to be the local Postmaster) to make the proper "final" arrangements. As a last wish, she informed the undertaker that she wanted the following inscription engraved on her tombstone: Cod caught in the Drysdale River by Ray Bricknell years ago (1989) with Ray s BEST EVER Barra Lure, lost at Lake Monduran Nov R.I.P. "BORN A VIRGIN, LIVED AS A VIRGIN, DIED A VIRGIN" The old maid died peacefully soon after. A few days after the funeral, as the Undertaker/Postmaster went to prepare the tombstone as the lady had requested, it became quite apparent that the tombstone she had selected was much too small for the wording that she had chosen. He thought long and hard about how he could fulfil the old maid's final request, considering the very limited space available on the small piece of stone. For days, he agonized over the dilemma. But finally his experience as a postal worker allowed him to come up with what he thought was the appropriate solution to the problem. The virgin's tombstone was finally completed and duly engraved, and it read as follows: "MARY JONES - RETURNED UNOPENED" Lake Monduran Barra Nov 2005 for those who have not yet booked for this year s Monduran Club Trip. Book now! It s the best club trip of the year! Barra like this are a near certainty xml Page 2 23-Apr-06

3 A Beginner s Guide to Fishing Northern Moreton Bay - Jeremy Arnold This is designed to be a basic guide to Northern Moreton Bay for people not familiar with this area. More experienced people may not agree with all that is written here, and they are welcome to contribute additions or alterations as I hope we can make this material available to all on our website. You will find that writers such as Warren Steptoe, Gordon McDonald, Jason Comino, etc., have all published material on this area in various publications which contains more detailed and specific information. Also, Brisbane club members Ross Cobb, Roy Lane, Steve Gregory, Steve Watson and Bob Carruthers (to name a few - hope I haven t forgotten anyone) are very experienced and successful in Moreton Bay, and I am sure they would be happy to help if someone was looking for additional or more specific information. Boat ramps: Spinnaker Sound a 2-3 lane ramp with sand either side. Suitable for large trailer boats. Nudgee double lane ramp with pontoon. The channel that leads out into Moreton Bay is narrow and can be shallow on the bottom of a big low tide. Caloundra there is a steep and narrow ramp next to the Coast Guard with a pontoon. Alternatively, there are two single lane ramps with beach either side at the Power Boat Club about 3 km up the passage. The Caloundra bar is shallow and frequently breaks all the way across. It is not a difficult bar to cross, but like all coastal bars, it can be dangerous, and local knowledge and experience with crossing bars is required. The Caloundra Coast Guard will assist with bar crossing if you ask them. I also cross this bar regularly and am happy for any club member to follow me out, provided you have bar crossing experience. General: Moreton Bay is predominantly shallow and sandy, with few fish holding features. There is very little reef structure within the bay. There are a few patches of coffee rock reef along the eastern side of Bribie Island (look in m of water around Woorim and further North) and around Comboyuro Pt, rumours of coffee rock in the Pearl Channel, and artificial reefs such as Curtin, the Captain Nelson, and the Tangalooma wrecks. There are strong tidal currents in the bay, and to be successful you need to know how to make these work in your favour. It can become rough quickly in winds over 15 knots, but Bribie Island provides some protection from W-SW winds, and Moreton Island from SE-NE winds. There are several major shipping channels which enter Moreton Bay from the North. These include the NW channel which runs close to Bribie Island, the main channel close to Moreton Island, and several smaller channels such as the Pearl and Spitfire channels. Large container ships use these channels and move surprisingly quickly, throw up a large bow wave, and cannot slow down or manoeuvre easily. Be well aware of any such ships and keep well out of their way. Moreton Bay is also great for families. Dolphins and turtles are encountered on nearly every trip. The dolphins in particular can be quite interactive, surfing your bow wave or coming up to the back of the boat for a feed. In certain areas, dugongs can also be seen, but these curious creatures are usually only an occasional sighting. The wrecks at Tangalooma are a safe and interesting spot for snorkeling, and you can stretch the legs on the beach there. There is also a partly protected beach and some wrecks at Bulwer, with a few shops just inland. You do need to be aware of Marine Park regulations (which are due for review in the near future), including go-slow zones for the protection of turtles and dugongs. Species The predominant fish species of interest are the tuna (mackerel, yellowfin, frigate mackerel, bonito, (striped, and longtail or Northern bluefin), mackerel (school or doggie, spotted, and Spanish), and kingfish (cobia and yellowtail). Mack tuna are the most common pelagic, with average size about 2 kg, but they are regularly caught over 6 kg and grow to about 12 kg. Longtail tuna average about 6-8 kg, but larger specimens of kg are quite common. School and spotted mackerel average about 2-3 kg and have minimum size limits of 50 cm and 60 cm respectively. It is quite common for the less experienced anglers to confuse these two species, as both have spots. Spaniards average around 8-10 kg, and there is no mistaking the shimmering chrome sides with vertical blue bands. What a great sportfish! Yellowtail kings average about 2 kg (minimum size 50 cm), while black kings average 6-8 kg, although these fish can 2006.xml Page 3 23-Apr-06

4 grow to over 30 and 60 kg respectively and are virtually unstoppable at that size, being renowned tough fighters at any size. Check Qld fisheries rules for additional information on size and bag limits, and the required cutting of a pectoral fin for Spanish mackerel. Bait collecting: Yellowtail scad (yakkas) and slimey mackerel (slimeys) can be collected using commercially available 6-hook livebait jigs around the channel markers (beacons). Use hook size 6. These are rigged with a 1-2 oz snapper sinker on the end and dropped down alongside the beacons to the depth the bait is holding at. Jig up and down and the bites should come. They can be spiced up with small pieces of squid or similar, but this usually just results in unwanted rubbish fish instead of baits. Yellowtail or striped sea pike and herring are also good baits, and whiptails can also be used if required. Finding Fish: Birds are your eye in the sky. Look for flocks of terns hovering over the water and frequently looking down or diving into the water. Birds higher above the water mean the fish are deeper, and birds close to the surface mean the fish are close to or on the surface. Occasionally, birds may be feeding on bait without accompanying pelagics. Your sounder will also find baitfish under the surface. Large tight bait balls are worth investigating by dropping a metal lure to the bottom and cranking back up, or jigging it. Eddies on the edges of banks, and ripples where a strong current changes depth, are also worth investigating. Sometimes you may come across a bait school rippling on the surface. There may be something there forcing the bait up. You might also see fish jumping or slashing with no birds present. The message is to keep a sharp lookout at all times, and investigate anything unusual. Other than all these visible signs, pelagics are also attracted to the eddies behind and in front of the major shipping beacons that mark the channels. These beacons attract bait and offer shelter from the currents. This is particularly true for school mackerel, and also cobia and yellowtail kings. The best beacons are those in deeper water (15 m +) with plenty of bait, but all beacons are worth a drop of the lure. Be considerate of other boats which may already be anchored next to a beacon (it is illegal to tie off the beacons), and also realise that boat noise tends to put the fish off. If after a few passes you have not raised any fish, move to the next beacon, but you can always come back again in an hour. The technique involved in fishing the beacons is to position the boat up current so that it will drift within 5-10 m of the beacon. When you are near the beacon, drop the lures from the rod tip straight down and freespool to the bottom, then crank them as fast as possible back to the surface. High speed threadlines such as the TSS4 spooled with 3-6 kg line are ideal. Short lobs are OK, but long casts are a waste of time in the strong currents. My favourite lures for this style of fishing are the Javelin Laser 35 and 50g in chrome silver. Raiders are also good. Most hits come within the first 5 m of the bottom, but fish can also take the lure next to the surface. Be careful to stop winding before the lure reaches the rod tip! I have also caught a number of snapper up to 4.6 kg, which have all taken the lure on the drop. Any sudden increase in speed as you freespool the lure should be investigated by striking. You can also anchor up current and fish weighted live baits and/or pilchards. Tuna: Tuna feed on small baitfish in the major shipping channels and along the edges of the sandbanks. These baitfish are frequently very small whitebait and frogmouth pilchards (20-30 mm), but can be larger. Tuna are finicky feeders and it is often essential to use a lure which closely resembles the fish they are feeding on. I have found the use of a snap swivel will reduce bites by ten-fold. They generally feed into the wind, and will usually sound if approached too closely by a boat, so boat positioning can be critical and is a skill in itself. Small metal baitfish profiles (BPs) in the 10-20g size, such as those available very cheaply through Ross Cobb (CT Lures), are most effective on mack tuna and speed is the key. You cannot wind too quickly! Poppers can be very effective (and exciting!) on longtail tuna. Live baiting is a very effective way to catch longtail tuna. A yakka or slimey pinned through the nose or bridled and set under a balloon is a sure way to get hooked up to a longtail. Rig them with a suitable live bait hook (e.g. Mustad big gun ) in size 4/0 to 8/0 to suit the bait, and 2m of 40 lb mono leader. Tuna are available all year round in Moreton Bay, but best numbers are found from January through June xml Page 4 23-Apr-06

5 Mack tuna are not to be eaten, but freeze well and are excellent bait fresh or frozen for a wide range of reef fish, including snapper. Yellowfin and longtail tuna are good eating, either as sashimi or as marinated steaks on the BBQ. A 13 kg longtail was taken on a trolled live yakka. Mackerel: Mackerel can also be found feeding on baitfish on the surface, but it takes an experienced eye to spot the difference from tuna. In contrast to tuna, they do not seem to mind a snap clip or swivel, which will help to reduce bite offs, and the same lures used for jigging the beacons are the go. Cast your lures to the edges to avoid being bitten off by other fish in the school. Anchoring near some structure (shipping beacon, reef area), burleying cubes or through the masher, and setting a range of pilchards on gang hooks (use 3 x 4/0 or 6/0 Mustad 7766 pattern) and live baits either under floats/balloons, mid-water or on bottom is effective and will produce a variety of species. Pilchards and live baits can also be trolled when rigged correctly, either unweighted as flat lines or using a ownrigger. Wire is not required when using lures or pilchards for mackerel. You will lose the odd fish, but will definitely get more bites. On the other hand, wire is essential when live baiting for mackerel. Use the brown single strand wire (38 lb is OK for the smaller mackerel species, but use 58 lb if targeting Spanish mackerel). Hooks are tied to the wire using a haywire twist. Use about 40 cm of wire from a swivel to the first hook (big gun 4/0 or 6/0) and then about 15 cm to the second hook (big gun 6/0 or treble 1/0). I have also caught longtail tuna and cobia live baiting with wire for mackerel. Trolling barra spoons from a downrigger or paravane can also be effective for doggies and spotties. Best Times. School mackerel are available all year, although there are seasonal variations in different parts of the bay. I find that spring is one of the best times for schoolies off Caloundra. Spotted and Spanish mackerel are best in January to June. Mackerel should be gaffed and quickly subdued with a priest/donger. All mackerel have extremely sharp teeth which are to be kept clear of. They make excellent eating if bled out and properly iced down, particularly fresh. Kingfish: I will keep this bit short, as I am definitely no expert on either yellowtail or black kingfish. They can be caught spinning the beacons, on poppers, and love live baits. Cobia and yellowtail kings move into Northern Moreton Bay in numbers in Spring, and can be found around the shipping beacons and coffee rock reef. Both fish species continue to be available throughout summer, and there are a few resident fish available all year round. Curtin artificial reef is a well known haunt for both, but good luck trying to stop them burying you in the wrecks! Some GPS marks to get you started: Western Rocks: off the NW end of Moreton Island near Yellowpatch in m of water. This is a large area of coffee rock reef which can hold cobia, tuna, snapper and sweetlip. Subject to strong current flow. S , E Curtin Artificial reef: established in 1969 and located on a drop off from m. Contains about 20 wrecks on a sand bottom. Attracts a variety of pelagics. S , E Hutchies: favourite trolling ground for wahoo, yellowtail kings, mahi mahi and other game fish, but can get crowded. S ; E ; S , E (more GPS marks are available at (Editor s Note: Congratulations to Jeremy Arnold on producing this great article, and many thanks for his permission to reproduce it.) Fish Graveyard Exposes the Shameful Waste of Our Trawlers - 11 March 2006 Source: The four tonnes of fish washed onto a 16km stretch of Sunshine Coast beaches on Wednesday and Thursday was the usually hidden price we pay for fresh prawns. Horrified beachgoers were shocked to find the foreshore from Buddina to Peregian smothered in rotting fish, prompting calls for an immediate inquiry into the industry. An industry insider said it was not uncommon for trawlers to churn through a tonne of by-catch, including red emperor and coral trout, each hour for returns of as little as a 20-litre bucket of prawns. Independent Trawlers Association president Vicki Burnett said there were probably more effective by-catch reduction devices than the ones being used, and the organisation was working closely with the Government to see if practices could be refined. But she disputed that one tonne of marine life is regularly wasted for a meagre prawn catch. "There are fish being caught in the nets, but probably not usually in those amounts we saw this week, 'Ms Burnett said. "The majority goes back alive, and the rest goes into the food chain." The Department of Primary Industries has called on the 2006.xml Page 5 23-Apr-06

6 industry to take positive action to eliminate future incidents of this kind. Full article: See also: Talks Focus on By-Catch Reduction 14/3/ /6 COMMITTEE PRESIDENT: Lloyd Willmann Ph: VICE-PRES: David Rawlins Ph: SECRETARY: Ross Williamson Ph: TREASURER: Tom Wallbank Ph: ANSA REP/Rec: Lloyd Willmann Ph: TAG. OFFR: John Cumberland Ph: RAFFLES: Chris Eldred Ph: BAR OPS: David Rawlins Ph: CTTEE MEMBER: Neil McNeil Ph: NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Ray Bricknell LIBRARY STUFF The club library has the following items available for borrowing by the members. Please see Ross on club nights if you want to borrow one of these. 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) Local Media Addresses Ross Williamson urgently needs our help. Will you please check in every free paper you receive at home or at work to see what the address is for Community Notices and/or Editorial Input? Pass it on to Ross ASAP please, as he regularly puts out media releases for the club. This gets us new members. Membership Fee Increases Sorry all after holding the fees at the same level for two years, ANSA has been forced to put its fees up a little due once again to an increase in Insurance costs. The club adds very little to the ANSA fee, so we have no choice but to pass the small increase on. It only takes the Senior Membership fee to $58 and the Family Membership fee to $77 no big deal. Fees for 2006/7 are due at or before the July meeting. New members joining now are paid up to 30 June Guest Speaker Programme Your Committee has put together a very interesting programme of Guest Speakers for the coming months, so you can look forward to a whole series of interesting and informative meetings in 2006/7. Details will be in future Newsletters. Kids Fishing Days OK members get your Mentoring hats on! The SBSFC is going to offer to provide helpers to the Brisbane SFC s Kids Fishing Day. So we need Volunteers ASAP we need to get you a Blue Card to allow you to legally work with kids. No big deal, but it takes time. So let the Secretary know NOW if you are prepared to help out subject to your availability on the day. There was too much red tape involved for us to organize our own Kids Day this year but maybe next year if the Brisbane Club s day goes well. Also have a think about which kids you might like to nominate for the day! Thinking? 2006.xml Page 6 23-Apr-06

7 SPECIAL DEALS Gas Bottle Refills - $15 for 9 Kg. John Prince has found a place which refills 9 Kg Gas Bottles for $15. They cost $22 at the caravan sales place in Yatala, and an exchange bottle at the Shell Service Station in Yatala costs $ Princie is checking out the cost of gas bottle exchange at Bunnings, where he thinks it is only $19 and they ll apparently take expired gas bottles One of these days he ll give us some updated details to include in the Newsletter. Troy Park, Mobile Outboard Mechanic Ph: offers a discount to club members, and has been found to be good value. R.T.L. Trailers Mark builds trailers and repairs them very economically a good tradesman too. 79 Boundary Street, Beenleigh. Beenleigh Bait & Tackle The new owners of the local bait and tackle shop are improving their range of stock, and their prices for both gear and rod and reel repairs appear to your Editor to be very competitive. They will happily give a 10% discount to any Club Member who shows a membership card (which is a bit of a contrast with Springwood Marine, where your Editor had to bargain for his 10% Club Discount recently, and was less than impressed by the prices of the gear he bought). Beenleigh Bait & Tackle also now distributes a few Newsletters for us check them out! GEAR FOR SALE & WANTED Club Logos for Shirts, and Stickers for Boats Just a reminder - for $6.00 you can have the SBSFC logo embroidered onto your own shirt. Bring your dress shirt / polo shirt or fishing shirt to the meeting with $6.00 and it will be back at the following meeting. The $6.00 fee includes a $1.00 levy that will go towards reimbursing the club for the $75.00 set up cost. Please note:- Do not supply a shirt that already has anything printed on it that would connect the Fishing Club with something that is unsavory e.g. "We hate Pigs" across the back of the shirt. John Cumberland has had large and small boat stickers printed, and these are available for sale at the every meeting. $1 small; $5 large. USEFUL NUMBERS: Qld Boating Weather SE Qld Boating Weather Qld Marine Warnings Fishwatch Hotline Crabpot Theft Hotline 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. Meeting Room Location Map: As a service to members, future editions of the Newsletter will contain a small section of For Sale & Wanted Ads. Only paid up members may use this facility. Ads should generally be restricted to fishing and boating related gear but no value limits apply. To place an ad, simply or give the ad contents to your Editor. raybrick@bigpond.net.au 2006.xml Page 7 23-Apr-06

8 Trips Calendar 2006 Month Dates Species Water Body Nearest Town & Trip Captain April 23 rd Various Southern Moreton Bay TBC 28 th -1 st May Various Burnett Heads Bundaberg SFC 13 th Bass Maroon Dam Boonah TC: Jeff Maddalena May 20 th -21 st Various ANSA Winter State Titles 27 th -28 th Flathead King of the Pin Jacob s Well 9 th -12 th Various Clarence River Iluka TC: Geoffrey Daley June 11 th Snapper Brisbane River Wynnum TC: Lloyd Willmann 13 th th Luderick, Bream, 20 Mulloway, Flathead Bellingen River Urunga area TC: Ray Bricknell July 15 th -16 th Snapper Bribie Island Bribie Island TC: Ray Bricknell 12 th -13 th Bass & Barramundi Bjelke Petersen Dam Kingaroy TC: David Rawlins August th Flathead, Luderick, 13 Tailor Broadwater Southport 25 th th ANSA State -27 Conference September 2 nd 3rd Bream Tweed River Yeppoon Homestead Caravan Park Chinderah TC: John Cumberland October November 22 nd Flathead Coomera River Jabiru Island 29 th -5 th Nov Barramundi Lake Awonga Brisbane SFC 3 rd -10 th Barramundi Lake Monduran Gin Gin TC: Ross Williamson 5 th Bass Crestbrook Dam Crows Nest December 16th Christmas Party 2006.xml Page 8 23-Apr-06