Table of contents for December 2022/January 2023 in Fishing World

The CSIRO, the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) and AFMA have jointly developed an Adaption of Fisheries to Climate Change Handbook, aimed at helping the fishing industry, fisheries managers and other fisheries stakeholders establish a shared understanding of climate risks and develop adaptive management options. The handbook is designed to help these stakeholders explore how climate change affects aspects of fisheries management such as sustainable catch limits, fishing rules, and methods and gear used. Lead author CSIRO’s Dr Beth Fulton commented “Our science shows that many marine species, including fished species, are facing threats due to climate change, like changes to water temperature, ocean chemistry or habitat distribution” and that “The combined pressures of climate change mean that fisheries are likely to become more variable, affecting when where…

VIDEO has emerged of the moment two Ohio tournament anglers were caught cheating at walleye tournament weigh-in. According to Meateater, anglers Jacob Runyan and Chase Cominsky were busted cheating in the Lake Erie Walleye Trail event. After a dubious winning streak, suspicions were raised and the duo were caught with at least eight pounds of lead weights and even fish fillets in the stomachs of fish that they weighed in. WIN! Finish World and Berkley are giving one lucky winner each month the chance to win a handful of new Berkley Shimma Fork Tail lures. To be in the draw, simply head over to our Facebook page and enter our Berkley Shimma Photo of The Month Competition. Winners will be announced on Facebook each month. Good luck!…

These days it’s difficult to choose between soft plastics. Most tackle shop walls are lined with hundreds of varieties. There are different shapes, colours, scents and more. It’s confusing. Bite Science is a new player on the market with a down to earth selection of colours and a well-thought-out range that covers all bases. Best of all, they’re quite affordable with prices ranging from $7.95 to $10.95. If you lose some, and you will, it won’t hurt so much. The range includes seven tail designs that are unrigged, while the remainder are pre-rigged. I’ve predominately been using the small pre-rigged versions to chase local trout and bass. The Thump Shade Rigged 3” in particular is a life-like shad or minnow style plastic pre-rigged and weighing 7/16oz with a 1/0 hook.…

Sunglasses are an unsung hero. With so much focus on the fishing gear we use and the location we fish, it’s easy to forget the importance of quality eyewear, which in my opinion are essential for fishing. Understanding the differences between various sunglasses and ensuring you have the correct pair that suits you makes all the difference when targeting specific species, fishing in different locations and lighting conditions. Over the next few pages, let’s explore the world of sunglasses and delve into the details that matter. Before we go any further, in the interest of transparency, it’s important to note Fishing World worked together with iconic, polarised sunglass brand Maui Jim to produce this feature story. While Maui Jim supplied some technical info and access to sample glasses, the opinions…

MOST fishos love a challenge and these challenges take different forms. Our methods and techniques adapt over time as we progress as anglers. Our skills improve and we catch more fish, bigger fish, or we refine our approach to keep things interesting. If you want to keep things interesting, you best find an interesting fish. The sand flats of Western Australia’s remote Kimberley coastline is home to one of the most interesting, yet difficult species to catch – the blue bastard. Blue bastards – yes, that’s their real name – are a tropical species found all across the top end of Australia. Targeting blue bastards has grown in popularity over the past few years, although most anglers still find them a mystery and there’s so much to learn. There’s a…

Fishermen utilise all types of vehicles in the pursuit of finding and catching fish. This includes boats, cars, motorbikes, pushbikes (some are helped along by batteries these days), but I reckon helicopters are probably the most exciting way to go chasing fish. I remember hearing stories of people using choppers to access the remote and difficult areas of the Blue Mountains when growing up in Bathurst. The trout would head up the streams to spawn in great numbers if we received good rainfall at the right time of the year but as mentioned the streams are in some of the steepest country to be found in Australia. My friends and myself did a few walk-in trips over the years and most involved a full days hike in and the same…

These days it’s hard to predict seasonal changes. The recent flooding across NSW and Queensland seemed to postpone or even override our regular fishing cycles. In flood affected regions the rivers were unfishable, which had an adverse impact offshore. Through parts of summer, bait was sporadic and the mackerel arrived later than usual. Difficult weather patterns ensured only small windows of opportunity to venture outside. Fishos along the coast were biding their time and waiting for their chance to pounce. A seriously cold snap was mother nature’s declaration that winter had arrived. The rains eased up and optimism spread throughout the land. Any angler with the colour red on their mind had tunnel vision, snapper season was at our doorstep. This article explores tactics for catching snapper on plastics. Including…

I have been using Simrad, more specifically the NSS range in my boats since 2015. Now, I’m certainly no tech guru but I have always found the Simrad gear extremely user friendly. I feel like even the most inexperienced user could navigate their way through settings and use the unit on full auto and be more than happy with the performance of the unit. Recently, I installed the new NSX unit in my centre console. The unit would be replacing an older NSSevo2 that was in the boat when I purchased it and would be dash mounted next to a new model NSSevo3s, which I thought would be great test for the unit as I really like my evo3s and has been faultless to date. When I initially received the new…

REVIEW: Salt-Attack review LIKE many other ocean-minded Aussies, I’m into most activities that take place in, on and around the water. The investment in this passion – boats, fishing gear, boards, wetsuits and more – is nothing to sneeze at, so it’s important to look after your gear if you want it to last. The marine environment is particularly harsh on equipment. As we all know, if you don’t remove all the salt from your gear after a day on the water, the combined effects of UV sunlight and salt water quickly take hold. I’d always found Salt-Away to be ideal for washing my boat and flushing the engine. Over the years, a number of other products have entered the market under various names; each claiming to better than the…

To me, landbased fishing is hard to beat. It’s simple fishing, often only requiring rod and reel and a few lures. It’s also a great way to stretch the legs and get some exercise. Though, if catching mulloway on lures is your primary objective, it’s not always the best option and there’s no question that a boat or even a kayak opens the door to many more ways of catching these fish. That said – and as boat owners will know – boats aren’t always easy… Hooking up, fueling up and washing down can be time consuming. Unexpected boat and electronic issues and ramp traffic over the weekends is also problematic. These factors can make it hard to justify getting the boat out to fish and hour or so over…

The last federal government claimed that it had created marine parks in 30% of Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone, in line with international targets, and the new Labor environment minister recently noted that the recent creation of fully protected marine parks in Australia’s Indian Ocean Territories has increased that figure to 45%. But a group of twenty-three marine scientists recently questioned these raw statistics, noting that commercial fishing is allowed in three quarters of the area of our marine protected parks. They also report that industrial fishing, including trawling, gill netting and scallop dredging, is allowed in many marine park zones. The group contends that only 9% of Commonwealth waters and 9% of state waters are protected in no-fishing zones, and that industrially fished areas are not included in the International…

ANITA ARRIVES A BRAND new Zerek Fish Trap colour has arrived. Colour AN (Anita) is a black Fish Trap with highlight, UV-active yellow tail and pectoral fins. Zerek has included a UV-active eye as well. Anita was designed by the Anita Barra boys, Liam Robinson and James Wilson, two of the best barra anglers going around. Zerek asked Liam and James the reasons behind the colour and they said: “We based AN off the Sunset colour (straight black with UV eye), which has been one of, if not our most successful colour at night. “But during the day we got more bites with Black Jack (BJ) or Red Devil (RD), so we thought a bit of contrast in the day will help to trigger the barra to bite a bit…

When the sun sank behind the high, vertical cliffs on a fairly typical bass fishing afternoon at the Clarence River Gorge, a really pleasant afternoon reached legendary status in an instant. The fishing had been good but now our surface lures were being belted within seconds of plopping onto the water, and it continued to improve as the light faded to night. This was Gorge bass biomass fishing at a level that only occurs when all the stars line up, and better yet, we were the only anglers in sight. The Clarence River Gorge, west of Grafton, NSW, is described by many as Australia’s premier bass fishery because when environmental conditions are right, the Gorge is a natural bass aggregator on the largest freshwater river on the east coast of…

On the east coast of Australia the summer current moves slowly from the north tracking along the coast in a series of winding eddies as it moves onto the inshore grounds. Every season is different, but the movement of this big band of warm water changes the fish activity on the offshore grounds by bringing a wide range of travelling fish with it. The East Australian Current arrives on the central Queensland coast in September, moves down to northern New South Wales in December and reaches the south coast of New South Wales in March. More recently, it seems that this current arrives earlier than expected and seems to extend further south, even reaching Tasmania at times. When it arrives the water temperature increases by a few degrees, and the…

Australian fishing TV show Hook, Line and Sinker has been screening on free-toair television for over 20 years. With one half of the comedic fishing duo [Nick Duigan] entering politics, Andrew Hart seems pretty happy about having the boat to himself most of the time! Fisho caught-up with Harty to chat about his latest Fishing Weapon… What’s your current boat? Where has it taken you while filming the latest season of the show? It’s the mighty Bar Crusher 730XT with a Yamaha F250 and full Helm Master EX system. Where’s it taken me? Where hasn’t it taken me?! Over the past 18 months I’ve towed the boat from the Bar Crusher factory in Melbourne right the way up to Darwin. I’ve fished for everything in it – from Murray cod…

When it comes to chasing the elusive King George whiting quality sounder equipment is well and truly worth it’s weight in gold. The ability to confidently locate likely whiting bottom or interpret on-screen sonar returns can really make the difference between a successful day on the water and one to forget. Thanks to highly detailed sonar imagery and target separation the Lowrance HDS Live certainly ticks all the boxes as far as this fickle species is concerned and for me it’s hard to imagine life without it when chasing a few inshore “KGs”. Now normally for a story of this nature I’d delve straight into the nitty gritty of sonar frequencies and settings however it is the often overlooked colour palette that I feel is equally if not more important…

Flying and fishing doesn’t always mix. Anyone who has travelled with fishing gear, or any oversize luggage for that matter, would appreciate the frustration with restrictions that comes with inconsistent airline rules. Not only are fishing rods inherently long, but we also carry objects which don’t pass the security test. Taking rods, line, sharp hooks, and obviously knives, is a big no-no for Australian travellers and the same rules apply in most places around the world. If this isn’t enough, cost saving measures across airlines post-Covid means weight restrictions have become tighter and more regularly enforced. What’s the solution? Thankfully, tackle companies have come to the party with more and more innovative gear that’s travel friendly. There are now multi-piece rods and luggage designed specifically for fishos. I’ve owned several…

Does frozen bait work? Is fresh bait better? Can I collect and freeze my own? These and many other queries are raised by anglers as they peruse the bait freezer. For experienced anglers frozen bait may be far from a mystery but there are quite a few who are unsure about it. This article is directed at those who approach the bait freezer with uncertainty. THE STORY SO FAR… Up until mid-last century it was possible to source various live and fresh baits from tackle shops. However, many anglers did not have a shop nearby or the money to spend on bait, so they gathered their own. This was an integral part of fishing. Bait was used on the same day or soon after. Most home ice chests or freezers…

After three years of Covid lockdowns, closed borders and shut down international travel, everything is open again and many Australian anglers will be looking at getting away or may have already enjoyed a fishing trip interstate or overseas. Covid played havoc with fishing travel both locally and internationally and there will be many operators and guiding services all around the world looking forward to getting customers back on their books and rods bent. No doubt there will be a lot of anxious anglers out there who may have had to cancel planned trips, looking forward to finally being able to travel to any number of destinations. Many of those anglers will be well travelled fisho’s who have enjoyed previous trips but there will also be plenty of “newbies” who have…

Catching billfish on lures can often be extremely frustrating and sometimes the hook-up and fight might only last for seconds or just a few minutes. Marlin have a tough boney bill and upper and bottom jaw and the point of the hook can sometimes grab momentarily, then after a few jumps or head shakes it gets dislodged and falls out. The ideal place to hook any marlin in a secure location is in the corner of the jaw or in the roof of the mouth. Marlin are a very tricky species to stay connected to that’s for sure, but the following hooks, rigs and techniques will help you achieve the best possible chance to tag and release your first or best ever marlin. THE HOOKS These days there are so…

1 Twelve-year-old Max landed this 57cm rainbow trout recently lat the Lake Eildon pondage. 3 Miller Natale, 12-years-old, with a snapper caught on a Gold Coast snapper charter. 4 22-month-old Alexander with his first catch during a recent Book Week. He’s hoping to catch some real snapper in the near future! 2 Eleven-year-old Patrick Willsher with a long tom he caught off a sand bar on the Noosa River in Queensland. WIN BIG! SEND YOUR DIGITAL PHOTOS AND A DESCRIPTION OF YOUR CATCH TO PICTURES@FISHO.COM.AU FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN. Each month we will select five lucky winners for our Grin & Win section. Grin & Win winners will each receives a quality Shimano spin reel! E-mail your entry and contact details to: pictures@fisho.com.au Please include your name and age and details…

In today’s modern society we all want our prize possessions to be able to multi-task. If you’re purchasing a new 4WD for example it’s got to be comfortable, look great and be more than competent both on and off the road. Now the same can be said when it comes to looking at a new boat, especially for the modern sport fisher; you know that person who has all the latest rods, reels and tackle. The same angler who’s backwater bass fishing one week then taking on the wind and the swell the next targeting a new PB kingfish on some offshore reef. Actually, I think I just described myself! Anyway, what I’m getting at is finding a boat that ticks the estuary, bay and offshore fishing boxes and gives…

Fishing World recently got the opportunity to check out Suzuki’s latest DF140BG drive-by-wire range. The twin Suzuki DF140BG outboards were rigged on the Edencraft 6.0 Offshore during a Edencraft “road trip”, showing off the range of boats and engines to potential buyers along the East Coast of Australia. Fisho caught up with the team from Edencraft at South West Rocks on the NSW North Coast on the eve of some less-than-ideal conditions. Below are some technical details about the new engines. The 2022 iteration of Suzuki’s DF115BG and DF140BG drive-by-wire range brings its proven drive-by-wire technology to its 115HP and 140HP in-line four cylinder models, Suzuki is providing simplified rigging for a wide range of boat builders, along with silky smooth shifting, instant throttle response, enhanced performance and superior fuel…