Funny you should mention this Goodz. Was reading Jacko's write up yesterday in the West "Anyone found fishing for these species in the West Coast bio region during the closure period could face a $400 infrinegement notice , regardless of whether or not they have caugt a fish". So what constitutes fishing for these species? You can use the same paternoster rig for Sharks or Sambos. Pretty hard to enforce that one methinks.

any pics ben?

I have got some sized snapper, Breaksea cod and a baby Dhu while chasing sand whiting. Im using size 4 hooks with a tiny piece of squid , so im definately not chasing demersals.

I think they introduce these laws with very little idea of how to police them. I dont know how to solve the problem of bycatch and unless they put a complete ban on all fishing it's going to happen. ( not that i want this )

It would be interesting in court on how they could argue that you had intent even tho you reliesed the fish you werent targeting.

OMO , cheers Grant .

I was fishing off Scarborough today targeting whiting with a size 4 hook and prawn, drifted pretty close to a yachting marker and picked up a small snapper.  successfully released.  definitely no intention of catch snapper there!

 there is an old saying....

big hooks catch big fish, small hooks catch small & big fish...

So when targeting smaller species like whiting etc, the chances of a by-catch is always goinf to happen.

Also not the first dhuie I have seen taken on jig in a sambo school. In fact Al Bevans boat got one by old Michael the dentist back in 2004 in fact.

it's always going to happen, and good handling will reduce the trauma and improve the swim-away rate.

Id say its something best not discussed or displayed on a public forum, for the very reason mentioned by grantartic1 above-just my thought.......

I dont fish any deeper than 20mtrs during the ban then any Dhu you catch has a better chance of survival than if you were fishing deep. As long as they swim away healthy its all good. I thought Dhuies breeding time was in December so why we have the ban now is a bit of a mystery after all its all about the fish isnt it??

Quite common for dhuies to be under sambo schools in shallower water. Most of the time you wouldn't know they are there because the sambos are too quick to the bait or jig.

When jigging for sambos in the ban I tend not to let the jig hit the bottom. If you stop it ten or so metres off the bottom you'll still get the sambos but avoid the dhuies.

If you do hook a dhuie (which is easy to tell the difference from a sambo) you should take as much time as possible to bring it to the surface and release the fish in the water to give it the best chance of survival.

Willo dhuies breed at different times of the year at different places. Down south is much later than the metro. I have seen male dhuies do there business when they hit the surface after being caught in the middle of winter. So I be guessing they can breed at any time of the year but November through to Janurary is their peak times.

Not a good topic for public forum . Keep the pics and reports coming and you won't get to fish for anything during the ban.

 Righto sorry guys, Adam can feel free to delete this. 

Didn't mean to expose the big secret out to the public that demersals could be accidentally caught while fishing for other fish during the ban. 

another sad example of how someone asking for peoples point of view turns into a witch hunt, i wish my opinion was always right, nice fish mate!

If we dont read it then it cannot be true .........................

The regulations refer to fishing for ..........hence directly targetting .............dimersals.

Perhaps the whiting comp should be cancelled as some of my biggest metro dhuie have been captured whilst expressly targetting large KGW in flat ground in the late thirties early fourties - small hooks, light lines and thin ""worms"" of skinned occy.

I wasn't targetting dhuies then indeed lost several huge fish that simply dragged me to the nearest rock outcrop and broke me off - no amount of light drag was ever going to make any impression. 

Using light gear it is easy to break em off the moment you know you have a larger fish ............small hooks quickly rust out

Use truly light gear and there should be no issue - as for jigging them ............hmmmmmmmmm, ..........caught between a rock and a hard place but decent sambo gear should allow for slow (easy to recognise the different fighting characteristics) reteive and therefore maximum chance of successful release with a release weight

Sunshine

  Danial y wrote:

You're out demerasl fishing on your own, you catch one sized dhuie on the first drop and you keep it. You aren't going to go home because you've only just got there, so you keep fishing hoping to catch some nice pinkies or baldies. What happens if you catch a big dhuie then that's absolutley spent? You aren't allowed to keep it because you've already got your 1 dhuie on board.

Good point Danial,

I only herd off this a few months ago, and being a bit slow and mindful of the fish population never considered it, firstly i am lucky if i catch one dhue, and secondly would never throw one back dead so as to gain a few more fillets.

I have always wondered how the better more experiecend fishos go in regards to upgrading since the Demersal limits came into afect!! 

GoodZ

 Mate your doing the right thing by fishing for sambos on shallower ground to avoid the sharks and loss of fish, youve been around a while and i have seen plently of good fish fall to you. i dont know you, but dont think you would target dhues just for catch and release, shit happens it went back good so all is good!!

As mentioned, Slow retrieve and allways carry a reliese weight.

been fishing most of my life and over the years many new regulations have come in and it has never stopped me enjoying my fishing. ( although some regulations may be confusing and hard to keep track as they change so quickly).

I still take my kids to the swan river to catch tailor although i know full well i wont be getting any sized ones anymore(30 cms i think) i still catch them then throw them back. i see this no different to accidently catching a dermersal fish during the ban, if you do catch one then put them back ( with the proper means of course) still heaps of fun being out there.

i just hate the thought of people getting all stressed out fishing with all these regulations in place and not being able to just get out and have a good time fishing.

just my opinion

happy fishing

 What happens if you gut hook a dhuie or snapper during the ban? Throw it back and let it die?

So many stupid rules. I agree with the bans, we need tomrestockmour fish supplies from time to time.   But no point throwing back a dead fish, but if you keep it you get fined. 

Wonder how many guys are taking a loaf of bread and a gas burner fishing?

would be a good idea. Better in my stomach than going to waste floating in the ocean.

Stupid law, i spoke to a guy on here who constantly catches Demersals on when fishing for whiting....You pull it up to the boat and get a $400 fine? I say get a life.

I think its a valued topic to bring to discussion , (while the fish is a great catch awesome size and photo) i dont recomend putting it in forum. But i think this is an important discussion topic as bi-catch while fishing for other smaller species may be on the card . My opinions is do the right thing, get the release weight out and put it back, as for those people going out by themselves adn catching one smaller dhue then a monster , save yourself the pain and also amp the safety factor up and bring someone with you. that way you can keep both dhu fish and nothing is wasted. Also as for Goodz , I dont think he was intending any harm or being a smart arse in putting up this photo or topic, for aslong as i have been on here he has offered me some great advice and has great fishin reports.