Fishing with John Curtis - February 25, 2017

 GENERAL FISHING:

If you are going to fish in open ocean waters or from the rocks, - wear a life jacket.

Later this week it is March and this heralds the arrival of Autumn. This should mean cooler temperatures and an easing of the strength of the winds. If this occurs it will make boat fishing a little easier as drifts slow down and temperatures become more bearable. Species also become more prolific as we start to get winter species mixing with those considered summer species. However this has to be tempered with the fact that the weather these last few months has been anything but normal.

What we should see is a maximum temperature of around 29° C, with 4 days above 35°, an average minimum of a pleasant 16.6° C, and an average of 9.6 hours of sunshine per day.  We should also get around 21mm of rain over 4 days during the month. There has been a noticeable shift over the last few weeks in the sun rise and set times, as it is rising later and setting earlier each day.

SWANFISH IS ON THIS WEEKEND:

Another summer has nearly passed and what better way to enjoy some of the last rays of summer sunshine and the great fishing that it brings than to be a part of the annual Swanfish competition.

Swanfish is Melville Amateur Angling Club’s iconic, family-friendly fishing event held on the banks of the Swan River, this weekend. Every year Swanfish brings families and the fishing community together to appreciate the majestic and iconic Swan River waterway and the quality fishing it hosts.

The river’s health is improving every year and with healthy waterways comes great fishing. Don’t let the influx of fresh water following the recent rains deter you, there are still some great fish to be caught.

Hundreds of participants take part in this two-day fishing event, armed with their best-kept fishing secrets in hope of a winning catch on the day. Anyone and any fish can win and there are a lot of prizes and categories in which all types of fishers can enter their various catches.

The “Catch, Click and Release” category means you can win by catching a fish, snapping a photo and releasing it straight away without the need to carry it along to the weigh in. In a change from previous years there is no prize for weighing in a black bream. Proving that the three-decade-old event is capable of shifting with the times, reacting to public feedback and accommodating the community’s aspirations. This has meant a move towards more sustainable fishing and protecting the Swan River’s most targeted recreational fish species by making Black Bream a catch and release only species this year.

”The Catch, Click and Release categories mean you can win by catching a fish, snapping a photo and releasing it straight away without the need to carry it along to the weigh in.” said Melville Amateur Angling Club President Tony Ayrey.

The Swan River hosts fishing for all types of fishers from all walks of life and opportunities abound. The flats in the lower reaches hold good numbers of Yellowfin Whiting and Flathead with the surprise of Giant Herring a real chance. Tailor will be found around the drop-offs, marauding the hordes of baitfish taking refuge in the shallows. Mulloway will delight the experienced or just lucky angler anywhere in the deeper pockets and channels of the low to upper reaches and Black Bream are abundant throughout. Herring as well as other bread and butter species like Tarwhine, Sand Whiting and Garfish can be found in the lower reaches of the Swan.

Recfishwest continues to support this great tradition in celebrating the importance of fishing to the Western Australian community, and the value our precious waterways play in our lifestyle.  Show your support this year and enter you and your kids into Swanfish 2017. You’ll not only help celebrate the value the Swan River holds to Western Australian recreational fishers by fishing the event, but you’ll spend hours enjoying some quality family time on the banks of one of WA’s safest and accessible fishing locations.

Head over to www.swanfish.com.au for further details and to complete your registration for the event. Check out the video shared by the Swan River Trust showing the abundance of fish life in the depths of the Swan River that come out to play at night, here.

Need some help navigating where to fish in the Swan? Head over to www.ilovefishing.com.au for all your fishing needs. It may just help you win the big prize!

HOW TO GET INVOLVED:

Registrations:

You can register on line prior to the event either on the web page or via the Facebook page.

All participants MUST attend the Registration Marquee PRIOR to commencing fishing.

Registrations open from 9.00am to 5.00pm Saturday 25th February 2017 at Taylor Reserve / McCallum Park, Victoria Park

Fishing Period: As soon as registered, until 9:00am Sunday 26th February

Weigh In: This will be on Sunday 26th February 2017 at Taylor Reserve / McCallum Park from 9.00am

Competition Boundaries: Anglers are able to fish anywhere in the Swan and Canning Rivers, upstream of the Fremantle Traffic Bridge

Registration Fees:

Adults (16 and over) $20.00

Juniors (under 16) $10.00

Pension Card Holders $10.00 (card must be shown)

By Arrangement - Extreme Disabilities (needs carer) Complimentary

Prizes And Judging:

Prizes will be awarded under the categories outlined in the 'prize category'.

Prize(s) will be awarded to the competitor weighing in the single heaviest fish in that category, or the single longest fish in the catch and release category.

Most unusual capture will be judged by a panel as convened by the competition organisers.

The mystery tailor weight will be displayed on a board at the registration.

Mystery Tailor prize will be awarded to the angler weighing in the tailor closest in weight to that displayed on the mystery fish board at the registration.

KALBARRI SPORTS FISHING CLASSIC

The 31st Kalbarri Sports Fishing Classic is on again on the March long weekend on the 3rd, 4th & 5th March 2017. Full details of the event are listed in A LITTLE BIT extra at the end of these notes.

SNAPPER RELEASE EVENT:

Thousands of juvenile Pink Snapper were be released into Cockburn Sound as the remarkable Snapper Guardians project continued its legacy and there were over 700 people involved in the release. This was up on numbers from last year where there were around 400 people in attendance. Fisheries Minister Joe Francis and Opposition Spokesperson Dave Kelly also attended the event. Originally the event was set down for the 11th of February, but due to the threat of inclement weather it was postponed for one week

MARMION ANGLING AND AQUATIC CLUB’S BLUE WATER CLASSIC.

Last weekend saw this event run with some 704 competitors fishing from 245 boats. Initially the strong east / south-easterly winds made conditions a little difficult, particularly for smaller boats. As the breeze settled and conditions moderated, anglers were able to go wide and find some very good fish. Many anglers reported that they were plagued by small to medium sharks whilst fishing for other species and several lost good fish to them.

As this is a species competition anglers were fishing for the heaviest fish of the nominated species and there were several very good fish taken. Species winners were;

Whiting - 0.330 Kg, Todd Irvine; Herring, Ron D’Raine, 0.316 Kg; Breaksea Cod, Leon Sykes, 1.740 Kg; Garfish, Blake Shepherd, 0.242 Kg; Baldchin Groper, Richard Edwards, 3.36 Kg; Tailor, Kevin Murphy, 2.70 Kg; Flathead, Andrew Casella, 2.267 Kg; Dhufish, Frank Fernandez, 18.21 Kg; Harlequin, Andrew Casella, 1.444 Kg; Skipjack, Cameron Jenkinson, 1.318 Kg; Pink Snapper, Dave Woodcock, 7.20 Kg; King George Whiting, Selwyn Dolgoy, 1.21 Kg; Queen Snapper,(Blue Morwong) Adam Gangemi, 6.61 Kg; Samson Fish / Amberjack, Francis McKeown, 16.48 Kg. There were no Mackerel All / Wahoo weighed in.

The Lucky Competitor Prize was won by Dylan  Pilken who collected a 4.2m aluminium dinghy on a Dunbier trailer with 30hp Suzuki outboard, 4xpdf’s, anchor kit, inshore flares & 12 months registration & insurance. All in this prize was valued at $11,500. The event will be on again next year.

If you have some fishing information, have caught a good fish and want to brag, or have an item that may be of interest to other anglers and wish to share it, you can send the details to abc720saturdaybreakfast@yahoo.com.au

WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING AT POPULAR FISHING LOCATIONS

If you are going to fish in open ocean waters or from the rocks, please - wear a life jacket.

MANDURAH:

The Cut has been very productive over recent weeks with tailor, King George whiting, garfish and herring biting well. The jetty in front of the Jolly Frog has been producing good sized yellow-fin whiting throughout the day. In the estuary there are tailor, skippy herring, flathead and crabs. Several anglers also report a few good whiting being taken on soft plastics and hard bodied lures on the sand flat shallows in water up to thigh deep. Anglers are having to work hard to find them.

Tailor are prolific on beaches to the north and south with Tim’s Thicket and Preston producing school mulloway, small sharks and herring. One angler fishing to the south of Preston recently caught two good snapper from the beach, along with some nice tailor and other species.

The northern beaches have been producing yellow-fin whiting in the mornings, tailor late afternoons and mulloway after dark. A few larger mulloway have been caught from the beaches at Madora and Singleton.

There are still some good crabs about in the estuary, generally they are being taken in deeper water. The bridges are also producing good fish with herring, tailor, tarwhine and whiting being caught in numbers.

SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / WARNBRO / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY

Reports indicate that anglers are taking plenty of tailor along the beaches around Rockingham along with herring, whiting and an occasional mulloway. There have also been plenty of herring and yellow-fin whiting early in the morning. Anglers fishing the beaches near the grain silos through to Long Point indicate good catches of herring, tailor and some nice yellow-fin whiting. The local jetties are under siege from blowies during the day, but after dark there are a few tailor and herring. To avoid the blowies try using a small metal lure as they tend to leave them alone. They will quickly destroy soft plastic lures and that can become expensive for a nil return.

COCKBURN SOUND:

Land based anglers fishing around the Sound are catching some big herring, skippy, squid and yellow-finned whiting. Early morning anglers fishing near the Garden Island Causeway have been taking herring and occasional tailor earlier in the week. Good catches of herring and garfish are coming in from over the weed banks. Boat anglers report good sized snapper out over the broken bottom along with some excellent King George whiting. Kayak anglers are finding a few good snapper on soft plastics in the Sound and are having a ball with them.

KWINANA / NAVAL BASE / WOODMAN POINT / COOGEE:

Anglers fishing from the various platforms around the Point report that they are catching plenty of herring and large garfish along with several small sharks. Many anglers are chasing blue mackerel to use as fresh bait for trips north and are catching plenty of good sized fish. Anglers chasing squid report that there are still some good squid around making it worthwhile. Anglers fishing from Coogee Beach report good catches of very big sand whiting and a few herring and garfish along with a few blue mackerel. There are still a few tuna and spanish mackerel around and anglers ballooning baits out on the right winds have caught a couple in the last week or so. There have been a few reports of mid-sized salmon being taken from the jetties and rock platforms in recent weeks.

FREMANTLE / INNER HARBOUR / LOWER REACHES OF SWAN RIVER

Anglers fishing from the North Mole have been catching a lot of small sharks while fishing on the bottom. Mulloway have made a welcome appearance along with some excellent tailor. Herring and garfish are also prevalent and many anglers are taking home a good feed. Anglers fishing the changing light of a morning have found bonito on the bite occasionally. Bibbed minnows, small metal lures and baitcast mulies have all been taken by these fish.

On the outside of the South Mole, anglers report that there are plenty of herring, a few skippy and big garfish. The bottom end of the river is still producing tailor, flathead and tarwhine. “E” Shed wharf has also continued to be quite productive with a variety of fish being caught.

Big yellow-fin whiting are still around on the sandflats in the lower reaches of the river. Many anglers are now using small surface lures for these fish and having excellent results. Another very good bait for these fish is fresh shrimp caught locally. Remember to collect the bait up or downstream from where you intend fishing as too much noise and activity will spook the fish.

ROTTNEST

Land based anglers report taking some good yellowtail kingfish and a few tailor on the south side and west end of the island. There are some big herring being caught from most locations around the island along with skippy, King George whiting, tarwhine and garfish. Most of the skippy are coming from the reef holes around the island. It is worth tossing a small ball sinker with a sardine or a white bait into most reef holes on the north side of the island as it will generally produce some good skippy to 750 g or better. Several anglers report taking salmon particularly on the south west corner of the island.

PORT BEACH / LEIGHTON / COTTESLOE / SWANBOURNE:

Port Beach and Leighton have been producing some good fishing early morning for herring and whiting and the odd skippy. Some of the herring have been quite a good size.

Anglers chasing tailor will find that one of the best places to get amongst them in the metropolitan area is the Cottesloe groyne and the surrounding reef systems. There is a channel about 90 metres out from the front of the groyne and if you can get a bait into it then you will almost always bring back a good tailor. Fresh mulies are the answer and the fresher the better. The southern groyne down towards Fremantle is almost inaccessible to most anglers but those who have fished this area have been rewarded with some very good fish. One angler caught and released three tailor over 75 cm early last week. The rocks and reef systems to the north of the Cottesloe groyne are another spot that regularly produces good tailor and mulloway. Most of the fish are caught by anglers who know the area well and don’t give too much away. If you don’t pick up a mulloway then there is an even chance that you will catch a small shark.

CITY BEACH / FLOREAT / SCARBOROUGH / TRIGG ISLAND

Anglers are still able to take a reasonable bag limit of 8 fish per person of tailor, regularly from these beaches. This strip of local coastline has been consistently producing good tailor for many years. The better fish are being taken at dusk on most days. I have fished this section of the coastline consistently for more than forty years, and it is still producing excellent catches. I would consider that this year has been one of the best we have had for many years.

There are still herring and the odd tarwhine or skippy about, along with a few flathead for early morning anglers. Last week at Floreat Beach there were several anglers fishing as a group and catching herring, whiting, tailor and flathead. One whaler shark around 1.6 m was also taken.

NORTH BEACH JETTY / HILLARYS / OCEAN REEF / MINDARIE:

There has been plenty of herring, garfish and skippy being caught around the reefs and some good yellow-fin whiting on the sand alongside of the reefs. A few mulloway are still causing pulses to race when fishing after dark along the northern beaches. I would recommend a fillet of a freshly caught fish as the best bait when chasing these fish. Beaches either side of the Hillarys marina and the South Wall have been producing occasional tailor during the late afternoon, with just after dusk probably the prime time to fish. Early morning low tides have made fishing from the North Beach jetty interesting, as the end of the jetty is often out of the water. This has not deterred regular anglers who fish it and they are taking home a feed of fish most mornings.

QUINNS ROCKS /YANCHEP / TWO ROCKS / MOORE RIVER

Beaches up to Seabird and Lancelin and points north of Yanchep / Two Rocks have been producing some good tailor after dark. There are plenty of herring, whiting, skippy and flathead also being taken from these beaches during the day. There have been several large sharks taken from the beaches at Wilbinga during the last week and an angler fishing at Moore River landed a mulloway estimated at around 10 kg from the beach up at the 3 Mile reef.

SWAN AND CANNING RIVERS:

Tarwhine and small samsonfish are reported from around the Old Traffic Bridge in Fremantle. Tailor have been caught throughout the lower reaches of the river on a regular basis but Rocky Bay, Point Walter and the Bicton Baths seem to be the more productive spots. Anglers report that many fish are between 35 and 40 cm. Several mulloway have been taken between Mosman Bay and the Narrows. Flathead and flounder seem to be a little more active on the sand flats in the lower reaches of the river and particularly along the Applecross / Melville shoreline. Most bream activity has been around Heirison Island and through the Maylands area. The Canning is also producing some good fishing with several reports of bream and flathead being taken from locations in the area. Crabs are still being taken from deeper water with Blackwall Reach one of the better spots. Divers have been getting some very big crabs in deeper water out from Mosman and in Blackwall Reach.

BOAT FISHING:

For anglers in the southern suburbs there are plenty of small Westralian jewfish being taken on the Five Fathom Bank along with breaksea cod and a few snapper. Whiting are being caught in reasonable numbers and there are reports of plenty of squid over the weed beds between Silver Sands and San Remo just north of Mandurah.

Out from Fremantle, the Stragglers and the Windmills inside of Rottnest have been producing good small boat fishing. Good sized King George whiting to 50 cm, tailor to 1 kg and a lot of small skippy, garfish and herring have been taken regularly. The tip is “out early and come in on the sea breeze” when it gets up.

Boat anglers who have been working the back of the Three Mile Reef and the Fairway Buoy area are reporting several catches of spanish mackerel. Also there have been good tuna taken in the same area.

Several anglers have reported that there is still some good off-shore action out from Ocean Reef with catches comprising of Westralian jewfish, samsonfish, snapper and break sea cod, common. Sharks of various sizes are also still active out from Hillarys through to Two Rocks. There are also plenty of samsonfish if you anchor up over a lump and berley in water of 30 - 40 m in depth.

Offshore action has been better with the local boat anglers heading out early and returning on the breeze with good Westralian Jewfish and the inevitable samsonfish. There are also some reports indicating that a few good sized baldchin are about, probably the best eating fish to be caught close to shore. Last weekend a lot of anglers fishing off shore reported some good catches. Several anglers came in with only a few fish and others reported catching some very good pink snapper, samsonfish and Westralian Jewfish. It only takes one ‘jewie’ around 12 - 15 kg to really put a smile on an angler’s face. Boat anglers at the west end and out on the reef section to the north west of Rottnest Island report a few smaller shark mackerel and  spanish mackerel.

FISHING DATES FOR 2017

NEXT WEEKEND

The 31st Kalbarri Sports Fishing Classic is on again on the 3rd, 4th & 5th March 2017, during the best weather of the year. The “Classic” offers categories in game fishing and bottom fishing with teams of 2 to 5 anglers, and an individual kayak and river category. Anyone is invited to compete in this prestigious tournament where some of the best fishing is available within the state for $10,000 worth of great prizes. See A LITTLE BIT EXTRA for more details.

The Exmouth Game Fishing Club is to host the Australian Invitational Billfish Tournament. AIBT will be a three day tag and release event from March 12th-15th. The last time EGFC had both the AIBT and GAMEX was in 2014 and there were 2399 billfish raised and 904 tagged! Entry forms and further details are available at the EGFC web site at http://egfc.com.au/.

GAMEX 2017 - Exmouth Game Fishing Club.

GAMEX, which would celebrate its 39th anniversary in 2017, attracted more than 200 intrastate, interstate and international competitors ranging from novices to professionals. Exmouth is regarded as one of the world's best fishing destinations with more than 40 different game fish species on offer, including all six Australian billfish species. Fishing is a popular tourism activity, with almost one million overnight visitors in WA participating in a fishing activity during their trip. Hosting events such as GAMEX helps to further promote the State as a fishing hotspot. The State Government has signed a three-year deal to sponsor Western Australia's premier game fishing tournament. GAMEX will run from March 17-25, 2017

A LITTLE BIT EXTRA:

MONSTER MULLOWAY IS SECOND OLDEST ON RECORD CAPTURED IN NSW.

From Fishing World e-News 20 February 2017

The frame from a 149cm mulloway donated, to the NSW Research Angler Program recently has been estimated by Fisheries scientists to be 33-years-old. Whilst mulloway have been recorded to reach ages of over 40 years in South Africa and South Australia, this fish was just the second mulloway of more than 30 years of age so far recorded from NSW waters, and the second oldest overall behind a 34-year-old donated to the NSW research program in 2013. Through the program, information from these trophy-sized individuals so keenly sought-after by recreational fishers provides crucial data for monitoring the health of the mulloway stock in NSW.

If you are a passionate recreational fisher and would like to contribute to the ongoing assessment and monitoring of some of WA’s key recreational fish stocks, please visit the Fisheries Department web site at.

http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/Fishing-and-Aquaculture/Recreational-Fishing/Send-Us-Your-Skeletons/Pages/default.aspx

LURE FISHING BASICS

From Fishing World e-News 23 February 2017

Here are some basic tips to help you make the transition from bait to lures.

Keep it simple

Start at the beginning and don't get ahead of yourself. Use your bait fishing knowledge to knock off a few bread and butter species before you look to more challenging targets. Flathead, tailor and Aussie salmon are probably the easiest species to start with, as they generally aren’t too fussy.

Choose the right gear

Do yourself a favour and start with a quality lure outfit. That doesn't mean you have to spend a lot. Depending on the target species you could get away with a $150-200 outfit. That should get you a decent combo with a fast action rod and a reel with a smooth drag.

Fish light

Fishing light will get you more bites, an indication you’re fooling the fish and working the lure correctly. If you're losing too many fish, step up in size until you find the right balance.

Confidence

Read magazines, watch videos and talk to experts about how to fish individual lures. Once you’ve got the general idea of how a lure works apply the final step..

Persistence

Don’t be deterred if you’re not successful at first. Even the experts had to start somewhere. The results will come eventually, just keep on casting!

RECFISHING VISIONS SURVEY - UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

RecFishing Visions is a university research project interested in recreational fishers' views about how we manage our local waters here in Western Australia. Participants who fully complete the survey by midnight WST on Sunday 26th of February 2017 will have the chance to enter into a prize draw to win a $500 prepaid credit card.

Complete the survey here.

KALBARRI SPORTS FISHING CLASSIC

The 31st Kalbarri Sports Fishing Classic is on again on the 3rd, 4th & 5th March 2017. The “Classic” offers categories in game fishing and bottom fishing with teams of 2 to 5 anglers and an individual kayak and river category are invited to compete in this prestigious tournament where there are $10,000 worth of great prizes. We also have runner-up prizes for the individual champion trophies again this year bringing the total number of categories up to 45.

Offshore competitors can expect to catch any of 3 species of mackerel, 6 species of tuna, samsonfish, yellow-tail kingfish, trevally, cobia, dhufish, snapper, baldchin groper, coral trout, cod, red emperor, tailor, mulloway and more, while river fishermen (an individual event) can expect prime black bream, mangrove jacks, whiting, flathead, cobbler, mulloway, tailor, mullet and cod.

The Kalbarri Offshore & Angling Club has promoted a general attitude of conservation by restricting anglers to a maximum bag of 7 fish per angler, and within Fisheries bag and boat limits. We also encourage river anglers to bring in their catch alive to the weigh-in. They will be held in aerated display tanks at the weigh-in for tag and release by the weigh master at the end of each day. Special prizes will be awarded for supporters of the river “catch & release”. If you wish to eat fish, rather than let the bream go after weigh-in, ask one of the committee members and they will easily find someone who will be willing to give you a fish from the ocean. Our river is important to us.

The boats are split into 4 sections, kayaks, under 6 metres, 6m to 7m and over 7m, making for a fairer competition among the boats. The Catch & Release Game Fish category will continue again this year. Points scored in this category will not be added to individual game or boat game scores; however those lucky enough to catch and release a billfish will have those points added to their boat and individual scores.

Entry forms can be downloaded from the following websites:

www.westernangler.com.au

www.murchisonboathire.com.au

https://getawayoutdoors.com.au/Downloads

http://www.kalbarri.org.au/whats-on/events/event/87474-kalbarri-sports-fishing-classic